Chapter Nine - Squad
Present
Tucker was for lack of better words... A strategist. He was looking through the Fenton's ghost files as well as helping the injured ghosts who had come through the portal. He was thorough in his work as the day trolled on but one thing came up as he helped out... The Flame Cores were the only ones safe from the ice, obviously but Ember, Spectra, Fright Knight, Vlad, and Skulker were RED HOT HEATED. Their flames were tied to their emotions and powers, Vlad's eyes smoldered as he paced around for ideas, Ember's hair shrinked as a bit as she calmed down from earlier while Fright Knight used his flamed cape to provide heat to everyone.
"If I want to build a Suicide Squad to defeat Danny then fire is the way to go."
He then made a Apocalypse team meme and put it together, it took all of twenty minutes. A bit later he went around putting sticky notes on certain ghosts and it read... Suicide Squad.
"FOLEY! " Plasmius, right on schedule. Tucker sat in Danny's room, waiting for his perfect team to show up. "What in the hell is THIS? "
"Your invitation to put the smack down on my best friend." Tucker smiled as he continued to type away on the computer.
"You really put together a TEAM? " Vlad seethed, his eyes gleaming with anger. "We won't even know each others strengths!"
"First of all, fire beats ice, polar opposites. Secondly, you will because you've worked with or antagonised just about every fiend in the Ghost Zone, soooo... Shut it and wait on your squad. "
Meanwhile in The Abyssal Plains of Time (Ghost Zone)
An assault was happening, icy monsters had sprung up and surrounded the entirety of the clock tower, but only one thing was holding them back... A fiery entity of a faulted timeline protecting his lover.
"Damn! How many times do these guys keep coming back? " The deep raspy voice whined. "Clock! When can I come back in?! " As if to answer his question a new swarm of ice beasts came through. He slaughtered them in seconds, it's not that he was tired of fighting them, he just: wanted a REAL challenge, something with some bite to it. He looked around and saw nothing but decimation and ice, licking his lips as he felt the power behind his real adversary; he had taken down the most prominent ghosts in his timeline including Pariah but the thought of something new was literally biting him, making him itch for the chance to fight the cause of the Forever Winter.
"You could've come back whenever you wanted, Dan. " Replied his overseer/lover, Clockwork. The purple clad, time ghost floated out to meet said savage and give him a kiss to the nose. "Yet thank you for taking down Daniel's ice army."
"It was ~! Wait what! " Clockwork floated away a bit, sensing for his fellow god's power but found nothing.
"We're safe... For now."
"What do you mean 'for now'? " Dan demanded. Clockwork pretended not to hear him but a tiny shudder went through him as he thought of the possibilities of how this could all play out and none them were entirely good. Dan's nose twitched as he smelled the air then he sighed. "You can't hide emotions from me, Clocky, I know when you're scared or ticked. " The time God could only sigh as his incubus made a logical point, as in no point in hiding the truth.
"The younger you of this time period, has awakened his transcendence. "
"Isn't that when a ghost stops bitching and turns into a ultra magic asshole?"
"Blunt and crude but basically, yes." There was nothing but silence for the better part of two minutes, thirty-six seconds and four hundred thirty-two nano-seconds, DAMN DANIEL. Clockwork looked back at his pet demon only to find him holding back a shit ton of laughter till finally... Dan LMAO'D.
"Okay! Okay! Wait! Wait! Wait! Hold the fuck up! Woah! Damn! You are one funny antique, babe! But seriously what's up? "
"I'm serious, Dan. " Clockwork pressed. "He's a god now and a delirious cold one at that. "
"That means he's ~!"
"On the same plane as me and growing fast. " Clockwork shifted into his child form and huddled against Dan for warmth, practically purring when he felt the heat of the vicious ghost's core. "We need to head to earth and unite with the other flame cores at Fenton Works but first we need to make a pit-stop. At that, they moved on.
Back at Fenton Works
All the other ghosts of Tucker's team had already united, Ember took the window and tuned her guitar, Spectra filed her nails, Vlad more or less was watching the news, Skulker tried to defuse from his (Tucker's) PDA while Fright Knight sat quietly in the corner (silently mourning his forever sleeping now frozen King). Things were quiet till there was a knock at the door, Vlad moved to open it.
"Hello, Jack. "
"Did any of you call the entirety of Amity Park by any chance? " This immediately caught Vlad's attention, he had forgotten... He was the damn mayor. He facepalmed at his own stupidity and moved pass Jack and raced downstairs only to find, several key citizens arguing with Maddie — who looked ready to jump somebody and the rest of Amity outside protesting.
"YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE THE GHOST HUNTERS! "
"THE TOWN IS LITERALLY SWARMING WITH MONSTERS! "
"AND WHAT ABOUT PHANTOM! HES THE ONE BEHIND ALL THIS! "
"NO MORE EVIL FLOW! THESE GHOSTS HAVE GOT TO GO!" Vlad clicked a button on the side of his watch and not a second later he saw a familiar face mushing her way through the crowd... Valerie.
"Hey, Mister Masters. What's up? "
"You tell me. What is all this? "
"Anti-ghost protest. I'm sorry but I couldn't take em on by myself, I got bulldozed."
"What about Phantom, any sign of him? "
"No ,but I did take down a bunch of his ice demons just off near the edge of town. They're like hydra, you chop one only for three more to pop up. "
"Do you have your gear or are you still grounded? " Valerie smirked and held up her wrist watch only for a tiny laser ray to appear.
"I'm good. " Vlad kindly moved past Valerie and cleared his throat only... FULL ON DRAGON ROAR! It didn't meet Ghostly Wail standards but was ROARRIFIC for getting a room full of petty arguing adults to shut the hell up.
"Are you all done or do I have to really make you be quiet?" The prime patrons of Amity were astonished but Vlad motioned for them to sit down whether in a chair or on the floor. "Now look, I haven't been completely honest with you all... I'm~ A ghost as well. " Patrons were ready to start going in on their so-called mayor, along with Valerie but a flash of his red eyes told them to shut it. "Not just any ghost, a halfa if you will — half ghost, dead and half human, alive. So is the cause of the storm... Daniel James Fenton. " Everyone could've either laughed or sat there in shock, but a choice one moved to hit someone and that person was Vlad... Valerie had punched him in the face.
"That's for lying to me and all the stuff, you did to Dani and Phantom." She got up in his face and jabbed his chest. "I know everything about you and your shady ass schemes. Who the frick did you think you were using as a damn toy?!"
"Yeah, I got that but right now beating me to a bloody pulp and calling me out for being a dirty bastard isn't going to stop the town's treasured ghost-boy from destroying it."
"What are you talking about?!" Whined Mrs. Manson. "Danny Phantom would never hurt us! "
"He would if he's gone insane and believes his valued services were taken for granted and he was bullied by the chief of police own son. " Everyone then looked to Ronnie Baxter, DASH'S dad, the man wore a look of disbelief and anger at someone taking shots at his son.
"Don't turn this around on my boy, you crook. My son ain't no damn bully but a star football player, hells yeah. "
"I've made my amends unto the Fenton family but your son is just as big a trigger for all this as I was adding to the Daniel's distress and transformation." Vlad seethed. "Now call that trouble maker in here so we can clear the air." Mr. Baxter was appalled but did as asked of him soon Dash stood in the midst of the adults looking like a confused puppy.
"Sup Dad, hey everybody." He meekly turned to Vlad only to find the draconian ghost glaring down at him, he had heard everything the man had said from outside and knew he was in for it. "Hello, Mayor Masters."
"Hello, Dash... Isn't there something you want to admit to your father and teachers? " Dash boarder lined fearful but had enough defiance to work up some innocence to say:
"Nah, I can't think of anything." As the staredown between the billionaire and teen football star went on, Dash became increasingly dreaded. Vlad was known for his persuasive interrogation tactics plus his hypnotic evil eyes made claiming a confession a snap.
"Tell me the truth, child... " The billionaire villain smirked at the teen, deliberately dropping his cover voice to allow his spectral resonance to shine through. "(The truth will set you free)... "
"I-I bullied Danny Fenton." All the prime patrons gasped in shock as Dash admitted to his wrongdoing. The jock cradled his head as Vlad's hypnotic evil ate away at his brain's defenses forcing him to confess. "I-I thought it w-was harmless at first b-but after awhile it felt good. He was weak, scrawny, a fail, a lame but despite all that he had friends. REAL FRIENDS. Not a bunch of fake people who only liked you for your status and money. So I wailed on him to make myself look good while the teachers swept him under the bus with the trouble I caused... I'm sorry. Plus... I think I ~ Like him. "
"Dash Damien Baxter... What have you done? "
"I never thought it would catch up with me, and so soon too. "
"And Valerie?"
"What?"
"Even though you were technically being used by me, you antagonised Phantom of your own volition despite the fact he apologized over and over for 'ruining your life '."
"VALERIE! " Damien yelled. "How long were you ghost-fighting? " The stalwart teen started to sweat as all eyes became trained on her, Vlad sighed and put a hand on her shoulder.
"It's okay to tell the truth, feels good really plus the sooner we figure out the triggers of his transcendence the sooner we can find a way to bring him back." At this Valerie confessed so did others of the high school who had wronged him — mainly the popular kids plus teachers. Everyone upstairs — ghosts included —admitted and plotted while Tucker dealt with something...
Tucker was going over the weapons the Fenton's had available and what ghosts would be in charge of what. Vlad was The team leader (obviously) because he was a schemer and knew how to formulate a good plan, Spectra was assigned Mascot duty because of her mouth, only instead of sarcastic insults she'd deliver true encouragement. Skulker and Valerie would be the weapons experts because they were the most knowledgeable of anti-ghost weaponry along with decent shots, he was about to setup the speed fighter section when the portal reactivated... DAN PHANTOM STEPPED THROUGH! Clutching a purple bundle to his chest. Tucker made to scream out but his fear kept him silent when he finally managed a squeak, the demon immediately yoked him up by his shirt.
"Shut it or dammit DIE." He flung the geek back down and laid the bundle in his chair. Tucker looked at the care Dan showed for the small thing only to find...
"Clockwork?! "
"Hello, Mr. Foley, pleasure to see you again. " Tucker kept his wary eyes on the infamous being behind the Timelord as he rubbed his hands together. Was he going to use an ecto-blast, fire? Nope! He just gently cupped and caressed Clockwork's chilled face, he even had the nerve to gently smile while doing it. And said Timelord enjoyed it, he clutched a hand like he never wanted to let go, and purred. "Thank you, Dan. " The pyromancer kissed Clockework's head then leaned against the counter. It finally dawned on Tucker, they were involved.
"I don't know whether to be mortified or shocked. "
"Pick the one that doesn't have a death sentence attached to it. "
"Uh? Duh-uh? Shocked? " Dan nodded then fell silent— listening to the therapy session upstairs. "What are you guys doing ~! Danny's army got to the Clock tower didn't they? " Dan grunted in reply which Tucker took as a 'YES'.
"What about the Observants?"
"Gone. Before you reach my tower, you reach their hall first..." Tucker hung his head fearing the worst. "They're not dead just utterly frozen. Dan's flame wasn't even enough to 'free' them. "
"And let's keep it that way." Growled the aforementioned deviant.
"Anyways, I'm here to help and so is Dan. "
"Thanks, I'm just trying to get my best bud back is all. "
"He's a transcended like me only the dark way. Being I'm the lord of time, I know his plans. "
"Can you tell or will that hurt the time stream? "
"It's simple, geekwad." Dan mused in his meditation. "Brit-brat plans to have those deejays he kidnapped turn his ghostly wail into a hypnotic EDM that'll freeze everything in its wake as well as turn all you damn humans into fucking ice controlled zombies. That's why he wanted Ember. "
"So he wasn't trying to freeze out the Ghos~! Never mind." Dan smirked then stared at the ceiling, the chaos upstairs driving him mad. Don't get me wrong, Dan lived for chaos but when it was tame and borderline boring he couldn't take it so he went intangible and floated up to the living room leaving behind Clockwork and Tucker.
"Why would he need Ember? "
"Ember is a genius when it comes to the properties of spectral resonance. "
"Her voice. " Clockwork nodded.
"He aimed to hypnotize her then have her work with the kidnapped deejays to fully broadcast his vendetta against the world. "
"And, you're like a god too right? " Whined Tucker. "Why can't you fight him or turn back time to stop him or something? "
"I've done all I can which probably did more harm than good. " Clockwork inwardly groaned, he practically stripped down the time stream and delayed Daniel's transcendence for as long as he could muster but in the end failed miserably when Vlad fulfilled his BIG role by stealing Dante's Mirror. "Plus the unspoken law amongst the transcended is to NOT fight each other. "
"Right, Rule of Fantasy number 73, when two gods go at it equals world destruction. " Clockwork nodded again then moved to look around the lab, he shifted into his middle state but grimaced when he couldn't find what he needed.
"What's up, CW? "
"Do the Fenton's own any mirrors? " Tucker nodded and escorted the Timelord upstairs.
Meanwhile upstairs
Everyone was in a state of pure shock as they stared upon Dan Phantom as he leaned against the wall. For one thing, who knew there were two Danny Phantom's and secondly this one looked as if he wanted to murder everyone in the damn room. His forked tongue ran his eyeball only to receive a gasp or whimper from the onlookers; Sam was mortified that THING was supposed to be locked up in Clockwork's tower inside a Fenton thermos not hanging out chilling during a global crisis. He was the end result of Danny throwing away his humanity because of a stupid mistake that had cost all his loved ones their lives. Vlad was the most astonished while everyone else was fearful or disgusted, the being before him was reminiscent of him but more so Daniel. He obviously got the teal skin, cape, and fangs from him but the suit and color scheme from Daniel. His flaming white hair allowed him to gauge he was a ghost of hatred or jealousy — most flame cores were. The Fenton's themselves were calculating in sheer fear as they stared at the abomination that was technically their family member, Jazz remembered the insane savage while her parents were horrified. That's when Clockwork decided to show with Tucker trailing right behind him. Everything was just disoriented and got even more crazy when a white blur came crashing through the door (also bringing in the cold). Said blur launched herself at Vlad immediately punching him in the face and scratching him up, Dan laughed while everyone else tried miserably to pry the enraged girl off. FINALLY! Clockwork sent a glare to Dan in complaint of the savagery and made him go pry the girl off him, the third and youngest of the Phantom Trintet, DANI Phantom.
"You sick, pucker! YOU CLONED HIM AGAIN! " Dan quirked a brow as he examined his biological sister- cousin, same snowy white hair and glowing green eyes, same monochrome uniform and all only female.
"Pucker? Who the fuck taught you how to cuss? " Dan mused as he kept the little halfa from attacking the elder.
"Who are you? Another clone?! " Dani whined as she struggled to get away from Dan so she can hit Vlad.
"Calm ya tits, shrimp-boat. It's me. " Dani stopped her struggling only to glare at the ghoul holding her in disbelief. "Well, from a different future at least." Clockwork massaged his temples while Dan controlled Dani who was being a major brit- brat at the moment.
"Greetings all, I am Clockwork, Master of all Time. I shall now explain to you all the current situation as well as explain why there are three Phantom's." It took a minute but the Timelord was patient and calm with the astonished humans thoroughly understanding that they had a lot to take in from the town hero turning evil to him technically having a daughter and alternately being imprisoned outside of time for committing evils in another timeline. He even explained why Danny had flipped and now was aiming for world domination.
"Now defeating my homie is where I come in. " Tucker boldly asserted. "I gotta~!"
"Forgive me, Tucker but I have something else to contribute. Dan. " Said demon looked to his innocent lover and groaned, he set Danielle down and made a motion for everyone to clear the way then he up-chucked... Pariah's Coffin.
"Taste like ancient fuckturd." He whined then went back to chilling with Dani.
"As I was saying..." Tucker chimed after the interruption. "One, thanks for getting this asshole here and two, Danny is in serious need of a ass whuppin. Fright Knight! " The feudal spectre appeared in a purple flame.
"Yes, Lord Tucker? " Dan peeked an eye open slightly missing his glory days as he stared at his old henchman— some nights were rated R. "The Timelord thought ya might need this. " He gestured to the sarcophagus and Fright Knight literally jumped on it in glee.
"My Leage! Safe and sound in my arms! " The humans were lost minus a select few but at this moment, Sam decided to voice herself.
"Please tell me you're NOT putting the fate of the world in the hands of a time stream outcast sociopath, his psychopathic father, a manipulator and her favorite untalented cronie plus a sleeping tyrant and his guard dog?! " All aforementioned deviants looked her way with hatred blazing deep in their eyes, they were about to advance on Sam but Jazz stilled their hand.
"She's right! We need way more than just you guys, whose gonna makes sure Danny's weirdo plan goes up in smoke? " Tucker interjected.
"Ah! That's where Valerie, Dani, you, Sam, and the Fenton's come in. Dan explained his plan to me and I took the liberty of finding out where each of you needs to be to stop the madness. He's kidnapped a deejay from each continent if you notice. " Everyone looked to each other in shock realizing how much they needed each other, TODAY WAS NOT THE DAY TO BE FIGHTING... They had work to do.
