A/N: Here ya go!
Disclaimed.
…Far Frozen…
Valerie took off her helmet and wiped her brow as she escaped to the frozen landscape from the harsh battle. She stretched her sore muscles, thinking about her friend's unchanged condition. I hope we get this done soon…
"Hi, Dewice," she greeted as she sat on her bunk.
"Are you well, Huntress?" Dewice asked, seeing her face.
"Yeah, I'm just tired. Danny made it look so easy! I mean, he taunted them while he fought and seemed to know everything about them!" she exclaimed, resting her chin on her hands.
"He is a skilled warrior," the Frozenite agreed. "But so are you."
Valerie smiled, feeling a little better, but frowned when a thought occurred to her, "They don't know, do they?"
"Save for the two you helped," Dewice replied, "no. We did not want to lower their morale any more."
The Huntress looked thoughtful, "We don't want to lower their morale…"
Dewice nodded, watching the human keenly.
"But maybe," Red continued, "we'll rile their rage. If we tell them that harming the humans will only worsen Santa's condition, which it might considering what Tucker told me, they'll hold back enough to avoid casualties!"
"We would need to gather them together," Dewice added, believing it could work.
"Then we'll go while they're replenishing their troops, a false victory, and come back after we've given them the news," the Red Huntress planned, getting more excited by the second. This just might be our break!
…Guys in White headquarters…
"Trainee Operative! Why are you out of uniform?" Operative K. demanded.
Nathan Laurel walked forward in a t-shirt and jeans, "Because I'm turning it in. I quit. I don't like your methods."
K. leaned forward on his desk threateningly, "And what makes you think you can just quit?"
"I'm a trainee. Section eight, subsection V, states that trainee operatives have a year in which to resign without consequence. My year isn't up yet, I can leave," Nathan told him, not backing down. The senior operative glared, but made no move to stop him.
…Casper High…
"Good Morning, class," Mr. Lancer greeted Danny's students.
"Good Morning, Mr. Lancer," a few responded half-heartedly.
"Now, I'm sure you've all heard by now of Mr. Fenton's condition. Don't expect this to mean that you will be allowed to slack in this class. Mr. Fenton left excellent lesson plans, so you will not be behind schedule," he told them firmly. "One thing he stresses, is that no student will cheat in his class."
One student, a girl with short sandy-blonde hair, a lean, semi-muscular build, and a band-aid on her left knee, looked up, "Will he be okay?"
The principal stopped, surprised, and answered, "I don't know, Ms. Arnold, but I hope so."
…
"Hey Jackie!" a short boy with black hair and dark eyes greeted her as she came out of Chemistry.
"Hey Keith!" she smiled at her friend.
"What's with the band-aid?" he asked.
"It's nothing," she said. "It's just…Mr. Fenton helped me when I was little. I guess I put it on as a sort of a reminder."
"How long ago did he help you?"
Jackie blushed, "Six years."
He laughed, "Geez, Jackie! Six years for a band-aid!"
She glared, "It wasn't just a band-aid, Keith! I didn't want to get back on my bike," she cringed. "I called it evil."
Keith had the decency to look genuinely shocked, "YOU! NOT get back on?"
"It was before the contests, Keith," she explained. "He pretended to catch the 'ghost' that was 'possessing' it, and I got back on."
…Wisconsin…
"This is definitely it," Maddie whispered, peeking out from behind a bush at the white-clad government officials swarming the place. Jack nodded.
"So what do we do, Mads? The kids'll kill us if we get caught!" Jack inquired.
"We'll have to sabotage them. The question is, how?" she pondered. After a moment of thought, she had it. "We'll need ghosts."
"Ghosts?" the large man asked.
"Yes. Ghosts."
…Manson Mansion…
Carefully, so as not to aggravate her side, Sam climbed out onto the fire escape, just like when she was a teen.
"Samantha!" a shrill voice spoke.
Sam froze, "Yes, Mom?"
"Where are you going?" Pamela interrogated her.
"I'm just going for a walk in the park," she explained honestly. The only reason she was at her parents' house at all was that it was a condition of her early release.
"Without Nurse Barter?"
"Yes, Mom, without Nurse Barter," the Goth glared. "I'm sick of being cooped up in this house or followed whenever I do get out. I'm not a little kid who needs to be watched!"
She looked out the window and her eyes widened in shock.
"Youngblood?" she said, bewildered. The ghost jumped, wiping at his eyes. Sam climbed out the rest of the way to the landing. "What's wrong?"
"I heard, that Santa…" he sobbed. "He's gonna be okay, right, Mrs. Claus?"
Sam lifted a hand to cover the smile she felt forming at the name, but looked sympathetically at him.
"Of course. Of course he is," she soothed, taking him into her arms. She looked at her mom to keep her quiet. The older woman consented, too stunned to do otherwise.
…Three years earlier…
"HEY! Who are you?" Jack shouted at the kid ghost rummaging through his son's old playthings, "What are you doing?"
Youngblood looked up, surprised. "Santa said I could."
Jack looked surprised.
"It's fine, Dad," Danny said as he walked up the stairs.
Jack looked at his son, then the specter, then back at his son, his scientist's mind putting two and two together.
"Danny," he looked inquiringly at his son, "is that what your job is?"
"Yeah," Santa smiled, "it is."
…
A/N: What do you think of Valerie's plan to stop the battle? What did you think of Youngblood and his role in this chapter? What is going to happen with Nathan? And why did Danny's act of kindness to six-year-old Jackie have such a big impact on sixteen-year-old Jackie? Tell me in a review, and as alwaysALOHA!
P.S. I promise there is a purpose to having Jackie in this story; I'm not just throwing in an OC just to have one.