Chapter Four: Fallen Angel

"Pardon me while I step outside and scream at the universe." - Honey Drop Dead by Laura Childs

Valerie

I should be out there doing my job of protecting buildings from anything that could get through the Ghost Shields. As in, anything that gets thrown around while Danny is losing his shit against his will. That was the agreement I had with the Fentons, including Danny. Because of my hoverboard, I'm the only one who can fly without issue, so it made sense for me to protect buildings from, say, the biggest tree Danny could find.

Instead of doing my job, I'm laying on Dash's couch with my broken leg propped up on a throw pillow.

Out before I'd even begun. It's only been a few minutes, and I'm already getting stir crazy.

"Are you sure it's not broken?" Sam asks.

She and Dash are standing in the middle of Dash's living room. Dash has at least a foot of height and two hundred pounds of muscle on Sam, but the goth's never been easily intimidated. In this case, she has no reason to be.

"Trust me," Dash says. "I've seen a lot of dislocated shoulders on the football field. I can pop it back into place, but it's gonna hurt like a mother."

"Do it," Sam commands. "I need to get back out there."

"Well, you're still gonna need to see a doctor-"

"I know how a dislocated shoulder works. I've just never had one of my own. Now, do it."

This is so unfair. Sam can get back into the action, and I'm stuck here. There has to be a way I can help from here. After everything I put Danny through when I was hunting him, I owe him that much-

"Fuck! Fuck! God damn it!"

Dash barely hides his smirk. "I told you it would hurt."

Sam glares at him but lets the comment slide. "Thanks, Dash."

She starts to run out, but Dash grabs her good arm. "You can't go back out there. You could damage your shoulder permanently!"

Sam puts her hands on her hips. "What do you suggest I do? Lie around your house all day like a useless lump?" She spots my glare. "No offense."

I scoff and cross my arms. My dark red wristband catches my eye. "Take my suit," I say on impulse. "It may not be totally impenetrable," I say with a glance at my sore, throbbing leg, "but at least you'll have some protection."

"Thanks, Val," she says. "That means a lot." She walks up to me and snatches the wristband when I hand it to her.

Dash grits his teeth. "I still don't think-"

"I do look like I care what you think?" Sam retorts.

I've really grown to like Sam since she and I started making the effort to get along.

I give her a brief rundown of how to use my suit, and she runs out the door with the metallic body covering in position.

Leaving me alone with Dash. I haven't been alone with him since I was still rich and popular. I was a different person then. But, I suppose Dash was too.

He clicks his tongue a few times and turns to me with his hands in his pockets. "So… Red Huntress."

I point to myself. "Red Huntress."

"How long have you…been doing that?"

"I started a little after my dad lost his job." And, you and Paulina started treating me like damaged goods, I don't need to add. At least Star was still friendly with me. And though Kwan and I were never close, he was still courteous to me.

"So, your dad knows?"

I push through the guilt. "My dad thinks I stopped. I actually got lucky tonight, because Dad is being forced to guard Axion Labs along with a few other folks. I told him I was staying with the Fentons."

Dash smirks a little. "Well, you weren't lying."

I almost grin. "Anyway, Vlad Masters sent me some ghost hunting stuff."

"The mayor?" Dash sits in the recliner and leans forward with his hands folded in his lap. "Why'd he do that?"

My blood boils at the memories that follow. Vlad had buttered me up, saying how I was fast and strong and motivated. When I was still working for him, he occasionally mentioned how proud he was of me and how he knew he'd made the right choice. My self-esteem had taken a nosedive after I lost my popularity status. The praise had felt good, and I felt like I was doing something worthwhile.

Then, I found out that Vlad Masters and Vlad Plasmius were one and the same after he tricked me into hunting down Danielle.

Months later, I saw Danny Phantom turn into Danny Fenton after nearly sacrificing himself to save his sister's life.

Eventually, I quit doing work for Vlad. I'd stayed on to keep tabs on him, but there came a time when the taste in my mouth was too awful to ignore. I told Vlad that my father had caught on and forced me to stop ghost hunting. I'm not sure if Vlad believed me, but he didn't question it, and he hasn't done anything nefarious to me or my dad.

"The short version," I say, "is that he saw potential in me and tricked me into believing he was a nice guy. I blamed Phantom and Cujo for what happened to my family, and Vlad took advantage of that."

Dash hums. "I never liked Masters. He always seemed like a major creep."

I huff a laugh. "And, that's without the ghost-half."

"The what?"

I blink in surprise at Dash's wide-eyed shock. "Ah, shit. No one told you? Vlad Masters is half-ghost like Danny. He's Vlad Plasmius!"

Dash's mouth falls open. "Okay. Mind officially blown. Someone could have mentioned this sooner!"

I shrug. "You know those two have that secret-keeping thing going. Danny's probably scared to tell anyone. And, I can't say I blame him."

"So, wait. I knew about Plasmius knowing Danny's secret identity, but does it work in reverse? Does Danny know that both Vlad's are the same Vlad?"

"Yep. They're basically keeping the same secret. Danny will reveal Vlad's identity if Vlad tells anyone…"

"And, Vlad will reveal Danny's," Dash finishes solemnly. He tosses his hands in the air. "Christ on a stick, you guys could have told me! I wouldn't have told anyone."

By now, I know he wouldn't have. He's been keeping Danny's secret this long. I shrug. "Danny's pretty paranoid about it. I don't even think his parents know."

Dash lets out a low whistle, and we fall into an awkward silence.

I break it by swallowing my pride. "Thanks for taking care of my leg, by the way."

Dash frowns at my propped and useless limb. "I didn't really do anything."

"But, you would have if you could have."

He looks away and doesn't speak for a moment. "...I'm sorry."

Uh… What?

Dash fidgets in his seat and still doesn't look at me. "The whole reason I made Danny my number one target was 'cause he was always sleeping in class and skipping school and tripping over himself. I didn't know about the ghost thing, so he just seemed like a bigger loser than most. Minus the clumsiness, I guess I went after you for a similar reason, even if you weren't as," he pauses, searching for the right word, "problematic. Especially when you got more vocal about Phantom."

My turn to look away as shame burns my face. "I still feel pretty bad about that. I spent all that time trying to destroy one of my only real friends, and I had no idea!"

"It wasn't your fault," Dash says. "But, back to my thing. I didn't even try to see your point of view. I should have. Remember those apology cards Paulina and I made a while back?" I nod. "Truth is, we only did that because Phantom - before we knew who he was - showed us how bullying affects people. But, I feel like you deserve a real apology, Valerie. So…I'm sorry. And, I know Paulina would tell you the same thing if she was here."

I feel like the couch has been pulled out from under me. How many times have I wanted an honest-to-God apology? How many times was I one hundred percent convinced that I would never get one? Receiving one now affects me more than I expected, and I have to stare at the ceiling and blink the emotion away.

Yes, Dash, Paulina, and I are different people now.

But, only because of Danny Fenton.

A tiny smile graces my lips. "I can't say that I forgive you, but…thanks."

Jazz

When I see Valerie flying back into the fray despite her injuries, I am both confused and terrified. The feeling worsens when I see how wobbly she is on that hoverboard. I'm going to kill Sam and Dash for letting her keep fighting with a broken leg!

That is, if Danny doesn't kill us first.

"I got him!" Tucker calls. He managed to wrap Danny up in the Jack o' Nine Tails, but Danny powers through the electric shock and breaks through the binding. "I had him."

Danny roars, and his hands glow green. Before he can blast us, Valerie fires a beam from the giant blaster on her wrist. It completely misses Danny and knocks over a street lamp, but it serves as a distraction.

"Damn it!" Valerie curses. "Valerie made this sound easy!"

Why is she referring to herself-

…Is that Sam?

No time to wonder about that. Danny is locked on her now. He sends his ghost rays in her direction. When she can barely dodge and nearly falls off the hoverboard in the process, I fire the Wrist Rays at Danny and remind myself that there's no non-violent way to deal with my little brother right now. Both rays hit Danny in the back and, like the rest of our attacks, do nothing but piss him off.

Danny barrels toward me, and Mom throws the Wraith Wrangler at him. Danny dodges it, and Tucker ends up entangled. Mom calls out an apology. Danny grabs the rope and pulls. The Wrangler flies out of Mom's hands, and Tucker gets pulled upward, still dangling from the rope.

"Nice Danny!" Tucker shouts in panic. "Nice Danny!"

"Put him down!" Paulina shouts.

She and Mom fire off ecto-guns at the same time I blast Danny with both Wrist Rays. Danny flinches but doesn't let go until Sam flies straight into him, sending them hurtling into one of the craters in the pavement. Paulina, like the former cheerleader that she is, does an epic somersault over the tree trunk and catches Tucker before he can hit the ground. They both fall forward, but they're no more injured than they already were.

"I meant to do that!" Sam shouts, flying unsteadily upward and cradling her arm. "Also, ow!"

"Why is the Red Huntress suddenly so bad at this?" Paulina asks.

"I'm Sam, Paulina," Sam retorts. "Danny broke Valerie's leg, so I'm borrowing her suit."

"Valerie's the Red Huntress?"

A low growl stops us from responding. We brace ourselves as Danny starts to crawl out of the crater. He seems to be getting tired. Maybe this will stop soon? God, I hope so. Apart from some broken windows and holes in sidings, the Ghost Shields are doing their jobs, but I'm not sure how long we can keep this up.

Danny breathes out suddenly. His Ghost Sense? Now?

Something- Someone phases through the broken pavement behind Danny. The newcomer grabs Danny by the shoulders and throws him into the air.

I have never been so happy to see Vlad Plasmius.

Mom calls Dad using the Fenton Phones in her ears and asks what's going on. Meanwhile, Vlad leaps into the air and starts fighting Danny with everything he's got.

"Is this part of the plan?" Paulina asks.

"I'm not sure there was a plan," Tucker says.

Not knowing what else to do, we stand here with our heads back to watch the fight. An alarmingly one-sided fight, I might add.

Danny is throwing a blur of punches and kicks faster than Vlad can block or dodge. Vlad takes a lot of hits but manages to hit Danny with a mass of dark pink lightning. We onlookers cringe when we hear Danny's monstrous scream of pain. But, Danny recovers quickly and sends Vlad flying with a huge green blast.

"Jack says that Plasmius is on our side," Mom says. "He didn't give me any details, but you know how protective he is. He wouldn't let Plasmius go if he felt otherwise."

I wonder how Vlad managed to convince Dad.

We follow the fight as it moves. Vlad sends out a blast that Danny dodges. Danny sends out ten for every one. Vlad flies further away as he dodges or gets hit. As we move, I realize that Vlad isn't flying at random. He's leading Danny out of town! Why didn't we think of that?

There isn't much to see on the outskirts. Just roads and greenery. The perfect place for us to ride out the rest of the reckoning.

We hear a car speeding toward us. The Ghost Assault Vehicle brakes in the grass hard enough to leave long brown marks where the grass was dug up.

The driver side window is facing us, and Dad turns his head toward us. "Is everyone alright?"

"Besides some mild blood loss," Tucker says, wiping a streak off his brow, "we're fine."

I check myself over and realize that I don't have anything besides bruising on me. How did I pull that off?

Mom runs up to Dad. Her jumpsuit kept the damage she took to a minimum. "Fill us in, Jack. What happened with Plasmius?"

Dad's face drains of color, and he stares at the fight happening above our heads. His face crumbles, and he lowers his forehead to the steering wheel. "I can't watch this…"

"I know," Mom says with a grim understanding. She reaches into the GAV and brushes her hand along Dad's shoulder.

"You don't think…" Sam says quietly. She remains on the hoverboard and floats low to the ground.

We must have all drawn the same conclusion. "Vlad wouldn't…" Tucker drawls unsurely. "Would he?"

I shrug. "If he was desperate enough, maybe."

Paulina, who is now the only one paying attention to the fight, points at it. "Incoming!"

Vlad smashes straight into the ground, creating a shallow dip in the earth. Twin black rings appear around his waist, and his face scrunches up as he fights the transformation. He succeeds and rolls out of the way in the nick of time when Danny summons his scythe and brings the blade down to where Vlad used to lay.

I'd forgotten about Danny's scythe. Now we have that to worry about!

"Do you need help?" I call to Vlad.

Vlad punches Danny square in the jaw and replies, "Just stay out of the way!" He leaps back when Danny swings his scythe.

"Those rings…" Mom mutters thoughtfully. She turns to Dad. "Plasmius is a half-ghost like Danny, isn't he? That's why you let him go!"

Dad doesn't take his head off the steering wheel as he nods.

"Do you…know him, Jack?"

Another nod. My heart breaks for Dad.

A shout from Vlad draws my attention back to the fight. Vlad is lying on the ground and fighting another transformation. Ectoplasm pours out of a long diagonal gash on his chest. The man is running on fumes.

Danny stands over Vlad and raises his scythe. I fire with both Wrist Rays, and I'm not the only one who shoots at Danny. Besides not wanting to see a man killed - despite who that man is - we all know what it would do to Danny if he took a life.

Those of us who know about Dan are particularly aware.

"Oh my god," Tucker says. "We just saved Vlad from Danny."

The irony is not lost on me.

Danny was knocked down by our attacks but picks up his scythe and struggles to climb to his feet, using the handle for balance. He's definitely getting tired. This has to end soon, right?

Those black, black eyes are narrowed into slits, and his teeth are bared. He breathes in, and we have no time to get out of the way when the Ghostly Wail strikes. The Ghost Shield protects Mom and Dad, the former of whom is close enough to the vehicle to be safe. The rest of us are launched backward.

I get lucky and plow straight into the GAV. The impact makes my head spin and my body feel like one giant bruise. Thankfully, the GAV was designed to take hard hits and still be left standing. Mom grabs me and pulls me against her. Dad reaches out the window and pulls his arm around us as well as he can.

My little brother has gone crazy and is more powerful than ever or maybe he's just stopped holding back. My family is crowded together and helpless under a dome. My and Danny's friends are probably horribly injured now. I have never been so afraid, and the effects of hearing the Ghostly Wail aren't helping.

Fortunately, the Wail doesn't last long. Vlad fires a ghost ray that nails Danny in the back. Danny growls and turns to the man who is now crouched on the ground with one arm around the chest wound that is still leaking ectoplasm. Danny's grip tightens around the scythe as he steps toward Vlad.

"I got this!" Dad says when Mom and I step forward.

The Ecto-Foamer rises out of the top of the GAV and shoots foamy ectoplasm at Danny, knocking him over. It didn't work very well the first time, and it doesn't work now. It still takes visible effort for Danny to stand, and I take that as a good sign.

With an inhuman shout, Danny lunges at us. Wrist Rays prepped and ready, I leap in front of my parents.

Danny swings his scythe. I jump back but not quickly enough.

Vlad

It happens in slow motion. Jasmine leaps in front of her parents with only the Fenton Wrist Rays for protection. The long, curved blade of Daniel's weapon swings at her.

Jasmine's stomach is sliced open. Blood sprays out and drenches her clothes and speckles the grass.

Maddie screams. Jack finally leaves the vehicle and cradles his daughter, who had slumped on to the grass.

I can only imagine how Daniel will react when he comes to.

I fire a dark pink beam at the boy before he can do anything else that he'll hate himself for later. Daniel's pitch-dark gaze locks on me, and he launches himself into the air, scythe still in hand. The image sends a shiver through me. The boy looks more like the embodiment of death than the Master of Death themself.

Something comes at Daniel from behind. I recognize the Jack o' Nine Tails the moment it wraps around Daniel and pulls him away while electrocuting him. The scythe falls to the ground and disappears.

The sounds of battle and the sight of stray shots in the sky tell me that Daniel's friends are keeping him busy. Every now and then, those kids prove themselves to be useful.

Jack's quiet, shaky voice draws my attention. "Stay with us, princess."

He rises and lifts Jasmine with him. The girl whimpers and clutches her father like a lifeline.

"There, there, sweetheart," Maddie coos, brushing her daughter's hair from her face. "We'll get you to the hospital. You'll be okay."

I'm indifferent toward Jasmine, and Jack can rot in a hole for all I care. But, I do not wish to see Maddie like this.

More importantly, my (heart) core aches at the thought of Daniel discovering what he did to the big sister he loves so dearly. Fortunately, Jasmine seems lucid enough that I don't think the wound is very deep.

I climb to my feet, wincing at the way the gash on my chest rebels. I step forward to get a better look and find myself face to face with the barrel of an ecto-gun. Maddie's hands are trembling, her teeth are bared in a harsh snarl, and her eyes shine with tears that refuse to fall. The very picture of a frightened mother protecting her child.

Those tears fall when Jasmine speaks in a voice that's raspy from pain. "Don't hurt him, Mom! Danny needs him!"

"Take your daughter to the hospital," I say as calmly as I can. "She needs your help more than we do."

Jack gives me a look that's so utterly devastated that it would draw a chuckle from me under less dire circumstances.

He carries Jasmine into the van, managing to open the back doors one-handed. Maddie is not so easily swayed. "If you're so concerned," she snaps, "why don't you fly her to the hospital?"

"Because I've seen your husband drive," I say dryly.

Maddie has no argument. Partly because Jack pokes his head out the backdoors and pleads, "Maddie, I-I'm gonna need you to-to keep her still."

Maddie's bravado nearly shatters, but she holds it together and jabs her finger at my chest. "I will know if anything happens to my son or his friends."

A smile doesn't quite grace my lips. The image of a woman with an auburn perm sneaking into my patient room while disguised as a nurse crosses my mind. "I know you will," I say.

Not taking her eyes off me, Maddie climbs into the back of the van. Jack drives away the moment the doors close, kicking up more dirt in the process. With that man at the wheel, they'll get Jasmine to the hospital in half the time it would take me to fly her there.

It's honestly a miracle he hasn't taken anyone out with a motorized vehicle yet.

Daniel is fighting his friends on the ground. Tucker is batting at him with the Fenton Rod in one hand and some kind of lightsaber in the other. Daniel fights back with a long green rod made of Hard Light. The two appear to be equally matched, but the dark grin on Daniel's face gives him the air of a cat playing with his prey.

Daniel knocks both weapons out of Tucker's hands, leaving him defenseless. That's when Paulina and Samantha - I know that's not Valerie because I heard Jasmine call her "Sam" - jump in. The girls blast Daniel toward me, though whether that was intentional or not, I cannot say.

I catch Daniel and power through the agony that rakes through me when his head connects with the open wound on my chest. (Such a short time ago, this sweet child healed a similar wound.) He doesn't instantly attack me, which gives me hope that this is almost over.

I encase him in a bubble of Hard Light as I throw him to the side. His knees give out twice, but he manages to stand.

And, punch a hole through the barrier.

"Oh, peanut butter bars!" I curse.

"Brace yourselves!" Samantha warns.

Two sets of gloved fingers poke through the hole and tear the barrier open, making it disappear. Daniel's clothes and skin and hair are spotted with blood and ectoplasm, neither of which is his own. He emits a guttural growl and stares us down with those unnaturally dark eyes.

A monster. A true monster. I never thought I'd see the day when that would be an accurate description of Daniel James Fenton.

Daniel shoots himself high in the air. Light blue clouds begin to swirl, and Daniel's white aura glows so brightly that his figure is hidden.

Then the clouds dissipate.

Daniel falls fast enough to smash into the ground and create a small tremor in the earth.

No one moves until Paulina asks, "Is it over?"

I motion for the children to stand back. I take slow, cautious steps forward and see Danny lying face down in a shallow, newly formed crater.

Two wings are protruding from his back and sprawled out on the ground. Each one is roughly as long as he is tall and covered by large feathers that are a deep reddish orange color.

His head is pointing toward me, and I kneel down to see that his skin is now a light gray, though a bit darker than that of the infantile ghost who imprinted on him. Add the fact that they both have snow white hair, and the two look a lot more like father and son now. Daniel will like that.

Though the wound on my chest still hurts, that persistent ache within is gone. My fixation was on Daniel's reckoning, and that is finally complete. I sigh in relief for more reasons than one.

"It's over," I call back.

As the others run forward, I stand up and revert back to human-form so that my ghost-form can heal. One of them gasps and lets out a shocked, "Dios mio, it's true!"

Ah, yes. Paulina. It seems that someone told her about me. She is part of Daniel's group, so I'm not surprised.

Beside me, Samantha retracts Valerie's armor and cradles her bleeding arm with a sharp curse and a muttering of, "Probably should have listened to Dash."

Daniel moans and blinks groggily at us. The color of his irises has seeped out to encompass his sclera, leaving his pupils the only parts of his eyes that aren't neon green.

"Dude," Tucker says, bending down with his hands on his knees. He breathes out a laugh and offers his friend a thumbs-up. "Looking good."

Daniel shakes his head clear and blinks a few more times. "You're hurt. Y-you're all hurt!"

Naturally, those would be the first words out of his mouth. I resist the urge to roll my eyes.

Daniel leaps to his feet, his new eyes darting from one person to the other. When he speaks, I peek into his mouth and see that his teeth are unchanged. "Who's-who's hurt the worst? Uh, S-Sam, your arm?"

"Technically, my shoulder," Samantha says. "It was dislocated. Dash popped it back into place-"

Daniel cuts her off by resting a glowing hand on her injured shoulder and letting his Healing Touch do the rest. Every one of Samantha's cuts seals shut, and every bruise vanishes. She lets out a low, impressed whistle and thanks him.

"Who's next?" Daniel asks when his gothic friend is fully healed. "Tucker, that-that cut on your head. And, Paulina- Hold still. I can do both."

Samantha jumps out of the way of Daniel's wings when he moves. He steps between Tucker and Paulina and places a hand on each person's shoulder and works his magic.

"My man," Tucker says, adjusting his glasses, which have somehow stayed on his face through all this, "you are a miracle worker."

"Yeah, gracias," Paulina says.

"De nada," Daniel absently replies. He turns to me, slapping Tucker and Paulina with the wings he still hasn't noticed. "Your turn."

I step back when he reaches his still-glowing hand toward me. "Only my ghost-form took damage. And," I gesture to my distinctly human body, "you know how that works for us."

Daniel narrows his eyes and moves forward to slam his hand down on my chest. A soothing warmth spreads through my body. Daniel's serious expression is daring me to push him away. It's eerily reminiscent of when he kept trying to heal me in that lab.

I still don't know what he had to gain from that, and I intend to find out.

Tucker coughs into his hand. "So, is no one going to talk about…" He wags his finger in a circle as he points to Daniel's wings.

"About what?" Daniel says frantically. "Was anyone else- What is on my back?" He feels back there with his free hand and freezes in place. "Oh, yeah. My new ghost-form."

He ceases the Healing Touch and brings his wings in front of him to examine them. His mouth parts slightly in fascination as he runs his fingers over the feathers. I cannot resist doing the same. I'd read that an angel's feathers are softer than the finest down, and it seems that the rumors are true.

"Can I feel them?" Paulina asks.

"Me too!" Tucker chimes.

Samantha grins. "Don't leave me out."

Daniel drops his hands and effortlessly spreads his wings for his companions. His wingspan must be well over ten feet, and his disbelieving smile has me thinking that he hadn't expected the motion to come so easily. "Careful. The top part is really sharp."

His friends "ooh" and "aah" as they brush Daniel's large feathers. Daniel lowers his head. His green blush is more noticeable against his new skin color.

"They are quite lovely," I comment.

Paulina squeals a bit. "Oh, they're so soft! I just want to bury my face in them!"

"Don't make it weird, Paulina," Samantha says, earning a side-eye from the other girl.

"Ah, come on, Sam," Tucker teases. "You know you wanna do that too."

Samantha smiles. "I will neither confirm nor deny that."

I laugh because Daniel is blushing even harder now and has thrown his hands over his face.

He has a bright smile when he lowers his hands. "Stand back. Let me try something." His friends obey, and Daniel scrunches his face in concentration. His wings shoot back into his body, and he jumps with startled expression. "That is going to take some getting used to."

"It doesn't look like your clothes were affected," Samantha says curiously.

Tucker grimaces. "It's almost like your wings phased through your jumpsuit." He scratches his head. "But, I guess that's no weirder than anything else in our lives."

"How did it feel, Danny?" Paulina asks.

Daniel finally spins around to face his friends. "It felt like I had two vacuum cleaners attached to me and sucking the wings in. But, back to business. Were there any other injuries?"

Oh, dear. This will not be a pleasant conversation.

Tucker shrugs. "Valerie's leg is broken, but I think that's the worst of it."

It's not. I start to say so, but Paulina speaks first. "Your preparations worked, Danny!" she cheers. "There was property damage, but everything is still standing, and besides Sam's shoulder and Valerie's leg, no one was seriously hurt!"

They were so focused on keeping Daniel busy that they must have missed what happened to Jasmine. "Um-"

"Really?" Daniel asks breathily, cutting me off.

"Really, Danny!" Samantha naively assures. She takes Daniel's hands in hers "Everyone is okay."

Not everyone. "Uh, Daniel-"

Daniel waves a dismissive hand at me. "Whatever it is, tell me later. Where's Valerie?"

"She's at Dash's house," Samantha replies. "He was kind of acting as our medic."

"Okay. I'll go take care of her leg. All of you spread the word that the reckoning is over and everyone can turn off their Ghost Shields."

"Daniel, wait!" I call as he takes to the skies.

He doesn't wait, so I conjure a duplicate to go after him and deliver the bad news. I want the real me to be the one who meets him at the hospital. He'll need comfort from someone who understands.

"Hey," Samantha says, looking around, "where are the Fentons?"

The other two scan the area as if having just realized we were down a few players. "I saw the Assault Vehicle drive away," Tucker says. "Maybe they went to get reinforcements?"

I suck in a breath between my teeth. "Not exactly…"