Disclaimer: I own many things. But Danny Phantom is not one of them. Enjoy!

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Friday. December 23rd, 2004. Secret Hiding Place. 4:55 a.m.

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She felt something on her leg.

She screamed and jumped up, slamming her head against cold steel.

"Ouch!" She cried, rubbing the place where her head was hit. She saw stars for a moment but quickly gathered her bearings.

'Where…?' She thought for a brief moment, but before she could even finish that statement memories came rushing back to her.

The hiding place.

The phone call.

Vlad Masters.

The Baxters.

Dani had to block out the lingering nightmare the last memory caused her and tried to stay focused. She couldn't think about that right now, if she did she'd go crazy. She'd leave it for tomorrow. The terrible situation she was in with the Baxters was best left for tomorrow and she would think of something then. For now, she would concentrate on Vlad Masters and what she was going to do about him if Dash never showed. She glanced down at her watch to check the time.

4:55a.m.

Great. She had plenty of time before her mother, father, or brother woke up. The great thing about them was her mother and father could sleep through an earthquake if it was before six a.m. And her brother could sleep through anything, if you didn't personally wake him up that is.

She quickly assessed her surroundings. By the looks of things, she obviously never left her hiding spot. She clearly remembered falling asleep pondering how the hell she was going to get her family out of this situation if Vlad turned out to be the deranged psycho she thought he was.

'Oh well.' Dani mused with a sign. 'I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. Right now I have to get back to the RV. Better not try my luck with the mood mom's been these past two days.'

Dani was about to get up to leave when she heard a small sound. Suddenly remembering why she woke up as abruptly as she did, she quickly pressed a button on her watch and flashed it to the corner where she heard the noise. The light streaming from her watch revealed something she didn't quite expect to see.

It was a kitten.

He was curled up in the corner. He was black as night with a cute button nose and fuzzy little ears. He was also shaking. Out of fright or the cold she didn't know, all she knew was he was the cutest thing she has ever seen. How come she didn't notice him last night? Probably because she was too busy worrying about everything else going wrong in her life.

"Awww come over here." She said while scooping the creature up with her hands. He fit there perfectly, attesting to how small he was, and Dani found herself absentmindedly petting his soft fur coat. He purred and cuddled up closer to her, grateful for the contact.

"I'm keeping you." She abruptly decided, putting the kitten in her coat pocket to keep him warm and safe. She knew her mother would have a fit but she didn't care. Somehow she would convince her to let her keep the kitten. There was no way she was going to let him freeze to death out here. And, Dani hated to admit it, but there was probably no chance of this kitten ever being adopted. The first, and obvious, reason being most people don't like black cats. They're considered bad luck though she didn't know where that superstition came from. She was living proof that black was beautiful. And the second reason was because of his eyes. Let's just say they weren't the most…normal looking color in the wheel.

"Vladimir." She softly whispered, looking down at her kitten. "I'm going to name you Vladimir." Somehow that name fit perfectly with him.

Suddenly light poured into her hiding spot. She glanced up and saw a man with bright hazel eyes, holding a trash can, staring down at her in disbelief. Dani quickly brought up her hood over her face, which had fallen off at some point when she was sleeping, and jumped out of her hiding spot. And then she ran like the wind.

"Wait! Come back!" She heard him call out but she was long gone. She ran past the alley, past a number of cars and trucks, and didn't stop until she was safely at the RV. Once she was there she finally stopped to catch her breath.

That was a close one.

After a few seconds had passed, Dani unlocked the door to the RV and quietly snuck back in bed. She hung her coat over the drivers seat but not before taking Vladimir out the pocket. When she slid in next to her mother, she cuddled Vladimir closer to her side. She tried to think of a way she could convince her mother to let her keep Vladimir. Her father would be easy to convince but her mother was deathly afraid of cats. She could fight a large, fearsome ghost in combat with no problem but a little kitten had her scampering up a tree.

Weird.

Dani must have been more tired than she realized because she found herself nodding off. That last thing that came into her mind before she dozed into a dreamless sleep was the shocked look on the Truck Stop worker's face when he saw her pop out of a dumpster.

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Friday. December 23rd, 2004. Fenton RV. 7:05 a.m.

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"TIME TO WAKE UP FENTON FAMILY!"

Dani groaned and pulled the covers over her head. It was too early in the morning to even think about getting up.

"Dad it's not even daybreak!" She heard her brother loudly complain next to her. "At least wake us up when the sun hits the horizon!"

Dani wholeheartedly agreed.

Suddenly the RV door opened and a blast of freezing cold air hit Dani like a ton of bricks. Before she could even protest, the covers were snatched off of her and her brother.

"The both of you get up right now!" Her mother firmly ordered. "I told you to be ready by the time I came back! You both have to take a shower before we head over to Vlad's!"

"But mom-" They both started but her mother held up her hand in warning.

"I don't want to hear it!" She replied, while grabbing the bag of toiletries by the door. "I gave you guys one extra hour of sleep and that's it! Now get up!"

"Come on guys!" Her father urged, stepping over to his wife and wrapping his large arm around her shoulder. "The sooner we take a shower, the sooner we can go to IHOP!"

As soon as her father said IHOP, Jake and Dani perked up.

"We're going to IHOP?" Dani asked, not able to keep the excitement out of her voice. "Seriously?"

"The real IHOP?" Jake asked skeptically, raising a raven brow in question. "Not a hole in the wall like the last time?"

Dani shuddered. Yesterday's 'pancake' stop with the dead parrot glued to a schizophrenic old man's shoulders and the crazy-eyed tattooed biker on 'America's Most Wanted' was best left buried under a mountain of memories, never to be dug up again.

"Yes the real IHOP Jacob. Right Jack?" Her mother answered, while sending her father a glare. Her father let out a nervous chuckle.

"Of course darling." He quickly replied. "Of course."

Just then Vladimir decided to make a personal appearance. He poked his head out of Dani's hands. Quickly she tried to hide him before her mom-

"DANIELLE FENTON IS THAT A CAT!?"

Shit. But maybe she could hide his eyes before her dad-

"GHOST!"

Damn. Her dad had spotted Vladimir's red eyes.

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Cue theme song

(She's a phantom) (Dani Phantom, Dani Phantom, Dani phantom)

Yo, Dani Fenton, she was just 16, When her parents built a very strange machine, It was designed to view, a world unseen.

(She's gonna catch em all 'cause she's Dani Phantom.)

When it didn't quite work, her folks, they just quit, But then Dani took a look inside of it, There was a great big flash, everything just changed, Her molecules got all rearranged!

(Phantom, Phantom)

When she first woke up, she realized, She had snow white hair, and glowin' blue eyes. She could walk through walls, disappear, and fly, She was much more unique than the other guys. And it was then that she knew what she had to do, She had to stop all the ghosts that were comin' through, She's here to fight, for me and you! She's-

Gonna catch 'em all, 'cause she's Dani Phantom, Gonna catch 'em all, 'cause she's Dani Phantom, Gonna catch 'em all, 'cause she's (Dani Phantom.)

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Friday. September 23rd, 2004. YMCA. 7:30 a.m.

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After convincing her father that Vladimir wasn't a ghost and spending twenty more minutes convincing her mother to let her keep Vladimir (She promised to go out on a date with Dash-Her mother thought she got one on her but really it was the other way around), they headed to the YMCA showers. They really weren't even suppose to be there, the YMCA wasn't suppose to open for another 30 minutes, but her mother had flashed her beautiful Elizabeth Taylor eyes to the owner and got him to let them in early.

And people accused Dani of being a wily temptress.

When Dani and her mother arrived in the women's showers, her mother saw she forgot her favorite hairbrush back in the RV.

"I'll be right back. Five minutes tops." She promised. "Your father and brother are next door. Scream if anything."

And then she left.

Dani rolled her eyes. Her mother treated her as if she didn't have a black belt in martial arts! Besides even if she didn't have a black belt, she would never call her father or brother to help her win a fight. Her brother Jake couldn't even fight. He would try the psycho babble and if that didn't work he screamed like a little girl. All brains and no brawn. With her father it was the exact opposite. He was strong, yes, but very clumsy and easily outwitted.

The only thing she would call them for was if she needed a distraction. And speaking of distractions…

Dani quickly shed her coat, the rest of her clothes, put on a black towel, grabbed the Fenton Thermos she had managed to sneak on her, and headed to the Women's Bathroom. She didn't know how much time she had before her mother (Or anyone else for that matter) interrupted her.

She had a hunch about those vultures.

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"What? Where am I?"

Dani looked at the confused looking vulture hovering in the air. She had just released him from the Thermos and she was waiting for him to make eye contact with her. Sure enough he glanced over and saw Dani leaning against the wall, fake sobbing with her hands in front of her face. She saw his eyes bulge out and his mouth drop. She could understand that. She was wearing just a towel.

"Darling, sweetheart." He soothed, flying down over to her. "What's the matter?"

Dani smirked. He was playing right into her hands.

"Oh it's terrible." She fake cried, removing her hands for a brief moment from her face so he could see her big, bright eyes. "I'm suppose to be going to my mother's friend's castle but I've forgotten his name. I just can't remember his name!"

The vulture stared at her in awe for a few more seconds until Dani fake sobbed even louder.

"Don't cry sweetheart." He said, placing a wing on her shoulders in comfort. "You're way too beautiful to cry. I'll help you remember his name."

"You will?" She softly asked, staring up at him with those big, black eyes. He gulped and stuttered out his reply.

"Of-of co-course I will."

"But how could you know him?" Dani signed dramatically. "Do you even know anyone who lives in a castle?"

Here it was. The moment of truth. The reason why Dani was standing the the women's bathroom with just a towel on.

"Hey I know a guy that lives in a castle! He lives over in Wisconsin!" The vulture answered excitedly. "I was sent by him on a mission!"

"Really?" She eagerly asked, desperate for more information.

"Yeah his name was Vlad-" But before the vulture could even finish his statement, Dani heard her mother's loud voice outside.

"DANIELLE FENTON, WHERE ARE YOU!?"

"What-?" Was all the vulture managed to say when Dani stole his red cap and glasses. She then immediately sucked him back into the Thermos she had hidden behind her back and then slammed the lid down before he even knew what was going on. She managed to hide his cap and glasses in her breasts (Thank God she had such a large bust) before her mother burst through the bathroom door and bombarded her with questions.

"Danielle Fenton, why didn't you answer me!? And what are you doing with that!? That's not a toy!"

Her mother snatched the Fenton Thermos out of her hands.

"Come on." Her mother urged, grabbing Dani by the hands and leading her out of the bathroom. "We only have 15 minutes to take a shower and get dressed before this place opens to the public."

Dani didn't say one word to her mother throughout the whole ordeal. She wasn't even thinking about her. All she could think about was what the vulture had said, the suspicions he had confirmed.

Vlad Masters had ordered a hit on her father.

Author's Note: You know what you gotta do! Leave a review! Please.