A/N: Hahahahaha. Ha. Three days ago I took my last final - Spanish - and now I am done. It was through sheer force of will that I did not just simply go into a coma.
On another note, why does doc manager always cut off a hundred in the word count?
Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom or any characters associated, nor am I making any money off of this.
Chapter Nineteen
After everyone had settled in, I sat on the coffee table, facing those assembled on the Fenton family couch. "Well . . ." I said, not sure of how to start. "I guess I should start with the news report." Everyone looked at me expectantly. "I was walking home from, erm, a ghost fight, limping, really, and I happened to pass Elmer's. They had a couple of television sets in the window at the time. Maybe they still do. I don't know." I realized I had started to babble, but I was reasonably nervous.
"I heard 'Danny Phantom' mentioned so I went over to look. It was only six o'clock, so I didn't think it would matter. That was when Tiffany Snow announced to the world the existence of me. It was a special news bulletin and everything. I was horrified, and started running towards home because I wanted to explain, you know? You always watch the six o'clock news."
"Danny . . ." Mom interrupted, almost hesitantly. "Do you know how she found out?"
"Um . . . not really. I guess someone caught my transformation on tape. I don't know why it matters, what's done is done."
Mom gave me a look, then settled back in, leaning on Dad.
"Anyway, the GIW found me before I could get home. I was fighting them off . . . and losing . . . when Tucker showed up." Tucker was grinning sheepishly, and everyone turned to look at him.
"Don't worry about it," I said to them. "I made him swear not to tell you . . . I wasn't . . . functioning properly. I was kind of messed up in the head. I think seeing that might've messed him up a bit too, a little. The Guys in White were after me, my secret was out, and it had all happened so fast. But Tucker showed up, and tried to help. He ended up getting hurt just before they finally managed to get me. They shoved me in some van and drove off."
"You did come to school with a cut on your head the next day," Sam remembered, turning to Tucker, then paused. The air was heavy with our collective anticipation, and I was waiting for someone to ask the question.
Finally, Jazz spoke up. "D-Danny . . . Is that where you've been? With the Guys in White?"
"Son . . ." Dad started.
I held up my hand to stop him. "No, not really. They dropped me off at some nuthouse called Mt. Ivory. That's where I've been for the past three months."
"And fifteen days," Sam cut in, and I raised an eyebrow. She flushed. "I was worried." Then she abruptly changed the subject, blush fading. "What did they do to you there?"
Everyone nodded encouragingly.
"Um, well, it was kind of a holding center. With certain, erm, perks. I had therapy with this strange, strange woman - Jane Redd - every day for awhile, and occasionally Dr. Jared, this guy who worked there, would want to do some tests, and . . ."
"What are you trying to say, sweetie?" Mom said gently, and I realized I was babbling again.
". . . Well, there were the speciestests, I guess I should call them. To find out if you're human or not." I winced slightly at the memory, then inhaled, preparing to start talking again.
"You know we don't care about that," Dad said.
"Let me finish, Dad," I said. "Well, I took the test at first, and it came up positive - meaning I wasn't. Human, I mean. So they said I belonged to the government, like, you know, they owned me." Sam and Jazz gasped in unison, and I could practically hear Jazz's must-support-Danny psychology-pep-talk-creation gears whirring. But neither interrupted me. Mom, Dad, and Tucker just kind of stared at me. "So there were the buyers - most just rich guys or couples or whatever who came to, erm, well, buy."
"That's just wrong," Tucker muttered. "How'd you put up with that?" I shrugged.
"I dunno. Then Plas . . . Vlad showed up. He was looking for me."
Dad beamed. "Trying to get you back, I bet," he said proudly. "Gotta love Vladdie."
I opened my mouth silently, not quite sure how to break the news that his long-time best friend was actually there for the same reason all those other billionaires were to him. "Yeah, I think I'll tell you guys about Vlad later. I managed to get out of being seen with him, and then my skin started glowing, and Dr. Jared got really excited, or maybe that happened before Vlad showed up. I don't know. But the point is something freaking weird was happening to me. So then I got called on to advertise . . . And I remembered everything . . . Well, the point is, after that I got put in solitary confinement, and then Ms. Redd figured out that I was human before they used me to make a weapon and then killed me . . . Yeah." I could've told the story more eloquently, I'll admit.
They stared at me for a long time, and I wriggled around a bit. "I won't stand for this," Mom said eventually. "I'm going to put in some sort of complaint. How can a place like that exist? Buying and selling people . . . How un-American can you get?"
I shrugged. "They said it was to protect normal people. But then they had to send me back the moment they found out I was human. So I don't know. But you're right - it shouldn't."
"Man, I'm sorry I didn't say anything. I should have . . . But I kind of thought you were dead or something. And I thought it was better if they just thought you'd run away, and hadn't died hooked up in a test tube or something."
I nodded. It was fine. It wouldn't have done much of anything if he had; so far as I knew, the GIW worked in a separate facility.
"How could they do that to you?" Sam asked. "You've only ever tried to help people -"
I sighed. "Guys, look. I'm glad for your sympathy, but I wasn't exactly horribly mistreated. All right, they gave me a prisoner tattoo, which is kind of creepy, and made me feel worse than Spectra ever did . . . But you know, I'm back now. And -" I looked a them all very pointedly. "- I have a job to do. I have to go relieve Val - the Huntress of her duties. I don't think the ghosts will be too happy to see me back in action."
"Come and talk to me when you're done, little brother," Jazz said, and got up, hugging me again. I hugged her back. She went up to her room.
Mom and Dad came up and hugged me next. "Surely they didn't just let you back to . . . you know, just be perfectly free?" Mom asked, and Dad nodded in agreement. "They didn't give you any rules?"
"There were some. I'll tell you them when I get back."
Both parents then pulled themselves up to full height. "If the GIW ever drag you home again, young man, you will be grounded," Dad said.
"Don't worry 'bout that. I break the rules, I'm going right back. So I'll be a good little ghost boy and not endanger any civilians." I smiled. "Thank you guys for understanding.
Mom kneeled down in front of me. "I'm not sure I do, hon," she said. "But we love you, just remember that."
"No matter if you're ghost, boy, or something in between," Dad finished. I blinked.
"Serious déjà vu," I mumbled, then looked back up at them. "Thanks again."
They nodded, and moved off so Sam and Tucker could say whatever it was they wanted to say.
"Sorry," Tucker repeated, and I shrugged reassuringly.
"It's fine, Tuck. And I asked you not to, so it's kind of my fault."
"I still can't believe you did that," Sam scolded, and I glared at her.
"Don't blame 'im," I said lightly. "He's an innocent and knows not what he does."
Tucker punched me gently on the shoulder, and I grinned.
Sam, then, pulled me back into a hug, and whispered in my ear. "If you ever disappear again, you'll get more than a slapped face."
I laughed, and she pulled back. "I promise I won't disappear again."
"Good luck, dude," Tucker said. "I think you're gonna need it."
"No kidding. See you in . . . well, awhile." They backed up slightly, and I glanced at my parents warily. "I'm goin' ghost!" I half-shouted. A familiar surge of power and a familiar flash of light later, and I was in ghost form. Mom and Dad gaped, slightly, but nodded encouragingly. I glanced up.
"Enjoy your day off," I called as I ascended, becoming intangible just before I hit the ceiling.
Well . . . It was time to fight some ghosts.