Negative Feedback (Danny Phantom Fic)

Chapter 30

RECAP: 

Their hands were up in 'we surrender' poses, and Camry cringed away from the nearest person only to bump into Tucker's arm. "Sorry..." 

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All six armed teens formed a near semi-circle around Tucker and Camry, who didn't dare move when just as many ray guns were focused on their heads. A few were talking at once, nervously chattering the first fearful thoughts to enter their brain. 

"What the heck is going on?"

"Who are you, really?" 

"Oh my god, oh my god...!"

"Brooke, what do we do?" someone who had yet to speak yet asked their leader. The sound of his voice, which carried the faintest trace of a romantic language in its undertones, all but stopped Camry's nonexistent heart. 

"I..." Brooke choked, clearly as unprepared for this as all the others with her. 

"Wait a sec, whoa there!" Tucker piped up, his hands still raised. "We're not enemies, guys!"

"W-W--" Camry-- or Relle, as far as these scavengers knew-- stuttered in a breaking voice before she cleared her throat. "We're here to help!"

Gazes hidden behind goggles rapidly flipped between the two of them and their leader, who looked puzzled at such a statement. "Help? Help, how?"

Tucker gave her a sidelong glance as a prompt to keep talking, which is exactly what she forced herself to do. "W-We know about the snake-- the one that's probably been causing all the disappearances around town. That's why we're here, okay? We want to stop him a-and try to fix my-- all of this. This huge mess. Ugh, just-- I-I can't think straight with you guys pointing guns at me, alright?"

That same boy with the faint accent murmured something under his breath at the same time she did, and their eyes met for the briefest of seconds. She couldn't see any part of his face because of how bundled up he was, but it was evident by the way she visibly seemed to relax that she was comforted by his presence. 

Brooke cleared her throat conspicuously and only lowered her weapon a few inches. "Well, we're not gonna not protect ourselves, got it? That's just stupid. But if you guys really do want to help us... maybe we can take you back with us."

"What?" more than one person exclaimed in protest. 

A girl with a single, fraying black braid down the middle of her back spun to face her leader. "Brooke, we can't risk the safety of everyone back at Delta Pin! And what do we do with them when we get back, huh? Just let them wander around or something?"

"No, we'll keep an eye on them," Brooke answered calmly. Her mind had been made up. "Because if they put one foot out of line, they'll regret it." She eyed both Tucker and Camry sternly in a way that clearly said she meant business, and both awkwardly chuckled without moving their arms from their surrendering positions. 

The guns were lowered slowly, hesitantly, and the two 'prisoners' breathed out twin sighs of audible relief. "You're gonna keep your hands where we can see them, got it?" the same girl that had talked back to Brooke barked suddenly. "And you." The menacing end of her ray gun was back up and jabbing Camry firmly in the chest. She flinched in response but didn't try to push it away. "You'd better not do that again. I'm warning you."

"Hey, whoa," the accented boy piped up suddenly as he pulled down the bandana from around his mouth. His gloved hand fell on her shoulder, and he pulled her back gently. "Tone it down, alright? Maybe they really can help."