Doctrine of Danny Ch 14

Surprises

“…So you went over to check on Fenton, but he wasn’t there and his roommate Sam let you in?” I repeated the girl’s excuse, frowning to myself.

‘Funny, why didn’t Sam say anything to me…?’ I’d have to have a chat with my roomie later about telling me when people came to see me.

“Yep,” Sam said, drawing my out of my thoughts, “Really nice guy, by the way. I found the Fenton Finder lying around in his room and thought it looked cool.”

‘…In his… oh, no…’

“You went into his room?” I repeated, by voice squeaking slightly. I blushed a little, but couldn’t help but ask, “Ah, was this before or after he cleaned? You know, just out of curiosity…” I laughed nervously at Sam’s weird look, feeling like a total idiot.

“There’s the Dorm,” Sam told me, pointing below us, “Take us in and I’ll bring us to Lisa.”

“Got it,” I responded, bringing us down. I noticed that Sam didn’t so much as flinch, and my admiration of her increased. After all, Jazz still got weirded out by the feeling and even Tucker took a while to get used to it. I set her down in the hall and followed as she led me to a room, heading over to knock on the door. Before she did, though, she turned back to face me.

“Before,” She said, her face straight by a twinkle in her eyes telling me she was restraining a laugh. “And I bet those red boxers with the white polka dots look good on him, too,”

‘Huh?’ I thought, ‘What is she… Aww, MAN!’ I felt my face heat up when I realized what she meant. ‘Great. Now I’d die of embarrassment every time I look at those boxers!’

“You might wanna go invisible,” Sam said after she knocked on the door. “I don’t know if her roomie’s in or not, or how she’ll react to seeing a ghost at her front door for that matter, so…”

“Got it,” I responded, doing as she said. A second later, the door opened and a small girl with semi-long brown hair with blonde sun streaks walked out, startled to find Sam in front of her.

“Sam?” She said, surprise clear in her voice.

“Hey, Lisa!” Sam said in a bright tone, “Got a minute? Your roommate’s not home, is she?”

“Uh, sure,” Lisa said, stepping aside to invite Sam in, “And no, she’s at some club thing, but-!”

“Great!” Sam cut her off, charging in. I followed her, maintaining invisibility and even going intangible for a bit when I walked through Lisa. “Anyways, I have a huge favor to ask you…”

“Well, I’d be happy to help,” Lisa said, smiling hesitantly at Sam, “What’s the problem?”

“Well…” Sam started as she shut the door for privacy. “It’s not really my problem, it’s my friends…”

“Friend?” Lisa repeated, “What-?” She stopped short as I turned visible again, she eyes widening in shock.

“Lisa,” Sam said sweetly, “Meet Phantom, the superhero in this town. He’s the ghost you’ve been hearing so much about. Well, one of, I’m sure…”

“Hello,” I said in a warm tone, moving to shake the girl’s hand.

“Nice to meet you,” Lisa said blankly, taking my hand with a stunned look still on her face. It was kind of funny, and if the look on Sam’s face meant anything, she thought so, too.

“I was kind of hoping we could head out to the carnival they’re having this weekend at the edge of town,” Sam cut in, “Only Phantom’s a little conspicuous, so I was hoping…”

“You wanted me to make him a disguise?” Lisa finished, her shock falling away into joy, “Well, that sounds like fun! Especially since I have help now, too!”

‘…Wait, what?’ I glanced at Sam, but she looked just as confused as I felt.

“Help?” She said, raising an eyebrow at Lisa.

“Yeah, that’s what I was trying to tell you earlier,” Lisa explained, her bright tone never fading, “I have company over. It turned out she’s really into fashion, too, so we were just comparing some sketches and stuff. She’s really good!” Sam and I never got the chance to respond to that when the kitchen door opened up and the last person I wanted messing around with my clothes walked out.

“Lisa, I can’t find the-” Liz started before stopping abruptly when she saw Sam and me standing there talking to Lisa. She looked surprised, which was a pretty rare look on Liz. “…Do I wanna know what’s going on here?”

“Sam wants us to give her new friend Phantom a make-over!” Lisa explained in a bright, innocent tone. I couldn’t help but pale when I realized that the words ‘Phantom’ and ‘Make-over’ had just been used in front of Liz, with me in clear view.

“Aw, Hell…” I said, starting to back away as Liz got that look in her eyes again. Maybe if I took off now I could get away before it was too late…

“Really…” Liz said, grinning at me in the way that told me that now was a good time to find somewhere to hide for a long, LONG time. “Well, I can do that!”

“No!” I said at once, horrified at the prospect of being Liz’s living Ken doll, “Ah, I mean… maybe this isn’t such a good idea…” A weird look passed Liz’s face for a second, and I caught the way she studied me curiously before grabbing me and hauling me away before I could make my escape.

“Nonsense!” She sang in a sugary sweet voice, “Now just relax and leave everything to me, ghost-boy. You’re in Lizella Cartel’s world now, and there’s no escape!”

“That’s what I’m afraid of…” I said dryly.

“What was that?” Liz asked, her tone never losing its cavity-inducing quality even though the threat was clear.

“Nothing!” I said at once. Liz only used that tone when she was willing to commit a homicide if she didn’t get her way, and I happened to like having the ability to breathe.

Liz shut the door behind us as soon as she got me into the room, shoving me into an empty chair and studying me with a thoughtful frown on her face. I felt my nervousness increase as she started to circle me like a buzzard, eying me from head to toe.

“Well, I think you’ve got the right idea with the black,” She said thoughtfully, “But we need to make it more subtle. Not too mention hiding your hair and eyes if you’re really going out in public… Damn I wish this wasn’t so last minute…”

“Look, I understand if you’re busy, so-!”

“Then again, I could always just have you wear pieces of the Phantom bit again, but that might seem a little tacky…” Liz continued as if she hadn’t heard me.

“I’m not wearing the Phantom costume again!” I said at once, “Damn it, Liz, it’s bad enough you’ve already signed me up… to…” I trailed off at Liz’s triumphant smirk. “…Aw, shoot…”

“‘Aw Shoot,’ indeed, Ghost Boy,” Liz said, sounding amused. “Open mouth, insert foot.” I blushed, then sighed, running a hand through my hair.

“How long have you-?”

“Known?” Liz finished, “About eight seconds. Before that, it was just a hunch for a long time. I mean, the way Jazz worried about you, it’s kinda hard to miss.” The older girl gave me an encouraging smile, “Relax, little man, I won’t tell a soul. Not even my uncle. God knows he needs you around to remind him he’s still just a mortal…” I laughed a little at that, shaking my head. Before we could talk about it anymore, though, the door opened again and Lisa came in.

“Okay, Liz!” She said brightly, shutting the door behind her, “Ready when you are!”

“Then let’s get started!” Liz said, turning to me with a predatory grin. I gulped loudly at the look.

‘Not. Good.’

---

“Sam, I want to thank you for this rare, once in a lifetime opportunity,” I rolled my eyed as I heard Liz call that out to Sam, who I couldn’t see since I was instructed not to leave the room until I got my cue.

Liz didn’t tell me exactly what she’d do to me if I disobeyed her, but from what she left to my imagination and what I knew about my sister’s best friend, I wasn’t in a hurry to find out.

“Once in a lifetime?” I heard Sam repeat.

“Of course,” Liz responded, “You don’t honestly think there’s a snowball’s chance in hell Phantom’s gonna let me play dress up with him again, do you?”

‘Got that right,’ I thought dryly, fidgeting uncomfortably. I never wore anything but my suit in my ghost form, so it felt weird being dressed up in the clothes Liz and Lisa picked out for me.

“Anyways,” Lisa’s giggling broke through my thoughts, “Liz and I are proud to present-!”

“-The fruit of our strenuous labor-” Liz added in for effect.

“The newest cutie in Amity, Tom Phan!” I blinked at that, a little startled by the title.

‘Cutie?’ I thought to myself as the door opened and I moved to step forward, ‘They think I’m cute?’

I shook this thought off though when I saw the look on Sam’s face, pure dumb shock. I shifted under her eyes, suddenly more self-conscious then I ever was as Phantom.

I knew I looked a lot different know then I did in my hazmat, which I guess was the point. They put me in a black t-shirt with a pirate symbol on the front, and gave me a black choker that restricted my breathing a bit.

Liz had made the necklace in jewelry, with a symbol hanging from it that looked a lot like a P in a D. That alone made me suspicious about what Liz had told me earlier. Especially with the wink she gave me when she handed it to me to put on.

A black barbwire-like bracelet was wrapped around my left wrist, and a tattoo that looked like a circlet of thorns was on my right shoulder, just below the hem of my shirt. Three earrings were in my left ear, and two in my right, and a black baseball cap was being used to hide my hair.

A pair of sunglasses were pushed up against my nose, hiding my eyes from sight. I though this addition was a little cliché since it was done pretty much everywhere, but whatever works, right?

Sam’s little friend Lisa talked me into wearing tight dark blue jeans, which were probably the most uncomfortable pants in the world. A silver chain hung from my right pocket and dark brown steel-toed combat boots (Courtesy of Liz) had replaced my normal boots.

“Well?” Lisa asked, grinning at Sam, “What do you think? Normal AND gorgeous, right?”

‘You know, a part of me almost hopes she doesn’t like it,’ I said to myself. If she did like it, I knew for a fact that Liz would never let me live it down.

“You…” Sam gaped at me, still looking shocked, “You look… wow! Nice job, girls!” I bit back a groan as Liz and Lisa shared grins.

“Hear that?” Liz said pointedly to me, smirking triumphantly, “SHE likes it!” I blushed slightly and glared back at Liz.

“So?” I countered, “That doesn’t mean you’re off the hook!”

“Well, you two had better go,” Lisa giggled with a pointed look at Sam.

“Have fun, kids!” Liz said sweetly, “And remember, don’t do anything I’d do!”

“No worried there…” I muttered dryly under her hearing. Sam caught it, though, and gave me a knowing smirk.

‘Jazz is gonna freak when Liz tells her about this…’ I thought dryly to myself, hoping that Jazz would find her best friend being in on the secret a more vital fact then my date with Sam and Phantom. It wasn’t likely, but still, a guy could hope, right?

“So,” Sam said, drawing me back to the present, “Was that really as bad as it sounded?” I scowled a little at the question, and how amused Sam sounded when she asked it.

‘I’m gonna have to lock her in a room with Liz one of these days just so she knows how it feels,’ I promised myself darkly before I answered the Goth’s question.

“Let’s just say I never would’ve thought it was even possible to be molested by two girls in so many different ways in such a short amount of time,” I told her shortly, earning a laugh from Sam.

“Oh, I don’t know about that,” She told me playfully. “Give Paulina ten minutes and I’m sure she’ll top ‘em both!” Sam ducked away hastily as I worked out what shed just said, my face flaming when I realized what she was implying.

“…SAM!”

---

“Come on, folks, don’t be shy, take a whack at it!” the short, balding mad at the Test Your Strength Booth yelled out as Sam and I walked by. “You there! How about winning a prize for the lovely lady?” I was a little started at being singled out like that, but before I could respond, a weird sensation kicked in.

It was almost like everything slowed down for a moment, and when I glanced back over at the game my vision seemed to zoom in on the cylinder and the line that read 98 near the top.

I didn’t know how, but I could tell in an instant that the cylinder was filled with lead, making it heavier then it looked and a thin, almost invisible bump ran across the 98 line to stop the cylinder if it managed to get that high.

‘…Whoa!’ I thought, I little dazed, ‘Freaky new power….’ Then I noticed everyone was staring at me and I cringed slightly.

“Uh-!”

“Actually,” Sam cut me off as she stepped up, her tone cold and angry, “Ever think that the ‘lovely lady,’ wants to take a whack at it herself?”

‘That can’t be good,’ I thought, looking from the angry Sam to the grinning announcer and tensing.

“Hear that, folks?” The announcer yet out, baiting Sam some more, “The little lady wants a shot!” I took an involuntary step back when I saw Sam’s face, fury written all over it.

‘DEFINITELY not good…’

“Sam,” I whispered into her ear, wanting to warn her before it was too late and she did something she regretted, “You really shouldn’t… the game is-!”

“Gimme that mallet!” Sam snapped at the announcer, grabbing the large hammer from his hand and shoving a wad of bills in it’s place. I sighed heavily and leaned against a telephone pole.

‘Too late,’ I thought wryly. Then I blinked and smirked when an idea hit me.

Making sure no one was looking, I put a hand on the pole behind me, sending out a trail of energy to ‘help’ the cylinder along as Sam took a whack at it. In my hurry to synch up with Sam, though, I used too much power, and the cylinder ended up in deep space because of it.

‘Oops,’ I thought, Cringing guiltily. I didn’t mean to do that, after all… Still, at the look on the announcer’s face, I couldn’t help but bait him the same way he’s gone after Sam like that.

“You know, this may just be a guess,” I called out, “But I think that one earns a prize,”

“Keep it,” Sam said shortly as she shove the mallet into the guy’s arms, “And next time, think before you laugh at a girl like that, or else the next thing that mallet’s gonna hit is your head.” And with that, she stormed away, grabbing my arms in a grip I didn’t think someone so skinny could possess and dragging me away from the crowd.

“Uh, Sam?” I said warily, “Are you okay?” anger flashing in her eyes, Sam wheel around to give me an accusing glare.

“You did something, didn’t you?” She snapped furiously, “You did something and that’s why it went so high!” My first reaction was surprise that she managed to figure that out so fast on her own. After that though, a wave of guilt hit me when I realized I’d goofed up big time.

“No!” I protested, “What makes you think that?”

“Phantom…” Sam growled back. I sighed in defeat.

“Well… I might’ve given it a little push…” I mumbled, sifting from one foot to another.

“Why would you do that?” Sam asked, getting angrier at my confession, “I can do things myself, Phantom, I don’t need you helping me cheat like that!”

“I never said you couldn’t!” I defended myself, “But-!”

“But nothing!” Sam turned and started away with her arms crossed and her posture tense. “What in the world made you think it was okay to cheat like that in my name, huh? Did you think something like that would impress me? Showing off?”

“No!” I said, getting a little mad myself now. Did she honestly think I’d use my powers for shortcuts like that? “That wasn’t why I did it, Sam!”

“Then why, huh?” Sam demanded loudly, turning to glare at me again.

“Because he was cheating!” I snapped back, “That cylinder was weighted down with lead, and there was a stopper near the top so it couldn’t make it all the way up!” Sam gaped at me as I finished saying this, a stunned look on her face.

“There was?” She asked me, raising one eyebrow in confusion “How did you know that?” I blushed a little and shifted around. I didn’t like talking about my powers with anyone but Tucker and Jazz.

“I just…” I sighed, unable to describe the strange sensation, “I don’t know, okay? It was kind of a weird thing where I could just tell all of this stuff when I shouldn’t have known it at all. A new power I think.”

“A new power?” Sam repeated, “You mean, you don’t just have the powers you get when you die? You can still learn new powers now?”

“Yeah,” I admitted, “This one’s kinda like another sixth sense, I guess.”

“That’s so cool!” Sam grinned widely, “So, do you get your powers after you get to a certain point, or is there set intervals or something?” I blinked, a little startled at the giddy, girlish look on Sam’s face.

‘…Huh?’

“Uh, I dunno,” I said slowly, “They just kinda… happen. One second it’s normal and the next, I’m shooting ice beams from my eyes.” Not that I had ice powers, but that was the way things generally went.

“That sounds like fun,” Sam grinned impishly. “So how many powers do you have anyways?” I gaped at Sam for a second after that before I broke down and laughed.

“You’re not like other girls, Sam,” I told her dryly through my laugher.

‘Then again, that’s part of what make you so much fun…’

“Tell me something I don’t know,” Sam smirked back at me. Shaking her head, she grabbed my arm again and pulled me away, though this time it was clear all was forgiven and forgotten, “Anyways, come on! There’s a ride I saw that I to try out!”

“Really?” I asked, a little wary, “What kind of ride?”

“You’ll see!” Sam giggled, doing nothing for my nerves.

‘Something tells me this isn’t the Tunnel of Love…’