Chapter 24
Chained
Disclaimer: I own neither Danny Phantom nor Smallville
Rated for Blood and Gore
Phantom looked up weakly, his glowing green eyes dimmed. His arms pulled against the chains binding him to the wall like some poor imitation of Jesus on the crucifix. He coughed, green ectoplasm gathering in his mouth as he fought the blearing edges of unconsciousness. Blackness flittered along the edges of his vision, threatening to take him into the cold embrace of oblivion. But he fought back with every ounce of his mental strength.
They had captured him. Two years of constant dodging, hiding and narrow escapes. It had all come to nothing. The white suited men had finally caged him, and there was nothing he could do to escape this time. The room he was held in was brightly lit, stark white light bearing down on him from all angles, contrasting sharply with the still present stains of bright green ectoplasm on the tiled floor. On the far side of the room were three large benches, each bearing a dozen ghost weapons; all of which had been extensively tested on him over the last two days.
In the middle of the room was the silver lab table, Phantom refused to look at it. Twice a day they would drag him over to it and proceed to slice him open. The wounds from his third vivisection had yet to close up, his mutilated flesh still oozing green. The only good thing was that he hadn't shifted back to human. Although that also signified just how bad his condition was. He could barely feel his human half, what little energy he had was focused entirely on keeping him alive, and his ghost half had virtually shut down his human half just to keep him safe.
He was in constant agony. His core had been weakened, and he could feel it. But there was a pressure inside that was demanding attention, screaming to be released. But Phantom couldn't, he barely had any energy left, and this foreign pressure was just distracting him, making it impossible for him to focus on anything more that the constant ache in his core and the occasional presence of men in white suits or lab coats. He blinked blearily, trying to pull his thoughts together enough to teleport out, but it was useless. He was too weak, too tired and in far too much pain.
Phantom desperately wished for the comfort of his white cloak, his security blanket and a remnant of happy days with Sam. But they had thrown it aside, letting it disappear into to the ethereal wind. Phantom didn't have the strength to summon it back. His clothes were bedraggled, the black tunic stained with dark green from when the scientists cut through it. Phantom groaned against the wall, his eyes flickering. He didn't want to black out, he couldn't. But he knew that this was it. There was no backup this time, no Sam Jazz or Tuck to the rescue. When they finished with him it was lights out, permanently. He was going to be ended.
Line Break
Three days prior
Danny smiled as he looked across Chloe's desk at the Planet. He and Clark had come to finally have a much needed talk as soon as Danny had gotten out of school. Well, maybe not so much as soon as he was out of school, but he'd tossed the Corn Ghost back into the Zone and hadn't been bothered to go back to class for the last ten minutes of the day. He had called Clark up, and the two had decided to head into Metropolis together to meet Chloe at work.
After the events of the previous night Danny had had a number of epiphanies. He knew now that he needed to let Clark make his own mistakes. There were several things that Danny simply couldn't protect his cousin from, lessons that Clark needed to do and to learn for himself. That meant that Danny needed to risk putting his trust in Clark. And Danny was willing now to tell him about some of the most important things. The danger of some of his enemies, like Vlad Masters, being at the top of the list. But there was more than that, and seeing his family again had made him realise just how much he needed friends, people he could trust to be there for him.
He hoped that talking to Clark and Chloe would help with that. It had taken the best part of nine months but he was finally willing to try to open himself up to others. It was hard, part of his nature now was ghostly and he was resistant to change. With everything that had happened he had somehow forgotten that part of him was human, that he needed friendships and change to survive. Although there was some worry about Chloe; he didn't know what she had seen of him last night. After he tried to help Alley everything became fuzzy until he woke up with his friends and family on the other side. But maybe he could afford her more of the truth. Not all, she still couldn't defend herself. But some. A small smile played on his lips at the thought of the green eyed blonde.
Chloe had called both of them up that morning, asking if they could postpone the discussion for a couple of hours; apparently she had been roped in to giving a tour for a school group. The school was visiting Metropolis for the week and had booked a full tour of the Daily Planet. By the sounds of things she wasn't particularly keen to do it, but the fledgling reporters always got the worst jobs, and impromptu tour guide seemed to fall under that category. While there was a lot that needed to be aired between them, he was confident that everything would work out. Danny and Clark were still able to spend a bit of time with her before the students arrived, but none of them wanted to go into what really needed to be said at the Planet. Still, Danny was content. He enjoyed the blonde's company; there was something refreshing about Chloe's snarky sense of wit and bold confidence.
Clark and Danny arrived to a small smile and a quiet dismissal. Chloe was still finishing up and despite her obvious curiosity she had to focus on her work. Clark and Danny watched quietly as she tapped away at the screen, her brow creased sweetly as she typed. She finished with a flourish and a broad smile, standing up to get herself a cup of coffee, however their time together was interrupted when Chloe's phone rang saying that the group was not far away and she needed to be upstairs to greet them. "Duty calls" she joked with a soft smile on her face. "Come on, I'll show you two out on my way to collect them."
Danny shook his head as he stood up, the school had arranged it as an after-hours tour, meaning that it started at four and would finish at six. That way they wouldn't be in the way of the bustling reporters while they worked, and the kids would still get to see how things got ready for the evening edition. Danny had no interest in journalism; while he understood that Chloe loved it he didn't see the attraction. And something always made him hesitate when he thought of career choices; he had once aimed to be an astronaut, but nowadays that didn't hold the same calling. It was a long gone dream that had somehow drifted off into the 'what could have been' the day he stepped into the portal. Danny shrugged as he stepped up the final step to the lobby and froze.
"Fentoni?" A brash voice of disbelief cut through the Planet lobby, making everyone present snap to attention. It was all too familiar to Danny, and left him similarly dumbstruck. His eyes flicked briefly to the blonde haired jock, his former bully otherwise known as Dash Baxter. All of them were there, Valerie, Paulina, Star, Kwan, even Mikey and Ethan. All of them, except the two who had mattered to Danny the most. He frowned, remembering the days Sam, Tuck and he had shared together at school; bottom of the social ladder, but secretly saving the town from ghostly destruction. Now Danny had no-one behind him. It was a sad thought. Even though he had just seen them the night before, their absence weighed heavily on his core. Danny subconsciously reached to his necklace, fiddling with Sam's ring as the students from his old school waited.
Danny was stunned, of all the schools that Chloe had to guide around she had managed to get landed with Casper High. Danny's eyes briefly flicked over to her where she was talking to his old vice principal and English teacher, Mr Lancer. He seemed to have gained a bit of weight since Danny had last seen him, but still held himself with the same superior gait. He had been the one teacher who managed to both be infuriatingly condescending towards him and offer him his complete encouragement. Danny actually suspected that he and Jazz who he had ever called by their first names, even if it was only rarely. Eventually Mr Lancer finished speaking with Chloe and made his way over to Danny and Clark who were still standing on the top stair before the basement level.
"Mr Fenton." Lancer acknowledged, meeting him firmly in the eye. Danny sent his old teacher a half smile.
"Hey Mr Lancer." Danny replied, unsure how to act. Lancer wasn't his teacher anymore, but seeing him here made Danny feel off balance, like the same little kid who skipped out of his English class to stop Skulker or Desiree or Technus or... well the same little kid who was an abysmal failure at school and had so disappointed all of his teachers, particularly Lancer who had actually seemed to care for him as a student.
"By the way you two look I take it that this is your cousin?" Lancer queried, gesturing towards Clark.
"You're half right, he is my cousin, but not by blood." Danny answered shyly.
Clark of course added "I was adopted by the Kents."
Lancer looked between the two. "A Tale of Two Cities, one could almost think you two were brothers." He shook his head quickly before looking back at Danny. "Mr Fenton, given the circumstances, perhaps you would like to join us. Miss Sullivan informs me that you may be able to help some of the students fill out their worksheets, and while I may no longer be your educator there should be no reason for me to inhibit the transmission of knowledge." Danny was hesitant, most of the people in the group had gone out of their way to make sure his life at Casper High was miserable, but Valerie was a friend when she was out of uniform, and some of the 'nerds' weren't all too bad, like Mikey and Ethan. And it had been nearly nine months since he'd last seen any of them.
Also, knowing Lancer, Danny knew that he had very little chance to refuse, somehow it would come back to bite him if he didn't join them. So almost begrudgingly he accepted, farewelling his cousin and sidling along towards the back of the group as they headed down the stairs to the basement. "Hello and Welcome to the Daily Planet" Chloe's warm voice called out "My name is Chloe Sullivan, and I'll be your guide for today." Danny smiled; at least he could be certain of one friend here.
"This is the basement," Chloe announced, guiding the group over to the side so they could observe. "The beginning of any aspiring journalist's career..." and so began Chloe's tour of the Planet. Unfortunately for Danny she'd already given him the tour the first three times he visited her at work with Clark. And she had given the 'you should really consider a career in journalism' lecture enough that he had probably memorised it. Danny knew she wanted to involve him in journalism, but frankly Danny didn't have either the time or the patience. He was not a writer, Danny was happy enough to draw, but his talent had never been in stringing words together.
"Hey" Danny jumped as the warm female voice of Valerie Grey finally spoke up. "How're you doing?" She asked. Danny sighed, rubbing his fingers through his hair as he turned to look at her. She still wore the same style as she had back in their freshman year. Her yellow top and orange skirt had only changed slightly in cut to fit her full curves. But the last time he had seen her she had tried to end him. She had flown all the way from Amity Park to Smallville on Halloween for the explicit purpose of ending his existence. With how fast her glider flew that was at least a two hour flight, she was determined if nothing else.
From the corner of his eyes he caught her glinting brown. They had dated for a short time; it seemed like a lifetime ago. The days when he was with Sam were some of the happiest in his half-life, everything before and after seemed pale in comparison. He still remembered the severe reprimanding Sam had given the night before, and he was going to try to actually let himself move on properly, but he still didn't see Valerie in the same way. Something about her wanting to destroy his other half kinda ruined any chance of a true friendship for him. But that wouldn't stop him being civil.
"Not bad I guess." Danny finally answered. "I'm graduating at the end of the semester, wound up being skipped ahead."
"Really?" Valerie pressed with her brown eyes wide. "Dang Fenton, didn't think you had it in you."
Danny actually laughed at that, getting a few questioning glances from some of the others. "Neither did I. Live and learn, hey?"
"So what're your plans when you finished, gonna take up the family business?" Valerie inquired as Chloe took the group through to the printers. The equipment was currently still before the evening edition went out. But that was a good thing because the hundreds of rollers were distractingly noisy when they were working. Danny looked over at Valerie pondering the irony of her question, he had been in the 'family business' for two and a half years already, just in disguise.
"Probably not." Danny answered with a shrug, "I was never really interested in the inventions, and chasing ghosts is not my idea of fun."
"Really? But then what's gonna happen to the patents, you gonna sell them?" Valerie pressed.
"As I keep telling one of my friends the only people who are interested are the people I don't want running around with them. You've seen the GIW; they hurt more civilians than they catch ghosts. I'm not about to let them get their hands on anything more dangerous than what they already have." Danny watched as Valerie flinched, she too had hurt her fair share of civilians under her facade as the Red Huntress, but all Danny wanted to do was point out that in the wrong hands any weapon could be misused.
Valerie seemed disturbed by this line of thought so jumped for another topic. "So who's your 'friend'?" She asked.
"Lex Luthor." Danny answered. Valerie whistled.
"Okay, so let me get this straight, The Vlad Masters wants to adopt you, you're hanging out with The Lex Luthor, and yet you choose to live on a farm in Smallville?" Valerie entreated, obviously dumbfounded. Danny just nodded, there was no way he'd ever live with the frootloop, and Lex was cool, but he wasn't completely trustworthy. At least he knew Clark would take care of him and keep him safe.
"Yeah, I like the farm. Aunt Martha's a lot busier now than she used to be, but Clark's cool. He was the tall guy next to me in the lobby." Danny clarified at Valerie's confused glance.
"Really? You can see you're related." Valerie said, and Danny sighed.
"You're not the first person to say that, Chloe says that we could be brothers, but Clark was adopted and mom and dad had just had Jazz around the time Clark was born." Or at least that's what the official documents about Clark said.
"Hmm, that being the case can I have his number?" Valerie asked. "He's cute."
"He's my cousin Val, besides I don't think he's looking for a relationship just now. And it's Linda Lake who writes the gossip column." Danny said, diverting her attention to her worksheet. It was a poor method of distraction, but he didn't want Valerie to press him about setting Clark and herself up. Valerie and Clark just wouldn't work in any way, shape or form. He shook his head looking out the fifteenth floor window. One of the most successful columnists worked here, Danny suspected she was Meteor infected but hadn't had a chance to check it out. And by this time of day she had long since gone home.
"Yeah well, I was never very interested in the gossip column anyway." Valerie shrugged, crossing out her answer and putting Linda's name in instead. Danny shook his head, paying attention to Chloe's spiel for a few minutes. They were heading up towards the Editor in Chief's office. Danny wasn't sure what to make of the fierce woman, but it didn't really matter since he only had limited contact with her and he wasn't an employee. No doubt this was the final stop on the tour and they were going to be given some inspirational speech about following dreams and the power of perseverance.
Danny sighed, drifting back towards Chloe as the students took notes. "Having fun?" She asked, and Danny raised an eyebrow at her.
"I'm not looking for a job at the Planet Chloe." Danny deadpanned. Chloe sighed, rolling her eyes.
"Okay, fine, you saw right through me, but I thought you might like to spend some time with your old friends since they were here."
"Thanks, and it was sorta nice to get to talk to Valerie. Maybe." Danny acknowledged. Now it was Chloe's turn to raise her eyebrow.
"You were talking the whole time." Chloe murmured incredulously.
"And she's got every answer on her worksheet right." Danny defended. "But it was nice to get to chat with her again. She's grown up a bit, I think, but she's still the same."
"And you're not?" Chloe asked. Danny frowned, uncertain.
"I'm not sure, probably not. I've been away from Amity of for almost nine months now; some stuff was bound to change."
"And you've gotten taller." Chloe added, nodding in agreement.
"And I've gotten taller." Danny acknowledged, shaking his head incredulously. That was about the only thing about him that had visibly changed. In the last few months he'd shot up, now standing barely four inches shorter than Clark. He was also happy that he hadn't put on his father's bulk, nor had he gained the outlandish muscles of his evil alternate future self. He was tall and thin, with his mother's light physique and his father's height. Danny shook his head to clear it from his strange musings. It was then that Patricia Kuhn finished her speech, and the tour group headed downstairs to get ready to leave.
Chloe led the group back down to the lobby, most of them were chatting amicably as they bustled down through the lifts in small groups. When they all reconvened in the lobby Mr Lancer was quick to draw them all to attention. Danny drifted off to the side, knowing that while for a short time he had been among his old peer group he was no longer one of them.
"Now I want you all to thank Miss Sullivan for kindly showing us around this symbolic institution." Lancer instructed. "I hope this experience has shown all of you the effort that goes into putting the news together. There is an art form to taking events and presenting them to the public, those who make the news are little without those who convey it. Like any literary medium, the author of each piece puts a part of their soul into their work, and whether the news be the stock trends, the latest 'Hot Goss' or the most recent ghost attack, you should always respect those who dare to present it to the world."
Lancer finished his speech to scattered applause. Danny just smiled at Chloe, knowing that she believed something in those veins, although for her it was the pursuit of the truth rather than the art of the words. "Good," Lancer continued. "Now you all have two hours free time, I expect you all back at the hotel by no later than eight thirty, no exceptions and yes that does means you Mr Baxter."
There was a brief pause, the teenagers splitting into small groups to chat as they made their way off.
"Wanna go get something to eat?' Valerie asked, coming over to Danny. "You know, just for old times' sake?" Danny looked over to Chloe briefly, they were supposed to meet up after the tour back in Smallville, Chloe probably wanted him to provide instantaneous transportation. And there was a lot of ground that needed to be covered between Chloe, Clark and himself. He teetered on the edge of rejecting Valerie when Chloe wandered over.
"Don't worry," Chloe answered, probably guessing what Valerie had asked. "I'll get Clark to come get me." Danny smiled at her, glad that she was being so accepting. It made him all the more determined to clear the air between them. But for now he could enjoy the company of an old friend.
Thus Danny found himself guiding Valerie out of the Planet and towards a local diner he'd found on one of his patrols. There were a few nights where he'd stop by for a late night hot chocolate and a plate of hot chips instead of heading home. The people who worked there were nice, and always had time for him, especially after he'd saved Jess, one of the waitresses from a mugging just out back. But the food was good, and since he knew Valerie's financial situation hadn't changed that much it was also relatively inexpensive; something which she happily noted when she looked at the menu.
"Hey Danny," Jess said, a broad smile on her face. She was in her late twenties, with soft hazel eyes and long brown hair. She was dreadfully plain, but a nice person all the same. "You're a bit early, want your usual?" She asked and Danny nodded, sending her a small smile back.
"And what can I get the young lady?" She asked lightly. Valerie ordered a chicken schnitzel, frowning distastefully at the idea of a burger. The two were chatting happily by the time their food came out.
"No, I'm serious. Dash actually stopped in his tracks and apologised. I don't think I've ever seen Mikey look so confused." Danny snorted into his hot chocolate which sent him coughing and spluttering for twenty seconds before he could get his breathing under control.
"So you're telling me that one ghost plays a prank and suddenly Dash is scared to bully the nerds?" Danny repeated.
"Yep," Valerie replied, her green eyes sparkling with laughter "never thought it'd happen either, but I think after he realised that... well you weren't there to take his crap anymore and nobody else was as interesting he just sorta gave it up. Plus he's dating Star now and she never liked the way he picked on you."
Danny just laughed, happy that apparently his absence hadn't been too bad on Dash's normal victims. Even Jay at Smallville had lightened up on everyone else, and otherwise bullying in the school had dropped to an all time low, according to the statistics in the Torch.
"That's not the only thing that changed, you know, it's weird. After you left most of the ghosts left too. Now most of the stuff you hear about is around here." Valerie commented, musing over a chip as she twirled her fork in the air. "Nothing like what we used to have, but it seems like the ghosts are in Smallville now. You can't seem to get rid of 'em, can you?"
"Seems that way." Danny replied sadly. He hadn't wanted to go into this topic. He knew Valerie was decidedly anti-ghost, particularly anti-him. Well his ghost half anyway, which was still him. And he had made it abundantly clear that he did not share his parents' 'shoot first' mentality when it came to the ghosts, so this conversation had always ended up going downhill fast.
"Although I gotta admit, I think the portal being destroyed had a lot to do with that." Danny added with a shrug. It still hurt to think of that incident and all that it meant, but the basic facts were there.
"What do you mean?" Valerie questioned.
Danny sighed, pushing the remnants of his plate aside. "You know how my parents had the portal?" Valerie quickly nodded. "There was a lot they didn't understand when they opened it. At first they didn't even have a door, I think that's how half of the ghosts got out. But it was more than that."
"The Ghost Zone and the Real World weren't meant to have a permanent link. Sure, there's naturally occurring portals opening all the time, and there're places where portals open more easily. And ghosts are supposed to be able to come back and forth, to a point. But a permanent link was never supposed to be made." Danny looked over at Valerie who seemed to be paying rapt attention. Danny just hoped she'd maybe listen; ghosts were a part of the natural world.
"When mom and dad first made the link it helped to stabilise the natural portals. I don't think they ever realised, but the constant flow of raw ectoplasm from our portal made a more stable environment for natural portals to form. So even when our door was closed it was easy for the ghosts to get through."
"And now that's gone...?" Valerie inquired.
"Amity should go back to normal. Sure there's still enough ambient energy for them to open slightly more than normal, but there's probably fewer ghosts there now than before."
"And you say you're not going into the family business." Valerie scoffed.
"I'm not." Danny deadpanned. "I am not and never will be a ghost hunter." And that was the absolute truth. He was a Protector, sure, but never a mindless hunter and persecutor. Danny shuddered "I don't want to be part of that. I grew up with the threat of ghosts being torn up 'molecule by molecule', and I don't think any sentient being deserves that."
Valerie rolled her eyes. They'd had this debate before he left Amity and never came to a reasonable conclusion. Valerie didn't want to see ghosts as more than emotionless blobs of ectoplasm and wouldn't listen to reason about it. Danny paid for their meal and the two of them headed out. By now storm clouds had gathered overhead and it was starting to rain. Danny felt a slight pressure in his core, but couldn't figure out exactly what it was. Deciding to put that worry aside for the moment he opted to walk Valerie back to her hotel.
By the time they got there it had started raining. Valerie's long black hair fell in clumped strands around her head and Danny was getting tired of trying to brush his bangs out of the way as the rain trickled through. He was about to say goodbye to Valerie when two things happened in quick succession. Danny stifled a cough as his ghost sense went off, the blue mist hidden by the rain, and then there was a faint beeping as Valerie's ghost detection systems went off. Danny muttered a quick goodbye, hoping that he could take care of the ghost before Val came out to play.
He ran to a nearby alleyway, shifting into his ghost form and leaping into the sky. It took two seconds to feel the energy pouring off the ghost to realise that there was no way he could defeat it before he was faced by an angry Red Huntress. Danny soared up into the wind clouds, knowing that this was gonna be a long fight.
Line Break
Valerie frowned as she activated her battle suit. It had been over a month since she'd been able to use it; the number of ghosts in Amity Park had dropped to almost none over the last few months. Valerie suspected there was some truth to Danny's theory. 'And he thinks he's not going into the family business' she mused. Sure she knew that they were popping up in Smallville, the Hunter's Alliance had been talking about it for months. Rumour had it that the GIW had even set up shop in Metropolis, and Valerie had been itching to meet up with them during her free time.
The excursion to Metropolis had been officially paid for by an anonymous benefactor, but Valerie suspected that it was the same 'anonymous benefactor' who had provided her with both her original suit, as well as a plethora of new weaponry for the new one. Valerie made a mental note to thank him again; things in Amity were boring now, so the opportunity to kick some ghost butt was one that she would not pass up. The red and black metallic armour appeared over her skin, and a sleek black visor slid over her face. She was now officially the Red Huntress, kick-ass defender from the supernatural. Anything paranormal and she would happily bring it down. And her ultimate goal was the final destruction of the menace known as Danny Phantom.
Valerie growled the name. She hated the fact that the ghost dared share the name of someone she considered a friend. Danny Fenton was kind, sweet, innocent, kinda clumsy, but adorable for his clueless naivety. The only reason she'd broken up with him was that he was too clueless and clumsy to be safe if a ghost ever came after her. She never wanted to risk him getting hurt by a ghost because of her job. And then there was Phantom, the sole reason she'd become a Hunter in the first place. It may be able to fool everyone with its heroic act, but Valerie saw it for the con that it was. Phantom needed to be eliminated before it had the chance to execute its diabolical plans.
Valerie jumped into the air, her sleek black glider appearing beneath her feet as she leapt into the sky. The rain whirled around her, faster and faster the higher she went, but she didn't care. No, all that she cared about was the two level nine ghosts that were fighting above the Metropolis skies. Her scanner had originally only told her about one, but now a second one had shown up. Valerie smiled; like flies to honey, when there was a ghost around the menace Phantom was never far behind. It was only a matter of time before it showed up. She was sad to have had to run off on Danny Fenton, but it was far better for her to take care of the ectoplasmic threat than risk letting him get hurt.
Up this high her glider was struggling against the wind, she was being buffeted around like a leaf in a zephyr and didn't like it one bit. She struggled to regain her balance after a particularly strong blast, the rain pelting against her visor and making it difficult to see. She wiped the excess water off and got a proper look at the ghosts before her. Her eyes widened in fear and she felt her jaw slacken.
There were two level nine ghosts there, no question about it. Even from a distance of over two hundred yards she could feel the sheer power from the energy they were throwing around. But what shocked her was that her scanner showed Phantom as being a level nine. Last time she'd really fought him he was only level seven, and he'd worn her into the ground. Halloween didn't really count in her mind since she'd had to be home in time for curfew. But the last time it mattered she'd fallen unconscious and woken up the next day in her own bed. Her dad had said that that 'kind boy. Danny Fenton' had found her and brought her home.
Point was, Phantom had managed to gain two power levels in just a matter of months, and with the look of intensity in those glowing emerald eyes it was not going to back down. Valerie trembled; her ecto bazooka suddenly seemed very small. She decided to wait for a while, watch the fight and take whatever advantage she could. One way or the other Phantom was finally going to be ended tonight. She had missed the opportunity on Halloween, rendering nearly four hours of flying worthless, but now was a perfect chance to finally bring Phantom down. All she needed to do was watch and wait; surely with both ghosts so strong, Phantom would take a hit and she could swoop in, destroy the ghosts and then be heralded as the saviour that she was.
Valerie floated back, still struggling against the wind, and stopped when she was at a safe distance. The loud shouts of the two ghosts echoed loudly in the wind, sending an involuntary shiver down Valerie's spine. By comparison the white haired Phantom looked miniscule, the second ghost towering at nearly thirty feet.
"So you're the one they call Danny Phantom." The larger ghost jeered, his voice wheezing asthmatically. Valerie turned her eyes to it, trembling at the terrifying power pouring off it. It looked like a solidified green tornado, its spectral tail whirling through the clouds, like a frozen wind. Its chest was darkened by a black armour chest plate, twin steel spikes jutting from its shoulders. Its whirling green arms ended in deep black gauntlets. Its chest was emblazoned by two concentric green and red circles, a yellow 'V' shaped lightning bolt crossing the two in an intimidating symbol of electric power. Valerie shivered, that alone she could deal with, but its face...
Its face looked like it was made of green lightning, twin bolts jutting up from its head in a sick imitation of ears. Its jeering mouth frowned in a deep scowl as it looked down at Phantom. But its eyes, they flared solid red with a note of malice Valerie hadn't seen since she faced the Ghost King Pariah Dark. But there was more to it, the solid red hue held a level of insanity that Pariah had lacked. Valerie shook, realising that this ghost would have no restraint, nothing could stop it doing whatever it wanted unless Phantom brought it down. And she hated relying on that ghost for anything.
"I do not see what the Observants worry about. You are nothing but an insect." The ghost cried with its asthmatic wheeze. Valerie watched as Phantom straightened, its cloak billowing wildly in the wind. Its green eyes held a single minded focus, and Valerie prepared herself.
"I don't care about the Observant's. You have no place here." Phantom shouted, his voice conveying a level of authority Valerie had long since forgotten.
"Ghost Child, I belong here far more than you." The ghost shot back. "I am the forces of nature; fire, wind, lightning. They all answer to me, the weather itself is mine to control, and only I, Vortex, am capable of taking the raw elements and reshaping them as artwork. You are nothing, no art to your name, no beauty to your existence. It is you who has no place here." The ghost, Vortex, took a deep breath, Valerie trembled at the energy reading her visor was displaying, and then it blew. Phantom held for all of a second before the gale force winds sent it flying.
Phantom was slammed hard against one of the skyscrapers across town; even from here Valerie could see the huge cracks that had appeared in the wall. But Phantom barely took a second to recover. Before she could blink Phantom was back, sending a huge ecto-blast at Vortex. Vortex just opened its wide maw and ate the blast, swallowing it with a smile and a mad gleam in its eyes. Phantom visibly gulped.
"Nice try, Phantom. But I was expecting a more... electrifying performance from you." The ghost jeered.
Phantom shook his head, clearing his face of any fear and loosed his cocky grin. "Oh, I can do electrifying." Suddenly there were not one, but four Phantoms surrounding the larger ghost. Each released a long chord of ectoplasmic rope, lassoing the larger ghost. "Go Ghost Stinger!" The Phantoms cried in chorus, and each of the ropes flared with bright white electricity.
"Interesting." Vortex murmured, nodding his head in something like appreciation. "Perhaps you will be a challenge after all. But electricity is my domain." With that Vortex released a huge bolt of electricity at each of the Phantoms. The sky turned white in the bright light and there was a pained scream. Valerie watched three of the Phantoms vanish, destroyed by the high voltage that Vortex had thrown at the younger ghost.
The original Phantom was left panting, its white hair standing on end and trails of smoke came off its singed form. It coughed, and Valerie winced as a spattering of green ectoplasm crossed its lips. But it was still standing... floating, which just proved how dangerous it was. Phantom closed its eyes for a moment, seeming to gather his strength. He opened his eyes, their glowing green piercing through the darkness of the night.
"Okay, you can do electricity." Phantom panted, "But I'm not gonna go down that easy. Chemistry lesson; frozen water with no free ions does not conduct electricity. In other words, freeze!" Phantom's eyes went blue, and the ghost was encased in a block of ice. Phantom smiled wearily, and Valerie was about to approach when she saw the cracks forming in the block.
"Excellent," The ghost beamed, the ice completely shattering as the ghost broke free. "I haven't had a contest like this in eons. But you will not win, Boy. Not when you battle the power of nature itself."
Phantom was assaulted by a barrage of hailstones, sending him flying back once more. Phantom's eyes glowed blue once more, and the hailstones disappeared.
"You're anything but natural." Phantom snarled, taking a deep breath, and Valerie covered her ears as she realised what it was going to do. "Now I'm sorry, but you really gotta GO!" The air itself seemed to quake as waves of visible green sonic energy leapt from Phantom's mouth. The rain filled night was suddenly filled with the maudlin cries of the damned. Valerie shivered as a tremor ran up her spine, an automatic response to the inhuman cacophony eerily echoing from Phantom's mouth. Vortex was thrown back, his form dissipating into a cloud of mist.
Valerie sighed, glad that it was finally over. Realising that Phantom was weakened she raced over. This could be her only opportunity to take it down once and for all.
Line Break
Clark sighed as he relaxed into one of the couches at the Talon. After Danny had gone off with the tour group he had gone back to Smallville to get a couple of chores out of the way. He'd gotten a call a couple of hours later from Chloe saying that Danny was going to hang out in the city for a couple of hours with one of his old friends. Clark was happy enough with that since Danny didn't seem to have made any friends his own age. Although he suspected that Danny was still spending time with Victor Stone. It was just disappointing that something else had come in the way of a much needed conversation between all three of them.
Chloe had asked Clark if he still wanted to catch up at the Talon, and he had been happy to oblige. By the time he'd gotten there Chloe was sitting comfortably in the corner sofa and had been joined by Lois. He had gone to get the three of them a round of drinks before joining the two cousins and was happy just to take an opportunity to relax. The last month had been So terrible and miserable; first the breakup with Lana, then the damned excursion to find Milton Fine in Honduras, and then last night with Lana's near permanent jaunt to the other side. After everything that had happened he just wanted to take the opportunity to rest. Clark's eyes surveyed the Talon, there weren't that many people there and the small TV screen in the far corner of the room was muted, but it was currently going through some boring cooking show.
"So where's Casper tonight?" Lois asked taking a sip of her Mocha Latte.
"Hanging with a friend in Metropolis." Clark answered with a smile.
Lois practically beamed. "'Bout time. I was starting to think the kid was more antisocial than you, Smallville." Clark just shook his head. He was Lois was here, her humour helped lighten many of the worries pressing on him. But she was really equal parts funny and infuriating. Something about her always managed to leave Clark feeling exasperated.
"So who's this 'friend'?" Lois pressed.
Clark was saved by Chloe who decided to answer. "You know how I was taking a tour at the Planet today? Turns out it was Danny's old school. I was able to convince the teacher to let Danny tag along, and he spent the whole time talking to... what was her name?"
"Valerie?" Clark supplemented, knowing that was the only surviving girl from his old school that Danny had favourably talked about, although there was always a strange undertone to it.
"Valerie, right. They decided to head out for dinner before she was due back at the hotel." Chloe finished. Clark's attention flicked back to the screen, it had switched to the news and a headline underneath confirmed that it was an important announcement.
"Good for him, kid like that shouldn't be cooped up on a farm all the time. Right, Smallville?" Lois joked, nudging him with her elbow. But Clark wasn't paying attention. His attention was wholly on the screen where a weather-beaten reporter was mutely talking about a freak weather storm in the Metropolis area. The picture on screen panned out to show the sky where colossal flashes of lightning brightened the night to near daylight.
"Is that Metropolis?" Lois asked, her eyes moving to see what had caught Clark's attention.
Chloe frowned. "That wasn't there when I was leaving." And Clark agreed. With a storm like that they should have been seeing signs of it all day. There was another flash and Clark could have sworn he saw a white cloak floating in the clouds.
"Was that...?" Chloe asked her attention entirely on the screen. It was still on mute but it seemed half the cafe had their attention on the small screen.
"Phantom." Clark finished for her. "That's not freak weather, it's a ghost."
"What about Danny?" Lois asked, her eyebrows creased in worry.
Chloe shook her head. "He'll be fine, he knows enough about ghosts to know when to clear out. It's Phantom I'm worried about." They all flinched as they saw Phantom split into four before being electrocuted by a bright lightning bolt. Clark had seen enough.
"I'm gonna go see if Danny's alright." Clark said excusing himself. Chloe raced to follow him.
"Actually Clark, this time maybe you should help Phantom. By the looks of that..." Chloe said gesturing back towards the screen. "He could use all the help he could get, even if he is a ghost." Clark nodded in acknowledgement, wondering briefly how Danny managed to keep his two lives so separate. Before Chloe could say another word he was off, racing towards Metropolis faster than the human eye could see.
This time he was going to be there for Danny whether he liked it or not.
Line Break
Phantom gasped for air, an unnecessary but subconscious action in this state. Every part of him ached like he'd just gone ten rounds with the Fenton Generator, and with this particular ghost that didn't seem that far off. The Wail had been a chance move, but seemed to have taken a lot out of his opponent. He was worried, Vortex was more powerful than Phantom, and while he wasn't as outclassed as he had been when he was up against Pariah, Vortex was still a force to be reckoned with. Phantom watched as his opponent dissipated into mist, allowing himself a brief sigh of relief as the threat seemed to withdraw.
He floated for a minute, dazed, trying to regain some energy after the Wail. Phantom had needed to use it at full force, like when he'd been up against his alternate future self and it was only due to his heightened endurance that he hadn't been forced to shift back to his human form. He closed his eyes; the wind and rain were still intense, but not nearly as bad as they had been. He needed this, to stop for a minute and get his thoughts back together. Finally he took a deep breath, steadying himself. Vortex was still out there, Phantom could sense that much and he needed to take the opportunity to trap him before he could get away.
Phantom pulled the Thermos out, knowing that to an observer it would look like he had pulled it from thin air. Suddenly he was blasted by a pink energy blast. He frowned, that didn't feel like Vortex, it was far too weak. In fact it felt a lot like...
Phantom spun around just in time to dodge a second blast from the Red Huntress. Her sleek black armour mostly blended in with the light, but the faint glow of the red betrayed its ghostly origins and made it all too easy for Phantom to see her in the dark. He groaned, already too exhausted to fight her. This was the first time he'd seen Valerie in uniform since Halloween, and both times she'd decided to pop up once he'd already handled the threat. But this time he hadn't even got the ghost in the Thermos.
"Stop right there, ghost!" She spat, pulling out a long red and silver gun. "You're not getting away on me this time!" Phantom shrieked as the blast collided with him, he was just too tired to continue to evade her. The blast stung like acid against his skin, and his already protesting flesh screamed in agony at another wound.
The Huntress clicked her heel on the board and the gap between the two prongs sparked. Having felt the electricity from that particular part of her board before he didn't want to be anywhere near her when it went off. He was distracted, trying to evade the Huntress and her many painful weapons. He missed the wheezing sound of Vortex reforming behind him, passing it off as Valerie's hover board charging up. He missed the first heat blast that Vortex threw at him, convinced that it was a shot from one of her many weapons.
What he didn't miss was the way his core screamed at Vortex's follow up shot, a bolt of lightning ten times stronger than everything he'd sent before, straight towards him and Valerie. Phantom didn't think, he just teleported and threw up a dome shield in time to protect Valerie. He felt her fear, pouring through her aura in almost tangible droves. He felt the lightning bolt collide with his shield and braced as it intensified. He felt himself losing ground in the sky, tiny cracks forming in his bright green shield.
There was a moment of eerie silence when the whole world seemed to freeze. Then the shield burst, disintegrating into a mist of fine green dust. It was swept away by the wind only a moment later. Then the lightning struck. Phantom felt every cell, every nerve of him catch on fire, the searing pain second only to his accident in the portal. He screamed, feeling his pained screech shift to the Ghostly Wail without his consent. But it hurt the foreign energy was vicious, rampaging through his body and attempting to destroy him from within.
Phantom stilled in the air, his scream instantly cut off as he felt the electrical energy go deeper. It stabbed into his core, through the warmth of his human half and the ice of his ghost half, digging right through him. He barely felt the blast that the Huntress sent at him, he was too lost to his own world of piercing agony. There was a moment where he felt himself fade, a terrifying instant where he was nowhere and everywhere at the same time. The only thing keeping Phantom tethered to the world was the need to protect the very girl who was trying to end him.
He gasped, a bright blue ring forming around his waist, but he managed to keep his mind together and force it back. His breath quaked; the painful electricity was still rampaging through his core and driving him to distraction. But he had to end this fight. He took a deep breath, steeling himself against the pain and let out one final Wail. This time he dug through what little of his core he could harness, bleeding his cold energy into the sonic power of the Ghostly Wail.
The triumphant smirk on Vortex's face vanished as the icy sonic waves hit. It was the force of a blizzard on Neptune, far colder and more intense than anything Vortex could summon. Phantom watched as for a second time Vortex's form dissipated into mist. This time there was no hesitation; he uncapped the Thermos and sucked him up. He was not going to just let Vortex go. With how dangerous he was, how insane he'd felt, as well as what he remembered from Clockwork's lessons; Phantom's guardian needed to take care of the malicious ghost. And with how badly Phantom was hurting he sincerely hoped that Vortex was sentenced to the Phantom Zone.
He sighed, Vortex was finally gone. He could rest. Phantom was so tired that he'd forgotten about the secondary threat until another red blast hit him. The blast thumped into his already aching shoulder, and Phantom lost his grip on the Thermos. It tumbled down to the earth below, and Phantom was soon after it. But he was thrown off course by a large red missile. It exploded on contact, sending him crashing down to the ground with an almighty thud. It was too much, the painful electricity still arching through his core was ripping him apart inside, and the physical injuries he had already sustained were now making themselves well known.
Blearily Phantom climbed out of the three foot crater, shaking as his ectoplasmic muscles failed. He didn't have the energy to float, let alone teleport to safety. The only thing keeping him in his ghost form was the sheer force of will, but even that was fading. There was the whirring of charging ecto guns, and Phantom blearily looked up to see a circle of white suits. A final onslaught of pain, the sensation of something wrapping around his waist and the cold pain as his core sought to protect his human half sent him blinking blearily into the dark recesses of unconsciousness.
Line Break
The world slowed to a standstill around Clark as he tore across the highway to Metropolis, the rain stinging his face as he raced through. By the time he got there the fight seemed to be over, the intense rainfall and wind having dissipated into a small drizzle. Clark passed by a blank white van, searching for any sign of his cousin. He eventually found the police, including Detective Maggie Sawyer who was surveying the damage high up on one of the skyscrapers. Hoping that she had any useful information Clark sidled up to her.
"Should've known you'd show up sooner or later, Kent." The detective said shaking her head.
"Do you know what happened?" Clark asked looking at the destruction left behind. It seemed like the weather had done some bad damage to the local infrastructure, the worst being the damage to the top of the skyscraper that Clark suspected Danny had been thrown into.
Maggie frowned at him. "We're not sure. Witnesses said it was ghosts, but I don't think ghosts could do anything like this. Couple of government agents pulled cleanup. It seems they took the perp. into custody." Maggie's voice was short and crisp, but Clark was glad she was answering him at all. In November Clark and Lois had worked together to bring down a foreign politician, but their methods hadn't worked quite to plan. Maggie had been working on the case, and while she was happy that they'd helped her, she had ended up suggesting that the two of them stay out of crime and justice. Danny had been in the Zone while that was going on, and Clark had decided that he did not want to tell the sixteen year old exactly what had happened. Some of that story was a bit too embarrassing.
Clark frowned, the oblique reference to 'Government Agents' was concerning. "Any idea who the agents were?"
Maggie shook her head. "No, but they had more clearance than I do. Strange men though, at first I thought they were from a wedding, they wore all white suits." Clark's eyes widened, realising exactly who had taken Danny.
"Any hint as to where they were going?" Clark asked, trying to keep his voice calm. Panicking would not help now.
"No, and Kent, as much as I enjoy your relentless questioning I do have work to do." Maggie dismissed him, walking off to talk to some of the other officers who were surveying the damage. Clark stalked off, wishing that he had any clue of where Danny could be. He walked a couple of blocks, staring at the singe marks on the building before he came to a second area which had been taped off. In the centre of the black and yellow tape was a three foot deep crater, large cracks stretching out into the black bitumen around it. Clark shuddered knowing how much force it would take for anything to make a mark like that. He skirted around the area, hoping to find anything useful when he spotted a glimmer of silver.
Approaching it he recognised it as Danny's Thermos. The unmistakable green and silver design was singed slightly, and had been dented by the large fall. Clark could swear he heard the captive ghost cursing that his artwork 'was ruined by that ghost brat'. Clark tucked the Thermos into his pocket knowing that Danny would want it if... no, when he got back. But there were no further clues, no hint as to where Danny could be now. He spotted a flash of orange and yellow amongst the crowd and quickly ran over. He recognised the girl as Valerie from earlier. They hadn't been formally introduced, but from Danny and Chloe's descriptions he knew it was her.
"Valerie." Clark called, running over her. She looked scared for a moment, as if she'd been caught somewhere she shouldn't be. Looking at the time he realised that she was probably supposed to be back at the hotel by now, but if she was here she had probably seen what had happened to Danny.
"Clark?" Valerie questioned, looking him up and down. "Danny's cousin, right?"
"Yeah." Clark answered.
"If you're looking for him, I don't know where he went to. He did the same thing back home too." Valerie shrugged.
"Actually, I was wondering what happened, did you see anything?" Clark asked, trying not to sound suspiciously interested.
"Ghosts" Valerie hissed. "No matter what they always ruin everything. I was happily hanging out with Danny and then that big... weather controlling one just had to show up. Next thing Phantom's up there and the two of them are on rampage. Did you see how much destruction they've caused?" Clark watched as Valerie angrily shook her hair. He remembered Danny saying she had a bleak outlook on ghosts, but this ran much deeper.
"So you saw how it ended?" Clark pressed. At the moment anything would be helpful, maybe the GIW had said where they were going to take Danny.
"Well, obviously Phantom got sick of the other ghost showing it up, so it trapped its buddy in its silver container thing. Then the Red Huntress came in to help take him down. Phantom got hit and thrown into the ground. Then the good people of the GIW came in and said that they were going to take it in. Good riddance I say." Valerie finished her rant, a strange gleam in her eye. If Clark didn't know better he would have thought she was the Red Huntress, but surely Danny would have told him that.
Clark muttered thanks and offered to take her back to the hotel safely. After all the streets of Metropolis weren't a safe place for a young woman this time of night. Surprisingly she declined, saying that she was fine to 'fly on her own'. Clark shook his head as he watched the dark haired girl disappear into the crowd. She was strangely confident for a girl her age, and Clark wondered where she'd gotten such a strong prideful streak. None of the girls he knew were happy to be by themselves in the city after dark.
Clark frowned; talking to Valerie had been a dead end and he still had no idea where to look for Danny. With a frustrated sigh he decided to call Chloe. Somehow she always managed to pull through for him, and maybe this time she could help him find the GIW HQ. It was the only chance he had to find his cousin, and Clark knew he was fast going to run out of time. When Lex had captured AC he had wanted information, AC would have been kept alive. When Victor had been apprehended they wanted to improve him, so he would have survived. But Clark knew that the GIW only wanted to destroy ghosts, and that meant that there was only the narrowest window of opportunity to find his cousin.
Clark was truly terrified as dark images of unending torture and experimentation crossed his vision, knowing that he probably couldn't even conceive the worst of it.
Line Break
Phantom blinked his eyes open. He was in a stark white lab, vaguely reminiscent of where they had kept Victor when Cyntechnics had got their hands on him. But there was nothing in the room but for a silver lab table in the centre. Phantom flinched back, his shoulders coming into fast contact with the wall behind him. He absently noted the glowing green chains fastened around his wrist that clanked as he moved against the wall.
"Subject 9.0046, cease." A cold, emotionless voice echoed through the room and Phantom jumped. He tried to reach out with his senses and find the camera, shut it down. But he halted after a moment; his core was in pure agony. Vague flashes of his fight with Vortex whirled through his mind, the incessant pain as Vortex's final lightning blast pierced down into his core. Phantom felt as if his core was fighting itself, and could feel the electrical energy rampaging furiously against the cold in his core in a battle for dominance.
A panel on the far side of the room opened, the hidden doorway parting to allow two white clad men to enter the room. Both were decked in long white lab coats, but the third man who came in betrayed exactly who had caught him. He was clad in a crisp white business suit, straining slightly as he wheeled in a large silver table covered entirely in silver and red weaponry. What little colour that remained in Phantom's face bleached out. It was over. The Guys in White had finally caught him.
"Subject 9.0046, stand." One of the lab-coats ordered, and before Phantom knew what was happening he was being brutally shoved towards the lab table. The long chains were released, only to be replaced by glowing green cuffs that bound him to the table. Phantom struggled, desperately trying to free himself. He attempted to phase, but a jolt of electricity raced through him. Whether it was from the restraints or his own core he didn't know. All that he felt was the slap across the face as a pained cry echoed from his throat.
"Subject 9.0046, be silent!" the white suit demanded, pulling out a small ecto-gun and quickly firing it at his shoulder. Phantom fought back the urge to scream as the gun antagonised his already burned flesh. He felt them open the clasp of his cloak, pulling it away from him. He watched helplessly as it dissipated into mist, a silent tear in his eye as his only physical reminder of Sam was stolen from him. He couldn't summon it back, he was too weak. He was facing this all alone.
"Agent M, Researchers B and G present for primary examination of Entity 9.0046, commonly identified as 'Phantom'" The white suit said to the air. Apparently Phantom's entire imprisonment was going to be recorded. Fear flashed through his green eyes and he trembled back into the cold metallic lab table.
"9.0046 exhibits close mimicry of 'human' anxiety." One of the researchers stated, his cold grey eyes looking down at Phantom.
"Subject has been restrained, begin proceedings." The agent instructed. Phantom blinked as one of the researchers picked up a scalpel, glittering menacingly in the light. Phantom tried to shift in his bonds, but it was no use. Phantom shrieked as the blade pierced his abdomen, digging down through his tunic and into his flesh. He was helpless as the researcher carved a large 'Y' across his chest, ectoplasm oozing out of the incision. The pain of his core and the agony burning through his abdomen was too much, with flickering green dancing on the edge of his vision Phantom blacked out.
The next time he woke it was to find himself chained to the wall; his arms were bound tightly, spreading him across the wall. His feet hung in the air, barely skimming the floor. There were long streaks of green across the floor from where they had dragged him over from the lab table. Phantom looked down at the mutilated gashes on his black tunic. He could feel the skin on his chest struggling to pull itself back together. The sheer difficulty told Phantom that they had used an ecto-based scalpel. Very little else could disrupt his healing like that.
"Good, 9.0046." A man spoke, breaking Phantom from his dazed reverie. "I see you're finally awake." The man strode over to a table. Phantom noted that there was only the two of them in the room, the two researchers must have finished their part and left and now he was faced by two men in white suits. Phantom gulped, seeing the man stalk over to the weapon covered table, his fingers waving in indecision as he tried to select which one to use.
"Prototype 461G; the Ecto-Blade. Test 1." The man announced, picking up something that looked Very similar to Valerie's shruiken discs. Phantom trembled as the man threw them at him. While the GIW still had notoriously bad aim, at this close range one was bound to hit. Phantom screeched as a disk lodged itself into his thigh sending a spattering of green out onto the ground.
"Prototype 461G; Effective, efficiency 20 percent." The white clad man declared, stalking over and pulling the disc out of his thigh. He set them aside on the table and picked up the next weapon. This looked more like the typical gun, but something told Phantom it was far more. Again the man named the weapon before letting loose a round of blasts at him. He flinched as they scorched his already burned and mutilated flesh, biting down the pained cry that sought to escape his lips.
It went on for hours; each weapon was declared effective or ineffective and set to the side. There were a couple that actually helped him, replenishing a little of his energy. Whenever that happened the man would stalk over and slap him across the cheek, making sure that even their failures punished him. Phantom passed into a bleary daze, hoping for some respite but knowing none was coming. The pain in his core was mounting once more, and he couldn't concentrate. After four hours of constant tests and retests Phantom's eyes fluttered closed, leading him into the safe darkness of oblivion.
Line Break
Clark pounded his fist against the tabletop in frustration. It had been three days since the fight in Metropolis and Danny's subsequent capture. He had spent the last two days searching through possible GIW bases for any sign of his cousin, but most of them had turned out to be decoys. Clark surveyed the cleared room, there had been nobody here and probably hadn't been anyone in the decrepit building for the best part of a decade. But Clark was desperate and was hunting down the men who had taken his cousin.
The first night when he'd gotten home he'd set the Thermos on Danny's desk, knowing that eventually he would want to take care of it himself. Chloe had run a search overnight for possible GIW bases. Clark had passed into an uneasy sleep, half expecting Danny to burst in at any moment with a cheery smile saying how he'd miraculously escaped and everything was fine. That morning with no Danny to be found he'd headed to Chloe to find the results and there were over a hundred all within a day's drive of Metropolis. He had spent the whole day looking, but hadn't had any luck.
Clark had told his mom that Danny was doing a ghost thing, which was partially true. He just couldn't bear the thought of her face if she ever found out the truth. It was the family's worst nightmare, ever since Clark had been little. But it had only ever been an abstract thought, the terrible 'what if?' that waited on the darkest horizon. But now it was real. For a similar reason to his mom, Clark had decided not to tell Chloe. It was safer for her to believe that it was Phantom who was being hurt, not Danny. He didn't want to risk scarring her like that when they knew what the GIW had planned for any ghost they caught.
Clark had been tempted to call in Victor, but he realised that the only point of contact he had with the half-robotic man was Danny. Clark growled. Every second he wasted searching was another one that Danny just didn't have. He stared at the remains of the splintered table; this had been just another decoy. So far he had only encountered four actual bases and his cousin was nowhere near any of them. Calming himself he raced off to the next potential base. It was a system of labs in Star City, in Marquette near the bay. Clark just hoped this was where Danny was being held.
Clark sped across the darkening countryside. By now the first stars of evening were coming out. It would have been a beautiful night if Clark hadn't been so consumed with worry for his cousin. He barrelled through the doors, this time not caring to be careful when he heard a piercing scream. It reverberated through the air sending chills down his spine. Clark hoped that he never had to hear anything like that again; it chilled him to the bones. It was an overwhelmed scream of pure terror, of hopeless agony and of complete and utter defeat.
Clark barged through the halls, throwing a few security guards against the wall as he went through. There was a satisfying crash as he sent the white metal door flying out of the way. But that didn't prepare him for what he saw. Three men were gathered around a silver lab table in the centre of the room. There were large stains of green on the floor and it took a second to realise that that was Phantom's blood. He gagged, but wasted no further time, in a blur he tackled the three white clad men sending them flying into the walls to fall unconscious.
He approached the lab table, noting the dead look in Phantom's green eyes. Somehow he was still in his ghost form, one small blessing in this mess.
"Clark?" Phantom croaked; his voice gravelly. His pupils were wide, diluted with pain and fear.
"It's okay." Clark soothed, wondering what trauma his cousin had endured. "You'll be fine." Clark pulled on the bonds around Phantom's wrists, but met resistance. Eventually he pulled through, his fury at those monsters inspiring him to greater strengths.
"No." Phantom murmured softly, his eyes half closed in agony. "Video feed, you're not..." Phantom's eyes flickered closed and his hand reached to his chest. Phantom coughed twice and Clark flinched as green ectoplasm made its way onto his lips. He moved to help Phantom sit up, pulling his hand away when he felt the still oozing wound on his chest.
"I gotta... you're secret..." Clark tried to ignore Phantom's incoherent babblings. He had to get him out of here now. Clark picked Phantom up bridal style, terrified by just how light he was. Phantom's eyes opened in narrow slits, green swirling into weak silver. Clark jumped as Phantom's glowing aura surged for a moment before the whole lab went black.
"What was that?" He demanded, scared that Phantom had just sacrificed the last of his strength to keep Clark safe.
"Your secre's safe... Power..." Clark watched as Phantom's jumbled ramblings faded as his eyes once more closed. Clark was just thankful that Phantom was still alive at all, although the fact that he hadn't changed back petrified him. Danny always changed back to human when he fell unconscious, every single time. And here he was unconscious in his barely glowing ghost form. The usually bright visible aura of energy that always surrounded him was all but gone. The cloak that he seemed to love so much was absent and his tunic was filthy and ragged. The silver embroidered DP emblem that sat above his chest was stained with green. Clark bit back bile at what those monsters had done to Phantom.
Clark roared out of the lab, still carrying his cousin. Pressing himself faster than he had ever run before, he made his way back from Star City to the barn in a bare matter of seconds. He raced Phantom up to the loft, gently laying him on the sofa. He took a minute to speed over to the house, retrieving Danny's red blanket and the small green first aid kit he kept hidden under the bed. He was just glad that his mom was already in bed, he couldn't let her see this. At least not until Clark knew how bad it really was.
Bracing himself Clark pulled the tunic away, as soon as it was off it dissipated in a whirling green mist. Clark gagged as he saw the mutilated mess on Phantom's stomach. They had... they had vivisected him. The open 'Y' shaped incision was still oozing slightly, but the faint scarring around the flesh said they'd done this more than once. How many times had they cut him open in the last three days? Clark wanted to be sick, this was almost more than he could handle. But he forced himself to calm down. This was Danny, the same boy who would go above and beyond the call of duty for him. Clark carefully cleaned off the wound, bandaging it up as best as he could.
Clark monitored Phantom for ten minutes before the bandage was soaked through. Clark didn't know what to do; Danny had never told him how to heal ghosts, and the idea of cauterising the wound... Clark couldn't do it. He unwrapped the first bandage, cleaning the area again and repeating the process with clean dressing. An hour passed this time, but it was obvious that something was stopping the wound from closing.
Phantom had yet to stir from his unconscious state and Clark was fast running out of options. Something told him that if Phantom didn't get proper help soon then there was a high chance that he could lose his cousin forever. This was far more terrifying than just days ago when the meteor rock cocktail had knocked Danny out and stopped his heart, and far worse than when he'd teleported into the loft revealing part of his secret to Chloe. This time he was stuck in his ghost form, the injuries would have been fatal to a human and Clark was starting to wonder if Phantom was all that was left of his cousin.
Now he was tempted to call his mom. Things had gone downhill over the last two hours and Phantom was still oozing profusely. Clark had long since finished off the bandages from Danny's ghost first aid kit and was now making do with store-bought bandages. Even those were soaked through far too quickly. The problem was, even if his mom knew about Danny's condition, there was little either of them could do. Clark felt his eyes burn, but he refused to cry. He was not going to let Danny down; he was going to make sure that he was safe once and for all.
There was only one person Clark knew well enough to trust with this, and he'd already promised to help with anything to do with Danny. It only took one last look at his cousin's prone form to convince Clark that this was the right thing to do. He pulled out his phone.
"Hello Mr Masters. It's Danny, he needs your help."
AN: Um, yeah, very... dark. Sorry if you don't like that sort of thing, but it needed to be desperate enough for Clark to turn to Vlad. That's all I'm gonna say...
Until Next time,
Bluerose