Let's play: Operation

Some things are too good to be true.

The idea of finding a perfect family, one that doesn't pry into the past, must have been too much to ask. With my mother, my every movement was noted, reported back to Grandfather for my progress. With Jack and Maddie, I'm lucky to see them at dinner, if at all. That's one aspect I had hoped would carry over as Phantom.

But you never get everything you want.

3 weeks prior earlier

"Get back here, you ghost scum," shouts Jack, out of breath.

They've been chasing me for 3 hours. Somehow between the time I left for school and got back, they had managed to perfect a new weapon. I don't know what they plan to do with it, but getting hit would be a bad idea. They've shot it off a couple times, blasting massive amounts of electricity into the air. Why, of all things, electricity. They are always preaching human safety, and what do they do? Make a weapon that incapacitates both humans and ghosts.

' Great job, guys,' I think, rolling my eyes.

I hear the gun start to whirl to life. Without looking back, I dodge the blast, going intangible at the last second. I speed up, using a burst of energy, and sore intangibly through the sky, hoping to, this time, get out of range. I watch Maddie release the boomerang, and it comes right for me. I wait for it to get close, and then I take a nose-dive into the streets. I fly down into the sewers and pop back up a few feet away. I see the boomerang lying on the concrete, parts smashed from the impact, and Jack and Maddie on the way. I leave as quietly as possible and, while still intangible, turn back into Fenton. I fly low to the ground, weaving around buildings and cars, as I go back to Fenton works and reappear in my bedroom.

I wait for the telltale sign of them coming home. I don't have to wait for long as I hear the G.A.V. pull up in the driveway, " you almost had it, Maddie-cakes," he says as they walk into the house, almost sounding placating.

" Almost isn't enough," she says, raising her voice, " that thing is a menace! Look at what it did today! We have to fix the boomerang again. We just did that. When will it stop, Jack, terrorizing us good people."

"Come on, you sound like you need some fudge," Jack says. Maddie doesn't respond. The next thing I hear is the lab door hinges whine as the house starts to shake when the door slams shut.

I can't help but think, 'she's gonna be down there for a while," as I stare at the full Phantom thermos.

For the next few hours, I fiddle around with homework or anything else to keep me busy as I wait for the sound of tools down below to stop. It isn't until after midnight that it does, but instead of silence, a gut-wrenching wail reverberates throughout the house. The only one's home are Jack, Maddie, and I, with Jazz staying at a friend's house. Without thinking, I immediately stop what I am doing, turn into Phantom, and fly to the basement.

I see unknown ghosts in cages, Maddie and Jack, in white hazmat suits, with face coverings looming over a restrained spirit. One of them sees me and is about to speak, so I place a finger over my lips as if saying, 'shhh.' Then, while Jack and Maddie are distracted, I open up the portal and start breaking them out of cages. I watch as they sneak out of the lab and back to the realms one by one. I had just opened the last cage when I heard, " you!" being screamed towards my back. I push the last of the ghosts out the door as Jack and Maddie reach for their weapons. Jack starts firing, completely missing me, scorching the walls. While Maddie gets in close with a knife and starts slashing. I duck under her arm and kick her feet from under her before racing to the examination table. A middle-aged woman is strapped down by her wrist and ankles with glowing ant-ecto metal cuffs.

" Behind you!" they cry as an ecto-beam flies past my face. I whip around to see Jack getting ready to take another shot. I fire off a weak one of my own, making him stagger as it clips him in the shoulder. While I'm distracted, Maddie comes up from behind me and slashes through my shoulder. The blade gets stuck in me, with Maddie's hand still on the hilt. I grab her wrist, break her hold, and take out the knife. I hit her on the side hard, and she gets pushed toward the cages. I immediately go towards the tools, grab a screwdriver, and break the woman out of the restraints. I pick her up in a princess carry and rush towards the portal. Right before we get in, I feel needles crawl up my spine as I'm hit by that weapon from earlier, being hit with a shit ton of electricity. My joints lock, unable to move, and I fall back. The woman staggers on impact and watches in fear as Jack and Maddie come closer.

Our eyes meet, " it's okay, go."

She shakes her head, " What about–"

I cut her off, " Don't worry about me. Just get out of here. Make sure the others are okay."

Still looking uncertain, she backs into the portal, saying in ghost speak, " Be strong, Your Highness, help is on the way," before being enveloped in green.

Jack tries to pick me up, but I flop around in his arms, trying to get away. " Oh, stop it," Maddie says, trying to be threatening, but I don't listen. She rushes off to the side and comes back with a giant mallet, and the next thing I know, I see stars. They drag me over to the examination table and strap me down. The restraints are tight. I try to wiggle out of them, causing me to get another hit to the head, and the world fades to black.

When I come to the echo of blades, mar my skin.

They ache, a flaying sensation clinging to my bones. Exasperated by the burning chill of the examination table, I'm left feeling breathless. Forcing me to focus on my spewing chest. Watching it rise and fall in anticipation. Waiting for what could be my final breath to come and go.

For the pain to stop.

I look down at my body, over the restraints, and find myself naked. They added another restraint to keep my chest down, and just below it is a Y- incision cutting through several layers of skin and ectoplasm. They start peeling back my skin and pinning it down with clamps. Finally, they put some kind of machine in between the initial incision. Jack's hands move toward the device and start cranking it.

The pain comes immediately.

It is as if my chest is torn into two. Ligaments and tendons popping out of place with each crank, ripping me apart. Until they create a cavity big enough for both of their hands to fit through.

Their touch feels wrong.

Like a tickling sensation that's gone on for too long, it becomes painful until they start to pull. Yanking on parts that shouldn't move, scooping them out of me, not caring how they'll be put back.

If they could be put back.

They move slowly, carefully holding parts, weighing them, taking samples, and storing some in jars. Electrified Phantom pains rushed through me with each of their movements. I can't help but Flinch at their prodding, squishing of parts, of me.

They peel my skin back further to get a better look inside. They Nick at my arteries, watching how I bleed, how fast it'll stop. Watching if ectoplasm can clot like blood. It can, but what they're watching isn't solely ectoplasm, so it takes longer than full ghosts. Finally, they get Annoyed at the slow pace and come back with a blowtorch to cauterize my wounds.

They wouldn't want me to bleed out too fast, after all.

I've tried to stay quiet, not wanting them to get the satisfaction, but when the fire touches me, I can't help but plead, " stop. Please, I'll–," they cut me off, laughing at my pleads at my cries, finding it funny.

That is, until they stop finding me amusing.

" Would you shut up?" Maddie says through clenched teeth.

" Please," I say once more, hoping that, for once, she will listen, but it does no good. She throws her hands up in annoyance and walks away from the table.

Jack's house what he's doing and follows her, " Maddie-cakes, what do you have there?"

I can hear a smirk in her voice as she says, " don't worry about it. get behind its head," he does so, " I want you to squish his mouth shut just like this." She instructs him where to place his hands and shows him how to close my jaw shut and push my head down. His grip is tight, making it hard to breathe. Once satisfied, she climbs on the table and positions herself over me. I was expecting a muzzle, but it seems like they weren't prepared for me to be making any noise. I watch as she pulls a small needle and wire out in front of me and places it right under my lip. She smushes them together and pokes it through.

I scream, almost going into my whail, as the pain causes my eyes to water. She doesn't stop, doesn't look sorry, but laughs. The screaming only makes it worse. It makes the wire go through roughly, sliding through the holes and making them bleed until they are raw.

It didn't take long for them to force my mouth shut.

I can't help the whimpers that escape.

Once done with that, Maddie climbs off the table and returns to work. Their attention has shifted to my bones. I watch as they count them and note the color and size.

That information wasn't enough for them.

Once again, they walk away and come back only a moment later. I look at Jack's hands, and in them are big, heavy, rusted pliers. I couldn't even think of the implications until they stuck them in me.

I can feel their cool roughness on my insides when a sudden tightening comes into my chest. The pressure grows until I find myself breaking, shattering, when there all of a sudden, there is a loud crunch.

One of them, I'm not sure which, pulls out with an ectoplasmic bloody, messed up glove, part of my rib. They only got a small part, but that's all they needed. With that much gone, they could access a milky white substance.

Bone marrow.

It's all just too much.

Everything feels as if I'm burning as if my nerves are crying out for it to stop. Causing me to feel a sensory overload.

They keep it up uninterrupted for hours.

Until they just suddenly stop.

They look at each other satisfied with their work. My blood covers their Hazmat suits, like a piece of Modern Art.

And just like that, they were done.

" you were great with that chest spreader," says Maddie, " I didn't realize how hard it was going to be to split it open."

He lets out a low chuckle with a hint of a blush on his face," oh, it was nothing. But you, sewing it's now shut, that took some skill."

Maddie loops her arms around Jack's neck and whispers, " I'm so proud of you. You did great." He leans down and gives her a long soft kiss before going in for a hug.

It only lasts a couple moments as he spots the clock on the back wall, " Damn, look at the time."

Maddie whips her head around and says, "We've been working all night," she stretches as she walks over to the corner and starts taking off the bloody hazmat suit. " The kids should be up soon,"

He kisses her forehead, " what do you say to going out for breakfast with the kids?" She hums in thought, " it should only be the one kid for today, honey. Jazz was spending the night at her friends." Before finally agreeing but with the stipulation, " What about breakfast for Just The Two Of us? As a date. Let Danny figure out his own breakfast for today." Jack readily agrees as they climb the stairs and start to leave the lab.

I could only stare in shock as they simply walked away from me. As if I was a toy that was done being played with. Not even having the decency to close me back up.

Tears run down my face as I think, ' why, just why?'

Blood Rises up my throat, filling my mouth, ' Jack, Maddie, how could you do this?'

They turn the lights off on their way out, leaving me with only the portal's glow, keeping me from being in total darkness.

Things started to get fuzzy as time went on, almost as if I was drifting off to sleep, when the hulking figure of frostbite came through the portal yelling, " Great One," Followed by a couple of other yetis, Fright Night, Clockwork, and the spirit from earlier.

The woman falls to her knees, hands covering her mouth, with teary eyes, as the others all fuss over me. The yetis get the restraints off as Clockwork and Fright Night argue over who gets to carry me.

Though my eyes stay trained on the woman.

She kept her word; she brought help.

Present day

I'm alone in the kitchen when the sound of car doors slamming shut come from the driveway. Two people, one man and one woman, carrying briefcases. The man keeps checking his phone and glancing at the building. As if in subtle disbelief at what he was seeing. The woman is uncaring and drags her partner up to the door. I wait for them to knock before I go to the door.

" May I help you?" I ask. You can never be too sure about the suit-wearing types.

Look at Vlad.

The man pulls out a Wayne business card and hands it to me, " We're here on behalf of Mr. Wayne," and takes in my appearance before saying, " we're looking for a Danyal Fenton," even using the correct pronunciation.

" Uh," I stammer, " that's me."

They both give me big smiles before asking, " Are Mr. and Mrs. Fenton home?"

I nod, " They're downstairs in the lab."

" Great, why don't you get them? We have a lot to talk about."