Chapter Five

"Double Trouble"

Danny and Danielle were able to keep clear of Valerie for the past few days and they were lucky to not have any ghost troubles. It was just another day at school in Mr. Lancer's class where he was giving his usual lecture. Luckily for everyone, this was their last class of the day and he was giving them a book report to do on a book of their choice but it had to come from a list that he provided them.

"Now remember class," he said just as the bell rang, "I want a five page report on the book of your choice from the list that answers all of the questions that I've provided for you. This report is worth ten percent of your grade, it will be due by midterm, and this is just one of two book reports that you will be doing."

There was a collective groan from the class at his last statement as Mr. Lancer eyed the class as they left as he kept an eye out for trouble makers.

"Did you get a chance to talk to Paulina?" Danielle asked Danny as they got to their lockers.

"With Valerie around, no," he said flatly.

Their Ghost Sense went off just as they closed their lockers. The sounds of laughter were heard and they turned to see the twin ghosts they had seen earlier in the week.

"The Terrible Two Twins?" Sam asked as she joins them and they just nodded.

The two were giggling as they came down the hall riding on stick horses as they crowd of teenagers parted confused at what was going on. They were both dressed in complete cowboy fashion right down to toddler-sized boots and spurs but they still retained the Gemini zodiac on their shirts.

"What do we have here?" Mr. Lancer asked as he came out of his classroom to inspect the sounds.

"Hello," one of the twins said as he looked up to Mr. Lancer.

"Where are your parents?" he asked kindly as he knelt down to their level.

"Don't got none," the other twin said.

"Well, why don't you come with me and we'll get someone to look after you?"

"Uh-uh," the twins replied while Mr. Lancer frowned on their statement.

"It's not safe for children your age to be here alone."

"Stay away from us!" they screamed as they pulled out their guns from their holsters.

They pointed them at Mr. Lancer, who was staring wide-eyed at them, and they fired causing everyone to flinch at the sound. Mr. Lancer tumbles backwards putting his hand to his face finding out that there was no wound. The guns were just cap guns and the two laughed at what they did as they ran off with Mr. Lancer chasing after them. They turned their stick horses into planes and they flew off just as their attire became pilot style.

"We'll see you guys later," Danny told his friends as he and Danielle ran in the opposite direction to find a place to transform.

They transformed in the janitor's closet and flew out of the school to find them. They did but they were under attack by Valerie. Valerie was having a hard time hitting them since they were attacking her with toys that seemed to have ghostly powers. She was finally able to hit them both but they then started to cry as they hit the ground.

"Crying won't save you!" she yells at them.

"No," she hears a voice and spots the Phantom Twins flying at her.

"But we can!" Dani continues as the two punch Valerie off of her board.

She tumbles on the ground several yards from where she was hit as the two Phantoms land on to far from her while make themselves a wedge between her and the two toddler twins.

"That's a new low; even for you Valerie!" Danny shouts.

"Yeah," Dani adds, "they're just children! What did they do to you? Oh, scratch that."

"It's because of you, Ghost Boy!" Valerie shouts while she fires on the only to have it block by their shield.

"Nice try," Dani remarks and they notice Valerie smiling and they didn't like it.

"Block this!" she fires again and they put up another shield.

However her blast hits their shield and they got electrocuted in the process. They both dropped to the ground and the twins they were protecting came forward enraged at Valerie.

"Leave them alone!" one of them shouted.

"I'll deal with you two later!" Valerie snaps back.

"You think you so big!" the other twin shouts.

"We make you small!" and their planes turned into star-shaped wands.

"Itsy-bitsy Teeny-weenie!" they both chanted and a poof of smoke engulfed her.

When the smoke cleared, she was still there but she was half the size of the toddler twins. It took her awhile to figure out what had happened and the two toddlers were gathered around her as if mesmerized by her. One of the twins turns his wand into a mallet and they both cracked mischievous grins as Valerie looked up in horror since she knew what was about to happen. He was about to swing his mallet only to have it stopped. They both turn to see Dani holding the mallet while she knelt to their level.

"You didn't have to shrink her," Dani said as she tried to suppress a laugh.

"But she gave us owies," the other twin whined.

"Just change her back and we'll take care of her," Danny said as he knelt down to their level.

The two toddlers just looked at each other unsure what to do next. They reluctantly returned Valerie back to her original size and they made a hasty retreat as they flew away from them.

"You let them go!" Valerie yelled as she stood up.

"They're just a couple of two year olds! They don't know what they're doing!" Dani snaps back.

Valerie opens fire on them and they just dodged before they fly away. She gives chase again as she continues to fire on them. The Phantoms couldn't go invisible since she can see them even if they did. They duplicated themselves and spun in a tight circle to confuse Valerie before they dispersed in all directions. Valerie curses to herself as she had lost them again when they shuffled themselves again.

The two soon met up again on a rooftop before they headed home but that was not until they spotted someone that made their blood boil. It was a man with snow-white hair tied up in a ponytail. He wore a suit and from a distance they could tell that he had a smug look on his face.

"Vlad," they both growled with bitterness in their voices as they floated to the rooftop he was on while keeping their distance.

"Nice to see you too," he mocked while keeping his smile.

"We know that you had sent Valerie some new attachments to her suit," Danny spats out in anger.

"Always assuming, Daniel," he replies shaking his head, "I'm just here to check up on you."

"What do you want?" Dani asked with her anger near the boiling point just by looking at him.

"What I want most," he turns his attention to Dani, "is to see Jack Fenton be the laughingstock of Amity Park and have Maddie to myself."

"You have a holographic program of her and we have two words for you."

"What are those words, Danielle?"

"Dating services," both Phantoms replied and this makes Vlad frown.

"Always with the wisecracks and don't you have somewhere else to be?"

"Other than kicking your butt, no," Dani snaps as he hands began to glow.

There was a blast in front of the Phantoms followed by a voice, "Leave Mr. Masters alone!"

It was Valerie and she had her weapons on them as she came in front of Vlad.

"Ah, right on time Miss Gray." he said checking his watch.

"Are you hurt?" she asked while keeping her eyes on the Phantoms.

"We were just having a discussion and they won't attack me unless they feel threatened," he replies with a smile that didn't fool them as he sits on Valerie's board.

They both left without any shots being fired as the Phantoms kept their eyes on them as they left.

"He's up to something," Dani said.

"I don't think he's here just for a visit and I have a bad feeling about this," Danny replied as they both took off.

They got back home and returned to their human forms in the yard before they entered Fenton Works. Inside was the very last person they wanted to see there; Vlad Masters. He was sitting on the couch sipping tea as Jack laugh; apparently laughing about a joke in the past. Jazz took her eyes out of her book long enough to see Danny and Danielle into the room as she wore a displeasing look. Maddie also wore the same look as Jazz as she eyed Vlad suspiciously.

"Hello Daniel, nice to see you again, and this must be the lovely, Danielle," Vlad said wearing a smile that didn't fool them.

"You must be, Mr. Masters," she replied with mock enthusiasm that went unnoticed by Jack and Maddie, "Danny has told me all about you."

"Oh, he did?" Vlad replied also mocking.

"If you excuse us; Danielle and I have some homework to do," Danny said as they both went up the stairs into his room.

Jazz soon followed them later muttering that she wanted a quiet place to read. She enters Danny's room closing the door behind her wearing the same look that Danny and Danielle did.

"This is not good," she said slamming her book on Danny's desk.

"Do you know why he's here?" Danielle asked with her anger still present.

"He's here for some business deals and he's spending a few days here," Jazz said bitterly.

"Perfect," Danny and Danielle both said sarcastically putting their hands in the air.

Their Ghost Sense went off and they both groaned since they knew that Vlad was most likely behind this. They took their Thermoses out of their backpacks and put the strap attached to it around their shoulder while they discarded their backpacks. They both transformed flew out the window leaving behind Jazz as she shook her head as she suppressed a smile as she shakes her head.

They both hovered above the rooftops looking for the ghost that had set off their Ghost Sense. They were soon encased in an ecto-trap that knocks them onto a nearby rooftop.

"I have you now, whelps," it was Skulker and he landed near them with his usual grin on his face.

"What do you want?" Dani asked annoyed.

"We're not in the mood to be hunted by you!" Danny snaps back also annoyed.

"What else; your pelts!"

"The only person after their pelts is me!" it was Valerie and she opens fire on Skulker while he just turns intangible allowing himself to be left unharmed.

Both Phantoms broke free of their bounds and attacked Skulker in the back with ecto-blasts. They both then dodged when Valerie fired another volley of lasers that hit Skulker while he was stunned. He drops down to his knees and Valerie fires a single shot at pointblank range that decapitates his head. Valerie was soon stunned at what she saw and she soon noticed the circuitry within where his head was.

"What is he?" she wondered and she turns to see the Phantoms near the head of Skulker. Danny picks up the head and removes a small green blob from it. "What's that?" she asked surprised at what he was holding.

"Meet Skulker; when he's outside his suit," Dani replies.

"I am Skulker! The greatest hunter in the Ghost Zone!" he shouts with a high-pitched voice as he struggles to get free.

"It's back to the Ghost Zone for you!" Danny said as he pull out his Thermos.

"I was thinking more along the lines of Wisconsin," Dani said as she cracks a mischievous smile in which Danny matches.

"I can see it now," Danny began lowering his Thermos, "special delivery to One Seriously Crazed-Up Fruit Loop."

"Courtesy of the Phantoms," Dani ended with a laugh as she busied herself with Skulker's computer on his suit.

"What are you two doing?" Valerie asked after she had recovered from the shock of seeing what Skulker truly was.

"Just sending him to his employer in Wisconsin," Danny replied as he tied Skulker up with a string while he continued to rant about fearing him.

"Ready to launch," Dani said after she had set the coordinates to the suit.

Danny tied him to a missile while Skulker continued to rant, "Launch all of them."

Dani started at him wide-eyed and she knew that Danny almost never is this mischievous since that was her department. She just returns the smile and launches all of the missiles.

"You can't do this to me for I am Skulker, the greatest hunter in the Ghost Zone! You shall fear me!" his last word became nothing but a scream as the missiles were launched.

"How much do you wanna be that the fruit loop isn't going too pleased when he returns to Wisconsin?" Danny asked Danielle.

"What are you two talking about?" Valerie asked annoyed that they weren't attacking her and the sound of a lone applause was heard.

They turned to see someone hovering above them and he lands near them. He wore a white-caped suit. He had black spiked hair, a pale face, and he had pointed teeth. His appearance sparked disgust among the Phantoms and Valerie also recognized him but only by appearance.

"Plasmius," the Phantoms growled in disgust.

"Destroying your enemy's home?" Plasmius asked but it wasn't a question as he cracks a smile. "You are becoming more like me than you know it, Daniel."

"I'm nothing like you!" Danny shouted back as his eyes flashed a darker green.

"Ooh, the eye thing," he mocks him acting scared.

"What do you want?" Dani angrily asked him.

"Enough talk, ghost!" Valerie interrupts as she fires on Plasmius, who lazily blocks the shot with a shield before he counterattacks with a single ecto-blast from his finger knocking her flat on her back.

"I know what you want, Vlad," Danny hissed. "The answer is no and we already have to deal with you for the next few days."

"So," Dani adds also hissing, "lets just make it through without a fight?"

"Or else," Danny adds and Plasmius just frowns knowing what he was getting at.

"Fine," he replies and with a quick swish of his cape; he vanished in a violet puff of smoke.

"You let him go!" Valerie asked after she saw that Plasmius had vanished.

"We'll deal with him later; unless you want to call a temporarily truce in order to stop him?" Danny asked her with his arms crossed.

"Never!" Valerie snaps at them as she puts a weapon on them.

She misses and they just duplicated, spin cycle, and split up so they had lost Valerie again. They soon met up again in Danny's room wearing a face of sheer annoyance as they de-transformed.

"She is really starting to get on my nerves!" Danielle huffed throwing her hands in the air.

"She somehow knows that we were there and I think her ghost detector has been updated to find us at a given range."

"Valerie again?" they turned to see Jazz sitting at his desk reading her book.

"You know that you didn't have to wait for us," Danny said flatly and Jazz ignored the mood he was in.

"You know that I worry about both of you," she replied with a smile.