Chapter LXXII
Phantom landed on the top of one of the many dizzyingly high buildings that made up Amity Park's vast cityscape. The view from any of these was breathtaking, and any person would be privileged to have seen such a view. To the ghost boy, it was just another day on the job. The half ghost remained on the rooftop for all of a fraction of a second before propelling himself away from the structure; just in time to avoid two grenades that had been launched at his exact location.
The ghost boy made his body intangible as he flew into an office building. The Huntress veered away from the glass, silently fuming over her target's apparent escape. But Phantom was far from done with his ex girlfriend. With a surge of speed that would have made the Flash look twice, Phantom hurtled at his opponent. The girl was almost caught off guard. Almost. She pulled back on her board, creating a makeshift shield. It protected her from the brunt of the ghost's attack, but the force of the impact was enough to disrupt the magnetic boots that held Valerie to her hovering attack board. The girl had been in similar situations before and instinctively reached for her ecto-rifle. True to form, Phantom was making his approach as she fell helplessly to the concrete below.
"Game's over," Phantom said as he slowed his pace to match the speed of Valerie's decent. "Surrender now and I might save you."
"Nice try, ghost," Valerie said with a malicious smile. Her hover board was quickly making its approach. The ghost hunter saw that the laser weapons were primed and ready to fire. "But I'll never surrender to the likes of you."
"I'm hurt," Phantom said with a fake pout.
His mockery was replaced by a blinding purple flash and a howl of pain. The lasers had discharged their energy right into Phantom's back, sending him tumbling away. Valerie's boots clamped onto the board and she pulled out of her fatal dive millimeters above the road. Discarded refuse was thrown up into a mini tornado as Valerie sped through the streets of Amity Park's inner city.
Phantom was hardly a heartbeat away. He easily kept pace with Valerie's machine as it tried to outmaneuver him. Phantom realized too late that the Huntress was not trying to evade him. She had already back flipped off of her glider and landed in Phantom's arms before he could alter his trajectory. The cold, steel barrel of her rifle pressed into his forehead.
"I wouldn't think of dropping me, spook," Valerie hissed. "Wouldn't want your brains to be splattered all over tomorrow's news paper, would you?"
"Dropping you isn't what I had in mind," Phantom replied, "especially not from this height and speed. Sure, you might get a good shot in, but my splattered brains can fix themselves. Can yours?"
Valerie glared at Phantom, her hatred as tangible as Phantom's current state of being. "Why don't you finish it, then?"
"I never wanted to finish it," Phantom said, shaking his head. "I never wanted it to start in the first place. I can't convince you otherwise, that much is clear. I just want you get off my case."
"Never," Valerie growled, pushing the barrel further into Phantom's head. "Not after what you did."
Phantom rolled his eyes and became intangible. Valerie screamed as she fell through the sky – and right onto the roof of a two-story building on the outskirts of the inner city only two feet below her.
"I just wanted to blow off some steam," Phantom's disembodied voice said. "No need to get your panties in a bunch."
Valerie screamed and began searching for her target, only to be met with silence. Phantom had gone. The Huntress sat down and waited for her glider to arrive at her position. Yet another hunt failed.
Walker looked at Wulf with the closest thing he could call a smile. The ghost animal returned the menacing gesture with one of his own. Walker reached up and patted the furry canine's head in approval. In the short time Wulf had been in his care, the little creature had proven to be more of a hassle than Walker thought possible. To his surprise the, little furball had matured at an unprecedented rate; it now stood over eight feet tall and carried a muscular frame that made it all the more intimidating. Wulf was no longer a puppy. He was ready.
"You know what to do, Wulf," Walker said as he looked through the portal his loyal companion had torn into the physical plane. "Find Daniel and bring him to me, alive."
Wulf bayed at a moon that wasn't there before leaping through the portal. The rift in space and time sealed shut after the last hair on Wulf's tail passed through it. Walker grinned. Now it was time to wait.
"Dude, you are going to have to talk to Sam at some point." Tucker sat down on Danny's bed and began absently flipping through one of the dozens of comics that littered the floor.
"I don't want to," Danny mumbled as he continued to hit his head against the wall as he had done for the past half hour.
"Why not?" Tucker asked as he threw the comic book to the floor and picked up another. "Just tell Sam the truth; it was an honest mistake, and-"
"It wasn't a mistake!" Danny exclaimed. "Right?"
"How the hell am I supposed to know?"
Danny covered his face with a pillow and bellowed into it before resuming his self-castigation.
"Ok, ok, look," Tucker said angrily, pulling Danny's wheeled computer chair away from the wall. Danny's head was moving towards the wall at the time, and he lost his balance without the wall to stop him. The crumpled and defeated Danny Fenton looked pleadingly into Tucker's eyes. "I think I have the solution," the dark skinned boy announced proudly. "Just don't bring it up!"
Danny's hopeful look decayed into one of despair.
"Wait, wait, wait, you didn't let me finish!" Tucker stammered, hoping to keep his friend from breaking down. At least any more than he had already.
"How am I supposed to no bring it up?" Danny cried exasperatedly. "This isn't like 'oh, I'm sorry, I accidentally slapped your ass, it won't happen again'!"
"I know it's not like tha- wait, you've slapped Sam's ass before? When was this?"
"THAT'S NOT THE POINT!"
"Ok, ok. Look, she's your friend. And it's ok for friends to kiss each other-"
"I don't kiss you," Danny interrupted. "Something I pat myself on the back for every day."
"That isn't my point. She's a friend who is a girl. Just say you kinda got caught up in the excitement, but that you're sorry for stepping over the line like you did."
Danny rolled over onto his back. "Do friends who are girls have different rules than friends who are dudes?"
"Yes. Yes they do."
"Good." Danny stood up and transformed into Phantom. Tucker shielded his eyes momentarily as the bright green light filled the room. "I'm going to go talk to her. Wish me luck."
"Wish you luck? Dude, you don't need my help getting lucky-" A thin beam of energy smacked Tucker's beret off his head. "Just go."
Phantom flew through the wall and set off on the all-too-familiar path to Sam's house.
Wulf bounded from building to building. The green sweat suit he "borrowed" from an athletics store did little to hide his monstrous appearance, even with the hood up. Up on the tops of the buildings, however, the fears of the pathetically weak humans below hardly concerned the ghost. The rush of flying through the air between leaps was invigorating, almost distractingly so, as Wulf found himself nearly passing up his target.
The ghost boy had stopped outside a window of a house and looked like he was about to enter, but he stopped and turned around. Wulf cocked his head to the side as the ghost boy continued this behavior for over five minutes. The ghost grew bored of Phantom's unusual behavior and began to make his way closer.
"Sam, I'm sorry I tried to make out with you at the arcade, I-" Phantom smacked his head. "No, that's terrible. Uh, hi Sam! I was just passing through, and thought I-"
Would continue to make a fool of myself by floating in front of your window without so much as becoming invisible!
She is the one you desire! You must prove our worth! FIGHT!
A proper, human mating ritual is more appropriate, you buffoon. I shall guide our gracious host to successfully acquisition a mate.
NO! Females desire the strongest one! Only the strongest is most deserving! FIGHT!
There is no present hostile entity to engage! Stifle yourself before I do it for you!
ENEMY! FIGHT!
"Where?" Phantom looked around. "I don't see anyth-"
A blur of black and green collided with Phantom's hovering body and slammed him into the side of a building several yards away. The ghost boy shook off his shock and looked up to find – nothing.
Phantom floated away from the miniature crater his impact had made on the side of the building and looked around. There was no offending ghost to be found, which was odd, since something did attack him. The familiar green mist streamed from Phantom's nostrils and he spun around just in time to see a hulking wolf-like creature leap from the top of a building right for him.
Wulf's claws slid out to their full length in the blink of an eye and he tried to sever Phantom's arm, but the ghost child managed to twist out of the way. Wulf managed to snag the boy's belt and grabbed on. Phantom was thrown during the middle of Wulf's leap and smashed into the ground below. Wulf landed with an earthshaking THUD several feet away.
Phantom rolled on his side and fired ecto blasts from his hands at his new adversary. The first few hits found their marks, but the canine easily dodged the rest and took to all fours, running at full speed towards the ghost boy. Phantom charged his fist with energy and swung right at Wulf's nose. The collision send the larger ghost flying back into a building, but the bones in Phantom's hand shattered on the impact, leaving the appendage useless for the duration of the fight.
"Alright dog, you want to play games? I've got one for you. It's called PLAY DEAD!"
Wulf swung his body out of the way of the hailstorm of green energy bolts that slammed into the building Wulf had been thrown to. The ghost animal sprinted away from the siege of destructive energy that bombarded his location, sustaining several hits in his attempt to flee. The large canine mentally scolded itself for underestimating his opponent, even one so puny looking as Phantom, and began to plan its next move. Phantom would not be brought in conventionally, so Wulf moved to employ a different strategy.
Be careful, that beast is likely preparing to strike from below using its intangibility.
NO, the monster clearly preferred the sky! Wait for an aerial attack!
You are always wrong! The sky is what we expect!
I don't expect it!
Which is why you're wrong!
Guys, shut up. Let me think.
Phantom had no time to engage his brain as the ground in front of him exploded as if a land mine had gone off. Wulf propelled himself through the air and pushed off a tree his momentum had carried him into. Phantom let loose a blast of energy that could have totaled a large vehicle at Wulf, but it was hardly enough to slow the animal's speed. Ten razor-sharp claws dug into Phantom's torso, drawing the glowing green elixir that made up Phantom's blood. Wulf had been ravaged by the ghost boy's attack and fled back into the Ghost Zone to avoid further injury, leaving Phantom on the ground, clutching his wounded body in agony. The corners of his vision darkened as a familiar shape approached him. A hand reached out quickly as Phantom's view suddenly turned sideways before disappearing entirely.
To Be Continued
A/N: Wulf seems pretty formidable, huh? Well of course he's not Super Hulk Jesus Wulf like he will be later on, he underestimated his opponent. Weren't you listening?!
I realized why I ran out of material for the last segment and had to shorten it to 8 chapters instead of the usual 9. I wrote too much in the first 8 chapters and didn't leave any material for a closing one. But don't worry; I'll do my best to make sure it doesn't happen again.
I'd like to thank my reviewers. That number just keeps growing, like those weird toys that are the size of your thumb and grow in the sink to the size of a cat by the next day. Unlike those weird toys, I love you guys.
Special thanks to Cylon One, Last Samurai Ryu-san, TDG3RD, Bloxham, Writin' Dude, Fulcon, Adran06, Belthasar, MissMeliss4251, darkbunny92, dpphan333, and slyfoxx.
Extra special thanks to Kit turned Mighty, who has become something of a post de facto beta reader for this story. Thank you kindly.
There are some things I feel I need to point out.
First and foremost, I was shot twice in the stomach today and it hurt. A LOT.
Secondly, this segment is not related to "Seed of Evil", a oneshot chapter earlier in the story. It's all tied together in the grand scheme of things, but for immediate effect, they are not related. Think more along the lines of "The Seeds of the Future Lie Buried in the Past". Cookie to whoever gets the reference first.
Thirdly, slyfoxx's character the Paper Cutter (right?) WILL debut this chapter. I need to work out how, but it shouldn't be too hard.
So I leave you with that. Have a nice day, my friends.
MURDER WAS THE CASE, AND THEY BLAMED ME