This story is supposed to be set before Rise of the Imperfects. It's mostly because the end of the game would make this fiction intensely complicated and less fun, if not impossible. By the way, in case you didn't see it in my last peice of work, this story is not in canon with Technical Difficulties. Anyway, onto the disclaimer!

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom, Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imerfects, or any characters associated with them. Danny Phantom is property to Nickelodeon, and Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects is property to Electronic Arts and Marvel Comics. I do own one character.

Drown Your Sorrows

Chapter 1: Buzzed

Evolution is such a tedious process. What's the harm in pushing it a step further? Oh, I'm sorry, where are my manners? My name is Doctor Niles Van Roekel. For many of your Earth years, I have been conducting numerous experiments on those of your planet to create the ultimate weapon. Project Paragon is nearing completion, but those that came after her have proven great worth to me. Johnny Ohm has shown no mercy in field training, and Solara has mastered her abilities to the point of flawlessness. But if I had to select a favorite of my creations, I would have to select the one that got away: Downpour. Her elegance combined with her rage made her a force most dangerous. It's quite interesting how she came into my life. And how she left it.

In the town of Amity Park, education is an important value. That's why the fourteen- to eighteen-year-old citizens of the town go to Casper High School, where the school experience is... well, not as different as the school expriences everywhere else, save the now-and-again ghost invasions. That's just one thing that gets the school's attention. The other is much more pleasent.

Of the two-hundred seventy-nine female students in attendance, one stood out as the official drop dead beauty. One so beautiful and popular, she can only be mentioned by her first name and everyone would still know who was being spoken of (it's rumored she may not even have a last name). She was Paulina, a fifteen year-old latina cheerleader who enjoys every minute of attention she recieves. She often flirts with all the boys just so they can gawk her way. Many call the act mean and low, but in her mind, the opinion of the ordinary doesn't matter.

It was during lunch where this story begins, as Paulina was walking to the popular table with her salad lunch recieving cat calls along the way. She then decides to give a flirt toward one particular student that was just too much fun to turture: Danny Fenton. From the moment his pants dropped in front of her, Paulina knew every flirt that she brought on would be sweeter than candy, especially in front of Danny's goth friend, Samantha Manson, or simply Sam. Paulina loves seeing the green on Sam's face just as much as the red on Danny's. As always, Danny and Sam were sitting at the same with their other friend, Tucker Foley.

While passing Danny's table, she gave a seductive, "Hi, Danny," in his direction.

"Hey," Danny casually said.

Paulina suddenly stopped in place, very confused at what just happened. She darted back to the table and bombarded Danny with questions. "That's it?! Just 'hey'?! No cheesy pick-up line?! No braindead babble that I'm even speaking to you?! JUST 'HEY'?!"

"Yeah, well you see, Paulina," Danny explained, "when when a boy has interest in a girl, and the girl shows no real interest in them, and the boy gets a little fed up, they move on."

Paulina's eye started to twitch when she began to ask what she never thought she'd ask. "Are you saying... you're over me?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Danny closed.

This gave Sam the urge to rub what just happened in Paulina's face. "YEEEEEEAH!!!" she shouted in a celebratory taunt, pointing at Paulina. "In you FACE! You're a Nasty Burger with fries, 'cause you just got SERVED!!!" Sam started breathing heavily over the immense shouting, her eyes set to a mental glare.

"You have no idea how long she's been waiting to do that," Tucker said. He then added, "So, Paulina, if you're done flirting with Danny..."

"Don't even breathe in my way, techno geek," Paulina dismissed, continuing to the popular kid's table.

"Figures," Tucker said to himself. Putting his focus back on his friends, "So, Danny, are you really done with Paulina, or are you just doing that to annoy her?"

"I just said it, Tuck," Danny said, "a person can only be used so many times before he's just done. Besides, being used so many times gave me sort of a sixth sence on girls who like me or not."

Tucker snorted at the comment. "What?" Danny wanted to know, unaware of how red Sam was.

"Man, you are so clueless," Tucker said.

Meanwhile, at the popular kids' table, Paulina was sitting with her so-called friends. They included Dash Baxter, Captain of the school football and basketball teams, Kwan, Dash's football teammate, and Star, Kwan's girlfriend. Paulina was never friends with them, nor did she have any plans to ge to know them better. She only hung out with them because she was in the same higher-class level as they were, save Star, who originally hung out with Paulina to make herself look more important. At least Star got a boyfriend out of it.

Paulina still couldn't shake off how Danny, perhaps the biggest and most desperate loser she had ever met, just ignored her. Despite it only happened a minute ago, the girl was a total wreck. "How could he ignore me?" she started asking herself. "No one's ever looked away fom me. Am I not perfect?" The last question almost drew Paulina insane, making her grap Dash by his letterman jack and shaking him violently asking him, "Am I still perfect?! AM I?!"

The thing to pop into Dash's shaken and dazed mind, him being a jock and all, was, "Are you, like, asking me out or something?"

"Oh, forget it!" Paulina said, letting go of Dash. She then quietly said to heself, "Boys can be so stupid." Still unable to bear with the whole rejection thing, Paulina pulled a compact mirror out of her pocket, checking for blemishes or anything else that would turn away anyone shallow enough. Everything looked fine. Her hair was neatly in place, her face was clean, her eyes didn't show any bloodshot, a buzzsaw was coming up from behind her... buzzsaw? Paulina looked behind her to see just what she thought she saw, ducking out of the way of the buzzsaw just in time. The saw sawed right through the table, making it collapse to the floor. Paulina looked behind her to see where the projectile saw came from to see a ghost floating above.

"Hoo, boy," the ghost said, "I almost got you there, eh? Don't mind me, I'm just cuttin' down your world to rebuild it in my image. Won't be hurtin' anyone. At least not yet." The ghost appeared tall where he floated, doning a red flannel shirt with a matching ushanka on his head. The right arm of his shirt was sleeveless to display his mechanical arm. He also wore blue jeans and heavy-looking boots. The ghost's mechanical arm began to shift as it changed into a projectile launcher that, judging by the shape of the barrel, fired flat disc-like objects. He then added, "Oh yeah, forgot. BOOOOOOO, eh?" He started spinning around, launching buzzsaws every which way, which caused all the popular kids at the table to run screaming. This, in turn, made everyone else run for their lives.

All the students were running and screaming, save for three. Danny, Sam, and Tucker were used to this sort of thing for months now. "Keep me covered, guys," Danny said to his friends. "I'm goin' ghost!" Danny ducked under the table as Sam and Tucker kept guard around it.

A flash of light emerged from under the table, as Danny went through an amazing metamorphosis. Two bright rings appeared around his waist, moving vertically from eachother to reveal anny's super alter ego. His normal white shirt and blue jeans were changed into a black and white jumpsuit, with a unique emplem on the chest area. His jet black hair turned a stark shade of white. His normal blue eyes suddenly glowed green. Within seconds, he became Danny Phantom, ghostly protector of Amity Park against all those who wish to endanger it. He came up from under the table, phasing through it, and told his friends, "Meet me outside with a Fenton Thermos ready. I gotta get Paul Bunyan away from all these people." With that, Sam and Tucker retreated outside as Danny flew up to confront the ghost.

"This school isn't scheduled for renovation or destruction!" Danny shouted to the ghost from behind.

The ghost turned around to see his challenger. "Oh, you must be that Phantom kid I heard aboot," the ghost said. "You're no match for Lumber Joe!" His mood suddenly went from serious to jokingly, asking Danny, "Hey, ask me why they call me Lumber Joe."

"Huh?" Danny didn't quite get what the ghost was asking for.

"C'mon, it hilarious!" the ghost begged.

"Fine," Danny said, though very uninterested. "Why do they call you 'Lumber Joe'?"

"Because Lumberjack was taken!" Joe answered, laughing up a storm at the joke. Danny was not impressed. Joe continued laughing while explaining the joke. "Don'cha get it? It's like 'Lumber...' and they mix and..." Joe suddenly became as bored as Danny and shifted his right arm to the form of an axe. "Let's just get to the part where I kick your butt, eh?"

"With pleasure!" Danny said, charging up a ghost ray.

"Yoo hoo! Ghost boy!" Danny was suddenly distracted by the cat call. He looked back to see Paulina was still in the cafateria. Danny knew quite well of Paulina's crush his ghostly counterpart, making it more ironic on how she naturally detests Danny Fenton.

"Paulina, get out of here!" Danny warned. The distraction provivded Lumber Joe with the opportunity to whack Danny with the broad end of his axe, which he took without hesitation. The blow threw Danny to the cafeteria floor, to which Paulina ran to his aid.

"Are you okay?" Paulina asked her hero, helping him up.

"I'm... Look out!" Danny grabbed Lumber Joe's axe before it could make contact with it's intended target, whoever it was. Now with a hold on the ghostly woodsman, Danny swung him around several times before finally releasing him. The ghost was sent flying towards a wall, which he phased through to avoid a painful impact. Danny took the time to tell Paulina, "I want you to stay here!" Danny ordered. Another interuption caught the teens attention as Lumber Joe slammed his axe into the school wall, sticking his head through it.

"Heeeeere's JOEY!" Joe called.

"Oh no you don't!" Danny said, flying toward Joe to keep him away from the school. He phased through the wall to tackle Joe further from the school.

"Ghost boy, wait!" Paulina called out. "I need to know if you think I'm perfect!" Unable to put the whole Fenton thing behind her, Paulina ran out to the school courtyard to get some kind of answer... and admire Danny Phantom some more.

Phew, that's a lot of stuff to tell. But we're just gettin' started with this rather dark story.