Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom or any of the characters. Danny Phantom is the sole property of Butch Hartman, Nickelodeon and Paramount global.
Empowered
Chapter 4: Tides of Envy
Danny and Star were trying to enjoy the water park and avoid Colette and even Misty.
While they weren't really worried about Misty, since she was still amnesiac and is with someone else, (or at least that's what they were led to believe)...Colette was the biggest issue they had here and they were sure to run into her again.
"I can't believe she's followed us here AGAIN! Actually, I can believe it. I was just hoping that today would be different..."Danny muttered bitterly.
"Believe it, Colette is nuts! I'm almost afraid that if, say hypothetically, one day you and I go on one of those cute couples trips that you see in the movies... she'll ACTUALLY had the gall to try and follow us just to keep stalking you..."Star said, shuddering at the thought of every romantic encounter could be interrupted.
So did her boyfriend.
"Please don't say that, just the idea is horrifying enough!..."Danny said, looking truly frightened of the idea that the spoiled brat would go that far.
"Well, Colette is pretty horrifying...sometimes even more than the ghosts we see everything..."Star muttered, looking bitter.
"No kidding..." Danny said.
"Yeah, I'm almost tempted to use Desiree to wish her away, to be honest..."Star admitted without a hint of sarcasm.
"Don't bother. Desiree would just find a way to twist it and somehow make things worse for us. I'd rather just settle for tricking Klemper in thinking she wants to be friends and have him deal with her..."Danny said.
"Now that's a plan..."Star muttered, already formulating a plan.
Still, her boyfriend didn't think that it would be enough and decided to ask her the all-important question.
"Any chance that we can get a restraining order on her? I'm pretty sure that your dad can set one up for us, right? Like we did with your ex-grandma?..."Danny asked.
Star sighed.
"Believe me, I want to...You have no idea how much I want to...but Colette is still a minor and Dad says those kinds of orders only work in cartoons. He says that in real life, we need to file a petition, fill in a boatload of paperwork and let the courts figure out the rest. Not only that, but, we also need evidence of her being a threat, not just an annoyance..which sadly, I don't have. Dad was right, The law system really is a neutral party..."Star said, looking frustrated.
Danny blinked.
"But...then...how did Sam's parents managed to get their own restraining order on me that one time if that's how it really works?..."He asked, not getting it.
He might not remember much what had happened during his first encounter with Freakshow, but he does remember that restraining order...and the fact that the Manson parents only agreed to get rid of it if Sam wore whatever they chose for a week.
His girlfriend shrugged.
"I don't know...maybe Sam's parents bought their way through the system or something. All my Dad knows is that he had nothing to do with that court order and I can definitely see them bribing a lawyer to get one..."Star said,
Danny thought about it and sighed.
"You know...I wouldn't be surprised if that was the case..."He said, frowning.
Sam's parents are annoying enough to leave an unforgettable impression on him, whether he likes it or not. He also knew that they didn't like him and clearly weren't above using their money to get what they want.
"I'm still surprise that Sam is related to them..."He muttered.
"Let's not talk about them, we're talking about a certain witch with fake redhead with delusions of stealing you. As I was saying, unless we get actual proof that she is a threat, and unless she does something major like kidnapping, breaking and entering or an attempt at homicide before she is legal age, we don't have any hope of getting that restraining order on her..."Star said, hating this.
Danny frowned.
"I hate her...but I don't think she's that crazy..yet anyway..."He said, unsure.
"Let's just hope that she doesn't sink that low one day..."Star said. "As I was saying, getting the restraining order would be tricky since she is still a minor. Plus, Mom keeps trying to make things right and promising me that she'll "fix" Colette on her own...whatever that means. Not like Colette's a robot that she can reprogram..."Star said, frustrated.
"Although there's an idea…"She thought.
"Wish she were. Then we could just turn her off and put in storage..." Danny said, making his girlfriend chuckle.
"A girl can dream. The only reason I haven't gone through with giving her ANOTHER black eye yet is because Mom pretty much begged me to let her handle Colette...but she's not doing much..."Star said. "But I'll respect Mom's wishes…until Collette obviously crossed a line and then I am not responsible for whatever I end up doing to her..."She said.
Danny sighed.
As much as they both hate Colette, she is still technically part of Star's family and Stella keeps insisting that there is some good in her. It's more likely she refuses to see the truth. That Colette is too conceited a person to actually see the error of her ways. Even the the ghost boy wondered about how long can Stella keep ignoring the truth about her rotten step-daughter before it all goes wrong.
"And I thought fighting ghosts sounded difficult..."Danny muttered.
"It is...but I swear, if that witch so much as thinks about leaving one fingerprint on you, I am personally gonna knock every single one of her pristine teeth and tear off every single strand of fake hair on her head with parts of her scalp if need be!..."Star threatened, fuming as she imagined doing violent things to her hated step-sister.
Danny saw this and could only smile at her.
"You're so beautiful when you get fierce like that!~..."He said dreamily.
Star heard this and her anger managed to calm enough to smile at him.
"I love you..."She said, before pulling him into a kiss.
Danny kissed back and enjoyed the moment. Once they parted, they both smiled at each other. All their anger faded away fast.
"I love you too..."He answered, before stealing another kiss.
Once done, they both felt better.
"Come on, let's not think of that witch. We came here to have fun and that's what we're gonna do..."Star said.
"Whatever you say, Starlight..."Danny said as he took her hand.
The couple soon went to continue their date, and trying to enjoy the water-park and avoid certain nuisances that plagued them.
Meanwhile
While Danny and Star were on their date, Sam was doing her own thing.
She had finished a meeting with her regular environmental protest group, one where she and Christopher tried to figure out ways to help protect nature from Vlad's latest anti-nature construction projects.
Again!
"That Fruitloop is doing this to spite me, in addition to dishonestly fill more of his pockets. But I won't let that happen without a fight!..."She thought, angry. "At least, Christopher's idea to tamper with the equipment will buy us more time. So long as nobody sees us..."She thought, smiling as she thought about her vegan's friend's ideas.
That same friend who wasn't trying to pick fights with Star anymore, since the two have decided to restart. This was fine for her, since Star has long since changed for the better and Christopher realized his rudeness to her was no longer acceptable, and they have long since started over with each other. Whether or not they become close as they used to was anyone's guess, but it beats the hostility he once had.
Feeling hungry, the goth girl decided to stop by the Nasty Burger for a bite. In a few moments, she bought her favorite tofu soy melt and a small salad.
Light and tasty with the perfect amount of texture and flavor to satisfy her cravings.
"Time to eat..."She thought as she went to find a seat to eat.
As she looked around, she saw something unexpected. Something that made her kind of sick to be honest.
"Oh...my...gosh!..."She let out as it occurred.
At a nearby table, she saw a large pile of already empty wrappers and a large pile of food being eaten. She also saw a single person stuffing their face with all sorts of greasy and meaty food burgers, as well as other junk food.
It was Tucker who was eating, his face covered in many kinds of sauces. Or at least that was what it seemed to be as it could have been mistaken for a number of other substances.
He only now noticed her at the moment, slowly stuffing his face with food that he had not been chewing properly.
"Oh...hey Sam..."Tucker said with his mouth full, before swallowing.
The goth girl cringed at the sight. She could feel her stomach ready to puke out of disgust, and probably the same could be said for the rest of her internal organs.
"What the heck are you doing?!..." Sam asked, seeing the huge amount of food on Tucker's table.
"Making a statement!..." Tucker went with his mouth full.
"What? How to get a heart attack before you're in your 20's?..."Sam snarked.
"No, against know-it-all quacks who talks nonsense and lies about good food..."Tucker said, frowning before taking a bite of his triple cheeseburger and savoring it.
Sam blinked before frowning.
"Oh, don't tell me this is about what Dr. Sampson said about eating healthier. You're taking that WAY too personal!..."The goth girl said.
Tucker frowned at her, putting his sandwich down a moment to talk her her.
"Only because it is personal. Besides, what does she know?..."Tucker asked, crossing his arms.
"She has multiple PHDs, years of experience in the medical community and she clearly has better understanding of human biology than you do...and even if she didn't, it's a basic fact that eating nothing but burgers and fries all the time without any exercise is unhealthy!..."Sam said, but her tech-geek friend refused to budge.
"Wrong! I eat here all the time, and look at me! I'm the picture of health!..." Tucker declared, as he even showed off his non-existent muscle to her.
The goth girl rolled her eyes, frowning even harder now before she decided to just spell it out for him.
"Tucker... you can't even do a single pull up without struggling. I should know, I was your trainer for the Presidential Fitness Test, remember?..." Sam asked with an annoyed look on her face.
Tucker, however, remained stubborn and waved his hand at her.
"I was off that week. And I so haven't forgotten how you used my love for tech against me that one time..."The tech-geek said, still sore about that.
"It was for your own good, and you ended up passing the test...barely, that is..."Sam said, striking a nerve with him.
"Whatever...Anyway, the Nasty Burger is perfect! Not only will I keep eating here, I will eat nothing but Nasty from now on!..."Tucker said, being stubborn before going back to stuffing his face with the greasy fast food.
His female friend saw this and sighed, knowing that this won't end well.
"Part of me wants to leave you to this, so you'll learn your lesson…but the other part, not so much…"Sam said, but Tucker ignored her and kept eating.
"Another order of fries and keep the ranch dressing coming! And bring some more soda!..."Tucker called out.
The employees who bore witness to this shared uncomfortable looks.
"Uh...should we really bring him more food?..."Paige, who works here part time, asked, looking uncomfortable.
Her co-worker, a guy named Zach, just shrugged.
"It's not like there's a limit on how much people can buy from here...besides, no one is making him cram all that junk down his throat. All that matters is we get paid..."Zach said, not caring as they went to make the order.
"See that?! You can't stop me from proving her wrong!..." Tucker went, as he kept stuffing his friend.
Sam sighed, knowing that this won't end well for him. She also knew that he is too stubborn and that maybe it's best he learns the hard way.
"Just so you know...I'm not paying for your tab..."Sam said as she went to go eat her salad and soy melt somewhere else, while her male friend continued to "make his statement".
Tucker momentarily stopped as his stomach made loud noises, but he quickly ignored them to continue.
Back at the water park
Danny and Star, while keeping an eye out to avoid Colette, kept having fun as they went on the rides.
"YAHOO!..."Danny said as he went down a water-slide after Star did.
They both landed in the pool, laughing along the way.
"That was awesome!..."Danny said, having enjoyed it.
"Yeah..."Star said, drying her hair out.
The two lovebirds were enjoying their incredibly fun date and experiencing the perks of being teenagers in love. It helped that they've had plenty of experiences together that has tightened their bond.
The two got out of the pool and went on some more rides. They soon came across a new slide. Both teens looked at each other with excited grins on their faces.
"Hope you're ready..."Danny said.
"Sure am..."Star said.
The lovebirds then held each other's hands and went get in line for the ride. It took several minutes, but it was worth it.
As the couple enjoyed their date, Misty was seated by a nearby table, pretending to enjoy her drink as her eyes were on the happy couple enjoying their date.
"Come on...go already...doesn't she ever have to go to the bathroom or something?!..."Misty thought, impatient.
She has been waiting for a chance for the couple to separate again, so that she could swoop in and enjoy her "date" with Danny. However, Star and Danny seemed to be practically joint to the hip and the only times they seem to separate is when they are gonna go on the rides and even then, Misty can't stop time long enough to get up there before time resumes its course.
Now she spent the past hour waiting for her "date" to resume.
The hour felt longer then it actually was and she even brought herself another drink from the vending machine to pass the time. All she can do is just watch the boy she loves having fun with who should be her.
She hated this, but had to stay patient for now.
"Whatever, I got time and Mom thinks I'm studying at the library right now. Glad she's out of town today..."Misty thought, smiling at Danny who was getting in line and STILL holding hands with Star.
As she waited for her chance to strike, someone approached her.
"Hey Cutie. I see you're on you own. Wanna talk?..."Another guy, a little on the nerdy side, asked her.
Misty frowned, not impressed if she were honest.
"I'm waiting for my boyfriend..."She said flatly. "Or at least, he's SUPPOSE to be my boyfriend..."She thought, not wanting to waste her time on anyone else.
The guy dropped it, getting the message.
"Oh...uh...sorry..."He said, leaving.
Misty sighed.
"At least he got the message..."She thought, before going back to spying on the couple, waiting for a chance to step in.
At the same time, someone else watched the couple from afar, also waiting for the chance to strike.
"You can't get rid of me that easily, Estelle..."Colette thought, glaring at her step-sister and rival.
"Hey, hot stuff...wanna go get a soda together?..."A guy, similar to Dash in muscle and attitude, asked flirtatiously as he approached her.
The fancy girl frowned at him, already disliking him.
"Go soak in the kiddie pool, idiot!..." Colette barked.
"Whoa! Hot tempered too... kinda hot, honestly..." He said before walking away.
"Hmph... not only can I not get a decent latte in this ridiculous excuse of a theme park, it's surrounded by riff raff..." Colette grumbled, before going back to stalking the couple who had already gotten on the ride.
Elsewhere
Danny and Star both left the pool, soaked but exhilarated.
They even shared an oversized towel that was clearly meant for two. This way, they could both dry themselves off and sneak in a couple of quick kisses too. That part they enjoyed until stomachs grumbled.
Feeling hungry, they decided to grab a bite. However, as they went to do so, Star couldn't help but notice her reflection in the nearby pool water...and noticed her body.
"Should probably change soon..." Star said, her eyes landing to her stomach area.
"Why's that?..."Danny asked.
"Suit's retaining water..." Star admitted before she got to thinking.
"Retaining water?..."She thought.
Star pinched her sides, barely holding on as her fingers slipped.
"That's probably the suit…I'll check again when I'm changing…"Star thought, frowning as her body began stressing out. "Still...maybe I should make some changes..."She considered.
"You okay?..." Danny asked.
Star nodded, but mentally she had other thoughts.
"Maybe I should check to see why the calories are and make a journal…that should control my intake as I make a graph to calculate—…"Her thoughts were cut off when her stomach grumbled.
"Wanna get a hot dog?..." Danny asked.
"Sure..." Star said.
"The works?..." Danny asked.
"Ye-..."Star stopped and then got to thinking, losing her enthusiasm.
"Starlight?..."He asked.
"Uh… never mind..."Star said, looking away.
"I thought you were hungry?..." Danny asked.
"Uh…"The blonde girl said, trying to quickly think up an excuse until a very familiar sound interrupted her thought process.
Her stomach grumbled, but before anyone commented on it, there was a scream.
"AHHHHH!..."
"Huh?..."They both exclaimed.
They soon saw people screaming and running away. They both saw what was likely a ghost and Danny sighed.
"I guess we better go..."He said.
"Sure..." Star said, secretly relieved.
"Maybe I can work off the weight while kicking some ghost butt..."She thought as they went to go deal with the latest threat.
However, both she and her boyfriend were unaware they were being watched.
Meanwhile
Misty was confused as she saw the couple go off.
However, instead of running away from where the danger was presumably at the two lovebirds were seemingly running towards it.
But why?
"Where are they going?..."She asked, not noticing someone else on their trail.
As she was about to follow them, she ended up bumping into someone she didn't see.
"Whoa-..."
"Oof-..."
"Watch it, you blind plouc!..."An angry voice was heard.
Misty turned her head to see a girl with obviously fake red hair and wearing a pretty revealing swimsuit. This girl was admittedly good looking, well ignoring her less appropriate swim attire, she couldn't ignore that the fake redhead was staring at her with an angry look on her face.
Misty noticed that this girl stared with daggers, but it was more bark than bite as she kept glaring at her as she began walking away.
"Uh, sorry. Didn't see you..."Misty tried, but the other girl stopped, almost as if she had been insulted.
She frowned and turned slowly. One could swear she sounded like a rusty machine as she moved. Colette eyed the girl, instantly could tell she was wearing a cheap brand swimsuit and the fake red-head scoffed.
The rich girl crossed her arms and points her nose up at Misty, clearly looking down on her.
"Hmmm…another peasant girl needs to learn her place..."Colette said rudely, as she flipped her hair into Misty's face with a fluttering hand.
Misty gasped at her attitude and felt her temper rise, not one to take being treated so poorly by someone she just met.
"Um...rude much! I said sorry!..."She said, angry but the spoiled rich girl in the inappropriate bikini just sent her a dirty look.
"Just who do you think you are?..."She demanded as her anger grew.
"Clearly someone in a higher social class than you. Now go away. Shoo! I don't need your stupidity and clumsiness bothering me…"Colette said with attitude, treating the other girl like everyone who ever worked for her father.
Misty dropped her jaw, now recognizing Colette's kind of character a little better. She was amazed at how much her apathy downsized the brat's ego. Despite that, she tried to be civil and decided to keep calm, or at least try not to throttle the girl who clearly has a bad attitude...which was REALLY hard to be honest, but she tried.
"Okay... let's start this over..." Misty said, as she held her hand out. "I'm Misty Smith-Yang..."She tried, but the other girl scoffed.
"I don't care. Now go away before I waste more dealing with your unwanted presence..." Colette went, turning her head away.
Misty frowned, already giving up since she saw this girl as a lost cause.
"Wow…I can't believe I'm talking to you when I could be with Danny…"Misty slapped her face, realizing she's wasting time.
"Danny?…"The faux-redhead blinked, now scowling at the girl. "You dare to look at my Danny?!…"Colette said, looking like she'd start a fight now.
Misty blinked, but tried to clear up some potential confusion and misguided hostilities here since she really did not need to be around Colette any longer.
"Look, I don't you...and I don't remember there being a lot of Danny's at my school and I don't know about yours, but I'm pretty sure that you're not talking about Danny Fenton…"Misty began walking away.
"So I'll be—…"Colette cut of Misty before she took another step, blocking her path.
"Hey..."Misty complained, but soon saw the expression on Colette's face.
Her scowl deepened as her eyes narrowed.
"You do NOT dare go near Danny! He is clearly above your class!…"Colette seethed at the idea of another rival.
Misty blinked and gasped.
"You know Danny Fenton too?!..."Misty exclaimed, surprised that this type of girl would even give Danny the time of day.
She then mentally groaned as she now realized the situation was worse. Now she had another girl to get passed, but at least this one would be easier.
The spoiled rich girl sent her a dirty look and pushed her back. She was more like an animal marking her territory than a rival in love. However, Colette just kept glaring at her and decided to inform this new upstart of how "out of reach" Danny is to the likes of her, as far as she is concerned.
"There is only one Danny Fenton of Casper High. He is MY darling Amore and my future husband...or at least he WILL be once I free him from that blonde fool who warps his mind!..."Colette said before getting in Misty's face.
"What're you-"
"Listen here, peasant...Estelle, the girl who calls herself "Star", is a fool but she is still in a higher class than some poor Japanese girl who bad taste in bathing suits...so do not even THINK of going near my Danny or else, Megan!..."Colette threatened, offending the other girl.
"I'm Chinese and it's Misty!..."The dark haired girl yelled, already hating this girl.
"Do not care. You could be a martian for all I care. You are all lower class, either way. Now out of mine!..." The French girl went, walking though the girl.
But not before saying this.
"And remember, you better think twice before you get anywhere near my Danny or you'll regret it!..."The spoiled brat threatened, before ending it there for now.
Colette left after a light shove, leaving a jaw dropping Misty behind. It seemed this would not be as easy as expected.
"I can't believe this...I got ANOTHER rival and she's even worse than Star!..."Misty thought, angry and irritated with having another obstacle to deal with now.
She was so mad, that she didn't even hesitate to pull out her spell book and quickly flipped through its pages. It seems that she needed to teach this brat a lesson before she could continue.
"She who chose to be rude to me, ensure she be humiliated where all can see!~..."Misty silently chanted, his eyes and hands glowing for a moment.
She found the perfect spell... one that was not lethal or too much. But she needed one thing. For this spell to work, she need to know that fake redhead girl's name and have her distracted first.
Thankfully, she didn't have to do much as some guy tried to hit on her, but the spoiled brat rudely rejected him without a second thought.
"I didn't get your name!..."The guy complained, as the hot girl walked away.
Colette turned her head, acting as high and mighty as she could. But she did not notice the book nor did she care as apathy blinded her.
"If you must know... I am Colette Bevier, of the Paris Bevier's, all the way in France..." She went, not seeing where she stepped. "I am far too good for this town, and soon the one I desire will-..."
She then slipped on a child's pool toy. The end result was her landing right side up, where a discarded ice cream Popsicle and what was left of the ice cream ended up in her hair. It soon stuck to her hair, having dried into her. Soon, passerby's began laughing and pointing at her in humiliation.
"I HATE ZHIS TOWN!..."Colette screamed before cursing and ranting in French, feeling like this whole town is either cursed or is out to get her for no reason.
After seeing the other girl's misfortune, Misty put her spell book away. She smirked, looking pleased with the results.
"Serves you right, you brat...and guess what...if anyone is gonna steal Danny from Star, it's gonna be me..."Misty thought as she left the area to find Danny.
She had no idea he was closer than she thought, as Danny Phantom was finishing up fighting a large ghostly squid.
Later
Danny and Star were both nearly finished. After he used an uppercut on the ghost squid to launch it high enough in the air and far away from any water in the water park, the ghost boy instantly shot an ice beam blast at it and frozen the ghost squid to a wall.
With no way for it to escape, Danny aimed.
"Looks like we're having calamari for dinner! And this order is to go..."Danny quipped as he sucked the mollusk monster into the thermos.
Once he was done, he clamped it shut.
Star smiled before Danny's comment on food got her to look at her reflection in the water of a nearby pool. She put a hand on her side. Her eyes landed on her midriff area too.
"I mean...it doesn't look noticeable...but...what if...what if it keeps getting bigger?..."She thought, fearing more weight gain and a bigger belly in her future.
"Star?..." Danny asked.
"Huh?..."Her boyfriend said, before noticing her expression.
"Something wrong? Wanna go back?..."He asked.
"So, now that that's done... can we leave?..." Star asked.
"Really? Why-..."
"I... I just kind of want to go. Please?..."Star pleaded, looking ready to use her puppy dog pout to better convince her boyfriend.
Danny was unsure but still nodded as it's clear she didn't want to stay.
"Okay..."He said.
The couple soon left the water park together, and Danny sent concern looks to his girlfriend, who remained silent and a bit preoccupied with something on her mind. Danny knew that something was up with Star and wondered what the problem could be. He figured he could ask her later, when she's more open.
Star felt some level of relief...unaware that their problems were not over yet and it was from not one but two sources.
Once they were spotted, two people started following them. Both wanting the same thing... Danny.
Oh man...
-To be continued-
Next time on Empowered
Star's Dilemma
A/N(1): I dedicate this chapter to my family, my friends and my love for God :)
A/N(2): Special thanks to NeoMark, Jay The Average Fanboy and BeConfuzzled Writer for all his help. You guys rock :)
A/N(3): Special thanks to Jebest4781 for writing 3 reviews in a row. :)
REPLIES to my loyal and totally awesome reviewer:
ChrisZilla18: Colette and Misty certainly don't.
Invader Johnny and Saberwolf335: Yeah, but I say Colette is worse than Misty.
CZS4: Thank you :)
JDF Legacier Morphicon: Thank you :)
Here are my responses to your questions:
1) I guess it all depends.
2) Sometimes.
3) I prefer using the one I already have.
4) Maybe Ember.
5) To be honest, I'm neutral to all of them.
Pokemon fan 1991:
1) Maybe.
2) I'm not sure. I don't see Stranded as a crossover. Not yet, anyway.
3) I say both are pretty lousy.
4) I'll think about it.
Leonardo: I guess we will have to wait and see what happens.
RonaldM40196867:
1) I haven't decided yet.
2) Colette.
3) I'll think about it.
Luiz4200: Yeah.
Jebest4781: Thank you :)
:) I hope you enjoyed this! Remember to read and review :)