I have been incredibly busy with my life and so I apologize for not getting a chapter out earlier. None of my stories have been abandoned I just lack motivation and time to type anything up. Anyway enjoy this next installment. I'll make it as long as I possibly can for you guys.
Dr. Sarah Jane looked at the ghost before her, it was currently cuffed to a cold hard bench and staring absent mindedly up at the ceiling while leaning back against the wall.
"X?" Dr. Jane asked hesitantly. It swerved it's strange glowing green eyes in her direction, a cluster of scarring around it's temple.
"Hey Doc. What bit of me are you planning to cut up next?" It asked with a smirk. It had only been in captivity a week or two, it hadn't yet lost it's hope of getting out. Sarah Jane made a mark down on her clipboard.
"While I am a Doctor, I am a Doctor of psychiatry not medicine or science. I won't be cutting you open or analyzing bits of you today."
"Not physical bits anyway Doc." The ghost smirked.
"No, I suppose not." Dr. Jane gestured to two guards at the door, "We'll be discussing things in my office, I've been asked to consult on your psyche, I heard you were a special case." The guards placed glowing hand restraints around the ghost's wrists. Connected to these cuffs by a glowing chain was a collar which they clamped around it's neck, the cuffs then linked to a belt which held the ghost's hands (though engulfed in iron shackles so that the hands could not be seen or used) to the ghost's waist. Glowing bands were then snapped around it's ankles which were linked by a chain so that the ghost could only maybe move a foot at a time.
After the ghost was chained up the guards pressed a button on the collar and a red light on the side lit up. Satisfied that the ghost was restrained the guards then undid the cuff linking the ghost to the bench. A chain was then attached to the collar and given to Dr. Jane.
"Satisfied that I'm all tied up." The ghost asked the guards who grunted and moved back to the door holding it open.
"Thanks for your kindness!" The ghost yelled with exaggerated sarcasm at the guards. Dr. Jane led the Ghost through the halls till they came to a white door with a plaque reading Dr. Sarah Jane of Psychiatry.
"You know, my last trip to the therapist ended badly." The ghost said staring at the door.
"It's probably no worse that whatever else they're doing to you here." Dr. Jane said opening the door and leading the ghost into a cozy room with a plush couch and chair. The ghost looked at the couch greedily and Dr. Jane let him off the leash placing it at the door, She then undid the cuffs and the ankle shackles and set them too by the door leaving the collar and exchanging the whole hand cuffs for just wrist cuffs which were once again chained to his sides, but with a longer range of motion.
"Not as scared of me as the others?" The ghost asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Ghost security is a bit more lenient in the halls, not by much granted, but enough to make the GIW jumpy." Dr. Jane said, "Please take a seat."
The ghost eagerly jumped onto the plush couch and settled in with a satisfied sigh. Dr. Jane made another note on her clipboard.
"Ghost Z correct?" Dr. Jane said taking a seat in the chair opposite him.
"Danny." The ghost corrected.
"Danny then." Dr. Jane continued, "I've been asked to give you a set of mandatory questions to answer, if we get these out of the way quickly then our time is our own to do with what we would like, we may even begin a game of twister, should the fancy strike you."
"Are you English?" Danny asked suddenly.
"A long time ago, It has been many years since I've moved to America, I was just a little girl when my parents found greater job opportunities here. It was with a rising company, Axion." Dr. Jane answered.
"Huh…" Danny replied.
"Now these questions." Dr. Jane continued, "Like I said mandatory, but as we have two hours to kill I believe we can get through them quickly. Please try and answer as honestly as possible, it will make it that much easier to get through, then we both don't have to wade around whatever BS you give me." Dr. Jane teased. Danny despite himself found the corners of his mouth turning up.
"I'll do my best." Danny nodded.
"Good. I'm glad, makes my job that much easier." Dr. Jane smiled, "First question, How did you die?"
"I'm not dead." Danny answered instantly. Dr. Jane looked up from her paper raising her eyebrows.
"Not dead? I try to be delicate in such matters, but in case it has escaped your notice, you are a ghost." Dr. Jane replied. Danny laughed.
"I did notice, but I'm not dead. The GIW didn't give you the full report of what exactly I am did they?" Danny said.
"And what are you Danny?"
"I'm Half-ghost, I'm a combination of a human and a ghost." Danny responded, he flipped his feet of the couch, "I would show you…but…" Danny cast a look down at the cuffs. Dr. Jane smiled.
"Of course. Unfortunately I don't have the clearance to remove those till the end of our session. They have a timed locking system, only a Letter agent may remove them. Otherwise it would be quite interesting to see you as a human." Dr. Jane responded.
"I figured as much. I was about to make my daring escape as well." Danny joked smiling, but a certain light had gone out of his eyes.
"I had assumed, next question, what is your obsession…"
(Get up com on get down with the sickness)
Vlad erected a ghost shield protecting himself from the flying equipment, scapels, electronics, tiles, among other things that all swirled around the boy on the table.
"STAY AWAY!"
"DANIEL!" Vlad yelled back.
"DON'T TOUCH ME!" Danny continued to yell writhing on the table. Vlad began making his way toward the frightened half ghost.
"DANEIL CALM DOWN! IT'S VLAD! I AM TRYING TO HELP YOU, FOOLISH BOY!" He shouted. Danny's eyes darted around the room.
"V… Vlad?" The hurricane of lab equipment and surgical tools began to subside as Danny attempted to prop himself up. The bullet in his abdomen suddenly made is presence known to the younger half ghost and he screamed laying back on the table and the room fell into a dead silence. Nothing stirred except Danny who lay heaving and groaning on the table.
Vlad, ghost shield still in place slowly approached the injured boy. As he reached his side, the room un-froze itself, equipment and debris falling to the ground all at once as Danny hissed in pain.
"I'mokayi'mokayi'mokay." Danny whispered to himself.
"You have a bullet in you, you are far from ok." Vlad stated looking down on the boy.
"Shut up cheese head." Danny growled teeth gritted bile rising in his throat.
"I can give you an anesthetic." Vlad said dropping the ghost shield and walking briskly to the dented medicine cabinet.
"Yes… drugs… good… careful…" Danny managed. Vlad nodded retrieving a syringe, needle, and a special morphine concoction.
"I've tailored this especially for occasions like this." Vlad said sticking the needle into the top to retrieve the solution.
"Not… Strong… enough… more." Danny gasped as Vlad was about to take the syringe out of the bottle.
"There is enough Morphine in this bottle to kill your father a hundred times over, ten times at least in this syringe." Vlad stared at the young Halfling.
"Not… enough… need… more… GIW… had me on… drugs… lots… all the time… that… won't be enough to… to… keep me under." Danny managed. Vlad's eyes flashed a menacing red as the mention of the GIW but he complied to Danny's insight filling the syringe despite his previous calculations.
"Are you quite sure about this Daniel." Vlad asked hesitating as Danny looked away from the needle as it hovered above his elbow.
"Yes… If not… what more harm can it do… I'm already half dead." Danny tried giving Vlad his signature smile, but it was lost somewhere along the line. Vlad nodded and the cold sterile metal bit into the crook of Danny's elbow eliciting a slight hostile response and small objects that were scattered about the floor in Danny's first tantrum stirred along the ground.
As the morphine took effect Danny's eyes began to droop.
"Hurry… won't last… lonnnn." Danny warned.
With this Vlad began his work.
(Open up your hate and let it flow into me)
Lancer was quite shocked to find himself in a four-poster bed, he wasn't quite sure what had happened, had he dreamed the whole ordeal? He didn't know. He stood up and wandered to the door trying the handle to find it locked. He was a prisoner in a posh room. That didn't bode well. Lance returned to the bed sitting on it and running a hand over his head. There was a ringing in his ears, he was sore all over and his brain kept sending him scattered bits of data from before, the Guys in White everywhere, the fact that young Mr. Fenton seemed about to kill him, the startling circumstance by which they suddenly found themselves in the mountain. It was hard to process.
The door opened, Daniel stood there holding onto an IV drip pole looking like a frightened animal.
"Hey…" He seemed to be trying to contain his nervousness, his eyes darted around the room, down at his arm where the IV was embedded and administering a glowing cocktail. Lancer noticed a change in the temperature of the room, it was colder, yet somehow electrified.
"Mr. Fenton." Lancer acknowledged.
"Danny." Danny corrected. Lancer nodded but the silence following stretched on as each character battled their own conversational demons.
A picture on the wall suddenly jumped from it's resting place startling them both, Danny's eyes flickered to the painting angrily and the window across the room cracked. Danny attempted to give a sheepish smile, but the lost, tired look on his face defeated it and he sighed.
"Look, I probably shouldn't be here right now, I'm not in control of myself completely, and well… While I try not to think about it…" the temperature in the room dropped abruptly and Lancer shivered, "well the IV isn't pleasant right now it reminds me of them." The window shattered. Lancer swallowed hard knowing that it was Danny who caused this, no matter how impossible it seemed. Danny shook his head and the room warmed considerably.
"I wanted to make sure you were alright." Danny sighed, "I'm sorry for… you know… the whole threatening your life thing." Danny grimaced, "I was hoping if they thought I had a human hostage they'd think twice about firing at me. I don't suppose that's much of an excuse for my actions though." Danny sighed, "I just wanted you to know that I was never planning on hurting you." Lancer stared at the boy, "If you could say something, that would really be great." Danny shuffled nervously from foot to foot, the room grew colder. Lancer took the boy in, he seemed to be doing better, he'd gained some mass, and most of his injuries, minus the new ones that appeared to be from bullet wounds, seemed to be healed.
"I am grateful that you are doing better, and I wouldn't want you to… Jesus Mr. Fenton, I have absolutely no idea what to think. I think it's about time you give me the full story. Start from the beginning." Lancer folded his arms. Danny nodded and made his way over to the huge winged back chair in the room, Lancer taking a seat on the bed.
"Well… it was just after I turned fourteen…"
(Get up come on get down with the sickness)
By the time the Fenton's had arrived on the scene Danny was long gone. Orders were being shouted, anger, and blame being placed. Maddie only caught bits and pieces of what happened. Apparently "subject Z" had just vanished in a haze of green smoke. Analysts were still trying to figure out if they could trace him based on where he vanished. He was had taken Mr. Lancer with him after using him as a human shield had failed. Maddie surveyed the last known location of the infamous ghost boy. Jack was yelling at one of the other uniformed men in white, Maddie crouched down touching the ground where Phantom had vanished. It was still cold, but quickly warming in the sun. If she could get a reading she could find him. Maddie hesitated as the cold spot warmed beneath her fingers, then she did what she had once thought impossible. She turned her back and walked away.
(You mother get up come on get down with the sickness)
Danny finished his story, during the course of it; several things had thrown themselves around the room, during intense parts of the story, during things that made the teen fume and his eyes flash angrily, flash neon green, or during other emotional parts. On some level Lancer knew most of this, he knew that somehow Danny Fenton was Danny Phantom, somewhere, somehow, he'd known it all along. He had just lacked the background knowledge to make the connection as to how. It was all clear now, everything, right down to his disappearance and presumed demise. Why the government had been so quick to write Danny Fenton off as dead, why his parents hadn't bothered searching for him beyond what the police had done. Why his friends had grown more solemn and seemed to be on extravagant trips every weekend right up till the day Samantha had allegedly killed herself. Everything fell into place. And yet Lancer still had to ask.
"Can you prove it?"
Perhaps that had been a stupid thing to ask, Danny's face certainly said it was stupid. Danny's face also said that he was astounded that Lancer had asked such a stupid question. But Danny nodded and stood before Lancer, presenting himself as he changed. Right before Lancer's eyes, the boy changed. There was a flash of light; it seemed quick, yet also slow. The light stripped away the human features that Lancer knew so well, in their place, stood a ghost, gaunt, and cold, but also familiar. White hair that waved in an unfelt breeze, intense glowing green eyes, spandex suit, badly torn, but still recognizable, this was definitely Danny Phantom. Yet this was not the Hero that Lancer and Amity had known. This Danny was more feral, more world worn, just like the Danny that had preceded this form. The toll could be seen on his face, no playful banter, or witty quips, the confidence seemed to have been leached out of the boy. His eyes were a thousand years older.
Lancer nodded. Phantom sat, Lancer half expected him to change back into Fenton, but Phantom stared at him with those strange glowing eyes.
"I am so sorry." Escaped Lancer's lip and hung in the air. As he observed the boy, he could see the signs of the torture he'd been through, the hell he'd managed. He couldn't believe the inhumanity the boy had gone through. Danny didn't say anything, he nodded, the weight of his body in the chair less corporeal, but no less great. Lancer sighed as he shook his head.
"I don't understand." He shook his head, "I just don't understand." The in-articulation of the English teacher was ironic at best, yet this was a situation that was not to be made light of. Danny was suddenly crying, big glowing tears flowing from his eyes as his eyes grew puffy.
"I don't understand either. I've run in through my head a thousand times. I don't understand why they don't love me anymore; I don't understand why they betrayed me like that, why they gave me to the GIW! I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY MY PARENTS HATE ME!" Danny wiped his eyes with his ratted gloves, hiccupping softly, "I never asked to be like this, I never wanted to be like this. It's not my fault; it's not my fault. I never wanted to die! I never wanted this." Lancer didn't know what to do, Danny began sobbing harder, "Why am I such an abomination, why don't I get to live my life because of some freak accident because my parents were stupid enough to put the on switch ON THE INSIDE OF THE FUCKING GHOST PORTAL!" The room shook, Lancer took Danny into his arms suddenly, surprising them both. Danny sobbed into Lancer's dusty shirt, the cold of the young man… the boy, crying into his arm surprised Lancer.
"I didn't want this. I don't understand. It hurt so much, and I wanted to badly to believe that it wasn't my parents who put me in there, I don't understand, I don't understand. Why is it my fault? Why am I so evil? Why shouldn't I exist?" Danny sobbed harder if possible, ghost snotting into Lancer's shirt.
"I don't know." Lancer responded rubbing circles into Danny's back. Danny surprised Lancer by returning the embrace, though he continued to cry.
After all they'd been through, after all they'd endured and accomplished and survived. Lancer had almost forgotten that Danny was still a kid. The Universe had caused him to grow up, he was barely sixteen, and he had the weight of the world on his shoulders; before his disappearance as well, but especially now. Lancer sent a silent prayer up to whoever may be listening that Danny would find happiness, that everything would be okay somehow.
Danny's sobs eventually lessened and he pulled away ashamed wiping his eyes which had gone all puffy, but strangely instead of being all red were slightly tinged green. He then changed back into human form, sniffing and wiping his eyes on his shirt as he showed himself out of the room.
Lancer sat there dumbfounded so many things had happened in just the course of a few hours. While Lancer felt enlightened, felt as if the blindfold had finally been removed, he also felt as if he could have done with out it coming off. Yes he knew, but at what price. The task before them suddenly seemed greater than it had before. Everything was against them, the government, the media, even the boy's own parents. The odds weren't in their favor, and knowing everything, made everything that happened since, that much more confusing and scary. Lancer sighed as he sat on the bed. He wanted to go back in time and fix everything for the boy, he wanted to yell and scream and curse the government who had done this to the child. He wanted to know that he could do something for Danny. Lancer was suddenly and abruptly aware of his own inadequacies and shortcomings. He had no idea how he could even begin to affect let alone aid any of the problems Danny was dealing with.
A deep sigh escaped Lancer's throat, his face felt wet. He hadn't realized it, but he'd been crying too. The boy's distress had hurt him too, he felt completely useless in this fight. Lancer lay on the bed glaring at the ceiling.
"You can't do anything." A voice from the doorway observed. Lancer sat up.
"Vlad Masters?" Lancer wondered. Vlad stalked into the room.
"You're human, going up against inhuman odds, in an effort to protect an inhuman, who could probably crush you in his sleep, nevermind how someone as small and insignificant as you could possible protect him." Vlad glanced around the half destroyed room; "The badger could have destroyed you with his emotional turmoil by accident at any time." Lancer felt his face flash hot with anger.
"Now you look here, I may be insignificant, but I'll be damned if I haven't done my best to protect him these past few days!" Lancer stood hands on hips. Vlad turned toward him with a smirk.
"Go home Edward. Your services are no longer needed. I will see to it that Daniel has everything he could ever have wanted, everything needed. Your part in his story has come to an end." Vlad glared at the English teacher, "I will not be leaving his safety in your hands, not after everything that has happened, he isn't safe in this world anymore, and what are you, a single overweight balding English teacher going to do about it?" Vlad sneered. Lancer scrambled for words. "That's what I thought." Vlad smirked as he turned on his heel to leave.
"You're like him aren't you?" Lancer called, Vlad paused in the doorway, "You're like him, half ghost, and you're the one who came for him when we got to that field. You knew, you've been watching him." Vlad spun back around glaring Lancer down.
"I'd be careful who you give that information to." Vlad growled eyes flashing red. Lancer gulped but stood his ground.
"Oh, I don't plan to tell anyone, but I want you to think about this. The whole time, none of us knew, I never knew, what had happened to Daniel Fenton, this whole time we thought he'd just gotten kidnapped, or ran off, or any number of scenarios, each one more horrific than the last." Lancer stared Vlad straight in the eye, "The difference between you and me is, that you knew where he was, and you knew exactly what was being done to him." Vlad's jaw twitched. "So forgive me if I think I've done more for him that you have."
There was a flash of black light, should black light even be possible, and suddenly Lancer felt a cold steel hand around his throat and a terrible ghost was standing before him, holding him against the wall.
"Don't. Patronize. Me." Vlad growled, "How could I risk exposing my own cover, don't suppose yourself better than me just because you gave Daniel a little help." The ghost sneered through vicious fangs.
"But he's right." Lancer was beginning to see spots, but through them he could make out Danny standing in the doorway, eyes still puffy, hand holding onto the IV rod for support. Lancer felt the ground beneath all fours suddenly.
"He is better than you." Danny's voice came through the fog, "No matter his mistakes in the past, he helped. You could have saved me, but you didn't."
"Don't presume so much about me boy, I did save you, I saved your life!" Vlad growled. Yet Danny's voice was calm.
"For that I am grateful, but don't think that makes you a saint, and don't think that redeems you for the time I spent rotting away in there because you couldn't expose your precious secret. Crawl back to your money, and your power, and your ridiculous schemes, because you know what, that's all you'll ever have. You only live for yourself. So yeah, Lancer is better than you. He's human and flawed, he makes mistakes, but at least he isn't a selfish fruitloop." Danny stood in front of Vlad, the ghost menacing down at him, if the height advantage wasn't enough, he floated about three feet off the ground. Danny was not intimidated, and though weak and seemingly broken, he stood his ground.
"If you weren't beaten boy, I'd give you a beating myself." Vlad hissed. Danny, who had been focused on Vlad's belt until this point, looked the monster in the face and smirked.
"I'd like to see you try."
Perhaps it was in the way Danny spoke, or the look in his eyes, but Vlad backed down, phasing out of the room through the floor. Danny's eyes roved over to Lancer who was trying to recover from the two conflicting aura's in the room. Danny rubbed the back of his neck.
"Say… uh, could we just forget about the whole… ya know… crying thing?" He tried a smile. Lancer blinked.
"I don't even know what you're talking about." He responded. Danny gave him a grateful smile, before the weary look settled back into his features.
"I'm leaving in the morning, Vlad is lending me a private jet… if… you're welcome to come… I don't believe you want to stick around here anyway. If nothing else you can get a ride back to Amity once I land." Danny informed. Lancer nodded.
"I'll be whatever help I can."
Danny looked at Lancer.
"Thanks." Then he left the room.
(You fucker get up come on get down with the sickness)
Back at the Base Maddie was left alone with to write the field report with Jack, who seemed a lot less boisterous after the last let down.
After compiling her report Maddie placed the folder on the desk and returned to her bed. Something rustled under the bed and she remembered the folders she'd stashed there. Maddie dug under the mattress and stared at the file until he brain began forming patterns and her eyes had gone out of focus. Then, very carefully she opened the packet and began to read.
Sorry once more for the wait. Hopefully this longer (ish) chapter sorta makes up for that. I finally got to the big reveal. :D Alright, that's really all I have to say. I know where this story is headed it's just finding time to type it up. Con-San out.