Chapter 10: How Marie got here part III
Marie, Jerry, and Rodney made it to The Image; Rodney was dressed as the Fifth Green Lanterns. The bouncer there was dressed as the Red Hulk, and had the muscles to look a lot like him. He let them in and the three College students saw dozens of similarly dressed people. "It's like Comic-Con had a hot sister!" Rodney yelled. Marie and Jerry fought to stay together while Rodney dove in like fish returning to the sea. "I think that we lost him," Jerry said as he and Marie started to dance together. "We'll find him eventually, besides, you know what he's like, he'll be fine," Marie assured him as the music picked up its tempo.
For the next three hours the two halfas danced together, never losing track of each other or losing pace with the music. "Getting thirsty?" Jerry asked Marie. "Yeah, let's go to the bar," Marie admitted, and they managed to elbow their way to the bar and spotted Rodney drinking a green soda and looking at a TV screen. Marie got a concoction called a 'Phlebotonium Fizzer' and Jerry got something called a 'Heroic Test' and they walked over to their friend. "Can you guys handle those drinks?" Rodney asked incredulously. "One of the benefits of being halfas is that we're more tolerant of alcohol when in Ghost form. Anyway, what's going on?" Jerry told him.
"Congress is debating over whether they need to take any actions regarding you and your siblings. Good thing they don't know about Marie, by the way, how did you get your powers anyway?" Rodney asked Marie. Marie sighed and said, "Promise me, right now, that this stays between us." Rodney put his soda down and said, "I swear to you in Allah's name, I will keep your secret." Marie then said, "I'm the result of my mother being raped…by Vlad Plasmius." Rodney blinked at that then looked at Jerry, who solemnly nodded. "I…I'm sorry, I didn't know…" "Don't be, it's not your fault. I just don't like advertising the fact, I know better than anyone what kind of monster he is," Marie explained, and they dropped it to look at the news feed.
"Congressman Jason Pressman has issued a press release stating that he will defend the rights of the Phantom Triplets, also known as Triple Threat, stating that their record of fighting ghosts and protecting the public is proof of their good intentions and those of their more famous Father, Danny Phantom. Congressman Adrian Holter however feels that keeping their heritage a secret is proof of sinister motivations on the part of Danny Phantom and is moving to have him appear before Congress to quote 'tell us everything else that he has hidden from us.'" The news reporter said.
Jerry sighed, "Politicians, they just can't deal with the fact that some people with power aren't total bastards." "It's not that bad, Congressman Preston is a pretty powerful guy; your family has a good ally in a good position to protect you," Marie reminded him. "What about you? Your biological father held the whole world hostage, committed multiple counts of fraud, illegal cloning experiments, robbery in the triple digits, homicide, and rape, both in the double digits. They won't feel too kindly towards you if they find out," Jerry told her. "I know," Marie said. They looked around the club and decided they had had enough fun for the night and took Marie's car back to Vanbilt Tech.
As soon as they got there Jerry said, "Great, they took my moped. No respect," Jerry complained. "Well, what were you going to do with it anyway when you left?" Marie told him. "Give it to Rodney," Jerry said, and Rodney said, "No. Sorry, but mopeds aren't my thing." And the three of them just laughed at the absurdity of it all. Jerry's Ghost Sense went off and he sighed, "Great," and flew out of Marie's car. Marie followed him and saw the ghost, wasn't a ghost, "Dad?" Jerry said. "Hi, Jerry," Danny greeted him with a hug. "So, you're here to take me home," Jerry stated.
"Yes. I'll be in your room when you're ready to go," Danny told him. Jerry watched him fly to his room and looked at Marie. There really wasn't much to say, so they floated down to Rodney. Jerry looked at him and said, "You're the best friend a guy could wish for." Rodney pulled him into a hug and said, "Don't worry man, Uncle Jamal will make this right." Rodney then left Jerry and Marie alone. Marie looked into his eyes and saw that beneath everything, he was sad. Jerry had worked hard to come to Vanbilt Tech, and now he was being forced out. Jerry took her face in his hands and kissed her like she had never been kissed before. She felt like she knew him better than ever before, all because of that one kiss. "I'll be back as soon as I can," Jerry promised her, then flew off to his dorm, and she went to hers.