Chapter 17
"What happened to you?" Sam asked, lifting an eyebrow in question when Danny showed up. In the next moment, she had her answer when she spotted her friend's parents making their way toward the football field from the parking lot. "What are your parents doing here?"
Danny glowered at his friend, still in a mood after the whole conversation he had with Vlad at his house and the car ride to the high school. His father wasn't the safest driver to be in a car with, but the sturdy metal sidings of the assault vehicle would have saved them from injury if they rammed through the wall of a building. Danny actually knew that, sadly, from experience. His father seemed to have a habit of crashing through things.
"Let's just go find our seats," Danny suggested, grabbing his friends by the arm and dragging them to the stands. Hopefully, he could sit far, far away from his parents. And especially Vlad.
"Was that," Tucker started hesitantly with his gaze thrown over his shoulder, "Vlad Masters with your parents?" He twisted his head back around to gape at Danny. "Why are your parents with Vlad Masters?"
That was a conversation Danny really didn't want to have with his friends since so much of his encounter with Vlad couldn't be mentioned. He ground his teeth, debating if he should actually tell his friends the truth about him, but now wasn't a good time, not when they were surrounded by almost the entire school around them. All he really wanted was to be able to rant about what happened with Vlad. He couldn't even tell them about Valerie's father losing his job.
"Apparently he used to be friends with my parents," Danny grumbled, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jacket as they climbed the stairs of the bleachers to find an open spot to sit and watch the game.
"Dude, you gotta hook me up!" Tucker nudged him in the ribs with a mad grin on his face.
Danny rolled his eyes at that request because, of course, Tucker would want access to some of the latest tech on the market. But Danny didn't want to ask Vlad for anything. Period. Clockwork was clearly wrong when he thought that Vlad would be a better teacher for him. Danny didn't care that Vlad probably knew far better than any other program or virus or other type of entity living on the NetZone did about his powers and how to train him. He would rather remain weak than beg Vlad to help him.
"I wouldn't count on it," Danny said as they found seats, unfortunately right next to the In crowd with Valerie sitting nearest to them. Paulina and Star were busy performing as cheerleaders on the sidelines. Danny kept his gaze away from Valerie, pointedly ignoring her and unsuccessfully trying to pretend there wasn't a stab of guilt inside him. "He doesn't seem like the type to give out stuff for free or do favors for friends. He's a bit of a jerk."
Tucker pouted, obviously disappointed that he wouldn't be getting some not on the market yet tech. Sam, on the other hand, looked suspicious beyond her unhappiness with being dragged to yet another football game.
"How come you've never mentioned that your parents know Vlad Masters?" Sam frowned at him, bundled up tightly in her warm black winter coat.
"Hey, I didn't even know about it until they told me he was suddenly coming for a visit." Danny leaned forward, balancing his arms on his legs as he turned his attention onto the field in front of them. They were late to the game, and their team was already up by one touchdown. They were in possession of the ball, and Danny's gaze easily found Dash and Kwan among the huddle of the Casper High Ravens. When he turned to sweep his eyes over the crowd on their team's side of the stands, Danny groaned at his parents sitting right up front with Vlad Masters right next to his mother. That comment about stealing his mother and killing his father still didn't sit well with him. His blue eyes narrowed at the silver haired man, hoping somehow Vlad would be able to feel the glare boring into the back of his head.
"I think I want to have a talk with that man," Sam said with her gaze also directed toward Vlad. "I've heard some bad things about his company here. Like testing on poor, defenseless animals."
"You're crazy, Sam," Tucker scoffed as he shook his head. "There's no proof to support that rumor. Besides, Axion Labs isn't some stupid beauty product company. They develop new technology. Why would they test stuff on animals?"
At the mention of Axion Labs, Danny couldn't help tearing his gaze away from Vlad and glancing at Valerie. If she heard the mention of where her father used to work, she gave no hint of paying attention to the conversation of losers.
"You don't know that," Sam snapped, glaring at Tucker. "They work on a lot of stuff that they keep quiet and don't tell the public about."
"Can we just watch the game?" Danny sighed tiredly as he dropped his gaze to the field. He didn't want to think too much on Vlad and Axion Labs and Valerie's father and the way his actions cost the man his job. It all left a miserable feeling inside him, making it difficult to enjoy the game as he watched Dash throw the football down the field to one of the other players that Danny only vaguely remembered but not enough to recall his name.
Number seven caught the ball and ran for the end zone while the players from their rival school the West Elmerton Wolverines tried to stop him from making the touchdown. Danny got to his feet along with the majority of the crowd on their side of the stands, all holding their breaths in wait to see if number seven would score.
Ten feet. Five feet! Number seven dodged through the players while the rest of the team tried to clear the way, tackling the other team's players. He was so close to the end zone!
A soft growl distracted his attention from the field as the crowd on their side of the field broke into loud cheers when number seven reached the end zone. Danny dropped his gaze to the watch he wore, and he saw the dog's face on the screen. It was in its large dog form with glaring red eyes as it snarled. As angry as he was at Vlad for sneaking the security program to spy on him, Danny wasn't dumb enough to ignore the warning. If something alerted the security program, then he should prepare for a virus attack.
"We forgot snacks," Danny told his friends as he stood, making his way through the row to the steps.
"Forget about the - Danny!" Tucker huffed irritably when his friend ignored him and continued down the bleacher steps to the ground.
Danny needed to find a safe place to transform, but with all the people surrounding him, that wouldn't be easy. His gaze caught Vlad's eyes when he passed the man at the bottom of the bleachers. He didn't miss the slight narrowing of dark blue eyes as Vlad probably tried to determine what Danny was up to. After a sneer toward the man, Danny snapped his gaze away.
A loud popping sound preceded the rain of sparks onto the field as the end lights blew out. There was a collective intake, a shocked gasp, at the strange occurrence, and even the players on the field halted in uncertainty of the blown lights. Another pop sounded the blow out of another set of lights, followed by another and another until all the lights were out. Murmurs filled the crowd, no one understanding what was happening.
A hand grabbed hold of his arm, dragging him around behind the stands toward the school. When they were well enough out of sight, the lack of lights from the football field casting dark shadows all around, Danny twisted his arm free and glared at the man.
"What are you doing?" Danny glowered at the older man while the security program continued growling from his watch.
Vlad folded his arms as he narrowed his eyes at Danny. "What were you planning to do?" His mouth thinned in that disapproving way that all adults seemed to have when they thought children were doing something bad. "About to rush off and destroy more property? Do you even know what you're going up against yet? Do you always just run blindly into battle without any sort of plan?"
"I've been doing this for the past three years," Danny argued angrily, not appreciating being talked to like a misbehaving child that didn't know anything. "I've done just fine on my own. I don't need your help. And in case you missed it, I didn't ask for it." That familiar surge of electricity tingled through him as he shifted into his digital form.
A scream jerked the attention of both men toward the football field where something was clearly happening.
"I know you're here somewhere, Phantom." The man's shout reached all the way to them with a sort of echo quality like he was yelling through a microphone. "If you don't want to watch me tear apart all of these innocent people, I suggest you come out now."
"Skulker," Danny growled, recognizing the voice immediately. He took a step toward the football field when Vlad grabbed his arm again.
"Don't rush so blindly into a fight," Vlad warned with a severe look.
"I know how to fight." Danny stormed away from him, racing toward the football field. Anger pumped through his veins as he ground his teeth, wishing he never followed Clockwork's advice to seek out Vlad. Thankfully the green light that appeared after his encounter with Clockwork faded away when he left Vlad's domain. What did Clockwork even expect Vlad to teach him? He already fought against viruses for a full three years without anyone's help. Why did he need to rely on anyone now?
He knew the reason, as much as he didn't want to admit it, especially to the likes of Vlad. Viruses were getting stronger, even being able to hop out of the NetZone. Meanwhile, Danny was still at the same level he started at, not growing any stronger since that first year when his powers seemed all over the place and frequently acted up, threatening to reveal the truth to everyone at the most inconvenient of times. He knew he needed someone to train him, help him become stronger so that he could beat the viruses, but he didn't want that someone to be Vlad.
When he arrived back at the football field, the crowd was in a panic, people scrambling to flee the scene. An explosion rocked the ground when Skulker fired one of his missiles from the many weapons that appeared out of his metal suit. The people running away that spotted him quickly cleared a path as Phantom ran toward the field where Skulker stood. Another missile took aim at the dispersing crowd. Danny fired off an energy ball that caused the missile to explode in mid air when the two projectiles collided. His gaze darted swiftly around, seeking his parents among the crowd. He needed to get Skulker back into the NetZone not only to avoid any damage to the school's football field, but to avoid being captured by his parents. When he didn't spot them right away, he hoped that meant they would be delayed getting weapons from the assault vehicle, giving him enough time to force Skulker back into the NetZone.
Danny called up a ball of green energy in his hands as he neared Skulker. A smirk spread onto the metal face when Skulker spied his prey coming at him.
"Phantom, look out!"
Danny couldn't identify who shouted, though it sounded like a man. His attention was focused on the opponent before him. Skulker wore his usual haughty expression that suggested he knew his victory was imminent. Narrowing his green eyes, Danny was determined to wipe that grin from his face.
It happened in the blink of an eye. One moment Skulker stood before him as Danny threw the energy ball at him. In the next moment, a loud musical cord rang out over the football field. The sound wave slammed into him, shoving backward into the stands. Wooden boards smashed underneath him, and he was thankful that the fans cleared out of the bleachers beforehand. Sitting up as planks of wood fell off him, he rubbed at his head. His visor was broken in places again, he noticed, feeling like the thing was fairly useless at this point when it neglected to warn him about incoming attacks.
What was that attack anyway? He couldn't remember Skulker ever being able to do something like that in the past. Was that another new ability that he developed? Danny glared toward his opponent, frustrated with the obvious proof of the growing distances in his strength compared to Skulker. If he couldn't get stronger soon, the viruses would wipe the floor with him in fights. Not that he was doing all that well at the moment.
The female virus with Skulker wasn't one that Danny ever saw or ran into during prior fights. She looked like some rock star out of the eighties with the way she dressed and the strange eye makeup under her vibrant green eyes. Her blue hair was fiery like the green Mohawk that Skulker had. Distantly, Danny wondered if they were a couple, and if they were, that was the strangest coupling he could think of.
Shields went up around the viruses when bursts of green screamed through the air toward them. Danny snapped his gaze around and almost groaned when he found his parents returned to the scene. He scrambled to his feet, doubting his parents would be able to defeat both viruses working together. When did viruses team up anyway? The only team that he could think of was Johnny 13 with his shadow. Kitty was often around him, but she was simply a program and couldn't fight.
Danny took a step toward the football field when something pressed against his temple. His eyes darted toward the side, and he gulped when he spotted one of the Guys in White agents standing next to him with a pistol size gun directed at his head. He could understand his parents arriving quickly because they were at the game to begin with, but Danny struggled to understand how a GIW agent reached the site of a virus attack mere minutes after Skulker and his buddy appeared. The GIW tended to come toward the end of the fight from his past experiences, not being the quickest to track down viruses.
"Don't even think about moving, you vile virus," the agent ordered, his pistol whirring as it charged.
Danny twisted about toward the agent, throwing up shields of translucent green screens before him for protection. He focused his attention on maintaining them, though they flickered, not quite as stable as he would like. When the weapon fired, the blast smashed through the shield, shattering the feeble attempt to protect himself. Danny barely dodged the bullet in time, wincing when he felt it tear through his side. He aimed an energy ball near where the agent stood, sending up bits of splintered wood from the bleachers to distract the tall, fuzzy haired man. With the agent being human, Danny didn't want to directly hit the man and potentially harm him. The agent covered his head with his arms to block any debris that flew at his face.
Danny used that opportunity to put distance between him and the man. His gaze darted toward his parents to see how they were faring against the duo of viruses. Their attacks were failing to get past the quick shields that Skulker erected while his parents kept having to dodge Skulker's missiles and the female virus' sound waves that came from the guitar she held. A streak of white passing far too closely to his face jerked his attention back to his current opponent. The agent recovered and fired multiple shots at the digital being before him. Danny raised shield after shield to block each bullet that tried to tear into him like that first one. He hated fighting against the GIW because he didn't want to hurt them, but they were persistent in trying to capture him, much like his parents.
The agent flipped a switch on his gun, and the parts of it started to shift, building off the pistol and changing it into a much bigger weapon. Danny gulped as the white glow from the barrel of the gun glared right into him. His shields did very little to protect him against the bullets. This larger firearm looked like it would blast out a much more powerful projectile. He jumped back the second he saw the burst fired from the gun, the agent jerking back a step in the recoil. The shot missed him, but the impact of the white blast hitting the ground and destroying more of the bleachers blew Danny backward. He tried to use his flying to better control his flight pattern, but it proved to be a useless attempt when he crashed through the bleachers, tearing through the wooden stands. He could tell already that he would be hurting tomorrow, and not simply from the graze of the bullet to his right side.
"Get off!"
The shout came from under him, and Danny hurriedly got back to his feet. Twisting around, he cringed when he saw Valerie with a bloody gash down her left leg. She was obviously grinding her teeth to keep from yelling or crying from the pain as her angry green eyes pinned a glare on him. Danny didn't think this night could get any worse.
After a quick glance over his shoulder to check where the GIW agent was, Danny held out a hand to the woman. Why was Valerie even still here? Everyone else ran away from the football field the moment the viruses showed up. Almost everyone anyway. During a quick glance around, he noticed a few other people lingered behind to watch the fights that were taking place. Danny groaned internally at that fact. He wasn't exactly at top form tonight with the way he kept getting knocked around by virus and agent alike.
"I don't need your help," Valerie growled as she tried to push herself to her feet without accepting his hand. The bitterness in her voice set him back, and Danny blinked in surprise at her. He knew that Valerie disliked him as Fenton, but he couldn't think of a reason for why she would hate Phantom. It was a struggle for her to get up, her injured leg wanting to give out as she slowly rose to a standing position.
"Step away from her," ordered the agent when he finally reached them.
Danny cursed inwardly as he spun around to face the man. In wanting to make sure that Valerie was all right, he gave the fuzzy haired man the chance to get close to him again. "You shoot at me, you'll hurt her too," Danny told the agent, gesturing with an arm toward Valerie. The blast from the large weapon was too powerful, and if the man was dumb enough to actually shoot at him again, Valerie would take more damage than a gash on the leg.
"Thanks for your concern." Valerie's words were the last thing he heard before something hard slammed into the back of his head. Danny pitched forward as his eyes rolled back in their sockets.
swagdanny: Haha, yeah. XD;; Like, I can't imagine them just jumping into romance, especially not in this fic. Maybe I just love slow build ups? XD;; But like, that Bakery AU with flirty Danny and lonely Vlad was kind of cute.
DB-KT: Maybe~ Haha. XD;; I think Vlad's major point is that Danny's often way too reckless and doesn't think about what happens after the fights. And since it was his own company getting wrecked this time, Vlad decided it was time to slap some cold hard truth into Danny's face. orz
Anon: If you mean Dash x Danny x Vlad, yeah. XD I was encouraged to throw in one side Dash liking Danny.
Just Will: Do I? =D That's good to hear! I often worry about not getting personalities right or coming off as too out of character. With the way they keep butting heads with each other, even I'm having a little bit of "are they ever going to get together?" feeling. XD;;; It'll work out somehow! *whispers "I hope"*
Sammi: And Valerie gets more reason to hate Phantom. D8 Danny, you're luck kind of sucks. orz
midnight: Vlad did not enjoy the ride... At all. Ever see the movie The Pacifier? That scene with the driving and immediate after the door opens and the kid drops to the ground and is like "Land! Or thank god!" or something like that? XD;;; I imagine that as everyone's feeling after getting out of the car when Jack drives.
maltese: Yup, basically. =) And you're welcome! It wouldn't be Valerie if she didn't jump to the wrong conclusion though, right? XD;; Poor Danny~ Vlad needs some love! *pats him* *whispers "he could have always designed his security program to look like Maddie"* XD But it's probably good that he didn't.