A/N: Hello everyone. I'm terribly sorry for the delay. I'll not go into what's been going on here, but I will post the link to my discord(discord (dot) gg /R4532jk5gq) for people to use. In there you can see early notes for Heart of a Hero and Sphinx Club, discuss what comes next, and see updates on our sister stories in Heart of a Hero: Downtown Magic, and Heart of a Hero Inspired Stories, made by two of pur community members. HOPEFULLY I'll be able to update this story before the end of March. I can't make any guarantees, but that's the goal. Anyway, on with the chapter. Please review and comment.
When people thought about what might live in the sewers of New York city, a great number of things may come to mind. Rats were plentiful of course, scrounging through the refuse easily found within. Some people concocted stories of alligators living in New York's sewers, and some would even swear there were massive humanoid turtles living within the various tunnels. What most people wouldn't suspect they would find is a high tech secret base of a possibly paradoxical organization that hunts magical creatures. Admittedly, until recently, anyone who would find such a place would not have had a long life to tell anyone about it should they find one.
Such days were gone now, as only three individuals on Earth were still aware of the locations of any of these bases, and two of which could currently be found within one of said bases.
"I still can't believe the Huntsclan is just… gone." Number 89 whined, the lanky buck-toothed boy bouncing a huntsclan helmet on the edge of his foot like a soccer ball.
"It's all that American Dragon's fault." The squatter member of the duo, Number 88 growled. "Him and Rose. She betrays the Huntsclan for a dragon? Those guys are like, Huntsclan enemy number 1!"
"Now THEY'RE out there living the high life. Rose got to never get taken in by the Huntsclan in the first place, and the American Dragon is some kind of hero! While we're here with nothing!" Number 89 said, his foot catching the helmet wrong, getting his toe stuck in one of the eye-sockets and causing it to get stuck. "Woah-oh!" 89 said, losing his balance and falling over.
"You see 89! This is why we were low level chumps! We didn't get to know about all the cool secrets of the Huntsclan." 88 said, glaring lightly at him. "Yeah sure, we got to help the big man with his hunt for the American Dragon, but that's just because he was some old fogey who didn't know what a video game was!"
"Well, it's not like he was much of a leader anyway. I mean, look at all this." 89 said as he got up, gesturing at a long line of files on the Huntsclan master computer. "That's 17 folders full of articles written on 'proper spear maintenance', 'menacing chuckling', and 'proper accessorization of the Huntsclan uniform'."
"They admittedly needed that after they changed the uniforms. I saw some of the old ones in a storage closet, they were significantly more menacing than our purple ones." 88 said, as a file caught his eyes. "Huh… what's this… Ghost Hunter?" 88 read the file name, before opening it up. What greeted his eyes was a dossier, with an image of what appeared to be a mechanical man with a green flame mullet. "Skulker, Huntsclan asset. Ghost responsible for capture of medium priority Huntsclan targets."
"Wait what? We were supposed to ERADICATE Magical creatures, and we had one on payroll?" 89 questioned, reading over the file as well. "Magical creature with the spirit of the Hunt flowing through him. Took the teachings like a Master and surpassed many. Status as a magical creature prohibits Huntsclan membership proper, but is to be classified as an asset. Debates on if to be excluded from the final purge of magical creatures from the world. Seems like this guy was the real deal."
"If he's so good why didn't he get sent after the American Dragon then?" 88 wondered aloud, searching through the file some more. "Skulker considers his primary target to be a half-ghost, occasionally called a halfa, within Amity Park. Skulker confirms he knows the identity of said half-ghost, but is withholding said knowledge from Huntsclan."
"How are you Half a ghost? Isn't it like a pretty binary thing?" 89 asked, confusion evident on his face. It was a common look.
"Apparently not." 88 said, rolling his eyes. "Regardless… Maybe this guy is what we need. He wasn't Huntsclan proper, so that wish shouldn't have gotten rid of him. We could get in touch and see if he'll deal with the American Dragon for us!"
"Yeah! With his help, we can take that dragon DOWN!" 89 whooped, as the pair began attempting to make contact with the ectoplasmic hunter.
"Alright, you kids finally packed?" Jack asked as he watched Danny load what appeared to be the last bag into the Specter Speeder.
"Think so Mr. Fenton!" Kim said, as she glanced over the checklist for their trip. "Danny's suitcase, my two bags, the mini-fridge is stocked, and the armory has the basic line-up of ghost weapons JUST in case there's any ghost threat."
"That's the spirit. You'll be a Fenton yet!" Jack chuckled as he clapped Kim on the back, causing her to flush a bit.
"Maybe in a few years. I'm perfectly happy being a Possible until I graduate at the very least." Kim said, as she glanced around to their gathered friends. "Assuming I get to be the legally married one."
"Yeah, I guess you kiddos might have to have that conversation some day." Jack said, glancing at where Star, Sammy, and Ember were chatting with their other friends. Everyone had come to see Danny and Kim off for their trip.
"I still can't believe you guys are going off on some recruitment mission." Alex said, leaning over the back of a chair in the garage where the Specter Speeder was parked. "I wonder why we weren't scouted for that?"
"Dr. Director actually had Jake and Lilo scouted before we worked together for the first time." Danny said, stepping out of the speeder. "I'm sure you were already on the persons of interest list for the team, but WOOHP probably meant your recruitment didn't work the same way. Since you are WOOHP affiliated, that's probably why you aren't handling recruitment for the team as a whole."
"Yeah yeah." Clover said, spinning on one of the various roller stools that littered the space. "So, you guys even know anything about this Jake Long guy? GJ give you a dossier or something?"
"Is that something you can even discuss with us?" Tucker asked as he leaned back on one of the recliners in the garage. "Isn't GJ like a super secret organization?"
"You guys are officially listed as Team Phantom or Team Possible members." Kim called out as she pulled out her files on Jake and Lilo. "While it is primarily Danny, the Spies, Ron and myself that are the members of the proper hero team, you guys are all listed as support staff or assets, so we're allowed to tell you whatever we think you're good to know."
"Which of course means, it doesn't leave the room here, but considering you guys are already keeping our identities secret, we're all pretty good on the whole 'Top Secret' thing." Danny said, as he continued doing some final checks on the speeder. "Mom, when did we last check the battery on this?"
Maddie took a glance at the schedule. "Battery replacement on the speeder was two weeks ago, Technus initialled the sheet."
"Mind if I swap in a new one? Just to make sure we've got the juice. I'm sure this one's fine, but I'd rather be safe than sorry." Danny said, already moving to separate the ecto-battery.
"That's fine dear." Maddie said, as she pulled out a new battery from storage.
"So, What do you guys even know about Jake Long?" Jazz re-asked, since the question had gotten lost in the chatter.
"Well, according to the files… he's been protecting the magical world, specifically New York, since he turned 13, and was the first Dragon born in America." Kim read out, before continuing. "He's an incoming high school freshman, so he's only a year younger than us… meaning he's been doing his Dragon business for a bit longer than Danny's been fighting ghosts."
"Well, time doing it doesn't necessarily translate to achievements here. Danny managed to take down a lot of big bads in his first few months as a ghost, then things died down once everyone heard about him taking down Fright Knight." Tucker pointed out. "What's his resume look like? Any major victories?"
"Says here he dealt with two events sources in the magical community would call apocalyptic. One was the Huntsclan, an organization that hunts and destroys magical creatures, getting ahold of some magic skulls that would have granted a wish to destroy every magical creature… Global Justice is unsure if Danny, Ember, Kitty, and Johnny would be included in that." Kim said as she read through, and the room went silent. THAT was a scary thought, that the four of them could have simply vanished one day without being able to do anything to stop it? They're glad they didn't have the answer to that question if they counted or not. "The second event was taking down something called 'The Dark Dragon', which seems to be an ancient evil Dragon who would have eradicated every creature on Earth except Dragons, and even then, only the ones who agreed to work with him would be spared."
"So… total bad news, and we should be glad Jake stopped him?" Clover asked.
"Looks like." Kim said, as she flipped through the dossier some more.
"Another thing I remember from when I read through the file is that he's not the only Dragon, apparently his grandfather and sister are dragons too, and they have plenty of experience between them. Which honestly, is something we could use more of. We're totally blind against magic, Freakshow taught us that, and anything we CAN learn is good. Kim, the Spies, and I are also really total newbies when it comes to protecting the world. We're quick studies, but it seems like the Dragons have been doing it, at least for their parts of the world, for a LONG time." Danny said, reminding everyone of something they'd rather forget. Danny getting taken over by Freakshow was a terrifying event, and the thought of something like that happening again was even scarier. "We've got the realms of regular science and ghost stuff pretty well in hand, but magic is a whole new ball game. This alien stuff too, when we go talk to Lilo and Stitch, but that's a conversation for AFTER Jake."
"I guess that is something we tend to forget. Supervillains and ghost fighting is kind of old hat to us now, but we've really only been doing it for about a year. Year and a half for Kim." Sammy said, as she thought a bit deeper about it. "WOOHP of course has had agents for a few decades, as has Global Justice, but we ended up at the top of the food chain somehow. I wonder how that happened?"
"Heroes rise when they're called kids. You all were called." Jack said, no uncertainty in his voice at all. "There hadn't really been any supervillains or major world threats since about the 60s, barring some costumed guys that started appearing a few years ago around that Team Go group. When villains started appearing, you all stepped up and started fighting them. You took that responsibility, and in turn, got good at it. You don't start boxing being good at it, you throw your first punches, and then learn. Maybe you have a teacher to help, but when you don't, you figure it out on your own. Kim and Danny didn't have any teachers telling them how they needed to be heroes, but they figured it out. You girls had teachers to teach you how to be Spies, but taught yourself how to be heroes. You all are probably the actual experts on dealing with supervillains, I know Danny here knows more about actually fighting ghosts than his mother and I, but we still do what we can." Jack clapped his son on the back, shooting him a massive grin. "All of you have stepped up. Sam, Tucker, Star, Valerie, you didn't have to, but you decided to stand with Kim and Danny through the adversity they face, and that makes you heroes too."
"I mean, I'm pretty sure we're sidekicks." Tucker said, chuckling a bit. Sam slapped him on the back. "What, I'm not wrong. We help, but we still have to call in Danny for the big stuff."
Sam rolled her eyes and scooted back in her chair, annoyed at the idea. "Yeah, sure, but does that mean we're sidekicks? I hear enough of that from Ron."
"I mean, being a sidekick is kind of nice." Star said, shooting a smile at Danny. "I know I can't keep up with the heavy stuff the others do. I'm athletic, sure, but I don't have the kind of martial arts training Danny, Kim, the Spies, or even Valerie has. That means I'm limited in what I can do to help. I still help though, and I know I'm a crucial part of the team. I'm an extra hand to hold a blaster, or to coordinate ghost patrols, and that's a good job, one that someone has to do."
"Sounds almost glamorous when you say it like that." Valerie said, kicking her feet a bit. "Wonder if this Jake guy has anything like that."
"Dossier says he does. Aside from his grandfather, who it looks like seems to also be his teacher, there's his sister and her dragon teacher, and a couple others that members of the magical community have reported seeing with him. Their names aren't listed, though." Kim said, flipping through. "Honestly, we don't have THAT much information on Jake. A few reports he's a bit hot-headed and headstrong, but dependable."
"Sounds like someone ELSE we know." Sammy said, leaning over and kissing Danny on the cheek.
"Is he cute?" Clover asked, hearts in her eyes.
"Figures that's what Lipgloss over here would ask about." Ember said with an eyeroll.
"Doesn't answer the question!" Clover responded, sticking her tongue out at the rocker. "Tell me, show me a pic, something!"
Kim chuckled, and handed the picture they had of Jake. "Ooh, not bad. A bit scrawnier than I imagined a superhero being, but Clover likes." Clover said, hearts in her eyes. "Get me his number."
"We'll have to see if he's even interested in joining the team first, Clover." Danny said with an exasperated smile on his face. "Here's hoping when he hears what we have to say, he'll realize we're on the same team."
"All else fails, you've already fought one Dragon, what's another?" Tucker said jokingly, causing Valerie to elbow him in the ribs. "Aw, come on! It's true!"
An hour later, and Danny and Kim were flying over the midwest, Kim glancing out the window to see the flat plains of northern Indiana. "So, how are you feeling about recruiting Jake? I know you seemed pretty fired up about it with everyone else, but I want to know what you're feeling." Kim said, smiling at him a bit.
Danny looked to her for a moment, smiling before rolling his shoulders a second, engaging the auto pilot as he leaned back in his seat. "I meant what I said. I think he's going to fill a big hole we have. He's got magical experience, something I'm not keen on fighting again without more knowledge. I managed against that Monkey Fist Guy, but if Ember hadn't been immune to Freakshow's mind control? I'm terrified of what would have happened. Wade, Technus, Tucker, they're near unbeatable when it comes to tech, not to mention what resources WOOHP and GJ have, and when it comes to knowledge about ghosts, between my parents and Kitty, we're getting that more and more on lock by the day, Sam's even been buying every piece of ghostly folklore she can get her hands on for research. We don't know EVERYTHING obviously, but we've got tools to handle that kind of stuff. Jake hopefully has the tools to deal with the magic, and the willingness to help us."
"You're really torn up about the mind control thing, aren't you?" Kim asked. They hadn't really talked about it since the incident. It had necessitated moving the timeline for their trip to New York up, they were honestly pretty lucky that Jake and his family were already home from their recent trip to Hong Kong.
"I could have killed you. I could have killed Star. I could have killed Sammy. My friends, my family, I could have killed EVERYONE. Who would have been able to stop me? Ember? If she wasn't immune to Freakshow's mind control, she would have been right there with me. Global Justice? All it'd take is Technus going rogue and getting in their mainframe and they're almost powerless. If Vlad is what a rogue me in control of his powers looks like… imagine the damage if I didn't care about life? Vlad's a fruit loop, but he doesn't WANT to kill anyone, barring my dad. Freakshow… he wouldn't care. They'd be means to an end. And he'd make ME do it." Danny clenched his fists, feeling a deep chill inside of him. Then suddenly he was enveloped by a soft warmth, and turning his head, he saw a fountain of red hair pushing into him.
"I know you're scared, I am too. Thinking… thinking I might have had to kill you… that was so scary. You're really strong, that's something we knew, but having that strength turned against us… well it wasn't something I'd ever thought I'd have to deal with." Kim said, before locking eyes with him. "But we made it through it. We will KEEP making it through it. I have faith that even if you were under control, that the second one of us was in any actual danger, you would break out of it, because that's what you are. Your dad said it, but I'll repeat it. You're a hero, Danny, and more than that, you're MY hero."
Danny flushed, but pulled Kim into his lap, wrapping his arms around her and burying his face into her hair. "You're really way too good at this pep talk thing."
"Perks of being a cheerleader." Kim said, as she leaned up and pecked him on the lips. "Now, come on, we've got about 3 more hours of flying, and I don't want to spend it moping."
Three hours, and a brief pit stop for a New York style pizza slice later, Danny and Kim found themselves standing in front of Canal Street Electronics in Manhattan. "Wonder what the American Dragon is doing operating out of a… severely outdated electronics shop." Danny asked as he glanced in the window. Stacks of CRT televisions and early model DVD players filled the display. "Tucker's been dying for a new CRT for his retro consoles… but I've never heard of any of these brands. Like, what's a Guzelian?"
"No idea. Probably should focus up though. We need to make a good impression." Kim said, as she took a moment to straighten her clothes up. Danny did the same. "I'll take the lead, I'm a bit better at the whole talking to people thing."
"No arguments here." Danny said, as the pair stepped into the store. Despite it's outdated stock and seemingly total lack of clientele, the place was clean and well maintained on the inside, even if it looked like it hadn't seen any changes in 20 years.
"Oh yes. Welcome to Canal Street Electronics, may I interest you in one of our fine VCR players? We have a lovely model from Goode in stock." An elder Chinese man said from his place on a stool behind the counter. He was dressed in a set of blue robes with golden accents that seemed to make his entire lower body disappear into them.
"Sorry sir, we're not really in the market for a VCR right now." Kim said, as Danny internally cringed. CRTs had some retro enthusiasts keeping a market alive… but he's not convinced much of one existed for VCRs, especially ones with names he'd never even heard of. "We're actually hoping to speak with Jake Long? I believe you might be his grandfather?"
"I am… what are you looking for him for, and how do you know who I am?" Jake's Grandfather asked, now suspicious.
"So, I suppose it's best to just come out and say this. My name is Kim Possible, this is Danny, we've been sent from an organization called Global Justice. We're aware of Jake's work as the American Dragon, and were wanting to talk with him about possibly working together, for the safety of both the normal world and the magical world." Kim said, laying her cards on the table.
The old man sighed, his body deflating for a moment, before he pulled himself up, standing perhaps a bit taller than he had before. "And so it begins… let us hope these old bones can handle it."
"Sir, what begins?" Danny asked, now somewhat confused.
"For millenia, the world of magic and the world of man have remained separate, connected in small places, with one side remaining ignorant of the other. Fu warned me in the nineties that information was beginning to travel too quickly for the world to remain hidden. I believed him then, but had hoped by the time it happened, I would be gone from this world. It seems to not be the case." The man said, before turning to them. "I am Lao Shi Leong, once I was the Chinese Dragon, protecting China's magical community. My grandson, Jake Long, is the first American Dragon."
"It's nice to meet you, Lao Shi." Danny said, reaching out to shake his hand. Lao Shi accepted the handshake, the elder man looking into Danny's eyes.
"So you are the half-ghost everyone seems to be speaking of. I suppose with you around it is little wonder Jake would be discovered." Lao Shi said, as he glanced over his form. "It has been quite a long time since a Dragon and a Half-Ghost have met. Even longer that they would be allies, instead of enemies."
"Wait, how… how'd you know?" Danny asked, shocked by the prospect. He was in his human form, he hadn't even transformed today.
"Your spirit energy is rather strong, and leaves residue one experienced in dealing with spirits and ghosts on a magical side would notice easily." Lao Shi said, hopping down from his stool. "Fu Dog has been following your exploits closely. You represented a very real threat of discovery to the magical world you know."
"Sorry, but I didn't really know about this when it happened. My parents were ghost hunters, but I thought they were just chasing after shadows. Then they opened the portal, I got my powers, and the ghosts started coming through. I didn't realize there was actual MAGIC until pretty recently." Danny said, rubbing the back of his neck. Looking back on it, he probably should have thought of ghosts as magic as far back as his first encounter with Dora, but it wasn't until Global Justice revealed the existence of an ACTUAL dragon that he really put any thought into it. Monkey Fist had given him a brief taste, which was then compounded by Desiree and then the Fright Knight… then Freakshow.
"It was always a matter of when, not if. You need not concern yourself with matters outside of your control. As long as you make no moves to inform the world of the other magical creatures, I doubt anyone will find fault in what you do." Lao Shi said, as a grey Shar Pei walked around the corner.
"Hey old man, thought I heard my name, you need something?" The Shar Pei said as he rounded the corner, and his eyes locked with Danny and Kim. "Ugh… Woof?"
"No need, Fu Dog. They know." Lao Shi said, as he lightly ran his hand down his face. "You should however, check before you begin speaking."
"You know, I'd be more surprised about the talking dog if I hadn't met Rufus first." Danny said, and Kim nodded.
"Yeah, talking animal shtick stops surprising you after your first one." Fu says, as he stands up on his hind legs and leans over the counter. "So, Amity Park's Ghost Boy and Kim Possible are wanting Jakey for their super team? Sounds like our boy is about to hit the big time."
"Yeah, we've been considering expanding the team for a while. Jake and two others were at the top of our list for possible recruits. We were expecting to ask him this summer regardless, but we had our hand forced recently." Danny said, a bit nervous. "We heard one of the things you guys deal with is containment of Magical artifacts, is that right?"
"That is correct, although Uncle handles more of that nowadays. That is besides the point though. I take it you require such an artifact to be contained?" Lao Shi asked.
"Yeah." Danny said, pulling out the guitar case he had placed the staff inside of, setting it on the table and opening it, revealing the red staff inside.
"Oh, yep. That's a doozy. Showenheimer's Ghost Control Staff. Been in the Showenheimer family for generations. They always used it for their circus act, harmless stuff really. Five big ones says you have it because one of them wised up on the potential this thing had." Fu said as he examined the staff.
"Right on the money." Kim said, glancing at Danny who was subconsciously putting distance between himself and the staff. "Managed to control Danny and a couple of our ghost friends. He was robbing some banks and jewelry stores, we were lucky he was more focused on getting rich than doing any damage."
"Yeah, that'll do it." Fu said. "Good news for you kid, the staff isn't great at making you do stuff that hurts those you care about. He might be able to make you steal something, but actively hurting one of your friends would pull you out of it."
"Thats a bit of a relief… we were worried about the kind of damage I could do under its control." Danny said, letting out a breath he didn't even know he was holding.
"We know all about that kinda thing kid. Jake had an issue with an evil copy of himself once. Bad news. Good news is that we have some other people that can step up to him. Gramps here's still got Jake beat in terms of experience, and Haley's getting better by the day." Fu said. "I take it you didn't have much of anything like that?"
"We've got the team, but anyone who is actually strong enough to handle me one-on-one was also susceptible to the mind control. Imagine if there was something that could control all dragons, what would your plan for taking down Jake be if you ran the risk of Lao Shi and Haley also getting mind controlled in the process?" Danny asked, looking over. "That's the kind of thing we were worried about."
"Ah, well, we actually have a bit of extra protection for that kinda thing, other Magical creatures are capable of standing against a dragon, and we know some folks who had specific training in taking them down. I see your point though, that would be a pretty scary thought." Fu said, shivering a bit. "You're in good hands kid. You go rogue, you're a magical creature, and therefore under our jurisdiction too. We'll make sure you don't do too much damage."
Danny was unsure how to feel about that. A check on him was a good thing, let loose he probably would do way too much damage… but the idea of praying for his own downfall was still strange. "Thanks, I think."
"Eh, don't worry about it. Well Gramps, Jake's got the day off, but we should probably call him in, shouldn't we?" Fu asked, looking over to Lao Shi.
"It would be prudent. I would contact Rose as well, since I do not think she is with the others at this time." Lao Shi said.
"Rose?" Kim asked, an eyebrow raised.
"Introductions in due time Ms. Possible." Lao Shi stated, with the kind of smugness only an old man could pull off. "Patience is a virtue."
The bell to the store rang about half an hour later, as Jake, Spud, Trixie, and Rose stepped through the door. "Yo, what's up Gramps? Thought I was off today? Something going on?" Jake asked, his tone questioning as he stepped in.
"Wait wait wait… is that KIM POSSIBLE? In your electronics shop?" Trixie shouted, eyes bugging out at the red-headed super teen.
"Uh… hi?" Kim said awkwardly, raising a hand up and waving as Danny chuckled.
"JAKEY, YOU DIDN'T TELL ME YOU KNEW KIM POSSIBLE!" Trixie bellowed as she shook Jake.
"I DON'T!" Jake managed to get out as he was being shaken.
"I don't see what the big deal is, I've been hanging out online with her tech guy for years and you've never even asked about it." Spud said, seemingly unphased by the whole thing.
"Wait, you know Wade?" Kim asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah, he and I play Everloft all the time. Your friend Tucker too." Spud said, as he moved to the couch and plopped down.
"Wait, you're Spudman05?" Danny asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yep, you're OrionsBolt, aren't you?" Spud said, as Danny nodded.
"Wow… small world." Danny said, looking over to Kim. "Yeah, that's definitely him."
"So our tech guys have been playing games together… didn't you say that you'd played games with that other guy Sammy and them knew back in Beverly Hills too?" Kim asked.
"Oh yeah, Arnold. Good kid, skipped a grade so he's a Junior in High School now." Spud said, as he brought his feet up.
"Regardless… ugh, not that it's not cool that you're here, but… what ARE you doing here?" Jake asked as he looked to Kim and Danny. "And who is he? I though you had a different sidekick."
"Right, well, this is a big kind of secret thing. We can't talk about this unless you agree that everything is hush hush." Kim said, looking over everyone. "We already talked to your Grandpa and your dog, so they can vouch for us."
"Yeah Kid, they're already in the know about the Dragon stuff. This is on the up and up here." Fu said as he moved to the couch beside Spud.
"Well, if Gramps and Fu vouch, I'll keep whatever secrets you need, as long as they aren't going to hurt anyone." Jake said, as he crossed his arms. "Spud, Trix, Rose, you good too?"
"Yes." Came the reply from the three of them.
"Alright then. Kim and I are here on orders from an organization called Global Justice. They're an international protection agency that deals with supervillains and world ending events. Recently, they started recruiting people like us. Exceptional teenagers with the skills to take the fight to the bad guys. There's currently five of us, plus our support teams. We'd like to recruit you to be our sixth, with your team being around as well." Danny said, trying to meet Jake at his level. "Your abilities, alongside your team's expertise in magic, are something that would be incredibly beneficial, and in joining the team, you also get access to the support we can provide."
"That's all well and good, yo. But you still haven't told me who you are." Jake said, looking at Danny. "And why you're giving off a… weird magic vibe."
"Ah, yeah." Danny said, as he transformed. "Phantom, Amity Park's resident ghost fighting superhero. Half-ghost, half-human. Danny Fenton in the human form, but not in any rush to make that public knowledge."
"Wicked." Jake said, as he glanced at Danny. "Heard a bit about you, Fu was keeping tabs. Says you're good."
"I've fought my fair share of bad guys, but you've actually been doing it longer than I have." Danny said, looking to him. "Not by too much, our research says you started in March of last year, I started in August."
"February actually, but I guess you guys are just working with what info you got." Jake said, leaning back on the counter. "What's like… expected of me with this team thing? I'm the protector of the magical world, that's my primary responsibility. I can't just drop that."
"We understand, I more or less do the same thing for Amity Park. I fight ghosts primarily, but step up when the world needs me, which happens occasionally. Mostly, if there's a big enough threat that we think the entire world is in danger, we'd call on you to help out. We'll keep the magical world stuff secret, honestly I've fought a dragon ghost before, so a good enough cover would just be that you're one of those." Danny said, nodding to him.
"You'll have to tell us that story kid. Might be something the dragon council would want to know about." Fu said, as Lao Shi nodded.
"Indeed, but another time." Lao Shi said. "What other responsibilities will be thrust upon Jake, should he accept?"
"If one of us encounters magic, we'd appreciate it if you'd be willing to pick up the phone and answer questions, or be able to lend a hand. We can obviously do the same if you hit something in our areas of expertise. My group probably knows more about ghosts than anyone on the planet, and Kim's got connections with tech geniuses in pretty much any speciality or discipline." Danny said. "The other members of the team also have extensive knowledge on espionage, so they're great at getting in and out without being seen. Mostly though, when there's a huge threat to the world, bigger than what we could handle on our own? We'd appreciate the extra help. That could be alien invasions, robot uprisings, or maybe even something magical."
"Who else have you got on this team? I'm not exactly down with whatever the superhero community is doing. Been playing it low here." Jake said, leaning against the counter.
"Currently, it's myself and Kim, plus three agents from an organization called WOOHP, they're a spy organization who deals in dealing with supervillain plots. You'd be our sixth member, and we're looking to recruit two other members, a girl and her alien dog from Hawaii." Danny said, laying his cards on the table. He didn't want there to be secrets in regards to what the team was like.
"Lilo and Stitch?" Jake asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Uh… yeah actually. You know them?" Danny asked, his eyes widening in surprise.
"Yeah, she's my homegirl. Met her at a skate competition in Honolulu. Thought one of the aliens she deals with was a magical creature, and therefore under Am Drag protection." Jake explained, chuckling. "Well, I guess it's something worth thinking about. Look, you guys seem like you're on the up and up. I get a good feeling, and Kim's reputation is pretty good. I'll admit I'm unsure if I'm like, in that kinda league though. As far as dragons go, I'm maybe middle of the pack, you might be better off recruiting one of the other dragons."
"Hey, don't be selling yourself short kid. You've made more progress in a single year than some dragons make in their lifetime." Fu said, trying to hype Jake up.
"Why don't you try a sparring match?" Trixie suggested. "We can see how the Am Drag can take on the Ghost Boy."
"Ain't a bad idea there. You keeping up with him would definitely mean you're good enough to take this shot kid." Fu said, supportively.
"The Dragon Council already feels you are truly worthy to be the American Dragon, young one. You have much to learn, but this is an opportunity to gain knowledge even beyond what I can teach you." Lao Shi said, smiling at his grandson.
"Alright, feel up for a little Dragon-Ghost smackdown? We'll see how I stack up." Jake said, accepting the challenge.
"Sounds like a plan." Danny said, reaching out his hand for a handshake. Jake took it and the pair shook.
"I gotta call Ernie, it's bettin' time!" Fu said, getting out his cell phone.
Central Park was miraculously empty, as Danny and Jake stood opposite each other, Kim, Rose, Fu Dog, Lao Shi, Trixie and Spud on the sidelines. Fu waved a giant foam finger with "Am Drag" written on it. "You got him Kid! Full faith in ya!" The shar pei called out.
"Let's get it started then! Dragon Up!" Jake said, as flames surrounded him and his dragon form came out. He was long and thin, like a Chinese serpentine dragon, but towards the top he appeared to beef up more, seemingly at a mid-point between a Chinese and European dragon.
"Goin' Ghost!" Danny called out himself, as the white bars of energy engulfed his body, transforming him from Danny Fenton, to the hero Phantom.
"So, your boyfriend has a transformation catchphrase too?" Rose asked, giggling a bit as she watched Danny and Jake drop into their combat stances.
"He's a big dork, but he's my dork, so it works out." Kim said, as Rose nodded. The pair's focus was planted firmly on the Half-Ghost and the American Dragon, seeing how this would pan out.
Jake went on the offensive, launching himself off the ground and into the air at rapid speed towards Danny, claws extended and ready to strike. Danny went intangible to try and dodge, but Jake's claws still caught him, slamming the ghost boy into the ground. "Welp, looks like I can't phase through your attacks… that some dragon power?" Danny asked, a bit surprised that that hadn't worked.
"Dragon claws are always coated in chi energy, which is still fully capable of touching a ghost." Jake said, shooting a toothy dragon grin. "Let's turn up the heat!" He called out, opening his maw to unleash a blast of fire at Danny point blank.
Danny phased through the ground though, dodging the blast, as Jake looked around for his opponent, Danny shot up, delivering an uppercut to Jake's jaw. "Guess you're not one of those dragons with tremorsense then." Danny chuckled, before pointing his fingers towards Jake and firing some ecto-rays.
After a couple hit him, Jake managed to see Danny's firing pattern, taking off into the air and swooping around the beams as he gave chase to the ghost. "Let's see if you can outrun me." Jake said, flapping his wings harder to close the gap.
"We'll see!" Danny said as he shot forward, widening the gap again.
"What, no more fight, just tag?" Trixie asked, almost incredulous.
"This is actually pretty important." Kim and Rose said almost in unison, the pair looked at each other, before Rose continued. "Speed's almost certainly going to be one of the big gaps between them. Jake's limited by how fast he can flap his wings and move through the air. A ghost like Phantom probably won't have that problem."
"Didn't even think of that… I just figured the raw speed difference would decide if this is a battle at range or not. Hand to hand they're probably pretty even, from what I've gathered from watching Jake, Danny's stronger, but Jake's got better martial arts training, plus the advantage of three extra limbs to push and attack with." Kim said, glancing over. "Does Jake have anything but his fire for range though? Danny's definitely got the advantage there, his ghost rays go way farther than Jake's fire breath."
"Kid's got lots of tricks. Great thing about there being generations of dragons before him, they've discovered all kinds of cool abilities." Fu said, as his eyes locked on Jake.
"Well, let's see how you handle this then!" Jake said, as he dropped into a meditative pose for a moment, channeling his chi energy, as three clones of himself appeared. The four Jakes dropped into combat stances again, before shooting towards Danny.
"Ah! Come on! I haven't figured out that power yet!" Danny called out annoyed, before charging into the four dragons. He grabbed one of them by the tail, before swinging him around and around and tossing him into another one, the two of them forming together into a single dragon.
"Good move, let's see if you can keep it up!" Jake said as the three remaining dragons surrounded him, huffing and firing a gout of fire breath towards the ghost boy.
Danny summoned an ectoplasmic shield around him that absorbed the flame, as he channeled his own energy. Spreading it out in a massive shockwave, he knocked the three dragons out of the sky, before charging towards them. Catching the three dragons he slammed all three of them into the ground, and into each other, forming them back into a single dragon. "Huh…" Danny huffed, winded. "Good match?" He held out a hand to Jake.
"Good match." Jake wheezed, reaching out to grab Danny's hand, as the ghost boy helped him up. "How'd I do then?"
"Definitely good enough in my book. I've fought a couple guys with powers like yours, so I could adapt to your stuff a little better. I imagine there's not exactly been too many ghosts like me on your radar." Danny said, shooting the dragon a grin.
"Some Civil War ghosts once, but they definitely didn't have your skills." Jake said, rolling his shoulders. "Glad to hear I stacked up good then."
"You both did great." Kim said as she came up planting a kiss on Danny's cheek and reaching out to shake Jake's hand. "We'd really appreciate it if you'd join the team. I think we could do good work together."
"I… I think I'd have to talk to the Dragon Council, they'd be the ones who have to approve the activities. The fact that you all found out about the magical world is one thing, but if I'm suddenly going public with being a Dragon superhero? That's gonna raise some flags." Jake said, as Grandpa came over and nodded.
"Jake is right, but… with these new enhanced individuals running around, such as Team Go in Go City… I believe perhaps a convincing cover story could be spun." Lao Shi stated.
"Amity Park already got attacked by a ghost dragon once, we could just always say there's another one." Danny said, shooting Jake a smirk. "Give me your best 'BEWARE!'"
Everyone chuckled at that, but another voice joined in, a deep menacing voice with an almost metallic echo to it, and stepping out from the bushes, with a massive ghostly serpent attached by a gleaming metal chain, was Skulker. "When some old associates asked me to kill a dragon for them, I was excited, a new pelt for my wall… but now my greatest enemy is here as well? It is a GOOD day to be a hunter."
From the opposite side of the clearing, Numbers 88 and 89 also appeared, dressed in their standard purple huntsclan uniforms, they appeared to be piloting mech suits. "You'll pay for what you did, American Dragon. Huntsclan's going to be on top!" Number 88 called out, as 89 tried to put on a menacing pose.
"Those guys some of yours? Skulker over there's one of my baddies, his pet's new." Danny said, glancing towards the ghostly hunter.
"Yep, 88 and 89. Former Huntsclan cronies. They're idiots, but the huntsclan itself had good equipment. Strong weapons, bad wielders." Jake called out.
"We'll see how much of idiots you think we are after we do this!" 89 called out, as he held out his wrists, and two nets shot forward from them encasing the pair.
"Aw, great! Sphinx Hair. Bout the only thing I CAN'T rip through. Sucks up my powers." Jake said as he struggled in his net.
"Why does this burn so bad? Why can't I phase through it?" Danny asked, as he tried and failed to go intangible, and his strength failed to rip through the netting as it burned him to the touch.
"Never encountered Blood Blossom before, ghost child? Unsurprising, no ghost would use it against you, too dangerous for them too. Thankfully, my ectoskeleton makes it's effects on me minimal." Skulker said, as he stepped forward, placing his boot on Danny's chest. "Say goodnight, Ghost child."
"HIIIIYAH!" Came a pair of female voices, as Kim and Rose launched themselves toward Skulker, catching his chest with their feet as they landed the simultaneous jumpkicks, kicking the hunter ghost back. "Alright, let's get you two out of those." Kim said, as she and Rose each pulled out a pocket knife, slicing the nets open. "How about you two take on Skulker and his pet, and Rose and I will take on the Huntsdorks?"
"God I love you." Danny and Jake called out to their girlfriends at the same time, as they got out of the nets. "We're on it!" Danny called out, and Jake nodded, as the pair shot towards the hunter ghost.
"Uh-uh! Ain't no way you think me and 89 are gonna get taken out by a couple of girls!" 88 Said, slamming his fists together in his power loader.
"One of these girls has been kicking your butts since you were cadets… not that you ever got any farther than that." Rose said, as she narrowed her eyes towards 89. "Take your pick, Kim, you want bucktooth or shorty?"
"Bucktooth did put my boyfriend in a net. Think I'll take him." Kim smirked, as she ran up and delivered another jump kick, this time to 89's head, causing him to stumble back in the mech as Kim pressed the offensive. If the mech suit gave 89 enhanced strength, it did nothing to increase his reaction time, and Kim was used to fighting opponents leagues stronger than him. Compared to Shego? 89 was a joke.
One could say that 88 fared better against Rose. That would TECHNICALLY be true, since he managed to at least block an attack or two, since he had fought Rose before, and had an idea of her fighting style. He still however, was getting completely destroyed by the former Huntsgirl.
Danny and Jake had separated Skulker and his Serpent, Danny squaring off with the hunter, as Jake strafed the snake. "Always heard snakes were cold blooded, let's turn up the heat then." Jake quipped, as he used his fire breath in a strafing run on the serpent, which recoiled from the heat, hissing at the dragon.
Skulker grimaced as he and Danny squared off, raising his wrist and firing a series of tiny missiles towards Danny. Doing a roll in mid-air as he flew towards the hunter, Danny dodged, them delivering a solid punch to the specter, knocking him into a metal lamp post with a resounding CLANG. "How'd you get involved with these guys anyway? Thought you were one of Vlad's cronies if you worked for anyone." Danny asked, as Skulker pulled himself off the damaged pole.
"The Huntsclan would often hire my services, I was an expert in… magical creature acquisition." Skulker said, a malevolent glint in his eye. "They wouldn't trust me with something as important as a dragon because of my being a 'magical creature' in their eyes, but they were more than willing to pay me to hunt anything else. Given your parents, I'm sure you know developing my technology isn't cheap, and Vlad wasn't always funding my endeavors." Skulker rushed forward as a machete appeared in his hand, the blade glowing a spectral green and emitting a hum. "Like this vibroblade, perfectly calibrated to rip apart ectoplasm."
Danny dodged, around the blade, contorting his body as Skulker slashed and stabbed. "And it didn't bother you that they intended to wipe you out too? That you were on the list of magical creatures to be eliminated?"
"Ha! Like they'd ever get that far. Hunting one species to extinction is doable. Maybe even two or three if you want to put your mind to it. As many as there are in the Magical world? They'd repopulate before you could even get half-way done." Skulker said, almost gloating. "I'm not an idiot, whelp. I wouldn't give them the tools to fully succeed, only enough to keep them happy and keep them paying me."
"Then why'd you let them get all the Crystal Skulls then?" Jake asked, as he flew by, getting chased by the serpent. "If I hadn't stopped them, they were about 30 seconds from making a wish that would have made you, your snake pal, and every ghost you know a faded memory. Didn't even hear your name mentioned as a possible exception at the time."
"They weren't anywhere near that close. There's no way they could have found them all!" Skulker said, as he fired an electric bolo towards Jake and Danny. The pair dodged, and the bolo wrapped itself around the serpent, shocking it and knocking it out. "Oops."
"They could, and they did, and you were almost wiped out." Jake said, as he and Danny caught Skulker in a pincer. "How's that for employee appreciation?"
Skulker scanned Jake's face, and found no signs of dishonesty. "Why those little! I only wish they weren't all gone, so I could hunt them down MYSELF." Skulker said with gritted teeth. "Fine, Dragon, Ghost Child, you win today. I have… business to attend to with these two Huntsclan imbeciles." Skulker pulled a staff from his back, one Jake recognized as the same model that the Huntsmaster and Rose liked to use.
"Sorry Skulker, not today." Danny said, as he held out the Fenton Thermos, sucking the surprised Skulker, as well as his pet serpent into the device. "I'm usually pretty on board for letting my enemies fight each other, but I think Skulker might be planning on something more permanent than I can normally do to a ghost."
"No kidding." Jake said, as he glanced at the Fenton Thermos. "That some kind of magical spirit trap? Thought you didn't know anything about magic."
"Nope, this is all science. I don't UNDERSTAND all of the science behind it, but it's something about ionizing plasma to produce radiation at levels that interfere with ectoplasm? I don't really get a lot of it." Danny said, as he looked over to where Kim and Rose were fighting the Huntsboys. "You two need a hand?"
"Nope! We got it!" Kim said, as she did a rolling throw on number 89, sending him crashing into 88, knocking the pair of them out. "Impressive moves Rose. You trained well."
"You too, haven't seen anyone else move like that." Rose said as she wiped sweat off of her brow. "Well, these idiots are dealt with… anyone up for pizza?"
"Danny and I DID have some earlier…" Kim started, but Danny held up his hand.
"Kim, we're in New York. If I'm not SICK of New York style pizza before we leave, I'm going to be personally upset with myself." Danny said, and everyone chuckled.
Over the course of the couple days Danny and Kim spent in New York, alongside sightseeing, the pair managed to convince Jake and his family that joining the team was a good thing, and Jake said he would help as much as he could, and maybe be able to be more public about it with approval of the Dragon Council.
Betty Director flipped through the files for her young hero project, titled Project New Guardians, and officially stamped Jake Long as recruited. She glanced at the next file on the list, seeing Lilo and Stitch and smiled. It was a matter of time before the team was complete. She glanced over the list of other potential recruits for a moment more, before closing out of the tab. Seven actual fighters would be sufficient for now. Perhaps more could be recruited later.