Chapter 4: Hanging out at the Nasty Burger
Fentonworks laboratory, around noon
The sound of metal clashing was heard in the basement of the Fenton household, and not just any metal. Down in the main room of the lab were two humans, correction one human and a halfa doing a rather intense sparring session. Vlad was currently flying around in his ghost form while Danny was running around with his electro-staff trying to land a hit on Vlad while dodging the various low power ecto-blasts. Jack, Maddie and Jazz were watching on the side while Danny tried to gain ground on Vlad, which wasn't simple since he was dressed in metal combat boots, tight fitting training pants and a tight fitting T-shirt he used when doing sparring sessions. He didn't have any other gear on whatsoever, so no jump-pack, no hover-board and no enhanced abilities due to the nanosuit.
"Come on little-badger, you can do it." Vlad encouraged as he shot another low-powered ecto-blast.
Danny huffed. "It's kinda difficult without being able to fly. I should have brought a flyswatter." He joked.
"Your suit won't be working always Daniel. Think your way around it." Vlad advised.
Danny dodged another beam and looked around. The lab had become more and more defined over the past few days after he went into town for the first time. He ducked behind the holo-table to dodge yet another blast which hit the table top. Danny peeked over the edge and formulated a plan to get Vlad down or get himself up. Then he had a revelation.
His staff was mostly made as a hand to hand weapon, but that didn't mean he couldn't use it as a spear. In one swift movement Danny jumped on the table, raised his arm and threw the staff at Vlad's chest like a javelin. Vlad was startled but flew out of the way of the projectile before he was hit. Unfortunately for him he flew down to avoid it, bringing him right in Danny's path. Danny kept up his speed and jumped in the air, slamming both his feet in Vlad's stomach making him lose focus causing them to both crash in the ground.
Danny quickly rolled off Vlad and went for his staff. Vlad got up equally fast using a bit of his ghost flight. He turned around to blast Danny. The latter saw this coming however and sidestepped/ducked out of the way and prodded his weapon in Vlad's chest giving him a light yet harmless shock and froze in position.
"Got you Vlad." Danny said slightly smug.
"Indeed little badger." Vlad said as he let the ghostly rings wash over him transforming back into his human form. "Excellent thinking for using your staff as a javelin." He commented.
"Thanks." Danny said back.
"Well done son!" Jack called when he, Maddie and Jazz came closer.
"Here you go boys." Maddie said as she gave both men a towel to dry off the accumulated sweat.
"Thank you Maddie. Your brother keeps improving every time it seems." Vlad said.
Danny made some noises under his towel as to diminish his advancement.
"Now now Daniel, you don't need to be so modest. You did well." Vlad said as he laid a hand on Danny's shoulder.
"Thanks." Danny said.
"I think you're ready to go on the streets tonight Daniel. Even if you don't do anything it'll be good for you to get to know the city from above. Since I heard you already explored the ground." Vlad said.
"So you heard?" Danny said absent minded.
Vlad laughed. "Maddie told me about it when I asked what you've been up to. I also heard you made some friends."
"Yeah, I did. They're really nice guys." Danny said.
"Glad to hear it Daniel." Vlad said.
"Yeah, they're pretty nice. We actually agreed to meet up in about an hour." Danny said while looking at a nearby clock.
"Well then get going my boy. Better take a quick shower, no-one likes their friends to show up all sweaty." Vlad chuckled.
"Heh, you don't say Vlad?" Danny chuckled. "Yeah, I'll go take a quick shower. See you around Vlad." He said as he mounted the stairs and went upstairs.
Vlad hummed. "Let's hope he found someone he can trust." He said.
"We hope so too Vladdie, now. Ready for that scan we promised you?" Jack asked.
"Certainly, where do I go?" Vlad asked as he turned around several times trying to find the medical section in a giant, new-build lab that had already turned confusing.
Jack laughed. "Right this way V-man!" he said as he held out his arm showing the way to the side of the room where a secluded alcove of medical equipment was build. "Jazzypants? Would you come and help us out?"
"On my way." Jazz answered.
"Vlad?! Would you like some tea?" Maddie shouted as she went upstairs to grab something.
Vlad chuckled as he laid down on the soft hospital bed placed near the ectoplasmic scanners. "My my, living in London really made you two embrace British habits didn't it." he said.
"I guess it did, and no-one has complained yet! So?! The usual?!" Maddie shouted back.
"Yes Maddie, the usual will be just fine thank you!" Vlad answered.
Meanwhile Danny took a quick shower in his room and switched his training suit for something more comfortable. Some blue jeans, a white shirt with a red circle and a grey hoody inside his backpack should do fine. He grabbed the rest of his stuff and the fingerless gloves he wore when skating and set out.
But not before making a small detour to the basement. Once he arrived there he found Vlad sitting on the hospital bed casually sipping his tea while Maddie, Jack and Jazz were all going over the data with him. He managed to pick up that the ecto-acne condition was safely in its supressed state and Vlad was physically healthy.
"Hey mom dad? I'm going to hang out with my new friends okay?!" Danny said from the balcony overlooking the lab.
Maddie looked at him for a moment and smiled. "Sure thing honey, be back home in time for dinner okay?" she said.
"Will do!" Danny answered before going back up the stairs and making his way through the front door whilst picking up his skateboard.
Once he was off the front he rolled his board out in front of him and leisurely jumped on. Giving a small boost to travel at a for him meagre but still adequate pace. He, Tucker and Sam had agreed to hang out today. Meeting at the Nasty Burger to start and wing it from there on. Not that Danny really minded, getting to hang out with some people he actually started to really like was enough for him.
He arrived at the Nasty Burger about twenty minutes later and he saw that Tucker and Sam where already there waiting at the edge of the parking lot. Crossing the street on his board he hit the brake just before he was about to hit the curb, kicked his board up, grabbed it and leisurely walked up to his new friends.
"Hey Danny." Tucker greeted by bumping fists with Danny. "Nice entry." He joked.
"As opposed to hitting the curb and mopping it with my face you mean?" Danny joked back.
"Hmm, might give the sidewalk a more unique feel to it." Sam chuckled.
"Yeah, 'one big Danny shaped blood splatter on the ground please'!" Danny said exaggerating.
Sam and Tucker laughed. "Let's not do that man. I'd hate to see you break your face on concrete." Tucker said.
"Agreed, so are we going inside? Or are we going to stand here all day?" Danny asked.
"Right away dude, you're going to love this place." Tucker said as the trio made their way to the front door. "Oh, and you got to try their nasty sauce. It's explosively hot!"
"Explosive as in just really spicy sauce or explosive as in 'boom the building is gone' explosive?" Danny asked a little wary.
"Both actually, it's really hot and if heated to a certain temperature it becomes explosive." Sam said. "Happened once when this guy was smoking outside and had one of the packets in his pockets. Thought it was a good idea to set it on fire."
"And then what happened?" Danny asked as they walked through the door into the restaurant.
"The guy was blown through the window. Received some nasty burns afterwards. Happened a few years ago, most have already forgotten." Sam said.
"Okay… I think I'll stay away from any possible explosives for now." Danny said as they went to the counter.
"Ugh, I wish they'd give more options for vegans though. Everything here is soaked in dead animals!" Sam said.
"Uh, this is a fast food joint Sam. There supposed to have meat." Tucker pointed out.
"Well maybe they should add some variation. Like you should with your diet." Sam shot back.
"Whoa, guys take it easy." Danny said stepping in between the two. "There no need to fight over this right? I mean everyone can choose for himself right Sam? I thought you were all about individuality?"
"Yes, but he insists on slaughtering innocent creatures who have done nothing wrong." Sam countered.
"That is true. But you can't stop them Sam, it is just how it is. All you can do is hang on to your own beliefs without enforcing them on others okay?" Danny said.
Sam's gaze faltered, he was right. "Yeah, right sorry. I shouldn't have done that." She said.
"Don't be so upset. I still think veganism or at least being vegetarian is a noble cause that could do wonders to our planet." Danny said. "Now smile!"
"Dude…" Tucker said.
"What?" Danny asked clueless.
"You're basically the first one to stop Sam in her veganism argument like that. No-one ever managed that." Tucker said.
"Oh well, I guess there is a first for everything." Danny laughed. "Now, what shall I get…?" He said as he looked up towards the board above the counters depicting all the food.
"Next!" The employee behind the counter said before she saw the group in front of her. "Oh, Sam…Tucker." She said with a cool voice.
"Valerie..." Both Tucker and Sam greeted with equally cold expressions.
"So? Same meat lover's menu and veggie salad?" Valerie asked with a big frown.
"And something for him." Sam said as she pointed behind her to Danny who was still going over the menu.
"Hey guys I'm having a hard time deciding here. Any suggestions…?" Danny asked as he looked to his two friends and saw their cold looks towards an equally cold Valerie. "Uh, did I miss something?" he asked.
"No, we just share some history with Valerie here." Sam said.
"Okay…" Danny said.
"And who are you?" Valerie asked. "I've never seen you around in Amity."
"Uh, I'm Danny. I just moved here." Danny said. "Say, I'm not all too familiar with the food here, any recommendations?" he asked.
"Oh uh, I'd say the normal menu is quite good. It's a bit of an in-between for the meat lovers menu and the veggie salad." Valerie said.
"That would be fine." Danny said.
"Coming up." Valerie said as she turned around to relay the order to the kitchen.
"You sure you don't want tea with that dude?" Tucker joked earning a kick from Sam.
"Tucker, stereotypes!" She seethed. "Not cool."
"They serve that here?!" Danny asked incredulously and totally oblivious to Sam's reaction.
"Uh, no idea actually." Sam said.
Danny then turned around to Valerie. "Hey, you don't serve tea by any chance right?" he asked.
"Uh, no. This is a fast-food restaurant, not a teashop." Valerie said.
"Alright, just making sure." Danny said.
"Say, what's your name?" Valerie asked. "You seem to be our age?"
"That would be correct. I am planning to be attending Casper High next school year, so it would be possible we share some classes. And I'm Danny by the way." Danny said.
"Well nice to meet you Danny. And here are your orders." Valerie said as she put three trays on the counter.
The three payed for their meals and Sam and Tucker went to find a table. "Thank you, enjoy your meal. Oh, I'm Valerie by the way." Valerie said.
"Thanks. See you around Valerie." Danny said before turning and heading for his friends. Though he did miss the small smile on Valerie's face when he left.
Danny sat down next to Sam who sat across from Tucker at a small table in the corner of the restaurant and began to eat. "Hmm, this is quite good actually." He commented.
Both other teens nodded and continued their meals. All while Tucker's plate got some occasional, scornful glares from Sam. It wasn't after a few minutes of silence until Danny decided to drop the bomb.
"What's up between you two and Valerie anyway?" Danny asked.
"She hasn't been awfully nice to us in the past." Tucker said.
"That's it?" Danny asked confused.
"No, it runs deeper than that." Sam said. "Valerie used to be a part of the popular crowd of Casper High. Her dad was rich and that gave her fame. She was really selfish and mean like her friends back then. Even participating in bullying us and other people they saw as lower than them." She explained.
"Hmm, social groups." Danny muttered. "Okay, I see your point but you said 'used'. What happened?" He asked.
"I don't know for sure. It had something to do with her dad being temporarily fired from Axiom Labs due to some incident with a ghost. Her dad was later re-hired as a security-guard but they lost most of their wealth and she lost her fame." Sam explained.
"Her popularity plummeted after that and she has little friends since then." Tucker continued.
"But her past actions and personality remain. She still isn't exactly nice to us." Sam summarised.
"Alright, I can see where the disdain comes from. But she does look lonely though." Danny said. "Maybe al she needs is better friends?" He mused.
"Perhaps, but it takes two lands to build a bridge." Sam said.
"Agreed." Danny said.
"Hey, we should go hang out at the mall next guys." Tucker suggested.
"Sounds good to me." Danny said.
"Yeah, alright Sam said. We can go see if they have anything new at Skulk and Lurk." Sam said.
"I presume that is some kind of shop there?" Danny asked.
"Yeah dude, it's all dark and witchy stuff." Tucker commented.
"It is not! Don't worry, you'll love it!" Sam said.
"I guess I can check it out. How bad can it be?" Danny asked.
Amity Park Mall, Skulk and Lurk, afternoon
"Okay, I take it back." Danny said. "This shop is kinda weird."
"It's a goth bookstore dude. What do you expect?" Tucker said.
"True, but I do think this store has something unique." Danny said as he walked around in the store looking at the various books on the shelves.
Sam was meanwhile looking around for any new titles but didn't seem to find any.
"Goth's Guide to Mythology? What kind of book is that?" Danny asked as he held a rather large blue book in his hands.
"What?! It's back?!" Sam said surprised.
"Yeah, I have one here. Seems to be the last copy. You want it?" Danny asked.
"Hell yes! I've been looking for that one." Sam said as she took the book from Danny. "It's a more up to date version from the last one six years ago."
"Oh well then buy it." Danny said. "Is there a difference between that book and a normal mythology book?" he asked.
"It's aimed to goths." Sam said cheekily.
"Well no shit Sherlock." Danny said with a matching face.
"Well, let me pay for this and then we can go somewhere else." Sam said.
"Okay." Danny said whilst looking though the books for a last time. Then suddenly his eye fell on a book title that send shivers down his spine. 'Chronicles of the Fright Night' he shivered at the thought of the ghost that he once faced. 'Let's hope I don't have to see him any time soon.' Danny thought.
"Come on guys, let's go somewhere else now." Sam said, making Danny come out of his trance. Luckily for him neither Sam nor Tucker noticed his little stare.
The trio hung out around the mall for the remainder of the afternoon, talking about anything under the sun and swapping stories. Mostly about what it is like in Great-Britain for Danny and some weird or funny stories for Amity Park. They said goodbye again when Danny had to leave to go home for dinner. Tucker had tried to convince him for a late night gaming session but Danny shipped him off telling him he had work to do tonight.
Fenton household, evening
After dinner Danny retreated into his room for a few hours until he had checked all his gear and was ready to set out. He sat on his bed with his pistol in hand making the final checks on the firing mechanism. The secret compartment containing his armour was already opened and sitting there until he decided to gear up.
"Well, as good a time as any." He said whilst clicking his gun back into position.
He stood up from his bed and walked up to the armour on the stand. He then proceeded to pull on the various parts and linking them together, starting with the boots and working up until he had the entire suit on excluding the trench-coat and the helmet. The latter laying on his bed. He then took the coat and hooked it to his shoulders and the side of his chest. His armour did the rest and linked the rest of his back, making the coat one continuous part of the suit. Though the armour was very complicated Danny didn't take more than a few minutes in putting it on, after all of his weapons were strapped in their respective places he grabbed his helmed and shoved it on his head.
'Initialising systems…stand by' was displayed on the HUD.
Danny could feel his helmet being mechanically linked to the rest of the suit, every joint was sealed tight and the nanotech initialised, rendering parts of him invisible for a split second.
'System boot complete…nanosuit operational' then displayed on the HUD.
Danny then walked out of his room and went downstairs. He found his sister sitting on the couch toying with her phone. She looked up when she heard the sound of metal boots hitting the floor.
"Back in gear again?" Jazz asked.
"No sis, I'm going to a Halloween party." Danny said sarcastically, his voice blurred by the mask and the voice synthesiser.
"Well, I think you look the part then. A nice modern rendition of death." Jazz joked back.
Danny laughed. "Thanks, I worked a long time on the costume." He said.
"Correction, we worked a long time on it. We still do." Jazz said.
"Indeed, I do look forward to the upgrade for the staff." Danny said. "Anyway, I'm going out scouting for a while. Not planning on any action for now, got to lay low for now." He said.
"Okay, have fun, be careful and don't forget to contact us when you get into trouble." Jazz said as she patted her ear.
"You say that like I always get into trouble!" Danny said as he walked to the back door waving his arms around to emphasise his point.
"That's because it's a fact Danny, you attract trouble like a magnet." Jazz said.
"Thanks for the support Jazz!" Danny said sarcastically. "See you later!" he called before exiting the house into the back yard.
Danny looked up to the sky to see it was reasonably dark. Not as dark as you would expect in winter, there was still a significant of orange glow on the horizon but the city itself was shadowy enough for him to move around undetected.
He grabbed his compacted hover board from his back and activated it, making it extend to its full size and letting it hover about half a meter above the ground. Danny stepped onto the board and it responded accordingly, increasing the thrust provided by the board's vertical turbines. He then pressed a few buttons on the touchpad on his wrist to activate the cloaking engine. Within moments it appeared as if he and the board he stood on vanished in thin air, whilst actually the nanotech that made up his entire suit had reconfigured into a transparent shell. Projecting what was behind him in front and what was in front of him behind. Basically a very expensive and efficient active camouflage.
Intuitively Danny leaned forward and bend his knees, the board shot forward and gained altitude invisibly making a beeline for the city.
There were still a reasonable amount of people out at the time Danny arrived. Though were none the wiser of his presence. He landed on one of the flat-roofed buildings, deactivating, compacting and putting his hover board on his back again. He was still cloaked and thus gazed over the edge of the building onto the streets below. The inhabitants of Amity Park were leisurely strolling through the streets or having an evening drink at one of the café's or taverns.
Danny looked back in front of him and began running. Parkour was one of the skills he had developed over the past. He jumped from rooftop to rooftop, grabbing onto ledges and doing the occasional wall-run with the help of the jump-kit on his back. He was only using it sparsely right now, he needed to keep a low profile and well… two rocket-thrusters firing wasn't exactly stealthy. This was the only drawback the Fentons haven't been able to fix.
He familiarised himself with the pathways on the rooftops of the city for a good hour before he got eye on his secondary objective. Above him he could see the wispy green shape of a ghost speeding through the evening sky. And behind it followed a person on a silvery jet-sled, seemingly chasing the ghost down while trying to shoot it as the same time. Though the ghost swerved and dodged the shots all while flying along and sometime through buildings at high speed to lose the hunter tailing him.
"STAY STILL YOU WRETCHED PIECE OF ECTOPLASM!" The hunter screamed after the small ghost.
'I believe that must be the Red-Huntress.' Danny thought. 'Serious anger issues it seems.'
He decided to follow them at a distance, keeping the noise down as low as he could. Silently making his way over the rooftops. After a good ten minutes of chasing and witnessing the shots of the Red-Huntress go wide he arrived on top of and empty parking garage looking out over an equally abandoned parking lot. The ghost had vanished and escaped a few minutes back and the Huntress was now on the ground, fuming at her failure.
"GRRAAAH!" She screamed as she stomped her boot on the ground. "Why can't I never get one of them?! Every time they just vanish in thin air!" She screamed.
Danny winced at the volume. He felt a bit bad for her, maybe she had good intentions.
"I swear, the next ghost I get my hands on I will rip to shreds. And then I'll find that wretched ghost dog that ruined my life." She growled.
'Alright, scratch that. She seems to be after revenge for some reason.' Danny thought. 'She does show potential though. Maybe… if I can find out the cause of her rage.'
The Huntress meanwhile was still stomping back and forth muttering to herself. But suddenly she stopped, having this weird feeling she was being watched by someone… or something.
She looked around with her scanners but detected nothing. "Hello? Anybody there?" She shouted.
Danny looked on his own sensors to see of someone else was around. 'No-one is around. She might have noticed I'm here. I know enough for now, I'll come back and deal with her later.' Danny thought before he turned around and left the site silently. Never having dropped his cloak the entire evening. When he was far enough away he activated his hover board and shot back home.
The Red-Huntress was left alone in the parking lot, not sure if something was watching her or she was just being paranoid. She left for home a few minutes later as well. There was always another day to hunt ghosts, she knew she would get them eventually.
Later that night both lay awake in their beds thinking. Valerie was thinking about that really nice Brit she met today and that maybe he could be an unbiased friend. The brit in question was lying awake a well, though for a different reason entirely. Now that he had seen the Red-Huntress for the first time he was wondering what to do with her, and how he should introduce himself when the time comes.
And so ends the chapter with Valerie's introduction. I am planning a lot of character growth for her in future chapter though, the main problem right now is building a meaningful world and lore. Also some more interaction between Sam, Tucker and Danny and perhaps some foreshadowing. Who knows…?
As for right now Valerie still has major anger issues and is still on rather hostile ground with Sam and Tucker. Danny forms a bit of a neutral party right now and will likely serve as a bridge between the two groups. But that's for one of the next chapters.
Reviews:
Kimera20: I believe she would be more or less awed by his presence, especially since she is very inexperienced compared to him. But that's just my opinion. I hope you enjoyed Valerie's introduction. It's actually very nice to have at least one reviewer, otherwise it would be kind of lonely. Thank you!
Hope you all enjoyed and till next time.
