Chapter 20: New Discoveries – Part 2

Sam tapped her foot in thought as she looked at her three wards for the day with scrutiny. The first one barely looked as if they knew what was going on, and thanks to that black eye, probably didn't. The second one had a nasty scowl that Sam was more than tempted to smack clean off but restrained herself. For now. The third was sniffling, clearly not used to being in trouble like this and yet being just as guilty as the other two.

"Will you quit sniffling, you crybaby?" Danielle said, rolling her eyes. Her left shoulder immediately flared in pain as Lily turned and swung as hard as she could, punching her in retaliation. The shock immediately wore off as Danielle grabbed her shoulder while a few tears came to her eyes. "OW! Why are you so violent!?"

"You haven't seen violent," Lily replied with clenched teeth, facing forward again. "Be glad I don't give you a black eye to match his."

"That really hurt," Danielle whined as she rubbed her new injury to match the one Lily had given her earlier. In fact, somehow, she was the only one of the three to make it out of that tussle without a single injury. Turning to the older girl, she addressed Sam and asked, "You're not telling her to keep her hands to herself?"

"Can it, both of you!" Sam shouted, startling the three to attention. "I want everyone's hands at their sides, and the next one I see touching someone, is getting theirs broken!" All three pre-teens gulped in fright, immediately straightening up into a single filed line with their arms at their sides like soldiers. "Thought so. Now, listen up, twerps, because I'm not planning to repeat myself.

"I was going to let you three work together today so the work didn't seem too bad, but you've all proven that would be a costly mistake. So, I've asked that you all be split up and given separate things to do today. Any questions so far?" Sam waited, watching as Danielle held her hand up. "Speak."

"Mind telling us where- "Danielle started to ask before stopping to sniff the air. A large smile came to her face as she asked, "Are we at the Zoo!?"

"Correct," Sam replied, turning toward Jenkins in the driver's seat and saying, "Thank you, Jenkins. That will be all for now. I'll call you when we're ready to leave. Please feel free to enjoy the Zoo at your leisure."

"But of course, Miss Sam. I shall park the limousine in the special reserved spot as usual, and make my way to the birdhouse," the butler said, removing his driving cap and jacket, revealing a white t-shirt that read "I love birds", the love represented by a heart. Getting back into the driver's seat, he said, "We've got quite the catching up to do," before driving off.

As the car speed away, kicking up rocks and dust from the gravel pathway way under their feet, the three kids turned to look at the large, darkened copper sign over the brick archway that read "Welcome to Amity Park Zoo!"

"Well, I'm glad to see Jenkins is in as chipper of a mood as he always is," a woman said, walking up to the group. Her skin was light brown, making the cherry red lipstick she wore stand out more than her green eyes. Danielle smiled even bigger as she recognized the woman.

"Dr. Gray! It's so good to see you," she said, running up to the woman who laughed as she bent down to hug her.

"It's good to see you too, Danielle. I see you're still as big a troublemaker as ever," she joked, before turning to Jake and greeting him as well. "And it's good to see you too, Jake. Though that eye looks a bit concerning."

"I've had worse," he said nonchalantly, tipping his beanie as if it had a brim to Dr. Gray in greeting as she stood up and walked over to Lily.

"Hello, I don't think we've met?" she said, though it came out as more of a question as she started to notice the similarities between her and Danielle. Holding her hand out, she introduced herself. "Dr. Cree Gray. Vice President of Animal Health, Welfare and Sciences here for Amity Park Zoo."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Dr. Gray," Lily replied, shaking her hand with a smile. "I'm Lilith Nefton."

"This is my cousin, Lily," Danielle said, having adopted the story that had spread throughout the school. Though the two knew it wasn't true, given the way people talked about them on Facescroll after the dance, they would never beat the allegations of them being related. Besides, the three's reputations were already in the toilet, so really, who did they have besides each other?

"I see, well, that certainly explains a lot. If Valerie hadn't spent so many years as your junior gymnastic counselor, I'd ask where you've been hiding your twin sister," she said with a laugh before addressing all three kids. "Alright, now that everyone has been acquainted, you've all been brought here to do some volunteer work."

"I've got a project to do for my biology class and figured you three would be better off helping around the Zoo instead of following me around causing some kind of havoc," Sam explained before turning to Dr. Gray. "So, I called up a favor from our favorite animal doctor and she was more than glad to help squeeze us in for the day."

"Given that you're our biggest benefactor, we're always more than glad to squeeze you in whenever you need, Sam," Dr. Gray said as two other staff members walked up to them, one in a chef's coat and the other, a security officer.

"Whoa, you really like animals, huh?" Lily asked Sam.

"Well, while I do enjoy them and as a hardcore Ultra-Recyclo Vegetarian believe that eating them is wrong, this was both a gift to someone, and a repayment of sorts," Sam replied, face turning a slight red color.

At Lily's confused look, Jake cracked a grin and spoke, "Yeah, Sam's a criminal, if you couldn't tell."

"I…would argue that but, the courts have spoken," the Goth replied, deciding it wasn't worth getting worked up over as the security officer eyed her.

"Oh, then allow me to fill in the details," Jake said, turning to Lily. "For Ellie's 7th birthday, Sam rented out the whole zoo for a day, basically getting us all VIP access, thanks to Danny."

"What does Danny have to do with this?" she asked, a grin coming to her face; this story was getting intriguing already.

"He'd promised me a personal tour of the zoo, specifically the Purple Back Gorilla exhibit," Danielle chimed in. "On top of her being in the same gymnastic program as me, since he and Valerie were on the same little league teams and our moms were friends, Danny thought he could swing that."

"And he was dead wrong," Sam said, smirking as she crossed her arms. "Valerie refused to help him since he didn't ask her first before promising Danielle, so she was gonna let him embarrass himself. Then he came crawling to me, begging for help that I more than happily provided in exchange for 6 months of servitude."

"Which he happily agreed to, and she set it up pretty quickly," Jake continued the story, smirking as he said, "Too quickly, some would say. As if it were planned out beforehand. Come the day of, would you believe that there was a sudden breakout of numerous zoo animals across the park?"

"NO!" Lily laughed, looking at the teen whose face was flushed.

"Ok, ok, so I used the fact that no one was in the Zoo with us to try and free a few animals. Big deal…" Sam confessed. "But I made it all right in the end."

"Not only did she have to pay a fine, but she also had to spend the next 6 months as a zookeeper's assistant. Danny's 6 months of servitude were spent helping her and from the way they talk about it, there was a lot of poop cleaning."

"And now, she's not allowed to come in here without an escort," the security officer said.

"Oh, come on, Roger, you know you love me," Sam smirked at him. "Who else keeps you on your toes and makes sure you get an extra Christmas bonus every year?"

"Yeah, yeah. You know the drill, Sam. Sign the agreement and then the consent forms for these three," the bald man said as he held the papers out to her before looking down to the kids. His burly build stood well over six foot, and he looked like he was made of nothing but muscle as he asked, "Alright now, which one is coming with me?"

"This one," Sam said, holding Lily's shoulders before taking the clipboard. "Lily, you're gonna be helping Ranger Roger with park security."

"Well, hello there little lady," he said, smiling as he knelt to her height. "Ranger Roger at your service."

"It's a pleasure, Ranger Roger. I'm Lily," she said, shaking his large hand. "So, what do rangers do here at the Zoo?"

"Well, I'm head of security for both the patrons and the animals. So, you're gonna get to see how we keep track of everything and everyone, thanks to our state-of-the-art surveillance system," he said, pulling out a Junior Ranger hat and handing it to her. Lily's eyes lit up as she accepted the gift, placing it on her head with an excited smile.

"That they had to install thanks to one girl," Jake commented, receiving a smack to the back of the head from Sam before being shoved in front of the other person who'd joined them.

"Julia, this is Jake. He will be helping you out in the main kitchen," Sam said to the woman.

"Happy to have you aboard, Jake," the young woman said, her brown hair tucked under her chef's hat. Pulling out an apron, she handed it to him, asking, "How do you feel about barbeque?"

"Let's just say I'm a guy who loves a good char," he replied with a grin, accepting the green jungle themed apron.

"Then I think you're gonna love the Grill Master. We should probably get you some ice for that eye too," she said, chuckling at his enthusiasm.

"And that just leaves you, Danielle," Dr. Gray said, sticking her hands into her lab coat pockets. "You're gonna be with me on vet duty. We're gonna check up on all the animals that come into the office today for their checkups. Plus, I've got a special surprise for you." Pulling out a mini stethoscope, she draped it over Danielle's shoulders, the girl barely able to contain her excitement. "Alright, everyone ready?"

"One sec," Sam said, opening her backpack that she had placed on the ground earlier. Digging into it, she pulled out three bright yellow shirts that read "Sam's Junior Volunteers" with a picture of the Zoo logo on the back and handed one to each of them. "I figured you three would appreciate the matching threads for the day."

"Awesome!" Jake said, pulling his over her head before tying his apron around his waist. Danielle did the same, pulling it over her hoodie before wrapping her stethoscope around her neck again. "'Preciate it, Sam."

"They're so soft!" Lily complimented, slipping hers on over her purple tank-tank.

"Alright, you have your assignments, so be on your best behavior. I'll check in with you all later and expect to hear good things," Sam said, slinging her bag back on her shoulder. "Let's get to work!"

"Let's get to work," Julia said as she handed Jake a chef's hat to match the rest of the staff. He happily accepted it, taking his beanie off to put in his pocket and adjusting the chef's hat so the "Junior Chef" tag was in the front. "This is the main dining hall, so most of the guest will come here to eat, even if they bring their own lunches since there's so much space."

Leading him through the kitchen, Jake saw a row of workers on each side, while all the way to the back he could feel the heat from the numerous cooking devices, as well as hear all the cooks as they chatted away with laughter.

"Over here is the prep station. We use this station to prepare all the food before it gets cooked so we're not scrambling to find what we need," Julia said before turning to point at the opposite side. "Over here is the garnishing station. We use this station to finish prepping the food right before it goes out. Things like fruit or vegetables, or side dishes like bread."

"Makes sense to me," Jake said, watching as a bowl of diced chicken pieces that looked like it was pre-cooked was layered with a green sauce in a pan to heat up before being put on a plate. As Jake watched the plate go to the window, he asked, "What kind of sauce is that?"

"That would be my homemade special sauce," a stout, elderly man said, walking over and smiling at Jake as he adjusted his glasses. His mustache was as grey as his head hair, but well trimmed on his upper lip that amplified his smile even more. "I call it Green Gas."

"Jake, this is Garson Gus, the Chef de Cuisine here," Julia introduced the man as he shook Jake's hand.

"Nice to meet you, older timer, but isn't a Garson a waiter?" Jake asked before also asking, "and do I wanna know why you call it Green Gas?"

"Well, when I got started cooking, I could barely boil water without causing a fire. So, when I finally found a place willing to take me on, I was made the Garson and had to work my way up the latter. That experience in life humbled me and so I kept the name as a show to the rest of my staff that humility can get you a long way," he explained, nodding to Julia who turned to the station behind her. "And as for the sauce, its because there's a secret to it that really gets the body going. It works well for black eyes too, I've been told."

"And he means that literally. Here, Jake," she said, handing him the first cup. Looking into it, Jake could see the bright green sauce as he tilted the cup, sniffing it before taking a sip. "We have two ways of serving it; cold and hot."

"Whoa, that's crazy good," he complimented after licking his lips. "It's like a sweet lemonade sauce with a kick of fire under it."

"Now try this one," she said, handing him the second cup. Jake took it, feeling the warmth through the paper cup even before he sipped it. The warm sauce trickled down his throat, leaving a pleasant tingle as the taste of cinnamon and mango danced across his tastebuds.

"It's like a mango glaze," he said to Gus. "How did you do that?"

"My secret is a special herb that grows back in my home country called the Popper Herb. I used to grow them in my garden all the time so I learned that if you cook it at just the right temperature, the flavor can change just like that. It's the secret to my Green Gas Sauce."

"No, the secret is the cooking method," Julia interjected playfully as she pointed to the stoves in the back. "Our resident grill master here refuses to tell anyone exactly how to cook the plant to make it turn into a useable ingredient. If you try it in its raw state, its super bitter."

"Well, where's the fun in teaching if you don't get to watch the kids struggle every now and then?" Gus laughed, patting Jake on the shoulder before turning to lead him over to a stove with a small step stool on it. "Over here, we've set up a station for you. Whenever we have a Junior Helper, I like to show them the process of how I make my sauce. But before that, tell me, how do you feel about steak?"

"It's literally the best kind of meat there is," Jake answered as she stepped up on the stool to make himself more even with Gus at the stove. He blinked a few times as he felt himself suddenly starting to get more energetic. "Whoa! My body feels like I'm getting a sugar rush."

"Don't fret, my boy. That's just the sauce at work," Gus said, pulling a drawer next to the stove open, revealing a tray of pre-seasoned steaks inside of a refrigerated compartment. Pulling out two, he held them up and said, "Now then, I think you're really going to enjoy this next part."

"You're really going to enjoy this, Danielle," the doctor said as she turned the master enclosure key. The door gave a loud buzz before Danielle heard the tumble of heavy locks as Dr. Gray held the door open for her to walk in. Danielle's nose twitched as she caught the scent of numerous animals, and she could barely contain her excitement as Dr. Gray turned to lead her further in.

"Each one of these doors leads to a medicinal examination area specially built to be a miniature version of the enclosures out there. It helps the animals to feel more relaxed while we treat them," the doctor said, stopping at the first one. "Now, who could this be?"

"It's a baby panda! Since when does Amity have a panda?" Danielle inquired, pressing her hands and face against the glass while in awe of the small creature as he chewed away at a stick of bamboo while another doctor was inside the enclosure with him, more bamboo in her hand.

"That's Po. He's a bit of a feisty little troublemaker," Dr. Gray said, turning to continue walking. "He's a new edition to the zoo that we came upon by coincidence. We'd ordered some special food for some of the animals from overseas and there he was inside one of the boxes. We asked about him, but the company said they have no idea where he came from, so we decided to keep him here. He'll be the second star of our newest program."

"What's the program about?"

"Well with the recent Ghost attacks, it's been harder to get people to come out. But as luck would have it, we've recently had a few new editions to the zoo, Po being one. And in here, is another one…" she said, not elaborating more as they came to a stop at another door.

Danielle looked at her in confusion, her view of the window to the enclosure being blocked by Dr. Gray. The doctor smiled, unlocking it and opening the door for Danielle to walk in.

"This way please. There's someone who I'd like you to meet."

"And who would –"Danielle's eyes budged as she saw a large creature with silver-ish white fur nestled with it's back turned on a pile of hay. A large purple spot rested in the center of the back of the beast who had yet to acknowledge the two. Danielle's shocked expression turned into one of joy and excitement as she called out "Delilah!?"

The head of the beast popped up as she turned at the sound of her name, looking over her shoulder to the source. The confused face of the gorilla turned to one of joy as she saw Danielle standing there. The female gorilla rolled over, shaking the excess hay off her as she rushed toward the pre-teen who had her arms held out wide in anticipation. Danielle laughed happily as she was swept up into a protective hug and rocked back and forth like she had been the first time she'd met Delilah years ago.

"It's so good to see you!" Danielle said as she wrapped her arms around her as best she could. The sound of rustling got her attention as a small head popped out from pile of hay, elating a dramatic gasp from her. Dr. Gray laughed as Danielle immediately hopped out of Deliliah's arms and rushed over to the baby gorilla, hay scattering around as she crawled up to him. "A BABY!? Deliliah, you had a baby!?"

"Danielle, meet Sampson. One of the few remaining purple back gorillas in the world that will hopefully help to repopulate their species," Dr. Gray said as she walked over to them and kneeled. The tiny gorilla smiled, hopping to his feet as he rushed over to her to hug the woman. "Sampson here has been kept under wraps from the public, so you're the first guest to get to meet him."

"Hi, Sampson! It's nice to meet you," she said. Sampson turned to her, turning his head from the doctor to his mother and then back to her.

"I'm sorry, sweetie, but he can't hear you. He was born deaf," Dr. Gray said before turning back to Sampson and signing out her next few words as she spoke them. "Sampson, this is Danielle. She used to come visit your mother. She's a friend."

Sampson's demeanor changed immediately as he turned back to Daneille and started to bounce up and down excitedly. Danielle returned the smile, sitting on her knees and taking a deep breath. Behind her closed lids, her eyes flashed green as she tapped into her animal powers, and as she opened them, her hands began to make signs similar to how Dr. Gray had.

"Hi, Sampson. It's nice to meet you!" she said to him, receiving a clap of joy from him. Sitting down, the baby gorilla signed back to her, and though his movements were sloppy, Danielle's instincts made it much easier to understand what he was saying. "Are you a…gorilla?"

Dr. Gray laughed as she replied to him for her. "No, she's not. She's a HUMAN like me."

Sampson looked back at her, tilting his head sideways before leaning in and sniffing her. Danielle watched in curiosity as he touched and sniffed her up and down, as well as poking her every now and then that caused her to twitch in ticklishness. As Sampson sat back in front of her, he signed to her, "You smell like Gorilla."

"Well, I can promise you, she's got no animal in her," Dr. Gray joked before picking him up. "Let's get you into the check up room and make sure you're all good. Danielle, did you want to join us, or did you want to stay and do some catching up with Deliliah? I see you've been working on that sign language."

"I'll stay here, if that's really ok," she said, receiving a nod from the doctor.

"I'll make sure one of the zookeepers is just outside the door in case you need anything. I won't be long," she said, carrying Sampson away. The baby gorilla waved to her and his mother, cheering happily as they exited the room.

"It's been so long," Danielle signed to Deliliah with a smile. "I'm sorry I haven't visited."

"I've missed you. You've grown. Gotten bigger," Deliliah signed to her as she sat crisscross from her. "I was worried. Thought something bad happened."

Danielle bit her lip, turning over her shoulder to the door and not seeing anyone else at the window before looking at the camera above the door. As long as her back was to the camera, no one would see her gestures or her face. Looking to Deliliah, she let her eyes glow green for a moment, startling the gorilla before quietly making gorilla grunts and noises while using sign language again.

"I have so much to tell you…my father and mother…taken away," she explained, pausing as she tired to think of how to explain the next part. "Old…Soul…talked to me, my big brother and friends. Give us shiny rocks." Danielle held up her right hand, showing off the diamond that gave a quick flash to show the power it held.

Deliliah looked at it in curiosity, gently pulling Danielle's hand closer to examine it. Sniffing, she blinked at the strange smell as she sat back and said, "Smell like animal and human. It gives you gorilla speak?"

"More. It makes me strong like gorilla. And fast like jaguar. And deadly like snake," Danielle explained, making jesters and noises to explain. Delilah was at first scared when the sounds of her natural predators came from the small girl she used to toss in the air like her own before Sampson came. But her instinct to listen was stronger as she was engrossed in Danielle's tale and the animated nature of the girl.

"I can be any animal. I'm a hero. Save many people every day. But…I'm scared. My animal side…it's dangerous," she admitted, her mind bringing ID's door to the forefront immediately, forcing her to shake her head until it vanished again. She would be keeping that door locked and having it kept at the back of her mind was the best way to do that. "It…SHE…makes me feel…like a monster. But…my friend helps me not be one."

"Good friend," Deliliah said, nodding before asking, "This friend from before? Loud boy?"

Danielle nodded, snorting out a laugh as she replied, "Yes, Jake is still loud and a pain. Have to be cautious though. He can hear in my head. But he's a good- ". Danielle paused, her face flushing as she realized that there wasn't a way to sign "Partner" in gorilla, and the closest thing was… "Mate…"

Deliliah's face lit up as she started clapping enthusiastically, asking, "You've found your mate? That's wonderful!"

Danielle's face became beet red as she buried her head in her hands, muttering to herself how she knew this was gonna happen.

Tucker muttered to himself as he knelt next to the downed bus. Nearby, he could hear the driver on the phone with his headquarters, telling them the status of the bus as he waited for a tow truck to arrive.

"Traces of ecto-signature found in the air," the computerized voice read out to Tucker via his headphones. The invisible teenager moved his eyes across the sides of the vehicle before scanning directly over the tires.

"So, there's definitely a ghost around here then," Tucker muttered to himself, looking around and searching for any feeling from his Ghost Sense, but there was little he could feel other than a throb of pain as it shot up from his back to his head. He bit his lip to keep from groaning out loud and started leaning against the bus for support. "Ugh, this is hopeless. With this headache, trying to find it off such a weak trace is hopeless if I can't even use my sense properly. Better call Danny."

His headphones activated, reading out "Calling Reaper…" as it dialed out and immediately connected to Danny's own phones.

Danny paused mid-air as Tucker's ringtone played in his head and his Phantom Phones summoned themselves into his ears. Tapping the side of one, he heard the click as it connected him to the call.

"Tuck? Everything ok?" Danny asked, holding his hand to his right ear to make sure he could hear.

"Uh, no dude. You flew off with my PDA! How the heck am I supposed to check us in when you have all our info now?"

"Oh," Danny replied with a sheepish laugh. "Sorry. I'll head back that way now."

"Well, I'd suggest you make it snappy because you're not gonna like what I found."

"And by the sounds of it, you must have found something not good," he guessed, receiving a hum of confirmation.

"I just ran a scan of the bus, and we were right. The wheels were shredded by something or someone with ecto-energy for sure," Tucker said, easing himself off the bus to walk into a nearby alley, grabbing their bags along the way. "I tried to use my Ghost Sense, but the feeling isn't very strong. Not sure if you'll have better luck."

"Well, can't say I'm surprised. At this point, I'd be more surprised if it wasn't ghost related. In that case-" Danny stopped as he felt a sudden spike of ecto-energy near him, turning his head to see a metal man charging at him full speed. Danny barely had time to catch the devilish smirk on his face before the ghost was close-ling him.

The force of the hit kicked Danny back, leaving him breathless for a few moments before he took in a large amount instantaneously while he screamed in pain from the feeling of electricity as it racked his body. Skulker gripped the boy by the back of the head before punching him in the stomach, once again lighting him up with his taser before dropping him and letting him free fall.

"Danny!" Tucker cried out, dripping his invisibility and turning in the direction of his friend. "Hang in there, I'm on my-" but before he could strike his Morphin pose, his entire body locked up in pain, bringing him to the ground as another wave of exhaustion followed it. The world was growing dark as he felt himself starting to pass out. "No…my body…"

"TUCKER!?" Danny shouted into his headset as he also tried to shake off the pain. Finally righting himself, he tapped the headphone again, but when he received no answer, he hung up and diverted his attention back to the hunter, not at all happy to see him. "That really freakin hurt, I'll have you know."

"Did it? Good. I've been told that it smarts quite a bit," he replied as he cracked his knuckles at Danny while floating a few feet in away. "Though I would expect prey such as you to be able to handle more than a few zaps."

"You don't seem to have very many smarts if you think ambushing me was a good idea," Danny threatened. "So, am I to assume that you're the one responsible for delaying mine and my friend's trip?"

"Perhaps. After all, it is much easier to catch your prey when they can't constantly run and hide," he replied, grinning as his flaming mohawk flapped in the wind.

"Ugh, again with this prey stuff," Danny said in disgust as he summoned his scythe up. "Tell me, are you one of Plasmius's cronies?"

"Ha! Far from it. A hunter of my caliber would never be regarded so low as to be addressed in such a manner. I am no mere crony. I am his right-hand man, the Ghost Zone's greatest hunter and his top Obliviator, Skulker. A pleasure to finally meet you up close and face to face, Black Ranger."

"Can't say the feeling is mutual. And what the hell is an Obliviator?"

"Nothing you need to worry about at the moment. You should be worrying more about what I'm going to do to you," Skulker said, turning the taser functions off on his gloves. "Or, perhaps you're more concerned about what I'm going to do to your family once I've captured you."

"What do you mean by that?" Danny asked threateningly as he narrowed his eyes.

"Oh, come now, I know you're more perceptive than that. Or did all the instinct go to your little sister? She seems to pick up on killer intent much quicker…"

"How long have you been watching us!?" Danny demanded in anger as he clutched his weapon in both hands.

"Longer than you know, boy," Skulker taunted. "A real hunter studies their prey before approaching them. Of course, that becomes difficult when a creature like her exists, which was why I had to wait until you were alone. I'll be sure to deal with her next after the Blue Ranger."

"And just what makes you think you're gonna get rid of me so easily!?"

"Because I've been planning this encounter since I was sent to Earth. Why do you think I've spent so much time trying to separate you?" Skulker asked, turning his back to Danny in a gesture that would surely anger him more. "I will admit, I didn't expect the little ones to do as amazingly well as they did against the Dragon's Eye Necklece. Had I not underestimated them as much as I had, I'd have chosen a stronger human host for them to battle against."

Danny's body exploded in energy as a black veil with coated edges radiated and surrounded him as he blitzed forward and swung to strike Skulker down. The metal man smiled in vicious excitement as he turned to meet Danny's strike, blocking it with a long machete like blade. His smile reflected back at him while on the opposite side, it reflected the crazed look in Danny's eye as he spoke with a dark edge to his voice.

"So you're the reason my little sister thinks she's a monster!?" the Black Ranger asked menacingly as he pulled back to strike again, this time his attack being met head on as Skulker prepared to face him and fight.

Sam's stomach was twisting in anxiousness, drawing her attention to the sky. Why did she have this foreboding, angry feeling bubbling inside of her?

"Maybe I'm just paranoid…" she said, trying to shake off this feeling and rationalize it. "It's probably because of the twerps. It's been nearly three hours and nothing's happened. It's too quiet around here." She stopped to look at the various families and field trip groups around her that were joyously mingling and laughing, noise everywhere around her. With a roll of her eyes, she added, "Well, quiet for when they're in close proximity to each other."

A loud whistle made Sam jump in her seat on the bench as she saw a ranger cart come skidding to a halt and a child jumping out of it, her yellow shirt bright like a sign that immediately drew your attention.

"HEY!" Lily cried out heatedly as she pointed at a group of kids near the elephant enclosure. The whistle as gripped tight in her hand as her Junior Ranger cap blocked the sun from her eyes, making it very easy for her to see her targets. "I've had it with you brats! That next one of you I see throwing food at an animal is gonna be kissing the bottom of sneaker! Now get away from that pachyderm!"

"Wow. She is definitely a military brat if I've ever seen one," Sam quipped, watching as Ranger Roger climbed out of the cart to also reprimand them just as a few kids around a corner could be heard throwing rocks and laughing. As Lily's head whipped around to a near 180 toward them, Sam decided, "Better keep an eye on that one. That whistle is gonna get her into trouble."

Leaning over, Sam plucked a small dandelion out of the ground, bringing it to her lips as it started to glow with her energy. "Follow her." Sam whispered before blowing the seeds away in a single breath. Her eyes watched as the white fluff dispersed into the sky, one seed in particular drifting and riding on the wind before planting itself into a lock of Lily's hair unnoticed.

"Not as powerful or potent as other plants, but perfect for tracking and reconnaissance," Sam smirked, proud of herself. She always knew nature was beautiful, but man did it come in handy. Pulling out her phone to take another note, she added, "I'll have to take a trip to the botanical garden soon. I bet those rare plants would come in really handy once I cultivate them." Her thoughts were interrupted as her phone began to ring, her notes app replaced with a screenshot of Tucker as his tone played in her ears. Hitting the receive button, Sam brought the phone to her ear. "Hey Tuck. You guys make it to-"

"Sam…" his voice came out hoarsely and strained, immediately sending her heart dropping.

"Tucker? What's wrong?" she asked as she got to her feet and clutched her phone hand with her free one to steady herself.

"Ghost attack…Danny…fighting alone…can't move…" he struggled to form a sentence as the exhaustion overtook him and he lost consciousness on the ground.

"Tucker? TUCKER!?" Sam shouted into her phone, pulling it back to see the line go dead. She swore under her breath, barely resisting the urge to crush her phone in her hand and instead pocketed it. "Ok, stay calm, Sam. You were made second in command of the team for this very reason and in case of this very emergency. I need to grab the kids, and-" her sudden gasp was followed by a wisp of smoke that came from her throat, as well as an expletive. "Goddamn- why now!? This is some serious bull!"

A group of kids nearby looked at her in confusion before turning their attention back to the lizard on the other side of the glass. The lizard was relatively small, no bigger than 4 inches but the displeasure was clear on his face as he hissed at a boy who was tapping at the glass who couldn't have been more than a second grader.

"Don't! You're scaring him!" a girl, one of his classmates, yelled at him with a small shove.

"Nuh uh!" she said back, ignoring her and continuing to tap. "Lizards aren't dumb like girls. You wish he was scared!"

"I wish the glass wasn't there so he could eat your stupid face!"

Sam noticed it almost immediately as a dark cloud formed overhead, covering up the once bright sunshine that they'd had all day. However, her attention was soon drawn back to the group of children as the glass in front of the boy's face vanished in a flash of green light. The little boy didn't even have time to react before the lizard jumped onto his face, hissing as he screamed and fell on his back.

Sam immediately rushed over to him, kneeling as she said, "It's ok, I've got you," and gingerly picked the lizard up. The reptile hissed as the boy before it turned and scurried up Sam's arm to hook onto the back of her shirt. Resisting the urge to scream at the crawly feeling, she picked the little boy up and placed him on his feet.

Looking at his face, Sam could see that the lizard had only made a few shallow scratches that wouldn't leave a mark. Especially when she was done.

"Hey, it's ok," she said, lightly touching his face and watching as the marks vanished instantly with the help of her Aloe Vera. "See? Not even a scratch on you. That was close huh?"

"Barry!" a man, likely his teacher, said as he ran up to the boy with the little girl from before. "Are you alright? What happened?"

"He's ok. Just got spooked by this little guy escaping," Sam reassured as she stood to her feet and plucked the small creature from the back of her pant leg. Screams filled the air, nearly causing her to drop him as they looked around to see people starting to run away as more and more animals started to escape their enclosures. A loud siren rang out through the air from all the park sirens, freezing many in place as Ranger Roger's voice could be heard from them.

"Attention all zoo patrons," he ordered into the radio mic as he stood outside of the cart with Lily at the wheel. "This is an emergency! A code: S.A.M is in effect! The Zoo will be going on emergency lockdown immediately! Please remain calm and make your way to the nearest non-exhibit Zoo building or staff member and they will escort you to the emergency lockdown exits." His face was beet red in anger as he put the mic back on the hook, turning and immediately spotting Sam.

With the lizard still in hand.

"YOU!" he shouted, starting to march over toward her.

"Oh, come on, no way!" she cried in protest, dropping the lizard back into his home and turning on her heels to rush off. "I've got nothing to do with this! Also, code: S.A.M? Really, Roger? Code Sam?"

"Get back here Mansion before- " The Ranger slowed down at the sound of an engine revving before turning around as Lily took off full speed on the cart toward Sam. "HEY!"

"Hop on!" she called out but received a "no" as Sam shook her head.

"Go find Jake or Ellie! I've got a feeling this is ghost related and if it is, you and Jenkins need to stay close to one of them," the Goth said, taking a left as she pointed the opposite way. "Find them and then find Jenkins near the birdhouse at the other end of the park!"

"Be careful, Sam!" Lily cried out as she drove in the opposite direction, looking up to the sky at the dark clouds momentarily to state, "I wish we could see the ghost that was causing this…"

A loud, shrill laugh echoed across the sky, stopping Sam in place as she turned to look up at the same clouds as they parted like the sea. A green swirl of smoke fell from it, twisting and spinning down before gathering and reforming as an explosion of light filled the sky.

The ghost held her hands over her head, her green skin glowing brightly. Her face was clear of any blemish or imperfection, yet she still chose to cover half her face with her inky black hair. The strands were as fine as silk and reached down to near the end of her spectral tail. Her blue belly dancer's attire was adorned with shining purple metal that matched the choker and bands that she wore. Around her head, not a crown, but a simple sash that made the red in her uncovered eye glow even more with elation.

"Did someone say, wish?"

To be continued…