Salutations.

I have to admit, I am loving the review situation. Thanks to new reviewers Kuro Tori, you have an excellent sense of foreshadowing; Diamond Raider, and The Demon Inside. Also thanks to the continuous support from Acosta, Pendemus, Leah, Horselvr, Esme, Hikaru, and Epona. Finally, credit to Diamond Raider and Idiots Unite for pointing out a mistake on my part; I was spelling Valerie wrong. (Hehe…) Thanks for the heads up; the story is definitely better without that annoying little bug. : )

As a side note, I recommend the Iliad to anyone who wants to learn more about the Trojan War, despite its understandable bias and reference to an improvable quantity of divine intervention. An excellent and eerily familiar story of how two nations were brought to the brink of destruction by war for the sake of one man's pride. Overly proud men in power shouldn't be allowed to start wars, it always ends badly.

That said, I hope you continue to read, and if you feel willing, to review. I look forward to every critique, every general comment. Seriously, I eat that stuff up! Just think about it, okay? Anywho, here's chapter eleven.

HiddenAuthor

Chapter 11 – Plans

Sam and Danny sat down side by side at their regular lunch table, picking at their food and shooting each other slightly goofy smiles. Tucker had once again elected to wait and go through the line with Valerie. Slightly red, Danny turned towards his new girlfriend and grinned.

"Uh…so, I was thinking…maybe you and I could go out to um, dinner. You know, before the dance on Friday?" Sam nodded mutely for a second. Danny coughed nervously. "Um, is that a yes?" In spite of the awkward situation, Sam had to laugh.

"Yes, Danny. I'd like that. But we're going Dutch, no arguments." Danny frowned.

"You know, I'm totally behind the whole equality thing, Sam. But we've always gone out as friends before. This sorta feels like something I'm supposed to pay for." He finished, scratching his neck nervously. Sam rolled her eyes.

"Pig." She said, teasingly. Seeing the distraught look on Danny's face, she quickly continued. "That's really sweet, Danny. But really old fashioned, that's all. I'm a big girl." Sam rolled her eyes, smiling sarcastically. "Jeez, next you'll want to 'officially' give me that cheesy class ring or something." At this, Danny's face turned bright red.

"Yeah, about that ring…"

"Hey guys!" Tucker rushed over and plopped down on the table. "Valerie's gonna be sitting with us today, okay?" Sam looked ready to start yelling, but Tucker shot her a glare and continued. "I felt really bad about not letting her join us yesterday, and don't want her to feel left out. I knew you two would understand. Right?" Sam pursed her lips, but nodded curtly. Relaxing, Tucker leaned back and turned to Danny. "So dude, what did your parents set up today?" Danny frowned.

"Just their latest super powered death machine for ghosts. Worse, the things look like they work. It's weird, though. I used the Maximus on myself, but those things still track me. They just don't fire." Sam paused.

"Huh. Well, here." She said, reaching into her backpack then tossing him the ecto-meter. "I kept it after you took off to see the council, and thought you'd want it back to keep checking yourself out. Even if you can't tell us why it's happening." Sam shot Tucker a glare, who just shrugged. A second later, Valerie took the seat next to Tucker and smiled at the other two.

"Hi guys. Long time no see." Valerie looked as wrecked as Danny. Sam cocked an eyebrow.

"Oh, I don't know Valerie, I'm sure you've run into us more recently than that." Valerie frowned. So did Danny. "Busy night?" Valerie nodded.

"Yeah. I've got this uh…project that I've been working on for a while now. I can't really talk about it much, but it looks like it might actually help me pay for college." Sam plastered on a forced smile.

"A project, huh? Looks like it kept you up pretty late. Must be a blast." Tucker spat up his drink and started coughing. Valerie frowned, then put on a hesitant smile.

"I…guess you could say that. Time just kind of flew by." An object in Danny's hand that resembled a camera phone suddenly started beeping. Panic flicked across the ghost boy's face, and he turned to face the confused huntress.

"Uh…That's for me. Sorry, Val, I've gotta take this." Without another word, Danny tore across the cafeteria for the nearest restroom, and grabbed an empty stall. Panting heavily, Danny looked down at the small device with bright green eyes.

"Whew. Almost forgot the Maximus was wearing off about now. I'd - What the heck!" Glancing at the readout, Danny watched numbers start to flick across the screen. '0.2, 2.4, 5.18, 7.55, 8.1, 8.5.' Suddenly, green ripples spread outward through the room and the restroom mirror cracked, then shattered. Looking down in panic, Danny saw that the reading had settled back down at 7.34. "What was that?" Still really freaked out, Danny reached down into his backpack and pulled out the Maximus. Quickly, before someone came in to investigate, he jammed the device in his side and shocked himself again. "There. That solves one problem, at least." A bang filled the restroom as Mr. Lancer slammed the door open and stormed in.

"'A Million Little Pieces!' What's the meaning of this?" Not wanting to get caught at the scene, Danny turned towards the wall and ran. Unfortunately he forgot that he couldn't phase through, so he hit the wall hard and fell backwards onto the floor.

"Uughh." Hearing the crash and moan, Mr. Lancer ripped the door open and looked down at Danny's sprawled form.

"Fenton! Explain yourself!" Danny looked up from the floor, wincing and rubbing his sore face.

"Umm, it was an accident?" The older teacher's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"If you think that your parent's work for our school can get you off the hook, you're sadly mistaken. Detention. After school, every day this week. And, I'll be phoning your parents about this." Without another word, Mr. Lancer stormed back out of the restroom. Danny groaned, and started walking back to his lunch table. Sam looked up.

"So, um, how was the call?" Danny shot her a look.

"Oh, well, our other, shy friend gave me another call. Sounds like he might be in some trouble. Said we should meet up at about seven thirty-four." Sam's eyes narrowed in thought, then shot wide.

"What? That's – um- later than I thought. Any idea why?" Danny shook his head.

"That's not the weird part. Just before that, he tried suggesting eight fifty." Sam's face visibly paled, and she started gibbering. Valerie turned to Tucker.

"Do you have any idea what they're talking about?" Tucker shook his head.

"I thought I did, but that eight fifty thing doesn't make sense." Valerie quirked an eyebrow at him. "Umm, another – uhh, friend – of ours from out of town has been getting into trouble lately. We're just trying to help." Valerie smiled at him.

"You're sweet, Tuck. You know? I just don't get why I wouldn't go out with you before. Sorry for being so shallow." Tucker frowned slightly.

"Yeah…well, I guess you've learned you can't judge a book by its cover." Valerie beamed at him.

"Exactly. I've learned not to just judge people. I should try to get to know them first." Sam snorted.

"Right." Valerie shot her an odd look. "I mean, uh, right! You sure have turned over a new leaf, Valerie! We're all really proud of you." Sam grinned, though her eye was ticking slightly. Val relaxed, and turned towards Danny.

"So, do you and Sam have any plans for before the dance? Tucker and I were thinking of going out for dinner first, and I was wondering if we could have a double date." Danny thought for a moment, then beamed.

"Yeah! That sounds fun, Val! What do you think, Sam?" Sam's smile now looked very strained, and she answered through clenched teeth.

"Sure, Danny. That would be fun. Why not go out with Valerie and Tucker?" Danny nodded to himself and turned back to Valerie.

"Okay, how about we meet up at your apartment at five? You're closer to downtown anyway. Then we'll figure out where we're going." Tucker nodded.

"Sounds good to me. Val?" Valerie nodded, too.

Sam sat back. "Well, that's settled then. Tucker, want to walk with me and Danny to his house after school today? We can hang out for a little bit, then you can turn around and meet Valerie when she gets out." Tucker grinned and nodded.

"Sure, that sounds good." Tucker's response was cut short by the class bell. "Well, we should get going. Later guys." With that, Tucker and Valerie took off, holding hands. About five seconds later, Sam and Danny took off as well, Sam laying into Danny as much as she could.

"What are you THINKING? Dinner with the girl who's trying to kill you? I just don't get it! How can you be such a jerk?" Danny frowned.

"Sam. Valerie may hate Phantom, we both know that. She can be stubborn and violent, but underneath that she really is a good person. I wouldn't have gone out with her if she weren't." Sam sent Danny a glare. Danny caught the look and backpedaled, mentally slapping himself. "Sam, don't be like that. I like Valerie, but you…you're really special." Danny turned red. "I really like you, Sam. Please, trust me." Sam paused, and smiled.

"Okay. But you're still a jerk." Danny snorted, and the two continued down the hallway. As they passed, the Ghost-Suckers whirred to life and followed the hybrid's progress.

"Any idea why they do that? And what's with the eight fifty thing? Did you mean the reading?" Danny nodded, his face grim.

"Yeah. I know why my energy's higher, but that…I don't know why that happened." He sighed. "I swear, every time I get an answer, ten more questions pop up. And I got detention." Sam stopped.

"Why?" Danny frowned.

"I sort of…broke the restroom mirror." Sam stared at him. "It was an accident! When the energy jumped, it all left at once, and the mirror broke. Mr. Lancer came in, and gave me detention. All week." Sam slapped her forehead.

"Great. Well, at least you can talk to Tucker and me after school before you go back in for detention." The warning bell sounded in the distance. Without another word, the couple took off for class as fast as they could.

Right after school, Sam Tucker and Danny sat down outside the school and started talking.

"Aw, man! Why'd you have to get detention, Danny? You think I want to hang out by the school?" Danny shook his head.

"Right, Tucker. That was the first thing on my mind when I asked Lancer to punish me. It wasn't my fault!" The two looked ready to argue some more, but Sam cleared her throat loudly.

"Guys, focus. Danny, could you please tell Tucker and me what's up with your powers?" At this, Danny turned slightly red.

"Err, well…Jazz and I went to Clockworks to find out. He explained it. Nothing's actually wrong. My DNA is telling my ghost form to do this." Tucker raised an eyebrow.

"Your DNA is telling your ghost form to suck up energy?" Danny shook his head.

"No, it's telling my ghost form to, uh, grow." Sam and Tucker's eyes widened.

"Ohhh…that's what's going on. But what's with the tracking? Or the mirror thing?" Tucker looked over.

"What mirror thing?"

"That would be why I got detention. No idea. Let's just hope that it doesn't happen again. It's weird though. I don't think that happened last time the Plasmius Maximus wore off. I mean, yeah, I was asleep, but my stuff breaking would have woken me up." Sam frowned.

"Huh. Just one more thing to figure out, I guess. Anyway, since we can't hang out after school today, I'm just gonna head home. Grandma invited some of her friends over to play cards." Her two friends gave her an odd look. "What? They're grandma's friends. Way cooler than anyone my parents know." With that, Sam jogged off for home. Tucker sighed.

"I should go back in and wait for Val. You should go see Lancer. Maybe he doesn't have class, and he'll let you start detention early."

"Sure. Whatever." With one last dark look at the outside of the building, Danny walked back inside with his friend and went over to Lancer's office.

"Hello, Mr. Fenton. You're early." Danny surveyed the empty room.

"Yeah. I have last period off this year. Can I start my detention earlier?" Mr. Lancer rubbed his chin briefly, then nodded.

"I don't see any reason why not. Alright, I'd like you to sort all of my course books. You'll find them in the cupboards in the back. Sort them by author, then title." Nodding, Danny shuffled across the room and got to work.

When the dismissal bell rang, Lancer looked up from his papers and called out to his prisoner. "Fenton. You may go. Report back to my room tomorrow." Nodding, Danny trudged out and walked home alone. Opening his door, he came face to face with two very angry parents.

"What happened at school today, young man?" Maddie said seriously, glowering at her son from the front hall. Danny held up his hands quickly.

"It wasn't my fault! That mirror got broken by ghost energy, I swear! Mr. Lancer came in a second later and found me, so he gave me the blame and three detentions." Maddie put her hands on her hips.

"If it was a ghost, why didn't one of our Ghost-Suckers pick it up?" Danny froze.

"Umm…"Jack held up a hand.

"Sorry, Danny. You're not grounded, since it could have been a ghost." At this he shot his wife a pleading look. "It could have." Maddie just shook her head. Jack's face went back to a serious frown. "But since it could have been you, too, we're taking the money for repairs out of your savings." Danny blanched.

"But…but…I need that money to take Sam out on Friday!" Maddie and Jack both looked shocked for a second, then grinned.

"Oh, sweetie! You two finally started dating?" Maddie rushed forward and gave her son a big hug. Danny looked out, completely at a loss at the sudden mood shift, as his father beamed at him.

"I knew it! Did you give her the class ring? Remember, it's not official until you do." Danny rolled his eyes. Suddenly remembering why she'd been waiting for him in the hallway, Maddie backed up again and frowned.

"Look, Danny. We want things to work between you and Sam, but you're not off the hook for the mirror thing. So, instead of paying for it with your savings, you'll work off the debt doing extra chores today and tomorrow. Until you pay off the difference, you're grounded." Jack nodded.

"But if you find the ghost that did this, bring it to us, and we'll zap the truth out of it!" Beaming at the idea, Jack lumbered off to the basement to build a device to do just that. Smiling, Maddie gave Danny another brief hug.

"I really am happy for you sweetie. I know you're under a lot of pressure, but try not to take things out on restroom mirrors. Okay?" With that, she went off to the kitchen to once again try to make hot but dead franks in the microwave. Shrugging, Danny shuffled upstairs to his room. Stepping inside, he froze at the sight of none other than a grinning Vlad Masters.

"Well hello, Daniel. How are you? Your father has been kind enough to invite me here to help him destroy the ghost boy. I trust they told you." Danny's eyes narrowed.

"I don't know why you're here, Vlad, and I don't care. Go away." Dumping his backpack on the ground, Danny walked over to where Masters was sitting on his bed and glared at his arch-foe. Vlad put on a surprised expression.

"Why Daniel, I had no idea you felt so strongly. And here I am, supposed to board down in your room, too. Whatever shall we do about this?" Smirking, Vlad watched as Danny fought the powerful urge to hit him. Then, suddenly, Danny's face brightened.

"I'll give you all the space you want. Just stay out of my face and leave fast." Without a second look, Danny walked into his closet and entered his lair. Vlad followed and stood before the black door, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"So this is where Daniel place his second door. Well, that's one less thing to find out. On to the next phase in my plan. But, first…" Mr. Masters cracked the door open and peeked inside. A second later, he slammed it shut, slightly green.

"Not for all the cheese in Wisconsin." Shuddering, Vlad made his way over the Danny's backpack and pulled out the Maximus. With an evil smirk, the dark and powerful fruitloop switched the dial to its highest setting. "There. Phase two is complete." Mr. Masters said with wicked satisfaction, slipping his device back into the backpack. "Now to sit back and wait for things to work themselves out."