I'll give myself a pat on the back for my personal longest update yet at about 3,500 words of story! We've reached way past 2,000 hits folks, thanks! :D
This part of the story might seem a little slow, and since my computer failed me on the last update, I feel like I owe you guys. So, I'm going to make updates REALLY long for a few chapters. I'm going to try and get back to "The Stroll Through the Mall" part after the next chapter.
I don't own DP.
Chapter 8: Bad News, Bad News, and That's All Folks.
(Tuckers POV.)
Sam and Danny were still sitting on the floor quietly, thankfully. Tiffany Snow had just finished interviewing Shelly Makamoto. I sat comfortably on the couch.
"So don't touch that remote," Tiffany said, "when we come back, we'll review the stunning battle footage and break down the most important parts."
Danny groaned and Sam excused herself to the kitchen to make popcorn. Danny didn't say he wanted any… None of us were in really high moods today. I knew what Danny had done, but neither of us had the guts to tell Sam about it. Everyone had heard about the fight, but Sam was in the dark (no pun intended) about the damage.
The damage Danny had caused.
Sam came back in and brought with her a giant bowl of delicious smelling popcorn. She sat back down next to Danny and offered him some. He didn't make a move to take any. So, naturally I stepped in and took some. Sam gave me a scowl and the commercials were over. Saved by the bell. We watched intently as Tiffany started talking again.
"I'm here with guest's Andrew Glock, a martial arts and battle tactics expert. And Maddie Fenton, who as we all know is one of Amity Park's resident Ghost hunters, as well as a leading expert on ghosts."
Danny looked up and Sam stopped mid-chew.
"Mom didn't say anything about being interviewed on the news…"
I snorted, "maybe that's because you were sleeping the morning away."
He gave me a glance, "would've been till noon if you guys hadn't shown up."
Sam silenced us with a buttery hand. Danny remembered his empty stomach and snatched some popcorn.
"So," Tiffany began, "before we go into detail, could you tell us your first impression of the fight?"
Andrew gestured to Mrs. Fenton to go ahead, "Well, I got my first impression while I was at home making cookies," we took note of the "cookies" part. "I heard a fairly loud booming noise, and immediately checked the "Fenton Amity Park Satellite," or 'F.A.P.S.' for the location and strength of what I first though, was a small earthquake."
"Amazing," Tiffany interrupted, as she clearly set up Mrs. Fenton up for something more ground breaking. "In a bottom line summary; what does the F.A.P.S. do?"
Mrs. Fenton smiled with pride, "F.A.P.S. is fairly new and it doesn't detect the mere presence of a ghost. It's actually a satellite and it can only sense a ghost when it is in active combat mode. From the F.A.P.S. we can get power levels, ghost type, attack type, and usually a ghost I.D," Ms. Fenton smiled softly, "The F.A.P.S. can also read earthquakes and storms so, we can see if changes in environment effect ghost activity."
"You think it's a threat?" Sam asked.
"Probably not," I answered.
"I'll ask Mom about it anyway," Danny said.
Tiffany continued, "Interesting. So Mr. Glock, what was your first reaction?"
"You can just call me Andrew, and I had just arrived in Amity Park for a conference I'm teaching and checked into my hotel, when I felt the vibrations. Like Mrs. Fenton, at first I also thought it was an earthquake. I couldn't see anything from my hotel room, but I was still scared for everyone's sake."
"How kind of you," Tiffany said, "Now with your help, we will thoroughly examine the battle scenes, and possibly determine just how good a fight these ghosts gave."
The entire screen switched to the inside of the mall during Shelly's interview. She was just finishing up with questions when the video stopped and Tiffany interrupted.
"A this point, the first sign of the ghost activity was recorded. You can see cameraman Mike, who noticed the blue mist and almost dropped the camera."
I could still swear his name was Mac.
The film way played and the audio was activated. "The station has decided to"-"EVERYONE!" Mac interrupted, "HIT THE DIRT!"
The image backed up and froze on a good shot Mac got of the blue mist.
"So, Mrs. Fenton. What can you tell of this blue mist that suddenly appears?"
"Obviously it's a teleportation technique. Fairly weak though, The F.A.P.S. didn't pick it up," she answered.
The video continued. Boy, was Mac a really brave cameraman or what? He caught Danny's and Ember's standoff clearly, then Ember struck a chord. It paused again.
"This," Ms. Fenton said, "was picked up by the F.A.P.S. This is what the F.A.P.S. I.D the ghost as…"
A F.A.P.S. log showed up on screen. Ms. Fenton read from it.
Cause For Log: Ghost.
I.D: Ember McLain. #29
Status: Battle Active. Power Level: 4.3
Weapon-s: Primary. Guitar. Secondary. Flaming hair.
Danger level: Mild. Confront-able.
There was more, but Mrs. Fenton stopped there, so that must've been all we needed to know.
"We tell the F.A.P.S. the significant aspects of a ghosts' appearance and weapons. Ember is about average for a combat ghost. The encounter before this one read her at a "3.4" why she had such a huge boost in power is yet to be known. The F.A.P.S. will reset her power level the next time she comes around."
"Do you think," Tiffany asked, "that this ghost will become too powerful for even Phantom to handle?"
Mrs. Fenton openly scowled, "No. The F.A.P.S. shows that just before the ghost became inactive, her levels dropped back down to 3.4. It's quite a huge difference in power, regardless the F.A.P.S. will call her a 4.3 until further notice."
"How is that change in power possible?"
"Well," She hesitated a little, "My husband, Jack and I were up last night brainstorming. Jack seems to think that ghosts may have some kind of ectoplasm based version of adrenaline that gives them a boost in power when they need it most."
Danny openly laughed at that.
They moved o, to where Danny punched Ember through the stinking roof. I've got to say, that's my favorite part.
Tiffany asked Andrew to break down Danny's movements and he interpreted them a little.
"I think," he paused for comic effect, "that I surely wouldn't want to be the objective of Phantom's knuckles, that's for sure…" He got a few chuckles for that. "As for the punch itself, Phantom seems to prefer brute force and he's good at using it too." The punch was played again at half speed, "I can tell by the angle he used, that he meant to punch her through the roof and into the sky. Phantom was quick to use his fists and his aim was completely perfect." He added as an afterthought, "If my students could punch a fraction that well at an angle like that, they wouldn't need me."
Danny brightened up a little bit. "What a compliment!" Tiffany said. "Now let's go onto the next portion of the fight."
Since Mrs. Fenton didn't have anything to say, they skipped to where Mac was on the roof filming the fight, and they watched through the comical part where Danny face-planted on his own shield.
Danny looked embarrassed, I laughed, and Sam shook her head.
"Ouch," Tiffany said, "I'll bet that hurt. What happened here Andrew?"
"The attack hit Phantom's shield lower then he could handle, and smack."
Ms. Fenton looked kind of irritated, "Phantom and Ember have fought many times before, and according to the F.A.P.S. the last five or six times Ember's battled in Amity, she's stayed at the same 3.4. He probably wasn't expecting her to be so much stronger."
Tiffany looked confused, "But don't ghosts have the ability to sense the strength of other ghosts?"
"We don't know that for sure, but Phantom has never proved himself to be very bright in the first place."
"Love you too, Mom," Danny said sarcastically
"Quiet Danny," Sam said. Boy was she cranky today.
They examined the fight up to the point at which, Danny was beaten to the ground.
Andrew commented, "Phantom doesn't seem to like fighting from a long distance. In fact, he's rather terrible at it. I'd say that his favorite attack would be punching, and those light beams would come second."
"Ecto-rays or Ghost-rays," Mrs. Fenton corrected.
"Thank you, and if I were you, Mrs. Fenton, I'd take my advice. If you have to fight Phantom, do so from as far away as possible. He's good at close and mid range combat. He avoids fighting any farther away then that. He also likes to battle in the sky, where he can maneuver easily and take advantage of his exceptional agility."
"Great," Danny said dripping with sarcasm, "thanks for selling me out dude, now when they come at me long range, I'll have you to thank."
They moved on again to the part Danny and I were anticipating.
"Now, it's difficult to see exactly what's going on in these next few parts, but we'll show you the some recent footage of the damage as well, and see if you can make anything out."
They showed Ember strike and Danny split him self into three different Phantom's. They paused on a fairly clear frame of them all together, which clearly showed Ember's attack and the three phantoms.
Tiffany spoke, "This is the second most groundbreaking part of the video since no one has ever witnessed this occurring. Much less video tape it. What is this Mrs. Fenton?"
The screen stayed on the frame as yellow lines (like the ones used during football games) were occasionally roughly drawn, and erased on screen.
"Starting with Ember." Ms. Fenton said, and Ember's destructive chord was circled on screen, "This is simply put, a compacted mass of ectoplasm that is roughly shaped like a fist, and expelled through the use of her guitar."
Ms. Fenton hesitated for a second, "As for Phantom." An arrow was drawn pointing at each clone, "You're right Ms. Snow. Never in the history of ghost hunters or researchers has this ever been documented. However, the theory of ghosts being able to create multiple forms has been passed around."
"Thankfully," she said, "The F.A.P.S. picked it up and changed its' I.D information on Phantom."
Again, one of the F.A.P.S.' logs was shown, and again Mrs. Fenton read the most important parts out loud.
Cause For Log: Ghost.
I.D: Danny Phantom. #1 (A/N The F.A.P.S. numbers ghosts according to the order in which, the F.A.P.S. first detects them.)
Status: Battle Active. Power Level: 7.8
Weapon-s: Primary. Ecto-beam. Secondary. Hand-to-hand.
Danger level: Unapproachable. Highly dangerous.
Ghost: I.D: Danny Phantom. #1. Multiple signals detected under identical ectoplasmic signature. All signal power levels read at 7.8.
Danny looked a little hurt at the "danger level" part, Sam gave him a comforting pat on the pack.
"Oh," Tiffany obviously wasn't expecting that either, "'Unapproachable' and 'highly dangerous?'"
"Yes Ms. Snow, but I didn't determine Phantom's danger level, the F.A.P.S. did, using the information it had on Phantom's power level and activity. Strange, but the F.A.P.S. changed Phantom to "Highly dangerous" after Phantom cloned himself."
"Phantom's power level is '7.8' correct?" Tiffany asked quietly.
"Yes, which towers over both Ember's highest peak at 4.3, and the amount my husband and I can handle. The Red Huntress stands the best chance against him in battle right now. Unfortunately, we have no way on contacting her."
"I see." Tiffany looked into the camera, "Don't touch that remote, we'll be back in a moment with the most intense part of the battle."
The commercials ran again...
Sam muted the TV, and turned to Danny, "7.8, you're seriously almost twice as powerful as Ember was and you still had a hard time fighting her?"
"She surprised me, alright?" Danny got up, "I'm going to go find those cookies."
He left the room and I took the opportunity to talk with Sam, "Why so angry Sam? Finally getting upset with how little he notices you?" I smirked.
"What's that supposed to mean?" She snapped back.
Smirk gone, "You've been treating Danny like a little boy treats a little girl he likes." I waved my hands around acting out my joke, "I shall prove to her, once and for all, how great my love is for her! By throwing this rock at her head and sticking bubble-gum in her hair!"
Sam laughed and relaxed a little. "I'm Just a little out of it today I guess…"
"Well you better snap out of it. Danny needs your support more then mine, it means a lot to him," I leaned in and said quietly, "in fact, I think it means everything to him."
Sam gave me a weird look, and I finally noticed she wasn't wearing heavy makeup today.
"Danny and Sammy, kissing in a tree-" she slapped me before I could finish.
"Cut it out Tucker," She said sternly.
"Come on, Sam. What'd he do to make you mad? What? Don't you like a little eye-candy every now and again?"
Yes, this sounds an awful lot like girl talk, but Jazz said something to me like, "Tuck, you're the mediator between Sam and Danny. Sam doesn't come to me about anything because she sees me as a smaller and smarter version of her parents. It'll help them both if you can be there for them in the right ways."
Also, I can never pass up the chance to tease Sam about her massive crush.
"It's not that." She inclined her head, "last night, when Danny came over without a shirt on, he-"
"Hold. On. Danny did WHAT?"
"Tucker nothing happened. He just panicked about the reporters and came to my place in a hurry."
"Oh," I felt so dumb right then.
"Anyway, he looked alright, healthy. He was a little bruised, but my room wasn't lit very well…"
"And? This has to do with you being upset why?"
"Tucker. When Danny opened the door earlier. Did he seem odd to you?"
"Not really, Sam." Well wasn't going to say, No Sam, I was too busy looking at your hilarious expression to notice Danny. "If you mean he's changed, well what'd you expect? Heck, even I've gotten some pretty decent muscle on me since this whole ghost business began." Don't get me started on Sam. Ms. Teslaff wants Sam on any team she can get her on, and she even suggested training to try for the Olympics.
"Tucker," she said, "Danny's so skinny!" Her face looked pained and concerned, "and I mean really skinny. I could see practically every single one of his ribs! Yeah, sure, he's gotten a lot of muscle in a few short years, but." She let out a long sigh, "Tucker, it's not normal, even dangerous for Danny. What if he gets knocked out for a few days, and no one can find him?"
"Then…then, his body will go for the first, and easiest source of protein it's got…"
"It'll start eating away at his muscles. His heart…"
Danny walked back into the room, and this time I looked at him closely. He did seem on the thin side.
"Found the cookies, there're all kinds here Sam." Danny offered her first pick like an ignored puppy, he even got the eyes down perfectly.
Sam reached for one, "Thanks Danny." She grabbed a large one just as the commercials ended. "Don't be afraid to help yourself, Danny."
"Yep. Because I've never been afraid to help myself!" I grabbed a fistful of cookies and got settled back in.
"Welcome back," Tiffany said, "we're here again with Andrew and Mrs. Fenton to examine the last minutes of the ghost fight between Danny Phantom, and Ember McLain."
Tiffany sat on the right, Andrew in the middle, and Mrs. Fenton on the left side of the table looking nervous about something.
Tiffany looked directly into the camera, "This is by far, the most literal and scientifically groundbreaking moment of the fight," She wore a serious look, "We'll have Mrs. Fenton explain in a moment."
Pictures flashed up on the screen that showed a massive circular hole formed completely through three or four walls.
"Theses photos were taken at the battle scene after the debris settled," It returned back to Mac's video, "And this," Tiffany said, "Is how it was caused."
They played it at half speed, Mac's camera must've shot more then the average frames per second.
Sam gave the TV her full attention, while Danny wouldn't even look at it.
Ember's attack was captured beautifully as the duplicated Phantoms flew away to help the petrified teens. Then it was Danny's move. You could see his chest heave, and then he attacked.
My jaw dropped along with Sam's. I'd heard, and read about it, but I hadn't actually seen it before.
You could clearly see Ember's attack get disintegrated, while Ember herself got knocked back by the invisible mass of powerful energy.
It was terrifying, and we hadn't even heard the audio yet.
Mac and his camera fell in just the right spot to see Shelly get blown back a few yards from where she originally stood. It paused there, and the film was replaced with the trio once again.
"Here is the camera's unaltered audio, recorded during the attack." Tiffany explained.
They played the video at normal speed. Ember's chord was strummed, and the sounds reverberated through the street, then…
BOOM!
The camera's audio recorder couldn't handle it well. Danny gave the TV an odd look.
Andrew look stunned, "Mrs. Fenton? Exactly what was that?"
Mrs. Fenton shifted nervously, "We aren't sure, since most ghost attacks are easy to see, but the F.A.P.S. recorded a change in phantom's Danger level, and added "Unapproachable" to his I.D after that."
Tiffany sat stiffly in her chair, "Why is this, Mrs. Fenton?"
She looked at a piece a paper she was holding, "Well, um, according to the F.A.P.S. Phantom's power level changed for a few seconds when he attacked."
"How much did it change?"
"Well…" She began, "The profile says that…that Phantom jumped from a 7.8, to a, um, 10.3."
It was a good thing we weren't near any stables. If we were, we would've been catching horseflies in our gaping mouths.
Sam grabbed a throw pillow off the couch, apparently no longer stunned. She hit Danny over the head with it, "You idiot!"
"I'm sorry!" He cried, "I didn't mean to make such a mess!"
I glanced at the TV, "Hey guys? Guys? GUYS?" They wouldn't stop, so I changed my tone of voice, "hey lovebirds."
"WE ARE NOT LOVEBIRDS!" They shouted together. I swear it works every single time.
"Guys, can this wait one minute?"
They didn't say anything, but Sam did stop trying to pin Danny down by his neck.
"Thank you." We watched the TV again.
"Thank you for being with us today," Tiffany said to her guests.
"It was a pleasure," Andrew said.
"I feel the same," Mrs. Fenton said calmly.
The camera focused of Tiffany, "On a side note, we'll be broadcasting Mayor Vlad Masters' town meeting to you live, in just a moment. Mayor Masters has called the town meeting in order to discuss the recent developments and chart a course of action."
She went on, "On a similar note, Phantom's ominous attack has officially been nicknamed by various citizens as Phantom's great "BOOM of DOOM."
Sam and Danny shouted, "WHAT?"
I didn't budge, "still beats Inviso-Bill."
REVIEW, and tell me which name is more ridiculous (or lame?). "F.A.P.S." (Fenton Amity Park Satellite or "Boom of Doom"…or does Inviso-Bill still trump the competition?
The F.A.P.S. was hinted at in "Chapter 5: In High Heels," by Amanda Hounds (The APGS Manger) who said,
"And, using Fenton equipment, we'll be able to spot ghost fights and warn the public about them."
I tend to write or say things that come in handy later, intentionally or not. This was a really lucky case.
If you were curious, the idea for the "thromm" was based on an old movie staring Don Knotts called "The Incredible Mr. Limpet." It's an odd but fun movie. When I was little I was completely fascinated by the ability to make a sound like that, even though "thromm" doesn't describe the sound in the movie exactly.
See you Sunday!