Danny struggled to move as Freakshow pinned his arms behind his back.

"You know what your problem is, my child?" Another Freakshow stood in front of him and held Danny's chin in his gloved hand.

"No, but I'm sure you'll tell me," Danny ground out with a snap of his neck to shake the Freak's grip.

Freakshow let his hand trail up the teen's cheek and smiled. "Wasted. Potential."

Danny snorted.

"I mean look at me," Freakshow continued, "A mere week with your powers and I've already accomplished more than you. I can duplicate my form, your entire town is under my control; I've even managed to win over the ghosts." He paused to chuckle. "Of course, they were already your enemies so I suppose that didn't take much convincing."

"Yeah I really gotta hand it to you," Danny nodded with a look around as if he were impressed. "But do you know what your problem is?"

Freakshow giggled and rubbed his hands together. "Ah yes, please do share what I'm sure are just fascinating insights into the defects of my-"

A fist flew across the Freak's face, connecting solidly and effectively knocking him to the ground. Stunned, he looked up from his new position on the ground, hand coming up to his mouth to find blood, and saw a duplicate of Danny standing over him.

"You talk too much," the duplicate stated before landing another punch.

Meanwhile the original Danny wrestled with the Freakshow who had been restraining him. It was going well until two more Freaks joined the fight.

"Face it, boy," one of them sneered, "I'll always outnumber you."

"True," original Danny said as two Freaks zeroed in on him. He went intangible just as they both charged, causing them to crash into each other and immediately reabsorb into one. "But the goal is actually to outwit your opponent."

Freakshow growled and collected the remainder of his copies.

Danny and his duplicate shared a high-five as they merged as well.

"Fine, we can play it your way, one-on-one, mano a mano." With a grin, Freakshow raised his hands over his head and began releasing energy. The energy took shape until it resembled a staff. With a flash, the staff became solid and fell into his waiting grip.

"What is it with you and staffs?"

"Oh this isn't just any staff. You took the original away from me, but it turns out it wasn't as hard to replicate as one might think."

Danny's eyes widened. "No, it's not possible."

Freakshow held the end of the staff up to his face. The energy inside its globular tip glowed the same color as his eyes. "Oh but it is! And she's even more powerful now that my power is what's fueling her."

Danny took a few steps back, unsure of what might happen next if the Freak was telling the truth and the staff could somehow control ghosts the way his old one had.

"What d'ya say, Dan?" Even next to the bright light emanating from the staff, the Freak's smile gleamed. "Shall we give her a go?"

Danny closed his eyes as he braced himself for what might come next. It also worked as a defense in case the Freak's intention was to use it on him. Sure, he could use it to control the ghosts in the stadium and send them all after him, but the bigger fear in his mind was actually being the one controlled. The whole town was here including his friends and family. The Freak was capable of anything and would therefore be able to make him do anything… to anyone.

Sam.

She had been able to talk him out of Freakshow's control last time. He had been able to regain his free will by caring about her. Maybe if he kept his focus on her, he could remain in control of himself. He thought about the time they had spent together while he was in the hospital… the shared looks… the kiss.

He was surprised to feel his lips still tingled when he thought about it. But wait a minute. Everything felt tingly. The feeling began to intensify. His body felt… charged. Like a strange current was running through him along with his usual surge of ghost energy. When he focused on it, it grew even stronger. He could feel it dancing all over him now.

A hush had fallen over the crowd. Danny opened his eyes to see the Freak gaping in shock. He looked down at his hands. Purple electricity danced over them and continued along his arms. Actually, it was all over. But what did it do? Time to find out.

"I'm sorry," Danny said in a mock sheepish tone, not unlike that of his sarcastic doctor. "You were about to show me your thing and I totally stole the show with mine. That was rude of me. Tell ya what, I'll still let you go first. Just to keep things fair." He couldn't help but sport a cocky grin.

Freakshow looked lost. His staff wavered in the air as he appeared to weigh his options. Suddenly with a flourish of his cape, he vanished.

"Oh no ya don't." Luckily, Danny had figured his foe might choose the coward's way out. Purple lightning shot out from his palms, quickly covering any possible trajectory the Freak could have chosen. When it connected with its target, he reappeared in a flash and with a howl before dropping to the ground.

Danny flew closer to see what effect his newfound power had had. Groaning, Freakshow was attempting to get to his feet. His staff lay beside him.

There was a gasp from the crowd when the Freak made it to a crouched position, revealing a crooked streak down his outfit that suggested where the lightning had touched him he was reverting back to his human form.

"Ooh I like the new look," Danny commented snidely. "Now that is some true originality."

Freakshow grunted and made a reach for his staff.

"Ah ah ah." Danny chided and sent a single streak of purple to the Freak's hand, which went from gloved and glowing to simply gloved.

Freakshow picked the staff up anyways, though its glow was remarkably diminished, and turned in the direction of the ghost crowd. "Get him!" He screeched. "I don't even have to use the staff! You are loyal to me! Now go! Attack!"

The ghosts didn't move.

"Uh oh," Technus' voice crept in through the sound system. "Looks like the moment of truth has arrived, folks. How 'bout it fellow ghouls? Would you say you're on the side of Freakshow, the man who enslaved us and dragged us to the human world against our will just to enforce a dictatorship that ensures he remains on top and in control?"

"Booooooooooo!" The ghosts shook their fists and glared at the man now standing flabbergasted at the center of the arena.

"Hm, doesn't sound good. Would you say then that we are in favor of Phantom finishing this fight and punishing this fool so that we can all go home and back to the way things were?"

The ghost crowd went wild and the human crowd, though hesitant, soon joined in. The guards looked around at each other confusedly, but after some threatening gestures made by the other ghosts in their direction quickly decided their allegiance could be swayed too.

Danny smiled and shrugged. "Better give the people what they want." With a few quick shots of purple lightning he returned Freakshow to his completely human state.

With the fight being over, the ghost crowd had begun to spill out into the arena. Some of the human crowd followed their lead, with Danny's friends and family and doctors taking the lead.

Freakshow looked down at his empty and very human hands in disbelief; the staff had disappeared once his energy was drained. "No, no, no!" He shrieked. "My ghost power! It's completely gone! I can no longer feel my ghost half." Shock turned to anger. "You!" Freakshow jabbed a finger in House's direction. The group that belonged with Danny had created a tight semi-circle around the two.

"You did this! You didn't make me like him. A bolt of lightning can't strip away something once it's embedded in your DNA. You gave me temporary power! And then you gave him the power to take it away!"

House rested his cane on an arm so that he could do a slow clap. "See?" He turned to Wilson. "This guy would not be owing me a hundred bucks right now. Unlike you, he had complete faith in me!"

Freakshow let out a low growl.

Danny shot him a glare. "Careful, I still have to decide what to do with you and if you start groveling now I might go easy on you."

"Anywhere but back with the Guys in White," Freakshow muttered.

"What was that?" Danny's eyes glowed menacingly.

The Freak merely huffed in reply.

"Hey man," Tucker came forward, "great job out there." He reached up to grab his friend by the shoulder.

Danny dodged his hand. "Careful, dude, I'm lit up like a Christmas tree and I have no idea how this stuff works," he said, referring to the purple electricity still surrounding him.

"Relax." House waved a hand. "Should be harmless to humans. I mean you had it on your lips and you were fine," he said, turning to Sam, who began to blush.

Danny's eyebrows went up as he connected the dots. "Oh so that's how…"

"I drugged you," House finished for him. "Drugged you through the power of love. Kind of poetic, don't you think?"

Sam risked a glance at Danny, but he wasn't meeting her eyes. He seemed to be scanning the crowd.

"Has anyone seen Vl- uh, Plasmius?"

The group looked around. The Amity Park police force were actually resuming authority and keeping what was left of the crowd back from mobbing Danny and his team. The ghosts had mostly disbanded, though a few stuck around. Perhaps waiting to see what would become of their dethroned overlord.

"I'm sorry, Sweetie," Maddie offered, "I tried talking to him and maybe I scared him off." She shrugged. Jack put his hand on her shoulder.

Danny couldn't help but laugh. "Nah, if he left, it's because he never planned on staying. He's always got an angle… an ulterior motive… I just wish I knew what it was this time."

"Hey," House nudged Sam. "Check your pocket."

Sam frowned. "What'd you plant on me now?"

"No, I mean check it to see if you still have what I gave you that did that," he explained, nodding in Danny's direction.

"Oh!" Sam quickly searched for the tube of lip balm. "It's not..."

"Come now, Daniel," Vlad's silky voice descended upon them from above, "did you really think I would go back on our deal?"

The group looked up to see the Vampire-like ghost hovering over them.

"Your friends and family are unharmed and you won the fight without my assistance as you clearly did not need it. I would say I held up my end of the bargain, yes?"

"Fine," Danny scowled. "But with you there's always something more."

"I only ask for what we agreed upon," Vlad gave a slight bow as if to show submittal, "your discretion."

Danny folded his arms and gave his foe a considering look. "You have it. For now."

"Very well, then." And with that, he vanished.

"That felt too easy," Danny sighed.

"Do you have the stuff?" House asked.

"Found it." Sam held up the tube, uncapping it to be sure it was untouched.

House sniffed. "Doesn't mean he didn't borrow it."

"That's true." Danny took the tube from Sam and examined it. "Was it true what Freakshow said? Could it only work on him then?"

"Not entirely sure," House frowned. "It would probably have some effect on you, just maybe not in any permanent way."

Danny shrugged. "Then it's nothing I'm not used to dealing with."

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see his parents exchange a look.

"Not with you guys," he quickly tried to assure them, "well maybe a couple times. Uh." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Nothing to worry about though. Or feel bad about. We… we'll talk." He finished lamely.

His parents nodded and tried to look reassuring. "We love you, Danny," his mom said.

"Your mother and I couldn't be more proud," Jack added with a grin.

Danny returned the smile.

"We should probably get going," Cameron spoke up.

"Aw but Mo-om," House whined.

"How exactly do we get going?" Wilson turned in a circle as he scanned their surroundings. The arena seemed to be in the middle of nowhere.

"I don't know guys," Danny chimed in, "just don't look at me. I'm beat." As if on cue, the purple sparks slowly sizzled out.

The group began to discuss which direction to go in and what to do with Freakshow. They decided to hand him over to the police for now and once he was in handcuffs the rest of the ghosts disbanded.

"Catch ya later, Dipstick." Ember's fist shot out and landed a gentle punch to his shoulder.

Danny gave her a nod, the only sign of gratitude he knew she would accept.

Another ghost approached him from behind, but his voice was unmistakable. "Next time you want a sound system wired for an entire football stadium complete with light-up signs and spotlights, you better think twice before asking me." Technus punctuated this statement with a finger jab to Danny's chest. There was a slight pause before the ghost let out a mangy laugh. "I'm just kidding! This was a blast! In fact, I think I might stick around for a while if that's alright…"

"Uh, no, I don't think that's-" Danny started, but the techno ghost had already flown away and vanished into the stadium's technology booth.

"Great." Danny dragged a hand over his face. "Can we go before I witness another mess I'm sure I'll soon be cleaning up?"

"Lighten up, Danny." Sam appeared at his side. "You beat Freakshow and saved the town. Enjoy the victory." She smiled up at him. "Everything's… good?"

"Yeah," Danny replied, "we're good." His tone, while reassuring, sounded less than enthused.

"This way, everybody," Jazz's voice rang out over the small crowd, "I think I found the exit and our way back to City Hall."

"Stay out of trouble, kid." House was the last to say his farewell.

Danny smiled. "Me? Cause trouble? Never."

"Yeah, tell that to our destroyed 5th floor."

"I'm sure the hospital will send me the bill."

"Nah, this one's on me."

Wilson's head poked out of their car. "Yeah, it's on the House."

Danny doubled over with laughter.

House rolled his eyes. "Really? A pun?"

"Hey," Danny said defensively, "puns are a super hero's bread and butter."

"You don't have to tell me," House shifted his weight off his bad leg, "I've read your comics."

"And absolutely dominated the coloring contest," Danny added.

"Your town is a bunch of idiots for not figuring it out."

"They probably will soon enough."

"Well when they do, make them throw you a parade." House looked the teen in the eyes. "You deserve it."

"Thanks." Danny returned the look. "For everything."

House turned his gaze to the ground and nodded. "Well… see ya, kid." He looked up and gave Danny's hair a quick ruffle. Before he could react, the half ghost wrapped him in a tight hug. House was uncomfortable, but gently returned the gesture.

Danny broke away and threw a "Later!" over his shoulder as he turned to join his family and friends.

House smiled to himself, but was sure to return to his usual pout before getting in the car with Wilson.

The Fentons, Tucker, and Sam piled into the Fenton RV, which Maddie and Jack had used in their failed attack on City Hall when it was under Freakshow's control. They had been somewhat surprised to find it waiting for them, and yet there it was sitting in the parking lot, surrounded by rubble and debris, but no worse for wear, as if to mirror how the group was feeling. At the end of it all, they were all still standing.

Danny let his head fall against the soft seat cushion and on a deep exhale he changed back into his human form now that he was finally safe from the town's wandering eyes.

"I need like a thousand naps," he said with a yawn.

Sam, who had made sure to sit next to him, hoping they could talk, cleared her throat.

Danny shifted his eyes to her without moving his head from its resting place.

"If you want to stretch out it's fine by me," she said.

"Oh yeah?" Danny lifted his head up now. "And would it be okay with you if it weren't a life or death situation?"

"Danny." Sam let out a frustrated sigh and ran through a list of things to say in her head, all of them being either too mushy or too mean. With another huff, she tried to just go with what felt the most straightforward. "Yes, ok? Just. Yes. I mean, even if House hadn't somewhat made me do it, that still doesn't change the fact that I wanted to."

"Wanted to what?" Danny asked with a playful grin.

"Kiss you, you clueless idiot!" Sam hissed the words at him so as not to draw attention to where they were seated in the back row and though they seemed harsh she said them with her own teasing smile.

"Oh. Well in that case…" Danny scooted closer and leaned in like he was going to kiss her, but at the last second dropped his head down so that he wound up on his back, with his head resting comfortably in Sam's lap. "Goodnight."

"Danny!" Sam glanced ahead at the other passengers and was surprised to see they were still minding their own business.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding, come here." With Danny sitting back up, the pair shared their first real first kiss.

"Oh gross," Tucker remarked, having suddenly turned to find his two best friends in a lip lock. "Get a room, you two!"

Danny smiled into Sam's lips, but then continued to kiss her. Sam let her eyes flutter open for a moment and realized with a slight shock that Danny had turned them both invisible.

"Just because I can't see it, doesn't make it any less gross," Tucker mumbled, but was sure his friends heard and chose to ignore him. He would have to get used to this.

The End

Thank you so much to anyone who stuck with me through the years it took to finish this! If that's anyone, haha. I promise never to drag a story out this long again. But Idk, this might be the last one from me. Thanks again. You guys have been great! :) - Cam