Chapter 4
Aquatic
Disclaimer: I own neither Danny Phantom nor Smallville
A fortnight passed, and Danny found himself happy to be living with the Kent's. He missed his family, but the loving atmosphere of the Kent farm made him feel welcome. He was quite happy to help Clark out with his chores, which amused Uncle Jon. Jon said he didn't know how he managed to end up with the two best farmhands in the county living under his roof. Danny had begun to regard Clark as something like a brother, and it seemed Clark felt the same. Danny had spent a week learning to control his new portal power. Now he could maintain it safely without nearly passing out from the energy use.
He grew into liking the farm, it was quiet and peaceful. Danny enjoyed the helping Jon and Clark out around the farm, although they puzzled over his insistence of wearing long sleeves all the time. Mostly it was habit. The long sleeves made it easy to conceal the various wounds he got from ghost-fights as they healed, and without them he felt bare. But it was also shyness. He had gotten a number of scars from the worst of his fights, and while they were faint he didn't want to worry his family. It was his burden, not theirs.
Still, he seemed to fit in with them well enough. Well, as much as a half-ghost can fit in with a Kryptonian and his adoptive family. Clark had caught him up on the events in Smallville of the last few years, talking about the various Meteor Freaks and the events of the second shower. Danny couldn't believe that the Disciples of Zod had come to Earth. They were all supposed to have been destroyed or imprisoned in the Phantom Zone.
Danny still hadn't told Clark what he knew of Krypton, or how. But Clockwork as his guardian had deemed that he needed to know the history of Ghost Zone and that involved the interactions between Krypton and the Zone. However that was under the strict directive not to inform anyone of what he knew. Danny wondered how that affected Clark.
The Zone used to be as tied to Krypton as it was to Earth, with ghosts coming from both planets, although there were fewer from Krypton as they were a more stoic society. When Krypton fell the Zone shuddered. Many ghosts were eliminated and the Zone was nearly destroyed. It was the ties to Earth that had kept it in tact.
Thirty years prior to the destruction of Krypton there was an invasion of forces too strong for the Kryptonian's to defend against. Many were simply species from another planet, but some were the strongest ghosts from the Zone. It was this invasion that began Krypton's final war. It came to the point where the Prisons on Krypton could not contain the prisoners. The ghosts were too powerful for Walker's prison in the Zone, and both worlds feared for their safety.
It was the young scientist Jor-El that came up with the idea of creating a prison within the Ghost Zone to contain the worst of the worst. With some assistance from Clockwork (although no one knew of it) Jor-El was able to seal off an area behind one of the Zone's doors. It was a barren wasteland that stripped the powers of anyone who was sent there. Those who still lived were allowed their mortal bodies, but the ghosts were devoid of their powers. They became little more than grey shades, violent phantoms that terrorised the landscape. If the Observants ever ruled against Danny, he knew that is where he would be sent.
But Danny wasn't allowed to tell Clark about any of that. Danny thought he might get away with saying that he had read some Kryptonian literature when the time came. Hopefully that would be vague enough for Clockwork, but answer the question of how he had known of Krypton in the first place. Still, there was no denying that Clark and he were becoming closer. Danny couldn't convince Clark to come out flying, despite how amazing the view over Smallville was. They'd challenged each other to races though, seeing who could retrieve or find things faster. Clark tended to win when they were just headed down a straight line, but there was no denying that Danny's agility made him the favourite when they had to dodge things. He didn't even bother using intangibility.
Aside from spending time on the farm Clark took Danny into town. Most days they'd meet up with Chloe or Lana or both at the Talon before exploring a bit. Neither seemed to mind Danny's company, and he wasn't ready to seek out people in his own peer group yet. Danny was glad to be so far away from any natural portals. He'd only had to deal with two weak ghosts a day and nobody had noticed him slip away. Well, maybe Clark had once, but he'd not mentioned it. There had been nothing big since Skulker. This meant that he hadn't needed to be Phantom for close to two months.
Clark had taken a while to get used to the change between the carefree Danny on the farm as opposed to the shy klutz that came to the Talon with him. Observing this it became much easier to see why nobody in Amity Park had picked up on the fact that Danny was Phantom, even with how similar they looked. Danny wasn't the best liar, but he was a very good actor. Clark had told Danny that Chloe knew his secret, so it would probably be safe to tell her about Phantom.
Danny wouldn't hear of it. He said if she figured it out then he'd deal with it, but it wasn't safe to know. Danny had explained that he had many enemies that would happily take advantage of a human who knew and he simply didn't want to take that risk. Danny said that Clark's parents had needed to know, and Clark himself had already found out an unsafe amount when Danny had told them. But he was adamant that his secret stay within the family for now; reminding him that he was scientifically impossible as opposed to implausible. That was enough for Clark to keep quiet with Danny's dual identity.
The summer was coming to an end. It was the last week before Clark went to College. He was going to Central Kansas A&M, and had been talking about it for much of the time Danny had been there. Danny had developed what he deemed "Clark Filters" to lessen the overwhelming nature of his cousin's aura. It could be painful when Clark got too excited. Subsequent to Clark going to college, Monday was to be Danny's first day at Smallville High. The Kent's had kindly enrolled him there, and Clark was trying to convince him to follow in his football footsteps even as Danny reminded him of the need to stay metaphorically invisible.
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This week had been the hottest the in summer, and Clark and Lana wanted to go to Crater Lake to cool down. Danny and Chloe were invited to come, and Chloe was going to bring her cousin Lois along since she'd just got back from overseas. Danny was glad for the idea since he, being half-ghost didn't deal too well with the heat. Although he had noticed that lately he'd have a random cold shiver. But it was always gone before he thought twice of it. Clark and Danny finished the last of the morning's chores, and then Clark got in the truck to drive to the lake. Danny elected to fly ahead invisible.
He spent twenty minutes exploring the bottom of the lake, noticing that it was unusually devoid of aquatic life. There was no way that his ghost half would scare away that many of the fish. Eventually he returned to the surface, turning intangible to dry himself off. He invisibly retreated to the tree-line as there were already people here. He popped up behind Clark as he came through the trees. He hid his annoyance at Danny as they came up to Lana.
Lana made a small fuss over the bandage that was still on Clark's chest. Clark had explained how he had been shot while he was mortal, and how Jor-El had revived him. While there was no wound there anymore Clark needed to pretend there was to protect his secret. Having been in the same situation himself Danny could completely respect this. However he did wonder how good such secrecy was for their relationship.
Danny shifted away while Lana and Clark were doing the couple thing. Sure he was the only guy there in long sleeves, but he couldn't find it in him to care. He just sat, bathing in the sun and letting the various auras wash over him. Sitting here was starting to make him drowsy, but for the first time in a long time the summer sun felt good on his half-ghost skin. Danny was slowly drifting off when he felt the approach of Chloe, and another unfamiliar aura. Danny opened his eyes to look at the two approaching girls. Chloe wore a modest orange summer dress, but the other girl was clothed only in a bold red bikini.
"Well, I know what you two did this summer." The girl joked. Clark was quick to stand up; breaking free of what had been a very public kiss between the couple.
"Lois?" Clark asked. Oh, so this was Lois. Danny stood up behind Clark and Lana, taking in her aura. Danny felt that she was very much like Sam, minus the Gothic outlook. Lois was strong and brave, probably leapt into things rather than planning fully, but made up for it with the kindness that was in her heart. Danny felt as her aura sparked against Clark's, there was something or at least potential between the two. But Clark loved Lana, and that took priority. The four friends joked about how she was back from Europe early before Lois took note of him standing in the background.
"What's with the kid?" She asked, gesturing her head towards Danny. The other three turned to look towards Danny who gave an awkward wave. It was Chloe who took pity on him, and explained. "Lois, this is Danny. I think I told you that he was staying with the Kent's."
"Oh, so you're Danny. You know you're the reason I haven't got a bunk to stay at in Smallville right?" Danny looked between her and Clark, not sure what to say. Lois laughed. "Kid, I'm kidding. I'm staying in a hotel until an apartment frees up." Danny broke into a goofy grin. Yep, she was a lot like Sam. "Nice to meet you." Danny stepped forward to shake her hand, but she elected to rustle his hair instead. "You're lucky kid; the Kent's looked after me last year when I had nowhere to go. They'll take good care of you." Danny looked at her disgruntled. Lois looked at the rest of the group "Glad introductions are done, don't mind me, I'm going for a dip." And with that Lois walked over to the water's edge.
Danny looked blankly after her, shocked. Chloe and Lana laughed, and Clark clapped a hand over his shoulder. "Don't worry about her, that's just Lois being Lois." Lana moved off, teasing Clark about staying in the sun and getting sunburnt. Chloe stared at Danny enough for him to feel awkward, so he followed Lana as she went to pick up something from her car. He suspected that Chloe wanted to talk about Clark's not telling Lana the secret. Danny could see where Clark was coming from. Secrets like theirs weren't safe for people to know. As much as he had loved Sam, he would never have told her if it meant there was a chance she'd be in danger.
Danny and Lana were coming back towards their small party when he felt the tug that meant that someone close by needed help. Danny dropped back behind Lana, expanding his senses "Something's wrong" Danny heard Clark say through the trees. "She's been under way too long" came Chloe's concerned reply. "Go" she ordered. He heard the sound of Clark running, but he could only go human speed until he was beneath the water. Danny invisibly ran through the trees, faster than the eye could see. He saw Clark as he dove into the water, but Danny was in first, letting intangibility consume him so he didn't make a splash. Danny paused to let Clark lead the way, the two of them speeding towards the Lake's floating pier.
Danny watched as another figure sped through the water, racing to save Lois as she sank. He wore only a pair of green board shorts as he cut through the water. The figure looked at Clark, but ignored Danny. Not surprising since he was still invisible. The figure's blond hair floated in the water for a moment before he caught Lois and carried her back to the lake's shore. Seeing she was safe Danny sped back to where he had left Lana, and the two of them ran to the small crowd that was gathering around Lois and her rescuer.
"Is she alright?" Lana asked, even as the figure commenced CPR.
"I'm working on it." He said, firmly compressing Lois' chest with his hands. Lois choked out the water that had been trapped in her lungs, and slowly came back to consciousness. Danny looked over at Clark, who had a hint of suspicion in his eye, as well as vaguely veiled confusion. It obviously wasn't often that someone else saved the day. Danny was just glad that Lois was safe.
The figure flirtingly teased Lois for almost drowning, who seemed a little off-put by his obvious flirtation. He introduced himself as Arthur Curry, or "AC" as he preferred to be known. Lana suggested taking Lois to the farm to recover; AC and her leading a still disoriented Lois towards Lana's car. As they were leaving AC looked at Danny and visibly flinched before he let his bravado overcome it. Danny was confused; it was only animals that reacted to him that way, why would a human have that reaction to him? That said... the impression he'd got off of him was a bit... fishy. He felt like the ocean. He'd saved Lois, so he obviously was a decent person, but still he was... different.
He heard Clark express to Chloe his concern over the newcomer, after all AC had swum faster than either Clark or Danny could, and had saved Lois to boot. The three of them headed back to the farm, Chloe following Danny and Clark in the truck to check that Lois was alright. When they got there Lois was lying down on the couch, resting. Danny offered her his bed for the night, seeing how it'd been hers last year and she should be around people for the night just in case. AC didn't hang around long with Danny there, his fearful reaction shifted to confusion at the shy clumsy boy. Okay, so Danny played it up, and withdrew his aura as much as possible but it was unnerving that he had to do that around someone so human.
Danny elected to stay in the loft that night, or more precisely on the barn roof, looking at the stars. But Lois didn't need to know that. Lately he'd found that he was only needing three hours sleep a night as opposed to his usual four. Danny stared up at the sky with wonder as he watched the night pass. He shivered slightly, but passed it off as nothing. Around four AM his ghost sense went off, and he chased off the Corn Ghost for about two minutes before tricking him back into the Zone. The Corn Ghost was a similar calibre to the Box Ghost and appeared just as frequently, but it was no trouble to put him away.
Danny fell asleep on the loft sofa two hours before sunrise. He was surprised to have an early morning visitor in the form of Lois. She came to thank him for letting her sleep in his room. "Really, it was no problem. I'm hardly moved in, and you needed a safe place to crash."
Lois looked at Danny as he sat up in the sofa. He absently folded the thin blanked he'd slept under and threw it over the chair's arm.
"Still" she said "you didn't have to. And you didn't have to sleep in the barn." Lois took the seat that Danny invited her to.
"I wanted to. And I like the barn; you can see the sky more easily here." Danny commented absently.
Lois looked at the young boy in front of her. His pale skin looked like he hadn't been in the sun all summer. Not that you could see much through the long-sleeved dark blue t-shirt he wore. He was scrawny really; he looked like he belonged in an apartment block rather than the farm. His raven hair was still rumpled by sleep and his blue eyes were still drowsy, yet seemed fully aware at the same time. He actually looked kinda cute, in a naive younger boy kind of way. AC was hot, like straight out of a surf magazine hot. But Danny had a sweet innocence about him.
"Come on Casper, it's time for breakfast." Lois said, pausing as she noticing his confused reaction to the nickname. "Clark is Smallville" she explained "if you're living here you get a nickname too. You're pale as a ghost, and you come from Amity Park. Come on Casper, it's not that bad." Lois finished with a laugh at the incredulous look on Danny's face.
The two of them left the barn, Danny tripping on the bottom step on the way. Mrs Kent waved them in with a "Morning Danny" as they came into the kitchen. The five of them took a seat and Martha put a heaping plate of pancakes on the table.
Mr Kent and Clark took a big portion of the stack between them. Mrs Kent herself took two pancakes, and Lois grabbed three. Lois looked over at Danny to see he had just grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl.
"Come on Casper, a kid like you needs to eat more than that for breakfast." Lois demanded. Clark burst out laughing, though Lois couldn't figure out why. Mr and Mrs Kent looked concerned at each other.
"Um," Danny said "I had a big dinner last night?" He made that sound like a question. "Not really hungry." Danny looked over at Clark, scowling. "Be quiet Smallville. Lois thought it would be funny if someone from America's most haunted town was called Casper."
Lois was unsure what to make of the exchange. So she simply said "Thanks for letting me stay last night Mrs Kent. Sorry to impose again." Mrs Kent smiled at her and replied "Really Lois, you're no bother at all. Danny was more than happy to have you here, and otherwise it's just like old times for us." The four of them finished, but before she could offer Danny was up doing the washing up. He seemed to be trying hard to make the Kent's happy. Lois smiled, clumsy he may be, but Danny was a good kid. Now if they could just bring Smallville around...
Lois once again thanked them for looking after her. Then she went to work, she was waitressing at the Talon, so she expected to see them soon. "Casper?" Clark asked as soon as she was out the door, his eyes glittering with silent laughter. Danny just hung his head in defeat. "I know, when she first said it I almost went intangible. Glad it's just for being from Amity, not for actually being a ghost." Clark bit down his laughter as the two set out to do the day's chores. Danny was grumbling the whole way.
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Monday arrived. Danny was awake fairly early, so he decided to make breakfast for the family. By the time Aunt Martha was coming down the stairs there was a heaping plate of Maple syrup bacon and eggs on the table. "That smells lovely Danny." Danny smiled at his Aunt, glad to have made her happy. Uncle Jon came down the stairs then. "Martha, I haven't smelled something so delightful in a long while." Martha just replied that it was Danny.
Jon laughed. "Breakfast or no, you still have to go to school." Danny nodded glumly. He could do well in school; it's just that he had always had to leave back in Amity Park. He hoped that things would be different here. But between ghosts and what Clark had told him about Meteor Freaks, he really doubted it.
Danny had wanted to take the aerial route to school today, but Aunt Martha and Uncle Jon had insisted that he at least catch the bus on his first day. Clark was running late for his first lecture, so all Danny saw of him was a blur before Danny had to go to the fence to wait for the bus. It seemed like it took an age, but eventually the yellow bus rolled up to the gate. Danny shyly stepped on; at Casper High he'd always walked or later flown to school if Jazz couldn't drive him. Relying on a bus was fairly new.
"You know" the driver said "I thought I'd seen the last of this farm when Clark Graduated. Only one rule, be here on time. If you're late I won't wait. Clark missed the bus more times than he caught it. I hope you don't follow in his mould. Now take a seat." Danny was stunned silent by that display, so quietly moved towards the back of the bus. He allowed himself to stumble as the bus pulled away, and quickly took one of the few empty seats at the back of the bus. The trip was silent, and Danny realised that this was the first time he'd ever gone to school without Tucker or Sam by his side. He looked out the window, tears glinting in his eyes as the bus slowly made its way to Smallville High.
Once he got there he quickly took in the lay of the building, looking for places to change if necessary. Parts of the building looked really new, repaired after the damage of the Meteor shower two months ago. Overall Smallville High felt more welcoming than Casper did; the flower beds outside the front doors made a huge difference to the utilitarian feel of Casper. Once he got inside he was overloaded with a barrage of school spirit paraphernalia. The Smallville Crow was plastered somewhere on every wall as Danny made his way to the office.
The lady in the office smiled as she handed him his timetable and a map, and told him how to get to his home room. He arrived slightly early and took a seat at the back of the class. Two years worth of constant ghost attacks had taught him to keep his back to the wall at all times. The rest of the class came in, some giving him curious glances as they all took their own seats. The first bell rang just as the teacher came in. He introduced himself as Mr Strong "but most of you already know me. Today we have a new student, he's new to Smallville. He originally comes from Amity Park, but has moved in with the Kent's. Mr Daniel Fenton would you please come up to the front and introduce yourself."
Danny walked to the front of the room. He got the feeling that he'd have to do this more than once today. He ignored the feeling of eyes on the back of his neck, he would have preferred if Mr Strong hadn't said he was from Amity Park. "Hi, I'm Danny." He said allowing awkwardness to come through. He didn't want anyone to even think that there could be a connection between Fenton and Phantom. That was why he'd taken on all the ghosts invisibly so far when he was in town. "Um, yeah I'm staying with my Aunt and Uncle out on the farm..." he trailed off unsure of what to say.
"Why are you staying with them? Did the ghosts get to be too much for you?" A boy wearing a yellow and red football jacket said, and was met with snickers from around the room. Obviously most of the people at Smallville went with the idea that the ghosts were an elaborate hoax. If only they were. Danny desperately wished that Sam was there for him. He put his fingers to the ring on his necklace before he replied. "No, actually. I'm staying with Aunt Martha and Uncle Jon because they're all the family I have left. They were killed by a meteor that destroyed my home. It was an offshoot from what you had here." All of them sat in stunned silence.
The second shower had caused a lot of damage, but miraculously (although Danny suspected Clark had something to do with it) very few people had actually been killed. For Danny, who wasn't even in Smallville to have lost his whole family was beyond most of the class. Danny quietly slid back into his seat, hoping that he could escape any notoriety for coming from Amity Park. He let himself drift into the background; something which he was only too used to. He no longer bought into the illusion of popularity, but he already missed having Sam's scepticism biting over his shoulder. He missed Tucker and his bad pick up lines. He even missed Jazz coming up to him between classes to check his mental health.
Danny passed the rest of the day hidden in the background. He quickly familiarised himself with the layout of the school, and even found the Torch, although he wasn't tempted to join. He got through four classes before he had to chase a ghost off. He shivered as his ghost sense went off; it felt a lot colder than usual as it passed through his lips. The ghost was easily handled and the teacher only shook his head somewhat amused when he came back to class five minutes later. Danny wondered how long it would be before it became a look of disappointment. This teacher, Mr Taylor was his English teacher, and actually reminded him of Mr Lancer, if Lancer had a full head of grey hair.
It wasn't that he set out to disappoint his teachers; it was just a side effect of having to run off to save people. If a ghost attacked during a test there was only one choice, despite the fact that it meant a failing grade. Last year he'd managed to scrape a B- average, but that was mostly down to Jazz tutoring him and extra credit projects. If there weren't too many ghosts here he could maybe manage to get by on his own. Danny was relieved when the final bell of the day rang, and he decided to fly back to the farm to practice in one of the fields.
It was about five in the afternoon by the time that Danny resolved to go back to the farmhouse. When he got there he found a distraught Lois and a semi conscious AC on the living room sofa. Lois said that they'd been swimming at the lake when he'd suddenly reached to his ears like he was in pain and fallen in the water. Next thing she knew he was on the shore bleeding out of his ears. Lois didn't know what else to do so she'd brought him here. AC seemed to be recovering, but it would be safest for him to stay at the Farm overnight. Danny elected to stay out in the barn again that evening so that Lois could take care of AC. Knowing how AC reacted when he was around Danny figured it'd be best to stay clear of the house.
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Clark came home late that night. After his first lecture with Milton Fine he had wondered around campus for a while reflecting over what he'd said. Lex had done some questionable things, but surely he wasn't in the same league as the villains Fine had mentioned like Hitler and Stalin. But still... all of them had started with a good purpose. They'd tried to make life better for those around them. Fine had said white knights train dragons for their own dark purposes. But what did that mean for him, or his cousin for that matter. Danny had been described as Amity Park's knight in shining armour, what about him? What dragon was he training? Danny had no dark purposes... well, he was a ghost... but he was still a good person.
Lex had started out as a good person. When Clark met him on the bridge all he'd tried to do was the right thing by him and Smallville. When did he become as corrupt as he was? Where was the line between a black knight and a white knight? Was there a difference between a white knight, if that is what Lex was and a knight in shining armour who saves everybody like Danny tried to? Where did Clark himself fit? This line of thinking brought him all the way to his front door at ten in the evening. He opened the door, expecting to find Danny in the lounge to tell him about his first day as Smallville High.
Clark was shocked to find not Danny, but Lois and Arthur Curry lip-locked in the lounge. Clark's stunned entrance interrupted the two, an awkward moment passed between the three of them. Clark didn't know what to make of this. Arthur had appeared out of nowhere, saved Lois and was now kissing her all in the space of three days. There was something wrong here, and he suspected that it had something to do with Arthur. He would not trust someone who just waltzed in to their lives like that. No, he was definitely going to get Chloe to do some digging.
Thus, the following afternoon when Clark and Chloe had both come back from college they went to the barn. Danny was already up there doing homework, which he stopped as soon as Chloe pulled out her laptop. Danny looked at Clark questioningly and then at Chloe "What's up?" He asked as Chloe sat down on the couch. Clark positioned himself near the loft window so he could see the screen. Chloe looked over at Danny and dryly stated "Arthur, Clark doesn't trust him."
Clark tried to swallow down his indignation. "Lois is all over this guy, and all we know about him is that he can swim faster than I can." Chloe still didn't know that Danny knew his secret. Danny was very careful with regards to it, and it probably came from having his own. Knowing this it was no surprise when Chloe said "you're not the fastest man alive Clark, there are better swimmers than you." Clark still pushed "Still, there's something up. Maybe a meteor power?"
Chloe sighed and said exasperatedly "Well, let me look him up." There was a brief pause, which seemed forever to Clark's impatient mind. "He's a sophomore at the University of Miami, majoring in marine biology. Oh, and here's a shocker. He's on the swim team, leaving all of his competition in the wake." So Arthur was using his powers to cheat at sports. That was the reason he'd abandoned football at the end of High School. If Arthur was happy to do that then what other unethical behaviour could he see fit to do?
"Does he have a criminal record?" Clark asked, hoping to prove his suspicions. Chloe paused for a minute, the look on her face darkening. "Umm, Yeah. Last year he broke into the Ocean Village Resort" Chloe said. So they were dealing with a criminal. "What'd he steal?" Clark asked, seriously.
Chloe's face brightened and she half laughed "Eight Dolphins." She paused to smile at Clark. "He busted open an underwater fence and released them back into the ocean. I don't know Clark it doesn't really sound like FBI's most wanted material to me."
That hardly proved anything. Bart had never been caught and Arthur moved through the water so fast nobody could catch him if he didn't want them to. "Maybe it's the only thing he's been caught for." Clark said his tone serious. Chloe frowned and turned her attention back to the screen. "Maybe, but according to all this he has never dipped a fin in Smallville until now. Sort of shoots down our meteor-freak theory."
Clark thought about the race he'd had just last week with Danny. Then there was Bart who'd run so fast he could walk on water. Absently Clark said "Not the first guy I met who didn't get his abilities from meteor rocks." There was a startled sound from across the room. Clark had forgotten that Danny was even there. Danny shot him an angry glare which luckily Chloe missed. Instead she turned to Clark and asked "Really?"
Danny sent him a scathing look and Clark realised how close they were treading to dangerous waters. Knowing Danny wouldn't forgive him if Clark revealed his secret he thought back to Bart and said lightly "There was this kid last year, kind of ran too fast for his own good." Danny sent him a look saying he wasn't entirely forgiven.
Chloe was still focused on the screen, but she turned to look Clark in the eyes. "Well, so far the only thing we have on Arthur Curry is that he saved Lois from being permanently waterlogged. Clark, are you sure you're not just upset that someone was stealing your hero thunder?" Clark looked at her darkly and replied "I don't know what it is about this guy, but I got a bad feeling."
It was then that Danny made his presence fully known; coughing slightly to grab their attention. Chloe looked at him abashed, from her perspective she had almost revealed Clark's secret. "Clark, can I speak to you?" Chloe was about to speak up when Danny interrupted her "Alone?" Clark looked at his cousin and imagined he was about to get a berating for almost revealing his secret. Chloe didn't look like she was going to go anywhere. Danny looked up at her and said "Clark went to rescue her right? Clark would do anything within his power to save his friends."
Danny paused for a moment reflectively. "I know" he said gently to Chloe "that you tend to be the ones that stop the meteor freaks, so you Clark and Lana all have reason to consider yourselves heroes. But I want to talk to Clark about something else." Chloe closed her mouth, nodded and walk down the stairs. Clark was intrigued by this display, not only did he not betray what he knew, but he deflected the attention away from Clark and gave Chloe a subtle flattery that would put her at ease. Clark did realise though that Danny was not happy with him coming so close to revealing his secret and turned to face the music.
"How could you?" Danny shouted as soon as Chloe was beyond human hearing. Clark hung his head slightly. "I'm sorry Danny; I didn't intend to come so close to telling her, I was lost in other thoughts."
"At the moment I couldn't care less about my secret. What I'm mad about is those other thoughts!" Danny berated. "Do you even realise what you're doing?" Clark shook his head. Arthur had come out of nowhere; he probably had committed a long line of criminal acts and had only got caught once. Who knows what he would do while he was here? He was dangerous having the power he had. Clark wanted to make sure Lois and everyone else was safe. He said as much to Danny.
"So you're protecting people from his powers. All you've seen him do is save Lois and her give him a kiss. That's it." Clark gazed at Danny, he didn't seem to understand. Arthur had a criminal record, he could hurt them. There was too much unknown about Arthur, but all that Clark could see set off alarm bells. "You don't get it, do you Danny. If he has a criminal record there's probably so much more that he's done. I have to stop him before he finishes whatever he's started here."
Danny looked at him and his eyes flashed green. "I don't get it? Clark I think I get it more than you. All I've ever been called is evil, a malevolent manifestation of post-human consciousness. I have been called wrong and evil just for being a ghost, for existing. I've saved people to have it thrown in my face. I've been shot at for just breathing. I've been blamed for crimes I haven't committed. I've been forced to commit crimes without my consent. Clark if anything you don't get it!"
"So you're saying you think Arthur is being controlled?" Clark said. He couldn't see the point in this tirade. He knew all the unfair judgement Danny had for being a ghost. But Danny was different to Arthur. He had done the right thing, and the allegations against him were unfair. Arthur had been convicted.
Danny looked at Clark incredulously "Clark this is about you judging people for existing. If you hadn't listened to me first, if I hadn't taken four hours to tell you who I am and what I did. You wouldn't have given me a chance. If I had just come in and saved Lois or Lana before you had met Phantom would you have thanked me, or would you have attacked Phantom for being a ghost?" Clark's eyes widened at what Danny was implying, and the truth of it was that he probably would have stopped Phantom. He could have killed Danny without ever hearing his perspective.
Danny did not seem to want to stop with his tirade. "Can't you see that what you're doing to AC is just as baseless? He saved Lois' life. It should only matter that she's safe, not that AC used his powers to save her. So he freed a few dolphins, if you won't accept him for breaking the law to do the right thing, you have no right to accept me for being forced to do the wrong thing. Hell, me even existing is against the law. Are you going to throw me in prison for it? He's only done the right thing since he's been there, sure he kissed Lois, but that doesn't give you the right to blow a gasket. You need to accept that people with powers are just people deep down, and until you do I have nothing left to say." With that Danny vanished, invisibly and intangibly leaving so Clark stood no chance of finding him.
Clark realised there may have been some truth to what Danny said, but it was still suspicious. He decided to go and find Arthur to talk about it. And if he raised his concerns to Lois in a subtle way what would really be the harm. That decided he walked towards the loft stairs, slipping slightly on the – ice? – That was left where Danny had been standing. Clark walked over to the Talon to talk with Arthur.
When he got there though he found he couldn't help but become accusatory. Arthur mentioned that there was something killing the marine life, but Clark was too deep in his accusations. Lois even pulled Clark aside and rebuked him for behaving like an older brother, but Clark knew that they needed to be cautious. Why was it that nobody else could see there was something fishy about this guy? It was only when he left that he remembered what Danny had said about trying to accept Arthur as a person so Clark went out to apologise.
Line Break
Danny couldn't believe Clark; he was acting just like everyone in Amity Park treated ghosts. Danny had tried so hard to change public opinion, but the mentality of "it's a ghost, ghosts are evil" had stuck. And here Clark was using the same prejudice against someone who could swim fast. Although part of it may be a subconscious level of jealousy. Danny had left Clark in the barn to go for a fly and to blow off steam. Half an hour after Clark had left the barn Danny returned to finish his homework. There weren't many ghosts in Smallville to take up his time. He shivered once, despite the warm day and picked up his books.
Danny was getting stuck into his English essay when Lois came up. "Hey, Casper. Have you seen Clark around?" Danny could tell from her tone that she wasn't happy with him.
"No, haven't seen him since earlier. Kinda had a blowout." It was then that Clark came back to the barn. He walked up the stairs, flinching slightly under the irritated glares from Danny and Lois. It was Lois who spoke up; complaining about how he'd chased AC off. So much for Clark going to hear AC's side of the story. It was what Clark said next that was interesting. Clark said he saw AC trying to blow up some sort of lab. That warranted investigation in Danny's book. From upstairs Danny heard Lois stalk off, but he felt a familiar ocean-like aura enter the barn.
Danny abandoned the essay and floated down invisibly, allowing himself to float near where Clark stood as AC approached. "Man" AC said, somewhere between amazement and envy. "I thought I had the hook up, but the way you flak-jacketed that C4... that was awesome, bro."
Clark's response was slow and dark "Just trying to stop a bomb you were going to set off, bro." AC came to a stop just in front of Clark. He looked confusedly even as fear crossed his face. He had picked up that Danny was around. Instead of continuing to scare him, Danny floated back up to listen to the conversation, ready to intervene if necessary.
"Yeah. Nice work." Danny heard AC his awe dropping to seriousness. "Thanks to you, the oceans are one step closer to becoming a graveyard."
Danny listened intently as Clark asked "That thing you tried to blow up had something to do with the dead fish?" AC had found out why the lake was so empty? Whatever it was, it had to be powerful.
"No, not something." Arthur explained. "Everything. It's a sonar weapon called Leviathan. It emits some kind of focused sound wave that packs enough punch to rip a submarine in half." Danny gasped. That sounded too much like his Ghostly Wail. If it had even a quarter the strength then it was not good at all.
The two stopped talking and Clark called up to him. "Danny, what are you doing up there?" Danny heard AC whisper to Clark "There's someone up there?" the whole barn was dead silent for a minute before Clark called.
"Danny, come down. I know you heard that. You were right, I shouldn't have assumed about Arthur." Danny realised that this was about as much of an apology as Clark was up to for now. Deciding there was no real harm if AC found out a little about his abilities; Danny leaped over the banister and flipped midair to face the direction of AC and Clark. He landed in a crouch and stood up still in human form. Danny was careful to stay a bit away from AC.
"Bro, what's with the kid?" AC asked, tensing up. Which was fair since what they were talking about would be dangerous in the wrong hands. "Arthur, this is my cousin Danny. He's harm... well mostly harmless. He packs a mean right hook. Point is you can trust him. In a way he's like you." Danny rolled his eyes at Clark who was obviously teasing him. AC looked confused before a look of recognition crossed his face.
"Hey, you're the kid from the lake. Not cool, bro. You gave me the creeps." He stepped forward to shake his hand before stepping back as that look of fear crossed his face. "Why do you make me feel as if I should be running away as fast as possible?" Danny was only partly shocked by his bluntness.
"Sorry AC. The best answer comes from the question why do you react to me the same way as animals do?" AC looked confusedly at Danny. Danny could see the mental gears turning in AC's head as he decided whether to reveal the full extent of his gifts.
"My Mom was Atlantean." That was all it needed to make sense to Danny. "You are telepathic with aquatic life, yes?" he asked. AC nodded, obviously confused as to how a kid could know that. Truth was Clockwork had made Danny study so many odd cultures and histories that he had a semi-encyclopaedic knowledge of most species that could form ghosts. Still there was slightly more to the answer that needed saying before AC would be happy to finish the main topic at hand. "In order to communicate with them, you draw on some of their instincts. Most animals find... what I am dangerous, and their instincts tell them to run. I'm not gunna hurt you, or anyone. I want to help."
"And what are you?" AC asked suspiciously. Danny shrugged and gave him a goofy grin. "Weird" He didn't want to tell him about Phantom if necessary. AC seemed mollified enough by Danny's response. Danny elected to ask "How do you know what Leviathan does?"
"I peeked at some documents at the lab." AC said before looking significantly at Clark. "They had LuthorCorp stamped all over them."
Danny watched as Clark paused for a moment, thinking "You mean Lex is trying to develop some sort of weapon." Clark stated, starting to understand the seriousness of the situation.
"One that also happens to kill any sea life around it. Even when it's on standby. In four hours he's demoing Leviathan to the Pentagon." AC said worriedly. Danny's eyes widened as he flashed back to the wasteland of a now extinct future and the destruction Dan wrought. "Clark," Danny said scared "If they like it and start dropping those things into the water it'll be a disaster. Something like this could kill hundreds, and that's not just marine life." AC nodded his agreement "We have to stop him."
"I'll go talk to Lex." Clark said. Danny wasn't positive that that would do anything, and apparently AC agreed. "There isn't enough time. Come on super boy, dunno 'bout the kid, but with you on the turf and me in the surf, we could stop this thing." AC said with passion.
"By blowing up his lab?" and there was the crux of it. Danny couldn't let AC blow up the lab when innocent people could get hurt, but Clark didn't seem to understand the true danger of the Leviathan. "Clark," Danny said, allowing some of Phantom's power to come into his voice. "You can't let this happen. The Leviathan sounds similar to the one power that Phantom refuses to use because it's too powerful. You can't afford for the military to use it, it will be abused."
AC seemed encouraged by Danny's argument, and continued "Clark. I was born with an amazing gift, and I plan to use it to help protect this planet. Kid here seems to agree with me."
"I'm not going to let you put innocent lives at risk." Danny thought on this, they needed to destroy the device, make sure that it couldn't be recreated, dissuade the Pentagon and get out unseen. But AC wasn't thinking like that. "Like your buddy Lex Luthor?" He asked vehemently. Clark answered "He's not my buddy. Not anymore. But I think we can get him to listen to..."
"You think he doesn't know what this thing does? He doesn't care." Ac interrupted him. This was getting nowhere. The two were going to keep arguing like Sam and Tuck used to over lunch. "AC," Danny said calmly. "You're probably right, but we need to at least try to convince him. If you blow it up he'll try again, I've seen it. But if we can convince him, bring him around he won't try again." AC looked to acknowledge Danny, then turned to Clark with some of his earlier aggression and said. "All right, we'll try it your way, boy scout. Let's have words with the cue ball."
Line Break
Danny sat in awe as Clark drove him up to the Luthor Mansion. It looked like a castle from one of his history books. Danny was sitting in the middle of AC and Clark, mostly because they were close to fighting again. They got there, but Clark ignored the butler at the door and stormed off towards what Danny could only imagine was Lex's office. Clark barged in, AC close behind and Danny bringing up the rear. Danny took a quick inventory of the two storey room. It was large, glass desk in front of the window, a piano in one corner and a lounge suite in front of the fireplace. There was a staircase that led to a small library on a mezzanine level. Overall the room screamed opulence.
At the desk was Lex Luthor, the man that Danny had saved from Skulker only a fortnight ago. "Clark," he said "you got here fast." There was a glint in his eyes that said he knew more than he was letting on. "And Daniel, I've been looking forward to meeting you in more civilised circumstances." Something about the way Lex said that made Danny immediately think of Vlad. "Thanks for seeing us Lex." Clark said. Well at least Clark was being civil.
"I have to be on my way out soon" Lex commented keeping his tone light "but I can spare a few minutes." At that point AC angrily interrupted "yeah, we know, bro." At this point Lex lost some of his cool, standing up from the desk "now I don't believe we've had the pleasure." It was Clark who saw fit to introduce AC as a friend from out of town. Lex held out his hand, but AC approached him aggressively saying "you have to stop it."
"Stop what?" Lex said, reminding Danny of Vlad when he caught Vlad in one of his more froot-loopy schemes. "We know about the weapon you're testing. Lex." Clark said. Good, Danny thought short and to the point. Now if you just... "I guess the billions you make in agriculture isn't enough" No! Danny gave Clark a quick glare you don't insult the person you're trying to convince, that tends to send them into a froot-loopy rage. Lex replied "One day of college and he's already an activist. Clark the only weapon I'm developing these days is the kind that fights hunger." Or it sends them on the defensive. Lex isn't the froot-loop, like him, maybe, but not him. Lex continued explaining about some type of high protein kelp that was probably just a cover.
"Leviathan has nothing to do with feeding the hungry Luthor!" AC angrily interrupted. "It's a weapon that'll kill everything in the water around it!" And off AC goes, sending Lex further onto the defensive. It seemed neither of them knew how to convince Lex, only accuse him. Danny knew how well doing that worked out with Vlad – not at all – and had learned that it was better to try and convince using logic. That was the only way Danny had escaped his clutches and been allowed to go to the Kent's in the first place. From there it all went to pieces, AC demanded that Lex shut it down and Clark finished it off saying "the days of me believing your lies are over".
AC stormed off and Clark followed behind him. Danny was about to follow when Lex requested he stay in a much calmer tone than before. While Danny wanted to stop AC and Clark from doing anything stupid he figured maybe he could do more good here. Danny slipped more into his goofy sixteen year old facade and took the offered lounge seat opposite Lex. "You know," Lex said, eyeing Danny very carefully "I never got to thank you properly for saving me that day."
Danny shrugged, "Really, it was no problem. I know ghosts, you don't. Just did my part."
"Ah, yes, see Daniel..." Lex began with an air of superiority when Danny interrupted "Danny." Lex continued "Danny, I have been curious. You come from Amity Park, and are the last heir to the Fenton heritage. How much do you know about their work?" Just what Danny needed, Danny saw through Lex, but there was still hope for him. He just needed someone to bring him out of the darkness. Danny shrugged "Some, but most of their work was destroyed."
Lex looked at Danny keenly, setting Danny on edge. "But you know how they work. I've seen some of the patents; imagine the defences that could be built if they were to go into mass production." So Lex wanted to have access to his parent's inventions? Those could only hurt ghosts and Lex didn't seem too interested in ghosts. The first thing he'd asked about was weapons. "The only things that those hurt are ghosts Mr Luthor. Since Amity Park isn't seeing so many anymore and they aren't making headlines anywhere else, isn't it better to leave the information where it can't fall into the wrong hands?"
Lex looked at Danny, considering him. "The protection of people should always come first. Just because they aren't here now doesn't mean they won't come back. Surely you wouldn't want to leave people unprotected." Danny looked at Lex. It would do no good to continue playing the fool. "I came with Clark and Arthur. They said you were developing a weapon. Please don't deny it; your actions earlier said it's true. Let's talk about that as well." Lex looked at Danny, interestedly. The teen realised this would be a very narrow line to walk. He didn't want to accuse, but he needed to drive the point through.
"With any weapon, it can be used for good or bad. Yes?" Danny asked, looking at the elder man. Lex nodded. ""A sword never kills anybody; it is a tool in the killer's hand." Lucius Annaeus Seneca" A quote. This would be as fun as talking with Vlad.
Danny remarked "So if one makes a weapon it can be used for good if in the right hands." Lex nodded. "When you designed your weapon you wanted to use it to protect the country, yes?" Lex looked slightly confused. "That was the purpose."
Danny sent a stern look at Lex. "What happens if in battle a knight's sword is thrown from him?" Lex looked at Danny "The knight is left defenceless. This weapon could not be thrown from us though."
"So in a situation where the sword is thrown, both parties lose out. That's fine. What happens if our knight is captured, his sword confiscated, and the enemy points it back at the knight?" Danny pressed, hoping to get through to him. "Then the sword is being used by the enemy for the wrong purposes." Well at least Lex understood that. "What if instead of pointing the knights own sword, the enemy uses its design to make a superior sword?"
"Then the knight and his own army are in trouble. However with this weapon that would not be the case. As I said earlier in this case it could not be taken." Danny looked at Lex, and then realised that perhaps the geeky Fenton wouldn't be enough. Oh well, so long as it was only in front of Lex it was worth the sacrifice of that bit of cover. "Mr Luthor, any weapon can be taken from you. Any weapon can be used against you. In fact," Danny looked to the two swords that were hanging on the wall. Lex had already seen Danny fight Skulker hands on and the swords were obviously imitation so... "Mr Luthor, how about a deal. I'll tell you about some of my parents' tech if you can best me in a sword fight. If you win, I'll let you look at some of the patents. You lose, rethink Leviathan. If that falls into the wrong hands, or even the right hands with the wrong purpose you are in trouble."
Lex looked at Danny; it was obvious that he was weighing what was worth more. On the one hand he could make millions off Leviathan if the Pentagon bought it. On the other he was curious about Fenton technology. Quickly examining his watch as he had to meet with the Admiral soon, Lex went over to the wall and plucked the two swords off the wall. "Deal" Lex threw one of the swords at Danny who caught it gracefully.
The sword was off balance, and felt very different from his own blade, but it would do for his purposes. They were imitation so he couldn't hurt Lex and Lex wouldn't be surprised if his didn't harm Danny. Lex and Danny moved to the centre of the room. Danny thought of Dora and hoped she would not be too mad if he forwent the traditional bow, which could give away his secret. Lex and Danny's blades met in the centre of the room. Danny waited, allowing Lex to make the first move.
Lex struck, Danny agilely twirled out of the way, tapping his sword on Lex's arm as he went. Danny parried another blow before gracefully tapping Lex's other arm. This was fun, he'd not had a proper sword fight since the last time he visited Aragon. Lex's moves were predictable and lacked finesse, and his style was more suited to fencing than fighting with a sabre... still, it was fun. Danny let Lex hit him once, positioning his own blade so that he could block Lex' next attack. The two blades met, Danny flicked his wrist and Lex's blade was thrown into the air. Danny caught the blade in his left hand before switching it to his right hand. He held the blade in his left hand across his own chest in a defensive position, letting the blade Lex had chosen point to Lex's heart.
"Do you submit?" Danny asked the elder man who had a look of confused awe on his face. Lex nodded, and Danny tossed Lex his blade back, laying his own on the coffee table. "Any weapon can be used against its owner. Mr Luthor, if a sixteen year old can claim the weapon of someone whose fenced for years, then how can you expect a dangerous weapon such as Leviathan to stay in safe hands. Something to think about." With that Danny left to follow Clark and AC. Danny just hoped he'd done enough and that his secret was still safe. He'd stuck within human limits, so he should be fine. As Danny left he heard Lex pull out his computer.
Line Break
Thirst. AC was dancing on the edge of consciousness. He'd just awoken to find himself strapped down to a metal table. He could feel himself drying out, and if he didn't get back to the water soon he'd shrivel into nothingness. The last thing he remembered before waking up in this lab was walking out on the jetty at Crater Lake. There was a sharp sting on his neck and then nothing until he got here. He felt a pull at his arm and realised some weird scientist lady was taking his blood.
He asked why they were doing this to him, but it was Lex Luthor who answered "One, you called me a tool." Okay, maybe that wasn't the best thing to have said, but still true. Lex continued "And two, most people I know heed scuba gear to breathe underwater." Dazedly AC said something about holding his breath. It was getting desperate, if he didn't get water soon he'd die. AC heard Lex saying that he shouldn't have been surprised since he was a friend of Clark's. AC thought of Danny, but he'd done nothing other than set his instincts off. All he knew was that he needed to protect Clark. Guys with powers should protect each other.
AC wasn't really aware of much now. He knew there was water nearby, but Lex wouldn't give it to him. Lex asked if he was with an environmental group, and AC just replied "I don't travel with an entourage". He really couldn't think straight. He needed water. Lex asked again how he breathed underwater. Well, if he was going to get stuck he may as well get Lex to get rid of that stupid weapon. "Shut down Leviathan and I'll tell you everything you want to know." AC blearily heard a female voice over an intercom and Lex left. That was it. He'd failed. He was going to die of dehydration and the oceans would be destroyed by the Leviathan. It was over.
Suddenly something told him he was in danger. A feeling of wrongness that pervaded his senses telling him to run, get out of there, swim away as fast as he could. Like how he felt around that Danny kid, but a hundred times worse. He looked up and there was Clark. His face must have shown his terror because Clark poked the air next to him and a white haired kid came into view. The kid looked a bit younger than him, but he glowed. He was wearing some fancy dress costume that made him look like he stepped out of Robin Hood's time. He was floating about an inch above the floor, but the worst thing were his eyes. They looked dead; they held the emptiness that takes over in death. This was Phantom, the "ghost" who'd made national headlines for his involvement in an affair called the Ghost King Incident.
Clark twisted a wheel and a shower sprinkled over AC, giving him strength. "There's not enough time, we gotta get him out." Clark said, looking over at AC. The white haired kid thing stepped towards AC, the feeling of terror grew and AC shrunk in his bonds even as the water returned his strength to him. The kid looked sad for a moment, and then AC felt the most amazing wave of energy wash over him. It felt comforting, a rush of goodness that saturated him down to his soul. It felt like what he'd wanted in a mother's hug, but bore the strength of a warrior's soul. It felt like love and kindness in its purest form. All he knew was that he was no longer afraid. The kid stepped up to him.
AC looked into the concerned green eyes that bore down on him. They no longer looked dead, but brimmed with emotion. But there was far more to it than felt a cold hand grip his wrist and a cool tingly sensation wash through his body. The kid picked him up and for a second AC could no longer feel the water falling on him. He had the oddest sensation of something passing through him, but it was over in a second. He looked at the kid who had pulled him off the lab table. The same kid who'd made him want to run just a minute ago. There was something familiar about the eyes. AC thought of the kid in the barn who'd made him want to run too.
"Danny?" he asked, he was pretty sure, but wanted to know. "Phantom, please" the Kid said with a cheeky smile, his voice echoed in a way that the lab just couldn't have made happen. Clark said "We knew we'd find you here." And the Phantom asked "Are you okay?" AC thought for a moment, determination setting in. Leviathan was going down. "Wet and ready, bro's. You owe me an explanation later, but the test is going down. The security's everywhere. I'll never make it through in time."
Phantom stepped towards him with a knowing smile "You might be able to with a little help." AC, Clark and Phantom all jumped down into the water, using the escape tunnel to get access to the lake. The three of them were speeding off underwater towards Leviathan when AC and Clark ran into a green shield that was suddenly blocking their way. The two turned to Phantom who held up a hand. AC could talk underwater, so he yelled "Not cool bro, we gotta get there now!" AC didn't expect the kid to reply, or at least for them to have to return to the surface to get an explanation and by then they'd probably miss it.
Phantom opened his mouth to speak, and it was as if he was in the open air. Come to think of it, it didn't look as if his outfit was wet at all. "We need a better plan than just going in and blowing it up. Lex saw you; he has a video feed on the device. That's how he knew to catch you. We can't just go in and blow it up. He'll see all of us."
"You got a better plan, little bro. We don't have time." Suddenly there were two of the kid swimming towards Clark and AC. AC felt something really cold grab onto him and a different tingling go through him. He looked over to Clark, but there was no one there. He looked to his hands and couldn't see them in front of him. "Invisibility." Came Phantom's voice from somewhere to his left. AC noticed they were speeding through the water as if it wasn't there. He didn't have to move himself. "Here's the plan." The Phantom holding AC took over "AC, you'll use your hydro-kinesis to loosen the Leviathan and weaken it. Send the fish away too please." The other Phantom said "Clark, you're gonna use your heat vision to make it explode. I'll put a shield around it so it looks like a self destruct and contains the blast."
The four of them came up to the metallic device as it sat in the water. The red light was flashing so they had just moments to spare. "You're next to each other, you won't anyone. Get going." With that AC sent a blast of water at the machine, a reddish distortion of the water told him that Clark's heat beams had struck. There was a faint trace of green around the machine as it exploded in a flash of bubbles. AC felt himself being dragged away from the site before the cold pressure on his wrist was removed. AC felt relieved to be back in the water under his own power. The second Phantom vanished and the three of them headed back to the lake shore.
Line Break
Clark was upset. He, Danny and Arthur had destroyed the Leviathan, and that was a good thing. Clark had just gone to Lex to talk about it. Lex had reminded him that the world isn't just black and white. Lex could justify it all he wanted, but there was no way the Leviathan was good. Clark had realised that there was no way he could ally himself with Lex, not anymore. Not after everything he's done. Part of him missed who Lex used to be, but really Lex was beyond redemption.
Clark and Danny were hanging out in the barn. Danny had finished his third day at Smallville high, and was actually on top of his work. The two of them were downstairs. Since Danny had first fixed the tractor it was working perfectly, but Clark had been curious to see the other improvements he could make to her. Danny was sitting cross legged with a completely disassembled engine in front of him. He was gradually converting each of the pieces to... well it had gone over Clark's head, but Danny had said it'd make it four times more fuel efficient, cleaner to run and not need to be repaired for a good few years.
"Got some cool stuff in here, bro." Arthur came into the barn, having a bit of a look around. He stopped to look at Danny who was highly involved in infusing a green light through a piston. Danny's eyes closed for a moment and the piston glowed white before dimming back to grey metal. Neither Clark nor Arthur knew what to say to that so Clark just joked "I got the feeling the ocean floor is a little more interesting." Danny finished laying the piston and stood up to look at Arthur. He was back to the Danny that hung around the farm. Clark found it interesting that the kid could go between Fenton, Phantom and Danny so easily. Really he seemed to have three lives. Arthur took a seat on a bench and Clark dug up an old stool. It was obvious that Arthur wanted to talk, so Danny came over to join them, sitting in a lotus position in mid-air.
"So you are Phantom, bro." Arthur stated. Danny nodded "didn't want you know, but not much point denying it now." Arthur looked at Danny curiously "What are you doing here. Don't you haunt Amity Park?" Clark watched as Danny tried not to look offended. "Mom and Dad are gone, and the Kent's were kind enough to let me have a bed."
"Ghosts sleep?" Arthur asked incredulously. He obviously didn't know what Danny was. Then again, as Danny keeps saying he was a scientific impossibility. "I do" Danny stated. "Like I said earlier, I'm weird." Arthur seemed to accept that well enough. Then an inquisitive look crossed his face. "Hey, why aren't my instincts telling me to run. I mean when I first met you it was like, not cool, get away fast. Like five minutes ago fast. What did you do in the lab?" Danny looked awkward for a moment before he buried it. "You want the easy to swallow version, or the truth?" Danny asked.
Arthur looked at the boy askance, and Clark wondered what it was that could make Danny look so uncomfortable. "Easy to swallow." Danny looked at Arthur, slightly disappointed. "I sent you a wave of positive emotions to override the fear instinct." Arthur looked at him confused for a moment, to Clark that didn't sound like such a bad thing. If Danny could do that for Arthur who was terrified then imagine the possibilities with the next Meteor Freak. Arthur pushed "And the truth?" Danny sighed. "Animals are scared of ghosts. It's a basic survival instinct. Ghosts are dangerous. You, being part Atlantean share those instincts. So coming across me, a powerful ghost was enough to send you into a panic."
"Yeah, little bro, I know that. So what did you actually do?" Arthur asked a bit rudely.
Danny looked to the floor "I cheated. I hate to cheat, but I didn't want you too terrified to help. What do you do when an animal is frightened?" Danny asked. Clark responded "You show it you mean it no harm"
Arthur looked at Clark, then back to Danny puzzled "So what did you do?" Danny looked Arthur squarely in the eye and said "I let you feel my heart." Danny blinked out of view. Clark heard the sound of him settling on the barn roof. Clark looked at Arthur, who looked astounded. "His heart" he mouthed. "Little bro, what are you?" Arthur asked the spot where Danny had been floating.
Clark looked at Arthur and said "A good kid." Arthur looked back to Clark and shook his head as if to clear it. "A very good kid." Clark didn't know what Arthur had felt, but knowing Danny it would have been nice.
"We did the right thing" Clark said. "Yeah," Arthur commented, lightness returning to his voice "We made a pretty good team." Clark just smiled "Maybe" Arthur continued "we should start up a Junior Lifeguard Association or something."
Clark immediately replied "I'm not sure I'm ready for the JLA just yet. Unless you promise to stop blowing things up." But there was a smile in his blue eyes.
"They stay outta the water, I'll stay away from them. But if anyone messes with my home..." A voice from above them interrupted. "Leviathan won't be a problem, but Lex might." Danny said as he faded back into visibility. Clark nodded, adding in "he's seen your abilities; he'll turn the world upside down looking for you."
Arthur resumed his cocky grin. "World's three-quarters water. Good luck finding me." Danny came to land next to Clark, half smiling at the joke. Clark had a sad thought "What about school, in Miami?"
Arthur responded sadly "Guess the swim team will just have to find another handsome stud." Clark thought it was a shame that Arthur had to give all that up.
"Just stay out of trouble" Clark said with a warm smile "alright, AC?"
AC smiled brightly at Clark for calling him his preferred name. "Try to get in some, Clark" he replied.
"See you around, Aquaman." Danny said. He shivered slightly, despite the cool night, but Arthur missed it.
"Stay super, bro's" AC said with a smile as he gently pounded each of their fists. The two of them watched as AC left, Clark was gladdened to see that AC was using his gifts for good, even if he was a little misguided.
Clark was about to suggest that the two of them head into the house for the night when Danny shivered more violently. Clark looked to his cousin and realised that his face was really pale. "I-is it-t c-cold in h-here, o-or is-s it-t j-just m-me?" Danny stuttered with chattering teeth. Clark was worried, it was still summer, and not cold at all. Clark watched as ice crystals formed in his hair and eyelashes. Danny was gradually freezing. Clark grabbed Danny and ran to the house, desperate for his parent's advice.
"Mom! Dad!" Clark called through the house. His mom came running down the stairs at his cry. "Sweetie, what's wrong?" Clark indicated to where he had laid Danny on the couch. "Not me, Danny. Mom, he's freezing. I don't know what to do."
Clark's mom went to feel his temperature, but pulled her hand back, a few ice crystals clung to her fingers. "This is beyond blankets and chicken soup."
By then Clark's Dad had arrived on the scene. "He knows about Krypton." Clark's dad said.
"So, that doesn't help." Clark said defiantly. He didn't want to think about Jor-El for the moment.
Clark's Mom seemed to understand what his Father was saying. "If he knows about Krypton then Jor-El may know what's wrong." Clark paused, torn between disdain for his birth-father and wanting to help Danny. "Son" His dad said "This isn't something we know how to help. If he freezes completely we don't know if he'll come out of it." Clark's Mom continued "If Jor-El can cure this, then it's worth asking." Clark thought. If this was Jor-El trying to balance a life for his, then it couldn't be Danny's. He'd only just come into their lives. It wasn't right for him or his parents to lose him so soon. Not when Clark was coming to look at him as a brother.
His parents were right. It was at least worth asking. That decided Clark raced to the barn to fetch the key. Then he picked Danny up, he was so cold, colder than a freezer. Clark hadn't noticed before but he was also really light. Was there something wrong, or was that a side effect of being half-ghost? With a final wave to his parents he sped off to the cave. He lay Danny on the alter-like table and plunged the key in the key hole. The two were surrounded by a bright light, transporting them into an icy wilderness. The portal closed and Clark found himself surrounded by snow with Danny frozen by his side.
Neither boy noticed the strange green root that curled out from the cave's roof.
AN: Finally into the actual series. For this story I plan to mix Smallville Season 5 and DP, I hope you enjoy the mix. Please enjoy, and tell me what you think.
Bluerose