Shadows of a Gray Ghost

Part 1; Season 2 Episode 4- Reign Storm

Chapter 1; Let's Run Away Together

"Fenton!" Dash bellowed as he chased Danny Fenton down the halls of Casper High School.

This was downright degrading, and he hated it. Dash and his jock crew bullied and picked on Danny for years. From physical assaults, like punches and wedges, to emotional taunts, like freak and loser, Danny experienced it all. And today he had snapped a little and used his ghost powers for some payback, much to his best friend Sam's disapproval. It wasn't right, she claimed. His powers only had to be for good and using them to fight his battles with a human was wrong.

Danny scoffed. Easy for her to dictate that. She didn't receive Dash's abuse every day for the last years of school. She's never had her face shoved in a toilet or her pants pulled down in public. Didn't have her lunch money and homework stolen or her family mocked and laughed at. Tucker was always more forgiving when Danny wanted to use his powers on Dash, because Tucker got the same treatment for years too.

Sam's always argued it was a risk to fight back. That with Danny's increased physical strength and durability the hits barely hurt him. But Danny still flinched when Dash's fist flew at him. Flinched more than when Stalker or any ghost attacked him. It didn't matter that Dash couldn't physically hurt him; torn apart mentally he just wanted it to stop. No teacher would stop Dash, the golden boy of the football team. Danny's own father thought it was just 'guys rough housing' as Jack himself was a thick skinned (and headed) guy. And now, with Dash barreling after him, Sam's stupid sense of integrity would not stop the nightmare chasing Danny now.

Dash was fast for a human. Without tapping into his ghost powers, Danny wouldn't be able to outrun him. It was last period, which was a free period for him, meaning the lunchroom would be empty. He would run in, go invisible, and wait for Dash to past by.

Sneakers squeaked on the tile floor as Danny shoved open the double doors to the lunchroom. To his dismay, the room wasn't empty. Two students sat playing a card game. One dressed in his band uniform with his French Horn in a large case at the end of the table. They looked up as Danny panted, looking around for his next option. The guy in the band outfit gave a light tap to the instrument case and nodded his head towards the table.

Danny didn't know these dude's names, but the kid had to know Danny. Had to know Danny was Dashes favorite punching bag and hiding Danny from Dash was a sure-fire way to get your ass kicked.

Sam's words rang in Danny's head.

Technically, Dash couldn't hurt him. Nothing Dash could do could hurt Danny.

Why was Danny so damn scared then?

Why was his heart pumping so hard?

Danny dove for the hiding spot.

"What-?" he yelled as he crashed into a blur of orange, yellow, and black. They shoved a warm hand over his mouth, and an arm pulled him fully under the table.

"Fenton!" Dash roared, slamming the doors open. The steel doors slammed into the brick walls, making Danny flinch at the sound. Danny's eyes adjusted as the other occupant pulled him closer under the table.

"Valerie?" he mumbled through her soft hand. She glared at him as she shushed him.

Danny tried to pull away but became surprised at how easily Valerie kept him from moving. Ghost hunting was making her strong, it seemed.

"Hey!" Dash yelled. "Card nerds! You seen Fenton?"

They must have shook their heads no as he huffed and ran back out.

Danny took the moment to look over at Valerie. She had a hand still pressed over his mouth, even though Dash left. An arm was hook over his shoulders, keeping him low to the ground. Her black hair pulled back with one of her normal headbands and the yellow shirt she wore had a scalloped edge along the seam. Her orange skirt hiked up a bit from sitting under the table and her legs were bent in an uncomfortable angle.

She released him and Danny move to a sitting position.

"Find your own hiding spot," he glared as he whispered. "I've got dibs on under the nerds playing nerd poker."

Valerie, who was still staring towards the door, whipped her forest green eyes to him and glared.

"Ease up, Fenton," the scowl on her face was deep. "No need to be so damn rude; they're risking their own skin to hide us." That comment caused Danny to look away for a split second. "Also, you're not the only one who needs to hide, you know."

The doors flew open again. Danny couldn't see who entered, but Valerie stiffened up and moved a little closer to him. He thought about how she had just helped him, even if only by not ratting him out (which could have helped her regain a place with the A-listers), and moved to block her from view if the person glanced down.

"Guys! Have you seen Valerie?" the new people asked.

Both teens at the table sighed.

The one in the band uniform spoke up. "Nate, dude, you need to chill a bit."

The new guy scoffed. "What are you- I'm just looking for Valerie. Why would I need to chill?"

The two at the table were quiet.

"I'm just looking for Valerie. We were talking about prom and stuff and I just want to finish talking."

"Dude, that's three years from now…" the other teen playing cards spoke up.

"And?" the kid snapped. "Just let me know when you find her," he demanded before leaving the lunchroom. The two at the table went back to playing their game like there weren't two wanted criminals under the table.

"Three years? We could be here awhile," Danny mumbled with a smile as Valerie let out a soft sigh. That comment caused a smile to past her lips and he hoped she forgave his earlier asshole comment.

It seemed she did, as the smiled stayed and she asked, "Want to check over our book reports?"

Danny blinked. It was probably safe for them to leave from under the lunchroom table, but he still pulled out his phone and sat side by side with her.

"Sure, I can send it to you if you want to edit it for me? Let me get your number."

She nodded. She hesitated for a moment before pulling out her phone. It was an older model. Still able to get the job done, but not the phone she started the school year off with, for sure.

He didn't mean to ruin her life when he had to chase down the poor ghost dog, but he still did.

Her father lost his career, home, and the respect of his peers and community. Valerie lost a bit of her childhood, he knew. She had to work a job to help pay for basic necessities, and they lived paycheck to paycheck since Axion demoted her father for breach of contact.

Danny pushed the thoughts away and focused on the smiling girl next to him. It was nice being around her like this.

Valerie laughed at something he wrote and muttered 'dork' under her breath. Her curly hair slipped over onto his shoulders, letting him catch the smell of coconut.

The bell, ending last period, rang and Danny and Valerie exchanged a look.

"How much you wanna bet who's at my locker," Danny asked with a sigh.

"Mine too," Valerie agreed. "How 'bout we make a deal? We go with each other to our lockers? I mean Dash normally doesn't start that much shit when I'm around."

Danny nodded. "And you think Nathan will back off if I'm around?"

She frowned. "No, not back off. He'll… he'll still try… but I'll feel better if someone is with me…" she answered, eyes looking away.

Danny didn't quite understand what exactly Nathan would try, but he still nodded again.

Some people were entering the lunchroom to set up for some after-school activities. Danny and his new companion nodded goodbye to the two playing nerd poker- he meant Magic the Gathering, as Valerie had corrected, and left to her locker first. It was uneventful expect for the dozen of eyes staring at the bizarre sight of him, a social outcast by every group, and her, a former A-lister, walking together. Her locker was uneventful, and she seemed to stand a foot taller as she grabbed her purple backpack.

She even seemed calmer with her Huntress gear in her possession again. Then, like expected, Dash was leaning on Danny's locker. Sam and Tucker weren't there, which was strange given they always waked home together.

"Fenton," Dash growled and Danny knew Valerie's presence wasn't enough to stop his rage.

"I got you, Fenton," Valerie said. Spinning on her heels, she grabbed his upper arm and ran away. She was faster than he could remember and more agile. She was weaving through the crowd the same way he had seen her weave through trees on her jet sled. Danny was to use to just phasing through objects, so he allowed her to pull him along with no objection. Dash was trying to bulldoze his way through, ending with him crashing into a very pissed off Star and Paulina duo.

"Valerie?" Nathan's voice called and her grip on him tightened. "Hey! What's wrong, Valerie? Is that Fenton jerk giving you trouble?"

Jerk? What did Danny do? He was just being dragged along. How could he look like the bad guy here?

"Valerie, wait up!"

Once out of the school, they just kept running. Past the courtyard and gate, onto the next street. At some point her hand moved from his arm to his hand and she kept pulling him along, refusing to leave him behind. Vaguely, he was aware this was towards his house. Danny pulled her into an alley, and they took a moment to catch their breaths.

"We can hide at my house," he offered. "I can get my sister to take you home or pay for your ride since it is so far from your bus stop." Many considered the area the Gray family lived in now the cities ghetto, not safe to walk around after dark, and his house would take her far in the opposite direction.

Valerie nodded. "But I can pay my way back," she assured.

He grinned, almost reaching for her hand before stopping himself, and lead the way to Fenton Works.

A few blocks from his home, he found Sam and Tucker. They both seemed confused at the sight of Valerie.

Valerie, no fool to social cues, pulled back, putting a huge amount of space between her and them.

"So what's up with this?" Sam asked, the same judging tone in her voice. "Why are you with her all the sudden?"

Danny gave a light smile, ignoring it, "Oh, she hid me from Dash earlier today. I'm just returning the favor."

"You won't have needed anyone to hide you if you didn't stuff his locker with toilet paper," Sam reasoned as they walked to his house. "And who is she hiding from?"

Danny remembered the look in Valerie's eyes and wasn't sure if she would like what he saw disclosed. He wasn't sure what was happening there and something about it was unsettling to him.

"People," he said.

"I feel that," Tucker sighed.

Sam rolled her eyes. "I hide from my mom all the time. She bought me this hideous dress the other day and wanted me to try it on."

That's not the same, Danny almost said, but Tucker spoke first.

"That's kinda different from when Dash chases us, you know. Plus, the last dress your mom got you was that super goth dress you wore with me to the dance. I though you liked dresses she picked out?"

"Well, be careful. The last thing you'd want to do is invite your arch enemy into your own house," Sam lectured, ignoring Tucker's comment. Danny shot her a glare as he looked over his shoulder. Valerie wasn't far enough away to warrant Sam speaking so openly about Phantom and Huntresses rivalry. While he was starting to trust Valerie at Fenton's back, Huntress could not be trusted at Phantom's yet.

Tucker gave an awkward cough as they approached his doorsteps.

"I think ya need a new topic," Tucker whispered as he too looked back at Valerie.

Sam huffed and didn't join Tucker as he walked towards his home. Normally they would leave Danny here and continue on together, but Sam was standing at the bottom of the steps, watching Valerie approach.

"Uh," Tucker said as he returned. "I didn't know we were hanging at Danny's today."

"We weren't," Danny answered with a raised a brow at Sam.

"Well, since Valerie's here, better safe than sorry," Sam said with a firm nod.

"I can take care of myself," he mumbled to the short raven-haired girl as Valerie came to stand awkwardly by his side.

"Oh," Valerie said as he kicked the ground. "I didn't realize you were hanging out with Sam and Tucker today. I can just head home and finish the paper myself."

A part of him found her mentioning the paper as a cover interesting, but wasn't sure why that stuck out to him.

"Aw, really? To bad," Sam said a bit too sarcastically as she folded her arms.

"Actually, they were just leaving."

"Actually, didn't you leave your backpack at school? And don't you need to do the homework for math still?" Sam said with a knowing tone. "So I'm guessing you don't need me to stick around then?" They had the same math class and without Sam he would have no book to use or any idea which problems to work on. "And I guess you don't need Tucker either?" Shoot, did their history class assign something too? Damn, he dozed off a bit either. Too many late nights. "We can help you finish your paper," Sam finished with victory in her voice.

"Well, since I promised Valerie I would help her, we can all come in," he said with a pointed look at Sam.

"Fine," she grumbled and turned to walk up the stairs. Tucker shrugged and followed her.

Valerie hesitated.

"They don't like me," she whispered and her bluntness was like a shot in his gut. "I don't stay where I'm not wanted."

Danny swallowed. "But you are- wanted, I mean… I want you here." He looked away, his heart suddenly beating faster than normal.

"All right," she whispered again. "I'll stay for a bit."

Danny smiled, letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

"Cool."

All six pairs of eye fell on Danny and Valerie as they enter his living room.

Six?

Besides Sam and Tucker exchanging hugs with his mom, Jazz was siting on an armchair reading a book he never learned the name of, and his dad was sitting at a kitchen chair at the coffee table. He was playing chess with Vlad Masters, who was wearing a pair of borrowed sweatpants and a white shirt.

Vlad locked gazes with him and a hit of ghostly green flashed in both their eyes. Then Vlad's gazed shifted to Valerie and his eyebrows raised a bit. Instinctively, Danny moved to block Valerie from view, only causing Vlad to smirk.

"Ah, hello, Daniel!" Vlad said merrily as he stood up and approached. Danny stiffened, all friendliness between them long gone when he tried to, ew, hook up with his mom. But Vlad moved past him and was at Valerie's side, hand extended. "And ah, the young Miss Gray," he cooed, voice like honey, and Danny shuddered.

Valerie was looking up at him, eyes wide and weary. "You know me?" she asked, confused as she looked back at Danny.

Plasmius was too close to her.

Way too close.

Danny forced his way between them, pushing the billionaire's hand away.

"How do you know her?" He growled, a familiar burn tingling his hands and eyes.

"Danny," Jack admonished as he approached, pulling Danny out of space between them. "Don't be so rude."

Sam and Tucker were hovering off to the side, with his mom starting daggers at Vlad. Jazz gave a yawn and sat her book in her lap.

"Why, don't be alarmed, my dear, I worked with your father a few years back. I was the one who recommended him to Axion labs. Shame how that turned out," Vlad said as he placed a hand on Valerie's shoulder. "I blame that blasted ghost for the… incident? Phantom, I believe?" Valerie's eyes narrowed at his alter-egos name. Vlad's arm was fully around her shoulder and Danny gritted his teeth. "Sadly, I don't have the pull I used to have at Axion labs since I sold my minority share. I have, though, considered buying a new claim." Vlad turned, and while he was taking to Maddie and Jack, his eyes were digging into Danny. "My friends, please excuse me for a moment, I must speak with Miss Gray in private."

"Uh, sure," Jack nodded.

"Wait-" Danny moved towards Vlad's retreating form as he walked down the stairs with Valerie.

"Danny, my boy, what has gotten into you?" Jack said, keeping Danny in place.

Why did it feel like he just led Valerie into a trap?

Danny clenched his teeth as he shook off his dad's hold and turned to his mom.

"Why is he here?" Danny yelled. Only Maddie, Sam, and Tucker knew how slimy Vlad was, so it wasn't surprising when Jazz stood up with a sigh.

"What's with all this negativity towards Masters? Are you feeling like your place as Dad's number two is being threatened?" Jazz asked.

"What? No!" Danny yelled as Jack grinned and pulled him into a hug.

"Aw, you'll always be my best guy, Danny!" Jack cooed, overjoyed.

"Dad!" Danny struggled. He need to go find Valerie. She did not understand how much danger she was in.

"Danny," Sam called, voice even. "Yeah, you have no reason to worry."

Tucker nodded. "Yeah, you probably should just chill."

Jack released his hold, and Danny quickly moved out of his reach. "Yeah, chill," Jack grinned. "Tucker's little girlfriend will be back soon and you all can hang."

Tucker sighed and muttered, "I wish I could lock that down," as he gave a playful elbow poke to Sam, who smiled and rolled her eyes.

"She's not his girlfriend," Danny, for the life of him, could not understand why every fiber of his being needed to clarify that. Not that it mattered, as his dad was heading into the kitchen and Jazz was sitting back down with her book. Sam had a deep form on her face and Tucker looked a little miffed.

"Wait!" Danny called to his parents. "Why is Vlad here?"

Maddie pulled on her hood, and he realized they were heading to the lab.

"He came out the Ghost Portal."

Danny stared, dumbfounded.

What?

His parents were in their lab. They refused to tell Danny anymore and told him to either go study with his friends in his room or the kitchen. Danny opted for the kitchen, sitting with a perfect view of the front door.

Sam and Tucker unpacked their school work and Danny absentmindedly picked up a pencil and just held it.

"Uh… Danny?" Tucker asked, as he snapped his fingers in front of him.

Valerie still wasn't back.

"Guys, cover for me," Danny whispered as he dropped the pencil.

"Danny, no!" Sam started. Danny transformed and was flying away before she finished.

Where were they? They weren't in sight on the main street and Danny felt his heart quicken. He became intangible and scoured the streets and alleys. He was seconds from calling Valerie's name when a shadow passed overhead.

Red Huntress.

Both relief and panic filled him, because sitting on the back of her jet sled was Vlad Masters.

The Huntress flew back to Fenton works and landed in the side alley. They emerged with Valerie, in her normal clothes, smiling from ear to ear and Vlad laughing. Danny flew closer and he could see Vlad stiffen as he sensed his ghostly presence. Danny floated to Valerie's side and relaxed a bit seeing she was wasn't hurt.

"It's like you designed it just for me!" Valerie chirped with a skip in her step before becoming serious. "Why would you do that? I'm, like, fourteen?"

Vlad looked around, unable to pinpoint the cause of his sixth sense going off.

"You're also the most capable ghost hunter I've ever seen! You're smart, you're fast, you're strong, and most of all, you're motivated." Yeah, motivated to waste Phantom.

Valerie took a second to absorb what he said before nodding and looking down at a ring on her finger.

A ring? Did Vlad fucking propose?

That's stupid, he knew, but still leaned to get a better look at the ring. It was more Sam's style. A withered skull cut out of jade or green quartz? It was glowing faintly in the sun and looked like a perfect fit.

"I won't let you down, Mr. Masters," Valerie said with conviction.

"No," Vlad said as he stopped and let her enter the house before him. "You definitely won't."

Danny left, heading to his room to change, so he almost missed what Vlad said next.

"Good luck, boy, keeping her safe. You will need it." Then Vlad walked through the front door.

Danny floated to his room, his mind buzzing.

Vlad had made Valerie's ghost hunting equipment? And just randomly gave it to her?

No, not random.

Because she had hated Phantom, and her rage was something Plasmius could turn into a weapon.

Shit. Was her being pulled into ghost hunting really his fault too? She was just another pawn Vlad was using to toy with Danny?

What was his next move? And what was that ring Vlad gave her? Another piece of ghost hunting tech?

Danny reached his room and changed, rushing down the stairs just as an alarm sounded through the whole house.

"What mess has Jack gotten us into now," Vlad sighed loudly, causing Jazz to frown at the comment. "Well, we better go check, come along kids." Vlad said as he pushed Danny near Valerie and Jazz, blocking Sam and Tucker.

Trying to keep me from changing, Danny thought with a glare as Vlad held his shoulder.

"We shouldn't," Jazz started, panic on her face. "I mean Danny and the other should go upstairs where it's safe. We can check what's going on."

"Yeah!" Sam said as she tried to pull Danny away. "We should go somewhere safe!"

Valerie caught Danny's eyes as her hand brushed his forearm. "Yeah, it's okay. I'll check on your parents." She nodded, eyes full of compassion and steel.

Run away. He should just run away. Phantom was the hero, not Fenton. It didn't matter if people saw Fenton as a coward. It didn't matter that they saw him as a big chicken. So big that Valerie completely believed he would turn tail and run, leaving his parents in some unknown danger.

He couldn't keep living like this.

Fenton was worth something too.

"Danny!" Sam, Tucker, and Jazz yelled as he ran down the stairs after Valerie.