Hello! Here’s a new one; I’ve had this idea for a while, only to find out that one of my good friends had a similar idea. So, after asking her, she’s graciously agreed to still continue to allow me to use it.

I actually got this idea from a Charmed episode I saw once. It’s an interesting new thing I’d like to try. For those of you who have read Awake, I am accepting ALL criticism for this story. If you find it too close to the previously mentioned story, written by SummerSixEcho, please tell me and I’ll change it. Otherwise, I’m trying my hardest to keep them very separate from each other.

See some new perspectives on the usual DP characters…and the evilness in its path! Enjoy!

Summary: Vlad takes advantage of Danny’s sudden desire to live a normal life and kidnaps him. And Danny suddenly finds himself catapulted into a world where he’s no longer Danny Phantom and everyone thinks he’s insane! Refusing to believe he’s lost his ghost powers, Danny will try everything to escape. But when the world becomes too real…he has to make a decision that could ruin everything…

Main Villains: Vlad Plasmius, Chameleon, Clockwork, Desiree, Spectra, Skulker, Technus, Walker, Valerie Gray, the Fright Knight

Disclaimer: Danny Phantom is owned by Butch Hartman and Nickelodeon Studios.

For SummerSixEcho

Relinquish

Chameleon

Danny stared as his older sister hovered over a microscope on the table and then shouted, “Victory!” very loudly. She came up, her red hair swishing from side to side and laughed gleefully. “I told you so.”

He rolled his eyes. “I didn’t argue with you, I just said I doubted it.”

“Well, I proved your doubt than,” Jazz said, grinning. “The ectoplasm residing within you is different than most ghosts. The definitions are about twice the shade they should be for normal ghosts and they’re also tougher in power.”

“Meaning if I were to zap myself?” he teased.

“You’d be dead meat,” she said. “Not dead…meat, but injured meat.”

“That’s a very strange visual,” he said, blinking several times. He laughed. “Not one that Sam would like at least.”

“See, mystery solved!” she exclaimed.

“What was the mystery there?” Danny wondered, finishing off his drink quick and then swallowing. “I’m not a normal ghost. Half, remember? Of course it’s different, cause I’m different.”

“You okay?” His redheaded sister turned to him, concern in her blue-green eyes.

“Hmm, yeah, I’m fine, why?”

“The way you said that was kind of…weird, that’s all,” she said, peering into the microscope again. “You sounded really bitter about it.”

He didn’t say anything, watching her again. “You want to know something?”

“What?” she asked, removing the slide and twirling it gracefully within her fingers.

“You’re turning into mom whether you like it or not Miss Scientist,” he told her, knowing what would follow and quickly planning an escape route.

“Hey!” Jazz exclaimed, her eyes narrowing in annoyance. “That’s not true. I was just curious to see something. And to prove a theory.”

“All the books you read, all the theories and essays and stuff you write, and your love for kicking a ghost’s butt…” He slid away towards the door, grinning all the while. “That’s…just curiosity, right?”

“What’s your point?”

“I suppose I’m just seeing the obvious,” he said. “Jazmine Fenton, ghost hunter extraordinaire…psychologist or psycho, I guess we’ll never know…”

“Danny Fenton, get your little butt back in here! Half ghost or no, I will so--” She gasped and then laughed nervously. “Hi daddy…”

“What’s up princess?”

Danny cringed at his dad’s voice, but wasn’t really worried after a few seconds. Even if his dad heard that one statement, he wouldn’t have understood what they’d been talking about really and Jazz’s threat to pummel him (usually never carried out unless she was really in the mood or he’d done something very horrible) was usual in the Fenton household.

“Just…doing some research,” she replied. Danny dared to walk back into the kitchen, receiving a glare from his sister that he ignored.

“Heya dad,” he greeted.

“Hey son, what jumps?”

“Kangaroos?” Jazz and Danny offered at the same time, making their dad laugh. He clapped Jazz on the back with his hand.

“What are you researching Jazzers?” he asked, peering over at her work.

“The differences…between ghost energy from…ghost kids and ghost adults,” she explained, leaving out the half ghost part. “There are so many different levels of the strength that a single piece of ectoplasm leaves behind. True strength and falter strength; each sample is a code of that ghost’s ability and power and how much they can take or how much they can give out. Every ghost has a written decoy within them that makes them so unique—sometimes even decides their alignment.”

“Sounds neat,” Jack said after a moment. Danny raised an eyebrow at the sudden lecture and Jack had to blink several times, taking it all in slowly.

She leaned down, smiling. “I’m going to go put this stuff back and I’ll be back.” Jazz picked up her things and walked downstairs into the lab fast.

Jack stared over at Danny. “Did you understand a word she said Dan?”

He laughed. “No, not really. Just do what you did and she thinks you do though. Smile, pretend to care and understand. Works every time.”

“Thanks for the advice,” he replied.

Maddie Fenton walked down the stairs, logging off a phone call with a simple. “Okay, bye!” She headed into the kitchen with the rest of them. “That was Alicia. She’s having problems with her neighbors again.” Danny didn’t think he wanted to know, shaking his head. His mother’s shriek brought him startling from his thoughts. “Oh, Danny, you look nice!”

He looked down, blushing furiously. He hadn’t done much at all. Attempted to look a bit different than usual by putting on a red and black shirt instead of the red/white he normally wore. His shoes were the same theme now as well.

“Going out, son?” Jack wondered, noticing now.

“It’s Valerie’s birthday party in about a half an hour,” he replied. “She’s fifteen tomorrow, but she’s working so she decided to have one today.”

“I like Valerie, she’s a nice girl,” Maddie said, hugging him with one arm. “Do you need a ride sweetie?”

“Um…” He’d originally planned to go flying, but it wasn’t like he could exactly tell them that.

“I’ll take him mom,” Jazz said, stepping out of the stairwell. “I’ve got to drop off a few books at the library anyway.”

“Sure,” he agreed.

“Well, that worked out great,” Maddie said, giving Jack a look as he examined their daughter, one eyebrow raised. “Jazz is being a good help, isn’t she Jack?”

“Of course,” Jack agreed after a minute, putting on a goofy grin.

Jazz laughed and then gave Danny the look of “let’s go now” that he read easily. He looked up at his mother. “Well, I’d better go. By the time we get to Elmerton, I’ll be on time,” he joked.

She kissed his head. “Okay, what time do you think you’ll be back?”

“Probably around nine or so,” he guessed.

“Your father and I are going to a meeting tonight with the mayor, so we might be getting home late,” she told them both, although she was looking down at her black haired son. “But I’ll have the cell phone if you need to call.”

“See, there are reasons to having them! Cell phones aren’t just trendy pieces of technology. They’re useful in so many ways,” Jazz said excitedly, grabbing her purse from the hook on the closet. “Even small reasons. Ready Danny?”

“Yep,” he said. His mother hugged him again and he smiled, waving to his dad. “See you later!”

“Bye!” Jazz called, ushering him out of the room quickly.

“Bye kids!” they called in unison as Jazz closed the door behind them and then sighed.

“Whoo, I hate it that every time I offer to give you a ride dad gives me that look,” she said, following him down the steps. “Makes me feel like I’m going to go under a microscope within seconds of my capture.”

“Welcome to my world,” he grumbled.

“Oh, Danny, don’t worry. When you’re ready, you’ll tell them and they’ll accept it like they’ve done before,” she told him, unlocking her car.

He got in the passenger side and closed the door, sighing heavily. “I was never going to tell you and that’s what you thought.”

She glared at him. “It doesn’t matter now, does it? I know all about your ghost powers and look, I don’t care, do I?”

“No,” he muttered.

“What’s up Danny, really?” she asked, sounding truly sincere.

“Nothing, I’m fine,” he replied.

Jazz put the car into drive and reversed, spending the remaining time as she drove towards Valerie’s apartment, in silence until they were about five minutes away.

“There’s something you’re not telling me,” she said. He was about to protest, but she cut him off. “And don’t tell me there’s not; I’m your sister and I know there’s something going up there in that head of yours you don’t want me to know because you think I’ll say something you won’t want to hear. So, just spill and maybe I’ll keep my opinions to myself.”

She said this all very fast and he really had to keep up. She mainly surprised him overall and he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “It’s…nothing…just something I’ve been thinking about lately.”

“Which would be?” She gave him a sideways glance and then turned back. “You know…never mind, it’s your business and I shouldn’t always be so nosy. You don’t have to tell me.”

He stared. “Jazz, do you feel alright?”

“Danny, I should know better not to pry. You’ve got your own life and so do I. It’s really none of my business what you do.”

“…Really?”

“Will I make sure you don’t get hurt and watch what you do?” she said with a grin. “Maybe…but whatever you’re going through mentally is none of my--”

“Do you ever think about life without ghosts?”

The question threw her for a loop, even if her technique to getting him talked had been successful. “What?” she asked as they stopped at a red light, looking over at him. “What do you mean?”

“Just…no ghosts, no threats, no weapons, no ghost hunters, nothing. Nothing supernatural or paranormal. We’re living in a…normal, busy city with parents who fuss over…I don’t know, the washing machine or having mice in their house…And…no brother with ghost powers?”

She was silent for a moment. “Danny, what are you saying?”

“It’s nothing,” he said, swallowing. “Just a thought, that’s all.”

Jazz peered over at him once more as they pulled into the lot and she parked her car into a spot. She placed her hand over his seatbelt as he reached down to pull it off.

“Danny, really, what do you mean?”

Danny shrugged. “I told you I was just babbling. It’s some random thought I had and I was just thinking about it. It’s nothing. Thanks for the ride and everything,” he said fast, opening up the door.

“You’re welcome,” she replied, removing her hand. The seatbelt flipped up and he waved, closing the door behind him. “Bye!”

“See ya,” he called back. Shaking it off, he rushed up the stairs towards Valerie’s apartment and entered the door to the second floor where she lived. He walked down four doors on the right and then knocked, but the door opened just as he raised his hands.

“Danny, thank you, thank you,” Sam Manson said, suddenly pulling him into the room with a especially rough tug.

“Hi, Sam,” he greeted awkwardly. “What’s up?”

“Valerie’s in the bathroom,” she told him, brushing her black hair away from her pale face. “I wondered when you were going to get here.”

He looked around and grinned. “There’s no pink, so why are you freaking?”

She glared at him. “Besides Valerie, I’m the only one here yet. It’s…really strange… Really,” she told him.

“Okay, okay,” Danny said, his eyes wide as her grip on his wrist tightened. “Calm down, I’m here. Which brings up a point to ask…why are you here?”

“She invited me,” she answered, shrugging. “And I knew you would be here. Thought it would…kind of be easier…if you were…here…” Her eye twitched and he raised an eyebrow.

“Are you…okay?”

“I’m fine.” The hint of obvious sarcasm was enough to make him back off. Which was a good thing because Valerie walked back into the room.

“Danny!” she shouted, smiling instantly. “I thought I heard the door open, how are you?”

“I’m great, happy birthday tomorrow!” he said as she hugged him tightly. A familiar feeling went through his whole body and he tried to smile, the embrace lasting a bit longer than normal.

She finally pulled away, smiling and blushing. “Thanks. Fifteen at last. Doesn’t feel much different than fourteen. I feel loads older surprisingly.”

“You’ve got us beat,” Danny said, nodding over to Sam, who had busied herself near the food set up on a table across the room.

This seemed to remind Valerie. “Oh, are you hungry? My dad got us some munchies.”

“Yeah,” he replied.

The door burst open and Tucker walked in, cheering and spotted the three of them inside the room and raised his eyebrows. “Kay, now the party’s here!”

They all laughed. Tucker raised up a large box. “I brought some pop. I wasn’t sure if you had some or not.”

“No, that’s great,” Valerie said, removing it from his hands. “Thanks for coming!”

“Happy Birthday, of course,” he replied, grinning. He knocked knuckles with Danny and stood between him and Sam, wrapping his arms around their shoulders. “So what’s the plan? Dance off, truth or dare, spin the bottle?” He smiled wickedly.

“I’ve got a whole bunch of games if you guys are interested,” Valerie said. For the first time in a while, she looked like she was truly enjoying herself. “Let’s get this party started!”

“Are we her only guests?” Sam muttered into Danny’s ears as Tucker walked off.

“I want to play that game where we do all kinds of motions and you try and guess what we’re doing or who we are,” Tucker said at the same time.

“I don’t know,” Danny replied. “I figured Star would be here at least.”

“Star couldn’t come; and honestly, I want some good friends here,” Valerie said, making them both start. They hadn’t known she’d been listening. But she was smiling. “So, yeah, it’s just the four of us. And my dad in the next room, but that doesn’t count.” She laughed.

“Thanks for inviting us,” Danny told her sincerely.

“Of course,” she replied.

“Come on, guys, what do you say? Play some games?” he grinned mischievously and raised his eyebrows up and down.

Sam and Valerie made disgusted noises at him together, but then Val smiled, glancing sideways over at the Goth girl. “You know, I bet we can play pin the tail on the jackass.”

She laughed hysterically. “Oh, yeah…”

“Hey now,” Tucker said, staring at them warily. “Not those kind of games.”

“We know,” they said together in unison, walking towards him.

“Danny! Help!” he cried. “By the way, that was just plain creepy.” He pointed at them, hi eyes wide.

“What would you like me to do about it?” Danny joked, not moving.

“If you really like having me as your best friend, you will do something!” Tucker said, leaping up onto the couch like a wild man as the girls cornered him. He dug in his pocket and held out his PDA like a sword. “Back you dogs! I’m not afraid to use this!”

“Did he just call us dogs?” Valerie said, stopping. She placed her hands on her hips and looked over at her.

“Surely not,” Sam said, her eyes narrowed.

“I meant…dang it, why do I say things like that? Danny!”

Danny was nearly on the floor, laughing so hard. “Dude, all I can say right now is…I so wish a camera,” he said between bouts of laughter and snorts.

“Back!” Tucker exclaimed, pointing his PDA out again as Sam took a step forward. “Back you savages!”

They both launched forwards, each girl grabbing his arm and thrusting him onto the ground. Laughing, Sam placed a boot hard on his back.

“Ow,” he groaned, face planted in the carpet.

“So, what should we do to him?” Valerie asked.

She grinned in reply and Danny watched, already aware that she was thinking something very evil to do to him. “Do you have ice?”

“What?” Valerie and Tucker asked.

“Yeah,” Val replied after a moment, possibly catching on. “Think you can contain him while I go get some?”

“What? Don’t you dare,” Tucker pleaded, trying unsuccessfully to get up.

“Oh, I’ve got him,” Sam assured her.

“Be right back,” she said, a grin plastered on her face as she ran into the kitchen hurriedly.

“Don’t you know by now not to mess with women?” Sam asked, peering down at Tucker underneath her. Danny took her distraction to his advantage and decided to at least try and help his best bud.

“I…All I said was like one thing. I could have said something like, “Oh, how much do you weigh,” which is kind of what I’m thinking now,” he muttered.

Sam raised an eyebrow and then put more pressure on her foot. “What was that?”

Danny seized her around the middle and pulled her off of him and she gasped until she realized what had happened.

“’Bout time dang time,” Tucker grumbled, getting up fast.

“Oh,” Sam growled. Still holding onto each other, she wrapped her leg around his knee and pressed in, making it buckle and then shoved him backwards. The end result was that they both fell hard to the ground, Sam on top of him.

“Aww…” Danny said, blinking several times. “Okay, that kind of hurt…”

Sam laughed, their faces only inches away from each other. “You didn’t think you were going to win, did you? Cause…if you notice, I think I kind of won.”

“Oh, really?” he challenged. He grabbed her wrists and she shrieked as he rolled over so that she was underneath him. “What about now?”

She kicked up with her knee, giving a laugh and hit a not so good spot. Sighing in pain, he keeled over next to her, curling into himself.

“Now…I still win,” she said.

“That…is…cheating,” he protested.

“Okay, I’ve got the ice--” Valerie stared around and blinked, carrying a bucket. “Which….apparently Danny might need. Do I even want to know?”

“Let’s just say I think the boys learned their lesson,” Sam said, shoving Danny on his back and standing up. She wiped her hands together and smiled. “Right Tucker? Right Danny?”

“Got it,” Tucker agreed.

Danny grunted in reply and then tried sitting up. Sam sighed and held out her hand, helping him to his feet.

“Okay, got a…better game we can play,” Tucker said, picking his PDA up. “One that doesn’t involve us getting tortured by you…lovely ladies…and one that doesn’t involve ice.”

“Okay, we’ll play whatever you want,” Valerie said, grinning wickedly. “Do I ask if the game is truth or dare?” She received a glare from Danny’s direction in return.

“Nope. Just Pictionary,” he replied. “Sit down, I got a good one.”

Danny and Sam sat down on the couch and Valerie sat at the end seat next to them, looking very happy and content.

“Okay, ready?” he asked, standing in front of them.

“Ready!” they all called out together in unison.

He held out two fingers, a motion they all figured out easily. “Two words,” Sam said, sliding a piece of ice over her lips and chewing on it absentmindedly.

Tucker nodded and then held his hands out in front of him, turning his elbows so that his hands were curved in.

“Box,” Sam suggested. He shook his head.

“Big?” Valerie asked.

He moved his hands in a circular motion and they continued on down the same idea.

“Large,” Danny said.

He moved his hands in the same way, but then stood up fully and moved his hands like a chicken.

“Duck!” Sam said randomly, making them all laugh. Tucker stared, shaking his head.

“This is the quietest I’ve ever seen Tucker in years,” Valerie said. “I think I like it.”

He glared at her as Sam and Danny snorted and then moved his hands in front of his mouth as if he were eating.

“Um…no offense to your family members Danny, but that just reminds me of your dad,” Sam said, glancing over in his direction. He gave her a small smile, rolling his eyes. Tucker put his hands up in the air wildly, his eyes excited.

“That was it?” Valerie asked. He nodded, but moved his hands in the circle motion again. “Danny’s dad, Jack?”

He gave them thumbs up and then dropped to the ground, trying to curl into some sort of odd shape.

“I have no idea,” Valerie said, raising an eyebrow as he made a face as his attempt to do whatever he was doing was clearly a bit difficult.

“You look like you’re trying to make out with the floor,” Sam offered. “But I don’t know what that has to do with Jack…Oooh…very, very disturbing image. Ew, so gross!” This time, even Tucker couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

In a fit of hysteria, Danny didn’t even notice the sudden series of cold chills that crossed his spine until a streak of blue air came from his mouth. Sitting up with a small gasp, he felt a hand on his back soon after.

“You okay?” Valerie asked.

“Yeah,” he said, pretending to cough quickly under her concerned gaze. “Must have swallowed too fast.”

“Well, while we have the interruption, I’ll be right back,” Sam said, standing up.

As she walked into the bathroom and shut the door behind her, he stared around, wondering if he could simply ignore the ghost. He didn’t have an excuse to suddenly leave at least…And frankly, he didn’t want to. He almost relaxed until his cell phone vibrated in his pocket and then rang.

He pulled it out and stared at the caller id with one eyebrow raised before putting the phone to his ear. “Yes?”

Sam’s whispered voice reached his ears. “Quick, pretend I’m your mom.”

He got it instantly from her tone. “Yeah, no problem mom. What do you need?”

“Ghost problem?”

“As always,” he said in an almost too chipper voice.

“I can cover for you like this if you need a way to get out,” she said.

His hopes at staying crashed down quickly. What would he tell her? That he didn’t want to go fight ghosts? Yeah right…

“Sure. I’ll…be right there as soon as I can.” Without saying goodbye, he slid the phone down his cheek slowly and then clicked it closed. Trying not to scowl, he turned to Valerie as the door to the bathroom opened and Sam came back out, playing with her black hair.

“Something wrong?” she asked, looking curious.

“I have to go…do something for my parents,” he lied, hating it at the same time.

“Ah, but we haven’t even had cake and ice cream yet, you’re going to miss the best part,” she said, confusion and disappointment clear in her voice, making it rise and fall quietly.

“I know,” he said, swallowing hard. Not looking at her directly, he gave her a warm hug and pulled away, biting back bitter feelings at else things. “I’m so sorry.”

“Hey, I’m just glad you came now,” she said. “Don’t worry about it Danny. We’ll have the chance to catch up later, right?” She smiled and it made him feel guiltier.

“Yeah…” he said, although he truly doubted it. He wouldn’t have the time to do that. “Happy Birthday Valerie.”

“Thanks!” she said.

“Hey, what do you want? Maybe…while me…and my mom are running some errands,” he said. “I’ll get you some cds or movies or something.”

“Oh, I don’t need anything,” she said, looking very flattered.

“I’ll surprise you,” he told her, smiling as best as he could.

“Oh…dear, should I be worried? The mind of a Fenton…” Valerie laughed, suddenly looking very carefree and quite unlike her usual serious self. He almost felt jealous.

“Yeah,” he said, layering on the sarcasm. “I’ll see you later, the party was great!” What I was here for you mean?

“Thanks to you!” she called as he opened the door to leave.
“See ya!” he said to Sam and Tucker, waving shortly. They waved back and as soon as he closed the door behind him, he heard Tucker’s voice start up a new conversation and listened vaguely as the two girls laughed, their voices muffled through the wood.

He stared around the hallway and made sure there was no one watching before changing into his ghost form. He didn’t want to do this and he felt less than motivated.

Frustrated, Danny couldn’t help but feel the same feeling he’d been having the last week. What would it be like just to hang out with his friends without all the ghost trouble? Just once…once, he’d like to be…He supposed normal would be the word, but that…was impossible.

Being a ghost fighting superhero meant he did have responsibilities. Safety was the first issue…and he’d just have to deal with that. He couldn’t ignore dangerous problems and—

His ghost sense went off again and he sighed. “Okay, okay, I get it.” There was a flash of light around him as he changed into his silver haired, jumpsuited ghost form and then sped off in the direction he sensed the ghost. Turning intangible, he flew upwards out of the apartment complex and rose into the air, staring below.

“Skulker,” he muttered, spotting the iron robot ghost with flaming green hair flying the opposite direction fast. Anger at the ghost collector fueled his new determination to get what he needed done and over with…and get back to the normal life he sometimes wished he had. He rushed towards him, descending and dropping down to the opposite direction to cut him off, his hair whipping back behind him and—

Ended up slamming right into him from around the corner. Both him and Skulker fell backwards hard, the collision knocking them both to the ground.

Danny recovered fast, jumping to his feet. He held out his hand threateningly, a definite glow around his fists.

“Alright Skulker, what do you want?” he demanded.

Skulker didn’t move, lying there very still. “If you’re smart, you’ll either capture me now or get out of my way.”

Danny stared. “W—what?”

“And if you’re smart, you’ll run too,” he said.

“Run from what?”

Skulker stood up and looked around, his eyes wider than normal. He almost looked like he was about to run, but Danny quickly caught the attempt and held out his hands, sending a ray of ectoplasmic energy towards him and smashing him into the wall. He zoomed over to him and grabbed his shoulders, forcing him up against the bricks, one foot at his chest.

“Talk,” he ordered, getting his footing right.

“I’m not going to bother you tonight. There’s a Chameleon loose,” Skulker explained.

“Yes…because we should be afraid of a tiny lizard…” he smarted off, layering on the sarcasm.

“It’s not a lizard fool,” he snapped. “A Chameleon is a ghost. They can blend in with their surroundings—become anyone and anything…They can also regenerate. There’s no stopping them. They’re pure evil creatures and poisonous…”

“Okay, so someone has to stop them,” Danny said. “What’s the deal? I mean, there’s a lot of evil ghosts.”

“Not like this creature. They were all contained—they work for ghosts, but it takes a very powerful one to control them, someone must have set one free…but have convinced it to do its bidding. They’re risky ghosts and you can’t trust them at all. You get captured by one…you won’t see much of your afterlife.”

Danny tried to get this new information in. “How do we stop this…Chameleon?”

“You run,” Skulker said. “And if I wasn’t, I would be hunting you—as it is, I would prefer not to stick around.” He started to move, but he shoved him back.

“Where is this ghost?”

“Do you not understand ghost child? There is no stopping it. If someone is indeed controlling it…then they’re most fortunate. But this time—I wouldn’t even dare getting involved. This is different than Pariah Dark. Much different.”

“It doesn’t matter, where is the ghost?”

“Do yourself a favor,” Skulker hissed. “Protect what you care for and don’t get involved.What’s not…supposed to be there…someone who’s acting…a little strangely. Just don’t get involved.”

He suddenly disappeared and Danny was clutching onto nothing. “Hey!” he shouted. “Get back here!” He whirled around, but Skulker had definitely escaped. Thinking a few choice words, he flew back into the air, still looking, but didn’t see the ghost hunter extraordinaire again.

“Chameleons?” he said to himself. He’d never heard of them before. But Skulker was terrified quite obviously. He wondered how many other ghosts he’d see before the end of the night since his advice had been to run. And even though he had probably helped him a lot more than harmed him, he still didn’t like it.

What’s not supposed to be there…

Danny made up his mind and started towards his house. Maybe he was paranoid or maybe he was just being stupid, he wasn’t sure, but he might as well check up on things if Skulker was telling the truth. Most of the time, he didn’t believe them…but this seemed…different.

He was trying to contemplate whether Skulker was trying to make up an excuse so Danny wouldn’t catch him or if he was serious. He had sure sounded pretty freaked, but most ghosts would do anything so he wouldn’t catch them.

When he at last reached his house, he had decided to believe that a dangerous Chameleon was definitely loose and was being controlled by some powerful ghost, but he didn’t think he needed to run.

He’d only involve himself if someone he cared for was being targeted. Until then, the other ghosts could deal with themselves. He turned human in the alleyway behind his house and then walked up the stairs, letting himself in.

“Mom, dad?” he called. When there was no reply, he remembered that they had gone to the meeting. “Jazz?”

“Danny!” Three familiar voices cried. He turned to see Sam and Tucker and his sister sitting on the couch.

“What are you guys doing here? You should be at the party,” he said, walking to them as they stood on their feet.

“Valerie had to “cancel.” Some sort of alarm went off in her house and then she was shoving us out,” Tucker said. “Meaning she went ghost hostile.”

“There’s been four ghost sightings; it’s all over the news,” Jazz told him. “The Box Ghost as usual, but surprisingly also Ember McLane, Kitty and Johnny, and Skulker. They were just on tv.”

“Yeah, I just had a little run in with Skulker,” he replied.

“But why aren’t the ghosts doing anything?” Jazz asked, seeming curious that Danny didn’t have the Fenton Thermos with him and wasn’t visibly roughed up.

“They all must be scared,” he said, more to himself than them. All three of them heard it however.

“Of what?” Jazz and Sam said in unison.

“Skulker said something about a Chameleon,” Danny explained. “Not a reptile, but a ghost. They can change shape and form and stuff. He said they were purely evil.”

“So, basically, the ghosts are running like before. Seeking safety inside the real world. It must be in the Ghost Zone then, right?” Jazz guessed.

“The way Skulker was freaking, I would have figured that the Chameleon was on the human plane. But…you do have a point,” he said. “I want to be careful anyway. Maybe look around and make sure the Chameleon isn’t here. If we don’t find anything we’ll put the Ghost Shield up.”

“What do we tell mom and dad?” Jazz asked.

“I…don’t know, I’ll think of something,” he said. “Focus here, okay?”

“Wait…you’re not trusting Skulker, are you? What if--”

“I know,” he insisted, interrupting. “I know, I know. But…I’m just being sure; if not, the next time I see him, he might really need to run for his afterlife, okay?”

“Alright,” Jazz said. “What do you want us to do?”

He stared around, running a hand through his hair, feeling very weird to suddenly be in charge. “Um…split up. Look around for something that’s not supposed to be there…anything new, or heck, anything…strange. How about, you and Tucker check this floor and downstairs in the lab and Sam and I will check upstairs and the Op—Center.”

“Will do,” Jazz said. “If we see anything, we’ll yell.”

“Be careful. Just look around for what’s not supposed to be here,” he repeated. He still wondered if he was being paranoid, but they were better safe than sorry. Jazz and Tucker started searching in the living room while he and Sam took to the stairs. Walking forwards with her at his side, he stayed in his human form but held his hand out protectively.

“Alright. We’ll see you in a few minutes if we don’t find anything,” Jazz called back.

“Be careful!” he shouted after her again.

“Danny, relax. It’s Jazz, she’ll know what to do,” Sam assured him as they walked onto the second floor hallway, placing a hand on his arm. “Besides, even if she claims to hate what her parents do sometimes, she’s starting to act like she likes it anymore.” She laughed. “Imagine her trying to be normal in five years.”

“There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be normal,” he snapped, harsher than intended.

She started in shock at his tone. “I’m—I’m sorry…I didn’t mean—I wasn’t trying to make fun of her.”

“I…I know, I’m sorry,” he sighed. “I don’t know why I yelled…at you.” He rubbed the back of his neck and took a peek into the closet before closing it soon after.

“It’s fine,” she said, shrugging. She fixed her eyes upon him. “Are you okay Danny?”

“I’m fine,” he replied, not meeting her gaze. He tried to smile. “I was actually teasing her about it earlier. She didn’t like it that much.”

She knew he wanted to change the subject and so she did. “So what does this Chameleon look like in its regular form?” She glanced into Danny’s room as he flicked on the light, but saw nothing out of the ordinary.

“No idea,” he said, thinking. He walked forwards, just in case his ghost sense went off. But would he sense something that was shapeshifted, even if it was a ghost?

“Skulker was scared huh? That’s got to be something interesting to see,” she asked, pushing open the door to Jazz’s room.

“Yeah, he actually said something about “either catch me or get out of the way” or something. So, it was…pretty interesting you could say.” He laughed, shaking his head and then peered suspiciously into his sister’s room. “Hey, wait a second.”

“What?” she asked, doubling back.

He held out his hand suddenly and sent out a blast of green, ectoplasmic energy. It charged into her room and struck a red and yellow chair—smashing it into smithereens.

“Um…Danny, I think that was just Jazz’s chair,” Sam told him.

“Yeah, I know, it was ugly,” he said, smiling at her. She snorted and they both rushed up the stairwell to the Op—Center before they were caught.

“You’re bad,” she said, her lilac eyes wide.

“But it’s funny,” he replied.

They spent the next minute in silence while he looked around, checking every nook and cranny within the room; it would be pretty easy to hide there with all the gadgets. But when he didn’t find anything out of place or out of the ordinary…he started to wonder if maybe Skulker had been lying.

“Anything?” he asked Sam.

“I found a spider,” she offered. “Other than that, no.”

“Great, that just means I’m a complete--” He stopped as his ghost sense went off. “I swear, if that’s Skulker, I’m going to give him a piece of my mind.” Jazz walked into the room, sighing. He turned to her, changing into his ghost form. “Find anything?”

“Huh? Oh, no, no I didn’t, sorry,” she replied, flipping her red hair away from her face.

“Hey, but at least we know the house is Chameleon free,” Sam said, trying to lighten the mood.

“Great…” he said sarcastically, floating in midair. He looked up at Jazz. “Where’s Tucker?”

“Downstairs,” she replied shortly. “We should probably go down there.”

“Probably…You didn’t put the Ghost Shield up, did you Jazz?” When his sister didn’t answer, he clapped his hands. “Hey, Jazz. I’m talking to you.”

“Oh, sorry, what?”

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“I am fine, why?”

His eyes narrowed as a sudden cold chill crept up his spine. But he didn’t do anything yet. “The Chameleon must not be here…”

“Right,” she replied.

Danny heard footsteps coming up towards the Op—Center and raised his hand as Jazz and Sam turned around, his palm glowing brightly.

“Danny, I just put the Ghost Shield up,” Jazz’s voice wandered from in the hallway as she approached them and then walked right into the room and Sam let out a gasp.

He yelled and a ball of green light soared from his hands, but the Jazz form suddenly smiled, her eyes glowing bright red and dropped to her knees, kicking out at his feet and knocking him to the ground. The ectoplasm he’d created ricocheted off the ceiling and flew the opposite direction, nearly hitting Tucker, who entered the room at the same time, shrieking as it came very close to him.

The Chameleon stood before them as all four of them remained still, watching as it suddenly burst from its Jazz-like appearance in a flash of light, reforming into a skeletal red figure with glowing red eyes and scaly hands and feet. It was very tall and had sharp fingernails, a snake like tongue protruding from its mouth.

Danny didn’t waste any more time gawking and held out his hand, his fist illuminating with energy. Chameleon turned around and kicked at his hand, leaping on top of him.

“Danny!” Jazz shouted.

Swallowing hard, he grabbed its scaly wrist with his hand and closed his eyes. Chameleon let out a cry of pain as its flesh burned with his power and backed off, hissing. He jumped to his feet quickly, facing the creature.

“Get out of here guys!” he shouted. Chameleon let off a powerful sense of evil source that made Danny slightly nauseous.

“Paranoid now, are you Phantom?” His voice was a small hiss and came out echoed, as if there were five voices along with his own.

“What do you want?”

“Not much for action, are you?” he wondered, lashing out with a taloned hand and just barely missing him as he jumped back. “That’s too bad.”

“Why are you here?”

“For you…”

“Yeah, and what do you want me for?” He tried as hard as he could to hide the tremble from his voice that crossed his skin as fear erupted in his whole body.

“It’s not about what I want…now is it?”

“Danny!” Jazz cried, rushing forwards, the Fenton Thermos in her hand.

Chameleon sighed and threw out his hand, trapping Jazz, Sam, and Tucker in waves of bright red light. They couldn’t move.

“Let them go!” Danny shouted, holding out his hand.

“You don’t scare me, but I scare you,” he growled, advancing forwards. “I can taste your fear…and it tastes so good.”

He fired a shot, but the Chameleon dodged and back tracked, jumping onto him again. He cried out as something grazed his arm, the tips of four long nails penetrating his skin. Holding his arm with one hand, he flew up into the air.

“You know what I can also sense?” Chameleon asked, a wicked grin spreading across its bony face as its dark eyes burned brighter and brighter. “Your desires. Your growing need…and you know what I’m talking about.”

“Shut up!” Danny shouted, feeling his eyes burn.

Chameleon laughed, a very odd noise like a mixture of a howl and hiss. “Struck a nerve, have I?” He swung his tail around, catching him off guard and throwing him back onto the ground. “Phantom just wants to be normal…Just want the Master wants too.”

He let out an angry cry and stood up, his hands glowing, but within the next second, the ghost had disappeared. Breathing heavily, he stood shakily on his feet.

The warp around Sam, Tucker, and Jazz broke with Chameleon’s escape and they fell to the ground in slumps. He ran over to them.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Jazz said. Both she and Sam were both giving him identical looks and he knew they’d heard.

Tucker brushed himself off. “I’m sorry I doubted you man. That thing was creepy.”

“What does it want with you?” Sam asked.

“I…I don’t know,” he stammered.

“Well, you’re not going after it,” Jazz said. “We’re going to take every precaution to keep it away from you. And we have to take the Ghost Shield down.”

“What? He’s after me, I’ve got to do something so he doesn’t hurt you by trying to get to me,” he protested.

“Danny, he’s after you…And look.” She grabbed his arm, proving her point by showing off the gashes he’d received. He pulled away, glaring. “Don’t give me that, I’m not going to let you get hurt.”

“I’ll be fine,” he said.

“I don’t know why you insist on being the hero when your own life is in danger,” she shouted angrily.

“Because, it’s my responsibility,” he said. “Not yours.”

“Then why do you want to be normal?” Jazz couldn’t stand not saying it any longer and didn’t back off as he whirled around.

“Because I’m fed up with being a ghost!”

He turned away from her and without another word, started going downstairs, feeling lightheaded and almost dizzy. He stumbled out of the room and grasped onto the stair railing, stopping a minute as his vision spun.

“Danny,” a soft voice called behind him. Jazz came after him and put a hand on his shoulder. “I’m…I’m sorry.”

He didn’t reply at first, swaying and put a hand to his forehead. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have…” He trailed off.

“Danny, hey…what’s wrong?” she asked.

“I…”

She gasped, catching him as he suddenly collapsed into her arms. “Danny…Sam, Tucker!” she shouted, her face paling. “Danny, talk to me…”

“What happened?” Tucker exclaimed, gasping.

Jazz panicked as there was a flash of light around her as Danny slowly reverted back to his normal form, groaning. It was then she noticed that the crimson blood that had once trailed across his skin had changed to a much darker, almost black color.

“Danny, can you hear me?” she asked, realizing in somehow, he was being poisoned. “That Chameleon put something in you, didn’t he?” Growing very frightened, she turned around, anger flaring in her eyes. “Call an ambulance.”

“But if it’s a ghost doing something--” Sam began.

“I don’t care!” she shouted. Sam didn’t protest anymore and rushed up towards the Op—Center again. “Tucker, get some water and a flashlight so I can see!”

“Here, let me get this light,” he said, reaching for the small lamp attached to the wall.

She looked up, confused, and then gasped. “Don’t touch that!”

He pulled back at her cry, but it was too late. The new light suddenly shattered and shifted right into the Chameleon. Tucker fell backwards in surprise, giving a small shout and Jazz stared, her eyes large.

“Stay away!” she said, clutching a nearly unconscious Danny to her.

“You aren’t the one I want!” he said darkly.

“You can’t have him,” she whispered, her eyes narrowed as her grip tightened on her brother’s arms.

“Watch me.”

As soon as she moved to block its attack as it suddenly rushed at her, he swung his hand out and hit her fully in the chest, throwing her backwards down the stairs hard. She rolled down all the way to the bottom of the steps, her head slamming into the corner of the wall. Danny slid weakly down after her, landing a few stairs above her.

His vision still continued to darken as he tried to raise himself up from the position he’d ended up in. His hands faltered, his elbows caving in and the last thing he saw was the creature’s stare.

---

Each chapter will be just about as long as this one was. The next chapter is in Vlad’s third person point of view and then later on, it’s the continuation of Danny’s view.

Right now, I don’t have many sneak peeks for this story at all, but the next chapter of Relinquish is called Vicious so that might give you a tiny hint. Please R&R!

Lateraina Wolf