Danny Phantom - Gender Bender (Discontinued)

Chapter Twenty-Five

Sam braced himself as the grey steel floor came rushing up to meet him. He herd the soft thuds as Tucker and Dani exited their portal holes and fell on the floor next to him. Taking off his helmet to shake his head, Sam sat upright and gauged his surroundings. The Fenton Works Lab. He snorted and got up slowly, only now registering the dozen or so bruises on his legs and torso. He helped Tucker to her feet and Dani morphed back to his human half.

"Bloody hell, Danny."

"What?" Dani gasped.

"Not you!" Sam pouted and crossed his arms. "Why would she do that? Is she stupid? Yes, of course she's stupid."

"Sam," Tucker chimed in, wincing as she limped over. "She saved us."

Sam stomped his foot and pointed at Dani. "Take us back."

"I can't," the ghost boy said calmly. "The Phantom isn't with me; I don't have those extra abilities." Sam leaned over a bench and sighed. "Besides," Dani continued. "The battle is probably over by now."

As if on queue, Danny appeared in the corner of the basement. She slumped herself on a stool for support as she sank to the ground, clutching her stomach. Green and red liquid stained her hand, but as she - reluctantly - drew it away, all that was left was smooth skin and a hole through her suit. She pulled her arms in close to her body, fists clenched and groaned.

"Danny!" Sam shouted and ran over to her. He draped her arm around his neck and helped her limp towards the medical bench.

"It burns," the ghost girl coughed as Sam lay her on the tabletop. "My veins are on fire!"

"Yes, it tends to do that," Dani muttered. He ran over to another bench and fiddled about with various vials and boxes until he ran back over, shaking a flask vigorously. "Hold her down, Sam. Tucker, open her mouth." They obliged without question. "Sorry, sister, this is gonna freeze." He poured the flask's contents down her throat then helped Sam pin her down. It was silent for a moment. Then she yelled. She thrashed about for a second, then her movements became weak and lethargic. Her screams died down too until her eyes fluttered shut and her muscles relaxed. Hesitantly, the three stepped back and exhaled. Sam touched a finger to her cheek then pulled back.

"She's cold! What was that stuff?"

"A serum I learned from Plasmius. It's realigning her ice core."

Tucker slumped onto a bench top and huffed. "You said that Vlad used that to stabilise you... are you-"

"Yes, I'm fully stable now. But only after having been injected many times with that same horrid drug Red shot Danny with." He tuned around to face them. "Why doesn't he know? He was right there when I was melting at Vlad's hand and Danny saved me... and Val."

Sam sighed, snuffing a yaw. He could feel his joints begin to stiffen up, too. "After the whole incident, Valentino was erratic. We knew that he couldn't just quit on the Mayor; he'd know something's up. But Val couldn't sit still and wouldn't listen to us. He went after Vlad alone."

"If it hadn't been for Danny somehow sensing that Val was in trouble, he would be dead." Tucker also yawned.

"And out of our hair," Sam remarked cynically. Tucker rolled her eyes.

"So what happened? Why doesn't Val remember?"

Tucker continued. "Danny got to Vlad's mansion just in time. Plasmius was just about to go for the kill, but she managed to separate the two. She pleaded with Plasmius to spare Valentino and offered up an alternative. That was to erase Val's memories of the whole thing, including finding out about you."