Danny Phantom

Chapter 6

A few weeks went by and the torture seemed to have stopped. Occasionally they would take either Danny or Heather into the lab for experiments and tests. Tension grew high between the four of them as most nights were spent completely silent. Tucker retreated into himself, losing the bravery that he once held onto and Sam was becoming obsessed with breaking the bars. Heather remained quiet, refusing to interact with anyone or fight against anything. She looked lifeless and it started making the doctors weary of their mission. Danny turned out to be the one carrying the strength for the crew. He noticed how much it affected Heather emotionally after what Freakshow made her do to Tucker and he knew that he needed to be mentally blocked to help her. He and Sam carried silent conversations with their eyes, knowing that one of them could be next and that they needed to fight. Sam spent most of her time trying to encourage Tucker and bringing himself back, but she found it almost impossible. The psychological damage that was done to him seemed to be greater than her words and even Sam herself had a hard time remaining confident. She was struggling mentally after the incident with Danny, often having nightmares of the words he spoke and actions he performed on her. They all knew in their hearts that after this was over they would work through it, but the trio was unsure about Heather. Their thoughts were broken, however, when Freakshow stood at the front of the ghost kid's cell. "Someone did a number on my thigh and I don't think it should go unpunished." He growled, opening the cell and grabbing Heather. He threw her into the hall between the cells and made sure she was flat on her back on the floor. Locking the cell behind him, he sat on top of her. Trailing his hands down her body as he did before, he pointed his glowing staff towards her eyes. She fought it, despite how much he decided to explore her to get you to concede. Frustration overtook him and he pulled out the weapon they trio saw with the blood blossom experiment. Fear flashed Heathers eyes only briefly, until she was writhing in pain. Electricity flew into her causing her muscles to spasm painfully. Screams echoed loudly as the trio tried to drown them out. "Stop it!" Tucker finally snapped, covering his ears with his hands. It was the first time he had spoken in days. "What are you trying to accomplish!" Sam followed suit. Freakshow smirked at her. He lifted his weapon and pointed it towards her in the cell. Electricity erupted in her body and Sam fell to the ground screaming. "SAM!" Danny shouted, watching in horror as his best friends writhed in pain. Tucker ran to her side, attempting to help her in any way he could. Heather lay on the floor panting. She looked over at Sam and upon seeing her discomfort, her eyes glowed red. She rolled over, picking herself up and stood shakily. Freakshow gave her a devilish look, thinking that he had finally controlled her again. He was taken back when she lifted her hand and shot a powerful red ectoblast at him. He flew backwards and smashed against the wall, spurted blood out of his mouth. His staff had shattered next to him and he begged for his life. She lifted up her hand again. "Heather don't!" Danny yelled at her. "This isn't you!" She turned towards him, and Danny took a few steps back. Her eyes glowed a fierce red and anger was prominent in them. Fear flashed over her face periodically, and he could tell that she was trying to resurface. "Heather, please. It's not worth it." She lowered her hand and her eyes faded back to blue. She gave Danny a small smile before she passed out, blood dripping from her nose. "Well it looks like we are getting closer after all." A voice spoke in the darkness. The sergeant stepped forward and picked Heather up from the floor. Some of her blood dripped onto his pristine white suit and he groaned. "Fill out form AB in stain file 24. I have a blood stain breech in sector zero-theta." He said to one of the other agents, the man nodded and ran off. "Where are you taking her?" Danny demanded, anger boiling inside him. The sergeant sneered in his direction, annoyed at the young boy's naïve ambition. "Don't worry, we will bring her back eventually." He remarked and then vanished. Danny looked to Tucker and then to Sam. He had a growing nervousness inside his stomach. Something was going to happen and he could feel it. He looked to his friends and saw their brokenness. It resonated in him and brought him back to reality. While in his prion he was no hero, he was a pawn. Overwhelmed, Danny laid down on the bed eventually falling asleep. When Danny woke, he found Heather standing over him, watching with a peculiar look on her face. He sat up and rubbed his eyes to see you better. Her appearance was disheveled and her face looked confused. Red eyes glowed at him but they did not show anger as before, but rather they showed lust and revenge, He glanced over her figure and realized that 90% of her clothes were missing, He stood and backed away from her. "Heather?" He whispered. She smirked as a response and closed the distance between them. She shoved him harshly into the wall and ripped his white t shirt, exposing the lengthy scare on his chest. She attacked his lips with hunger, catching in him off guard. He fought hard not to respond but his body's desire outweighed his will to fight. He felt almost as if she was starting to control him too. She started trailing kisses down his neck and rubbing her hand over his pants. "I told you Tucker." She shouted abruptly. "His body is so much better than yours." Danny mentally told her to stop but he found the words couldn't leave his mouth. He told himself to push her away but his body wouldn't respond. He internally started to panic as his body was enjoying the actions she was performing on him. "His body definition is delicious and he's much better than you'll ever be." Heather continued. Tucker curled into a ball in his cell, refusing to watch any more of this. She kissed him again, hungrier than before. Danny's eyes showed frustration as he wouldn't respond to his mental commands. "Heather stop this!" Sam shouted. "You're hurting him." "Why should I listen to you? You'll always be second best compared to me." She bit back, amusement painting her face as Danny moaned. He glanced at Sam, who stood in shock at what she was watching. He pleaded with her with his eyes, his mouth unable to speak."Isn't it beautiful?" the sergeant appeared, laughing at the situation. "She's so close to her awaking that her power to take over another is showing through. We had to help her of course, we gave her a specifically designed drug that prohibits Heather herself from fighting the will of the power. She's mentally just aware of what's happening as you are Phantom, and just like you, she can't stop it." "Heather! Don't let him control you!" Sam shouted again. Heather laughed. "Tsk Sam. Don't be so jealous. I'm a Goth with ghost powers. I'm basically you but a hundred times more attractive. You and Tucker can't deny that Danny and I are perfect. He's the hero that Amity always wanted, I can actually help him in his fights and you two? Well you two just get in the way." She laughed again, stopping her rhythm with Danny. He groaned at the loss of contact, trying to pull her back towards him. His eyes flashed red and glowed, indicating that he was fully under her control now. "Would you agree Daniel?" She smirked as he arched his back. "Yes" he gasped, his back arching a little. He felt a sudden feeling of fear flow through his body and looked to Heather. Her eyes started to show specks of blue and he realized the fear he was feeling was hers. "SHUT UP YOU FREAK!" Sam screamed as tears took a free-fall from her eyes. She was jealous from Heather in the beginning, afraid that she would be replaced, but she knew to expect better from the boys and they would easily make room for the two for the two of them. She wasn't afraid but somehow Heather's words felt as if she was actually experiencing the rejection. Tucker refused to look at the situation and Sam could tell he was experience the same thing, "Heather" Danny whispered, attempting to go towards her. Out of fear, she shoved him back against the wall. He started to see blue peak through the red in her eyes more and he found himself obtaining will power. She looked up at him and the red glowed again. Surfacing under her trance, he pulled her closer to his chest and kissed her fiercely, signaling his alliance. Breaking apart, they faced the other cell and transformed into their ghost forms. "This must be bittersweet for you dear children." The sergeant cackled sarcastically. "You get to watch your friend be completely destroyed and you're too hopeless to fight back." Sam refused to look up as she sobbed on the ground, and Tucker had stopped crying but stared off in silence. Heather ripped the bars off the cell she and Danny were in, allowing the two ghost access out. She pushed the sergeant harshly out of the way and grabbed the electrocution gun he had on his belt. She opened the opposite cell door, and gave Danny the gun. Using ecto-goo, Heather pinned Sam and Tucker to the floor, ordering Danny to shoot. He took turns electrocuting the two friends, their screams echoing vibrantly. It felt like hours since the torture began and Heather finally ordered Danny to stop. She was about to command him again, when her hand flew to her head and her eyes faltered blue. Danny was released as well, falling to the ground on his knees. Dread filled their eyes as they saw Sam and Tucker on the ground. Danny moved to help Tucker while Heather helped Sam. "Stay the hell away from me!" Sam screamed as Heather knelt down before her. "You and your freak villainous powers!" Her words hit heather like a knife and she back away harshly. She circled around slowly to see Tucker, who refused to look at either of them. Glancing at Danny, He looked at her with distress and anger. Heartbreak overwhelmed Heather and her strength was lost. She backed away out of the cell, hitting the sergeant who was waiting for her. He grabbed her, covering her mouth with his hand and silently dragged her away. The trio was too lost in their grief to notice. Tears flowed down Heather's face as she was thrown into the lab. The anguish she saw in their faces broke her and she could feel the power flow through her again. Pain was always brought on to her, but never had she brought pain onto someone else. Sam words engraved in her head. Did she really have villainous powers? She had already known she was a freak but villainous? Maybe she was right. After all the things she had said to Tucker and to Sam, and even after all the things she did to Danny. She was a villain, there was no way getting around it. "Well done" the Sergeant beamed. "You're friends hate you." Heather glared at him. Her eyes flashed red and it took her by surprise. "You can feel it can't you? Pariah's power flowing through you? It's only a matter of time before you transform and there's nothing that can stop you." He stepped away from her and she collapsed on the floor. A pain erupted in her side causing her to whimper. The sergeant returned with a single blood blossom and placed it next to her. The pain doubled and Heather's eyes glowed completely red. She writhed and yelled, attempting to stop the transformation. The pain erupted in her entire body and her back arched. She let out a shriek which turned into a growl. She turned into her hands and knees, throwing up blood. Her body writhed again and this time two crooked wings erupted from her spine, causing her to shriek again. The more they grew the louder her screams became. Once her wings sprouted, her eyes grew completely red, no pupil or whites in sight. Her smile was psychotic and her body completely pale. Her hair became strictly black, and flowed eerily around her. Grunts could be heard from her direction as she slumped over slightly. Silence erupted from the lab before she turned and lunged at the sergeant. Danny look at his friends with grief in his heart. They looked so broken, like fragile china that was dropped carelessly. He hated how torn they appeared and he wanted to fix it. He leaned down towards Sam and ran his hands through her hair. She adjusted herself, putting her head in his lap, as tears started down her face again. Tucker sat up but his head was still down. "You know she wasn't being herself." Danny whispered to them, including to himself. "None of it is true you know. I rely heavily on the two of you in ghost fighting. We are a team. Tucker you're an amazing guy, and girls are blind not to see that. And Sam, we could never replace you. You're one of a kind people, and my best friends." A tear slid down his face as he said the words. They looked to him and nodded, acknowledging his statements but struggling to believe them. As for Danny, he couldn't believe what had taken place between him and Heather. She had willingly given herself to him, but why? Why did she control him? What was going on? He looked up from the floor to find her, but she was nowhere to be seen. He glanced around frantically but was alarmed at a piercing scream that erupted from the lab. The trio looked at each other in fear as they bolted upright, walking out of the cell that was carelessly left open. They heard another shrill scream followed by a growl. As they neared the end of the hall, glass shattering and different yells were heard before it became completely silent. Danny reached out to open the door to the lab but paused. He grabbed Sam's hand and in return she grabbed Tucker's. He opened the door slowly and gasped at what he saw. The lab was in shambles, tables broken in pieces, glass shattered, and open wires sparked where devices and lights were once connected. The walls were dented and holed, traces of blood splattered here and there. As they walked through, they noticed the sergeant laying on the floor, his midsection completely ripped apart and his blood dripped down the wall he was thrown against. "What happened here?" Tucker gulped, the need to vomit arising in his throat. "I don't know, but I know it's not good." Danny muttered, his heart pounding in his chest. The trio jumped at a spontaneous growl and grew faint at the sight before them. Heather was standing there, crooked wings protruding out her back and her eyes redder than they had ever been. Her arms were completely dripping from blood and her expression scared them. "Heather?" Danny whispered. She turned to him and cocked her head to the side. She gave them a deranged smile, stepping towards them. This wasn't the same girl they had met before, this was the monster the Guys in White tried to create. They succeeded and the trio new what that meant. They had to rescue her. "The world is mine!" She cackled, her smile growing wider. "You will all belong to me!" Her voice sent shivers down their spines, the eerie undertones that masked her real voice made her sound insane. "Heather this isn't you! This is the embedded part of Pariah in you!" Danny shouted. She smirked, lifting her hand and preparing an ectoblast. Danny went ghost and turned his friends intangible. The blast hit the wall behind them, causing a hole to melt into it. Laughing, Heather flew into the air and blasted her way out of the lab. The trio stood there afraid, looking up at the crumbling building. "We have to stop her." Sam spoke slowly, her heart still beating out of her chest. "And we have to do it without hurting her." Danny added. They nodded. Agents stormed into the lab with weapons. Danny turned his friends intangible again, flying through the roof and into the sky. Alarms were sounding left and right as they got away, attempting to follow their troubled friend. Once they reached a safe distance away, they tried to figure out the direction she went. "Where are we?" Tucker said confused."No idea, I was unconscious the last time we left here" Danny said, looking at their surroundings attempting to find a location. "What's going to happen to us?" Sam asked suddenly, her eyes filling with tears again. She was never emotional, but the torture over the time they were captured took a toll on her. Danny placed his hand on her shoulder and gave her a sad smile. "Sam, I don't know, but right now we need to focus on helping Heather. I just don't know how to get out of here." He replied. A gust of wind picked up and the trio looked up to see a familiar helicopter. "Get in!" Vlad shouted as the helicopter landed near them. They ran and jumped inside, hoping Vlad would explain everything. "What are you doing here?" Danny asked, hesitant on being so close to his arch nemesis. "Your friend is in Amity. She's starting her process of world domination there." The older man replied, slightly scoffing at the overdramatic idea. It was like something out of a comic book. "Why is she starting in Amity?" Sam questioned. "Why not just start here?""Heather is still inside her body, she has been pushed aside by the dark entity of Pariah's power. Her emotions still stand, even though she is controlled. Her actions will take precedence on what she feels, so she probably has a reason." Vlad shook his head. "It's twisted, what the Guys in White did to her."Danny's face blushed bright red as he thought back into the cell just hours ago. "So if she's guided by her emotions then she will act on what she feels?" he asked. Vlad turned his head in confusion at his unexpected blush while Sam smacked him. "Focus Danny. You can't forget what else happened." Sadness filled his eyes at the recollection. If she did what she said because of any feeling she had for him, then does that mean the things she said was based off what she felt about Sam and Tucker? "I'm assuming things went on back there?" Vlad asked cautiously. "You don't know the half of it." Tucker shivered. Vlad gave them a sympathetic look."Was she drugged back there by chance?" he inquired, giving the three a nervous look. "We don't know" Danny replied. "Why? Is that important?""Well yes. If Heather makes the transformation on her own accord, she should be able to come back to us normally, but if she was drugged, it's possible that the combination will overwhelm her body and essentially kill her." Silence fell between them at Vlad's last statement. No matter the damage that they had forced her to do, the three didn't want Heather dead. She was there friend after all. "Vlad," Danny's voice was barely audible. "The last time you found us, how bad was it?" The older man fell silent for several moments before he opened his mouth to respond. "Let's just say, I don't think I have ever witnessed that much blood." He paused, contemplating his next sentence. "You know, Heather watched your parents rush towards you when we landed. I watched emptiness fill her eyes as she went into questioning. She was caked in her own blood for hours before she could wipe the memories from her body. She was completely alone. I don't know her as well, but Daniel, she watched over you the entire way after we rescued the both of you. I am asking you as a friend, don't let that go to waste." Vlad turned his attention over to Sam and Tucker, continuing on with this speech. "I don't know what happened between the four of you back there, but the Guys in White would stop at nothing to transform Heather. She had always been a pawn, ever since they learned of her existence. They wanted something powerful they could kill for leisure, because they obtain more of a profit off it. Whatever they used her for, it was completely their doing, I know it hurt, but don't blame Heather for it." Sam started crying again, and Tucker and Danny pulled their knees up to their chest. Vlad sighed. "She needs her friends more than anything right now."