Chapter 5:
Danny:
After driving with Gear for a few days, I was more than thankful when we pulled up to the house. It was pretty average-sized. It wasn't too big nor too large. There was a standard garden and white picket fence around the building. It looked to be two stories, but it was about the size of a townhouse so neither store wasn't too large- granted there was a small balcony with stairs on the second story. I shook my head and turned to help Gear, but she just tossed some keys at me.
"Go unlock the door, check out your room if you want- it's the second story. I got this shit."
She gave a mock salute before turning to get some boxes. Giving a small nod, I did as she said and went to unlock the door, careful to leave it open so she could get through it without setting down any boxes. The floors were all dark hardwood and the walls were all a light gray color. Basic furniture was already set up, but the shelves were all empty. The kitchen cabinets and the kitchen, I checked, were stocked. I headed upstairs to my bedroom, managing to find it was pretty easy since there was only two rooms and a small hall on the second story- one of the rooms being the bathroom.
My bedroom had me awed. Gear must have spent a lot of time on it. There was NASA posters on the wall with small rockets floating from the ceiling. An oval bed with dark green sheets as well. A computer and desk laid in the corner as did a bookshelf. I gently reached up and touched one of the rockets as a feeling of homesickness came over me as a flashback came to mind.
"One day," I whispered as I looked out the window and to the stars, "I'm gonna do it. I'm going to be an astronaut… I don't care that I'm half-ghost. I will do it…"
The image disappeared. I smiled slightly. So Gear was right- I did want to be an astronaut… I stared at the posters of the stars with a smile. Maybe I could relearn all the stars? Though if I had to remember one thing- just one- then I would really want to remember the day I died, or maybe remember all the stuff I used to know about ghosts? Though Gear could probably help me relearn the stuff about ghosts and my powers, for that matter. I made a mental note to ask her about the Ghost Zone later.
I continued to explore my bedroom, even going inside the closet to see clothes (hopefully the right size) in the closet. I looked through them, finding mostly black clothing and jeans. Though one of the shirts made me stop for a moment- it was white with a red oval in the center and red outlining the neckline and sleeves. Some odd feeling came up as I touched the fabric. I shook my head slightly and walked out of the closet to head towards the restroom, where hopefully there would be a full-length mirror so I could see what I looked like.
As soon as I was about to step into the bathroom,
"WAIT! DON'T YOU DARE SET FOOT IN THERE DANIEL JACK FENTON!"
I jumped and swerved around, my fists raising to my chest in a stance, ready to fight. Gear came running through the hall, a few things in her hands. I looked down at my fists, confused, and lowered them. My first instinct was to fight….and apparently I know how… Gear let me practice my powers, but hand to hand combat? Did I know that too?
"Glad to see your fighting skills stayed with ya," Gear said dryly, "And yes, you do know how to fight. You were a hero, remember? Still are, really, just don't remember it… Now step away from the restroom."
"Why," I asked cautiously.
"Because I told you I was going to fix that hair of yours first. Now get to your bedroom and sit on the bed."
She all but shoved me into my bedroom and onto the bed. Her tongue stuck out slightly as she bit it in thought. She had scissors, a razor, and a comb. There was also a small white bag with her. I eyed it,
"What's in the bag?"
"Dye in case you don't like your hair white. But trust me, this is going to be badass…"
She didn't give me a chance to protest as she started to cut and comb my hair. I winced as she tugged on some places and snipped away. When I thought she was done, she clipped and combed some more. She clicked the razor on and started on each side of my head where the black hair was. Then she clicked it off and combed some more. Finally, she stood back and wiped some hair off her hands.
"There. Now go take a look… Wait, hang on."
I stood still as she wiped at the back of my neck and my shoulders.
"There," Gear said, "Now go check it out- it's my best work yet."
Hesitantly, I did as she said and went to the restroom. There was a full length mirror so I stared at the foreign reflection…Me…that's me… My hair was shaved on the sides, but there was still a bit of the black hair there (it was just cut like a buzz cut), but the white part of my hair was still longer than the sides and swept over to the right. I ran my hand through it and smiled.
"Cool," I muttered as I continued to look at me.
According to Gear, I was sixteen years old when I died. I looked a bit tall, but not too tall. I was surprised, however, that I was pretty muscled and in good shape unlike most people (though Gear was in good shape, but she wasn't muscular, per say). I took off the hoodie and looked at my arms- they were muscled too. I smirked to myself as I flexed my arms in the mirror, making various poses as I did so.
"Dude, I am never walking in without knocking again."
I screamed and slipped on the tiles, phasing through the floor. I huffed as I phased back through the floor to be in the restroom again. Gear was laughing her head off.
"Oh man," she wiped a fake tear from her eye, "You're a riot and a half dude… I never thought sneaking up on ghost superhero would be so easy! Pffft…. Ah…"
She took a moment before she stopped laughing. I stood there with my arms crossed and a frown.
"What did you want," I asked hotly.
"Don't get your panties in a twist, I just wanted to show you something. Come on."
She gestured for me to follow her so I did. As we descended down the stairs, she spoke to me.
"My room's on the first floor by the way, so don't go in it. I do specialize in anti-ghost tech after all. Anyway, dude, there's some stuff you don't know about me."
"I don't know anything about you," I pointed out, "except that you were my sister's best friend apparently."
"Yeah, yeah," she waved the comment off, "Glad to see having your memory gone didn't erase that sarcastic mouth… Look dude, all that I'm about to tell you is stuff I told you before, remember that. The first time I told you, it took you a week to accept it, but you did. I'm hoping it won't take you a week again."
We stopped when we reached a specific place on the wall in the downstairs hall. I gulped slightly, not knowing what to expect. She put her hand against the wall and a small red light scanned it. A part of the wall slid open to reveal a large metallic door.
"This is my lab, you know that part, but you don't know everything about it nor why I even have a lab."
She punched in multiple numbers on a pad on the door before it slid open, as we entered, she turned her head up,
"Deactivation code Double D, 2, Jasmine."
There was a clicking sound as if gears were coming loose from inside the walls. I looked around a bit confused. The lab was different then the one at the other house- the one I helped her take apart. Plus it was a lot bigger. Most of it was empty in the center. There was a large hexagon against one wall with metallic doors covering it- a sign read Ghost Portal above it. There were multiple shelves and tables filled with various gadgets and inventions that I hadn't the faintest idea what they were for.
"That code, dude, deactivates the guns," she said, "See, if I didn't say that code within five seconds of entering, the system is made to think that it's an intruder. So there are multiple weapons, human made and anti-ghost alike, designed to take down whatever it senses. Trust me, it senses a lot. If there was someone with me that, for example, was holding me hostage. I use a different code- it recognizes this signal I have and just attacks whatever other life forms and ghost forms there are. If someone came in by force, they're automatically attacked. By the way, you can use your powers in here- the system knows your ectosignature so it won't attack. Feel free to use this as a training area. Just remember the code, Double D, 2, Jasmine and you'll be fine."
"How do I remember that," I scratched at my head, "And why do you have so much protection?"
"Double D is your nickname from me, it means Danny Dude. 2 is the number of people living here- you and me. Jasmine was your sister's name. I'm sure you can remember that. As for why I need protection- it's because of what I'm about to show and tell you. I'm only telling you this because frankly, now that you lost your memory and everyone is dead, no one else knows and that's kind of… annoying, I guess. I don't like keeping everything secrets. Besides, eventually, you'll start to question how I do certain things and how I pay for everything… Well this is how."
She typed something into a hidden pad on the wall. Another door revealed itself. She entered it, gesturing for me to follow her. I did so, a bit confused at what she was saying and what was happening.
"Code3.141592653589793238462643383279502884197169399375105820974944592307816406286208998628034825342117067982148086513282306647093844609550582231725359408128481117450284102701938521105559644622948954930381964428810975665933446128475648233786783165271201909145648566923."
She took a large breath of air before continuing,
"460348610454326648213393607260249141273724587006606315588174881520920962829254091715364367892590360011330530548820466521384146951941511609433057270365759591953092186117381932611793105118548074462379962749567351885752724891227938183011949129833673362440656643086021394946395224737190702179860943702770539217176293176752384674818467669405132, Quam Tu."
Gear took a breath of air,
"Sorry dude, that's the code that deactivates yet another set of weapons here."
"What's that number," I asked with wide eyes, "I recognize 3.14, that's pi, right?"
"Glad to see that you still remember your schooling," Gear laughed, "Those are the first 600 numbers of pi. Not many people know it, so it's safe to use. 'Sides there's a back-up. This code has to be said with my vocal recognition. It's all for safety."
I looked around. The room was a lot smaller than the other lab and a lot darker too. There was about ten to thirteen computer screens on a wall, two on the desk, and about three keyboards with two mice. There was a microphone and a small video camera on the desk as well. One wall had another set of computer screens. One wall had a lot of blue prints with odd designs on them with a table filled with gadgets against it. I turned to Gear,
"What is all this?"
"My work," Gear smiled, "Look dude, this might be a lot to take in so take a seat."
I took a seat in the wheelie chair, looking at Gear for an explanation. She put her goggles around her neck and ran a hand through her hair.
"Okay there's several things to explain. One, I have an IQ of over 200, know what that means? I'm wicked smart and hacking along with inventing is my specialty. I make money because I sell my inventions- not all of them and not the anti-ghost tech, but just some. Two, I also make money through a more, slightly illegal way."
"You don't do drugs, do you," I asked cautiously, eyeing her.
She laughed,
"No dude, not a chance! I hack into government systems- a lot. I've been doing it since I was like fifteen. Anyone who needs information that's hard to get to, knows me, but they don't know me by the name Gear."
She typed at one of the keyboards, one of the biggest screens lit up with the words Quam Tu written in black. She gestured towards the screen,
"That's what they know me as- Quam Tu. It means Smarter than you. Anyway, so if people want, say, some other governments' secrets. They may look me up and I know when people look me up, dude. If I'm interested, I contact them, strike a deal. I always get the info, hand it over, and in exchange, I get money or sometimes very valuable jewels or even rare metals. You'd be surprised at my clients."
She shrugged,
"Now don't get me wrong, I don't sell the wrong info to the wrong people, never have, never will. And there's not a single person that fake their way through one of my background checks. I also specialize in anti-ghost tech- including this gun."
She grabbed one of the guns and twirled it,
"So… what do you think?"
I stared at her blankly. What did I think? Was it horrible? Cool? Scary? Finally, I grinned,
"Does this mean you can hack into the cameras in the girls' locker room?"
She smacked me upside the head, but I was still grinning.
"I honestly shouldn't have expected a different response," she laughed, "Now, there's another thing I have to tell you."
"There's more," I asked skeptically.
"Sorry dude," Gear shrugged, "But there's a reason we moved to Bayville out of all places."
"Why," I asked, cautious of what she might have planned.
"There's sort of this thing going around- all around the world, teens are getting these strange powers because of this gene that was hidden in their DNA. Some kids, when it's activated, may get fire powers. Some may look like a money. Who knows? The thing is, all these teens are contacted by the same people. I tracked it all down. Those people, Danny, are here. They have a school called Xavier's School For The Gifted."
I nodded slowly. What she was saying was more believable than ghosts.
"Uh-huh…And just what are these people called?"
"Mutants," she grinned, "And we moved here so I could get a better understanding of how this X-gene, if you will, works. Plus I want to make sure these kids aren't going to some bad school."
"And let me guess," I sighed, "You want me to go to the school undercover as a mutant?"
"Better. We're going to Bayville High where those students go to school… We're going to let them contact you."