WoM- o.O I didn't even know some of the names I've been called because of last chapter even existed… 'bemused.' I will, however, be writing some of them down in an attempt to further my vocabulary. I've got a vacation at my dad's coming up soon, so no update next week. Pretty sure that's all I need to tell you guys…
"I will not eat oysters. I want my food dead. Not sick -- not wounded -- dead."
-Woody Allen
Scene 8
Fear and the human's natural ability to assume the worst in times of extreme anxiety does amazing things to someone adrenalin-wise. Take, for example, the fact that Danny hit a maximum of 173 mph in the air when he was clocked during his last training exercises.
However, if you take a rushed conversation with a babbling, almost incoherent Mrs. Manson and paranoid flashes of Sam lying dead in the gutters somewhere and give the boy a general direction his friend had last been seen in, you had a halfa pushing 250 and climbing.
He'd taken off after charging past a very confused and surprised group at the door, transforming in the nearby alleyway and taking off with a reckless abandon of care towards his own secret's safety that Sam would probably kill him for later.
'If I can find her,' Danny told himself grimly. He shook his head furiously as if to dispel that thought. He would find her. He HAD to…
This thought had him taking his already dangerous speed to an even more potentially deadly level, glancing around desperately for the familiar black hair of his best friend. He saw Paulina and a small group of girls in front of the mall, and the Latino most certainly saw him. She started jumping up and down gleefully, waving to try and get his attention.
In a glorious brush-off that Sam would've hugged him for had she been there to see it, Danny kept right on flying.
He also noticed the Box Ghost heading back to FentonWorks with an armload of cardboard boxes and a laundry basket filled with socks without mates. Danny blinked and raised an eyebrow, but didn't stop to ask. After he flew past the Axion Labs for the twelfth time, though, Danny was really starting to get worried.
"Okay, Fenton, clam down," He muttered to himself, pausing in mid-air to think. "Let's see… Sam and her mom had a fight and now Sam's gone missing. She isn't still walking around, so worst-case scenario is that she's been killed or kidnapped while best-case is that she's hiding." The half-ghost cringed.
"Since I really, really don't want it to be worst-case, let's concentrate on the last one. Now, if I was Sam and I was mad, where would I hide…" Danny frowned thoughtfully, "Not the obvious places, so somewhere really bizarre… somewhere I normally wouldn't be caught dead… Somewhere like…" That's when it hit him, "Oh, Duh!"
"Hi, welcome to Abercrombie andFitch, how can I help you?" A far too perky girl asked a human Danny as he entered the store.
"Hi, did a girl come through her looking like she really didn't belong in a really, really bad mood?" Danny asked.
"Oh, she's in the back," The sales girl said, pointing to the dressing rooms, "Gave me a fifty to hide her, then told me to forget she existed."
"Thank you," Danny said, heading towards the dressing rooms.
"Hey, you can't go in there!" The girl protested. "It's the girl's dressing room, we could get in trouble if you go in there!"
Her objections fell on deaf ears.
After a quick glance around assured him that there were no cameras around, Danny walked through the door of the stall where he could see Sam's combat boots, earning a startled gasp from the girl.
"You really know how to make people worry," Danny said conversationally, leaning against the mirror opposite of the girl. "Your mom is a babbling mess right now, and I was about to have a heart attack when she called me and said you went missing." Sam smiled wryly.
"She always has been the kind of woman who made mountains out of hills," She said dryly. Then, a little more incredulously, she added, "How did you know where to find me?"
"Just thought of the last place on earth you'd go to willingly and went there." Danny shrugged, "It was a toss up between here and Old Navy, but I figured that between the two you'd dislike this one more." Sam laughed at that.
"Well at least someone knows me around here," She said. That sobered Danny up a bit.
"Yeah, heard you got into a fight with your mom," He said carefully.
"Did she tell you what it was about?" Sam asked. Danny shook his head in the negative. "She thinks I'm doing something wrong because I'm keeping things from her. Apparently she'd even gone so far as to try and plot with your and Tucker's parents to try and get the truth out…" Danny stiffened.
He should've known. Sam didn't say it, but it was obvious she was talking about the whole ghost hunting thing. What else could it be, if Mrs. Manson was drilling both his parents and Tucker's about it? His friends were starting to suffer because of his problem, his responsibilities, all because he was pushing it onto them…
'Vlad's right.' Danny thought. He was depressed enough by the thought not to consider the bitter irony that he was once confident that those two words would never be used in the same sentence in that order. 'Sam and Tucker are only human, and it's not fair to ask them to fight something they don't stand a chance against.'
"Danny? Danny are you okay?"
"Fine," Danny sighed. "Just thinking."
"About the Pyros?" Sam asked. It took Danny a second to remember what she was talking about.
"Ah, yeah! Pyros…" The superhero laughed nervously, trying to hide the fact that that'd been the last thing on his mind. Sam didn't buy it.
"Danny, what was really on you mind?" She asked, narrowing her eyes at him suspiciously. Danny sighed.
"It's just…" Danny let out a sharp gasp and shivered slightly, a jet of blue streaming from his mouth.
"You know, I'm starting to think they time these things…" Sam said dryly, annoyed that the conversation had to be cut short just as it was getting interesting. That was usually the case around Danny, though.
"Hold that thought," Danny said, transforming. "I'm going to see what's up."
"Don't you mean we?" Sam reminded him, raising an eyebrow.
"You're not coming, Sam," Danny told the girl firmly, "The cameras, remember?"
"But Dan-!" Before the protest could be finished, Danny turned invisible and took off through the ceiling. "-ny…" Sam sighed irritably after he left. "Superheroes…"
Danny for his part was almost grateful the ghost had shown up. It gave him time to think about what he'd tell his friends. After all, if they were really getting into trouble because of his ghost powers now, there was no way he could let them continue to share his burden. It just wasn't fair to ask that of them.
Before Danny could think about this any further, he found the ghost he was looking for, and he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the sight of her.
She was his age, for one. Which was rare enough for a ghost, since the only other one he'd fought that fell into that category was Poindexter. Also he'd never seen a ghost dress so flashy.
The girl was wearing a shimmering white half top with pale blue trimming along the neck and arm collars. A red yellow and green flower decal over her heart was the only other decoration on the top. Then she also wore a pair of blue jeans with a short slitted skirt that matched the top over it, and white high heeled boots that laced up to her knees.
Her lime green hair was done up in high pigtails, with two long strands in the front escaping the bands to frame her face. Also some of the shorter hairs managed to avoid being tied up, giving the illusion of a pixie cut.
Various colorful bracelets and a cracked white watch lined both her arms, almost all the way up to her elbows, and baby blue fingerless biker gloves and a flashy diamond ring decked her hands.
The thing that really made Danny frown, though, was the silver circlet with the blood red gem on her head. He got a chilling vibe from it, which was never a good sign when dealing with ghosts.
"Ooh, look at all the pretties!" The ghost giggled, floating over a display case of jewelry and ignoring the way the humans in the store screamed and ran. Danny's frown turned to a look of confusion he'd heard her voice somewhere before…
Danny shook the feeling off. That didn't matter, since he was dealing with her now, after all…
"You know those 'pretties' don't belong to you, right?" Danny called out, getting the girl's attention. She smiled broadly at him.
"But they should now, shouldn't they?" She said happily, "Just like this pretty should be yours!" Danny choked as the girl winked at him, his face flaming.
'Is she hitting on me?' He thought incredulously. That's when he finally recognized the voice of the ghost in front of him.
"Sparks?"
"So you remember me then!" Sparks grinned wickedly. "Nice to know I left an impression!"
"Any chance I can convince you to leave the jewels next?" Danny asked sternly.
"Depends on what I'll get in return," Sparks responded without missing a beat.
'Okay, this is getting really awkward,' Danny thought, his glare darkening (Along with his cheeks) at the implication in the girl's tone.
"What are you doing here? Why are you working with Inferno and what are you guys after?" The young halfa asked.
"So curious…" Sparks purred, "But you're asking all the wrong questions." She giggled after she sang the last part out, and Danny found himself reigning in his temper before he blew up.
"And what questions should I be asking?" He gritting out impatiently. Sparks smiled.
"How we died," Sparks responded, "why we never crossed on, why no ghost has actually. Why you have the powers you do, how come your so much stronger then ghosts twelve times your senior or more…" And, when she saw how she'd captured Danny attention, the ghost couldn't help but add with another flirty wink, "And maybe if I'm interested in dinner and a movie this Friday,"
"What are you-?" Danny started, but he was cut off by the entrance of cameras, both for local news broadcasts and the movie. He was surprised to find Sparks look about annoyed at the interruption as he felt.
"Damn humans…" She muttered, glaring at the nearest camera. Danny stiffened when she held out a hand towards the cameraman and the temperature in the room began to raise sharply. The cameraman's eyes widened as his clothes began to smoke…
"Stop!" The Temperature dropped back to normal and Danny forced himself between Sparks and the Camera, grabbing her hand out of the air. He cringed slightly as the grip singed him, even through the fire-proof glove of his hazmat suit, but he didn't let go. Sparks seemed surprised to find him there at first, then she studied him curiously and giggled.
"Aw, how cute…" She said, her flirty tone returning. "So over-protective…"
"Leave them alone," Danny ordered. He didn't care about the secrets Sparks was tempting him with enough to let someone else die, even if they were part of a group that was making his recent life miserable.
"I wonder, though, why do you want to protect them so badly?" Sparks asked, ignoring his demand, "Can you honestly say they'd care about what happened to you? Of course not. If you could, you would've told them by now, wouldn't you?"
"I'm protecting them because it's the right thing to do," Danny responded. "No one has the right to take someone else's life,"
"Someone ought to tell them that," Sparks said, her told becoming more bitter.
"What?" Danny frowned sharply, attentive to what the girl was saying.
"That doesn't matter, though, does it sweetie?" Sparks smirked, apparently in the mood to flirt some more "What's more irritating is that humans are so blinded and wrapped up in themselves, they don't see anything else. You can't deny it, think of all the times you protect them only to be scorned and called a menace. Think of all you sacrificed for them only to come up short in the end. They can never love you, hon, not with who you are and what you'll become."
"And you can?" Danny snapped back. Sparks shrugged.
"Think about it, does any ghost treat you different, despite the fact that you are what you are?" Spark told him, "We fight you, yes, but we fight each other as well. To us, you are an equal who's just a little different. But when the humans find out? You and I both know they'll treat you as a freak. You can't even tell your parents because you know that they can't accept what you are now…"
"SHUT UP!" Danny growled out, the sound of breaking glass reached his ears, and several cameramen jumped but he and Sparks ignored it, more intent on their conversation.
"You may not like the truth," She said, slipping out of Danny's grasp and heading upwards to the ceiling, "But you acknowledge it. That's more then the humans can say, even the so-called experts. If you ever get tired of being the lonely protector of those who wouldn't want you anyways, be sure to give us a call. We can use someone with your talents…" And, without another word, Sparks disappeared, leaving a confused and shaken halfa behind.
"She was just trying to get to you, Danny," Sam said with a frown, "I mean, she even suggested you join them! Forget what she said, Danny, plenty of people believe in you now. And even if they don't, you'll always have me, Jazz and Tucker." Rather then comforting the boy, this only seemed to upset him further.
"But I've known you three since forever!" Danny protested, "And besides, this whole ghost thing is really starting to cut into your lives way too much,"
The two were currently back in the Manson Mansion. After both had been thoroughly hugged by Mrs. Manson, (with a shower of apologies to Sam and gratitude to Danny) they'd taken refuge in Sam's room for privacy, where Danny proceeded to tell Sam what'd happened between him and Sparks.
The girl seemed irritated upon hearing of the way the ghost toyed with Danny's head, and downright furious at the blatant flirting, so after a good ten minutes of murderous ranting, the Goth had calmed down enough to help Danny through his confusion.
"No it's not," Sam countered, "What gave you that idea?"
"Sam, I know you had that fight with your mom because you're always out ghost hunting with me," Danny told her, narrowing his eyes as if daring her to protest.
"So what, I fight with my mom all the time," Sam said, unable to bring herself to deny the truth.
"Yeah, but it's never been serious enough to upset her like this," Danny reminded her.
"Okay, one thing," Sam admitted begrudgingly.
"And what about the time you had to miss out on your concert because we had to fight off Spectra?" Danny asked, "And that Big award thing Jazz missed because the Dragon Ghost was tearing up downtown Amity? And don't forget the scholarship thing Tuck missed because he was helping me get rid of Skulker-!"
"I get it, I get it!" Sam said, cutting him off before he could continue. "But think about it, Danny, we're not giving up anything that can't be replaced. That's just stuff. I can see other concerts, Tucker can get other scholarships and Jazz will definitely get other awards," Here Sam took Danny's hands, looking him right into the eyes. "being there for you, helping you save the day… that's irreplaceable, Danny," The halfa smiled.
"Thanks, Sam," he said softly, "I needed to hear that." Sam blushed.
"Um, yeah…" She said nervously, "Danny, I think there's something else you need to hear, too…" Danny cocked his head curiously. "Danny, I… I…""
"Meow!" Both Danny and Sam jumped at the interruption, turning to see a purring Sable at Sam's window. Danny shook his head and sighed, getting up to let her in.
"You know, one of these days, I'm gonna find a place to go that you can't follow," He warned the feline as she jumped on his shoulder. Sable's only response was to purr louder, and Sam laughed at the sheer cuteness of the scene. "Anyways, what were you saying, Sam?"
"It doesn't matter," Sam said, shaking her head. Danny frowned, but before he could say anything the door swung open to reveal a smiling Electra.
"Danny!" She said happily, "It's a good thing you're here! Mike just called me saying there's an emergency meeting for the stars in the movie at your house,"
"So," Danny said at once, "I'm not in it,"
"I know that," Electra giggled, "But I was hoping you could come with me. I wouldn't want to run into any ghosts or anything now, would I?" Danny stiffened at that.
"I wouldn't be much help against a ghost," he said, a little louder in his nervousness. "I don't have any weapons on me right now,"
"You didn't have any weapons in school, either," Electra reminded him, "But you still managed to save me from that pyro-whatsit ghost,"
"You know what, Electra?" Sam said coolly, "That's a good idea. We wouldn't want any ghosts attacking you,"
"You wouldn't?" Electra asked, blinking at her rival in surprise.
"We wouldn't?" Danny asked in a much softer voice, earning him Sam's elbow in his stomach.
"Of course not," Sam said, a smile fighting at her lips at Danny's words. "So, I'll come with you two. I know how to handle ghosts, and this way Danny doesn't have to make a three way trip. Everyone wins, right?"
"Great idea, Sam," Danny said quickly, catching on, "Let's go," And before Electra could protest, both friends stood and headed out. Electra glowered at the back of Sam's head for a second before reluctantly following.
"I just don't get it…" Maddie said with a frown, shaking her head and rewinding the cassette.
"-To us, you are an equal who's just a little different. But when the humans find out? You and I both know they'll treat you as a freak. You can't even tell your parents because you know that they can't accept what you are now…"
"What's not to get?" Michael asked, "This stuff is gold!" Maddie's frowned deepened.
"Yes, but what's so different about Phantom? She's talking about the other ghosts like he isn't one, yet she also speaks of humans like he doesn't even fit in there…" Her eyes drew together in confusion, "And why on earth would she mention his parents?"
"It's probably nothing, mom," Jazz said quickly, not looking at Danny. Maddie ignored her, rewinding the tape more.
"If you could, you would've told them by now, wouldn't you?"
"They're dancing around the edge of something…" Maddie sighed, "But what?"
"Maybe it has something to do with Phantom's death?" Derris volunteered. "Has anyone really looked into that?"
"Of course not," Maddie said absently, "We don't know how long he's been dead, or where he died, or anything else for that matter. Phantom might not even be his true name."
"Besides, that doesn't explain why they don't technically consider him a ghost," Jack piped up.
"That Paulina girl mentioned something…" Electra frowned, "Something about an attack on Casper where all the students got ghost powers?" Danny and Vlad stiffened, and Danny made a mental note to kill Spectra later before remembering that ghosts couldn't be killed again.
…Could they?
"That's just ridiculous," Maddie dismissed at once, frowning absently, "No human could survive that kind of ectoplasmic charge. It would kill them almost instantly, and not a nice, painless death, either."
"But didn't you say Danny-?" Derris started.
"Well, we certainly aren't going to figure anything else out on what we have!" Jazz said loudly, "Maybe if we call it a night, we can come up with more ideas tomorrow,"
"Good idea, Jazzy-pants," Jack agreed. "A good night's rest will do us all wonders,"
"Electra and I will head home," Sam said, standing up and pulling the starlet to the door a little sharper then necessary. "See you tomorrow, Danny,"
"Yeah," Danny sighed, "Later," He frowned thoughtfully before standing and heading upstairs, "I'm gonna take a quick shower before I turn in." he told the others. He glared lightly at Sable as she tried to follow, "Oh no, you're staying here,"
Jazz hesitated a moment, looking after her brother with a worried frown on her face before sighing and heading up to her own room, Mandy at her heels.
"Don't worry," The younger girl said conversationally, "I'm sure he knows what he's doing,"
"Who?" Jazz asked absently as they entered her room.
"Phantom, of course. I'm sure it'll all turn out okay for him." Mandy said, sitting down, "Oh, and don't say anything to Derris. If you do, he'll figure it all out." Jazz stiffened, turning to look at the girl curiously.
"Figure what out exactly?" She asked, her voice strained.
"You know," Mandy told her with a secretive smile, "Night, Jazz!" The red head frowned at the little girl for a moment, desperately wanting to question her more but knowing that she couldn't with the cameras watching her every move…
Danny sighed as he twisted the faucet to turn the water into a spray, frowning down as his watch. This trick should buy him about ten to fifteen minutes. It wasn't as much time as he wanted, but right now he'd take anything he could get.
He dug through his pants pocket for a moment until he found what he was looking for, then he transformed into a ghost in a familiar flash of white light. Without wasting anymore time, he put on the Time Medallion and waited for it to work it's magic.
He'd been very surprised and touched when he found the medallion still in his pockets after returning the answers to the CAT, and knew that it was Clockwork's way of allowing him to reach the Master of Time's tower whenever he needed him.
And right now, boy did he need him…
Sure enough, there was a brilliant flash of light and Danny found himself inside the Tower once again, with a familiar ghost smiling down at him warmly.
"Hello, Danny," he said kindly, "I suppose you're here for some answers…"
"You know, you can stop glaring at me at any time," Sam said sarcastically.
"What are you and Danny hiding?" Electra asked suddenly.
"Oh, like I'm gonna tell you," Sam snorted.
"You should," Electra said, "Or else I might tell Danny what you did," Sam scowled.
"That was your idea, Electra!" She said heatedly. "You were the one who did it!"
"Maybe," Electra shrugged, "But I didn't get caught now, did I?" Sam scowled before she smirked coldly.
"No," She said, "But you were the one who took the damage for it in other, more vital ways," Electra glared at her.
"Ghosts don't exist," She said shortly, "And neither do their curses,"
"Then what attacked you at the school?" Sam asked, "And what do you call Phantom, huh?"
"Shut up, Sammy," Electra said, her voice cold enough to give the artic circle a run for its money. "Shut up before you say something you regret." Sam gave her a challenging look.
"Why don't you make me," She asked.
That was all it took for Electra to dive at the girl.
WoM- 'grins guiltily' Well, it IS longer then last chapter was… 'sees she's not helping herself and starts cringing and backing away.' I swear, this time it was unintentional! Hehe… anyways, I'll see you guys again… in two weeks. 'runs for the hills,'
Thanks to;
epobbp
the sleep warrior
Jack Nightmares
Tetsukon
CelloSolo2007
Master of Procrastination
random-idiot-v2
Cyllwen
bagelchik
Inumaru12
dramaqueen07
WhiteMoonDragon
Bluemystgirl
Anomaly25
Firefury
Anne Camp aka Obi-quiet
conan98002
IwuvMyKenshyPoo
A Karswyll
Petitio Principii
Sqweakie the Wonder Mouse
purrbaby101
DannysGirlForever
Celestial Pendent
DxS iz ze COOLEST, lol
Next update; January 5th
See you then!
PS; I don't own Abercrombie andFitch or Old Navy, and I apologize to anyone who likes their merchandise but I can't STAND either stores. Both are (In my opinion)way overpriced and not even really that interesting style-wise.
Besides, around here at least the people who work there are really rude. Me and a friend walked into a Abercrombie andFitch once to buy something for one of her cousins, and the sales clerk took one look at us and said (In a snotty voice) 'Hot Topic's THAT way!' 'mutters obscenities under her breath,'
At any rate, no matter your opinion on the stores, you have to admit Sam normally wouldn't be caught dead in places like that.