Puppet Strings

Chapter One

He didn't even know what building he was in, only that it was made of bricks. And apparently still on fire. Due to the smoke filling his vision. Breathing was getting hard, as smoke filled his lungs. He tried to take deeper breaths but the pressure caused him to cry out. As weak as pathetic as he was, it was barely a whine.

Danny was going to die here, he just knew it. He closed his eyes, hoping it would come quickly, knowing well enough that it wouldn't.

He jolted as a hand gripped his shoulder,eyes flying open panic filled. Relief flooded over him as he spotted the man leaning somewhat over him. Through the dark smoke, Danny could make him out. The man seemed to be an angel, the blinding white staring down at him. As both hands snaked into his armpits and pulled.

Danny couldn't tell whether he screamed or not, as hot-white pain filled his body, his vision going black, before slowly focusing once again. He was out of the rubble, his legs useless as the man gripped him, painfully tight and dragged Danny through the rubble, not caring of the sharp pipe that stabbed into Danny's leg as they made their way out. The ringing was softer now, as Danny gulped in as much air as he could.

"-ny!" A voice was muffled, startling Danny from gulping in the oxygen. Someone was calling for him, a woman. His eyes widened. Almost as shocked from the call as he was with the fact he could hear.

He opened his mouth ready to call back, when something pricked his neck. His head jolted to the side, staring into the sunglasses of the man, as a fog washed over his head, pulling him into the darkness.

Three Years Later

Danny sat stiffly on the metal bench, neatly painted white, as stiff as an eight year old with ADHD could manage. He was nervous,trying his best not to fidget, yet his legs swung ever so slightly, as his feet were unable to touch the ground. His fingers picked the white hazmat suit he was wearing. As his eyes scanned over the white walls, white ceiling and white floor.

Had been since he got here. He couldn't seem to remember anything that happened before the explosion. He was told not to bother trying to remember, that he wouldn't like what he remembered. He didn't mind tho, getting a head splitting headache every time he tried to think back. He gave up on remembering the first year here. He had a good life now, so he was told.

And as a kid, Danny believed what he was told. Like when they told him his name was Phantom, not Danny. He believed them, though he had a liking towards the name Danny, and called himself that in private.

After struggling to understand why he couldn't remember, Danny threw himself into his studies, the Guys In White made sure to teach Danny a lot of things. Very useful things, that would help him throughout his life.

Like how to kill a man with a fork, saying it was important to be able to protect yourself at any cost.

How to hide his emotions and lie. Apparently that was very important since emotions could ruin one's attack, making them weak and vulnerable.

As well as multiple ways of torture. That class made him squeamish at first, so much blood as the teacher showed him examples. Danny was used to it by now, being able to skin a rat alive without being bothered by the blood and its cries.

A few basic things, like math, engineering, and science. Danny really enjoyed science, though he did his best to hide it. Space intrigued him, he wondered if it was possible for man to go up there, or if it was just there to look at, like paintings and the sky.

And then there was the class about ghosts. Danny found that one almost as fascinating as science, as everyone here had seemingly dedicated their lives to the study of ghosts, still unable to capture one. Yet using the research of two scientists, Danny doesn't remember the name of, they were able to build a ghost portal.