Ch. 2 - Too Alarmin' Now to Talk About
Day 7
Danny stretched as he rose with a sleepy expression. His sight was blurry, but he could tell it was almost noon. "Oh man. Nothing's better than sleeping in on a Monday." Long weekend aside, Danny made a point to do nothing but hang and relax especially after acing that test. Lancer was even slightly suspicious as he handed it back. "And I'm up with just enough time to meet Sam and Tuck for lunch." Down in the kitchen he could hear his parents talking about Phantom's sneaky tactics over the week. It was the same every day. Phantom was supposedly orchestrating the attacks and then fighting without being seen. That way people might think he's left or something. The idea was ridiculous. Danny then took a passing glance at the TV.
"So you're claiming Phantom really was here?" The reporter asked one of the civilians.
They were wearing an Anti-Phantom shirt and it pissed him off despite seeing this before. "Yeah, he was the one who caved in the ceiling. I was just leaving the store when it happened."
The halfa rolled his eyes and kept going. "I'm leaving!" He announced. His mom waved as he passed the kitchen, but his dad seemed too caught up in his rant to notice. His parents may have been paranoid, but that didn't give the rest of town an excuse. It was like Phantom's absence was only making the Phantom haters even more angry. Danny hadn't shown up in public as Phantom for around a week and yet people kept saying Phantom did this or Phantom destroyed that. This ghost fell on my car because Phantom was fighting it. When his dad constantly blamed ghosts for everything the whole town thought he was nuts. So much for that.
Danny turned into an ally and assumed his ghostly persona. He became invisible immediately after as he took off. "I wonder how long they can go on blaming a ghost they'll never see again?" He asked himself in spite. On his way to the Nasty Burger he passed one of the old billboards he used to be on. It had been defaced a few weeks ago. The word home had been replaced with haunt, and a few vilifying additions were made to his face. It was pretty sad the city kept it up. Either they were too lazy, too careless, or supported it. He lit up his hand with energy ready to burn the thing away, before thinking better of it. The last thing he needed to do was create damage they'd be right to blame him for.
He continued on his way enjoying the nice weather on the last day of his long weekend. The Nasty Burger was surrounded by other teens as per usual, and he found a dumpster across the street to transform behind. As he turned around it he took note of a new tag on the front. "Phantom waz here? Seriously?" He rolled his eyes and walked away. "Can they make that one anymore obvious?" He'd have used his ghost ray and not wasted the paint. To his own annoyance he saw Dash waiting in the parking lot with Quan. Both were dressed in their typical jock attire topped with Letterman jackets. A few others drove up in a car to join them only these ones sported Anti-Phantom shirts as well. "Seriously guys, that's not cool." Dash remarked looking at them.
"Lay off Dash, my old man gave me an advance on my allowance cause I was wearing this today. As far as I can tell, it's good luck." One of them countered. Quan seemed stuck in the middle, not wanting to butt in. He spent most of his time hanging with Dash, and usually agreed with him on anything.
Danny found it slightly ironic that the guy who bullied him since middle school was one of the only A listers not wearing the new trend. "You got a problem Fentonio?" The jock spat noticing the halfa approach.
"Wouldn't dream of it." Danny shot back giving him a wide berth as he walked around and into the restaurant. "Geez, he's cranky today."
"Yo Danny!" He turned to see Tucker standing in the middle of the line.
"Hey Tuck, I guess you didn't order yet?"
"No, but you're just in time to hold our place in line." He bent his knees nervously. "I've gotta visit the little techy's room."
Danny wore a grin and stepped up. "Sure. You want the usual?"
"Of course." And Tucker dashed off for relief. Danny was at the register a few minutes later, and was surprised to see a very exhausted Valerie waiting to serve him.
"Welcome to Nasty Burger." She ended with a yawn.
"Geez, late night?"
She scowled at him a bit. "Yeah, what of it?"
Danny flinched at the icy tone. "Alright, I get the hint. Okay, I'll take the number 3 with a coke, and one Mighty Meaty Meal also with a coke." Valerie looked like she could fall asleep through the entire transaction, and the halfa felt he knew why. Tucker arrived just as Danny was grabbing the trays. "Good timing."
"I try. By the way, was that Val? Talk about sleep walking."
He took a glance back. "I know, and she wasn't exactly eager to go into why."
"Took long enough." Sam remarked as they joined her at a corner booth.
"Sorry, our server was trying not to pass out."
Sam looked over their heads towards the counter. "Valerie? I didn't think she was working today. She wasn't there when I ordered."
Danny shrugged. "She might have been late. With the way she looked, I imagine sleep is hard to come by."
Sam looked at him with a curious expression though it quickly dawned on her why. "You mean she's out later because you're not?" It made sense of course. Valerie never said no to a possible ghost hunt. The idea of hunting any ghost was practically her reason for living at this point.
"Yeah, or at least I assume that's what's happening. I mean I got up at least once a night to fight a ghost if I was lucky. Three times on a hard night. You remember when Tucker tried to help manage my sleep last month right? My weekly average was around 29 hours, and 35 with weekend naps. With how much longer it takes her to catch most ghosts, I bet she's just trying to get to 25 this week."
Sam and Tuck traded worried glances thinking about the young hunter. "Dude, aren't you worried? I mean, you of all people know how brutal that is."
Danny furrowed his brow. "Yeah I do, so I don't see any reason I should feel guilty about it. Any time she shows up to hunt she's late, and fires at me more than the ghost I'm fighting. At least she doesn't have me out there making her life harder. I still have the scar from that cheap shot she took the last time Technus attacked." He complained with a glare in the young huntress' direction. "Let her experience some of the hell for a change. She's not dumb, so she probably already realizes her workload is more because I'm gone."
Tucker gave his friend a sympathetic expression. "I get it dude, and I can't blame you." He agreed, remembering some of Valerie's worst attacks. "But I still feel bad for her."
Sam glared back at the counter. Danny just reminded her of how much Valerie annoyed her. Sure she felt bad, but it's not like she didn't deserve any of it. "Danny's right Tuck. She does have it easier than him. After all, the town doesn't hate her guts and show it at every possible chance." She looked over towards some jocks who were sporting Anti-Phantom shirts. "The shallow waters didn't take long to turn."
Tucker turned to look too. "Well except Dash and Quan. Who'd have thought Dash of all people would have your back."
Danny chuckled at that. "Tell me about it. Plus, Paulina still has that shrine in her locker." The halfa couldn't help finding the whole thing funny.
Sam just rolled her eyes in distaste at the mention. "Whatever. Doesn't mean she's not shallow. The law of probability dictates she was bound to have at least one moderately redeeming feature."
"Oh my god, did Sam just compliment Paulina?" Danny asked in mock astonishment.
Tucker joined in the tease and picked up his burger. "Hurry insult my food and come back to your senses."
Sam nearly swatted the food out of his hands but Tucker expected it and pulled away. "Knock it off Tuck." Both boys traded high fives before continuing their food.
That night Danny found himself wide awake despite it being past midnight. He felt wired for whatever reason, but didn't get up. Normally if he couldn't sleep he'd go on patrol. Not much point to doing that now. "Guess my body still hasn't adjusted to actually sleeping at a decent hour." It was true he was sleeping more, but not as much as a normal teen got to. At least at night. He couldn't say how long he was up before his ghost sense went off. He'd resisted the urge to transform on the spot, but he did sit up to look out the window. The sky was clear and the moon was nearly full. "It would be a great night to being flying... wait... duh." He scolded himself with a light tap on his forehead. "I should just go for a flight. Not being a hero anymore doesn't mean I can't enjoy myself."
He jumped out of his blankets and morphed before even touching the floor. After phasing out of the house he made a direct line to the park. It was the least populated place this late at night, plus there wasn't any Anti-Phantom tags or posts since the park was legally protected from any form of advertising. The night air was cool and refreshing on his face. "Man this is nice. When was the last time I just went flying for fun?" He wondered aloud to himself. He twisted so he was flying while he was laying back with his hands behind his head. "And the stars are great even with all the moonlight." The glow around the satellite rivaled his own white aura.
"Yo tough guy!" He snapped out of his relaxing with the familiar shout.
"Huh?" He quickly noticed the greasy haired ghost, and let out a sigh exposing his ghost sense.
"Why so surprised? You didn't think you'd sent me back for good did ya." Johnny leaned over the front of his bike with a sly smile.
"Of course not." Danny responded in annoyance. None of the ghosts ever stayed away. The halfa looked over the ghost and quickly found why he didn't sense him earlier. "You're shadow off having fun?"
Johnny shrugged. "Probably. That chick in the fancy red suit decided to chase me down so I figured I'd have a bit of fun with her before getting out of town. I was a bit surprised she found me first though." He then looked up at Danny with a competitive grin. "So we gonna go at it?"
Danny gave him a minor glare before re-positioning himself as if sitting in an easy chair. "Nah, you go on. I'm not doing that stuff anymore."
Johnny made a move to rev his bike before what Danny had said really set in. "Huh... wait what? You screwing with me?"
Danny waved it off without opening his eyes. "Nope. I'm just out enjoying the night like you. Leave me alone, and I'll do the same."
He continued to drift a bit while Johnny looked at him in disbelief. Phantom had always been such a goody two-shoes. "So wait... You're saying I can go off and do whatever I want around town, and you won't lift a finger to stop me?"
"It's got nothing to do with me." He then looked up. "I've got way better things to waste my time on then protecting this god forsaken town." And with that the halfa gave a curt wave before flying off.
Johnny merely sat on his bike looking more than a little confused. "Is he really serious?" He almost wanted to cheer, but at the same time he felt something was really wrong. Phantom would never just sit back and do nothing even if his own enemies were the ones about to take the hit. He may have sent them all back to the ghost zone, but he made sure none of them ever got captured by the other hunters either. Could someone like that really be turning their back on a whole city. Johnny broke out of his thoughts and saw Phantom was nowhere in sight. "Well, whatever. Kid's probably taking a breather." With a rev of his motorcycle he sped off to the nearest park exit where the roar of a jet sled got his attention. "Hey Red. Having fun with Shadow?" He asked wearing a cocky grin.
"It's time for you to take a hike ghost!" Her shoulder cannons popped up to target him. "And by hike I mean get reduced to an ectoplasmic scorch mark on the pavement."
Johnny's grin almost gave him away as Shadow jumped up through the jet sled again. It immediately lost power and Valerie fell several feet to the ground. "Sorry, but I ain't got time for that Red. Kitty's gonna be pissed if I end up a scorch mark." He chuckled as Shadow loomed over the kneeling hunter. "You sure you don't wanna give up? You look tired. Not used to fighting so late?" He asked with mock concern. As long as Phantom's staying out of it he had nothing to worry about.
"Like hell I'd let some repulsive ghost go around town doing whatever they wanted!" She shot back while getting to her feet.
"Hey, watch it! Who are you calling repulsive?" He pushed back his greasy hair as if putting it back in place. "Besides, what are you going to do about it Red?" The huntress scowled as another of her blasters shorted out from the ghost's power. They had a self repair function, but it would take a few minutes to kick in again. Johnny leaned over the handle bars of his bike almost ready to just take pity on the outmatched hunter before a sudden gust picked up. Several pieces of litter flew past with one interesting piece in particular getting pinned to one of the bars on the park's gate. "Hm? Shadow, fetch!" He commanded pointing to the tattered paper. It depicted Phantom's emblem with a red circle backslash over it. A very simple image with a very direct meaning. "Looks like that punk's not as popular as I thought." He was pretty sure he'd seen some humans wearing shirts like this, but since they were male he didn't care at the time.
"You talking about Phantom?" Valerie asked taking note of the flier. "Of course he's not popular, he's a ghost!"
Johnny raised a brow at her. "Yeah okay, but up until 20 minutes ago every time I saw him he was pulling the whole hero routine. Don't humans love crap like that?"
"Shows what you know ghost. Phantom can act like a hero all he wants, but that doesn't make it true! He's just another ghost!" The huntress declared as her wrist monitor beeped. "It was only a matter of time before the rest of the city figured it out too." She then lifted her wrist and fired off a blast from one of her restored blasters. Shadow moved to defend his master and was stunned by the blast. "But you're the ghost who needs to worry. I'll deal with Phantom next time."
Johnny sat up on his bike with a glare. "Shadow, return." He commanded, and was rejoined with the source of his power. "Next time Red." He revved his bike and was down the street before Valarie could get a new lock. "Things got pretty interesting tonight."
Day 8
Danny walked into the school building right on time as he had been since he stopped being the hero. Sam and Tucker met him at his locker. "So dude, didn't beat me to campus today huh?"
Danny turned to his friend with an irritated frown. "Well you know. Some days I have a nice peaceful breakfast, some days I have to listen to my parents going on about ghost experiments." That morning had been far more detailed than he'd liked especially when they started on the ways they'd use Phantom. "Getting my dad to shut up about it took awhile."
Sam gave him a worried expression. "You mean they were..." She didn't finish. She didn't need to.
"Yeah, so let's not talk about it. I'm sure Jazz is already planning one of her little therapy sessions for later." She loved to psychoanalyze her brother, and didn't hide it. Now Jazz was almost nothing like her parents when it came to Danny. She paid every move and every word he spoke attention. Unfortunately, unlike his parents, that meant it was hard to hide anything from her.
"At least your sister's trying to help." Tucker added in to try and make Danny feel better.
"Well so are my parents technically." The halfa countered with an eye roll. "I'd appreciate getting help by being left alone though. As things stand now, I don't have to worry about anything but passing for the year."
"Good luck dude. There's a Stoichiometry test on Friday." Tucker teased with a knowing grin.
Danny let out a groan at the reminder. "Damn... I don't even know what that is!?" He then slammed his head into the locker in frustration.
"Chill dude, my Chem grade is still good so I'll help you out."
"Good luck with that." Sam patted Tucker on the back. "But now we have English." The bell rang seconds later and the trio moved on.
It was easy to pick up as the first few periods flew by. There was a new rumor around campus. "So, you guys hear?" Tucker wondered as Study Hall whined down.
"About what?" Sam responded as she flipped through a text book without really paying attention.
"The rumor about Phantom."
Danny looked up from his notes and wore a dry expression. "Oh that. Yeah, it was hard not to. Of course people are going to finally notice Phantom's not around."
Tucker shook his head. "No, the other one. Rumor has it Phantom is sending out his ghostly minions to attack the town in revenge." The geek couldn't help but laugh at the idea.
Sam agreed with a chuckle. "I can't believe they think you have minions."
"I can't believe they can't figure out something so simple." He'd heard a few whispers about Phantom leaving, but he expected those. This on the other hand... wow. "I can't wait to find out what they blame me for next." The halfa stated with heavy sarcasm.
"World hunger?" Sam suggested with a light tease.
"Funny." Danny rolled his eyes at the snide comment.
Any further conversation was halted when the Ghost Drill started. Danny's initial instinct to search the area was curbed when he felt a hand on his arm. "Come on Danny. The evacuation route is this way." Sam instructed while pulling him to the door. He'd never actually followed a Ghost Drill before since he always went after the ghost that could be causing it. Sometimes that resulted in a wild goose chase and it really was a drill. This wasn't one of those times, however, since the halfa's ghost sense went off right as they left the room.
Later that day Danny was on the couch with his parents watching the news. "Again? These ghosts just keep getting bolder." Jack declared in annoyance. "And this time the school will be closed for a week pending repairs." They watched as the large purple, two-headed snake blow-torched the main entrance. This one was a little odd in that the heads were on each end instead of split from one end.
"Thank goodness the evacuation went smoothly." His mother praised as she placed a loving arm around her son.
"Yeah, that Phantom kid's getting too cocky with these attacks." Jack agreed.
"What? I didn't see Phantom there." Danny cut in at the accusation.
Jack only laughed. "Of course not. It's part of his plan. Since he was losing his pull with the town's people he decided to sit back and let his ghostly minions do some real damage. Then the town will beg him to come back." Jack laughed again. "As if! That punk thinks he can outsmart me then he's got another thing coming." He then pulled out a blaster from behind the couch. "When I finally catch him, he'll find out just how much smarter I am."
"Come on dear, we still need to do research. I think we should be thinking about the effects of his power if he can get so many ghosts to do what he wants. There must be some power hierarchy in this." His mother theorized with her arm still on her son's shoulder. "Imagine if we could replicate that ability? Now it would probably require extensive tests on Phantom's core-" Danny stood up suddenly. "Danny?"
The halfa looked at his mother. "Uh... I'm going to Tucker's. Since there's no school tomorrow it would be a good chance to catch up on studying. He's... gonna help me with chemistry." Danny began his way to the door before even hearing an answer, though Maddie did respond before he left.
"Alright honey... be safe." She finished with a wave. "Does he seem moody to you?" She asked once her son had left.
"Yeah, but with all this ghost craziness I don't blame him." Jack deduced polishing his gun with a scowl thinking about the ghost he'd use it on.
Just outside the door Danny was stopped by Jazz who'd just arrived home. "Danny?" She dashed up to him. "Good, I was worried you were hurt. I heard Phantom hasn't been spotted recently and thought maybe you were injured."
Danny pulled away from his over protective sibling. "No, I'm not hurt. I haven't fought any ghosts for days."
Jazz raised a curious brow. "Really? Is that why you've been less tired recently?"
Danny nodded. "Yeah I'm... taking a break from the hero thing."
Jazz looked a bit more than shocked. "You what?! But what about all those people who get caught up in the ghost attacks?"
"What about them!?" Danny snapped back. "You mean all the people who hate me!? Why should I give a damn about them?"
"Danny!" Jazz called in a scolding tone. "How could you say that?"
"How could I? You're joking right?" Danny almost felt the urge to laugh. "You've seen them right?! The posters, the shirts, the internet posts, and how could you miss the chanting!? They don't want me here!" He then took a few steps back from her. "Just... lay off would you? You don't understand." He then dashed off to his friend's house for escape.
Ember strummed her guitar as Kitty walked in. "Hey Kitty. Johnny finally get around to you?" She asked with a sarcastic smile.
"Eventually." She responded before starting her impression. "Please Kitten. You know nothing is as important as you. I was just held up that's all." She then rolled her eyes. "His excuse was even better. Apparently Phantom wasn't the one to get in his way."
Ember tightened one of her cords and looked up. "Really? Who else could get in his way? His idiot parents?"
Kitty sat down and waved her hand as if recalling something. "No that other chick. The one in red."
"Haven't had a run in with anyone in red."
"She's nothing to worry about. Last time me and Johnny went out to the human world she didn't even notice us. Phantom was the one who stepped in, and even then it was only after Johnny caused a scene." Kitty explained with annoyance. "It could have been a nice trip. Anyway, here's the interesting part. He did run into Phantom."
Ember turned to her with a surprised tone. "And yet Johnny said he was held up by that nobody?"
Kitty nodded. "I know. He's usually cursing up a storm when Phantom gets in his way, so I didn't get why he'd pretend he didn't now. I mean Phantom's booted out every ghost that's come his way. It's not like anybody expected any different."
Ember took a seat as well while testing her guitar string. "So if he did run into Phantom, but didn't fight him, then what? They swap cookie recipes?"
Kitty chuckled at that. "Nice, but no. According to Johnny, Phantom said he's taking a vacation. Didn't lift a finger to stop him, and didn't even try to help that hunter chick."
Ember raised a finger to her chin as a familiar memory came to mind. "You know... I think I heard that from someone else." She then snapped her fingers. "Right that annoying Box guy. He looked really confused and Skulker was all too ready to boot him off the island." Of course she was too. Who wanted to deal with that idiot.
Kitty looked shocked at her recollection. "Wait are you serious?"
Ember gave a shrug. "It's the Box Ghost. Who takes that guy seriously?" She then tested another cord. "But I can't see Johnny making up such a stupid excuse, he's not that dumb."
Kitty mulled it over a moment before finding herself in agreement. Johnny had common sense at least. She then pulled a folded up piece of paper from her purse. "I suppose this probably has something to do with it then?"
Ember stood up to get a look at the paper. She found it bizarre to say the least and a bit ironic. "Wow, those humans are dumber than I thought they were."
Kitty couldn't help but agree. "Johnny mentioned seeing these everywhere in the human world. If this was why Phantom called it quits I don't blame him."
Part 2 is done. I hope to have met expectation my wonderful readers. I appreciate any feedback you may have. Please and Thank you.=^-^=