Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom. Butch Hartman does. I would never dream of making money off his work, this is but one fanatic's homage. So please don't sic the rabid lawyer hordes upon me, there's not much for them to sue out of me.
Author's Note: Wow, funny how things work out. I had a minor plot hole in this chapter, but Kindred Spirits filled it in for me! By the way, I've started work on Anathema, which is this fic's partner story. So if you want events of Jeremiad from a decidedly different point of view, check it out! ( www. fanfiction. net/s/2874003/1/) As always, commentary is appreciated!
Chapter 8: The Great Fortress
"This is for the ones who stood their ground
For Tommy and Gina who never backed down
Tomorrow's getting harder make no mistake
Luck ain't even lucky
Got to make your own breaks"
-"It's My Life" - Bon Jovi
Who would have thought I'd almost immediately find a good use for all that money Masters gave me? No sooner was everyone crammed tightly underneath the green dome of the shield than we were having a massive town meeting to determine what to do next. For me, the answer was obvious- we required a massive shield if we wanted to be able to protect the city and the people in it. Needless to say however, such an undertaking would require a massive amount of planning, funding, and cooperation. Despite the attack, people were loathe to give up their homes, or what remained of them in some cases.
"Axion can reproduce the Fentons' technology." I addressed the crowd, growing more exasperated. "Yes, the Patrol can probably fight off that ghost if he shows up again. But not without causing a ton of damage! We need a larger shield to protect ourselves!"
"But what about us? You can't expect us to just give up our homes!" I shot Mrs. Manson a dark look at her remark. Their daughter's death had aged Mr. and Mrs. Manson badly over the past two years, but they still clung to some perceived status. It was probably all they really had left.
"And where will you be the next time that ghost attacks and your home happens to be destroyed?" I retorted, leveling a stern look at the woman. I'm sure I made an imposing sight standing in front of the podium in my red and black hunting suit and gear, with several orange-clad members of the patrol behind me. "Look, I'll make sure you're compensated plenty for the loss, kay?"
It was the mayor's turn to stammer a protest. "Miss Grey, we can't afford to buy out enough people to build this proposed shield! Where will Axion Labs get the funding to build it?"
I growled. "I'll handle it! You people want to be safe from ghosts, but you aren't willing to take the steps necessary? Honestly!"
As I stormed off, I grabbed my new phone and dialed Axion Labs, telling them to go ahead with the shield designs. Next I was calling the bank to get an accurate statement of my account so I could begin figuring out how much I had available to bribe these idiots to give up their houses. It's hard to imagine that just two or three years ago, the idea of having millions to sling around on designer clothes and other luxuries would have been a dream come true for me and many of the people I used to hang around. Now I saw the money as just a utility, just another tool with which I could fight ghosts.
Thankfully, Phantom stayed away for the time being. With the money Vlad gave me, I bought the land needed from the original owners, a ring of thirty-four sites some twenty miles in diameter. That alone ate through a substantial chunk of the money the billionaire had given me originally, but I was both irked and pleased to discover my bank account was receiving regular transfusions of funding from Wisconsin. Axion's scientists in turn put the funding to good use, designing flying vehicles based on my jet sled's technology and newer and more powerful ghost-hunting weapons.
The single greatest project though was the anti-ghost shield to protect the city, quite possibly the largest technological undertaking the world had seen. Construction began at all of the sites at once, all the necessary grading and paving. The shield would utterly dwarf the FentonWorks shield by several orders of magnitude. The green dome, even at full power, cast a shield that could only cover about five square miles and rise maybe ten stories into the sky. This shield, when complete, would encircle a sizeable portion of Amity Park, roughly sixty times the size of the FentonWorks shield, and rise at least eighty stories into the air.
One by one the shield towers were being assembled, each one of the thirty-four towers an impressive piece of engineering by itself. At the time, the huge towers loomed over the tallest buildings in the city center, but it was necessary in order to generate a functional shield on such a scale. People complained, calling them eyesores, questioning why we needed them when we had the Patrol, and so on. Amusingly enough, Vlad Masters must have anticipated the outcry, because he provided a ready solution to scare the civilian population into agreement.
I was flying a patrol, far into the devastated zone. Only a handful of the Patrol members had learned the fine art of riding a gravity-defying surfboard, and so I volunteered to take the longest flight. After all, I had the fastest jet sled and the most practice, so it made enough sense. I was the farthest away from civilization, with my communication gadget being my only link to the nearest Patrol members, miles away from my location.
Probably a good thing too, because when I dodged an energy blast, only to get yanked off my feet by a glowing blue energy net, there would have been a huge and heavily armed reaction from the Patrol.
"Hey!" I shouted indignantly, the sound largely drowned out by the loud whine of a jet engine behind me. The ghost radar I had with me was beeping loudly, and for an instant I expected to be blasted by Phantom.
"This is the hunter girl we're supposed to talk to?" A high, irritating voice asked from behind me as the net slowly descended toward the ground.
"If you don't put me down this instant-" I started to threaten, already aiming a small ecto-blaster hidden in my suit at whatever was behind me. To my mild surprise, the net fell away and vanished as soon as it hit the ground, and I jumped to my feet and spun to confront my attacker.
"You will be worthy prey." A second voice stated, gravelly and oddly familiar, the tone sounding both pleased and admiring. "After we've dealt with the ghost-child."
I lowered my guns as I finally recognized the ghost. It was that big hunter ghost I'd spoken to years ago about finding Danny. His armor had changed drastically, mohawk and goatee traded now for a flaming green aura around his metal plated head, the steel now a blackened color instead of the dull silver it had been when we'd last met. The creepy thing was the heavy armoring on his chest- all dark save for a round green window with a second face in it.
"You?" I demanded, waving my gun at the big ghost in an accusing manner. "How did you get back here? The Fentons' portal is busted!"
"Did you forget that there's another portal?" That second face, the one with the annoying voice taunted.
"As part of an arrangement-" The big ghost- Skulker was his name if I recall right, interrupted. "-we're supposed to help stage an attack."
I admit, I flat-out stared in disbelief at the big ghost... or ghosts? I dunno. "Stage an attack? What the heck for?"
"Eh... it's payment to Plasmius for all this fancy technology!" The chest-face griped.
Skulker heaved a huge sigh at the admission. "Indeed. We have decided to cooperate to destroy the ghost-child."
"Because he totally-" The chest-face paused, obviously contemplating his words in a way that very distantly reminded me of whenever Mr. Lancer had tried to sound 'hip' and up on the slang used by the students. "-owned our heinies!"
Despite staring down a big heavily armed ghost duo, I found myself raising an eyebrow at the chest-face. "... And just who the heck are YOU? Him-" I gestured up at the hunter's face. "-I recognize. You're new."
Skulker rolled his eyes and slapped his forehead, an impressive feat considering his eyes had no pupils to speak of. The chest-face puffed up at my question, apparently all too pleased to answer.
"I am Technus 7.0! Ghostly master of science and all things electronic! Technological terror, commander of circuitry, overlord of uploads-"
"And the operating system of my new battle suit." Skulker interrupted, thankfully bringing the chest-face's tirade to a halt before it could really gain steam.
"And that too." Technus' face visibly sulked. Obviously their alliance must have been borne of desperation. I could only imagine what Phantom must have done in the ghosts' world to prompt it.
"Okay, okay. But what's this staging an attack? And was the net really necessary?" I growled, growing impatient with the pair.
"Plasmius-" Skulker paused, interrupting himself. "Hm. I suppose that name no longer truly applies. Vlad Masters then. He assumed that there would be resistance to whatever you're doing here."
"And in return for the suit, wants us to fly all the way from Wisconsin, talk to you, and set up a fake attack so people will be frightened into cooperation." Technus finished the explanation.
I let my other eyebrow fly upward to match the first in a stunned expression. How the heck had Vlad known that I was trying to get Amity Park under the protection of a huge anti-ghost shield? Or that people were annoyed about the personal sacrifices they needed to make for their own safety? It had been two years since Phantom's last rampage, and reconstruction still hadn't gotten underway in the demolished region!
Still, this was an excellent opportunity. I didn't like Vlad, and I didn't like ghosts, but I would be a fool to pass up the opportunity. Grudgingly, I put away my guns and recalled my jet sled. "Alright, let's talk."
The plan was pretty simple in the end. We would play out the "attack" as a high-speed chase through the inhabited parts of the city. Lots of banter, high-risk aerial stunts, shots exchanged in the sky. For affect, I reluctantly permitted the conjoined ghosts to cause some minor damage, provided no one got hurt and it was only cosmetic. Once we had the attention of a majority of the population, I would chase the duo out into the demolished zone, there'd be lots of shots into the sky and aerial stunts for effect, and I would "defeat" the ghost, whereupon Skulker and Technus would disappear and return to the Ghost Zone of their own free will. Apparently Skulker at least was eager to return to that freaky reality. Something about an all-out war and a massive ghost alliance to take down Phantom. I remember being mildly amused at the idea.
The meeting did raise a new concern, as well. Danny had told me back when Skulker had dragged us both into the Ghost Zone that the doors there sometimes linked to the real world. And Vlad had his portal, meaning ghosts could get into the real world. With the Fenton Portal broken, the Patrol had no way to really get rid of any ghosts that might show up. It seemed to me too risky to try and bottle a ghost into one of those thermos devices I had, and then have to send it all the way to Vlad for disposal. Much as I didn't want to, I realized it might not be a bad idea to call the billionaire and find out if he could fix the thing.
Mind you, while I was pondering these things, I was in the middle of the aforementioned chase. The rest of the Patrol rallied as soon as the first shots were fired, and they joined the pursuit. I am ashamed to confess that despite four years of training, the hunter ghost was able to easily elude or disable the bulk of them. It was startling the contrast in how this ghost did battle and Phantom's rampages. The hunter was quite cunning, out maneuvering and outwitting his pursuers, whereas Phantom had simply used sheer brute force to subdue his opponents.
The ghost passed through the skeletal structure of one of the incomplete shield towers and I poured on the speed, leaving the rest of the Patrol behind and under orders to ensure the safety of the startled masses while I 'took care' of the ghost. The ruse had already gotten stunning results, and I grudgingly admitted to myself that the brute was a pretty good actor who knew how to work his audience. Most anyone would be badly frightened by a heavily armed and armored brute just appearing through the wall, and he'd passed through several apartment buildings and offices just like that for little reason other than to spook the daylights out of the occupants.
Once we were down out of sight behind the ruins from Phantom's second rampage, we both landed, occasionally firing weapons into the air to lend the appearance of an ongoing fight. The ghost gave me a steely grin while the one in his chest just giggled maniacally.
"That should be enough to make people agree to your plan." The hunter stated with a simple nod.
"Did you see the way those girls in that gym locker room reacted?" Technus giggled, a sound that I had rapidly begun to find tiresome. "They were shocked and awed by the power of Technus-!"
"Shut UP already!"
Skulker and I exchanged matching looks of exasperation at the geek ghost. "Hey, before you go, you think Vlad would be able to... say, fix a broken ghost portal?" I asked, trying to tune out the giggling from the hunter's chest.
"Of course. I could probably do it myself." The big ghost crossed his huge arms, thankfully muffling Technus.
"Eh, no thanks." Sure, I had worked with the ghosts on that staged attack, but I didn't trust the things to work on delicate equipment in the heart of the Patrol's headquarters! "I guess I'll give him a call then."
"Indeed." A large jetpack sprang from the ghost's back, the engine spinning up with an increasing whine. "Now, back to the hunt!"
As the conjoined ghosts shot off into the sky, I cupped one hand to my mouth and shouted. "Good luck against Phantom!"
I doubt they heard me, and I returned to FentonWorks after lightly scuffing myself up on the debris to lend a little more credibility to the idea that I'd just been in a serious fight with a ghost. A crowd had already gathered outside the building, as word had rapidly spread about the "battle" and that many members of the Patrol had been easily beaten, leaving me once again the hero of the hour. I tuned out the questions and cheers drifting up from the street as I flew right into an upper window, expertly angling my sled through the tight confines of the house and to the basement, where I gave my father the complete debriefing on what had happened.
Only after he and I had quietly gone over the details did we give the news and the waiting crowd the version of the story we agreed to. The ghost attacked the city, but was repelled- barely- by the patrol, and that we were all very fortunate that there hadn't been a great deal more damage than there was, and no serious injuries! Needless to say, when I reiterated the need for the shield, very few people were willing to contest what their perceived savior thought was necessary.
My phone rang later that evening, and I casually picked it up, expecting it to be a call from Axion about something or other. I almost dropped the phone in surprise and annoyance when I heard the voice on the other end of the line.
"I see my plan worked beautifully. Tell me, how goes progress on this shield project of yours, my dear?"
"Vlad Masters!" I reflexively hissed into the speaker. "How did you know about all that?"
The billionaire chuckled softly at my agitation. I suppose he never would quite completely ditch old super villain habits. "Really, Valerie, think about it. When you were hunting Daniel, did you honestly think that all your equipment was designed for was simply for shooting him?"
My eyes widened as the realization slapped me upside the head. "You've been spying on me all this time!"
"Not intentionally. I originally intended for your equipment to help me gather information on Daniel and his abilities for... a pet project, you could say. One that never was able to come to fruition. The fact I ended up discovering what you were up to was merely an accident." Vlad responded smoothly.
"'Accident' my foot." I muttered. "So let me guess, you know I want to get the Fenton Portal repaired, right?"
"Indeed." I swear I could almost hear the old man smirking over the phone line. "When would be a good time?"
I muttered an impolite phrase to the effect of "As soon as possible." and hung up on the man, retreating to my bedroom to get some rest. It was kinda eerie living in what had been Danny's home. My dad had taken the master bedroom, while I had moved into what used to be Jazz's room. Danny's old bedroom was bigger, but I could hardly bring myself to look at the door to that empty room, let alone entertain the thought of sleeping there.
I didn't sleep much ever since I had first chased Danny off. For one, I had become a very light sleeper, waking quickly to slight noises, a sense of paranoia growing ever sharper over the years. Also, when I was awake, I could push the memories from thought, and focus on my duties as a professional ghost hunter. When I slept, those memories would ceaselessly taunt me in nightmare. A dream that might start out pleasantly enough about a day at school or lunch at the Nasty Burger would melt away into devastation and fire, the lovable Danny in my dreams morphing into the nightmare his ghost-self had become. In those nightmares, I witnessed Amity Park's destruction a thousand times over; the death of everyone I knew or cared for; even my own violent ending. Well, those nightmares ended up correct on two out of three counts, though the reality was far worse than any subconscious nightmare.
It was almost five years to the day after Phantom's first rampage that the last of the thirty-four shield towers was completed. The shield was actually built to be redundant: the complete dome could be generated with as few as twenty of the towers activated. The city watched in awe as the system went live for its first test activation, the massive blue dome spreading skyward with a crackle of power, encasing a sizeable portion of the city within the massive glowing bubble.
I warned people not to rebuild too far out from the shield's radius, but it seems that in a way, the plan to get their cooperation also backfired. Phantom was gone, they reasoned. The Patrol had chased him away, they were overconfident that if he returned, we could handle him. For me, and for the entire Patrol, it wasn't a question of if Phantom would return, it was a matter of when he would return, and how much stronger he would be when he did. I quietly hoped that the ghost alliance that Skulker had mentioned might have put an end to Phantom, but I somehow knew that it was unlikely. At best, that effort likely only stalled the ghost, buying Amity Park just enough time to prepare the fortress. At that time, the shield was shut off, intended as a shelter to be turned on in an emergency, the silver towers standing silent against the sky.
Suffice to say, with so many people claiming that Phantom would never dare show up again, it was practically a mob pounding on karma's door. He would be back, I was sure of it. We were extremely lucky that he hadn't yet returned since the Patrol last drove him off three years ago. Such luck was bound to run out, and run out in a big way.
I hate it when I'm right.
Closing Note: Sorry if this chapter isn't as action packed or emotionally draining as you may have come to expect- Chapter 8 is a sort of halfway point in the tale, beginning to shift Amity Park as a whole from what we see in the regular series to what we see at the beginning of TUE. And yes, there are 34 shield towers. I counted. I think I officially qualify as a Fenton Gadget geek now, having crunched numbers to guesstimate how big that huge anti-ghost shield is and stuff. And that little fact that I can rattle off the names of every named gadget from the show and what they do. ;;
At some point, I'll make proper graphical timeline from my story notes. This chapter takes things from about two years after the explosion at the Nasty Burger to five years after that.
And many thanks to everyone who has reviewed thus far. You people get cookies )