It's been a few days since Paulina told (F/N) what she did over the weekend while she and Danny were gone and got a "reward" out of it much to Sam's displeasure and jealousy and the boys' shock at how bold the latin cheerleader can be.

Here we fade into a shot of a rock surrounded by debris. A cockroach comes in from the left and begins to climb said rock. It twitches its antennae a little. Then it scurries on the back, unseen side of the rock and over some debris of a fallen wall a little farther away.

Zoom out and pan up to show more destroyed and fallen buildings, some still standing but in states of disrepair. The whole place looks deserted and desolate save for a small, blue domed force-field in the distance. As it generates itself, lightning strikes many times. Zoom in on the dome.

Fade to a top view of the dome. Inside is a bright, futuristic looking city. There are high-rises and huge man-made canyons within the dome. Surrounding it are many small towers appearing to generate the force field. Zoom in and rotate.

Fade to black. A yellow, flying car is seen passing from in front of the camera and swooping around a futuristic building, on it an electronic sign that reads "Amity Park" in big, white letters.

Pan right and down to more of the city. Three streams of aerial car traffic are going in various directions, with flying cars of varied colors like yellow, orange, Violet, and dark blue. Text is typed onto the screen. In big, white tech letters, it reads "AMITY PARK: THE FUTURE".

Cut to an aerial shot of a skywalk leading to a tall, white building. People walk to and from the place on the bridge.

Flying cars pass by underneath the bridge and far over it near the camera. Cut to the top of the blue force field dome. It generates to the apogee point. Some exceptionally tall buildings are seen coming close to it.

Pan down to reveal Casper High School, identical in all its over-a-century-old glory, save for the many futuristic buildings behind it. A yellow-orange car is parked with its wheels deployed and its door open vertically. Students hang out on the campus. One girl is running with her dog.

The car takes flight and hovers offscreen to the right. From the top-right of the screen, a jet surfboard with an older Valerie, complete with a crew cut, surfs calmly toward the camera. Pan down as she flies offscreen.

Two young children, a blonde girl with a small pigtail in the back wearing a pink lycra dress and a young boy with fudgy brown hair wearing a blue jumpsuit and white boots both run up on the sidewalk behind her, waving.

Kids: Hi!

We cut to Valerie, surfing past, looking down and smiling. She salutes with two fingers, then looks forward, surfing away from the camera, leaning back on the board as it charges with pink smoke, and blasts off.

We cut to a row of six force-field towers. Pan up as the small speck that is Valerie approaches a small balcony on the back of one.

Cut to the balcony. Pan down as Valerie powers down her board; takes it in one hand and lands on her feet. She sets her board on the guardrail and walks toward a panel. Cut to the panel, it has a huge X on it in blue.

Valerie’s black-gloved hand with a communications watch on it opens it up. Inside, there are three bars, one yellow, one green, and one red.

All are fully illuminated. Zoom out and rotate to show Valerie observing it with her hand on the panel door. She raises her communications watch and pushes a button on it, looking down at it.

Valerie: Ghost shield tower...

Cut to the watch. Valerie’s finger is on it. It’s filled with static.

Valerie: ...100 percent operational.

On the watch, we see Mr. Gray's image resolve and he sits down. He's wearing a uniform and an eyepatch.

Mr. Gray: Great, sweetie. Let's check the last tower and get ba--

The watch cuts to static again and we see Valerie, looking alarmed.

Valerie: Daddy? Daddy?

With a beep, a pair of red eyes appear on the watch screen.

Dark Danny's voice: Hello, Valerie.

Valerie: You, again?! I don't care how powerful you are, ghost, you can't break through the sh--

Dark Danny voice: Until today.

The red eyes widen, and a howl rings out. Valerie clamps her hands over her ears, wincing.

The howl shakes the entire city. We pan across the buildings, seeing people holding their ears and ducking down on a skywalk, windows shattering from the skyscrapers on either side. We see Kwan in his flying car, the windshields of cars around him exploding, then he follows suit. Back on Tower 9, we see Valerie half doubled-over.

She gasps as the levels on the tower meter begin to drop rapidly, then the generator on top of the tower explodes. Valerie grabs her jetsled and leaps from the balcony as explosions rattle down the tower, the shockwave knocking the sled out of her grasp. She tumbles down through the smoke, pushing a button on her gauntlet. It activates the sled, triggering purple jets to flare and it zooms toward her, right before she crashes through a cracking window. The window explodes.

Wide-eyed, Valerie comes to a stop straddling the jet sled to stare up at the still-smoking shield tower. We pan over to the next tower, which also explodes.

Valerie, who ducked behind her arm while offscreen, lowers her arm and gasps in dismay. Zooming out, we see the ring of shield towers explode in a domino chain. The shield dissolves at the generator points and sizzles away, leaving the city exposed.

Lightning strikes, and people scream and run in the streets. Emergency bunker entrances with flashing red lights rise out of the streets and people race inside. Above the milling streets, Valerie looks at her watch.

Dark Danny voice: You like the new power? I call it my Ghostly Wail.

Scowling, Valerie is about to respond when she is distracted by a tsssew sound overhead. She looks up to see a blazing purple blast coming at her. The impact knocks her out and she falls, coming to a crash-landing in front of the Nasty

Burger 2. Bruised, she opens her eyes.

Valerie You?

A purple-haloed form swoops down, hovering above her

Fright Knight: Yes, me. *We zoom in to the Fright Knight, arms crossed* And I serve a new master now.

Valerie scrambles to her feet. The Fright Knight hauls back and throws another purple crystal blast at her. Scowling, she punches a button on her gauntlet and her jet sled sweeps her out of the way, the blast vaporizing the Nasty Burger 2.

Valerie: *muttering* Gotta get to Dad...

Purple explosions erupt around her as she zips down the street then up a building, the Fright Knight hot on her heels. She arches up through the smoke, then disappears in a burst of speed toward FentonWorks.

The Fright Knight forms another purple blast crystal, this one bigger than he is, and flings it. Valerie dodges and it impacts the Ops Center, knocking the array off the top and splitting it open like a dropped watermelon.

Valerie zips in through the hole, flying down through the house and down into the lab, where red alarm lights are flashing. Mr. Gray is at a console; we see now that he is missing an arm as well. Valerie jumps off the sled and runs to him.

Valerie: Dad, the Fright Knight's here. Which means He can't be far behind. What do we do? What do we--

The Ghostly Wail rings out again, shaking the lab.

Mr. Gray: Valerie, run.

The red lights shut down, leaving the lab in a green dim, and they both turn to look at the Fenton Portal. The ground splits open, starting at the base of the Portal and zigzagging toward them, green light shining from the fissure, and a dark red-eyed figure bursts up from it. We see him from the back, wearing a white and black jumpsuit with a white cape, green flame blazing around him. He lands on the shattered ground and approaches the Grays on foot. It pans up to show that it is recognizably an older Danny, with the DP logo, flaming white hair, green skin, pointed ears, fangs, and a goatee.

Dark Danny: Hello, Valerie.

Valerie gapes at him.

Dark Danny: And goodbye. *Raising a hand, he releases an ectoblast*

Outside, we see FentonWorks explode. We then zoom out to see this scene framed in a glowing ring set with gears. The scene in the ring changes to a wavering shot of Dark Danny.

Offscreen voice: Now do you understand?

Child Clockwork flies up in front of the screen in his purple hooded cape, Time Staff in hand.

Clockwork: Yes. Danny Phantom grows up to be the most evil ghost on the planet. *He shifts to adult form. He turns, scowling.*What do you want me to do about it?

We see a pair of shadowed Observants hovering nearby in high-collared capes, gears turning behind them.

Observant 1: You are the Master of Time,

Clockwork. Isn't it obvious?

Observant 2: To save the future, *He moves forward into the light, so that we see his entire face is occupied with one huge green eye* Danny Phantom must perish.

We pan back to the viewscreen, still showing Dark Danny.

We open on Casper High, then move to the auditorium. Mr. Lancer is on stage at a podium, Jazz, (F/N), and Irving sitting in chairs on either side of him.

Lancer: Your future is not carved in stone, people, but it may be carved with a No. 2 pencil *Holds one up*

Out in the auditorium, Danny and Tucker are sitting next to each other, Sam right behind them with her crossed arms propped on the back of their seats. Danny is sitting up and listening intently, where as Sam, Paulina, and Tucker look bored out of their minds.

Sam, Paulina, and Tucker: Oh, please.

Danny: Quiet, this is important!

Tucker and Sam stare at him, nonplussed, then exchange a look.

Lancer: As most of you have probably forgotten, you will be taking the Career Aptitude Test *the letters C.A.T. and the words spell out on the projector screen behind him as he speaks* on Saturday. *Brightly* Do well, like Ms. Fenton, her younger sister, here *gesturing to Jazz and (F/N) * who both got --

Danny (speaking dully along with Lancer): -- The  highest score in the history of the C.A.T.

Lancer: *an image of two obnoxiously rich people flinging money around clicked onto the screen, followed by a fancy car, a mansion strongly resembling Vlad's, and a yacht* Fail, like *we pan to Irving, who is sleeping with his mouth open and drooling* Irving "Third Degree" Burns here, who *he wakes up with a start* got the "lowest" score in the history of the C.A.T., and you will be doomed to a career at the Nasty Burger *an image of the burger joint displays on the projector*.

Irving: *Standing angrily* Hey! Working at Nasty Burger takes brains, you know! If those 42 Nasty Secret Herbs and Spices in our Nasty Sauce are overheated,*Advancing to the edge of the stage* it could cause an explosion that could take out a whole city block!

Crickets chirp as the students stare at him, unimpressed

Irving Oh, who am I kidding. *Slumping off the stage* My life is over.

Lancer: *holding up the answer booklet* These aren't just the answers to the test. They're the answers to your future. So study. *He holds up a briefcase and puts the booklet inside, then closes it and handcuffs it to his wrist.* Remember, it's your future. Do you want fries with it?

Lancer marches offstage, briefcase in hand.

Tucker: *to Danny* Dude, you OK?

Paulina: Danny?

Danny is staring ahead, looking like someone just kicked his puppy. We zoom out to see him on Clockwork's viewscreen, adult! Clockwork looking at it. He turns away as the Observants address him

Observant 1: What are you waiting for? It's the perfect chance to take him out!

Clockwork: That's the problem with you

Observants. *He switches to child form.* All you do is observe.

Observant 2: You know our oath. To watch --

Clockwork: *Getting up in his grill* --and never act. Which is why *He switches to his old form* you bring me in to do your dirty work. *He raises his staff and it flashes, the viewscreen turning to Danny studying at his kitchen table. We see Clockwork again in his adult form.* He turns evil because he's under pressure *he switches to child form* for some test? Fine. Then perhaps it's time for a test of my own.

We sink through the viewscreen to the Fenton kitchen. Danny is surrounded by books and working through a C.A.T. sample test. He taps the paper with his pencil for a moment, then drops his head into his hands despairingly. Jazz and (F/N) come up behind him, peering over his shoulder with both hands on the back of his chair. None of the bubbles have been filled in. She frowns quizzically. Smiling a little, Danny lowers his hand to mark his first answer as A.

Jazz: *Lifting a finger warningly* Ah--

Danny looks back and she covers her mouth. Frowning and sweating a little, Danny starts to mark B.

Jazz: *Raising a finger again, wincing* Bu--

Danny lifts his pencil, then drops his hand.

Jazz: Hnnn-- *gets slapped upside the head by (F/N)* Ow!

(F/N): Will you shut up already?

Danny: *Flinging his hands in the air, making Jazz flinch back* OK! I get it! You're brilliant, I'm stupid, and I'll never be able to get as high a score as you. *Looking down at his empty sample answer sheet* So far I'm not even qualified to scrape the grease off the Nasty Grill. *flicks his pencil away*

Jazz: *downcast* All we want is for you to
succeed, Danny. And doing well on this test can help. *He props his head on one hand and glares flatly as she takes on a lecturing tone.* There are three things I've learned in life:

Danny, (F/N), and Jazz together: Study hard, do your best, and --

(F/N): We just want you to do well bro.

Danny stares at them, thrown for a loop, then the Booo-merang clocks him in the back of the head and lands on the table with a clang

Danny: Ow! *clutching his head, then picking up the boomerang.* A boomerang???

Jack and Maddie come running in. Still rubbing his head, Danny flings the boomerang off through the living room doorway.

Jack: I call it the Boooooomerang! *gesturing spookily* It locks in on a ghost's unique ecto signature and seeks it out wherever it goes!

We see the Booomerang spinning through the living room, and it was about to whack Danny in the head again but (F/N) catches it. Maddie takes it from (F/N), frowning down at the device.

Maddie: *She and Jack look critically at the boomerang* Although why it's keyed into Danny is way beyond me. And why it didn't key onto (F/N) instead.

Jack: What's that, Dan? One of those stupid C.A.T. tests? I failed that and I didn't turn out to be a cat. *looking pleased with himself*

(F/N) and Shadow could only face palm at Jack's stupidity.

(F/N): No, Mr. Fenont it's an acronym, it means, *sighs* ah forget it.

Jack and Maddie trot out of the room. Clenching his fits and growling, Danny glares at the sample sheet.

Danny: Oh, I give--

Clockwork VO: Time out!

Danny freezes in the act of sweeping the test and a book off the table, Jazz freezes as she begins to sneeze, (F/N) pretends to be frozen and a blue-white light flares in midair, turning into a clock hand that sweeps a blue disc of light into being. It disappears and adult Clockwork appears in its place with Box Lunch, a small ghost girl in overalls, a beret, and pigtails. She appears to be asleep or unconscious.

Clockwork: Ah, good. Parents gone. *Switches to child form* He's alone with his sisters. *He flies in a ring around the frozen Danny and Jazz and returns to Box Lunch. Setting his staff down to float in midair beside him, he pulls a medallion on a ribbon, shaped like a gear with the entwined letters CW in the middle, out of his robe, grinning. He drops the medallion around Box Lunch's neck and she wakes.*

Box Lunch: Huh? What? Where am I?

Clockwork: *Switching to elderly form* Amity Park, before you were born. That boy and girl there *He points at Danny and (F/N), and she looks* they're part ghost. My employers believe the boy is to be a threat to the world. *Changing to adult form* Could you be a dear and dance a little dance for us?

Box Lunch stares at him, then glares at Danny but when she looks at (F/N) she smiles a bit.

(F/N): So finally decided to show yourself huh?

Clockwork and Box Lunch looked surprised to see (F/N) and Shadow weren't frozen in time.

Clockwork: What? *Changes to child form* How is this possible? You're supposed to be frozen. *Changes to elderly form*

(F/N): I made a pact with Khepri. You must be Clockwork, guessing your employer wants to take out my brother before he dooms the future huh?

Box Lunch: Wow, she catches on quick.

Clockwork: *Changes into adult form* Yes, she does.

(F/N): Look, I won't tell Danny about your work or why you're here. I'll let him and the others figure that out. Deal?

Box Lunch: Works for me.

Clockwork: Hmph, fine. *(F/N) and Shadow resumes her frozen position* No wonder you're the savior of the future. Now then*punching the button on top of his staff* Time in! *He vanishes in a swirling ball of light*

The book and sample test land on the floor. Jazz sneezes.

Danny: *Sees Box Lunch* A ghost? Here? Now get out of my room!

Jazz: We're in the kitchen. *Gasping, she sees Box Lunch behind a glaring Danny.* But if that's your attitude, I don't wanna see you -- or anything you might do in here in the next several minutes! *Walks off with Shadow.*

Danny What's with her? *Turning to look at

Box Lunch and flinching* Gah! *He and (F/N) goes ghost.* More importantly, what's with "you'"?

Box Lunch: *arms akimbo* I am Box Lunch, daughter of the Box Ghost and the Lunch Lady!

Danny: Um, ew.

(F/N). *Plays along* Ohh that's not right. *Winks at Box Lunch showing she's kidding*

Box Lunch: And now you rwo will face the test of my box-and-lunch-based doom! *She spreads her hands, and the cabinets and fridge spring open. Various boxes and cans of food spring to her, forming a suit of armor.* And now-- *voice turning sweet* and you both probably know this is coming -- BEWARE!

(F/N): *Chuckles* Yeah we kinda did.

Danny and (F/N)  crouch then springs up and they tackle her right out of the armor, going intangible to throw them both out of FentonWorks.

We cut to Nasty Burger. Lancer, briefcase still cuffed to his wrist, is sitting down at one of the outdoor tables with a burger, fries, and cup of coffee. He looks up as Sam, Paulina, and Tucker approach his table.

Lancer: Shouldn't you slackers be studying for the C.A.T.s?

Tucker: I've already studied.

Paulina: (F/N) and I studied everyday.

Sam: I'm sure we'll do fine.

Lancer: The test answers in this briefcase *picking it up and pointing at it* may indicate otherwise. Enjoy your Nasty Burgers while you're still on this side of the counter. Hahahaha!

Paulina: This coming from the guy who was locked in the janitor's closet all weekend.

Lancer: *Stops laughing* Wh-what? How did you-

Paulina: (F/N) told me.

Tucker, Paulina and Sam look unimpressed.

Lancer's burger begins to glow, then smears him in the face as it goes flying off.

Lancer: Fast Food Nation!

All over the restaurant, people gasp as their food levitates off their trays and goes zooming out the door. Above the Nasty Burger, we see it swirl around Box Lunch as she faces off against Danny and (F/N).

Box Lunch: Prepare to taste defeat!! *sweet voice*And perhaps a nice side salad with that?

Danny: *dropping his face in one hand boredly*  Pass.

(F/N): Ooh what kind of salad?

Danny: (F/N)!

(F/N): I mean uh, we'll never eat your salad of evil! *Winks at Box Lunch showing she's kidding*

Box Lunch: *offended* Then feast on my empty calories of doooooom!

She flings the mass of fast food at him, but he and (F/N) go intangible and it all flies through them.

Danny Oh, come on! If you actually are the child of the Box Ghost and the Lunch Lady --

ew --

(F/N): Then you know how this ends--

She brings both fists down on their heads,

knocking them out of the air. Falling intangibly through the roof of the Nasty Burger, he and (F/N) land spread-eagled on a table. The people still inside scream and run out. Tucker, Paulina,  and Sam look on.

Inside, Danny and (F/N) get up and face off against Box Lunch, who has followed them in. Behind the counter we see two employees.

Employee 1: Let's get out of here!

Irving: No! You can't leave! *Putting his hands on his hips* As a duly deputized Nastro-naut, you took an oath to protect the Nasty Sauce from overheating at all costs. *He points to two tall vats. A small dial on the side with a color warning scale has its needle in the green.*

Employee 2: At minimum wage? I don't think so!

The two employees run out the back door.

Irving: *shouting out the door after them* You can kiss Employee of the Month goodbye!

Danny: *Flying up over the two vats* That's right!

(F/N): He said at the assembly if this stuff gets too hot, kaboom.

Danny and (F/N) look over at the condiment station, where there is a box of multicolored Nasty Sauce packets. Danny picks up one.

Box Lunch: Prepare for -- Huh? *the Nasty Packet sticks in her beret and she cuts off*

Danny: *sing-song* Box Lunch,--- *Raising one finger, he sends a focused beam at the Nasty Packet.*BEWARE!

The Nasty Sauce packet swells then explodes, kicking Danny and (F/N) through the wall and blowing the top off the Nasty Burger. Outside, a crowd of people look on, Lancer in front. He raises his briefcase to shield his face from the flying debris, and a sauce-splattered Danny (F/N), falls through it, intangible, to land next to Sam and Tucker. Irving stumbles through the front door. Lancer lowers his briefcase.

Lancer Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance! Run!

Screaming, everyone but the trio and Paulina run.

Tucker: *getting up* Danny, who was that ghost you and (F/N) were fighting?

Danny *helping Sam to her feet* That was Box Lunch,

(F/N): *Helping Paulina to her feet* the daughter of the Box Ghost and the Lunch Lady.

Sam, and Tucker: Yikes.

Paulina: I knew they'd be perfect for each other.

Sam: Wait, you knew they would get together?

Paulina: It had to happen at some point.

Sam: Fair enough.

Danny: Actually, it's more of an eew. I don't

know what's going on. *Looking down, he notices the CW medallion on the ground.* But this medallion might give us a clue -- *He suddenly notices there is something stuck to his back, and peels it away. It's the C.A.T. answer packet.* Oh my gosh. The answers to the C.A.T.s!

We zoom out to see him in Clockwork's viewscreen. adult! Clockwork and the two Observants are watching.

Clockwork: *watching the screen intently and gesturing* Now watch this. He'll make the right choice. And you'll see, you've got absolutely nothing to--

Danny: *holding up the packet triumphantly* Hello, great future!

Tucker: You're not actually thinking of peeking at the answers, are you?

Danny: Of course I am. *He reverts to human form.* Aren't you?

(F/N): Nope, *She reverts to human form*

Paulina: Me neither, Danny this kind of test is super serious, you can't cheat on it.

Sam: I can't believe I'm saying this, but Paulina is right.

Clockwork's wide-eyed stare drops into a scowl.

Observant 1: He's stolen the test answers.

Observant 2: He's clearly going to cheat!

Observant 1: He has your time medallion.

Observant 2: He has your time medallion.

Clockwork: You said that twice. *switches to child form*

Observant 1: Destroy him now, Clockwork.

Switching back to adult form, Clockwork sticks his hand in the opening of another gear.

Clockwork: I know what I'm doing. *The gear opening and his hand glow, and the opening resolves to a view of a robotic ghost.* He put the answers to the test in his hands, and he made the wrong decision.

In the viewer, we see the smoking wreck of the Nasty Burger. The viewer zooms closer, showing an exposed heating element by the Nasty Sauce tanks.

The heat meter moves up to yellow. Clockwork punches a button on his staff, making the viewer go to static.

It shows a still shot of Danny fighting the robot ghost, then fighting his evil older self. It then shows his family and friends and Mr. Lancer bound and gagged with ecto-energy in the Nasty Burger, which then explodes, and Danny shielding himself against the blast then screaming "nooo!" Clockwork floats up in front of the viewer.

Clockwork: *In old form* His future is sealed.

At Casper High. The trio, (F/N), and Paulina are walking down the hall.

Sam: So, are you going to return the test answers or not?

Danny: I will! I will. I'm just...waiting for the right moment.

Tucker Like, maybe, after the test?

Danny frowns at him.

Tucker Yeah, you're right. *As they pass by the teacher's lounge*

(F/N): You're not thinking about cheating on a test that you're convinced will determine your future.

The door to the teacher's lounge opens, and Lancer looks after them quizzically. Shutting the door again, he goes to the sofa and sets the briefcase down on the coffee table. He pulls out a key and unlocks the briefcase, and gasps upon finding it empty.

The scene goes to several Casper High girls looking angry as Jazz talks.

Jazz:  So, it's a choice between Harvard, Yale, and Stanford, and I can't make up my mind! *The girls all turn and walk away, and Jazz's smile drops.* So...see you after school? No?

Lancer *walking up to Jazz* Ms. Fenton, may I speak with you after school?

Jazz looks alarmed.

Scene shifts to FentonWorks at night. In Danny's room, the trio are sitting in a circle on the floor around Clockwork's medallion. Tucker connects a pair of wires from it to his PDA.

Tucker I can't seem to hack into it. It's really hi-tech.

Sam: Yeah, like it's from the future or something.

Danny Well, speaking of the future, I think it's time I started preparing for mine. *Picks up his backpack and stands*

Sam: You mean cheat.

Danny: I didn't say cheat.

Paulina: You just said it.

Danny: I still didn't say cheat.

(F/N): You just said it again.

Tucker: And you didn't say "not" cheat.

Danny: *facepalming* Guys, come on. I'd love to have spent the last month studying, but I was fighting ghosts! Besides, if you two think this test is so meaningless *pulling out the answer packet and holding it up*, why do you even care

if I cheat? Why shouldn't I open this up and study the answers, huh?

Sam, (F/N), Paulina and Tucker look at each other.

Danny: No answer? *Putting the packet on his dresser* Well that's all the answer I need. *He looks down at the packet, hesitating.*

Tucker: *To Sam* Aren't you going to say something?

Sam: I'm his friend, not his mom. *Giving Danny a dirty look* If he wants to cheat, he can cheat.

Danny is still hesitating. Finally he goes for the seal and peels it up, but is interrupted by a blue light behind him. Tucker gapes, (F/N), Paulina and Sam gasps. The robot ghost seen earlier in Clockwork's viewscreen appears. It's a combination of Skulker and Technus, with Skulker's head in the typical head spot and Technus's face embedded in its chest.

Sam, (F/N), Paulina, and Tucker: *sigh in relief* I mean... Oh no, a ghost!

Danny, Paulina and (F/N) go ghost and leap at the ghost, who easily backhands them into the wall. They slides to the floor and glares up.

Danny: Who are you supposed to be?

(F/N): Looks like a mashup of-

Paulina: Technus and Skulker.

Skulktech (Skulker): I am Skulktech 9.9, the future Ghost World's greatest hunter!

Skulktech (Technus): With its greatest technovillain as his operating system!

Danny: Skulker and Technus together?

Paulina: Called it!

Tucker Is that an ew or a yikes?

Several claw-ended arms spring out of Skulktech.

Danny: Definitely a yikes.

Danny, (F/N), and Paulina barely misses getting slammed by a cluster of arms. Going intangible, Danny snags Tucker and Sam and flies out of the room along with (F/N) and Paulina, then returns through the door. Skulktech knocks him around for a bit, then grabs them by the neck and holds him up.

ST (Skulker): Say goodbye,

ST (Technus): Ghost Children!

They lift a claw arm, which begins to spin like a scalesaw. Suddenly their gauntlet starts beeping the tune to Reveille.

ST (Skulker): Someone's hacked into the system? Again?! I thought we fixed that!

ST (Technus): We did! We must have accidentally synced up with somebody else's PDA!

Skulktech goes intangible, and their jets fire off. Dropping Danny, (F/N) and Paulina, they take off through the ceiling. The door opens and Tucker and Sam come in.

Tucker:Wow. I can still hack into his operating system with my handheld computer. I don't know whether that's exciting or depressing.

Paulina: Maybe a little bit of both.

Danny: *leaping to his feet* Come on, follow us! *Going intangible, he flies up through the ceiling along with (F/N) and Paulina*

Tucker: ...We'll walk.

Danny, (F/N), and Paulina fly after Skulktech across the evening sky. Below, at Casper High, Jazz and Lancer are talking.

Jazz: So you're saying Danny stole the C.A.T. test answers? But how?

Lancer: I don't know. *holding up the briefcase* Unless your brother suddenly gained the ability to turn invisible and reach through solid objects?

Jazz: *cringing* But Mr. Lancer, you still have no proof Danny took the test answers.

Lancer: Fair enough. He has up until the test to return the answers. But if he cheats, I won't just fail him. I'll destroy his future.

Back in the air, Danny, (F/N), and Paulina are still chasing Skulktech

ST (Skulker): What are you waiting for? Activate the Purple Back Gorilla Override!

ST (Technus): Don't tell me how to do my job!

Danny, (F/N) and Paulina all zap them with an ectoblast, and they fall from the sky to crash into the ruin of the Nasty Burger. We see that the heating element is still on, the meter inching higher. They blast off again.

ST (Technus): Activating Phantom Palm Pummeler!

Their hand opens, sending out a blue white ray that catches Danny, (F/N), and Paulina  and knocks them off course, smoking. It hits him again and they revert to human form, then they all fall a short way before going back to ghost form.

Danny: You're shorting out our powers?!

Paulina: Since when can they do that?

ST (Skulker): Indeed. Pummeler might not work on you in the future, but we had a feeling it would work on you here.

Danny, (F/N), and Paulina: The Future?

ST (Technus): *laughing* Oh, I love it. You're much less powerful than those other Phantoms we have to deal with! *Looks at Paulina* And she's less scary than the other Phantasma.

A third blast hits them, turning them human.

Danny: What are you two talking aboooou *falling* aaaagh! *he, (F/N) and Paulina catches themselves one-handed on a flagpole. Danny looks up.*

(F/N):  Wow. That flagpole thing works? I thought for sure it would *the flagpole snaps* breeaaaak!! *They all fall and bounces off an awning into a pile of trash bags.*

Danny: Guess I don't have a future as an Olympic gymnast. *An arm snakes through the pile and grabs them around the middle, zapping them.* Aaaaaaaugh! *It slams them to the ground.*

ST (Skulker): You don't have a future, period!

ST (Technus): Not anymore!

Tucker VO': I wouldn't bet on that.

Sam and Tucker come running up, Tucker running the override on his PDA. A red laser hits Skulktech and they short out, falling. As they fall they catch themselves on a flagpole.

ST (Skulker and Technus): Aw, poo.

ST (Technus): Wow, that flagpole thing--

It snaps and they fall, crashing to land doubled over a lamppost. We see the CW medallion around their neck.

Danny *still trapped in the cuffed arm* Way to go, guys!

(F/N): Yeah now

Sam: Come on, Tucker, let's see if we can get this off!

Sam grabs the cuff and Tucker grabs Sam as they try to wrench it open. Skulktech's medallion falls off and tinks to the ground, and they start to glow blue-white. The glow races along the arm, enveloping the trio, and they all vanish.

The scene switches to the inside of Clockwork's Tower. The viewer shows swirls of green, and gears tick and turn everywhere. The viewer blazes, and Skulktech and the trio are thrown through it to land on the floor. The cuff springs open

Tucker: Where are we?

The five wander, looking up into the gear-ridden darkness. They approach a window with a clock face embedded in it.

Danny: I don't know. The Ghost Zone, I

think.*We zoom out to see the entire tower, floating in the green haze of the Ghost Zone.* But...no part of the Ghost Zone I've ever seen.

Sam: It happened right after his medallion fell off.

Both (F/N) and Paulina realize this is Clock Work's realm as they both nod at each other.

(F/N): *Whispers* Remember the plan.

Paulina: *Nods* Right. *Outloud* It's the same medallion like Box Lunch was wearing.

Tucker: Then I think I know how to get us back!

We follow his gaze to a box on the wall, where six more of the medallions hang. Tucker seizes one and puts it around his neck.

Tucker *pumping his arms triumphantly* Haha!

Nothing happens.

Tucker *Looking around, then dropping his arms.* Nothing, huh.

Sam: No, but nice bling. *She goes to take a closer look at the viewer.*

Paulina: *Takes one and wears it* Ooh this looks nice on me.

(F/N): Yeah it does.

Danny *Looking more closely at Tucker's medallion* I don't like this.

Sam: You're going to like this even less.

The boys  join Sam at the viewer, where Dark Danny is laughing and throwing ectoblasts at screaming people and buildings, then laughing. A label on the screen reads FUTURE: 10 YEARS.

Sam: I think I'm seeing your future.

Paulina: And you're kind of a jerk.

On the viewer, tanks, helicopters, and police cars approach Dark Danny. He easily dispatches a lot of them with his Ghostly Wail. Sam looks aghast.

Sam: Ok, you're "really" a jerk.

Danny: *pushing Sam out of the way* Wow, what is that? *Excited* Some kind of ghostly wail? What a cool power!

Sam, (F/N), Paulina, and Tucker stare at him.

(F/N): Bro, not the time.

Danny *backtracking quickly* ...If it weren't being used for evil!

Paulina: *Sarcastically* Smooth.

Tucker *turning to Skulktech and clicking on his PDA* Let's see if this future boy knows any more about--

Glowing blue-white, Skulktech suddenly rises and flies into the viewer.

Tucker: I didn't do that.

Clockwork: I did.

The trio, (F/N), and Paulina all look up as adult Clockwork descends from the darkness.

Clockwork: I sent him back to his own time. Or, should I say, *switching to elderly version* forward to his own time. You see, for me, *switching to child mode* time moves backwards *switching to adult mode* and forwards, and-- *switching to elderly form* Oh,

Why am I bothering? You're fourteen.

Danny Who are you? Where are we?

(F/N): This is Clockwork, he's the master of time, he can travel to the past, present and future.

Paulina: And he's been charged with the task of eliminating your future, so that *pointing at the viewer* ever happens.

Clockwork: *Switches to Adult form* They're right.

Sam: How do you two know that?

(F/N): We met him yesterday after you all left while me and Paulina were making out.

Flashback

Here we see (F/N) and Paulina making out in the living room at Fenton works as we see a blue portal open, surprising the duo.

Paulina: What the…?

Clockwork: (F/N) I need- *sees what's happening* Oh, did I come at a bad time?

(F/N): *Sarcastically* Oh haha very funny.

Paulina: Sweetie, you know this guy? *Gets up*

(F/N): Yeah, Paulina this is clockwork, Clockwork this is-

Clockwork: Paulina, *Changes to elder form* I know.

Paulina: You know who I am?

Clockwork: Yes, I am Clockwork, master of time.

Paulina: Okay then prove it, what's gonna happen 10 years in the future?

Clockwork: You and (F/N) get married once you both graduated highschool, (F/N) is astronaut, lawyer and psychiatrist. You're a fashion designer. You both have two kids, Daisy and Katie.

Paulina: Woah… okay I believe you.

(F/N): Anyways, what are you doing here Clockwork? You usually come if there's something bad going down.

Clockwork: *Changes to child form* Actually there is.

Clockwork explained to the duo that Danny becomes evil 10 years into the future.

Paulina: What?! But Danny is like the nicest boy I know and my soon to be brother in law. He wouldn't do something like that, would he?

Clockwork: *Changes to adult form* He would.

(F/N): So what do you want us to do about it?

Clockwork: Nothing, you two are the only people I can trust.

Paulina: Meaning, we can't tell him, right?

Clockwork: Yes. *Changes to elder form* he mustn't know about the future but he will.

(F/N): Don't worry we won't tell him.

Paulina: Yeah, you can count on us.

Clockwork: Good.

Flashback ends.

In the viewer, Dark Danny picks up a tank and throws it, then tosses a few more ecto blasts around.

Danny: You've got to be kidding me. Name one evil thing I've done!

Smiling, adult Clockwork points his staff at the viewer. In it, we see Jazz pulling the C.A.T. answer packet out of Danny's backpack and gasping, "Danny's a cheater!"

Tucker: Bet you can't find two!

In the viewer, a sobbing Jazz turns into Dark

Danny standing triumphantly over the wreckage of a city street, decorated liberally with fallen helicopters.

Clockwork: How about two thousand. *switches to child form*

Danny: I don't have to sit here and explain myself to you! I'm going ghost!

He does so,  except for (F/N) amd Paulina, and Danny flies at adult Clockwork

Clockwork: Time out!

Clockwork points his now-glowing staff at Danny, who slows and freezes in place just short of it, then rewinds to fly backward, land, and return to his human form.

Danny I'm going ghost! --Whoa. *puts a hand to his head* Serious deja vu. *He goes ghost and flies at Clockwork again.*

Clockwork: *punches button on his staff again, grinning* Time out! *Danny slows way down, and Clockwork swoops off to the side; Danny watches him go* Time in!

Danny resumes normal speed, his momentum carrying him through the spot Clockwork previously occupied and slamming him into the clock tower bell. Clockwork rewinds and forwards him through colliding with the bell a few times.

Clockwork: I could do this all day *changing to elderly form*, but I have a schedule to keep.

He presses the button one last time, and Danny crashes to the ground. Above, Clockwork pulls a scythe from the hands of a reaper statue and swoops down.

Sam, (F/N), Paulina,  and Tucker: Danny! Look out!

Danny zips out of the way and the scythe comes down on a gear, shattering it. Clockwork freezes him in midair. Over to the side, Sam is also frozen in the act of gasping, but Tucker is unaffected and so are Paulina and (F/N).

Tucker: Hey, wait! Why would he freeze time for Danny and not for us? *noticing Sam is frozen* Hey, Sam? *waving a hand in front of her face* Hm. *Looking down at his medallion and holding it* I knew these medallions were good for something.  It's like a Get Out of Time Free card! *Tucker and Paulina run and grab a pair of medallions from the wall.*

Clockwork: *looming over Danny with the scythe* Time's up, Ghost Boy.

He raises the scythe to swing, and Tucker's hand reaches out and takes it from his hands.

Tucker: Sorry, no sudden death overtime in this game!

He  throws the medallions to the right and left. The first one lands around Sam's neck; she blinks then assumes a fighting stance. The second one lands around Danny's and he abruptly resumes his flight trajectory.

Danny: Huh? What happened? *He lands between Tucker, (F/N), Paulina and Sam.*

Sam: *holding up her medallion* We leveled the playing field. Just get the bad guy!

Clockwork: *scowling* You five have seen too much. You must be eliminated before *switch to elderly form* you permanently alter the timestream.

Five ghost soldiers from different eras appear one by one, fully armed. The trio gasps.

Clockwork: *switching to adult form* Nowhere to run, children.

We see the viewer, displaying the desolate landscape of Amity Park 10 years in the future. Danny looks to it and back.

Danny: Nowhere but the future!

Grabbing Sam and Tucker, he flies into the viewer, Tucker dropping the scythe in the process.

Clockwork: Then let's see if you have what it takes *switch to child form* to face that future.

(F/N): We are so sorry for the inconvenience.

Clockwork: It's okay, these things happen.

(F/N) and Paulina fly into the viewer leaving Clockwork.

The scene switches to a shattered street in future Amity Park. The trio, (F/N), and Paulina appear in a flare of blue-white light, Tucker and Sam falling to the ground.

Tucker: *looking around uneasily* Man. If this is what we have to look forward to, I'm definitely not taking the C.A.T. test.

Sam: How do you think this all happened?

Danny: *floating* I don't know. But based on what we just saw, I have a really bad feeling I'm the one responsible.

Paulina: Uh yeah because you cheated on the test.

Danny: Oh come on, it's not like me cheating on the test did all of this. But I feel like I'm the one responsible for this.

Older Valerie springs out of the wreckage on her jet sled, powering up a huge shoulder-mounted blaster.

Valerie: Got that right, ghosts!

She fires, the kickback knocking her back a little. The blast impacts the street right in front of Danny and (F/N), blowing the street apart. Danny and (F/N) retreat into the street, then they rise back up through it intangibly to face off against Valerie.

Danny: Valerie! Listen to us!

(F/N): Yeah we're your friends… sort of…!

Valerie: You can't fool me this time, Phantom and Ravager!

She fires again and they take a flying dodge. She fires a few more blasts then chases after, jumping into the air and letting the board continue on its own.

Danny and (F/N)  loop back around, just barely misses getting beaned by the jet sled, and gets caught in an electrified purple net which drops him to the ground. Valerie lands nearby and trains her blaster at them, powering it up with a whine

Valerie I've been waiting a long time for this. Goodbye and good--

Tucker,  Paulina, and Sam jump in front of Danny, shielding him.

Tucker: Valerie, no!

Valerie rears back in shock.

Sam: Don't shoot!

Paulina: Please!

Valerie: *wide-eyed* Sam? Tucker? Paulina I-It's not possible! This is a trick! You two can't be alive! *To Paulina and (F/N)* And you two are supposed to be in Canada!

Paulina: Why would we go there?

Tucker: And wait not alive? *dropping his arms* That's our future? I'm definitely not taking the C.A.T.!

Valerie: *To Tucker and Sam* That's your future. *Remembers* Wait, The C.A.T. That's the last time I saw you alive. The explosion at the Nasty Burger...you, Tucker, Danny's family-- *training the gun on Danny  again* And it was all your fault!

A green flash of flame knocks Valerie offscreen. The trio, (F/N), and Paulina look up to the source to find Dark Danny floating there.

Dark Danny: Actually, that was me. And you, eventually.

We fade back in on Dark Danny frowning down at the trio, who stare back up in shock. Danny and (F/N) are still caught in Valerie's net. Dark Danny lands on the street and puts his fists on his hips.

Dark Danny: Sam, Paulina and Tucker. It's been a while. Ten years, to be accurate. *Raising a hand, he sweeps it down, and Sam, Paulina, and Tucker are encased, motionless, in green light.* So, to what do I owe this little blast from the past? *His eyes widen as he notices Sam's CW medallion* Clockwork. Meddling again.

He begins to raise his arm, but a purple blast from offscreen knocks him into the street. As he stumbles up and waves the smoke away we see Valerie, blowing the smoke from a wrist-mounted weapon, a grenade in her other hand. Scowling, he gets to his feet and charges. Valerie throws a pair of grenades at him, but he transforms to a green, blobby form and they pass through him. She fires her wrist gun, but he is too fast and grabs her by both wrists. Meanwhile, Danny bursts from the net with a cry. Dark Danny lifts Valerie with one hand and punches her with the other, sending her bouncing off the pavement. He follows as she props herself on one hand and one elbow

Dark Danny: I suppose out of respect for our past, I should let you live. *He grabs her by the holsters.* But that's not how I work. *He lifts her and throws her.*

Danny And (F/N): Valerie!

Danny and (F/N)  fly and catches Valerie around the middle, making them fly intangibly through a few buildings before crash-landing in the street on the other side in a tangle

Valerie You two are from the past, aren't you?

(F/N): No shit dickhead! You think after 10 years you'd stop the whole "shoot first, ask questions later".

Danny just looks at her, getting up.

Valerie: Almost forgot how cute you were back then *to (F/N)* And I forgot how much of a pain in the ass you could be. *she slumps back to the ground*

Danny: You thought I was cute? Wow! An older woman likes me.

(F/N): And she hates me.

Dark Danny: You know, if I had an ounce of humanity left in me, *he walks around Sam and Tucker, still trapped in the green light* this would be a touching little reunion. *Sam, Paulina and Tucker exchange a nervous glance.* But of course I surrendered my human half a long time ago.

Behind him, we see Danny and (F/N) rise invisibly from the street, teeth gritted and fists clenched. Dark Danny's ghost sense goes off as tendrils of red smoke coming from his nostrils.

Dark Danny: Oh, please.

He turns and punches an ectoblast at Danny and (F/N) who returns in kind. All three are knocked down by the other's blast, and the green light trapping Tucker, Paulina, and Sam vanishes, dropping them to the street as well

Danny *Sitting up, panicked* Tucker! Paulina Sam! Run!

They do

Dark Danny: *back on his feet * Run? Where are they going to go?

Turning, he lets out a Ghostly Wail. Danny covers his ears. Tucker and Sam stop, looking up at the FentonWorks next to them. The brick begins to crumble, the Op Center tilting from the top. Sam and Tucker cover their heads.

Tucker *to Sam* For the record, I blame you.

Dark Danny: Ah ah ah.

Danny and (F/N) gasps as the Fentonworks falls over on top of Tucker* Paulina, and Sam, throwing up a cloud of dust. Danny and (F/N) stares in shock for a moment, then they cry out as Dark Danny shocks him with energy. They revert to human form, and Dark

Danny spins and throws them toward the wreckage.

Getting up on his elbows, they see the three time medallions Tucker, Paulina and Sam had been wearing lying abandoned on the ground.

Danny: They took off their time medallions! *getting to his feet with (F/N)*

(F/N): That returns them to their time period just like Box Lunch and Skulktech! *holding up a medallion*

Danny: Tucker, Paulina and Sam made it out alive!

(F/N): *taking hold of hee own medallion* Which means we can--

Dark Danny: *seizing Danny and (F/N)' arms* What? *Danny and (F/N) cry out as he lifts them into the air, dropping the other medallions.* Go back for them? They're doomed anyway. And you aren't going anywhere if you can't remove your time medallion. *His hand glows green. Ripping off the time medallion, he makes it intangible and sticks it inside Danny's chest and then (F/N)'s chesr. Danny and (F/N) scream then slump, unconscious.* In fact, you two aren't going anywhere at all.

The Scene changes to the current time wreck of Nasty Burger. Jazz drives up in a pink sedan and parks in front of it. We see that she has a personalized plate that reads "JAZZ" and a bumper sticker reading "Have you hugged your inner child today?"

Jazz: *leaning out her car window and looking

around* Danny has to be out here somewhere.

In the alley beside the Nasty Burger, Sam, Paulina, and Tucker appear in a flash of light. The still-live heating element and tanks of Nasty Sauce are visible. Tucker is on his knees, still shielding his head, screaming. Sam and Paulina cross their arms and frown at him. He looks up, surprised.

Tucker You got the medallions off, didn't you.

Sam: I don't accessorize well. Unfortunately, Danny and (F/N) are still stuck in the future fighting Danny's jerky older self! We've gotta help him!

Paulina: And how do we do that? We can't exactly travel back to the future.

Jazz: *offscreen* Tucker? Sam? Paulina?

They turn and see her standing at the entrance to the alley.

Jazz: You got a second? Let me answer that for you. *approaching with one hand pointing* Yes, you do. I know Danny stole the answers to the C.A.T. That he's going to cheat!

Sam: Actually, Danny wasn't going to--

Jazz: *holding up a hand* Sam, enough. I know more than you think I do. A lot more. So I suggest when you see Danny, you tell him I wanna talk to him. Tonight! Because if I don't, I will be talking to our parents and Mr. Lancer tomorrow. *walks off*

Sam: Lancer knows Danny has the answers?

Paulina: Figures he would know.

Tucker: Oh, man, is he in trouble.

Sam: That's gotta be it. Danny cheating is the thing that leads to that horrible future!

Tucker: Let me get this straight. Danny gets caught cheating on a test, and we pay for it with our lives? How is that fair?

Paulina: Well you two are the closest to him and you are his friends and you're always there for him.

Tucker: That makes sense.

We see Danny and (F/N) are lying on the ground, opening their eyes. A large stone statue comes into focus before him.

Danny Mom? Dad? *rolls to his knees*

The statue is of the Fentons, Redgraves, Sam and Tucker, all smiling. An epigraph on the large pedestal reads "GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN". At this angle we also see that Danny's arms are bound to his torso with glowing green rope and so is (F/N).

Danny: *Reads* Gone but not forgotten.

(F/N): He must have gotten to them too.

They look to the side and see a statue of Lancer off by itself. The pedestal has sunk into the ground so that it reads "MR LANCER - GONE".

(F/N): Figures. He was always a pain in the butt.

Danny: *standing* And where's the Nasty Burger?

He looks up at the wreck of the Nasty Burger. It's been blown open, and the sign has fallen. Dark Danny walks around the corner of the building.

Dark Danny: Strange how one massive fireball of highly combustible condiments can ruin your whole future.

Danny: *Looking down* The time medallion?

Dark Danny: Fused inside you. Nice, huh? Intangible and unreachable whether you're ghost or human which means...you can't go back in time. *He raises his hand and a disc of green swirling light begins to form around it.*

Danny It doesn't matter if I go back in time or not. I'll never turn into you! Never!

(F/N): Yeah what he said!

Behind Dark Danny, the swirling green vortex has grown to his height.

Dark Danny: Of course you will. *he reverts to human form, but he now appears to be Danny's age; a perfect clone.* It's only a matter of time. **Seizing Danny and (F/N) by the bonds, he throws them screaming into the portal* I need you out of my way and out of my hair while I make sure nothing happens to change my past. And luckily, this *he pulls out one of the time medallions* is all I need to make sure of that...

A ball of blue-white light engulfs him and he vanishes. He reappears back in the present, in the alleyway next to the Nasty Burger.

Dark Danny: ...And to get where and when I need to be.

Meanwhile we see Clockwork stand before his viewer, which is blank, fiddling with something on his staff. The two Observants appear behind him and he stops what he's doing, looking back at them.

Observant 1: Have you completed the task?

Clockwork: *crossly* Everything's fine. *smiling* Everything's the way it's supposed to be. *He turns to the console of the viewer and presses a button as he reverts to his elderly form. Disguised Dark Danny appears on the screen in front of the Nasty Sauce vats.* And there's your boy, back to his time. Safe, sound, and clearly not evil. *onscreen Disguised Dark Danny starts walking.* Now. Care to observe the door?

The two Observants look at each other, then vanish. Clockwork switches to child form.

Scene change: back at the Nasty Burger. Disguised Dark Danny is looking up at the sign. Even disguised, he retains his adult voice.

Disguised Dark Danny: The Nasty Burger. Still standing. For now... *He looks inside where the heating element is warming the Nasty Sauce tank. The temperature indicator is still slowly creeping higher.

Sam, Paulina and Tucker: *offscreen* Danny!

Disguised Dark Danny turns away from the hole in the Nasty Burger, surprised. Sam and Tucker run, up, grinnning. Sam hugs him

Sam You made it back!

Tucker: *also hugs Disguised Dark Danny* Did you and (F/N) beat that evil jerky puss-pack alternative version of yourself?

Paulina: Wait, where is (F/N)?

???(Clone (F/N): I'm here.

Everyone, even Dark Danny (Disguises) yelped in surprise.

C. (F/N): Hey guys.

Disguised Dark Danny: *his eyes flash red for an instant, then return to blue, and he laughs shortly. He now speaks with Danny's voice.* Always with the quips. In my weaker moments I say, sometimes, I miss your droll sense of humor.

Sam,  C.(F/N), Paulina and Tucker look nonplussed.

Paulina: Uhh what?

Tucker: I'm sorry?

Danny *realizing he's messed up* I'm just kidding! I beat my other self quite easily. Had you guys going there for a second, didn't I?

Tucker ...Well...we should probably do what we can to stop the Nasty Burger from blowing up, huh?

Danny Already done! Now, who's up for... *to himself*what did we used to do together? *out loud* Playing some video games and raging against the machine?

Sam and Tucker: *enthusiastically* We're in!

C. (F/N) and Paulina:

In a green-swirling part of the Ghost Zone scattered with purple doors, Danny and (F/N) drift, still bound. They struggle against the ropes.

Danny *grunting* Gotta get out of this! We're going ghost!

They do so. They struggle some more and find himself still stuck, then finally give up.

(F/N): Well that didn't work.

Danny: Well, it was worth a shot.

Box Ghost: *offscreen* Well, well, well. *We see Danny and (F/N) floating toward him; he his large and muscular now, with a hook for one hand, an eyepatch, and a heart with an arrow through it's tattooed on his left arm.* All this time we've been planning how we'd take the fight to you, and here you are. Wrapped up like a present.

Danny and (F/N): Box Ghost?

(F/N): Man he looks jacked!

Box Ghost: Beware. Also, thanks.

(F/N): Your welcome.

Raising a hand he throws a blue-white energy beam at Danny and (F/N) knocking them into an older and much chubbier Ember.

Danny Ember?! You look....

Ember Like I went to seed right after you destroyed my vocal cords with that Ghostly Wail of yours?

Danny: I was gonna say statuesque, but uh--

(F/N): You're fatter than Danny's dad.

Danny: (F/N)!

(F/N): What? It's true.

Ember throws a punch chord on her guitar, knocking Danny and (F/N) back. They crash into Johnny 13, now balding and in a wheelchair.

Danny: Johnny 13?! Ok, whatever happened to you, I swear I had nothing to do with--

Johnny 13: *the black blanket over his legs rises up and resolves into the bad luck shadow* Been waiting a long time for this, punk.

Danny and (F/N): Wait! *The other ghosts close in on them* No! Nooo!

Ember plays another chord and Box Ghost forms a glowing box over their heads.

We then cut to Disguised Dark Danny rises up through the floor and looks around distastefully

Disguised Dark Danny: My old room. *Looking in the mirror, touching his face* And my old face.

Behind him, the door opens. It's Jazz, looking peeved.

Jazz: Danny? We need to talk.

Disguised Dark Danny: And my old sister, Jazz. What do you want, Jazz? I'm busy.

Jazz approaches, holding his backpack. We see that the Booomerang is on the floor between them.

Jazz: Yeah, busy cheating! *She pulls the C.A.T. answer packet out of the bag.* Lancer was right, you "did" steal the answers! Don't you understand?

Disguised Dark Danny: That I'll be destroying my future? Haha. You don't know the half of it. *he takes the packet and bookbag from her.*

Jazz *downcast* Danny, I know all of it. Disguised Dark Danny shoves the packet in his bag* About everything. That you're part ghost. *she picks up the Booomerang* That you're always doing the right thing with your powers. Until now.

Disguised Dark Danny: *surprised* You knew?

C. (F/N): *Comes in* She knew?

Jazz: I know. And I've been covering for you and (F/N) with Mom and Dad because I'm proud of you both, and the good that you both do. But with you, not anymore.

Disguised Dark Danny: You always were smarter than I gave you credit for. *he abandons his disguise, changing to his adult ghost form*

Jazz: You're- you're not Danny! *backing up and dropping the boomerang* That's why the Boomerang wasn't homing in on your ecto signature! You're not Danny! *Realizes looks at C. (F/N)* And you're not (F/N)!

C. (F/N): No shit, captain obvious. *Disappears*

Dark Danny: And I was. But I grew out of it. The Danny and (F/N) you know are both floating helplessly in the Ghost Zone ten years in the future.

Jazz: He'll escape. He'll beat you!

Dark Danny: How? Is the answer A, the Fenton Portal? Destroyed it. B, the only remaining portal? The one my idiot cheesehead archenemy has? As soon as I find it, that's going too.

Jazz: Cheesehead? *Realizes* Vlad Masters?! "He's" your  and (F/N)'s archenemy?

Dark Danny: Is it C, you? No. You can't stop me from cheating on the C.A.T. and solidifying my future, so it must be D-- *He throws an ectoblast at her, freezing her with green light* None of the above!

He releases her and she falls to the ground unconscious. He returns to his human disguise and pulls the answer packet out of his bag, looking at it.

Disguised Dark Danny: *adult voice* Well, what do you know! The answer to the first question "is" D. *evil laugh*

We then cut to Jazz lying in her bed, thrashing in her sleep.

Jazz: Danny! (F/N) *sits up as she wakes up screaming* Nooo! Huh? *looks around* What?

Jack kicks the door open with a crash, boomerang in hand.

Jack: What's up, princess? Are you ok?

Shadow: *Meows*

Jazz: I'm in my bed? I'm alive?

Maddie: *laughing and kicking Jack out of the way* Well of course you're in your bed and you're alive, sweetie! Danny said you fell asleep helping him study and we tucked you in.

Jack: He even woke up bright and early to make sure nothing happened to make him late for the big test!

Jazz: Oh no! The test!

Jazz leaps out of bed and runs out the door, snatching the boomerang from Jack's hand as she goes, her parents looking on in confusion. Down in the lab, she runs up to the open Fenton Portal. Holding up a folded piece of paper, she speaks to the Booomerang:

Jazz: I need you to find Danny and (F/N). *she rips off her headband and uses it to fix the note to the boomerang* Fourteen-year-old Danny, and (F/N) ten years from now. *She hauls back and throws the Booomerang into the Portal.*

We see it fly around in the Ghost Zone, the red homing beacon on it beeping. A clock and then a page calendar show in the background, flipping through the month pages to mark the passage of time, and a red eye blinks. We see a stone arch, then, and the words GHOST ZONE: 10 YEARS LATER. The boomerang, scorched but still beeping sluggishly, floats past a giant crab/warthog monster. The beacon goes green and it nearly gets chomped by the monster, but it quickly switches directions.

We then see Danny and (F/N), still bound, getting bounced around by cranky ghosts. Ember lands a chord, then Box Ghost beans him with some energy boxes, Johnny's shadow sends them spinning, Skulktech threatens him with lightning, Kitty socks them with her purse and knocks him into Ember again. She seizes them and slams them into a wall.

Danny: Please! I didn't do all this to you, it wasn't me!

(F/N): And I wasn't involved!

ST (Skulker): Oh, stop! You're responsible for the horrible things that happened to your world "and" ours. *To (F/N)* And then it's gonna happen to her.

'ST (Technus): To everyone you've ever come in contact with!

Ember: Your family, your friends, *backing away* and most importantly, us.

Danny: But--I didn't do any of that!

All of the ghosts power up to attack.

Danny and (F/N): Get away. Get away! Get AWAAAAAY!

Their screams turn into a Ghostly Wail, knocking the other ghosts away and vaporizing his bonds. The effort of the attack makes Danny partially revert to human form, his eyes and hair changing but his suit and glow remaining but surprisingly, (F/N) is okay.

Danny and (F/N): Whoa.

All of the ghosts are floating unconscious, the Shadow half-melted and Skulktech's suit smoking.

Danny: My voice is changing? Great. *he goes back to full ghost mode* I'm going through evil puberty. Everywhere I turn my stupid future is smacking me in the face! *The Booomerang clocks him in the back of the head* OW!

(F/N): Literally. *Sees a note* Hey a note.

Danny: ...A note? *he takes the note and throws the boomerang to the side* *reading* Wisconsin? Plasmius. Figures he's involved in this!

Meanwhile we see Lancer walks down the aisles as students scribble out their test answers. Disguised Dark Danny looks up as he goes by, then smirks down at his test sheet. He looks at the answer key under his desk, then randomly starts filling in correct answers. Tucker looks shocked, C. (F/N) is shocked too, and Sam ans  despondent.

Tucker: *Whisper* Danny, don't!  If you cheat on the test we--

Sam and Paulina:Shhh!

Lancer Mr. Foley, Mr. Fenton. *The trio, C. (F/N), and Paulina, all look up* Is there a problem?

Disguised Dark Danny: Uh... *he looks over at Sam, Paulina, C.(F/N), and Tucker, who look back expectantly, and he snickers.* No problem at all. *his eyes go red*

We open on Casper High, then to the testing room. Lancer is now sitting at the desk at the front of the room, and Disguised Dark Danny is still copying answers from the answer sheet to his test. He looks up at the door and sees Jazz frowning at him through the glass. He looks around quickly, then a transparent copy of his adult self peels off and dives into the floor as he scowls back at her. Out in the hall, the copy slips up behind her and zaps her as she pulls the Fenton Peeler. She screams then collapses, unconscious, to the floor. He drags her offscreen by the ankles.

back in the Ghost Zone...

Danny: Well, that's Vlad for ya. *We see that he is looking at a gigantic purple football.*

(F/N): Subtle as a flying mallet.  *pushes the football aside to reveal a swirling portal. He jumps through into a dim cave packed with equipment*

Vlad: Come to kick a defenseless old man while he's down? *We see a beard and one arm, the fingers tapping the arm of a chair.*

Danny: Defenseless?

(F/N): Old?

Danny approaches Vlad's large, V-emblazoned chair from behind; he is sitting at a bank of consoles, chemistry glassware to the side. Vlad spins about abruptly. He is still wearing a suit, but it is torn and stained and he is barefoot. His hair and beard have grown long and there are dark rings under his eyes.

(F/N): Woah…

Danny: Man. What happened to you?

Vlad: I could ask you the very same question, my boy and girl. Although perhaps *he stands with the aid of a cane** I should ask what "hasn't" happened to you. Yet.

Vlad VO: If it's any consolation, they went so quickly. They felt no pain.

As Vlad speaks we see a newspaper spinning out of the darkness, the Amity Park Angle. The headline story is reads NASTY ACCIDENTS FOR FENTONS AND FRIENDS, with a picture of the crater where the Nasty Burger once stood. The other frontpage stories read THE SOLE SURVIVOR, over a picture of Danny, and "Fentons and Friends", with a photo of all the Fentons with Sam, and Tucker.

Vlad VO: Unfortunately the same could not be

said of you Daniel.

The image fades to one of Vlad's mansion. A

car pulls up in front of it

Vlad VO: With nowhere else to go, you came to me--

We see Danny  standing sadly in the driveway with his luggage and (F/N) and Paulina were there too, consoling him.

Vlad VO: --the only person on the planet who could possibly hope to understand your situation.

Vlad puts a hand on Danny's shoulder and smiles, but after glancing at him Danny just looks dully down at the photo of the Fentons and his friends in front of the FentonWorks.

Vlad VO: All you wanted was to make the hurt go away.

Vlad's face saddens. The scene switches and we see Vlad wearing a medical apron and facemask, then zoom out to see Danny unconscious in a large machine, hooked up to a breathing apparatus and a beeping heart monitor.

Vlad VO: I honored your wishes

Vlad, wearing the Ghost Gauntlets, raises both hands and the Gauntlets glow purple.

Vlad VO: No more painful human emotions to drag you down.

Razor claws spring out of the Gauntlets. He sticks both Gauntlets into Danny's torso, closing his eyes and turning his face away, sweating with effort. Finally he pulls out a smoking, transparent form of Danny Phantom, and stares up at it, wide-eyed. Phantom's eyes go wide and he rips the Gauntlets out, leaving green gashes in his chest and throwing Vlad into the wall, the Gauntlets falling off. He looks up to see a furious Phantom with both fists glowing.

Vlad VO: Sadly, that freed you up to rip the ghost out of me.

Grinning maniacally, Phantom dons the Gauntlets, picks up Vlad by the shirt, and rips his ghost and human halves apart, flinging the respective sides into opposite walls. Dropping the Gauntlets and going intangible, Phantom flies into Plasmius, who opens blazing green eyes and crackles with energy, then takes Phantom's form.

Vlad VO: And when my evil ghost half mixed with yours, and my evil side overwhelmed you…

Phantom's eyes open, glowing solid green. He screams as his face begins to crack, skin turning light blue and white hair blazing into fire. Rings of energy ripple out around him. Below, Vlad cowers in terror.

back in the present

Danny: What happened to my human self?

Vlad closes his eyes and turns away, putting up a staying hand. In flashback, we see Dark Danny's shadow looming over a trembling Danny. Phantom stares down at him for a moment, then lunges toward the camera with red eyes and a lolling snake tongue.

Vlad VO: Some things, my boy, are better left unsaid.

In flashback, there is a ringing scream and we see Vlad's mansion explode in a blast of green. From it Dark Danny flies, laughing.

Back in the present

Vlad: If any good came out of this, it's that ten years without ghost powers *he picks up a photo of himself with Jack and Maddie in college* have given me a chance to see what a fool I'd been.

Danny: Maybe that's all anybody needs...a second chance.

(F/N): You still have those Ghost Gauntlets?

Vlad's eyes go wide.

We cut to Disguised Dark Danny slaps his C.A.T. answer sheet down on Lancer's desk, smirking challengingly.

Lancer *flatly* Finished already, Mr. Fenton?

Disguised Dark Danny: *leaning on the desk* Is that a "problem"?

Lancer How should I know? I don't have all the answers. *They face off over the desk.* Do you?

Smirking, Disguised Dark Danny steps away, tossing one last challenging glance over his shoulder at the door. Sighing, Lancer reaches for his cell phone and dials 555-1221 for FentonWorks. It rings once.

Lancer *on the phone* Mrs. Fenton? It's Mr. Lancer. Could you meet me at the Nasty Burger at say, 5 o'clock? *he looks out the window and sees Danny walking across the school lawn*

And bring Danny.

We see the mouth of Vlad's cave, with the Welcome to Wisconsin sign over it.

Vlad: So you're saying there's a medallion lodged within you and (F/N), keeping you both rooted in this time period? *pulling on the Gauntlets*

Danny: Yes. And we can't reach it.

(F/N): But we're guessing if you could reach into me and rip out my humanity

Danny: Which, by the way, sounds totally gross -- you can get the medallions out too!

(F/N): Then we'll pop back to our present like Tucker, Paulina, and Sam did.

Vlad: *raising the gauntlets* Or I could just destroy you and (F/N) now and prevent this future. Didn't think of that, did you?

In response (F/N) summons a glyph as she punches a wall and a Khepri's fist comes out and hits near Vlad, scaring him.

(F/N): Still wanna destroy us?

Vlad: *Scared* N-n-no…

(F/N): Good now do as you are told, old man.

Vlad hauls back and brings the claws down. We hear Danny and (F/N) scream and see green light blazing out of the mouth of the cave.

Back at the wreck of the Nasty Burger, we see Mr. Lancer standing at the door. An engine revs and headlights shine on him. The Fenton RV parks in front of the Nasty Burger, Jack and Maddie up front and Disguised Dark Danny smirking in the back seat.

Maddie: Mr. Lancer sounded urgent on the phone. Danny, is something wrong?

Disguised Dark Danny: Not yet.

In the wreck of the Nasty Burger, we see the tanks and the heating element again, and the indicator needle shuddering higher.

Mr. Lancer: Mr. and Mrs. Fenton, Daniel, this is the Nasty Burger. When people fail, this is where they end up-- whether they fail because they don't study, or because they cheat. *holds up Danny's test*

Jack and Maddie gasp.

Jack: Danny! Is this true?

Maddie: Did you cheat?

Sam: *offscreen* You have to get out of here!

They turn to see Tucker, Paulina, C. (F/N), and Sam running to them.

Tucker The Nasty Burger's gonna blow, and we're three feet from it!

Lancer: South Beach Diet, people, what's going on here!?

Jazz's foot slams down, encased in the Fenton Peeler.

Jazz: I'll tell you what's going on. *Everyone looks over, surprised, and in Disguised Dark Danny's case, angry* Or better yet, I'll show you. *She fires the Peeler at Dark Danny, peeling away his disguise and revealing his true form. Everyone looks on in shock.* That's not Danny! *Shoots C.(F/N) peeling her into nothing* And that's not (F/N)

Jack and Maddie go from stunned to angry, and immediately train weapons on the fallen Dark Danny.

Jack: Where are they ? Where's our son and daughter?

Maddie: What have you done to our boy and girl?

Dark Danny: *laughs and looks up at her* I am your boy!

Maddie: What?!

Lancer, Sam, Paulina, and Tucker look on, shocked.  Evil!Dan springs into the air, where the clouds are starting to swirl green.

Dark Danny: What kind of parents are you anyway? The world's leading ghost experts, and you can't figure out that not only your own daughter was half ghost but your own son was half ghost too!

Weapons still trained on him, Jack and Maddie stare up at Dark Danny, stunned.

Jack: *looking at Maddie* For the record, I blame you.

Dark Danny: Hello? Danny "Fenton"? Danny "Phantom" ? Ever notice the similarity? *looking sidelong at Jazz* Jazz did.

Sam and Tucker: She did??

Paulina: Yeah she did, (F/N) told me so.

Jack: Liar! Don't move!

Dark Danny: Actually, nobody's going anywhere. Not until it's time for you to be blown everywhere.

He flings out a strand of ectoplasm, binding Jack, Maddie, Lancer, Sam, and Tucker to a tank, then releases five more blobs of it from his fingertips, gagging them, as Paulina hid, rammed off, went ghost and went away.

Jazz attempts to punch him from behind, but his flesh moves around her fist, leaving a hole in his chest. She gasps and pulls back her arm.

Dark Danny: Nice try, Jazz. *his chest springs back to normal* But me, *turns his neck 180 degrees to look at her* my future, *he turns the rest of his body around* I'm inevitable.

Two copies manifest, surrounding her. One seizes her helmet and yanks it off. She screams and another copy covers her mouth with an ectoplasm gag.

The three copies reunite and he lassos her with an ectoplasm rope, swinging her suit and all to join the others. He laughs evilly.

Danny *offscreen* Hey, old man! *Dark Danny stops laughing and turns* *Danny Phantom and Dannie Phantom zip out of the swirling sky wearing a backpack and some kind of rocket belt.* Ready for a blast from your past?

Danny and (F/N) collide with Dark Danny, knocking him a couple blocks away.

(F/N): And stay down sucka!

Danny: Don't worry. I won't turn into that. Ever. I promise. *He looks over at Lancer, who is staring back at him.* I guess this sort of explains my periodic absences, huh?

A rope of ecto energy suddenly catches them around the waist. Dark Danny reels them in to seize him by the collar.

Danny: What are you gonna do? Waste me?

(F/N): What happens to you then?

Dark Danny: You don't get it, do you? "I'm still here." I still exist. That means "you" still turn into "me."

He punches Danny and (F/N) into a lightpost. The backpack falls off and tips over, revealing the Ghost Gauntlets.

Dark Danny: I don't have to waste you both.

We see the Nasty Sauce indicator needle go into the red, then the Fentons, Lancer, and Danny's friends bound to the tank, which is beginning to crack and shudder.

Dark Danny VO: I just have to run out the

clock until your entire life falls apart.

Dark Danny dives at Danny and )F/N), who grabs the backpack and sinks into the ground. Dark Danny knocks over the lightpost and spins around, looking for them. Behind him, Danny  and (F/N) rises out of the street, wearing the Ghost Gauntlets.

Danny: Maybe if you'd remembered more about your family, you'd have remembered the Specter Deflector!

He pulls it out, flying at Dark Danny and snapping the belt around his waist. Immediately the older Danny screams as he is electrocuted by the anti-ghost device.

(F/N): Or the Ghost Gauntlets!

(F/N) hauls back and sends Dark Danny crashing through an oil truck with a punch.

Dark Danny looks around for a second nervously and then the whole thing goes up in a blue blast. In the air, Danny and (F/N) shield their faces. As the explosion subsides to blue flame, he lands and begins to walk away. Behind him, a furious Dark Danny emerges from the flame. He rips off the Specter Deflector, grabs Danny and (F/N) by the arm with a still-burning hand, and throws them to the ground.

Dark Danny: Your time is up, Danny. *copying himself into four, the copies speaking together* It's been up for 10- *hears Polkas y Huapangos - Los Dos Laredos.* Wait what the heck is that music? It sounds like-

Dark Danny was cut off when a certain 1969 flaming Dodge Charger ran over all four Dark Dannys and in the driver's seat was Paulina?! As (F/N) and Danny saw this and they were surprised.

Paulina: Get away from my girlfriend and her friend!!

(F/N): Paulina?!

Danny: *Surprised* Paulina??!

Paulina phased out of the Hellcharger and immediately hugged (F/N) tightly.

Paulina: I missed you! Are you okay?! Did they hurt you?!

(F/N): I-I fine hun, I'm fine.

Paulina: Ohh good.

Paulina then reached for (F/N) and then-

SLAP!

It took (F/N) a moment to register the pain and the fact that a now angry looking Paulina had just slapped her.

(F/N): W-what?...

Paulina: That's for leaving a clone of you in your place!

SLAP!

(F/N): Ouch!.. *yelped as Paulina slapped her again. This time harder than the last one*

Paulina: That's for charging blindly into battle and getting yourself captured… *Grabbed (F/N) by the collar, pulling him and they were now at eye level and Paulina, still angry, was panting heavily as they were now eye to eye*

Paulina: And...This...this..

Paulina yanked (F/N) forward to her, quickly wrapped her arms around (F/N)  neck and then kissed her...right...on...the lips!

(F/N): *in her head* W-What?

Paulina: *While kissing* Mmmmm…

They remained that way for 10 seconds. One of Paulina's hands went up and down the back of (F/N) neck as the other cupped her face. One of (F/N) hands went up and down Paulina's back as they continued their embrace.

MUAH!

Once they were finished, they just looked into each other's eyes, smiling and blushing. Both confused by what just happened..but not disliking it. Not at all.

Paulina: That was for me saving you.

(F/N): Ah it was nothing.

Dark Danny got up and sent an ecto blast at (F/N) but Paulina got in front and blocked it with a ghost shield.

Paulina: Get away from my woman!

(F/N): I am one lucky girl.

Danny: Yes, yes you are.

Dark Danny: *Gets up* What makes you three think you can change my past?

Danny: *getting to all fours and glaring up* Because I promised my family!

(F/N): So did I!

Paulina: And the same goes for me!

Dark Danny: *laughing* Oh, you are such children! You all "promised"?

Danny, (F/N) and Paulina: Yes! We PROMISED!

They stand and the word turns to a Ghostly Wail and a sonic scream, sending Dark Danny flying and digging up a divot in the street

Dark Danny: That power, ugh, it's not possible! I don't get that power until ten years from now!

Danny: *landing* I guess the future isn't as set in stone as you think it is.

(F/N): Nice one.

Danny: Thanks.

They all do another Ghostly Wail practically in Dark Danny's face, sending him flying again; it breaks out windows and blows him through a doorway, then demolishes the building on top of him. Completely exhausted, Danny, (F/N) and Paulina drop to their knees in human form along with. A fist rises from the rubble pile, and Danny looks up and gasps. Dark Danny bursts from the wreckage, bruised up, flames dying, and uniform ripped.

Dark Danny: Well, that's it, isn't it?

Paulina: Yeah it is.

Danny *eyes narrowing* Time's up! *Opening a Fenton Thermos, he aims it at Dark Danny and begins to suck him in.*

Dark Danny: Too weak to escape -- and you're too late to save them!

Danny: *Caps the thermos then looks over his shoulder* Oh no.

(F/N): Oh crud!

The heat indicator is now all the way over in the red. The glass over it cracks then shatters. The cracking, leaking tanks hiss with steam. Danny, (F/N), and Paulina run toward the Nasty Burger, trying to go ghost, but the ring of light fizzles out.

Danny: I can't go ghost! *he trips on a rock and falls flat on his front* Noo!

(F/N) and Paulina: Neither can we!

He, (F/N), Paulina, and his loved ones stare at each other for an instant, and then the Nasty Burger blows up. We see the reflection of the explosion in Danny's eyes right before the shockwave sends him flying with the dust and rubble; then everything freezes. A clock hand traces out a blue-white circle, which resolves into child Clockwork. Smiling, the ghost flies up to Danny and drops a time medallion around his neck. Danny gasps and tries to gain his balance where he floats in midair without falling, then notices Clockwork.

Danny, (F/N) and Paulina: Clockwork?

Clockwork points past Danny, and he looks, then gasps happily. All of his loved ones are floating, unharmed and asleep or unconscious, in a nimbus of green light.

Danny: You saved them? I-I don't understand!

Clockwork: *switching to adult form* The Observants look at time like they're watching a parade, one thing after another passing by in sequence right in front of them. *he gestures down at the wrecked Nasty Burger* I see the parade from above, all the twists and turns it might *switches to elderly form* or might not take. *he winks*

Danny You knew all this was going to happen. All of it! *they swoop down to the rescued people* Even this part.

Clockwork: Everything's the way it's supposed to be. And here we are with you, a fourteen-year-old child, risking everything to save the people you care about. *To Paulina* Even the ones that changed.

Danny, (F/N), and Paulina smiles at him.

Clockwork: *pressing the button on his Time Staff* Time in!

They are surrounded for a moment by ticking clocks, then reappear in the classroom, where Danny's classmates are taking the C.A.T., frozen in time. Clockwork picks up the answer packet from Danny's desk.

Clockwork: You've given everyone else a second chance. *He switches to child form* Why not you? *He hands him the packet*

Danny takes it and Clockwork vanishes. We see the clock start to tick and everyone starts to move.

Danny stares at Lancer, standing by his own desk with the packet in his hands, then smiles slightly.

Lancer: Mr. Fenton, is there a problem?

Danny: Um, actually Mr. Lancer, there is.

Out in the hall, Jazz sneaks up to the door with the Fenton Peeler. Looking in the window, she gasps. Danny approaches Lancer's desk.

Danny: I, uh, found this the other day. Outside the Nasty Burger. *'he slides the answer packet across the desk*

Lancer: *picking it up* Hm. The seal is broken.

Danny:  Yeah. I know. A-and, I'm sorry. I couldn't stop myself from looking at the answers. But I'm not a cheater! And I never will be!

Out in the hall, Jazz smiles.

Lancer: Well, you'll have a chance to prove that when you take the make-up test next week, now won't you?

Danny: Really?

Lancer: You'll have plenty of time to study for your make-up test in detention. But for now...

He gestures to the door. Outside, Jazz yelps and ducks away.

Danny, (F/N) and Paulina are sitting on the front steps of Casper High. The door opens and Jazz steps out.

Danny So, *looking up at her* how long have you known?

Jazz: About the test? For days. But I'm really proud of you for not cheating.

Danny No, not that.

(F/N): Your headband, your note.

Danny: *he pulls the note and headband out of his pocket and holds it out to her* your handwriting...

Jazz: What? *pointing* That? *blushing and shrugging* Oh, I didn't write that. And there must be dozens of headbands. I mean it could be (F/N)'s headband.

(F/N): Hey! I don't wear a headband!

Danny: *Raising an eyebrow* Jazz.

Jazz: *Sitting next to him and taking the note and headband* Since the Spectra thing. I didn't want to tell you until you wanted to tell me. It's your secret.

Danny Well, it's our secret now.

They hug.

Jazz: Don't think this means I'll stop being meddling and overprotective.

Danny: *chuckling* Wouldn't have it any other way.

His ghost sense goes off as (F/N) and Paulina see this and hear sirens sound. A giant tentacle monster chases a cop car past the school as the siblings watch.

Jazz: Go. *She puts her hand on his and they smile.*

Danny *Running and transforming along with (F/N) and Paulina* Going ghost! *confronting the tentacle monster* Hey! Giant, green, and gruesome! Guess who's back and better than ever!

The slime monster makes a worried sound.

Danny, (F/N) and Paulina haul back and punch it, drenching Jazz in ecto slime.

Jazz: *dripping with ectoplasm* This is gonna take some getting used to.

We zoom out to see her in Clockwork's viewer. As child Clockwork watches, smiling, with the thermos in one hand. The Observants stand with their hands clasped behind him, (F/N) and Paulina.

Observant 1: You manipulated the boy! You influenced his choice!

Observant 2: That's a direct violation of the Protocol of Temporal Displacement! In other words,

Both Observants: You cheated!

Clockwork: True, I cheated. *switching to adult form* But I assure you his choice was his own.

Observant 1: You realize the boy is your responsibility now.

Observant 2: As is his evil self, now that he exists outside of time.

Clockwork: I know. But then, I know everything.

Flying past the Observants through a door, he sets down the thermos. It bulges out on the sides as though something is bouncing around and punching, then Dark Danny's face slams into the front of the thermos, leaving an imprint of his face. His laughter echoes ominously.

Next: Chapter 36: Turmoil in the beehive.