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Chapter 6: Meetings
I do not own Danny Phantom or the Goldberg Variations.
Danny, Sam, Tucker, Valerie, and Paulina had just finished their impromptu strategy conference in the basement of Casper High, and they'd had to make it quick. Lunch was about to end, and by that time the entire school, teachers included, would know Danny's secret. And the whole town would know Lancer's soon after that, by the sounds of it. They gave a quiet cheer of solidarity, and headed back upstairs and to their positions. They only had ten minutes to get everything done, so they had to hurry.
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Sam Manson poked her head into a classroom and caught the attention of the cerulean-skinned man sitting at the desk playing with the alien dolls that were the main sign of his obsession. He jumped, disappeared for a moment, then reappeared, put the toys down guiltily, and acknowledged the goth's presence.
"Mr. Spears?" she asked, entering the room fully. "I'm here about Danny." Spears nodded.
"I've heard rumours. Students are saying he's Phantom himself." The teacher chuckled. "Let me guess... Danny's gone off somewhere to hide from the false fangirls for the rest of the day."
"Actually...," Sam started, moving over the teacher's desk, "they're not rumours." Spears stiffened in his chair.
"Goldberg Variations! Sam, you're not trying to tell me my student is a ghost?"
"Half-ghost," corrected a male voice just behind Sam. Danny became visible again and gave a shy grin to his teacher. "Hey."
"Danny?" the man asked, making eye contact with the boy. "Care to explain?" Danny rubbed his neck nervously and came forward slightly.
"Okay. Basically Dash attacked me again, I fought back, went ghost, got stuck. It's because of the ectoplasm. I've got more of it now than human." Spears blinked. "Okay, you meant the whole halfa thing in general? Right... so, couple years ago I tried to get my parents' Ghost Portal working and got shocked. Woke up like this."
"And you've been fighting ghosts ever since? No wonder your grades were so bad..." A half-forgotten memory surfaced in Spears' mind, prompting a further question as the man moved around the desk to be closer to the two teens. "Does William Lancer know?"
"W-why would you think that?" Danny asked nervously, then winced. Spears could have sworn he'd just seem Sam do something painful to Danny's back.
"Because he gave me a story about your parents that no one else had ever heard of, and he's been tutoring you, right?"
Danny blushed.
"Okay, so he knows. It's a long story, and I don't have time right now to go into it. Maybe later." Danny looked nervously towards the door, where students could be seen heading excitedly to their lockers and gossiping about Fenton/Phantom. "Um, look, I've really got to try to find that ghost before things get worse. Could I maybe be excused from study hall today?" Spears looked hard into Danny's glowing eyes.
"That depends. Is your work done?"
"Yes," Danny answered confidently. "I turned in the essay this morning, remember?" Spears nodded and smiled.
"Then I suppose you can. And I'll excuse Tucker too." Danny brightened. He hadn't truly been expecting that gesture from the teacher.
"Really? Great. Thanks!" He grabbed Sam's wrist and turned to leave, then thought of something and turned back. "Mr. Spears? It's probably going to be a nightmare in study hall today. Good luck." Then he and Sam winked out and left through the wall. Spears, who'd been grading essays, looked back at the papers momentarily, then shoved them aside with a shake of his head. Who would ever have thought that awkward Danny Fenton was the town's hero? And how the heck had Lancer found out before GEIST got off the ground?
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Danny pulled Sam through the crowds to the office to pick up Tucker, who'd successfully convinced Vice-Principal Falooka that cancelling class for the rest of the day was a good idea. Then the three teens headed for the cafeteria, where Valerie had revealed her identity as the Red Hunter to get volunteers for the rest of the day (they'd figured with Danny being outed and with Lancer as a distinct possibility, they might as well go all the way). Danny, hovering about eight feet up to avoid the fangirls, quickly organized search teams, telling them to stop by FentonWorks for Fenton Phones first, and sent everyone out in groups, Sam and Tucker leading. Val struck out on her own.
Danny then flew through the school to find Paulina, who'd promised to get her parents to use their connections to help. He found her just as she was slamming her cell phone shut. She sensed his presence and turned to face him, who looked at her curiously.
"Mama's promised to get the PTA to help out."
"And that makes you angry?"
"Non. I told her about you, like you said, and she got all excited that the same might go for Spirit. I told her nada, he's full ghost, but I don't think she believed me." Danny paled at the news.
"Don't worry," the young Latina continued, "it's not like she's going to run into him. He's safe."
"No, he's not," Danny said worriedly, "I've gotta get to him. We've got to plan anyway. And you're coming with me." He swooped down, grabbed Paulina's waist, then shot out through the ceiling heading for downtown. Paulina shrieked at the sudden movement, then fell into silence. It was obvious Danny didn't want to talk at the moment. A few minutes later Danny plunged into an office building and landed in the corner of a room, letting go of his burden as he did so. Paulina gasped at what she saw.
Will Spirit had paused in a heated discussion with a thin black-haired ghost and both figures had turned to look at Danny in surprise. A blue-skinned woman who Paulina vaguely recognized as Lancer's girlfriend from her visits to the GEIST office was sitting at the computer typing. At the sudden lack of noise, she too turned to look at Danny.
"What's going on?" Danny demanded.
"Aster found the ghost," the unfamiliar ghost explained. "He sent me to tell Will. We've been trying to sort things out ever since."
"Like the press conference," Lancer's girlfriend added. "It might take a while to find Cyclone and we're going to have to explain Lancer's disappearance somehow. Besides, with your secret out, Danny, it's only a matter of time before people start speculating about Spirit too."
"Would someone mind explaining what Paulina's doing here?" Spirit asked pointedly.
"Damage control," Danny said. "Her mom's already speculating. I figured Paulina might be able to hold her off if she comes in here."
"Wait a minute," Paulina said in confusion, "this is the GEIST office?"
"Yes," came a chorus of four voices.
"Then what is Spirit doi- Ooh." Her eyes widened as she looked at Will Spirit again. "You're Mr. Lancer, aren't you?" Spirit nodded, looking a little ashamed. "Then my mama is out th-... Oh. Oh no..."
"Exactly," Danny said to her before looking dead at Lancer. "We don't have time to have a press conference. We've got to get that ghost."
"That's what I said," the Ghost Writer said. "We can hold the press conference later, Will, and in fact we probably should."
"But if Casper High knows about Danny..."
"Then they know about me. School's out for the day and I've organized search groups. What does the ghost look like, Writer?"
"Grey skin, red eyes, blue cloak," a female voice said from the corner opposite Danny. Everyone jumped, and a white-haired girl in a black and white costume appeared, blushing. "Sorry."
Danny rushed over to the girl.
"You ran into him, Dani?" he asked. She shook her head.
"Nope! I ran into Aster above the library and he pointed him out to me."
"So where's Aster now?" Lancer asked.
"Leading Cyclone over to the park. He sent me to tell you so the three of us could get over there."
"Right," Danny said, making sure his Thermos was on its shoulder strap. "We'd better head out then. Aster won't be able to keep his attention for long."
"Okay," Lancer agreed. "Cathy, finish that press release. We'll still have to have that conference. Paulina, ... we'll fly you out of here and you can join a search team."
"And ruin my flawless skin?!" the girl shrieked. "Are you crazy?"
"Well, then we'll take you somewhere else. You can't stay here." Paulina seemed all right with that, so Lancer turned to the group again. "Everyone ready? Okay, le-... yes, Cathy, we'll be safe, I promise. Now let's see if we can't finish this by dinner!" They took off, taking Paulina with them. A few minutes later, they set her down at the mall and continued on their way, praying that three halfas, two who could duplicate, would be enough to take down a ghost with aspirations of halfahood.