Rick Jones is confused. He stands at the end of an open, paved courtyard-like area just outside the Gorilla enclosures in the Central Park Zoo. His back is to a chest-high cement wall which he could leap over as his escape route. Before him, however, hovers a miniaturized human radiating flame. Beyond that he's faced with two armored individuals and a costumed young woman.
Then things start to get weird.
Everyone pauses, hearing loud and raucous noise headed this way. Park benches are overthrown, trash barrels are kicked into walls, lampposts and signs are toppled, and a cacophonous booming voice is above it all: sounding a bit like "LkyikyikykkikkkikyickyickyYahhhhhhhh!"
An large old man comes into view. He is wearing a tattered raincoat over some garish but tarnished ... chainmail? He is barefoot, his hair and beard wild, and he pauses briefly, seeing the four assembled Marvels surrounding Rick Jones... and with another indecipherable battle cry, makes a beeline at top speed toward them!
Following close behind him is another man, in street clothes, glowing white. . .
Moon Knight: "Sigh. So much for subtlety," he mutters to himself. "RICK! WATCH OUT!" He pauses for a moment to grin and quickly adds, "Crazy old man coming through."
. . . and another follows overhead, flying close behind but trying to keep to the shadows, a winged humanoid!
And hidden to all, a woman has been following a different route, thanks to the success of her spell. She has managed to sneak up on the opposite end of this scene, through the landscape of the zoo, and can see, over the cement wall, the back of Rick Jones, and beyond him, the four Marvels, and beyond that, the charging old man and his followers. . .
Hellcat: Oh, great. Here I am casting delicate and precise spells when all I needed to do to find Jones was knock over trash cans and yell like an idiot. "Lkyikyikyaah." Must remember that.
Patsy crouches behind the wall, her hand sliding down to her belt to retrieve one of her mystical runestones. A simple mental probe from this distance and she'll have the information she needs. No need or desire to get involved with superhumans at this point, especially with the knowledge that one or more of them are government hitmen. In and out, no one the wiser. And Jones... Jones is on his own.
"His problem," Patsy thinks to herself, her hand grasping the stone firmly. Her body tenses, her muscles clench and release. She breathes deep. "His problem," she mentally reassures herself. "Just cast the spell. Just cast the damned spell so you can get out of--" Then, a sudden change of mind-- her hand quickly slides across her belt and pulls out a different stone....
MOON KNIGHT comes to a halt, not wanting to get too close to the other strangers that surround Rick. He crosses his arms and stands with his feet apart waiting to see if he should get involved or not.
THOR thinks to himself, "My plan worked!" Thor sees the boy, Rick Jones, surrounded by what can only be the evil ones he was warned about !
VENOM: "Raggedy-ass sword carrying psychotics, flying robots, and now a damn bearded wino..." All this has just sent poor Marta's sense of reality all akimbo. Despite the odd things happening in her life to this point, she realizes that is WAY TOO WEIRD. In her head, she prioritizes. First thing, get Jones out of here. Obviously someone here is likely trying to kill him. So, the first thing she does is leap toward Jones, arms outstretched to scoop him up in a fireman's carry and tear ass out of the line of fire.
THOR: "Get away from the boy, you dragon spawned fiends!!!!!" Thor is having a hard time keeping his vision in focus. He sees medieval knights, faeries -- and one of the faeries is attacking brave Modi... no, not Modi...Rick Jones, the young man who called him. He must protect Jones. He is not sure why.
He chucks his empty whiskey bottle at the girl -- yon demon child-snatcher! The bottle crashes against her shoulder, and Venom winces in pain as her momentum carries her toward Rick Jones.
Rick notices the young woman leaping at him. Fortunately, his Kree martial arts will let him easily redirect her pathetic attempt into a body-slam, and he yells "By Hala, nobody attacks a Kree-trained warrior with impunity ... what am I saying???"
As Venom goes sailing through the air, she yells, "What the--?!" (UNFH!) "Jones, I'm trying to get you out of here! In case you haven't noticed, there are lots of big, weird-looking things trying to KILL EACH OTHER!" Venom lands on the cement-- hard.
The BLACK KNIGHT had stood nearby in a state of readiness, but is mind is very confused. He had struck a might blow against the armored German nobleman and yet his opponent seems unharmed as sent energy snares to attack him. What evil sorcery is this? But now the girl he had struck to protect has apparently attacked the boy they were all called here by.
And NOW there is a party of peasant looking dorks coming charging at him! But then he spots the chain links under the wino looking dude's raincoat, and sees that this ragamuffin has attacked the girl as well !
Black Knight: "I say thee nay, vile knave! The Black Knight shall not suffer you to lay your crude, peasant hands upon the woman! Prepare to face the righteous wrath of the last son of Camelot!
The sword swings high and falls down hard upon Thor's armored body-- but aside from the resounding clang, Thor merely looks at his new attacker, his eyes taking a while to adjust to the change of focus. He focuses his concentration on the dark faerie -- a minion of the spider goddess no doubt. What? A sword? Now the black knight attacks him... must try to avoid the ominous looking blade ...
Suddenly, a woman in a slick bodysuit vaults over the wall to Rick Jones' back, closing her eyes tight and concentrating . . . Everyone pauses in their actions or inactions, staring at Hellcat as the stone in her hand emits a stream of blinding light, engulfing you all...
AND SHORTLY, the characters in this little corner of the zoo begin to clear their vision, after feeling like they've stared into the sun itself. As they gather their bearings, they see Rick Jones, his back against the area's cement wall, choking and coughing violently. Others also join him, doubling over and coughing... the Black Knight, Thor, Hawkeye... The others are left to stare in horror as these people begin to belch up a thick, clear, gel-like substance. As the strange semi-solid liquid is coughed up, it gathers in a pool about them. It also begins dripping off their body, as if a thin film (like a second skin) is being peeled away.
Rick Jones, as if in a daze, looks up... "S... Sp... Space phantoms..."
The puddle around Rick Jones flows together, forming a weird see-through humanoid/octopus creature that levitates just above the people, below. The other puddles form similar creatures, until 4 such creatures levitate above you. Each one has subtle shadings of color to them: Rick's = White, Black Knight 's = Purple, Thor's = Green, Hawkeye's = Yellow.
The Black Knight's sardonic accent comes from beneath his helmet:: "Well this is a new one! I haven't eaten a thing since I got this damnable armor and here I am vomiting! If that isn't a stumper! Sure took a long time to digest that last blood pudding!" The Knight shakes his head, and speaks in a higher pitched voice: "But of course the creature which springs from the last son of Camelot must assume purple, the royal color!"
"It is good, my battalion," a voice seems to emanate from the milky white "leader" Phantom that came from Rick. "We have managed to bring together many such Marvels in one place. Pity that more could not be found. Now we bring about the destruction of these Marvels, and with them, our ultimate prey, Rick Jones!"
Thor's eyes blaze white hot and he is stunned. His body sags. He has failed again. "Failed again," he mumbles, "too drunk, too old, too veak. Lost Modi once again. My veakness has betrayed my sons and the vorld to come as vell. All is lost." Suddenly he feels a familiar rumble in his stomach...
BARON ZEMO flies up into the air so that he's out of reach from the Phantoms. "I knew that sword dwelling dolt was a part of this mad scheme to capture Rick Jones! I'll take care of the phantoms first and then he shall pay for his deception!"
Zemo's laser blast clips the side of the Purple Phantom that has come out of the Black Knight., although it doesn't seem to affect it much.
HAWKEYE is pissed. This night has gone from bad to worse, and he's had enough. He reaches for one of his spears to chuck at this Yellow Phantom that had seemingly possessed him.
It was a brilliant throw, and neatly passes through the gelatinous head/torso of the octopoid. The spear passes through the body, taking some of the semi-solid material with it before crashing into the trees beyond.
HELLCAT: Patsy stares in horror at the floating mass of pale ooze hovering above her, her legs quivering as they resist the urge to run and leave the others to their own devices. It appears that the situation is more ominous than a government conspiracy and much too large for her to handle alone. Like it or not, these Marvels may be her only allies from here on out.
Patsy removes a stone and prepares to fire an Eldritch Bolt at the milky white alien.
BLACK KNIGHT: "Vile water weirds, or beasties much their like! The Black Knight shall not suffer you to accost the boy! I shall slay thee or banish thee back from whence ye came! Yaaaaaaa!" And the Black Knight attacks the Purple Space Phantom with his ebony blade!
The Ebony sword slices a thick tentacle from the Purple Phantom, but no discernable damage was done as the Phantom regrows a gooey appendage just as soon as the blade slices through it.
"Bloody hell! Bleeding sword can't hurt anybody! Need to get me self a good Browning or summat! If I live thru this my first stop will be to the local gun merchant!"
FIRE ANT "Sheesh!" exclaims Fire-Ant. "Fantastics, Marvels... now we got wacky Space Phantoms! Looks like I took the midnight E-train to Weirdsville!"
Fire-Ant maneuvers into position against the Green Phantom, levels his gauntlets at his target, and sends a couple of red-hot flame missiles at the hideous creature. The fire doesn't seem to affect the villain, if anything… it seemed to enjoy the heat-- enjoying perhaps a bit too much.
MOON KNIGHT: Without a word of warning, he unleashes a Light Blast on the white "leader" Phantom. The blast goes directly through the Phantom, and it's low voice screams in pain.
THOR: "I have puked many times in the last 20 years," Thor thinks to himself, "but this is the first time my vomit has risen up to attack me." Thor briefly considers changing from Scotch to Gin. Since expelling, he feels much better and more steady. If there's one thing Thor can't abide it's barf that won't stay down!!! Well, it's his ralph and he is by god going to teach it some manners!
Straining with all his might, "unnnnggghhhhhh!" Thor leaps at the unruly Green retch!
Thor manages to bring the gelantous goop down with him as he lands, with bits of the Phantom splattering everywhere. But however powerful the blow, the Phantom and Thor appear to be entertwined somehow-- Thor seems to be completely engulfed by the Green Phantom now, hunched over and looking a bit like a piece of fruit in lime Jell-O.
RICK JONES leaps into the air, delivering a roundhouse into the Purple Phantom that tore away from the Black Knight.
"Space Phantoms!" he yells, "Genetically altered Kree plasmoids who are used to sow seeds of discord among the enemies of the Kree. Looks like I owe you an apology lady," (to Venom) "...which I'll be happy to give you after we take care of these goons!" Rick's kick went wide, missing the mark due to the ever-flowing nature of the Phantom's plasmoid body.
VENOM: "No problem, it was just my spine," she says under her breath. She uses her own martial arts to aid Jones against the purple Phantom -- Venom connects with the fleshy creature, but doesn't seem to do much aside from leave a temporary indent in its hide.
JUST THEN....
The Yellow Phantom starts to spin like a whirlwind, it's tentacles becoming deadly whips threatening all in its area-- the nearby Marvels: Hawkeye and Moon Knight!
Moon Knight backpedals, trying to avoid the tentacles. Unfortunately, it isn't quite enough to keep MK away from the flailing, whip-like limbs of the Yellow Phantom. A couple hit him across the face and chest, but they only connect with soft "BIFFS" against his ultra-dense flesh. Disorientating, but not damaging.
The many tentacles also buffet HAWKEYE's body as the Phantom advances. Hawkeye feels his the blows rain hard, pushing him to the ground in pain.
Hawkeye's just about had it. His spear was useless, his dodge didn't work, he's starting to rage uncontrollably. He grabs one of his hatchets and lashes out at the thing that just hit him: the Phantom's tentacles.
The Purple Phantom sends a tentacle whipping out to Black Knight, and it whaps him upside his helmet. CLONG! The Black Knight actually felt that rattle his bones, but otherwise remains unscathed.
The White Phantom moves in close behind Rick Jones, a blob of its body extending to cover Rick's head, suddenly cutting off his air! The Phantom's touch is warm and hot …
But at the same time, another blinding flash of light comes from Hellcat's stone, but this time a bolt of eldritch energy lances through the White Phantom, eliciting a low scream.
The Black Knight shouts to all: "Oi! People! The energy attacks seem to bother them! Keep pouring it on, the rest assume defensive positions, don't get in the bloody way like that dumb-ass wino!"
HELLCAT: "OK, girl, let's forego the dramatic thought processes and just blast away!" She aims at the White Phantom's tentacle connected to Rick's head as his mouth, clearly but muffledly, gasps for air, and she concentrates, feeling the eldritch energies start to build....
VENOM briefly pauses to scoop up the purple tentacle hacked off by the ebony blade of the Black Knight. The detached tentacle is little more than a pile of warm Jell-O, and it runs through Venom's fingers until all that's left on the ground is mixed-up glop and not even recognizable as a tentacle anymore. She had half-expected the substance to be cool to the touch, but it's actually quite warm-- not boiling, but more like. . . just-served mashed potatoes.
RICK JONES: "Drat!" His head within a globe of goo, Rick reaches for his blaster. "Dodge this, *insert Porky Pig Voice* "you hideous creature from another world, you!" which actually sounds to others as "Mod miff, myu midmef miffo mum muffo muld, myu!"
Turning, she tries to dig Jones' head out of the white snot monster's grip, yelling to the other Marvels, "Sierra Madre, am I the only one who doesn't go into long winded narration every time I try to accomplish something? I'd hate to hear you people going to the bathroom!"
However, when she tries to dig him free from the tentacle, she realizes that the integrity of the Phantom's body remains resilient when the tentacle ISN'T detached from the body--- as soon as she passes her fingers through, the tentacle flows together instantly, no matter how fast she tries.
MOON KNIGHT shakes off the Yellow Phantom's tornado-whip attack. "You're gonna have to do better than that." His first instinct is to launch another attack at the White Phantom, but between it covering Rick's head and Venom being in his line of fire, he opts to take out his frustrations of the Yellow Phantom.
"You were supposed to wait your turn, snotball, but if you insist on butting in, I guess I'll oblige!" And with that, Moon Knight's eyes flare as he sends another light blast forth from his hands straight at the creature
The light sears a corner of the Yellow Phantom, visibly damaging it, albeit slightly.
Turning away from the Purple Phantom that had just swung at him, the Black Knight attacks the deadly whipping tentacles of the Yellow Phantom which are threatening all in the area. He shouts, "Beware the stinging tentacles of yon demon! the Black knight shall divest it of its vile weaponry!"
Swinging the sword valiantly, the Black Knight had managed to swipe off all the tentacles, pieces of the Phantom's body scattering about the area. It seems to have made a difference, for although the Phantom quickly regenerates his tentacles, its overall mass seems severely diminished.
ZEMO: "Foul beasts!! My repulsors didn't do the job, so I take this!!"
Zemo can't believe that his repulsor blasts did so little. He thinks to himself that his technicians shall have to put in a little more work to improve this armor when he gets back.
Zemo fires swirling bands of energy, and they momentarily entrap the Purple Phantom, although they soon pass through it's plasmoid semi-solid body as it oozes through them.
FIRE-ANT: "Well, since my powers seem to do more harm than good. . ." He flies over to take a sample of the detached tentacle goo, for future study.
<<Movie quote!! "Someone blows their nose and you want to keep it?">>
Fire-Ant, having to grow to normal size to complete the operation, now has a semi-transparent colored (and very warm) blob of goo in a plastic baggie..
THOR: "I'm definitely getting off Scotch," Thor thinks, "when you get eaten by your own bilge it's definitely time to cut down." This is the most aggressive upchuck he has ever encountered! Not only will it not stay down -- it's trying to eat him!!!!
With that, he heaves with all his might and tries to push himself out of the living Jell-O mold, and although Thor can feel the Phantom congealing upon him, attempting to crush him like a constricting snake, Thor merely grunts in displeasure.
With mighty lurchings and staggers, Thor's struggles become less and less, until finally, he bursts out of the Green Phantom's embrace, sending "shrapnel" of Phantom-stuff everywhere. The discarded Phantom goo quivers, and lies still.
HELLCAT's spell takes effect, and the blast neatly separates the White Phantom's tentacle in two-- sending Rick to his knees in the recoil, and causing much surprise to Venom, who tried to dig Rick out as Hellcat was concentrating.
AND SO....
The battle is well and truly joined.
The Yellow Phantom is being advanced upon at three corners by Hawkeye, Moon Knight, and the Black Knight, after trying to attack them for simply being in the area. Hawkeye stands up from where he was thrown to the ground by its attack. The Yellow Phantom had paused from spinning, sending its tendrils out like a whirlwind only to have them chopped off by the Black Knight. Now, its appendage-less body recoils, then shoots out several tentacles to attack again.
MOON KNIGHT does his best to sidestep the tentacles coming his way. The whip-like tentacles of the Yellow Phantom twirl about, catching him across the face and chest. The barrage catches him off-guard, and MK begins to feel the blows even through his dense flesh. Moon Knight winces at the blows. It dawns on him that he's underestimated this opponent.
Angered at the turn of events, he retaliates with another Light Blast. A solid hit sears the Yellow Phantom, but the effects are negligible as the creature continues in its pirouette attack... at Hawkeye!
HAWKEYE uses his wings to fly straight up and out of the way, safely soaring through the tentacle storm and above the scene. He throws his second spear, and it lances straight and true, and succeeds in making the Phantom cry out, winding down it's whirlwind of tentacles as the spear severed some of them.
THOR stands, wiping Green Phantom residue from his brow, and seeing the carnage and confusion of battle all about him... somehow he has wound up in the middle of it all... He squeezes the goo out of his beard and nods proudly at "destroying" his regurgitated foe. He turns to see yellow bile menacing these other colorful beings who seemed as determined as he to protect Rick Jones.
Thor also has to wade through the tentacle storm as he makes his way to the Yellow Phantom at the center of the whirlwind attack... but Thor pushes aside just as many tentacles as those that slap him up and down have little effect ...
Thor leaps! He dives into the ooze. And then begins to try to push his way out again. "Disgusting sludge!!!!" yells THOR, "but I am far more disgusting!" Encased in goo, Thor's fists are thrown in slow motion ...
The Purple Phantom hovers in the air, directly across from Baron Zemo, who had also taken to the sky. The Phantom hunkers, then soars toward Zemo like a bullet!
ZEMO: "You may have had a chance against the vermin below, but now you face a Zemo! You've made a mistake coming after me, a big mistake!"
Although Zemo tries to maneuver mid-flight, firing his energy blasts at the same time, the Purple Phantom charges straight into him, shrugging off his attack!!!
The White Phantom, failing to suffocate Rick in the end of one of his tendrils, seems to turn as if noticing the women for the first time. Silently, two tentacles leash out at them, going straight for the heads of Venom and Hellcat!
VENOM: "Watch it, Quickdraw!"
Venom seethes at Hellcat as she dives out of the way of the tentacle. In spite of the fact that Miss Kitty just about blasted her head off, Venom attempts to push Hellcat out of the way as she dives.
HELLCAT: "'Quickdraw!?' Why you--" Hellcat mutters under her breath. "You!" she shouts, "Spider-Girl! Get Jones out of here, now!" Patsy yells to Venom. The Phantom's reach almost hits Patsy, whose reflexes managed to have her slide away at the last second, the tentacle stretching through the space recently occupied by her head.
Hellcat turns, finding that, unfortunately, Venom's leap toward her was stopped short-- as the White Phantom's deadly tentacle snaked out, encasing Venom's head with its bulbous end. Venom now sees the world through a white glaze and breathes only Phantom-gunk.
Patsy, heart pounding from her own narrow escape, gasps at the sight of the web-clad woman writhing within the white tentacle's grip. She raises the runestone and fires a beam attempting to lance through the tentacle extending towards Venom's head.
"We're losing," she thinks, looking at the bruised and battered heroes around her. And not for the first time tonight, she wonders whether or not she'll survive tonight.
...and Rick Jones kneels, gasping for breath and coughing up Phantom-gunk as the remainder of the tentacle that once gripped him slowly drips from his head...
Rick takes advantage of the White Phantom leaving him on the ground to cough and sputter, as the Phantom lunges tentacles at Venom and Hellcat... Unfortunately, the Phantom has left you disorientated, and the shots barely hit the mercurial creature.
BLACK KNIGHT: "Damsels in distress!" He thinks, and then aloud, shouts, "Fear not my dears, the Black Knight shall rescue you from the base demon!"
The Black Knight switches opponents (again...) but first he must make his way through the Yellow Phantom's tentacle-whirlwind.... and he shields his helmet with a raised arm as the tentacles beat him in their fury. WHAP WHAP WHAPPITY WHAPP WHAPP!
The Knight sputters, hurt, "GAH! The Black Knight has been most sorely injured! Woe is he! But no! Still the battle must go on! Now my will to defeat the cursed creatures is only magnified a thousandfold! CAMELOT!"
The Black Knight cries out in anger as his sword slashes down on the White Phantom in a deadly arc--- any lesser foe would certainly have been instantly killed. The White Phantom, indeed, seems to cry out in pain, although no mouth is on the creature, and a good half of the writhing creature was not re-absorbed after the sword's slice, and it falls to the ground in a tremendous splash, harmlessly scattering everywhere. What's left behind from the Phantom seems only a small shadow of its former self.
As Hellcat concentrates, letting the eldritch energies pass through her raised runestone. She remarks to herself how easy this spell, and others tonight, have been to cast. If this can just stay that way a few more seconds, she thinks... And the spell fires, lancing the tentacle holding Venom's head, leaving her to fall to the ground, momentarily surprised and sputtering, as Rick was.
Patsy suppresses a smile, both at Venom's current disposition and in relief that she's still breathing.
"Get it together, web-woman," she smirks. "I can't baby-sit you all night."
THEN....
The tide of the battle turns.
Rick Jones and Venom start to clear their heads after in danger of the White Phantom's suffocating tentacles. Hellcat stands a bit removed, her runes at the ready. The Black Knight stands underneath a severely dilapidated Phantom, his legs nearly drenched in Phantom residue. The Phantom hovers a bit, as if thinking, and then "pours" itself in a long, thin stream in to the cracks of the cement, disappearing from view....
Two different voices cry out from the Knight's helmet: One, "Ah-ha! The villain has been vanquished by the Black knight!" The other, "Who's next?!?"
Zemo and the Purple Phantom fly above it all, clashing it the air, the Purple Phantom had crashed into his armor, not really causing damage, but forming into a giant blob. The Phantom then swings this blob (with Zemo attached) toward the prone figure of Rick Jones, below. Fire-Ant looks up to gape in fearful anticipation as the armored figure of Baron Zemo is thrown at Rick Jones like a purple-and-golden hammer.
Zemo himself, having recently tried to fry the creature with energy blasts, struggles to break free from the Phantom's grip. Rick tries to dive out of the way, but his legs are hit hard by Zemo as he is sent crashing down on him.
Venom tries valiantly to obtain a weapon, attempting to force a concrete slab to come loose, but to no avail.
The Black Knight also turns toward the Purple Phantom, leaping high to slash at the hovering creature. He connects, separating the long tentacle that was throwing Zemo around. "Sir Knight," he shouts, "Fear not, the Black Knight shall not neglect you in your time of need! Charge!"
Zemo feels the Phantom momentary loosen its hold at the same time, and manages to shrug himself out of the gooey blob.
HELLCAT stands still, holding a runestone and repeating the same soft question over and over as she concentrates for a few crucial seconds....
On the other end of the scene, Hawkeye hovers, his axe at the ready, and Moon Knight curses under his breath as he sees Thor charge into the Yellow Phantom. They each had a hand in stopping its latest barrage of tentacles, but Thor had disregarded them entirely, literally throwing himself into the fray. The Yellow Phantom recoils its tentacles, and Thor struggles against the goo. The Phantom tries to congeal, increasing the pressure upon Thor...
Thor heaves with all the strength he can still muster and tries to push or jump out of the hellish mass of glop. He lets fly his most rancid belch for additional savior faire, "GUUUURRRRK!" He struggles like an ant trying to fight itself out of a drop of water, except this "water" tries to crush Thor at the same time. Moon Knight faints and parries, looking for an opportunity, and lets fly little light blasts when he's sure not to hit Thor. Hawkeye hovers expectantly.
Eventually, Thor begins to wear down, but some sort of fire flashes under his eye, and he draws upon some unseen strength. "I.... say..... that's.... E.... NOUGH!" As with the Green Phantom, the Yellow one explodes in a spattering of Phantom-goo. Thor still staggers for a moment, as if he is still fighting the Phantom, but suddenly plops down unceremoniously on his bum.
The Purple Phantom recoils what's left of its split tentacle. It hovers for a moment. Suddenly, it crashes to the ground, lies like a puddle for a split second, before the cracks of the cement patio seem to suck every last trace of it away.
EVERYONE STANDS
...at the ready, (well, except Thor, who had landed quite hard on his butt in the middle of Yellow goo) their senses alert and adrenaline pumping.
The red-haired woman had been focusing on a runestone during the last seconds of battle... and she looks up just then, seemingly coming out of a daze. "It's gone," she remarks. "The white... 'space phantom,' was it? It's gone." (Although Hellcat privately remarks to herself that although she couldn't detect the thing with her spell... she's not quite sure if it's due to the Phantom being out of range, or merely being undetectable, or worse-- if the spell failed.)