Disclaimer: See Chapter 1
A quick note: Maddie and Jack are also going to be OOC along with Sam's parents. Dash, of course, is the same: a big bully with no brains and the hottest girl (according to this side of Danny). Also, I couldn't imagine Tucker and Vlad ever being father and son, so I made them nephew and uncle instead.
Reviews: Black.Rope.Walker, LilacOcean, inufan-308, kawaii chibi shun, Red's-Fury, Word Life 316, Divine-Red-Crayon.
Sorry if I forgot any names. The reviews were all a jumbled mess in my inbox so I might have deleted them on accident.
Chapter 2: Impressing Sam
Tucker walked into the study, fully prepared for school. "Vlad!" He ran up to his uncle who was lying on his stomach in the middle of the study. "Vlad, are you okay?"
Vlad groaned then slowly began to rise, rolling over and propping himself up on his elbow. "Wh-what?"
"Have you been lying here all night?"
"Last night?" Vlad looked away with a faraway look in his eyes. "I don't remember," he said, looking back at Tucker.
"Mr. Masters! Mr. Masters!" Tucker helped his uncle up as a feminine voice yelled for him. She threw the doors to the study open, followed closely by the butler.
"I'm sorry, sir. I tried to tell her that she need an appointment," the butler apologized.
"My uncle's not feeling well, you'll have to come by later," Tucker told the woman.
She ignored him. "Mr. Masters, your assistant Damon Gray…"
"What about him?" Vlad demanded.
"He's dead, sir. And the portal's gone."
Danny ran up to the school just as the bell rang for lunch. He grabbed his tray then sat at a table by himself. He played with the limp fries before looking up as Sam made her way across the cafeteria. He smiled up at her, but she didn't even look his way. He sighed and stared back down at his food. He dropped the fry he just picked up and spun around in his chair, catching Sam as she fell back after sliding in a puddle of juice. He caught her tray in the other hand, catching her food back on it.
"Wow," she said, looking at him. "Great reflexes." He smiled then helped her back on her feet. "Hey, you have blue eyes. I didn't realize with your glasses." His smile widened as he just stared at her. "Did you get contacts?" He wasn't sure how to answer that so he didn't. "Well, thanks." Then she walked away.
Danny slapped a hand to his forehead then went back to his food. He stopped, staring at his hand that had just gone straight through his tray as he reached for his fork. He pulled back with a yelp, falling back onto the ground on his butt. His tray overturned and went flying, hitting Dash on the back. Danny gulped then ran out of the room as Dash stood, staring after him.
Danny ran up to his locker, fiddling with the combination. His mind was in a total jumble; how had his hand done that twice now? He gasped and whirled around, just barely ducking Dash's blow. It smashed into his locker instead, and Danny ducked under the larger young man's arm and circled around him, looking for some way to escape.
"You think you're funny, huh Fenturd?"
"I don't want to fight you, Dash," Danny said.
"Yeah, I wouldn't want to fight me either."
Sam emerged from the crowd. "Dash, come on. It was just an accident!" She turned to Tucker who had pushed through the crowd to stand beside her. "Help him, Tuck'!"
Danny ducked as Dash's next blow came at him. He stood then jumped and did a flip in midair as one of Dash's friends Kwan came up behind him. He landed on the ground in a crouch, one hand keeping him balanced on the ground. He stared at the two boys in absolute surprise. He could've sworn he'd felt like he was flying. When did he learn to fight like this?
"Which one?" Tucker asked Sam.
"You're on your own, buddy," Kwan said, running out of the circle of students.
Danny stood once more and ducked as Dash came at him again. He crouched, ducking another blow, and lashed out with a sweeping kick. Dash's feet were knocked out from under him, and he fell on the ground on his back. Danny stood slowly, mouth open. He had just defeated Dash Baxter in front of all these students. He looked over at Sam who stared at him then pushed her way out of the crowd. He frowned then looked back at Dash who was propped up on his elbows, staring at him.
"Damn, Fenton. You are a freak," he muttered.
Danny flinched as Tucker grabbed his shoulder, expecting it to be a teacher or some other school official. "Dude, that was fucking awesome!"
Danny didn't respond, staring down at his hands. Then he ran from the school, not even looking back when Tucker called out his name. He ducked into an alley, breathing hard. He looked at his hands then down at himself as a blue ring appeared at his middle and split in two. One ring moved toward his feet, his jeans transforming into the black pants of a skin-tight jumpsuit, and his tennies were replaced with white boots. The other ring moved toward his head, changing his shirt into the top of the black jumpsuit with a white "D" emblem in the center. There was a white belt at his middle, and white gloves covered his hands. He closed his eyes as the ring passed his face. He opened them again then looked in the side mirror of a nearby vehicle. His hair was white, and his eyes were a brilliant, glowing lime green.
He looked back at his hands then let out a startled cry as he began to float above the ground. Losing his balance, he flipped over, now dangling upside down in midair. He righted himself then hesitantly floated higher. He looked down at the ground, now ten feet below him. He grinned then took to the skies, zipping past traffic lights and street lights, dodging birds and company signs.
"Woohoo!" he shouted, closing his eyes and simply enjoying the feel of the wind blowing through his hair. His joy was soon interrupted, however, as he ran head-long into a wall. "Ouch…" he muttered, floating near the offending wall and rubbing his head.
He flew home that night, changing back before he reached his house. He walked inside then stopped as he looked at the kitchen. He sighed, walking into the newly painted room. He had completely forgotten. He glanced at the note on the table.
Danny, there's some left-over dinner in the oven. Love, Mom.
He sighed then looked up as shouting from the house next door. Sam's dad Jeremy was yelling at her mom Pamela, and she was standing in the room, trying to break up the fight.
"Stop yelling!" Sam shouted before moving out of view toward the back door.
Danny grabbed the trash bag and headed outside. He had just thrown it in the trash can as Sam came running outside.
"Were you listening to that?" she asked, tears slipping down her cheeks.
"No!" he said quickly. "Well, I mean, I heard, but I was just throwing out the garbage."
She sighed. "I guess you can always hear us."
"Everybody shouts."
"Your parents don't."
"They can scream pretty good sometimes," he admitted. He hesitated. "About today with Dash—"
"You really freaked us out," she said, walking toward the fence that separated their yards.
He looked down. "I'm sorry. Is he okay?"
She smiled, rolling her eyes. "He's just glad you didn't give him a black eye for graduation." He nodded, managing a small smile before looking back at the ground. "Where are you headed after graduation?"
He looked up at her, leaning against the fence. "Well… I want to move into the city; maybe get a job as a photographer." This was the longest conversation they had ever share, and he loved just talking to her like this. "I'll probably work my way through college. You?"
"Headed for the city too," she said, nodding. "I can't wait to get out of here. I want to…" She sighed, looking down.
"What?" he asked. She didn't reply, glancing away. "Oh, come on."
"I want to act on stage."
"Really? That's perfect. You're awesome in all the school plays. I cried like a baby when you played Cinderella."
She looked at him, brows raised. "Danny, that was first grade."
"Well, sometimes you just… know people, and you can see what's coming."
"What do you see coming for you?"
He shrugged, smiling. "I don't know, but it's big. It's something I've never felt before."
"And for me?" She stepped closer to the fence, resting her hands on it.
His smile widened. "You're going to light up Broadway."
She laughed a little. "You know, you're taller than you look."
The honking of a car interrupted their conversation, and both of them turned to see Dash parking a car between the two houses before getting out. "Hey, baby, check it out. My parents got it for me for graduation."
She looked back to Danny who was now looking away. "I gotta go."
"Bye." He watched her run away, listening to her compliments on Dash's new wheels. "Cool car," he said.
Desperate to impress the girl he's loved since he first saw her, Danny began searching the papers for inexpensive cars—and a job too. He found them both on the same page. There was a sport convertible for only $2,598, and beneath the ad for the car was an ad for amateur wrestling, offering $3,000 to the winner. If he could last three minutes in the ring, he could get the money to buy the car. Colorful characters a must, the ad said, and Danny knew just what he would use for his "costume." Thoughts of Sam consumed his mind as he spent the next few days practicing his newly found powers. He fired at a soda can with his ghost ray, and the can shot away looking burnt. He fired at the lamp then ducked as the lamp shattered, and pieces flew all around his room.
"Danny, are you all right?" Maddie asked, knocking on his door.
"I'm just doing a little bit of exercising, Mom," he called through the door. "Don't come in. I'm not dressed."
"You've been acting very strange lately, sweetie."
He blinked. "Um, okay. Thanks."
"Something's bothering him," Jack said. "I don't know. I don't know my own son anymore. I should talk to him."
Maddie nodded, not quite listening to him. Danny walked down the stairs, carrying his backpack. "Hey, I'm going to the downtown library. I'll be back."
"Wait, I'll drive you." Jack stood.
"No, it's okay, Dad. I'll take the train."
"I need the exercise. Go." Jack grabbed his keys and winked at Maddie who merely looked heavenward, shaking her head.
The two were silent on the drive to the library, and once they arrived, Danny moved to get out. "Thanks for the ride, Dad."
"Well, hang on. Let's talk for a bit," Jack said, turning off the car.
"We can talk later."
"We can talk now if you'll let me."
Danny sighed and sat back in his seat. He was never going to get to the wrestling place in time. "What do we have to talk about? Why now?"
"Because we haven't talked in forever. Your mother and I don't even know who you are anymore. You're not doing your chores, you have all those weird experiments in your room, you start fights at school—"
"I didn't start that fight," Danny objected, "I told you that."
"Well, you sure as hell finished it."
"What was I supposed to do? Run away?" Danny crossed his arms, glaring at his dad.
"No, no. You're not supposed to run away. Danny, look, you're changing, I know. I went through the same changes when I was your age."
Danny nearly laughed. "No, not exactly."
"Danny, these are the years when a man becomes what he's going to be for the rest of his life. Just be careful who you change into," Jack warned. Danny actually listened to that, looking down as he thought about that. "This guy Dash Baxter probably deserved what he got, but just because you can beat someone up doesn't mean you should. Remember: with great power comes great responsibility."
"Are you afraid that I'm going to turn into some kind of criminal?" Danny asked. "Quit worrying about me. I'm fine. Something's different, I'll figure it out. Stop lecturing me, please."
"I don't mean to lecture, and I don't mean to preach," Jack said. "Bu I am your father, and I care about you."
"Well, stop it," Danny snapped.
Jack looked at his son then nodded, looking back at the steering wheel. "Right." Danny felt bad as soon as the words left his mouth. "I'll pick you up here at ten."
Danny nodded numbly, got out, and Jack drove away. Danny watched until the car was out of sight then turned away from the library and headed for the wrestling arena.