Just a note to my readers since it was pointed out in a review, this story is not, nor will it ever be slash. I don't own Danny Phantom, though I gladly admit to creating this twisted set of circumstances.
It is utterly silent when I emerge from the lab where I have spent the last several hours trying to disprove my findings. Night has fallen, but my eyes are sharper than any human's and the gloom does not bother me. If anything I find it rather soothing. I wander to the front window and look out at the sky. It's a cloudless night with the half-moon slowly rising into the sky. It is a perfect night for flying. I sigh deeply. Daniel should be on patrol about this time, and if I run into him and we get into one of our usual spats nothing will get done. To be honest I don't really want to move. Daniel will most certainly not take this news well. If anything, he will probably be even more disturbed than I was.
Maddie meows softly and jumps on the windowsill to rub her head under my hand. I smile softly and stroke her back. He will find out in the end, no matter what I do. It is better for him to find out from me rather than thirty years from now when he realizes that he hasn't aged normally. There really isn't any point to delaying further, especially when I've already made my decision. I learned a long time ago to quit wasting my time with 'but' and 'if only', it is what it is, and since there isn't much I can do about the situation I'm not going to worry about it.
Nothing will get done with me just standing here. The clock on the wall reads eight forty three, if I leave now I should arrive at Fenton Works fifteen minutes early. That will give me enough time to separate Daniel from his parents and fabricate a reasonable lie to explain my presence. Maddie's reproving mew as I turn away prompts a smile. As much as it shames me to admit it Daniel's suggestion to get a cat was actually a good one. If he finds out about her however, I'll never hear the end of it.
Intangibly dropping through three floors I end up in the underground parking area. Though I have considerably fewer vehicles here than in my Wisconsin mansion, many of my favorites and more recent acquisitions are here. Speaking of which, the car I was intending to use for this trip was fairly close to the front. A white Toyota FT-HS, it may not be the most expensive car here, but it has that elegance that I require of my vehicles. The fact that it can go from zero to sixty in four seconds doesn't hurt either. The last time I used it to make a 'surprise' visit I caught Daniel staring at it enviously, though he later denied doing any such thing. I might get him one in a couple years, assuming he doesn't ruin too many vehicles in the meantime.
That's odd. The glowing green dome of the Fenton's ghost shield is clearly visibly on the sky line. Typically they only have it up during large scale ghost invasions due to the large amount of energy it takes up. Why in the realms would they have it up at this time of night? Something isn't right about this.
My train of thought is interrupted by my cellphone going off. "Skulker, there had better be a good reason for this, and what happened to your voice modulator?"
"Plasmius! It's about the whelp."
"What about him?"
"He was captured by his parents."
"How much damage control am I going to end up doing?"
"You don't understand! I was trying to catch him and drugged him, and he won't be able to turn back to human form for about two days."
A mixture of fury and panic instantly shoots through me, without being able to turn human they will actually carry through on their threats to rip him apart. My voice is deadly calm when I respond. "I consider this a violation of our agreement Skulker, meet me in Wisconsin with a sample of whatever you used on Daniel, and I might consider letting you continue to exist." The cell phone is crushed in my fist as my grip tightens. Disgusted, I throw the remains down in the floorboard and floor the accelerator. Invective fails me and I snarl savagely, even as fast as this car is I can't be there in less than ten minutes, Daniel could very well be dead by then.
NO! I will not allow it! An ancient, twisted tree catches my attention. Not letting go of the accelerator in the slightest I swerve off the road, straight into it. Just before my messy end I morph into Plasmius and teleport to a point just above the Fenton Works ghost shield. I let go of my ghost form and drop the two stories down to land lightly on my feet. I am able to faintly hear sobbing coming from somewhere inside the house. Static crackles across my skin as I intangibly dash through the front door, the shield reacting to the powerful energy that flares about me even in human form.
I waste no time in the living room and run straight to the stairwell to the lab. The warm metallic scent of blood hits me at the top of the stairs, and I am able to hear the sobbing clearly. Jasmine is propped against the thick door to the lab. Thick streaks of red are smeared where she had been futilely beating on the door. Jack had boasted to me several visits ago that he had completely soundproofed the lab; there was no way that the elder Fentons had heard her.
"Move." I growl darkly. Jasmine looks up and immediately scrambles out of the way. Ectoplasmic flame flares around my clenched fists. The static from the ghost shield becomes painful as I channel my ghostly strength through my human form. The metal carries the distinctive sheen of a ghost-proof alloy, I won't be able to simply phase through. The metal gives a shriek of protest as I kick it the first time, but it stubbornly holds. The second time the hinges give way and the door skids down the rest of the stairs.
Bright fluorescent lights bring the nightmarish spectacle below into sharp relief. Viridian ectoplasm, banded silver and sparking with power, drips from the table they have Daniel bound to. An alarmingly wide pool of it spreads across the floor. The sharp whining of a bone saw is the first thing to catch my attention as I jump down the rest of the way into the lab. Jack stands above the dissection table wielding the instrument. I strike him down with crimson flames, throwing him against the wall and causing the instrument in his hand to shatter against the closed doors of the ghost portal. Maddie turns from where she had been shelving the samples she had taken and gapes at me in shock.
My next shot is directed against the shield generator that hums in the far corner of the room. My aim is true, and it shakes violently before exploding, which gives me just enough time to throw a shield of my own over it to prevent the blast from spreading and possibly injuring Daniel further. Maddie breaks through her surprise and lunges for a bazooka that lay against the wall. She only takes three strides towards it before I have her bound with ectoplasmic ropes.
All emotion was shoved to the back of my mind the moment I went into battle. With the shield gone I am finally able to shift into Plasmius once again. They will likely know everything by morning anyway, and every second I delay is another second Daniel's lifeblood drips down that accursed table. I ignore the timid footsteps behind me; Daniel is my only concern at the moment. "Daniel?" His eyes meet mine, the pupils completely dilated and glassy. His throat convulses as he tries to say something. "Hush, I'm here to get you out." All of his restraints snap open as soon as I touch the ones on his wrists. As gently as I can I gather him into my arms.
This, in addition to everything else is too much. Daniel succumbs to shock and fades out of his ghost form. Maddie's gasp echoes in the nearly silent lab. She saw. I have minutes to save Daniel's life, if that. I swipe my bloodied glove against the genetic lock on the ghost portal. As soon as the gap between the doors is wide enough I leap into the ghost zone and wrap magenta energy around us both in preparation to teleport. Hang on Daniel, just a little further.
Fang: Velya! You promised it wouldn't be to bloody! And you made it a cliffhanger! I swear, when I get ahold of you. *stalks off after errant muse*
Velya: *is amused* No one looks up anymore. Oh, hello! Introductions, I am Velya the Dark. Fang refused to put me in any of her stories; something about me being too fond of violence and bloodshed, or some such nonsense. So therefore I took up residence in her head instead as her muse. If you wonderful readers would be so kind as to give me some rope in your reviews I'm certain I could encourage dear Fang to be a bit more prompt with her next update. Don't worry, I'll make sure all of your questions are answered in due time.