Chapter 09

"Thanks for covering for me," Henry said as he patted Danny on the back.

"No problem." Danny grinned as he let the older man take over the register. "Was everything all right with Meredith?"

Henry chuckled. "Yeah, the big emergency was just that the toilet was overflowing." He rolled his eyes. "Needed the big strong man to come figure out how to stop it from flooding the entire apartment. Now go on." He gave Danny a shove. "Get out of here and enjoy some of your summer."

"Well, if the toilet floods again, you can count on me to cover your shift." Danny untied the apron from around his waist then left it folded up under the counter. He didn't mind picking up some extra hours working at the coffee shop since he wanted to get a full time job there for the summer anyway, but the only position they had open was for part time. When the other employees had something come up that pulled them away from work, they called on Danny to fill in for them.

Stepping out of the coffee shop, Danny stretched his arms over his head. He didn't really have any plans, and he didn't really want to join Sam and Paulina on their girls day. Shopping for clothes wasn't exactly high on his list of fun things to do. With his hands shoved into his pockets, he walked down the street. When Danny graduated from Casper High, Vlad offered to buy him a car, a very expensive car. It was part of Vlad's way to make up for everything that happened between them, or at least, Danny guessed that was the reason behind it. But Danny refused to accept the gift. He was sort of regretting that now with all the walking he did to and from work and everywhere else he went. Maybe accepting a cheap car would be okay, Danny thought with a sigh as he crossed a street.

Thinking about Vlad, though, reminded Danny about the whole blackout situation. They still hadn't come up with any new theories about what was happening. After the trip to the beach, Danny gave Vlad's address to Kwan, but he didn't hear word about them meeting yet. With work filling up much of his time, it wasn't surprising that Kwan might not have gotten around to visiting Vlad. Danny ran a hand through his hair. What could they be missing? Or was this actually something that was normal for half ghosts? He frowned, halting at that thought. What if Vlad suffered from blackouts too but had no knowledge of those episodes? Danny made a mental note to ask Vlad about it, or maybe someone that worked closely with Vlad. The Fright Knight came to mind.

Danny started walking down the street again when he bumped into someone. "Sorry," he said as he bent down to help the woman gather all the fallen papers scattered over the sidewalk.

"It's okay," she said, flashing a smile that made Danny pause. "I wasn't paying all that much attention to where I was walking." Emerald eyes rolled. "That's what I get for being so distracted putting together all my designs."

"Simone," Danny mumbled, still stunned about running into the woman.

"You remembered my name." Simone smiled as she took the papers from his hands and added them back into the large binder that she carried. "And you're Danny." She stood up, and Danny slowly followed her. "We didn't really get the chance to speak all that much at the beach."

"You seemed pretty busy chatting with Kwan." Danny frowned at her, not sure why he felt so hostile toward her. Perhaps it was the way she acted toward Kwan when he first met her. Kwan really didn't seem to like the way she ran her finger down his chest. Danny didn't like how forward she acted.

"And that Paulina girl," Simone added as she adjusted some of the designs in the binder. "She has some fabulous design ideas. I can't believe she would give up a career as a fashion designer to become a lawyer. I think she could really go places if she went into fashion."

"She seems to really enjoy studying law." Danny tried not to sound snappish, but he could hear some of the anger and annoyance in voice.

Simone lifted her head and blinked at him. "Oh! I didn't mean to be offensive!" She closed the binder, hugging it to her chest with one arm. Her other hand reached out and rested on his shoulder. "I only meant that it was surprising. After talking to her, I never would have imagined that she was attending law school until she told me about it. She seems to be a girl of many talents. I'm surprised some great guy hasn't already snatched her up." She grinned at Danny, like she was trying to suggest something.

"None of us are actually dating anyone else if that's what you're trying to get at." Danny narrowed his eyes at her.

"You don't like me, do you?" Simone frowned as a hurt look flitted through her eyes.

"I don't really know you." Danny folded his arms. Maybe he was being a little hard on her, but she didn't leave him with a very good first impression.

"Tell you what. I'll reschedule this meeting I'm supposed to have this afternoon, and I'll treat you to lunch." Simone reached into her purse and pulled out her cell phone.

"You don't have to do that," Danny said quickly as she started dialing a phone number.

"Yes, I'm afraid I'm going to have cancel on our meeting," Simone said into the phone. When Danny started to argue, she reached out and placed a hand over his mouth to silence him. "Oh, I know. I'm very sorry about this. Something came up, and I just can't make it today. Are you available to meet next week? Okay. Great. I'll see you then. Buh bye." She hung up the phone then smiled at Danny as she returned it to her purse. "There. All settled."

"You didn't-" Danny paused when his words came muffled. Remembering the hand on his mouth, he tugged her hand away. "You really didn't need to do that. We could hang out another time. You sound like a busy woman."

"Oh, it's nothing." Simone hooked her free arm around one of Danny's arm and pulled him along down the street. "One rescheduled meeting isn't going to hurt anything. Now. Where should we eat? Oh! I know this great little Italian place not too far from here."

"I hope it's not anyplace too expensive," Danny said with a weak laugh. What was he getting dragged into now? He would have preferred having to fight off ghosts than dealing with this woman. Shaking that thought from his mind, he reminded himself that he should at least give the woman a chance.

"Oh, I'll pay for it." Simone glanced back and caught the frown on Danny's face. "Okay. We'll go somewhere else." Her mouth pursed to one side as she thought about it. "Oh! Nasty Burger is usually the popular place, right? We can go there."

Danny sighed as she continued to drag him. Simone apparently wasn't the type to take no for an answer. When they reached the Nasty Burger, Simone got in line to order for them. Danny started to give his order when they reached the front of the line, but Simone silenced him with a finger to his lips as she placed the order for both of them. Danny frowned, which Simone chose to ignore it.

"Do act like this with everyone?" Danny asked as they carried their food to an open table. He noticed more than a few people glancing their way in surprised to see someone like Danny with someone like Simone. She was clearly out of his league in terms of dating, but Danny wasn't interested in her like that. Or even at all really.

"What do you mean?" Simone picked up one of the fries and nibbled on it, gingerly like she expected to be displeased with its taste.

"I mean," Danny picked up a bottle of ketchup and squirted a good amount all over his fries, "bossy. You wouldn't even let me order my own food. Does everything have to be your way?" He frowned as he picked several ketchup drenched fries to cram into his mouth.

Simone stared at him then surprise and shame entered her emerald eyes. "I must seem like such a spoiled brat to you." She bowed her head as she pushed around some of the fries on her tray. "I was an only child growing up, and anything I wanted, I got. I'm just so used to things being like that. I sometimes forget that I might come off spoiled and bossy."

Danny sighed with his hamburger half raised to his mouth. "No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be mean. Usually it's the guy that orders for the girl."

"Is it?" Emerald eyes widened with surprise. "I never knew." Simone placed a hand to her chin in thought. "I've never really been on a," she flicked her gaze to Danny as he ate, "date before."

Danny choked on his mouthful, struggling to swallow the hamburger in his surprise. He coughed a few times to clear his airway then snapped his shocked blue eyes toward Simone. "Date?" he gasped, stunned by her words.

"Well, isn't that what this is?" Simone smiled, shyly, almost innocently. "When a guy and a girl share a meal together, isn't that usually a date?" She shrugged a little and looked away with a light coloring upon her cheeks. "Like I said, I've never really been on one. Sure. I've had guys interested in me, but they never took me on dates."

Danny took a sip of his soda as he took in what she said. From their conversation on the beach, he got the idea of what those men wanted from her. His eyes looked her over, and he couldn't deny that she was very lovely. Even if his attraction was more toward men now, it didn't mean he didn't appreciate the sight of a beautiful woman. But she was far from being his type. "I suppose this could be considered a date. But I think usually both parties are aware of it being one when they agree to a date."

"Then this is a date," Simone decided without any room for discussion. "So, Danny," she leaned on the table as she smiled, "tell me a bit about yourself."

Danny stared at her as his mouth hung partially open. How did things turn out like this? Wasn't Kwan the one that drew this woman's eye? "I'm average," he answered with a shrug. "I'm still just fumbling through school trying to figure out what kind of career I want. I struggled just to graduate from high school, so I never really put a lot of thought into what I wanted to do." He licked some of the ketchup off his thumb. "So what happened the night that Kwan walked you home?" He never got the story behind their meeting when they were at the beach.

"That's not a very interesting story." Simone frowned in thought. "I was walking to my car, and," she shrugged, "I'm not really sure what happened. One moment I was in the parking lot. Then suddenly I was in this really bad part of town. Everything looked abandoned and gross. Then there was Kwan trying to find out if I was all right and offering to take me home. He was like some kind of savior, appearing out of nowhere when I really needed someone to help me."

Danny frowned as he listened to the story. "I guess it's a good thing Kwan's such a good guy," he mumbled absently. His mind was still stuck on one simple fact: this woman suffered a blackout. She was famous and rich, according to what Paulina said, so it was entirely possible that someone attacked in the parking lot. She could have been drugged and carried away to be ransomed for a large sum of money. She could have a stalker that wanted to have his way with her. There were many possibilities to explain what happened to her, and none of them had to revolve around ghosts. But it still seemed like a fact to remember in his head.

"You're a pretty good guy as well." Simone smiled, dropping her gaze as she sipped her soda.

Danny shifted awkwardly in his seat at the booth as he looked away. He wasn't sure how to respond to that, so he focused on finishing his food. They were almost finished eating, but the last few minutes seemed to stretch on for much longer as they sat there silently, neither knowing what else to say. When they finished eating, they dumped their trash into one of the garbage cans and placed their trays in the slot on top of it.

"We should do this again," Simone announced as they exited the Nasty Burger. "I had a really good time."

"Um, sure," Danny said uncertainly. "I'm sure the others would-"

Simone's lips against his own silenced Danny's words. It was soft and gentle, nothing like how he remembered his kisses with Dash, but Danny simply didn't get that same feeling from her as he did with Dash. His heart didn't jump at the touch of her lips. But he was too stunned by the suddenness of the kiss to respond in any way.

When she pulled back, Simone smiled at him. "I meant that I would like to do this with just you again." She worried her lower lip out of nervousness as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "I'll call you later." She offered a small wave as she walked backwards away from him.

Still in shock, Danny could only wave back as she left. Did that really happen? He could have sworn Simone liked Kwan. After Simone disappeared from his sight, he raked a hand through his hair. He didn't intend to make her like him, or at least not a romantic type of like. How was he supposed to make her realize he wasn't interested? He got the impression that telling her outright that he was gay wouldn't make her take the hint. With a sigh, he started walking back toward his house when a familiar chill made him gasp.

"Really?" Danny grumbled as he ducked down a side street to hide from sight. Why was a ghost appearing in Amity Park after all this time? He thought they all knew to keep out of Amity Park, but apparently there was still a few ghosts that weren't all that bright. His sense didn't feel quite the same though, not like with a regular ghost anyway.

After changing into his ghost form, Danny took to the air as he tracked down the ghost. Closing his eyes, he searched with his sense until he pinned down its location, which wasn't very far away. Once it was in his mind, he flew in that direction. Upon arriving at the scene, he found a dark, shadowy ghost looming over a poor woman, who screamed in fright. Wasting no time, he fired a ball of green energy at the shadow, blasting it away with a from the woman. She scrambled to her feet, wide and terrified brown eyes casting between the shadow and the ghost. She backed away slowly from the showdown between spectral beings. When she was certain their attentions weren't on her, she turned and fled the scene, waves of ebony hair swishing behind her. With the woman no longer an issue, Danny could focus his attention solely on the threat before him.

The shadowy figure reminded him of Johnny 13's shadow. It was smaller in size than Danny and slimmer as well. Its face was beaked like a bird with the crest flickering like flames. Only a single green eye showed on the left side of its face. If it possessed a mouth, Danny couldn't see it. He turned his bright green eyes to searching the surrounding area, praying this wasn't some new, enhanced version of the blond ghost's shadow. His shadow could act upon its own will but was bound to follow its master's orders, even from a distance. The question in Danny's mind was: why would Johnny be harassing some random woman?

Steeling himself, Danny prepared to fight the shadow only to find empty space where his opponent was a moment ago. Hands wrapped about his throat, gentle at first then squeezing tighter. Danny gasped, finding his breath quickly being cut off as spots appeared in his vision. He needed to do something fast before the shadow succeeded in strangling him. Thinking swiftly, he flew backward into the wall of a building. The grip on his neck loosened, allowing him to drop to the ground and roll away from the shadow.

"Stupid shadows," Danny grumbled, rubbing at this sore neck. Feeling something soaking through to his flesh, he dropped his gaze to his hand, the white glove now painted with bright green splotches.

The shadow rose from where it was stunned by the move. Anger radiated from the dark being. Its eyes flashed red in fury. A mouth seemed to cut across its beak of a face, a raspy sound issuing from it. Black strings like inky drool dripped from its mouth. The drops the fell melted back into his shadowy body. Then it surged toward him, its claws extended sharp and menacing, ready to strike.

Shooting higher into the air, Danny shot repeated blasts of energy, raining his attacks down upon the shadow. It weaved through the barrage, successfully dodging as it grew closer to Danny. His breath hitched. He needed to do something to stop the shadow, and fast. His rapid attacks continued, trying to drive the shadow back in its advance. His right hand disappeared behind his back as he charged a stronger attack, focusing only the right amount of power needed. He promised to try to be less reckless with using attacks of pure energy.

The shadow reacted and fell back when attacks blocked its way from reaching the white haired ghost. It shrieked its frustration, trying to break through and reach its target. Danny purposely misfired a blast, allowing the shadow an opening. It gleefully took the opportunity and rushed forward. Its claws raised for attacking, and it mouth hung open with a stench upon it that made Danny's stomach churn in disgust. Danny whipped his right arm around, releasing the charged blast directly at his foe.

The shadow tried to dodge, but at that range, it couldn't escape. The blast pierced through its chest, drawing a shriek of agony from the dark being. It whined and whimpered, clawing desperately at its own body as a hole spread from where the blast struck it. Falling to the ground below, it writhed and cried, the hole growing and its body losing its shape.

Danny could only watch in shock at the display. The last time he fought against Johnny and his shadow was five years ago, but he couldn't remember a reaction like this to one of his attacks. In the past, light was most effective against the shadow. Water was useful as well. But he lacked either of those weapons to use against this shadow, and he wasn't certain that this shadow was affected in the same manner as Johnny's shadow.

A horrible, piercing shriek made Danny clap his hands over his ears for fear that the sound would rupture his eardrums. His heart nearly stopped, and bright green eyes widened at the sight below. The shadow burst, sending out specks of black all about the area that quickly melted into the shadows cast by the building. Danny stared in disbelief at what just happened. The blast he used was only of medium strength, and against a shadow, he only hoped that it might wound it. He never expected this sort of reaction from his attack. Searching with his ghost sense, he found no lingering trace of the shadow anywhere. Sighing, he scratched at the back of his head, not understanding what just happened with the shadow.

Without warning, pain seared his backside. A scream echoed in the alleyway as Danny dropped to the ground. His back ached, curls of pink steam wafting from his exposed flesh where his black jumpsuit was ripped open. He twisted, scanning for the one that shot him. When his eyes landed on a familiar red suit, the color drained from his face. Shit, he thought with growing panic. He turned intangible, sinking into the ground before a second shot could score.

"Don't think you can get away, ghost boy!"

Rising from the ground behind her, Danny fired a quick, weak energy ball that ripped the ecto blaster from her hands. When she spun around, Danny fired a second shot, this time strong enough to knocking her to the ground and trapping her there with a thick foam of ectoplasm. She wiggled and thrashed under the sticky substance, trying to break free as she shouted curses at him. Danny sighed in disappointment as he watched her.

"Do we really have to go through this?" he asked, folding his arms while he floated in midair above her. He thought that Valerie finally gave up the whole ghost hunting career years ago. For the past three years, he never saw her don the red suit. He couldn't even remember seeing her at graduation, but he stopped paying attention to her when she seemed to give up her chase of his ghostly persona.

Valerie halted her struggles, and Danny almost had the impression that she smirked behind the visor of her helmet. "You're mistaken to be so cocky." Her voice was tinged with smugness that didn't send much fear into Danny.

"You're the one currently stuck to the ground." His comment came off cheeky, but Danny only wanted to be done with this whole fight between them. He couldn't understand why Valerie continued to hold a grudge against him. There was the incident with the ghost dog Cujo, but he never meant to cause trouble for Valerie. He apologized numerous times to her for what happened. Clearly, she refused to accept any apologies or explanations about what happened from him.

"Not for long." The smirk was back in her tone.

Danny opened his mouth to question that when something wrapped around his neck. The strings tightened, strangling him. Gasping desperately for air, Danny clawed at the strings in an attempt to rip them away. A sharp yank on the line dragged him down to the ground, and his back slammed into the dirty pavement. The impact winded him as the edges of vision darkened. His panic renewed as he stared at a second person that he never even realized was there. Valerie's partner threw something toward her. The small canister hit the ground with a small clank. The red mist that filled the air dissolved the ectoplasm foam holding her pinned to the ground. Once free, Valerie climbed to her feet, brushing off some stray clumps of foam from her suit.

"You really haven't gotten any better, have you?" Valerie asked with a sneer when she came to stand over him.

A sense of dread washed over Danny while the two ghost hunters loomed over him. The line strangling him reminded him of the Fenton Fishing Line when he tried to go intangible but couldn't phase through it. With his breathing cut off, his Ghostly Wail wasn't an option, but he never liked the idea of trying it out on a human. The thought that it might actually kill a human always made him sick.

Danny needed to act before the hunters tried to suck him into something like the Fenton Thermos. Raising his arms, he fired a low level blast at each of the hunters. They dodged it easily as he expected. Valerie leaped back out of the path of the blast and putting distance between them. The second hunter jumped in the opposite direction. The line snapped free with a plink noise, allowing Danny to tear it away from his neck. He scrambled into a crouch then launched into the air. Even with the speed boards, he knew he could outpace them in flight if the hunters decided to chase after him.

When he was almost level with the roof of the building, something pierced through his shoulder, nearly drawing a scream from him. He clapped a hand over his shoulder, trying to use the pressure to stop the bleeding. Pain blossomed from the injury, radiating outward like a spreading fire. He clenched his teeth tightly against it, forcing himself to focus on what needed to be done. He needed Vlad's help, and with that thought, he made his decision. He corrected course toward Vlad's home.

Danny dared to throw a glance over his shoulder as he sped through the sky. When he spotted no one follow after him, a hint of fear curled inside him. Something didn't seem right about the situation. Why weren't the hunters following him? Their absences at least meant that he didn't have to worry about expending his fading energy to avoid attacks while he tried to reach Vlad. Thinking it best to remain cautious, Danny turned invisible as he raced toward his destination.


Author's Note: Thanks to JJbad for offering advice on how to touch up the whole fight scene!