Jase sat on the couch with an enthralled look on his face. "And then what did you do, Dad?"
Jack mimed uncapping the instrument and struck a heroic pose. "I whipped out the Fenton Thermos and caught that ghost."
"Wow!"
"And someday, you might get to catch a ghost just like your old man."
The young man rubbed his hands together. "Oh, man. I can't wait." Dani rolled her eyes and folded her arms.
Maddie walked into the living room. "Hey, you two. I've worked to nab my fair share of ghosts, too."
"Of course, honey. How could I have forgotten?"
"Really, Mom?"
"Really."
"Really?"
"Yes."
"You?"
"Jason! I have caught ghosts, like this one time in Pennsylvania."
"It's practically ghost country out there." Jack scooted over on the couch, allowing his wife room to sit.
"I thought that was Amish country." Dani felt that she ought to contribute something to the conversation.
"Don't interrupt, Dan", Jase half-scowled at his sister. "Now you were in Pennsylvania…"
"…and your father and I had heard about this mansion in Altoona that was crawling with spirits."
Dani got up from the chair and ascended the stairs, the stories failing to engage her.
With a slight hiccup, a light blue stream escaped her lips. Danni ran up the stairs and stood still, her hands balled up.
Two rings of light developed at her midsection. As they passed her, her shirt and shorts disappeared, replaced by a form-fitting black suit. Her dark hair was now white as a gh…snowstorm and her blue eyes now glowed green.
Dani phased through the wall and looked around outside. There didn't seem to be anyone around. Maybe it was a false alarm.
"Why, Danielle…" Dani shuddered as the smoky, feminine voice reverberated in her ears.
"I am quite pleased to see you again. I do hope that you are well." The source of the voice stepped out of the shadows. It was a woman who, even with her wrinkles, looked stunning. Her pinned-back dark hair and magenta business suit were also notable attributes.
The girl once again folded her arms. "I was until a few moments ago...Vivian."
"And your family: your brother, your mother, your…father." The visitor spat out the last word. "How are they?"
"I can't imagine why that's your business."
"But I'm an old friend, Danielle. Surely, I should be kept in the loop about these things."
"You own, what, three Fortune 500 companies? You have your own loop, and I don't go butting into your affairs." Danni turned to fly back into the house, but a green blast flew past her. She was unharmed, but the lamppost nearby wasn't so lucky.
"Danielle, I have no desire to repeat myself and I do not miss twice." Vivian held her glowing hand up like a gun.
"What is it with you? Why do you insist on pestering us?"
The older woman simply shook her head as she lowered her arm. "Oh, Danielle. Your juvenile mind simply cannot comprehend that your mother and I are soul mates."
"I heard the story from Mom. The two of you experimented a couple times in college. In what universe is that a pre-requisite for being soul mates?" Dani overheard her parents talking one night about this. She shuddered as she remembered Jack being more than a little…intrigued by this.
Vivian's violet eyes glowed blood red as she leapt toward Dani, her human form melting away. In its place was a new ghostly form, one of flowing locks and pale green skin. "I cannot believe the disrespect you're showing me." Vivian was now as airborne as the girl, who flew out of her path.
"Let's see…" Dani ticked off each point on her fingers. "…you've tried threatening me, attacking me and my family, introubulating me and then there was that cloning fiasco. What have you done to earn anything else?"
Vivian said nothing as she lunged at Dani. The girl dodged the assault.
"Besides, a career woman like yourself probably doesn't have time for a relationship. Who's running those companies you possessed people to hand over to you while we're having this little slap fight?"
"Your cretinous father is unworthy of such a woman."
"That may be, but that doesn't mean he doesn't love her. Could you ever love her?"
XxXxXxXxX
"Are you even capable of such an emotion?"
On the coffee table, a grey device started to vibrate like a cell phone.
"And so, while your father had him cornered, I…" Maddie stopped upon noticing the humming sound. She looked down at the Fenton Seeker.
"Jack, the Seeker must have a lock on something."
"Yes. I used some cell phone parts while building this thing." The burly man flipped the 'on' switch.
There are two ghosts outside your home. They will get away if you do nothing.
"Sounds like we've got some work to do, Maddie."
"Cool. Can I come?"
"Certainly not, Jason. Besides, it's after dark. Your father and I will handle this."
The red-haired boy pouts as his parents rush toward the basement.
XxXxXxXxX
"Danielle, it doesn't have to be this way. With you as my daughter and Madeline as my significant other, we will be the perfect family; one of nothing but X-chromosomes."
"What about Jason?"
"What about him? I have no use for a son."
"Forget it. This is my family."
"Ghost!"
"And here they are, now." Dani flew away, just as Jack and Maddie burst out of the door brandishing high-tech weapons.
Maddie took the first shot, her bazooka-like weapon firing a beam that could physically neutralize any entity. As if she could sense this, Vivian darted out of the path.
Jack took aim at the spirit, blasting her with his own gun. What came out of it was a thick, gooey substance that resembled ecto-plasm(…or, at worst, snot).
"Ugh! And this was a new suit. You buffoon!" She stuck her glowing hand out at the couple. Dani, watching from the side of the house, tossed a blast at Vivian's midsection. The blow to her side and concentration caused her blast to strike the sidewalk where Maddie had been standing.
Luckily, Jack had picked her up from the ground. Every so often, the man had his moments of swift cunning.
"Are you all right, honey?"
"I am now. Thanks for saving me, tough guy." Maddie threw her arms around her husband. Vivian scowled at the sight. She flew into the night sky.
"This isn't over", she said, more to herself than the Fentons.
Dani phased into the house. Jack and Maddie picked up their weapons and went inside.
XxXxXxXxX
"That was pretty fun, but I don't understand. The Fenton Seeker said that there were two ghosts outside. We fought off one."
"The important thing is that we sent that ghost packing."
"You two sure did." Jase jumped up excitedly. "It was like, 'Zzzzzzzzz', and Mom was like, 'Kiiiieeeerrrrrr' and Dad was like, 'Bleeoooo'."
"Maybe it's time you got to bed, young man, and dreamed of a wider vocabulary."
"Ah, Mom!"
Unseen by the remainder of the family, a flash of light went off upstairs. Dani walked out.
"Hey. What happened?"
Jack opened the panel of the Seeker and twisted a couple of wires. "Minor ghost problem, sweetie. Nothing to be too concerned about."
"Like Dan would have any idea how to fight a ghost. 'Oh, help! A mean, scary ghost is gonna hurt me!'."
"I could handle a ghost", Dani stated with no small amount of irony. "It's butthead older brothers I'd have trouble with."
Jase glowered at the girl. "You wanna find out how much trouble I can be?" He leapt up the stairs after her. Maddie ran after him, clasping a hand on his shoulder.
"You two need to stop this combative nature. Like it or not, you're the only siblings you've got."
Dani held onto the balustrade. "Tough choice. I'm leaning toward 'not'."
"Wow." Jase held his arms up. "Something we agree on."
"Good. Go from there, and sleep well." Maddie kissed Jase on his cheek. On his way up the stairs, he leaned his head over and wiped it off on his sleeve. The teens each went to their rooms.
Maddie walked down the stairs and sat on the couch. Next to her was Jack, still fiddling with the Seeker. "Oh, Jack. That was pretty exciting."
"It sure was." Another twist of wires.
"Matter of fact, it's got me kind of…hot."
"Well, you can always crack a window and…you don't mean that kind of hot, do you?"
The woman shook her head coquettishly.
Jack looked down at the Seeker and dropped it on the couch. "This can wait until tomorrow." Maddie gave him a kiss and she ran up the stairs, the man close behind.
XxXxXxXxX
Takeisha could see that her best friend's head was buried deep inside her locker. "Are you okay, Dani?" Dani turned to face her. There were the slight beginnings of bags under the eyes.
"Yikes." Sam reared back a little. "You look like you didn't get any sleep."
"Oh, I slept. It's just that I don't think my parents did."
Takeisha and Sam looked at her for a moment before a mutual look of disgust crossed their faces. "Aaauugh!"
"Yeah. That's pretty much how I feel. I couldn't even look them in the eyes before I left." Dani closed her locker. "Still, in a nauseating kind of way, it's nice to know that they still love each other."
"Mine too", Takeisha chimed in.
"Thankfully, my folks aren't quite so affectionate. A peck on the cheek every now and then, but mostly, they stay off of each other. It's something of a miracle that I'm even here now."
"You sound pretty calm about this." Dani pulled a book out.
"Yeah. Aren't you worried they might get divorced?"
"Divorce. Yes, because that's the absolute worst thing that could happen to me. Whoever gets me will pretty much have to take care of me. I'm not worried."
"Well, that makes one of us." Dani hiccupped and a light blue stream emerged from her mouth. "Oh, for…now?!" She pulled out the Fenton Thermos and threw the strap around her.
Dani rushed into a closet, at which Sam and Takeisha stood guard. A flash of light could be seen through the window. Moments later, the white-haired, black-suited ghost flew from the closet. "The two of you should get to class."
"But what about you?"
"I'll be fine." She darted around the corner.
The boy shook his head. "No matter how many times I see her fly off, I never get tired of it." He walked down the hall and sighed in a most forlorn way. Takeisha glanced at him…and he noticed. "What?"
The dark-skinned girl followed him. "Is there something I should know?"
"About…?"
"Dani?"
"What about her?"
"We're friends, here, Sam. You can be straight with me." They stopped in front of the classroom. "Do you like Dani in a certain way?"
"No."
"Okay." Sam entered the room first, followed by Takeisha. "Liar", she muttered under her breath.
XxXxXxXxX
"Come on. Where are you, you…" Dani saw it. A nasty green blob that seemed to be stuck to the wall. "Yikes."
That was all the blob needed. He growled as he leapt onto the opposite wall and back. Dani shot a beam from her hand, which stopped the entity in its tracks. It jumped for her again, but she dodged the creature.
Dani spun around and delivered two more shots to what might be considered its back. At that moment, a student with dusky skin walked past her. He walked back.
The girl glanced over at the boy. "Paulo…" She cleared her throat. "Excuse me. What are you doing out here?"
"I forgot one of the books I need for class. So…who might you be?"
"Kinda busy at the moment." She fired another shot at the creature.
"That's a weird name for such a lovely lady…not to mention an ungainly one."
"Wait. I'm a ghost. Aren't you frightened?"
"What could I possibly have to fear from such an enchanting specimen?"
"Well, what about that?" Dani pointed at the blob.
"That is another story." Paulo took off down the hall. "We should talk again sometime", he called at her.
"Holy crap. Paulo likes me." Dani blushed a little. A ball of smile just missed her head. "Oh, right." She uncapped the Fenton Thermos and aimed it at the blob, sucking it inside.
Danni floated to the ground and changed back to human form. She slapped her head. "Oh, man. My class!"
XxXxXxXxX
Dani opened the door, books in her hand.
Mr. Lancer looked toward the door. "Miss Fenton, you're 15 minutes late. There is simply no excuse for…" The girl whispered in his ear. "No problem. Take your seat."
The brunette couldn't help but smile to herself as she took her seat. There really was nothing like the old 'female problems' excuse to cover up the occasional scrap with a ghost. It wasn't quite as amusing when they occurred for real.
XxXxXxXxX
Takeisha saw the boy walking toward her. She checked her breath. Perfect. She stood up from her seat. She offered a friendly wave.
"Hello, ther--"
"No."
The African-American girl pouted and folded her arms. "I can't believe this. Guys - especially guys in this school - are always whining about how girls ignore them. But the moment a girl shows interest, they're all 'Get lost'. God!"
"Takeisha, your meatloaf's getting cold."
"Well, that shouldn't be." Sam folded his arms. "It usually doesn't even have a chance to cool off, she wolfs it down so fast."
The girl took a cautionary taste. "Still good." She tore into it happily.
"So let me get this straight: Casaninny was flirting with you while you were fighting a ghost?"
"Pretty much."
"You're not gonna follow through on it, are you?"
"Well, yeah. I mean, I have an 'in' with him now."
"You mean 'Dani Phantom' has an 'in' with him. He barely knows you."
Dani sunk to the table. "So there's Clark Kent, Peter Parker and…me." She looked up. "No. I'm not gonna give up that easily. If I can charm Paulo as a ghost, then I can sure charm him as myself." She stood up and regarded her two friends. "The next time you see me, I'm gonna have a piece of exotic arm candy."
Sam shook his head. "Candy is bad for you, Dani."
Having finished her meal, Takeisha glanced at the Goth. "Candy is dandy." She turned to her other friend. "You go for it, girl."
Dani walked through the cafeteria, confidence in every step. Danielle SantaCruz. Mr. and Mrs. SantaCruz. Danielle Fenton-SantaCruz. Ooh, how exotic.
She approached the table where Paulo was sitting. The boy poked at his meatloaf with a fork.
"Are you sure this is safe to eat?"
Skyler looked at it. "I don't think anyone's sure."
A shadow cast over the tray of food. Paulo looked up at its source.
"Hello." Dani offered a small wave.
The new guy returned the gesture. "Hola."
"I'm Danielle Fenton, but everybody calls me 'Dani'. If there's ever anything you need, like help with homework, just let me know, okay?"
Paulo shrugged a little. "Okay."
"Of course, I can help you with a lot more than homework, like…if you need a date." Dani's eyes widened as she realized what she had said.
Skyler spat out the soda he'd been drinking.
"I mean, if…you know, you…felt like…going out with somebody."
Paulo rubbed the back of his head. "I'll keep that in mind."
"That's great, because I can be really…"
"What are you doing, here?" Dani turned around. Standing before her was Dacia.
"I was just talking to Paulo."
"She was trying to ask him for a date." Skyler was wiping up liquid from the table.
"I do hope you mean the fruit. This guy's out of your league, Fenton. Just walk away."
"Why should I?"
"Because I saw him first. Tell her, Paulo."
He exhaled. "It's true. Dacia took me out yesterday after school. We went to the mall, saw a movie and she even gave me a private showing of her cheerleading moves." Dani looked toward the blonde girl.
"He is so innocent and you are so on my nerves. Leave!"
Dani stalked back across the cafeteria. "Can you believe her?" The laughter at the table cut her like a blade. She could feel that they did it intentionally.
She sat back down and laid her head on the table.
Takeisha leaned over. "Candy shopping didn't go so well?"
Sam glared at the girl. Now was not the time. He patted her on the back. "Don't worry, Dani. He's not the only guy in school. Hell, he's not even the most handsome."
"Yeah, Dani. There are other guys out there. For you. For…me." With a sigh, Takeisha laid on the table, her head in the same face down position as Dani's.
Sam reached over and gave Takeisha's back a pat. "Girls."