After he had finished confessing what he thought had happened, Danny hung his head and retreated into his own little world. His friends on the other hand, just looked on in sadness and helplessness.
"Danny?" Sam asked softly, taking Danny's bandaged hands with care. "I need you to do something." Danny slowly turned his head to face her.
"The others are going to be back soon." Danny just raised his eyes at her. "And you know what will happen when they do." He raised his eyes once again, before realisation hit him, and he nodded before lying down and closing his eyes, giving Sam's hands one last squeeze. This time it was Tucker and Valerie who raised their eyes at their silent exchange.
"Danny has got severe burns all over his body. He should be passed out from the pain by now. How do you think the rest of the class are going to react when they see he's fully coherent and having a chat with everyone?" Sam asked. Tucker raised his hand in objection before realising Sam was right.
"Fair point." Admitted Tucker, lowering his hand.
"So what's your plan?" Valerie asked.
"We really don't want them coming over here and inspecting Danny's wounds. Especially as some of them have already healed. We can distract them by saying Danny needs his rest so they're not to bother him."
"It will also give me a chance to think of some answers for the questions they're bound to have." Came Danny's resigned voice. "And by the way, I can hear them coming." A few moments later, the door to their cell opened with Dash at the front.
"Fenton!" He shouted happily. "You did i-." He was cut off by Valerie's hand covering his mouth. Miming a silent action, she pointed over to where Danny was supposedly resting at the back of the room.
"Not too loudly." She said in a mild tone. "He needs as much rest as he can possibly get. You can congratulate him later." It was then that the entire group took a proper look at Danny's motionless form. They took in the amount of bandages covering his body and gasped at the sight.
"Jeez, he looks like a mummy." Kwan said out loud, before blushing in embarrassment, looking apologetically towards Sam; she nodded in acceptance. Megan stepped forwards and pulled down on Sam's arm.
"Is he going to be ok?" She asked in small voice, her blue eyes transfixed on Sam's amethyst ones.
"He's going to be just fine Megan." Sam said, giving the little girl a smile. "He just needs some rest and then he'll be up in no time." A series of growling and angry stomachs echoed around the room, breaking the uneasy silence that befell them; a series of chuckles broke it even further as everyone began to relax.
"The food will be coming a bit later." Sam said, walking back to the table, holding Megan's hand. "Probably around about the time Danny wakes up." Following Sam's lead, the group congregated around the table, grabbing a bottle of water on the way. On his way to the table, Mr Lancer paused, noticing the note Sam had crumpled up and tossed aside.
"Anything of importance?" He asked, gesturing to where it lay. Sam looked to where he was pointing, and pulled a face.
"No." She said bluntly. "Just Hunter being his usual psychopathic self." Mr Lancer knew from Sam's face and tone that she was telling the truth, so he left the screwed up piece of paper alone and joined everyone else around the table.
"That's one hell of a student you got there Lancer." Said Frank, taking a generous swig from his bottle of water.
"You can most certainly say that again." Sighed Mr Lancer, casting a sad look on Danny's form.
"You don't seem very proud of him?" Queried Ellie, noticing Mr Lancer's tone of voice.
"Do not misunderstand me, I am extremely proud of him. He is remarkably foolish and careless when it comes to his own wellbeing, but I am immensely proud of him nevertheless." This earned a small chuckle from those around the table.
"Then what's the problem?" Asked James, still confused by Mr Lancer's downcast tone.
"Yeah," supported Max. "Heck, if he went to our school, we'd have thrown him a massive party and labelled him as the most popular kid in school. He'd have been worshipped for the stuff he can do."
"You see," started Mr Lancer. "That is just the issue. We have witnessed first-hand Danny's abilities to care of himself in a fight. But what vexes me is that Danny shows none of his prowess at school. If anything, he is determined to remain in the background as much as possible and stay at the bottom of the social ladder."
"He's right, you know." Said Kwan. "With his speed and strength, he would own the field if he joined the football team. But he never tried out."
"He also spends a lot of time falling asleep during class." Chimed in Alice.
"And do you remember a couple of years back when he kept dropping things and tripping over everything?" Eric asked; the class all nodded.
"There's also the fact that every time a ghost attacks, Danny is usually the first one out of the door. It's hard to imagine this is the same Danny as that one." Said Bradley.
"It goes back to what we were saying earlier when you five were talking with Hunter and his goons." Said Star, playing around with her bottle of water. "We've learned more about Danny in the past two weeks than we have in two years."
"And whose fault is that?" Sam asked before she could help herself. As soon as she spoke, the tension in the room could have been cut with a knife. Realising she shouldn't have spoken, or if provoked she would shout at someone, she grabbed two bottles of water and went to sit by Danny. After a moment of silence, everyone in the room exhaled loudly, releasing a breath they hadn't realised they were holding.
"What was that about?" Max asked in a quiet voice.
"I think it best you ask those four." Michelle said, a tone of underlying disgust evident in her voice, gesturing to Dash, Paulina, Kwan and Star. As a result of her accusation, the four looked down in shame.
"Let me guess," began James. "You four are the resident bullies?" He took their silence as a yes.
"Nice to see things haven't changed much since we were at school." Frank said sarcastically; Ellie shaking her head disapprovingly at the four teens.
Meanwhile, back in the main office, Hunter was talking with Striker.
"So what do you make of him?" Hunter asked his Number Two.
"He's definitely a kid to be reckoned with. Maybe a bit too dangerous to be left breathing?" Striker suggested.
"Come now," laughed Hunter. "Bit dramatic. He could be useful to us."
"How do you mean?" Asked Striker, not sure what his boss was getting at.
"He may be of use with our animal problem. Something out there is seriously spooking them; it's been getting worse and worse. It's like they know something that we don't."
"How does the kid come into this?"
"He's interacted with these animals first-hand. He'll have a better understanding as to what's going on with them." Hunter said simply. "When he said he had fought and killed four of our panthers at the same time, I didn't believe him. Firstly, because no one should be able to do that; secondly, it should never have happened. Panthers are solitary creatures, and so four should never have been near each other when out hunting."
"You reckon this kid has some answers?"
"Or he can help us get answers. He's sharp that lad." Hunter said thoughtfully, remembering how Danny had outsmarted Striker, and then the flamethrowers. "He knows how to get things done."
"There's no way he's going to willingly help us. Why bother with him?"
"Because he could be a valuable asset to us. Any problems we have, we can send him. We'll send him out there to begin with to find out what's going on with our animals, with supervision of course. The kid's far too resourceful to be left alone. There's no telling what he could do if left to his own devices."
"He'll need an incentive Hunter." Said Striker, finding holes in Hunter's plan.
"And he'll have one." Hunter said simply. "We can't go the food route anymore; I already assured them of meals and there's no telling what Danny boy will do if we go back on that. Besides, I'm a man of my word."
"Sounds like you're afraid of the boy." Striker said jokingly. There was a moment of tense silence when Striker thought he had stepped over the line; then Hunter laughed.
"Afraid of the boy." Laughed Hunter, getting up from his chair and walking round the table to slap Striker on the back. "That's a good one." Striker joined in laughing, thinking he had just dodged a bullet with that last comment. Then Hunter slammed Striker down onto the table, very similar to what Danny did to Frank in the cell, and pulled out his machete. Forcing Striker's mouth open, Hunter pressed his knife against his tongue.
"You've got a bit of a loose tongue there Striker." Said Hunter, pressing the knife down further until a small bead of blood could be seen, his tone of voice becoming dangerous. "So loose in fact, it might just fall off. With some encouragement of course. If you're not careful, you may find your tongue nailed to your forehead. Do I make myself clear?" Striker could just about nod his head without the knife penetrating his tongue even further.
"Excellent." Said Hunter, removing the knife and wiping it on Striker's back, his tone becoming more cheery. "Now, I need you with the others. I received word from Raider a few moments before you walked in that Tracer found some tracks around the compound."
"The same tracks as before?" Striker asked nervously, afraid of insulting his boss again, the taste of blood strong in his mouth.
"It would appear so." Confirmed Hunter, walking back around his desk. "Apparently our new guest has made a mistake. Prepare the cell and then meet with Tracer, Raider and Invader; I want no mistakes. Now get of my sight." As soon as Striker closed the door behind them, Hunter slumped down into his chair, massaging his temples to relieve the headache that was beginning to form. The truth was that Hunter was indeed afraid of Danny. He knew Danny had made him see things in his mind, but he had no possible explanation as to how he had done it.
Maybe we should just get rid of him, Hunter thought to himself, thinking over what Striker had said. He is indeed dangerous to have around, and may even ruin everything we have achieved. We can't just them go, so execution may be the best course of action. Hunter then began to smile as he reminisced at how they had executed their previous leader; how his screams had echoed into the night as they melted him in a vat of acid.
He was nothing more than a blob by the end of it, thought Hunter, still smiling. Getting up, he decided that he would give Danny one more chance to see the light. Otherwise, he would experience a very painful end.
It was several hours later when the group was finally brought food. The group had splintered off into smaller ones after the jocks and cheerleaders had been shamed by that point. They had stayed by themselves; the adults were talking; Michelle, Nathan, Mikey and Chelsea were off in a group; Eric and Craig were talking to the twins; Alice and Bradley were with Tucker, Sam and Valerie whilst Danny slept behind them, Megan sleeping by his side.
"They seem quite taken with each other, don't they?" Alice asked, gesturing to where Danny and Megan were sleeping next to each other. Sam just smiled and nodded.
"I think she reminds him of Dani." Valerie said thoughtfully.
"Dani?" Queried Bradley.
"Danny has a cousin called Danielle, also known as Dani with an 'I', who got taken away from Danny's family when they were really young. They've only just been recently reunited a few months ago." Said Sam. They decided to go with the cover story they had devised a few months ago when they encountered Dani the second time; they knew it was only a matter of time before the people of Amity discovered Dani so they thought it best to lay the groundwork when they could. Before they could explain further, Tucker's stomach emitted its loudest growl yet, causing everyone in the vicinity to laugh out loud.
"Man I'm starving." Complained Tucker, clutching his stomach dramatically. Right on cue, the door to their cell opened, revealing Hunter, Striker and Brawler wheeling in a trolley of food each, filled to the brim with various meats, vegetables and fruits. The aroma hit the group like a freight train; stomachs were performing an orchestra of growling noises and their mouths were salivating profusely. Hunter laughed deeply at this.
"Din dins," he started mockingly, wafting the smell even further into the room. "You must all be starving." Another chorus of growls was enough to prove his point. It was then that he noticed Danny asleep at the back of the cell.
"Be lovely people and save some food for Danny-boy over there." He said sarcastically. "He's going to need his strength soon enough." With that, he and his associates laughed maniacally as they walked out of the room, leaving the group to stare intently at the mountain of food before them. They were torn as to what to do; a part of them, an incredibly small part of them, was nervous that Hunter had laced it with poison. However, an extremely large part of them wanted nothing more than to gorge themselves until they were sick.
"Is it safe?" Mikey asked nervously.
"It is Hunter after all." Said Michelle. "We can't be too careful when it comes to him."
"So what do we do?" Asked Paulina, eying up the food.
"Mm, something smells good." Came a groggy voice from behind them. Whipping their heads around, the group were dumbfounded to see Danny getting to his feet and stretching out his limbs. Walking slowly forwards, the group parted to allow him access to the food, not disputing the fact that Danny deserved to eat first. Tripping the last couple of feet, Danny put out both bandaged arms to break his fall on one of the trolleys. Staring intently at the food, Danny finally reached down and picked up an apple and took a large bite, much to everyone's protest.
"Danny!" They all exclaimed, not believing he had just taken a bite out of something which could potentially be poisonous.
"What?" Danny responded innocently, once again oblivious to what the problem was.
"Have you not considered the possibility that Hunter and his merry gang of psychopaths have spiked that food with poison?" Asked Nathan.
"You know," started Danny, massaging his throat. "My throat is beginning to feel a little itchy now that you come to mention it." Hearing this, Sam hurried forwards.
"Are you serious?" Sam asked frantically.
"No." Laughed Danny, taking another bite of the apple. This earned him a smack on the arm from Sam, exactly where his fourth degree burn was. This subsequently earned them a massive gasp from the rest of the group, followed by jaws hitting the ground when Danny didn't as much as flinch. All Danny did in response was laugh and bring Sam in for a hug.
"Well, are you guys going to eat or not?" Danny said cheerfully, turning back to the stunned group. "Because I guarantee that Tucker will take all the meat in a flash." This spurned on the others and everyone converged on the trollies with a gluttonous frenzy.
It was several hours later when lethargy set in for the group, a general lull in the atmosphere as everyone sat around not doing a great deal.
"They may be gun-wielding wackos, but they definitely know how to cook." Said Tucker, patting his full stomach.
"Did you even have any of the fruit or vegetables?" Asked a sickened Sam, leaning against Danny.
"I'm pretty sure I had a potato." Tucker said thoughtfully, his mind clouded by the mountain of meat he had just consumed.
"He did." Confirmed Valerie, giving her boyfriend a supporting arm pat. "It was a small potato mind you, but he had one nonetheless."
"I'm proud of you man." Danny chuckled.
"By the way," started Valerie. "How did you know the food wasn't in fact poisoned?"
"I Sensed it." Danny said simply. "When I 'tripped', I had the perfect opportunity to have a quick look as I had my back to everyone."
"Your Sense can pick up poisons?" Tucker asked, sounding impressed.
"It can pick up stuff which shouldn't be there." Danny said with a shrug. Amongst their food-filled bliss, a thought suddenly occurred to Danny. "Hey, does anyone have any idea what time of day it is?"
"No." Sam said, frowning at the strangeness of the question. "Any particular reason why?"
"No reason." Danny said innocently. Danny saw that Sam didn't believe him in the slightest; before Sam could question him further, Danny began to draw concentric circles on her wrist, roughly where a watch would go. Understanding completely, Sam let the matter drop. He hated lying to her, but he knew Clockwork had his reasons for wanting Danny to keep it a secret. Internally, however, Danny was in turmoil as to who was going to be the ally that becomes endangered. Danny was brought out of his musings by a small cough; turning, Danny was surprised to see Dash, Kwan, Star and Paulina standing above him.
"Something we can help you guys with?" Danny asked them. He, as well as his friends, were trying their hardest not to laugh at the group of four before them; they couldn't look any more uncomfortable if they tried.
"We, er, wanted to, umm, apologise to you Fenton." Dash said sheepishly. This left the four of them shocked.
"Sorry, do you want to run that by me again?" Danny said in disbelief.
"We're saying we're sorry Danny." Said Kwan, stepping forward. "We know we haven't exactly treated you fairly before all this happened to us."
"Yeah," confirmed Star. "Especially after all the stuff you've done for us since we got here. Even though the things we've seen you do seem impossible, we just wanted you to know that we greatly appreciate it." Dash, Kwan and Star then looked expectantly at Paulina who had yet to say a word since they walked up to Danny.
"Sorry Fenton." She said quietly. Danny knew that was all they were going to get out of the Latina, especially after the fear Danny had put her through at the beach, but he was grateful nonetheless.
"Listen," started Danny. "No hard feelings, seriously. Everything has been a little crazy since we've been here and I know things have been difficult. And I really appreciate you coming over here and telling me this." Exhaling deeply with relief, Dash, Kwan, Star and Paulina smiled and walked back off to their little corner. Danny looked back at his friends to see equally stunned faces on all of them.
"Did that actually just happen?" Asked Valerie.
"Can't have." Tucker said, rubbing his eyes. "I must be having meat hallucinations again." Sam pinched herself.
"No, it definitely happened. The paddling pool actually apologised. I never thought this day would come."
"Maybe we should get stranded more often." Danny said jokingly, earning another hit from Sam on his 'injured' arm. "I'm glad I have fast healing or that would have really hurt."
"How bad are they now dude?" Asked Tucker.
"Pretty much sorted." Danny said. "My muscles have already begun to reform. Should be as good as new by tomorrow, possibly the day after. Not entirely sure what day we're on at the moment. Do you have any idea how itchy bandages are?"
"You'd think with the amount of times we've bandaged you up that you'd be used to it by now." Chuckled Sam.
"The only people who get bandaged more than you are mummies." Agreed Tucker.
"What's your point?" Asked Danny.
"Man up." Laughed Valerie; this lead all four of them to burst into fits of laughter, earning curious looks from the rest of their group. They were so busy laughing that they failed to notice the door to their cell open.
"Care to let us in on the joke?" Hunter asked jovially, Brawler and Invader at his heels. Only Danny, Sam, Tucker and Valerie continued to laugh; everyone else remained dead silent, nervous as to why Hunter was here.
"It's nothing." Danny finally said, wiping tears from his eyes. "We were just discussing about taking a holiday somewhere. We're not really keen on an island vacation anymore, so we were thinking about somewhere with snow. What do you reckon?" There was a moment of tense silence when the group thought Hunter was going to do something crazy; even Brawler and Invader tensed up slightly. Then Hunter broke a grin.
"I hear Mont Blanc is very nice." He said cheerfully. "I remember our last visit there. We were there for a few months a couple of years back. The fireworks were amazing; the blood-spatter effect they caused was astounding. It was just too bad our hosts weren't around to appreciate it, if you get what I mean." This silenced everyone this time.
"Anyway, as hygiene is very important to me, and as it's approaching bed time, we're here for the last toilet break of the day." Hunter began again, gesturing towards the door. "Ladies first." There was a tense moment once again when all girls stood up and walked out with Hunter and Invader, leaving Brawler to watch over the rest. Whilst they were gone, Danny stood up and headed straight for the trollies. Seeing this, Brawler twitched his hand towards the machete at his hip, glaring at the teen; daring the teen to make a threatening move towards him. Seeing this, Danny smiled at him before reaching down and picking up one of the last remaining scraps of fruit. For the next few minutes, Danny paced up and down the room, making everyone very uncomfortable. It wasn't until the girls came back that Danny finally relaxed; then it was the boys' turn. Expecting Hunter to take them, Danny was surprised that it was Brawler who took them, leaving Hunter alone with the girls.
Later that evening, confident that their captives were asleep, Brawler walked down the corridor and into Hunter's office to find everyone present and accounted for, aside from Sniper.
"So, what do you reckon?" Asked Hunter, reading over a file on his desk. Brawler smiled evilly.
"We most certainly have our leverage sir."
"You're sure? Definitely the women?" Hunter asked, leaning forwards.
"Yes sir." Brawler confirmed. "As soon as they left, he became very nervous and was soon pacing around the room. He tried to flaunt it off by going for the food, but I saw through it."
"Excellent." Said Hunter, clapping his hands together. "That definitely confirms what I overheard the girls talking about."
"Sir?"
"Just some crap about how cute Danny boy is looking out for the little girl. Turns out, the kid has a bit of a problem." Said Hunter.
"What do you mean Hunter?" Striker asked, confused as to what his boss was talking about.
"It seems that Danny has an obsessive need to protect those he cares about. It should have been obvious by the way he took on those challenges."
"C'mon Hunter," began Raider. "Let me take a shot at the kid. I need to get him back for ruining my gun in the Cage."
"Calm down Raider. Everyone here wants a shot at him. But we also know that he could probably take us all on. He probably wouldn't win, but I reckon he could knock out at least four of us before we took him out."
"Blatantly a government agent." Huffed Tracer, trying to make his brother feel a little bit better. Partly due to the fact that it was him who melted Raider's gun.
"Oh definitely." Hunter said sarcastically. "I bet he can also fly and shoot laser bolts from his hands. Get a grip Tracer. He's clearly just an exceptional athlete. He may have some attitude problems, but there's nothing more to it." Before his cohorts could object, Hunter raised his hands.
"That being said," Hunter began again. "If he refuses to cooperate, I will let you do anything you like to him and his lovely group of friends. And by anything, I mean anything." This made Raider especially happy. Brawler too was thrilled as he wanted nothing more than to carve up one of the annoying teens he was being forced to watch over.
"Now, one last task for you all. I want final preparations completed on the cell. I want it everything-proofed by tomorrow evening. We wouldn't want to ruin the surprise too soon." Hunter said. Watching his people leave his office, Hunter felt confident that pieces were beginning to fall into place and that things were about to get extremely interesting.
Sorry for the lack of action in this chapter; needed something to start up what is about to happen in the next chapter. Hopefully it wasn't too tedious. Until next time.
Lord Pugsy.