She was quirky.

Valerie had decided that the minute she had first seen Maddie all those years ago at an ice-cream social at Danny's elementary school. Even as a 1st grader, and even out of Maddie's scientist apparel, she could just see it in her movement, in her eyes that there was something slightly eccentric about this women that had come up and handed out ghost-shaped candy to everyone. Although she wasn't as bad as her husband, it was doubtless that Maddie was the zaniest woman who lived amongst the ten thousand or so residents of Amity Park and she was proud of it.

It would have been thus, insane, to suggest that the 1st grader Valerie Gray who made fun of Danny Fenton for being a turd of a nerd and had wrote an award winning essay when she was in 8th grade about how ghosts were "The great paranoia of nothingness" would have come to Maddie Fenton when she was seventeen, sat down with her and pleaded obstinately that Maddie would teach her about ghosts. Absolutely insane, but here Valerie was, walking down into the basement laboratory of the FentonWorks feeling as though she were coming home.

It had taken accrediting by Duke University and a final year of schooling to achieve the required prerequisite classes, but Valerie had entered the Fenton College of Paraosychology as the only student of the two professors teaching the program; Jack and Maddie Fenton. It wasn't free; three thousand dollars a semester, and that was in addition to the tuition that she paid to attend the local Community College for her General Credit classes, but she worked hard and scrimped while her Dad made up the difference if Valerie fell short in payment.

Was it worth it?

The fluorescent lights of the basement flickered on with their usual hum as they warmed up, illuminating her classroom; the Fenton's laboratory. Tables crammed the room from wall to wall, covered with wires, gadgets, tools and drawings. A full bank of computers were crammed into one corner, buzzing with their cooling fans humming monitoring a number of various experiments that were scattered about. Lights blinked, jars of ectoplasm samples glowed upon their shelves, and Valerie was completely comfortable, lessons and lectures wafting through her thoughts, mostly taught by Maddie, who swiveled on her heel with a half-crazed grin on her face.

"Now Valerie, you're the scientist, what should we do first about this puzzle? And don't say the scientific method"

"Well, exorcism first?"

"I have taught you well!" Maddie chortled as she took the key and shoved a centrifuge off a table, making space. Setting down the key, she dashed off to a closet, vanished for a moment, before emerging with a crumbling and sad-looking ancient Native American Feather Bonnet before coming back over to the table and beginning to chant.

At first Valerie had laughed and laughed at all the crazy ideas that Maddie had. She had heard that the Fenton's had some nutty things going on down their basement, but when she had first walked into to the place 2 years ago, she realized that the rumors weren't even half of the full truth. Nobody would have believed what things Valerie had witnessed, not a single tale. The problem was that Jack and Maddie mixed the occult with more traditional scientific and engineering methods, creating a phenomenal mixture of wacky experiments, weird inventions and absurd hypothesis about anything that had to do with the paranormal. And yet, without a single reservation, she was having a blast. Learning about the Zanthos Theorum of Spectral Haunting, Rothman's Law of Ectoplasm, and the Dracmann spectral-physics was more than just reading and taking notes as Jack rambled on incoherently, it was Ghost Zone fishing, Myth and Fairytale testing, Haunt Field Trips and Ghost Gabbling. It was building basic Ectoplasm Power converters and taking Ambient Spectral Energy readings while fighting off feral Ghost ectopusses, and no lesson with the Fentons was every complete without a lesson of baking cookies and fudge. In short, Valerie had done more than just learnt about ghosts, she was coming to understand an entire world of the supernatural, from old Grimm Tales to the latest in Spectratific Gadgetry.

And why? She had received acceptance letters from the State College and invitations to at least a couple schools in Ohio and Michigan after all, but it was a allure of a field with few boundaries, many obstacles and limitless mysteries yet to be solved that had joined with the forces in her life that had directed her to take up education with the Fentons, and hopefully later on, a BA in Paraosychology from Duke along with a degree in basic Electrical Engineering.

The chanting stopped. The key sat in the pale light of the basement sullenly, unaffected by a single word that Maddie had spoken.

"It's clean" Maddie declared as she put away her feather bonnet "Can't be too careful with this sort of stuff"

"Oh, I know" Valerie thought back to the night of the Revenge of Zombie Turkey in the Kitchen, shuddering. "Safety is priority number one, Ghost Busting number two"

"Righto Val, by the way, aren't you supposed to be seeing Danny Tonight with Sam and Tucker?"

"Yes" she said glumly "I sort of…excused myself"

"Why? It's just a key. Where did you find it?"

Valerie wetted her lips as she tried to form some sort of cover for the fact that she had found it on Danny, her son. As much as she trusted Maddie and Danny both, she wasn't about to upset the status quo. After all, stating that it was Danny from which she had stolen the key from would more or less associate him with the situation, which would create trouble for him, and indirectly for her, as hard-to answer questions and their consequences would eventually arise.

"At…at the old antique store on Missouri River Boulevard"

"Interesting. Seems suitable, although it's hardly an antique" Maddie said as she examined the key with a magnifying glass, before producing a metal pellet from a drawer and hovering it over the object. Valerie's eyebrow went up as the key abruptly snapped upwards with a loud CLACK and coupled with the pellet in Maddie's hand, much to her surprise.

"This is no ordinary object, it's an alloy of ectouranium, with a significant amount of ectoplasmic energy stored within it"

Valerie peered over Maddie's shoulder, curious. "Ectouranium? Didn't know that it was magnetic"

"Only with another piece of ectouranium, and it depends on how saturated the metal is ectoplasmic energy" Maddie explained, her voice growing more serious and business-like "I don't have any data yet, but it appears that this is a Ghost Zone artifact of sorts, however new…Valerie?"

"Yes?"

"What attracted your attention in the first place. Honestly, I thought that you were joking when you showed me this, I assumed that it was some gift shop trinket of sorts. And why did you just leave Danny and company for the sake of something seemingly so trivial, its not like you could just tell that it was out of the ordinary"

"because of this" Valerie said assertively, inwardly worried that Maddie would get suspicious. She took out the Fenton Spectralameter, holding it close to the key, watching as the display indicated a high ectoplasmic contamination. "That's not normal"

"By Pariah Dark you're right" Maddie said with a grin "This is quite extra-ordinary. Many low level ghosts don't share this high an energy signature. Well done Valerie, you'll make an excellent Ghost Hunter yet"

I am the Red Huntress, of course Maddie Valerie couldn't help but chuckle at the irony of the statement, but she kept the thought to herself. The Red Huntress was a secret for her Dad alone, and somehow Danny Phantom himself. Outside of those two, she didn't want any more attention, preferring the veil of privacy and, for that matter, freedom to do as she pleased. But Maddie, and Jack, seemed to be somewhat disconnected with reality and it was easy to hide truths from them, and make them believe lies. After all, belief in Ghosts without a shred of disbelief required a certain degree of disillusion with what was considered 'Rational' in the first place. She considered herself; she was the Red Huntress, which was an irrational lifestyle on her part, stealing away her time and energy for the pursuit of an obscure principle of justice and a long standing grudge against ghosts…which as a whole sounded absolutely crazy. At least she remained grounded in the comings and goings of a more mundane life-Jack and Maddie had the luxury of being completely divorced from even that, holed up in their own private sanatorium called their home.

"Thank you Mrs. Fenton" but her gratitude was lost as Maddie sprang into action, flurrying through the mess of the laboratory, gathering a multiplicity of things. "But what does it mean? Does it have a connection with Phantom?"

"Why of course!" Maddie was accumulating a pile of notebooks, laptops, electric cables, table stands and office supplies in her hands "what do you think the D means otherwise!? This might be his connection with the long-fabled Monarchy of Ghosts! His heirloom to the Throne as Price of the Ghost Zone! Or maybe it unlocks a chest he has that hidden somewhere deep within the Zone, that contains his deepest secrets. Just think of it, this might literally be the key to his obsessions, his purpose, his origins and his future!"

"You're rambling Mrs. Fenton"

"Of course I am! We are on the brink of discovery Valerie, don't you see?! What have I been teaching you? When you see a pathway forward towards the answer, go for it! No time to waste!"

"Isn't it kinda late?"

"Time is no master of science unless we are dealing with a chemical reaction of some sort" Maddie dropped the enormous pile on the floor into a great heap "and I was getting bored anyway. Hold on, let me go get some Coffee, want some?"

"No thanks…you haven't drank any yet?"

Maddie paused, eyes wide, hair frazzled, mouth in a goofy grin, mimicking her husband's behavior almost flawlessly. Valerie was holding back peals of laughter at the fact that this was Maddie at nearly nine o'clock in the evening, without any sort of energizer, going full blast.

"No, no I haven't. But sleep belongs to the creatures of the day and tonight, I shall work like a ghost!"

Valerie whistled softly as Maddie shuttled upstairs. She tried to imagine her as a mother, struggling to reconcile Jazz's quiet nature and Danny's sober moods with the home environment they were raised in. Maybe it was a resulting reaction in response to their parent's absolute craziness at times, although she knew that Maddie was not that overboard. She just tended to get overexcited when she was working, especially when the trail of mystery was fresh and hot. Besides those times, in a more regular setting, she was kind, reasonable, compassionate, often quiet, but vivacious and lively, sweet and caring. Of course she got grumpy and rather fierce when she was in a bad mood, and her character flaws were numerous, but it was why Valerie felt close to her, almost as though she were some sort of Aunt, the absolutely peculiar one that she never had.

A more unhappy thought crossed her mind-it was only a matter of time before Danny realized that something was wrong. It was best, quite clearly, that Valerie keep this situation subtle and insignificant as possible. The connection between Danny and Ghosts was for her curiosity alone, and although it was certainly important to Danny's parents, only under proper explanation would the situation remain calm and clear. At the moment, Valerie had no idea whether the key meant anything at all, and even less why Danny had it, but it was baffling. Whatever the link was, it was most likely something Danny considered personal and would not be happy to find out what she had done. Maybe she could just act casual and hand it back to him. She might get a rebuke, but she hoped she could smooth it over…

Regret blossomed once again. Ethics were being compromised, trust was being spent at the gain of selfish curiosity. She knew absolutely nothing about what this meant to him, and yet she was using no discretion, no transparency with her actions. What was the extent to which her integrity separated her ability to discern between what was right with her ability to decide what was wrong? Was she being foolish? To what extent would this path take her? It wasn't hard to imagine that if Danny was suddenly implicated with being associated with ghosts, the relationship between him and his mother would be ruined. Maddie was nearly fanatical about Ghost matters, and Danny seemed to be almost equal in her aversion concerning them. And if the affect on the relationship between Danny and Maddie might be bad, what about her own friendship with Danny?

She had to take at least a certain amount of precaution. Recklessness was only so rewarding, and the consequences might outweigh those.

And then there was that flicker.

She might have imagined it. The clock on the wall, plain and dull, unassociated with the laboratory below, seemed to shudder, the second hand delaying in its slaving task about the face. Everything seemed to freeze and stop for just a split second. The light stopped flickering, the computers stopped humming, the air seemed to stop moving and there was a slight dash of complete silence that lasted less than half a second. Within the corner of her eye, she saw a ghost, robed in purple, a solemn and resolute expression on his face.

And then it was over. Her head swam and her vision flared, as though she were coming in from a bright day into a darkened room with the temporary blindness that resulted. A headache flared and her center of balance was slightly disturbed.

"What's wrong?" a hand gripped her shoulder, Maddie's hand.

"Migrane, bad one" Valerie said as she leaned on the wall, blinking to clear her sight. "It's going away"

"You need more sleep"

"Yeah, I do" Valerie laughed quietly, but warily. That was unnatural. Her attention turned to the closed ghost portal, wondering if whether the heavy blast door really were guaranteed proof against leakage of the energies and matter from the dimension behind them. But she was tired, come to think of it. Too many nights on patrol and too many mornings spent doing homework for Mrs. Fenton and the Community College made for a sleep deprived Valerie, and she knew it.

But what if it had been something?

She felt an ominous feeling of foreboding as Maddie began to set up a work space. Trouble seemed to be never be far away when ghosts were concerned.

Next Chapter: When in wonderland, do as Alice Does

What does it mean? You guess. My story to tempt you with...ha ha.

THANK YOU ONE AND ALL REVIEWERS! My enthusiasm goes out to particularly the repeat reviewers that have been faithful in following and reading, you deserve my gratitude and I give it wholeheartedly.

And so...to the following.

royalfuschia

Minilopsided

Living Encyclopedia

jeanette9a

CharlieBoneFan

AkumanoshippoNiamh

Anne Camp aka Obi-quiet Special Thanks for reading and reviewing