Hi there! If you've ever read Kim Possible fan fictions, you may have heard of me. I'm Moss Royal: Cartoon Action Fanatic and Wish-To-Be FF Writer. I know that this isn't quite how poker is played, but I needed to shorten up to make this story work. This is my first DP fic, so I hope you enjoy! Leave a review and I'll send a reply!
Almost Got 'Im
Somewhere in the Ghost Zone, there lies an old nightclub, suspended for eternity like Walker's Prison or Skulker's Lair. No one lived there, but many came and went to it once in a while; mostly spirits who wanted some privacy from the rest of the endless domain, whether in solitary or with those they spent their time. This time it was the latter.
Two ghosts upon a dark motorcycle marked '13' approached it. Once there, the occupants dismounted and the driver turned his ride off before entering the run-down establishment.
The male driver picked one of the larger round tables and then he did something that any mortal would deem bizarre. He looked down to the ancient floor and began speaking to his shadow.
"Get some more chairs; we need eight altogether remember," he ordered.
And to add to further surprise, his shadow began to rise from the floor and take on a form independent from its master. It was unnatural, to be sure, but there was some resemblance to its creator. The long hair and green eyes were the imprinted onto the monstrosity's face and head. Though that was where the similarities ended. The shadow had slick, ebony skin and bulged with grotesque muscle, and his mind was consumed by nothing more than service. As the faded minion went to gather chairs, his master and his soulmate pulled up the few chairs around them and took a seat.
The master reached into his interior jacket pocket; pulled out a deck of cards and began to shuffle them again and again. He was a young man, or had once been a young man, I suppose, with grayish skin, almost nonexistent freckles and long, as his soulmate called 'greasy', blonde hair. He wore a long black jacket that went down to his ankles, boots and a green skull necklace around his neck.
His soulmate was an attractive, young woman with similar gray skin; wild, green hair; ruby red eyes and a small nose. Like her lover, she wore 50's style biker clothes like her red leather jacketthat showed off herbare midriff; red skirt and fishnet stockings that led to her black high heels. She possessed no unique abilities like her significant other, but she was able to overshadow people far more skillfully than many other ghosts could, including her mate. He had never found a use for using people's bodies, save the time he tried to find her a host; he preferred to do things with his own powers instead of beating around the bush in someone else's body.
At this point the shadow returned carrying just enough chairs to make eight around the table. The grisly beast laid them down before resuming his post attached to his master's feet.
"You sure they're coming, Johnny? I don't wanna stay here any longer than I have to do," the lady ghost stated, whilst glancing around at the horrid surroundings.
"Amp down, Kitty. They'll be here; they wouldn't miss it," the male ghost identified as Johnny 13 remarked as he continued to shuffle the cards.
And indeed, he was right. He hadn't shuffled the deck twice when they were joined by two other ghosts.
One was a tall, muscular, blanched specter, probably best described as a skeleton in a suit. His eyes and nose were hollowed out, with the former glowing green and the latter radiating violet. He wore a hat upon his head to shield his hairless scalp, but even without the hat, it was doubtful that he would be taken less seriously. Save Pariah Dark, there was no ghost at this time more infamous and feared than him: Walker, the Warden of the Ghost Zone Penitentiary; not Correctional Facility, Penitentiary, as it was his view that no inmate should ever truly leave the confines of his prison. He had no one with him this time, as he had so many other times. No Bullet, no guards, no prisoners bound to his wrist to await judgment. He had put his right-hand man, Bullet in charge while he took some time off.
The other was another well-built figure, and unlike Walker, he was literally well built. For he was in reality, a tiny, insignificant sprite of a specter operating a state-of-the-art battle suit. But what the pint-sized spook lacked in physical power and mobility, he made up for in his acute tracking skills and continually expanding savoir faire of ghostly tech. He was constantly making additions and upgrades to his exoskeleton so as to pose a greater and greater threat to his quarries, although few managed to escape his grasp. And like any true-blue hunter, he was blood-thirsty and ruthless, always searching for new creatures to cage or skin, having no regard for the beings he hurt and captured. He was Skulker: Ghost Zone's Greatest Hunter and Tracker.
"Hey," muttered Skulker.
"Hey yourself, Tin Man," responded Johnny rudely.
Skulker frowned at him and took his seat next to Johnny, making sure to keep an eye on him. Walker took the seat three left of Kitty.
"How long you been waitin'?" probed Walker.
"Not long, maybe five minutes," answered Johnny, continuing to shuffle.
"Hope the others get haulin' it; I wanna get this game goin'," mumbled Walker.
"You're not much for patience, are you?" inquired Skulker.
"You should know I'm not," Walker growled, knowing that Skulker was one of the many who had escaped his prison thanks to the ghost kid.
Luckily for Skulker, the focus was taken off him when another two ghosts entered the old club.
One was what other ghosts called an upgraded, having moved on from his original ghostly form to a superior, more powerful shape. This one had long, white hair, once wild and erratic, now cut short on the front, fully displaying his face with rectangular sunglasses almost completely hiding his eyes; his jagged teeth, not fang-like, but still rather irregular, which gave him a menacing look and his ghoulish green skin completing his post-human identity. His build had altered a lot too, his formerly thin and weasly appearance replaced by a trim and buffed up upper body. His white lab coat had disappeared for a stylish black suit and white, flowing cape, draping down to his ankles on the back and over his chest on the front, ending in an almost bat-like pattern. The only thing that really stayed exactly the same besides his face were his green gloves and nasal voice, emphasizing his love for all thing 'electronic and beeping'. He had the ability to corrupt and control any kind of technology not protected by any ghost-proof shield. In a nutshell, he was the zone's biggest and strongest techno geek, better known as Nicolai Technus.
The other was best known in both realms for being probably the most pathetic ghost ever created. He wore gloves, a toque and overalls, hinting towards some medial job like a fisherman or a forklift operator or something. He had the power to control...wait for it...boxes and more recently...dramatic pause...bubble wrap! This minor annoyance to those good and evil tried to make up for his many weaknesses by making his voice as big and booming as possible, repeatedly trying to make others fear him with his floating and nearly useless dominance over crates and packages.
"Oh good, we're not too late," Technus remarked, taking a seat left of Walker.
"I can be as late as I choose! Because I am the Box-"
"Oh shut up, you fat idiot and sit down!" ordered Skulker.
The Box Ghost complied and sat down between Technus and Skulker.
"Thank you," said everybody at the table, not wanting to hear the moron's little box-related threats.
"So who are we waiting for?" questioned Technus.
"Lady Pop-Rock and Half-Rich Man, Half-Vampire," answered Johnny, not looking up from the cards he was still shuffling.
"That's Queen Pop-Rock to you, Baby Pop!" came a young, female voice from the door. She walked in and took a seat right of Walker.
She was also pretty young, still in her teens, adorned with black eye shadow, skull-faced boots and black leather clothes, guitar strewn across her back, she was the stereotypical 70's rocker. Her long, blue hair tied back into a ponytail, which as many knew could be formed into a fiery weapon at her command. But her voice was her true strength, being able to hypnotize any listeners into slavery, violence or even love if needed. She was Ember McLean, freakishly dressed teen idol and spiritual siren extrordinaire.
Johnny looked up from the cards, examined Ember up and down and then whispered to Kitty, "Why can't you ever dress like that?"
Kitty growled angrily in response and made a mental note to not let Ember get any nearer to her Johnny.
"So what?" asked Ember. "We're just waitin' for Mr. Pointy-Hair-And-Cape?"
"Yep," mumbled Kitty, who suddenly looked up. "Who apparently has just graced us with his presence."
They all glanced over seeing Vlad Plasmius, in all his half-dead glory, as he seated himself between Kitty and Ember.
"Sorry I'm late, but it's all in good fashion to be reasonably behind schedule, you see," he excused.
"Of course," said Skulker, rolling his synthetic eyes.
Vlad was, as Johnny had stated, very vampiric in appearance, with large, dark, pointed hair with a grayish stripe through the middle; red, pupil-less eyes; fangs;turquoise skin and a cape, though unlike Technus', it came only to the top of his shoulders on the front. Though he had an old-style handsomeness to him, the man was bitter and twisted beyond belief. Given his other-worldly powers in a freak accident, he used them to become a corporate success in the human world, while simultaneously becoming a potent ghost. His goal was to take out Jack Fenton, the person he held responsible for ruining his life, and make Maddie Fenton his wife and Danny Fenton/Phantom, almost every ghost's arch-enemy, his son and apprentice. And time and again he's shown that he'd be willing to do anything, even kill Danny, to make that dream a reality.
"Now that you're finally here, we can play," said Johnny, passing out cards. "Whoever gets a Jack deals first."
"Naturally," remarked Vlad.
"What about the betting chips?" asked Technus.
"I am the Box Ghost, possessing many boxes, one which contains the chips we need! BEWARE!"
"Just divide the chips, stupid," grumbled Skulker.
Once the chips were split evenly and everyone anteed, Johnny passed cards around the table until a Jack was found, by Ember.
"Ms. McLean deals first then," said Vlad as he and all the others passed their cards in for her to reshuffle.
As Ember shuffled and then dealt, she tried to strike up a conversation. "So, what's the latest news on the kid?"
"Barely making his C grades stick," stated Vlad. "Apparently he's having trouble staying awake, what with us always causing trouble for him."
They all couldn't help but grin or chuckle at that. They may lose, but at least they were making it hard for their youthful adversary to make it through day-to-day life.
"I should hope so," remarked Walker. "If it wasn't for Wulf havin' us sucked back here, I would've made life brick hard for that punk!" He then glanced at his hand. "I'll bet three." He tossed three chips into the middle of the table.
"Like you're all that!" Johnny scoffed.
"Yeah, Johnny and I've come close too!" Kitty defended.
"Hey, what about me?" inquired Technus. "I've nearly flattened the whelp more times than I can count! And speaking of counting, I see Walker's three!"
"I too have come very close! And I see three and raise you two more mini-discs! BEWARE MY POKER HAND!" the Box Ghost warned.
"Seen," called Walker, throwing in two more chips.
"I fold," growled Technus, chucking his cards down.
"I'll see your five and raise you one," challenged Skulker. "And I'm sure the child has faced greater fear at my hands then any of yours!"
"Oh, please!" sighed Johnny, before looking at his hand. "That's it! I fold!"
"Seen, Skulker," Walker said.
"I'll see too!"
"And me," Kitty joined in, adding her chips to the pot.
"I'm in," said Vlad.
"And I fold," Ember growled.
"All right; let's see what we've got!" announced Vlad.
"Two Pair, Nine high," revealed Walker.
"Full House, Ten High! I challenge anyone to beat that!"
"Nope, that beats me," murmured Skulker.
"And me," sighed Kitty.
"And me," snarled Vlad, having only a Pair.
"Whoo-Hoo! BEWARE MY SKILLS!" the Box Ghost yelled while taking his winnings.
"Oh, shut up," griped Skulker.
"Get over it, dude; we can't all be superstars!" the Box Ghost gloated.
"Well, your deal, Walker," Ember said, handing the deck to the warden.
"Hold it!" commanded Vlad.
"Why?" asked Ember.
"Well, it seems to me like we've all got an 'almost got 'im' story to tell. Mine's the best, I know since I'm the arch-enemy, but let's save the best for last and go with the dealer. Ember can tell one of hers beforethe new handand then while we play with Walker's deal, he can tell us his, and so on, and so forth. Sound good?"
A chorus of "Yeah"'s, "Sure"'s and "Whatever"'s were the replies, so Ember went ahead.
"All right, mine happened about two months ago..."
OOOO
"I was flying around town looking for something to do, when I came across one of those medical buildings. You know, one of the tall ones with like ten, twelve floors? And there's gotta be at least five elevators bringing like three hundred people a day up and down the place, and with elevators there's gotta be elevator music. So I figure, I'd find where the music is generated, plug my guitar in, and I get three hundred people a day under my control.
"It was working too, I managed it for about a week, taking over any who listened. Old people, kids, doctors, dentists, janitors or anybody else who didn't wanna take the stairs. Just my luck that the dipstick happened to be one of those people. Turns out he came for a dentist appointment; makes sense, considering all the fighting he does. Of course, as soon as he heard my voice and guitar and how everybody was acting, he put two and two together.
"He ditched his parents and changed in the bathroom as soon as he could. Then he went to find the source of the music and, sure enough, he found me.
"He went on about how this was no surprise to him, and how my plans were getting more and more lame. After a while I got sick of it and decided to blast him. I kept shooting with my guitar to try and hit him with the sonic waves, but he kept on dodging them. And he kept on taunting me, calling me names and putting down my music. I got sick of it REAL fast and tried to fry him with my hair. He tried to miss it, but he got burned pretty good. Problem is that I hit my generator too, so that my music stopped broadcasting through the elevators. That had been his plan, obviously; he'd been getting on my case so I'd be too miffed to care what I hit after.
"I was torn between finishing him or high-tailing it out of there. My mind was made up when he started getting up and took out his Thermos; I decided to bolt, but I wasn't fast enough and he caught me in it. Then an hour or two later, I was back in the Ghost Zone..."
OOOO
"But I almost got 'im," she said, holding her nose up indignantly.
"Hardly," mumbled Walker, while dealing out the new hands. "Honey, if you want to catch a criminal, you've gotta hit 'im where it hurts."
"I'll bet three," stated Technus.
"I shall see! I AM THE BOX GHOST!"
"So how 'bout you, hon?" Ember asked Walker. "What close catches have you had for the dipstick?"
"I had a good one not too long ago. I suppose all o' you've heard of my little invasion to drag the kid's name through the muck?"
All nodded, except for- "I have not...BEWARE!"
"I'll see," remarked Skulker, still looking at his poker hand.
"I'll see and raise three," said Johnny.
"Seen," said Skulker and Technus.
The Box Ghost decided to fold...BEWARE!
"Well," Walker continued, "after the whole 'Pariah' incident, over half his town was on his side and my plan was left belly-up. So I decided to take another shot, but since dirtin' up his image didn't work, I decided to hit 'im a little closer to home..."
OOOO
"When I was there the first time, I got a good look at the punk's parents, and after I got sent back here, I started thinkin'. His mother was intelligent, rational and thought things through, but his father was another story. His father was impulsive, unreasonable and trigger-happy, traits that would come in very handy with my plan.
"I managed to find a way back to his hometown, and once there, I started spying on his ol' man. I had to do it while the kid was gone, otherwise he'd sniff me out. Lucky for me, his parents stayed at home most of the time workin' on gadgets, which gave me all the chances I needed to scope out his father.
"My plan was simple enough: Once I knew the big bumbler through and through, I'd overshadow him and have him attack the punk, him thinkin' that his ol' man had disowned him.
"It took a good week o' snoopin'. I needed to know how he walked, talked, ate and reacted. In order, the answers to each were 'clumsily', 'bluntly', 'like a pig' and 'shoot anything that moves like a ghost'. Needless to say, it wasn't that hard; it was just like havin' to turn off a part of my brain and shiftin' my impulses into high gear.
"'Bout an hour 'fore the kid was due back from school, I overshadowed his ol' man. His wife didn't notice anything, just that her husband seemed to nod off for a sec. When the kid came home and I was alone in their basement, I called him down.
"Soon as he was in the downstairs door, I slammed it shut and locked it. 'Course the kid was wonderin' what was goin' on. I told 'im that he had some explainin' to do, like why he had been lyin' to his ol' man.
"He started gettin' sweaty and stammerin', askin' me what I meant. I told 'im he knew perfectly well what I meant: That he was a half-ghost abomination that had made his ol' man look like a fool, and it was time somethin' was done 'bout it.
"I pulled out one o' those Bazookas they had in their vault and started shootin' at the boy, makin' sure to shoot off-aim and erratic to sell the illusion of the dope. The kid hid behind some crates, and I kept firin' and yellin' at 'im that he couldn't hide forever and that he'd have to face me for what he'd done.
"Then the kid stepped out from behind the crates, and I was 'bout ready to fire again, but I stopped. Call it funny, but I had to, 'cause the boy's eyes were ablazin' like the inside of his head was on fire, and he said to me, with every fibre of his bein':
"You are not my father. My father may not always think things through, but he'd never hurt me!" Once he said it, he changed into his ghost form and started walkin' towards me. "I don't know who you are, or who you think you are, and to be honest...I...DON'T..CARE!" He shot the gun outta my grip and aimed his hand at me, still glowin' with ecto-rays. "He is my father.This is my family..This is my home...AND YOU ARE NOT WELCOME HERE!"
"He fired the ecto-ray he'd been buildin' in his hand and fired it at me, sendin' me clear out of that body. He recognized me, but didn't acknowledge me, like he said, he didn't care who I was. He grabbed me by the collar and hissed at me:
"If I ever see you out of that prison again, you'll wish you'd never been born..."
"Then he hit the ID pad on the console for their Ghost Portal and the door opened up back here..."
OOOO
"He let me leave, his eyes repeatin' everythin' he'd just said to me, but I came close, so close to nailin' him; and I see the bet, by the way," he finished, laying down his chips.
"But I don't get it, what could you have done in his dad's body?" asked Kitty. "Sure you coulda beaten him up a bit, but I don't think you coulda killed him in that lumix."
"That wasn't the point. The point was to give 'im the creeps about his ol' man. He may know it was me usin' him, but he'll still have the nightmares of his father tryin' to kill 'im," explained Walker. "And I have a Flush, Five High."
Everyone else groaned as they had nothing higher, and Technus threw his cards down again, having been sure that his Straight would do the trick.
"Finally," said Vlad, "Someone who uses thought-out plans, and their opponents weaknesses against them. Not bad, Walker; not too far below mine,"
"If that's what you call praise, I'll have none of it, thanks," Walker announced, gathering the cards and passing them to Technus, immediately after grabbing his winnings. "Your deal, Glasses."
"Thank you," he replied, shuffling the deck and distributing the cards.
"I shall bet two," Box Ghost stated.
"I'll see and raise you two," bet Skulker.
"I'll see that."
"Me too," agreed Johnny.
"So what about you, Technus?" probed Vlad. "What near-victory ails you?"
"One about two weeks ago, not long after my ghostly upgrade..."
XXXX
And that's Chapter One of my first DP fic; this should be a short one, maybe three chapters long. I'm planning to do another DP fic after this. I hope you haven't been bored by the decription of the villains, but I felt it just really added to the element. Read and review! I love the feedback, and seein' thosenumbers go up on my stats bar! You review me and I guarantee a reply, unless I fall ill, but what are the chances of that!