Control is not might
Justice is sometimes not right
And in the darkness of your own mind, perception twists and you gain new sight.
At the sound of silence…
PROLOGUE
3 weeks prior
The clock read 2:32 as Danny groggily fumbled with the device, squinting at the numbers with a bit of denial and annoyance as his head pounded, his body making clear its objections to the interruption of sleep.
"This early?" he muttered, before coughing, an icy mist forming on his breath and shaking him awake, shivers racing up and down his spine as some uncannily sense of direction and alarm racked his brain and focused his dulled senses. Shaking his head vigorously, his somewhat in-need-of haircut hair ending up in that perpetual state of utter chaos, he breathed deeply and looked towards the window. No moon tonight, which plunged the world into a darkness that was sure to make his hunt more challenging that night.
"All right, let's get this over with" Danny groveled and closed his eyes, crouching down as he prepared to literally spring forth. Even as he began to leap, mentally he activated that trigger, that small psychic connection that signaled a surge of unnatural energy that flowed awash over his body in a brilliant halo of light that flooded the room with a moment of pure illumination as Daniel Fenton; 15 year adolescent and nocturnal supernatural vigilante, altered his very existence and became a spirit of the night, on the prowl. Without hesitation, he dropped all connection with gravity and usual physics and took flight, traveling through the window itself as though it was a mirage and into the cold skies of mid-April over Amity Park.
CRaCk! A harsh blow to his forehead sent Phantom reeling and slamming into the side of his neighbor's house, before making a clumsy, 15 foot fall to the cement below where he collapsed into the pavement, losing momentary control of his tangibility and ending up literally 6 feet under with nothing but his head and a hand sticking out of the ground.
"Ha ha, and thus the final act of your pathetic life begins my young prey" a slightly robotic, malevolent and characteristically cruel voice was the only warning Danny had before a heavy blade sunk into the pavement exactly where his head had been, physically cracking the concrete and sinking a good several inches into the soft soil beneath the driveway. That would have been his head, had he not yelped and completed his partial decent into the soil.
"No where to run Whelp! This time, I am prepared to track and corner your every move" the muffled voice of Skulker, a seven foot, hulking and clanking robot with ghostly flaming hair and piercing glowing eyes that gave him a 'ghost-rider-esque' appearance adversary that was Phantom's possibly most deadly and persistent enemy.
Phantom wore a fierce scowl on his face as he descended further into the ground and into a wide drainage pipe. "7th night in a row and always right on time." He growled. "I hope you regret even considering hunting me tonight Skulker" and although he said this to himself, he did mean it…sincerely.
A moment later, Phantom's disembodied head rose from the pitted surface of a sidewalk, the rest of his form behind just beneath the surface. Green, toxic glowing eyes scanned his surroundings warily. "Where is he?" Phantom asked himself. Although his heart didn't pound (in fact it didn't beat at all when he was Phantom) there was nothing less nerve wracking than being unawares about where the next attack would come, but his unusual ghost sense, the same one that had awoken him and was much more acute than it had been in his earlier years, gave a sharp warning.
He rolled deftly out of the way as a massive bolt of charged plasma struck his position, leaving a smoking, red hot crater.
"Hold still you little runt!" Skulker roared, and he did indeed roared with a partial screech that would have left anyone of lesser wills dashing away in terror, but Phantom was a much more jaded and grim opponent that was not at all intimidated as Skulker fired once, twice, and three times with a heavy pistol, the shots whistling through the air, leaving phosphorescent trails of magenta ambient energy left over from the powerful plasma blasts.
Phantom used his speed to evade all three blasts, his joints stretching unnaturally as he seemed to bend and twist with two piercing eyes with a fury in them as he moved almost in a blink of the eye, towards Skulker, who reached for a heavy, electric whip on his utility belt.
"Well that's new" he hissed cynically as the spectral robot activated a energy shield, forming a thin but potent wall of pale blue ray just inches away from Danny as he flew; blasted backwards to avoid colliding with the force field.
"Never stay predictable" Skulker said with a sadistic grin on his face. The whip snapped and struck upwards, moving faster than Phantom could possibly avoid.
The young spirit let out a cry of pain as the cord wrapped around him like a snake, clinging to his jump suit and injected thousands of volts, crackling and snapping with a lethal amount dose of ectoplasmic electricity.
"Eat your own advice Skulker" a new voice interjected as Phantom's duplicate sent a heavy punch into Skulker's head, but the whip was doing its job and stayed activated, as Phantom's concentration shattered and the duplicated lost form and dissolved away.
"Better try next time, because I'm in no mood for any sort of banter tonight" Skulker said in a low, dangerous voice as he recovered, staggering his feet and rubbing the fist shaped indentation on his face. The whip was still coiled lovingly around Phantom who let out a howl of pain, grinding his teeth as he attempted to dislodge the whip from his flesh, but the thing seemed to hook to his skin. Smoke was rising and Phantom could see his jumpsuit melting and broiling as it reached white hot temperatures.
"Time's up, should have come quietly." Skulker lifted a heavy boot and gave a strong kick, implanting the tremendous force into Phantom's chest.
He flew on mere momentum this time, making a wavering arc through the air as he tumbled a good 20 meters and smacked, head first, into a parked car.
Vision was blurry and swimming as Danny saw Skulker prowling forward at a quick sprint, covering the distance put between them in a second. Consciousness was threatening to release as Skulker came to a halt, used his boot to roll Phantom over and then clamp down with a bone crushing force upon his chest. Delirious eyes managed to make out a large, mechanical arm seize a large, but long knife from his belt and lift it.
Wow that was fast…Phantom thought as time seemed to slow, even as the knife began to whistle down towards Danny's vital spectral core. Usually these fights last a good 10 minutes but I guess he's been getting better…huh, I usually am a bit more cautious than that, but he did ambush me after all and used that whip.
Comme on! A lot of pain…gosh, gotta think clearly. Think, this can't be the end! Not yet. To fall victim to some demonic crazed ghost and leave Mom, Dad, Jazz and Tucker behind…and Sam…Sam!"
A reserve of energy was Danny's salvation. Skulker's eyes narrowed as a hand flashed up and at the last moment, within just centimeters of gouging out the whelp's core, was stayed by a brute strength hidden within those wiry arms and deflected.
"GHaaah!" the whelp cried out as the knife sunk into his left bicep, deep, the green plasma of all ghosts flowing out. But Skulker was more concerned with the fact that the whelp's eyes glowed a steady white before his entire frame; his entire aura shifted into a palpable emerald glow that expanded, and seconds later, exploded.
The resounding blast echoed over the sleeping streets of Amity Park, rattling the windows of the downtown office buildings and shaking all other structures within a one kilometer radius, while a visible shockwave of green expanded in a growing ring that went out for miles before fading into the air.
The immediate neighborhood looked as though it had been singed by fire, cars flipped over and security alarms wailing. Far off, the sound of emergency sirens could be heard, crooning with a steady, approaching warning.
Skulker opened his eyes, but knew that for the most part, he was untouched. An automatic contingency system on board his hardware had activated a last ditch energy field, designed for these sort of violent blows. The shield was however weakened and the sheer might of the blast had sent him sliding backwards into a grounded stance some 3 meters, his feet having dragged two heavy ruts into the asphalt of the street.
Warning. Power level holding at 12%. Multiple systems damaged. An automated voice alerted from the main computer of his body. "Dammit" Skulker said begrudgingly. He looked up and peered at the flames of the destroyed car where the whelp had discharged his blast, Skulker's entire metallic body gleaming in the dancing light of fire.
For a moment, a thought of triumph raced through Skulker's mind, but it ended in a heap of disappointment as a dark shadow, weary and staggering, emerged from the inferno. Wreathed in the licking tongues of the blaze, Phantom came out, hand clenched over his injured arm and hair singed, but his eyes burned with a steady, resilient and belligerent glow.
"Come back for more have you?" Skulker asked mockingly.
Phantom only grimaced and lifted a shaky hand, letting ectoplasm pool in his palm, before throwing a rather weak plasma blast.
With a chuckle, Skulker batted off the attack with a quick wave of his arm. "So it comes down to this, fist for fist, will against will"
Without further adieu, he strode up and withdrew his knife again before swining at Danny's midsection. But the move was clumsy and Skulker was tiring, because Phantom blocked it with a quick flick of his wrist. Skulker twisted and swung downwards now, Phantom shifting to avoid the swing of the blade.
"Why do you hate me. What is it about tonight" Phantom growled as he parried another heavy blow before swinging out with his feet and with a grunt, tripping Skulker by his foot. The robot stumbled and just managed to deflect a blank-range plasma blast, even as he was reaching back and grabbing a grenade from his belt.
Phantom caught the thrown explosive and tossed it behind him, but the distraction was enough for Skulker to get to his feet and attempt a simple punch to his face.
"It's what I do" Skulker said simply, missing as Phantom leaned back and avoid the punch, kicking forward.
"That's not a good explanation!" he stumbled backwards, momentarily losing his balance while Skulker too tried to reestablish his equilibrium.
"Well it's the truth. You are excellent prey and"…the robot kicked and spun, following the kick with a heavy downwards chop from his knife "you have yet to fall to a worthy adversary, which makes you a fascinating challenge and rival. Thus I shall not rest till…"
Danny leaned to the side and ducked under, rolling to gain an advantage It awarded him with a mere second of surprise from Skulker, but that was enough to muster another plasma bolt, which struck Skulker in the face. It didn't even dent the thick armor, but it was enough to blind him.
"Till what?…honestly I think that you would be better off looking after some more promising prize rather than get…" Danny slammed a successful strike into the robot's midsection "consistently…" he punched the face "beaten by me"
Warning. Neural connections severed. System failure eminent. Skulker's suit powered down, the motor-joints slowing and sensors turning off, one by one. He lifted a final, jittering hand in defense, but Phantom forced the arm down, and with a burst of force, thrust his arm forward. He watched in surprise as Phantom sliced through his chest armor and reached in, seizing the computer core and wrenching it out; a sparking mass of wires and computer chips that gave a high pitched whine before dying out, small LED lights within the core fading and the suit finally collapsing; inert and lifeless.
"You have no idea" Skulker's voice was fading "You just don't understand how transparent it all is, the true reasons behind all of this"
2 weeks prior
It was the same fight over and over again, same old routine. Spectra, the Box Ghost, Kempler, Johnny 13, Ember, and the Fight Knight; it didn't matter.
Danny turned on his side as he tried to get back to sleep, but the thought was nagging him.
Everything almost like a show, day in and day out without end. Sometimes, his memory seemed to elude him and forget what had happened just a week ago, and totally obviate any remembrance of what had occurred a year previous. Had it been a year? Sometimes it felt more like three.
"You don't understand how transparent it all is, the true reasons behind all of this" Skulker's final words during one of those fights had somehow stuck with him and had steadily become an obsession. That had been 3 weeks ago, 3 weeks had passed since that fight with Skulker. They had fought since, but never with such ferocity, and more according to the same, formulaic fights that he was so used too, or was he?
The day had been a usual one, same old crap from Mr. Lancer, same old garbage bullying from Dash and company, same old laughs from Sam and Tucker at Nasty Burger, but at the end of the day, it all felt fresh.
"This isn't right" Danny muttered to himself. He turned over and looked towards his window. Night covered Amity Park like a blanket over a bed of hot coals, the city being lit up in the electric glory of the nocturnal life of bar patrons and grave yard shift workers. Somewhere among those buildings and street lamps, down empty streets where only the brave trod, Tucker and Sam slept soundly in their beds, lost in dreamland, disconnected, static, just like the whole world seemed to be.
Why? Why were the cocky final words of Skulker, a mocking statement made even as he was expiring, bothering him so much?
Because they were true
It was a scary thought, one that was gripping him a bit more every day, seizing his mind. He wasn't sure why, but he did know that bit by bit, something was changing, because everything else wasn't. He wasn't growing older, the town wasn't growing bigger, the world seemed to be in a snap shot, captured and set for him alone.
"Danny?"
Danny turned and noticed his mother in the door way, staring at him with a sort of strange gaze of suspicion and worry. "you alright?"
"yeah" he replied, sitting up in bed. "why, something wrong"
"no just checking. I always worry that some ghost is haunting you or something, sometimes you are just so peculiar"
"Well…" Danny inwardly chuckled to himself "you could say that"
How can you not notice the wounds? How can you not notice Danny Phantom's resemblance to me? How come you never notice anything wrong? How come you never change?
"good, sleep tight honey, I love you"
"I love you too Mom" Danny said with a smile.
He nestled back into the bed, about to return to his thinking when suddenly, his mind seemed to blank out and he couldn't remember what he had been thinking about. Instead, he could only think about the irony of his life and how his parents had no idea about his true identity.
Sleep then seemed to come, fast a with a vengeance for being delayed by the thoughts, overcoming him and soon drowning him into a deep slumber.
By morning, he couldn't remember that either.
1 week prior
The thoughts were returning again, emerging during the moments of boredom, festering during the hours of lecture from Mr. Lancer.
"You don't understand how transparent it all is, the true reasons behind all of this"
"Now class, Shakespeare constructed the Globe in the year 1599 and rebuilt it in 1614 after a fire destroyed…"
"Dude, you paying attention?" Tucker asked.
"Yeah…no" Danny said as he returned his head to the desk, closing his eyes and trying to ignore the utter boredom that seemed palpable.
In those long hours, he continued to let the thought take hold, building and changing. It was true. His life seemed to be utterly static, unmoving and unchanging save the intensity of his ghost fights, which seemed to increase day by day. Besides his growing powers, he was always the same, the same freshmen in the same classes learning the same material from the same teacher. Sam said the same things, Tucker always had that same old PDA. The weather and world itself seemed to follow a pattern that was consistent and punctual. Time after time again, he found himself realizing that it was all…fake.
But then he would forget…
5 minutes prior
The clock read 2:32 as Danny examined the digital readout. He had awoken, inexplicably, but his mind was pounding, racing.
"You don't understand how transparent it all is, the true reasons behind all of this"
It was all phony.
All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players
It was all a lie.
And he was about to awaken, to cast out the shadows and discover the truth.
Current
Event No. 223456
Category: Critical Error
Subject: Experiment 4449SPG1X
Event:
Neural hypnosis failing…
Obviation serum losing effect…subject assimilation and inoculation complete
Subject gaining consciousness…
Emergency anaesthetic administration initiating…
Hold…
Hold…
Hold…
Anaesthetic failure…
Subject active…
Warning, Subject active…
Danny felt pain as a needle was withdrawn from his arm. He opened his eyes, feeling as though something dark had been lifted from his head and for the first time in seemingly ever, he felt. He could feel his eye muscles straining as they attempted to adjust to the light bathing him. He could hear something shifting. He could smell chemicals and disinfectant, perforating the air. He could see that he was in some sort of case, horizontally laid on the floor, the top made of thick glass.
Beyond the glass, he could see a person, and as his vision cleared…Sam?
It was Sam, but she was much older, in her late 20's perhaps. She also was…normal with none of the makeup, lipstick or eyeliner she usually wore, sporting a white lab coat with a ID card pinned to the front. Her expression was one of utter horror, and a bit of terror, her mouth agape, her eyes wide and entire stance in one of complete shock. She said one thing, which was muffled, but audible.
"It's awake!
Author's Note: Disclaimed, written as an exercise in my limited creativity. Please review. Possible chapter 2 with proper inspiration.