Chapter 3: Back in Amity Park
Back in Amity Park, Danny told his friends about his adventures in New York, obviously excluding the Ghost Force identities. "You actually fought alongside Ghost Force?" Tucker asked with excitement. "Awesome!" He exclaimed. "Did you meet Myst? Did you tell her about your good-looking best friend?"
"We mostly discussed the differences between the ghosts they fight there and those we fight around here, Tucker." Danny answered. "But that's not all!" He added and showed a picture of himself with Liv Baker. "I met a girl and we're now in a long-distance relationship."
"What?" Sam asked in outrage. Clueless as ever, Danny was oblivious to it.
"Her name is Liv Baker and I met her at the symposium." Danny said, still oblivious to Sam's feelings. "She was eager to learn about ghosts but didn't come as an obsessive person."
"Well, it's New York and they're as used to ghosts as us." Sam muttered.
"So, do her parents also hunt ghosts?" Tucker asked.
"No, Tucker." Danny answered and explained about the Baker couple.
"Really?" A skeptical Tucker asked. "Do you expect me to believe your girlfriend is the daughter of film makers?"
"I'm serious, Tucker." Danny replied. "Jazz even got an autograph from Solar-Man."
"Then why don't you get us to visit the set the next time you go to New York?" Sam asked, being as skeptic as Tucker.
"Okay, I'll talk to Liv." Danny simply stated.
"Are you serious?" Tucker asked.
"Yes." Danny replied. He briefly thought about cracking a joke regarding a fictional wizard with a similar name but decided it wasn't the time for it.
"Whatever." Tucker replied.
"Girlfriends aside, are you sure you couldn't have left Skulker with the Ghost Force?" Sam asked.
"We couldn't risk my other foes going to New York to rescue him, Sam." Danny answered.
"At least they don't think you're a bad guy." Tucker commented.
"True." Danny agreed and then felt his ghost sense.
"Beware." A ghost said after phasing himself into the room. "I am the Box Ghost, master of all things cardboard and square."
One minute later, the Box ghost was inside Danny's Fenton Thermos. "Well, that was a good stress reliever." Danny commented.
"Better than nothing, at least." Tucker replied.
Danny's cell phone then rang. "Dad?"
"Great news, son!" Jack happily exclaimed. "I need you back home ASAP!"
"Can't you just tell me now, Dad?" Danny asked.
"No, son." Jack answered. "It's too great to be told by phone. Come back so we can tell you in person."
"Okay, Dad. Bye." Danny replied and ended the call. "Sorry, guys. My Dad wants me back home."
"Okay, Danny." Tucker replied and Sam nodded.
After leaving his friends, Danny walked back to Fentonworks. He could have flown but, since his parents didn't know his secret, he couldn't go any faster than a human with no ghost powers could. "Son, your mother and I have been in touch with Ms. Jones and she said Myst might portal her way from New York to Amity Park on occasion." Jack happily said.
"We can't expect the whole team to come since New York still has quite a few ghosts but hopefully she'll catch that putrid Phantom." Maddie added.
"Or make things easier for him by catching the really evil ghosts." Jazz suggested with a suspicious smile.
"Jazz, all ghosts are evil." Jack tried to reassure his daughter.
"They don't see Phantom as evil." Jazz pointed out.
"We'll set the record straight with them, Jazz." Maddie stated. "You can bank on it."
"Wait until I tell Liv about that." Danny said.
"Danny, I know what it's all about." Jack replied with an accusing tone, worrying Danny.
"Really?" Danny fearfully asked.
"You're eager for an excuse to talk to her again, son." Jack said.
"Yeah." Danny quickly replied. "That's exactly what this is all about."
"I don't blame you, son, but take it easy or she might think you're desperate." Jack advised his son. "Just because you're friends with Tucker Foley, that doesn't mean you must become like him."
"True, Dad." Danny replied, believing it to be the path of least resistance.
Meanwhile, in New York, Mike and the Baker siblings were at the Baker household. "Isn't it exciting?" Liv gleefully asked. "I'm going to meet more sapient ghosts and perhaps learn about them from the Fentons!"
"Not to mention getting a date with a certain half-sapient ghost." Andy teased his sister.
"Sapient half-ghost, Andy." Liv corrected her brother. "And yes, I'd enjoy that as well." Liv's cell phone then rang. "That's him."
"Speak of the Devil." Andy whispered to Mike.
"Hi, Danny." Liv said.
"Liv, my parents told me Ms. Jones, from the ghost symposium, devised a way for the Ghost Force to come to Amity Park on occasion." Danny said. "Wouldn't you love to be here to see Myst in action?"
"I'd rather see Danny Phantom in action and learn more about the differences between sapient ghosts and those who haunt New York." Liv commented back.
"With his luck, it's probable you'll see Phantom." Danny replied, hating the idea of having his date interrupted by a ghost attack.
"That's great!" Liv exclaimed. "So, does Mayor Masters already know about this development?"
"Not that I know, Liv." Danny answered. "And I hope he doesn't."
"Changing subjects, Danny, do you have plans for this weekend?" Liv asked. "Because I'm free and could go to Amity Park to meet you."
"It's a date." Danny happily replied.
The next weekend, the Fentons were waiting for Liv Baker to arrive at Fentonworks. "Don't worry, Danny." Maddie reassured her son. "I'm sure everything will be fine."
"Is the food free from any ecto-contamination?" Danny asked.
"Uh, kinda." Jack replied.
"Little brother, we should go to a restaurant." Jazz suggested. "Or at least the Nasty Burger."
"Jazz, Liv's parents are film makers." Danny said. "I don't think she'd settle for a fast food restaurant."
"She settled for a hot dog stand." Jazz pointed out.
"During a walk through Central Park, Jazz." Danny replied. "For full meals, she's probably used to fancy restaurants with pictures of celebrities who eat there. One of the boys she and her brother hang around is a famous basketball player's son."
They then heard the doorbell. "Who's there?" Jack asked.
"I'm Liv Baker." The person on the other side of the door answered and Danny, recognizing her voice, opened the door. "Thank you, Danny." She said. "You're a gentleman."
"You're welcome, Liv." Danny replied. "Literally."
The Fentons led Liv to their dinner table and Jack brought a turkey. "Enjoy the NOT ecto-contaminated meal, kids." Jack said.
"That sounded too suspiciously specific." Liv commented, making the Fentons nervous.
"He's just kidding, Liv." Danny replied and then whispered "hopefully".
"That's right, Liv." Maddie added. "We do our best to avoid it." Some ecto-tainted sausages showed up and started attacking Jack. "Most of the time."
"I'll be right back." Jack said as he took the sausages away.
"Should we go help him?" Liv asked Danny.
"No, he can handle them. Believe me." Danny replied with a tone that suggested it was routine for the Fentons.
"Aren't you afraid those ghosts will get into booster mode?" Liv asked out of curiosity. "Some of the ghosts that attack New York manage that by fusing with foods."
"No, I've never seen it happening here." Danny answered. 'At least not with food.' Danny thought. 'Cujo's transformation from puppy to monster does sound like a New York ghost going into booster mode.'
"Is it safe to eat the food?" Liv asked, worried it was contaminated as well.
"Don't worry, Liv." Maddie replied. "Had this food been contaminated, it'd be noticeable by now."
Reluctantly, Liv ate with the Fentons. To her surprise, she actually enjoyed it. "May I have some dessert, Mrs. Fenton?" Liv asked.
Jack took the cue to reenter. "Sorry, Liv." he said. "We don't have any desserts."
"What happened to the fudge we bought this morning, Jack?" Maddie asked with a glare that suggested what she believed the answer to be.
"It fell..." Jack answered. "Into my mouth."
Maddie facepalmed in frustration.
"Liv, I know a good ice cream place." Danny commented. "How about we go there?"
"Good idea, Danny!" Liv replied.
The two teenagers left Fentonworks, unaware that another teenager was spying on them. 'That girl dresses like a goth but is too perky to be a real one.' Sam thought with a frown. 'She must be a poser.'
"Sam!" She heard someone calling her. Looking around, the goth found out it was Jazz. "Are you spying on my brother?"
"Someone has to keep an eye on Danny." Sam argued. "Who knows what that girl is up to?"
"She might be someone who loves my little brother." Jazz replied. "You know what's like, right?"
"I, I don't know what you're talking about." Sam tried to deny.
"Sam, I'm not clueless like my brother." Jazz pointed out. "If you really can't stand the fact he's dating a girl who isn't you, you should have confessed your feelings for him."
"I'm just concerned she's trying to use him." Sam said. "If her parents are really movie directors, she must be a popular girl and Danny doesn't exactly have the best experience with them."
"Samantha Manson, either you stop spying on my brother or I'll tell him about that." Jazz gave an ultimatum using Sam's formal name to show how serious she was.
"You win this round, Jazz." Sam replied. "And it's 'Sam'.
Meanwhile, Danny and Liv's journey to the ice cream parlor was interrupted by the former's ghost sense. "What's that?" Liv asked, wondering what made her boyfriend so worried.
"My ghost sense is telling me there's a ghost nearby." Danny answered and couldn't help but notice Liv seemed more curious about his ghost sense than scared about a ghost being nearby. 'Well, she also hunts ghosts after all.' Danny thought. A ghost dog then appeared. "Cujo?"
"Oh, how cute." Liv commented, freaking Danny out even more.
"Your opinion won't survive seeing him in what you call 'booster mode', Liv." Danny replied while petting Cujo.
"Danny, I know I said Cujo was cute but, aren't you afraid?" Liv asked since Danny said Cujo had a booster mode.
"For as long as he doesn't get upset, he stays harmless." Danny explained.
"Upset?" Liv asked. "How odd. Back in New York, ghosts go into booster mode by either fusing with something that fits their unique powers or feeding on enough fear."
"Cujo is the ghost of a puppy who lived at Axiom Labs before being put to sleep after they stopped using guard dogs, Liv." Danny explained. "He came back for his toy and took a liking to me."
"So, does he still have some attachment to Axiom Labs or would he move to New York?" Liv asked. "Glups would love a new friend. And why isn't everyone around us afraid of cujo?"
"Nobody saw him doing anything ghostly, Liv." Danny answered and Liv nodded. Cujo then went away. "Godobye, Cujo."
"I'd love having Cujo as a pet." Liv said.
"I stand by my opinion regarding his booster mode." Danny replied.
Later on, as Danny and Liv were having ice cream, Danny remembered something. "My friends asked to see a Solar-Man movie being made." He hesitantly said. "Could it be possible for them to visit?"
"If they agree to stay quiet on the set, I can help, Danny." Liv replied.
End chapter.