Chapter 4

Danny checked the sticky note Tucker had written up for him as he made his way through downtown Elmerton. The city always gave him the heebie jeebies, to coin one of Poindexter's favorite phrases. Looking at the empty shops along the sidewalk, he knew the feeling was mostly because he was lucky enough to live in Amity Park. Its neighboring city had a higher crime rate and a higher poverty rate, Danny remembered, as he passed an elderly man pushing a stolen Walmart cart full of mostly blankets as far as he could see. He shoved the sticky note in his jeans pocket, wishing he had flown to the coffee shop Valerie had picked out for their meeting.

Finding Café 143, the shop taking its name from its address, Danny walked in and quickly took in the interior as the smell of harsh coffee assaulted his nose. There were a few tables and chairs by the door where a couple of people worked on laptops. Farther in were more plush chairs, none matching, and a few holding stains from past patrons. Not seeing Valerie in the dark coffee shop, he walked up to the counter and quickly ordered a cold strawberry drink from the teen manning the register. He moved towards the end of the counter to wait for his drink, giving a glance to a few patrons close by only to receive a glare from the twenty-something sitting closest to the door. He gave the man a polite smile before turning back to the counter to watch them blending up his drink.

Someone poked his shoulder, turning him to look farther into the coffee shop, only to jump at seeing Valerie. "How'd you-?" Danny started to ask, noticing a glint of amusement in her brown eyes.

"Grab your drink, I got us seats in the back," Valerie said, pointing across herself to a dark corner lit only by a three bulb lamp pointing towards the ceiling.

Danny looked back at the counter to see his strawberry milkshake-looking drink was ready with whipped cream and a straw. Picking it up, he quickly followed the girl to where two arm chairs sat, facing one another, with a side table between them. He sat in the unoccupied one facing the black wall at the back of the café, looking at his drink as he tried to figure out where to start. He sat the drink on the table and rested his elbows on his knees as he looked up at her through his bangs. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" Valerie asked coldly, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Everything," Danny said, sitting up. "For knowing your secret and not telling you. For not telling you mine. For getting you mixed up with Dani and Vlad. For not being able to stop Cujo and wrecking your stuff. Am I missing anything?"

"You got most of it," Valerie said with a curt nod. She relaxed her arms to cross her stomach as she added, "So you gonna tell me the whole story?"

"What do you wanna know?" Danny asked, surprised it was going this smoothly. He picked up his drink and took the first sip, liking what he tasted.

"Probably more than what we should be talking about here," Valerie admitted, glancing past Danny towards the rest of the café. She turned her eyes back on Danny as she asked, "How long… for all three of you?"

"Vlad's been…" Danny glanced over his shoulder, gauging how close the next person to them was, before looking back at Valerie. "His accident was twenty-two years ago, mine was almost two years ago, and Dani was only a few months ago."

"What… exactly is Dani?"

Danny took a sip, contemplating what to tell her. He hadn't even offered up his ideas to his friends or sister. "Vlad claimed she was my clone," Danny started. "Right before she appeared, there had been a few clones…" His voice fell from him as an involuntary shiver ran down his spine. "They weren't done or something. One was just a soul, another just a skeleton. I didn't even know what I was fighting because once they were weak, they melted. Dani was a part of that line. The one after her probably was perfect but he melted too."

"Why did he melt if he was-" Valerie started to ask only to stop herself.

"His chamber got opened before he was done," Danny admitted, replaying its last moments in his mind's eye.

Valerie sat silent for a moment before asking, "Than why's she a girl?" Her eyebrows furled as she added, "She is a girl, right?"

"She says she's a girl," Danny said, slightly confused. "Either way, the fact she's a girl makes me have questions. I don't know enough about cloning but what I've been able to look up she shouldn't be a girl."

"This, um, might be a bit personal," Valerie started, turning to look towards the counter. "Was there a spell you had, uhm, thought about being a girl? Maybe when you were a kid?"

"I mean, I had a spell where I wanted to prove I could wear Jazz's dresses," Danny said, his face heating up at admitting to something no one outside of his close family knew. "But that was because I was told I wasn't supposed to." His brows increased as he tried to figure out what Valerie was inferring to only for his eyes to widen. "You mean-"

"If she is, it's her secret," Valerie said, turning back towards Danny with both hands up to stop him. "But it's been something I've questioned since I learned she was Phan- your clone."

"I'm surprised she told you she was," Danny offered, taking a sip.

"We've gotten close," Valerie admitted with a ghost of a smile.

"I'm glad. She needs a better influence in her life," Danny said quietly, realizing he didn't know much about what his "cousin" did away from Amity Park. Wanting to change the subject, Danny looked back at the girl across the small table and said, "Anyway, I wanted to talk ghosts with you."

Valerie's features hardened, her eyes turning cold, as she said, "I'm done."

"What?!"

Valerie leaned on her knees, looking down at her shoes, as she admitted, "I started ghost hunting so I could kill you. I broke up with you so I could kill you. Vlad used that hatred I had built up against me."

"But you didn't know-"

"Does that excuse me!?" Valerie hissed, raising her head to stare down the boy in front of her.

Danny let her stare a moment, Valerie lowering her head again as the two sat in silence. "Didn't he pay you as promised?" Danny asked in a whisper.

"Yes, but that's not the point," Valerie mumbled.

"Look, Valerie," Danny started, getting her to look up at him. "I know you've got the deed to a house in Amity Park. Move in. He's not gonna come back. He's stuck in space, he can't hurt you."

"You don't get it," Valerie said, shaking her head as she hastily reached into her pocket to pull out a folded piece of mail. She threw it to the table and added, "That house is covered in blood and ectoplasm. Yours and Dani's and anyone else I hurt thinking Vlad was right."

"You didn't know the truth then," Danny tried. "I mean, who would even guess it? This town only just got used to ghosts, no one's gonna think halfas exist. Anyway, you know me, I don't know how to hold a grudge."

Danny gave the girl a moment, watching her stare at the envelope still slightly folded on the table. "Didn't you like ghost hunting?"

"Yeah, I kinda did," Valerie admitted, a smile pulling at her lips as she looked up at Danny. The smile quickly fell as she added, "But most of that was against you."

"Forget it," Danny said, wiping his hand across as if to wipe the past away. "If it makes you feel better, I liked knowing if I was decommissioned for any reason, the town was still protected. I trust you because you do your jobs well. Shoot, you remember that flower baby project we had?"

"Don't remind me," Valerie said, turning her eyes away.

"I knew about your ghost hunting then, just not your jobs till afterwards," Danny continued. "I was impressed. Here I was, trying to just balance ghost, school, and life and you were doing better with more on your plate."

"Didn't have much of a choice," Valerie mumbled.

Danny leaned forward and put his hand on the envelope. Sliding it towards her side of the table, he looked at her and said, "Take the house. If anything, feel like it's a gift to your dad. He could use a break in life." Danny released the envelope and leaned back, letting her pick back up her mail before adding, "And if it makes you feel better, I'd like to have you on my team."

"Your team?" Valerie asked, holding the folded mail in both hands.

"Jazz calls it the Ghost-Getters or Team Phantom," Danny said with a laugh. The laugh faded as he added with more seriousness, "Something's going on in the Ghost Zone. Right now they're still on the Disasteroid Truce but I've heard talk and rumors that I don't like. I'd feel more prepared with you helping."

"I was wondering if it was official or not," Valerie said more to herself. Her eyes focused on Danny as she asked, "Anything specific I'm supposed to be looking for?"

"Does that mean you'll help?" Danny asked.

"I can't exactly get rid of the suit," Valerie pointed out. As if to prove her point, she raised her left arm horizontal and waved her right hand over her wrist to bring up a holographic-looking screen. Turning it to show Danny the side that showed information he quickly saw it gave a blueprint layout of the line of shops the coffee shop was a part of. Dots varying in hues of red represented people around her, him being just slightly pinker than most on screen.

Valerie quickly flicked her wrist, deactivating the screen, and rested her arm back in her lap. "As long as you'll have me, I'll join."

"We'll need to compare notes and powers one of these days," Danny said, finding he didn't realize she had control of her suit in such a manner. "My biggest concern right now is July 3rd through the 14th."

"When have the ghosts kept a calendar?" Valerie asked with a raise of an eyebrow.

"No, I'll be in Sandusky, Ohio," Danny said with a laugh. "Man, I kinda wish the ghosts would get on a schedule."

"I can't remember the last time you left for a trip," Valerie realized aloud.

"You probably wouldn't," Danny realized. "Maybe shortly after I got my powers and my family forced me into camping?"

"So what're you doing those weeks?" Valerie asked.

"The chief director of NASA's Glenn Research Center was there at the Pole," Danny explained. "Because of the whole thing, the government's got me doing tests all over the place but NASA'll be the only ones that focus on both sides."

"I hope they're not…" Valerie couldn't finish her sentence, bringing up two years of fears Danny had held of his own parents.

"Mom's coming with me, and the chief director's already made sure we know he doesn't have any tests like that," Danny informed quickly, his turn to hold out his hands and drink in defense. Dropping his hands back down he added, "It seems like they'll be seeing what of ecto-power they might add to propulsion and I know they plan to use the wind tunnels. They've also got the largest vacuum facility so they wanna use that too."

"I'm sure you're thrilled," Valerie said with a smile. "You always talked about wanting to go into the space program."

Danny smiled, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. "With my grades, this is my one shot at getting in."

"Well, good luck," Valerie offered.

"I hope to see you before I leave," Danny said, hearing finality in her voice. "Tuck and I're wondering if you wanted to join us at Floody Waters- my treat."

"Your new girlfriend gonna be alright with that?" Valerie asked.

"She'll probably be paying for it," Danny admitted with a laugh. "Tucker's already put it on his calendar for next Saturday."

"That's a sentence I never believed I'd hear," Valerie laughed. "At least for a few more years."

Danny took the last sip of his drink, getting mostly whipped cream through his straw. "Just let me know if you wanna go. I know with work you've got more to deal with," he offered, sitting the empty cup on the table. He froze as a cold air left his lungs, frosted by his ghostly core. At the same time a double beep came from Valerie, the girl quickly bringing back up the holographic panel above her left wrist.

"Come on," Valerie said, dispersing the panel as she jumped to her feet.

Danny quickly followed her, surprised to see her leading him down a dark hallway deeper in the café. "But the ghost's at the front."

"And the bathroom's here," Valerie said, pulling open a door. "Get in, they've only got the one."

Danny came to a halt beside the girl, giving a glance in the small one person bathroom.

"Get in," Valerie hissed, grabbing hold of his shoulder to push him in as she threw a glance behind him. Following him in, she flicked the light on and pulled shut the door.

Danny caught his balance and turned towards the girl. Felling self-conscious, he gripped his hands tight in fists at his side and silently let the lights travel over himself as he tried to watch without being too obvious. He didn't know that her suit grew out from her limbs to cover her and was surprised to feel a ghostly presence from her. It dissipated as her helmet encased her hair, almost making him second guess himself. Pushing the thought away, he grabbed her wrist and quickly went intangible. Giving her the blue tingly feeling, he looked up and flew them upwards. As soon as her feet came through the roof he let go, trusting her to activate her hover board, and let go of the feeling.

Floating towards the street and front of the line of shops, he peeked over the edge as his ghost sense went off again. Looking towards his right, he quickly took in what had maybe been a type of rodent at one point standing on the neighboring shop's roof. It raised its glowing green front paws with long claws as it gave out a high pitched cry. Raising a hand, he let out a plasma blast to knock back the ghost rodent.

It fell on its back, floating a few inches above the roof. The sound of something metallic forming a moment before a red net overcame the rodent. It let out a panicked cry before being sucked into a type of Fenton Thermos coming out of Valerie's wrist. It quickly retracted back into her suit as she turned to Danny and asked, "What on Earth was that?"

"Elemental," Danny said, dropping to his feet. Valerie let the hover board disappear into her shoes, coping him to land on the tar covered roof top, the visor hiding her face from him. "The Disasteroid created them. I've been trying to bring them to a part of the Ghost Zone."

"Like an elemental's zoo?" Valerie offered, tilting her head.

"Sam calls it a post-nature reserve," Danny said with a smile. "She found this patch of the 'Zone that's basically a forest."

"That sounds like her," Valerie said, looking at the wrist the thermos belonged to. Looking back at him she admitted, "I don't know where this sends them to."

"Oh, so it's like the Fenton Bazooka," Danny realized.

"The what?"

Danny shook his head, not bothering to explain, and said, "Let Tucker take a look. He might be able to figure it out."

"They know?" Valerie asked, panic in her voice.

"Sam figured it out, she told me and Tucker," Danny admitted. "I don't think we ever told Jazz but she knows."

"And you're the reason Daddy knows," Valerie said, malice disappearing as realization took over.

"Sorry about that," Danny tried. "I… I wanted to keep you safe." Danny stared at the girl behind the dark visor, feeling his cheeks grow warm. Quickly he looked out at the street and added, "Jazz calls it my obsession; to keep everyone safe. It's either a ghost's obsession or a hero's complex."

"Rather it be this than anything else," Valerie offered.

Turning back to the Red Huntress, Danny said, "We're not alone anymore. It'll be easier this way."

"Yeah."

"Partners?" Danny held out his hand, hoping to seal the truce like they had done in the past.

Valerie let out a smirk, taking the hand. "Yeah, but I'm not gonna be a Ghost-Getter."

"Talk to Jazz about that," Danny said with a laugh.