[Taking a moment here to make a shout-out to the source of my inspiration and head-canon, PhantomKing, who over the years has developed a suite of characters that I now find unable to separate from my own creations and stories.]

Valerie had always wondered why she hadn't figured it out sooner.

Danny Fenton and Danny Phantom had similar names, similar appearances, similar senses of humor, had both been so wary of her. Fenton? Yeah, she'd had no idea why, at the time. Phantom? Well, that had been easy. She'd been trying to off him since day one.

What had really irked her, of course, was how she realized that her supplier, that Vlad Masters man, who had been playing her like an upright bass and just using her for his own ends, was one of those strange half human creatures, and didn't actually make the connection to Danny. Not to mention the fact that he was, you know, an evil and manipulative creep. Yeah, at least Vlad had given her a lot of really awesome stuff, but it was just so that he could further his own goals. Take down Danny. Take over the world. Villain things.

She remembered what had happened with the girl ghost she'd been hunting. What was her name? Danielle? Yeah, Danielle. Hadn't seen the little squirt since then. But having things be half-human? The Vlad guy, the girl ghost? And again, the similar names. Danny. Danielle. Claiming to be Fenton's cousin (word spread quickly in Amity Park).

Why, really, had it taken her until the very end to realize that Danny was half ghost? Until he'd literally revealed himself to the world?

It still bothered her, now, both that she could have been so stupid, and that she'd almost destroyed someone that she genuinely cared about.

But that was the end of junior year, and they'd had the whole summer and all of senior year to work things out. Sam and Tucker had sat her down right after the whole asteroid debacle, filled her in on everything that had gone on. Wasn't like he needed to keep a secret identity anymore, right? Tucker was especially helpful, being surprisingly patient and answering all of her questions. He didn't even try to hit on her until after she'd been satisfied. And she didn't quite glare at him, that time.

It was interesting how Tucker had become mayor of Amity Park so young. Not that he didn't do a decent job, you know? He was smart, and being one of the best friends of the richest girl in town helped a lot with management. Plus the fire department and the police didn't dare turn down working with a superhero. Danny didn't particularly mind giving some talks with his parents about how to best manage the ghost infestations. Sam was surprisingly good with politics and funding (did her money EVER run out?) so Tuck really just had to use his brain. Plus, he was good at making appointments and lists, and was charismatic, and it wasn't like his parents couldn't give him a few pointers here and there.

Really, the town sort of just decided to run itself for a while, with Tuck as a figurehead leader. There was some sort of deal worked out, too, that he could go to school during the day. It really went a lot better than people could have expected, but hey, if that town in Alaska could have a cat as mayor, why couldn't Amity Park have a 15 year old ghost hunting techno-geek?

That was two years ago. Didn't seem that long, really. Also felt like forever.

After Valerie had been integrated into the friend group, she officially offered to help Danny manage the ghost populations. She didn't really want to get into the diplomatic things that he had to do, and she did her best to stay out of the war (although she did serve as a bodyguard once or twice).

Tuck, the Fentons and, strangely, her dad helped her maintain her gear, now that she didn't have a supplier anymore, and slowly she was learning a lot about computers, weaponry, battle tactics. She knew a lot already, true, but there was so much more to learn, so much more to catch up on. Circuits and operating systems and energy transfer and ratios and flanking patterns and so much that made her head spin. And there was so much of her suit to be improved on! Where to store the components, how much energy was required to run it, recharge time of weapons. She was glad she didn't have to figure it all out on her own.

Now that Danny was "outed," so to speak, it was easier for her to patrol around at night without having to worry about getting caught by the cops. Valerie didn't mind the late evenings, either. She and Danny had been friends (almost more) and she wasn't heartless. She understood the kinds of things that he went through, trying to round up ghosts and get them back into the Fenton portal. If she could lend a hand, she was happy to. And flying? Well, it was probably her favorite thing. Zooming around on the hover board, whirling around trees and buildings. Sometimes, she'd just go out for a joyride. Sometimes, she'd bring Tucker along with her.

As time went on, her dad and Danny's parents helped her less and less with her gear, and Tucker more and more. He'd help her open up the circuitry and would explain in detail what all of the components were, what they did. He taught her how to solder and the difference between AC and DC current, and would steady her hands whenever she had a tough job to do. It was actually amazing how quiet and calm he could be when he set right down to it, lost the joker persona for a little while.

One day, after they had installed a new wireless communication system in her power suit, he asked her out to a movie, looking way more nervous than a mayor and hero should have. She'd said yes. They'd gone to see one of the Iron Man movies (fitting, given the two of them, and all throughout Tucker would whisper to her, that's a good idea, we could probably install that for you) and then, afterward, they bought frozen yogurt, his treat.

She knew she was in trouble when she found his waggling eyebrows endearing.

He'd escorted her home and said goodnight with all the awkwardness of a teenaged boy, and she caught him looking at her almost desperately right as she grabbed the handle of her front door. She turned and met his eyes, and Tucker seemed to get some sort of second wind, and he kissed her. Nice and sweet, and soft, and quick, and when he pulled away he looked scared out of his mind and very satisfied with himself all at the same time.

And Valerie, somehow, even though she was practically a veteran ghost hunter, even though she sometimes even scared herself with how ferocious she could be, managed to swoon and smile and have to catch herself on the door as Tuck dashed back to his car.

That was over the summer, before the whole college fiasco began, and now it was nearly Christmas. Sam had decided to try and go to school even with her new baby, but that hadn't ended up working out when Joanna decided to be two months early, so she was taking as many courses as she could online. Danny had finally chosen to go to University of Chicago, saying that the distance wasn't much trouble when you could fly, and he was only a part-time student anyway, because what superhero had time for 12 credits? So, two days a week, Danny was gone, and the girls helped Sam with the baby.

Tucker was, of course, a little too busy being mayor to think about school. Jack and Crystal? Well, she didn't much know. Crystal was still working on that music career, and as far as she could tell Jack spent all of his time ghost hunting. It seems to be a Jack-specific trait, Danny had joked.

Valerie herself had decided not to go to college. She wanted some time away from school. Maybe next year, she told her dad. Maybe next year. She was working for Axiom Labs at her father's suggestion – they needed new researchers, especially now that Vlad wasn't feeding his money into the company. So she worked in the R&D department, with her father being her boss. It was a personal goal of hers to make sure that the world stayed safe from ghosts, and the more she knew about technology and inventing and all that, the better.

Every now and again she'd pop over to Fenton Works, too, and give Danny's parents a hand with some of their gizmos and gadgets. Maddie was especially fond of her, perhaps because they both shared an interest in martial arts, or perhaps because she appreciated having another intelligent female around. Sam's stopped coming over, except to have us babysit, the woman had told her, looking both enthusiastic and sad behind her goggles. She's got a lot on her plate right now, and Jack and I love having little Joey.

Joey? Valerie had asked, passing over a blowtorch.

Oh, that's just Jack's nickname for her, Maddie had said.

So she spent most of her time either at work or with the Fenton family, because, strangely, everyone seemed to treat each other like family now. The Phantom Trio, Neil's Three, Jack-and-Crystal (because they were practically one entity), Jazz and Trent (who was still recovering from Thanksgiving, the poor guy) and all of the parents. Even the Ghost Wardens that hung around Danny whenever he was coming or going from the war talks were starting to get friendly.

Sam and Mrs. Fenton had decided that they were throwing a Holiday party for the whole crew, which of course meant that all of the females were automatically drafted to help. Valerie had no idea why she couldn't have just hired a whole bunch of people to do the work. Luckily, she said to Tuck later, I just had to help clean the house, rather than try to cook or decorate or, worse, babysit.

By the end of it, Valerie never wanted to have to clean that mansion again. Her and Jazz had to do the main dining room, and it took nearly four hours. Sam seemed to have a high tolerance for dust, likely because she didn't use any of the big rooms all that often.

But, once all the prep was over, Valerie thought that the actual party was a lot of fun (especially when Sam brought out the champagne for the adults – seeing Danny's folks that intoxicated was downright hilarious) and the dinner was great. There was plenty of time to coo over the baby and bounce her on knees.

Well, there would have been, if people hadn't been a little...distracted.

Sam had mandated that everyone actually make an effort to get fancy. Easy for her to say, Valerie mumbled to her dad. Sam had closets full of black and purple dresses and just because she'd lost the goth black hair dye didn't mean that she didn't look absolutely stunning in everything. After she came down the stairs from changing everyone stared. She hadn't worn make-up probably since June, anyway, and she'd gone all-out, and Danny could hardly keep his tongue in his mouth. They vanished for about an hour, maybe around eight o'clock, and no one was surprised. More importantly, everyone decided not to make fun of them when they came back just before dinner ended. They needed it, she heard Maddie whisper to her husband, who was looking less than thrilled.

Regardless, it meant that Valerie had to put on a nice dress, and even more importantly, that Tuck had to wear a suit. She quite appreciated how he looked in pinstripes, especially now that he was older and has filled out a little more.

They'd been unofficially dating since that first date with the yogurt, stealing kisses when people weren't around and generally driving each other crazy. Tucker would come up behind her when she was working on her hover-board and steady her hands, like he used to before that kiss, except that instead of keeping his distance he'd come flush against her back and whisper his oh-so-helpful comments into Valerie's ear. One wouldn't have expected someone so nerdy to be like that, but Valerie had found over the years that the ones who have a lot of time to look things up on the internet are the ones that actually make the attempt to learn what girls like.

The party was spectacular. Seeing everyone dressed up was great, and between that and the food Valerie was all-but convinced that she was at Sam and Danny's wedding. If only Sam were wearing white (and, honestly, Valerie wasn't sure she ever would). There were drinks and toasts and little Joanna was passed from lap to lap, wearing a generic red onesie that just barely fit – generic, because Sam refused to make her daughter wear a dress; red, because she was not going to put anyone in her family into pink; and it would have fit fine, if Joanna hadn't been growing so fast.

The younger folk sat at one end of the long dining table, and the older folk laughed and joked at the other. Trent, still in a sling, was making an effort to get along with Danny and Sam, who were still more than a little rattled about the whole kidnapping business, but they were smiling, and Sam had even let Trent play peek-a-boo with Joey in her lap. Jazz, to Trent's right, was actually beaming, as Valerie cheerfully pointed out to Tucker, who was slightly more interested in the food.

There were toasts, and conversation, and catching up with the whole extended family, and three generations of Fenton all crowded around some invention of Maddie's that was supposedly going to do all the dishes for them, and as everyone was finishing with their meals, Sam put on some music and the night truly begun.

Dim lights and loud beats and eleven teenagers in a small room in Sam's basement, all packed in. The older folk, ghosts and parents alike, had wandered upstairs into the sitting rooms, to rest old bones and talk about old people things. Ten was too late for them, they claimed. The music was too loud. You kids have fun now, which everyone groaned at. But they took the baby, and went off to their rooms, as Sam had insisted on everyone sleeping over. She had plenty of beds, and no one was to drive home intoxicated. Or fly, she'd made especially clear, looking at the various halfas.

With a brief interlude to change from formal wear into something more appropriate for the sweaty dancing that was to follow, it had turned into a teen house party. Tops popped off of beers (courtesy of Trent) and soon people were draped on couches and shouting over generic rap songs. Sam and Danny, especially, were quickly wasted. A month of taking care of a newborn, even with the whole gang babysitting now and again, was tough, and it was no secret that Sam's party was just as much for her enjoyment as it was to celebrate the Holidays.

Valerie had to admit once more that Sam's beauty was a powerful thing. Her eyes were tired and had been ringed with dark spots for the last three weeks, but now, her having cleaned up and brushed her hair and put on some makeup and a smile, she was right back where she started. She wasn't the most conventional in looks, no, but there was something about Sam's hard eyebrows and sharp chin that just suited her. She was no-nonsense in a sort of caring way. It was hard to explain.

Danny didn't really need it explained, apparently. He had been following Sam around all night, nuzzling her and whispering in her ear and sneaking caresses that he must have known everyone could see, because no man could be that oblivious, not even Tucker. And then, it was like Danny had infected everyone with a virus, because now Jack had pinned Crystal in the corner with a wolfish grin, and Neil was chasing a giggling Chaiya around the room, and was there something in the punch? Even Trent, with his still-healing body, had decided to try and get amorous with Jazz.

Valerie was suddenly very grateful for Tucker's existence, because there was only one single person in the room, Rose, and she was suddenly very interested in getting very, very drunk, if the beer bottles piling up next to her were any indication.

But Valerie, too, was a little bit drunk – more than a little bit, if she was being honest with herself – and when she next made eye contact with Tucker, he had that sort of nasty gleam in his eyes that said he probably wasn't thinking or walking straight any time soon. She couldn't tell what song was coming out of the stereo, only that it had very low bass and a very catchy hook, but she'd noticed that Danny and Sam were gone, for the second time that night, and that one of the redheads was making out with their significant other on the couch. She was a little too foggy in the head to tell if it was Jazz or Crystal.

Something was telling her that she needed to get out of the room, and when she found herself walking into the dim hallway she realized it was Tucker's hands steering her out the door, and that he was kissing the back of her neck over and over and he'd started muttering unintelligibly in a low, dark voice. Then, there was a wall, and her pressed against it chest-first, with a familiar hand sneaking underneath her dress.

Valerie didn't remember how she got from there to stumbling into a bedroom – luckily it was hers, as she was to discover the next morning. But her next memory was of pressing her face into a pillow, with someone behind her, slowly pumping fingers in and out of her, and it was like she'd woken herself up from blacking out by moaning.

But Drunk Tucker was a clumsy man, and Valerie was a lightweight with a weak stomach, so shortly thereafter the rocking back and forth that drunk sex produced left her fleeing for the wastebasket, and that was the end of that until the following morning, when they both woke up cursing the sun and each other and tequila.

Two showers and four Aleve later they managed to trudge downstairs to breakfast. Crystal, Jazz, and Trent seemed normal enough – two college kids and a rock star probably weren't going to be too affected by a few drinks. Neil's Three were all pretty young and were looking kinda green around the gills. Especially Rose, which wasn't a surprise. Valerie couldn't get much of a read on Jack, and all of the adults looked some strange combination of smug, disapproving, and morning person. Danny, for his part, looked like he wanted to go back to sleep for a year, but those dark circles that were perpetually under his eyes were gone.

And then there was Sam, who was absolutely glowing as she twirled her little girl around in her arms, looking like a sunbeam, and giggling like she was still drunk. This, from the woman who'd proclaimed her hatred for mornings all through high school. Valerie was baffled, as were the rest of the teenagers, but the adults all had that infuriating knowing look to their eyes. We've been there, she could hear them thinking. That first wonderful night after your first child is born – we know what that's like.

Life had to go on, unfortunately. The new year rolled around and Tucker was spending the night more often than Damon would have liked, but her dad knew better than to try and put a stop to it. They'd just sneak off to Tucker's bedroom instead. Better that you're home safe, he said. I sleep better at night when you're home. Still, there were plenty of nights where Valerie had to sleep alone – Tucker stayed up late, now, trying to run a city while acting sidekick. To be fair, Valerie was out late more often than not – more and more she was playing bodyguard to Danny's diplomat.

I never knew, Danny was telling her, that it could be this difficult to be a superhero. They were en route to some sort of talk – Shiva and Gildemeir keeping their distance, discussing politics and prison upkeep. If I have these powers, he said, why can't I use them once in a while to keep the peace? God knows that nothing's getting solved this way.

We can't lock everyone up, Valerie replied, and the rest of their trip was spent silently, just the two wardens chatting away about nothing.

The talk, unfortunately, proved to be more eventful than expected. The two groups of diplomats sent began feuding across the table, and shots were fired. Danny, though, jumped right into action. To Valerie, it was a blur of energy and lights, firing what she hoped were non-lethal shots at stuffy politicians who couldn't get their act together. All this over glorified territory disputes, she thought, as she watched Danny wrestle a dragon ambassador to the ground.

No casualties, luckily. Just bruised bodies and egos.

Danny usually sided with the wardens, even though that meant he had to deal with Walker. Valerie got the impression that his was the most polarizing prison. She'd learned by sitting in on the talks that the Ghost Zone was big enough to merit divisions into sectors and quadrants, and though she hadn't figured out exactly what the government was, she knew that there was some old ghost king – Pariah Dark, said Danny, you were there when we all fought him – who used to rule, and that after his attempt to regain power, anarchy broke out. Some people supported him, some didn't, and right now there was so much chaos that the wardens themselves were running the place. And that only applied to this part of the Ghost Zone! Let alone all of the ghosts who ran their own islands, like Skulker, or had a kingdom, like that Princess Dora.

Walker, thorn in Danny's side or otherwise, wasn't inclined to disagree with the three other wardens in his sector most of the time. That wasn't stopping him from locking up anyone who broke even a minor "rule". And he never stopped glaring at Danny.

Generally, the threat of the wardens kept people level headed during the talks. But, passion was met with passion all too often, and so Danny's role as a peacekeeper was rapidly morphing into that of a referee. Between the Wardens and the infamous Ghost Boy, though, it was a role that he was well-suited for. Danny didn't seem willing to admit that he liked to fight and get his hands dirty, but Valerie could tell that, if nothing else, he thought it was better than diplomacy.

Power was most important in the world of the dead, and even though words were important for getting the ideas out, for navigating the politics, it was probably only because Danny was well supported by certain influential individuals, and by his own innate ability, that anyone listened to him at all, whether or not he was best qualified to be the spokesperson for the entire human race.

The next scheduled talk was on January 19th. They were going to try and broker a peace agreement between two very powerful warlords feuding over an area known as the Old Realm. This was an area stuck in medieval times, to be sure. Princess Dora's domain was situated within the hazy borders of this land, but she was not involved (as was lucky, for Danny had said to Valerie multiple times that he wasn't sure he could be impartial when one of the parties was his ally).

The first, perhaps more harmless warlord was Cassius DelaRosa, a strong and unyielding spirit of French descent. He was an aristocrat, and with that came ego and the thirst for power, but he also struck Valerie as being noble and even kind when it suited him.

The second, decidedly less harmless warlord was Sharisho. Not a human, not a ghost, he was instead a creature that she shivered to look at – a dhampir, right out of old human fairy tales. Part ghost, part vampire, with ruby eyes and long, dark wings upon his back, he carried himself with an air of superiority and a ruthless grin that made Valerie quite wary. Even the wardens found him threatening, although some of them were more concerned with hating him than fearing him.

The bit of land in question had recently been vacated rather forcefully. A pair of creatures known as Typhon and Echidna – yes, Shiva had told her, the same ones of Greek myth – had recently been driven out of their territory by the encroaching kingdoms of Cassius and Sharisho, for the legendary monsters were secretive and preferred to stay away from politics and large armies. Now, though, the threat of conflict loomed as both warlords made claims to the empty land. Tensions were high and Valerie had no doubt that they were only on the brink of war breaking out between the two armies.

This was Danny's most difficult case yet, Valerie thought to herself. Indeed, if he made even the smallest step out of line, the warlords would immediately launch a full scale attack at each other, and no amount of diplomatic brawling would stop that. The whole Old Realm would become the battleground and there would be countless casualties.

Why me? Danny lamented as he lay on her couch, his little daughter asleep on his chest. Why not some stuffy bureaucrat who knows what he's doing? Even Sam would be better at this than me. Even Tucker.

Tucker would run his mouth and get himself killed, Valerie replied quietly. Besides, you just have to be there this time. The wardens are going to do the talking.

Knowing me, said the young man, I'll say something stupid and get millions of ghosts blasted into oblivion.

There wasn't much Valerie could say to that, so she kissed her goddaughter goodbye and watched as her friend flew back towards his parents house.

For Danny's sake, she thought as she headed towards her bedroom, I hope he's wrong.