Room 2342

[gone_byebye]

Ray had considered clearing as much of his stuff out of his room as possible for the impromptu containment facility for Dan Phantom, but it eventually came down to this: for the kind of work he was going to be doing, carpeting was out of the question. So he asked the Bar politely for a room key, away from too many other people, and he'd gotten it: 2342.

Room 2342 was of an acceptable size for two people to stay in, but was by and large devoid of furniture at the moment. This was largely because he'd had to cover the floor, the walls, and the ceiling with enough geomantic patterns and cuneiform incantations to make his hand fall off from writer's cramp. He'd installed the other layers of protection after that: the theta-wave blocking material of the Men in Black, the magnetic bottling normally used in controlling antimatter pellets, the local-area Fenton Ghost Shield... and several standard-issue ghost traps, some rigged with stomp pedals, some with wireless control. The sensory instruments he felt most necessary were aligned and in place. He had his proton pack on, and his 'sabre hung at his belt as usual.

Everything, it seemed, was in order.

He hoped.

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Dan kept fiddling with the broken remains of the trap.

He shook his head, thinking. "You are a smart one, aren't you. I guess I won't be getting you to leave me alone, huh."

Standing, he clutched the power cell and the wires he rigged up as a conduit and grinned.

"Although, I want to know: What possessed you to use my parents' tech to trap me, Ray?"

Then it seemed that his body blurred, and there were two of him, and then four--and that's all that would fit.

All of them then said, "...And did you think that it would hold all of me?"

Jamming the power cell into a juncture where the rotating fields overlapped--a weak point he knew existed because he knew his parents' technology so well--there was a spark and a crackle as the field changed color to a sickly greenish yellow, sparks flying off of it.

In cohesion, all four of him started to scream, ghostly wails that sounded like the voices of the dying over the wind. The field shorted out and the power source Ray had it connected to exploded. As the ways of undulating sound hit the traps, they exploded, too.

All four Dan's laughed, smoking debris scattered across the floor, and they merged back together once more. "One down, only one to go, Ray."

He flew forward towards the outer shield, only to smack headfirst into an invisible field in between. He tried phasing but bounced off again, then pounded ecto-laden fists against it in anger.

[gone_byebye]

Ray smiled, though probably he shouldn't have. "No, probably not-"

Then the multiplication started, and Ray's face dropped like a brick. He ducked his head, instinctively clamping his hands over the top of his head- and his forearms over his ears. They weren't as effective as they ought to have been, so his ears were still ringing when the explosions died away. Reflexively shivering, he dropped his arms-

And then smiled. It was a faintly shaky expression, but it was a well-earned smile.

"Redundancy, Danny," he said. "That's what. I like to cover all my bases. There are things out there potentially more dangerous than you, and I'm all too aware that one day I may have to deal with them. I wouldn't be working with some of the organizations that I do if I weren't such a fan of redundancy. Now, if you'll excuse me..." He stood up. "I've been consuming a really phenomenal amount of caffeine lately. I have to go see a man about a horse, but I'll be back."

He inclined his head and made for the door.

[goinghost.livejournal.com]

Angry, red eyes followed him as he left.