Valerie Grey was on edge. Skulker was still on the loose; the Wisconsin Ghost had been sighted numerous times; the ghost kid was behaving strangely; so was Danny, come to think of it; and her ghost alarm was going off. She walked to the door of her room and glanced around furtively, but just as she started down the hall, a voice demanded, "Where do you think you're going, young lady?"
"But Daddy!" she all but whined, turning to face him. "There's a ghost!"
Damon crossed his arms and gave his daughter "The Look". "Homework, first," he reminded her. "Then you can go chasing all the ghosts you want until your curfew."
Valerie grumbled mutinously but resumed trying to concentrate. It wouldn't be too much longer, anyway, she realized nervously. The ghost was apparently in the house with them. She stood quietly, but just as she summoned her ghost hunting suit, something growled from the front room. She rushed out, accompanied by the sound of her father's alarmed cry.
"Valerie!" he yelled from the top of a counter. "Get back! Run away!"
She ignored him, focusing instead on the slightly maddened black eyes of the alligator. "You're going down, ghost!" she informed it, dodging behind the couch as it lunged for her. Its mouth was agape to display its jagged teeth, and she could almost swear she saw a human face staring out at her from the depths of its stomach. The thought was driven out of mind as it attacked again, rushing forward at a speed that might have amazed given its size. The young ghost hunter, however, had studied alligators in preparation for just such a battle. Aside from its ghostly nature, it wasn't overly special.
She jumped to the side, still ignoring her father's pleas and commands that she go somewhere safe. Instead of charging after her, the creature froze in indecision. Its eyes blazed red for a moment, and then it was running straight through the wall. The whole event took less than a second.
Outside, Valerie was able to mount her jet sled. Although she could easily have outdistanced the creature, it had piqued her curiosity. It had attacked without provocation or warning, remained a little longer than it took to get her attention, and left at its fastest speed. She thought it seemed very random, and couldn't help but think that it was trying to lead her somewhere, probably into a trap. She grinned, vowing to turn the tables on it.
Eventually, the alligator slowed and stopped. Its sides heaved as though out of breath, and it seemed to be choking on something. As she watched in horrified fascination, a misty sort of hand latched onto the creature's upper jaw, followed slowly and methodically by the rest of the "body". Both mist and monster faded as it fought its way free, until only the glowing red eyes of the Ghost Master remained. Then, even that was gone.
Danny walked through the park, hardly aware that he was doing so. He'd been running more or less on auto-pilot since the day before, his mind off gallivanting about on its own. It was easier to just let himself be distracted instead of trying to focus on a certain thought when there were so many flitting about.
He laughed softly and glanced around, suddenly certain that whatever Skulker had done to him had worked exactly as it was meant. Oh, sure, he had his homework for the next several months completed, but his mind refused to shut down long enough for him to sleep. He could repair all his parents' inventions and make them better than before, but he couldn't stand being around other people for more than a few seconds at a time, including his friends and family. He had managed to focus on fighting the twins, but he didn't know if he would be able to again. It was harder to think than it had been at the time.
He almost didn't notice when his ghost sense went off, and it was like wading through muck to pay attention. Muck that felt like little silver spiders. It also disturbed him to note a strange feeling as of someone else looking out through his eyes. He quickly transformed just in time to see a pair of red eyes float by.
"Watch out for your girlfriend," the Ghost Master laughed, jerking his eyes in the direction he had come from. "I think I got her a little riled up."
"What did you do?" Danny demanded.
The ghost snickered. "Just messing with her…Cajun gator style…"
"You!" Valerie shouted before he could formulate a response. As he dodged out of the way of her attack, he barely heard her say, "I might have known I find you here!"
"Really?" Danny shot back. "Amazing. I didn't even know I was going to be here, so you must be smarter than me." And that was impossible, he added silently with more than a touch of arrogance. No one was smarter than he.
Skulker watched the battle with great interest, taking care to note the hunter girl's new fighting style. After all, he would probably have to know later. He was only peripherally aware as the aging bed sheet floated into the air next to him. "Now, why did I do that?" the Ghost Master asked curiously.
"Because my employer wanted it done," Skulker replied. He sighed in general peevishness, though mostly at Vlad. The half ghost, usually inclined to more intelligence than he showed, seemed completely oblivious to the fact that he had been betrayed. It made him wonder what game the man was really playing.
"Dang, she's fine, ain't she?" the old lech muttered. Skulker merely rolled his eyes.
Technus smirked. He'd gotten much better at directing his host's thought process; the boy didn't have a clue he wasn't the one in charge of this fight. Biological systems really were a lot like computers at the most basic level. The only real difference was that humans were sentient and able to fight back, and even that was little different than an advanced anti-virus program. He allowed Danny to dodge a blast and directed him to return fire, marveling at how easy it was once he'd gotten the hang of it.
Valerie ducked out of the way, astounded by her opponent's strength. She'd never had such a fight with him before, even when he'd been under Necrowind's control, and had always considered his victories a matter of luck. The image of her old suit as she had last seen it came unbidden to mind. He was stronger than she realized, but she hadn't wanted to admit it at the time.
All those times they fought, he really had been holding back. So what changed? His eyes were red; had he been hypnotized again? "What's up with you?" she demanded, looking for a distraction rather than actually expecting a response.
Technus laughed maniacally. The boy was completely enthralled, so what did it matter anymore? He was desperate to tell someone about his genius. "I am Technus!" he announced, noting with satisfaction the surprise on the girl's face. "Master of electrical and biological systems! I have the ghost child under my complete control! But I'm not telling you why." He smirked.
The ghost hunter paused. She knew of Technus, of course, but her only experience fighting him had been the time he possessed Sandruu, Phantom's son from the future. Even as she wondered whether or not to believe him, she realized that answered so many questions, like how he'd been able to take over her gear. They traded blows, and she found it very difficult not to laugh at his expression. He was practically dying for her to respond in some way.
"Ha! You're too scared to speak!" Technus yelled in an attempt to sooth his ego. After all, it was obvious that she was scared. It couldn't possibly be that she just wasn't impressed.
"Me?" Valerie laughed. "Scared of some lame ghost?"
"Lame!" her opponent repeated heatedly. "I'll show you lame, little girl!" Adopting an air of smug superiority, he sent a remote signal to her equipment, commanding it to shut down. He laughed at her alarmed gasp and flew away.
Vlad leaned around a tree and reflected on satisfying it was when everyone behaved as predicted. True, he had been hoping Technus would succeed in the original plan, but he was equally as happy that the ghost didn't. All he needed was a distraction while he met with a mysterious figure about the price of a certain vial; he'd simply been enjoying the show for days.
It had become apparent, however, that Danny was unable to throw off Technus' influence on his own. Well, Vlad had a plan for that, too. "Valerie!" he called, attempting to appear out of breath. "Thank heavens I caught up to you!"
"Mr. Masters?" the girl exclaimed. She dashed across to him. "What are you doing here?"
He gave a chagrined smile. "I came to warn you that ghost found a way to hack into your equipment, but I see I'm a bit late."
Valerie groaned. "Oh, man, Mr. Masters, he doesn't even have to get close to me! What do I do? How can I beat him?"
He pretended to consider carefully for some time even though he already knew what to do. "It'll be very dangerous…" he began. At her eager acceptance, he sighed heavily and gave her a small device. "Very well. You will have to journey into the Ghost Zone to the Technus' lair. There's someone held captive there who can help you. This will override the doors on the Fenton's Ghost Portal and lead you where you need to be."
Valerie took a breath to steady herself, then nodded decisively and reactivated her suit. "Don't worry, Mr. Masters. I won't let you down."
As he watched her fly away, he smiled. "Of that, my dear, I have no doubts." He chuckled evilly and turned to address the ghost standing behind him. "Follow her. See to it that she's not accosted."
Skulker nodded and flew after her, unsure whether to be relieved or worried that this was all part of some plan.
A/N: Okay, I want to apologize. I feel the need to apologize. It's a new semester and stuph. I promise I will resume updating every day, but I can't say when.