A/N: Special update because of a con I'm at! Hosted a fanfiction panel, so I wanted to post a chapter of both fics today, so you got one! Hope you enjoy it! Make sure to comment and review!
Danny was very glad he had told his family about his secret. Not needing to sneak around to deal with ghosts had taken quite a load off of his shoulders, since ghost fighting, provided he could prove that's what he was doing, no longer counted against his curfew. Jazz had stepped up and started helping him make sure he got enough studying in, reworking his study routines to keep his grades where they were before. The entire Fenton family had come together and were now one cohesive ghost-fighting unit.
Heading down into the basement lab, Danny found his parents working on their most recent project. A flying vehicle designed for Ghost Zone expeditions. They had taken to calling it the Specter Speeder, its design and function being partially based on the landspeeders from Star Wars, a movie franchise everyone in the house loved.
"Danny! We're just putting the finishing touches on the speeder here. Can you get in and turn her on while we run diagnostics?" Jack asks, looking at the computer he has plugged into the speeder. Maddie is sitting by the desktop at the lab, looking through some schematics.
"You got it, Dad," Danny says, hopping into the driver's seat. "Let me know when you're ready."
"Go ahead and run it." Jack said, staring intently at the screen.
Danny turned the key in the ignition, the engine whirring to life. It was quieter than he expected, a mild humming and not the standard sound of a car that his mind had just assumed it would be.
"Power's stable, repulsors working properly. Anything coming up on your end, honey?" Jack asked, looking to his wife.
"Power consumption is higher than anticipated, but only by about 15%," Maddie noted, looking through her calculations. "Ah, that's the issue, our estimations only accounted for the weight of the speeder, not including anyone or anything inside. With Danny and the equipment in there, the 15% more power draw makes sense."
"We'll need to make sure to remember to account for that when we do more testing. Danny, pull back on the control stick a bit, back her up a bit." Jack calls out to his son.
Danny does as instructed, pulling back on the stick a bit. The speeder slowly hovers backward.
"Good good, feeling anything weird inside?" Jack asks.
"Not really, it doesn't seem super definite I guess? Not something I could tell you with just this though." Danny said. The vehicle felt kind of floaty, but it WAS floating, so maybe it is meant to.
"Good point, I guess we'll need to take it someplace to really do some control testing. Danny, think you can get Sam, Tucker, and that Wade kid to come test it out? We designed this to control like a video game, so you kids probably have a better shot at mastering the controls." Jack said.
"I'm sure the second I tell them you guys made a flying vehicle they'll be begging to drive it. No worries," Danny said, chuckling.
"Don't blame them for a second. Go ahead and nudge her forward a bit. Don't push too far though, it's got a lot of power," Jack warned.
Danny pushed forward on the stick a bit, but it gave him some resistance. "I think there's something in the column, I can't push forward very much." Danny gave it an extra push, and overcame whatever was in its way, unfortunately, with the resistance gone, Danny pushed far too much forward, shooting him at high speed through the portal, and into the Ghost Zone.
Danny gasped in shock at his first glimpse of the zone. In some ways, it reminded him of how he always imagined deep space would be, a black void, with swirls of galaxies and space clouds everywhere. The Ghost Zone was like that, only everything seemed to be black and green, with purple rocks and doors everywhere. Danny glanced around, in awe at the spectral dimension he was in. He was quickly brought down, however, as he looked out the front glass, and saw that he was barreling straight towards a rock. Danny grabbed the stick, trying to steer out of the way, but he was too late, the Speeder couldn't make the tight turn and Danny slammed into the rock… or he would have if he and the speeder didn't phase straight through it.
"Huh?" Danny uttered, confused as to what happened. "I guess… in the Ghost Zone the humans are the ghosts? Weird."
Danny grabbed the stick again, trying to control the speeder. Danny adjusted to the controls of the speeder quickly. He had used many different flight sticks on spaceship flying games before, and after a few minutes, had recognized that the controls weren't as floaty as he initially thought they were. The ship wasn't amazing at flying in reverse, but if you knew what you were doing you could have it have a very tight turn, even rotate in place if you could arrest your momentum. Flying through a field of small asteroids, Danny closed his eyes for a moment in a brief show of excitement. This was so cool! Unfortunately, at that moment, something stopped the speeder in its tracks. Shoving Danny forward in his seat, only stopped by his seatbelt.
Looking up, Danny saw a massive figure, roughly 12 feet tall, wearing a stark white business suit and hat. His skin was a pale white as well, and his body screamed power. His green eyes glared at Danny, narrowing at him.
"Unauthorized human world objects are against the rules, punk, as is trespassing in an unauthorized vehicle." the figure said, his voice a thick southern accent. Danny was reminded of the judges and lawyers from old television shows he used to watch with his grandparents.
"I'm sorry sir, it was an accident." Danny said, trying to not start a fight here. He WAS in the Ghost Zone, he had no idea how the rules worked here.
"It better be, son. I'll let you off with a warning this time, just know… if I see you again… we're gonna have a problem." The ghost said. "The name's Walker, remember it. Fear it. Respect it." Walker raised his hand and tossed the speeder back several dozen feet, as Danny hit the return home button, causing the Speeder's autopilot to bring him back to the lab.
Danny stepped out, panting heavily as he regained his senses.
"Danny! Are you okay? What happened, why'd you suddenly take off?" Maddie asked, looking over her son for damage.
"I'm physically fine. When I was pushing forward on the stick something was sticking, once it got out of the way, the stick slammed forward. Once I was in the zone, I tried out moving around since I had some open space. Slammed into a rock, but it turns out that humans and human objects pass through things in the Ghost Zone like how ghosts can pass through things in our world. I came across this big ghost, called himself Walker, who said I was breaking the rules. Maybe he's some kind of ghost cop? There has to be some kind of law in the Ghost Zone," Danny sputtered.
"Calm down son, it'll be alright. We'll have to contact Technus and see what he knows. We'd never even thought to think about Ghost Zone politics, but I suppose we should have." Jack said. "I'll check out what was going on with the joystick on the speeder, but honestly it sounds like there was just a piece of debris in it that caught the stick at the worst possible moment."
"Sounds about right. The return home function worked great though." Danny said, finally having calmed down a bit.
"That's great. Good to know that that'll be useful. You head upstairs and grab some ice cream or something. Calm yourself down." Jack said, sending his son upstairs. "Just don't grab the fudgsicles! Those are mine!"
"Wouldn't dream of it, Dad." Danny said with a laugh.
"Jack honey, now that Danny's safe, do you know what today is?" Maddie asked, looking at her husband.
Jack thought for a second, concentrating very hard. "October 3rd I think."
"Well, you're right about that. But what is October 3rd?" Maddie asked, leading him somewhere.
"I… have no idea." Jack said honestly. Something was rattling through his head about the date, but he couldn't place it.
"Figures, it's our anniversary honey, our 18th actually. Don't you remember?" Maddie said, frustrated.
"I'm sorry, honey, but not at all." Jack said, earnestly.
"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. I'm going to head to my sister's for the weekend, she's celebrating her divorce again, and she wants me there. How about you stay here and think about something we can do to celebrate when I get back okay?" Maddie leaned up and kissed her husband.
"I'll do my best, honey. Love you." Jack said.
"I love you too dear, but we really need to figure out how we can improve your memory about dates like this." Maddie said, thinking hard.
"Have you considered making a calendar on his phone? Dad can handle a routine fine, so adding in checking his calendar shouldn't be too bad. Just mark down important dates. We could each have a calendar of stuff that we are doing and send it to him, so he can keep track of what's going on." Danny suggested.
"That's a great idea, Danny! We'll work on that when I get home. My plane leaves in a couple of hours, so I need to get to the airport. I'll see you soon dears!" Maddie said, giving her husband a hug and a kiss, and her son one as well before running upstairs to say goodbye to Jazz.
"I really blew it this time. She's not showing it, but I know she's disappointed I forgot." Jack said, sulking a bit.
"I'm sure she is, but Mom's not the type to get really mad about these kinds of things, plus we all know how many issues you have with your memory. This calendar thing should help with that, and I'm sure you can find something you can Mom and do when she gets back that'll knock her socks off. You should probably get her an anniversary present too." Danny said, patting his dad on the back.
Jack shot up at that idea. "You're right! I should go do that, I know just the thing too! Your mother has been wanting a new oven for months, I could get that installed, and then take her out to that fancy restaurant she's been wanting to go to!"
"There you go, Dad! Wouldn't say an oven is particularly romantic, but I know she'll be happy with it." Danny said, smiling. "Maybe get her some jewelry or something too, I know Mom hasn't had anything new in that department for a while."
"You're right. Jazz! I need you to come with me to the jewelry store!" Jack said, running up the stairs.
The next day at school, Danny was telling his friends about his brief trip to the Ghost Zone. "Everything was so weird in there, people just pass through stuff, but you can still walk on the ground. Around where my parent's portal is, there's this little rock island. I wonder if we just got lucky or if it got there BECAUSE the portal was there."
"You're lucky I've seen these ghosts too Danny, or I wouldn't believe you about this kind of stuff." Valerie said, casually eating her lunch. "Although this Specter Speeder thing sounds pretty cool, what was flying it like?"
"A bit like driving a car on ice, but without the losing control aspect. It moves under you in directions you don't think about, but you're never out of control with it. We might have to see if we can make a kind of simulator to get used to driving it or something." Danny said.
"If your parents can send me the info on its projected output and control mechanisms, I can probably make one for you, you'll just have to set up the physical controls and map them to the buttons I make." Wade said from his spot on the Kimmunicator. "I wonder if I could make it to where I could pilot it remotely, that way if you guys ever needed me to I could take over while you did something else."
"Sounds like you're trying to jump ship from Team Possible to Team Fenton." Danny joked.
"Team Possible doesn't have a cool flying car." Wade said.
"Then make one for us, Wade! You're the tech guy." Ron added. "The Speeder sounds so cool! The Ghost Zone not so much."
"It is pretty amazing that your parents managed to make a flying vehicle like that, Danny." Star said. "Think we could use it other times? A date up in the sky during sunset sounds really romantic."
Danny flushed a bit at that. "I suppose I could ask, that'll have to wait until my mom gets home though. She's off in Arkansas right now."
"What's she doing in Arkansas?" Tucker asked.
"Oh, have I never mentioned it? Mom's from there, a little town called Spittoon. We've visited a few times in the past. It's… really backwater. Mom says that her house didn't have a bathroom OR an outhouse. Our Aunt Alicia moved back there about 10 years ago after she divorced her husband. Apparently, she missed the really simple life she had there." Danny said, taking a quick drink of his water. "Mom infinitely prefers the city, but she loves her sister, so she's gone to celebrate Alicia's divorce, although I don't know why she celebrates a divorce like that."
"Bad husband?" Sam suggests, Danny shrugs.
"Can't remember Uncle Alvin being too bad. Seemed just a normal friendly guy, maybe a tad on the lazy side." Danny said. "Jazz might remember more, I was only four when they divorced after all."
"I'm sure there's a good reas-" Kim said before she suddenly fell through a hole in the floor.
"Kim!" Danny said, jumping down the hole after her before it closed up behind them.
The others at the table just stared at the spot on the floor.
"Did your boyfriend just…" Valerie started.
"Jump into a hole to who knows where to save his other girlfriend? Yeah." Star said, surprisingly nonchalant.
"Thing you'll learn as you spend more time with Danny, he's got a bit of a hero complex." Sam said, picking at her salad. "Good news is, he can handle himself fine, plus Kim is a superhero. They'll be fine."
"I wonder why they didn't take me though if they wanted Team Possible, I'm an important member!" Ron said as Rufus patted him on the back.
"We'll figure out where they are soon. Danny has his Fenton Phone on him, that's got almost as many gizmos as Kim's Kimmunicator." Tucker said.
Danny and Kim tumbled down the chute they had fallen into, before landing in some kind of secret command center. Large screens filled a back wall, showing surveillance footage of various locations. Standing in front of them was an adult woman, tall and shapely, wearing a tight bodysuit, and an eyepatch over one eye. Her hair was cut very short and styled very neatly.
"Ah, good. Kim Possible. The Ghost Boy Phantom. I had only thought I would grab Kim for this, but you both being here is good." the woman said, eyeing both of them up.
"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm not Phantom." Danny said, getting up with an angry look on his face.
"Daniel Fenton, 14, son of Jack and Maddie Fenton, Ghost Hunters. Discoverer of the true sex of Delilah, then Samson, the last remaining female Purpleback Gorilla. Unveiled Ghost Powers to the public following a fight with a 30 ft. tall meat monster created by a ghost on August 27th of this year. Proceeded to fight against a ghost dragon, a ghost hunter calling itself Skulker, assisting Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable with the apprehension of Dr. Drakken and Monty Fisk. Defeated a ghost genie calling herself Desiree, and recently uncovered the identity of one Vlad Masters, also known as Vlad Plasmius. Tell me, am I missing anything?" The woman said, glaring at Danny with her eye.
"How.. how do you know all that?" Danny asked.
"We here at Global Justice make a note to track any and all persons of interest, especially those with abilities that typically make one 'super'. Kim Possible has been on our radar for several years. You came into the picture when you assisted in the defeat of Dr. Drakken and his Bebe bots. Scans of images from security cameras revealed you to be a 97% match in tone and body shape for the Ghost Hero Phantom. Given the fact that Phantom's appearances largely match locations you frequent? We extrapolated the data." The woman said. "I am Betty Director of Global Justice. We are an organization that exists to fight against supervillains. I have no intentions of revealing your identity to the world unless you become a villain yourself. I have a mission for Miss Possible, one that I do not think will require your assistance Mr. Fenton, but I am glad for this ability to make contact."
"Wait, Global Justice? The supposed secret organization that was founded by Dr. Benton Quest in the early 70s?" Kim asked.
The Director looked shocked, quickly quashing it. "I see that your grandmother still reminisces about her adventures. Yes, the very same. I will have to send people to let her know that information is still top secret."
"Hurt my Nana and I'll expose everything." Kim threatens.
"I have no intentions of hurting Mrs. Possible. I would simply send her old friend Johnny Quest to see her, I imagine they haven't seen each other in many years." Betty Director said. "Johnathan was my predecessor here, he took over this organization from his father in 1985, and I took it over in 2005."
"So you'll be retiring in a couple years as well?" Danny quipped.
"Unlikely, unlike both Dr. Quests, I do not mind taking a back seat and allowing others to step up. My skills are best utilized by putting pieces where they need to go. You two are cases I am quite interested in. I have thought of building a team that specializes in dealing with threats too big for only one or two of you. I have a list of candidates I am gathering intel on. I believe I may have you recruit them, assuming you desire to work with us." Betty said, taking her seat.
"What benefits do we get for working with you? Danny and I have been fine going solo." Kim asked.
"Access to our R&D department, I am aware of the good work that Mr. Load and the Fentons are doing, but they are only three people. Imagine what you could do with a larger team. Here, consider this a show of good faith." Betty said, handing Kim a backpack. "This is our newest model jetpack, capable of reaching speeds of 140 mph. Should you join us, we have many other technologies we can allow you to integrate into your work, as well as additional support. Our agents can arrive at any location on Earth within 3 hours maximum, and we have contact with various other organizations, whose names I will keep secret until such revelations are necessary. I believe we could do good things together. For now, Miss Possible, I would appreciate it if you would help us with this mission. A notable scientist we have worked with in the past, one Professor Green, has disappeared. He worked with our founder Dr. Quest in the 70s on a secret weapons project." Betty Director said.
"Oh yeah, the Sirenita Guided Missile Tracking system." Danny said, looking at the picture. "Guy made great advancements in rocket propulsion and navigation systems."
"How do you know that information? It is meant to be classified." Betty Director asked.
"Is it? It's all over the online forums for creating remotely controlled HALO rockets. His work on the navigation side is a bit outdated now, but his rocket work is still very useful." Danny said.
"Noteworthy, regardless, he retired to Florida a number of years ago. He was last seen two days ago, his car is still in his driveway, and none of his children have heard from him." Betty said. "His house shows signs of forced entry, likely explosive. We don't have any suspects at this moment. You would be working with agent William Du on this assignment. Agent Du, please come in." Betty said, tapping a button on her chair at the last sentence.
Another agent, roughly Kim and Danny's age came in, He was of Asian descent and had a very short well-gelled hairstyle. "William Du, S-Class Junior Agent."
"Kim Possible, nice to meet you."
"Danny Fenton, likewise."
"Madame Director, you informed me we would only be bringing in one outside asset on the mission." Du said, looking away from the pair.
"I am aware, and you will. Mr. Fenton was an unexpected arrival when we brought in Ms. Possible, but one we are happy to make contact with." The Director said.
"I do not need the assistance, Ma'am." Du said, "Especially not from an amateur."
"You should know Mr. Du that we are a team here, and as such you can expect to have team members. You have outshone many of your contemporaries here, but do not think that makes you better than others. I fully believe that Mr. Fenton here would have no problem dispatching you, and Miss Possible would likely have little difficulty either." Betty Director said.
"In all fairness Ma'am I doubt that." Du said, his eyes sizing up Danny and Kim.
"A demonstration then. Mr Fenton, would you please spar with Agent Du? I believe he could use some perspective." Betty asked.
"Sure, ma'am… I'll show him why Kim and I are FAR from amateurs." Danny said, cracking his knuckles.
Betty Director led the trio to a small room, where a padded floor was set up, perfect for a spar. "Normally this is where we allow agents to have practice spars to keep their skills sharp. I believe this will be perfect for you two then."
"Understood." Danny said, stepping out onto the mats, and stretching a bit. "Well, Du? Ready to get your butt whooped?"
"I won't even let an amateur like you touch me." Will said.
"Director, does he know?" Danny asked.
"Personally? No, but he has access to the file. You would not be revealing anything he couldn't already be aware of. Please make use of your abilities." Betty Director said.
Danny smirked, glowing rings forming around his body, transforming him into Phantom. "Bring it on, Dewdrop."
Will rushed forward, swinging a punch at Danny. Danny sidestepped and dodged easily. Du sent a backkick to catch Danny, but he caught it with ease, pushing Du away. Du dropped to the floor, rushing in with another attack, Danny simply phased through this one.
"Intangibility? I'll have to use another tactic then." Will said, reaching into his pocket and tapping a stopwatch. Danny looked at it for a moment as Du seemed convinced he had done something. "Global Justice stopwatch paralyzes foes temporarily."
"And ineffective on me!" Danny said, flying in and landing a solid kick to Will's chest, knocking him to the ground. "Don't get cocky, there's always someone out there better than you, learned that lesson the hard way." Danny reached down and helped him up. "Kim's an even better fighter than I am, I've just got the powers."
"Noted." Du said, his tone subdued.
"I'll help out, I'm sure between us we can figure out what happened to Professor Green. As for joining the organization full-time, that's up in the air. I do know I won't join on unless Ron is able to as well, he's an important part of the team, I couldn't do most of what I do without him." Kim said.
"I'm mostly in Kim's boat. I wouldn't want Sam or Tucker to join, since I'd rather keep them away from the supervillain stuff. I guess if situations come up where I'm actually needed I can lend a hand, but I mostly have to keep Amity Park safe, too many ghost attacks." Danny said.
"Understood. This isn't an offer I would want you to accept lightly. Do know that joining our organization would not take precedence over your regular duties, except in times when the world is at stake." Betty Director said. "Agent Du, you defer to Kim Possible on this mission, that is an order. Miss Possible, please find Professor Green. I will be returning you both to your school. Have a nice day." With a flip of a switch, Danny, Kim, and Will were sucked up into a tube, where they were shot out of the floor back at Casper High. Danny had the forethought to transform back into his normal self while they were being returned.
"There you guys are! Is everything okay?" Star asked, crouching low and pulling both of them into a hug. "And who's the new guy?"
"William Du, Global Justice agent." Will said, dusting off his clothes.
"They asked for my help with a missing person's case. Will here will be helping Ron and I find a Professor Green. Hey Wade, think you can pull up info on his house? As well as any online presence he has?" Kim asked, taking her Kimmunicator back into her hand where it had been sitting on the cafeteria table.
"On it Kim, I'll have you everything I find by the end of the school day." Wade said.
"Please and thank you!" Kim said, disconnecting the call. "We've still got class, so we should probably get to it. Du, you wait at Nasty Burger, it's just down the street. We'll meet you there once we get out at 3."
"Fine, I'll see if I can dig up anything while I am there." Du said, walking off.
After school, Tucker and Sam were walking home with Danny after he saw Kim off. Star had to stay for cheer practice, so she told Danny she'd call him later. Arriving at Fenton Works, Danny immediately took the pair downstairs to show them the Specter Speeder.
"Here she is, in all her glory." Danny said, showing off the vehicle.
"Pretty impressive Danny," Sam said, taking a look inside. "Of course, your dad put cupholders in. Bet they size up to a Big Gulp too."
"Yep, one of them even goes square to hold a popcorn bag." Danny said. It was a bit strange being truly friendly with Sam at the moment. He knew she was still his friend, she meant far too much to him to let that instance of distrust ruin that, but it was hard to treat her normally now.
"Half-surprised it doesn't have a fudge dispenser." Tucker said as he crawled inside.
"It does have a mini-fridge." Danny pointed out. "Huh, what's this?" Danny looked to a table beside the Speeder, on it was a gift box. Checking the card, it read 'To my dearest Maddie, I'm sorry for forgetting, hope this makes up for it. Thank you for the best 18 years of my life, Jack.'
"Ah, that's sweet." Sam said, hearing the letter read aloud.
"Gotta hand it to your dad, that's pretty good." Tucker said as he examined some of the features of the Speeder.
"BEWARE!" Came a familiar voice, as the Box Ghost emerged from the portal. "Phantom and friends, I, the Box Ghost, have come to take my revenge!"
"Get lost, boxy!" Danny said as he transformed.
"Never! Now face my wrath!" the Box Ghost said, using his telekinesis to lift up the gift box. He threw it at Danny, and Danny tried to grab it.
"Not this one, boxy! This one's special." Danny said, trying to pull it from the Box Ghost's telekinetic grip.
"Then my revenge shall be to take it from you!" The Box Ghost said, flinging the gift into the portal, before following after it.
"Oh no! I've got to go grab that, make sure no other ghosts come through while I'm gone!" Danny said, flying in after the Box Ghost.
In the Ghost Zone, Danny flew after the Box Ghost, who was maneuvering through the space with ease. Danny wasn't surprised, as often as he managed to make his way to the human world, he probably had a very solid grasp of the area around the Fenton portal. Danny had no such advantage, he was totally blind here, and couldn't use his top speed to catch up because he needed to keep track of his relative position to the portal. It wouldn't do for him to get lost in here, since he doubted his GPS would help him.
"Boxy! Look, if you want the box you can have it, just give me the thing inside!" Danny said, continuing his pursuit of the cardboard-craving creep.
"Never! You will learn to beware the Bos Gho-" The Box Ghost was cut short as a hand grabbed him out of the air, Walker appearing before the pair.
"Possession of human world items? That's a violation. Your second, Box Ghost. Time for you to serve your time." Walker said, his glare narrowing on the specter. "And you, this is your second trespassing attempt, I told you if we saw each other again boy there would be consequences."
Danny attempted to flee, but Walker grabbed him. "You boys are going to learn a long lesson about understanding the law."
Walker took them deep into the Ghost Zone, before throwing them into a cafeteria, inside were many ghost prisoners, all wearing the black and white striped uniforms he had been forced into. They turned to look at Danny, and he balked. Skulker, Desiree, and the Lunch Lady were all present.
"Well, runt. Looks like you finally ran afoul of Walker. Good, saves me the trouble of finding you to kill you!" Skulker said, rushing forward and slamming Danny into the ground.
"Careful, you want to get on Walker's bad side? Wouldn't fighting a fellow prisoner be 'against the rules?'" Danny asked. He could take Skulker, especially since that ecto-skeleton had likely been disarmed in the prison. There was some hope in his mind that he could talk to the other two here.
"He's right Skulker, you know Walker doesn't take kindly to that kinda thing." A new voice said, pulling Skulker off of Danny. A guy Danny could only describe as a scruffy beatnik appeared, wearing his prison overshirt tied around his waist like a belt, a plain white t-shirt on underneath. "We're all brothers and sisters in bonds now man. No point in fighting each other."
"Fine 13, but only because I'd rather get lunch." Skulker said as the new ghost helped Danny up.
"Uh, thanks… 13?" Danny asked, looking at the scruffy ghost.
"Johnny 13, been locked up in here longer than these guys. Speeding ticket if you can believe it." Johnny said, rolling his eyes. "You're that Phantom guy."
"Uh, yeah. Word spread that quickly?" Danny asked.
"Yeah, especially with people like Technus and the Box Ghost. Those guys can't shut up." Johnny said patting a seat next to him at a table. "Go ahead and take a load off. No point standing around."
"Thanks, I appreciate it. Figured most ghosts in here would hate me." Danny said, taking the seat.
"Skulker talks a big game, but he's not exactly many people's favorite. Technus and Poindexter spoke to people about what you are about, so a lot of us are mostly pretty neutral. There are a few who wanna go out and wreak some havoc, but I figure the vast majority just wanna be left alone." Johnny said.
"So, how'd you hear about me?" Danny asked.
"Poindexter. Kitty goes to his realm occasionally to find some books in the library of that school of his. Regrets not finishing high school when she was alive, so she's doing what she can there. Ever since he had that little adventure with you, he's been more confident, and the specters in that school aren't haunting him like they used to. So, props there, man. Wouldn't exactly call Poindexter a friend, but that doesn't mean I think he should be tormented for eternity." Johnny said.
"Well, that's good at least. Nice to know I can at least help some ghosts." Danny said.
"Keep doing what you're doing Phantom. There are some real pieces of work out there, but the way I figure it, you're just doing right by you and yours. Wish I had tried that more when I was alive." Johnny said, patting Danny on the back.
"I know some ghosts are the ghosts of people who died, Poindexter, Dairy King, Desiree, and Technus are ones I knew before this. What about the rest of them?" Danny asked.
"Two ways to make a ghost. Die and become one because of unfinished business or trauma or something, I'm not sure about what causes it, but enough of us WERE human that it's something. Two, be formed out of the zone itself. Skulker's made from the zone, not from a human. Rule of thumb, if they look human, they probably were." Johnny said.
"How do you know that?" Danny asked.
"Guy called Ghost Writer has an entire library, part of it is dedicated to the Ghost Zone. Kitty wanted to learn all about being a ghost when we got here, so we found that place. There's probably some old-timer who knows even more, but the oldest ghost I've met here is Poindexter since he's from the 50s." Johnny said as the guards started filing them out. "Hang tight man, they'll assign you a room here in a second, we'll see who you're with."
The guards did eventually put Danny into a cell, and in with him came Skulker. "Great, now not only do I have to SEE the runt, I have to sleep in the same room as him!"
"Not exactly a pleasant idea for me either Skulker, but we've gotta deal until we can bust out of here." Danny said, taking a moment to examine his surroundings. Long hallway filled with cells on either side. Cell to his right had Johnny and a ghost he didn't recognize a big guy with muscles, muttonchops, and a mohawk. Cell to his left had the Box Ghost and another unfamiliar face, he looked like someone with dwarfism.
"Ha! Like a whelp like you could bust out of here. Don't you think the rest of us haven't tried? We don't have any weapons, and those batons the guards use incapacitate you quicker than you think. They're made of Ecto-Iron, and can shoot out nets that you can't phase through." Skulker said.
"You've maybe tried alone, but I bet you haven't tried together. Look, I know you don't like me, but I bet you like being in this prison even less. We can bust out of here and go back to being enemies, but in here, we can be allies for a moment." Danny said, holding out his hand. "Truce?"
"Enemy of my enemy… fine. Truce, until we break out of here." Skulker said, shaking his hand. "I can probably get the Lunch Lady and Desiree on board with a plan. Do you have anyone?"
"That depends. Johnny, you feel like seeing Kitty again?" Danny asked.
"You know it Phantom. Goliath's on board too." Johnny said, patting the giant man next to him.
"Box Ghost, you want out?" Danny asked.
"I will work with you if it means escaping this horrible prison!" The Box Ghost exclaimed.
"Count me in, I gotsa girlie I gotta get back ta, call me Green Kid." The smaller ghost said.
"Alright, mealtime is when we'll let everyone know, and then we'll strike." Danny said.
Sam and Tucker were waiting anxiously. Danny had been gone for nearly two hours now, and every minute he was gone their anxiety ratcheted up more and more. Jazz came down the stairs, looking at the two. "Hey guys, didn't know you were here. Where's Danny? I haven't seen him since this morning."
"He's in the Ghost Zone. The Box Ghost came and stole the box your mom's anniversary present was in and Danny chased after him. It's been two hours." Sam said, sitting and rocking a bit in her chair.
"That's not good… I guess we're gonna have to go in after him. Tucker, get behind the stick on this thing, you've probably got the most experience with a control set-up like this, I'll grab the tracker." Jazz said rummaging through a drawer.
"Tracker?" Sam asked as Jazz pulled out a strange object.
"Dad calls it the Booo-merang. He intends to use it to track ghosts, and it needs an ectoplasmic sample to function. It followed Danny around town during testing, so it should still be locked onto him." Jazz then pulled out her Fenton Phone and made a call. "Technus, need you at the lab. It's an emergency." Jazz said, before hanging up.
Technus arrived a few moments later. "What is the emergency, that requires I! Technus!?" Technus asked.
"Danny's possibly lost in the Ghost Zone. We're going to try and find him in the Specter Speeder, but we'd be going in blind. You know more about the Ghost Zone than anyone else on the team, so we'd appreciate your help." Jazz said, loading some blasters into the Speeder.
"Ah. That would pose a problem." Technus said. "Very well, I shall accompany you. Have you already procured the Boo-merang?"
"Right here, I've got a blaster each for myself, Sam, and Tucker. You don't need one I'm guessing?" Jazz asked.
"This would be a correct guess, for I! Technus! Am capable of producing my own ectoplasmic energy blasts!" He said, before taking a seat in the speeder, reaching over and grabbing a diet cola from the mini-fridge. "Let us depart! There are many dangers the ghost boy may encounter in the Ghost Zone."
With a nod, the trio of humans buckled into the speeder and set off into the inky blackness of the Ghost Zone.
At dinner, Danny gathered his new team around a table, Desiree and the Lunch Lady joining the others from their cell block. "Alright, I think I have a plan for how we can get out of here. Skulker, tell me everything you can about the batons the guards use." Danny said, turning to the metallic ghost.
"Made of Ecto-Iron, sucks the ectoplasmic energy right out of you if it makes contact. Taser and a net firing mechanism as well. Solid piece of work." Skulker said. "Where is this going, whelp?"
"If we can sneak attack one guard, we can probably use his baton to grab another, then another, eventually we'll all be armed, and can use our abilities to overwhelm them. I'm sure they haven't had to deal with a wish-granting genie, a 30 ft. tall meat monster, and the Ghost Zone's greatest hunter all at once." Danny said.
"Nice, might just work. How are we gonna sneak attack one of the guards though?" Johnny asked.
"Simple, Skulker gets to do just what he's wanted to do since we got here. Skulker, we're gonna fight. When the guards come to break us up, we turn and get him, you grab the first stick, hit a guard, and toss his stick to me, then we'll go until each of us has something. Desiree, I'm gonna need you to cause some real mayhem with your magic, throw tables, get the guard's attention. Lunch Lady, you need to pull every piece of food you can into one giant monster and bust down a wall. After that, you all can start running." Danny said, laying out his plan.
"Let's get started then whelp!" Skulker said as he grabbed Danny and threw him into the middle of the cafeteria, the two enemies traded blows, though each of them knew the other was holding back. At this moment, they were allies. A guard came and raised his baton to clock Skulker in the back of the head, when Danny wheeled around behind him and kicked him in the back of the head, knocking the baton out of his hand.
"Skulker, catch!" Danny said, throwing it at him. Skulker deftly caught it, before smiling.
"Alright runt, let's see if this works." Skulker said as he wheeled and caught two guards with a swing of the baton, knocking their weapons out of their hands. Johnny and Danny each caught one, and soon enough the three men were plowing through the guard ghosts, handing off batons to the other members of their escape party.
Desiree used her magic and lifted some tables, slamming them into guards and knocking them off of their feet, making a path for the Lunch Lady. The Lunch Lady stuck her arms out, floating in the air as meat, mashed potatoes, and other foodstuffs formed a shell around her, the prison food monster letting out a roar as it began to batter itself against one of the walls. She was breaking through, but it was slow going. Slower than Danny would like.
"THIS JAILBREAK IS AGAINST THE RULES!" The voice of Walker said, as his massive form jumped down from the upper balcony, landing in the center of the action. "I was lenient with you boy, a pesky thousand-year sentence for your transgressions… now you've done made a mockery of my institution. That means a new sentence, execution."
"Not on your afterlife, Magellan!" Danny said, delivering a solid kick to Walker's stomach. "Johnny! Skulker! Help me keep tall, white, and mean here busy!"
"Got it, Phantom!" Johnny said, as he ducked low and caught Walker's knee with a strike from his baton.
"Don't tell me what to do, Runt!" Skulker said, but obliged anyway with a solid kick to Walker's face.
The three continued working together, landing blow after blow to Walker. "ENOUGH!" Walker bellowed, throwing the three back. "You will NOT make a fool of me in my own prison! I am the LAW here in the Ghost Zone. Ever since Pariah Dark entered that coffin, I am ALL that keeps the Ghost Zone from falling into complete chaos. Now you will submit to my authority, or you will die."
"No thanks, Dredd!" Danny said as he and Johnny winded up to deliver a punch to Walker, knocking him out. "Lunch Lady! How much longer on that wall?" Danny asked, looking around at the hordes of unconscious guards.
With one final grunt, the monster knocked the wall down, fleeing out of it. Desiree, Green Man, Goliath, and the Box Ghost following after.
"Consider us even, runt, after this, it is back to hunting!" Skulker said as he dashed off as well.
Johnny whistled, a motorbike piloted by a shadow appearing a moment later. "It's been real, Phantom, I'm gonna have to check out the human world sometime." With a wave of his hand in a shaka sign, Johnny popped a wheelie and escaped. Danny flew through the halls to the warden's office once he saw everyone leave, and found the prisoner's belongings in storage. Inside, he found the box he was looking for. Grabbing it, Danny shot out of the prison, moving in the direction he thought was home.
Looking around though, he didn't recognize anything, and realization hit him. He was well and truly lost.
And then another thing hit him.
The booo-merang sailed into his head, landing in his hands, as the Specter Speeder appeared quickly behind it, Jazz, Tucker, Sam, and Technus inside. "Danny! We found you!" Sam said, ecstatic.
"Boy am I glad you did, after I got taken by Walker I had no idea where I was." Danny said, looking around.
"You were in Walker's prison? How did you escape?" Technus asked.
"Started a riot, Skulker, the Lunch Lady, the Box Ghost, and Desiree were all in there with me, plus some other guys I met." Danny said. "Can I tell you about it either at home or on our way? I'd rather not be anywhere near here when Walker wakes up."
"Alright, we can do that." Jazz said as she tapped the seat next to her.
When Maddie came home on Monday, she was ecstatic to see not only a clean house, but a new stove, and her husband waiting by the door, a tie over his jumpsuit, with a box in one hand and flowers in the other. "Welcome home, honey, happy, if somewhat belated, anniversary. I've got you some gifts, and we've got dinner reservations tonight at eight for Coûte Trop Cher." Jack said as he embraced his wife.
"Oh… Jack. I can't stay mad." Maddie said, hugging her husband and kissing him on the cheek. "We'll get that calendar worked on this week, and get it added to the routine, I know I shouldn't be mad at you for forgetting things."
"It's okay Maddie, I'm sorry I forgot too, you're the 3rd best thing that ever happened to me, the only things better are the two kids we made together. I know it's special, so come on, let's head inside, get ready for dinner, and maybe we can watch your favorite movie." Jack said.
"Ghostbusters?" Maddie asked.
"I know that's not actually your favorite, even if you say it is for my sake." Jack said with a smile.
"Ooh, you really mean it? We can watch Ghost?" Maddie asked a delighted look on her face.
"Yes, we can." Jack said before she leaned up and kissed him again.
Danny watched invisibly from the corner. Thinking for a moment if he thought he, Kim, and Star would ever be like this. He'd like that. He'd like that a lot.