"Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be taking my leave. I'll be sure to tell the ghost child hello from you."
The voice cackled through the speakers, the image of Freakshow flickering across the small and grainy screen that slowly zoomed in on the Freak as he sauntered out the doors with his ghost beside him.
"Can you tell me what's wrong with this picture?"
A harsh voice barked out from a man standing menacingly next to the desk and an operative controlling the security feed. The two men exchanged a look as Operative K cleared his throat.
"Freakshow got away, Sir."
He responded, knowing immediately that it was the wrong answer as heavy eyebrows drew together on their superior's face.
"No, K, what's wrong is this!"
Hitting the desk once, the man beckoned to the man sitting down to rewind the feed before pausing and zooming in on Operatives K and O allowing Freakshow access to the Gauntlet.
Wincing, Operative K glanced at his partner, the other man staring intently at the screen as Freakshow commanded life into the equipment that wrapped around the two and allowed the Freak to walk away clean.
"Is that how you were trained? Is that really what we promote? No! You men let one of the most notorious villains out into the world, with one of the most powerful weapons we had! That was our shot, our opportunity to take down ghosts once and for all."
Agent Alpha let out a slow, irritated breath while striding forwards and stopping in front of K, his hand outstretching.
"Give them to me."
Swallowing, the agent obeyed, reaching up a hand and removing his sunglasses, placing them carefully in his commanding officer's hand.
"Do you know why you have these?"
He asked quietly, clutching the shades tightly as K blinked, his eyes adjusting to the fluorescent lights.
"They are given to every operative once they pass their training."
"And what are they for?"
"They connect automatically to any network and hold a myriad of intelligence that can be accessed when needed while out in the field."
"And?"
"And they can be used to contact other team members and locate hidden traces of ectoplasm and ectoenergy."
"And?" K found himself at a loss, dark blue eyes staring into the pitch black screen of his boss' glasses. "And you failed them!"
The outburst was sudden, the glasses shoved forcefully back at K who scrambled to keep the tech from falling to the concrete floor.
"You created this mess, operatives, now clean it up!"
Agent Alpha shouted, striding past the two men and stepping into an elevator. As the doors closed behind them, K let out a slow breath, carefully sliding the sunglasses back onto his face.
Tapping a button on the side, a blue light glowed, scanning his retinas before the words 'Welcome Operative K' drifted in front of his eyes.
Blinking, the words faded and various screens danced on the edges of his vision, files and messages waiting to be gone through as he turned, looking at his partner.
"Where do we start?"
With sagging shoulders, O sighed.
"Where else? We've gotta track down the one thing he wants."
"The ghost kid?"
"The ghost kid."
"We need to just grab it, who will stop us?"
"How do you think that would look?"
K scoffed, slamming a file onto the table as he slumped down in his chair, staring in disgust at the old fast food sitting half eaten across from him.
"Like we were doing a public service."
"It looks like a kid, O. The damn thing has everyone convinced, and if we swoop in and grab it when it looks human we'll be burned at the stake." Pushing himself up and pacing the small motel room, K paused at the window. "We have to wait until it's in its true form. We'll watch, and we'll wait for it to go out causing trouble, and then we'll take it."
"And how long will we have to wait for that? It's been a week already, who knows when Freakshow will make his move, and Alpha is breathing down our necks to get this done."
"Yeah, but by taking the ghost kid, we'll be luring Freakshow into our trap. You know how obsessed he is with that thing, he won't be able to resist it. And what was once a screw up will be heralded a victory because we'll have caught both of them."
O frowned, tilting his head in thought as he took a drink from an old paper cup.
"Alright, fine. But this is on your head if things screw up."
"Isn't it always?"
K smirked, walking to their small television and flipping it on.
"Is that Dumpty Humpty concert on yet? I wanna see their show."
Flipping the channel, K paused, his mouth dropping open as he pointed at the screen, trying to find the words.
"We just got our golden goose."
Displayed on the screen was none other than the ghost kid himself, with Freakshow right on his tail in the middle of a fight.
"Oh, damn, we just got lucky as hell. Let's go!"
O yelled, grabbing his white suit jacket off the door and running towards their car, the other agent right on his heels.
The jetpacks were his favorite part. When K had first gone through training, he knew the tech would be cool, but nothing compared to the jetpacks.
"You sure we should do this with that big of a crowd?"
K questioned, strapping the final belt around his pack and pulling an ecto blaster from their trunk.
"This is perfect. If we make the town see it for the menace it is, they won't want to try and stop us from taking it."
"Then we'd better hurry, I think the fight just ended."
K nodded towards the sky where several people began to fall through the air and back towards the high school's football field below.
"Let's get these freaks."
They moved quietly on foot, weaving through other cars and past oblivious high schoolers and nerdy band kids hiding from bullies.
They passed a jock and cheerleader making out, and a set of parents in a darkened vehicle parked at the edge of the trees. Nothing had really changed since high school, not for some people.
As they grew closer to the stadium, shouts and stomping feet were loud around them, students and faculty alike gathering around the stage.
"Look." O pointed, the ghost kid in his human form with a forced look of terror on his face as his two friends pushed him away from the clamoring crowds. "How does it do that? How does it have those people fooled?"
"Ghosts, nasty things."
K muttered, hooking his blaster to his belt and turning on his jetpack. As he rose higher in the air he moved closer to the stage, making his way towards the trio.
"Nobody move!"
K shouted, lifting his blaster and aiming it directly at the ghost kid. It couldn't be helped the form he was in, or the fact that Freakshow was nowhere to be seen; they had their opening and they had to take it.
"You're coming in for questioning."
He spoke firmly, watching the two teenagers shift closer to the ghost kid, fear and defiance on all three faces as O moved closer.
"And experimenting. Lots of experimenting."
His partner stated as the ghost boy stared at them, cautiously taking a step forward before his friends blocked his way.
"Danny, no."
The girl hissed out, trying to force the ghost back as bright blue eyes stared up at the two operatives.
"As much as I would love to be your lab rat, I don't think it's gonna happen any time soon. Sam, Tucker, grab ahold of me. I'm going ghost!"
In a flash of light that traveled over the ghost boy, he changed from his human disguise into his ghost form, the two teenagers grabbing ahold as he shot into the air, dragging the two with him. The two agents watched, and as K started after them his partner held him back.
"Wait, just watch."
"But-"
"It looked like shit, you really think it can use those powers of it's like that? Let it wear itself out."
O murmured under his breath as K nodded, following the ghost's trail that moved higher into the sky. And then as if right on cue, the trio was plummeting back to the stage in a crashing heap.
Floating closer to the stage, O pointed his gun at the ghost once more and sneered.
"Come with us, Ghost Kid."
There was an air of triumph around the two men, and K was already tasting the promotion when the girl was shoving the ghost to the end of the stage while screaming "Mosh pit!" before shoving him over the side.
"Get him! Don't lose him!"
O shouted, ignoring the other two as he chased after the ghost boy.
"Get back here!"
K yelled, losing sight of the ghost as he dropped down and mingled into the crowd that was working to protect him.
"Get out of the way, move!" O was demanding, shoving aside various people before he landed on the ground, rage written across his face as his partner landed beside him. "We lost him, how the hell did we lose him?"
He seethed as the people around them carefully backed away.
"They couldn't have gotten far, the kids were all banged up and the ghost was bleeding."
K reasoned, glaring at a small group that quickly shied away from the two.
"Yeah, alright. We'll head towards the school."
As his partner marched off, K looked around a final time for any trace of the trio, scowling at the bystanders who gawked openly at them. How Phantom had ever convinced the people of Amity Park that he was good he would never know.
And after searching the entire school and every classroom, K was beyond done, and his partner's only emotion was anger.
"They're children, how have they evaded us this long?"
"The ghost obviously took them away somewhere. How stupid can those kids be to just follow him?"
K scoffed, stretching out his arms as they walked out of the school and made their way back towards their car.
"Wait, look."
O pointed towards a smaller building set off from the field and school, a sign that read 'locker rooms' across the side door.
"You think he's dumb enough to stay in there?"
"Depends how bad he was bleeding. Even ghosts can fade without that ecto crap running through them." His partner smirked, waving the other to follow as they moved closer to the building, a light on inside. "Now why would any of the students be in there when there isn't a game?"
"Maybe it's more kids making out. Or their parents."
K shuddered, trying to force the image of a couple sprawled across the desk in the science room from his mind.
"The blinds moved, someone's watching us."
O murmured, turning his back to the building and clutching his gun tighter.
"You can't go in there shooting, what if its civilians?"
"I'm not going to! We'll wait until they come out, and if it's either that ghost or his friends we'll grab them."
"We can't snatch teenagers, O."
The man muttered, noticing his partner refused to respond. They waited a few minutes before a glance over their shoulders revealed another movement of the blinds before the light suddenly went out.
"Here we go."
The door opened, a stream of jocks and cheerleaders filing their way out of the building. The two agents looked through the kids, none of them fitting the descriptions they were looking for as they turned away.
"They look suspicious."
"Druggies?"
"Maybe. Didn't we see that blonde kid shouting earlier, though? Maybe he knows something."
"Tell me we're not."
K muttered, already knowing by his partner's smile that they, in fact, were.
"Give them a minute, I want to check that out just to be safe."
O nudged him before walking into the locker room and looking around. Clasping his hands on his blaster, K called a file to his glasses and scanned the pages, refreshing himself on where the ghost boy's human disguise lived.
"Nothing there except this."
Blinking away the screen, K caught a towel that his partner threw and turned it over, a crimson stain decorating the fabric with darker spots dotted through the stain.
Calling his scanner, K moved his gaze over the towel as blue fragments of light highlighted the spots and shaded them a neon green.
"Damnit! He was with them."
K cursed, throwing the towel down as O nodded.
"They probably think they got away clean, so I bet they're still in those woods."
"Let's move, I don't want to lose him again."
K ordered, marching in the same direction that the band of kids had gone minutes earlier.
By the time they'd caught up with the teens, the group was noticeably smaller and the operative wanted to kick himself for his stupidity. Reaching a hand to stop his partner from approaching yet, they watched as one of the boys spoke to the blonde as the jock brushed the other off.
Nodding, the two started towards the group as they caught the tail end of the obvious leader's words.
"All we have to do is-"
"Is what?"
O bellowed behind them, startling the group as the boy whirled around, coming face to face with the taller man.
"C-Clean the field." The boy stuttered, trying to regain his composure while also trying to find an excuse. "As the home team, it's our responsibility to clean up after tonight."
Well, it wasn't the lamest excuse he'd ever heard.
"It is?"
The boy next to him asked as the blonde turned to glare, leaving not even a bit of doubt in either man's mind as to what they had really been discussing as they exchanged a look.
"Where's that cheerleader that was with you?"
K demanded, scanning his eyes over them once more and noting the missing uniform. The mascot was also gone, and the one who had been wearing a helmet.
"I changed."
A dark haired girl smiled, flipping her hair over her shoulder while batting her eyes at them.
"You know that ghost boy is dangerous, don't you? He's caused a lot of problems and we need to bring him in."
O remarked, eyeing the boy in front of him harshly.
"He's a hero to us."
The girl shot back instead, fire burning in her eyes as she stared at the two men. For as small as she was compared to them, and the fact that they had guns, K was minutely impressed at her audacity.
"He's a menace."
"Do any of you know where the ghost boy is?"
O asked, his voice deadly calm as he continued to stare at the blonde who was struggling to stand his ground.
"We have no clue where he is."
"And even if we did, we'd never rat him out!"
The second boy cried out, gaining various agreements from the rest of their group.
"We don't have time for this. Freakshow has the Gauntlet and those kids know where the stones are."
K grumbled, debating how exactly they'd get the information out of them when he noticed O stepping closer to the student, the gun shifting in his hands.
"One more time, son. Do you know where the Ghost Boy is?"
O asked softly, his voice barely heard as K swallowed, unsure as to whether or not his partner would actually harm the teenager.
"Like I said, no clue. Doesn't matter anyway, if you couldn't grab them back there, what makes you think you'll stand a chance in finding them now?"
A smirk followed the statement, the boy proud of his defiance.
K could sense the tension, but before he could react O was thrusting his gun at the blonde, ramming the butt of his blaster so hard into the teenager's chest that it knocked him to his knees, a wheezed groan leaving him.
"You think being smart is going to get you anywhere? I could arrest you for aiding and abetting."
K wanted to intervene, wanted to yell at the other for getting so rough, but something stopped him. If they didn't catch the ghost boy and Freakshow, those kids would be subjected to a lot more pain and suffering; so didn't the end justify the means?
"Leave him alone!" The girl screamed, sliding down next to her friend as she grasped his arm, hateful eyes sending daggers towards his partner. "We don't know where they went!"
Taking a step closer, K could see the barrel of the blaster pressed against the boy's arm in a silent threat. No shooting. That's where he would draw the line. He wouldn't let him shoot a child.
"You helped them escape, didn't you?"
O asked calmly, as if the whole altercation was nothing more than a relaxing conversation in the park.
"Yeah, we did, because you were going to hurt him!"
"Paulina."
The boy wheezed, shaking his head as O's gun pressed tighter against him.
"Stop it! They probably went back to his family's weird house, Fenton Works."
The girl, Paulina, spat out, clinging tightly to her downed friend as O glanced up at K, the two sharing a look as a quiet 'ping' echoed in the man's ear, a file on the ghost's home sharing to his partner.
"Let's go."
O called, rising from the ground and walking back through the trees with the other close behind. The voices of the kids faded behind them, and as soon as they were out of earshot K knocked his fist against the operative's arm.
"What the hell was that? You can't threaten to shoot a child."
"I wasn't threatening."
"You call shoving your gun into him not threatening? Damn, I'd hate to see you actually threaten someone then!"
Stopping abruptly, O grabbing his arm and turned him, a scowl set deep in his face.
"Do you wanna find that ghost or not? Sometimes you gotta be rough to get the intel, and hey look, we got it. Stop whining and let's do our job. Or do you want to complain about that, too?"
Yanking his arm away, K hooked the blaster back to his belt and started walking again while speaking over his shoulder.
"Calm down, O, that anger of yours is going to get you killed one day. And if you grab me like that again, I'll be the one doing it."
They'd arrived at the house before the trio much to the operative's surprise, and as they entered they found that the ghost's delusional family were all missing.
"Broken air vent, shattered glass. Someone took them."
O muttered, holding up a shard of colored glass while Hazmat Operatives worked quickly to get into place.
"You think Freakshow was here?"
"Judging by that, I'd say at least his pet was."
O pointed inside the air vent, small traces of ectoplasm smeared across the inside.
"Why are ghosts so disgusting?"
K grimaced, turning away from the vent and marching back into the front room, surveying the house as he did.
"You'd think with as much technology as these people have they'd know their sham of a son is hiding his real self right under their nose."
O scoffed, picking up a shattered picture frame and tossing it to the side.
"Maybe they're in denial. They don't want to admit their real son is dead."
The other shrugged, pointing to two of the Hazmat Agents and motioning for them to slide to their left.
"Then they're idiots. They're lucky that thing hasn't killed all of them."
"Sir, the ghost is approaching."
One of the Hazmat Operatives spoke, getting into position as K flipped off the lights and stood at the front beside his partner.
Two of the Hazmat Operatives stood near the door, ready to capture the teenagers and allow easy access to the ghost boy without having to worry about the casualties.
The wait lasted several minutes as the men stood like statues, every breath in the room catching as the door creaked open and the light flipped on. In a flurry of movements, K heard the girl yell as he leveled his blaster, aiming it directly at the ghost boy's chest.
"Humans are secure, take down the ghost child."
O commanded, the sound of blasters loading and weapons readying filling the room as the ghost backed away a step.
"Where are my mom and dad? What have you done with them?"
The ghost boy demanded, his fists clenching as K frowned, amazed at the level of emotion the ghost was able to produce.
"Come quietly, ghost boy."
His partner said slowly, taking a step forward as Phantom tensed, his jaw locking as a flashing alarm appeared in the corner of K's glasses.
"I'm not going anywhere until you tell me where my family is!"
The alarm was blinked away as the boy's eyes shifted to an unnerving green hue, a chill freezing the air and his powers making the lights in the house flicker all around them.
The other operatives had begun to spread out, trying to keep a hold of the situation as O squared his shoulders, staring down at the ghost with as much intimidation as he could muster.
"Daniel Fenton, in accordance with the federal anti ecto control act article one, section one, subsection eight, you're under arrest."
The ghost scoffed at that, his voice coming out frigid and sharp, it's green eyes looking at the men in a calculating manner. K wondered if his so called parents saw him now if they'd still be so keen to save the monster.
"I'm only going to say this once. Let my friends go, and get the hell out of my house."
"Yeah?" K smirked, the boy's attempt at being threatening almost amusing. "Or what?"
"Or.. This!"
They were ready for the fight, ready for the ghost to reveal his true form and attack. What they weren't ready for was for him to run.
In a moment of confusion, they allowed the boy to reach the other wall, the ghost ripping a photo frame from off the wall and slamming his elbow into a glass case, breaking it open and pressing a button hidden behind it. The lights in the house took on a sudden crimson glow as alarms deafened the operatives.
"FENTON WORKS ANTI CREEP MODE ACTIVATED."
Panels began to open up from the walls and revealed various weapons that all took their aim at the operatives.
"What the hell is this?"
O demanded, aiming his own weapon at the gun aimed at him.
"No time to question it, those things will kill us!"
K yelled, throwing himself at his partner and tackling him to the ground as a heavy blast stuck the wall right where O had previously been standing.
"Damnit! We can't let it get away again!"
Shoving themselves up, the two men began firing at one of the larger guns that swiveled back and forth, firing multiple shots at almost anything that moved.
After they managed to strike it a couple of times, the machine retracted into the wall and a panel slid back into place to hide it once more.
"They're getting away!"
K pointed, watching the trio begin to slink off as he fired a shot at Phantom. It was close to striking when a barrier rose from the floor, protecting the kids from the attack as the operative cursed.
"Get down!"
It was O's turn to protect his partner, slamming the man to the ground and shielding both of them from the next onslaught of attacks as the teenagers and the ghost disappeared up the stairs.
"They're trying to get outside! Go!"
Shoving themselves up, it was a tedious battleground to get to the front door, maneuvering around fallen Hazmat Operatives and destroyed Fenton Weapons, but when they'd finally managed to get outside, K realized it was worse than they'd thought.
Instead of getting outside and running for it, the kids had made it to what must've been an escape blimp. Which really didn't sound like much, but as metal shields slid down over every entrance and window, locking down the entire aircraft, he knew their job was about to get a lot harder.
"Get out here!"
He yelled, waving to the Hazmat Operatives who were still fighting to join them.
"How the hell do we get them now?"
O scowled, slamming his empty weapon to the ground below as K narrowed his eyes.
"Wait.." Calling up a file, and then another, and another, he finally found what he was looking for half buried on page eight. "You four, get up there! Do what you can to break through those barriers, and don't let them go anywhere! O, with me."
Beckoning for his partner, K darted through an alley and located their car.
"What are you doing?"
"I called in a favor, they should be here in a few minutes. If those kids think they're getting away, then we'll make sure they can't."
"It's a blimp, how fast could they even go?"
As if some great force were purposely trying to screw them over, a thunderous sound echoed above them, the ground trembling as their heads tilted towards the sky, a dark shadow passing over them as the blimp detached from Fenton Works and floated through the sky.
It moved slowly at first, and then pieces began to pull inside itself, the blimp transforming into the equivalent of a small jet plane.
"Man, why the hell do you even open your mouth?" K scowled, shoving his partners arm as a message appeared in front of his eyes. "Come on, we're going after them."
"What? How?"
Leading his partner around the corner, K pointed to two small aircrafts landing on the back street.
"Like I said, called in a favor."
He said, both agents hurrying to their planes and climbing inside. They were up in the air almost immediately, syncing the screens with their glasses as they took off after the ghost.
"Are they trying to kill someone?"
O yelled, flying next to his partner as the jet in front of them began to nosedive, heading directly for the high school.
"Shit, that's going to be a hell of a lot of paperwork."
K muttered, the two right on their tail as the man winced, waiting for the inevitable crash when the jet suddenly jerked sharply, narrowly avoiding the building as he turned his own controls, forced to go around the other way before returning to their chase.
"Where do they think they're even going?"
"No idea, but I'm not taking any chances."
K called, pressing a few buttons on his control panel as a small device released from the bottom of his craft, flying swiftly through the air and latching onto the top of the jet.
"Tracking?"
"Tracking."
The agent grinned, weaving around another building as the jet moved higher into the air. They had just begun discussing strategies to stop them when the jet shuddered and disappeared from sight.
"What the hell?" O's voice screamed in his partner's ear. "Where did it go?"
"He turned the damn thing intangible! There's no way to follow it now."
K slammed his hand on his controls, letting out a string of curses.
"That tracker active?"
"Yeah. Damn, now we have to wait until they stop somewhere."
"Well, how far can they go really?"
"Watch it with that big mouth of yours or you're gonna jinx us. Again."
All night. They had been flying all night long.
Yawning, K leaned back and adjusted his glasses again, thinking about his options a moment before virtually moving a checker.
"How the hell do you always win?"
O grumbled, moving another piece begrudgingly that allowed K to get a king.
"Cause I'm smarter than you." He smirked, tapping the side of his glasses as the game shifted to one side and his inbox opened on the other. "Hey, have you heard from Alpha?"
"No, he hasn't replied to any of my field reports. You?"
"Nothing. You realize if we go back empty handed we're done for, right?"
"Well that's not going to be a problem, because we're gonna catch that ghost kid and we're gonna catch the Freak."
He said nothing, scrolling through his messages as an alert popped up, taking over his whole screen.
"They landed!"
K called, sitting up straighter in his chair and removing the autopilot, forcing the plane to pick up a faster pace.
They'd lagged behind to keep from being noticed, but now they needed to make up that time before they got away again.
"Why stop in Cape Canaveral? Are they sightseeing?"
"They're kids, who knows what they're doing. Maybe one of those gems is here."
K shrugged despite being alone, forcing the alert from his tracker away as he sent another brief field report to his commanding officer.
They had no leads on Freakshow, which meant Phantom was their only route. Not that he minded really, he'd wanted to peg that troublesome ghost from the beginning. How it managed to fool absolutely everyone into believing that it wasn't going to cause harm was mind boggling, not to mention the obvious connection he'd formed with two impressionable teenagers.
Multiple news alerts began to poor in as their glasses connected automatically to the areas network, crude cellphone pictures of a giant rocket and the Phantom screwing with it flooding various media platforms.
"He's going to get somebody killed!"
O ground out, the two crafts slowing as they saw the rocket plummeting back to earth in the distance.
"Where the hell is he?" K called, scanning the area as he caught sight of the visible jet, the two teenagers inside. "I've got eyes on the kids, but not the ghost."
"He's in the damn rocket!"
O yelled, his hand waving inside his plane as they moved in closer, the rocket no longer plummeting but coasting to the ground. It was a poor landing but not much damage had been done, and no causalities had occurred, something K was grateful for.
Though it did little to change his mind about what exactly he was capable of. Death always seemed to follow him wherever he went.
As they grew closer, Phantom phased through the top of the rocket, hovering above the craft while pumping his arms triumphantly into the air.
"Here we go."
K said, flipping the switch to his weapon as he aimed his plane directly at the ghost boy.
"Attention Daniel Fenton, AKA Danny Phantom, give yourself up."
O spoke loudly, the speakers resonating through the air. The boy looked shocked, oblivious to their appearance as he stared up at them before starting a fast flight back to his jet.
"Do not run or we will take action."
O warned, the two turning their planes to follow the boy's escape.
"Fire."
O commanded, blasts leaving his plane. K prepared to fire his own when the sudden realization dawned on him, his partner's plane turned to face the jet instead of the ghost boy.
"O, what the hell?" He yelled, watching in abject horror as missiles fired onto the jet, hitting their target as it erupted into flames. "There were kids on that thing you idiot!"
K screamed, staring as the ghost boy flew back from the force of the explosion.
"We couldn't let him get on board again, we can't lose him."
O stated, the casual tone of his voice sickening his partner.
"You just murdered literal children, you fucking reckless asshole!"
"Casualties happen, K! Those kids knew what they were getting into being with that ghost, now we have our chance to grab him!"
"Do we? He's right in the middle of that! Our planes can't get anywhere close without igniting our own! So no, genius, your plan didn't work!"
He was seething, gripping the controls as he waited for the ghost to emerge from the destruction. He'd signed on to eradicate ghosts, and he was willing to use people and manipulate them and go to some extents that others wouldn't dare. But blowing up those kids? He felt like throwing up. How the hell were they supposed to report that they knew they were in there, and opened fire anyway?
"We're going to have to risk getting closer, the damned thing could've gone intangible for all we know."
O muttered, flying in closer as K begrudgingly followed. Once they had the ghost boy and Freakshow, he was asking for a new partner. He hadn't fired those shots, those kids lives would not be held over him. And yet he still felt drenched in their blood.
"Look, you happy? Those kids got free!"
Leaning forwards, K looked out his window as he spotted two cruisers making their way across the tarmac and back towards the explosion.
"Oh thank God."
"There's the ghost!"
Positioning their planes over the crumpled form of the ghost boy, they readied their weapons, waiting for the right moment to grab him.
K watched in silence as the boy finally saw his friends, a look of pure elation crossing his face as a weight settled in his stomach. Was it actually possible that the ghost had formed a real connection to those kids?
"Come on, come on.." O mumbled, drifting dangerously close to the fire as the two cruisers suddenly spurred back to life, shooting back across the tarmac as the ghost boy darted after them. "Let's move!"
O yelled, his plane taking off as another blast left his craft. This time firing his own, K aimed carefully to try and hit only the ghost. Whether they'd formed a friendship or not, those kids didn't need to allow a ghost to buddy around with them, didn't they see how much trouble they were in already?
"No, no, no!" O screamed, his attacks firing consistently as the ghost boy grabbed the two teenagers, the three beginning to sink into the ground before disappearing entirely from sight. "Damnit! We fucking lost them again!"
Slowing his plane down, K pressed his lips together, uncomfortable with the strange relief he found washing over him.
"This is a stupid idea."
His partner grumbled, glaring at the news crew reporting on the story as a nationwide manhunt had been spurred to locate the missing teenagers and ghost boy.
"Well don't act like I came up with it."
K muttered, leaning back against their car with a frown.
"You sure as hell didn't say anything when he mentioned it."
"What do you want from me? We're in enough hot water as it is, I wasn't going to question his decision. If he thinks we need help, who am I to go against that? Besides, whether you want to admit it or not, we probably do."
The anchorman they'd selected was already giving his report, the story going live from the scene in Florida as they sat outside an old diner watching on their glasses.
"You know, I really hope we get to be a part of some of those first interrogations they do. I want to know how this thing has managed to fool so many people. Does it have mind control powers? Does it possess them? It doesn't make sense."
"Maybe they just trust him. Hell, you've seen the stories. For a ghost, he does stop a lot of other threats towards the town."
"Are you defending it?"
"Of course not, he's still a menace, I'm just saying that it's probably some long con. Gain everyone's trust and then when he flips the tables they're slower to begin the manhunts because they won't want to believe that their hero betrayed them like that."
"Whatever."
With a heaving sigh, O circled around the car and climbed inside, starting the engine as K's glasses flashed red, a message in bold letters darting across his vision.
"Hey! Someone spotted them!"
Climbing into the passenger seat, his partner took off, taking a sharp turn off a dirt road to get back onto the highway.
"Where?"
"Diner, about sixty two miles from here. And get this, they're still sightseeing."
"What the hell are they going to see? The desert?"
"No, something called Gothapalooza."
"What the fuck is that?"
"Not sure, but the waitress overheard the kids talking. Guess it's some kind of list they're working down? First was Cape Canaveral, now its Gothapalooza. It must be about those gems." Shrugging, K sent a message to their boss, letting him know the news alert had worked in their favor. "At the very least we did a decent job tracking them."
"Yeah well, they're teenagers, they're aren't exactly masters of evasion."
O muttered, pushing his speed up to eighty.
"Question."
"What?"
His partner glanced briefly at him, one hand on the wheel while the other rested against the window.
"You ever been to a Gothic event?"
He was surprised at the laugh that his partner let out, a rare smile gracing O's features as he shook his head.
"No, was never into that emo phase in high school. Why, you been to one?"
"Once, when I was seventeen."
"You have pictures, right?"
It's K's turn to laugh, leaning his seat back and stretching his arms while maneuvering his suit jacket off.
"Nope, burned them all the second I broke up with the girl who took me. There will never be any proof that I wore skinny jeans and eyeliner."
"Damn, and I would've paid good money for proof of that."
Wearing a small smile, K turned in his seat and glanced out the window, the desert rolling past in waves around them as the night sky loomed ahead.
He'd wanted to travel the country when he was younger, but he'd been recruited the day after his graduation. After that, he'd wanted to save up his vacation time to go, but then his sister had her baby the same time her husband was killed in action and he'd used it all up to help her move.
Then he was promoted and he had even less time for himself, and then once the ghosts had started wreaking havoc day in and day out, he was practically living at the office. Closing his eyes, K had just begun to drift off when his partner shoved his arm.
"We just passed the sign for the Goth gathering."
"Can Goth's have a 'palooza'?"
"Well, they're having one, so I guess yes."
Stretching once more and sitting straight, K reached back for his suit jacket and stifled a yawn.
"So what's the plan this time?"
"You'll see in a few minutes. You called in your favor, I called in mine."
K narrowed his eyes in suspicion, not liking the smug smirk his partner wore, but he said nothing as they closed the last few miles to the event and pulled off right before the last hill.
Climbing out of the car, thunderous rock music echoed through the desert, K tugging on his jacket as he retrieved his blaster from the back seat.
"You won't need that."
O said, his face almost beaming as he tapped his glasses, nodding his head in confirmation. Turning, K caught a shimmer in the air before he gasped, staring with wide eyes and open mouth at the tank that revealed itself before them.
"And what the hell are we gonna do with that?"
"Catch us a ghost."
O said cheerfully, slapping the other on the back as they made their way towards it.
"Can we, I don't know, try not to kill any innocent civilians this time?"
"I'll do my best."
It sounded less than sincere, but K accepted that was the best answer he would get. Climbing inside the machine, the familiar blue glow that managed his glasses now lit up the screen before them.
"How long have they been working on this?"
"For a while. They needed someone to test it, and I think this is the perfect opportunity." The tank lurched forwards across the plain, the tread carrying them closer as the lights and noise grew louder. "Look at that, who knew there were so many Goth's in the world."
O commented, the crowds coming into view as the screen flashed green, a target bouncing from person to person before locking onto a boy that was floating in the air.
"It doesn't try to keep a low profile does it?"
He scoffed, pressing a button and flipping a switch as the light changed to red, the tank whining as a blast began to charge.
"Let's end this."
The crowd had taken notice of the Guys in White, the party abruptly ending as screams pierced the air and the people began to run.
K spotted the trio and stared, his eyes locking with those disturbing green hues. The entire machine shuddered as the first blast burst out, hitting one of the cruisers and sending it to a fiery death as his partner laughed, firing a second rocket that was headed straight for all three kids as they stayed frozen in place.
K found himself gripping his seat, pleading silently for the teenagers to move. Please, just move. Leave the ghost. Leave him. Just go!
He cringed away, barely daring to look as the ghost boy placed a hand on his friends' shoulders, the three turning intangible as their rocket shot straight through them and blew a chunk out of the rock formation behind.
"Damnit! Again!"
O slammed his fist on the console, firing another rocket as the group disappeared for good, their next several shots hitting nothing but air as K finally shut the firing system down.
"You know they're gone, stop wasting the ammunition!"
"As soon as I find it, as soon as I get my hands on it, I'm going to rip it to pieces."
O muttered darkly, forcing the tank around as K turned and looked back at where the kids had been.
Those eyes. God, he'd have nightmares about those eyes. They were ghastly, and yet.. They were human too.
"Over there!"
K shouted, standing at the top of the steps inside the subway station entrance, pointing down at the ghost boy with his back to them.
With as much gusto as the operative could manage, K raced down the stairs after the boy who had begun moving, disappearing further into the crowd as O rounded off the other way. Meeting in the middle and grabbing his shoulders, O spun the boy around and gripped him tightly.
"Okay, spook boy, it's all over."
K knew there was something wrong the moment before the boy's hair started to fall off. His snow white wig tilted to the side as the boy smacked away the operatives, brown eyes glaring angrily at them.
"Paws off! This suit's handmade!"
Stumbling back in shock, O turned around and around, K doing the same as the amount of ghost kids doubled and tripled and quadrupled.
"What the fuck..?"
"That damned news report." K ground out, slapping himself in the head as he tried to contain his anger. "They're going to that damned convention!"
"Dressed as a ghost?"
"He's famous now, thanks to us."
K scowled, heaving out a long and tired breath as the subway began to leave the station. Watching as it departed, K felt his blood run cold as a pair of green eyes met his, accompanied by a cheeky smile and the smallest of waves. Two other kids waved as well, and K took half a step forwards as it hit him.
"They're on the train!"
"I saw, let's move!"
Their way to the convention center took three times longer than it should have, both men constantly stopping various teenagers who had dressed themselves up as the ghost and his Goth girlfriend.
There were arguments, threats, and one woman who smacked them with her purse after O had grabbed her daughters arm.
They were exhausted, and the relief was palpable between them when they finally reached the building holding the convention that he had to be at. At least they were, until they saw Phantom shooting through the sky while three costumed figures chased after him.
"I'm done running. Screw if people see, I'm using the jetpack."
O huffed, syncing his glasses briefly as his pack powered to life.
"Not gonna argue."
K replied wearily, doing the same as the two men rose into the air and made their way after the ghost. The operative couldn't tell what was chasing the boy, whether it was other ghosts, or, hell he couldn't even think of a different option.
But when one of them managed to send Phantom spiraling to the rooftop below, he knew they'd have to be careful.
"We're outnumbered, let's wait and see what happens."
He urged his partner, the other agreeing begrudgingly as they watched the fighting down below. Three against one usually meant the three would be the victors, but as Phantom fought, K wondered if maybe they'd bitten off more than they could chew.
"Now!"
Barely catching his partner's movement, K hurried to follow the man as they inched closer to the action, K spotting the boy on the rooftop with a dazed look on his face after his collision with a red samurai.
Landing on the roof with a heavy breath, K leaned over and inhaled deeply, exhaustion sweeping over every inch of his body.
"Man, these cross country ghost chases are like, totally exhausting."
K wheezed, glancing at his partner. Forcing himself back into an upright position, a hard look passed over his face as the two operatives simultaneously pulled their weapons and fired on the two downed enemies. Ecto nets grew and expanded, slamming into and wrapping the two tightly within their bindings.
Despite how badly they wanted to nab the ghost, the other two attackers were still wreaking havoc in the air, and the agents went after them.
The furry girl and the weird moving blue rock kept evading their nets and frustration had K shooting faster and in all directions, determined for one of his blasts to hit their mark.
"Not so fast!"
Glancing over his shoulder at the voice, K found himself scowling, the ghost flying through the air after having escaped his confinement. But instead of going after them, he flew right over their heads and headed straight for the two they'd been going after.
"We can't lose him!"
O yelled, his body hovering higher before he paled. Turning a fraction the see why, the two operatives were lunged at by the samurai, a flaming sword cutting through the air in an arc, slicing clean through their fuel tank and sending the two men falling back to the rooftop below.
K couldn't help but scream as he spiraled down faster and faster without control before his body slammed into the roof.
All he could see was a kaleidoscope of colors flashing before his eyes, random bursts of blue and silver and yellow introducing a series of pulsating pains with each spin around that left him more nauseous than the last.
He wondered briefly if he'd gone deaf, a shrill whine all he could hear as the world came slowly back into focus, the sunlight a blinding glare in his eyes as he realized his glasses were cracked and allowing the daylight to filter past the darker tint he'd become accustomed to.
Blinking a couple of times, K pushed himself off the rooftop, his body trembling as a metallic taste filled his mouth. Reaching his fingers to his head, the pads came back dotted in blood as the nausea worsened. He'd hit his head, the pain behind his eyes searing as he looked for his partner.
O seemed to be in better shape, or at least was hiding any damage well. He was on his knees, for starters, and his gun was in his hands. But those hands were shaking, and a faint trail of blood trickled down his wrist.
The dull sound of the blaster firing perked K's attention, pushing himself to his unsteady feet as O fired a second shot.
"I'll catch at least one damn ghost today if it kills me."
He muttered quietly, dropping the gun as one of the shots hit its target, the three attackers falling just as they had moments ago into a heaping pile on the roof.
"Where did Phantom go, did you see?"
K asked, trying to squint at the light that had been working its way past his shades as the shrill beeping finally subsided from his glasses, an error message appearing briefly before it shutdown altogether.
"They'll know." O muttered, striding towards the group as a blue light glowed brightly for a moment before fading away and revealing three kids, each crushing the other under their weight. "Hey! You're just geeks!"
O shouted, his fists clenching as one of the boys who was decked out in red pajamas lifted a weak finger.
"Technically, we're enthusiasts."
"He got away again.."
K murmured, turning a full circle around the roof, no sign of the Phantom anywhere. His partner said nothing, quickly unhooking the broken jetpack and letting it fall at his feet while he scooped up both of their guns.
"You hungry?"
The question took K by surprise, the man limping closer as he arched his brows.
"Why?"
"We're getting food, then we're going to a motel and sleeping for the next two days."
"What about the ghost boy?"
"Fuck it. After all this, we're as good as fired anyway. Might as well relax a couple of days before we're thrown into the fire."
Stalking towards the other side where a maintenance ladder was, K shrugged lightly.
"Good a plan as any I guess."
"Tell you what though, if I ever see that ghost kid again, I'm going to kill it. Rip it apart until every last drop of blood leaves it's body." Glancing at his partner, O's face was blank, no emotion on it whatsoever as he met his cold stare. "If I ever see it again, I'll make sure it suffers."
A/N
Well this was a LOT longer than I was planning. I hope you guys enjoyed it at least! I wanted to give them more of a reason for why they were so intent on destroying Danny. I think they don't really care or believe he's half human, and that's why he's so heavily referred to as an 'it' this whole chapter. I wanted the two Guys in White to be more.. human? I guess? Not sure if I succeeded or if this whole chapter was a bust, but we're finally getting down to the final fight, and I'm looking forward to it!