Technus turned off the camera and stored the video file into his systems. He turned to the human girl with the intent to untie her and was almost taken aback by the livid eyes that glared at him. Perhaps, if he waited to untie her… she would calm down… eventually. He instead scoped up the equipment and phased it into the empty container below them. He didn't need it anymore. The props had served their purpose for the film shoot. Oh how he wished to see the child's face when his magnificent plan truly began! The girl again started to struggle at the bonds and then gave up. He could hear the muffled furious screams sent his direction through the cable gag. It might take longer for her to cool off than he had initially estimated.
He pointedly ignored the girl's existence and focused on carefully moving and phasing the wired metal barrels into the crate below. It would be disastrous to mishandle one of them now. To his surprise the girl's muffled shrieks of rage became louder when she noticed that she was being ignored. He had thought that she had already reached her maximum volume. He sighed internally and wondered at how and why some beings allowed themselves to be ruled by emotions rather than logic. Obviously, screaming at him through a gag was futile and pointless. He would not understand her and it would not get her out of her bonds any faster. It was simply a monumental waste of energy on her part. It took some time getting all barrels carefully stored. He was simply amazed with what the humans had just left scattered about this area. Yes, by themselves the materials he had gathered where harmless but when utilized by a genius like him... a chuckle escaped him as he pitied the humans for their general thoughtless nature.
With the last of the barrels carefully stowed and hidden in the huge crate. He turned to observe the girl once again. She was flushed red, sweating and panting heavily against her bonds. It seemed she no longer had the energy to continue screaming her fury at him through the gag. Her hair was an utter mess. Some parts stuck unattractively to her head and face as they were tangled and soaked though with sweat. Other parts of her hair were wind blown and sticking in various directions. He curiously eyed the swollen lumps that dotted her flesh and the dark bags of skin that hung beneath her eyes. The dark skin he could explain easily. She had not been able to sleep at all the night before. He took responsibility for that. It was the lumps that he worried over. He knew that there were bugs in the area but they dared not approach him. His power naturally kept them at bay. General wildlife was sensitive when it came to the paranormal and took pains to avoid it. He had forgotten that the human would be at the mercy of the pests when he left to gather his supplies. He felt a tiny twinge of guilt as he took in her appearance. His data was not complete on human biology but he was fairly certain that the lumps were not life threatening… just painfully uncomfortable. His theory seemed to be reinforced by how the girl still tried to scratch at the lumps even when bound. He figured it was safe to take the bonds off now. She looked too exhausted and miserable to scream or fuss anymore. He extended a green hand towards her bonds and she looked at him with a tired glare. Carefully griping one of the cables on her face he then turned it and all the attached cables intangible and removed them from her person.
Technus was thoroughly surprised when she surged to her feet, gripped the collar to his cape and proceeded to scream directly into his face.
"What kind of deranged games are you trying to play!? This isn't going to get you anything! Nobody is going to give in to your demands and Danny WILL find us and he WILL beat you! He is going to send you packing back into the Ghost Zone where twisted and sick ghosts like you belong! You are not going to win and this this… what ever it is psycho crackpot scheme you're hatching is going to fail! Mark my words this is going to end badly and you are going to regret this! You should take me home right now and BEG for forgiveness!" The human female panted and he could feel her scorching hot breath on his cool face. Technus didn't move a muscle and calmly gazed at her and asked.
"Are you finished?" The female's hands loosened from his collar and fell to her sides. He watched her ice blue eyes showcase her emotions as anger warred with worry and fear. Technus drew himself to his full height and took a step forward so that it was now she that was leaning back and he towering over her with his face close to her own.
"Now listen to me, human, as amusing as I find your show of emotions, this is no mere game. You cause me any trouble and I will finish what I threatened outside your window the night before. I don't need you alive anymore. You have served your purpose. While it would be easier to work with a living body, your corpse will work just as well. Now I am a reasonable ghost and I won't kill you if you work with me. If you don't… well…" To illustrate his point, he brought his hand to gently grip the front of her pajama and pushed. She screamed and her hands clung to the arm that held her shirt. He had her pushed over the edge of the crate with her toes desperately griping the edge of the crate. Tears freely fell from her eyes as she sobbed.
"Alright! Alright! I-I won't cause any trouble! I-I w-will-" Technus pulled her in from the edge and gently scooped her up into his arms. She sobbed with terror as he lifted off the ground and began to fly up. Technus didn't find pleasure in torturing the girl to the point of tears but this was a necessary. He would not get another chance and he wouldn't risk all his planning just because he couldn't control one willful girl. As unpleasant as this was… this was a must. He was not going to lose, not this time.
Danny groggily stretched and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He sent a lazy grin to his bedside clock as it dutifully informed him that it was well past noon. How Danny loved his Saturdays! The one time in the week when he was allowed to sleep in and play his video games. Sure ghost patrol still happened later in the evening but even ghosts of the Ghost Zone seemed to respect the holiness that was Saturday morning.
Climbing out of bed proved to be an incredibly painful ordeal. He gingerly peeled off his shirt to examine his ribs. Danny frowned at the large splotch of irritated skin. It was swollen and a myriad of sickly yellows, greens and dark blues. Danny darkly swore revenge on his mother's new sniper rifle.
The rest of him was also a collection of minor bruises and scrapes. Altogether it made his body seem like one huge throbbing ache. Danny half wished he could slip into ghost mode. His ghostly side always healed from injuries in a matter of hours where his human side took weeks to fully recover from his injuries and thanks to his job as Danny Phantom he collected more hurts faster than his human body could heal them. Though thanks to this both Sam and Jazz where quickly improving their first aid skills. Even though he always was quick to insist that he didn't need the bandages he secretly loved receiving the gentle female attention. Especially when it was Sam's turn to patch him up. Danny blushed and grinned at a memory of Sam binding his chest. Being Danny Phantom definitely had its perks.
He changed his clothes and gingerly made his way downstairs toward the kitchen. His belly was making loud protests and demanded attention. Something Danny was all too happy to comply with. He hobbled about the kitchen till he found his favorite cereal, Rainbow Flakes. He found the note on the fridge once more as he looked for milk. Taking it off the fridge he tried to scan the note but found the letters bury. Bringing the note closer to his face helped and he inwardly groaned. Fantastic! He was going to need glasses soon. Oh Dash was going to have such a field day with this. Danny could already hear the shouts of "Hey Fen-Nerd!". Pushing aside thoughts of future torment to come, Danny read the note.
To Whom It May Concern:
I, Jasmine Fenton, will be spending the following days of Saturday and Sunday at my acquaintance's abode, for what is called a sleepover. I will return to the Fenton residence on Monday evening.
Best regards,
Jasmine Fenton
Danny blinked. Then blinked again. He knew that Jazz prided herself for being smart… but this was way too formal! Then for her to go sleep over a friend's house… the fiasco with Erick must have pissed her off more than he had thought. Damn he screwed up big this time. Even though he was never ever in a million years apologize for scaring off that Erick creep… it wouldn't hurt to try and bribe his way back onto her good side. He had been saving his allowance for the new Apoctaclipta 2 game that was coming out next month… but buying Jazz a gift now was better for his long term health. After wolfing down several bowls of Rainbow Flakes and dumping the resulting dishes in the sink, Danny shifted into ghost mode. Sighing with relief as the aches disappeared and vision sharpened. He flew from the house his destination being the mall. Maybe he should ask Sam to come with him… She could help pick a gift for Jazz. With a grin he changed course for Sam's house.
Author's Note: Yes I am back! This thing called college happened and ended. I kept the outline for this story with the intent to finish it. What I need is a volunteer to be my beta-reader. If you liked it, loved it or hated it… leave a review. Reviews are what inspire the creative process. Till next time folks.