On The Dark Side

“Why couldn’t your parents do this themselves? They’re the monster hunting experts,” Tucker complains.

“Because something came up at the lab. I think another invention went wrong.”

Tucker groans and leans against the window of the assault vehicle. Danny, Sam, and Tucker were instructed to track some of various monsters and ghosts roaming around, the only rule being that they stay in the vehicle. Danny’s parents instructed him not to go ghost, and he’s obliging.

“This is so boring. We could spend the night doing anything else.”

“I know, but we promised to be on the lookout for anything. Jazz and Valerie will take care of it.”

“Man, laying low is so unexciting.”

“Agree to disagree,” Sam interjects. “Sometimes it’s nice to just sit back and let someone else take care of the monsters and ghosts.”

Of course she feels that way; since the three of them started to lay low, she and Danny had been going on more dates and spending a lot of time together.

Tucker rolls his eyes and pulls out his PDA.

“I need to get a girlfriend.”

Danny and Sam ignore him, holding hands and interlocking their fingers. He has to admit, just being able to be a regular teenager and spend time with his girlfriend and best friend feels good.

Seconds later the tracker in the vehicle goes off and they all lean forward. Tucker taps his PDA with urgency.

“I sent the coordinates to Jazz and Valerie. They should show up on the tracker in a few minutes.”

They watch the screen, and see two dots, representing the two girls, show up. The dots get closer to the monsters, but then they start to move. Tucker taps his PDA again and tries to update them as fast as he can.

“They’re never gonna catch up to the monsters!”

“And we’ll lose them too if we don’t move!”

“Okay, okay, just let me turn on the autopilot!” Danny fumbles for a second, trying to find the button.

“Shit,” he curses.

Then he finds it and the vehicle comes to life. He taps the screen and commands it to follow the monsters. The three of them rush to put their seatbelts on as the vehicle speeds onto the road.

“How’s the autopilot worse than your dad?” Sam asks. Her hand held onto Danny’s.

“I don’t know!”

Jazz and Valerie come into view in the sky and without hesitation they follow the assault RV.

Danny keeps his hands near the steering wheel, despite not being able or old enough to drive. The red dots on the screen, which represent monsters, grew closer to the center. They’re getting close.

Just before the red dots reach the center, Danny presses the button to turn the autopilot off. He slams on the brakes and grips the steering wheel. Jazz and Valerie fly past them and engage in a fight with the monster.

Danny presses another button and a shield appears around the vehicle.

“Are you sure that’s enough to keep it out?” Tucker asks.

“Positive. Watch.”

Danny points to the fight. Jazz shoots the monster into the shield and it tazes the monster. It falls to the ground, limp and unmoving.

“Is it dead?”

“I...don’t know.”

The monster moves and Valerie captures it. Danny turns off the shield and she throws the monster into the trunk of the vehicle.

“Is that safe?”

“Definitely. My parents make everything monster-proof. It isn’t getting out.”

Jazz knocks on the door and Danny opens it.

“Thanks for the help, little brother. But I think I should be the one that drives us back.”

“For once, I agree with you,” Danny smiles.

“Tucker, why don’t you join Valerie on the way back to FentonWorks?”

“If you drive the way the autopilot does, consider me gone.” Tucker gets out and Valerie allows him to climb onto her board. He wraps his arms around her and she takes off.

Danny and Sam move over, hands still interlocked. Jazz climbs into the driver’s seat and drives them back across town. She says nothing and lets the two of them have their moment.

They arrive back home a few minutes later. The three of them exit the vehicle and the Fentons shoo everyone away from it.

“Careful, everyone! This is a very dangerous creature, we must use the utmost care when transferring it to the cell.”

Danny stands by the cell and opens the door. His parents, dressed to the nines in their protective gear, approach the trunk of the assault RV. They grab the monster and rush it into the cell, and once it’s inside, Danny slams the door shut.

“That’s the ‘utmost care’ they use?” Sam whispers to Danny when he joins her again. He fights back a laugh.

“I know, right? At least they’re effective.”

“Alright, now it’s time for observation. Thanks for the help, kids!”

They all turn to leave, and Jazz and Valerie make it out the door. But the other three glance at the monster, and they pause.

The monster they caught is a werewolf, but in mid-transformation. Its form doesn’t resemble a wolf nor a human; it’s covered in patches of fur, and in between the patches are red, blotchy skin. They can hear its breathing, and it sounds labored. Like just existing this way takes effort.

Danny, Sam, and Tucker glance at one another. They don’t need to speak to know what they’re all thinking:

They feel bad for the werewolf.

Then they turn and head upstairs.

* * *

“I can’t imagine what it would be like to be stuck in between my human and ghost forms,” Danny says.
“I’d think that would be pretty painful. I hope you never have to find out what that’s like.”

“Me too, Tucker.”

The boys continue on to the street corner, where Sam greets them. Danny kisses her cheek and takes her hand and gets in between her and Tucker. Then they continue on to FentonWorks.

“What did I miss?” Sam asks.

“Danny and I were talking about that werewolf we caught the other day.”

“Ever since I got a good look at it, I’ve been feeling bad. Having to be in that in-between state…I don’t want to know what that’s like.”

“I get what you guys mean. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. But hey, maybe your folks helped change them back into the human or wolf form?”

“I hope they did. They may hunt monsters, but they’re not that cruel. At least, I don’t think they are.”
They reach the steps of FentonWorks and head inside. As usual, they head to Danny’s room, keeping the door open a crack. Since Danny and Sam officially started dating, his parents insist on making sure they don’t do anything too romantic.

They try to focus on anything else, but the thought of the werewolf invades their minds and they can’t go without knowing.

“Guys, I’m going down to the lab. Wanna join me?”

“Duh.”

“Of course.”

He takes their hands and goes intangible, flying down to the lab. He doesn’t become tangible just yet; he wants to make sure his parents don’t find them near the cage. He knew they’d freak out and overreact.

They arrive just as Maddie and Jack walk upstairs. Danny goes tangible again and lets go of Sam and Tucker.

A snarl catches their attention and they look to see a large brown wolf in the cage. Its fur is standing on end and it’s baring its teeth at them. It takes a second for them to remember it’s in a cage and they’re in no real danger. Not yet, anyway.

“Looks like your folks managed to help it out of the in-between area,” Sam comments. She steps closer to the cage and looks at it.

Meanwhile Danny and Tucker go over to the monitors and examine what’s on the screens.

“There must be a ton of information here just on this werewolf,” Tucker says, almost in awe.

“There’s so much here that I don’t even know, and I grew up with their monster hunting obsession.”

“So why don’t you copy the information so you can go over it when we meet another werewolf?”

The boys look over at Sam.

“That’s a great idea, actually. I’ll start copying it to my PDA.”

“You know, it’s times like these when I’m glad you’re a techno-geek.”

“Me too, man.”

Tucker plugs his PDA into the monitor, and after a couple of seconds of tapping, he begins to copy the notes.

Danny walks back over to Sam, taking her hand. The wolf paces back and forth in the cage. It sometimes growls at them, but its interest in them has diminished.

Footsteps come from the staircase and the three teenagers start to panic. Danny turns intangible and flies over to Tucker. He’s about to head back to his room but Tucker stops him.

“My PDA isn’t done copying the notes yet!”

They leave the PDA alone and he pulls Tucker into the wall. Maddie and Jack walk in, and luckily they don’t seem to notice the small device by the monitor. At least until it dings.

Tucker reaches for it and unplugs it, and once it’s in his hands, Danny flies all of them up to his room again.

“That was too close of a call,” Sam says once they’re tangible.

“You’re telling me. But at least we have the notes about the werewolf. With any luck, they should help us understand how to fight off any werewolves we come across now,” Tucker explains, going through the notes.

“Good. We can use all the help we can get.”