Chapter 7.
So sue me, I'm late. I've been busy. Though after that last chapter, I wouldn't blame you for like, hitting me. Or flaming me. It's been more then a month this time, and I've had internet almost the entire time. . .
Whatever. Continue.
Sam walked over to Star's house, grimacing. She really did not want her as a partner. She knocked on the door, and waited, until a short, blonde woman opened it.
"Oh, hi. You must be Sam." Mrs. Anderson said.
"Yeah. Is Star here?" She asked as politely as she could in her current mood.
"Yes. Just go upstairs, to the first door on the right." She said directing Sam to the stairs.
Sam walked upstairs, as slow as she could manage. When she got to Star's room, she quietly knocked.
Star opened the door almost immediately. "Hey Sam!" She said as perky as ever.
"Umm, hi." Sam said awkwardly.
"Come on in." She said, and Sam walked in." I was thinking we could, like, do our project on, the sun, or, like, maybe the moon." Star said as Sam examined her room.
There was a lot of red, orange and white and posters of popular bands, like Dumpty Humpty and D-4. There were pictures of her and the A-listers, and some of Danny and Danielle Phantom. There was a whole bulletin board of class pictures, which made Sam realise they were in the same class every year. "Umm, how about the moon." Sam said.
"Okay. You know, I don't think this is going to be as bad as I though. You're really not all that weird, you just like dark things. Clothes, poetry, music, times of day. And I'm more of a bright girl. But, sometimes opposites attract, right? I mean, like, you and Foley are, like, complete opposites, and your still best friends, right? Danny is more, like, in the middle of you two, so he probably keeps it balanced. What do you think?"
"Umm, I don't know. I guess?" Sam said, confused at all of Star's very fast talking.
"Well, I can look stuff up on the computer, and you can, like, search the text book. Then we can compare notes and make an awesome project! Kay?"
"Kay." Sam said, and started leafing through the text book.
~DP~DP~DP~DP~
Danielle was still at Dash's an hour later. They had started writing up a report, after going through all of the books and websites they could find. They would go to the library tomorrow to find more.
Danielle couldn't help notice that Dash kept looking up at her. She started to get curious, when she was just about to say something; he caught her catching him staring.
"Oh, sorry. You're just really pretty." He said and blushed.
Pretty? He hasn't even seen my eyes, or hair. How can he think I'm pretty from just my nose down? She thought to herself, but blushed anyway.
Dash suddenly got up and dimmed the lights. Danielle soon realised what he was doing. "There, now you can take off your glasses." He said, happily.
Danielle panicked. "Umm, thanks. But won't it be hard to see with the lights dimmed?" She whispered hopefully.
"Oh. I never thought of that." He said, he got up and brightened the lights.
Smooth, Ellie. Just smooth.
*The moment you've all been waiting for!*
Valerie gasped. "Phantom. . . "
"Valerie! It's not what it looks like!" He said meekly.
"Phantom. . . I don't under- How- What?" She finally finished.
He sighed. "It's complicated." He said, picking up the clothes. "I don't have a choice."
"What do you mean, '[You] don't have a choice?'" Valerie asked.
"Well, it all started when Danielle I were fighting Skulker. . ." Danny continued to tell the story of the past weekend, while Valerie stood and listened.
"So, what you're telling me . . . is that you are being forced to go to school, by a nutjob social service' men, and Vlad?" Valerie questioned.
"Yeah. And now you're probably going to shoot me down." Phantom said, floating away again, and forming his tail for a quick getaway.
"Phantom, I'm not going to shoot or hunt you anymore."
"Wait! What? Since when?" He questioned.
"Since I figured out you and Dani were right about Vlad." Valerie said. "I watched him transform, after we saved Danielle, and I went back to help his human half. What's the deal with that anyway? Danielle and Vlad are humans and ghosts?"
"We-Their called halfas. They're half human-half ghost hybrids. There are only a few in existences. Vlad's the only evil one though. And they are thought to be the most powerful ghosts in existence. Danielle wasn't all that powerful when you first met her, though." Danny said.
"No duh. She was melting. Is there anyone more powerful than them?" She asked.
"Well, yeah. Pariah Dark, Clockwork, the observant. And, umm . . . me. . ." Danny said.
"Wait? You're one of the most powerful ghosts?" Valerie asked, baffled.
"Maybe, I don't know. I guess. I mean, I could be the ghost king if I wanted to, since I defeated Pariah, but. . . I don't really want to be ghost king. . ."
"Why wouldn't you want to be king?" Valerie asked.
"'Cause I'm just a kid. I don't even want to be Amity's protector. But no, they just HAVE to come out of the Fenton Portal." Danny huffed.
"Heh. I bet me hunting you didn't really help. Huh?" Valerie asked embarrassed.
"Ya' think?"
"Sorry. But I'm on your side now. And you can tell Dani that too. But I have one question."
"Shoot." Danny replied.
"Why do you hang out with Sam, Danny and Tucker? And why on earth would you pick Jazz Fenton as a tutor?" Valerie asked.
"That's two questions, but because Sam, Danny and Tucker help me occasionally, and Jazz is like a sister to me. Even after what her parents think, she accepts me for who I am. A kid. Not a ghost, not a freak, just a normal kid."
"Well, we should really get to our project. I can't afford to fail." She said.
"Neither can I, so we got to hurry. I have a tutor session-thinger at 9:00." He said, and phased into his clothes, forgetting all about the past threat.
*Next Day*
"Are you sure she won't 'Blow [your] head off?'" Tucker asked them. They, Danny, Sam, Tucker, Jazz and Danielle, discussed the whole Valerie thing last night. They had decided that she was to be watched, but trusted. For now.
"Yeah. She didn't last night when she had the chance. I mean, she knows about Vlad. She knows we were right. And she knows that I have access to the time stream to change her memory. We're good." Danny, dressed as James, said reassuring the team. The duplicate beside him nodding for emphasis.
"Hey guys." Valerie said. "I'm sorry again for hunting you." She added.
"I know. I got it the first hundred times last night, Val." He reminded her.
"Oh, right. Sorry." Valerie said and blushed.
"So, welcome to Team Phantom, Valerie." Sam said.
"Thanks for waiting for me." Danielle said sarcastically, coming up behind him. "Oh, hey Val."
"I couldn't wait forever, Ellie. I needed to get to school." Danny replied.
"I would just like to point out, that I was almost caught by the Fenton's, coming out of the portal." Julia said.
"What are my mom and dad going to do to you?" Fenton asked.
"Your dad, nothing. Your mom. I don't even want to think about it." Danielle shuddered.
"So. What's your plan to get out of this dump?" Valerie asked.
"I seriously have no idea. As much as I want out, I don't think I can. Wait. Maybe if the ghost keep attacking, and we don't go 'cause were in class, they'll excuse us from school!" Danny suggested.
"It's worth a try I guess. So, just ignore our ghost sense. Alright." Danielle agreed. "Now, let's get to English."
"Hey! Cart-onio." Dash said from down the hall.
"So, it's not just my last name he mixes up." The Danny duplicate said smiling.
"Uhh, got to go." The real Danny said as he, the duplicate, Danielle, Sam, Tucker, and Valerie took off down the hall.
"You can't run forever!" Dash said, as they peeled down the hall.
"Wanna bet?" Danny said to the group, though appointed at Dash. They ran until they got to their next class, at which point, they all ran in and sat down, huffing and puffing, due to running around the entire school, and going the long way to class.
"I. 'huff puff' hate that kid. 'Huff puff' Why did you have to go and 'huff puff' and do something that stupid?" Sam asked.
"It wasn't me it was my reflexes!" Danny yelled.
"Well it was stupid!" Danielle whisper yelled back for the second time.
"Okay, class." Mr. Lancer started. "Settle down. So I-" He was suddenly cut off by the P.A. system.
"Mr. Lancer. Could you send Daniel Fenton, Samantha Manson, Tucker Foley, Julia Carter and James Carter to the office please?"
"Yes I can. Go right ahead, students." Lancer said in his monotone-voice. They all got up, worried for what was about to happened.
"I betcha anything its Vlad." Tucker said.
"Yeah, and he doesn't know that Valerie is hunting him now. So, she doesn't have to come."
They walked into the office, and were sent right to the principal's office, and of course, there was Vlad, sitting across from Principle Ishyama, and next to him, was Jazz.
"Jazz? What are you doing here?" Danny asked.
"The fruitloop called for me." Jazz said, while throwing an ugly sneer at Vlad.
Danny removed his hood. "Alright, what do you want, fruitloop?" Danny asked.
"Miss Fenton, Mr. Phantom. That is no way of speaking with our town's mayor!" Ishyama scolded.
"It is if he's a lying, thieving, little fruitloop!" Dani said, putting emphasis on 'fruitloop.'
"Why do you all insist on calling me fruitloop? I just came to see how my favourite group of teens were doing in high school so far. Mr. Foley, Miss Manson." He greeted.
"Fruitloop." They replied, and he sighed.
"We're doing fine, no thanks to you. Now why are you really here?" Danny asked.
"Mrs. Ishyama, could we use your office alone for a moment." Vlad asked. She nodded and headed out.
"Alright, Daniel, you can drop the duplicate now, we wouldn't want you passing out in the middle of school, now would we." Danny dropped the duplicate, and Danielle removed her hood.
"So, what do you want?"
"What I want to know is how you have persuaded Valerie, into quitting her job with me. She sent me a note, saying this. 'Dear Mr. Masters. I cannot work for you anymore. It is too time consuming and you never gave me that new apartment, even after saving your life from that ghost freak 'Plasmious.' What was up with that ghost anyways? I mean, talk about a frootloop. "The 5 teenagers all cracked up here. "'I am not returning the suit, since it is not yours, it is mine, since Technus gave it to me and I don't think it comes off. See you around, Valerie.'" Vlad read from a note he had retrieved from his coat pocket. "Now, would you explain to me how you managed this, without blowing our secrets?"
"I didn't persuade Valerie to do anything. Maybe she just saw the light?" Danny said smirking, since he knew exactly what happened, he knew exactly what light she saw. The one that transformed Vlad into Plasmious.
"Ugh. Well, now I'm down a huntress. Oh, Jasmine. . ."
"In your dreams, cheese head." Jazz replied, throwing another dirty look.
"Well, we've got to get back to class." Danny said, making another Fenton clone.
"Heh. See ya around, you crazed Fruitloop."
"Fine. Go back to class. But if I find out any of you were responsible for Valerie quitting, I will get you."
"Come on guys. He can't do anything here. Unless he wants his little secret out." Dani laughed.
"Yeah, wouldn't want the world to know you're an evil mastermind bent on revenge on my father."
They all laughed and went back to class, leaving a very angry Vlad, and a very confused Ishyama over what was so funny.
Who do you think the threat was? And do you think it will come back to ecto blast him in the butt?
Alright, that's it for this chapter. You can move on with your lives.
I'll try to post sooner next time.
Review~