WoM- Apparently, I confused some people last chapter, so hopefully this one will clear some things up. Once again, I'd like to warn you guys that I'm coming close to an end here. I can't see this lasting more then five more chapters, especially since it's already my longest story so far. I know a lot of people are eagerly awaiting new stories from me, too (I've already had people sending me requests for what story to start next now that Unmasked is in the stages of being wrapped up.) and there's not much more I can do here. Fear not, though, there is definitely gonna be a sequel!
"Friends need not agree in everything or go always together, or have no comparable other friendships of the same intimacy. On the contrary, in friendship union is more about ideal things: and in that sense it is more ideal and less subject to trouble than marriage is."
-George Santayana
Scene 16
"I can't believe I'm doing this…" Jazz muttered to herself, running a hand through her long red hair as she studied herself in the mirror in front of her, "I can not BELIEVE I let him talk me into this!"
"Come on, Jazz," Tucker sighed, banging his head against the closed locker room door in exasperation. He was waiting outside of Jazz's room for her to finish dressing, keeping watch for if anyone came to burst in on the girl before she was done. "it can't be that bad,"
"It's not that!" Jazz snapped, "This technology is still completely experimental! And most of it is defense-oriented for keeping the user safe, not attacking a group of psychotic fire-wielding ghosts!"
"Well, it is fire-proof, right?" Tucker asked.
"Up to 3000 degrees," Jazz admitted begrudgingly, "But we don't know what kinds of temperatures these pyros are capable of producing!"
"I think you'll be okay, Jazz: Tucker said dryly, "You gotta admit, Danny's plan is pretty sound. I don't think we'll have any problems,"
"But that still doesn't mean that something can't go wrong!" Jazz reminded him, "I mean, sure Danny and I have been studying a lot, but we're still new at all this ghost stuff! Maybe if Mr. Masters looks over it…"
"Are you kidding?" Tucker asked, gaping slightly. "You wanna go to PLASMIUS for help? Man, you ARE freaking out!"
"Well, this things never had a field test before, okay?" Jazz snapped, pulling up the hood of her outfit and pushing a button on the side. A soft beeping noise was heard followed by a whirling as the visor lowered to cover her eyes. "I mean, sure we've done a few tests, but never with me in it!"
"Then why make it your size?" Tucker asked, frowning.
"Like I said, it's a suit based for defense against ghost attacks," Jazz sighed, heading to the door, "The safesuit is designed to counteract any attacks based on ectoplasmic energies, with resistance to fire, acid, and even pressure to a certain extent. We designed it in my size for testing, and after working out the glitches we started making some for you and Sam, too."
"Really?" Tucker said brightly, "Cool! When's mine gonna be done?"
"Tucker!" Jazz growled out in warning before sighing to herself. "Well, at any rate, I just spent twenty four hours jamming weapons onto my suit to turn it from a safesuit to a smartsuit and I didn't really getting the chance to test how the modifications effect the performance overall, or if the weapons are-!"
"Relax already, Jazz," Tucker rolled his eyes, "You and Danny know your stuff, so I'm sure it works fine,"
"Well, no good scientist does things like this without performing the proper tests first!" Jazz reminded him as she exited the room, "Even Mom and Dad will test equipment before they start using it. Why else do you thin the Fenton Portals been working for almost a year now and they still haven't tried to go in?"
"Good point…" Tucker mumbled. Then, as soon as the boy saw Jazz, his jaw dropped in shock. "Man Jazz!"
"What?" Jazz asked worriedly, glancing down, "Did I mess something up?"
"No!" Tucker said quickly, "It's just… you actually look cool…" Jazz shot the boy a dry look through her visor.
The Smartsuit Jazz wore was a dark green color with black hypersensitive strips of black sensory cloths running in patterns along the length of it. The mask of the suit left her mouth and nose open, though it went under the chin and a semi-transparent visor in a different shade of green clocked her eyes.
The suit didn't have a belt, but a black pocket had been attacked to each hip, secured to sensory cloths. Instead of the flat footed boots usually worn on ghost hunting garb, Jazz had higher heels with special sensors in the soles and heel to protect the wear's feet better. Above her left ear was a strange device with three green buttons, which seemed to connect to the suit on the back of her head.
The suit was impressive, overall, and Jazz was quite proud of how it had turned out, both style-wise and as far as efficiency went. It was passing all the tests so far, too, which was definitely a good sign. Still…
"Thanks Tucker," Jazz said sarcastically, "Thanks a lot… though that would hurt a lot more if you yourself actually had a clue about what's cool and what isn't."
"Hey!" Tucker said with a glare.
"Anyways, do you have any idea where mom and dad are?" Jazz asked, glancing around the empty school halls warily for her parents.
"Where else?" Tucker said, rolling his eyes and glancing out a nearby window to the outside, where a large crowd had gathered of everyone from TV crews to kids just wanting to watch. "They've been in the same place since the news broadcast the Pyros put out."
"True…" Jazz said dryly, rolling her eyes. "And Danny?"
"Setting up for the rest of the plan," Tucker nodded, "You ready?"
"As I'll ever be," Jazz responded in a pained voice, "Hang on, I just wanna test something out first…" Tucker blinked at the girl curiously as she pushed a button on her wrist before his eyes widened as she faded from view as if she'd never been there.
"Jazz?" Tucker called out, glancing around him. He jumped when Jazz appeared again right in front of him, where she'd been standing when she disappeared.
"well at least that still works…" She muttered to herself as Tucker gaped at her.
"What just happened?" The tech geek asked.
"It's a special cloaking device I made by analyzing Danny's DNA and studying some of my mom's notes," Jazz answered absently, "It's still kinda glitchy, though. It can't work for more then an hour before it needs to recharge itself, and since there's no way for a human to mimic intangibility, I'm still a solid form, it's just that you can't see me. If anything hit me when I'm invisibly, it overrides the circuitry and-!"
"Do you come with optional English subtext?" Tucker asked blankly. Jazz sighed in exasperation.
"I've got an hour time limit before the invisibility stops, and I automatically turn visible again when something hits me," Jazz responded, "And you've been spending way too much time around Danny lately if you're saying those kinds of things to me, by the way,"
"What can I say, he knows how to keep things interesting," Tucker grinned widely at the red head, who rolled her eyes.
"Way to understate," She said wryly. "It's almost time, so I'd better get into position now. You should do the same."
"Got it," Tucker nodded, turning to leave, "Oh, and relax Jazz. Danny wouldn't trust you with something like this if he didn't think you could do it," Jazz looked alarmed for a second before she smiled slightly at Tucker.
"Thanks," She said, smiling weakly before turning to leave the tech geek. While those words did encourage her, she couldn't help the last thought that filtered into her head as she got into position.
'I just hope he's right…'
"Clueless 1 checking in," Danny muttered softly into the Fenton Phones. "Everybody ready?"
"Tech 1 in position," Tucker responded over his set, "Man this is cool…!"
"Tucker!" Danny snapped, annoyed.
"Right, right!" Tucker laughed sheepishly. "Anyways, everything's set over here. I'm ready to roll as soon as I get the signal."
"Good," Danny sighed in relief. "How about you, Smart 1?"
"Smart 1 ready and in position," Jazz responded. "I just hope this works…"
"It will," Danny promised her instantly.
'It has to…' He said internally, 'Or else everyone's sunk…'
"Everything's a green light, then?" Danny clarified out loud, glancing around as he turned a corner into an empty alleyway and slipped behind a dumpster, unseen by the crowds of spectators who'd come eagerly after receiving their 'invitation.'
"Roger that!" Jazz responded.
"In that case…" Sighing, Danny straightened himself up. "I'm Goin' Ghost!" When his transformation was done, Danny floated upward, moving a hand up to grasp the Fenton Phone on his ear. "I need to hide the Fenton Phone now, so remember your cues,"
"Got it," Tucker said, "And good luck dude,"
"Thanks," Danny sighed, removing the Fenton Phone and putting it in a brown paper bag, which he propped aside to pick up later.
'I'm gonna need it for this…'
Steeling his resolve, the half ghost flew out to his school, stopping to hover mid air about fifty feet above the crowd, ignoring the way they snapped photos and called out questions to him. He was almost getting used to it by now…
'You know, it's almost weird the things a guy can get used to,' Danny thought dryly to himself. 'Ghost attacks, getting detentions on a pretty much daily basis for fighting ghosts, getting mobbed by the paparazzi, being in life-or-death situations every single day…' The ghost boy had to chuckle bitterly to himself. 'Just another day in the life of Danny Fenton, Ghost Boy extraordinaire…'
Danny came out of his musings when he heard a clock somewhere strike seven, frowning severely when he saw the crowd beneath him stir nervously amongst themselves. As soon as the last chime faded, an enormous green fire shot up in front of them, making several people scream. The fire died down after a while, and a giggling Sparks stood in its place.
"So you showed, huh?" she called out as she flew into the air to face Danny, a playful smirk tugging at her lips. Danny watched her warily, as if she could blow up at any given second.
'Why do they always send her, anyways?' Danny thought sullenly to himself.
"Where's Inferno?" the half ghost asked out loud, "You said this meeting was with him, not you."
"Anyone ever tell you patience is a virtue, Sweetie?" Sparks cooed sweetly.
"No one I'd ever listen to," Danny responded, glaring pointedly at the ghost in front of him. Sparks rolled her eyes.
"Remind me to teach you to loosen up later." She muttered for Danny's ears alone. As the ghost boy blushed violently and glared at the girl, she turned to address their human audience. "We have gathered here today because you mortals have committed sins too great in number to even begin to count," She called out dryly, glaring at the crowd. "You have tried to deny us everything we need, everything we are, and then expect us not to be bitter about it. Other ghosts may have the patience to deal with these crimes, but not us, and so we concocted this little plan," Turning back to Danny, Sparks shot him a secretive smile. "Phantom, I believe you've already met our leader, Inferno?"
Danny tensed as the temperature around him spiked at an alarming rate, the air turning a vivid orangey-red color as fireballs shot off in the sky. In the crowd below him, some people began passing out as the heat grew more and more extreme, to the point where Danny's vision began to blur, and yet the fire never burned at his skin, or that of the humans beneath him.
'That's because it's not supposed to,' Danny realized, 'This isn't an attack… it's a warning! He's showing us that he could kill us all in an instant if he wants to.'
Finally, though, the temperature dropped to what it had been before, feeling much cooler against the half ghost's skin after what felt like a trip through a furnace. Though shaken from the display, Danny glared as Inferno appeared in front of him in much the same fashion as Sparks.
"Phantom," Inferno said in a soft, polite voice as he stood on the ground. After seeing that the ghost wasn't coming up into the air to greet him, Danny floated down, nervous about leaving such a powerful foe a clear shot at so many innocent people.
A few people seemed to get that this was a little more serious then they'd originally thought and rushed to leave (Though Danny couldn't help but notice with an eye roll that his parents and all the cameramen were not among them.) only to find their way blocked by more pyros.
"Going already?" Sparks sang out, feigning hurt, "But the fun's only just started! You guys don't wanna miss the best part, do you?"
"Let them go!" Danny snapped, his voice harsh as he glared at the girl in warning. She seemed a little started by the reaction and glanced to Inferno for instructions.
"Do as he says," Inferno said lazily. "They are of no consequence to us." Sighing heavily to herself, Sparks waved a hand lazily, and the fearful humans hastily made their escape.
"Why did you bring me here?" Danny asked with a dark look. "And where's the girl you kidnapped?"
"You're little girlfriend's fine, Phantom," Inferno answered, earning a soft murmur from the crowd, "And as for why we are here today… You probably already know the answer to that, don't you?"
"If this is about getting me to join you, you can forget it," Danny snapped, "I already said no!"
"Yes, you did," Inferno said, "But that's because to refuse to think about it. You do not consider what's best for you, merely what the humans need, and have they ever given you a word of gratitude in return."
"I don't fight because I want to be worshipped as a hero," Danny told Inferno with a glare. "I fight because that's the right thing to do. It's my job to protect people from ghosts, and I'm not going to lose sight of that because you want me to join you in some uprising to destroy mankind."
"Not destroy," Inferno frowned, "Recreate. I want to make a perfect race of beings, one without the taint and limits of humanity or the shortcomings of ghosts. And you, my boy, are the key to that."
"And if I'm not interested?" Danny asked with narrowed eyes. Inferno grinned widely at him.
"Well then," He said conversationally, "I guess the humans are going to find out more about their superhero then they ever imagined… before everything they hold dear is burned to the ground, that is…"
Sam sighed heavily as she banged her head against the wall, bored out of her mind. After a few thoughtful glances at Fahrenheit, she decided to get what information she could from him while stuck in her current situation.
"So, why does your boss want Danny so bad, anyways?" She called out.
"Sorry, lady," Fahrenheit said, "That's confidential information. Inferno would kill me if I told you,"
"You're a ghost," Sam pointed out dryly.
"…Well, I still can't tell you, okay?" Fahrenheit crossing his arms as he leaned against a nearby wall, glaring pointedly at Sam who didn't bother to hide her annoyance before it was replace with a rather sadistic smirk.
"Okay," She said sweetly, "But I must warn you, my friends don't call me the queen of the Cruel and Unusual for nothing…" Fahrenheit smirked back
"Do your worst." He challenged, "I'm not afraid of you, or any other human!" Sam grinned widely.
'Oh, this is gonna be fun…'
WoM- 'sweatdropping' You know, this has gotta be the first time I've felt sorry for one of my villains… 'laughs sheepishly' ah, well! Live and learn, right Fahrenheit?
Thanks to;
epobbp, the sleep warrior, puppyface, Fey Phantom, littlekittykat, Fanficaholic, RoseGirl from planet Pluto, AirGirl Phantom, Master of Procrastination, SquirrelGirl, The Sole Survivor, Aiyanabell, Lumias, Firefury, Rob Phantom, Kyuugi, Lunaqua, Punker88, Gmasangel, conan98002, BratCat, Darth Frodo, Snea, Light Dragon SunsSong, Inumaru12, phantomshadowdragon, Samantha-Girl Scout, i AM the Random Idiot, 12 Philosopher, Ghostcougar, Spirit of Zurvan, Phantomhobbitses, lafytafy, Kagome lover, cakreut12
Next update; March 2nd
See you then!