WoM- 'Laughing,' It's great that this story got such a positive response! Here's the second chapter, I hope you guys enjoy it as much as you did the first! Oh, and for everyone who's interested, I've started a new C2. It's called Hunter Girl, and it's for Valerie. I've invited a few of you who I thought might be interested to join, and everyone else is welcome if they want to sign up. She needs all the support she can get from her fans!
Danny: (After seeing Valerie hiding under table next to him) Find your own hiding spot. I've got dibs on under the nerds playing nerd poker.
Valerie: Ease up, Fenton. You're not the only one who needs to hide, you know.
Nathan: (Holding picture of Valerie) Valerie, where are you! There's only three years until senior prom! Why won't you say yes!
Chapter 2; Hunting for Patience
"Yes, Mr. Lancer?" Valerie said as she stood awkwardly by her teacher's desk. Lancer frowned at her, worry shining in his eyes.
"I've been meaning to speak with you for a while, Miss Grey," he started, "I've become concerned about you lately."
"I'm fine, Mr. Lancer," Valerie said at once.
"Are you?" Lancer pressed, "This year you started off as one of my best students. Then your grades took a decline, you stopped handing homework in… I understand that you need your after school job, but if it's really cutting into your schoolwork so much, perhaps you should reconsider your responsibilities to yourself and your father and cut back on your hours or quit, so you can focus on your homework a bit more," Then, in a dry voice, Mr. Lancer added, "Unless you want to work at Nasty Burger for the rest of your life…" Valerie couldn't stop her flinch here.
"I'd love to, Mr. Lancer, but I can't," She said honestly, "I need the money,"
"More then you need a good education?" Mr. Lancer shot back. Then he sighed. "Valerie, you're a bright girl, I know that and so do you, but no self-respecting college will take in a student that doesn't look good on paper."
"I'll work harder, Mr. Lancer," Valerie promised.
"Hard work isn't the problem. You work hard enough," Mr. Lancer scolded, "And it may be too late. The project you were supposed to present today was worth 40 of your grade for this semester. A 40 you needed to pass, by the way." Valerie's heart skipped a beat.
"I didn't know it was worth that much!" Valerie exclaimed.
"Yes, well I believe you were in the bathroom when the class was told," Lancer sighed thoughtfully. "Miss Sanchez promised to fill you in later…" Valerie fumed silently at that, not doubting the Latino had done it on purpose as retribution for their latest Phantom good/evil argument.
Still, it was partially her fault too. She was the one skipping class to hunt ghosts, after all. When ghosts came to school, there was always more of a chance of Phantom showing up, so nothing in this world, Lancer's project included, could keep her from chasing the ghosts down.
'Nor should it,' The voice came back, as it always did when she was stressed or confused. 'What's more important, the lives of innocent people, including your father, and a chance for revenge or a mere English project?'
"She never told me." Valerie said, working to keep accusation out of her tone. She didn't want to sound like a whiney little tattle tale. After all, she could handle it…
"That's beside the point though, Valerie," Mr. Lancer aid sternly, "You've still had ample opportunity to ask me any questions and work on your project." Valerie shifted. She hated it when teacher pulled that 'Your responsibility is your own' crap. As far as she was concerned, she had enough responsibilities as it was.
'You don't need him chastising you for saving his life. Let him know you have everything under control.'
"I didn't think of that and I'm sorry," Valerie said shortly. "Thank you for your concern, Mr. Lancer, but if that's all you wanted to tell me…"
"Actually, it isn't," Mr. Lancer said, stopping her, "I was wondering, Miss Grey, if you were interested in some extra credit."
"What kind of extra credit?" Valerie asked, pushing the voice back as it protested.
"If you complete this one little task, it will be as if you received an 84 on your project." Lancer answered. Valerie blinked. A B? A B was good. Very good. "But-"
"I'll do it!" Valerie cut him off, "I don't care what it is, I'll do it!" Mr. Lancer looked startled at her vigor, then smiled.
"Very good, Miss Grey," He said, standing up, "follow me," Valerie did so, finding the halls eerily quiet in their presently abandoned state.
"So, what is this project, anyways?" Valerie asked, "A book report? A thesis paper?" She shuddered a little at the thought of the latter.
"No, nothing like that." Mr. Lancer assured her. "Though you may wish it were," Valerie frowned, not liking the sound of that. Mr. Lancer smiled at her grimly as he opened the door to the teacher's lounge.
"Uncle Ritchiiiiiiiiiie!" A loud voice that had the teenage girl cringing whined. "What TOOK you so long!" Valerie blinked.
Standing in front of her, pouting for all she was worth was a younger girl. She looked to be around nine or ten, with her shoulder length black hair done up in a side ponytail and glittery flower burettes. She wore a dark blue shirt that read ANGEL in a curly, glittery yellow script and flair bottom blue jeans with baby blue and white shoes.
Her green eyes flashed angrily at the overweight bald English teacher, who sighed and cringed ever so slightly.
"Sorry, Heather," He said in a slightly pained voice, "I was merely held up for a bit…" Heather ignored him after the apology, Valerie's presence catching her attention.
"Who's she?" Heather demanded. Before Valerie could answer, a suddenly very happy Mr. Lancer cut her off.
"This Heather, is Miss Valerie Grey," He told the girl, "She's a student of mine, and she'll be watching you as I attend The Annual Teacher Spring Bash,"
Heather blinked. Valerie blinked. And together, their voices raised in one stunned, angry protest.
"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?"
"God, are you done here yet?"
Valerie scowled at the girl through the mask of the Nasty Ned Mascot. Heather scowled right back, even though she didn't see Valerie's expression.
"Look, I don't get off work for another hour, okay?" She snapped, "Now shut up and sit still!"
"Because it's really so much fun to watch an older girl make an idiot of herself knowing you have to spend an entire weekend with her…" Heather muttered, slouching in her seat outside the Nasty Burger. Valerie shot the girl an evil look.
They hadn't been together on their own for two hours yet, and already neither girls could stand one another. Valerie still couldn't believe she'd been tricked into doing this so easily by her teacher…
"But Mr. Lancer, I can't baby-sit your niece!" She protested. Heather turned her glare from her uncle to the older girl.
"BABY-SIT?" She hissed, glowering at Valerie. "I'm nine and a half, I don't NEED to be baby-sat! Especially not by someone like YOU!"
"Girls!" Mr. Lancer said loudly, getting their attention, "You have to understand, Miss Grey, that I'm responsible for the entertainment on the Weekend getaway to Bluff Peek Beach. My sister sent Heather down last minute, and it will be impossible for me to get her a ticket last minute."
"I don't need to be baby-sat!" Heather repeated louder, "I'm nine and a half, I can take care of myself just fine, Uncle Ritchie!"
"You're not staying on your own for an entire weekend." Mr. Lancer dismissed at once.
"A weekend?" Valerie repeated, "Mr. Lancer, I have work!"
"Take Heather with you," Mr. Lancer reasoned, "It will be good for her to see how hard work pays off. Who knows, you may both learn something from each other."
"But Mr. Lancer-!"
"If I raise it to a B+ will you do it, Valerie?" Valerie faltered, then glanced at the girl.
"…Make it an A and we've got a deal," She said firmly.
"A-," Mr. Lancer bargained.
"Deal," Valerie sighed.
"Excellent," Mr. Lancer smiled, "Her bags are in the car. I'll drive you two to your house, Valerie." Valerie glanced at the clock and bit back a curse.
"Uh, actually, can you take us straight to the Nasty Burger?" She asked him.
"Very well," Mr. Lancer smiled. "Like I said, I think you two may learn something from one another…"
'…I should've stuck it out for an A,' Valerie thought sourly as she took her break, 'That's the only thing that MIGHT be worth this kind of embarrassment…'
"Having fun?" a familiar voice asked teasingly. Valerie rolled her eyes.
"Haha, Danny," She said dryly, "Any chance you could kill me and end the suffering?" Danny laughed.
"That bad a day, huh?" He said, sitting across from her. Valerie rolled her eyes.
"You have NO idea…" She grumbled, glaring out the window to the outside, where Heather was still sitting.
"Then I guess it's a good thing I caught you," Danny grinned, "Remember when we had to do that lame obstacle course in Gym together?" He asked. Valerie smiled slightly, remembering the three-legged obstacle course he was referring to.
"Of course," She answered. "We finished first, and Sam and Tucker got tangled in the climbing net and Paulina nearly killed Dash for making her break a nail." Valerie was almost surprised at how easy it was to work with Danny on that. They seemed to be able to read off of each other and work together, much like she and the Ghost boy had when facing Skulker.
"Good memories, but not what I where I was going with that," Danny said, bemused, "I was talking about what we were talking about during the course." Valerie frowned, trying to remember. "We found out we both like Linkin Park," Danny supplied.
"Oh, yeah!" Valerie said. Then she raised an eyebrow. "What's that got to do with anything?" Danny slid an envelope across the table, and Valerie opened it and gasped. "These… These are…"
"Tickets for the concert." Danny said triumphantly. Then he made a face. "And you have no idea how hard it was to get them." Valerie screamed in delight, throwing her arms around a very surprised Danny.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She said happily. Then, she backed away. "But what about Tucker and Sam?" She didn't want to mention the two, not now, but she absolutely had to know.
"Sam already left," Danny said, "And Tucker's gonna be gone tomorrow afternoon, and since the concerts at eight…" Danny shrugged, "Besides, it'll be fun to do something with just the two of us for once." Valerie couldn't contain her glee. A concert with Danny AND no Sam and Tucker glaring at her the whole time? Score! "So? Can you come?"
"I-!" Valerie stopped dead, her smile melting as Heather stormed into the Nasty Burger. She sighed mournfully, "I can't," Danny looked surprised and a little hurt, so Valerie quickly amended that with, "It's not that I don't want to, it's just…"
"Look, If I'm gonna have to sit here alone, we better be doing something fun later!" Heather snapped, interrupting her. Valerie glared at her like she was the cause of everything miserable that'd ever happened to her. Which actually would be an honest interpretation if by 'entire life' you went by the last two hours.
"Danny, Heather," Valerie said in monotone, "Heather, Danny. I've got to watch her for the weekend, Danny. Sorry,"
"That's okay," Danny said, giving her a reassuring smile.
"Can you find someone else to go?" Valerie pressed. Danny shrugged.
"Like I said, Sam and Tuck are gone, Jazz hates any music that was made after 1990 and I doubt anyone else around here would be interested." He said. Valerie flinched.
"Sorry…" She repeated guiltily.
"You look familiar…" Heather said to Danny, frowning at him. "Do I know you from somewhere?" Danny shook his head.
"Don't think so," He said, looking puzzled.
"Danny's in your uncle's class with me," Valerie said shortly, irritated at having to include the girl in the conversation.
"Uncle?" Danny repeated blankly.
"Mr. Lancer," Valerie clarified. Danny flinched.
"Lancer's niece?" He said incredulously to Heather, "Ouch. Bet you've gotten dusty books no one's ever heard of for ever Christmas and Birthday since the beginning of time." Heather smiled.
"Yep!" She said wryly. "And THEN he goes and sticks me with her while he's off vacationing on a beach!" Valerie and Heather glared at each other, making Danny laugh.
"Well, I better go before Jazz calls out the National Guard," he said as he stood, "I told her I'd only be a few minutes, so she's probably going crazy right now… Nice to meet you, Heather. And Valerie?" The girl tore her eyes away from the nine year old to look at her friend, "Keep the ticket. Who knows, you might be able to come after all…"
"But…" Danny gave her a pointed look as she started to protest, and she could tell that it would be a fruitless battle. "…Thanks Danny," she smiled.
"Later!" Danny said as he left.
"Bye, Danny!" Heather sang, waving to him furiously as he left. "Wow, how'd a girl like you score such a nice boyfriend?"
And just like that, Valerie's good mood was gone.
"First off, Danny's just a friend," Valerie snapped, 'I'm working on the boyfriend part,' "And second, what's THAT to mean?"
"You figure it out," Heather smirked.
"Yo, Grey!" The assistant manager called, "Breaks over, get back in costume!" Valerie glared as Heather's smirk widened.
'Forget what I said before.' She thought sourly to herself, 'NO grade is worth this…'
"Home sweet home…" Valerie sighed as she entered her apartment, flopping down on the couch.
"What a dump!" Heather said, disgusted. Valerie didn't have the energy to turn and glare at the girl, so she scowled at the pillow her face was buried into. "Well, guess I should've expected as much…"
The ghost hunter mumbled something into the pillow many cultures would consider obscene.
Heather was starting to make her very, very happy that she was an only child, with no cousins or even any family besides her dad. And she was also seriously reconsidering her choice of getting married and having a family when she was older. Maybe she could just get a cat or something…
"Cool!" Valerie blinked as she heard Heather breath that word. Cool? What was cool? They didn't have anything in the house a kid might consider cool, except for…
…Oh, no…
"Heather?" Valerie leapt up, all her exhaustion gone in a heartbeat. She paled when she saw her bedroom door (which had been shut when she left for school,) wide open.
Valerie lunged forward, her eyes going wide when she found Heather staring down the barrel of one of her smaller ecto-guns. Acting on instinct, Valerie grabbed the girl away and pulled her from the weapon, just as it misfired into the wall.
"Don't touch that!" Valerie yelled, "Don't touch ANYTHING in my room! More then that, forget you were ever in here!" Heather rolled her eyes.
"Why should I?" She asked defiantly.
"Because I said so and I'm four feet taller then you and in a very, VERY bad mood!" Valerie said, "You've ruined my break enough as it is, I don't need you telling everyone I'm a ghost hunter!" Heather brightened.
"So THAT'S what all this stuff is!" She said loudly, "I thought they were toys or something… Hey! That's Phantom!" Valerie didn't hear Heather's squeal as she rushed to mess with the stuff on Valerie's desk, too stunned to stop her. She suddenly felt like a total idiot… "Wow, you've got a lot of pictures of Phantom…" That had Valerie taking a deep breath to try and calm herself before she did something that completely blew her English grade to Hell.
"Because he's my mortal enemy," She snapped, grabbing the picture the girl was holding, "And didn't I say not to touch my stuff?"
"How can he be your mortal enemy if he's a ghost?" Heather asked, "Ghosts are dead, therefore they've lost all mortality."
"Has anyone ever told you how much you need a life?" Valerie asked dryly as she replaced the picture.
"Like you can talk?" Heather countered, giggling at one picture she found of Phantom among the clutter on Valerie's desk. "Can I have this one? The other girls in the Phan Club would go nuts if they saw this…" She held up a picture Valerie had taken of Phantom leaning against a wall, smirking as something off in the distance.
"NO!" Valerie said, grabbing the picture away, "Do you have any idea how hard these are to take?" Then, she blinked, fully deciphering what Heather had just said, "Wait… Fan Club? What Fan Club?" Heather sighed in annoyance.
"Not Fan, F-A-N," She said as if she found Valerie dumb, "P-H-A-N. It's a Fan Club for Danny Phantom. He's so cool!" This last part was accompanied with much giggling and a day dreamy look.
…Just when Valerie thought she couldn't hate the girl any more…
"He's a ghost," Valerie snapped, "And a menace. And since when was there a Phan Club?"
"Whatever," Heather shrugged. "And the Phan Club's been around for a while now. The President and Phantom's self-acclaimed Number One Fan made it a long time ago, and it got more and more popular as he showed up more often in Amity. I don't even live here and I'm still a member…"
"But any chance would this president be named Paulina Sanchez?"
"Yeah. How'd you know?"
"Call it a lucky guess…" Valerie sighed. Was there anything worst then being stuck with a nine year old brat who had a crush on her archenemy, missing some one-on-one time with Danny AND having her secret revealed to someone outside of her family?
'Bee-Bee-Bee-Bee!'
…Valerie mentally kicked herself for not knowing any better.
"What's that?" Heather asked curiously, reaching for the beeping device.
"Give me that!" Valerie yelled, "And for the last time, Don't touch ANYTHING!" And, with one last glare at the girl, Valerie turned her Ghost Radar on.
"State the Nature of the Disturbance," She order it sharply, trying to ignore Heather's eyes on her. There were a few louder beeping noises as the Radar worked to see if it was truly Valerie's voice.
"Voice matched. Hello, Valerie. Two ghosts detected at South by South-west, 2.54 miles." The device responded in a soothing voice.
"Identify Targets," Valerie commanded.
"Ghost 1; Box Ghost; Level 1 Threat." Valerie sighed in disappointment… "Ghost 2; Danny Phantom Level 9 Threat," …Which quickly turned into a predatory grin.
"I've gotta go!" She called to Heather.
"Me too, me too!" Heather squealed. "I wanna see Phantom!"
"No way," Valerie answered point blank. "You're staying here." Heather scowled before smiling.
"Alright," She said, picking up a phone, "I guess I'll just have to call Uncle Ritchie and tell him about your little side job. I'm sure he'll find it VERY interesting." Valerie froze as she heard the girl start to dial numbers.
"You wouldn't…" She said, narrowing her eyes at the girl. Heather's grin widened.
"Hey Uncle Ritchie!" She said happily as the other end picked up, "It's Heather! Guess what?"
"Alright, alight!" Valerie agreed quickly, panicking, "You can come!"
"I'm having lots of fun with Valerie! You were right, we're learning lots about each other!" Heather finished. "Gotta go, she's taking me out to meet one of her friends. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. I will. Bye!" Valerie glared at the girl as she hung up the phone, looking very satisfied with herself.
"Spoiled brat…" She grumbled as she pushed the button to change into her ghost hunting gear.
"Cool outfit," Heather said, genuinely impressed. Valerie ignored her, triggering her jet sled.
"Let's go," She said, "It won't take Phantom long to get the Box Ghost, and we're wasting time!" Without any signed of hesitation, Heather jump on behind Valerie and secured a grip around her waist, and Valerie took off out her open window, grumbling all the way about evil ghosts and spoiled brats.
Valerie was pleased to see that she had indeed managed to catch up with her target just as Phantom finished sucking the Box Ghost into the Fenton Thermos. How he'd stolen it from the Fentons she had no idea, but seeing it and knowing he HAD stolen it only fueled her anger towards him.
Enough that she 'accidentally misfired' at his head.
Fortunately, (Or unfortunately, depending on your point of view,) Danny had battled a great deal of ghost hunters in his time as Public Ghost Enemy Number 1, and knew the sounds of a charging and firing ecto-gun from a mile away, so he instinctively went intangible before the blast had even cleared the barrel. Recognizing he had a new, greater threat to deal with, Phantom turned to face her, then faltered.
"I see you brought company…" He said, blinking in shock at Heather, who grinned back widely.
"Nice to meet you!" She called out to him, "I'm Heather Grannis, and I've been a huge fan for a long, long time!"
"Save it, Heather," Valerie snapped, "And get off! I might've had to bring you along, but you are NOT getting into this fight,"
"Like I'd want to," Heather said, stepping off to the roof, "Phantom's gonna wipe the floor with you," The ghost in question grinned at that.
"I think I like her…" He said, clearly amused.
"That makes one of us." Valerie countered, "But now that she's out of the way…" Valerie trailed off, finishing her sentence with an ecto-blast Danny had to shoot into the air to avoid. Valerie trailed after him, firing her gun all the way, but Phantom just stayed on the defensive until Valerie left an opening on her left side.
The ghost took advantage of this before she could correct the mistake, firing an energy blast at her. Valerie screamed as she lost control of her jet sled, which took a nosedive. She managed to regain control before she had a painful encounter with Mr. Cement, twisting around so she was facing Danny again, blasting him with her ecto-cannon. She actually caught him off-guard this time and the hit connected, sending him down.
Valerie was hovering above where the boy had fallen when a slim, shiny black box with the insignia CW on it caught her eye. Hesitating only for a moment, Valerie took to the ground and picked the box up.
The box was heavy despite being so small, and second it touched her hands Valerie felt a strange power hum in her veins. It sent chills up her spine, and she was instantly captivated. Her curiosity got the best of her, and she began to trace her thumbs along the edge of the lid…
"Give a guy some warning why don't you?" Valerie jumped at Phantom's sudden statement, wheeling to meet him, the spell that held her captivated breaking instantly. Phantom's sour face paled even more when he saw the box in her hands as she turned. "How did you-?" Phantom twisted to look at his backpack and groaned when he saw the top undone.
"What, this yours?" Valerie said, smirking.
"No," He said shortly, "It's a friends, and he needs it back."
"Too bad for him," Valerie said.
"I'm serious, Valerie!" Phantom said impatiently, "That thing is dangerous for you! Just put it down and walk away before you get hurt."
"And why should I trust you?" Valerie demanded, "I can take care of myself!"
"Maybe you should listen to him," Heather said, frowning as she came alongside Valerie. She'd headed down from the roof after Danny's fall, and came out just in time to hear what was going on, "He knows more about it then you do,"
"Tell me what it is first," Valerie ordered, "Then I might consider it," Danny sighed irritably.
"It's a Ambiguity in Time," Danny said grimly, "And like I said before, it's dangerous."
"What does it do?" Valerie asked, her suspicious tone never faltering.
"I don't know," Danny gritted out, "No one does, not even Clockwork. That's what makes it so dangerous."
"If you don't know, how can you be so sure it's dangerous?" Valerie asked defiantly. She ran her thumbs along the side of the box again, watching Danny's eyes widen.
"Don't!" He shouted. "Clockwork doesn't know what it is, but he does know a bad Ambiguity from a good one,"
"I think you're lying," Valerie accused, "I bet you stole this from some poor human."
"Why would I steal a box?" Danny asked in exasperation.
"Why would you steal the Fenton Thermos?" Valerie countered.
"I didn't steal this!" Danny said defensively.
"And I suppose Jack Fenton just gave it to you?" Valerie asked sarcastically, watching the ghost shift from one foot to the other.
"…Uhh…" Disgust, confidence and pure defiance made Valerie do the most foolish thing she'd ever done in not only her career as a ghost hunter, but also her life.
She opened the box.
"No!" Danny yelled as the lid came off. Heather screamed and stiffened, shielding herself as if she thought monsters would leap from the small black box.
Moments passed with nothing happening. Valerie's grin widened under her mask as Danny look dumbfounded and Heather started to relax.
"See?" She said triumphantly, "I knew you where just-!"
That's when there was a bright flash of red light, cutting off the ghost hunter before she could finish.
WoM- Ah, Valerie, have you learned nothing from poor Pandora…? 'sighs' Next chapter is where things get really interesting. Danny, Valerie and Heather have to fight for their lives in the Ambiguity and try to find a way home before Valerie's mistake comes back to haunt her in a different way then the ghosts she catches.
I'm gonna have lots and lots of fun with Heather in this story. 'laughs evilly,' I firmly believe we all have a Heather we know and are forced to be in contact with in various circumstances. For me she comes in the form of a spoiled cousin I've come close to strangling on many, many occasions. 'grumbles to herself' One of these days, he'll get what's coming to him…
Thanks to;
epobbp
Ginger Guardian Angel
Tetsukon
SummersSixEcho
Rosadina formerly Tima
Anne Camp aka Obi-quiet
phantomgirl07
happyendingsmaybe
Sqweakie the Wonder Mouse
kinguofdoragons
Evilevergreen
CelloSolo2007
My Eternal Facade
Next update; December 19th
See you then!