"Following up on the incident at Fenton labs three weeks ago, authorities are still looking for the cause of the explosion and whether or not it was deliberate or accidental. Since then the owners of the lab, the 'Fenton's', have relinquished their ownership of the building to their benefactor due to reconstruction costs. There have also been rumours of a white haired monster leaving the scene shortly after the explosion though no proof to these claims has been shown. And now to Lance Thunder who is reporting on the series of mysterious dog attacks…"
Jack turned off the portable TV in the kitchen from his place at the table where he was eating fudge covered toast.
"Unexplained causes, this was clearly the work of ghosts." Jack scoffed, munching on his toast.
"'Sigh', What makes you think it was ghosts Dad?" Jazz exasperatedly asked barely looking up from her book 'Surviving Adolescence through Therapy'.
"What else could it be?" Jack answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
From his spot at the table Danny's eyes where still worriedly looking at the blank TV screen, but when he tried to take a bite of his cereal all he got was air.
When he looked down to see what happened he saw his spoon in his bowl and his arm was translucent.
Danny held back a silent gasp and quickly hid his arm under the table.
But not quietly enough as Jack asked, "Danny, something the matter son?"
Oh! Yeah everything's great, just fine, peachy." Danny answered quickly with a nervous grin.
Before Jack could comment any further Maddie said, "Okay, another day or two and it's done."
"What's that? The 'Fenton Finder' is done!" Jack excitedly said holding the Fenton Finder.
"This little beauty uses the latest in genetic and molecular scanning to lead you to any paranormal creature!" he excitedly explained.
"It uses what to do what?" Danny asked worried.
"Paranormal Creature Detected, walk forward." A mechanical female voice said as the Fenton Finder started beeping.
Jack and Maddie began following the devices instructions past Jazz and to Danny who had backed up against the wall.
When Jack and Maddie arrived in front of Danny the Fenton Finder said, "Paranormal Creature Found, Identifying, Identified, Creature is a Gho…jfmekKJGV…Wlnvs…vTolnde…Oh forget it."
Suddenly the Fenton Finder sparked before exploding.
"Hmm, guess there are still some bugs to work out, it shouldn't have targeted Danny like that." Maddie said thoughtfully.
Danny, who had a nervous look on his face the entire time, flickered from visibility for a few seconds before saying, "Actually there's something you should know."
But before Danny could finish Jazz interjected by saying, "You're right Danny they should know that working on their projects at home is a bad idea."
"Sweety, I know all this might seem weird to you since you're only…" Maddie started to say before Jazz interjected again saying, "16, biologically, but physiologically I'm the most mature in this family and won't let your delusions effect the growth of this poor impressionable young child, come on Danny I'll drive you to school."
Jazz then led Danny out of the kitchen, who was looking at her like she had grown a second head.
"Huh, Jazz never offers to drive Danny to school." Maddie said thoughtfully.
"That can mean only one thing, that's not our daughter, that's a ghost." Jack stated.
"Or some other paranormal creature." Maddie added with a sigh.
"That too."
"They were really close to finding out my secret this morning, maybe I should just tell them, they could invent something that turns me normal." Danny said to his friends as they were walking down the halls of Casper High.
"Why? You said so yourself that your parents probably wouldn't get you." Sam reminded him. "I mean, what's so hard about accepting me for who I am!"
"Uh, Sam we're talking about my family, my problems." Danny reminded her after her outburst.
"Oh, right."
"'sigh' It's been a month since the accident and I barely have any control over my powers." Danny complained as he slowly started to float. "If any one where to catch me I'd go from geek to freak."
"Kinda like now?" Tucker asked.
Danny looked down and quickly screamed in alarm before his friends grabbed his arms and pulled him back to the ground.
"Darn it! 'sigh' Thanks guys." Danny said
"Anytime." Tucker replied.
"Anyway, all things weird aside do you guys wanna know what I did?" Sam asked unusually happy.
"Should I be worried?" Tucker worriedly asked, to which Sam scowled at.
"It can't be that bad Tuck. What did you do Sam?" Danny asked.
"I started an investigative journalism club called 'Mysterious Truth Investigations' or 'MTI' for short." Sam answered, good mood having returned. "I figured it's a good first step towards becoming a journalist."
"You started a newspaper club?" Danny and Tucker asked slightly surprised.
"'Investigative journalism' club and yeah, I did." Sam corrected.
"There's a difference?" Danny asked confused.
"Well a newspaper club makes the newspapers while we write and investigate the stories that go in the newspaper." Sam explained.
"Hold on, back up a bit did you say 'we'?" Tucker asked.
"Yep, wait you guys don't want to join?" Sam asked sounding slightly deflated
"Uuuuh" Danny and Tucker muttered.
"And here I thought we agreed we would stick together." Sam said dipping her head.
"No, no, we are, we are, right Tuck?!" Danny quickly asked.
"But I wanted to join the meat cona…" a quick elbow jab from Danny changed it to "…I mean all for one and one for all!" While raising a fist.
Sam raised her head and laughed a little at her friend's antics.
"So where do we sign up?" Danny asked.
"Oh that, I needed three people to start the club so I already put your names down." Sam answered casually as she began walking down the hallway.
"If you already signed us up, why did you ask if we wanted to join?" Tucker asked as he and Danny caught up to Sam.
"Well since we're the only ones in MTI we can do what we want and we get to stick together, besides you would've wanted to join that meat eating club and all they do is…well, eat meat." Sam reasoned.
Tucker then proudly said, "It's not meat eaters Sam it's meat connoisseur, a prestigious group of proud meat specialists, for example."
He did a quick sniff of Danny and said to him, "Last night, you had sloppy joes."
"How did you…" Danny started saying impressed.
"Meat heightens the senses." Tucker explained. "You should try it Sam."
"I'll stick to being an Ultra Recyclo-Vegetarian thanks." Sam answered not impressed.
"A wha?"
"She doesn't eat anything with a face." Danny explained to a confused Tucker.
"Well there's no way I'd ever eat something green." Tucker stated firmly.
"I wouldn't be so sure about that, I was able to convince the school to try a new menu." Sam said with a happy expression.
"You what?"
When the trio arrived at the cafeteria they saw that someone had put up a banner saying 'Ultra Recyclo-Vegetarian Menu Today'.
When they got in line they were served bread with grass growing out of it.
"What have you done?!" Tucker cried out in anguish holding his 'meal'.
"It's was time for a change in the menu Tuck." Sam responded walking to their usual table in the back corner.
"I have to agree with Tucker on this, isn't this a little extreme?" Danny asked when they had reached their table.
Meanwhile the lunch lady, who had finished serving the kids, walked away from the serving line and pulled out a cheese burger.
She then licked her lips in anticipation and when she began to take a bite out of it she glowed green and then disappeared in a flash of light.
"Not really, the school's had the same menu for years, it was time for a little change." Sam reasoned.
"Besides, the only reason I got the school to change the menu was because I wrote a story on the cafeteria and I found most of the food had passed their expiration date." She added.
"It couldn't be worse than this garbage!" Tucker exclaimed, pointing at their food.
"It's not garbage, its recyclable organic matter." Sam defended.
"Sam, its garbage." Danny stated.
"Really, well you both should know that the old food apparently expired in…" she then looked around to see if anyone was listening then leaned over to her friends and whispered an number that had '19' in it.
Danny and Tucker turned as green as their meals when they heard that.
Tucker looked down at his food and muttered, "Suddenly the garbage doesn't seem so bad."
"Ah Miss Manson." An overweight teacher called Mr Lancer said walking over.
"I'd like to thank you on behalf of the faculty for this welcome change to the school's cafeteria." He then added on a quieter note, "You haven't told anyone about that report, right?"
Sam shook her head with a sly smile.
"Good." He sighed.
Tucker, the correct colour having returned to his face, began sniffing and said, "Meat, near." He then leant toward Mr Lancer sniffing with an accusing glare.
Mr Lancer held his hands up and answered with a nervous smile, "No, no, the rumour about the all steak buffet in the teachers' lounge is completely untrue." As he began picking his teeth with a toothpick.
"Thanks again." He said to Sam before walking off.
"Probably saved all the stuff that didn't expire." Tucker complained.
Back where the lunch lady had disappeared another ghostly lunch lady began floating up out of the ground and into the air. She looked around and asked in a kind old lady voice, "Where did all the meat go?"
She then noticed the new menu lying on a table top and when she read it her eyes narrowed.
Danny was about to start eating his lunch when a blue wisp left his mouth.
"Woah, that was weird." He commented
"What was?" Sam asked having stopped eating.
"For a second there, I could see my breath." He answered.
"You saw your breath?" Tucker asked like he was crazy.
"Yes, and for some reason it tasted stale." Danny said annoyed and confused.
His 'breath' went off again and he looked over to the cafeterias kitchen and saw the Lunch Lady ghost floating by, "Guys, I think I just figured it out and we may have a problem."
As soon as Danny had finished saying that a ball of mud slammed into his head and an obnoxious voice followed yelling, "Fenton!"
"Make that two problems." Danny said looking towards the voice.
The owner of the voice was Dash Baxter, your typical quarterback school bully, he was currently storming towards the trios table with a furious look on his face.
When he got to their table he began angrily saying holding a tray of mud, "When I ordered three mud pies, do you know what they gave me? Three, Mud, Pies! With Mud! From the ground! And it's all your girlfriends fault!"
"Sh-she's not my girlfriend."
"I-I'm not his girlfriend."
Danny and Sam stuttered simultaneously.
A second later when Sam got the red off her cheeks, she realized what Dash had said and sternly told him, "Wait a minute, firstly that's topsoil and secondly that wasn't on the menu."
"Doesn't matter." Dash retorted, he then slammed his tray in front of Danny and told him with an evil grin, "Eat it, all of it."
Danny then began to quickly think of a way to sneak into the kitchen away from the slight crowd that had accumulated around them.
However just when he had come up with a plan to start a garbage fight, his 'breath' went off again and a second later meat came blasting threw the doors.
It then began accumulating above where the Lunch Lady was floating in front of the cafeterias kitchen and she angrily yelled, "You all should eat a lot more meat!"
After she said that everyone began running around screaming and she started flinging balls of meat at the students.
"This isn't over Fenton!" Dash yelled as he was carried away by a tidal wave of students and pretty soon the entire cafeteria was cleared of students except for the trio, who were using a table on its side as a shield.
"Hey, I love meat as much as the next guy but this is pushing it!" Tucker yelled at the Lunch Lady
"Tough! You didn't eat your meat so now you'll all pay!" the Lunch Lady yelled back throwing more meat.
"She's attacking us because nobody was eating meat? That's ridiculous!" Sam exclaimed.
"This is why you shouldn't change the menu Sam." Tucker told her.
"She WHAT?!"
"Great Tuck, tell the angry ghost I'm the one who changed the menu." Sam dully complained.
"Guys, you get to safety I'll try to fight her to give you time." Danny said.
"Wait, what? Danny you can't." Sam said worried.
"I'll be fine Sam, you and Tuck just get to safety." Danny said reassuringly before stepping out from the table.
Danny stood there heroically and said "Well I guess it's time for me to get ghostly!"
He raised his fists above his head as his transformation rings spread across his body turning him into his ghostly alter ego.
"Dude, you need a better battle cry." Tucker deadpanned.
"I'll work on that later." Danny said glancing at Tuck.
He then began to determinedly say, "Alright then, I command you to stop this now before… this gets… ugly" but faultered near the end.
Undeterred by his taunt the Lunch Lady threw meat projectiles at him but Danny phased through them before they could hit and smiled a little at his accomplishment.
He then noticed that there were other meat projectiles heading straight toward Sam and Tucker.
So he grabbed a pile of empty trays and leaped into the projectiles path, using his floating power as a boost, catching each one on a separate tray.
When he had caught them all he was left precariously balancing piles of trays of meat on his arms, legs and head.
So he floated to a clear, upright table and placed all the trays on the table's surface.
As was putting the last tray down he commented, "Well if being an astronaut or ghost fighter doesn't work at least I'll have a career as a waiter to fall back on."
He then turned back to the Lunch Lady as a wall of meat arose behind her
"You don't mess with lunch! Lunch is sacred! Lunch has rules!" she yelled.
But suddenly calmed down and asked "Cake?"
Sam and Tucker slowly nodded.
"Tough! Children who don't eat their meat don't deserve cake!" She yelled, angry demeanour returning.
She then phased back through the wall of meat as it started to move toward the trio like a wave.
Danny quickly ran behind Sam and Tucker, putting his hands on their shoulders and transferring his floating ability and intangibility to them so all three of them were now floating off the ground looking translucent.
He then pulled them back through wall behind and into the hallway on the other side just as the wave of meat crashed into the wall leaving a pile of meat.
Danny let go of his friends releasing his power when they were safe and cheered, "Hey, it worked!"
"This is the thanks I get for thinking like an individual?" Sam complained.
Suddenly the hallway started to shake causing lights to short circuit and lockers to fly open as meat came pouring down the hallway past the trio to the Lunch Lady and began circling her.
"Wait a minute, where's she getting all this meat from anyway?" Tucker asked confused but answered his own question when realized the answer, "Lancer."
(Meanwhile at the teachers' lounge)
"Esteemed Casper High faculty I present to you your all steak buffet" Mr Lancer said as he removed the sheet covering the food without looking.
However when everyone gasped he turned to look at the tabletop and was shocked to see all that was left was empty plates and a bone.
"Paradise Lost!"
Back with the trio the Lunch Lady had begun to accumulate the meat surrounding her onto her body till she had turned into a monster made of meat.
"It's time you learnt why meat is the most powerful of all the food groups!" She declared pointing at Sam.
"Biscuit?" she asked, suddenly calm.
Sam just slowly shook her head.
"Then perish!" the Lunch Lady yelled.
"Forget it the only one expiring here is you!" Danny yelled jumping in front of Sam and pointing at the Lunch Lady.
After he had finished saying that his transformation rings turned him back to human.
"Whoops, that wasn't supposed to happen." Danny said awkwardly.
The Lunch Lady backhanded him knocking him into Tucker, before grabbing Sam and phasing back into the cafeteria.
"Come on Tuck we gotta go." Danny hurriedly said regaining his senses.
But before the two could go they were stopped by Mr Lancer putting two firm hands on their shoulders, saying "You two aren't going anywhere."
"Told ya this wasn't over." Dash said condescendingly from behind Mr Lancer covered in meat.
Mr Lancer had taken the two and Dash back to his office which had a desk, two chairs, filling cabinets, book shelves and group of displays that was showing static lining the walls.
The two boys were currently sitting on the opposite side of Mr Lancer while Dash had taken a spot leaning against the wall.
"Tucker Foley, repeated tardiness, talking in class, passing notes while in class." Mr Lancer read from his report before moving onto Danny's.
"Daniel Fenton, same as Mr Foley only difference being banned from handling fragile school property after 34 dropped beakers, both trouble makers but no severe mischief before today."
He then roughly put their folders on his desk and asked, "So gentlemen, why did you conspire to destroy the school cafeteria?!
"Destroy the cafeteria?" Tucker asked confused.
"According to Mr Baxter, that's what happened." Mr Lancer said.
"That wasn't us, Dash's…" Danny started to explain but was interrupted by Mr Lancer.
"Scored four touchdown passes in the last game and is hereby exempt from scorn, he's also the only one who didn't give me some crackpot story about an attacking ghost."
"Can't you look at the security camera footage, you'll see he's lying." Danny tried to reason.
"Normally I would but since my computers gone wonky I'll have to go with Mr Baxter's believable story." Mr Lancer said.
"I'll hand out your punishment once I come back." He said as he and Dash began to leave the room.
"Mr Baxter, watch the door." Mr Lancer ordered Dash as he closed the door.
"Hey Danny do you think Sam wouldn't of been kidnapped if I didn't tell that ghost she changed the menu?" Tucker asked, downcast.
"Don't worry about it, that ghost probably would've found out eventually but you should still apologize to Sam when we rescue her." Danny reassured.
"But first we need to find out where that ghost took her." He said as he got up and started get ready to transform.
"Hang on dude let's use the security cameras." Tucker said as he went over the displays showing static.
"Didn't Lancer say that wasn't working or something?" Danny asked.
"I haven't met a computer I can't fix yet." Tucker said confidently as he pulled the computers casing off.
"Let's see, plug that there, reconnect that, uncross those wires, cross those wires and done!" Tucker exclaimed as the monitors began showing different sections of the school.
"Nice work Tuck."
"I try, but that's a lot of footage how are we going to comb through it all?" Tucker asked.
"We might not have to, can you bring up the cafeteria footage?" Danny asked
"Sure but why?" Tucker asked as he brought up the footage.
"I have a feeling that if we can find out where that Lunch Lady ghost came from we find out where she took Sam."
"Makes sense, let's see…woah." That 'woah' was when Tucker began fast forwarding through the cafeteria's footage he came across the moment when their lunch lady disappeared.
"What happened there?" he asked.
"No idea, keep going." Danny said.
They kept going through the footage past when the Lunch Lady appeared, her attacking and finally her disappearing into thin air with Sam.
"Great, now what?" Tucker asked annoyed that they were stuck at square one again.
After thinking it over Danny thought of what might have happened to Sam. "I think I know where she is."
"Really, where? Tucker asked eagerly.
"It'll be easier if I show you." Danny said.
He then transformed grabbed Tuckers arm and pulled him down through the floor towards the cafeteria's kitchen.
A second later Mr Lancer and Dash came back into the room calmly saying, "Okay boys your punishment will be…"
But quickly changed to anger when he saw the empty room, "Worse than you can imagine!"
Sorry for the wait, had a combination attack of writers block, procrastination and a lot of new story ideas that just wouldn't leave me alone.
But I'll wait until after this story is finished before I start writing and publishing those ideas.
I should point out that Danny messing up his catchphrase will be a running gag for about a third of this fic so he'll get right (eventually).
Hoped you all enjoyed this chapter my first fight scene, a little mystery and even a little foreshadowing at the start (though probably not what you'd be thinking of).
Reviews:
Hoytti: Thanks for the suggestion.
Luna Lillyth: You see the way I was thinking when writing that scene was that Danny sneaks off but how you interpreted that scene is fine as well.
So please R&R and I'll see you later.