I was gonna write Phantom + Fenton parents bonding but my brain said "no, we're writing dodgeball" so I wrote dodgeball. Listen, you think I can exercise control over what I write? Nah man. I'm just along for the ride.
The title is kinda dumb but it's like... Jack and Maddie are observing these ghosts in their 'natural' environments, aka naturalistic observation. Listen my only alternative was "Schoolyard Tactician" and, ehhh.
Prompt by horseGhost: "maddie and jack learn a bit more about ghosts, but not through scientific study"
The dashboard of the Ghost Assault Vehicle beeped, and Maddie's fingers tightened around the wheel. Jack leaned over to watch the screen.
"Looks like a group of ghosts," he reported. "All medium to high level."
"Guess that our shopping trip is coming to an early stop." Maddie darted a look at the screen, then turned them in that direction.
Jack kept his eye on the screen, trusting Maddie to bring them to their destination safely. "Looks like they're stationary, at least at the moment. Not far."
"I don't see them. Must be in that fenced in area." Maddie's gaze remained steady forward. "Odd. They must be low to the ground."
They stopped, and Jack immediately swung open the door. Before he could even exit, though, he heard the clear voice of another human.
"Alright folks, here's how this is gonna work!" the Red Huntress shouted, and a hush fell. Jack hadn't even realized noise was happening prior to her yell.
He shared a look with Maddie, and they both jumped out of the GAV. Meanwhile, the Huntress kept talking.
"I'm gonna go over the rules in a minute, but, first of all, there's the matter of teams."
'teams?' Jack mouthed at Maddie, and she shrugged back. They crept closer to the fence, peeking over it.
Inside the fence was a flat area of dirt, a line drawn to separate it in two halves. On one side of the line, a large group of humans stood. Mostly teenagers, it appeared, but some adults were included as well. They were all dressed somewhat sporty.
Just next to the line, in the center of the field, stood the Red Huntress. Next to her, on the other side, stood Phantom.
And there, on the same side as the ghost, were the other three ghosts the GAV had detected.
"So, it's very easy!" The Red Huntress swept out her arms. "If you're a ghost, you're on Team Ghost, on this side of the line." She gestured at Phantom, who waved at the crowd. "If you're alive and not a ghost, you're on Team Human." The Huntress gestured at the other group. "Don't worry about the fact that there are way more of us humans than ghosts, or the fact that ghosts have powers, we'll get to the rules in a minute."
She bent down, picking up a ball that laid at her feet. "We're gonna be playing dodgeball! The team that runs out of players first loses. The price is bragging rights."
"I don't recognize all those ghosts," Maddie whispered to him. "But the big wolf in the back, it attacked us during that first ghost invasion. And Phantom has a little look-alike, too. I don't trust this."
"Let's keep an eye on them," Jack agreed, peeking over the fence again.
The Red Huntress bounced the ball on the ground. "So, rules. We're gonna play a pretty basic game of dodgeball. If you get hit, you're out, and you join the row on the side. If you catch a ball, the first in the queue gets back in. Now, that's all the rules us humans have to worry about. Phantom?"
"Yes. Besides the fact that we kept the teams uneven, we're also limiting the use of powers for us ghosts." Phantom grinned at his captivated audience. "We're gonna restrain ourselves, strength-wise, to make sure no one gets seriously hurt. In return, we do ask that you guys try to keep it reasonable, too. We want the dodgeballs to stay in the court, if possible. The spares are here for back-up, we're hoping not to use them."
"As for actual powers, we're limiting the ghosts to just two of them." The Red Huntress shook her head at Phantom. "Ghosts are allowed to go intangible, and they're allowed to form shields, if they can. Because they are built to be anti-gravity, we're also allowing them brief moments of floating, but no outright flight. Stay in touch with the ground as much as possible."
Phantom nodded. "Now, as for introductions. You probably all know me. I'm Phantom, et cetera, et cetera. Here are my teammates for the day!"
He stepped to the side, gesturing at the first ghost behind him. She looked like… well, like a smaller female version of Phantom. Her jumpsuit was a little different, but still alternated between black and white, and she even had the same logo on her chest!
"This is Dani," Phantom introduced, and the female ghost waved. "Yes, she's my family. No, she doesn't come to Amity very often. Yes, I'm expecting you all to play nice."
Dani laughed, then stepped aside so Phantom could move over to the next ghost. This one was also a teenager, although a male. The entire ghost was monochrome, colored in varying shades of gray. He also appeared to be shy, flinching when everyone's attention moved to him.
"This is Sidney Poindexter, and please, guys, call him Sidney." Phantom patted the ghost on his shoulder. "All of you Casper High students might've heard of him before. Yes, the rumors are true! Now, as for our last member…"
Phantom clapped Sidney on the shoulder before moving on to the last ghost. The one Jack and Maddie both recognized, the wolf that had attacked them during the invasion.
"This is Wulf!" Phantom cheerily declared. The ghost was almost twice as tall as Phantom, broad, and with massive paw-like hands. It was also covered entirely in pitch black fur, its tail swishing eagerly. To its credit, though, the bipedal wolf did wear a bright green hoodie and tattered pants. "He might look a little scary, but no worries, he's a big softie!"
The Red Huntress stared straight at Phantom, and Jack could guess at the look she was giving him underneath that helmet. "…Right. Anyway, those are your targets, people. You know the rules, you know the price. Any more questions?"
Phantom floated back over to her, landing soundlessly. "Not a question, but I wanted to thank everyone for coming here. Let's all have some fun, shall we?"
The crowd—both humans and ghosts—cheered, and the Huntress shook her head almost exasperatedly. She offered her hand to Phantom, who quickly shook it.
"May the best team win," he declared, a wide grin on his face.
"Don't embarrass yourself," she told him.
They separated, Phantom backing up into his half of the field. The Red Huntress placed the ball she held back onto the line, then gestured at some of the teens on the side. Two more balls were rolled over to her, and joined the first on the line. With that done she, too, got up to join her respective team.
"Ready?" she asked, voice loud and clear. "On three! One… Two…"
"Three!" she and Phantom shouted simultaneously, and the game burst to life.
Of the ghosts, only the female Phantom—Dani—shot forward to claim a ball. She lunged, faster than the humans on the other side of the line, and threw it the moment her fingers made contact. A girl on the human team yelled, then drooped off to the side.
In the wake, though, two human teenagers grabbed the other ones. The blonde nodded at his equally broad friend, and then wound back, throwing their dodgeballs at the same time.
Phantom rolled his eyes, the two balls phasing through him. Behind him, Dani and Sidney grabbed the missed dodgeballs off of floor.
The game continued like that for a little longer, neither side getting far ahead. The ghosts knocked out a few of the human players, but there were always enough players left to catch the balls and reclaim their victims. The ghosts, on the other hand, were almost impossible to hit. Between intangibility and the occasional shield from Phantom, only one got knocked out: the biggest target of them all, Wulf.
Who was then promptly brought back in by Dani, who lunged sideways to catch a ball that would've flown out of the fence otherwise.
To his surprise, Jack found that it was actually pretty interesting to watch. The ghosts all seemed content to play the game, all following the rules set up beforehand. Not much teamwork, though, unless they counted the fact that Phantom spoke for them all beforehand.
"It really is quite novel," Maddie said, eyes on the game. "I wonder how they came to the agreement to play this game? It seems organized."
Jack hummed, watching as Phantom formed another shield. One of the incoming dodgeballs hit it, bouncing back towards the humans side.
A second dodgeball bounced off, this one to the side, and Phantom… paused? The ghost seemed to still, slightly, before turning to look at Jack and Maddie.
Directly at Jack and Maddie.
His luminescent green eyes seemed even brighter through the shield. The ghost's face split into a challenging grin. "If you're enjoying it so much, why don't you two join?"
The shield dropped, and Phantom caught the third dodgeball easily.
"Time out!" he shouted, holding up the ball. "Let's give the human team a chance to switch up their players. Red, can we talk?"
The Red Huntress held up a hand, and the game came to a complete halt. "Sure thing, Phantom. People, anyone who wants in, or out, now's your chance!"
A murmur started in the crowd as they dispersed, some of the kids leaving entirely. Their absence was immediately filled, however, by other people. Apparently the game had drawn more watchers than just Jack and Maddie.
He turned to shoot his wife a hopeful look.
"I don't know, Jack." She sighed, crossing her arms. "We're not exactly the type for these kind of games."
"It would give us a good opportunity to watch from even closer, though," he pointed out. "And the Red Huntress is playing, too. Team human, led by ghost hunters?"
Maddie made a thoughtful noise. "I suppose it would put us right at the front line, should something go wrong…"
"And it would allow us to see what these ghosts will act like in a combat situation." The more he thought about it, the more exciting it was to Jack. "All the knowledge, with far less risk!"
"Well…" she said, and Jack knew that he'd convinced her. "I guess you're right, honey. Let's show these ghosts why they shouldn't mess with humans."
Jack grinned at her, and they entered the fenced in courtyard. The Red Huntress nodded at Phantom, and the two of them moved back into the center.
"Alright, everyone in who wants to be in?" the Huntress asked, her voice raised. "I see we've got a few more members on Team Human, including the Fentons. Last chance, people!"
No one moved, and the Huntress nodded. "Alright. Phantom and I had a quick discussion, and we're tweaking the rules a little. Team Human gets more players, and Team Ghost gets more powers. Because, admittedly, the last rules made it so that not all ghosts could participate equally. So, here's how we're going to do it now!"
The Red Huntress turned her head towards the humans, but gestured at the ghosts. "The ghosts can now use any of their powers except invisibility and flight. They are still allowed to briefly hover, if they can't stop themselves. They are not allowed to target the human players with anything except dodgeballs. Phantom, give us some examples of the adjusted rules?"
"Sure thing, Red." Phantom stepped closer to the line, nodding at the humans. "Ecto-blasts of any kind are a no-go, because they are a purely offensive ability. This rule, of course, extends to all purely offensive abilities, as well as superhuman strength. If we can find a way to use powers to defend ourselves, or to make it easier for us to dodge, that's allowed. Duplicates, for example, are fine. It's really dependent on the ghost, so we'll have to play it by ear. If something seems too much, Red can call it out."
"Let's all play a fair and honest game of dodgeball, though, folks!" The Red Huntress turned to look at both teams. "Yeah? Alright. Let's get the balls ready, and we'll go on three again."
Jack sidled up next to Maddie, right in the middle of the human front line. The two teens from the first game were on either side of them, bouncing with anticipation.
"Ready?" the Red Huntress called, backing up until she was right in front of Jack and Maddie. "One… Two…"
"Three!" she and Phantom shouted, and the game was off once more.
Much like last game, the two human teens raced forward to grab dodgeballs, as did Dani. The ghost was, once again, faster than the humans, but instead of throwing the ball, she jumped backwards with it.
The kids grabbed the remaining dodgeballs, winding back to throw them at Dani.
A green wall formed around the female ghost, though, Phantom standing right behind her. Both dodgeballs bounced off to the sides, where Sidney and Wulf grabbed them.
"Gotcha," Phantom declared, as his three teammates wound back with the dodgeballs. And threw them!
Two of the dodgeballs veered off to the sides, but one came pelting right for Jack. He startled, raising his hands.
Maddie jumped in front of him, catching the ball. After a brief moment of hesitation, she wound back and chucked it at Phantom.
The ghost laughed as the ball passed through him, Dani picking it up afterwards. "Good try!"
After that, the pace picked up again. The three dodgeballs sailed through the air, neither side getting an advantage over the other.
One of them hit Jack, and he was forced to move aside. This did allow him to watch the game more carefully, though.
Phantom was definitely the most powerful, and the most versatile, among the ghosts. Wulf was by far the biggest, but made up for it by also being their best catcher. Sidney had opened up in the heat of the game, seemingly determined to prove himself, and controlled a stack of school supplies that had been laid to the side, possibly for this purpose. The ghost used telekinesis to drag books over to himself, using them as makeshift shields.
Dani, unlike the rest, seemed to have no special powers. Unlike Phantom, who she looked so much like, she didn't seem to possess shields. Didn't use them, at least. She was fast, though, and far more energetic than the rest.
Jack shuffled up the line as his team caught dodgeballs, until he was all the way at the front. From there, he could see that Phantom was behaving oddly.
The ghost had fallen back, relying on his three teammates to continue the game. His eyes, previously vibrant ecto-green, seemed to have changed colors to a cooler green. His glow was still bright, seemed even brighter, but had an almost blue tint to it.
"Ready, guys?" the ghost asked. Jack wondered who he was asking, but then the three other ghosts nodded.
They all jumped, simultaneously, and Phantom threw his hands out wide. The ghost's eyes had gone icy blue, matching the rays he was sending out from his hands, which were aimed at the ground. He moved quickly and constantly, until the beams had swept over the ghost's half of the field.
When the other three landed, Phantom was panting, but he had a wide grin on his face.
He had frozen their side of the field.
Jack hadn't even known Phantom had ice powers, never mind that they were that strong. The decision to freeze the field was odd, though. He could understand it if it were on the human's side, to handicap them, but that wasn't allowed anyway.
One of the dodgeballs went flying towards Dani, but the ghost quickly darted aside. Hell, she didn't even jump, she slid. Over Phantom's ice.
That was… actually very clever. Phantom had given his team an ice rink, allowing them to move more swiftly. And, with the natural inborn balance of a ghost, they were much less likely to slip.
Maddie caught the dodgeball on its return, and Jack quickly returned to her side.
"Missed me?" he asked, playfully. She grinned back.
The pace of the game picked up even further, now. The ice had sped up Team Ghost considerably, and they were knocking more and more humans out of the game.
Dani had started throwing her balls from low, lunging into a slide before actually throwing, which made the dodgeballs come from unexpected directions. Sidney seemed to have picked up on this, and managed to throw a ball from high at the same time on occasion.
Jack caught a dodgeball thrown by Phantom, then grinned back at the ghost. He could return the throw, but Phantom would be expecting that.
Winding back his arm, Jack pretended to be aiming for Phantom. Then, at the last moment, he threw the ball at Wulf instead.
The ghost wagged his tail, shooting Jack a wide toothy snarl. Or, smile, maybe? The ball flew straight at him, with such speed that Wulf couldn't possible dodge.
Had Wulf's claws always been that long?
A cold wind picked up as Wulf swept both hands down, claws tearing through— through reality, revealing two slits of bright swirling green. Ghost Zone.
The dodgeball Jack had thrown flew right through the one in front of Wulf, then exited through the other portal. Immediately afterwards, the tears closed themselves again.
Briefly, Jack wondered if he'd just imagined it, but Maddie made a startled noise next to him.
"Phantom!" Red Huntress barked, over the din of the game. "No Portals to the Ghost Zone! We want to keep the balls in the courtyard, please!"
Wulf shook his head, barking something back at Phantom. It wasn't English, though. Ghost speak?
"It's still in the court," Phantom countered, picking up the dodgeball. "He opened a return portal back to the human world. Sorry, Wulf, you'll have to work around it."
The other ghost scoffed, then nodded. The game picked up again.
Jack tried to keep an observational eye on the ghosts, but it was… hard. The game was exciting and fun, and he kept getting swept up in the fervor of it! And it seemed that Maddie was no better off than him.
Their team had steadily decreased, leaving them with barely a quarter of the players standing, when both Phantom and Dani came to a sudden stop. Blue mist emitted from their mouths, and they shared a startled look.
"Time out!" the Red Huntress shouted, and all other players stopped, too. "Phantom, Dani?"
"Ghost sense," Phantom managed to explain. He opened his mouth to say more, but was interrupted by the noise of what sounded like jet engines.
The ghost that appeared over the fence was humanoid, but robotic. Made entirely out of metal plates haphazardly welded together. Plane-like wings jutted out from its sides, green ectoplasm flaring up from its head like a mohawk.
"Whelp!" it sneered at Phantom, ignoring everyone else present. "Finally, I have cornered you, my prey! Now— Ah!"
A dodgeball bounced off of its chest. The ghost turned its violently green eyes on the human team, snarling. "Who did that?!"
Two more dodgeballs went flying, hitting the ghost in its wings. Its flight faltered, and it crashed down in front of the fence.
"Brats!" it snapped at them, kneeling on the half-frozen dirt. "I will—"
More dodgeballs pelted it. The Casper High kids that had formed Team Human were all reaching behind them, grabbing spare dodgeballs—and any of the dodgeballs that bounced back.
Phantom ran towards the ghost, his aura once again going blue. He raised a hand, and froze the opposing ghost solid.
He then paused, making a face at the Red Huntress, who had also stepped forward. "I don't have anything to capture him."
"You're a moron." She scoffed. "Why not?"
"Was afraid it would get damaged during the game." Phantom shrugging, then shot another beam of ice at the attacking ghost. "Can I borrow something?"
"I don't have anything that isn't part of the suit," the Huntress admitted.
Jack threw Maddie a look, then turned towards the GAV, then back to her.
"I don't know, Jack." Maddie turned to look at the ghost, which Phantom was occasionally re-freezing when it cracked the ice.
"All four of them played a perfectly fair game of dodgeball," he pointed out. "The one dubious case, Phantom immediately interfered."
She made a face. "That could've been for any reason, honey."
"Someone has to make the first step here." He gestured at the three ghosts on Phantom's team. All three now stood waiting, looking coiled and ready for action.
Well, Sidney looked a little hesitant. Not much of a fighter, it seemed.
"Jack…"
"Give him the chance to prove himself." Jack nodded at Phantom and the Red Huntress, still standing side-by-side. "She changed her mind about him, too. Maybe there's a good reason for that."
Maddie sighed, but nodded. "Fine. But we're keeping a close eye on him."
"Of course we will!" He bounced forward, towards Phantom and the Huntress. "We have a Thermos you can borrow, Phantom, in the GAV."
The ghost jerked towards him, clearly startled. "Oh. Uh. Yes, that would be… nice. Thank you."
"Here it is." Maddie came up next to Jack, holding out the Thermos towards Phantom. "We want it back at the nearest convenience, though, Phantom."
"Gotcha." He took the Thermos from her hand, nodding at both of them. "I promise, and… Thank you, really."
He then turned around, walking towards the metal ghost. It was swiftly captured, and Phantom capped the Thermos again.
"Alright folks!" he shouted, the murmur of the humans quietening again. "Looks like we'll have to end the game here! Thank you, everyone, for playing, and I'm sorry for the abrupt end!"
He grinned, cockily. "We were so close to beating you guys, too!"
As expected, the crowd went wild, shouting back.
"Yeah, yeah. We'll just have to schedule another game for a rematch, won't we, Red?" He leaned up against the Red Huntress, who shoved him away again. "Anyway, I'll go dump Skulker somewhere far away from us."
He jumped up, floating above the courtyard, and waved. "Cheers, folks, and stay safe!"
Phantom was off like a shot. The other three ghosts rose up in the air as well, following after him.
And then suddenly it was just the humans left. Even the Red Huntress walked off.
Jack blinked. Then realized…
"How long did we just spent around those ghosts?" Maddie asked him, sharply. "And we didn't catch a single one, Jack."
"And learned nothing?" he asked, shaking his head. "Nonsense, Maddie! Their teamwork, the creative application of their powers. Reacting to the changes in their environment? Learning from their actions?"
"I…" She frowned, considering this. "Yes, they… they did, didn't they?"
"And they were so competitive!" he tacked on, grinning. "Such excitement over the game! Even that shy one, Sidney, seemed to open up."
"Oh, well, I suppose." She clicked her tongue, but looked far less downtrodden. "You are far more observant than people think, honey."
He laughed, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "And you are much more vicious than people think."
"Someone has to look out for us humans," she joked back, as they walked towards the GAV. "I suppose we have a lot of data to process, now."
"We learned so much!" he agreed. "And without doing any scientific study, too!"