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.
Growing Pains
Chapter 18: Parental Supervision
Outside of Amity Park
Jack and Maddie were at an auto shop.
It was due to the slight "car trouble", one that involved a lawyer and a hassle with the insurance companies.
Anyway, it was decided that they were the ones who had to pay for the damage of both cars and that is why Jack is in a bad mood.
"I can't believe this! We barely dented that guy's bumper and now he wants to sue us unless we pay the full amount! Geez, why are we being treated like pariahs for that?!..."Jack grumbled, as they looked at the bill.
Maddie sighed and groaned loudly.
"I know, Honey. Unfortunately, for some reason, our insurance agency doesn't want to cover us for something that they say that we can easily fix ourselves and say that this was due to our obvious "negligence". They said that one more "act of negligence" and they won't cover for us anymore..."Maddie said, not getting it.
"Lousy red tape, we're not that accident prone. It's a conspiracy of cruelty, doing it to a Fenton. What did we do to deserve this?..."Jack grumbled, not wanting to admit that it's because of how reckless they are and that the damage was entirely their own fault.
His wife nodded but was more on the fence about this one to be honest, though her mind was somewhere else at the moment.
"I hope that the kids are alright, Jack. I wonder what there doing right now? I do hope that they are safe from ghosts..."Maddie said, worried about them in a motherly fashion.
"Jazz said that they are fine and that she's keeping Danny out of trouble. You know that we trust her. Besides, it's a school night..."Jack said, not seeing any reason that they could no not trust her word.
"He better. He's just a kid, after all. He can barely talk to a girl outside of Sam..." Maddie said.
"I know, worse comes to worse, he'll get better in 10 years if he finds having her parents as in-laws is a terrible thing..."He said, talking without thinking.
The mechanic soon finished checking over the RV and soon approached the Fenton parents.
"Okay, it looks like I should be able to get the scratches and dents out by tomorrow at the latest..."The mechanic said, pointing at the RV and the car they hit.
"That's good to hear..."Maddie said in relief before knowing what's next. "So, how much will it cost?..."She asked.
He then began writing an estimate and handed it to them.
"Read the estimate. It's about this much..."The guy answered, showing them how much the payment will be going for on a chipboard.
The Fenton parents' jaws dropped when they saw the estimate and they couldn't believe it.
"$10,000?!..."Maddie exclaimed as she held the estimate in her hand in disbelief.
"That's highway robbery!..."Jack yelled, looking angry but the mechanic seemed non-plused.
"The bill also includes paying for the window that one of your crazy R.V's gadgets broke and for the door that your stupid space-age gun of your broke. Not to mention that the inside of my trunk bent, which means I need a replacement. That and the fact this vehicle is more like a tricked out tank than an RV and we need to order specific parts to fix it. You two got a problem, you can take it up with my lawyer..."The guy they hit said in a no-nonsense way.
Realizing that they were losing the argument, Jack sheepishly conceded.
"Uh...do you take credit cards?..."Jack asked as he reluctantly reached for his wallet.
Seeing the man and mechanic scowling at him, he already guessed the answer.
"Of course you don't... I'll just hit the ATM down the street and maybe at least 2 more on the way..." He added quickly with a nervous laugh.
All the while, his wife sighed at this.
"I guess we'll have to post-pone our family vacation...again..."She thought as she was not looking forward to paying off this bill.
Back in Amity Park
Danny and the others soon arrived to Sam's house. All the while, he scowled at his current condition.
"If this is how Ember treats guys she finds attractive, I can't wait for her to hate me again..."Danny thought as they followed Sam to her house.
"Okay, my parents are usually either out shopping or hanging out with their equally snooty friends and their snooty country club, so I don't think that we'll run into them right now..."Sam said as she walked inside.
"Great. Let's just hope that they take a while..."Danny said before hissing.
"Easy there, big guy. Easy. Those aren't exactly hickeys she left..."Sam joked.
Danny flinched and Sam misunderstood it.
"Relax, it was just a joke..."She said.
"Uh, right...a joke..."Danny said, really not wanting to admit what happened with Ember.
Sam, none the wiser, kept speaking.
"Anyway, stay still. No need to strain yourself any further..."Sam said as she went to go get the first aid kit.
Danny sat down as he still couldn't believe he got hit like this from Ember of all people.
He knew that she was a tough ghost, but that was too much. Even worse, she seemed to enjoyed that fight between them a little more than usual and she made it clear that she was attracted to him in this form.
It made things way more complicated for him, to say the least. Unlike the other ghosts, she's much more interested in getting her hands on him, as she made clear.
Not to mention, after the kind of power boost he hand and wiping the floor with Skulker, he didn't think anyone could overpower him in this state.
"I guess that I still need to get used to fighting in this body, especially since I'm still hurt..."He thought as Sam brought the first aid kit.
"Okay, stand still and try not to bleed any more than you already are..."Sam said as she prepared everything.
"As you guys do that, I'm gonna go see if I can find that ghost bride online to see if there were any disturbances that we haven't checked yet. Maybe someone posted something about her on the web..."Tucker said as he went through his PDA for any social media reports.
"I'll help..."Jazz said as they both left the room.
That left Sam to treat Danny's wound.
"Okay, don't move. This may sting a little..."Sam said as she placed a cotton with rubbing alcohol on one of Danny's wounds.
"Ow..."Danny hissed.
"Don't be such a baby. I'm helping you here and I'm not even using much from the bottle..."Sam said.
"I may as well ask Ember to treat me at this rate..."Danny complained.
"Suck it up. If you can take Ember's sneak attacks, you can handle this..."Sam said as she continued to treat him.
The ghost man grumbled and let Sam do her thing.
However, she soon noticed just how close she was to Danny's attractive older face and body. She flushed.
"Darn, what a body. It's almost too hard to focus when he's this hot up close..."She thought as she got dreamy right now, failing to realize that her hand was still holding the open bottle of rubbing alcohol was now spilling more of it on Danny's smaller open wounds.
"Ouch! Careful Sam, that hurts! I think that's enough rubbing alcohol!..."Danny complained.
Realizing that she was getting distracted, the goth girl stopped and placed the rubbing alcohol away.
"Oh...um...sorry!..."Sam said sheepishly as her eyes darted away.
She mentally beat herself over what she just did and for acting like a typical girl and not like her usual self right now.
"Get a grip, Sam. He's your best friend and, right now, way too old for you. Not to mention, you're a goth! You're focusing way too much on his temporary outer beauty! Not that he isn't really good-looking right now, you're way too above to he swiped up by a pretty face with muscles!..."Sam mentally berated herself while still not keeping her eyes away as she ignored her own lecture to herself.
"Even if...he looks like this..."She thought before she recalling the spill.
"I'm gonna go get a mop and clean up this mess..."Sam said, as she went to a nearby broom closet.
"Okay..."Danny said as he thought about his predicament.
He recalled how crazy Miss Romano and her army of amorous models were earlier. He recalled the thirsty looks on their faces and he shuddered. He nearly got ripped to shreds, almost literally.
Even worse, Ember was into him now and made it clear that she doesn't want to be denied.
"Not gonna lie... she is hot... but I am in no hurry to be her king..." He said under his breath.
He groaned at how he was a catch for women, but not in the way he wanted. He was tired of all of this.
"Me going back to my regular age can't come soon enough..."Danny thought, looking down at his hands.
He clenched his fists, vowing payback on Helena as soon as he finds her.
"For every unwanted touch, kiss and cat call, I'm going to break her in half. At least I'm safe in this place for now..."He thought, hoping that this new personal problem of his will be fixed sooner than later
However, that is when more problems arrived.
He was in the dark on these problems as the unexpected happened, another unwanted admirer made her way home.
Outside
A town car soon arrived to Manson Manor.
An unhappy Jeremy stepped out of it, looking upset. Meanwhile, his wife seemed lost in her thoughts.
"I can't believe that Eleanor had to close up the country club today, just because of some rumored man-hungry ghost woman on the loose. Ghost attacks happen every day at this point, ..."Jeremy complained.
However, his wife didn't respond to him yet.
"Pamela? Pamela? Pam?..."Jeremy asked, but his wife seemed to be lost in a daydream right now.
I wonder if Dante is nearby or if he's still in town. I wonder if he likes older women too..."Pamela thought, hoping to see him again and forgetting about her husband.
"Pam?!..."Jeremy repeated, this time in a louder voice.
His wife heard this and frowned.
"Jeremy, there is no need to shout. I am not deaf..."She said, arms crossed.
Her husband frowned at that.
"Well, you weren't responding to me and I had no choice. You were just staring off into space..."He said, upset.
"What could possible make you think I was doing that?..." She questioned, denying it.
Her husband frowned and shook his head.
"What is with you? You just looked like you just saw our daughter final dropped her goth phase and actually more like an aristocrat like us..."He said, wondering what had gotten into his wife.
"Well, that would be interesting..."Pamela said while her husband sent her suspicious looks.
The blonde haired man had one idea.
"You were thinking about that Dante guy from earlier weren't you?..."Jeremy accused.
Pamela flinched and blushed, before she remembered her husband. She laughed nervously and tried to deny it in a not so convincing tone.
"W-What? No? No! I wasn't thinking about that dreamy Dante. I wasn't! What would give you that idea?. Honestly, Jeremy. Don't be ridiculous!..."She denied unconvincingly, but her husband wasn't buying it.
"I never said "dreamy"..."Jeremy said, with a slightly raised eyebrow and an upset tone.
Pamela blushed and tried to save face and wave it of.
"I didn't either..."She lied, speaking a little too quickly.
"You did, I heard you!..."Jeremy said as his wife frowned.
"No, I didn't..."His wife denied yet again.
"Yes, you did..."Jeremy shouted, upset while his wife frowned.
"Well, that's your jealousy talking..."Pamela said, while her husband sent her a glare.
The Manson parents soon entered their house and gasped when they saw someone in their living room. They were both absolutely shocked to find Dante Fenalton in their home, but for completely different reasons.
"Uh...hi..."Danny said nervously, while Sam's father glared at him.
"What's he doing here?!..."Jeremy shouted, frowning while Pamela was focusing on Dante in her living room.
"I invited him in. He had a little accident and needed someone to treat his wounds..."Sam said from the corridor before she arrived with a mop and bucket and began to clean the mess she made earlier.
"I want him out of this house!..."Jeremy whined but was ignored as his wife pushed him aside.
Pamela saw Dante and smiled, excited to see him in her home right now.
"It's him!..."She thought, quickly fixing her hair and make up before she approached him.
"Uh... hi..." Danny went, as Sam's mother appeared before him with a big smile on her face.
"Hi...so, it seems that we meet again, Dante..."Pamela said in a strange tone.
"Uh, I guess..."Danny said, weirded out as Sam's mom kept acting friendly with him.
She saw the injury on him and was horrified and immediately went to comfort him.
"Oh, poor Dante. You got a boo-boo..."Pamela said in a rather affectionate way.
"Uh, it's nothing. Your daughter was nice enough to help me and bandage me up..."Danny said, feeling awkward.
"Even so, you look like you were just came out of an accident. I must help as well..."She offered, surprising Danny and Sam.
"Uh..."Danny said, as the red haired woman took a step forward.
"I'm happy to help. And your eye, while it's not that bruised up it looks like it's swelling up a bit..."Pamela said, as she got up close to the adult Danny.
"Uh...thanks but I don't think this is necessary..."Danny said while Sam sent her mother strange looks.
Pamela just smiled.
"Nonsense, you're a guest in our home. I insist. I won't be long, Dante..."She said as she went to the kitchen.
Danny blinked, Sam raised a brow, and Jeremy glared daggers at Danny. The ghost man wasn't sure what was happening.
"Why do I feel like something is seriously wrong?..."He thought as Mrs. Manson arrived back.
"I'm back!~..."She said in a cheerful manner.
She then pulled out a steak and held it up, approaching Danny with care.
"Here. Put this steak on your eye. It'll help with the pain..."She said as she placed it on him, using this situation as an excuse to touch Dante's face and body, much to the ghost man's confusion.
"Uh, thank you Mrs. Manson..."Danny said, feeling awkward by her attention.
"Oh, call me Pamela..."The woman said, wanting some familiarity.
"Now is that better?..."She asked, sounding a little TOO nice right now.
"Uh, yes..."Dante said, nodding
"Mrs. Manson is acting WAY too nice for some reason..."He thought, clueless to her intention.
He saw a look of concern and care that he sworn he never saw before in her and that kind of frightened him a bit too. However, he heard someone clear their throat and turned to see a very annoyed looking Mr. Manson.
"Hey, that's suppose to be my dinner.!.."He complained.
"Order take out. I know you've been doing it..." Pamela said.
"It was once and I was sick!..." Jeremy said.
His wife ignored him in favor of who she was clearly attracted to.
"Here Dante...you can sit in this comfy recliner chair. It's imported all the way from France..."Pamela said as she lead him there.
"Uh...well...thank you "Dante said as he sat down and felt some degree of discomfort at her presence, and not for the usual reasons.
"That's MY new chair!..."Jeremy complained, crossing his arms.
His wife ignored him and continued to aim all of her attention to "Dante".
"Comfy?" Pamela asks, being too nice to him right now.
"Y-Yes..." Danny lied.
Sam was taken back by this and gasped at very bizarre scene that she never once thought was possible.
Of her mother not only being nice to Danny, but also another man.
"Uh...Mom. I think he doesn't need anymore coddling..."Sam said.
"Oh, Sammy-kins, don't be silly. Now be a dear and fetch me some men's clothing that your father never wears anymore, so that we can get Dante in some much cleaner clothes. He shouldn't have to wear something so... unfitting his looks..."Pamela said as she kept sending a strange look to Danny, who was getting weirded out by it.
"Uh, thanks but...I'm good..."Danny said, not wanting this as Sam looked as though she were about to gag.
Pamela frowned but then noticed his physique compared to her husband.
"Well...then again...I don't think you guys are the same size..."She said but her tone was clearly an enamored one.
Sam kept questioning her mother's sanity right now.
"Okay, what's going on here? Did aliens abduct my real mom and replaced her with this even weirder lookalike?..."The goth girl wondered as her mother ignored her.
The freakiness continued and Mrs. Manson's attempts to hit on their guest continued. Pamela was trying to reach for something on the shelf, something she clearly didn't need.
"Oh...I just can't reach..."She said in a dramatic fashion, clearly faking it.
Dante, out of instinct, got up from the admittedly comfy recliner chair and walked over to Pamela and grabbed it and handed to her, while the red haired woman smiled.
"Oh, thank you, Dante..."Pamela said as she fluttered her eyelashes at him.
"S-Sure..."He said, feeling even more weirded out by this behavior.
"You're so cute...I-I mean helpful!..."She said in a flustered way, only to fake needing to fall.
"Uh..." Danny went as she landed on him.
Jeremy saw this. His face turned completely red as veins appeared on his forehead, all as he watched his wife get all cozy with this younger stranger.
"Ooh... do you work out?..." She asked, feeling his arms.
"Uh...I guess you could say that I do..."Danny said as he let her go and tried to back away...only to back into a VERY angry looking Mr. Manson.
"AND THAT'S MY WIFE!..."Jeremy screamed as he tried to punch him in the gut.
To his surprise, he actually yelped due to feeling how hard Dante's abs are. Danny was taken back but not surprised, given how stick-like his arms were.
"Good thing Mr. Manson doesn't know how to throw a real punch..."He thought, having felt worse hits before.
Pamela, on the other hand, got angry.
"Jeremy, what has come over you?!..."She shouted.
Her husband became angry.
"What has come over me?! You're trying to trade me in for a younger model, aren't you?!..."Jeremy shouted at her.
Dante was weirded out by their bizarre behavior.
"Don't be ridiculous... if Dante wishes to stick around, I only wish to... let him overstay as long as he desires..." Pamela insisted.
"Uh...I...should leave..."Dante said as he left, wanting to escape the very strange moment in the Manson family.
As he left, Ida noticed the younger man leaving.
"Who was that?..." She asks before grinning. "And when does he come back? Oh boy, what a looker!..."She asked with an interested look on her face.
"Mom, not you too!..."Jeremy yelled.
Sam wondered what was wrong with her parents this time.
"What's going on with you two? You two are acting even more insane than usual? So, what's up?!..."Sam asked, not used to seeing them act like this.
"Well, it turns out, my WIFE thinks Dante is DREAMY!..."Jeremy yelled in jealousy and accusation.
Pamela heard this and huffed.
"Well, it wouldn't KILL you to work out more and get some biceps!..."Pamela shot back, staring longingly at where Dante left.
Sam was stunned silent, still processing what she had just heard.
That apparently her own mother is also under Danny's manly spell.
"WHAT THE HECK?! GROSS! HOW SICK ARE YOU, MOM?!..."Sam yelled at her.
Pamela was stunned by this reaction, but Jeremy scoffed as he assumed that Sam was on his side here.
"See, even our daughter sees how ridiculous you are acting!..."Jeremy said, glaring at her.
Pamela huffed.
"It's not like I was intending on doing anything with him! If he really desired me, that's his doing. I could have Dante if I wanted him...not that I do..."She said, acting like she was innocent.
"Will you wake up from whatever delusion you have, Mom?! You and him are NEVER gonna happen! EVER! SO WAKE UP ALREADY!..."Sam yelled, anger, disgust and slight possessiveness rising as she refused to allow her mother even think she had a chance with Danny.
Her mother frowned at that. She had her own theory as to why Sam was upset and remembering how she spotted her daughter staring at Dante when he introduced him awhile ago and how Sam was reacting now, all proved her motherly instincts right.
She didn't like it.
"Sam, I can understand if you might have a little school girl crush on Dante..."Pamela said, hands on her hips.
"I mean...he is a rather charming...tall...dark...handsome...muscular...rugged...manly...fetching..."She trailed off before realizing she's lost in thought.
She cleared her throat when she realized all eyes were judging her.
"But you can't date him. You're much too young for him..."Pamela said, acting as if she was a decent mother.
"And you're way too OLD for him!..."Sam shot at her, causing her mother to gasp.
"I...I'm not old! I'm still 30!..."Pamela said, though her husband and daughter sent her disbelieving glares.
"35..."She added, still with eyes on her.
"You're 43 years old and you know it! Give it a rest!..."Jeremy said, angering his wife.
"Ugh! I happen to think Dante likes me!..."Pamela said, clearly in denial.
Sam, on the other hand, was appalled as she left the room.
"My mom has a crush on my best friend and wants to leave my dad for him. This is gonna require years of therapy!..."Sam thought, facepalming.
"Anyway, do you think Dante likes redheads?..."Pamela said suddenly, unable to help it.
Sam and Jeremy both snapped.
"You're being ridiculous!..."They both yelled, only to pause once they realized that they were on the same page.
"It was just a harmless question..."Pamela said, acting innocent.
"Maybe in your dreams it was!...Jeremy said as Sam resisted the urge to vomit.
"I think I'm gonna be sick!..."She yelled, all while her mother got upset and acted like she had Dante in her hands.
"Well, I have a feeling that he does. Now move over, I must look presentable for him..uh...so I can let him down gently, that is..."She ordered, but they didn't believe her.
"NO!..."Both the Manson father and daughter yelled at the same time, and once again realized that this is the second time they were in full sync together.
"Me and my dad are on the same side for once...weird..."She thought as she had no idea how to feel about this.
The goth girl honestly believed this couldn't get any weirder as her parents kept fighting.
"Jeremy, don't make a fool of yourself!..."Pamela said.
"I'm not, Pamela! You are!..."Jeremy yelled.
"Mom, don't even think about it!..."Sam shouted as she and her parents were in one of their infamous arguments again.
Only this time, it was Jeremy and Sam vs Pamela.
Ida, who was watching Dante leave the house, tried to stop him but he was already out faster than she could ride on her scooter.
She pouted but looked away.
"Poor boy, he doesn't deserve this. Still, looks like he's got lucky that Pamela didn't bust out the really good wine, amongst other things..."She muttered, having another reason to hate her stupid daughter-in-law who was currently in a shouting match with Jeremy and Sam.
"Its not like I'd actually go on a date with him or something, I just think he likes me. Not that I care..."Pamela insisted, denying everything.
"Lies! I saw the way you were ogling him like some starving dog in front of a steak!..."Jeremy yelled, and his wife gasped.
"I was not! How dare you?! I was just being hospitable to our guest!..."She denied.
Jeremy scoffed.
"Oh, please. If that is your idea of "hospitality", then I'm really worried about how you behave with our other guests when I'm not around!..."He said in anger, as his wife crossed her arms.
"I do not like what you are implying! It's nothing like that. I can't help that I am still attractive and catch the eye of a handsome young man. This is ridiculous! Your jealousy is making you act crazy!..."Pamela yelled, while Sam glared at her even more.
"You're the only one here who's lost their mind, Mom. Now stay away from him or else!..."She shouted.
"Samantha Manson, do not take that tone with me!..."Pamela yelled.
"Don't talk to Sammy that way after setting such a poor example for her!..."Jeremy yelled, still angry.
"I didn't do anything wrong! I don't like Dante as you are implying! I just can't help it if a younger man finds me alluring!..."Pamela lied.
"You're totally lost it!..."Sam yelled at her mother.
Jazz and Tucker arrived to see Sam arguing with her parents, having been drawn due to all the yelling. Except that this time, it was she and her dad versus her mom.
The teens were shocked as they witness different than usual family drama, but also noticed the absence of someone.
"Hey, where's...Dante and what's going on here?..."Jazz asked, as the Manson family was in more chaos than usual.
"Oh, just the same old routine in this house, but with an interesting twist this time around. And if you are referring to that hunk that Sam brought over, he just ran away..." Ida explained much to the other teens confusion and need for further clarification.
"JUST STAY AWAY FROM HIM!..."Sam yelled at her mother, as the arguing continued.
With Danny
He left Sam's house, recovered and desperate to get away from Sam's parents.
More so than usual.
"That was nuts! I wonder what the heck was going on with Sam's folks. Her mom was way nicer than usual and her dad was way grumpier than usual. It's like someone turned their dial up to an 11 all of a sudden ..."He said, still not getting it.
The bulky man walked away from the estate, but more women saw him and got lovestruck.
"Hey handsome, you seeing anyone?..."A woman flirted with him.
"Yeah, myself in the mirror because I'm going home..."Danny not-so-subtly rejected her, too tired to deal with this.
He ignored the offended women and walked away and kept her head down.
"DANNY!..."He heard as he saw Jazz, Tucker and an angrier than usual Sam show up.
"Dude, wait up!..."He said.
"Sorry but...I had to go away. Those two were more... unusual than usual..."Danny said.
While he made a face, Sam frowned.
"Sorry that my parents were acting even more insane than usual. Especially my mom. Thinks she's caught a big one..."Sam said bitterly, rolling her eyes.
Danny wondered what she meant by that, but they had bigger problems to deal with.
"What time is it?..."He asked.
"It's almost 4..."Jazz said, as she checked her watch.
"We probably should just get ready for Casa Di Alta Classe. I still have a hunch that Helena will show up and we need to prepare for her..."He said.
"Alright, then let's get suits with black tie..."Tucker said, wanting to get dressed.
"Uh, why would we get dressed?..."Danny asked.
"Dude, it's a fancy restaurant and Singles night. You seriously plan on going like that?..."Tucker asked.
Danny wondered what he meant, but then got an idea.
"Oh, you mean we should get disguises to not attract attention to ourselves and hopefully to get some attention away from me. Brilliant!..."Danny said, thinking this would decrease the attention he was getting.
"Uh, that's not exactly what I meant..."Tucker said, smiling innocently.
"And what did you mean?..."Jazz asked, raising a brow.
"It's for Helena..."Sam said, not liking her choice of words. "We need to make sure that we ambush her before she causes anymore trouble..."She said, frowning.
Danny nodded, before he sported a determined frown on his face.
"This time I'll knock her out into next week. After I make her change me back..." Danny said, still wanting payback for what she put him through
"Same here..."Sam said, still angry about what happened with her mother and wanting to take it out on someone, deciding Helena would make the perfect target.
Team Phantom soon left to go prepare for Operation: Singles Night.
Hoping that it would be the perfect bait for Helena and they could finally catch her and end all of this madness.
However, they were unaware that even more madness was on it's way.
Elsewhere
Unknown to Team Phantom, Vlad was up to his old tricks again.
He managed to shake off Miss Romano and was now in his lab, trying to come up with new evil plans. As well as a way for him to take advantage of the current state his arch enemy is in.
"Well, I am finally alone and away from that bossy woman. Now I have enough quiet to think for myself..."Vlad thought, relieved to have his alone time.
Thanks to the police coming to break up the chaos left by "Dante", the auditions had to end early and after he gave his statement to the cops, he was free to go while Miss Romano was forced to stay longer due to the cat fight she got into with some of the models.
Vlad was just glad that he no longer had to deal with her today.
The villain, now in his lab, was still processing over the new information that he had about his arch enemy and began to ponder.
"So, Daniel's growth spurt is bound to cause some trouble for me in the long run. I'd better make some contingency plans, just in case..."He thought, as he began to do so.
Vlad also did some research and heard that he also got a power boost, albeit one that he does not have full control over.
"Well, I doubt that he is anywhere close to my strength...still, it could be a problem if I;m not careful. No way I am going to let that literal man-child get lucky..."He thought, before he noticed some data that his vultures had gathered for him when they were in the ghost zone.
Data about Daniel and his growing reputation since Helena transformed him into an adult.
He then recalled the rumors about Helena being in the city and causing trouble in her mad quest to literally capture a man for marriage.
The villain frowned and shook his head. He knew of Helena and he knew that she was even more obnoxious than Miss Romano. He didn't want to deal with the displeasure of crossing paths with her too.
"Ugh! What are the chances that harpy would come to this town at the same as that human harpy in the business suit!..."Vlad muttered, hating that he had to deal with Romano and Helena during the same week.
However, he then got an idea on how he could use this to his advantage...or at least get a good laugh from this whole thing.
"Hmmm...Well, Helena IS a ghost lady who's looking for a groom, huh. Maybe I'd better point her in the right direction then..."Vlad thought, as he grinned wickedly as ideas formed in his foul mind.
Ideas that spelled trouble for a certain ghost man who already had so much to deal with right now.
Meanwhile
Far Away From Amity Park
Helene the ghost bride was getting some beauty sleep after, lamenting from not finding her perfect man yet.
She arrived to a spa near Lake Eerie and scared the guests and employees away, leaving her to enjoy it all by herself. She spent a while on the hot tub, mud baths, did a facial and then took a LONG nap for her self-imposed beauty regime.
Anyway, she had just woken up from her deep slumber and marveled at her own dream of having endless proposals countless rich man wanting to marry her and destroy her enemies.
She yawned slightly, feeling refreshed and recharged before she went to check her appearance.
"Man, nothing like a nice long beauty nap to keep me young and beautiful enough to find my prince charming!..."She said, as she produced a mirror to admirer her reflection.
Once she was done, she put it away and tried to think of her next move.
"Well, Amity Park was a bust. Maybe I should go back into the Ghost Zone and see if any new bars opened up...preferably one with handsome clients..."She said as she pulled out one of the artifacts that she bought the the other day in the ghost zone.
It was an orb that can be used to create portals from the human world to the ghost zone, which she got at the ghost zone's market place.
"I really hate those "50% off for bridesmaids" sale, but at least I got this cheap. Thankfully, I won't have to keep going to them once I marry the right guy..."She said, as she used it to create a portal into the ghost zone.
She went inside and was now in the ghost zone, continuing her search for the perfect man.
"Let's just hope that I'll have better luck today. I really wanna get married and rub it in everyone's face already..."She thought, desperate and impatient as ever.
As Helena flew around, she could overheard what was latest scandal on the Ghost Zone news-vine. Despite her self-appointed mission, she got curious about it.
When she wasn't husband hunting, Helena loved to hear gossip and and scandals about almost anyone that wasn't her. She got closer and listened to the gossip since, for reasons she didn't understand, no other ghoul seemed to walk to chat with her anymore.
"They are all just jealous of my beauty and that their men might leave them for me!..."She thought, clearly in denial as she kept eavesdropping on the gossip.
She saw a group of ghostly women, whom all seemed to be excited about whatever it is that they are talking about.
"I still can''t get over how gorgeous he was! What a hunk! I think that I actually fell in love at first!..."She overheard one woman say in excitement.
"I know, right. What a body...and that butt...and that beautiful snow white hair! He was so dreamy, I literally almost fainted by how handsome he was! It makes me wanna go to Amity Park and ask him out right now!..."Her friend said, and the others nodded.
"Same here. I don't even care if he's half ghost, full ghost or whatever. He's totally my type!..."A three eyed ghoul said, clearly love struck.
"Half ghost?..."Helena whispered, confused but intrigued as she kept listing in.
She heard more of the women kept gossiping about the ghost hunk they recently saw. The ghost bride's curiosity was growing as they all kept talking about this supposed hunk of a ghost that was quickly becoming popular.
"I heard he was strong enough to beat both Skulker and Undergrowth like it was nothing. So handsome and powerful, what more could a girl want?..."A ghoul with pink hair said with a dreamy sigh, clearly love-struck too.
"I'll say, he's the kind of guy that I'd want to bring home to my mother!..."Another one said, just as lovesick.
The wanna-be bride heard this and her interest grew more and more.
"A HANDSOME ghost man, huh?..."Helena asked with interest as her curiosity was peaked.
"I heard that Queen Dora proposed to him but he turned her down. Thank goodness, that means that I still have a chance!..."A black haired ghoul with red eyes said, while the others glared at her.
"You mean that I still have a chance!..."One of them said competitively.
"No, me!..."Another said, glaring at then in a territorial manner.
"Back off, he's mine!..."The pink haired one shouted.
"No, he's mine!..."The first one yelled, eyes glowing in anger.
A cat fight ensued but Helena wasn't paying attention to that. She was more focused on the gossip that she just heard about the very handsome ghost man.
"A hot ghost man with white hair in Amity Park, huh? Why does that sound familiar?..."She thought, before shrugging and was more focused on other details.
"So, there is a hunk that is strong enough to beat Undergrowth...and he's THAT good looking, huh...hmm...maybe I should go and meet him and see for myself if he's really all that..."She said, smirking as ideas formed in her head.
The evil wanna-be bride soon left to see this for herself, wanting to both find a man and see for herself if this handsome ghost man was as handsome and powerful as they say.
Enough to cause other women to literally fight over him, even when he's not here. If he is that handsome, then Helena wanted to see for herself.
"Maybe my luck is finally starting to change!..."She thought, feeling excited as she kept flying.
If he failed to meet her expectations, she would get angry and hurt him for wasting her time...but if he did meet her standards and really did live up to all that hype then...
"Oh my, I'm so excited! If he really is all that...then...I think I can hear wedding bells already!..."She thought in excitement, as she zipped across the entire ghost zone since she already used up her orb to earlier.
She was excited and desperate to get to her destination: Amity Park.
The place where, if her hunch was right, she'll finally find the kind of man that she's been looking for.
Oh boy.
-To be continued-
Next time on Growing Pains
Operation: Singles Night.
A/N: Special thanks to Luiz4200, Jay The Average Fanboy and NeoMark for helping with this chapter. You guys rock :)
REPLIES to my loyal and totally awesome reviewer:
RonaldM40196867:
1) He didn't mention the kiss yet.
2) I'd say she's not AS bad, but she is pretty harsh.
3) Her appearance is based on Doctor Fancyfree from FOP, but her personality is because I wanted to include a tough business woman into the fic.
4) I am already working on some Stranded fics right now.
5) I just wanted to show how they were doing so far.
6) Probably.
7) Kinda, but only as a side effect of his new age.
Jebest4781: Thank you :)
Invader Johnny: I suppose in comparison, but Ember is still pretty dangerous in a sense.
Jet Engine: How's this?
JDF Legacier Morphicon: Thank you :)
Here are my responses to your questions:
1) After Danny stops throwing up over the fact that Vlad is now his uncle, he probably would enjoy the fact that it means he's miserable and can't cause them trouble anymore.
2) I basically thought of the kind of person who's sleazy enough to try and take a married woman from her family, and it all just came to me.
3) I am tied between Kara, Starfire, Kim and Makoto,
4) I think it be rough, since I doubt Pariah Dark would make a good dad.
5) Prince Aragon since he's sexist and not even funny as a character.
:) I hope you enjoyed this! Remember to read and review :)
