September 13, 2004: Mein Gott, I actually got it up on time! This was quite a chapter for me. I wrote most of it from last Monday to Friday, writing four pages on Friday. Total word count: 3,330. Page count: 10. Warm fuzzy feelings: Priceless. There are some things money- blinks Cha? Anyway, I'm working on a new time-format so y'all know when something happens. Hope it'll make for easier reading.
References in the last chapter- Star Trek: the people talking in Vulcan; Return to Sender: "You'll never get me alive, copper!" was one of Colette's many.... unusual responses; LotR was the shirts with Tolkein-related quotes; Michael Crichton's Timeline was the whole thing with the quantum physics. What, you thought I made it up? Go Google it- quantum physics are quite real indeed and fun to play with in my spare time.
References in this chapter: FOP, Star Trek, Train, and LotR. Also, outside of the actual fic, find and translate the German phrase that appears twice!
The OFtR is "Like Mom and Apple Pie", a DP humor fic by ZAGRH8R. You can find it at http: www. fanfiction .net/s /2038135 /1/.
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Danny in Star CityChapter Six: Whiskey, Tango, Foxtrot
10:34 AM
"So, what brings you to the convention, Jazz?" Conley asked as he glanced back at the girl following.
"My parents dragged us here for the weekend," Jazz said, making a face. "They told us about it Wednesday and we left the next day. It was really sudden."
"When you say 'we', do you mean your brother and yourself?"
Jazz nodded. "Yeah, me and Danny. Do you know how annoying it is to be stuck in a car with my brother for five hours?"
"I can imagine," Conley said. "I had a few brothers and sisters of my own."
"'Had'?" Jazz repeated.
"Have," he amended. "I have."
"Is your family here, too?" she asked.
Conley shrugged. "No. I'm here on my own."
"Your parents let you come here by yourself? How old are you?"
"Sixteen, same as you. I saw you on the road this morning," he explained. "I assumed that we were close in age."
They had navigated through the civic center to the top entrance of the indoor arena. Conley held the door open for Jazz and smiled at her as she walked through. Jazz felt the beginnings of a return smile tugging at her lips when she started to scan the room from her vantage point.
The room was filled to the absolute brim with people. Half the arena was reserved for the larger exhibits like a larger-than-life-sized robot and a huge satellite dish that shouldn't have possibly been able to fit through the doors. People crowded the stands around this part, watching in an almost reverent silence as a solar-powered hovercar was brought out. Others were milling about the other side where the smaller displays had been set up and the food vendors were located. She caught a glimpse of her father showing off his inventions to a group of diffident flock of tourists.
"Come on, I see my dad," Jazz said, picking her way through the stands. Conley stayed close, keeping an eye on the proceedings around them. When they arrived on the ground of the arena, Jack spotted the two immediately.
"Jazz! I was just explaining the schematics of the Fenton Thermos to these fine people!" he announced, voice booming in an echo over the area. "Come over here and bring your friend!"
Those fine people, seeing their chance, quietly slunk away while Jack was preoccupied with his daughter. A lot of attention was directed in Jazz's general direction, making her cheeks heat up. "Sorry about this," she muttered as she introduced Conley to her father.
"Conley, eh?" Jack said, peering critically at the boy. To give him credit, Conley matched the older man's gaze and managed a look of polite detachment. "No, you don't seem to be a ghost, but you're eyes are a bit odd."
"Dad, they're the exact same color as Sam's," Jazz said, exasperated, but realized that wasn't necessarily correct; Danny's gothic friend had pale lavender irises whereas Conley's were darker, more like an amethyst. It was a very attractive color.... Jazz gave herself a mental slap in the face to come back from lovey-dovey land.
"That's true," said Jack, and he pulled back from his examination. He frowned, just noticing he had lost his captive audience. "Darn, now I have to find more people to listen to me talk!"
"Yeah, don't let us keep you from that all-important goal," Jazz said as she attempted to sneak off without being noticed.
"I know! You two can listen to me practice my lecture!" Jack said, as though he had presented them with some sort of treat.
Knowing how quick her father could settle into a routine of dull monotony, Jazz thought fast. "Look, a ghost!" she pointed.
"Where?" Jack said, spinning around.
"Keep looking," she said, ushering herself and Conley into some empty seats in the stadium out of Jack's sight.
"That was low," Conley said, chuckling.
"Hey, if you wanted to sit through one of his lectures, be my guest," Jazz said.
"I've no doubt they're quite tedious," he said, taking a seat beside her.
"Heh. You got that right." She was acutely aware of their shoulders almost, but not quite, touching.
Eric Channings showed up, effectively cutting possible awkwardness on Jazz's part. "Hey, Jazz," he called up to her "Where are Danny and Eliza?" he asked.
"Uh...." she said. "Not.... here?"
This caught Jack's attention. "They're not here?" he asked.
"I can see that," Eric said dryly. "I'm guessing that they pulled the slip on you?"
"While I was in the bathroom," Jazz said sheepishly.
"You lost them?" Jack asked incredulously.
"They ran off, Dad. No big deal."
"It is so a big deal! They could be lost, or hurt, or attacked by ghosts...."
"Is your father planning on a ghost showing up?" Conley asked aside to Jazz.
"Planning?" Jazz snorted. "He's practically depending on it, if he wants to prove that any of his stupid gadgets work."
Smirking, Conley said, "I take it that you don't exactly share your father's interest."
"Darn right I don't," she said, glowering.
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10: 37 AM
Danny didn't need to be a genius to know that he was in trouble. He hadn't even done anything, and this man picked out his secret with ease. Gulping nervously, the boy took a step backwards.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Danny said, trying to keep his voice level.
Once more, Gale's eyes flickered to his watch. "I think you do."
Curious despite himself, Danny looked at the Rolex, only to find that it didn't tell time at all. Instead of a face and hands, there was a black screen that showed moving pinpoints. All of the dots were yellow, save for one in bright green.
"This watch is designed to detect every being in the immediate vicinity," Gale said. "Even those that are not exactly.... human."
"I'm human!" snapped Danny defiantly. He glanced at Eliza, who still had her back turned and was engrossed in whatever Jereni was showing.
Gale chuckled. "I never said that you weren't, lad. The ones I was speaking of are blue. I've only met one other person who shares your color."
"Who?" Danny asked. There's only one other halfa I know of....
Shaking his head, Gale said, "That's not important right now. What's important is keeping someone else from finding out what you are."
"Wait, so you aren't going to tell anyone that I'm half ghost?"
Gale looked surprised. "Oh, so that's what it is. I knew it was something, but...." He trailed off and shrugged. "No, of course not. People would ask how we found you, and this technology isn't exactly supposed to exist. There wouldn't be anything in it for us at all."
"How can you help me?" Danny asked. "And what's the catch?"
"Ah, I was wondering when we'd get to that part," Gale said, taking a wallet out of his back pocket. Opening it, he took out what looked like a Band-Aid. "All you have to do is wear this."
"You're kidding me," Danny said, taking the bandage and examining it. Besides being a bit thicker in the middle than customary, it had no unusual characteristics.
"There's a microchip between the pad and the adhesive," Gale explained. "It will cloak you from any and all sensors. You will be invisible in every way but sight." He saw that Danny was still a bit dubious, so he said, "Look, put it on. If you don't disappear from my watch, then you know that I'm lying."
Though still not totally trusting this stranger, Danny knew he wasn't in any position to decline help. Keeping his eyes on the watch, he put the bandage under the left sleeve of his T-shirt. When it was securely hidden, the green dot on Gale's watch faded to yellow.
"That's odd," the man said, frowning. "It doesn't completely mask your presence, just the ghost part." He turned as though to ask Jereni something, but she was still wrapping it up with Eliza.
"She doesn't know about me," Danny said, referring to the girl. "Please don't tell her...."
"Fair enough," the older man said, nodding his head. "You don't tell anyone about our technology, and we don't tell anyone about you." He held out his hand. After a moment's hesitation, Danny did the same and they shook.
"Hey, Danny! Whatcha doin'?" Eliza laughed when Danny jumped and turned to face her. "Ha. Scared you, didn't I?"
"No, you didn't-"
"Okay, I'm bored. Let's go somewhere else," she said.
"Sure...." he said, walking after her. He turned and mouthed "thank you" to Gale, who nodded.
"Bright girl," Jereni remarked as the two teens went out of sight.
"Hmm."
"What happened?" she asked.
Gale looked down at his wrist thoughtfully. "The watches seem to work fine," he said.
"I know. I'm the one who made them," she said as she twisted her long, brown hair absently. "Is everything all right?"
"I think," Gale said softly, "that things have just gotten a lot more complicated."
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10:40 AM
"I didn't know that there would be such a crowd," Conley said, glancing at all the people milling about.
"Neither did I," Jazz said. "Who knew that all this paranormal junk would attract so many people?" she asked.
There was a slight pause. "It's not junk," he said.
"Well, I mean, I know it's real and all," she dismissed, "but there's so much more you could do with your time." She heard him take a sharp intake of breath. He was staring at his watch, disbelief etched onto his features.
"What is it?" she asked.
Aware that he was now under scrutiny, Conley carefully neutralized his expression. "Nothing," he said, a bit gruffly. "The thing just needs new batteries...."
Before she could get a good look at it, Conley pulled the sleeve of his turtleneck down, effectively obscuring the watch from view. He looked at Jazz pointedly, as though daring her to ask any questions.
"Sorry for wondering," she said, rolling her eyes.
"It's quite all right. I forgive you."
Jazz snorted. "You are just so sure of yourself, aren't you? You think that I won't ask about what just happened."
Shrugging expressively, he said, "That's because you won't. Because you think that it's really none of your business- which is absolutely correct, by the way- and you're afraid of coming across as a busybody."
"Really?" Jazz said, trying to mask her surprise at the fact that he read her so well. "And why would I be afraid of that?"
"Because," he said, gracing her with a smile, "you're afraid that you might unintentionally push me away."
Jazz rocked back in her chair "I am not," she muttered, refusing to meet Conley's eyes.
"You keep telling yourself that," he said, giving her knee a light pat. "I've got some things I need to do." Conley stood up and stretched. "I'll be back," he told her and walked down the aisle to the floor of the stadium.
"Nice kid," Jack commented, watching him as he exited the arena.
"Shut up," Jazz moaned, leaning forward and covering her face as a light blush crept up her cheeks.
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11:17 AM
Ever since the confrontation with Gale, Danny had been on edge. He wasn't sure how much faith he placed in the cloaking device or the man's ability to keep a secret. The fact that he had been so easily detected scared him; Danny hadn't realized that at a convention such as this, there would be more people who specialized in the same area as his parents. However, he knew that at this point there wasn't much he could do, so he tried to turn his mind to other manners.
"I'm hungry," Danny whined as they passed a hot dog vendor
"I know Danny," Eliza sighed. "That's the third time you've said it."
"That's cause it's true. I'm hungry."
"Well, I'm sorry!" she snapped. "It's not like I have any money or anything! Dad has the wallet."
"So? We'll just go find our parents, explain to them that Jazz ran off, and mooch a couple bucks off them. Easy."
"No, Danny. Not easy. How are we supposed to get from here," she pointed at the ground, "to there?" She made a vague gesture in a random direction.
"Duh, we look at the map."
"Do you have the map?"
"What, I thought you had it!"
Eliza rolled her eyes. "No, you're the one who brought us here in the first place."
"But I gave it to you when those Trekkie evangelists started following us."
"And I gave it back after I finished talking with Jereni."
Danny blinked. "You did?
"Yes, Danny."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, Danny. I'm sure."
"Oh. I don't have it now."
"Well, in that case, we're hopelessly lost."
Shrugging, Danny said, "I'm sure that we could find our way back to the entrance.... eventually...."
The redhead wasn't listening. "We'll wander around here for the rest of forever, living off what tourists give us and the leftover pizza in the security guard's lounge."
"Don't be so- did you say lounge?" Danny asked.
"Yeah. That's where all the controls for this main room are. You know," she said when Danny stared at her blankly, "the room with the light switches and the stereo system."
Danny pondered this a bit. "Could you get us in?"
"Sure, I mean anyone could.... just...." Eliza stopped. A decidedly evil grin spread on her face. She grabbed Danny's arm and dragged the protesting boy off.
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11:32 PM
Despite having "Authorized Personnel Only" stamped on the door, the lounge was surprisingly easy to get into. It had, as Eliza put it, taken all the fun out of sneaking around in the back of the civic center in the first place. It was Danny who found the fridge, stocked with soda, cake, and leftover pizza. They decided that there wasn't enough to sustain a group of security guards, but certainly enough to interest a couple of fourteen-year-olds. After thoroughly clearing the fridge, Eliza and Danny explored the control booth. It had all sorts of fun knobs and buttons to play with.
"Man, there's nothing on," Eliza complained as she turned the dial on the radio. "Country.... rap.... Backstreet Boys.... All we got is crap since Z101 died."
"We could start our own band," Danny suggested.
"We could. It depends. Say 's'up'."
"What? Why?" Danny asked.
"Just say it," Eliza said irritably.
"Um.... s'up?"
"Perfect! You've got the makings of a drummer, I can tell. Oooh! Save the Day!" she said, as the radio picked up her favorite song.
"What?" Danny asked.
"Only the coolest song since Icky Vicky!" she said, rolling her eyes and starting to sing along. "You'll be standing in the sunshine/I'll be standing right here in the rain/You save me and I will save the day...."
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11:47
Wherever Conley went, he didn't stay long; he'd gotten back just a few minutes ago and struck up a conversation with, of all people, Jack. Jack was delighted to have someone take a genuine interest in his work and wasted no time in giving the teen a full run-down on every invention he'd brought along. Far from being of the so-how-does-this-doohickey-work kind, Conley's questions showed impressive knowledge in the little-appreciative field of paranormal mechanics. Jazz personally didn't know what he saw in it; already having sat through an explanation of the various Fenton inventions (twice), it was all she could do to keep from dozing off right then and there.
"When you say that the Ghost Laser doesn't need a power source, does that mean that it's powered by a ghost's own presence?" Conley prompted as he hefted the object in his hands. Though obviously a weapon, the guards had let it go since it had the resemblance of a cheap water gun. (Also, they thought it more prevalent to deal with the Tolkein fans that brought their own crossbows and broadswords).
Jack nodded. "That's right! Unless there's a ghost to supply it with an aura, the Laser won't fire. It's got an automatic targeting system, but it can be done manually if there's more than one ghost nearby."
They continued to talk, paying absolutely no attention whatsoever to Jazz. She was bored, which was not a good thing. When she got bored, her mind tended to wander onto the topic that she least wanted to think about. At the moment, it was Conley.
She was crushing on him, wasn't she? It was insane. She hadn't known him for more than an hour and he was already invading her thoughts. It wasn't as though she were prone to falling in love with every cute guy she saw; on the contrary, she hadn't given any boy more than a second thought in her life. But now....
I don't even know what he's like, she thought. All I know is that he's got blond hair and purple eyes and a great sense of style and a handsome face.... snap out of it! she commanded silently.
She remembered the odd way he had acted with his watch. The evasion in Conley's voice had surprised her. It was probably from hearing Danny make excuses about where he'd been, but Jazz had gotten very good at telling when someone lied. See? she thought. Something's up with Conley. He's means trouble. There's something he's not telling me. Of course, why would he? We just met. He's so mysterious....
"This is all some weird teenage thing," Jazz rationalized, stealing another glance in Conley's direction. "I'm just looking for companionship. Hormones are kicking in. He's the nearest sixteen-year-old vaguely hominoid male. It's nothing serious...." Conley caught her eye and winked, softly smiling.
Then why does my heart stop whenever he looks at me?
A crackling over the intercom interrupted her musings. "Uh.... would the owner of a yellow Hummer please move to a space that's not next to the Greenpeace van? They're threatening to riot."
"Go on, say it!" another voice came through the P/A system.
"No, it's stupid-"
"Go on!" the second voice encouraged.
The first voice sighed, and said, "We would like to remind all theatre patrons that penguins are not allowed in the orchestra pit."
The microphone squeaked as a girl's choked laughter came through. "Please keep your flightless fowls on a leash at all times," she giggled, "and make sure that you pick up after them."
The two cracked up and the P/A went dead. Most people's expressions could be summed up as whiskey, tango, and foxtrot. A smattering of laughter went up in the arena as the sheer absurdity of what happened sunk in.
"I recognized those voices," Jazz said as the security guard known as Hal came striding up to Eric.
"Uh, Eric?" Hal said. "We've got a bit of a problem...."
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11:56 AM
Conley didn't hear all of the exchange between Hal and Eric, but he did hear the latter's exclamation of, "They did what?" Eric relayed the news to Jack, who scratched his head. He muttered something about kids in the control booth and followed Hal out of the arena.
Jazz came down from her seat and asked, "What was that about?"
"I think that your brother has been found," Conley said.
"Figures they'd attract a security guard," Jazz groaned, running after them.
When he was sure her back was turned and that he wouldn't be noticed, Conley took the Ghost Laser and placed it in an inside pocket of his jacket. It took only a few seconds to smooth the out fabric so that the Laser was completely concealed. Taking a deep breath, he walked towards the exit.
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Sweeet. This was fun to write. Okay, "whiskey, tango, foxtrot" is WTF in the phonetic alphabet, which means what the.... freak. Yeah. What the freak. Uh-huh. This chapter is dedicated to my algebra teacher who taught me the phonetic alphabet thing. You rock, Mr. A!
Aura Spectre: nice catch with the HDM reference! I can't call myself a fan as I hated The Amber Spyglass, but The Golden Compass is one of my favorite books. You get the subtle knife.
cheerin4danny: yay for eBay, huh? Give it to Aura if you really don't want it. But if you really want it, you can have Lyra's alethiometer carrying case.
Silver Latias: Mein Gott, I don't think I've ever gotten such a compliment.... No, no, I am not worthy of being compared to the fic that is "Take a Look in the Mirror". No. Don't go there. Aw, what am I saying? I like the praise. You get a grappling hook and three feet of rope to help you with future cliffhangers.
PSDog: ....you had sugar, didn't you? Ha ha. Now that your duck is clean, I'm sure that you wouldn't want him to be hungry, huh? I'm giving you a pack of Rubber Duck Food Seeds that will grow into Rubber Duck Food Trees.
Shadowesque13: No worries, all is forgiven. Yes, Conley needs to be drawn. Now. With swiftness. You get a poke in the head.
Wind Cat: Yes, Conley has a cool-yet-vaguely-creepy air about him, which shall only intensify in the next chapter. And the one after that. At least, that's my plan. Jazz was right. Again. Gee, who didn't see that one coming? You get a pen and pencil set.
Firehedgehog: Sweet, you write Digimon 02/03 crossovers! That makes me happy. You get the second and third season of Digimon on DVD.
Thank you all for your support. I can only tell you that things are gonna get more exciting from here on out. I'm starting a new section at the bottom of this author's note that features YOUR guesses on what will happen next. In case you get really close to what I'm planning, I'd rather you send predictions to my email at to keep from spoiling it for anyone else, but I'll accept them with reviews, too.
!Hasta luego!