Hey guys! Thanks for reviewing, following, favoriting, and even just reading this story! It is amazing to come here and see so many people interested in what started as a "Hey, this might work" idea for a story. I know I've said this before, but please send in requests for ghosts you'd like to see! Ghost attacks will be picking up and I'm having trouble deciding just who will be attacking (and have chosen not to go the OC route because describing an OC in detail would probably make such an attack longer than most chapters). Please include requests in your reviews or PM them to me!
Sorry this is so late and double sorry if it sucks - I had a bunch written and my keyboard malfunctioned and it disappeared (again).
I do not own Hanna is Not a Boy's Name or Danny Phantom.
Chapter Seven - Death by Pizza
Well, that was a waste of time.
When Toni had thought of how to find more information on Phantom, no one had thought it would be by talking to the town ghost hunters. Logically, the ghost hunters should have the most information on the ghost, seeing as they were the ones who fought ghosts in the town and had likely come to know the ghosts' powers and the like, but as the crew had figured out only after talking with them for hours, the couple actually knew very little about Phantom, or at least, about anything that would help them follow him. The woman, Maddie Fenton, had gone on in detail about what his anatomy might be like, as determined from previous "experiments" on other ghosts, while the the man had enthusiastically jabbered on about the experiments they would run on Phantom once they caught him, but neither seemed to really know about what kind of limits his powers have.
This leaves Hanna no better off than he was before - in fact, quite a bit worse, now that most of a day has been wasted.
"Those people knew nothing," Veser complains. "You'd think that ghost hunters would know something about ghosts."
"Well," Hanna says. "We'll just have to find someone who knows more about ghosts than the Fentons do." He looks expectantly at Toni.
"What?" Toni asks. "Just because I'm the only one who bothered to glance at a paper doesn't mean I'm an expert on the town."
"Oh," Hanna says, his face sagging with disappointment. He pulls himself together after a moment and asks, "Well, where could we find someone who might know more about ghosts than the Fentons?"
Everyone thinks for a moment.
"Perhaps we should try the mall," the zombie ventures. "If the town is as haunted as people claim, at least one or two people there should know plenty about Phantom."
Hanna's face lights up.
"That's a great idea, Barnabus!" he cries, then lowers his voice and asks, "Why didn't I think of that?"
"Great. Brilliant idea. Now we just have to find the mall," Conrad points out.
About half an hour later, the five stood in the entryway of Amity Park's most popular mall. To get there, they'd knocked on the Fenton's door and taken directions from their teenage daughter, then followed them to the best of their ability, only getting lost once or twice.
"So what's the plan, exactly?" Toni asks Hanna.
"Um, just . . . start talking to people and see if they know anything about Phantom," Hanna says.
"So wing it?" Conrad asks.
"Exactly," Hanna says. He begins walking in a random direction, trying to look like he knows what he's doing. The zombie follows right behind him.
"Should we go after them?" Toni asks.
"I don't know that it'll make a difference, but probably. We might be able to keep him from getting into trouble," Conrad says.
"Yeah, that's a big maybe," Veser says. "Come on, I want to be there when something blows up in his face."
The three catch up with Hanna and the zombie in the food court, where they're talking to a couple of jocks wearing letter jackets that make Hanna look even younger than usual. Unfortunately, before they can get close enough to hear how much the jocks know about Phantom, something happens. The air chills and a funny green-blue tint is cast over the food court. The people in the mall started running away, some cowering under tables or inside stores, leaving Hanna and company standing alone and confused.
Then the ghost comes. At first it's nearly impossible to make out what he looks like, because he descends through the ceiling and almost immediately begins flying around the mall, into and out of stores, apparently searching for something. Each time he flies by, another detail becomes apparent. A white cape. A long black coat. Green skin and gloves. A white mullet.
None of the paranormal investigators know what to do. The only ghost they know anything about is Phantom, and they don't know much about even him.
"At last!" shouts the ghost upon entering a pizza place neighboring the food court. "I, Technus, Master of all Technology shall now be able to take over the world with the help of the technology in this very room!"
That doesn't sound good.
Hanna is panicking. This ghost is most likely dangerous, and planning world domination. What should he do? What can he do? He knows nothing about the ghosts in this town, has no idea what effect his runes would have on them, if any, and doesn't know what this ghost can even do. Hanna can try to fight him, of course, but this ghost is different from the others Hanna has fought before. The runes that usually work on ghosts might be worthless.
Fortunately, Hanna is spared having to decide whether or not to fight the ghost, because a second ghost appears, flying in from another part of the mall. And this one Hanna recognizes.
Danny Phantom quickly spotted the other ghost.
"Come on, Technus, I just put you in the Ghost Zone, like, a week ago," he complains.
The ghost turns, sees Phantom, and laughs.
"Did you really think that I would stay there?" he asks Phantom. "Your grades betray your ignorance, child. Why would I stay there when this world holds enough glorious technology for me to take over several worlds of its size?"
Several machines from inside the pizza place begin to glow green and fly through the air, surrounding Technus.
"Still shouting out your plans, I see," Phantom shouts back. "For someone who claims to be master of technology, you're sure outdated."
It's at this point that Hanna dives under a table, as a glowing soda machine aimed at Phantom ends up flying at him instead. From his position under the table, Hanna can hear that the banter between the two ghosts continuing, and he can sometimes see the two fighting. He tries to keep track of Phantom's powers, but in a battle that moves far above his head at incredible speeds, it's nearly impossible to judge who's doing what. Still, it becomes clear that Phantom could fly faster than Hanna will ever be able to run, and possibly faster than he can drive (which is saying a lot, because the phrase speed limit is not found anywhere in Hanna's vocabulary). He can also send out balls or beams of green energy that, judging by the way they throw Technus around, are more powerful than any of Hanna's runes.
Eventually the battle comes to an end and Technus is sucked into Phantom's thermos in a beam of blue light.
Hanna comes out from under the table only to see Phantom flying through the ceiling and out of the food court. The rest of the people in the mall go back to shopping, eating, and talking, as if this happens every day, but something about the battle is nagging at Hanna. He has no idea what it is, but can't help feeling that some part of the ghost fight will help him find Phantom.
If he could only figure out what it was.