WoM- I'M NOT ALONE! 'huggles everyone who agreed with her on the whole shipping thing,' Really, the whole 'shipper' argument drives me nuts! What are we, fans or postal workers? 'shakes head,' Nothing against hard core obsessees, though. I mean, we've all got that one thing we go kooky over. If that's yours, I can respect that completely. Just don't try and force it upon me, or get mad because I don't agree.
Calvin- Dad, how do people make babies?
Dad- Most people just go to Sears, buy the kit and follow the assembly instructions.
Calvin- I CAME FROM SEARS?
Dad- No, you were a Blue Light Special at K Mart. Almost as good, and a lot cheaper.
Calvin- AAUUGHHH!
Mom- (Off panel) Dear, what are you telling Calvin now?
(Calvin and Hobbes, by Bill Watterson)
Setting the Board
"You're a real brat. You know that, right?" Valerie frowned and turned to meet the amused eyes of one of her fellow hunters after she'd shut her locker.
"Lay off, Syrah," She said, crossing her arms. "I'm just doing my job,"
"Yeah well, your job description must've been different then mine," Syrah responded, stretching before standing up. Valerie found herself envying the long, shapely legs that seemed to go on forever.
Despite the fact that Syrah Williams was two years older then Valerie and the fact that Valerie had five years more experience as a Hunter, she and the other girl were close.
Syrah was a very beautiful girl, with a model for a mother and a famous actor for a father. Still, though the family had been very attractive physically, emotionally they were a wreck. This stemmed from the fact that Syrah's father was turned into a vampire when she was five.
For eight years the family struggled with keeping the actor's secret, and Syrah's father struggled with the bloodlust that came with his transformation. Tragically, though, his struggle ended with him killing his wife and Syrah's younger brother. He would've killed Syrah, too, if she hadn't gotten him first.
The whole mess was hastily covered up by those who knew of the supernatural world, and Syrah was thrusted into Vlad's custody. Unlike Valerie, Syrah didn't get along with their guardian. Quite the opposite, the Leader of the Vampire Hunters and the Head of Vlad Co. always seemed to be clashing.
"That's cause you've got the easy job," Valerie said, smirking. Syrah rolled her eyes.
"Right, because anybody can kill a creature that can move faster then light and hypnotize anyone who looks into their eyes." Syrah said dryly.
"Better then fighting something that can't die and who's powers vary between them," Valerie responded, "I even met a time-stopper today,"
"That must've been fun," Syrah said with a grin.
"I didn't have to fight him." Valerie sighed. "But he gave me some weird message and a medallion. I included it all in my report and gave Mr. Masters the recording of the conversation."
"Describe 'weird,'" Syrah said.
"Worse then the time Brent asked you to the movies."
"Yikes," Syrah flinched. "That IS bad… wanna tell me about it over a snack with Chelsea and Denni?"
"Actually, I wanted to get to the gym and do some training," Valerie responded.
"Shocking," Syrah said, rolling her eyes. "Why does it not surprise me that you'd rather beat up narcissistic male newbies then hang out with the gals?"
"It could have something to do with 'the gals' hating my guts," Valerie said dryly with a pointed look at her friend.
"They don't hate you," Syrah said, "…They just really like disliking you. I'm sure there's a difference somewhere."
"Mm-hm…" Valerie rolled her eyes, "Thanks for the invite, but I'm definitely going with the gym option." Syrah shrugged.
"Suit yourself," She said, "Have fun slaughtering egotistical testosterone-filled jerks who don't know any better," Valerie shoot her head as the older girl walked away.
"And people actually wonder why she has trouble getting dates on the weekends…" She said dryly to herself as she walked towards the gym, smirking at some of the looks she got.
Although not up to the same model proportions as Syrah, Valerie knew for a fact that on a scale of one-to-ten, most men in Vlad's company rated her a solid twelve, and it was something she took pride in. After all, she'd worked hard to stay in shape and it was nice to know that it had other benefits then just keeping her alive against the forces of the undead.
Not that the guys ever got the courage to do more then look, though some of the bolder ones would hit on her in the mess hall. Still, several things kept men from ever attempting to get too serious with her, the biggest of which included the fact that she could break their necks before they could blink and that she was widely considered Vlad's 'favorite.'
'Cowards' She snorted disdainfully in her head. The ghost hunter had little respect for those who would not step up when they wanted something. The way she saw it, if that was the attitude they coped, then they deserved exactly what they got; Nothing.
Some of the brave and/or stupid newbies did like to make lewd comments to her and to several other Hunter Girls, but Valerie and a lot of her fellow female hunters (Syrah among them) quickly knocked these men down to their own level and left them to lick their wounds.
Such was made obvious by the path that was cleared for her as soon as she entered the gym, leaving the girl to go where ever she pleased. No one said anything to the girl as she walked towards the battle simulation machines, save a murmured, 'Good Afternoon, Miss Grey,' here and there.
'I repeat; Cowards,' Valerie rolled her eyes. Really, was a guy with a backbone and the skill to back it up that rare now a days…?
"Okay everyone, this is Danny and he's gonna be staying here from now on," Jo told the four kids in front of her. "Danny, these are Dash, Morgan, Trish and Lenny," Danny frowned at the kids, studying them carefully to deem whether or not they'd be a threat.
Dash was a hulking boy, about three times Danny's size and all muscle. His letterman jacket suggested he played a sport, probably either football or wrestling considering his size. Danny was leaning more towards football, though, judging by the way he carried himself. His blue eyes had a rather mean look to them, but he didn't appear to be that intelligent. All in all, Danny had seen worse.
Morgan was a rather bored looking pale girl dressed almost completely in black leather and lace, with short spiky fire truck red hair and at least ten piercings that the half ghost could see. Like Dash, the girl was about his age, maybe a little older. Unlike him, though, she seemed to be fairly competent, if the fact that she was holding a book proclaiming The Complete Works Of Homer in gold across the dark blue cover.
'I'd like to see how those two react to being locked in a room together for a long time,' Danny thought in dry amusement.
Trish was much milder compared to Morgan. A smaller girl with long, straight brunette hair and wide green eyes behind glasses, she seemed like the quiet type. Her clothes were plain, a gray hoodie and loose blue jeans with faded shoe peeking out from under the tattered hemming. She seemed to be off in her own little world though, and wouldn't meet Danny's eyes. Still, looking at her he was oddly reminded of Ghostwriter…
Lenny was a much smaller boy, around twelve or thirteen. He was glaring at Danny in sullen defiance and wary distrust, and the older boy didn't muss the way his hand would twitch involuntarily every now and then, which Danny suspected right away to mean he was a thief of some sort before he'd been shoved into a foster home. Probably a runaway, too.
All and all, Danny didn't have any major problems with this lot. So long as Lenny kept out of his stuff, Dash didn't bother him and Morgan and Trish stayed away, there shouldn't be any issues.
"So you're the new kid, huh?" Morgan said, after Jo had left, glancing Danny over. "Where you from?"
"Here and there," Danny answered. He wasn't about to tell this group about the small hometown he hailed from. Amity Park was miles from where he'd grown up, but word traveled fast now a days, especially when in the form of some of his stories…
"What's your last name?" Lenny asked.
"I don't have one," Danny replied shortly.
"Keh… You look like a wimp!" Dash sneered. Danny merely shrugged.
"What did you do, Anyways?" Morgan asked. "To get in here, I mean?"
"Skipped curfew," Danny answered honestly enough. They didn't need to know all the reasons he was sent to Jo's foster home, after all…
"That's it?" Lenny said, sounding disappointed. "Man, what a loser!"
"I'm a cutter," Morgan said, sounding proud of this fact. "And Lenny's a Klepto Dash is a bully and Trish is just plain psycho." Danny glanced over at Trish again after Morgan said this and found that she still wouldn't meet anyone's eyes.
"Any reason you guys wanna tell me this?" Danny asked, directing the question aft Morgan who seemed to like talking more then the others did.
"Just thought I'd give you fair warning," Morgan responded with a wide grin. Danny rolled his eyes.
"Look, Jo mentioned something about exercise equipment…?" Danny asked. Dash laughed cruelly.
"YOU exercise?" He asked with a sneer. Morgan rolled her eyes.
"Show him, Trish," She ordered the smaller girl, "I've got a killer test tomorrow thanks to Lancer…" Morgan made a face before heading upstairs, Dash and Lenny at her heels.
Danny turned to the last remaining orphan, who still wouldn't meet his eyes even as she led him to the doors to the basement. The half ghost frowned suspiciously as he followed her, wondering what had made Morgan proclaim the girl was crazy.
It was obvious that the pale assertive girl was in charge of everything that went on in the house. Danny had no doubts that both Dash and Lenny were scared of her, which most normal guys probably would be.
'Then again, I haven't been normal in a while,' Danny thought wryly.
"Here," Trish said quietly. "This is where they keep the equipment. You can use it whenever you want," And with that, the girl turned to leave.
It was then that Danny saw the flash of blue that made his hand shoot out to grab the girl's arm. Ignoring her very vocal gasp of shock, the boy studied the mark on the back of her neck, the deep blue circle with blue 'flames' on either side.
"Demons," Danny said, making a face. It didn't surprise him, though. Amity Park was one of the top ten epicenters of Spiritual and Magical forces, one of the reasons he'd chosen to move to the location. It was harder for people to pin point him in such a mass of power.
He hadn't meant to make the observation out loud, and didn't realize his mistake until Trish stiffened in his grasp, finally meeting his eyes with her own wide, stunned look.
"What?" She said, so quietly Danny almost didn't catch it.
"Nothing," The half ghost said, "Never mind. I was just thinking." And with that, Danny walked away towards the punching bag hanging from the ceiling, starting to pound at in a steady rhythm of kicks and punches.
Instead of leaving, Trish followed him, hovering close to the weight machine and watching carefully as Danny worked out, as if expecting him to suddenly blow up the punching bag completely.
'Don't hold your breath,' Danny thought mildly, 'I save the ecto-blasts for foes who fight back,'
"You know them, don't you," Trish asked after a good two hours of silence, her voice a little shaky, "You know about the things that put this on me. The ones that killed my mom," Danny frowned.
That explained a lot. This girl's family must've been murdered by demons, and she was marked as someone's 'property,' a human life force for a powerful demon to feed off of.
He didn't know too much about demons, ghosts were his field of expertise, but he did know the girl was in danger of dying before she hit twenty if she didn't find a way to cast the mark off, whether by the death of the demon that marked her or just having a stronger will then him.
After considering things for a while, he decided he could be a little more honest with this girl. After all, she must've tried to tell someone the truth if she was considered crazy, and such a mocking blow would keep her from trying anything of the sort again.
"No," Danny grunted as he hit the bag, "I don't. But I've met others like them, and I know they exist."
"Are you…" Trish swallowed, "Did they kill your family, too?" Danny frowned, stopping to let the bag swing to a rest.
"No," He answered quietly, "My family killed me,"
And, before the girl could ask him to elaborate, Danny left, going invisible as soon as he knew no one was around to see…
"You can't be serious," Skulker scowled at the man in front of him, who didn't look at all fazed at his temper.
"You heard Clockwork's prophecy," Vlad Masters responded airily, "You expect me to allow this opportunity to pass me by?" This clearly was not the answer Skulker was looking for.
"I've been hunting that boy for nearly a year now with no success, you expect me to believe one of your second rate HUMAN hunters can capture a prey that has eluded me? Skulker, the greatest-!"
"I know your pedigree," Vlad cut the ghost off. "And Valerie is far from second rate. She's been personally trained by me and provided with the best weapons and equipment money can buy. What's more, she's also fairly competent compared to most girls her age, if a little too trusting of the human race."
"She's still only human," Skulker growled, "Take all that away and your precious hunter girl is nothing! Besides, when she finds out what you've done…"
"Perhaps," Vlad shrugged, "Hopefully, I'll be able to dispose of her before it comes to that if it ever does, but for now I have use of her talents." Vlad glanced up as his three vultures flew into the room through the wall, "Ah, there you are. Well?"
"He cut the call off before we got the exact location," One of them admitted, "But we did manage to narrow it down to the city he's in,"
"And…?" Vlad pressed, annoyed.
"Amity Park," Vlad sighed, a mixture of annoyance and admiration passing over his face.
"Clever," He admitted, "It will be difficult to find him in a city that size, with that much power in it…" Deep in though, Vlad waved his workers away, "That's all. And Skulker? Disobey my orders and you will face the consequences…" Skulker scowled but said nothing as he disappeared with the vultures.
Vlad sighed. While the help his ghosts provided him with was less expensive and more useful, it also meant putting up with their odd quirks and habits, which included Skulker's desire to kill anything rare and hang it's skin on his wall and the odd personalities and old fashion views of the vultures.
"Gloria," He said into a microphone on his desk, deciding to get back to the matter at hand, can you call Valerie in? I have a special mission I want to discuss with her…"
"Right away, Mr. Masters." His secretary responded. Vlad smirked as he flipped the switch to turn the mike off.
'We'll see who comes out victorious this time, Daniel…' He thought to himself with a light chuckle.
"You wanted to see me, Mr. Masters?" Valerie asked, standing at attention.
She was a little disappointed to be called away from her fight, but her eagerness to help her guardian surpassed that desire to beat the new jerk who felt her up into a bloody non-breathing pulp.
"Yes, Valerie, I have a very important job for you," Vlad said as he stood. "Tell me, have you ever heard of the ghost called Danny Phantom?"
"Only from that ghost I met today," Valerie admitted. While she could name off every ghost in her territory and list their age, ID numbers, powers and threat levels, she never read up too much on ghosts in other hunter's precincts.
"Well, I'm sure you've heard of Pariah Dark, have you not?" Valerie's eyes widened.
"Yes, sir," She said. What ghost hunter hadn't heard of the infamous all powerful King of Ghosts?
"Danny Phantom is the ghost that resealed Pariah when he was freed from his sarcophagus by means we have yet to fully comprehend." Vlad said smoothly. "Despite the fact that he's been a ghost for less then a year now," Valerie gasped.
"H-he can do that when he's still that new?" Valerie asked.
"Surprising, isn't it?" Vlad asked, "Which is why I want you to capture him."
"Me?" Valerie repeated, smiling and blushing slightly, "You really think I can beat him, Sir?"
"Of course!" Vlad said with a wide grin, "You're the best hunter I've ever seen, Valerie, and I know you'll do a fantastic job. You have my full and complete confidence," Valerie's blush darkened.
"I-I don't know what to say…" she said shyly, before her face hardened into a determined look and she saluted her guardian, "I won't let you down, sir!"
"No," Vlad said, a strange look passing over his face, "I don't expect you will…" Then he smiled widely again, "At any rate, Phantom's a wandering ghost, and he was last spotted in the city of Amity Park. I'll send you there tonight, and enroll you into a local high school so you can better gather information. You won't start attending until next Monday, though, which gives you time to settle in."
"I understand, sir," Valerie said, "I'll do my best to make you proud." And, with one final salute, Valerie left.
Vlad's mouth curled into a predatory grin as he watched the door close behind her.
'Too easy…'
WoM- If you haven't figured it out by now, Vlad's a major baddie in this one. It'll probably get a little darker then my other stories, do, too, so be warned. Now, with nothing further to say, I bid you a fond adieu!
Thanks to;
epobbp
Light Dragon SunsSong
SummersSixEcho
Lumias
KatieKumquat
misaoshiru
My Eternal Facade
Fuzzytoesocks
PhantomKat7
Tetsukon
Anne Camp aka Obi-quiet
StarCherrieQueen
Firefury
Beyond the Inferno
ur1crazedupfruitloop
Worker72
Petitio Principii
Next update; February 12th
See you then!
ATTENTION!
As I'm sure most of you are already aware, Nick is threatening to cancel Danny Phantom after just three seasons.
Naturally, I'm one of the people fighting to keep Danny Phantom running, so I beg you to send in letters with my own to the following address;
Cyma Zharghami or Marjorie Cohn
Nickelodeon
or1515 Broadway
New York, New York
10036
USA
Attention: Programming.
And to sign the petitions I have posted on my profile won't let me up the link here.)
And don't forget to spread the word! With your help, we can save Danny!