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Metanoia

Chapter 4

Danny couldn't believe he was doing this. He had never been trained for undercover work, and he'd been out of the schooling system for so long that he didn't even know how to act around people his age. How he had managed to convince Vlad to let him take this assignment was beyond him. At the moment, he couldn't even convince himself that what he was doing was still within the realms of sanity.

He couldn't have anticipated that the simple act of filling his locker with books would bring back such nostalgia. The last time he had attended Casper High, he was a freshman. He had barely spent two semesters in this school, yet the memories of this place had a far greater hold on him that he would have cared to admit.

Why had the CIA picked him, of all people? He was sure there were much more capable reconnaissance agents out there who could just infiltrate the Headquarters of the Guys in White as employees. Going through all the trouble of faking a huge public case didn't quite seem their style. The methodology seemed far too high profile. It was obvious they hadn't given him all the details, the CIA was known to be notoriously secretive. His field assignment was probably part of a larger mission involving other members of the secret service. Question was, what were they really up to?

Shutting his locker, Danny sighed and trudged along the once familiar hallway. The sooner he dug some dirt onto the Guys in White the sooner he could get out of here and back to Wisconsin. He kept his eyes on the ground, not wanting to make eye contact with any of his peers. The proverbial school atmosphere with its badly whitewashed walls and cheap, cracked tiles brought back unwilling vestiges of memories, from when he was normal and clueless as to how happy and fortunate he really was. Right now, he couldn't even picture his parents' faces.

He tried to ignore the strange looks that teachers and some of the older students were giving him, as if trying to match his vaguely familiar face to a long forgotten memory. The less attention he attracted the better. Perhaps if he kept a low enough profile, people would eventually write him off as a loner and leave him in peace.

Lost in thought, Danny didn't pay much heed to the other students until he walked right into one of them. Muttering an apology, he looked up into the menacing glare of a blond, well built senior.

"Watch it, loser." The football player snapped.

'Great,' 'Danny thought humorlessly. 'Ten minutes in Casper High and Dash already wants me dead. Big surprise there.'

Fourteen year old Danny Fenton would have shrunk back in fear, apologizing profusely, but three years out of a schooling environment had caused him to forget how to behave when insubstantial threats were made by a jock dimmer than a purpleback gorilla. He found it hard to believe that he used to be terrified of the hulking quarterback before him.

"Jeez Dash, I said I was sorry."

In all honesty, Danny wasn't surprised that Dash had forgotten who he was. The quarterback probably didn't even remember what he had for breakfast. Doubtless Danny Fenton had just been one of the many faceless punch bags he used to pass the time.

"Sorry isn't good enough." The football player growled, cracking his knuckles.

Dash wasn't too perturbed that the new guy knew his name. Everybody knew who Dash Baxter was. As the school's star quarterback, he and Paulina Sanchez, the beautiful cheerleading captain, ruled the school and the hierarchy of its students.

The thought vaguely registered in Danny's mind that he should walk away before Dash actually decided to hit him. If the exchange actually turned into a fight, Danny knew he would win even without his powers, but making a scene in the hallway would definitely attract unwanted attention. According to his training, de-escalation was the key to almost every confrontation. So what if he got scuffed by the moron? He'd suffered far worse injuries in the past three years, several brought upon himself in training accidents.

Ignoring Dash, he turned his back on the blond jock and walked away. Big mistake. Before he knew it, he was being slammed into the lockers on the opposite side of the hallway, wincing as his head collided with the cheap metal with a sickening thud. In that single moment, Dash had managed to injure him more than his fight with Technus had a week ago. How had he managed to put up with this every day for almost a year? His injured skull was throbbing furiously and he could feel the beginnings of a migraine coming on.

Not only was he stuck on an assignment he'd like nothing better than to shove on someone else, the fact that he was being assaulted by an idiot who seemed determined to sign his own death warrant did nothing to improve his terrible mood.

"Put me down." He demanded quietly, his voice cold steel.

Dash blinked, astonished by the icy resolve in his prey's voice. Before he could respond, two newcomers rallied to Danny's defense.

"Leave the new kid alone, Baxter." A female voice demanded. A very familiar female voice. Danny turned his head, grimacing as the gesture elicited a sharp pain at the base of his skull.

Samantha Manson had hardly changed. The Goth was still clad in only black and purple, with her trademark pale skin and dark hair. She was taller than Danny remembered, her features older and more feminine. At that very moment, Danny had to admit she looked formidable, with a fist on her hips and her violet eyes narrowing in a threatening manner. She was prettier than Danny recalled. Black widow pretty.

"Yeah, Dash. The guy's new. Give him a break."

Tucker Foley stood behind her, arms folded. He too, had grown since Danny had last seen him. When they were fourteen, all three of them were roughly the same height, but now Sam barely came up to Tucker's chin. He had seemed to have ditched the red beret for dark green baseball cap, which he still wore backwards. Danny wasn't the least bit surprised when he noticed the corner of a PDA sticking out of Tucker's pocket.

Danny couldn't keep his lips from curving into a smile. He had certainly missed his friends. The companionship of people his age was something he solely missed in the confines of Dalv Enterprises.

"Or what? You losers can't make me." Dash threatened, roughly depositing Danny on the ground, once again cracking his knuckles menacingly at the pair.

Tucker gulped, taking an involuntary step backwards. Sam, however, stood her ground against the football star. The frosty glare Danny remembered on fourteen year old Sam had developed to glacial standards, her icy amethyst gaze promising painful retribution for Dash should he try anything else on who she thought was a defenseless new student.

It was then Danny decided that he had let this carry on for too long. Low profile or not, he wasn't about to let his former best friends fall victim to Dash's bullying for defending him. A slight application of pressure at a certain angle of the jock's hamstring would easily fell him, yet was subtle enough that no one would realise what Danny had done. He was just about to decide on the best course of action to deal with Dash when Valerie Gray, his only friend from Wisconsin and his unknowing partner approached the quarterback.

He supposed Valerie saw him as her responsibility, the goofy adopted son of her employer that wouldn't be able to handle himself in a fight. When Val was first recruited, he had thought that she was being nice to him just to suck up to Vlad, who she seemed to hero worship. After all, they had hardly spoken when Danny was in school. She had been one of the popular kids, hanging out with Star and Paulina, while he had been one of the losers, a punch bag for Dash and the other football players.

However, as Danny got to know her, he was surprised at how genuine she actually was, and how much the loss of her father's fortune had changed her. He was sorry for her losses, but they had made her a better person. He would not have gotten to know her otherwise. Not to mention the fact that Danny used to be completely infatuated with her.

Valerie was smart, independent, and deadly. Not to mention beautiful. They had gone out a couple of times, but Val was always been called on missions in the middle of dates by Vlad. She had broken up with him in the end, insisting she was too dangerous for Danny to date her, refusing to see him get hurt. It had taken Danny quite a while to get over her, but they had finally resumed the norm of 'just friends'.

However, Valerie never quite lost her overprotective tendencies towards him, something that Danny occasionally found quite annoying, even though he knew she meant well. However, he was glad of her help right now, as it would help him maintain the low profile he required. Perhaps he would tell Valerie who Phantom really was at the end of this mission. It just didn't seem right for him to lie to Valerie, of all people.

But first, his alter ego needed to to become her friend in order to gain her trust. He would never forgive himself if his revelation caused Valerie to hate him.

"Back off, Dash." Valerie demanded, joining Sam and Tucker in Danny's defense.

Outnumbered, Dash rapidly scanned the hallway for any sign of backup in the form of fellow football players. He had heard that the formerly popular girl was a ninth degree black belt, and he wasn't keen to take her on.

Unable to locate Kwan or any other form of backup, the bully decided it would be best to back off.

"I'll get you next time, loser. Until then, stop using girls to protect you." He growled menacingly, shoving past Danny roughly.

"That jerk." Sam snarled, glaring daggers at the retreating figure of Dash.

"Are you okay, Danny?" Valerie asked, concern etched on her pretty features.

"Danny?" Sam interjected, recognition abruptly dawning. "Danny Fenton?"

Sam was completely taken aback by the unexpected appearance of her friend. Like Tucker, he had shot up in the last few years. The Danny Fenton she remembered had been her height. It felt strange to have to to have to look upwards to see his face.

Something Sam immediately noticed was that he carried himself differently, his body language displaying a certain air of self-assured grace he had never had before, a trait he had picked up from Vlad Masters.

Although he wasn't hulking like Dash, he was tallish and broad shouldered, perhaps a good two inches taller than Tucker, no longer the scrawny freshman he used to be. His raven hair still fell messily over his face, occasionally obscuring his eyes from view, and there was a certain intensity to his striking features that she hadn't remembered fourteen year old Danny Fenton having.

He was really...cute.

"Hey Sam, hey Tucker." Danny grinned sheepishly. "It's been a while."

Sam couldn't believe how much she had missed that grin. Perhaps he hadn't changed as much as she had thought.

"Dude, we didn't think we'd ever see you again!" Tucker exclaimed, high-fiving the other boy.

"It's great to see you, Danny." Sam said, beaming as she pulled the three of them into a giant bear hug.

"So, Danny, what are you doing back here in Amity Park?" Sam asked, curious as to why her old friend had returned to their small, unimpressive town. "I thought you'd moved to Wisconsin for good."

"Well--"

Danny's reply was interrupted by Tucker's interjection.

"Yeah, dude. No one ever transfers here in the senior year. That's crazy."

"You didn't tell me you were coming back, Danny." Valerie admonished. "And I only saw you in Wisconsin a couple of days ago."

"I didn't know I was coming back to Amity either." Danny replied with a sheepish grin. "But Vlad decided it was time for me to stop moping around and get on with my life. I'm here to claim back Fenton Works."

"That's not going to be easy." Valerie informed.

"Yeah." Agreed Tucker. "They've turned the whole neighbourhood into the Headquarters for the Guys in White."

"Guys in White?" Danny asked, feigning ignorance. "Who are they?"

"Ghost Hunters." Sam supplied promptly, expecting Danny to be disbelieving. Newcomers to Amity Park never believed their town was infested by ghosts until sighting one for themselves. To her surprise, a look of resentment flashed across his features.

"How bad does Amity Park have it?" Danny questioned. "If a bunch of ghost hunters have their headquarters here, the town must one of the worst infested in the country."

Sam was slightly taken aback at the seriousness in his voice. She never remembered Danny ever being this serious. There was a definite hardness to his features that fourteen year old Danny Fenton did not possess. His unnaturally blue eyes seemed to belong to someone older than seventeen. Eyes that had seen too much.

"Pretty bad." Valerie admitted. "The ectoplasmic levels here are three times the national average."

Danny winced. "Does anyone ever get hurt?"

"Occasionally, but nothing serious." Tucker informed. "Amity Park's fine. Thanks to the Guys in White and this mysterious freelancer who calls herself the Red Hunter."

"Tucker likes her." Sam teased, grinning.

"Hey!" The techno geek protested. "She's hot! That red battle suit is awesome. Not to mention that jet sled. The girl knows style."

"Yeah, I agree with Tucker." Danny replied, winking at Valerie. "That girl is awesome."

Valerie laughed, lightly punching him on the arm.

Sam didn't miss the quick look of understanding that transpired between the two.

'What was that about?' She wondered.

Danny and Valerie had never been close during their freshman year. In fact, the two had hardly spoken. Why had Valerie even come to Danny's defense?

Tucker, oblivious to the exchange, was astonished. "You know about the Red Hunter?"

"I've heard of her." Danny laughed. "My guardian invents anti-ghost technology. The Red Hunter uses some of his stuff."

"Can you get me her autograph?" Tucker asked eagerly.

Danny grinned ruefully. "I can try. But I'll warn you. She's a real heart breaker." Valerie rolled her eyes at him.

"Valerie, what were you doing in Wisconsin anyway?" Sam asked, curious. A cheese producing district was hardly the ideal place for a vacation.

"I spent my summer there." Valerie explained. "I had a summer job working for Danny's guardian."

"She was his PA." Danny supplied, smirking. "Vlad is tough to please."

"That man is a slave driver." Valerie agreed, sharing a knowing grin with Danny.

"All summer?" Tucker asked, astounded. "That's just wrong."

Valerie stared at the ground and shuffled her feet. "I kinda needed the money."

An awkward silence ensued. The whole school knew about Valerie's fall from popularity. Her father, who used to own a security company that guarded Axion Laboratories, was now close to bankruptcy, ruined due to the frequent attacks on the research centre by ghosts. Having lost her wealth, all of Valerie's popular friends had deserted her, save for her best friend Star, the blonde cheerleading vice-captain.

Tucker winced. He hadn't meant to be so tactless.

"Sorry." He muttered. "That was stupid."

"We're going to be late." Sam quipped, changing the subject. She, like the rest of the school, was well aware of Valerie's current financial situation. As if on cue, the tardy bell rang, the unnecessary clangour causing several students to groan at the prospect of starting a new school day.

Glancing at Danny's timetable, Valerie beamed. "You're in quite a few of my classes. We have stats now. I'll show you where that is."

"Sure," Danny grinned. "Thanks Val."

"Hey, Danny." Sam asked, uncertain. "Would you like to come to the Nasty Burger with me and Tuck after school to just um, hang out?"

She hadn't expected asking to catch up with him to be so awkward. She used to be able to talk to him all the time. It wasn't like she was asking him out on a date. Her face flushed at the idea. Where had that thought come from?

'He probably thinks I'm an idiot now. We've lost contact for nearly three years. Why was I so forward?' She cursed herself mentally.

Danny looked torn. "I'd love to," He said. "But I've got stuff I got to take care of. Maybe some other time."

"Thats okay." Sam replied, her disappointment evident.

"Sorry. I just moved here so I've got loads of stuff to take care of." Danny apologized. "Maybe tomorrow?" He asked, brightening.

"I can't make tomorrow." Tucker replied. "How about the day after that?"

"Sounds great." Danny said. "See you guys later." He waved, turning to join Valerie on the opposite side of the hall.

Sam didn't realise that she was staring until a sharp jab in the ribs from Tucker snapped her out of her reverie.

"H-huh?"

"You like him." Tucker teased, wriggling his eyebrows for effect.

"Don't be ridiculous," Sam replied, flushing. "I just can't believe how long its been since we've last seen him. Besides, Danny's just a friend."

'A really hot friend.' She added to herself.

"What was that?" Tucker questioned, amused. "I thought I heard something." He goaded, grinning impishly.

"Well you heard wrong." She fervently denied, her frosty glare promising Tucker death should he push the matter any further.

But she could not deny the ghost of a blush still present on her cheeks as she watched Danny's retreating figure disappear from her line of vision.

Later that afternoon, Danny returned to his hotel room to receive a call from Vlad. His superior had rented him a large suite in one of the only hotels in Amity Park. Despite the fact that the hotel was located in a small town, the suite was one of the most luxurious Danny had ever stayed in.

Vlad's generosity never failed to surprise him. Although his parents had made a fair bit of money as inventors, they had not built an empire anywhere near as vast and far-ranging as his benefactor's. Money had never been a problem in the Fenton family, but Danny still wasn't used to the large sums of money Vlad insisted on lavishing on him. Without Vlad, he would probably be in the care of social services right now. He would have had to master his bizarre abilities by himself, and he would never have become an agent for a national intelligence organisation, yet Vlad insisted that Danny owed him nothing.

He never failed to appreciate everything the spy coordinator had done for him in the past three years.

Except for this.

He endeavored to stop the huge yawn threatening to emerge as Vlad went through the details of the plan yet again. Vlad was a tough superior to please. Not for the first time, Danny was glad that his guardian was nowhere near as strict in matters of everyday life. Vlad was generally very liberal in terms of Danny's behavior, allowing him to do whatever he chose, something he was very grateful for.

His mind started to drift as Vlad once again went over the finer details of the operation. He could not help but think about his return to Casper High, and the reunion with his old friends. He was glad to see Sam and Tucker had hardly changed in terms of how they acted. As far as he could tell, their interests largely remained the same, especially when it came to the age old question of meat versus vegetables. Their longstanding disagreement had dragged Danny into the argument, as the pair demanded he picked a side. For a while, it felt just like old times.

Although they had spent almost three years apart, Danny still felt as though he could relate to his friends, that they understood him, even though there was no hope for things ever to return to normal. He was now a reconnaissance agent with spectral powers working for the CIA, no longer the slacker freshman he used to be.

As unusual as his way of life was, Danny wouldn't trade it for the world. He was far too attached to Vlad and Valerie to ever do that.

However, he was sorry he had to turn Sam down when she had invited him to the Nasty Burger, she had seemed genuinely disappointed. But he had to bear in mind that he had returned to Amity Park for an assignment, not to catch up with former acquaintances.

Besides, the last thing he needed was a pretty girl to distract him from his mission.

He supposed he had always thought of Sam as attractive, even during their freshman year. Her beauty was more than skin deep, her generous disposition and kind personality had drawn him to her even at the tender age of fourteen. Not that Sam was unattractive -- far from it, her fiery personality hidden behind the guise of her delicate features.

Was he attracted to her? Danny didn't know. But he did find her extremely pretty. That had to count for something.

"Pay attention, Daniel." Vlad's rebuke snapping him out of his reverie. "This is important."

In Danny's opinion, the assignment was far more complicated than it needed to be. All he needed to do was enter the Headquarters of the Guys in White as a human, deactivate the ghost shield, turn into Phantom, and investigate the premises. His ability to turn invisible would easily prevent him from being spotted, while his intangibility would allow him to navigate the building with ease. After all, he had once lived there. How much could the place have changed?

If it were up to him, he would have been in and out of the research facility by now. But Vlad was determined that the plan had to be foolproof. He insisted on running the stages by Danny again and again, until Danny was pretty sure that he could practically repeat back word for word every instruction that Vlad had provided.

"And if said endeavor fails, you are to instigate Plan Beta-dash-seventeen," His benefactor's distinctly accented voice drilled through the communicator. "disabling their back-up generator--"

"Cutting all the power in the premises. This in turn should permanently disable the ghost shield, allowing me fifteen minutes to gather intelligence before the emergency power supplies reactivate all devices in the building." Danny finished, unable to hide his boredom.

"We've been through this a million times, Vlad." He protested. "I'll be fine."

"Fine isn't good enough, Daniel." Vlad admonished. "The Guys in White may seem incompetent, but do not underestimate them. If you are caught, help will arrive far too late to save you."

Danny sighed. "Is it really going to be that dangerous?"

"That and more." Vlad replied, his eyes narrowing on the communicator screen. "Such assignments have never been given to new recruits before. With the exception of you. Even Val-- " He cleared his throat. "Even the Red Hunter wasn't broken in as harshly."

"I'll try not to disappoint." His protégé replied, grinning.

In all honesty, Danny's earlier disquiet at the prospects of this mission had almost completely disappeared. He had been issued a challenge, and he would complete it. However, he had to admit that Vlad's concern was worrying. The billionaire's attitude towards assignments was typically almost as carefree as his own.

"If things don't go well, you are to abort." The spy coordinator said, frowning. "I don't care about Caleb Jone's foolish agenda. If the plan starts to go awry, I want you out of there, immediately." He demanded. "You are of no help to us incapacitated."

"I don't want to fail the mission, Vlad." Danny argued. "I can't afford to."

"If your first attempt is unsuccessful, you could always infiltrate the premises again. If they subdue you, then you have truly failed the mission."

Danny rolled his eyes. What were the chances that he would be captured? The Guys in White were reputed to be a tremendous waste of budget money, spending ridiculous sums on the mere hygiene of their headquarters. Statistically, their productivity was barely a third that of Dalv Enterprises. Danny doubted that half of the subordinates of the Guys in White could even tell one end of an ecto-blaster from the other. How much of a threat could they possibly be?

"Refrain from rolling your eyes, Daniel." Vlad chided. "It is most ungentlemanly."

Danny barely stopped himself from rolling his eyes a second time.

"Anyway, I believe that I have by now managed to hammer the objectives of this assignment into your thick skull." His benefactor concluded. "You may instigate reconnaissance tomorrow. I will eagerly await for news of progress."

"Aren't you going to wish me luck?" Danny asked, smirking. Such had become the ritual prior to Phantom's assignments.

"It is not luck you require, Phantom, but a level head." Vlad replied, returning the smirk. "Use your sorry excuse for intellect for once, instead of your brawn." His benefactor teased, cocking his eyebrow in the expression that Danny had come to know so well.

His gaze hardened. "I hope you are under no illusions, my apprentice. If you are captured by the Guys in White, they will not hesitate to kill you."

Author's Notes: So there you have it! Danny has met Sam. Since most of you seemed to have ideas along the same lines, I have decided that the relationship is going to develop gradually. The attraction, however, is going to be pretty rapid;)

I'm going to make a little game out of who is going to crack first, Danny or Sam. There shall be some heavy flirting in the coming chapters, purely for the amusement of my lovely readers:) Please vote and tell me which of the pair do you think should give in first. As I have said before, I always take your opinions into account.

I do apologise, but updating is going to slow to about once a week, since I'm now back in boarding school and that tends to make writing much more difficult:(

Many thanks to: cariadiorarua, kia, Vladimir's Disease, Black January, Sasia, CharmedNightSkye, MxMrc, lightanddarklove and CrazygirlwithaphonethatLOVESdp for their kind reviews. Thank you so much for your advice, and I'm glad to know that the plot that I have in my mind will agree with many of you:) I have the kindest, loviest reviewers in the world. Constructive criticism from experienced readers is the reason I keep writing.

Please criticise and help me pick up on areas that could be better. It only helps me improve.

As always, your views matter greatly to me. Kindly review and help me with the story's progression. I really do appreciate your help!

I will try my very hardest to update by next week.

Hugs and kisses, Twisted Creampuff