Danny was starting to wonder if he was cursed or something along those lines. Why was he feeling like this right now? Well it had been a few days since Ember had found out about Danielle and he, reluctantly, allowed her to come by and hang out so Danielle could get used to other people. So far so good as Danielle surprisingly took to Ember like a duck to water.
But then his friends found out about Ember.
"What the hell, Danny?! Why would you let HER of all people near Danielle?!" demanded Sam, glaring at Danny and then at Ember.
Danny, who was holding Danielle, let out a sigh of frustration while Ember glared right back at Sam. Standing off to the side were Tucker, Jazz, Kitty, and Johnny (who got dragged here by his girlfriend). The four of them were wise enough to keep quiet and watch.
Instead of answering his friend, Danny stepped a few feet away from the two girls. Once he was far enough, he set Danielle down and watched as the ghostling quickly toddled off towards Ember. Sam had a blank look on her face as she watched the little one raise her arms wanting to be held, to which the rock diva complied.
"As you can see, Danielle REALLY likes Ember," said Danny. "And considering I'm trying to get Danielle used to others, I can't overlook this."
"Sure you could," replied Sam, crossing her arms.
Ember let out a slight growl. "Up yours, Goth! Sounds more like you're just jealous that Mini-Pop likes me more than you!"
She had to smirk in victory as the Goth glared at her.
Danny pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. Why couldn't life be easier for him?
"Can you two NOT argue, at least not in front of Danielle?" asked Danny with a grimace as he looked at the two girls.
"She started it," they both muttered, giving each other side glares.
The halfa's frustration grew even more. "If it weren't for the fact that Danielle needs other people in her life, I'd take visitation privileges away from the both of you."
Sam frowned and put her hands on her hips while Ember gave off a slight pout.
"I still want to know WHY Danielle is so attached to Ember of all people," demanded the Goth girl.
Ember could feel her eye twitch in annoyance, but kept her temper in check. She didn't want to upset Baby-Pop and Mini-Pop.
"She just is, Goth, so drop it!"
A growl escaped Sam's throat. She was about to snap back, but a look from Danny stopped her in her tracks.
"That's enough, Sam. I have to think of what's best for Danielle right now and right now I need Ember's help."
It took everything Sam had to hold her tongue. She wanted to keep arguing, to try and get it through Danny's head that this was a bad idea and that Ember couldn't be trusted. Except she couldn't argue the fact that Danielle did indeed really like Ember for some reason. For now, Sam was going to remain quiet and keep her eyes open. The first moment the rock diva tried anything, into the thermos she goes.
"Fine," replied the Goth with a huff.
Danny knew this wasn't the end, but he'll take what he can get for now.
"By the way, Danny," started Kitty. "Has Danielle gotten used to anyone else yet?"
The Halfa grimaced while Jazz pouted.
"Yes, but it's going very slowly," replied Danny. "She's getting better with Tucker and Sam (at which Tucker grinned and Sam smirked), but she still doesn't like being near Jazz. Of course that might have something to do with Jazz constantly trying to put Danielle in dresses."
Jazz pouted even further when Danny directed a glare towards her.
"There is nothing wrong with trying to make her look pretty," stated the budding psychologist.
Ember glanced down at the ghostling in her arms to see the little one giving her aunt a pouty glare.
"I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Mini-Pop disagrees with you, dipstick," replied the fiery girl in a deadpan tone.
"Jazz, I know you mean well, but please don't try to dress Danielle in something she doesn't like," added Danny with a sigh. "Since she's a clone of me, she'll most likely end up a tomboy and there is nothing wrong with that."
"But she would look so cute and pretty!"
The Halfa boy could just feel the migraine coming. He knew how to fix this.
"Fine, Jazz. You can dress Danielle up in dresses."
Everyone looked at Danny, questioning why he just gave in like that, while Jazz beamed in happiness.
"Really?"
"Just as long as you give up on being a psychologist and become whatever it is Dad wants you to be," replied Danny. It took everything to keep the shit-eating grin off his face when Jazz looked at him in horror.
"Wh-What?! Why?!"
"You force Danielle to do something she clearly doesn't like, then you have to do something YOU clearly won't like. It's only fair," explained the raven-haired boy.
"Y-You can't do that!" exclaimed Jazz, scared of what her little brother is capable of.
"Dad's down in the lab right now and I can easily go down there and tell him that you've decided to follow in his footsteps."
'Maybe Baby-Pop's not as much of a goody-goody as we thought,' thought Ember with a small grin as Jazz paled.
"D-Don't you dare! Okay, okay, no dresses then!"
"Glad to know that we're finally on the same page, Jazz," stated Danny, finally letting the grin appear on his face.
The sound of Danielle's giggles filled the air as Jazz tried to calm her heartbeat.
-:-
Ember was bored. Kitty and her grease monkey boyfriend were out in town on a date and Baby-Pop's sister and dipstick friends were at school…not that she was desperate enough to want to hang out with THEM. This left her hanging out with Baby-Pop and Mini-Pop at his house. And Cujo, she guessed. The pup was sitting by Danny's feet, panting happily.
While she may have been bored, she would dare not complain like she normally would. If she did, chances were Baby-Pop would kick her out and she did NOT want that. That didn't mean she couldn't ask questions though.
"Out of curiosity, Baby-Pop, how long do you think it'll take before Mini-Pop is ready to be taken outside?" asked the rock diva, looking over at the Halfa boy sitting next to her.
Danny, who was busy setting up his laptop while Danielle sat on his lap, glanced at her before looking back at his task. "It depends on how long it takes to take Vlad down for good."
She couldn't hold back the groan from hearing that. "That'll probably take forever considering how much of a weasel he is."
"He'll mess up at some point, given how big his ego is," replied Danny as he turned on the video he was looking for. "Here you go, Danielle. This is a cartoon I used to watch as a kid."
The fiery girl peeked over to see what kind of cartoon Baby-Pop had on, only to raise an eyebrow when she saw what was apparently a cat and a shark getting blown up by bombs.
"What kind of cartoons did you watch, Baby-Pop?"
"Hey, this was funny back in the day and still funny now," replied Danny. "Too bad it never got picked up for a full series."
"Huh?"
"This cartoon was actually part of a compilation show that would show off multiple pilots for various cartoons and depending how well the pilots did they would get made into full series," explained the boy, while Danielle laughed at the cat getting blown up.
"Kinda reminds me of the Looney Tunes."
"I'm sure they were an inspiration."
"…Okay, the Blues Bomb and the Elvis Bomb are kinda cool," stated Ember as she continued watching. Then she gave off a grimace. "The Fat Bomb, not so much."
Danny had to suppress a shudder of fear as a certain memory from a certain dark timeline came to the surface.
"Daddy! I'm hungry!" squeaked out the ghostling, looking up at Danny.
"Huh? Well it is getting close to lunchtime," stated Danny, noticing that the clock was nearing noon. He then looked over at his guest. Might as well be polite. "Would you like to join us, Ember?"
She was actually surprised that he even asked, but played it off with a shrug. "Sure. I could go for some grub."
The teens, with Cujo following after, made their way into the kitchen where Danny placed Danielle in her high chair before getting started making lunch. While Danny was busy with that, Ember decided to have a conversation with the little one.
"So, Mini-Pop, you really don't like your Aunt Jazz, do you?"
"She's mean," replied the little one with a pouty glare.
"Eh, I wouldn't say she's mean, Mini-Pop. More like she doesn't have a good fashion sense," said Ember. She then turned to Danny. "She hasn't tried to put Mini-Pop in anything pink, right?"
"Not even Jazz is that stupid to think pink is a good color," stated Danny as he brought over lunch.
Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (Danielle's being cut up into quarters) and glasses of milk (with Danielle getting a sippy cup).
"Simple, yet a good choice," said Ember with a smirk. "You even used grape jelly, the only jelly worthy to be a on a sandwich."
"Never was a fan of strawberry myself," said Danny before turning to his daughter. "And don't inhale your food this time, Danielle."
The ghostling puffed out her cheeks while Ember raised an eyebrow.
"What, she eats too fast?"
"She saw how my dad eats one night and started to do the same. That's why I had to cut her sandwich like this, so she doesn't choke," explained Danny as he watched Danielle.
Ember glanced at the toddler who grabbed one of the sandwich quarters and stuffed the whole thing in her mouth. Danny could only pinch the bridge of his nose in frustration.
"…I'm sure it's just a phase, Baby-Pop."
"I can only hope. Luckily after the first time, Mom scolded Dad about it so he's been improving his own eating habits in a way to show Danielle how to properly eat."
"Your folks sound like they'll be the spoiling type of grandparents because of how much they love Mini-Pop," said the rock diva with a grin.
"Dad more so. We occasionally catch him trying to give Danielle fudge," replied Danny with a laugh.
The fiery girl laughed as well. The two teens continued to talk about various things, something Ember was greatly enjoying since it meant she got to continue hanging out with Baby-Pop! Danny himself was actually surprised by the fact that he was having a civil conversation with the rock diva next to him. He still didn't completely let his guard down around her, but after the last few days of her spending time with him and Danielle he was starting to think maybe he could fully trust her.
That was when Danny's phone started to ring. Taking it out of his pocket, he raised an eyebrow in question when he saw who it was.
"Who is it, Baby-Pop?" asked Ember as she and Danielle looked at him curiously.
"It's Kitty," he replied. He then let out a sigh. "Johnny must have done something stupid and she needs me to fix it."
Even though she knew there was nothing going on between them, Ember still felt that sour feeling over the fact that Kitty would call Baby-Pop because her own boyfriend was an idiot.
'Stupid grease monkey. How is it that Kitty hasn't kicked him to the curb yet?' thought Ember with a frown.
With a press of a button, Danny answered. "Hello, Kitty."
"Danny! Come quick! Help!" yelled the biker chick in a panic, causing Danny to pull the phone away from his ear.
"Kitty! Slow down! What's going on?! What's wrong?!" questioned the Halfa as spoke back into the phone. Ember was now worried for her best friend.
"Some crazy chick in red is chasing after us! Yipe!" replied Kitty, letting out a yelp when Johnny had to swerve out of the way of an oncoming anti-ghost blast.
"Kitty! Kitty!" called out Danny, but the line went dead. "Damn it!"
"Baby-Pop! What's going on?" demanded Ember as Danny went ghost. She was getting scared.
"The Red Huntress is being an idiot…again," growled out the boy. "Watch over Danielle. I'll be back with Kitty and Johnny as soon as I can. Cujo, watch the house!"
"Arf!"
With that, Danny flew out of the house to find and stop the Red Huntress.
That left a worried Ember. Glancing over at Mini-Pop, she found the ghostling looking ready to cry.
"It's going to be okay, Mini-Pop," said the rock diva, lifting the little one into her arms and holding her close. "Your daddy's going to save your Aunt Kitty and the grease monkey that is your uncle."
"Is Daddy going to be okay?" asked Danielle as Ember carried her into the living room.
"Of course he will! Your daddy is probably the strongest ghost there is," stated Ember, giving Danielle a reassuring smile.
She felt relief when Danielle returned the smile. "Daddy's the best!"
"Yes, yes he is," replied Ember. 'I know I shouldn't worry, but don't make me a liar, Baby-Pop.'
-:-
Flying as fast as he could, it didn't take long for Danny to find Kitty and Johnny, who were still being chased by the Red Huntress.
'Time for a distraction,' thought Danny as he flew in close. "Excuse me, ma'am, but do you have a license to operate that hover board? If not, I'm going to have to give you a ticket."
"You!" growled out the Huntress as she aimed at Danny.
With a smirk, Danny easily dodged the blasts. It was quite easy, considering his mom was a WAY better shot. He had to hold back a laugh when the Huntress let out a yell of frustration as she followed after him.
Down below, Kitty and Johnny watched on in worry.
"Johnny! We need to do something!"
"Are you crazy, Kitten?! We barely survived against that crazy chick! What are we going to do to help, Phantom?!"
"You two won't be doing anything," said a voice, making the couple jump.
Looking to where the voice came from, they found…
"Danny?" questioned Kitty in confusion.
"Not quite. I'm actually a doppelganger," replied the copy, making the couple's eyes widen. "Yeah, one of my powers allows me to make copies of myself. But anyway, the real me is going to keep the Huntress busy while you two head back to Fenton Works where it's safe."
"Don't need to tell us twice," stated Johnny as he revved up his motorcycle and sped off before Kitty could protest.
With Johnny and Kitty now out of the danger, the doppelganger vanished, allowing the real Phantom to receive its memories.
'Good. Now to have some fun,' thought Danny with a slight grin as he continued to dodge.
"Hold still, damn it!" yelled out the Huntress. It was then Phantom disappeared, making her stop in her tracks. "You coward! Show yourself!"
As she kept her guard up and looked around, Danny reappeared right behind her with a shit-eating grin on his face. He then leaned forward to where her ear would be under her helmet.
"Boo."
A loud scream filled the air as the Huntress jumped in fright and almost fell off her hover board. When she regained her balance she whipped around wide-eyed, before she cast the nastiest glare towards Phantom…who STILL had that annoying grin on his face.
"You're dead," said the Huntress with a hiss.
"Yes, ghosts usually are dead. We wouldn't be ghosts otherwise," replied Danny, holding back a laugh as the Huntress shook in anger. "Anything else you would like point out? Like how water is wet or the sky is blue?"
"Grr, would you take this seriously?!"
"I would, but I have another appointment that I need to keep and judging by the time," stated Danny as he looked at the imaginary watch on his wrist. "You should be heading back to class…Valerie."
He watched as she tensed up and almost lost it when she started babbling.
"B-But, h-how, wh-when…have you been spying on me?!" demanded Valerie as she glared at her rival.
"Not really. You just don't do a very good job at hiding your secret," replied Danny with a shrug. "Anyway…see you around."
Taking off at high speeds, he finally let loose the laughter that was building up when he heard the curses coming from his ex-girlfriend.
-:-
Back at Fenton Works, Ember was starting to get worried, especially since Mr. and Mrs. Fenton looked like they were preparing for war after they found out where Danny went off to and why.
"Don't worry, Danny-boy! We're on our way!" exclaimed Jack as he held a Fenton Bazooka.
"Um, maybe it's just me, but don't you think people will find it weird that the town's resident ghost hunters are going to go help a ghost?" asked Ember.
"That's why we're going to hunt Danny!" stated Jack with his usual carefree grin.
"…Wait, what?" questioned Ember, holding Danielle protectively. She thought Baby-Pop's parents were okay with him being half-ghost!
"It was Danny's idea, dear, since he still needs to keep his secret," explained Maddie with a reassuring smile. "Basically we pretend to still be hunting "the ghost boy" while at the same time acting as a distraction by getting in the way of the other ghost hunters. This allows Danny to get away to safety."
The rock diva had a blank look on her face before it twisted into a look of frustration. "Why am I NOT surprised that this was Baby-Pop's idea?"
Before anymore could be said, the biker couple phased through the wall as if Pariah Dark was on their tail.
"Sanctuary!" cried Kitty, throwing her arms up in the air. When she turned around, she was met with Ember's glare.
"Where is Baby-Pop?" demanded the fiery girl as Danielle started to squirm in her arms.
"Right here," said Danny as he phased through the wall not long after. Ember let out a small sigh of relief that she didn't know she was holding.
Upon seeing her father, Danielle reached out to him. "Daddy!"
"Hey, Danielle," said the older Halfa as he took the little one from Ember. "Were you a good girl while I was gone?"
"Yes!" replied the ghostling. She then held up her hand. "Fudge please!"
"…Well aren't you demanding," stated Danny with a blank look on his face.
Ember shook her head in amusement while Kitty let out some giggles and Maddie gave her husband a scolding look.
"There is nothing wrong with fudge," stated Jack with a slight pout.
Maddie could only sigh as she gave a loving pat to her husband's arm. "I know, honey, but you can't give it to Danielle all the time."
While Maddie continued to comfort Jack, Ember wanted answers as she turned to Danny.
"So what happened out there?"
The Halfa just gave off a shrug. "Nothing much. Just distracted Valerie and got under her skin to give Johnny and Kitty time to escape."
Ember raised an eyebrow at that. "Valerie?"
"The Red Huntress and one of my classmates. She REALLY doesn't like ghosts."
"We gathered as much," deadpanned Johnny with a grimace.
"But why does she hate ghosts so much?" asked Kitty with a frown. "She acted as if we ruined her life with the way she fired on us."
"That's because she believes ghosts did ruin her life," replied Danny with a grimace of his own.
He went on to tell how he first met Cujo, which was also the day Valerie's life was "ruined" and she blamed all ghosts for it. He also explained how he tried to convince her otherwise, but she just won't listen to reason. By the end, Ember's eye was twitching in annoyance.
"So because Cujo just wanted his favorite toy, that dipstick blames ALL ghosts for her misfortune? She better hope she doesn't run into me or I'll REALLY give her something to cry about!"
"I'll be the one dealing with Valerie, Ember," stated Danny, causing Ember to scowl. "Not only do I know how to deal with her, but if anyone is going to try and convince her that not all ghosts are bad it HAS to be me."
"Yes, because that worked so well before," replied Ember in a sarcastic tone, causing Danny's eye to twitch.
"Hey, it's a work in-progress, okay? Besides, it doesn't help that Vlad's pulling the strings," said the Halfa. Seeing the look Ember was giving him, he explained further. "Valerie got her suit from Vlad, even though she doesn't know it."
"And things just got worse," added Johnny with a groan.
"Not quite. Tucker's been working on a way to hack the suit's system to keep Vlad out of the loop. I'd love to see the look on his face when we get it up and running."
Ember could only roll her eyes at Baby-Pop's grin.
"You better hope this doesn't blow up in your face, Baby-Pop."
"All the more reason I need to plan this out carefully. I do have responsibilities to take care of, after all," replied Danny, glancing down at the toddler in his arms.
"And we'll be there to help you every step of the way, Danny-boy!" exclaimed Jack with Maddie nodding in agreement.
"We can help too!" chirped Kitty, gesturing to herself, Johnny, and Ember.
"…I guess I could help out as well," stated Ember, trying to act aloof. She then gave Danny a narrowed look. "But I don't care about what you said. If that Huntress tries anything with me, I WILL fight back."
Especially since the fiery girl had a feeling the Huntress would go after Mini-Pop regardless of the ghostling's age. Like hell she would allow that to happen!
"…I really hope Danielle doesn't pick up your stubbornness, Ember."
"Hey, I can be a really good influence, thank you very much!"
Danny pinched the bridge of his nose with his free hand while Danielle let out a series of giggles and Ember pouted. Off to the side, Kitty watched the scene between Danny and Ember with a gleam in her eye as one thought entered her head.
It was time to help things along between these two.
CHAPTER END
-:-
Have you ever started writing out a chapter and then reach a certain point where you have no idea how to continue the scene? That's what happened with this chapter. Add the fact that I was debating on whether or not Valerie should learn about Danielle in this chapter, that's why this chapter took so long to get out.
Cookie to anyone who can guess the cartoon Danny had Danielle watch and WHY I chose it.