Rara Animis
To be Human
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A/N: Sorry this one took a while, work has been hectic. Ended up with 58 hours last week and barely had time to myself to write. Hope everyone took some time for remembrance day yesterday. and with that said here we go!
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Danny frowned as the shape nears him. He closed his eyes and readied himself for the encounter. With a deep breath, and schooled features he waved his arms, forcing his face to remain neutral when Johnny 13 swerved into his direction stopping just short of his toes.
"Whoa there little dude, this ain't no place for a punk kid," the greasy teen said with his usual sickly smile.
"Yes, I am aware," Danny said flatly, trying his best to hold back his sarcastic tone. At the very least Johnny seemed to recognize him with the punk kid comment. "I was hoping I could request assistance from you and your…" Danny waved his hand trying to remember the name of the device the other ghost rode about on, "...contraption," he settled upon. "I'm not exactly able to fly at the moment."
"You want a ride?" Johnny asked with a sceptical brow.
"Just back home, I doubt it's too far."
"Yea, not too bad," Johnny seemed to agree.
With a sigh, Danny noticed the look he was being given. "What do you need from me?" he asked, resigned.
"Hey! You're a smart kid!" The biker flashed a toothy smile. "And it's simple see? I need you and your material butt to help me grab something, ya dig?"
"I need to dig?"
"No…" Johnny made an odd face before shaking his head. "Listen brat, just grab the thing I point out to ya alright?"
"Why can you not simply grab it yourself?" Danny asked quirking a brow, assessing the other ghost.
"Hey, relax there shrimpy." Danny glared lightly at the insult to his height. "It's just behind this ecto-proof barrier, so I just need your hands ya get me? It's on the way anyhow, so deal?"
"Fine. It is a better option then floating about on this stupid rock," Danny sighed out. He moved to the back of the contraption when Johnny motioned to do so and tried not to make any startled noises when the motorbike growled to life and took off into the air.
There was a good stretch of silence before Johnny called out, "so what's a human like you doing in the zone?"
"You can blame Plasmius for my current displacement," Danny grumbled out.
"Whoo! Tough luck man, That guy is messed up! What'd ya do to get on his radar?"
"I exist apparently." Danny shuddered as they passed through a portal once again bringing them to the human's material realm. "Is this for your… item?"
"Yeah man, Just right there see that tube with the mini dish thing on it? Just grab that. Your arm'll just go right through that barrier," Johnny said motioning with his chin to the glowing box on the counter.
"Right…" Danny muttered to himself as he hopped off the bike and slowly approached the device. Quick as he could, he jammed his arm through, grabbed the device, and clutched it to his chest. He blinked a few times before letting out a relieved laugh. It didn't hurt! He did it! He went through the energy barrier! He was relieved, doubting his body could handle much more abuse.
"Com'on kid pack it in. We gotta get outta here." Johnny hissed.
Danny nodded. He was getting an odd vibe from this place anyway… maybe it was because he had barely escaped from Vlad's lab only a little while ago and a lot of what was in this one was far too similar, right down to the contained portal. The portal that seemed to mock and taunt him somehow, yet was almost too alluring.
"Kid reel it in!" the older teen snapped, causing Danny to startle and shake his head.
"R-Right, sorry. Just...never mind." Danny shook his head and climbed back on the back of the bike with Johnny, handing him the device as he did. "Right, just head back in The Realms and-"
"Woah, no way little dude. I ain't takin' ya back in there," the blonde scoffed, shaking his head and flying straight through the wall and into the night sky.
"What do you mean? What are you doing? You said you would take me home!"
"Not if Plasmius is after ya, he'll have home-field advantage in there, and I ain't about to pick a fight with him. I'm a brawler sure, but I ain't stupid. Don't care what time period you fell outta, kid, or even if the portal that got you into The Realms is still there, but least you're home enough in the material realm right?"
"What? No! I live with Pa-"
"Yea, don't care kid. Not happening. Just try not to die of culture shock, or somethin'. Wouldn't want to see you back too soon ya know?" Johnny snickered. "I ain't throwin' down with Plasmius so you're getting thrown down instead, get it?" The teen's eyes glowed as he clutched his ringed hand into a fist.
"Shadow!" he called as the bike suddenly pitched skyward. Danny let out a yelp as the shadowy bad luck ghost appeared in front of him suddenly and shoved his chest harshly, causing Danny to fall backwards and towards the ground.
Danny flailed about desperately trying to tug his core to allow himself flight, but to no avail. He let out a gasping yell as he fell only to suddenly have the world spin go dark then spin the other way. Shadow had caught him, rolling him up within his form like a rug, easing him lower to the ground, before unwinding and dropping him into an undignified heap onto the grass.
Danny coughed, before rolling onto his back and glaring up into the sky where he could just barely make out the shining trail from thirteen. "Thanks a lot," he ground out sarcastically.
The deep black-grey-clouded sky was an interesting change to be sure though… With a silver-white moon just barely having its light seep through the covering.
He laid there a minute, (how many times today has he been thrown on his back?) allowing his bruised ribs a chance to have the pain subside, and admiring the moon's pale visage. Deep, steadying breaths enter his aching chest,causing him to become hyper-aware of the scent of this area, as well as the need to fill the organ with oxygen.
He closes his eyes trying to calm the, his, furiously beating heart. Yet another thing he wasn't used to. The pounding in his ears was creating a wash of noise that seemed to drown out… he pulled his focus to the running water he could just hear, trying to keep his attention away from the thump, thump, thumping in his ears.
Running water was good. Water meant people, which meant directions. Although he was still out of luck with his powers, meaning even if he knew the right building to head into, there was no guarantee he would be able to waltz in.
He cursed himself under his breath for not getting a better look at where they were coming from when he had the chance. With a groan, he pulls himself into a sitting position and looks off into the direction of the water.
A fountain?
Well, that at least meant he was in some sort of city centre, right? Humans did that kind of stuff too, after all, and as ghosts came into the Zone, those same ideas were applied. With a grunt the teen hauled himself to his feet and made his way over to the object of his attention, gently rubbing at his sore ribs as he did.
"If I wasn't already dead my lack of healing would kill me…" he muttered to himself as he plops back down on the fountain's edge.
He peers into the clear water watching his haggard reflection. He did look human… still a dead one, granted, especially after everything he'd been through, but still much more alive than he'd ever thought possible. He glared at the reflection as if trying to will himself back to normal, before dragging a hand down the side of his face.
"Oh wow…" He laughed bitterly as his hand reached his still tender neck. Pulling away the cloak revealed two perfect hand-prints from Vlad himself when he'd attempted to strangle him, marking his skin a deep purple, blue and brown.
Jeez, even his bruises couldn't be normal. He bunched the cloak back up hiding the sore tissue once again behind the yeti fur-lined trim.
The halfa let out another long-suffering sigh, before releasing a yawn he'd been fighting back for some time. He eyes a bench just a little further away from the fountain and pinches the bridge of his nose in dismay. Anything is a bed when you have nowhere proper to lay he supposed.
He practically collapsed on its wooden surface upon reaching it. He bunched up the hood of his cloak for a pillow and cocooned within the thick and heavy fabric. He stared at the fountain for all of five seconds before his eyes slid shut to allow his tired and battered body its rest.
With what felt like a blink of time later, the sore teen found himself being roused by a heavy hand on his shoulder. "...kid? Come on kid, I don't got all day"
Not recognizing the voice, his instincts kick in, causing him to jump up and launch over the backside of the bench before taking a defensive stance as he eyed the newcomer. The dark-skinned man raised a brow as he sized up the teen right back.
He didn't look like too much of a threat. He could see the man's physique a bit under the uniform he wore, but Danny was still rather confident that he could outrun the elder man if it came to it.
Weary blue eyes search a fern green as the man spoke again, seemingly resigned. "There wasn't an attack at the school today, so what are you doin' out here kid? You don't look like the type I normally catch playing hooky."
"Hooky?" Danny tilts his head in confusion before a bit of understanding crossed his face. This human was clearly wearing some sort of uniform so he must be like the warriors for the village. He is an outsider here after all. This fleeting thought causes his whole demeanour to shift from defensive to apologetic.
The man sighed. "I'm not in a mood to play games all right? Just tell me where you live so we can get this done as soon as possible."
"Oh, but that is part of the problem, I am not yet familiar with my surroundings. I did not think that being here was an issue. It was where I was deposited last night, and after everything, I… Er..." Danny stopped mid-sentence as he took in the odd expression the human was giving him. "Is there something wrong?"
"No, not really, just, um, you said you were new in town, right?"
"Yes, just last night in fact. Do you know how I might return to the Asphodel quadrant?"
"Where on earth is that supposed to be?" the man asked as he screwed up his face in confusion.
"Oh no, not at all actually. You see, that in fact, is the problem. I can not yet fly again so it is rather hard to find my location from this grounded angle as-"
The officer didn't let him finish. "Alright smart ass, that's enough. Look we'll keep it simple alright? You're too well-kempt to be homeless, so ya just got lost then? You look about thirteen-fourteen-"
"-Actually"
"So you should be in Casper High, since it's the only one in town."
"Is that the punishment for trespassing here?"
"Yea sure, you can call it that... " the man mused with a smirk before moving around the bench to lay his hand on Danny's cloaked shoulders. The teen winced from the contact but otherwise made no move to pull away.
"Is it a trial by combat?" the teen asked genuinely curious, eyeing the menagerie of tools attached to the man's waist, as he was given a gentle nudge to begin walking. He certainly hoped not, while the sleep did him good, he was no where near where he'd like to be as far as battling went.
The officer let out a chuckle. "Depends on whether you make yourself a target or not. What's your name kid?"
"Ah! Apologies, I forgot to introduce myself. Most call me Phantom," Danny spoke with an apologetic bow of his head.
"Right, and what do your parents call ya? I ain't much for nicknames," the officer said steering the teen towards the park's edge.
"Parents?" he blinked and tilted his head. "I am not sure what they intended to call me, but my caretakers' call me Danny on occasion."
The man's face softened hearing that. "Foster then? Or still filtering through? Jumping from place to place?"
"I travel back and forth between locations regularly if that is what you mean," Danny offered, confused at the sudden change in tone.
"I know that can be hard… Is that why you went with Phantom as a nickname? Just ghosting through place after place? You seem like the type to make a joke like that, am I right?" the man asked stopping at a white, black, and blue car which the teen eyed wearily.
"I suppose that would be accurate also." He was an actual phantom after all… it was something that just sort of stuck, he never really wanted to change it. Besides, there were way worse names that other ghosts have taken.
The officer let out a small hum in acknowledgement before motioning to the door to the vehicle. "You gunna get in, or would you rather walk the mile? Or maybe you've just never been in the front of a cop car before?"
"I- What?" Danny blinked, he knew the man was teasing him, but about what, he wasn't sure. He gave his head a shake, before pulling on the handle.
With the door opened, the officer circled around to the driver's side, plunking down and staring at him blankly. "Well? Sit down. I don't want to be out here all day, Danny."
"Right, sorry," Danny said before copying the officer's movements, even pulling the strap across his chest.
The man rolls his eyes before reaching for the radio at the front of the console, pressing a few buttons, causing it to beep. "This is Officer Grey reporting in, found a kid skipping out while on patrol, just gotta swing by Casper to drop 'em off"
"Roger, Roger!" Came a chipper female voice in response.
Grey hung the piece back in place before starting the vehicle, to which Danny flinched at the sudden cacophony of loud noises. "Ah sorry, forgot I had that turned up, but A good song came on…"
Danny just nodded hating how nervous he was. He'd been in contraptions like this before with frostbite, but they were never enclosed like this unless they were going out into the Zone's open skies, and even then it was only covered by a cloth of some sort, and not to mention how he could usually phase through things. It felt rather claustrophobic.
The trip was spent with minor small talk to witch the teen was only able to answer half the questions asked. It wasn't until they got closer to the downtown core that anything really of interest happened. A loud bang was heard off to the side and Danny could see a large silver vehicle, with a large emblazoned flaming F, racing down the street heading towards the crossroads they were approaching.
The officer groaned seeing it before winding down his window to poke his head out. He stared up towards the sky before pulling back in with a deep sigh.
"What is this about?" Danny asked motioning to the large truck as it whizzed by in front of them.
"Nothing new. The Fentons are chasing that blasted Box ghost again." Grey said with another sigh.
"Box ghost? Wh-"
"Yea, yea. New comer I get it. I know 'ghosts shouldn't exist' but I got news for ya kid they run rampant here in Amity."
"No, what is he doing here and how?" If he could find the way Boxy came in maybe he could find the way back to that stable portal! He could get back home!
"No clue, just know that they do. Something about here having an increased rate of portals made due to the high concentration of ectoplasm? I don't really pay attention to the explanations of much more than the weapons, so I know how to shoot them." Danny winced hearing that. "The ghosts here are nothing but pests. They destroy everything they come in contact with. Far as most of us are concerned the only good ghost is a non-existing one," he huffed with finality.
Danny winced at the venom in the tone, some of Vlad's words spinning back in his head. "I understand Boxy is a nuisance, but that is no reason to end his existence…" he tried, but ended up trailing off at the deadpanned look he was given.
"These terrors are a plague to the town! If we didn't have the Fentons tracking them down I don't know where we'd be. I doubt I would have been able to get this job if they didn't vouch for me when ghosts invaded and destroyed the lab I used to work at." Grey said,` eyeing the green blast that was shot off from the RV into the sky, igniting the Box Ghost like a firework.
Danny flinched again as he watched the annoying spectre drop like a rock. "What do they do with those they capture?" Danny asked rather solemnly.
"No clue kid." Officer Grey shrugged. "But I'm sure if you asked them they would tell you easily enough. The hard part is that they don't stop talking once you get them started."
Danny watched, trying to suppress a shiver as he saw a large man clad in orange exit the RV and suck up the box ghost into some tube looking device, with a clear-ish cylindrical end, before returning into the vehicle. That looked uncomfortable…
"Huh… The vacuum cleaner looking thing is new…" The officer comments as the light turned green. The man sends a glance out of the corner of his eye to the teen taking in the concern written on his face. "Don't worry, they're eccentric nuts but they're mostly harmless."
Danny could only offer a lacklustre smile to the man. Note to self the Fentons are to be avoided…
As they pass by the RV Danny manages to take a better look at the pair of hunters, something sparked in the back of his brain as he saw them. He allowed his eyes to roam their forms before concluding it must be something with the way they were dressed. Their gloves looked similar to the ones Plasmius wore, so maybe he saw some sort of suit like that when he was fleeing from the man?
It almost hurt to think too hard on...
It wasn't long after that encounter they pulled up to the simple brown brick building. It was rather odd to the teen how the land of the dead seemed to have so much more life in the buildings and the people than the land of the living. Almost every person they passed who was outside seemed mad about something, and all the buildings were some form of drab greys, browns or reds. It was nothing like the vibrance and rainbow gambit of neons he was used to.
"So this is it then?" Danny asked rather unimpressed, as he eyed the sign depicting a black bird and labelling the place as 'Casper Highschool.'
"Yep, I'll bring you into the office and then let the staff take you from there," the officer said unbuckling himself and exiting the car, prompting Danny to copy him. The man moved around and placed his and on the teen's shoulder, raising a suspicious brow at the wince, and steered him towards the entrance to the school.
The few students who had a spare or were out in the field for Gym watched and whispered as the strange teen was brought inside by the officer. Danny eyed the collection of humans warily. There were maybe thirty or so scattered about the area, but it was still far more than he had ever seen in his entire after-life.
He blinked as he heard a few girls whispering about his clothing and giggling, something about coming from money and power due to his dress? Odd, but not really wrong, well about the power part anyway… He brushes it off as he is continued to be marched forward.
It was only two turns later that they arrived at the glass doors to the school's office. "Ah Damon, to what do I owe the pleasure?" The secretary smiled pleasantly, tucking a bit of her mousy brown hair behind her ear. She sends a glance to Danny with a raised brow, "You are?"
"The reason I'm here Ms. Roe." Officer Grey said simply. "A new student, who wasn't aware this state has a school enforcement law."
"Ah, so, registration then?" she stated more than asked, moving to grab the paperwork for Danny. "Just need some ID kid."
Danny blinked in confusion "ID?"
"Yea, you got a licence? Birth certificate? Any of that kind of stuff on you?" Danny shook his head, and the woman sighed.
"Well, I'll leave you to it. I still have to finish my patrol," Officer Grey said, sending a smile to the woman. He leans closer to her and says softly, "he's a foster so I doubt he'll have much…" He smiles before louder stating "I'll see you around," he tipped his hat to her as he left.
"Right... " She sighed, sending Danny a deflated look, to which the teen offered a nervous smile. Danny knew well enough that it would be in his interest to try and make friends with his current jailers, they hadn't attacked him outright yet, and if he could keep it that way it would be better, given his current powerlessness.
The woman sighed and handed him a paper to fill in, along with a bright blue pen. "Here's a pen. Please return it when you're done. Everyone always steals my pens," she grumbled.
Danny frowned but nodded, and moved to a nearby table with a plastic chair to fill the form out. So far this whole system seemed… odd. Was this standard practice for outsiders? He took the pen in hand and got to work.
Name: Danny
Date of birth:
Danny frowned at that he honestly didn't know instead he just wrote down when Pandora had said he was found.
The next bit was what tripped him up the most. Medical issues? Previous schools? Parent's names, and emergency contacts?
He frowned down at the page before sending a lost look to the secretary. "Just do what you can," she offered with a flat look. "Can I at least get your name so I can try and pull your files?"
"Danny."
"Danny...?"
"Yes?" The teen raised a confused brow.
"Danny what."
"Er, I also go by Phantom?" He offered.
"Is that your last name? What's your legal last name," she huffed in exasperation.
Danny blinked unsure. He didn't know he would need a new human name as well… although now that he thought about the matter, the humans he had met so far have had two names… Officer Grey, Miss Roe, even that weirdo Vlad Masters. Perhaps he could adopt a name from his mentors? That would work, right? Well, Pandora was female so that may be odd, so perhaps Frostbite?
"Frost?" Danny offered up the name and the woman nodded seeming to accept the answer. Well, might as well make it official. He scribbled Frost next to Danny with a shrug. He would take this punishment like a warrior, strong and proud, even if humans were odd in how they do things.
The woman groaned and stared at the computer's screen with an annoyed frown. "Either I can't access your file, or I can't find yours among the others…What was the name of your last school?" Danny gave her a blank look, causing her to sigh again. "Whatever. You done what you can?" Danny looked to his still mostly empty sheet and nodded handing it back.
"Right… This is why we make the adults do this…" she groused before commanding more loudly to Danny, "go stand over there and I'll get you your student card." Danny looked to the blank portion of the wall and nodded moving as instructed. "Stare here…" She added pointing to a cream coloured plastic rectangle, and a moment later a flash blinded him.
Danny reacted instantly dropping down behind the table and looking back at the wall for what she'd thrown or launched at him. Seeing nothing embedded he looked back to the woman, who seemed to have shifted her attention back to the screen and completely ignoring the display of reflexes from Danny. The teen looked himself over, seeing nothing amiss and opted to simply frown at the plastic rectangle.
"And done. Enjoy your crappy student ID picture," she said flatly, though her amused smile spoke more than her words, as she handed the plastic card to him. "Make sure that stays with you at all times, 'kay? If you don't you'll not be having an easy time of it."
Danny took it with confusion, but upon seeing his picture on the card, and the information he figured it must be a tracking device of some sort. Humans couldn't exactly track one another by energy levels, so perhaps they invented this to do it for them. He took the secretary's words for the underlying threat he assumed they were. 'Keep this on you or else,' right… card important. He fiddled with it a moment trying not to stare at his own foreign face in the corner before tucking the plastic away in a pocket in his pants.
"Alright, just let me see if the principal is free and she'll take you from here. For now, we'll have to just stick you in the mandatory classes, until we can pull your file." Mrs. Roe said before heading into the large wooden door off to the side labelled 'Principal Ishiyama.' A minute later the woman returned and nodded. "Just go right in," she said.
Danny obliged cautiously poking his head in and examining the woman who was already in motion. "Yes, yes, come on then." She said waving him over. "Here. this is for you." She said offering him a notebook and a pencil. "I was given a note stating you wouldn't have anything on you when you came," she mused watching his bewildered expression.
"A note? How though? I did not even know I was going to be here until this morning…" Danny tilted his head spying a piece of parchment paper on the desk, but what almost got his beating heart to stop was the slightly glowing CW in the corner, imprinted so only ghostly eyes could see. oh … that explained that… But Clockwork? The ghost of time was a supposed myth….
Apparently not...
"-To show you around then?" The principal finished snapping Danny out of his internal crisis.
"Oh, um… yes?"
"Typical teen. Doesn't listen to a word we say," she sighed out in exasperation. "Come on then, I'll show you the layout and then you can figure out your classes from there."
Danny followed the principal out of the office taking the offered schedule from the secretary as they pass and continuing on the tour. The school was shaped in a giant blocky eight that was pretty much the same on the upper floor save a few things. The doors were numbered making it relatively easy to figure out where you were going visually, though that was most likely because humans really didn't have much else to rely on.
Apparently, this place was to teach people 'his age' things, and Danny was sure he would have simply left this place altogether (human consequences be damned) if not for the note with the CW, and the principal handing him the writing book. It meant he was supposed to stay, to follow through with this whole thing… Whatever it was following through within here entailed.
After all, Clockwork wouldn't have left that there for him to see like he had if he wasn't meant to see it...
Of that much he knew, meaning that regardless of how much he hated it, he would see this school day to the end.
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AN: Well there you have it, the first look at the Fentons and Danny being thrust into a human teenage life. Wonder how long that'll last :D Please R&R I 'd love to hear your thoughts!
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