Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom or any of the characters. Danny Phantom is the sole property of Butch Hartman, Nickelodeon and Paramount global.
Traveled
Chapter 23: Captured
The ghost boy couldn't believe this. Vlad and the Freaks of Nature had just captured his family, friends, his girlfriend and her family too.
The young halfa was completely lost in anger right now.
"I can't believe this! That should have worked! Darn it!..."Danny shouted as he slammed his fist into the ground in anguish.
He only had one option now, but he hated that it has come to this.
"Looks like I don't have a choice. I guess I deliver that stupid thing!..."He thought as he flew away to retrieve the box.
Unknown to the young hero, the battle had been shown on the news and many people were watching how it went.
At The Traville Estate
Richard had been watching the battle on television and how two people he cared for disappeared.
"OH MY LORD! STELLA! STAR! THEY'RE GONE!..."Richard let out.
Pierre started crying at the mention of those names, and wailed loudly.
"WAH! Mama!..."The baby boy cried, waving his arms out.
Richard didn't know how aware he was of the situation, but it was clear that he missed and wanted his mother right now.
It made the old man even more fearful of their fates, but he tried to comfort the child as best he could.
"It's okay, Pierre. They'll be okay, I know it!..."He said, trying to soothe him.
He lied, he had no idea how they'd be.
"This is a nightmare! I have to do something to keep him calm...and I have to do something to help!..."The old man thought, as he tried to calm his crying grandson down.
However, all Pierre wanted was his mother and his big sister right now.
With Danny
The ghost boy arrived to the Fenton's hotel room.
It was where he and Star had hid the REAL box and had hoped to get rid of it later, after Vlad and his freaks of nature were dealt with.
Unfortunately, it seems that the plan has to change.
"I can't just hand this over to those creeps, but if I don't do it, who knows what those deranged sociopathic creeps are willing to do the others!..."He thought, worried out of his mind.
He paced back and forth.
"Come on, Danny! Think! There's gotta be something to do to save everyone and beat those creep's faces in!..."He thought, pondering.
He had one idea, but it depended on his friends' safety first.
"We must be having the worst possible time in New York right now!..."He said in dismay, sliding a hand down his face.
He had no way of knowing that somehow, only one person in all of New York, was having a worse time than him right now.
Elsewhere
Unknown to Danny, a figure had awoken and crawled out of the sewer in a state of complete humiliation.
The people of New York were still freaking out over the ghost attack from the baseball stadium. The sight of a foul smelling creature didn't make things better either.
"AH! IT'S ANOTHER ONE OF THOSE GHOSTS! AND THIS ONE SMELLS LIKE DEATH!..."Someone yelled, running for their life.
As everyone ran, the figure kept walking and shaking in anger.
"SILENCE! YOU WORTHLESS PEASANT! I AM NOT A GHOST!..."The figure, or rather, Colette had said, as she slowly limped away from the area, wanting to get as far away from this place as possible before she loses any more of her dignity.
However, as she kept limping and paid no king to anything else, a truck passed by and the muddy water splashed onto her.
This did it.
Colette ended up cracking and were lips quivered violently before she lost it.
"GRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! I HATE THIS HORRID CITY!..."She bellowed a loud cry of rage, anguish and frustration.
Her cries disturbed more people as she tried to run away, even with a limping leg right now.
She grumbled to herself, no doubt hateful words about Star as she tried to run away.
Meanwhile
The hostages were separated: adults in one cage and teens in another.
Each cell differed in design, specifically to make sure if one escaped the other could not copy.
All the while, they were tossed inside in a NOT-SO gentle manner.
"OOF!..."Jack said as he was painfully tossed inside a large, metallic cage.
He wasn't the only one, as the others were also tossed inside in a not-so-gentle manner.
"Get your hands off me!..."Kirk shouted in anger as he was manhandled into the confinement.
The ghosts were as delicate as your average mover, ignoring any fragile labels, as they threw the others inside.
"Ouch! Easy on the hips, I just had them replaced!..."Joy complained, rubbing her side in pain.
"When I get out of here!..."Maddie shouted, as she tried to attack Rocko, but his stony nature protected him.
"This is SO not how I was hoping for this visit to turn out..."Solene complained, sinking into the wall.
"How do you think I feel? I still feel my skin crawling with what I just said earlier to that revolting woman hating ghost..."Stella muttered, as she tried to fix her still soaked hair.
A clapping echo brought their attention around their cage as they all tried to figure out what had just happened. Vlad appeared from thin air, still applauding his captives with a smug smile.
"Welcome everyone..."Vlad said as he floated towards the bars.
"Can I bring you anything? Coffee? Tea? Scones?..."He offered in a mock hospitable way.
"FREEDOM would be just fine!..."Jack said, irritated.
"Oh, sorry. Fresh out of that, but we have plenty of chamomile here..."Vlad taunted, clicking his tongue to his prisoners like a pet.
"Let us out!..."Maddie demanded.
"Now, now my dear. Be patient. All will be dealt with as soon as I get my box..."Vlad said, having special plans for her.
Maddie didn't know that. She just glared at him. She did, however, notice the absence of some people and got worried and angry.
"What did you do to our kids?!..."She demanded, seeing as they are not here.
"Oh, no worries. I placed them in a separate kind of prison. And you don't have to worry your lovely little head, my dear. They'll be free...once Phantom delivers the REAL box!..."He said, showing his fangs with a wicked smile.
"You won't get away with this!..."Johnathan shouted.
"Oh, I believe I have and this isn't like one of your silly little court cases, Strong. No fast talking jargon and ambulance chasing can get you out of this. Things just got real..."Vlad mocked, unable to hide his sadistic joy.
Johnathan glared at that remark, ready to hit him but the bars of the cage made that unlikely to happen.
It didn't change the fact that he was really peeved off here.
"I don't just win court cases!..."The blonde lawyer yelled.
The villainous ghost paid him no mind, as he turned to the captives that had his real attention.
"Enough small talk, time to get to business..."Vlad said as he recalled something.
"Oh, just a heads up...I wouldn't hold hope of Phantom saving you all. Even if he DOES manage go find you, I mage this cage HUMAN and GHOST proof, so he won't be able to faze you out and it can only be opened by yours truly..."Vlad gloated, shocking everyone here.
"A GHOST shield and HUMAN shield?!..."Maddie yelled, before sighing.
"Evil, but ingenious. We can't get out and that Phantom brat can't even be useful for once in phasing us out. Typical..."She muttered to herself, hating this very much.
Vlad grinned as he looked at her.
"Oh, rest assured my dear. You won't have to wait here for long. I have something special planned for you..."Vlad said as he created two copies of himself.
Both copies grabbed her and lifted her off the ground. The female ghost hunter tried to punch them but they both held her tight and held her so she couldn't move her arms.
"LET GO OF ME!..."Maddie demanded as she struggled in his grasp.
"Not today, not ever..."Vlad said as he ordered his copies to take her away to where he wanted her.
"MADDIE! Let go of my wife, you creep!..."Jack shouted.
Vlad scoffed.
"In your dreams, you idiot!..."Vlad said with a sneer.
"Why are you doing this?..."Joy asked, wondering why this ghost is so determined to hurt them.
"It's nothing personal...at least as far as you and your family is concerned, Madam. I am merely setting things to be as they always should have been. You, your husband, son, his girlfriend and his ex, both of whom who are too good for him, just happen to be in the way..."Vlad said, confusing his captives even more.
"What the heck does that even mean?!..."Stella asked, not getting it.
Vlad groaned with an eye roll.
"I don't have all night to explain to a bunch of halfwits like you all..."He said, as he then waved his hand dismissively.
"I'll show you a halfwit, you worthless spook!..."Jack shouted as he kept banging on the cage.
Vlad rolled his eyes. and decided to gloat.
"I could easily destroy you right now...but I rather wait until you see my glorious triumph before you all become...obsolete..."He said as his copies carried a struggling Maddie away.
He turned one last time to his captives, grinning menacingly at them.
"I shall return in a moment. I just need to make sure that my partners are actually doing there jobs right and to make sure a certain little nuisance actually does what I WANT him to do..."Vlad muttered, looking puzzled as he turned around.
"What does that mean?..."They all thought, as Vlad turned away.
"Be back soon. As you all wait, I suggest try the scones..."Vlad said mocking, before phased out of there.
The prisoners were all angry and desperate, as they tried to find any escape from this imprisonment they found themselves in.
"We gotta get out of here!..."Jack shouted, as he tried to ram the cage door.
Predictably, it didn't work and he crashed against it and slid to the ground.
"Ow!..."He muttered.
"Save your strength, Jack. We'll need it to tear that creep apart..."Johnathan said, furious.
"But first we gotta get out of here..."Solene said.
"How?..." Jack asked, rubbing the back of his now throbbing head.
As that went on, someone walked up to the wall. It was Stella, who was looking at the lock in an almost curious fashion.
"Hmmm...I wonder..."She thought, as she began to get an idea.
"What is your ex-wife doing?..." Joy asked, but her son had no answer.
Stella hummed as she took off her ear rings, putting the diamond against the glass.
"For crying out loud! That's not gonna do anything, you airhead! This is no time for your vain jewelry!…"Kirk yelled, held back by his wife.
"Kirk, I'm not the only one that has to worry about blood pressure..."The old lady said, worried about his health.
Stella ignored the insults as she took her diamond earrings to the glass barrier, muttering herself to ignore the continued verbal onslaught as she pressed the rock against the shield.
"Stella?..."Jack asked, curious.
"What are you doing?..."Johnathan asked, curious.
"Shush! I need to concentrate..."She said, as she made her move.
The screech of glass being cut silenced the group as the woman went to work. Jack, Johnathan and Solene stared with smirks of approval as they watched, and they realized what she was doing.
After a few minutes, the glass barrier was no longer on the lock, falling off and shattering.
"Voila!..."Stella said, smiling proudly.
Johnathan, his parents and Jack were left speechless as Stella smiled smugly.
"Don't be so surprised…"Stella said, as she glanced over her shoulder. "There's a reason why diamonds are a girl's best friend…"She said, pleased with herself.
"I know...I still have nightmares about those credit card bills you racked up..."Johnathan quipped with good humor.
Stella ignored that while partially happy the man complimented her.
"I'm very impressed, but how did you know that would work?..."Jack asked, while the blonde woman shrugged a bit.
"I saw it in a movie once. It could have gone either way, glad it went the good way..."Stella said, like it was nothing.
The others would have asked her what that meant but Johnathan's mother spoke up next.
"Uh...that was impressive in all honesty but we are still trapped inside here..."Joy said, gesturing to cage.
"Allow me..."Solene said, reaching through the hole.
Her arms made its way to the electronic lock, seeing if she could reach it. After touching the panel a few times, she retracted her limb, going for the diamond and smashing it into the mechanism.
The device powered down, deactivating the lock and allowing the adults to go free.
"Told you that diamonds are a girl's best friend..."Stella smugly said, nodding at what just happened.
"They're also non-conductive, making them perfect for breaking into an electronic lock and cutting off the electric current...which also luckily seemed to deactivated that shield that Dracula-wannabe was gloating about..."Solene said, handing it back.
"They are perfect, you don't have to go into a scientific explanation. It's called a one-liner..."Stella said, as she put them back on.
They soon left the cage and found themselves planning.
"Okay, we gotta go find the kids and Maddie, get those spooks before they make Phantom hand over that box..."Jack said, going for their weapons on a nearby table.
"How? We didn't exactly do so well earlier..."Kirk said, as Jack handed him a blaster.
"They never fought Jack Fenton before..."Jack said, holding his weapon up proudly with a grin.
"Yeah they did... that's why we're here..." Stella pointed out, making him flinch a bit.
"They've never fought Jack Fenton twice..." Jack said, still with that same grin.
"Uh-huh... and while you plan your rematch, we should find the kids..."Johnathan said, and Jack realized that he was right.
"Right, we need to find them and Maddie. Everyone! Split up!..."Jack ordered.
"Right... you go and find your wife, daughter and son..." Kirk went before looking to everyone else.
"Joy and Solene can go that way to try and find the kids, and Stella can head out and call the cops. That leaves me with..." Kirk then turned his attention to his son.
Both men, knowing well them being alone was a terrible decision, turned their heads.
"Anyone want to trade?..." Johnathan asked, while his father frowned at that.
However, it was too late and everyone already left for their respective tasks, much to their displeasure.
It took seconds before the two gave defeated shrugs and walked away, not saying anything to each other.
Elsewhere
The members of Team Phantom had been placed in a similar, albeit more high tech cell away from the adults.
"This stinks!..."Tucker muttered, as he learned on the wall.
He and the girls were all trapped in the same cage. They didn't know where the adults were, but Vlad...or rather, one of his copies made it clear that they were hostages here.
He also ordered Drench to keep an eye on them.
The teens were hating every moment of this, and Tucker was getting anxious for more reasons than one right now.
"Vlad even took my PDA and I can't even hack into the system! Darn it!..."The tech geek said, feeling totally naked without it.
"This reminds me of the time we got captured by that Spike Creep...and it's just as obnoxious too..."Sam muttered, scowling in the direction of the door they can't use.
"I'd give to be grounded for a week if it meant getting out of here. Captured twice in one day...new record..."Jazz said sarcastically, hitting her head on the wall.
"Not beating mine and Tucker. We've been held captive three times once..." Sam said, recalling that rotten day.
"There has got to be a way out of here..."Star said, looking around for something.
"Don't even bother, Blondie. Our business partner made sure the doohickey won't let you open it. Even if that boyfriend of yours finds you, he can't phase you out..."Drench mocked, gesturing to the lock.
"Doohickey?..." Star asks, examining it.
"Sit tight, not that you're going anywhere in the next 10 minutes, and I'll be back..."The water themed villain said, being smug as he went to go to the other room.
Once Drench left to go for something, the teens tried to plan an escape. Only one of them was willing to take charge at the moment.
"Come on, we gotta get free..."Star said, motioning them towards the door of the cage, but it was lock and with a device like Drench said.
"How?..."Sam asked, gesturing to the cage.
"The lock's on a laser thumbprint scanner..."Tucker pointed out, gesturing to the machine.
"Not a problem..."Star said, getting an idea. "Let me just get to my makeup..."She said quickly.
"Seriously? Now?..."Sam asked, sending her an incredulous look.
The blonde girl, however, knew what she was doing and wagged her finger.
"Sam, it's never too late to learn to properly apply makeup..."Star said as she reached for her purse only to realize that it's not there.
"Crud. I left my purse in the RV..."She said before turning to the other girls in the cage.
"Anyone here has any blush and maybe a pore strip or two?..."She asked.
Sam raised a brow while Jazz pulled something out from her pocket.
"I hope this helps..."She said as she handed her the blush, trusting that the blonde girl knew what she was doing.
"It does..."Star said, pleased.
"Why do you have that?..." Sam asked, not expecting this.
"What I carry on my person is my business..." Jazz stated, making Sam and Tucker share the same unsure look.
Star, on the other hand, was still missing something.
"Any pore strips?..."She asked.
Jazz shook her head.
"Sorry, left them back at the hotel room..."The red head said as Star shook her head.
Sam was silent, sighing in defeat before pulling something from her pockets.
"Here..."She muttered, as she handed it to the blonde girl.
Tucker and Jazz were both surprised to see she carried pore strips on her person.
"You actually carry around pore strips?..."Tucker asked, having not expected this from her.
Sam became angered, getting defensive.
"It's not easy to be friends with two boys when you're going through puberty! It's fine before 13, then they make gross noises and they start eating or showing body odor. Don't judge me and you'd better not tell Danny or anyone else at school!..."She shouted.
"Settle down, Sam. There's nothing wrong with having a grossed out reaction. Besides, try living with one..."Jazz said as the embarrassed goth girl crossed her arms in irritation.
Star rolled her eyes at this, before she went back to her plan. She went to the cage door, where the electronic lock was and set her plan in motion.
"Okay, let's see. The last good thumbprint should still be there, so… …a little blush… …a pore strip… …and voila..."Star said as the thumbprint scanner approved the fake print.
The cage opened up, and the shield turned off as well.
Everyone else looked surprised before it dawned on them they were finally free from the cage.
"That actually worked?!..."Sam exclaimed, as they all got out.
"Alright, Star!..."Tucker said, high-fiving her.
"Thanks. I'm glad that worked too..."Star said, smiling as they all got out of cage.
"I'm very impressed, but how did you know that would work?..."Jazz asked, pondering on what Star did.
"I saw it in a movie once. It could have gone either way, glad it went the good way..."Star said, shrugging a bit.
"Wait... how else could that have gone?..." Sam asked, unsure of what Star said.
"... uh... I'd rather not hazard a guess..." Star said, avoiding eye contact.
The others wondered what that meant, but recalled that they had more important matters to deal with right now.
"Come on. We gotta go help Danny before he has to turn in the real box..."Sam said.
The others nodded and soon escaped. And not a moment too soon.
About 2 minutes later
Drench arrived and brought a dish of noodles.
"Alright, snack time and you better like it. Mama's recipe..."Drench said as he brought in some pasta.
However, he dropped the plate onto the ground once he saw that the cage was empty.
"Oh no..."He said as he looked around and saw that they have escaped.
"Darn it, Serge isn't gonna be happy about this..."He complained, before cursing under his breath.
Drench groaned and was about to go before recalling the dish.
Picking it up and seeing the pasta was still in there, he started eating it himself.
"I did say it was Mama's recipe... no point in letting it go to waste..." He said before going to alert everyone.
Granted, he went slow as to enjoy the taste, and mentally prepared himself for what he'd have to do afterwards.
Later
Danny was flying in the skies of New York, worried and miserable.
He looked to the box in his hands, and felt angry and helpless right now.
"I can't believe that I'm doing this, but...I don't have a choice..."He said, desperate right now.
However, as he flew, his phone went off. He saw who it was, putting a smile on his face.
"Star? STAR?!..." He exclaimed happily, before he answered it.
"Starlight?! Is that you?!..."He asked, loudly and almost audible from up high.
"Well it ain't Supergirl..."Star quipped.
Danny sighed in relief.
"Thank goodness..."He said, smiling.
"I'm assuming that Vlad didn't give you one phone call, so..."He paused, hoping that this means what he thinks it means.
"Yeah, we're free Boo… but not for long..."Star's voice said urgently.
"Where are you?!..."Danny asked, ready to rescue her and the others in a heart-beat.
"Not sure yet… but we'll let you know..."She said, sounding unsure at first before sounding serious.
"Meantime, come to wherever they want you to meet them… we can try and make a plan in the meantime..."She said.
"But what about the plan?..."Danny asked.
"No time. Vlad still has our parents, Solene and my grandparents hostage. You gotta hurry, Boo..."Star said.
"So, what will you do?..."Danny asked.
"We're gonna try and find them and free them. You keep Vlad busy and don't let him know we spoke..."Star said.
Danny sighed.
"This is SO not how I pictured this visit turning out..."He said, massaging his head.
"Me neither. I just wanted to show you where I grew up..."Star said, taking a few breath.
She soon hung up and the ghost boy then frowned in determination.
"Now, to try this again..."He thought, eyes glowing as he flew faster.
Now to try defeating the Forces of Nature again, and make Vlad regret trying to mess with his loved ones.
-To be continued-
Next time on Traveled
A New Game Plan
A/N(1): I dedicate this chapter to my family, my friends and my love for God :)
A/N(2): Special thanks to NeoMark, BeConfuzzled Writer and Jay The Average Fanboy for all their help. You guys rock :)
A/N(3): Happy 5 de Mayo, everyone :)
REPLIES to my loyal and totally awesome reviewer:
RonaldM40196867:
1) I guess that we will have to wait and see what happens.
2) Probably.
3) Not really, since she actually seemed shocked when they turned their backs on her.
4) She prefers to be called a sorceress.
5) He doesn't care, since he still think that he is entitled to marry her one day.
6) That will be revealed later on.
7) They probably don't know, since it's unlikely that Colette would tell them about it.
8) I'll think about it.
9) They took the money out of her allowance.
10) They took the money out of her allowance.
11) I haven't had a chance to yet.
Jebest4781: Thank you :)
Danifan3000:
1) Really, I always assumed he was in his forties.
2. I always assumed that Vlad used his money and/or overshadowing in order to make sure that he was the one to get custody of Danny if something ever happened to Jack.
Invader Johnny: We shall see.
Pokemon fan 1991: Thank you :)
1) I liked Kim Possible's A Sitch in Time
2) I haven't watched Power Rangers in a while, but the one I am most familiar with is "End of Extinction".
Eecobeo: Thank you :)
CZS4: Yeah, but at least Team Phantom and the others managed to escape for now.
JDF Legacier Morphicon:Thank you :)
Here are my responses to your questions:
1) I like to keep an open mind.
2) No comment.
3) I think that she finally learned to accept her son's ghost half, and thus, accepted that not all ghosts are bad in the end.
4) Maybe Clockwork and Pandora.
5) She probably went to live with Vlad's sister.
Luiz4200: :)
:) I hope you enjoyed this! Remember to read and review :)