Hi, folks. What's up? I wanted to get this up earlier, but I never really got around to it over the last couple of days. Finally decided to open up Microsoft Word for a change. Just so you all know, this will be the last chapter of the fanfic.

Here we go! Let's hit Chapter 13!

Plotting for a Transformation

Chapter Thirteen: Danny's Decision

A short time after sucking Johnny 13 into the Fenton Thermos, Danny arrived at the warehouse that he was looking for, just as the sun was beginning to set on the horizon behind him.

Wanting to be discrete this time, Danny phased through the wall and inside, turning himself invisible as he did.

Trying to be as quiet as he could, Danny flew slowly and carefully through the interior of the building. As he looked around, all he saw was a bunch of machines that looked like they hadn't been used for a very long time.

It went like this for ten minutes before Danny was getting the feeling that there was no one inside this abandoned building other than himself.

Feeling confident that Slade wasn't here, Danny said to himself, "I think my only lead has come to a dead end."

"Think again," said a cryptic voice through the darkness that took Danny no time at all to recognize.

Knowing there was no use remaining invisible any longer since Slade could hear him, Danny turned himself visible once more. Danny looked down to the ground and saw Slade with his arms behind his back, looking at Danny with interest.

Danny hissed, "Slade."

Slade responded, "Danny. I'm flattered that you would go to all this trouble just to find me."

Danny spat back, "Don't feel flattered, you creep. I'm here to take you down, once and for all. This ends tonight!" The fact that Slade had put Danny through this much spurred those words on.

"Well, well, well. Those are very strong and ruthless words, my boy. You are more like me than I would have first thought."

"Shut your mouth!" Danny shouted as he fired a ghost ray at Slade before he had given it a second thought. Slade jumped up and backflipped out of the way.

Wanting more than ever to end Slade's life right at that second, Danny charged through the air straight at Slade and tried to punch him. Slade jumped up above Danny, but Danny quickly turned to where he had jumped and blasted him with another ghost ray. He was hit and knocked through the air, but his body knew how to react and he landed back on his feet.

This time, Slade charged at Danny, ready to strike. Danny produced a shield and Slade's attempted punches and kicks didn't find their target. Danny then phased through the ground and out of sight.

Slade was patient and silent as he waited for the ghost boy to reappear.

After a few seconds, Danny reappeared behind Slade and tried to punch him.

But just like their second battle, Slade whipped around, but instead of grabbing Danny's hand and attempting to crush it, he grabbed Danny's arm and slammed him the other way onto the ground. Danny groaned as he felt the wind get knocked out of him.

Danny inhaled as he popped back on his feet. He flew at Slade and attempted to jump-kick him, but Slade grabbed hold of Danny's foot and twisted it in an unnatural position. Danny cried out loud as pain shot through his foot.

Slade let go after a few seconds and dropped Danny onto the ground, panting.

As Danny panted, Slade said to him, "Tired already, Danny? Don't tell me you've lost your touch over the last week."

Danny quickly got back on his feet again, "I'm just getting my second wind." He then screamed out in intensity as he gave Slade a massive uppercut. He was knocked off his feet and to the ground.

Not wanting to give Slade a chance to recover, Danny flew straight at him and delivered a devastating punch right to his face. Slade stumbled back again but didn't fall. Danny charged again and tried to leg sweep him, but Slade had now recovered and jumped up.

Danny wasn't expecting this, so he wasn't able to attack Slade at that point, for the masked man brought his leg down right into Danny's face.

Danny fell to the ground as blood mixed with ectoplasm shot out of his face. This time, the young ghost boy struggled to get back on his feet.

Slade stood above Danny and said, "Your powers are still developing, Danny. You cannot hope to defeat someone like me yet."

Just as last week, Danny's voice dripped more blood than his face as he said, "Watch me."

And before Slade could blink, Danny fired a close-range ghost ray at him. It hit and knocked him backward.

Danny didn't stop there. Ignoring all pain in him, Danny popped up and gave Slade a kick to his shoulder blade. It hit as well and Slade was knocked back again. Going for the knockout blow, Danny ran at Slade at top speed and gave him a blow right for his ribcage.

It hit very hard. For any normal person, it would've surely knocked him out. For Slade, it knocked him down to the ground, and he stayed there.

Danny breathed deeply but stayed alert as Slade lie on the ground.

Just then, Slade took something from his belt and slid it across the ground to Danny. It was a tape recorder.

Danny picked it up and said, "What's this?"

Out of the corner of Danny's eye, Slade slid another device to Danny. He then stood up again, saying to Danny, "A tape recorder is the first item, Danny. As for the second, I'm sure you are familiar with the concept of a polygraph machine."

Danny was a little confused at being given this. He knew from a number of watched movies what a polygraph was.

"A lie detector," Danny said out loud.

"Very good. It tells the truth for whatever voice it hears, and is one hundred percent accurate," Slade replied.

"Why are you giving me these things?"

"Allow me to explain. Last week, when I picked up your dear friends, I overheard a little conversation of theirs shortly before I silenced them. I happened to catch it all on tape. Would you like to hear it?"

Looking puzzled, Danny asked, "Why would I want to hear it?"

"It happens to concern you, and I believe you would find it very important. Turn on the recorder, listen, and watch the lie detector."

Still confused as to what Slade was trying to do, Danny decided to turn the recorder on.

The first thing he heard was Tucker's voice, "I tell you, Danny better come to save us, Sam."

Then Sam's voice came through, "Well, it is the only reason we hang out with him, isn't it? Just so we have our own personal bodyguard?"

"Well, duh. I was thinking of severing ties with him a while ago, but then he got the powers and started kicking butt and I thought, 'This could work for me.'"

"Same for me, Tuck. Glad we have him to protect us."

The tape shut off, and Danny looked positively shocked. The polygraph machine was on, with the needle moving that decided whether or not the voice was telling the truth. And the line had been straight the whole time, signaling nothing but the truth.

He felt like he had just fallen into the twilight zone at hearing what he had just heard. He said quietly, "They don't care…"

Danny fell to his knees and started sobbing into the ground, still in disbelief.

As he sobbed, Slade walked up to him and said, "So now you know the truth. Lucky for you, I'm not the one to say, 'I told you so.'"

Danny did not respond. He felt so hurt and betrayed that his throat felt constricted.

Slade went on, "Now that you know, and now that I've seen your skills in battle, I've decided that you are ready to begin."

Danny looked up. He managed to say, "Begin what?"

"Begin training…as my apprentice."

Danny looked shocked at hearing this as he got to his feet, "What? Why would I want to be your apprentice?"

"It's something I've searched for a while now, Danny. Twice I have found very worthy candidates, but it didn't quite work out. But you know what they say…three's the charm."

For a few seconds, Danny wore only a look of shock on his face. He shook it off and said, "In how many ways can I tell you that's not going to happen?"

"Think about it, young man. What else could you do? Nothing in your current life is in your favor. You know that. Your parents hunt you, as well as the black girl you have feeling for, your sister gets on your nerves, and you've just heard that your so-called-friends don't care for you. What's the point of remaining a hero with a life like yours?"

Danny said nothing. Slade was speaking nonsense, he knew it. But was he? The fact that Slade had told him every negative feature of his life seemed to make so much more sense than the positives.

"So…" Slade said, lowering his head, "What do you say?"

For a long minute, Danny said nothing. I'm a hero, he thought, I can't be this madman's apprentice. And yet…why does it sound like he makes so much sense? Would I really be willing to throw away my noble deeds over the last several months to cross over to the side of darkness?

"Well?" Slade stated, waiting for an answer.

Danny looked down at his boots, looking for an answer within his troubled mind.

Finally, he stared at Slade with a look of hatred and anger, and said in a cold voice that seemed to shake the entire building to rubble.

"I accept."

To Be Continued

And that's it! The end of this fanfic! Bet a lot of you weren't expecting that, huh? In fooling Danny to believe that Sam and Tucker don't care about him, Slade has successfully gotten Danny to become his apprentice! Where does it go from here? Wait for the upcoming sequel, "A World he Never Knew"! Ta ta!