Shadow Rose
Chapter Three
Upping the review request again, at least ten reviews before I continue
Rose Anderson's Narrative
"Valerie?" I said, confused for the first time in years. She tensed.
"Depends whose asking," she flicked her wrist and the board dissolved under our feet. I had no option but to let go of her and landed lightly on the ground. Phantom had since disappeared, wisely leaving two fighting women to their own. The Huntress faced me, I couldn't see her face but I'm sure she was scowling.
"Valerie Grey," I said and laughed only to receive a punch in the face that knocked me to the ground. When I stood I realised that my nose had started bleeding like crazy thanks to the punch she'd given me. Palm upwards towards the nose, a move that would normally break it.
I fled up the fire escape sure that she would follow me, and she did, as curious and wary as Sam had been. I scrabbled through my medicine cabinet and sent bandages raining down on myself. "Valerie, could you get the needle out for me." Valerie did, pulling her helmet off beforehand; I pulled my sleeve up and injected myself with the remainder of the transparent liquid inside and the bleeding stopped. Once sure that I was alright Valerie's face twisted into a scowl. "The Shadow Rose I presume."
"You've heard of me then."
Valerie didn't answer straight away instead studying the room we were in. one thing I noticed her lingering over was the row of scented candles lined up in front of a large mirror. I lit the candles and boiled the kettle, "coffee?"
"What do you think this is; a social visit?" Sarcasm thy name is Valerie, I thought dryly and poured her coffee anyway. Valerie stormed over to me. "Who are you really and how do you know my name?" I didn't answer instead taking the coffee to the table. "Answer me," she said angrily reaching out to grab my mask but I dodged her and she got her fingers caught in my hair instead which swung free.
"My name is the Shadow Rose, or Shadow, If you like; I believe you know a Rose already." Valerie scowled.
"How do you know about Rose, have you been stalking me?" I felt like laughing at the thought.
"Relax," I said easily "You know me better than you think."
"What do you want?" Valerie asked warily.
"I propose a partnership," a said carefully watching her face for a reaction, she twisted it in confusion.
"A partnership?" she repeated.
The conversation would have probably gone along the lines of 'what do you mean a partnership?' had my good friend the Night Rider not crashed through the window with a strangling hold on one Danny Phantom. Valerie leapt at her helmet but too late, the Damage was done. "Valerie Grey?" Phantom choked and I could see his face going green.
"Let go of the ghost Rider, we may need him." Rider let him fall to the ground and he coughed, curious, why would a ghost cough?
"Shadow, I've got a problem," I flicked the light switch, wincing as the fluorescent light lit up the room, and blew out the candles.
"Ghost related," the Night Rider shook her head.
"No, at least, I don't think so. But Spooky here says otherwise."
"I'm telling you, it's a ghost Hybrid! Half ghost half human, called a Halfa." Valerie's face twisted in confusion as she positioned her mask on her head.
"A what?"
I watched Phantom closely, "How do you know?" He pulled himself off the floor.
"Because I've tangled with him before."
"No, I mean, how do you know what a Halfa is?"
"Because that's what I am, half ghost half human!" A terror suddenly dawned on his face as he realised what he'd given away.
I broke into a giant grin and felt like squealing, instead I grabbed Phantom in a hug to the chagrin of the Night Rider and the Huntress as I whispered in his ear. "Hello Danny Fenton."
We didn't go after the Halfa that night; Danny called him Plasmius, instead we did an internet search on the ghost. When I say 'we', I mean Danny Phantom, the Night Rider and I, the Huntress left, unable to be in the same room as Phantom without attacking him, something I had forbidden her to do in my home. We didn't find much, and Phantom couldn't, or wouldn't, tell us anymore, although I was pretty sure he knew who Plasmius's human identity was.
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The next day at school I payed a bit more attention to Danny than usual, he was slightly distant and at lunch asked us if we'd heard of the Shadow Rose. Valerie tensed, Sam( who had begun sitting with me) grinned quickly, only I say that, and Tucker looked up curiously.
"I've never heard the name before," he said curiously. "Who is he?"
"She," Danny corrected "She's some sort of ghost fighter or superhero, a bit like the Night Rider." As he spoke he unconsciously rubbed the back of his neck.
"She's a freak," Valerie almost snapped. "An egoistical, arrogant freak."
"And do you agree Rose of the Shadows?" Sam whispered in my ear, I laughed and the others looked at us curiously.
"Share the joke," I think it was Tucker, said.
"Sam was just wondering if the Shadow Rose would agree with your comments," I said, feeling Sam shrink a little into my side to avoid being noticed. The others laughed, probably not understanding why and we turned the conversation to other things.
That afternoon I took a side route to Fenton Works, dragging Sam along with me. "Please Rose! I don't want to hang out with your friends!"
"It's just Danny, come on, we'll grab a movie and a bite to eat or something."
"He may not want to hang out with a couple of girls," Sam said hopefully.
"I return to my earlier statement, it's just Danny," I said as I dragged her up the stairs and knocked on the door.
It was opened by a tall redhead who looked to be a couple of years older than me. "Yes?"
"Hi, I'm Rose, and this is my friend Sam, is Danny in?" She stepped to the side to let us through and yelled out Danny's name. He came hurtling down the stairs followed by a cloud of smoke.
"Rose, run!" He pushed us out the door, followed by his sister, or at least I assumed she was his sister. There was a loud crash and Danny wiped the black mark off his face. "Sorry 'bout that, Dad was demonstrating a new invent… Sam?" He said in surprise.
"She dragged me" Sam said grumpily, pointing at me "Literally."
"I thought we could go and see a movie or something," I said brightly, while Danny's sister watched us. "And yes I dragged Sam all the way here; it's time she made some new friends." Danny agreed and we headed along, Sam wrestled herself free from my grip and walked along beside me. We discussed movies until Valerie sailed past pursuing a fat ghost in overalls who was screaming 'Beware', the pair were soon followed by a cloud of floating cardboard boxes. I saw Danny tense out of the corner of my eye but he decided to leave it and we continued on.
--- --- ---
After coming out of a comedy on the ghosts of Amity Park we headed over to the Nasty Burger. Sam had loosened up by then and was talking directly to Danny without biting his head off. I stayed quiet unless they spoke to me letting Fate take its path. These two were meant for each other, it was obvious, something I have never said to either in the hope of keeping my head.
That night Sam slipped through my window as the Rider, the door never gets used these days, something she does every second night. "What did you think of Danny?" I asked her slyly and she scowled at me.
"If you're trying to hook me up with him I swear I will change your mind as forcibly as I can." I threw up my arms in a 'surrender' gesture.
"What's the sitch'?" I asked and Sam grinned.
"Tonight I'm going after the big guns, the Hidden PDA himself." I raised my eyebrows as she said "You want in?"
I slipped my mask over my eyes, "let's go." Rider led me through several streets and down many alleyways into the seedier part of town. We entered a dark, falling-down building and climbed the rickety stairs, the place looked abandoned and I would have thought it was abandoned if it were not for the clattering of a keyboard and a machine beeping at its user. It was very faint, Sam couldn't even hear it, the only reason I could was because of my enhanced senses. We followed the noise, me helping Rider to avoid the numerous booby-traps, until we reached a seemingly dead end.
Any other hunter would have yelled something in exasperation and left but not us. Sam examined the door, as did I, I was the one who found the catch and it swung open. We were greeted with a scene that surprised us entirely. "Tucker!" I exclaimed. He spun around.
"How did you get in here? More importantly, who are you?!?!?! Hang on… other way 'round." I felt like throttling him, Rider got to him first and hoisted him up in the air. "If you're looking for the Hidden PDA, he went that way," Tucker said weakly, pointing out the way we came.
Rider slammed him against the wall and held a fist to his face, "Fess up Foley."
"You say Foley just like Sam Manson," Tucker pointed out and she tightened her hold.
"Put him down Rider, it's not worth the effort," I said lazily and Tucker fell to the ground, winded.
"What are you going to do?" He asked, winded.
"We know who you are now," I said slyly.
"And nobody else does," Rider said, glaring at him.
"If you want it to stay that way, you do what we tell you to."
As both of us headed to the door, Tucker called after us. "Wait, who are you?"
"The Night Rider and the Shadow Rose," Rider scoffed "Who did you think?"
"No, I mean who are you really?" Rider started laughing.
"You really think we'd tell you?" I turned around to face him.
"I'll tell you what Foley, I'm going to turn around and drop this mask on the floor, and you see if you can uncover my identity before we leave the building."
I turned away from him again and slowly slipped the mask off my face, snagging the band that held my hair together as I dropped it and walked straight out the door. Rider followed and closed the door behind us. As we left a heard Tucker gasp, "No Way."