Part 11: Stakeout

While Danni was preparing for her date with Devlin, our heroes were up in Danny's room going over the plan to track down whoever was wearing the Red-X suit. There was a projector screen set up and a camera built into Tucker's new PDA (That Desmond had given to him in chap 9) that was projecting an image. It was the map of Amity Park. Desmond was standing in front of the screen and so was Tim. The others remained silent and paid attention to what the two co-leaders were about to say.

"Alright, tonight we'll be staking out the city for any signs of Red-X." He pointed to the map with a laser pointer, which was also the antenna of his SNK-Phone. "We'll split up into teams of two and each team will stakeout different areas of the city."

Tim continued, "The four teams will be me and Kori, Danny and Valerie, Desmond and Rachel, and Ryan and Amber. Sam and Tucker will stay here monitoring us from Danny's room and keeping track of our movements. Kori and I'll take the north side, Desmond and Rachel will take the south side, Valerie and Danny will take west side, and finally Ryan and Amber will take the east side." He finished his explanation.

"Any questions?' Desmond asked. There were none. "Good, we'll start at 10 o'clock tonight sharp." He noticed Danny was looking out the window. He walked over to his friend to see what was going on and soon got his answer when he looked out the window. "I see…"

Devlin had just pulled up in front of Fenton Works on a shining black and silver moped. He was dressed like he did before, but the colors of his clothes were now inverted. His shades were gone, showing his sapphire blue eye. He held a bouquet of red roses in his hand as he stepped off the moped and took off his helmet.

It was obvious that he was going to take Danni out on a date. Danny's eyes narrowed, glowing green as he gripped the windowsill. Desmond saw that this would be a good time to talk. He asked, "Something the matter, Danny?"

Danny took his attention away from the window to look at Desmond and put on a fake smile. He lied, "No, nothing's wrong." Desmond saw through his lie straight away but chose not to comment on it. He looked out the window and fixed his glasses, smiling a bit.

"It would seem that my brother is here. I see he's taking Danielle out on a date," Desmond observed.

Danny muttered, "Not if I have anything to say about it!" Desmond took note of Danny's reaction.

Danielle was dressed in a pair of blue jeans and a black sleeveless sweater. Devlin handed the bouquet of roses to her. She smiled and gave him a kiss. Desmond saw Danny's eyes glow at this. Maddie came out and took the flowers to put them in a vase, smiling at the two teens. Jack on the other hand came out with some fancy anti-ghost weapon, but Devlin declined. The young dhampir did give Jack a box of fudge, which the large man in the orange jumpsuit accepted, eagerly, way too eagerly. He handed a helmet to Danni and she strapped it on before going onto the moped. Devlin got on and kicked the kick stand away before zooming away. Danny's eyes followed the zooming moped.

Desmond then decided it was a time to say something to his young friend, "I see…"

Danny turned to look at Desmond, "What? What do you see?"

Desmond leaned in so that he was staring face to face with Danny. "Being a little overprotective, aren't you?"

Danny's eyes averted from his. "Me? Overprotective? No way!" he denied, but Desmond saw through his denial. Danny then admitted, "Okay…maybe a little bit."

"This afternoon, when I came over, I sensed that there was something between you and Devlin. You don't like each other, do you?" It was obvious, but Desmond wanted to hear it from Danny.

"I don't really hate him…it's just that he comes along with Danni and they're just so close and all…"

"I see…"

"Don't get me wrong, okay? I'm grateful that your brother saved Danni's life, but…"

"But?"

"But does he always have to be with her, all the time?"

Desmond sighed. He said, "Danny, I understand how you feel, and what you're feeling is absolutely natural…but stupid."

"Hey!" Danny got angry.

"Danny, don't you see how happy Danielle and Devlin are together? Can't you see just how happy Danielle is with him? I'm even more surprised to see Devlin smiling," Desmond said to the young halfa.

Danny quirked an eyebrow, "He never smiled before?"

"Not like that, I'm afraid," Desmond admitted.

"I just think that Danni can do better," Danny confessed.

"Then allow her to make that decision for herself," Desmond advised him. "Now, come on, we have a stakeout mission to prepare for."

Danny smiled, "Yeah, we do." His eyes went over to the window for a few seconds before he joined the others.

"Hey, Danny," Sam smiled at him. "Rachel, me and Desmond are gonna go to my favorite Goth café. You wanna come?" she invited him.

Danny's thought of his options, his eyes darting towards the open window. He then declined, "Sorry Sam, but I gotta go out on patrol."

Sam looked at him strangely, "Patrol? But it's only 6 o'clock." Desmond stared at him suspiciously. Danny shrugged.

"Well, you know, never too early to go out and protect people from ghosts." He turned into Danny Phantom. "Gotta go!" he said quickly before flying out the window.

"Is that normal for him?" Rachel asked Sam. Sam looked at her and shrugged.

"Not really…"

Desmond stared out the window and so did Ryan. Desmond said to the Vizard, "You know what he's going to do, right?"

Ryan nodded, "Yeah, doesn't take a genius to know."

Amber decided to cut it, "What's the dipstick up to anyway?"

Ryan replied, "You know Danny, paranoid as always."

Amber smirked, "Well then, baby-pop, why don't we go someplace private so we can rock?" Ryan returned the smirk.

"I thought you'd never ask." Desmond rolled his eyes at the disguised Vizard and ghost. Tim and Kori were going out as well. They would meet back at Fenton Works by 10 pm.

Devlin pulled up in front of the movie theatre and removed his helmet. He helped Danni off the moped and went to choose a movie to watch.

"What would you like to watch, Danielle?" he asked her politely. Danni placed a finger to her chin and looked over the selection.

"Well…there is this one movie," Danni pointed to a poster and Devlin looked at him.

"Camp of Bloody Mayhem II?" he quirked an eyebrow at her.

"I love horror movies, remember?" she smiled at him sweetly. Devlin just couldn't resist that pleading smile of hers and gave in.

"Alright, alright," he reached into his pocket. "I'll pay for the tickets and snacks, alright?"

"You're such a gentleman," she kissed him.

Danny was watching them from a rooftop through a pair of binoculars (The Fenton Binoculars). He was in human mode so that he wouldn't trigger Danni's ghost sense. His eyes went over to Devlin as he paid for the tickets. "What is he up to…?" Danny mumbled as he watched them go in. "Now's my chance!" he turned invisible and flew down towards the movie theatre. He then went into the bathroom and came out visible. He was going to buy tickets to the same movie Danni and Devlin were watching and see what Devlin's true intentions were with his sister. Man is Danny paranoid today.

Devlin and Danni sat down next to each other, a bucket of popcorn between them. They watched the previews for a few minutes before the movie began. Danny slipped in and sat down a few rows behind them. He couldn't see them very clearly but he could still see enough of them to jump to conclusions…bad ones primarily.

The movie started and Danny's eyes weren't on the movie screen; they were on the couple watching them, specifically a metrosexual dhampir and a female halfa.

Danni and Devlin munched on the popcorn as they watched the movie. When a really scary part came on, Danni latched onto Devlin's arm and shut her eyes tight. Devlin leaned over to her and whispered comforting words. From Danny's viewpoint, however, he was seeing that Devlin was taking advantage of Danni. His eyes glowed green as he watched the couple cuddle.

An hour and a half later, the movie ended. Devlin and Danni stood up and walked towards the exit. When they were out, Danni said to Devlin, "I need to use the Ladies Room. Be right back." She pecked him on the cheek and quickly made her way to the women's bathroom. When she had disappeared through the door, Devlin looked over his shoulder.

"There's no use hiding, Daniel. Might as well come out wherever you are," Devlin said with a smirk. Danny immediately became visible as he walked out from behind a wall.

Danny said in a surprised tone, "You knew I was there?"

Devlin waved it off, "Please, I knew you were there from the second you walked into the theatre. You may be able to hide from Danielle's ghost sense whilst in human form, but there's no hiding from my senses." He emphasized his point by pointing to his ears, eyes and nose. He placed his hands on his hips. "So, what are you doing spying on me and Danielle?"

Danny stomped over to Devlin and grabbed him by the collar. "I want to know what you want with Danni!" Danny demanded.

Devlin answered calmly, "What I want with Danielle is none of your business."

"It is my business! She's my sister!"

"Technically she's your clone…but I guess that's true too," Devlin smirked cockily.

"You better tell me or…" Danny began but was interrupted.

"DANNY!" Danni yelled as she rushed over to the two and stood up to her brother. "Let Devlin go right now!" Danny did and Danni checked if her date was alright.

"This isn't what you think," Danny defended himself, lamely.

"What I think is that you were beating up Dev!" Danni yelled angrily, "And that you were spying on me!"

"Well…" Danny's eyes darted around. "Spying is such a harsh word…I prefer looking out for you."

"I'm not a child, Danny!" Danni cried and took Devlin's hand. "Let's go Devlin."

"Your wish is my command, my lady," he said to her before turning his head around and smirking at Danny.

Danny groaned, "This is so not my day…" then his ghost sense triggered.

"I AM THE BOX GHOST! BEWARE!" Danny rolled his eyes, transformed, and took out the Fenton Thermos.

Devlin took Danni to the park and they walked to a bench that was under a tree. She sat down on the bench and pouted with her arms crossed over her chest. The tree had a carving of a heart that said 'Devlin loves Danielle'.

"What a jerk!" Danni said. Devlin sat down next to her and placed his arm over her shoulders.

"Don't be angry at your brother, darling, he was probably just looking out for you," he said to try and coax her down.

Danni glared at him, "So now you're on his side?" Devlin got taken back by this, but Danni apologized. "Sorry, I know you were just trying to make me feel better."

"Apology accepted, and you should not be angry with Daniel for trying to look after you," he continued, "Then again, I think I can relate."

"How?"

"I'm the youngest in my family and that means my parents, brother and sister try to take care of me and protect me. I don't need them to do so, but they insist on doing so anyway." He sighed "That's why I decided to go traveling on my own, even though my parents insisted that Walter and Miriam go along with me."

"They really care about you, don't they?"

"They do, but they have to let me live my own life. It took a little while after before they realized that I could take care of myself." He looked deeply into Danni's eyes. "You're so beautiful, you know that?"

Danni blushed, "I…I am?"

"Yes, you are," he leaned down and kissed her temple while stroking her hair. "Your raven black hair…'' He kissed her nose, "…Your cute little nose..." He went down, an inch away from her lips. "…And your luscious red lips." She closed her eyes as he was about to kiss her and was waiting for it in anticipation when something suddenly fell out of the tree and in front of them.

It was Danny.

"Hi guys!" Danny greeted them. Danni stood up and glared down at her brother. "Ugh, Danny!" she stomped away angrily. Devlin narrowed his eyes at Danny as he stood up.

"Nice going, Daniel," he glared.

"There was no way I was going to let you…" Danny began.

"Let me do what?" Devlin interjected. "Kiss her?" his eyes pupils narrowed to thin slits, "You know, Daniel, despite me being half vampire, I have never thought of Danielle as a meal." He went to chase after Danni. "Danielle! Wait!"

Danni was at the lake. She picked up a small pebble. "Oh…why does Danny have to be such an idiot?" she threw the pebble at the lake and it skidded across the surface. "Why can't he like Devlin like I do?"

Devlin walked behind her and surprised her by placing his hands over her eyes. "Guess who?' Danni giggled and pulled his hands away before turning around to hook her arms around his neck.

"Hey, Dev." She apologized, "Sorry about Danny."

Devlin shook his head, "There's no need for you to apologize for your brother's sake. He's just an idiot, as you say."

Danni leaned into his chest, "Yeah…he is." She closed her eyes. "I love you Devlin…" Devlin smiled softly at her and closed his eyes.

"I love you too…Danielle…" he said softly to her, holding her close. He had only dreamed of being so close to someone like this, loving her with all his heart. They pulled away. "So…dinner?"

"Where to? Not the Nasty Burger, please," she begged him jokingly.

Devlin took out his cell phone, "Let's just say I've made some…reservations." He took her hand, "Come with me."

"Where?"

"Do you trust me?" she nodded.

They walked to an open spot in the park and set up neatly there was a round table and two chairs. A black tablecloth was draped over the table and there were two lit candles. Danni gasped and looked at him. "We never eaten by candlelight together, have we?" There were two plates on the table. She could also see Walter and Miriam there. Miriam was a chubby women who was kind at heart and would fuss over Devlin constantly as she was also his nanny. Walter and Miriam were dressed in their butler and maid uniforms. Miriam had graying red hair. Devlin pulled a chair out for Danni and she sat down. Devlin sat down across from her. Walter poured some sparkling grape juice into two crystal glasses. Devlin raised a glass. "A toast…to us."

Danni held up her glass as well. She repeated, "To us."

Clink.

They hooked arms and took sips from each other's glasses. Miriam served them their dinner and Walter played violin.

"Devlin, this is so…romantic," Danni said, still a little shocked but impressed.

"Only the best for you, Danielle," he smiled charmingly.

Danny watched them from afar. He sighed dejectedly. "Maybe Devlin isn't such a bad guy…" He watched as Danni and Devlin enjoyed their dinner. "Maybe I should be going home for dinner…" he then flew off.

After dinner, they had ice cream for dessert and then Danni and Devlin were dancing under the stars and moonlight.

At the same time, Johnny 13 was taking his girlfriend Kitty on a ride around town when she saw Devlin and Danni dancing. Kitty pouted, "Why don't we do anything romantic anymore Johnny?" Johnny rolled his eyes and groaned.

It was 9.45 pm when Devlin took Danni home.

"I had a wonderful time," Danni smiled before giving him a goodnight kiss. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Danielle," he smiled at her as he escorted her to her door. She blew him a kiss and slipped inside. "Have a very goodnight…Danielle," he said as his lips curled into a smirk and his eyes narrowed, glowing red and his pupils turned to narrow and sharp slits. He walked over to his moped and popped the seat open before reaching down into the storage compartment. He then pulled out a metallic belt with a familiar red emblem on it.

(10 pm-SHARP!)

Our heroes had already switched into their superhero identities of Shadowcobra, Raven, Robin, Starfire, Valerie the Hunter Girl, Ember, Kamen Rider Oni and Danny Phantom. They were in Danny's room where Sam and Tucker were going to monitor them with some surveillance equipment brought up from the lab.

Shadow pulled his collar up, "Let's go."

"Be careful Danny," Sam said to Danny before giving him a kiss.

"Don't worry, Sam. I've got some strong backup," Danny pointed to Valerie who was cocking her gun.

"You sure you're comfortable with 'little miss trigger happy'?"

"I'll be fine. Trust me."

North Side: Starfire and Robin

South Side: Shadowcobra and Raven

West Side: Valerie and Danny

East Side: Ember and Oni

Meanwhile, at the Xiaolin Temple in China, a black and red clad armored figure swung a large bag over her shoulder. In her right hand was a golden claw…the Shen Gong Wu known as the Golden Tiger Claws. She walked pass the unconscious bodies of the Xiaolin Dragons of Earth, Fire, Wind and Water. The Japanese Girl was easy once Copycat used the bald one to her advantage. The Brazilian boy was also easy to beat as was the big guy in the cowboy hat since he wouldn't hit a girl. The dragon was trapped in an energy cage and the old master…he was nothing compared to Slade.

She cracked her neck as she flicked her wrist. With a cry of, "Golden Tiger Claws!" she slashed a portal open and jumped in, leaving the temple behind like a bad memory.

Copycat had stolen the Shen Gong Wu. There was no telling what Wu she had stolen and why she had stolen them. The only thing known was that it would be bad…really bad.

To Be Continued…