Dani Phantom

and the

Specter Detectors

Episode 1

Cat Scratch Fever

"Two Wheels of Terror!"

by Ri-kun

The engines roared not far behind her. Dani Phantom spared a glance behind her just in time to see a claw swipe the air near the whisp of her tail. Dodging it, but just barely, she dove to the side as another one missed her ponytail by mere inches. The Alley Cats were closing in on her, laughing as they cheered on the leader to bring her down. They thought she was cornered now. This alley came to a dead end, just as she was sure they knew.

Perfect.

Dani jerked hard to the right just as a blast caught the air right where she should have been. The blast was a bit bigger than she'd been expecting, and the shock from it sent her tumbling. Unable to orient herself, Dani was forced to allow fate to decide whether she landed right-side up or not. Not one to leave too much to destiny, however, she closed her eyes to drown out the spinning and let her body phase to it's intangible form. A warm chill passed through her body, signaling her brain that she'd just gone through a wall.

Dani opened her eyes and allowed herself a moment to relax, which proved too soon a mistake. Her body immediately shifted solid again, only to collide with a crate. She thudded along the concrete floor for a couple of feet, unable to go intangible again so quickly, before coming to a stop on a support beam. It was not the smooth exit she'd been planning, yet the sound of several metal bikes crashing into one another against a brick wall still brought a smirk to her lips. Her plan had still worked, despite the unexpected turn. Phasing through the storage room wall again, Dani Phantom looked around to find a pile of werecats entangled amid a mess of broken plastic and metal pipes. Every single one of them had crashed just as she'd hoped.

"Thanks for the chase, boys!" she called out, taking to the sky again. "A girl likes to know when a guy is interested, but this is taking it a bit far. You might want to consider working on your approach next time. Ciao!"

A roar caught her ears before she flew much further. "This isn't over, halfa! We will make you pay for what you've done."

"Just like every other boy I've know," she called back, shaking her head. "Full of promises, but slow on results."

Dani Phantom took off to the skys, laughter filling her lungs as she soared away from the danger, and the Alley Cat leader's vows of revenge, unaware the whole time she was being watched by a pair of eyes hidden behind a very ordinate cycle helmet with build-in visor. The face behind it narrowed a pair of intense, clever eyes attached to a lovely young girl's face, not much older than her. The girl opened her visor and watched as Dani Phantom flew off into the night, her vision unaided by technology.

"It's definitely her," she said, waiting patiently for teammates' analysis. "Tenth sighting this month, so far. What do you think?"

"Class M," the boy next to her said flatly, stepping aside so the third member of their team could see. "At least! Probably a level eight ranking spector with free-roaming capabilities."

"It's ability to stay corporeal for so long worries me. I think we'd better retreat for now. The Professor will want a full status report before the night's over with, anyway. We'll need to load up with specific gear before tangling with something like that."

"I agree," said the third, finally. He closed off his helmet visor before peering off into the night. "Come. The Professor is waiting for us."

The three loaded themselves up into the Spector Sled and roared it to life. "So, who do you think she was?" the first male said, looking from one member to the next. "I mean, before she... died."

"Does it matter?" asked the third member replied, shrugging. "Whatever remains on this earth is just a whisp of human consciousness. There's nothing left of the original girl but condensed ectoplasm driven by a further desire to exist, and maybe some of her original memories."

"He's right," said the female member, gripping the Sled's handlebars. "Thinking about it just gets in the way of the job. We'll finish our patrol and head right back to base. The Professor's going to want to know what we've found. Plus, there's still that other sighting of a gang of monster bikers roaming this part of town."

"I still say that's a rumor," he replied, shaking his head. "I mean, a bunch of ghost human and cat hybrids prowling the streets on motorcycles. Sounds to me like somebody spent way too much time on Whiskey Avenue!"

"You could be right," said his counterpart, thoughtfully. "Still, we should investigate all sightings of ectoplasmic manifestations. The last two sources proved accurate, and they were definitely far-fetched."

"Yeah, a haunted sock drawer. Who'd have guessed something like that would wind up in Silent Hollow?!"

"Cut the chatter, you two!" the girl barked. "We're supposed to be hunting ghosts, not having girl talk sessions."

"Yes, sir!" they each said in turn.

About half a minute's time went by, then he looked over at her again. "So... did Todd Jasons ask you out yet?"

"SHUT UP!"

* * * * *

Dani flopped down on her matress and sighed contently for a moment. The day had just started, but luckily it was already warm enough for a morning shower. The make-shift spiggot she'd manufactored for herself stood over in the corner, water dripping down from it to puddle around the garden hose she'd smuggled out of a local Wall-2-Wall Mart. It was ice cold, of course. There was no water heater to provide any sort of heat, but she had long since gotten used to not having such luxuries. It was a small price to pay in return for the freedom she afforded.

All too soon, it was time to get up, however. The day was young, and there were pockets to be picked from the fat jeans of tourists. Dani stood up off the single matress that was her bed and shook the rest of the water from her damp hair. A pile of clothes lay in the corner, dirty, which was an omen that she would be doing laundry soon again. It always seemed like what little money she made wound up going towards quarters for the washing machines at the laundrymat. She generally tried to wear them at least three days in a row, but Dain liked the feel of warm clothes on her body. In the winter time, it was just about the only way to keep from freezing.

The single room wasn't much, but she was proud of it. Bits and pieces here and there had added personality to the place, giving it a pale reflection of herself. She was finally starting to feel at home here, and that was really mattered in the end. The hidden room of this old warehouse had probably been added to hide illegal goods at one point, but now she claimed it for herself. Dani had stumbled on it by accident one night after running from the local cops. She'd only meant to be in this town for a few days, but finding this place had changed her mind. It just reeked of potential, like herself. There was so much she could do with it once it'd been spruced up some.

Dani took a deep breath, admiring her reflection in the mirror for a moment. A girl about about fifteen looked back at her with brown eyes and black hair that had been done up in a ponytail. Her face was round and looked very healthy for someone who didn't always eat three times a day. Her body still had a bit of growing to do, but overall, she was finally started to fill out in all the right places. Dani set the mirror down carefully and quickly phased out of her dirty clothes and into the last set of clean ones she owned. A yellow bandana covered the top of her head. Below it was a tight, red tank top and dark greyish cargo pants. The boots, she had picked up from a hotel a few weeks back after some dumb dooshbag had left him lying in the hallway. The pants were getting a bit worn, but she liked them.

Smiling, Dani gave herself a once over in the mirror, then hurried outside through the wall. The room had been sealed off for some time, but she was able to come and go as she pleased via her phasing powers. Just like her 'cousin', she could walk through walls and the surface of solid matter like it was second nature to her. Coming out in the sunlight, Dani slipped her shades on and went to work.

The stretch of road called Whiskey Avenue was usually littered with tourists from all over the place, and today was no exception. People on vacation wandered from one side of the street to the next exploring the shops and local haunts while waiting for nighttime to come, when the clubs and bars would open. This was her usual hunting ground, but Dani always liked to spend a few minutes watching people roam; each one of them had a story to tell, and she frequently wondered whether theirs was much different from her life. Of course, the majority of people had probably not lived the life of a cloned superhero. Danny's name was pretty famous these days. She had debated more than once on whether to stop by and say hello, but something always held her back. He had his life now, and she had hers, though it was far from heroic.

The bottom of the line was, Danny Phantom had never used his powers for stealing. She'd tried numerous times to get a job, but most places refused to hire a runaway teenager with no background or social security number. There were other places she could have gone, but they were the sort of jobs that people rarely walked away from. Dani had already met more than a few ghosts of those professions, and some of them still weren't dead yet. So, she took what she could, and paid for things when money was available.

Fortunately, pickpocketing was the easy part. Being half ghost, Dani could have gained a reputation as the greatest thief in all of Silent Hollow, if not the whole world, had it interested her. Making herself invisible, she slid up next to a childless couple walking hand-in-hand down the road and reached an intangible hand for the woman's purse. It slid through with no resistance, and she felt her fingers close around the wallet inside. Pulling it out, she removed a twenty, then put the rest back. Moving on to the next target, a man in his forties who was alone, she relieved him of a fifty that was nestled between several hundred dollar bills, and went on her way. No one saw her, and as she was levitating an inch or two above ground, there were no footprints to follow. Dani had gotten into this habit after an incident where she picked the pocket of a woman in costume at an Anne Rice convention. The screaming had been horrible, and it taught her a thing or two about discression even while invisible.

On and on she went for about an hour or so, then decided to call it quits. There was more than enough money in her hands for now, and she still had places to go. It was almost time for the Moonrise Grill to open it's doors.

Dani had learned about this place from a fellow homeless man. It was renowned throughout the area for having the best food of any place on the coast. People from all around came here to eat, and it was a hotspot for the teenage crowd to boot. Which meant she could walk in whenever she wanted and no one would be the wiser. With the money she'd stolen bulging in her pocket, Dani sauntered through the front door like she belonged here and went up to the counter. The place was already filling up with people, but fortunately, the line wasn't very long just yet. She had arrived just in time. The elder man behind the counter took one look and her and grinned.

"Fire up the grill, Sam! Our moneymaker's back again."

Dani felt herself blush a little and waited until it was her turn amid several people who stared openly at her. "Hello, Mr. Graves," she said, giving him a smile. "How's business these days?"

"Better, now that you're here. The usual?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "And throw in a bacon burger and grilled shrimp for me, too."

Graves looked at her and shook his head. "Any chance you'll tell me how you can pack away that much food in a day and still be as skinny as you are? Why, I've seen spatual handles that had more meat on them than you do!"

"Trade secret," she said, reaching into her pocket for the cash. "Sorry about being short the last time, but this'll cover it."

She handed him the money, which he took from her while ringing up twenty different orders. "What?" he paused, still teasing. "No spare change this time?"

Dani just shrugged. "I was all outta spare change. The drier at the laundrymat ate them all. But, on the plus side, at least I'm springtime fresh."

"Go on!" he chuckled, handing her the reciept. "Have a seat. Sam'll bring your order out in just a minute."

Dani waited in a booth while her food was being made, careful to keep to herself. It was a Saturday, which meant no school. Dani had never felt very comfortable around other kids, even though by all accounts she should be considered a teenager. Her life was far too different for her to blend in well, so she tried to keep distance from normal people. The few times she'd tried to open up hadn't ended well, especially at her last foster home. Dani supressed a shudder and kept her mind clear of any thoughts connect to her past, and watched for her order to arrive.

The boy called Sam came out about a half-hour later with four plastic bags loaded to the brim. Dani stood up at once to take it from her, but Sam was quick to set it on the table. "Wait right here," he breathed, turning around. "I'll be right back."

Dani waited, a little perplexed, and watched as Sam disappeared through the back doors again. About two seconds later, he came back out with two more bags of food and a tray containing her order, which he then placed at the other end of the booth.

"There you go," he said. "Four beef burgers with all the trimmings, seven onion platters with the works, five sesame seed po-boys with shrimp and cheese, twelve orders of jumbo cajun curly fries, ten orders of pop-pop crawfish, twenty sides of onion rings, and fifteen grilled chicken sandwiches with no mustard. All that, and a bacon burger with grilled shrimp on the side. Sorry about the wait, by the way!"

"No problem," she said, before attacking her burger with a vengence.

"Listen, Graves said I could go on my break since we've slowed down a little. Is it alright if I sit here?"

Dani paused for a second in mid-bite, but shrugged and gestured to the other side. "It's a free country," she choked out. "You work here. I'm just passing through."

"Thanks," he said, though she wasn't quite sure for. The boy called Sam watched patiently as she finished her sandwich, then went on to the shrimp. Dani never ate more than one thing at a time; just one of her peculiar habits.

"So, how have things been?" he blurted out. "I've been off the last couple of days, so I missed you."

"I mean," he added, quickly. "I missed seeing you come in here! Not that I missed... Well, I did kinda..."

"Thanks," she chortled, taking a sip of her drink. "It's no big deal."

Sam fell silent as if she'd just slapped him, which made Dani's insides knot up a little. The guy probably liked her a little, which posed a problem. She might have to stop comimg here for a while, at least until his crush subsided. Dani knew she couldn't date normal boys, but it would have been nice to have a friend to talk to. Experience whispered otherwise, but she couldn't help wanting it a little in spite of the past. Anger welled in inside of her for a second.

This was why she couldn't be around normal people. He was part of a world totally alien to her, and no amount of trying would ever make things different. Dani finished the rest of her shrimp quickly, then stood up to throw her trash away.

"Here, lemme get that!" Sam said, standing up right after her.

Dani didn't see him move in time. She had just passed by him when he jumped from his street, and the movement caught her so off-guard that she jumped slightly. His foot stuck out directly underneath hers as she came back down, which forced her in turn to fall sideways. Dani wound up somehow in Sam's arms as her tray went crashing loudly to the floor. People from all around the room turned to see her laying cradled in his arms like a small child. Something hot rushed through her, making her face burn with humiliation. Sam quickly sat her down, his own face as red as a beat, and moved to help her pick up the trash.

People were laughing openly as she stood. "I am so sorry about that," he babbled, opening the dispenser for her. "I guess I just stood up too... Listen, do you wanna go to a party?"

Dani froze. "What?" said asked, point-blank.

"Okay, I said that completely wrong, didn't I?" he flushed. "But, the thing is, there's supposed to be this party at my friend's house. Actually, he's more like a friend of an aquaintence, but my parents said it was okay as long as I brought somebody with me, and no one else I know wants to go. So, will you go with me?"

Dani blinked. "Why do you want me to go if none of your friends will?" Her eyes narrowed in suspicion, then. "Why kind of party is this, anyway?"

"Yeah, you've got me there. The guy throwing it is a total jerk. He likes to throw his money around by having a bash whenever his parents leave, and then humiliate some poor freshman at some point. But, on the plus side, there's going to be free beer!"

"I don't drink."

Sam shrugged. "Neither do I, really. How about free chips, then?"

Dani moved out of the way and picked up the remaining bags of food. "I have to go now," she said quickly. "But thanks for inviting me. I think."

"Hang on. If you've really gotta go, would you mind if I asked you something right quick? Just what is it that you do with all this food? The guys in back and I have this little bet going on, and to be honest with you, I just can't figure it out. Are you like some kind of supermodel in disguise, and just projectile vomit it out later on when it's convenient?"

"No," she shook her head. "But I knew a woman once who could do that. You wouldn't have wanted to take her to a party either, though. She was a pretty scary lady, and had a bad skin condition. Plus, she liked to eat babies."

"I don't know," he grinned. "I might. You just described about half the girls who will be there. Minus the whole baby-eating cannibalism thing, I mean. Some of the girls at my high school have really bad skin conditions. It'd be nice to see someone show up with clear skin for a change."

Mack held the door open for her, and Dani nodded. "I doubt I would fit in at a high school party," she said, walking away. "But thanks for the offer."

"Hey," he called out. "Can you at least tell me your name?"

Dani paused about halfway through a step, and turned around. "Dani," she said over the street noise. "It's Dani. With an 'I'."

"Okay... Dani, what?"

"I don't... have a last name."

Mack looked at her. "As in a 'I'm stuck in the eighties' kind of way?"

Dani hung her head. "In a very weird way. Just call me Dani."

"Sam," he said, grinning ear to ear. "Sam Carpenter. It's nice to finally meet you."

"You too," she said, nodding farewell. "Bye." Sam waited there, watching her go the whole time with a mesmerized expression on his face.

"Dani," he repeated. "Just Dani, huh?"

"Oi, Sam!" Mr. Graves called out. "You trying to air condition all the drunks out there, or what?"

"Sorry, Mr. Graves!" he said, letting the door shut. As it came to, the cel phone in his pocket went off. Sam groaned and flipped it out quickly to read the text message layed out on the screen. It was a priority one, of course.

'Move in on Class M tonight. Can U get off work early?'

Sam sighed, and typed in his response. It was just as well that she'd turned him down, after all.

'Affirmative.'

Sam started to put his phone away and go back to work, but it went off again; it was from Lily, of course.

'Sorry about U missing party. Did U ask teh girl that comes 2 Grill alot 2 go wit U?'

'No. Got 2 go now. Busy at work. C U tonite.'

'KK. Later then.'

Sam put his phone up and headed for the grill. Mr. Graves was watching him the whole time with a disapproving glare in his eye, but Sam knew it was only because he'd never been able to get the voice mail on his phone to work. The man hated cellular phones witha passion, but his wife insisted he carry one. The woman was obsessed with keeping an eye on him. Now that was a woman who would make one scary ghost if she ever came back as one.

"At least there are some normal girls out there," he mused, flipping a burger high in the air. "Nice to know not all of them just disappear on you!"

* * * * *

Dani Phantom cut through the empty sky looking down on the streets below for any kind of danger. This part of the city was usually visited only by those like her, who had nowhere else to go. Anyone else might have been repulsed by it, but she'd come to view it at her own private corner of the world. That was why she'd gone out on patrol tonight. Dani had come to rely on her powers sparingly in the past. The thought that her DNA could one day unravel again and reduce her to a pile of green goop was still a possibility, however faint. She had been using her ghost powers more and more frequently here recently, though, and there was no sign of any degeneration. Still, she would've had to use her powers anyway to stop the Alley Cat gang of bikers. There was no getting around that.

And speaking of the devil, a roar of engines filled the air around her. Dani scanned the ground for the Alley Cats, but didn't see them. A bad feeling built up in her stomach as she looked back over her shoulder, and gulped.

"Oh, boy!"

Who knew they could do THAT!? Dani swerved out of the way just in the nick of time as no less than seven bikes flew down out from the clouds at her head. The Alley Cats roared with laughter as they gave chase, following her down to the streets below. Dani Phantom was ducking and weaving through the lamp posts as fast as she could, avoiding the blasts fired at her, but the Alley Cats were gaining on her fast. Thinking quickly, she dove down a dark, narrow side street and made herself intangible just as one of the Cats followed after her.

He was just about to blast her, when there was this awful of grinding metal in the air. Dani laughed victoriously and zipped through the wall she was already partially phased into as the Cat screamed in pain. No one knew these streets like she did, and it was a good thing this road got so unbelieveably narrow towards the end.

"Okay, Dani," she said to herself. "So, their bikes can fly. You've faced worse than that. You've faced much worse than that."

Another green blast just barely missed her head. "Then again," she muttered, turning around.

It was time to fight back. Enough of these silly chase games. Dani raised her arms as the second Cat came in close. This one had a female cat on board behind him who leered down at her with a forked tongue running between some nasty fangs.

"Here, kitty! Kitty! Kitty!" Dani cried out, opening fire with her ecto-blasts.

Beams of ectoplasm flew out from both palms and blew the bike right out from under them. Like her 'cousin', Dani's powers had changed a great deal as she aged. Her ecto blasts were red, and came out shaped like liquid orbs. Fearing her powers would fail her someday, Dani had experimented with using them in new ways. This had lead to her evolving them over time, though they still packed quite the punch. Both Cats howled in the night as they fell right towards her. Dani was ready for them, though, and opened up with a series of punches and kicks that knocked each of them to the ground in seconds.

Flakes of hair drifted down out of the air onto her. Dani looked around at the thin coat of fur now clinging to her body and scowled. "Oh, great!" she moaned, letting it fall through her. "Shedding season!"

The respite was cut short as yet another blast came at her. Dani Phantom threw up a red ribbon ghost shield in front of her to deflect the blasts closest to her, then molded the energy into more ecto blasts. This guy was actually a little bit better driver, and managed to steer clear of them. Dani thought for a moment, then decided to just go back to tried and true methods. Diving into the ground, she waited and counted by the roar of the engine overhead.

"Hey! Where'd you go!?" the werecat ghost cried out.

"Right... here!" she screamed, coming up blasting.

The cat meowed in fright and confusion as he was thrown with his bike a good mile in the air. Dani Phantom had seized his bike in mid-air from behind, using her ectoplasm to extend her reach. Dani watched with some satisfaction as he fell to the ground a number of rooftops away, then flung the bike away. The giant red hand she'd formed from her power shrunk down and formed back into a soft magenta glow that coated her hands.

"That's three down," she counted off. "Now, where are the rest of this little tricycle gang?"

"Right behind you, chakita. Now turn around real slow, and keep your hands where we can see 'em!"

Dani did, and found herself fighting back the urge to laugh. The guy staring her down was obviously the Alley Cat leader, but he...

"You've been messin' around in our territory, little lady. All those no-good flesh bags you give food out to are startin' to get weird ideas in their heads now. Some of 'em are even threatenin' to leave all this behind. Now, you gotta ask yourself this one question..."

"Yes."

The Alpha Cat looked at her. "Wha?"

"I said, yes," she repeated, cheekily.

"Yes, what?!"

"Yes, to your question."

"But I haven't even asked you yet!"

"I already know how this goes. And before we get to the big fight scene, let me just say that you look absolutely ridiculous. I mean, old worn leather and metal chains with a flaming cat skull for a head? Come on, what did you do? Rip your look off from an old comic book?"

"Shut up!" he snapped, as several Cats behind him started snickering.

"Getting back to what we were talking about," she said, shaking her head as they surrounded her. "Yes, I am feeling lucky. Very, very lucky actually!"

"Get her!"

Taking a deep breath, Dani gathered together all the energy pent up inside her body and let it loose at once. A spectacular blast of crimson ecto-energy exploded outward in all directions, consuming the Cats in it's brilliance. The resulting explosion sent them falling to earth, with Dani Phantom levitating gingerly to the ground after them. Looking around at the scattered remains of the Alley Cats, Dani gave her handiwork a nod of satisfaction.

"I guess cats really are bad luck, huh?"

"Very bad luck," someone behind her called out. "But only for you!"

Before Dani Phantom could turn around, a blast from some kind of green ray caught her off guard, sending her to the ground in a daze. Thinking that there were more Alley Cats than she'd counted initially, Dani shifted invisible and hurled herself at her attacker. Instead of an Alley Cat, however, it was a young girl.

A girl dressed up in a uniform that made her seem like a reject from a Japanese television show.

She was holding a long staff that glowed the same green color in certain places. As Dani flew in close, she spun around expertly and swung one end of it right into Dani's face. The metal connected painfully, and sent her sprawling to the ground.

"Ow! Oomph!" she mumbled through a mouthful of concrete gravel. "Patooie! Hey, how'd you do that? No one should be able to see me..."

"Ecto-vision goggles built into my helmet," the girl replied, pointing at her visor. "Standard issue. Not that you'll be around long enough for it to matter!"

Dani saw the attack coming this time around, and blocked the staff just before it connected with her face again. "Who are you?" she demanded. "Why are you doing this?"

"What do you care?" she snapped, leaping backwards. "It's time for you to go back where you belong, ghost!"

"Oh, yeah?" quipped Dani bravely, as she took to the skies. "And where might that be?"

"The Ghost Zone," a voice whispered delicately nearby.

Something prickled on the back of her neck. Dani couldn't describe what made her move the way she did, but a second too late would have left her without a head. Whirling around on her second foe, she spotted the tip of her ponytail floating to the ground, changing from white to black as it did. A katana sword was clutched in the hands of a boy dressed much the same way as the girl was.

This one wasted no time in attacking her, and made several strikes at her body. Something about the way he held himself make Dani think she would be able to dodge his strike easily, but when he swung the blade at her, it was with startling precision. Only through a combination of supernatural reflexes and luck was Dani able to avoid him. The last one struck home, however, and left a small cut on the side of her cheek.

"Who are you people?" she cried out, angrily, as the cut bled green. "What do you want from me? Did Vlad send you?"

"Who's Vlad?" a third voice replied.

Dani didn't have time to see this one. The blast that hit her backside was at least three times as powerful as the one before. Whoever these people were, they were armed to the teeth, and obviously knew what they were doing. All this would make much more sense once she had picked herself up off from the ground, and the world stopped spinning so fast. And once she didn't feel the need to throw up anymore, too.

Dani felt something ripple through her body as she tumbled into the shadows behind a large trash bin. There was a flash, and she suddenly felt unbeliveably exposed. That sensation only went through her on one occasion: when she was shifting from one form to the next. She had just lost her ghost form in front of three deadly ghost hunters. She was done for!

"Sam, she's down," Lily called through the communicator in her helmet. "Take the shot."

Sam was looking through his sniper scope on the rooftop, and froze. Something was very wrong.

"Sam, do you copy?" Lily said again, louder. "She's down, Sam. Take the shot before she has the chance to recover. This is no time for you to have one of your little moments of philosophical doubt! Take the shot!"

"Lily, look at her!" he bit back. "There's something wrong down there. Michael, I need a scan of her body, fast."

"Roger that," he complied at once. "The bio-energy scan readings are registering her as... human?"

"That's what I thought," he said, lowering his gun.

"What?!" Lily burst out. "But that's..."

"Impossible, illogical, and at least one other 'I' word I am currently too flabbergasted to come up with," said Michael, nodding. "But the equipment isn't wrong. I've run the scan twice now, and it keeps saying the same thing. Somehow, the Class M is a human."

"Dude," Sam snorted. "Did you just use the word 'flabbergasted' in a sentence? No wonder that chick in fifth period study hall won't talk to you!"

"This is serious, you two!" Lily snapped again. "What... what are we going to do? I've never heard of a ghost that can take human form before."

"Neither have I," Michael agreed. "What do you suppose created such a phenomenon?"

"Hey, you two down there are the brains," said Sam, throwing his hands up. "I'm just the guy with a really big gun who loves to use it."

"In other words, completely useless right now." Lily was glaring up towards him as she said this, and didn't notice when Dani managed to finally stand up on her two feet. Michael spotted her just in time, but it was still too late.

"Lily!" he cried out, pointing.

"I don't know who you guys are," said Dani Phantom, switching back before walking out from behind the trash bin. "But I don't go down without a fight."

"Sam, use the Specter Net! Now!"

Lily jumped out of the way just as Dani closed in on them. Sam fired the net from overhead just as Michael cornered her. The net came at both of them at the same time, but Michael wasn't able to jump out of the way soon enough. Dani found herself pinned to the ground with him on top of her, and his hands caught in some very embarassing places.

"Hey, stop touching me there!" Dani scowled. "I mean it! Get off of me!"

"I'm... sorry," he gasped. "My sincerest... apologies. Ow, hey! That's off limits!"

"GET OFF!"

"Nice going, Sam," Lily said, shaking her head in contempt.

"At least the Specter Net worked for once," he said, coming down to meet her. "And, we caught the Class M."

"Along with Michael, and any shredded remains of our dignity," she added. "I feel so relieved right now. Would somebody mind explaining to me how a Class M ghost can shift back and forth between human and spectral forms?"

"You got me," he shrugged. "I just noticed it through the scope when I was up on the roof. You think she might still be alive somehow?"

"If she's a ghost, then she can't be alive."

"Would you two stop talking about me like I'm not even here?" Dani snapped. "And get me out of this thing! Why can't I phase through it?"

"It's made out of a combination of positively charged ectoplasmic molecules and latex," Michael explained, raising up off her slightly. "The Professor designed it. And I don't much care for being spoken to as if I weren't here, either."

"How were you able to take human form?" Lily demanded, lording over her. "There's no way a ghost should be able to do that."

"If you cooperate with us," Michael added. "I'm sure we can make things painless for you. You could be sent back to the Ghost Zone to live your un-life in peace, once our tests are finished, of course."

Dani looked from one to the next. "What are you people talking about? I've never set one foot in the Ghost Zone before."

"All spectral entities come from the Ghost Zone," Lily countered. "The Professor said as much."

"The Professor," Dani repeated. "Of course. So, you three are ghost hunting superheroes with a leader who calls himself the Professor. Just how many bad comic knockoffs am I going to run into tonight? Can't anybody come up with anything original anymore?"

"Speak for yourself," Lily replied. "Sam, get the Polter-Vac. We're going to take you back to the lab and fight out just exactly what you are."

"No thanks," Dani sneered at her. "I've got other plans for the evening. Thanks for the good time, though."

"It's impossible for you to phase through," Michael said calmly, his eyes closed. "No amount of force can penetrate the positive ectoplasm fused with the latex matrix. You might as well just..."

Michael opened his eyes at the silence and looked around. "She's gone!"

"What?!" Lily exclaimed, whirling back around to find him still under the Spectral Net, now alone. "She can't be gone. How could she get out of there with you sitting right next to her?"

"I... had my eyes closed?" he answered sheepishly.

Dani's head suddenly popped up out of the ground, intangible. "You mean, it never occured to any of you that I could just phase through the ground?!"

Once she was gone, Sam looked around at his two teammates. "Well," he offered. "At least now we know why the Specter Net never worked before."

* * * * *

Dani sat her room, looking over the bike parts scattered about haphazzardly and frowned. She didn't have much in the way of mechanical skills, but the magazines dug out from the trash had seemed pretty self-explainatory. In the beginning, she was able to figure out enough to get some of it put back together. A few of the parts were beyond salvagable, though. She still wasn't quite sure what had made her go back and get it after escaping those three. The was no need for her to own a bike when she could fly.

Dani supposed it was just because the bike was something she might be able to sell, once she got it working, of course. That, and the fact it was cool.

The bottom line was, though, she didn't know enough to fix it on her own. There were probably a few local bums who could help her, but bringing them here was out of the question. One of the things that made this place so secure was the fact that no one knew about it. Plus, bringing anyone in would require her to use her powers in front of them, which was equally out of the question. Finding someplace else to store the bike, then getting someone's help repairing it was her best bet.

She needed parts for it to work, though. That would mean more stealing, unless she could find what she needed from a junkyard. That was always a possibility, but she still didn't know exactly what to look for. Dani sighed, and stood up from the floor. She was just going to have to find someone to help her; the best time would be when she brought food to the locals tomorrow. At least one of them would be willing to lend a hand, provided she could get them something they needed. For now, she needed to go on her nightly patrol. The Alley Cats would probably be out again. Especially after what she'd pulled on them the night before.

Guys like that never did know when to quit.

Dani shifted forms and flew right through the wall, taking to the night air at once. She soared for a moment over the city skyline just to admire the view and scout for any trouble. Things seemed quiet for the moment, which made her feel uneasy. Dani decided to go in for a closer look, and drifted down through some of the back alleys and narrow streets that were rarely used in Silent Hollow. A couple of homeless people waved up at her as she flew past. People were starting to remember her more now. She was getting a reputation for being the law and order in this section of the city. That had it's pros and cons, but at least the locals didn't take one look at her and run away screaming. That had been getting a little old for awhile now.

She was just starting to think it would be a slow night, when off in the distance, she heard a cry for help. Picking up speed, Dani put the pedal to the metal and zipped around a corner still high up in the air. A woman wrapped in rags was backed up against a wall before two very wicked-looking Alley Cats. Dani landed on the ground, shifting her tail back into a pair of legs as she did, and called out.

"Bad kitty!" she scolded, fearlessly. "Don't tell me you've lost your mittens again!"

Both Cats turned around grinning and revealed a pair of claws, each with ten inch nails on them.

Dani gulped. "Those aren't mittens, are they?"

Dani leaped high in the air as they both came at her. Grabbing a handful of fur, she slammed their heads into one another before leap frogging over their backsides. "Nope," she noted, whirling around to face them. "Definitely not mittens!"

Dani flew straight into one as he leaped forward to face her, knocking him right into a wall. The second wasted several movements trying to attack her head on with his claws, but Dani stayed one step ahead by moving out of the way. One lucky punch pushed her up against the alley corner, though, and she realized with a jolt that he had her trapped.

"No, don't!" she pleaded, as he bore down on her.

The Cat leered, pausing for just a second. That was all Dani needed, and grinned triumphantly as she raised both hands and blasted him.

"Psyche!"

Both Cats stared at one another for a moment, then took off down towards the mouth of the alley, retreating. Dani watched them go, chuckling to herself, then turned to check on the young woman.

"It's okay," she said, softly. "It's alright now. I promise you I won't bite. You should probably get out of here, though, just in case those two decide to come back. What were they after you for, anyway?"

The woman kept her hood pulled forward, but turned slightly to face her. "They... were looking for someone. They said that I should... tell everyone I knew about who they were trying to find."

"Who was it?" she pressed, half-guessing the answer already.

"Someone called... the Specter Detectors," she whispered, fearfully.

"Who?" Dani was suddenly very confused. "Did you say, 'the Specter Detectors?'"

The woman nodded. "The Specter Detectors," she repeated. "And a girl... called Dani Phantom."

"Dani Phantom I know all about. You're looking at her, actually." Dani struck a pose. "But as far as the Specter Detectors go, I've never heard of them."

"You're... Dani Phantom?" she pressed. "Are you really?"

"Yup! It's the price of fame, I guess. Everyone knows who you are."

"I didn't. I was sent to find a Dani Phantom, but I didn't know if that was you or not. Thank you for telling me that, though."

"Sure," Dani said. "No problem. Only, what were you looking for me for?"

"I was sent to find you, and now... you've made this so much easier!"

Dani saw a flash of something metal in the dim light of the alley, but it didn't register with her fast enough. The woman suddenly moved quickly, impossibly quick, and a current of blue energy crackled all around her. Dani felt it shoot through her like a million ants crawling on her skin, and suddenly she couldn't move.

The woman was standing over her. She had removed the cowl keeping her face obscured in the shadows, and Dani was finally able to get a good look at her. It was one of the Alley Cats, though not one she recognized. The she-cat was obviously a ghost, but also somehow part machine. Dani had never seen anything like it, but her brain was too muddled at the moment to fully process this fact.

"I have her," the she-cat cyborg said, speaking into some kind of communicator on her arm. "We're on the east side of the river, near the docks. If you get here quickly, there'll still be enough of her left to answer any questions you have. Like, where your bike is, for starters."

Dani felt herself being lifted up and thrown across the woman's shoulders. She was very strong in spite of her lithle body. A few minutes later, the sound of motorcycles filled the air. Dani was swung around and thrown recklessly across the back of one of the bikes that pulled up next to her. She still couldn't move, and by now had begun to drift in and out of consciousness. Whatever weapon the she-cat had shocked her with, it packed quite the wallop.

By the time her head finally cleared and she could open her eyes without feeling sick, Dani didn't recognize where she was. She'd been strung up by her arms in mid-air with a pair of chains that glowed an eerie color of green. Her powers wouldn't let her faze through them, and she still didn't have enough strength left to break free. Someone had obviously done their homework. The sound of the Alley Cats arguing not far away confirmed them, so she stopped struggling against her bonds for a moment to listen in.

"The Hexpurgate paid us good money to get rid of the bums in this area. Once she's out of the way, the only thing left will be those ratbag Specter Detectors!"

"Think they'll really come for the girl, though? She's a ghost, just like us." A couple of them grunted in affirmation. "Seems like they'll wanna send her back to the Ghost Zone right along with us."

"Shut your fang hole, Dirt! I know what I'm doing. They're both ghost hunters, so they'll come looking for each other. We snag two birds with one stone, then finish the job given to us. After that, these streets'll be ours once more!"

"You sure the Hexpurgate will come through for us, though? They didn't sound too happy the last time you brought 'em in here, Fang."

"You got something to say to me, Dirt? Wanna try an' make a play for the big seat finally?"

"We both know the only reason you ride top dog in this outfit is because of Calico. She's the muscle behind all of your talk. Without her, you won't ever get your bike back, either!"

Dani listened carefully, ready for a chance to make her move. It sounded like these cats couldn't keep it together long enough to do anything about her. The reason why they'd been tearing around the area lately was becoming all too clear, though. It'd be nice to know more about who and what they were talking about, but it didn't look like she'd have the time. Dani had spent way too much time surviving to give in now. This was probably going to hurt, too, but she didn't see any other way. The manacles were keeping her from becoming intangible and escaping still. It looked like intangible-proof restraints were coming into style this season. She should write to a local fashion magazine and give them a heads-up.

Once she had blasted her way free, that is.

The chains looked just like ordinary chains, even if they were imbuned with a mysterious property. She should've been able to break them with ease, but her strength hadn't fully returned. The only other recourse was to use her Ecto-blasts to blow them off her wrists. This, of course, would be followed by intense agony, but it still was a better choice than hanging around here all night. Before she had built up her courage, however, something very strange happened. Actually, several things one after the other happened, starting with the heavy metal door across from her being blow right off it's hinges.

Three very familiar figures came flying through the resulting smoke. The biggest one carried a very large gun, and had it aimed right for the Cats. "Avon calling!" he cried out, cheerfully.

"Defense formation Beta," the girl screamed, brandishing her staff. "Remember, no humans are to be harmed!"

"I'll get the girl," the big one said, and lowered his very large weapon at her.

Dani had just enough time to realize he was going to take her head off with that thing, and then he fired. Embarassment would hit her later on when she realized that she'd flinched out of pure reflex. All that happened, however, was the chain being snapped in two and her falling to the hard floor. Picking herself up, Dani realized for the first time that she'd gone back to her human form at some point.

"This way!" the fellow said, taking her by the shoulder. "Follow me, and keep close."

Not one to argue with someone while they were holding massive ghost-hunting weaponry, Dani did as he asked and took cover with him behind a set of crates far off to the side near the wall. Her mystery man then took aim and began laying cover fire for his two friends, who were taking out the Cats with relative ease.

"Not that I'm complaining about the save and all," she said. "But just exactly who are you guys?"

"We're the Specter Detectors," he replied, looking her way. "You've probably heard of us before."

Dani shook her head. "No, sorry. Don't think so."

"Really?" He glanced at her for a little longer this time. "Are you sure?"

Dani held up her wrists and nodded. "Other than a strange woman in an alley that turned out to be a psycho ghost catwoman, nope! Listen, is there any way you can get these off me? They're starting to chafe."

Holding up a finger, he took a few more shots out into the melee, then pulled a glowing green combat knife from his boot. "We really need to get a publicist," he grumbled. "Hold very still."

Not wanting to argue with him anymore now than before when he was just holding a big gun, Dani kept herself perfectly still and waited while he took careful aim. A second later, he brought the knife down and cut cleanly through the chains, which clattered to the concrete noiselessly over the battle din.

"We've got this," he told her, picking his gun up again. "Find the nearest exit and get yourself out of here, Dani."

Dani blinked. "Wait, what did you just call me?"

"Nothing!" the stranger said, quickly.

"You knew my name," she stated.

"No, I didn't! I just... guessed. Honest!"

Dani glared at him, then flinched as the crate next to her exploded. "Get down!" he ordered, yanking her to the floor. "Look, it's really important that you leave. This is no place for a civilian."

Dani stared at him for a second, then nodded. Standing up, she checked to make sure the coast was clear, and broke into a run. "Go!" he called out, after her. "I'll cover you!"

Dani made tracks for a nearby door. Several blasts blew apart the concrete near her feet, and Dani quickly turned on the steam. Reaching the door, she flung it open and jumped sideways to her right just as more blasts came flying out the door after her. Glowering, she held her arms parallel from one another and summoned the change. In a flash, her body shifted to it's ghost form. Her clothes went to the familiar white and black that she'd been born with, and her hair fell to a pale silver-white color. She was Dani Phantom.

"I think it's time I took up tennis as a hobby," she grinned. "And the first thing any good tennis player needs for a racket is... catgut!"

Dani took to the skies and rose up to the rooftop. Before she could phase through the ceiling and join the battle below, a familiar-looking biker with a flaming cat skull and chains rose up in front of her. The one she guessed was called Fang snarled at her, bearing his claws as he made a swipe for her throat.

"I don't care what the Hexpurgate wants or says," he snarled. "I want my bike back now, girly!"

"Finders keepers," she taunted, keeping clear of his claws. "How about I trade it for some nice, strong catnip instead?"

"No sale!" he roared, slamming his claw down on the roof, missing her by a hairsbreath.

"Really? I know this guy who knows a chick that lives on the corner of Whiskey Avenue and St. Anns Street. He can get you some real quality stuff. A minute of sniffing his stash and you'll forget all about your bike, and just about everything else as well!"

"I said, NO!" Fang made another attempt at her, but missed. "I want my bike!"

"I could get used to having a motorcycle. Granted, I still haven't quite figured out how to put it back together just yet."

Fang froze. "What have you done with my bike?!"

"Hey, don't blame me," she replied, holding her hands up. "You're the one who left it in the street in that condition. It's not my fault you leave your cat toys lying around where anybody can walk up and snatch them."

"Give... Me... My... BIKE!"

"No," Dani said, and fired a blast right in front of Fang's path. Fang didn't spot it in time, and was plunged two stories below to the ground where the Specter Detectors were wrapping up their battle with the rest of the Alley Cats. Dani shifted herself invisible so she could watch the rest of the fun. All three turned around at the same time to watch him land right behind them, then looked up to the ceiling where he'd fallen from. Remembering that these guys could see through a ghost's invisibility, she jerked away just in time, peeking only when it sounded like the coast was clear.

The Specter Detectors had some kind of weird looking device that reminded Dani of a hand-held vacuum. One by one, the katana-wielding Specter Detector sucked up every single werecat ghost into it. Once they were contained, he put the vacuum away and, nodding in a satisfied sort of way, looked around at the others.

"Mission accomplished," he said. "Any sign of the Class M?"

"No," the guy carrying the big gun said quickly, shifting it to lay by his side. "I searched for her when we first made our way in here, but apparently she wasn't with this cache of ghosts."

"Strange," the girl said. "We followed her ecto signature to this place..."

"What about the girl?" said the male holding the vacuum. "The one they had captured. Did she get away safely?"

"Affirmative," the other one nodded. "I thought it was better to get her out of here before she had the chance to ask many questions."

"Good call," the girl agreed. "Now, let's get these ghosts back to the Professor. We'll have to give a complete report before we turn in for the night."

"Too bad," the one with the Polter-Vac said, posing a few times with his katana. "I thought she was cute."

"That reminds me," said the one with the big gun as they made their way for the door. "Did either of us come up with an idea of what we're going to say to our parents? Mine have been asking questions for awhile now about where I go at night."

"Mine never ask," said the other male, cheerfully. "I guess I'm just lucky that way. As long as I say out of trouble, they don't care."

"Hunting ghosts isn't 'trouble' by their definition?" the girl asked, incredulously.

"You guessed it," he nodded.

Specter Detectors, huh? Dani thought, raising back up. I guess I'll have to watch out for these guys from now on. Oh, well! At least they aren't anything I can't handle.

* * * * *

"So, am I to understand that's all you have to say for yourself, Miss Calico?"

Calico looked up at her from filing her nails, and nodded. "The halfa that's been roaming around freely for the past several months in MY city remains at large. There are currently three new pests catching ghosts at their own discretion without my say-so, and I still do not have control of that area of the city! Is that what you're telling me?"

Calico shook her head and stood. "You asked me to infiltrate the Alley Cats so I could be your eyes and ears. You never said what I should do if the situation went Ground Zero in the space of a few seconds. I thought using them was a bad idea from the get-go."

"Yes," her boss said, standing up. "But thinking was never a part of your job description now, was it?"

Calico glared at the man standing in front of her, but didn't reply. "Let me make something perfectly clear to you, Miss Calico," he said, glaring hard at her. "My organization and I invested a lot of hard-earned money into dragging your misbegotten essence from the Ghost Zone ether and equiping it with some of the latest and most advanced instruments in ectoplasmic technology. I, for one, would like to see at least some of it pay off."

"Zeitgeist..." she started, but the man quickly cut her off.

"No excuses this time, Calico," he said, waving a finger. "Just promise me you'll do better. Promise me, because the next time, there will be no reason for you to make excuses. The next time, I'll simply take the liberty of removing what the Hexpurgate gave to you. Is that clear?"

For the first time, there was real fear in Calico's eyes. "Yes, Zeitgeist... sir! I understand."

Zeitgeist turned to face the expanse of city behind him through the open office window. "Plasmius and I had such great plans for this city, don't you know? We were going to do such amazing things with our organization. And then..."

Zeitgeist lowered his voice to a bare whisper. "And then... he was taken away from me. Those awful people took him away, and now he's being held somewhere far from me. In a place that I, regretably, cannot reach just yet. Soon, though..."

"Why are you telling me this?" Calico broke in.

Zeitgeist whirled around to stare with venom in his eyes. "Silence!" he snarled. "Get out of here while I still feel like letting you live. Or, at least, what passes for living in your case!"

Zeitgeist waited until Calico had left the room before gazing longingly through the window again. "Just be patient, Vlad. Some day, you'll be by my side once again. And then, this whole town and every human and ghost alike will be completely under our control. Right at our feet where they belong!"