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.
Court
Chapter 2: Once upon a time (Again)
Danny, Star, Valerie, Sam, Tucker and Jazz went to a nearby picnic table under a shady tree.
Since there was no one around this time, they were free to talk and continue to tell the story without much worry as they told Val about what happened with Walker.
"Walker?..."Val questioned.
"We told you about him. He's the ghost warden who led the town's first massive ghost invasion..." Danny said.
"Oh, right. You said he was the major control freak who tried to imprison you, all over your parent's...anniversary present? Sorry, I'm still confused about that crazy story..."Val said.
"Trust me, it was way crazier experiencing it! But yeah, Walker had a grudge against me since I escaped his prison...after he arrested me on the spot just for being in the Ghost Zone and trying to get my parents anniversary present back, which he confiscated. After that, he tried to trap me in his jail for a thousand years!..." Danny said, while the red huntress just looked stunned.
"That's just nuts! How is any of that even remotely reasonable or rational?..."Val said, looking appalled.
"It's not. That's just Walker being a control freak and mad with power. He did a lot of crazy stuff after that to try and capture me again...from staging that ghost invasion to trying to capture all of us when we were at Summer camp to blackmail me into helping him capture Wulf...and then tried to keep all the other campers prisoner after he thought I kept my end of the deal, just because he felt like it!..." Danny said, frowning.
"That's kidnapping!..."Val said, angry.
She hadn't gone to Summer Camp since she and her dad couldn't afford it at the time and needed to work at the Nasty Burger to save money. But a part of her wishes that she did go, just so she could have had the chance to kick the butt of that ghost warden for what he did.
"It is, but Walker seems to think he is above his own rules or whatever. And trust me, he has done A LOT more terrible things..."Danny said angrily.
"He also really likes to execute his prisoners...or at least that's what he told us..."Tucker added, shuddering at the thought.
"I mean...maybe. He did mention his role as executioner 3 times when we first met, but I'm pretty sure he was just boasting about his authority to seem threatening at the time..." Danny said, frowning.
"How do you even execute a ghost?..." Star asked, confused.
"I don't know, and I don't need to know. But Walker likes to claim that he can do it..." Danny answered.
"Does that mean that there's a cemetery somewhere in the ghost zone?..."Val asked, still confused and even worried now.
"Who knows? All we do know is that Walker's a jerk and the biggest control freak in both worlds...and doesn't care what he has to do to get his way..."Sam said, frowning as she recalled what he tried to do to her and Wulf at camp that one time.
"He's horrible! And that's the NICEST way I can describe him! Just saying he's a jerk with too much time on his hand and who's mad with power is an understatement! Not only is he everything an authority figure SHOULDN'T be, but the fact that he dresses similarly to the GIW just makes it worse in my book..."Star criticized getting angrily as she spoke about the evil warden ghost.
"But his lousy fashion sense is nothing compared to all the awful things he's done! Him framing Danny and the incident at camp was already inexcusable enough but he did he stop there? No! He just had to keep sinking to the lowest possible when he tried to use my baby brother as a bargaining chip and nearly made him a permanent resident in the Ghost Zone!..." The blonde girl said, still furious about that incident and her friend seemed shocked.
"He actually tried to do that to Pierre?!..."Val gasped in shock and outrage.
The others nodded.
"Yeah, and I really wish that I gave him an even longer butt-kicking for that..." Star said, angry and fists clenching as she said this.
"Thankfully, the observants were just as mad at him for what he did and are now keeping him on a REALLY short leash. They also put me and some other ghost, named Zoren, on a special list that makes it impossible for him to bother us or he'd lose his job or whatever and they have been keeping an eye on his work. He's basically been a prisoner in his own jail since then..." Danny said.
"Seems fitting...but what does any of that have to do with Star's dad?..."Val asked, wondering how the lawyer had anything to do with this.
"We're getting to that. Anyway, you'd think Walker would learn his lesson and try and stop causing trouble after that incident? Nope, he just had to keep trying to find new ways to be a scumbag..." Danny said, as he began his tale.
Several months ago
It was before the big trip to New York and before an evil spoiled brat tried to sink to her lowest ever, but we are not focusing on that right now.
It was Friday and school had just been let out. Danny and Star were also happy about one recent discovery.
"You serious?..."Danny asked in an amazed tone, and Star nodded.
"Yes, Jean-Puke is having some big business deal in California this weekend and he is taking Colette with him. Apparently, he doesn't want to leave her around "bad influences" as he calls them all weekend and basically forced her to go with him..."Star said with a smirk, while her boyfriend and their friends seemed glad to hear about that.
"Poor California..." Sam added, while the ghost boy seemed relieved about something.
"Never thought that I'd ever be grateful to that overdressed jerk for anything. Though I do feel bad for California, having to deal with those two snobs for the weekend..." Danny said.
"I'd feel bad for ANYONE having to deal with those two for ANY amount of time..." Star said.
"True..." Danny said, before smiling at her.
"Plus, we have a full weekend to enjoy ourselves without worrying about those pests..." Star said, wrapping her arms around him.
Danny grinned.
"Now that's my idea of a good weekend..." He said, making her smile.
"Mine too..." Star said, and the two shared a quick kiss.
"Bleh!..."Sam said, rolling her eyes at their lovey-dovey display.
"You said it..."Tucker said as he went back to his PDA.
A little later
The teens had parted ways and now the happy couple was now on their way to Star's house to both study and get their homework out of the way, so they could have no distraction for this weekend.
They also kept making plans for how they would spend their weekend.
"So, how should we enjoy our pest-free weekend? See a movie? Go to the beach? The carnival? A picnic?..." Danny offered.
"All those sounds good, but I'm honestly happy as long as we are together...and FAR away from Colette..." Star said.
"Same here, Starlight..." Danny said affectionately, making her smile.
They soon arrived at Star's house and were greeted by Georgia.
"Hi Danny. Hi Star. How was school today?..."The kindly housekeeper greeted them.
"It was great. Even better since we learned that a certain pest with fake hair isn't going to be in town this weekend..." Danny said with a grin.
"I see. So, Colette is going to be out of town? That explains part of the reason for Star's good mood..."Georgia said.
"It's a pretty big part and I'm glad that I won't have to deal with that pest. I'm also super glad that I'll have the whole weekend to spend with Danny-boo without having to look over my shoulder to watch out for any unwanted pest bugging us..." Star said, glad about that.
She then smelled something delicious and smiled.
"Ooh, something smells good..." Star said, feeling hungry now.
"I just baked an apple pie. Want some?..."Georgia offered, as she pointed to one that was cooling right now.
"Yes, please!..." Danny and Star both said, excited.
The housekeeper smiled at them.
"Well, good news. I've made plenty..."She said, as she went to serve them until she recalled something.
"Oh, Star. Your father is home right now, but he is in his home office right now..."Georgia said.
"Dad's home? It's rare that he's home before dinner time..." Star said.
"His court date was rescheduled, and he needed to return home for making some new updates with his clients. He is also in the middle of a very important call. So, can you both please keep your voices low? He asked not to be disturbed..."Georgia requested.
"Got it, Georgia. We'll be quiet..." Star said, miming zipping her lips as the maid went to serve them some apple pie.
The half ghost boy did the same, but with a "locked key" hand motion added to it before they both began to enjoy the delicious dessert.
Present Time
"Uh, where are you guys going with this? All you guys are talking about is being glad Colette is out of town and apple pie. What does any of that have to do with that ghost warden?..."Val complained, not seeing how any of that is relevant.
"We're getting there. Just giving the entire context. I promise that all of this will make sense once we tell the whole story..."Danny answered, and Star nodded.
"They do that a lot..."Tucker told his sort-of girlfriend, which is something they didn't really talk about yet.
"Trust me when I say that you'll have less questions, if you just let the two of them finish their story their way..." Jazz advised.
"If you say so..."Valerie said, not arguing with anyone on this topic, as the couple tried to continue their tale.
"Now, as I was saying, while Danny and I were eating, my dad was in the middle of a super important work call and before you ask, he was on the phone with one of his clients..." Star continued.
Back to the story
Mr. Strong was in his home office, in the middle of his important phone call with one of his regular clients.
"Mr. Montez, as your lawyer I advise against this action. Mayoral terms in Amity Park are only 4 years, so think of your chances of getting re-elected. I suggest that you hold off any new announcements related to dealing with our town's ghost problem until after your re-election. Though I still advise you to talk about this to one of my colleagues who specializes in these sorts of matters..."Johnathan said, while the former mayor kept complaining.
"Good point, we'll talk more tomorrow. But I still think the anti-ghost dome around the Amity Park may blend well with the voters and help with my image. Plus, I doubt that even the Fenton's would be opposed to this idea. In fact, I'm certain that I can convince them to help in the planning phase of this idea..."Mr. Montez said, since he didn't want to hurt his chances for a future re-election.
"Let's hope not..." Johnathan thought, already tired of this.
He was a defense attorney, albeit the best one at his law firm and he regularly works with politicians, celebrities and anyone else who could afford his law firms rates. But ever so often, some of his clients tend to exaggerate their predicaments or make mountains out of molehills. He has had Mr. Montez as a client for years since he first became mayor of Amity Park and has been working with him as a client ever since. Even now, he tends to call and asks for legal advice on trivial matters just for the mere fact he was the best lawyer at his law firm, even though technically speaking what he is asking is not his specialized field of law and he recommended asking one of his colleagues about this sort of thing.
After a few more minutes of listening to the former mayor's rambling, the phone call ended, and Johnathan sighed.
"Another day, another client with more money than sense. I just hope that he actually listens to my advice and asks a lawyer who does this as a living. It's probably his only chance to stay out of trouble if he wants any chance to beat Mayor Masters in the next election if he tries running again..."He thought, rubbing his temples in annoyance.
Johnathan, in a moment alone, slammed his head on the wall out of irritation, not caring how much it hurt.
Former Mayor Montez wasn't his only client he dealt with today. He also had to deal with a frustrating client who caused a ruckus over a parking ticket, and another client who, due to being the wife of some rich man, acted VERY aggravated about her neighbor painting his house a color that she apparently didn't like and then called him demanding he made the "problem" go away and got upset when he explained that her neighbor didn't break any rules since he got permission from their neighborhood's homeowner association, and she tried to argue about it, along with a bunch of other nonsense.
And those were just SOME examples of what he dealt with today.
The fact that he was getting paid handsomely for the work did little to make his migraine go away to say the least.
He let out a tired sigh.
He loves his job as a lawyer and took pride that he was able to do his best and keep his pristine reputation in the law world but lately, some of the clients he had been getting had lots of money but little common sense and some of them were just snobs who pushed the limits of human decency. It drove him insane at times but even with his high-ranking position at his law firm, even he had to deal with frustrating clients and prideful incompetence.
"How did I end up agreeing to work with people like that? I think that I'm a great lawyer, but it's not like I'm the only one in this town. Plus, this is just minor stuff that could be avoided if they were just more decent or at least tried to be practical and accept that there is only so much I am legally able to do. I remember back when all I did was help the little guy, reveal the truth and defend people who actually needed my help..."He thought, trying to recall his earlier career life.
Remembering how much more ambitious he was when he was younger and studying really hard as he worked his way up into getting in at law school and later graduating as one of the top students, to later getting a job offer from the law firm he wanted. And during all of that time, he worked his hardest to make sure that the law was followed and to help those who truly needed his help and protect their legal rights.
And now...he was giving legal advice to clients who want to advance their own careers or pushing the boundaries of the law as far as they could. It was enough to give him a migraine and if that's not enough of a problem, his girlfriend was out of town, and he won't be seeing her this weekend at all.
With his and Solene's work schedules and commitment, they mostly get to go on dates during the weekend, which was another bummer for him.
"Why did Solene have to pick this weekend to go visit her sister in Chicago?..."He thought, since that was another reason why he was feeling down right now.
He sighed, feeling tired and frustrated, before he noticed a delicious smell and smiled.
"Ooh, pie..."He said as he left his office for a moment and went to the kitchen, his mood lifting only slightly.
There, Georgia was serving slices of apple pie to Danny and Star.
"Hi Dad..."Star said, happy to see him.
"Hello there, Mr. Strong..."Danny said politely.
"Hey, you two. Surprised you're both here. Also, you can relax Danny...you know that you can just call me Johnathan..."Johnathan said.
"Right...Sorry..."Danny said shyly.
"If you're here for the apple pie then you're in luck, cause Georgia baked plenty..."Star said, while the housekeeper served the dessert.
"Want some, Mr. Strong?..."Georgia offered as she served him a slice of apple pie too.
"Ah, Georgia. You always know what I need to brighten my busy day..."Mr. Strong said, smiling as he looked at the tasty dessert.
"I suppose I should since I have been working for you for over 18 years..."Georgia said with a light smile as she went back to her chores.
Danny and Star kept talking to her father, while eating and greatly enjoying each other's company. Not to mention enjoying their slices of apple pie, which each of them had a second helping.
"So, how's work, Dad?..."Star asked, as Georgia brought them some ice cream to go with their dessert.
"Same old same old, Princess. New clients come and go, while bringing with them some vaguely similar problems that I've seen before..."Johanthan said, as he began to eat some of his apple pie with ice cream.
Both Teens noticed the somewhat bored tone in Johnathan's tone, but the blonde man simply waved it off as his usual routine when dealing with particular clients like these.
"You okay, Dad?..."Star asked, and her father nodded.
"I'm fine, Princess. I just have a lot of work to do and needed a break is all..."He said, as he ate his dessert.
"Hmm...Dad looks deep in thought. I know Solene is out of town but she'll be back in two days, so I don't think he'd be like this. He has been working a lot more these past few weeks. Maybe I should make sure he remembers to take a day off soon..."Star thought, since her dad is a workaholic but he means well.
Her father happily ate his dessert and began to chat with them.
"So, kids...the weekend just started. Any plans that I should know about?..."Mr. Strong asked his daughter and her boyfriend.
"Well, since Colette is out of town...thank goodness...we want to enjoy it as much as possible. Danny and I are going to see a movie after this, go bowling and get some pizza afterwards. For tomorrow, we're still trying to decide if we'll be going to the waterpark or have a picnic by the lake..."Star answered.
"If not that, then probably both. We're too happy not to..."Danny said, smiling.
"I see. Well, have fun kids. Anyway, I best get back to my office..."Johanthan said, as he still has a long list of clients to attend to today. "And Star, remember to be home by curfew..."The father said in a stern yet caring tone of voice.
"Don't worry Dad, I won't be late..."Star promised, though she wasn't too confident unless there are no ghost attacks today.
Mr. Strong soon left, taking his dessert with him and saying goodbye since he had a lot more work to do.
Danny and Star continued to make plans for the weekend, unaware that someone in the ghost zone was in the middle of making plans of their own.
Meanwhile
In the Ghost Zone
Walker, the warden of the ghost zone prison was in a REALLY bad mood right now. The same bad mood he has been in for months and it didn't go away, even as he worked.
Right now, he was talking to a multi-eye ghost in a toga from Pandora's realm, who had been minding his own business before the warden spotted him and ordered his men to bring him here.
"Why am I here? I was just trying to cross Carnivorous Canyon since Pandora is trusting me to pick up her lunch from a diner that is near there and she is expecting me back any minute..."The ghost complained.
"Crossing Carnivorous Canyon without looking both ways...that-..."Walker said, before pausing.
Normally, he would say "that's against the rules" but he could feel a certain camera looking at him, watching his every move. He sweated as his bosses were STILL watching his every move and he knew he had to be careful.
Even now.
He checked his rule book and groaned when he saw that TECHNICALLY SPEAKING, there is no rule against what this ghost had been doing.
"That's...not against the rules. You're free to go..."Walker said with a false smile, sounding deader than any ghost.
The multi-eyed ghost just smiled in relief.
"Finally, what a waste of time. I just hope I can get back with her lunch before Pandora gets impatient..."He said, sounding glad and floated away from the prison.
Walker watched the multi-eye ghost leave, and his fists clenched, along with his teeth. His right eye was twitching, and he was almost foaming in the mouth from his anger.
"You're free to go. Bah! I hate saying that!..."He grumbled, fuming.
After that incident with Phantom, his girlfriend, Zoren and that human baby, he was still under his punishment from the Observants. He was under constant surveillance from them and also due to certain new policies they added, he also couldn't do his job the way he LIKED doing it and about 90 percent of the ghosts he came across, he had no choice to let go since they "technically" didn't break any OFFICIAL rules.
It was driving him MAD!
Even worse, Phantom is still under that special list that made him off limits to Walker and he couldn't arrest the brat no matter how much he wanted to.
That is what hurt the most.
That punk had damaged his reputation, broken out his prison and him flying free was a mockery to him!
"This is all that punk's fault, as well as that scoundrel Zoren! If only I can get them off that lousy list, then I'd make them both sorry they ever met me!..."Walker thought, furious but he knew that he couldn't do anything without invoking the Observants wrath.
He was already on thin ice as it is, and if he angered them again...he didn't want to even imagine what they would do him.
"If only there was a way to get that ghost brat off that list and lock him up in a cell where he belongs. What I'd give for everything to go back to normal..."Walker thought, frustrated as he, in a fit of anger, kicked a discarded can and it ricochet off the walls and knocked some old books off his bookshelf.
"Oh, for the love of Pariah Dark..."Walker grumbled as he went to clean the mess up and hope that little outburst wouldn't get his boss's attention.
As he tried to get the books back in order, he noticed one particular book. It was a very old rule book, one that belonged to a previous ghost zone warden, long before Walker's time here.
"Huh...the first ever edition of the rules..."Walker said, curious as he looked at it. "Created by the ghost zone's first ever warden. Hmm...interesting..."He said, as he checked it out of curiosity.
He merely glanced at it first and saw that it was an old rule book with practically all the rules being long abolished or rules that were already in his Walker's current rule book. After a few moments of looking through some pages, he frowned.
"Why am I even bothering with this? This is useless, just like everything else that I've tried to do to get the half ghost punk locked up again! If only I could find a way..."The warden thought, already losing interest.
He was about to put it away, until his eyes landed on a random page that caught his attention. Something very interesting to him to say the least.
"Wait...what's this?!..."Walker said, as he went back to that page and quickly read it like his after life depended on it.
Once done, the evil warden had a shocked, amazed and ultimately an EVIL expression on his face as an idea formed in his head.
"That's it...THAT'S IT!..."Walker shouted as he began to laugh manically, which made his guards worried when they heard that.
"Sir, what's going on?!..."One of his guards said as several went inside, only to see their warden laughed and holding an old rule book in his hands like it was some long-lost love.
"THIS IS IT! THIS IS MY TICKET TO FINALLY CATCHING THAT PUNK!..."Walker cheered, as he even kissed the page in joy, while his subordinates looked at him like he just lost his mind.
"Ahh...I didn't know that the warden loved books so much..."One of the other ghost guards quietly whispered to the other ghost guard.
"Neither did I, but let's just remain calm and NOT point any attention to that for now..."The first ghost guard quietly replied, but another guard, not hearing them, ruined their plan.
"Uh...sir..."One guard said hesitantly.
Walker snapped out of his episode, turned to them and glared menacingly. An aura of dread filled the room making the guards knees metaphorically shake as their boss started yelling at them.
"What did I say about being in here without permission?! Get back to your posts before I lock all of you up in solitary confinement! You hear me?!..."He ordered, making his guards flinch.
"Y-Yes, sir!..."His guards said, before leaving the office.
Once gone, Walker turned to the old rule book and smirked darkly as he read the pages again, committing them to memory. The evil ghostly warden then smirked widely, as more evil ideas formed in his mind.
"Enjoy your freedom, Phantom. Once I am done, your days will be numbered. I'll make sure of that..."Walker thought darkly as he left his office to go meet with his employers, all the while making his own plans for revenge and possibly getting his old life back too.
Outside his office
"Phew...I think we might have dodged a major bullet back there..."One of the ghost guards said, now that the warden was completely out of ear shot.
"What are talking about? Vice-warden Bullet isn't even here. I'm pretty sure he's in the training hall..."The other guard responded in a confused tone.
"That's not what I mean-...oh, never mind. Let's just continue standing our posts in silence, until our shift is over..."The first guard said.
"Hey, Do ya ever wonder why we're here?..."The second guard asked, but was met with continued silence from his fellow ghost guardsman.
"Guards! Stop blabbing and get back to work!..."Bullet said as he floated by and both guards went back to their duty, not wanting to risk getting reprimanded again or worse.
Present Time
Star had been in the middle of explaining the story, but Valerie interrupted due to being confused about something.
"Wait...how did you know that Walker was planning? I doubt that creep would just tell you guys what he was planning just like that? So how?..."Val asked.
"You remember how Technus would sometimes go into his villainess monologue whenever he thinks that he's about to win? Well, apparently, he's not the only ghost villain who does that. A lot of the guards at Walker's prison apparently like to gossip too..."Danny said, as he sighed.
"Also to answer your last question, Tucker hacked into the Ghost Zone prison's security camera system and found a lot of footage of some random ghost guards just standing around and talking..."Sam said.
"It's more like their floating around and talking..." Jazz corrected.
"Whatever. Anyway Tucker, for some reason, thought it was funny and downloaded nearly all of the conversations and antics of the ghost guards and sent to all of us..."Sam continued.
"Oh, come on! Some of the stuff those ghost guards talked about was kind of entertaining..."Tucker said, trying to defend his actions.
"Yeah, they are but back to the point. It's a tradition here. Plus, you're new to the whole superhero thing, Val, but I'll let you in on a secret. Bad guys like to gloat ...if I had a nickel for every evil monologue I've heard, I'd be richer than Vlad right now..."Danny said as he sighed annoyed.
"I think you're underselling how much the bad guys love hearing the sounds of their own voice, Boo. They like talking about themselves almost as much as Paulina does..."Star muttered.
"And that's saying something. She talks and talks... sometimes with words I didn't think she knew..."Sam said, since she has been helping Danny since the beginning of his ghost fighting career.
"Uh huh. They always go on how inferior we are and how inevitable our defeat is..."Tucker said, recalling a lot of past adventures.
"And how the world will soon be mine...before we kick their butts and send them back into the Ghost Zone..." All of Team Phantom finished before chuckling a bit in amusement while Valerie thought about what they said.
"They have a point. I don't really have an actual rogue's gallery, just some of Danny's enemies picking a fight with me. And even then, I don't think they even bother to give me a proper name or insult, since Red Huntress feels more like a description than anything. Plus, I'm a little curious what Tucker found on the ghost guards that he thinks is entertaining, but I'll ask him about it later..."Valerie thought, not looking forward to eventually getting an enemy who would evil monologue at her.
"Anyway, I think that we're getting a little off track here..."Star muttered before continuing with her story.
"Right...Anyway, like I was saying. The weekend was just getting started..."Danny began.
"Yeah, and my dad had just stepped out when-..."She said as she continued with the tale but was cut off when Danny's ghost sense suddenly went off.
"Oh man...seriously?..."He complained, when they suddenly saw some ectopuses nearby as they flew by a produce crate and started harassing the owner and customers.
The heroes were surprised to see the ghosts causing trouble.
"Didn't Ember say your enemies would give you a week off?..."Sam complained.
"Well, the ectopuses aren't what I call intelligent and calling them enemies is a bit of a stretch. They are more like wild animals that cause trouble, like the ghost zone version of vermin, which might explain why they probably didn't listen to her..."Danny said, as he saw one eating one of the vegetables from the cart.
"At least they aren't much of a threat, just pests..."Tucker said as the octopus-like ghosts then attacked the crate, destroying the produce in it.
"My red cabbages!..."The rightful owner of the crate yelled in dismay, getting the attention of their heroes.
"I've heard of art imitating life but not the other way around..." Sam said, while the ghosts kept causing a ruckus and they knew that they can't ignore it.
The ghost boy of the group sighed.
"I'll be right back..."Danny said, decided to take a little break from telling this story that is nowhere near over yet.
-To be continued-
Next time on Court
Walker's Plan
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 and BCW for all their help. You guys rock :)
REPLIES to my loyal and totally awesome reviewer:
RonaldM40196867: I was inspired by an episode of Batman: The Animated series, where Batman was put on "trial" by his enemies.
Fiction Realm: I see.
Invader Johnny: Sorry, no spoilers. I guess that we will have to wait and see what happens.
CMR Rosa and JDF Legacier Morphicon: Thank you :)
Luiz4200: Yeah.
Soggy Fysher Woods: Hello. I apologize for that. I hope this chapter makes up for it.
Jay The Average Fanboy: I will explain the timeline another time, I hope that's okay.
:) I hope you enjoyed this! Remember to read and review :)
