The tornado had the expected effect.  By the time they were done, all that remained were mangled bodies and smashed crates.

“Wow,” said Danny as he went tangible.  “How’d you do that?”

“I’m sorry,” said Aggie, winking.  “That’s classified.”

Danny would have grumbled, but he was distracted by the labels on some packages that had fallen from one of the damaged crates.  “What the-?” he said, pulling it out completely.  Then, “Oh, no.”

“What?” asked Pewee.  He pulled the label from Danny’s hand.  “Da-dav?-dalv? industries?”

“D.A.L.V Industries,” said Danny grimly.

“Isn’t that the company Vlad Masters owns?” asked Tucker.

"Isn't he some super rich guy?" asked Hootie.

“And it looks like he’s supplying Gallactor,” said Dirk as he sorted through the remains in another crate.

“This- is bad,” said Danny.  “Vlad Masters is also Vlad Plasmius, a human with the powers of a ghost.  He got them about 20 years ago because of an accident in college.  If he’s on Galactor’s side, then we’ve really got a problem.”

Ace motioned for them to head for the outer door, and for Danny to continue.

“What’d’y’mean?” said Tucker.  “You have all the same powers he does.”

“If I’m following this right,” said Hootie, “this Vlad guy has had his powers longer than you’ve apparently been alive, Phantom.”

“Right,” said Danny.  “He went to college with the Fentons.  You’ve probably seen or heard of their house already.  It’s the one that looks like it has a flying saucer on it.” They had reached the outermost entrance to the base.

“Well, that gives us a place to start looking,” said Ace.  “Phantom, can you-”

“I think I’d better check on the Fentons,” Danny said.  He went invisible.

_____________________ 

“And then it seems he just flew off,” said Ace, reporting to Dr. Brighthead.  “Aggie checked on the Fentons on our way here, and they seem to be fine.  Tucker and Sam are currently resting in our temporary living area’s TV room.”

Dr. Brighthead paced the room.  “Do you at least have any idea who he is?”

“Judging from his interaction with Sam and Tucker, I’d say he knows them,” Ace said. “His height and general size seem to be the same as Daniel Fenton’s, and if he’s being a superhero, it’s understandable that he protects his secret identity with different clothing and appearance.”

“His appearance may also be tied to his powers,” said Aggie.  “I got some odd energy readings off him.  But when I stopped by the Fentons to check on them, their son Daniel was there, and I got no readings off of him.”

Dirk shrugged. “That doesn’t mean anything.  There’s a lot of gizmos and gadgets that can’t be detected unless they’re actually operating.  It could be that his powers, or the energy from them, can only be detected when he’s in flatten-the-bad-guys mode.”

“But not in civilian mode,” mused Ace. “That would make sense.”

“I  wonder if he can use his powers in civilian form,” speculated Pewee.

“I don’t think so,” replied Aggie.  “I would have detected the energy potential.”

“Not if it was low-key enough,” Hootie pointed out.

“That’s entirely possible,” said Dr. Brighthead.  “We need to find out more.”