"Oh come on! Why can't I find anything on this thing?!"
As Kitty continued to pout as she scrolled through her phone, the other teens glanced at each other, wondering if it was a good idea to get involved. Unluckily for Johnny though, Jazz pushed him forward in an attempt to get him to find out what was wrong.
With a quick glare towards the brainiac, Johnny turned back to his girl for answer. "So…what's wrong, Kitten?"
"I'm trying to find out how Ember's concert tour is doing, but every time I type in her name or anything related to her I get nothing!" exclaimed Kitty, glaring at her phone's screen. "I just want to know where she is and how she's doing!"
"Have you tried calling her?" questioned Sam in a deadpan tone, stating the obvious.
"She blocked me," replied the biker chick with another pout.
"I'm sure wherever your friend is, Kitty, that she's doing fine," said Maddie, giving the girl a reassuring smile.
Desiree took a sip of her tea as she watched Kitty continue to pout. The genie knew exactly where Ember was…and that was because she also knew where DANIEL was. Despite knowing that he was on a much-needed vacation she still worried over the boy. So with a bit of magic she checked up on him.
The first time she did so, she was surprised to find him traveling with Ember McLain of all people and how well the two of them were getting along. She couldn't help but feel happy for the newly young couple. Although there were some concerns over why they had a child with them that looked exactly like Daniel.
Regardless, she would continue to keep an eye on Daniel every now and then, while also keeping this a secret until they return. She had a feeling this and Kitty's lack of success in finding information on Ember were somehow connected, so she would respect Daniel and Ember's wishes for privacy…for now anyway.
"Well we'll try and figure out what's going on later!" exclaimed Jack, his usual carefree grin on his face. "In the meantime, any word on where Danny-boy went next?"
"Not yet," replied Tucker, shaking his head slightly. "But we'll probably find out soon."
While they were contemplating where Danny had gone to, the peace was soon broken by the sound of explosions from outside, followed by a voice that made the human teens and ghosts groan.
"Come out here, whelp! You can't hide from me!"
Rushing outside, they found the Ghost Zone's infamous hunter trying to break through the ghost barrier around Fenton Works.
"Seriously? What's he doing here now of all times?" questioned Kitty, thinking the day was ruined thanks to Skulker's arrival.
"I think the better question is HOW did he get here?" wondered Jazz. "I thought the Ghost Portal was shut down for the day!"
"Maybe he used the one Vlad had, but Danny made sure to destroy it!" stated Tucker.
"Knowing how Skulker works, he probably stole from Vlad beforehand so he'd have his own portable portal," replied Sam, rubbing her temples in an attempt to quash the oncoming migraine.
Seeing the group down below, Skulker narrowed his gaze upon them. He especially glared at Kitty, Johnny, and Desiree for hanging out with the whelp's group.
"I demand that you send out the whelp so may have his pelt!" exclaimed the hunter, earning glares from Maddie and Jack.
"Can't you just give up, Skulker? You know every time you fight Danny you lose," said Kitty, putting her hands on her hips.
"Don't mock me, woman! As the world's greatest hunter, I WILL have his pelt!" declared Skulker, a look of pride on his face. He then scowled again. "Now send him out here so we may finish this!"
Maddie was about to turn off the ghost barrier so she and Jack could blast this tin can back to the Ghost Zone for daring to harm their son. Even Cujo was growling and barking at Skulker, ready to protect his master, but surprisingly Desiree stopped them.
She then turned to Tucker with her hand held out. "Hand me your device, child."
"Huh? Why?" questioned the tech geek, looking confused as he held his PDA/phone close.
"Just hand it to me," repeated the genie, narrowing her gaze on him.
With a gulp, he did as he was told. "S-Sure."
With device in hand, Desiree floated up towards where Skulker was. The hunter went on guard, wondering what this woman was up to.
She gave him a bored look before she spoke. "So you wish to speak with the ghost child, is that right?"
"I want to do more than "speak" with him," he growled out before yelling. "I want his pelt!"
The genie just rolled her eyes at the metal windbag. "Yes, well I know how to bring him out and this device will help."
Everyone down below glanced at each other, wondering what Desiree was up to. Was she really going to rat out Danny's whereabouts to Skulker of all people?! Skulker, on the other hand, just grinned in satisfaction that someone was finally starting to listen to him.
"About time you came to your senses, woman! Now hand me that device!" he demanded, holding out his hand for it.
"Don't you want to know how it works?" she questioned, raising an eyebrow at him.
"Grr, just tell me, woman!"
"It is quite fascinating, really. It works through voice commands…"
"So it's exactly like you."
Desiree's eye twitched in anger, but held her tongue until the end. "As I was saying, it works through voice commands and a certain phrase needs to be said for it to activate."
"Then tell me this password, woman!" demanded Skulker, starting to get annoyed.
The genie produced a piece of paper and slipped it through the barrier. "Make sure you read it out loud."
Giving off a scoff, Skulker took the paper and read it. "I wish I was in Walker's office right now…wait, what?"
The mechanical hunter stared at the paper with a blank look, taking a few seconds for it to register. When it did, his eyes widened as much as Desiree's grin did.
"So you have wished it, so it shall be!" exclaimed Desiree with glee.
A grimace formed on Skulker's face. "Ah crud."
And with a poof, Skulker was gone.
With a job well done, Desiree made her way back to the others, where Kitty, Johnny, and Tucker were laughing up a storm.
"Oh my god, that was the best thing I've ever seen, Desi!" laughed Kitty. "I wish Ember was here to have seen it."
"I'm glad you enjoyed the show, Kitty," replied Desiree. She then gave off a smirk. "And nice try, but no wish granted for you."
Kitty pouted once again.
"I'm just glad that hunter is gone," said Valerie with a sigh. "Who knows what would have happened if he found out Danny wasn't here."
That was when Tucker's phone went off, signaling a message from Danny. Taking the device from Desiree, Tucker opened the phone and showed the message.
G'day, mates. Having a lot of fun here Down Under. P.S. never eat Vegemite.
The group was greeted by photos of Australian landmarks and icon such as the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Queen Victoria Building, a Sydney Ferry, a koala at the Taronga Zoo, Bondi Beach, and the Sydney Opera House.
"Aw, look at the cute little koala," said Kitty with a squeal, looking at the photo with starry eyes.
Jazz just rolled her eyes before looking back at the pictures with a frown. "If I had known Danny would have gone to all of these places I might have gone with him."
"Don't worry, Jazzy Pants! Maybe next year we can all go for our Fenton Family Vacation!" exclaimed Jack, his usual grin up once more.
Despite blushing slightly at the use of her father's nickname for her, Jazz couldn't help but hope that family vacation becomes a reality…and be normal. Of course…
"And the rest of you kids can come too! Any friends of Danny's are part of the family!" added the Fenton patriarch, to the cheers of the other teens.
…When you're part of the Fenton family, reality isn't normal.
FIN
-:-
Don't forget, Danny broke Desiree's curse, so of course she'd be slightly protective of him.
Can you believe that it's almost been a year since I started this fic? I hope that in that year you've all been enjoying this story, especially since there are still plenty of places the Phantom Family still have to visit.