5 Chapter 5: interdimensional super spy

It doesn't take long for Jazz to get me signed out of school and on the way back to Fenton Works. All it took was a little bit of manipulation on Jazz's part. Or what she would rather call " a practical use of psychology," but either way, she got me out. All it took was for her to hall me up to the office and rattle on about how close I was to the last ghost fight and that I had suffered a shock. She played with the office staff as if they were a soft putty in the palm of her hand.

She can be rather scary when she gets an idea in her head. Unfortunately for her, in my opinion, she has to be back in the building in thirty minutes or less. If not, she will be counted as skipping, and that would tarnish her excellent record. So as soon as we both were buckled in the car, she started rushing as if she was a madwoman. It doesn't matter how many times I try to talk to her. That impenetrable focus of hers just won't budge. The only conversation I managed to have with her was right before we turned onto the street before our neighborhood.

" So what is the plan," she asks, interrogating me. I tap my fingers along the side of the window as I search for an answer. The silence that I created didn't bode well for me as soon after we pulled into the driveway. " So," she asks again, " the plan? How are you going to get to the FarFrozen?" Turning towards her with a mixture of pink and green shining through my cheeks, I admit, " I didn't think about that." Jazz leans back into her seat dramatically as she says, " Well, you were obviously thinking about something." she crosses her arms while glancing at my fingers, " you were tapping your fingers relentlessly the whole way here."

I couldn't help the look that came onto my face when I looked at her. How could one of the smartest people I know be so clueless sometimes? " I was more worried about how I'm going to manage to sneak down to the lab and into the Zone without either one of them noticing me. I know they aren't all that observant when it comes to either one of us, but I would think they would notice me unlocking the portal and skipping on through." I tell her sarcastically. As soon as the words left my mouth, she blanched a bit at the thought.

" I came up with a plan," being a bit disappointed with my usefulness, ``I can barely stop myself from grinding my teeth as I spit out, "but I'm going to need some help to pull it off." At the word help, Jazzs' complexion brightened considerably, showing herself to be eager at the thought of being useful. We talk for a minute, just getting the kinks of the plan out of the way before we notice the time. Jazz only has ten minutes to get back. With no hesitation, She forces me out of the car, practically pushing me out on my butt, and is rushing back down the street to school. Leaving me sitting alone in the middle of the driveway.

After sitting for a moment disconcerting at the situation, I get up, brush myself off, and head over towards the front door. Once I get to the door, I stick my head in intangible and look around the room, hoping it is empty, which doesn't make the top ten of my wisest decisions. Using my ability made a tightening sensation go through my core, causing it to throb, knocking the wind out of me. As soon as I confirm that no one is near the door, I slip inside and drop the intangibility. I then go to lean up against the door for a moment. I stay there for a bit to catch my breath and then continue to my bedroom. Getting there was a bit of a challenge as I maneuvered over the stairs' squeaky spots, hoping not to get caught.

As soon as I got to my room, I flopped down onto the bed in contempt wis-, getting a little bit of a reprieve, not that I expected the peace to last for long in the first place. So I spent a little time before the plan turned into action, getting ready for my voyage through the Zone. I rummaged through the room, looking for a spare bag that I wouldn't mind messing up, and started to pack. Among my supplies is a first aid kit, a bottle of Motrin, which I may or may not have taken a couple of beforehand, along with a sweatshirt and a change of clothes. You never know when you are going to need them. Then, leaving extra room in the bag for a few weapons I plan to take from the lab, I close it up and relax, waiting for the signal.

I started to zone out, and soon enough, I was beginning to nod off to sleep until I heard the echo of the phone ringing throughout the house. On the second ring, the phone stopped, and a voice echoed, calling, " MADDIE! GRAB THE FENTON ANTI-CREEP STICK; THERE IS A GHOST ATTACKING THE SCHOOL!" A few moments later, I could hear rushing echoing footsteps coming from below and the yell of, " NO GHOST CAN WIN AGAINST A FENTON!" then the slamming of the front door and the loud start of the GAV, or the Ghost Assault Vehicle as it is also known, leaving the driveway.

I wait a minute or two just to ensure they aren't coming back before I rush down the stairs and into the kitchen. I search the cabinets for anything I can take without it being noticeable. I end up groaning to myself in annoyance. The only things I can find are an old granola bar and a bruised apple. I would attempt to fight the food from inside the refrigerator, but I am short on time. There is only so much trouble that the Ectopi and Boxxy can make before my parents give up or capture them.

When I go down the stairs and into the lab, I immediately head towards the weapons rack. Hoping to find some type of non-lethal device. Usually, I would just stick to using a normal Fenton Thermos, but when Jazz left to go back to school, I handed it over so she could let the ghosts out. Thankfully Dad never throws things away and keeps all of the "Malfunctioning" inventions in the throwaway drawer. I found one soon enough and then moseyed on over to the currently closed Fenton Portal.

Once I flipped up the safety on the genetic lock and let it scan my thumb, the portal doors opened and encased me in the softly glowing green light of ectoplasmic radiation. The energy pouring out came straight towards me and started wrapping me up in it. The feeling is comforting, almost as if being snuggled up in a blanket or receiving a hug. Like my icy issue, this is also a new development, but not a concerning one. I tried to explain the feeling to my friends and sister, but none of them seem to understand how I feel. Since then, I have tried not to bother them too much about these types of things. I know they mean well, but sometimes the way they look at me when I tell them these kinds of things makes my core hurt.

One day after school, right before I left the building, Sidney Poindexter cornered me in a hall and tried to explain what had started happening. According to him, it was just an instinct that came with being a ghost. All ghosts, even halfas or something else in between, will feel the need to go back to the zone. The world of the living doesn't have enough ectoplasm to sustain us for long. We need ectoplasm just like humans need oxygen to breathe. It's what keeps us going.

Some ghosts end up feeding off human emotions to help sustain themselves and stay on this side for as long as they can. This is one of the reasons places like schools get attacked so much. With so many people around, a ghost can stay in one place for longer. Most ghosts feed off of darker emotions. Spectra, for example, likes to feed on depressing emotions and cause despair wherever she goes. Others may like to feed on other types of emotions like anger, happiness, or confusion. Unlike those who prefer to feed off of humans constantly, I need to get my ectoplasm from the zone; it's self. With the portal in the house and initially staying open almost continuously, I didn't feel the zone's pull. Now though, is an entirely different issue.

If I don't go in the zone periodically, I will unconsciously pull myself towards the closest portal, stable or unstable. It doesn't seem to matter to me in those moments, but the results of going in one of them could be catastrophic. I almost let myself be pulled into one without realizing it. The only reason I'm not a pile of goo in the middle of the earth is because of Clockwork dragging me away from it and into a portal of their own. According to them, it was a close call. Since then, I have tried to go in for a couple of hours every couple of weeks just because, sometimes more when I get the time to slip away. Though I still haven't figured out why it would start to affect me now when I am already stable. I am around ectoplasm a lot more than I used to be.

Shaking away my thoughts, I gaze into the swirling green pool and step into the Ghost Zone. Once my foot goes through the veil, the energy I didn't know I needed starts to flow through me, relieving some of the pain in my core.

Exiting the portal and going onto the small attached island, I can admire my surroundings. Greeting me is the swirling green atmosphere that can only be found in the zone and faraway purple doors, along with other various lairs and floating islands. I only stayed there for a small moment before taking a tentative step towards the edge of land beneath me. Without hesitation, I walk off the edge and drop off into the unknown. Instead of falling, the lack of gravity has me floating in place. I look behind me at the ledge as a lightbulb starts to go off in my head. I land back on the island and position myself on the shelf with my back facing the space. I bend my knees and propel myself towards the middle of the zone.

I position myself to float along on my back and let the ambient ectoplasm take me towards the Farfrozen. At first, the journey was incredibly peaceful, with nobody else being anywhere near me, but that didn't last for long. Once I got near the doors, it was like the start of a feeding frenzy. All types of animal ghosts took their chance to get at me. Trying to grab a piece of me to bite into and drag me off to who knows where. There is no way for me to suck all of them up into a single thermos with so many of them. My only hope is to somehow force my way through them.

I punch and kick at them, trying to get them to go away, but that only seems to make them more vicious in their attack. Then all of a sudden, I heard and felt the sharp, sudden crunch coming from my left shoulder. Without me noticing, a ghost in the shape of a bear managed to get behind me. They sunk their teeth into my shoulder, holding me in a ( kinda?) death grip. They shook its head, shaking my body all over the place. Blood and ectoplasm cascade down my chest and back, staining my now ripped clothing. With them attacking from behind, I am stuck, unable to dislodge myself from their mouth. The attack continues for a couple more moments, with other animal ghosts taking the opportunity to grab other parts of me. A cat here, and some kind of canine there, it wasn't long until I was indistinguishable from a chew toy.

All of a sudden, there was a blast of ectoplasm rushing by my head. The blast struck the bear in the head, and it immediately let me go. Soon there was another fired in my direction, along with a loud blast of energy. The energy attacks the animals and propels them off of me and tumbling into doors and each other. When one of the smaller ones came back for a second try, I attempted to set off an ectoblast of my own. However, instead of being a simple blast, it came off as a long-drawn-out beam and pelted into it. The action came with the after effect of my core feeling as if it had been pulled apart like string cheese, along with a weird feeling lingering in my hand. The hand that shot the beam started feeling like static as if it was being poked with pins and needles. The feeling didn't last long, though. It was as if the feeling was there for one moment but gone the next.

The mix of attacks sent all of the animals flying away, licking at their wounds, and me staring in a mixture of gratefulness and disbelief at my rescuers. Finally, at a nearby door floats Skulker and Ember looking just as confused at me as I am at them. "Babypop?" Ember exclaims, baffled. Rubbing at my wounds, I give her an embarrassed look before addressing them, " Hey guys, thanks for the save." The two of them, still looking confused at the situation, come closer towards me until they are just an arm's length away. " Welp," Skulker greets me, and before he can continue, Ember cuts him off " what's with the human look?" Ironically, Skulker and I both huff in tangent at her abrasive question. I ponder for a moment, wondering what I should tell them. While they both helped me out, they did it without knowing that it was me in the first place. Not to mention there is no guarantee that they won't attack if they think that I am unable to protect myself. On the other hand, though, while not exactly friends with Ember, we are still somewhat friendly to one another.

A semi-friend, maybe?

Skulker is more of an on-again, off-again frenemy, so there is no telling what he may do. In the end, I decided to go with a combination of the truth and a partial omission. Looking around before answering just to double-check for any eavesdroppers before leaning over towards Skulker, " You remember the ice thing from a couple of days ago?" He nods, " Yeah, but what does that have to do with this?" he asks, gesturing to me. I obvert my eyes as I admit, " It stayed," cocking his head to the side in confusion, I decided to elaborate, " I went late in the afternoon back over there, and it was just like how it was that morning." His eyes widened in understanding, " It didn't melt?" he asks astounded, " not even a little bit?" Getting up with a groan, I confirm, " not a single crystal of it." Looking gobsmacked, he places a hand on his chin muttering to himself while Ember looks between us, confused. Finally, getting sick of our conversation, she pries us, " What are you two going on about? What Ice? What's happening?"

Skulker waves her off, telling her, "it's a bro code thing, babe," while she sulks and turns away. She heads back to her door, but before she goes in, she calls out to us, " take your bromance somewhere else" turning to look at Skulker, she adds, "I'll see later," and with a wink, she is gone. He turns back to me with his arms crossed and prods some more, " and what does it have to do with the looking human thing?" Running my hand through my hair, I admit, " when I went back, I was able to get rid of it, but it messed me up. I can't do the "be a ghost" thing until I figure out what exactly I messed up."

Squinting his eyes at me, he questions, " and you are here to do what exactly?" I rub my eyes in annoyance and can't help but think that this is why he is stuck taking orders from Vlad; does he ever think for himself? Not having the guts to say so to his face, I reply with, " To get to the Farfrozen, of course." He hums in understanding before coming closer, grabbing me by the waist and throwing me over the shoulder. The impact came with throbbing pain. The bites of the animals had yet to heal, and the rough impact and chilled feeling of Skulkers isn't helping. " W-what are you doing!" I shout in shock, "let me go!" I continue to yell as I try to release myself. My moving about only made my discomfort increase and cause bodily fluids to drip onto him. " Would you stop all the squirming" he growls, " I'm just giving you a bit of a lift"

" A lift?" I interrogate, letting some skepticism slip into my voice. Finally, he makes a noise of agreement before rushing off towards the Farfrozen. We continue for a while before he slows his pace and eventually stops and heads towards a floating island. Then, letting me down, he announces, " this is where I leave you." I started to thank him, but right before, I couldn't help but notice where we stopped. " You're going to leave me here?!" I say accusingly, " Right in front of Walker's prison!"

" What is he more likely to notice? The both of us speeding past or one a welp crawling on by? I may want my prey in top condition for a hunt," he says, staring at me, " but I'm not willing to put myself in his path to get that. Getting past here is something you have to do on your own. Be thankful I took you this far in the first place." Feeling rightfully chastised, a sense of guilt starts to set in. After all, he didn't have to help me. He chose to. "I'm sorry," I say, trying to apologize for my behavior, but he dismisses my words, " Just try not to get caught welp. Once you're better, the fight for your pelt can resume." With a crooked smile, he flies off back towards his own lair and out of danger.

As soon as Skulker left my sight, I rushed off towards a large rock and took cover. With Walker and his goons being as slimy as they are, there is no telling if they will show up. Thankfully the island Skulker left me at is full of trees with heavy foliage, rocks, and other large objects. So there are plenty of places to hide behind. I start to hesitate right before I enter an open area. Good thing, too, because just as I was about to go across, a few of the prison guards were flying by checking the area. That was a close one ' come on, Danny, stop chickening out,' I tell myself. The safest way is just to act as if you are walking across the street: stop, look both ways, and rush across to safety.

INTERMISSION (Kids take note: it is unsafe to go across streets on your own. Please make sure to take a grown-up with you. Don't be reckless like Danny)

From the get-go getting from place to place was a nightmare, having to look over my shoulder constantly. The longer I wait in one place, the more paranoid I become. Some of the bite marks have already started to heal, but some of the more severe ones, like the shoulder, continue to bleed. If I'm not careful, I could leave a blood trail and lead Walker and his goons right to me.

When going from place to place, I stay on the tips of my toes, hoping to cause the least amount of noise possible. I go from a tree, to rock, to a bush, and then whatever else I can fit behind. At the moment, I am behind what looks to be a pile of old sheet metal. How it got here is anyone's clue. I look all around and listen for anyone nearby. Once I conclude that the area is clear, I hurriedly tip-toe across to a push while muttering, ' I'm an interdimensional super-spy, SUPER SPY' and continue on my way. I do so repeatedly as I go from place to place.

I got near the end of the island and was almost out of sight of the prison when I heard it. The whispering of orders coming not far behind me. I check over my shoulder, and hidden in the background were lingering figures in police uniforms doing a horrible job of blending in. They really need to take some tips from the ghost chameleons. I book it across the rest of the island, not even attempting to hide anymore. I'm about three-quarters of the way across when I hear one of the goons telling the others that I'm getting away. I end up uncontrollably laughing as I make my way to the other side as I recite in a singsong voice, " I'm an interdimensional super spy. SUPER SPY!" Unfortunately for them, they don't even get the chance to catch up. By the time they end up by the edge, I am already out in the open and outside of their lairs' area of control. All they can do is float there and watch as I fly away.

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