AN: Here is the sequel to Paranormal Missions!
Same as before: Danny Phantom and Alex Rider are not mine! I only own the plot to this story… Oh, and the title is sort of borrowed from Captain Jack (RIP!), so it isn't mine either sadly. The chapter title belongs to Gorillaz.
Enjoy the story!
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Danny Fenton had never stopped to consider how his impacted the world. Now that he was the only halfa in existence, as Skulker loved to remind him, it never really occurred to him that he had the ability to change the world.
He had power, power which grew every day. Thankfully, the people of Amity Park as a whole had quitted the harassment towards him, learning that he was on their side after his list of heroic deeds had grown to be as tall as he was. The people grew to idolize him, mainly the girls from his school, much to his enjoyment. Enjoyment, that is, until the young females started a fan club and began following him around during his nightly patrols or irregular fights.
Presently, the young hero found himself trapped in such a situation, under the cover of darkness. Throughout all of his years of fighting ghosts, Danny had dealt with creatures of danger, shadowy impressions with the power to kill. It was enough to make him want to sleep with the light on at night, or at least the ghost shield. Now, he had to face a new enemy.
Fans.
"Danny, hey!" a flirty voice called. It belonged to Paulina, Danny's first crush. He was her first crush as well, in his ghost form at least. Sadly, the love she harbored for him had grown into a slight obsession with the aide of time, of which there was plenty. They had first met three years ago, when Danny had been a freshman at Casper High. Paulina had been in only one or two of his classes then. After that year though, she had moved to a nearby state. Her affection to him was now something he tried to avoid. If the Hispanic learned that he had started dating Sam Manson, one of his best friends, last year, she would not be pleased…
"Oh, uh… Hi Paulina!" Danny said, trying to not look too uncomfortable as the girl ran over to him to embrace him tightly. Even in his ghost form, his face managed to glow as he blushed at the close contact. "Uh, what are you doing here?" he asked, pulling away slightly.
"Spring Break!" she said brightly. "I wanted to come back home to see my old friends, and hopefully you as well."
Danny smiled a little, beginning to say something until his ghost sense cut him off with a chill. Both of them saw the tell-tale sign, so Paulina giggled, leaning in to give Danny a quick peck on his cold lips before running off to get out of the way. This was good for Danny, because the kiss had completely caught him off guard and he had begun to literally sink into the ground. He caught himself just in time, slipping back out of the ground and flying off to look for the ghost.
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The rush of cool air across his face helped to revive the boy, bringing him back into focus to fight the ghost. Now, where was it? The explosion down the street, at the High school, was answer enough. Sighing, he turned towards the school.
"It's only Saturday, and I'm already back at school." He observed. "This had better be important."
Indeed it was. For a seemingly obvious reason the Lunch Lady, an elderly ghost with an unbalanced personality, had once again wandered into the schools cafeteria. Sam had had another go at changing the school cafeteria menu during the previous year, and the ghost had taken it upon herself to regularly check that the place still had meat. It rarely did, so there were frequent messes afterward. If Danny didn't manage to stop her, the ghost would summon huge amounts of raw meat into the room, through the windows no doubt, and otherwise trash the place. Even worse was the fact that Dash would then take it upon himself to blame Danny Fenton at school the next day, and he would be left to clean up the mess during detention. Often his friends, Sam and Tucker, would stay behind and help, but it did nothing to make him feel any better.
Immediate action was taken in the form of Danny phasing through the wall leading into the cafeteria kitchen. Sure enough, the Lunch Lady was searching diligently for any traces of meat. She had yet to notice that she had company.
"Sorry, we're fresh out of meat," Danny said, getting her attention. "Three hours of detention solved that. Why don't you try the Nasty Burger?"
"No meat, sweetie?" the ghost said, turning around slowly. Danny nodded, adjusting the thermos that he had strapped to his back earlier. He'd have to end this fight quickly if he wanted to get home one time.
His opponent roared, throwing up her arms in a fury. Following the movement, dozens of knives, varying in size, took to the air, spinning around madly before shooting towards Danny. The boy instantly went intangible, allowing the knives to pass harmlessly through him before retaliating. He flew to the ghost, becoming tangible along the way before kicking at her, knocking her away and then even further when he followed up with an ecto blast. The Lunch Lady went flying into a row of ovens, severely denting them.
"Ha!" she laughed bitterly. "If you had more meat on your skinny bones, then maybe that would have stopped me!"
"That wasn't meant to stop you." Danny shot back, firing energy from both of his hands before charging after the ghost. The Lunch Lady flew at him as well, and they met in the middle when Danny struck her once more. A strong uppercut sent her crashing into the ceiling, directly into a row of florescent lights. Someone had left them on, as well as half the lights in the building, as usual. Never had Danny been happier to see a waste in energy. Upon impact, the ghost began sparking and shrieking before falling in a graceless manner to the floor.
"See you later, or not!" Danny said, bringing the thermos out. He quickly opened the lid, allowing a blue stream of light to shoot out and consume the elderly ghost before him. In one moment she was consumed in the blue light, and in the next she was sucked away into the tight confines of the Fenton Thermos. Smirking, Danny capped the device, fixing it again to his back before leaving the building.
"I know it's a tight squeeze in there with the Box Ghost," Danny said to the thermos as he flew over the school. "But think of it this way; you two have so much in common!" He laughed, joking and not realizing that he had just played match-maker for future events to come.
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The flight home went by smoothly, and Danny made it back to his house twenty minutes before curfew. To avoid any issues that may arise, he flew down to the lab to empty the thermos and store it somewhere before flying back outside to walk in through the front door.
"Hey," he said to his parents, who were sitting in the living room talking. They looked up for a moment, surprised to see him before curfew, before waving back and smiling. "I'll be upstairs. Is dinner ready yet?"
"I haven't even started. I was in the mood for pizza." His mother, Maddie, said, earning an eager nod of approval from her husband.
"Sounds good to me," Danny grinned. He walked away, up the stairs with the intention of calling Tucker and Sam. His plans were put aside when his elder sister walked out of her room and accidentally bumped into him.
"Oh, hi Danny. My bad."
"Mhm, hey Jazz."
The siblings went on their way with Danny continuing on to his room, and Jazz to the stairs. At the last minute Jazz called out to Danny.
"I saw this space thing on the news today; you might be interested in it."
"Space thing?" Danny asked, as his eyebrows crinkled. He was interested, that was for sure, but he had no idea what his sister was getting at.
"Something about Mars; but it wasn't anything too serious."
Curious as ever, he dove into his room, flying over to his computer and booting it up before running a quick search. As this happened, Tucker managed to message him. The small window appeared on the bottom corner of his screen with a dull popping noise, like a depressed bubble spontaneously expiring.
FRYERTUCK: Hey, did you see the news yet?
GHOST BOY: No, I was out dealing with stuff. Thanks for the help.
FRYERTUCK: Heh heh, yeah… Well, take a look at it!
Danny shrugged, clicking at the link Tucker had sent him; it was faster than his computer was anyway. The new window came up in seconds, and he quickly scrolled through it, growing more and more surprised as he went. According to what he was reading, there was a freak asteroid on its way to earth. According to scientists, it had been on the move for centuries. It was set to hit the earth in within a week.
GHOST BOY: Oh, I thought it would be about something else. How do people not know this?
FRYERTUCK: Beats me. I already checked the site too, dude. It's legit.
GHOST BOY: I wish it wasn't.
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Danny chatted with Tucker for a little while longer, though he was mainly focused on reading the numerous articles he had found online. Most of them were by scientists in foreign countries but were written in English anyway.
Why wasn't the media reporting this? A freak asteroid on a collision course to Earth, surely it would at least show up on YouTube!
Frantically, Danny messaged Tucker, asking him to try and hack into some sites. Tucker's smug answer bounced back seconds later.
FRYERTUCK: I have. Why do you think I skipped out earlier? I, unlike Sam, actually had a reason. haha
GHOST BOY: Thanks. Dude, she has a mutant cold or something; it's not like she can run around all night.
FRYERTUCK: Kidding, kidding. So, do you want the sites, or should I just sum them up for you?
GHOST BOY: Send them! I want to see them for myself.
Tucker, knowing what Danny's answer would be, had already started sending the links. Danny eagerly opened them, reading the contents.
Going by what he saw, the United States was being kept out of the loop, which sounded like a load of bull. What if it was the people being kept out? That would make much more sense.
GHOST BOY: Dude, we need to talk to Sam about this tomorrow.
FRYERTUCK: Why not now?
GHOST BOY: Pizza. Later!
FRYERTUCK: …
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Danny turned of the monitor before leaving, deciding that it was better to be safe than sorry. He was wondering if a ghost, or Jazz, would come snooping around. It didn't seem likely, but he didn't want this information out until he completely understood it first. Shrugging, he left his room, making his way down into the kitchen. Everyone was already in there, and the pizza as well, so he slid into a seat at the table, helping himself to a few slices. Mouth full, he began chewing, idly watching his sister and mom talk about the possibility of ghosts having emotions.
It was sort of entertaining. Jazz was sure that they would have something, they were human once after all. Maddie actually seemed to consider this, resting her chin in her hand.
"Well, sweetie, it would make sense." She began, taking a small bite of pizza before continuing. "But ghosts are only impressions of people. They have no humanity. They are professional at faking it though, so maybe that's what you saw."
"Are you sure?" Jazz said. "I was planning on using the idea in my next project for class. Mr. Black seemed so interested in them."
"There isn't anything wrong with studying it. The possibility of you reaching the conclusion you want is slim, that's all."
"What about that Phantom kid?" Jack offered. Danny began coughing violently over his food, struggling for a moment to get the bit that was lodged in his throat down to his stomach. Jack looked at him in confusion before continuing with what he had been about to say. "The ghost punk tries to act like a decent person himself most of the time. He a pro at the acting, I swear."
"Danny, are you alright?" Maddie asked, concerned.
"Fine," Danny rasped.
Jazz looked his way for a moment, her expression difficult to read. Her eyes darted back to the food on her plate when Danny glanced over at her. Sensing a quiet moment coming on, Jack whipped out the latest invention he had been working on, slamming it into the table with a smile. Whatever sort of weapon it was, it resembled a miniature chainsaw. The thing roared into life when the man pulled a chain attached to the side of it. Not even staying around to hear what the thing was called, Danny excused himself.
Danny went once again to his room, turning the monitor back on to check if Tucker was still on. Apparently, the techno geek had left to get some food as well, so Danny simply deleted the window before reading the articles still up on the screen. There wasn't anything new to see, he had read it all earlier. It was too bad for him that he had no idea how to hack into sites. Frowning slightly and staring fruitlessly at the bright screen before him, the young hero began plotting. He could message Tucker again… No, he was offline. Next plan: go to Tucker's house. Failure again! It was after curfew, and his parents would somehow find out that he snuck out if he did. He was in enough trouble as it was these days. What about Sam? Odds were that she was asleep already, or was too out-of-it with medication to be of much help. So he went to Plan D.
Opening another window to the internet and typing a few key letters in found Danny at a familiar social networking site: Mugtome. He had joined when Tucker told him that he himself used it to stay in touch with Alex Rider, a recent addition to Team Phantom and the youngest spy in the world. This didn't mean that he went on a mission every other week though, as many believe spies do. To be frank, he was really only called into action whenever MI6 needed him. Even then, it usually involved something he either cared nothing about, or wanted nothing to do with. He could easily hear about top secret information this way though; every now and then he'd tell the trio some random fact he had learned on yet another mission. It was both distressing and comical to them when he let it slip about what kind of person Damian Cray actually was, though he only shared a few details. Tucker had still been in mourning about not being able to get his hands on a Gameslayer, and was incredibly jealous when the spy told him that he got to experience it twice. Alex refused to tell them what those experiences had been about however, and Danny guessed that they hadn't been too pleasant, though he kept this to himself.
Alex wasn't online; it was about four in the morning where he was, so Danny settled on sending him a message.
Hey, have you heard anything about asteroids from the bank? Tuck found some stuff… Pretty freaky stuff. Check these sites out.
That was sent, leaving the boy to stare at the screen once more. With nothing else to do, and no ghosts to fight, Danny decided to just turn in for the night.
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It all went downhill from there. As soon as his head hit the pillow and his mind shut down, the boy was thrown into a personal hell- his memories.
It always started with fire and lightening, for unknown reasons, and was always followed by sharp pain, raw fear. He would always be there laughing, taunting. Tonight was no different.
There was a flash of light, and the sudden feeling of falling, only to hit something all too soon. What he saw before him, a grimy ceiling, transformed to drop tiles and florescent lighting. He would cry out, feeling the cold metal of a clothing rack bar as it was slowly forced into his back, sob as he felt his life draining away with the growing pool of blood around him. He would be there, standing over him, his foot on his chest, pressing down to force the invading metal further on into his body.
"Honestly Daniel, you can't even land on a bar properly… Allow me to help you."
Screaming filled his ears.
Somehow, his mind registered them as his own.
He would try and get away, but there would always be some force holding him. The boy was certain that this was death itself- lying helpless in a pool of blood, completely at the mercy of a being that was more powerful than you could ever be. Not a god, for no god, if there could be such a thing, would ever be so cruel. No, this was the work of a monster. Any god-like part of Vlad had withered away long ago.
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"He killed him! He killed him! Alex he's dead! He attacked Tucker too, and I don't know if he's alright. But Danny…"
"Shh, Sam, calm down… It's alright, you're safe."
"I don't want to be safe! Not when he's like this!"
If anything, this was just as terrible as the gaping wound he had received from Vlad. His friends, supposedly arriving only moments late, were panicking, screaming. They thought he was dead. He wasn't, and he had heard every word they had said, unwillingly committing them to memory.
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On this night, like many others, Danny awoke with a strangled cry, covering his mouth tightly to hold in any screams he may have inside. There was no way to stop his tears so they fell freely, staining his pale cheeks. All of this, these nightmares, had only begun a month or two ago, far after the horrific events they portrayed. Danny believed that there was nothing he could do to stop it. Every night, when he did decide to try and sleep, would be plagued with the worry- would it happen again tonight?
He worked as hard as possible to keep these nightmares from everyone else. So far he was doing a pretty decent job, if one ignored the dark shadows that were constantly under his eyes and his odd terror of storms. He could keep this up- they didn't have to know.
Ten minutes of deep breathing, a technique he had learned from some therapy book Jazz made him read, allowed him to reach a state of relative calm, but the halfa knew that he would not be getting any more sleep that night. Thankfully it was the weekend. Sighing, he got to his feet wearily, walking to his computer and checking his messages on Mugtome. Surprisingly enough, Alex had already responded to his message.
They never tell me anything unless they have work for me, which, lately, they thankfully haven't… That sounds very odd. Are you sure that these sites can be trusted?
They aren't on the news, are they? I suppose everyone is trying to hush it all up. Keep it calm to prevent panic. I would find out more if I were you.
-Alex
As soon as Danny had finished reading this, the familiar noise of a chat window sounded.
Cub: What's up? Odd hour for you to be on, mate.
GHOST BOY: Couldn't sleep.
Cub: …
GHOST BOY: I saw the message you sent back…
GHOST BOY: I think you're right about the media wanting to keep it quiet.
Cub: It's what they do best: control and contort the news.
Cub: How are the ghosts?
Cub: Haven't seen Yassen in a while.
GHOST BOY: They're just dying to get out of the Ghost Zone these days.
Cub: Haha
GHOST BOY: Really?
Cub: What?
GHOST BOY: I thought he'd hang around for a bit. Didn't he promise to watch you or something?
Cub: Well, yeah… I haven't really been in any trouble lately though, so it all works out. He isn't really a guardian or whatever; he's only doing it to repay my dad, I think.
GHOST BOY: He didn't seem the guardian type anyway.
Cub: Hey, sorry, Jack and I were going out for breakfast, so I'll see you around later, alright?
Alex signed off after that, leaving Danny to wonder where the spy had to run off to so quickly. Breakfast was the most important meal, he decided. It must be very important to Alex Rider. Blinking, Danny spun in his chair, turning himself to face his bookshelf, noting the void where his comic books had been. For some reason, seeing the characters in there fighting, seeing all the blood and gore, wasn't as appealing to him as it had once been. None of it was really, which was sad because he had once loved reading them. Frowning, Danny turned away, floating out of his chair to approach the middle of his room. Silently, he transformed into his more famous half- Danny Phantom. He stretched in midair, smiling a little as his body began to cool due to the surge of ectoplasm that had taken the place of his blood.
"Time for a little break,' he said, turning his body intangible before flying out into the open air of Amity Park. He climbed higher and higher in the air, past the clouds to take a glimpse at the stars. They hung there in the sky, blinking back at him as if they were trying to tell him warn him of something. Danny only smiled back, a tired yet relieved smile, before falling back into a fall, spinning away into a lazy flight. He wanted, needed, a moment where he could get away from everything. A small moment where time stood still and he was safe in the sky…
Come tomorrow, everything would begin to change.
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AN: Leave a review!
Updates will take a bit longer than before, so don't expect the next chapter for a week or two!