Disclaimer: Not the big man…just a fanfic author.
Story: Danny Fenton, best friend of Sam Manson and Tucker Foley, sophomore at Casper High, and very much a tomboy. That's right, Danny is as female as they come. Well, minus the clothing and attitude.
Set as an AU, genderbending fic.
Spoilers: For episode S1.19 ("The Million Dollar Ghost", series continuity order) and mention of future episodes.
Warnings: Allusions to rape, violence, cursing, sexual situations...
Pairings: Danny/Dash, Danny/Kwan, one-sided (most of the time) Danny/Ghosts, various odd smidgens of Danny/OCs, sort of Vlad/Danny, future pairings to be announced...
Chapter Fourteen: Aureo Hamo Piscari –To Fish With a Golden Hook
Danny Fenton's Divine Comedy
Chapter Fourteen: Aureo Hamo Piscari
"Seriously? Ghost drills?" Danny muttered, crumbling the memo that talked about it.
Lancer began walking around with a purple mask, trying to mimic ghost sounds so he could pretend he was one.
"That's hardly convincing," Sam snorted, watching in amusement.
"Danny, what are you doing?" Kwan asked, watching his crush close her eyes and mutter under her breath.
"Praying my parents stay at home."
Unfortunately, Jack and Maddie crashed through. In a move too quick for anyone to see, Danny darted to her parents and tackled them out of sight.
"I love you guys, but please don't embarrass me. And that's Mr. Lancer, not an actual ghost. They're doing ghost drills in school now," Danny said in a rush.
"Alright, sweetie. If you say so," Maddie reluctantly agreed.
"Are you sure, Danny? It could be a ghost pretending to be Mr. Lancer!" Jack started charging up the ecto-gun.
"Yes, Dad! Home now! You and Mom!"
She ushered them out of school before she ran to her class.
School was over and Danny was once again tutoring her boys, when the TV was turned on and put on the news, where Hariet Chin started talking about the need for more competent ghost hunters, especially now with a million dollar bounty on Phantom's head by a mysterious benefactor.
Jack started ranting about how he was more determined than ever to capture Phantom, and that no one was going to beat him to it. He stomped to the basement, Maddie following after with reassuring words.
Danny had paled, unmoving. She felt Dash and Kwan each take one of her hands and hold it, ignoring her cell phone vibrating to alert her of a message. She glanced at it to see a text message from Hariet warning her about the news and apologizing about it.
"It's best-known ghost hunters, Danny. Not the best," Kwan whispered reassuringly.
The doorbell rang and Danny reluctantly extracted herself from them and went to answer it. Her eyes lit up when she saw who was at the door, throwing herself into his arms in a hug.
"Vlad!"
The boys curiously, jealously so, followed and looked, their eyes growing wide when they caught sight of the older man.
"Oh, Dash, Kwan, this is Vlad Masters. He's a family and personal friend. Vlad, these were the two boys I told you about. The ones I tutor?"
"Ah, yes. Pleasant to meet you," Vlad gave them a cool smile.
Awestruck as they were, they couldn't get rid of the feeling that Vlad didn't like them.
"Um…we're practically done now, so Dash and I will just leave so you two can get together. We'll see you later, Danny," Kwan said, dragging Dash with him.
"I should tell Mom and Dad you're here," Danny excitedly said.
"Why don't I come with you?" Vlad said smoothly, giving her an easy smile.
They went down to the basement and both Maddie and Jack were surprised and pleased to see him, though Vlad was subtly just a bit icy with Jack. Maddie pulled Vlad to the side, as Jack started telling Danny about the new invention he was working on to help capture Phantom.
"I really have to thank you, Vlad. If you did kiss her, or whatever you did, it really helped her relax and not be afraid of men. She's almost back to normal. In fact, maybe even better since she acts so loosened up around men now."
Vlad gave an awkward smile, "Yes, I, uh, kissed her. But it was a little odd, what with myself seeing Danny more as a niece or daughter."
Maddie had to see that. And that Vlad didn't want her to know how much he'd enjoyed the kiss. Because he didn't. At all.
"I understand completely, so I'm so thankful that you brought yourself to do it anyway," Maddie smiled.
"Um, Jack doesn't know, does he?"
"Oh, no. Not at all. If he did, you would be dead."
"I was afraid of that," Vlad muttered.
"Anyways, I'm very sorry about your home, Vlad. You can stay here for as long as you like. You'll have to stay in Danny's room, I'm afraid. Jazz's room is too small. Danny, is that all right if you just sleep in the Fenton Emergency Ops Tower? The guest room there is probably messy, but you can fix it up."
"Sure, Mom," Danny called out.
"Your Dad and I will be working a little longer here, so can you show Vlad to his room?"
Danny nodded and casually took his hand, leading him back up and then up the stairs to her room.
"So you'll be staying here for awhile, and you get to have the biggest bed here –aside from my parents'. The other three of the family likes spoiling me, so I get this huge room and bed all to myself. Enjoy while you can! Because I'll be taking it back soon," Danny grinned at him.
Vlad plopped onto the bed, hooking an arm around her waist and brought her down with him.
"But it's mine for now," he huffed.
"For now," she swore.
He took a piece of her hair, twirling it around. Damn it, he kept doing odd things around her. It was not helping his case.
"About, um, the last time…"
Vlad winced.
"You like my mom, don't you? I see how you look at her sometimes and the way you act around my dad," Danny surprisingly said. "So, you like kissed me because you couldn't kiss her?"
But it gave him a very thankful out. Especially since he had to keep his mouth shut about Maddie's involvement, never mind that he didn't want to give away how much he himself actually enjoyed it.
"Ah, Danny. I didn't want you to find out about that. I thought it would be awkward to know I had feelings for your mother."
She rolled her eyes, "Awkward? And kissing me wouldn't be awkward?"
"Ah yes. That would pose problems as well."
She shook her head, still smiling. "You know you'll never get to be with her, right? She loves Dad way too much."
"Oh butter biscuits."
They shared a laugh before calming down, Vlad keeping an arm around her as she huddled closer, smiling as she buried her face into his side.
"…So it doesn't bother you? Any of it? My kissing you?"
"…I don't know. I guess not. I mean, I know Mom would never leave Dad, sorry about that by the way, so I'm fine with you having feelings with her because nothing's going to happen anyway. And you kissing me…well, I don't know. For some reason, after you did…I just felt light. I felt better than I had in weeks, like I didn't have to be so conservative or afraid."
"I think that's a good thing, Petrushka," he murmured.
She yawned, "I think I get that. That weird 'little badger' name is when you're being affectionate and light-hearted, but Petrushka is when you're strangely intimate. Like you want a confession or want me to talk to you…or just close and personal moments like this…"
"Sleep. You're tired…"
Danny actually really was, so she had no trouble falling asleep straight away.
The next morning, Vlad slipped away from Danny and trailed off to the kitchen, surprised to see the two boys from yesterday in it and cooking some light breakfast.
"Oh…good morning," Kwan greeted him hesitantly.
"Good morning," Dash greeted as well.
He raised his eyebrows at them, but nodded.
"Eggs, toast, and bacon. How quaint," Vlad's lip curled.
The two frowned.
"We're cooking breakfast for Danny," Dash said hotly, glaring at the older man.
Vlad ignored them, fetching a mixing bowl, a beater, and ingredients to start making pancakes.
"What's your problem?" Kwan joined Dash in glaring at him.
"My problem? I have no idea what you mean," Vlad said airily, easily dismissing them.
"Apparently you have a problem with us, if your attitude says anything."
"Neither of you two are worthy of Danny," Vlad said bluntly, looking at them in disdain. "She's worth much more than the two of you put together. If she had to have a pair of Neanderthals, I would rather she pick Roger Harrington and Guyton Richards. At least they're successful and intelligent."
"Like she would care what you had to say," Dash seethed.
"Of course she would!" Vlad exclaimed in mock surprise. "Who else helped her out of the dark hole the two of you no doubt put her in? Just a kiss from Prince Moi and she's back to her old self," he finished smugly.
"Why you!"
Vlad poured some of the batter into the frying pan and set it to simmer as he turned around and leaned against the counter, looking at them coolly.
"You silly boys. You aren't worth Danny's time. She deserves much better and you need to realize that. The quicker you do, the less heartache you poor fools will suffer."
Then he turned around and focused on the food he was making, ignoring the other two in the kitchen.
When Danny awoke and got ready, eating a wonderful breakfast of pancakes, bacon, eggs and toast, she wondered at the quiet attitudes of her two jock friends and the coolness of her older one.
After school, they headed to the Nasty Burger with Sam and Tucker, all of them frowning at the 'Welcome Ghost Hunters!' sign on the front, even more so at the gathered ghost hunters around the place.
"They had to choose the Nasty Burger as their headquarters?" Danny sneered.
"The Groovy Gang and Scaredy Cat, the Extreme Ghostbreakers, and the Guys in White. Mmhm, good thing no real ghosts are about. We'll be doomed," Dash echoed Danny's sneer.
"It's the who-can't-catch-ghosts convention," Sam snickered.
"Which means he's going to be here any second now," Danny groaned.
Sure enough, Jack crashed into the Extreme Ghostbreakers' bikes, Maddie and a stoic Vlad by his side in the RV.
"I was thinking of starting a ghost tour, since Amity is on the mark as the ghoul-y town around," Tucker grinned, whipping out a ghost costume outfit and putting it on, the words 'Boo-Yeah Amity Ghoul Tours' on the front.
Unfortunately, dressing up as a ghost in an area full of ghost hunters wasn't a good idea, as Sam told Tucker so.
Jack shot an ecto-gun at Tucker, covering him in ecto-goo.
"I caught him! Me! Jack Fenton! Danny Fenton's father!"
Tucker took off the shirt and shivered. "I'm not going to grow a third arm or something, am I?"
The three of the other ghost hunters that ran there started laughing and Danny's blood boiled.
She darted over to them, jumping into the air and doing a roundhouse kick that hit the dark-skinned Guy in White in the jaw and knocked him flat on the ground, landing on her hand and doing a back spring to the male Ghostbreaker, snapping her leg up to land another kick to his chest. She glared at the female Groovy Gang member, who quivered before running to her cohort.
"Idiots, the bunch of you," she sneered. "You all ran after my dad and only after Tucker showed himself did you turn around and made a fool out of Jack Fenton. Pathetic."
Danny leaned down and grabbed the male Ghostbreaker, roughly tossing him over to his partner.
"None of you take your jobs seriously. All any of you are, are a bunch of wannabes. Just because you have the tech, doesn't mean you're real ghost hunters. My parents live and breathe ghost hunting. You'll never be half the ghost hunters they are, and you'll never understand the business like they do. All you are –are tools and puppets, never the weapon and the puppet masters."
She sniffed contemptuously and sneered at them again.
"Pathetic."
She turned away and started walking over to her friends when three familiar ghost vultures squawked and appeared. In a smooth move, she ran up the side of the Nasty Burger building and whipped off her bag and fetched the Fenton Bazooka she had managed to fit into it. In mid air, she flawlessly shot at them and they all were sucked into the portable ghost portals.
Danny landed on her feet, bazooka smoking as it rested against her shoulder. She twirled it once before shoving it back into her bag and then walked calmly over to her friends, starting to walk into the restaurant, everyone inside staring through the windows. She didn't see her gaping father, her giddy mom, or the strangely proud Vlad, who had a mischievous smile on his face.
"Oh, by the way? I learned all that from my parents," she tossed over her shoulder.
A white lie, but she loved her parents and no one talked about them but she and Jazz.
"She caused quite the ruckus, didn't she, Agent K?" the blond man leaned back in his chair.
"I'm sorry, sir," the dark-skinned man murmured, his cheeks red. His lighter-skinned companion was standing ramrod still next to him.
"Agent O."
The lighter-skinned man tensed.
"And you didn't assist your partner?"
"No, sir. I –"
"It wouldn't have mattered. She still would have overpowered you at the same time. Neither of you are well versed in martial arts, and only have basic combat training. Everything you've mastered is to do with the weapons provided to this division."
"Yes, sir," both of them muttered.
"…But I'm interested in this matter now. I think I'll personally travel there and help handle the matter myself," their superior surprised them.
"But, sir!"
"Prepare for my arrival. I will be arriving in 24 hours."
The cams were shut off and Agent K and O breathed a sigh of relief.
On the other side of the cam, Special Agent W calmly brushed his hands down his front and stood up from his seat, calling on his phone for his personal jet to be readied.
This wasn't his ideal job, but it was something. Outside of this special covert section of the government, he was addressed as Major Ames H. Wolfwood of the U.S. Air Force. After attaining the rank at a young age, he was honorably discharged from the AF and drafted into running the youngling division. When ghosts first plagued Amity Park in its first year, the city hadn't quite been brought to attention. But the government had caught notice and decided a preliminary division could be formed just in case. Once the city began either being overwhelmed or caught in ghost crises, people began taking notice outside of the city –which gave the government more incentive to focus a little more on the fledging division. And then business started booming when the ghost invasion happened, and Phantom became Public Enemy Number One in Amity and unknowingly, Division XO13 of the government.
He settled into his seat and waited to arrive at Amity.
Around the same time, Dash Baxter was quietly folding his clothes and putting them away, disturbing his family with his attitude. His mom knocked on the door and looked in worriedly, her son not reacting to her. Her husband slipped in beside her and the two walked in more.
"Dashiel Logan Baxter, if you don't tell us what's wrong you're going to be grounded for a long, long time," Topher Baxter started out, stepping away from his wife to enter the room more. "Is this about a girl, Dash?"
Their son didn't answer, but they saw him slightly stiffen.
"Oh, Dash. There are always other girls out there. Paulina isn't everything," Topher pushed a little.
Sierra, his wife, sniffed. "Dash, you shouldn't be so infatuated with that girl. She's bad news –"
"It's not Paulina."
That stopped his parents short and they stared at him.
Dash held up his camera, not looking over to them.
"I have to get copies. The ones I used for the project was in a photo album and Tetslaff's sidestepping all my attempts to get it back," Dash replied quietly.
His mother determinedly stepped forward and quickly grabbed it, prompting Dash to look up quickly and stare at them in horror.
"You can't look at that!"
But they'd already powered it up and were flipping through the photos, eyes widening at the amount and focus of the pictures.
Dash groaned and pulled at his hair.
"I don't like Paulina. I don't think I ever really did. I just thought she was pretty and popular, and since we were both the most popular kids in school, we would be expected to be a couple. But I like her, and at first I thought she was a guy and I used to bully her so much and now she tutors me and I'm fighting with Kwan over her and –"
"Maybe you should start from the beginning, son," Topher cut off his son gently.
Dash breathed in deeply and began, first with how he'd thought Danny was a boy and how he'd bullied her through freshman year. Then he started on how sophomore year began, with Danny fighting back for the first time to when he found out she was female and tutoring Kwan and was now tutoring him, and he'd realized how much he actually liked her, even before he realized she was female.
How jealous he was of Kwan because he got to be around her more after he wasn't popular and began hanging out with her group, how he remembered how intensely jealous and upset he was when he was under Ember's spell and had seen her embrace his ex-best friend, his new-found rivalry with Kwan and his jealousy of everyone who got to be around her, and how upset he was that he couldn't because he had to be with the popular crowd.
How he actually missed Kwan, despite being constantly jealous of him, how he'd been possessed by a ghost during the invasion and had almost forced himself on Danny and he'd found out Danny was Phantom, how Danny had withdrawn from that and how guilty he felt, how he and the others tried to drag Danny into the haunted house extra credit and how that was made worse when Danny was taken to face her worse fears instead, how he'd found out that she was raped and not just harassed by jocks like he'd previously thought, how Danny had completely isolated herself after that until her mother took her somewhere for the week and then she came back reenergized and flirty and hot.
And finally how much he liked pretending to be a dad, especially since it was supposed to be his and Danny's kid (and Kwan's, but he tried to think more on how it was his) and how much he liked pretending he was married to her. Then he told them of Vlad Masters recently visiting the Fenton's because he was actually a family friend, and how the older man had told him and Kwan off and said neither of them were worthy of being with Danny and that they should give up before they suffered more heartache, after insinuating that he was the reason Danny was pulled out of the dark depression she had been in.
His mom cleared her throat and looked at her son wide-eyed.
"Well, your life has certainly become much more lively after meeting her."
Dash shrugged tiredly.
"You won't tell anyone about her being Phantom, right? And I don't think she wants anyone to know about her and that asshole jock."
"Language, Dash. And yes, you can count on your mom and dad," Sierra smiled widely at him. "And I like her. She sounds like a very nice young lady –much better than that Paulina you tried to introduce to us."
"Yeah, she's one of a kind," Dash said dejectedly.
Topher narrowed his eyes, "Look here, son. Vlad Masters may be a rich bastard –"
"Christopher!" Sierra berated.
"But he doesn't order that young girl around and he certainly doesn't order you around. He has no business saying the kind of crap he did. And popularity isn't everything, Dash. You got to choose what's more important –your reputation to a bunch of nobodies or being with a girl who makes you happy. Mind you, when I was your age I wanted to suck up to all my crushes because that's how I got the girls –" his arm was slapped loudly by Sierra "Ow! Ah, well, you get that point. As for Kwan, things like this happen. Either your friendship is strong enough to survive this or it isn't. And you have to know whether or not the girl is worth gambling a friendship for –you've been friends with Kwan for a very long time, son."
Topher was going to continue when Sierra's face paled, tugging at her husband's sleeve.
"This wouldn't be that Danny, would it?" Topher echoed her paled face when he realized what she meant.
Dash glared, "You have something against her?"
"No, Dash…just your older brother brought your crush to us once a long time ago, as a friend. She was very sweet. We were sorry what happened to her, and believe us, your older brother got a huge yelling when we found out what happened. All the football players' parents had a secret memo, being that the Fenton's didn't want anyone to know about what happened but the school felt a responsibility to have us know and to handle our kids."
"Ash knew Danny?" Dash asked uncertainly, having always looked up to his older brother.
Topher sighed, "You were at Kwan's house for a sleepover when he brought her over for dinner…It was just a week later when everything happened. She never got a chance to come back here, and you never got to meet her then."
"Bring her here for dinner once, will you? It would be nice to see her again…and as you like her, it'll be even better," his mother smiled at him.
"I want to talk to Ash…I want to visit him," Dash gritted his teeth, looking away and willing his tears to disappear.
"You…you can't, son…" his father said hesitantly.
"That jerk goes to college with him, doesn't he?" he glared at them.
Sierra sighed, "He wasn't convicted…he never had charges against him…he got away scot-free, Dash. What did you expect?"
"I want to go," Dash stubbornly said.
"When your next break is here, sweetie. Okay?" his mother conceded reluctantly.
"Okay…"
But Dash wasn't sure he could wait that long, but he knew for sure he didn't want to explode at his brother through the phone or email. This had to be personal.
Her movements were fluid and graceful. Her lines seemingly perfect and her kicks were especially superb. Just as he'd remembered watching from the video feed he'd seen of her…
Ames wasn't quite sure how to introduce himself, but at least he'd already thought of how he would present himself to the rest of the town. To everyone, and probably to her as well, he would stick to Special Agent W since no one was supposed to know who he was.
But letting her know his first name wouldn't be bad, would it?
The girl he had been admiring suddenly faltered and she stopped short, breathing heavily and stumbling towards the bench where her stuff was. He watched in confusion from where he leaned against the wall in the shadows, watching her perform the basic katas in Jujutsu. She never made it to the bench.
She collapsed on the ground, her whole body shaking intensely. She started whimpering, curling up as her shaking grew worse. He rushed over to her in alarm, never mind being a stranger and showing he had been intruding.
"What's going on?" he asked her.
She gasped and shook her head, eyes wide and dazed. She shakily pointed to her bag and he hurried over to it, rummaging for whatever.
"What am I looking for?"
"T-tryptophan," she forced out, no longer able to speak clearly.
He found a bottle of tryptophan and a bottle of water and he rushed back to her, grabbing two pills and uncapping the water bottle while he was at it. He helped her take it and leaned her up against him, tilting her head back and helping her to hold and drink the bottled water. She took another handful of the things before she finally stopped shaking and slumped against him in exhaustion.
"So…this may be a little forward, but my name's Ames," he gave a small grin down at her.
She smiled tiredly up at him, "Danny. This must be one hell of a meeting, huh?"
"I had crazier," he slowly picked her up.
She blinked, "Where are you taking me?"
"Since you needed typtophan for the seizures, I'm thinking you're supposed to take that nutrient to help. Tryptophan is in dairy…so, ice cream?"
"Mm, sounds good. This may be a little forward, but I'm going to pass out now."
She didn't give him a chance to reply.
Chancing looking like a kidnapper, he put her in his car, sitting her upright and buckling her in and began driving to the local hangout where he was sure his subordinates were still milling around, along with the other 'pathetic tools and puppets.'
At the Nasty Burger, strange name that was, he gently shook her shoulder where she started waking up in confusion.
"If you remember the past few minutes, you might remember me. But I should reintroduce myself more properly. I'm the head of the organization of the 'Guys in White'," he rolled his eyes at the name, "Special Agent W, but you can just call me by my first name –Ames. It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Fenton. I've heard, seen really, quite interesting things about you."
She stiffened up and glared at him, a look of suspicion already crossing her face.
"We could talk more in there, if you'd like," he asked gently, pointing to the restaurant. "You might feel more comfortable and sure I won't try anything if we were in a more open and public place. I would just like to talk. A bit of business, but more for pleasure."
He got out of his car and walked around to her side, opening the door for her and holding out a hand to help her out.
She frowned at him, measuring him up before reluctantly unbuckling her seatbelt and cautiously grabbing his hand, letting him lead her in. They were seated at a boot near the back; a bit more private than she would have liked but understood that a measure of privacy was needed.
"Now, let's get the business out of the way so I can just enjoy your company," he started out softly, observing her with a cool gaze and making her feel like squirming. "Let me tell you a little about the 'Guys in White', or as I prefer Division XO13."
He started in on the brief history of the organization, ending with how he'd seen her defeat his man and the others through a video and audio feed attached to their sunglasses and the report they gave him.
"So you see, I've decided to handle the matter myself," he explained, plopping his elbow onto the table and setting his chin on his hand.
She sneered mockingly, "Come to make sure your goons do their jobs right and get the Million Dollar Ghost? Or have you come to do the job yourself?"
He laughed lightly, "Not at all. I will keep that job to them, because at the moment I could care less about Phantom. I have much more intriguing prey to hunt right now."
The way he eyed her coolly gave her the answer as to who that may be, shockingly enough.
"I haven't done anything, other than beat one of your idiots to the ground and if you think that's going to intimidate me into putting myself in trouble with you lot –"
He quickly placed a finger on her lips, leaning forward and raising an eyebrow.
"Au contraire, as to the business end of the deal, I was going to say that you were quite right about Agent K and O. Neither of them are very skilled in combat, but have focused more on their weapons –as the division has put more emphasis on because of the subject. My fault really. I should stress on the physical combat, but I didn't see the need because what ghost would fight a human? I'm sure I'm wrong and that it's not just ghosts anyway they'd need to fight. So I'd like to propose you teaching them a form of combat, and in return I'll personally teach you Jujutsu and practice Muay Thai with you."
She frowned at him.
"I read your file," he answered her silent question. Seeing her face darken, he continued. "Just your statistics. I skipped over your hobbies, anything personal. I would like to learn that personally, and from you."
Her frown lessened, but her guard was still up.
"And why would I care about your conditions? My mother can teach me Jujutsu, and sooner or later someone practiced in Muay Thai will show up and I can fight them."
"Your mother will always spend time working, whilst I will be available at your need to dedicate to your training," he answered flawlessly, without blinking. "And you're just going to hope someone is just going to pop up, who can fight with Muay Thai?" he raised another eyebrow at her again.
She huffed and glowered at him.
"Never mind how I didn't think that was like you, but that scenario just matched this. I did just pop up and conveniently know Muay Thai."
She looked hesitant, so he pushed.
"I'll let you help look over the division and basically help me run it from an outsider's/part-time Gal in White role," he added confidently.
Her eyes widened, "W-why would I care about that? My loyalty's to my parents and if I was part of any ghost hunting organization, it would be theirs. Family and all…"
"I never said you couldn't be part of the family business," he shrugged. "I only offered you a place with me. You could be privy to information only the government has, without being obliged to share your family secrets, and share what you know with the family. You learn things on a need-to-know basis, and in the end we could help each other. We both have a common goal, right?"
"What's in it for you?" she asked tiredly, looking close to giving up.
"An experienced ghost hunter, who would know more on how to run things in this business. Someone I just know knows who's who of the ghosts, and what they're capable of. Even better, someone who has a passion for this kind of thing. Agent K and O do have a passion for this. They're just a little," he winced, "unknowledgeable…and in ways, their passion is a bit misplaced."
"And you? Do you feel any passion for this?" she asked softly, scrutinizing him.
"That's a personal question," he murmured. "One I can't answer. Not just yet. For personal reasons, really."
"Say I do agree to this. Why me? Why not just go straight to my parents?" she demanded, desperate for something to help her say no.
"Your parents are already affiliated to their business. You can attach yourself to them, as family, but also choose to be part of us or any other ghost-hunting group at your own leisure. And to be honest, the two come as a packaged pair," he shrugged apologetically at her. "Despite what you claim, I know most of what you learn was from your own doing. And also, I know you love your father and all, but I don't think you're being all that truthful about him to the rest of us. As far as I'm concerned, I do acknowledge Jack Fenton can be a force to reckon with, but I have the feeling that that's more reliable in regards to his family being in trouble…"
She smirked unapologetically.
"Do we have a deal?" he smirked back.
"Oh, I suppose," she muttered reluctantly.
"Good, now to pleasure," he called over a waitress, ordered two sundaes, and then focused back on her. "So, to begin –hello, my name is Ames and I find you utterly fascinating and attractive. Please to meet you and hope to see more of you in the future, and that we get along."
She gaped at him and it was his turn to stare at her unapologetically, a light smile grazing his lips.
"M-my name is Danny…and I find you utterly frustrating and bewildering. I am unsure whether I should be pleased to meet you or stay confused, but look forward from learning from you anyway. I hope we get along as well…um, thank you for helping me earlier and for the ice cream…"
He just smiled at her.
"What's your favorite song?" he asked suddenly.
She stared at him, but when it seemed like he was serious, she just inwardly shrugged.
"I guess The Man Who Sold the World by Nirvana. Yours?" she added after a moment of hesitation.
"Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by the Beatles," he answered promptly. "Favorite color?"
And they began trading off answers and questions, she finding herself oddly enjoying the time. Strange though…it felt like a date…
When he dropped her off, she tentatively stopped him.
"Um, how will I contact you?"
He blinked, "Huh, I actually forgot about that. I was so busy enjoying your presence that I hadn't thought about communication. Here, this is my business card."
He handed her a black card that was plain, except for his agent name, the organization under it, and then the phone number under that in white in the middle.
"Call that number and I'll have your phone. I'll call back with my personal cell so that you'll have my number."
"So you'll be flying back to headquarters now, or something?" she asked, glancing at the card and holding onto it tightly.
"Actually, no. I'll be moving and living here for now on. It would make sense to my superiors anyway. Amity is the capital of ghosts, and the organization would be primed and gathering knowledge and experience here. It would definitely be seen as beneficial to be staying in Amity. The government's already been handling it. And if there is a problem elsewhere, I'll just send K and O to handle it."
Living here…why did that give her goosebumps…
"I see…" she murmured.
He nodded and then surprised her by leaning forward slowly, kissing her cheek and lingering for a few seconds before backing off and smiling enigmatically at her. He returned to his car and waved before driving back.
That was one of the strangest meetings she'd ever had.
But it was also one she found she was actually really happy about. Especially considering, after school the next day, she had no tutoring to do as both Kwan and Dash had an extra practice that day that was expected to run long to prepare them for the coming game the next night, she found Ames waiting outside her school in full uniform, sunglasses and all.
But he looked way more cooler, especially leaning casually the way he was against his car.
She took the time to note the way he looked, looking at his blond hair that was so light it could've passed for white or silver, and the way it was combed neatly. His skin was almost, if not just as, pale as hers and she remembered the icy blue eyes that hid behind the glasses. Glasses, which were different from the ones Agents K and O used, styled almost like motorcycle glasses.
"Should I ask what are you doing here?" she stopped in front of him.
"I was wondering if you would like to go out somewhere," he asked bluntly, not at all messing around or stumbling with his words.
She blinked at him, "Like…where?"
"Have you eaten? I can take you to lunch or an early dinner. Unless you have something else in mind?"
She racked her head for something before just shrugging and questioning him instead.
"Why are you asking me out? Are you going to interrogate me some more?"
He smirked, "Sorry, I should rephrase my earlier statement. Can I take you out for a date?"
Danny stood still, tensing and her face growing blank, though there was a reluctant blush spreading lightly across her cheeks. Though he grew alarmed, he didn't show it.
"A public place. I don't want to be alone with you," she murmured, closing her eyes.
"Sure, Danny. Whatever you want. You can direct us wherever you want to go today," he replied gently, tentatively reaching out to grasp her arm.
He felt her tense even more before he felt her forcibly make herself relax under his touch.
"If I make you uncomfortable in any way, don't hesitate to tell me, okay?" he reassured her soothingly.
And that was how she had her first date with Ames, and her first date in a long time.
"Amity is a city, but we like to split it into two halves. There's the suburbia, with Casper High and all the houses and local hangouts. And then there's the inner part we call the actual city, where there's a whole bunch of stuff going on like regular cities," she informed him, more calm in his car as he drove further into Amity's inner heart. She reluctantly left her bike at the school parking lot.
"Bella Italia is in the middle, at the border between the two, so the rest of us and the higher class can meet in the middle there," she continued.
"Have you been in the inner city?" he glanced at her.
"Not for a while," she shrugged nonchalantly, but he had a feeling there was more to it.
"Then we'll stay there for awhile to make up," he said determinedly.
"Not too late, I hope," her lips twitched upward. "I still have school tomorrow and a game I promised to go to."
"Going with someone to the game?" he asked, keeping his tone light.
"No, not really. Sam hates football, Tucker's the mascot so he'll be on the field. I'm going for two friends of mine, Dash Baxter and Kwan Jeong, they're on the JV team and made me promise to attend this one as a good luck charm."
"I'll be your date then," he smirked at her, confident.
She laughed, but didn't refuse his abrasive offer.
"Then you're buying the tickets and the hotdogs," she huffed at him.
"Alright. And I'll buy us popcorn and drinks too."
She found it really easy to get along with him.
He took her to a museum that she found she actually enjoyed, before taking her to a restaurant to eat dinner at. Time sadly passed her by, and he was taking her back to her bike, the sun starting to set.
"Thanks, I had a good time today," she murmured shyly.
"Good. And I'll be looking forward to our date tomorrow," he took her hand and bent over it, softly pressing a kiss to her wrist before planting another soft one to her neck and then finally grazing her lips gently.
Like the one she'd shared with Vlad, it wasn't forceful, she had enough power to push away, and the time to do so.
He pulled away and smiled at her.
"Until tomorrow then."
He sped away in his car, leaving Danny to gaze in surprise at him by her bike.
A throat cleared and she whirled around to face whoever it was, seeing Julian with Dash and Kwan.
"Oh…hey," she said dazedly.
"Hey," Julian greeted back stoically, while Dash and Kwan were outright scowling. "So who was that?"
She shook her head to clear it, "Uh, that was A –um…Special Agent W…from the Guys in White. The leader. Um…yeah…"
"Was he trying to intimidate you or something?" Dash growled.
"Huh? Uh, no. No, he actually took me out to the city as a date," she answered unthinkingly. "He's going to take me to the game tomorrow too."
Shaking herself out of it completely, she blinked as she stared at the three guys who were mimicking statues. Shrugging, she climbed onto her bike.
"I'll see you three tomorrow! Good luck!"
She drove away, not knowing the upset she caused.
When she got home, she started to hum as she trotted up the stairs and headed to the Fenton Emergency Ops Tower. She paused by her door and shrugged, knocking lightly on it.
"Come in," Vlad's voice said from behind the door.
"Hey!" she greeted cheerfully as she skipped in.
"You look happy," he noted with a grin.
"Yeah, I guess I am," she agreed after a second.
"Can I know why?" both of his eyebrows were raised in question.
Danny laughed, feeling herself involuntarily blush.
"Oh, it's nothing. I just went out…with a friend," she added. "We went to the city and hung out there."
"A friend, huh?" Vlad asked dryly. "Then why are you so happy and blushing, my dear?"
She huffed and pouted.
"No reason."
She plopped herself next to him on her bed, leaning against his side.
"Really."
Rolling her eyes, she conceded a little.
"I don't know. I like him. He's sweet, kind, confident, and a whole lot of other things. And he's handsome. And I just feel the tiniest bit drawn to him."
The odd confession, so different from the shy and reserved Danny, put him off.
He couldn't help the frown she didn't see.
At the game, they saw Danny was seated near the front, the blond asshole from the day before sitting comfortably next to her.
They won the game with a landslide, Dash's legs and arms burning from the force he pushed onto them so that he could stop seeing red, and Kwan visibly exhausted from the tackles he did one after the other, seeing Danny's friend in the place of the players.
They fumed in the coming days, especially with Danny having date after date with the guy.
Vlad, however, knew he had to go now. Time was wasting and he had to do what he'd come to do. He couldn't exactly steal the portal, what with Danny having put away his minions. That was worth it, though, seeing the work of his protégé. And he couldn't exactly get to them or the others without a portal, which was near impossible with Jack and Maddie working on something in there nearly all the time.
He would have to reveal himself and get their attention, diverting them away from the lab.
Really, he shouldn't have expected it to come easy.
Everything was sort of a blur. He went out as Plasmius, who Danny transformed and confronted, finding out he was responsible for the million dollar bounty, though that bounty was a bit of a red herring, considering he had faith in Danny's abilities and had only wanted to test her against other ghost hunters in the field. They fought and her government friend got in the way and started (surprisingly very good at that) shooting at them while the other ghost hunters bumbled along. Jack and Maddie got into the fray, but their expertise had to be grounded in cleaning up after the other ghost hunters.
Seeing those two occupied, he flew invisibly back to the basement of their home, not at all expecting to see Danny cleaning up her government friend, first aid kit laid out on a table as he sat down shirtless in a stool and she disinfecting and then professionally stitching up the wound on his arm.
"Nice shooting there," she remarked casually, and he refrained from laughing and revealing his position, knowing Danny was ironically admiring and yet cursing the man's shooting abilities.
"Not as good as the shooting you did, I remember from the video of you," he shot back with a lazy grin.
Vlad rolled his eyes.
"Danny, I don't really think I've been hiding this, but I'm really attracted to you," the man stated outright. "In fact, I've been interested in you from the moment I saw you in the video, even before I ever met you. I like your attitude, I just like you. I find everything about you gorgeous, and not just your looks."
Vlad inwardly huffed, just waiting for the rejection and the harsh words.
But he didn't hear them, peering around the table he was hiding in his human form, his jaw dropped as he saw the idiot grasp his protégé's face and kiss her firmly.
He waited for a slap, angry words. Anything.
Nothing.
And then he was watching her reciprocate, pushing forward and wrapping her arms around his neck, pressing themselves against the side of the table and slightly jarring it. Danny had climbed onto the government agent's lap, and then their hands were caressing everywhere.
Horrified, he kept watching until they pulled back for breath, both of them breathing heavily.
"I can safely say the small kisses have actually progressed into full make outs," Danny dazedly muttered.
"Does that mean I can officially call you my girlfriend?"
"Yeah…yeah, I guess you can," and the shock in her voice was clear.
Vlad glowered at his spot, crossing his arms across his chest angrily as he heard them leave. He stomped over to the portal and transformed, flying through it and the skeleton key floating right into his hands.
He didn't feel all that triumphant.
Started 2/25/10 –Completed 3/1/10