Disclaimer: I own what's mine.
Ch.5 Time Marches On
Danny groggily rose from his bed and rubbed his temples. He had a splitting headache from a night of unrest. Scourge's words kept him awake with fear all night long.
Tomorrow you will be going to that museum, I want you to meet me at the rooftop of the same building at midnight exact and not a minute more. There we'll get to know each other a little better and discuss your future.
Danny shook his head, trying to get his voice out of his head. To Danny's dismay the voice remained and he sighed and fell back on his pillow.
"What should I do?" He asked himself, "I know I shouldn't meet Scourge at the museum but what choice do I have? He'll hurt my friends if I don't go, he made that perfectly clear."
Feeling himself growing tired once more his eyes began closing. He tried to fight this overwhelming exhaustion at first but it was too strong.
"I'll just dose off for a few more minutes." He told himself when his cell phone ring.
"What!" he screamed as he shot out of bed.
He heard the phone ringing again and hopped out of bed to find the source. He checked in his bag first, finding nothing he extended his search to the pants he wore yesterday. When he didn't find it he sat down on his bed and let out a frustrated sigh.
"Where did I put it?" He shouted as the phone rang for the seventh time.
That's when he noticed the ringing seemed to be coming from under the bed. Danny squatted down and began to feel around. His hand made contact with something smooth and plastic, it vibrated in his hand. He instantly knew what it was, grabbing the object he pulled it out. It was his Verizon wireless.
"Thank you god!" He said as he flipped the top open and pressed answer.
"Hello?" He said trying to cover up the exhaustion in his voice.
"I thought you were never going to answer!" A woman's voice exclaimed.
Danny recognized it immediately, "Jazz!" He cried out in disbelief.
"The one and only." Jazz teased on the other line.
"Jazz this better be your cell, because if mom and dad find out your calling me from home they're going to raise the roof!" Danny warned.
"Relax Danny this is my cell." Jazz said calming him.
"Alright then, what's this about? Did you purposely want to waste your minutes with long distance calls?" Danny grumbled.
"I called to tell you that I'm coming to Jump City." Jazz said calmly.
Danny nearly dropped the phone, "Your what?" he cried in disbelief.
"My flights leaving in ten minutes, I'm coming to see you isn't that great?" Jazz asked innocently.
"Yeah that's great Jazz but how?" Danny stammered.
"We'll everything was sort of last minute but I have a friend who works at the airport and he booked me a flight for half price." She explained.
"Are mom and dad coming too?" Danny felt his voice breaking up.
"Hmmm sorry Danny they couldn't, no one could watch the house for them so it's just me." Danny was instantly relieved by her words, it would have been humiliating if his parents had decided to come.
"I should be there around eight." Jazz added, "I've got hotel tickets to Double Tree, see ya then!"
Jazz hung up after that. Danny was relieved that his parent's weren't coming but at the same time sad. He knew they missed him, but coming and staying with a high school junior was a little much. Who knows what they would have done, Danny shuddered as he thought about it. Mom questioning people at the registers for specter sightings, dad checking every room for anything supernatural. Both sneaking out at night and wandering the hotel. A knock on his door brought him to reality. Danny looked at his clock, it was seven in the morning.
"Wonder who that is?" He thought as he approached the door, that's when he began remembering what took place with him and Sam last night.
"She's probably still scared." He told himself as he opened the door without checking who it was.
Without looking at who it was he began speaking, "Now Sam I know your scared but Hmmmmm!" a textbook and notebook paper was shoved in his face.
Danny found himself staring into Dash Baxtar's scowling face. Dash curled his hand into a fist when he saw Danny.
"Isn't it a little early for you to be up?" Danny teased.
This seemed to enrage Dash, "Shut up Fenton!" he shouted.
Danny smirked, seeing that he hadn't frightened Danny Dash grumbled and put his hands in his jacket pockets.
"Lancer sent me to get you." He growled, "He says that he's giving everyone thirty minutes to get ready and we're heading off! I've still got to wake up everyone else, so by the time I'm finished you better be ready to go!"
Danny nodded and was about to close the door when Dash placed his hand in the doorway, stopping it from closing completely.
"Oh uh Danny I know this isn't my business but I couldn't help but asking I heard your conversation with your sister." He stated.
Danny's eyes widened and he opened the door, his eyes narrowed, "Eavesdropper!" He hissed.
Dash's face grew stern, "I didn't have to be I could hear you all the way down the hallway!" he roared.
"So what you're going to tease me about talking to my sister?" Danny growled.
At that moment Dash's features seemed to change. His body loosened up and became less tense, he stopped puffing his chest out and his shoulders relaxed. His face lost all trace of anger and took on a more worried expression. His eyes looked to the left and he brought his hands out of pockets and began twiddling with his fingers.
"I just wanted to ask." Dash started.
"Yes." Danny added.
"I just wanted to ask did your sister mention me at all?" Dash said turning to him with a hopeful smile on his face.
At that moment Danny felt his blood boil, he slammed the door in the jocks face causing him to leap back in fright. Danny walked away from the door and towards the bathroom.
"How dare he!" He muttered, "Even after all these years he is still trying to pursue my sister, what does he actually think he's going to get lucky with her or something?"
Dash heard this from outside and his face turned angry once more, "Thirty minutes Fenton!" he exploded, "And not a minute more!"
Dash turned and hit the wall behind him, the force of his punch left an enormous hole in the plaster. Retracting his hand he saw what he had done and walked away ashamed, this was why he couldn't get anywhere in life. His temper was his worst enemy, Dash began to recall when he had it all. He was a star football player and had a good chance to get a scholarship, but one day he got into a disagreement with one of his teammates. His temper got out of control and he ended up hurting him badly. Dash could recall the sirens and the paramedics rushing the kid to the emergency room. He could feel that handcuffs around his wrists as the blue uniformed cop slapped them on and read him his rights. The next few months after that he spent in court, the kids parents sued him and won.
His parent's lost thousands of dollars and had to work double shifts. As for Dash he never got a prison sentence but had to attend community service which interfered with his study time. Before he knew it his grades dropped and he couldn't graduate, he could only watch as his friends marched on to a promising future. Dash tried for a second year but his parent's had little income and he had to work also, he got a job at a fast food joint but quickly discovered that it left him little time to do his school work though he tried. He got held back another year because he was doing so poorly. It was not only humiliating but he was a nineteen year old still in high school! But the worst abuse came when he saw Danny's sister Jazz and how successful she was, secretly he had an enormous crush on her but because the way his life was going he couldn't work up the courage to tell her how he felt. So when he started his third year Dash did everything he could to graduate, now it seemed that everything that was lost was in his grasp once more.
But Dash knew this wasn't true, his scholarship was no where in sight and his parents were so low on cash that they could barely pay for the house let alone get him through college. Even with his income it was nowhere near enough to pay for a college semester. But worst of all Dash knew that Jazz would never feel the same way about him the way he felt about her.
"So what if I do graduate I have nowhere else to go." He confessed silently.
Dash passed a hallway mirror and stopped and gazed at his reflection, he was surprised at what he saw. What was once a figure of pride and fortune was nothing more than a mere shell of his former glory.
"I'm not that big of a loser, am I?" He asked his reflection, it stared back at him silently and without a word to spare.
Danny pulled aside the shower curtain and wrapped a towel around his naked body. He stepped towards the mirror and pulled out a comb from one of the hotel cabinets, swiftly he combed his hair and added a little gel. When he was finished he got out a toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste and began brushing his teeth. After a few minutes he spit out the white substance and walked into his bedroom, he tossed the towel on the floor and got dressed in blue jeans, a black undershirt, and a black dickies jacket. Danny grabbed some supplies from his bag and the things Dash left him when he heard a knock on the door.
"Dash," Danny muttered. "What does he want now?"
Setting the supplies down, he walked over to his door and checked to see who it was. He was surprised as well as relieved when he saw Sam's beautiful yet pale face. Danny quickly opened the door to greet her,
"Good morning Sam." He told her merrily.
"Good morning Danny." Sam responded.
Danny smiled at her, grabbed his supplies, and stepped out. Making sure he had his key Danny closed the door and locked it. When he heard the click he turned to Sam and smiled that's when he noticed something different about her, her hair was striped with blue and black die.
"So Sam new hair style?" Danny asked innocently.
"That's not all." Sam said seductively, she smiled at Danny and that's when he saw that she filed her front teeth down to points.
Danny shuddered at the sight, they looked like vampire fangs.
"Like them?" Sam asked.
Danny nodded, most people would think that he was lying. But in truth Danny liked her new look, it was scary but at the same time gave off a sexy electricity around her. Realizing that he was staring Danny decided to change the subject.
"So where's Tucker?" He asked.
"He's in the shower he'll be ready in a few minutes said for us to wait for him downstairs." Sam responded.
Danny and her made for the elevator, "I heard the fight with you and Dash what happened?" Sam asked softly.
"He overheard the conversation with me and Jazz and he asked if she mentioned him, the nerve of that guy!" Danny exploded.
The two reached the elevator and Danny pressed the button when Sam grew suspicious, "What was Jazz doing calling you all the way to Jump City in the first place?" She asked suddenly.
Danny hesitated then spoke, "Well my older sister has some friends who work at the airport and they booked her a trip to Jump City with hotel tickets and everything." He confessed.
The elevator doors parted and the two stepped inside a small room with a mirror in the back.
"To this hotel?" Sam continued on.
"To this hotel." Danny said.
"It could be worse." Sam told him.
Danny turned to look at his reflection, "Yeah I guess your-"
Instead of his reflection there stood Scourge! Grinning down at him, frightened for Sam's safety Danny turned towards the closing doors and found nothing. Alarmed by her friends actions Sam stepped forward towards Danny.
"Danny what's wrong?" She asked in a worried voice.
Deciding not to alarm her, he faced her, "Nothing Sam it was nothing."
The elevator doors closed and the two were on their way downstairs, when suddenly a figure phased out from a nearby wall and stood facing the closed doors.
"Midnight mister Fenton and not a minute more." Scourge hissed in the air before fading away.
Authors Note: R&R and no flames!