A/N- This is my first story for DP! I'd like to thank my wonderful, fantastic, helpful, great, excellent, superb, and anything else that is a synonym to amazing beta Panther Moon! She made this story much better than it started out.
Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom. You know the drill.
Chapter 1
Sam Manson walked along the sidewalk looking out of place with her Goth clothing. She was exuding a rather dark aura, her expression promising pain to anyone who crossed her path – especially ghosts.
"Sam, why are you so…. mad?" Tucker asked, finally looking up from his PDA and studying his long-term friend closely. Sam stayed silent. He wondered whether to start a conversation. He had lived a good life. He would risk talking to Sam. "Again, Sam, what's wrong?" Tucker took a step back when Sam exploded.
"Nothing!" Sam exclaimed, "It's not because we barely have time to relax, AND IT IS DEFINITLY NOT BECAUSE THESE GHOST KEEP ON ATTACKING US EVERY TIME WE TURN AROUND!" Every word dripped with sarcasm as she got louder and louder. Right on cue the Box Ghost appeared.
"Bewa-!" The ghost started, but failed to finish. Before he could complete his warning, Sam whipped out her thermos and sucked him in. She was on the verge of hysteria.
"Okay I know why you're so freaked out, but I think you should calm down. You're making a scene." Sam turned to Tucker who was true to his word. Faces stared at her from stores, cars, and sidewalks.
"Um, ahhh! It's a ghost! Um …" She pretended to frantically wave away imaginary ghosts. Sam was a horrible on-the-spotactress. The people just shrugged and went on with their business. She tugged Tucker into Fenton Works, their destination.
"Danny!" Sam shouted wanting to get this over with. "We're here!" Danny stumbled down the stairs still in his ghost form.
"My parents left to fight the other ghosts," then, he grinned cockily. "Or the ones I haven't taken care of already."
"Danny, we came here to get these ghosts put away. Stop stalling!"
"She's a bit…. frustrated today, with the ghosts and all." Tucker whispered.
"Ah, I see-"
"I can hear you!" She grabbed Tucker. Sam stomped, Tucker walked, and Danny floated to the lab. They deposited their ghosts into the portal. The blinding green portal swirled and sucked the ghosts back to their realm. The unfinished 'beware' echoed from the Box Ghost. Suddenly, they heard jingling upstairs.
"Maddie! Did you see when I shot that ghost down with the ecto-ray and then it smashed to another ghost and they both dissolved! That was amazing! I am one great hunter aren't I?" Danny quickly changed back to his human form before his parents came down the stairs.
"Honey, I was the one that did that." Maddie corrected.
"Right, right." Jack Fenton was doing what he did best - ignoring all. They strode into the room.
"Danny, my boy, nice to see you!" He tousled Danny's hair then took a glance the Tucker and Sam. "… And you two." He said almost as an afterthought.
"Hey! Might I say that we-! "Sam quickly covered Tucker's annoyed mouth before he could go into a rant, sprouting anything about how they were very important and spill a secret about their ghost hunting.
"-are happy to see you, too, Mr. Fenton." Sam finished trying to cover for Tucker.
"I'd like you kids to see my new invention," Jack announced triumphantly. He directed his hands toward another one of his ghost destroying instruments. It was shaped like a gun; polished to perfection.
"This baby is a portable ghost portal!" The teens exchanged stares.
"And we need that… why?" Danny questioned.
"Here, let me show you." Jack started the gun. Somehow, everyone knew this would messy and ducked for cover. When Jack Fenton was holding a gun, it always turned out bad. He aimed it at a wall and pressed the trigger.
…..One
…..….Two
….…..Three
Nothing happened. Everyone sighed in relief and stood up. Tucker kissed his PDA. Sam glowered.
At least we made it out alive, she thought. Danny stopped gripping a nearby box and rolled his eyes. He should have known this would happen. Maddie brushed her hands together.
"Maybe we need to do some changes to it?" Maddie said. "We could look at the trigger and generator…"
"I wonder what-?" Jack tilted the gun.
Suddenly, an explosion of light flew of the gun; a swirling green ball raced toward Sam. She attempted to dodge it, but the ball exploded on her, leaving bright green goop splattered on her black outfit.
"I don't do green," Sam muttered, murderously. Slowly, she stood up and walked to the stairs.
"Sam, we should get that off you before it has any side affects!" Mrs. Fenton said.
"No, it's fine. I'm going to go home. Take a shower…." She slurred eyes dazed.
"Come with me and…." Maddie stopped talking. Sam was already out of the lab.
A dizzy sensation started to take over. Sam gripped the hand rail as if it were her only lifeline and dragged herself up the stairs. She stumbled to her house before collapsing in her room, twitching slightly. Sam felt as if something was taking over her body that she desperately needed to tame. Darkness embraced her, but this time, she didn't like it.
She awoke to a blaring alarm clock. Her body ached as she sat up and stretched.
…. Only to notice her attire changed. Her normal bracelets had been replaced with gloves. Her tank top and skirt were still black, but with white designs. Her stockings and combat boots had changed color, too. Why in the world was she wearing white of all colors. She did not seem Goth at all.
The last minutes before she fell asleep were a blur. Confusion numbed her senses. Finally, she looked in a mirror.
Her hair was white. What had happened last night?
Her breath caught in her throat. The mirror must be playing tricks on her. Her shock changed to anger. Whoever pulled this prank would die- die a horrible death.
Strangely enough, the thought calmed her, but before she felt a bit more normal, a bright light encircled her and slowly she was back in her Goth look. She felt more solid, human. White changed to black. Her mind was racing. Sam sorted her thoughts.
Okay, this is not weird, at least, not for me. She had been through worse. When your best friend's a ghost fighter… well, she had been through stranger.
Until anything else happened she would get ready for school and tell Danny and Tucker, but until then she would have to act normal. Fit in. Or at least be Sam.
"So, you're telling me you went ghost?" Danny asked
"Of course. Why else would I say, 'I think I went ghost.'?"
"To me, the strangest part is that you were wearing white," Tucker mocked. Sam glared and Tucker shut his mouth.
"That's not the point!" Sam threw her hands into the air in exasperation. It was lunch time and noisy enough to cover the conversation. She chewed on her salad. "After school, let's go to my house, see if I can transform again, and piece together how this happened. Agreed?"
"Agreed."
The bell rang and they cleaned up.
"I have Mr. Lancer next," Danny sighed as a good-bye. The two boys shuffled off.
Sam walked to her gym class and changed. The school's mandatory clothes never fit her taste, but she had dealt well. Mrs. Tetslaff ordered the girls to do laps for 12 minutes. For Sam, this was a breeze, until her foot became intangible and went into the track floor. She bent down hoping to cover the fact her foot wasn't there. The whistle blew, And Mrs. Tetslaff's voice resounded through the gym,
"Manson, get your behind moving! 2 minutes!" She pulled her foot up as quickly as it went down, hoping no one would notice and kept running. Getting yelled at rarely happened to her. She focused on staying solid; annoyed with her ghost self.
Today was volleyball day. The teacher split them up into two groups. Sam scanned her teammates and then sighed. Paulina and Star, the most un-athletic girls she knew, were both giggling shrilly on her team.
"Team One will serve first!" Mrs. Tetslaff threw the ball to Valerie, the opponent on and off the field.
"Team Two had better be ready to lose," Valarie yelled and hit the poor ball as hard as she could.
"I got it!" Sam yelled. She jumped up. Gravity wouldn't let her go higher as her fingers brushed the ball. Just a little closer, she thought. Suddenly, she shot up and smacked the ball.
"Yes!" Sam pumped her fist. She hated losing and definitely wouldn't in volleyball. The game ended with a tie every time.
"Okay girls, last game! Make it good!"
Adrenaline flowed through everyone's veins and they took their stances.
Who knew volleyball could be so suspenseful? Sam thought.
"Hey, Manson! You serve!" the teacher tossed the ball to her. Sam held the ball and pulled her hand back. She was about to hit it until Paulina screamed.
"Sam's arm is - is… I knew she was a freak! I knew it!" Paulina scrambled away from her. Sam forced her invisible arm back to normal before anyone else could inspect it.
Yes, it was a long day for Sam Manson. At least people think Paulina is crazy. Sam grinned every time someone looked at Paulina strangely, and touched their arm because she knew the reason why. What she didn't know was that Paulina had something special in mind for Sam for what she did.
