Rose and Rocket led team 1. Both had more experience in stealth. Fentons weren't known for being subtle. They ran to the building, taking advantage of the elongating shadows of the evening. Rocket then used a kinetic energy bubble to lift Maddie and Jazz to the roof. Team 1 were to find and rescue Danny and Jake, if possible. If not, then Jazz had a Fenton thermos. Using the vents, much like team beta earlier that day, they infiltrated the building. Rose used her phone, which had a map downloaded on to it, to navigate the dusty and cramped the passages. She came to a stop.
"Danny and Jake should be close. Let me check if it's safe and we'll take to the corridors from here," Rose whispered over her shoulder, looking at the hero directly behind her, waiting for Rocket to nod her agreement.
Rose peered through the metal grate before carefully moving the grate away and gracefully dropped to the ground. She scanned the room with her piercing blue eyes before nodding to herself. They were in a sparse bedroom that seemed unused.
"Clear," she called softly. Rocket floated out of the vent and created a platform for Jazz and Maddie which she used to lower the women to the ground silently. Rose crept to the door and quietly opened it a crack to check the corridor. She scowled. There was a guard patrolling the corridor. Obviously the Light had learned not to trust Danny to follow orders and added security. At least that's what she guessed as the others had commented on the lack of security during the briefing. She glanced at the others and put a gloved finger to her lips before slipping out the door behind the guard. Stealth was an essential part of her training with the Huntsclan.
Before the guard could react, Rose grabbed the burly man from behind and wrapped her hand tightly over his nose and mouth. She then used her other arm to pinch a nerve before the man could recover enough to throw her off. The man crumbled in an unconscious heap which Rose hefted onto her shoulder and dragged back to the bedroom the others were hiding in. She dropped the man on the floor and signalled for the others to follow her. Rocket blinked in shock. The takedown had been almost silent. This blonde teen was better than most ninjas.
Rose crept down the corridor, pointing out creaking floorboards for the others to avoid and they soon arrived at the room Robin marked on the map. Rose pulled a hairpin out of her long plaited hair and calmly pushed it into the keyhole. While Rose picked the lock, Rocket, Maddie and Jazz kept a look out. The room was on a corner which made them very exposed. A minute later a deafening click cut through the tense silence. Rose replaced the hairpin in her hair and stood up. She turned to Jazz.
"You open the door. We'll cover you if Danny ends up attacking us," Rose whispered, pulling out a thick blue rod from under her dark leather jacket. Jazz nodded nervously and took hold of the handle. She glanced at the other women and they all nodded. They were ready to protect her and force Danny back if need be. Even though it hurt to think of the halfa as dangerous, they couldn't trust him while under this spell. He could very well attack them viciously. It wasn't his fault, but they had to be prepared.
Jazz pushed down the handle and opened the door. She released the breath she hadn't realised she was holding when she saw Danny and Jake sitting on the bed playing noughts and crosses, using the damp ash and a toothbrush as a pen. The instant the door opened, Danny grabbed the cup of ash and hid it under the bed with the defaced book and Jake jumped to his feet to block the intruder's view. However both boys realised quickly that they needn't have bothered. Jake grinned happily as he spotted his girlfriend behind Danny's sister. Danny eyed them warily, waiting with dread for any compulsions to hurt these people. To his amazement though, he didn't have any.
"Are you okay little brother?" Jazz ventured, edging further into the room. Danny nodded.
"Are you hurt sweetie?" Maddie called over from the doorway worriedly.
"No, I'm fine. You should get out of here with Jake," Danny replied carefully.
"We're not leaving without you. Can you leave the room?" Jazz retorted firmly. Danny bit his lip before shaking his head with a sigh.
"No, the order's still there. I can't leave," Danny informed them.
Jake crossed the room and stood beside Rose.
"You tell them who you were?" Jake whispered.
"I had to. But I said nothing about you being a dragon," Rose answered softly.
"Thanks, although, I think I've blown my secret. I had to change earlier and Danny's previous cover story for my dragon self isn't gonna hold under scrutiny. Can you get rid of this sphinx's hair?" Jake remarked quietly with a sigh. Rose nodded and pulled out a pocket knife. With ease, she cut the braided bracelet and tossed the hair down the corridor. Jake smiled happily as he felt his strength return to him.
"How's Danny?" Rose asked as Maddie inspected her son, looking for any evidence of his elevated energy problem getting worse.
"Better than he was. Before we figured out that he could write down the orders, he was so angry and hopeless. But he's better now," Jake admitted. Rose nodded in understanding.
"Come on Danny, let's get you home," Maddie concluded, deciding to drop the health issue for now. Danny shook his head.
"I can't leave this room. I've tried before. Without permission from Cheshire or Kl-master-grr!" Danny retorted before cutting himself off angrily.
"Danny, we understand that you have to call Klarion that," Jake interjected, seeing that Danny was getting frustrated again.
"But I don't want to call him that! I hate calling him that!" Danny exploded angrily.
"Danny, calm down. It's alright. We'll fix this. Are you sure that there isn't a loophole in the order that we could use?" Jazz soothed her brother caringly. Danny huffed and turned to his sister.
"I'm not allowed to leave the room. But Cheshire also ordered me to follow her out the room," Danny explained, slightly calmer now.
"What if you were forced to leave the room?" Rocket offered.
"I wouldn't be able to move away from the room. I'd be unable to walk anywhere but back in here," Danny answered.
"What if you were taken from the room? Forcibly?" Rose suggested. Danny sighed and shrugged.
"I guess. I'm technically not leaving the room. I'm being taken from the room," Danny reasoned.
"Alright then. Sorry sweetie," Maddie decided and pulled out a ghost net and threw it at her son.
Danny gasped in alarm and instinctively tried to dodge but failed. Maddie then began to pull Danny towards the door. Danny fell to the ground with a grunt but didn't struggle further. Jazz bit her lip before she turned on the shower and shut the bathroom door and made the bed look occupied. At least then if someone poked their head in, they wouldn't know instantly that both occupants were missing. Rose, following Jazz's train of thought, locked the door behind the red head before leading the way through the complex. Robin had mapped out a route to take Danny out of the building before taking the halfa to the Bioship. Once there, they'd have to tie him up in case Klarion ordered him to return or to attack them.
Once the door was out of sight, Maddie stopped and turned to her trapped son.
"Is it safe to let you out?" Maddie asked softly. Danny frowned in thought before nodding uncertainly.
"I think so. I'm not feeling the need to go back or follow any other orders right now," Danny decided. Maddie smiled and retracted the net into a silver and green tube before strapping it to her hip. Jazz helped her brother to his feet.
"Let us know if there's something wrong and we'll stop and try and help you," Jazz muttered reassuringly. Danny smiled at his sister gratefully.
"Follow me guys," Rose called quietly and led the way to the nearest staircase. Danny obediently followed the blonde, Jake walking beside the halfa out of concern. The dragon had learned a lot about how the spell worked from Danny and knew the trigger signs that Danny was being forced to follow an order. However so far so good.
Team 2 had originally planned to use the storm drain team alpha used earlier but they'd need a ghost to get inside, which they didn't have. So instead, Kim led the two tech boys to a service entrance at the back of the building and used an invention Wade made for her to pick the lock. The three slipped inside and then found a way into the vents. Spud and Tucker weren't the best fighters. It was safer to use the vents to get to the cage room in order to free their allies. Then those prisoners would join team 2 and they'd take down the labs before heading to where Klarion was and helping team 3. As a result, team 2 was the weakest with only Kim to fight off any threats.
Kim led the way, following the map on her Kimmunicator. It took almost ten minutes to reach the cage room and a further five to figure out how to drop to the ground twenty feet below safely. Kim used her trusty hairdryer grappling hook to swing down with Tucker first and then she swung back up using her grappling line to get Spud. The others in the cages watched silently, knowing the plan as it was explained using the mind link. Spud and Tucker immediately ran to the closest cages and unlocked the doors manually. Robin believed that the release button the team pressed before may have been linked to an alarm. As everyone had been worried about Danny, they probably hadn't been as cautious as they should have been. Kim unclasped her watch and handed it to M'gann through the cage bars. Using a connecting cable, Wade started to manually open M'gann's cage. Kim, meanwhile, stood guard, alert to any potential dangers. Tucker freed Robin and the boy wonder began helping the two tech geniuses with the rest of the cages. It took a lot longer than they estimated, but half an hour later, the ghosts and their allies were freed.
"Thanks Spud," Fu dog grunted as the talking dog was freed.
"Fu! The others," Spud hissed nervously.
"Relax kid, had to blow my cover to figure out the deal with Danny," Fu dog confessed.
"Man, Gramps is so gonna be angry! And he's gonna go crazy with the Chinese," Spud moaned. Fu dog scowled at the teen as Spud began a very poor impersonation of the elderly dragon.
"Sam, let me help you," Tucker muttered as he held a hand out to the Goth. Sam scowled at the hand but accepted the help. The techno-geek pulled the girl out of the cage and gasped loudly in concern.
"Sam! That needs treatment! You gotta go to a hospital!" Tucker exclaimed worriedly, spotting the severe burn on Sam's arm.
"Shut it Tuck. I'm fine," Sam snarled sharply.
"Sam, you're not," Tucker argued.
"Woah! Sam, why didn't you tell us it was that bad," Wally whistled, spotting the burn also, limping slightly on the foot he landed on when Danny dropped the speedster.
"Because it's not! And… Danny will feel bad enough already," Sam retorted. Tucker's angry, concerned gaze softened.
"Danny's not here right now. He's not even part of the mind link. You don't have to suffer in silence to be strong for him," Tucker murmured gently. Sam sighed and nodded.
"I know. But I don't like admitting I need help. You know that," Sam confessed softly.
Tucker nodded before blinking in surprise as Skulker came over with glowing white bandages in his hand.
"I keep medical supplies in my suit at all times. I saw how powerful that shot was. I can treat the burn, but it will need proper medical attention," Skulker muttered as he placed the bandages, covered in a cool gel-like substance over the wound. Sam gasped in surprise before smiling at Skulker in thanks.
"Remember, this is just temporary. It's better to treat my allies now than hope to hunt a weakened prey later," Skulker reminded them before returning to Ember's side, who smirked knowingly at the ghostly hunter.
"The ghosts agreed to help us as long as they get free," Sam explained.
"Where did all these ghosts come from anyway?" Kim wondered.
"Apparently Klarion and Cheshire took Danny into the Ghost Zone to raid Walker's prison for ghosts. They caught two thermoses full of ghosts," Wally answered.
"That's everyone!" Robin called.
"Good. Then let's shut down those labs and we'll need weapons," Zatanna decided and the group of teens, Fu dog and ghosts filed out of the now open ecto-ranium lined door. The ghosts then phased through the walls and floor to escape.
"My suit is running out of ammo. I won't be able to help," Skulker admitted to the teens.
"And I don't have my guitar. I need that to fight," Ember added.
"As for us, we're not the fighting types," Kitty concluded, pointing to herself and Johnny.
"Alright. Thanks for trying to help earlier though," Sam conceded and let the ghosts leave. Robin then led the way to the warehouse and labs.
Don't be too surprised that none of the full ghosts stuck around. They said from the beginning, they were only helping to ensure they got free. They're not gonna risk getting caught again for Danny, when Skulker has already informed the ghosts that the halfa has to obey his captors because of the spell.
But the rescue team are finally starting to realise what they need to do to save Danny, they have to work with his orders and make sure he isn't forced to choose between obeying Klarion and protecting them.
But… that spell is still there. Reckon it might cause trouble again?
Also remember that some of the heroes are injured. Wally's ankle. Sam's arm. Will this escape attempt be successful?
Let me know what you guys think of the story so far.
So check out my facebook page for the winner of the poll. There's a link in my bio. Unfortunately I haven't been able to make a video for the upcoming fanfic due to college work.
Until the next chapter.
