Chapter 17
Crimson
Disclaimer: I own neither Danny Phantom nor Smallville
Chloe squeezed her eyes tightly closed as the sunlight fell through the split curtains to fall across her face. She blinked awake, staring at the pale white ceiling above her she realised she was not in her bed in her dorm at school, nor was she at the Talon at Lois'. She rolled over, seeing Lois sleeping on a blow-up bed beside her. It took a minute for her to realise that she was at the Kent Farm. More specifically she was in Danny's bedroom at the Kent Farm. It was fairly uncluttered; the only thing that even told Chloe that this was Danny's room was his sketchbook, carefully placed on the desk. She pulled herself out of the bed; carefully stepping around Lois's sleeping form and made her way downstairs.
What she saw surprised her; on the sofa was a sleeping Danny Fenton, the red blanket that had covered him had slipped off half way, revealing a lightly toned chest. He looked innocent, sleeping peacefully with the gentlest of smiles on his lips. It was curious to see him like this, considering that the last time she had seen him in this state of undress he had thick bandages wrapped around his torso. Now there was no sign of it, so it was probably a good thing he hadn't been taken to the hospital. More than that, he actually looked a bit taller. When Chloe had first met Danny he could have passed as a young fifteen year old rather than sixteen. Now he looked fully sixteen, maybe pushing seventeen.
Shaking her head to clear away those thoughts Chloe took a step forward, moving towards the kitchen. Unfortunately one of the floorboards creaked ever so slightly. It was barely audible, but Danny was up like a shot. He fell off the sofa and stood up blinking in the sunlight. There was no doubt about it; he was taller, standing only just over six feet tall. Not quite as tall as Clark, but still. With his bright blue eyes it was almost possible to think they were related, except for the fact that Chloe knew that they physically couldn't be.
"Um, hey Chloe." Danny said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly and blinking sleep out of his eyes.
"Hey yourself." Chloe replied lightly. The storm from the previous evening had blown out during the night, and the sunlight seemed brighter than it had in a long time. Danny stood in the living room still looking dazed. His hair was rumpled from sleep, long black strands falling gently over his cerulean eyes. Chloe caught sight of the necklace that sat around his neck. She had never really seen it before, but now that she wasn't completely panicked she noticed the three pendants that swung loosely from the chain. One was a red jewelled ring; probably not red kryptonite like their class rings had been, and sitting next to it was a tiny silver sword. The third pendant struck Chloe as unusual; it was the well recognised DP symbol. Chloe hadn't expected Danny to buy into that trend since he actually knew Phantom, but somehow it suited him to wear the symbol.
As he blinked the sleep out of his eyes Chloe couldn't help but think... well, she didn't know what to think. Danny was a paradox, half the time he seemed ridiculously clumsy, but others he was the epitome of grace. He was able to perfectly conceal his meteor power, and he'd never shown any signs of the mental instability that usually came with it. Sometimes he seemed heavily burdened, as if a great weight rested on his shoulders, but other times he was so carefree that he seemed almost childish.
Danny looked down on himself and seemed to realise his state of undress. He made a small noise, halfway between a grunt and a whimper and teleported away. A moment later he was back, a long navy t-shirt covering his figure. The bagginess of the fabric completely concealed the finely toned muscles he sported. Danny waved lightly at her before moving into the kitchen. Within minutes Chloe had a steaming cup of coffee in front of her as she sat at the table.
"Feeling better?" Danny asked as he cracked several eggs into the mixing bowl he had pulled out. Chloe frowned slightly. She wasn't sure what to think. She couldn't really remember what Gretchen had done while she was in control of her body; the last thing she remembered was touching the bracelet back in the bathroom at the Talon, and then... looking down at the corpse of that orderly from the hospital, with Gretchen's spirit standing over her. She shivered, but looking over at Danny she couldn't help but feel safe and protected, like nothing could hurt her.
"I'll be alright, I think we all need to talk though." Chloe replied. Danny nodded and sent her a gentle smile.
"I figured that." Danny said, stirring the batter in the bowl. It looked like Danny was making pancakes for breakfast. "But the important thing is you're okay. No nausea, headache, dizziness, anything like that?" Danny pressed with a look of genuine concern in his eye.
"No, I'm fine. Just a little torn up, but I guess that's to be expected." Chloe answered with a shrug as she took another sip of coffee. "Why do you ask?" Danny sent her a strange look before shrugging himself, flicking the stovetop on and pulling out a frypan.
"It can happen after a ghost overshadows someone if they did it badly. Gretchen... what she did wasn't the same; it was closer to... possession. But I wanted to make sure." Danny said softly as he flipped a pancake. "I'm just glad you're alright." Chloe nodded, allowing a comfortable silence to develop as Danny cooked breakfast. The kitchen smelled warm and inviting, but that didn't stop the thoughts that were plaguing her mind. Sure, she had been – possessed? That's what Danny had just called it – but there were some times where she'd been really worried that she was going mad.
That scared her. She didn't want to end up in some mental institution; she didn't want to be like her mom. But of all people that Gretchen could have chosen, why was it Chloe? Why was it that she had been the only one who could see her? Why... but that wasn't true.
"You saw her too." Chloe whispered, and Danny immediately spun around, eyes wide. "How could you see her? No one else could." Chloe asked looking up into his big blue eyes. Danny visibly gulped, and Chloe wondered what was going through his head.
"I don't exactly know." He answered slowly. "It could have to do with how much time I've spent around ghosts. Or it could be that she chose a specific... wavelength to be visible to." Danny shrugged. "Ghosts can do that. There's one ghost, Youngblood who can only be seen by children, so..."
"So it's not the first time you've seen something like this happen? You don't think I'm..."
"No" Danny answered firmly, cutting her off before Chloe could utter what she was afraid to say. "You're not. The first time I saw a ghost no one else could, I thought I was going crazy. My sister arranged a family camping trip, but the ghost followed us. The ghost, Youngblood, can only be seen by children, well and other ghosts. In the end I was able to... convince Jazz to look at things from a younger point of view, and she saw him too. Point is, when ghosts and spirits are concerned, the normal rules tend to go out the window. I know for a fact that Phantom can choose exactly who he wants to be invisible to." Danny had a strange smile on his face, and Chloe could see that he was lost in memories.
"He played a prank on you, didn't he?" Chloe asked, happy for a distraction.
"No, well, sort of." Danny answered, adding another pancake to the growing stack on the table. "You see, sometimes when Phantom found out about a new power he'd go ask Sam, Tuck and I for help. When he figured that one out he spent a whole day where Sam and Tuck were the only ones who could see him. It was kinda funny." Danny chuckled at the memory.
The two were interrupted by a sleepy Lois Lane coming down the stairs, followed by a slightly confused Martha Kent.
"I didn't know we were expecting visitors." Martha commented, looking piercingly at Danny who shrugged.
"It was necessary." Danny replied, putting five plates around on the table and refilling the coffee plunger.
"Sorry for the intrusion Mrs Kent." Lois said humbly. "We just needed a place to regroup, and Clark offered." Martha smiled at that, but looked upstairs. Clark had always been hard to wake up in the mornings; at school he had often been late because of it. It seemed that some things never changed. Martha asked Danny to go upstairs to retrieve his cousin, which gave Chloe an opportunity to ask Martha something she'd been meaning to since she'd seen Danny wake up that morning.
"How old exactly is Danny?" Chloe asked quietly. Lois perked up, setting her coffee down and Looking over at Martha.
Martha looked confused for a moment before answering "He'll be seventeen in June. Why do you ask?"
"This morning when I came downstairs I accidentally woke him up, and I realised he's grown a lot since he came here. When we first met him he looked barely fifteen, and now all of a sudden he looks seventeen."
"I noticed that." Lois interjected "He's shot up like a rocket. What are you feeding those boy's Mrs K?" she joked. There was a loud thump and a groan from upstairs and the light sound of Danny's laughter before the two boys came back down the stairs. Clark was rumpling his hair as he slowly woke himself up. Clark glared at Danny as he walked past, but smiled at Chloe and Lois when he saw them in the kitchen. He gave his mom a one armed hug as he took a seat at the table.
"Morning Smallville" Lois teased "Glad to see that you're still the last up around here." Chloe smiled as Clark rolled his eyes. With everyone at the table there was a silent consensus to dig in. Chloe was surprised at how nice her pancakes tasted. They were sweet and soft, buttery with the slightest hint of cinnamon. She hadn't expected Danny to be able to cook, but here was yet another example of how surprising he could be. The conversation was light; nobody wanted to voice their concerns about last night while Martha was present.
During the meal Chloe noticed Lois watching her from the corner of her eyes. Chloe's mind flicked back to the last few days, and the truth was that she hadn't been acting like her usual self. She wanted to believe Danny, that there was nothing wrong with her. But part of her was terrified that she was going to end up in a mental institution like her mom.
With that thought she put her fork down, no longer hungry. She noticed that Danny seemed to have finished too, having eaten even less than her and was just patiently waiting for everyone else to finish up. Eventually Martha stood up. While it was a Sunday she had a shift at the Talon and she said she had some papers she wanted to read over before she went on the job. Lois decided to hitch a ride with Martha seeing that she had no mode of transport available.
Chloe followed Clark into the lounge room. With the sun out it seemed a lot warmer, and the room felt welcoming. Chloe took a seat, absently pulling the red blanket Danny had slept under around her.
"You all right?" Clark asked as he took the seat next to her on the sofa. He absently rested his hands in his lap, looking across to Chloe.
"I'll be fine as soon as I get back to the Planet" Chloe answered, prompting a light bout of laughter from the two boys. No matter what happened Chloe would always be a reporter at heart.
"I'm just glad you're not in the hospital." Clark said softly after a minute.
"Yeah, or wearing a straight jacket at Belle Reve" Chloe joked, still trying to squash her own fear.
Clark put his hand on her shoulder. "I'd never let that happen." He reassured. Chloe frowned, something about that wasn't entirely comforting.
"You know I had a couple of moments there when I really thought I was losing my mind. I mean, I understand that Gretchen's spirit was released and all that, but why did she choose me? Why was I the one who could see her?"
"Maybe because you care more about people than anyone else I know." Clark answered, and Chloe rolled her eyes.
"Or maybe there really is something wrong with me. Like my mother." Chloe replied lightly. Inside though she was scared, she didn't want to end up like that. Ever.
"What is wrong with your mother exactly?" Danny asked softly. Chloe frowned; she had never told anyone but Clark about her mom. Not even Lois knew. But somehow she felt like she could trust Danny too, like he would understand and keep her safe despite it.
"I don't know." Chloe shrugged "I mean, she left when I was twelve, so that was before... I don't know. All I know is that she's... she's not all there."
"But you do know where she is?" Clark asked.
Chloe nodded. "Yeah"
"Why haven't you gone to see her?" Clark queried softly.
Chloe took a deep breath looking between the two boys before looking into the empty fireplace. "Well, because... because I'm afraid."Chloe looked up, her eyes flicking between Clark and Danny. "I'm afraid that I'll look into her eyes and see myself."
"What if you wait too long and you never get the chance to look into her eyes again?" Clark asked. "She's your mother. She always will be. It's not going to change no matter what." Chloe nodded, turning away from the two blue eyed boys. Clark was right, maybe it was time she went to visit her mom.
Line Break
Danny frowned as the second period bell rang. He had been run late to school because the Corn Ghost decided that it would be fun to play around in the cornfields after the rain. That would have been fine if he hadn't decided that 'playing around' involved trashing the tractors of every single farmer within a ten mile radius by making the corn grow through the engine. Now he was running late, and had already missed one class for the day. He was trying hard not to disappoint the teachers after they had let him skip ahead. Plus there was an element of the fact that he was living with and related to Clark that put a large amount of pressure on.
He quickly shut the locker door, moving through the busy hallways. As usual he registered a few meteor infected people. But none of them were malicious, and Danny didn't feel the need to interrupt their life if they could handle their power by themself. If they started hurting someone then he'd happily step in, but until that point it was unnecessary. He was the last person to prosecute someone just because they'd been cursed to be different from everyone else.
Danny slid into his English Literature class, taking his usual seat at the back of the room. Unfortunately that lesson was being constantly interrupted by the constant giggling of three girls in the front row. They were sort of like the Paulina and Star of Smallville High's senior year, with a third girl added in just for good measure.
"He's so cute though" the blonde whispered loudly enough for only Danny to hear. The three of them had been passing notes all lesson, but only now had any of them actually said anything aloud.
"It's your choice Rosie," the brunette whispered back. Danny sighed, looking back over to the teacher as he continued lecturing, pointedly ignoring the three noisy girls in the front row. Danny kept taking notes; it was easier to pay attention to him than Mr Lancer had been back in Casper High. The bell rang, and Danny packed up his books, noticing the three shadows that surrounded him as he packed his bag.
"Hey, Danny, isn't it?" Danny heard the blonde girl, Rosaline asked as she tapped him on the shoulder. Danny looked up and was met with a pair of chocolate brown eyes. His eyes lingered for a moment on her face before he looked away, sliding his notebook away and slinging his backpack over his shoulder.
"Yeah," he acknowledged "Rosaline, right, Lily and Louise?" he indicated to the two other girls behind him. Danny didn't know what they wanted with him. While the seniors didn't particularly care about the juniors, Jay was on the football team and had made his open dislike of Danny apparent to the whole school. Adding that to the annoyance from Danny being skipped ahead, most of his senior peers tended to ignore him. He was running late for his next class, so he made to move to the door, but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.
Danny turned to face the girl, "I'm sorry, Rosaline" Danny said, shifting the weight on his back "but I'm running late for class." Danny began to pull away, but his eyes caught on the red bracelet fastened around her wrist. The silver settings held stones that glittered almost like rubies. Danny felt an inexplicable pull, and felt his consciousness fade away in a swirl of blackness.
Danny blinked, realising that suddenly he was out in the hallway and he had no idea how he got there. Something flickered at the back of his mind, and he dimly felt compelled to meet Rosaline after school. He wondered where that thought came from, but made his way on to his third period chemistry class regardless. He arrived just on time, and was able to make his way through the lab fairly easily. His mind was on the blackout. He knew he'd experienced something like that before, but he couldn't quite place where.
The rest of the day passed in a blur, Danny had to attend to four minor ghosts during the day, but they were dealt with easily, and the Thermos wasn't even at half capacity. The final bell for the day rang, and Danny made his way out the front doors to wait for Rosaline. He didn't know why he was waiting, only that he had to.
"Hey" She said, she was on her own. Her two friends seemed to have gone off on their own, leaving Danny and Rosaline by themselves.
"Hi" Danny replied cautiously. Now that he was here he had no idea why he was. It wasn't as if he particularly liked Rosaline. She was a human year older than him, and she was so much like Star from his old school it was painful. He didn't particularly want to be dealing with an A-List airhead anymore. Yet for some reason which he couldn't figure out, he was here.
"So I was thinking" Rosaline said, twirling a strand of blonde hair around her finger. Danny's eyes were once more drawn to the bracelet, and he started to feel his concentration wane into dim black fuzziness. "Maybe we could hang out at the Talon. I mean you never hang out with anybody..." Rosaline's voice vanished into meaningless waffle as Danny lost track of what she was saying. His eyes were drawn to the ruby coloured crystals on her bracelet and once more his mind disappeared into blackness.
Line Break
Clark was working in the barn, tuning up the engine on his dad's old motorbike. The afternoon sun was lighting up the barn and slowly erasing all traces of the rainstorm of the night before. Clark had a fair bit on his mind. It was obvious that both Chloe and Danny were still shaken up from Saturday night. Chloe was worried about her own mental health still, and Clark hoped nothing was wrong. She had eventually gone to the hospital psychiatrist and he had given her a clean bill of mental health, but she still worried. Danny on the other hand was worried for not being able to do anything, instead watching a man die in front of him.
But the thing pressing most on Clark's mind was Lana. She had gone to Lex to find a solution, rather than trying to resolve it with Clark. He knew that he had been pushing Lana away to protect his secret, but he had not thought she'd go so far as deferring to Lex. That barb hurt, and it made Clark's heart squirm with guilt. He had convinced himself that Lana was safest not knowing his secret, but things just got harder between them.
"Hey" Clark heard Lana's voice from behind him. He acknowledged her, but didn't look up. He still wasn't quite ready to face her. "Chloe told me what happened" Lana commented.
"Yeah, how's she holding up?" Clark asked, trying to keep the hurt from his voice.
Lana answered, and Clark could almost hear the dismissive shrug in her voice. "She's okay, considering that she was possessed by a demonic spirit and almost chopped up by a psychotic orderly." Clark turned around, steeling himself to ask what he needed to ask her.
"Why didn't you tell me you went to Lex?"
"Why didn't you tell me you broke Chloe out of the psych ward?" Lana shot back; her usually vibrant brown eyes were cold. Clark looked away guiltily. It had been ultimately his decision to break Chloe out. Sure Danny had helped, but Clark was the one who thought of keeping her out of the hospital, rather than just away from Lex.
"We should have come together on this, Clark." Lana said and sad regret swirled through her eyes as she took a step towards him. "That's what couples do when these things happen. They turn to each other."
Clark looked up the roof; shaking his head "Why didn't we?" he asked the air, knowing the answer already. He had pushed her too far, and he couldn't bear to admit to the consequences.
"I love you" Lana stated "I love you with all of my heart." Her voice cracked on the last word, making Clark's heart twinge with guilt. "But... I don't know how to talk to you anymore." She admitted, looking away.
There was an uncomfortably long silence, and Clark felt Lana's eyes searching to find his, but he couldn't meet her eyes. He realised that he was only hurting her, but there was nothing he could do. He wasn't ready to lose her, but he couldn't stand to see the pain in her eyes.
"I guess we all have our secrets." Lana said darkly, leaving him standing alone in the barn. It hurt to watch her walk away, knowing that she deserved more. But he couldn't tell her the truth. Surely it was better to keep her in the dark and safe rather than risk watching her die again because of what he knew. He sighed heavily, deciding to give up on the motorbike for now. He wiped the oil off the tools, chucking the rag off to the side when he was done. Clark made his way back to the house in silence, still pondering the situation with Lana.
When he got into the house he was shocked to see Danny lip-locked on the sofa with a girl he dimly recognised from the cheer squad from the year below him at Smallville High. She'd come up to him after a couple of games, hoping to score a date, but he had always been enamoured with Lana, even when she was dating another man the previous year. Clark was surprised, Danny had never mentioned that he was dating; he'd never even brought any of his friends from school over. Clark had assumed that he hadn't made any, but the evidence to the contrary was sitting on the sofa in a very tight pair of denim jeans and a rather skimpy lime green top.
Clark coughed lightly, alerting the two teens to his presence. Danny was still only sixteen, and while they may not be related by blood Clark felt obliged in his capacity as cousin-come-brother to look out for the halfa's best interests. The two broke away quickly, the blonde girl looking guiltily up at Clark, but Danny's back was still to him.
"Danny, can I speak with you for a moment?" Clark asked, but Danny gave no acknowledgement. The girl looked between the two, flattening her shirt back down.
"Go talk to Clark" she commanded "But don't be too long, you still owe me a kiss." Her voice was light and flirtatious, but it held a level of command that Clark was unfamiliar with. Danny turned around and Clark gasped. His eyes were a deep shade of crimson.
"I know." The girl said, she hadn't even seen fit to identify herself. "Aren't his eyes just so exotic? He won't tell me where he found those contacts, but..." she trailed off, twirling her hair.
Clark pulled Danny out of the room, away from the girl. His red eyes were unnerving. Clark was used to Danny's eyes changing colour when he was human. Occasionally they'd flash silver with green and blue flecks, and if he ever got really angry they'd turn a shade of bright green. But red was unfamiliar, and it looked almost sinister on his face. Clark was just glad that that girl had assumed they were contacts.
"Danny, who is she?" Clark asked. Danny's response was slow, almost emotionless; his crimson eyes unblinking.
"Rosaline." Danny answered simply. At least Clark had a name.
"And where did you meet her?" Clark pressed, intimidated by the vacant look in his cousin's red eyes.
"At school." Danny replied, his voice still emotionless. For a moment Clark thought he saw a flicker of... something, but it could easily have been a trick of the light. It was strange to see Danny so vacant, and Clark didn't like it. His cousin was a very emotive person, it didn't matter what mask he had on, there was always something there, but now he may as well have been a blank slate for all the emotion he was showing.
"Danny, come back." Clark heard Rosaline call, and immediately Danny's red eyes flared a brighter shade of crimson. He quickly walked into the lounge room, standing aimlessly in the archway as he looked at Rosaline. Clark quickly surveyed the girl. There was no doubt she was pretty, brown eyes blinking from thick black lashes, and long wavy blonde hair. Her t-shirt actually sported a small 'DP' symbol, but Clark was not interested in that bit of irony. Instead he watched as Rosaline bade Danny to sit back down and hug her, and Danny obediently followed her directions. He seemed to be doing everything she said unquestioningly. Clark frowned, something definitely wasn't right. His cousin was never this submissive.
Rosaline tugged her hand through her hair once more, and Clark noticed the red bracelet on her wrist. The way it sparkled was almost copied in Danny's eyes, but Clark put aside that ludicrous notion. After all, who ever heard of red stones forcing anyone to do something, let alone someone as strong willed as Danny. Clark excused himself, hoping that Danny would be okay without Clark there to help and planning on meeting Chloe at the Daily Planet.
Clark raced off, something about this felt familiar, and Clark struggled to remind himself where he had seen a girl making a guy answer to her every whim. He shook his head as he sped across the county line. Maybe Chloe would know, and perhaps a mystery like this was just the thing to get her mind off the events of the last few days.
Line Break
Chloe sat at her computer, quietly reflecting on the events of that morning. She had gone to the Forest Glen Sanatorium, where her mother was being treated. The institution was beautifully appointed with large gardens and bright open windows. It was the most surreal thing, and the climb up the wooden staircase to her mom's floor had been beyond intimidating. But she had done it. For the first time in over six years she had gone to see her mom.
It was sad; her mom had been standing in the window, the sun gently touching her long brown hair. Chloe had gone up to her, partially overjoyed to see her mom, partially terrified of her condition, of seeing her own possible fate. But when she'd seen her mom, actually seen her and hugged her, it was... both wonderful and saddening. Her mom hadn't really recognised her, but had responded to Chloe's tight embrace. Chloe had promised herself that she would visit more regularly; hopefully spending some time with her mom would help both of them.
Chloe stared blankly at the computer screen. It was good to be back at work, and the bustle of the Planet bull-pen made her feel strangely comforted. She wasn't even that distressed that someone else had gotten to write the article about the 'suicide' of Michael Westmore the hospital orderly. The normality of the paper helped wash away her doubts from the last few days. Chloe happily dove into research, looking for a new story to work on.
At half past four she took a break, walking across the street to her favourite coffee shop to buy a cappuccino. When she was on the way back to the Planet she bumped into a worried looking Clark Kent.
"Hey Chloe" Clark said as he held the door open for her. He tried to smile, but the worry was still evident in his face.
"What's up?" Chloe asked, leading the way down to her desk. Clark took a seat next to her, his hands laying anxiously in his lap.
"Danny." Clark answered, and Chloe creased her brow. Clark hadn't been this worried when Danny had a gaping three inch wound in his stomach, so Chloe was concerned to find out what was wrong with Danny to get Clark as worried as he sounded. Chloe took a seat at her desk, spinning the chair around to face Clark.
"Okay, spill." She directed.
Clark gulped once, clearly looking for a place to start. "Do you remember last year when those cheerleaders spiked the water cooler with the kryptonite hormone, um, phenyl... something"
"Phenylethylamine?" Chloe prompted remembering that incident. It hadn't been one of her better moments. The cheerleaders last year were surprisingly good at chemistry, and had discovered a kryptonite infused hormone that, if consumed, made the infected only have eyes for one person. It was like a twisted version of love-sickness. The infected person would put everything aside to answer to the whims of that one person, becoming completely devoted to them. Chloe herself had fallen prey to it, and had fallen head over heels in love with Clark. It had been ridiculously embarrassing trying to walk that one off.
"Yeah, that, and the girls were able to manipulate those footballers by fooling them into thinking they'd fallen in love." Clark continued, confirming that they were thinking of the same thing.
"You think that Danny's been drinking that?" Chloe asked worriedly. Chloe had done some pretty weird things while she was on the stuff, and she didn't want to know what Danny would do. After all Danny was meteor infected and had a secret to keep.
"I'm not sure." Clark said, leaning in over himself. "It's weird. The guys last year were driven by..." Clark trailed off awkwardly. Chloe rolled her eyes at Clark. He always got awkward in these sorts of conversations.
"They were driven by lust." Chloe pressed.
"Right, but... Danny wasn't. He seemed... emotionless if anything. Do you think they could have changed the hormone?" Clark asked, looking up at Chloe.
Chloe spun around on her chair, pulling up the digital files from her heavily encrypted hard drive. Anything with the key words meteor rock in it were buried so deeply that only she could find them. She pulled up the file on the hormone phenylethylamine. It was a naturally occurring hormone, in the same family as adrenaline, however when it was infused with kryptonite it became more like a love potion than anything else.
"I don't think that's the solution. I mean, kryptonite is unpredictable, but unless they're working with a different hormone altogether it should work the same." Chloe said uncertainly, looking between the screen and her blue-eyed friend. Cark frowned unhappily.
"Was there anything else different about Danny?" Chloe asked, maybe she could find something else.
"He had red eyes. Not that that helps much." Clark answered.
"I'll run a search. In the meantime, see if you can break Danny out of it. Last year didn't you cure the footballers by blasting them with steam?" Chloe suggested. Clark agreed it was worth a shot, and was gone in a blur and a blast of wind. Chloe shook her head, typing the key words "red irises eyes" into her computer. There were 52 million hits. This was going to take a long time.
Line Break
Lionel Luthor sat in his office on the top floor of LuthorCorp. His mind was whirring; he knew that Martha Kent had been offered the state senate seat. He had even gone so far as to encourage her into taking it, just for the opportunity to see her again. He would never admit it, but he had feelings towards the widowed woman, and had felt this way for many years. But he knew that what she needed most at the moment was a friend, someone her own age not weighed down by the troubles of youth. So he could put his feelings aside, for the moment. But that did not stop him from offering his open support to her, and he would continue to do so.
Another concern was the young Clark Kent. Lionel knew that there was an enigma about the boy, and that it was somehow connected to the strange blank periods he had been experiencing. What was more concerning was Lex's unyielding interest in the young man. Lex had come up with many distractions, but his curiosity would never let him rest until he knew the full truth. Lex was like his father in that way, but he lacked subtlety. Lionel worried that Lex would find out Clark's secret and wreak havoc on the world with the knowledge.
The only puzzle piece that Lionel did not understand was the young Daniel Fenton. Despite the adversarial relationship between Lex and Clark the young boy had struck up a friendship with Lex. It was strange, since Lex seemed to have a similar interest in Daniel to what he did with Clark. Daniel seemed to ignore it, if he noticed it at all. But at the same time Daniel was able to bring out some of Lex's more pleasant qualities. Lex was much less ascorbic towards his father after he'd spent time with the young raven haired boy. Lionel had not formally spent time with Daniel, but his observations suggested that there was little special about Daniel Fenton. He seemed a plain boy, rather clumsy. He had a half decent mind, but Lionel saw nothing that would warrant such interest from his son.
However that was not his concern for today. Today he was working with a particular branch of the government that could possibly help ensure the safety of his beloved Martha. After a meeting with the eccentric Vladimir Masters, Lionel had looked into this branch, pulling a few strings along the way. The Guys in White were a well hidden department, an offshoot from the research department at Area 51. Their main focus was on 'ectoplasmic beings', or 'ghosts' as the public referred to them.
Masters had come to him earlier in the week, and they had had a civilised meeting. He was well aware that Masters had openly supported his son's senate candidacy, an endeavour which Lionel had not been happy with. However many of the policies that Lex had promoted would have been good for the business sector, so it was not unreasonable for Masters to express an interest in those policies. Luthor family politics were kept behind closed doors for a reason. Yet the discussion Masters and Lionel had shared was professional, he was expressing a bid for one of LuthorCorp's flailing subsidiaries. Truly Lionel was happy to be rid of the poorly performing company. However Masters had mentioned in passing the GIW, and for some reason the idea had stuck.
So Lionel had investigated the department on his own, finding that perhaps they could be beneficial in protecting Martha. While Lionel refused to give in to public hype, there was no doubt that there had been a surge in 'paranormal' and 'unexplainable' activity in Smallville ever since the first meteor shower. Lionel was pulling strings to generate a policy that would hopefully keep Martha safe from any 'ectoplasmic being' who had ill intent towards her.
He was hoping that by the end of the day the GIW would be actively protecting all senate members, including Martha. That would include a security check and a thorough investigation of the house and surrounding regions for traces of ectoplasmic activity. There had been regular reports of 'ghosts' in the Smallville Ledger, so Lionel's concerns were entirely valid. Especially when one considered the heavy toll that a year and a half of constant 'ghost attacks' had taken on the small town of Amity Park, just one state across.
That in itself was an interesting coincidence, not that Lionel put much stock in coincidence. Young Daniel Fenton was the son of two prominent 'Ghost Hunters', and had lived in Amity Park. It was interesting that the ghosts now seemed to be appearing in Smallville so soon after Daniel had gone to live there. However there was little to suggest a direct connection, after all Daniel Fenton was either a phenomenal actor, far superior to his cousin, or there was nothing special about him. Lionel was inclined toward the latter, as it was unlikely that two boys in the same family could sit on large secrets. No, it was Clark who was truly special, and Daniel was simply involved now in a secret that was far bigger than him.
There was a knock on the door and a white suited man was escorted in. Lionel stood up from his desk, holding a hand out for the bulky man to shake. "Agent Gamma of the Guys in White. We have much to discuss." The man said with a strangely confident smile. Lionel nodded. This would be simple, and he was going to ensure the safety of not only Martha, but the entire Kent family as well.
Line Break
Clark got back to the farm early in the evening. There was no sign of Danny there, or the girl. Clark couldn't hear anything in the large house, and he couldn't hear anything out in the fields either. Clark frowned, he had no idea how to snap Danny out of whatever it was and he couldn't even try if Danny wasn't there. He tried to call, but after six rings it went to message bank. On the third consecutive call he got an answer.
"Clark" Danny's voice was cold and emotionless.
"Danny, where are you?" Clark asked.
"Rosaline wanted to go out, I'm at her place now." Danny answered in that strangely empty voice.
"Can you come back here? I need your help with something." Clark said in a rush. There was a long moment, and over the phone he heard a feminine voice say that it was okay so long as Danny came back before she got lonely. Danny had no input at all, he was just silent. But still it wasn't too long before Danny said he was on the way.
Clark took a minute to figure out what to do, he hoped that exposing Danny to intense steam would work like it had the year before, but something told Clark that it wouldn't. Still that didn't stop Clark from pouring water all over the garden path and superheating it once he saw Danny walking down the driveway. Unfortunately all that did was make the air misty. Clark watched a pair of bright red eyes emerge eerily from in the white mist, Danny's apathic face was blank as he stared at Clark with his emotionless eyes.
It only took one look for Clark to know that that wasn't the problem, so what was it?
"Danny, what has Rosaline done to you?" Clark demanded, grabbing his cousin's wrist tightly.
"Nothing." Danny answered, but he didn't elaborate.
Clark frowned; Danny was acting nothing like himself. If he wasn't careful Rosaline would find out Danny's secret, and Clark knew that there was no way that Danny would want that to happen. But the question remained, how was she making Danny act like this?
"Does she know about you?" Clark asked, but got no answer as Danny vanished in a swirl of green mist. Out of desperation he called Chloe hoping that she had more success than he had. She suggested he come back to the Planet since her results weren't particularly concrete and she needed a sounding board.
"Okay, so after a bit of sorting I got a couple of results on red eyes that we could be working with." Chloe commented breezily, pulling up a number of windows. The one up the front showed a short, grey haired man with bright red eyes. The picture was from a network that purported to have accurate information on ghosts. The label suggested that the man had been "overshadowed".
"Since we're obviously not dealing with spontaneous albinism I figured I'd go with the most obvious choices. The first thing is that there could be a ghost overshadowing him." Chloe said with a cringe, the wounds from her own possession were still obviously a bit raw. Clark however shook his head, pulling up a chair to sit next to Chloe.
"Try the next solution, Danny can't be overshadowed." Clark said, figuring that as a ghost himself it would be pretty difficult for another ghost to overshadow Danny.
"Really, why?" Chloe asked. Clark just said that Danny's parents had been ghost hunters, hoping it would be vague enough to protect Danny. Although if he couldn't figure out how to break this spell he was under he didn't know that telling Chloe would be so bad.
"Okay, how did he react to your steam treatment?" Chloe suggested, shrugging Clark's useless answer off in her usual manner.
"He didn't" 'Although there is the fact that it needed to be over 300 degrees to knock the Box Ghost out' Clark mentally added. This was going to be hard, he had no idea how kryptonite infused anything would affect his cousin... Clark's mental train derailed. He knew full well how Danny reacted to kryptonite; Clark's dad had told him that as soon as Danny touched the green rock it looked like he was being electrocuted.
"It's not kryptonite" Clark said as he came to that epiphany. If it were, Danny would be being electrocuted, like how Clark got weak when he was around the green rocks. Chloe took that in stride, flicking through the images on the screen. Clark saw one that caught his eye.
"Chloe, go back a page." He commanded, and watched as a picture of a red eyed Danny Phantom in his original black hazmat suit appeared on screen. A ruby studded red crown sat precariously on top of his white hair, and a heavy set gold pendant hung around his neck. The page decried this as an example of Phantom's menace, and how he was going to turn on them all. But Clark saw the page differently. He saw his cousin stealing, but Danny had explained that away.
"Chloe, when was this photo taken?" Clark asked. Chloe typed on the keyboard, tracing the photo back to its original source. It was a photo from the Amity Park newspaper dated just under two years prior. A couple of days later a man called Frederich Isak Showenhower had been arrested for grand Larson. The name rang a bell to Clark, but it took a minute to place where.
"Freakshow." Clark whispered, his eyes widening. Chloe sent him a questioning glare, silently demanding he explained.
"Showenhower was a ringmaster for a travelling circus." Clark began, recalling as much of the story he could and simultaneously trying to protect Danny's identity. "Phantom fell prey to him. He called himself "Freakshow", had a staff that could control ghosts. Freakshow demanded the ghosts steal for him, that's the whole reason that Phantom is wanted for theft. But eventually Phantom was freed; he said that the staff had been broken."
"Wait, you've actually talked to Phantom?" Chloe queried, but at Clark's piercing glare she became quiet again. There was a moment's pause before she shook her head looking back at the screen. "Okay, so Phantom was being controlled and it turned his eyes red. Thing is, Phantom is a ghost. Whatever that staff was made of it wouldn't do the same thing to Danny, he's a human." Clark frowned; Danny could be affected by anything Phantom could, since they were the same person. He couldn't discount the staff.
"Can you pull up anything on the staff?" Clark asked. After a questioning glance it only took a minute for Chloe to pull up a full history of the staff. On the top of the screen was a picture of a gothic staff, an eerie red orb resting in space between the wings of a bat-wing shaped setting. The intricate carvings were so lifelike it seemed almost as if the bat could fly away if not for the orb that it held, and the staff itself was carved of wood so dark it almost seemed black.
"Okay, it says here that the Spirit Staff was an ancient artefact, passed down through the generations of the Showenhower family. Apparently after returning from an expedition to America in the 1820's, Frederich's ancestor, Isak Volkard Showenhower was reported to have prevented a band of maraudering spirits from rampaging through his village. He apparently came in, holding an "Unearthly red rock" above his head and commanded the spirits to stop.
When the spirits followed his directions obediently he realised the power of the stone, he spent months refining it, carving and polishing it to the point where no spirit could ever escape its command. However Isak was a humble man, and he was happier as an entertainer than playing the Pied Piper, so to speak. So he took the spirits away and established a travelling circus; Zirkus der Goten. Eventually the part the spirits played in the act was forgotten, and the Circus became renowned for its dark, yet awe inspiring acts. Since then all the males in the family have been named for Isak, and the Circus eventually became the Circus Gothica."
Clark frowned as he took all that in. The idea of an "Unearthly red rock" sounded disturbingly familiar. "Does it say where in America he went?"
"Not particularly, it says he was in the south of the Missouri Territory." Chloe shrugged. "Wait a second; Kansas was part of the territory in the 1820's. He could have come to the Smallville area."
"And that would mean that his Red Rock is really..." Clark said, his eyes widening at his hypothesis.
"Red kryptonite!" Chloe finished, turning around to face Clark. "But that doesn't make sense. How can red kryptonite control ghosts?"
"I don't know, but it sort of makes sense." Clark said. He hoped Danny wouldn't be too mad at him for telling Chloe some of this, it was for his own good, and Chloe was a great sounding board. "I know that green kryptonite can hurt ghosts. They can be near it, but if they touch it they essentially get electrocuted. It physically hurts them, like it hurts me. But red kryptonite..." Clark broke off, unsure how to continue.
"Red K takes away your inhibitions if you're in contact with it." Chloe blinked once, before her eyes widened. "That's the connection. Red K takes away your inhibitions, your self control. It sounds like for a ghost it completely takes away their self control, so they can be ordered around. It's funny, a ghost is affected by being near red K, but you have to touch it to be affected. With green K it's the other way around. But that doesn't solve the problem with Danny. All it tells us is that the stuff in the orb was red K."
Clark shook his head, the orb had been broken, but that wasn't the only source of red kryptonite. Some of the jewellery stores in town had adapted kryptonite as a cheap alternative for costume jewellery. And now he thought of it, Rosaline had been wearing a red bracelet. He stood up, realising exactly what was happening with his cousin.
"It tells us enough." Clark replied cryptically as he sped away. Now he knew what was wrong he had to get back to Smallville to save Danny before he permanently did something that he would regret. Clark blurred through the streets and across the blackened highway. The starry night sky shining like thousands of eyes as Clark raced back to Smallville. It was time for him to protect the protector.
Line Break
Rosaline smiled happily as she sat down on her bed. Today had been one of the most wonderful days she'd ever had. She had broken up with her last boyfriend a month ago, after she had realised that he was a no hoper who was going to end up in a dead end job and wasn't good enough for her in any regard. However, being one of the most popular girls in school she needed to have a boyfriend, so she had gone looking. The problem was that most of the seniors she had either already dated or were the same as her ex, totally hot, but complete airheads.
Last year she had been crushing on Clark Kent, the dreamy farm-boy turned footballer, he was intelligent, sporty and just plain hot. But he was only interested in Lana Lang and hadn't paid attention to anyone in her year. Then at the beginning of this year his cousin had come, he started off as a junior, but had aced his mid-year exams and had been skipped ahead. At least that was the story she'd heard. There was no doubt that he was smart, but it was only recently she'd started paying attention to him. He was tall, slightly geeky looking, but he totally made it work. He wasn't as beefy as his cousin, but he was equal in the hotness factor.
More than that he had the same bright blue eyes, but there was a deeper mystery to them. She'd see him walking in the halls and be amazed by the way his eyes shone, lit from within as if he knew something more than the rest of them. And everyone agreed that while he was quiet and reclusive, anyone who sat next to him in class felt strangely safe and protected. He was going somewhere, with the bright spark in his eyes and the light-hearted way he saw the world, as if nothing would stop him. Rosaline had long since decided that he was a suitable choice as her next boyfriend. He may not be on any sports team, but he was a tasty piece of arm candy none the less. The only tastier piece would have been Phantom, but no-one could claim him.
So this morning after English Lit she'd approached him. She knew she was the first person to do so since he got to the school, but that was because most people were afraid of Jay who took particular joy from beating up the dark haired boy. She'd asked Danny if he'd like to hang out after school. At first he seemed reluctant, but then, just as she'd been brushing her hair from her eyes he'd looked at her and instantly agreed. Rosaline could have sworn she felt her heart flutter when he said yes, but she'd taken control and told him to meet her just outside on the steps.
When they'd met up after school he'd been wearing a pair of crimson contacts. She didn't know why, but they just seemed so exotic and they made her heart thrill. She loved them, sure his eyes weren't baby blue anymore, but the red told of repressed power and danger. It made her feel empowered, as if she had tamed some powerful beast. It was amazing. Then he had shocked her. Sure she knew of meteor infected people in the town, Chloe Sullivan had reported about them in the Torch almost every week. She was stunned to find that Danny was part of the meteor infected elite.
She had asked him to take her to the Talon, and he had somehow teleported her there. It was amazing, and she could hardly believe that the quiet Danny Fenton was sitting on a secret like that. More amazing still was the fact that he obliged her every request. With his power he could do anything, be anywhere. And yet he was here with her, doing whatever she wanted. If she asked him to hug her, he did. If she asked him to kiss her he did. But it was only their first day together as a couple, and she was going to do this right, she didn't want to rush too much into another relationship. It spoiled the fun.
"Kiss me" she demanded, and sighed as the dark haired boy pounced on her, drawing her breath away as his soft lips pressed into hers. This had been a brilliant idea. After Danny's cousin had interrupted them at his house she had suggested they go to hers. She leaned back, drawing in a deep breath before returning the kiss. His breath was chilled, and his skin felt as if he had just walked inside from the cold. But it was strangely exhilarating as he deepened the kiss. Even the short interruption from Clark Kent on the phone again didn't dissuade them from their passion.
Time flew, and Rosaline felt herself being swept away in a stream of gentle caresses, his cool fingers tingling against her skin and deep yet tender kisses brushing against her lips. They were interrupted when the door downstairs closed. Rosaline frowned, looking over at the clock. It was 7pm, and apparently her dad had just gotten home. But she didn't want to stop kissing Danny. She pouted at him, asking if he could take them somewhere where they wouldn't be discovered.
Rosaline laughed in delight as she found herself sitting atop the water tower looking over Smallville. It was cold in the late February air and she shivered. Before she knew it she was wrapped in the red blanket that had sat on her bed. She sighed and leaned back contentedly, looking at the bare chested boy next to her. That had been another surprise; under his baggy clothing he had lithe muscle. She ran her fingers gently across his chest, circling his belly button. He didn't seem bothered at all by the cold, and his red contacts seemed to glow in the dim moonlight. At the moment he seemed more like an earth-bound god, brimming with power, but he was hers and hers alone.
She smiled, resting her head against his chest and looking up at the moonlight. This was amazing, beautiful, surreal, and she could hardly believe that this strong powerful boy was hers. After just an afternoon she knew she wanted him forever, and was not going to let anything take him away from her. She cuddled into him further, looking up to his crimson eyes. He was truly spectacular. She leaned over him, the blanket falling off her shoulders as she bent down for another kiss. But then the water tower shuddered.
Rosaline fell down, losing her balance and crashed into the bare chest beneath her. She slowly crawled over to the side of the tower, her eyes widening when she saw a blue eyed Clark Kent just below. "What's he doing here?" She asked aloud, turning to face Danny. "Can you get rid of him for us?" She asked, raising her eyebrows into a pleading pout. She smiled when Danny vanished in a swirl of green, only to appear on the ground below.
"You shouldn't have come here." Danny's voice echoed up towards her, sounding almost sinister. Rosaline shivered, pulling the blanket close to her as she watched the two boys below. The tension in the air was palpable, and something told her this was going to be a clash of the titans.
Line Break
Clark frowned as he sped through Smallville. He had had no luck finding his cousin and Rosaline; they weren't at the Farm, nor were they in the Talon. Clark slowed, coming to a stop in an alley in the middle of town. He hadn't tried it before, but maybe he could find his cousin just based on his heartbeat. It had to be worth a shot. So Clark listened, picking up the disharmonious sounds of the Smallville night scene. He listened for one heartbeat; one that he knew was slower than any other. The wind brushed through his hair as his eyes flickered open. He had found it, over by the water tower.
He raced towards the metallic structure, slamming into the heavy iron tower leg, making the whole thing shudder. He knew he had gotten their attention when a pair of chocolate brown eyes looked over the side. They were filled with frustration as they looked down on him. He was about to call up to them, to try and drag Danny away from Rosaline if necessary. But he was interrupted by a spiral of mist in front of him.
Danny materialised, his red eyes dark and menacing. He looked nothing like the carefree boy that Clark usually hung around with. He looked scary, intimidating. There was a dark circle around his eyes and he looked closer to a wild animal than anything else.
"You shouldn't have come here." Danny said, and Clark felt a shiver run down his spine at that tone of voice. But Clark knew he couldn't back down. Danny was still in there somewhere, and Clark needed to bring him back before he did something that he'd regret.
"Danny, snap out of it." Clark pleaded, carefully eyeing his cousin. Danny was perfectly still, not even breathing. The tension in the air mounted, and for the first time Clark felt truly threatened by the dark look in his cousin's eye.
"I was told to make you go away." Danny commented, unblinking "Leave now, or I'll make you."
Clark took a step back, not knowing what to do. He couldn't just leave Danny here, not when he was under someone else's control. But he didn't know how to go about saving him. There was a big difference between beating a meteor freak down after they'd lost control of their senses and taking down his cousin when he was innocent of anything but losing out to mind control. Danny just stood there, his crimson eyes glowing menacingly in the half-light of the moon. Clark made his decision.
In a blur he sped up to his cousin, hoping to hold him down until he could snap Danny out of it. What he hadn't counted on was the painful blast of green energy that flew from Danny's still glowing hand. Clark was thrown back, skidding across the asphalt. There was a startled gasp from the top of the water tower, but Clark couldn't afford to pay much heed. He stood up, looking towards his cousin's suddenly menacing form.
Clark once more raced towards Danny, but Danny sidestepped and in a blur threw Clark heavily into the ground leaving a two foot crater in the earth. Once more Clark stood, knowing that the time for playing around was over. Clark punched Danny heavily in the stomach, but Danny simply smiled menacingly. There was a moment's pause and suddenly Clark felt a deep ache in his own stomach. Danny could punch hard. Clark coughed, winded, but managed to shake his head clear after a moment.
Clark frowned, he had no idea how to take Danny down, but with the order Danny had been given... Clark was worried. Danny would never kill; everything he knew about his cousin said that Danny couldn't kill. But if he saw Clark as a threat he would not back down, he would stop Clark in any way he could. The time for this thought stream cost Clark dearly. Suddenly he found himself encased in ice, immobilised by the unbreakable crystal.
Clark focused his heat vision on the icy prison, it took a while and heat bordering 1000 degrees but he managed to free himself enough to move his arms. Unfortunately by then Danny was nowhere in sight. Clark spun around, looking for any sign of his cousin, but saw nothing in the moon's pale glow. Suddenly he was struck again, a sharp pain cutting through his jaw line as Danny swung a controlled hit. Clark spat the blood that had gathered in his mouth onto the street. He took one look at his cousin and realised he wasn't even sweating, the dark haired boy was quickly and effectively taking Clark down and he wasn't even sweating. Clark needed to take it up another level.
Heedless of the consequences Clark made his oldest move; punch the guy hard enough that they go flying and fall unconscious. It had always worked in the past, so Clark pulled his arm back; putting all his strength behind it he swung hard. There was a resounding crack as his fist planted heavily into Danny's bare chest. Clark instantly knew that Danny was sporting several broken ribs. Danny was sent flying with a jarring thud into the water tower. The metal structure shuddered, and there was a piercing scream that split the night.
Clark watched as in slow motion the blonde haired girl atop the water tower lost her footing, sliding across the top right to the edge. The tips of her fingers clung to the ridge, holding on for dear life. Rosaline screamed, begging for help, but Clark was still frozen in place by Danny's icy prison. There was nothing he could do as he helplessly watched. The girl's hands slipped an inch and she squealed louder. At the base of the tower there was a flash of bright white-blue light.
Line Break
A piercing scream brought Danny back from the black depths he had been immersed in. It only took a moment for his core to start screaming at him to protect. He felt his eyes shift to a bright neon green, but he wasn't fully aware of the situation. All he saw was a girl about to fall to her death from the top of the seven story water tower. In an instant he was in his ghost form, flying towards the girl as she lost her grip. Her eyes were closed and her high pitched cry stabbed into his eardrums. His cool arms closed tightly around her as he caught her from her fall. His mind was still foggy from the darkness, but he had felt like this before.
Phantom came to a jarring halt in the air as he realised exactly when he had last felt like this. 'Freakshow' his mind screamed. But the crystal ball was broken, so how had he been controlled? What had he been made to do? Like the last time it was a jumbled blur of images, he couldn't remember doing anything terrible this time around, but his mind was virtually blank since English Lit this morning. At least he hoped it was this morning. Last time days had gone by and he couldn't remember it.
"D-Danny?" The girl in his arms asked breathlessly. Phantom shook his head and gently set her down on the ground. Her arms were tightly clung around his neck before he even knew what was happening. There was a slight coughing noise from behind them and Phantom spun to see Clark half entrapped in a pile of ghostly ice. Without a second thought he dispelled it, his stomach twisting with guilt. It was then he felt physical pain as several broken ribs made themselves known and he grunted, trying to push away the aching.
"Green eyes? Danny, you're back." Phantom heard Clark say, with heavy relief evident in his voice.
"What happened?" Phantom asked, looking between Clark and Rosaline. However he felt his eyes being drawn to the red bracelet on her wrist, and his mind started fading away. He had nothing but the strange desire to explain what was going on to the girl. He shut his eyes fast, attempting to dispel the mind control as it sunk its dark claws into his mind, but he was struggling. He heard Clark gasp, and there was another cry and the sound of shattering stone.
Phantom felt the last vestiges of the darkness disappear; he stood dizzily for a moment, taking stock of what had just occurred. It looked like Clark had used his heat vision to shatter the bracelet, but Rosaline had fallen unconscious from the blast. He walked over to her, taking her pulse. It felt like she would be fine, although he was now concerned for both his and his cousin's secrets. Clark needed to be protected now, so without a second thought he entered her unconscious dreaming.
Phantom had figured this ability out last year after Sam became sick with a bad fever. He had so badly wanted to comfort her that when she fell asleep he had been pulled into her mind. It was not the same as overshadowing someone; it was just walking around inside their mind. He could manipulate certain thought paths, and make long lasting subconscious suggestions, but to Phantom's mind it was less objectionable to Dream Walk than it was to overshadow, and in this case it was more useful.
Rosaline's mind was fairly simple, if lustful. Although the events of the day had thrown her mind into turmoil. He saw first every kiss she had forced him into, every discovery she had made, and every thought she had had about him. With his mind all his own he had no interest in the girl, but did not want her hurt by what she had seen. Fortunately though, somewhere between the destruction of the bracelet and the sheer ridiculousness of what her mind had seen she was repressing it, turning it into the half remembered ramblings of the dream world. Danny absently helped the process along, protecting the girl from their secrets and the emotional hurt from her discoveries. The whole process took about ten minutes, but by the time he was finished both Clark and Danny's secrets were safe.
Phantom shifted back to his human form, knowing that he needed to talk with Clark. However the important thing for now was to make sure Rosaline got home safely. He teleported her back into her bedroom, carefully tucking her under the sheets as he had done numerous times for Valerie after she had been knocked out in a ghost fight. The poor girl had had a hard end to the day even it was somewhat self inflicted, and she deserved to wake up feeling safe.
Shamefacedly, Danny went back to the farmhouse. He knew he deserved every one of his broken ribs for falling back into that trap again. Clark explained his hypothesis that red kryptonite and the orb from Freakshow's crystal ball were made of the same thing. Danny agreed, and found it interesting that he was affected in a similar but different way as Clark to another form of kryptonite. He needed to figure out why that was and to do that he would need to go on another trip into the Ghost Zone soon.
He wanted to figure out if there was any way to prevent that from happening again. Rosaline may not have forced him to do anything too terrible, but there were more people like Freakshow out there who would have no qualms about abusing him for his powers. Danny shivered at the thought. He never wanted something like Freakshow's first stint in Amity Park to happen again. For a moment his mind flailed, fearful of the whims of unscrupulous humans. If anyone else were to discover the power red kryptonite had over ghosts that would be a bad thing for him. Danny added 'learn how to avoid mind control' to his mental to-do list.
Suddenly Danny felt very alone. Sure he was friends with Clark, and by extension his friends, but since Tucker and Sam were gone he didn't really have anyone he could talk to. Chloe was nice, but she was so similar to his sister in so many ways that sometimes it became difficult to separate the two. Lois was friendly, but exuberant. She was a lot like Sam had been, but wasn't the same. Lana was sweet, but she was Clark's girlfriend, and even then that relationship was struggling. The thing was, they were all Clark's friends; people who had accepted Danny because he was related to Clark.
Danny had no friends of his own in the human world. For the most part he was okay with that. After all no one could ever replace Sam and Tucker. But he had nobody to turn to just to talk with. Sure, there was a lot he shared with Clark, and he knew there was a lot Clark shared with him, but Danny had a long past, and there were things he'd faced that Danny either couldn't or wasn't ready to share with Clark. Clark was supportive, but he didn't understand what it meant to be half ghost. Sam and Tuck had understood somewhat, but never fully. And while Clark may have extraordinary powers he had always had them. Danny still struggled with the loss of his humanity.
He was a ghost living among humans, and days like this reminded him of it. While Clark may lose his inhibitions to red kryptonite he was still Clark. But the red meteor rock made Danny little more than a tool. In the Human World, ghosts were lesser creatures, and people wouldn't see enslaving them as morally objectionable. But Danny was a ghost, perhaps not fully, but enough that most of the ghost rules applied to him (not all, but most). And to be controlled by a little red stone was scary when he was constantly fighting with himself to figure out where he belonged.
He sighed as he watched Clark head up to his room for bed; Danny was not tired in the slightest. For now he wanted to see a friend, someone who could empathise with his ghost side. Danny opened a portal into the Zone, feeling comforted by the endless green space and the floating purple doors. He went for a quiet fly, absently shifting into his ghost form as he flew. After twenty minutes he found the right door. Lately if he knew who he was looking for he could always just find their door.
The purple door hung in the vast expanse of the Ghost Zone, standing out against the green. The door was simple, plain purple steel with a silvery handle. In stark black painted on the door were the words 'Backstage Entrance'. Shyly Phantom knocked on the door, rubbing his fingers through his white hair. Slowly the door opened, and a blue haired ghost poked her head through, a soft red light coming from behind her.
"Phantom?" She questioned with confused green eyes.
"Hey Ember" Phantom said. "I was wondering if we could talk."
AN: Another Chapter done. Danny is confused about what he is. We've all found out that Freakshow's staff was made of red kryptonite. And Clark and Danny have had a minor physical fight. I'm not ready to do a full blown Danny vs. Clark brawl, if I ever do, but that was a taste.
What did you think of the brief history of the Showenhower family, was it believable?
P.S. There's a hint of what's coming next chapter if you look way back in chapter 2 (Into Smallville)
Ta-ta,
Bluerose