Chapter 15
Static
Disclaimer: I own neither Danny Phantom nor Smallville
Danny yawned as he woke up. Last night he'd been up later than usual, the Corn Ghost and the Box ghost were taking turns of popping out of the Zone. Around 6am Danny had just gotten sick of sending them back and had trapped them together in the Thermos, promising not to let either out until he was out of school that afternoon. He walked to the bathroom ridiculously grateful for the feeling of the wood beneath his feet.
After four days of intangibility he had finally phased back to the tangible plane just last night. It was so disorienting where the only living thing he could touch in the whole world was his cousin. Danny got up and had a shower, thoroughly enjoying every drop of water as it fell onto him, washing his concerns away. He had never been so appreciative of the ability to feel the world, to interact with things. To feel the Real World as it actually was. Danny picked up his clothes, embracing the soft feeling of the cloth against his skin. He had so missed those simple pleasures that he was savouring them as much as he could.
Two nights ago he had met up with Ember at Crater Lake so he could send her home to the Zone. She had kept her word and hadn't made any trouble in the real world, and had even extended an offer for him to visit her next time he was in the Zone. Danny smiled at the thought. The fiery-haired ghost was a strong and demanding character, but she had shown him an unexpected kindness when he needed it the most. Danny was inclined to visit her sometime, but he owed Dora a visit too and he knew Clockwork would want to see him again soon as well. Danny had never felt so popular in the Zone.
Danny walked downstairs, enjoying each step on the hardwood floor. He happily made his way to the kitchen and pulled the cupboard open, pulling out a mixing bowl and the frypan. Being intangible for four days also meant that he couldn't eat human food for four days, and he was famished. He happily cracked some eggs into the bowl, whisking them into a nice omelette base. By the time Aunt Martha came down the kitchen smelled wonderfully of cooking omelette.
Danny smiled at his Aunt "I'm back to normal" he proclaimed happily.
"Oh Danny, that's wonderful." His aunt replied giving him a big hug, and then hugging tighter when she realised she could actually touch him. Danny laughed and easily flipped the omelette, letting it finish cooking before serving out three portions. By then Clark had joined them, and was equally happy that Danny was finally tangible again, maybe even more so than his mom.
There hadn't been too much activity in the ghost department – aside from The Box and Corn Ghosts – and there's only so much anyone can do without being able to touch anything, and Danny had quickly become bored in practicing his ice sculptures on his own. He had managed to convince Clark to have a training session with him, seeing it was the weekend. It was therapeutic for both of them and Clark had shown some genuine improvement over the four hours they were out training. His punches were a little more accurate on Danny's ice sculptures and he had managed to make his heat vision more precise.
Of course Clark had once again complained about how hard it was to manipulate energy through his eyes, and Danny had surprised them both by shooting an ecto-beam at the ghostly ice target from his own eyes. Clark's pride had been wounded when Danny had quickly refined his own precision to Clark's own level of accuracy. But for Danny it was just learning to refine energy from another source. Plus Danny needed far much more control since he had such a vast arsenal of powers and he couldn't afford for any of them to act up.
But with Danny now back on the tangible plane he wouldn't need to bother Clark as much for entertainment. He was already itching to pick up his sketchbook. Unfortunately though it was Monday, and he had to go back to school. The bus was hot, crowded and overly noisy, but after four days stuck in the intangible plane he enjoyed every minute of it. It wasn't too long before he was back at the school. The hallways were crowded; it was early February and still too cold out for most. And with the bustle came short tempers.
Danny soon found himself having to dodge Jay, who had taken Danny being skipped ahead to offense. Danny found it strangely surreal. On some level he was actually enjoying himself as the other boy punched his stomach. It wasn't as if Jay was doing any damage, and the feeling of being touched – even if it was in a painful way – by something from the Human world was amazing. Danny blinked as he thought on that. How weird was his mind that on some level he could actually enjoy being beaten up by a guy who stood a foot over him and probably weighed three times as much.
And yet it didn't matter because he was tangible again. The school day passed in a blur, a bustling, claustrophobic blur, but Danny savoured every moment, just being able to physically feel the textbooks and brush against his peers was enough for him. There were only three ghosts that needed attention during the day and they soon met the Corn Ghost and Boxy in the Thermos. The final bell rang and Danny found himself slowly wandering the gradually emptying halls of Smallville High. He ran his hand against the banister as he paced down the stairs. Now he had to decide whether to stay in Smallville before he did his afternoon/evening patrol or if he was going to go back to the Kent farm and see Clark.
Danny frowned. While he had gone out of his way to make sure that Clark was happy, part of Danny wasn't over the things that Clark had said. Clark had almost – albeit unintentionally – ended Danny's existence. Clark may not know the full extent of what he had done, but that did not change the fact that it had happened. Danny wasn't sure he wanted to spend too much time around his cousin at the moment. Now that he was tangible again he didn't need Clark as a touchstone to reality, and he wasn't sure he was ready to face Clark.
After fulfilling his promise to Boxy and the Corn Ghost via a direct portal to the Zone, Danny made his way out the front doors of the school, but was surprised by the car pulled up in front. It was a silver Porsche, with the hood down and a certain young billionaire sitting behind the wheel. From this distance Danny could hear the music that was still thrumming through the speakers; Lex's face lit up when he laid eyes on Danny.
"Danny" Lex said, calling Danny over. Danny cautiously walked over towards the car and ignoring the buzz of whispers that had stirred up around him. "I wondered if you'd like a lift home from school" Lex offered. Danny was confused; the young billionaire had not talked to him since the Leviathan incident in the summer. Since then Lex had thrown himself into the electoral campaign, and had pretty much ignored Danny, so this came out of the blue.
Unfortunately Danny knew that refusing Lex would not be helpful, he was too much like Vlad to let whatever it was go, and would only stir trouble until Danny came to talk to him. So five minutes later Danny was seated next to Lex, on his way to the Luthor Mansion, rather than the Kent Farm. Danny shrunk uncomfortably into the leather seat. While the car could go fast it was nothing to flying as far as transport went. And sitting with the young Luthor was uncomfortable in itself, knowing the strained relationship between Lex and Clark.
Lex pulled his car up in front of the Mansion, flicking the keys at a butler before guiding Danny into his office. Lex offered Danny a drink, getting himself a crystal glass of scotch and making a light-hearted flourish over Danny's water. Danny placed his backpack next to one of the dark leather sofas before taking a seat. The two of them sat in front of the flickering fire for a little while, Danny taking every detail of the room in. He instinctively knew that there were three security cameras that had a clear view of him; all well hidden of course. There were two that could probably see half of him and a sixth aimed directly at the piano in the far corner.
There were a few other changes since the last time Danny had been in the room; the hidden vault and panic rooms had higher securities around them. Danny had never seen either room, but could tell simply by the massive amounts of electricity surging through the walls that they were there. Something had obviously happened to make Lex want to up his security. Danny finally turned his attention back to the young billionaire who was gazing at him with curious eyes.
Danny took an uneasy sip of water, shrinking in on himself. As Fenton it was so easy to be metaphorically invisible, and to have this much attention on him was unsettling. Lex cleared his throat. "I have been wondering where it is that you learned to fight." Lex paused a moment "When I first met you, you managed to defeat that... "ghost" singlehandedly, and unarmed." Something in the way Lex said the word ghost suggested he believed that they were something else.
Danny inwardly frowned. He knew that visibly using his skills was going to come back to bite him when he'd fought Skulker, but he had only thought to subdue the threat at the time. Outwardly he shrugged "Mom was a ninth degree black belt. Guess some of it rubbed off." He just hoped that Lex would let the subject drop. He didn't want it to get out that Fenton could actually defend himself.
"I must also say I was impressed with how quickly you disarmed me when you challenged me to a sword fight. I admit that I underestimated you." 'Most people do' Danny added mentally "But I am curious as to where you learned how to do that. How long have you studied sword fighting?" Lex concluded. Danny mentally slapped himself. How could he not think that pulling a sword fight with Lex would not arouse his attention? Vlad finding out that he was a half-ghost had earned him two years of having to watch his back and an unending trail of offers to turn to the dark side and use his powers for selfish gain.
"Not long" Danny answered slowly; still playing the shy clumsy boy that was his first defence "I went on a camp for a week and trained up a bit." Danny shrugged. That was close enough to the truth; he'd spent a week in the Zone in Aragon learning how to fight. "I just got lucky. You left an opening and I was able to take it." Danny finished with a half smile, hoping to put Lex off kilter and divert the subject. Danny was relieved when Lex just nodded, although there was a strange glimmer in his eye.
"Have you ever tried your hand at fencing?" Lex asked.
Danny shook his head "No, I mean, I've fenced, but there's a big difference between putting a wooden fence up and crossing blades." Lex raised a half amused eyebrow at that remark.
"I suppose there is, although I much prefer the latter." Lex commented lightly. "I am curious to see how you fare with a sabre." Danny frowned, but Lex ignored it. Danny didn't want to protest, knowing that to do so would only further arouse Lex's suspicions. He didn't want to be the next puzzle for Lex to figure out. So Danny acquiesced. Lex suggested they have a practice bout, "just for curiosity." There was one good thing about Lex; he was purely human. If things got too bad Danny could protect himself and Clark. Part of Danny hoped that he could bring Lex around, help him see the light again and steer him away from the same dark streak that had driven Vlad to the brink of insanity.
Lex escorted him through to a training room and Danny's jaw dropped. It was fully outfitted with a treadmill, punching bag and a complete weight set. One corner of the room was covered in white training mats, and a rack for sabres, foils and epee's sat beside it. There was a rowing machine and a bench press. Somehow Lex had managed to fit a complete gym into the Mansion, and it actually fit in with the rest of the decor. "Wow." Danny complimented. The only thing that could make the room better suited for Danny as a personal gym was if it had an obstacle course and a few targets.
Lex smiled at Danny's awe struck face before handing him a pile of white gear. Danny realised this was the full protective outfit. While it was unnecessary for Danny, he knew he had to put it on for appearances sake. Lex directed him to a room where he could get changed and Danny quickly donned the suit. By the time he was out Lex was similarly clothed in full white and had a strange smile on his lips.
"You know." Lex commented lightly as he handed Danny a mask "I had always wanted to see how your cousin took to fencing, but he always shied away from the idea." Danny half laughed knowing the reason, but was able to brush it off.
"Clark is happy throwing around hay bales and footballs, but I'm glad he never took you up on the offer." The mental image of Clark fumbling around with a sword was slightly too amusing for Danny and he allowed a smile to pass his lips. "He'd be a hazard for everyone around him; he's too much of a klutz for it." Lex looked slightly surprised at that comment, which is exactly what Danny wanted. It wouldn't hurt to get Lex off of Clark's back a bit. But Danny would never put a blade in Clark's hands anyway. Clark's strength was brute force; putting a sword in his hand would only cause more damage.
"I'm surprised you say that" Lex replied, guiding Danny over to the mats "He's always seemed fairly extraordinary to me, he always manages to surprise me."
Danny shrugged "He always manages to pull through for you, but he's not really extraordinary. I've never seen him do anything more than you could expect him to." Danny commented. It was true though, Danny knew he was Kryptonian, so nothing Clark did surprised him really. "I mean, with all these meteor infected people running around even the ordinarily talented people look suspicious." Lex frowned slightly, but didn't answer. Instead he picked up a sabre and handed it to Danny and took up his own. He frowned thoughtfully, leading Danny to the centre of the mat. Danny seemed to have successfully thrown Lex for a loop.
Lex bowed respectfully towards Danny, who bowed back, feigning unfamiliarity with the action. The two raised their blades.
"En Garde" Lex decreed as he took the first strike, and with that the fight began. Neither noticed the slight flicker in the gym lights.
Line Break
Clark frowned as he raced into Metropolis. He hadn't been able to get into contact with Danny, and had half hoped that the halfa could give him a hand with one of his jobs on the Farm. But Danny hadn't come home after school, he hadn't even called. It was possible that he'd gotten caught up with a ghost, but a quick scout around Smallville disproved that theory. So Clark had decided to head into Metropolis to see if Danny was around there. When it became clear that the halfa was definitely not there he elected to go visit Chloe at the Planet.
Chloe was fairly busy; apparently the abrupt departure of Andrea had left a lot of work to be done in the basement bull-pen, although Chloe had been working the hardest. She was trying to earn herself a promotion while sitting on Clark's secret as well as balancing her Uni schedule seeing how she was now back from break. Clark was lucky enough to catch her when she was taking a coffee break and she invited him down to her desk before she herself got back to work.
By now it was past five and many of the other employees were heading home for the night. Soon enough it was only Chloe and Clark left. Chloe was absently tapping away on her computer, still involved with the story that she was writing. Clark sat in Andrea's still empty desk as he waited for Chloe to take a break. Eventually she stopped typing, looking up from her work and over to Clark.
"Sorry" She apologised "I just wanted to get that started before it got too much later. I'm pushing a deadline as it is. What's up?"
Clark smiled over at her. "Can't I come visit you at work without something being wrong?"
"You can, Lana does. But you don't. So come on, spill." Chloe knew Clark all too well. If he just wanted to hang out he usually invited her over to his house or the Talon.
"I've been thinking, about Danny." Clark replied. "And Phantom" Clark added, since they were the same person even if Chloe didn't know it.
"Yeah" Chloe murmured with a frown in her voice. "You really chewed Phantom out. Some of what you said, no one likes to be called sub-human Clark." She finished, disappointment obvious in her tone, and Clark shifted uncomfortably under her gaze.
"I know. I shouldn't have said it. My Dad would've hated to think that I had. I realise I shouldn't have lashed out, I guess it was just easier than trying to deal with things." Clark looked over at Chloe to see her smiling understandingly
"I know Clark." She consoled "There's some days where I think I'd do anything to have my mom back in my life, but I know she'd have wanted me to be happy, and that's what matters." Clark frowned. Chloe's mom had been in a mental institution for many years. Clark didn't even know if Chloe knew where her mom was. Chloe's mom may as well be dead, and Clark knew how taxing it was on his blonde friend. He smiled sadly at her, glad that she in some way understood what he was getting at.
"You said you were worried about Danny?" Chloe asked
"Yeah, I haven't heard from him since school let out, and I can't find him anywhere." Clark answered.
"Well he can teleport anywhere Clark. He could be in Miami if he wanted to be." Chloe said with laughter in her voice.
"Danny's teleporting doesn't work like that I don't think." Clark frowned. "But that's not the point, he's been hiding it pretty well, but he's still upset about some of the things I said to him."
"What did you say to Danny?" Chloe asked
"It wasn't nice; can we leave it at that?" Clark requested, his gut twisting as he recalled how he accused Danny of not caring that he'd lost his family. Over the past two days it had been painfully obvious how deeply Danny had been affected by his loss. Danny was just very good at hiding his pain, but being intangible had left Danny more emotionally vulnerable than he usually was, so the mask had faded. At least that's what it felt like to Clark.
"Okay." Chloe replied, interrupting Clark's string of thoughts. "Have you actually tried talking to him?"
"That's the thing. He won't talk, he was happy to help out and do a bit of training with me, but he won't let me help him."
"Training?" Chloe inquired.
"He helps with target practice" Clark answered without thinking.
"How? You're not attacking your cousin are you Clark?" Chloe demanded aghast and Clark froze for a minute. Chloe didn't know about all of Danny's powers. All she knew was he could heal fast and he could teleport. It wasn't Clark's place to tell her about the rest of them, and for some reason Danny thought it was safer if nobody knew he was Phantom.
"No" Clark replied "he sets up targets and sorta encourages me to "refine my talents" or so he says."
"So the Kryptonian is taking hints from a sixteen year old kid. Never expected to see that coming." She commented with a cheeky smile.
Clark shrugged "He lived in a ghost town, he knows how to aim."
"Think I could tag along some day? I'd love to see it." Chloe commented, a thoughtful look on her face.
Clark realised that he'd gotten off track again. The problem was that Danny still hadn't checked in, and it was getting to the point where Clark was worried. Chloe saw his agitation and suggested that instead of sitting around like an old mother hen he actually call his cousin.
The phone answered after the third ring "Hey Clark" Danny's voice came across as slightly out of breath.
"What's wrong, what's got you out of breath?" Clark questioned, now worried that Danny had been off fighting some ghost and was in trouble.
"Nothing, just... working out. There's someone else here, so..." Danny trailed off, but Clark was able to read between the lines. For the sake of appearing normal to whomever it was Danny needed to act like he was being tired out by exerting himself.
Clark was mollified, but still curious "Okay then, who have you been working out with? Actually, where are you? I couldn't find you anywhere in Smallville."
"Um," Danny paused awkwardly on the other side of the phone. "I'm at Lex's. He wanted to see how I handled fencing. Then we went hands on, he's really good with Judo. We've been at it for about an hour now. Lex wanted a break, but it was... actually kinda fun" Clark frowned. He didn't want Danny anywhere near Lex, Danny didn't know what Lex was capable of, and Clark couldn't pull Danny out of danger if Lex got too curious.
"You're at Lex's?" Clark demanded. From the other side of the desk Chloe's jaw dropped as she mouthed "Lex's?"
"Yeah, Clark" Danny replied. The strange thing was that he didn't sound worried or scared, he sounded happy. "I've actually been having fun. Lex is really good with a sabre, and I enjoyed the practice. It's not like I get to play with swords that often." Danny sounded genuinely excited, and Clark reflected that this was probably the first chance Danny had had to practice sword fighting since he was in the Far Frozen. Still, it didn't sit well with Clark that Danny was voluntarily spending time with Lex.
"You need to be careful Danny. Lex will use you if you let him."
"Geez Clark, I'm fine." Clark got the distinct impression of Danny rolling his eyes. "I can handle it myself, you don't need to worry. It's just a swordfight."
"You know what I mean. Lex is dangerous"
"Clark, I know. But I can take care of myself you know. I don't need you to babysit me all the time." Clark didn't know what to say to that. There was a long pause on the other side of the phone before Danny's voice came back "Um, Clark, I gotta go. I'll see you later, okay. Bye." Clark frowned at the abrupt dismissal, looking at the "call ended" message on his phone. Chloe was looking at him curiously, so Clark explained that Danny had gone to Lex's for a swordfight.
Chloe seemed disturbed at that news, but suggested that Clark wait and see how things played out. She reminded him that he needed to trust Danny to make his own decisions, even if they were the wrong ones. Clark sighed in frustration. It wasn't that he didn't trust Danny per se it was just that Danny had no experience dealing with human enemies that he knew of. He could handle ghosts just fine, but Danny himself had admitted that a ghost's mind worked differently to a humans, and Clark worried that Danny wouldn't be able to handle Lex.
Chloe stood up from her desk, claiming that she needed to get something from the filing room. Clark followed her, still involved in the debate over Danny's safety. Clark knew deep down that Lex was beyond saving, and Danny was just going to risk his own exposure by meddling in Lex's life. Clark had had enough of the billionaire, four and a half years of being the subject of obsessive investigation was more than enough to prove Lex's lack of loyalty to him. Clark walked a step behind Chloe as she strode towards the filing room door; she pulled the dark mahogany open and froze. Clark nearly ran into her, but stopped just in time. He looked over her blonde hair and saw the trouble.
The whole filing office was in complete disarray, the files were strewn everywhere all over the floor. The archive boxes were floating, surrounded by a wavering blue energy field. At the very back of the room was a dumpy floating man in blue overalls. Clark half recognised him from one of the sketches Danny had left lying around in his room. He was about to identify him to Chloe, when the ghost interrupted him.
"BEWARE for I am the BOX GHOST! Who dares to interrupt my CARDBOARD based DOMINATION?" The blue ghost demanded.
"Chloe Sullivan of the Daily Planet. You realise you just messed up about five years of back files." Chloe commented.
"I care not for your petty files; I am merely here to begin my conquest with the CORREGATED ARCHIVE BOXES OF DOOM!" The box ghost screeched, launching a barrage of boxes at them. Clark blocked them from flying into Chloe, but they packed quite a punch as far as flying boxes go. Chloe took the opportunity to run out of the room to fetch the ecto-gun that Danny had made for her all those months ago.
Clark stared at the blue ghost as he cried "BEWARE, foolish human, for nothing can escape the mighty power of the BOX GHOST!" Clark sighed and approached the floating specter, intending to attack him. However Chloe got there first, firing three quick shots from the ecto-gun before her eyes widened.
"It's out of charge!" She exclaimed and ducked underneath another box as it flew towards her. The Box Ghost seemed more infuriated for the attack, the boxes flying with higher velocity as the blue energy around them brightened. Clark grunted as one slammed into his chest, he wasn't used to having to duck, but was starting to think he'd better learn. Clark punched the specter, managing to slam it against the wall, but he phased through to continue his assault on Chloe.
"Clark, do something!" Chloe demanded as she avoided another box.
"I don't know how!" Clark shot back, send a right hook at the ghost who dodged, screeching at Clark that he'd never win. Danny had never told him how to take down ghosts, and Clark had always assumed he'd be there.
"Well what about Phantom? He's usually floating around whenever he's needed. Phantom, if you can hear us, please help." Chloe called into the air before shaking her head "Okay, now I feel like Don Quixote." Clark rolled his eyes and threw a box back at the ghost, sending him flying into the back wall, but he quickly recovered.
"I don't think that Phantom works like that. He's not psychic." Clark commented, catching a box and returning it forcefully to the blue specter.
"Danny Phantom is not here, you cannot stop me from taking over the world with my CORRUGATED BOXES OF CARDBOARD FURY!" Another barrage of boxes was sent flying at Clark and Chloe. Chloe was looking furiously for anything that could help, but anything they threw at the ghost sailed right through him. Clark had no idea what to do, give him a meteor freak and he could bring them down, but he had no idea what to do with ghosts.
"Well how was I supposed to know? The websites say he is." Chloe spat back irritated. She took another look at the ghost. "Call Danny. He's got that thermos thing!" Chloe retorted, and Clark pulled out his phone, trying to get in contact with the halfa. The Box Ghost became more violent at the mention of a Thermos; it was all Clark could do to dodge the flying boxes that were spinning ferociously in a vicious whirlwind of cardboard. The phone rang twice before Danny answered.
"Not a good time Clark"
Line Break
Lex and Danny had been fighting for an hour, Danny slowing down at the same pace as Lex, since he had only ever trained with ghosts. His instructor Garth had kept him going for six hours straight when he was learning how to use his sword, so it was easier to just pretend to be human now. Eventually Lex called for a break, panting ever so slightly. Danny subconsciously matched his breathing to the elder man as he pulled the mask off his face.
"You're full of surprises." Lex commented lightly as he pulled off his own mask. "You almost had me a couple of times there." Truth was Danny could have won the bout ten times over, Lex left too many openings that Danny forced himself to ignore, even with the unfamiliar blade. But that didn't stop him from shyly smiling and giving an awkward shrug.
"I'm glad you had fun Mr Luthor, although I don't think I can count on beginners luck all the time." Danny replied. Lex tugged off the outer layer of his protective gear, indicating for Danny to follow suit. Danny tugged his t-shirt back over his head, messing his hair up a bit as he did. Lex disappeared for a minute, giving Danny the opportunity to switch back to his street clothes. When Lex reappeared he was in a neat sports outfit, wearing only a white short sleeved t-shirt and tidy grey track-pants with a white towel slung across his shoulders.
"If that was beginners luck, I'd like to see you all trained up. Have you considered taking fencing as a sport?" Lex asked and seemed genuinely curious.
"Nah," Danny replied "I don't think they even offer it at Smallville High. They certainly didn't at Casper. Besides, I'm happier not being on the sports teams." Danny shrugged.
"Why? Your cousin was the star player of the football team just last year." Lex looked curiously at him and Danny sighed. Part of his facade as Fenton was the incurable clumsiness and weakness, meaning that he couldn't try out for any sports teams. Besides that he hated attention and never had time for it. Unfortunately he had given that facade up in front of Lex months ago when he fought Skulker off, so acting weak in front of him would be useless. Instead he used the next best answer.
"I don't like the attention" Danny admitted "I'm happier fading into the background. Let the people who really want it have sporting attention, I can get on without it."
"But you could be great at it, why wouldn't you want to show off your skills?" Lex shot back.
Danny shook his head, running his fingers through his hair. "Like I said, I don't like the attention. I got enough of it from Mom and Dad being who they were, so I prefer not being in the spotlight. Sorta defeats the point if I go and jump into it on my own."
Lex didn't look convinced. He pulled Danny over to the punching bag, taking aim himself and landing a precise blow on the bag. It shifted an inch before quickly coming back to rest. "You don't need to be in the spotlight; it's about taking control and knowing that you can tackle the world for yourself. It's about proving your worth to your fellow man. Take a shot."
Danny blinked twice before he replied. "I already know my worth; I don't care if no one else sees it. It's enough for me to know my strengths without taking away from anyone else's." Danny took a shot at the bag, precise and fast, the heavy bag swung only slightly, but Danny was limiting himself to human strength. He had seen Dash training and knew human limitations with this sort of thing. Lex didn't even raise an eyebrow at Danny's display; it was almost as if he'd expected it.
"Really?" Lex challenged "So you think you can handle hand to hand as well?" Danny smiled and took a step onto the mat once more, giving Lex the universal "Bring it" gesture. Lex smiled, taking an offensive stance himself. "I should warn you, I am trained in five martial arts." Lex commented loftily. Danny just smiled, allowing Lex to take the first swing. He dodged easily, taking a step back and slipping into a defensive stance.
"Ah, but training can only get anyone so far, one must know how to use it." Danny replied with a smirk. He dodged once more, and then moved to the offensive. Danny was truly enjoying himself. It was so rare that he actually got to practice his skills without the threat of being maimed or ended. There was something exhilarating in fighting against Lex. He was definitely very skilled, but most of Danny's skills were honed out of necessity where Lex had formally trained. Lex would stick to one style of fighting for a minute and then switch to another. Danny had taken a few classes with Sam, but had mostly made up his own style.
Lex sent a quick kick towards Danny's stomach which he dodged around, grabbing the leg and holding Lex off balance for a moment. Danny smiled and let Lex go, giving him a moment to recover before going on the attack again. The two fell into a steady rhythm, one which Danny knew he could end at any moment if he wanted, but he was enjoying the exertion too much. Eventually though Lex called a halt and, panting slightly, brought Danny back to his office.
Lex opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the ringing of Danny's phone. Danny jumped over to his backpack and pulled the phone out having immediately recognised the ringtone as his cousin's. "Hey Clark" Danny said, taking a seat opposite the young billionaire as he poured each of them a glass of water.
"What's wrong, what's got you out of breath?" Clark replied sounding anxious. Danny was a little annoyed. He didn't want to have to explain everything with Lex right in front of him, and a full explanation was one that he couldn't give with him around. He also didn't want Clark to find out he'd gone with Lex, so he was going to have to dance around the truth a little.
"Nothing, just... working out. There's someone else here, so..."Danny trailed off, hoping that would be enough to satisfy Clark. Lex looked curiously at Danny, and Danny just hoped that Lex wouldn't read anything too much into that comment.
"Okay then, who have you been working out with? Actually, where are you? I couldn't find you anywhere in Smallville." Clark shot back. 'Or Not' Danny mused. If Clark had gone looking that meant Danny would have to tell the truth about where he was.
"Um, I'm at Lex's." Danny explained slightly shamefully "He wanted to see how I handled fencing. Then we went hands on, he's really good with Judo. We've been at it for about an hour now. Lex wanted a break, but it was... actually kinda fun"Danny couldn't help the smile that crept onto his face, and he enjoyed the way Lex's eyes lit up in happiness when Danny admitted that.
"You're at Lex's?" was Clark's incredulous reply. Danny cringed, he didn't want to offend his cousin, and Clark would always come first. But surely that didn't mean that Danny couldn't try to be friends with Lex at all, did it? Danny had stayed friends with Valerie Grey despite the fact that her alias wanted Danny Phantom's ectoplasm. Besides that, Danny had actually had fun fighting against Lex. It was exhilarating to fight in a friendly way as a human. He'd never really had that before, not at school, not with Sam and Tuck.
Clark still needed a response though, so Danny happily answered "Yeah, Clark I've actually been having fun. Lex is really good with a sabre, and I enjoyed the practice. It's not like I get to play with swords that often."Okay, so that was a slight stretch, he had used his sword to fight against a ghost not too long ago, but this was a very different skill set, and one Danny very rarely got to exercise.
"You need to be careful Danny. Lex will use you if you let him." Clark advised. Danny could just imagine his face at the moment, but Clark was wrong. There was nothing Lex Luthor could do to Danny that Vlad hadn't already done worse. And even if he did, Danny wouldn't have to hide Lex's transgressions from his family just to keep them safe.
Danny rolled his eyes. "Geez Clark, I'm fine. I can handle it myself, you don't need to worry. It's just a swordfight." Lex smiled over his crystal glass at that. Danny smiled, but his attention was pulled to something making its way through the mansion. Danny didn't know what it was, other than the fact that it was creating subtle amounts of static that Danny felt race through the air even from this distance. The overhead lights flickered slightly, but this went unnoticed by Lex.
"You know what I mean. Lex is dangerous" Clark interrupted Danny's concentration, and throwing him for the briefest of moments. Whatever or whoever it was that was causing the strange energy, they were getting closer.
"Clark, I know. But I can take care of myself you know. I don't need you to babysit me all the time." Danny hardly even realised what he was saying, the energy source had just arrived outside the door of the room. It was a human, no doubt about it. The aura was strong, tingling with electrical power. They were meteor infected, that strange twang jarring against Danny's senses. The door was flung open noisily. "Um, Clark, I gotta go. I'll see you later, okay. Bye."Danny quickly shut off the phone, shoving it into his pocket.
The electricity in the room swelled, Lex looked over to the intruder, but before he could get a word in Danny dove, his instincts screaming to protect the young man. That tackle sent both of them sprawling, a powerful charge of electricity obliterated the sofa where Lex had just been seated. Roughly the two stood up and turned to face their assailant. The acrid scent of burnt leather and ozone washed through the air.
The man stood tall, but slightly hunched over as he panted. Brown eyes looked up from under light brown hair. He was wearing a black suit; the wire from his lapel identified him as one of Lex's security detail. Electrical sparks flickered across his fingers as he gazed upon the two of them the whole room was eerily silent apart from his breathing.
"I won't let you do this." The man said, gazing fixedly at Lex.
"Clay, you need to calm down." Lex smoothly replied, holding his hand out as he would to a disobedient puppy. Danny frowned, so Lex did know the man well enough to know his name. The question was what had caused Clay to flip out like this.
"No!" Clay snarled "I won't let this happen again." His fingers sparked threateningly, Clay raised his hand and a bolt of electricity soared across the distance between Clay and Lex. Without thinking Danny shoved Lex out of the way, the electricity ripping into him instead. Danny bit down a scream; this was nearly as bad as when Skulker brought out a new taser. It tore through him, the electricity digging deep into him, all the way to his core.
Danny gasped as the electricity pierced his ghostly core, awakening something that he had long since forgotten about. All those months ago when Fine was in the Fortress trying to summon Zod Danny had absorbed the energy from the portal directly into his core. He had frozen it, iced it over to the point that he could forget about the foreign energy in his ghostly core. But now it was awakening. Danny felt another surge of electricity race through him, but wasn't sure who it belonged to. Colours danced on the edge of Danny's vision and he surrendered to the mounting blackness as the electricity consumed him.
Danny awoke to the sound of heavy breathing. His eyes were closed and his thoughts were foggy as he tried to recall what was going on. He was in a small room, judging by the sound of the echoing off the metallic walls. Danny could still feel the electricity thrumming away under his skin. He knew that his ghost powers were useless until he found a safe way to dispel all this excess energy. Danny slowly opened his eyes, cold white-blue light shone down on him.
"Where am I?" he groaned, rubbing his throbbing head as he pulled himself up into a sitting position.
"We're in the safe room next to my office. Are you alright?" Lex asked worriedly. Danny blinked and leaned his back up against the wall, taking stock of the room. The walls were mostly cement, but the lower portion of the room was lined with metal. Danny was seated on the lone bed in the room; the crisp linens cool to the touch. Green light shone down from the large monitors on the opposite wall. There seemed to be a live feed from most of the security cameras in the mansion flicking through the display.
"I'll be fine. What happened?" Danny inquired finally, still hazy from the power tingling through his core and having just awoken from unconsciousness.
"Clay Fulgur, one of my security team. Living with Clark I'm sure you're aware of the threat meteor infected individuals present." Lex explained and Danny quickly nodded. "It appears Clay has picked up the ability to generate electricity." Danny mused over the irony of the name Fulgur; Latin for lightning. Then his dazed mind wondered where he'd even picked up Latin to begin with.
"And he decided to go Zeus on us, why?" Danny asked.
"I don't know." Lex answered, not quite meeting Danny's eyes. "Are you sure you're okay, you blacked out from the blast."
"I'm fine." Danny replied standing up. For the time being he was stuck being human, he couldn't just run off to release his powers with Lex around, and he couldn't even risk using them subtly now. There was just too much energy running around beneath his skin. He'd need to be far away from anyone living when he released it. Danny walked over to the screens, observing the man as he prowled through the office.
"Luthor" Clay's voice echoed through the room. Danny surmised there must be an audio feed as well as the video feed. "Let the kid go. I won't let you do this again. He doesn't deserve to be your next project." Clay snarled the last word.
"What's he talking about?" Danny asked, looking at Lex. But he had a sinking suspicion that he already knew. Clark had been Lex's "project" for four years.
"I don't exactly know. But we're safe in here. I've pulled the silent alarm; the police should be on their way." Lex answered, but it was a dodge and Danny saw through it.
"What does he want Lex?" Danny asked; trying to sound genuinely worried. This was technically a hostage situation, and while usually he'd just send a duplicate out to resolve everything, this time he really couldn't risk using his powers. That meant he had to play the scared little human in this situation, at least if he wanted to stand any chance of coming out of this without Lex thinking of him as more than human.
On the screen Clay moved across to the desk, flicking through some loose files as he continued his monologue, as if answering Danny's question. "For years now I've been part of your team, Luthor. I've heard you ranting for hours, obsessing over the amazing Clark Kent, as if he's something special. Planning hundreds of ways to make him reveal his big secret to you, and now you go after the kid. In case you haven't noticed, I'm special too, but you don't care. You just barge into people's lives and corrupt them. And I'm sick of it."
Clay released another charge of electricity, the desk shattered into a million glass pieces, and there was a moments static on the surveillance screens. Lex walked over to the screens and picked up a microphone. "Look, Clay. I'm sorry if you feel that way, but..."
"I don't care Luthor. You've had your chance. Clark's just a farm boy, and the little kid is no different. Come out and face me like a man, rather than hide in your little safe house. Or is that the problem? You don't know how to deal when someone with an actual power comes out to play?" Clay demanded as he stalked through the room. Even through the screens the crackling electricity on his fingers was obvious.
"Lex, what are you going to do?" Danny inquired, meeting the billionaire's eyes. He didn't want to talk about the undertones about Clark. Danny was fully aware of that, and how high the stakes were in the game he was playing, it was still possible to divert attention away from Clark and to try to steer Lex away from the darkness. But a situation like this was only going to corrupt Lex more. He needed to believe in the best in people, and this was not helping.
"Wait for the police to come; it's all I can do." Lex replied coolly with a slight shrug. He went and took a seat on the bed, still gazing at the screens.
"You're not even going to talk to him?" Danny demanded.
Lex looked towards Danny, his eyes showed conviction, but Danny could feel a wave of weariness pouring off the young man. "In my experience they won't listen to reason. Or maybe they just won't listen to me. I don't see why Clay will be any different." Danny was about to respond when his phone rang again.
"Not a good time Clark." Danny said curtly.
Clark's response was rather panicked. "There's a problem at the Planet and we could really use your help."
"I'm really not in a position to help." Danny answered. Lex raised an eyebrow at him.
"Look, can't you just run out on Lex. We really need you here." Clark demanded. It took all of Danny's energy not to snap back at Clark.
"I can't leave just at the moment. There's a problem and I'm stuck here till it rides out."
"Can't you send a duplicate then?" Clark inquired. Danny heard a loud bang in the background over the phone and sighed in his frustration.
"Not just now. Look, what's the problem, maybe I can help from here."
"A ghost showed up at the Planet and the gun you gave Chloe ran out of charge." Danny sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. He didn't want Lex to figure out what Clark and he were talking about, and from the inquisitive eyebrow Danny knew that he needed to be thinking up a damn good explanation.
"Which one?" Danny asked, not bothering to be specific.
"Introduced himself as the Box Ghost." Clark explained and Danny groaned. He shouldn't have let Boxy out of the Thermos so soon. The good thing was that Boxy wasn't that hard to beat, the bad thing was Clark had no idea how to do that, nor did he have any ecto-weaponry. Now Danny had to explain how to defeat a ghost without specifically saying how to in front of Lex.
"Okay, um, turn the heat up as high as you can. Just don't burn anything." Danny hoped that Clark would get the message.
"Heat, will that work?" Clark asked, and Danny answered in the affirmative. Ectoplasm doesn't react too well to heat and if Clark made it hot enough Boxy would fall unconscious. Although it would have to be hotter than the temperature of an oven in the room to work.
"I'll give it a shot, then what?" Danny sighed. It would be so much easier if Clark knew the first thing about ghosts. Danny knew that even if Boxy woke up he couldn't turn intangible to Clark.
"Just hold onto it. I'll be there soon to clean up." Danny said and shut off the phone. Lex's gaze was making Danny uncomfortable, and there was a bigger concern on hand than the Box Ghost.
"Clark was having trouble with an unfamiliar recipe in the kitchen." Danny said by way of explanation. It sorta worked in with what he'd said. "Now, what are the police going to do when they get here against an electricity wielding meteor infected man?" Danny asked, switching topics.
"I don't know, but we're sitting here defenceless. At least the police have weapons, and I don't want you to get hurt again. Something tells me Clark won't be happy if I let his cousin get killed." Lex replied. Danny simply rolled his eyes.
"I've got a better idea; feel free to watch if you want." Danny said and walked solidly out the door, ignoring Lex's loud protests. The electricity in his core was becoming distracting, and Danny needed a way out before he couldn't control it anymore. The door to the panic room closed behind him and he immediately attracted Clay's attention. However he strode across the room, planting himself on the opposite wall to the panic room.
Danny finally turned his attention to Clay. "Good evening Mr Fulgur." Danny said in a polite tone, as if he wasn't holding Lex and to a lesser extent him hostage. Clay was thrown off balance and blinked confusedly, which was exactly what Danny wanted.
"Good evening, Danny Fenton?" Clay almost asked. "You shouldn't have jumped in the way like that, I just wanted Lex." Clay explained.
"Just Danny. Why? Why do you want Lex?" Danny queried gently, Clay wasn't a ghost and could be rationalised with a lot more easily. At least Danny hoped so.
"Lex obsesses. First it was Clark, now it's you and Clark. He's always after the big secret, but he never notices when there are far more special people out there than you. Either of you. I've been given a gift, and he doesn't even care. He's just going to meddle in your life, he'll ruin it. He manipulates people and he doesn't even care. He spent years obsessing over your cousin, and now he's doing the same thing with you." Clay ranted.
"Clay, I don't think it's that." Danny said, fully aware that Lex was listening in. "Clark is genuine. And Lex saw a friend in him. That's what he obsesses over. I think he just wants a friend."
"You're wrong" Clay retorted, electricity crackling more wildly across his fingertips. "He looks for people with power, with gifts. He was so disappointed when Clark got burned by that laser grid. And then you came along, tackling an 'automaton' by yourself. Since the election all he's talked about is you and your cousin and how special you both are if he could just prove it. But all I see is a kid who thinks he's better than he really is."
"So you want to kill Lex because he's taken an interest in me?" Danny raised an eyebrow; he took a deep breath, rubbing his hand through his hair. "I've never liked attention, you know. But lately I'm getting more than I ever wanted. Just because you have a gift doesn't mean you should use it."
"I'm not going to listen to a responsibility speech from a little kid." Clay spat, the electricity in his hands shot out, singing the floor around Clay. Danny sighed.
"And I'm not gonna give one. But hurting Lex, killing him. What's that gonna do?" Danny was running out of time. He could feel the electricity in his core straining to get out. It was wearing his consciousness thin.
"It'll... it'll make him pay attention. I have power, I can use it. I want him to see that. I want to be the one that he cares about, not two powerless farm kids. It'll keep you safe."
Danny gestured to the destroyed sofa and the shattered desk "I dare say you've done that. But now what? You've attacked him, so now you're a threat to him. He's not gonna try to befriend you. So what happens next? If you keep going like this, the only way out is if one of you is dead. I'd rather that didn't happen. In my book nobody's safe if someone's dead." Danny said calmly. He wished he could risk using his own powers, he could calm Clay down more easily then. But for now he was stuck with using words.
"Clay, I'm fine on my own. I know what Lex has done to my cousin. Clark constantly reminds me of it. But I've always been one for second chances. If Lex is extending an olive branch to me then I'll take it." Danny knew full well that Lex could hear him. Hopefully this would also motivate Lex to tone down on the investigations if Danny was willing to show that he trusted him. "I reckon he at least deserves a friend. And if that involves a bit of risk, it's worth it. Nothing worthwhile is risk free. But it's more important to make friends who accept you for you."
"What makes you say that?" Clay asked. He seemed to be calming down at least.
"Don't know how much you know about me, or how much you overheard from Lex." Clay met Danny's eyes, the barest hint of shame in his brown eyes. The electricity on his fingertips had died down; he looked far more rational now than the incensed rage he had exuded when he first walked in.
"Growing up, my parents were ghost hunters. But nobody believed in ghosts. I was 'that special kid', the loser son of the town freaks. But I found two friends who cared about me. I didn't have to force myself on them; they liked me for me. That's all you can ask for in the world. You're special; you have a unique talent, one that nobody else can understand. You don't need to protect me, you don't need to prove yourself better than anyone, you just need find the people who make you better within yourself."
Clay was still for a minute, he seemed to be thinking over what Danny had said. It was then that the police arrived, but Clay made no move to attack them. He stood, watching Danny. "You know, maybe Lex is right about you." He said, looking curiously at Danny, who shifted awkwardly under his gaze. "You may not have some unique power, but you do have a unique view."
The police came up to Clay, handcuffing his wrists together behind his back. Clay seemed still to be thinking, and allowed himself to be escorted out of the room, still gazing curiously at Danny. Lex came out of the safe room and spent a few minutes talking to the sheriff, explaining the situation. Danny only hoped that Clay would be okay, he just needed a little push back in the right direction and he could actually use his power for the benefit of the world.
"Once again you've surprised me." Lex commented as he came to stand next to Danny. Danny himself was really struggling, while he had the presence of mind to calm Clay down it was difficult. His core was now demanding relief, and he still needed to get to Clark in the city.
"I don't know how Lex. Jazz was heavily into psychology, I just reused some of the things she said to me when I felt like an outcast." Danny shrugged. Lex invited Danny to stay for a little longer, but Danny said he really needed to head off to help Clark out. Lex kindly drove Danny back to the Farm's front gate, suggesting that they meet up again another day. Danny smiled at the idea, it had been fun up till the point that Clay came in. Danny watched Lex drive off into the distance. By now it had been forty minutes since Clark called about the Box Ghost, but there was one more thing he needed to do first.
Danny teleported high into the sky, far away from anyone or anything and released the electricity. A bright flash of white light crackled through the darkened sky, illuminating it to almost daylight. But Danny didn't care. All he knew was that the pain that had been crackling through him for over an hour and the pressure from the foreign power was finally gone. Danny took a deep calming breath to focus his mind, savouring the taste of the cold night air in his lungs. In another instant he was gone, vanished in a mist of swirling green.
Line Break
Clark stared blankly at the call ended icon on his phone. Danny had hung up on him twice in the same day. However the clipped tone with which he had spoken suggested that Danny was currently under a lot of pressure. For now Clark had more pressing concerns, like the ghost that was terrorising the filing room of the Daily Planet.
"So is he coming?" Chloe asked. Clark shook his head in the negative.
"What are we gonna do then. If we don't stop that ghost then my boss will quite happily play Henry the Eighth on my career." Chloe retorted, strain obvious in her voice.
Clark looked between his friend and the now closed door of the filing room "Danny suggested something that might help."
"Well go then" Chloe demanded, gesturing towards the door. Clark swung it open, steeling himself for the task ahead. The Box Ghost was now happily flinging around the last of the archive boxes, throwing the files within haphazardly on the floor. The linoleum tiles had been covered by hundreds of data sheets and hardcopy prints of the paper. It would take hours to sort it, even after the specter was gone.
Clark gazed towards the air and took a deep calming breath. He fixed his eyes on a point two feet in front of the Box Ghost, employing a tactic that Danny had suggested. Clark released the energy from his eyes, the burning power of the sun sending the temperature of the room soaring. With the energy focused on a tiny point in the air there was nothing to ignite, he was just heating the room with the radiant heat from his eyes. Soon enough it was hotter than any human could stand, and Clark was astounded as the specter gave a yawn. Still Clark focused, the temperature surging even higher. There was a soft thud as the Box Ghost fell to the floor, looking completely unconscious.
Clark was stunned that it had worked. He walked over towards the specter, shuffling the loose papers and boxes out of the way to clear a path. He clasped his hand firmly around his wrist and lifted the unconscious specter out of the room. They would have to tidy up in there before they left for the night, but for now the important thing was to keep the ghost contained and away from boxes. Clark carried the Box Ghost into the bull-pen, knowing that there were no boxes loose in the room.
"What did you do?" Chloe demanded as soon as she laid eyes on the unconscious specter.
"Danny suggested it. Looks like ghosts don't like heat." Clark replied. The box ghost was still unconscious, flopped gracelessly on the floor where Clark had put him.
"What now?" Chloe asked and Clark frowned looking down at the specter. For now he was not a problem, so Clark stepped away. If he showed any signs of waking Clark would be onto him as soon as possible. Really all they could do was wait and hope Danny showed up soon. Clark's eyes darkened. This was unfamiliar to him. He wasn't used to having to rely on anyone else to save the day. Usually it was easy, just knock out the bad guy and let the police handle it. But in this case he needed to rely on his cousin to get rid of the problem.
Clark voiced these thoughts. "I think we'll just have to wait until Danny gets here. I don't have anything to contain the ghost, so there's not much else we can do." Chloe frowned and took a seat at her computer. She typed on the computer for a few minutes, every so often looking over to the figure of the ghost, still unconscious on the floor.
"Is it just me, or is his aura getting brighter?" Chloe prompted after half an hour of waiting. Looking closer Clark saw that indeed the bright energy around the ghost was becoming more solid. In the cooler atmosphere of the bull-pen the ghost was starting to wake up. It took a full five minutes, but eventually his eyes flickered open revealing dim blue eyes. He blinked twice, seemingly disoriented then floated up, or rather he tried to. In an instant Clark was over to the ghost, his hand clamped firmly around his wrist.
"What did you do to the BOX GHOST!" The ghost screeched as soon as he was aware of the situation. For a moment he faded, almost vanishing from the visible spectrum before staring angrily at Clark "Why can I not escape you?" He demanded. Clark opened his mouth to answer, but was interrupted.
"Hey Boxy" Clark sighed relief at the sound of his cousin's voice. It was about time they dealt with this pest.
"YOU!" The Box Ghost screamed "What have you done? No human can hold on to me, the Box Ghost. Tell this foolish human to let me go."
"I'm not a foolish human." Clark snapped to the ghost "I'm..."
"Wearing a special compound specifically designed to nullify intangibility." Danny cut Clark off before he pulled out the Thermos. "Next time, stay in the Zone for longer. I really don't like playing tag with you Boxy." He coolly flipped off the cap and the Box Ghost vanished in a cone of bright blue light, an echoing "NOOO!" resonating after him.
Danny looked between Clark and Chloe; he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Sorry for being late, um, I hope he didn't cause too much trouble." Clark blinked at Danny.
"Okay, I'm a bit lost here; can you please explain what just happened?" Chloe interjected, expressing Clark's own feelings. Danny sighed before taking a seat on the desk opposite Chloe's. He didn't start talking until Chloe and Clark had taken a seat as well.
"Where do you want me to start?" Danny asked. He was quiet, shifting almost guiltily under their gaze.
"What kept you tied up at Lex's?" Clark demanding, expressing his disdain for the billionaire.
Danny sighed, staring at the ceiling for a minute. "One of his employees decided that he needed to protect me from Lex. He had a bit of an... electric personality, and wouldn't let either of us go. I couldn't just teleport out." Danny explained. Clark was tempted to try to talk some sense into Danny, after all being around Lex was not safe, but now wasn't the time. He would have to talk about that later.
"That's fair" Chloe acknowledged, saving Clark the trouble of responding. Danny half smiled, relaxing slightly. "What exactly happened to the Box Ghost?" She asked.
"I'm guessing Clark superheated the room you originally found Boxy in?" Danny prompted, and at Clark's curt nod he elaborated. "Ectoplasm, what ghosts are made of is a weird form of energy. If I use an electrical analogy, electricity is conducted better along a super-cooled metal, but if you add heat you increase the resistance. It's a bit like that for ectoplasm. For most ghosts as soon as the temperature goes above 350 degrees their ectoplasm will stop working properly, rendering them harmless, or unconscious. Of course there are some exceptions, and the higher powered ones can resist higher temperatures. But it worked for the Box Ghost." Danny finished with a shrug.
"As for why he couldn't escape... well, Clark and I found out that ghosts can't go intangible to Kryptonians. It has to do with the fact that Clark's molecules are too densely packed together for much else to pass through them." Clark just nodded, recalling the day all those months ago when Danny had first done that experiment. And more recently the fact that Clark was the only tangible thing that Danny could physically interact with.
"So you didn't give him a special compound to nullify intangibility?" Chloe queried almost sadly.
"Sorry Chloe, no. If I had access to a Ghost Hunter's lab I probably could make something, Dad used to have gloves for it." Danny broke off for it, smiling into the distance at some private memory. However he quickly shook his head and came back to the situation at hand. "Heh, Clark is just naturally immune to intangibility." Chloe pouted slightly, but Danny just laughed it off.
"Actually, that reminds me, the ecto-gun you gave me ran out of charge." Chloe said, handing the silver weapon over to Danny. He took a minute to look at it, blinking. He pulled open the metallic case to look at the mechanism within. It looked more complex than when Clark had last seen it. But Clark figured that was the components Danny had added to make it harmless to humans.
"Um, can I take it back till tomorrow, even if I charge it now I'll have to reconfigure the secondary mechanism." Danny asked awkwardly rubbing the back of his head. Chloe acquiesced, but there was something else that was bothering Clark.
"Okay, so now we've got the science down, can you please explain why you stopped me from telling the Ghost I was Kryptonian?" Clark asked sternly, but was so surprised at Danny's incredulous gaze that he shrunk back slightly.
"Clark, I know you don't know much about ghosts, but come on. I would have thought it was obvious. You keep your secret from humans; well ghosts are much bigger gossips; especially Box Ghost. You'd be safer if you published your secret in the Planet than telling him."
"Why?" Chloe interjected.
Danny shrugged, leaning backwards on the desk against his palms. "Skulker, Ghost Zone's greatest hunter; collector of the rare and unique. There's a couple more I'd worry about, but he's the one who comes out of the Zone most often. It doesn't get much rarer than the lone survivor of a dying planet." Clark frowned at that thought. Even subtly Danny had protected him from the ghosts. Clark wasn't sure how to feel, he was too unused to relying on anyone else to keep him safe. But he certainly didn't want to end up the victim of ghostly attention.
"If you want I'll come back later, help clean up. But for now I'm gonna do a scout around; see if I can find a portal to send Boxy back to the Zone." Danny said quickly. It was obvious that he was getting restless, and while Clark did still need to talk to him, that could wait for another day. Clark sent Danny off, fortunately avoiding much inquiry from Chloe. It was interesting to see how well Danny danced around the truth. In a swirl of green he was gone, and Clark and Chloe set about the arduous task of cleaning the filing room so all evidence of the Box Ghost's presence was gone.
It was nearing midnight when they finally finished. Chloe smiled as she shoved the last archive box away, all the files had thankfully been unharmed, and so her job was safe. Clark was just glad that he had been some help in apprehending the Box Ghost. He'd have to ask if he could keep a thermos, or if Danny could teach him how to take care of a ghost himself. The two were about to head home when there was a loud crash from upstairs.
Two men in solid white suits came down the stairs, the silver devices in their hands whirring loudly. Both were bulky, with identical bald heads and to Clark's mind looked like bad knock offs of the Men in Black. Their suits could have belonged to body-guards if it weren't for the fact they were stark white. Each wore a black tie and dark sunglasses, even inside the darkened midnight bull-pen of the Daily Planet. Neither of the white clad men seemed to have noticed either Chloe or Clark's presence, they were too focused on their machines.
"Ectoplasmic trace 2.4, deteriorating." The Caucasian man said to his dark companion.
"Catalogued" The darker man replied, punching numbers into a machine "residual energy wavelength compatible with Entity 2.0013." He commented.
"Secondary trace 8.7, deteriorating." The Caucasian said again, blinking at his machine. He sounded less certain now; despite the bravado Clark caught a hint of fear in his voice. The man's companion looked up.
"Catalogued, residual energy... compatible with entity 7.0046, updating data." The man responded uncertainly. He looked to his Caucasian companion, shoulders betraying his uncertainty.
"Um, excuse me, but who are you?" Chloe demanded, finally drawing the attention of the white suited men from their machines.
"Operatives O and K of the GIW" The pale one announced proudly. Clark frowned, vaguely recalling that Danny had mentioned the GIW. "Investigators and Eliminators of the ectoplasmic threat. You have recently had two ectoplasmic beings on the premises."
"You're ghost hunters." Chloe stated plainly, meeting the two men firmly in the eyes.
"We eliminate ectoplasmic threats. Ectoplasmic beings are dangerous miss. Our objective is to eradicate the danger." Chloe shook her head and Clark felt inclined to agree with her. They would have been helpful four hours ago, but now...
"What are entity 2.0013 and entity 7.0046?" Clark asked the pair and ignoring his mounting concern that however Danny had mentioned the GIW it wasn't good.
"They are two ectoplasmic malefactors. 2.0013 identifies itself as the Box Ghost. While not powerful it does cause significant damage when left to itself. 7.0046, or 8.0046 as it will now be known labels itself as Phantom. It has caused billions of dollars of damage and must be eliminated on sight."
"So you have a ghost containment device?" Chloe asked. The two GIW agents raised their eyebrows in something akin to laughter.
"Young Lady, the Government does not care to contain an entity like Phantom." The African-American replied patronisingly.
"Correct, we are equipped with restraining devices, to move the entity to a locality where it would be safe to examine and destroy." The Caucasian emphasised superiorly. Clark blinked, and he saw Chloe's eyes widen in horror.
"You wouldn't release him back into the Ghost Zone?" Clark demanded.
"That would be a negative." The Caucasian barked "The government has no access to the Ghost Zone; the imperative is to eliminate the threat permanently. Have you seen an ectoplasmic entity here recently?"
"No, sorry" Clark replied immediately. "We've been working here all night, but neither of us have seen anything." Thankfully Chloe caught on. Trapping a ghost in a thermos was much better than permanently destroying it. And the thought of that fate for his cousin made Clark feel ill. Why had Danny never mentioned the severity of the situation to him? Even Chloe who knew them as two separate people saw Phantom as a person. These agents didn't even consider ghosts as people. Clark inwardly cringed. If anyone found out about him is that what he'd be? Just an "it"? A lesser being? How did Danny even put up with being treated like that?
"Trail's gone cold." The African American commented to his partner. "Report to HQ to catalogue new data?"
"Affirmative. Remember you two; the government is here to protect you. If you see an ectoplasmic entity, report it to us. We're here to keep you safe." The Caucasian said. It would almost be comforting if Clark hadn't heard the sadistic indifference when the agents were talking about experimenting and destroying ghosts. Clark was silent as he watched the two agents disappear into the night.
"God bless America?" Chloe whispered questioningly. "I never... how can the government even support that?" Chloe demanded, anger lacing her voice. Clark didn't know what to think. Earlier tonight he had been wishing for some human policing body for the ghosts, but having seen it he now wished there wasn't. At least Danny treated ghosts humanely; he sent them home safely, if a little worse for wear. But if the Government ever caught a ghost, if they ever caught Phantom...
"He'd never come back." Clark murmured, wide eyed at his own realisation.
"What was that?" Chloe asked. Clark gulped at the full ramifications of his epiphany.
"If those men ever caught Phantom, he'd never come back. He doesn't have rights or any kind of protection. If they caught him, they'd destroy him. No questions asked." Clark's mind was whirling. "But it's more than that. They've seen Phantom do good things. He saved a town from being lost in another dimension. If he's on the top of their hit list, what does that mean for anyone else?"
Chloe met him firmly in the eyes. A glimmer of understanding washed through her soft green eyes and she half smiled at him. "You mean, what does it mean for you?" Clark nodded; all his life one of his biggest concerns had been discovery. Now he was confronted with a government officiated path for what could happen if he ever was. "I don't think they could treat you the same. You are a full citizen, even if they did find you you'd be safe for that reason alone, but more than that, your mom, me, Danny, none of us would ever let anything happen to you. We'd keep you safe."
Clark nodded, temporarily mollified. One thing was for certain though; between his troubles with the ghosts, starting a friendship with Lex, and his new concerns with the GIW, Clark really needed to have a deep conversation with Danny. Things were getting to the point where maybe even the idea of Danny Phantom couldn't save the day, Clark wondered if he was ready to step up and step in before Danny buried himself too deeply for anyone to save him.
AN: This chapter hated me. But anyway, now Clark knows about the GIW, is interested in letting Danny show him how to fight ghosts and also has found out that Lex isn't necessarily the only threat to his secret.
Danny is being friendly with Lex, will he be Lex's redemption, or will Lex destroy another friendship?
Thanks to everyone who is reviewing, I love hearing from you guys and seeing what you guys think.
'Till next time
Bluerose