Chapter Three;
Jack Frost placed Danny down on the roof of a building that was under giant billboard that proudly proclaimed: 'Amity Park, a safe place to live!' (It was Danny's idea to land there, not Jack's).
"Okay, you can go now." Danny waved Jack Frost off, as if he were shooing away a pigeon. He pushed the flowers and his staff into Jack's arms. Despite his calm voice, Danny had something tense and flighty in his movements. His blue eyes seemed awfully too aware of his surroundings. A strange, bluish mist had begun pooling from his mouth. Danny took off the backpack and rolled his shoulders slightly.
Jack raised a brow. "Uh, I think not. You did what was basically a cross country road trip just so you could see a lake. Somethings up, and it's literally my job to know what."
Danny whipped his head to look at Jack Frost, "I only crossed, like, three states!" The blue mist was becoming thicker. With it, Danny seemed to get more nervous.
"Exactly Danny." Jack Frost said dryly, "Exactly."
Jack Frost opened his mouth to say something else but, before he could speak, a bright green light nearly grazed Jack's head. Jack dropped the flowers and clung his staff to his chest.
And 'nearly grazed' as in Jack Frost would've been beheaded if Danny didn't push him out of the way.
Now, Jack Frost didn't normally curse, but, "what the actual fuc-"
"Whelp!" A flaming robot with a skull-shaped face interrupted Jack Frost. The robot toward over them. "I have come for your pelt!"
If Jack Frost was expecting Danny to be shaking in his boots. (Danny had red sneakers on, but you get the general idea), he was sorely mistaken.
Danny looked so absolutely done with the green-mohawked robot that it would've been funny if they weren't in danger.
Danny then caught Jack Frost looking at him out of his peripherals. Danny changed his expression into one of terror.
Danny must've seen Jack's unconvinced look, because Danny immediately dropped the act and scowled. He huffed quietly, obviously somewhat angry with himself.
The robot gave a menacing grin, gadgets and metal screeched and shifting on top of the other to mimic the facial expression. "I found a new paralyzer, Whelp. One you aren't immune to yet."
Danny sighed in a melodramatic fashion, rubbing his temples.
"But why, though? Don't you have anything better to do? Because I sure do. I would rather do literally anything else than this right now."
"Too bad, Ghost Child." The mech growled and pointed a sleek silver gun, from his arm, at Danny and fired. With reflexes much too quick for a normal sixteen-year-old, Danny jumped out of harm's way with a muttered curse.
Danny glanced at Skulker, then at Jack, then back to Skulker as he struggled to make a decision.
Skulker wasn't the kind of ghost you can just run from and hoped for the best, so that was out of the question. At least for now.
He couldn't exactly Go Ghost, not with Jack Frost being right here. Because he didn't think he'd encounter any ghosts while outside of Amity Park, he hadn't packed any wrist-rays or other human weapons that he could use.
And, unluckily for him, he'd taken the thermos out of his backpack, so, he didn't even have that.
Right, so, Danny had no thermos, no weapons, no ghost powers, and no plan. He'd gotten himself out of worse situations with less.
"You need to work on your aim, dude. I mean, it's not as though I have to do much work with you shooting at the ground instead of me." Danny mocked with a cocky sneer. In reality, Danny just hoped that Skulker didn't see sweat making his hands clammy.
Jack Frost didn't know if he should be impressed or nervous or both. Danny was trying to distract the robot and buy them time. When that should be Jack's job.
The spirit wasn't that surprised to be honest. They'd met while he'd been walking around on thin ice (literally), and now the teen was essentially poking a giant, heavily-armed, metal bear.
Skulker growled.
"I won't miss twice, Whelp." With that, he raised the gun again.
This time, Jack Frost was the one that dove Danny out of the way and Jack then shot a spark of ice at the weapon. Once more Jack grabbed Danny and flew the heck out of there. Danny grabbing his bag by the strap. As Jack maneuvered through the sky, Danny quickly double checked his backpack but, unfortunately, found nothing that could be of use.
Jack Frost turned back to see Skulker, with a bored expression, phase through the ice like it was thin air and follow them.
Jack Frost then turned to Danny, eyes wide, the wind screeching in their ears. "What the heck is going on?! And why does this feel like a scene from some sci-fi movie?!"
Jack Frost made a disgusted face "and, out of all things, why is that thing out for your pelt. Your skin! This thing is after your skin."
Danny chuckled guiltily. "Long story."
Jack Frost gave an annoyed scowl, "You are way too okay with this."
Instead of responding, Danny pointed behind them. "Turn left! Turn Left!"
Jack spiraled left as another sharp green light aimed right where they were before melted the brick wall.
Now, if Jack Frost was by himself, he would've easily out-flown a chunky robot that was flying with nothing but a couple of jet packs.
However, Jack Frost had Danny in tow and, if he went too fast, Jack could easily break Danny's neck with the whiplash. Something that Jack Frost had a deep desire not to happen.
"Jack, swing right!"
Jack Frost did as he was told, "Danny, where in the nine realms are you taking us?!"
"Just, trust me!" Danny shouted over the wind, "I have an idea!"
Jack Frost considered ignoring Danny's advice and just taking the two of them to Tooth's or Aster's, place (both resided where humans could technically go). But then Jack dashed the idea when he recalled how Skulker just phased through the ice as if it were thin air. Neither of the Guardians would know how to handle a threat like that.
So, Jack Frost, seeing no other choice, decide to try and trust Danny's plan. If it didn't work, Jack would use his idea as plan B.
Finally, they reached another roof top, not too far from the first. And thankfully, they seemed to have lost Skulker for the moment. But there was no doubt that he wasn't far behind.
"Hey, um. One question," Jack Frost had many questions, but they really only had time for one. "What is your plan, exactly? Just curious."
Danny found a trap door and pulled out a tube of lipstick, a pencil, and a thermos.
It was at that moment that Jack Frost knew they were doomed.
Danny tossed Jack Frost the lipstick, "You're going to need this. And its Tucker's, so don't scratch it."
Jack Frost gave Danny the most flabbergasted and disbelieving look that he could muster, "Are you insane?!"
Danny just sighed as he threw the bag into the trapdoor before closing it.
"It's a weapon, Jack. I'm trying to save your life- existence- whatever you want to call it!"
Jack Frost looked at the lipstick then the pencil and thermos in Danny's hands. Jack held up the tube, "this is lipstick." Jack hissed "Lipstick!" He then pointed at the thermos, "What are you going to even do with that? Give him a snack before he pulls the trigger?!"
"It's going to save our lives, that's what it's going to do. So, shut up and use the lipstick laser!"
"Lipstick Laser?"
At that moment, Skulker caught up with them. "You think you can run from me, Whelp! I will not be stopped this-"
Before Skulker could finish a green light erupted from the end of Danny's pencil and hit Skulker squarely in the arm, sending him reeling and destroying the gun that was in the robot's hand.
Jack's look of utter skepticism turned one of shock and mild wonder as he looked back at the lipstick in his hands, realizing that there was a silver button. "oh my god."
Skulker had a look of horror etched onto his face (surprising, considering it was metal), obviously despaired at having one of his favorite guns mutilated.
"My gun!"
Danny glanced at Skulker and the weapon he carried on him before the ghost robot could dive out of sight. He could take out the other hinge on the gun to score that offensive weapon or he could shoot through the rocket on his back, crippling his flight for at least 90 seconds of bought time.
Danny went with the latter and pointed his blaster towards the exhaust of the rocket on Skulker's left-hand side. Not only did the rocket stop, but it made a small explosion as well, which sent Skulker into a violent downward spiral.
"HA." Danny shouted with a huge grin, glad that luck was, at least for now, on his side. Danny watched as Skulker was sent in a different direction, shouting curses as he tried to fix his suit.
Danny glanced around at his surroundings, looking for any other advantages that he could use. He noticed a window-washing setup in the far corner, there was no harness, but there was a few disconnected cables as well as the platform to weigh them down.
There were three ways to do this. One, get Jack Frost out of here and Go Ghost, deal with Skulker really quick and offer Jack some kind of explanation later.
Two, use that cord to get off the building and, once on foot, lead Skulker close enough to Elmerton that they could get Val's attention. (However, Danny now suspected that Skulker could be managed without help from the Red Huntress.)
Three, propel down the building, but instead of leading him to Val, pretend to fall, 'Phantom' catches Danny, fight the ghost, and again try to butcher up an explanation to Jack Frost.
Danny muttered something under his breath and looked at Jack Frost.
"Fly, I don't care where, just, get yourself away from here!" The Danny exclaimed. "I can take care of this on my own."
Jack blinked when Danny addressed him before frowning.
"I can't just leave you!" Jack Frost grabbed his staff at the general area of where Sulker was. "This thing is trying to shoot at you and skin you, in case you haven't noticed!" Though Jack wasn't sure about the entire situation. From the way Danny moved, and the way he interacted with that thing, it was apparent that he'd done this before.
From the ways things stood, it seemed as though Danny could handle himself just fine, and had a way better grip on the situation then Jack did. However, Jack Frost wasn't appointed Guardian for no reason. And he was as sure as the moon itself that he was not going to leave Danny to this.
"I promise you, I'll be fine." Danny explained, his eyes darting the dark skies for Skulker to re-surface.
"... Danny, I'm not going to leave you to be skinned alive- "
"Dammit, he's coming back. Plan B." Danny hissed and tore his jacket off, tying it around his waist tightly while sprinting to the cords. Jack Frost followed close behind, looking around and, sure enough, Skulker was using one rocket-powered wing to approach them, eyes glowing brighter in anger. He was powering up a gun. A big gun. Danny pulled a cord loose and looked at Jack.
"Alright, you wanna help?" He didn't wait for Jack's answer before pointing at Skulker. "I already got one hinge off the weapon hanging on Skulker's shoulder. The metal is warped because of that hit, so he can't pull it back into his arsenal and replace it with something better."
Danny nodded to the lipstick in Jack's hand. "Take the laser and try to get that other hinge, if you can. If I can get that gun, I'll be able to level the playing field a bit. I'll keep his attention from below, so he won't see your attack."
"Once the gun is down, I'll keep him off you and lead him away from town. And watch yourself; just because Skulker's after me doesn't mean he's above causing collateral damage." Danny warned. Holding tightly onto the metal cable, he jumped off the side of the building.
Jack Frost took to the air; Skulker was heading towards them way too fast, Jack noted. He needed to keep the metal guy's attention until Danny was on foot again. With that in mind, Jack whistled and waved.
"Hey, big metal... thing. What are you and why do you like people's skin? Is 'cause you don't haveany? Funny, I didn't think robots could be vain."
"Don't test me, Spirit." Skulker spat the last word as though it were a curse. "I am Skulker, the Ghost Zone's greatest Hunter. The likes of you wouldn't understand the pride a hunter takes in his pelts."
"Pride? It actually sounds gross. I mean, really gross. I think you lack pride more than anything." Jack tried to keep Skulker talking while Danny propelled down the side of the building. The more time he could give the other teen, the better. Though he wished he could change the topic of conversation.
Jack Frost felt like that he was in some superhero cartoon. And this was, by far, one of the most classic and cheesy examples of witty banter that he'd ever participated in.
Suddenly, Jack's eyes brightened with mischief, "How are you liking the weather, by the way?"
Skulker raised a metallic brow at the random question, firing another shot.
Jack Frost dodged, "I think it's a little warm, don't you?"
Before Skulker could respond, Jack used his powers and made the area drop in at least ten degrees and the clouds became an angry grey before it began to hail.
Danny, from below, had wide eyes from the sheer power and size of the storm even if it only surrounded that one building.
For the most part, Skulker just phased through the clumps of ice that were the size of tennis balls. But what Skulker couldn't phase through, was the wintery chill and roaring winds.
Soon, Jack Frost found that he didn't need Danny to distract Skulker.
Now, the robot distracted enough for Jack Frost to take the shot. (Who knew that lipstick could make one feel so empowering.)
Meanwhile Danny, in the midst of propelling down, bit his lip and thought about enacting his actual plan. Number 3, that is.
While he could duplicate himself, and have 'Phantom' come into the picture, it was still very draining, as far as ghostly energy went. With not a whole lot of other options, however, he closed his eyes and concentrated, forming an invisible duplicate just behind him.
Jack was having fun with the weather and was distracted enough, Danny noted. He sent the duplicate inside the building to wait.
His head suddenly felt like there was a swarm of angry wasps and the exhaustion clamped onto Danny's muscles, already they were starting to ache. He couldn't maintain this for very long.
If everything went well, he would fall, the duplicate of his ghost half would catch him, he'd let the duplicate fight Skulker, and then (once Skulker was in a thermos) the duplicate would dissipate into the air. Danny just hoped he had enough stamina to pull this one off and his whole 'cross-country trip' thing didn't leave him completely drained.
He waited for a reasonably powerful gust of wind before allowing his grip to loose on the cable. Danny gasped and squeezed his eyes shut, as if bracing for impact.
Two years of constantly having to lie very much helped his skill as an actor, though he had to be somewhat prepared to be convincing. Plus, this wasn't the first time he fell to his 'impending doom'.
So, with this in mind, Danny fell.
. . .
Jack Frost turned around when he heard a sharp gasp, eyes widening when he saw Danny most definitely not holding onto the cable. The spirit realized, in an instant, that Danny had likely slipped off because of the wind and hail.
Jack Frost leapt into action, making a beeline for Danny as well as stopping the storm. The Guardian wasn't even halfway to the falling boy when a black and white blur zoomed into the picture and swooped Danny out of danger swiftly, setting the human on his feet.
"What in the…" Jack Frost murmured, trying to get a closer look at what it was that just saved Danny from what would have been a fatal fall (not that Jack wouldn't have gotten there in time, because he would have, of course… yeah, definitely).
Jack got the idea, from the dark figure's overall shape, that it was another teenager, about the same size as Danny… actually the size and shape of Danny. To a T.
But this… thing, boy? Whatever, was wearing some kind of dark and form-fitting suit. And they had disheveled greying-white hair, at least from the back.
The boy in the dark suit turned around, dropped Danny next to Jack and flew off, fighting Skulker.
Jack Frost couldn't help but stare in complete shock because the ghost looked exactly like Danny. They had the same facial features, the same bone structure. The only difference was coloring and clothes. Other than that, they could've been twins. Or even with the way the grey haired one moved, the same person.
Jack Frost wondered if the reason why Danny was so relaxed and casual with the idea of ghosts was because he had a relative that was one. The 'relative' that was fighting, and winning, against Skulker.
Jack Frost turned to Danny. "Do you have a dead, long lost, twin by any chance?"
Danny turned to face Jack, startled, "I- um… no? I don't?" His voice had a tired slur to it. Impossibly more so than when he arrived at the lake. Danny cleared his throat, "I don't."
Jack Frost paused and stared at Danny. "Sounds fake, but ok."
Danny face twisted to a offended look, but didn't seem to be able to deny Jack's doubt. That, or Danny was too tired to care.
Jack Frost turned his face back to the fight when he heard a noise equivalent of a suction cup.
Jack raised both brows and blinked when Skulker was somehow sucked into the thermos. "So that's what it does." Jack Frost mused. He then made a face. "Hold on- wait- why didn't we just use that in the first place?!"
"Because the ghosts have to be weak enough in order to be caught be the thermos. Otherwise they won't be sucked in." Danny said blandly, nearly struggling to stay on his feet.
The ghost in the dark suit unceremoniously dropped the thermos in Danny's hands before he fizzed out of existence like a TV with no signal.
Jack eyed at the thermos in Danny's hand with a new respect. "Oh." Jack Frost then turned away and tried to absorb everything. "... this is the craziest day of my life. No question."
Danny slowly nodded in silent agreement.
Jack Frost then turned to Danny and saw that his legs were wobbly and suddenly noticed how drained the other teen looked. Not that Jack could blame him, doing a road trip, walking for miles, and fighting for your own life can do that to a person.
Jack frowned, "Do you, um, need to sit down?" He was really out of practice on how to deal with things like human exhaustion.
Danny shook his head, dragging a palm down his face. "Nah, if I do then I'll go right to sleep." He then gave a sluggish shrug. "Besides, I typically do more on a daily basis. My family hunts ghosts, so, there's that."
"Hunts… Ghosts…" Jack shook his head. "Yeah. Alright. Ya' know what? It doesn't surprise me at this point. Makes sense, actually."
Jack Frost stood there, once more processing everything. "That thing was after your skin." He repeated.
Danny glanced at Jack Frost, annoyed. "We've established this. And his name is Skulker."
"You're on a first name basis with the metal robot. That's after. Your. Skin."
Danny snorted, apparently amused, "He's not really a robot. He's like," Danny had five inches of space between his hands. "Yey' big. About the size of a frog, actually. It's really just a big metal suit."
Danny flopped his arms back to his sides. "Can't help but be impressed though, Skulker accomplished pretty much everything he's ever done out of spite."
Jack Frost stared blankly at Danny.
"I- hey! Don't give me that look!" Danny crossed his arms, scowling in indignation. "At this point, I don't even think that Skulker's after my skin anymore, I think he just likes the challenge and is too stubborn to leave me the hell alone."
"Are you hearing yourself?!" Jack Frost gave a tight frown, "You're way too casual about this."
Danny threw his hands up in the air, "Well, ya know what?! You're always free to go! Nothing's stopping ya."
"I- What? No. Life-threatening situations are obviously casual Tuesdays for you. I'm sticking around here until you don't have to worry about this like a normal person."
Danny actually laughed much to Jack's shock. It was the kind of laugh that was dark, and dry. The crackles were jarring and Jack Frost himself had to wince at the weight the cold laugh held.
Danny then waved him off as he turned around, "Yeah, right. Whatever, I'm going to bed. Stick around for as long as you want. Good luck."
With that, Danny walked off, shoving his hands into his pockets and ignoring the small weight that settled in the pit of his stomach.