Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom or any related characters. I only own my OCs.

AN: This story is an AU. It takes place during Danny co.'s senior year. I consider the following:

- Valerie became friends with Team Phantom after D-stabilized

- Phantom Planet did not happen

This is my first try at writing a story, but this particular trope has been sitting in my head for a while. I am open to and would like honest constructive criticism and reviews.

Chapter 2 – We're going where?

Unaware that two members of their unconventional family had just parked outside the school building, Danny, Sam, Tucker, and Valerie were anxiously waiting for the bell to ring, bringing their daily dose of torture – Ahem, education – to an end. The day had started out normal enough with a run-in or two (or ten) with the Box Ghost and dealing with Spectra and Bertrand before breakfast. After convincing half-a-dozen ghostly hens to roost elsewhere than just above the door of the Nasty Burger, they had even managed to get to their homeroom with five minutes to spare. That's when things started to go downhill for the Quartet.

Wanting to catch a few extra minutes of rest, Danny zoned out while Tucker was tinkering with some gadget or other and the girls were discussing the benefits of adding certain modifications to Valerie and Tucker's suits, although anyone else in the room would have been hard pressed to hear them, let alone realise they were having a conversation, because of how low they were speaking. This was due to certain things happening to them over the years.

Some changes were more obvious than others. Danny and Tucker had had quite the growth spurt, so now, at 18 and 17 and a half, they stood at 1,95 m and 1,90 m respectively, although they slouched most of the time to avoid attracting Dash's attention more often than necessary (i.e.: stopping the jock from bullying a freshman). Their musculature had also well developed, but that too was well hidden for obvious reasons with baggy clothing.

Danny usually wore slim blue or black jeans tucked into black combat boots and a long-sleeved white shirt with stylised red flames along the sleeves and a lightweight baggy black zip up hoodie.

Tucker still had his red beret, but now wore olive green cargo pants, the pockets of which were brimming with tech, with a pair of brown boots, a beige long-sleeved top covered with a leather jacket and a rather unassuming watch, which everyone in Team Phantom knew housed his silver and blue battle suit that he had finally managed to complete along with his girlfriend's, just before the end of their junior year. He considered them one of his crowing glories. Another one would be his glasses which he had upgraded with state-of-the-art technology.

Chosen more for practicality and sturdiness rather than making any kind of fashion statement (they all tended to wear long sleeves and trousers year-round), the boys clothing also hid their assorted collection of scars and tattoos. Like Damien and Roxanne, some elements were just too complicated to explain. Both of Danny's arms were covered in half sleeves. The one on his left arm was composed of various flowers including blood blossoms, Sam's ghostly roses and vines, yellow lilies representing Danielle, his daughter, morning glories for Jazz, edelweiss for Valerie and purple irises for Roxanne. The bottom of the sleeve was circled with binary code created by Tucker. The right sleeve represented the remaining members of his unconventional family: a time piece for Clockwork, his spiritual father, a Greek Parthenon for Pandora, his spiritual mother, a pitch-black wolf for Damien, his spiritual brother, and a purple dragoness representing his spiritual sister, Dora.

On his back, representing one of – or perhaps the most – life changing events he went through, were a flaming ectoplasmic green crown and ring. Several weeks after having defeated Pariah Dark, Danny had been summoned, alone, to the Ghost Zone before a panel of older ghosts, such as Pandora and Clockwork, and quite a few others Danny hadn't know about before, as well as a representative of the Observants, who seemed rather disgruntled to be there. They proceeded to tell Danny in no uncertain terms, that, through right of conquest, he was next in line for the throne of the Ghost Zone. He would become King just as soon as he turned 18 and his coronation was organised. Until then, he would be from then on known as his Royal Highness Prince Phantom. During this meeting he was presented with the Ring of Rage and asked to wear it so that all would know who he was. He would bear the Crown of Fire after his coronation.

Like Danny, Tucker also had a half sleeve of tattoos on his upper right arm with the same flowers representing his sisters, his niece, and the love of his life, as well as wolf paw prints and ice crystals for his brothers.

Most of the school knew that they had the tats - they were kind of hard to hide during gym class, even if the boys waited until the rest of their class had left the changing rooms before getting ready. However most had only seen a sneak peek or two. When asked about them (read badgered by Dash), they kept tight-lipped about them, so after a while people left the matter drop.

Other changes the Quartet went through were less noticeable. Danny's top canine teeth were slightly sharper than normal and his ears, which were covered by his hair which he purposefully kept a bit shaggy, had become pointier ever since he started wearing the Ring. Other than that, their senses – especially their hearing and eyesight – had increased in sensitivity, due to training, fighting ghosts and possibly being in frequent contact with the ambient ectoplasm of the Ghost Zone. This meant they could follow the girls' barely audible whispered conversation with ease. It went without saying that their speed, strength, stamina, and agility had drastically increased to somewhat inhuman levels thanks to their ghost related activities, powers (Danny and Sam), and nanotechnology (Tucker and Valerie). Their resistance to ectoblasts had also been worked on (voluntarily or not depending on the situation), as had Tucker's tolerance to the cold (you could only spend so much time in the land of the Far Frozen without that happening). However, the rest of the school was still completely oblivious to all these changes. Sam and Valerie were still in the top third of their class in any physical discipline, but the boys were purposefully still flunking PE.

Hearing the distinctive footsteps of their homeroom teacher, Edward Lancer, Danny roused himself and looked over at Sam, a slightly goofy grin adorning his face when he remembered when she said yes. He had asked her to be his wife a couple of weeks ago and he hadn't come down from cloud nine since. Sensing Danny's gaze, Sam turned around to look at her fiancé, blushing a little when they looked eyes for a second.

After several years of ghost hunting, Sam had had to replace her favoured crop tops and short skirts with a long sleeved loose black top paired with a black midi skirt and purple leggings. She had however kept her trademark combat boots. Sam had also forgone her half up half down hairdo and simply let her purple black hair grow 'til it reached the middle of her back. Her right shoulder blade was decorated with a bouquet of her chosen family's representative flowers and Danny's ice crystals wrapped in Tucker's binary code and Damien wolf paw prints. When she married Danny, she too would receive a ghostly tattoo which would symbolise her role as the Queen of the Ghost Zone. Sam had had the tattoo on her shoulder done as soon as she was 18, much to her parents' despair (they had spotted it one evening), partly as an act of rebellion against their ongoing strict rules and prejudice for anything not corresponding to their social circle. The other reason was to have a constant visual reminder of who her chosen family was, particularly after going through a slight identity crisis during the summer after their sophomore year.

One of Sam's plants was looking unwell, so she touched one of its leaves, trying to see exactly what was wrong with it. She had no sooner brushed her fingertips on the leaf that it started to glow with ghostly energy and all of a sudden, the whole of the plant seemed to be much better. Sam was shocked, even more so when all the other plants in her greenhouse started to glow as well. After freaking out, calling the boys, and freaking out again, she had finally calmed down enough to explain what had happened. A quick trip to the Far Frozen later and after a few tests, the Team and Frostbite were able to surmise that Sam had developed a ghost core following Undergrowth's possession of her which had left trace amounts of ectoplasm in her which had slowly fused with her DNA. Their frequent trips to the Ghost Zone had accelerated and enhanced the process. Over the course of several following weeks, Sam managed to learn how to properly use and control her powers. Just before the start of their Junior year, Sam successfully transformed for the first time into her ghostly alter-ego: Sam Phantasma, who had the same colour eyes and aura as Phantom's with dark green hair and dressed in a sleeveless black dress going down to her mid-thighs with purple accents and fingerless full-length gloves. Unlike when human, in her ghost form Sam went barefoot. Like the other two halfas, her tattoos changed colours whilst in this form: they became silver and purple for her, silver and green for Danny and black and blue for Damien.

Sensing rather than seeing movement behind her, Valerie turned around to catch Danny rousing himself and smile at Sam. She chuckled to herself, knowing why her friend had such a goofy grin. Valerie smiled too, thinking about how much her life had changed (again) since really befriending the Trio, now a Quartet seeing as she had become a fully paid-up member of Team Phantom during the summer vacation between their Sophomore and Junior years. After having learned about Dani and Vlad, she had started to look at things differently, seeing what was really happening rather than what her ghost orientated anger wanted her to see. So, instead of going in blasters blazing and asking questions never, the Red Huntress actually started helping Phantom and his team more often than not.

After an eventful evening working damage control against the wreckage and havoc the GiW had made trying to catch Klemper of all ghosts, without care for the civilians present and witnessing Phantom taking hit after hit to protect the humans present, being exhausted yet still making a stand before Agents K and O so that she could evacuate the last stragglers, Valerie realised that she could no longer view ghosts as "things" that needed to be exterminated, rather that they were beings that deserved to live their un-dead life as much as anyone else. Once everything had been wrapped up and the GiW sent packing, Valerie found Phantom in a secluded corner of the park and heard the tail-end of his conversation with Sam and Tucker.

FLASHBACK

"I'm completely out of energy," said Phantom, " I won't be able to stay in this form much longer."

"But Danny", Sam exclaimed, "what if someone sees you transform?"

"Sammy, don't worry. No one is around, except maybe Valerie, and honestly, I'm kind of tired of keeping my secret from her."

"It's your secret to tell dude", acquiesced Tucker, "You know I'm for it anyway.".

Sam huffed. Valerie wondered how Phantom knew she was close. And since when have Tucker and Sam known about her secret identity?

"Oh, come on Sam!", said Tucker, "you know she's let go of her rage against ghosts. You said as much a few days ago!"

"And tonight, she was a massive help sis.", he continued softly, "without her, there would have been a lot more damage and probably casualties too!"

"Guys! As much as I find this conversation interesting, and at the risk of repeating myself, I'm not going to be able to stay ghost much longer! Sam, how's it looking?"

Valerie leaned around the wall she was hiding – ahem resting! – to eavesdrop – no, no, unfortunately overhear! – and sneaked a peek at the Trio. She gasped softly when she saw Sam expertly stitching up Phantom's back. Apparently, her gasp hadn't been soft enough because Phantom looked up and saw her. Sam and Tucker followed his gaze and spotted her too. The three of them shared a meaningful glace before they beckoned her over.

"Valerie, why don't you join us, instead of hiding over there?", asked Phantom.

The Huntress blushed the same colour of her suit but walked over to where the Trio was sitting.

"Tuck, mind checking her over? I saw her take a couple of nasty hits." Danny's tone brooked no refusal (and since when did she think of him as Danny rather than Phantom?)

Tucker nodded, "Val, I'm going to need you to deactivate your suit."

Valerie, having removed her suit asked, "How long have you known about me being the Red Huntress?"

"Since always", Sam deadpanned having finished her ministrations on Danny. "I'm done Danny."

Another question struck Valerie, "What did you mean Phantom, not staying ghost much longer? What secret were you talking about?"

"You heard that too hun?", Danny sighed.

Valerie blushed again but didn't lower her gaze or back down.

"I suppose now is as good as any time. Tucker, if you've finished looking over Valerie's injuries, can you sweep the area just to make sure that we're really alone?"

"As soon as I've finished putting ointment on this nasty bruise on her back, sure thing brother.", answered Tucker.

"Let me do that", Sam offered, "Danny looks ready to keel over. Take care of the bug and camera sweep."

The two switched places and all was quiet for a bit, until

"Done! There was one of the Fruitloop's bug cameras, but I've managed to disable it and hack into its memory to delete the footage of the past half hour. That way, he won't know we were taking with Val."

"Thanks Tuck. … Right, Valerie, remember Dani?", Danny asked.

"Yes, your cousin. You said that she was half human and half ghost. I still don't know how that's possible."

"She's more my daughter really than my cousin, but that's a story for another day", said Danny. "What if I were to tell you that Danielle isn't the only half ghost, or halfa, in existence?"

"You mean, other than Plasmius?" inquired Valerie.

"When did you learn about him? Never mind, yes other than him.", asked Danny, looking at her intently.

Realisation hit Valerie like a ton of bricks, "You can't mean you? That's not possible, I can't …" Valerie broke off and turned away. Suddenly, a white light filled her peripheral vision.

"Val, look at me", came Danny Fenton's voice. "I have never held it against you and nor will I ever. You didn't know", Danny said softly.

Valerie didn't want to look, to see her friend, that she had hunted for years, had probably hurt on more than one occasion, yet she felt compelled to turn around. Instead of anger, fear or promise of retribution (from Sam in particular), she only saw kindness, understanding and forgiveness in Danny's, Tucker's and even Sam's eyes.

"'I don't understand … " Valerie broke down in tears, the long day, the pain of her injuries and the realisation that Danny Phantom was in fact Danny Fenton were just too much for her to cope with all at once. Tucker got up to embraced her and consoled her until she had calmed down enough to listen to their story.

After a long night of revelations, truths, debunking rumours and asking for forgiveness from all parties, Valerie became part of Team Phantom and the bonds she started creating that night with the Trio would in time become as strong as the ones existing between Danny, Sam, Tucker, Damien, and Roxanne. It was in fact not long after that event, that the idea of companion tattoos was embraced by all of them.

END OF FLASHBACK

Hearing Lancer enter their homeroom stirred Valerie from her thoughts. She fidgeted in her seat, zoning out on what their teacher was droning on about while playing with the red bangle that stored the suit Tucker had made for her (she had gotten rid of the one Vlad had given her as soon as she possibly could without raising his suspicions). Otherwise, she was dressed in beige trousers tucked into camel-coloured boots with a long-sleeved orange V-neck top and a lightweight jacket that were easy enough to move in, if she ever had to fight without activating her suit (which happened more often than you'd think – blame the Box Ghost). To make her life easier, she had cut her hair into a bob. Like her friends, her clothes also hid her collection of scars and tattoos as well as her lean muscled build. Between her shoulder blades was inked the final companion tattoo of Team Phantom: a wreath of flowers for her sisters and her niece, interwoven with binary code, ice crystals and wolf paw prints for her boyfriend and brothers respectively. (Boy, hadn't that been a tough conversation to have with her father! But at least Team Phantom now had an adult in the know and in their corner, since Damon Gray had been told their story.)

Having sunk back deep into her thoughts, Valerie nearly missed the last announcement Lancer made.

"Class, you will be going on a mandatory field trip to the Ghost Zone next week for 5 days leaving next Monday courtesy of Doctors Madeleine and Jack Fenton. I, myself, will be a chaperone for this trip and…

"WHAT!"

While Sam, Tucker, and Valerie looked at each other, dumbfounded by the sheer stupidity of the idea, Danny's reaction caught the whole class, if not the whole school, off guard.

The day would only go downhill from then on.

AN:

I am not fluent in the language of flowers, I chose representative flowers based on what I found whilst researching on Internet

(Sam: ghost rose: flower of her own creation)

Danielle: yellow lily: happiness, walking in air

Jazz: morning glory: affection

Valerie: edelweiss: courage

Roxanne: purple iris: faith, trust, hope (amongst others)