This is my first posting on AO3 and it does not have a beta. Expect mistakes as I try to dish out as many Phight prompts as possible. I have it drafted out to 25 chapters, which knowing how I write means 30-35, so expect a big story that will finish by the end of April.
PS- This is a side fic to my Invisobang, Goin' Ghost, so expect a large amount of posts from me in the coming months.
Chapter One - "Oops"
The man gripped his steering wheel as he glared at the Masters' mansion. He watched as the Red Huntress shot at Danny Phantom before flying over the building towards the back. His daughter had been missing all evening and he was not surprised to see her in the suit but he wanted to know why she was at the mayor's. He decided to put some distance between the mansion and himself as he drove down the street.
He spotted Valerie flying down the street a few minutes later and he got out of his car and flagged her down. She immediately approached him, landed and let her board vanish.
"Dad, I…" she stopped as he glared before getting back into the car.
Once she had gotten into the passenger seat and buckled in he started the drive home, "You told me this would stop. That you wouldn't fight ghosts anymore. I already lost your mother and I do not plan on losing you."
"Dad, I have to fight ghosts. Who else is going to do it? The police? The government? The Fentons?" her tone was bitter. "You know there is no one that is competent. Our mayor Vlad Masters IS a ghost! I wouldn't be surprised if he used his powers to rig the election. Remember how you said you didn't even remember voting for him? A ghost is controlling Amity…" her voice faded and Damon gave her a side glance to see angry tears streaming down his daughter's face.
"Mr. Masters is a ghost?" Damon asked through his fury.
His daughter froze as she bit her lip. Damon had the distinct impression she had not meant to tell him about Masters. "He is," his daughter answered with a quiet tone.
"And how do you know that?" Damon asked.
She didn't respond right away but when she finally did Damon was caught off guard, "I saw him transform into the mayor. Bright rings appeared and his form changed to the vampire ghost with the weird hair. The one first seen in Wisconsin."
"Didn't you tell me he gave you that first suit?" Damon quietly interrogated.
"He did," Valerie confirmed as her eyes grew wide. "He gave me all of that equipment and was trying to get me to get Phantom. He gave me that ghost ring that attracted that super strong ghost too. He… oh…" she realized she had been rambling aloud as she saw her father's dark expression.
"Oops."
She did not appreciate his humor, "Dad he is the mayor. As much as I would love to go after him as Masters we can't. No one will believe us. We can only go after his ghost alias."
"You are not to fight him. You are not to fight any ghosts," he ordered.
"Dad, he is some kind of half ghost and he isn't the only one. I met a girl tonight. She was a ghost and human. She had the same rings as Vlad Masters when she transformed so he is still human… at least part human," she growled. "As much as I would like to end him, he…"
"There should be no ending anything," Damon responded. "You will not be hunting ghosts anymore. Obviously there is much more going on than you realized."
"Ghosts are responsible for you losing your job! Why are you trying to stop me?!" Valerie hissed. "You know I can handle it!"
"You are sixteen! You are not expected to handle this!" he stopped in front of their apartment. "I don't care if ghosts robbed every penny we owned, you do not need to fight them. As it is, I am happy with my new job and even if we aren't living as lavish of a lifestyle as before there is nothing wrong with our new way of living."
"So you don't care that Phantom and his ghost dog ruined our lives?!" Valerie exclaimed.
"No," Damen gave his daughter a dry look as he removed the keys from the ignition, "I don't. I care that my daughter is risking her life fighting ghosts. I care that my daughter is letting her education slip because she is fighting ghosts. And I care that you are pushing all of your friends, even that Fenton boy, away to do this."
Valerie paled and looked away, "You don't understand. I am the only one that can fight these ghosts. The only one with a shot at beating Phantom."
"Phantom?!" Damon snapped. "The same Phantom that has been stopping normal crime in addition to ghost attacks? Phantom is not bad."
"He is bad! He is the ghost that set that dog on the lab!" Valerie retorted.
"Let it go Valerie!" Damon sighed. "I don't think that Phantom set that dog on my lab. Cujo was the name of a dog that used to work security. I have seen images of him around town and have listened to tons of surveillance with Phantom trying to manage him. 'Trying' being the operative word."
"That was the old security dog?" Valerie bit her lip.
"He probably was," Damon confirmed. "Now please, stop the ghost fighting."
"I can't," Valerie crossed her arms. "I'm still the best fighter Amity has. I can't just abandon everyone."
"You still don't know the effects of that suit. You should not be using it," Damon switched tactics.
"My suit is fine," Valerie responded stubbornly.
"You also got that suit from a ghost," Damon pointed out as he opened the car door. "If you really think you can't trust ghosts then stop using their equipment."
Valerie didn't respond as she left her side of the car. All she could see was the run down apartment, her father's tired gaze, and the faint glow of the Fenton Works sign a few streets over.
Maurice had often noticed Danny's late night visits. The father often heard the boys talk through the nights, even school nights. Sometimes Sam was with them, but usually she wasn't. It would not be peculiar for high school students however the man never saw the teenagers walk through the house. They would just talk within Tucker's room with no evidence of entering or leaving.
Like they were right now.
"Dude, what happened?" Maurice's son's voice barely could be heard through the door as the father walked to put up a book. The man paused as his son continued, "You look terrible."
"Rough night," Danny's voice sounded off. It echoed slightly in a way that sounded quieter and louder at the same time. "Danielle almost melted."
"Melted?" Tucker asked in disbelief. Maurice came closer to the door confused as to what the boy could mean.
"Her core almost destabilized and I had to tell the Huntress what she was to get her to help. I almost gave myself away several times too. I don't want to head back yet. I still haven't told Sam about her grandma," Danny's voice ended sadly.
"Man, just tell her," Tucker sighed. "If I knew my grandma was about to die I would at least like to know to spend some extra time with her."
"I know," There was a long pause as Maurice heard Danny sigh, "It's just hard to tell her."
Maurice frowned, he wanted to know how Danny knew the elderly Manson was going to die before Sam did. The Mansons were made of money and health care was never going to be a problem. Curiosity gained Maurice's attention and he turned the doorknob and entered his son's room only to see a shocking sight.
Danny, not Fenton, but Phantom sat on Tucker's bed with his back turned to the door. Tucker's eyes grew comically large as his father started transfixed on the ghost in the room.
"Dad!" Tucker exclaimed as Danny Phantom swiveled. Maurice jolted as he realized the ghost wasn't actually sitting but floating over the bed. The second the bright green eyes met Maurice' natural green ones the ghost disappeared before his eyes.
"Tucker…" Maurice carefully walked further into the room not knowing what to expect. "Why was Phantom talking to you?"
Tucker frowned before shrugging, "He doesn't have a lot of people to talk to so sometimes he stops by. Usually it's about Doomed or normal teen stuff."
"He said Sam's grandmother is dying," Maurice pointed out.
"He can tell when people are dying due to age or illness," Tucker shrugged again. "Grandma Ida has been unable to walk for years. Phantom knows Sam and wants to tell her. It's a hard thing to tell someone though."
There was a pause before Maurice said, "I'm glad you are trying to get him to tell her. You're right, I'm sure she'd want to spend more time with her grandma. What about the person melting?"
"A ghost melting," Tucker corrected. "It happens."
The father felt a weight enter his stomach at the thought of any ghost melting or destabilizing. It did not seem like a pleasant way to go, "Sounds like he did have a rough night. Get some sleep Tucker and… your curfew includes ghosts for future reference."
Tucker grinned as Maurice retreated from the room to retrieve some ibuprofen.
Phic Phight Prompts
- UnluckyAlis
Danny, Sam, and Tucker hangout at Tucker's place the most, since his parents are the chillest between the three of them. Because of that, it's no surprise when Angela and Maurice notice a few things are off about their son and his friends.
- Dekalkomania
Danny can sense someone dying or about to die
- kadziduo
Maurice did not expect to see his son hanging out with a ghost when he walked into Tucker's room.
- Warvik
To get revenge on Vlad Masters, Valerie tells someone (be the Fentons, Danny, Tucker, the A- listers, or the GIW)br /
- SQ_Scrawls
"Oops"
- Armed_With_Knitting_Needles
Valerie's Dad knows. He knows about the ghost hunting and he's not thrilled to say the least. She still does it though. She has to.