Disclaimer: Danny Phantom and all related characters are the product of Butch Hartman and Nickelodeon studios. Copperfield,Creeper, Killjoy, and related character are the product of Midway Games. Silver, Ed,and Kat/Electra are the product Silent Elegy.
A/N: Yeah, yeah. I know I shouldn't post this until tomorrow, but I couldn't wait any longer. I really like this one. I'm having a lot of fun with it. Anyway, once again, you don't need to know the other half of my source material. For those of you who are over 18 and interested, though, it's The Suffering: Ties That Bind. And again, scenes of violence, implications of death, and a heck of a lot of angst. There is no cussing (which was difficult because it means one of the characters is just shy of being OOC), but the word bastard does come up a few times. If you are easily offended, leave now. That's your warning. Flame me and die. Oh yeah, and on recommendation from my dear absent Faded Hope...
DISCLAIMER: Silent Elegy cannot be held responsible for nightmares, creepy feelings, ect.
For fifty years, the city of Baltimore has played host to a gathering of the world's most prestigious ghost hunters, the Paranormal Society. The annual PS Ghost Hunter's Convention is a Who's Who of the most renowned and influential psychics, mediums, hunters, and experts from all over the world. They meet to exchange and discuss ideas and theories, to learn from each other, and most importantly, to brag to each other.
It was during one such convention, five years ago, that a disaster of apocalyptic proportions struck. No one knows what happened that day, though popular belief holds that it was a military experiment gone horribly wrong. The rumor states that the government was using a nearby prison island for illegal chemical weapons testing. The subsequent prison break that resulted in everyone being evacuated infected the city of Baltimore with hallucinations of terrifying monsters. The undeniable result was complete and total mayhem; many, many people lost their lives in the most gruesome ways.
The Paranormal Society held a slightly different view, naturally enough. They believed that a tear in the fabric of reality of allowed ghosts and monsters from the ethereal plains to enter the world. They spent five years looking for proof of their theory, but to no avail. The monsters disappeared as quickly and completely as they had arrived, leaving suffering in their wake. The only clues left were the numerous sightings of two of Baltimore's most infamous ghosts.
During the eighteen hundreds, the city was a stop-over for the Underground Railroad, the path escaped slaves took to reach freedom. Many people made their livings off of hunting those slaves down, but one in particular went down in local history as the most evil and depraved of them all.
The slave hunter Copperfield was the best and the most relentless. Once he began the hunt, his unfortunate victim was doomed. By his side was a pack of rottweilers that he routinely starved; their meals came from their quarry. The unfortunate slaves never survived being hunted down, and neither did the people who helped them.
Other, more recent legends, tell of a string of murders. At first, the victims were always prostitutes. Since no one much cared about them, very little was done to stop the killer. After a while, the victims became women in general. Towards the end, men who were or might have been perceived as homosexual were added to the list. By the time the police decided to be involved, it was far too late to catch the culprit, a misogynous pimp who came to be known as Creeper.
That was years and years ago, twenty at the very least. The serial murders have long since stopped, but every once in a while, someone will turn up dead. There's no evidence, no suspects, and no apparent reason. The victim is found, often in an alley, gutted like a fish, Creeper's M.O. Witnesses invariably claim to have seen a large man in a trench coat.
Sightings of Creeper and Copperfield increased dramatically since that day five years ago. The head of the Paranormal Society, Ed Johnson, dropped the latest reports on his desk and turned to stare out the window with a sigh. The two ghosts had become his life's work since that day, and he finally had an idea for how to deal with them.
The only people to return from Carnate Island alive these past years just happened to be the world-renowned Amity Park ghost hunters, Jack and Maddie Fenton. He had honestly expected the outcome to be just like all the others he had invited there, but they had surprised him.
Yes, he rather thought the Fentons might finally capture the two ghosts and prove that all his theories had been right all along…