Chapter 8

It didn't take long for Vlad's mayor mansion to become flooded with frightened ghosts fleeing an enemy. The sudden influx took Vlad by surprise because he was unable to plan on what to do about it other than summon Valerie Gray of course. She hated ghosts with a passion and found destroying, capturing, or chasing them off pleasurable and meaningful. Valerie of course received a warning message from the Fentons to beware of incoming ghosts and to not bother any ghost aiding the public, namely Danny Phantom.

It didn't take long for Valerie to realize that the message was no prank or farce once the city had a massive ghost body flying around the city with quite a few seeking safety as it seemed. Still she was uncertain to aid Mayor Masters after she help Danny Phantom save his younger cousin from a serious fate. Valerie then realized through Danny Phantom and Dani Phantom that human ghost hybrids could exist and she had supported a plan of action to harm another human being even after she herself the ghost hunter was saved by Dani Phantom from a collapsing building. That same night she also found out that the mayor was in fact an evil ghost (or at least part ghost) that was tricking her into doing some of his bidding. Valerie was very hesitant to aid her boss from another disaster. Was this just a publicity stunt to boost his ratings or something more sinister? Or was it truly an emergency that the mayor had nothing to do with? Still she had to do something to not only save scared citizens but not to arouse suspicion. She knew that her father wouldn't like or approve of her hunting down these ghosts even if they were malicious and she having cutting edge ghost hunting and tracking technology that she knew how to use competently. Still she didn't want to leave the citizens of Amity Park or other neighboring communities to be left at the mercy of any unfriendly or dangerous ghosts. Still it was no doubt a daunting task to do even with her weapons and gear.

Meanwhile near the outskirts of town and hidden from view and in a rather inaccessible area for humans (on foot that is) Danielle kept her promise of continuing tutoring Danny in the technique of duplication. She of course had in her time mastered it but Danny had just barely learned to use it although not as effectively or efficiently.

"Dani, did I teach you how to use this power or did Vlad show you?" Danny asked in curiosity.

"Actually a gryphon ghost showed us how. Although Vlad did give me a few pointers early on." Danielle answered.

"What about the younger/present you? Should we have her to help us against this evil version of me?" Danny inquired.

"No way!" Danielle responded in a strong way. "We would have to be in the most desperate situation in order to consider that. If he gets a hold on the younger me of this time, he will destroy or corrupt me by default through the present Danielle. Then you will for sure be left on your own, possibly have more than one evil version of you to deal with, and that's not mentioning how that will affect the timeline. No doubt Clockwork could explain it better to you than me."

Understanding her logic, he dismissed the idea. Soon they heard cries from frightened citizens along with the cackles, hollers, and even a bang from a few harassing ghosts. It was obvious that the city was being invaded and likely attacked. There was almost no doubt that the Dark Danny Phantom had attacked.

Both ghost hybrids gathered up their courage, gear, and reminded each other that Danielle will be referred to as just a relative of the original Danny Phantom. They knew that the more suggestions and theories out there about this older female Phantom, the less the citizens will know and less altering of the timeline.

Meanwhile Valerie flew by FentonWorks to see if the Fentons were around or returning but found that their home/facility was apparently unoccupied and locked up. She didn't feel right about breaking into their private property but there was a massive influx of ghosts with some menacing. Despite her weapons, gear, and skill, she didn't think that she could take down this many ghosts at once. Did the Fentons leave town and dumped the responsibility on her or did something sinister happened to them? From what she knew that Jack and Maddie Fenton wouldn't leave the whole city unprotected even if they were dealing with a powerful ghost enemy. This was one of the worst things that could happen because she needed help, lots of it, and now. It didn't take long for Valerie to notice a familiar black streak firing ghost rays at a bothersome that was harassing some kids.

"Phantom! What's going on?! Do you know what happened to the— She stopped before she could finish because she was looking at either a gender bent Danny Phantom who just went through a growth spurt, his human ghost cousin who just had an even quicker growth spurt or she was another Phantom entirely. Did this ghost have a human form too? Valerie couldn't help but notice that not only did she also bore the famous Danny Phantom symbol, but she looked a lot like the Danny Phantom that the majority of the city had grown to admire and be proud of. She looked like a female version of him, possible be family of his.

"There's no time to explain now Valerie, but we need your help." The unknown Phantom replied in a worried but controlled tone. "Because something worse will come."

"Wait! How do you know my name?!" She shouted at the ghost.

Before the female Phantom replied, she fired a ghost ray at a small goblin like ghost that attempted to attack Valerie from below. Despite the helpful move Valerie got defensive by aiming a ghost weapon at Danielle.

"Relax Valerie! Don't shoot! She's on our side!" Danny called out, trying to quell the situation before it could get ugly. He of course saw the specter trying to attack Valerie while she was dumbfounded. He knew that several of these ghosts were opportunists when it came to causing mayhem. Still he knew that Valerie was stubborn, distrustful of all (even friendly and helpful ghosts) and quick to jump into a fight without consenting who was perpetrator or victim.

Valerie's mind raced with all the information that stressed and confused by what she was seeing but didn't understand. There was the Danny Phantom she and everyone else recognized but now there was an older female Phantom that had teamed up with him. Who was she? Just recently, she heard about, came across, and captured a younger female Dani Phantom who Danny called his cousin.

Seeing that there were frightened people around Valerie figured that fighting either of these Phantoms wasn't in anyone's best interest or would solve anything. Still, where did that adult female Phantom come from? Was she also another relative?

"What do you mean that worse will come?" Valerie asked in a demanding tone. We'll explain later, but we need to get this situation under control before time runs out.

Soon there were cheers and awes of excitement when a number of the townsfolk saw Danny Phantom but then there were a few gasps of surprise and even wonder once they realized that they either saw double or that this ghost was apparently female. She even bore the same symbol.

There were comments from the crowd like 'Danny Phantom what happened to you?' or 'Dude that's a girl ghost!' To avoid questioning Danny quickly announced that she was a family member and requested/recommended that everyone leave the city as quickly as possible for safety reasons.

Meanwhile Vlad watched the action video feedback from one of his hidden cameras to determine when and where to intervene.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" He asked his cat Maddie. "Looks like young Daniel and Valerie are teaming up again but is that Danielle? I knew Danny gave her something to undo her melting. If that is her, that's quite a side effect." He thought.

Meanwhile in the Ghost Zone, the Dark Phantom was getting more brazen and confident in his attacks and was feeling his portal producing power starting to really recover. In fact it was almost functional now. He couldn't wait to use it again and started to wonder on who to visit once it fully functioned again.

"I can always visit that old cheesehead in Wisconsin. I can't wait to see the look on his face when he meets me for the first time in this timeline." He figured. He was certain that Danielle had taken advantage of his absence and moved the Fentons to a safe unknown location. He guessed if she was allied/connected with the original Danny Phantom she would also be at odds with Vlad.