Chapter 4: Welcome to Whispering Rock

Whispering Rock Psychic Summer Camp, Main Lodge- 4:30 PM, Saturday

Danny, Sam, Jazz, and Tucker rolled out of the portal, followed immediately by rolling down a hill. The four finally stopped at a three-way intersection of dirt paths. Squirrels, birds, and lizards scampered to get out of the way. Jazz was the first to reorient herself and look around.

"This place doesn't seem too bad," she commented. There were a few trees, plenty of green grass, and a few picnic tables to their right. Jazz looked behind her to see a large wooden building on top of the hill they had just gotten acquainted with. A hollow tree stump also caught her eye. One of the other paths led down to a parking lot, and the second led to a long, curvy bridge. The place seemed to be completely devoid of people.

"Looks like some kind of camp," Tucker said as he picked himself up and looked around.

"The question is, what kind of camp?" Sam wondered as she recovered.

"Actually, I think the question is where Freakshow went," Danny corrected.

"I'd rather ask that question," Tucker said. "After all, I don't think we're getting back to our own dimension without the orb he has." As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Danny's breath turned blue.

"They can't have gotten far. I can still sense Lydia." Danny flew into the air and scanned the entire area… without any luck. His face showed it.

"We came through the same portal. There's no way the two of them could've gotten that far, even by flying," Jazz reasoned. She turned her attention again to the hollow tree stump. Her curiosity got the better of her, and she walked over to investigate. Of course, one particular squirrel wasn't paying attention and ran under her foot, tripping her. She was gone a second later.

Danny flew back down to his friends. "They've gotta be around here somewhere…"

"Hey, where'd Jazz go?" Sam asked. Tucker and Danny looked around and were surprised to see that Jazz had disappeared. "And how come I'm the only one who noticed?" Sam added, glaring at her friends. Tucker and Danny looked at each other awkwardly and shrugged.

"Maybe this universe has the power to make people disappear," Tucker suggested.

"Or maybe we're not looking in the right places." Sam walked over to the hollow tree stump and looked inside. Confused, Tucker and Danny went over to see what had her interest.

Agent Nein's Lab- 4:31 PM, Saturday

Freakshow took a look around. "What kind of freak would live in such a… tacky room?"

"I'd say a scientist," Lydia responded, examining the table with all sorts of chemicals and notes on it. "And yes, I knew that question was rhetorical."

Freakshow walked right up to the giant piece of machinery in the center of the room and touched it. "Wonder what this is for," he asked again. Lydia turned around and looked at it, but remained silent.

Before they could investigate further, Jazz sprung out of the hollow tree stump in the corner and landed in the room. "Oooh… that's one crazy ride," she moaned.

Lydia hissed. "What's SHE doing here?"

"What are YOU doing here?" Freakshow repeated. Jazz looked up and saw the villains hovering over her. Her eyes grew wide.

"Um… looking for you?" she replied timidly.

"You'll be sorry you found us," Lydia growled. "For as long as you live, anyway."

Jazz's eyes widened and she jumped behind the stump as Lydia floated into the air to unleash an attack. She opened her cloak and a wave of tattoos surged toward Jazz… only to be stopped by a glowing green shield. Most of the tattoos dissolved on contact, but some of them bounced back into the room. A few of them hit the machine in the center, while a few of them hit Lydia.

"Doesn't matter what universe you're in, we can always find you," Tucker said as he and Sam leapt out of the hollow stump. Danny had already phased into the room to deflect the attack.

"Nice timing," Jazz said quietly.

"Why must you people constantly irk me?" Freakshow asked in frustration. He took a few steps toward the center of the room, looking down at Lydia to see if she was okay. He looked back up at them. "Let's see you follow me this time!" He pulled out the Orb of Tesla and held it up.

"Won't have to," Danny said, quickly firing an ecto-blast at the orb.

"Danny, what are you thinking!?" Sam shouted. "If you destroy that thing, we'll never get back home!"

"Just trust me," Danny told her.

The ecto-energy refracted through the orb, and sparks of blue energy began flying everywhere. "What have you done?" Freakshow demanded. He would have said more if the machine behind him hadn't been zapped. The Brain Tumbler started spinning, and Freakshow was in the perfect position for it. Not only that, but the orb was still glowing and emitting waves of ecto-energy. Sam, Tucker, and Jazz shielded their eyes as the glow became brighter. Lydia watched in terror as Freakshow's eyes glazed over and the orb slipped from his hands. It made contact with the ground, and in a giant flash of light, everybody in the room had disappeared.