Chapter 55

"All right," Dash said, pacing the room. "Thanks. Let us know if you hear anything else." He pulled his cell phone away from his ear as he ended the call. Biting the inside of his cheek, he stared at the phone as the worry built up inside him. Seeing Valerie laying on the ground like that, not moving and looking like she wasn't even breathing, was a terrifying moment. Seeing Phantom transform into someone else right before his eyes only made it all seem worse. His hand squeezed tightly around his phone, knowing those images would be forever etched in his memory. Time might dull the details for the others, but he would always have the images perfectly remembered. It was one of the things he hated about having a photographic memory.

"Was that Paulina?"

Dash lifted his head, turning his gaze onto the Goth beside him, and he joined her in leaning against the desks in the computer laboratory. Then his blue eyes drifted over to where Kwan and Foley were typing in a rapid frenzy at the computers. Listening to them speak was like trying to watch a foreign film with no subtitles in a language he never studied. He could barely catch anything they were saying, but they seemed to work in perfect harmony as they struggled to keep Phantom, or EXEcutioner as he was calling himself, contained until that mysterious digital entity could arrive and do who knew what to save Phantom. Dash prayed that whoever that man was he could save Phantom because this transformed version of him unsettled the jock when he recalled the crazed look in those red eyes and the maniacal grin upon his face.

"Yeah," Dash answered as he shoved his phone into his pocket. "She said that the doctors are looking at Valerie now and they said she should be all right, but they aren't filling her in on any exact details. That whole she's not family so they can't release information to her or whatever deal they've got at the hospital."

"As long as she's going to be okay," Manson said quietly, lowering her violet gaze. "And it's good that Paulina's there with her. It'll be good if she wakes up and sees a friendly face."

Dash reached up and raked a hand through his blond hair. "This is so weird." He shook his head as a breathy chuckle bubbled out of him. "I never would have thought that you would care about Paulina and Valerie."

"They're not-" Manson shook her head that look of disbelief playing across her face like she couldn't believe it herself. "I think all of us probably could have been good friends all these years," she turned to stare at the jock, "if we had simply put aside stupid labels. A list. Loser. What do those labels really matter? Those labels don't fully define who we are. And," she sighed, reaching up to push a lock of her ebony hair behind an ear, "I think our first impressions of each other were all wrong. Paulina isn't the snobby bitch I thought she was, and Valerie is an amazing fighter."

Dash frowned, having to admit that Manson was right. He had a poor impression of the three friends when they entered high school. Fenton seemed like a dorky loser that came from a family of crazies. Foley was a techno geek whose love for technology bordered slightly on creepy. Manson was the freaky Goth chick that antagonized the A list and found something in the school to protest almost every week. But if he never looked beyond that surface impression, Dash might not have seen Fenton as a good guy and someone that he could actually like.

But something as he listened to Manson wiggled into his mind and nagged at him. "What was Valerie even doing there?" he wondered out loud. His brow pinched as he turned back to Manson. "I mean, I know how good a fighter she is. We all used to watch her matches before high school. But she can't fight against viruses. Not like Phantom." A frown pulled at his face when Manson turned her head, rubbing at her neck in that way that suggested she knew something. "Okay. Spill the beans."

"She probably wouldn't want me to say anything."

"She's my friend. If you know something, tell me." Frustration dug its claws into the jock when the Goth remained silent. "Look. If I knew something about one of your friends and you were worried about him, wouldn't you want me tell you? I know it would be a major betrayal of trust to tell me what you know about Valerie, but if it's something that could land her in a lot of trouble, I want to know what it is."

Manson took a deep breath and released it slowly. "The reason Valerie was there is because she's been fighting viruses for a while. She has this suit thing and these weapons that allows her to fight them. I thought it was really cool. I mean, if I had a suit and weapons like that, I could fight alongside Phantom to stop the viruses. I guess I saw it just as, you know, a game. I'd get to run around and be a hero, and it sounds really cool when you say it." She frowned, her eyes dimming as they lowered to the ground. "But seeing Valerie laying there, I realized just how real it is. Each time she used the suit and fought the viruses, she was putting herself in danger. I saw her and Phantom fighting earlier, and it was an endless battle with the viruses picking themselves up and continuing to attack. If she didn't pay enough attention, if Phantom wasn't there to watch her back, she could have gotten seriously hurt."

"She's going to be all right." Dash patted Manson on the shoulder, and it felt strange to offer her comfort after years of butting heads with each other. But her words resonated inside him. He would lie if he said he never had those thoughts of wishing he could be some sort of superhero. When Phantom first appeared, Dash had thoughts like Manson. The idea of being able to help Phantom attracted him, but he wasn't tech smart like Kwan or Foley. He didn't have weapons that would allow him to aid Phantom in a fight.

"Shit!" Kwan cursed as he and Foley backed away from the computers at which they were working. The computers were lightly smoking, their screens going crazy as they displayed random, glitchy patterns before turning completely black.

"What happened?" Manson questioned as she pushed away from the desk.

"Well, we had Phantom contained," Foley explained, rubbing at his neck. "But he managed to break out, and whatever he did to do it pretty much fried the computers."

"Plenty other computers to work from." Dash gestured to the whole room full of computers. "Hop on a new one and get cracking. You can't let him escape now."

"I think that guy reached Phantom by now," Foley said as he played with his PDA, the action making Dash frown in frustration because this wasn't the time for the techno geek to be playing. "I keep trying to contact him again, but he seems to have shut off the line. I think that means he's currently dealing with Phantom and doesn't want to be disturbed."

"You were awfully quick to trust that guy." Manson folded her arms as she eyed her friend with suspicion. Dash agreed there was something odd about how Foley didn't even question the man's appearance or why he would want to help Phantom. At the time, he let it slide because they needed to hurry and do something to help Phantom. Now that it was brought up, he wanted answers too.

"What does that matter as long as he helps save Phantom?" Foley looked away, mimicking Manson's earlier telltale sign of knowing something more.

"I'm a bit curious about who that guy was as well." Kwan frowned as he stared at his fellow techno geek. "I'm glad that he wants to help. But who exactly is he?"

"He's just, uh-" Foley was sweating as he tried to think of an explanation. "He's been helping Phantom get stronger."

"It sounds to me like you know a lot more about Phantom than you're letting on." Dash glowered at Foley, who gulped nervously under the jock's gaze.

"Dash, we've only been monitoring Phantom," Kwan said, and his friend turned his skeptical blue eyes onto him. "That's all. We had his data, and we've been tracking it to make sure that nothing bad was happening to him."

"But see," Manson said, no less skeptical than Dash, "that just makes it sound like you know something even more. How were you monitoring his data when you weren't around during his fights? And how do you know anything about the man training him? That guy could have been lying to us back there."

"Because he told me that the guy was training him," Foley argued. Then realizing his error, he smacked a hand to his forehead.

Kwan rolled aqua green eyes to the ceiling as he shook his head at Foley's response to the questioning. "Seriously, you're the worst secret keeper in the world. Remind me never to tell you anything I don't want the whole world knowing."

"Wait. So you've both been talking with Phantom?" Dash demanded as he snapped his eyes between the two men. "When did this happen? How long have you been best buddies with Phantom? Why didn't you ever tell me about this, Kwan?" Hurt flashed through his eyes as he stared at his best friend. It wasn't simply because Kwan kept his hero from him. It was because it was just another thing that Kwan was keeping secret from him, reminding Dash painfully that his friend had this other side to him to which he was oblivious. It left Dash wondering how much more Kwan never told him.

"I promised," Kwan said, dropping miserable eyes to the floor, "not to tell anyone."

"I made him," Foley jumped in, catching that look on the raven haired jock's face. "I'm sure you'd keep any promise you made with Kwan, but I couldn't risk anyone else finding out who Phantom really is."

"Especially after you let it slip out so easily with me," Kwan teased with half a smile.

"You practically had the answer smacking you in the face," Foley protested. "I thought for sure you already knew who he was!"

"Well," Kwan scratched at his head with a frown, "I might have had the answer, but I certainly never would have believed it. It sounded way too impossible."

"Stop with the cryptic talk!" Manson shouted out in frustration. "You might as well just tell us this big secret you know about Phantom because we're just going to keep pestering you until we get answers. And you," she pointed a finger at Foley as she narrowed angry violet eyes, "should have told me about this already."

"I promised Danny I wouldn't." Foley groaned as he dropped his head into a hand and rubbed at his forehead. "He didn't want you knowing because he didn't want you getting caught up in his mess. And he knew you'd never stop bugging him about it and trying to get him to let you help him fight viruses if you knew. He thought he would be protecting you if he didn't tell you anything."

"Why is Danny such an idiot all the time?" Manson looked seconds from trying to rip out her hair in anger and frustration when she learned the truth.

Dash swore his eyes tried to bulge right out of their sockets when he heard Foley's words. His brain suffered from the shock of discovering Phantom's true identity. But how was it even possible for Fenton to be Phantom? Fenton was human! While Phantom was some weird program from the NetZone. If he thought about the two of them, he supposed he could see the similarities in their appearances. But his brain still had trouble accepting the truth. He snapped his gaze toward Kwan, who scratched absently at his cheek.

"Funny, huh?" Kwan chuckled awkwardly. "You've fanned over Phantom the past three years. Then you develop a crush on Fenton. And they're turn out to be the same person."

That comment only served to act like a punch to the gut. Not only did he beat up on the man he started to like when he came to the realization that he liked men, but he harassed his hero too. He pictured all the things that he did to Fenton over the last three years and envisioned Phantom in his place. Walking over to the desks, he collapsed into one of the chairs, resting his head in his hands as he tried to wrap his mind around this new knowledge.

Was that the reason Fenton rejected him? Was Fenton afraid that they wouldn't work out because of his secret? Was he worried that being romantically involved with someone might open that person to the risk of being targeted by enemy viruses? Superheroes always worried about endangering those they cared about in comics. Dash glanced toward his friend as a frown reappeared on his face. Or did Fenton know about Kwan liking him and didn't want to stand in Kwan's way of finding happiness when Fenton had no current interest in Dash? He sighed because thinking was giving him a massive headache.

"I'm still shocked that you actually kissed Danny," Manson said, shaking her head in disbelief.

"I'm surprised you're not throwing a hissy fit about it," Dash countered with half a glare. Actually, that point really surprised since he always suspected Fenton and Manson would hook up at some point. They always seemed to share those awkward moments that hinted that they were crushing on each other.

Sam shrugged, sadness entering her eyes. "I've been clinging to lingering feelings for him. But if he likes guys now, well, even if he doesn't, it doesn't matter who he likes, but I'm clearly not the one he likes, so I just have to let him go. Time to move on." She nodded like she was trying to convince herself. "I'll never find someone if I always hold out on the thought of Danny being there for me."

Maybe I should do the same, Dash thought absently as he leaned back in the chair. If Fenton did have someone he liked, then Dash might be wasting his time trying to convince the other man to date him. His gaze, once again, drifted toward Kwan, and guilt gnawed at him.

"Well, we've done what we can here, I think," Kwan said, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Do you think we can head to the hospital? I want to check on Val."

The agreement was unanimous, all of them concerned for Valerie's well being, though Tucker showed some hesitancy about having to go to the hospital. Dash wished there was more they could do to help Phantom, though if the two techno geeks said they did everything they could, pressuring them to keep trying would be pointless. Another realization smacked him as he stood to follow the others out of the computer lab. If Fenton and Phantom were the same person, then that whole corruption just turned Fenton evil, and that was a terrifying thought to Dash. And if the man couldn't save Phantom, then Fenton would be gone forever. Dash stiffly walked toward the school parking lot with the others, praying even more that the man would save Phantom, and in the process save Fenton.

midnight: Kisses~ 8D Just Will suggested Phantom Pulse for a name. XD;; I think that sounds fitting for this story?

maltese: Had to do Vlad's PoV at some point. XD;; Nocturne has been waiting for an opportunity to get some vengeance on Walker. Running The Vortex wasn't just an idle job for him. He's been collecting data from viruses and using that to alter his original coding so that when he got the chance he could actually do something against Walker, rather than just being a weak little program. The mind controlling, he got from Ember.

Sammi: Woo kisses~ That's been a long time coming, huh? XD

Omnifarious Writer: Paulina totally picked up some moves from Val. XD Though she more often uses words to hurt others than her fists. *pets Cujo* Poor puppy, having his second master being all terrifying and scaring him.

Just Will: Haha, yeah. When that episode aired, it was like "wait. what!?" XD;; Skulker and Ember being a couple just came so out of the blue. Danny finally gets a kiss from Vlad but he can't fully enjoy it because of the corruption! *shakes fist and cries* The under level came from the idea of level zero in Doomed in the Teacher of the Year episode. Like one way in but no way out kind of deal. Basically when programs and viruses fall in it, they lose the ability to function and can't return to the NetZone regular though they remain conscious. Only Clockwork has the special ability to retrieve those from the under level. XD;; The GiW were originally working on a new program to be able to combat Phantom, track him down and capture him, but it went so very wrong and Technus escaped their control.

swagdanny: I'm sorry for the evil cliffhangers~ D8