Bittersweet Future

by Balshumet

Danny is sure his life can't get any worse. Vlad is the mayor, and is ruining his life, or so he thinks. In an impulsive act, Danny changes his past and future. But what if the future he's made isn't what he hoped it would be?

10. If the Nightmare is Only Beginning

Balshumet: OK! So even though I'm in the middle of the best Con in Florida and have been up for over 20 hours already, and even though this chapter is like the longest one ever, and even though, I have to be back at the Con, Metrocon for those who don't know, by noon tomorrow and will once again be out till three, I'm still sticking to my schedule because life will not keep me from sticking to my goals...or something like that.

Donna's Dinner belongs to my Beta: Evalina Phoenix. I have taken it from her Star Trek 09 reboot AU story, she knows which one, and I am eternally gratefully for being allowed to borrow. Go read it/look at it. It is amazing.

Also, this is the longest chapter yet, however, I'm redoing my average to 15 thousand or so, because I need to word build. Uh, if you all have a problem with this, send me a PM or say it in a review or something. You might also get some questions answered(for my most shrewd of readers), but more than likely, it'll only make more show up. I promise in two chapters, three max, everything will make plenty of sense. And now, for the Disclaimer:

Alas I still do not own Danny Phantom. It is the property of Butch Hartman. If it were mine, not only would the show have more seasons, but the third season would have gone completely differently. Seeing as it didn't, I can say it's safe to assume that I don't own it, and therefore make no money off of this.

There's one last announcement, but it's for the bottom, and with that I will tell you my lovelies, I will see you at the bottom!

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If the Nightmare Is Only Beginning...

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Danny awoke with a start, sore and terrified from what had to be the worse dream of his life. Time-travel, jet fighter planes, a freakily competent Guys in White, it was all too unreal. He wrapped his arms around his middle; cold, and shivering not just from the imagined chill. The errant time traveler stood up from his painful position on the floor, rubbing at the twinging pain in his lower back while doing so. Danny rubbed the sleep from his eyes and stumbled from in between the stacked boxes of his make-shift hiding place. After a few extra seconds to bring the minimum necessary higher brain functions online, he walked forward towards where his bedroom door should be…Jazz is going to get a kick out of this one. The sleep-addled teen thought while still wandering, eyes closed, for his bedroom door. He'd made a habit of telling his sister the more disturbing dreams, at her insistence. He stumbled over something lying haphazardly on his "bedroom" floor before grumpily kicking it out of the way and opening his eyes fully to avoid a repeat.

For the second time in what was only a week, Danny awoke somewhere he not only didn't expect, but didn't immediately recognize. A dark windowless basement greeted his sight. The dim lightening did nothing to disguise the condensation soaked walls or the drooping stacks of cardboard boxes all around him. It especially didn't stop the jolt of realization currently crackling through his system like a lightning bolt. Oh. God! It wasn't a dream! A cold terror snaked up his spine as the blunt starkness of reality splashed through him like a bucket of ice water over his head. Danny slid his hands through his hair, willing himself to calm down and think the situation through. A few seconds of forced slow breathing later, the teenaged superhero was slumped in the center of the room, head resting precariously in his hands. Now more than fully awake, he set his mind on auto pilot as the memories came flooding back.

A fight with Plasmius, a hasty decision, a family that was his but didn't know it yet, crazy battles with the last involving a freaking pair of fighter jets; all of it crashed back into the fore of his mind. Ok great! I'm back in the future, without going 88 miles per hour, he thought with a roll of his eyes, but not one that I recognize. First thing I know for sure, my parents do not live in Amity Park. There's just no way with it being ghost hunter central that I'd be safe, especially with halfa sensing equipment. Danny closed his eyes as a shudder coursed its way across his skin. It wasn't as if his parent's ghost sensing equipment never picked him up, it just never picked him out as half ghost. And how in the world do they know about halfas anyway? Danny shook his head, setting aside that mystery to continue his internal monologue.

If they don't live here, there is a chance they still live close by though, because this is the ghost capital of the world. As long as they could be sure I was safe, and being outside the dome-they built a freaking dome?- would do it. Secondly, Danny started before getting up to pace the room. He was restless. There's a good chance Sam and Tucker would know where I live. If my parents moved, it must have been after I got my powers. It also completely explains why the Guys in White rejects know about half ghosts. I mean, I'm sure my parents were able to get actual funding from Vlad or something and so were actually connected to the rest of the ghost hunting community. So after I got powers, the world knew about halfas. Ok, lastly, Danny stopped pacing and crossed his arms in thought, if Sam and Tucker don't know where I live, then I'm sure…Vlad does. In which case, if I find him in Wisconsin or wherever, I'll find the rest of my family. Danny finished off his logical progression with a nod of his head. The first objective was to connect with his friends, and if that didn't pay off, he could make a flight out to Vlad after his parents' whereabouts. And considering he still had he's friends phone numbers, it didn't even require him to sneak back into Amity to find them.

He had turned off his cell phone a little after he had arrived in the past. There was really no use for it, he couldn't even get a signal, and everyone he'd want to call was either in the future, or didn't know him yet. Danny reached in his pocket and flipped open his phone. A few seconds of start-up music later, and he was browsing through his contacts list. He knew both Sam's and Tucker's phone numbers, cell and house, by heart. On the other hand, he was nervous as all get out, and the repetitive motion on the keypad was helping calm him down. Should I call Sam or Tucker first? Danny hesitated over the section of his phone with the speed dials, glancing quickly in between their names. His finger hovered over the number a second longer before he made his decision. Sam first. The curling fingers of nerves twisted inside his guts as he waited for Sam to pick up.

I'm sorry. The number you have requested cannot be completed as dialed. Please hang up and try again. A voice droned from the other side of the line. The long beep of the dial tone rang out as the automated system hung up from the other end.

Danny gripped the phone tighter and looked back at his contacts list again. He was sure he had dialed it correctly; he didn't even have to check it against his list because he knew it by rote memory. He felt a cold sweat break out on his skin, and slick up his palms as he re-dialed the number.

I'm sorry. The number-

Danny hung up and tried again.

I'm sorry.-

No. No, no no. This can't be happening. This is Sam's cell phone number. It has to be. Danny tightened his grip on the cell phone to stop the fine tremble coursing through his limbs. He took another deep breath, and decided to try Tucker's number instead. To his immense relief the cell phone actually connected and he could hear ringing on the other side. It rung once, twice, and thrice before he heard someone pick up on the other side.

Hey this is Theo. I obviously can't come to the phone right now, too busy rocking out, so sing your song at the beep, and I'll maybe get back to you. A long beep issued from the phone as the voicemail clicked over to record mode.

Danny nearly dropped the phone in shock. The voice on the other end wasn't Tucker's. At the very least he had gotten the voice mail, so he didn't have to talk to whoever was on the other side of the phone. Danny resisted the compulsion to check the phone for the number again. It obviously wasn't his friend's so checking once more wasn't going to help. The time traveling hero gathered the frayed edges of his nearly destroyed nerves and started thinking things through again. Alright, so their numbers aren't exactly the same. Phone numbers are a simple thing, they can change really quickly. No reason to jump to conclusions. I'll just call their home numbers, and if those aren't the same, I'll look up the numbers in a phone book or something. No big deal, don't freak out over nothing. Danny re-steeled his nerves and looked up Sam and Tucker's house numbers. He really didn't have to, but once again, the repetitive clicking soothed his nerves. The decision about who to call first was a simple one. Sam's parents hated him, so calling Tucker's house was the obvious choice.

He didn't even bother looking at the phone screen this time, opting to instead dial it from rote memory. The other end rung twice before being picked up.

A female voice from the other side announced the Foley residence and asked who was speaking.

"Hey Mrs. Foley. This is Danny, is Tucker home?" Danny smiled into his side of the phone, excited to finally hear the voice of someone he knew. Angela Foley was a nice enough lady, and just knowing she was still local to Amity made him feel a lot more certain about his deductions from earlier.

The other side of the line went quiet before someone said, "Who is this?" The voice on the other side of was angry, accusatory.

Danny jumped on the other end of the phone. "It's Danny, Danny Fenton. I…listen I accidentally deleted my contact's list, and I can't seem to remember Tucker's number. Do you think-"

"Well Mr. Fenton," The voice on the other end sneered, "perhaps you could ask your father what Tucker's number is. He should even know where he is. And tell that bastard that if anyone from your family calls again, I'll have my lawyer on his ass faster than he can scream 'ghost'." Angela hung up the phone, slamming it down into the receiver. A few years ago, she might have just broken into tears, but now she was too strong for that. Maybe if the Fentons had any sense, they'd never call again.

Danny stared into the phone, a beeping dial tone emanating from the receiver. "What the hell was that about?" He was beginning to get a bad feeling about this, but apparently he and Tucker weren't friends anymore. Did the entire half ghost thing cause that much of a ripple? Danny thought as he reluctantly dialed up Sam's house number. Mrs. Mason didn't like him at all, and he could only imagine that if being half ghost put Tucker's parents that far out, Sam's probably had a restraining order against him. Still, he had to try. Maybe just contacting the house would get him somewhere. Sam could call him back, going against her parent's wishes as usual, and maybe he could figure out where he lived. Anything was something at this point.

The phone rang one time further at Sam's house than Tucker's, before Mrs. Mason picked up the line. "This is the Mason residence, Pamela Mason speaking." She was in a good mood today. She and her husband had gotten a new measure through on the school board, creating a nice peppy dress code for Amity's future at the local high school. To top it all off, they were going to a nice restaurant to celebrate.

Danny took a deep breath before responding. At least she sounds like she's in a good mood. "Hey Mrs. Manson, it's Danny. I was wondering if Sam was home." He held his breath while waiting for the response. If he didn't, he was sure he would be panting from anxiety into the receiver.

Pamela felt a jolt of heartache shoot through her, one she thought had been buried for years. "You…you have some nerve calling here young man. I don't know who you are, but if you ever contact this house for some sick prank call like this again, I'll have your parents ground you till you're thirty-five! I'm the head of the PTA so don't think I don't know your mother!"

"Prank call? No listen, I'm sorry Mrs. Manson, this is Danny Fenton, Sam's best friend, and I know you don't like me, but please don't hang up, I just-"

"You sick monster! You stay away from my family, and don't you EVER call this house again."

Once again a dial tone was the only thing that greeted Danny's surprised and hurt stare. Admittedly, Pamela Manson had never liked him before, but that was way over the line. A sick monster? Wow. He shook his head and tucked the phone back into his pocket. He wanted to call his sister's number, but with how bad it had just gone with his friends, Danny wasn't sure he could risk it. He knew his own sister would never turn him away, but there was a chance it was a different number than the one in his phone, and he would either get the same automated prompt that he had gotten from dialing Sam's number, or he would get another person entirely, and he wasn't up to more rejection at the moment.

Worse, it wasn't like his friends' parents would be forthcoming about his current residence, if they knew it at all. He'd never seen them, their respective mothers, so angry at him. Angry and hurt. It was like he had dredged up some bad memory or something. Still, if they the half ghost thing had gone over as bad as he thought, their reactions made sense. Not like Mrs. Mason needed an excuse, but being half 'not human' would be a good one from her conservative perspective. I don't know what to say about Mrs. Foley though. Danny shrugged and swiveled his head left and right for the exit. He had come in here some way, a stairway if he remembered correctly, so the exit should be…-Ah - He thought catching the sparse light from the first floor shining down an opening. He silently worked his way through the boxes and across to the room and towards the softly falling light. Danny stole up the stairs and onto the ground floor of the building he'd slept in the night before. He hadn't paid much attention to the layout when he arrived, only looking for somewhere to hid, so he took the opportunity now.

It was nowhere near as stuffy and dank on the ground floor as the basement, the cross wind blowing through the gaps in the boarded up windows moving the late spring air. Still, it was dusty and relatively dark on the ground floor, and Danny didn't want to stay here longer than necessary. It was likely the GSU was still looking for him, and since he'd slept here overnight, he needed to move on soon.

Danny looked down at his cell, checking the time. It was nearly noon, and since he had passed out sometime around sunset the day before, sunset coming around 6pm at this time of year in Amity Park, that meant he'd been out nearly 18 hours. On the plus side, he was feeling fully refreshed, and he'd been laying low long enough for the initial search to blow over. On the negative, he could feel his stomach trying to burrow a hole through his abdomen at the moment, and there was nothing to eat. He gripped at the empty feeling in his gut, before something else came back to mind. His powers had been shorted out last night, and he didn't know whether or not he was able to use them again. Well I better give it a try before I venture outside. Danny decided. He reached inside for the cool feeling of his ghost powers at the pool of energy that usually existed in his chest. A few tentative brushes past the area left him with a wide smirk. His powers were back! Now more calmed than before, Danny started towards the door to the building, confident he'd be able to defend himself. He held his hand over his eyes like a visor as the bright midday sun assaulted them.

Off in the distance was the Amity Park city wide ghost shield, its bright blue glow visible even in the height of the day. It easily covered the entire small city and then some, bleeding into some of the surrounding boroughs and districts.

The ghost powered teen frowned at the bright unnatural glow off into the distance. Everything he knew was inside that bubble. Ok. First order of business, I need a disguise. There is a good chance the Guys in White rejects saw what I looked like when I just walked up to their hid out. So I need a change of clothes. How much money do I have on me? Danny pondered as he moved away from the shelter of the abandoned building. He felt through his pockets for his wallet and pulled it out as he waited on the corner for the light to change. To his dismay, he only had 20 bucks on him. Enough for a few cheap fast food meals, but not enough for anything else, including a hotel or clothes. Great. So I'm broke too. Danny groused as he finished crossing the street and walked towards the coffee shop on the other side of it. He needed to either make some cash, or get some fast five finger discounts. The thought of stealing sat really badly with his system, a burning coal of guilt already settling into his stomach at the thought. But with no money to buy new clothes, no way to get money quickly and legally, and a real need to get out of town as fast as possible, it was looking like his only option. Danny sighed and leaned against a red brick wall, warm from the noon day sun, as he thought over his options again. If he could just figure out where his parents were, it would be easy. He'd thought about finding somewhere with internet and just looking them up. That would solve the problem easily, but there was a great chance any place like that would be crawling with the GSU. Public spaces like libraries, internet cafes, and most eateries were probably being canvassed as he thought about it. And speaking of, I need to stop standing here. Danny pushed away from the wall he was resting on and walked in a random direction. Staying still wasn't the best decision at the moment.

Since he couldn't get access to the internet, whether he wanted to or not, that left him with trying more personable resources. Out of those, the only one left was…Vlad. He really didn't want to end up at his doorstep asking for help again, but it seemed life hated him at the moment. It wasn't as if I spent the last week in Vlad's debt or anything. Danny rolled his eyes at the thought and stop against another wall. He needed to get his bearings. It was about noon now, so he couldn't even tell which way was west or east, and he couldn't tell from memory where he was exactly, he never ventured this far out of Amity on the regular. Whenever he could figure out which way was west, he'd be going that way. It was quite a flight to Vlad's Wisconsin home from Amity, at least distance wise, but he'd be able to make it in about two hours if he flew fast. It was times like this Danny was happy he could fly. Even taking a car, if he could drive, would be at least a 6 hour drive. But first, lunch. Danny began walking towards the diner he'd seen just up the street. While he'd personally prefer Nasty Burger, it was inside the dome, which made it off limits to him. At least if he didn't want to draw attention to himself. He sauntered up to the front of the diner, taking in the fading letters in gold announcing it as "Donnas' Place", before pushing the door open with a tingle of bells.

A chocolate haired waitress walked over to the podium at the sound of the entrance bells. It should have been the middle of the lunch rush hour, but most everyone was huddled up inside after the ghost attack the night before. They weren't common anymore, even in the famous Amity Park area, so it spooked people up a lot. On the other side of the podium was a dark haired young man. She quirked her lips at the boldness of youth these days. The only people who ever came out so soon after an attack were those adults who had to go to work, or the teens who thought they were invincible. Personally, she had thought her boss would have shut up house for the day, but he was almost as money hungry as he was daring. Nothing less than the ghost apocalypse is going to make this store close. Her boss had claimed. And so if the diner was open, she was working, and looking at stupid kids who didn't know enough to be scared. "Hey, welcome to Donnas' Diner, table for one right?"

Danny swept his eyes over the interior of the building. It was conspicuously empty. That surprised him a lot more than he thought it would. It was the middle of the day, so there should be people, and for the life of him he couldn't figure out why it was empty. "Uh yeah…actually, I think I'll just take a seat at the bar if you don't mind. That way I don't take up a whole table on my own."

The waitress scoffed and tossed a section of her long chocolate hair over one shoulder. "Don't worry about that kid; no one's coming in here today." She picked up a menu and walked with him towards the bar.

Danny felt his eyebrows move towards his hairline. "Why? It's the middle of the day. Don't most places have a lunch rush or something?"

The waitress sneered. "Yeah usually, but were you living in a hole last night? There was a ghost attack, and you know, everyone's scared stiff. If adults don't have to be at their jobs to keep it, they'll all huddle up in their houses, as if that's going to protect them from something that can go through walls." She shuddered and set the menu in front of the dark haired young man. "My name's Debbie by the way," she said while motioning to the bright white name tag pinned to her bosom. It had a heart over the 'I' the same way she'd done it since high school.

"Oh, well I'm Danny, and well I'm not really from around here." It's not really a lie; I don't live around here anymore, my parents moved or something. Danny rationalized as Debbie moved away to the kitchen. He heard her snap something at the cook to actually start up the stove to make something because they had a customer, before moving back towards him.

"Oh yeah? What's a kid like you doing in Amity area if you aren't from around here?" Debbie leaned against the counter to take pressure off of her legs. Standing up the whole shift was the bad part of waitressing, but she loved meeting the people that just blew through town.

"Well I'm on vacation with my family." Danny shoved down the flutters of shock at how easy lying was getting, even on the spot.

A short laugh escaped Debbie's lips and she shifted her weight onto her left leg to rest her head in the hand on the same side. "And your family just let you wander off after last night's attack?" She asked incredulous. The nerve of parents! It seemed like some of them didn't care if their offspring lived or not.

Danny pouted under the slight to his family's honor as he paged through the menu. Plenty of cheap good looking food met his gaze. "Hey I'm not a little kid, I can watch myself. Plus they wanted to go somewhere else for lunch. Besides, we only got here this morning, so we missed all the excitement last night. Good thing too, or I would have never gotten any peace and quiet for myself." Danny sent an annoyed tinged glance at his waitress' mirth filled face.

Oh he is cute. "Uh huh, and I'm sure you could fight off any ghost that came your way to hot stuff. Peace and quiet eh? Lots of siblings to drive you nuts on the road trip up here?" Debbie couldn't place it, but she'd seen his baby face and big emotive eyes somewhere before.

"No only one, but my parents spent the whole time fighting over what was the fastest way to get here, if we were lost, that they needed to stop for directions, that my mom was driving too fast, or my dad was driving too reckless. By the end of it my sister was even in it, telling them staying in such a closed area was bringing out latent hostile and invoking animal territorial instincts." Danny chuckled as the last road trip the family took flitted across his mind. "She's practically an amateur psychologist."

Debbie tapped her lip in thought as Danny's ramblings washed over her. I know I've seen his face somewhere…She shrugged as a lull in conversation required her to respond back, she'd figure it out eventually, she never forgot a face. "Is she? Does she want to diagnose criminals and get inside their nutty heads, or listen to people complain about how much their mediocre life is not like the awesome movie rock star life they were promised by society?"

Danny laughed as he came to a decision about his food. "I think she wants to listen to people complain. She wants to help people be better adjusted, or so she says. Er well, that's why she keeps trying to practice on me. Oh can I get a coke, and a Donna's special with extra fries? " Danny closed the menu and handed it back to the waitress.

"No problem hun. Earl! Wake up back there, don't say you weren't sleeping, I can hear you snoring from here. We have a DS with extra hash coming up, and don't burn it this time, I like this kid." Debbie stepped over to the fountain drink station and started to pour her new vacationing teen customer a drink. She heard Earl mumble something back about being worked to the bone, and snickered.

Earl was a good worker and the best short order cook in town, but he worked two other jobs. Whenever he was awake, he could make anything greasy under the sun, but most of the time he was sleeping if there weren't orders coming in, and there weren't any today.

The brunette walked back over to the bar, an extra tall coke in hand. She set it in front of the only customer of the day, and slid next to him on the bar, sick of standing.

"Oh no, I only ordered a medium."

Debbie waved off his concerned with an achy dish pan wrinkled hand. "Don't worry about it kid, we aren't going to go bust giving you a tall coke with refills today. We'll be lucky if this place gets back to normal by Friday."

Danny took a long swing from his drink and looked back over at the sitting waitress. "Why's that?"

She snorted and swiveled to lean against the counter for support while still looking at Danny. "Has it really been that long? I guess most people, let alone kids your age, don't remember how dangerous ghosts can be." The chocolate haired woman shook her head and reached for the remote at the edge of the bar. The news and scenes from last night could explain it better than she ever could. "Listen kiddo, I know you aren't from around here, but ghosts are kind a big deal. Every time the U.S. government thinks they are extinct or some other nonsense, and that the GSU isn't needed, one or two strong ones they haven't managed to catch shows up and wreaks havoc, like last night." Debbie paused to flip on the news station. The ring of the bell in the back told the waitress Earl was done with the food, so she moved back around to the other side of the bar.

Danny took in this new information with a growing sense of apprehension. Ghost attacks happen so infrequently, that people are scared by them, because all the ghosts have been captured? He was stopped short in his musings as a steaming plate full of fries and a hulk of a burger was set down in front of him. "Woah! That's a lot more than I thought I'd get."

"Aw, too much food for you kiddo?" Debbie teased while taking her seat back by Danny at the bar.

"What? No way!" the hungry teen replied while stuffing a huge handful of fries into his mouth. "I just didn't think five bucks would buy this much food." He gulped down another mouthful of fries, before heading into burger territory.

The brunette laughed at her customer's food disappearing powers. "Hey take it easy kid, it's not going anywhere. Hey look!" She turned back towards the back of the diner where the TV was set up and pointed. "Looks like the news has looped back around to last night's ghost attack. Took it long enough, maybe if we're lucky they'll play the press release from the GSU leader of Amity Park again." Agent Frank was pretty cute in her middle-aged opinion, and she had a right to a little eye candy every now and then.

Danny paused, burger half way to his lips, and twisted around to look at the TV screen. Sure enough there was an overly peppy sunshine colored hair reporter talking about last night's "ghost attack." He had to stop himself from rolling his eyes at the phrase; he was the one who got attacked, not the other way around.

Debbie grabbed her only customer's half empty coke before snatching up the remote to turn up the volume. They usually kept it low, but with no one else around, it wouldn't be too bad to turn it up.

That's right Lance, last night was a historic event.

The voices from the television blared out as she leaned against the counter from the opposite side of her customer again.

This marks the first time in four years that a ghost attack has taken place in Amity Park. Our protectors the GSU, have issued a warning to stay indoors unless absolutely necessary to go out. The camera zoomed out from the bright green eyed bottle blond face of the news anchor. As the ghost has yet to be found and apprehended, it is still at large and very much dangerous.

You beat ya' Tammy. Last night's ghost attack cost the city thousands of dollars, with initial damage estimates in the hundreds of thousands. Luckily, the city will not be charged for the loss of the two fighter jets that were in pursuit of this new ghostly threat, lowering the bill significantly. Several of our viewers have called in to express concern and alarm over the apparent strength of the ghost that attacked last night. They want to know what our defenders and saviors the GSU are doing about it.

Of course they do Lance. Naturally, many of our Amity area viewers missed the press release from last night and early this morning due to the chaos of the last 24 hours, so our station will be periodically rebroadcasting the GSU report on the top of every hour for the rest of the broadcasting day. The next broadcast is due in another 30 seconds or so, so stay tuned. The picture flickered over to commercial, with a promise that the press release would be the first thing back on air afterward.

Danny finished off the last of his fries absentmindedly staring at the TV screen before grabbing up the newly refilled coke. "Wow, that fight must have been worse than I thought."

"Yeah it was kid, a whole apartment building got destroyed when the first plane crashed, and there are pieces of the second one all over the place. You know what's weird?" Debbie leaned over closer to her customer conspiratorially.

Danny shook his head and leaned over further himself, to play into the faux need for secrecy.

"I saw the press release last night, and I know they are saying it wasn't him, but I think it was." Debbie leaned back and flicked her eyes over to the TV screen, checking to see if the commercial was over.

"He who?" Danny asked, more confused than before she answered the question.

"You know the teenaged ghost hybrid. They have pictures of the ghost from last night, and he looks a little different, you know different hair color and all, but the face is really similar, and the ghost looked really human. Only hybrids look that human."

Danny shifted nervously in his seat as the television switched back to the news station from commercial. "Oh? Well I don't know, maybe we should trust the professionals?"

The tired waitress shifted back to Danny's side of the counter and sat back down next to him. "Yeah well, the government doesn't always tell the truth, and even if it isn't him, it has to be another hybrid, and there's no press release on Earth that will convince me otherwise." She picked up the remote and flicked the volume a notch higher as the press report from last night replayed.

Agent F-

Agent F!-

Agent-

A group of flurried hands shot up in front of the news podium at City Hall. Agent F calmly held a hand out to calm the crowd before speaking. Gentlemen, please calm down. Save all of your questions until after the press release is finished, and I will answer as many as I can then. The group of reporters calmed down as the government agent settled into his place in front of them. Gentlemen, I am here to confirm reports of a ghost attack on Amity Park earlier this evening. At 6:05pm, approximately three hours previous, a ghost set off the sensors outside of the GSU headquarters. Our initial team attempted to quarantine the entity, but underestimated the creatures flying speed leading to a breach of perimeter. In order to contain the entity the GSU Air Division was called in. These were the two fighter jets inhabitants saw flying over the area in the last few hours. The ghost was more powerful than initial estimates and was able to evade and destroy both aircraft before escaping.

Neither pilot was injured, nor were there injuries to the GSU's ground team. There have been scattered reports of minor civilian injuries, but as far as we know, the Amity area sustained no causalities from the encounter with the ghost a few hours ago. The people of Amity Park and its attendant areas are official advised to remain indoors as much as possible and to avoid travel. We are declaring a level orange emergency, and as such, allowing the full cancellation of business hours, at the owners' discretion, and telling the working employees of the Amity area to call in due to ghost terrorism. It is of course our official recommendation that this not reflect badly on the employees that do take the next day for their own protection. This ends the official press release from the GSU, are there any questions? Agent F stepped away from the microphone and waited for the hands to shoot up.

Agent F-

Agent!-

Amity GSU leader! An especially enthusiastic reporter dove forward with his microphone in hand at the government agent.

Agent F nodded and leaned towards the mic. Yes?

Agent F, can you give the people of Amity Park an explanation how the ghost got inside the shield and so close to your facility?

I'm not at liberty to speculate, we are pursuing all avenues into the cause of the breach.-

So you think the Amity Park ghost shield was breached somehow?

Allow me to rephrase that, Gentlemen the Amity Park shield is ghost proof. Make no mistake about it, the shield is and was active at the time of the attack.-

Then how do you explain the ghost just appearing inside Amity Park? The same reporter as before shoved the microphone back in Agent F's direction.

As I said before I am not at liberty to speculate, however there are several mechanisms that could be at work here. A-

Then could you confirm or deny the reports of the ghost being a ghost hybrid of some kind? The same ardent reporter as the last time drew attention back his way. The main camera for the Channel Nine station swung around to capture both the reporter and Agent F in a single wide angle shot.

Agent F slid off his government issue sunglasses and hung them off of his pocket. Taking them off made him seem more human, the test polls had said, and he needed the extra element to make this next line convincing. He smiled down into the flashing cameras and said, Gentlemen, I'm not at liberty to speak freely about many things. My line of work requires much secrecy for the good of Amity and the nation as a whole; often time's national security is at stake when I decline your questions. However, this is something I can directly respond to. After looking over the data myself, I can deny the reports of there being a hybrid in the city. All known hybrids are closely monitored and this ghost does not match up to any of the GSU records for hybrids. I know it seems strange how this ghost just appeared inside the shield, and we promise we are looking into it, but now is not the time to jump to hurried, messy, and dangerous conclusions about the ghost attack a few hours ago. The ghost was not a hybrid, of this we are certain.

Danny let out a breath he wasn't sure he had been holding and leaned back against the bar.

"Yeah thinking it was one of those ghost human mixed freaks worried me too, but I don't buy their official line." Debbie poked the diner's only customer in the shoulder as the press release continued.

Now I know many of our citizens reported seeing the ghost in our skies the last few hours and have pointed out how humanoid and even disturbingly life-like the creature appeared. There's nothing to worry about. I know the creature looked human, even young, I saw it with my own eyes, but it is only a trick ghosts can use to hide themselves. Some are experts are changing their form and shape, like the female ghost Spectra who was caught several years back, or the morphing ghost who was caught just recently. Some ghosts are intelligent enough to exert control over their physical appearance to manipulate humans, so don't take a ghost's initial look as proof. Agent F finished his explanation and was about to flip his glasses back on when the nosy insistent reporter who started the Q&A session piped back up.

The maybe you can explain this? The picture shifted as the station played an amateur video tape from last night. In it, the mysterious ghost from last night's attack was seen flying for the Amity Park shield, bright green ball of ectoplasm in hand. Behind him are two ecto-energy seeking missiles, getting closer by the second. All of a sudden, the ball of energy is fired and there's a bright flash of white light. The screen goes fuzzy for a few seconds and then focuses in again on the ghost on the other side of the shield.

The reporter smirked triumphantly at the Amity Park GSU operations leader, waiting for his response. The video had been visible to those at the press conference by way of a monitor facing towards the crowd at the Hall.

Agent F barely had time to cover the surprised look on his face before the camera zoomed back onto his face. He pursed his lips into a hard line before sliding his sunglasses safely into place. A cold confident smile erased the firm line previously occupying his face, before he leaned back towards the microphones. Gentlemen are you familiar with the ghost power of teleportation?

The standing group of reporters quieted as the question filtered through the room.

Agent F chuckled before continuing, I didn't think so. Teleportation is one of the avenues we are pursuing to explain how the ghost got inside the shield. Now ordinarily, I wouldn't be allowed to share this information, but the video tape allows me to give you a cursory explanation of this still being researched ability. To make a long story short, some ghosts are capable of moving over large distances nearly instantaneously. Agent F waited for the murmur of surprise to settle before starting again. They do this by transforming themselves into pure energy, spectral energy, and willing this collected energy form of themselves to another location. When in this form, they can disappear and reappear anywhere, being made of spectral energy, they move faster than the speed of light. Gentlemen, the ghost shield isn't made of a solid energy wall, it would use far too much energy if it were. The shield is like a very fine meshed net. Ordinarily, it's far too fine for any ghost to slip through, but in this form they can. Now now, He raised his hands to calm the rising terror in the crowd. The ghosts who have this ability number in the few dozen. It is a rare ability, even among the oddities that are the ghost creatures, so there is very little chance of a breach on a daily or even yearly basis, but the chance is still there. That is why there are GSU teams in every major city, just in case one of these powerful creatures gets past our shields and passive defense systems. Are there any other questions? Agent F leaned away from the podium and waited for the rest of their demanding inquiries to come crashing in.

"He's so full of shit." Debbie moved back around to the other side of the counter to give her customer another refill. He was currently finishing off the last of his burger and gaping at the screen.

Danny tore his eyes away from the television and swallowed down the last of his sandwich. "What'd mean? That sounds pretty cool to me, and likely. I mean he does do this for a living you know?" He silently hoped the press release didn't go into any more detail. It looked like the GSU weren't too keen on sharing information, and for that he was very grateful.

The waitress rolled her eyes as she brought back another refill. "Because, well wait you weren't around when the last attack happened. Well I don't want to scare you kid, or ruin your vacation so I won't give you too many particulars, but I can tell you this…" Debbie leaned over towards her teen customer again, not wanting this info to carry. "That flash of white light you saw and the grey static?"

Danny nodded at her to continue and leaned in further.

"Well, I was around when the last ghost attack happened and I was close enough to see one of those hybrid creatures transform. Ya see, they look human enough, and they even have human DNA, it's how they can get past the ghost sensors and shields around most places, but they aren't really human. When they transform into their true ghost form there's this flash of light. Now I admit the flash I saw was…black. I know that sounds impossible, light can't be black right? Well I'm telling you, I saw this guy go from as human looking as one of us, and then poof there was this black light and he was a ghost." Debbie leaned back away from the counter and looked back up at the television screen. The press release replay was almost done.

Danny felt of shiver go down his spine. From the looks of it Vlad attacked Amity Park four years ago, but for what reason he didn't know. Worse, he had revealed the existence of half ghosts to everyone, what the hell was he thinking? "Oh wow! Um…that's crazy…"

The chocolate haired woman chuckled and slapped Danny on the back. "Take it easy kid, there's nothing to worry about. The GSU keeps even the people outside of the Amity ghost shield safe. You and your family are in no danger here, even if you managed to come at an exciting time. Speaking of, won't your parents be worried if you don't get back soon? It's already nearly 1:30." Debbie picked up her customer's cup and plate and walked it back towards the kitchen. The press release was just ending, and she didn't want to miss the picture of the mystery ghost at the end. Nothing better to scare the cute teen with than claiming the ghost haunted around here or something. She walked over to ring the kid up, so he could get back to his family before they came to ring him up for worrying them. Debbie peered up over the top of the register as the Channel Nine news room came back on the screen.

Well Lance, that was certainly informative.

It sure was Tammy. Our boys at the GSU have given us a clear print out of the ghost's picture to share with all our viewers. Remember if any of you see "someone", the reporter paused to issue air quotes around the acknowledgement of the ghost's personhood, who looks like this please report to the authorities immediately. This is not some new punk style or an ordinary teen; it's a dangerous ecto-entity. Onto the screen flashed of picture of a young looking ghost. It had white hair and iridescent green eyes. The camera zoomed onto its young looking face and a large print warning: Powerful and Dangerous blinked across the screen.

Debbie stopped punching the bill through, shocked into pausing mid-press of a button. The close up of the ghost was unmistakable; the ghost looked just like the kid sitting not ten feet from her. She stole a quickly terror filling glance towards her only customer and backed away from the counter.

Danny grimaced as reporter put air quotes around the "someone" part of his sentence. Like I'm not even a person or something… He stared in alarm as the picture shifted to a very clear image of him flying through the skies over Amity Park last night. The image quickly zoomed into a picture perfect vision of his face, with a dire warning to stay away as he was powerful and dangerous. He squirmed uncomfortably in his seat as he felt the waitress, who had been nice so far, distance herself and stare at the back of his head. Danny took a deep breath and steeled himself; there was no avoiding this confrontation. While most people in his own, what is it future? , didn't recognize him as Danny Phantom there was a good chance, now that the barrier of humans having ghost powers being impossible was destroyed, that someone here would. The wayward teen superhero swallowed past a lump in his throat and turned back towards Debbie.

Until he had turned around, she had been convinced she was wrong. A trick of the light, a bad picture, a faulty memory, anything was more likely than the fact a ghost and likely ghost hybrid was sitting with her in the diner. Afterwards though, the pained fearful look in his eyes confirmed it for her. The brunette waitress worried the inside of her cheek indecision. She should call the authorities right this second and have this obviously dangerous creature hauled away somewhere the hell away from her, but…but, it's so…What Debbie? Kind? Young? Innocent or something? Get a hold of yourself! This is a ruthless violent creature that destroyed two GSU fighter jets and threatened your town. You have to call the police. The decision made, Debbie reached for the phone hanging just a few inches to her left.

"Wait!"

She swung her eyes back towards the pleading and very young looking baby blues of the ghost currently sitting at her diner counter. She gripped the thick pink of the corded phone on the wall as the ghost shifted in its place at the bar.

"Just um…I…owe you for lunch, at least let me pay you before you call the cops. Heh, you can't get money from me after they run me out of town."

Debbie felt her heart leap into her throat. Here she was about to sic the dangerous GSU on this creature and he wanted to pay for lunch? Is this thing crazy? Wary over a trick to get close to her, she moved her hand away from the phone, and leaned against the door frame of the entrance to the kitchen next to it. "I don't want your money, whoever you stole it from." She watched as the ki-creature- winced across from her. She narrowed her eyes and cursed her kind heart. "You're a nice, whatever you are; ghost, more like hybrid aren't ya'?" She watched as his eyes widened and got the confirmation she was looking for. "Listen, I like you, I don't know why, but I do. That's why I'm going to give you a five minute head start before I call the cops."

Danny blinked at the offer of reprieve. He'd thought the brunette woman across from him would just call the cops and duck for cover. "I...um-"

"Get out of here brat, you're wasting time. I will call the authorities in five minutes whether you are sitting here or not, and don't you dare leave any cash here neither." Debbie turned away from the counter, daringly showing the ghost her back, before slipping back into the kitchen. If she didn't know when he left exactly, the authorities couldn't get it out of her, and she wouldn't know what direction he ran off in either. She never told anyone but on the day of the last ghost attack, she knew why the older ghost hybrid had attacked, and it wasn't the official story. If it had been her in that position, she'd have fought back too, and maybe that's why she couldn't believe that the hybrids, powerful as they were, were inhuman. Nothing inhuman cared enough to risk themselves for others.

Danny jumped away from the bar and leaped for the door. He pushed it open and was about to sprint into the street, when he looked back into the quiet restaurant. He caught Debbie peering back into the main part of the diner from the kitchen and smiled the brightest nicest smile he could muster under the circumstances. "Thank you. I'll never forget this, and I'll pay you back some day."

The brunette rolled her eyes and pointed out of the door. "Scat ghost kid, four minutes and counting."

Danny nodded his head thankfully, and ran away from the bright glowing blue of the ghost shield. He rounded a few corners before resting against a wall to get his bearings. It was nearly 1:45 in the afternoon now and late enough for the sun to start slanting towards the west. All he had to do it look up and he'd know which way Wisconsin was. The sudden fugitive heard the whirling of sirens back towards the diner and shook his head. Debbie had been really nice to him, and even after hanging out with him, she still called the police. If someone as nice as Debbie could throw him under the bus like that, what would the rest of the world be like? Danny wasn't sure, but he knew someone who could help him hide until he figured this crazy world out. He hadn't been sure about going to Vlad before, but the last few minutes had clenched it for him. There's a serious chance he isn't at Wisconsin anymore, especially not at that huge castle, after the attack four years back, but that's the closest place and I could get some clues from there. At least it's out of Amity Park. Danny moved away from the wall and spied something to hide behind to transform. In a flash of bright light, he left the bonds of gravity behind and flew westward towards the Wisconsin area.

Unbeknownst to him a digital signal was sent out when his ghost signature popped to life after transforming.

---

Washington D.C. 12:45pmEST Pentagon debriefing room

He tugged at the uncomfortable tie currently wrapped around his neck. He hated it almost as much as the polyester lined cotton monkey suit he forced to wear to these meetings. He much preferred the field operative issued suits to the bureaucratic nightmare wear he was suffering through at the moment. However, he was the leader of the Government Spectral Unit now, so he had to suffer small indignities like this to keep his organization running smoothly. The general in front of him blathered on in the slow drawl common to old entitled bureaucrats used to their own power and in love with their own voice. He resisted the urge to sneer and settled for shifting the cuff of his suit again, the itchy nightmare. When it looked like the general was winding down, he quickly interrupted, not wanting to sit through another moment of this waste of his precious time. "I completely understand your concerns General Birch and I will gladly implement all the recommendations you've made within reason," which means none of them, "however, my report address all of your, and in fact, all of the other Chiefs of Staff's objections and problems, so forgive me, but I fail to see the point of this meeting. I have an organization to run and a dangerous ecto-entity to capture, so you'll understand my urgency to leave."

"Commander, maybe you don't see the reasons for this meeting, but I do. Your organization, one that you are so keen to get back to, failed to apprehend a dangerous ghost. The GSU costs millions of dollars a year to keep operating, and has been hemorrhaging funds for years. It's a money sink, and worse it doesn't even seem capable of defending the US citizens as commissioned."

"With all due respect Secretary, the ghost we faced yesterday was no ordinary creature. My initial reports and analysis of the situation indicates that creature was a hybrid. Hybrids are amazingly powerful and versatile beings and something incredibly difficult to capture and control."

"Yes," Secretary of State Fitzgerald started, "I am well aware of the agency's failures to capture of the ghost hybrids, this country's greatest threat. In fact, the continued failure to do so is one of the reasons I am so unconvinced about the legitimacy of the continued operation of the GSU."

"Secretary, perhaps I need to remind you of the state of America before my organization's current incarnation under my leadership. Anarchy. Ghosts haunted every town in America, and hot spots, like Amity Park, were attacked weekly, tri-weekly even, by powerful and dangerous ecto-entities. They terrorized the citizens of these United States and the local and even national ghost hunters could do absolutely nothing to stop them. No professional in the world could stem the seemingly never-ending tide of ghosts flowing into our world. My leadership, and my organization has done what no other has before it, stop the ghost threat. The number of ghost attacks around the world number in the dozens yearly instead of the hundreds of thousands. Similar organizations around the world are modeled after our own, and yearly attend a conference we host, for plenty of money, to stay abreast of the current findings in the ghost community. The scientific community has never seen greater output, America has never had a greater input on the world scene, and we've done it all while destroying the ghosts and making our country a safer place on a balanced budget."

"That's a wonderful speech Commander, but one that has yet to be corroborated. I've had my accountants look into the financials for the GSU and the preliminary findings have it underwater by a long shot." Secretary Fitzgerald leaned against the table on his palms. The current administration he served didn't like the GSU, not at all familiar with the time ghost attacks were regular. Personally, he'd never seen the need to eliminate all those weak ghosts while the real threat, the hybrids, roamed free.

"I respectfully disagree." The GSU's Head Commander leafed through the papers sitting in front of him. He hated bureaucracy. Jill usually took care of things like this for him, tackling the intricate questions while he made the inspiring fund grabbing speeches. She watched over the regular everyday operations while he attended to the grand vision of things. It was what he was best at; the long creative view had always been his strong point. The mundane details like this just didn't interest him and he expected his second in command, who wasn't here at the moment, to know them and be able to spit them out at a moment's notice.

"Well if your word is all we have to go on-"

"Not at all Secretary Fitzgerald." A new smooth voice preened from the other side of the room. The click of determined set steps in heels echoed throughout the room. "If I recall correctly, the annual international gala pulled in a record breaking 500 million dollars, easily covering the operation costs of the GSU for the first half of the year. The second 500 million was partially kindly donated by several captains of industry and partially made by local fundraisers by the grateful citizens of our great nation. After all of that was said and done, the patents for the GSU's work and the Commander's personal inventions, whose revenue he has so generously donated to the budget of the GSU, lead us to a 250 million windfall that was immediately reinvested in the organization in the R&D department, scholarships for the bright and upcoming in the next generation, and holiday bonuses for our hardworking employees. We balanced the budget netting a solid neutral after all of that, and we are in line to once again have a positive budget for this coming year. If the Chiefs of Staff would be so kind as to turn to pages 156, 203, and 315 of the GSU's mid-year report, you'll find the information yourself." The speaker finished, turning in a prim tight business suit towards the rest of the room.

A warm smug smirk tugged at the edges of the Head Commander's face that he quickly suppressed. "Thank you Ms. Castle. As you can see Gentlemen, my organization is in fantastic financial shape."

"Well what about your failings to capture of the ghost hybrids?" This time Secretary of Defense Dirk Muller called the organization's merit and ability into question.

The Head Commander swiftly turned to face the newest opponent. "Failings? Yes I admit I have failed in the past to capture the ghost hybrids, but my opponent is cunning, and unlike the other hybrids in the record started out not only human, but one I was intimately familiar with. It and I were in social contact with each other at one time, and the creature uses this to his advantage. Nevertheless, the last capture was aborted purposefully." He watched as the Joint Chiefs of Staff murmured in unease around him. "Easy Gentlemen, there's a good reason for this. I need him to be a good scout for us and lead us to the nest."

"The…nest Commander?"

"Yes Secretary Muller, the ant's nest with the rest of his kind. You see, their leader is much too intelligent, much too calculating to reveal himself or the location of the rest of the traitors to democracy. However, a scout, like any good soldier, goes out into the world to test the waters. It forages for food or a safe place to make a new nest for the rest of the colony. This scout comes and goes, but is as weak as link as it is expendable. Gentlemen, do you know how to kill an ant colony?" He paused to look over his impromptu speech's audience.

The room's occupants, generals and the Cabinet combined, shook their heads not catching onto the GSU Commander's meaning.

"Why, you poison it of course. Oh but you must be careful, if your poison is too swift, it will kill only the scout who brought it in, or those who taste the food for their queen. Too slow and the entire colony will develop an immunity to it. You must make a poison strong and slow enough for it to reach the queen, once there, she must consume it before the first scout falls, and then by that time it'll be much too late to stop her inevitable death. You see Gentlemen..." the Commander rounded the table and began walking to the head of the room.

"This latest incident has afforded us a unique opportunity. It seems one of Plasmius' scouts has wandered too far from the nest and right into our trap. But instead of making a play right this moment, a poison much too fast, I have decided to use a much deadlier method. We will monitor the little creature, and watch it carry us, the deadly toxin, back into the folds of its own colony. There we will disseminate among all of its members until even their leader Plasmius finds our influence too late and widespread to do anything about. Then, we would have finally caught them."

He finished the ant poisoning analogy with a wide sweeping glance of the room.

"Gentlemen we are at a crossroads. As we speak, I have reports of the hybrid traveling outside of Amity, Michigan, and towards the Wisconsin area, the last known hiding spot of Plasmius. If we intercede now, capture it, we might lose this chance forever. With the creature in our grasp, it may appear as if we have the upper hand, but don't be fooled, we've been in this position before. Whenever we capture one of its scouts, Plasmius sends out a," the Commander paused to chuckle, "valiant and powerful rescue team, whose attempts have yet to fail. If we have the hybrid with us, we leave ourselves at the mercy of Plasmius' never-ending conniving and shrew planning. That is not a position I want to be in again. If we let the creature pass, there's a good chance it will go right back to its leader, and back to the vulnerable nest where we can do real damage. Even if it doesn't, we have the hybrid's signature in the data base and being tracked by satellite. It will not escape."

The room was silent in the wake of the Commander's stirring recommendation. He offered a chance to rid the country of their worrying menace forever. "What about the public?" This time it was the Sectary of the Interior that spook up.

"No need to worry about that Secretary. The public has been informed of nothing, and all reports of hybrids have been denied and silenced. The creature is flying over and towards uninhabited areas. The public has nothing to fear, and if there is any threat no matter how small, we will not hesitate to intervene immediately. You have my word on the matter." The Commander crossed his arms over his chest and waited for their answer. There was no doubt in his mind they would agree, they were easily control and manipulated, and his years as head of the GSU through 3 Administrations had taught him well.

"Well Commander, you drive a hard bargain, but it's a solid plan, one without any foreseeable pitfalls for public safety. Because of this I will allow this strategy to continue, however I want periodic updates as the creature's whereabouts and the status of the mission as a whole." The Secretary of Defense finished up, gathering his things into his hands. This meeting was basically over.

The Head Commander smirked and held out his hand to the first general preparing to exit the room. "Thank you for your support Secretary Muller and I promise you will not be disappointed." The Commander took the Secretary's hand into a fierce shake, a testament to his physical strength undiminished by years in the upper echelons of the bureaucracy.

"Yeah well, you just make sure you don't screw this up, and I'll look into convincing the president to approve those forays into the Ghost World your people are always clamoring for." The Secretary wasn't of the same opinion as that of Ronan Fitzgerald, the Secretary of State. He was old enough to remember how much the GSU had done to stem and stop the ghost threat. Muller shuffled a few more items off onto one of his many aids and headed for the door with the rest of the Cabinet.

"Oh Muller?" the Commander called out just as he met the threshold for the meeting room.

"Yeah?" It was well past the scheduled lunch hour, the meeting had run over by a long time, and he was ready for something to eat.

"When I put Plasmius' head onto a pike, you'll be the first to find out about it. I'm sure your son would…appreciate the gesture of that monster's death."

Dirk Muller grimaced before turning around for the door. "I'd rather you send me the creature's heart just to prove your anatomy team correct. Because as far as I'm concerned it doesn't have one." He said over his shoulder walking quickly down the hall.

The Head Commander of the GSU sighed and slumped against the meeting room table. That had been a long and annoying emergency meeting. He pulled the tie straining around his neck into a looser arrangement and fiddled with the cuffs of his suit some more. I hate this dumb three piece of shit. He thought before he felt calloused slender hands begin working the knot back tighter on his tie. "Damn it Jill, I'm off duty for a few minutes, leave the tie be." He felt more than heard Jill's snickering. The only evidence of it was held in her warm honey brown eyes.

"Forgive me Commander, but until we are safely back in GSU headquarters, you are required to at least look the part of the Head Commander of the GSU." She re-rolled the cuffs of his suit into a reasonable looking fold, and finished tightening his tie. Her commanding officer never did like anything but the regulation issued spandex suits the GSU underlings wore. Not that she blamed him, business suits weren't really her style either.

"Oh come on Jill," he half whined, "no one's watching. If I lose the tie for a few minutes no one will be the wiser. Besides I just spent the last few minutes dealing with the F.B. I at least deserve a little reprieve because of that." He crossed his arms as the tie was firmly re-tighten once more on his large frame and threw up his hands. There was really no arguing with Jillian when she got her mind made up about something, it was why she made such a good second-in-command.

"Stop fussing about it. The sooner you get presentable, the sooner we can leave and get back to headquarters where it's safe." Jillian Castle stepped away from her superior and began strutting towards the door, knowing he'd follow. "I have a few new reports for you."

"Is that why you were late?" He grabbed a thick and bulging folder from his second, a secretary, scientist, and military leader combined into one.

"Partially. I was delayed from departing by Agent's F's incompetence. He can read a speech well enough, but he can't write it. If it wasn't best he deliver the message as the spokesperson for the GSU in Amity Park, I would have done it to save time. Secondly, I was gathering all of that for you. That's the latest analysis of the hybrid's data. I'm not sure who the fuck this is Commander, but it's not 2nd Priority that's for sure. Sure its energy signature is close, and the techies down in Amity Park, the miserable shits, couldn't tell the difference when handed a line up, but I know this creature like the back of my hand. It didn't fight like him, or think like it. It didn't look like the hybrid we know, and whether or not ghosts can change their appearance, hybrids aren't known to, so that's makes it even more unlikely. Finally, the creature walked right up to GSU central in Amity and acted surprised the sensors went off. Either that hybrid's stupider than can be imagined, or it was honestly surprised we were there. I'm sure it's not the former, from how it fought, so it must be the latter, not matter how ridiculous that is. There's also the question of where this 'bogey' came from. You know as well as I the number of hybrids out there, and there's only one this creature's age, so your guess is as good as mine about the creature's appearance." Jill shrugged up one shoulder as they turned the final corner to exit the pentagon.

The Commander frowned as he took in his second's comments. They mirrored his nearly exactly with the missing sections being the thoughts on its fighting style. "So if this isn't 2nd Priority, then who are you little ghostling?" He mused out loud as they slid into the limo waiting out from to take them back to GSU headquarters. He had no idea. It was obviously not a ghost, he concluded as he finished flipping through the rest of the highlighted paper his second had given him. At least it wasn't purely ghost, so that precluded it just being a very good copy cat. That meant it was a legitimate hybrid, and with the only other hybrid its age ruled out, it made it a new one all together, something he couldn't even begin to fathom. Where had it even come from? He settled into the seat for the hour drive back to his domain.

Jillian kicked off her heels next to the Commander, happy to settle in as well. "So Commander, when we get back, what do you thinking about changing back into spandex and grabbing a nice big deli sandwich for lunch?" She spared a tired glance in his direction. She'd gotten on the next flight from Amity to DC after she he finished the preparations in Michigan. She'd arrived late last night into her house, but didn't sleep. She had realms of data to go through in order to prepare for the meeting today. The Commander had had a much shorter meeting the day before to explain to situation in Amity, but the one today she needed to be prepared for. If she hadn't gotten stuck in traffic on the way over, she'd been on time. Luckily, the Commander never held it against her as long as she got her job done and made him look good in front of the F.B. She snickered lightly as the meaning of that particular nickname of theirs came back to her. Fucking Bureaucracy indeed.

"Oh no I was thinking several chili cheese dogs, but I'll take deli sandwiches if you buy my favorite dessert Ms. Castle." He licked his lips at the thought of chocolate and closed his eyes, head falling back into the soft leather cushions of the limousine.

"Sir, for Spumoni's deli delights I'll buy you dessert any day." Jillian retorted as the car pulled into DC's formidable traffic. Looks like it'll be some time yet before we get anything to eat. Something on her wrist beeped and got her attention. The GSU second-in-command glanced down at her wrist communicator. She'd tied it to the GSU global positioning satellites only this morning to keep track of the ghost hybrid's travels. The beep told her the hybrid was currently crossing Lake Michigan half way to Wisconsin. Fly fast little ghostling, and bring us closer to 'Daddy' Plasmius.

---

Danny gazed down at the seemingly endless expanse of water below him stretching in all directions. He was flying directly into the sun, and at this time of day, that made it due west. Amity was a lot closer to the Lake Huron side of Michigan than Lake Michigan he was currently crossing, but with how fast he was flying, it didn't matter. In any case, he'd be into Wisconsin in only 45 more minutes.

Danny sighed as his hair flipped in the wind behind a small ghost shield he'd made to stop the bugs and other assorted debris from smacking in the face at high speed. On the way out of town, he'd picked up a few new sets of clothes. 20 dollars or not, he'd had no choice but to shoplift. That's when he learned most places in Amity area had a ghost alarm and sensors. As soon as he'd used his ghost powers to try and shoplift something a big red alarm had dropped out of the ceiling and cried Ghost Alert as loud as possible. He'd been forced to turn whatever else he needed invisible and slip out through the floor before the ghost shield on the place turned on.

Outside, he'd blended in well enough, items still invisible on his person. He'd stuffed the clothes and the few other items he'd stolen, snacks, toiletries and the like, into an also stolen duffel bag. He didn't know how long he'd be on the run or the move, but he'd picked up enough stuff to last for two weeks. At the moment, he was flying over the last part of the lake, the opposite shore coming into view. He'd had a fair amount of time to think about everything at had happened in the last few hours, and he'd come to some conclusions.

First conclusion: I should be dead. This future is so obviously different from my own, that I should be really dead. I mean I guess Clockwork's warning said 'irreparable damage' to the timeline, and I also guess that this isn't irreparable damage level yet, and maybe this is how it's supposed to be after the changes I made in the past, but plenty just isn't right. All of the ghost security, Vlad attacking Amity Park, since when is he so stupid, and the public knowing about halfas. It's all so surreal, and if Vlad attacked Amity four years back, and he was a family friend like I wanted to happen, then there's no way I got powers. I mean my parents must have known how it happened, so there would be a lot more precautions in the lab to prevent another accident from happening. Which if that's true, doesn't explain the press report from that GSU guy talking about "hybrids" plural. Or maybe I do still have ghost powers, and I got them sooner because the portal got built faster with Vlad's help? Ah…Christ man. This shouldn't be so complicated. Second conclusion: I wish Clockwork wouldn't be so damn cryptic. I'm getting the sense the Clockwork knew about all of this shit, and has been giving me clues that can be used multiple times. As if telling me to trust Vlad, as much as I hate the guy, hasn't panned out multiple times. If only his warning about a time limit was more obvious, stupid time ghost.

Danny paused in his internal monologue and shook his head in exasperation. Clockwork was a subject that both confused and irritated him. I'm also still wearing his Medallion, which leads me to the next point. Third Conclusion: He wants me to visit him. There's no other reason I can think of for his time piece to still be around except him wanting a reason to talk to me again, as if he couldn't just pop up himself. Obviously, he wants me to come to him, which is annoying.

The landscape swiftly changed from the soft blues of Lake Michigan to the deep greens and browns of land. Several small lakeside towns passed underneath Danny's nearly frantic flight before giving way to the rural countryside. This part of the country was mostly "southern Canada", a combination of small rural towns separated by large expanses of untouched wilderness.

Danny slipped back into his pensive state as the land beneath him changed into forest. Well this is the first time in like a week I've had time to myself to think, and I'm not even sure what to think about. The last week was crazy, my own adventures in being hunted not included. I'm not sure what to make of my parents honestly getting along with Vlad so well, or Vlad being not as big of a dick as normal. I didn't think he could actually be nice, and care about someone. Most of the time he's so manipulative, and a jerk. If he was that nice all the time in the future…well ignoring his offers for "apprenticeship" or something would be a lot harder. I'm both glad and upset he isn't so nice in the future. And I'm not sure what makes me more uncomfortable with the "Vlad can nice too!" revelation from this time traveling mess. Is it the fact Vlad can be nice, but just chooses to act like a dick or that people can change so completely as to be nearly unrecognizable? Sometimes I like to think that people never change, good people are good just because they are, and evil people are bad because they are. It's like an inherent quality or something, but if…But if that's not really the case, what's to stop me from becoming…I mean even now…

Danny shuddered as the forest close to Vlad's Wisconsin residence came into view. He was only a few minutes from the castle of the former Wisconsin Dairy King now, so he slowed his flight to a moderate pace. He didn't want to zoom past it. Danny pulled up to the western edge of what should be Vlad's grounds, only to find them in total disarray. In fact, even the castle itself was basically falling apart. Some of it looked like the result of years of disrepair and disuse, but some other parts…Why is there a black scotched hole in the side of the building? Danny wondered as he hovered near the blackened opening. In his humble opinion it looked like an energy burn, one made either by a large ecto-blast or an especially powerful spectral weapon of some sort. The ghost powered teen landed just inside the hole on the western wall and peered inside into the dark interior. "Um…Hello?" Danny's voice echoed off the empty barren walls of the castle.

The room he had landed in was an old living room. Upturned tables still sat, though swollen and beginning to rot in the elements, in the room next to broken vases and shattered glass mirrors. The shadows of opulence still hung over the room, with expensive looking tapestries hung from the wall, torn and burnt in odd places, caught in the signs of a struggle.

There was a pervasive feeling of emptiness in the whole space, and Danny realized with a start, there wasn't even the ambient ghost energy he always sensed when around Vlad's house. He stepped further into the space, carefully picking through and stepping over the remains of the destroyed room. The door on the other side of the space hung precariously off its hinges and Danny had to gently pull it to the side to prevent it from falling in. Whoever had lived here, however long it ago it was, is definitely long gone. Danny thought as he walked into the main hall of the Castle's western side.

Noticeably absent were the bright gold and green decorations, testaments to Vlad's unerring devotion to the Greenbay Packer's. The marble tile floors were covered in dust and a mysterious fine power. The walls were nearly crumbling on the exterior facing portions, or had more scorches and large dents on the interior facing sections.

The carpeted areas were ripped to shreds, burnt, or stained with something so close in color to dried blood that it gave Danny shivers. There were no light fixtures throughout the whole of the areas of the castle he'd so far explored, and Danny was thankful for ghost's enhanced night vision. He finally came to main part of the castle, the grand staircase, or where he remembered it being in any case. Instead of the thick marble banisters of his memory and the shining gold tinted marble steps, there was nothing but a gaping hole. It went straight down from the second floor, where he had entered, to the first, where there was even more extreme damage.

The first floor was an indistinct hodgepodge of destroyed furniture, blackened floor and walls, and violent splatters of dark brown, that in Danny's opinion shouldn't still be so clear or there at all. He peered down the edge of the broken stairway, contemplating whether or not to head downstairs, when a crash came from off to the left. Danny turned his head at the sound that echoed from towards the original entrance to the castle.

Well that came from downstairs, so I guess that's where I'm going. He still couldn't sense any ghosts, looks like they got the Dairy King too, so it was likely it was someone human. That only brought up more questions.

Vlad's castle was in the middle of nowhere basically, with any close city at least an hour's drive away. That ruled out random local kids wanting to explore. It was also surrounded by a lot of woods, but obviously abandoned. So that ruled out camper's looking to stock up on supplies or get out of the "camping experience". There were no cars when he came in, and the roads weren't well tended to this far out because no one lived here.

All in all, who could be making the banging noises coming only feet away from him were a small list of beings, none of whom made sense at the moment to be here. It only made Danny more curious as he rounded the last corner, having turned invisible a few feet back, to sneak a peek into the next room. What the teen hero saw shocked him.

Inside were two kids, no older than twelve, shifting through some boxes under what would have been the sink in the kitchen had the building been still intact. One of the kids tossed a piece of pipe out of the way, and the repetitive clanging sound suddenly had a source.

Danny shifted back around the edge of the corner and held back the urge to sigh in relief. They obviously weren't dangerous, but it didn't explain how they got there. One thing's for sure though, they were definitely human. He moved away from the corner near the kitchen and transformed. He hadn't wanted the light from the transformation to carry into the other room and spook the other kids. Danny took a deep calming breath, ignoring the tickle of the dust floating in the air, and walked around the corner.

He was wearing stolen duds at the moment, the most obvious being a new hooded jacket with the symbol for Abercrombie and Fitch on the breast pocket. If you're going to steal, at least get something good right? He refocused himself on the pair in front of him. At the very least they can tell me what happened around here. No way a fight as big as this one didn't cause stories with the locals. And they were locals, Danny had decided, they had to be. Maybe some kids from a Boy Scout troop got lost and wandered off. "Hey…" He said as he waved at the kids seated a few feet from him.

The two of them turned around quickly, almost fast enough to blow the tops of their hoodie jackets back and away from their faces. Two pairs of bright purple eyes stared at the sudden addition to the room with growing worry, before turning back to one another. "Uh oh." They said in unison, before swiftly standing to their feet and backing up towards the hole where the kitchen sink should have been.

"No wait! It's ok, I'm not going to hurt you. I'm uh…my name's Danny-" He hadn't pulled the top of his own jacket hood down yet.

"Danny huh? That's a cool name." One of the kids answered.

"Quiet Nate, we aren't supposed to talk to strangers."

"Yeah well, we aren't supposed to be here either. So there." The left child retorted.

"So you're Nate are you?" Danny crossed part-way over to the two pre-teens.

"Oh yeah!" Nate, the one on the left, answered before getting smacked by the other kid in the room.

"Why are you answering that? We aren't supposed to give out our names either!"

"Ah, don't be such a worry wart Nick. Besides you said my name first."

"He is right you know." Danny commented before crouching down next to them. "So could either of you two-" Danny started before he was cut off by something hot and painful slamming into his left side. He simultaneously held his stinging side and spinning head, trying to re-gather his bearings on the floor. Before he could make much headway, he noticed something silver and black with a high pitched whine pointing directly at his head. "Wah is-…"

"Stay right where you are! If you so much as wiggle a pinky finger ghost, I'll splatter your ectoplasmic brains across the far wall."

Danny felt ice settle into his being as his vision cleared enough to see his attacker. It can't be… "Jazz?"

…then Danny might want to stay asleep.

---

Balshumet: AND CUT! You have reached the bottom, completely amazing right? Poor Danny held at gun point, threatened everywhere he goes in this new reality. Well he made his bed a chapter back, so he has lots of lying in it to do. Also Happy early father's day! I hope you and all your Daddies have a great day to celebrate the father-figure in your life. Now for the last announcement, as promised, a thank you to all of my reviewers, Favers, and Alert peeps for May. At the end of June, I'll post the stats for the next update in July. As always my lovelies, me and Clockwork muse are wishing that you R&R and have a great weekend!

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