GLE – One year ago today, I last updated this story. Ha, ha, made you guys wait, didn't I? Eheh, I should probably stop with my humour; some rabid fangirl might sic a butcher's knife on me or something, eh? Actually, it'd be funnier if it were a fanboi – we don't get to hear about them as often...
Heh, anyways, yes, this is an update! And it is by far the longest chapter I've ever written. It's over 8000 words! I don't think I've ever written an essay that long! Oh, and speaking of essays... I never have to write an essay again! I finished my last one recently, finished all my exams and projects, and now I'm graduating! Whee! Heh, but I'll chatter more about my life later. Go on and read it – I know you've been waiting long enough for it!
-(o)-
Do Superheroes Exist?
Chapter 7: Breaking Point
"It's quite simple, really, let the Guys in White do whatever they want with him." Laughing, the man added, "Of course, that is to say, with the exception of killing him. They're bound to discover some interesting things about the boy. And then we can take their research and apply it to better use… for the greater good of our nation!"
"Ha!" replied a woman in a black suit. "Yeah right… since when have you ever even thought of doing something good for this country? Oh, I know, somewhere around elections and promotions time. But I agree with you. The power we'll obtain in this… We could be unstoppable!"
"And as long as we're all on the same page," another man addressed the two. "This could be one of the best operations each of our departments has put together in a while."
The woman nodded, her smile slightly lopsided. The other man, balding and dressed in highly decorated military attire, gave a curt nod of agreement.
"Well, I don't know about you," said the woman. "But, I'd like to see how the Guys in White are doing. Shall we?"
And without waiting for a response, she hopped off the mahogany desk she'd been sitting on, walked around it to the other side, and pulled a remote control from the drawer. The desk was very tidy, with a couple pads of paper piled neatly in one corner next to a pen holder that held two pens. A phone sat on the other edge. The office itself was quite large, and was currently dimly lit since all the shades were drawn. On the door was engraved the name "Elizabeth Medley."
The woman pressed a button on the remote and a board in the wall behind the desk shifted to the side, revealing a large tv screen, and three smaller ones stacked vertically next to it.
The man with dark hair let loose a low whistle. "You CIA people have it nice, doncha?"
The woman smirked, lopsidedly, and commented, "Heh, you're one to talk, Mr. Director of the FBI! Don't think that I don't know what's in your office!"
"Touché," answered the man, Bob Mullen, bowing his head.
"And if you're thinking of adding your own opinion, General Pierfort, don't bother – I've seen your cars," she stated to the balding man lightheartedly.
"I wasn't going to," the General said with ease.
Ms. Medley stood a moment longer, smiling in small triumph before returning to the screen. "Well, gentlemen, as you may or may not know, some people in my department have infiltrated the Guys in White to keep an eye on them. So, we have front row seats to the experiments being done on the boy, and the Guys in White are none the wiser."
She pushed a button and the large screen flickered to life and opened to a downward view of a medical room. Bound and lying on a table in the center was the half-ghost teen, still in his ghost form. There were wires attached to him trailing across the floor to machines on the outskirts of the room. A couple of men in white lab coats and health masks were reading the electronic monitors and taking notes. The boy stirred, opening his eyes slowly. When they'd completely opened, his face suddenly contorted into a shocked expression and he screamed out, "NOOO!"
The men in the room startled and looked towards their subject. One of them turned back to the monitor in front of him and began to scribble again furtively. The other walked over to the door and pressed a button on the wall.
"Yes?" crackled a voice through the intercom.
"He's awake," replied the man.
Danny strained his eyes to see the man on the edge of his vision. He couldn't move his head because it was bound to the slanted table that he was lying on. His heart rate was slowing down to normal again, but his initial shock still left him twitching a little. He'd been having a nightmare and awoke to see several sharp instruments dangling above him, on the same metallic arm as the bright light that forced him to squint. He realized that he must be in some sort of hospital, based on the types of tools hanging there, and that perhaps he was… in surgery?
What happened? Where was he? What was the last thing he could remember? His identity was revealed… Dani… Vlad… flying back to Amity Park… going to school… the mermaid ghost… the mermaid ghost! The Guys in White and his parents had been caught by her and he wanted to save them. She was angry and he got beat up… and then her song carried him into a troubled daze… he couldn't do anything to stop it, disturbing images filled his mind and took him away… and then he woke up here.
"My parents…" he mumbled out loud.
"What was that?" said a voice as the door to the room closed. The newcomer approached Danny and stood in his line of vision.
"Are my parents alright?" asked Danny while struggling to sit up. It was no use – either the restraints or his own lack of energy kept him frozen to the table.
The newcomer smiled, though his eyes glinted coldly. "Everyone's fine, you have nothing to worry about. Your only focus should be on the experiments we're going to be doing together."
Danny stared at him, but only the first couple of words had reached his mind. Everyone's fine… well that was good news, even if it meant that the Guys in White chumps weren't as beaten up as he had hoped… the Guys in White… this guy was wearing a lot of white…
"Oh where are my manners?" said the man before him. "My name is Dr. T. I'm with the research division of the Guys in White. I believe you're acquainted with the field operatives, K and O?"
Danny narrowed his eyes involuntarily. He felt uneasy in this guy's presence. Dr. T seemed to be chatting airily, but his aura was giving off a menacing vibration. Danny was sure he would not like this man. In fact, he was fairly certain that he would not like anything about this place… speaking of which…
"Where am I?" he demanded.
"Right to the point, aren't we? My, you're rather tactless, however, I will answer your question." Dr. T took a step back and opened his arms to the space around him. "We are at the Guys in White Central Headquarters. This is the Research Laboratories, and it will be your residence for quite some time. There are anti-ghost shields on the outer wall of the building, as well as on the fence surrounding the building. Those second ones extend to cover a radius of 20m above and 20m below the ground. There are cameras in every room and every hallway, and several out on the grounds around the complex. The fence has barbed wire on top and electricity running through it. Your room, which you'll be brought to later, has a thick metallic and bullet-proof door, no windows, and of course, a ghost shield running through the walls and floor and ceiling. A high-security code will be placed on the outside to open the door, and an alarm will sound if your thermal imprint disappears from the sensors of the room.
"You should also be aware that we've taken the liberty of attaching a collar to your neck that you cannot phase through and you cannot remove with your hands. I'd tell you what the point of it is, but that would take away all the fun… Any questions?"
"No." Danny eyed the man defiantly. In other words, he thought, there's no way for me to escape, is there?
"Good. Well, now that you're awake, I think it's best if you returned to your human form and I can catch you up on the schedule for today. Inject him with the serum."
One of the men in lab coats stepped to Danny's side and pierced his left forearm with a needle. Danny felt a warm sensation spread from the point of contact through his veins and to the rest of his body. The warmth was getting uncomfortably hot, and suddenly it felt as if his entire body was burning. He detransformed without thinking about it, and was relieved to feel a coolness come over him as he did so.
"Amazing," Dr. T marveled delightedly. He stared a moment longer then turned abruptly to the other men in the room, "You got recordings on that? Good!"
Danny winced in disgust. Of course, he thought, I'm just a lab rat to them.
"Now, we've got a lot of work to do, so I'll make this brief. We're going to be administering ability tests and structure tests on you, as well as asking you a number of ghost-related questions. The ability tests should push you to your physical limits, while the structure tests investigate your biology. There should be no need for me to say this, but, you will do what we ask of you."
Danny scoffed, "You sure none of this will violate my Human Rights?"
"Ah, but you see, that doesn't apply to you," replied Dr. T in a cheerful tone.
"What the heck are you talking about?" said Danny, alarmed. "I'm human!"
"No," Dr. T said grinning. "You're only half. In other words, you are a hybrid – something completely different. In any case, you can't get out of here and only Guys in White personnel can get in. You belong to us now and no one is going to do anything to change this. The rest of the government is on our side."
"I won't do what you ask me to do."
"You will," stated Dr. T calmly. "I could sit here and just keep the torture to physical, but I'm not that kind of man. Did I forget to mention that your parents spent the night in jail?"
"What?" Danny exclaimed. "I thought you said they were ok!"
"They are; physically they are in good condition, minus a few scratches and bruises from their encounter with the ghost yesterday. They're being charged with obstruction of justice and possession of confiscated weapons. I could arrange the addition of 'terrorist threat' to that list."
"Wh-what?" stammered Danny.
"For creating you," answered Dr. T simply. "It wouldn't be too hard to believe, especially since I have credentials to back up my word, if I were to inform the CIA that your parents created you as a prototype weapon. Since you are still growing as a living being in adolescence and as a threat in ghost power, they had you present a friendly face to the community, waiting until you had developed enough for the moment to strike. And to dissuade people from believing they were connected to you, they would pretend to be some of the ghost hunters who were after you and who didn't know of your human half. Even if the CIA uncovered the truth of this lie, it would be well after they've hauled your parents in for questioning. You may not see them for years… or ever again."
Danny was outraged. That was a low blow – using his parents like this. Danny was really beginning to hate the man before him, and based on the potential 'testing of limits' or whatever the experiments were going to be, he expected this feeling to only intensify further.
"I can see by your expression that you understand the situation perfectly. So, we have your cooperation?"
His eyes downcast, the anger still carved into his features, Danny didn't reply. But it was good enough for Dr. T.
The sun had crept in through a crack in her curtains that had earlier been torn open by her parents in a cheery manner. Of course, Sam had closed them again as soon as they were out of her room, but she only did so half-heartedly, and the sliver of light that was creeping across her floor was a testament to this. Sam sighed and got off her bed. It was still early in the morning and she couldn't fall back asleep. Time to start a new day.
Jazz was planning something for today, but Sam, not in school on the weekend, was once more under house arrest. Annoyingly, her parents had already gone out, though she wasn't sure what could have gotten them to leave at this time. Well, at least with them out of the way, her chance of a successful escape was higher. The meeting place was to be at Valerie's, all the way across town, in the slums. Apparently the girl, who had considered Danny Phantom to be her enemy for the longest time, had decided to help Team Phantom out.
Sam walked over to the window, intending to take a look outside, when a ghostly figure flew through it and startled her.
"Gah!" she exclaimed.
"Oof!" said the figure, running full speed into her.
Sitting up, Sam questioned, "Dani?"
"Hi!" said the little girl, smiling and standing up.
"What are you doing here? Wait a second, how did you find me?"
The female halfa grinned. "I dropped by Casper High this morning and took a look at your records… You're doing really well in Phys. Ed.!"
Sam returned the younger girl's enthusiasm with a blank expression, stunned.
"Anyways, I got your home address from that," continued Dani. "I came to you 'cause I know Danny likes you and I figured you'd be doing something to save him. I wasn't able to do much to help him a few days ago, but maybe I can do something now."
Sam's brief blush was instantly replaced with alertness. "Wait, Danny was with you? When? What happened? How was he?"
"Woah, what's with the twenty questions all of a sudden?"
Sam stood up and walked over to her bed, leaning herself against it. Sighing she asked more calmly, "When did you see Danny?"
"Wednesday. Actually, I came and got him on Tuesday night and we flew to my place in Wisconsin…" Dani recounted her interactions with Danny to Sam up to the point that he disappeared. "I found out from the Box Ghost yesterday that Danny went back to Amity Park, so I came here as quickly as I could to try and stop him from doing anything stupid… but I was too late, obviously."
Sam's attitude towards Danielle softened a bit. She wasn't ready to completely trust the mischief-maker and fully planned to keep a careful eye on her, but she felt that Dani's desire to help Danny was honest. Maybe Dani could be of use…?
A spark shot through Sam's mind, and she jumped up so suddenly that Dani fell back with a yelp of surprise.
"Warn me when you're going to do that!" said Dani. "What is it?"
"You can help!" answered Sam, reaching forward and taking Dani's left hand. "Turn us invisible and let's get out of here! I'll give you directions on the way."
"Aw, Jazz, why'd you have to hold this meeting now?" whined Tucker as he walked into the apartment. "I'm missing my Saturday morning cartoons! Fairly OddParents is nearly over, and it's almost nine o'clock, Da—"
"Ah, quit your complaining! We're rescuing Danny, remember!" Valerie scolded. "And keep your voice down. My dad's sleeping."
Tucker fell silent and followed the girls to Valerie's room. He took the chair at Valerie's desk while Valerie shut the door and leaned against it and Jazz sat on Valerie's bed, lifting her computer to her lap.
"Danny being caught changes things," announced Jazz unnecessarily. "But, luckily we've already hacked through the security system of the Guys in White."
"We know," interrupted Valerie in a tired voice. "You've been going over this all night."
"Sorry," said Jazz quickly. "I guess I'm just nervous."
"Nervous?" repeated Tucker. "About what?"
"I don't know," Jazz admitted. "Maybe about making a mistake. We are attempting to save Danny, after all. It's easier said than done."
"You finished the plan?" asked Valerie.
"Almost. I want everyone's input on it. Speaking of which, where's Sam? I thought she was going to come with you," she said indicating Tucker.
Tucker shook his head. "Her parents have grounded her again. She texted me about an hour ago saying she would try to get out but makes no promises."
Jazz sighed. Was it too much to hope for things to run smoothly? She looked away from her computer and out the window. The sun was rising steadily over the horizon. Was Danny ok? What were they doing to him now? Could they really succeed and save him?
There was a black spot above the buildings and Jazz suddenly realized that it was growing bigger. Danny? No it couldn't be… Another ghost? An attack?
"Guys…" she said uneasily.
Her companions blinked. "What?"
They didn't have to wait long for an answer. Dani and Sam arrived within a few moments. Jazz relaxed and backed away to let them enter through the window.
"We made it!" exclaimed Sam, and turning to the younger girl she expressed, "Thanks!"
Dani smiled and looked around the room. "Hey Tucker! Long time no see!"
"Y-yeah," responded Tucker, surprised by the extra guest. "How're you doing?"
"Sam, who is this?" asked Jazz, staring at the miniature of her brother, perplexed.
"It's Dani, with an 'i'," answered Danielle cheerfully while extending her hand. "Nice to meet you!"
"Nice to meet you too," Jazz replied tentatively, shaking the small hand. Unsure, she uttered, "I'm Jazz."
"She's Danny's cousin… kind of," informed Sam. "Actually, she's his clone."
"You're a half-ghost?" inquired Valerie from her spot against the door.
"Yep!" Dani declared.
"How many of you are there?" wondered Valerie. Sam exchanged a look with Tucker while Dani's smile faltered.
"There are three," Sam answered stiffly.
Valerie was taken aback by the shift in atmosphere. Woah, what's with the chill all of a sudden? Guess the third one's someone they don't get along with. Hmm, even Jazz seems to know about him or her. Well, if I'm going to be a part of this team, I should know too, right? "Another clone?" she ventured.
"No," said Dani, shaking her head. "He's my… he's the one who created me. He's stronger than both me and Danny, and he's been a halfa for a lot longer than either of us."
"We don't get along with him," supplied Jazz.
"Who could get along with that lunatic?" stated Sam dryly, then realizing something, she stopped talking.
"It's Vlad," enlightened Tucker.
"Vlad Masters?" Valerie exclaimed.
"Do you know any other Vlads?" asked Sam.
"Yes, Vlad Masters," answered Jazz, giving Sam a reproving look. "He goes by the name 'Vlad Plasmius' as a ghost. Some people know him to be the 'Wisconsin Ghost'."
Valerie stared around the room. They weren't joking. She felt almost as shocked by this as she had when she found out that Danny was a half-ghost. Danny… they were gathered here for him. Deciding to deal with her thoughts on Vlad later, she closed her eyes and opened them again, smiling warmly. "We should get back to work," she declared. "I'm Valerie, by the way," she added towards Dani.
"Oh, nice to meet you," said Dani and she took a seat next to Sam on Jazz's air mattress. Jazz was still sitting on the bed, Tucker was on the chair, and Valerie remained leaning against the door.
"As most of you know, I finished hacking through the Guys in White's system yesterday," Tucker stated, starting off the discussion and picking up the PDA he'd given Jazz. "I downloaded anything I thought was relevant. Did you know that they'd already planned for months of testing on Danny before they caught him? We've gotta get him out of there, and soon. I mean, they'll be pushing him to his limits, every day, submitting him to extreme temperatures, seeing how long he can go without food, without sleep! They're going to–"
"Stop!" Jazz asserted. "That's horrible! I don't want to hear any more, let's just get him out of there as soon as possible!"
"So, what's the plan?" asked Valerie.
"I've looked over the layouts of the lab buildings where he's being held several times and I think our best bet is to break in on the East side. One of the outer walls runs near a bit of forest, so we might be able to keep our cover. We'll have to do it quickly. We should do it at night, but we need enough time to come back – not all of us can stay with Danny. A big group is likely to attract attention, so afterwards…" Jazz paused, closing her eyes as if making up her mind. "Sam. You and Tucker are going to stay with him. We'll return here as if nothing happened. You two are probably the best support he can get. Are you ok with that?"
"Yes," replied Sam with conviction. "Absolutely."
"Count me in," agreed Tucker.
"Ok, well, not to get ahead of myself, we still need to figure out exactly how we're going to rescue him," continued Jazz. "The first barrier is one of the biggest obstacles. It's a fence that keeps out both humans and ghosts. And since they now have Danny inside, they've probably made sure that the ghost shield portion is activated and running smoothly. If we can get through there, I think we'll be able to get to Danny. I've pretty much planned the rest of the rescue; it's just the first wall that needs to be dealt with. We need to get through it without drawing any attention to ourselves and we should probably try not to leave any evidence behind. Any ideas?"
"Hey, since Dani's here, we can use her ghost powers, right?" suggested Tucker. "She could fly us over the fence and drop us through the shield, then detransform and fall through the shield herself."
"You were the one who sent me the blueprints," said Jazz. "That's a bit of a fall, remember? Plus, I think we'd be spotted really quickly. Dani can't use invisibility while going through a ghost shield."
"How about a blackout?" Dani proposed. "Tucker's good with technology, right? He could cut the power to the entire facility, and we could get Danny out of there in the confusion."
"That's too risky," answered Jazz. "It could draw a lot of attention to us. Plus, they'll be on their extra guard if something suspicious like that happens, and they'll keep Danny under closer surveillance. We need to get in there without raising any alarms."
"Didn't you say something about my ghost gear last night?" asked Valerie.
"Oh right. I was thinking that you could use your ectoguns to disrupt the energy field of the ghost shield, leaving just enough space for a person to pass through. But the fence is still there, so that won't work," said Jazz, dismissing the idea automatically since she'd already passed on it during her night time thoughts.
"Hello?" Dani piped up again, waving her right hand. "I came here with Sam a little while ago, remember me?"
Jazz met Danielle's eyes. "Yes," she said, stumped. "Yes… yes! That's brilliant! Both of you will get us through the obstacle!"
"Dani and Valerie?" confirmed Sam. "Yeah, that could work!"
"Tucker, you definitely broke the high security code?" inquired Jazz.
"Ya, I'm sure of it," he answered.
"Great!" Jazz exclaimed. "Then it's settled. We're breaking Danny out of there tonight!"
She leaned forwards, extending her hand to the two girls on the air mattress. Dani immediately placed her hand on top of Jazz's. Sam hesitated, then placed her hand on Dani's. Tucker and Valerie left their posts to join in.
"Let's do this!"
A couple of chumps in stark white lab coats hovered in the corner. Dr. T was not present, trusting all the work to his underlings while he attended to business elsewhere. Danny didn't mind. The last he'd seen of the guy was when he'd been hooked up to machines of all sorts for analyzing his structure and vitals. When leaving, the man had said, "Just you wait, the fun hasn't even begun yet."
Danny frowned. The structure tests hadn't been painful apart from the little pricks of needles into his skin. He had no doubt of the doctor's words, though "fun" wasn't the term he'd give it. He closed his eyes, willing himself not to break. The Guys in White had already gotten him started on the ability tests and it wasn't even midday. So far, he'd only really had to demonstrate a set of abilities – flying, intangibility, invisibility, strength, ectoshields, and ectoblasts – in both his ghost form and his human form (he failed miserably at the strength test in his human form and his arms were still aching).
Danny had discovered the purpose of the collar on his neck rather quickly. Apparently sarcasm wasn't appreciated in the lab. Whenever he talked back or refused to do what was asked of him, one of the scientists would activate his collar which crackled with a small voltage of electricity, shocking him painfully. Danny felt strong enough to resist it now, but how long would he have to be here for? He'd heard someone mention the need to repeat the tests over a month for more accurate results.
Moments ago, he'd been subjected to the first testing of limits. It was for ectoblasts. They wanted to see how fast he could shoot them off consecutively. To "motivate" him, they had a machine send out quick, little surges of imitated ectoblasts that he had to stop by matching them with his own ectoblasts. The rate at which the machine fired increased every ten seconds and eventually it overcame Danny. The blasts knocked him off his feet and he landed, winded, on his back.
The others in the room gathered together in the corner to compare notes and check on the machine. Danny sat up frowning.
They ordered him to repeat the test a few more times.
"Good," said the man farthest from Danny. "Well, it's a start anyways. Phantom, get up. We're leaving the room now, but we'll be observing you from behind the glass. You're to aim at the target against the wall and fire the strongest ectoblast that you can produce. You may fire in one continuous stream or in a short burst, whichever suits you best. Don't worry about destroying the wall; it has been magnetized to absorb a large amount of intense energy and will not be damaged."
"Heh, so I'll just imagine I'm blasting yours or Dr. T's face?" Danny joked without thinking.
The collar was turned on before he knew it and he fell to his knees. His voice caught in his throat and his hands automatically clasped around his neck despite being burnt by the collar. His eyes shut tight trying to block out the pain and his jaw clenched.
"I w-was only k-kidding," he gasped when it was over. He let his stinging hands drop to the cold floor. He blinked stray tears out of his eyes, and stood up. Lifting his head, he stared at the man who'd pressed the button that set off the collar, his determination visible in a chilling green. "Ok, let's get this over with."
Once the Guys in White had departed, Danny pivoted to face the target and prepared himself. Just get it over with, just get it over with. He felt his energy build before it manifested itself physically into a ball of light. He held the ball over his head then threw it towards the wall as if he were playing a serious game of dodge-ball. He let the stream of energy continue, forcing all he had into the blast for a few seconds longer, then releasing the shot and dropping his arms. There's your ectoblast, happy? He couldn't see through the glass, it appeared to be a mirror from this side, but he knew they were there. He waited for further instructions.
"Do it again, Phantom," a voice commanded through the speakers.
After the fifth time, Danny felt wiped out. He wanted a break but he knew better than to ask for one. Push to the limits, huh? He smiled sadly trying to imagine himself elsewhere. His arms were shaking involuntarily.
"Ok, we're ready. Give us another one."
Danny glanced towards the glass and caught his own reflection for a brief moment. He was a mess – hair untidy, some scrapes and torn clothing, a bruise forming on his left cheek, small blood stains on the white part of his suit that he couldn't remember where they'd come from…
He lifted his hands, forming the ball, but before it was complete, a different voice ordered him to stop.
"It's time we had a little chat," Dr. T told Danny. "Take a break for now and come with me." The man appeared at the door and held it open. Two other operatives showed up to guide Danny from the room, down the corridor and into a smaller room. It was almost empty except for a couple of chairs and a table.
"Thank you, S and P," stated Dr. T. "Please leave us alone."
The two men looked at each other quizzically for an instant but quickly decided to follow orders and left the room without a word.
"Sit," said the doctor. Danny complied doing his best to disguise his contempt. Dr. T grinned knowingly and injected Danny once more with the serum. Danny detransformed before the warmth had time to burn. You could have warned me! he thought.
"So, how are you finding your first day here?" questioned the doctor. He took his seat opposite Danny.
"Is that supposed to be a joke?" asked Danny.
"Do you expect to get it this easy all the time?" Dr. T retorted. "I decided to go lightly on you today. The real testing begins tomorrow."
Figures, Danny thought. I really need to find a way out of here if I can. The sooner, the better, he added mentally, though only half-heartedly. It was probably a futile thought.
"I can see you're not interested in the small talk, so let's get right down to it. We are going to have you on a strict schedule every day. You will get half an hour for meals. You will get a nap in the afternoon; you'll probably need it. Most of the structure tests will be conducted after we wake you in the mornings and before you go to sleep at night. Plus we'll be monitoring your brainwaves and other vitals whenever you sleep for at least a month – we'll do this in your human form for this month, your ghost form for next. Ability tests will take up most of your days and we'll be repeating them often on a rotating schedule of focus. We'll spend some time together in the afternoons discussing ghosts and ghost-related matters, as we will be doing now."
"What do you want to know?" asked Danny in a flat tone.
"Everything," replied Dr. T, smiling coldly. "Many of my colleagues believe to be experts on ghosts, but I know that I fall nowhere near the classification of 'expert' next to you. So let's begin at the beginning. How did you become a half-ghost?"
"I walked into my parents' unfinished ghost portal and accidentally turned it on. Got shocked, woke up with powers," shrugged Danny unenthusiastically.
"Why do you think you survived the shock? Have you ever wondered why you didn't die?"
Danny blinked. "No," he said uncertainly. "I don't think I ever thought about that. Guess I was lucky? Why do you want to know that anyways?"
There was a malevolent glint in the man's eyes, but he ignored Danny's question, and continued with his own agenda.
"Have you ever been to the Ghost Zone?"
If I say 'no', will that cut down on the number of questions? wondered Danny. Meeting the man's gaze he realized that Dr. T already knew the answer. Defeated, Danny stated, "Yes." And the barrage continued.
The knock at the door startled them.
"Valerie?"
It was Damon Gray.
"Just a moment!" responded Valerie turning to the others and gesturing at them to hide.
Dani pulled Tucker onto the air mattress and held both his and Sam's hands, and the three of them disappeared. Jazz put her computer onto Valerie's night table. Valerie opened the door.
"Yes?"
"I was just wondering what you two were up to. I always find it hard to sleep much past noon, even though I'm on the graveyard shift again tonight."
"We were watching a movie on my computer," said Jazz from the bed. "It just finished."
"Ah. Well, do you want lunch? I was thinking of making some hotdogs."
"No, thank you," replied Valerie. "Tucker invited us over for lunch, so we'll be going soon."
"Alright," said Damon. "Well I'm just glad to see that you're getting along. I'll be leaving for work at 10:30. Be back by then."
"Actually, Dad, Tucker invited us to join him and Sam at a poetry reading tonight."
"Oh, ok. Just don't stay out too late. And don't leave all your homework until tomorrow."
"We won't," smiled Valerie kissing her dad on his cheek. "Try to get some more rest before leaving tonight."
She remained silent even after the door closed behind her and her three invisible guests reappeared. With a finger to her lips she whispered, "Pack up."
Ten minutes later, Valerie and Jazz said goodbye to Damon and left the apartment. They rejoined Sam, Tucker, and Dani in Jazz's car.
"Don't say a word," Valerie warned Tucker, who was trying hard to contain his laughter.
"I seriously wonder why your dad continues to believe you!" he snickered. "Poetry reading!"
"Not another word!" said Valerie punching Tucker lightly on his shoulder.
Jazz started up the car and pulled onto the street. "I'm running a bit low on gas. I'll need to make a stop before we leave the city."
Danny had never answered so many questions about ghosts honestly in his life. It was a weird feeling, but was there any point in keeping it secret? Despite that, he tried his best to keep the information to a minimal. He didn't trust the doctor and didn't like helping him in his education of what real ghosts were like. Plus the questions that probed his psychological state were uncomfortable, to say the least. But Dr. T was pretty good at seeing through him, and Danny was getting more and more agitated.
"Are you the strongest ghost of them all? Or is there one that is stronger than you?"
No way, I'm not gonna tell you about that.
Danny didn't reply.
"Oh, that's right. I forgot about the 'Ghost King' incident. But that was a one time thing, was it not? So there is more than one ghost who is stronger than you, correct?"
Danny stood abruptly, scraping his chair on the floor. "Look, we're done here. I'm not answering any more questions. Just – just send me to my cell."
Danny fell back onto his chair, but it toppled to the side and he landed on the floor on all fours. He'd hit his right elbow on the table on the way down, but that pain was nothing to the burning emitted from his neck down into his chest and up into his temples.
"I should have warned you – the collar shock takes a bigger toll on your human form," informed Dr. T, while relieving Danny from the punishment. "You'd do best to be in good behaviour particularly when in that mode. Fine, we'll end here for now. Get up. I'll walk you to your room. Lunch will be brought to you shortly."
Danny wavered a little as he stood, but he would not give in. He trailed the doctor quietly.
"Danny, I'll let you in on a secret," said Dr. T conversationally. "You are very valuable, not only to the research of the Guys in White, but to the future of our nation. Imagine what we could learn from you."
"…Where are you going with this?" asked Danny after a moment. They'd arrived at his 'room'. Danny entered it slowly.
"Science would love to duplicate your mistake," responded Dr. T in a hushed yet excited voice.
"No! You can't do that!" yelled Danny turning to face the door as it slammed shut. "Wait… Listen to me!" he cried desperately. "Ghost powers affect everyone differently!" He pounded on the door in vain. "What you're doing isn't just horrible, it's dangerous!"
Maddie and Jack were in City Hall. It didn't help that their hotel room had been searched and even more weapons had been found. However, they were released from jail that morning, though they were not to leave the state and they had to wait for trial. They stayed in City Hall, determined to clear their names as soon as possible, but more importantly, to try to appeal to the law for the freedom of their son.
They'd recognized the sound of a crowd nearby since early that morning, but only in the last half hour had it become a real commotion. They weren't quite sure what was going on, but they remained fixed to their spots.
Outside, people were yelling, little scuffles developed here and there, and there were signs thrust into the air above all heads. Chanting from various groups of people created a confusing chorus of sound.
"Free the ghost we love the most! Free the ghost we love the most!"
"Free Phantom!"
"Lock him up forever! No more ghosts!"
"Down with Danny!"
"Keep him away from our children!"
"Save Danny Fenton! Destroy the ghost!"
"I'm on the scene at City Hall where two protests over the town's young half-ghost are taking place," said Lance Thunder holding a microphone bearing the number four. "What do you have to say about the matter?" he asked a woman in the crowd who seemed to be leading one side of the charge.
"Danny Phantom is a menace to society!" said Pam Manson. "I would know better than anyone! He is best friends with my daughter and has had a terrible influence over her! She had never been so rebellious until she started to bring him over. He needs to be kept up far away from her so that she can recover from his manipulation. Ghosts are dangerous monsters who've destroyed this town over and over again, and he is no exception! He's more like one of them than one of us!"
"That's not true!" butted in Dash.
"That's totally not true!" agreed Paulina. "Danny is a hero! He gives hope to da people of this town, especially of Casper High."
"He's the most self- …uh, self-" stuttered Dash.
"He's the most selfless kid you'll ever meet," finished Kwan.
The group around the teens began to cheer. Among them included most of Danny's classmates. Mikey, and even Starr, had come to support Danny.
In front of another camera on a different side of the crowd stood a female reporter. "Several protesters have gathered around Amity Park's City Hall in light of the recent resurfacing of Danny Phantom. It appears that the first protesters to arrive were those upset the most that their beloved ghost is no longer around to protect them. On the other extreme, people who believe the boy to be a threat to all are demanding his permanent imprisonment. And there are a vast number of opinions ranged between these two conflicting sides. This is Shelly Makamoto, reporting for Channel 7 News. Bill?"
"And… cut! Ok, take ten, people!"
The cameraman put down his camera and left it with the sound guy, wandering off to flirt with the new intern they got as a camera person at Channel 4. Shelly headed towards the temporary media tent where most news castors were hanging out. She was joined by Lance on her way there.
"Can you believe it all?" exclaimed Shelly entering the tent with him and heading for the cappuccino machine.
"Yah, like, I know!" Tiffany Snow agreed airily while joining her.
"Hm?" mumbled Lance, realizing that he'd been spoken to. "Ah, who cares? How do I look? Teeth sparkling?"
"Ugh…" muttered Harriet Chin.
Shelly smiled at her. "You stole the word straight from my mouth."
"Still reviewing the tapes?"
"Affirmative," replied operative K to his partner, O. "The analysis is almost complete."
O took a seat beside the computer and fixed his eyes on the screen.
"As assessed earlier, the only clear transformation was the last one," said K. "The other two did not provide much data."
"I see," responded O. "Well, we'll be getting to analyze the test results soon. This should be good for comparison."
The two operatives lapsed into silence, their eyes still trained on the video footage of Danny's exposure. The first transformation was useless because the boy had been invisible and appeared out of nowhere after being shot by his father. The second was even worse since a cloud of smoke from the battlefield covered the shot completely. But the third was, for lack of a scientific word, beautiful. They could see Danny clearly from the moment the rings appeared all the way through the transformation. Since this only provided them with visual data, they analyzed it as best they could – the rate at which his molecular structure appeared to change based on the speed of the rings of light, and notes about his apparent physical exhaustion.
As operatives of the Guys in White, they were diligent in their work and redundantly rechecked their results several times. They would have to wait a little longer until the evening structure test session to get the more scientific results. Danny was scheduled to perform transformations and detransformations every night this week (after which point, sufficient data will have been collected to no longer warrant that particular test). O and K had managed to involve themselves in the office research operations (instead of remaining on their regular job out in the field), and would be investigating the results to determine the physical reaction of the transformation; Danny's brain activity throughout transformation, his mid-morph DNA, were there any bone density/muscle density/structural differences?
While K contemplated the upcoming work with an underlying eagerness, O reflected on their situation. The day had come at last when they caught the elusive Danny Phantom, and what's more was that he was far more interesting a subject than they had ever imagined. Every member of the Guys in White was devoted to learning about the paranormal – it was a job you had to love to be in it. Danny Phantom had turned into a mine of information and experiments, and O was quite happy to just study him.
Voicing his thoughts, O said, "I'm glad those FBI agents are finished with their task. It is best that this is left up to us. We don't need them to butt into something that is clearly far above their level of expertise."
"Agreed," stated K.
"Hey, O, K," announced operative L, entering the room. "The first round of results has been posted."
"The ability tests?" asked K.
"Yes," confirmed L. "And the few structure tests administered this morning."
"That's good," said O. "Anything interesting?"
"Yes," L declared. "Based on both sets of results, the subject's power and structure are actually quite stable. That's surprising since he is a teenager."
"That is astonishing," nodded K. "Especially as his power has grown since we first encountered him, and it is likely to continue to grow."
"Ah, checking over the news tapes?" asked L noticing the screen. "Almost done?"
"Just completed, actually," replied K.
"Oh, well then would you like to join me? I'm going to watch in on the subject's testing until I am given some results to examine."
O and K consented at once and got up to leave the room with their coworker. The group traveled through several corridors until they approached a stairwell. Taking turns swiping their key cards at the access point, the three entered the stairwell and climbed to the second floor. L led the way to the lab that Danny was currently being tested in. They each swiped their key cards again to enter the observation room.
There were three people already inside when the newcomers arrived. Dr. T was among them. He barely paid any attention to the additional guests, focused instead on the glass through which the lab could be seen. This lab was one of the larger ones in the complex. It was two stories high, and as such, Danny was still on the first floor, in his ghost form. There were papers being printed at a nearby computer that the only woman in the room was attending to. It was the raw data of the initial limit test on Danny's flying ability.
Danny was currently being experimented on in his strength. This time to see how much weight he could hold until failing. There was a machine piling plank-like weights into Danny's arms. It was operated by the other man in the room. Danny had already done this test a few times, but the sadistic scientists aimed to see how long his stamina would last.
Danny grunted as another weight was placed on top of the already large pile in his arms. His arms were shaking and before he knew it, his knees had given way and the pile tumbled out of his hands onto the floor in front of him as he collapsed.
"Ow," he muttered to himself. He felt like a 90-year-old man as he rubbed his lower back. The tingling in his hands didn't add much comfort either.
"Well done, Danny," came Dr. T's voice over the intercom, one of the few compliments Danny had received all day. But it didn't bode well. The only other time Dr. T had said something similar, he followed it up with an even harder limit test.
"Your next assignment is to do the test again, but this time, we're adding another component to it," instructed Dr. T. "The ectoblast machine on the far wall will be firing at you while you hold the weights. You need to collect the weights where they are deposited for you, just as before, but you must also try not to be hit. This should be right up your alley, should it not? I've heard of many stories about your heroism – fighting while saving lives. I decided to be generous and allow you a little taste of it again."
Danny grimaced but knew better than to voice his opinion. What on earth was the point of this? Pure torture, there was nothing else he could think of. He readied himself, hoping deep down that he'd get to see the light of day again... these experiments would definitely kill him within a month...
Danny succeeded at collecting the first four planks while dodging the ectoblasts. The fifth plank was a close call – he managed to turn his right leg intangible just on time. He got minor cuts and scrapes as the sixth and seventh planks were added to his pile. But his good luck ended there as an ectoblast caught him right in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him, and he dropped all the planks.
"From the top," ordered Dr. T in his way of telling Danny to start over.
Breathing hard, Danny pushed himself off the ground and got back in place again. Five... six... seven... He almost held onto eight, but an ectoblast he hadn't noticed grazed his bruised right elbow and shot a pain up into his shoulder. How did I miss that? Danny wondered, twinging. Wait a second... the ectoblasts... are speeding up?
"Again," commanded Dr. T.
Sure enough, Danny noticed the rate of ectoblast fire increase at around the fifth weight plank and, panicking, he tried to shield himself with one arm but fell off-balanced and dropped all the weights.
"Come on, Fenton, I know you have more stamina than that," said Dr. T angrily. "From the top."
Slightly embarrassed, Danny went back to his position, preparing for another round of torture.
A couple of sets later with little success, he was thoroughly exhausted. He had cuts and bruises all over his body and all his muscles were hurting. It was becoming increasingly harder for him to think, let alone react. But the doctor wasn't satisfied and the drilling continued. Five... six... seven... ... ...eight... ... ...nine...
Nine planks, the speed of the ectoblasts higher than ever, Danny did all he could to avoid being hit while maintaining his grip on the weights... but it wasn't enough. In one motion, he threw the weights up with as much force as he could muster, created an ectoshield, and stumbled to the floor. The shield became a dome around him, the planks landed on top and he managed to keep them there, the ectoblasts pounded at him. In any moment, the shield was going to break and the planks would crush him if the ectoblasts didn't get to him first.
There was nothing left. If he didn't act now, he wouldn't have enough strength. He didn't think about it – he was an animal backed into a corner acting on instinct.
The Guys in White in the observation room didn't know what hit them. The unearthly sound they heard lasted only a second before the entire building trembled with incredible force. Danny had let loose a ghostly wail.
-(o)-
GLE – Well, there you have it! I hope it meets your satisfaction!
References in this chapter:
YTV's Saturday mornings Crunch (yay Canada!). I worked on this chapter four times over the past year – once last April after completing the previous chapter, once in June after finishing the first term of summer courses, once in December during holidays, and finally during the exam period these past couple of weeks. I wrote the FOP and DP reference part a year ago when FOP appeared on Crunch at 8:30am and DP was shown at 9:00am.
lol, writing that "L" says anything just makes me think of Death Note, but I'm actually borrowing a character from Danny Phantom. I think operative L was that blond one in Livin' Large.
Life Update:
Wow, a lot has happened since my last update. I'll do my very best to keep this brief! This past year has been one incredible culmination of everything I've been doing in my life thus far. I've found my dream career! I'm going to be a sound designer! Right now my heart is set on film (recording and editing sound and voice, creating sound effects, etc – aka my favourite part of post-production!), but I'll also be learning how to do sound design for tv, animation, and video games. I've been accepted into the Vancouver Film School and I'm really excited!
I've finished up my last courses at university and I'm going to be graduating in a month – BA degree with a major in music. I've also completed my swimming career. I performed very well at the university nationals and at the Olympic Trials. It's a really weird feeling, being done. I had a fantastic end to my career, and I'm ready to move on, but it's been a part of my life for the past decade, so of course I'm a bit sad in saying goodbye. So now that swimming and school are both done, I get to relax for a short while. I'm starting at VFS in June and it's a year-long intensive program.
Future Updates:
Anyways, not that you all care about my life's story, the next chapter feels like a continuation of this one to me, so I expect to update rather soon, if I can (and by 'soon', I mean, a couple of weeks or so). The chapter after that will be setting up for the climax, so it'll need a lot of planning, like this chapter did. I won't make any promises for the update on that one. I would, however, love to be finished this story before I start at VFS. Heh, but I'm already planning like a hundred things to do before then!
Well, this certainly has been one very long read for you, so I'll stop typing now and let you get about to pressing that little "submit review" button below!
-)Golden Lunar Eclipse(-
