A/N: Hello everyone! Welcome back for another chapter. Behold, my attempt to write a wrong of the original run of the show. If we're going to have an episode titled 'Thirteen' and then premier it as episode 14, when nothing in the original episode 13 is required for this episode, then I wonder why we did it. (The answer is likely since Fright Night, the actual episode 13, was a Halloween special that needed to be released on Halloween, and broadcast order became canon order.) I'm not bound by such things, so Episode 13 is titled Thirteen. Small update regarding posting for the next chapter. I'm on vacation in a place where I won't be able to post chapters starting Saturday the 6th. So next week this story will also receive it's update that would normally come on the 12th. So you get next chapter a week early, and then the one after that will be on normal schedule. On with the chapter.
The roar of a motorcycle tears the fragile silence of the ghost zone, and a female voice cries out in glee. Johnny 13, as well as his long-time girlfriend Kitty are cruising through the ghost zone, preparing for an experience they hadn't had in many years in their afterlives: a normal date in the human world.
"I'm so excited to go to the festival with you Johnny! It'll be so nice to just act like normal people again." Kitty said, gripping tighter to her beatnick boyfriend's waist.
"It'll be chill Kitty. We might even see that Phantom dude, I owe him a thanks for busting me out of Walker's prison." Johnny said, revving the motorcycle more, pushing the spectral engine to its limits as they tore through the green-tinted blackness of the ghost zone.
"I still don't know what to make of that guy. Sidney says he's okay, and he busts you out of prison, but Spectra and Ember hate him. It's so weird." Kitty mentions, thinking of her ghostly acquaintances' opinions on the ghost boy. Ember was her best friend, so she generally thought to trust her opinion the most, but she seemed so confused when it came to her thoughts on the half-ghost. Ember hated that he had thwarted her plans, but had confided in Kitty something she hadn't told anyone else. She had put the half-ghost under a love spell, one that would enrapture most men to blindly do her bidding… and Phantom had been affected, but wasn't just some blind love slave. He maintained his personality, refused orders from her, made her doubt everything. Kitty knew that had hit Ember hard, and it was messing with her thoughts.
Poindexter's thoughts were easier to decipher. She and Sidney weren't friends by any means, but they were friendly enough. Kitty appreciated the geek more than she imagined most in the ghost zone did, feeling a strange kinship with the boy, likely brought on by the fact that they had both died shortly before graduating high school. Theoretically they had had bright futures ahead of them, but something had ended that for them. Sidney had told her that he had thought Phantom was a bully, someone who picked on others because they were weaker. He told her that he was very wrong in that regard, Phantom was bullied himself in his human guise, and despite the powers his ghost half granted, nearly never used them on others. Sidney had said he caught him slip once, using his powers as payback, but had also seen how disappointed he was in himself that he had done so. A moment of weakness.
That, alongside the prison break had planted a strange picture of Phantom for the ghost girl. He obviously was inexperienced in the ways of the ghost world, but seemed to be climbing the power rankings quickly. Johnny had spoken at length about how he seemed to be stronger than both himself and Skulker, which was no small feat. The three of them together had taken down Walker, who Kitty knew was probably one of the strongest ghosts in their area of the Zone.
There was even word that Technus has joined with him, helping him with whatever his plans were. That was even more noteworthy. While many ghosts did have friends in the zone, allies were few and far between. It was a power struggle in the zone, and you usually didn't want to throw your hat in with someone else unless you truly believed in them. For Kitty and Johnny, they had been in love in life, and continued to be in death. They were ride or die for each other, so they worked together. This allowed the two of them to punch far above their individual weight classes in the zone. Technus was a POWERFUL ghost, perhaps not quite at the level of Walker, but certainly comparable to Skulker or Spectra. For someone like him to work with Phantom, Phantom either had to be crazy strong, or offer something Technus REALLY wanted.
"Focus up buttercup. We're almost to the portal." Johnny said, dragging Kitty out of her thoughts.
She glanced over his shoulder, seeing the rocky outcropping that they had been told now housed the artificial portal created by the Fenton family. She had learned about it a couple months ago, and had been interested in exploring the other side, but hadn't felt safe without Johnny around. Now that he was back from his stint in Walker's prison, they were finally free to see what was on the other side.
Danny was finishing up the final touches on shutting the lab down for the night. He'd taken an extra hour after his parents had finished to get some more practice in with his powers, the lab being a safe and private place to do so. As such, he was tasked with running the nightly shutdown ritual.
The process was simple enough, you double checked the ecto-filter on the portal to see how soon it needed replacing, and replaced it if it was time. This filter had just been changed last week, and they were generally good for 3-4 weeks, so there hadn't been any worries there. From there, you made sure any samples were properly bottled and set into whatever storage container they needed to be in. Danny had given an ectoplasm sample earlier that day, and it was placed neatly in the cryo-freezer to be preserved for more experiments the following day. You checked the computers to see if they were properly shut down. Danny saw a note on one that a calculation was running, and it was to be left on overnight, so he avoided that one as he shut down the others.
Then finally, came the shutoff of the main portal. Scanning his handprint, Danny popped open the reinforced box that contained the on-off switch for the portal, and flipped the switch to 'off'.
In the second he did that though, a motorbike shot through the portal, a beatnick riding atop it, and a scream was heard.
Danny looked at the now closed and deactivated portal, and turned to the newcomer in the room. "Johnny?" Danny asked, recognizing the man from their time together in Walker's prison.
"Kitty?! Kitty!?" Johnny frantically called out, after failing to see the girl behind him on the bike. "She didn't make it through! Turn the portal back on!" Johnny called out, obviously panicked.
Danny flipped the switch back, reigniting the portal. A faint shape was seen as the portal opened again, someone Danny didn't recognize, but Johnny obviously did.
"Kitty! You're good. Thought I lost you. Step on through, we'll see that Festival like you wanted." Johnny said, relief in his voice as he looked through the portal.
"I… I can't Johnny." Kitty said, as she seemed to walk in place, she reached her hand forward, but it didn't come through the portal.
"Come on, here, I'll give you a hand." Johnny said, reaching into the portal where her hand was. His hand passed straight through, seemingly bypassing her entirely.
"Johnny I'm scared." Kitty said, as Johnny stepped through the portal fully.
Johnny stepped out a second later, confused and concerned. "She's not on the other side! I can see her, but she's not there! Phantom, you know anything about this?"
"No, let me call my parents and Technus, they might know." Danny said, sending a message to Technus through the Fenton phone, and rushing upstairs.
10 minutes later, Jack, Maddie, and Technus were looking at diagnostic readings on the portal, trying to figure out what was going on. Johnny attempted to explain the events leading up to it. "We were driving along, we wanted to check out a festival that we heard the Box Ghost talk about seeing a sign for. We hadn't come back to the human world since we died, so we thought it'd be fun. The portal was there when I passed through, but it's closed when I came out the other side, and Kitty's trapped inside of it."
"I see. I believe I understand the problem." Technus called out, telekinetically moving a whiteboard over. "The ghost zone and the human world are two sides of the same coin, but the barrier between them is governed by the natural frequency of the world. The portal works by easing your frequency from the 250 hz signal of the human world, to the 200 hz signal of the Ghost Zone. I believe that in the process of passing through the closing portal, Miss Kitty here has unfortunately caught herself between the two frequencies."
"If that's the case, why was only she caught and not the back wheel of Johnny's bike? It was behind her, so it should have been caught with her." Maddie asked, looking over some of the calculations Technus had written down.
"I believe that when an object begins passing through the portal, it begins to change its frequency all at once. Johnny's bike was the first thing to enter the portal, so it all changed first. I imagine the cutoff point of the portal was partially through Johnny's own body, but since his hands were further forward gripping the handlebars, he was unaffected, or was at least attuned enough to this side to be forced out. I believe Miss Kitty is stuck perfectly at the midpoint, unable to move to one side or the other." Technus said.
"Is there any way to get her out?" Johnny asked, concern in his voice.
"Yes, I can imagine three. Firstly, she would likely eventually reattune herself to the ghost zone naturally. Ectoplasm reaches a steady state at 200 hz, and while it can function well at 250, at levels in between those two it will slowly begin to acclimatize itself. Unfortunately for Miss Kitty though, such a process would likely take a month, and after a week she would be unable to converse with anyone, as she would be too out of sync with either end of the portal to be seen through it." Technus said. "The second option would be for her to infuse her energies into associated objects, someone on this side could then hold on to one of those objects and she would attune to them, taking over their body. That does force her consciousness onto them though, so that method seems unfavorable. The final option would be for us to create a device that can alter her frequency from this side, to do so we would need an ectoplasmically infused frequency amplifier, and a sufficiently powerful frequency tuner."
"Could we make one of those in time Technus?" Jack asked, looking at some of the notes Technus produced.
"Not from scratch, although I do know where we could acquire the amplifier. Ember's guitar would be suitably powerful and with a suitably powerful tuner, we could easily bring Kitty to this side of the portal. Once she is through, she could step back to the other side without issue." Technus said.
"For some reason I doubt Ember would be in any hurry to help with anything I am a part of." Danny said. His encounter with the rockstar still fresh in his mind. He, Kim, and Star had worked through their issues with the mind control. None of them were happy, but agreed that they were glad it wasn't worse. Danny being completely obedient to someone's whims was dangerous, since he likely had the power to level a city before anyone could even attempt to stop him.
"It would be a moot point without the tuner. I do not know of any in the ghost zone that would have such a device, so we will need to find one in the human world." Technus said.
"I'll see if Kim can get in contact with Global Justice in the morning. They might know someone who has something similar." Danny said.
"Couldn't you do it now?" Johnny asked.
"Any lab that had the equipment we'd need wouldn't be open this late, short of it being on the other side of the planet. I doubt even if we could locate any equipment right now that we could get access to it before morning." Danny said, looking at his watch. It was 9PM Central, so even the West Coast labs would probably be out of their offices for over an hour.
"It's okay Johnny. He helped you in Walker's prison, and he helped Poindexter before. I think he's genuine." Kitty said, smiling at Johnny trying to calm his nerves. "When could you get in contact with them?"
"Eight in the morning, from there I imagine they'd have the information in an hour. Beyond that I don't know. If a device like we are looking for does exist, it could be all the way in California or something, that'd be three or so hours of travel by jet." Danny said, trying to piece the time together. "I promise I'll make it happen as fast as I can."
"I believe you." Kitty said. "Just do what you can."
"I'll develop the rest of the device we would need, I do not think it will take me too long. Jack, Madison, I believe you should get some rest. I will need your assistance in constructing the device in the morning." Technus said.
"Don't you need to sleep Technus?" Maddie asked.
"While we ghosts do still sleep, it is not a requirement like it is for humans. I can function for long periods without it with no loss of cognitive ability. Although, even when I was alive, all-nighters were nothing for Dr. Nikolai Techmann." Technus said, pulling out blueprint paper and turning on some of the computers.
"Alright then. I guess we better get some rest to help Technus in the morning, Maddie." Jack said.
"Alright. Mr… 13 I believe you said your name was? What do you intend to do?" Maddie asked, looking to the scruffy biker.
"I'd like to stay with Kitty if you don't mind. Can I camp out down here?" Johnny asked.
"That's not an issue, provided you don't break anything. Technus will be down here to keep an eye on you as it is. Would you be willing to donate some ectoplasm samples? We've been trying to collect them from as many different ghosts as possible to see differences in structure." Maddie asked.
"I'll give you as much as you want if you can get Kitty out of there." Johnny said.
"I'll donate too, once I'm free." Kitty said.
"Excellent. Danny, why don't you get an air mattress and a blanket for Mr. 13 here." Maddie said, and Danny floated through the ceiling and came back with the requested items.
"Thanks. I appreciate it." Johnny said, taking the air mattress to a corner of the lab close to the portal, but out of Technus's way.
"So she's stuck in the portal?" Kim asked, as she, Ron, and Danny met at the park in Middleton.
"Yeah, so we need to find some kind of super powerful frequency tuner… and somehow convince Ember to help us." Danny said, a tinge of despair in his voice at the second part.
"You said she would fix herself eventually right? Why not just wait?" Ron asked.
"Technus estimates that the wait time for her to fix herself would be a month, and after a week she won't be in tune enough with either side of the portal to be seen, so she'd be stuck in the space between with no outside contact for about 3 weeks." Danny explained. "That's not something I'd wish on my worst enemy, Jazz told me all about what solitary confinement does to prisoners, and Kitty didn't even do anything wrong."
Kim pulled out her Kimmunicator, switching it on. "Hey Wade, think you can get in contact with Global Justice for us? Or find someone who has been working with a high powered tuning device?"
"I'll send the notice to GJ right now. Care to tell me what you need the tuner for?" Wade asked, typing away at his keyboard.
"Talk to Technus for details, see if maybe you can translate some of his techno-babble into something we can ask around for." Danny said.
"Got it. GJ just acknowledged the message, I'd expect to hear from them in a second or two." Wade said.
A nearby mailbox opened up, sucking Kim, Danny, and Ron into a tube that slid them down into a Global Justice office. "Oh, now I see why Jerry does that… it is very fun." Dr. Director said, looking at the gathered teens.
"I'd thank you for the quick response, but I'm not super thrilled about the method." Danny said, standing up and dusting himself off.
"Understandable, it was simply a test of the new system. We'll endeavor to use it for emergencies only, although given what we need you for, I imagine you'll encounter it often. As it stands, you requested our assistance?" Dr. Director asked.
"A ghost got stuck in my parents' portal, while I know it is outside of Global Justice's wheelhouse as it's not a world saving issue, I was hoping you could help me find what I'm looking for. Wade should be getting the specifics from Technus now, but I need to find a high powered frequency tuner." Danny said, looking to the Director.
"I see. Well, as this is not a threat of the world situation, I can't make it a high priority. That doesn't mean however I cannot provide some assistance. I'll have one of our research team speak with Mr. Load and Technus about the specifics of this device. I'm certain they'll be able to find someone who has such a device within our network." Dr. Director said, typing a message on her phone. "Agent Cranston is working with them now. He's one of our top minds, so I'm certain they can find something. For now, I do have updates on your associates from WOOHP."
"WOOHP? Like a whoopie cushion?" Ron asked.
"No, Ron. They're the World Organization Of Human Protection, which while not a great name, are very good. Three of their agents helped us save you and the others from that Mindhacker game the other day." Kim said.
"Quite right. Their agents have elected to transfer themselves to Middleton, so the three agents will be attending school with you. A request has been made that since you are aware of their identities, you assist in helping them maintain their cover when they are called away." Dr. Director said.
"So not the drama. I'd have helped even if they didn't ask. No different than helping with Danny." Kim said.
"It'll be harder keeping it from Sam, Tucker, Star, and Valerie though… especially if they ever have to help us with something." Danny mentioned.
"Sam Manson, Tucker Foley, Star Lett, and Valerie Grey? You think there would be an issue with them finding out the identities of the agents?" Dr. Director asked.
"They already know about my identity, and Kim and Ron's aren't secret. If they start vanishing when we do for hero stuff, or during a ghost encounter show weird levels of proficiency dealing with them… well they'll get suspicious. Well, Sam will be suspicious." Danny said.
"Well, those four have been vetted as they are members of your teams as it were. I'll contact Jerry and let him know of the possibility of needing to have that information be disseminated early. This arrangement is causing a few information logistics problems, but I believe it is beneficial." Dr. Director said.
"You've mentioned other people you wanted to recruit before. Since we're already here, do you want to tell us about them at all?" Danny asked.
"I suppose there is no issue. This information is a tightly guarded secret, so none of you will repeat it, even to the others of your group until such time as I allow it." Dr. Director said sternly. "You are being granted this information because I expect attempting to recruit them will prove more fruitful if you two were the ones to do it."
"Understood. That means you too Ron." Kim said, elbowing him.
"Why wouldn't I be involved in recruiting?" Ron asked.
"While I imagine you may be, largely I expect Ms. Possible and Mr. Fenton here to be the primary members of this team. Your experience with supervillains and your continued success is notable Mr. Stoppable, your direct combat abilities are in need of improvement if you are to be placed on this team." Dr. Director said.
"Kim and I will run you through some martial arts practice Ron, you'll be super team ready in no time." Danny said, smiling at him, before turning to Dr. Director.
"We currently have two individuals who we believe may be assets, although we expect contact with one of them may prove difficult. The other we are in contact with a board regarding the ethics of their inclusion." Dr. Director said. "Before I begin, what are your thoughts on the presence of magic or alien life?"
"Well, I saw something I definitely couldn't explain with science when Ron fought against Monkey Fist, glowing yellow lights and sudden power that he hasn't had before or since. So I'm not as opposed to the concept of real magic as I was before. As for aliens… well the universe is a big place, it'd probably be weirder if we were totally alone out here." Danny said.
"Second on the thing with Monkey Fist, that was totally weird! And no duh there are aliens! They came to Earth at Roswell in the 40s." Ron said.
"That was a military balloon for detecting Soviet nuclear tests, Ron. I'm skeptical about the magic thing… and the alien thing." Kim said.
"Well, we can confirm the presence of both. Please observe this footage from New York City." Dr. Director said, pulling up a video on the large screen in the room they were in.
Footage of a red dragon with a yellow underbelly was seen, flying above a New York City apartment block. A different set of footage showed the same dragon standing on two legs, fighting against some shrouded figures in Central Park.
"A Dragon?" Kim asked.
"The American Dragon. From what we can gather, before we have recorded history the magical world went into hiding. Dragons, who have the ability to have a human or a dragon form served as the protectors of the magical world from human threats, and vice-versa. They seem to have originated from Asia, but have slowly migrated elsewhere. This Dragon seems to be the first to make it to the states. We've tracked his human identity to be Jake Long, a 14 year old boy living in Manhattan." Dr. Director stated. "While we have had no contact with him, or the magical world in general, his status as a protector implies that assisting with threats that face the entire world may fall under his jurisdiction. Mr. Fenton, we believe that as a ghost, you may technically qualify as a 'magical creature' and therefore be able to interact with that world without consequence."
"Alright, there's the magic, I guess the other one is an alien?" Danny asked.
"Partially correct. The one we believe may be an asset is a package duo, and while we do not believe one of them will assist in any combat, her approval would be necessary for our asset to join the team." Dr. Director said, flipping the slide. A family photo on a Hawaiian beach was seen, with two girls, a tall, ugly woman who appeared to have one eye, a large purple man who appeared to have four eyes, and a blue dog that also looked like a koala. "Pictured here is the semi-recently expanded Pelakai family. Residents of Kauai."
"Looks like 3 aliens there… or two aliens and one really weird dog." Danny called out.
"Correct on both accounts." Dr. Director said. "The little girl in the picture is Lilo Pelakai, she's 11 years old, lives with her 22 year old older sister Nani Pelakai. Nani took Lilo to the pound to adopt a dog, and while there she encountered, and later named, Stitch. Stitch is a synthetically produced extra-terrestrial made by Dr. Jumba Jukeeba, the larger man seen in the photo. He had escaped a highly secured prison, stolen a ship, and made his way to Earth."
"So the dog is an alien criminal… and you want him for the hero team?" Kim asked.
"Outside of his escape, the initial crime Stitch was accused of was simply existing, and from contacts with the United Galactic Federation, an ethics committee has questioned whether such an action was warranted, although Stitch has been pardoned of his crimes." Dr. Director said.
"Wait, you're in contact with the aliens?" Ron asked.
"Contact between the government and aliens was established in Roswell, New Mexico in 1973." Dr. Director said.
"Wait, there WERE aliens in Roswell, just like, 30 years later?" Ron said.
"Yes, it is an amusing coincidence, but just that, coincidence." Dr. Director said. "Regardless, Stitch represents a powerful asset to the team. According to information provided to us by the United Galactic Federation, Stitch contains some of the most terrifying traits from nearly two dozen apex predators across the universe. He's a genetically engineered killing machine without rival."
"Still not sounding like 'Hero' material here Director." Danny said.
"One would think not, but upon arriving on Earth and being inducted into the Pelakai family, Stitch became notably docile, and fiercely protective of his family. He is highly intelligent, speaking several intergalactic languages, and speaking English here on Earth, although reports say that he seems to struggle with our words, likely more out of biological issues than mental ones. The Pelakai family is monitored by the CIA and by the United Galactic Federation."
"The CIA is involved? They're covering up aliens?" Ron asked.
"For the time being. There was initial need for secrecy during the Cold War for fear that the Soviets would make contact with unsavory outside forces and use their enhanced weaponry to wage war. Since the end of the Cold War, the CIA has been attempting to find ways to introduce the concept of life beyond our planet in a way that would not cause mass panic. Kauai has been a testing ground for Alien-Human integration in large parts through efforts of the Pelakai family." Dr. Director said, as her phone beeped. "That is enough for now. Contact with Mr. Long and Ms. Pelekai will be a project for a later time. I believe over your summer vacation so as not to needlessly disrupt your school attendance. Agent Cranston has informed me of a Global Justice affiliated scientist who has something that meets the requirements Technus is requesting. Dr. Sheldon Akers of Elko, Nevada. I have his work address that I will send to you. I'll prepare one of our jets for you, since I imagine time is of the essence. Make your way to the hangar bay and it will be waiting for you."
Knocking at the door with the tag for a Dr. Akers, a tall, gangly man opened the door. "Yes, can I help you with something?"
"Hello, Dr. Akers. My name is Kim Possible, can we step into your office for a moment?" Kim asked.
"Of course, please come in." Dr. Akers, said, gesturing the trio of teenagers inside. "I'll admit this visit in unexpected, what is this about?"
"We were given your contact information from Global Justice. We are in need of a high powered frequency tuning device, and a Global Justice researcher seemed to believe you were in possession of one." Danny said.
"Oh, that kind of business. Yes, I believe I have a device similar to what you are looking for. I developed the Resonance Frequency Manipulator, it is a device that tightly calibrates itself and any piece of equipment it is tethered to to operate at a certain frequency, and can be adjusted as needs fit. I developed it for use in mining, Elko is surrounded by gold mines, you know, so most of my research is for that purpose. What do you need it for?" Dr. Akers asked.
"Dr. Akers, my family performs research on ghosts, and notably the ghost zone, which is an alternate dimension inhabited primarily by ghosts. From what we have gathered in our research, the ghost zone and the human world are separated by an underlying frequency of the matter that exists in that universe. We developed a portal that can travel between the two dimensions by easing your frequency between the two extremes, but in a freak accident a ghost was caught at the exact midpoint of the two frequencies and is stuck in a limbo between the dimensions. We're hoping that we can utilize your device to help attune our equipment to the necessary frequency to pull her through." Danny said.
"A nice prank, but there are no such things as ghosts." Dr. Akers said.
Danny sighed, transforming and grabbing Dr. Akers, turning them intangible and taking them up through the ceiling. As they stood on the roof, Danny said: "Walk through walls, disappear and fly. Three hallmarks of ghosts, and things I can do."
"I stand corrected, apparently there is at least one ghost." Dr. Akers stated, looking over Danny. "How did you die?"
"I didn't, I'm only a half-ghost. I won't say how that happened for fear of someone else trying it. For now, I could use your help saving another ghost from being stuck in between worlds for a few weeks." Danny said.
"If for no other reason than to study this phenomena, I'd be glad to help. Take us back to my office and I'll lead you to the store room where we keep my device. I'll need to travel with it and help you install it, so I can revert it back once we are finished." Dr. Akers said.
"That's fine." Danny said, grabbing him and phasing them back through the floor. "Lead the way."
Dr. Akers led the three teens into a storage bay, where a crate with "Resonance Frequency Modulator" written on it was kept. "It's a bit heavy, so we'll need some muscle to move it." Dr. Akers said. "It weighs about 120 pounds."
"Not a problem, I can lift a car." Danny said, making his way over to the crate.
As he did so though, a hole was blown in the wall near them, a short man in a red jumpsuit with a black helmet came through.
"Ah… Dr. Akers, I knew doing the kidnapping of you would be the easy, but I did not believe it would be this the easy." The man stated, snapping his fingers as his two henchman grabbed the Doctor.
"Not happening!" Kim said, jumping to land a flying kick on the henchman, but was stopped when she was shot by a beam that held her in mid-air.
"Ooh goodie, I had been hoping to use zis. Ze Zero Point Energy Arresting Motion gun, a marvel I am quite happy to have invented." The short man said.
"Then it looks like it's my turn then!" Danny said, running at the man, as he was about to transform though, he too was shot with the beam.
"Such foolish fooling fools." The man said, laughing. "I vill be doing the leaving with the Doctor and the Resonance Frequency Modulator. Aufiderzein strange teenagers."
Danny and Kim could only watch in frozen horror as the doctor was kidnapped, and the device was stolen. A few moments later, their restraints wore off, and they stretched as they comprehended what happened.
"Who was that guy, one of yours Kim?" Danny asked, trying to work out his stiff joints.
"Not one I've dealt with until now I guess." Kim said. "Ron, where are you?"
"Over here Kim!" Ron said, from behind some rubble. "Sorry I couldn't help you stop him, but I think I did something. Wade gave me these trackers that I was supposed to put on stuff like Drakken's flying platform thing. I put one on the short dude's helmet."
"Way to go Ron! We should probably tell Global Justice, considering one of their associates just got kidnapped." Danny said, stoked that Ron had managed to give them a lead on their guy.
As they hopped back on their jet, Dr. Director appeared on a screen in the cabin. "The man that kidnapped Dr. Akers is a supervillain named Professor Dementor. He's technically the number one supervillain in the world at the moment."
"If he's top dog why haven't I dealt with him yet?" Kim asked.
"Coincidence mostly. He uses a quality over quantity approach with his villainy, fewer schemes, but more potential damage per scheme. While you've been doing some variation of hero work for a couple of years Ms. Possible, you've only added supervillains to that list over the past few months. Professor Dementor simply hadn't performed any schemes this year. We've traced his flight path thanks to the tracker that Mr. Stoppable placed on Professor Dementor, we believe his current base of operations is in Alaska, near the Bering Strait." Dr. Director said. "This is now a Global Justice sanctioned mission, so do whatever you can to stop Dementor and rescue Dr. Akers, we will provide any support we can."
"Understood." Danny said, sighing. "Nothing's ever simple is it?"
"Nope, figured you'd have learned that by now." Kim said, giving him a kiss on the cheek.
"No idea how you do this on the regular. This travel stuff would kill me if I had to do it as often as you do." Danny said.
"It's not so bad. Gives me time to do homework or practice cheer routines. Plus you know, I'm saving people, so that's a big help." Kim said, trying to cheer him up.
"Plus all the pretty ladies we meet!" Ron added in.
"Don't need you telling my boyfriend about checking out other girls Ron." Kim said in a faux annoyed voice.
"Look, I've got two pretty girls I'm dating. My eyes don't need to wander. It's a miracle even one of you decided to date me, much less two." Danny said.
"I dunno Danny, you've had some decent female attention since I've known you. Tara thought you were cute, although she never did anything once she knew Star and I were interested. Not to mention that Ember fiasco." Kim said, rolling her eyes at the last section.
"I think she might have just been doing that because she thought I was a threat to her plans." Danny said.
"Maybe, but she didn't have to play tonsil hockey with you to do that." Kim said.
A few hours later, Danny flew Kim and Ron down from their jet onto the roof of the base that Professor Dementor was supposed to be in. "Kim, got a lock on his location from the tracker?" Danny asked.
"Yep, looks like he's about 20 ft. straight below us." Kim said, looking at the screen of her Kimmunicator.
"Alright, hold on tight and stay quiet, I'll fly us in invisibly and see if we can catch Helmet Hair off guard." Danny said, as he grabbed them and flew them through the floor.
They found themselves in a large central room, where Professor Dementor had Dr. Akers strapped to a chair. A massive device that looked like a giant hydraulic press was centered in the room.
"I must thank you Dr. Akers, your device is truly marvelous, perfect for use in my Quake machine." Dementor said, seemingly making some final adjustments.
"You won't get away with this Dementor! You can't use my device for your evil schemes, whatever they are." Dr. Akers said, struggling against his binds.
"Ah, I suppose I should enlighten you then." Professor Dementor said, as he hit a button on a remote. A projector and screen emerged from the ceiling, and started showing a powerpoint presentation. A map of the Alaskan and Russian coastlines could be seen. "You see Dr. Akers, with my magnificent Quake machine, I will create massive tsunamis that will batter the Russian coastline, leading to massive damage!" Dementor laughed, hitting a button that showed an animation of waves battering the Russian coast.
"Why would you do this?" Dr. Akers asked.
"This damage will of course be blamed on the U.S., it is after all coming from within their own borders. Tensions between the U.S. and Russia will rise and rise, possibly leading to a war between two world superpowers! I intend to give the President an out though, I will turn off my quake machine, in exchange for being granted the title 'Supreme Overlord of Alaska'!" Dementor said, laughing maniacally.
"Why do you want to be Supreme Overlord of Alaska?" Dr. Akers asked.
"Because, my dear Dr. Akers, of the moose." Dementor said.
"The moose?"
"Yes, I will use Alaska's massive moose population as a testing ground for an army of unstoppable genetically engineered super creatures! They are ripe for becoming an army of unstoppable killing machines!" Dementor said, continuing his evil laugh.
Danny whispered to Kim and Ron. "I'll keep him distracted. Kim, you try and disable his quake machine. Ron, you try and get the Doctor free. Got it?"
"Got it." They both responded.
Danny flew invisibly to the opposite side of the room, before turning visible and speaking up. "Compensating for something short stuff?"
"Oof! You flying boy! I do not know how you have entered my lair, but I will not have you ruin my plans. Taste plasma!" Dementor said, pulling a plasma pistol from his belt and firing at Danny.
Dodging the projectile Danny taunted: "The name's Phantom, consider me the ghost of every growth spurt you never had!"
Dementor fired more shots, chasing Danny around the lab as he kept dodging the blasts. "You will be doing the stopping now! The thwarting of my plans will be ceasing!"
"Ooh! Better idea, I'm the ghost of all the hair you don't have anymore because of that stupid helmet!" Danny taunted more, causing more blasts to come his way.
"I am not the bald under my helmet!" Dementor yelled angrily, continuing his rapid fire assault on Danny.
Kim and Ron snuck their way over to the large device in the center, Ron moving to start undoing the binds on Dr. Akers, while Kim began examining the Device.
"Wade, think you can guide me through disconnecting this?" Kim whispered into the Kimmunicator.
"Not a problem, start with that orange cable, that should be the primary connection." Wade whispered, as Kim carefully began removing components. With the device disconnected, Kim heaved it over her shoulder, and looked to Ron, who had freed the Doctor.
As they moved towards one of the exits, taking advantage of Danny's distraction, Dr. Akers tripped, landing on the ground with a thud.
Dementor glanced over to the sound. "No! The Doctor is doing the escaping! I will not have this!" Dementor aimed his pistol to the doctor and pulled the trigger.
Time froze for Danny as he watched, they were so close, and now the doctor was going to die. Danny could maybe take one of the plasma blasts, it'd be no different than one of the many ecto blasts he'd taken before. But there was no way he could make it in time.
That didn't mean he couldn't try.
Danny shot forward, pushing his speed faster than he'd ever thought before. There was no thought given to anything but getting between the doctor and the blast. The burning sensation hit him first, like a branding iron being taken to his side, it lingered for a second before almost wrapping around him like a water balloon and dissipating. Danny looked down and saw the singe marks on his costume. He'd made it. He'd intercepted the blast. Dr. Akers was safe.
"Phantom!" Kim called out in worry, before setting the device down and running over to Dementor, knocking his pistol away and catching him with a roundhouse kick to his helmet that rang his head like a dinner bell. An over the shoulder throw sent him to the floor, where she then called Ron to restrain him.
Ron came over and put his makeshift zip-tie cuffs on him, while Kim ran over to Phantom. "You okay? That blast looked bad."
"I've had plenty of worse hits. Just glad I made it to the Doctor in time. You good doc?" Danny asked, looking over at the elder man.
"I'm fine, perhaps embarrassed by tripping over my own feet." Dr. Akers said, standing up and dusting himself off. "I thank you immensely for saving both me and my work from this mad man."
"All in a day's work for Team Phantom-Possible." Danny said with a smirk.
"You're injured, so I'll let it slide that you just decided to have top billing." Kim said jokingly.
"Possible-Phantom just makes it seem like we MIGHT have a ghost with us." Danny said, as he patted his side a bit. "You should probably call GJ to have someone come and fully dismantle this contraption and take Dementor here into custody."
"They already have." A familiar British voice said, as a balding man stepped into the room.
"Jerry?" Danny asked, looking at him.
"Yes, WOOHP has a base not too far from here, so they suggested that we handle clean-up and capture. I happened to be nearby. Good work on taking out Dementor, he's quite a nuisance." Jerry said, looking over as the WOOHP guards placed real cuffs on him and took him away. "The girls send their regards, they're finishing up the final pieces necessary to relocate to Middleton. I believe they hope to attend one final halloween party in Beverly Hills before they leave, so I would perhaps expect them sometime in the beginning of November."
"That's good, it'll be cool to have them around." Danny said.
"Indeed. I was also informed in my conversation with Dr. Director that you believe there may be some people who could suss out their identities at your school?" Jerry asked, looking towards the trio.
"Yeah, Sam, Tucker, Star, and Valerie. They're our friends, part of our group. Help with the ghost hunting we do and are aware of my powers and things. Sam's the suspicious type anyway, so them suddenly showing up and possibly disappearing if we're ever needed for missions at the same time would probably trip her radar." Danny said, thinking about his longest standing female friend. "Wouldn't surprise me if she got Tuck involved to help her 'uncover' who they are, probably framing it as keeping a villain away from me or Kim."
"This is a predicament. Traditionally we've wiped the memories of anyone who learns of the identities of the spies. You two were exceptions due to our cooperative efforts for Dr. Directors team. Do you believe they would keep this secret?" Jerry asked.
"Without a doubt if I asked them to. They've kept my secret, and there are likely ways we could mitigate what they know. Not lie to them, but just not explain everything. They're agents we work with for superhero stuff. That'd be a good enough explanation for them." Danny said.
"Yeah, we probably don't even have to mention WOOHP, since they've met Global Justice agents, they might just think they're part of GJ." Kim said.
"I see. I'll discuss this with the girls when I get a chance. For now, I believe you have a mission of your own to get back to." Jerry said. "We will take Dementor to a holding facility. I take it you need Dr. Akers and his device for something?"
"Yeah, thanks Jerry." Danny said, as they waved goodbye and loaded themselves back into the Global Justice Jet, setting a course back for Amity Park.
Danny carried the Resonance Frequency Modulator down the stairs to the lab, Kim, Ron, and Dr. Akers following behind. "Got the device you needed Technus, and the doctor who made it, so he should be able to help you integrate it." Danny called out, as everyone looked over at him.
"Danny! Those burns on your side! What happened?" Maddie called out, running over to her son and examining the burn.
"Supervillain plasma ray. I'm fine, really. I take worse hits than this all the time. Normally I throw up shields to block most of the damage, but couldn't get one up fast enough. I'll be fine after a night's sleep. My healing got super-charged when I got my powers." Danny said, trying to calm down his mom.
"Ooh, I don't like this at all, but I know I can't stop you. Just be careful okay?" Maddie said.
"Always do, now, where can I set this down?" Danny asked, gesturing to the machine on his shoulder.
Technus and Dr. Akers discussed how to properly integrate the machine into Technus's designs, when Dr. Akers asked: "There is a… guitar in these plans? Why?"
"The guitar is a specific one, the most powerful ectoplasmic frequency generator I am aware of in the Ghost Zone. It is held by a ghost named Ember. We will need to get our hands on it." Technus said.
"Which means I've got to make a trip to Ember's lair." Danny said, looking into the portal.
"I'll head with you, if I'm there, Ember might listen that it's for Kitty." Johnny said, standing up. "I don't like leaving Kitty, but I can't just sit here and twiddle my thumbs."
"The back-up is appreciated, especially with her." Danny said.
"Don't hurt her please! I know you two have problems, but she's my friend, and we need her help!" Kitty called out from inside the portal.
"I'm going to try not to throw any punches, we'll see if she'll respond to that." Danny said. "Johnny, do you know where her lair is?"
"Yeah, I drop Kitty off there all the time. Getting there won't be the hard part, getting in might be. We're not exactly on the guest list." Johnny said.
"Cross that bridge when we get to it." Danny sighed.
"You sure you're good to handle Ember, Danny?" Kim asked.
"I'll put some Fentonpods in and hope that it'll work if she decides to hit me with that Love Spell again, otherwise I guess Johnny's gonna have to knock some sense into me." Danny said.
"I got you Phantom!" Johnny called out.
"Just remember you've got Star and I here waiting." Kim said, giving him a kiss.
"You got it boss. Let's roll Johnny." Danny called out, as the pair entered the portal.
Ember's lair turned out to not be too far from the portal, being closer than Walker's prison by a wide margin. The place was a large concert hall, with one notable entrance framed like a Hollywood red carpet.
"We're here Phantom. There's going to be a massive amount of skeleton groupies. Powerful ghosts tend to gather these kinds of armies around them, and Ember's probably the second or third most powerful ghost in our little neck of the woods." Johnny said, before pointing at the doors. "The bouncers let Kitty in without any problems, maybe they'll listen if we explain we're here on her behalf."
Danny and Johnny landed on the red carpet, and the greaser stepped forward to the skeletal bouncers, who were each about 12 ft. tall. "Hey fellas. Can you let us in to see Ember? We need to talk to her about Kitty." Johnny said, trying to reason with the guards. The skeletons didn't seem to listen though, and continued blocking the doors, looking down at the pair.
"Well, doesn't seem like they want to listen…. Can they?" Danny asked.
"They can, these jerks just won't. Guess it's time for plan B." Johnny said.
"And that is?" Danny asked.
"The B stands for Bash their skulls." Johnny said, pulling out a tire iron and slamming it into one of the bouncers, breaking the bones apart. The other skeleton made a grab for Johnny, and Danny kicked the arm away, separating it from its socket.
"Don't worry about holding back on these guys, they reform quick, a day and they'll be back together like nothing happened." Johnny said, slamming the pipe into the bouncer's skull sending it flying into the Zone.
"Well, we're inside… How do we find Ember?" Danny said as he opened the door for Johnny to walk through.
"Where you find any performer, on the stage or in their dressing room. Considering the lack of music playing, I'm guessing the latter. Come on." Johnny said, as he started rushing down the corridors of the concert hall. Droves of skeletal fans sat in chairs or milled around the space, apparently waiting for whenever Ember would bless them with a performance. They made no moves to stop them.
"Why aren't they stopping us?" Danny asked.
"Two-fold. One, they probably don't have orders to, and the skeletons aren't known for thinking for themselves too much. Two, we're way above their weight class, a rat isn't going to pick a fight with a bear." Johnny said, as he looked around at an intersection. "This way." He said, leading him down a hallway to a door with a large star on it that read 'Ember'. "She's in here."
"Guess we better knock then." Danny said, before stepping to the door and rapping on it with his knuckles.
The door opened and Ember looked out confusedly, before recognizing who knocked. With an angry look on her face, she strummed her guitar, sending an energy construct of a fist directly into Danny's torso. "I don't know what you're doing here or how you found me babypop, but NO ONE enters my lair without permission!" She said, before striking another chord, sending another blast at him. The walls of the realm began to shift around him, guitar strings emerging from the walls and pinning him to it.
"Ember, hold up! We need to talk to you!" Johnny called out.
"Phantom called in a favor for your breakout to find my place? That's low Johnny, even for you." Ember said. "Because Kitty loves you, I'll let you walk outta here while I deal with babypop here."
"Kitty's why we're here. She needs your help Ember." Danny said, struggling against the guitar strings.
"Yeah right. Kitty's plenty tough, she doesn't need my help for anything." Ember said.
"She does Ember, Phantom's been helping us. Kitty got stuck in their portal, accident that they were closing it as we were coming through. She's stuck half-way between our worlds. Without your help she's going to be stuck there all alone for a month." Johnny called out.
"What's Phantom got to do with this then?" Ember asked, glaring at him.
"He's been busting his ass to help her. Got a nasty burn to show for it getting some weird machine parts from a supervillain. You don't want to help Kitty, that's your problem, but I ain't gonna sit here and let you tear Phantom apart for trying to help her." Johnny said. "Let him go, Ember. Come on."
Ember glanced between the two, before recalling the guitar strings back into the walls. "You got one minute Phantom. What do you need?"
"The ghost zone and the human world operate on two different frequencies, that's how our worlds are separate. The portal works by rapidly changing the frequency of everything that goes through it to allow them to pass safely between the worlds. Since Kitty's stuck between them, we need a powerful ecto-energy filled frequency making device to work with a frequency modulator to attune her to one end of the spectrum." Danny said. "Your guitar is the strongest one Technus knows of."
"No duh, dipstick. My guitar's the strongest sound machine in the Zone." Ember said. "He pulling a fast one on me Johnny?"
"I don't know anything about the science stuff Ember, but I DO know that Kitty's trapped, and that's mostly the same explanation Technus gave. You know as well as I do that Technus knows everything about tech here in the zone." Johnny says.
"This is the only way to help Kitty?" Ember asked.
"The only one we're willing to take." Johnny said.
"The others?" Ember asked.
"Wait a month, 3 weeks of which Kitty would be completely cut off from anything and everything, or pass her essence into her clothes and take over someone else's body. Kitty's not too keen on that idea as anything but a last resort." Johnny said.
"Fine. I'll help. For Kitty." Ember said, sighing. "Lead us back to your portal babypop."
"Alright, thanks Ember." Danny said.
"Don't push your luck here." Ember said, as the trio made their way to the portal.
Once Ember arrived, Technus got to work hooking her guitar into the device, with him and Dr. Akers, running some final checks to make sure everything was alright. "Alright Technus, what do I need to do?" Ember asked, looking over the machinery she was tethered to.
"You need to hit a frequency of 225 Hz, then slowly increase the frequency to 250 Hz. The modulator will smooth over the edges of what you can and can't do with your guitar, but you are still the underlying source, so as closely as you can get would be beneficial." Technus called out.
"225…. Well A3 is 220… and B3 is 246/247, That close enough Technus?" Ember asked.
"Well within acceptable parameters. I am impressed you can translate that so easily." Technus praised.
"Just because I play rock music doesn't mean I don't appreciate my theory. Let's get it started, I'll tune and give you a slide that'll get me there, how slowly do I need to go?" Ember asked, tuning her guitar a bit.
"One second per every 5 hz step should be sufficient, so you'll need to space your slide over five seconds." Technus called out.
"It'll be hard to keep a pure tone for that long, but I'll get it done." Ember said, readying herself. "Give me a mark when we're ready."
"Go." Technus said, as he fired up the machine.
Ember's guitar pick glowed with ectoplasmic energy as she stuck the string on her guitar, the green energy of which funneled through the machine before surrounding Kitty. Ember began slowly sliding her finger down the neck of the guitar, making her way from one fret to the next. Within a few seconds, Kitty stood, fully solid, in the lab.
"Did it work?" Kitty asked, looking over herself. She felt like she was here.
Technus touched a hand to her. "She is corporeal here, or at least as much as we are normally. It appears to be a success!" Technus called out, and a joyous sigh filled the room.
Johnny wrapped Kitty in a hug, who reciprocated it. "I'm so glad you're here babe. Thanks Phantom, thanks Ember. Couldn't have done it without you."
"No problem Johnny. I'll take it as thanks if you two don't cause any trouble in the human world though." Danny said, looking between them.
"You have my word, we'll play ball." Johnny said.
"They get a free pass to be here?" Ember asked, her eyebrow raised.
"My policy has always been that as long as you aren't causing mayhem or doing something bad, you're free to come and go as you please. You being a rockstar would have been totally fine if you weren't mind controlling people to do it." Danny said.
"What about the others then? Box Ghost? Desiree?" Ember asked.
"The Box Ghost was terrorizing a warehouse, although I'll admit I started throwing punches first because I hadn't realized that not all ghosts were bad by that point. Outside of the kind of mindless animal ghosts the only ones I had dealt with at that point were the Lunch Lady, who attacked the school, and a ghost dragon with an amulet. They hadn't exactly given me a great first instance of dialogue with ghosts." Danny said.
"What changed then?" Ember asked.
"Technus, when I asked him what he came through the portal for, he just said he wanted to observe technology. He's the only one that tried talking first, so I reciprocated. We came to an agreement eventually that he could hang around and observe at any of the tech places around here, provided he didn't bother anyone. Then he just started salvaging electronics and stuff from junk piles, which as long as they were actively being thrown away was fine. He started hanging around here because he's fascinated by the stuff my parents make, plus he likes talking with Wade and Tucker. So he just helps with tech stuff around here now." Danny said.
"Interesting. Well, I'm not needed here anymore, and I've got no plans to stick around. I'm heading back to my lair." Ember said, walking back through the portal, but not before turning back and taking a look at Danny.
For a moment, she wondered… could she get a deal like that after she already messed up once? And looking over at Johnny and Kitty as the embraced, happy to be reunited… she wondered if she could ever have something like that. How much she enjoyed Phantom… no Danny's attention under her spell was… it was almost too much for her.
She needed time to think about all of this, so she left, flying back to her concert hall, where over a hundred fans waited for a concert.
Even though the person she secretly wanted to hear it the most wouldn't be there.