CHAPTER 23: SPIRITUAL WARFARE, PART 2
For most of human history, the species has been left without the answer to what lies ahead of life on Earth. Given only a century to live a full life, if one were fortunate enough to last that long, the many personal questions one might ask themselves can still find answers to them, mostly relating to existential ponderings like personal worth and purpose, but what lies beyond has still been out of reach.
What substituted for certainty was guesses, grounding their estimates in either philosophy, science, or personal dogmas that came to be called religion. The latter, having far less footing in any rationality than the former two, began to spread farther and wider in many different forms and shapes, outnumbering any theories put forth by science or philosophy by countless numbers.
All in thanks, of course, to its very nature of having lacking the rationality and rigor meant to try to find the most likely answer to the question.
Soon, the many different variations of religion began to turn on one another, trying to assert themselves as the one 'true' religion, taking drastic approaches for dominance from revising and rewriting world history as they pleased, to attacking one another by force; radicalizing the peoples of their faith into armies, and sending them to kill one another.
Days of such bloodshed and violence long since cooled down as mankind became more modern and civilized, bringing the holy wars down to a cold war. Mankind might still never had gotten the true answer, but many were willing to call themselves the answer, and offer a sense of place and community in exchange for their wills and the freedom of their minds.
Over 10 years ago, with a teenage boy named Danny of a family of paranormal investigators named the Fentons, that dynamic had completely changed.
Stepping through a portal meant to break through dimensional lines to the other side, Danny Fenton unwittingly breached into the unknown, giving the world its answer to the question of what comes for life after death. Now, discovery of the afterlife was made at last, revealing itself to be a lawless madhouse of rampant human consciousnesses; neither a paradise or damnation, but only a void called the Ghost Zone.
The resulting news had come slowly to the world through rumors during Danny's time as Danny Phantom, the self-appointed defender against the ghosts waiting on the other side, but came to widespread knowledge with the aversion of the Disasteroid. After that, it had led to one of the most radical changes of human history.
The ambiguity of truth and answers to larger questions were at last answerable, and the revisionist histories offered by the religions of the world were no longer satisfactory, leading many back into the arms of the rational and the sciences, and putting the old institutions of mythology left behind.
Tradition still kept a few followers still in the churches and places of worship, but only a few still stayed within the fold, and only a few among those still truly believed despite all evidence. Even when going the way of the dinosaur, religion did not go out without a fight (an observation also probably true of the dinosaurs themselves).
Somewhere along the way, however, it had soon found a second wind in the modern age, gaining more followers by the day, in spite of the clear and present evidence which rendered it false. And with its return it came with a vengeance; the violence and authoritarian call for a specific order from years past returned, showing the faiths for what they truly were at there core all along:
Cults.
Conquerors.
Fascists.
Gangs.
Now, they are not simply relegated to the history books, but once again roam the streets in present-day militias in search of souls and territory to claim, becoming a living example of history repeating itself. They are found not only in many streets across America, but also in those of Old Amity Park, where Danny Phantom originated from.
For the first time in history, however, the world has had Danny Phantom dethroned from his position of the most powerful ghost on Earth. He has faced defeat at the hands of an apparition calling itself Demon Phantom, once known as Danny Phantom in another time.
Ripping his soul from his body and devouring it, slaughtering the entire Fenton family including his pregnant wife, he has taken away not only everything from Danny Fenton, but also the primary defenses of the unknown from Earth, leaving it vulnerable and weak for him to do with as he pleases.
He has his own plans that are set in motion, but now the eyes in this play lie upon Danny Fenton, the one and only hope against the threat of Demon Phantom and his accomplices. Without a soul he may be, he is not aimless, as he has the guidance of two figures which will lead him to the rediscovery of his soul:
Jazz Fenton, his deceased older sister and brilliant scientist, now existing as a ghost...
...and Danielle Phantom, his female clone created years ago by Vlad Masters, long since estranged from the Fentons and living her own life.
While the latter has lived in these streets for many years, the former has not seen them since her childhood, leaving her to look upon them with shock and confusion, unable to comprehend how the city she grew up in change so drastically. Acting as their guide to the means to regain Danny's soul, Danielle also provided herself as a guide through the city, explaining many of the changes for her.
"I can't believe this. All this, right under our noses. I had no idea." Jazz said.
"Amazing what you can find when you look right under your nose, isn't it?" Danielle said.
"But all these militia groups and gangs? With all kinds of ghost technology? The police have to do something about that, don't they? Why hasn't there been any intervention?"
"The same reason why police didn't bother in poor areas before the world knew about the Ghost Zone. Corruption and apathy. No one really cares about the murder in the ghetto because it's happening in a place it's expected to happen. Nobody worth protecting, nothing worth saving. But the rich CEOs and stock brokers that pay off senators that pass bills on law enforcement? Of course they'll get the favorable treatment. That's the way it always works."
"Yeah, but I'd still think that Fenton Works technology ending up in the hands of dangerous criminals would still register as a priority to people."
"It should, but never does it does in full. How many times do you see machine guns and drugs end up in the hands of street gangs despite the cops trying to stop it?"
"But a street gang just wants to sell a drug and make a profit off of it. Why would a religious group want military-grade weapons and technology?"
"Why do you think? Religions used to operate off a simple dichotomy: Join us, or we'll kill you. The promise of having a life on the other side made it pretty easy for a lot of people to kill someone else. When the Renaissance came along, science eventually gave people enough thought to question their lives, and most people turned out peaceful, so religions had to keep up with the times and try for more peaceful measures. Science only brought religion so far, but it couldn't answer everything in life, leaving an open market for faith to come in to give its own answers. Then you came along and found the answers to those questions."
"Yeah, and we proved that none of them were true. Why would people still go to them anyway?"
"Partly with your first question. When they didn't have the angle of answering people's questions anymore, they went right back to violent means again. Danny here encountered a few examples of that, and I had to pull him out of the fire. The other half of the answer is simple. They found a new lane to make themselves marketable to people, they had something else to offer them."
"What?"
"The same thing anyone wants when they're in a bad situation. Hope. When you're in a shitty living situation, you become more than willing to take any help that comes your way, and believe anyone who says that they're there to help you. The promise of a life after death is pretty easy to believe when your life sucks as it is. Don't like your life now? A new one sounds pretty good."
"Even when you can see objective reality with your own two eyes? When you know for a fact that what they're being promised isn't real?"
"How many scam artists can get away with the same thing with scams that would seem perfectly obvious to you and me? How many people can still believe the Earth is flat or vaccines don't work despite all evidence to the contrary? Like I said, when you're in such a bad spot, you'll be willing to believe anything, even if it gives you only the slightest amount of hope in the world. And some people would be so desperate and so willing to keep that faith that they'll do anything to keep it, even deny the most basic of reality. It's something we've seen in human nature way before we knew about the ghosts or the Ghost Zone."
"I guess I see your point. I guess it's still just a shock to see. I remember when the world first became aware of ghosts after we were saved from the Disasteroid. It was one hell of a time, getting interviews left and right, watching Fenton Works' stock single-handedly beat out every other company combined, standing before the government to show our findings and have Danny testify-"
Speaking out the name of her brother, Jazz instantly abandoned the conversation, turning her attention back to Danny. Having not paid attention to him for a long amount of time during their walk, she moved back to him to ensure herself of his safety, not wishing any more harm to be done on him.
"Oh, crap. Danny, are you still doing okay? You haven't said anything since this morning when we left." Jazz said.
Danny did not respond to his sister's question, leaving her other sister to answer it for him.
"I wouldn't count on him saying much for a long while. He's got no soul whatsoever. That means there's not a lot going on in his head." Danielle said.
"But he's been separated from his ghost half before, and he never acted like this. He used our parents' Ghost Catcher to split his human and ghost halves." Jazz said.
"Used what?"
"The Fenton Ghost Catcher. It's basically a huge Indian dreamcatcher, but it separates a ghost from whatever person or object it's possessing. That would have to mean that his ghost half isn't really his soul... or was it some kind of offshoot of his soul?"
"Whoa, whoa, what? 'Ghost half isn't his soul'? Slow down here. I thought his ghost half was his soul."
"So did I. A ghost is supposed to be a soul after it's died; the electrical activity of the brain manifesting as a new being to act out the thoughts and desires of the deceased. But Danny was a special case. He had a ghost half that he possessed and co-existed with, and had a soul of his own whenever the half got separated. What could Dark Danny have done to take out both?"
"Well, I don't know much about the more science-y mechanical stuff, but I've got the same powers as Danny, and I've been learning them in and out on my own for awhile. Why don't you let me in on some of your scientific insight and I'll tell you what I know? You said that Ghost Catcher separated ghosts that were possessing things, right?"
"Right."
"The Ghost Catcher thing. Why didn't it separate a soul from a regular human? If a ghost is supposed to be the brain's thoughts, it should've taken all that out too, right?"
"No. A ghost is the brain's thoughts after you're already dead. The electrical energy leaves your body to- maybe- become a ghost, if you're lucky. If you're still alive, the electrical activity in your brain's still in there, and still going. A ghost in the act of possession is supposed to take over those thought processes by force, basically overriding your own brain. When possessed, the brain begins to heat up and react to the ghost, like how your body fights off a virus or germ. The Ghost Catcher was designed to remove those foreign electrical patterns. But Danny's ghost half was created without killing him, it somehow copied the brain patterns that he had and made it into a new material form, and still kept consciousness across both bodies."
"So how did Dark Danny take out his ghost half?"
"He reached into his body and ripped it out. Maybe... he must've taken his brain's current electrical activity out when he did that."
"And that would include a lot of his thoughts and memories, I'd imagine, right?"
"Not exactly. Memories and thoughts are formed by neurons and cells in the brain. They're physical places within his brain itself. They can't go away because a ghost took the electrical activity out of it. So why wouldn't he have most of his memories or personality traits if he was just missing the electrical activity?"
"Maybe it's like an A/C current. You plug a light into a wall, it gets power, it works. You unplug it, it gets no power, it doesn't work."
"You really think it's that simple?"
"We're trying to get his soul back, which is supposed to be the electrical activities that you were talking about, and that's supposed to make him normal again. Sounds pretty much like a power on/power off scenario."
"Hmm. That's... a really simplistic take on it, but it does make sense. For someone who doesn't know a lot about science, you sure seem to have a decent idea of how the human mind works."
"I don't. But I have a decent idea of how the human soul works. All these religions down here, you pick up one or two things from them."
"Learn something from them? Didn't you just tell me a minute ago how these guys are all insane authoritarian nutjobs?"
"The people carrying out the violent acts? Yeah. No question there. The actual religions themselves? If you know where to look, you can find the soul pretty easily."
"Oh, I see, you're one of those 'spiritual, but not religious' types, are you? Well, how clever of you. For over 500 years, all those scientists in all different kinds of fields of study around the world tried so hard to find out what the soul is, and you somehow figured it out by looking at a bunch of books written by old people living out in the desert where people died of everything."
"You're talking about the mechanics of how a soul works. What it's made of, what how it works, how it exists. I'm talking about what purpose it has. Besides, you're a literal spirit floating beside me. It's hard not to talk about anything revolving around spirits when you're in a world of 'em."
"That's not science, that's philosophy. Science is about finding hard evidence and data, philosophy is just talking about values and meaning and other immaterial concepts."
"That's right. It's about wisdom. Even the word 'philosophy' means 'love of wisdom'. I'm talking about wisdom, you're talking about knowledge."
"And how exactly do you differentiate the two?"
"Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad."
Amused but unmoved by the simplistic metaphor put out by Danielle, Jazz let out a snicker.
"Oh, real cute analogy. But I can tell you that philosophy never got us into space, cured disease, or discovered the afterlife. What good is wisdom if we don't have knowledge?" Jazz asked.
"It isn't. Neither is knowledge any good if we don't have wisdom." Danielle said.
"And how is that?"
"Yeah, science got us into space and cured diseases, but it was philosophy that got us the ideas to do those things in the first place."
"How? Did philosophers develop the spaceships and vaccines to accomplish those things?"
"No, but they gave us the pause to question ourselves and our place in the universe to be more selfless and help others, and to get the desire to reach out and explore other places, to learn more."
"I'm pretty sure people would've thought to do some of those things without the philosophical ramifications."
"Yeah, like J. Robert Oppenheimer. Look where that got him."
"Bit of an extreme example much? The atom bomb was something the world never saw before in its time, and more powerful than any other weapon on Earth. There's no way anyone could find anything more powerful than that."
"You did. You've seen what it's brought to the world already. You dethroned the atom bomb. The ghost took its place."
Having remained intensely focused on their conversation for the past few minutes, concentration regarding the particular direction of their movement began to take a sidetrack to their journey. Under normal circumstances, perhaps such a mistake would not make a large impact on the overall state of the group...
...but where they currently walk now is Old Amity Park, where gods, myths, and legends are used as weapons on the streets, all in the name of a holy turf war.
Such examples of the aforementioned apparitions began to appear in front of the group, blocking them from moving on to their intended destination. Not wishing to create any problem with the ghosts, Danielle and Jazz turned to guide Danny back, but found more ghosts standing before them, mixed in with other living persons aligned with them.
Not knowing of their religious affiliations or seeing any obvious intentions from them, Danielle and Jazz huddled around Danny, both preparing to defend their brother against the ghosts and their living allies. The ghosts nor their accomplices did not make any visible threats, but began asking questions which held questionable intent behind them.
"What's the matter? You three lost?" One ghost asked.
"Scared? Alone? Got nowhere to go?" Another ghost asked.
"Scared? Never. If you guys are looking for trouble, you found it. If you're not, then you might wanna step aside and let us move on." Danielle said.
Having a direct threat to respond to, the ghosts now expressed sympathy and peace, showing no ill intent towards any of the group, one coming forth and saying...
"Please, sister. We meant you no harm. These streets are no place for anyone to be roaming alone, much less two women. We can give you a peaceful place to stay, if you wish. We are but followers of the teachings of Jesus." One ghost said.
"Really? Well, we've already had a run-in with some Jesus freaks as it is, so why don't you just buzz off before we-" Jazz began to say.
Recognizing the group standing before them, Danielle stopped Jazz from making any threats and persuaded her to stay calm.
"No, no, wait, Jazz, it's okay. I didn't recognize them at first, but they're cool. They're Abrahamic Pacifists. They're not gonna hurt us." Danielle said.
"'Abrahamic Pacifists'? What the hell is that?" Jazz asked.
"People who aren't gonna hurt us. Just relax, will you?"
Though skeptical of Danielle's order, Jazz stood down against the ghosts, staying cautious over what further actions or dialogue would come between them.
"Forgive us, sister. We acted merely out of concern for our fellow brothers and sisters. You appeared to be lost." One ghost said.
"No, no, we're alright. We're on our way to see someone. Just passing through, if you don't mind." Danielle said.
"Of course not. We are all but passerbys in god's land. Would you perhaps care for a hot meal before you continue? You appear quite hungry."
Danny, though lacking in his full mental facilities with the lack of his soul, still carried the most basic of human desires in his body, and the most essential had unconsciously responded to the promise of food. Not having eaten in nearly a day, his stomach began to grumble and churn, urging its owner to give it the nutrients it needed to sustain the needs of the whole body.
Taking notice of Danny's growling stomach, Danielle decided to take up the ghost's offer.
"Sure. Danny could definitely use it, and I'm kind of hungry myself. How about you, Jazz?" Danielle asked.
"Uh, dead woman here? I don't have to eat anymore." Jazz said.
"Just 'cause you don't have to doesn't mean you can't enjoy it, you know. Ghosts can still eat."
"I'm more concerned with getting Danny his powers back. If he wasn't hungry, I'd say we skip ahead right now."
"Suit yourself. But, yeah, we'll stay for a bit. Thank you."
"Wonderful. Please come with us." The ghost said.
Gently guiding along the group of 3, the ghosts and their living accomplices began leading them back to their home, soon to offer them food and a break from their journey.
"You know, Jazz, there's something else I wanna show you here as well. You might learn a few things from these people." Danielle said.
"Like what?" Jazz asked.
"Life on the other side."
"What, the life of the poor?"
"No. The life of wisdom over knowledge."
Far from Amity Park and far removed from esoteric questions and debates, President Foley sat contently in the Oval Office of the White House; content in body, but not in mind. On his current slate of affairs rests matters all pertained within running the country, as well as the long and strenuous process of his re-election campaign to ensure he stays in control of those matters.
For now, however, he is desperately unable to keep his attention on the most pressing issues around his own life. His thoughts instead circle around the lives of the Fentons, pondering what has changed with the people he has known for so long where their actions are barely recognizable from their characters.
From giving direct and blatant threats of war to other government and scaring them into submission to watching an incestuous act consummate between father and daughter, the people he has once known has changed drastically that he is unable to stop thinking about them until he has an answer behind the changes; to resolve the dilemma and allow his mind to comprehend it at last.
It is a simple explanation that would clear the confusion for President Foley, but that explanation would also make him aware of the greatest threat to the world present and potentially thwart the plans of those who would take over and destroy the world themselves, leaving the discovery of the truth critical to be discovered for one side and left unknown for the other.
Requiring outside help for the matter on his hands, his hands move to the phone on his desk, dialing for the agent needed for his own affairs.
"Yes, Mr. President?" The person on the other line asked.
"Get me General Valerie Gray. I have a job for her." President Foley said.
In a world fully aware of ghosts and the afterlife, the threat posed by rogue ghosts is also a fact the world takes to heart, and does not take lightly. For when there is infinite possibility for what ghosts might come about and decide to return to the living world as a threat, there must be a fitting response to the threat.
The threat in question now is currently imposing itself upon a small factory town in rural America, and the threat is one that has already been made itself known in Amity Park long before the world had known of the existence of ghosts. The threat on hand now was once known as Princess Dorathea Mattingly, a princess of medieval times of kings and castles past...
...but all that the people of this small town care to know her as is what she presents herself now: A massive dragon stampeding around their home.
Sent on a rampage for reasons unknown, Dorathea, existing in her dragon form, stomped and smashed her way through the streets of this small rural town, bringing down commercial and industrial buildings with the swipe of her claws. Parading through the streets as if the town were her own personal playpen, she has no concerns for what lies before her, and certainly none for what could stop her.
There are those who would try it, but their own efforts will only pose so helpful against the battle, as they will soon demonstrate. The paranormal defenders in question are the town's local police force, armed with weapons and ordinance supplied by Fenton Works specifically designed for this purpose.
But a weapon is only as good as its wielder, and the police are only as good as they can be trained to be. Moving in towards the creature by squad car, the police waste no time in their sole task, firing upon the massive ghost the instant they step out from their vehicles.
The artillery they carry is normally good enough to ward off lesser ghosts and other such ectoformic threats, but they are not good enough to a beast as massive and as strong as Dorathea is. The ectoplasmic rounds fired on her are little more than minor annoyances, but still plenty enough to get her attention.
In return, she responded back to the police by continuing her stampede directly towards them, smashing their cars and breathing out fire towards the officers, nearly eliminating their entire counterattack in one swift motion. Her attack in turn forced the officers to retreat, trying to coordinate themselves more effectively to continue their battle against the ghost.
Not too far away from the scene of the battle, however, there were a small group of individuals more fitted for such matters, observing the battle to gain a better understanding of their opposition. They are members of the newest branch of the U.S. military, the Ecto Corps, and they are part of an elite squad of said group that holds the highest experience in hunting ghosts save for Danny Phantom himself.
They are known as Valerie's Maladies, a team named after and led by General Valerie Gray, a ghost hunter that had a career in the field since her teens. Her teammates are a trio code-named Download, Thrash, and Vid, formerly of another ghost-hunting group known as Masters' Blasters.
All members of the team share two common traits:
They have all been previously employed and subsequently betrayed by Vlad Masters, prior to his disappearance on Earth...
...and they are the absolute best at hunting ghosts.
After having observed the violence wrought by the metaphysical monster through an advanced headset through her suit, General Valerie Gray then faced the rest of her team, informing them of the current situation and laying out the basic battle plan. The procedure is one that the team all knows by heart, but never is anything left to chance within a team this high-ranking.
"Alright, we're looking at a blast from my past. Apparition's name is Princess Dorathea Mattingly, medieval princess who can turn into a giant, fire-breathing dragon. Compared to this bitch, Godzilla is a pussy. But it's nothing we haven't dealt with before. Now tell me: What are we gonna do to this spook?" Valerie asked.
"SEND IT BACK TO HELL!" The Maladies shouted.
"That's right. Now let's remind this princess that this is America... and we got rid of royalty centuries ago."
Forming as one unit, Valerie stepped forward as the frontman, preparing to lead the charge towards the enemy ghost.
"Alright, Maladies... LET'S INFLICT SOME SICKNESS!" Valerie shouted.
[Soundtrack Cue: KMFDM - Beast]
On the soles of the feet of the Maladies were anti-gravitational surfaces, developed using the same technology used to create the hoverboard utilized by Valerie Gray during her past years as a ghost hunter under Vlad Masters. Without the force of gravity to hold them to the ground, their running speed greatly increased from that of what a normal human being could accomplish, allowing them to cover more ground faster.
Previously standing a long distance away from the city, the Maladies managed to make it into the city in mere seconds with their anti-gravitational advantage, entering the city much more expediently than any ground vehicle could accomplish. Making their way near Dorathea, the Maladies ran towards the nearest buildings still remaining to acquire high advantage points, gaining the best vantage point to open fire.
Taking out their weapons, all carrying large blasters that would be too overcumbersome for even the strongest of human beings, but were more than supported by their powered suits to carry them. And more than carry them they do; they also take direct aim at the ghost in unison, and fire upon it as one.
Unlike the small-arms fire of the local police force, the artillery of the Valerie's Maladies inflicted great pain upon the dragon form of Dorathea, causing her to yell out in pain over the attack. In defiance of her own desire to avoid the fire, she instead stomped her way towards the Maladies, preparing to retaliate over their painful attack.
Leaning forward, Dorathea swung her tail across the ground, knocking it into the buildings the Maladies were occupying themselves on and taking away the stable footing which they were standing on. Being suddenly knocked off of any semblance of solid ground from such a height would prove dangerous and deadly for any other party that would be in their place...
...but, thanks once again to the anti-gravitational boots of the Maladies' powered suits, the falls they took did no such harm to them; instead, their deadly freefall became a slow and controlled descent, which they took full advantage of by continuing to shoot at Dorathea as they fell.
While two Maladies took a slow fall straight to the ground, two more opted to run to the adjacent buildings still remaining, running across and down to reach the ground safely on their own. When all had reached the ground once again, the group reconnected as one to attack the ghost, continuing to blitzkrieg forward as they shot at the giant ghost dragon princess.
The continuous onslaught of the Maladies once again brought agony to the ethereal form of Dorathea, forcing her back against the attack of the elite ghost hunters attacking her. Once again needing to retaliate to make the attacks stop, she reached her claws into the ground, pulling deep into the dirt and unearthing the very ground beneath the Maladies.
Sent flying off the ground as it betrayed them as their footing, the Maladies quickly moved to find the nearest convenient place of landing, taking a slow descent with their anti-gravitational boots. Running back towards one another in a regroup, Valerie called for a new strategy against the ghost, taking it upon herself to defeat it.
"Cover me, I'll take it down myself!" Valerie ordered.
Leaving her teammates behind to keep the attention of the dragon, the Maladies opened continuous fire on Dorathea, keeping her pelted with painful artillery of ectoplasm while Valerie made her approach towards her. Temporarily blinded by an arm held up to her face to prevent any shots from reaching it, Dorathea swiped at the ground, taking a chunk of the Earth away in attempt to hit what may be near her vicinity.
Her random strike is lucky enough to reach Valerie Gray, but not lucky enough to cause her any damage nor inconvenience her. Jumping up in the air, she hopped on various large pieces of dirt and debris, elevating her position higher towards Dorathea. Pushing herself off one final piece of dirt, she launched herself towards the dragon, continuing to open fire directly upon the ghost's face.
Flying directly over Dorathea, Valerie reached a cylindrical-shaped building on the other side, running against its surface to change her direction. Making a full pass around the building, she reached the direction of the ghost again, kicking herself off the building and landing on the ground below her.
Taking another swing of her claws towards Valerie, Dorathea drove it directly towards her, attempting to make a killing blow with a single bludgeon. Avoiding her swing with a simple leap to the side, Valerie landed gracefully away from the attack, only to find another one coming her way.
With another leap, Valerie avoided the strike once again, narrowly missing by just enough time to have the ground below her collide and blow back against her, interrupting any premeditated flight plans she may have had. Her landing comes to the ground, landing in the attack range of Dorathea.
Having her prey laying supposedly helpless and still, Dorathea threw down another set of claws to strike her, holding her hand into a fist to do the job. Still having a tight grip on her weapon, Valerie held it up to the incoming fist, firing directly at the wrist attached to the hand.
Shooting a single, precise, yet large blast to Dorathea's wrist, Valerie's shot severed the hand clean off her body, leaving it to fall to the ground away from its intended target, and its previous owner to shout out and cry in pain. As the severed hand hit the ground, it began to dissipate into liquid ectoplasm; without any mind or soul to give it form, the hand simply returned to its natural state.
Further enraged by the loss of her hand, Dorathea reached out her remaining hand to grab at Valerie to enact her revenge. Once again utilizing her anti-gravitational boots, Valerie jumped up off the ground, shooting herself into the air before the hand could grasp itself around her.
Jumping one final time off of the dragon's arm, Valerie launched herself towards Dorathea's face, opening fire once again. Not showing any semblance of mercy towards the ghost, not even releasing her finger from the trigger of her gun for a moment, all the rage and contempt that Valerie held for ghosts was unleashed to be inflicted upon Dorathea, and showing no signs of letting itself up.
And with a history of hatred for ghosts as long as Valerie, there never would be any such signs.
Finally, after taking so much of an assault and abuse from Valerie and her team of Maladies, Dorathea began to stumble and fall to the ground; her ethereal body unable to continue fighting as she wished and giving in to her victors. Having successfully defeated the ghost, Valerie landed on top of Dorathea's head, slinging her weapon aside and pulling a Fenton Thermos off her belt.
"Sorry, princess... I hate fantasy novels." Valerie said.
[Soundtrack Cue End]
Opening the Fenton Thermos, Valerie unleashed its own tractor beam on the downed ghost, sucking it into a pocket dimension to keep it restrained and unable to harm any other human being. However, having been standing on top of the ghost as she did this, the footing she once had instantly disappeared, leading her to fall to the ground.
Once again, her anti-gravitational boots made the fall a safe, slow, and, if she permitted herself to let it be, fun descent, settling safely on the ground. Upon her reunification with solid earth, she was greeted by the remaining 3 members of her team, all cheering and congratulating her and themselves on another job done.
"That's the way it's done, Maladies." Valerie said.
"Yeah! That's what I'm talking about!" Download shouted.
"Whoo! You know we're partying tonight!" Thrash shouted.
"Goddamn, I love this job!" Vid shouted.
Interrupting Valerie from the celebration was a flashing call notification on the heads-up display of her suit, taking her attention squarely on it. Having only a mind for business and rarely ever pleasure, Valerie excused herself from the team, giving herself privacy to talk.
"You three break off and help with cleanup. I got an important call to take." Valerie said.
"Ooh, the general's finally got herself a boyfriend, huh?" Download asked.
"I doubt it. I would've guessed a girlfriend, but then that would mean Vid's getting cuckholded." Thrash joked.
"Hey, screw you guys, I ain't no muff-diver. Let's go help some real people, shall we?" Vid asked.
As her team left to give her privacy, Valerie answered the call, opening up a private video chat with the president. Having her own personal history with President Foley long before, during, and after the days of the pre-Disasteroid world, she restrained all personal emotion to give a professional response, despite her own desires to express annoyance with his call.
"Mr. President. To what do I owe the pleasure?" Valerie snarked.
"Val, we got something weird going on, and I need your help on it. Something's going on with Danny and the rest of the Fentons, and I need to know what." President Foley said.