AN: Thanks to everyone for the reviews so far! I tried getting this chapter out as fast as I could too, but I got distracted with stuff. Sorry for any mistakes I may have made. It's also a bit longer than the others. Anyways, here it is!
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Charlatan's Flaw: Chapter 2
Yesterday felt like a dream to Danny. All that had happened to him didn't really seem possible, after all, how could getting super powers from a freaky lab accident be real? That only happened in comic books and movies! Danny groaned and got up from his bed. He felt really tired and sore. He showered, changed his clothes, then started walking to the kitchen while thinking about the situation at dinner last night.
After his spoon passed right through his hand, Danny couldn't wait to go home. He didn't want his parents to think he was a ghostly imposter and not their son. He didn't want Jazz to think that he had some problems he wanted to talk about – not that he didn't want to talk about it to someone, but Jazz was different. He wished he could talk to Tucker but he moved away. Tucker wouldn't judge. Meanwhile Jazz might think that he was going crazy. Finally after a nerve-wracking 45 minutes, with only two other utensil mishaps, the Fentons left the restaurant. Danny went straight up to his room while his parents went straight to the lab. He jumped on his bed and after a few minutes, fell asleep.
Danny arrived in the kitchen, yawning. "Tired, little brother?" a voice asked.
"Yeah, Jazz," Danny replied sleepily, "Yesterday was pretty tiring."
"Really? It didn't seem like you did anything yesterday, lazy bum," Jazz said with a joking smile on her face.
"Whatever Jazz. You wouldn't understand. Anyways, so where are mom and dad?"
"Danny, don't you remember? They said they were going to go to some ghost hunter speech today and part of tomorrow. Honestly, I feel like that's a waste of time. They're just feeding their unhealthy obsession with ghosts by –"
"Yeah yeah, filling in some void that blah blah blah. I get it. You've only said this a million times before, Jazz," Danny said as he interrupted her, "so what's for breakfast?"
"You're going to have to figure that out yourself, I have to get to class early today so I don't have time to eat. I can't give you a ride to school today either, sorry lil bro," she replied. "Anyways, I'll see you after school. Gotta go, bye!"
"See you later!" Danny said as Jazz grabbed her keys, walked to the door, and left.
"Alright, now let's see what there is to eat!" he said as he opened the fridge, regretting it as soon as he did, because he remembered why he should not have opened it. The reason being because of the dreaded leftovers. Now, in a normal family, leftovers would not be a problem. It's just food, but with the Fentons, leftovers were vicious, nasty things. Especially the hotdog leftovers. They would probably eat you if they could. Danny and Jazz figured that their parents' ghostly experiments were the cause of the life-like, bloodthirsty tendencies. Danny tried to close the fridge door but was too late. About ten hot dog wieners jumped out of the fridge and began to attack him. Danny grabbed the closest thing to him which was…a frying pan.
Danny swung the frying pan left and right but the hot dog wieners just kept coming. He tried stepping on the ones near his feet but they were too fast. Finally, after ten minutes, Danny smashed one on the floor and managed to throw it quickly back into the fridge. Only nine left. Danny grabbed a Ziploc bag and put oven gloves on. He grabbed three of them and hastily put them in the bag, then threw it inside the fridge. Six left. He grabbed two in one hand then tried to open the fridge with his other hand but he just phased through it. "Oh CRAP!" Danny yelled as he fell. He picked himself up and phased out of the fridge, leaving the hot dogs inside. Four left.
"Whoa, what just happened?" Danny asked himself as he swung the frying pan again, hitting one right into the sink. He maneuvered the pan so that the hot dog wiener would fall into the drain, then he covered the drain with the frying pan and switched the garbage disposal on. Three left. Danny got a big pot then tried catching the remaining three with it. He managed to get two of them inside then phased the pot inside the fridge. One left. "That was actually pretty cool," he said as he looked as his arms, which turned back to normal. He ran to the basement and got the Fenton Anti-Creep Stick. Then he slugged the remaining hot dog wiener out of the air, through the kitchen window. "Whoops, I didn't mean for that to happen," He said as he looked at the broken window. Danny looked at the clock and saw that he had taken 30 minutes to dispose of the remaining nine leftovers. School started in 15 minutes. Danny panicked, grabbed a pack of pop tarts from the pantry, went up to his room and grabbed his backpack then ran to the garage. He turned his scooter on and zipped away to school, getting there just in time.
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Danny locked his scooter, ran through the halls, and jumped in his seat right before his class started. Health class usually started on time and Danny didn't want to get on Ms. Tetslaff's bad side. Especially so early in the morning, considering he had her for P.E. too. After spending half an hour teaching about how the body reacts to different food choices and styles, Ms. Tetslaff began talking about the project for next week – child care and learning how to be responsible. Danny groaned and zoned out for the remaining 25 minutes of class. He wasn't really interested in the project right now. Finally the bell rang. He got up, packed his backpack, and started walking to his next class. Once he turned the corner, he was pushed to the ground…by none other than Dash Baxter.
"Hey Fenturd, what are you doing walking this way? I thought I told you you weren't allowed to walk in this hallway," Dash told him with a stupid smile on his face.
"Dash, you know this is the only hallway to get to the other classes, so you can't tell me what I can and can't do," Danny replied angrily as he got up from the floor.
"You're right, Fentonio, but I can make you do things. For example," Dash said as he got his homework out of his bag, "do this for me by tomorrow and I'll let you pass."
"I don't think so, licking your shoe would be better than helping you pass a class," Danny said as he tried to push his way past Dash and Kwan.
"Oh really?" Dash asked with a smirk on his face. "Then, let's have you do that instead! Kwan, hold him down!" He pushed Danny down again. Kwan held Danny down. "Lick it, and I'll let you pass."
I just had to open my big mouth, didn't I? Danny thought. He could see no other way out of this, especially with a big guy like Kwan holding him down. "I think I'll take the homework now," he tried to word his way out of his current situation.
"Nice try, Fentoad, but that deal has expired. Now, lick my shoe," Dash said as he forcefully put his foot right in Danny's face.
Danny couldn't believe what he was about to do. He didn't want to lick Dash's shoe but he also didn't want to be late to his next class. Looking at his outcomes, going late to class would have worse consequences than a shoe lick. Danny gulped and closed his eyes. He stuck his tongue out and licked Dash's shoe. "There!" he said as he spat on the floor. Kwan let him go.
"See? That wasn't so hard now, was it?" Dash laughed and started walking away. "See ya later, Fenturd."
Danny flipped him off then ran through the hallway towards his next class. The first bell rang. Danny gasped for breath. He still had time; the tardy bell hadn't rung yet. He was nearly there, just one turn around the corner and he would be there!
Gradually, Danny noticed that he was getting slower and shorter. What? He thought. What is going on? Danny looked around then at his legs. They were going through the floor. Slowly, he stopped but he was still sinking. Danny tried pulling himself up but he couldn't. He started panicking then sinking even more. He looked around for something that could help him up. On his left, he saw a water fountain but he couldn't reach it. It was too far away. Danny tried to make his way there, slowly doing so. He reached up, grabbed the water fountain, and pulled himself up. "Yes!" He cried. Danny ran around the corner and saw the door to his next class. As soon as he did, though, the late bell rang. "No!" he said as he ran towards the door, tripping and falling inside the door.
"Nice way to make an entrance, Mr. Fenton," Mr. Lancer drawled. "This is your second tardy this week. Keep it up and you'll get a detention."
"Sorry Mr. Lancer, it's just that –"
"No excuses now get to your seat and get your notes. Can't you see that class has already started?"
"Yes, sir," Danny stuttered as he made his way to his seat. Phew, he thought. I was pretty sure that I'd get a detention this time. Danny sat down and got his notes.
Mr. Lancer began to teach about the different themes present in Lord of the Flies, stating more than once that it would be on the test at the end of the week. He continued for 20 minutes before handing out an assignment that was due at the end of the period. Individual work, no groups, no talking.
Danny started working on his worksheet. He got stuck on question 16 out of 25 with only 10 minutes left. Then Mr. Lancer's voice rang out, "Paulina, can you please collect the homework due today? And please write down the names of the students who did not do it."
"Yes, Mr. Lancer," She replied
Paulina got up and started at the front of the row. Danny looked through his backpack and found the papers. He looked at the front page. Nothing. "Oh no," he whispered. How did I forget about this? He thought frantically as Paulina moved closer and closer. At any other time he would have been happy that she was walking over to him but not now. How could he forget? Stupid! He was failing this class. He needed all the full credit he could get. With all the thinking, Danny didn't notice that his legs were slowly turning intangible. Paulina walked over and asked for his homework. "Uh, I don't have it," he whispered. She nodded, wrote his name, and moved on.
Suddenly, Danny crashed to the floor face first. The students around him started laughing.
"First you come late to my class, then you fall asleep in my class. What shall I do with you, Mr. Fenton?" Mr. Lancer said as Paulina gave him all of the homework and the paper with the names of the students who didn't have it. "And you didn't do the homework."
"Mr. Lancer, I-"
"That's enough, Danny. I think what you need is a detention. See you after school." He said as the bell rang.
Danny picked himself up off the floor and walked out of the classroom.
He started heading towards the P.E locker room to change early incase anything "ghostly" started happening again. He didn't understand how this was happening to him. Danny figured that the pass through the ghost portal had given him ghost powers. But it didn't really make any sense. The only place where that would make sense was a comic book. Although, after thinking about what was happening to him, ghost powers kinda did make sense to Danny. He sighed as he walked out of the locker room and into the gym. Class should be easy today, he thought. Today they would only be playing volleyball after all.
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Danny was completely and utterly wrong. Class started out normal – taking attendance, getting into teams, and playing volleyball. It was smooth sailing until the last ten minutes of class, when Danny's shorts turned intangible and fell off, revealing his heart boxers. He'd already been laughed today. He didn't need to be laughed at again. It was even worse when Paulina started laughing too. Danny left the gym after Tetslaff told him he could go. Not that it helped anyway. The news would probably be going around school already. Danny changed into his regular clothes and started walking to his science class. He got there a bit early and sat in his seat next to his friend, Mikey.
"I heard about what happened in P.E. today," he told Danny.
"Yeah, I'm sure you have. I'm surprised you haven't posted about it, though," Danny replied, irritated.
"Well, I didn't feel like messing your day up more," Mikey told him with a friendly smile on his face. "Especially after what happened with Mr. Lancer."
"I guess that makes sense. Thanks. You're a very thoughtful friend," Danny told him sarcastically as Mr. Poluka entered the classroom.
"Yup," Mikey agreed with a small laugh. "So, ready for the lab today, partner?"
"What lab?"
"Alright class, time for the lab we're doing today. Remember to handle the glass very carefully and wear goggles at all times," Mr. Poluka told them.
Oh no, this is not going to be good, Danny thought.
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And boy oh boy was Danny correct. He dropped a beaker within ten minutes after starting the lab and then another one just five minutes after the first. Well, not really dropped. More like the beakers phased through his hands. Mr. Poluka banned Danny from handling glass items for the rest of the day. He didn't do it in a mean or angry way, though. He calmly told Danny that the science part of the school was low on money so they couldn't have people dropping things left and right. That's why Danny liked Mr. Poluka. He was always calm. He didn't get angry at students; instead, he helped them make good academic choices along the way.
"Now, who needs more time for the lab?" Mr. Poluka asked the class
There were murmurs of "I do" and "Us"
"Everyone? Alright. I'll give you all 20 minutes at the beginning of class tomorrow," He replied. "See you all tomorrow!"
Everyone shuffled out of the class and headed to lunch. Mikey walked alongside Danny.
"So, any idea how long Lancer's gonna keep you after school?" He asked as they got in the lunch line.
"Nope, but it's probably gonna be a long time," Danny said as he got his lunch tray and picked food out.
"That sucks, man. Well, I have to go meet up with the computer club during lunch today," Mikey told him as he finished grabbing his food. "See ya!"
"Yeah, see ya,"
Danny picked up his lunch tray and started walking to the table where he always sat but he didn't see the person coming from around the corner. Danny crashed into him, causing all the food to fly everywhere. "Oh, sorry!" Danny said quickly.
"Don't worry, man. It's all good. I didn't see you either." the boy said as he turned around. It was Kwan.
"Really?" Danny asked him, incredulously.
"Yeah man, if it was Dash, then –" He started but right then Dash interrupted.
"Kwan! What are you doing? Teach him what happens when you mess with us!" he yelled from halfway across the cafeteria.
"He said it was an accident! I can let it slide. It wasn't -,"
But Dash wouldn't take that as an answer. He walked over and pushed Danny around. "No, Kwan. You know what we have to do now," he said with a wicked smile on his face. "Swirly!"
Danny booked it. He ran from the cafeteria and sped through the hallways, trying to outrun Dash. Finally, he got inside an empty classroom and hid.
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When the bell rang to signal the end of lunch, Danny peeked out from the classroom and he headed to his math class. He didn't really pay much attention to the teacher. He paid more attention to Dash who sat a few rows next to him. When the bell rang, Dash looked ready to go after Danny but the teacher called him over to discuss test scores. Dash did not look happy about that. Danny took advantage of it and hurried to his last class, history.
History was a blur. Danny didn't remember what happened for the most part. Both in class and in…well, history. He wasn't paying attention today. Not after all that had happened to him. Particularly not after what Dash said he'd do. Getting a swirly was not fun. Especially in Casper High boy restrooms. It seemed like the janitor didn't even care. Luckily there was a sub so all they did for class was read and complete an extra credit worksheet. Danny tried doing it but stopped halfway through, zoning out again. When the bell rang, Danny rushed over to Lancer's classroom to avoid Dash.
"Um, hey Mr. Lancer," he said awkwardly.
"Ah yes, Danny. Sit please," he said. "I know there are some others who have detention today as well so please be patient while I wait for them to arrive," he continued.
A few minutes later, a couple of other students arrived, including Valerie Gray and Kwan. Mr. Lancer started talking about why each student was there and gave out an essay prompt. He told them they had an hour to finish five pages, single spaced. Danny groaned mentally. He didn't want to do this. He slowly started his paper and got to the second page with 40 minutes to go.
All of a sudden, there was a glowing green thing just floating in the middle of the classroom. Danny couldn't make out what it was. It seemed fuzzy. Like an out of focus picture. Then, without warning, it roared and grew clearer. It was an octopus-like ghost. It started flying around the room, flipping desks over and screeching.
"Class is dismissed, forget about the papers, just run!" Mr. Lancer yelled as they all ran. They didn't need to be told twice.
Danny ran outside and made a beeline to his scooter. He jumped on it and zoomed home. About 30 minutes later, he heard Jazz come in.
"Hey, Danny! I'm back!" Danny heard his sister yell from the kitchen. "Do we have anything to eat?" she asked.
He heard the refrigerator open but it was too late. "Jazz, NO!" he yelled from the top of the stairs after he got out of his room. "LEFTOVERS!"
Jazz screamed.
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Danny and Jazz had taken only 25 minutes to get rid of the leftovers. All of them, which was about 24 hot dog wieners. Danny had taken about 40 minutes to get rid of 10.
"Thanks, Danny," Jazz wheezed as she flopped on the counter.
"Yeah, you too, sis," Danny panted, sitting on the floor.
"What a way to bond family, huh," she chuckled, re-doing her hair band. "Well, that whole incident just put me off till dinner. What about you?"
"Yeah, me too. In fact, I don't think I'll eat ever again!" he laughed. "Um well, I'm gonna go down to the lab. Call me if you need anything, I guess."
"Sounds good," she replied.
Danny headed off to the basement and sat down at the desk. A new invention was on the table.
"What is this?" he wondered as he picked it up. He looked at the tag:
Fenton Finder
"There is a ghost nearby," a voice called out loudly and suddenly.
"Oh crap! No no no no no. They can't have finally made a ghost sensor thing that finally worked!" he cried out, trying to turn it off. Alarmed, he flipped it over and looked for some sort of switch or button to shut it down but he couldn't find it. His fingers slipped and he dropped it. The voice immediately stopped. "Oh god," he exhaled. "I can't believe it actually works. I didn't mean to drop it but I hope that did the trick. I can't have my parents find this though. Better take it for a little bit while I figure out what to do with it."
Danny took the Fenton Finder and went up to his room.
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So that was the end of this chapter. Most chapters after this one will likely be this length or even longer, depending on what I would like to add or what I feel would fit in the chapter. Sorry that he hasn't run away or met Vlad yet, in case you wanted to see that in this chapter. Next chapter will definitely have that, I hope. Thanks for all the reviews!