Hey again! Thanks to purpledog100 for reviewing my first chapter, and Ghostboy814 for adding me to your alerts list. I'm glad that some people appreciate my work. But then again, we artists must always suffer for our art. I must warn you that there are several mentions of African-American slavery from the 17 and 1800's in here, but it has to be told. Anyway, here's chapter 2!
He who fills his pockets with rocks of misdeeds will surely drown in the river of good fortune.
The warden sat at his desk, mulling over all that had happened over the last year: the biggest jailbreak in decades; his being defeated twice by the same punk, both of which led to his current woes.
This Danny Phantom claimed to be a guardian of law and order. If that was true, he wouldn't have let the prisoners free when he was first incarcerated or have helped that traitor Wulf from Bullet and the other guards.
Walker walked out of his office to try to clear his head. He looked down at the prisoners, pleased at what he saw. Miserable, terrified, but now obedient punks, wary of the wrath of the warden. It was his penitentiary, not correctional facility, but penitentiary. After all, it was Walker's belief that these sinful vermin never leave his confines. There may be chaos in the rest of the Ghost Zone, but there would be order in his prison.
There is no price for justice
Save the time it takes to bring
I will always keep the law
Without it, there's nothing
Walker had always been that way, ever since his father told him, "Order and discipline, son. That's what keeps the rats in their holes." He had lived by that credo through his youth and into adulthood. Many of the townsfolk had figured he'd become the new sheriff, and even more had been willing to enforce him if he chose that path. That was another of his little talents, he was a good speaker. When he talked, people listened and he had a superb knack for getting people on his side. But sheriff wasn't the way he wanted to go, not with slaves running off from their owners' farms and plantations. If he wanted the hammer brought down, he had some hunting to do.
It didn't take Walker long to become a top-notch slave hunter. The secret was to search at night; there was no point during the day because the slaves would hide then. After sunset they came out and made their way north. They were hardly a challenge, as almost none of them were armed, and the sight of a big, white man with a gun brought them to their knees in a pinch.
No one is above the law
No one will get off free
As long as I keep up my watch
My turf lawful will be
Every now and then, someone would tell him that he must hate the slaves something mighty to bring in as many as he did. But they were wrong. The slaves, in mental and physical aspects, didn't bother Walker. As long as they stayed put and kept working right, he had no problem. But when they escaped, well, that's against the law isn't it? And it was his duty to uphold that law and bring 'em back, dead or alive.
Problem is that, slave or not, they were human, and the slaves in his area were getting wise to his methods. All it had taken was one gutsy slave with a rifle to shoot, and that was it. Walker was gone, but his work was far from done. The Ghost Zone was disarrayed, random and undisciplined. It was in serious need of justice and order, and he was just the spirit to do that. Once he got over the shock of his new form, of course.
His ghostly self was drastically different from his original body. His receding, dirty blonde hair and hazel eyes had been stricken and replaced by a bony head and empty, glowing green sockets. All skin and muscle had been forsaken for a mere skeleton. But although disturbing, Walker had to admit that he liked the alterations. For now he would be feared on sight, let alone whether or not he was armed. And to boot to his already gruesome visage, he found he could manipulate his size; able to sprout at least ten times his normal height. If criminals weren't spooked at a glance, they would be after he shot up several feet.
Fear is the biggest lawman
It brings them to their knees
Begging me for mercy
Much more than that they'll need
But that one boy threatened his eternal order with escape. He couldn't hold him here in the Ghost Zone because a human can go right through anything here. And he'd tried to make the boy's home a prison by turning the people against him, but that didn't work for long either. So what could he do now? His brain was throbbing for an answer. Walker never made exceptions to the law; that Danny Phantom would be under lock and key if it took him a lifetime, which luckily, he was now able to do.
He looked back down at the guards and inmates, now scanning his grisly charges. Pretty much all of them wore the standard GZPD uniform complete with billy club and riot shield; their helmets hiding their rotting interiors. In both body and mind, they were all but identical. Semi-muscled dunderheads who liked to cause pain and panic whenever possible.
Only one stood out, his second in command, Bullet. An aggressive, bossy and crafty sentry with a patched-over left eye, bandana-covered head, double-stubbed chin, and army camouflage slacks, hinting to a past in the military. But the truly eyebrow-raising things about Bullet were the spines that ran along his neck and the tail that hung down below his feet, both of which were slimy and scaled. Not even Walker knew what the reason was for his assistant's 'state'. Some thought he signed up for some genetic mismatching while he was an army man. Others thought it was some symbolic expression of his snake-like manner. But most put their money on birth defect.
Justice always needs a hand
To bring the cause to work
Plus it pays to have some eyes
In the shades to lurk
Walker had to go out; a good, old fashioned walk, or flight, would help him sort everything out. He told Bullet that he was in charge and then headed out of the prison
He'd just wanted to float around and stretch his legs a bit, no real direction in mind, but the longer he flew, the more he wanted some payback. And fortunately, he'd saved something for just such an occasion. When he'd posed as the quarterback at Phantom's house, he managed to swipe a little doodad from the Fenton's lab that would give him a passage back to Amity Park. Walker considered going back to the prison for back-up, but then decided against it. This was his score to settle, and this time it would be an even, one-on-one duel. He brought out the gizmo and pressed its activator, and a green, swirling vortex appeared before him.
"This time it ends, Ghost Kid," he swore and passed through the portal.
Justice often takes its time
But the felon is dragged down
By the fact that every badge he sees
Is just waiting for his next round
It didn't take Walker long to find Danny. He saw him fighting Technus in the park, and landed on the grass, careful not to enter the boy's ghost sensing range. He was close enough to see and hear them and arrived just in time to see Technus be sucked into the Thermos.
"This isn't over, child! I'll be back!" Technus warned before disappearing into the metal cylinder.
"Nice job, Danny," the Goth girl complimented.
"Yeah, dude, but you know you coulda dragged the fight over town and gotten some great PR out of it," the bereted boy suggested.
"Yeah, but then people would be in the way watching and they'd get hurt," Danny said, changing back to human.
"Guess you're right," the bereted one agreed.
"Besides, Tuck, it's not about fame, it's about justice," Danny declared, his tone completely serious. "Now let's head to the Nasty Burger; I'm starved!"
"Amen to that, dude!"
The trio headed off, each completely unaware that they were being watched. Walker shook his head, half out of disbelief and half out of reluctant admiration. He brought out the device and re-opened the portal to the Ghost Zone. But before going back, he looked at the black-haired boy walking away and smiled.
"I am gonna get you yet, kid. But for today, you're free. Someone needs to bring justice here, and for now, that someone's you."
Justice has so many hues
It's impossible to tell apart
In worlds where it is needed
You learn who has a heart
And that's Walker's story! The next may take a while longer to get up because I don't know which character I'm gonna do yet. Please R&R! I Looove feedback!