A quick loop of Clockwork's domain, booted footsteps tapping lightly as she dodged puddles of goo, confirmed Hanna's suspicions. Clockwork was gone, whether dead or simply missing she wasn't sure, and not even his staff had been left behind. The only real sign that he had fought were the occasional drops of ectoplasm on the floor. Whatever had come here had been strong enough to take down Clockwork, perhaps even catch him unaware. If it was capable of taking one of the most powerful ghosts Hanna had ever met down, then she certainly didn't want to meet whatever it was in a dark alley some night. The results wouldn't be pretty.
Hanna wrapped her arms around her stomach and shivered as she stared pensively at one of the blank viewing portals, considering her next move. Going to the Observers was out. They would do nothing more than bemoan what might have happened to Clockwork and try to shove his duties on to her. Not happening. Still, the Observers would at least know what had happened here. Her nose wrinkled at the thought of trying to speak to them. The last thing she wanted to do after finding this mess was to argue with them about something she didn't fully understand. No, she was going to have to figure this out herself.
Hesitantly she reached out a bare hand and pressed it against the outer frame of the viewing portal, watching the dance of static across its surface as she poured her power into it. Red eyes narrowed in concentration, she increased the flow of power until the static washed away to reveal Clockwork. Her mentor appeared to be studying one of the viewing portals, his back to her. At first glance, everything appeared to be just as it should. Then she noticed the black sludge slowly oozing down one of the walls towards the floor. Heart thumping in her chest, Hanna held her breath as she kept her eyes locked on the ooze, fingers trembling nervously.
When the sludge reached the floor it gathered together, forming a shadow that rose upwards until it towered over Clockwork. It opened its mouth, strands of goo stretching over the empty cavity, and let out a roar that made Clockwork's cloak swish slightly. Hanna watched as the master of time whirled around, snapping "Time out." For a moment the creature froze, and Hanna let out a soft sigh of relief. Then it twitched and suddenly collapsed downwards, completely covering Clockwork in its own body. The creature rose up again to its tower height and Hanna's eyes fell on its midsection. The goo there seemed to be fighting and at times she caught a glimpse of the imprint of Clockwork's staff.
It was agonizing watching as Clockwork managed to rip himself free, covered in goo, only to be slashed at with suddenly created claws of one massive hand. The creature had caught Clockwork completely off guard, something Hanna had previously believed to be impossible, and now she could only watch as it threw her mentor around like a rag doll. She winced as Clockwork hit a wall and crumpled to the floor, the creature looming over him in an instant. She could just barely see Clockwork's mouth moving, as if he were whispering some sort of prayer, and then a brilliant blaze of light filled the entire screen, destroying any hope she had off seeing what was next. When the light finally faded away, the creature was puddles of ooze all across the floor and Clockwork was nowhere to be seen.
Hanna yanked her hand away from the viewing portal with a frustrated hiss and whirled around to scowl moodily at the wall. She had discovered what had happened, but she was no closer to figuring out what to do about it. Talking with the Observers was definitely out now. They likely believed Clockwork to be dead but Hanna knew better. Whatever that thing had been, it hadn't been throwing beams of light around. That had been all Clockwork's doing. The question was, what was that thing? It wasn't like any being she had ever seen before in the Ghost Zone. That was going to make tracking it down very difficult, if it was even still alive.
An ominous creaking sound shook her from her considerations, drawing her attention towards the Fenton Thermos that always sat in a secluded corner of Clockwork's home. Hanna watched in mute horror as gleaming cracks spread across the surface of the thermos. This was not good, not good at all. The cracks grew brighter and wider within seconds and the entire thermos let out an agonized groan before exploding in a blaze of green energy. Hanna shrieked in fright and flung her arms over her face, summoning a shield of ectoplasmic energy to block the shrapnel. Blinking back dots of light in her vision, she dropped her arms and took in the sight of the ghost that could only be Dan Phantom rising to his feet.
His piercing gaze swept almost dismissively over her, as if searching for someone else. Hanna used the opportunity to take him in, brow furrowing. Clockwork had spoken on this ghost only once, and only to warn her of how powerful the Phantom was. While there was undoubtedly a dangerous aura surrounding him, he seemed almost weak in her eyes. Maybe he had expended all his energy escaping? She brushed her curiosity aside for the time being as that red eyed gaze returned to her. She could worry about that after the current crisis was taken care of.
"Where's Clockwork?" he rasped at her and she shrugged in response. It was just her luck to have the first question he asked be one that she genuinely couldn't answer. "Answer me," he demanded and she smirked a little.
"What? The shrug wasn't answer enough?" she said, placing a hand on her hip. "Let me spell it out for you then. I don't know." That made him snarl but Hanna's heartbeat was beginning to slow. Logic was filtering in, allowing her to analyze the situation. From what she could see, Dan was still weak from bursting out of the thermos. She could take him.
"I don't believe you," came the smooth response after a moment and Hanna startled a little. He'd locked up his emotions faster than she'd thought possibly and his stance had turned predatory.
"You think I just spilled this gunk around everywhere for kicks and giggles?" she demanded, waving her arms at the goo puddled across the floor and dripping down the walls.
"You can't fool me. Clockwork sees everything. He would have prepared for my inevitable escape," Dan sneered.
"He didn't see this coming," Hanna mumbled, folding her arms over her chest. That was when one of the puddles of goo twitched and blinked open narrowed violet eyes. Hanna yelped in surprise and aimed a blast at the goo that it simply absorbed, other puddles beginning to slide towards the one with eyes.
"What is that?" Dan demanded sharply but Hanna didn't have an answer. In fact, she was still struggling to come up with a game plan. The creature was going to reform in a minute or so and if Clockwork couldn't beat it then she definitely couldn't. She needed to get out of here.
Hanna squeezed her eyes shut and focused, pulling all her energy together and throwing it into a portal. A roar had her eyes snapping open and she let out a startled shriek, the creature looming over her. It raised clawed hands and she stumbled back a couple steps, catching a glimpse of an slim, open portal to her right. If she could just make it to the portal she could get out of here. She didn't have a clue where it would take her but that didn't really matter. The only problem was that Dan would still be free to wreak havoc.
She dove away from a slice of sharp looking claws, rolling back to her feet. A blast struck the creature in the back, making it stumble, and Dan laughed when the creature turned towards him with a snarl. "Problem solved?" Hanna questioned, arching an eyebrow as she watched Dan Phantom take on the monster. If the thing, whatever it was, managed to destroy him then she didn't have to worry about keeping him in check while she was trying to discover what was actually going on. A moment later that hope evaporated as the creature exploded, goo flying everywhere.
"Nasty," Hanna muttered, shaking a hand to get the goo off of it. A moment later she had other concerns when the vengeful ghost tackled her hard. The pair went flying backwards and somehow ended up slipping through the portal she'd created. I guess I'm going to find out where that portal goes sooner than I expected, she thought ruefully just before they crashed to the ground and the portal snapped shut behind them.
Danny tossed and turned his way through nightmares of unnamed disasters taking place in the Ghost Zone that night. The small amount of anxiety he'd felt when his parents had announced that they were getting strange readings from the Ghost Zone had steadily increased throughout the evening until it reached the point that he'd struggled to focus on the movie he and his friends had gone to see. It had even been a struggle to fall asleep. After the anxiety of the night, Danny was relieved to wake up to the sounds of his parents arguing about something and rattling around breakfast pans. He rolled out of bed, wobbling a little before getting his balance, and headed for the stairs.
Jazz smiled at him from across the table when he entered the kitchen before glancing back down at whatever book she had been reading. Danny smiled back and navigated his way around his parents, ignoring the smoking skillet and grabbing a box of cereal. His parents could cook but normally they got distracted part way through and whatever food they were in progress of making generally turned into a disaster. Cereal poured into a bowl and milk added, Danny grabbed a spoon and joined Jazz at the table as their mother gestured emphatically at something on the paper she was waving in Dad's face.
"What's got them so excited?" Danny asked his sister in a low voice. "It's not still the readings from last night, is it?"
"I don't think so," Jazz replied. "They checked the portal a little earlier and everything seemed fine."
"Does that mean its unsealed?" Danny asked, brightening at the thought that he could travel into the Ghost Zone and reassure himself that everything was fine.
"Yes," Jazz told him, giving him a knowing smile. "But make sure you finish breakfast before running down there. And take one of the Fenton Phones in case something goes wrong."
"You got it," Danny replied, shoving a spoon full of cereal into his mouth. Jazz giggled when he almost choked on it and then patted his back until he could breathe properly again. He rushed to finish breakfast, sent a quick text to his friends to let them know where he was heading, grabbed one of the Fenton Phones, and opened up the portal. The usual green swirling vortex of the Ghost Zone greeted him. That was reassuring. Whatever the weird readings had been, it didn't look like they'd done much. Danny transformed and launched himself into the vortex.
The Ghost Zone looked no different then it ordinarily did. The doors hung in midair, just as they always did, and the floating islands were still in the correct places. So far, so good. The part of him that had begun to calm when Jazz had told him the readings were gone, relaxed further. "So far, so good," he muttered and increased his speed, heading for Clockwork's domain.
