WoM- Hello again! Dija miss me? 'grins brightly' it's good to have a break from Gender Confusion every now and then! I love my stories to bits, but it's getting to the point where some of the lines are still running through my head in my sleep! 'grumbles lightly' I can't wait to get the two caught up with each other so I can post my new story… Ah, well, pointless rambling over with. Enjoy the chapter!
"Perhaps the most delightful friendships are those in which there is much agreement, much disputation, and yet more personal liking."
-George Eliot
Vlad scowled darkly at his white walls, bored out of his mind. There was nothing to do in the cell except sit and dwell on ones thoughts, and it was quickly growing mind-numbing for the billionaire, as escape was impossible in the air-tight security, and nothing else was provided for him to occupy his time.
He got three meals a day, all prepared to the highest standards of living and served by three guards wearing ghost-proof armor. Other then that, though, he never saw another soul, living or dead. Actually, he was growing quite irritated with waiting for someone to come down and talk to him. As the first half ghost in existence, you would think he'd earn more respect…
He came out of his thoughts when he heard footfall echoing down the hall, coming closer and closer. Vlad tensed, half wary and half relieved that SOMETHING was finally happening.
His eyes narrowing, he waited impatiently for whoever it was to come into sight. A few minutes later, he wasn't disappointed at the appearance of two people, a boy and a girl around the same age, though the boy may have been the younger of the two.
The boy had a look of cool, smug confidence Vlad wasn't quite sure he was old enough to have. Like all the soldiers, he wore a suit of high-tech armor that kept ghosts from working any powers on him. Still, it was clear from the attention he got that this boy was much more then a common grunt.
The girl wore long black hair with a silver circlet across her pale forehead. Like the boy, she had a smooth, confident stride in her steps. Unlike her younger companion, though, Vlad could tell instantly that it was a well-earned pride. The fact that he recognized the woman's decorative outfit helped, too.
'Shamaness?' He thought, confused. The Haunters had never used professional spiritualists before…
"Hello, Mr. Masters," The boy interrupted his thoughts in a pleasant tone as he and the girl stopped outside Vlad's cell. "My sister and I want to have a word with you…"
'Siblings, then?' Vlad frowned, comparing the two, 'they certainly look nothing alike.' As if sensing his thoughts, the girl gave him an annoyed look.
"And if I'm not interested in talking?" Vlad challenged.
"Well, then," The boy smirked, "We'll just have to make you…"
"Aww, come on, Melissa!" Tucker whined over his girlfriends laugher, "Don't you trust me?"
"You? Yes," Melissa said, smiling broadly like she only did when the two of them were alone and taking his hand, "It's your mouth I don't trust. You know you couldn't keep a secret, Tucker."
"Shows how much you know," Tucker sulked. Melissa laughed again at the sight her grumpy boyfriend made, showing a level of bravery most students at Casper High wouldn't think she possessed by kissing him lightly on the cheek.
"I would tell you if it was my secret, but it's not," She confessed, smiling at him, "Just trust me, okay? It's nothing to be worried about."
Got it," Tucker sighed. Truth was, though, he was worried. He was terrified that some ghost he helped Danny put away would come back for revenge against the two of them by using Melissa against him. Some of Danny's enemies had proven to be smart enough to think of sinister plans like that in the past, Vlad, Walker… Even Skulker and Spectra had their moments.
So when Melissa came home three hours late last night, he was busy wearing a past in his floor with his pacing as he debated on whether or not to call Danny. Then when she finally did get home, the only excuse she had for her tardiness was that she 'ran into a little trouble.'
Tucker sighed. He would feel a little better about the whole thing if Danny and Melissa could just learn to get along, but he didn't see that happening any time soon.
'Especially not with Valerie there corrupting his mind,' He added darkly to himself, not willing to forgive the girl as easily as Danny had. Trying to kill someone best friend over a lost rep was a little harsh in his book…
Movement caught the corner of Tucker's eye, and years of helping Danny ghost hunt taught him to look up sharply, just in time to see the edge of a cloak or a cape disappear around a corner and into a dark alley.
"Tucker?" Melissa said curiously, glancing in the direction Tucker's eyes were focused.
"It's nothing," Tucker said, standing up, "Can you go ahead without me? I need to talk to Danny for a second,"
"A-alright…' Melissa said, blinking as Tucker started off without waiting for a reply. Confused and a little worried, Melissa started towards class as Tucker headed off for Danny's locker, deep in thought.
'This can't mean anything good…' He said grimly to himself
BLACKBIRD
Chapter 8; Crossfire
"Really?" Danny said, frowning slightly. "Weird…"
"You think it's Technus?" Tucker asked, "Or Plasmius, maybe…"
"Maybe…" Danny said carefully.
"But you don't think so," Tucker finished for him with a dry look.
"It's just… all of this is really weird," Danny sighed, "I mean, all the recent ghost activity, that girl last night, Vlad's phone call, what Jazz saw in the ally last night…" Tucker blinked at him.
"Riiight," He drawled out, "Hey, Danny? When you decide to start making sense, just gimme a call," Danny rolled his eyes in exasperation.
"Last night I was finishing up a fight with a ghost when I met a really weird girl."
"Ghost hunter weird or fangirl weird?" Tucker asked.
"TUCKER!" Danny growled, blushing slightly as he glared at his friend, "That was a one time thing and we all agreed it never happened!" Tucker chuckled slightly.
"I still can't believe some girl you've never spoken to a day in your life tried to-!"
"TUCKER!"
"Alright, alright!" Tucker said, holding up his hands in a peaceful gesture to avoid yet another nasty overshadowing-based prank. "Anyways, go on,"
"Well, to answer part of your question, she wasn't a ghost hunter," Danny sighed, "She was… I dunno. But she was definitely alive and she had a really weird power. It was kind like ecto-energy, only it felt a little different. And it was black. I've never seen black ecto-energy before." Tucker nodded thoughtfully, pulling out his PDA and tapping furiously on the screen.
"What did she look like?" The tech-geek asked.
"Well, I never saw her face… but she wore a blue cloak with a red and gold clasp, her boots matched her cloak. I think she had a black leotard on underneath, and some kind of belt… anyways she was really pale, and her eyes were purple."
Tucker made small noises with everything Danny listed off, not that all surprised that he remembered all those small details. His friend had learned to notice everything, even in the heat of battle.
"Aaaand… Match!" Tucker grinned proudly at his skills for a moment, until his eyes scanned the information. His grin fell. "Uh-oh…"
"Uh-oh what?" Danny asked, alert.
"…Uhh…" Tucker cringed. Panicking slightly, Danny grabbed the PDA out of his friend's hands, ignoring the cry of protest.
On the screen was a full picture, then a side profile of the girl he'd spoken to last night. He cloak was down in the profile, and he saw her short hair, the same violet color of her eyes. Her face was just as pale as the rest of her, but the look seemed to suit her better then it did most people.
"That's her!" Danny said, his eyes skipping over to the text. He paled at the first line. "Oh, no…"
'One of the five original Teen Titans, Raven is known to be a master of magic…'
"…There's siccing the Titans on me now?" Danny wailed, slumping against the lockers. He was familiar with the crime fighters. After all, who wasn't? They were famous all over the world for their heroics.
"What can I say, dude, when it rains it pours," Tucker said sympathetically. "Well, at least we can be pretty sure she isn't here to do any damage to the town, with her rep."
"Yeah…" Danny sighed. "I just wish people would have a little more faith in me…" Tucker looked faintly annoyed.
"And by 'people' you mean 'Valerie,'" He stated, crossing his arms.
"I never said that," Danny denied sharply.
"Didn't not say it, either," Tucker pointed out.
"I thought Sam was in France, Tuck," Danny snapped.
"Which leaves me with twice the work to keep you from getting your butt fried," Tucker sighed, "Look, I know you like Valerie, but don't you think that maybe you're taking an unnecessary risk on your life? She's a ghost hunter, Danny, and she's out for your blood,"
"She is not!" Danny said defensively. "…She's out for Phantom's blood. She's friends with Fenton."
"News Flash, pal," Tucker frowned, "Fenton and Phantom are kinda the same person; You." Danny sighed.
"I get it, alright?" Danny said bitterly, "I won't tell Valerie about my ghost form until I think she can handle it," Tucker's eyes widened.
"Wait!" He protested, "What's that supposed to-!"
"Can we get back to the recent surge of weirdness, now?" Danny interrupted his friend. He didn't want to answer any more questions about Valerie. Tucker sighed irritably.
"Fine," He said. He made a mental note to tell Sam about all this next time she snuck away from the nuns long enough to get on a computer and talk to them. She was better at handling this stuff then he was…
"Anyways, after I spoke to Raven, I started to fly back home and found Jazz standing by an alley looking pretty freaked out. She even attacked me with the Fenton Anti-Creep stick when I asked her what she was doing."
"Can't you guys just call it a bat?" Tucker sighed.
"And after acting like a complete loon for about ten minutes, she told me she was some freaky guy in a cape in the alley talking to a glowing green light."
"Never a good sign," Tucker noted.
"My thoughts exactly. There was nothing in the alley, but the strain on the dimensional barrier was a little stronger there, so I think she did see something. Then she goes and tells me that Vlad called out house to warn me about something." Tucker's eyes widened.
"Wait; VLAD called to warn YOU about something?" Danny nodded. "That wins for freakiest event of the millennium."
"Right," Danny sighed, "Jazz said he was really insistent about warning me. Something about Hunters or Haunters or something like that…"
"I'll see what I can pull up." Tucker said, taking back his PDA, "In the meantime, be careful, okay? All this stuff it really creeping me out…"
'And I didn't even tell him about how the guys from the alley want to kidnap and kill me…' He thought dryly.
"Deal," Danny said, "As long as you promise the same thing. You're in just as much danger as I am,"
"Lair," Tucker said with a ghost of a smile, "You always take the worst hits, Danny," before Danny could respond, the bell rang, "I've gotta get to History. Later, Danny."
"See ya," Danny said, waving to his best friend before he turned and started away. He frowned as Tucker's warnings about Valerie played in his head again.
'He's just overreacting.' Danny reassured himself, 'And anyways, we're just friends. No danger in being friends, right?'
Still, Danny knew parts of his friend's warnings were true. Telling Valerie that Danny Phantom and Danny Fenton were one in the same would only lead to more problems for both of them, and Danny wasn't sure if he could take losing another friend. Besides, when she wasn't shooting ecto-blasts at him, Valerie was really cool and fun to be around.
Now if only she would see Phantom wasn't evil…
Danny jerk out of his thoughts when he accidentally knocked into someone, stumbling a little but managing to catch himself before he fell. The girl he'd walked into wasn't as lucky and tripped into the lockers, her books spewing all over the place.
"Oops!" Danny cringed in guilt, helping her gather them, "Sorry about that…"
"I-It's okay!" The girl stammered. Behind her, the girl's friend giggled slightly.
"Here," Danny said, helping the girl up and handing her the books, "Ah, sorry again, I should've watched where I was going…"
"Really, it's fine," The girl assure him, blushing, "I've gotta go!" And, before Danny could say anything, the two girls took off, giggling madly. Danny frowned after them.
'What the heck was that about?' he thought, bewildered.
"You're insane," Valerie said plainly, "You know that, right? Either insane or stupid, cause you gotta be one of them to pull the crap you did this morning."
"I'm not going to let someone else push me around," Raven said firmly. "What, you like being treated like dirt?" Valerie rolled her eyes.
"You are completely oblivious to social structure, aren't you," She said dryly. Raven gave her a blank look and the girl sight, "Look, I'm only gonna warn you once more; Getting into fights with the popular kids will only make your life harder then it has to be. I'm not sure what it's like being home schooled, but in high school you make sacrifices in order to survive, and yeah, sometimes that sacrifice means not punching out someone who really deserves it."
"And where do you fall in this spectrum?" Raven asked.
"Reject," Valerie said bluntly, "Or outcast. That's the nicer sounding one for when I'm within hearing distance."
"And that shallow little brat?" Raven asked, motioning towards Paulina. Valerie blinked.
"Creepy," She muttered. At Raven's quizzical look, she added, "Manson used to call Paulina a shallow little witch."
"Witches are nicer," Raven responded without hesitation. They were, too. She knew several people of the Wiccan faith who were almost as cheery as Starfire.
"Anyways, Paulina's top of the food chain," Valerie sighed, "Meaning if she says something will happen, it WILL happen, no ifs, ands, or buts,"
"We'll see about that," Raven said, her look darkening.
"Confident, aren't we?" Valerie asked in a mocking tone. Then her face lit up before Raven could retort, "DANNY!" She called, waving furiously.
Turning, Raven was the grinning Fenton was indeed making his way over to their table to take the seat he had sat in the day before. He looked a little tired for someone who had turned in early, and Raven couldn't help but notice how relieved he looked to be sitting down.
"Hey Val, hey Rae," Danny said casually, unpacking his lunch.
"You okay, Fenton?" Valerie asked, looking worried.
"Fine," Danny sighed, "I just had a really… busy morning," the girls exchanged looks as Danny made a face.
"What, did you mom try and make breakfast again or something?" Valerie asked, suppressing a smile. One still couldn't say the word 'bacon,' in front of Jazz without making her shutter violently…
"Not exactly." Danny answered, shaking his head, "It's just… have you ever had the feeling someone was watching you?"
"Eyes on the back of your neck sorta thing?" Valerie clarified. "Yeah, I've been there,"
"You're probably just being paranoid," Raven reassured him, "I couldn't blame you, either, considering your bedroom is over a portal into a parallel dimension full of malevolent spirits,"
"It's not a ghost," Danny said, frowning, "I can tell when it's a ghost." He could? Valerie blinked, getting interested. THAT was a trick that could definitely be useful… "Speaking of which, here's the information my dad wanted me to give you two. You sure you want to come, Rae? Some of these people get a little… eccentric. And that's comparing them to my parents."
"I'm sure," Raven responded, taking the packet, "Like I said, I really like paranormal things…"
"Hey, it's your funeral." Danny shrugged.
"So, Danny," Valerie said, leaning in to talk to the boy, "Any word from Sam lately?" She didn't like the girl, but that didn't mean she couldn't feel sorry about what the goth was being up through. Valerie was very, VERY glad her father was more lenient then that.
"No," Danny sighed. "Not for a while now… I should get another letter soon, hopefully."
"Hopefully," Valerie repeated, though her heart wasn't really into it. While she couldn't say she wanted Sam cut completely from Danny's life, she did enjoy this time alone with him, where the girl wasn't breathing down her neck like she had when she was still in the continent.
Really could the girl be any more obvious with her feelings?
'Then again, this is Mr. Oblivious we're talking about…' Valerie noted in dry amusement.
"Hi Danny!" A girl blurted out as she passed their table, blushed slightly as her friend grinned at her encouragingly.
"Uh, hey?" Danny replied, blinking in confusion.
"You know them?" Raven asked.
"I bumped into one of them in the hall today," Danny explained, "Don't know why they're acting so weird…"
'…I rest my case.' Valerie thought, sighing silently and fighting a smile. She wasn't too concerned. The girl who'd just passed probably used up all her courage on just saying 'hi' to Danny, there was no way she could ever have the guts to spell her feeling out for the boy.
"Danny!" A familiar voice sang out, stopping all activity at the table.
"Paulina?" Danny said, looking very confused.
'This one, on the other hand…' Valerie thought, glaring at Paulina. Raven didn't look too happy with the cheerleader's sudden appearance either.
"Hey Danny!" Paulina giggled, "I was just wondering if you were going to the big fair this Saturday?"
"Fair?" Danny repeated, frowning, "Sorry, Paulina, I'm not sure if I can make it. I've got this family thing I need to do,"
"That's right," Valerie said, smirking at her ex-friend, "We're all leaving this Saturday, and we won't be back until Tuesday," Paulina paused to give Valerie an annoyed look before turning a pout on Danny.
"Oh, come on, Danny! Can't you at least come for five minutes!" She pleaded, making her eyes big and sad. Valerie and Raven's scowling became more pronounced as Danny blushed slightly.
"W-well, I guess just stopping by for a few minutes can't hurt…" He agreed. He missed the triumphant smirk Paulina shot the two girls as she hugged Danny.
"Thanks, Danny!" She sang out, "Can't wait to see you there!" And with a little wave, the popular girl headed back to her own territory.
"What the heck was that about?" Valerie demanded.
"Oh, come on, Val," Danny sighed, "She really wanted to see me there. Besides, it's an all day fair and we're not leaving until one in the afternoon." Valerie sighed in frustration.
"Fine," She said sullenly, "But I'm going with you! You can never trust Paulina's crowd!" Danny rolled his eyes.
"What's she gonna do?" He asked, standing up to throw away his trash, "Kidnap me?"
"Wouldn't put it past her…" Valerie growled in annoyance as he left. Once he was gone, she turned to glare at Raven. "You know this is your fault, right?"
"How do you figure that?" Raven shot back, glaring as well. She wasn't in a compliant mood.
"Hmm, let's see," Valerie said sarcastically, "You diss Paulina and her cronies and suddenly Miss Too-Good-For-Any-Guy-But-Phantom is trying to get her claws into Danny. Anyone else see the connection here?" Raven scowled.
"I can handle myself against Paulina," She said firmly. Valerie rolled her eyes.
"We'll see." She said, standing to throw her trash away and catch up with Danny. Raven scowled as she watched her go, before it turned into a cruel smile as she plotted her counterassault…
WoM- Uh-oh! Raven's plotting! Meep! 'hides' Oh and did everyone else catch Flirting With Disaster last night? When it was over, I was torn between hugging Valerie and smacking her across the head. Still, the new outfits REALLY cool (Especially since you can see her face now) and I just loved the scene were Val was defending Danny with nothing more then an empty milk carton and a broken tree branch. ( D)
Thanks to;
Missmeliss4251
Invader Johnny
epobbp
Anne Camp aka Obi-quiet
Firefury
My Eternal Facade
Tizamiki
Divine-Red-Crayon
Ytak
Seeker Carter
Tetsukon
Shiva the Sarcastic
Samantha-Girl Scout
noveler00
conan98002
Darth Frodo
Ant Crown
Firehedgehog
The Halfa Wannabe
Raving-Lunatic
Petitio Principii
Reggie Tuesday
I Brake For Ghosts
Anime Chick009
Light Dragon SunsSong
The Great Susinko
Spirit of Zurvan
Opus
Next update; January 21st
See you then!