The limo rumbled along the pavement. It jostled whenever it a pothole. Which were numerous in this city. Was the department of transportation in Amity Park severely underfunded or something? They were driving in Amity parks wealthy district for Pete's sake. The roads should be far better condition than this.
Julien flipped through the pages of the tome. Most of it was written in old languages and dialects now forgotten. But there were section that where in latin which he understood. He was thankful for those classes his mother made him take.
He couldn't help but think over his conversation with HIM after the auction.
'A ghost that is not a ghost' HE had said, 'A mortal that lives in death,'
When Julien had inquired what meant HE answered, 'He's half ghost,'
Half ghost? How was that possible?
'When a mortal is caught in an opening gateway between realms,'
He had since decided to put a pin in that conversation as the limo pulled up into a driveway. He had arrived at his destination.
Julien stepped out of his limo. The mansion loomed over the courtyard. birds twittered in the pruned trees. Lilac and violet facia Stood out from among the perfectly trimmed hedges and cut grass. Green and gold curtains hung in the windows. It was a strange choice as the colours didn't quite match.
A curious eyed raven watched from an elm.
It took a bit of research to find Vlad's place of residence. He had move to the mayor's mansion when he assumed office last year. Julien had tried to approach Vlad after the auction but the man just took the gem and vanished. Like a ghost.
HE chuckled at those choice words.
Julien strutted up the steps and promptly rang the doorbell. He waited, and waited. He was about to ring again when the door swung open. Dark rimmed eyes stared at him skeptical intrigue.
"I'm sorry, young man, But i'm not interested in buy any cookies or whatever you're selling," The elder man spoke eloquently. His white grey hair was done up in a pony tail.
"My name is Julien Hart and I'm here to potentially purchase something," Julien composed himself.
"Oh?" Vlad raised an eyebrow, "And what, pray tell, do you wish to buy,"
"You recently bought a purple diamond raven from a charity auction a couple days ago?"
"I did. And why do you want such a bauble,"
"I'm just trying to complete a collection is all,"
"A collection?" Vlad eyed Julien's lapel pin, "Now that does seem interesting. But I guess everyone needs a hobby,"
"I can pay easily double what you bought it for,"
"An interesting offer. But I am not interested in the money,"
"If it not money you desire then what would you be interested in that I can offer?"
"Hmmm… How about if you can capture the famous ghost boy, Danny Phantom, then I'll give you the gem,"
"Danny Phantom for the gem? An intriguing offer, But I accept,"
"Really excellent. So it's a deal?" Vlad held out a hand.
"Deal," Julien completed the shake.
Vlad observed as Julien's limo exited the property. Quite the unusual young man. He had a few dealings with his dimwit of a father. He almost never needed to use his ghostly powers to get him to sign on to whatever one-sided deal came his way. The only person he knew of that was a bigger imbecile then him was Jack Fenton.
His son however was a bit of a mystery to him as he never had much opportunity to interact with him. He knew that he really liked the colour white as he always wore it. But if he was anything like his father then the puppet strings would be easy to pull.
He didn't intend to give Julien the pendent. Not when it had the power to make all his dreams come true.
He didn't expect him to catch Daniel. But on the off chance he managed to pull it off then he would use the opportunity to resume his cloning experiments. He did manage to salvage enough of the equipment to make another attempt. He just needed a sample of Danny's mid-morph DNA. Then maybe then he would have the perfect half ghost son.
He closed the door and phased through floor. He drifted down into his lab. Equipment and tools decorated the walls and vials full of ectoplasmic samples filled a workbench. A holographic red haired woman in a teal jumpsuit.
"Hello snoogims, what can I do for you?"
"Prepare the cloning pods," Vlad ordered.
"As you wish sweetums,"
Swiftshadow wings over the city. Amity Park according to Wilson. His upgrade came with something of a cosmic GPS. A generous gift from Cartographer. He could point at a random star and know how many planets orbited it and what kind they were. He spent many hours of their night flying pointing them out, noting the ones that had some form of primitive life, which was surprisingly common.
Unfortunately the street lights below obscured most of the stars above. The cool night air filled her wings as she soared above the city. Burnt oils and gas hung in the air. She snorted at the smog in the air. As much as she disliked the urban jungle she couldn't discount the possibility that she may have lived here.
City pollution was not the only thing hanging in the air. A supernatural presence filled the streets. She couldn't quite identify the origin or cause. It did not feel like the suffocating dark power of those strange diamonds. But it did not have the warmth associated with The Wolf Spirit or of the Primes. It seemed to hover somewhere in the middle. Neither fully light or completely dark.
She studied the buildings to see if she could find the source. But the city looked like any other city at a glance. But as she studied the sidewalks and cement she noticed that they seemed uneven. Layers of fresh asphalt poured on top of old in small patches. Most of the building looked as if they had chunks blasted out of them and cheaply repaired. The potholes she realized were more like craters with accompanying scorch marks. Similar features were found on brick walls. Did a war pass through here?
"Find a good place to land?" Wilson tugged at the rope around her neck. It was not the saddle he had envisioned but it gave him something to cling to when the weather got rough or when Swiftshadow wanted to pull some fancy maneuvers.
"Not yet," She banked a little to the left.
"You're sensing something. You're flyings gotten more erratic,"
"What do you make of those potholes?"
"They don't look like they were made from the usual wear and tear. The scorching indicates that heat was involved. The angle of impact place the origin somewhere in the air. Do they have something to do with whatever you're sensing? Is it another pendent?"
"Maybe. And It doesn't feel like a pendent. It doesn't have that oppressive darkness,"
A square brick building about two stories tall a couple blocks away caught her attention. A large blocky oblong structure sat upon its roof. Satellite dishes and antenna jutted out every which way and that. That has to be against building code. a blazing neon green sign hung off the side boasting the name Fenton Works. She could only wonder who owned that place.
"Any idea of what it is?"
Something burst into existence. It felt like a powerful entity threw off a blanket of concealment. She balked. She tried to figure out where it was. She lurched as a ghastly green laser nearly fried her head.
"HEY! Scaly!" A voice shouted.