Chapter XCIV
"What do you mean you won't help me pass the test?!" Danny shouted angrily as he sat in his room.
Sam and Tucker looked up from the computer and television respectively and cast their friend a quizzical look. He was facing away from them, so his cry of outrage was not aimed in their direction.
How many other meanings does the phrase carry with your kind, Daniel?
This is ludicrous! He must pass! You are his only hope!
"Seriously, he's right! Besides, you are me! Helping me is helping you!"
It is not like that at all. I might be tethered to your body and our minds might be fused as one, but I am an independent sentience. And I am using my sentience to choose not to help you cheat.
It is not cheating, you fool! You are part of his mind, as am I! You can retain the information better than he can by himself, and then –
Then what? Spit it back at him when he needs the answer for a question? No, this is not why we are here with him. We were not left behind by Shadow Phantom to help him cheat on tests. I fear our presence; mine more than yours, has diminished Daniel's ability to learn.
"How so?"
Have you mastered your ability to manipulate your regenerative abilities to help others alone? Have you mastered duplication or teleportation alone? What about electroplasm, or the myriad other powers you have yet to learn such as absorption, shape shifting, sonic attacks, imperviousness to extreme temperatures, manipulation of the elements, cosmic control, even time mastery? You have learned none of these. The first few were only accomplished with our direct interference.
"Can I really do all that stuff?"
Not as you are, no. You are relying on us too much; you are becoming dependent. We will not be with you forever, Daniel.
Of course we will! There is no way for us to leave here.
If we are not separated, Daniel's mind will eventually collapse from the strain of supporting three consciousnesses. We will all be extinguished. Until that day comes, or a better day where we are able to separate painlessly and without death, you must learn to act without us.
Danny sighed. "What've I got to lose?"
As it happens, you are immortal for the time being.
There is nothing to lose, everything to gain.
Except, of course, your dignity if you get held back for another year. So please, study and do well. For all our sakes.
"Danny?" Tucker asked from his seat on the boy's floor. "You done talking to yourself now?"
"Yeah, sorry Tucker," Danny rubbed the back of his neck. "I just needed to clear some things up with Tweedledee and Tweedledum."
"You're gonna be 'Tweedledum' if you don't pass this test," Sam remarked from her seat at Danny's computer. "I pulled up the summary of the book online and I printed out the FlashNotes so I can quiz you when you're done."
"Too bad this wasn't an anatomy test," Tucker began slyly. Danny and Sam sent him glares that could have melted through solid adamantium. Tucker took the looks at face value and cleared his throat nervously. "What? Science is . . . one of my better fields of expertise."
Technus whooped with amusement as a tank carrying five enemy players exploded after rolling over one of his mines. Through his mandibles, though, his whoops and hollers came out as ferocious screeches and hisses.
For all intents and purposes, Technus was a bug in the system. After several failed attempts to remove him from the game's servers, the crew at Bouncie™ Studios offered a reward of five special variants of armor exclusive to the staff if he could be defeated, as he really wasn't doing much else other that joining random games and slaughtering everyone. No sets of armor had been given out since the "bounty" had been placed on his head.
Technus enjoyed the challenge, as minimal as it was. There was something of a kindred spirit among the other gamers when it came to fighting the ghost master of technology. A tingle ran through his circuitry whenever he saw a Red and a Blue cast aside their lust for each other's flag to stop his rampage. Of course, the alliances were futile, but it was definitely fun to watch.
"Several of my informants have informed me that you are spending almost all your time playing that idiotic game instead of retrieving my father," the voice of Walker said menacingly through his communicator.
"Your informants have not been well informed of my abilities then," Technus replied irritably. "I am constantly watching the progression of the security system upgrade. It could very well be finished by tonight."
Technus' arachnid form climbed up the wall of the base the tank had come from, searching for targets. There were none.
"Interesting," Walker replied finally. "Seems here that they finished an hour ago."
Technus froze; an error that allowed the allied Red and Blue forces to spring their trap. The whole wall Technus had been climbing on exploded with the combined fire of each team's remaining tanks. The black and green spider roared in surprise and anger as he was buried under several tons of virtual rubble.
"I'd like to know who these informants of yours are," Technus growled as he struggled to get out from under the wreckage. "They may be feeding you false information."
"My spies know the penalty of such betrayal."
Technus rolled all eight of his eyes. The action was followed by another explosion, this one a combination of mortar and aerial missile fire. The pile of rubble was set ablaze, and the siege continued. Red and Blue players unloaded their weapons, grenades, special powers, and anything else they could find into the inferno. The ghost sighed.
"Then that would logically mean that my source is incorrect," Technus shot back while he reformatted his body.
"And who would your source be?"
"The security monitors. Every single camera that the school, Plasmius, and you have installed is online right now and I do not see the security equipment operational and ready to go."
Walker's end was silent, a reprieve that Technus was all too thankful for. In the small span of time, the Arachnid body had become something much different. The bulbous abdomen of the spider had thinned and elongated. Two of the eight legs had rotated over the other six and spread out to form wings. The eight eyes had grouped together in one pair and fused, forming compound eyes commonly seen on a dragonfly. Technus roared out again and burst from the rubble once the dust had settled.
"It appears that you are correct." Walker did not offer an apology.
"I usually am when it comes to this sort of thing," Technus replied as he tore into the Red and Blue defenses with his new flying form.
"Contact me, then, when you are inside the system."
"I shall."
"Keep in mind the price of failure, and decide whether or not if it is one you can pay."
Technus fumed silently as he sat atop the remains of the fortress. Dead Red and Blue soldiers littered the ground. Burning, devastated equipment scorched the land. The game had ended, and the players no longer respawned.
The ghost knew that, if he crossed Walker, he wouldn't respawn either. And there was nothing he could do about it. As he headed for yet another game, a lone red eye appeared amidst the carnage. Technus didn't see it, but it saw him. And it was still very hungry.
Danny moaned and fell back against his bed. "How much longer?" he whined.
"Stop complaining," Sam retorted before throwing a pillow at him. "You need to know this for the test tomorrow!"
"I know it! I'll do fine on the test!"
"You won't if you keep acting like a ten year old."
"Hey, we used to be ten years old," Danny pointed a finger at Sam. "I happen to think I was a mature and very grown up ten year old."
"Who devolved to an immature, whiney, and irresponsible fourteen year old," Sam added. "I know ghost fighting takes its toll on your school work, but you should want to do well regardless!"
"I do want to do well!"
"Then why don't you apply yourself?!"
"Sam, I know you want Danny to be super smart in addition to his super powers to complete your fantasies, but he already has a sister and two wonderful parents that nag him to kingdom come about his school work," Tucker interjected as he read through his copy of Death of a Salesman. "Besides, do you think Danny really wants to date a girl who reminds him of his sister or his mom?"
Sam glared at Tucker, but the boy hadn't even looked up from his studying.
"Look, I get the plot," Danny spoke up after several seconds in the uncomfortable silence. "The guy is a businessman in a world slowly losing its need for businessmen. He's disappointed with his sons because they're bums, and he kills himself at the end. See? Easy stuff."
"What's his wife's name?" Sam asked knowingly.
"Uh . . ."
"His sons' names'?"
"Um . . ."
"His brother?"
Silence.
"His boss?"
Nothing.
"Do you even know his name?"
" . . . Wilbur?"
"For God's sake, Danny, you haven't been paying attention at all, have you?"
Danny let himself fall back against his bed again, his face sunken with grief. Sam reached out and grabbed his shirt, pulling him upright. But he refused to sturdy himself and his body fell from the bed and collapsed to the floor.
"If you don't want to pass this test, then fine," Sam stood up abruptly, smoothed nonexistent wrinkles from her skirt, and began gathering her things. "Get held back another year! I give up!"
Danny didn't even look up as she stormed from his room, slamming the door shut behind her.
"Dude, you are never going to get in her jeans if you keep acting up like that," Tucker muttered as he looked upon the pathetic sprawled form of his best friend. "And she wasn't even wearing jeans tonight."
"Shut it," Danny growled. "Geeze, what is it with you and the sex jokes all the time? I think you have a thing for Sam."
"Please," Tucker scoffed. "I prefer blondes, thank you very much."
"Figures. But really, I don't think I can do this. Santa's little helpers aren't helping me because they don't think I can learn stuff on my own anymore."
Tucker winced. "That's harsh, dude. That's like you turning yourself down for an A+"
"I know!" Danny threw up his arms in exasperation. "But, in a way, they are right. Kinda. I mean, I have been relying on them a lot when I don't need to."
"Like if you had a job, but still mooched off your parents for money and stuff," Tucker said with a nod, understanding his friend's plight.
Danny's hand rested on the FlashNotes Sam had left behind. Certain areas had been highlighted and underlined. Danny grinned and opened the stapled packet. He had a lot to learn.
Baring his teeth, Wulf advanced toward the man dressed in a rather unusual set of clothes. The man gaped at the hulking bipedal canine and found himself frozen to the ground, unable to move.
"That will be quite enough, Wulf," a disembodied voice said from the shadows.
The lupine specter glanced over at his employer for a moment. With a snarl, he stepped aside and let the oddly dressed man proceed forth.
"I apologize for my bodyguard's behavior," the voice spoke again. "He is particularly good at what he does."
"I'll take your word for it," a faint British accent accompanied the smooth, disarming tone of the man in the odd clothing.
"You have something for me?"
Frederick Issak Showenhower pulled a vial from the folds of his cloak. Inside bubbled a familiar yellowish liquid. "The augmentation formula created by Johnny Thirteen," he said, confirming the voice's belief. "I have managed to work out all the kinks in it. You'll find that it is exactly what you are looking for."
The vial floated into the air, gently tugged from Frederick's grip by an unseen force.
"Excellent," the voice said as the vial disappeared into the darkness. "And now to uphold my end of the bargain."
A box floated forward from the same spot where the vial had disappeared into. Once it came into an arms length of Frederick, it slowly opened and spilled light out into the deathly dark room. Inside, seven gems sat on a cushion.
"Seven?" Frederick asked, slightly confused. "There are only three gems that power the object that I seek."
"And you will find the Gem of Form, the Gem of Life, and the Gem of Fantasy in that box. The Power Gem has not been seen for quite some time, I'm afraid."
"I already possess the Power Gem," Frederick stated with an air of smugness. "It has been an heirloom in my family for generations."
"How wonderful for you," the voice replied with a trace of sarcasm.
"But I say, what are these other three gems?"
A form materialized in front of Frederick. A man who stood nearly as tall as Wulf stepped forth from the shadows. Even in the scarce amounts of light in the room, it was clear that this man was not one to be trifled with.
"The Eye of Cronos, and the Fists of Might and Ability."
Frederick's eyes widened in astonishment. "Beg pardon?"
"The three gems that the titan Cronos created to focus his power over all eternity," the man explained. "They contain even more power than the rocks in your gauntlet."
Frederick grinned at the open box and the gems inside. "I humbly thank you for these additional gifts-"
"Those aren't for you," the taller man snapped. "You are to deliver the Eye and the Fists to a contact of mine deep in the Ghost Zone. You know the one."
Frederick squinted his eyes suspiciously. "Yes, I know him. What can I expect to receive as payment for this additional service?"
"I'm sure the ghost will compensate you for your efforts." The man turned his back on Frederick and faded into the shadows. "The Ghost Zone is familiar territory for you; finding him shouldn't be the problem."
Frederick bowed and turned to leave. "Pleasure doing business with you, Mr.-" Frederick paused. "I-I'm sorry, I don't believe I caught your name."
"Hunter," the voice replied, now missing the imposing bulk of the crime lord to stand behind it. The absence only made the voice more eerie. It felt as is the very shadows were speaking.
"As I was saying, it has been a pleasure doing business with you Mr. Hunter. I look forward to working with you in the future."
Frederick exited the room, leaving a pair of glowing green eyes and silence behind.
"Follow him," the voice commanded. "Make sure he doesn't double cross us."
Wulf nodded and disappeared. Now only silence remained.
To Be Continued
A/N: I hope that was sufficiently long enough for you. There are two references that will eventually play a major role in the story. Find them, if you dare.
So how has my life been, you ask? Well how very thoughtful of you to ask! As if . . . But if you are curious, I graduated from High School on Friday. Hooray! Next year, I'm off to college. And by next year, I mean mid-late August. So I have to enjoy what little free time I have left. My graduation party was Sunday, and I had two to attend on Saturday. That's my excuse for not posting this back then. As for why Monday and Tuesday spawned no new chapters, well, that would be Nintendo's fault. I got a Wii. It rocks. 'Nuff said. Wii Fit is really neat, even if it forces you to be painfully aware of your weight problem . . . uh, you know, if you have one.
Coming soon to a Chapter 95 near you! More of the Sam-Danny-Valerie love triangle! More of Walker's diabolical schemes! More of Technus being sneaky and all up in your computer! More of Plasmius being mad! More of Danny sucking at school! And more! MOAR! ARGHHHH!!
Reviews! You leave me these comments, these wonderfully positive compliments, these deliciously intriguing speculations, these amazing urges to charge onward to victory, and I sit here, wondering what I did to deserve it all. Then I realize that it wasn't just me, it was you too. All of you. Reviewers, readers, the occasional browsers, everyone. I can't thank you all specifically, but I wish I could.
Special thanks goes to darkbunny92, Thunderstorm101, Shining Zephyr, MissMeliss4251, darkness over day, Bitchy Princess, and Sparky Phantom.
Also, go check out my story Iron Man and let me know what you think of it. It's an AU (big surprise) based on the song by Black Sabbath. It is not related to the character from Marvel comics that recently starred in a motion picture and was portrayed by Robert Downey Jr. Superbly, I might add.
And the poll. The Optimus Poll. The one that needs more votes for Animated Prime! Gah! Vote for your favorite Prime to see him fight alongside your friendly neighborhood boy-fused-with-ectoplasm superhero in the Reality Wars!
HULK SMASH! – The Hulk