Yeah so I got some sleep. A lot of sleep, actually.
I'm really sorry that this is so short. I've got a pounding headache and a lot of really bad stuff happened at work earlier (that I REALLY don't want to get into), but I felt guilty not updating today. It's still a good chapter, in my opinion, but...idk. I feel like it could be longer if I worked at it a little more, but it gets the point across.
I'm, uh...yeah. I just can't deal right now.
I'm gonna go watch Friends.
I don't own Danny Phantom.
They Were Kids That I Once Knew
Chapter Four
September 16, 2012
The first time Sam ever got hurt during one of his ghost fights was exactly one year after the Disasteroid. They were spending the evening together, celebrating the occasion with a movie and a junk food feast in Sam's parent's basement, as opposed to doing any of the interview offers he received or invitations to several different talk shows stationed all over the world. They were just starting in on The Hangover - or, starting in on ignoring The Hangover and making out on Sam's couch - when Danny got a call. Technus was at it again at Amity Park's Best Buy. Danny merely gazed at Sam, an apologetic scowl on his face.
"Don't worry about it," She shooed his unspoken apology. "Let's go kick his ass before the tofu dogs get cold."
They did not bother with the car this time. Danny held her beneath her armpits, grinning like an idiot when she laughed in exhilaration at the wind beneath her feet and between her legs. He loved it when she laughed even before they started dating; now it was like the sounds of angels to his ears. He counted it as a day well-spent whenever he could make her laugh.
His grin faded, however, when he saw sparks flying through the windows of the Best Buy. For a moment, he considered making Sam wait outside while he went in and dealt with the situation himself, but after a recent experience involving Ember and Sam single-handedly breaking the ghost's prized guitar, he would never dare to even dream of going into a fight without her. Not when she fought so well.
So he phased them through the wall easily, dropping Sam while still moving forward so that she landed running. Technus was ready for them, though; several wires shot forward and snaked around Danny's chest. His arms were pinned to his sides.
"That's enough, Technus!" Danny shouted as Sam aimed a blade he himself had specifically designed for her a few weeks earlier at the wires. She threw the knife with expert precision; the blade sliced through the wires like butter. He caught it by the hilt before it could fly any further, tucking the blade down and clipping it to his belt without ever taking his eyes off of Technus.
"So what's your plan this time? Steal all the flat screens and make a giant screen with your face on it? Because you're freaky enough without the massive image of your face, that would just be cruel." Danny crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow at his foe.
"Oh no. I do not shout out my plans to the heavens any longer. That was a flaw of Technus two-point-oh. I am the new and improved Technus three-point-oh! Can you not see my magnificent upgrade?" The ghost held his arms aloft and spun quickly in the air, gazing at Danny and Sam expectantly.
"You don't look any different. At all." Sam sighed, leaning on one leg and placing a hand on her hip. "You look exactly the same as you did before."
"Oh, but this is a lie! Technus two-point-oh was merely five-foot-eight! Technus three-point-oh is now five-foot-ten!"
"Wait...so you put on two-inch heels?" Sam snorted. "Wow, big improvement, dude. Or, should I say, ma'am?" Danny laughed appreciatively as Technus' face flushed.
"As much as I'm enjoying this conversation, because believe me, I'm thoroughly enjoying it...that's enough, Technus. Why don't you do us all a favor and just crawl on in the Thermos, hm?"
"Oh, I shall inform you when it has become enough, ghost brat!" Technus said, popping his knuckles. Danny glanced down at Sam and rolled his eyes.
"Yeah. Sure you will." Danny shook his head. "Can we just get this over with? We were on a date."
"Is that so?" Technus rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Perhaps I should shoot off a few fireworks to help set the mood!" Danny saw Technus' arms moving up as if in slow motion. Two rockets fired out of his sleeves, heading directly toward a completely unsuspecting and motionless Sam.
"Sam!" Danny's voice sounded strangely strangled in his ears. Sam twisted deftly to her right at the last second, effectively dodging the first rocket. The second, however, clipped her left shoulder. She cried out as it dragged her backwards off of her feet and exploded into a display of digital cameras. The display came crashing down on top of Sam, who was sprawled out and barely stirring on the ground. The scraps of metal and heavy camera equipment settled on top of her, completely obscuring her from his vision, which was suddenly tinged with red.
He roared in fury as he rocketed forward. Both fists connected with Technus' face before the latter could even move to defend himself. Danny felt a savage rush of pleasure when the technological ghost careened into a glass case displaying several high-tech cell phones. He sauntered forward and seized Technus by the shirt, dragging him upward so that his face was inches from his own. "If you EVER touch her AGAIN, I will RIP you to PIECES. Got it?"
Technus nodded, his eyes wide behind his shining black sunglasses. Danny threw the ghost effortlessly into a second case, whipping the Fenton Thermos out and sucking him in without waiting for Technus to form a rebuttal. The sudden silence was filled with distant wailing sirens and voices coming from outside the store. Danny glanced out of the glass front doors and saw a mob of people pressing their faces against the glass, desperately trying to see what was happening. He grimaced at them, before one face in particular jumped out at him. Tucker was off to the left slightly, his eyes wild and glued to a broken digital camera display.
"Sam!" Danny gasped. He dove toward the display and began to dig desperately, searching for any signs of life. Finally he found her at the very bottom of the pile. She was unconscious and sporting an already-blooming purple bruise on her left shoulder. He cradled her head in his lap, murmuring her name repeatedly and brushing her hair out of her face. She was not responding.
He heard the front doors open and suddenly Tucker was there, on Sam's other side, lightly tapping her cheek. Danny felt the urge to shove Tucker away, to snarl at him to leave her alone, but it seemed to be working. Her eyes were rolling behind her eyelids and the muscles in her jaw were working. Her lips split apart and her eyelids fluttered open.
"Wha...?" She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to grab her head, moving her left arm to do so. She cried out when the muscles in her shoulder spasmed beneath her bruise.
"Don't, sh-h-h," Danny took her left wrist and forced her arm down to her side, trying to hold her a little more tightly without jostling the bruise. "You're gonna make it worse."
"What happened?" Sam whispered, glancing between Tucker and Danny. "When did Tucker get here?"
"Just now," Tucker murmured. "The new receptionist I just hired, Marcus, told me what was going on. I got down here as fast as I could."
She groaned, her body working against Danny's hands to curl into itself. Danny held her still, though, his face bent in worry at the amount of pain she was obviously in. "Did I get hit by a truck?"
"No, that display of cameras and crap came down on top of you," Tucker mumbled, glancing at the debris surrounding them. "Probably broke a few ribs..."
"Sam, I'm so sorry," Danny whispered hoarsely. Sam peered up at him, confusion shining in her eyes. "I wasn't fast enough...I just sat there while he...I'm so..."
"Stop," She said firmly, lifting her head up a bit from his hand. "This was not your fault."
"I'm supposed to protect you, though," He mumbled, unable to tear his gaze away from her.
"That's ridiculous," She murmured, wincing a little as she shifted in the rubble. Emergency responders were urging her to allow them to take her to the hospital, but she was blatantly ignoring them. "It's not your job to protect me."
"Uh, hello? Hero?" He laughed a little. "We'll talk more about this later, you need to get to the emergency room."
She looked very much as if she wanted to continue talking about it, but she allowed him to carefully lift her and carry her to the stretcher set up in the middle of the walk way. Danny stepped away as the EMT's began strapping her down, not looking around when he felt Tucker come up behind him. "You're not talking about it later, are you?" He asked.
"No way." Danny muttered, touching Sam's knife as the EMT's pushed her stretcher out the front door and toward the back of an ambulance. "I'm not budging on this one. Not ever."
Yeah, because...hero complex. Yeah.
I don't know.
- Tori
