Work Text:
So, this is my second work published and I’m partly excited and partly nervous! I don’t really know how this writing thing will work out for me, let me know if I should just stop and destroy my laptop or something x.x
-
Valerie smirked and capped her thermos. She tossed it in the air and caught it with a self-satisfied smirk. “Valerie – 1, Spook – 0!” She tapped her wrist and a hologram panel popped up. She smirked as she checked the time. “Yes! I can make it back in time for dinner!” Yay meatballs! She activated her hoverboard and was prepared to step on it when-
“Red huntress!”
She froze and turned around to see who called her. She couldn’t see anyone. The people in the area ran away screaming when the ghost attack happened. Maybe someone got stuck under something. Valerie pulled down her visor and did a heat-radiation scan of the entire area. It came back all clear. Uh okay?
Figuring that she’s just hearing things, she floated her board and was prepared to leave-
“Red huntress!!”
Officially freaked out and on edge from the battle she was in, Valerie whipped around with her blaster posed on her shoulder and pointed at the direction of the shout.
Whatever spook this is about to get popped full of pressurized ecto -energy!
Out of the alley way popped out a young boy, looking 8-10 years in age. His eyes were dark green and adorned with platinum blonde hair that is side-swept. He wore a black-and-white stripped long sleeve shirt under a dark red hoodie. With that he wore a pair of light beige khakis that did nothing to cover the assortment of spiderman band-aids on his knees. Over his shoulder was a heavy school-bag and he held a polaroid camera in his palms.
Oh, it’s just a kid. Maybe he sees another ghost.
Still, it was weird for her to be called out. She knows she’s not exactly loved by the people of Amity Park because of her fights with their precious ghost boy. Usually, they would rather let her sensors pick up stray ghosts than direct her to them. Which she couldn’t blame them, sometimes things can get slightly out of hand resulting in area damage.
However, as she looked at this brat, he didn’t seem to be panicked. If anything, he looked to be with barely contained excitement. Only the Fentons look that excited to see a ghost around so he most likely didn’t call her to report one.
“Is something wrong kid?”
“Yeah!” He reached into his bag and pulled out a book, “You almost left without signing my scrapbook!”
Valerie looked taken aback as the kid ran up to her, holding the book out in front of him. She had to grab him by the shoulders to keep him from plowing her down. “Signing your-?”
“Yeah, sign right here.” He said, flipping to an empty signature page and pointed at the box in the middle.
Valerie took the scrapbook of herself. Before signing it, she decided to flip through the monstrosity of red and black. The book was covered in newspaper clippings and polaroid shots of the red huntress. It wasn’t perfectly made, some pages sticking to each other due to stray glue and glitter.
“Wow, this is a little-” Creepy. “Uh, why do you want me to sign this?”
“Duh! Because I’m a huntrite!” He exclaimed, showcasing his gap-toothed grin. Valerie sputtered, unable to stop herself from asking, “What the fuck is a huntrite?” She knows she shouldn’t swear in front of a kid his age but it just slipped out.
He didn’t hesitate, “Your fan club!”
“I have a fan club?” Since fucking when? No one cheers her on like they cheer on phantom. She doesn’t get parades, magazine covers, gifts, or even a thank-you. Not like she needs one. She knows the main reason for this lack of appreciation is their hard-on for Phantom. They don’t like that she hunts their precious ghost-boy. It’s only a matter of time before they see him for the spectral snake that he is and start showing the red huntress a little more gratitude. They’re lucky I’m so patient.
“Well, it’s not much a club right now. It’s just me. And my turtle!”
“Your turtle?” This kid is full of surprises, isn’t he? I could be eating meatballs right about now.
“Yeah, look,” he gestured towards his pants pocket and sure enough, a little green turtle popped his head out. “His name is Hector. And I’m Hunter!” He smiled at her again, all buck teeth, gap-toothed and dimples. Valerie stared at him befuddled for a long time, not knowing what to say in this bizarre situation. He eventually titled his head, waiting for her response. She gave him an awkward smile and tried to hand back the scrapbook.
“Look, kid, I really got to run.”
“Please, just a quick signature.”
“Fine.”
She took the red sharpie and sighed Red. H.
“Awesome!” He stared at the writing, mesmerized.
“Okay, good luck with your, uh fan club.”
Valerie flew away as he yelled ‘bye’ to her retreating form.
-
Valerie didn’t see Hunter again until two weeks later.
Valerie stood perched on the rooftop and watched as Phantom silently flew across town, like he owned the fucking place. He was completely unaware of her, which is just how she likes her prey. He managed to evade her constantly the past few weeks and it really grated on her nerves. The ‘Guys in White’ tabloid posted an article about his recent antics causing a factory to go out of commission as they rebuilt. Stupid prick. She smirked down at her knew weapon, this will show him.
She hoisted the sniper on her shoulder and aimed at her foe. “Target located,” her suit chimed, “Target engaged.” Valerie squeezed the trigger. A bright, hot pink laser shot from her sniper and tagged Phantom right from behind. He immediately plummeted into a nearby billboard. Valerie, with her board, soared his direction. He looked up just in time to see her barreling towards him. With a yelp, he picked himself up and flew away in the other direction. She barraged him with miniature ecto-shots from her board, which he promptly dodged and ducked under.
“Oh look, if it isn’t my favorite head-ache.” He said, taking a shot at her board to try and halt her movements. She’s gotten used to that trick by now and managed to dodge the shot without losing momentum. “I could say the same thing about you, spook!”
Phantom ducked into traffic in hopes of the cars slowing Valerie down enough for him to make a clean getaway. He went intangible and flew through the incoming trucks. Unfortunately, Valerie is unable to go intangible. However, her agility and quick-thinking had her flip her board sideways and glide right by the trucks with ease. Phantom looked over his shoulder and groaned at the fact she was still on his tail.
“Come, on, Red! We’ve been through this a hundred times! Don’t you have something better to do? I know you have a job!” He said, posing for a confrontation. He knew there was no point trying to outfly her. With the Red Huntress, facing her head-on was almost inevitable.
“My only job right now is kicking your ghostly ass back into the realm of evil.”
She aimed her sniper right back at him and shot a ray heading right between his eyes. He duplicated his head to avoid the blast and put up a shield at the flurry of incoming shots.
“The only realm of evil I know is called ‘High-school’!” As soon as he dropped his shield, he fired an ice-blast at her sniper, rendering it useless. “Speaking of school, shouldn’t you be studying? Something tells me ‘ghost-hunting maniac’ won’t look good on a college application.”
Valerie growled as the ice completely covered her sniper. I just got this! She threw it to the ground in rage and pulled out dual-blasters. “Oh yeah? Well, you’ll look good splattered on the cement!”
Phantom yelped and wrapped his arms around his head as she fired away. Unfortunately for her, the dual blasters don’t hold as much pressured ectoplasm as her sniper so she ran out of ammo fast.
“Hehe, out of juice, Red?”
Valerie smirked and activated a small canon on her hoverboard. If a ghost could pale, that would be what Phantom was doing right now. Valerie smirked and pressed the button. A big boom sounded off as Phantom was hit in the chest with a very strong ball of ecto-energy. He rocketed towards the ground with a shout and formed a small crater on impact.
Okay, he thought, that hurt. Realizing he was in danger, and a little pissed off from that canon, Phantom decided it was time to get serious. Valerie smirked as she saw his façade change.
Suddenly they went at it like animals. At some point Valerie had the upper-hand only for Phantom to snatch it back at the last minute. They battled continuously; Valerie did not let fatigue slow her down. He’s going down!
Out of nowhere, Phantom was hit with a bag of potato chips. “What-?”
He turned around and faced Hunter who was preparing to throw another bag. “Leave Huntress alone, you meanie!” He threw another bag which Phantom ducked, however, he couldn’t dodge the chips that fell out of the bag and covered him. “Leave her-? Hey, she attacked me!”
Valerie scowled, “Shut it Phantom!” She then turned towards Hunter, “Kid, are you crazy! Get out of here!” She can’t believe this is happening right now. Out of all the times she could’ve seen this brat again, he decided to show up right when she was about to kick Phantom’s ass!
Hunter paid her no mind, preparing to throw his notebooks next. “No! We have to take him down!” He declared. He put on his ‘mean face’ that just makes him look constipated.
Still, Phantom was caught off guard at the new-comer, looking over a Valerie in bemusement, “We!?” Phantom balked. He was obviously surprised that Valerie would work with anyone. She hardly gives the Fentons the time of day and he’s never seen her working with the GIW. Hell, she only works with him when it’s absolutely necessary and benefits herself in some way. He doesn’t see her as the type to employ a side-kick.
Valerie wanted to scream, she nearly did, but kept her composure and just menacingly stated, “ We aren’t doing anything, you little pest. I am taking him down while you go home!” She pointed in the direction he came from, indicating that she wanted him to beat it. He just pouted, looking so dejected that Valerie almost felt sorry for him. Almost. “But-”
“NOW!”
Hunter lowered his throwing arm and begrudgingly put his stuff away. Finally catching on to what was happening, Phantom couldn’t stop himself from clutching his stomach in laughter. “Guess you have a little fan, huh Red?” He giggled at the enraged expression she threw his way. This is priceless! I can’t wait to tell Sam and Tucker! “That’s enough out of you!” Valerie threatened, shaking her fist at him.
Phantom started laughing even harder causing Hunter to yell, “Hey! Don’t laugh at her! She’s a million times cooler than you!”
Phantom only snickered, “I agree.” He does hold admiration for Valerie. Despite her hate boner towards himself, she does help manage ghost attacks even if she doesn’t know it. She’s the only human hunter to actually keep up with his load, and even pull ahead of him sometimes. If only they were allies.
He smiled slyly at Valerie who blushed at his agreement. She really wanted to shoot both of them right now. Phantom was really loving this though. He knows the struggle of having wild fans. Apart of him envied Valerie for not having any but looks like that’s not the case of anymore.
“Building a name for yourself, Red? Need a publicist?”
“What I need is you to go back where you belong!”
“Amity Park is where I belong!”
“Not anymore!” She aimed her thermos and was prepared to suck him in. He dodged the beam and knocked it out of her hand. Just then, Hunter shouted, “Huntress, I have my dad’s net gun!” He aimed it at Phantom.
Valerie, panicked, threw her hands out and shouted, “Hunter, wait! It won’t work on a ghost!” He shot it at Valerie and Phantom. Phantom saw the incoming trap but went intangible before it could close around him. Valerie, with her lack of intangibility abilities, screamed in anger as she was now trapped in the net. Phantom started laughing again as he floated in the air, “Love your new sidekick, Red, but I gotta bounce!” He then flew off; his trail of laughter causing a vein to pulse in Valerie’s forehead. Valerie snapped her head at Hunter and snarled at the boy who just sheepishly stared back, “Oops.”
-
Valerie tried her hardest to avoid Hunter after that incident. She constantly looked over her shoulder or scanned the areas to make sure the little brat wasn’t hiding in a dumpster or something. It was really starting to take a toll on her. As if she wasn’t paranoid enough, now she has to worry about someone interfering with her ghost hunting. The one activity where she feels she has complete control.
However, as the weeks passed, she started to slack on her awareness. It was final exam week and she was already tired from cleaning her weapons while simultaneously studying so she wasn’t on her A-game. As soon as she captured the ghost, without thinking twice, she changed out of her suit right away. She sighed as cool air passed over her skin and her hair was let free from its confinement.
However, as soon as Valerie changed out of her suit, she heard a sharp gasp behind her. “Red Huntress?”
She groaned at the voice. Of course, that little cockroach is just around the corner. And now he knows her face. “Wow, you’re pretty!”
Valerie was prepared to chew him out but paused at the compliment. He’s still a kid, I should just cut him some slack. “Thanks Hunter but you CANNOT tell anyone what I look like.” She pointed her finger at him in warning. He completely ignored her and snapped a picture of her face. Valerie blinked away the stars from the flash. “Hunter!”
“I’m not going to show anyone! It’s for my scrapbook!”
“I’m going to turn you into scraps if you don’t destroy that photo!”
He giggles, not taking her seriously. “Hunter! I mean it!”
“My book will be incomplete without it!”
“Good,” she walked to the bus stop and boarded, without sparring the little head-ache another glance.
A couple of days later, Valerie was working her usual shift at the Nasty Burger when a familiar, and unwanted, face came in. Approaching the counter was Hunter who was accompanied by a man who looked like an older version of him. Hunter’s face lit up and he started tugging the man’s sleeve. “Look, it’s her!”
Valerie’s face paled, thinking she was totally exposed. She felt better when the man looked at Hunter in confusion and just mouthed, ‘who’?
Hunter just rolled his eyes and the two males walked up to Valerie.
“Hello... Valerie .” Hunter said after reading her name tag. Valerie’s eye twitched but she kept her annoyance out of her voice long enough to say, “Hello...fella. What can I get you guys?”
“I don’t know. What do you suggest, Valerie. ” Hunter said, putting emphasis on her real name and giggling behind his fist. The man looked at Hunter in exasperation with slight amusement. “Well, I suggest a Nasty Meal. Today is free soda day so if you order a combo meal, you get a free large soda. Nasty Meals come with toys. This month’s toys are miniature power rangers.”
Hunter gasped in excitement, “Dad! I love power rangers! Can I get a Nasty Meal?! Pleaaaaaasssseeee!”
Valerie cringed at his high-pitched plea but his dad just smiled down at him. “Sure, tot. One Nasty Meal please with a large orange soda. And a cup of coffee. Black.”
“Sure. What color power ranger does he want.”
Hunter looked right into her eyes and said, “Red.”
Valerie, not even surprised, just typed in their order and gave them their waiting number.
Valerie watched them walk away to a nearby booth. Her eyes crossed with Danny’s who just smiled at her. It wasn’t a friendly smile...it was more like a smirk. As if he knew something that she didn’t. It wasn’t hard to see the mischievous glint in his eyes. Obviously, he could tell how uncomfortable her exchange with Hunter and his father was. She doesn’t understand how he could notice but she gave him the stink eye anyway. He just laughed and turned back towards his friends.
Valerie looked back towards Hunter and his father. They seem to be engaged in a game of paper football. Valerie smiled when Hunter scored a point and threw his arms in the air while exclaiming ‘wahoo!’. Valerie then got into an intense starting contest with Hector, his turtle, who was perched on the table. His dark, beady eyes stared into hers. Why do I feel like this turtle is judging me? Valerie shook her head at the absurdness and looked away.
As soon as their order was ready, Valerie called their number out. Hunter sprinted to the counter with his father telling him to slow down. When Hunter grabbed the bag of food, he quickly whispered, “Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me. I promise.” Valerie looked at him with surprise as he smiled and left with his father out the door.
After a moment of silence, she just sighed and helped the next customer.
-
After that moment in Nasty Burger, Valerie started warming up to Hunter. He really did just admire her so it’s not like she can be pissed at being admired. It actually started to feel good a little bit. Sure, the name Huntrite was stupid but other than his annoying habit of showing up at the wrong times, the kid wasn’t so bad.
However, no matter how many times Valerie warned him that ghost-hunting is dangerous, he never stopped throwing himself in her battles. That was the reason for her most current predicament.
One of Valerie’s more infamous foes made his way back around to Amity Park. She first became aware of his return when the single mother who lives in her apartment complex reported her child was missing. Now, a child missing could have many reasons that doesn’t involve ghosts but as soon as the mother mentioned black pieces of thread skittered around the child’s bedroom did Valerie know exactly who was behind it.
Sackos, commonly known as the bogeyman, was a predator ghost who kidnaps human children in his burlap sack to feast on them later and gain power from their youth. He is tall with spindly limbs and long pieces of black thread hanging off his bones. He’s also notoriously ruthless and off his rocker. He mainly haunts the poorer neighborhoods where children are easier to abduct. Elmerton fits the description perfectly which is how she first met the psycho. It took a while but she eventually kicked his ass.
Lucky for her, he’s not much of a fighter but he’s insane enough to be unpredictable so she can’t underestimate him. Especially if he has the little girl.
So now the Huntress was on the hunt for the spectral piece of shit. Fortunately, he’s not very creative and doesn’t adapt his tactics very much. She knew how his pattern worked and can predict his next target. The couple a few blocks away just had a new baby. Babies are the easiest for Sackos to abduct and they’re very young so that means more power for him. He’s greedy so that opportunity would be too much to pass up.
Valerie waited and watched the house from across the street. Sure enough, Sackos flew up towards the window and came out carrying the child.
“Don’t cry, little cheeseball, you’re the perfect ingredient for my scrumptious soup!”
His voice was eerie, like an intense echo and the child was not fond of it. The baby immediately began to wail but his mouth was covered by Sackos’s bony palm. “Hush now, my strawberry, before I swallow you whole right now.” The baby didn’t cease his crying and Sackos was prepared to make due on his threat when he was suddenly thrown into the wall.
Valerie had rammed into him from the side; the baby flew out of his arms from the impact but the huntress was there to grab him before he hit the ground. His cries got louder and his parents burst out of their house at the noise. “Oh my god! My baby!” The mother screeched. She ran over to Valerie, tripping over her feet while her husband bounded behind her. Valerie gently handed out her child and placed a hand on her shoulder, “Get inside, while I take care of this ghost.”
The mother looked at her with tear filled eyes, “Thank you.” She said and the couple ran back inside with their child. Valerie felt good, she doesn’t get words of appreciation very often. Her resolve was now strengthened as she stared down Sackos. They were both on opposite ends of the street; only Valerie's suit and the streetlights provided lighting.
“You’re as despicable as ever, aren’t you, Sackos?” She spat. Sackos gave a dramatic exclamation and held both of his palms to his face like he was in shocked. “Despicable? Me?” He asked, flabbergasted. He raised his hands up in a surrender position. “Not in a million years! A man has to eat, doesn’t he? You prefer nuts and berries while I prefer flesh and youth! Surely, you understand, my red gum-drop!”
Valerie rolled her eyes, disgusted at his name for her. He had a habit of calling people types of food. Valerie shot a blast his foot, causing him to yelp. “You don’t need to eat! You just want power!”
Sackos blew a raspberry at her and said, “If you want to test a man’s character, give him power. And a few bones to pick his teeth with.” He mimicked the action of picking his teeth with his fingers. Valerie growled, not in the mood for his non-sensical drabbles. “Shut your mouth and give me the sack!” That way she can open and release the kid he captured.
Sackos gasped and hugged the burlap sack around his chest. He stomped his foot like a petulant child. “Oh no, Red, you’re the despicable bully, here to steal me lunch bag!”
Suddenly, he opened the sack and a huge ray of energy shot out, hitting Valerie right in the chest. She choked and gasp as she was knocked off her board. She narrowly dodged Sackos attempting to smother her with the burlap sack. After getting to her feet, she pulled out an ecto-axe and attempted to slice the sack open. Sackos pulled it out of her range and then smacked her upside the head with it.
Sackos, despite being a bony motherfucker, was still a ghost so he was still wickedly strong. The force of the smack sent Valerie sailing into a nearby trash can. “Oh, gross!” She yelled, pulling a banana peel off her head. Sackos then opened his sack once again and started rapidly firing ecto-shots at her while cackling in glee. Valerie ducked and rolled under each shot before taking cover behind a bench. She looked down at her axe while formulating a plan. She smiled as an idea came to her, she just had to wait for the right moment. Sackos then stopped firing and shouted, “Come out, come out, my cherry! You’re still young enough to be gobbled down!”
Valerie stared down at the axe in her hand, kissed the tip and then stood up. “Hey! How about you eat this!”
She then threw the axe right at his face. In a panic, Sackos raised the sack in front of his face to protect himself. The axe made contact with the sack and ripped it down the middle. “No, me lunch!” Sackos screamed as a bright light erupted and the little girl came tumbling out. She ran right to Valerie and embraced her in a hug while crying. Valerie comforted the child, stroking her hair and telling her, “Shhhhh, it’s ok. I’ll get you home.”
Sackos stared down at the ripped bag in agony; his fingers gripped the torn seams as a hoarse wail escaped his throat. It was deafening in sound, causing Valerie and the little girl to cover their ears as he cried. After the outburst, his eyes started glowing a bright, amber color as his sorrow weakened and his rage intensified. Valerie could feel it in the air, so could the little girl if the way her gripped tightened indicated such.
Valerie grabbed the girl by the shoulders so she can look her in the eye, “Go hide, quickly!” The little girl nodded in fear and ran to find a safe place while Valerie faced the now pissed off Sackos. He drew himself to his full height, no longer hunching over like an old man. “You,” he said, slow and ominous, “Are not very nice.”
His jaw dislocated and a stream of ecto-fire shot out as if he was a dragon. Valerie watched as the scorching green flames came at her. He never displayed such a power before and she was unprepared for it. Right before the flames consumed her, she was knocked out of the way by a colliding force. Hugging her by the waist was Hunter who stared up at her with eyes full of fright.
“Valerie!” He screeched, happy to see she was unburned. Valerie remained frozen in shock until her senses came back to her. She let out a violent curse and pushed him behind her as Sackos stalked towards them.
“Hunter, stay back! What the hell are you doing here! It’s mid-night! Don’t you have a bed-time!”
“I do but this is my neighborhood! I heard all the noise! Let me help!”
“No! Get out of here! Sackos doesn’t play around.”
As if to emphasize her point, Sackos let out another stream of ecto-fire but Valerie had enough sense to learn from her mistake and jump out of the way with Hunter. Once they were behind cover, she looked over Hunter to make sure he was unarmed. He was shaking and hanging onto her for dear life. “No matter what, stay behind here!” Valerie stood as Hunter cried out, “Wait, what are you going to do?”
Valerie replied, “I have a plan,” and bolted from behind their cover.
She and Sackos circled each-other. His eyes held barely contained madness, he even started growling and barking at her like a dog. “You know, Sackos, ghosts like you are the reason I do what I do.”
“Oh, really my fair marshmallow, glad to keep you in employment.”
She scoffed and reached behind her back. Like she said, Sackos wasn’t much of a fighter and had little to no battle sense. If he did, he would’ve noticed the cubed object Valerie held between her fingers. She just had to wait for him to slip, it was bound to happen. She could tell because he was getting jittery, like a crackhead looking for a fix.
“Don’t think I can’t sense that delectable youthful flesh you have hiding away!” Sackos commented. Valerie glared, resisting the urge to turn around and make sure Hunter was safe; she can’t let her eyes off of Sackos for a second, it’s just what he wants.
“Oh yeah,” Valerie spat, preparing the item in her hand, “Come and get him.”
Sackos roared and flew at her. Unfortunately for the poor bastard, she was prepared for him. In her hand was a compactable ghost portal, curtesy of the Fentons. The called it the Fenton Hole and it’s able to make a highly unstable ghost portal that acts as a black hole to any ecto-energy in the area.
As soon as Sackos was closed, she threw down the cube and it erupted in a loud bang. Sackos yelped and tried to scramble away but it was too late as the portal was formed and already sucking him in. Valerie, due to her ghost suit, could feel the pull slightly but she was still human enough to resist it. However, Sackos wasn’t going down easy. As the ghost hole sucked him in, he managed to grab Valerie by the ankles. She yelled as she lost her balance and hit the concrete.
She tried with all her might to crawl out of his grip but he was too strong. She was so focused on releasing herself that she didn’t notice Hunter throwing himself at Sackos. She gasped as the young boy collided with the ghost. “No!” She yelled but it was too late. Sackos cackled as he pulled Hunter with him into the portal!
“Hunter!” Valerie screamed in horror; her eyes wide and her mouth hanging open. Valerie scrambled to her feet and made a flying leap at the portal but it was too late. It closed before she could make it through and she landed face first on the ground. “Ugh.” She rubbed her neck, solemnly staring at the empty space where the portal used to be.
“Oh, no, this is bad.”
-
Before anyone judges her, Valerie wants to set the record straight that she’s not usually one for breaking and entering. However, seeing as the Fentons are the only ones with a working ghost portal nearby, she has no choice but to sneak through Danny’s window. He'll understand, she reasons even though she’ll have to come up with a convincing lie seeing as he doesn’t know her secret. She very carefully stepped through and closed the window quietly behind her. She winced at the click but Danny‘s snoring seemed to drown it out.
She looked over at his bed to see him all curled up with drool dripping down his face. Ew, she snorted, he’s lucky he’s cute. Okay, stop staring Valerie! You look like a creep! She very carefully maneuvered around his messy room until she made it to the door. Fortunately for her, he sleeps like a log and didn’t stir as she tip-toed throughout room. She had to avoid a multitude of comic books and dirty socks, geez Danny, you need a maid.
Once at the door, she turned the knob as slowly as possible to avoid noise and stepped out into the hallway. It was dark, as expected but luckily her suit comes in with a built-in flashlight which she turned on. Valerie’s been in Fentonworks enough times to locate the basement easily.
The door was locked but she was an expert lock-picker at this point and got it open in no time. The lab was extra eerie when it was dark; she didn’t want to turn a light on because it might wake someone up.
The darkness didn’t last long because as soon as she turned on the portal, the room was filled with bright luminescent green light. Valerie had to shield her eyes from the shine and give them time to adjust. After her momentary blindness subsided, she couldn’t help but stare at the portal in awe.
As much as she despised ghosts, something about them will always be captivating; especially the realm in which they subside.
She took a deep breath and shook herself out of amazement. She quickly summoned her hoverboard but almost fell off as she heard a sharp gasp sound off behind her.
“Wha-? Valerie?!” Danny, clad in his pajamas with bedhead and bare feet, gawked at the girl. Valerie winced, knowing her secret was out of the bag now. Valerie swore at the fact she left her mask down. “Danny, look I know me being the Red Huntress is a shock but I have something to take care of.”
Danny blinked, totally forgetting that he wasn’t supposed to know her secret.
He quickly tried to play it off, “Oh, yeah, that! That’s what I'm shocked about. Totally, blindsided me there! Hehe.”
“Ugh, whatever, sorry Danny, I have to um, take care of something. Love ya, thanks!”
“Wait, I can-”
He couldn’t finish the sentence before she sped off.
“-Can help,” he groaned at the portal, “Great, just great. Should I follow her? Where is she even going?”
Danny then heard his mother’s voice from up the stairs, “Danny, are you in the lab?”
Danny sighed and turned around, “Or I’ll just cover for her and hope that she can handle whatever mess she is in.”
-
Valerie needed to quickly clean up this mess before Hunter got hurt.
This isn’t Valerie’s first time venturing into the Ghost Zone, she’s done so plenty of times on her lonesome. She quickly opened her ecto-scanner and searched for Sacko’s specific signature. “Bingo!” She exclaimed when her suit beeped and gave her a GPS of his lair. I got you know, dirtbag! Please be okay, Hunter.
Ready to battle, Valerie took off towards his lair.
It was easily found and she was able to see Hunter sitting in the middle of the hanging cage with his face between his knees. Valerie could see his shoulders shaking in fear even in the dim light. “Hunter?” She called out. He immediately looked at her with eyes filled with shock and relief. “Red Huntress? I knew you would come for me!”
“Yeah, yeah, come on kid, let’s get you out of here.”
“Not so fast, my little red velvet.”
“Listen here, Sackos, you obviously lured me out here for a reason or else Hunter would’ve been gone by now. What do you want from me?”
“Me? What do I want? What we all want, Valerie, ” she shuddered at the use of her real name, he has never called her that before, “Absolute freedom! Freedom to be and freedom to want!”
“Most people’s idea of freedom isn’t kidnapping children! Are you crazy enough to think I would allow that?”
“One man’s crazy is another man’s epiphany!”
“You’re fucking deluded!”
“There’s no greater delusion than the delusion of sanity!”
“Oh yeah? Well, there’s no greater force than a seriously pissed off teenager girl with an ecto-rocket!”
With that, she mounted the thing on her shoulder and took her shot. Sackos, with his spindly limbs managed to avoid the blast. “A-ha! Your measly weapon is not enough to over-power me! I will soon dispose of you and feast upon the mortal world as much to my likening!”
Through his tirade, he completely missed Valerie’s rocket splitting itself into 3 miniature versions and coming back around like a boomerang. In midst of his evil laughter, he was then hit in the back by all three rockets. Valerie smirked as he was launched forward, right into her awaiting fist. She managed to nail him hard enough that he was knocked into Hunter’s cage. The cage swayed back and forth and eventually dropped, releasing the small boy.
He beamed at Valerie. “Red Huntress!” He yelled, relieved and happy. He ran to her and wrapped his arms around his waist. Valerie laughed and hugged him tight. They both looked towards the sorry sack of shit lying on the ground pitiful. “No! No! NO! This was supposed to be my win! This is my game! You ruined it! Foul play! Foul play!”
“You’re the only foul thing here!” Hunter said, “Have you smelled your breath lately! It stinks!”
Valerie giggled, “Change your name to Mentos!” Valerie said, causing Hunter to throw his head back in laughter. Sackos wailed, “Stop mocking my pain! Have you no shame!”
Just then, Hector wrapped his little mouth around one of Sackos’s loose strings. With a small pull, the ghost’s form begins to unravel, revealing a bony skeleton beneath!
“My form!” He yelled, trying to put the pieces back to together. “Alright, Hector!” Hunter cheered, giving the green turtle a kiss on the forehead. Valerie snorted. “Let’s get out of here.”
As she safely flew them through the ghost zone, Valerie came to the conclusion that having a fanboy wasn’t so bad. Although, he still needs to work on the name ‘Huntrite’.
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Thanks for reading! Please leave kudos and comment, I really, really, REALLY would appreciate feedback, positive or negative <3.