HI HI my readers! Today is such an awesome day! Not only am I starting my vacation from work, but I'm going to the state fair! Anyway, so I have some action in this chapter for you, but it is a tad shorter than most of the others.=^-^=
Ch. 10 - Ambush
Airship Saturday was pretty quiet as it made its way through the night sky towards the Saturday home. Danny, who was sleeping soundly up to this time, suddenly felt very awake as his eyes shot open. After a moment he lifted his arm over his forehead with a groan. "Let me guess…." He lifted his phone from under his pillow to read the time. He sat up while raking his fingers through his hair. "Might as well I guess." He swung his legs off of the guest bed while being careful not wake up his mother. Even though she normally had to deal with Jack's snoring and squirming, he figured it wouldn't hurt to be careful.
Ghosts just loved to come around at night with their favorite time being around 3 a.m. After several months of this, Danny's natural internal clock started to wake him up most nights and he usually spent a little time patrolling until he got tired again. On this particular night, he found a quick trip to the bathroom wouldn't be too bad an idea and made his way over to the door. As soon as the door opened he noticed something was wrong. Even in the dark hallways he could see a strange mist in the air that restricted his breathing the minute it found his face. He felt a wave of dizziness next as he held the side of the door frame to keep on his feet. "W-what's…. going on…" With the last vestiges of his consciousness, he swung himself out of the room and allowed the door to close so that whatever it was wouldn't get to his mom.
"It would seem our information was…. Incomplete." A tall stoic man commented as two of his men tossed the unconscious Danny Fenton into the holding room. Drew and Doc Saturday watched him with venomous eyes from the back wall. Komodo hissed like mad as he squirmed around in a strange binding that matched the ones around the limbs of the Saturdays.
"What are you doing!?" Doc demanded as he leaned forward. "Finally joining the other Secret Scientists in their Kur hunt!"
Agent Epsilon smirked. "Not quite. I will be happy to explain more once we have the target in custody." He then left and the door closed behind him.
"Danny!" Drew immediately called as she leaned forwards. After a few more calls the teen finally stirred.
"God…. That smell…" He pushed himself up on his bound wrists to see the room around him.
"Good, it looks like he's okay." Doc deduced from his groggy yet calm state.
Danny turned to him with a slightly confused expression. "Huh?" When he tried to get up he found he was tied up only after he fell in the attempt. "Whoa!" He lifted his head to see the strange wrappings with irritation. "What the heck?"
"We're currently in a… situation. They tied you up much like they did us." Drew informed as she raised her own wrists.
"They must've fed that gas through the secondary air filtration system. That's the only reason I can think of that they'd hit us first." Doc stated as he leaned back on the wall. "Though I'm surprised they got you. All the rooms have their own smaller filters to keep out harmful gases like this."
Danny sat up as best he could in his tied position. "Nah, I got up and left the room. I remember smelling this weird gas before closing the door and passing out, so I don't think it got to my mom."
Doc raised a brow. "What were you doing up at 3 a.m.?"
Danny gave a pause in thought. "Force of habit… Anyway are these guys like those other scientists or something?"
Drew nodded. "Agent Epsilon, who is in charge of them, is."
"It's strange that they'd suddenly make a move after all this time though." Doc wondered aloud. "This is the first time we've even seen him since Antarctica."
"Government agents are always slow on the uptake." Danny stated in an annoyed tone. "But what secret branch are these guys with?"
Drew shook her head. "I wouldn't assume that Danny. Anyway…. Do we actually know what branch he's with?"
"That's classified." They all heard from behind. Agent Epsilon had returned with Fiskerton, who was now tied up.
"Agent Epsilon I presume?" Danny asked with a raised brow.
"That would be correct, Mr. Daniel Fenton."
It was obvious that Danny was surprised he knew his name. "Uh…. Yeah?"
Epsilon wore a smirk as his men pushed Fiskerton into the room. "I pulled up your file. I'm curious to know how you can be banned from the use of all fragile school property without being expelled for vandalism."
"It's a trade secret." Danny quipped back with an unamused expression.
If his response bothered Epsilon he didn't show it as he got right down to business. "At this point I believe it is safe to assume there is at least one other Fenton onboard the airship."
He turned his gaze towards Drew who glared venomously back. "Wouldn't you like to know."
He merely chuckled and turned back to the door. He reached up to the communication device in his ear. "Be on the lookout for another woman. She will most likely be wearing a blue jumpsuit and she is more than likely armed." He closed the door behind himself quickly after.
Danny then turned to them in curiosity. "Are you sure you guys were ever friends?"
"I really wouldn't say that, more like acquaintances." Drew growled back while still looking at the door.
Doc yanked at the strange bindings around his wrists. "I really think we should start figuring a way out of here before he comes back again."
Drew nodded and turned to Fisk. "Did they get Zak?" Fiskerton shook his head. (No, he jumped down a shoot.) He then showed them what he meant with his bound hands.
"Good." Doc stated with a grunt. "I'm sure he'll give them a run for their money then." He then stopped with a sigh of frustration. "What are these made of?"
Drew took a good look at her own. "It's light, strong and metallic."
"Probably some mixture of titanium then, we'd need a plasma cutter or something to take these off."
Fiskerton furrowed his brow a moment before an idea hit him. (Hey!) He growled as he squirmed his way over to the others. Once he'd got close enough to Danny he threw his hands in his face. (You get it off!) "What?" Danny questioned as he pushed the Lemurian's hands away with his own. Fiskerton growled in agitation as he shook his hands before him. He then stuck out his pointer finger and thumb like a gun and accented the gesture with a blaster sound. "Whoa hold on… I can't do that."
"What's he talking about Danny?" Drew inquired as she watched the two of them.
"I have no idea!" He denied rather quickly while pushing him away. Fisk was outraged by the denial as he growled in irritation. He brought back the story about the werewolf cryptids and how Danny had scared them away by shooting a laser at them.
Both the Saturday parents looked at the Lemurian with disbelief and slight worry over the outrageous story. "Fiskerton, I really don't think now is the time for wild stories." The Lemurian's outrage only grew when he wasn't believed.
Down in a lower part of the airship, one young Saturday was making his way towards the flight deck to hopefully gain control of the ship which was now over run with agents under Epsilon. He kicked open a vent and crawled out into a seemingly empty hall. "Good, looks like the coast is clear."
"Think again." Another countered from his left.
He turned to see Francis waiting for him with a cocky grin. "Oh come on, again?"
Francis chuckled. "You are just so predictable it's almost sad."
Zak stood up and raised his claw. "You say that after ambushing us at 3 in the morning? A bit cliché don't you think?"
He shrugged in response. "The early bird does get the worm you know."
Zak chuckled back. "Then I'd hate to imagine what you would be. What's lower than a worm?" He asked sarcastically while extending his weapon.
Francis' smirk fell. "How clever…." He then whipped his arm up and a thin piece of metal shot out of his sleeve.
Zak couldn't really tell what it was before parrying with his claw. "What is this?" He asked as he looked over the new metal wrapping around his weapon.
"Just a little something new for containing targets. Father calls them 'Slap Wraps' for obvious reasons."
Zak just rolled his eyes as he contemplated how he was going to get into the control room. Francis wasn't about to let him go without a fight, and Fisk hasn't caught up with him yet… "So…. Are you just going to stand there or-"
Francis didn't wait for him to finish before raising his other arm and launching another one of the restraint devices. His aim was thwarted, however, by a small explosion behind him which knocked him to the wall. "Got your back, mini-man!" Doyle shouted as he charged past the young agent.
"Awesome!" Zak complimented as he met Doyle's right hand with his own left. Their triumph was short lived when they found their wrists bound together with one of the titanium restraints.
"You shouldn't celebrate until you've actually won!" Francis corrected as he straightened his glasses.
"What the heck?" Doyle asked while holding his bound wrist up and consequently holding Zak on his toes.
"Aw man!"
Francis chuckled at their predicament as he readied another restraint. "That looks cumbersome."
"At least we're not hanging from the ceiling." Doyle countered. Francis furrowed his brow at the statement before a clicking sound made the meaning more clear. He was dangling from rope seconds later much to his own irritation.
"Nice." Zak commented at the well placed trap.
"Expect nothing less." Doyle shot back. "Anyway, mini-man, this place is crawling with those guys. We need to get going."
"What about mom and dad? Fiskerton's missing too."
Doyle nodded as he tried to figure out the restraint which held both boys facing opposite directions. "Doc and Drew were already grabbed, mini-man. They were able to warn me before that gas they used got to the lower levels of the ship. I bet Fisk is with 'em by now if he's been captured."
Zak pulled him along towards the control room with haste. "Then we need to take the ship's controls."
Doyle agreed as he followed in a somewhat awkward stride. "Sounds like a plan. You thinking what I'm thinking?"
"Yeah, but what about Danny and Mrs. Fenton?" Zak opened the doors and was a little surprised at the scene in front of him. Seven agents lay all around and unconscious along the bridge.
"I think Mrs. Fenton is fine." Doyle deduced as she unceremoniously dropped an eighth agent to the ground with a disappointed expression.
"I should have expected as much." She then noticed the boys. "Doyle, Zak? Have either of you seen Danny?" She turned back to the agent she'd dropped. "I woke up and couldn't find him, and then these goons started popping out everywhere I looked."
"Nah, haven't run into Danny yet, but if they've grabbed him then he's probably with the others. I got another one of the agents to spill about them being held in one of the storage rooms higher on the ship."
That brought a smile to Maddie's face. "Good, I didn't get anything out of these idiots."
Zak then pulled Doyle towards the con. "We can use the security's heat sensor to track them from here."
"How did you get that off?" Doc inquired in amazement as Danny held up the thin metal strip that once bound his ankles together.
Danny scrutinized it. "I'm not really sure…." Truth be told though, he had an idea. He'd been secretly trying to freeze the metal to make it brittle so he could make it break without exposing himself. As he looked it over he thought about the cold of the metal. 'Maybe when I make it cold it unwraps?' He thought to himself in curiosity. Now that he could stand he moved over towards the door. "We could use this to our advantage though. I bet they didn't think we'd get any of them off."
Drew gave a nod. "True. When Epsilon comes back in we could take him by surprise but….." She trailed off as she looked over to her husband.
Their time for a plan was cut short as Danny opened the electric doors. Danny crouched and waited just to the left of the door frame for the two agents who were guarding them to walk through to investigate. The minute they stepped through the young teen cleverly threw the metal restraint at their legs, effectively binding both agents together by one of their legs. He then tackled them from the side and with their legs tying them together, their balance became impossible to maintain. They crashed to the ground while Danny made his escape. "Suckers!"
Neither Saturday could really express their surprise at what Danny had just accomplished. So far, he'd shown no real signs he was very physically capable. "This explains why Maddie wasn't worried about him being here." Drew deduced with a brow raised.
"Uh-huh, and the more I see of that kid, the more I think he reminds me of Zak."
Drew nodded in agreement. "You've got a point there. Maybe that's why they were butting heads before?" She started with a grin.
"So alike they couldn't stand each other?" Doc gave a nod as he pushed himself up from the ground. "Sounds plausible. Anyway, why don't we see what we can get off of those two? I'd rather not stay tied up all night."
"That's all of the upper decks…. Where are they?" Zak said as he tried to throw up both of his arms only to have one of them abruptly stop when Doyle's didn't move with it.
"Don't know what to tell you, mini-man. I'm kinda wondering why we didn't see any of those agents on it though…"
Maddie looked around the room. "Maybe this is all he brought? I can't really guess though since I'd never met him before." She then noticed something on the thermal gridded screen; a cold spot which seemed to be moving towards them. She quickly found herself grinning at it as she realized who that was.
"I'm going over it again…. Maybe they aren't on the upper level like you were told. That guy could have been lying to you."
Doyle gave him a confident expression. "You honestly think one of these idiots could trick me?"
"Maybe? Where else could they be?"
"Over here." They heard from behind. Doc walked into the room followed by Drew, Fisk, and Komodo.
"See?" Zak pointed out before running up to his parents.
"To be fair to, Doyle, we were on the upper levels before."
Doyle crossed his arms in triumph. "Told ya."
Drew then looked around the room. "Danny hasn't found you yet?"
Doyle and Zak shook their heads. "No, we ran into Mrs. Fenton though." Zak pointed out as the scientist in question looked over the screen of the con.
"No doubt she entertained my agents." Epsilon interjected as he and several others busted into the room.
Francis wore an accomplished smirk as he stood by his father's side. "I think I know where you get your predictability from." The Saturdays stood ready to fight as the agents surrounded them.
"Now hold on there." He protested with his hands raised in a non-aggressive manner. "Remember, I'm not here to duke it out, as it were. I merely wanted to have your attention, but given your history with the others I thought a more…. Forward approach was needed."
"What is it you want then?" Doc inquired while remaining on guard.
Epsilon cleared his throat. "We don't share in the other scientists opinions of Kur." He began as he pulled out a tablet. He then began playing news footage of New York. "You see my people saw his little show in New York and they want to recruit him."
"You want to make him a weapon!?" Drew asked in outrage while keeping her voice low. "My son is not a weapon!"
Agent Epsilon shook his head. "Not so simply my dear. We can offer him safety and seclusion, and to all of you as well. Imagine what he can learn in a more structured environment. The boy does need to learn to control his emotions." Francis then stepped up. "Francis here could teach him that and more."
"Francis!? You've got to be kidding me. We hate each other!" Zak announced in irritation.
"True enough, but it's my responsibility." Francis almost growled out.
"Yes, my people thought he'd respond better to someone his own age. He's more structured, self-controlled and intelligent."
Zak crossed his arms in annoyance. "And yet I was still able to trick him with the jellyfish." He then clicked his tongue. "Yeah right."
"I'm going to have to agree with my son on this one. He stays with his family." Doc decreed with an unwavering resolve.
Epsilon then seemed to furrow his brow. "It's a shame you see it that way, but I'm not going to take no for an answer." At his statement all the agents readied weapons and several of their restraint devices.
"Don't government agents know how to take no for an answer?" An echoing voice sounded from out of nowhere. The room's temperature seemed to drop as many of the agents searched for the source of the voice. "Over here, guys." Phantom now floated above the door they all had entered with a cocky smirk on his face.
"What in the world is going on here?" Agent Epsilon shouted as he turned towards the intruder. Several of the agents turned their weapons onto the teen ghost in response.
"Oh just dropped in to say hi." The agent responded by throwing one of the restraints at him and it quickly wrapped around his ankles. Danny furrowed his brow as he floated and reached for the metal band. "Now that was just rude." He pulled it off easily as it snapped back into its original straight form. "By the way, I already figured out these metal things of yours. They react to body heat." He revealed with confidence. "Unfortunately for you, I have none." He then tossed it towards the agents who dodged as to not be caught by its heat seeking ability. A strange series of slips and slides ensued as several of the agents failed to get any traction and fell to the floor. "Oh yeah, did I mention the floor was frozen? Oh well…. My bad." He then floated down to them. "Now I'd get going before you guys make even bigger fools of yourselves then you already have."
"Not likely." Epsilon responded as he activated a switch on his collar. He then proceeded to grab Danny by the arm which shocked him on contact.
Though surprised by the shock, Danny quickly recovered and blasted him back with his Ghost Ray. "Haven't you ever heard of personal space!?" Epsilon simply groaned against the wall he'd hit after being blasted back.
"I didn't think a ghost needed personal space." Francis spoke up. "Phantom was it? I read your file."
Danny turned to him and rolled his eyes. "Another file? What's this one say?"
"I'm not at liberty to say." He quipped back before falling flat on his face out of nowhere.
"I was getting bored just standing around." Zak informed as he pulled his claw back from the young agent's ankles.
"Why you-" He was cut off by an alarm sounding from his wrist. He quickly checked it and it only seemed to irritate him more. He jumped back to his feet and ran to his father. "I'm ordering a retreat. Fall back." The other agents quickly fell in line as they assisted him with Epsilon and the other agents about the room. "This isn't over." He informed them with a glare before exiting with the others.
Danny watched as they left along with the others in slight surprise before feeling a strange pain on his chest. "Wonder why they were in such a hurry…" Doyle asked as he leaned back against one of the con Chairs.
"Whatever gets them off the ship-" Doc stopped when he saw Zak lash out at Phantom without warning.
The halfa easily caught the claw's cable just before it could latch onto him. Phantom then turned to them as he released his grip on the front of his suit. Danny raised a brow with a slightly pained look as he scrutinized the claw. "Hey, what was that for?"
Zak wore a grin as if he'd suddenly won something and no one else knew. "I knew it! You caught it just like before." Danny looked at him in contemplation before it hit him.
"Hey, mini-man, what's the big idea?" Doyle inquired with an expression that matched that of the boy's parents.
"What exactly are you talking about?" Drew asked him with stern tone.
With the small distraction the Saturdays just gave him, Danny quickly came up with an idea. He dropped the cable casually as he thought back to only hours before. "He probably saw me on TV." Phantom began explaining. "I'm sure this ship gets great reception right?" He asked as he looked at Zak. "I bet you never miss your favorite shows." It took a moment for Zak to get the message, but Danny could tell when he did. "Anyway, see ya..." He said just before disappearing.
He traveled through the ship and reappeared inside the room he and his mother shared for their stay with the Saturdays. He floated over to the bed before grabbing at his chest again. "What was that?" He asked himself in more than slight confusion. He'd been used to the itchy rash but just now it was more like a burn… "Is this thing getting worse?" He then quickly unzipped his suit to check on it. Even with the poor lighting he could tell it was indeed getting worse. Now he not only had this to worry about, but now that Zak had figured him out, he was going to have to get creative about how to keep him quiet.
So yeah, I'm sorry about this one mostly because I think I characterized them pretty badly. The GIW are easier in my opinion. Anyway, if you were curious about that part at the end, please refer to the end of the previous chapter and maybe you'll figure exactly what went down between Danny and Zak. It was supposed to be subtle, but if you really want to know just ask.
Also, as of this chapter, I have officially caught up with what I have already typed. I'll do my best to update next week, but no promises. This will only be updated on Saturdays though, so sorry if I can't get it by next week. Schools getting pretty tough and I have both a project and a paper to do.
Thx for reading and I hope you'll ask questions or tell me what you think in a review.=^-^=
