An Opportunity
Danny took a deep breath before wiping sweat off his forehead.
"You dare to challenge me?! Fabulous secrets were revealed to me and thanks to them, I have the power!" Man-Lord shouted.
"Blah, blah, blah. Let me know when someone makes a goofy meme of you." Danny said as he fired at him.
Man-Lord uses his sword to bat the blast away.
"By the might of Grey Spine!" Man-Lord yelled, enraged as he tried to charge at him with a sword.
"Oh please..." The ghost boy said with an eye roll as he ducked away in ease before grabbing the blade with both hands.
Danny then bent the sword broken, much to its user's shock.
"By the elder gods!" Man-Lord shouted before, to Danny's surprise, he went from huge and hulking to short and scrawny in a second.
Danny blinked several times to make sure he wasn't seeing things.
Seeing he was no longer strong, Man-Lord laughed sheepishly before slowly walking back.
However, he's hit by a beam from the Fenton Thermos, trapping him inside.
"Well… that's that…" Danny said before flying back to the convention.
Hopefully, Danielle's day is going better than mine.
Meanwhile, in Elmerton
Danielle and Wulf were still job hunting.
They tried to apply to a hot dog joint, but were met with rejection.
Danielle first, for being too young. Wulf ended up scaring the manager and several customers before he could even ask for the job.
They were now back to square one. Now sitting at a bus stop, Danielle rested her head on her hands as Wulf sat calmly.
"Darn it..." Danielle said, frustrated with her lack of success.
"That could have gone better..." Wulf said.
Rolling her eyes, Danielle sees a nearby tire store.
"Guess that works." Danielle said, getting up and heading over as she sees a man enter.
Peeking in, she saw the man, having a satchel with him.
"I'm here to apply for the job." He said.
"Proof of ID to let us know you work here?" The owner asks.
The man held out his wallet and pulled out his Driver's License.
"I also have proof of citizenship." He said.
"Thank you… walk this way." The owner said.
Seeing this unfold caused Danielle to start thinking.
Does being a clone mean that, legally, I don't have a "real" life? She thought.
She walked back to the bus stop she and Wulf were sitting at, not paying attention to the bus driving past the stop to avoid Wulf as she sat down.
"What happened?" Wulf asks.
"Can I even get a job?" Danielle asked, looking upset.
"What do you mean?" Wulf asked in Esperanto.
"Because as far as the whole world knows, I don't even exist and the closest thing I have to real parents have no idea who I am or that I live. Danny and Jazz are my only relatives who even know I even walk this earth. Not to mention, Vlad never even made me a social security number or birth certificate. Seeing as I wasn't supposed to last more than a week… it'd be pointless for him to try anyway..." Danielle said, feeling down and despondent.
"Oh...I see...Well, we can overshadow them and make them say they saw it for themselves..." Wulf said, placing a hand on her shoulder in a gentle manner.
"Thanks, Wulf...but that doesn't change the fact that we're broke until the next allowance day and there is no way I can ask Danny for help since I can just imagine what he'd and Star say." Danielle said.
"What?" Wulf asks.
"Danielle, I told you not to spend your allowance in one place..." Danielle said in a deep Danny-like impression. "And Star would say "I told you not to stuff yourself with endless junk food…" like the nagging mom she's gonna be to Danny's kids." She said, masking her voice to sound almost like Star's.
"I can see them saying that..." Wulf said.
"I just wish that we-...wait, I think I have an idea..." Danielle said, lighting up as she got off the bench.
Danielle stood doing a T-Pose like a video game model.
She stood there for moments, nothing happening.
Wulf blinked a moment before looking left and right, wondering if she's trying to attract something.
"Well?" Danielle asks, looking up at the sky. "This is the pose people make when something that answers their question literally flies into their face."
A flier then hit her face.
"You okay, Danielle?" Wulf asks.
Upon reading it, Danielle's eyes lightened up.
"This is the answer…" She said quickly.
"Paper?" Wulf asks.
"Not paper. An announcement for mascot tryouts...with pay… An opportunity." Danielle answered.
"Mascot?" Wulf asks.
"I can't believe why we didn't think of this sooner. You'd be perfect as a mascot, Wulf..." Danielle said cheerfully.
"If you say so..." Wulf said as they headed for the baseball stadium.
At the Elmerton Baseball Stadium
The students of Elmerton High were inside the locker room of the team, the Elmerton Wolves, all trying out to be the mascot.
Christopher Morgan was hanging out with his friends, as they prepared for the try outs.
His mind was on something else. Or, rather, someone else.
"I wonder if Sam would wanna go to that new salad joint this Friday..." He said as he enjoyed a tofu burger.
He wasn't the only one thinking of someone from Casper High.
An underclassman, Misty, was currently helping the tryouts as part of her duties on the student council and was also thinking of someone else.
I wonder what Danny is doing now... She thought, sighing as she thought about him.
"Smith-Yang, focus..." The coach said.
Misty frowned.
"The things I do for extra stuff on a résumé I don't have just to get Mom off my back..." Misty grumbled as she went to get in costume.
The mascot auditions started and about 10 people were here to try out, with the exception of Wulf and Danielle.
After a solid 10 minutes, Danielle snickered at everyone dressed like wolves.
"These guys are so toast…" She whispered to Wulf.
That's when the door to the locker room opened up. Inside came a middle aged man with a bald head and a business suit.
"Everyone… I'm Dennis Ensen, owner of this stadium and the Elmerton Wolves. I'm looking for a mascot that has the ferocity and the fearlessness of our lupine inspiration. Now… show me what you got!" Ensen said with a grin.
The first 4 gave about half hearted tryouts. Misty's in particular was her just standing in place with buckled knees while swinging her arms out. The one after just swung his arms up before walking away.
"Still beats the marching band..." He muttered as he gave his pseudo tryout.
"At least try and act like you really want the position..." Misty muttered.
Soon, it was Christopher's turn.
"ELMERTON IS ALL ABOUT WINNING! AHHHOOO!" Christopher said as he did a pose similar to a wolf on the prowl.
Once done, he walked away and seemed pleased with himself.
Now, it was Wulf's turn.
"GOOOOO!" Wulf said, howling as he bared fangs and claws.
Misty blinked upon seeing his performance.
"That's some costume. "Misty said, not yet realizing he was a ghost.
"Well, let's see what we're going with." The coach said.
"Killer stuff." Ensen said, impressed by their performances.
"Hmph… my costume trumps everyones…" One auditoner, a tall young man with shaggy black hair, said with a scoff.
The coach and Mr. Ensen both nodded.
"Okay… we've narrowed it down to two finalists. Christopher Morgan and… Wulf?" He asks, looking at Danielle. "His name is Wulf?"
"Uh… my friend isn't from around here and has asked to go by his nickname." Danielle lied.
"And… you are?" The coach asks.
"Danielle… Fenton." Danielle said, being quick to use his donor's last name on the spot.
That caught Misty's attention.
"Fenton… like Danny Fenton?" She asked under her breath.
"Anyway… these two can stay. The rest of you… thanks for coming, you can at least see the game for free… as long you buy something to eat." Ensen said, losing his enthusiasm upon telling them to leave.
The previous auditioner who scoffed removed his wolf costume's mask and threw it down in rage.
"Are you serious?! I spent a week prepping this thing!" He shouted in anger before storming off.
As the rest of them left, that brought a smile to Danielle's face.
"Awesome… this mascot job is all ours." She said under her breath as she glanced at the discarded mask. "Best part… no need for a stupid mask…"
Meanwhile
The parking lot of the convention center was a sudden battlefield as Danny fired a beam.
The beam was dodged by what he was aiming at. It was a car that slowly had its tires retracted before a rotor appeared above it, turning into a helicopter.
Inside it, a red figure wearing a mask with a visor raised his fist.
"MECH will conquer this world with our technology enhancing power masks! MECH! Destroy him!" He shouted.
With that, an 18-wheeler truck turned into a tank, a motorcycle became a hovercraft and a pickup truck turned into a jet.
"MECH Crusaders! Fighting overtime! Neutralize all as we arrive!" The riders in similarly designed masks with differing colors shouted.
Danny raised a shield to protect himself from their projectile attacks. Meanwhile, the rest of Team Phantom hid behind a nearby food stand, waiting for an opportunity of their own.
"I knew trucks were evil!" Sam said.
"Yeah, says the girl whose wish to destroy trucks got an entire car lot shut down and everyone without a job." Star said, having been made aware of the incident when Danny got his logo.
"They got new jobs!" Sam shouted in anger before noticing Tucker's gleeful look on his face. "Are you seriously ogling those things turning into bigger, meaner machines?!"
"Heck yeah! I want a car like that!" Tucker said with a big grin.
As the girls rolled their eyes, Danny grunted as he decided to go on the offensive. Lowering his shield, he flew towards the car-copter.
"This might be one very tough fight…" He said under his breath.
Meanwhile
Christopher had finished his presentation as he walked away to give Wulf room. Wulf stepped up and looked at Danielle, who gave a thumb's up.
Wulf shrugged and did a loud howl.
Both the coach and Mr. Ensen had a chat together.
"Hmm… a bit overly ferocious, don't you think?" The coach said.
"I don't know if an actual wolf would act like that." Mr. Ensen said.
Wulf, hearing them, snarled.
"Actual wolf? Mi montros, kiel lupo povas esti vere fervora!" He said under his breath.
He then marched over to the men and snarled in his face. To Danielle's surprise, he didn't look remotely scared.
"Still not doing it for me… but the attention to detail is impressive… including the dirty look of the back teeth that looks like you got bacon in there…" He said.
Hearing that, Wulf closed his mouth and placed a hand on it in shame as he walked back.
"Bacon?" Danielle asks, glaring at Wulf as he returns to her. "I knew you were eating it behind my back…"
"Poor pigs… didn't deserve to be slaughtered for the sake of someone else's costume. Mine is animal cruelty free…" Christopher said under his breath.
Wulf, hearing this, rolled his eyes.
"Ho bonvolu, bestoj manĝas aliajn bestojn la tutan tempon en la sovaĝejo. Ĉio estas parto de la naturo." Wulf said under his own breath.
"Alright, after careful consideration... Christopher Morgan is the new mascot for the Elmerton Wolves Baseball team..." He said.
"Nice..." Christopher said.
Darn it, I thought Wulf would get it for sure... Danielle thought.
The two of them left the locker room as Christopher approached Mr. Ensen.
"So… when do I start and when do I get paid?" He asks.
"Yeah… about that…" Mr. Ensen went with a sheepish smile.
Outside the stadium
Danielle and Wulf walked out, both feeling down.
"Sorry…" Wulf said.
"It's not your fault those guys picked some dork in cruddy costume." Danielle said.
"His ears! Made of little sporks, covered in duct tape and painted!" Wulf went in disappointment.
"I know… I know… Guess we better... raid wishing wells or something." Danielle said.
As the two were almost to the intersection, they heard someone call to them.
"Danielle! Wulf!" They heard the sound of Ensen shout. Turning around, they saw he was catching up to them. "Danielle! You and your friend still want the mascot job?"
Danielle and Wulf smiled before the former remembered something.
"Wait… what happened to Christopher?" She asks.
"He wasn't happy with the pay..." Ensen said dismissively.
"And… What are you paying us?" Danielle asks nervously.
"Well… due to budget cuts… 7 bucks an hour, solid 10 hours a day for the next 2 days… but you get all the hot dogs, popcorn and ice cream you can eat." He said graciously.
"Who would say no to that?" Danielle asks.
"Vegans, apparently." Ensen said dismissively. "So, what do you say?"
Both Danielle and Wulf nodded.
"Works for us." Danielle said.
Wow… this day just got better… Danielle thought.
At the Convention
The leader of MECH remained on the ground, defeated as his forces were already captured.
"I've got some super vision!" He shouted before firing a beam out of his goggle-like eyepiece.
Danny effortlessly sidestepped out of the way.
"And I got some super cool merch to buy! So…" Danny said before aiming the thermos and firing.
"You will pay for this!" MECH'S leader shouted before being trapped within the cylindrical device.
With that, Danny clasped it shut and groaned.
"Hopefully, that's it for the interruptions." Danny said.
"Yeah, we got merch to buy!" Tucker went quickly.
"We better hurry! I saw a really cool collective hoodie I want." Star said.
"And… you've been bitten by the "obsession with a decade you're not from" bug these two were bit by." Sam grumbled.
As they all returned to the convention, they did not see a hooded figure atop a nearby building, watching the entire experience.
"Hmm… that one is quite formidable. I knew gathering those warriors to test him would be ideal." They said, stroking their chin. "Finally… an opportunity."
New chapter with help from Flower Princess11.
Also, yes, reference to MASK... which SHOULD make a return! This will not the first or last time I will insist on this Hasbro!
Anyone spot what cartoon I'm borrowing a plot point from?
Jebest4781: Thanks.
RonaldM40196867: Ask FP11 for it. Ask FP11. Same answer. Cameo. She likely doesn't know they're the same people. A restaurant. Stuff. Again, ask FP11 for story ideas for Stranded, I'm just here to use ideas I think would be neat to have.
danifan3000: 1. Most likely. Well... they were fired at least but they didn't physically harm her.
61394: More than likely wanted it delivered due to laziness. Maybe, but she's aiming to make a lot in a short amount of time. Probably? Ghost.
Invader Johnny: Yup.
CZS4: Looks like ghosts are coming to pick a fight with him.
Luiz4200: If they even get the car.
JDF Legacier Morphicon: 1) DxV and DxE. 2) Those two I mentioned. 3) Maybe Kitty? 4) I do. 5) No chance.
Leonardo: Not yet.
Soggy Fysher Woods: Mistake on my part.
