Portals

Combined

Danny burst from the center of Norrisville High's football field and shot to the roof of the school, pushing himself as hard as he could. He needed to go faster. Phankasm was gaining on him. He could hear her screaming.

Whatever the Sorcerer had done to his ghost sense, what he had given Phankasm, it was unstable. Or it was the double stanking that had done it; he wasn't really sure. All he knew was that the half-ghost practically snatching at the tip of his tail was worse than Dan could ever be. At least, she was definitely not the same girl that argued with Howard just a few days ago.

Danny dived through a building, weaving through the walls in hopes of getting a bit of a lead back. It was no good. Those few inches were gone in seconds, then he stuttered like a faltering car. Once, twice, then his flight gave out altogether, sending him careening into the roof of a building. He crashed into the concrete, ricochetting off of a low wall before colliding into the roof access stairs. He gasped dizzily as Phankasm landed in a pool of purple smoke.

"Gotcha, Danny."

"What do you want?" he rasped. "I have nothing else to give you."

"I want to know about where you came from. Are there more like you? Like me? More ghosts?"

This was crazy. This was absolutely crazy. Danny jerked, trying to get airborne again, but he only went a few inches before the silver ring darted over his body again, leaving behind Danny Fenton.

"What the—"

"It's happening to you too." Dan Phantom landed on the roof's wall, legs quivering under him. "This universe... it's bad for ghosts. Except her. It's only making her stronger." He slipped from his perch to his knees, grunting. "Danny, let me overshadow you."

"What? No way!" Danny fumbled, then realized he had lost the Fenton Thermos. "I can do this... myself!"

"Really." Phankasm took two strides and caught Danny by the neck with one hand, lifting him up as if he were a wet rag. The half-ghost gurgled, taken by surprise, then wrapped his hands around hers and tried to pry himself free with no luck. She drifted to the edge of the roof, swinging him over the sidewalk four stories below. "What are you without your powers, Danny? Just a creepy little boy."

Danny narrowed his eyes. "Wow. Deja vu much? Are you sure you don't know Spectra?"

He slammed his legs into the side of the roof, tipping them both over the side and sending them tumbling over the side of the roof. Phankasm shrieked and released him, floating upwards. Only Danny had grabbed onto a flag post hanging from the side of the building, the metal bending comically under his weight. "Fine, Dan!"

The ghost grinned, then let himself fall over the side of the building. At just that moment the rivets popped one by one and the pole broke free. Danny screamed as he began to plummet, but Dan turned gaseous and forced his way into the half-ghost's mouth. The teen froze mid-fall, arms still splayed as if he was already plastered to the pavement below. Then he straightened, chuckling darkly. This time, the ring that slipped up his body was pale red.

It was Danny Phantom, but at the same time it wasn't. His silver hair flopped over his eyes, but flickered with short tongues of flame. His eyes were green, yet speckled with bright red that seemed to overtake the other color. At the same time, he looked bolder, more confident, and just slightly more... sinister.

"Nice," he boomed, flexing his fists. "Daniel Phantom."

"Cool trick," Phankasm chirped, flying in lazy loops over the ghost's head. "Too bad you have nothing on me."

Daniel raised his eyebrows cautiously at her. "Is that so? Then bring it on, wannabe!"

"Wannabe?" For a moment her eyes flashed an even darker shade of purple. "Let's go, you freak!"

"Peas in a pod." Daniel raised his arms and let out a ectoblast laced with just a touch of Danny's ice abilities. Phankasm darted out of the way, but got caught by the cloud of blue frost that spread from the projectile. It spread up the purple smoke surrounding her like a cancer, solidifying it to a dusty violet weight around her legs. She realized, far too late, that she couldn't pull out of the dive and crashed to the roof. This time, it punched a hole straight through the concrete and landed her in an office of some sorts. Panicked workers skittered backwards, overturning desks as if that would offer protection from an uncontrollable half-ghost.

Daniel landed beside her, striding towards her as she struggled to break her leg free from its prison. "What she holds most dear? That doesn't really apply with ghosts."

He turned his hand intangible and rammed it into her chest.

She jerked backwards, her eyes rolling up into the back of her head. When Daniel pulled his hand back out, she flopped to the ground, a ring slipping over her form. The block of ice dissolved as Kassady returned, the girl's outfit returning to normal. Destanked.

In Daniel's hand, a pulsing red orb fought to escape his grip. The boy hesitated, raised it to his mouth and nearly swallowed it again, then thought again and opened his fist. The orb burst out, stretching in all directions, before convulsing in on itself and tearing to shreds.

Daniel blinked, then opened his mouth and a mass of green gas poured out. Danny fell to his knees, coughing and gasping, but the Phantom once more, strong as ever. Dan, not so much. Sure, he looked nearly the same, broad chested and powerful with flaming hair, then Danny realized he had never really seen his future self without a scowl on his face. This Dan looked... complacent, almost.

The older Phantom turned toward Kassady. "We should really get her back to the school."

Danny blinked. "Dan... are you okay?"

"Of course. Actually, I feel better than I have in a long while." He stretched. "Like a massive weight has been lifted from my shoulders."

"Oh." Danny staggered backwards, disbelieving. "Oh, geez. That red thing... it was your anger." He glanced at the girl. "Maybe– probably– hers too."

"My anger?" Dan chewed on his lip, mulling it over. "That... that's why I'm okay with it." He glanced over at Danny. "It was okay that Maddie married Jack. And it's okay that my Maddie and Jack have moved on to another dimension that we don't yet have access to. Because you still have your Maddie and Jack and that's more than enough for me." He blinked. "What... what was even the purpose of destroying the world? It was only going to cause chaos in the lives of others." He toyed with his fingers. "Incredible."

Danny stared, then leaned in and scooped up Kassady. "Let's go, Dan. It's been a long day. For all of us, especially her."

"I think– I think I agree with you. But are Randy and Howard okay?"

"I'm sure they can handle the Sorcerer for now. Right now, it's Kassady that needs our attention."