Wolves, Witches and Ghosts

Chapter 4: Reunion

Danny was taking a flight, something that had become a great way for him to relax before bed, as the sun dipped behind the concrete blocks and lit the clouds above Danny in its orange light. He swooped through the clock face atop the mall building, marvelling invisibly at the assortment of cogs and mechanisms that kept the clock ticking at all hours of the day that he would otherwise not be privy to.

Unfortunately, his peaceful flight was interrupted by a freezing sensation that caused a swirl of condensed air to materialise in front of his face. Danny shivered and span around apprehensively, awaiting a confrontation with a hostile ghost. He spotted a trio of glowing green vultures flying in and out of houses, accompanied by the screams of the unsuspecting folks in their homes. Danny rocketed towards the birds, and if he wasn't mistaken they were heading in the direction of Fenton Works. Maybe they just wanted to get to the Ghost Zone or something - perhaps Danny could just help them out without a fight.

"Can I help you?" Danny asked, perching on a rooftop next to the vultures and becoming translucent enough for them to see him but not enough for any humans to spot him without trying very hard.

"Finally, someone we can talk to," said one of the vultures, his fez tipping on his head like it was about to fall off. "You wouldn't happen to know the whereabouts of any halfas in the area, would you?"

Danny's face twisted into a quizzical expression laced with suspicion and fear. "Why do you want to find a halfa?"

"We have no nefarious intentions," stated another one of the vultures placatingly, "we merely wish to confirm the existence of another halfa to see if the rumours are true."

"Oh," Danny said blankly, "yeah, I'm a halfa."

"See, I told you we'd find him." The third vulture elbowed his companions before turning to Danny. "And what's your name?"

"Danny," Danny whispered, not wanting to risk anyone overhearing this conversation.

"Fenton?" the second vulture enquired, to which Danny nodded.

"How'd you know?"

The vulture waved him off. "We were given some information by our employer before coming here."

"Your employer?" Concern leaked into Danny's voice.

The first vulture whacked the second over the head. "You weren't meant to mention him, you moron." He focused back on Danny. "Nothing to worry about. We'll be taking our leave now."

Danny stayed crouched there for a moment longer as the vulture took off, then flew after them as they went in the opposite direction of Fenton Works.

"Don't you want to go to the Ghost Zone?"

The vultures stopped to ponder his question before the first, fez-wearing vulture replied, "that would be quicker. I don't fancy another three day long journey. Thank you young man, lead the way."

Danny led them back to Fenton Works, and through the ghost portal, with a quick explanation to his parents. He tried his best to sleep that night, but found himself reading at midnight in an attempt to quell his racing mind, filled with questions about their employer and why they needed to confirm the existence of a halfa, and of course, how they knew his surname.

Danny recounted the encounter with the vulture ghosts to Dash during their sparring session on Friday, which reminded him: "I'll be going to my parent's college reunion tomorrow - and apparently one of my parents' old college friends got hit by an active portal when they were in college, and Jazz says not to get my hopes up, but what if he's a halfa?"

Dash paused, forgetting that he was halfway through trying to punch at Danny's small Captain America-style shield. "I don't know, man. I'd have to agree with your sister - no one really knows how a human becomes a halfa, so for all we know it could just be wishful thinking. But it's still weird that those vulture ghosts' employer knew your name." It occurred to him that they were still sparring, and he went for some quick jabs at the shield, which barely affected Danny. "I know what it's like to want to have someone like you, so just, I guess, don't get carried away with your expectations or anything - it'll just hurt if he turns out not to be a halfa."