No, I'm not dead. I'm just incredibly lazy. And unmotivated. Yes, this is probably not going to be the only time I go silent for a few months. Have some Dani travels!

One of the strangest things about being a ghost, Danny thought, was Halloween. It could be good, or bad, but mostly bad. Or it was, until Danny figured out the pattern.

Legends should be respected from a distance, magical artifacts are only touched with Telekinises and sticks, and ghosts who carry scythes during that night should be defeated with extreme prejudice.

Summonings happened more often than Danny liked. The first time he disappeared from trick-or-treating to show up in front of a group of knife wielding psychos was enough for him. Sam and Tucker helped him out sometimes, and conning candy from teenagers messing with a ouija board never got old. But dealing with the crazy people was annoying, especially with how often it happened.

Popping into existence in front of a nudist, all female 'witch' coven was an experience, one that Danny refused to mentioned to anyone.

But, after nearly four years as a half-ghost superhero, Danny had come to deal with whatever was thrown at him very well. He'd traveled to other dimensions, altered time, fixed time itself after twisting it like a pretzel, and even been to space. He fought otherworldly monsters on a daily basis, could fly into orbit on a bad day, and punch through solid steel. Something as strange as being transformed into a female toaster that could only talk through limericks had stopped surprising him after the first year.

So, when Danny felt that oh so dreaded hook-behind-the-navel sensation that indicated he was being summoned, he did something he didn't usually do.

Danny had had a long, hard day. Skulker had set up an emergency base on the other side of the portal, and after being ripped to pieces a dozen times Danny finally followed him through and blasted the whole thing with a good, long Ghostly Wail. After going back home, exhausted from dealing with Skulker nonstop for a few hours, Ember and Technus attacked him. Super guitar + magitek speakers = busted eardrums. Dealing with them took another hour and a half, and Danny thanked the stars it was a weekend. After those big names, it was an endless horde of lesser ghosts; because Skulker was a sore looser and emptied his collection in revenge.

So, Danny could be called 'annoyed.' And when that summoning came, well... He. Flipped. Out.

Danny 'grabbed' the thread that was trying to latch onto him and sent a burst of very annoying, and slightly painful, ghostly energy through it. He got the feeling of shock, pain, and anger from the other side before he blasted the whole connection away from him.

No longer bothered, Danny gave a sigh of contentment as he laid down to sleep.

Half an hour later, he was trapped in a death match with a few robots bigger than his school.

It wasn't a good day.

Although Danny didn't know it, his actions had far reaching consequences. The summoning ritual that tried to catch him was powered by actual magic users, instead of the usual cantrips that he usually dealt with. And so, when Danny blasted it apart, it reformed almost instantly.

The ritual was supposed to find someone powerful, to be used as a weapon. After experiencing Danny's anger, it checked him as a 'no way in hell' option. Searching for someone that was as qualified as Danny, but not quite as powerful, was fairly simple for the ritual. After a few seconds, it found a good replacement.

Dani was having an amazing day! A few weeks ago she had figured out how to teleport, and with that it became much easier to avoid authorities and ghost hunters. To celebrate, she went to Australia to find a good pet, like a snake or lizard. She met some nice people there, and one of them gave her a knife when they realized she was alone. Dani was curious as to why, because she had long since grown up from her young looking self. She was, physically at least, around 15 or 16, though shorter than most.

She had spent the day cruising through the Outback, seeing the sights and feeling the breeze. It was just another day for her, but when everyday could be amazing, why not enjoy it? She had a great plan for today, and as soon as she got to that mountain on the horizon she would have lunch. After years of having her powers she was pretty good at hunting with them. Ice was amazing for arrowheads and eating utensils, though she was better with electricity than ice...

Dani's face scrunched up in concentration. She could feel something in the air, a pressure that felt like ozone smelled. She shook her head with a laugh.

"Pretty soon I'll be shouting those lame puns that Danny likes so much." She shook off the feeling. "No more strange or abstract thinking for today!"

She put on an extra burst of speed, knowing she would be hungry sooner or later. Because of that extra speed, she didn't react in time and got blasted full on in the face by a glowing pink lightning bolt.

Recovering from her shock (damn it Danny!), Dani realized that it didn't hurt. It was, taking her somewhere? She had the feeling of being grabbed by a giant hand, and suddenly she was being pulled through a tube.

Halfway there, the stress and sudden strain on her powers shocked her into her human form, and she passed out.

Dani was similar enough to her template to have a penchant for bad puns, witty remarks, and kicking ass when necessary. What she lacked in power, she didn't quite make up for in skill, but she did have a very... Explosive fighting style.

Waking up in the middle of a ritual circle, surrounded by strange men in robes, what Dani did was somewhat justified.

Throwing herself at the closest person, a tall ginger with an earring, Danni drew her knife mid-stride. She casually danced around a jet of blue light, rolled under a red bolt, and came up inside the tall mans guard. Jabbing a nerve cluster in his right wrist, she grabbed the stick that fell out as she slid under his legs and popped up behind him, knife to his neck and stick in his ear.

The silence was deafening, and Dani took the slight reprieve to put her back to a wall and eyes on everyone else.

Observing the group, Dani was reminded of a militia she met in Africa. The majority were just civilians, though somewhat battle-weary, and the rest moved like Danny, just more obvious.

The exception, in this case, being an old man with a three foot beard and gaudy purple robes with sky blue swirls. He walked like Vlad; experienced, smart, more powerful than nearly everyone, and with a glint of cunning hidden behind his twinkling blue eyes. Dani only caught this much because of her superhuman reflexes.

Looking at the old man, Dani questioned him. "Who are you and why am I here?"

"If you put the wand down," the old man was quick to reply, "I will tell you." He kept both hands out, fingers spread and palms down.

Dani considered her options. There weren't very many if she wanted to keep her secret. She wasn't Danny, and her powers were not something she liked to hide, but keeping lasers and invisibility up her sleeves was very useful. In this instance, discretion was for the best. She would keep it to strength, reflexes, and maybe some minor telekinesis.

Kneeing the man she held hostage in his ribs, because Dani had been making him lean down backwards, she pushed him forward, Dani tossed the stick a few feet away. She started spinning the knife in her hands, to keep them from thinking she was an easy target.

The ginger muffled a curse as he stumbled to his feet, but the bearded man didn't take his eyes off of Dani. She met them confidently, and felt her ectoplasm tingle. Frowning, she stared at him.

The old man straightened up, and his presence seemed to fill the room with a tangible weight. It impressed Dani, especially since she had only seen Danny and Vlad do something similar.

"If everyone will leave us," the old man stated, "I will fill the young lady in on the current situation." There was a brief hesitation from some, but they all cleared out in a few seconds.

Dani tensed, holding the knife in a reverse grip, blatantly stating her caution and willingness for violence. The old man ignored it. Slowly raising his wand, he waved it to his right, away from Dani. She tensed when a table and two chairs appeared, but moved to take a seat when the old man did. He placed his wand on the table, and with a brief hesitation Dani did the same with her knife.

"My name is Albus Dumbledore, I am a wizard, and I need your help." The wizard rested his hand under his chin. "We are currently in a war, and the ritual we used summoned anyone, regardless of age or gender, that could help us."

Dani thought. She reached out, grabbed the knife, and threw it in the air. Catching it, she repeated the motion. Finally, she holstered the blade.

"How can I help out in this corner of the world?" If nothing else, she would have a great story for Valerie when she swung around Amity.