A/N: I hope you're enjoying this story. Wow, thanks!! The story has been hit over 100 times all ready!! AND no need to worry about spoilers anymore!! YEAH!!..Uh-hem, well the story changes a little as I edit it, which is very interesting. Anyhow, enough rambling! On to Chapter 3! And, of course, I do not own any characters. Hope you enjoy!
His Own Worst Enemy—Chapter 3—Future Hints
Meanwhile, back at Casper High, Danny, Tucker and Sam are in Lancer's class, straining to pay attention to him.
"Now, class, biology is one of our most down-to-earth subjects. It comes from the Greek words, bios, which means "life" and –ology, which means "the study of". And it is really two major fields in one: zoology and botany. Now 'zoology' is the study of…"
"Let me say it, Mr. Lancer!" Dash interrupts, smiling and trying to impress Danny. "It's the study of zoos, right?"
Some of the kids in the class snicker, but they immediately clam up when Dash scowls at them.
Sam, Danny and Tucker sigh and roll their eyes.
"Well, Mr. Baxter, that's not precisely correct!" Mr. Lancer begins, trying to help Dash out of another embarrassing situation. "Now zoos do hold animals, so zoology is the study of…"
"Animals!" Dash cries triumphantly.
"That's right. Very good, Mr. Baxter!"
"And 'botany' is the study of, what, Mr. Fenton?"
"Uh-uh," Danny stammers.
"Plants!" Sam quietly hisses, feeding him the answer.
"Plants!" Danny echoes.
And this time Dash snickers, "He may be a hero, but he's no scientist!" Then the jock laughs, "Everyone knows that 'botany' is the study of "bots", ya know, as in RO-bots!"
The bell rings before anyone can respond. Once outside the classroom, Danny turns to Sam and says, "Thanks for the save back there, Sam!"
"No problem. Besides, I do know a thing or two about vegetables, you know," She answers, quite pleased with herself. "In fact, I'm reading this fascinating book about exotic plants and herbs, and…"
"Uh, sorry, Sam! It'll have to wait! Goin' ghost!" Danny interrupts as his ghost sense is activated. He instantly transforms into his snow-haired, green-eyed alter ego, and soaring upward, quickly scans the area. He utters, "Now, where's that ghost?"
Suddenly, a large mechanical tentacle materializes without a body, and grabs the young hybrid from behind, engulfing his arms and his entire upper torso. It immediately jolts him with electricity and the boy screams in pain.
Tucker reacts by tapping on his PDA, and then yells, "Hang on, Danny!"
"As if I have a choice?" Danny yells back, struggling to break free.
The massive mechanical body that belongs to the tentacle, with its flaming green hair and a bespectacled face in its abdomen, finally materializes, floating above Sam and Tucker. It's the Skultech ghost from the future! But they look different. Their faces are greener than usual and their eyes are blood red. They do not look well at all.
"What are they doing here?" Sam demands.
And they're wearing a time medallion!" Tucker announces, and then resumes tapping on his PDA.
"I fixed all our programs and our arm PDA, whelp!" The Technus part of Skultech smugly informs Tucker. "And they're totally modernized and much more powerful than you could ever imagine!" He activates a button on his PDA and the beam it transmits to Tucker's PDA causes Tucker's tiny computer to sizzle and die.
"Oh, man! I should have deleted all those Skulker programs!" Tucker laments.
"And as for you…" The Skulker part of Skultech says to Danny, "…you're history!" Both sets of eyes—Skulker and Technus, that is—blaze a flaming red. The dual ghost pushes a button and Danny is electrocuted again.
"Eeeyoww!!" Danny screams, gasping for breath.
Sam frantically looks around for something to use against Skultech. She spots a nearby fire extinguisher and grabbing it off the wall, sprays the mechanical ghost with it.
"I can't see!" The Technus part of Skultech yells, moving their shared arms wildly.
"Stop that!" The Skulker part insists. "I can't see, either!" He tries to wrestle for control of the machine from the Technus part, but instead, their struggle inadvertently rams them into the wall. The impact results in the tentacle's unwilling release of Danny and their new PDA's shearing off of their armband.
Seizing this opportunity, Danny soars up to Skultech and yanks the time medallion off of them, sending them back to the future. Rubbing his arms, Danny floats back down to Sam and Tucker and says, "Are you guys all right?"
"Yes!!" Tucker utters, not listening to Danny, and scooping up Skultech's PDA instead. "This makes up for all the PDA's Skulker has ever owed me!" He immediately begins to check it out.
Her face skewed with worry, Sam rushes to Danny and says, "Are you all right? What was he---uh, they—doing here anyway?"
"That's what I'd like to know! That was the second old future ghost I fought today!"
Danny's last comment catches Tucker's attention, and he momentarily stops pounding on his new PDA and looks at his friend.
Danny goes on, "Only this morning, I was attacked by Box Lunch, you know, the daughter of the Box Ghost and the Lunch Lady."
"Eeeyew!" All three friends say at the same time, teasingly pointing at each other as if they were shooting guns at each other.
Getting more serious, Danny continues, "And both Box Lunch and Skultech had raging red eyes, looked very sick, were wearing time medallions, and told me I was 'history'. I don't get it. That doesn't sound like Clockwork at all. I don't like it!"
"Come on, Danny," Sam says, light touching his shoulder, trying to reassure him. "Clockwork does do things that seem strange to us, but I'm sure he has his reasons."
"But this is different!" Danny counters. "I also checked on Clockwork after sending Box Lunch back to the future and he was nowhere to be found. I've got a feeling that if he was sending me a message through those two future ghosts, he would have been there to explain it to me. I don't think he would do it this way at all."
"Well, you know him better than us," Sam agrees. "Then, what does all this mean?"
The three stand silently, searching each other's face for an answer, and yet not knowing what to do or say.
Tucker then shrugs and starts punching on his new PDA again. Curious about a strange looking key, he pushes it. The PDA begins to rumble. Tucker blurts out, "Eeyow, guys! What's happening?"
Danny and Sam rush over to see what Tucker is talking about. Suddenly, a holographic image appears over the PDA. Even though the picture and sound are distorted, they immediately recognize Skultech.
"What's wrong with the reception?" Sam asks.
"It must have been damaged when it hit the wall," Tucker guesses.
"Shhh!" Danny commands; and they all watch the projection...
"I'm so glad you came to see me," A barely audible and hard to understand voice off screen says.
"As if we had a choice," The Skulker part of Skultech replies. His poorly focused body is facing an unseen someone to his right.
"Just like Skulker and Technus to videotape everything," Tucker whispers. "And look at the background. It's some sort of futuristic lab!"
"Tucker! I can't make out what he's saying. Please stop and rewind it!" Sam hisses.
"Sorry, Sam!" Tucker says and obliges her.
The picture continues. This time, the Technus part of Skultech takes up where the Skulker part ended. "You demolished our home and then left us a note saying to meet you here or be exterminated is a pretty clear message. So, what do you want?"
"I want you to destroy Danny Phantom!" The distorted voice answers firmly.
The three friends look at each other and gasp. Gluing their eyes more than ever on the image, the teens hang on every word.
Skultech laughs as if the voice is kidding. Then the Skulker part remarks, "You're joking, right?"
"I never kid about these kind of things," The voice casually replies.
This time, Danny squirms, not because of the message, but because of the voice. "Hey!" He blurts out, still watching the image. "That voice sounds familiar!"
"Shh!" Tucker utters, pausing the picture.
"Sorry, Tuck. It's just that I have a bad feeling about this!"
"We all do! But can't we all just finish watching it?" Tucker remarks, exasperated. He pushes the 'play' button once more.
"But why pick us?" The Technus part asks. "You're stronger than us and are very capable of doing it yourself!"
"True, but I have more important matters to attend to," The contorted voice answers.
"What's in it for us?" The Technus part begins, and then answers his own question. "Except maybe not to be annihilated?"
The voice doesn't respond right away, and then it slowly replies with its new idea, "Yes, you're right. You would be under duress the whole time. You might not be reliable. Therefore, I'll have to be sure that you'll do as I say when I say!"
The picture is suddenly extinguished by a green glittering haze, which envelops Skultech and both of the ghosts cough violently on it. After the mist clears a few moments later, it reveals a very different Skultech. They are no longer animated. Each of their faces is an obviously darker shade of green, and both sets of eyes glow a fierce red. But their expression is blank and they look ill.
"Uh, I….I mean, we, don't feel so well," The Technus part mutters.
The voice ignores his comment and orders, "Now, hear me well, ghost! I command you to destroy Danny Phantom…the fifteen year-old Danny Phantom!"
The trio reviewing the video is numbed by the hatred emanating from that voice and command.
Then, a very hazy figure emerges on the screen. Straining to see who or what it might be, the teenagers scrutinize the ghostly shape that drapes the time medallion over Skultech and who then seethes, "And remember. He's history! The history I want destroyed!"
"As you wish, Master!" Both parts of Skultech robotically answer, and the screen suddenly focuses on a familiar emblem on the mysterious ghost's chest.
"Phantom!" Danny gasps, and Sam and Tucker's gasps echo after him.
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