Negative Feedback (Danny Phantom Fic)

Chapter 35

The quake felled each and every one of them, even as Danny reached out to Sam in an effort to steady her throughout all the shaking and Tucker tumbled over onto the pile consisting of Camry and Dude. Lake water threatened to wash over them as it sloshed further and further up the shore, caused by an incredibly large shape emerging out of the blue. Pebbles flew and showered over their heads, but when the metaphorical dust settled the heroic teens shook them out of their hair and rose to their unsteady feet.

"Guyyys, get off!" Camry called out urgently, her voice muffled by Dude's arm thrown haphazardly over her face. Both he and Tucker fumbled for their bearings and rolled away, leaving Camry free to sit up and lean back on her hands. The tide reached up just far enough to soak through the seat and legs of her jumpsuit, and she fought back a shiver while a grimace crossed her face. She didn't hesitate to accept Dude's offered hand up.

He likely would have apologized for squishing her as well, but before the words could fully form in his brain they were swept aside to make room for processing the sight that lay before him-- before all of them. Risen out of the water and extending all the way to a patch of beachfront a few yards to their collective left, a huge platform made out of the lake bed waited. The top was just a few feet higher than the surface of the settling water, and it reached far out toward the center of the lake.

As if that wasn't weird enough, there was one more oddity that completely overshadowed everything else in their current situation. Rows upon rows of green, oblong orbs sat perfectly still, their bases flattened so as not to tip them over. Most looked to be about the same size, though a few scattered throughout the veritable army-like array stood taller and/or wider than others. 

No one said anything at first. Camry pressed a fist against her sternum, her gaze super glued to the supernatural scene. Was this Crom's doing? There was hardly any other explanation for it. 

His previous words, spoken at a time that felt like ages ago, echoed through her head and elicited a sharp inhale. "Th-This was his plan!"

"A feast," Danny murmured, also unable to look away. A shudder passed through his body, and he crossed his arms over himself to retain a little human warmth. "Just like you said, Cam."

"H-He... He was going to do what he did to me, but to the whole city," she continued, though it was beginning to become clear to everyone else regardless of her harried hypothesis. "I was his practice--"

"Well, then, we've gotta get them out of those things, right?" Dude asked rhetorically, already taking the lead in running to where the rocky, damp pier met the shore. "What're we waiting for?"

The trio from another dimension followed after him in a cluster, and Camry was right on their heels when a hand seized hers and prompted her to pause and look back. Saoirse's steely gaze met her anxious eyes, and the taller girl quickly let go. "If you're trying anything, don't think I won't try to stop you." She ground her words out around her tight jaw.

"C'mon, Saoirse. You know me better than that," was all Relle had to say quietly in reply. 

They dashed after the group and met up with them by the nearest green pod. Against all recommendations, Dude had already pressed a curious hand against the slick surface and found it to be somewhat rubbery in texture and sturdiness. The vaguely translucent material offered the sight of a rough silhouette of a person inside; they were likely frozen in suspended animation, to the most optimistic of thinkers. 

 "Any ideas?" he asked simply, poking the pod experimentally. 

"Tech's gonna be pretty useless here, I think," Tucker responded thoughtfully, his PDA safely tucked away in a pocket of his cargo shorts. "Unless one of you's got something futuristic and cool up your sleeves."