Disclaimer: All rights go to the respective owners of SyFy and Nickelodeon/Butch Hartman. The author owns nothing; this story is for fun, not money or profit of any kind.
Chapter 4: The Joys of Manual Labor...
The following morning, Danny was still tired, still haunted, but he felt a renewed sense of hope. After he got up, he took a shower. Standing in front of his bathroom mirror, he wiped off the steam and stared at his reflection. He wiped his damp hair out of his eyes and sighed. Rubbing his jaw, he decided he disliked the stubble that grew there. It didn't suit him, and looked strange in his Phantom form; being all white. He chuckled as the realization clicked at how funny it was that his eyebrows remained black, while every other hair on his body turned snow white.
As he shaved, his thoughts drifted to the previous night...
After dinner, everyone went to do their own thing. Artie went back to the Warehouse. Evidently, he lived there. According to the others, Artie's room was located right above his office. Leena went about her chores of cleaning the B&B for the night. Pete explained, before leaving to get ice cream, that only the agents of the Warehouse lived there, and anyone passing by on the road would simply be told there was no more rooms open. The residents of the nearby tiny town of Univille thought that the Warehouse was a IRS Warehouse, and that the records of everyone's taxes ever collected were kept there. Unfortunately, this meant that everyone in Univlle thought that the Warehouse agents were IRS agents.
Myka sat on the couch reading a book, and Helena sat beside her watching TV, still attempting to fathom modern popular culture. Claudia went up to her room, and Danny could hear her strumming her guitar. Danny didn't fool himself; he could sense they were all still a little tense with someone new under the roof. After helping Leena with the dishes, (he had insisted), Danny sat out on one of the chairs in the little alcove for some time, staring at the stars. He lost track of time, and eventually, everyone had gone to bed.
Everyone except Leena. She walked up quietly behind him, with a tray containing a kettle of tea and two cups. "I thought maybe some tea might help you relax," she said kindly. She set the tray on the small table between the two lounge chairs.
"Thanks," Danny said quietly. He normally wasn't a tea drinker, but he didn't want to be rude.
"Don't worry, it's just green tea; decaf, too," she reassured him, as if sensing his thoughts. She stared intently at him as he watched the heavens.
"Reading my aura?" Danny asked slyly, startling Leena.
"Sorry, I don't mean to be rude," she said.
Danny shook his head. "It's fine," he said, smiling softly. "I can do the same thing."
Leena stared at him a moment more before changing the subject. "I can't imagine what your going through," she said. "I'm so sorry."
Danny shrugged. "You have nothing to be sorry for," he said.
Pouring the tea, Leena watched him sadly. "What's it like?" she asked suddenly.
Danny cocked an eyebrow at her. "What?" he asked in return, not sure he heard her correctly.
"Flying," she clarified. "The others were saying you can fly. What's it like?"
Danny chuckled at her question. "It's amazing," he said wistfully. "I can't put it into words, really; it's more like a feeling. It feels like being free. Absolutely free. It's really peaceful, actually." Looking back to the sky, he continued, "Whenever I fly, it feels like nothing matters; like there is nothing to worry about in the world."
Leena smiled, glad she got Danny to open up a little; but she didn't want to push him. If and when Danny wanted to talk about what happened, it should be on his own time. The two sat drinking their tea in silence for some time. Soon, Leena decided to give Danny some space, and went to bed. Danny sat alone for a few moments, contemplating going out for a fly. His discussion with Leena about the subject made him want to, but he didn't know the area well enough and didn't want to risk getting lost. Sighing, he decided he had nothing left to do but go to bed. And pray his nightmares wouldn't haunt him too badly...
As Danny wiped the remaining shaving cream off his face, he was brought back to reality by a knock at his door. Thankful he already put his pants on, Danny rushed to see who it was. He pulled open the door to see Claudia standing there. "Hey...," she trailed off as she noticed he wasn't wearing a shirt. She noticed how toned and defined he was. But more than that, she noticed his old scars. He looked like he had been through a war.
"Hey," Danny replied, wondering if that was all she was going to say. His voice brought her back to the real world, and she shook her head.
"Er, yeah," she stammered. "Artie's going to be here shortly, we usually have a meeting thing in the morning if he has a new case, or if he just wants to grumble."
Danny nodded, "Okay," he said. "I'll be down in five."
Claudia nodded, awkwardly. "Alright, yeah, cool, cool," she said, her words failing her. In the back of her mind, she was kicking herself. Why was she so awkward around the new guy? Sure, he was her age, and had rad powers, and was kinda cute... Shaking her head again, she jutted her thumb at the stairs, and said, "I'm just gonna... Ya know... head down. Get some breakfast." With that, she had headed down the hall before Danny could answer.
Danny stared at her as she headed down the hall, slightly confused himself. 'What was her problem?' he thought. 'Was it something I said?' Shrugging it off, he went back inside his room and finished getting dressed. Shortly, Danny had headed down the stairs and sat down at the table with everyone. Within minutes, Artie came through the front door, flustered as usual.
"Okay, guys," he said, not wasting time.
After giving Pete, Myka, and Helena their assignment; which involved a seriously messed up artifact that flipped entire trees upside down; Artie turned to Claudia and Danny. "And you two," he said. Claudia held up her hands, interrupting him.
"Let me guess," she said. "Inventory. Again."
"No," Artie said, surprising her.
"You mean I finally get an assignment of my own, finally?" she asked, hope in her voice.
"No, better," Artie said replied. Claudia looked slightly confused by the statement. "You and Danny are going to clean the Warehouse."
Claudia's face drooped in abject horror. Danny chuckled at her reaction. Normally, he would have a similar reaction to any kind of manual labor that didn't involve fighting ghosts, but he was actually looking forward to being in the Warehouse again.
Later, Danny and Claudia were down on the Warehouse floor sweeping. "When is Artie going to stop treating me like a child?" Claudia asked.
Danny shrugged. "I don't know," he said. "He's just trying to protect you, I think. Being in the field seems kinda dangerous. Maybe he just doesn't think you have enough experience?"
Claudia rolled her eyes. "Well, he can't protect me forever," she muttered, sweeping harder out of frustration. "How can I get any experience with artifacts if I'm never out in the field?"
"Your getting plenty of experience with artifacts in the Warehouse," came Artie's voice from behind them. He was walking towards them carrying a large mop and pulling a large bucket of water on wheels. "And the last time I checked, there aren't any government agents out in the field on their own that are seventeen."
He handed Danny the mop and sighed. "You can fly, right?" he asked. Danny nodded. "Good. I need you to swab the deck."
Glancing between the mop and Artie, Danny asked. "Um... You want me to mop the Warehouse floor?"
"No," Artie clarified. He pointed above their heads at the massive cargo ship hanging from the ceiling. "I need you to literally swab the deck of that ship. It hasn't been cleaned in years. And the cherry picker won't go up that high, anymore."
Danny stared up at the massive ship. "How did that even get hung up there?" he asked.
Artie chuckled. "You know," he said. "I'm not even sure. It was here before I started." Shrugging, Danny changed into his Phantom form. Grabbing the bucket of water, he flew up to the ship.
Later, when Danny was finished swabbing the deck, he flew back down to the floor, only to be greeted by a rather grimy Claudia. Danny was similarly filthy. Danny rubbed his chin for a moment. "I can help with that," he said, gesturing to them both.
"What?" Claudia asked. Danny turned intangible, and all of the dirt and grime fell off of him to the ground, leaving him clean.
"Whoa, that is seriously cool!" Claudia exclaimed. "Do me! Uh, er.. Um, I mean, you know, could you get all the crud off of me?"
Danny smirked, and put his hand on her shoulder, turning her intangible, as well. Once she was clean, Danny removed his hand, and she became tangible once more.
"Well, that's useful," she commented. She glanced down to see all the muck and dirt that was once on them now covering the floor.
"Great," she said in irritation.
Danny held up his finger. "Not to worry," he said. Gesturing for her to step back, he turned the floor intangible, causing the dirt to sink through, leaving the floor clean once more. "Easy as that!"
Suddenly, Danny gasped, a chill running up his spine. A blue mist escaped his mouth, and Danny glanced around.
"What was that?" Claudia asked.
Danny continued to look around, suspiciously. "My ghost sense," he explained. "It goes off when there is another ghost nearby."
Claudia looked around, as well. "Huh," she said. "I wouldn't be surprised. This place is so huge and old, it's probably crawling with the ghosts of agents who got lost." Danny glanced at Claudia, not certain if she was joking or not. As if on cue, a large clatter came from several aisles down. The pair rushed down to see what had fallen over. After all, artifacts don't just fall off the shelves without something pushing them. Or someone.
They found several old trinkets; including an old umbrella, a lamp, and an old stool; seemingly dumped on the floor. "Um, those were supposed to be inside a crate," Claudia said. "But, I don't see the crate anywhere." Claudia's Farnsworth chirped, suddenly. She answered it and saw Artie's face on the small black and white screen.
"Claudia, what happened?" Artie asked, accusingly. "The sensors went off in the aisle you two are in."
"Don't look at us, dude," Claudia said. "We heard the crash, and came to see what happened! A crate is missing, and all the junk is on the ground." She turned her Farnsworth around to show Artie the mess on the floor.
"Did you say the crate is missing?" Artie asked, not sure if he heard her.
Claudia sighed as she turned the device back to her, "Yeah, you heard-"
"BEWARE!"
Artie leaned forward into his own Farnsworth. "What was that?" he asked.
Danny groaned and face-palmed. "Oh, of course," he muttered.
Claudia took a step back as the wooden crate re-appeared above them, floating in mid-air. A short, pudgy blue man in overalls appeared floating next to the crate. "It is I, the Box Ghost!" the ghost exclaimed.
Danny flew up to meet the annoyance. "What do you want, and how did you get here, Boxy?" he demanded, grabbing Box Ghost by the collar. "Shouldn't you be on a date with the Lunch Lady, or something?"
Box Ghost chuckled, "I am the Box Ghost! And I have found this majestic Warehouse, FULL of beautiful boxes! And once I empty them of their worthless junk, they will all be mine!"
Before Danny could reply, the large crate slammed into Danny, knocking him through another row of shelves. "Danny!" called Claudia.
"What is happening down there?!" Artie demanded hearing the crash.
Claudia swung her Farnsworth around to show Artie. "Some blue guy calling himself the Box Ghost is wrecking the place!"
Box Ghost was laughing at seemingly defeating his foe. "Claudia, listen to me," Artie said. "That much negative energy will make the Warehouse do bad things! Those artifacts could go off, and only God knows what will happen!"
A green energy beam shot out from the pile of wreckage Danny was trapped under, hitting the blue ghost square in the face. Phantom flew out from the pile, holding a strange thermos. "Say goodnight, annoyance!" Phantom shouted, smirking.
He pulled off the cap, and aimed the device at the Box Ghost, shooting a blue and white beam. The beam struck the Box Ghost, and quickly sucked him inside. Sighing, Danny put the cap back on the thermos, and changed back to his human form. "What is that?" Claudia asked.
"This is the Fenton Thermos," Danny explained. "It traps ghosts."
"A thermos," Claudia repeated. "Real Ghost-Buster tech, huh?"
Danny chuckled. "Yeah," he said. "My parents were brilliant, but a little odd and eccentric." He clipped the thermos back on his belt.
"Huh," Claudia said. "You know, when I saw that on your belt this morning, I just thought you took your soup or coffee really seriously."
"Yeah, maybe the two of you should take cleaning up those artifacts really seriously," Artie said over the Farnsworth. "I'll be down there shortly to help you guys. As a matter of fact, don't touch anything until I get there! I don't want either of you two getting effected by anything, and I'm not certain what was all on those shelves."
After Artie had gotten down to the floor, he had given Danny a pair of purple gloves, which allowed the agents of the Warehouse to handle artifacts without being effected by them, or 'whammied' as Claudia called it. Eventually, the trio managed to repair the shelves, and the artifacts were put back in their places. Artie said he would have Leena come down to make sure the artifacts were in their proper places.
Artie had also informed them that Pete, Myka, and H.G. had managed to find the artifact without any problems for once, (which must have been a first for the Warehouse), and the trio were headed back. Artie glanced over at another shelf that had been slightly damaged and sighed. "You know what," he said rubbing his forehead. "Let's just worry about that tomorrow."
"Fine by me," Claudia said, wiping her brow. Turning to Danny, she gestured to the Fenton Thermos on his belt. "So, what are you planning to do with our fat blue friend?"
Danny shrugged. "I'm not exactly sure, yet," he admitted. "My parent's ghost portal is dismantled, so I don't have any real access to the Ghost Zone, right now. I guess he'll just have to stay in the Thermos for a little while until I figure something out. It's a little mean and cramped in there, but I can't think of anything else."
"As long as it- he- whatever, stays put, and can't get loose, I don't care how mean or cramped it is," Artie groused.
Claudia gave a thoughtful nod. "I guess it couldn't be any worse than being bronzed," she said.
Danny quirked an eyebrow at the statement. He hadn't finished reading the manual, yet, so he was still a little lost with everything in the Warehouse. "Bronzed?" he asked.
"Yeah, we don't just put bad guys in the slammer," Claudia explained. "If they're really bad, I mean like Hitler-bad, we put them in bronze, and turn them into statues."
"It's a non-lethal form of imprisonment," Artie explained, putting away his tools back in his bag. "We don't execute prisoners. We cryogenically flash freeze the person, and preserve them in bronze. They're still alive, but in a state of suspended animation."
"That's a little disturbing," Danny commented.
"Believe me, that's not the creepy part," Claudia said. "The creepy part is that they're still awake inside. They're basically prisoners in their own bodies forever." Danny shivered at the thought of that. Not a nice way to spend eternity.
"If you want to go into more lurid detail on the subject, ask H.G.," Artie commented, picking up his bag. "She's something of an expert on the subject."
The three began to head back to Artie's office, with Claudia bugging Artie about this or that. Danny was walking behind them when his ghost sense went off yet again. He froze, and glanced around. He thought he caught something out of the corner of his eye, but he didn't see anything when he turned to look. Narrowing his eyes, he caught up to Artie and Claudia, who were still arguing. Danny didn't sense anything more, and just attributed the feeling to the Box Ghost in the Thermos.
Never the less, he still was going to keep an eye out from now on. Like Claudia had said, the Warehouse might be crawling with ghosts. And if the Box Ghost had managed to find the Warehouse, who knows who else might decide to show up.
As the three agents headed back to the office, they never realized they were being watched from a distance. The silent figure floated just above the ground, invisible, silently pondering dark thoughts. The new agent, no older than Ms Donovan, had almost spotted him. He would have to be careful. His plans would need to be adjusted slightly, now that a seemingly half-ghost had been hired as an agent. A dark smirk crossed the figure's lips.
'The game is once again afoot, Arthur,' the figure thought.