Remember how last chapter I said you'd get the full story in this one? Yeah, there was a bit of a change in plans… You'll see what I mean.

Between Two Halfas

With those words, a figure slowly faded into view. The first thing he noticed that whoever it was, they were decidedly female, and quite attractive at that. With curves in all the right places, the words "bombshell beauty" came to mind. Whoever they were, they were dressed simply in worn-out sneakers, faded blue jeans, and a black hoody. He watched as they slowly reached up and tossed back the hoody, revealing their face.

Whoever it was, they were quite beautiful. With pale skin, slight and soft pink lips, and long hair as black as his own pulled back in pony tail save for a few locks that framed her face. Haunting blue eyes that decidedly reminded him of his own staring at him with a strange mixture of amusement and… relief?

"What's wrong Danny?" Pink lips formed a teasing smile as she put a hand on her hip. "Don't recognize your little cousin Dani anymore?" She asked in a faux sad voice, pouting cutely.

"Wha… I…" Danny tried his best to keep his emotions contained, not trusting himself. The last time he'd seen Dani had been a very long time ago, way back before he'd been captured. Before facing his future, evil self even. It was when she'd come to him, seeking help to get herself stabilized. Even so, she'd been physically much younger then. Yet to go through puberty even. And in no way was that long enough ago for that little girl to turn into the girl in front of him, who for all he knew could be as old as he was.

Not trusting his eyes, Danny closed his eyes. He focused on his ghost sense, feeling the ectoplasmic energy that the girl in front of him gave off. He studied it, then turned his gaze inward to study his own.

They were the same.

She wasn't as powerful as he was, but the feel of the energy, the way that they both felt muffled to his senses were the same. There was no denying that the girl in front of him was a halfa like himself, but with an energy almost identical to his own there was no denying which halfa she was.

He'd be up late tonight, pondering just when he'd become capable of sensing half-ghosts. Thinking about what it meant, for him to acquire an ability he'd only seen once before from his future evil self. But that wasn't important to him now.

"Dani?" He whispered, relief flooding through him. For as long as he'd been on the run, he hadn't seen hide or hair of his young female clone and had come to fear the worst. That she was before him now, safe and unharmed was a great burden off his chest. "How?"

Dani raised an eyebrow. "You mean how did I find you?" Grinning mischievously, she raised her hands and grabbed her own chest in a way that he couldn't help but notice. "Or how is it I came to have these babies?"

"Both." He replied, trying to keep his voice steady. He glanced around speculatively, frowning. "Though maybe this is a talk we should have in a more private setting?" He suggested.

Dani nodded in agreement. "My hotel room isn't far. Come on."

Glancing about the place, Danny frowned. They'd arrived at her hotel, a run-down little joint near the outskirts of town, and phased into her room from the roof. It was rather small, with a bed in one corner with a small dresser with a lamp beside it, a minifridge in the other, and a door that Danny assumed lead off to the bathroom. In the center of the room was a small wooden table with two chairs. The whole place was rather dingy, with stains and the carpet and various spots on the walls. "This place is…"

"A shithole?" Dani suggested, rolling her eyes. "I know. But on the upside, it's places like this where the staff don't see anything and the owner has a horrible memory and sketchy records." She said, shrugging. Taking a seat at the table, she gestured for him to take the other one.

But he didn't. Pulling down his hood and sliding his goggles down to rest around his neck, he wasted no time walking right up to the female halfa and pulling her into a tight hug. "You've no idea how good it is to see you Dani." He murmured, words slightly muffled by the crook of her neck.

"Geez, you were nowhere near this cuddly last time we met." Dani joked teasingly. But he felt her arms wrap around him all the same, just as tight as his were. "It's good to see you too." She replied in a softer tone.

Danny released her after a moment, taking the seat she'd offered him. "So, what led you to me?" He questioned curiously. While he was unbelievably happy to see her, the thought had occurred to him on the trip over that if she was able to find him, who's to say the GIW wouldn't as well?

"Vlad, believe it or not. Though I don't think he meant to." Dani shrugged. "After that it wa-"

"Wait, wait, wait." Danny interrupted, frowning. "Vlad led you to me?" He questioned, incredulous. "As in, crazy fruitloop that was obsessed with marrying my mom Vlad?"

"Who was also obsessed with having the perfect half ghost son and created me as a result of that, yep." Dani replied, nodding. "He threw you and your new team a fundraiser a little while back." She cocked her head to the side, raising an eyebrow. "It was in the news. You really didn't know that?"

"No, I had no clue." Danny shook his head. "What with everything else I've been dealing with, I honestly haven't thought about Vlad in a long time." He confessed, feeling sheepish. "What's he been up to?" He asked, straightening up.

"Honestly? Not much, as far as I can tell." Dani admitted, looking displeased. "He's become a bit of recluse these days. Rarely does anything, barely even shows up in public at all." She pursed her lips, looking thoughtful. "At least, that was until he suddenly got in front of a camera and announced a fundraiser for Teen Titans of Jump City. Hasn't done anything since though." She shrugged. "It smelled fishy to me, so I decided I'd come out here and check you guys out. Although I didn't know it was you until we were both on that roof and you told me to come out."

"How'd you know it was me then?" Danny questioned, raising an eyebrow. "My voice?"

"Between that and my ghost sense, yeah." Dani confirmed, glancing at the window. "I honestly just got here really, was in the middle of scoping out the city when I spotted you."

"Well I'm glad you did." Danny met her eyes, smiling. Dani just rolled her eyes, but she grinned all the same. "How have you been? And why do you look so…" He trailed off, unsure of how to phrase it.

Dani just rolled her eyes again. "… so not like a little girl anymore?" She questioned, receiving a nod from Danny. "Honestly? I'm not sure." At the look Danny shot her at that, she clarified. "I mean, a couple of months ago I got really hungry. Nearly ate a restaurant out of business when I suddenly got really tired. Made it back to my hotel room at the time, locked the door, and collapsed on the bed." She rubbed the back of her head, looking sheepish. "When I woke up, I was thirsty, sore all over, had a headache, my clothes were in tatters, and suddenly I had tits."

Danny just stared. "So, what you're telling me is you basically took a power nap and woke up looking like you do now?" Dani nodded. "…and that didn't disturb you at all?"

"Of course it did, but what the hell was I supposed to do?" Dani asked defensively, childishly crossing her arms over her chest. "By then I'd already went back to Amity months before to ask why guys in white suits showed up whenever I transformed to find FentonWorks in ruins and you, the rest of the Fenton's, plus Sam and Tucker gone with nobody knowing where you any of you disappeared off to." She shifted her eyes to the side. "I went after the fruitloop after that. Figured if anyone knew what was going on, he did. But he just sits in his mansion all day." She shifted her eyes back to him. "While I was doing that, this happened." She shrugged helplessly. "My only option at that point for finding out just what the hell happened to me was the fruitloop and no way in hell was I about to let that creep anywhere near my body."

"Not anymore it isn't." Danny declared, meeting her eyes. "I'll need some time to get the equipment together, but I promise I'll try and figure it out."

Dani smiled, but it didn't quite meet her eyes. "No offense, but since when are you a scientist?"

"Since a few months ago, I guess." Danny shrugged. "I was hiding out in a college library. Got bored and picked up a book. It all just came to me so easily, I picked up another and before I even realized it I could follow lectures on advanced mechanics, chemistry, biochemistry, advanced microbiology, theoretical physics, programing…. Honestly I'm wondering now why I ever had trouble in school." Danny grinned sheepishly. "It took me awhile, but apparently I inherited my parent's genius without ever really realizing it." He nodded confidently. "So yeah, I'm pretty confident I can figure out what happened, check you over and make sure you are alright."

Dani blushed, looking down. "Honestly, I appreciate it but don't worry about it. I don't want to be a both-"

"Dani." Danny interrupted, reaching across the table to put a hand on her shoulder. "You are family. The only family I have left, coincidentally." Moving his hand, he put under her chin, lifting her head up so he could meet her eyes. "Believe me when I say, there is literally nothing more important to me in this world than you."

Tears collected in her blue eyes, but she smiled as they fell. Taking off one of his gloves, he gently wiped them away. "What happened?" She murmured in a low voice, sounding for all the world like a scared little girl. It was a sobering reminder that, despite her appearance, mentally she was still very young. "I went back to Amity and you weren't there…" She shook her head. "You weren't there, and now each time I go ghost those guys show up and they try and capture me." She shivered, drawing in on herself. "Last time they nearly caught me…"

"Listen to me closely Dani." Danny murmured, grabbing her hand and giving it a squeeze. "Whatever you do, you can't go ghost anymore. You can't give them any chances to capture you. Believe me, if they do…" Danny swallowed, throat closing up as he suddenly found it hard to speak.

"They caught you… didn't they?"

It was an innocence question, spoken in a low and fearful tone. Even so, Danny found it almost impossible to speak. He nodded slowly, looking away. Memories better left buried started rising to the surface and suddenly he wasn't in that hotel room anymore.

He was back there. With them.

Distantly, he heard Dani's voice calling out to him. With a titanic effort, he forced himself out of his own head. Back to the present. Back to Jump City. Back to Dani.

He shook his head, refocusing himself back on his very concerned female clone. She was asking him a question, but for the life of him he just couldn't seem to hear it. He felt her hand on his, and he focused on it. Head clearing, he managed to clear it enough to hear the question this time around.

"What did they do to you?"

Danny met her eyes, swallowing thickly. Clearing his throat, he tried his best to keep his face and voice clear of emotion lest he scare her more. "Nothing good."

Closing his eyes, Danny took a moment to breath. He put all his focus on her hand on his, bringing his hands forward to hold hers between his. It was so warm and soft and alive and felt undeniably delicate and small when compared to his own. And ever so slowly, he could breathe again.

At some point, Dani had moved them both to the bed. He ignored that, instead focusing on the feeling of her hand in his and the sound of her breathing next to him. He focused on both of these things, letting them anchor him in the present. Ever so slowly, he began to speak.

"It was actually good for a while." He muttered, unable to keep a certain darkness out of his voice. He snorted. "Looking back, I can't help but wonder if there was some sign during that period that I missed. Something I didn't see, some mistake I made." He shook his head. "Or maybe my mistake was thinking I deserved a happy ending."

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Dani frowning in disagreement, though to her credit she didn't interrupt.

"To put a long story short, some things happened, and I ended up fighting myself twenty years in the future. He was…" Danny shook his head. "Powerful. Easily the most difficult foe I've ever faced. He was also evil and twisted in ways I still can't imagine. But I won." Danny cracked a smile at that, but it was hollow. "I managed to pull a power I wasn't supposed to have yet directly out of my ass, got in a lucky hit, and managed to suck him in a thermos." Danny cocked his head to the side, contemplative. "Maybe that was the sign? Getting that lucky?"

When he didn't speak again, Dani nudged him softly. "What happened next?"

"In the process of beating my evil future self, my parents, Jazz, and Mr. Lancer all found out that I was a halfa. That me and Phantom were one and the same." Danny chuckled dryly. "But of course, Jazz already knew." He smiled, and in this one Dani could see a hint of something genuine. "My parents accepted me for what I was. Hell, not only did they support it, but they started doing their best to help me."

"My mom started teaching martial arts to help with my ghost hunting and my dad started making inventions for the express purpose of helping me. My sister…" He shook his head, grinning ruefully. "She tried pitching in, but the only ghost she ever caught was me. Eventually I managed to talk her into just helping Sam and Tucker cover for me whenever I needed to go ghost." He snorted suddenly. "Hell, even Mr. Lancer started helping out as best he could. Started covering for me with the school and began giving me one on one private tutoring lessons to keep me caught up with my school work. Out of all of them, I think he took the biggest risk. He let me retake tests when he wasn't supposed to, gave me more time with assignments…"

Danny glanced at Dani, seeing the confused look she was giving him. "He was one of my teachers at Casper High."

"Ah."

"Yeah." Danny nodded. "He was a decent guy. Overworked, underpaid, but he cared about his students. It's why he was always on my case. Saw me slipping through the cracks. Didn't want to let it happen." Danny looked up, letting his grip on Dani's hand tighten as tears escaped his eyes. "… He didn't deserve what he got."

Dani rubbed his back soothingly. He focused his attention back on her breathing. She was right next to him, close enough that he could almost feel her breath on his ear. It was odd how such a simple, quiet, everyday noise could be so comforting, so grounding, but Danny didn't dare question it.

"What happened next?"

Danny opened his eyes, meeting Dani's gaze for the first time since he'd started his story. "The Guys In White happened." He growled, a dark anger seeping into his voice like a poison. "They ambushed me outside the school when I was leaving a tutoring session. I never saw it coming." He shook his head. "The only thing I have worked out right now is that they've got a benefactor, someone who not only told them that I'm Phantom, but told them where I'd be and when I'd be there, and gave them the tech to not only put me down hard but also to track me down if I escaped and used my ghost form." He looked at her meaningfully. "The same tech that'll find you too, if you go ghost."

"And it's not Vlad." He added, cutting her off before she could even start. "If it was Vlad, he would've shown up at some point to gloat. He wouldn't have let the possibility be there that my mom and sister would end up dead. Not to mention…" A twisted, macabre facsimile of a smile formed on his face, and Dani felt a chill go down her spine at the sight. "Not to mention I honestly feel like if Vlad was pulling the strings that the GIW would've been more… tame." He chuckled darkly. "For all his faults, Vlad at least sees me as a person. The GIW on the other hand…"

He shook his head, and Dani felt relieved when that smile faded. "But back to the ambush. Calling it a fight would honestly be giving myself too much credit." Anger seeped into his voice again. "I was put down and in a containment module before I could so much as blink. Sam saw it happen and they just threw her in with me when she tried to do something. Lancer saw it happen too, but well…" He shook his head, sounding defeated. In a low voice, he spoke. "…I'll always wonder why they captured Sam, but not Lancer." He glanced toward the window, falling silent for a minute.

"Later," He began, then stopped and swallowed hard when his throat started to close up. "Later I'd find out that Lancer survived long enough to talk to Tucker when he came looking for me and Sam when we didn't show up for the horror movie marathon we were planning. He told them that me and Sam had been captured. And he… left a message with Tuck to give to me."

He laughed hollowly, looking pained. "Guess what? He didn't blame me. Said I was a good kid."

"You were close." Dani murmured, eliciting a nod from her biological father.

"Funny thing is I didn't even want to go to those tutoring sessions." Danny chuckled, remembering long hours after school with the balding teacher. "But Lancer made the offer for them where my parents could hear, and there was no saying no then." He shook his head. "Looking back, I'm sure that's exactly why he did it like that."

"Probably was." Agreed Dani, then she cocked her head to the side. "What was he like?"

"He was… not at all like he appeared." Danny snorted. "Truth be told, I didn't really think much of him before that." He closed his eyes, recalling one of the many conversations he'd had with the man. "Heh, I remember at the end of the first session I had with him, I asked him why it seemed like he was so much harder on me than he was anyone else. Turns out it's because he was."

Dani frowned. "That doesn't seem fair."

Danny just shook his head. "He said he was hard on me because he knew that I was a bright kid. Didn't want me to just 'get by' when he thought I was capable of more."

"Still not right."

"I, myself, am made entirely of flaws, stitched together with good intentions." Danny shrugged, denying nothing. "Augusten Burroughs."

Dani snorted, amused. "Since when do you do quotes?"

"Just a habit I picked up on the run." Danny just shrugged again. "You can only read science books so much, even if you do understand it all." He said by way of an explanation. Then he grinned. "At least I don't use book titles as exclamations."

Dani was confused. "Huh?"

Danny just waved it off, laughing softly. "Long story." His expression darkened. "Now, where was I?"

By the time he'd finished telling Dani the story as to what all had happened, the sun had set well into the sky. He was exhausted emotionally and physically. Staring at his reflection in the bathroom mirror, he grimaced. 'Can't go back to the tower looking like this.'

He splashed some water on his face, hoping to wipe away some of the more obvious signs of his little freak-out. Mentally he resolved to stop by somewhere and grab some eyedrops to take care of his red eyes as he exited the bathroom to find Dani on her back lying on the bed.

She rose to a sitting position, crossing her legs as she did so. "So, what now?" She asked, looking at him speculatively.

Danny surveyed the room, frowning at the sight of one particularly unsightly stain on the carpet. "For starters, we're getting you a nicer place to stay." He stated, before glancing at her hesitantly. "Unless you want to stay at the Tower?" With all that had happened and the long time they'd spent apart, he really wanted to keep her closer. She was the only family he had left. And with the GIW hunting them, the Tower was the safest place for her.

"And what, join the Titans?" Dani questioned, raising an eyebrow speculatively.

Danny shifted slightly underneath her gaze. "If you want to…" He rubbed the back of his head, grinning sheepishly.

Dani hummed in thought. "I'll pass." She said after a moment, nodding to herself.

"Huh?" Danny blinked in surprise. "Any reason why?"

"No offense, but the whole hero thing isn't really my thing." Dani admitted apologetically. "I mean, if I'm there I'll help out but beyond that…" She trailed off, unsure.

"Don't worry about it." Danny waved it off easily. "But you know, you could still stay there. Without, you know, joining the team." He pressed on. "We have plenty of room. Nobody will have a problem with it."

"I'll think about it." Dani replied noncommittally, before giving him a look. "Do you mind if I ask you something?"

Danny just waved her on. "Shoot."

"Just what are you doing here?" Dani asked. "And I don't mean how you got here." She added, stopping him from interjecting. "I mean, what are you doing here with the Titans?" She pursed her lips, frowning. "I can't make sense of it."

"I guess it's not the best way to hide, huh?" Danny chuckled nervously.

"Actually, as far as hiding goes it's not that bad." Dani admitted. "As long as nobody connects the dots between Orpheus and Phantom, that is." She added. "What I can't figure out is how you are using it to fight back against the GIW."

"Well…" Danny rubbed the back of his head. "That's because…" He trailed off.

Dani affixed him with a flat look. "…seriously?" She crossed her arms over her chest. "No sort of plan what-so-ever?"

"In my defense, the GIW aren't your typical bad guys." Danny leaned against the wall, irritation flashing across his face. "It's not like I can just knock them all out and drop them off at the local police station. Even if I could, that's easier said than done." He grimaced. "They are an officially sanctioned government agency."

"Really?" Dani frowned. "So what, they can just get away with murder?"

"It's complicated." Danny sighed, slumping. "As much as it sickens me to say this, they could argue that they have the right to use deadly force against anyone who proves themselves to be a threat to one of their agents."

"A high school teacher hardly sounds like a threat."

"I'm not arguing with you, Dani." Danny sighed, giving her a tired look. "I was there, remember? Lancer wasn't armed, he wasn't a threat in any way. They could've chosen to disable him nonlethally instead of leaving him bleeding out on the pavement." He shook his head. "They murdered him and the only thing I have to prove that is my word against theirs." He sighed again. "It disgusts me, but I made my peace that they might never see justice for that a long time ago."

Dani didn't say a word. Standing up, she walked over to where Danny was standing. She gave him a long, searching look.

Then she slapped him across the face. Hard.

"Wha…?" Danny scowled, putting a hand to rubbing at the red-hot handprint on his cheek. "What the hell was that for?!" He growled, eyes flashing green.

"To try and get you to snap out of it!" Dani matched his green-eyed glare easily, her eyes changing to match his own. "Whatever happened to the Danny I knew? The one who saved his city countless times? Who beat Vortex, Undergrowth, Pariah Dark, Vlad? The one who never gave up?"

"I haven't given up." He answered coolly. "I've just accepted the cards that are on the table."

"So what, you are just going to let them get away with it? Be a fugitive the rest of your life, constantly looking over your shoulder?"

"Hell no." Danny replied, pushing past her to look out the window. "But right now, there isn't anything I can do."

"Go public with it." Dani replied easily. "They might get away with murder, but that doesn't mean you should let them get away with experimenting on an unwilling subject." She put a hand on his shoulder, causing him to look back at her. "Tell your story." She said softly, anger fading.

"To who?" Danny replied, looking back at her. "Who can I trust with this?" He shook his head. "And what good does it do without proof? No." He shook his head again. "All the stories in the world don't mean a thing if I can't prove any of it." He snorted. "Besides, who would listen to a ghost?"

Dani's eyes narrowed. "You aren't just a ghost, Danny."

"To them, I am." He replied coolly. "Them and everyone else, considering they wiped out anything that would confirm the existence of someone named Danny Fenton."

Dani felt a chill run down her spine. "What?"

"They got rid of every single record." He ran a hand through his hair. "Officially, Daniel Jack Fenton never existed."

"Wha… That's just wrong!" Dani cried. "They can't just do that!"

Danny shrugged. "Doesn't matter really, does it?" He turned back to looking out the window. "Ghosts are seen as thoughtless, emotionless forces of mass destruction and incredible danger. There are no laws to protect them, no rights. And since they ensured that I can't be seen as anything but a ghost…"

"No laws protect you either." Dani whispered, horror etched all over her features.

"I haven't given up." Danny said, echoing his words from earlier. "But right now, I just don't see what I can do."

Dani had nothing to say to that.

A loud stomping sound echoed through a darkened corridor deep under Jump City, created by Cinderblock as he walked, carrying a sleeping human floating in green liquid in his capsule slung over his shoulder. Stopping, he opened a chamber in the room. It had a throne sitting in the middle. And sitting on that throne was a man called Slade.

He was oddly dressed, with a mask who's left side was orange with a single black outlined eyehole, while the right is solid black with no eyehole and four parallel holes, two on each side, where his mouth would be. He wore a black body suit that covered his entire body except his lower torso and forearms, which were gray. Black gauntlets adorned his arms, along with gray gloves. Around his waist was a gray utility belt. Armor overlapped his body in the form of a grey neckguard, a guard on both shoulders, forearms, thighs, and soles of his feet.

He tapped his foot impatiently as Cinderblock approached. "Ah, Cinderblock. I trust you were successful?" Cinderblock presented the capsule containing the human as an answer. "Good. Wake him."

Cinderblock twisted the top off of the container and dumped the contents onto the floor, waking him. As he opened his eyes, panic set it. "I'm awake?! I can never be awake! I'm only human when I'm sleeping!"

Slade nodded in ascension. "Yes, but for what I have planned, your human form is too weak. I need Plasmus."

That statement seemed to trigger a reaction as, before his very eyes. His skin bulged and began to purple and slough off. His mouth widened as is teeth disappeared. His eyes turned green and his hair disappeared.

Now, standing before him, was the slime monster, Plasmus. He gave a cold laugh.

"Good, let's begin the next phase."

Little shorter than the rest, but not by much. I confess I've actually had this written for the longest time, since before hurricane Florence hit my area, and have been editing it. Didn't like the original version, so here you have the fifth iteration.

Speaking of the hurricane, hope all you beautiful people came out of it alright.

Just throwing this out there, I know this is late but that new spider-man game is absolutely kick ass. Picked it up and fell in love within seconds of the game handing the controls to me. My only complaint is the bosses were a bit too easy, but that's just the Dark Souls fan in me speaking.

Closing note: To all you cute little guest reviewers, I'm watching ya. If you want to criticize, that's fine. I've even written a little guide as to how you might best do that on my profile. But I won't tolerate blatant negativity from people who couldn't be bothered to sign in. So, please don't waste my time and yours by writing a "review" saying nothing but how much my story sucks. I'll just end up deleting it as soon as I see it. Either sign in so I can respond to you directly or just don't do it at all.