Chapter 2: Who are you?

It was the day after as, after school, Danny chose to head home with his friends and girlfriend. There, since there was no ghost activity going on so far, they figured they could just hang tight.

Now, this is more like it... He thought, feeling relaxed now.

As the television went on, Star was secretly reading the collection of Danny Phantom Volume I, mostly the behind the scenes pages and concept art.

I'll admit the older designs were… ugly as sin… but I don't see why they never bothered to read this. She thought.

She quickly put it away when her boyfriend noticed something on the television.

"Hey, check it out, I'm on TV." Danny said.

Sam frowned as it kept going.

"Correction, the comic about you is on TV." She corrected him.

"According to current analysts, the Danny Phantom Comic book has the best selling comic of last year and has become a hit on the top ten most sold comics this year... But the fans clearly want more…" Tiffany Snow said.

Suddenly, Sam muted the television.

"I'm clearly wanting less… those comics are an unrealistic depiction of your life, Danny. Sure, I am okay with people expressing themselves artistically and I am okay with indie comics but I am NOT okay with plagiarism! If I ever see one, I'd tear it to pieces!"

Star, eyes widening upon hearing that, hid her comic back in her bag.

"Good thing there's not one for miles…" She said.

She tried to be discreet as Tucker stepped in.

"Speaking of comics… guess who's about to be a millionaire?" He asked with a gleeful grin.

"Uh… Mikey from school?" Star asked jokingly.

"No… me. I may have taken a little inspiration from the Danny Phantom comics… and made my own!" He said proudly.

It took a moment but they all had their reaction.

"What?" All three said flatly.

"Yup, I'm making my own indie comic... It's going to be awesome!" He pulled out a copy of what looked like his Doomed avatar but with a more comically muscled physique. "It's called Techno Foley, and it's gonna blow everyone's mind! I'll make up the $1000 I spent behind my parents' backs ASAP!" He said proudly.

His friends were shocked to hear how much he spent and also how quickly he made it.

"Uh… wait to go, Tuck." Danny said, not really sure what to think.

Sam, however, looked unimpressed.

"I didn't know you had creative ambitions, McDuffie." She said.

"Creative? Pfft… I got rich ambitions!" Tucker said as he placed it on the counter Star rested her feet on. "If a comic Danny had no input in made some money, I can too!"

Star rolled her eyes as they landed on his comic.

"Huh…" She said as she took the comic and started reading it.

Wow… Star thought, feeling her opinion of the book already forming.

Danny raised the volume on the television.

"In other news, the town of Elmerton was reported to have more than 80% of all ink stolen from computer and art stores… no evidence as to whether it was human or ghost related at this time." Tiffany Snow said.

"Maybe Ember ran out of make-up…" Star joked.

Sam ignored that as she got up.

"Well… it's about time we talked about something." Sam said.

"Can we wait? I'm waiting to see if the digital copy I sent overnight to all the indie publishers is getting emails saying someone's interested." Tucker said as he eyed his PDA.

Sam pulled his device out of his hand.

"Seriously! I meant it when I said we should consider a second-in-command." Sam said.

Danny laughed it off.

"Relax Sam. I already have someone in mind."

That caught Sam and Tucker's attention.

"Seriously?!" Sam went.

"Who?!" Tucker asked.

Before Danny could answer, Star's phone went off.

"Hello?" She answered before smiling. "Oh, hi Dad… Danny's. … Sure, I don't mind a ride. Love you too." She said before hanging up. "I got a ride coming now to take me to my recital today in an hour. Dad was hoping we could get some ice cream before he drops me off. You'll come, right?"

Not seeing the look of protest on Sam and Tucker's faces, Danny nodded.

"Of course."


50 Minutes Later

Danny and his friends were going down the street on their scooter, both Sam and Tucker looking depressed.

"Come on, guys." Danny insisted.

"Do we have to?" Sam asked.

"Yeah… I haven't gone since they caught me with a camera. Now I gotta leave my tech outside!" Tucker said, looking like he'd been ordered to do something inhumane.

Sam sent him an annoyed look.

He can't go one minute without something digital. She thought while Danny sent her a pleading look.

The goth sighed.

"Well… maybe nobody will see me fall asleep." Sam said.

"A crime I can't take any footage or photos to remember which girls I'm gonna ask out." Tucker complained.

"You mean which girls you'll stalk on social media before they deck your teeth out?" Sam asked mockingly.

Tucker glared at her before Danny braked, making them brake too.

"What's wrong?" Tucker asks.

They suddenly heard the sounds of people running and screaming.

"RUN!" A civilian shouted.

Danny saw all of them leaving down the street.

"GHOST!" All of them went.

"Ghost? But... why didn't my ghost sense go off?" Danny asked.

"Never mind. Go! We'll let Star know you're on your way!" Sam said.

Danny nodded and headed off.

"Wait, we're going to her ballet recital?" Tucker asks.

Sam groaned, realizing she didn't think that through.

''Darn it..."She grumbled while Danny headed off.

Parking his scooter in the alleyway, seeing nobody around, Danny knew it was time.

"I'm goin' ghost!"

He morphed and flew out.

Danny hovered around, looking for the ghost.

Once the crowds were gone, he looked around. He saw nothing.

No damage, no injuries, not even a broken window. Nothing. He thought as he surveyed the area.

"Now, where's the ghost?" Danny asked as he landed on a discarded car.

His answer came as he looked down and noticed something on the ground.

The shadow of the bus in front moved in an oddly organic manner, as though the bus itself were being stretched like putty although it remained the same. Then something popped off the bus's shadow, returning it to normal, before it started shrinking.

Something was coming out of the ground as the shadow shrank. It was a pale blue-skinned young woman with goggles and dark hair, in a style not unlike Kitty's. She also wore a dark blue jumpsuit.

She raised her head and smiled.

"Hello, Danny..." She said with a tone of familiarity.

Danny, not recognizing her, waved.

"Uh... hello? Who are you?"

"I've been wanting to see you for a long time." She said with a smirk before clenching her hand in a menacing manner.

Danny made a face.

"Uh… okay. So… what do you say we-"

Suddenly, Danny felt something grab him from behind.

He was lifted off the car as he saw a dark hand that somehow came out for the shadow of a nearby building reached out and grabbed him like a small toy.

The ghost girl in blue laughed mockingly.

"I take it you didn't read about me?" She asked.

The ghost boy blinked.

"Read? What, like an autobiography?" Danny asked.

The girl scratched her chin as her smile grew wider and more menacingly.

"He's never read it… this might make things easier than we thought." She said to herself.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, nor do I care that much. And as for this thing…"

Danny used his rings from when he morphs and managed to break free. He hovered into the air and his hands glowed bright, not that the blue girl cared.

"Ooh… let's see how the real thing handles." She said flirtatiously as she raised her arm.

Suddenly, a circular object rose from the shadow of a car that she stepped on before it extended upward.

She was suddenly standing on a pillar of darkness as she swung her arms at Danny.

Out from the pillar came disc-like objects that came firing at Danny.

Thinking fast, Danny fired at them, blowing them apart before firing at the blue girl.

In response, she jumped off the pillar, which was hit, before a new pillar grew out for her to land on.

With a snap of her fingers, bony arms came out of the pillar and reached out for Danny.

As he flew backwards to avoid the attack, he couldn't help but notice the smile on her face.

"Is she… having fun?" He asked himself.

As Danny blasted one of the hands, the girl's smile grew.

"Just as cute and just as tough." She said to herself.

Danny destroyed both hands and came flying at the girl.

"Got anymore hands for me to shake?!" He asked in a challenge.

"You wanna hold my hand? On our first official date? How charming…" She said before jumping off the pillar, diving into the ground.

Danny gasped at what she just did as she was now several meters away from the ground.

"Wait a-"

She suddenly disappeared, as though the shadows were water and she dove in.

Danny stopped, looking around the area.

That didn't look like intangibility… what the heck? He thought.

He felt something about this was wrong, as if this was not a ghost he dealt with.

Danny looked around.

"Where are you?" He called out.

"Here..." A voice behind him said.

Danny turned around and, to his shock, she kissed him on the lips.

He pulled back and gasped.

"What the heck?!"

She touched her lips and smiled.

"So that's what you feel like... nice."

Danny glared at her, too busy firing to feel what was on his face.

She responded by raising a hand and creating a wall of shadows that blocked the attack.

"Who or what the heck are you?" Danny called out.

"Someone you're gonna love…" A whisper in his ear went, much to his shock.

"DAAHHH!" He turned around, pulling away from her. "Get back!"

"Aw, how cute..." She teased as she snapped her finger and an arm came out of the shadows to try and grab Danny.

Danny barely managed to avoid it and fired at her, but the strange ghost girl managed to raised a wall of shadow to block it.

As the blue girl laughed, something crawled onto the car near her that got her attention. To Danny's surprise, it was a large spider, with purple skin.

"Whoa! Exterminators have not been doing their jobs!" Danny said.

The spider crawled toward her and she inched closer as though it were whispering to her, causing the blue girl to groan.

"Do I gotta?" She whined, causing the spider to stare at her as though angry. Cringing, the blue girl then nodded. "Of course. My apologies, Mistress…" She said in a more respectful tone. She then smiled at Danny. "Loved the first date… we should do this again sometime!" She said as she waved at him.

After blowing Danny a kiss, the girl took the spider and melted into the shadows of the car next to her.

"Hey. hey wait a second!" He shouts as he flew to her.

He was too late, she was gone.

Danny pressed his hand onto the shadow she disappeared into, but felt only concrete.

Was that some kind of ghost power? How did she do that? It was like Johnny 13's shadow… but different… WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?! He thought.

Danny looked around.

"Danny!" Sam and Tucker called out, approaching him.

"Guys." With no one around, he morphed and landed safely. "That ghost disappeared."

"Who was that? She was... kinda hot." Tucker said, earning an eyeroll from Sam.

"Don't know... but it almost sounded like she knew me." He said.

''Then how come we never saw her before?" Sam asked.

"She kinda looked like if Kitty and Ember did a fusion in a boiler suit." Tucker pointed out.

Seeing no one around, Danny morphed back to human form and went to get his scooter when someone noticed something on him.

"Uh... what's that?" Sam asked.

"What's what?" Danny asks.

"Your mouth. What's that on your mouth?" Sam asked again.

Danny touched his lips and felt something wet. Pulling back, he saw it was black.

"Is that... ink? When did that get on me?" He asked.

"Did she use ink as an attack?" Tucker asked.

"No..." Danny's eyes wandered to the left. "She-"

His eyes widened as he saw something that made him approach the store in question.

"Uh... what's wrong?" Sam asked.

"That's her." Danny said, pointing to the poster in the comic book store. "That's the ghost I fought."

They saw the poster in question, which depicted the very ghost they saw.

"You're right..." Sam said.

"She's... the villain of a comic?" Tucker asked.

"Maybe someone wished she was real for a date or something and Desiree heard... but how and why did she know me?" Danny asked out loud.

"Uh... before you theorize that, know that you're running late for Star's ballet recital." Sam said.

Panicking, Danny sped up on his scooter as they followed him.

As they went, two beings inside the comic shop watched them go.

The tallest in shadow turned her head from the window to glare at the blue girl.

"You were supposed to stand guard, not cause a riot!" She shouted.

"I… I am sorry, Mistress. I got bored." She said innocently before she smiled. "But… it worked out since we've met the real Danny Phantom. And the best part, it seems he's never even read his comic!"

This got the tall one's attention.

"He's… never read it?" The blue girl nodded as the figure's face came out of the shadow and smiled. "Then perhaps this was not a complete waste. You have done well, Shade. I forgive you."

The blue girl, Shade, sighed in relief as she bowed.

"Thank you, Mistress Misery Vex."


The theater the ballet recital took place at

As they arrived, they noticed the police cars outside the nearby store. They were curious as they saw Star waiting outside, in her usual clothes with her bag next to her.

"Star? What happened?" Danny asks.

"They cancelled. Turns out the arts and crafts store next door was ransacked. To keep people from interfering with investigations, the cops had them reschedule the recital until next week." Star explained.

"Let me guess, ink?" Danny asked, earning a nod from Star.

"Again? Why the sudden interest in ink?" Sam asked.

"Maybe it had something to do with that blue ghost?" Tucker asked.

"Ghost?" Star asked.

"Yeah… but this one was… different." Danny said.

"Different how? Compared to your usual ghost?" Star asked.

"Point taken… but this one didn't trigger my ghost sense… and I didn't see a magic ring and I doubt she's part human. Weirdest thing though… she sounded like she knew me…" Danny said.

Before Star could ask, they heard a commotion from the store.

The owner of the store, an old man, was being interviewed by the police.

"Sir, can you explain exactly what happened?" The officer asks.

"It was the darndest thing… my son-in-law was dealing with this incredibly large spider in the store. After we saw this strange group of people outside the window, one of 'em let the spider in." The old man said.

"They must be talking about the robbery…" Danny said as the four hid to keep listening in.

"Then that large spider began to crawl around. He called me, said that it tried to get to his head and before I knew it, all of my ink was gone when I came this morning!" The old man said.

"A large spider… weird, that ghost girl was talking to one before she left…" Danny tells the others.

"Can you describe the people you saw who let the spider in last night before you left for home and your son-in-law remained behind?" The officer asked.

"One of 'em was this really tall lady. Purple face, looked mean, had this weird… spidery thing on her head, like if the legs were horns." The old man said.

As the officer continued, the four walked away, taking amongst themselves.

"Weird… that didn't sound at all like the ghost I fought. It sounded like-"

"Misery Vex!" Star said with a smile, getting their attention.

Everyone stared at her outburst.

"Uh… who?" Sam asked.

"Come on… I can't be the only one who ever read the Danny Phantom comic. Misery Vex! She's the main villain of the comic." Star explained before she continued." Since they had no idea who Vlad Plasmius is, they made her up. She's an ancient evil spirit who controls spiders out for world domination. Because Danny Phantom kept interfering with her plans, they started to shift to ruining his life, from kidnapping his long lost brother into being a villain, or turning his entire city against him. She's also this cliched bad guy who says stuff like "Curse you, Danny Phantom!" when her plans get ruined. She's cruel, callous and hates men… I think they were hinting at stuff with her interests but the book wanted to keep it subtle. It was an amazing run… then Volume II happened and it went kinda downhill with wonkier art, really stupid attempts at world building and inconsistency with established lore…" Star finished before realizing she went off topic a bit.

Everyone stared at her.

"You read superhero comics?" Tucker asked, eager to learn more.

"You read comics?" Sam asks.

"I didn't know you read comics…" Danny said with a smile before a thought came to him. "You read fanfiction about me?"

"Uh… well… Paulina just wanted it for the art of you… I hid them from her parents and so people don't think she's a geek. I… read them and used their art for reference before it got worse." She admits sheepishly.

Sam, however, shook her head disapprovingly.

"We're dealing with real ghosts, Star, not fictional ones." She chided.

Star frowned and crossed her arms.

"I can't help it if the guy said the lady looked like Misery Vex…"

Danny decided to clear his throat to bring up the situation on hand.

"Come on, let's head back to where I fought that ghost. This is sounding like something we should look into." Danny said.


Meanwhile

At the docks.

Some strange people were up to no good here.

"Hurry up, you idiot man-things!" The tall woman, still in shadow, ordered.

All of them were men, all of them had large purple spiders on their heads, and all of them had hypnotized looks on their faces.

"Yes, Mistress…" They all said.

"Hmph… filthy males…" She grumbled as she saw more humans arriving, carrying ink. "Finally… the more ink brought, the better for us." She said in a pleased tone.

However, someone very short then came walking towards her from behind.

"Mistress…" He called out to her.

"What is it now?" She asked, looking over her shoulder and sounding agitated.

"The pen… it's running low." He said.

"We have plenty of ink, you idiot." She snapped at him.

"I'm not talking about the ink. We need a real ghost soon…" He said.

"Don't you think I know that?!" She shouted before taking a deep breath. "We just have to start phase 2 sooner. It seems we must make the rest of us present to Danny Phantom sooner than expected…" She said, eyes squinted in anger.


Special thanks to Flower princess11.

And yes, you read that. Shade, a character from a "proposed" Valerie Gray spin-off. I say "proposed" because I saw it was nothing more than clickbait... like the other videos.

More to come soon.

Guest: Troll.

Luiz4200: It is.

RonaldM40196867: Kind of?

Invader Johnny: Not just her.

Leonardo: I hope you'll come to like these guys.