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| - Valerie: Daddy? Daddy? Dark Danny voice: Hello, Valerie. Valerie: You, again?! I don't care how powerful you are, ghost, you can't break through the shield! Dark Danny voice: Until today. Dark Danny voice: You like the new power? I call it my Ghostly Wail. Valerie: You? Fright Knight: Yes, me. [We zoom in to the Fright Knight, arms crossed.] And I serve a new master now. Valerie: [muttering] Gotta get to Dad... Valerie: Dad, the Fright Knight's here. Which means he can't be far behind. What do we do? What do we-- Mr. Gray: Valerie, run. Dark Danny: Hello, Valerie. Dark Danny: And goodbye. [Raising a hand, he releases an ectoblast.] Offscreen voice: Now do you understand? 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? 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. Lancer: Your future is not carved in stone, people, but it may be carved with a No. 2 pencil [holds one up]. Sam and Tucker: Oh, please. Danny: Quiet, this is important! 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 here [gesturing to Jazz] who 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] and a successful future will be assured! [Voice darkening] 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 and explosion that could take out a whole city block! 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? Tucker, to Danny: Dude, you ok? Danny? 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. Jazz: [lifting a finger warningly] Ah-- Jazz: [Raising a finger again, wincing] Bu-- Jazz: Hnnn-- 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 I 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 and Jazz together: Study hard, do your best, and -- Jazz: --DUCK! Danny: Ow! [clutching his head, then picking up the boomerang.] A boomerang??? Jack: I call it the Boooooomerang! [gesturing spookily] It locks in on a ghost's unique ectosignature and seeks it out wherever it goes! Maddie: [she and Jack look critically at the boomerang] Although why it's keyed into Danny is way beyond me. 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] Danny: Oh, I give-- Clockwork VO: Time out! Clockwork: Ah, good. Parents gone. [switches to child form] He's alone with his sister. [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 entwines 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 there [he points at Danny and she looks] is part ghost. My employers believe him to be a threat to the world. [changing to adult form] Could you be a dear and dance a little dance for us? Clockwork: [punching the button on top of his staff] Time in! [he vanishes in a swirling ball of light] Danny: -- UP! [His ghost sense goes off] A ghost? Here? [he jumps out of the chair and yells at Jazz] 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] Danny: What's with her? [turning to look at Box Lunch and flinching] Gah! [He 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. Box Lunch: And now you 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 probably know this is coming -- BEWARE! Lancer: Shouldn't you slackers be studying for the C.A.T.s? Tucker: I've already studied. 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! Lancer: Fast Food Nation! 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. Box Lunch: [offended] Then feast on my empty calories of doooooom! Danny: Oh, come on! If you actually are the child of the Box Ghost and the Lunch Lady -- ew -- then you know how this ends-- Employee 1: Let's get out of here! Irving: No! You can't leave! [Putting his hands on his hips] As a duly deputized Nastronaut, 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! 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! He said at the assembly if this stuff gets too hot, kaboom! [he looks over at the condiment station, where there is a box of multicolored Nasty Sauce packets. He picks up one.] Box Lunch: Prepare for -- [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! Lancer: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance! Run! Tucker: [getting up] Danny, who was that ghost you were fighting? Danny: [helping Sam to her feet] That was Box Lunch, the daughter of the Box Ghost and the Lunch Lady. Sam and Tucker: Yikes. Danny: Actually, it's more of an ew. 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! 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? 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. 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. Clockwork: [in old form] His future is sealed. 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? Tucker: Yeah, you're right. [As they pass by the teacher's lounge] You're not thinking about cheating on a test that you're convinced will determine your future. 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? 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. Tucker: 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? 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] He wants to cheat, he can cheat. Sam and Tucker: [sigh in relief] I mean... Oh no, a ghost. Danny: Who are you supposed to be? 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? Tucker: Is that an ew or a yikes? Danny: Definitely a yikes. ST (Skulker): Say goodbye, ST (Technus): Ghost Child! 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! Tucker: Wow. I can still hack into his operating system with my handheld computer. I don't know whether that's exciting or depressing. Danny: [leaping to his feet] Come on, follow me! [going intangible, he flies up through the ceiling] Tucker: ...We'll walk. 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. ST (Skulker): What are you waiting for? Activate the Purpleback Gorilla Override! ST (Technus): Don't tell me how to do my job! ST (Technus): Activating Phantom Palm Pummeler! Danny: You're shorting out my powers?! ST (Skulker): Indeed. Pummeler might not work on you in the future, but we had a feeling it would work on you here. Danny: The Future? ST (Technus): [laughing] Oh, I love it. You're much less powerful than that other Phantom we have to deal with! Danny: What are you two talking aboooou [falling] aaaagh! [he catches himself one-handed on a flagpole. Danny looks up.] Wow. That flagpole thing works? I thought for sure it would [the flagpole snaps] breeaaaak!! [He falls and bounces off an awning into a pile of trash bags.] Guess I don't have a future as an Olympic gymnast. [An arm snakes through the pile and grabs him around the middle, zapping him.] Aaaaaaaugh! [It slams him to the ground.] ST (Skulker): You don't have a future, period! ST (Technus): Not anymore! Tucker VO: I wouldn't bet on that. ST (Skulker and Technus): Aw, poo. ST (Technus): Wow, that flagpole thing-- Danny: [still trapped in the cuffed arm] Way to go, guys! Sam: Come on, Tucker, let's see if we can get this off! Tucker: Where are we? 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. Tucker: Then I think I know how to get us back! Tucker: [pumping his arms triumphantly] Haha! Tucker: [Looking around, then dropping his arms.] Nothing, huh. Sam: No, but nice bling. [She goes to take a closer look at the viewer.] Danny: [Looking more closely at Tucker's medallion] I don't like this. Sam: You're going to like this even less. Sam: I think I'm seeing your future. And you're kind of a jerk. 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! Danny: [backtracking quickly] ...If it weren't being used for evil! Tucker: [turning to Skulktech and clicking on his PDA] Let's see if this future boy knows any more about-- Tucker: I didn't do that. Clockwork: I did. 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? Clockwork: Introductions? Fine. I am Clockwork, Master of Time. [switching to child form] I've been charged with the task of eliminating your future, so that [pointing at the viewer] ever happens. Danny: You've got to be kidding me. Name one evil thing I've done! Tucker: Bet you can't find two! 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! Clockwork: Time out! 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! Clockwork: I could do this all day [changing to elderly form], but I have a schedule to keep. Sam and Tucker: Danny! Look out! 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! [he runs and grabs a pair of medallions from the wall.] Clockwork: [looming over Danny with the scythe] Time's up, Ghost Boy. Tucker: Sorry, no sudden death overtime in this game! Danny: Huh? What happened? [He lands between Tucker and Sam.] Sam: [holding up her medallion] We leveled the playing field. Just get the bad guy! Clockwork: [scowling] You three have seen too much. You must be eliminated before [switch to elderly form] you permanently alter the timestream. Clockwork: [switching to adult form] Nowhere to run, children. Danny: Nowhere but the future! Clockwork: Then let's see if you have what it takes [switch to child form] to face that future. 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. Valerie: Got that right, ghost! Danny: Valerie! Listen to me! Valerie: You can't fool me this time, Phantom! Valerie: I've been waiting a long time for this. Goodbye and good-- Tucker: Valerie, no! Sam: Don't shoot! Valerie: [wide-eyed] Sam? Tucker? I-It's not possible! This is a trick! You can't be alive! Tucker: Wait. Not alive? [dropping his arms] That's our future? I'm definitely not taking the C.A.T.! Valerie: 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! Dark Danny: Actually, that was me. And you, eventually. Dark Danny: Sam and Tucker. It's been a while. Ten years, to be accurate. [Raising a hand, he sweeps it down, and Sam and Tucker are encased, motionless, is 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. 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: Valerie! Valerie: You're from the past, aren't you? Valerie: Almost forgot how cute you were back then. [she slumps back to the ground] Danny: You thought I was cute? Wow! An older woman likes 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 and Tucker exchange a nervous glance.] But of course I surrendered my human half a long time ago. Dark Danny: Oh, please. Danny: [sitting up, panicked] Tucker! Sam! Run! Dark Danny: [back on his feet] Run? Where are they going to go? Tucker: [to Sam] For the record, I blame you. Dark Danny: Ah ah ah. Danny: They took off their time medallions! [getting to his feet] That returns them to their time period just like Box Lunch and Skulktech! [holding up a medallion] Tucker and Sam made it out alive! [taking hold of his own medallion] Which means I can-- Dark Danny: [seizing Danny's arm] What? [Danny cries out as he lifts him into the air, dropping the other medallion.] 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. Danny screams then slumps, unconscious.] In fact, you aren't going anywhere at all. Jazz: [leaning out her car window and looking around] Danny has to be out here somewhere. Tucker: You got the medallions off, didn't you. Sam: I don't accessorize well. Unfortunately, Danny's still stuck in the future fighting his jerky older self! We've gotta help him! Jazz: [offscreen] Tucker? Sam? 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? 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? Danny: Mom? Dad? [rolls to his knees] Danny: "Gone but not forgotten"? Danny: [standing] And where's the Nasty Burger? 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! 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 by the bonds, he throws him 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... Dark Danny: ...And to get where and when I need to be. 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? 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 and Tucker: [offscreen] Danny! Sam: You made it back! Tucker: [also hugs Disguised Dark Danny] Did you beat that evil jerky puspack alternative version of yourself? 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 sometimes miss your droll sense of humor. 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 games and raging against the machine? Sam and Tucker: [enthusiastically] We're in! Danny: [grunting] Gotta get out of this! I'm going ghost! Danny: Well, it was worth a shot. Box Ghost: [offscreen] Well, well, well. [We see Danny 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 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: Box Ghost? Box Ghost: Beware. 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-- 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: Wait! [The other ghosts close in on him.] No! Nooo! Disguised Dark Danny: My old room. [Looking in the mirror, touching his face] And my old face. Jazz: Danny? We need to talk. Disguised Dark Danny: And my old sister, Jazz. What do you want, Jazz? I'm busy. 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 Dan: 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? Jazz: I know. And I've been covering for you with Mom and Dad because I'm proud of you, and the good that you do. But 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 ectosignature! You're not Danny! Dark Danny: I was. But I grew out of it. The Danny you know is 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? Vlad Masters?! He's your 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! Disguised Dark Danny: [adult voice] Well, what do you know! The answer to the first question is D. [evil laugh] Jazz: Danny! [sits up as she wakes up screaming] Nooo! Huh? [looks around] What? Jack: What's up, princess? Are you ok? 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: I need you to find Danny. [she rips off her headband and uses it to fix the note to the boomerang] Fourteen-year-old Danny, ten years from now. [she hauls back and throws the Booomerang into the Portal.] Danny: Please! I didn't do all this to you, it wasn't me! ST (Skulker): Oh, stop! You're responsible for the horrible things that happened to your world and ours. 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! Danny: Get away. Get away! Get AWAAAAAY! Danny: Whoa. 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! ...A note? [he takes the note and throws the boomerang to the side] [reading] Wisconsin? Plasmius. Figures he's involved in this! Tucker: [whispering across the aisle] Danny, don't! If you cheat on the test we-- Sam: Shhh! Lancer: Mr. Foley, Mr. Fenton. [The trio all look up] Is there a problem? Disguised Dark Danny: Uh... [he looks over at Sam and Tucker, who look back expectantly, and he snickers.] No problem at all. [his eyes go red] Danny: Well, that's Vlad for ya. [We see that he is looking at a gigantic purple football.] Subtle as a flying mallet. [He 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? Old? Danny: Man. What happened to you? Vlad: I could ask you the very same question, my boy. 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. Vlad VO: Unfortunately the same could not be said of you, Daniel. Vlad VO: With nowhere else to go, you came to me-- Vlad VO: --the only person on the planet who could possibly hope to understand your situation. Vlad VO: All you wanted was to make the hurt go away. Vlad VO: I honored your wishes. Vlad VO: No more painful human emotions to drag you down. Vlad VO: Sadly, that freed you up to rip the ghost out of me. Vlad VO: And when my evil ghost half mixed with yours, and my evil side overwhelmed you... Danny: What happened to my human self? Vlad VO: Some things, my boy, are better left unsaid. 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. You still have those Ghost Gauntlets? 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? 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. Vlad: So you're saying there's a medallion lodged within you, keeping you rooted in this time period? [pulling on the Gauntlets] Danny: Yes. And I can't reach it. But I'm guessing if you could reach into me and rip out my humanity -- which, by the way, sounds totally gross -- you can get the medallion out too! Then I'll pop back to my present like Tucker and Sam did. Vlad: [raising the gauntlets] Or I could just destroy you now and prevent this future. Didn't think of that, did you? Maddie: Mr. Lancer sounded urgent on the phone. Danny, is something wrong? Disguised Dark Danny: Not yet. Mr. Lancer: Mr. and Mrs. Fenton, Daniel, this s 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: Danny! Is this true? Maddie: Did you cheat? Sam: [offscreen] You have to get out of here! 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: 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! Jack: Where is he? Where's our son? Maddie: What have you done to our boy? Dark Danny: [laughs and looks up at her] I am your boy! Maddie: What?! Dark Danny: What kind of parents are you anyway? The world's leading ghost experts, and you couldn't figure out your own son was half ghost! 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?? Jack: Liar! Don't move! Dark Danny: Actually, nobody's going anywhere. Not until it's time for you to be blown everywhere. 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. Danny: [offscreen] Hey, old man! [Dark Danny stops laughing and turns. Danny Phantom zips out of the swirling sky wearing a backpack and some kind of rocket belt.] Ready for a blast from your past? 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? Danny: What are you gonna do? Waste me? 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. Dark Danny: I don't have to waste you. Dark Danny VO: I just have to run out the clock until your entire life falls apart. Danny: Maybe if you'd remembered more about your family, you'd have remembered the Specter Deflector! Danny: Or the Ghost Gauntlets! Dark Danny: Your time is up, Danny. [copying himself into four, the copies speaking together] It's been up for 10 years. Dark Danny: What makes you think you can change my past? Danny: [getting to all fours and glaring up] Because I promised my family! Dark Danny: [laughing] Oh, you are such a child! You promised? Danny: Yes! I PROMISED! 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. Dark Danny: Well, that's it, isn't it? Danny: [eyes narrowing] Time's up! [Opening a Fenton Thermos, he aims it at Dark Danny and begins to suck him in.] Dark Danny: To weak to escape -- and you're too late to save them! Danny: [caps the thermos then looks over his shoulder] Oh no. Danny: I can't go ghost! [he trips on a rock and falls flat on his front] Noo! Danny: Clockwork? 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. Clockwork: [pressing the button on his Time Staff] Time in! Clockwork: You've given everyone else a second chance. [He switches to child form] Why not you? [He hands him the packet] Lancer: Mr. Fenton, is there a problem? Danny: Um, actually Mr. Lancer, there is. 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! 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... 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. Your headband, your note, [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. 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. Jazz: Don't think this means I'll stop being meddling and overprotective. Danny: [chuckling] Wouldn't have it any other way. Jazz: Go. [She puts her hand on his and they smile.] Danny: [Running and transforming] Going ghost! [confronting the tentacle monster] Hey! Giant, green, and gruesome! Guess who's back and better than ever! Jazz: [dripping with ectoplasm] This is gonna take some getting used to. 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.
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