Shock-A-Ghost
Danny stared in shock at the two teens at his door. One was smirking, the other looked somewhat nervous.
"What are you two doing here?!" Danny hissed.
"We're here to talk to Mr. and Mrs. Fenton about ghost-hunting. Is something wrong with that?" Virgil asked, looking quite satisfied with himself. He gave an innocent smile, though in reality he was really here to learn more about Danny. He couldn't help but feel something was up with him.
"Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you." Danny said, and then his own mouth turned upwards, making a cruel smile.
Richie shivered and put his hand on a suddenly insecure Virgil's shoulder.
"V, maybe this isn't a good idea…" Richie said. Danny grinned and said,
"Too late! MOM, DAD, there are some GHOST ENTHUSIASTS here!"
Faster than the speed of fudge came Jack, grabbing both kids, flipping them over his shoulder, running inside and flopping them onto the couch, leaving them rather disoriented. Danny leaned against a wall, still smirking and whispered to Virgil,
"I gave you a warning…next time you should try heeding it." Danny said.
Virgil glared at him.
Richie whispered back in disbelief,
"Dude, he's your Dad?"
"So, you two youngsters are ghost enthusiasts eh? Then you've come to the right place! My name is Jack Fenton! Welcome to FentonWorks! This is our home where all ghost experiments are con-con-con-done with a very painful laser!" Jack said, boasting happily.
For a second Virgil thought he heard Danny gulp behind him, but maybe he was just imagining it.
"Well, we're not interested in catching ghosts really." Jack's face fell.
"But we do want to learn more about them!" Richie said, and Jack's face once again lit up.
"That's great! But hey, are you sure you don't want to hunt ghosts? You two both have such able bodies, full of young strength! Besides, there's nothing quite like your first dissection, first you take this scalpel, see, then-"
"Jack!" Maddie said, walking in with a tray piled high with sweets. She placed the tray down on the coffee table and stood next to her husband, who was sitting in one of the armchairs.
"Can't you see the two boys are going white?" Maddie scolded. It was true though, both boys were quite pale, their thoughts wrapped around what Jack might have been about to see, images whirling around in their poor heads. Danny, all too familiar with this lecture, was snickering behind his palm at their faces.
"Hello, I'm Maddie Fenton, Jack's wife. Feel free to help yourself to anything. Don't worry, under my son's influence it has all been store bought." Maddie said, giving a pointed glance at Danny, who started muttering something about guests not liking cookies that bit back.
Virgil and Richie both tentatively reached for a cookie, nibbling slowly, trying to rid themselves of the disgusting thoughts Jack had put in their heads.
"Anyway, I believe both of you have met my son Danny." Maddie said, gesturing to Danny whom gave a small nod as confirmation.
"Well, then shall we begin? What do you wish to know?" Maddie asked, leaning forward.
"Well, what are ghosts?" Richie asked.
"Ectoplasmic Entities." Both Maddie and Virgil answered at the same time. Virgil blushed, and Maddie looked at him strangely, smiling slightly.
"I see you've already read a few things?" Maddie trailed off, and Virgil shook his head, still red.
"No, a…friend of mine mentioned it a while ago."
Virgil noticed Danny staring at him, eyes wide.
"What?"
"Nothing." Danny said dismissively.
Virgil shrugged and turned back, but Danny still stared at him, an odd sense of déjà vu flooding his senses.
"Well as Virgil said, ghosts are ectoplasmic entities. They are often the spirit of a dead person, most probably one who has been angered and is out for revenge, thus unable to move on. Sometimes however, they are strong pent up emotions or feelings that have gathered up and formed. Ectoplasm is a green substance, one that can give life. It is what all ghosts are made of." Maddie stated.
"However, ectoplasm can also be changed into a harmful state, which can be used to hurt ghosts and ghosts only. Ectoplasm is the power used in all ghost weapons, either in the form of raw energy or solid substance." Maddie continued to describe.
"Any questions?"
Both boys were slack-jawed at the display of information, but Virgil closed his mouth.
"Do ghosts all have the same powers?" He asked.
"Well all ghosts usually have the ability to fly, go through stuff which is called Intangibility, and become invisible at will. From there on it pretty much depends on what kind of ghost it is. Some can change form, use weapons, use telekinesis, etc. Some can even shoot ecto-blasts and ice rays." Virgil noted how Maddie's tone turned bitter at the last sentence.
"Are some powers better than others?" Richie asked.
"If you mean stronger, then yes, some are. There is a classification chart that goes by how powerful and dangerous a ghost is. It ranges from 1-10, 1 being merely an annoyance that can be taken care of easily-" Virgil thought he heard Danny mutter "Box ghost" at that point,
"-and 10 being a ghost that is too strong, and is capable of wiping out huge masses of humans at a time. Of course, there has never been any level 10s in history, so no one pays it much attention." Maddie said, waving off the concerned faces. Danny had suddenly gotten very quiet in the back.
"What about Danny Phantom? What level is he?" Virgil asked, finally getting to the point he had been trying to reach.
Both Maddie and Jack went rigid, as did Danny.
There was silence.
"Phantom…Phantom's different." Maddie said softly. If anybody had been looking, they would've seen Danny's head shoot up in alarm.
"Phantom has bounced between the numbers effortlessly over time. His power seems to increase almost every day. Currently he is a 8.15." She stated quietly. Both Richie and Virgil shared equal looks of surprise, and even Danny's face was shocked. He had never come out and asked, afraid they would somehow affiliate him with Phantom.
"But that's why we're here! Jack and I are going to bring down that filthy ghost kid right Jack?"
"Right Mads!" Both were suddenly renewed, so much that Jack shot up and his chair thudded to the ground. Maddie gave Jack a pointed look and sighing, he picked up the chair and set it up right once more.
Virgil felt a shiver run down his spine as he remembered what Maddie had said and her tone of voice. She had almost seemed…scared.
Nah!
"What are Danny Phantom's powers?" Richie asked excitedly.
"Well, he has intangibility, invisibility, the ability to fly, he can shoot ecto-blasts, make ice rays, he is also rather physically strong, and he can duplicate himself. We believe he can also make shields with his hands…and one more dangerous power." Maddie said, her voice lowering to a whisper.
"What is it?" Richie said, kina frightened by the tense atmosphere.
"Do you promise not to tell anyone else?" Jack asked.
"Of course!" Both answered immediately. The group leaned in closer, and Danny also subconsciously leaned in, though he was pretty sure he knew what they were talking about.
"Phantom can scream. But it's a special scream, one that has visible sound waves. When he does it can destroy practically anything in his path. But he rarely uses it, possibly because it drains him of energy. That's one of the reasons we have to catch him. We can't allow him to use that power." Maddie said with an air of finality.
Virgil blinked in shock. A scream that was that powerful? Phantom had seemed strong, but that strong?! He couldn't believe it. Suddenly Phantom's calm demeanor seemed so questionable, so unbelievable.
Yet Danny's face when he had been deep in thought swirled around in his head. He said he had had a lot of time to think about things…did that mean what he mostly thought about was himself? What he was, who he was? What kind of power he held?
"Thanks for your time." Virgil said suddenly, standing up.
"Come on Rich." Hands in pockets, Virgil walked out the door, Richie running after him in an effort to catch up.
Danny stared after them, his face an expressionless mask.
"Mom, Dad, I'm going out." He shouted, then quickly ran out, turned the corner, and headed after the boys, his face one of pure determination.