Chapter 24:
Not-So-Safe House

Clark and Mikey snuck along behind the four ghost-hunters, ducking into alleyways, and behind trashcans and parked cars. Well, Mikey did. Clark was trying, but he was still a bit dazed. Lester had already gone home, to handle damage-control over his first detention.

"So, I was wondering," Gray started, carefully. "Whatever happened to Danielle. I mean, the last time I saw her, she called Danny her cousin, but then she went off on her own. She isn't, like, homeless, is she?"

Sam seemed almost defensive, at first, but softened near the end of the Huntress's question. Even through his mild stupor, Clark could see the girl's concern, though she tried to hide it.

"Danielle? Who's Danielle? I didn't know Danny had any cousins. I thought he said, in that family tree thing we did in eighth grade, that his parents were the only ones in the family who'd had any kids." Mikey asked, quietly, more to himself, than to anyone else. Clark didn't reply. He still hadn't said much, since 'The Revealing', as he was calling it. Though, it wasn't because he couldn't. Not anymore. Now, it was because he was still trying to process the new information and sort it into intelligible sentences.

Or, at least, get to the point where he didn't feel like his brain was going to explode, and he was going to vomit out the debris, through his nose.

"That's... hard to say, for sure," Sam explained, carefully. "She's staying with us, for the moment, though. She's got Danny's cold, too," The Huntress, to both geeks' surprise, seemed relieved.

"I'm glad to hear it. I was a little worried, after she just took off, like that. I mean, I'm sure she can handle herself, but she is just a kid. I know I could've handled being on my own, at that age, but I wouldn't have wanted to," She said, smiling sadly. Then, she grinned. "But, I can only imagine what it's like having two of them like this," She pointed to Danny.

"It's definitely interesting," Jazz said. "And, she goes by 'Ellie', now."

This would've given Clark and Mikey a lot more information than the four ghost-hunters would ever have guessed. Too bad the two geeks missed most of it, when Mikey tripped over his shoelace and face-planted behind a dumpster, adding to the series of scratches marring his face from his encounter with Paulina and Star, earlier. Thankfully, the others didn't seem to have heard his slight, girlish shriek, as he went down. Except for Danny, who turned to look at them.

Only, he didn't actually turn. His head did. One hundred and eighty degrees, to look at Clark. "Buffalo Kid," He said, pointing to the green-eyed boy.

"That's nice, Danny," The three girls said, in unison. Clark was lucky they didn't turn around, since his feet were now one with the concrete, and his stomach was threatening to ooze out his eyeballs. But, thankfully, Sam just got the tiny ghost-fighter by the hand and tugged him along, his head still facing the wrong direction.

"No, I'm not hurt. Thanks for asking," Mikey grumbled, sarcastically, climbing to his knees to glare at his friend. Then he stood, in a panic, grabbing Clark and jerking him into the alley. "Are you crazy!? You think they're not gonna notice you standing in the middle of the sidewalk, staring at them, like a deer in the headlights!?" He whisper-screamed.

Clark couldn't answer. He was too busy hyperventilating.

By the time Mikey got his friend calmed down enough that the redhead didn't feel the need to keep 911 punched in on his phone, ready to dial, the four ghost-hunters were long-gone. He back-spaced the emergency number off of his screen and dialed Les, to check in.

Thankfully, Mr. Lancer had taken pity on the taller redhead, and the incident wouldn't be going on his record. And, apparently, because of Lester's 'incredibly mature behavior', the teacher hadn't even called his parents. They all breathed a sigh of relief at that. The last thing the amateur spies needed, right then, was extra attention.

Mikey used the remaining ten minutes it took to get to his friend's house to berate him for doing something like that, without consulting them. Les argued that he couldn't have consulted Mikey, because he was on the other end of the school. He also pointed out that asking Clark wouldn't have done any good, because he was still in his own little world, and hadn't even know about the entire thing, until after detention. Despite the fact that he was five feet from him.

"By the way, has he snapped out of it, yet?" Lester asked. It sounded like he was eating potato chips. A sure sign of his anxiety.

"Yeah... Well, he had, kind of. Until he had a relapse."

"What kind of relapse?" Mikey glanced over at the dark-haired geek, hugging himself and trailing along behind him, like a lost puppy.

"You'll see. Coming up on your door."

"Roger. See ya, in a sec." He hung up.

Mikey shut his flip-phone and rung the doorbell. A few seconds later, Lester's mother answered. "Why, hello, Mi- Oh, Mikey, Honey, what happened!? You look like you got attacked by a ghost-squirrel!" She said, trying to get a closer look at the scratches covering his face and the bruise blossoming on his cheek.

"U-uhh, I tripped on my way over here." Well, it was half-true. He knew he really shouldn't have stuttered. He'd already practiced it in his head, at least a dozen times, but the ghost-squirrel thing had thrown him off, for a moment. (Lester's mother had a gift for the random-yet-accurate.) "Is Les home?" He asked, even though he knew the answer.

"He sure is, Sweetie. You two, go right on up," She smiled, kindly, stepping beck to let them by. "You be more careful, from now on, though. Okay?"

"I will," Mikey assured, trying to hurry past.

"Clark, are you feeling alright, Hun?" She asked, after getting a good look at the other boy.

Y-yes, ma'am," Clark said, snapping out of his stupor, partially. "I guess I just had a bad day at school."

"Oh, you poor thing," The woman said, pulling him into a hug. "All three of you," She pulled Mikey into the hug, as well. "Poor Lester came home with quite the shiner. My poor, baby boy. He really should be more careful opening his locker door." Mikey nearly snickered at the excuse. Apparently, Les had stopped the teachers from reporting what Dash and Kwan had done, too. Normally, the majority of the school's population would've been thrilled to have something on the bullies, but the Squad couldn't risk any excess attention, at the moment. "Well, you boys, just run right on up those stairs and make it a better day with your friends, while I fix you some nice, hot chocolate. How's that sound?" She smiled, releasing them.

"It sounds great, ma'am. Thank you," Mikey answered. Clark smiled at her, as she tussled his hair. Mrs. Schwartz seemed to buy it, but Mikey (and Lester, who was leaned on the railing, at the top of the stairs,) could tell it was forced.

Sam, Jazz, Valerie, and even Danny stood gaping at the Foley house. It looked like it had been turned into an impromptu battle-field. (Which, again, in this town, was entirely possible.)

"Robo-Panda washed a jackrabbit in the kitchen sink," The ghost-boy breathed, amazed. The other three looked at him, but then went back to gaping like fish. And, they would've kept gaping for some time, if something hadn't hit Danny on the head.

*Plunk*

"Parchment paper coconuts," He said, almost angrily, rubbing the sore spot. The other three looked down, finding a green board-game die on the concrete.

"Sorry, Buddy," Someone half-whispered. The four looked up to see Tucker, leaning out his bedroom window. "I was aiming for Jazz."

"Hey," The redhead complained. Before any of them could say more, though, Tucker looked around, as though checking that the coast was clear. The three girls followed his lead, doing the same. When they turned back, the techno-geek had disappeared.

Thirty seconds later, his head popped back out the window. "Incoming," He said, just as quietly as before. Suddenly, a little, blue-eyed ghost-girl, covered in soot and what appeared to be misused makeup, was standing in front of them, smiling. The three older girls jumped.

"Princess Crayon!" Danny shouted, before Tucker shushed him. The five on the ground looked at the techno-geek, confused, but he just put his hand to his ear in a 'call me' sign, and disappeared inside, again.

Sam took the hint, dialing their friend, as they headed away from the house. He picked up in less than a second. "I told my parents a ghost did it. Not really a lie, but, trust me, when I say that Ellie will be much safer somewhere else, for a while," He said.

Sam opened her mouth to respond, but the tech-loving boy hung up on her. She was gonna kill him, for that.

Okay, so, maybe, telling Ellie to play invisible spy around his parents wasn't as brilliant as Tucker had thought it was. But, he was in shock at the time, and was completely traumatized, by this point, so he figured he had the right to a few bad ideas.

Thankfully, nothing had been lost that couldn't be replaced, his family's insurance was going to cover all of the damage, and his parents weren't making him help clean up, because he was still 'sick'. So, after a bowl of chicken-noodle soup, (which he was secretly feeding to the invisible ghost-girl, the whole time,) a few way-too-close-calls, and enough paranoia for an FBI convention, he finally excused himself and got the little halfa to come back upstairs with him.

It had been around an hour, and it was getting harder to keep Ellie quiet, when he heard something outside. He went to the window, and, sure enough, it was everyone's favorite, delusional ghost-boy. The techno-geek's friends seemed just as shocked as his parents were about the damage.

He searched the attic, frantically, looking for something he could use to get their attention, without alerting anyone else. The best option he found was the dice from the board game Ellie had made him play, thirty-two times, making the rules up, as she went. He had lost every game.

He grabbed one green cube, and tossed it in Jazz's direction, just because she was the least-dangerous target. Plus, she was the furthest from Danny, and, in his current condition, the ghost-boy might've tried to eat it.

*Plunk*

But, of course, his aim was off, and it hit the older halfa, instead. "Parchment paper coconuts," The boy said, almost as if it were a curse. Tucker swallowed a snicker that would probably have turned into hysterics if he'd let it loose. He almost lost it when, as one, the three girls on the ground looked at the die, like it was some kind of alien landing-probe.

"Sorry, Buddy," He whisper-yelled to his friend. The four turned their heads to stare at him like an alien landing-probe. "I was aiming for Jazz," He said, truthfully.

"Hey," the oldest Team-member whined, as he checked the surrounding area for prying eyes, and ducked back inside.

He went over to the little ghost-girl, who was putting lipstick in her baby doll's hair. Apparently, it was 'pretty hair-dye', in her eyes. His mom really was gonna kill him.

"Hey, Ellie?" She looked at him. "You wanna go play with Da- I mean, Monkey-Man?" She grinned, and nodded, and he knelt to whisper in her ear. She nodded, again, and disappeared. He went back to the window. "Incoming."

He nearly lost it, again, when the three older girls jumped, and Danny shouted with joy. He shushed his best friend, so his parents wouldn't hear, signaled his other best friend to call him, and hurried back inside.

He picked up his phone, and held his breath. He didn't have to wait long.

*Rin-*

He answered before the first ring could even finish. "I told my parents a ghost did it. Not really a lie, but, trust me, when I say that Ellie will be much safer somewhere else, for a while," He said, using the entire breath he'd been holding, in one go. He heard his mom on the stairs, panicked, and hung up.

Sam was gonna kill him, for that.

Les and Mike watched, concerned, as Clark paced the room. He'd been at it for ten minutes, now, and had glared and mumbled something about having to think, every time they'd tried to say something.

Suddenly, he stopped, took a deep breath, and turned to them, a new resolve shining in his eyes. He actually seemed like his old self, for a moment, and the other two leaned in closer, past-ready for his explanation.

Then, the green-eyed geek shut his mouth, and shook his head, deflating.

He came to the middle of the room, where his friends were, and sat in the floor, before them. He rested his head in his hands, for several moments, and the two redheads thought they heard sniffling.

Lester reached over, putting his hand on his friend's shoulder, and the short sixteen-year-old finally looked up. Tears were leaving tracks down the sides of his face, and an ugly stream of snot ran from his nose. Mikey handed him a tissue, and he took it, blowing his nose, like a bugle.

"You wanna talk about it?" Lester asked, tentatively.

After receiving a negative head-shake, Mikey decided it was best if he started. "Should we consider the possibility that Valerie Gray has been replaced with an android? Or, is under some type of mind-control?" He asked. The question had been on his mind since the girl had nearly run him down in the halls. He hoped the sudden change of subject would give his short friend a chance to mentally regroup.

||Maybe that one was a little too far off-topic,|| He thought, as the other two stared at him.

"...Come, again?" Les asked, finally.

"Think about it," He defended. "She completely changed, practically overnight. Then, she suddenly became this, (you gotta admit,) incredible fighter, even though she'd been pampered her entire life, up until that point."

Lester considered it. "And, this happened just months between the appearance of the ghosts and the appearance of the Demons In White... So, I guess it could be possible... But, wouldn't her father have noticed?" He mused, picking up on where the shorter redhead was going, and remembering to spit the Squad's nickname for the G.I.W. No one could ever doubt his hatred for the monsters who proved, time and again, to have zero respect for the lives they claimed to protect.

"What if Mr. Gray's an android, too?" It was the first real thing Clark had said since 'The Revealing', and his friends tried their best to hide their surprise, so he wouldn't get spooked back into silence. They really, really, really, wanted to know just what had been revealed. "Or, could he be being mind-controlled, too? Didn't we originally suspect that Axion Labs was in on this? Did we ever disprove that?"

Lester considered it. "I don't think so. And, actually, I doubt either of them are androids. They show too much emotion."

"There are algorithms to mimic human emotion," Mikey interjected.

"Point. But, they aren't that advanced, yet. And, judging by what we've seen, I seriously doubt the Demons are competent enough for that type of operation. But, mind-control would explain the change in Gray's behavior, as well as the seemingly-mentally-controlled battle-suit. Plus, depending on the method used, they just might be able to figure it out."

"And, that would explain the violent mood-swings! What if she's fighting it!?" Mikey said, growing excited. Clark looked terrified. This whole thing was taking a major toll on the poor boy. "Or, what if they really aren't competent enough to handle it, and keep losing control of her? That would also explain the mood-swings!"

"Maybe. We'll give her the benefit of the doubt, for now. But, we still shouldn't trust her, until we know for sure, and (if it should be true) find some way to free her," Lester posed, and the others nodded. "Now, something else I've been concerned about," He started. His friends looked at him. "You remember how, at lunch, the Herd was saying things like 'cold', 'mind', and 'hospital'?" They nodded. "And, how we wondered, then, if it was some kind of mind-control?" Mikey gasped, again, paling considerably.

"Maybe we really are onto something, about Gray," Clark nearly-whispered, catching on.

It was Lester's turn to nod, as he continued explaining his theory. "Danny's been acting sick, and he's seemed pretty incoherent, at times. I don't like to just accuse people of something like this, especially people like the Fentons-"

"Bu-"

Lester held up his hand, cutting Mikey off, as he tried to interject. "I know you don't like them, and I know they have ties with the Demons, but so does the town, in general. And, that doesn't, necessarily, mean they're in on the Demons' plans. The Fentons have never been anything but friendly, and even kind, to me, and I won't drag innocent peoples' names through the mud. We need proof, not assumptions," He told his best friend, almost-sternly, having been over this several times, already. Mikey's disdain for the elder Fentons was almost as strong as Lester's was for the Guys In White, and the shorter redhead was raring to convict the strange parents over their suspicions, with or without evidence. But, Les knew his friend was just angry and scared.

"I do suspect they're in on it," Lester conceded. "Manson and Gray, too. (Though, my thoughts on Gray are changing, the more I consider your theory, Mike.)" The short redhead preened, slightly. One of the reasons the three geeks got along so well was that they were all humble enough to considered the other two smarter than themselves, so any compliments they gave were seen as the utmost praise. "The more we learn, the more it looks like whoever is doing this is connected to Danny, somehow."

"But, not Jazz, though. Right?" Clark asked. The other boys' eyes widened, having forgotten the Fenton sister's existence, for the umpteenth time. Clark never did, though. But, considering his current condition, and the seriousness of the situation, Les and Mike refrained from teasing him about his crush.

"She may be involved," Lester mused, and the stout boy tensed. "But, I doubt it." Clark relaxed, again, as Les continued, "She's too protective. Always has been. She probably doesn't even know about what's going on."

"And, if she does, she's probably either too afraid to say anything, or is being threatened into silence," Mikey said, without thinking. Lester saw Clark gasp and take on what could only be described as an 'I'm-going-to-destroy-every-last-one-of-those-monsters-without-any-semblance-of-mercy' look, and quickly continued, before his dark-haired friend could run off and get himself killed.

"But, judging by Danny's behavior the past few days, I'm worried that whoever it is might've already completed the device." His friends paled. "And, I'm afraid they might've tested it on Danny." They paled more, Lester joining them. Saying it out loud brought a lot of it home.

Mike and Les heard sniffling, and turned to see that their green-eyed friend had his head in his hands, again. He looked up at Les, then at Mike. And, then, he broke down, bawling.

"Clark?" Mikey asked, concerned.

"C'mon, Clarky, talk to us." Lester plead, unusually gentle, scooting closer.

"What did you see? The sooner we know, the sooner we can start on making it right," Mikey reasoned, sitting on Clark's other side.

The dark-haired boy looked up at them again, still sniffing. "Guys," He nearly whispered. They leaned closer. "...I think Danny Fenton is a ghost."

The Squad slept over at Lester's, that night.

AN: Hey, everybody! :)

So, if the Squad doesn't know that Danny is Phantom, what do they know? And, what's the G.I.W up to, if they're right? ;)

As always,
God bless, and I hope you enjoyed! :)
- Ellie