Heeeey! I'm back! Yes, I took a break. But not really!
**********There is now officially audio versions of all of the chapters! Yay me!
To find them, search Weshney Portal Panic on Youtube!
Thanks for the patience, everyone. It might not be a very long chapter, but that's because this is groundwork chapter. I still actually enjoyed writing it, though, as I got to explore some fun details and do some world building, which is something I love reading in other author's work. :D
Thank you so much for the 66 follows, and 39 favorites! You guys are awesome. Special thanks to gimmangel108, Khoashex, Cruden, and Crazzytony. Reviews are my life's blood! I appreciate you guys dropping a comment on the last chapter. :3 Of course, everyone who's commented so far is awesome too.
And as always, thanks Lurias_1533 for doing the pre-read!
I've been a bit depressed lately, so all the support for the story has been really nice. It brightens my day a lot to get a comment. 3
******This chapter still falls under the T for teen rating, but does allude to unethical experimentation.
All scenes with only MHA characters will be written in English, for ease of reading, but the characters are actually speaking Japanese to each other.
"This sentence is in English, but shhh." This is for when the scene is from a Japanese character's POV and they don't understand English, or, if they understand some words, those are not underlined.
"Dialogue in Japanese that is getting translated in real-time." If all words are in bold, the English character can understand everything that is being spoken in Japanese.
Friday, September 7th
11:12 am
"And now, not only do I have to help a lost girl that came from who knows where, we have that stupid presentation due Monday. Who the heck assigns a major group project on the second day of class!?" Danny sighed, running a hand through his hair before grabbing a fistful at the end in a brief hold. "Mrs. Atterbury is a sadist, I swear!"
The armchair the Fenton sat in was rust red, the fabric a hideous paisley that screamed outdated. On the other side of a black coffee table, Tucker slouched into an identical seat, glaring at a laptop screen as he listened. Both chairs hugged a wall, trying not to intrude into the Health and Science building's hallway.
"You really suck sometimes, you know that Danny?" Tucker grumped at his best friend. The boy's arms crossed as he slid further into the cushion, shoulders pulling up in a sulk.
"I suck? How does that even make sense? I told you to take the computer class with me." The pale boy leaned back, affronted.
"Dude—"
"Mrs. Atterbury sucks! She's the one on the power trip!" Danny cut Tucker off, already invested in the tirade. A searing glare, however, clicked the bellyacher's mouth shut.
"A cute, superpowered high school girl worthy of being an anime protagonist just fell through the universe and landed herself in your lap. Yet somehow you find a way to complain about it?! I wish I had your problems!" Panic crossed both boys' faces momentarily as they glanced around desperately. When no green smoke swirled up from the shadows, Danny leveled his friend with a deadpan stare.
"Tucker, I don't even know what she looks like. But more importantly, ew. She's sixteen."
"That's no different than a senior dating a freshman," Tuck defended, the words reflexive. The techno-geek refused to meet the halfa's gaze, training back in on the glowing screen of his laptop. Finger double-tapping on the trackpad, he amended, "Okay, I spoke before I thought too hard about it. I just—the mini-skirts, Man!"
Danny rolled electric-blue eyes. "Hagakure-san is currently decked out in Jazz's old clothes."
"I meaaaan—" Tucker's mouth quirked at the corner, trying to suppress a grin.
"Don't."
The familiar shutdown sent the heckler into a fit of chuckles. Smirking, the shorter male set his device on the coffee table and sat up, giving Danny undivided attention.
"So when am I gonna meet Hagakure-san? There's no way you're leaving me out of this one! Even if she wasn't a supe, she'd still be from Japan." Tucker's tone lifted up at the end, nearly croaking in excitement.
"Besides dinner last night, I haven't really had a chance to hang out with her, myself. I've just been so busy with this stupid project. She's still a bit skittish from what I saw, though, so I might have to rain check you for now," Danny admitted. Then, seeing a crestfallen look, threw a bone, "Sorry, Tuck. If it helps, I plan to spend all day tomorrow with her to see what I can find out. I'll keep you updated; even before Sam."
"You wouldn't dare." Tucker's tone was skeptical. Then, seeing the ghost boy's smirk, a grin split his own face. Switching thoughts, he asked, "Why hasn't she said anything yet, though? Normally when people come to Phantom for help it's with some great sob story."
"I actually have a theory on that. I think it has to do with her invisibility. She's clearly human; I don't get even a hint of ghost sense around her. But she gets tense when ghosts are mentioned, and keeps insisting she wants help from Phantom." Danny airquoted, then shifted in the chair. "I don't think she trusts normal humans all that much. She said she was lost, but I think she escaped from somewhere."
"Oh, crap. Like some kind of human trafficking? Do you think the Guys in White are involved somehow?" Tucker turned serious, immediately grabbing for his laptop again before popping it open and placing a thumb on the touchpad. As soon as the login screen flashed away, the hacker was launching an .exe file with an F as its icon. A homebrew program took up the screen, a search bar floating dead center. Dragging and dropping a file labeled "GIW" into the white rectangle, he relaxed and turned to Danny. "I wis—" A glare had the Foley quickly rephrasing, "I mean, it would be better if I had my desktop. Cassandra's fast, but she's limited by her hardware." The tech addict subconsciously stroked the chassis, comforting the computer after the verbal slight.
Danny shook his head fondly at Tucker's movements, causing the geek to peek down and jerk his hand away, a barest hint of red darkening already dark cheeks.
"I don't think we have to worry about the GIW. I think we were thorough enough last time." The boys shared a malicious grin. "But I'm going to ask around, just in case. Could be someone like Apex."
"I thought you left them with Walker?"
"There've been breakouts before." Danny shrugged. "I hope it's not them, though, Apex is creepy as all get out."
"Well I'll let you know if Cassandra comes up with anything. But until then, why don't you just talk to Hagakure-san as Phantom?" Tucker asked. "That seems like the simplest way to get information to me?"
"Ugh. I would, if she was staying with someone else! But I don't think I can pull off keeping my identity safe while she's living with us if she gets a close look at Phantom. Anyone with half a brain would figure me out after just a couple days."
"True, you don't always think ahead. Remember when you used to just change out in the open? Or just randomly talk about your alter ego in public places? The good old days." Tucker's eyes danced.
"Oh shut up; I'm listening for people and that obnoxious whine cameras make. Plus I'm putting out a scrambler," Danny huffed.
"And you just 'appearing' in the living room when Hagakure-san first arrived was a calculated move to keep your secret, huh?"
"Ugh, seeee? I can't let her interact closely with Phantom."
"Alright, Danny. I see your point. Just don't come crying to me when it comes back to bite you in the butt."
"Thanks for the encouragement. I knew I could count on you," the Fenton sassed and glanced at his phone. "Oh shoot!" Grabbing a discarded red backpack off the floor, he stood. "Tuck, it's 11:59. Mrs. Atterbury's gonna have an aneurysm." The college student froze at the thought, eyes tracking down to the paisley chair longingly, then the halfa sighed and they snapped back up. "Let's go…"
Friday, September 7th
12:10 pm
Hagakure woke with a start, heart pounding. A cozy silence drifted around the room, at odds with the adrenaline pumping through the girl. A slight thump and clatter sounded from below, and the teen jumped out of bed. The final clinging cobwebs of a nightmare cleared from the back of her mind, and the hero-in-training's posture sagged in relief.
Side-eyeing a small clock on the nightstand, Toru was flooded with surprise. She'd slept nearly fourteen hours! Exhaling heavily, the sixteen-year-old glanced around again, taking in a room that had barely registered last night.
Everything was very….pink. One of the only exceptions being a worn, one-eye teddy bear that sat reclining on the desk beneath the window, its white lab coat flopped open around it.
Hagakure yawned and stretched, white flamingo pajamas lifting up with the motion. The invisible female then hobbled to the room's exit, feet still tender, and peeked out into a deserted hallway. Darting several doors down to a bathroom, the teen slipped inside, turned the shower hot, and scrubbed several days worth of dirt off, leaving skin that should have turned lobster-boil red as clear as ever. Drying and dressing, Toru used a toothbrush Maddie had supplied yesterday before a knock at the door had her jolting just a bit.
"Yewsh?" A foamy paste was spit into the sink, followed by a much clearer, "Yes?"
"Good afternoon, Hagakure-san! I hope you slept well. Jack and I are making pancakes, would you like any?" Ah, so that was the clatter that woke her. Kitchen pans.
"Yes, please. I'm starving!" The answer came quickly, Toru finding death by poisoning less and less plausible the more she was exposed to this family.
They seemed like good people. Weird, but happy enough.
Yesterday, when Jack and Maddie-san had mentioned having hot dogs for dinner, Jazz-san had chased them out of the kitchen, instead finding and making a hamburger noodle dish that came from a box.
Even though Hagakure hadn't understood many of the words thrown around the table, there seemed to be quite a bit of laughing involved in the affair. The Fentons clearly teased each other a lot, Jack-san taking the brunt of the jokes. The family banter had been heartwarming.
Toru was still inclined to be careful with her words, but the constant feeling of fear that had stalked her like a mountain lion was gone, allowing the lostling to behave more like her normal self. It was a weight off the bubbly girl's shoulders when she was able to open the bathroom door with a gratuitous smile.
"Awwwww." Maddie grabbed the sleeve of Hagakure's pajamas. To Toru's credit, she didn't flinch as the mother rubbed the flannel between a thumb and forefinger. The adult then turned to face the landing that overlooked the downstairs and yelled, "Jaaaack! Jazz kept her flamingo pajamas!"
Toru tugged back on her arm lightly and Maddie let go, embarrassed. Coughing slightly into a hand, the Fenton went on, "Sorry, I just had so many rememberings. Jazz wore that for her sixteen year old party. Her friends wore same clothes for sleeping."
"It's fine; they are very cute pajamas."
Maddie brightened and beamed at the invisible kid's change to a positive attitude, "They are! Now let us grab pancakes before they are cold. Jack and I have a good surprise for you!"
A slight tenseness went up Toru's back. She'd had more than enough surprises lately. Still, the highschooler followed Maddie's retreating form down the stairs, through the living room and into the kitchen where a spread of sausages, bacon, pancakes and syrup awaited.
"TA-DA!"Jack held up a strange gadget roughly the size of a smartphone. Except it looked nothing like one. The metallic, circular-on-bottom/square-on-top device sported two screens. The one on the upper half had a grid-like pattern across it while the one below was covered in touchscreen-style buttons. The oddest part, though, had to be two tall, green light bulbs that stuck from the top and gave the thing an almost cartoony, mad scientist feel.
Hagakure blinked, vaguely uneasy, but with a growing curiosity. They hadn't actually figured out how to send her home already, had they?
"What does it do?" she asked, turning to Maddie while trying to squelch rising hopes.
The woman just smiled mysteriously and nodded at Jack, who practically smashed the power button in excitement.
Hagakure waited.
Nothing.
It did nothing.
"Is-is this a joke?"
"Is this a joke? Fear me." Neon lights glowed and the instrument's top screen gained a moving, jagged line.
The foreigner stared in bewilderment at the talking English device, now more confused than ever at the feminine voice that had emanated from it.
"So what do'ya think, Hagga-curry?!" Jack blurted.
"So what do you think, hog a curry? Fear me." This time the machine's speech was in choppy, robotic Japanese.
"It still has some kinks to work out, since we modified some old tech, but it's pretty good for one day's notice, huh?" Maddie challenged with a wink as the device translated her words, switching "kinks" for "knots", "modified" for "changed" and "pretty" for "beautiful". For all that, it was still understandable, dropping Toru's jaw in stunned silence.
Taking advantage of the lull, Jack proclaimed, "You know. Sometimes my genius, it's—it's almost frightening."
The machine agreed, parroting the egocentric mindset as the hulking man wiped a small tear from an eye, once again ending the sentence with, "Fear me."
Saturday, September 8th
7:59 am
A large, circular room filled with panels and electronics hummed quietly. The morning chill could not penetrate the Fenton Ops Center despite all the windows in the futuristic space. The servers and gadgets around the circumference vented too much warmth, even in hibernation.
Which was a marvelous thing for anyone staying in the emergency sleep hub—AKA one of the light proof, bedding-filled pods that could pop up through the floor at the touch of a button.
Currently, one such capsule was occupied.
Just outside, on a small brown dresser that didn't match its surroundings, sat a simple, digital clock. The numbers on the cobalt device read 7:59.
In less than a minute, the machine bellowed to life, blaring an obnoxious beep to the world. It got out all of three calls before a masculine, sleep-filled groan resonated from the pod nearby and a void opened up beneath the clock.
Silence.
Danny Fenton rolled over in his temporary bed, Technus now a key player in his dream.
Saturday, September 8th
8:16 am
Hagakure walked quietly this morning. The invisible girl made her way down the stairs in a taupe sweater and Carolina blue jeans, crouching all the while to hide beneath the banister. She hoped that the neutral, plain colors would camouflage somewhat with the house's decor, as she planned to do some sleuthing.
Today was a recon day.
After the introduction of the translator, yesterday had been devoted to a tour of Fenton Works in which Jazz, Maddie and Jack-san had explained more about "ghosts" and what the family did for a living. But something was off when certain topics came up about Phantom. Where the hero lived, and how they contacted him made the three uneasy and evasive. It happened enough times that the tiny strangeness had snowballed into a bottom-section-of-a-snowman level of suspicious behavior.
But the weirdest thing was, Toru didn't sense any malice.
It made her wonder.
Secret identities may have fallen out of favor in Japan some time ago, but it'd make sense to have one here. Or maybe there was such a thing as part-"ghosts" in this universe.
Toru doubted that "ghosts" were spirits of the dead, but they could be another species. It was easy to imagine relationships between "ghosts" and humans being taboo, so what kept people from hiding hybrids away from the public eye like some crazy aunt in the attic?
The guy at the train store could definitely have been one. She never did shake the feeling of him being some kind of small mammal cross.
Another person immediately jumped to the forefront of Hagakure's mind when thinking of the possibility.
Jack Fenton.
The man's size just couldn't be natural. He was built like an absolute tank. There had to be something to that.
Crawling along the wall of the living room, Toru tucked herself just behind the cased opening to the kitchen. Inside, Maddie stood making breakfast, while beyond, Jack sat tinkering on a box of random wires that the UA student recognized, parts spread around him.
Toru's eyes dipped down to focus on the father's plate before nearly bugging out of her head.
Ham.
Not, like, slices of ham.
But a whole freaking ham sat partially eaten in front of the massive male.
Seeing Jack reach a limb that rivaled Death Arms in thickness over to grab several cookies off a plate, Toru's thoughts re-arranged themselves. Fat Gum. He was more like Fat Gum than Death Arms.
"Mads! Can you solder this wire on for me? My hands don't fit in the corner." Jack didn't look up from the project, instead leaning closer, welder's goggles fogging slightly as moist breath bounced back from the confines of the box.
"I'm a little busy right now. Just wait a bit until I finish these eggs." Maddie's violet eyes crinkled close as she stifled a yawn with the back of a hand, stirring the contents of the pan with the other.
A disgruntled expression soon gave way to a smirk as Jack moved sausage-sized fingers even further up on the pen-shaped soldering iron. Tongue sticking out of the side of his mouth, the impatient inventor lowered it back into the corner. Predictably enough, the tool immediately slipped and dropped down into the box. Smoke rose from inside as Jack fumbled frantically, pulling the pen out by its cord. The tip swung back, branding the hand that grabbed for it. "Shrieking shades; that's hot!"
Turning down the food and pulling the eggs off the heat, Maddie ran over to Jack with an aloe-based burn cream in hand. "You couldn't wait two minutes, could you?" she asked dryly.
Toru nearly snickered when her brain managed to translate.
"Nope!" Jack answered unapologetically, reaching up to grab Maddie's head and pulling her down for a kiss. "Thanks for the Fointment, Sweetcakes!" The redhead sighed, but smiled nonetheless while drawing back from her husband.
"Where's the wire you needed soldered?"
Jack grabbed the box and slid it behind him, arm nonchalantly covering the top so the contents stayed hidden.
"You broke it, didn't you?" The question was rhetorical, the wife used to the antics.
"I needed to redesign that circuit anyway!" Jack boomed, smiling brightly.
Maddie went back to the stove top, sending covert peeks at the orange man as she turned the potatoes back on high.
Jack grabbed the device, pulling it front and center again. After a quick inspection of his other half, to verify she'd stopped watching, he grimaced. Picking up a screwdriver, the inventor started chipping away at something inside. Simultaneously, the scientist reached over for another caramel apple doodle, eyes still fixated on the box. Confusion clouded his face, and he glanced at the "cookie" held in his left hand.
As Jack examined a large titanium nut that had somehow made its way onto the confectionary plate, a muted crack sounded from the box where his right hand disappeared.
A tiny, strangled cry came from the bumbling male when he peered inside the invention in dismay.
Well, Jack-san wasn't Phantom's alter ego, if the hero even had one; that much was for sure.
Unlikely to find anything new by spying on the pair's morning routine Toru shuffled away, crawling back through the living room. Upon reaching the base of the stairs, she stood; and, instead of going up them, walked into the formal dining room that was adjacent to the front door. Making her way to the basement's entrance on the far side of the space, the sneak was frustrated to find it locked.
The Fentons had talked about their portal during the house tour; but they'd refused to open the giant, hexagonal gateway for safety reasons. The caution painted frame had sure looked legit, though, and had definitely piqued Toru's interest.
Trying the handle one more time, Hagakure was startled by a sudden, disembodied comment.
"Voice Authorization Required."
"Hagakure-san? Is that you?" Maddie called shortly after. Toru soon heard footsteps starting in the kitchen, and rushed to make it to the base of the stairs before her host could spot what was going on. Just as the UA student rounded the corner, the adult did as well, and they bumped into each other.
"Oh!" Maddie gasped, hand flying to her chest. "Sorry, I didn't know you were that close."
"Oh my gosh, are you okay?" Hagakure was quick to feign concern, hands reaching out to steady Maddie. "I'm always sneaking up on people by accident!"
"It is okay, there is no problem."
The scrutiny the mother gave her made Hagakure squirm, sure she'd been caught. Until an unexpected query left the older woman's lips, "I am sorry if hard question, but can you not become looking?" Maddie's face scrunched up in thought. "Wait just a second, please." The Fenton turned and ran back to the kitchen, leaving a confused Toru behind, before coming back with the translation device from yesterday in hand. "I'm sorry if this is a hard question, and you don't have to answer, but can you not become visible?"
Holy crap! The machine already sounded so much better just one day later; and it didn't even have that weird "fear me" bit at the end.
Hagakure paid closer attention, really taking Maddie in for the first time this morning. She'd been so focused on Jack that the bags under the inventor's eyes, the ruffled state of her jumpsuit, and the constant blinking had gone unnoticed. Not to mention the slight hint of onions in the air.
"Hagakure-san?"
Snapping out of the musings, Toru desperately replayed the question in her head, "Oh, sorry! I'm still pretty tired. Your translator distracted me is all. I can't actually become visible at will. I'm always stuck like this."
Pure horror stared back at Hagakure, Maddie's body language shouting that she'd been struck an emotional blow as the woman's eyes started to glisten with unshed tears.
"Jack! We're needed in the lab, pronto!" The translator continued to work, even though the conversation clearly wasn't for Toru any longer.
The heavyweight male was there much quicker than his bulk should have allowed, and he studied Maddie's face in concern as one hand reached up to grip the stair's railing. "What's up?"
"Hagakure can't turn visible. At all. Ever."
"That's terrible!" Jack appeared nearly as unnerved by the news as his wife.
Hagakure stood awkwardly, unsure what to do in the face of such a reaction. At home, people barely batted an eye.
"We're going to help," Maddie directed at Toru after noticing the quirk user's extended silence. "We work with ghosts, who turn invisible regularly, so I'm sure we can figure something out." A steely conviction coated the words, a solution sure to be found.
"Ah, you don't have to do that. That's low on my priorities right now," Hagakure played off. Seeing a no-nonsense expression on the woman, the teen tried again, "Really, I would rather work on finding a way home. Even paying the thrift store back is higher on my to-do list."
"Thrift store?" Jack asked, not following.
"Ah…I kind of….borrowed clothes from a place called—" since the Japanese speaker didn't know what the words meant, she opted to say the sounds she'd read off the sign, "—Barugen Besumento." Continuing after the slight pause, she defended, "I kept the price tags, but they got left behind in my other clothes. I don't actually know how much I owe." Avoiding their gazes was silly, she knew, but the habit still won out. The teen rubbed at her head nervously, taupe sweater lifting with an unseen arm.
"Well, that's one thing I can check off your list," Maddie assured. "I already paid the eleven dollars and twenty-five cents with the town's ghost insurance fund."
Hagakure was instantly on guard.
They already knew about her? They must have been stalking her after all! The teen dropped incrementally lower, ready to spring past them like a startled hare. The front door was just behind them; she could make it.
"Before you panic, we had no idea it was you. I mean, I suspected, but Team Phantom is in charge of ghostly disputes, remember? An invisible person stole a bunch of clothes. There was no point in arguing over small change, so we just paid out. Eleven dollars and twenty-five cents is only a little over a thousand yen."
Hagakure blinked. Okay, that was plausible. Likely, even. Feeling embarrassed, the aspiring hero just managed to squeak out, "Thanks, I'll do my best to pay you back." Throat closing and cheeks burning, she straightened.
"No need, Hagakure-san; It's really no big deal." Seeing shuffling socks, Maddie added, "But I can always use some extra help around the house if you have some free time."
"I'd…I'd like that." Egged on by shame, Hagakure debated internally, before deciding to admit something else, "How I got here, and why I'm so edgy; they're related. I fell through a portal. I think I was kidnapped, and I have no idea why."
Maddie and Jack exchanged concerned glances, the redhead's brow furrowing before Jack blurted, "Was it green?!"
"Yes, actually." Hagakure's unseen eyes narrowed, but she didn't give in to the need to flee, already feeling stupid enough.
"Most ghost portals, both naturally occurring or not, are green. There are some exceptions, of course, if the energy of the ghost creating them is another color, but that's incredibly rare. Equally as rare as the ability to make portals. It takes a great deal of power to create a wormhole between worlds," Maddie mused aloud, backing up to give Toru some space.
"Well, maybe we can go take a look to see if there's any leftover ectoplasm where Hagakure came through? Narrow things down," Jack added, already reaching past Maddie to grab the GAV keys off a hanger.
"Sweetie, Hagakure-san was the one at Bargain Basement. Remember, Sheryl called us up in arms on Tuesday? That means she's been here at least four and a half days."
Jack's face immediately fell. "Oh."
"What? Why is that bad?" Toru questioned, bud of hope quashed.
"Ectoplasm disappears quickly. Unless the ghost tries to keep it around, or there's a lot of it, not even Fenton tech can detect it after about a day and a half," Jack informed, causing Hagakure's shoulders to sag.
Maddie's face softened. "Phantom was already gathering intel from other ghosts in the Zone about your situation, but now we can point him in a specific direction. Since we know there was a portal involved, we can also do some of our own research. I'll even message an old colleague who helped with the original Fenton Portal blueprints and loved to theorize about natural-occurring portals and the multiverse for extra clues." The redhead settled a hand on Toru's shoulder and attempted to meet the teen's gaze with marginal success. "If Phantom can't find a ghostly method to get you home, there might be a way to modify the Fenton Portal. We'll let you know if we come up with anything, but something of that magnitude would take a lot of time."
Toru's eyes watered of their own accord. Three days ago she would have balked at the offer of such generous, oddly specialized help, picking the likely trap apart and refusing it entirely. But today a tear trailed down her cheek, inconspicuous until the exact moment it left her face.
"We'll see what Phantom comes up with before we delve into anything too complicated, but there's nothing that says we can't spend today figuring out how to make you visible. We don't have to wait on anyone for that," Maddie declared.
Wiping the salty water and a small line of snot off with a sleeve, Toru took a deep, steadying breath and responded, "Sure, let's give it a shot."
Saturday, September 8th
1:07 pm
Thump.
"Ugh."
Danny gripped his head in the dark, reaching his other hand up to touch a solid metal surface above him. Following the curved ceiling down to a little shelf on the left, he groped around. A second later, the male squinted into a blinding light, face and chamber washed in blue.
1:07 pm.
"CRAP!" The halfa unplugged his phone and launched through the side of the capsule, not bothering to open it. It was only after he'd done so that the absentminded adult realized his error and belatedly scouted the space. "I'm starting to understand why Jazz kicked me out of my room," whispered into the empty Ops Center.
Remembering the need to hurry, Danny made a clone that dashed off to the small bathroom in the corner. Rushing to change and throw on deodorant, the original finished loading keys, wallet, and cellphone into jean pockets right as the other-him came out of the bathroom, drying mussed hair with a towel. It was only as the counterpart sauntered toward Danny with a devilish smirk that the superhero felt his stomach drop in realization.
"I'm so screwed."
The copy's smile widened even further.
Too late to take back the blatant display of powers he'd literally just got done telling himself not to use, Danny sighed. It was a small blessing when only a whispering echo of you know what you did fluttered along the halfa's mind during the re-merged.
Such light teasing was practically sweet nothings when it came to one of his doubles, as he and his duplicates had a horrible habit of trash talking each other in a demented form of self-therapy.
Danny felt his hair miraculously dampen, and the boy's skin took on an almost humid feel. At the same time, his teeth lost their grittiness, and a minty freshness flooded his mouth. Ready to go, the halfa took a breath and glared at the ground before shouting "One to the kitchen!"
The floor opened beneath the super, and, with the sound of a vacuum, sucked him down through a large tube. Landing lighter than should have been possible, but not by much, Danny smiled.
"Hey, Sleepyhead. I was gonna check on you soon. I was worried you'd died," Jazz commented from the kitchen table.
"Har de har har," Danny acknowledged. "I've never heard that one before." Despite the backtalk, the halfa fought to keep a grin off his face. What could he say? Cheese was his thing.
Hushing, the ghost kid stilled beyond what a normal person was capable of and listened. Other than Jazz scratching a pen across a notepad, the house was quiet.
"Where is everyone?"
"In the lab. When I got home from grocery shopping they were already down there," the older sister informed. The raven-haired male started for the living room when Jazz's voice called again, "They put up the do not disturb sign."
Danny's eyebrows raised as he continued toward the basement and inspected a little carved ghost hanging from the door, "Beware!" painted across it in childish handwriting.
"Wow, I didn't know we even still had that sign." The twenty-year old's voice raised just enough for the other Fenton to hear him.
Jazz's response came semi-muffled through the walls, but for Danny it was crystal clear; "Dad's a packrat and Mom loves keepsakes. The more surprising thing is that they were able to find it."
Leaning forward, Danny placed the side of his head against the soundproof door to the lab. Clanking sounded from below, barely audible to enhanced hearing, before a slightly louder yelp halted the tinkering. Had to be Dad.
Danny just shrugged. Who was he to intrude on something private. If it was important, his parents would fill him in later.
Well, so much for rushing to spend time with their guest.
Danny grabbed into a pocket, pulled out his beat up cell phone, and sent a quick text.
Less than a minute and the boy's jeans were humming, a Star Wars' sonic boom vibrating a reply.
R u sure ur free? U were supposed 2 give me the deets on Hagakure 2day
Danny sighed, before typing back, Yeah, parents and her are in the lab. They even used the DND sign
They still got that?
Apparently
Well, u know im always down 2 game. My timelines for work r…fluid
Danny snorted. Tucker was such a procrastinator. But for some incomprehensible reason, the tech genius always somehow turned work in on time.
Just a sec. Danny ambled up to his room upon finishing the text. Waking a sleeping computer, the gamer opened up a Doomed file on the desktop, only for a lengthy update bar to pop up on the screen.
Ugh. It's gonna be a bit. I have to wait for the new Eternally DLC to download
I keep telling u 2 set up auto-update, noob :P
Oh, shut up
Saturday, September 8th
3:39 pm
A rodent-like fetus lay twitching on a vinyl dentist's chair, the shudders that wracked the small frame splashing up a clear liquid. Above the dying animal hung loose belts of leather held together by several buckles. The aftermarket restraints didn't match the chair, but the leather was worn and faded along the inner edges, showing signs of age and use. Industrial shelves pressed tight to the back wall and an electrocardiogram monitor lay quiet and lifeless on a wheeled stand. Likewise, a mobile medical tray stood at the side, bare of any instruments that would normally adorn its surface.
A spritz of the organic matter that was not water, but thicker, splotched onto a snow-white Armani sneaker nearby.
"Hhhhsssh." An indrawn breath hissed through a plague doctor's mask, the beaked fabric muffling the noise until it sounded of TV static.
The wearer's lemon eyes glared down at the filth, and the dark-haired youth kicked off the shoe in disgust as a mild rash crept up the side of his face. Reaching down, he pulled off a glove and touched the footwear, causing it to explosively disintegrate into a fine powder. A second later, the particles drew back together as if magnetized to a singular point and reformed into their original shape, the fabric whiter than before.
A fully ivory-cloaked figure stepped into the room behind the first man, hood drawn down over a similar, but altogether different plague mask. The contrast between the two people was striking, as their color schemes were essentially inverted.
"What is it?" The words were calm, lacking much emotion. The speaker slid the newly constructed Armani back on, lacing the material before standing and tapping its toe on the concrete.
"Second, I've heard a rumor that may prove fortuitous," the other person replied; then held up his cloak a moment later. Shielding the darker male as the mammal in the chair threw liquid with one final kick, the subordinate continued, "Something 'revolutionary' is being tested at Detnerat, according to several contacts. I think it has potential in helping us halt the extreme devolving issue."
Trying not to scratch at the hives on his face, the young, germaphobic adult stared with impassive eyes at the chair.
"Hm."
Chapter Notes:
-Them getting weird about Tucker saying "I wish" is because of Desiree
-The last time Tucker and Danny got involved with the GIW, it was to plant an excessive number of viruses in all of their tech. Which not only crippled the department, but Tucker also implanted low level AI's that made the GIW's weapons actively screw with their owners.
-Apex is an non-gendered ghost because their obsession is with evolution and genetics and can change their own genes at will. They basically collect other entities to experiment on, drastically changing the target's DNA (or what passes for it in ghosts) for fun. Seeing anyone being tortured like that would get Danny involved.
-The teddy bear is Bearbert
-The hamburger noodle dish is hamburger helper. Jazz makes it because the Fenton's hot dogs always come alive. "Great, you've figured out how to put the 'Frank' back in 'Frankenstein.' "
-The machine is the Ghost Gabber, that's why it ends everything with "Fear me."
-The Ghost Gabber scene ends with an Easter Egg. Jack is quoting Jeremy Clarkson from UK Topgear. I was cackling as I wrote it.
-AgentIanLegend, the author of Recognized, actually helped me go through my outline originally, and gave me the central idea for this particular scene. Hagakure being suspicious of Jack Fenton being like Fat Gum. We both thought it was pretty funny, so I really wanted to work it in. In the show, Jack eats copious amounts of ham, cheese, cookies and fudge.
-Fointment was not something I made up. Jack's called Fenton Ointment that before. XD I don't remember what episode though. I think it's when they went camping.
-Maddie and Jack got over reactive to Hagakure's invisible state because of their own emotions when they found out about Danny. It would have been a rough time for them. You can bet they would have asked themselves a million "what-ifs". Like what if the portal had just killed Danny, rather than turn him half ghost? He wouldn't have had an "off" switch either, if he'd become a full ghost. It hits close to home that someone would be "stuck" with a power that was detrimental to their wellbeing, because that very well could have been Danny.
-Doomed Eternally was a suggestion from a friend. It's a play on Doom Eternal.
-In the scene with the two men, the white cloaked man refers to the other man as "Second" because that is as close of a translation to waka gashira as I could get without the sentence sounding super awkward. (That character calls his boss "waka".)