The Phantom Returns

The science lab was empty. Spock had started on the analysis of the GiWs' weaponry. When one of his officers had picked up one of the strange-looking devices, it had gone off. Fortunately, however, it had only left a slimy purple stain on her uniform. Spock had ordered her to report to sickbay just to be on the safe side.

It had been decided to keep the weapons in the vault for the time being and Spock was now bending over a microscope, studying the substance. He shook his head and scribbled down a few notes. If those weapons really caused harm to ghosts while they only left a gooey mess on humans, this Ghost Zone really must be a strange place.

Spock put the sample away before sitting down and steepling his fingers in thought. Phantom had still not reappeared even though security footage showed that he took full advantage of the disks he had been given. He'd been watching them. And Spock was certain that the boy had taken an interest in him. He was unsure if it was because the ghost had probably never seen an extraterrestrial before or because Spock had been the first who had gotten close enough to touch him.

His head snapped up when the lights suddenly dimmed. But before he could ask the computer about the unauthorized changes, his gaze fell onto the figure on the opposite side of the room. He blinked. As the figure came closer, he saw that it seemed to be entirely made of metal. It roughly had the appearance of a tall, muscled man with pupil-less glowing green eyes and green fire for hair and a goatee. The ghost, as Spock was fairly certain it was a ghost, wore a black sleeveless suit, combat boots and a belt with many compartments and a buckle with an S on it. It, or rather he, wore a choker with a skull on it.

Their eyes met. The ghost looked at him intently before a dangerous smile twisted his mouth. Spock jumped up and pressed his back against the wall, hoping he could reach the door before the creature reached him. If this ghost had powers similar to Phantom's, taking cover would be pointless. But maybe he could reach the weapons vault in time…

He couldn't finish the thought before the robotic ghost reached him and grabbed him by the throat, bringing him up to his eyelevel. Spock gripped the mechanical hand. He couldn't breathe. His struggling was only met with laughter. "Do you truly think you can escape?" the ghost taunted him with an echoing voice.

Spock was unable to reply. He started feeling light-headed and his vision became blurry. Was he going to die like this?

A green blast hit the hand holding him, causing it to let go. Spock fell to the ground where he curled up, gasping for breath. Once his lungs had drawn in enough air, he sat up against the wall. In front of him stood Phantom, his hand still surrounded by green energy. "Leave him alone, Skulker," he growled angrily.

Skulker smirked. "Well, well, well. Seems like the coward has decided to show his face."

Spock couldn't see Phantom's expression, but he sounded positively livid. "You're the one picking on somebody who's completely unarmed and who has nothing to do with this."

"I thought it would lure you out of your hiding place. And I was right."

Phantom's hands clenched into fists and the second hand lit up with energy as well. "You have a detector. You could have found me and then we would have dealt with this between the two of us."

Skulker chuckled. "Where would have been the fun in that, Ghost Child? Besides, did you know he is the only half-human hybrid of his people? That makes him even rarer than you."

Phantom turned his head to look at Spock. His green eyes studied him before narrowing. "You're sicker than I thought, Skulker."

Then without warning Phantom turned back to the other ghost, flew up and slammed into him full force. Skulker collided with the opposite wall near the ceiling, Phantom hovering slightly beneath in a fighting stance. Skulker grabbed the boy by the collar and threw him into one of the lab tables, which broke under the impact. Phantom lay in the remains of test tubes and PADDS, rubbing his head. Skulker stretched out his arm in Phantom's direction and Spock watched as a missile rose from somewhere within the armor on his forearm.

Phantom's eyes widened and he managed barely to roll out of the way, leaving the missile stuck in the floor. He got up, once more readying his blasts. "Alright, you leave me no choice."

And with that, Phantom started firing rapidly, a few stray blasts destroying furniture or leaving scorch marks on the walls. The blasts hitting Skulker literally blew him into pieces. When Phantom stopped, robotic parts were scattered all over the floor.

The captain and Doctor McCoy chose that moment to run into the room. "Spock! We came as fast as we…" Kirk's eyes fell on Phantom, then the damage done to the room and then to the parts littering the floor. "What the hell happened here?"

"Skulker, the self-proclaimed greatest hunter of the Ghost Zone." Phantom answered while approaching Skulker's head, thermos in hand. "He thinks me and apparently Spock too would make a great addition to his trophy room."

McCoy ran a tricorder over Spock, eyeing the strangulation marks on the Vulcan's throat. "I want you in sickbay. The oxygen flow was cut off for almost too long."

Phantom looked at them with concern. "Is he gonna be ok?"

Spock nodded. "I will recover. Thank you for your timely intervention."

The boy rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "You're welcome. I'm sorry about the mess."

Kirk snorted. "You saved my first officer from being strangled by some robot ghost. I couldn't care less about the state of the room. It is nothing that couldn't be repaired."

McCoy eyed the pieces. "You did quite a number on that one. Is it…"

Phantom blinked before comprehension dawned. "Oh no, He's fine." Phantom once more walked towards the head, reached inside and pulled out a squirming, cursing, glowing green something. He threw it in the air, uncapped the thermos and the green ghost was absorbed into the container by a blue beam. Phantom replaced the cap and hooked the thermos onto his belt. The pieces of armor disappeared. "You see, Skulker is a small ghost with only basic powers inside a robotic battle suit."

"You do that often, huh?" McCoy asked.

"What? Fighting other ghosts or blasting Skulker into bits? The answer is yes to the former and no to the latter."

McCoy helped Spock up while Kirk walked over to Phantom and extended his hand. "Accompany us to sickbay, please. We need to check you over, too. And we have a lot of questions. I hope you won't disappear this time."

Phantom chuckled. "Something tells me you'd find me even if I did. I won't. I'll gladly answer as best I can." And he took Kirk's hand and shook it.

Sorry, this took a bit longer than I wanted. My hands are giving me trouble to the point where I almost can't type and most certainly can't take notes by hand. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.