A/N: Nah, guys, just kidding about the "Review or Else!" tactic. Anyways, here's the third chapter!
Chapter 3: Situation Normal...
A Saturday with best friends was definitely something that Danny was looking forward to. They were going to see the movies together, spend some time at the pier, go bowling, and make the up the rest as they went along. It would greatly contrast the amount of work that he was given this week. It was just a day to hang out and relax without worry.
Danny left the house (via the back door, of course) and dialed Tucker's house number on his cell phone.
After a few rings, Tucker picked up. "Hello?"
"Hey, Tuck, this is Danny. Were you able to get home all right last night?"
"Yeah, it was fine. My grandparents didn't mind that I was late. But I can safely say that my parents weren't too happy with me. I can still hang out today, though."
"Well, that's cool," said Danny.
"Which reminds me," said Tucker. "How's your eye?"
"It's all right, I guess," said Danny, touching it. "Sure, I might get a lot of strange looks today, but I'm sure that it's not gonna be too much of a handicap."
"I kind of doubt that," said Tucker.
"What do you mean?"
"It's pretty simple, Danny," said Tucker. "A lot of people can see you today. If there's an attack, you go ghost, and everyone wonders why Danny Phantom has a black eye, that's going to be a sure mark upon the type of person they're looking for."
Danny stopped in his tracks. He had never thought of that.
"Crap!" he said. "You're right! Why do I only get things like this when it gets too late?"
"Well, it's not too late," said Tucker.
"What are you saying? That I should wear a mask when I go ghost?"
Silence befell the other line for a few seconds before Danny heard Tucker's voice again. "Hmm...that's an idea."
"No way, Tuck," said Danny, starting to walk again. "I am not wearing a mask!"
"Hey," said Tucker. "Last night, you were the one who brought up the idea of changing your name!"
"Which I decided not to, after you guys told me that it was perfectly fine."
"But this is something different, man," said Tucker. "We're talking about exposure about your biggest secret!"
"But wouldn't an addition to my appearance actually make people think that I'm trying to hide something?"
"I...er...uh...AHH! I don't know, man. We'll think of something."
"And I hope that it's a good one," said Danny. "Well, see you later, Tuck. I'm gonna call Sam and see if she can still hang out today."
"OK, man, see you later. In fact, I'll meet you at the Nasty Burger."
"Bye."
Danny hung up. Tucker may have had a point about changing looks to avoid exposure, but come on! Danny Phantom, the Flying Masked Fighter? Didn't have a nice ring to it.
Attempting to push the idea out of his mind, he dialed the number for Sam's cell phone.
Several rings went by without an interruption. "Strange," Danny thought. "Usually she'd wait after several rings before she'd pick up. What's going on?"
He was even more confused when after five rings, there was some laughing at the other end of the line.
In a voice that didn't sound like hers...
Since when did Sam have something like that? Sure she was a goth, but he was sure that she didn't have anything like that on her answering machine. That was really odd...
But then something else crossed his mind...her line from last night echoed in his head.
"Walking would do me some good. Bye Danny, see you later."
Did she get home last night?
What if...she never made it?
Beads of sweat formed on his forehead and started dripping down his face, slightly blurring his vision. If she was hurt, he had just let her down...
Panicking, he dialed Sam's house number. The rings seemed to last forever as Danny waited in nerve-wracking anticipation.
What seemed like hours was really a couple of seconds when he heard a voice on the line...
"Hello?"
It was Sam.
Danny took a breath, along with a sigh of relief. "Oh, my gosh, Sam!" he said.
Sam laughed on the other line. "What's wrong?"
His speech was hardly a whisper from nervousness as he found the strength to speak again. "Oh, nothing...it's just that...oh, never mind, nothing."
A pause. "Are you...OK, Danny?"
"Yeah, I'm just fine," he said, lying through his teeth. Just a minute ago he was a nervous wreck.
"Well, as long as you're fine," she said, with a little light laughter.
"OK," said Danny, completely relieved now. "Anyway, Sam, can I ask you a question? Why didn't you answer your cell phone?"
"Oh! I...uh...I forgot to charge it! I've got it with me in my hand right now. It's currently got a dead battery."
Danny hit himself in the head. Something that simple!
"Why?" she asked. "Did you try calling it?"
"Yes, I did," he said sheepishly.
"Well, I'm here," she said. "So now that that's all settled, what's up?"
"Well," said Danny. "I was wondering if you were still up for going out today with me and Tuck."
"Oh, yeah!" she said, suddenly sounding very excited. "Just give me some time to get ready, and then you guys can come pick me up."
"Actually," said Danny. "Tucker's going to meet me at the Nasty Burger. I'll just go over there right now, and you and Tuck can just meet me there together."
"Sounds good," she said. "All right, Danny, see you later."
"Good-bye, Sam," said Danny. "See you there."
"I'll be looking forward to it," she said, followed by a click on the phone.
Danny put down his phone, also hanging it up. All he could think about was the fact that he had acted absolutely nuts over something that was as simple as a dead battery.
He proceeded towards the direction of the Nasty Burger, his head back on the thoughts of the day's events. Feeling his cell phone was in his hand, he was about to put it back inside of his pocket, but something weird happened.
Danny's ghost sense went off...
Searching around in every direction, he looked around in alarm. Then his hand went to his cell phone. It was vibrating nonstop.
"I'm going ghost!" he yelled.
He made the transformation into Danny Phantom and opened the phone. He could see a big green and black T on the phone screen.
"Technus!" he said. "All right, Technus! I know you're in there! Get out right now!"
The phone shook violently. Danny could hear the laughter from earlier, the one he heard when he picked up Sam's dead cell phone. Technus had been inside the whole time...
The ghost sprang out of the phone and continued with the maniacal laughing.
"HAHA! I am Technus! Master of all things electronic and beeping!"
"Do you EVER change?" asked Danny, flying up to him. "What were you doing in my cell phone, anyway?"
"None of your business! I'm just out for revenge!" said Technus. Transforming into his form to when he was in the video game, Technus was begging for a fight.
"And there's no Level Zero to throw me into this time!" he said.
"Come on, Technerd!" said Danny, accepting the challenge.
"TECHNUS!" yelled the spider-like specter. He charged at Danny.
Flying through the air, Danny dodged the charging tackle and fired a ghost ray into Technus, injuring him in the abdomen.
Technus responded by shooting one of his tentacles at Danny, the claw hitting his body.
Though he blocked that area, Danny still screamed in excruciating pain as the speed hard metal forced his blocking fist to hit his bad eye, the Fenton Thermos getting knocked away from him.
"YAH!" he screamed, stunned from the attack, rubbing his eye.
Danny, forcing himself to withstand the pain, flew out of range and attempted to charge Technus, his eyes glowing fiercely.
Technus received the blow of the tackle and skidded into the street.
"Not bad, young Whipper-Snapper!" Technus yelled, an ectoplasmic blast coming out of his hand.
The blast hit Danny in the chest. He fell to the ground, bruised.
Technus had a chance for another swipe. But shooting two tentacles this time, he grappled Danny and literally held him in his own clutches.
Danny couldn't free himself. His eye was too much in pain for him to even think about going intangible, and the claws were slowly squeezing the life out of him.
Danny struggled to force himself out of the death crush. Even though his arms were free, and he was struggling in a futile effort to free himself, he wasn't budging.
He was running out of air. It felt just like the spaghetti from last night, just a whole lot worse...
And Jazz wasn't around...in fact, his parents were with her, out of town, for the weekend.
He was all alone...
"HA!" said Technus. "You think you can escape me! I think not! For I am Technus! Master of...
"Long-winded introductions!" yelled Danny, still trying to force himself free.
"It is no use!" said Technus. "You cannot escape me!"
In a last-ditch effort, Danny charged up his ghost stinger and grabbed the tentacle.
"AHH!" yelled Technus. His body surging with pain, he let Danny go.
Able to breathe again, Danny flew down to the area where the Fenton Thermos had fallen. He activated it and sucked Technus inside.
"I'll be back!" yelled the ghost of technology. "Sooner or later, I'll come back!"
Danny closed the thermos. He was exhausted.
Running behind a tree, he changed back into Danny Fenton. Then he let himself catch his breath.
First Desiree, now Technus? What was going on? Nothing seemed to be making sense right now.
There would almost be no reason for Technus to be in his phone...what was he doing in there?
The questions continued flying through his head, until a hand on his shoulder interrupted his train of thought.
Looking up from a dizzied gaze, he saw that it was Tucker. Sam was standing behind him.
"Are you OK, man?" asked Tucker, looking at his friend in concern.
"Yeah," said Sam. "You look like you've just been in a fight."
Danny held the thermos in the air. "Technus," he said. "He was in my cell phone."
Sam and Tucker exchanged nervous glances.
"W-what was he doing there?" asked Sam.
"Beats me," said Danny. "Probably trying to take over the phone company, for all I know."
His best friends laughed. To Danny, it was good to hear laughter. It looked like it was on the road to being the carefree day he was vainly trying to get.
"So," said Tucker, "I've got a little present for you, Danny."
Tucker held out his hand, something folded inside of it. Danny unfolded it.
It was a black mask.
"Tucker!" he said. "I'm not going to wear a mask!"
"Before you do anything," said Tucker, "just put it on!"
Danny turned to Sam for support. But she seemed to be on the same lines as Tucker.
"I completely agree with Tucker," she said. "If people see you with a black eye, it will be a dead giveaway. Injuries never lie, Danny."
Seeing he was trapped between friends, Danny finally consented. He turned into Danny Phantom and put the mask over his face.
"I want to see a mirror," he said, when it was tied into place.
Sam and Tucker led him over to a store window. Danny looked at himself with the new accessory in place. It looked all right to him. In fact, it wasn't too bad.
"I kind of like it," said Sam.
Danny's heart jumped. "You really think so?" he asked.
"Hey," she said, "Black is my favorite color, you know."
"So, come on!" said Tucker. "Weren't we going somewhere, like the movies, or the pier?"
"Oh, yeah," said Danny, feeling himself change back into his human form. The mask disappeared, as it was only put on his ghost half.
"It will appear once again when you go ghost," said Tucker. "No one will know about it."
"OK," said Danny, walking along with his friends.
"Let's see the movies first," said Tucker, as they walked along. "I want to see that new action-horror movie!"
"Oh, you mean the one with Terminatra?" asked Sam excitedly. "I want to see that one, too!"
Once again, Danny let others do the talking. The only words echoing in his head were those of his sister, from the previous night.
"...do something about it...you know, something for HER..."
Maybe today was his day to make a move, but then again, maybe it wasn't. He struggled with the opposition in his own mind as they walked to the cinema.
End Chapter 3
The plot thickens! Please read and review!