Oh my god! Thank you every one!I got more reviews for that last chapter than any before! Thank you all so much! That made me feel all warm inside ^^ Hopefully you will continue to review and tell me what you think but if not thank you for what you've already contributed.
Danny had managed to fall asleep after his rescuer left the room. His dream was of everything he'd encountered since knowing the truth of his origins. From finding out Technus was his real father to the fight with Vlad only minutes ago... Or at least it only felt like minutes. But Danny's mind seemed to always focus on Technus. All of their conversations every word they'd ever spoken together came back in a rush. All of the hate and disdainthat they had shown toward eachother had come full circle and become acts of kindness. Technus would have killed him on that lab table had Danny not told him the truth. A year before Technus would have left him to die at Vlad's hands. But he didn't. He saved Danny's life...
Danny groaned as his body was shifted. His thoughs were broken and his blue eyes opened slowly. He was being rolled onto his side and guaze was being applied to a cut he didn't even know he had on his shoulder. He looked around his room and found that his vision was still blurred. He reached up to rub his eyes and his hand was swatted away.
"Don't move," He was told.
"Technus, what are you doing?" He asked trying to turn around to see the man.
"Your parents are out so I am tending to your injuries," Technus replied in a mellow tone.
Danny idly licked his dry lips remembering everything that had happened. His dream had kept the images viid in his mind.
"You saved my life..." Danny said slowly, "Why would you do that?"
"Did you not want me to?" The ghost asked flatly.
"No, it's not that... It's just that..." The injured boy stopped, trying to think of what he really wanted to say.
"I could have been rid of you forver..." Technus said as he rolled Daniel back onto his back, "IS that it? You think I would have prefered to see you die?"
Danny looked up at the blurry form of the Master of Technology, kind of regretting bringing it up.
"Something like that..." He responded quietly.
Technus chuckled quietly and Danny could see him shake his head slowly as he reached for something else. Danny caught a glimps of something black in the ghosts hands when it came back into view. And that reminded him to ask why he couldn't see.
"What's wrong with my eyes?" He asked, concerned he may be going blind.
"Nothing serious." Nicolai responded. Danny could hear a soft clicking noise. Like Tuckers glasses when he opened them. "I fixed them but you may want to wear these when you go out in the sun.
Something cold and glass was put in the palm of the boys hand and Danny raised it to his face to see what it was. He had to squint to see it. They were a pair of black shades kind of like Technus' own.
"Uh.. Thanks..." Danny mumbled as he hesitantly slipped them on. Surprisingly they improved his vision slightly. Now he could make out shapes and faces clearer. It made him think they were actually prescription sun glasses.
"Not bad." Technus cackled, "You look like me more everyday."
Danny frowned but the idea wasn't as deplorable as it had been the night before. He just sighed and made himself more comfortable. He could feel bandages places through out his body and was trying not to rip them off on accident.
Then a thought occured to him.
"What happened to Vlad?" He asked a little louder than he intended. His heart rate sped up at the thought of Vlad coming to kill him again.
"Relax, child, I took care of him." Technus assured him with a smile, "I left him on the doorstep of Walkers prison."
Danny smirked at the idea of Plasmius is ghost jail. He was, once again pulled from his train of thought when his hair was pushed compltely from his face and pulled behind his head. He winced slightly at the tugging. He felt his black hair get pulled into a tight ponytail and an elastic band was snapped around it.
"What are you doing?" He asked as his head was released.
"Keeping your hair out of your face what does it look like?" Technus answered with a strait face, "unless you want anti-bacterial ointment in your hair."
Danny slumped down on his pillow slightly. He hated having his hair back already. It reminded him uncomfortably of his evil older self. And having an evil biological father could possibly openn that door again. He shivered as cold ointment was applied to his face by an even colder hand. Technus had taken his gloves off when Danny wasn't paying attenion. He waited patiently for Technus to finish then he immediately sat up. He had to call Sam and Tucker to make sure they were okay.
Technus huffed and grabbed his shoulders, "I told you not to move."
Danny frowned at him, "I have to check on my friends."
"They came over as soon as the fight ended." Technus explained cooly, "I told them they could stay until you woke up. They are probably gaming down in the lab. They are unharmed."
Danny smiled, happy his friends hadn't been harmed in the cross fire, "You know, for an evil ghost bent on world domination, you turned out to be an almost okay father." He pushed himslef off of the bed and stood. He popped his back and headed to his dresser to find a new shirt. He pulled out a black tank top and casually slipped it on, being careful of his injuries. He heard Technus laughing and turned around.
"What?" He asked rasing a brow at his father.
"You." Technus sighed, "I'm just laughing at how stubborn you are."
"Like you're any one to talk." Danny crossed his arms over his chest. He felt a twinge of pain in his ribs and dropped his arms again.
The Master of Technology stood and walked over to him. Danny eyed him for a minute before the ghost smiled almost fodly at the ghost child.
"You know... For a cocky teenage half breed... You aren't such a bad son." Technus stated reusing the line Danny had said minutes before.
Danny smiled and found himself hugging the much taller male, "Thanks."
He hugged Technus! And he didn't throw up! Technus had noticed it too because he stared at him in shock for a moment. The green skinned man then smilled and patted the boys now tamed hair. But after a moment the ghost cleared his throat awkwardly and gently pushed Danny off of him.
"Since you're up you may as well go tell your friends you are alright." Technus said flatly, "They were very worried."
Danny chewed his bottom lip and nodded, "Right... Thanks again."
"Don't mention it." Technus mumbled back, putting his hands in his coat pockets.
Danny left the room quickly and limped down the stairs. He went strait to the lab and found Tucker and Sam on the computers playing the latest version of Doomed that Danny had gotten a week or so ago. They heard him enter and turned. They grinned and hopped up from their seats, letting their characters get killed by doing so.
"Danny! You're okay!" Sam embraced him tightly.
"OW!" Danny shouted pushing her back off.
"Sorry," She told him with a nervous smile.
"We saw the whole fight!" Tucker announced, "Practically the whole school did."
Danny slouched his shoulders, "Great... The whole school saw me get my butt handed to me."
"Well... Not only that." Sam added, "The whole school saw Technus save your life..."
Danny's eyes went wide, "They did?"
"Yeah..." Tucker said with a nod, "Some of them started talking about you being a traitor and stuff like that.."
"Great." Danny sighed, "Any other bad news?"
The other teens exchanged a nervous glance.
"Well..." Sam started, "The Box Ghost just happened to be in the area at the time..."
"And?" Danny asked, a horrible feeling starting to grow in his gut.
"He kind of... Told the other ghosts about it..." Tucker finished for Sam, "We've already had to force ghosts back through the portal who were coming to taunt you about it."
Danny groaned in aggrivation. This was just perfect! Now every one knew that Technus and Danny had some kind of partnership going on and they saw Technus of all ghosts have to come to his rescue! When Danny got his hands on the Box Ghost he would-
"Your hair looks nice."
Danny looked at Sam's sudden comment, "Oh.. Uh, thanks. Technus tied it up."
"Looks good," Sam stated reaching out to touch his hair with a smile, "Makes you look more masculine and serious. Especially with the shades."
"And now we can see your eyes." Tucker added with a smirk, "Or, sunglasses in this case."
Danny laughed and moved to a chair to have a seat. He sat with a grunt of pain and stared up toward the top of the stairs.
"Technus I know you're up there." He called out and the ghost suddenly became visible.
"Forgive me for snooping. Habit." Technus said with a nervous shrug.
Danny swiveled the chair around to face the computer he was at. He smirked and turned to the group of teens and a ghost.
"Any one up for a game?" He offered, "Winner gets the first crack at the Box Ghost."
The other three grinned and took their places at repective computers. Or in Technus' case in a computer. It was an unfair advantage but it was the only way the elder knew how to play. Danny would have entered the game as well but he was in too bad of condition to go ghost. It didn't matter though. Even if The teenagers did lose, seeing Technus beat up the Box Ghost would still be hilarious.
And lose they did, to their embarassment. They went through the levels an when they got to level 10 Technus took them all out at once. The teens groaned in defeat and the ghost came out of the computer laughing like a lunatic.
"I, Technus, am victorious!" He boasted, "Now I will go find that obnoxious Box Ghost and give him a piece of my mind!"
"I wasn't aware you had any pieces left to give," Danny mocked, making the other two laugh and turning his chair around.
"Very funny," Technus said sarcastically as he went over to the control panel to open the portal.
"You sure this is a good idea?" Tucker asked with concern, "What about Walker?"
"What about him?" Danny asked, standing up slowly, "If he catches us I'll tel him I'm taking care of a problem ghost for him."
"What if he thinks Technus is the problem ghost and tries to arrest him?" Sam asked, not as concerned as Tuck but still a bit.
"Guys, come on. I can handle it." He told them as he joined Technus at the portal.
The three high school students loaded into the Specter Speeded and followed Technus into the Ghost Zone. Danny figured that Technus had some kind of ghost tracking device in his head that let him know exactly where to go. So they just tailed him.
Danny was keeping his eyes open fro Walker to make sure they hadn't actually drawn unwanted attention from him. Luckily working for the guy gave Danny some freedom to come and go from the Ghost Zone freely.
Suddenly Technus stopped outside a door and signalled for them to wait for him there. They parked the Speeder and acted as lookouts. Technus entered the door adn shut it behind him quietly. After a couple minutes there was a loud slam followed by shouts of pain that were obviously not from Technus. The door flew open again and the Box Ghost flew out.
Technus hovered out after him with a grin, "Didn't anyone ever tell you it's not nice to spread rumors?"
"YOu dare strike the terrifying Box Ghost?" The moron shouted pointing a convicting finger at Technus, "You shall pay for attacking-"
Technus rolled his eyes and fired a blast just strong enough to knock the Box Ghost back a foot or so. Danny took this opportunity to get out of the speeder and glided over to his father. They high fived quickly and Danny turned to the Box Ghost with an almost evil grin. Technus got the first shot, now the blabber mouth was all his.
"I am going to enjoy this." Danny said with a laugh as he managed to summon up a ball of energy in his human state.
He unleashed it on the Box ghost making the target yelp in pain and try to fly away. Danny inhaled and focused his eyes powers through his eyes. He fired the beam at the Box Ghost and frosze him solid. Danny floated over and smirked through the ice at the pathetic specter.
"Maybe now you'll keep your mouth shut, hm?" He taunted with a chuckle as he gave the block of ice a push, sending it floating off into the Ghost Zone to thaw out later.
Danile rejoined the rest of his group with a grin. He hopped in the speeder and sat between Sam and Technus, who decided to sit for the trip back. Sam joined her hand with his and Technus ruffled his hair slightly but not enough to mess it up.
"Felt good didn't it?" Technus asked humorously.
"Oh yeah," Danny sighed, "Now he has something else to tell every one."
"What? That Danny Phantom likes to seek petty revenge?" Sam asked with a smirk.
"That nobody messes with me and my dad," Danny stated putting an arm around Technus' shoulders almsot proudly.
Then it hit him what he'd actually said.
He'd called Technus... Dad.
He looked over the group who were as surprised as he was. Especially Technus, who was just staring at him. His black reflective eyes were slightly wider and his eye brows were raised.
"Your... What?" Technus asked, obviously unsure if he'd heard right.
"Uh... Does that bother you?" Daniel asked taking back his arm.
"Well, no... I just..." Technus stopped mid sentence then turned to look out the window with his arms crossed. Danny leaned forward to look at his face and he could definately see the conflict there.
"Did you mean it?" Tucker asked, from the drivers seat.
Danny looked to his best friend. He thought about it for a moment and realised that maybe he did. Technus had patched him u from his fight, taken care of him and waited up for him when he came home late. Technus was being his dad. He just never noticed it before...
"I guess I did." Danny said as he stared out the window...
He glanced over at Technus who was still silent and wasn't looking away from the window. Danny frowned slightly and sighed.
"Technus, look, if it bothers you I wo't say it again." He said almost sadly.
The ghost shook his head, "No. It is fine. I am just not used to it.."
Danny managed to force a smile and put a hand on the much older ghost's back,"That makes two of us."
Technus looked back at him with a half smile. He watched the boy for a moment then laughed. Danny lowered his eye brows and frowned at him.
"What?" He asked crossing his arms.
"I just realised that the Box Ghost probably didn't even recognise you!" Technus laughed.
Danny's eyes went wider forgetting that he'd been wearing shades and his hair was pulled back. No one in the Ghost Zone had seem him like that. Much less using his powers in human form.
"Well on the plus side now he thinks technus has some one new on his side."Sam pointed out with a small shrug, "Who knows. Maybe this will work out for you guys."
Danny laughed, "Maybe."
He heard Technus stop laughing with a small sigh and turned to see him relaxing against the seat. His father draped an arm over his shoulders in a relaxed fashion. Danny was a little put off by the action but he ignored it. This was the beginning of what was looking like a good future for them. The Box Ghost was frozen, Vlad was in ghost jail and Danny and Technus had finally crossed the line into being family. Now all danny had to do was not accidentally call Technus 'dad' again with Jack there.