Chapter Text
When Danny awoke the next day, he found that Plasmius and Desiree had left and it was just Walker and Danny at the table. As he picked at his grits, he glanced up at Walker. “So, uh…I thought I heard Plasmius last night. I got up to use the bathroom and…”
“He was here.” Walker replied.
“So, he’s back on Earth.” Danny nodded. “That’s…kind of good to hear, no one deserves to be stranded out in space.”
Walker glanced at him. “What else did you hear?”
“Just Plasmius talking and laughing. I didn’t hear what he was saying, though.” Danny lied, poking at his grits.
Walker stood up and walked over to him; placing his hands on Danny’s shoulders and making him freeze up. “Are you sure you heard nothing?” He asked calmly.
“Yeah. Nothing important, anyway. Just about his obsession with my mom and his amusement about my being here. I think you told him I smashed my hand, because he said something about ‘intangible’ before laughing.” Danny said, glancing up at the ghost looming over him. His human skin was getting goosebumps at his cold touch and then the hands were moved off.
“Good.” He walked back to his chair and sat down. “Plasmius and I are what you would call ‘friends’.”
“Go figure, you two are just perfect for each other.” Danny mumbled.
Walker raised an eyebrow. “What was that?”
“Uhh—I-I’m surprised to hear that. He’s never mentioned you when he had me captured.” Danny said nervously.
Walker smirked and went back to his grits. “He was most likely more focused on you, punk. We don’t make a habit of talking about our allies to our enemies.”
“Then, why tell me now?” Danny asked.
“Because once you’re done here, we don’t have a problem anymore.” Walker glanced at him. “Unless you go spreading it around.”
“I don’t. I won’t tell anyone.” Danny promised, not liking the look in Walker’s eyes.
“You better not, punk.” Walker said firmly.
Right, put that on the “Do not tell ANYONE on pain of death” list. Danny finally stopped picking at his grits and properly ate them, deciding that asking his next question would be a bad idea. Maybe he could just find out by listening in to their next conversation.
After breakfast, he walked around aimlessly in the house before going outside. He noticed that unless he was in his bedroom, Walker seemed to always be watching him. Why? Did he think he was going to run off? Danny wasn’t stupid, he knew the rules and to try to run away from the warden, no matter much how much he kissed you like a creeper, was “against the rules”.
He explored the ruined town before finally turning to Walker. “Hey, can I ask you something?”
“Yes?” Walker asked calmly.
“Why is this place such a wreck?” Danny looked around him.
“Ghost Storms.” Walker replied. “They tear into every lair and cause damage everywhere they go. They’re usually caused by a new portal opening up somewhere and sending out ripples through the entire Ghost Zone.”
“And the most recent one was…” Danny looked around guiltily.
“The Fenton Portal, yes.” Walker smirked. “Feeling guilty, punk?”
“Yes, actually. I did all this? Just by accidentally pushing a button?” Danny sat down on his knees, groaning. “I thought only I was affected by it!”
Walker looked down at the guilt-ridden teen and knelt behind him, placing a hand on his back. He once against froze at his touch, waiting to see what the older ghost would do. Walker considered moving his hand away, but why miss this chance? He moved his hand up and down the boy’s back, feeling each muscle as he tensed and seeing his body trembling a bit. “Is it cold?” He asked.
“…That’s not it.” Danny shook his head. “I’m just…you scare me.” He admitted.
Walker smirked and placed his hand flat against Danny’s back, shoving him forward and onto his stomach. “What do you think I’ll do to you, punk?” He asked, moving a finger down the teen’s back again. It would be so easy to act on his stirrings and tear the human’s clothes off right here. He resisted the urge, however, and moved away from him to let him get back up.
Danny dusted himself off with his good hand and gave Walker a sour look before he walked back inside to clean up.
--
“Ouch, I think you just lost points.” Plasmius remarked, turning visible just a few feet in front of where Danny had been lying earlier.
“If I’m too lenient on him he’ll take advantage of it.” Walker looked at him. “I thought you left?”
“And go where? Not my office, there’s a new mayor now. Not my home in Wisconsin, it’s being staked out by the Guys in White.” Plasmius shrugged. “Not like you don’t have plenty of rooms here.”
“He’ll find out you’re here sooner or later.” Walker frowned.
“And you’ve already told him we’re friends.” Plasmius shrugged. “What’s the harm in letting me stay?”
“Freeloader.” Walker jabbed, then smirked. “I suppose I do owe you this much. Very well, but don’t harass the boy. And remember, he’s mine.” He walked back inside.
“May as well walk in visible and claim I just arrived.” Plasmius shrugged, following him in.
They were seated in the living room when Danny came down wearing the only other outfit he had on him. Plasmius raised an eyebrow at the tailcoat and then looked at Walker. “A tailcoat, Walker?”
“It’s my uniform.” Danny said, standing by the door and looking like he wasn’t sure if it was okay to enter or not.
“And why are you wearing your uniform?” Plasmius asked.
“Come in and sit down.” Walker motioned for him to enter.
“Because Walker didn’t tell me until Monday that I would need to pack clothes.” Danny looked at the chair close to Plasmius and the empty seat beside Walker before he opted to just sit on the floor. He didn’t trust either one of them, it seemed. “When did you get back on Earth?”
“Last night. I went straight to the Ghost Zone.” Plasmius replied.
“Yeah, I heard you.” Danny nodded, messing with the laces on his shoes.
“Shame about your hand.” Plasmius smirked. “You know, if you had become my apprentice two years ago you would know how to heal wounds like that in a snap by now.”
Danny shot him a look. “In exchange for renouncing my father and letting you take my mom? No thanks!”
“Ouch, rejected by both mother and son.” Walker chuckled.
Plasmius pouted before sitting back. “Why are you sitting on the floor?”
“Because I don’t trust either of you to not grab me.” Danny said flatly.
“Fair enough.” Plasmius smirked. “I do have a history of grabbing you.”
Danny scooted back away from them even further, sitting against the wall by the open door. “So, uh…how was space?”
“Quiet. Calm. Peaceful unless I’m being hit by giant asteroids.” Plasmius shrugged. “I survived, though. I heard about your heroic accomplishment. Well done, Daniel. Maybe I did teach you something about diplomacy after all.”
“I didn’t learn how to be diplomatic from you; I acted on my own wits.” Danny frowned.
“He must’ve had some level of it; he DID organize the mass prison-break with Skulker.” Walker said, earning a smile from Danny. Good, lost points have been regained.
“Skulker.” Plasmius groaned. “Why isn’t he in your prison again yet?”
“He’s been avoiding me well.” Walker replied. “I will have him in there, though. He’s been a thorn in our sides since he died.” He huffed. “No, even before that.”
Danny perked up a bit, listening closer. Apparently information on Skulker’s life before really interested him.
“Why don’t you tell the story?” Plasmius asked. “I was still a new ghost at the time and avoided him like the plague.”
Walker sighed. “Skulker was a punk who went by the name of Nicholas Armbruster. His family was a long line of crossbow makers, and he used his specially-made crossbows to hunt ghosts. He called himself ‘the Skulker’ for people to know him.”
“Wait, he was a ghost-hunter?” Danny got up and moved closer, sitting on the couch to listen better.
“More like a ghost trapper.” Plasmius frowned. “Walker told me right away to watch out for him while I was still weak in power and to hide the fact that I wasn’t a full ghost from him. I still do, even though he wouldn’t dare go against me.”
“Skulker hunted us not for the sake of the people like you do and your parents do, but for his own gain. He would keep the ghosts he captured in cages and put them on display in a museum that people came to see. A Ghost Museum.” Walker scowled. “As you can imagine, that’s against the rules. The living aren’t supposed to be able to see ghosts whenever they want to, not unless the ghosts wish it. He had technology that could prevent ghosts from using any of their powers, and he was a genius. We had to take him down; he was too close to finding a way into the Ghost Zone itself.”
“‘Take him down’?” Danny’s eyes widened. “You mean…”
“I took my men and we took him down.” Walker said coolly. “He didn’t die, not right away, but he was badly wounded. He arrived in our world and built himself an exoskeleton and a lair three weeks later.”
“Why is he a frog?” Danny frowned. “Or…a frog…thing?”
“Some ghosts forget how they looked in life, punk.” Walker draped an arm over Danny’s shoulder; he looked at his hand on his shoulder with an alarmed expression. “Skulker forgot all but his nickname and his desire to hunt down the rare and exotic and put them on display.”
“Which is how we get back to his fascination with me. Who he thinks is one-of-a-kind because Plasmius hides his human identity so well.” Danny nodded slowly.
“Even if he knew, he wouldn’t come after me. You’re still weird for a ghost, caring more about others than yourself.” Plasmius smirked.
“Right.” Danny squirmed at Walker’s arm on his shoulders and looked at him. “Can you…uhm…move your arm?”
“Can’t you just get up, little badger?” Plasmius asked.
“I shouldn’t have to.” Danny mumbled.
“Not like his arm is going to bite you.” Plasmius got up and left the room. “Walker, which room is mine?”
“Wait, he’s living here?” Danny started.
Walker nodded. “With his position as mayor replaced and the Guys in White watching his mansion in Wisconsin, he doesn’t have anywhere else to turn. And he’s done enough favors for me to allow this.” Walker moved his hand from Danny’s shoulder and got up, walking out to show Plasmius to his room.
--
“Great. Both my creepers in one place.” Danny murmured. He thought about what he’d learned about Skulker and briefly wondered how he used to look, deciding to look up the name Nicholas Armbruster when he got home on Saturday.
Which was feeling further and further away the more creeped out he got here. Were the clocks really on Real World time?