Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Danny Phantom.
Note (10/10/2020): To "Dp-Marvel94," yeah I was getting kinda tired of them fighting and figured that Sam and Tucker have been feeling super anxious waiting for any news about Danny, but at the same time they didn't want to risk Vlad keeping them from contacting Danny permanently if they screwed up a third time. So in the end it's a good thing Valerie went ahead and told Sam he's ok and even offered to help. Hopefully, that will help Sam warm up to her and see that Valerie really means it about not wanting to be enemies whereas Vlad could care less what they think about him as long as Danny is far away from them.
Chapter 31: Living In The Moment
"Today's moment is tomorrow's memory."
~ Lailah Gifty Akita
Danny's POV
As if today couldn't get any weirder after Whisper assumed we were father and son Vlad's attitude towards her totally changed and he's been acting like the perfect host ever since. In fact, we even spent most of the afternoon showing her around the castle like it's no big deal which really threw me for a loop at first. You could argue that I'm the one who made a big deal of it first when I freaked out after sensing one of her wisp things, but either way, I could tell the gears were turning in that big brain of his which meant Vlad had some other motive behind letting Whisper inside instead of telling her to take her wisps and leave.
Whisper seems like a really nice person so I don't mind showing her around, or that she's a ghost, I'm just surprised Vlad seems so cool with letting a stranger into his castle so easily that's all. Then again, with Vlad involved, it wouldn't be the first time he's done something unpredictable just to mess with me. Also, when we turned human again so I could conserve my ecto-energy, Whisper seemed totally awed by the fact that we're still alive but have ghost powers too and that's when I knew for sure she totally meant it when she said she has no idea who we are. And being able to start off getting to know Whisper with a clean slate since she doesn't know about our complicated past is actually a really nice feeling, not gonna lie.
Besides, I almost had to laugh at how starstruck she was by us being only half-ghost since I don't think I've seen anyone react this way since the day I met Sidney Poindexter and he mistook me for a bully when I decided to get back at Dash a little by pulling some pranks. It's still weird meeting someone who hasn't heard of me before or even Vlad who's been half-ghost way longer than I have, but like I said it was an oddly refreshing feeling at the same time.
But I swear, sometimes I feel like I'm never going to get used to living with Vlad since he keeps surprising me like this. Old habits die hard though so whatever he was up to I was going to find out one way or another. I know it can't be anything bad, but still, it was in both our interests for me to keep a close eye on these two. Because who knows what other crazy things Vlad might do to send me reeling next whether that's his intention or not to help me feel a bit more like my old self again.
After we finished showing Whisper around most of the castle it wasn't long before Vlad got 'straight back to business' and asked her to tell us a bit more about herself and her unique powers. Vlad seemed especially interested in what Whisper mentioned earlier about how she enjoyed collecting old things with memories of the past, whatever that's supposed to mean. Either way, I was just happy to have an excuse to sit down again because truth be told I was beat.
Still, I think Whisper really surprised us both when she suddenly asked to show us something as thanks for the tour and after Vlad gave her the ok she summoned an antique pocket watch out of thin air from her 'collection' and after showing it to one of her wisps it transformed into a phantom version of some kind of Victorian nobleman that kept pacing restlessly in midair. It was like watching a hologram from a movie scene but what was in front of us was a glowing silhouette made of that pale teal-colored fire. After that, she explained to us that this projected version was going to be reenacting a memory and that her wisps could even perfectly replicate how that person sounds too which I'll admit is pretty cool.
Not wanting to miss anything I propped myself up in my seat a bit more to watch the memory play out when it said-"Dear oh dear, the train is twelve minutes late already! At this rate, we'll never make it to the opera house in time. Ah, excuse me, my good sir, could you please tell me why has the train been delayed? You see my fiance is on board and-"
"Fascinating," Vlad mused thoughtfully after she told her wisp to stop when she saw he wanted to say something. "So this is what you meant earlier when you spoke about watching traces of memory from the past. It appears that you have the psychic power of Retrocognition, otherwise known as Postcognition, which allows you to supernaturally perceive and even reenact the most significant events of the past through interacting with objects and possibly people. You also possess all the traits of an Empath which is a person who can sense the emotions of those around you and you can even take this a step further since your ghostly aura has a natural healing effect, at least in a spiritual regard."
"That's right. One of the first things I discovered about myself after becoming a ghost is that sometimes I can hear them whispering to me depending on if they have strong memories or feelings attached to them. For example, I once found an old teddy bear that showed me the memory of a little girl who lost it during a camping trip. It's one of the first things I went out of my way to return since I got the impression she was still alive and it helped her get some closure since that's the last one they went on as a family before her parents got divorced. It still took me a few years to get the hang of it and filter out the whispering so I don't hear it all the time," Whisper smiled, floating above the sofa with the other two wisps in her lap, purring.
Chiming in, I nodded and said, "Now I get it. So that's why your name is Whisper. And I don't know about that other stuff Vlad said, but I think I understand what an Empath is at least. It's based on the word empathy, isn't it? So it's like you're in tune with how they feel all the time? Must be rough..."
"It can be a bit overwhelming sometimes," Whisper admitted with a small shrug, smiling at me knowingly, "But as long as I remember to pull back sometimes and let them sort out their own problems after giving them a gentle nudge to steer them in the right direction, it's not too bad. Just because I want to help people doesn't mean I should ignore my own feelings, needs, and dreams. That's why I look for antiques for fun too since I can't help anyone if I'm feeling down on myself."
"Well said!" Vlad smirked, also giving me a knowing look before standing up and adding, "At any rate, it has been a delight meeting you, my dear girl. Tell me, do you have any further plans before leaving the area, or are you planning to stay awhile? If so I have an offer that may interest you."
Here we go, I knew Vlad had to have another reason for inviting Whisper here out of the blue like that and giving her the grand tour, I sighed, rolling my eyes and slumping back into my seat on the sofa.
I wasn't in the mood to try and convince Vlad to leave her alone and Whisper's right about one thing, she can make her own decisions too and knows what's best for her in the end. It's not really up to me to tell her what to do or not to do otherwise. I just hope Vlad isn't planning on making her his own personal treasure hunter or something. I'd much rather see her keep helping people because at least that's something she can still do...even as a ghost.
Valerie's POV
Even though I felt totally beat when I got home, I was in a much better mood than I have in a while after getting a few things off my chest and smoothing things over with Sam at least a little. I don't want to push my luck though so I left it up to her when to tell Tucker that Danny's awake from his coma now. I'll admit I was taken aback when Sam suddenly got really emotional and blurted out that Danny has tried to commit suicide once. That worries me, but I hope he'll never feel that way again now that Dan's gone forever.
I just want Danny to be happy and safe whether he's here with us or not. And I'm sure Sam and Tucker feel the same way. I know they feel awful about that fight they had and I know I wasn't exactly upset when Danny told them off, but that said I wasn't lying when I said it pissed me off that Vlad took things a step further to make them feel even worse by going out of his way to sabotage Sam like this with a restraining order. If I had known about that sooner, maybe I wouldn't have been so hard on her...
Still, there had to be some kind of loophole we could use in there somewhere or at least a way to find out how much longer it would last before Vlad has to decide whether to renew it or not. I briefly considered asking my dad for ideas, but then I realized it was probably better not to get him involved since he has enough on his plate. Normally my dad is pretty calm and collected about his work but I could tell he was dreading it this morning since it was going to be his first day supervising Danny's parents at their new job working at Axion Labs too.
And when dad walked in the door with his mustache slightly more fuzzy than usual, I could tell it went about as well as expected. Pretending not to notice, I looked up from looking through my backpack for today's homework and asked, "Hey dad, now that you're home do you know what you'd like for dinner? I can get it started before working on my homework depending on what it is."
"Honestly, I think we should just go out and grab something. I'm worried if I sit down for too long I'll fall asleep on the spot," he chuckled nervously before sitting next to me anyway, wrapping an arm around my shoulder. "By the way, you seem to be in an awfully good mood. Did you have a good day at school Valerie?"
"Mostly," I smiled, zipping up my backpack and carefully setting the thermos on the coffee table. "I had to fight a few ghosts today so I have those ready to go. Which reminds me, one of them got inside the shield today-" my smile fell a little remembering how that fight went and I looked dad right in the eye as I continued, "-you might want to tell Vlad or your workers about that so they can find a way to fix it since most ghost shields end at ground level. If more of them figure out they can phase underneath the ground to bypass it we're going to be in big trouble."
His eyes widening a bit, he nodded and sighed since I brought up something work-related after only just getting home, "Alright, I'll get on that as soon as I can. Thanks for letting me know sweetheart. Is there anything else I should know?"
Smirking to let him know the next part wasn't so serious I told him, "Well, I do have some good news. I finally made some progress with Sam today and I have a good feeling about our discussion. Oh, and since Star felt bad I'm not allowed to go to the dance this weekend she and Kwan gave me two express tickets to the amusement park."
Pulling out the envelope to show him the tickets I continued thoughtfully, "I wasn't planning on using the spare since I don't have a date or anything but what you just said about dinner gave me an idea. Why don't we make a daddy-daughter thing? You know, just like when I was little? Judging from how grizzly your mustache is I'm sure you could use a break."
"Are you sure you want to waste a ticket on a 'grizzly' old man like me?" dad teased, giving my shoulder another affectionate squeeze.
"Well if you reeeally don't want to, I can always ask a boy out after all and we start making out in the tunnel of love..." I teased back after making dramatic kissy sounds and in response, dad started tickling me and we both laughed, and while he didn't outright say it I could tell dad appreciated the gesture.
"In all seriousness, though things are...hectic at work so I can't make any promises," he shuttered a bit which made me raise an eyebrow at him.
Then dad pecked my cheek and smiled, "But if I can get some time off I would love to spend the day with you just like old times. As for tonight, I feel like going out for a bit to get away from the house so why don't you get changed and we'll go to our favorite restaurant in the uptown area? I'll go make a reservation."
"Sounds great dad!" I beamed back, knowing exactly the place he's talking about where we haven't eaten since he lost his job at Axion Labs the first time and we had to move out of our nice house. "I did a pretty thorough job capturing as many stray ghosts as I could so we should be fine for the next few hours before I go out on patrol tonight. I can hold off on my homework for now since most of it's not due till Friday."
I can't tell you how nice it was to still feel welcome at our favorite restaurant even though we haven't been able to afford a meal here in almost a year. Most of the servers knew us since we used to come here at least once a month when dad really needed to get away from work for a while. Usually, dad doesn't mind it since he loves his job and it's very rare that he has ever had to deal with any actual intruders so he spends most of his time inventing and improving security systems. And before now he only worked with normal ones against human thieves, ghosts are an entirely different story.
Anyways, I love this place because their food is great and once dad finally started to relax in an old familiar setting, he told me how his first day supervising Danny's parents went, "The day started off fairly normal while I showed them around the lab where they're going to be working from now on and for the most part they seemed to catch on quickly. I'm going to have to count on Maddie to keep her husband in check since old habits die hard. Though I suppose it's my own fault for telling them to try and get a feel for their new workspace before reinforcing the safety regulations.
"The lab is equipped with all the basic necessities and the chemicals are stored in the next room, there are also raw materials for more meticulous tinkering with electric wiring and, well let's just say we were in for quite a shock. Jack couldn't wait to get started and must've forgotten to make sure the device I had him working on was off because it made my hair stand on end, or at least my mustache. Since it's only their first day I decided to take it easy on them, especially since they only just heard their son woke up from a coma. I'm sure what Vlad doesn't know what hurt him since they stayed on task pretty well after that," he finished, taking another sip of water while we waited for the appetizer which was this amazing freshly baked bread cut into slices with at least three different butter options of normal, honey, and garlic.
"Ah, that explains the grizzled mustache since you usually keep it so well-groomed. And look at you, keeping secrets from your boss. I'm such a bad influence," I laughed softly at the irony, "I seriously hope they don't give you too hard a time dad. Otherwise, we might have to come here more often. Not that I'm complaining..."
Trailing off I looked up at the skylights above us where you could see the sunset and I sighed, "I've really missed this dad. I thought we were never going to get out of that apartment no matter how hard I worked to help pay the bills and save up for college. I still can't believe this is happening sometimes and we owe it all to Danny. I don't think I'll ever be able to repay him for that."
"Well, Vlad played a part in it too," dad reminded me, "It does feel strange moving into his old mansion but it saves us time looking for another house on sale that's close to your school. Once you're old enough to drive it should be easy to go back and forth on your own instead of now since we're on the very edge of the school boundary. Speaking of which, have you thought about what you'd like to do when you graduate?"
Taking a minute to think about it I admitted, "Honestly? Not really. I had more immediate things to worry about before so thinking about the future was a bit much for me. I still feel that way with everything going on but it's not as intense this time. My only goal right now IS to graduate and have plenty of money saved up to go to college. I've saved up a little bit but now that things aren't as dire I should put that money to use getting some new clothes. Within reason obviously!" I added hastily when he gave me a pointed look at the idea of wasting my hard college earned money on clothes.
Nodding to himself, dad surprised me when he added, "That reminds me since you're working for Vlad too unofficially I've spoken with him about your payment. I think it's only fair for you to get a real paycheck instead of just a raised allowance. We're still working out the details since your work is so...dangerous and unpredictable but if this all goes well you'll have all the same benefits as a real job. That includes medical and actual work experience you can add to a resume."
"That's good to hear," I smiled, happy for an excuse to stop talking for a bit when the appetizer arrived and we placed our orders.
Dad took the hint about switching topics so we started theorizing about that secret hidden room in the mansion Vlad hinted about that's not in the blueprints. He even suggested going to the house tomorrow for a visit since he wanted me to pick a room anyway to call my own since the construction people were already expanding his bedroom to include an office. We've already finished packing up since most of our belongings when we moved the first time had to be replaced when that stupid ghost mutt trashed them, but we managed to salvage some of it, so now we're just choosing what to keep and what to replace while the workers finish up.
If we were lucky though, we could give them some last-minute instructions and still be ready to move into the mansion before Friday. So I told him that yeah, that sounded like a great idea and we spent the rest of the night going over ideas for some of the rooms like our plan to have a separate workout room for each of us. We already decided to play it safe by converting Vlad's old lab into a bunker of sorts in case something big happened and we needed a safe place to hole up, but let's hope it never comes to that.
That room also wasn't on the original blueprints along with the other one Vlad mentioned, but it was on his revised copy he sent just for us so we could decide what to use those rooms for. And dad agreed that we might want to keep the training room and re-rig it so I could do more ghost-fight related training in there even though I don't have ghost powers. Still, who knows what secrets that extra room might hold? So Vlad was right about one thing, it was an exciting mystery I couldn't wait to uncover.