Chapter Nine: Cruel Intentions
Of course. These kids were the ones that Danny used to go out ghost-hunting with, before Jack had found out and kept him to himself. 'Well, once or twice shouldn't be a problem.' He thought. 'After all, next week he's going to be alone with me in that lab.' He nodded, still smiling brightly. "Of course! That is, if Danny doesn't mind?"
Danny grinned, turning to them. "You kidding? C'mon, guys!" He motioned for them to follow and ran out to the RV. Sam and Tucker breathed sighs of relief and followed behind.
They got into the RV and drove off, heading outside the city. "There's a really nice place that has had reports of ghosts, so after we take care of the ghosts we can just relax and enjoy ourselves!" Jack grinned. "And it's got a spot for fishing, so I brought the rods!"
"Awesome!" Danny grinned.
Sam and Tucker watched them talk, trying to see if there was anything weird going on. When they got out of the RV, and headed into the area, Danny's ghost sense went off and he changed into Phantom, flying off with his father right behind.
"Hey, wait!" Tucker cried, grabbing a weapon and following. Sam already had her weapon, the Fenton Wrist Ray.
It answered a lot of questions for Jack to know that his son was Phantom, like how he always got a Fenton Thermos, why Danny's friends had the Fenton Gear and helped out Phantom, and also why Danny always vanished when Phantom did. He wondered just how Danny's friends felt about being left behind on the Summer Break trip, but didn't bother asking.
The ghost wasn't anyone in particular, just some weak thing, and so it was finished off quickly. Then the four of them went to the river to relax and work on homework.
"Almost Summer Break." Danny said, looking up from his homework. "The week is speeding by so fast."
"Yes, it is." Jack smiled and rubbed Danny's shoulder affectionately.
In Jack's opinion, it wasn't speeding by fast enough. It was getting harder and harder to keep the goofy smile on his face, and when Danny and his friends weren't looking he had a steely gaze on his son – no, not his son. The monster who claimed to be his son. The creature was an impossible hybrid of human and ghost, a fascinating specimen on his petri-dish, not his son. His son, Danny, was dead and had been dead ever since Phantom was created, killed by Phantom. With that in mind, he had no qualms about breaking the child's heart when he finally dropped the act.
They spent the rest of the week like this, and he decided to allow Danny's friends – such a shame, they don't realize their best friend is a monster – to spend his last days above ground with him. He waited at home while they went out to movies and the Nasty Burger and wherever else, his gaze falling on the calendar every now and then, silently counting down the days until nothing would be between him and his specimen. Until he could cast off the goofy façade for once and be the cold, cruel genius scientist he'd always been.
Finally, it was the morning of the first day of Summer Break. Jack got up and loaded up the RV with the same things he took on the Spring Break trip, then went upstairs to Danny's room, knocking twice. "Danny?"
He got silence in return and slowly opened the door. "Danny? Are you awake?"
"Mm…Hi, dad…" Danny shifted in his bed, then bolted up. "Oh, right! The trip!" He climbed out of his bed and went to his dresser. "Sorry, I'll be right down!"
"I'll be waiting downstairs with your mother." Jack smiled and went downstairs. 'Just a little longer…a little longer.' He thought, walking into the living room.
"You'll be gone away a few months." Maddie sighed, hugging him. "I'll miss you both so much, but I know how much this means for the two of you."
'You have no idea.' Jack thought as he wrapped his arms around her. They were locked in a kiss when Danny came downstairs and he gave them the stereotypical "urgh, get a room!" expression before he went to grab a quick breakfast.
After goodbyes were said – Jazz was out doing something that morning, so it was just mom – Jack and Danny went to the RV.
"Danny, wait!" Sam and Tucker ran up to them. "We thought we were gonna miss your leaving!" Tucker threw his arms around him tightly. "See you after Summer Break, Danny."
"Be careful out there." Sam hugged Danny as well.
"Hey, I'll be fine." Danny smiled. "You don't have to worry about me, guys. I'll be with dad."
They nodded and then pulled back, waving as Danny got into the running RV and shut the door. Then the RV drove out of the driveway as Danny buckled up and he looked back at the house and waved out the window.
"Take good, long look, son." Jack said as he drove. "You won't be seeing the house again for a few months!"
"I know." Danny nodded, waving until it was out of sight. Then he looked forward, stretching in his seat. "Hey, can I pick the channel?"
"Sure, Danno!" Jack grinned.
Danny nodded and changed the channel to jazz, relaxing in his seat. Jack glanced at him as he drove, neither of them speaking as they enjoyed the ride and the drive. Anything worth saying had already been said many times over, and it was clear that Danny was still feeling sleepy. 'Good.' He thought. 'That means he won't recognize the roads if he ever escapes.'
Danny slumped his head against the window, his breathing soft and quiet. Danny wasn't a snorer, but you could tell when he was asleep because of the way he slumped, his breaths slowed, and his eyes closed only lightly, not tight at all.
After driving in silence, he finally parked at the mangled factory and reached out to gently shake Danny's shoulder. "Danny? Are you awake?"
"Nn…" Danny rubbed at his eyes and yawned. "Yeah, I'm awake. Sorry 'bout that."
"No, it's fine." Jack smiled and unbuckled Danny before getting out of the RV. Danny climbed out his side and then they both shut the doors.
They collected weapons and thermoses, just in case, and approached the elevator. "What a spooky place." Danny remarked.
"This factory blew up. There were many people inside. All that's intact are the basement floors, where I've heard the ghosts reside." Jack explained as he pushed the button to go down. "Can you feel them?"
To Jack's surprise, Danny was shivering and blue mist was escaping his lips. 'The Guys in White must've planted ghosts here, to make my story real.' He thought, then led Danny into the open elevator.
"Must've been a lot of people…" Danny said quietly as the elevator went down. He was shivering and the mist was still slipping out.
Jack placed a hand on his shoulder. "Relax. We'll get them." He smiled.
Danny nodded, and then he changed into Phantom as the doors opened again, flying out. Jack followed him, watching as Phantom fired at ghost after ghost, destroying them. Finally, he realized there were too many to just keep doing that and let out the Ghostly Wail. Jack covered his ears, silently watching as his specimen decimated the other ghosts.
Phantom slumped to the ground and changed back into Danny, panting softly. "Was that…all of them?" His ghost sense reacted and he looked towards the door at the end. "One more. Okay." He walked towards it, then looked at Jack. "Dad, you wanna take this one? I'm feeling kinda' tired."
"Alright." Jack moved ahead of him, going in and firing on the ghost inside. When he turned around, Danny had stepped inside behind him.
"Alright, that's the last ghost. Let's move on." Danny suggested.
"There's still one more." Jack said, walking into the shadows of the room and picking up the modified Ghost Gloves – He liked to call these Ghost Claws, after the claw game that plucked toys out of the machine.