Chapter 1 - Denise
Out of all the ways we had planned on spending the evening, I wasn't sure why we were doing this. Oh sure, after dealing with that incident around Halloween a few years ago would make us take these kinds of threats seriously, but I didn't think we would come to investigate this personally. A sudden cold wind had me rubbing my arms, the shiver down my spine involuntary. It was October on the East Coast, after all. An arm wrapped around me, holding me closer to the tall, lean body of a pale-skinned man, with long, wild black hair. He's not very warm usually, so it was more of a comforting gesture than a warming one.
Spade. My wonderful, if a bit overprotective, husband.
"Sorry, darling, I promise we'll spend the evening under much better circumstances once I take care of this. After all, I've been thinking of that old anniversary gift you packed." His British accent thickened at the mention of the anniversary gift.
Damnit, I was sure I had packed that discreetly!
"Well, considering that was meant to be a surprise, I guess that will have to depend on how well tonight goes."
"Oh, don't tease me Denise. You know I never do."
No, he never did. Which is why I was very tempted to tell him 'Perhaps we should do this a different night and head back to our room.' Time to switch topics to curb those urges.
"Why are we doing this? Not that I don't think it's serious, but this isn't usually our… thing," I finished rather lamely.
"Oh? And what exactly is our… thing?"
I looked up to see Spade's tiger-amber eyes filled with equal parts amusement and confusion.
"Y'know, we help our friends all the time, and I love that we do, but the last time we actually looked into something ourselves was… y'know," I gestured towards my arms at this, the long sleeves of my coat and gloves hiding the demon brands seared into my skin from a few years ago. "And I know you. You would much rather keep me out of any potential danger. So why are we investigating this?"
Demons. Yes, they were real and I had an up close and personal experience with one that went by the name of Raum. Turns out an ancestor of mine made a deal with him for his soul, but when Raum went to collect it, Nathaniel tricked and trapped him for a very long time. Raum eventually got out and when he couldn't find Nathaniel, he decided to go on a killing spree and off his descendents one by one until he found him.
Including me. I still remember watching my cousin die in front of me as Raum stopped his heart.
Thankfully, I managed to make a deal with him that I would find Nathaniel in exchange for him to free me of the brands and to leave me and the rest of my family alone. But once we got ahold of Nathaniel, I realized I couldn't go through with it. Nathaniel might have deserved it at first, but he was a kid who made a stupid decision, and his life afterwards was a living Hell. I ended up tricking Raum to release Nathaniel from his brands, and with Spade's help, we killed Raum, leaving me still branded, but no longer susceptible to mortal death.
"You make a valid point," his lips quirking into a small smile before it became neutral once more. "Normally, I wouldn't be concerned, especially since at the moment they only seem to be just rumors, but after we had that run-in with Heinrich Kramer a few years ago, I'd rather not take any chances."
Henrich Kramer. Ghosts were real too and he was a particularly nasty ghost who would torment and kill three women every Halloween. When he was alive, he was an Inquisitor who would judge and sentence women to death by witch trials. Normally ghosts couldn't be seen by human eyes and were never solid enough to be touched, but the "ye old Inquisitor" had managed to figure out a way to be momentarily solid enough to kill those girls under the guise of witch trials. My best friend Cat even became one of his targets before we stopped him.
These rumors that Spade mentioned, however, were very… weird. Supposedly there is a ghost running around that is not only solid all the time, but is visible to humans as well. It doesn't even look like what a ghost would normally look, with sharp teeth, green skin, and red eyes. While it hasn't killed anyone like Kramer, it's been harrassing enough people for us to hear about it.
"So you mean to investigate, by yourself, while you leave me somewhere safe and close by but out of danger… again." I tried to keep some of the bitterness out of my voice because it's not entirely Spade's fault he's so overprotective. I know better than anyone how much losing a loved one can tear you apart. But still! I've proven myself enough times for him to trust me at least a little bit.
"You make me sound like a tyrant when you phrase it like that."
"I'm sorry. I'm not trying to, but you know I can help. I'm not always a damsel in distress." Because sometimes I end up being one, whether I want to or not. It's the cost of being a human in an underground society.
"And I never think of you as one, Denise. Yes, I did bring you along with no intention of having you investigate right beside me, but a lot of my 'investigating' is just going to be me sniffing around. Nothing too extraneous. I wanted you to come along because I planned on taking you to dinner afterwards."
So that's why he had me wear one of my nicer dresses.
"Could you at least leave me somewhere warm? And not take too long?"
"Of course, darling. Always."
Thankfully, there was a small late night diner close by the abandoned home Spade went to investigate. He said he wouldn't take too long, but it's already been 30 minutes and I was starting to worry. I ended up leaving the diner, tipping the waitress for letting me wait there.
Something didn't feel right.
The abandoned house looked like any abandoned house would: creaking shutters, boarded up windows, cracked and broken boards, and a general feeling of neglect and abandonment. But there was no sign of Spade or a supposed ghost.
"Spade?" I whispered, hoping he wasn't too distracted to hear me. No answer.
My unease grew, making my stomach twist in knots. Taking a deep breath, I marched straight towards the house. The staircase for the landing creaked as I stepped on them, but none gave out. The creaking lessened as I made it to the cracked open door and pushed it open further. I turned on the light from my phone, illuminating the previously dark and dreary space.
Yeah, light didn't really make it any less creepy.
"Spade," I tried again, whispering a little louder this time. "Where are you?"
A loud crashing noise answered me, making my light jitter as I jumped. Not sure if that was Spade or something else, I made my way towards the noise as quietly as I could. A green glow greeted me as I turned the corner, but I stopped before I could call out Spade's name.
Because this… this wasn't Spade.
Its back was turned towards me, the whole body glowing green. It had horns, long limbs, and clawed hands, ripping apart something… red. I could feel my breath quicken and my heartbeat pound faster as those cursed memories raced through my mind again.
Grotesque figures howling upstairs, us trapped in the basement, waiting. Waiting. Waiting to be mauled and pulled apart. Slipping on blood, so black in the dark, I found the misshapen mounds of flesh that was all that was left of someone. What was left of someone I loved.
It's been a while since I've experienced any of my panic attacks. You would think I would experience them more being around Spade and the others. Blood and violence seemed to follow them wherever they go, so I've seen more than most people would ever see in their lifetime. But it's when the remains are hardly recognizable that tends to bring those memories back. The memories may have resurfaced in the moment, but I cannot let them control me here. I took the quietest deep breath I have ever done, and started to step back slowly.
The… thing hadn't even noticed that I was there. Good. I can leave and find Spade.
Unless that is Spade the creature is mauling apart. Just like your dead husband-
'No, that isn't Spade,' I scolded that treacherous thought. 'Spade's too strong to simply die and what would be left would be just bones, nothing more.'
Crrreeeaaakkk
I paused, frozen from either anticipation or terror, I wasn't sure. The tearing noise stopped, but I didn't move hoping it wouldn't investigate. The glowing got stronger as it came around the corner and my breath caught.
Red. Solid red eyes sunk into a monstrous face zeroed in on me down the hall. It opened its large mouth, a cavernous thing with sharp teeth, so many sharp teeth. Its large frame filled the end of the hallway, meaning the only way out was behind me.
It lunged.
I ran for the open door, praying that the extra, inhuman speed the demon brands gave me would be enough. It moved so much faster than I expected for its size and the scream escaped me as I was pulled to the ground, its clawed hand gripping my leg. I could feel its claws breaking the skin, blood pooling out. It pulled me towards it, the large mouth curving into a grin.
Ah, screw it!
"SPPAADDDEE!" I screamed as loud as I could. I could feel that warm energy within me rising, the pain from the claws in my leg fueling the ability I inherited from Raum to change my form into something far more dangerous.
"Hey ugly! Let her go!"
A beam of green light shot towards the monster, launching it off of me and through the doorway in the hall. A figure flew over me, moving past my feet and stayed there, floating in place as smoke faded from her hand.
It was a… kid? Not just a kid but a little girl. Her white hair was pulled into a ponytail, the ends somehow floating. She wore a long-sleeved shirt with a high collar diagonally split in half so the left half of the shirt and sleeve was black while the other side was white. A black glove adorned her right hand, a white glove the left. Her pants follow a similar pattern where it was black at the top, lining her inner thighs, and white towards the bottom. White boots continued underneath her pants, finishing the look.
She turned around enough for me to see her front. Such a young, round face with a button nose, long bangs getting in her bright, green eyes. A small, stylized "D" rested on her chest, something like a superhero would wear in those comics Randy kept.
"Are you okay, pretty lady?" She seemed genuinely concerned, her white eyebrows furrowing. "That looks like it hurts really badly."
"I… I will be fine. Uhm, thank you?"
She brightened instantly, so much like a child that I realized with a sinking heart that she really is a child. A child who was no longer human.
A child who died far too young.
"Of course! I heard the ghost was around here, but there was a scary looking man here earlier so I couldn't take care of it yet. I'm sorry you got hurt, but you should leave and get help before it recovers."
Scary looking man? Does she mean Spade? I mean, Spade can get pretty intense, but does that mean she saw Spade here earlier?
"Wait, what? What about you?" I picked myself up, cringing slightly at the injury in my leg. The ghost girl was floating at my eye level, confusion clear on her face.
"What do you mean? I'm gonna fight the ghost."
"What?! What do you mean, 'fight the ghost'? Don't be ridiculous, he's at least three times your size. We should both leave. Now."
And let Spade handle this.
"I've totally got this ma'am. It's what I do best." As if this was an adequate explanation, she turned away and began to float towards the much bigger ghost who had recovered and looked pissed.
The bigger ghost moved fast, roaring as it swiped its claws right at the girl. I tried to cry out a warning, but the ghost girl suddenly turned see-through, the claws swiping through her instead of into her. She responded quickly, flying up as a green light began to surround her foot and she kicked the creature in the side of its head.
A blast of green energy went off at the same time, launching the creature straight through the wall.
I hadn't even realized my jaw had dropped until I found my voice again and had to use it to speak.
"Whoa, that…"
The girl hadn't noticed me and flew right in after the creature. I could hear some more roars and a "Take this!" before more energy beams shot out of the hole sporadically. The creature emerged looking… terrified? And then it flew up, whimpering like a dog afraid of a thunderstorm. Just as the girl did, it became see-through and went through the ceiling.
The girl emerged shortly after, sporting a small scratch on her arm, but otherwise uninjured with a triumphant grin on her face.
"Yeah, that's it! Leave humans alone or else!" She shouted after it, before turning towards me.
"Oh, you're still here? That's strange, most humans run off when they get the chance."
A smile spread across my face, "I'm not like most humans."
"Well, it's nice to meet you. My name is Dani, Dani Phantom. That's D-A-N-I."
She stuck her gloved hand out and I hesitantly took it, surprised when I could feel my larger hand engulfing hers.
Same with that other 'ghost,' they're both always solid.
"Well, it's certainly nice to meet you, Dani Phantom. My name is-"
"DENISE!" Spade practically roared as he thundered into the house. His usual tiger-amber irises glowing a darker shade of green compared to Dani's and his teeth bared, showing off the retractable fangs all his kind shared.
Vampire. Yes, my husband is a Master vampire who was born over 200 years ago. He had been born Baron Charles DeMoritmer and when his father's gambling addiction put him in jail, he took his father's place and was shipped to Australia. There he met Ian, who later escaped and came back as a vampire, and Bones, who was turned into a vampire with him. In Australia, all he was ever called was the tool he was given so when he became a vampire, he chose the name 'Spade' to remind him of what he'd gone through.
"Uh-oh, it's the scary man," I heard Dani whisper before the girl moved in front of me. Spade hissed and I knew that if I didn't step in, someone would get hurt.
"No, Spade wait, it's okay," I started, holding up a hand to get Spade to slow his roll. I turned to Dani, putting my hand on her shoulder, "Please, don't, it's okay, he's my husband."
Dani looked flabbergasted, like she couldn't comprehend how I would be married to the 'scary man.' If I wasn't too busy trying to make sure my husband didn't fight a child, no matter how strong said child was, I may have laughed out loud.
I walked past her to get to Spade who looked just as flabbergasted as Dani, and took his hand.
"It's okay Spade, she saved me from that… ghost-creature, the one we were looking into. She scared him off."
"What? Bollocks. That thing was bloody massive, I saw it leave through the roof. What do you mean- where did she go?" Spade had been looking at me when he started talking, gesturing towards Dani. But then he turned to look at her again and I followed his gaze to see that Dani Phantom was no longer there.
She just… disappeared.
Author's Note: Hello. Welcome to a very niche story where my brain made some connections and came up with this crossover months ago. Obviously, all characters and concepts were created by their respective creators, Jeanine Frost for the Night Huntress novel series and Butch Hartman for the Danny Phantom cartoon series.
After reading Jeanine Frost's short story, A Grave Girl's Getaway, where Denise talks about finally putting in applications for adoption since she and Spade can't have kids, I took that as a sign and started writing the outline of the plot, but only considered seriously writing it out recently with encouragement from loved ones. This story will mostly focus on the trio of Spade, Denise, and Dani with appearances of the other Night Huntress novels. The characters and events from Danny Phantom will be mentioned, but I don't plan on introducing those characters in this story. In my head, that's for a possible sequel.
I'll try to update when I can, but life happens and I do have a day job. I'm absolutely terrible about reviewing other stories (the mortification of being known, I guess), but please review and let me know you're there! Thank you for reading!