Author's Note: Thought or Emphasis; Flashback; Thought or Emphasis in Flashback. Certain type may also be used signify SOUND or other dramatic effects as necessary.
I don't own Danny Phantom.
Danny Phantom: Not All Bad
Part VII
It's a beautiful night.
Ember McLain took in the sights as she flew over Amity Park. Her blue flame hair, resembled a candle's wispy light carried by the cool summer breeze.
For now, nothing stoked the fire. This was a night to relax, her flight nothing more than a leisurely stroll through another plane of existence.
Sometimes, though, she wondered what kept her coming back to this town. Even on her first big world domination tour, she could feel a tug at her mind, or her core; something about this town told her that big things would happen.
Didn't think it'd be me losing.
She sighed, her relaxed mood now as dead as she was. Things just weren't the same since that ghost boy came into her life and started blowing her evil plans to bits.
She had passed his home earlier, the brownstone with that giant metal monstrosity on the roof. The building housed not only a portal to the Ghost Zone and living world, but her greatest enemy as well.
…is he?
Their encounters lately weren't quite the same battles anymore. Instead, running into him became a source of some variety to her undying existence.
Fighting him's actually kinda fun!
A small part of her wondered if there was something beyond the good music stores or that weird tugging feeling from before.
Maybe it was someone…
"Hold on there, McLain." She paused in midair, talking aloud to be sure. "He's just a good fight. That's all."
She refused to be burned again.
A teenage boy, older than her, his face blurred, but she recognized his confident smile…
She snapped out of it.
Great, now I'm stressed all over again. She thought of someone else, one close to the halfa sneaking into her thoughts. I wonder if Manson's got a music player I could borrow… or keep. She's loaded, so it's not like she'll miss it, right?
Yes, she didn't need to get too close. She would mess with the lovebirds, maybe giving a hello to their kid once in a while; that would be enough.
I just can't let them catch me off guard.
An ecto-rocket caught her off guard.
The BOOM filled her ears, the force sending her spinning through the air. She righted herself, though her vision and hearing had yet to catch up.
The ringing in her ear stopped in time to hear herself complain. "Can't a girl just go for a fly in peace?"
Ember's returning sight settled on a female figure wearing a high-tech armored bodysuit of red and black, standing atop a jet-propelled hoverboard of matching colors. The clear glass of the helmet's face shield revealed an African-American teenage girl, her teeth gritted in rage.
The songstress raised an eyebrow. "What in both worlds are you?"
"I'm your worst nightmare, ghost." The Red Huntress fired another rocket from her hoverboard.
Unafraid, Ember whipped her guitar from her back and batted the shot into the night sky, brightened by the burst of green light. "Oh, you do not want to test me, space case."
"I don't need to test you. I already know enough!" Her hands clenched. "You might have messed with my head once, but I still remember your face."
She pointed in fury:
"You and your friends made my father disappear!"
Valerie Gray and her father Damon had a rare day off from their busy schedules and wanted to spend it relaxing in Amity Park, but they barely got within the city limits before a wave of blue energy crossed the sky. Valerie's last memory before Ember's music overshadowed her mind was reaching out for the man who vanished before her eyes.
"Revenge? Seriously?" Ember rolled her eyes, remembering the scheme involving Kitty's kiss. "Not that I care, but you got him back, right?"
"That doesn't matter. You ghosts have been messing with my life for the past two years, and you tried to take away the one thing I had left!" Her fist met her palm. "I'm going to make you pay. You, and every evil spook just like you!"
"Alright, surfer girl." Ember grinned at the challenge; it was just what she needed to get her mind off a certain someone. "Let's go."
Two machine cubes arose from the Red Huntress's shoulder, twin ecto-rays fired. Ember dodged, blasted the cube cannons to slag, then strummed out a musical green fist. The Huntress veered below it, and prepared another rocket, but another musical fist struck early, the impact knocking her off her board.
"Wow, one hit?" She jeered. "You suck at this."
Valerie had fallen before in battles with other ghosts, however, and to Ember's surprise, the board flew back to its owner with a single thought. She rolled into a tuck before landing back on with both feet, charging back at her opponent, the same wrath in her eyes. "I'm not done yet!"
"Alright, that was a little cool," the villainess admitted. "Now let's get fired up!" Turning the knob, she unleashed from her guitar a red flame. The fire engulfed the Huntress, who dove in head first, but not before crossing her arms…
…and charging straight through, covered by a blue ghost shield. Valerie jumped out of the fire, her right fist reared back.
"Nice try." Ember let her guitar vanish and effortlessly caught the punch, returning her own into her opponent's stomach. A second, then third punch followed; Ember heard coughs launch blood and spittle onto glass.
"Aww, too bad. You almost surprised me." The Huntress seemed to try pulling away, but Ember maintained her grip. "But almost isn't good enough."
Valerie stopped her struggle… and smiled. "Almost?"
The uncaught hand clenched and a wrist cannon emerged, blasting Ember into a wall. Her guitar took much of the hit, but her back still felt the pain.
It's like fighting my ex and that loser Technus at the same time. She shook the brick dust out of her hair. What else is in her bag of tricks?
She quickly found out when the Huntress's hoverboard slammed into her gut. With the press of a pedal, the board's ghost stinger activated, an electrical current racing through its tips and into Ember's form. Valerie released the dazed ghost from the wall, then followed up with a powerful punch from a glowing gauntlet.
The falling femme fatale hit the sidewalk with a thud that cracked the concrete. She lay face down, the flame from her hair dimmed, her body bruised.
"Finally gave up, ghost?" The Red Huntress descended to ground level. "Oh, wait, you can't answer me, can you?"
To her surprise, the seemingly unconscious ghost spoke.
"My name's not 'ghost,' surfer girl."
The flame burst bright, forcing her opponent back. Ember leaped to her feet, her hand filled with blue fire.
"It's EMBER!"
The blazing torrent came at Valerie's face, but she managed to dive off her board and out of the way. She pulled out what appeared to be a red and black baton and fired.
"What did you say again? Oh, right…"
One end glowed pink, latching an energy shackle onto Ember's wrists and snapping them together. With another pink shot, Ember's tied legs gave out from under her. Strength suddenly left her, her body meeting the sidewalk once again. An aura of pink energy covered her from head to foot.
"…Nice try."
Ember tried to burn off the restraints, but no flame emerged. "What?"
"The cuffs are pretty handy, don't you think?" Valerie hands proudly met her hips. "And I figured out a new feature: they drop a ghost's power like a stone."
She stood smugly over her prey, whose temper was nearly as hot as her hair. "When I get out of this, I am going to scorch that sick smirk clean off your face!"
"Whatever you say, ghost."
"It's Ember! Ember McLain!"
"McLame, MacGregor, whatever." She began to pace. "Now, what I should do with you?"
Option 1: "Melt you down for some extra material? Nah, too big for that."
Option 2: "I could sell you to Masters? That fool's got no idea he's funding me so I can take him down someday…" She looked her enemy over and decided, "Nah, I'm not giving him someone like you to break."
"Hey, I know!" Ember adopted a chipper tone, "You could waste me right now, so I don't have to listen to you talk all night."
The Huntress simply clenched her fist and summoned a mini ghost stinger, hearing Ember's complaints turn to screams. "AAAGHHH! What else is in that stupid suit!?"
"I got it." She snapped her fingers, then pointed at her captive. "You keep showing up here in Amity Park, so you must have a way to get here from the Ghost Zone. I bet you know all kinds of other stuff about that place too." She lowered her face to Ember's. "You're gonna tell me everything."
"What makes you think I'll talk?"
"Oh, I've got my ways. Maybe I didn't break Phantom, but I bet my little toys could work just fine on you."
How does Phantom know this crazy chick? Ember kept her real question internal, and opted for, "You sure you've never met Skulker? You two sound a lot alike."
Valerie knew the name, having faced his death gauntlet and survived (with a little help). "I'll remember to ask about him too, before I'm done with you."
She raised her wrist cannon.
"Now say good night, ghost!"
I wanted a challenge, not this! If Ember wasn't in her current position, she would have beaten up herself. I can't believe I'm going to be some gun-happy fruit loop's plaything!
She was powerless, alone… defeated.
I wonder if this is how the kid felt a few weeks back?
It was too bad for her Danielle was probably fast asleep right now, living with her happy family, cared for by a certain half-ghost hero. She was safe; Ember was not.
The prideful Ember McLain didn't want to admit it.
But all the same, she closed her eyes and made an impossible wish.
Maybe I could use a hero too.
"VALERIE, NO!"
Both girls recognized the voice, the half-ghost hero landing between them:
"Phantom?"
Danny happened to have sensed a ghost passing by his home earlier that night, and he took a little time to patrol the town just in case.
He didn't expect, however, to find this.
"What the heck is going on here?" He looked back at the trapped ghost, whose green orbs avoided his, then to the Red Huntress. "What are you doing to her!?"
"My job." She moved the gun to him. "Now step out of the way."
Danny outstretched his arms, his intention clear:
"I'm not letting you touch her!"
Ember held back her gasp.
"And why not?" Her captor demanded.
"She hasn't done anything wrong!" He stopped the Huntress before she opened her mouth, "And if she did, believe me, I'd know about it."
"Nothing wrong!?" She balked. "Do you know the things she's done?"
"I'm quite aware. In fact, she's hurt me personally." It was hard to forget 24 hours of obsessing over your best friend... or watching that same best friend kiss Dash Baxter. "But she's already taken her lumps for that," he tried not to be smug, "and I've taken her down pretty much every time since."
"Ain't it hard to fly with that swelled head?" Ember interjected.
"You're one to talk." He retorted, before going back to Valerie. "Stand down." He stood firm. "I don't want to hurt you."
"Get me free, and I could hurt her instead..."
"Not helping, Ember!"
"Give me one reason why I shouldn't blast that menace right now," she readied her other wrist cannon, "and you too for helping her!"
He stared at the weapon unfazed. "Because of Dani."
"Dani?" For the Red Huntress, the little ghost girl she'd helped save months ago showed her that not all ghosts were bad. Even Phantom showed he had a heart in his seemingly dead body, willing to surrender his freedom to her, just to ensure Dani's safety.
Valerie knew she would do the same for her own family.
"She and Ember are friends," Danny explained. "So, if you hurt her-"
"-then I hurt Dani, is that it?"
"Exactly."
She looked over her former prey. "You leave that little girl around some pretty bad influences."
The 'bad influence' glared back.
"Where is Dani, anyway?" Valerie relaxed a bit. "I've been seeing the news about her, but I never catch her on my patrols." She recalled with a gentle smile, "Last time I saw her, she was flying off all dramatically."
He absentmindedly told her the truth. "She's with Sam."
Her brows rose. "Sam?"
"Did I say Sam?" He hurried to find a name. "I meant Saaaa… saaahhhmm… some friend!" He gave a small smile of victory, not seeing Ember's cuffed double facepalm. "Dani's with a friend of mine. She's safe."
"Right…" Now that I think about it, Sam Manson's around a lot when Phantom is too. She filed the thought away for later.
"Please, just let this go. Whatever Ember's done in the past, let it stay in the past." Seeing her waver, he pushed further. "I won't even tell Dani. She wouldn't want to see you like this." He looked down to Ember. "Either of you."
She sneered. "Why are you looking at me like I'm the bad guy here?"
"Well," he half-joked, "you kinda are one…"
"I started it, Phantom, not her," Valerie admitted. "Just seeing her face set me off. She and those two other ghost girls messed with my father and-"
"I know what happened." Sam had told him the story. "I understand your father's important to you. But you're better than this, and you're more than just your anger."
A memory of a happier Valerie, at peace in his arms, passed through his mind.
"I know it."
Something about Danny's words dug deep into the Huntress's heart. She too remembered better days, and a boy she used to love. Though he didn't know about her secret life, he briefly helped her rediscover that other side of herself, the girl beneath the helmet. He gave her a chance at freedom, before she lost that chance to the hunt.
Maybe, like with Danny Phantom and his little cousin, she could give this 'Ember' a chance too.
Her weapons receded, and she said two words she never thought she'd say to a ghost.
"I'm sorry."
Ember's bonds vanished. "Finally!" Back on her feet, she charged a ghost ray. "You'll be sorry, alright, once I jam that surfboard down your-"
"Let it go, Ember." Danny's hand, freezing over her own, halted her attack. "It's over."
"I'll leave you alone," Valerie agreed, "but if you backslide just once, I'll be ready." She sported a bold grin. "And your little boyfriend won't be there to save you from me!"
Ember lunged at (and Danny held her back from) the girl in red, now flying off into the night. "HE'S NOT MY BOYFRIEND!" She heard a giggle at her side. "And just what are you laughing at, Danny Manson?"
"Nothing."
"That's what I thought."
The two ascended to the nearest roof. Ember was silent along the way, as if she was still trying to grasp something. Sensing this, Danny took his chance. "So, exactly what happened-"
"I'm almost glad you're a hero, because you are the worst liar," she jibed, cutting him off. "How do you even fake the human thing?"
"A lot of luck, if I'm honest." He lost his old thought, then caught her words. "Hey, I'm not faking anything! I'm still human," he corrected, "well, half, anyway."
"You're definitely different from full ghosts, at least," she frowned, "because I don't know anyone as hardheaded as you!"
She punched his arm.
"Ow!"
"Don't waste your time jumping in like that, Dipstick!" She was almost insulted. "I'm the hottest, and toughest, singer in the Ghost Zone! I can handle myself!"
"And you call me a bad liar." He folded his arms. "From where I was standing, you were one step away from being made her new punching bag." He looked her over, "Are you okay, though?"
"I'm fine!" She backed away, avoiding his concerned stare. "Ugh, saved by the guy I've tried to kill," she proclaimed more to herself than him. "It's downright embarrassing!"
He continued standing there, with that dopey Dipstick look on his face-
"And you don't even care!"
"Nope."
"You're supposed to care!" She implored. "I'm your enemy, your rival! You're supposed to care about the fight! Not…" She sighed, casting her gaze on the skyline.
"Not you?" He shook his head. "Come on, Ember. You've saved the life of my-"
"Daughter?"
"Cousin," he told them both, "a couple times over by now, helped her figure out her power. Despite our history, you were there for her."
"So, what, you jumped in because you owed me?"
"I helped you because you needed me."
He floated over, a hand placed on her shoulder.
"Shouldn't someone be there for you too?"
Ember looked into his eyes, an unmistakable kindness in his green orbs, bright and pure. She could swear she saw her own reflection in them, eyes and mouth wide.
He did this… for me?
"You're way too good, Danny Phantom."
He beamed.
"I'll take that as a compliment."
He pulled back his hand when he felt her heat spike. She floated backward, turning her back to him once more. She folded her arms over herself, her warmth ebbing and flowing with her breath.
"Ember?" He almost reached out his hand again, "Did I… say something wro-"
"Don't expect me to thank you." She spat, still not looking back.
"I won't. I know you've got your reputation and all." Same old Ember, his worry receded. I guess she's okay after all. "Although," he smirked, "a little gratitude won't kill you, considering…"
"That was almost clever, Babypop. Almost." He could almost swear a smile crossed her face as she faced him, but a more curious frown quickly took its place. "So, how do you know this Valerie, anyway?"
"You're not gonna believe this, but…" he chuckled awkwardly, "…she's my ex-girlfriend."
She scoffed. "Now that's a real joke!"
He turned as if the toothpaste billboard caught his interest, but she still saw his red cheeks.
"…You're serious?"
He said nothing.
Ember laughed, hard and loud.
"HAHAHAHAHA—you… you dated… HAHAHAHAHA!"
"She's not that bad, okay? She's got some issues with ghosts," he grimaced, "but once you get past the guns and anger-"
"She pulls out the last gun from under her skirt?"
"Hey, that was one time!"
She only laughed harder. "Oh, man, my sides!"
"It's not funny!" He paused, "Okay, maybe the skirt thing is."
"Wow…" She finally quieted, realizing, "I guess we both know how to pick 'em."
"Yeah, I guess so."
They found themselves staring up at the waxing moon. Ember liked to see the stars as she flew; it was a welcome change from the doors and islands that dotted the air of her home.
"It's a beautiful night."
"That's what I thought too. You know," she smirked, "before your ex came along."
"You're going to keep rubbing Valerie in my face from now on, aren't you?"
"Until the end of time."
They shared a chuckle.
"Are you sure you're gonna be alright?"
"I'm good. Now get out of here, hero!" She shoved him. "Don't you have some cat to get out of a tree?"
"That appointment's tomorrow," he quipped, "though knowing my luck, it'll be a giant ghost panther." He held back a yawn. "Now, if you excuse me, there's a pillow with my name on it. I'll see you later, Ember."
She gave a gentle wave. "You too, Danny."
"Oh," he faked surprise, "you're calling me Danny now?"
I did? She rolled with it. "I guess you earned it." She winked. "Just this once."
"I'll accept that gift." With a chortle and a salute, Danny Phantom took off.
Ember McLain watched the black-and-white streak head for home.
"Good night, hero."
It came to her. She was a villainess, but Danny was…
"…my hero."
She shuddered.
"That's just weird."
To be continued...
Now we return to Ember, in a role reversed from Part IV. As much as she fights it, Danielle isn't the only Phantom with whom she's starting to bond. What will it mean for her and Team Phantom? Heck if I know, I'm making this up as I go along!