What really sucks is that there's still a line to the bathroom so Danny can't even have a crisis about this right now, so he's compromising by seeming to be incredibly interested in the brochure he's now stuffed his face in.
Ok! Regroup Fenton! Danny glances up to see a teacher who looks suspiciously like his gym teacher pop her head into the station.
"Five minutes folks! Let's start making our way back to buses!" There's some collective groans to that, but teens are starting to make their way to the front, to where Danny is, nonetheless.
He shuffles awkwardly out of the way.
Ok- Weird portal took me to some? Parallel Universe? Or Alternate timeline or whatever Clockwork was monologuing about the last time I ran into his weird tower? Danny huffed, he had only run into Clockwork the one other time since the whole... Dan... Incident, and while he hadn't been near as outright malicious that time around, he had stayed incredibly cryptic.
"Yeah, but what does that mean? Manage the TimeStreams?"
"The 'Ghost Zone' as you would call it, is a very unique place in the universe, it connects timelines, universes, entire dimensions-" and then he had monologued for way too long and did not include instructions on how to get back?
Danny needed to get back to that field he found himself at, maybe there was something there that could trigger the portal to reopen somehow-
No, with how wack my powers are being I'd need to resupply on ectoplasm before I'd even be able to do anything, oh this is bad, this is so so bad, how did I even get myself into such deep shi-
"Hey, kid!" Strike two for Danny jumping out of his skin.
"Wh-"
"What the hell do you think you're doin' hanging out in here, the buses are leaving!" the not-not-gym teacher had a hand of steel locked on Danny's shoulder
"But I'm not with any of-"
"Oh for goodness sakes-" Grey eyes rolled as Danny stood, still a little shocked and trying to eye any way out of her grip that didn't use up what little amount of power was keeping him up and running.
Not-not-gym teacher pulled out a waki-talki from where it was clipped on her red sweatpants.
Danny briefly contemplates just turning invisible and booking it since this is a world where no one seemingly even knows he exists.
"Yeah- yeah Janice of course you called it- Yeah I've got a slacker from one of the public schools hangin' back..." She turns back to Danny, scowl still edged into her face.
"Which group are you with?"
"I-I'm not with any!-" Danny can't even finish defending himself before not-not-gym teach is rolling her eyes, grip tight with barely held back annoyance.
"He's a stubborn one, what do you want me to do with him?... Yup Washington's fine it's a small group... We'll get him reunited with whatever class he's ditched once we get to Metropolis." It's at that that she takes a glance back to Danny, who's watched the entire half-conversation with a look of baffled disbelief on his face.
"But-"
"No buts ands or ifs, you'll be going with the Washington high class until we get to Metropolis, where-" she says, the word punctuated with the grip on his shoulder turned into a pull to the door. "We'll be meeting your teacher together to discuss this little escape attempt!"
And with that unfortunate air of finality, Danny is pulled to the last remaining bus.
Being marched along through the parking lot, Danny realizes he has a choice in front of him.
Escape, peace out and book it back to the cow farm and hope he can use up what's left of his ecto-dejecto to attempt to resummon the portal... Somehow??? And if it doesn't work be stuck in the middle of another version of Earth he's 90% sure he doesn't exist in.
Or go along with not-not-gym teach and try to find something that will actually help him in what he's pretty sure is the biggest city he's gonna find around.
"Sorry, I- uh, just had to use the restroom! I didn't realize the bus had left!"
"Yeah, yeah kid, like I haven't heard that before- let's go, I'll just have to help Mr Lancer here keep an eye on you."
Oh.
Oh of course, because yeah, that would be just Danny's luck, a whole universe away and he still has to come face to face with the world's most disapproving stare from the world's most disapproving English/Biology teacher.
Not-Not Mr. Lancer, looks almost just like regular Mr. Lancer, if he was a decade or so younger than what Danny was used to seeing, which, on one hand, is interesting because it lends itself to just how weird this whole universe-hopping thing is, and on the other hand, fuckin' weird.
"Not the brightest idea to skip the field trip halfway through the trip mr...?" Not-not Mr. Lancer is obviously waiting for his name which, again, weird, but also Danny isn't sure he wants his real name floating around if he does end up having some weird not-not him hanging around.
"J-James?"
"Is that a question Mr. James?"
"Nope! That is my uh, name, James!" it's sometimes hard for Danny to think of times when he'd rather be fighting ghosts or running from ghost hunters, this is shaping up to be one of those times.
"Right, Mr. James, well until we get to Metropolis you'll be stuck with the other Washington students, front seats if you would." Not-not Lancer steps aside to let Danny and not-not gym teach on the bus.
Stepping onto the bus gives Danny a bit of relief to not recognize a single face on it, and the front seat Lancer nods at him to take is next to a student with long dark hair already snoring slightly against a wadded-up jacket.
Oh, ancients he's really doing this huh?
No- Danny thinks, head down and hands clenching the brochure still tight in his fists, I'm fine, I've probably gone through worse at this point. Just lay low, try to track down a source of ectoplasm in this universe, or try to track down another natural portal to get to the ghost zone.
Danny cracks open the brochure again, aside from the map, the thing itself is still frustratingly uninformative.
It details some "Must see" tourist traps around the big city, along with what Danny assumes is an advertisement for some TV show about a guy called "Superman" ( A bit on the nose Danny thinks Not that I really have any room to talk, but they could do a bit better for a character ) it details stories about this guy fighting what looks like aliens? And saving the city.
Danny thinks it's a bit much for publicity.
He also ends up stuffing the brochure into his bag in what was definitely not a huff.
He does, however, end up leaning back in the stiff bus seats, closing his eyes for a moment.
"Yeah no, I heard Mr. Lancer talking to him, tried to skip out of the trip in the middle of nowhere."
"Do you think he had someone to pick him up?"
"I mean what's the point of even showing up in the first place?"
"At least he's not one of the private snobs."
"Ya'know he kinda looks like one of the Wayne kids?"
"You think so?"
"I mean I guess? Like he's cute"
"Wow lowering our standards now Tyler?"
"Whaaaat?"
Danny snaps his eyes open, cheeks and ears burning, that's probably enough of that. Looking over to not-not Lancer, Danny sees him going through a folder full of papers, red marker in hand. He glances back at his neighbor, the bouncing of the bus has made his long hair cover his face, and each quiet snore he lets out blows it into the air like a cartoon.
Danny leans over to the guys backpack, now, if this Lancer is anything like his Lancer, he'll have made and printed out an entire agenda for the day and handed them out aaaand!
Quickly turning his hand intangible, Danny feels around the bookbag and grabs the only none crumpled-up paper within it, pulling out what looks like every schedule Mr. Lancer's made the entire year.
DAY ONE
2pm: Arrive at Lodgings
3pm: Unpack and Orientation
4pm - 6pm: Presentations at the Daily Planet
7pm - 8pm: Dinner at Lodgings
9pm: Curfew
Danny flips the paper over to see that there's an entire other side for the second day, and he can't help but feel a bit envious that this version of Lancer's class gets to go to what is basically New York while back in his universe they can barely pay to get the drywall fixed from where the ghost of the week through him into the wall three months ago.
Danny's grip on the paper is failing, the words all blurring together as his eyes refuse to focus. Maybe his neighbors got the right idea.
Eyes turning heavy, Danny lets them fall, and wonders how much Jazz's gonna freak out about him not turning up for dinner.
A small, angry part wonders if his parents will notice.
A bigger part hopes they won't.