Author's Notes: It really has been a whole month? Shame on me. I apologize for all those who waited for this update. I'm glad you guys are so patient with me. Special thanks to all the new readers (still surprised that people are going back to read my first story). Also, I'd like to thank Cordria, who graciously betaed this chapter. She truly is an awesome and patient gal.
If you hadn't guessed, the name of the chapter reveals a little bit about what's going to you want to know more, read on…
Lost and Found Chapter 15: Debut
The moment Damon Gray had left her in his office, Valerie had fully intended on staying where she was and obeying her father's wishes. The past few weeks had not only put a strain on their relationship but she knew that his concern over her safety had risen even greater than when he had first learned of her somewhat dangerous extra-curricular activities. The last thing that she wanted to do was to make him worry even more by going off on her own without his permission. She had given up that brash, impulsive side of herself when she had given up ghost hunting.
Unfortunately for her, though her initial intentions were noble, her mind seemed to have other plans as worry began to fill up every crevice of it. It should have been obvious to her that her father's job was inherently dangerous, but she had never given it any thought… not until she saw the look on his face earlier that night. If her father was that troubled, then something big was happening. The more she thought of how much tonight's recent events had upset her father, the more she worried of his own safety. Before she knew it she found herself roaming the halls of Axion Labs in hopes of protecting him anyway she could.
Though she had been to Axion enough times to know the layout by heart, the trek through the once familiar halls was unexpectedly alien, partly due to the changes made to upgrade security and mostly due to the absence of illumination. Except for the emergency lighting which lit the hallways with a blood-red color, the building was shrouded in shadows. The lack of any signs of life further perpetuated the eerie aura that seemed to permeate the building as Valerie cautiously continued on her way, and the further she went, the further she began to second-guess her decision to disobeying her father. What exactly could she do once she caught up with him? It was true that she had experience fighting but that was against ghosts. She had no clue whether or not her equipment could handle going against human opponents, nor was she sure it would protect her against something like a gunfire.
Occupied with conflicting thoughts, she soon found herself near the main vault area, the place she knew her father would head to first in a situation like this. Deciding that she might as well see what was going on, Valerie quietly crept with her back against the wall till she reached an intersection in the halls. She slowly peeked her head around the corner and her hand quickly intercepted the gasp that threatened to escape from her mouth at the scene in front of her. Lying on the ground were the bodies of a number of her father's guards. She couldn't see any blood, but she wasn't sure if they were merely unconscious or…
Valerie shook her head in a desperate attempt at driving the alternative out of her mind. Her eyes hastily darted around the room, hoping that her father wasn't one of the ones on the ground. Her gaze quickly found what she was looking for and she let a grateful sigh of relief erupt from her lips; her father was there, standing next to Michael Sinclair, one of her father's favorite workers. Both their hands were raised and they seemed to be talking about something while they stared intently at the gaping vault entrance. Valerie nearly took off running to give her father a hug before a figure walked out of the vault: a girl no older than her with shockingly bright smile that matched her electric blonde hair. Valerie's eyes then went wide and time seemed to slow down as she watched the bodies of her father and Michael spasm and then collapse onto the ground.
She called out for him before she even realized it, catching the attention of the blonde assailant who actually who gave her a curious gaze. Valerie stood there frozen in place and her mind tried to digest the scene in front of her. Her eyes remained transfixed at her father's still form for a few moments before they gradually made their way towards the girl. Suddenly she began to see red, both literally and figuratively, as her suit willed itself into being, covering every inch of her body and its red-tinted visor masked her face. "Keep away from him!" she screamed as her arm lifted from her side and an ectoblaster appeared from her gauntlet.
Sparx stared at the newcomer blankly for a moment before she responded. "That was…" she began, hesitating before she continued. "That was... so cool!" He eyes had a sparkly gaze to them as she pointed at Valerie with wonderment "How did you do that thing with the suit? What kind of technology was that? Nanotech? Hammer-space? You've got to tell…" Her giddy rambling was cut short by a red-colored blast, which she deftly dodged without skipping a beat.
"I told you to get away from him!" Valerie reiterated, her blaster still smoking. "Now!" Her other arm took residence next to her already raised one, sporting a matching blaster on its wrist. Both weapons fired on the electrically endowed girl, causing her to back away from the fallen Mr. Gray as she evaded the attacks.
"Okay, okay, you don't have to be so mean," Sparx responded as she skidded to a stop in front of the vault door. "Happy?"
"No, I'm not," the huntress hissed between her teeth. "I won't be happy until I kick your scrawny little butt for hurting my dad!" She leapt into the air and landed onto her hover sled, which materialized underneath her and hummed to life. The huntress aimed her sights at the other girl, revenge etched on her face as she commanded to craft to accelerate towards her.
"Wow!" Sparx cried in awe of the gear that seemed to appear out of thin air, apparently unperturbed by the fact that it was heading straight for her. At the last possible moment, she leapt into the air and over the enraged ghost huntress, who turned on the breaks of her sled and spun around to face her.
"Hold still!" Valerie cried as she shot another volley of ectoplasm. She growled as all of her shots missed their target, who was making a habit of moving out of harm's way.
Sparx had once again activated her boots and was gracefully weaving her way out of Valerie's line of fire. "Hey, I have an idea!" she began after dodging a few more blasts. "It'd be great if you come with me back to my place! Or maybe you could just lend me a piece of your suit?" She suddenly stopped giving up ground, moving off diagonally to the left at top speed. She arched slightly and headed straight for Valerie, all while she continued to evade her fire. "Banzai!" she cried as she launched herself into the air and slammed both feet into Valerie's chest, knocking the wind out of her and sending a charge of electricity through her body.
Valerie fell off her sled and landed with a thud onto the ground and gasped from the impact. She tried to blink away the stars in her eyes and to will herself to move, but found that her body was unable to do so. "Whaa… what did you do to me?"
"Wow, you're still awake?" the blonde stated, impressed by the fact. "I was trying to knock you out with that jolt, but it looked like that suit is pretty well insulated." Her lips curved into a wide grin. "Ooh, I can't wait to see how it works! Now hold still; one more shock ought to do it." She held out a hand, which buzzed with energy and was about to strike to knock the African-American teen out cold when an emerald beam of ectoplasmic energy hit her in the shoulder and knocked her back.
Still shaken by the recent attack, Valerie finally managed to prop herself upon her elbows just as two familiar looking white-clad feet landed in front of her. She felt her body tense up and freeze, though she wasn't sure if it was an aftereffect of the shock she had been submitted to moments ago or by fear from the recognition of who the feet were attached to. She watched as they turned towards her and their owner crouched down till their face was nearly eyelevel.
Two bright green eyes stared back at hers, though they were definitely not the ones Valerie was expecting. Framing them was the grinning face of a young girl, a few years younger than Valerie, with snowy white hair tied up in a ponytail. "Hey," she began merrily, "are you okay?"
The huntress wasn't quite sure how to respond to the new girl mostly due to her appearance, which held a striking resemblance to a certain Phantom she knew. The girl sported the same signature black and white, though it was definitely more stylized, and she wore the same logo as well. She definitely had some sort of connection to him, but Valerie had never seen or heard of this girl before and wasn't sure of this girl's origins. Was she like Danny; a half ghost?
"Owie!" a voice cried a distance from them as Sparx rose to her feet, rubbing her shoulder. "That hurt you know!" She took a look at the newcomer and raised her finger. "Hey, I know you! You're Danny Phantom. But…" she paused for a moment, her excitement turning into confusion. "Wait a sec… you're a girl? I could have sworn Vec said you were a guy…"
The white haired teen stood up, smiling confidently as she turned to the speaker. "That's Dani Phantom," she replied proudly, putting emphasis on the second syllable of her first name. "With an 'i'"
"Huh??" Sparx replied, even more confused than she was before.
"Are we going to talk?" Dani asked, "Or am I going to kick your butt!"
"Uhh… is that a trick question?"
DPRRDPRRDPRRDPRRDPRRDP
A tense silence hung over the front courtyard of Axion Labs as two sides patiently waited for the other to make their move. The villain known as Vector stood poised in a battle stance, his eyes remaining calm as he stared unwaveringly at his two adversaries, the dark sorceress known as Raven and the ghost boy, Danny Phantom. His face gave little emotion except for the slight curl at the corner of his lips that indicated the confidence of his victory in the upcoming battle. He was quite pleased with the recent turn of events; he had become somewhat bored while he fought Phantom. Though the boy surely did have adequate abilities, he found Phantom's fighting tactics to be lacking, especially compared to his own. At least with the arrival of Raven, this battle was becoming more and more worthy of his time.
"Any ideas?" Danny asked his girlfriend via the psychic link Raven had set up as they waited for their opponent to make the next move.
Raven took a long look at Vector before replying. "I'm not sure," she responded truthfully. "We'll have to tread cautiously, though. There is something about his powers…"
"I was wondering about that, too. I'm assuming he's like you; a telekinetic?"
"It seems that way, but there is something about them that's bothering me." A hint of frustration could be heard in the tone of her voice. "All I know is that it's some sort of magic and a fairly powerful variety at that. Be on your guard."
"That's easy for you to say," Danny replied with some sarcasm. "You weren't…"A sudden movement from their opponent caught his attention before he could finish his sentence. Their enemy, who had been growing impatient of their caution, opted to make the first move. They watched as he leapt towards them, though both were quite shocked with how high the larger teen rose, given his immense size and build. He seemed to almost float weightlessly although once he reached the peak of his jump, he dropped like a stone.
"Incoming!" Danny shouted and both Titans scattered from their location just as Vector struck it like a cruise missile, blanketing the area with soot and dust. Both teens took to the air, turned towards the impact zone, and waited for the enemy's next move. They didn't have to wait long as both were suddenly hit with an unseen force that slammed into their bodies, knocking them back a good distance away from each other and sending them tumbling onto the courtyard.
Raven managed to right herself before hitting the ground and tried to shake off the effects of the blow, when something went off in the back of her mind, warning her of impending danger. A massive hand roughly grabbed the dark Titan by the throat and slammed her into a nearby wall. The impact left her breathless as her hands instinctively reached up and tried to pry off the vice-like grip that encased her neck.
"Terribly sorry," Vector apologized. "I usually don't like resorting to such… ungentlemanly tactics, but knowing what you can do, I can't take any chances. Besides, you'll be playing a very important role: that of the bait." He tightened his grip and watched as she began gasping for air. "Now, now. I don't need you uttering any incantations, now do I?"
"Hands off!" Danny commanded as he closed in from behind. The halfa's eyes were burning emerald, as well as his fists as he readied himself for an attack.
"Right on schedule," the larger foe said under his breath with a grin. His eyes began to glow an ominous orange tint. "Vector repulsion!"
Danny felt himself slam into what seemed to be an invisible wall, which knocked him back like the attack from before.
"Vector attraction!" At Vector's command, the ghost boy's body unwillingly reversed direction, heading towards the villain, who was expecting him with a grin. He swung out, sending the halfa sprawling to the side."Falling for the same trick twice, Phantom?" he teased. "You won't defeat me that way."
"I said…" Danny said as he began to rise, "get your hands off of her!" The last word was accented by the ecto-enhanced sound waves of his ghostly wail. His short, concentrated burst hit the giant, ramming him from his spot and removed his grip on Raven. Danny flew into action, catching the sorceress before she hit the ground and then moving her away from where the giant fell. "Rae, are you alright?"
Her answer was a gasp as oxygen once again filled her lungs followed by a string of coughs and an annoyed look at being asked such a query.
"Sorry," he apologized. "Standard question."
A small smile sprouted on her lips before her eyes became alert at something behind her boyfriend. A dome of dark energy quickly protected them from Vector's fist, which collided with the construct with tremendous force. Raven held up her hands and struggled to keep the shield up while her body trembled from the strain.
"Impressive," the villain commented, "Let's see how long you can last." He pulled back before swinging for another blow that shook both the shield and its two occupants. He repeated this again and again, each time weakening the shield enough for cracks to form and each strike putting a strain on Raven. The last one finally penetrated the shield and hit the ground underneath and created a crater at least two feet deep. Fortunately, the ground was all that his fist hit because his would-be victims had already escaped underground via Danny's intangibility.
Around the corner of the building, Danny arose from the ground while he held on to her to keep her steady. "Rae…"
"I'm fine," she replied before he could ask. "Just let me collect myself."
"I was expecting more out of you, Phantom," Vector called out to his unseen prey. "Running away is most unbecoming."
"That guy is really asking for it," Danny whispered with clenched fist. "If wants a fight, he can have one for what he did to you."
Raven shook her head. "That's what he wants," she stated. "He's goading you to come out." She opened her eyes, which she had closed as she recuperated. "He's been targeting you the whole time."
Danny gave her a questioning stare. "I wasn't the one her grabbed and nearly choked to death." The memory of the moment caused his fists to quake with anger.
"He only did that to bait you," she explained calmly. "Haven't you noticed that he only uses his powers when he's near to us?"
It took a few moments for her question to register in his mind. "Now that you mention it…"
"I think it has to do with his powers; they only work within a certain radius. That's why he's been trying to lure you in. He waited for you to attack him first and then used me to get you to attack again. "
"So getting near him is out of the question," Danny concluded. We're going to have to hit him long range, though I'm not sure if we'll be able to hit him. He's quicker than he looks."
"We're going to have to…" she paused for a moment. "Damn it, move!" Just as she gave her warning, the wall behind them burst outwardly, throwing them back along with a hail of debris.
The large form of Vector emerged from the newly created hole. "Ah, there you are…"
VGDPVGDPVGDPVGDPVGDPVGDPVGDPVG
Valerie felt the effects of the electrical shock she had received from Sparx begin to wear off as she slowly got to her feet. Her eyes never left the girl who had just moments before claimed to be Dani Phantom and her mind began racing with questions that she wanted to ask. "Who are you?"
Dani turned to her and grinned. "I told you already: I'm Dani Phantom, with an 'i'. Who are you?"
Valerie blinked, genuinely surprised by the girl's question. "Valerie. Valerie Gray," she responded absentmindedly.
"Nice to meet you, Val," the ghost girl replied, casually shortening Valerie's name as if they were already friends. She held out her hand in a friendly gesture, her eyes shining brightly with naiveté. "Are you a friend of Danny's?"
"I…" the huntress was unsure how to respond to the question, which was one she found asking herself quite often recently.
"Thunderblitz!" The sudden cry interrupted Valerie before she could answer and both she and Dani managed to move out of the way, just as Sparx bolted in with an outstretched and electrified hand. Missing her targets, the blonde foe skidded to a stop. "I don't mean to interrupt, but Vec is going to be really pissed at me if I keep him waiting anymore. I'm not asking for much; you don't even have to give me the whole suit," she said in an almost cheerful tone. "I'm sure you Deddy can figure out how it works with just a small piece…"
Valerie scowled at the girl's gall. "Yeah, right! Like I'd give anything to you after you hurt my dad!" With her fist pulled back and ready to strike, the red huntress charged forward and swung the moment she was in range of the source of her irritation. Her strike missed its mark entirely, however, when Sparx easily sidestepped the attack. Valerie continued her assault, punching and kicking, using every move she could remember from her years of practicing karate and even a few she had learned from fighting ghosts. It was all for not and each of her strikes hit nothing but air as her electro-centric adversary avoided each and every one.
"Wow, nice kick!" Sparx commented as she effortlessly kept her distance. "Where did you learn to fight?"
Valerie practically growled in frustration after another failed attempt. She was getting more and more aggravated as the fight dragged on (if she could even call it a fight) and her opponents almost cheerful attitude was not helping in the least
"Hey, I know!" Sparx's face seemed to brighten as a thought came to her. "How about I show you some of my moves? I've been saving this one for a while now." She flipped back and landed on her hands, curling her body tightly before releasing a powerful kicking using both her feet. "Jupiter Strike!"
Valerie's eyes went wide as she watched the kick come her way, knowing that she wouldn't be able to dodge it in time. She waited in horror for the blow to connect…. "Mind if I cut in?" She heard a voice besides her asked as a hand touched her shoulder and she suddenly felt a cold, familiar tingle sweep over her body. Sparx sailed harmlessly through the now intangible huntress, much to both of their surprise.
Dani broke contact with her new ally's shoulder, rendering her tangible again, and smirked smugly at her handiwork. "Now it's my turn," she stated as she launched a barrage of ectoplasmic blasts at the would-be thief. She, unfortunately like Valerie before her, found it difficult to land a hit on the nimble blonde. "Hey! Hold still!" the halfa cried out as her prey zigzagged her way around her attacks.
"Sorry," Sparx apologized, "But you're going to have to do better than that to hit me…"
"Oh, really?"Dani inquired with an impish grin and a glint in her eye. The ghost girl's feet suddenly ignited with ectoplasm and she swung out her leg, creating a low arc of ectoplasm.
It took a few moments for her to react, but surprisingly the electrically endowed girl managed to leap over the oncoming assault, using it as an opening to her to get closer to the ghost girl. "Let me try!" she exclaimed cheerfully as she began to spin in the air and lashed out her leg. The kick found no purchase since Dani took the opportunity to show off her own maneuverability and quickly put some distance between them. Unperturbed and with a gleeful giggle, Sparx landed on the ground and continued to spin, hoping to sweep the halfa's feet from right under her.
"Woah" the young Phantom cried out as she rose from the ground and narrowly avoided getting tripped. She continued to gain altitude till she was a foot below the high ceiling and she immaturely stuck out her tongue.
"Hey, no fair!"
Continuing her teasing, Dani, pulled at her lower eyelid. "Why don't you come and get me, then?"
Sparx looked as if she were seriously contemplating her opponent's suggestion and after a few seconds a smile bloomed on her face. "Okie Dokie!" Sparx said. "Give me a sec, kay?" Her response elicited only a quizzical stare from Dani, who watched as the blonde girl took off like a rocket on a collision course towards the nearest wall. Jumping when she reached the wall, her feet made contact and in a gravity defying feat, she continued to skate up the wall as if she were still on the ground. Once she reached a certain height she pushed herself off, rolled in the air a few times like a cannon ball and then extended her legs. "Rolling thunder!"
"Remember me," a voice called out, right when violet energy intercepted the attacking foe and knocked her away from her intended victim. The source was none other than Valerie, around whom three of her gun blocks floated. The huntress had hesitated in helping the ghost girl before and could only watch as she fought. She was still unsure to whether she should even trust this girl, but Dani had helped her not once but twice, so she was at least obligated to aid her; that and she still had a grunge against that blonde bimbo for hurting her father.
Despite a direct hit and the height from which she fell, Sparx still managed to land on her feet, much like a proverbial cat. Her stare alternated back and forth from in between the crimson clad huntress on the ground and the monochrome ghost girl floating up while she had second thoughts on taking them on. Her hand wandered to her side, where her spoils still hung; though she would have loved to have gotten a look at the technology behind the huntress's suit, her package was her top priority.
"Okay, I give up," Sparx announced. "I wish I can play some more, but I'm really running out of time." She grinned sheepishly. "I had plenty of fun, though. See ya!" With that, she turned her back to them and headed towards the hallway that led outside.
Valerie stood there dumbfounded for a few moments before her eyes narrowed and a growl escaped from her lips. "Hold on!" she screamed at the retreating girl. "Get back here! You're not getting away that easily!" She jumped into the air and her jet sled, which had materialized under her feet, sent her after quarry.
"Hey, wait for me!" Dani called out behind both as she quickly followed.
DPRRDPRRDPRRDPRRDPRRDPRRDP
"If I didn't know any better, I'd think that you were avoiding me," the large criminal known as Vector commented as he emerged from the hole he had recently created. "Where were we? Oh yes, that's right." Lifting his arms while joining his hands together, he jumped straight for Phantom and swung his arms down in a double-axe handle attack.
Danny deftly rolled out of the way and putting Raven's observations into account, tried to put as much distance as he could from the behemoth by flying away backwards. While he retreated, he assaulted his foe with a number of ecto-blasts in hopes of deterring him from following.
Instead of dodging, Vector merely crossed his arms in front of his face and took every hit without even flinching. Lowering his arms, he gave the halfa a confident grin and then bolted forwards with speed that belied his size, closing the gap between them. Grabbing the front of Danny's costume, he slammed the hero into the ground and while he was still dazed, lifted his other massive fist.
"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" Raven's signature incantation rang out into the night air and various pieces of debris left by Vector's arrival answered her call, each of which were now surround by her dark energy. The would-be projectiles obeyed her command as she waved her hands towards her target, raining down on him like hail.
"Please," Vector said as if her were insulted. Instead of striking down Phantom like he had been planning on, he instead faced his palm towards the offending pieces of concrete, stopping them dead in the tracks. "You've tried this already. Did you honestly think that it would work on me this time?"
Raven's eyes furrowed with concentration as she began a struggle of power between her and the larger telepath on the rubble. She exerted her will and lifted her energy filled hands, hoping that she could overcome the strange force Vector seemed to possess with that of her own. After a few moments of struggling, she did something that caught her opponent by surprise: she smiled.
Searing cold from an icy blue blast suddenly engulfed the giant's chest and sent him flying back, much to his dismay. Though he managed to stay on his feet, the disorientation from the blast was all that was needed to break his concentration of the attack he had been holding at bay and a hailstorm of cement and rebar assaulted him.
The blast's originator, Danny, rose to his feet, his eyes still glowing blue after emitting an ice blast. "Thanks for the assist," he said to his girlfriend, who nodded back in reply. "Now, for big and ugly: what the hell were you trying to steal and what did you want with me?"
"You think I'll tell you anything?" The large teen slightly teetered on his feet from the damage he sustained, though he showed no signs of backing off now. "I'd suggest you wait till after the fight is over to ask questions… that is, if you think you can beat me." He stood in a fighting stance, with one hand holding on to his chest, which was still covered in frost. His mind raced with ways he could turn this upset around when his thoughts were interrupted by the crackle of his in-ear comm.
"Sparx to Vec!" a voiced sounded into his ear canal. "Vec, can you hear me?"
"Not now, Sparx," he nearly hissed. "I'm currently in the middle of something. I thought I told you not to call me unless there was a problem."
"Yeah… about that…"
AN: Once again, I got stuck on the action scenes… sigh, don't think I'll ever get used to writing them. There is a really hard balance between detail in action, detail in emotions and dialogue. First draft of one of the action scenes read like an uninspired script, something Cor was sure to point out to me.
Speaking of Cordria, make sure to read her stories as well. I'm especially fond of her story "Real Life", which she just recently updated.
See you next time!