Danny scanned the lab and sighed softly. Everyone, including his parents had gone to bed. Danny still couldn't sleep. Despite having fought Skulker, had a training session with the heroes of Young Justice and Danielle and chasing Johnny, his shadow and Kitty on Johnny's bike for well over an hour despite him being able to fly faster than normal. The issue had been Johnny turning invisible repeatedly. He had decided to clean the lab to pass the night. He was having trouble deciding where to start though. He could start in the weapon's vault, make sure the weapons were charged, ordered and do an inventory. Or he could start with the cluttered desks.
He glanced at the thermos tucked away on a dark shelf. Skulker, Johnny, Kitty and Johnny's shadow were trapped inside. For some reason, he didn't want to send them back to the Ghost Zone like usual. Well he did, but something was stopping him. Something at the back of his mind telling him to keep the ghosts in the thermos. No one but he knew that the ghosts were still in the thermos. Danny was shaken from his thoughts when the doorbell rang. He frowned in confusion but left the lab to answer the door anyway.
On the doorstep, Danny found Jake and Fu dog waiting with a bulky suitcase. He blinked in surprise.
"Oh hey guys. Didn't expect to see you here Fu," Danny remarked.
"We figured you needed another expert on magic around," Fu dog elaborated as he stepped into the house. Danny frowned.
"What for?" he questioned.
"We're just worried about you Danny, that's all. Just because Zatanna didn't sense any spells or magic on you, doesn't mean there isn't any," Jake reassured the halfa. Danny sighed before taking their suitcase, seeing that Jake was struggling. He was able to access his ghostly strength without changing, unlike Jake.
"Thanks," Jake gasped as Danny took the heavy case. Danny smiled at the teen.
"Jake you can take my bed if you want. We packed up your sleeping bag since you weren't back. We figured you would wait until morning," Danny offered.
"What about you?" Jake pointed out.
"If I miraculously do feel tired enough to sleep, I'll crash on the couch," Danny replied.
"And me?" Fu dog reminded the teen.
"I dunno, I'm guessing that you'll want to sleep somewhere private, so find somewhere in my room. I might have a blanket in my dresser. I'll be up in a sec. Where do you want this?" Danny suggested.
"Mind if we keep it in your room? Fu's the potion's expert and that's his bag," Jake requested. Danny shrugged and led the way upstairs with the case. Jazz's door opened and the red head emerged with a yawn.
"Danny? Who was at the door?" Jazz tiredly asked.
"Jake and a friend. Don't worry Jazz, go back to sleep," Danny told her softly. Jazz blinked tiredly and smiled, seeing Jake through the gloom and waved in greeting before disappearing back into her room.
"Your choice if you want Jazz to meet Fu," Danny muttered as he kicked his door open and dropped the case in a corner before rummaging through his dresser for a blanket he was certain he had. Usually it was only for when he had sleepovers or got sick.
He smirked happily when he pulled out a thick blanket and handed it to Fu dog while Jake disappeared off to the bathroom to get ready for bed. Fu dog thanked the halfa and set up a nest like bed for the night beside his suitcase. Jake returned and dropped his shoes at the bottom of the bed and stuffed his clothes into his bag. He paused and turned to Danny.
"Oh, Danny we have a couple of things for you. An amulet, here. It'll protect you against spells. And there's a potion to get rid of any magic on you but we have to wait until morning for it to be ready," Jake explained and handed the halfa the gold coin on the leather cord. Danny raised an eyebrow but put it on.
"Thanks Jake. Night guys," Danny muttered.
"Where are you going?" Fu dog called curiously.
"I'm gonna clean the lab tonight. I have to do something or I'll go crazy," Danny informed them before leaving.
"He seems to be handling the whole not sleeping thing alright," Fu dog remarked as he settled down. Jake shrugged.
"I think it's because he has stuff to do. If he didn't, then he'd probably be a lot worse," Jake pointed out as he got into Danny's bed.
Danny returned to the lab and with a sigh settled on starting in the weapons vault. He raised an eyebrow as he noticed a sticky note. He smirked as he saw it was a note from his father to his father to remind the man to give Danny a chore. They had installed a handle on the inside of the vault, especially after Jazz and Maddie got trapped in there once. But this note was to fix a dodgy shelf at the back that would collapse if anything heavy was put on it. For now it only held spools of Fenton resin coated string and a couple of boxes with spare parts. Danny cleared the shelf and removed the shelf easily and set to work repairing it.
He had just returned everything on to the now repaired shelf when he heard a whisper cut through the night. He couldn't locate the voice. It almost seemed to come from inside his head. And it was familiar but he didn't know who was talking to him. But he understood exactly what the voice told him and he felt his entire body become numb as his mind cleared. The voice told him to answer the door and turn off the defences for his master.
Danny walked upstairs and opened the front door obediently, switching off the defence system as he went. On the doorstep, Klarion, his cat Teekl and Cheshire stood waiting. They walked past Danny into the house.
"Phantom, remember our last visit," Klarion instructed. Danny's eyes flashed black as his previous orders came back to his mind.
"Did you catch any ghosts today?" Cheshire asked. Danny nodded.
"Skulker, Johnny, his shadow and Kitty," Danny informed them, his voice once again monotone and emotionless.
"Get them for us," Klarion ordered. Danny nodded and phased through the floor to the lab. He grabbed the thermos and returned to Klarion and Cheshire, offering the thermos to them obediently. Klarion grinned and snatched the thermos from the halfa and examined the thermos. Cheshire frowned as she saw something gold glint on Danny's chest in the dim light from outside.
"What are you wearing?" Cheshire inquired.
"An amulet Jake gave me to protect me against magical spells. Jeans, t-shirt, boxers-" Danny began listing.
"Alright! You can stop," Cheshire interrupted hastily. She needed to learn to be more specific with her questions.
"Klarion? Is that amulet going to be a problem?" Cheshire wondered worriedly. The amulet hadn't stopped them taking control of Danny but if it gave the halfa any freedom, it could be bad. Klarion looked up from the thermos and scowled at the gold coin.
"Hand it over," he commanded. Danny obediently placed the amulet in Klarion's hand. Klarion surveyed the coin before sniggering.
"This won't affect anything. It's meant to stop spells being cast on him. The ritual has already taken place. It's fine," Klarion concluded and returned the amulet to Danny. Danny put it back on, having no orders to keep it off and knowing that his master wanted to hide their actions. Cheshire chewed her lip worriedly.
"Is that all Jake gave you? Have you been given anything else to protect you against magic?" Cheshire inquired with concern.
"No. Not yet," Danny replied.
"What do you mean not yet?" Klarion pressed urgently.
"There's a potion. It won't be ready until morning. It's supposed to remove all magic on me," Danny explained.
"Get that potion for me. Don't get caught," Klarion ordered firmly. Danny's eyes pulsed black as he nodded. He shifted into his ghost half and turned himself invisible as he floated into the air to phase through the ceiling. He phased into Jazz's room and spared his sister a glance to ensure he didn't wake her by his cold presence. The red head shifted under her covers, pulling Bearbert closer to herself and snuggled deeper into her blankets. Danny phased through the wall into his room, drifting directly over Fu dog. The magical companion shivered and grumbled in his sleep before giving a soft snort and turning over in his blanket nest. Danny landed on the blue carpet beside his bed, watching for Jake to notice his presence but the dragon didn't. Danny crouched down beside Jake's bag and carefully rummaged through it looking for anything that would look like a potion. He found nothing and turned to Jake's jacket draped over Danny's desk chair. The halfa crossed the room and shoved his invisible gloved hands into the pockets and pulled out a vial of softly glowing yellow liquid.
Danny then phased through the floor, landing in the kitchen and returned to Klarion's side, regaining visibility to hand his master the item he was ordered to fetch. Klarion took the potion and examined it, going so far as opening the vial and dipping a finger into the liquid and tasting the potion. He frowned.
"Hold that. Follow me," Klarion commanded and marched into the kitchen, thrusting the vial to the halfa. Danny obeyed and trailed after the Witch Boy. Cheshire raised an eyebrow behind her mask and followed them into the kitchen. Klarion searched through the cupboards and began mixing things together until he made a greyish sludge.
"That potion won't remove the ritual, but it will strip all orders and I won't be here to replace them. And I can't be bothered to repeat myself. We can't get rid of the potion without making them suspicious and they'll just make another if Phantom sabotages it by dropping it. We'll need to fool them to think he drank it," Klarion muttered as he worked in explanation. Cheshire nodded in understanding.
"Phantom, pour that down the sink and rinse it out. Make sure you get all that potion out," Klarion instructed and Danny obeyed without question. Klarion snatched the vial and poured the grey sludge into the vial and stoppered it.
"Return it where you found it. Don't get caught," Klarion commanded. Danny phased back up into his room and put the vial in Jake's jacket pocket.
"That wasn't yellow, or glowing," Cheshire pointed out.
"It's only yellow and glows when it's stewing. It's ready when it turns grey and thickens," Klarion elaborated dismissively calm. Danny returned to the kitchen seconds later.
Klarion nodded, happy with everything they had accomplished.
"Phantom, clean this mess up. Make sure there's no trace of what we did," Klarion ordered. Danny's eyes pulsed black and he nodded. He grabbed cleaning utensils and obeyed.
"I'm going to leave Teekl here to keep an eye on things. Phantom, if anyone points him out, you will say that it's a neighbour's cat and has been around for a few weeks," Klarion decided. He would need his cat near Danny to ensure there weren't any unforeseen complications, and his telepathic connection to the feline would allow that. Danny's eyes pulsed black as the order took effect.
"We'll see ourselves out but make sure to turn the defences back on. Once you have completed those orders, you will not remember what happened tonight until I tell you to remember. Then you can return to what you were doing before we came," Klarion commanded. Danny's eyes pulsed black as the orders were given and nodded in compliance.
Sabotage! Another secret night visit from the Light and no one's the wiser still.
What do you think? Will Fu dog notice the switch?
What about Skulker, Johnny and Kitty? Will they be missed? (I promise not to forget Johnny this fanfic lol)
Let me know what you guys think.
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Until the next chapter.
