Sorry for being so late on updating. I've had a crazy schedule that won't let up until May at least, so updating will be erratic.
The three teenage boys with superpowers were faring, in a word, poorly. They helplessly panicked, hope ticking away like the second hand of a clock. Jake wriggled hopelessly in the Sphinx net, and Randy tried his best to squeeze through the bars of his low, tight cage. Danny was the most immobile of them all at the moment, powers disabled by the box and his arms and legs trapped.
Finally, the ghost boy let out a helpless moan and allowed his head to fall back. He closed his eyes and groaned. "It's no use. We're stuck here." he announced despairingly. Randy scowled at said companion and paused his efforts to find a gap large enough to go through.
"Don't say that yet. There's got to be a way." Randy retorted, crossing his arms. "I mean, you're a box with a head, so you're no help right now." he said with a derisive snort; Danny pulled his head back down and glared at him, which was promptly ignored. Randy turned his head to Jake, narrowing his eyes. "Why exactly is a net stopping you? Just breathe some fire on it and let's go!"
Jake rolled his eyes and sighed. "This ain't just any old net, Randy." The boy grimaced and clenched his fists. "This is a net made out of pure sphinx hair."
"What does the sphinx hair do?" Danny inquired, cocking his head to the side, brows knitted with a frown. Jake pulled his legs against himself, curling into a ball of sorts.
"Sphinx hair is known to weaken dragons. It disables us completely." he explained. Both Randy and Danny grimaced.
"So you're down, and Danny is still just a box with a head." Randy said bitterly.
"Maybe our friends are coming to get us." Danny interjected hopefully. "Sam and Tuck have gotten me out of jams before."
"Yeah, let's hope," Jake agreed, "Trixie and Spud and maybe even G will come. If they can find this place and find a way in without being caught."
"And Howard's probably right on his way!" Randy exclaimed. He formed a lackluster smile. "We just have to hope for the best. Hmm..." He placed a hand on his chin and then looked back towards the other boys. "I think I might have an idea." He balanced himself on his knees, moving from the leg-cross he had been in. His hand dove down into his pants, and slowly, methodically, the hand moved back and forth. Danny and Jake shared an annoyed look, and looked back to Randy.
"Dude...I understand you're trying to distract yourself, but now is really not a good time to do that." Danny snapped sardonically. Randy grunted.
"I'm looking for...ah!" He pulled the Ninja mask from his pajama pants. "I always have it with me. Even now!" Randy held it up proudly, pressing it against the bars of the cage in the others' direction. The other two simultaneously screwed up their faces.
"That was in your pants?"Danny asked warily.
"And you're gonna put in over your head?" Jake furthered, one of his eyes twitching. Randy beamed.
"Yep! It's Ninja-o'-Clock!" He pulled the mask over his head, and with a quick flurry of black and red ribbons and flashes, he was covered by the suit. Randy yanked the sword out of the scarf, pulled it back, and struck the bars of the cage as hard as he could. The sword vibrated and the bars cracked minimally, and that was it. He stared for a moment before finally letting out an extended, pained cry. "Are you kidding me? Really?"
"Well, it cracked...a little." Jake said reassuringly.
"You tried." Danny consoled lamely. Randy nervously whimpered.
"We need to bust out of here fast. It cracked a little, so I'm gonna keep hacking at it until something happens." He pulled back the sword behind his head and struck the bars again. The crack did not deepen this time. Danny looked out towards the drooling, disgusting imps in the room before them again.
"Randy, stop," he grumbled without looking, engaging in a staring contest with creatures on the other side. "I'm sure our friends are coming, so just hang on."
"I..." Randy hesitated, exhaled deeply, and then lowered his sword. "...you're right."
"Nothing to do but wait." Jake agreed.
The three of them quietly watched the imps for a little bit longer, and then Randy spoke up again. "So...what do you guys like to do when you're not, you know, doing hero stuff?"
"Eh, video games, make model spaceships, bother my older sister, maybe go to a movie. Whatever my friends are up to." Danny replied, forfeiting the staring match and turning to the others. "How about you, Jake?"
"Video games and movies are cool. I love to skateboard with Trixie and Spud. And you, Randy?" Jake asked, rocking back and forth in the net slightly.
"Video games and movies or whatever. Howard and I also have a band, 30 Seconds to Math. I can play the key-tar, too." He shrugged. "So we all have our own stuff, but we all like video games and movies. Bruce." Randy stuck out his tongue at the imps. "Those things are shnasty."
"Yeah, they're whack. So, um..." Jake clicked his tongue. "...this is kinda boring...scary...but boring. That sort of thing doesn't happen simultaneously in normal circumstances."
"I know. But, uh, this isn't normal circumstances." Danny agreed. They were silent for a for a few more moments when he spoke again. "So, er...I guess we really hadn't had the chance to just talk about anything other than saving the world since we met. I guess we could, uh, talk?"
"'Kay." Randy replied. He crossed his legs and placed a hand on his cheek to support his head, his other hand leaning against the ground. "So, do either of you play the Gravepuncher series?"
"Aww, yeah!" Danny exclaimed, finally smiling.
"You know it." Jake said with a smirk.
"How about Doomed?" The half ghost added.
"Play that, too," Jake confirmed. Randy snickered.
"Howard and I play that sometimes. Not as much as Gravepuncher, but once in awhile." He laid back against the side of the cage and crossed his arms. Jake gave a very small smile.
"Maybe sometime after this is over we should do a round of multiplayer on one of those games."
"You're on." Danny agreed. Randy threw his head back and laughed.
"I'm in, but good luck trying to win against me."
The half ghost of the trio raised an eyebrow. "Is that a challenge, Randy?"
"It just might be."
Jake smirked. "Oh, it is so on. You're on, Ninja."
"When we get out of here, of course." Randy clarified. The statement unintentionally made the room go silent once more. After a few more awkward moments, Randy spoke up again. "...So...Danny, you and Sam...? What's the situation there?"
Danny's cheeks turned crimson and he gasped slightly. "Nothing. We're, uh, best friends. That's all."
"Ri-i-ight. Sure." Jake replied sarcastically. Danny narrowed his eyes him.
"And what's that supposed to mean?" His cheeks burned evermore. Randy laughed out loud.
"Nothing, Danny," he teased, "nothing at all."
The ghost boy turned away from the two others as they snickered. Thankfully, he had little chance to stay embarrassed. The red fled his face as he glanced towards the vents, narrowed his eyes, and said nothing. The other boys looked at him strangely.
"What are you-"
"Randy, be quiet, I hear something. It sounds like it's coming from there." The other two strained their ears. Indeed, a low thudding noise could be heard coming nearer and nearer. Suddenly, the vent opening in their room flew off and across the room, slamming against the opposite wall with a resounding bang. All of them quizzically stared at what appeared to be nothing that shoved the vent off aside from some thudding noises. At that moment, the invisibility spell wore off, and their friends flickered into view. Howard was in the front, with several pairs of eyes behind him. Immediately the three of them beamed in relief and excitement.
"Guys! You found us!" Danny cried happily. Sam and Tucker ran up to Danny. With a little searching, they found a button on the backside of the box. They pressed it and the box fell apart, freeing him. He hugged both of them, transformed, phased through the Sphinx net, and pulled Jake out.
Happy to be reunited, Jake was helped up by his grandfather. With a proud grin, Jake gave a high five to Spud and Trixie and changed himself into a dragon with a swirl of smoke, spreading his red wings out and stretching. Danny smiled at the scene and flew down to Randy's cage.
As it turned out, Danny's help was unnecessary. He paused upon seeing Howard already kneeling down to Randy's enclosure, having forgotten all about anyone else. Randy gave him a puzzled look, glancing at Danny and back at Howard, who squeezed his thick hands between two bars. "Howard, what are you doing?" Randy asked.
Howard strained and managed to push the bars apart, leaving an opening big enough for Randy to come out. Randy's mouth hung open in shock as his best friend helped him out of it. "Howard, how did you do that? Those bars are impossible to phase through, and too strong for my sword to slice!"
"Maybe I couldn't phase through them or slice them, but thanks to a potion that was given to me, I have temporary super strength and endurance. I could bend 'em." Howard replied proudly, crossing his arms with a smirk. Randy grinned.
"Oh, that's so bruce!" he exclaimed. They did their complicated high-five ritual, and at the end of it, Tucker cleared his throat to get everyone's attention.
"Guys?" He pointed to the glass, where the imps where now slamming themselves against it, drooling and snarling. An alarm went off, a high-pitched weeeee-woooooo. Sam whistled.
"Change of plans! Everyone who can't fly, grab onto someone who can. Non-ghosts are the ghosts in the zone. We'll go right through the walls."
With that, the group piled onto either Jake, Danny, or Lao Shi, and the three began to fly through the walls in a group, seeking out their adversary. They didn't have to look very far. After phasing through a few walls, they reached the uppermost round tower on top of the castle. It had no exits or entrances, and only one window. William was there; he didn't even appear to notice them. He was looking out the rounded window into the Ghost Zone. They stopped and dropped to the ground, and Danny stepped forth. "William! Or, er, the Sorcerer! Stand down. It's over."
For a few seconds William did not respond. He slowly turned towards them with bright silver eyes. "...Stop me...please..."
Howard frowned. "What?" he asked aloud, blinking in confusion.
"That's not really him. He's being controlled." Jake answered. He and Randy stood by Danny's side, ready to attack. William slowly nodded.
"Help...me-" His eyes turned orange and he silenced momentarily and spoke again, this time more maliciously. "So this is the way it has to be. Very well." He clapped his hands together, and at least a hundred of the little devils he made phased through the floor. Everyone backed up, and William laughed. "Good luck trying to win! Let's have at it, then!"