Danny Phantom And Storm Banshee- Season One(From The Very Beginning

by GhostWriterGirl-1

Nell sometimes wishes she was normal. But that's really tough when you're half-ghost and you and your half-siblings are necromancers, and you're the adopted kid of ghost hunters. So when Danny activated the portal, any shreds of normality went out the window. When the ghosts start coming, Nell is ready to kick their butts all the way back to the Ghost Zone-and you know the rest...

20. Chapter 20

GhostWriterGirl: I'm alive! Sorry about the delay, but school, exams, assignments, early mornings… ugh!

Nell: I feel your pain, Ghosty, I feel your pain.

GhostWriterGirl: Anyway, like I said in my last chapter, there will be a big announcement at the end of this chapter. And so, last time I checked, I didn't own Danny Phantom. All rights go to Butch Hartman. I only own this story and my OCs. And now, onto the story! GhostWriterGirl out!

Chapter 20

Chapter 19: Shades Of Grey

Nell's P.O.V

"I think I might tell Valerie today," I told Dustin as we flew to school, the soft, white glow of our ghostly auras lighting up the sky around us. We were too high in the air for anybody to look up from the ground and suddenly notice us.

"Tell her what?" Dustin asked casually, lying on his back in midair and drifting at a leisurely pace beside me.

"About me being, um… half-ghost," I admitted, biting my lip nervously as I waited for Dustin's reaction.

My boyfriend stopped in his tracks and whipped around to face me, glowing blue-and-gold eyes wide.

"Nell, are you sure you want to tell Valerie? You know that this-" he gestured to my glowing, floating ghostly form-"is a really, really big secret, and a huge thing to just learn about your friend after thinking you've known her. I mean, remember Ava's and Danny's reactions-and his was when he found out he was now half-ghost as well thanks to the accident!" Dustin objected.

I cringed slightly, remembering Ava's reaction-fainting-and Danny's reaction-freaking out-when I told them/they learned about my secret. Who knew how Valerie would react to learning about the fact that I was half-ghost?

But, I was done lying to one of my closest friends. And as they say, there's no time like the present.

"Dustin, I want to do this; I'm tired of lying to one of my closest friends. And if she doesn't take it well, or wants to expose me… I'll just manipulate her memories to make her forget I told her," I said to Dustin, hesitating over the last part. I didn't want to use my memory-manipulating powers on Valerie. But if she didn't take it well or wanted to expose me, and it meant it would protect me, Danny, Dustin, Owen, Holly, and sweet little Josie… then so be it.

I just hoped it wouldn't come to that.

Dustin let out a defeated sigh before saying, "You're probably going to go ahead of this even if I object, aren't you?"

"Well, I will always appreciate your opinion, since your my boyfriend and I care for you to death and beyond, but I probably will," I admitted. Dustin cracked a small smile.

"Then there's nothing really stopping me from allowing you to tell Valerie your secret, right?"

"What does that mean?" I asked him, my tone teasing, but it had an underlying nervousness to it.

"It means that you should tell her; if you feel like it's time to tell her," Dustin clarified.

I squealed happily and hugged him.

"Thank you thank you thank you thank you!" I thanked happily, nearly squealing into his ear as I hugged him tightly.

I pulled back from the hug and we resumed our flight to school, me explaining to Dustin the details of how I would tell Valerie my secret.

"Val asked me and Ava if we wanted to see her dad demonstrate to his boss his new security system at Axion Labs, which we said yes to. During the demonstration, I'll ask her if she wants to go somewhere private with, preferably, no security cameras. If she says yes, I'll take her there. I'll tell her first that I'm half-ghost before transforming and explaining more afterwards; however, I won't reveal yours or Danny's secrets until you and Danny are comfortable enough to tell her on your own. Depending on her reaction, it'll end with one of my friends finally learning about my secret and the truth about me, or it'll end with me manipulating her memory to make her forget I ever told her," I explained to him. As I said that last part, me and Dustin landed in an alley where I transformed from my ghostly superhero alter ego of Storm Banshee back to ordinary, human Nell Fenton and Dustin put on his human disguise of Dust Thornton; however, one of my necromancers powers was that I could see his true ghost form underneath his disguise.

Checking to see no one had seen anything, we walked out of the alley hand in hand and straight to school; and to the main entrance of the building where Danny, Sam, Tucker, Ava and Owen are.

"After all… what could happen during the demonstration that stops me from telling Valerie my secret?" I asked Dustin, not foreseeing the events that would take place later on.

…

Later

"I'm telling you, Ave, you should audition for when the school has a musical coming up or something," I told my best female friend other than Sam, Valerie and Star encouragingly as we walked out of the music room.

Ava looked down, a nervous blush creeping up her cheeks. "I don't know…"

I scoffed playfully.

"Ava, you've got one of the best singing voices that I know of! If you don't believe me, record yourself singing and listen to it," I advised her.

"I know, I might do that, but… I think I'm just too shy to just go up on stage and sing," Ava admitted, still looking down.

"Ave, if it makes you feel better, you could hide your identity and wear something else while you're up on stage and sin-OW!" I started to say to her, before I accidentally collided with someone. The collision sent my books and the notebook I used to write songs in-I want to be a songwriter-sprawling everywhere. I scowled darkly, prepared to give a tirade full of "Watch where you're going!" to whoever bumped into me, when I recognised who I bumped into.

"Valerie! Oh man, I'm so sorry! I should have watched where I was going and-" I started to apologise to her, when Valerie stopped me.

"It's okay Nell, I don't blame you; I should have watched where I was going as well," Valerie said to me, giving me a friendly smile. I gave a small smile back. Valerie noticed Ava then.

"Hey Ava. Congrats on making it onto the cheer squad," Valerie congratulated her.

Ava blushed deeper and said in a low whisper, "Thanks."

"Also, I heard someone singing in the music room. Was it you two?" Valerie inquired.

"Uh, actually, i-it was just me," Ava revealed, stuttering a bit.

Valerie smiled at her. "You have a really great singing voice, Ava."

Ava blushed a deeper red, her face so red I was certain it wasn't humanly possible.

Suddenly, Valerie's eyes widened when she heard something and faced us. Her expression was urgent-looking.

"Guys, you should leave before-" Valerie started to say, before a Hispanic-accented, sickly sweet voice called out, "Hey Valerie!"

Too late for me and Ava to leave, we stood a good distance away from Valerie, to not show Paulina we were friends, as she and Kwan walked up to Valerie, a coffee cup in Paulina's hand.

"Like, I so much love that top!" Paulina complimented Valerie's new purple T-shirt, drinking her coffee.

"Isn't it sweet? Five hundred and seventy-nine dollars, and worth every single one of my dad's pennies," Valerie said.

"That is a nice top. I think I have one like that in blue, except the sleeves are longer. I think it cost around thirty dollars at the op shop I got it from," Ava added as well; Ava loved shopping at op shops, same as me. It was one of the things we had in common and made us such close friends (AN: In America, I think they're thrift stores, but here in Australia, they're op shops).

I elbowed Ava, not wanting Paulina and Kwan to find out about our friendship with Val. Although being on the cheer squad had forced Paulina to ease up on her bullying Ava, she still did it. I didn't want her to do the same to Valerie. Ava, getting what I meant, stayed quiet to avoid slipping up and accidentally revealing our friendship with Valerie, but it was too late.

Paulina snickered and insulted, "Yeah, because that's where nerdy bookworms that delude themselves into thinking they got what it takes to stay on the squad like you and your freaky friend shop at!"

Both Paulina and Kwan laughed at me and Ava. Ava looked down, hurt and embarrassed, while I just gritted my teeth and glared daggers at Paulina, eyes flashing red-silver before fading back to their normal blue-black. Valerie was silent, but I could tell from her clenched fists, narrowed eyes and angry expression that she was just as ticked off as me at what Paulina had said to me and Ava to belittle us; especially Ava.

Suddenly, Paulina and Kwan stopped laughing as we saw Danny come skidding 'round the corner and continued running. He looked back once, but gasped when he realised he was about to collide with Paulina!

He tried to stop himself, but it was too late as he bumped into Paulina and made her spill her coffee. I saw Valerie close her eyes and brace herself for coffee splashing all over her, but at the last second, I tackled Valerie to the ground while Ava took the impact, the coffee staining her lime-green sweater vest with a white diamond pattern and the top part of her long-sleeved light blue blouse. When Valerie opened her eyes, she found me on top of her and Ava's now-stained vest.

"Are you okay?" Ava and me both asked Valerie in unison, barely managing to stop ourselves from saying "Val".

Valerie nodded her head, shocked that we just saved her from having coffee stained all over her and risk exposing our friendship to Paulina and Kwan. We suddenly looked at Paulina when we heard her angrily squealing.

"Those freaks ruined my hair! Kwan, please hurt the unpopular freaks for me!" Paulina demanded at the tall Asian jock, her hair now "ruined" from when Danny bumped into her.

"Hey, accidents happen," Kwan said casually, shrugging it off at first. Paulina grabbed the front of his shirt and growled at him.

"Alright, alright!" Kwan told her, changing his mind.

Danny grabbed me while I grabbed Ava as we began to run away, Kwan now chasing after us.

"FENTONS! THORNE!" Kwan yelled as he gave chase.

We ran down the hallway and gasped as me, Danny and Ava saw Dash running down the other end, looking as mad as a rampaging bull. We were going to get steamrolled! Then…

"Wait a minute! Nell, we have ghost powers!" Danny exclaimed, and I caught on to what he meant.

The both of us smirking, Danny's eyes glowed neon green as my eyes flashed a glowing red-silver. We stopped near a empty corridor and turned invisible and intangible; since I was still holding onto Ava, she also turned invisible and intangible. A split second later, we all phased through the floor, causing Dash and Kwan to collide with each other.

We phased out of the school and up into the parking lot, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Man, that was close," Danny noted.

"Tell me about it," I agreed, before asking, "Let me guess, Dash failed another test?"

"Yep. By the way, what's the story with you two and Valerie? I thought you guys and Star had to stay away from each other during school hours," Danny asked me and Ava back.

"Well, Nell kinda collided into her, and we talked for a little bit. Val liked my singing, Paulina showed up, you collided into her, Paulina spilled her coffee and Nell tackled her while I took the hit," Ava explained.

Danny was about to say something else, before his and my ghost senses went off.

Whirling around, we settled into a relaxed fighting stance to fight the ghostly threat… only to see a cute little green puppy with a black dog collar around it's neck walk up to us, panting happily.

The three of us smiled as me and Danny got out of our fighting stances. Ava cooed over the puppy, while I petted him and the puppy allowed Danny to pick it up, licking Danny's face and causing me and Ava to laugh. Danny chuckled as well and he placed the puppy back down.

"It's like Dash, but with better breath," Danny compared. "Now this, I think me and Nell can handle."

I was about to say something when I saw the time on my watch and almost face-palmed.

"Shoot! Sorry Danny, but right now you're on your own with this. Me and Ava have to go," I informed Danny, before I grabbed Ava's hand and gently dragged her out of the school, not noticing how much trouble that little puppy was going to give Danny in the next few seconds…

…

Later

Third Person P.O.V

Later in the afternoon, Valerie, Nell and Ava were at Axion Labs with Valerie's dad. Her dad, Damon Grey, was in charge of the R&D Division at the research facility, and he was showing not only his daughter's friends the new foolproof security system he had invented for the lab, but also to his boss, Jonathan.

Nell, meanwhile, was figuring out how to ask Valerie if she would like to go somewhere private with Nell so that she could tell Val her secret.

"Digital surveillance, retinal scanning access portals, titanium doors, laser deterrence," Damon listed the new security system's features to Jonathan.

The three girls looked behind them and saw the two guards walking beside them. Ava's sweater vest was still stained with coffee.

"As promised, this is the most secured facility in the United States," Damon finished as the giant hall doors shut automatically behind them.

"Well done, Damon. You can feel free to bill me the remainder of your fee," Jonathan praised Damon.

"Which means, I can replace your vest, Ava," Valerie told her aforementioned friend.

Ava shook her head. "No. I don't want you to spend your money on me, Val. Thanks for the offer, though."

"Uh, Valerie…" Nell started, twisting the promise ring Dustin had gave her to symbolise their relationship and the promise they made to each other(and Nell's love of storms and her weather-controlling/electrical powers)nervously. Valerie turned to her, curious.

"What is it, Nell?" she asked.

"Valerie, I've got something to tell you," Nell continued, now rubbing the back of her neck, eyes darting everywhere. "In private? And possibly where there are no security cameras?"

Before Valerie could say anything, there was barking coming from outside the doors as the ground rumbled. Everyone stood there in shock and confusion, not knowing what was going on. Nell, taking advantage of the chaos, quickly went behind Ava and transformed into her ghost form.

Turning invisible, Nell phased through the doors into the hallway behind them and where the barking was coming from, where she saw Danny trying to grab a massive glowing green dog that looked kinda like a bulldog.

"Is that…" Nell started to ask before trailing off.

"Yep, that's the puppy," Danny confirmed. Suddenly, he flew at Nell and tackled her as he shouted, "LOOK OUT!"

However, it didn't make any difference as the dog that had once been a cute, little, harmless puppy forced the doors open, destroying them, and Danny Phantom and Storm Banshee came flying into the room thanks to the giant-dog-that-was-a-puppy, and crashed to the ground, right in front of the Greys', Jonathan's, the guards' and Ava's shocked and stunned faces.

Nell immediately got out of Danny's arms and sent a look to everyone-except Ava-that clearly said, "We're not together!"

"What are you two?" Valerie asked, confused about what Danny and Nell are.

They turned around to see the giant, drooling ghost dog glaring at them. The dog shook it's head and it's gooey, ectoplasmic saliva started flying all over the place. Ava, who couldn't make it in time, watched as Valerie got covered in gooey ghost dog saliva, ruining her brand-new, purple top.

Nell winced at seeing her friend's top ruined thanks to the dog.

"I'll tell you what we're not: Coated in dog saliva," Danny quipped. Nell glared at her adoptive brother and elbowed him.

"OW!" Danny exclaimed, rubbing his side and glaring back at Nell. "What was that for!?"

"Danny," Nell hissed, not only ticked off with Danny's comment towards her friend, but also at him and the dog ruining her chance to tell Val her secret.

Valerie yelled in annoyance at Danny and Nell, glaring at them. The dog began to run towards Valerie and Ava, and it would have ploughed them over like wheat in a field if Danny and Nell hadn't shoved them away.

Ava flashed Nell a grateful smile as she and Danny faced the ghost dog again. The bookish girl turned to Valerie and quirked a smile.

"I think no amount of laundry detergent will get that stain out," Ava joked before chuckling. Valerie chuckled as well, before she groaned; she would have to replace the shirt and throw it out.

Meanwhile, Danny and Nell were dealing with the ghost dog, hoping to restrain it before it could do too much damage.

"Bad dog! No! GET BACK HERE!" Danny shouted as he and Nell ran after the dog. Nell fixed Danny a glance that said, Please give me answers. But before Danny could explain, Nell said, "Dog first. Explain later."

Danny was grateful for that, and refocused back on the dog. The massive, ghostly bulldog turned intangible, Danny and Nell also turning intangible, and phased through the doors up ahead and straight into the lab.

Danny and Nell phased into the lab as well, still following the dog, and chased after it as it destroyed the lab, returning back to tangibility.

"COME ON!" Nell shouted in exasperation and annoyance. She and Danny flew up and grabbed the dog's collar, in an attempt to slow him down, but all it did was have them just barely holding onto the still-running dog.

"WHOAAA!" Danny yelled as he tightened his grip on the collar. He and Nell both shouted at the dog, "SLOW DOWN!"

Valerie, Ava, Damon, Jonathan and the two security guards arrived in the semi-destroyed lab, staring in shock as the guards aimed their laser guns at the dog and the two half-ghosts just barely hanging onto the dog's collar.

"Halt! HAAALT!" one of the guards demanded before he fired his gun at the dog and two of Ava's closest friends. The glasses-wearing girl shielded her eyes, not bearing to look, but peeked through the gaps between her fingers to see the dog miss every shot. Ava breathed a sigh of relief to see Nell and Danny okay.

"AHHH! Cut it out, you stupid mutt!" Danny demanded.

The dog jumped up to avoid another laser beam, the beam causing the second floor balcony to collapse.

"Stand back everybody! This state of the art security system can stop anything!" Damon exclaimed as he pushed the "On" button.

Alarms blared as red lights flashed and a disco ball-like laser popped out of the ceiling, before it started firing randomly. Ava again feared that Nell and Danny were going to be fully killed and stayed where she was, frozen in place from fear. But, she didn't need to feel afraid, since the dog turned itself and, consequently, Danny and Nell intangible, allowing the laser's blasts to go through them. At seeing that, Ava let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding in.

A net suddenly shot out from somewhere, but the dog, Danny and Nell just phased through it. Nell looked behind her and, seeing where it was going, let go of the collar, turned invisible, duplicated herself, and flew behind Ava, changing back to human form and leaving the duplicate behind to still hang onto the collar-just as the net trapped them and the dog, Danny, and Nell's duplicate phased out of the lab.

As soon as the dog, Danny and her duplicate was outside, Nell called back the duplicate, making it disappear and the energy Nell had used to make the duplicate return back to her. Nell breathed out a sigh of exhaustion from chasing the dog around the lab and Ava looked at her in concern, though the bookish girl was relieved that Nell and Danny were all right after the guards' laser guns and the laser ball.

The laser ball fell off the roof and smashed on impact, sending pieces everywhere and wrecking the already-demolished lab.

"Except for a couple of pasty-faced teenagers and their dog," Jonathan said angrily as he, the guards, Damon, Valerie, Nell and Ava were squashed up in the net.

"I'm fired, aren't I?" Damon asked. Jonathan answered him shortly, "You're not just fired; you're ruined."

Damon and Valerie looked at each other while Nell and Ava had a feeling they knew what that entailed.

…

Tomorrow

It was the next day.

After Nell had told Danny how the dog had ruined her plan to tell Valerie her secret after years of knowing her and listening to Danny explain how the puppy become a giant bulldog and how he didn't mean to ruin Nell's plan of telling Valerie her secret, Nell had forgiven Danny for it-although he and Owen(who had heard)were adamant that the next time Nell was going to tell her secret(that she was half-ghost, a necromancer whose biological siblings are necromancers and she was also the ghost-fighting super heroine Storm Banshee)to Valerie or Star, she had to talk to them first and get their opinion first; after all, it was hers and Owen's family secret of being necromancers, along with Danny Fenton being Danny Phantom and half-ghost as well. Nell agreed with them and promised that the next time she would work up the courage again to tell Val or Star her secret, she would hear Danny's and Owen's opinions first, like she heard Dustin's.

Despite Nell and Ava being there, the whole group had heard what happened to Valerie. Danny and Nell had felt incredibly guilty, knowing it was their fault for what had happened with that dog and what happened to Valerie, especially Nell since Valerie was her friend. She, Ava and Star had called Valerie last night to comfort her about her suddenly-tight status and assuring her they'll always be her friends, no matter what. Nell and Ava had even invited Valerie to sit with them at their usual lunch table at school if she wanted to, with Valerie gratefully accepting, as she knew she had a place to sit at school.

Danny, Nell, Sam, Tucker, Ava, Owen and Dustin were now riding down Valerie's usual street; Danny, Sam, Tucker, Ava and Owen were on electronic scooters while Nell and Dustin were rollerblading. They stopped in front of Valerie's old house as Damon walked outside carrying a box labelled "Family Photos". Setting it down, he gave it a sad look as he walked back inside. Next to the pathway was a moving truck. Because Damon had lost his job, the Greys had to move to a cheap apartment and sell some of the stuff they owned in a yard sale.

"Whoa! Talk about 'Rock-bottom'; they're selling everything they own in a yard sale!" Sam exclaimed.

"I feel bad. If we could have stopped that ghost dog, none of this would have happened," Danny said as he took off his helmet, feeling really guilty.

"Same here; we couldn't have stopped that dog, Cujo, and now one of my closest friends' dad lost his job because of it," Nell added, taking off her own helmet and bending down to take off her rollerblades, bowing her head guiltily.

"Cujo?" Danny, Sam, Tucker, Dustin, Ava and Owen asked in unison, curious.

"It's what I named the ghost dog," Nell answered as she took off one rollerblade, then proceeded to take off the other one.

"Okay, no offence Nell, but you're terrible at naming dogs," Danny commented.

"Trust me, I think you'll like it," Nell foretold as she took off her last rollerblade and set the two rollerblades beside her, before she sighed guiltily. Dustin wrapped an arm around her comfortingly, but it didn't help relieve Nell's guilt; she couldn't have stopped a simple ghost dog even though she was a lot stronger, and thanks to her actions, Valerie's dad had been fired.

"She's having a hard week," Tucker started, before he smiled and continued, "Which means I can catch her on the rebound! Sweet!"

"Does his life always revolve around on hooking up with girls, excluding me, you and Sam, whenever he gets the chance?" Nell asked Ava and Sam, her voice too low for Tucker to hear.

"No; there's his technology obsession as well," Ava answered, also in a hushed tone, and the three girls chuckled lightly.

Valerie walked outside then, carrying a box that was labelled "Val's Clothes". Tucker walked up to her and helped her with the box as he said, "Hey Val, heard what happened."

Valerie glared at him and replied rudely, "Oh great! Word's already oozed down to the bottom of the social grapevine."

"Hey, come on! I know you're upset, but he just wants to help; we all do," Danny said to Valerie as he, Nell, Ava, Dustin and Owen walked up to her. Nell and Ava smiled at Valerie as they nodded in agreement.

"You're our friend, Val. And we help our friends," Ava told her.

"No matter what happens, I'll always be there for you, as your friend," Nell added, holding Valerie's hand comfortingly.

Sam muttered while frowning, "I don't."

"Well, most of us do. More than six-sevenths," Tucker said.

"Thanks, but I'll pass," Valerie said, quite rudely, to Tucker. She turned to Ava and asked, "Did you manage to get that stain out of your vest, Ave?"

Ava gave her a small smile before looking knowingly at Dustin. "Yes, with a little help."(Dustin had turned her vest intangible and let the coffee just go through it).

Suddenly, Danny's and Nell's ghost senses went off-and it wasn't because of Dustin.

"I'm gonna have to pass too," Danny quickly said, running to his scooter as Nell put her rollerblades on again.

"Sorry Val, but I have to go as well-finish some homework-but call me or Ava if you want to sit with us tomorrow at lunch," Nell said to Valerie as she put her rollerblades on. As soon as they were on, Nell put her helmet on as well and rollerbladed to where Danny was and the two left to go to who-knows-where; probably a safe place for them to go ghost and become banshee.

Sam, Tucker, Valerie, Dustin, Ava and Owen watched Danny and Nell leave, before they heard the ground shake and felt it rumble and crack underneath them. The dog(in bulldog form)sprung up out of the ground and destroyed a cabinet that had some clothes in it, sending it to land on its side on the curb. A car came by and splashed water over it, damaging the clothes even more. Valerie glared at the ruined clothes, before sending the glare at the dog.

Danny and Nell(in ghost form)reappeared behind the dog after phasing up from out of the ground and watched as the dog sniffed the grass.

"How'd you get out of the Ghost Zone?" Danny asked the dog.

"Don't look at me, I'm just as confused as you are!" Nell objected, raising her hands defensively. "I double-checked and triple-checked that the portal's doors were closed; I even asked Dustin to phase into the Ghost Zone through those doors and it didn't work!"

The dog in question turned around and growled at them. However, it stopped growling when Danny tickled it's chin and Nell scratched it's ears. The dog calmed down and panted happily as it reverted back to it's puppy-dog form.

"Well, ghost dogs are a lot more entertaining than regular dogs," Danny commented.

"You could say that again," Nell agreed.

As Danny stepped on the ground, he felt like he suddenly stepped in something invisible-like dog poo.

"Oh great! Invisible dog doo," Danny muttered sarcastically, lifting up his boot. Nell giggled, but kept floating.

"I don't think you'll find anything on your boot if it's invisible," Nell commented helpfully, before going into another fit of laughter.

Valerie stormed towards them, shooting the two of them death-glares, and shouted in anger, "Whatever you two are, get out of here! You two and your stupid dog have done enough!"

"That's not my dog!" Nell shot back, feeling upset that her friend was angry at her; even though it was Storm Banshee and not Nell Fenton she was angry at.

"Uh-huh, yeah sure!" Valerie yelled back, not convinced.

Before Nell could say anything else, the dog barked and grabbed Danny's leg in it's mouth. Danny grabbed Nell's hand in shock as the dog dragged the both of them around everywhere back and forth.

"Come on, not again!" Danny yelled.

As the puppy continued to drag them back and forth, Danny lost his grip on Nell, making her accidentally fly and crash-land inside the moving truck.

"Ow," Nell moaned as she held her head, wincing in pain from crashing into a wooden cabinet. She looked up and gasped when the dog hauled Danny with it into the moving van. Nell managed to fly up just in time to avoid having Danny and the dog crash into her.

The moving van's doors slammed shut as Danny and Nell tried to grab the dog. Sam, Tucker, Ava, Owen, Dustin and Valerie watched as they heard shouting, barking and movement coming from inside the van as the two halfa teens tried to catch the pesky ghost dog. Dents appeared on the sides and roof of the moving van in Danny's and Nell's efforts to grab the ghostly puppy.

Eventually, Nell managed to stun the dog with some low-level electricity, Danny grabbing the dog while it was temporarily stunned. As soon as he had grabbed it, Danny and Nell invisibly phased out of the van and turned back to visibility as soon as they were outside, flying off to Fenton Works-and to the ghost portal, where the Ghost Zone was waiting for them to put the puppy back in.

Damon opened the van door to reveal the mess that had come from Danny's and Nell's efforts to grab the puppy, and a blackened piece of metal on the ceiling looked suspiciously like a lighting strike.

"What's going on here?" Damon asked, shocked at what he saw inside the van.

"I don't know, but I'm gonna find out!" Valerie said, glaring at the mess.

And I bet it all ties in to that secret Nell mentioned yesterday, Valerie thought, now suspicious of one of her lifelong friends.

(AN: Oh no, that can't be good! Especially when we all know how this turns out…)

…

Meanwhile

Back at Fenton Works, Danny and Nell had flown into the lab. Nell opened the portal while Danny held the puppy.

"Okay Cujo, in you go!" Danny exclaimed as he tossed the happy, barking puppy straight through the portal and into the Ghost Zone. Nell closed the portal and looked at Danny with a raised eyebrow and a smirk.

"I'm terrible at naming dogs, huh?"

"Okay, it's growing on me," Danny admitted.

Nell suddenly burst out laughing as she noticed that Danny's gloves were covered in glowing green saliva. Danny also noticed the green, dripping substance that covered his normally-white gloves and exclaimed in disgust, "BLEUGH! That's it, I'm getting a hamster."

They exited the lab, Nell jokingly commenting that she would name the hamster Cujo, to which Danny instantly rejected. The two halfas were unaware that Cujo had phased out of the Ghost Zone through the Fenton Portal and had intangibly flown out of the house.

…

Tomorrow

The next day at Casper High, Dash, Paulina and Kwan were talking about the Dumpty Humpty concert that they were going to see on Saturday, a concert that Danny, Nell, Tucker, Sam, Owen, Dustin, and even Ava-who wasn't their biggest fan-wanted to go to as well. But when Danny, Nell and Owen had gone to the band's website to book tickets for the concert for them and Sam, Tucker, Dustin and Ava, they had found that the tickets were all sold out. It was a real bummer, but the group hoped that the next time Dumpty Humpty did another concert in Amity Park, they would be able to buy tickets for it.

When Valerie came over to sit at the A-list table, Kwan asked her, "Hey Val! We're down for the concert, right?"

"Sorry guys; I had to sell my ticket online to help pay for the moving truck. Things are kinda tight now, you know?" Valerie said as she held up her bagged lunch.

The three A-listers shook their heads as they answered, "No/Nah-uh/ Not really."

Valerie was about to sit down when Dash stopped her and said, "And speaking of tight."

He gestured to where Sam was sitting with Danny, Tucker, Owen and Dustin. She face-palmed in embarrassment as the three boys minus Dustin(who ate very little since he didn't actually need to eat, but enough to keep up the pretence that he was alive)stuffed their faces full of food. Nell and Ava watched what was happening to Valerie after they had gotten their lunch, and felt shock and anger at what Valerie's so-called "friends" were doing to her; Nell was so angry at what was happening to one of her closest friends that faint sparks flew out of her fingertips and her electrical powers made the lights above her flicker, threatening to short out, as her eyes glowed a dangerous red-silver.

Valerie gasped in shocked realisation before she said angrily, "I get it," glaring.

Paulina asked her, "Hey Valerie, did you at least sell your tickets to somebody cool? We don't want to sit next to any losers at the concert."

Valerie looked down as she walked to a table alone, feeling really upset about the way her "friends" treated her just now; all because she wasn't rich anymore. Nell, who was still feeling really angry, stormed to her table along with Ava as the lights nearest her and above the A-list table flickered and shorted out, sending a ray of sparks down on the A-listers. Paulina shrieked and failed her arms around in an effort to keep any sparks from touching her hair.

"I can't believe they did that to Valerie!" Ava exclaimed, shocked and angry as well.

"I know, brutal!" Tucker agreed.

"Did you guys see that? Valerie just got scorched by her friends," Danny said.

"Give me one good reason to not electrocute them after how they treated Valerie," Nell growled, eyes flashing a furious red that only happened when she was extremely angry.

"It'll risk exposing your secret?" Dustin reasoned as he moved closer to his girlfriend. Nell was still tense and still angry at what happened to Valerie, but refrained from electrocuting the the jocks and shallow witch.

"Good point."

"Maybe she needs better friends," Sam suggested as she glared at Dash, Kwan and Paulina. Ava and Nell raised their eyebrows. "Aside from Nell, Ava and-maybe-Star."

"My thoughts exactly," Tucker agreed, and he ran straight towards Valerie's table.

"I'm gonna go talk to Sidney; he might know what to do in a situation like this," Ava whispered to Nell as she stood up to go to her locker to contact the nerdy ghost.

Sidney Poindexter was a nerd who had been bullied a lot when he was alive. After he died, he decided to use his powers to help bullied kids and haunted his old locker, Locker 7-24. During a period when Dash had been bullying Danny more than usual, Danny had gotten back at him by using his powers. Unfortunately, his last prank freed Poindexter's spirit and, believing that Danny was a bully, swapped bodies with Danny. However, Nell had explained to Poindexter who the actual bully was, and Poindexter gave Danny back his body.

Now, the mirror he used as a portal to make bullies pay in the living world had been moved from Locker 7-24 to Ava's locker, where Poindexter(though Nell and Ava called him Sidney)managed to help Ava and other nerdy kids and geeks from not being bullied. Nell and Ava had become good friends with the ghost, and Dustin didn't mind Poindexter being friends with his girlfriend and sister-though Dustin had made it very clear that if the nerdy 50's spirit tried to flirt with either Nell or Ava, he wouldn't hesitate to show Poindexter that what the ghost bullies did to him would look harmless compared to what Dustin would do to him. So far, the girls hadn't told Danny or the rest of their friends about Sidney.

Nell nodded in agreement to Ava as she left. Nell, along with Danny, Sam, Dustin and Owen, watched as Tucker tried to make a move on Valerie.

"What do you want?" Valerie asked Tucker in an annoyed tone; she was not in the mood to deal with him.

"I, uh, um… I was wondering i-if you wanted to join me-uh, us, for lunch, I mean, since you're-uh…" Tucker began to ask her, but he stopped when he saw Cujo appear outside at the window in his giant, bulldog form and phased his head through the window.

"I'm already aware of my sudden outcast status, but thanks for reminding me," Valerie rudely replied to Tucker.

"But-" Tucker started to say, pointing to Cujo.

"Now can you please just leave me alone! I want to enjoy my bagged lunch in peace!" Valerie yelled, interrupting Tucker.

Suddenly her lunch was grabbed by Cujo, and he ripped it apart. He growled in her face as Valerie screamed in fright. The ghost dog leaped off her table and proceeded to run around and destroy the cafeteria. Students-aside from six certain teens and a terrified Valerie-ran out of the cafeteria screaming in terror.

Danny, Nell, Sam, Owen and Dustin continued to watch as Cujo went on his rampage, barking and running around the cafeteria.

"You're both not much of a couple of dog catchers," Sam observed sarcastically.

"Yeah, no kidding! Who let the dogs in?" Danny joked.

The group just stared at him, not getting the joke. Danny elaborated, "See, the song is 'Who Let The Dogs Out', but I said 'Who Let The Dogs In."

Sam, Nell, Dustin and Owen continued to stare at him, still not getting it.

Nell then ducked under the table to become banshee, Danny following suit as he said, "We'll be right back."

"Bring some new jokes, Danny!" Sam yelled as two familiar flashes of light came.

The school's lunch lady threw food at the dog to try to make him leave, but it only made Cujo even angrier. She screamed as Cujo picked her up with his mouth and held her in the air. The dog turned around to see Danny and Nell in their ghost forms floating in front of him.

"Nice pooch, easy! That lady isn't edible," Nell said to Cujo in a calming voice.

"And neither is anything she cooks!" Danny added.

Cujo dropped the lunch lady and panted happily, before he jumped right at them.

"And neither are we!" Danny and Nell shouted in unison as they turned invisible/intangible just as the dog(who was also invisible/intangible)tackled them, phasing through the wall.

Ava came back then, having not been able to contact Poindexter. She looked around at the wrecked cafeteria and asked, "Okay, what happened here when I was gone?"

Tucker looked at Valerie and said nervously, "Ghosts. Hehe, what are you gonna do, huh?"

"Ghosts? Oh my gosh! GHOSTS!" Valerie exclaimed as she now realised what had attacked the cafeteria.

…

Later

Later that afternoon, Danny, Nell, Dustin and Sam were in the park trying to figure out what to do about Cujo. Danny and Nell were in their ghost forms, Dustin was in his true ghostly form and Sam was holding a book on dog obedience in her hands.

"I'm telling you, this is one bad dog! No matter how many times me or Nell toss him into the Ghost Zone, he digs way out through the Fenton Portal and comes back to either us or Dustin!" Danny exclaimed/complained.

"And just last night, when me and Dustin were having a mini-date, Cujo came and interrupted it; it's like he's only attracted to me, Danny and Dustin!" Nell added, throwing her hands up in the air. A "mini-date" in Nell's and Dustin's terms was a short romantic dinner followed by a quick make-out session before Nell had to go home at curfew. Danny, Sam, Tucker, Ava and Owen knew not to interrupt them during one of their mini-dates unless they wanted Nell to give them a painful shock during the day-or in Danny's and Owen's cases, either at midnight or early in the morning. Danny could hardly imagine what Cujo felt facing the wrath of Nell.

"Well, you three are the only other ghosts in the area-so train him! Ghost dog or not, he's still a dog-I think. Good luck you three," Sam said to them as she walked off.

"Where are you going?" Nell asked.

"Hello, I can't be seen hanging out with a couple of ghost kids! Here," Sam answered her, tossing the book to Danny and continued to walk off.

The book just passed through Danny's waist as it split apart and landed on the ground. Nell-who was next to Danny-leaned down and picked up the book, opening it.

"Okay, let's get to it then, guys. 'A dog's hearing is much more acute than a human's.' Which means… Hey Danny, try to call Cujo," Nell read out, before suggesting it.

Unbeknownst to the three ghost teens, a red targeting scope was aimed at them. It then focused on Danny as he let out a whistle, before going to Cujo-who was in puppy form-running towards them.

"'Hand signals, along with vocal commands, can be a powerful combination'," Nell read out the next part of the book.

Dustin decided to give it a try and put his hand out, palm facing Cujo, and commanded, "STOP!"

Cujo instantly stopped right in front of them.

"That's weird. This dog's already trained," Danny noticed. Cujo jumped on him, Nell and Dustin, which caused the three to roll down the hill with Cujo on top of them.

"Sort of. You sure we can't keep him?" Nell chuckled out, ruffling Cujo's ears.

"I think your parents would throw a fit Nell if you and Danny bring home a stray ghost dog," Dustin pointed out as he too chuckled, rubbing Cujo's belly.

Sam watched the threesome through her binoculars and said, "A pair of siblings, the girl's boyfriend, and their dog. Somehow, it's not supposed to be this freaky."

Her eyes widened as a missile suddenly went past her, aiming straight for Danny, Nell, Cujo and, consequently, Dustin. They all saw the missile coming and Dustin launched himself at Nell, wrapping his arms protectively around her, while Danny grabbed Cujo. All four of them barely managed to fly-jump put of the way as the missile hit the ground and exploded.

"Are you okay, Dell Nell?" Dustin asked Nell.

"Considering a missile nearly obliterated me, you, Danny and Cujo, I'm fine," Nell answered. She smiled warmly at him. "But I'm glad you saved me."

Dustin gave her a warm smile back.

"I'm your boyfriend, Nell. Even though you're a superhero and you can take care of yourself, I'll always save you," Dustin said back to her.

Nell gave him a quick kiss before looking at Danny. Both hers and Danny's expressions turned serious.

"Stay," Danny commanded Cujo as he put him down while Nell said to her boyfriend, "I think it may be safer if you go, Dustin. I don't want you getting hurt in the potential crossfire-despite you being a ghost."

Dustin didn't need to be told twice as he flew towards where Sam was, quickly ducking behind a bush to let his human disguise come-tanner skin, brown hair with red in it, lack of ghostly glow and dulled, blue eyes that were still unnatural to look at-stepping out from behind the bush as soon as it was finished. He knew that Nell could take care of herself; he would probably be more hindrance than help.

Once she saw that Dustin was safely in his human disguise and with Sam, Nell flew beside Danny as she and him went back to where the missile hit to investigate.

They looked at where the missile hit-which was now a smoking crater-and exclaimed in unison, "What the heck was that!?"

Suddenly, they heard the noise of jets and looked up to see a feminine figure in a red full-body suit with black gloves, belt, boots, buttons on the front, and a black plexiglass screen covering her eyes attached to a red hood that covered the rest of her features on a jet-powered hover board. She hovered down closer on her hover board, but nearly lost her balance.

"WHOAA!" she cried out, but regained her balance, and shortly aimed another missile at them.

The missile fired and Danny and Nell dodged it in time; but only barely. They dodged missiles coming left and right from their new attacker as she pursued them on her hover board. They flew past an old man feeding the pigeons, and the wind created by them made the man's fake teeth come out.

The huntress pushed her foot down on a button and pink laser beams shot out of the hover board, firing at Danny and Nell. They both dodged them and quickly made a sharp turn in the other direction, hoping to lose the huntress; but the huntress just turned her board around, nearly losing her balance again, and continued to chase after them.

Danny and Nell turned invisible/intangible and phased right through a tree up ahead, gaining a much-needed few seconds' head-start. Their attacker tried to fly above the tree, but she fell off her board; however, the board flew down and caught her before she could hit the ground.

"Yeah! Now that's what I'm talking about!" the huntress yelled.

Danny and Nell stopped and floated there, Nell's hands charging with electricity, ready to fire if need be. The huntress stopped in front of them and threw some disc-like saws at them; but her aim was off as two embedded themselves into a tree, two hit a rock and bounced off, and another two landed in a birdbath.

"Wow! Nice aim. First day with the new weapons?" Danny asked and Nell added, "You should've practiced more before coming out here guns a-blazing."

Suddenly, two saw-discs they hadn't noticed earlier fell down. One cut Danny's arm while another sliced a cut open on Nell's palm.

"OW! That hurt!" Danny and Nell yelled in unison. Danny was gripping his forearm while Nell was cradling her palm; somehow, their enhanced healing wasn't kicking in.

That's weird, Nell thought, before Danny exclaimed in realisation, "Wait a minute… that hurt!"

"Those saws can hurt ghosts and can slow down our healing!" Nell realised as well, now scared; this huntress was a ghost huntress!

"Oh, don't worry ghost kids. It won't hurt long… because you two are going down!" the huntress yelled as she pointed her gun right at them.

She fired, but before the shot could hit them and possibly obliterate them, Cujo ran up in his giant bulldog form and grabbed both of their legs in his mouth and ran away, saving Danny and Nell. The huntress quickly began to chase after them again.

"Come back!" she demanded, firing off her gun at them, but Cujo dodged every blast and continued to run, Danny and Nell screaming. While firing her gun at the halfa teens and the ghost dog, the huntress accidentally hit a tree and fell off her board, giving Cujo a head-start.

Cujo arrived at the bushes where Sam and Dustin were hiding behind, letting go of Danny and Nell. They skidded on their backs until they came to a stop behind the bush. Dustin immediately gave Nell a tight hug, glad to see she was okay, with Nell returning the hug back.

"Who is that? That's an awesome outfit," Sam asked.

"Don't know, don't care!" Danny shouted as he floated up from where he had landed in front of Cujo. Nell gently pulled out of Dustin's embrace and floated up next to Danny. She formed a small ecto-ball in her hands.

"Do you see the ball, boy? Fetch!" Nell shouted, throwing the ecto-ball as far as she could. Cujo immediately chased after it, barking.

Suddenly, they all heard the roar of jet engines; the huntress was on her way!

"Oh man; she's coming! Girls, Dustin, hide!" Danny said.

Nell immediately pulled Dustin from where he was crouching behind the bush and dragged him behind the tree, the two turning invisible straight after.

Sam, meanwhile, shouted, "No time!"

She then tackled Danny into the bushes. The huntress came up and exclaimed as she pointed her gun at the bushes, "No escaping me now, ghost kids!"

However, she lowered her gun when she saw Sam and Danny(in his human form)on the ground, and they were kissing. Nell and Dustin peered around the tree, still invisible, and looked on in shock, mouths gaping.

Sam noticed the huntress and yelled, "AHHH! Do you mind!?"

"Ugh, gross! Loser love! I always knew you two geeks would end up together," the huntress said, before she flew off.

"That sounded like Valerie," Sam noticed as Nell, in her human form, and Dustin walked out from behind the tree, now visible, looking at Sam and Danny with matching grins on their faces. Sam then saw that Danny was smiling dreamily about the "kiss".

"Danny? Danny! You didn't think it was a real kiss, did you?" Sam asked nervously.

"No! Why? Did you?" Danny nervously asked back.

Dustin fell to the ground then, laughing, unable to keep it in any longer. Nell, who was also trembling with laughter, had to hold onto a tree for support as she gasped out between guffaws of laughter, "We… are… so not… gonna… let… you two… live this… down!"

Dustin just laughed, so hard that his human disguise faded away, leaving behind a still-laughing ghost boy rolling over the ground, clutching his stomach.

Danny and Sam glared at the laughing pair and waited for them to finish. Nell lifted her hand off the tree and Dustin stood up, but they continued to laugh. Danny and Sam both asked with annoyance, "Are you two done?"

"No," they both answered, and continued laughing. They eventually finished their laughing fit and said in unison, "Okay, we're done now."

Looking at the spot where the huntress had once been there, Nell said, "I agree with Sam, though. That was definitely Valerie in that suit; I would recognise her voice from anywhere. But where the heck did she get all of those weapons?"

"Who knows? But it does mean one thing… you, Danny and me have to watch our backs very closely now," Dustin said. Nell and Danny nodded in agreement.

"And it also means I can't tell Valerie my secret without risking being hunted down," Nell added before sighing. "Great, one of my best friends is now a ghost hunter with a grudge against Danny Phantom and Storm Banshee. What next, Star becomes a ghost hunter too?"

"I don't know about that last part, but I agree with that first part," Dustin told her, resuming his human disguise as the four left the park, Danny and Sam still uncomfortable about the "kiss".

Lovebirds, Nell and Dustin thought knowingly, smirking at their clueless friends.

…

Tomorrow

The next day, Danny, Sam, Nell and Dustin told Tucker, Ava and Owen about what happened yesterday-including the "kiss"-as they walked through the hallways. Ava and Owen had cracked up laughing at that last part, while Tucker…

"Wait, you guys kissed?" Tucker asked Sam and Danny.

"No! It was a fake-out make-out!" Sam and Danny protested in unison.

"But that still has the words 'make' and 'out' in it, right? Owen, maybe you should try that with Ava, and I should try that on-"

Tucker was cut off when they turned around a corner, Owen and Ava blushing beet red, and Tucker bumped into someone, knocking their books out of their hands. The person was…

"Valerie!" Tucker exclaimed.

"Hi!" he greeted nervously. The African-American former A-list girl glared at him.

Tucker knelt down to help pick up the books she'd been carrying and said pointedly to the others, "Okay guys, see ya!"

Danny, Nell, Sam, Owen, Dustin and Ava gave him a brief glare before leaving. As Tucker picked up Valerie's books, he read out some of their titles.

"Ghost Hunter's Almanac? Ghost Killing For Dimwits? When did you get so interested in ghosts?" Tucker, feeling a bit of worry for his half-ghost friends and Nell's boyfriend.

"When they ruined my life," Valerie answered him bitterly as she took back her books. Although, she couldn't help but feel thankful for them a tiny bit; after all, they did help her get to be able to spend more time with Ava and Nell without worrying about anyone other than their families and Tucker, Sam and Dust seeing her hanging out with them now. But still, they made her dad lose his job-and that was unforgivable.

"You know, I happen to know a thing or two about ghosts," Tucker told her proudly.

"Please, I'm broke; I'm not stupid," Valerie rebuffed him as she walked away.

Tucker followed her and said, "Seriously! Did you know that Danny's, Owen's and Nell's parents are professional ghost hunters?"

Valerie stopped. She'd been to Nell's house plenty of times, and although Nell said her parents were inventors, she never said they were professional ghost hunters.

"No, I didn't know that. Hey Tucker! Do you wanna carry my books for me?" Valerie asked, turning on the charm.

Tucker smiled, unaware that Danny, Nell, Sam, Dustin, Owen and Ava had heard the whole thing as Tucker and Valerie walked off.

"Great. Our best friend has a crush on a ghost hunter," Danny muttered.

"And that ghost hunter happens to be one of mine and Ava's closest friends," Nell added.

"That's life. Well, your lives, anyway," Sam said.

…

Later

After music class, Nell went to her locker to get her books for her next class while Ava tried to contact Poindexter again. An electric white mist coming out of Nell's lips and the familiar, nerdy black-and-white face appearing in the mirror's surface told Ava that it worked this time.

"Hey Ave! What's up?" Poindexter cheerfully greeted.

"Hey Sidney," Ava greeted back, a smile on her face, but her look turned serious as she said, "Sidney, I wanted to talk to you about something concerning a friend of mine and Nell's; and I think I should warn you about something."

"Okay, sure," Poindexter accepted.

Ava then told Poindexter everything that happened the past few days and about the new ghost hunter, leaving out the part that the new huntress was Valerie.

Poindexter was shocked at hearing what Dash, Kwan and Paulina did to Valerie, and expressed his sympathy to her, but quickly became scared about the ghost huntress.

"And I think you should watch your back, Sid; just in case she figures out a ghost haunts this hallway," Ava warned Poindexter. The 50's nerd ghost nodded, gulping a bit in fear.

"Good thinking, Ave. I will be sure to be careful. Now, I better go; see you and Nell around!" Poindexter said, before he faded away.

Ava slammed her locker shut, but before she could take so much as another step, she "accidentally" bumped into someone, knocking both herself and the person to the ground. Sitting up, Ava noticed that the person was none other than Paulina.

The Hispanic girl scowled as she said, "Watch it freak."

Nell, who had seen what happened, moved to Ava's side to help her up and glared at the shallow witch.

"Paulina you made sure she bumped into her so that you could insult her! Technically, you should apologise for that," Nell told her, hands faintly sparking.

Paulina scoffed and tossed her hair. "Yeah, right. Four-eyes here is the one who should apologise to me."

Nell was about to say something else when Ava beat her to it.

"ENOUGH! Paulina, I'm so sick of you treating me like I am a piece of rubbish, all because I'm smart, like books and wear glasses. I thought that this would stop when I joined the cheerleading squad, but you're still just a shallow, stuck-up, cruel witch who has nothing better to do than pick on innocent kids just because they're smarter than you! And you should stop calling Nell a freak too; she's just a cool, smart girl who isn't afraid to try and knock that ego of yours down a few pegs and has abetter fashion sense than you! She doesn't deserve your back calling! And you know what else? Valerie deserves better friends than you and Dash! Sure, there were a couple of times when she was rude, but she's a whole lot better than you! So, I suggest you stop, Paulina, because I'm not gonna take you calling me and Nell freaks anymore!" Ava shouted.

"Same with me; call me or Ava freaks again, and you'll face either mine or Dust's wrath!" Nell promised, a light threat in her words as her eyes briefly flashed red-silver. Hands clenched into fists, Nell added, her voice reflecting her anger, "Paulina, I know you're a cruel, shallow airhead who doesn't care about anyone except herself… but what you, Dash and Kwan did to Valerie yesterday at lunch was just plain cruel. Valerie's dad lost his job and, therefore, they don't have a lot of money. Even a blind man can tell you, Dash and Kwan are meant to be the supportive friends here and help her when she's basically lost everything. But instead, you treat her as if she has never been your friend; and all because she's not rich anymore! What you did to Valerie yesterday was uncalled for, and if you ever treat Valerie or somebody else like that again because they're not rich anymore or some other nonsense, then I swear, you will regret it!"

As if on cue, a few lights shorted out, one being near Paulina, as thunder rumbled outside. The head cheerleader screamed and waved her hands around, trying to deflect the sparks. When she finished, she fixed the seething Nell and Ava with a glare, still shocked that the two-especially Ava-stood up to her like that.

"Oh yeah, and what friends would that be for Valerie?" Paulina sneered.

At that moment, Valerie, who had heard what Ava and Nell said and was just as shocked that Ava stood up to Paulina, walked up and stood in-between Nell and Ava and boldly said, "These girls right here. They've been two of my closest friends for nearly nine years. I was too afraid to say anything earlier to you and the other A-listers because I didn't want to lose my popularity, but now, I'm proud to have to have Nell and Ava be two of my only, true friends. And FYI, Ava is a better cheerleader than you and Nell is more genuine, honest and decent than you'll ever be!"

Paulina stood there, shocked, as well as everyone else in the hallway-including Nell and Ava. Valerie or Star had never admitted their close friendship with Nell and Ava before, and now, standing there, it felt kinda good that Nell and Ava didn't need to hide their friendship with Valerie anymore.

Valerie turned on her heel, walking away. Nell and Ava, after Nell gave Paulina another smirk, followed after her.

"You didn't have to do that, Val," Nell reminded her friend, feeling so happy that she could call Valerie "Val" whenever she liked at school.

Valerie chuckled.

"Don't be silly, Nell. You're my friend, and friends stick up for each other; like you and Ava did for me," Valerie told her, smiling.

"You heard all of that?" Ava asked, fiddling with her bracelet.

"I'm pretty sure the whole school did. But that's okay; not only were you standing up to Paulina, you were standing up for me," Valerie said to Ava. She turned to Nell. "I agree with you, Nell. Paulina can be a brat at times, but when she, Dash and Kwan cast me out of the A-list just because I'm not rich anymore… that was one of the most humiliating things she ever did to me. And they're meant to be my friends! They're meant to be supportive here! But it doesn't matter now; I've seen their true colours. And trust me, Nell, if Paulina or Dash had done the same thing to somebody else, I would give them a piece of my mind too."

"I just don't like seeing my friends hurt," Nell said to her, smiling at her. Despite Valerie hating Storm Banshee, she was still a good friend. Nell hoped she would just let go of this grudge.

Ava smiled at Valerie as well and the two walked together, chatting about stuff like coming with Ava to the bookshop where the next book in one of Ava's favourite series was coming out soon, to talking about how Nell and Ava would always be by Valerie's side through her getting used to having not so much money. Eventually, they had to part ways so that they could go to their respective classes, but Owen-who had seen the whole thing-smiled that Ava had stood up for herself and she and Nell had stood up for Valerie, but Owen was still worried that his sister, although knowing Valerie was a really good friend towards her, would get hurt thanks to Valerie's vendetta against Nell's and Danny's ghostly alter egos.

…

Later

Later on, during the school basketball game, Danny, Nell, Dustin, Sam, Owen and Ava watched the game, although Danny and Nell seemed to be a little tense.

"Guys, would you relax?" Sam asked them, also noticing that Dustin was a little jumpy as well.

"How can we relax? That stupid ghost dog could be anywhere, and not to mention, I have no idea how Valerie became a ghost hunter," Danny said to her.

"I have a feeling someone provided those weapons for her," Nell noted.

"Hey guys!" Tucker greeted. The group turned to see Tucker standing there with Valerie, holding hands.

"Can we join you?" Tucker asked.

Danny, Sam, Dustin and Owen gave them matching glares as they immediately answered in unison, "No!"

Valerie gave Tucker a sad look and Tucker said as they sat down, "Of course we can."

Valerie sat next to Danny and Nell-who had Dustin's arm wrapped protectively around her-and said casually, "So, Tucker tells me your parents hunt ghosts. Nell, I can't believe you didn't tell me before!"

"Did he now? What else did he tell you?" Danny asked while giving Tucker a glare, Dustin and Owen doing the same, while Tucker gave them a weak smile.

Nell rubbed her neck nervously and said, "I didn't tell you because not only was I worried it might drive you away, but also because… Danny's parents are not actually mine, Owen's, Holly's or Josie's biological parents. They adopted us nine years ago."

Valerie blinked a bit before asking, "What happened to your biological parents?"

"There was a house fire when me and Owen were five, Holly was seven and Josie was just a baby. It burned our house down and our parents died shortly after from heat stroke, inhaling too much smoke, and pretty severe burns. We-me, Owen, Holly and Josie-were lucky to not be in there and to have the Fentons adopt us so quickly. If any of those things were different, we wouldn't be here right now," Nell explained, fighting back tears. Even though her half-siblings' dad wasn't her actual dad, he had felt like one.

Valerie gasped and hugged Nell. "Oh my gosh Nell, I'm so sorry about what happened to your biological parents!"

"It's fine, Val. My adoptive parents are as every bit as good as my biological parents were," Nell assured her friend, hugging her back as much as she could with Dustin's arm still wrapped protectively around her. Nell smiled. Maybe, Nell hoped, when Valerie wasn't so vengeful against hers and Danny's ghostly alter egos and realised how silly this whole grudge was, she could tell Val her secret…

But before anyone could say anything, the gym shook and loud barking could be heard. Cujo appeared, barking, on the basketball court, scaring off all the students except for a certain group of seven and Valerie. Danny and Nell, with determined looks on their faces, ran off to find a place to transform and Valerie ran off too, to get into her ghost hunting suit.

Cujo phased through the bleachers on the other side of the court and began sniffing and digging at the ground. Danny and Nell, in their ghost forms, and Dustin-who was out of his human disguise-phased up out of the ground behind the bleachers where Cujo was, Dustin invisible. They watched as Cujo tried to dig at the ground, but when Cujo saw Danny and Nell, he stopped and transformed back into a puppy, before he again continued to try and dig at the ground.

"You're looking for something? What are you looking for?" Nell asked as she and Danny kneeled down on the ground next to Cujo.

"Sam was right, Nell. Ghost dog or not, he's still a dog, and he's looking for something," Danny said. Dustin added, becoming visible, "You're right, guys. Let's try to figure it out and find it soon, before there's even more trouble than there already has been."

Suddenly, Cujo was trapped in a pink anti-ghost energy ball. Dustin instinctively went invisible out of panic, but it was too late as another pink energy ball fired at him and trapped him. Danny and Nell both gasped.

"AHHH!" Dustin cried out as the energy ball shocked him a bit.

"DUSTIN!" Nell screamed, terrified for her boyfriend trapped in the energy ball and angry at whoever trapped him, fists crackling with electricity. Outside, the faint sound of thunder rumbling and lighting striking the ground while the sound of the gym's lights beginning to short out could be heard.

The two turned around to see Valerie, in her ghost hunting suit, standing there, holding a red-and-silver thermos and a still-smoking gun.

"Say goodbye, ghost kids," Valerie said. She went to uncap the thermos, but she couldn't get the lid off.

"Uh?" Danny asked in confusion while Nell face-palmed; she knew that the Fenton Thermoses only opened because she and Danny used their ghost energy to kickstart its capturing mechanism.

"Aww, come on you stupid thermos!" Valerie exclaimed as she continued to try to open it.

"Oh my gosh! They're in trouble! News flash, that's your girlfriend!" Sam exclaimed to Tucker while Owen shadow-travelled to Dustin and, after having Owen's hands go harmlessly through into the energy ball and grabbing Dustin's shoulders, pulled him out of the trap before Owen shadow-travelled himself and the ghost teen to where Ava was, Dustin instantly going back into his human disguise.

"That's awesome! Hey Valerie, wait up!" Tucker called down to her and jumped down from the top of the bleachers and landed right on top of Valerie, sending her sprawling.

"Great outfit," he complimented.

Danny picked Valerie up by her arms and flew her towards the basketball hoop, where he dunked her in the hoop. She struggled to escape, but couldn't get out.

Nell flew in front of her, an apologetic look on her face since this was one of her closest friends, and said, "Sorry about this, but this should keep you safe here until help comes."

"Get me down! Get me down so I can destroy you two!" Valerie demanded.

Danny and Nell turned intangible and flew out of the school; Valerie was really starting to get angry at them now.

…

Tomorrow

The next day in science, Tucker was getting really annoyed about his friends getting on his case about dating Valerie because she was a ghost hunter and, consequently, putting Danny, Nell and Dustin in danger. Nell and Ava weren't as bad, thanks to them being close friends with Valerie and hoping she would let go of her grudge, but they still warned Tucker about the dangers of accidentally telling Valerie something that would have her figure out Danny's, Nell's and Dustin's secrets.

"Tucker, you can't still like her," Danny said. He, Tucker and Sam had paired up while Nell, Dustin, Ava and Owen grouped together. The latter group were standing at the next bench behind Danny, Sam and Tucker.

"Why not? For once, a girl I like likes me back. Why can't you guys just roll with that? Not everybody has to like you and Nell, Danny. Don't you guys trust me?" Tucker asked.

"You? Yes. It's your hormones that we're worried about," Nell answered from the bench behind them. They looked over and saw Valerie waving at Tucker flirtatiously. Tucker smiled and waved back.

Suddenly, Danny's and Nell's ghost senses went off and they heard barking coming from outside. Valerie, Danny and Nell raised their hands as they asked at the same time to Mr. Bern, "May I be excused?"

…

Later

A few minutes later, Valerie was in her battle suit and on her hover board, chasing and firing her gun at Danny, Nell and Cujo as they flew/ran from school, all while dodging Valerie's gun's blasts.

"279 girls at our school, and he's got to have a crush on the one with the weapons and the grudge," Danny said.

Nell turned around, flying backwards now, and fired a low-level ghost ray from her finger at Valerie, knocking the gun out of her hands and making her fall off her hover board. Nell winced at that, hoping Valerie was all right.

"Hey, me and Ava are friends with the girl with the weapons, the grudge and who wants to destroy me and you in our ghost forms," Nell added, turning back around and flying forwards again.

They stopped at the park, once they made sure Valerie wasn't following them.

"Well, this is our fault, sort of. I suppose we should do something to help Valerie," Danny said.

Nell sighed and nodded. "Yeah, you're right, Danny. We should do something to help her; she is my friend after all. But after we figure out what to do with Cujo."

Cujo turned back to his puppy form, panting happily at them. Danny pulled out the book on dog obedience he borrowed from Nell and commanded, "Go on boy, go get it!"

Cujo just blinked at him in confusion, as if saying, Huh? What the heck are you talking about?, since he didn't understand Danny's command.

Nell sighed, shaking her head, and said, "He means, 'Fetch'!"

Cujo panted and ran off, now understanding the command. Danny and Nell flew after him, hoping Cujo would lead them to whatever he was looking for.

…

Later

They flew all the way to Axion Labs and Danny and Nell watched as Cujo started barking frantically at the lab's wall as he ran up to it.

"The lab? Whatever you're looking for is in there?" Danny asked. They heard a door opening and Nell hissed, "Somebody's coming!"

Danny quickly grabbed Cujo and placed a hand over Cujo's mouth, Nell doing the same, to make sure he didn't bark, while they turned invisible and stood against the wall. They saw Damon and Jonathan walk around the corner; Damon was wearing a security guard uniform.

"I appreciate the second chance, sir," Damon told Jonathan as the two men walked past the invisible half-ghost siblings and the ghost puppy.

Jonathan then said, "As long as nothing else happens, we'll see about reinstating your contract. I knew we shouldn't have gotten rid of those guard dogs."

"Valerie's dad!? Oh great!" Danny exclaimed in a whisper.

Nell's eyes widened in realisation after hearing what Jonathan said about "guard dogs" and put all the pieces together. When she did, she said, "Danny! I think Cujo must've been one of those guard dogs here that Valerie's dad's boss was talking about! That must be why his dog tag has the Axion Labs' symbol on it, and whatever he's looking for is in there!"

Danny's own eyes widened as he put it together as well. "You're right, Nell; whatever Cujo's looking for must be in there! We better get Sam, Tucker, Dustin, Ava and Owen to help," Danny said as he and Nell flew away from Axion Labs, still carrying Cujo.

…

Later

Later that night, Danny, Nell, Sam, Tucker, Dustin, Ava and Owen were sitting on a hill near the labs. Danny and Nell were in human form and Dustin was still in his human disguise.

"We're here. Where's man's best friend?" Sam asked when she noticed Cujo wasn't around.

Danny and Nell whistled loudly, Dustin covering his ears from the sharp sound, and out of the ground came Cujo in his monster bulldog form-a form Nell thought was probably his actual form when he was alive.

Cujo growled at Tucker as he cringed and said, "Relax! I'm on your side!"

"Yeah, so he says," Sam commented sarcastically.

"Hey, I'm the one who knocked out the security camera, remember?" Tucker retorted back, showing off his PDA.

"Okay, good news, there's only one guard. Bad news, it's Valerie's dad," Nell reported.

"Ouch," Sam, Tucker, Dustin, Ava and Owen said at the same time.

"So, I think it's safer if we go down there ourselves," Danny said as he and Nell transformed into their ghost forms. Danny pulled out the Fenton Fisher and tied the line end on Cujo's collar before wrapping the other end around a tree as he continued, "The Fenton Fisher should make a good leash. You guys watch the dog."

With Cujo tied up for the moment, Danny and Nell flew off to the labs. Sam, Tucker, Ava, Owen and Dustin climbed up the tree, Dustin now in his true ghost form, as Sam said, "We will!"

"From waay up here," Tucker added.

Cujo jumped up and tried to grab them. Dustin shouted down at Cujo, in an attempt to placate him, "Cujo, down! Down, down, DOWN! Cujo, we're not chew toys! Cujo, stay down! CUJO!"

…

Later

Meanwhile, Danny and Nell phased into one of the labs-which so happened to be the lab Cujo wrecked at the start of this mess-and looked around.

"I wish I knew what we're meant to be looking for," Nell said, looking around.

Suddenly, they were thrown backwards as a blast hit them dead on. Danny and Nell hit a wall, hard, and fell to the ground. Looking up, they both gasped when they saw Valerie standing there, gun still smoking from the blast.

"Back to the scene of the crime?" Valerie asked sarcastically.

"I really hate to do this, but…" Danny started, and then he blasted the gun out of Valerie's hands with a ghost ray.

"Yeah? Well I don't!" Valerie snapped back as another blaster popped out of her suit's shoulder and began firing at them.

They both flew up, dodging the blast, and phased out of the lab, causing the shot to make a hole in the roof. Danny and Nell flew right back in, while Tucker, Sam, Ava, Owen and Dustin watched what was happening from the tree.

"What was that?" Tucker asked. Sam answered, "Ten to one says that it's your girlfriend."

Cujo began to bark angrily as he pulled and pulled on the leash that was attached to the tree. He kept on pulling until he ripped the tree right out of the ground and ran towards the lab, with Sam, Tucker, Ava, Dustin and Owen holding on for dear life(or in Dustin's case, afterlife).

Sam sighed and stated, "This is why I'm a cat person."

…

Meanwhile

Back in the lab, Valerie leaped from desk to desk, firing blasts from her two hand-held blasters at Danny and Nell. Danny and Nell dodged every single one as the blasts hit the wall and destroyed some the computers and other lab equipment. They both fired ghost rays, Nell's ray an electro-ghost ray, but missed as their blasts hit the wall instead of Valerie.

"You're both pretty lousy shots," Valerie noted, before an electric pulse from Nell caused Valerie's weapons to short out. Valerie glared at Nell. "You're gonna pay for that!"

"That's because we're not trying to hit you, or hurt you. Can't we talk?" Nell asked, before she added, "And no, I'm not gonna pay for that. I think it's a major improvement."

"I'm done talking!" Valerie snapped back, ignoring Nell's last comment.

Rocket-powered rollerblades appeared underneath Valerie's feet and pushed her towards Danny and Nell. She aimed for a punch, but they both turned intangible and Valerie went right through them. Valerie screamed as she couldn't stop herself from hitting the wall. Cujo's head phased through the wall and just as he was about to bite a screaming Valerie, Danny and Nell quickly grabbed her and flew her out of the way.

"LET ME GO!" Valerie demanded, struggling to get herself free from Danny's and Nell's grip.

"Yeah, you're welcome!" Danny retorted back sarcastically. Valerie managed to get herself free from the half-ghost teens' grip and landed on the floor.

Valerie pulled out another gun and fired at them, but instead of hitting them, she accidentally hit the alarm button instead, causing all the emergency alarms in the building to go off.

"You two and your stupid dog ruined everything! And you're both gonna pay! You, your sister, her boyfriend and every other ghosts like you!" Valerie exclaimed-vowed and fired at them again.

Danny and Nell turned intangible, but even still, the blast knocked them through the wall, causing a hole to appear.

"That ought to do it," Valerie said, before she heard growling. Turning around, she screamed in fright as Cujo continued to growl at her.

Danny and Nell, meanwhile, hit a wall and fell to the ground with a Thud!. Standing up, they looked around and saw that they were in an old dog kennel.

"An old kennel. This must be where they kept all the guard dogs," Danny observed.

Nell placed her hand on the padded wall behind her and she heard something squeak coming from inside of it.

"Huh?" she said in confusion.

Danny, who heard it as well, put his hand inside to feel around the padded cushions and felt something squeak again. They both smiled a wry smile as they finally found what Cujo was looking for.

They flew back to the lab and saw Cujo standing over a screaming Valerie who was on the ground, gun gone.

"Hey boy! Is this what you've been looking for?" Danny asked as he held the small, pink, squeaky teddy bear.

Cujo looked at it and began to bark and wag his tail in happiness. He growled at Valerie again, but Nell grabbed the toy and flew up the dog, saying in baby talk, "No, no, it's okay! Does you want your squeaky? Oh, oh does you?"

Cujo stopped growling and panted happily as Nell said as she threw the toy, "Here you go, Cujo. Now, please, just go home… and stay there!"

Cujo transformed back into his puppy form as he chased after the toy and caught it in his mouth. He stopped running and disappeared from the lab without a trace, heading back to the Ghost Zone.

Danny and Nell stood behind Valerie as she got up on her knees. Danny, hoping to straighten this out and not have Valerie hunting them down whenever he and Nell went ghost and became banshee, said to her, "Look, I know you're angry, but that's not our dog, and we're sorry about whatever happened to you."

"Not all ghosts are evil, just like my brother, my boyfriend and I," Nell added as she and Danny stood up and held out a hand each, offering Valerie their help.

"Yeah?" Valerie asked as she held their hands. Nell smiled hopefully at that. Maybe they had gotten through to Valerie after all?

However, that hope was dashed as Valerie flipped them both over her shoulder and slammed them on the ground. She pointed a ray gun at them and continued, "And not allhumans are saps, huh?"

Danny and Nell gasped.

"Goodbye, ghost kids!" Valerie exclaimed as she prepared to fire, but stopped when she heard her dad call out, "VALERIE!"

"Oh no, my dad! I can't let him see me like this!" Valerie panicked.

"Sorry, but we can't help you there," Danny said, turning intangible.

Nell, who wanted to help Valerie and try to prove to her she wasn't evil, was about to do something, like phase Valerie out of her battle suit and turn the suit invisible, but Danny gently grabbed her arm and turned her intangible as well, phasing the both of them out of the lab through the roof.

As soon as they were outside, Nell whirled around to face Danny and exclaimed, "What the heck was that for!?"

"Nell, I know Valerie's yours and Ava's friend, but I just want to be cautious. What if Valerie figured out your secret if you helped her back there?" Danny reasoned.

Nell sighed, reluctantly agreeing with him.

"I know, I know, but maybe I could have changed her view on us, convince her we're not evil," Nell pointed out.

"I agree with that, but still, better to be safe than sorry," Danny told her.

Nell nodded, and at that, the two flew back home, briefly forgetting about Sam, Tucker, Owen, Ava an Dustin.

…

Tomorrow

The next day at school, Danny, Nell, Sam, Tucker, Ava, Owen and Dustin were sitting in the cafeteria as they watched Valerie walk past and ignored the popular kids and gave Nell and Ava friendly smiles, smiles that Nell and Ava instantly returned. Tucker and Valerie were longer dating, and Tucker was okay with that.

"Know where the dog went?" Tucker asked. Danny and Nell answered in unison, "Nope."

"You two gonna play it a little safer knowing that Valerie the Ghost Slayer is around?" Sam asked.

"Including you, Dust?" Ava asked her ghostly older brother.

"Yep," Danny, Nell and Dustin answered in unison.

"I just wish I knew where she got those weapons from," Danny said. They were all unaware that Daria(who she and her adoptive father, Vlad, were the ones supplying Valerie's weapons all along)just teleported in and dropped off a box before teleporting away again. Valerie found the box shortly after and smiled, seeing that the box was for her.

"Or that costume. Costume that stylish had to cost something, you know?" Tucker said.

Sam smiled as she said, "Well, I don't know where she got the weapons, but I think I know where she got the extra cash. You remember those concert tickets she sold on the Internet?"

"You bought her tickets?" Danny asked.

…

Saturday

Indeed she did.

Because on Saturday night, all seven of them were having a great time at the Dumpty Humpty concert; even Ava was enjoying it. As they danced to the music, Dash, Kwan and Paulina just moped.

"I can't believe we sitting next to those losers!" Sam exclaimed, unknowingly voicing the three sulking A-listers' thoughts, as they continued to dance.

Despite everything that happened that week, on this night they were having the time of their lives!(or afterlife, in Dustin's case, but you get the point!)

GhostWriterGirl: And, "Shades Of Grey" is finished! Yay!

Nell: I can't believe Valerie became a ghost hunter! Does that mean I'll never be able to tell her I'm half-ghost?

GhostWriterGirl: Shhhh! Val might hear you! And you don't want her to get suspicious and figuring it out and forcing you to manipulate her memories so that she forgets, do you?

Nell: Good point.

GhostWriterGirl: Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this, next episode is "Fanning The Flames", one of my personal favourites, and if you didn't get the hint about Nell and Valerie complimenting Ava's beautiful singing voice and Nell wanting to be a songwriter, all be revealed next chapter! And now, for my big announcement! Nell, Owen, drum roll please!

Nell and Owen:*drum roll*

GhostWriterGirl: Okay my big announcement is… I'm gonna do a poll! This poll is gonna be about whether I should do one of these two fanfic ideas first, and the fanfic ideas are: A Secret Trio fanfic where the Secret Trio is Dani Phantom, Haley Long and Juniper Lee, or, a DC's Legends Of Tomorrow and Danny Phantom crossover, where Rip Hunter recruits an older Dani Phantom to join the Legends. I really want to do both ideas, but I don't know what idea to do first after "Danny Phantom And Storm Banshee-Season One(From The Very Beginning…)" is done, as this current story is one of my main priories right now.

So, the poll is basically about you voting whether or not I should do the Secret Trio fanfic where Dani Phantom, Haley Long and Juniper Lee are the Secret Trio, or the Danny Phantom And DC Legends Of Tomorrow crossover first after "DPASB-S1(FTVB…)" is done. The poll will be closed when I've published the last chapter of this story, and the poll results will be in the last AN of that last chapter!

So, if you darling readers want to, please vote! The poll is open right now! Vote for whether I should do the Secret Trio or the DC Legends Of Tomorrow and Danny Phantom crossover first after this story is done! Okay, my announcement is over and… Nell, Owen you can stop the drum roll now.

Nell and Owen:*stop drum roll*

GhostWriterGirl: Thank you. Oh, and also, I'm gonna be doing these preview-like things for the next episode-chapter up until the "movie" chapters! I probably should have done this long ago, but heck, as they say, better late than never! So, here's the preview for "Fanning the Flames":

NEXT TIME, ON DANNY PHANTOM AND STORM BANSHEE:

Everyone save for Danny, Nell, Sam, Dustin and Ava is going ga-ga over the new singer Ember McLain; who is actually a ghost! What is she up to? Will Danny Phantom And Storm Banshee stop her? Why is Danny falling in love with Sam all of a sudden? And who the heck is the mysterious new singer, Diane Eclipse?

Find out next time on Danny Phantom And Storm Banshee in: Fanning The Flames.

GhostWriterGirl: I hope you enjoyed that! And no, I don't own Danny Phantom, that belongs to Butch Hartman. I only own this story and all my OCs. Anyway, watch out for the next episode-chapter, please vote on my poll, and please read and review! GhostWriterGirl out!