Chapter Two
"Nasty Midday Troubles"
Valerie Gray, an African-American girl, once part of the popular group; is now near the bottom of the totem pole at school. The main problem of her worries; Danny Phantom and his (in her eyes) ghost dog. It was their fault that her father lost his job, their home, and her friends. She received a mysterious package of ghost hunting equipment who she later found out it was from Vlad Masters but that suit was later destroyed by Danny Phantom. She recently acquired a new suit but she's unaware that it was given to her by a ghost. Her father recently was rehired at his old job and they moved into a new home. During her time with little money, she got to know Danny to see past his clumsiness and she also works at the local high school hangout, the Nasty Burger. She also dated him for a while, but broke up since she didn't want to endanger him due to her ghost hunting.
Her anger towards Danny Phantom has just increased since a new ghost came on the scene, Dani Phantom. Her room has two pictures of the most wanted ghosts that she wants eliminated. At the top of the list is Danny and Dani Phantom (before it was only Danny Phantom) and the next is the ghost dog who also started her hatred towards ghosts. The events of her first meeting with Dani Phantom still ring in her head.
It was a month ago when she was going to the carnival to spend some of her earnings that she had earned at the Nasty Burger and to take a temporarily break from hunting ghosts. Soon her ghost detector went off and she ducked into an alley to don her ghost fighting suit. She hops onto her jet board and hovers above the rooftops of the buildings looking for the ghost. She soon spots the ghost and she recognizes right away who it was as it lands on a rooftop scanning the river of people below.
"I got you now, Ghost Boy!"
The ghost turns gasping at the sound of her voice, but it wasn't the one who she was looking for. This ghost looked like the Ghost Boy but it was a feminine version of him. Her suit was similar to his but it had a different color scheme that his. She had the same emblem on her chest just like the Ghost Boy's and Valerie guessed that they are related somehow.
"Uh, no," the ghost replies surprised by her appearance before her voice changes to being pleading. "Have you seen him since I need to talk to him since it's very important?"
Valerie couldn't shake the feeling that the two were related since she appeared to be the mirrored images of each other. She almost wanted to help her, but she pushed that thought out of her head since the ghost was the enemy. So she decided to give a mock chase to see if the Ghost Boy appears. She fires on the ghost intentionally missing so that she could cause enough chaos in order to force him to appear. The ghost falls off of the ledge letting out a yelp of fright before flying away while Valerie gives chase.
She chased her while intentionally missing her so that the Ghost Boy makes the scene to protect her; that is if he would come. The ghost leaves the fairgrounds while constantly dodging her attacks. Valerie was surprised that the ghost didn't counterattack or try turning invisible at all to escape her. She fires again but this time her shot hits its mark. The ghost goes out of control slamming into a building before crash landing into an alley out of sight.
Valerie lands in front of the downed ghost as she charged up her mini-blasters. She was disappointed that the Ghost Boy didn't show up but she'll get him next time; however, an unseen force knocks her into a dumpster slamming the lid shut on her. She tries to push the lid open but the lid was heavily rusted since it wouldn't budge. So she uses one of her blasters to force the lid open and she spots who had hit her. It was the Ghost Boy and he was making himself a wedge between her and the downed ghost.
"So Ghost Boy," as she leaps out of the dumpster covered with rubbish landing on her board, "she's related to you! Good," she cracks a merciless grin, "this will be twice as sweet when I eliminate the both of you!"
"Valerie!" she also noticed that his anger was much stronger than it usually was towards her and that he also spooked his companion, "Hurt her again and I'll personally rip that suit of yours apart piece by piece with you in it!" his eyes seemed to glow a deeper shade of green and his hands glowed as if he was ready for an attack.
"You wouldn't dare!" she snaps back while pulling out a wrist weapon knowing that he wouldn't go through with his threat.
"Try me!" he retorted and that is the last thing that she remembered him saying.
They were all soon knocked out by some gas and she woke up alone. They either had planned this or that someone else captured them before she could eliminate them. Either way, he was seen a few days later and two weeks after that; they both appeared at town hall attacking the mayor! However, it involved ghosts but she doesn't believe what the press says at all. Despite the video confession, which she finds to be fake and staged by the Ghost Boy and that white clad ghost, she doesn't believe the press and would risk the negative press just to destroy them.
Since then, she's been obsessed in getting rid of both of them and others like them. She looked at her clock to find that it was nearly time for her shift at the Nasty Burger, which she doesn't mind now.
The Nasty Burger is the local hangout for the students of Casper High and despite it's name; it's a relatively good place to eat.
"Late night?" Sam, a girl dress like a goth, asked her friends that were sitting across from her, who looked like they didn't get enough sleep last night.
"Just a few troubles," Danny said through a yawn.
"The Box Ghost, Valerie," Danielle, his cousin, said also through a yawn.
"Skulker and a pair of new ghosts that we haven't seen."
"New ghosts?" Tucker, an African-American techno-geek, asked as he took a bite out of his Nasty Burger.
"They call themselves the Terrible Two Twins and they appear to have the power to control toys," Danny said as he took a drink from his soda.
"Try to say that five times fast," Tucker joked as he grabbed some of his fries.
"We don't know if they are a threat as of yet," Danielle said drowsily as she held her head up with her hand.
"You should've let Danielle go on patrol while you slept since Tucker and I were going to treat you for your birthday," Sam said optimistically to Danny.
"We could cover more ground if there were two of us out," Danielle pointed out as she took a bite out of her Nasty Burger.
"Besides, Mom said she wanted me home for my birthday since she has something for me and I don't know where she hid it," Danny said drowsily.
"Too bad that you might have to miss the Dumpty Humpty concert tonight," Tucker said before he sips his soda.
"We can still go, but she said she wanted to see Danny before we headed off there," Danielle said after yawning.
"Is today Fentontino's birthday?" a voice mocked and Danny and Danielle cringed.
The voice belonged to Dash Baxter and he is the school jock of Casper High. Danny has always disliked him since they met and Danielle dislikes him as well.
"I put up with you all week, Dash, and I'm not in the mood to hear your insults," Danny replied dully.
"Did the lovebirds have a rough night?"
"We're not lovebirds!" Sam and Danny, who was now wide awake, shouted at the same time.
"Or did the twins have a late night fight?"
Now both Danny and Danielle were wide awake and they were both very annoyed at the remark. "We're not twins; we're cousins!" as they both stood up just as Dash left laughing at his own jokes.
"Want me to make a fool of himself?" Danielle asked as they watched Dash knock someone's tray into their face covering them with their food.
"No," Danny replied grudgingly as they sat both sat back down, "maybe another time."
"Careful," Sam said warningly towards them. "I don't like it when you two misuse your powers."
As much as Danny would love to, he knew he couldn't get back at Dash for his insults without any repercussions. Sam, Tucker (at times), and even Jazz dislikes it when he misuses his powers for personal revenge. Danielle had almost gained Sam and Tucker's trust but just enough for them to accept her even though she was created by Danny's arch-nemesis. Despite them looking like twins, they didn't like the comment; however, this doesn't stop them for using it when they were their alter egos.
"I hear that today was your birthday," a voice spoke and it belonged to Valerie.
"Hey, Val," Danny replied as she walks up their booth.
"You two look like you had a rough night?" she asked noting his and Danielle's drowsy looks.
"We stayed up late playing Doomed," Danielle lied, but Valerie didn't know that.
"I guess I'll see you later," she said as she waved and walked off.
"See you," Danny replied as he waved as a small smile creeks on his face.
"I thought she broke up with you?" Sam asked annoyed that she had talked to them especially Danny.
"It doesn't hurt to be friends; does it?" Danny asked and Sam just took a bite out of her veggie burger without replying.
Sam never has like Valerie since the day she had met her. She was a snobbish girl who doesn't have any friends that care for her as a person. The popular group she was once part of only were her friends since she had the money to by anything that was high dollar and in style. When her father lost her job, part of Sam wanted her to feel how it was like to be ignored and ridiculed on a daily basis. When she acquired that suit, Sam was afraid that she would hurt Danny or worse. Valerie also made a comment that Sam was jealous when she and Danny were spending some time together. Sam wasn't jealous of that since she cares for Danny deeply as a friend but not as a girlfriend!
Just then, Danny and Danielle's Ghost Sense went off sending on edge. Shortly after that, a pack of ghost wolves attacked sending the entire place into panic. The wolves snatched up Nasty Burgers and spooked the patrons of the Nasty Burger. Danny and Danielle ran to transform in the restroom only to find out that it was a pay one. Luckily for Danny, he had some spare change on him and he gave Danielle the amount needed to enter. They both soon transformed in a pair of white rings separating from their waist in opposite directions into their alter egos, Danny and Dani Phantom.
One of the wolves were closing in on Dash and several other jocks as they cowered in a booth. Dash was shaking the hardest and he started to sweat out of fear. Just then, the wolf was knocked backwards yelping in pain just as it started its pounce.
"Back off, wolfy!" a voice spoke and Danny Phantom appeared in front of them.
"Ghost Boy!" a shrill voice spoke and someone puts their arms around Danny.
"P-Paulina!" Danny chocked as the Latino girl pulls him into a tight hug.
Another wolf attacked him from behind only to get knocked to the ground by a blast. The blast came from Dani and she turns Paulina intangible as she pulls her away from Danny.
"Get out of here, simpleton!" she orders only receiving an annoyed look from Paulina.
"Excuse me you--" she was cut off when Dani fires an ecto-blast past her hitting a wolf that was about to pounce as she yelped in fear.
"Just get out of here, Paulina!" Danny ordered and she obeys his order.
Dani fires another blast past Danny knocking a wolf to the ground as Dash and the rest of the jocks ran for it. Now every wolf in the room were closing in on them with teeth baring as they growled.
"Great," Danny said sarcastically, "I think we just angered the leader of the pack."
"I thought there were two leaders in a wolf pack?" Dani asked as she charged up for an attack.
A blast hits the ground in front of them sending everyone present back and both Phantoms through the window shattering it. They both recovered to find Valerie, in ghost fighting suit, attacking the wolves. One of them knocks her off of her board and pins her onto the ground. Danny fires an ecto-blast at the wolf while Dani fires several blasts at the other wolves driving them back.
"I don't need your help!" Valerie spat at them.
"Your welcome," Dani said sarcastically as she and Danny made a perimeter around Valerie.
One of the wolves attacked and Dani puts up a shield around them before breaking the shield sending out ecto-blasts in all directions hitting the wolves back. One by one the Phantoms captured the wolves into their Fenton Thermoses until they were all caught.
"Don't think that I won't stop hunting you!" Valerie snapped as she put a weapon on them.
The two just phased through the ceiling of the Nasty Burger so that they were on the roof.
"Do you have a problem with Paulina?" Danny asked roughly.
"She almost got herself hurt due to her infatuation with your ghost-half!" she snaps back.
"You didn't have to be so hard on her."
"Does it bother you that she only likes your ghost-half while she dislikes your human-half?"
"A little. So what's your problem with her?"
"Some time ago I overheard her talking to Star and I saw a picture of my ghost-half in Paulina's locker that was shredded. She also called me a wannabe!"
"She didn't?" Danny asked surprised and a little angry at the same time.
"She did and she just had to call me a clone!" as she turns her back on him.
"Dani, if it makes you happy, I'll talk to Paulina and try to get to the bottom of this." he says sincerely putting a hand on her shoulder.
"Sure and can I ask you something?" turning back to face him.
"Shoot."
"How can you like her when she can be so shallow?"
"You're starting to sound like Sam," Danny doesn't like where this was going.
"I may be your clone, but I can see through certain things that you may not see or that you are too stubborn to see. Paulina is only into your Phantom-half since it will help with her status in life. She's just a crazy fan-girl whose just into you for your Phantom-half. Would you want someone whose into you for who you are, or would you want someone whose into you for just for your Phantom-half?"
Danny didn't answer right away since he was getting annoyed at what Dani was getting at. "Maybe I do!" he snaps before taking off angry in an effort to clear his head with a flight. "She's just like Sam!" he angrily thought. He and Dani had their arguments but they always found a way to make it up to each other; however, Danny feels that she has crossed the line with her feelings on Paulina. "Calling Paulina shallow and why did Paulina have to come up to me when I was fighting those ghosts? Paulina did like me for myself during that event with Freakshow and the Reality Gauntlet, or does she? I'll have a talk with her since I promised Dani I would get to the bottom of it."
His Ghost Sense goes off and he let out an inward groan as he follows it into a storehouse. He lets out another groan as he sees a room filled with cardboard boxes.
"5... 4... 3... 2... 1," he counts mentally and a loud moan was heard as a figure appears from the boxes.
"Beware! I am the Box Ghost! Master of all things cardboard and square! I have come to take over your box-shaped world!" it was the Box Ghost… again.
"Hello, misplaced aggression!" Danny said as he cracked his knuckles as he slowly approached the Box Ghost.
"Uh, beware?" the Box Ghost says unsure what Danny's next move was as he semi drops his "scary" pose.
He screams in fear as Danny charges at him as he puts hits hands up in defense across his face before he gets a severe beating by Danny as he screams in pain from his attacks.