It was night. Zatanna wasn't able to track down the source of the magical surge unfortunately. Jake and Spud offered to sleep-over in Danny's room that night as Tucker's parents wanted to spend some time with their son now that the crisis of Danny's kidnapping was apparently over. Spud had called his parents to say that Jake and he went to a skateboard competition in Jersey with Jake's non-existent uncle and told his girlfriend, Stacey, the same. They had all started to realise that Spud wasn't in New York. At her parents' insistence, Sam was also forced to go home for the night. Both of Danny's friends had insisted on staying at Fenton Works as much as possible during Danny's kidnapping, so much so that both parents had actually started to miss their children. Young Justice and Jimmy were back in the Ops centre for the night, Jazz, Danielle and Danny's parents in their own beds. They didn't want to take Jimmy home until they were certain he wasn't a target anymore, or at least until everything calmed down.
Danny, on the other hand, was stuck still unable to sleep due to his elevated energy problem. Knowing now that it wasn't because he was stressed, he knew stargazing wasn't going to help. Therefore he decided to occupy himself with going through his ghost files and making sure that everything was up to date. It was a long and boring job but he had nothing better to do and he didn't want to lay in bed all night staring at a ceiling remembering his captivity. Jake and Spud had offered to stay up with him, going so far as suggesting a rota so both boys could get some sleep but keep Danny company. Danny simply refused. He didn't want his situation to be a big deal. Besides this job would take some time and he really had been meaning to do it for a few months.
The only sounds in Danny's room were the soft sleepy murmurs from Spud, something about potatoes, and the occasional click of a mouse or tapping of keyboard keys. The only light was from his computer and the burnt orange light from the street seeping through the crack in between the curtains. The clock clicked one and unknown to the town of Amity Park, Cheshire and a teenager with an orange cat appeared outside Fenton Works.
"You sure that crystal ball will work? I don't want to face Phantom so soon if you're wrong," Cheshire grumbled, placing a wary hand over the ecto-gun in a holster on her hip. The teenager sniggered.
"Of course. It's a variation on blood magic. He's bonded to the crystal ball now. We didn't even need to come here to do this," the teenager assured.
"Then why are we here Klarion," Cheshire growled in annoyance.
"Just to make sure the spell is fully functional. They do have a magician on their side. And a dragon. We need to make sure that they didn't remove the spell. I doubt they could, it would be nearly impossible to sense. But better safe than sorry," Klarion retorted with a shrug.
"Whatever. Let's get this over with," Cheshire relented softly, keeping her hand on the weapon and her other near her ecto-enhanced knife hidden in her belt in case Phantom got the drop on her. She would never admit it, but her recent encounter with the halfa had startled her, not scared. Never scared. But he had been fast and powerful, without his powers. She knew not to take him lightly.
Klarion chuckled at the green clad assassin and pulled the crystal ball out of his pocket. Cheshire stared at the grapefruit sized ball of black swirling energy with interest, hidden by her mask. Klarion cleared his throat and put the crystal ball close to his lips.
"Phantom? I know you can hear me. Would you be so kind and let us into your family lab? Discretely," Klarion requested, his voice holding a note of demand. In his room Danny flinched and put a hand to his head, his eyes pulsed pure black before clearing to reveal a glaze look on his face. Danny calmly stood up and quietly left his room, stepped carefully around Jake and Spud's sleeping bags. They had hoped that Danny would get some sleep and so they left his bed empty. Silently, Danny walked downstairs and unlocked the front door, turning off the security systems as he did so.
He didn't even blink as Klarion and Cheshire stepped inside the house and wordlessly led the way to the lab in the basement. Cheshire followed Klarion warily as the Witch Boy calmly strolled through the family home completely at ease. They descended the stairs into the lab and Klarion turned to the Danny and lifted the crystal ball for the halfa to see.
"Phantom, until I release you, you will obey all verbal commands I or Cheshire give you. Understood?" Klarion ordered. The halfa nodded silently, his eyes still glazed as they pulsed black.
"What's up with his eyes?" Cheshire wondered out loud curiously.
"It signifies that the command has been transmitted. Every time I use this thing, it's like a new spell is cast," Klarion explained casually as he put the crystal ball in his pocket and surveyed the lab with mild interest. Cheshire carefully approached the halfa and slowly circled him curiously.
"Sit," she ordered and Danny instantly sat on the ground. Cheshire smirked behind her mask.
"I like him obedient. Will he remember this?" Cheshire commented.
"I can order him to forget. Don't worry, we have nothing to worry about," Klarion answered as he leafed through a few pages of findings Danny's parents had on his current condition.
"What were you doing before letting us in?" Cheshire asked, crouching to Danny's level as he had yet to stand up. Danny blinked.
"Answer my question," Cheshire commanded as she realised that the halfa wasn't going to answer.
"Going through my ghost files," Danny replied in an emotionless, monotone voice. Cheshire blinked, surprised and slightly unsettled by his voice.
"Why? Answer all questions," Cheshire inquired.
"I can't sleep. I had to do something so I did that. I've been meaning to go through them for a while," Danny elaborated in his almost dead voice.
"Looks like Phantom has a health issue," Klarion remarked, waving a page at Cheshire.
"What do you mean?" Cheshire pressed curiously, turning away from Danny, confident that the halfa was completely under their control.
"The collar we put on him trapped his energy right? But because he had it on for so long, his body has increased his energy levels. As a result, he doesn't need to sleep or eat for that energy," Klarion explained, skimming over the written notes.
"Huh? That's a good thing I guess. This late night visit won't be noticed," Cheshire muttered. Klarion grinned as a thought occurred to him.
"Why don't we take Phantom out for a test run?" Klarion suggested with dark excitement in his eyes.
"What do you mean?" Cheshire inquired.
"We need ghosts for ghost energy. Phantom can get them for us," Klarion pointed out with a cruel grin.
"Is that a good idea Klarion? How strong is our control of him? Besides, we don't have any equipment," Cheshire retorted warily. Klarion raised an eyebrow and swept a hand around him.
"Ghost hunter's lab. Duh," Klarion reminded her.
"We don't have collars ready," Cheshire recalled.
"Phantom, how do you contain ghosts?" Klarion unexpectedly called.
"Fenton thermos," Danny instantly answered.
"How many ghosts does it hold and can it hold them for a long time?" Klarion questioned.
"As far as I know it can hold any ghost for however long needed. And I've never counted how many ghosts fit in a thermos, but the size of ghost does have an impact. Big ghosts fill the thermos faster than smaller ones," Danny replied obediently, his voice still emotionless.
Klarion grinned as he grabbed two thermoses, throwing one to Cheshire.
"Phantom, where can we find a lot of ghosts?" Klarion requested.
"Ghost Zone," Danny informed him.
"Take us there and help us capture as many ghosts as we wish," Klarion ordered. Danny stood up and crossed the room to where the Spectre Speeder point two sat. He phased into the vehicle and started it up. Klarion bounced excitedly over to the vehicle, Teekl following calmly. Cheshire bit her lip nervously before grabbing a second ecto-gun, just in case and entering the Speeder as well. Danny robotically opened the Fenton portal point two and drove the Speeder through the swirling green gateway.
Cheshire stared at the ghost dimension in awe while Klarion scurried to the front and scanned the green expanse of the Ghost Zone for any ghosts he could capture.
"Where are the ghosts?" Klarion demanded, slightly whiny and disappointed there weren't any yet.
"The Ghost Zone is massive. Ghosts have homes where they reside. Chances are they're there," Danny explained in his monotone voice.
"Take us somewhere with lots of ghosts," Klarion urged excitedly.
"Wait! Make sure it's somewhere we can go safely," Cheshire added hastily. Danny nodded and turned the Speeder towards Walker's prison.
"Where are you taking us?" Klarion asked curiously.
"Walker's prison. Most of the ghosts are in cells. And there are plenty for you to take. The only problem will be the guards and Walker," Danny answered.
"Good ghost," Klarion praised condescendingly, grinning in anticipation. Cheshire swallowed nervously before checking how to operate the gun she stole from Fenton Works. Unlike Klarion, she didn't have full faith in the crystal ball's hold over the halfa.
Before long, the Speeder arrived at the prison. Danny opened the door and walked through the prison doors without going intangible. Klarion happily followed, eager to hurt some ghosts. Cheshire followed slightly more cautiously but they were inside the prison undetected. Klarion sniggered and saw the rows upon rows of locked cells.
"This feels too easy," Cheshire mumbled. Klarion waved a dismissive hand and strolled calmly to the nearest cell and sucked a ghost into his thermos.
"Maybe, but I don't care," Klarion retorted.
"It's easy for you! You can make a portal and escape whenever. I have to go the long way," Cheshire snarled but slipped the gun into her belt and took out the thermos she had and copied Klarion.
"Phantom, make sure we're not interrupted. If you see a guard or Walker, attack," Kalrion ordered casually over his shoulder. Danny nodded obediently and changed into his ghost form and began to look around for any trouble.
Cheshire glanced at the halfa before she resumed capturing the trapped ghosts. She had to admit to herself, the halfa had taken them to a lot of ghosts where they were relatively safe as the ghosts couldn't fight back, however that didn't stop Klarion sadistically blasting the ghosts with his chaotic magic and laughing with glee. Within a few minutes, the numerous cells were cleared out and both thermoses were full.
"Phantom! Take us back now. Our thermoses are full," Klarion called to the teen, sounding slightly disappointed. Danny tore his vigilant gaze from the corridors and drifted back to the ground. He reverted back to human and led the way back to the Speeder.
Cheshire was just starting to relax as the Speeder began to pull away from the prison wall, when an almost completely white ghost in a pinstripe suit appeared with numerous green ghosts wearing identical armour and holding batons and riot shields.
"Who are they!?" Cheshire exclaimed in alarm.
"Walker and some of his guards," Danny answered in his emotionless, monotone voice.
"Phantom, protect us," Klarion ordered. Danny nodded and changed into his ghost half. He duplicated and sent his duplicate to hold off the warden and his lackeys while he drove the Speeder towards the Fenton portal at top speed. Within minutes they arrived at the portal and Danny briefly glowed green as his duplicate merged with him. He calmly drove the Speeder into the lab and parked it back where it was.
The three occupants got out and Danny closed the portal before turning to Klarion for further instructions. Klarion had the crystal ball, he was the one who he obeyed. Cheshire glanced at the clock and blinked in surprise. It was three in the morning already.
"If you catch any ghosts, you are to keep them and turn them over to us next time you see us. If you have company then you must try to do so without revealing what you are doing. Understood?" Klarion commanded, pulling out the crystal to make sure the order was lasting. Danny's eyes pulsed black and he nodded.
"Klarion, give him a verbal cue to know who he's allowed to fight and isn't," Cheshire suggested. Klarion grinned mischievously.
"Phantom, if someone says the following statement, you must not harm them. Teekl is the cutest pussy-cat ever," Klarion instructed. Danny's eyes pulsed black as the order took effect.
"Really?" Cheshire muttered unimpressed.
"Can't have it being anything those heroes will say by accident," Klarion retorted with a shrug, but both villains knew that Klarion didn't particularly care about that.
"It's late and the others will want a progress report," Cheshire reminded Klarion as the Witch Boy seemed content to walk around the room examining random equipment, not one bit concerned about potentially being caught by the other occupants in the house. Klarion sighed but nodded.
"Alright, no need to get all serious. Sheesh. Phantom, show us out and then return to what you were doing before we arrived. You will have no memory of this unless I say Phantom remember," Klarion commanded. Danny's eyes pulsed black again and the teen left the lab wordlessly. They arrived at the front door and Cheshire and Klarion stepped out of the house. Danny turned to leave.
"Wait, Phantom. Before you go. Make sure there's no evidence of what we just did. Can't have those pesky heroes getting suspicious," Klarion interjected before smirking as Danny's eyes pulsed black and he nodded obediently. Klarion joined Cheshire at the bottom of the steps and made a portal back to headquarters.
Yep, the Light have control of Danny and no one knows it, not even Danny.
I'm not sure if I got Klarion exactly right, but his character works for the story so…
Let me know what you think of the story so far.
Until the next chapter.