WIZARDS IN PHANTOM CITY
CHAPTER TEN: DANNY AND DANIELLE PHANTOM
"So, Mayor Masters, what exactly are your duties?" Harper asked the man.
Harper and Tucker had just arrived at the City Hall to 'question' Vlad about his 'mayoral duties' under Jazz's request.
"I'm mayor. I run the city, of course. Or was that not already self explanatory?" Vlad asked, aggravated. He didn't have time for foolish questions!
"But how?" Tucker pressed.
If anybody knew how to annoy someone to death, it was Tucker Foley. And that's all Jazz had told them to do when they came back to FentonWorks unsure of their job. She told them their job was to keep Vlad at in his office, occupying him with pointless questions for as long as they could their job was done.
So here they were in Vlad's office with Tucker and Harper sitting in two chairs pressed closely together to share their notepad they were supposedly taking notes on, when they were actually playing tic-tac-toe for the 3rd time, tie-breaker round, while Vlad sat at his desk across from them, straining to keep himself from slamming his head on his desk.
"Come up with ideas to make Amity more money or ideas to make it run smoother." Vlad explained in his fake buttery-tone.
Tucker marked his first 'X' down in the top left corner. Strategic placement.
"I use everybody's taxes to pay for our educational system and fund all extra-curricular activities."
Harper placed her 'O' next to Tucker's 'X'.
"Attend all the meeting to make sure everything is running the way I would like it too."
Tucker chose to place another 'X' in the bottom right corner.
"Make more laws to keep all citizens safe from any ghostly harm."
Harper drew her second 'O' right below her first.
"Attend all public events to be reassure myself my citizens are okay."
Tucker wrote a third 'X' in the bottom left corner.
Harper followed by immediately blocking his win, placing her 'O' in the middle of the two 'X's' that were going vertically.
"So I basically run the city."
Tucker placed his game-winning 'X' between his other two on the bottom row, jumping up in victory. He refrained from shouting when Vlad shot him an icy look. He coughed.
"Sorry. I'm just so happy you're our mayor!" Tucker covered up, not very well since Vlad knew perfectly well it was a lie.
"And what do you feel would make this city better?" Harper questioned again.
Vlad sighed and Harper turned to the Techno-geek.
'Rematch?' She wrote on their notepad. He gave her a look that said 'you're on' before they flipped the page and drew another board, ignoring Vlad's speech like they had the past three questions.
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"Max, what do you mean we can't go home?" Jerry asked as they sat in a diner after eating dinner.
"I-I means that we have all night to sit at home! Let's go out and do something! You know, as a family?" Max said, sitting his mother down.
"For that we'd need Justin, Alex and Harper." Teresa deadpanned. Max coughed.
"They weren't really important anyway. Come on let's do something!" He excused.
"Um okay. I think there's an arcade downtown if you want to go." Jerry supplied.
"Great idea, dad! Let's go." Max said, pulling his parents arms by their arms to move along with him, much to their displeasure.
However, they let their son drag them all the way to the arcade.
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"Are you sure Sam will come this way?" Justin asked as he and Jazz waited at the bus stop.
"Yes. If she's leaving it's against her parents wishes so she'd have to take a bus home." Jazz explained.
"How do you know her aunt lives out of town?" Justin questioned again.
"Because she only has two aunts, one in town and one out, and the one in town died like six years ago." Jazz told him.
Justin nodded with a sigh, giving up on the questioning for now.
'Maybe I should have sent him with Tucker to question Vlad and Harper should have came with me. Justin seems to love questions.' Jazz thought to her self with a smile.
She wasn't sure exactly what she had intended to do when she ordered jobs the second time to everyone but nobody else was taking an initiative to get anything done. She had Tucker and Harper distracting Vlad, keeping him in sight and from making his 'next move' as he would say, Max keep Jerry and Teresa busy so they didn't notice Alex's sudden disappearance or start to look for the currently 'missing' teen and she and Justin waiting to Sam for several reasons.
First was to fill her in before anything. Second was to make sure she didn't go 'solo' and try to find Danny herself like she most likely would.
She liked to think she had enough of an idea to keep Vlad at bay until Danny got back. She knew they couldn't do anything to the billionaire without her raven-haired brother. Danny was the only thing that even kept most things safe from Vlad's wrath majority of the time. He'd have killed Jack and tried to swoon Maddie long ago if Danny wasn't around to remind him of their shared 'condition' and keep him somewhat sane. And hell, Danny was the only thing that saved others from his anger, like The Manson's, Foley's, Russo's and Grey's. Those families all had an effect on Danny and Vlad wouldn't hesitate to use them to get the younger hybrid right where he (Vlad) could make his next move.
Jazz knew. She'd known for a while. She'd figured out on her own that Vlad was worse than Danny let on. Not only by her brothers over-the-top-hatred for the oldest hybrid, but from the oldest hybrid himself. What kind of person clones another person then emotionally abuses the accidental 12 year-old? Then he went as far as to physically abuse Danny. No person who's not evil goes to those lengths for anything.
She could tell Tucker and Sam didn't figure it out yet, purely by the way they talk about him, act hear him and react to his plans. Their reactions were bad, yes, but not nearly as extensive as Danny, or even Danielle's, reactions to pretty much anything 'Vlad' related.
She could understand why they, she assumed Danielle knew too, didn't tell anyone about how bad Vlad really was. Telling people meant the information was out there. Information being 'out there' meant it had a risk of getting out. 'Risk of getting out' around people like Danny and Vlad meant 'guaranteed to be revealed; intentional or not' and Vlad would do anything to save his reputation. Anything. They were protecting them from Vlad's reaction if it ever got out to be public knowledge that Vlad Masters wasn't what he appeared to be.
And just like when she found out that her baby brother was town spook 'Danny Phantom', she would wait and let Danny tell them when, or if, he was ready. She could wait.
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"Excellent, Great One. You have improved greatly since I last saw you train." Frostbite complemented Danny, who was panting.
Danny was showing Frostbite his process with his Ice powers since he discovered them. He didn't know why, but Frostbite said he wanted to see his moves before he taught him anything else. Alex was standing by the towering Yeti, clapping slowly for Danny. Which meant she was either very impressed or very bored. Most likely the later.
"Thanks Frostbite, but it wasn't anything special." Danny muttered, rubbing the back of his neck, embarrassed.
"Why did you have to see Danny's progress with his Ice powers before you taught him anything?" Alex asked the smiling Yeti.
"So I could be sure he was ready to learn this next technique." He responded simply.
"So? Am I ready?" Danny asked eagerly. Alex rolled her eyes.
Frostbite put his hand (paw?) to his chin and rubbed it in fake thought, since he already knew the answer. He smiled as he saw the hopeful expression on The Great One's face, as well as Alex's.
"Of course you're ready, Great One." Frostbite said, grinning as Danny and Alex's faces lit up. "Come, then. We should start soon. Especially considering Pariah's upcoming return." Frostbite continued, leading the teens away from the village.
They didn't get far, however, before a small black and white blur crashed into Danny, sending them both down to the ground. Frostbite chuckled and Alex flinched back.
They looked down to see a girl about 12 years old on top of Danny. She too had snow-white hair in a long ponytail and bright green eyes as bright as Danny's. Her HAZMAT was different, however. It was split in half, exposing her midriff, with the HAZMAT being split diagonally on top, having white on the right and black on the left and gloves opposite their own side. Her pants were all black with white boots up to her knees. She even wore his symbol on her chest.
Danny smiled as he sat up, detaching the young girl from his chest and leaving her sitting in his lap as he sat on the ground, grinning widely.
"Danielle! I'm so glad your okay!" Danny said, ruffling her hair against he protests.
"I'm fine. But I felt Pariah too." The girl, Danielle, said back. Danny nodded.
"Don't worry. Your old man won't let him do anything." Danny said, winking at her. Danielle giggled and hugged Danny again.
"I know, daddy." She said, floating to her feet. Danny followed and turned to Alex.
"Alex, this is Danielle or, Dani with an 'I'. Danielle, this is Alex. She's a wizard and she knows everything." Danny introduced.
Alex smiled as she shook Dani's hand. She was never into anything 'girly' or 'sweet' as a kid but this girl was adorable!
"Are you really a wizard?" Dani asked in awe. Alex chuckled.
"Yep." She said, popping the 'p'. "Got a wand and everything." She continued, pulling her wand out of her boot.
"Is that how your not cold? Are you using magic? Can you teach me that?" Dani rattled off, too excited to notice her floating higher and higher.
"Actually, Danny's powers are keeping me not cold. I can't teach you magic unless you're a wizard. Sorry kiddo." Alex explained. Dani pouted.
"What more do you want, Danielle? Your already a halfa living in a tundra who's the daughter of a superhero." Danny teased. Dani stuck her tongue out at him.
Alex and Frostbite chuckled at the duo's antics.
"What are you doing here anyway? I thought you'd be home preparing for your big fight against Pariah." Dani asked, landing beside the elder Phantom.
"Vlad. He locked us in here to keep me away long enough for him to make his 'next move'." Danny said with a scowl.
Alex noticed that Danielle's face instantly darkened at the mention of the oldest halfa, surprising Alex a little. She, like Danny, displayed an overly intense hatred at Vlad.
"What's the Fruit Loop's next move?" Dani asked, her voice taking on an edge that shouldn't be possible in a 12-year-old girl.
"Something to do with Alex's family, the Russo's, who are also wizards." Danny replied, his eyes glowing brightly. His daughter followed his example.
"It's just a trap to lure you in, isn't it?" The younger Phantom guessed. Danny nodded and Dani scowled. "Figures." She muttered angrily.
"Well, Great One, I would rather teach you this ability in private so we should begin to move further outwards." Frostbite said, starting to walk.
"Why in private?" Danny said, turning to his ghost friend.
"Because when I was trying to teach you how to simply use ice you froze 60% of my village." Frostbite reminded. Danny flinched and the girls started laughing.
"Why can I picture that perfectly?" Alex said rhetorically, looking up into the sky as if actually seeing it. Dani laughed harder.
"Maybe private is best." Danny muttered, walking up to Frostbite.
"What are we supposed to do?" Dani asked, motioning to herself and the brunette next to her.
"I don't know. Bond a little. You'll get along great neither of you enjoys 'girl time'." Danny replied, finally walking out of sight with Frostbite.
Danielle turned to Alex, her face straighter than a stop sign.
"I'm not letting you braid my hair." She said pointedly. Alex's face twisted into a large smile, surprising the younger girl.
"We'll get along just fine." Alex replied, walking back into the cave with Dani following.
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Tucker reached over and penciled in the Danny Phantom logo onto the notepad, shading the 'D' in but leaving the 'P' the color of the paper.
Tucker and Harper upgraded from tic-tac-toe to a charade-type game except you drew your clues out. Then there was Vlad droning on in the background, his temper increasing with each question.
Harper shrugged and tapped the paper, gesturing for another clue, as she knew 'Danny Phantom' wasn't the entire answer. Tucker (poorly) drew a dove on the pad, gesturing to his ear while Vlad faced the bookshelf.
'Sounds like 'dove'?' Harper wrote. She erased it when Tuck nodded. Harper tapped the pad, indicating for another part.
Tucker nodded and begun to doodle the best he could without taking the pad out of the center of the two and alerting Vlad. When Harper saw it, it was a doodle of the 'Welcome to Amity' sign. Harper thought.
Clue one was obviously 'Danny Phantom'. Clue two took some thought but she quickly settled on 'of', it being one of the only things that made sense. Clue three was either 'Amity Park' or 'Small town' but she settled on Amity.
She penciled in 'Danny Phantom of Amity Park?' under the line of clues. Tucker smiled, reached over and erased 'Danny' then circled 'Phantom of Amity Park' with a huge grin, signifying he knew he had won this round.
'Remember, it's just 2:2 now. Tie-breaker?' Harper wrote. Tucker nodded and the redhead flipped the page to a blank one and began thinking of ways to one-up the gloating Techno-geek.
"So I obviously couldn't live a life in Toledo after that, so I moved to Wisconsin…" Vlad continued, facing the wall and unaware of the teens actions.
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"Oh look a lovely carriage ride!" Max cried, pushing Jerry, and Teresa by default, toward said object.
"Max we've been on a hot air-balloon ride, a rollercoaster ride, a boat ride and parasailing since we got here! That's enough rides for my lifetime." Teresa argued.
Max had dragged them away from the arcade after Jerry saw they had 'Asteroids' and was about to call Justin to come and play him. Knowing he couldn't let his parents out of sight yet, Max took them to the ultimate distraction; an amusement park.
"And I haven't eaten for 20 minutes." Jerry protested Max. "Not since before the rollercoaster. Which was a bad idea." He added as an after thought.
"But we've had fun right? The balloon ride was cool." Max started.
"The balloon came within 3 feet of power cables." Teresa retorted. Max scoffed.
"Everyone needs some close calls in life. The rollercoaster was good too." Max continued.
"They had to stop it to hose it off after your father lost his hotdog." Teresa countered.
"So? We got to sit and reflect on life's mysteries for a while." Max told her.
"We were upside down." She deadpanned.
"Easier to think. The thoughts are falling straight into your heads." Max said with a light laugh.
"No, your mother is right. We're leaving." Jerry said, starting to walk away.
"There's a sausage eating contest in five minutes." Max informed him.
"Honey, our son is right. We're staying." He decided, walking in the opposite direction. Max sighed in relief and followed his father while Teresa groaned and lagged behind.
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"Jazz! What are you doing here? Why aren't you finding Danny?" Sam screeched as she practically jumped off the bus. "Come on, we have to-" She started, grabbing Jazz's hand in an attempt to pull her but Jazz yanked out of her grip.
"Okay, first. We were waiting for you so we could tell you the whole extent of the story. Danny being stuck in the Ghost Zone is only part of it." Jazz said, glaring down at the impatient girl.
"Well walk and talk! We need to save Danny!" Sam argued, attempting to grab Jazz again but the older girl again pulled away.
"No. We'll be discussing this here, like grown ups. Justin, wake up." Jazz said, kicking the oldest wizard in the shin, making him jump up instantly.
"Why would you- oh? She's here. Did you tell her?" Justin started, but changed the question halfway through. Sam glared at Jazz.
"Why is he here? He can't-" Sam started but Jazz cut her off.
"If you'd stop yelling and let me explain you'd know why." Jazz lectured. Sam huffed but kept quiet. "Okay let's start off with the fact that Justin, Alex, Harper and Max know about Danny and Vlad." She continued.
"What! Are you insane? Why would you tell them?" Sam yelled, anger evident in her eyes.
"We had to. Vlad locked Danny in the Ghost Zone with Alex and we traded secrets to help get them out." Jazz informed her. Sam looked like she was going to rant again, presumably about Alex being with Danny, but realized what Jazz had said.
"What 'secret' was worth Danny's safety? Did they tell you who broke the window with a baseball?" Sam asked sarcastically.
"My family comes from a long line of wizards. Alex, Max and I are wizards and have been since birth." Justin spoke up for the first time. Sam scoffed.
"Wizards aren't real." She said as a matter-of-factly. It was Justin's turn to scoff.
"Most people don't believe in Ghosts either." He retorted. Sam gave him a pointed look.
"Fair enough." She said, sighing.
"Tucker and Harper are keeping Vlad occupied since we think he locked Danny in there to buy time for another of his plans and Max is keeping their parents busy so they don't notice Alex or Justin missing." Jazz explained to the Goth.
"We don't know the entire plan, but Danny says it has something to do with us; my family." Justin added.
"Danny would know. He knows Vlad better than anyone." Sam agreed with a nod.
"Come on. We'll catch you up completely on the way." Jazz said, walking away with Justin. Sam quickly caught up.
"Where are we going?" Sam asked the other teens.
"FentonWorks. Maybe you can help us with something." Justin responded.
Sam nodded and the three began making their way back to FentonWorks.
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"Excellent, Great One. You learned even faster than some of my most talented hunters." Frostbite complimented. Danny smiled sheepishly.
"Thanks but I have a great teacher." Danny said back. Frostbite grinned and bear-hugged the hybrid.
"Now remember, your new ability is useful, yes, but it also takes complete focus to use it." Frostbite warned.
Danny nodded, heading the warning. He had only done it perfectly a few times and he was pretty winded, let alone in battle.
"Can we get back to the cave now? I think its time to take our leave." Danny asked, pointing in the direction of said cave.
Frostbite nodded and Danny smiled as the duo started the journey. Frostbite attempted to question the white-haired teen.
"So, Great One, how will you fight Pariah Dark once more?" Asked the Yeti. Danny frowned.
"I'm not 100% sure. I mean I know I have to and I am going to but it's a lot of pressure. Even Skulker and the others came to me for help. They came to me and asked me to fight for them. That's something huge." Danny voiced his concerns.
"There is something else on your mind. Care to share?" The wise tribe leader asked. Danny sighed.
"I don't want to disappoint anyone. Skulker and the others, they put their faith in me to keep their home safe. You and your tribe treat me like a King, which I don't deserve. If I can't beat him what if I lose your respect? Alex, Tucker, Jazz and Sam too. They count on me keeping town safe. On keeping them safe. And Danielle. Danielle looks at me like I could save the Earth 7 times over, flip Pariah with my pinky then take her out for ice cream." Danny ranted, his eyes glowing from passion. Frostbite looked down sympathetically at Danny and rested a hand (paw?) on his shoulder.
"You can only do the best you can. That is all we can ask of you, Great One. No matter what the outcome, I assure you my tribe and I will not lose respect for you. All of my tribe's bravery combined isn't high enough to face Pariah, yet you plan on doing so. Twice. And your friends too. They'll always be there for you. And do not worry about disappointing Danielle. The bond of a father and daughter is one of the strongest things known to ghosts and mortals alike." Frostbite lectured, trying to cheer up the sulking halfa.
It seemed to work because Danny smiled ear-to-ear.
"Thanks Frostbite, I needed to hear that." Danny admitted, still smiling.
"My pleasure, Great One. Now come, let us return to the village for your friend and daughter." Frostbite reminded.
Danny nodded and the pair started walking again.
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"So then I just came up from the table and knocked food all on that Dash kid! Daddy was happy and upset at the same time." Danielle reminisced.
Alex chuckled at the image of muscle-head getting hit with food and Danny trying to contain his laughter.
"You and Danny have made a lot of memories together haven't you?" Alex asked, genuinely interested.
"Not a lot of good ones. Most of our time together was with Vlad too." Dani corrected, her eyes glowing slightly at the mention of the older halfa. Any lighter and Alex would have missed the glow.
"You do it too." Alex stated. Dani looked on dumbly.
"Do what?" She questioned.
"Get angrier than everyone else when Vlad is brought up. Why?" Alex replied, pressing for answers.
Dani hesitated. She couldn't tell her that Vlad was as bad as he was. Her and Danny had promised each other not to let it out for their own safely. If Vlad's attempt at cloning was ever exposed or Danielle was traced back to the billionaire, there would be hell to pay. And Danny would be the one to pay it. Not even Tucker and Sam knew Vlad was a lot darker and eviler than she or her father let on because the more people that knew, it was more likely to get out. And if it got out, Vlad would not hesitate in getting revenge on the one person who could have known in the first place; Danny.
The Phantom duo weren't even sure Vlad knew Danielle was in on the secret. He didn't act the same way. To Danny he always warned the younger hybrid not to spill his secrets at risk of losing his own, but he's never threatened the younger Phantom so they assumed Vlad still thought only Danny was aware of his true colors which was just fine for them.
"It's complicated." Dani answered instead, hoping to let the matter drop. She wasn't as good as Danny at changing subjects. Or deciding how much to tell.
"You're your fathers daughter alright." Alex muttered, remembering how Danny had given her the same response after a long pause on the flight here.
"What do you mean?" Dani asked, confused.
"Danny said the same thing when I asked him about it while we were flying here." Alex replied. Dani smiled, glad she had answered correctly.
Alex opened her mouth to try and ask another question but Danny's familiar voice echoed around them.
"Get ready guys. We have to head back." He said, walking into the cave and sitting beside Danielle, letting her lean into his side.
Frostbite followed soon after with the Infi-map and handed it to Danny.
"Remember, Great One, that the map sometimes takes you where you need to be rather than want to be." Frostbite reminded, handing it over to Danny, who nodded.
"Okay. Danielle, how would you like to come along and see me foil our old Fruit Loop?" Danny asked, turning to the little girl who jumped up in agreement.
Danny smiled and put Danielle up on his shoulders as she steadied herself and took one of Alex's hands in his. Then he turned to Frostbite.
"Thanks again Frostbite. I don't know what I'd do without you. I'll bring the map back soon and I promise that I'll do my best." Danny told him.
Frostbite nodded in acknowledgement, grinning as wide as his mouth would let him.
"Infi-map, take us to Amity Park." Danny commanded.
At first nothing, but then the familiar, to Danny at least, blue glow covered them all and yanked them all away. Frostbite smiled in their direction before speaking to himself.
"We are counting on you, Danny Phantom."
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Vlad Plasmius floated over Amity invisibly, looking down at the citizens. He had created a clone to sit there and drone on for Daniel's friends' meaningless 'research' report when he noticed them not looking up. So he seized his chance to escape the torture that was Tucker Foley.
As he looked down at the town he saw absolutely nothing significant. Just people and buildings. Try as he might he could not see why Daniel put so much work into keeping the worthless place safe. Amity wasn't so much as a stain on a map before the names 'Phantom' and 'Plasmius' went public. So why try so hard? Vlad just couldn't understand. Aside from Madeline and Daniel, there was nothing keeping him here at all.
He continued flying until he spotted his target; the wizard boy and parents. He was missing one wizard but it would all come together soon enough. His blood red eyes narrowed at he moved in on the family of three.
His next move was here and now.
EXCITING chapter, am I right, guys? So how was that? Longer than most of the chapters so far, except Chapter 2.
Sorry to those of you who voted on sisterly but majority rules and despite the closeness, Daughterly relationship won out. So there will be DxD father/daughter relationship.
Okay to recap: Danielle is officially introduced, Danny learned a new technique from Frostbite, Alex and Dani bond, Sam joins the resucue mission, Tucker and Harper battle it out for the champion of silent games and Vlad sets out for action.
Next chapter: Jazz calls the group (minus Danny and Alex) back together for a new set of objectives, Vlad seizes his opportunity (although in a different way than he intended to), Danny, Alex and Danielle make their way back to Amity and Clockwork makes his debut.
Next I shall update Chapter 11 for The Phantom's Realm, hopefully before Easter as an Easter gift to all of you.
As always leave a review or PM me thoughts/suggestions since, like I've said before, I read them all very carefully. Until chapter 11, folks!