Chapter 14:

Gear:

I rubbed my temples as an attempt to get rid of a headache. I took another swig of the beer. I wasn't drinking enough to get me drunk, oh no. If there was one thing I learned from that meeting Danny set up, it was that drinking like that caused problems not only for me, but the people around me. I also learned that you couldn't just go cold turkey and not drink at all. So there I was with one casual beer as I worked.

My work in question? Tracking down the Guys in White to make sure they don't come near Danny again. Currently, they were still in Illinois. Good, they won't even get to be in the same state as him- or country if I thought it was possible (the Guys in White are, unluckily, an American thing so it was unluckily). Aside from tracking the bad guys down, there was one other good guy I had to track down… More like good girl. Danielle AKA Dani.

I knew she had to be somewhere, but no matter where she was, I wouldn't believe she was safe from the GiW until she was within my line of sight- even then it's iffy. The girl was like a daughter and a young sister all put in one and there was no way I was going to let the Guys in White do to her what they did to Danny. I already failed Danny. I wasn't going to fail her too.

I typed away at my computer until I was able to access a special tracker that I had put on Danielle, well it wasn't really on her. It was micro-sized and I slipped it into her water back when I didn't trust her. I never really used it except to check here she was ever now and then. It was even more useful now since I desperately needed to know where she was.

A red dot appeared on the map, signaling her location- London, England. I zoomed in countless times before I was able to figure out her exact location- just outside of a café. I accessed the cameras in that location on another screen. I saw her and realized that she changed a bit in two years. She didn't look any taller, but she matured. Her hair was longer though and her face lost all of its baby fat. Smiling, I saw a phone booth next to her. I called the phone booth and she looked around, confused. When she realized no one was going to answer it, she went over and answered it herself.

"Hello?"

"Hey Little D," I said into the microphone, "What's going on?"

I saw her smile as she replied,

"Gear?! It's been forever! I missed you and Danny and the others so much!"

At the mention of the others, I choked a bit before I replied,

"We miss you too, Little D. Look, I have some news I need to give you- it's best to explain face to face. I'm in New York in a place called Bayville. Think you come down? I can track your movements and give you instructions."

"Uhhh sure? Gear what's this all about? Is it about Vlad? Danny?"

"Like I said, I need to explain face to face… Just fly invisible and be careful. Actually, tell ya what, I'll buy your plane ticket online and call the airport so they know it's you. Just go to the closest airport and tell them your name is Danielle Gia."

"..Gia? I thought I was a Fenton?"

"The Fentons aren't really a family anymore, Little D. There are no Fentons left. I'll explain when you get here."

"Okay and Gear?"

"Yeah?"

"If my last name is Gia does that make me your little sister?"

"Sure, Little D," I smiled.

I saw her cheer on the phone before she hung up and did as I instructed. I called the airport, paid the ticket, and as soon as she got on the airplane, I sighed in relief. She was on her way. She was going to be okay.

It was nearly 10 hours before I had to drive up to the airport to pick up Danielle. In that time, I managed to get a few other pieces of my work finished- not normal work, but my work as Quam Tu. I sold a few things here and there and even created one thing- it was more than I got done in a while because there were no distractions. Dani was easy to spot in the crowd since I was eager to see to her. As soon as she spotted me, she ran up and gave me a large hug. The small now-fourteen-year-old was still cute as ever.

I hugged her back just as tightly,

"Hey Little D, come on. The truck's just outside."

She looked at me confused,

"Truck? I thought you had a motorcycle? And what about your hoverboard?"

I laughed slightly,

"I did have a motorcycle, but it was a bit impractical. My hoverboard needs a bit of repair and I haven't had the time. Besides, this place isn't exactly suited for seeing some girl on a hoverboard fly by."

"Amity got used to it."

"Amity also got used to ghosts," I said, "So we can both agree that Amity wasn't exactly a normal place. Now come on, Little D, there's a lot to talk about and even more to make up for. But first… Lunch and ice cream?"

She cheered as we headed to the truck. I smiled to myself and it was only two hours later did we not only have full stomachs, but were pulling up to my house. Danielle's eyes got wide.

"This is your house…"

"Yep," I said, popping the 'p'. "It's pretty wicked."

I got out of the truck and just to show her how wicked it was, I didn't unlock the door manually. I put my hand on the doorbell and slide it up to reveal a handprint scanner. If there was just a guest at the door, it would only send the video feed of who it was to me, or if they were a threat, it would set to attack. A red laser appeared out from the peephole to scan my eyes.

"Recognized- Gear 01. Speak command. Recognized- Unknown."

It spoke a few numbers that seemed to be gibberish but were really an HTML code. It was going to attack the unknown intruder if I didn't speak the code.

"Override- Gear 01. Set unknown signature."

I motioned for Danielle to walk forward and I whispered in her ear,

"Say your name."

"Dani," Danielle said confused.

"Recognized- Dani 04."

She was now number 4 in the system. The first was obviously me. The second was Jazz. The third was Danny and now there was Danielle. We were set to go. The door opened and Danielle looked around excitedly. As she started to babble, I forced her to take a seat on the couch as I raised a finger,

"Slow down there, kid. I have a few questions for you, then I will tell you everything."

"Okay."

She smiled goofily- it was obvious she was still hyper. I smiled and looked at her,

"Alright, first- where have you been? I've checked up on you a few times, but that was only your location. I haven't really talked to you more than once since you left."

"Oh! It was awesome! I traveled! I saw Paris, France, Italy, Romania, Egypt, Nigeria, Australia, and I was only in London about a week before I came here."

I smiled and gave her a high-five,

"Sweet! I've been to a few of those places myself, they're pretty awesome… I take it you flew, so you didn't have to pay, but speaking of pay…"

Danielle caught on what I meant. She looked down as she shifted her feet. She twiddle with her thumbs,

"I… I kind of stole some money from various people- pick pocketing. Kind of easy when you're half ghost… I didn't take much, I swear! I just took enough to get me some food when I needed it. I didn't even get enough to get a motel. I always slept on the streets."

"That explains the smell," I muttered before I smiled at her.

"Look Little D, I'm not mad, hell, I've done a lot worse than pick pocket people. As for sleeping on the streets, you really need a shower, aside from that- you're good. Now, as for what's been happening since you left…"

I filled her in on everything. I told her how Danny showered up at my place not too long after his own funeral. I even told her that we were in Bayville because I heard about mutants and how Danny was currently 'undercover' with them. I told her how Danny was a full ghost, how the Fentons, Sam, and Tucker died because the Guys in White were assholes. I told her that I barely managed to escape. I told her that it was all the Guys in White's fault for everything and that I wanted to make sure she was okay.

When I finished, Danielle wasn't happy. She looked like she was about to cry with the way her eyes were shut tightly and her fists were clenched. She was shaking a bit. It made me a bit uncomfortable because I really wasn't that good with mushy shit. Finally, I sighed and I hugged her awkwardly. She hugged me back, tightly and I tensed slightly before relaxing as she cried on my shoulder. She was fourteen in body, yeah, but in reality she was only two years old with only maybe a fifth or sixth grade education. She was a kid. A kid with a nasty-ass past that honestly just needed some help.

"Gear," Dani sniffled, "What about me? Where do I go now?"

I smiled,

"You're in luck… A room just opened up here…"