Daddy's Little Heroes
By PrennCooder
. Reviews plz? Thanks :D
Chapter 8: Stuck Inevitably
Sam entered the base with a frown on her face. This couldn't be good. Lolita, Taylor and Leo exchanged glances as the woman approached them. "Kids, I'm afraid you won't be going back to the human world any time soon."
They gasped.
"What's wrong?" Danielle whispered to Sam.
"I dunno. The only way for this disaster to be happening right now is if the Tossi messed with the controls. The portals are closed. They're all closed. Permanently."
"Can you investigate?" Danielle's face was very serious. The teenagers just kept looking back and forth. They were in shock.
They were stuck in the ghost zone. Indefinitely.
"I can't go. You'll have to send somebody to Skulktech because they might know how to fix it. I gotta go deal with everything so I can't stay. I'll see you." Sam gave her daughter a hug. And then Sam left presumably back to her station.
"This is getting scary." Leo said. Lolita looked worried too.
The fear really hadn't hit Taylor yet. Her reaction was a simple flat stare at Danielle. "Well, what are we supposed to do?" Taylor had a slight hint of attitude.
Danielle sighed and played with her hair out of nervousness. She had a habit of doing that when she needed to think. "For now, you all can stay in my cabin for the night. My shift isn't over yet. But I'll send you home with my husband Tucker. You'll just have to wait another fifteen minutes until he's done. Deal?"
Taylor nodded slowly. Leo followed, and so did Lolita.
"You're good little troopers." Danielle smiled. "Just go wait over by him." Danielle pointed to him on the other side of the room.
Lolita sat down in the empty chair next to Tucker Foley. Taylor and Leo leaned over Tucker's shoulders. "Can I help you?" Tucker asked. From the way he said it, the kids could tell Tucker was a very serious dude.
"They're going to stay with us for the night." Danielle told her husband.
"Well that's nice to know." Tucker said. He was engrossed in his work, so he probably was neutral on the matter. Danielle walked away.
Taylor and her friends were bored for the next few minutes. Time refused to pass. All they could hear were the beeping of machines and the repetitive patters of the mechanic sounds and the clicking of Tucker's typing. There was whirring and the occasional clashing, but very few voices. It was soooo boring.
Tucker finally shut down his station. "My shift's over." He said.
The three kids sighed and stood up. Taylor was sleepy. Leo stretched. Lolita yawned. Onward they followed Tucker to his vehicle out back. Of course. It was just their luck that it would be one of those small dinky cars only meant to sit two people.
Tucker opened both of the doors. Taylor took shotgun. That meant Leo and Lolita would have to share the single seat in the back…
Tucker flew the car to an island not too far away. This island must be the place where all the base workers lived. There were dozens upon dozens of apartment houses all linked together. In the center of this little suburb was a cute little park with a swing set and a playground and everything.
Tucker landed the vehicle in front of his little ordinary house that looked just like everybody else's. He popped the locks and they all got out. Tucker took out his keys. "In we go, everybody." He held the door open long enough for Taylor, Leo and Lolita to enter the domicile. And then Tucker flipped on the lights.
Wow. This home looked just like a typical home back in Amity Park. There were a few paintings, statues and various other decorative items like rugs which complemented the floral furniture.
Tucker gave the kids a few moments to study their new environment before he said, "Follow me and I'll show you to your bedrooms." He took them up the narrow metal staircase. It was made entirely of metal. That was odd.
Tucker opened the first door on the left. "What's your name, boy?" Tucker looked at Leo.
"Jacob." Leo replied.
"Well this here's your stay for the night, Jacob. It's the guest room."
"Wohoo!" Leo cheered and he went inside to check it out.
"Shh, I wouldn't want you to wake up my kids—Toby and Alek." Tucker said. Alek is ten and Toby is seven. Both human, and not a squick of ghost or a trace of powers. They do best when they are left alone." Tucker sighed. "What are your names, girls?" Tucker turned to Taylor and Lolita.
"Amanda." Taylor answered quickly.
"Lolita." She said warily.
Tucker brought the girls to the front of another room on the right. "You two will be sharing with Mara." Tucker said as he opened the door.
"Mara?" Taylor and Lolita looked at each other.
A small body emerged from the bedroom. Taylor looked down at the small little girl only about two feet tall.
Mara was quite the odd little child. Her skin was tan. Her hair was white as snow. And she had glowing yellow eyes. She studied Taylor and then she glanced at Lolita. Mara was silent and her face was neutral.
"Is she your kid?" Taylor asked Tucker like Mara wasn't even there.
"Actually she's my niece. My wife's brother—and my best friend—is Danny Phantom. Mara is his child. Danielle and I have just been raising her because neither of her parents are available." Tucker explained. "But she gets along quite nicely with her little cousins Toby and Alek."
Mara shyly went back into the bedroom. She closed the door.
Tucker knocked. "Mara, these girls are friends. They need to share a room with you. Is that okay?" Tucker knew how to talk to the strange girl.
"Is Mara human?" Lolita asked.
"No." Was Tucker's reply. "She's a full ghost."
"I kinda figured."
Tucker took a chance and opened the door. The lights were off. Tucker motioned for Taylor and Lolita to follow him. They did, but warily. Tucker flipped the light switch. There was Mara, all curled up on her bed. Tucker approached her and gently swooped her long hair off of her face. Mara didn't avert her eyes from Lolita and Taylor.
"There's nothing to be afraid of, Mara." Tucker assured her. "These two girls are very good people. But they don't have anywhere to stay. They came in from the human world just like your parents."
"When are my parents coming home?" Mara asked softly.
Tucker sighed. He didn't want to let the little sweetheart down. "Well, I, uh, I don't know exactly. But they will come home eventually."
"Pinky promise?" the little girl held her tiny left pinky up in the air. Tucker took it with his own pinky.
"Pinky promise." He agreed. He stood to his feet because the position he knelt in must not have been very comfortable. "Now will you try your best to share your room with Amanda and Lolita?"
Mara nodded. Tucker left the room.
Taylor stared blankly at Mara. Mara stared back. Taylor wasn't around kids very often. She didn't know how to talk to them. She didn't know what to make of them. She didn't understand them.
Lolita bravely approached the little girl with a smile on her face. Mara stared at the goth. "How old are you?" Lolita asked.
"Eight." Mara said softly.
Suddenly the bedroom door burst open and two small bodies came hurricaning in. Two little boys. The older of the boys had tan skin, straight, short black hair and blue eyes. He was wearing a blue shirt with a rocket on it. The smaller boy had curly black hair and darker skin than his older brother. He was wearing green army pajamas.
"Get out of here!" Mara yelled violently. She threw a pillow at the older boy, and he threw it back. "This is my bedroom!"
"Who are you?" The younger boy asked Taylor.
"Amanda." She said awkwardly.
"Well, I'm Toby." His voice was hoarse and small.
Alek rolled his eyes at Mara. "Whatever." He said as he dragged his little brother out of the room. "Come on Toby. Let's go back to bed."
"You miss your parents, huh?" Lolita looked at Mara, who was on the verge of exploding.
Mara nodded slightly.
"Why don't you tell me a bit about them." Lolita sat down on the ground. She motioned for Taylor to come sit next to her.
Mara sat up in her bed and shifted so that she was facing the two teenage girls. "Well, my dad is the famous Danny Phantom. He's the hero of the ghost zone, or so I've been told. I haven't seen him in two years. He's big and strong and he used to fly me around the neighborhood a lot. People say I have his personality. I miss him. My mom's name is Cecelia. She's beautiful. She can carry me on her shoulders too, but she can't fly. She has long brown hair down to her knees. And she can shoot electricity out of her hands. She's awesome. I miss her too."
"Where are they now?" Taylor asked.
"Well, my mom is fighting the bad guys. They're called the Tossi. They're scary. They have fangs. They can mess with your mind and stuff. I've had nightmares about them. My dad is supposed to be forming a steady alliance with the dragons. But nobody's heard from him in a very long time."
"I have a feeling things will start to look better with time." Lolita said.
Mara was starting to get real sleepy. She moved over so that the girls could share her large bed. Taylor and Lolita took off their shoes and jackets.
"You really think so?" Mara asked tiredly.
"Yes." Lolita said. "Just today I got to reunite with my mom whom I had not seen since I was very young. Imagine my surprise when I find her here! I suppose, this ghost zone is sort of a hopeful place when you really think about it."
Mara smiled. She allowed her petite little eyelids to fall. The three girls slept soundly into the far night.
