Chapter Fourteen
CW: Dehumanization, depression
Val put on a brave face. Always had. But as she listened to her ex-boyfriend admit the truth to her, to all of them, she felt as if she were standing on quicksand.
Everything kept changing. She and Phantom slowly developed an uneasy understanding over the last year or so, only for them to learn about Danny being possessed, drastically altering her perspective on the ghost to be much, much closer to the one she originally held. There was a comfort in that - it was so much easier when things were simply black and white, when she did not need to start thinking about the ghosts as more than monsters, worrying about whether or not she was hurting something or someone innocent. But then Danny remained depressed, twitchy, and eerily quiet, his moods seeming worse rather than better, until it exploded in the fight with Dash.
Danny, according to all accounts, was not a fighter by any stretch of the imagination and not particularly inclined to violence. While Dash deserved what he got and then some, she worried what it meant for Danny, who seemed completely broken after the fight. They tried to comfort him before Mr. Lancer and his parents spirited him away, but nothing seemed to get through to him, and it left her shaken and uncertain as she began to realize they must have missed something. She tried a few times to check-in on him, but he refused to answer his phone or respond to her texts. It stung, but in a way it made sense at that point, since she thought she hadn't ever known the real him since he was possessed. Val knew he might not want to be friends with her given everything that happened between them, and she tried to respect it even as it stung. It wasn't as if they knew each other, not really.
But she still found herself worrying, so she texted Jazz instead. Danny's sister let her know that at least so far, Danny hadn't done anything drastic despite seeming a lot worse than he had before, and she promised they were keeping an eye on him. When Val got a text from Danny asking her to come over on Sunday, Val bailed on her shift at the Nasty Burger, hoping for good news despite suspecting she would instead find out that Danny tried to do something he would regret.
Well, she'd gotten news, all right. Whether or not it was good, Val still wasn't sure.
The first thing she felt was an intense sense of relief. She did know Danny, she hadn't stupidly dated some ghost, and they really were friends. It felt selfish, but she couldn't help it, her fears over the last couple of weeks giving her nightmares and shaking her confidence. She didn't know what to make of Danny and being a liminal, but she could tell it scared him, that he worried about what it meant about his own humanity, and that . . . that Val could understand better than anyone. Every time she put on her suit, one that she knew was infused with ectoplasm and ghostly technology, Val tried to ignore the nagging question about what it meant for her and her own humanity. She knew she wasn't a ghost. She told herself over and over again it was nothing more than some fancy tech. But there were little things she noticed that weren't quite right, like how even when she wasn't wearing it, she healed a little faster, needed less sleep, and was stronger and faster. She tried to dismiss the signs before, to make excuses, but she was struggling to do that now, so she did what she always did and latched onto something to distract her, to fill the quiet moments and make sure that she wouldn't have time to dwell on it.
And the ghosts made that easy, in one sense, but in another? Danny believed they deserved to be treated respectfully, that they were complex and more sentient and just so much more than Val or anyone else thought. And Val hated it. She wanted to lash out, to scream, to punch something, because she wanted simplicity. She wanted to not question everything she did over the last year since she became a ghost hunter, but instead she found herself ruthlessly examining her memories, questioning every interaction. She knew Danny would not blame her, the same way he didn't blame his parents that were currently struggling with their own beliefs, and yet she couldn't help but hate herself for being so unwilling to listen to him sooner.
Because as she watched him with the ghosts, she realized that he was right.
She and the Fentons both began shadowing Danny on some of his trips as he met with the ghosts. Phantom had yet to make an appearance - and apparently Danny still hadn't told his parents about that particular relationship yet and how he helped Phantom fight the more dangerous ghosts - but others ghosts were more than happy to continue upending their lives.
The first ones she approached with Danny after the incident with Ember were Kitty and Johnny, who often left nothing but trouble and bad luck in their wake thanks to the odd, shadowy ghost that followed Johnny around. She prepared to don her suit, to fight as she waited for Danny's chat with them to turn sour, and blinked when Kitty and Johnny agreed to stick to the park for the evening. They simply wanted a quiet date night, frustrated by what the ghost zone had to offer, and Danny agreed.
The Box Ghost seemed content to haunt an old, empty warehouse right now. Danny observed that as long as he was left alone, no one would come to harm, and so he checked up on the ghost every few days, ensuring that he remained undisturbed while promising to bring more boxes, bubble wrap, and whatever other odd packaging related material struck his current fancy. It felt like taking care of a weird, stray cat, although Danny hadn't cared for the comparison. It was too dehumanizing, apparently. Val bristled at it–they weren't human, after all–but found herself disquieted, unwilling to push the argument the way she once would have.
She sat in the kitchen of his house on another day while he baked with the Lunch Lady. Val could feel the old ghosts's dislike for her from across the room but ignored it, watching as the two of them tried to make some kind of fruit cake. And it was the first time she saw how much happier he seemed, then, in that moment as the two of them talked. There was a connection there, an understanding. Danny always had her guard up around her and his friends and family, but not around the ghosts. She expected to keep to the background, observing silently as she worked on her homework, but then he invited her over to help with the icing and she flinched. So far she'd stayed back during his interactions with them, seeing herself as something closer to Danny's bodyguard than as someone who could try to help the ghosts in this way, too, but found herself putting on an apron and trying, anyway. She was no good at cooking or baking. Her Dad's cooking was great and he made meals when he could, but both of them worked long hours, which meant take out and frozen meals most days since he rarely had the time to teach her anymore. Still, she tried her best even as the Lunch Lady continually scolded her, both of them barely keeping their tempers under control as Danny laughed quietly.
"Oh haha, ghost boy," she grumbled when the Lunch Lady left. The icing was the worst part of the cake, too runny by far, and obviously her fault. "Maybe next time you can just do your thing instead, okay? I'm no good at this."
"It takes time–"
"-and patience. Which you, of all people, should know I don't have a lot of," she interrupted. "You're lucky we didn't get in a fight and burn half your kitchen down."
"I think you did great," he said, and she scowled at him as she grabbed her stuff.
"You're better at it," she said. "And it was nice to see you smile."
"What? I smile sometimes."
"Not like that, though, or at least not lately. I–see you tomorrow, Danny," she said, not quite sure what she was thinking, then, and she hurried out the door to go to work before he could respond. The Nasty Burger wasn't supposed to schedule her for the late shift on a school night, but that hardly stopped them from doing so and she wasn't about to lose out on the extra money.
They found Spectra and Bertrand terrorizing a dance class in Elmerton, making them miserable, and this time Danny surprised her when he immediately told her that she needed to fight back. The pair were dangerous, feeding off the misery of their victims, and he confessed to her that while there were ghosts he would try dozens of times to reach, these two were not on that list. Apparently, they tried to kill Jazz during Spirit Week while Spectra was posing as the school guidance counselor, something which no one but Danny was aware of, and Valerie was all too happy to oblige and point her gun at another target at last. Much to her surprise, Phantom still didn't show up, the ghost continuing to remain strangely absent.
Yet despite Danny's clear hatred towards Spectra and Bertrand, he still insisted she release both into the Ghost Zone. "They're dangerous, Danny. We might not find them again before they hurt someone."
"I can't–I won't leave them trapped inside the thermos, Val. I know it's risky, but I . . . I won't do it." It was a mistake. She knew it was. But she found herself rolling her eyes and jamming the thermos into the slot beside the portal, emptying the contents and hoping that somehow, the pair of dangerous ghosts would not find their way back. So far she'd been willing to let Danny take the lead, but this one . . . It worried her enough that she knew she needed to talk to someone about it, someone who would understand her perspective, and there were really only two people she could think of that could. Coming clean to them about her identity with them wasn't something she was excited about, but she couldn't see a way around it and she could tell they already suspected the truth after the whole thing with Ember.
She went over after school one night when she knew Danny was at Tucker's house studying, steeling herself for the conversation ahead. Jazz opened the door, clearly surprised to see her. "Danny's not here right now."
"I know," said Val. "Are your parents home? I needed to ask them something."
"Sure, they're in the lab," said Jazz as Valerie headed inside, and taking a deep breath she headed downstairs to the basement. Mrs. Fenton sat at a lab bench, her goggles down as she soldered part of a blaster, while Mr. Fenton sat at the computer, inputting numbers from a report.
"Um, hi?" she said, clearing her throat, and the two looked at her and smiled warmly.
"Val, hon, what brings you here?" said Mrs. Fenton as she put the soldering iron down and pushed up her goggles.
"I have a bit of a confession to make," she said, knowing she needed to rip off the band-aid quickly before she chickened out completely. "I'm the Red Huntress." She held out her hand, letting the suit appear partway up to her arm before making it vanish, and she saw their eyes widen.
"That's incredible! How does that work?" asked Mr. Fenton as he jumped to his feet, examining her arm and the bracelets on it, and she tried not to flinch away, his enthusiasm a little too intense. "Is it nanotech?! Did you make it? Did someone else? We'd love to study it."
Mrs. Fenton stood up and put a hand on his shoulder, smiling a little sadly as she asked, "Does your father know?"
"It's some kind of ghost tech, it's not important," she said. Not true, really, since she was definitely worried about it, but that didn't matter right now with everything else going on. She'd had it for months, and it wasn't hurting her, at least. But the ghosts and what Danny was doing . . . someone could get hurt. Danny could get hurt.
And she definitely wasn't going to answer that other question about her Dad. Valerie suspected she would be on the receiving end of a long, overprotective lecture from the Fentons and a threat to call him if she admitted that her father didn't know about her ghost hunting activities. "But there is something I need to talk to you about. I've been working with Danny lately, and I, um . . . I thought you two might understand a little bit about what I'm going through, I guess. I've always been kind of stuck to a philosophy of shooting first with the ghosts since giving them a chance to talk felt like putting myself and everyone else at risk, and now I feel like–like I've been screwing up, maybe? But also sometimes Danny does things that I just don't get, and I'm worried he's going to get hurt, or maybe someone else will, and I just–I don't really know what to do anymore."
"Hey, kiddo, it's okay," said Mr. Fenton as he and Mrs. Fenton sat back down, picking up on her discomfort over him examining any part of her suit, and she tried not to bristle at the 'kiddo' part. He meant well, she knew it, but it still bothered her to be treated like a child. "And we get it, we do. We've been doing this for decades, and yet we've had to reconsider a bunch of our research. If anyone's to blame for you feeling the way you do, it's us. We've spent years telling people how dangerous ghosts are. It only makes sense for you to take that seriously."
"And most of the ghosts that come through the portal are dangerous," added Mrs. Fenton. "It's not wrong to have a healthy amount of fear, or at least respect, for what they can do. Danny himself admits that they're still able to cause a lot of harm even when they have no ill intent."
"Yeah, but he's also stupid enough to insist that we not keep a dangerous ghost locked up," grumbled Val, arms crossed over her chest as she sat down on a stool.
"It's unlikely a containment device could hold any ghost permanently," said Mrs. Fenton carefully. "We've looked into it before."
"Maybe, but I don't think that's the reason Danny doesn't want them kept inside a thermos. He feels bad for them, I think." She thought of Ember and his apologies to her when he realized Skulker had been trapped inside a thermos for close to two weeks with no reprieve, despite knowing how dangerous Skulker and Desiree both were, too. Even Phantom almost lost his last fight with Skulker. "I'm just worried about him. I feel like he's going to get himself killed one day, but I also feel like my judgment is so messed up that I can't question him, either. He clearly knows more about this than me, at least. And he's right about the ghosts, isn't he?"
"To some extent, we think so," admitted Mrs. Fenton.
"We've been going over the ghost attacks, at least the ones we're aware of. There has been a significant drop since Danny started reaching out to them," said Mr. Fenton. "We've gone from multiple ghost attacks each day to about four a week or so. At least, those are the ones our sensors picked up. We may have missed some, but if anything I'd assume we would identify more ghost attacks over time, not less, since our scanners have become more refined over the years."
"You might be missing some of the ones that Phantom and I handled." The number sounded low to Valerie, but that was before she started working with Danny. Before this, she used to suck up any ghost she came across into a thermos without question, but now? How many strange little ghost animals did she shrug at as she walked through the park the other night on her way home, realizing they weren't causing any harm and didn't need a blaster shoved in their face?
"Well, we might not be able to account for those. Want to fill us in on what you've seen?" Val nodded, and so they went over her own experience with the ghost attacks. They still came to the conclusion that Danny's actions were having a significant impact, but maybe not quite as substantial as the Fentons first thought since they seemed clueless about a lot of her and Phantom's ghost fights.
"If you can track the ghost attacks going forward, we'll be able to get much more reliable data. Perhaps we can get Phantom to do so, too, if he ever resurfaces."
"You still haven't seen him, either?" said Val, surprised. Danny explained it was because Phantom probably believed that it would be too risky to come back to Amity Park, but given what the ghost told her about its obsession, she couldn't imagine Phantom staying away for very long regardless.
"No. We've asked Danny about it, but he says he doesn't know if or when he'll return. Right before he disappeared, though, we did notice some odd fluctuations with his power readings," said Mrs. Fenton slowly.
"What?"
"Most ghosts follow a fairly predictable curve in terms of their overall power, but the handful of readings we've picked up for Phantom have been a bit erratic. There's a chance it's an early sign of destabilization, but that would be pretty strange for a ghost as strong as Phantom," said Mr. Fenton.
"Does Danny know?" asked Val. She knew he was close to Phantom and suspected he might stupidly rush into the Ghost Zone to find him if he found out.
"We haven't mentioned it to him yet. We still aren't entirely sure - it's possible our readings are inaccurate or that there could be an issue with the scanners, but the longer we go without seeing him, the more I'm starting to worry," she admitted. "We may need to learn to make do without him." She reached into a drawer and pulled out an ear piece. "You should take this."
"What is it?" asked Val as she picked it up and looked at it for a moment.
"A Fenton Phone. They're a communication device we developed that also filters out spectral noise," said Mrs. Fenton. "Danny said that it blocks Ember's hypnosis, and while she's not on our current list of hostile entities, we know that could change. And at least this way you can call for backup. I'm sure your Dad would feel better knowing we're there to help you if you need it."
"Yeah, he definitely would," said Val, maybe a little too quickly. It was a lie, of course, but it wasn't as if her Dad ever spoke to the Fentons. It should be fine, but she saw Mr. Fenton quirk an eyebrow at her as she accepted the earpiece. "Thanks."
"Of course, hon. And if you ever want to talk to someone about this career, we're happy to answer any questions you have or offer you whatever help you need. It's always nice to have young people excited about our work, even if we're still grappling with how much of our research might be flawed based on what we've seen over the last two years and because of what we've learned from Danny," said Mrs. Fenton.
"Are you, like, testing the other stuff he's said about the ghosts, too? Like the weird culture stuff?" asked Val. "I mean, I think there's something to all of this, but I'm still not totally convinced. It's . . . It's hard to think of the ghosts as being more than just flawed imprints of post-human consciousness or whatever."
"I know, hon," she said, reaching over and giving her hand a tight squeeze for a second. "And while we're not entirely convinced at this point about the ghosts one way or the other, we wouldn't be very good scientists if we weren't examining it all thoroughly. Right now, we're mostly collecting what data we can before we start doing more formal research since we're struggling to keep up with the ghost attacks now that Phantom's gone missing. There are some things that are quite fascinating, though. He mentioned that the ghosts have a truce around the holidays each year," she said, "and, well, holidays here can be a bit tense, sometimes, so Jack and I didn't even notice it these past two years. But in double checking our data, we confirmed that our sensors didn't pick up on any ghost attacks for about a week around the winter solstice."
Val frowned, trying to remember if she experienced any ghost attacks around winter break. Maybe towards the end? She wasn't sure. "I'll watch for it this year when it comes around again."
"Sounds good. We'll try to keep our holidays a bit more peaceful this year, too. It's been a challenging couple of years for everyone, and I think Danny especially would benefit from a quiet Christmas." Mrs. Fenton paused, pursing her lips. "There are other things, too, that we could use your help with if you're up to it, but . . . Val, are you sure your father knows exactly what you're doing?"
"He's got an idea, but, y'know, the firsthand experience is something else. I don't think he gets that part, not really," she lied. Val knew her Dad wouldn't be okay with this. There was no doubt he would try to ground her or stop her if he learned the truth. She couldn't tell him, not when others would be put at a much greater risk now that Phantom wasn't here to help and Val knew she would be needed more than ever. And that was just the ghost hunting. She couldn't imagine what his reaction to the suit might be, to knowing she continued to use unknown tech from a ghost that might be having some side effects she did not want to consider. "I know you're worried about me, Mrs. Fenton, but I can handle myself at least as well as Danny can. And right now, I can watch Danny's back when you can't."
Mrs. Fenton cocked an eyebrow at that but eventually shook her head a bit sadly. "Hon . . . If you need help talking to your father, we're happy to do what we can to support you. I'm not going to try to stop you. You're not my daughter and I know precisely how stubborn kids your age can be, and I'd rather know and figure out a way to help make sure you're doing this as safely as possible than see you try to give yourself stitches." Well, too late for that part - Val used a needle and thread to patch herself up more than once, but thankfully she could still count the injuries that were that severe on one hand. "You could let him know that you're working with us, at least. Maybe we could do a research project with you to help with a college application? And we could teach you how to run some of the lab equipment and how to perform some of the less dangerous tests."
"I'm not sure I have time for extra work, Mrs. Fenton, especially now with the stuff with Danny. I'm already swamped at the Nasty Burger and I really need the money–"
"-we can pay you," she interrupted. Oh, that was something different, then. "We've got the grant funds to support an internship. The pay won't be more than you make at the Nasty Burger, but it'll at least be tangentially connected to what you're doing already, and it might take some pressure off you with your school work. I can't imagine it's easy to balance so many things."
"It's not," said Valerie. "I, um . . . I'll do it. I think. But the stuff with my Dad, I need to handle myself, okay? I promise I'll talk to him about it some more. Maybe not everything right away, but at least more than I have."
Maddie smiled. "That's a start, then. We'll get the paperwork together for you to fill out in a few days. Let us know when you'd like to officially start."
"Sure. And, um, thanks," she said. She hadn't come here expecting to get a job offer, but she wasn't about to complain. Mr. Masters really only paid her in ghost hunting gear, although he did offer to give her a scholarship if she went to college in a few years. She doubted he would mind her working for the Fentons, too. Danny mentioned that Mr. Masters and his Dad were close, although she knew Danny didn't seem to like Mr. Masters very much.
If he talked to Phantom and thought Mr. Masters was using her, though, that might be the reason why. She would have to explain to Danny that her work with Mr. Masters wasn't like that and that he shouldn't worry about it so much. Maybe Danny could even convince Phantom that Mr. Masters was a good person if the ghost ever returned.
Suddenly her watch beeped, and looking down she saw a half-dozen signals pop up simultaneously. "Mr. and Mrs. Fenton? I think we have a problem."
She held out her wrist, showing them the ghost tracker, and within seconds Mr. Fenton activated the ghost shield as their own system alerted them to the presence of multiple ghosts. "I'll go check it out," Val offered, hurrying up the stairs and putting on the earpiece before they could argue with her. She donned her suit in seconds, and as she charged out the front door of FentonWorks she summoned her hoverboard, taking to the air to investigate.
The streets were littered with humanoid green ghosts with eyes that were sewn shut, their mouths nothing but a line of razor sharp teeth. Pulling out her blaster, she hesitated for a moment as she watched one approach someone sitting at a stop sign and worried about accidentally hitting an innocent bystander, but then as soon as she saw the strange blue mist spiral out from its hand she cursed and took the shot. The ghost exploded into a pile of ectoplasm, spraying the street and the car, but the person inside was eerily silent despite the fighting. She really, really hoped they were just knocked out.
There were too many ghosts here for her to land right away, so Valerie took a minute to shoot down all of the ones she could see within range before landing beside the car and checking on the person behind the wheel. Valerie winced as she looked at them and activated her earpiece. "Hey, uh, Mr. and Mrs. Fenton? Are you there?"
"Oh, good, you did turn it on!" chirped Mrs. Fenton over the radio. "We're starting to get news reports that these ghosts are all over town already. Jack and I aren't sure what they are - any idea?"
"No, but one of them used this weird blue mist on this person in their car. I wouldn't leave the ghost shield if you can help it," she said as she retracted her suit enough to feel their neck, and she let out a long, shaky breath when she felt their pulse thrumming beneath her fingers. "They're alive, but I can't tell if they're asleep or knocked out or what."
"Can you wake them up?"
"Uh, I'll try, but I did just shoot a bunch of ghosts and they didn't wake up to the noise," said Val skeptically, and she took a minute to shout, yell, and even slap the person in the car, but they didn't stir, a strange smile on their face.
"No luck?"
"Nope. But these guys look like minions, I'll see if–" Her watch beeped suddenly, and at the outer edge of its range she saw a powerful signal. "Hang on, I'm picking up another ghost. Might be the one responsible."
"Try to be careful when you approach, okay? We don't want you to get hurt."
"Of course, Mrs. Fenton," she said as she activated her jet sled and flew to the location, and she could not believe the relief she felt when she saw an all-too familiar Hazmat suit. "Shit, it's Phantom!"
"Language, Val!" admonished Mrs. Fenton. "But it's really him?"
"Yeah." Flying close, she jumped to the ground, her hoverboard vanishing. "Phantom! Any idea what's happening?"
"No clue." His voice sounded strained, and as she looked at him she saw his eyes glowing brighter than usual. Green smoke poured out of the hole in his glove, but the suit itself still looked intact, and she remembered what the Fentons said about him, then, and his unstable power levels. About how he might be at risk of destabilizing. "Are you going to shoot me?"
"No. Danny already explained what happened, about what he is, and I–look, I'm sorry about what happened," she said quickly, frowning at him. "But, um, are you like okay right now?
The radio crackled with static. "No."
"I can take care of this, y'know. If you're–"
"-I'll be fine," he snapped, and Valerie stared at him. She wasn't used to him being so tense, but then again, the last time they saw each other she had just broken yet another truce and tried to shove him into a thermos after accusing him of possessing her ex-boyfriend.
"Hey, um–I really am sorry, okay? We got it wrong. About you," she apologized again. "You were right. We should have–I should have known better."
She heard a crackle of static over the radio. "Thanks." His voice was still strained. "Did you talk to Tucker?"
"Foley?" she repeated, blinking. "What? No? Does he know what's going on right now?"
"Never mind. It doesn't matter," he lied, and she felt a chill run down her spine. There was something so eerily familiar about the way he said it, but her mind couldn't make the connection. "Do we have a truce?"
"Obviously," said Val, rolling her eyes and holding out a hand, and although he hesitated he eventually shook it. "Now let's take care of this ghost problem."
A/N: Thanks for all the reviews, faves, etc! I continue to super appreciate it. Also, I think it's super obvious which ghost is attacking, but I'm just putting it out there now that this will not happen exactly the way it did in canon. There's overlap, but this is an AU and I will set canon on fire when it works better for what I'm trying to do here, but that's probably pretty clear by now anyway. I think this is just the one ghost (aside from Danny himself) that I've changed the most with respect to how their powers and stuff work. So . . . yup. Just gonna leave that there for now.