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 24: Countdown to Disaster!
Earlier that day
It was early Friday morning at Casper High.
It was the day of Star's birthday and her birthday party. However, Danny wasn't thinking about that right now.
Even though he desperately wanted to think about his real girlfriend's birthday, he was stuck having to painstakingly listen to whatever nonsense Colette was talking about.
Namely, her belief she'll win him over.
"Will this torture ever end?!..." Danny thought in misery, as Colette kept talking.
"Tomorrow, I could use a mani-pedi but my regular nail artist won't be available tomorrow. So I need SOMEONE ELSE to do it..." Colette said, dropping a hint.
"Are you kidding me?!..." Danny asked, unable to believe she wants him to do her nails now.
"Well...I guess there are other things we could do...like having a romantic moment and maybe afterwards, do some more shopping..." Colette hinted, smiling at him.
"I vote D, none of the above..." Danny snarked.
Colette glared at him.
"Remember who is zee boss in this relationship. C'est moi..."She said, making it clear he doesn't have a choice here.
"That's not how it works… She's making old Star harmless by comparison..." Danny thought.
"Here..." She said.
The pushy fake redhead then tossed Danny a small basket with a bottle of nail-polish remover, cotton swabs, nail clippers, nail buffer, cuticle remover, nail moisturizer and nail polish.
"What the heck am I supposed to do with this?!..." Danny asked, looking at her like she is nuts.
Colette rolled her eyes.
"Why are the cute ones never so bright?..." She complained.
"It is my own private beauty supplies. I expect you to know how to use all of these expertly by the next time I request you to do my nails..." Colette said.
Danny glared at her.
"The one time I actually want one of my ghostly enemies to cause some mayhem and they're all either taking the day off or are too busy getting ready to torture me some other day. Figures..." Danny thought, hating every moment of this.
Colette clearly saw him as little more than a servant. Colette had one of her hands out as a clear sign that she wasn't going to take no for an answer and very much wanted him to perform a mani-pedi.
"In fact, maybe some buffing before class would be good practice for you..." She said.
"No, learning how to use a sword is good practice, this is a waste of my time..." Danny refused.
"Fine. Then I make some phone calls and everyone from Estelle to you will be ruined..." Colette threatened before smirking. "Or we could just skip to zee kissing..." She said, a nasty smile on her face.
Danny frowned.
"Nails are fine..." He said seeing it as the lesser of the two evils.
However, Colette had something else in mind. Something to make someone else suffer even more.
"Oh, Mon Amore. It seems like I will have to rearrange our lunch date for another time. I need to make some last minute changes for my party but do not worry, I will have us have a nice meal together later on..." Colette said with faux-sweetness, though she made a mental note to train the half ghost boy how to perform a proper mani-pedi at a moment's notice later.
"Oh joy..."Danny said sarcastically.
"However...that does not mean that we cannot have a romantic moment before class. Like now…" She said, fluttering her eyelashes at him.
It just made Danny's skin crawl.
"Where's an earthquake when you need one?..." He grumbled under his breath, wishing something happened to distract him from Colette.
He was almost wishing that Ember could show up again to save him from this fake red-haired witch with another fake fight. He was even hoping for a real fight at this point.
Danny signed bitterly as he was dragged away by his wicked self-proclaimed girlfriend.
The A-Listers were a little dumbfounded at seeing the scene before them, but didn't question it all that much since most assumed that Colette was hanging out with him at the moment.
Only one A-lister found this scene between the fake couple to be unsettling and unfair...and that A-lister happens to be none other than Kwan.
Kwan saw Danny being bossed around by Colette and felt even more guilty now.
"This isn't what I wanted. I just wanted things to go back to the things were, not for everything to get worse..." He thought, feeling like a scumbag right now.
Kwan knew that Danny Fenton was a good guy that didn't deserve this kind of treatment.
He knew that they were both connected to one person who is dreadfully rotten to her core. Not to mention that they are both also connected to an incredibly blonde cheerleader that can do anything she puts her mind to. And right now, all three of them were miserable and a few other students might get expelled from Casper High.
And it was all his fault.
Kwan even made Star hate him more after finding out that he was involved in Colette's recent treachery and doubted him when he said he was forced into it. She didn't believe him and the worst part is that he doesn't really blame her.
Instead, part of him wanted to blame Danny.
"Fenton would've been a lot better off dumping Star at the beginning or never going out with her in the first place. Nothing is worth putting up with that psycho Colette!..." He tried to convince himself.
Of course, anyone else would tell him otherwise. He realized that he was just pushing the blame on someone else and that didn't make him feel any better with himself.
It just made him feel worse.
"Who am I kidding? The only reason that witch even got this far is because she blackmailed me into doing her dirty work. I wish I never met her! If I could go back in time I'd beat myself up for ever being dumb enough to dump Star to be with that witch!..." Kwan thought.
Thanks to his spinelessness, Fenton is completely miserable by being trapped in a toxic relationship he doesn't want with a nutcase that he completely hates.
"None of this is right...and I helped cause this. It's all my fault..." He thought, feeling worse after seeing this.
The Asian-American athlete knew that he had to make things worse by staying quiet, not just between him and Star, but for Danny, Jazz, Sam and Tucker too. He needed to fix what he helped mess up, even if it meant that he might regret it later. He needed to do something now.
Kwan clenched his fists, slowly picked himself up off the ground and walked towards a certain direction with a specific destination in mind.
A place he never thought he'd willingly go to. And to talk to someone who he never thought would help him.
Meanwhile
While Danny dealt with his own dilemma, he wasn't the only one having a tough time.
In the principal's office, his parents, Stella, Johnathan, Kirk, Joy, Ida, The Foleys and Damon were all there. Once again, they tried to talk with the school board with their lawyers.
And once again, Lancer and Ishiyama were being unreasonable. Mainly because they had to follow protocol when presented with evidence of juvenile/criminal behavior amongst their students.
"Be quiet. Please everyone, if any of you are going to shout complaints, please let it be one outburst at a time!..." Lin Ishiyama said, trying to be patient.
"Says the one expelling a group of good children all because of the words of a rotten scoundrel framing them!..." Joy snapped at her.
"Mother, calm down. Yelling out insults isn't going to help anyone. Even if they are true..." Jonathan said, trying his best to hold back his mother from starting a fight with the principal of Casper High.
"Oh dear, her temper is going to make things worse..." Stella said, covering her ears.
"Preaching to the choir..." Kirk said.
During all of this time, Ishiyama put her head between her hands and rubbed her temples.
"This is going to be a long day..."She thought, sighing.
Anyway, they were now in a meeting with the families lawyers with her, Lancer and Testlaff too. It wasn't just the standard staff either. The superintendent was also here, since some students were at risk of being expelled, along with the district's weasley attorney.
Needless to say that no one was in a smiling mood, not even Jack Fenton, despite some of the ghost hunting equipment he brought in. He wouldn't come without them.
Everyone else wasn't in much of a better mood either. If anything, most were furious. This whole situation also affects The Fentons just as much as the Strongs, as well as the families of those present as well.
And before the meeting could officially begin, everyone needed to calm down from the less than friendly discussion about the children under suspension/punishment.
"Principal Ishiyama, may we see this evidence that was brought to you about these student's alleged criminal behavioral activities?..."Superintendent Baxter questioned, arms crossed, making sure that whoever it is would suffer his wrath.
He did not tolerate that something happened on school grounds. He demanded that whoever was the culprit be punished and the money found or else he find a principal who could do the job better.
Principal Ishiyama reluctantly brought over the evidence that was anonymously delivered to them, and handed over the superintendent.
He looked over it and scratched his chin in thought.
"Seems clear who the delinquents are. Clearly Casper High needs better faculty if it took THIS long for them to be caught..." He said dismissively after he checked it over.
"I'd like to see someone else try to manage the education of 600 students with a shoestring budget with not enough teachers..." Ishiyama thought, glaring at him.
After all, why else would Lancer teach two subjects on top of being vice principal? No one else would take the job with the shoestring salary she could afford to give teachers and in a town with literal monsters roaming about!
The superintendent, however, continued to speak to the angry parents and lawyers.
"Here's my demands for school suspension, which I think it fairly generous given the kind of circumstances we are dealing with. Take it or leave it..." He said rudely.
"Superintendent please. Don't you think that offer is excessive? Especially when the evidence itself has questionable legitimacy..." Jonathan tried, already losing patience with him.
"Yes,this isn't fair to the kids. They're innocent. You are punishing these children based on information that's already proven flimsy due to at least several of them having an alibi, like Tucker and Valerie..." Stella said.
"Yeah, our son may obsess over his gadgets too much but never to use them like this..." Angela tried, and Maurice nodded.
The superintendent only waved his hand dismissively.
"The pictures say otherwise. Plus, I don't see the point of this. We gave your children a way they could continue their education despite their criminal behavior..."The superintendent said.
"Call my granddaughter a criminal again…and see how fast I throw a slander suit against you!..." Ida said with a glare that could melt the North Pole.
"What Ida said!..." Joy said with a frigid tone that could freeze the Sahara.
The elderly matriarchs had quickly become friends since the Strongs moved to Amity Park, especially when it came to protecting their granddaughters.
The superintendent, however, wasn't afraid in the slightest.
"I call it how I see it. A delinquent who will end up in prison unless this problem is dealt with soon..." The superintendent said with a flat look on his face.
Ida scowled furiously and would have assaulted him, but her attorney stopped her.
"Mrs. Manson, please allow us to handle it all. It's why you pay me my retainer fee..."The Manson family lawyer advised.
"I pay you because you're a shyster and don't sugarcoat things or over exaggerate like some sleazy cartoon lawyer. Plus, you're good according to my son and his wife. If you can handle fixing their slip ups, then dealing with corrupted school faculty shouldn't be that much harder..." Ida said, frowning at the superintendent and educators.
"Mrs. Manson. Please don't antagonize the people trying to do their respective jobs..."The district's lawyer pleaded with her.
"HA! Don't make me laugh. If I leave this world, it's not from laughing so hard..." Ida scoffed.
"Darn right. Preach!..." Joy said, a mutual grin was shared between the two elderly women.
"I get the feeling this might make things harder for us… "Stella thought.
"Aren't you going to chastise your other client?..." The district's lawyer asked, taking some offense from her insulting comment.
"As Mrs. Strong is not my client, she is not inclined to listen to my council..." Alex said while Ida gave him a thumbs up for showing off some of his integrity.
"Remind me to give you a holiday bonus after this meeting..." Ida thought while smiling.
The district attorney frowned before returning to Jonathan in complaint.
"Really, Mr. Strong. And here I thought that a lawyer of your caliber and reputation would've taken this situation about your daughter's educational future with a bit of seriousness as a professional..." He said in a snooty way.
Johnathan, Stella, Solene, Kirk and Joy all glared at him.
"You have no right to tell me how I parent my daughter, especially since she is innocent and needs me..." Johnathan said.
"Yes. Our Star is a wonderful child and would never do such a thing!..." Stella said quickly.
"What they said. No granddaughter of mine would do the things you think of..." Joy said, while her husband nodded.
Solene was also in agreement with the others, but stayed silent in order to remain professional and seem impartial. Though she was thinking a lot of negative things about the district attorney and these so called educators too.
However, this display from Joy only made their opponent more confident of his own victory than anything.
"I see you are even desperate enough to bring your mother and father along for moral support..."The district attorney said mocked.
"I ain't just here for morale support, bucko. I'm here for my granddaughter. I came to get you all to see reason, instead I'm here to see the faces of the people too dim or blind to tell the differences between the good and bad students in their school and call them out on it..." Joy said.
"And I see you even condone your mother being disrespectful, Strong..." The district attorney said rudely.
"As her attorney and her son, I see no reason to have her mind her words..." Johnathan said, not seeing any legal reason to stop his mother at the moment.
Not to mention he agreed with her deep down.
"If that's how you wish to risk your own career…" The district attorney said with a dismissive tone.
"Family stands together, that's a motto that I've lived by for so many years during the start of my career and way before that too. So believe me when I say this, I am absolutely determined to prove the innocence of not only my daughter, but everyone involved in that so-called evidence ..." Johnathan said, determined with every fiber of his being.
"Yes. And I will do the same. I will support my baby, no matter what!..." Stella said.
"Plus, that so-called evidence you've got is a total sham to start with!..." Joy said, while her husband silently nodded his head in unwavering agreement.
Kirk, was glaring at high school staff with eyes angrier than any ghost. Lancer was unlucky enough to stare back at the old man and immediately regretted it and felt a little frightened of Johnathan's father.
"That man. He's giving me goosebumps..." He thought, trying to avoid his glare.
"We're wasting time on this! Someone needs to pay and I don't just mean with currency..." Miss Tesslaff said, still angry about her car and wanting the culprit punished.
"Yes yes… we know..." Ishiyama muttered.
"The rest of you needn't be here. You're of no help..." The district attorney tells the Fentons.
"Excuse me, but we're only in this kangaroo court because your boss doesn't want bad press. But we can take this to court if we have to..." Jack said, angry.
"True. There are many reasons we should be here because of my daughter, being framed isn't one of them. Besides my daughter, I've known most of these quote unquote delinquents since kindergarten, the other two through having dated or dating my son and they're excellent young children..." Maddie said, looking at the irritating administrator.
"If anything, I wonder how you became you all became educators if you all jump to conclusions and are so quick to accuse innocent students with no REAL solid evidence..." She added angrily.
"Either nepotism or gross incompetence ..." Stella said.
"Could go either way..." Johnathan said.
"How dare you ungrateful clods?! You raise your children poorly, and when they get too big for their britches, it's suddenly the school system's fault for you screwing up your children?!..." Baxter questioned while his lawyer held him back.
"Don't make this worse, sir!.…" He whispered to him.
"I second for no other reason than to get a break from your blustering..."The Foley's attorney added.
"Third..."Damon said.
One person, however, spoke up something unrelated.
"I still can't believe that no one is even considering the possibility that the kids might have been possessed by ghosts in those pictures..." Jack argued.
"Sweetheart, while I do think that could be within the realms of possibility. I think it'd be better to prove our children and their friends' innocence first..." Maddie said, trying to remind her husband of the bigger picture here.
"Although that wouldn't be the strangest thing to happen within this town..." Stella admitted.
"While there have been quite a number of cases where citizens of Animy Park were under the influence of ghosts in the last few years, I'm afraid that the school board cannot excuse any claims of being mind controlled by ghosts. Especially since there have been far too many false claims the past month alone..." The district attorney said, shooting that theory down.
"It is true. There have been too many false claims from students trying to abuse that supernatural reason to excuse themselves from school activities or cause trouble..." Baxter said, while his lawyer kept trying to back up these with previous claims of students using this very excuse.
The district lawyer even showed over a dozen files of students making false claims of being under the influence of ghosts while breaking school rules when no ghost was ever near school grounds to begin with.
Not surprising that many were by Dash Baxter.
"Besides, ghosts that only happen to appear excessively in our town because of your blasted machine..."Superintendent Baxter said, getting sick and tired of hearing Jack mentioning ghosts every time he meets him.
Lancer nodded with the superintendent's words as his eyes darted up to meet Kirk Strong's eyes once more.
"Don't stare at the old man. Don't stare at the old man. Good gravy! I looked right back in his eyes again!..."Lancer regrettably thought to himself.
He looked away, too fearful to trust his own eyesight.
"Still waiting on word on who fixes the damage to my car..." Miss Tesslaff said impatiently, frowning.
One of the attorney's, however, tried to get them to focus on something important.
"Speaking as one attorney to another, I would advise your client to wait until everyone has arrived and the meeting can properly continue..." Solene said.
"How many blasted lawyers does one gang of hoodlums really need? I'll give a demand that you either agree to our terms or find a school in another district..."The superintendent demanded impatiently, refusing to be cornered by the town's obsessed parents, their rich friends and acquaintances.
"You're one to talk about a gang of hoodlums, considering your nephew and his friends used to abuse their status to get away with everything! Amongst other things, but I believe that's a discussion for a different lawyer for you to talk to... "Johnathan muttered knowing the full extent of the A-Listers privileges from Star who thankfully were now being punished.
"My nephew is a model student and star athlete. Unlike these problem children that all of you seem so determined to see return to this school to further set a bad example towards their peers with their criminal behavior and further make a mockery of our school's tolerance against delinquent/juvenile my nephew has had a spotless...until recently events that is. I can only assume your children had a hand in that. Plus, extraordinary athletics should be rewarded..." Superintendent Baxter, a former Casper High A-lister himself, argued.
"How dare you call our daughter a problem child! Our Jasmine has been a TRUE model student since KINDERGARTEN and you all are too narrow minded to even give her the benefit of the doubt and think maybe it's suspicious that she's been framed for this, along with her friends!..." An angry red faced Jack yelled at him.
"If you have a problem, then feel free to go to ANOTHER district for schooling!..." Superintendent Baxter said, crossing his arms.
'Which would mean leaving Amity Park and Elmerton… and most people cannot pack up and leave on a whim...' Ishiyama muttered.
Joy pulled her sleeve up, ready to assault her until Kirk pulled her back.
"Let's save that for plan… Z..." He whispered, and his wife begrudgingly agreed.
"You have no proof of their innocence. Not to mention the constant misbehavior on school grounds that your so-called innocent children are shown doing from this photograph evidence..."Superintendent added.
"I keep telling you it's all the work of some putrid ghost. Though Maddie did have a point and I admit it could be some human creep too..."Jack said.
"That's good progress you're making, Jack dear but we're dealing with an idiot. Let me do the talking..." Maddie said.
The superintendent simply glared at this display, until he returned his attention to someone with actual sensible reasoning.
"Superintendent, I advise that we wait until everyone shows up for the meeting and keep in mind, this meeting will be recorded and anything you say can and will be used against you..." Johnathan said, sounding serious.
"Who could we possibly be waiting for?!..." The superintendent asked.
"Yes, who else could we possibly be missing? Another lawyer?..." Lancer asked, getting anxious and avoiding eye contact with a still glaring Kirk.
That's when the door opened.
"It's me..."Chief Boyle said, surprising Lancer, Ishiyama, Tesslaff and Superintendent Baxter.
It seems that things have taken an unexpected turn.
Present Time
Star was now alone with Colette in the restaurant's private room. And it was NOT a pleasant scene to say the least.
The tension between these two young women was so thick that you could cut it with a knife. Both were silent as they glared at each other, while felt like a wild west duel and a shooter were challenging one another to make the first move.
Only it was way worse than that.
Star felt like a punching the brat's lights out, but restrained herself. Meanwhile Colette simply wanted to mock the blonde, almost as if she were challenging her stepsister to make the first move.
After a moment, Colette decided to speak up first. And surprise surprise, the first words out of her mouth was laced in criticism.
"Useless peasant, took him long enough to bring you back here. Oh vell, this restaurant could hardly be considered high class for anything but I suppose in a backwards hovel town like this, one must make concessions and settle for what is available..."Colette said rudely, but acted like it didn't matter to her.
Star clenched her fists, and seemed ready to deck her in the nose but her stepsister waved up a hand to stop her from doing or saying anything yet.
"Don't even bother. We may be in a private room but security in this restaurant is, as you say, top notch. Do you really want to add on to your charges now?..."Colette said with a catty smirk on her face.
Star's teeth clenched as she tried to control her anger. She tried her best not to be the one to make a scene in a public place like this. Which would be very difficult, because all she wanted to do was punch the fake redhead's face inside out.
She couldn't do that. At least not yet.
She decided to point out what obviously happened.
"You took my mom's phone and used it to lure me here!..." Star accused.
"Vell, you certainly couldn't come if I invited you to lunch..." Colette said, still sitting down at her table.
"You got that right..." Star said, glaring at her.
Star saw that her wicked step sister still had a few lowbrow tricks to pull off. She noticed that Colette sat calmly in front of her...and no phone in sight.
"Darn it. I really wanted to catch her make a mistake..." She thought.
Too bad that she hadn't brought Tucker, since he could hack and destroy the footage of Danny and whatever Colette had on her. That would have helped.
"What? Do you want to gloat?! You didn't do enough of that already?..." Star asked, feeling the need to shower and burn her clothes.
"Ah no no. I didn't come here gloating, at least not yet. Anyvays, come sit..." Colette said.
Star refused to do so, and her wicked stepsister wasn't the least bit surprised by Star's response. However, her step sister began to make it clear that it was not a request.
"Sit. Otherwise I vill report to ze police how peasant in ze ugly red beret stalked me and took pictures of moi and other girls without permission..." Colette threatened.
Star glared at her, angry and insulted on her friend's behalf.
"His name is Tucker and no one would believe you if you did! He might be a little girl crazy and tech obsessed but he'd never do something like that!..." Star said, disgusted at her behavior.
"He was not born in the right social class for me to even care to remember his name and he is not even cute like Danny for me to even bother trying..." Colette said dismissively.
"He has value outside of how he looks! More so than you do! And so do my other friends. Plus, Danny has way more to offer than a cute face, you witch!..." Star snapped.
"It matters not how venomous your complaints are, seeing as I am immune to your words, but I do agreed about Mon Amore but that use besides zee point. Besides, you know zhose sheep in blue vill believe vhatever I tell zhem vith ze evidence I have..." Colette said with that vile smirk.
"Is that what you call it?..."Star muttered, knowing she would just lie, frame and bribe dishonest people into helping her out again.
"I do not care what you call it. Now sit or else I decide to use Mama's phone to call the police for some new found evidence!..."Colette threatened.
"I can also throw in that you and your peasant friends managed to sneak away despite being grounded under suspension of criminal activities on school grounds..." She added, glaring at her.
Star glared at her but reluctantly sat down. She clearly didn't have a choice at the moment.
Now, both Star and Colette sat down together at the same table. The anger and tension in the room rose and the atmosphere around the two even dropped to a few degrees.
Usually both of these girls would be fighting one another like wild cats by now, but for now they both simply stay civil so that they don't start a scene in a public place such as this. Though it took all of Star's will power to do so.
Even so, the blonde girl just wanted to get on with it but Colette just couldn't resist messing with her a bit more.
"So, zee food. Would you like to try some crepe suzette, zee consommé, steak tartar or maybe something in one of those doggie bags?..." Colette asked in a faux affable way, gesturing to what was on the table.
"My boyfriend's FREEDOM and me and my friends being proven innocent would be wonderful!..." Star said impatiently.
Colette smirked hauntingly at that.
"Oh, I am so sorry. We don't have zhose..."She said in a mocking way, making it clear she won't do that.
Star lost the minimal patience she had.
"Enough with the games, Colette! We both know you have something nasty planned, so just get on with it and stop wasting my time!..." Star said while her step sister pouted.
"You have always been, how you say, a spoilt sport Estelle. Don't you have any sense of fun?..."The spoiled brat whined.
"I think hitting you in the face is fun! Should we do that?!..."Star snapped.
"So barbaric. To think Danny thought you were girlfriend material..." Colette said.
"You want barbaric? Give me some golf clubs and I'll show you how barbaric I can be. Now either shut up or tell me what you want already!..." Star replied, looking like she was about to go through with it.
"Always trying to ruin my fun..." Colette said angrily while the blonde girl just wanted to cut to the chase.
"I don't call destroying innocent peoples lives fun!..." Star retorted.
"So, what do you want? I doubt you called me here just for lunch. So, what do you want?..." She asked, wanting to get to the point.
"I vant us to enjoy our final meal together. Mon petit sœur..." Colette said while checking out her makeup in her compact mirror.
Star didn't like the wording of that. It sounded like she wanted to poison her and she honestly wouldn't put it past Colette to at least think about trying it!
"If you put something in this food, you're eating through a tube for the rest of your life!..." Star warned.
"Do not be so dramatic. Zhis is sImply a formality before the main event takes place soon. After my party will show off to the masses of these idiotic peasants of my higher standing to them, I thought about going somewhere much more impressive to celebrate with Danny..." She said, looking happy as she said this.
"I also thought about taking a trip to somewhere exotic to free myself of the mediocrity of this ghost infected town and bringing Mon Amore along. I hear the coasts of Australia is nice it's lovely zhis time of year, especially after spending half a year in zhis pigsty city or perhaps a vorld tour ve'll see zhe world all zhe luxuries to us..."She said, looking happy as she said this.
"He'd never want to go with you..." Star said.
"He will once he sees what kind of home we could have. It'll be so wonderful. A definite upgrade to that horrid building he calls a house…" Colette said, adding this with a smug look on her face.
"Typical. Classic Colette with her laser focused eye for quality..." Star sarcastically snapped.
Her stepsister glared at that reply.
"Well… it helps that I know quality, unlike some people here..." The spoiled brat said.
Star frowned but noticed something about this conversation. Colette never mentioned anything about Cartland, Kwan or Yolanda yet...and she still seems to think that she doesn't know about them.
"No mention of any of them at all or how we destroyed some of the evidence or about what happened with Kwan. She must not have realized we already dealt with two of her minions yet. Best not point it out to her..." Star thought as she kept quiet and reluctantly listened to her most hated rival.
"Oh, come now Estelle. Vhy zhe sad face?..." The spoiled brat asked mockingly, a faux sweet look on her face.
"It's not sad, it's anger.. It's always been anger, thanks to you..." Star said in an acidic way.
"Well, let's cut to the chase, shall we? You are going to stop trying to interfere with my plans..." Colette said, still as arrogant as ever.
"And why would I do that?..." Star asked, arms crossed.
"Because Danny is mine… and nothing vill change that he's going to see why I'm far more perfect for him than you vill ever be..." Colette said arrogantly.
"Despite what you seem to think, my Danny-Boo is still a lot smarter than you or any of the A-Listers since he could see from day one that you were nothing but bad news. You just can't stand the fact that he didn't fall for your looks or fake sweet French girl act!..."Star spat at her.
Colette glared at that, her haughty and smug expression dropping for a moment in exchange for an angry yet calculating one.
"Don't you EVER call him that ridiculous name again. Mon Amore is MINE now and I will NOT let him go. I freed him from you and zhose swines' clutches! I win, accept it!..." The spoiled brat said in a furious yet unnaturally calm way.
It was quite unnerving to say the least.
"Last I checked, he hasn't exactly said he loves you or become the guy you think he is, so as far I'm concerned, you haven't..." Star said.
"I have already gotten him to say "I love you", and in French no less..."Colette said in a bragging way.
"More like you FORCED him to!..."Star said, knowing better.
"Details, details. It won't matter. After our wedding, I will see my darling being integrated into high society after I finish training him..." Colette said.
Star's fists clenched so tightly that she could've drawn blood.
"He is NOT some dog, Colette!..." The blonde girl said, hating the fact that her wicked stepsister still sees her Danny-boo as some kind of living trophy to show off.
"I know. But we both know that he has more potential than even the finest purebred. Especially with his gifts..." Colette said, smiling in victory.
"After he gets accustomed to his role, I see us enjoying the life of luxury I was born into and by then he'll improve so much that even you vill not recognize him. And once I complete my mission, I shall reward myself by taking him with me, traveling the world and punishing any and all fools that try to get in the way of our perfect life together. We vill be happy while zhe nanny I will eventually hire vill take care of our children whenever I am too busy...the perfect little angels. We vill have ze vonderful life zhat you will not have..." She said, looking smug.
Colette's imagination of a fantasized future with Danny was even more twisted than her dreams, which made Star so visibly sick to her stomach that she nearly puked in her own mouth, but thankfully managed to keep it together.
"Control yourself Star. You are a Strong and you're doing this for Danny-boo's and your friend's sake. Control yourself..." Star reminded herself, barely resisting the urge to grab Colette and attack her.
"Despite your past brainwashing, he vill learn to admire me like the queen I am and he will see that we are destined to be together..."The spoiled brat said, sounding confident while her step sister rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, and a leprechaun will teach pigs to fly hot air balloons to the moon!..." Star replied, making Colette frown even more at her sarcasm.
"Grow up, Colette. I never brainwashed Danny. He chose to love me for me and you just hate that you couldn't steal him..."She yelled at her.
"You forget. I already won. The game is over, you and your pawns have lost!..." Colette said, sending her a glare.
"This is no game, and it's not over. And my friends are not pawns!..." Star said.
"Call zhem vhat you want, it does not matter to me..." Colette said, showing her opinion on friendship before taking a sip of her drink.
"Just know that you VILL learn to accept defeat!..." The fake redhead stated.
"Is this the only reason you tricked me into showing up here, just so you go on talking more about your delusions for the future and hope to make me vomit?..." Star demanded, knowing that there is more she is up to.
Colette smirked, ignoring her insult and moved on to the other reason she invited her here.
"Simple. I wanted to make sure that you weren't going to cancel your birthday party..."Colette revealed.
"What? Why?!..."Star demanded an answer.
"Danny and I have such a wonderful surprise planned and we'd hate to spoil it..." Colette said, looking at her nails.
"Oh well, I'll tell you. The surprise is that you are going to hand over your party to moi instead of canceling it..." She said, like it was obvious.
"Excuse me?! You want me to do what?!..." Star said, becoming even angrier now.
"You are not deaf, Mon petit sœur. You're going to give me your birthday party..." Colette answered, while Star looked at her like she was even crazier.
"No. I heard you the first time! I don't understand why you want this?! My mom's paying for a birthday party that you want the next day, so why would you want my party?! It won't change the day you were born?!..." Star asked, crossing her arms.
"Eet is not obvious? It's yours so I vill take it..." Colette said, saying it casually as if she was simply stating an obvious fact.
Was she serious?! Star forced back her desire to assault Colette.
"Are you really that petty? What am I saying? Of course you are!..." Star said with disgust.
Colette ignored this insult as she picked up her glass filled with with sparkly diet soda.
"It's the last chance I'll have to put you in your place. Beneath me. So, why not savor it?..." Colette asked, taking another sip of her drink.
"Also, I see no reason for you to cancel your party when you have the chance of dedicating it to moi. After all, the celebration of my birthday is worth the minimum of two parties. I'm sure that you can understand that much, right Estelle?..." Colette asked in a condescending way.
Star glared at her.
"I used to think Paulina was an egomaniac but I almost feel like I'm insulting her too much by comparing her to you..."Star muttered, while her step sister frowned.
Colette sent her an annoyed look before she continued.
"Do not mention that idiot who is too stupid to ever be close to becoming my equal. I already wasted 6 months of my life pretending to be her friend and listening to her obsess about Mon-Amore's ghost form. Though I will admit that it is amusing that I am now the one who is dating zee ghost boy whom she dreams of. It iz like, as you say, killing two birds with one stone..." Colette said with a giggle.
"What I'd give to have a stone right now…"Star thought as Colette kept talking.
"A part of me had considered stealing zee ghost boy when Mon Amour was mine, not only as a boyfriend but as a faithful partner and bodyguard. Ironic I got ze boy and ze ghost at ze same time..." Colette said, amused at how things turned out.
"You're such a faithful girlfriend, Colette…" Star snarked.
"Oh, do not be getting zee wrong idea. Mon Amore is zee only one I want. His little secret was just a bonus that sweetened the deal..." Colette said.
"That earned you a bonus black eye when this is done!…"Star thought, while Colette resumed describing her fantasy.
"It vill be magical under zhe spotlight when Danny vill get down on one knee and declare for all of you mongrel peasants to see zhat I'm his first and only true love, better zhan anyone else. Especially you.." Colette said, practically drooling at the mouth right now.
"You're insane..." Star said angrily.
Colette ignored this and continued to talk.
"After ziz, I shall take my Danny to live our "happily ever after", where we'll be le crem de la crem of Paris. But first, I must commemorate zee occasion with a proper party..namely yours...tonight..." She said, still being smug.
"And if I don't?..." Star asked, glaring at her.
"I'm sure ze police vill be very busy locking ze gutter rat peasants behind bars. I mean, zey'll be busy next week. Vhy not let zhem enjoy zheir last veekend of freedom?..."She condescendingly threatened.
"Because they'll be enjoying a lifetime of freedom from you…" Star snarled.
"Keep telling yourself zhat, Estelle. Just know if you try and refuse, I will make sure they will never see each other again. First zhe goth, she's even more infuriating zhan you she, and Grey will pay for touching vhats mine vith zheir filthy lips, zhan the techno geek. I have such delightful evidence against him. And last and almost least is Danny's unfortunate relative, Jasmine. I only wish I could share what I have in mind for her..." She said, her grin growing.
"I am not surprised that you planned to get everyone arrested anyways. Not that you'll get away with it..." Star thought, furious with her even more.
"Well?..." Colette asked, expecting her to respond and accept her demands.
"None of this will work the way you want it to, Colette. Let's say hypothetically you do marry Danny and break my heart doing that. It's not gonna make him love you suddenly. You know that he is just gonna grow to hate you more and more...and you'll just spend your life with a guy who can't stand you! He wouldn't want to touch you to poke you assuming he won't eventually leave once he finally snaps..." Star said, hoping in vain to get her to see some sense here.
Too bad for her, it didn't work.
"Mon Amore WILL love me in time and he will become a proper member of zhe Bevier family. I will make sure of it, even if it destroys us!..." Colette said, acting calm but her voice was laced with a deranged sort of determination that disgusted the blonde girl
"He loves me and he won't leave. I will make sure of it. He iz just playing coy. Your brainwashing is strong but my love will conquer!..." Colette said, her left eye twitched as she said this.
"You really are insane!..." Star said in disgust.
"I do not need to hear your words born of jealousy, Estelle. If you want to blame anyone for having what you don't, blame Mama for not picking a father of a proper social class to have you with. Maybe then I'd almost respect you..." Colette said.
"You have no right to insult my dad, he's the best guy ever! And aren't you being a hypocrite?! Since you just insulted my dad for being born middle class but Danny is middle class too and you keep calling him your love!..." Star said, disgusted by her blatant hypocrisy.
Colette brushed it off.
"Mon Amore is zee exception to zee rule. A diamond in the rough. He, even without his powers is ze exception to ze rule... he's going to realize we are meant to be and I will make sure he confesses his feelings to me at your… pardon… MY party..." Colette said, still believing she had won.
"Oh… and I'm sure you alone got it all figured out, right? Seeing as you managed to handle this all on your own..." Star said.
"Oui. All my doing. You underestimated me and my intellect. I am beauty and brains, after all..." Colette said, still unaware Star knew how it worked.
"Good… she doesn't know I know about Cartland and Yolanda… I can still use this..."Star thought.
"Just remember, little sister. None of this would have happened if you hadn't been so selfish..." Colette said.
"Me? Selfish? That's rich coming from you..." Star said, glaring at her.
"Perhaps, but it was because of your selfishness that I had to resort myself into using my most serious and reliable methods..." Colette said.
"It didn't have to be this way as I want to avoid taking too much of Papa's money, but once it works out, he'll accept it and Danny. You will rue the day you got in my way of happiness and future..." Colette said as she continued her meal.
"For what? For wanting a great boyfriend and not letting you sink your claws into him?! Is that your reason as to why the only boy I've ever loved is stuck in a fate worse than death?!..." Star asked furiously.
Colette frowned.
"Oh, please. I freed him and it is thanks to me that he will reach his true potential as a true elite amongst the elites in high society and above the riff raff of this town. Zhis is how people in zhe real world truly are not zhe fairy tale you live in. There is nothing about you that would make him want to stay with you any more than when he sees he could have more. If anything, I suppose a small part of me should thank you for introducing me to my one true love..." Colette said, acting at the peak of her own arrogance.
"You don't even know what love is, Colette! If you had truly loved him I would've set him free instead of dragging him into the disaster!..." Star said.
"I do not see giving him a pampered life with the illustrious Bevier family a disaster. If anything, it is a blessing and it is not my fault that you regret accepting my papa and I as your better and that you regret zhe circumstances of your birth. It's only the right thing to do. Do it or you will regret it.." Colette said.
"The only thing I regret was ever having him cross your path, you witch. If I could go back and expose my mom to the kind of person her stepdaughter became, I would..." Star said hatefully.
"I know that it was a big mistake to ever think you wouldn't stoop to the lowest point just to take something that never belonged to you!..." She added in anger.
She expected Colette to snap at her, but that's not what happened. Instead, Colette just sipped her drink again, showing that she didn't even bother to listen to Star's words.
"I expect that you will do this, Estelle. If you do not listen, some rather dizturbing evidence shall find its way to the police..." The spoiled brat threatened with that coy, mocking smile on her face.
It infuriated Star even more.
"How does anyone raise or even spawn a kid to turn out like you?! You're nothing but poison, you destroy everything you touch!..." Star spat at her.
Colette just smirked.
"Thank you..." She said mockingly.
Star growled, she was about to lose her self control. She was disgusted that Colette has no shame in this insult.
"I really want to run my saber through you to gloat and say the only dirt left is on your phone!…"Star thought.
However, she was in no hurry to get to prison. At least, not until she gets what she needs.
"You could have just left us alone and none of us would want to hurt you. Be a normal person instead a sociopath stalker and find someone else to harass like the evil witch you are!..." Star said, glaring at her.
"Evil? I am not malevolent, I simply am. I see nothing wrong with taking what is mine and what should not be yours. Besides, it's zhe duty of the nobility to keep the peasants in line. I am only doing my part in educating the likes of you and those who kept him down..." Colette said cruelly.
"I've been to history class. France hasn't had nobles since the revolution. You're no more royal than me, so stop acting like your some princess! Danny's not your knight or king or whatever you think he is!..." Star said, arms crossed and visibly unimpressed.
"He is now! And as for what you said, zhat vill all change vhen Mon amour and I go to France, where we belong..." Colette said, her hands rubbing in anticipation.
"What are you going on about this time?..." Star demanded an answer, not liking the sound of that.
"Be quiet, half peasant. Your better is still talking. But if you must know, I am talking about what I deserve. Zee Bevier family had been known for being the greatest for centuries until the monarchy fell, but my ancestors managed to regain a semblance of our old power through wealth and class. A tradition that I shall continue. Now that I have a superhero under my heel, I'll use him to my advantage. Not just in France but everywhere we go. Queen Colette Bevier has a nice ring to it, don't you think?..." Colette said in a mean way, her eyes gleaming with avarice and a want for power.
"Oh my gosh, she really does want to be some queen. I wasn't being serious when I said that...but it seems that Empress What's her face is still bent on being more..."Star thought, shuddering at the kind of power Colette could have if she made Danny do such things.
Things that go against his very character.
It was obvious that in her eyes, just because she was born rich and felt the world was supposed to bend over backwards to get her whatever she wanted...and that she and that she won't take no for an answer.
It was horrifying how low Colette was willing to go, but again, Star was not surprised to hear all of this from her.
"The more I hear, the more I'm convinced you're somehow Vlad's relative..."Star thought.
Star was so furious that she barely noticed her phone receiving a text. It was a private text message from an unknown number.
While Colette was busy sipping her expensive beverage, Star quickly checked the text. Once she did, her eyes briefly widened before she quickly put her phone away before she noticed.
"So, do we have an agreement Estelle? About MOI'S party?..."Colette asked, waiting to hear the answer she wanted to hear.
There was a moment of dead silence within that private room. Star frowned but sighed bitterly.
"Fine. You win..." Was all Star said, which was more than enough for Colette to be overjoyed with.
Colette smiled.
"Magnifique..." Colette said, acting like she won.
"Now tell your foolish mother you're in no mood to celebrate and think all her hard work should not go to waste. In fact, you should put all that effort into my parties on the double..."The fake redhead ordered.
Star glared more at her but reluctantly nodded. She pulled out her cell phone and made sure that she didn't misread what was texted to her.
I don't know who this is… but I just hope that this will help me. Let this witch think she's won… for now… Star thought.
"I'll do that..."Star said reluctantly.
The fake redhead smiled back evilly.
"I'm glad that you understand your position. It is important to know when you have lost..." She said smugly.
"I'll remember that when this blows up in your face..." Star thought.
Colette waved a hand dismissively, already tired of being in the same room with Star.
"Off you go now. I've got no more use for you, Estelle..." Colette said callously, as she began to eat the expensive steak tartar she had been previously eating.
"Go on, move along. MY boyfriend is expecting me, so off with you and do not let ze door hit you on the way out...or do. Either works, for parting is such sweet ...actually, in this case, it is just sweet..." Colette waved her hand dismissively, smirking at the last words she said.
Star scowled but resisted the urge to angrily talk back at her or to cut her into ribbons. She couldn't lose her temper, not yet..
The blonde girl did her best to keep her cool, then began getting out of her chair and standing up. She was about to leave but turned around as she needed to know one thing before leaving.
"Answer one question for me, Colette. Why?..." Star asked.
"Vhy vhat? I've won the competition. Sooner or later, papa will throw the vench who spawned you to ze gutter for number six and ve'll move to Paris vith my true love Danny for our happily ever after. Vhat does your dumb American head not understand?..." Colette asked, thinking that Star was showing off how little she really knew.
"No, I get that. What I want to know is WHY? Why have you done everything you've done to me since my mom said I do?! Why are you so determined to torture me and take away everything I care about?!..." Star asked, wanting to know exactly why this feud had started.
"Pardon?..." Colette asks impatiently.
"You said something about winning some contest between us but I never recalled doing anything to you to make you think that I was ever trying to compete with you for anything. So why? Why do you go out of your way to mess with my life? At first I thought it was jealousy over my mom… but you clearly don't care for her. So, why do you go out of your way to do all of this insanity? Just tell me why you hate me and what started this whole thing… and I'll leave..." Star said, still disturbed by what she heard yesterday and the look in Colette's eyes.
Before this all started, as a kid, there'd been a naive hope that Star, while she didn't think she'd ever get along with Jean-Puke for stealing her mom, she had thought Colette would be nice and they could be friends or at least get along with each other.
Colette had shown just how nasty she was at their first meeting, almost to inhuman levels. Their next meeting, which was on her birthday, when she 'accidentally' knocked her into a fountain drenching her from head to toe. Colette insisted Star insulted her and started the fight, she even went as far to fake cry too and it all ended with Stella believing her and scolding her, preventing her from even getting her celebratory ice cream that day.
Star just didn't understand why Colette hated her so much. She never tried to antagonize her from the start. She tried to make peace but was met with hostility and cruelty. To have a sister instead of an enemy but it was clear that Colette had other plans from the start.
But what could have possibly been done to kickstart this feud?
Colette was silent for a moment, remaining silent before she grabbed her sparkling glass of soda again.
"Nothing..."She answered calmly, taking a sip.
"What?!..." Star asked.
"Nothing. You did absolutely nothing to moi..." Colette answered, putting her glass down.
"... that's it?..." Star asked, not understanding it.
"Yes. That's it. What were you expecting? That you killed my mother and I wanted revenge? Oh, please, how cliched can your thought process be?..." Colette asks with a scoff.
"I should be surprised but I'm not. I always knew there was something seriously wrong with you, Colette..." Star said, glaring at her coldly.
Colette just continued to smirk at her.
"If I said that I only started this on a whim, would that have been a more satisfying answer?..."She said, still smirking.
"No… but the whole revenge thing would have made sense. So all of this, the lies, the fights, the stealing, the blackmail... you started it because you were bored?! Are you saying you only tormented me for YEARS for fun?!..." Star asked, upset to find all of this was for such a pathetic reason.
"Oui. I just felt like treating someone not of my bloodline as my lesser… that is all..." Colette said.
"You really are a sociopath!..." Star angrily said, seeing her even worse than before.
"I'm sure that was an insult… but I don't see why that would hurt my feelings..." Colette dismissed her.
"You actually are worse than Plasmius. He at least has a reason in his messed up head that he uses to justify what he does. You ruin peoples lives for fun…"Star said in fury.
"You and Mon Amore have both mentioned ze name Plasmius. I don't know who that is and frankly I don't care. I can hope whoever this is finds you as intolerable as I do. If you really need a reason, I suppose you just came along at ze right time. Those idiotic girls who used to do my bidding at my private school had moved away after I stole Darius from one of them, and I needed a new hobby. Stealing your boyfriends was a pleasant hobby but like all things ze game had to end at some point..." The brat said arrogantly.
"That's even worse!..." Star said, while the brat merely shrugged.
"Well… it's not like we were ever sisters… not that I wanted any siblings. I didn't even want that little mishap Mama had, as it meant I wouldn't get all of the money if anything were to happen to Papa…" Colette said, enraging the blonde girl even more.
Hearing her admit such a thing, it was clear that Colette had truly crossed any line of morality and that anything painful or terrible that befalls her was justified.
Star decided from then on she will make sure Colette's life will be ruined from then on for that. However, she also needed to make something clear before she left.
"You were right about one thing, Colette..." Star said with anger in her eyes.
"Vhat vould zhat be?.." Colette asks in a dismissive tone.
"We're NOT sisters and we never were. I just have one real sibling and his name is Pierre. I'm going to make sure he never ends up like you or that skirt chasing scumbag you call a dad..." Star said, her words met with only a disinterested scowl from Colette.
"Vell, you and your mother's little mistake should spend time together, before you are more than likely never seeing him again too. Honestly, I do not care. He is still just some mutt who will never be as great as papa, so do what you want with him while you still can. I will convince Papa to give him to your mother eventually, the children I will have with Danny will be the better heirs anyway..." Colette said cruelly, not caring what becomes of him after.
Star glared at her while the brat showed no regret in her words.
"That last part about Danny will never happen! I will make sure you never ruin anyone's lives again!…" Star threatened her, only to be ignored once more.
"And as I said before, I have already won, so give up already. Now I believe zhat our business here is over, you may act so uncouth vhen a player tries to stretch a game longer than it should go on. Just know that you'll be seeing me again soon, so be ready... Colette said, waving her hand dismissively at her without even looking at her.
"Oh… I will..." Star said, glaring daggers at her.
"And this is the end of our little feud. It was fun while it lasted. Do not feel bad, Mon petit sœur. You were an enjoyable opponent to break but our game had to end eventually..." Colette said, before taking another bite of her steak tartar.
"Au Revoir, Mon petit sœur. May we never meet again unless it's to tell me I'm your superior..." She said, lifting up her glass as if to cheer herself.
Star glared at her before leaving.
While Colette was busy prematurely celebrating her victory over her stepsister with her fancy meal, Star was already several steps ahead of her.
"You have no idea how right you are about one thing. One way or another, we will be ending things between us, you little red dye job psycho..."Star thought to herself, determined to stop her at all costs.
Once she stepped out of the restaurant, she took out her cell phone and looked at the private message again. This text message seemed a bit cryptic, but Star was absolutely sure that this couldn't be Colette's doing.
Since the private text told her about some stuff happening behind the curtain and what to do.
"I'll worry about who this is later..."She thought, wanting to use any advantage.
Even from a place they didn't expect. Even so, she thought about her wicked step sister and what happened.
"You were right about one thing, Colette. Your little scheme is about to end, but you won't like how it ends..." She thought, determined to finish this once and for all.
Elsewhere
Vlad took a deep breath in relief, looking pleased with himself.
"Finally!..." The evil half-ghost said, grinning darkly.
Yes, Vlad had done it. He now had the key to his freedom and revenge.
He had the ultimate plan to circumvent that pesky fairy's protection on that Brutish Neanderthal Alicia and he was going to finally be free of her.
Now, he was back in Colorado with his latest plan.
He, currently invisible, checked the window and saw that his wife was buying even more expensive stuff...using his credit cards again.
"And I want the sauce IN the bowl this time. As much as you're allowed to put in there..." Alicia said as she placed the order.
Vlad frowned.
"Note to self, cancel that order and destroy that card. And maybe buy the restaurant she's ordering from and shut it down..." He muttered.
He looked away, recalling all of the failed attempts to kill her.
He recalled the hitman he hired, who fled. He recalled poisoning her drink, only to find out she made herself immune years ago. He also recalled his vultures who deserted him, which made his blood boil as intensely as the water he plans to drown them in.
"Cowards. When I get out of this, I'm going to pluck those vultures like Thanksgiving turkeys..." He grumbled, hating them almost as much as he hated Puck right now.
He decided he'll deal with them later.
The evil half-ghost smiled, turning off the chalet's security field he'd installed in case Daniel or the failed experiment Danielle attempted to infiltrate his home and stop him. Not that they could.
He was about to get his plan ready, only for a familiar face to appear before him.
"Okay, what is the "genius" plan this time? Gonna see if Behemoth could literally stomach her or are you gonna swallow your pride and politely ask for a divorce and accept her and her sister seeing you as the trash you are?..."Puck mocked.
Vlad snarled at him, glaring intensely.
"I am not telling you! Go away!..." Vlad shouted, while Puck rolled his eyes.
"It doesn't matter whatever this is. I know you will use it in a stupid plot that will blow up in your face, just like all the others..." Puck said, enraging the evil halfa even more.
"LEAVE! BEFORE I TEST TO SEE IF YOUR INSIDES ARE AS UNKILLABLE AS THE REST OF YOU!..." Vlad yelled, furious while the fairy waved it off.
"Whatever. I'm actually gonna step out. Queen Titania invited me on a picnic with her family. I won't miss it just to see you fall flat on your face again." The fairy said, believing Vlad's plan will fail even if he's not around to stop the fruitloop.
"Fall flat?! Ha! Once I am done, the only thing flat will be whatever is left of her!..." Vlad declared.
"Keep telling yourself that. Just know that as long as she wears that ring, she's safe. So, you two can be togethuh fo-evuh! You're welcome!..."Puck said with a mocking smile and childish tone before vanishing.
Vlad growled but somehow managed to regain his composure.
"Stupid fairy..."He grumbled.
Even so, he was confident with THIS plan!
Having constructed a machine powered by ectoplasmic molecules, it would unleash a wave that wouldn't harm Alicia but she would forget having ever met him.
It was brilliant!
She'd not only forget about their marriage, but she would forget about him and finally leave him alone!
He would finally be free of her!
Yes, he did have several debts in the human and ghost zone criminal communities but Vlad could solve that by emptying a bank vault or two or overshadowing some fool into handing over their fortunes for practically nothing. He'd do that just to bankrupt a rival, but Alicia has given him a reason to do it right away.
"I don't care what that overgrown mosquito says. This plan is brilliant and it WILL work. The brute would finally leave and I can be free to destroy any evidence of this sham of a marriage..." He said to himself, determined.
He phased inside, placing the device in his hand. Once he was done, he grinned maniacally.
Now all he had to do was push the button and his "beloved" Alicia would be out of his life for good!
"Checkmate, fairy..." Vlad said, pushing the button.
Soon, his machine came to life whirring with power. He saw that it was quickly powering up and the got excited.
"It's working! Yes, it's working!..." Vlad said, cackled evilly.
That is, until the containment unit started to crack.
"Wait, what's going on?!..." He said, not understanding why it's failing so quickly.
The containment unit for the ectoplasm broke, causing it to ooze out. Vlad noticed sparks coming from the machine and panicked. He tried to stop it but it was too late.
"Oh, fudge nugg-..." He didn't even get to finish his food based curse when the device felt to the floor, exploding and hitting him with radiation.
The blast sent him crashing into a bookcase, along destroying his portable lab and leaving a good chunk of what's inside burnt up.
Alicia, who was in the middle of a nap, was startled awake.
"WHAT THE HECK WAS THIS?!.." Alicia shouted as she grabbed her shotgun and ran to the source of the noise..
All the while, Vlad grinded his teeth. He crawled outside after the explosion but was still smarting from its failure.
His latest scheme literally blew up in his face.
"No, not again!..." Vlad said, hating that it exploded.
"Who's there?!..." He heard Alicia ask, getting him to think.
"Who knows? Hopefully it worked..." He said, trying to be optimistic for once.
He heard Alicia run outside and spotted him, she gasped.
"Vladdy, you're here?! Are you all right?! I heard an explosion?!.. Alicia cried out of concern.
Vlad saw that she recognized him and cursed his rotten luck.
"No, it didn't work!..." He cursed.
"Oh Vladdy, let me carry you, darlin'..." Alicia said as she ran to him.
Vlad screamed.
"OH, BUTTER BISCUITS!..."He yelled as he started running.
Alicia, who once again thought he was playing some game and one of two people in love, got excited and grinned widely.
"Aww… this game again? You little hound dog! I'm gonna hug you and cuddle you to bits!…" She gushed.
"No no no no no! OH, CHEESE LOGS!..." Vlad shouted angrily.
"You can run, Hubby, but you can't hide!..."He heard Alicia call, thinking this was a game they did.
"Must get away, I need to get away..." He painted heavily as he kept running.
He needed to get out of here before she found him again.
"I don't care if she questions it, I'll take to the skies..."Vlad said as he tried to turn into his ghost form and fly away.
Unfortunately, nothing happened
"No! My powers are gone?! Not again!? How?!..."He said, as he hid behind a nearby tree.
He just couldn't believe it.
His latest scheme failed. Now, here he was. Powerless again and running away from that boorish brute who calls herself his wife.
But how?!
"Looks like someone didn't do their calculations right, Vladdy. Geez, you step out for a nice picnic and come back 5 minutes later to pick up some sodas and you miss so much..." Puck appeared, gloating as he hovered off the ground.
Vlad saw him and once again became furious.
"YOU RUINED MY PLAN AGAIN!..." He accused him.
Puck shook his head.
"Not this time, buddy. This flop was all your fault.." The fairy said, smirking.
"What are you babbling about?.." Vlad shouted, yet tried to be quiet to avoid Alicia.
"For starters, you didn't factor in the output rate of adding electricity to the ectoplasm. Not to mention you didn't add any lead shielding to the core, which is why it leaked. That's the same mistake your ol' pal Jack made in New York. There's also the fact that your machine would have run the risk of causing you potential seizures if you didn't have ghost powers, especially if you're standing so close to the thing. I mean, even without those risks, it wouldn't have worked anyways but hey kudos for trying..." Puck said mockingly.
Vlad seemed surprised to hear this.
"How did you know all of that?..." Vlad demanded.
"Don't let my youthful dashing good looks and playful attitude fool ya, I am nearly 2,000 years old and I've actually MET some of the scientists you like to think you're smarter than. I could teach about 40 college courses in every field of science, but I don't exactly have a teaching degree, or the patience for it..." Puck said with a nonchalant shrug.
The evil halfa just glared and his right eye began to twitch a bit.
"... every second I know you makes me want to kill you even more…" Vlad said in a tone that was quiet yet drenched with venom with each syllable.
"I know but it looks like you'll be busy there, Romeo…" Puck laughed, vanishing as Alicia arrived.
"Oh Vladdy, there you are?! My little cherub, I got you now!..." She said, picking him up before he got away.
"OH, SUGAR COOKIES!..."Her husband exclaimed.
Vlad tried to escape but she had a tight grasp on him. His wife didn't notice the pain she put him under either.
"Don't worry, Honey! You rest now and I'll take good care of you. Starting with a lil' tender love and care..."She said, as she puckered her lips for a kiss while her husband panicked.
"NOOO!..." Vlad yelled as he managed to squeeze out of her grasp.
He started running again, while his wife happily followed.
It seemed like Puck's joke would come true. And it would last forever...or at least longer than the evil halfa could tolerate.
Vlad just kept running to avoid his "loving wife". He even ran back inside the chalet since he had few options for a hiding place.
Looking around, he needed a way to escape.
Finding his salvation, he used the secret entrance to his lab he had in his library.
He ran down the stairs, breathing heavily as he made it down. He didn't care much for physical exercise using his ghost powers for more strenuous labors.
"I should have taken the elevator..." He thought, thinking he was safe at least.
He took a long breath as his knees buckled, relieved she was gone.
"At least now I can have a moments peace and try something else..." He muttered to himself.
"WHAT IN THE SAM HECK?!..." Her voice went.
"Oh no, not her! Not here!..." He said as his head whipped up, dread filling his body.
Vlad turned around to see Alicia had followed him down into the lab.
In his desperation to hide, he forgot to close the entrance!
"Vladdy, what is this?!..." Alicia questioned, not knowing about this part of his life.
"Oh...peanut brittle!..." Vlad cursed, while his desire to kill Puck increased ten-fold in that moment.
-To be continued-
Next time on Blackmailed
Countdown to Disaster! II
A/N(1): I dedicate this chapter to my family, my friends and my love for God :)
A/N(2): Special thanks to NeoMark, 61394, Jay The Average Fanboy, BCW, Luiz4200 and RonaldM40196867 for all their help. You guys rock :)
REPLIES to my loyal and totally awesome reviewer:
61394, Jebest4781, Bob the mammoth, Guest99 and CrazyGirl207: Thank you :)
Invader Johnny: Yeah.
Danifan3000:
1) Sorry, no spoilers. I guess that we will have to wait and see what happens.
2) Its not that far, about a couple of mikes from the camp.
3) Hobson likely went to work for someone else and I don't think Star knows him personally.
Guardian1989: How is this so far?
RonaldM40196867:
1) A while back when they were trying to go over their plans.
2) I think healing abilities, like Katara has in Avatar.
3) I added some of them. Thanks again :)
4) Sometimes yes, and sometimes she just doesn't care.
5) 61394 created him and I liked the character enough to add him in this fic.
6) A street gang that causes trouble.
7) Even if they wanted to, they don't exactly have any means of contacting him. Also, Puck can only use the love potion as a punishment and needs Z approval from his superiors.
8) Maybe, but only temporary since her effects only last about a day or two.
9) It is very said and I hope that Martin Mull is resting in peace.
10) I see.
11) Sorry, no spoilers. I guess that we will have to wait and see what happens.
12) Sorry, no spoilers. I guess that we will have to wait and see what happens.
Fiction Realm: Sorry, no spoilers. I guess that we will have to wait and see what happens.
Algerian author: Yes.
Luiz4200: Yeah.
NightShadow2955: Sorry, no spoilers. I guess that we will have to wait and see what happens.
CZS4: Yeah.
Guest: Sorry, no spoilers. I guess that we will have to wait and see what happens.
JDF Legacier Morphicon: Thank you :)
Here are my responses to your questions:
1) Maybe surfing and basketball.
2) Not yet.
3) No comment.
4) Sorry, no spoilers. I guess that we will have to wait and see what happens.
5) Hard to say.
CMR Rosa: Thank you :)
Here are my responses to your questions:
1) I had planned for her to appear for a while now.
2) Its not exactly a theme, or at least it didn't start out that way.
Naruto Hatake: How is this?
Scooter2: Well, they made a truce in Stuck and have more or less gotten along better after that.
:) I hope you enjoyed this! Remember to read and review :)