A/N - Sorry for the long wait. I had a severe case of writer's block on this story. But thanks for all the kind reviews, and especially thanks to TicklesLikeCrazy for motivation to keep this fic alive.

Valerie was back at the Nasty Burger for the third time that day. She had dumped her bag in the break-room earlier and luckily had an extra shirt. Unfortunately she didn't have a toothbrush, so gargling water was all she could do to rinse the taste of vomit from her mouth. While in the bathroom, she let her mind wander and she pondered the revelations of the past hour. The whole half-ghost concept had bugged her when she first met Dani. The implications of such a creature gnawed at her and she tried unsuccessfully to reason out how such a thing was possible. With Dani, she had assumed it was a sick science experiment gone terribly wrong. Why else would the girl have begun melting into goo! With Vlad, she presumed it was a similar thing - creepy billionaire scientist wants ghost powers, and turns himself into a half-ghost. But now that Danny had these powers too… She shook her head. No use continuing with the speculations if Danny was going to explain it all. And he better explain or he was going to have a very angry ghost-hunter to contend with.

The huntress walked out of the break-room and spied the foursome sitting at the same booth she and Dani had been at earlier. As she approached, Danielle scooted over to make room for her. The little ghost girl was half-way through a nasty burger and Valerie marveled at the appetite of such a little thing.

"It's her metabolism. Being a ghost uses a lot of energy," interjected Danny, as if reading her thoughts.

"Yeah, so, you gonna explain all this ghost/human stuff or what? And maybe give a little explanation as to why you ruined my life, Phantom," Valerie spat out the last word with more venom than she anticipated. Although the truce had dulled some of her antagonism towards him, Valerie still hadn't completely forgiven or forgotten the ghost boy's past transgressions. His revelation as Fenton meant she had to reconcile her anger against the ghost with the lingering affection and friendship she shared with the human.

Danny winced, "Shh, keep it down. It's a secret identity for a reason, Val." He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Look, I'll explain everything, just let me talk and don't interrupt."

"But I -" Dani elbowed her in the side and narrowed her eyes at Valerie. "Whet dwa man twak, Wawawie," she said, while giving Valerie an unappetizing glimpse at post-chewed hamburger.

Valerie rolled her eyes. "Fine." She turned towards Danny, "lay it on me ghost boy. I want to know everything."

x-x-x-x-x-x

Two hours later, Valerie's head was reeling. In a whispered voice, so as not to be overheard, Fenton had told her about his accident and Vlad's accident, his powers, his reputation in the ghost zone, the misunderstandings with regards to the mayor and the ghost-dog, and the reason Vlad took such pains to manipulative the pair of them. Sam and Tucker had interjected a few times with comments or additions, but for the most part, it had been Danny talking the whole time. Valerie had kept her word and kept her mouth shut during the entire story, despite the barrage of questions floating through her brain, demanding to be let out. When Fenton finished his tale, the group was silent. Valerie wasn't sure where to start in getting her questions answered.

But it was Danielle who broke the silence first. "Even I didn't know all that, Danny. And Vlad said he told me everything. Although to be fair, he also lied about a lot of other stuff, so why not that." Her face darkened at the mention of the evil halfa. Valerie considered the small girl for a second then asked one of the more pressing questions that had arisen in her mind during Fenton's spiel.

"So, you told me how you and Vlad got your powers, did Danielle get them the same way, through some sort of accident?" Valerie asked, directing the question at Fenton.

Sam piped up, "Actually, Tucker and I were kind of wondering that too. You never really explained how your cousin ended up with ghost powers."

"Or told us the details about what happened in Colorado when we had to rescue you," added Tucker, "and dude, you always tell us everything!"

Valerie widened her eyes at this. She knew how tight their little 'loser' group could be and was therefore surprised that Danny hadn't given any details about his cousin to his two best friends. She wondered how much detail he had provided to them regarding her own adventure with Phantom and Dani two months ago.

Danny looked sheepish. "Well, it's complicated. And creepy. Probably the creepiest thing from Vlad yet, and that's saying something." He turned to look at Danielle, "you gonna be okay if I tell them?" Danielle paused, then nodded.

"Yeah, I guess I've come to terms with most of it over the past year. You can tell them."

At this point, Valerie, Tucker, and Sam were literally sitting on the edge of their seats, dying to know what the big secret was. Danny took a deep breath, "Vlad wanted me as his 'perfect half-ghost son.' When I refused, and he realized he'd never get the real me, he resorted to making a substitute. Only, he wasn't very good at it and most of them were screwed up, and unstable. They all melted…" Danny trailed off and grimaced, as if remembering something very unpleasant.

"Danny what exactly are you getting at? And what does it have to to with Danielle?" Valerie demanded, exasperated. Danny took another glance at his 'cousin', then squared his sholders.

"Dani is my clone."