Night Wind
By: Wilona Riva
Disclaimer: Butch Hartman does; I don't.
Little Green
"Mikey, what's wrong?" Nathan asked, putting his tray of mystery cafeteria food down on the table.
"Am I that obvious?" Mikey asked, frowning. His dark green eyes were dull and lifeless behind his round, dark frames.
"You're building a mashed pea-and-potato volcano," Nathan pointed out. "And it's a good thing Dash is out sick today or you would be wearing it. So what's eating you?"
"My parents," Mikey muttered, flicking a glance toward the popular table. The teens sitting there were bored and listless, but they didn't dare do anything without the King of Casper High present. "And the lights went out last night. Again."
"So the Fentons were running an experiment and blew half the city's transformers," Nathan replied. "Nothing out of the ordinary. What did the 'rents have to say?"
"Mom was mad about me using up all the antacid tablets. My meager allowance is forfeit this week for the rockets."
"So? We've done worse."
"Yeah, but it gets even worse."
"Uh-oh. What happened?"
"The markings came back last night, right before the electricity went out," Mikey explained. "My sweater hid them so I didn't get the whole 'tattoos are evil lecture', but Dad blurted out I was adopted."
"Plenty of kids are adopted," Nathan pointed out, punctuating the air with his fork. "Remember Rebecca Mallow in third grade?"
"Yeah."
"She's been in and out of the foster care for years, but she's never let it bring her down. Neither should you."
"But they could have told me in another way," Mikey whined.
"Shut it," Nathan told him. "It's a moot point; don't cry over it. How long did it take for the markings to go away?"
"They were gone when I woke up this morning," Mikey answered. He looked down at his bare arms. "I feel really weird."
"You are weird," Nathan laughed, dodging a flung pea, which landed in his curly red hair. "Eww, gross, I've been invaded by alien pea cooties."
That was just the response Mikey needed as he joined Nathan in a round of Veggies from Outer Space warfare.
"Don't worry," a red-haired girl whispered to a younger boy in his early teens. "You'll fit in just fine. You're human-looking enough."
The boy scowled, slumping down in his seat, as she pulled into the school parking lot.
"Danny, just relax. And quit it with the silent treatment. I know you can talk. You were quite vocal when you tumbled out of the portal last night."
He tugged at the uncomfortable clothing he'd been forced to don that morning. His fingers began to form strange signs, when the girl grabbed his hands and shoved them apart. He looked up at her in an annoyed silence.
"Danny, you will use words to communicate, not a form of sign language that no one can understand," she told him sternly. "For all outward appearances, you are my little brother. Now, what are you trying to tell me?"
The huntress cut my hair, he deliberately signed, forming the strange symbols again. The Queen of the Night Stars will not be pleased. Why do you persist in calling me 'Danny'? I am Phantom; I have no name.
Jazz looked at him perplexed. "Words, please."
Fine, Phantom curtly signed back, flicking his fingers again briefly in the language of the Night Wind phantoms. Not like I can return home any way without the hunters' portal.
"Danny," Jazz warned, shaking her index finger at him. A shrill bell sounded, causing Phantom to jump with alarm, hands clutching his ears in pain.
"Your King will be angry?" he asked, looking up at her as she scrambled for her books and threw him her old washed-out purple backpack.
"Now, you're going to say something," she grumbled. "Come on. We're going to be late for class."
Phantom smirked at this and filed it way for later reference. Phasing through the metal contraption's door, he slung the backpack on to his shoulder and followed the daughter of the hunter into the far building to their right. The sun's harmful rays were muted in his human form and he was glad he had this one small protection from that which was death to his people. His thoughts turned again to what had transpired the evening before.
"Mads, it's working!"
"Jack, so-so-something's coming out!"
"GHOST!"
"Damn, ryu!" Phantom shouted, crashing into a metal door, as the portal he'd been investigating sucked him in and spat him out, along with the stupid ryu, who been shouting something about boxes. "Custom and rules be damned."
He formed an ectoplasmic ball in one hand and made as if to throw it, when the ryu yelled 'Beware!' and pointed behind him. Phantom whirled around, barely in time to avoid the hunter's warning shot. With a flick of his wrist, the ball was launched, blasting the weapon from the larger one's hand.
Pursing his lips, his fingers formed the familiar symbols. I am sorry, he signed, but it is all the damned ryu's fault I have trespassed here. I only meant to observe the new portal as my queen bade me. You may have the ryu as payment for your services.
The last thing he expected was for something wooden to tap back of his head and the darkness to enshroud him. He thought he heard the ryu cackle with glee before the dream of the seven trees amongst the seven guardian towers overcame him.