Continued from Danny Phantom/Crash Nebula 2 (the main core mini-series)
Chapter 28
Phantoms of the Heart: Space Ghost, Part 3
Starcrossed
Act Eight
Danny and Sprig yell at each other, challenging the other to do as they say."Do it, bro!" Sprig shouts out.
In a fast movement Danny's swords reach his eyes before, phasing through them as he laughs shaping his eyes back to normal while Sprig hyperventilates getting his air back.
"You are a gutsy man, I'll give you that," he laughs sheathing his arm-swords. "But your fighting skills? Pshh! What a joke, man."
"Pshh? What do you mean with 'Pshh'?"
"Dude, I can tell from the first minute you relay only on your weapons," said reaching out his hand to help him get back on his feet. "There's no real fighting style, no strategy, you expect your suit to do all the job for you. You shoot three times and hope you hit once…"
"That's the American way."
"Yes, it is. Now get up."
"Are you not going to destroy me?"
"You mean kill you? No. Now, I'm gonna clean this mess up once and for all. You're gonna give me five minutes, and we're gonna talk. As civilized people without shooting or caging each other. After that… If you don't like what you hear… you still want me dead, you take your shot."
"Ok," said getting back on his feet with Danny's help. "Besides, my armor is running low on battery."
"Low battery. Yeah right. Now, let's start with one question bugging my head, where did you get that. S.E.N. patch?"
"A guy who works in the news. He told us you were onto this whole False God campaign. I think his name was Lance Thunder."
"God-freaking-dammit! Why am I not surprised?" Danny yelled exasperated, pulling his head back, with his hands flat across his face. His voice reverberated in the open field as though it was the echo of a cave.
"He said you were this being who came out of nowhere pretending to be a ghost-hero but causing more damage than you supposedly prevent."
"Well, at least he got that part right," Valerie said, getting a glare from Danny. "What? You know is true."
"This is why I say medias are evil," explained Danny. "Ok, I'm gonna explain you this only once… whatever you see on the news is not real, unless is live-stream; and even though you can't totally believe everything they say—specially if it's about me."
"So the damage you cause is actually less than you prevent?" Valerie insists.
"Don't tease me," he warned her, then focused his attention back on Crash. "Now tell me why are you here? What's your story?"
Act Nine
September 15, 08:26 P.M.
About an hour later, Crash and Danny share each other's story, how Danny was just 14 when his parents built a very strange portal. It was created to see what nobody could see. But when it didn't quite work his folks they just quit, but Danny took a look inside of it. There was a big green flash. Everything just changed. His molecules got all rearranged. When he first woke up he could realize he had snow white hair and glowing green eyes, he could walk through walls, disappear and fly. Then he dedicated his life to stop all the ghosts that were coming through.
Sprig then tells him how he got enlisted in the Celestial Academy, skipping the part where he was doing nothing on his father's farm right to the part where he witnesses how Princess Galaxandrea's ship bursts from the sky and crashes before his eyes, adding a bit more of courage to his character than he had when she runs out of her ship chased by a horde of Bug Troopers that might or might not be bigger than it actually was, and how it earned him a place as the first human in the most prestigious school in the universe where he'd become the wearier of the thought activated hyperdrive Nebula 3000 suit and one of the most famous (or infamous, depends on who you ask) space heroes, and how they were assigned to watch out the Earth due to a red flag caused by a schism in the universe.
At first they were exceptical about each other's story, but then they thought who would lie about something like that? Their stories were so crazy, they had to be true.
Of course, Danny had to show him some footage of him saving the world from the ecto-ranium asteroid and fighting other ghosts to get them to believe him and he only had one question for Crash.
"So let me see if I got this straight," Danny started dribbling one of Vlad's basket ball in his indoor basket court, "you saved this hot glowing alien princess who is principal of this school for tomorrow's heroes and became her white knight."
"Yep," Crash affirmed trying to take the ball from his hands.
Danny tumbles around him easily without losing the ball.
"And you've been there by her side in the worst of times," said throwing the ball, making a perfect score from half the court, "saved her life more times than you can count and you haven't slept with her yet? Not even once?" Danny asks. "Like why?"
"Really!? All that's story and that's what you take away!?" Valerie asks him sitting on the benches with the rest of Crash's crew.
"Yeah, yeah. They're savers, and dicks. Some people love them, some don't. Where have I heard that one before? They gotta save planets to finish high school and they were assigned to watch the Earth because somebody broke the universe around here or something. Worse thing that can happen is we all die not knowing, why he hasn't slept with the hot alien princess?"
"Well, it wouldn't be something I'd talk about either," Crash muttered as he grabs the ball.
"All right, then tell me why were you stupid enough to think 'oh, I don't know what's changed on Earth on this four years, I'm gonna watch some news to catch up. Hey look, a Republican ranting nonsense on tv about a guy who almost dies every day to save people's lives. I must assume that guy is right and this selfless hero is a fake, because who with powers saves others for no reason at all? Oh wait, I know why, he's an alien that tries to take over the world on the slowest and stupidest way possible when is clear he could have done it a long ago?'"
"Well, not the first time we see that. It would be the fourth," Diff claims.
"Do you even know what a Republican is?" Val asks Danny.
"No."
"Well, on my defense, I always believed the press—"
"The press? Which press? Mainstream media has been hunting for my head ever since I started, no matter how many times I almost die to save people," snaped Danny with hand blazing. A muscle was jumping in Danny's jaw. The temperature around him plumets ten degrees. He closed his eyes and remained silent as he takes a deep breathe, calming himself. "You can't believe all that's on the news, those things are always manipulated. Half the things they say are fake. That guy Lance is a douche, the biggest douche in the world. In fact, I nominate him as the biggest douche in the universe!"
"Well, that's rough," Chuck snarls.
"He just hates me for being more popular and good looking than him. Why did you even believe him?"
"I don't know, when I told him about us, he told me you were an alien and well… I guess he told me everything I needed to hear. He seemed very convincing and his evidence seemed so real I… I was affraid my planet was in danger, so I let myself influence, I guess."
"Well, whatever he told you, is not truth."
"But you gotta admit there might be something alieny about ghost, they exist on an alternate dimension after all," Valerie pointed out.
"Again! You're not helping our case," Danny pointed at her.
"So, you are truly a half-ghost and the good guy?" Crash asked as he throws him the ball.
"Yes, yes, and yes, my parents were just that dumb to put the on and off button inside the portal. Now you better integrate the supernatural hardrive into your world view," said tossing the ball back.
"How does that even work?" Ani asks.
"Beats me. As much I can tell, is like a mental state."
"I guess I owe you both an apology then," Sprig states. "But I swear—I will make it up to you. Especially you. I'm thinking dinner, a little dancing, then see what happens…"
"Sorry, what? Are you talking to me?" Valerie asks.
"Not necessarily." Danny says with a grin. "Now, be a dear and tell me who broke the universe."
"Actually I was hoping you could tell us. Now I know you're the good guy… I thought you might got an idea."
"Sorry, if you hadn't tell me I wouldn't know."
"So what do we do now?" asked Crash.
"Well, there is not much we can do to fix the universe, there is no superglue for it, so I suggest we imbibe copious amounts of alcohol. Just wait for the inevitable blast wave," Danny suggest shaking his hip flask.
"Yes, well, thank you, Bukowski. But I'd rather stop the universe from tearing till there's nothing left. The universe is where I keep my stuff," Sprig said.
"Well, that leaves the other option, we bury the hatchet… on the scalp of whoever cracked the universe. You told me you got this readings of an unknown energy spectrum all over the Moon?"
"Yeah, they sorta match yours," Sprig began playing a blue static-looking hologram of the energy readings he got from the Moon with his palm holo-player. "I'm guessing is also spectral energy."
"You stand correct," he said recognizing the pattern and spikes from his parent's labs. "But this pikes are odd, is like when a Ghost Portal opens, only is not a ghost portal. Whenever one opens the spikes are… different, lower, these seem to be higher than usual."
"Wait. Help me understand something, this house belonged to your allegedly dead archenemy… why are we here?" Ani inquired.
"Hey, the guy is allegedly dead, nobody is using it except for the ghost of a dead cheese king. Besides, I was planing on taking his abandoned tech for myself, use his twisted inventions for something good."
"Using your dead enemy's stuff. I like your style," she grinned in that flirtatious way Valerie knew so well. It wasn't coy, but instead it was curtly blatant, saying openly what she wanted. "Wouldn't mind to spend the night here. Granted I got somebody to keep me company and lure those ghosts away from me, maybe teach me how to hunt."
For days he would remember the glance she gave him—those cool, assessing blue-gray eyes staring back at his unmasked glowing green eyes, thinking that these eyes probably saw quite a lot of everything. He would also remember thinking she was outrageously gorgeous, and if anybody had asked what he thought of her, he wouldn't try to lie about it.
"Fine. We can stay the night… together," Val said curtly, frowning at her. "After we discover what's wrong with the universe."
Unlike Danny, she still didn't trust these aliens and thought this whole situation as absurd at the very least, not because she didn't believe aliens could be real or the alleged hole in the universe, but because two hours ago she wanted to kill her and that feeling hasn't worn off.
"I think we need to go to the source of the problem," Danny said. "We need to go back to the Moon. But first we need the right equipment for you guys. And luckily, the good old cheese-head of my archenemy always had some good copies of my parents tech down in his lab. I'll fetch some for you. But you're coming with me," said pulling Crash by his suit's neck.
"And what do we do?" Ani asks.
"You girls try not to kill each other," Sprig said.
"And Val, when you kill her, try not to make a mess."
"Danny wait!" Valerie said taking him away to speak with him in whispers.
"Do you really believe these guys?"
"Well, you saw the scanners. I still can't believe it either, but everything seems legit."
"But can we really trust them? These guys guys tried to kill us just a few hours ago."
"I know, but we don't have to trust them, we just have to work with them," those words ringed in her mind, as an echo from the past. "Look I can't explain it, but something's wrong, I can feel it. Just… a feeling I've got. Like something's about to happen, something bad. But I don't know what. If what they say is true, we're in trouble, big trouble. And I'm not taking any chances, so we're teaming up with them because we must to, and if they try to back stab us, do you really believe I would ally with a gang of alien gunslingers without having a plan in case they betray us?" Danny said in a comforting tone before phasing into Vlad's lab with Crash.
"I wouldn't think we'd do such thing at all."
Once inside the poorly lit, dusty and unkempt lab, Danny created a white-greenish light orb with his hands and set it to float over their heads to lit the place. First time he ever tried this, not even knowing he could create light like this—something more than just a flash and the result was much better than he thought it be.
The walls, the floor, the tables, the Green Bay Packers decoration every secret that Vlad left, hidden in the dark was now exposed to the light. But he wasn't here for that, not now anyway.
"What are we looking for?"
"Look for anything that looks like a scanner or a radar," Danny ordered as he scans the area with his Occularium System search function.
"And the weapons? I don't know about you, but I think we could use some," he said looking through the scope of an ecto-grenade launcher.
"You really want to use these weapons that have been here for two years dusting, rusting, not even knowing what they do? Sure, why not? Because weapons without maintenance, they don't backfire nicely on the shooter's face."
"Which is why I think we should leave these babies asleep," said hanging the gun back on the wall.
"Don't worry, if we find a ghost, you'll be fine."
"So tell me, this girl, what was her name again?"
"Her name is Not-interested-in-your-foolishness, or Back-off! for short," said Danny curtly.
"Oh, I'm so asking her out!"
"No, you're not. Valerie doesn't do white guys. Specially idiot guys who attack her, I should know about that."
"So… is there anything between you two, or you're just friends?" Crash asks Danny as they keep looking for a ghost scanner.
"No… we're just friend, why do you ask?"
"And is she… seeing anybody?"
"Why do you want to know?" He asks jealous of his intentions with her.
"Well, she's cute, feisty and you know… human. Those are the three things I like on a girl."
"Don't tell."
"Sometimes I skip the human part."
"I believe that."
"Sometimes humanoid is close ebough."
"Well, she isn't looking for a long distance relationship. I can tell you that."
"Ah, but she's looking for one."
"No, she isn't. Not with a guy she just met anyway."
"You like her, don't you?"
"She's my best friend," he uttered trying to sound not-jealous. "I just don't wanna see her getting hurt by a stranger. Specially one that lets his psycho ex-girlfriend shoot people in the face."
"How do you know Ani's my ex?"
"You just told me?"
"Ok, ok. Good one. But do you really think that—"
"No," he cuts him off before he finishes his sentence.
"But—"
"No! Just look for anything with the word scanner on it."
Wisely, Sprig changes the subject as he looks on the shelves, while girls upstairs glare at each other without saying a word.
Chuck and Diff on other hand loved this uncomfortable silence and enjjoyed it for as long as it lasted.
"Like your armor," Ani says trying to be polite.
"Thanks. I like yours also."
"Thanks. Is standard issue for Senior Saver Students class."
"So that's your school uniform."
"I never said that."
"That's the implication."
"Nevertheless, I never said that."
They stare at each other silent for another three minutes trying to understand their current situation and the recent line of events.
"This is absurd," Valerie sighs.
"What? How we were trying to kill each other and now we're working together? Yeah, agreed."
"Is it like this all the time?"
"Not always, but not unusual…"
A few minutes later, Danny and Crash found the ghost scanner they were looking for, but before leaving the underground laboratory, they stare awed and bewildered at the bear-squid-dragon baby thing Vlad had left in his lab inside a jar with a confused look on both their faces. They were flabbergasted and baffled as to what it might be.
"I'm telling you, that guy was a seriously crazed up Fruit-Loop," Danny says.
"I love Fruit-Loops."
"Yeah, me too. And Zucaritas."
"Yeah, they're not that bad. Damn, I miss those cereals and… did that thing just farted?" Crash wonders out loud as bubbles emanate from what they assume is the creature's butt.
"Not only it farted, there is a piece of—Oh God!"
They pull back in shock and seriously grossed out for what sunk in the jar.
"Let's get out of here!" Sprig says before Danny teleports them up with their teammates.
"That was not fucking funny mate!" Sprig says.
"No, it wasn't. I oughta bring Tucker here," laughs Danny.
"What happened?" The girls ask.
"Let's say you don't ever wanna see what's down there. But we got what we wanted," Danny sounded as he shows the ghost scanner.
"Great, let's go," Val says.
"No, no, no… Crash and I are going."
"We are?"
"These three stay here with Val."
"They what?" She snarls. "You're leaving me here with The Three Space Stooges?"
"You heard me."
"First of all, I don't take order from you," Chuck said. "And second of all, I don't take order from you!"
"Danny, you can't leave me alone mad doging these three!" Valerie replied.
"Who said I'm leaving you alone?" Danny snapped his fingers, calling for Cujo, his ghost dog, who appears in the middle of the court in his giant form, foaming off the mouth, barking a the aliens who look at him with eyes open widely in mild horror.
Without needing for an order, Cujo attacks violently at Chuck, chewing and cracking his hovering tank; they couldn't explain it, but they have a low record of victories against large animals, though they most often accredit it to the living meal in a hovering plate they had for partner.
"Oh my eggs!" he shouted.
"Yeah, there's a dog on your balls!" Danny mocks with an almost sadistic smile on his face.
"You're leaving me with your dog?" Valerie asks confused.
"That's your dog?!" Crash asks in awe.
"Yeah, I always figured if I need to mad dog somebody, I can always call for my own mad dog. Who's a good doggy? Yes you are, yes you are!" Danny started petting his dog who quickly tosses Chuck on to the floor, starting his quick transformation back into his normal, little, and adorable puppy form.
Everyone except Valerie was now confused by this creature Danny holds in his arms and calls "his ghost dog." Is this truly how ghost from Earth are?
They were so different from the lame-old earthling ghost tales Crash use to tell them during their many field trips—scratch that! They were different from any and all ghost from any planet they've been so far. They'd never faced a real ghost before, only heard stories, but no ghost story across the galaxy had ghosts like them; but is not the first time they find something this weird.
"See, the truth is I still don't fully trust you guys," he began, "I'm sure the feeling is mutual."
"I'm afraid to say yes now, because I'm sure your dog will bite me," Crash says, looking at Cujo's innocent puppy face.
"So if I'm going to see the Moon's crack, I'm going with—"
"The one without powers? Is that what you're gonna say?" Sprig cuts him off.
"No, I was gonna say the one I put a bomb in his suit," he explained ignoring the shock on Sprig's face.
"When did you do that?"
"You know, right before the fall. So if you double-cross me, you're out. You guys try to do anything stupid, he's out, and then you'll be out next. You guys try to escape, which qualifies as something stupid… well, let's just say there is no escaping a security ghost hound that can trace your scent across dimensions."
"Woa. Ok, that is totally uncalled for, we agreed we're on the same team, didn't we?" Crash retorted.
"Maybe, but I'm not taking any chances," he said coldly. "But if you truly are a good guy, then you'll have nothing to worry about. Oh, and he loves turkey, by the way," said looking at Chuck.
"What!?" He fumed.
"Yeah, and the more his food fights, the more he likes it," explained with a grin in his face. "So I'll suggest you to keep those things away. Now, listen up," he turned his attention to Cujo as he puts him on the floor, "remember Val? She is in charge now, so whatever she says, you do it. And don't let these three escape."
His dog barks twice, understanding every word he said, and accepting his mission as a soldier in a war.
"You… ok with this?" He looked at Valerie.
"As long as he doesn't follow me home and trash my place, I'm fine. Besides, not like that would matter. Clearly you're calling the shots."
"You're right. Now, let's go Rocketter," Danny said taking Crash by the arm, and vanishing in the air.
"So… looks like we're staying the night," said wryly, looking at Ani. "Who wants to do something stupid first?" Valerie grinned at her captives.
Act Ten
Crash felt Danny's arm twist away from him re-doubling his grip; the next thing he knew everything went black, then white, and then all colors he knew; he was pressed very hard from all directions as if space itself was cramming, folding onto him, his stomach was twisted from the inside out and then twist back inside; he wanted to scream but he could not utter any sound, he could not even breathe, invisible hands seized him tightly from chest; his eyeballs were being forced back into his head; his ear-drums were being pushed deeper into his skull.
It all lasted less than a second, but it felt like a very long hour to him.
Then they finally appear inside his ship; he felt as toothpaste that just came out of a tight tube, pushed by aa big fat hand.
"We just teleported, didn't we?" asked Crash with an insurmountable discomfort.
"Yes, and quite successfully too, I might add. Most people vomit the first time."
"Do they?" Crash asked with a strong seasick-like feeling.
"You know, my friends hate it when I do it, that's why I do it," explained with a smirk on his face.
"Yeah, hold on to that thought," Sprig said a second throwing up on the floor.
"Yeah, just like that."
"It feels like a hangover," Crash muttered, cleaning his mouth, flundering to the ship's control.
"Wouldn't know what it feels like, ghost can't get drunk."
"Really?"
"Now, let's go back to the Moon."
Not surprisingly, Crash's ship flies faster than any known space shuttle and lands on the Moon in only two and half minutes.
Using Vlad's ghost scanner Crash starts searching for any ghost on the Moon along with Danny, while uselessly trying to figure out where he hides the trigger of his bomb; whereas Danny used his suit's built in ghost scanner, and ghost sense.
For almost half an hour they scan the Moon with no sing of any ghost or even the crack in the universe he went for in the first place; their search seemed useless until they stepped into the dark side of the moon. There they stare aghast at what Technus has made.
It wasn't his large army what shocked them—they were yet to see it, and it wasn't his enormous stronghold which they could barely see standing, rotating on the distance. No, it wasn't any of it what took their breath away. It was the ominously large hexagonal citadel appearing in front of them floating in the pitch-black darkness of space!—made of green-iridescent black steel with blue shimmery high towers and translucent bridges over large channels and rivers of neon green glowing ectoplasm flowing freely on almost every street as far as their eyes can see.
How to train your clone
A/N: This story takes place some time between issue 12 and issue 18.
So here's the deal, after what happened with Technus and his gang, I decided to start to training harder than before. Or as Jazz says, train again. So I've been going through some, as Sam said, anime training using weighed clothes and shoes. I can't say is true, I won't deny it.
And after a few weeks of running throughout all the city every night all night long, or whenever I wake up screaming —because that's what you do when you got nightmares and relieve the moment you almost die with your heart carved out every time you sleep; you go running and try to forget about it, or at least is what I do— I can see is starting to work. Gas says it's because of my half-ghost physiology that exercising is more effective on my body that it would on a normal human, or something like that. I don't mind him much. Point is now I'm running faster than ever even in my human form!
But I've noticed I'm not the only one who's grown lazy in this house. Somebody is just like me and that means she can die in combat the same way I almost did.
"So I decided from now on we're training together."
"What?! You're joking, training?" Dani snarled. "I don't need to train, I'm not the one who's got enemies knocking at his door all the time."
"Must I remind you my enemies are your enemies too?"
"Maybe, but they haven't tried to kill me."
"Yet! Do you think I have to justify the importance of training!?"
"Ok, are you going to yell at me if I don't do as you say?"
"Yes."
"Fine!" Dani groans. "What do we do?"
"First put this bracelet on. We're going to work on your human form first. See what your limits are, and then whatever improvement you get will increase exponentially when you transform."
"You sure it works that way?"
"Stop questioning everything I say and put it on!"
"Geez. Ok," said with a displeasent attitude.
"What's going on here?" Jazz asked leaving the house ready for some date.
"I'm training Dani."
"Good, about time you guys started working out, and you know, get your asses out of the couch."
"What? Where are you going?"
"I got a date."
"Really, this guy must be addicted to punishment."
"Very mature Danny," said peeved.
"Ok, I can't go ghost. Now what?"
"Now we'll see how well can you run in your human form. And just to make sure won't slip —I snap my fingers apporting a jam and a rare stake tied on her head with a chain of wieners— here is some motivation."
"A meat-hat is supposed to motivate me?"
"Oh no, that's not for you, that for Cujo," I explain as he appear behind her growling hungrily at her. "He is your motivation, if you want to keep your head, you'll have to outrun him."
"You're joking, right?" Dani chuckles.
"Danny that's crazy!"
"Yeah, tell him Jazz."
"That's dad's jam."
"Hey!"
"Whatever. Cujo, chase."
And so, Cujo begins chasing Dani who, motivated by fear, manages to keep her distance from the giant ghost dog behind her.
"Well, who knew. She can run really fast even as a human."
"You know he'll tear off her head soon, don't you?"
"Relax. I got him tied to his leash so he won't do anything too dangerous," i explained her, waving Cujo's ectoplasm-laced leash.
"Yeah. One question. What is Cujo's leash tied to?"
"To his neck, duh!" I explain to her, waving the hook of the leash that ties to his— "Oh crap."
"Yep. I'm out of here."
"Aaaaaaarrgggghhh! Let goo of my head!"
Well, on the bright side, this was a good warm up session.
"Ouch! Stop it! It hurts!"
Thanks God we're both hard-headed.