Chapter 17
Sick Sad World, Part 4
Haunted
Alone in the remains of his convention Danny fights the Hellhounds, driven by anger seeking vengeance for all of the people they killed.
His mask rather than hiding the fury in his eyes, would mark it emphatically by slanting the usually circular bug eye-like lenses of his goggles which are made to reflect his emotions and facial expressions.
All this rage made his already fluxing ghost powers even more unstable, to the point where his ghost energy would manifest through his eyes in the form of small green lightning bolts that his mask could not contain. This would be a matter of concern to his suit's operative system G.A.S.P.E.R. as this is not supposed to be.
So is the increasing flow of energy that it reaches over a 30 percent of his full potential over the recommended 20, this with the suit's suppressors working at peak capacity. How could this be was something that escaped G.A.S.P.E.R.'s comprehension and trying to calm him down was something futile as any warning word would fall on deaf ears. Right now the only thing he cared about was to obliterate the Hellhounds and with all this wrath he literally had enough fire power to vaporize them with a single shot. With his arm swords, claws and blades he would slash them to shreds when getting too close, and with his mechanical spider legs he would impale and sever them when jumping from behind or trying to escape…
Foolish of them to try for there was simply no escape from his rage… and believe me when I say he has never had this much rage inside… never…
And all the while, Skulker was watching the fight hiding in a safe place where he studies and learns all of Danny's new movements and tricks. This was part of his plan all along, to let Danny fight them first so he could watch and learn all the new tricks his beloved prey had now, so the next time they fight he would be the one with the edge.
03:04 AM Local Time.
Local hook base.
Flying at top speed, Dani the young female clone of Danny, and Valerie his could-have-been (ex)girlfriend arrive at the local hook of the Phantom Prime Satellite. This satellite was so advanced that just like the Cybertron Computer, it needs a ground-based hook to be used. This hook was located in the desert of Nevada for reasons Mr. M wouldn't explain, mostly because Danny didn't really care but also because, in Danny's words "the "M" stands for mystery, so why would he?" Thus he would keep the reason for himself, but all of that is besides the point, what is the point? Valerie and Dani are the point!
As we speak they float into the base realizing their arrival is belated, the Hellhounds had arrived first and ravished the area, the entryways were blood pools, limbs were spread all over the place, bodies torn open, hacked in half, their insides missing and the Hellhounds…
- Oh God... - they both utter in a faint voice for it was even worst than what they first thought, the Hellhounds were feasting on the men tasked with watching the hook, the picture was simply… unspeakable.
Staring in awe to these foul creatures they realize there was nothing they could do now, except raging against those killing machines for killing the G.I.W. agents guarding the hook as well as for all the people they killed at the convention, but doing that was a… rathher demanding task at the best for they quickly turn invisible as soon as they start shooting.
Quickly, Dani flies away through the ceiling followed by Valerie blasting a whole with her cannon cubes.
- You son of a bitch! Are you bailing on me?! - she asks with her flying board at top speed, reaching Dani in seconds.
- What?! No! - Dani replies - It was a tactical retreat.
- You left me behind! You couldn't take me with you, could you?
- Fly away with you hanging from me? I thought Danny was the only one you hung up from.
- Shut up! - yells Val thinking... if she blushes, would her red face visor hide it?
They both halt up in the sky, away from the Hellhounds to plan their next movement.
- Ok, what are we gonna do now? - asks Dani. - We can't fight wath we can't see.
- Well unfortunately for you I have devised a plan to get rid of them, or at least a small number like this pack.
- What? Wait, why is it unfortunate for me? - young Dani asks getting nothing but a sly grin from Valerie. - Oh, this is not gonna end well for me, is it?
03:16 AM
The Hellhounds prowl the halls of the facility looking for Dani and Valerie. Their cybernetically enhanced sense of smell and hearing as well as their sensors tell them that their preys are gone. They all share the results of their scouting with each other through their hive mind, a shared collective consciousness between them, that rather than an actual telepathic connection is a constant transmission of most if not all of their brain waves to each other's mind through certain subsonic frequencies, therefore what one of them sees the whole pack sees it too.
That's why when one of them stops licking its new metallic junk in the presence of Dani when she returns to the base, all of the Hellhounds in the facility sees her as well, and appear around her in their trademarked black burst.
- Val… is it too late change places with you? - she asks through her Fenton Headphones.
- Yes. - answers Valerine on the other side of the line, talking trhough her wrist communicator.
- Is this because I made fun of you and your really not so secret crush on Danny? Because I'm sorry… I mean I really am…
- Now, don't be silly, would I put you in that position just because of that? No, this is all tactical.
- Wait, so this because I left you behind? - she asks stepping away from the Hellhounds
- We'll have time to talk about that later. Now are you in position?
- Position? You mean if I'm flying away from them phassing through every wall seeing a new corpse at every turn? Yeah, I am - Dani says flying with the Hellhounds bustling behind her ghost tail.
- Fine, just keep it that way. Keep stalling as much as possible and try to find anyone alive in the process.
- How is this tactical again? - asks Dani.
- Simple: you distract them working as bait while I-
In that moment the signal cuts off and Valerie knew this could mean only one out of two possibilities, either there is no reception or Dani just got caught, meaning she was soon to die if not dead already.