Spoilers: MM, BR, KS, MDG, EfaE

Rating: PG for mild cartoon peril

Notes: Yes! Another chapter! At 1 o'clock in the morning! Hurraaaaaay. *dies*

Chapter Thirteen

"I... don't understand," Maddie whispered as she looked at the large, metal ring.

"It's a little hard to explain, Aunt Maddie." Danni popped into the room and pulled her pink hat down over her black pony tail. "But long story short- uncle Jack doesn't know what he's doing."

"And this Danny Phantom character wants the Ghost Portal completed?" Maddie looked at it incredulously.

"Well... yeah." Danni grinned sheepishly as she walked up to the lady. "The Guys In White finally scared him." She shrugged. "He wants to go back to the Ghost Zone and never come back."

"And since when do you two trust ghosts?" She asked with her hands on her hips.

"Since he's pointing ectoplasm at me." Jack stumbled into the room, backward, and tripped over a stack of books lying on the ground.

Danny floated into the room, pointing his index finger- which was glowing light green- at Jack with a bored look on his face. "Hurry it up, Lady." He growled.

Maddie's eyes widened. "You-"

"Hey, I didn't say you could talk." Danny raised his other hand to point at his mom. Though it hurt him to see her truly scared of him for once, he had to keep up the act. He didn't want to reveal himself to her. Not to Mom. His dad was different... more Mr. Magooesque. His mom... she was hardcore.

"He just wants the portal fixed, Aunt Maddie." Danni whimpered, hiding behind the woman's leg to add to the drama.

Danny rolled his eyes at her.

"Why have you taken my family hostage, you... you..." Maddie's eyes narrowed. "You fiend!"

"Oh please, save me the lecture." Danny grimaced. "I know you've been hanging around Vlad a lot lately, Mo-...addie, but the way he talks is really annoying. I'd appreciate it if you talked like the rest of us normal beings."

"Normal?" Jack questioned.

Danny rolled his eyes again.

"I did the best I could, Hon." Jack shrugged, still sitting on the floor.

Maddie looked at Jack and then at Danny before she crossed her arms. "No."

"What?" Jack, Danny and Danielle all exclaimed at once.

"I said, no. I don't work on ghost technology anymore, Jack, and I certainly don't work for ghosts."

"But... but..." Jack stood back up. "What about the Ghost Portal!"

"Fix it yourself." Maddie turned her back on them. "Vladdy destroyed those things for a reason, Jack. They cause nothing but trouble!"

"Yeah, if the ghosts are locked out with us!" Danni cried, throwing her hands in the air.

"If Vladdy really wanted us gone in the first place, don't you think he would have thrown us back in the Ghost Zone first, before destroying the portals?" Danny challenged.

Maddie was stubborn. She kept her back toward them.

Jack looked at Danny. "What now?" He mouthed.

Danny sighed. He had nothing.

"I think you don't remember how." Danielle teased, grinning at the woman. "You don't remember how to build it."

"I most certainly do," Maddie argued.

Danielle giggled. "The famous Maddie Masters doesn't know how to fix a Ghost Portal!"

Danny grinned, catching onto his cousin's plan. "Yeah. I thought the Fentons and the Masters were supposed to be experts in this field."

"Hey!" Jack shouted. "We are!"

"That's right!" Maddie agreed, turning slightly to glare at Danny.

Danny shrugged and crossed his arms. "Yeah right. What I've seen so far- a bunch of scaredy-cats." He laughed once without humor. "A scientist who can't create a piece of working equipment to save his life." He pointed accusingly at Jack before panning over to Danni. "A little girl who's too caught up in watching SpongeBob Squarepants to pay attention."

"You watch SpongeBob?" Jack asked her. She grinned sheepishly.

"And a has-been scientist who can't remember a thing about the ghost technology she spent so many years perfecting." Danny glared at Maddie. "A loser, a nobody. A has-been."

Maddie's violet eyes flashed with anger. "Has-been?! I'll show you has-been!" She marched over to Jack's tool box. "Jack, give me everything you've got. We're getting this baby running."

Jack grinned and scurried over to dig out his tools.

Danny crossed his arms and shared a look of victory with Danielle.