Hello everyone and welcome back!
Crystal: Hooray!
I hope you all enjoy this next part of 'First Flight'.
Crystal: Now presenting: Tucker Foley!
…~~~oOo~~~…
"Tucker! You. Sam. My place! OMG, THIS IS SO COOL! Gonna flip! Get over here NOW!"
5 am on a Saturday. Criminal. Tucker glared at the time on his phone. Whatever had Danny this excited must be huge. Definitely huger than the article they had found about one of the astronauts taking a Buzz Lightyear action figure into space (Danny had geeked out about that for a while). 'What was so great that he had to call so EARLY on a Saturday?'
He met up with Sam right as they both pulled up in front of FentonWorks on their scooters. Surprisingly, she seemed to be in a tolerable mood. Both he and Danny knew that Sam was NOT a morning person. "I'm a creature of the night, one that's willing to destroy those who think it wise to disturb my slumber…" Her exact words. Both friends trotted up the front steps to the door, Sam's fist rapping on the wooden surface.
"It's unlocked. *snicker* C'mon in~." Came their friend's giddy voice from inside. Pushing the door open, Sam strode in with Tucker following close behind. Looking around expectantly, Tucker saw no sign of their friend.
"Danny?" Sam questioned, looking around. A snort of withheld laughter reached their ears.
"Don't tell me you called us just so you can scare us while you're invisible…" Tucker grumbled, trying to locate the source of the snickering. It had almost sounded like it came from above them-
"C'mon guys, I'm not that transparent. Although, that does sound funny…" Tucker and Sam look up. There, laying on the roof, was Danny in his ghostly form, grinning from ear to ear. "Hello down there!"
"No way…" Tucker muttered, shocked to see his friend directly above him.
"Let me guess: you can fly," Sam stated in a somewhat serious manner, though a smile was sneaking its way onto her face.
"I found out last night!" He drifted down to his friends, now hovering a foot above the ground. His expression then dropped when he noticed Sam's expression. "You don't looked surprised…"
"Dude, do you think it's a good idea to be -you know- like this in your house… where your parents will see you?!" Tucker whispered, jerking his head towards where the rest of the house was.
"His parents are out," Sam interjected before Danny could say anything. "Their RV wasn't in the driveway."
"Yeah. They said something about 'weird energy signals darting around town and the outskirts'. They went to investigate," Danny said, with a knowing look on his face. "Jazz is at a a friend's house." Danny flipped over, now floating upside down as if he was sprawled on a couch.
Tucker, finally coming down from his shock, now became excited. "So how did you find out that you could fly?"
"Well it turns out those dreams that I've been having recently very likely did happen: I was sleepflying (instead of sleepwalking). I was semi-conscious when I floated out of the house. When I fully woke up, I was above the OPS center and reverted back. I managed to grab one of the satellite dishes to stop myself, but it broke under the strain-"
Sam and Tucker both gasp in horror. "A fall from that height could have killed you!"
Danny chuckled nervously, flipping right side up and rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah. Fortunately I managed to change again and stop midair. At first, it was kinda freaky. Especially when my legs did this." He merged his legs together into a ghostly tail, surprising the other teens. "And yet, it felt so… natural when I was figuring out how to control my flight unlike invisibility or intangibility. When I eventually looked up at the sky, it was as if I lost 100 pounds, in more sense than one. Oh man, it was so amazing! I was so high above the city-" As Danny was explaining, he started to dart about, moving in sync with his hand gestures and acting out some of the maneuvers he described, his ghostly tail whipping about with his excitement. He hadn't noticed what he was doing and his friends found it amusing. "-barrel rolls and weaving in and out through the clouds. And the view! It was… I can't even begin to describe it…"
"Wow, you seem to be in control compared to your other powers." Sam observed.
"Huh?" Danny questioned, tilting his head slightly.
Tucker chuckled at his friend's puzzlement. "Dude, you were darting about like a hummingbird doing an airshow."
"I was?" Danny asked meekly. "Hehe… oops…"
His slight embarrassment fading away, he grinned towards his friends as an idea formed. "Hey, how would you guys like to take a flight?"
Sam mused on the proposal. "Hmm, sounds-"
"Hang on, you're still figuring out your powers with the random transformations and invisibility. I don't want to end up crashing worse than the internet in Alaska." Tucker commented, crossing his arms over his chest.
Danny pouted. "C'mon! It's not that-" his brilliant white transformation rings burst out, causing the super powered teen to crash, back to normal. "Ow, bad… Okay, I still need a little practice," he conceded, rubbing his sore backside.
"Look on the bright side," Sam said, "at least you got this power down pat. Eventually, you'll have complete mastery of all your powers."
"Yeah man. And then we can do that flight across town." Tucker commented. Then he smirked. "And hopefully not before; I would like to be able to go to prom with a hot date."
The three friends chuckled.
If one were to ask Tucker on when was his first flight, he would say between when they first met Technus and the incident with Sydney Pointdexter. Sure, Danny had carried them out of danger previous times like when the Lunch lady Ghost attacked. But those didn't really count as they were brief and they just zoomed across the ground. Not at all in the air. Again, those times don't count.
Tucker remembers that day vividly; The adrenaline, wind whipping his face… It all started with the ghost shark…
"GAH!"
The pounding of boots against pavement, labored breathing, the thuds of his backpack against his back; these echo in his ears as he fled for his life. At this point, Tucker was questioning all of his life choices at this point. Maybe he should have been more attentive to gym class. Maybe he shouldn't have insulted the ghost. Paid more attention to his surroundings instead of flirting with the brunette. Had a better diet…. Naw. He'll never regret his diet and love for meat; like bacon. Bacon is life.
Sprinting down the street, he could see out of the corner of his eye the ghost chasing after him. The fin on the ghost's back peaking out from behind the line of trees, gliding foward and rapidly gaining. The technogeek sweated profusely, from fear and overexertion. He wasn't in the best of shape (or at all) and that didn't help matters in the slightest. The line of trees broke, the form on the ghost fully coming into full view.
Most certainly a shark. The ugly sucker had to be around 15 feet long, a sickly green with black stripes, the head was that of a great white with slight hammerhead shark eyes devoid of emotion, razor sharp, jagged rows of black teeth. But the most prominent feature was that is was its transparent skin; you could see it's organs (which were varying colors of grays and blacks). It was quite horrifying to look at and Tucker felt nauseated looking at the ghost.
"TUCKER!"
The familiar voice of his friend since kindergarten cut through the night. Before the ghost shark could come within striking distance, two gloved hands scooped up Tucker underneath his armpits, lifting him into the sky. Tucker let out a breath of relief as Danny flew full speed. Risking a peek, Tucker could see the ghost shark chasing after them.
"I hate to be the bringer of bad news, but Mr. Fishbreath in gaining…" Tucker said, his voice cracking in the end.
"I can see that. Hang on to your hats and grandmas, 'cause this is gonna be a wild ride." Before Tucker could comment, the two teens banked to the left then began a rapid ascension to reach cloud cover. The ectoshark, not anticipating the sudden change of course, swerved awkwardly in an attempt to keep up. Just as the ectoshark reached a similar elevation, the boys dove down back towards the ground. Tears collected in Tucker's eyes as the ground approached them. His heart was hammering inside his chest. Just as they were to embrace the hard, unforgiving pavement, Danny pulled up at the last millisecond. The ghost shark wasn't so lucky as it crashed into the ground.
"Here it comes again…"
Sure enough, the shark was once again on their tail (literal tail in Danny's case). It was relentless in its pursuit of its prey. The next several minutes had the two weaving about buildings, flying through narrow alleyways, loop-de-loops, a barrel roll here and there…
They had managed to put some distance between them and the ectoshark as they approached the school. Using intangibility, Danny phased both himself and Tucker into the school. Since it was late in the evening, the school was devoid of any school faculty. They came up to one of the janitorial closets when Danny's Ghost Sense went off.
"Stay here; I'm gonna lure kelp for brains away." With that, Danny zoomed down the hall as Tucker ducked into the closet. Time oozed on as Tucker felt his adrenaline fade away. With the fear ebbing, Tucker began to laugh. The whole flight was exhilarating; the way they had looped, sped, and the turns they took would have put every stunt plane airshow to shame. 'Rollercoasters will no longer be the same to me ever again…'
Distant sounds of fighting echoed throughout the school. Eventually the sound of the Fenton Thermos was heard. Tucker stepped out of the closet, headed to the entrance. Danny joined up, a curious look on the super-powered teen's face. Tucker knew his friend very well; well enough to gauge his emotions. The lopsided grin was a mix between his 'NASA just launched a cool new rocket!', 'I just pulled a prank on Jazz', and 'I took the last piece of fudge and Dad is not happy'.
Tucker smirked. "Okay, why are you so happy?"
Danny's grin became more nervous. "Wha, what are you talking about?"
"Dude, you're my best friend. Spill; what has you so excited, yet nervous?"
"…I was in the girl's locker room" was the almost whispered answer after a delay.
Tucker froze in his tracks, staring in shock at his friend. "What?! Really?" Danny only nodded. Tucker grinned. "Who did you see?"
Danny's face scrunched up in confusion. "Nobody. It was just me."
Now Tucker was confused. "Just you? Then why were you- you know…"
The look from earlier reappeared on Danny's face. "Because I, a guy, was in the girl's locker room."
A moment of silence, then Tucker bursted out laughing. "Aw man, that's right! I forgot how much of a Boy Scout you are!" Tucker shouldn't have been surprised.
"Hey!" Was the indignant cry of his friend, who floated nest to Tucker with his arms crossed.
"Calm down Dude, I was just teasing… even though it is the truth. Now let's meet up with Sam before she debilitates us with her combat boots."
Danny nodded his head in agreement. "Here Tuck, let me give you a lift." Draping Tucker's arm over his shoulder, Danny rose into the air. Both friends made their way to Sam's place, where they had agreed to meet up at earlier.
"By the way, how was it in the locker room?"
"It was nicer and cleaner than the guy's. Why is that?"
"Dunno buddy."
Now that there was no man-eating ghost shark after them, Tucker could now appreciate the sensation of flight and seeing the city from the air. The wind in his face, the crisp, chill of the evening air in his lungs, the distant sounds of traffic… It was quite soothing. When he turned to his friend, pangs of jealousy and resentment crept through. The guy was so lucky. He had these abilities that most could only dream about. Being able to fly to school, being able to defend yourself. He could use his powers to get what he wants… Tucker brushed away the feelings of envy as they flew and chatted, but still thought about the possibilities.
'If I had those powers, I could do so much…'
…~~~oOo~~~…
I plan on adding more to this in the future.
Crystal: Possible characters include Dani, Jazz, Valerie, and Sam to name a few. Now to point out some parts of the story… First off: the Alaska comment.
Inside joke from a friend. There are times when the internet would crash for the whole city of Anchorage (that may or may not be an exaggeration).
Crystal: Second, the funny comment about hats and Grandmas…
A reference from the 'Mario Party' games.
Crystal: Did the thing about the Buzz Lightyear action figure really happen?
Yep!
Crystal:*smirking* And what about Danny's reaction to the ladies' room?
*chuckles* personal experience.
Crystal: It was my idea to add that in. Tiamat did this volunteer work when she was a freshman. Part of it was cleaning the public restrooms. Haha! She was so freaked out about being in the men's room (empty of course). A girl, in the men's room: such a naughty thing. tsk tsk. Tia also made a similar comment about the ladies' room being nicer and cleaner than the men's room. In my mind, Danny has an air of innocence about him.
Well, that's all for now. Feel free to shout out some ideas for other characters, first flight scenarios and reactions.