News update: Zyph has gone into a state of complete paranoia after having a bowl of cereal earlier today. She discovered...there was no spoon.
In other news, Zyph always seems to update really late at night. She has two important statements to...state:
1) Zyph will not be around for the next week or so, as she is going camping! Yaaaay!
2) On with the fic!
"Veronica! Veronica!" Monty cried, running through a set of rather impressive double-doors into his partner's office. He skidded to a halt in an almost comical fashion, stopping a few feet away from a large desk, his neat blond hair now frizzed and wild. Seated behind the desk and tapping away at a computer, was the one known was 'Veronica'.
She was a person that radiated a professional demeanor, a perfectionist with an uncanny store of knowledge that had led her to the top of her scientific career. These traits had also led to Veronica becoming Montgomery Price's most trusted confidant. At the mention of her name in such an excited tone, she bolted up from her desk and stared at the man, her hair barely moving from an almost painfully tight black bun. Monty, grinning in a childish sort of way, placed the small tube of ghost blood triumphantly on her desk. Veronica stared down at it, faintly wondering what in the world was going on.
"And what could this be?" she asked, picking up the tube and holding up to the light, where the liquid glowed an eerie neon green.
"This, my dear friend, just happens to be blood from Amity Park's own 'Inviso-Bill.'" Monty replied, folding his arms over his chest. Veronica's eyes widened.
"You mean…? Do you know what we could do with this?" Veronica asked, open-mouthed and disbelieving. Monty nodded.
"That's why I brought it to you! We can study it; explore an entirely new area of the paranormal! Just imagine… what can we create? What can we achieve? The experiments…the tests…ooh, the fun!" He clapped his hands together and beamed.
Veronica brought the tube closer to her face. "This…is amazing. And look…we not only have the blood…" She brought the tube down and shook it, placing it on the desk and pointing at a spot. Monty leaned in, and together, they saw the same thing—a single strand of ghostly white hair, floating in the liquid. And at the very root of the hair, it gradually faded to black.
"We have his hair." Veronica breathed, stating the obvious. Possibilities unfolded in front of their eyes…however, Veronica's possibilities were very different from Monty's. She, too, knew an opportunity when she saw one.
"Why don't you round up your most trusted employees, and we can supervise an entirely new project. Call it, Project Ghost." Veronica suggested.
"My, that's so original!" Monty replied, grinning and leaving the lab. He had a slight spring to his step—anything that helped unveil the truth always set him in a good mood.
As he left, Veronica reached into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone, quickly pressing in a series of numbers. She twirled the tube in her fingers as she leaned back in her chair and pressed the phone to her ear.
"Yes?" came a rough voice from the other line.
"Hello, Simon…I believe I have something that may interest you…" Veronica replied, smiling deviously and staring at the tube…her little prize.
As the clock struck eleven and the night progressed, Danny groaned and stirred in his sleep. Sam, who was anxiously sitting by Danny's side on the couch, shook Tucker awake.
"Mmph?" Tucker mumbled, sitting up and yawning. Sam stared at Danny as he groaned again, shifting his position until he was sitting up on the couch. He opened his eyes, looking quite dazed. Tucker wordlessly ran off to the kitchen to get a glass of water.
Sam placed a hand on Danny's shoulder. "Danny? Are you alright?" she asked, biting her lower lip. Maybe they should have taken him to the hospital…but they would have asked questions…awkward questions…but if anything happened to him, she could never forgive herself…!
Danny looked at the hand on his shoulder for a moment, feeling very, very cold…what had happened? Had he been fighting? Why did his arm hurt?
He placed his own hand on his left forearm, on the small scar that had appeared not long ago. There was suddenly a warmth, a deep, wonderful warmth that spread from his arm, to his entire body…it was simple…pleasure, freedom. Mischief.
"I'm fine now…" Danny murmured, placing his own hand on top of Sam's. She blushed, withdrawing her hand from his shoulder and taking the glass of water Tucker had brought.
"Danny-boy! Nice to see you're feeling better! Do you…ah…remember anything?" Tucker asked, smiling nervously. Sam handed Danny the water, and he downed it in a few gulps.
"I don't know, should I?" Danny replied, watching Tucker over the brim of the glass. Tucker paused, blinking. What was that?
"Um…well, yeah…don't you remember the octopus thing?" Sam asked, starting to get worried. Danny shrugged, his gaze falling on the clock, which now showed that it was well past Jazz's curfew. He shook his head, as if trying to shake away a nagging headache.
He stood, placing the glass on the table in front of him. "I have to…get going…sorry for the trouble…um…bye." He walked off, grabbing his bag and frowning. What did he just do? Why did he feel so…off?
Back in the living room, Tucker and Sam gave each other a long look. There was no need for words, as they were both thinking of the same thing. What was that about?
As soon as Danny opened the entry door, he was greeted by a rabid Jazz. "I told you to come home at ten." she hissed, fully aware he had probably been out ghost-busting, or whatever he called it. But still, she had to keep the 'innocently clueless older sister' act, right?
Danny replied with a dazed look, before feeling that sudden rush of warmth from his arm. "Coming to pick me up, sis? You're a doll. Now take me home." He brushed past her to the waiting family car, carelessly tossing his bag in and slamming the door behind him. Jazz blinked, and saw Tucker and Sam rushing towards her. They shrugged in response to her questioning look. "Right then…see you guys later…" Jazz turned and hurried back to the car. Oh yes, that earlier bout of female intuition was certainly correct. Things were not fine.
Danny scurried up to his room once they reached their house. Once he had gotten into bed, he simply stared at the ceiling, breathing heavily, one word repeating in his head over and over again: What?
The next morning, Jazz was just finishing preparing breakfast when Danny slid down the banister of the staircase, dressed in rather expensive-looking clothes of varying shades of black and red. Jazz stared.
"And just where did you get those clothes?" she asked, dropping her spoon into her cereal.
Danny, in response, shrugged. "Mom left her credit card behind, I felt like going out for some late-night shopping. That okay with you, big sis?" he asked, picking up the cereal bowl and casually shoveling its contents into his mouth. Jazz continued to stare.
"You're kidding. Can you even comprehend how terrible that is?" she said, voice ringed with disbelief.
Danny nodded heartily. "Oh, yeah, this cereal is terrible. Can't you make a decent breakfast? Honestly, woman! Well, I'm off to school, have a nice day." He sarcastically saluted Jazz before marching out of the house, backpack slung over one shoulder. Life is good, Danny thought to himself, as he carelessly went-ghost in his doorway and shot off in the direction of his high school. Who gives a crap if anyone saw? Hah!
Sam and Tucker were anxiously waiting for Danny by the tree the group always met at. "Do you think he's…you know…feeling better?" Tucker asked, frowning. Sam shrugged, watching the oncoming mass of students and looking for Danny.
Quite suddenly, a black-and-white figure dropped down in front of them. "Hello, my partners in crime! Are you ready for a fantastic day of learning fun?" Danny cried, his tone almost dripping with pure, ghostly sarcasm. Sam stared at Danny in horror.
"Are you trying to expose yourself? Go and go…normal, you twit!" Tucker hissed, glaring at Danny and anxiously scanning the crowd to see if anyone had noticed.
Unfortunately, anyone in black-and-white tights is bound to be noticed in record time.
"Ohmygosh! It's Inviso-Bill!" someone cried from the midst of the crowd. A panic abruptly ensued, thanks to the many dents on Inviso-Bill's reputation. Danny cackled and rose up into the air, before becoming invisible.
Sam was still in shock. "Yup, he's lost it." Tucker stated, staring at the spot Danny had disappeared. It really didn't help when Danny, in his normal form, popped up from behind the tree in his new clothes.
As Samwordlessly stared at Danny,she thought, Today would not be a good day. Absolutely, most definitely, not a good day.
Bam!
Again, a bit slow. Next chapter should be quite fun...just like school! (note: sarcasm.)
HPhantom: Aww, when you get to know him, Mr. Octo-thingy really isn't that bad. Squishy and revolting, but sweet. If that makes sense.
Axion-Pup: Cheesy lines rock, dewd.
Melon: Thankyou! (luvluv!) Oh, and thanks for reminding me:
This fanfic is dedicated to the real Sir Montgomery Lazerous Price.
...who is my parakeet.
Until next time!
-Zypharooni