A/N: Takes place after the 1996 film "The Phantom".

The Phantom Menaced

A boy once witnessed the killing of his family by pirates of the Sengh Brotherhood. He escaped and was raised by Touganda tribesman to become the Phantom, a force to fight evil and right wrongs in the world. Four hundred years later, the twenty-first generation of an unbroken line of men wearing the costume of the Phantom sat in the part of Skull Cave that could only be described as a library, reading from an old yellowed book. Safely out of sight in the cave that had been home to so many generations of his ancestors, Kit Walker had no need of the costume that almost all of island of Bengalla recognized as belonging to "The Ghost Who Walks".

A voice cleared its throat and Kit asked "Yes Guran?" without looking up, waiting to do so only after he finished a particularly difficult to understand section. Guran was the only resident of the island that knew that the Phantom had been, and in fact was different people through the ages. Succession, rather than immortality served to perpetuate the legend of the hero that never died. Guran's father had served Kit's father as well, although his lineage wasn't connected to the Walker line before that. Kit marked his place with a finger and looked up.

"A message just came in over the wireless" he offered. "Captain Horton said he would be calling with a friend from New York tomorrow. I think perhaps you should dress for the occasion, boss." The wireless was a hand-cranked shortwave radio, and the message from Captain Philip Horton of the nearby Jungle Patrol could only mean one person; Diana Palmer.

The niece of well-known Dave Palmer of the World Tribune newspaper, Miss Palmer was a friend and romantic interest of Kit's during his schooling in New York. Whatever may have been developing between them at the time was cut short with the death of Kit's father, and his assumption of the persona of the Phantom had led to no communication between the two for six years. Then last year she was kidnapped by the rich and powerful Xander Drax, who in league with the Sengh Brotherhood was attempting to assemble an ancient weapon of unbelievable power. Kit had rescued Diana and stopped Xander while destroying the Sengh base on Devil's Vortex Island. In the process Diana deduced Kit's duel identity, but vowed to keep it secret; Guran's suggestion was to continue to keep Captain Horton in the dark as to his identity.

"Good idea. It's a little too far for just a social call, and a little too convenient to be one of her journalistic expeditions. Let's prepare for guests" Kit said as he rubbed his hands together while standing up. "I'll give Devil a good bath before they get here." The trained wolf raised his head at the mention of his name and slipped out of the room at the mention of a bath.

Kit walked down the hall of remembrance that contained a small marker and item for each of his forefathers, checking to make sure all were tidy and respectable.

"Is the Palmer girl coming?" a voice spoke behind him. Kit turned and faced the image of his late father standing in the hallway who was attempting to adjust a whip on the display of his grandfather, labeled Phantom XVIII on the stone marker. "I do hope so, I rather like her; she has spunk."

"That she does, Dad. And a right cross you have to see to believe. Devil likes her too, so I guess it's a good thing I revealed my true identity."

"That old line? I think your mother was the third woman I used that one on; I guess we're both lucky she was the first that actually took me up on my proposal. But still, the important thing is how you feel about her. I'd ask you to introduce me but…"

"…but you're dead" Kit finished. "At least I got your belt back before it got disintegrated with Quill." Quill was the Sengh member that had killed Kit's father by stabbing him in the back. Drax accidentally used the ancient skull weapon to evaporate Quill before Kit had been able to reflect the beam back on Drax himself.

"Yes," his father said, trying to finger the hole in the belt "it's a wonderful lesson about turning your back on someone with a Sengh tattoo. But I'd rather talk about the girl. Did you tell her what revealing your identity meant?"

"That we do it only to the woman that we will marry? Yes, of course. She didn't run…"

"…didn't think she would…"

"…but she didn't say yes exactly, either."

"Give her some time. You're rich, you don't have pudding between your ears and women can stand to look at you. What's not to like?" He looked around the cave. "You may not live in a proper house, but you have everything you need. Never did fix that leak in the north cavern though."

"It's a stream, Dad."

"Call it what you will, but that end always got a bit damp for my tastes. But what do I know, I'm just dead."

"I may have to get married just to let you rest in peace and be quiet" Kit laughed.

"Looking forward to it Kit, looking forward to it" his father agreed.

…

"Pass me the tapioca please" Captain Horton requested, looking for a second helping. "Guran, you set an excellent table."

"Many thanks, Captain" he replied from his station standing several feet from the table. "It's nice to have company and cook real food instead of eating insects." The slightest trace of a grin appeared on his face which Kit noticed immediately.

"Insects? Really?" the captain stopped with his spoon half way to his mouth. "You didn't use any in the dessert did you?"

Kit laughed. "More jungle humor, Captain. We do pretty well here, no need to bother any insects by eating them. In a pinch I'm told there are a few beetles that are mighty tasty." He secretly winked to Diana, who coughed and used her napkin to pretend to wipe her mouth while she stifled a laugh.

"So Phantom, desserts aside what do you make of this latest information?" Horton asked.

Kit considered for some time before responding. "When it comes to evil, I tend to take the worst possible scenario and go from there. We know that empires are moving all over world, and Japan has a firm grasp of Asia around the Pacific. The Sengh Brotherhood have a tradition with piracy and are at home on the ocean; I can easily image a possible alliance between the two to further their goals, although they would slit each other's throat at the first opportunity if it served their purpose. It may be 1940, but war knows no time."

"And what of the connection in San Francisco? Any chance the Zephro crime family is involved?"

"San Francisco has a large Asian community, a perfect base for Sengh activities" Kit noted. "I can't think of a better place to infiltrate America. But the Zephros are strictly East Coast operators, so I don't expect to find their hand in it. But the Sengh will be able to continue their work, unless someone brings their dealings out into the open."

"Lux Veritatis" Diana said, quoting the motto of her uncle's newspaper. "Light of Truth. You mean expose them via the World Tribune. "

"Something like that, although I can't imagine they'd just agree to an interview on their own. No, I think a little digging might be in order; sounds like it's time for a trip." At the use of the word 'trip' Devil stood and wagged his tail.

"Is there anywhere I can arrange to take you?" Horton offered. "It sounds important enough to requisition some transport at my disposal."

"Thank you Captain, but I think I might have my own way to get there. I'll let you know if it turns out otherwise" Kit said as he stood. In his Phantom uniform he always looked ready for action.

"Very good then, I'll leave you to your preparations. Shall we go Miss Palmer?"

"No, I'll stay here Captain Horton. The Phantom will need a connection with the newspaper if he wants the information published; I've already talked it over with him and have carte blanche to pursue the story where it goes" she declared.

The captain looked at the Phantom for approval. Kit spread his arms in a "Don't look at me" gesture. Horton's eyebrow raised slightly, but in typically British stoic fashion didn't speak what his mind was thinking. "Very well, than I shall take my leave. Let me know if you need any help."

"With thanks, Captain. Guran will see you out." The two men left, leaving Kit and Diana alone.

"Do you really think that's a good idea Diana? It could get dangerous."

"More dangerous than getting kidnapped off a Pan Am Clipper by an evil madman bent on world domination? More dangerous than jumping out of a plane onto a running horse? More dangerous than..."

"Okay, okay, you've made your point" Kit interrupted. "But, well, you know..." he stumbled.

"The Phantom is at a loss for words? That's a story in itself!" Stealing a glance around, she quickly planted a kiss on his lips. "But seriously Kit, I swore to myself that I'd come back here soon and now that I'm here again I won't let you out of my sight so easily. Besides, I really do intend to get this story into my uncle's paper; he's reserving a column already when I send something in. And don't even try to tell me the 'Ghost that walks' has eyes in the back of his head; I can cover your back. But how do you plan on getting to San Francisco? We could try riding Hero, but I doubt he could swim that far."

Kit smiled "No, he's a good horse but not that good." He took two polished semiautomatic pistols and put them in his dual holsters. "I'm thinking a mutual friend, a retired air pirate with some time on her hands. Do you suppose we could hire Sala and her seaplane for a little adventure?"

"Maybe. It will be a long enough flight that we can discuss a question that came to me. What if a Phantom had only daughters and no sons, what would happen?"

Kit stopped dead in his tracks and his smile dropped. "No sons? It's never happened in 400 years!"

"Maybe, but my family usually has girls. I was just wondering, you know; strictly scientific curiosity and all..."

The End

A/N: This was a pretty good hero flick back before CGI took over special effects; a period piece with a straight-jawed defender of good. I'm not attempting to set up another story, but rather wanted to show that Diana made good on her personal vow to return to Skull Cave.