10/05/2011
The Flight
Chapter 14
Danny stared into space in a dazed trance, as T0rch flew around after his son like a shadow, watching to make sure he didn't get hurt or wander too far away.
"This is insane," Danny stated burying his face in his hands. "What am I supposed to do about this? I'm 18, I juststarted Collage. I'm not ready to be a father." He told himself, "But I can't just abandon him, he needs me." He stated, before a sudden realization brought a twinge of panic to his brain. "What am I going to tell my parents?"
Danny continued asking himself a string of questions, before realizing that he was being watched and looked up to find the little boy standing in front of him, looking at him curiously.
"What up Squirt," Danny asked, lowering his hands to give him a warm smile.
"Real," The boy stated suddenly pointing at him again and smiled.
"Real," Danny asked, before remembering the last time that he had heard that. "How am I real all of a sudden?"
"Know," The boy stated, touching Danny's hand again, "Father."
"So you knew, huh?" Danny asked, but didn't really mean it as a question and the boy just smiled.
"You're just full of surprises," Danny said, smiling back.
"Yeah," The boy stated, before suddenly frowning and looked down, holding his stomach.
"What's wrong," Danny asked immediately on edge.
"Feel-," The boy said poking his stomach, pondering his words for a minute "Wrong."
"Are you sick," Danny asked, 'Great, I'm a father all of 10 minutes and I've already screwed it up.' He thought to himself as he placed the back of his hand against the boy's forehead, but didn't feel anything.
"No," The boy answered, trying to decide on another word in his limited vocabulary that would describe what he felt, Danny not knowing what else to do, just put his own hand against the kid's stomach; where he felt a familiar rumble and laughed.
"Your hungry," Danny stated, relieved it wasn't anything more serious.
"Hun-gry," The boy asked before seeming to settle on that and said more confidently. "Hungry."
"Didn't they feed you in that place?" Danny asked, watching the boy comprehend this.
"Feed?" He asked.
"Yeah, you know; food." Danny advised, not liking where this was going.
"Food," He asked again, before shaking his head. "No,"
Danny narrowed his eyes at noting particular, making a mental note to kill that Shadow freak the minute he found a place for the body.
"Ok, hang on." Danny stated rummaging through his pockets and finally pulled an energy bar from his coat. "Here you go." He said opening the package, the boy watching his every move curiously, as he broke off a little piece of the bar and handed it to him.
"This, Food," The boy asked looking at the chocolate coated rice-crispy bar.
"Well," Danny drowned looking at the rest of the candy bar in his hand. "I'm not sure if it could be classified as Food. Considering it's got the sameconsistency and tasteas cardboard, just without the flavor." Danny joked and the boy looked at him a little confused.
"I've never tried Cardboard." The boy stated innocently and Danny couldn't help but burst out laughing, which a little boy soon copied.
"No, – cardboard – isn't, –" Danny managed to ground out through his giggles, but noticed that the little boy was having too much fun just watching him and decided against ruining that. "Never mind," He concluded.
After another couple seconds the boy stopped laughing, in order to nibble on the bar in his hand and Danny smiled again at the look on his face; a mixture between, confusion, pondering and a little bit of yuck.
"Any good," Danny asked and the boy shook his head, but continued nibbling on the bar anyway. "I guess we better get you some realfood then." Danny stated standing up and looked around noticing a tree line and buildings all the way around them. "As soon as we find out where we are," He said walking back over to where they had left the invisibility clock, the boy walking along beside him.
"Hey T0rch," Danny asked looking around for the little fire ball, before he pooped back out of his screen again. "You got any idea where we are?" He asked, wrapping the clock back around the boy, not wanting him to catch a cold.
"Well according to my vast amount of stored information," T0rch declared. "I haven't a clue." He stated dryly and the boy laughed at him.
"Alright then, I guess we need a birds eye view." Danny stated and looked back at the boy, who was still nibbling on his half of the energy bar. "You're not afraid of heights are you?" He asked him.
"Afraid," The boy asked, pondering the word, before shaking his head again.
"Alright then, let's see if you like flying," Danny stated and turned around so the boy could climb on his back and stood back up again, before changing back into Danny Phantom. "You ready?" He asked.
"Yeah," The boy stated, holding tighter to his jumpsuit in anticipation.
"Ok, here we go," Danny said before jumping into the air and flew them up into the sky. Taking it slow, until he knew the child wasn't afraid, but smiled as the little boy looked around in pure wonder.
"I had a felling you'd like it." Danny said before the boy suddenly tried to jump off his back and he struggled to keep him in place. "Now hold on a minute," Danny stated, sighing in relief when he got him back into place. "We'll try the 'fly onyour own' thing when we know you can do it."
"Ok," The boy stated miserably, but soon all was forgotten as they looked around at the City lights and the hundreds of cars traveling by in the distance, completely oblivious to the Half-Ghost and his Son flying 30 feet over the park. "Pretty," The boy stated in aw.
"It is pretty cool, isn't it?" Danny agreed. "But we're definitely not in Amity Park and it's too small to be Central Park." He admitted looking down at the rest of the grassy land under them.
"No, we're not in New York," T0rch said looking around trying to find land markings. "But we mightbe in Liberty Park."
"Utah?" Danny asked unbelievingly. "Well at least we didn't wind up in China."
"I should be able to get us back to Amity Park though." T0rch concluded.
"Great, but first, food," Danny declared looking around for a fast food joint. "I know I could go for a burger." It didn't take him long to spot a McDonalds that was still open and flew down to it. Taking a second to change back to Danny Fenton and button up his jacket, to cover the dried blood, (so they wouldn't have him arrested on suspicion of murder) and walked into the restraint.
It was completely empty, which he had no problem with. The clock on the wall told him it was (only)10 after 3, in the morning. As he walked over to the counter, taking out his wallet to make sure he had enough money, a pretty girl in a McDonalds uniform walked up to greet him.
"What can I get you," She asked and smiled at the little boy at his side and he smiled back.
"Get me a number 3 and —" Danny responded looking at the kid himself, "What looks good to you?"
"Everything," The boy answered.
"Well I don't have enough money for everything." Danny laughed, hearing the waitress giggle to herself as well, "Pick one."
"12," The boy responded.
"Not that one," Danny stated looking up to find that a 12 was nothing more then a Strawberry Banana Split, "Food – first." He educated.
The boy gave him a curious little look, more then positive that what he had picked was food.
"How about a Kid's Meal," The waitress asked him kindly, "It comes with a toy." He simply smiled again and nodded.
"Ok, I can roll with that." Danny declared, but decided against letting him have caffeine and got him a bottle of chocolate milk instead.
After paying for the food Danny waited at the counter for it and watched as the boy gradually approached the huge plastic tubes in the play area.
"Food first," Danny told him with a smile and he nodded his head in agreement as the waitress brought them their orders and sauntered over to a booth with a view of the street.
After a few seconds to consider his food the kid eventually started into his hamburger and fries. Danny noticed the waitress looking over, every so often, curious as to how well behaved the boy was. She was probably used to the kids coming in, heading straight for the play place, totally forgetting their food and generally complaining about the little bag of healthy apples that came with their meal, (which he was currently chewing happily.)
But she also seemed to be taking in the fact that all he was wearing was a cloak, his black hospital clothes and no shoes.
'She probably thinks I kidnapped him.' Danny thought to himself finishing off his own burger, but then again (in a way) he had. But she seemed to eventually decide that nothing was wrong and went back to her business. But it really meant something to know, there were still individuals in the World that cared about that stuff.
Danny looked back to notice the boy messing with hislittle Transformers, Bumble Bee action figure and smiled as the kid quickly learned to break it down, until it resembled a car, wind-it up and let it zip off the end of the table into Danny's lap.
The kid smiled at his achievement as Danny sent it zipping back to his side of the table. After a few minutes of this the child once again looked back at the Play Place and then at Danny as if asking permission.
Upon finding that there were only a few fries left from the kids meal, he nodded and the boy quickly jumped from his seat handing Danny the little car for safe keeping and ran over to inspect the tubes, quickly determining the layout of the maze and ventured inside.
Danny watched him for a minute, before pulling out his cell phone and dialed Sam's number. It only had time to ring once before she picked up, relief evident in her voice.
"Danny, are you ok?" She asked
"I'm fine," He answered.
"Where are you?" She asked, a little calmer.
"Uh," He stated looking out the window again, "Somewhere in Salt Lake City."
"Utah," She asked and he smiled when he heard Tucker voice his option of 'At least it isn't China.'
"Yeah, I got a little sidetracked."
"A little," She asked sarcastically.
"Are you guys ok," Danny asked, hearing a bunch off people talking in the background. "What's going on over there?"
"We're just doing some – remolding." She answered innocently.
"Are you," Danny asked, watching as the little boy landed in the ball pool and laughed happily throwing a few of the colored orbs into the air.
"You'll love it," Tucker's voice declared suddenly and he heard the unmistakable yelp of his best friend getting smacked across the head.
"Sorry for not calling sooner, but we seem to be out of range," Danny began.
"We, who else is with you," Sam asked.
"T0rch," Danny stated too quickly. "He couldn't contact Tucker, too far away."
"You know you're a terrible liar." Sam concluded, "What's going on."
"I – don't think it's something I should tell you over the phone." Danny stated truthfully, looking back at the boy who was now waving at him from one of the big clear steerable balls. "I'll tell you when I get back. Will you guys be ok?"
"Sure," Sam answered, deciding to let it go, for now. "Once we're done here, we'll just head back to the Fenton Portal. Are you going to be able to get back ok?"
"Everything should be fine." Danny declared, "It'll be a long trip, but I'm sure I can fly it."
"Ok, call me when you get into town." She ordered.
"I will, love you." Danny stated, almost feeling her blush through the phone.
"I love you," She whispered, but cut off when Tucker started making kissy noses at her and the line went blank.
Danny smiled to himself and put the phone back in his pocket and watched the little boy play in the tubes for a few more minutes, before he ventured back out and walked over to him.
"Ready," Danny asked him.
"Yeah," He answered, eating the last of his fries before throwing his trash away and returned both of their trays to the counter.
"Aren't you a sweat heart." The waitress stated taking them from him. "So what's you're name little one?"
Danny immediately tensed, he'd never thought of that.
"Alex," The boy stated innocently as if it were the most natural thing in the World.
"We'll you're a very sweat little boy, Alex." The waitress declared messing up his hair a little, causing him to smile.
"You're nice too." He said beaming at her.
"Now you be good for your daddy okay." She stated, "And come back to see us."
"Ok," He said before running up to Danny who was waiting at the door for him and they left.
"Where'd you come up with Alex?" Danny asked curiously.
"There," The boy answered pointing at the window of the Play Place and Danny followed his finger until he saw a little, backwards, message written on the inside of one of the tubes. Read the right way, it said 'Alex wes herre.'
"You could read that?" Danny asked impressed.
"The last words didn't make sense." The boy stated truthfully and Danny laughed.
"Do you like it?" He asked, "The name, I mean."
"Yeah," The kid responded with a huge smile.
"Ok," Danny declared, figuring he couldn't very well call him Squirt or Daniel X all the time. "Alex it is."
Figured I had to give him a name soon before it just got too confusing… and I've been thinking that Alex really beings out the X.
And "Yaaa" for more Father/Son fluff, (I swear the only thing that could make this cuter is a puppy)… I just couldn't resist, I had to do some more.
Everything's just been so hectic for poor Danny; what with being trapped, tested, tortured and killed. Even he needs some time to wind down.
And I know they never did say where Amity Park was supposed to be located. But I think I've decided that it's in Ohio. The Danny Phantom Wikia sight put it more toward the Central United States, while Ohio is Midwest.
But I wanted them to have the Beaches and Lake Eerie (Eire,) so I figured Ohio was the best place.
And my cousin's always telling me,
"It's a cartoon, it's doesn't need to make sense."
(But please feel free to prove me wrong, I love a good constructive argument.)