Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom or Anything else I reference.
Chapter Seven: Investigating Otto (Edited)
Danny looked at information that he gained from the Sheriff's office. With his newly given power he had the sheriff look into the history of the ringmaster of Circus Gothica.
Frederich Isak Showenhower was his real name and as he read that he finally remembered where he knew of him. In his original universe he had been a criminal going by the nickname Freakshow. A circus leader that could mind control ghosts into committing crimes. He had almost got the original to kill Sam with the mind control orb.
Going by the crimes that happened when the circus traveled through cities it seemed that in this universe he followed along the same path.
"Mr. Masters you have a visitor." The voice of Pamela rang out of the intercom.
She was Vlad's assistant. A rather pudgy blond woman with a kind smile. She had been transferred from Vlad's company when he had become mayor. The only problem Vlad had with her was her love for gossip. The moment that Pam learned a secret in the office by the end of the day the word would have spread to every single member. Despite being a potential risk Vlad used her as a method to maintain awareness of what his workers were doing.
"Let him in." Danny said his voice a perfect imitation of Vlad's.
"Did you bring what I asked for?" Danny asked for looking at his school principal.
"Here it is." Principal Strickler said dropping a file on the desk. "May I ask why you are looking in to one of my teachers?"
"Danny has been telling me about his opinion on his teacher for years. I have decided to look into it so I can finally tell him his fears are overexaggerated." Danny lied.
"I doubt that will be enough to dispel his suspicions." Principal Strickler said.
"True but I like to make the effort every now and then." Danny said.
He had decided that it was time to check out where Otto lived and see what secrets he could be keeping there.
'I have it.' Danny texted Paulina and Sam.
'Be careful.' Sam texted back.
'If it turns out you need help text me and I will be there in an instant.' Paulina texted.
'I will.' Danny responded as he closed the file and stood up from the mayor's desk.
0-0-0-0-0-0
It turned out that Otto's house is not far from the school.
It is painted light green with black rooftiles that seemed to be in perfect condition. Otto's house looked normal but that meant nothing. There were plenty of houses that looked normal but had a secret base inside where there was a supervillain plotting a robbery.
Danny floated down to the backyard intent on phasing through the backdoor and the kitchen, but he began to feel weaker the moment that he landed.
'What in the world?' Danny wondered as he fell to the ground.
He ignored the pain as he looked around for whatever could have caused this, and his eyes widened in panic as he saw the purple and red flowers growing in the garden.
Blood Blossoms.
They were a plant that originally grew in Europe. They were migrated to America with the pilgrims but had been mostly forgotten about when the Salem trials ended. It was a good thing as blood blossoms were mystical in nature. They had the nasty ability of harming ghosts. They could be used to create a barrier that no ghost could pass. Being near them drained a ghost of their powers.
Touching them was the worst possible outcome. He had never let it happen, but it was described as torture.
They were the basis for the Fenton's ghost shields in the original universe.
He had to get away from this place.
'Paulina, I need help.' Danny texted as started walking to the edge of Otto's backyard and hopped over the fence.
He heard his phone buzz meaning that she responded to his text message, but he could not draw the strength to look at what it said. each second, he remained in here he felt like he was being shocked by a control collar.
"Danny." He heard Paulina say as he closed his eyes and fell unconscious.
0-0-0-0-0-0
"Just great." Danny said as he opened his eyes and found himself in his room.
"Easy Master Daniel." Sebas said standing next to him.
"I'll be fine Sebas." Danny said.
"What happened Danny?" Sam asked.
"It seems that Otto is growing Blood Blossoms in his backyard." Danny said while feeling like punching the pillow behind him.
"I have read about those." Sam said.
"Yes. Nothing supernatural can pass them. It seems Otto wanted to be sure that no one supernatural could break into his house." Danny said. "Still there are other ways to learn about Otto."
Sam glanced at Paulina then back to him. "It's not a good idea Danny."
"I agree." Danny said.
"What?" Paulina asked looking between both of them.
"Sam and I can't pass Otto's defenses, but you are only supernatural when you use Clockwork's gift." Danny said moving to sit up. "Sam is thinking that I am planning on sending you to learn his secrets."
"I can do it." Paulina said looking determined.
"We aren't at such a stage yet. There are other ways for us to get information." Danny said.
"How?" Paulina asked.
"We can question the person that I met him talking to." Danny said.
"Where is that?" Sam asked.
"The place we promised to take you. Circus Gothica." Danny said as he explained what he saw between Otto and Freakshow.
0-0-0-0-0-0
"Are you guys ready?" Danny said as he looked around the circus.
The ringmaster was friends with their evil history teacher so who knew what was waiting in the shadows. It was best to follow all the horror movie rules if they were going to survive this. Check every shadow, make sure that no one was following them, leave no one to wander off on their own. There was no telling what awaited them in there. Being prepared could mean the difference between life and death.
"Do you not think that you might be overreacting?" Sam asked while trying to seem like she was not judging him as paranoid. "Just because they are both from Germany does not mean that the circus is involved in Otto's schemes."
"No. Otto was clearly shaking hands with the ringmaster. Anyone Otto considers a friend is someone that needs to be dropped into the nearest black hole." Danny said.
"The ringleader may not even know what Otto is up to." Sam said looking at him.
He had not told her how he knew of Freakshow besides the crime reports.
"Either way it is not a bad idea to spend some time and look around." Danny said taking the lead and walking forward.
Looking around Danny could see some of his classmates exploring.
Kimmy was hanging with her boyfriend Newt, Ilana was walking around without a care in the world, and her twin Lance was walking around with a frown on his face and hands in his pockets. Kitty was walking Jay while her older sister Emma was talking to Noah.
'Were they on a double date?' Danny wondered.
"Come on Danny." Sam said.
"What?" Danny asked looking at where Sam wanted to take them.
"Just because your duplicates are spying does not mean we can't have some fun and enjoy the park." Sam said pulling them to a picture stand with cut out faces.
One was Frankenstein and the other was a succubus.
"Paulina take a picture." Sam said as she took her place in the Frankenstein and Danny took his beside her.
"Say Gothica." Paulina said taking out her phone and capturing the both of them.
Danny knew that Sam had been waiting a while for this circus and it was easy enough for them to do both things.
So, until he found something that showed how evil this place is they could explore and have fun.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
"Here." Sam said dragging them to a ring toss booth.
Looking at the prizes he could tell what type of prizes that she would like most. Instead of adorable cartoon characters the stuff toys here were definitely something that would give little kids nightmares. Goths like Sam were probably the only people that would like them. There were also elephants, rhinos, and they looked like they were either stitched together from different parts.
"You seriously want them?" Paulina asked.
"They are adorable." Sam said staring at them.
He and Paulina looked at each other showing that neither understood before shrugging and going along with it.
"Very well." Danny said cracking his fingers and getting ready to win this thing before Sam grabbed his arm.
"No Powers." Sam said.
"What? Why?" Danny asked her.
If he used his powers, he could get her every one of those stuffed animals that she seemed to want.
"If I wanted to cheat to win it, I could have done that myself. It only counts if you actually put effort into it." Sam said.
"So sweet." Paulina said with hearts in her eyes.
"Very well. No powers." Danny agreed as he held out his pinky showing that he was very serious about this.
Ever since they were kids, they all swore to never break a pinky promise. The most serious of all may seem ridiculous now but it did not at the time when they made the promise to each other. Even years later he still remembered that day in the park. Clear blue skies and the sun shining down on them.
Sam had wanted to do it at night, but Paulina thought that it was too scary.
"Good." Sam said as she took his pinky with hers.
"How many rings young man?" A tall man in a black suit with an orange bowtie asked.
Danny had to admit that the bowtie looked cool.
He could never pull it off, but he had to admit for the guy working the booth that it did.
"Six." Danny said putting the money on the table.
Picking up the rings Danny took a deep look at the bottles. He gave his word to not use his powers and so that meant that he had to get the angles exactly right. There was something he wanted to get alongside Sam's present. Even though he was certain this circus could be a center of supernatural and inhuman evil that black fez looked really cool. He could probably get it embroidered with his symbol on it later. Well, more accurately that the robots in the mansion could embroider it.
"Go Danny!" Paulina cheered for him causing a smile to grow on his face.
"Good luck young man." The man in the suit said with a smile.
Danny narrowed his eyes making sure that this man was not going to cheat him while he did this. Circus games were almost as rigged as claw machine games. The way he usually played them was to use his powers to make sure he was not getting cheated. Right now, he only had hope and skill on his side.
"Here I go." Dany said holding up the rings and giving them a toss one at a time.
There were some close calls, but his luck held out and each one landed safely on the target.
"Pick your prizes kid." The man said waving his hand toward the wall.
"Give me the black fez and the stuffed bear." Danny said as he looked at the other two.
"Thanks Danny." Sam said holding the zombie-looking bear in her hands.
"If that things come to life and tries killing us in our sleep, I want you to know in advance that I blame you." Paulina said.
"This guy looks like he could barely hurt a fly." Sam said hugging the bear so close that Danny was convinced the two might combine into a zombie girl fusion.
"Do you want anything Paulina?" Danny asked as he turned to his other friend.
Just because this circus appealed more to Sam's taste it did not mean that he was going to ignore Paulina.
"Let me see." Paulina said as she started taking a look at the booths and their prizes.
Her eyes eventually stopped at the high striker board. The sign is black while the words are in a dark green.
"There. Come on." Paulina said as she dragged him towards the game.
Danny could hear Sam walking behind them at a leisurely pace.
"You should walk away kid. I seriously doubt that you can hit the bell that high." The booth operator said.
"Just let me worry about that." Danny said as he put the money on the booth.
"Alright. You heard the kid Charlie give him the hammer." The booth operator said.
The man wearing a blue suit and a mask nodded and started walking towards him with the hammer.
"What do you want?" Danny asked taking the hammer from the man and watching as it sank to the ground. 'How did that guy carry this so easily?'
The hammer was definitely not normal. Judging by how it felt in his hands it would take a body builder to be able to lift this thing never mind striking so hard that the ball would reach the bell all the way at the top.
Looks like he was going to have to use his powers.
He knew that Paulina would not mind. She was unlike Sam in that when she wanted him to win something she did not want there to be even the chance of failure. She wanted him to go all out from the start.
"I told you kid that you had no chance. You make the bell ring, and your girl can pick anything she wants little man." The Operator said with a smile.
He was lucky that Danny was still observing everything around the circus otherwise Danny would have just overshadowed him and taken everything for free. The man would think it was all his idea even if he would not know why.
"I want the nunchucks." Paulina said point at the purple nunchucks connected by a black colored rope.
It should not be a surprise. Paulina loved her kung-fu movies. She had spent years studying Re-Taekwondo. She was waiting for her eighteenth birthday so she could travel to japan and participate in the Mortal Kombat martial arts tournament.
"It is time to go beyond. PLUS ULTRA!" Danny yelled as he lifted the hammer and took a swing.
The ball flew through the air taking the bell along with it on its sudden trip. It eventually disappeared in a twinkle. With a smile he turned around to see Sam shake her head, Paulina jumping up and down with a smile and the booth operator slack jawed. That expression brought him the most joy. Danny took out his phone and took a quick picture with his phone.
"My friend can take whatever she wants right?" Danny asked with a smile.
"Sure." The booth operator said sulking.
He might not have Spectre's ability to feed off of misery but right now he was feeling like he could accomplish anything. Like he could lift the entire Casper High building.
"Danny." Sam said gaining his attention.
"Yes?" Danny asked.
"You are acting like a super-villain." Sam said.
That stopped him in his tracks. This was not the first time it happened. He has spent a majority of his life with super-villains. He tried to resist it but sometimes he slipped and started acting like one of them.
"Thank you." Danny said to Sam.
"Alright how about we go see the main attraction." Sam said.
"What do you mean?" Paulina asked while swinging her nunchucks around her.
"The reason I wanted you guys to come was for the people that star in this circus." Sam said taking a poster from her bag and unrolled it for them.
In the center is the evil ringleader himself and the main attractions in his act. Looks like he still had Elastica and Goliath with him but the other three that are in his center show are new. Frightwig, Thumbskull, and Acid Breath. Given that they were center stage it probably meant that they were ghosts that had powers that Freakshow found useful.
They would probably scatter the moment they were released from his control.
"I will admit to being curious." Paulina said as she laid her hand in his.
"Very well." Danny said sending a message to his duplicates to look in the tents.
If Freakshow and his assistant Lydia were at the center tent performing than that meant there would be no one able to find his duplicate if it was invisible.
"Come on then." Sam said as she took the lead.
It was rare for him to see her so excited about something that actually caused her to break into a run.
"Keep up." Paulina said letting go of his hand as she took after Sam.
She may not have the same interest as her cousin in all things dark and spooky but coming in second was something that she could never accept.
"Alright." Danny said as he ran after the two of them.
As he is moving, he could see that Kitty is talking to Noah about something and given the looks on their face that they were worried. Possibly something that his duplicate might want to look into.
Clues are probably everywhere in this place.
All he just needed to do is look.