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CHAPTER 10: TOTAL RECALL, PART 1
Chaos and carnage is on the brew for the Fenton family and their favorite son, but the danger is still unbeknownst to any single member save for Danny Phantom, who has personally faced the danger himself. The rest of the family is free to stay ignorant to the threat that looms their way imminently, unknowingly going about their day without any idea that this day could be the last day they will enjoy alive.
Two who have had a decent share of life to enjoy are Jazz and Sam, arriving back to Fenton City after a shopping spree celebrating the latter's pregnancy. Heading back inside with their multitudes of new purchases, ranging from new clothing to various household devices, also included among the purchases are new items for the arriving baby Fenton.
Not wishing to reveal the secret pregnancy to the rest of the family, the sister-in-laws keep quiet with their re-entry to further conceal the new life coming soon.
"I don't know if Mom and Dad are still busy or not. We might be able to sneak this stuff back to your room if we're careful." Jazz said.
"With luck, we'll reach the trash compactor on the way and I'll properly dispose of the onesie you bought." Sam said.
"Aw, come on! It was cute!"
"Really? Choosing 'If you think I'm cute, you should see my aunt' shows a clear conflict of interest."
"People say you get better chances of getting life partners if your siblings are married with children. I deserve a cute guy too, you know. I can only modify my vibrators so much."
"...And you just made this conversation so much worse."
"Oh, c'mon, we're all adults here. But don't get me wrong! I'm still so excited about you and the baby! I'm gonna be an aunt! I can't wait for all the family get-togethers, to be able to look at my little niece or nephew!"
"What do you mean, 'family get-togethers'? We all live here."
"What about your side of the family? Don't you think they want to see their new grandbaby?"
"Believe me. My parents didn't know a thing about me raising me. I wouldn't let them near my kid even if the rest of us were dead."
Suddenly, inhuman sounds of chewing and moaning were heard in the room, putting a stop to the conversation and all pretense of stealth. Immediately perceiving the noises as the threat of a ghost, the sisters-in-law dropped their purchased items, trading them out for their weapons.
Sam drew out her dual ectoplasmic pistols, where Jazz put on her Fenton Peeler; the suit covering her with the press of a button on her wristwatch with nanotechnology applying the suit over her body, giving her the necessary protection against the unknown threat. Having the superior armor, she took point ahead, protecting her pregnant legal sibling from any threats.
"Where's that coming from?" Sam asked.
"Sounds like it's in the laboratory." Jazz said.
"Wasn't that where Jack and Maddie were last?"
"They might have also brought in some ghosts for an experiment. Maybe they bit off more than they could chew."
"Danny should've been back by now, too. Could he have brought something in?"
"If he did, he would've handled it by now. Something's clearly wrong. We need to rush in there and take it out, fast."
"Right behind you, sis."
Following her sister-in-law into battle, Sam carefully stayed behind Jazz, keeping her ectoplasmic pistols tight between her fingers to stay protected against whatever threat was waiting for them in the laboratory. With her sole trooper standing behind her in wait, Jazz readied her own weapons to the Fenton Peeler, ready to charge into the threat in the next room.
Crouching up to the door the laboratory, she quietly whispered a command to Sam explaining their plan to handle the threat. Still did the strange noises continue, and louder did they grow when they stood closer to the door, making the need for action all the stronger and increasing the urgency of Jazz's order.
"On the count of 3, we go in and shoot. One... Two..." Jazz counted.
Putting their fingers to the triggers of their weapons, the two held the tension that came over their bodies, readying themselves for battle.
"...THREE!" Jazz shouted.
Kicking down the door, Jazz and Sam held up their weapons, carrying the full intent to fire, only to have their planned assault come to a stop by a human plea for mercy, coming from a voice familiar enough to put a stop to the once-eager trigger fingers that laid on their weapons.
"NO! WAIT! DON'T SHOOT! FRIENDLY FIRE!" Jack shouted.
The pleas for mercy came from the mouth of Jack Fenton, along with an array of saliva and fudge pancake crumbs dripping from his mouth. Alongside this minor offense to decorum and hygiene, he was also shown to have his jumpsuit partially unzipped and down to his waist to show his bare chest.
Likewise, Maddie was laying on a table with her own jumpsuit opened to uncover her breasts, instead leaving them covered by Jack's beloved fudge pancakes, covered with a hefty dose of whipped cream and dousing of maple syrup; the whipped cream melting and running down her body.
Instantly recognizing the sight as one of intimacy not meant for either of the sisters-in-law to see, their hostility is traded in for disgust and horror.
"Oh, god, what the hell?!" Jazz screamed.
"Guys! We were only gone for an hour! What are you doing?!" Sam yelled.
"Uh, we're sorry, girls! It's just that... well, I get so excited when I work on my projects, and I had to find a way to get Jack involved, and we didn't think you'd be back yet, and-" Maddie tried to explain.
"God, no, no, no, mom! I don't want to hear it! Just... clean yourselves up, please!" Jazz said.
Wiping herself up with a shop towel, Maddie cleansed herself of the pancake residue, as did Jack with his face, and both made themselves modest by zipping up their jumpsuits once again. With the embarrassing moment finally over, Jazz and Sam once again returned to normal conversation, attempting to move on from the disturbing image that they were subjected to, with Jack making the first effort in that direction.
"So, uh... Have a good shopping spree, girls?" Jack asked.
"Yes, we had a good shopping spree... but we were just trying to kill some time before Danny got back. I take it neither of you have seen Danny yet?" Jazz asked.
"Er, no, why do you ask? Where'd Danny go?" Maddie asked.
"He went to do a quick search in the Ghost Zone. There was something weird that came up on the sensors, and he wanted to take a look at it for me."
"What do you mean, 'something weird'?"
"As in, something-more-powerful-than-Danny-and-could-potentially-rip-him-a-new-asshole-if-the-worst-case-scenario-is-true kind of weird."
Unhappy to hear such news regarding her husband, Sam immediately voiced her concerns regarding the news withheld from her until now.
"WHAT?!" Sam screamed.
Realizing her accidental admission, Jazz instantly felt regret wash over her, lowering her head in self-frustration.
"...And I just remembered that I wasn't supposed to say that part to Sam." Jazz said.
"Jazz, how could you just let Danny put himself in danger like that?! After you found out that I'm pre-?!" Sam began to say.
Sam's yelling came to a brief pause, trying to ensure that the information she was almost about to reveal would not be spoken to the parents.
"Uh... precious to him? I mean, how is he supposed to just take stupid risks like that knowing how... precious I am?" Sam asked.
"Well, little miss princess, this was kind of an important thing he had to handle. And it's the fact that you're precious that he was wanting to take care of this, and he specifically asked me to take care of you in the meantime. After all, he's the only person capable of handling this kinda thing, so, if something was wrong, he could handle it and make sure that there's no threat to the Earth. You know, a threat that could potentially mean that you would be put in harms way, harming you and your... preciousness." Jazz said.
"Well, if this is really as big a threat as you say, then it doesn't matter if I'm precious or not. Everybody's in danger, and I might as well put myself on the front lines where I know how to make a difference."
"We don't know anything about this at all. I just asked Danny to take a quick look. Would you just calm down? I think all the... effects of your preciousness are starting to have an effect on your judgement."
"Oh, you did not just go there! My being precious has nothing to do with it! I'm a concerned wife and a ghost hunter! That's reason alone for me to have a clear judgement on the matter!"
All during the bickering of the two sisters-in-law, Jack and Maddie Fenton were left hopelessly confused over the matter the two were arguing about, not having any clue as to where it was leading, nor the strange use of the word 'precious'. Maddie attempted to interject into the conversation, uneasily raising a finger in concern to catch their attention.
"Uh, girls? Are we missing something here?" Maddie asked.
"NO!" Jazz and Sam yelled in unison.
Stepping back in fear of the angry young women, Jack and Maddie clutched to each other in fear.
Meanwhile, not far away from the floating Fenton City, a rift between the Ghost Zone and the real world opened, and through it came a stray Fenton Thermos, containing inside it the defeated and distressed Danny Phantom. Flying in through the portal, it made its way to the aerial city, landing on the helipad of the city.
A maintenance Jazzbot had caught eye of the foreign object, moving to the item and picking it up. Recognizing it as a Fenton Thermos, the machine's controller, M.I.S.T.E.R., ceased the Jazzbot from continuing its duties and instead directed it head back inside the main building, heading to report the strangely appearing Thermos to the rest of the family.
While the preceding events unfolded, the conversation between the young Fenton women cooled down near a close; their fight coming to an end at last.
"Listen, he'll probably be back any minute now. We've been gone so long that he'll have had all the time in the world to see what was going on in the Ghost Zone. Let's all just calm down and relax, okay?" Jazz said.
"Coming from the girl always on a caffeine high. You wouldn't know how to relax if it snuck up on you." Sam said.
"That is not true. I'm perfectly relaxed right now. Take a look at me; I'm the poster child for relaxation. Totally calm. Serene. At peace. One with Buddha."
The Jazzbot carrying the Fenton Thermos reached the main room at last, walking up to Jazz Fenton and tapping her on the shoulder.
"Pardon me, Miss Jasmine?" M.I.S.T.E.R. asked.
Not expecting the sudden appearance of the Jazzbot, Jazz turned to it with a loud startled gasp and a pair of fists thrown up in defense, putting herself in a defensive stance against the suddenly-appearing Jazzbot. Realizing there was no threat to be seen in the android, Jazz let out a sigh of relief, followed by a verbal berating for the Jazzbot.
"M.I.S.T.E.R., how many times have I told you not to sneak up on me like that?! And to quit calling me Jasmine?!" Jazz yelled.
"Apologies, Miss Jasmine. I had encountered this Fenton Thermos on the helipad outside, and I pulled Jazzbot 65 from cleaning duties to see it delivered to you." M.I.S.T.E.R. said.
After hearing the explanation, the family looked to the rogue Fenton Thermos in confusion, not understanding its strange origin or reason to be here.
"Before anyone asks: No, I didn't put it there and forget about it. You know I take my work and inventions very seriously." Jack asked.
"Like the diet soda from this morning?" Maddie asked.
Unable to defend himself from the blunder made earlier that day, Jack nervously turned his head away to avoid consequence from his actions.
"Uh... I was preoccupied with another invention then." Jack said.
"I'm well aware, Jack. But if you didn't put it there, then what was it doing out there? A ghost we forgot to send back?" Maddie asked.
"No, we only had those few captures earlier, and I sent them back personally. M.I.S.T.E.R., what's in this thermos?" Jazz asked.
"My scanners indicate that the ectoplasmic entity encapsulated in this Fenton Thermos is Master Daniel." M.I.S.T.E.R. replied.
"What?! Danny?! How'd he get himself stuck in there?"
"I am not sure, Miss Jasmine. Master Daniel surely has more competence than to get himself caught within his own equipment."
"Who cares how he got in there?! Get him out of there!" Sam said.
"Affirmative, Miss Samantha."
At the orders given to him, M.I.S.T.E.R. opened the Fenton Thermos, allowing the trapped Danny Phantom inside the means to escape from his prison at last. With the top of the Thermos removed, Danny wasted no time to escape, immediately rushing out of it and instantly falling to the floor, breathing heavily from the lack of air.
Quick to help their own kin, the Fentons collectively helped the breathless Danny back on his feet.
"Danny?! What happened?! Are you okay?!" Maddie asked.
After taking a minute to catch his breath, Danny finally mustered up enough oxygen to rise to his feet, finally able to reply.
"Really... forgot... how stuffy... they are..." Danny said.
Though the quip had landed a small degree of levity for the half-dead hero, it served little use to the rest of the family; their focus instead laid on the prodigal son of the family and his safety rather than any taste for humor. Setting him on a shop chair to allow him a better chance of recovery, the family allowed him space to breathe again, save for Sam, who kept by his side with her hand on his.
"Danny. What happened in there? You had me worried sick this whole time." Sam asked.
Taking a look to Sam's worried face, Danny's first instinct was to lie, hoping that a temporary distortion of reality or withholding of the truth would spare her from danger or any threat of what would come. Well aware of objective reality as it was regardless of his words' ability to blur it for others, as well as the familiar knowledge of his enemy and the threat he posed, the urge to lie had dwindled and vanished from his thoughts.
Now, there only laid the time to tell the truth, and the difficulty in overcoming the challenge to do so.
"C'mon, Danny, what happened? Tell us. We need to know if you're in trouble." Sam said.
Deciding to answer his wife's persistent question, Danny released her hand, holding his own in discomfort.
"Guys... I don't want to lie to you. We've got a big problem this time. Really big. Makes everything we've got going on right now look like nothing. He's back." Danny said.
The family looked to one another in confusion, unsure who the ambiguous subject of Danny's single pronoun was referring to.
"Who? Danny, who's 'he'?" Jazz asked.
Taking one final breath in to catch his composure, Danny answered the question.
"Dark Danny." Danny answered.
On the distant prison planet of the Irken Empire named Carcerem, the prison's strict daily schedule moves on to recess, allowing the prisoners all a chance to exercise and stretch their muscles to ward off lethargy and weakness. With no other way to keep themselves occupied or entertained, and a food chain diverse as the populace of the prison, exercise is a must on the planet, and an activity no one misses out on.
Living on a planet with 19 hours of sunlight and 14 hours of night, no species is able to keep a strict adjustment to the prison's schedule; at least one prisoner can always be found struggling to stay awake during this time. But there is one prisoner who is not affected by the strange hours.
Vlad Plasmius is the only member of the prison not bound by the shortcomings of a mortal body, and concepts such as sleep are more of luxury to him more than necessity, and, by extension, so is exercise, making him the only one never to participate in any outdoor activity with the other prisoners.
Usually, he is a solitary man, found sitting at a table or bench on his own. No one would have dared to sit next to him or even approach him, some not even daring to look at him, out of fear for the strength he holds and, by extension, the power he holds over the other prisoners.
Today, however, he is accompanied by an accomplice far more daring: An alien hailing from the planet Lucifer named Belasco. In addition to this unusual occurrence for Vlad Plasmius, also changing in his normal routine is not to simply sit in silence, but to test the limits of his own strength at last.
The first challenge they take is on a simple bench press, allowing Vlad one of the more simple methods of testing his physical abilities. Their challenge has lasted more than a decent period for even the most toned of alien bodybuilders and strongmen have made themselves into on the planet, but their results have exceeded far past what any of them could ever hope to achieve.
Lifting the weights into the air, Vlad once again beat a personal record mere seconds from his last, leaving Belasco to watch in surprise and pride.
"[How much is that, now?]" Vlad asked.
"[500, not counting all the stuff I taped on. Should I try to find more?]" Belasco asked.
"[No, no need. I think we've already proven that I've got more than enough strength as it is. I've already known that for all the other prisoners I've put down. That wasn't much surprise. That blast I fired last week, that's what I'm more interested in.]"
"[Well, how'd you do it then?]"
"[I don't know. I just know that I was feeling danger when that thing was on me, and I just wanted to get it off me as quickly as possible.]"
"[Could that play into how you fired the blast? Or maybe that weird language you spoke in?]"
"[Maybe. I just don't know. It'll be interesting to see what else I can figure out.]"
"[Yeah. So, in between things have been going good since you offed Zuul, now, we find out you've got cool superpowers nobody else has. Nobody's gonna mess with anymore, not even the guards. We could bust out of this joint anytime we want. I guess the good times are rolling now, right?]"
Vlad began to take annoyance with his friend's dreams of escape from the planet, changing his optimistic outlook to a pessimistic one.
"[What is it with you and getting off this planet?]" Vlad asked.
"[What?]"
"[Why do you want to get off this planet so bad, Belasco?]"
"[What, you'd rather stay here? Under watch by a bunch of ugly green bugs and unable to do anything but eat shitty food and have nothing to do?]"
"[Do you have a better idea?]"
"[Yeah. Getting back home. You ever been to Lucifer before? Volcanic activity all across the globe, most fertile soil in the galaxy. The fruits and vegetables that get exported are the biggest you'll ever see. Speaking of fertile, the women... Ooh-la-la. I could find you a couple of nice women when we bust out of here. Vamp, ask yourself this: When's the last time you ever got laid? Answer: Never. You've been stuck here since forever.]"
"[Then I might as well stay if I've been here so long.]"
"[But why?! Come on, Vamp, with the powers you got, we could be out of here no problem and be home free. You'd love it on my planet, it'd be great having you there.]"
"[Not interested.]"
"[Then what about getting home to Earth? Find out who you really are and all? Hell, I'll head with you to Earth. It sounds like a cool place.]"
"[I don't even know where Earth is. I don't even know where this planet is. The universe it a big place. How am I supposed to find where it is?]"
"[Well, guess we'll just have to look for it. That's half the fun right there: Vamp and Belasco, the dynamic duo, travelling across the galaxy. Hell of a retirement plan for old guys like us.]"
"[Belasco. You just don't get it, do you?]"
"[No, I don't get it. You've got a winning lottery ticket, and you're choosing just to sit on it. Why?]"
"[Because I've got nothing else. You tell me yourself, I'm the biggest man here. No one ever messes with me unless they have a death wish. I rule here. Here, I actually have a place, a purpose, and, most importantly, a kingdom. I don't remember much about Earth, but I know for a fact that I didn't rule that planet, although I was supposed to. I finally get somewhere that I can be in charge. Where I can be me.]"
"[But you could have literally any planet you want! Hell, you could have the power to take the whole galaxy!]"
"[Maybe. Still not interested. Here is plenty enough for me.]"
"[So, you'd rather rule in hell than serve in heaven, huh? What about me? I'm your friend.]"
"[I don't have friends. I'm just a guy who wants to be left alone.]"
"[You can't just be left alone, man. You said it yourself, you're the biggest guy in this place. By definition, nobody's gonna leave you alone. You're Vamp. You're the dude.]"
"[No, Belasco. I'm nobody. I don't remember how I got here. I don't remember anything about myself. I don't even remember what my name is. It's this place that makes me Vamp. That's why I want to stay here.]"
"[And you don't want to find out who you were before? Don't you want to know where you're from?]"
"[It doesn't matter where I'm from anymore. The only thing that concerns me is what happens here and now.]"
Disappointed with his perceived friend's lack of interest in escaping the prison, Belasco hung his head in frustration, seeming to find no way to convince Vlad.
"[This is really not smart, Vamp. You could be throwing away a fortune over this. There's a lot to be found out about your past. Who knows? You could probably have some loose end come for you right now.]" Belasco said.
"[Don't be ridiculous, Belasco. We're probably light-years from the planet. Nothing from Earth could possibly be coming here and now.]" Vlad said.
As if some kind of jinx was summoned by Vlad's words, a large flash of light blasted its way into the courtyard, sending all of the prisoners and their guards into a temporary state of blindness. All activity and recreation, the few that occurred on the planet, came to a complete standstill; every eyelid clamped tightly shut at the appearance of the bright flash.
When the whiteout in their eyes began to fade, their vision restored and the explanation behind the flash made clar to them, the answer behind the phenomenon is given by way of a threat. The guards and prisoners were all immediately met with the sight of Demon Phantom and his 3 horsemen standing in the middle of the courtyard; 4 alien creatures that none had seen before.
The guards wasted no time to react by raising their weapons to the ghosts, but Demon Phantom and his followers take no sense of threat to the weapons pointed their way. Instead, they leisurely took their time to observe the area around themselves, coming to an understanding that their current location was not one of any world that they knew of.
"Uh... Just where the hell did that map take us?" Ember asked.
To find the answer her question, the ghosts collectively looked to the Infi-Map, searching for their current location on it. They soon found their location marked on the map, located themselves having been placed in an entirely different solar system, far away from their native planet and its respective solar system.
"Looks like we're on some alien prison planet called Carcerem." SkulkTech said.
"Prison planet, huh? I could've guessed that just from the look of this place." Ember said.
"It seems that the brutality of the prisons of Earth are something of a universal concept." Fright Knight added.
Further intimidated by the sudden appearance of the ghosts, the guards, previously keeping a distance for their own safety, began to move in towards the group, immediately surrounded them with their weapons held high. Once again, Demon Phantom and his followers looked on to the Irken guards with little interest, seeming to feel no danger from the guards nor their weapons.
The prisoners opted to take a distance from the uninvited guests as well, keeping themselves away from the affair to protect themselves from any altercations from the guards or their current enemies. Vlad kept his distance as well, but choosing to take the opportunity to observe rather than cower in fear.
The group of ghosts struck some familiar chord within him, why and how he was not yet sure. Continuing his observation, he awaited to see what would happen next.
"[Get down on the ground and put your hands on your heads! Do it now, alien scum!]" The lead guard yelled.
"What the hell did that thing just say?" Ember asked.
"According to my translators, it gave us a threat to surrender or they'll shoot." SkulkTech said.
"How amusing. Do they believe their puny little muskets will have any effect on us?" Fright Knight asked.
"Apparently so. Gotta admit, the technology's outstanding. Back when I was just Technus, it would've taken me at least 3 lifetimes just to come up with some of what they've got."
Growing anxious even further from the ghosts' apparent lack of interest in them and disconcern with their threats, the Irkens grew even louder to try to intimidate them.
"[Shut up and get down now! Last chance!]" The lead guard shouted.
"These massive bugs are beginning to bore me. Shall I slay them, my liege?" Fright Knight asked.
"Yeah, let's squash these little green roaches." Ember said.
"No. Not just yet." Demon Phantom said.
"What? Why not?" SkulkTech asked.
Demon Phantom stepped to the front of the group, moving towards a guard pointing a weapon to his face. The image of the rifle shoved towards him did not give the ghost any reserve to placate the guard or make peace amends, but instead allowed him the chance to let out a chuckle.
The laughter coming from his target made the lone Irken guard turn even further nervous, but the fear he carried grew even greater when Demon Phantom had snatched his weapon straight from his hands. After looking to the rifle in curious mockery, the guards grew even further eager to act; none too sure how to react to the new creature nor its boldness.
Demon Phantom put them to even further confusion when he placed the rifle against the side of his head, putting his finger to the trigger.
"I'd like to show them just how ineffectual they are firsthand." Demon Phantom said.
Demon Phantom then pulled the trigger to the rifle, firing a laser blast straight through his head without causing himself any harm. The sight brought all eyes and mouths to a stupefied open, left to watch the new creatures in their prison shrug off deadly weapons as if they were mere children's toys.
Once again, Vlad continued his observation; his patience paying off with said feat, and rewarding himself with a raised eyebrow and curious smile.
Having proved the weapon completely ineffectual against ghosts, Demon Phantom discarded the weapon, throwing it back to the guard who he had previously taken it from. Looking up and down between his weapon and Demon Phantom, the guard had not taken the event lightly, nor finding any other response to give; instead pointing his weapon straight at him.
"[Okay, boys, drop them!]" The lead guard shouted.
The guards immediately opened fire on the group of ghosts, proceeding to empty all of their ammunition reserves directly on their targets. Firing laser blast after laser blast onto the invaders, the Irken guards never relented once in trying to defeat the enemy, even when the action they chose to take was clearly demonstrated to have no effect on their enemy.
In response, or lack thereof a response, the ghosts stood by as the projectiles harmlessly passed through them, leaving them to look at each other in contempt for the alien creatures firing on them. Still completely unaffected by the guards' rifles, the group continued to stand strong, lounging in their spot as if nothing was occurring.
Where the guards had no response to an unprecedented fight, Demon Phantom, eager to wreak havoc on this planet, knew exactly how to respond to their attack...
...and gave out a simple order to his followers to see it happen.
"Horsemen, go forth and have fun. That's an order." Demon Phantom said.
Eager to follow the orders of their new leader of Demon Phantom, his three horsemen moved out and begun their counterattack on the alien guards, unleashing their undead fury upon them to release the many years of anger and hate that brewed in them for the entirety of their afterlives.
With new weapons to be used on their targets, the ghosts prepared them for use at last, eager to test their capabilities on the enemy.
Using her newly-formed guitar, Ember McLain played an aggressive guitar solo, causing the foundation of the prison to destabilize into an earthquake and send her enemies falling to the ground. She followed by playing a series of aggressive power riffs, sending sharp soundwaves towards the guards and slicing them apart where they stood, turning their bodies into mutilated messes.
Gifted with her new weapon and the chance to use it on anyone she pleased, the weapon of her choosing the same beloved musical instrument of a guitar, no enemy could stand a chance against her undead might. Seeking so long in both her life and afterlife to be loved, she finds the chance to be feared a worthy substitute.
The Fright Knight, gracefully flying in the air, took an approach of attack not too dissimilar from Ember's, using his sword to slash through the guards by lopping off arms, legs, heads, and other body parts with ease. Immune to the laser rifles of the Irken guards, no matter how technologically advanced the weaponry was, the opposition was of little standing to him, enabling him to run through them like a slasher villain.
The carnage had brought him back to a time in his life when he embarked on crusades much like this one, fighting in the name of a king to enforce his grip on his kingdom. Bringing terror and fear into victims once again, the Fright Knight found himself thoroughly enjoying his onslaught, reliving his past once again, regretting only that their moments of fear were only temporary before their death.
SkulkTech, a being combined of the brutality of Skulker with the intelligence of Technus, now had many new weapons to use against his enemies, leaving him more than eager to try his new technology and weapons on his targets. Opening up his mechanical suit, he displayed machine guns, rocket launchers, flamethrowers, and many more manners of small-arms weapons, all to the fear of the guards.
Far too ambitious to try as many as he could out, SkulkTech fired all of them at once upon the guards as well as the escaping prisoners, slaughtering numerous guards by the masses. With all the expertise in the world to create all manners of weapons, and the will to use them, it would make any sane man thankful that Oppenheimer was nowhere close to him in intellect and viciousness.
Not long after the slaughter began, it came to an end, leaving the prison in a complete standstill. When the smoke from their weapons began to clear, the ghosts continued to stand victorious against the Irken prison guards, all dead and nothing more than a fleeting memory of a fight for the ghosts, now conquering the prison (and, by extension, the entire planet) for themselves.
The prisoners watched the entire affair with excitement and glee, taking joy in seeing their captors brought to death at last. When the battle was over, the prisoners all raised their fists and cheered, applauding on the ghosts as their liberators from the planet. The ghosts cared nothing for the alien prisoners or had any interest in them, but they nonetheless looked to their audience and cheers with amusement.
Having interest in only one particular prisoner in the complex, the ghosts, led by their leader of Demon Phantom, walked through to locate their intended target of Vlad Masters. Though thankful for their actions, the prisoners were still far too afraid to face the ghosts, all rushing to take cover behind anything they could when they accidentally stood in their way.
Continuing to be the exception to the rule of the prisoners, Vlad did not cheer on the ghosts or make any excited motions, but instead continued to watch the ghosts, unafraid and waiting for them to approach. His action led the other prisoners to watch him in fear, uncertain of what the ghosts would have to do with him.
Putting his followers behind him, Demon Phantom stepped forward and looked down on Vlad with a smile, which Vlad returned with an unimpressed face...
...and a statement that solidified his emotion.
"And who are you supposed to be?" Vlad asked.