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.


Blackmailed

Chapter 8: Curiosity killed the cat

Colette arrived to her home in Polter Heights. She sighed as she entered through the door.

"What a day. So many things to do...and a future to ensure..."She thought.

As she walked inside, she noticed Stella was in the living room, feeding Pierre. Stella then noticed her and smiled.

"Ah, Colette. You're home. How was school today?..."She asked.

"It was nice. Making plans for my party..."Colette said vaguely.

The spoiled brat went to the kitchen to get some sparkling water from the fancy fridge.

"Finally, proper water..."Colette thought as she took a sip.

Stella had placed Pierre in his playpen, and then approached her stepdaughter.

"So, Darling. Speaking of your party...Good news, I managed to add fire dancers to your birthday party and after a long while, Johnathan agreed to having Star's party at the country club...though I have to agree to keep you both separate..."Stella said.

"And why am I suppose to care about Estelle's worthless party?..."Colette asked under her breath.

Stella heard that and cringed.

"Colette, just because we aren't around her right now it doesn't mean that you can just speak about your sister like that..."Stella said.

"Stepsister..."Colette corrected, angering her stepmother.

"Do not take that tone with me, young lady! Need I remind you that's still my biological daughter, after all!..."Stella scolded.

Realizing that she didn't want to get in trouble at a time like this, Colette swallowed her pride and pretended to be apologetic.

"Oui...Sorry, Mama..."Colette said, faking sincerity.

Stella sighed.

"What I'd give for these girls to get along..."She thought before she went back to feeding Pierre.

"How I'd wish that this idiot woman would stop trying to make me get along with her idiot daughter!..." Colette thought bitterly.

Despite how tense things were between them, the blonde woman still tried to show empathy to her stepdaughter.

"Colette...look...I know things have been tense since we moved here...but you need to understand that it's to unite us and bring us closer together as a family..." Stella said.

"Estelle is NOT my family!..." Colette thought, as her stepmother continued speaking.

"Colette, I know that I have been stricter with you since we've moved here. But please understand that I only scold you because I want to keep you out of trouble..."Stella said.

"Then don't move me to a town filled with monsters..."Colette thought.

"Darling...I know things have been hard for you...how your biological mother left and didn't even bother to keep in touch...and how your former stepmothers were just gold diggers who didn't take care of you properly. But I've been different. I am trying hard to guide you. Just know that, even though it's not by birth, you are still my daughter too and I love you very much..."Stella tried.

Colette felt nothing when she heard this but plastered another innocent look on her face.

"I understand, Mama. I love you too..."Colette said, trying hard not to laugh mockingly.

"You're a fool like the rest of papa's exes, Stella..." She thought.

"Wonderful..."Stella said, thinking that she was making progress.

"WAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!..."Pierre's crying was heard.

"Whiny little annoyance..."Colette thought, irritated by his crying.

"Oh dear, your brother is getting fussy. I better go see if he needs a nap..."Stella said as she went to tend to her son.

As she left, Colette rolled her eyes.

"Glad to see that she's still easily swayed..."She thought as she went to her room.

Once there, Colette laid on her canopy bed and stared at the ceiling.

"I must remember to have someone else care for our baby once Danny and I have one..."She thought as she got up.

She went to her closet, and inside was a new shrine of Danny. One that she kept hidden from her family and made keep the door shut.

It had many pictures of her beloved, some doctored and others taken without his knowledge, and some even had her stepsister cropped out or replaced with Colette herself.

The pictures, even the doctored ones, all had been drawn with hearts on them. A few even had her lipstick on them, no doubt by Colette herself.

Colette smirked as she touched the biggest picture of Danny, one that was taken during gym class. She considered the sight of him being running the sweetest of all, since it was a rare photo she managed to get of his smile.

The smile that she longed to be directed at her and no one else.

"Oh, Mon Amore. You clearly have a more defined figure underneath. I love you..."She thought lustfully, dreaming of a life with him.

She recalled what she saw earlier, how Danny was acting so weird and what he was trying to hide.

She felt that it was wrong for him to hide secrets from her, denying how he doesn't want her of all people to know it.

"I will find out what you are hiding from me Danny...and then I will make sure that no one will get in the way of our love anymore..."She whispered in an obsessive tone, her petting the photo only making her obsession look more unhinged.

She was about to place a kiss on the picture, only for a familiar voice to interrupt her.

"Colette, dinner time!..."Stella was heard calling from outside.

Colette groaned, hating the lousy timing.

"Interfere with my life even more, why don't you?..."She muttered as she went to join her family for dinner.

She blew a kiss at the photo before going through the door, wanting to get dinner done soon.

"These will be the meals we share Danny. By my birthday, you'll be mine..."She thought, confident that her plan will work and that she'd win.


The Next Day

Danny and Star were walking to school together, hand in hand.

Usually, they'd fly here but they had time and they wanted to enjoy the long while.

"So, how's everything going with Jazz?..."Star asked.

"Same as always, she's been crazy worried for that guy from Yale, even though she's pretty much swamped with extracurricular, she's taking on more to impress him and she's practically accepted already..."Danny said.

"I can see her doing that..."Star said, with a chuckle.

The young couple went on to their actual plans. Star recalled hearing what his plans for her were.

Not just making out.

"Can you give me when we go? I just wanna know when to get ready..."Star said.

Her boyfriend sighed and shook his head.

"Well, since Tucker spilled the surprised, you'll be happy to know that our reservations are for 6 and it's all for us..."Danny said.

"I still can't believe that you managed to get reservations for FP's Grand Bistro. That's place is pretty exclusive..."Star said.

"Well, I will admit...I had a little help in setting that up..."Danny said.

"Meaning?..."Star asked.

"I kinda... asked your dad to pitch in...and I had to do more chores to get mom and dad to lend me the money for dessert alone..."Danny said with a small smile.

"Aw, Boo! You're the best! All that for you!..."Star said, kissing him on the cheek.

"Heh...it's great being the best..."He said with a chuckle.

"Sure is..." She said.

"You're proof of that..." Danny said.

"Anything else I should know about?..." Star asked.

"Good news...My parents cleared their debts to the Chief over damaging his car, so me being able to pay for our date is guaranteed. Bad news...Vlad is back in office..."Danny muttered.

"Ugh, and here I was hoping that Puck would keep him busy forever..."Star said in irritation.

"Eh, I guess he just got bored and let him go..."Danny said. "Still, I'm surprised he hasn't tried seeking revenge yet...I'm guessing whatever Puck did to him must have broken him..."Danny said, since it's not like Vlad to just leave things be.

"Here's hoping..." Star said.

The couple continued walking, happy to be together and unaware that he had other issues to deal with.


Meanwhile

With Vlad

Vlad was in his lab, trying to come up with plots to be rid of his biggest problem.

He did the duplication technique in order to fool the city council into thinking he was actually doing his job, while the REAL Vlad did something that actually mattered to him. Namely trying to rid himself of the blight of his life: Alicia

"Okay, I just need to get her to remove her ring...and then I can focus on getting rid of her..."Vlad said as he stroked his chin.

Vlad went to his computers and saw the interior of his Colorado chateau.

He saw images of Alicia, who was sleeping in his bed.

"This is the first piece furniture that hasn't broken yet. Them chairs and that couch clearly were cheaply made..."Alicia said on the screen, smiling as she enjoyed her rest.

Vlad frowned harder in disgust, angered that his European imports were destroyed thanks to her weight.

"New furniture isn't looking so expensive right now..."He said, determined to be rid of her.

"Okay...the ring. Now, let's brainstorm..."He said as he pondered.

"I can't overshadow her, that's a no. She's too dangerous for a hired gun and she's trained herself to be immune to various poisons. I could... make it look like I'm cheating o- No... even if she bought that, she'd tell Maddie and it wouldn't matter what I say, she'll just side with her..."Vlad said, pausing as he stroked his chin.

Maddie would have his head. Even Jack would turn on him being someone who took his marriage vows seriously.

"Maybe I'm looking at this all wrong?..."He considered, his eyes looking around as if trying to spot the answer.

Vlad then looked at his reflection on an unused monitor and came to a conclusion.

"Since she sees me as someone so desirable... I'll just make myself the opposite..."Vlad wondered.

He briefly recalled Alicia's hatred of Jack and considered it.

"Hmm...maybe if I take a page out of that fat oaf's book and gorge myself on fudge and wear that orange eyesore of a jumpsuit, she might lose interest..."He wondered, before shaking his head.

"No...it would take far too long to gain all that weight, and I still have no guaranteed that will make her leave me. She'd probably just make me go on a diet. I need something quicker..."Vlad said, but he wouldn't give up finding a way out of Alicia's grasp.

He still needed a surefire way to make her leave.

He still had something of an idea.

"Still... if I figure out what she likes the most and start displaying it, then she would lose interest, and the moment her ring is off... I'll blast her head off and feed the remains to my beasts..." He said to himself evilly, thinking he figured out his plan.

The evil halfa then laughed to himself, while his loving wife was oblivious of his murderous intents. That's when Vlad heard a certain disgusting sound.

"Whoo! Them baked beans with bear meat were something!..." Alicia went.

Vlad gagged before turning off the monitor and running to vomit into the toilet. His bedroom was now a room of stench.

"Forget buying new furniture...when this is over, I'm selling that entire chateau. Even if I have to at half the price..."He said, his villainous mood was ruined.

He had a feeling that the smell of bear meat and beans would probably never go away. The sooner he loses Alicia, the better.


At Casper High

Danny and Star had arrived at school.

After about five minutes of making out by their lockers when the teachers weren't around, the couple decided to kill some time alone with each other.

Thankfully, our favorite blonde haired heroine had fantastic news to bring up to her boyfriend.

Namely involving her party.

"So, good news about the party. The rest of my party has been figured out. And my parents finally came to a compromise. My dad agreed to have it at the country club, so long as nothing goes out of hand. And my mom has to keep it chill and not go overboard..."Star said, hoping that her mother will uphold her end of the deal.

"Glad to hear that Starlight..."Danny said.

"Even better, Colette and Jean-Puke won't be there. Hopefully he's going through with his threat about shipping her to boarding school..."Star said, looking giddy.

"I'm even MORE glad to hear that..."Danny said with a chuckle.

"Me too..."Star said, giggling.

Unknown to the happy couple, a certain witch was plotting again. She hid and plotted her vengeance in another hallway.

That same fake redheaded brat had nearly left scratch mark on the wall from her anger

"Disgusting. Zhat should be moi! Not Estelle!... "She thought with rage, tired of seeing her stepsister's happiness.

Colette turned to Kwan, who felt horrible being involved. In fact, the guilty feeling jock didn't even want to antagonize Danny, Star or any of their friends...but he also felt he had no choice either.

"Did you do as I said?..."She demanded.

Kwan sighed, but nodded.

"Yes...I met with that Cartland guy and...everything should be ready for tomorrow..."Kwan said, not looking happy.

Colette smirked.

"Glad to see that you aren't completely useless. At least you have more brains than that oaf Dash..."Colette said, mocking her ex.

"No, Dash is smarter since he's not involved with this..." Kwan quietly said to himself.

"What was that?..." Colette questioned angrily.

"Nothing!..." Kwan responded, but couldn't keep quiet about how bad all this felt to him.

Colette might have blackmailed him into helping her, but not into hiding from her how he felt about the whole thing.

"Colette, this doesn't feel right..."Kwan said.

"It is the right thing..."Colette said, waving her hand dismissively at him. "You're just too much of a buff idiot to comprehend..." She said in a mean way.

Kwan frowned, hating this side of her.

"Why did I ever date you?!..." He muttered.

"Because, according to your own words: I was and STILL am a "total hottie". Hot enough that you didn't think twice about ditching Estelle for me when we first met...and all it took was me giving you a few moments of my valuable time..."Colette said smugly.

Hearing that made Kwan feel a mixture of guilt and shame.

"Don't remind me..." He muttered, feeling bad as he recalled that experience.

One that he has come to regret a lot now.

Colette didn't care, as she continued to look down on the jock whom she had under her thumb.

"Dating me is nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, it is the highlight of any boy's love life. Any boy who should feel honored to have any of my attention ..."She said arrogantly, believing herself to be the best girl in the world.

"Now get back to work or else you know what will happen!..."She said, using her blackmail to threaten and keep him in line.

Kwan gulped, but nodded.

Colette walked away, nose held high as she smirked.

"Glad to see he understands his place..." She thought, pleased with herself.

She noticed Sam and Tucker nearby, along with Jasmine who was talking to Principal Ishiyama.

The spoiled brat frowned at them, having come to hate them almost as much as she hates her stepsister.

"The world would be better if the ghosts vaporized them..."She thought, knowing that her plot will succeed.

She continued walking, wanting to get things done quickly.

Colette still had other stuff to prepare for and was halfway done with them.


Later

It was the end of the school day and Colette rushed to her locker and gathered her items. She had to be fast, since she had some more "investigating" to do.

Kwan and Cartland were all setting everything up and it'd succeed.

"It'd better..."Colette thought as her impatience grew.

The rotten fake redhead had very little patience to waste on people that barely met her expectations.

And right now, her attention was once again on the dark haired boy that she really wanted.

"I cannot let Mon amore escape me this time. Something is going on with him and I shall find out..."She thought, determined to have him.

However, as she turned the corner, she ran into the very person she was looking for.

"Mon amore!..."Colette exclaimed happily, briefly forgetting her plans.

"Not you again!..."Danny complained.

"Beat it, Colette! We're busy!..."Star growled as she had her arms around Danny's.

Colette glared at her but before she could do her usual retorts, she noticed something on Danny's arm.

Or rather...the lack of something.

Her eyes widened when she saw that the bruise he had from yesterday was gone.

"What? How can that be? It was there yesterday...I saw it..."She thought, stunned to see it gone.

"What are you looking at?!..."Danny asked, creeped out by her staring.

Colette snapped out of it and saw the two sending her strange looks.

"I...uh..darling...are you feeling...alright?..."Colette asked.

"I was, until you showed up..."Danny said rudely, thinking she was trying to play games.

Colette was still at a complete lost of what just happened, until Star spoke up and snapped her out of her confusion.

"Leave us alone, Colette. We have plans..."Star said, holding Danny's arm protectively.

Colette frowned, instantly forgetting her previous thoughts.

"Iz zhat so? Where?..."She demanded, her jealousy fermenting again.

"None of your business!..."They both said as they walked passed her.

"Hey. Don't ignore me when I am talking!..."Colette yelled as she ran after them.

They started running and soon ran out the doors. Colette was only about 5 feet behind them but catching up.

"You guys can't get away from me!..."She yelled as she opened the door.

To her shock, they were gone.

"Where did they go?!..."She thought as she looked around.

None of this makes sense. Even if they were running fast, it was about 3 yards from the door to the sidewalk!

They couldn't have just vanished into thin air but it seems they did.

"Where are they?! I know that I saw them running this way!..."She thought, frustrated as she kept looking.

Unknown to Colette, the happy couple were in the air now, invisible and looking down on her.

"Such a pain..."Star muttered, irritated.

"Let's not let her ruin the rest of our day, shall we..."Danny said as he quickly flew with his girl in his arms.

Unknown to him, Colette was still looking for him and getting nastier by the second as she kept searching and wondering where they went.

"Where are you, Danny? And what secrets are you hiding that you allow only ESTELLE to know about?!..."She thought, fists shaking.

"You are hiding something, darling...and I WILL find out what it is..."She thought, eyes narrowed as she left the school, determined to find her beloved.

She was soon bombarded with some still desperate love confessions from Casper High boys, at least the ones who were still blinded by her beauty.

However, as always, she ignored them.

"So many boys, but only one Danny..." She thought.


Later

Colette had left the school, ignoring the invitation for dates from her male admirers or her A-list friends invitation to hang out.

She didn't have time for that kind of nonsense.

Something was up with Danny and she was determined to find out what it is.

But first, she needs to be inconspicuous with her searching and knew what to do first.

She went shopping.

Her last disguise got ruined when she fled from that stupid cop, so she needs a new one.

She went to the closest boutique that was up to her standards and began browsing around for a disguise. She found what she was looking for...a brand new trenchcoat but she frowned as she eyed it.

"So plain...why do zee spies in the movies have to wear such drab clothes?..."She thought but shook her head.

She eyed the label and sighed.

"At least it is designer..."She thought before waving to a sales person and demanding to purchase it, along with some matching boots.

After that, she went to a nearby hat shop and picked up one that would match the outfit and then purchases some sunglasses and a new wig, a long, black one that hid her red hair under it nearly.

Once done, she wore her disguise and looked in the mirror and sighed.

"Zee things zhat I do for Amore. At least this wig is the same shade as his hair.."She thought, before shaking her head.

Se placed her disguise on, which made her look unrecongnizable and much less flashy than her usual self.

"How horrid. Zhis is almost as bad as those atrocious servent clothes I used when I tried to ruined Mon Amore's Disney at zee country club that one time..."She thought, but then that it was so horrid that it was perfect to disguise her.

Once she had taken Danny back to Paris away, from that fat idiot, his stupidly dressed wife and that know-it-all sister of his, they'd be wearing designer labels and eating in five star restaurants like they should be .

"I can't wait..."She thought as she fixed her hair, keeping it from poking out of her disguise.

Her papa's lawyers would make sure Danny was emancipated, so his stupid family couldn't take him away from where he belonged by HER side.

She'd make sure no one would EVER take him from her.

"Everything wrong in my life is because papa had to marry an idiot who had a daughter and than had another one the only good thing that came out of knowing Estelle is Danny... who I'm going to steal from that pathetic blonde buffoon!..." Colette thought madly as she did the last minute double checks for her disguise.

Once dressed in her disguise, she began to search for her beloved and her hated step-sister.

Her first guess was heading to Danny's house.

Just as she predicted, she saw them walk inside, along with Manson and Foley.

"There they are!..."Colette thought, as she hid in a bush and pull out the binoculars that she had just purchased.

She loathed how those filthy peasants dared to breathe the same air as her Mon Amore. She also despised how her future husband actually enjoyed being around them.

"I will make sure they never see him again..."She thought, fists clenching her binoculars and they nearly cracked.

She refused to accept that the entire Fenton family, including Danny, despised her and wanted nothing to do with her.

In her eyes, the only person he should want to be around was HER and those of proper class and breeding she allowed him to be around. As far as she was concerned, he shouldn't let those two mongrels bother him or waste his time with useless garbage like friendship.

The goth girl and the other with glasses with certainly beneath him in every way possible.

"They are the reason he's not meeting his potential...not that they'll bother him for much longer. I will fix that..."Colette thought with an evil smirk.

Her thoughts were cut off when she saw what happened next.

"Hold on, is that Mon Amore there?!..."'Colette thought, seeing Danny leave out a window in what seemed like a hurry.

The spoiled brat continued to stalk him, maintaining a distance as to not to alert him of her presence until she was ready to speak to him.

"Why is he alone?..."She thought, confused by his odd behavior.

She slowly got closer in an attempt to eavesdrop.

"I swear that there's got to be a natural portal open somewhere. It's the only thing that makes sense..."She heard him talking to himself.

A habit she'd break him of when she rescued him from Estelle.

"What was he talking about?..."She wondered, trying to understand his words.

Colette then noticed Manson, Foley and Estelle following Danny out the window, as well as carrying odd devices.

"Now what are those peons up to now?..."Colette thought, stroking her chin.

She followed them anyway, losing sight of Danny around one corner than ended up at that putrid Nasty Burger.

"Don't tell me he came to eat at this 1 star dump. I really need to improve his palate soon..." She muttered.

To her surprise, that superhero specter Danny Phantom took his place, chasing that greasy haired biker ghost.

"Huh? Where did Mon Amore go?!..."Colette thought, not seeing him anywhere.

She was then distracted by their banter. The heroic ghost was even using puns to distract the ghost biker, a form of comedy that the bratty rotten rich girl didn't find too humorous.

"Come on Johnny, it's a long day. Can't you flirt with girls another day?..."Danny asked, annoyed with his interruption.

"It ain't my problem you got lousy time management skills..."Johnny said as he spun around on his motorcycle.

"If you are going to go after girls behind Kitty's back, leave the innocent ones alone. Why not go after Colette?..."Danny suggested, thinking that Colette would probably run and not come back.

Colette heard this and gasped in outrage.

"That dirt bag Phantom is trying to get this biker monster to abduct me?! And people call him a hero?!..." Colette thought in outrage.

"If you're talking about that brat with the fake red hair thai I saw you with that one time, I wouldn't ask that witch out if she was the last girl on earth or the ghost zone..." Johnny said in disgust.

Danny frowned but sighed in acceptance.

"How dare that greasy haired brute he thinks he's better than me!..."Colette thought, feeling enraged.

"Wow. Didn't think a dirt bag like you would have standards..."" Danny said, unaware that the brat in question heard the whole thing.

"They dare to think avoiding me is a standard?!..." She thought in anger as she gritted her teeth.

"Let's get this over with..."The ghost boy said before using that silly contraption trapping him and his motorcycle inside.

"Seriously?! I didn't even get a burger!..." Johnny complained as he was captured.

Once the 'fight' was over, Danny phantom landed next to Manson, Foley and Estelle.

Colette saw this and raised an eyebrow.

"He knows them? But where's my future husband?..."Colette thought, thinking this could work for her.

She pulled out her cell phone and hit record. She figured Phantom would be a thorn in her side too.

"If the son of a ghost hunters, as well as his friends and girlfriend were friends with a known ghost...then that fat idiot and his wife would separate them. I might not even need that fool Cartland. I might be able to get out of paying..."Colette thought, taking a video of the three together.

That's what she thought would happen. However, what she saw next would change her view of Danny Phantom forever.

Colette stood silently as she saw rings pass over Danny Phantom's body and travelled all around.

"What is that? A new ghostly power?..."She thought, but soon got her answer.

After a moment, her mind shattered as he transformed before her eyes into Danny FENTON. The same Danny Fenton she has been trying to win over for half a year.

Colette stood there, frozen in shock and mentally unable to process.

She remained silent as her phone continued to record the entire scene. She slowly turned it off.

"That's that. So... may as well get a bite here..."Danny said.

"I'm all for that..." Tucker said.

Danny, Star and the others soon left, unaware that a stalker was nearby, the worst stalker.

After a moment, Colette was still wide eyed and shocked. Only one thing was on her mind and she then spoke it out loud to herself.

"Mon Amore has super powers? Mon amore has GHOST POWERS?! Mon Amore is DANNY PHANTOM?!..."Colette whispered in shock, as so many things on hindsight now made sense.

After the shock wore off, she realized she grinned.

The spoiled brat then smirked, seeing that she got it all on video.

She was then grinning like the Cheshire Cat as she now knew that this opened up a lot of possibilities for her.

"Hmm... I believe that I've finally won. With this, Mon Amore will finally be mine..."She mentally exclaimed in triumph, grinning victoriously.

"I won! I finally beat Estelle after all these horrid months in America. I can beat her and the natural order can be restored..." She said, excited.

The brat ran out of the alley and then went to make her preparations, altering her plans for what she learned.

All the while, confident that her happy ever after was finally in sight.

She would have Danny Fenton AND Danny Phantom under her heel...And there was nothing that Star, Jazz, or any of there friends can do to stop her now.

-To be continued-

Next time on Blackmailed

The Cat's Out of the Bag


A/N(1): I dedicate this chapter to my family, my friends and my love for God :)


A/N(2): Special thanks to NeoMark, Luiz4200, 61394 and Jay The Average Fanboy for all their help. You guys rock :)


REPLIES to my loyal and totally awesome reviewer:

Fiction Realm: Yeah.

Invader Johnny: Yeah.

RonaldM40196867:

1) No, he's another cop.

2) Yes, I heard.

3) Psychic predictions.

4) I just wanted to show them receiving some karma.

5) Probably.

6) I guess that we will have to wait and see what happens.

Jebest4781: Thank you :)

CZS4: I guess that we will have to wait and see what happens.

Phantom Fan 21: Yeah, but unfortunately she is really stubborn too.

Intexplosion: Thank you for the suggestion. I will consider it.

Luiz4200: Yeah.

Guest: Thank you for the suggestion. I will consider it.

Bob the mammot: Thank you :)

JDF Legacier Morphicon: Thank you :)

Here are my responses to your questions:

1) I liked the scene where Danny freed him and his friends.

2) It be an interesting twist.

3) I don't see him as the fatherly kind, unless Kitty convinced him to take the child in.

4) N/A.

5) N/A.


:) I hope you enjoyed this! Remember to read and review :)