PHM x DP AU
Part 1
Less than 24 hours after receiving that email, Stratt strode up to the Ghost Investigation Ward building, Grace following two steps behind as always.
The building was unassuming. A windowless, grey structure stood proudly in front of them, caged in by tall fences and guarded by a manned gate that required authorization to enter through. Stratt, of course, held any authorization she deemed necessary, so their entry was permitted, much to the guard’s dismay.
Grace had done some research into “ecto-science” at Stratt’s request. It was alarmingly difficult to find any sort of reliable information on the subject, but after some digging, he found a few retracted scientific journals by Madeline and Jack Fenton, information published by the GIW, and a news article about protests happening in Amity Park following the capture of the ecto-entity called Danny Phantom. Given the email Stratt had received, Grace assumed the protests had been in vain.
All the research he could find suggested that ecto-entities were not sentient, despite having the appearance of being as such, and were more like an empty echo of the human they once were. They were often destructive, and especially liked to harm humans, thought to be jealous of humans for still clinging to life while the ghosts had passed on.
In all honesty, the most shocking part of all this was finding out that ghosts were real. That had required taking a seat for a moment to collect his thoughts and rethink his world-view, something he had already once done recently on account of aliens being real. His time since meeting Stratt had been shocking to say the least.
A man met them as they entered the building. He was tall and imposing, with a pristine, white suit and sunglasses despite being inside.
“I’m Operative K. I will be supervising your visit.”
Stratt offered a handshake as she introduced herself, but the man did not move to accept it.
He guided them down a hallway, then into an elevator, then down several more white white white hallways, until they came upon a door.
“I will warn you, the subject is difficult to work with. It will attempt a scared child routine, beg for its life, ask to be freed, et cetera. This is not real; It does this as a means of manipulating humans to get what it wants. Ghosts cannot feel physical or emotional pain, so anything you might see in there is an act. Am I understood?”
Stratt and Grace both nodded, and Grace steeled himself as Operative K scanned his keycard, typed a passcode, and lowered his sunglasses for a retina scan.
The door hissed open and they were ushered into an equally white room. With the bright LED lights glaring from above, it was almost blinding to step inside, and he suddenly understood why they wore those ridiculous spectacles. As his eyes adjusted, he took in the room around him.
Along one side of the room was a counter, across which were strewn a variety of devices, tools, and medical equipment. In the middle of the room sat a metal examination table, prepped and ready for use. There were security cameras in the corners and on the ceiling, all pointed in the same direction. On the other side of the room, where all the cameras were aimed, was a glass cell, glowing faintly green with what he assumed must be some sort of anti-ecto energy.
And in the cell was… A kid.
Not a kid, Grace reminded himself, an ecto-entity. A ghost.
The not-kid was huddled up in the corner, his knees pulled up to his chest, his head resting on his arms. His white hair hung down to cover whatever they may have been able to see of his face.
The boy was too skinny, and he didn’t breathe at all, which gave him more the appearance of a corpse than a person. Still, Grace could have been convinced the boy was a human had it not been for the flickering glow that emanated off of him.
Stratt looked to Grace, then nodded her head towards the cell.
Great, she wants me to talk to it.
He approached the cell and knelt down to be more eye-level with the kid.
“Hey, uh, I’m Doctor Grace. We’re here to speak with you.”
The ghost didn’t respond. Didn’t even move. Just kept sitting there in the corner, wrapped tightly around itself on the floor.
He tried again. “We wanted to talk to Danny Phantom. That’s you, right?”
Still nothing.
“Guess it’s feeling shy today.” Operative K had an evil grin on his face as he pressed a button to reveal a panel next to the cell. “This’ll make it a little more talkative.”
The kid screamed as electricity shot through him. Grace couldn’t help but cringe as Phantom twitched and tensed as wave after wave of electric shock pulsed through him. When it was over, he collapsed in a heap on the floor, still twitching. Grace tried to keep his calm. It was just a ghost, after all. Every article he could find said they couldn’t really feel anything, that they couldn’t feel pain. Phantom was fine.
After a few seconds, the kid propped himself up on his elbows, and a few tears slid down his cheeks as he slowly sat up.
“Try again. It should be more responsive now.” The smile across K’s face indicated there would be consequences if the ghost still wouldn’t talk.
Grace shrugged it off.
“Hi, Danny. I’m Doctor Grace. We came here to meet you.”
The ghost did respond this time, but only by rolling his eyes and making a snide comment about more quack scientists wanting to pick him apart. K hit the button again, and more electricity tore through the ghost’s body.
Once he recovered once more from the shocks, Grace pushed on.
“We’re seeking out resources for a mission to save the human race. We heard you have some abilities that could help us out. Care to tell us a bit about yourself?”
The kid grunted as he pushed himself back up to a seated position against the back wall. “What kind of mission would get the Guys In White to willingly give up their favourite science experiment?”
The boy clutched at his chest, which was now rising and falling rapidly, as if he was breathing. The sight was strange. And now that they could see his face, Grace was taken by the toxic green of his eyes. He focused all his attention on that to distract himself from how painfully human the kid seemed, the eyes serving as a reminder that he was dealing with an unfeeling ecto-entity, not a person.
“It involves going to space.” He recalled how the email had said the ghost loved space; was obsessed with it. He watched as the kid’s eyes lit up for just a moment, star-like freckles dancing across his cheeks, before fading once more as his eyes drifted to Operative K, still hovering over the control panel. His gaze darkened, like he had momentarily forgotten where he was, but then was painfully reminded.
He’s a ghost, not a real person.
“I can’t help you.”
Grace transitioned from kneeling to sitting cross-legged on the floor. “I don’t think that’s true, kid. I heard you’ve got a lot of abilities that could really help us out on a space mission.”
“Maybe,” the kid shrugged, “but it’s not like these guys would ever let me out of their sight. They own me.”
Stratt chimed in from behind him. “I actually have the authority to use whatever resources I deem necessary for this mission. If we deem you useful, you would come with us.”
Operative K seemed to bristle at the reminder that he could lose his favourite pet project, but he said nothing.
“Ask K over here, then. I’m a ghost. I’ll just lie to you.” He crossed his arms and shoved himself back in the corner, pointedly avoiding looking at any of them.
That was that, then. The kid could hold a conversation, at the very least, even if he didn’t seem keen on it at the moment.
“I need all the files you have on the subject. Dr. Grace will review them and we will come to retrieve your ghost in 24 hours if we decide he will be of use.” Stratt turned toward the door and left without another word.
Grace gave a nod to Operative K, took one last glance at the boy in the cell, and turned to follow Stratt. The boy was staring at him, those big, green eyes boring holes into him, like he was searching desperately for a reason to trust them. Grace reminded himself again that the ghost was known for making itself seem human to manipulate, that it was all an act. He needed to treat it like the creature it was, not the creature it was desperately trying to imitate. _________________________________
Grace felt nauseous as the memory faded. He had been complicit. He saw this kid getting tortured and he thought nothing of it. He agreed to put this poor, traumatised child, only a few years older than his own students, on a suicide mission.
Danny looked at him weird from across the ship, but Grace waved him off and gathered himself, pretended like nothing happened. He couldn’t help the resentment building up in his gut, resentment for himself, for his actions, his inaction, his cowardice. He would make it up to this boy, somehow. He would find a way to repent for what he had allowed to happen.
