I want to take a quick paragraph to say how upset I am over the fact that Danny Phantom won't be renewed after Episode 53. Please, everyone who's as upset as I am, write to Nickelodeon. Don't sign an online petition. That has about as much weight as shouting into the wind. Please, please write a real paper letter. And don't flame them. Tell them what this show means to you, and how sorry you'd be to see it go. This community is full of good writers, who can express themselves eloquently and intelligently. Use that talent!
The address to write (from Butch Hartman at his own web site) is:
Nickelodeon
1515 Broadway
New York, New York
10036
Attention: Programming.
I'll step off my soapbox now, and here's the next chapter :)
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The remains of a massive meal lay across the fold-out table in Danny's living room/study/dining room. Several Nasty Burger wrappers, some Chinese food containers with a few pieces of broccoli and tofu in the bottom and a few tortilla ends and pieces lay discarded along with three greasy paper plates. Tucker smiled with satisfaction.
"You know, it's true what they say. You can travel anywhere, but there's no food like your hometown food." Sam scraped at the bottom of a container and fished out a final piece of broccoli with her disposable chopsticks. "I'm sure the local restaurants have missed you immensely, Tucker."
"Gotta spread the love, you know," he grinned as he scooped a bunch of wrappers into an empty bag. Danny sat silently, wondering if the two even realized what a rapport they had. It was like watching an old married couple or something. Sam tossed the empty container into the trash bag in Tucker's hand and Tucker caught it easily.
"You know guys, this has been great, but I have school in the morning," Danny finally said, sounding like an old grouch even to himself.
"You know man, Sam and I could get a hotel," Tucker replied "but I think it'd be better if we camped out here. Then we can work on forming a strategy." Danny knew he meant separate hotel rooms, but the sound of "get a hotel" still bugged him. He stood up and looked around the room.
"I've only got the futon and the bed in the bedroom."
Tucker reached in his bag with a flourish and retrieved a box the size of a pack of playing cards. He hit a small button on the side and the box exploded almost instantly into a twin-sized full-height inflatable bed.
"That's one of my inventions. The company's gonna make a fortune when they start selling those. Imagine...shoulda inflated it in there, though..." His voice trailed off as he dragged the bed through the tiny kitchen and into Danny's bedroom. Sam laughed.
"He hasn't changed at all. Well, his grades are definitely better than they were. If you don't mind, I'm gonna crash on your futon. Maybe we can all meet up during your lunch hour tomorrow and make a plan. I know Tuck has some gear that can help us, and I think if we can figure out where these things are coming from it'll be a good first step."
Tucker emerged from the bedroom with a look on his fact that could only mean something was wrong. This time, Sam spoke up with what sounded to Danny like an inordinate amount of concern. "What is it, Tuck?"
"There was an accident at my lab. They say I'm responsible, that I left an experiment running. They want me back there tonight. I know I shut that experiment down. I know I did." He dropped into a chair as he spoke. "I'm gonna lose my job."
He hated to say it. He really did. But Danny heard the words from his own mouth before he could stop them. "Doesn't it seem suspicious to you two that within hours of getting here, you both have some kind of crisis that demands you immediately leave? I mean if I didn't know better, I'd think someone was trying to get rid of you."
Sam looked toward Danny. "You mean besides you? I thought it was really strange that the First Action Foundation would pull my loans. They were so eager to back me a couple years ago. Said I was just the kind of new business they liked to support. I've worked so closely with them, and now this."
Tucker had already pulled a notebook-type computer the size of a CD case from his pocket and was typing away at the keyboard he'd unrolled onto the table. "I'm on it."
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Danny sat on the front edge of his desk looking out at the sea of adolescent faces in his classroom. A large Periodic Table of the Elements loomed behind him. "It's pretty amazing when you think about it," he said as he looked for any spark of interest in any of the eyes out there. "It might not seem like it, but everything in the universe has a pattern, a structure. It's like," his face took on its own excitement as he got into his subject, "like it's a giant puzzle, and each element is a piece."
A hand came up in the back. An actual question. "Amanda, yes?"
The young brunette cleared her throat. "Are we going to have to memorize that thing?" A few sets of eyes glazed over in panic.
Danny shook his head. He should have seen that coming. He stood up and walked between the desks, handing each student an index card on the way. "There's an element on each of these cards. Tomorrow I want each of you to know enough about the element you have to give us a two minute overview. I also want you to sit in order to match the Periodic Table." He saw a note passing between two girls in the back. "Fiona, Beth, I assume that's a fascinating discussion about the properties of hydrogen there." He snatched the note and slipped it in his pocket. "You can pick that up at my desk after class."
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He unfolded the piece of crumpled paper and smoothed it out. He nearly burst out laughing at the caricature of Lancer he was looking at. The out-of-shape teacher was dressed as Ahab, stabbing a harpoon into a huge book with "Moby Dick" written on it. He looked over at Sam and smiled.
She pretended to drop a pencil and as they both bent down to get it, she passed him a second note. It only said "meet me in the janitor's closet before next period." His heart skipped a beat, even though he knew it was probably nothing but plans for the three of them to go to the movies. He nodded and looked back up only to come face to face with the bulging stomach of Lancer himself. Both notes were snatched and stuffed into Lancer's pocket.
He was doomed to another C. He could feel it already.
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Tucker and Sam were waiting for him in the hall outside of his classroom as the students filed out groaning about their homework. Damn but it felt strange to be standing in the hall with the two of them. It was like the years since high school hadn't happened. Sam grabbed his arm and dragged him toward the exit. In spite of her limp she was still strong and pretty fast to boot.
"Hey, hold up. Are you two kidnapping me or what?" He looked behind him at the two girls whose note he had taken, shuddering at the memory of the piece of paper. Most of it was filled with comments about how cute their teacher was and which one of them would marry him. He decided he was probably safer being kidnapped by Sam and Tucker. Sam dragged him outside and to a secluded area behind the dumpsters.
"We have to talk, Danny. Now."
He held up his hands in surrender. "Alright. I have class in three minutes. Talk fast."
Tucker handed Danny a small piece of tech that looked like a very streamlined version of his old PDA. Danny stared at scrolling lines of information for a few seconds, then looked up. "Can you guys just summarize this for me?"
Sam leaned against the brick wall of the maintenance shed with her arms folded. "The First Action Foundation operates under the auspices of the Barton Small Business Cooperative, which is run by the board of the Millard Foundation for..."
Danny cut her off with an exasperated gesture as he thrust the PDA back into Tucker's hand.
"Bottom line, Danny," Tucker answered, "is that the head of the board of the top level parent foundation is Samuel I. Lupis."
Danny shook his head, hoping that the motion would clear out whatever it was that was keeping any of this from making any sense. Sam seemed annoyed that he wasn't making the connection, and continued.
"Samuel I. Lupis is the founder of Megatech Industries, which owns E.C. Tech, which is the parent company of..." She could see Danny losing interest again. "Hey, this took a lot of research, you know!" She sighed in resignation. "Down the chain a few dummy companies, suspicious mergers and duplicate boards is Tucker's company, TechTonics." Another blank stare from Danny.
Tucker lowered himself to sit on a cinderblock that happened to be on the ground. "Danny, Sam and I work for the same person. Sam Lupis. Sam. Lupis."
Danny smacked his open palm into his forehead. It would give Sam Lupis nothing but pleasure to know that this information had been out there--buried, but out there--the whole time, and that the players in whatever game he was playing hadn't found it.
"Plasmius."