It was a gorgeous day to take the hoverboard to school, Valerie thought. The sun was shining, she'd woken up early enough to see her dad off to work, and there wasn't a ghost in sight. That didn't mean that she was going to skimp on her pre school patrol, though. No, it was even more important to seek out the ghosts if she couldn't see them.
It was odd, though, that she got to school without seeing hide nor hair of Phantom. Usually she'd see him every morning on her way to school, and she'd give chase until the first bell. Today, she got to school before the first bell, and even had time to get her stuff from her locker and talk to Star on her way to class.
They spoke of nothing in particular, though Valerie did find herself searching for Danny and his friends in the hall. An odd disappointment filled her when she reached class without seeing them, though she brushed it off. It wouldn't be the first time that they were late to class, but today was such a nice day that she still hoped to see them within the morning.
She sat at her desk and took her time setting out her school supplies, humming to herself and giving Star short responses whenever the girl asked her something or paused in conversation for Valerie to give input. Once her stuff was set out, Valerie turned her attention to Star, and they talked about nothing until the bell rang.
Mr. Falluca entered the classroom and set his stuff at his desk. Once he was done, he turned to the class. "Good morning, class," he began. Before he got any further than that, the door opened and Danny's friends entered. Valerie frowned, noticing that Danny wasn't with them. "Ms. Manson, Mr. Foley, you're late."
"Sorry Mr. Falluca," Sam said. Valerie noticed that she sounded exhausted. "I missed my alarm this morning."
"I also missed my alarm." Tucker supplied when Mr. Falluca looked at him. Mr. Falluca sighed.
"Alright, take your seats and we will begin." Valerie watched Sam and Tucker as they took their usual seats, Danny's spot remained conspicuously empty. They looked tired. There were clear bags under Tucker's eyes, as well as Sams if you looked close enough, and their eyes were red. Sam's eyes were also suspiciously wet.
Valerie spent the rest of class sure that something was wrong, and trying to figure out what it might be. Mr. Falluca didn't mention Danny's absence, but Valerie didn't think she was the only one who noticed.
Tucker and Sam spent the entire class whispering to each other and passing notes, and Valerie resolved to talk to them after class. Except that she didn't get the chance, because they disappeared as soon as class was over, and she didn't see them again until their next shared class, just before lunch. She spent that class focused on where Danny should be sitting and completely ignoring whatever book Mr. Lancer was talking about today.
Finally, Valerie tracked them down at the start of lunch, where they sat with Jazz, who looked dead on her feet. Valerie's concern skyrocketed, and she approached the table with her lunch tray. Noticeably, none of the tables occupants had their own food.
"But how can we be sure that he's even in the Zone?" Jazz said. Valerie cleared her throat before the others could respond, and they all jumped before they spun to look at her.
"Hey," Valerie said quietly. "Do you mind if I sit with you guys today?" Sam looked a bit like she was going to say no, before Jazz spoke.
"Go right ahead, Valerie." she sounded even more exhausted than she looked. Sams jaw clenched. Valerie set her tray on the table next to Jazz and sat down. The silence that came with her presence felt awkward, so she decided to ask the question that had been eating at her the whole morning.
"Where's Danny?" She regretted the words as soon as they were out of her mouth. Sams eyes became suspiciously wet again, and Tucker fiddled with his PDA absently, lips a thin line and shoulders tense. But it was Jazz's reaction to the question that hurt the most. There was a short silence before Jazz let out a sob and dropped her head to the table between her arms.
"It's all my fault!" she cried, shoulders shaking and muffled sobs escaping her. "If I'd just stayed home to study, none of this would have happened!"
Sam glared at Valerie while Tucker leaned across the table to try and comfort Jazz. "it's not your fault, Jazz! You didn't know it was going to happen!" Jazz just sobbed harder. "If it's anyone's fault, it's mine! Danny's my best friend, I should have stayed and hung out with him for a bit, instead of leaving right away!"
"If it's your fault, than it's mine, too." Sam added, and Jazz sniffled wetly. Sam looked back to Valerie. "Danny fell through a ghost portal yesterday."
Those seven words made Valerie feel like the bottom of her world had just dropped out. "What can I do to help?" she asked.
Doctor Martin was forever grateful that she had set up the cameras so that they saved the footage to an off site server. The footage that she watched, in the comfort of her home office, was infuriating. The head of Weapon X was so clearly incompetent, in hindsight, that she couldn't believe that she had ever even thought of using him.
His notes, all of which were also saved to an off site server, this one seperate from the video location, never mentioned any other powers that their extra-dimensional being had. Clearly the creature was powerful, and all that man had ever done was diddle around with vivisection. At least in death he had been useful. Despicable that had she lost countless proper scientists along with him. Her superiors were bound to be displeased.
Ah, but the creature. The video showed him in all his glory, eyes glowing that acid green color as he arched off the table and screamed. The tinny audio of the video was the first to cut out, followed by the camera. The video she'd pulled off the street cameras showed that half an hour later that degenerate Deadpool had made off with her pet project. He would be dealt with in time, but first, the re-acquisition of her creature. The absolute power that the child held was terrifying, and though she was loath to admit it, the thought of having control over that power was arousing, in it's own way.
But Deadpool was not a world renowned mercenary for nothing, and him and the pathetic blind man from Hell's Kitchen had lost surveillance quickly. Infuriating, but she did so love a good challenge.
Her musing was cut short by her phone ringing. She sighed, rubbing her temples as she removed her reading glasses and picked up her phone without checking who it was. It wasn't like she saved numbers, any way.
"Doctor Martin speaking." she answered.
"Doctor Martin, how are you doing this evening? I hear your operation with Weapon X was a bust." The smooth voice on the other end of the phone gave her pause. She swallowed thickly before replying.
"Yes, I hadn't foreseen interference from Deadpool, let alone the vigilantes." Doctor Martin carefully kept her tone even, despite the cold fear in her veins. She had failed, after all, and Hydra wasn't known for their second chances. She only hoped her mistress would be lenient, and give her a second chance.
"And how is the interdimensional portal coming?"
"Ah, the physical base is beyond repair, but the notes are intact, and I believe that we may build the portal even better this time around, and this slight setback may actually be to our benefit." excitement bubbled warmly in her chest, overwhelming the cold fear that had gripped her earlier. "This time we can build it to accommodate for the ectoplasmic byproduct from the beginning, and…"
"Enough." the terror washed the excitement away as abruptly as it had come.
"Yes, ma'am." her voice, she would be proud to say, remained steady and unwavering, despite the fear.
"Do you know the location of the subject that destroyed the facility?"
"Ah, no, not yet, but it will be a small matter to locate him!" the desperation crept into her voice, and she took a steadying breath, hoping the other hadn't noticed. "The vigilante and the mercenary are not subtle, and they have very few resources to go to for care of a child. I'm already monitoring the hospitals for any one matching his description, and all secret agents know what he looks like, and will report him to me immediately upon locating him."
"Very well," was she mistaken, or was that a hint of pride in her mistress' voice? "I will contact you once I have your new lab location, as well as a decoy location that you are to be seen at as often as possible. Do not let the true location slip this time. Understood?"
"Yes ma'am. Hail Hydra!"
"Hail Hydra." the phone cut out with a click, and Doctor Martin slumped down in her chair. The stress would all be worth it to achieve true interdimensional travel. All it would take was a bit of patience, and ruling with an iron thumb. She couldn't slip again. They didn't allow failures, and the only reason she was still alive was that they still had a use for her.
The boy was the key to getting the portal to work properly, she was sure of it. And, once properly conditioned, he would be a spectacular weapon. All she had to do now was find him.
