Phantom, the Senders, and the Messages

Eventually, each teen, and Constance, joined the team. They were sent to bed right after that; without the much wanted explanations. Team Phantom had been asked to stay a bit after.

"I know you want explanations, but that will have to wait until tomorrow. I ask, can you get Phantom to assist?"

The others turned to Danny, which greatly surprised Mr. Benedict. He didn't even help with the missions, so, why was he the leader? Mr. Benedict was sure it would've been Samantha…

"I could ask. I might even get him to come and talk to you."

"That would be lovely. But, why on Earth would he leave Amity to talk to me?"

"If it concerns the safety of others, he could be here in seconds since he learned teleportation."

Mr. Benedict nodded. "Very well. I want him to be there when I give the explanations tomorrow, if that's alright."

The teens nodded and left Mr. Benedict alone, whom of which, had some interesting new suspicions about Danny Fenton.

(You all know about Reynie's and Mr. Benedict's talk, so I'm not gonna put that in here.)

They had gotten up early. The had feasted on breakfast, which was OJ, toast, eggs, milk, tea, fruits, and, because Tucker just needs meat, beacon and sausage.

It was badly storming outside.

"What do you think of the weather? Quite bad, isn't it? But, that doesn't matter. Danny, when will Phantom be here?"

"Uh… during the explanations." That was the time Danny would reveal himself. He had decided he could trust all of them, not only because they needed him, but because the whole world was counting on him. Again. Sometimes being a hero really sucked.

"Okay."

Milligan can up and mumbled something in her ear about being 'on duty.' And, after an explanation, she told them he was a body guard.

And, soon, Mr. Benedict came in, and, he was, annoyingly, followed by Number Two. She had changed out of her yellow suit, but still remained in yellow overalls. She… kinda reminded Danny of the Box Ghost.

Soon the topic of conversation fell to Number Two's lack of sleep, then fell to the bell in the second floor.

"If you ever hear that bell ring, gather onto the landing instantly. It will only be rung in dire circumstances, so don't dawdle, understood?" He received quiet nods. "Do any of you have questions?"

Immediately, the teens started asking about the 'project' and, of course, Phantom. He had apparently attracted Constance's attention, who was very included to meet him.

"The project. Yes, I will start with that. But, Danny, Sam, Tucker, where is Phantom?"

Danny visibly tensed.

"Well, he's here. That's for sure. He's actually been here all along…" He didn't know how to explain this…

"Is that so?" Mr. Benedict inquired.

Danny nodded. "You see, I, um, I'm Danny Phantom."

There. He said it. His secret was out. Cue screams…

"WHAT?"

Now.

"You're Danny Phantom?" Constance asked, suddenly very embarrassed. Kate just say there with her eye brows raised. Number Two froze in her tracks. Rhonda had dropped the tray of food she had been holding. Mr. Benedict had fallen asleep, luckily, though, he had been sitting at the table, so his head had just hanged down, bobbling.

Only Reynie, Sam, and Tucker weren't stunned. Okay, that's a lie. Reynie was… he just hadn't expected Danny to reveal himself.

"Prove it!" Constance demanded, standing up on the table. Danny shrugged and mumbled his catch phrase. Then he summoned the rings.

Everyone, besides Mr. Benedict, stared in awe as they watched the transformation.

"Dude…" Sticky said, suddenly afraid of his friend. Kate, on the other hand, was more ecstatic.

"This. Is. Awesome! I know Danny Phantom! I know I can't tell anyone, but this is still so cool! Oh my gosh!"

"Danny?" Was all Rhonda was able to say.

"I so wasn't expecting that." Number Two said.

"Hmph. Well, I didn't think he was all that great anyway." Constance said plainly, crossing her arms over her chest.

Then Mr. Benedict started to stir. Number Two quickly rushed over, helping him sit up. The next thing Mr. Benedict saw was a flying, glowing figure. But he didn't panic.

"Danny. That was a big shock I hadn't been expecting."

"Sorry."

"But, it's okay. I had been expecting something like this, but, yet it wasn't this. Would you please explain—"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Benedict, but I believe you must explain first. I revealed myself in full confidence when I could've easily made a duplicate. So, please."

Mr. Benedict gave a nod. He began, "Several years ago, during my research on the human brain, I came across something. Messages were being delivered directly into people's minds all over the world without their knowledge. They have a very powerful effect, an unfortunate effect. I have not learned everything about them yet, though. But I do know where they being delivered from and how. I also know what the Sender, the machine capable of sending those messages, is capable of."

Seeing their worried faces, he sighed heavily. "The messages are mainly being used on children."

"Why children?" Reynie interrupted.

"And what do these messages say?" Danny asked, floating back to his place on the ground. People tried no to stare.

"Well, finish with your breakfast and then I'll explain. Danny—"

"Breakfast can wait!" Sam and Kate cried.

"Only if all of you feel this way…" Mr. Benedict said. Not even Constance complained.

They were lead up to the third floor of the building. The room they entered was awfully messy. Tons of electronics were spread out across the room.

"Babies!" Tucker cried, running straight to a computer and hugging it. "I haven't seen one of you in so long!"

"Please step away from the computer, Tucker." Mr. Benedict said, now concerned about the boys love for electronics.

He walked over and pried Tucker away, but nicely. "Listen, carefully, children." And he turned the TV on.

Danny instantly felt weird. It was like he was battling Technus, but it was worse. A red-haired reporter was on the television. "They're calling for a change," she said, "and their cries are not falling on deaf ears. The president has repeated his agreement that something must be done, and soon. However, in the halls of Congress…"

Constance yawned, clearly annoyed. "I don't actually hear anything strange."

Danny did. It was so quiet. He had to strain to hear it… and he couldn't even understand it. Just mumbled voices; children voices.

"I hear it."

Everyone stated at Danny. Mr. Benedict's eyes widened. "Do you? I haven't even activated the Receiver… what do you hear?"

Danny ruffled his eye brows, trying to understand the voices. He couldn't. "I can't understand them… I have to strain to hear them, and my hearing is three times the average humans. It's muffled, children voices."

"Number Two, I want you to activate the Receiver. Kids, listen very closely."

Number Two began to fiddle with some controls, making the image go blurry.

Then, Danny understood it. It hurt, hurt so bad. His ears… he, he couldn't take it. He was forced back into human form to cancel out the super hearing, now his hearing still 1.5 times stronger than the average humans. It still hurt.

"What in the world?" Kate said, only catching certain words.

"Market… to free to be… obfuscate…"

Number Two fiddled with it more, no one realizing Danny's pained form. When Number Two finished, he clutched his head in his head, falling to the ground. It wasn't loud. No, that wasn't what bothered him. There was something else in those words, but he couldn't identify it.

"THE MISSING AREN'T MISSING, THEY'RE ONLY DEPARTED.

ALL MINDS KEEP ALL THOUGHTS– SO LIKE GOLD– CLOSELY GUARDED."

Danny howled. Then, and only then, did they notice him. Sam, being that she had a crush on him (though she'd never admit that) ran to his side. She pulled him into her arms, whispering stuff into his ears.

The next event happened so fast, Superman's eye wouldn't have been able to catch it.

Bonnie Halliwell, a blonde girl who's hair was in a high, right pony, appeared in white orbs of light. (Hence the phrase 'Orbing.' See Charmed.) She ran over to Danny, said something no one could make out, then vanished again in orbs.

Danny sighed with relief. He knew what was causing it, and, most importantly, he knew how to fix it.

The Halfa took a deep breath and blocked his Empathy link, completely ceiling off the emotions of others.

No one had a clue what was happening, except Sam and Tucker. If Bonnie had appeared, it meant it had to do with two things. One, and the most likely, he had a mission to do for Clockwork. Two, his Empathy. Since she had left without a message from Clockwork, it happened to be the second one.

His Empathy was becoming stronger.

After the little ordeal, and Danny had assured them he was okay, they returned to the task at hand. The messages.

"GROW THE LAWN AND MOW THE LAWN.

ALWAYS LEAVE THE TV ON.

BRUSH YOUR TEETH AND KILL THE GERMS.

POISON APPLES, POISON WORMS."

Danny had made it through without a single cringe.

The voices continued on giving creepy little verses. The voice never faltered, never stopped to breath. It just kept talking in a monotone.

Mr. Benedict switched off the TV.

A very confused Constance asked, "What does 'obfuscate' mean?" When Sticky gave her the dictionary version, Reynie shortened it.

"It means to make things confusing or muddled."

Mr. Benedict thanked them both, then turned to the whole group. " The child's voice is being transmitted to every electronic you can think of. That means the voice is being absorbed by million– possibly billions– of minds. In addition, the phrases can be translated into any language, polluting many more minds."

"How is all of this happening, Mr. Benedict?" Reynie inquired. "How are these messages being sent?"

"Simply put, the messages ride piggy-back on the signals. All signals." Tucker had a horrified expression. "And the Sender uses it to its advantage. It has figure out how to control the parts of the brain that attract these signals, making it able to control minds."

"So... the messages are just thoughts?" Sam asked, starting to understand.

"Correct. Though, these thoughts carry a great deal of freight."

Sticky asked, "But why children? Why does the sender use children to send the messages?"

"A devils also a necessary one. You see, child's thoughts can be slipped into the min so much easier and delicately. So much so, they are virtually unnoticeable."

"Ha! That's predictable!" Constance exclaimed bluntly. "Grown-ups never believed me capable of thoughts!"

Mr. Benedict nodded. "At any rate, I do believe the children are used as a sort of filter. Once the message passes through the minds of children, it becomes undetectable."

"So, nobody notices them at all?" Tucker asked, suddenly glad his mother had made him leave his electronics at home.

"Some might. But only vaguely aware. They attribute the uneasy sensation as something else, though, if that's the case. They might think they had had too much coffee, or it was an original idea."

"I don't ever recall anything like that happening." Constance said. "Like something's happening but you don't know what."

"Danny does," Tucker offered, hoping to lighten the moods a bit.

"Tucker!" Sam and Danny shouted angrily.

"What's he talking about?" Sticky asked, now concerned even more.

"I don't want to talk about it." Danny stated obviously, crossing his arms. Sam frowned at the Halfa. Although she knew what Tucker had done was wrong, she knew that Danny should give tell them, just so they might have an idea about what they're facing.

"Danny, I think you should tell them."

Danny looked up at his best friend, guilt written all over his eyes. If Sam was willingly to let them hear what happened, Danny could tell them. "Alright, just don't judge me."

So, he began to tell them about Freakshow and his ghost-controlling staff. All the things he was told he had done, but didn't remember. But he remembered what he did to Sam, and he told them about all of that, too.

"That was quite fascinating, Danny." Mr. Benedict said, having even more respect for the boy. "You fought back a full-blown mind control. You are, as you all are, a very nice addition to the team."

Danny smiled, only glad he wasn't being thought of as 'the bad guy' anymore.

"If you fought against—" Kate said, completely intrigued by the subject. "Wait a minute! Did you say Freakshow used ghost performers in his circus? I knew it couldn't be that good!"

The Halfa grew a bright shade of pink. This was a lot of praise he was receiving. He new, thought, he didn't deserve it.

"Well," Danny said, "Maybe we should get back to the project? That's way more important then my well being."

Mr. Benedict, though he didn't agree with Danny, nodded. "Yes, well, all of your minds have been resisting these messages."

"Is that why you asked if we watched TV or listened to the radio?" Reynie asked.

Mr. Benedict tapped his nose. "Precisely."

Constance huffed. "Still not seeing the big and bad part. So what if adults are receiving kids' thoughts? Big deal."

"We haven't gotten to the 'big deal' part yet, Constance. Something is coming. Something dreadful. Sure, the messages are connected to it. But that's the calm before the storm. What's coming is far worse."

"Great." Danny mumbled, his mental barriers starting to weaken. He can only force down Empathy for so long…

"Wh- what is it?" Stocky stumbled, absolutely terrified of the answer.

"I don't know."

Wait… he was joking, right? Did he really not know?

"Ah. I see your confusion. I guess I should've said, I don't exactly know. But I suspect it has to do with the disappearances of good men and women."

"People are missing?" Tucker asked, now utterly horrified.

Mr. Benedict nodded sadly. "Vanished. Completely just disappeared. Nobody even cared. They just thought they had gone into an early retirement or had went on a vacation."

"' The missing aren't missing, they're only departed…'" Sam repeated soulfully. "That's what it meant! It's telling people not to care!"

Mr. Benedict tapped his nose. "Perfect!"

"Okay. I get it. Messages are being sent out into people's brains, people gone missing, and a ghost kid. But, how are we in danger?" Constance said, not wanting to let the matter go. "You said we were all in danger… that was an exaggeration, was it not?"

Mr. Benedict shook his head. "I'm afraid not, Constance. You are all in incredible danger, even as we speak."

And, as if on cue, the bells on the second floor rang.

!