Chapter 09: Rise of the Hunter Part 2

Technus was confused.

Skulker was very willing to tell them about the Ghost Zone as the GIW learned more in a few days then they did in years of researching.

Skulker told them about other Ghosts, how they're born, how they can do more than people thing.

But the scientist noticed how forlorn Skulker looked.

So he waited until Skulker was by himself as he approached the short guy. "Is everything fine, friend?" He asked curiously causing the small blob to look up at him.

"Yes." Skulker said curtly.

Technus just raised a brow as if he caught one of his students lying to him when he taught before he sat down next to Skulker. "You sure?"

"What do you want, Technus?" Skulker finally asked giving him a look.

"Just to know what's bothering you." Technus said with a shrug.

In all honesty, he saw Skulker as someone who could use a friend.

After a moment of debation, Skulker spoke up. "I'm worried about when I get back to the Ghost Zone."

"Are you in trouble?" Technus asked in surprise.

"I suppose you could say that." Skulker sighed and floated up to Technus shoulder. "Due to my size, the other Ghosts always think I'm easy prey to take stuff from."

"That does sound like a problem." Technus said before grinning as an idea hit him.

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Danny took a cautious step back as the voices were getting closer. 'Shit.' He thought knowing that if he was seen it would be hard to do what he has been doing.

Looking around quickly, Danny saw a big cabinet that looked like it could fit him inside so he quickly got in, barely closing the door as the other door opened to show a dark skinned man with a dark mustache wearing a security shirt.

He recognized the man.

Damon Gray.

His Daughter Valerie was one of the A-Listers that he went to school with.

"I just don't see how the footage was released to the News." Damon said to a man he couldn't see, most likely his boss.

"Well find out and put a stop to it." The man told him. "If you don't you will be fired."

Yeah, definitely his boss.

"I will, I promise." Damon said before he heard the door close and Damon was still in the room.

'Looks like I might be here awhile.' Danny thought a little relieved that he was able to hide. 'But I need to get out of here soon.'

He watched silently as Damon sat down at a desk and began typing before he stopped and picked up a picture.

'Wait, this is his office?' Danny realized wondering what Skulker wanted and why Damon would have it?

"I'll see you later sweetie." Damon said with a smile as he put the picture down to show a younger Valerie that was on Damon's back.

"Danny are you there?" Tucker's voice came through the com. "Come on, answer me."

"Not now." Danny whispered so Tucker could hear him but Damon couldn't.

It felt like forever before Damon got off the computer and left, leaving Danny to come out of the cabinet.

Knowing he was on borrowed time, Danny just put in a flash drive that he brought with him and downloaded everything on the computer.

Quickly putting a finger to the side of his mask, Danny spoke. "Tucker, tell me the hallway is empty."

"It is."

"Good, I'm leaving the place." Danny said as the flash drive finished up.

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"That was way too close." Tucker said as Danny walked back into the base, pulling the hood of his cloak down. "You could've been in serious trouble."

"We might be in serious trouble if we don't find out what Skulker is after." Danny told him as he handed Tucker the flash drive. "He's already killed once for whatever he got, we have to stop him from doing more."

Plugging the Flash Drive into his PDA, Tucker frowned. "Whoa, the firewalls on this thing are impressive, it's a Quadruple Encryption Firewall and it has a lot of defenses."

"Can you get into it?" Danny asked a bit concerned causing Tucker to scoff.

"Please, just give me a day or two and this will be cracked." Tucker promised him as he looked thoughtful. "Don't know about Skulker though unless he has someone to decrypt it for him."

"Or he got it for someone who could." Danny muttered as he walked away, leaving Tucker to his work in time to see Sydney looking through some of the blueprints. "You alright, Sydney?"

"Yeah, I wanted to look into a few things." Sydney said as he had a frown.

"Did you find anything?" Danny asked curiously.

Looking up from the blueprint, Sydney began to speak. "There are a few key components missing from this stuff, like the metal used for these… Ecto Plasma Blades?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Figured it would work better than Fenton Cutters." Danny said with a shrug. "What about the metal?"

"Well unless you find a piece of metal that is strong enough to withstand the Plasma energy that the blades emit, they won't work." Sydney said making Danny frown. "That's probably why your parents threw that blueprint away."

"Great." Danny muttered knowing that those would come in handy before he blinked. "What type of metal are we talking about?"

"Something that works like Adamantium or Vibranium from the comics." Sydney said his tone telling Danny he thought it would be impossible.

Reaching into his bag, Danny pulled out his modified Fenton Army Knife and pulled the blade out. "What about this?"

Sydney looked confused as he saw it. "Why is the blade green?"

"My Dad made it from a piece of metal he was given years ago." Danny explained to Sydney. "He just never learned what the metal was called and he can't remember who gave it to him."

"You really think it will work?" Sydney asked curiously. "And even if it could work, we don't know where to find more because we would need a lot more than this little bit."

"And it's one of the only things I have that can hurt Ghosts." Danny said placing the knife down.

Looking at the time, Danny sighed. "Well we should all go home and get some rest, I'll be here later tonight after my parents are asleep." He said giving a wave.

"My are out of town for the week." Tucker said messing with his PDA. "So I'm good with staying here to work on this."

"Don't push yourself too hard." Danny warned him.

"Relax, I'll be fine." Tucker said with a grin.

Giving a nod, Danny turned to Sydney only to see him still working. "Aren't you going home?"

"Uh no, my parents trust me to stay out late." Sydney said looking a bit nervous.

Danny raised an eyebrow at that. "Are you sure?"

"Yes." Sydney said nodding a little too quickly.

'Huh, what's up with him?' Danny thought a little worried about how he was acting. 'I'll ask him later tonight.'

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On making it to his home, Danny paused sensing that something was wrong.

"Hello?" He called out not hearing an answer.

Placing a hand in his pocket where he kept the knife, Danny carefully made his way to the Kitchen only to see a microwaveable meal on the table along with a note.

Raising an eyebrow behind his sunglasses, Danny picked up the note and read it. 'Kids your father and I will be out late tonight for our research, we made a meal for you to eat and we should be back in the Morning. Love your Parents. Ps: Enjoy the fudge in there.'

Lifting the lid to peek in there, Danny slammed it shut when he heard snarling.

"And this is why Jazz and I learned how to cook." He muttered throwing it away as the door opened and closed again.

"I'm home." Jazz called out entering the kitchen. "Hey lil bro."

Rolling his eyes, Danny smirked. "Hey Jazz, how was your first day of Internship?" He asked curiously sitting at the table.

"Ms. Spectra is too peppy." Jazz answered shaking her head. "But I suppose you would need for when you talk to kids who are pretty down."

"I suppose so." Danny said with a chuckle. "So what did you learn?"

"Not to be that peppy." Jazz said dryly causing Danny to snort. "So where are Mom and Dad?"

"Out in town." Danny said not saying why as he already threw the note away.

Jazz looked surprised before giving a shrug before her phone rang and she looked at it. "Oh great."

"What?"

"I left my notebook at school." Jazz said standing up and grabbed her bag.

"You're going out now?" Danny asked in surprise, checking the time. "It's Seven in the Evening."

"I have homework in that notebook." Jazz said leaving. "I'll see you when I get back."

Giving a nod, Danny waited a bit before he ran up to the Op's Center where he pulled his suit out of his bag and changed.

Pulling the mask on, Danny pulled the Specter Tracker out and checked it. 'Come on.' He thought firing the grappling hook as it latched onto a building where he reeled himself in, rolling as he moved with the momentum. 'Where are you?'

Seeing the Tracker beginning to beep, Danny began running towards it only for his eyes to widen.

It was heading for the school.

… It was heading for Jazz.

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Tucker turned to Sydney who was still doing his homework. "So you want to talk about it?"

"About what?" Sydney asked unsure of what he meant.

"About why you didn't want to go home." Tucker elaborated as he saw Sydney's eyes widened a small fraction. "Is everything alright?"

"F-Fine." Sydney said turning away from him as he kept writing. "I just wanted to spend some time here, it's peaceful."

"Well, I can understand that." Tucker said a little doubtfully. "But you do that almost every day."

"And what's wrong with that?" Sydney asked showing a little hostility.

Tucker raised his hands in a placating manner. "Nothing really, it's just… You can talk to Danny and I about anything, you know that right?"

Sydney frowned as he looked down. "I-... I don't want to talk about it." He said getting up to leave.

As he left, Tucker pinched his nose. "Way to go, Foley." He muttered at how 'subtle' he was.

Taking a sigh, Tucker saw the book that Danny used and was feeling curious as it was open.

So being him, he looked at it to see Skulker.

'Let's see, no real name, not much on his past, said to be a master of Hunting.' Tucker thought as he saw pictures of Skulker's tech. 'But why would a Ghost need all that high-tech weaponry?'

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Sam frowned as she was scouring the World Wide Web right now with there being some sightings of the same being that saved her, yet no one got a clear picture as it was always a blur.

People were calling this guy an 'Urban Legend'.

But Sam knew better.

"Just who are you?" She muttered as she saw him fighting a blue blur.

She couldn't forget this guy, no matter what she tried.

Sighing at not seeing any clear pictures, Sam pulled her sketchbook out to show the drawn picture of him.

'You are a tough person to find.'

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Jazz entered the school. "Hello?" She called out just in case the custodian or Mr. Lancer was still around. "Anyone here?"

On not hearing an answer, Jazz shrugged and began heading towards the Psychiatrist's office where her notebook would be.

Unknown to her, Skulker was watching her invisibly.

He came to this school because he listened to rumors about someone matching this 'Ghost Hunter' first being spotted around here, so he came to get a clue and barely turned invisible when this human came in.

Giving a snarl, Skulker turned and flew around hoping to find a clue as he came to a pause.

Turning his gauntlet on, Skulker began typing only to pause as he heard light footsteps.

Spinning around, he saw Danny coming around the corner.

"So we finally meet face to face, human." Skulker said with a smirk as Danny raised an eyebrow behind his mask.

"You know me?"

"Ha!" Skulker laughed. "I saw you trap that worthless Box Ghost the other night. Have to say it's been awhile since I've tangled with the GIW."

Danny frowned. "The who?"

Skulker blinked before chuckling. "Ah so you're not from them? That makes this all the more interesting."

"You killed a man earlier today, Skulker." Danny told him darkly.

"Oh, you know of me?" Skulker asked with a smirk as a machete popped out.

Sure he could used his shoulder mounted rockets to kill him, but the Ghost wanted a bit of fun first.

Seeing the machete, Danny pulled out the Altered Swiss Knife as Skulker raised a brow. "Ectoranium?" He asked on seeing that.

Danny frowned. 'So he knows what Ectoranium is? Interesting.'

Skulker lunged as the Training Danny went in kicked in and he managed to block the machete with the small knife.

'He has the advantage of range.' Danny thought as Skulker and him were at a small stalemate. 'I have to get in close.'

"Huh, stronger than you look." Skulker muttered as he could see the small muscles that showed through the suit.

Instead of answering, Danny kicked him in the face only to wince as his foot was in pain as Skulker smirked.

"And apparently unprepared." Skulker stated backhanding Danny sending him flying as he managed to right himself by using his hands to do a backflip. "So, shall the hunt begin, whelp?"

Instead of answering, Danny pulled the Thermos out and aimed it, managing to catch Skulker off guard only for it not to work well much to his shock.

"What the-?" Danny muttered before realizing something.

All the Ghosts he trapped in there.

The Thermos has to be full.

Seeing Skulker come at him again, Danny dove to the side as he brought out the Ghost Wire and wrapped it around his arm.

Attempting to turn intangible, Skulker was surprised when the wire stayed on as Danny attempted to flip him.

"Not happening." Skulker managed to deck him, effectively breaking his nose under the mask as Danny was sent rolling back.

Pushing himself up, Danny heard footsteps as his eyes widened to see Jazz walking around the corner looking at her notebook.

"Well at least I managed to get it-." Her voice died down as she saw the scene in front of her with the disguised Danny pushing himself up as Skulker was floating nearby. "W-What the?"

"Run." Danny shouted, his pronunciation a little off due to the broken nose. "Gib out of here."

"Wide open." Skulker shot in, taking Danny's distraction as he slammed the machete right through his abdomen.

Danny gasped in pain as the machete emerged through his back, covered in blood as the taste of iron filled his mouth.

Jazz screamed at what she saw as Skulker turned towards her. "Boo."

Turning tail, Jazz fled the scene as she began dialing 9-1-1.

"Now then." Skulker began before a beeping noise came to his gauntlet and he checked it. "Sorry to cut this short." He said twisting the machete, causing more pain for Danny. "But I have places to be, people to hunt. I remain unimpressed."

With that, Skulker ripped the machete out as Danny fell to the ground with blood pooling around him, before he disappeared with a laugh.

Danny coughed as his vision was beginning to swim. 'N-No.' He thought pushing himself up only for his arms to go weak and he fell down again. 'I can't die here.'

But he couldn't fight it as he blacked out, the last thing he saw was a being appearing before him, carrying a staff.

"Sleep Daniel, it's time we had a chat." A mysterious voice said as Danny fell into the numbing arms of darkness.

To Be Continued…

How's that for a cliffhanger?

Danny has been doing so well, but Skulker does outclass him in every way at the moment.

Added to the fact that his head wasn't fully in the game due to his sister being in the school and you can say it's the end of him before he got started.

Or is it?

Next chapter is when this story truly begins.

But for now, Review Time!

G. : Yes I do.

Nightmaster000: No he is not, but now he's in danger of dying. In each chapter I plan to show more of Skulker's past to keep things interesting. You'll find out what he was stealing later. The footage was leaked to the News, that was how Tucker got a hold of it. Project Overshadow, huh? Good name. Holy, Jeremy Manson as the Cult Leader? Now that's an ingenious twist. Thank you.

Coldblue: Yes, yes it will and thank you, I'm happy you liked how long I had it take for them to refurbish the base. It's great to see that you enjoyed how Jazz and Sam were in the last chapter along with how Danny knew which supernatural book was fake, I figured that last part would be interesting. Oh he will question who he truly is in the upcoming few chapters, that's for sure. Yes, this story will be getting intense as time goes on with the ideas. Yes it will get dark, as for him getting all those library books, well he loves to read and he'd rather not go to the Library that much due to remembering how the Librarian nearly killed him. Yes and in this chapter, he didn't take Danny seriously at all. The true fight scene will be later.

Now for your Questions. 1) Interesting idea, thank you. 2) I'll look into that. 3) Possibly. 4) In the rematch, yes. 5) Yes. 6) Yes. 7) After the rematch. 8) Possibly. 9) Yes. 10) Possibly. 11) Before the rematch he will. 12) Possibly. 13) That would be intriguing. 14) After this Arc. 15) He didn't think about that until it was too late. 16) Yes, they'll put in the idea of it being a robot. 17) Maybe. 18) I think this chapter answered your question. 19) In the not so near future he will. 20) When they start doing so he will. 21) No clue yet. 22) After the live 'defeat' of Skulker they will try.

Justus80: I'll look into that.

PhantomDragon99: Uh no I haven't, why?

The Keeper of Worlds: You'll see what happens as more flashbacks occur.

Marco2o: Haha, thank you.

Matt: Don't worry, I have something planned for that part much, much later.

DannyPhantom619: It will be awhile but I will show some hints in future chapters.

Alright that's enough out of me for now, Spidey Signing Out!