Table of Contents:
1. Waste of Space
2. Haywire
3. Captured by my Class
4. Guardian of Life and Death
5. Video Diary Screwup
6. Ghost Nip
7. Back to the Future
8. TBA
...etc...
Chapter 3
Captured by my class
"Never argue with an idiot- they'll drag you down to their level and beat you with experience."
"How do I manage to get myself in these situations?" A pissed, glowing teenager sighed sarcastically. "I mean, seriously, what have I done to deserve this?"
"You exist."
Danny Fenton's currently echoey voice halted at the explanation. Glove-covered hands trapped in glowing green cuffs, the teenage ghost could do nothing but roll his eyes at the African American girl holding a gun to his head.
"That hurt my feelings."
"Don't pretend like you know how to feel," the girl snapped back. "Your kind knows nothing but anger and hatred."
"...Those are still feelings."
"Shut up!"
The ghost teen grinned and looked towards the other occupants of the room. His English teacher stood shakily by the exit. Mr. Lancer's wide eyes were shifting from the locked door to the teen. The other freshmen, his fellow classmates, were keeping their distance from the boy tied to a chair, but guarded the windows close by nonetheless. They all had one thing in common; fear. The pure, unguarded fear in their eyes made Danny cringe.
They were looking at him with that expression.
They were afraid of him.
"Come on guys, I already said I won't hurt you," Danny pleaded.
Valerie Grey scoffed. "Like that's gonna work, ghost."
"I'm serious," the boy tried again, "I'm not like the others!"
"And why are you not like the others? Ghosts are all the same. You do nothing but kill and destroy."
The white-haired boy frowned and dropped his head. Taking this as a sign of submission, Valerie smiled cockily and gave the class a reassuring look. The students relaxed slightly. They were all on edge since the ghost-boy burst into their classroom. At first everyone had panicked, but Valerie took control and used ecto-weapons to trap the supernatural specter. Too focused on disarming the ghost, no one bothered to question why the girl had ghost weapons in her backpack in the first place.
Danny glared at the floor. "Damn it! The one day Tuck and Sam are both sick and this happens."
Hoping to avoid the attention of the secret ghost hunter above him, the boy's electric green eyes peeked out between a shock of white hair. "It's not their fault, though. They don't realize I'm actually their classmate. Amity Park's citizens just discovered the existence of ghosts, the idea of Half-Ghosts- or even good ghosts- probably hasn't entered their minds yet."
"Valerie, please-"
"Don't call me that."
Danny frowned. "It's your name, right?"
The African American girl clenched the gun tighter. "You don't have the right to call me that."
"Why not?"
Suddenly, Danny's cheek was pressed to the tile. Cocking the weapon, Valerie dug her foot deeper into the teens side. The loud slam of the chair caused everyone in the room to jump.
"Jesus, Val!" gasped Dash. "What the heck are you doing?"
The girl ignored the boy behind her and leaned down to stare directly into Danny's eyes.
"DON'T ACT LIKE YOU'RE INNOCENT!"
Danny shrinked away at the loud volume. "What are you talking about? I haven't done anything to you."
"YOU RUINED MY LIFE!"
The ghosts eyes widened while the class shifted uneasily. What was Valerie talking about? Mr. Lancer left the doorway to place a comforting hand on the shaking girls shoulder.
"Maybe you should calm down."
Valerie's deep brown eyes gazed hesitantly at her teacher. A moment passed before she finally stepped off the wheezing ghost. Mr. Lancer smiled and slipped the gun out of her hand.
"Why don't you guard the door until the GIW come?"
Danny jerked on the floor. "You called the Guys In White?"
"Of course," sneered Valerie, "It's what you deserve."
"Valerie, I swear, It wasn't my dog!"
"Shut up. I don't want to hear your lies."
The fuming girl shuffled slowly to the classroom exit. Passing by a few of her former A-list friends, her eyes fell to the floor. Paulina and Star, two of the A-list leaders, bit their lips.
A few weeks ago, Valerie's dad lost his job and all their money. The story was that some ghost dog attacked the plant he worked at, but no one knew the truth. The two girls felt a little bad about kicking her out of their group simply because she was broke, but they had an image to keep up! Their angry stares turned towards the ghost boy who was tied up in the chair once again.
"You're the reason why Valerie's dad lost his job?" Paulina accused bitterly.
Danny shook his head. "No, It wasn't my fault."
The sincerity in his gaze made the two girls hesitate.
"Then what really happened?" questioned Star.
Valerie gaped while the ghost boy smiled at the two who were finally giving him a chance. The entire class listened intently when the teen opened his mouth again.
"Axion labs used to have guard dogs before they had human security," Danny began quietly, "but when caring for the animals became too expensive, they put down the dogs and replaced them with people."
Paulina gasped. "That's horrible!"
"I can't believe you're actually buying this crap!" Valerie exclaimed angrily. Why the heck were they having a civil conversation with a ghost?
The entire class shushed her.
"One dog wasn't able to pass on to the otherworld, though, because he left something behind," Danny continued.
A shy redhead with glasses inched forward. "What'd he leave behind?"
Danny smiled at Mikey. "A chew toy."
A few more students took a step closer. "A... chew toy?" repeated Dash.
"Yeah. Cujo really is a good dog, he never meant to cause any harm. He just wanted to get his toy buried deep in the cellar of Axion Labs. I tried to stop him from making a mess, but I had just recently become a ghost myself and I didn't know how to control my powers yet." Danny looked over his shoulder at the stunned girl. "I really am sorry."
Valerie huffed. Crossing her arms over her chest, she leaned against the door.
"Even if you are telling the truth, that dog still ruined my life."
"But can you really blame me for that?"
The girl froze. Could she really blame this random ghost for something he had no control of? He did seem like he was trying to help at the time. He also knew her identity as the Red Huntress and hadn't given her away yet.
"I... you're a ghost," she stuttered. "Why does it matter to you if someone hates you or not? You're dead. You don't feel."
Danny rolled his eyes. "I can assure you that I do have feelings. All ghosts do, not just me. And not all ghosts are evil either."
The classroom was silent. Quickly scanning the area, the Halfa was elated to discover how relaxed everyone had become. They had even moved closer to the desk he was tied against.
"Maybe I can still get through to them."
Mr. Lancer, who was currently standing right beside the ghost, tilted his head in confusion. "You, um... you said you had only recently become a ghost," the English teacher observed. "How old are you?"
Danny titled his gaze upward. "I'm 14."
Lancer's breath quickened. "So young..."
"You're never too young to die."
The students eyes widened. "That's right," they all thought. "He was alive before he became a ghost. He's even our age..."
Dash picked up a chair that had fallen when Danny first burst into the classroom. Twisting it to face the ghost teen, he sat down a few feet away. "How did you die?"
"I suffocated when a bully trapped me in my locker."
"Wha... what?"
"I'm kidding," Danny smiled at the shocked Jock. "But that could have happened, you know." Thinking of PointDexter, the teen lost his smile. "One of my friends committed suicide because of a bully."
The blonde teen looked guiltily at the ground. "Oh..."
Taking pity on the poor football nerd, Danny laughed. "It's ok, Dash. Just remember that all actions have consequences."
Kwan pulled up a chair next to his best friend. "How'd you know Dash's name?"
"Ghost secret!"
The Asian boy laughed. "Ok, fine. Don't tell me."
The students smiled warmly at the specter. "He's kind of funny," they thought silently.
"What type of powers do you have?" asked Nathan, excitedly.
The Halfa shifted in his cuffs. "Well, I don't really know all the powers I have yet. For some reason, I keep getting new ones. So far I've got the typical 'Invisible, Intangible, Ecto-ray' thing," he grinned sheepishly. "Oh, I can defy gravity as well."
Nathan jumped up and down. "Is flying really as cool as it looks?"
"Totally."
The Halfa's classmates giggled and started to surround the boy.
"What's your name?" asked Paulina.
"Danny."
"We have a Danny in our class too," Kwan exclaimed. "He's not here today, though."
Becoming very familiar with the ghost, Star poked the glowing boy's knee. "Where do you live?"
"What's your favorite color?" shouted Dash, as if he were talking to a friend.
"Do you eat?"
"Do you shower?"
"How do ghost go to the bathroom?"
Millions of questions were thrown at the overwhelmed boy. Too surprised to answer them all, the ghost just stared wide eyed at the suddenly excited kids. All fear gone from their eyes, the teens had no problem shouting questions to the seemingly kind ghost.
Back at the door, Valerie frowned and bit her lip. Her voice silenced everyone's pestering.
"You never answered Dash's question."
The ghost froze and looked towards the secret hunter. "It's... not exactly polite to ask how a ghost died."
The African American girl looked honestly confused. "Why?"
"Too personal."
Valerie slowly walked over to the circle the other students had unconsciously formed. She paused at the edge and looked into Danny's hesitant green eyes. "Trust goes both ways, right?" She stated calmly. "I'm whiling to trust you, if you're whiling to trust me with something that personal."
The white-haired boy was at a loss for words. Some of the class glared angrily at Valerie for making the kid uncomfortable. If talking about his death really bothered the ghost that much, then she shouldn't force him to talk.
"You don't have to-"
"Electricity."
Mr. Lancers protest died on his tongue at the teen's quiet word. "What?"
"I was electrocuted in a lab accident," Danny continued, eyes locked on Valerie's face. "My own parents don't even know what happened to me."
The students looked pained at this revelation. To be shocked to death? That must have hurt a lot.
Valerie looked conflicted. "You really aren't that bad, are you?" She choked. "And that time... I- I could have killed you..."
The ghost shook his head. "It's ok, Val. I promise. You didn't know."
The two shared a brief smile that only they could interpret before Valerie hesitantly sat down in a chair. Weapon completely forgotten, Mr. Lancer ruffled the ghost's white hair, stunning the teen completely.
"I can't believe how much you've been through."
Danny shook the long bangs out of his eyes and sighed. "You have no idea."
"That's kind of funny," Dash stated, scratching his head. "One of our classmates just got into a lab accident about a month ago. His name's Danny too. Weird, huh?"
Danny rolled his eyes and laughed. "Yeah, weird."
Mikey pushed his glasses off the bridge of his nose. "Then, why are you so good? Why did you try and stop Cujo from ruining Axion Labs? Why are you so different from the other ghosts that terrorize Amity Park?"
The redheads innocent questions had everyone in the room listening intently.
"It's kind of complicated," the ghost replied after a moment of thought. "Not all ghosts are bad, remember that, but you're right about one thing- I am a lot different than most ghosts. Both physically and mentally."
Danny blushed a greenish red at his classmates intensive looks. "I- I just want to help, you know? I don't have any interest in attacking humans, stealing, or causing harm. Instead, I want to protect- use these stupid powers for good and what not."
The English teacher grinned warmly at the embarrassed adolescent. "Well I think you're doing a great job of it." When his students nodded in agreement, he continued. "I've seen you a few times and you always seem to be battling another ghost. I used to believe that it was just some sort of evil ghost tradition, but now I know better. You're trying to help us."
"Y- yeah," squeaked the glowing kid, still as colorful as a half-ripe tomato.
The class laughed at poor Danny's expression. It appeared that they were wrong about ghosts this entire time. Some were good, some were bad, and others probably just wanted to be left alone. They all weren't pure blobs of evil dead-set on destroying the town. The children and adult smiled at the ghost sadly.
"We have an ecto-emergency. The locators are going nuts!"
A booming voice from down the hall broke the serenity inside the classroom. Recognizing who that voice belonged to, Danny gulped.
"The Guys In White."
"Shit!" cried Dash as he raced to the classroom door to peek through the window.
"I completely forgot about them," gasped Mr. Lancer.
The rest of the students stayed seated around the shivering ghost. None of them wanted to turn over an innocent being to the GIW. They had only called the elite ghost hunting team because they thought Danny was evil.
"Oh man, oh man. What are we going to do!?" shouted Kwan.
"Valerie, can you untie him? He can't use his powers with those cuffs on!" Paulina asked, nervously.
"There's no time!" cried Dash, even as Valerie dove for the key in her backpack. "They're right outside the door!"
"I guess there's no choice then," Danny stated, gazing into the humans' panicky eyes.
"What are you-"
The handle to Mr. Lancer's classroom rattled just as a flash of light surrounded the area. By the time the GIW burst through the door, a blue-eyed, raven-haired human in a white shirt with a red oval and blue jeans sat in the place a ghost once was.
Nobody breathed.
Agent K and Agent O were greeted by a very amusing sight. Chairs and tables were either occupied and facing the center of the classroom, or lying on the ground. A blonde boy doing an imitation of a fish was standing by the door. An African American girl near the windows suddenly dropped her backpack and didn't move to pick it up. The adult of the group was sitting among the students in their desks. What confused the two agents the most was that everyone was openly gaping at a single boy sitting in the dead center of the circle.
Agent K cleared his throat. "We got a call about a ghost at this High School."
No one moved.
"Our White Fang locators were going wild earlier," K tried again. "Is there a ghost here or not?"
Finally, the class turned to adults at the door and the raven haired teen shifted nervously in his seat.
The bald teacher swallowed. "N-No, there's no ghost here."
Agent O grunted. "I could have sworn we got a call from this location."
No answer. They were all back to staring at the kid with his hands behind his back.
The two Agents shared a look. "Idiots," they sighed in unison.
When the door to the classroom finally shut, and the threat of danger left the building entirely, Danny laughed dryly.
"Uh, Hehe... Hi guys."
As if being controlled by some puppeteer, Dash and Valerie stiffly made their ways back to their seats. Wide eyes bore holes into the Halfa's head from every angle.
"Maybe you should start from the beginning again, Danny," Valerie stated, slowly. "Except this time, don't leave anything out."
Me: Yeah, so this one was set really early in the series. After the Cujo episode but before Danny got blamed for robbery and attacking the mayor. Everyone just knew him as 'A Ghost" back then. He wasn't famous for being good or bad yet. Pretend Danny knew who the GIW were already :p
Did anyone get the title? It's a play off my other DP reveal story "Stranded with my class."
