Chapter Five
There's No Such Thing as Evil
"There comes a time when blood is thicker than ectoplasm, and the heart is stronger than the mind."
Spring break is over. Time to put away the pool-toys and lemonade. Back to work until summer rolls around.
Too bad it was only a month long.
Casper High is as dull as ever, though the lockers are beginning to look a lot shorter. The dusty floors and peeling wallpaper fill my eyes as I step into the building. I look over to see Sam at my side. She has a dry expression on her face. She's not too happy to be here either. On my other side is Tucker. His eyes are focused on his PDA, which he's turned into a mini-arcade. I can hear the small twittering music as it comes out of the speakers.
Totally old school.
Just like this school, coincidentally. Casper High has been around since Amity Park was founded, 120 years ago. It's been the pain and torment of a ton of generations, including mine. Now I have to deal with it like my Father's and Mother's before me. To make it worse, I'm a human-ghost hybrid, have an angry billionaire after me, and my parents happen to be the lamest ghost hunters on the planet.
Swell. Just swell.
It's always been this way, Sam and Tucker beside me. We've been friends for years, and I can't see how we can get any closer. After all, they're the ones that got me into this mess. They're the ones who always help me out of it. My weakness means nothing when they're around.
A year and a half ago, Danny Fenton wandered around these halls, your typical lost teen.
A year and a half later, Danny Phantom wanders these hallways, trying to fight ghosts with one hand, and balance his schoolbooks in the other.
Yes, my life has been turned upside down. I'm not too sure if it's good or bad. The minute I stepped out of that ghost portal, I knew my life would be different. Fighting ghosts wasn't on my agenda at first. Keeping my powers in check was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. They were as involuntary as breathing.
We turn the corner of the crowded hallway, and head to our lockers. Luckily they're all right near each other. Sam glances at me from behind my messy black hair and frowns.
"What's up with you? You look like you've been up playing Firearm all night again." Sam asks me, leaning against her locker. She gazes up at my thin face and crosses her pale arms. The violet of her eyes glimmers in a cold fashion, but I can see the hint of worry her frigid disposition hides.
I roll my eyes. "Very funny Sam. Has it ever occurred to you that I do more than play video games all night?" This was a bit harsher than I meant. If there was anyone that would know that I'm up fighting ghosts all night, it's her. She knows, because she stays up with me. Sam gives me a glare and steps away from her locker. She makes a low noise of disapproval, and my face softens apologetically.
"I'm sorry. . . guess I'm just out of it."
Sam dismisses the subject with a wave of her hand. Apparently she's the mature one in this situation. I feel a pang of guilt. Tucker walks over to his, books in hand. He's still focused on that game. I crack a smile, forcing the two corners of my mouth upright.
"You better put that away Tuck." I warn. Lancer searches him out every day, in the hopes that one memorable day he'll see Tucker with his PDA out. Then he'll take it away with that annoying smirk that only an old bag like him can have.
Tucker sets his eyes on me with a pout. "But I'm almost to level 5003."
I'm about to make a witty remark when I feel a soft tap on my shoulder. I turn around to see Valerie. She's wearing her yellow shirt, and her hair looks disheveled. She's probably had a bad night like me. Sam moves closer to me, and Tucker finally rips his eyes away from his game.
"Hey Danny!" she greets with a wave of her hand. Her voice is slightly croaky, and she coughs weakly.
"Have fun in Wisconsin?"
Wisconsin?
I raise an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"
Valerie's confusion matches my own. She twists her face into a look of surprise, and puts her hands on her hips.
"Didn't your parents go for a visit to Vlad's place this Spring Break?" her voice is higher, filled with disconcertment to match the look on her face. Sam now looks deep in thought, and Tucker lets out a laugh. I shoot a glare his way, then turn back to Valerie.
"Are you tired or something Valerie?" I ask , looking her over for signs of more serious sickness. She wasn't making any sense.
She scowls. "I saw you there..when Vlad was teaching me how to air surf. Remember?"
Something dawns on me. A cold prickling sensation crawls up and down my spine. "You saw me?"
Valerie opens her mouth and shakes her head slowly, mocking my obvious disconcertment.
"What did I look like?" My heart is beating ten thousand miles an hour. The noise of the chattering kids around me grows louder. I feel like falling over. Sam steadies me with her cool hands, and Tucker shakes his head as he realizes what I have.
Valerie looks at me like I'm crazy. "What are you talking about Danny?"
I throw my hands in the air and force a laugh. "Oh yeah! Now I remember! Vlad's house. Yeah! Great fun, oh and now we have to get to class. Hallways are always crowded, you know? Don't want to be late!" I blurt out quickly. I turn around and walk away , Sam and Tucker on my heels. I can almost see the confused look on Valerie's face as we leave her standing there. I can't worry about that now though.
I find our refuge, look around for Lancer, then file into the unlocked Janitor's closet. Sam closes the door behinds us, a spasm of horror raking her body.
"She saw you Danny. But you weren't there." she says, almost a whisper.
"I know. I wasn't there, but apparently another me was."
We all look at each other, sickness filling our stomachs. Sam shakes her head and slowly drops to the floor, her boots glimmering in the darkness.
"There's no way Vlad could have done it. He's been trying for years." But I can tell she's thinking differently.
"That's the problem. He's been trying for years. He was bound to make a good one someday."
Tucker shakes his head. "Oh man…that poor kid. Looking like Danny…"
I glare at Tucker. "This isn't the time for jokes Tuck! This is serious!"
"Chill dude..." He mumbles.
How could this have happened? What's Vlad up to now? What is he doing to me..well erm, him?
The room feels like it's spinning. If Vlad actually did succeed… I shudder to think about what that could mean.
Sam tries to take control of the situation again. "Everyone just stay calm. There's some explanation to all this."
I look grim. "A messed up explanation…"
Tucker fumbles with his fingers nervously. "What are we going to do?"
I sigh, thinking hard. Then it comes to me. " I might just have to pay Uncy Vlad a visit."
I close my eyes in concentration. A green fire ignites from my fingertips. It is warm and fiery, so alive. I open my eyes to greet it and see that it grows stronger with every moment. Father stands beside me, hands behind his back. His eyes scrutinize my every move. I do as he instructed before and close my hand slowly. The fire recedes like water draining in a sink until it is no more.
We've been doing this exercise for a few weeks now. Father says it shows my progress; if I can control the fire, then I can control my powers.
"Excellent my boy!" he praises me with brilliant devotion.
"Really ?" My face is shining with pride now. Every word he says pleases me, sending a warm feeling from my nose to my toes.
"Indeed,yes." He puts a strong hand on my shoulder. I enjoy the feeling of his approval.
We stay like that a few moments, Father and Son.
His voice then breaks through the silence. "And in fact, you're ready."
Ready for what? I'm puzzled, until I look up to see the twisted expression in his ghostly red eyes.
I'm answered when he lifts his hand and sends a giant beam of ectoplasmic energy at me. I gasp, and flip backwards, landing on my back. The beam of light shoots over my face, inches away from hitting me. I jump to my feet to see father, arms crossed, a smirk dancing on his lips.
"Very good Daniel."
It's official. Father has lost his mind. After a few weeks of training me to be a hero, he wants me to fight the biggest villain I've ever seen.
Him.
"Father…" I begin slowly, My heartbeat has increased. I feel myself begin to sweat.
"Don't you think this is a bit sudden?"
I back away. He follows like a predator.
"No, I do believe you're ready to prove your strength. After all, your body is different than the average human."
Oh. My mouth runs dry as father lunges at me.
I cry out and bend my back, touching the floor with my hands. Father goes flying over my head. I then flip forwards gently, bouncing back on my feet. I look behind me to see a blinding light coming my way. I shout out and put my hand up. A huge shield of pink energy forms at once. The light hits it, shaking it. I gasp loudly and am taken by surprise of the force. I go flying in the direction of one of Father's lab machines. I hit it and slowly slide down.
When I look up, Father is floating over my head, eyes wild and fierce.
"Get up Son. Fight me like a man." He blasts at me again, and I feel the world stop as his ray hits me head on. I choke in pain and fly a good hundred feet away from him.
Something hot spills into my stomach. I suddenly feel angry, angrier than I feel when I hear of Danny Phantom and friends. I growl and get to my feet, not looking like that calm and even person I normally am. My once innocent eyes are now a bright green. Father smiles broadly.
"Yes…" he hisses. "Show me your anger, boy."
Oh I will.
I shout, throw my hand up, and an ectoplasmic energy ball almost as big as the lab flies in Father's direction. He is shocked now, his mouth agape. He clearly wasn't expecting that.
He cannot dodge this. I have won the fight.
It hits him head on, rattling his body. He quivers, and drops to the floor, two rings turning him back into human Father. I pant, completely out of breath. Then, I hear father's echoing laughter from behind me. I look back to see another Father, the true him, clapping.
"Brilliant! And I thought this was as good as you were going to get."
Confusion pulls at my face. "What?" I sputter.
Father grins evilly. The look is frightening. He separates into 5 forms of himself. My heart hammers in my ribcage. I'm completely flabbergasted. They all turn into Vlad Plasmius, the ghostly form of himself. I shake my head, eyes wide.
"Father..how did you?"
"No talking boy, action." he commands, and he and his four clones surround me. I'm in the center of the madness. One comes forward, a punch to my jaw. I take his hand, pull him up, and fling him into another one of Father's clones. They crash into the wall and disappear.
Father and his remaining clone, watch, pleased very evilly by my anger.
"Good good." they both sing. Their voices are in synch, and they come forwards and attack ruthlessly.
So many punches are coming my way. I duck, dodge, scream, and punch as well. I hit one father clone, and he kicks me. I fall to my knees. Father kicks me as well, in the jaw. Blood spurts out of my mouth, staining his purple suit. I growl in agony and swipe my feet toward him, knocking the two Father's off their feet at the same time.
They too disappear. I feel weak, and fall flat on my face.
Where is he? Where is Father?
He steps out from the darkness. I bite back my tears of pain as he comes to stand in front of me.
"Excellent work my child."
I am confused. I shake my head and groan. "There's so many of you.."
He lets out a small laugh. It sounds oddly happy, strange. I've never seen father quite so happy.
"You've earned yourself a break." He grabs my hand and pulls me up. I quiver where I stand. Father steadies me with gentle blue eyes.
"Come on Son. Let's take a walk outside."
I've never been outside before.
I forget the fight and feel excited. Outside? Outside is so strange to me. I am ready for a new adventure.
I nod my head and transform back into my old self. Father walks with me up the stairs to his lab, passed the few thousand hallways of his house, and finally we emerge in the main entrance to his house. It glitters with green and gold Packer's décor. One of these days, Father said that he would buy the Packers. I wonder what they are.
They must be ponies.
Father presses a small button, and the doors to the massive house swing open. Light fills my eyes and blinds me for a moment. Then the light settles. What greets me is a beautiful green sight. Large pine trees sway in the wind, dancing magnificently. Hedges as tall as me create odd shadows on the brown stone entrance of the house. Above is the sky, bright and blue as my eyes. I gape and smile. Father chuckles at my reaction.
"Yes indeed Daniel. Welcome to the world."
I grab his hand tighter. He stiffens oddly, looking at me with a glazed expression. Then he pulls me further into the day. I follow him, all too happy to be in the world.
We start to walk. Birds sing all around us, and gentle breezes ruffle our suits. My suit is a bit tight on me.
"Well what do you know? I daresay that you've had a growthspurt Daniel."
I am only looking up at him slightly now. He used to tower over me.
"Hm.Looks like I have."
It is silent for a few minutes. I am taking in every inch of the world. Father seems calmer than usual. I wonder why. Is he going to want to fight me again? I look up at him and tilt my head to the side.
"What's on your mind?" He asks, flicking a few strands of pollen from his jacket.
"Nothing really..it's just well, I'm confused about Danny Phantom and friends." I confess.
"They confuse everyone my boy."
"Why are they evil?" the thought of wanting to seriously injure another person was unsettling to me. Self defense was one thing, but harming weaker people was another.
Father thinks for a moment, then answers."Evil isn't real Daniel."
It's not? "Why…?" I ask carefully.
Father gives me a look of a wise man. " Evil is just a term created by the weak. The weak who cannot accept that power is sometimes more important than values."
I digest his words. Father suddenly seems darker.
"So Danny Phantom and friends want power?"
He nods."Indeed."
"But don't you want power too?"
Father stops in his tracks.
I turn around to face him.
"Exactly." he breathes.
Dark clouds swirl in front of the sun, blocking out the warm light. Raindrops begin to spatter around us. Father has the same grim expression on his face before pulling on my arm.
"Come. It's time to come inside. I have business to attend to.."
I obey.
As we walk into the house, I realize that father is evil.
Does that make me evil too? After all, I am his Son. Images of evil spin into my mind. All of them are dark and frightening. I've seen the way evil is viewed, on my television. Being horrifying and scary is not on my priority list.
Father looks down at me. "I will be on the phone with some businessmen from Japan a good portion of the night. So do not bother me."
"Okay."
"Now, go and find Jenny to make you dinner. You look starving."
"I will."
"And please...keep yourself out of trouble."
I nod my head. "I promise I will father."
He departs from me, leaving me alone in the cold
I watch him leave.
He is an angel to me, beautiful and sparkling. There is no way he would ever be dark and horrifying. Any harshness he showed me was to prepare me to fight Danny Phantom and friends. He is good.
I am happy to be serving him.
I smile and trudge up the stairs. Night is falling heavily, making Father's house look like a haunted castle. I cross a million hallways before knocking on Jenny's door. She opens it, a cautious look on her face until she realizes it is me.
She gives me a warm smile which I return.
"Hey Kiddo! Come on in! I'm actually in the middle of making something for you."
Father must have alerted her.
I enter her small apartment. It is light blue, and made of stone like everything else in the house.On the walls are pictures of people who look like her. They must be her family. I look at them a few minutes, then sit on her white coach. The evening news is on.
Images of terrorists flash on the screen. I watch them with curious eyes.
"Another attack reported on East North Street involving a terrorist organization spreads terror throughout northern Landonville.."
Jenny takes a seat near me and hands me a bowl of macaroni and cheese. It is my favorite mean. I smile at her, since I cannot thank her, and begin to dig into it. Jenny turns her attention toward the TV, where the terrorist faces are flashing. She sighs and shakes her head.
"Some people are so evil. I can never understand it."
I swallow and wipe off my mouth. "There's no such thing as evil…weak people made it up because they can't understand power." I repeat, happy to inform Jenny of Father's wisdom. Instead of being happy, she looks disgusted. She frowns deeply at me.
"It's just sick what that man is doing to you…sick." She hisses angrily. She is very mad, I can tell. Normally she is too afraid to speak of Father, especially in a bad way. I feel a pang of guilt. I didn't mean to make Jenny upset.
"I'm sorry.." I say gently, taking another bite of food.
It is silent for a moment. She speaks. "Please don't tell your Father I said that." She's regained some composure, but looks severely frightened. I place my bowl on the table and crawl over to her. My eyes look full of sorrow.
"I promise I won't Jenny. There's no need to be afraid." I reach out and hug her. It is the first time I've hugged another human being before, especially a girl. I like the way she feels in my arms. She is warm and feminine. Suddenly I have a strange hunger inside me, and tighten my hold on her. My breathing becomes heavier. Jenny takes note of my sudden huskiness and gently pushes me away.
"Watch the hormones Jr."
I turn bright red. "I'm sorry!"
Jenny laughs gently and shakes her head. "It's alright. You're new to the whole life thing."
Suddenly I'm embarrassed. I stand up quickly.
"The food was great!" And I flee from the room, Jenny's stunned face following after me.
When I've ran enough, and my breath is heavy from exhaustion, I stop.
That was a very stupid thing I did. The worst thing is, I'm not sure why I did it. It was a violent impulse, an impulse I've never gotten before. I try to forget it, suddenly longing to be outside again.
Can I?
Father gave me stern orders never to go outside. I must obey…
But as memories of cold air on my face come back, I give in to the temptation.
It will only be for a few minutes.
It's not like anyone is waiting for me...or out there. Father's house is surrounded by trees.
And so I make my way out into the cold.
This is the first time I've done POV. The beginning is Danny's POV, as you can tell. I actually like it. It adds more dynamic to the story.
Anyway, we find out that PH23X can fight very well, enough to hold off Vlad. They've been training. Then he discovers outside, and loves it, and then his hormones.
XD Typical boy.
And now he's disobeying Vlad and going outside.
What he doesn't realize, is that Danny might just be around.
What will happen next? Find out XD
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Thanks