Chapter 15

Valerie groaned as she opened her eyes. She was on her knees, and her hands were tied behind her back. Her mouth was covered in a sticky green goo so that she wouldn't be able to talk. She looked to her left and to her right, where everyone else was in more or less the same position. Nobody had their weapons though, or shields, and Iron Man no longer had his armor on.

"So this is the Queen of Ghosts?"

Valerie's head shot forward towards the voice. Her eyes narrowed at Freakshow. His grey skin and long, pointed nose made her spine crawl. His red eyes bore into her.

To Freakshow's left was Danny, whose eyes were glowing red. He was staring blankly ahead, like a mindless puppet waiting for someone to attach strings to him. To Freakshow's right was Dani, who was looking exactly like Danny. Mindless.

Valerie grit her teeth as she glared daggers at Freakshow. He was hurting her husband. He was hurting her cousin in law. He was hurting her friends. He was hurting her family. And she was not going to rest until that long nose of his was broken off and shoved up where the sun doesn't shine.

"Oh, a feisty one you got here, Phantom. Still, she's not as good as the other one you used to be with," he looked over at Sam, who glared back just as hard as Valerie.

Valerie saw Danny's eyes flicker to green, just for a moment. Freakshow seemed to have noticed, because he hit Danny in the back of his knees with the staff, that was now glowing. He fell to the ground.

As Freakshow started to chew Danny out and bully him back into submission, Valerie looked around.

The room was a huge ballroom of sorts,maybe the town hall building or something, that Freakshow had brought a throne into. There were ghosts lining the walls and every single exit, so even if they were able to figure out how to break free form the goo holding them, there's no way they would be able to break out of the room. They were outnumbered and out-powered. Hell, even if it was just Danny their chances would still be pretty slim.

Freakshow didn't spend to much time on Danny. Once he was done, he turned back to them, all on their knees in a neat little line.

"I want to celebrate your deaths," he said. He grinned from ear to ear, showing off his yellow teeth. "After all, getting rid of my greatest enemy's friends? That is quite an accomplishment. It'll be a performance. Bigger than the Fourth of July! We'll do it in the park where the whole town will be able to see! You and those other ghost hunters better start saying your goodbyes."

He threw his head back and cackled, waving his hands in their general direction. Before any of them had any time to react, bags were shoved over their heads, and they were forced down some halls and into a cold, dark room. Then the bags were taken off, and the goo disappeared.

Valerie looked around. The walls were cement, and there was a brand new bench hanging on the must have just been put in. But it wasn't the bench that concerned Valerie. It was the people on it, who made her skin crawl. She could feel the bile in her throat, the red in her vision as she stared at them. It was like her whole body was so aware of itself that it was numb.

She lunged for them, but Sam and Tucker were quick to hold her back. The Avengers were startled, to say the least. They had never seen Valerie so quick to maul anybody before.

"Of course you would be here, you fucking cowards!" She snarled at the couple.

"Now dear, that's no way to talk to your in-laws," the woman in the teal jumpsuit said.

"In-laws?" Tony looked at the couple, who Valerie was glaring daggers at. If looks could kill. "I didn't know Danny still had parents. He's never mentioned them. Like, ever."

"They lost the right to call him their son when they strapped him to that table," Valerie snarled, not breaking her eye contact with Jack and Maddie Fenton. Sam and Tucker were each holding an arm, but judging from the looks on their faces, they had half a mind to set Valerie free.

At her words, Tony's eyes widened. Steve saw how his skin was suddenly pale at the thought of Danny strapped down to a table.

"Strapped down to a table? Was it for medical purposes?" Thor asked. "That's what the doctors had to do to me when I first arrived on Midgard."

"No, Thor," Sam explained, an edge to her voice. She was looking down at the floor, and her knuckles were white. "They hunt ghosts. They…"

"They experimented on him," Valerie said quietly. She was no longer fighting Sam and Tucker, but they still held onto her. "As soon as they found out, they pretended to be okay with it. And then they strapped him down. And when they were done they sold him to the Guys in White."

"Guys in White? I thought they were disbanded?" Tony said.

"Danny is why they got disbanded. This all happened almost ten years ago. They're the reason Danny hasn't stepped foot in Amity in that long."

"Don't try to act like you know what you're talking about, Valerie," Jack said with a wave of his hand. "Our son is an abomination, and will be treated as such."

Sam and Tucker didn't even try holding Valerie back this time. They let her lunge for Jack, pinning his large body against the wall. Her arm was on his throat, pressing down enough to scare him. They knew she wasn't going to kill him, but he didn't.

"Danny is the bravest man alive or dead, and if you go near him ever again I will personally tear you limb from limb." Her voice was low and threatening, and she paid no attention to Maddie trying to pry her off. Sure, Maddie knew martial arts, but so did Valerie. And she had twice as much muscle as Maddie, so it didn't really affect her.

What did though was a pair of strong arms around her waist pulling her away from Jack. She half fought, half let herself be dragged away from him.

"Listen," Steve said as he set her down. "As much as I want to tear them apart myself, we have to focus. Danny and the rest of the ghosts are in trouble, and we need to figure out a way to get out of here before Freakshow takes over the whole world." Valerie didn't meet his eyes. She just glared at Jack, who was rubbing his throat. Steve grabbed her shoulder and pulled her around, getting her to focus on him.

"We are outnumbered and outgunned. You said they hunt ghosts? Unfortunately that'll come in handy. But when we free Danny and fix everything we can make sure that they're taken care of. Deal?"

Valerie looked at him for a long time. Her face was stony, but her eyes held an untamed rage he had never seen in her before. He knew that she would hold him to that promise. And he hoped that his expression told her he was going to follow through with it if it was the last thing he ever did.

"Deal. But they better sleep with one eye open."

"You're a heathen, just like your husband," Maddie said. "Being around ghosts all the time certainly has changed you."

"They've got more humanity than you," Valerie shot back. She moved to the other side of the room, which was starting to get really crowded, and sat down against the wall.

"I think that once we get Danny free, the other ghosts will break free, too."

Everybody looked at Sam as she spoke. She was still standing next to Tucker on the other side of the room, but Valerie could tell that her guard and determination were up.

"Danny and I have a theory that we've never really been able to test. We think that the ghosts take on their king's personality. Back when Pariah was king they were constantly breaking into our world and wreaking havoc, but ever since Danny became king they've really chilled out a lot. He's even friends with some of his former enemies. So even if we can't get to the staff, we can still break Danny free. That'll give us a major advantage anyway since he's the strongest ghost there is."

"That sounds like a solid place to start," Tony said, "But how are we going to get through the ghosts?"

Valerie sighed and looked at her suit. She knows it's a long shot, but she's basically the only one suited up enough to face them and have a chance. It confused her. Danny knows about her suit, and all of the hidden compartments and weapons it can pull out. Why didn't he say anything? Is this a sign of him fighting for control? What Freakshow did to him in the ballroom was because he was breaking his control.

"With my suit I probably can. It's risky, but I'm the only one that'll be able to get past them without getting possessed or something," she told them.

"Then let's strategize," Tucker told them. As they sat down in a circular shape, the Fenton parents reluctantly joining them per Natasha's orders, Valerie took a deep, calming breath, to center herself, and to focus.

Danny's still in there somewhere, and Valerie was gonna do everything in her power to get him back. Because soon, she wasn't going to be the only one to need him.