The infinity constellations, pilot part 2.
Chapter 2: Destined destination.
Jazz yelled in frustration. "No Danny, you have just as much right to choose as us!"
I shook my head, regretting it immediately. All my muscle protested at the movement. "No, I don't! Jazz I can live both here and wherever that sends us. Yet I can't doom you three to live in the afterlife awaiting death. Not if you could re-join humanity and live your dreams. Those humans won't know about anything that happened. You could easily be accepted for your skills." Sam snorted. "Let's do this. Listen to his words clearly Danny. It will lead to 'our' desirable futures. That includes yours as well. Knowing Clockwork we'll probably end up somewhere in space with that vagueness of his. Like usual he's been hinting at it." Clockwork turned into an old man plucking his now white beard. "Sharp as always Samantha. Perhaps your right, but only time will reveal the answer for I cannot." Tucker laughed. His tone not very 'happy'. "Well, we survived the ghost king, Undergrowth, Vortex and the G.I.W who bombed our hometown. How bad could it get? We'd have Danny as our powerhouse, who protected us from all four I just mentioned. He'll protect us wherever we go. I'm in. Hopefully they have lots of new technology." Clockwork chuckled at Tuckers words. "Samantha, it may be best to keep a close eye on Tucker. He'll most likely faint when seeing it." I could hear the three of them laugh when Sam spoke up. "Got it. That leaves Jazz and Danny." Jazz voice was filled with anxiety. "But Danny.. what if they.. can't accept you either? At least here you'll be safe. I can't send you down another path of paranoia and distrust…" My eyes floated to Clockwork who had turned into a toddler again. His small hand pointed at the large metal ring frozen in place.
"It seems that you have chosen. So I'll spill a tad bit more since it will be the last time I'll meet the four of you. Behind this portal the humans have met interstellar life. It won't be a first encounter with 'others'. They've met both good and bad thanks to the 'ring' you see before you. Once you arrive you'll have to think of a good background to support Daniels uniqueness. Samantha, I'm certain that Tucker and you are capable of such and Jasmine can convince them of it. Make sure to scout your new universe and anchor yourself. Many things are different, except one. When you separated the infinity realms, you separated them all! If the Fentons existed in that universe, they and Amity park most likely vanished with it. My advice: stay close to the truth, since it will last the longest." Sam hummed a yes before mumbling to herself. Clockwork switched to his middle aged form again. He focused on me now. "Daniel, hand me your left arm?" I couldn't even move it, so he gently lifted it with his own left hand. He phased the sleeve of my suit of, opening the zipper. My wounds were now clearly visible to him. My skin ripped open from the power that had been flowing through it just a minute ago. It wasn't oozing ecto-blood as I've been calling it. My ice-core freezing and controlling the blood flow to keep me in battle shape. Clockwork was careful not to touch them and switched his language to death-speak. The language only the death or 'half-death' could hear and understand. "I have a last gift for you. It was crafted by Frostbite, imbued by Pandora, etched by the ghost writer and polished by me. It tells of your battles and struggles. The honour and glory you deserve but never gotten." He attached a hand-length gauntlet to my upper arm. It was mostly silver and black. The colours swirled around over the metal. It had ridges and figures etched out and moulded, changing said figures into different scenes along with its colours. The runes of the infinity realms where etched into the bracelet, moving with my energy, lighting up different symbols, forming numerous combinations. Small blue and green gems were aligned in the ridges of the gauntlet and would occasionally be added to the scenes that it showed, while glowing mysteriously. I felt something constrain my core, easing the pain that was deepening the cracks. "What is this?" I spoke with death-speak as well. Clockwork phased my uniforms sleeve back on. He had that mischievous know-it-all grin on his face "A tribute to all you did for us. It may become an important tool you'll need for your future or just a memoire of your past. Daniel, stay true to yourself and what you believe in."
He switched back to English with a grin. "I'm in a good mood so may I perhaps point something out?" He didn't give any time for refusal, nor would he normally give out advice so easily. "The humans behind that 'ring' believe that ghost don't exist. To them 'ghosts' are just another alien race. Who may have been severely misunderstood by its finders. There is a reason that the American natives had been named Indians." A small zapp could be heard from the frozen portal that was still exploding. I could feel a slight push against my barriers. Was time resuming? "It seems that time is now running out, good luck on your journey. Keep each other safe, because it will be quite a rush…" He had not even finished that sentence as he disappeared. I was almost too late in keeping my barriers up as time started to run its course. The ectoplasm slammed against me as the ring dialled the eight symbol. I couldn't keep up. Ectoplasm started leaking around me as the gate dialled it's ninth symbol. How many times was it going to turn till it was satisfied? The ninth dial flashed as the portal exploded towards me. It broke my barriers to pieces. The large blue cloud thing rushed against me and pulled me in. I could hear my sister scream my name, before Tucker started panicking about the specter speeder getting dragged as well. When I could register the other end of the portal, my transformation gave out. The white rings going over me in a cold flash. I had turned into my humanoid form just before leaving the tunnel of force. I was catapulted out and slammed against the not so soft wall. The force of this smack was strong enough to knock my battered body out cold. I only registered screaming and the vibe of panic before fainting. Where the others okay?
Jazz's pov:
The specter speeder was dealing with a lot of turbulence in the strange tunnel-like portal. Once it entered the glowing blue ring, the specter speeder had lost its prime energy source. It could only glide across the space behind the portal with the bare minimum of energy it had left. The ground beneath the speeder squeaked in protest as it made an emergency brake. Next to Tuckers screaming we could hear other voices. I had my seatbelt on, protecting me from the enormous g-force the portal created. When I glanced through the windows I could see a lot of injured…humans. Humans who were either crying, screaming or in full blown panic. I nudged Sam who remained in her seat as well. Tucker was whining about his head. He had barely managed to use the seatbelt, before we got dragged in. Sam groaned. She had a small gash on her forehead. "Ugh, what hit me?" she glanced outside to the strange panic filled room. "Where is Danny?" She loosened the seatbelt, a bit wobbly on her legs. Sam bolted to the door trying to open it. "Wait, Sam your bleeding!" Sam ignored me, pulling at the locked door. She cursed as it wouldn't open, until she used the manual override. I was pulling at my seatbelt. My fingers trembling from the extreme ride we just experienced.
Sam ran to a slightly illuminated corner beneath circular stairs. Now it was my time to curse as I grabbed a heat blanket and followed her into the crowd. Luckily the crowd was too focused on panicking or the strange sight of the specter speeder. The specter speeders lights were on and was still glowing on its last fumes of ectoplasm. Behind the cylindrical hovercraft the large blue shining portal showed steam before it turned off. It plunged the entire room into darkness, if not for the specter speeder giving off ample light. It caused another wave of panic and screaming. Sam tried to wake Danny up, while I covered him under a blanket. That would keep others from seeing the slight glow he was giving off. It wasn't fool proof, since ghostly glow ignored objects trying to cover it up. My hands were trembling as Sam checked his vitals. Danny seemed in a deep sleep or just knocked-out after an all-out battle. Sam was trying to get him awake, but it wasn't working. She listened to his breathing again, trying to stay calm. This wasn't her first rodeo. Neither was it mine. Danny had been badly wounded, lethally wounded, maimed, broken or bleeding out from holes in his stomach but still. We had no idea how much internal damage he had kept from us. I clenched my hands, focusing on the burning pain of my nails to focus. Not now. Danny needs our help. "Anything Sam?" Sam sat back up, her anxiety leaving her face. "He's just unconscious. After healing the worst internal injuries he'll probably wake up. I can't look at the external injuries while he's glowing like this. He isn't bleeding out, so he should be safe for a while. First we need to find out where we are and a hidden place to treat his wounds." Normally I would refute the statement that Danny was fine. Even with his accelerated healing, he wouldn't be mentally okay. Just… this place and situation wasn't right to expose Danny as an 'alien'. The rising panic would certainly lead to severe actions.
A wheezing sound and low trembling could be felt from the ground. It caused the large crowd to grow silent. The specter speeder illuminated the room in an eerie green. It was a large almost hangar like place. The metal ring was a lot bigger when standing on the ground and the centrepiece of this room. It could fit the specter speeder just fine, which had avoided most humans in its path when launching from the portal. Except for the two humans holding their heads in pain while rolling around the ground. At least we didn't squash one of them. That would have been a bad start. The lights were bright enough to cover Danny's glow. Sam started to inspect his head, checking his body in the open was too risky. "No visible head trauma. We should find a safe place first." So where are we? Why are all these people scared? Some were badly wounded. Yet nothing in this room or place pointed at any danger. Had they used the portal in emergency or did they get dragged by a portal like us. We need Intel, what if the enemy is close? I glanced at Sam who was observing the situation around her. "Sam, I'll keep watch over Danny. See if you can gain some information while helping the injured. We need to know what caused their dishevelled state. Keep it low key." Sam nodded, pulling herself up with a groan. I had forgotten that she was injured. "If you don't feel well I can…" She shook her head. "I'm fine." I glared at her for using that phrase. A phrase Danny loves to use even while breaking every rib in his body. Sam snorted. "Just keep him safe. I can handle a few patients. Not the first head wound, certainly not the last." I nodded as she trudged off helping people from the floor.
She took extra care of the two people that we hit with the specter speeder. Some people were yelling orders trying to keep things calm. They also told people not to leave this room. We would get noticed if we move now. Just where had Clockwork sent us? How big were the problems that we would have to face? I lifted Danny's head on my lap, stroking his messy bed hair and almost cried. No, I have to stay strong. Danny was out, we are in an unknown place with possible enemies. Sam and Tucker need my guidance. Just why… Why can't we have that little bit of peace? Why can't Danny enjoy a nice day off, a pause in his strenuous life. Why did every problem need to be solved by him? Those ghosts had been in existence for millennia. Why couldn't they take down the G.I.W, why couldn't they close the portal? Why must Danny always be the one to face danger or some other trial? Just because he exists? No no no, it was guilt. We caused this, we wanted this 'place', this risk. Sam dared him to step into the portal, my parents made such a fatal design flaw, Tucker and I forced him into several dilemmas and Vlad… That screwed up fruitloop was the cause of many, many problems threatening our world. Danny never stopped protecting us, never stopped solving Vlads messes. He could have led a save and slow life in the ghost zone, yet he granted us a chance. He wanted us to fulfil our dreams even while knowing that his own dream was impossible.
I clenched my hands again to calm my mood. I need to focus on the situation at hand. The current mood was dangerous. Many people were shouting and moving, trying to understand their current surroundings. The lights flickered on, making the people in the room applaud. This place seemed highly futuristic. It wasn't exactly like an hangar. Two large consoles were on the opposite of the portal with a few curious people around them. The details of this place were amazing. Two staircases were around the consoles for an upstairs platform. People in uniform and dressed for battle were walking around. The clothing seemed military, yet many people were wearing casual clothes as well. Whatever they escaped, it had been sudden. Too many civilians were among these people. So the soldiers may have been escorts? A soldier shouted for our attention. We couldn't see him because of the specter speeder standing in the way. He used a low voice, but his words were clear. This place was an ancient spaceship? Tucker used his com. "Did you hear what he just said? I don't think he's lying. I can't find any satellite or star map that points at our location." A commotion ensued with a demanding person trying to get control of the situation. The soldier continued, telling about the life support failing and asking for assistance. I answered Tucker since Sam must be busy with the wounded. "According to the reactions of the people he's not the one in charge, they got here in a hurry and are improvising. Tucker, try to keep them out of the specter speeder until we know their intentions. Check the data of the life-support and tells us when to move back on the ship."
One of the soldiers came towards me. He was dark with a military cut. His weapon in semi-alert position. "Who are you? You are not from the Icarus-base!" How did he figure that out? I was immediately alert for possible danger. Although we did make a rather large entrance, it was during utter panic and darkness. As for the Icarus-base, they might be a secret government agency or a military agency. Except for the G.I.W and the regional military I wasn't well-versed in other bases. This could complicate things many times over. The soldier wasn't walking off without an answer either. Sam ran back to us. "Jazz, how is he? Did he wake up yet?" The soldier lowered his gun a bit. I shook my head and pointed with my eyes at the soldier. Sam crossed her arms and glared at the soldier trying to intimidate him. She didn't succeed despite her personal purple Kevlar-armor, making quite the impression on the soldier. All four of us wore specially designed Kevlar-armor. Technically it was a combination of both Kevlar and ecto-leather giving it many more uses than bullet protection. Yet it was cloaked to look like specially designed Kevlar-armor. Pandora had offered her help in creating our combat suits, since she was a warrior herself. She had personally woven part of our suits and imbued it with the colours of our choosing. Stitching our initials with the golden tread of her own armor to grant us her protection. Danny wears it in both form as well, so his suit was mainly black and white. The pathetic hazmat suit wasn't appropriate anymore. Not after the military got involved with guns blazing. Tucker had chosen black and green and I the teal colour to remember mom by.
It had been six long years and it changed us a lot. Sam had ripened into a strong woman, still wearing her favourite steel-toe-combat boots. Her neck-long hair was kept out of her face with the clip of her coms as she glared in anger at the soldier. She was only half a head shorter than the soldier. Her voice filled with warning. "You move that gun away from them or you'll regret it!" She stomped her left foot on the floor making the sound of her boots audible. I groaned at her aggressive approach. We don't need an enemy right now. "Sam, calm down. He's only making a headcount. He's wary because of our 'joyride', I assume." The soldier nodded. "Easy ma'am, I'll lower the gun. Please state your name, affiliation and the reason for your arrival." Sam grumbled before focusing on me, instead of the soldier. She treated him like air. "According to the people I treated, they arrived just minutes ago. They came here by accident just like us. So we are both in the unknown of our current location. Their leader is currently out because of head injuries. The other medic is tending to him. The people here got attacked at their base, but I didn't recognise either them or the enemy's name. I've visited Tucker for a location, but he's nauseous from the crash. It may take a while." The soldier lowered his gun a little. A bit frustrated at Sam's complete ignorance. "I saw your vehicle leave the stargate just after ours closed. What is that? How did you get here? From where did you dial? And state your names."