Did you honestly think I'd be cruel enough to leave you hanging?
Now, Part II.
Amity Park, the present
"Okay, uh, old Tucker..."
"Old?" the man said defensively to his younger self. "I'm only twenty-four. Look, just call me 'Foley,' save us some trouble."
"Okay, fine, Foley," Tucker replied with a clearing of his throat, "do you have any idea how this vortex you mentioned formed?"
"Not a clue," Foley said. "We didn't exactly have time to find out. I mean, technically, we should be at the movies." He paused. "Sam was right, it was terrible."
"If I wasn't fated to destroy the human race, I'd be laughing right now," Sam mumbled in a monotone voice.
"Didn't you hear me?" Jazz groaned. "You're not! The future can be changed! You're not go--"
A sudden, searing flash blasted into the five, forcing them to shield their faces. A concussive shockwave followed, knocking them onto their backs. Wind blew past them for a moment before all was still. Footsteps landed gently on the pavement nearby. When the group opened their eyes, they found themselves looking at two pairs of black boots surrounded by an ethereal glow. They followed the limbs up to a well toned male and female, looking down at them with smug contempt. The emblems on their chest removed little doubt as to who they were.
"Hello kids... it's been a long time," the female smiled.
"Get away from me," Sam growled, stumbling to her feet as she helped Danny to his. The woman frowned.
"My my, Samantha, is that anyway to speak to your elders?"
"Why are you talking to me in the third person? We both know my name."
"Yes, but I ditched half of it. I go by 'Spectre' now, hon," Spectre replied, adding a mocking tone to the last word.
"And I'm 'Phantom,'" the male added. "How creative of you, Daniel."
"I thought it was kinda cool..." Danny said defensively.
"Yes, yes, this has been very fascinating, but we have to get to the reason we're here," Spectre yawned. "You two are going to be having a little tag team match later today, you know. I assume as much from the presence of our... guest," she continued with a dismayed nod to the eldest person.
"I've weathered enough of your taunts, Spectre. It's old," Foley growled.
"Really?" Phantom asked. "I always figured you could use some more." He paused, rubbing his chin in mocking thought. He snapped his fingers. "Did you enjoy the little... separation trouble you had earlier today?"
"You keep Jazz out of this," the weathered fighter snarled. Behind him, the woman's younger counterpart blinked, confused.
"No, no, we should talk about this," Phantom replied mockingly as he placed his hand on shoulder. "Like, maybe how it felt to her as she disintegrated. I'm pretty sure she felt some pain when it happened."
"...I'm dead?" Jazz asked, dazed.
"Get off me, you freak," Foley replied as he swatted Phantom's arm away.
"Fussy today, Tuck?" the ghost asked wryly.
"Oh, I'll show you fussy," Foley said icily. With that, he spat in Phantom's face. The ghost merely phased his head, and watched expressionlessly as the wad of saliva landed behind him. He turned back to Foley with a frown.
"You know, that was incredibly not smart of you," he observed calmly. He paused, then thrust a hand into Foley's torso. Bright blue light illuminated the unfortunate man's torso, revealing his skeleton and organs. He screamed, then collapsed. His weapons fell away, revealing various weapons, a battered Fenton Thermos, and the spherical smart bombs he had thrown minutes earlier.
"Is he... dead?" Tucker gaped.
"Unfortunately, no," Spectre answered, kicking the prone time traveler. "But, we digress... come along, Samantha."
"You too, Daniel," Phantom added.
"You have got to be kidding," Danny scoffed.
"No, not really. And I'm not in the mood for games, as you just saw," Phantom growled. "So, I would suggest you come with us. NOW." On the word 'now,' his flaming hair flared angrily.
"No," Danny and Sam said.
"We insist," Spectre replied as her eyes flared green before diving at them. The much smaller teenagers stepped aside, forcing the demonic ghost to belly flop to the ground, knocking the wind out of ectoplasmic lungs. "You little brats..." she sputtered, spitting dirt from her mouth.
"We try," Danny replied. His smile faded as Spectre got to her feet and drew back to stand next to Phantom.
"Did you forget we know the same stuff you do?" she asked.
"Well, that would kinda make sense..." Sam shrugged.
"And that we've had ten years' worth of practice?"
"...oh..." their younger selves muttered. With that, Phantom and Spectre melted together into a massive python, that hissed at the small duo.
"Oh, I wish we had other reptiles in our basket," Sam gulped as she backed away. The two tried to fly for it, but their attacker was faster. A long, cold coil wrapped around them, throwing them to the ground. Danny was fading into a daze when he found one of Foley's bombs lying just within arm's reach. Sam saw what he was doing, and blocked the snake's view as the boy snagged it. The python now dragged them to eye level, grinning victoriously.
"Ready to give?" it hissed.
"You could say that..." Danny replied as he brought his trophy into view. The snake's eyes bulged.
"You drop us, or we pull the pin," Sam said.
"You wouldn't dare," the monster replied. "You'd die."
"And you'll cease to exist," Danny grinned. The snake scowled.
"He's got us, you know," the snake said in Phantom's voice.
"I know that, you moron!" Spectre hissed.
"My finger's slipping..." Danny singsonged.
"All right, all right!" Phantom yelped. Quickly, the snake deposited the two on the ground and slithered away from the duo.
"That's better," Sam smirked.
"Now, what the heck are you doing here?" Danny asked, angry.
"I always was the dimmer bulb," Phantom muttered before speaking in his regular voice. "Well, if you most know, Daniel... we're to ensure we exist."
"Is that a fact," Sam asked.
"That's what we just said... I swear, you were pretty dull yourself sometimes, Samantha... I'd like to know why you didn't take the amulet off."
"You keep that out of this," Sam choked, looking away.
"It's okay, Sam..." Danny cooed as he pulled her close with an arm. "You're too late. We already know what happens. We'll avoid it."
"Will you, now. Remember what led to our 'birth?'"
"Of course we do," Sam replied defensively, focused again. "We fought some really tough ghosts that came out of a portal and..." she trailed off. "It's you, isn't." Spectre and Phantom smirked and nodded their heads slightly.
"We've met the enemy on this one, and it sure is us..." Danny muttered.
"I find Pogo rather dull, really. Now, come fulfill your destiny."
"No thanks." Sam replied.
"Oh, really?" Spectre replied. "You wanna see a neat lil' trick we've picked up?" She and Phantom seemed to take a deep breath, and let loose a high pitched scream. The younger Tucker and Jazz clutched their ears as concentric rings of green and purple energy swept by them.
"What are you doing to them?" Danny snapped, his own ears ringing.
"We call it the 'ghostly wail.' Not harmful to ghosts when hit indirectly, but humans...?" Phantom grinned.
"Come with us or we turn up the dosage until their skulls explode," Spectre added.
"You wouldn't..." Sam replied, wide eyed.
"Honey, I personally fried any fleeing refugees as we trashed cities. What do you think?"
"Don't do it, guys..." Jazz begged.
"You can't!" Tucker cried.
"Tick tock, tick tock," Phantom yawned, mimicking checking a watch. Danny and Sam sputtered, looking back and forth before finally hanging their heads in defeat.
"We surrender," they whispered.
"An excellent idea," Spectre answered as she picked up the discarded thermos. "Now get in." The two teenagers floated over and were sucked inside, faces devoid of emotion. The ghost capped it as they vanished.
"Now, if you'll excuse us," Phantom added, "we have an apocalypse to ensure." With that, they took off.
"Darnit," Jazz muttered. "Why'd they have to do that?"
"I told you," Foley croaked as he got to his feet. "We can't fool around. We have to kill 'em the next time we see them."
"We're NOT killing my best friends!" Tucker snapped.
"Then, please, how do you intend to stop them?" Foley asked wryly.
"I have an idea," Tucker said suddenly. "I just hope it works out. Let's go. And, you realize you'll cease to exist if we pull this off..."
"I'm not exactly crying about it, let's just say."
With Tucker leading the way, the three dashed out of the alley. None of them noticed the still present vortex, which was starting to grow slowly.
"Comfy?"
"Oh. Loads," Sam groused. She and Danny found themselves chained to a pipe in an abandoned warehouse, glaring at their captors. "I didn't know I could manipulate matter."
"Yes, those chains will keep you nice and human until your big moment comes. Then, we just drop these, and we're home free!" Spectre smiled, holding aloft the coin from the future. "Oh by the way, you will. Just give it time. Of course, you'll have been consumed by us by then."
"You're gonna eat us...?" Danny asked, disgusted.
"More like 'absorb.' Spectre likes to torment her victims psychologically before she kills them," Phantom shrugged.
"I'm glad to see my sarcasm lasts," Sam answered. "But, why? Why did you do all this?" Their older selves crossed their arms as a look of anger and pain flooded over their faces.
"You turned your back on us," Phantom said.
"You tossed us out like we were garbage," Spectre added.
"...so, you killed everybody?" Danny replied with a raised eyebrow. "It seems a bit... excessive to me."
"You were condemning us to death. You were just unappreciative as all the other humans on the planet of us saving them on a weekly basis. Admit it," Phantom added, leaning into their faces, "it bothers you. It bothers you that people look at you as if you were inhuman, bloodthirsty monsters."
"Taking that into consideration, and the fact our own 'hosts' tried to get rid of us... well, we just decided to make it official," Spectre added.
"You could have just shown we did have some humanity," Sam replied.
"You're weak," Phantom growled. "The only reason we destroyed your bodies was to keep our ectoplasm stable with your life force. If we're hit with a big enough blast of ectoplasm, we'd disintegrate, my accomplice says. "
"How considerate," Danny mumbled. "And a shame no one could do that before it was too late, the blasting."
"Did you ever think you brought it on yourself by attacking us in the past?" Sam asked. "You could have prevented it right there." The ghosts frowned in thought.
"Just shut up," Spectre muttered as the two floated away.
"What do you mean, 'my benefactor wants them alive?' He never told me. And how do you even know I have one, and what I do?"
"A long story," Tucker sighed at the irritated Valerie. "Look, you need to understand that this afternoon, the ghost kids are gonna fight these really powerful ghosts, and they're going to lose. Trust me, the ghost kids are the good guys. We need you to, um, spirit them away when they get knocked out after the fight."
"Why should I?" Valerie growled, crossing her arms.
"Because... well, you don't wanna know," Jazz insisted.
"Um, I do." Valerie blinked and peered over the boy's shoulder. "Who's the hunk with you?" she asked with a dreamy smile.
"A long story," Foley added simply.
"That's okay, I like the Harry Potter books," the girl replied, sitting down. "Please, I insist."
"There isn't time!" Jazz cried. "Now, will you do it, or not?" Valerie scowled in thought for a moment, then sighed.
"I wanted to fry 'em, especially the ghost boy. But, if you insist that they need to live and my benefactor wants it that way..." Valerie grumbled, drumming her fingers angrily, "I'll do it."
"Good," Foley nodded. "You may want to suit up now," he added while checking his PDA for the time.
"Suit up?" Valerie sputtered. How did you know about what I have in my toolbox, pal?"
"...long story," Foley sighed.
"The big moment's finally here, kids," Spectre smirked.
"Oh, good, I'm reallllllllly in a genocidal mood," Sam snarked.
"You will be," Phantom replied.
"There's just a slight flaw," Danny thought aloud. "If we're chained up in here, how are you gonna fight us?"
"It's like teaching a Neanderthal to use silverware," Spectre sighed, rubbing her temples in annoyance. "We take you to the town square and beat you until you pass out. It's not rocket science."
"Now, if you'll excuse us," Phantom added, "we have a city to prep." With that, the two ghosts flew off, leaving their morbid younger selves to consider the future.
"This is where it happens," Foley panted as he, Tucker and Jazz ran into the town square. Valerie, on her board and in her suit, parked in an alley nearby. "It's going to start any minute now..."
"What is?" Jazz asked.
"That," Foley replied, pointing at the forms flying out of a nearby warehouse. They hovered above the city for a minute, then opened fire on the street below, taking cynical pains to avoid killing people... at least for now. The terrified citizens of Amity Park were herded gradually into the town square, unable to leave due to the ghosts' tendency to fire at anyone who dared to leave. The two ghosts seemed to talk for a moment, then the female peeled off and headed for the warehouse.
"Watch the fireworks," Foley said snidely from the relative safety of an alley to his allies. "They're about to begin."
"Hey kids, it's time..."
"No!" Sam yelled and she and Danny struggled with their bonds.
"Oh, please," Spectre sighed. "This is so melodramatic. You have a date with the citizens of this town of slack jawed yokels," she added, phasing them free of the chains. "Wouldn't want to be late, would we?"
"I'd prefer the rain check," Danny answered.
"Too bad," Spectre replied as she dragged them through the ceiling. As she raced to meet her cohort, she formed a dome over the people below and turned the three invisible. As they flew upwards, Sam squinted to see a dark, swirling mass a few blocks away, but dismissed it as a cloud. "We want the big reveal to be dramatic, don't we?" she smirked as she reached Phantom. She tossed Danny like a beanbag to him. "Now, you know what you need to do, Samantha..." she grinned.
"No dice," Sam snapped.
"I said do it," Spectre growled, irritated.
"Bite me!" the teenager replied, crossing her arms.
"Go ghost, you little brat!" Spectre screamed, shaking Sam like a rag doll.
"Leave her alone!" Danny cried, squirming in Phantom's icy grip. His future self raised an eyebrow.
"That reminds me of something," he smiled. "We have your memories, you know." With that, he began to pummel Danny. Sam's eyes widened.
"Stop hurting him!" she screeched, eyes blazing in neon.
"Shut up," Spectre yawned, punching her in the face. Danny and Sam glared angrily, then with an inhuman scream transformed and kicked their evil halves in the chest while doing so. "Much better," Spectre smirked.
"What do you mean, much..." Danny trailed off as he looked down to see his jumpsuit. "Oh, cr--" he managed before taking an uppercut to the jaw. For her part, Spectre returned the favor and kicked Sam in the gut, causing her to gasp for breath.
"You two really are stupid," Phantom grinned as he punched Danny in the gut, enjoying the boy's strangled cry.
"You did all the work for us!" Spectre added as she punched Sam once more in the head." Sam was growing listless, throwing haphazard punches in her direction. Danny feebly kicked Phantom before he was swatted aside. The two groaned, eyes fluttering as they struggled to stay awake.
"Tired so soon?" Phantom asked. "Let's finish it." With that, he hurled Danny towards Spectre as Spectre launched Sam. The two connected with a grunt, and finally fell unconscious. The two spiraled downward like dying birds. The ghosts were just starting to grin when a pink form zipped out of nowhere, grabbed the passed out halfas, and soared down the street towards the designated meeting place. While they were sputtering in confused anger, they saw three certain people racing down the street. "YOU..." they both rasped as their ectoplasmic hair blazed intensely. They raced downwards after them.
"I hope you're happy," Valerie snarled to the white haired kids. "I don't know why I just saved your butts, considering what you did, but..." She trailed off as intense flashes of white and purple hit her eyes, momentarily blinding her. "You? It's YOU!" she practically yelled at the teens.
"Are we evil yet?" Sam murmured groggily.
"I can't believe it's you two," Valerie said as she landed, setting them down.
"I can't believe you saved us," Danny replied as he struggled to his feet.
"Yeah, well, someone convinced me. And, here he comes now," she added as both Tuckers and Jazz ran into the alley.
"You're still good and cuddly!" Jazz squeaked happily, hugging them tight.
"This time, I'm not gonna complain," Danny blushed, hugging his sister back. A sudden explosion knocked the six over. As they scrambled to their feet, they found Phantom and Spectre, their outlines burning with ectoplasm, staring daggers into the group, enraged. Sensing this was to be their last stand, Danny and Sam went ghost.
"You're going to pay for this," Spectre said icily.
"Are we?" Jazz smirked. "You're gonna vanish in a few minutes for never existing, you know that, right?"
"DO YOU EVER SHUT UP!" Phantom screeched, blasting Jazz with a plasma ball. Unlike her future self, she was only knocked against the wall and fell to the ground, passed out. Spectre took out Foley and Valerie in the same manner before they could react. The deed done, their gaze returned to Danny and Sam.
"We did before..." Phantom said. "We'll just do it again." Without another word, he and Spectre dove towards the teenagers. They cried out in fear and grief, and suddenly emitted the same rings their attackers had earlier. The ghosts writhed.
"They know the wail already...?" Phantom asked, a touch of fear in his voice. "They're not supposed to."
"Don't do that again, you little brats!" Spectre snapped. Danny and Sam blinked for a moment, then smiled confidently and screamed as loud as they could. Windows rattled and buildings shook as car alarms went off and telephone poles showered sparks on the group. Phantom and Spectre began to convulse, crying out in agony as blue cracks began to web over their bodies. A flash began to consume them from their chests out, and with a final flash they vanished. All that remained were two slightly melted coins from the future. The two looked down numbly without any emotion as the four behind them awoke.
"Uh, what happened..." Tucker asked.
"I guess we beat 'em," Valerie shrugged. "And they're okay," she added, pointing at Danny and Sam. Their backs were to do them, as they looked at the small coins on the ground in front of them. Jazz was starting to approach them when the sound of thunder and an updraft forced them to look up. The vortex above was starting to grow larger, pulling in material around it.
"What's happening!" Jazz yelled.
"Those idiots must have screwed up with the portal!" Foley snapped back. "The time vortex is unstable! If we don't close it, it'll destroy the planet!"
"...goody!" Valerie sighed.
"Is there anything we can do!" Jazz cried.
"If we set off a big enough ectoplasmic explosion, it should collapse!" Foley yelled back. He paused. "I can do it with my grenades, I just need a boost!"
"Um, here..." Valerie shrugged, tossing him her board. "I'm sure I can get a new one at some point!"
"But you're killing m--, uh, yourself!" Tucker yelled.
"Watch me not care! Besides, the future's yours, not mine! Good luck, kid!" Foley yelled with a smile and a pat on the back. "Valerie, try not to kill the ghost kids any more now, okay? And talk to Tucker sometime, he likes you..."
"I'll try..." she shrugged. "Wait, what!" she sputtered.
"And Jazz... please be careful and take care of yourself," he pleaded before giving her a hug. A touch confused, Jazz returned it and nodded. With that, he jumped on Valerie's board and rocketed into the vortex. After a moment, the vortex stopped, shuddered, and imploded with a flash of light. Finally, peace fell over the alley.
"It's finally done...?" Tucker asked. He paused. "I just killed myself to save the world. Is that motivating or depressing?"
"I think it's motivating," Valerie replied.
"Um, right," the boy mumbled, looking at the ground. Valerie patted him on the back with a supportive smile.
"Meanwhile, are you two okay?" Jazz asked, walking up to Danny and Sam while putting her hands on the shoulders. The two seemed to not even notice recent events as they formed a fist around their respective coin and teared slightly with a determined look on their face.
"Let's go," Danny replied as he and Sam walked out of the alley and down the street. With their business done, the foursome followed after with respectful silence.