Orbits of Glass

[sqweakie]

 

Chapter Five

He drifted about thirty feet above the ground, mirroring his partner, the dear Valerie Grey. It was Sunday evening and dusk was settling on the park as they hovered. It wasn’t their night to patrol but they both needed to get some fresh air. Their guest had been fed and Val’s dad was keeping an eye on him. That left the ghost and the hunter free to leave the apartment. Danny had History homework that required his attention but he'd rather be out here with Val. It was peaceful and Valerie looked as relaxed as he felt.

He knew that the peace couldn’t last and it didn’t. A loud crackle came over their headsets and a gruff voice said, “Identify yourselves.”

Val lazily raised her hand to her ear, pressing a button, and spoke. “It’s Tango. How are you doing tonight Marchez?”

“Not too bad,” the voice replied. “Heard you were busy a couple nights ago. Who’s the other signature with you?” Danny smiled and answered through his own headset. “Hi Chez. Get your scanner fixed... it’s Echo.”

“Well, your ectoplasm contamination level is spiking again,” the man told him over the comm.

“Ran into Skulker yesterday and Spectra after that,” he responded. “I have no idea why it would be high.”

“Ignore the mood swings,” Valerie interrupted him. “He was in a PVT yesterday.”

“PVT?”

“Person-Vs-Tree,” she explained. “Why don’t you head over to the fountain and we will meet you there.”

“Roger.”

They turned their individual gliders east and reached the spot after Marchez. He and Val may have been the youngest ghost hunters on the patrol but definitely not the newest. Marchez (or Chez as he was called) had been in Amity for about three months now. Originally from California, he was one of the few newbies that had real life experience before Amity. A second generation hunter, he passed the orientation with flying colors and was out solo for his first week of patrol. Joe Marchez looked like the typical ghost hunter. He was nearing middle age, stocky and decked out with more electronics than a computer convention, he was everything the media toted as the ‘average’ ghost hunter.

Danny and his girlfriend definitely did not fit the average ghost hunter description. They hid their identities behind masks and didn’t even use their real names out on patrol. Val went by the codename ‘Tango’ and he was ‘Echo’. Both were names that were hard to trace back to their real identities or their alternative identities of The Red Hunter and Danny Phantom respectively. It was more practical to use the fake names, especially since they remained minors. Only a select few in charge of the patrol knew who they really were. It was the only thing protecting them from outrage concerning the citizens of Amity Park. True, they were lowly nerds at school but if it was found out that they were hunters the results would not be pretty. He and Valerie could only imagine the reactions.

They landed as Chez was waiting, leaning against the fountain’s rim. As a professional courtesy he had already taken off his helmet. Dan pushed back the hood of his sweatshirt and took off his glasses, as did Val. The eyes were the only clue that a person was overshadowed (at least by a lower powered ghost). It wouldn’t be the first time a ghost possessed a member of the patrol.

“Damn, she wasn’t kidding,” was the first thing out of Marchez’s mouth. He winced at the blunt comment. Another typical trait of ghost hunters was their direct and often blunt honesty, even about delicate subjects like personal injury. Yesterday, Skulker threw him into a tree, slamming his head against a large branch before Danny could trap him in a Thermos. The impact did cause any permanent damage but it did leave a mark: the bruise was a purple-yellow mark went from his left eye to his hairline.

“Yes, I fell into a tree. Does everyone need to make a big deal about it?”

“Yes,” was the double answer. Val and Chez both laughed at his snort of indignation.

He sat on his glider while his girlfriend and the other hunter collected themselves. They were an odd group, a hunter in the latest tech jumpsuit, Val trying to emulate a certain vampire hunter and him wearing a black hoodie and heavy jeans. His heavy black boots barely brushed the ground. The only thing bright about his outfit was the pair of ectogreen glasses that normally hid his eyes but were now clutched in his hand. Both he and Val left their ninja-like masks on so their identities could remain hidden.

“I’ve got a question I’ve been meaning to ask you both,” Marchez said after calming down. “Why do you two have such high ecto readings?”

Danny sighed. It was a standard newbie question. He didn’t blame the other hunter for asking. On outside scanners both he and Val showed up as powerful ghosts. Any resident ghost hunter had to tag their signatures as friendlies so there wasn’t any confusion.

Val’s excuse was a legit one. Deep within her was the ghost armor Technus had created for her. It was part of her spirit and caused weird side effects like decreased body temp and amazing night vision. It also gave her an edge in a desperate situation. She was literally never without a weapon.

Danny’s ectoplasmic signature was harder to explain away. In the end he decided the simplest and easiest way was to tell those in charge of the patrol the truth. The Accident at the beginning of his freshman year caused an effect similar to radiation contamination. He claimed the ectoplasm was leftover from two years ago. He just forgot to mention the dying and half-ghost thing that also occurred because of the accident. Regrettably, they weren’t able to tell anyone why they were part ghosts. So, in true hunter fashion they stuck to the short but blunt truth. “Technus” and “Accident” overlapped when they responded to the question.

“…And that’s all you have to say.” Chez gave them both a long look.

They looked at one another before Valerie answered the statement. “It’s all we can say. The rest is classified.”

“You guys have too much fun doing the mysterious stranger thing. Heck, when I signed on I had to tell them everything including my mom’s maiden name. Why do you guys get away with not telling anyone anything?”

“We’re special?” was Danny’s hesitant answer. He didn’t want to offend the older hunter. He guessed he didn’t when the man laughed again.

“I guess that’s one way to put it.” A small beep and a staticy voice came out of the hunter’s helmet. He shoved it back on to listen to the message. “As fun as this is, there are a couple mystery ghosts tearing up the school again. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Have fun,” Val told him as Chez got into his Jeep. He nodded and started the engine.

“Later.” With that he pulled away from the fountain and headed into the city, leaving Danny and Val alone in the park. His girlfriend sighed and jumped up on her glider. Danny followed suit and they started to fly in the direction of her apartment. He figured if no ghosts had shown up in the park now, there probably wouldn’t be a chance now. Unfortunately, life just loved to prove him wrong.

The roar of the motorcycle reached their ears before any of their detectors went off, including Danny’s ghost sense. Val groaned and muttered about the injustice of the world…and ice cream. He wasn’t sure how they went together and he was afraid to ask.

“Think Marchez could get back here in time?” he asked.

The whine of an ectogun powering up was his answer. He switched to their private channel. The sound of the chopper got louder and a puff of blue steamed through his mask.

“You distract Johnny and Kitty while I deal with Shadow.” He took command right away and Val gave him a look from behind her glasses.

“Are you sure it’s them?” she asked.

In the distance they heard a crash and a car alarm went off. Following the crash, the lights lining the paths of the park went out in sequence, drawing closer to their position. “Do you always have to be right,” she growled as she aimed her gun. Danny just shrugged and lifted up his bare hands. Without any hunters in the immediate area he could rely on his own powers instead of their inventions, something he preferred every time.

As the ghosts he predicted came into view, Val took her first shots. One of the blasts hit, taking out the rear wheel of the chopper. The bike fishtailed and slid to a stop about forty feet from their position. Johnny’s eyes widened in surprise at the two hunters floating in the air above him.

“Shadow, Attack!” ordered the driver of the bike. The ground beneath the bike growled and the shadow of the bike lifted and dove straight at Val. Danny took the opening to blast Shadow’s unprotected side. The ghost broke off its attack and headed straight for the halfa. Danny grinned behind his mask before calling out, “Hey ugly! Bet you can’t keep up!” He shot off to the east. A roar followed him as Shadow chased. Not only did this give him more room to play but it also left Val alone so she could concentrate on the two ghosts left on the bike.

Danny pushed his glider closer to the ground and flinched as something cracked behind him. He risked a glance back and had to make a sharp left. A tree fell right where he had been flying a second ago. Distracted, he missed Shadow flying through a light pole. The bad luck did its magic and the light hit him across the back. Danny was knocked off his glider as Shadow hissed with pleasure.

The ghost drifted towards the earth to gloat over its fallen opponent. It stopped halfway when it looked at the ground, pristine and unmarred by the fallen hunter. A low hum froze it before green light pierced its chest. The hole slowly filled as it spun to look behind. The hunter floated in mid air, suspended without support. The hunter’s now silver hair reflected the lights lining the park where it escaped his hat.

The Shadow wasn’t the smartest ghost around but it was able to put two and two together. “Halfa,” it growled out.

“Wow, you figured that out by yourself?” Sarcasm kick started the other ghost and he attacked. Danny dodged a fist and was able to fire a couple of ectobeams before getting hit himself. He tried to fly higher in the air but Shadow wrapped his tail around him. It immediately flung him to the down but he didn’t have time to phase through the ground like he did during his first fall. He landed on the grass, rolling a few feet to lessen the shock. He stopped facing the sky and had to roll to the side as a new light pole crashed to the ground.

“What is up with you and streetlights?” he asked with a huff.

The ghost didn’t respond, only floated in the air. He flew into the sky intending to attack, when the ghost shook its dreadlocks. It shifted to the side to reveal its prize, Danny’s glider. The bad luck specter caressed the side and smirked at the younger hunter. Danny’s eyes widened when he realized the ghost’s intentions.

“No! Don’t you dare do anything to my glider!” Last time a ghost messed with his glider it took Tucker a week to fix it… an entire week where he had to walk during patrol.

Shadow was less than sympathetic to his plea. Its hissing laugh ground against the half-ghost’s nerves and the black ghost let its hand drift closer to the glider’s surface. One pass with its hand would do something to the finicky electronics. Danny’s hands lit up with a green charge but he didn’t let it loose yet. Shadow was way too close to the glider and it could still wreck the device. Their standoff could have lasted the rest of the evening if it wasn’t for one tiny little fact. Both full and half ghost forgot the other fight going on in the park. Reality literally crashed into Shadow, via an out of control Johnny.

The biker ghost knocked into his Shadow, pushing them both through Dan’s glider. Shadow’s bad luck sparked and with an electronic whine the glider died and plummeted towards the earth. Danny dove after it. He ducked under the blue beam from the Fenton Thermos. Hands outstretched, he grabbed on to the smooth edge of the machine and phased them both thru the ground, becoming intangible right before the glider touched the grass. By the time he pulled the malfunctioning glider into the air, the park was clear and quiet.

Val was sitting on a park bench acting as if she was just out on a midnight stroll. The fight was obviously over; both Shadow and Johnny were trapped in the Thermos. Dropping his glider, he flopped down on the bench next to his girlfriend.

“Kitty?” he asked.

“Got her in the first five minutes,” she said proudly.

Dan closed his eyes and rested his head on the back of the bench. A warm hand removed his hat ran through his silver locks, easing his forming headache. He took a hold of Tango’s hand in his gloved one before he transformed into his human form. He opened his now blue eyes, searching Val’s hidden face. Behind her red glasses he could just make out her unique eyes.

He was unable to resist her adrenaline filled look. He pulled down his mask and hers before pulling her close for a kiss. She melted into him and he felt at peace for a moment.

A frantic beeping interrupted their stolen kiss. He broke off laughing. Val managed to look offended. “I told you it was a conspiracy,” she told him. “We get five minutes alone and either my dad or the patrol calls.”

Danny secretly agreed but he didn’t want to admit it. Instead he switched his headset to the main channel. The beep was the signal that someone at HQ needed to speak to them.

“Echo here,” he said into the mouthpiece. “What is it Control?”

“We just picked up activity on the radar. Are you and Tango alright?” the anonymous voice asked.

“We’re fine. Just ran into Johnny 13, Kitty and Shadow. We took care of them.”

“I took care of them,” Val whispered at his side. “You just played ghost tag.” He stuck out his tongue as a response. Valerie switched her comm on. “No injuries, just some downed lights in the park and a totaled car somewhere nearby.”

“Any idea where?” control asked.

“Nope,” she responded, “just heard a crash and the car alarm.”

“Well, guess what. You just earned a trip to HQ since it’s not your patrol night.” That earned a double groan and the mental scrabbling for an excuse so they wouldn’t have to go there tonight and face the small mountain of paperwork that they would have to fill out.

Val straightened up and she triggered her comm. “But Echo’s glider is fried. He had no way to get there.”

“We will send someone to pick him up but you’ll still have to come in Tango. Nice try though.”

After giving control their coordinates Val gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before blasting off into the night. He wandered over to his own glider and hit the hidden reset button. The machine whined and rose a little into the air. He pulled a PDA out of a side pocket in his jeans and hooked into the control panel. It ran a couple of scans before giving him the good news. One of the circuit boards was fried. Easily fixed once Tucker got to it, he would have to bypass the bad circuit for the time being.

His headset crackled to life. “Echo, this is Control,” the voice said apprehensively. Danny picked up on the change of tone right away.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“I found you a ride. ETA four minutes.” The woman spoke slowly, filling him with dread.

“Who is it?” he hesitantly inquired.

“Jack and Maddie in the GAV.”

“No! Find someone else!” he started hyperventilate.

“Sorry, they insisted.” Almost everyone knew that there was bad blood between him and the Fentons. Few knew the reason but they all knew that he wouldn’t have anything to do with Amity’s premier ghost experts.

Just as he was to respond Val’s voice came over the comm. “Tango in-house,” was all she said. The short code let the hunters know that someone had stopped at HQ. Danny ended the connection to Control with a ground out “Fine.” He looked around the park, already seeing headlights heading towards him.

He was vulnerable. Val was out of range. She had just checked in at HQ to turn in her filled Thermos for a new one. There was also the inevitable paperwork since it wasn’t their night of patrol and she could be tied up for the next half hour. He debated if he could restart his glider before the GAV got there. He turned to his motionless glider and pulled off an access panel. He started on the wiring, pulling wires and rearranging a couple of circuit boards. He wasn’t an engineer but at least he was able to memorize some alternative wiring schemes to bypass the fried electronics.

He was on Wiring Scheme #3 when a heavy hand fell on his shoulder. His time was up. Not two seconds after the hand dropped to restrain him, his glider roared to life and hovered a little higher. He stared at the traitorous machine unable to look at the man behind him. The hand slowly spun him around. He took a step back, bumping into his stationary glider. Danny kept his eyes trained on the ground. The man said his name gently, forcing him to look up.

“Echo,” the man repeated softly. “We need to talk to you.” He didn’t have any choice so he nodded. He raised his hand to his headset.

“Tango, I’m going to be off the comm for a couple of minutes.”

“Are you ok?” Val’s concern transmitted over the headset. In the background he could hear other voices and beeping.

“The Fentons need to talk to me,” he said without looking away from the man.

“Oh…Call when you’re back on.”

“I will. Echo out.” He hit a button and pulled the communication device out of his ear.

“Hello Dad.” To the right of his dad he could see his mother walking from the GAV.

“Echo,” she greeted him once she was close enough.

“It’s ok, I’m off the comm.” She nodded and pushed off her jumpsuit’s hood. Her hair was beginning to gray but otherwise she was the same as the day he earned his place in the patrol. His dad removed his hood as well, looking unchanged from the last time they met.

“Danny!” his mom cried before trapping him in a hug. He didn’t move, only closed his eyes in guilt. It had been a while since his parents last saw him. “The reports from yesterday said you took a nasty fall. Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” he reassured her.

“Let’s see the damage, Son.” Jack Fenton’s tone stopped any of Danny’s arguments.

He let out a sigh before complying. He pushed back his hood and hat and dragged his mask away from his face. Finally he removed his glasses to reveal his eyes. The bruise still had not faded since Marchez had seen it. There was a muffled gasp from his mother, tears of worry springing into her eyes.

“Why do you keep doing this?” his father demanded as he grabbed on to the teen’s shoulder.

“Hey, hitting the tree was nowhere in my plans for yesterday.”

“Do you know how this is making Jazz feel?” his dad asked. “She’s obsessed with listening to the scanner. She thought you’d end up in the hospital.” Danny swore silently. Skulker had attacked too fast for them to switch to a private channel. Anyone with a Patrol Scanner, or even a police scanner set to the right frequency, would have heard the entire fight over their comms.

“Do you have to make it always about her?” he countered.

“She’s your sister no matter what’s happened and if you love her,” his father started.

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence Jack Fenton?” Maddie finally interceded and managed to push her husband away from her son. Dan took advantage of the distraction to hop on his glider and pull up his hood and mask, hat stuffed into a pocket.

“Danny, where do you think you are going?” his father yelled, causing his mom to turn around.

He gave his parents a sad look before putting on his glasses.

“I’m leaving,” and with that he triggered his glider. He rose up in the air before his parents could stop him.

“Danny, wait! Please!” He halted his ascent to listen to his mother’s plea.

“Please come home. I’m sure if we talk about it we can work something out. It will be alright. Just give us a chance.” The guilt tore at him but he had heard that promise before. As heavy of a burden as the guilt was, he already had his heart shattered by these two. He ignored the tears that betrayed his true feelings before he shot off into the night.

Chapter Six