Theft

by Flower princess11

With Colette gone, Danny and Star thought they could finally relax. Unfortunately, Vlad is back and steals the infi-map again for his own evil plans. Star, Danny and the others have to stop him and get the infi-map back at all costs. At the same time, Stella is still processing what happened with Colette and dealing with the aftermath. Takes place a week after Blackmailed.

2. Now What?

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom or any of the characters. Danny Phantom is the sole property of Butch Hartman, Nickelodeon and Viacom International.

---

Theft

Chapter 2: Now What?

Danny and Star managed to get to class on time before the bell rang, fortunately.

Afterwards, class had started, and the happy couple took notes, listened to the substitute teacher and secretly passed notes to each other when they were sure he wasn't looking.

Danny was also extra glad he no longer felt the creepy, longing gaze of a certain stalker of his no longer staring at him during class time. Another huge relief.

Now it was free period, and our favorite couple was currently in the middle of one of their favorite things to do. Making out in private and flirting with each other, and NOT having to worry of dealing with a certain pest this time around.

"I wuv you, my adorable little Starlight~..."Danny said in a cutesy manner.

"I wuv you too, my cute little Boo Boo~..."Star said in a similar cutesy manner, giggling as they kept flirting with each other.

Mia, Rebecca and Paige, who were nearby, all saw this and couldn't help but find it adorable.

"Aww!~..."They all went, gushing at the sweet and adorable scene between the happy couple.

Meanwhile, Danny's friends were also nearby, and this was their reaction.

"Bleh! Do they have to act so nauseating right now? They have been like this all week!..."Sam said, rolling her eyes at their antics.

"They are most likely just enjoying the fact they can do this anytime they want to and not have to worry about looking over their shoulders for you-know-who..."Tucker pointed out.

"Probably. I say that we just let them have their moments for now. Eventually they'll simmer down the cutesy talk, once it's fully out of their systems. I hope..." Jazz theorized, while the others sent her a look.

"We're seeing you around school more often now. Why?..."Tucker asked out of curiosity.

"We just have similar schedules this semester...but I'm usually still busy getting ready for graduation that's just around the corner and sending my college applications..." Jazz said with a shrug, not seeing anything wrong with her being more present amongst her ghost hunting teammates on school grounds.

The other two teens simply shrugged their shoulders and accepted that brief explanation. That was when they heard the new principal speaking through the school's intercoms, making the regularly routine school announcements.

"Now students, let's not loiter in the halls. Remember to get to class on time, alright..."Temporary replacement Principal Falluca said, as he was acting in Ishiyama's place for the time being.

With the lawsuit pending and the superintendent in deep water, the school was under new management.

The school board had NOT been happy with the superintendent, who had saw fit not to inform the rest of the board about Colette's fake evidence and how he went about deciding to throw out the "problem children", when Jazz, Sam, Tucker and Valerie were falsely accused and how unprofessional he behaved during the investigation. They convened and had ordered a vote of on removing him from his position.

The board is also still in the process of voting whether or not to renew Lancer's and Ishiyama's contracts, citing that instead of blindly obeying the former superintendent they should have called the police and gone through the proper protocol. The other school staff that were involved in that ordeal were dealt with similar punishments or received the same warning of whether or not they will be renewing their contracts.

Though the ones who at least tried to do their jobs the right way were given another chance, and not met with that same punishment.

Miss Tetslaff, the interim vice president, who, despite her own personal doubts about the situation at the time, had called the police when the car she was going to donate was stolen and actually had the decency to apologize to the kids and tried to make things right once she learned what happened and didn't argue against the rightfully angry parents, which was part of the reason she was given a lesser punishment. She was reprimanded for her own role in the mess, but it was still better than what the superintendent's punishment and she is currently forced to act as temporary vice principal until a replacement could be found.

She walked down the halls, looking uncomfortable in her suit and tie and wishing she could be acting as coach right now and not deal with all the paperwork back in the office.

"I ain't cut out for administration. The sooner the school board finds a replacement vice principal, the better..."Tetslaff, thought, adjusting her collar with a frown on her face.

This wasn't the only change either.

With the found hush money from Jean Luc and Colette and some donations from certain parents that were now being renegotiated, the school board had approved a new budget for every school in Amity Park and Elmerton instead of the bare minimum Baxter gave before, so there were more new teachers walking around which meant the A-listers and the other bullies were getting caught more and more.

They had been getting punished before but there was only so many teachers being on alert at the time and there had been occasions that they managed to sneak around and mess with the other students. That is no longer possible due to the changes made recently.

Needless to say, most of the A-listers found this new change to be very unfair towards their benefit. Leaving some of them with little and few ways to express their respective anger with all the changes in their high school and whenever they tried, they were caught and received the proper punishments.

In other words, they all got what they deserved.

---

With Danny and Star

Our favorite couple was walking down the halls while holding hand with their fingers entangling each other and being as lovey-dovey together as possible.

So much that their friends had left them alone and the two lovebirds kept talking sweetly to each other as they wanted to enjoy the few minutes they had left before they had to get to class.

"This is nice, not having to deal with pests and I can enjoy free period and lunch without having to look over my shoulder. I also can't wait to spend the whole day with my favorite girl after school..." Danny said, making her giggle.

"Me neither, Danny-Boo. We could go to the mall and try out their new photo booth for couples..."Star said, blushing.

"Sure. Can't wait, Starlight..."Danny said, just happy they can do this and not have to worry about being bothered by a certain brat anymore.

The young loving couple couldn't help but to make plans to spend more time together after school. And right now, they were enjoying their time together in between classes too.

"Boo, I'm getting a little thirsty..."Star said.

"There is a vending machine near here. We can grab something there..."Danny offered.

"Works for me..."Star said as she went there with him.

As soon as they got there, they ran into a familiar face. One that used to be a sort of enemy and was now was a sort of ally. Or rather, someone whom they both had made peace with.

"Oh. Hey, Kwan..."Star greeted.

"Hey guys..."Kwan said, feeling a bit awkward now.

They had been on better terms since the birthday party incident, but things were still somewhat awkward between them and the jock wasn't even sure what to say now. The half ghost boy noticed the friendly jock looking a bit lost for words at the moment, so he decided to be the one to break the ice.

"So...how is the non-A-List life so far?..."Danny asked.

"I will admit it, it's been pretty weird, and some people are on edge around me. I mean...I did act like a big jerk to a lot of guys, and I doubt they'll suddenly wanna act all buddy-buddy with me...or even pretend to like how Sam and Tucker did that one time..."Kwan said awkwardly.

"Well, you also kind of push that friendship on to them that time too..."Danny thought but kept it to himself.

Kwan sighed.

"At least some guys on the team will still talk to me, the decent ones and I'm somehow still the vice-captain of the football team. Somehow..."He said.

"Really? I'd figure that Dash would've tried to convince the team to toss you out by now..." Star said, since she knew how petty that jerk is.

"Trust me, He definitely tried. But after everyone remembered how Dash was the one who invited you-know-who into the A-listers and she soon had it under her thumb and treated most of everyone beneath her ever since she first moved here...well, most of the football team blames Dash for most, if not all the trouble she brought on to them because of association..." Kwan explained, thinking that his football team blame Dash more than feeling betrayed by him.

"Really?..."Danny asked, and Kwan nodded.

"Yeah...But they still see Colette as the main bad guy. Anyway, that's one reason. The other reason is that they still need me to be running back if we want a chance to make it to the championship..." Kwan said, since it was no contest that Kwan was one of the better players on the team.

"I guess that reasonable enough..." Star said, while Kwan could feel piercing glare of eyes behind him that he tried to ignore since he knew who it was.

He then noticed Dash glaring at him from a distance, which the dark-haired jock ignored and continued talking with Danny and Star.

"Plus, I'm pretty sure that Dash is looking for any excuse to find a way to bully other students without getting caught. All the new teachers are making sure he doesn't cause any trouble, and he doesn't like that..." The jock said, before sighing.

"I admit that outside the team, there are few people who want to talk to me after everything I used to do as an A-Lister...which I guess I can't blame them for that...but at the same time, it also feels nice not to have to follow Dash's orders and not care about popularity or worry about what other people are constantly thinking about me or what I'll be doing next. It's actually pretty freeing not having the massive weight on my shoulders anymore..." Kwan said, smiling since to him, it felt nice that he didn't have to worry about the never-ending peer pressure of being at the top of popularity of the school hierarchy.

"I know the feeling..." Star said, since it had been so freeing not dealing with Paulina or her expectations anymore.

Now Kwan was getting a taste of that same freedom and sooner or later, his life is only going to get better from here. After all, she highly doubted anything worse could happen than having to deal with Colette as a "friend".

"I hope that someday soon Kwan can find real friends and someone special like I did. He deserves better than those jerks at the very least..." Star thought, being optimistic and honestly hoping for the best for her ex-boyfriend.

They then noticed that a certain blonde jock was still glaring at them but walked away when he noticed a nearby teacher. The three teens could easily tell that Dash's fists were balled up with rage and desperately wanted to punch something or someone.

"Was he glaring at me or you?..." Danny asked, since it was hard to tell.

"Probably the both of us..."Kwan answered, frowning.

"He, Paulina and the rest of the A Listers have gotten in three times more trouble than before with the new teachers and for some reason, Dash is blaming me and you guys..." Kwan answered.

"Why? How does any of that make even the least bit of sense?..."Danny asked.

"I think Dash's uncle purposely shifted the blame of his mistakes onto others like his nephew does, making it so that Lancer and Ishiyama would be dealing with some of the backlash too. While he tries to seem less at fault, which failed...and because of that, the school board made a lot of changes that got us all the new, stricter teachers in the first place..."Kwan said.

"That explains a lot..."Star agreed.

From what little she knew of the man; he was a bullheaded man who didn't seem to like taking responsibility for any major issues and being against people who disagreed with him. It was obvious that he was related to Dash.

"What's worse is that before that happened...the main reason Dash and the jocks got special treatment was because the superintendent made it like that and with the budget being lousy back then, the teachers didn't have much of a choice but to listen to him and whatever parents that were rich enough to donate at the time. Now that he's getting fired, he's lashing out and trying to get back at anyone he blames for what happened..."Kwan said.

"That's horrible. Aren't teachers and superintendents supposed to set a better example to the students? You'd think that the superintendent would try and set a better example...or at least walk away with whatever dignity he had left..." Danny said, frowning.

"He didn't pretend to understand how schools were run, apparently he got his job through family connections too but all the guy was is be cheap and act like a bigger version of his nephew. Dash even once told me he used to be a quarterback for his school's team back when he was in high school, so maybe that had something to do with this favoritism. While the teams Dash was on got new equipment and the funding, any damaged caused by ghost fights to other programs had to work with either parent donations or what little budget the city gave them. Or at least that's what I heard my parents complain about after they came home from that big PTA meeting after Colette was arrested. Apparently Dash's uncle didn't exactly leave peacefully from what I heard..."Kwan explained.

"I remember that. My parents were complaining a lot after they returned home..."Danny said, before he frowned harder as he thought of that so-called educator.

"What a cheapskate. He couldn't even bother to at least try and act like a real educator and use his common sense..."He said as his girlfriend leaned into him.

"That's assuming he had any to begin with. Though, I'm not sure what I was expecting from someone related to Dash of all people..."Star muttered, before turning to her ex-boyfriend.

"And let me guess, because my dad is the one who is leading the lawsuit and getting him replaced with someone more responsible, not to mention competent...in response Dash is pointing his misplaced anger on us, and he and his stupid friends are blaming me and Danny by proxy just because the teachers are doubling down on being strict, am I right?..."She guessed.

"Pretty much..."Kwan said.

"Figures. The old superintendent and Dash are like two peas in a pod. Stupid and selfish..."Danny said, frowning.

"No kidding, Boo. That whole group is nothing but stupid and selfish. Just a bunch of rich kids who think they're better everyone else and act like they have a right to be mean to whoever they deem beneath them. At least I realized what I was doing wrong and changed when I left the group. I guess some people just aren't willing to change and accept when they are the ones in the wrong..."Star said.

"I'm just thankful I finally snapped out of that brainwashing, even if I wish I had done it a lot sooner..."Kwan said, still feeling a lot of regrets but was just grateful it was over now.

"I'm just thankful that you two are different from people like Dash and his uncle..." Danny said, while Star and Kwan smiled at Danny's honest compliment, feeling better after hearing it.

"Thanks, Boo..."Star said, smiling lovingly at him.

"Yeah...thanks..."Kwan said sincerely.

The teens talked a little more, conversing in a surprisingly pleasant way before they had to part ways.

"See ya around, Kwan. And don't worry...things will get better, just give it some time..." Danny said.

"Yeah, thanks. See ya..."The jock said.

The couple soon left together hand in hand. Kwan watched this. He did feel some longing and regret as he looked at Star but understood this is what is meant to be.

"As long as she's happy. I'm happy..."He thought, as he grabbed a soda from the vending machine.

Kwan shrugged, heading off towards some of his teammates, who were sitting far away from a snarling Dash. The blonde jock was still angry, no surprise there.

"Stupid Fenton, you're going to pay for your girlfriend kicking me out of her party! And Kwan's going to pay for stabbing me in the back!..."He thought, wanting payback but they had already left, and the next hall was filled with teachers.

He couldn't do anything, and he hated it.

"Darn it. I really need to punch something right now. Where the heck is that Mikey kid? I haven't seen him since he heard about Colette moving to London..."Dash thought to himself, while cracking his knuckles as the bell rang and most kids went to class but he was too angry to notice.

"Mr. Baxter. No loitering in the school hallway. Get to class..."Mr. Blake, one of the new teachers said sternly, making the jock flinch.

"S-Sorry, sir..."Dash said as he hurried away, not wanting to get in trouble again.

"School just got worse than it was before..."Dash angrily thought, upset that his so-called glory days were getting worse and worse in his eyes.

---

Meanwhile

While Danny and Star were at school, Stella and Pierre had been enjoying their day together.

Originally, they were going to head straight to the park, but they had passed by a nearby toy store and Pierre got excited when he saw the toys on display and Stella couldn't resist buying him a cute lteddy bear that he had his eye on.

After that, Stella took him directly to the park.

She told the chauffeur to pick them up later and Stella, using the stroller, walked her son around the park, and found a nice spot for themselves under a shady tree, which also happened to be close to the playground. Fifi was currently taking a nap next to them, while Stella's precious son continued to play.

"Bah...bah...bah..."Pierre said as he played in the sandbox.

He used a toy shovel to dig and tried to make a little sandcastle, while his mother smiled and took pictures of him with her phone.

"Tres bien, Pierre. Are you making a sandcastle? Oh, it's so nice. You are so talented, Sweetie..."Stella cooed to her son, who was happily playing.

After a few more minutes, Pierre tried to get up and toddle towards his mother. He walked a few feet uneasily but nearly fell only for Stella to catch him and make sure he was safe.

"I got you, Darling..."Stella said, while her son just laughed and started clapping his hands.

Stella smiled softly at her son, feeling a lot of maternal love and pride right now.

He started walking a few months ago and is doing very well, but like all babies, he was still practicing. He is currently 18 and a half months old and still a little clumsy and Stella, being the protective mother that she is, is always trying to make sure that he didn't get hurt.

Still, she tried encouraging him again as he tried walking around the sandbox, while at the same time, trying to protect him.

"Oh, look at you go. Very good, Pierre. That's my baby boy. Your big sister will love seeing you practicing walking again. She's so proud of you being a big boy, just as I am..."Stella cooed happily while Pierre laughed.

"Haha...bah...bah...bah..."Pierre replied, as he kept playing in the sandbox and having a lot of fun.

The little boy really loved coming to this playground. It was really fun, like the playground he used to go near their old home. He also liked all the other places in his new home that his Mama and big sister Star took him too all the time, like the zoo, the big fish tank that had lots of fishy's to see and that building that was full of lots of pretty pictures that his big sister always liked going to.

"Mama should take Star there..."Pierre thought, since he knew his big sister liked to make pretty pictures too and he liked seeing her happy.

He tried to say something to his mother but since he was still really little, he had some difficulty.

"Mama...Go Sta..."Pierre said, but his mother didn't fully understand the message and just smiled at him.

She noticed a nearby stall that was selling toys and merchandise of Danny Phantom and jumped to conclusions.

"That's right, Pierre. It's Danny Phantom, the ghost boy..."Stella said, thinking Pierre was talking about it. "Do you want one of the toys? Well, alright..."The doting mother said as she picked him up and went to the stand.

She bought a small, stuffed toy that looked just like the ghost boy. Pierre saw it and smiled as he instantly realized who it was.

"It's big sister Star's friend who she always holds hands with, Danny. But this toy looks more like Danny's floaty night-night light form..."Pierre thought, remembering all the time Star inviting Danny whenever she babysat her baby half-brother and even did tricks for Pierre in his ghost from.

Being a baby, he didn't understand most of that but just knew this was his friend and was happy and he really wanted one of these toys.

"Danny!..."Pierre said as he held the toy and hugged it.

"Yes, Pierre. Danny Phantom..."Stella said, as she kept doting on her son.

"Oh, look. They even have one of Starlight Spirit too. Would you like it too, Sweetums?..."She asked.

Pierre's eyes landed on the toy of his older sister's alter ego and smiled in excitement as soon as he saw it. He also could tell who it was.

"Star! Star!..."Pierre said, as he reached out for the toy.

"Huh? Oh, no Angel. That's not your big sister. It's Starlight Spirit, she's Danny Phantom's girlfriend..."Stella said, but bought the toy since her son wanted it.

"I guess he saw the blonde hair and it just reminded him of his sister..."Stella concluded, as her son seemed happy with his new toys.

The word "sister" suddenly reminded Stella of Colette and the blonde woman felt a pang of regret, pain and depression again. Stella was still coming to terms with how things left off during the court sentence and what a disaster it all was.

"Colette..."Stella thought, as her mind went back to that horrible court case a few days ago.

The one that decided her stepdaughter's punishment...and her fate.

---

FLASHBACK

Several Days Ago

It was the day of the court case against Colette Bevier.

Everyone was here, such as Danny, his family and friends, Richard, Eleanor and more people who were connected to the Fentons, Strong, Beviers, Mansons, Grays and Foleys. Everyone who has been wrong by her or wanting justice to be served.

Stella hated all of this but knew that this day was going to happen. Her stepdaughter was being put on trial for all the crimes that she's committed. Stella watched her ex-husband and his colleagues represent their daughter in court, along with Danny and all the other kids her stepdaughter wronged.

She was familiar with courtroom tactics and terminology. She used to watch her ex-husband's meetings and took in at least a few words and understand their actions. It was tactic to keep impartiality, a tactic her husband's attorney also suggested. She saw her ex-husband here was defending Danny and their daughter, as well as their friends and the other victims.

The rich woman sighed, as she already knew how this was all going to end.

"This is going to end badly. I just know it..." Stella thought knowing firsthand how great of a lawyer Johnathan is and this trial is basically a formality at this point.

Stella said nothing as she watched Danny take the stand, swearing to tell the truth when prompted as he sat down. Completely ready to give out his statement.

The judge and jury turned to the dark-haired boy who took the seat at the witness stand ready to give his testimony. They began to ask him questions and Danny tried his best to answer as truthfully and as accurately as possible.

"Mr. Fenton. Can you please describe the exact nature of the relationship between you and Miss Bevier?..."Judge Hugh asked.

"Relationship isn't a word I'd use. She's just the stepsister of my REAL girlfriend who stalked me relentlessly despite my constant rejection of her and acted like a lunatic..."Danny said hatefully, glaring at the fake redhead.

"LIES! He is simply playing hard to get with moi! It's not my fault that he doesn't understand that I was doing things for his own good!..."Colette snarled at him.

"ORDER! ORDER!..."The judge demanded, while Colette's lawyer and Jean-Luc tried to calm her down.

Stella saw this and covered her face with both her hands in shame.

"Colette...no..."She thought as this continued.

The judge and prosecutor asked Danny more questions and the young man answered them truthfully and honestly while Johnnathan did his best to help when needed.

"Mr. Fenton, can you please describe your first meeting with the accused?..."A member of Johnathan's legal team asked for the sake of impartiality.

Danny nodded.

"Sure, well...it was like this...I was asked by my "at the time just a friend" Star Strong to come along while she spent time with her mom, her brother and the Beviers who were visiting at the time..."He began.

"As she warned me that, with the exception of Pierre, they were snobs, and Colette basically proved that all day when I was with them and her dad didn't even bother to pretend to be friendly but I could put up with them for Star at dinner. However, I got up to go to the bathroom and get some space from Jean-Puke...Oh, I mean Mr. Beviers comments about me..." Danny said, while the rich man sent him a dirty look but somehow remained composed.

"What comments exactly?..."The lawyer interrupted.

"Mostly judging my clothes, my middle class status, and trash talking about me in all sorts of ways from calling me a peon and even making fun of me just because I don't play sports. He said all of them in French so that I wouldn't understand him..."Danny said, but one of Jean-Luc's legal team spoke up.

"Objection, your honor. My client's daughter started tutoring him in French recently, so there's no way your witness would have been able to understand any comments if they were made..."Jean-Luc's attorney said.

That was not true, Stella knew for a fact. Thinking back on it that Danny had reacted when Jean-Luc had made comments about Danny's appearance that and he would not willingly step within six feet of Colette if he didn't have to. Her ex-husband then began to counter that accusation.

"That is a lie and conjecture, your honor. According to Mr. Fenton's class schedule, he is taking Spanish. not French this semester. So, he wouldn't have any need for a French tutor. Also, he made it clear that even if he DID need a French tutor, Miss Bevier is NOT whom he would have hired..." Johnathan argued, and the Judge was the evidence in the form of Danny's class schedule.

"Proceed, young man..."He told Danny, who nodded.

"Thank you, your honor. As I was saying, Mr. Beviers comments were in French and while I didn't understand at the time, Star was more than happy to be a translator for me..."Danny said, while the rich man glared daggers at him.

A lot of the adults sent disgusted looks at the accused's father, who didn't have an ounce of shame or guilt in his expression, just annoyance and anger. He simply ignored them in response as if he didn't even register them as important enough for his attention. It made Stella cover her face again and she sighed as this trial continued.

"I hate that at a time, I took part in that..."Stella thought, mortified and ashamed about those past actions.

"But he was nothing compared to his maniac daughter..."Danny said as he began to recount his first time being harassed by Colette.

"Miss Bevier has claimed that you and she were both in love and that you found her to be quite attractive, while her father insists that you had mislead his daughter and manipulated her. It would seem the latter is true, so care to elaborate..."One of Jean-Luc's lawyers said, while Danny didn't hesitate to speak the truth.

"That's a lie. She's been nothing but a stalker, a nuisance and a pain since that day we met. I have made it crystal clear a hundred times that I do not like her in any way, and I never will but she just won't listen! She's a nut who has some sick obsession with hurting my actual girlfriend's feelings and anyone else who she doesn't like!..."Danny said, and Colette's father was enraged and tried to defend his daughter.

"Objection! He is spouting nothing but slander! Arrest him for trying to besmirch my daughter's good name even further!..."Jean-Luc shouted, losing his composure for a moment.

"Overruled. Now sit down or I will hold you in contempt ..."The judge warned, before turning to the plaintiff. "Mr. Fenton, continue..."He ordered, and the ghost boy continued with his testimony.

"It is all true. Colette gets some sick pleasure from stealing all of Star's boyfriends and anything else that she likes. Why? No one knows but apparently, she just felt like it...like the whole thing is one big game to her, which she pretty much admitted to Star a few days ago to her face. She even asked me if I was Star's boyfriend when we first met...I said no at the time because we hadn't started dating yet...but she started doing things that made me really uncomfortable..."Danny said, refusing to let that brat get away with her crimes.

He began to describe more about the events of that day, along with Colette's "flirting" and how uncomfortable it made him feel, along with how she kept harassing Star.

"After her dad trash-talked me in French, I left the table since I basically needed a moment to myself. After I was done and about to head back, Colette was nearby waiting..."Danny revealed.

"And why was she there waiting?..."A lawyer asked.

"To flirt with me. While Star and I weren't dating at the time, we did like each other, and she wanted to steal me for herself like she did to her other boyfriends because she's a selfish, warped, and downright twisted freak with little to no care of other people's feelings but her own and who can't stand being told no!..."Danny said.

"Objection, how dare you speak that way about my daughter?!..."Jean Luc snarled in anger, briefly losing his composure again.

"ORDER! ORDER!..."The judge said, trying to regain control of the court room as he was hammering his wooden gavel on his desk.

"Jean-Luc, you're not helping!..."Stella hissed at her husband, just wishing this would all be over with already.

"Mr. Bevier, this is your last warning! One more outburst like that and I will have no choice but to hold you in contempt and have you removed from the premises... and that is the nicest punishment I'll dish out..."The judge said, before turning to Danny. "The witness will continue his testimony..."He said, and the boy nodded and continued.

"As I was saying, Colette just made me her latest target in her twisted game. She even went as far as to force a kiss on me and made sure that Star saw it just to hurt her feelings. I pushed her off and told her that I didn't like her before I went to go comfort Star. And she has been a pain in my neck since then. It's been snowballing for six months into full harassment and stalking. When she wasn't bugging me, she was being a pain in the neck to my girlfriend and my friends since she always did have a talent at being a constant thorn in the side to anyone who she crosses paths with..."Danny revealed.

"Objection! You are supposed to love me and only me! Whatever affections you had for Estelle were illusions! I am supposed to be your soulmate, not her!..."Colette yelled at him, trying to get up but some guards restrained her, and her father and lawyers tried to stop her.

"Order, order!..."The judge said, hitting the gavel numerous times.

The jury stared slack jawed. Whatever integrity inside was slowly being decimated by the fake red-haired girl with each outburst. There was no joy found in her cartoonishly childish and obsessive behavior.

"And this was the nature of your relationship?..."The prosecutor asked, while Danny nodded.

"Yeah. I was just the unlucky guy that Colette decided to stalk just to spite Star. She would always show up, throwing herself at me, trying to get between me and Star, calling my friends "peasants" and acting like they are beneath her status, insulting my family and anyone else I cared about, and just wouldn't leave me alone no matter how many times I told her that I didn't like her..."Danny said bitterly before he continued.

"At school, she'd follow me around to and from class and nearly always talks about herself or how privileged her family is when she wasn't badgering me for a date. She kept annoying me and Star so much that we even had to hide when we weren't in class just to get away from her and have a brief moment of peace and privacy with each other..."Danny said, while Colette glared at him with tears in her eyes.

"But it doesn't end there. She's stooped to even lower levels plenty of times before today. One time, at a Halloween party, she even went as far as to pay some guys to throw me in a shed with her for seven minutes in heaven, but I managed to get away and she ended up making out with another guy who she thought was me in the dark...and one time, I briefly lost my memory and she took advantage of the fact to convince me I was her boyfriend and tricked me into breaking up with Star and even went as far as to try and claim I was her fiancé of all things!..."Danny said, still enraged from those memories while Colette's anger and turmoil made her act out in an irrational manner again.

"I WAS DOING IT ALL FOR YOUR OWN GOOD! YOU SIMPLY HAD AMNESIA AND HAD NO MEMORY OF WHO YOU REALLY WERE AT THE TIME, SO I SIMPLY HELPED YOU REALIZED WHOM YOU WERE MEANT TO BE AND WHOM YOU WERE DESTINED TO BE WITH! WHY CAN'T YOU JUST ACCEPT THAT YOU'RE SUPPOSE TO BE MINE ALREADY!..."Colette snapped, unintentionally confirming it was true and several people gasped upon hearing this confession.

"ORDER! ORDER!..."The judge said, now starting to understand the real situation in this court case.

Colette seemed shocked by her own slipup and even covered her mouth but the damage was already done. Stella looked horrified to hear this, as she never knew of these incidents, while Johanthan frowned and felt disgusted to hear all this, as the rest of the court continued with the trial.

"Why have you not told anyone about Miss Bevier's harassment before now? Why not inform a responsible adult sooner?..."The prosecutor asked.

"I did complain to her Star's mom plenty of times before, as well as my parents too and they complained to her as well...but Colette didn't stop. Even so, about the amnesia and the Halloween thing...well, we didn't have any evidence and she, at that point, still had her parents and the teachers thinking she was still somewhat harmless, which she isn't...but at least now she basically admitted to it..."Danny said, smirking a bit.

Colette's face turned bright red in anger and humiliation at her slipup while Stella was shocked to hear all of this and really wanted to crawl in a hole and hide right now.

"But that was nothing compared to her blackmailing me to break up with Star and date her, basically turning me into her servant. So get this, she started hiring some goons to to take pictures and doctored them to frame my friends, sister, and girlfriend. And if that wasn't enough, she stalked me enough to fake some evidence on Star and me, just to add to the pile. She even went as far as to breaking into my house and planted evidence to frame my sister to and I was even worried she went as far as to bug my house too..."Danny said in anger.

"She blackmailed me and tried to ruin my friends, sisters and girlfriend's lives to force me be her boyfriend ...If I didn't, then she was going to send out more fake evidence to frame Star, my big sister Jazz and the rest of my friends and get all of them expelled. Heck, it got worse as she still was going get them sent to jail even with me doing what she wanted. She even went as far as made plans to force me to move to France with her and actually have me be adopted by another family just because she doesn't like my parents...and that's only SOME of the insane demands she made during that horrible time I had to act as her slave!..."Danny said, while the spoiled brat snapped again.

"SILENCE, YOU UNGRATEFUL, ATTRACTIVE ABOMINATION OF SCIENCE! IF YOU WEREN'T DANNY PHANTOM, I'D STILL HAVE ENOUGH TO LEASH YOU! ONLY I CAN LOVE AND GIVE THE LIFE YOU DESERVE TO LIVE, WHY CAN'T YOU UNDERSTAND THAT?!…"Colette yelled, only for her face to gain zits and boils again.

"Oh my, are her allergies acting up again?..."Stella thought, while the jury and even the judge was briefly flabbergasted after hearing all of this.

He snapped out of it and tried to regain control of the court room, while Jean-Luc became red in the face and his lawyers were losing confidence in their ability to win this case.

"Perhaps it is best that we should consider pleading insanity..."One of her husband's lawyers whispered to Jean-Luc, who looked mortified and upset by how these events were unfolding.

The father's guilt and dread grew with each second spent in court. Yet still, a metaphoric tear fell for his daughter as his own legal team was struggling to find a way to save face from this. Most, if not all of the people in the jury were staring at Colette and Jean-luc in both disgust and disappointment.

Danny decided to finish this and tell everyone how exponentially terrible the stalking grew and tell everyone what a monster she really was.

"Colette Bevier is a certified stalker that reinvents the word! She's insane, she's evil and she doesn't care about anyone but herself. She's a fruitloop, a creep and I am 95% certain she's a sociopath too since she clearly isn't capable of feeling any sign of genuine guilt or remorse for all of the horrible stuff she's caused. The sooner she's locked up FAR AWAY from me, the better!..."Danny said, while Colette looked like he just betrayed her.

Why, he wasn't sure. Maybe she still had some delusion that he would somehow side with her after all this time. Fat chance.

Anyway, the judge and jury listened to his testimony, nodding along.

"No further questions..."The prosecutor said, before continuing.

The judge began to see the big picture. That testimony had sounded black and white on who was in the wrong. He didn't think it was a coincidence. Colette gulped at seeing the look on the judge's face.

"Why is zhat old fossil looking at me like zhat?..."She thought as she began sweating hard.

Now it was time for the rich man's lawyer to question the half ghost hero, or rather, try and pin the blame on him in some way.

Jean-Luc's lawyer questioned the dark-haired boy again, trying to paint Danny as ignorant or trying to make him out to be the bad guy who mislead Colette, but Johanthan was quick to counter and point out all of the false accusations. He also managed to show evidence that supported Danny's claims and proved the accusations against Colette were accurate.

All the while, Stella resisted the urge to literally bang her head against a wall right now.

"Where did I go wrong?! I spoiled her too much, didn't I?..." Stella thought, feeling so much humiliation and just wanting this to be over with already.

The lawyers her husband hired even tried to accuse Danny of being a gold digger but that failed miserably as, as pointed out, there was more than enough evidence and witnesses to prove that Danny NEVER had any romantic interest with Colette and had never been ambiguous in his rejections. There was also plenty of evidence that he has been nothing but faithful to his actual girlfriend who he loved and never mistreated her or showed any signs of being with her for her family's money.

The fact that both Danny's family, his friends, Stella, Johnathan, Georgia, Solene and even Richard spoke highly of Danny's character as a perfect gentleman to Star for the entire six months they have been dating was what the judge needed to see the truth about Danny and Star's relationship.

All Jean-Luc could do was try to soothe his migraine, as he glared at his daughter and his lawyer.

"Do something! I am paying you a fortune to get my daughter out of this mess! Now do your job or else!..."Jean-Luc whispered angrily to his attorney, who gulped and tried to explain the situation and available legal options to him.

And once again, an insanity plea was mentioned as an option.

The court case continued, and Star was up next, and she went into detail every lie, every prank, every unkind word and every other form of bullying that had been hurled at her by her stepsister over the last few years.

There was no shortage of evidence either.

It shocked nearly everyone in the courtroom of how much was does by one teenage girl to another teenage girl. She even showed proof of Colette's hatred of Pierre too, who's just a defenseless baby that did no wrong and her contempt of Stella and her previous stepmothers. Not to mention all the stuff that Colette had done to all of her previous stepmothers and how she scammed them and even her biological mother too, who did not argue against any of these accusations when asked about them.

She even mentioned how Colette stole Stella's property to bribe her minions, which only made the brat look worse and worse to the jury.

Star even had recorded the ambush lunch date where Colette had demanded Star give up her birthday, with the stuff about Danny's secret edited out, thanks to Star being clever and only recorded what she needed from the brat. The only real thing was left was proof of Colette's nastiness. She also showed them the recording that Christopher gave them that showed just how awful Colette treated Danny during their "relationship", which was another nail in the coffin for that brat.

Star noticed her mother's miserable expression and sighed.

"I'm sorry Mom. But the only person Colette actually loves is the one in the mirror..." Star thought seeing the guilt on Stella's face.

Her mother was seen at the verge of tears. All the love she gave over the years was for nothing and now it was stabbing her in the back from its spot in the darkness. How could she have been so blind to all this?

"I went through so much and this is how she repays me? Was I truly nothing to her?..."Stella thought in misery as this torture continued.

Jean-Luc's lawyer tried and failed to make Star and Colette look like this was all sibling rivalry that got out of hand and that Star was just going through a rebellious phase in what was an otherwise healthy relationship in a stepfamily.

Star laughed in a bitter way and could hardly believe that this lawyer tried to sweep so much evidence under the rag. She didn't hesitate to counter that outrageous claim with the truth.

"First, let's be clear on one think. Jean-Puke is NOT and NEVER WILL BE my dad! He barely even counts as a stepdad. He's just the womanizing trash who ruined my parents' marriage, barely even cares about his own family and is the reason why I have to deal with the real-world equivalent of the wicked stepsister. Sure, he might not have mistreated me like how Cinderella's stepmom mistreated her, but he always made it clear that he never saw me as family. To him, I was just the daughter of his current wife from her previous marriage. Nothing more..."Star said, glaring at the man who ruined her family.

The home wrecking man just glared at her but said nothing. Stella saw this and tried hard not to make eye contact with anyone right now.

"Just end this already! Pierre is with Alyssa right now and I'm not sure how much of this I can take!..."Stella thought, just wanting to end this and go home already.

Star then looked at Colette and the two glared daggers at one another, before Star continued to give her testimony.

"We aren't family, he made it clear that we're not family. We'll never be family and that's the one thing I agree with him on but he's still nothing compared to the monster he raised to be even worse scum than he is!..."She said hatefully, never once showing any signs of lying in her tone or expression.

"Is there any more evidence you would like to share with the court?..." The judge asked.

With a nod, Star revealed photos of taken from Colette's diary (albeit the pages that didn't mention Danny's secret) that mention some of her "childish pranks" in detail. And no hint of remorse was hinted anywhere written there.

Stella said and did nothing as her daughter kept testifying against her stepsister, making her feelings about her as clear as day as she spoke the truth and nothing but the truth. She watched as her daughter's face contorted further into rage with each page. And yet, there were still only so many pages in the stepdaughter's diary.

"Colette is mean, nasty, sociopathic, inhumane and selfish and there's plenty of evidence to prove it..."Star said, as she turned to her father, who nodded.

Johnathan presented even more screenshots of Colette's diary as well as all the information Tucker gathered from Colette's passed victims, whom had given him permission to use during the trial. This all goes in depth on how she made people suffer, as well as evidence of how she bullied many other people. And the inhuman ways she wrote about how she viewed her stepsister, her infant half-brother and so many other people who knew about Colette and her "antics" and who had been made themselves part of her life, be it family or faculty.

The jury's reactions ranged from appalled to reviled as many looked away from the diary's contents at how she wrote about the very people she held such inhumane contempt for and the evidence of her previous victims just made the brat look worse and worse.

It didn't end there as more people showed up to give their own statements about Colette and recent events.

Testlaff testified because, charitable donation or not, Colette stole a car and purposely wrecked it to frame someone. Worse, it seemed that would not have been an isolated incident if the girl's actions were not uncovered.

With more of her crimes being revealed and the evidence to back up the claims, the judge and jury were flabbergasted as Mr. Strong continued to do his job and ensure Colette Bevier would never be able to shake off this blow to her reputation.

With all the evidence that was presented to him, he wasted no time in pointing out all of her crimes and that Colette had no alibi or excuse for any of them.

Johnathan wasn't just throwing the book at Colette; he was throwing the entire library at her. He was proving to everyone that he wasn't known as the best lawyer in Amity Park for nothing. Especially with who he's gotten to speak up. And with everyone against Colette, the verdict was pretty much decided by a landslide at this point as the case continued.

Kwan even appeared and spoke against what she did, and how she blackmailed him into being her accomplice and how he managed to help Danny, and the others reveal her crimes and is willing to accept fault for his actions. Misty and Valerie also showed up and gave their own statements and how they also have been harassed by the Bevier girl too in the past.

More people appeared to testify, and more people who had witnessed Colette's cruelty or people whom she messed with testified against her. Every moment of them describing her terrible actions and much more.

Soon, the judge and jury had way more than they needed to reach a verdict and jury practically had no sympathy for her the evil teenage girl. None what so ever as they declared her guilty of all her crimes and ignored her screams and yells as the bailiff tries to stop Colette's antics. All the while, the stepmother could only think of these four words when it was all over.

"What have I done?!..." Stella thought as the judge deemed Colette guilty and the judge announced her sentence.

And Stella could do nothing but watch as her stepdaughter's entire life was pretty much over now.

End Of Flashback

---

Present Time

Stella shook away the memory, trying to ignore the feelings of sadness, guilt, anger and shame from that day.

She tried hard to bury her bad feelings, trying very hard not to cry in public and remained composed. She certainly didn't want her negative emotions affecting any part of her sweet baby boy, who was still playing with the toys that she bought him.

"It had to be done. This is for her own good. I know that..."Stella thought, as she tried not to think about that day.

After paying for the toys, Pierre was now happily playing with them and his mother focused her attention on him and making sure he was happy.

"Do you like your new toys, Sweetie?..."Stella asked in a cooing voice, as her son kept playing with his new toys.

"Danny! Star! Star! Danny! Star! Fun!..."Pierre giggled happily as he played with his new toys happily as his mother placed him in the sandbox once more.

"I'm glad that you're having fun, Angel..."Stella said, just happy to see how happy and sweet her little boy still is.

She watched as her son played with his new toys with the sweetest smile on his face, without a care in the world. She saw that her son really loved his new toys and for a moment, it almost seemed like he made the Starlight Spirit and Danny Phantom toys hold hands for some reason.

"Huh? Does he know they are a couple? No, he's still too little to even know about that stuff. It must have been my imagination..."Stella thought, as her son kept playing happily.

Suddenly, Pierre stood up when he smelled a yummy smell nearby. There was a nearby food truck that was selling hot dogs, hamburgers, as well as French fries and other food as well. Pierre liked French fries and turned to his mother.

"Mama...hungy...mama...fwys..."Pierre said, as he pointed to the big square car where the yummy smell was coming from.

Stella snapped out of her thoughts and smiled at her son. She then saw where he was pointing at.

"Oh, a food truck. How charming. I haven't seen one of those in a long time..."Stella said, while her son kept pointing at it.

"Fwy...fwy..."Pierre repeated over and over, clearly wanting some.

Stella sighed in an almost exhausted and amused way.

Ever since he first tried them, Pierre grew to really like fries and often wanted more. Like any responsible parent, Stella wanted to make sure he ate healthy foods and tried to follow a diet that was right for his age. Still, she didn't see the harm in letting him enjoy some fries as a treat every once in a while.

"Okay, Darling. I don't see why we can't have a little snack..."Stella said as she scooped Pierre up, heading towards the food truck.

There she ordered a salad for herself and some fries for Pierre as well. Once she finished paying for them, they went back to their spot and Stella carefully cut up the fries in small, baby-safe pieces before she began to feed them to her son.

"Okay, Pierre. Here comes the airplane!~..."Stella said as she made plane sounds.

Pierre giggled before he ate the yummy fries, much to his joy.

"Fwy! Fwy!..."He said happily, as he wanted more.

Seeing her son being so happy, which made Stella's heart melt. While she knew she can't exactly mention this sort of thing to her husband, she was just happy to see her son happy right now.

"I'll be sure to feed him something healthier later when we get back home, but I guess one little treat can't do any harm..."Stella thought, as she returned back into her protective mother mode and planning to re-introduce him to healthier snacks as soon as they got home.

Until then, she continued to dote on and take care of her son during their special outing at the park. She tried to focus on being a good mother and making her precious son happy...and NOT think about anything else right now.

After all, it's a beautiful, fine day at the park today and she is spending it with her precious, wonderful baby boy whom she loved more than anything in the world. She knows that everything is fine, and things were going to only get better.

She was sure of that!

"Everything will be fine...Everything is fine. Colette is already receiving the therapy she needs and will become a productive member of society. And Jean-Luc's deal will be good for business. I'm sure of that..."Stella thought, trying to be optimistic.

Once she finished feeding her son his favorite treat, Stella was now walking, pushing the stroller and taking Fifi who had just woken up. They began to walk through the park, trying to enjoy the beautiful, sunny day and Stella tried hard NOT to think of anything negative right now.

"Everything is fine...Star and Danny are happy together...Colette will get the help she needs...and Pierre is a happy little boy and will grow into a fine young man. Everything will be fine. Everything IS fine!..."She thought, thinking that over and over again in her mind.

Yes, everything was fine.

"Star...Star..." Pierre pointed from his stroller.

"Hmm...what's wrong, Angel?..." Stella asked, looking where he was pointing.

She saw a restaurant that was across the street from the park, and she saw that someone they knew was having lunch right now. Someone who brought a smile to Stella's face as soon as she saw him.

"Johnathan!..."She thought, feeling her heart skip a beat for a moment and felt a strange lightness all of a sudden that she didn't understand.

She tried not to think about it and just wanted to talk to her ex-husband and the father of her daughter.

"Oh, look. It's Star's daddy. Maybe we should go say hi..."Stella said to her son, while her son and dog didn't respond.

She recalled that his law office isn't that far away from the park, and she discreetly checked the time.

"Oh right...it must be his lunch break right now..."She thought to herself, smiling for some reason.

For reasons even Stella didn't understand, she pulled out her compact mirror to check on her hair and makeup. Once done, she put it away and smiled before she turned her attention to her baby and her pet.

"Okay, let's go say hi...maybe even see if we can join him for lunch..."Stella said, feeling unusually excited for the chance to talk to her ex-husband and spend time with him.

Stella was about to head the restaurant and talk to him. However, before she even left the park, she saw something that made her stop in place and give up that idea entirely.

She saw someone join him at the table even from here.

It was Solene.

She watched them share a kiss and started having lunch together. Stella was silent and didn't move right now, while her son and dog sent her funny looks.

"Mama?..."Pierre said, and his voice snapped Stella out of whatever she was just in.

"On second thought, he looks busy. We can see him another time..." Stella said, changing course and they soon went to another side of the park, the FURTHEST from that restaurant.

All the while, her ex-husband and his girlfriend remained unaware that she was even nearby, as they continued their lunch and then went back to work.

As she kept pushing the stroller, Stella tried hard NOT to think about them and just enjoy her outing at the park with her precious son and enjoying this fine day.

---

Later that day

Elsewhere

It was after school and students were either going home, hanging out with their friends or going to their part time jobs. One teenage boy was doing the last one, but not by choice.

It was Donovan Loadman, who SOMEHOW managed to find another job with his friends. A few days ago, they got fired from the Chinese restaurant they were working at and have now been reduced to working at another branch of the Nasty Burger, that was in the outskirts of Amity Park that was almost in the middle of nowhere.

And, hilariously, Donovan was given the job of being the mascot, which he deemed his worst job so far.

"Hey, leave me alone!..."Donovan exclaimed as some of the kids he was forced to entertain threw food at him.

They pelted him with French fries and onion rings while calling him "Nasty Nat", which was the name of the mascot of this fast-food place, but that didn't the experience any less humiliating.

"Man, what a loser!..."One kid said, laughing.

"I hate to grow up to be like this guy..."His friend laughed, making Donovan's humiliation even worse.

"Lousy brats!..."Donovan thought hatefully, just wanting for his shift to end.

Eventually, the kids left with their parents and Donovan went inside, where his friends were doing their own respective yet somewhat less humiliating tasks.

The manager spotted him and frowned.

"Loadman, it's your turn to mop the floors..."The manager, a middle-aged man ordered as he pointed to a spill some previous customer must have left.

Donovan glared at him but said nothing in order to keep this new job that he dislikes. He said nothing as he just cleaned himself from the food that was thrown at him the last time and then took the mop and reluctantly began to mop the floors.

"This is the most degrading job yet..." Donovan complained, as he kept moping the floors and doing a second-rate job of it too.

It was bad enough that he, the true heir of the Loadman fortune had to do servant's work. Being forced to clean like some commoner, peasants and riff raff was already humiliating enough as it is. But being forced to work as a fast-food restaurant's mascot and degrade himself to be entertainment for a bunch of bratty kids was the most agonizing.

His "friends" who had been washing dishes or refilling the condiments, were just as miserable as he was.

"Las year, I stared in a music video for Dumpy Humpty...and now I am washing gross dishes and ruining what remains of my manicure, as well as smelling like a sack of fried potatoes!.."Vivian muttered, hating this.

"You think that I like smelling like low grade burger meat? Just try and not get the boss angry. I can't afford to get fired again..."Theodore said, as Donovan kept fuming as he just finished cleaning himself off again for the 4th time today.

As he was forced to mop over the mess that some peasant left, the disinherited brat blamed all of his misfortune on someone else while Vivian and Theodore were still refilling condiment dispensers or washing dishes.

"Estelle, you ruined my life. Not to mention all your commoner friends laughed at our misfortune. One of these days, I'll make you regret doing this to me, you and that loser will get what's coming to you soon..."Donovan grumbled, while his friend heard this and got annoyed.

Vivian, who had been in the middle of washing dishes, finally got sick of constantly listening to his whining and had enough of it.

She snapped.

"UGH! Estelle this! Estelle that! Estelle! Estelle! Estelle! If you say that name one more time instead of helping, I'm going to smack you!..." Vivian warned, sick to death of hearing that name.

"Shut up! You don't understand my problems! Plus, I would say the names of her commoner friends, but I don't know what they're names are since I didn't care enough to find out. But I know that all this misfortune is all their fault too!..."Donovan said, while Vivian to throw a napkin at him in anger.

"None of us would be here if you didn't get into that deal with a bitter old bat just to improve your chances with a girl you never had a chance with to begin with!..."Vivian said, stating the facts of the real reason all three of them were in the mess in the first place.

"I mean, seriously! Who the heck tries to date someone by asking their GRANDMOTHER to help them?!..."She asked incredulously.

Donovan immediately rejected her criticisms.

"It wasn't my fault that her commoner father poisoned her against me and Fenton got in my way! And my plan was full proof! Lady Beatrice is the matriarch of the Traville family, and the head of her family and she understood that me and her granddaughter were suited for each other! Think of what my combined net worth would have been if Estelle had been smart and agreed to be my bride like lady Beatrice and I arranged. If it wasn't for Estelle stubbornness and that peasant and his friends who's name I can't remember didn't mess everything up, I would still be enjoying the easy life!..."Donovan argued before he got slapped by Vivian.

"I told you that I'd do it if you said her name again!..."Vivian snapped, losing her already limited patience.

While Donovan was angry at her for slapping him in a surprisingly strong way, their other "friend" also couldn't keep his own mouth shut either.

"Also, what's your whole deal with arranged marriages anyway? We're not living in the Middle Ages anymore, ya know..."Theodore said, still wondering why Donovan was so determined to do that.

"I tried to date Estelle and asked her out hundreds of times before, but she was being stubborn and stupid to not see what a catch I am and see the bigger picture! Also, how else are we supposed to keep the peasants out of our lineages?..."Donovan said in an arrogant way.

"Estelle's bloodline has already been damaged by her commoner father and her grandmother and I just tried to fix things and help her get her priorities straightened!..."He argued, getting another smack again, this time harder.

"You are so stupid! The only reason I hung out with you in the first place was your money and having the status as the Loadman heir but you don't even have either of those things anyway! I don't even know why I'm still putting up with you!..."Vivian said, regretting ever hanging out with him.

Theodore was actually thinking the exact same thing but hadn't had the chance to say so out loud yet, but Donovan kept shouting again.

"Because both of you ungrateful dimwits would have been lost without me when I was still the heir to the Loadman house and you idiots would still be lost without me now!..."Donovan complained, still believing himself to being the leader of their little group.

"How dare you call me an idiot?! You're the one who ruined all our lives just because that stupid girl turned you down!..."Vivian yelled at him, looking ready to throw something at him right now but her friend kept denying his faults.

"This isn't my fault! It's Estelle's for choosing that peasant over me! What the heck is wrong with her?! I'm handsome! I'm wealthy! I'm a blue blood! What does that peasant have that I don't? Why does he get so many hot, rich girls and I don't?!..."Donovan complained petulantly, refusing to admit it was jealousy that he was feeling right now.

"If you are so desperate for a date, then you could just join a dating service or tried asking someone else out who was more willing to date you for at least your money like how I met my girlfriends...though now that I've been cut off, all five of them found out about the other and dumped me. No thanks to you..."Theodore complained, since he didn't understand why, outside of losing his fortune, where he went wrong with all of them.

"Pig!..."Vivian sneered, disgusted with him.

"At least I never made a move on someone with a boyfriend..." Theodore said, glaring at Donovan since he was the reason he smelled like every fast food.

How was he supposed to get a date with a rich girl when he was both disinherited and smelled like a food court?!

"You helped me, you both did. I never forced you guys..."Donovan argued.

"Because you paid us and messing with peasants is funny, not because I thought your dumb plan would work and you'd get to marry she-who-must-not-be-named-if-I-don't-want-a-bruise..."Theodore pointed out, not wanting to be the next target of Vivian's wrath.

"You can say her name because you aren't annoying me with your whining about her every three seconds..." Vivian told him, before she glared at their so-called friend.

"And his plan got even dumber when he tried it again with that somewhat cute guy whose obviously blind best friend, Manson whatever her first name is..."Vivian muttered, still angry Danny rejected her like that.

"Well, the pollution in her bloodline was less since only her maternal great grandparents were paupers until her ancestor made his fortune from inventing that deli toothpick cellophane-twirling device thing. And at least her parents TRY to act like proper members of high society, even if they failed miserably with their daughter..."Donovan said, still not seeing what was wrong with that he did.

"Plus, having the Manson and Loadman fortunes combined would have been a far more beneficial and lucrative arrangement to both our families and I would have been set for life...or at least until I could afford to find a new, younger wife after Samantha had done her duty and provided me an heir if she didn't learn to be a proper wife of high society by then..."Donovan said, while Vivian and Theodore both rolled their eyes after hearing that, and they knew he was talking nonsense right now.

Vivian sent him a dirty glare while Theodore shook his head at how ridiculous he was sounding.

"Wouldn't happen. I've seen her in person before and I know she would've decked you if you even tried asking her out..."Theodore said, knowing his 'friend' wasn't her type.

Her type of punching bag maybe but not some guy she'd date, much less marry when they grow up.

"Plus, you couldn't even get her parents or grandma to agree, and even I think that goth with lousy taste in clothes is out of your league..." Vivian mocked, earning a glare from the Loadman boy.

"And then there was Colette..." Theodore added.

"Ugh, don't mention that loon. I think you lost your mind trying the arranged marriage stunt with her. She's crazy with a capital C. You can practically smell the insanity coming off her a mile away..."Vivian said, still angry for how she attacked her at the country club and still holding a grudge over it.

"Make that a hundred miles away. Everyone saw the video by now on she straight up tried enslaving Estelle's boyfriend Fenton...what was his first name...Denny...Donny...Doug whatever his name is. Anyway, I heard she got arrested and sent to some boarding school in London and won't ever be back...Fenton's lawyer made sure of it..."Theodore said, since that is what he heard from the rumors.

"Yeah, I don't like him but I guess even a peasant doesn't deserve to suffer dating that witch..."Vivian said, but Donovan didn't agree.

"No, he deserves to suffer more! He dares to surround himself with beautiful women! MY women! That gold digging peasant who dared to date above his social class deserves to be working as a servant for his betters!..."Donovan said with hate and envy.

"If that peasant had simply learned to know his place and if Estelle simply learn how to act like a real aristocrat and their commoner friends stayed out of our way, than none of us would this unfortunate situation in the first place at all! They deserve to be humiliated! They all do and I'll be there laughing as I make Estelle watch as I make that peasant demean himself in every way I've suffered because she dared to reject me for that scum and for ruining my life!..."He ranted insanely, forgetting all about what Vivian said she would do if he mentioned that girl again.

As expected, Vivian slapped him for being stupid enough to say that name again, even harder than the last time.

"SHUT UP, YOU IDIOT! HOW CAN SOMEONE BE SO FULL OF HIMSELF AND BE SO STUPID AT THE SAME TIME?! I DONT GIVE A HOOT ABOUT ESTELLE OR HER CUTE BUT STUPID BOYFRIEND! WE'RE HERE AND WE'RE BROKE BECAUSE YOU COULDNT ACCEPT THAT THE STUPID GIRL HAD A BOYFRIEND AND WOULDN'T DATE YOU EVEN IF YOU WERE LITERALLY THE LAST GUY IN EARTH! JUST GET OVER IT ALREADY!..."Vivian yelled, sick of his dumb antics and striking a nerve in her so-called friend.

"How dare you?!..."Donovan snarled at he grabbed a nearby bottle of ketchup and threw the contents at her, which landed on her clothes and hair.

"UGH! MY HAIR! How dare you?!..."Vivian said as she grabbed mustard and did the same to him, but their other "friend" tried to stop them.

"Guys, enough! You're going to get us fired again!..."Theodore tried, but they responded by hitting him with ketchup and mustard too.

That was the last straw for Theodore, who also snapped.

"Okay, that's does it! It's payback time! You two want food fight, then I'll give you both a food fight!..."He said in anger as he proceeded to grab the root beer hose from the soda fountain and sprayed them with it.

"AHHH! Theodore, you jerk! For your sake, that better be diet!..."Vivian coughed out, now covered in that soda from head to toe.

"You're wearing it, not drinking it, you idiot!..."Donovan yelled, grabbing some unfried French fries before throwing them at her.

"At least I know the definition of the word "no", you jerk!..." Vivian yelled back as she grabbed a hand full of pickles and immediately threw them at him while Theodore kept angrily spraying them with the soda and anything else he could get his hands on.

The food fight continued everything and anything was arsenal for the spoiled little brats to toss on each over. Vivian grabbed a discarded milkshake that a customer left behind and threw the remaining contents at Donovan in anger.

"For both our sakes, this better not stain!..."Donovan yelled, while Theodore scoffed.

"Get over it, you jerk. We're here because you wanted the one girl who told you no and went crazy. I doubt an extra stain is going to make you less indesiredable..."Theodore quipped.

"It's undesirable and don't call me that, you loser!..."Donovan snapped as he grabbed some uncooked hamburger meat tossed it at the larger boy's face and enraging him even more now.

"That's it. No more Mr. Nice guy!..."Theodore said as he threw more condiments, and the food fight got more intense.

Hearing the commotion, the manager, who had just returned from his break and ran over and saw the delinquents he was being paid to employ had wasted hundreds of dollars of condiments and uncooked food and restaurant furniture was stained and damaged a lot of the cooking equipment.

"WHAT THE HECK! HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?! WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY RESTAURANT?! That's it! All three of you out, you're all fired!..."The manager yelled, and the teens stopped their fight and panicked as they realized they were in trouble again.

"What, no! Mr. McDowell, please don't!..."Theodore begged as he was still on thin ice with his folks.

"Yeah, it's all Donovan's fault that he can't stop whining about some girl who rejected him! He started it!..."Vivian shouted, pointing at the whiny boy covered in pickle slices and soda.

"I saw you three all make the mess, so I know that you all had a hand at this. Now get out of my restaurant and don't even bother returning to work, because you're all FIRED and paying for the damage!..."The manager ordered, refusing to budge.

Donovan, Vivian and Theodore left the Nasty Burger in disgrace after leaving their respective stained uniforms at the table.

They were grumbling, still covered in food toppings and drenched in soda. They were once again jobless, humiliated and miserable. And as always, Donovan blamed everyone but himself for his misfortune.

"You'll pay for this Estelle, all of you will pay!..." Donovan swore, only for Vivian to smack him again.

"Shut up, you moron! This is YOUR fault! We just got fired AGAIN! This is the TENTH job in a row!..."Vivian said, looking upset but Donovan wasn't taking it seriously.

"Whatever. We'll just beg our parents to get us another job somewhere else like we did before..."Donovan said, only to be smacked again.

"OW! What was that for?!..."Donovan complained, while his friends decided to spell it out for him.

"Don't you get it, you moron?! This was the LAST place in town we could apply to! All other jobs you either need a diploma or were the same places we have been fired. We tried getting jobs all over Amity Park, Elmerton and that lame town by Lake Eerie. We got fired at all of them! Now we'll need to pack up and move to a new town if we even hope to find another place that'll even consider hiring any of us and it's all your fault!..."Vivian said furiously.

"What the heck am I going to tell my parents? They were serious about what they'd do if I got fired again!..."Theodore said, weeping into his hands.

"This wasn't my fault! It's all the fault of Estelle and her loser boyfriend! It's their fault that nothing makes sense anymore! We're elites and consequences are supposed to be for peasants and losers! That jerk Fenton should be the one suffering for stealing my betrothed, plus the rest of his peasant friends too for getting in my way! There's simply no way one low class commoner should have gotten the better of us! I'm not going to let them get away with it!..."Donovan said, while Vivian started screaming again.

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Don't you get it! Our goose is WELL-DONE cooked! We're disinherited! Our parents are 99% for sure going to kick us out once we legally become adults, and now we don't even have part time jobs to even pay for gum at a lame convenience store now! We're broke and I'm possibly going to be sent to live with my grandparents in the middle of nowhere! This is a nightmare!..."Vivian yelled as tears began to form in her eyes, and for a moment, Donovan almost began to realize that they really were in trouble now.

These three had finally done it, they had fallen lower than rock bottom. The trio of disgraced brats were busy whining and crying about their misery and worrying about their future, when an opportunity appeared in the most unexpected way.

"Perhaps...I can be off some help..."A new voice was heard.

The disgraced teens turned around and saw a middle-aged man with white hair and a fancy, well-tailored black suit appear. Donovan didn't care who this was, he began to speak as disrespectful as possible.

"Whoever you are, get lost peasant! I don't have time for you!..."Donovan snapped before Vivian gasped as she recognized who this was.

"Wait, Vlad Masters? As in the mayor and billionaire of Vlad co?!..."She exclaimed, and Donovan blinked in surprise.

"I'm flattered that you recognized me for my fame. And it's nice to see you again, young Donovan..."Vlad said, and the boy seemed surprised.

"We've met?..."Donovan asked, not recalling that.

"I was at the dinner that Estelle's "lovely" grandmother hosted at the country club..."Vlad reminded and the former rich kid felt embarrassed of his mistake.

"Oh...right...You were there..."Donovan said, embarrassed that he didn't recognize him.

Vlad then dusted his suit and held his arms behind his back. He gave a somewhat welcoming smile as they began to talk, moving the conversation forward and continued speaking in a business-like tone.

"Gentlemen and lady. I've heard about your tragic circumstances, and I have a way to help improve your lives..."Vlad offered, and one of the disgraced teens misunderstood his words.

"You can get our parents to give us our money back?!..." Donovan asked with a hopeful smile, thinking that with the mayor's help, he could be reinstated as heir and also have a means to make that peasant and Estelle pay.

"I said I had a solution, not a miracle..."Vlad said flatly, crushing Donovan's fantasy.

"Exactly what do you want?..."Vivian asked, wanting to get to the point.

"Simple, I was going to offer a job to you three. I am starting a new business, and I could use people of your...talents..."Vlad said, not sure how else to call it.

"A job?..."Theodore said with relief, hoping that getting a new job might make his parents less angry after they find out he got fired again.

Donovan was the only one who didn't look happy to hear that.

"Oh, joy. More peasant work..."Donovan said, while Vivian sent him a dirty look.

"Oh, don't worry Mr. Loadman. I'm sure you three will have a blast..." Vlad promised.

"Just what is this job you're talking about? BTW, we might be at rock bottom, but we're not desperate enough to accept anything from some stranger, even if he is a fellow elite..."Vivian said, being the most practical one here for once.

"Miss Fallbrook, I do believe you won't mind this sort of job I have in mind..."Vlad said as he pulled out a brief case and opened it.

Once the teens saw what it was inside it, and Vlad explained the aspects of this job, even Donovan was less reluctant and even excited as he saw this as a way of possibly changing things for him.

"So, what do you all say?..."Vlad asked, while the teens seemed cautious, as they had a lot of questions.

Or rather...just one question.

"What's the pay?..."Vivian asked, wanting to get to the point.

"This here is the base salary and how much you will get from commissions..."Vlad said as he wrote down a figure on a piece of paper.

Once he did, Vivian's eyes widened, and her friends gasped and then looked at each other in excitement. It didn't take even 2 seconds before they gave their answer.

"WE'RE IN!..."They all asked, each agreeing to this new job.

Vlad smirked.

"Too easy..."He thought as he handed some documents that explained the basics of the job and his new employees quickly agreed to his terms.

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Meanwhile

With our favorite couple

After school, Danny and Star wanted to go on a date but were interrupted by another ghost attack. It was Ember, who once again was causing chaos and trouble for our favorite couple.

"Seriously? You're doing this now?..."Star complained, looking really annoyed right now.

"If I recall, I told you that we would be back to business, and this is my business ..."Ember said as she used her guitar to shoot fire at Star.

"Yeah, but you usually have an evil plan. Not just destruction for destruction's sake..."Danny pointed out, blocking the attack to protect Star.

"I got bored..."Ember said with a shrug, as if that explained everything.

"Seriously? That's your reason?..."Star said, irritated.

"Hey! Not every attack has to be part of some scheme. Sometimes, it's all about creating chaos for fun…"Ember said casually as she strummed her guitar.

Danny and Star almost face-palmed themselves at that response. Danny shrugged, unfazed by her answer.

"You seriously need a hobby..."He said flatly.

"Kicking your butt is my hobby, Babypop ..."The diva said as she fiddles around with as she searched for a specific tone.

"And stopping you from kicking MY boyfriend's butt just so happens to be my hobby too..." Star responded, ready to deck her if she tries anything.

"Aw, cute. You're such a sweetheart. But don't forget, he may not always be your boyfriend..."Ember said with plenty of attitude in her tone while the two of them rolled their eyes at this.

"I went through the worst week of my life to keep him from Colette, I am not letting you take him!..."Star said while Ember struck her guitar and a wave of sonic power came in their direction, making them move out of the way in time.

"Nice try, Ember! But's it's going to take WAY more than that to get rid of me!..." She shouted as she aimed her saber at her with the intent to hit her with it like a pinata.

To their surprised, Ember almost seemed happy right now, acting as this was just a casual visit and not just a random ambush. Her tone make it seem like she didn't want to fight at all, but her actions spoke otherwise as she kept sending ectoblasts and using her guitar to mess with them.

Star responded by standing her ground. She kept swinging her blade like a bat to deflect the attacks. Some swings worked while dodging the rest as the ghostly diva tried to get under her skin.

"Aw, what's wrong? You not getting in on this action, Starlight..."Ember said, being sassy and sarcastic.

The blonde girl was irritated by her dismissive attitude.

"One, only Danny gets to call me that. And two, if you are that eager for me to kick your butt, then I'll be more than generous to offer it for you right now!..."Star said as she held out her saber and took up a battle stance again.

"Is that supposed to mean anything?..."Ember said as she readied for a fight.

"It means get lost!..."Star snapped.

"Not before I deal with you first and maybe have some fun with Baby-Pop..."Ember said as she tried to continue the fight and sent a flirty look to an irritated Danny.

"Over my dead body!..."Star snapped, fists clenching now.

"Worls for me..."Ember said with a smirk, ready to attack her again.

The two began to fight and Star did her best to dodge Ember's fire and blasts, using her cheerleading skills to avoid the attacks. That's when Danny flew in, the energy around his fist creating a construct of a gauntlet that punched his foe. Ember recovered and narrowed her eyes.

"Cute, Baby-pop. Now it's MY turn!..."Ember said as she sent a fist blast from her guitar, hitting him and sending him into a wall.

Danny recovered and frowned.

"If this is her idea of a hobby, I hate to think what she'd do for work or how she lets off steam..."He muttered as his girlfriend got angry.

"And now it's my turn, no-hit wonder..."Star said as she used her saber to strike at Ember who used to block, and they basically initiated a makeshift sword duel.

That was when Star's boyfriend decided to end this before things got messy.

The half ghost hero quickly began creating green ecto-energy in one hand and freezing down his other hand with a ball of frosty ghost energy, then slammed both his hands together to create his "Phantom Mist" to blindside the blue flaming haired diva.

"What the heck?!..."She exclaimed.

Ember was completely caught off guard by Danny's trick and didn't notice that the half ghost boy was standing behind her and prepared his next attack. Once the pop diva turned around, it was already too late to escape and she was hit by a lot of ecto-blasts and another punch, which made her crash to the ground in a daze for a moment as the Phantom mist vanished.

With Ember down, the ghost boy rolled his eyes.

"Next time you get bored, try yoga or putting Colette's picture on a dartboard and throw it off a cliff..."Danny suggested, as he pulled out the thermos.

"Why waste a perfectly good dartboard..."Star said, as her boyfriend trapped the ghostly diva inside the device.

With Ember gone, the couple sighed.

"Well...that was different..."Star muttered.

"Yes, it was. Can't say I'm not relieved this isn't part of some complex evil plot..."Danny said, as he put the thermos away.

"Yeah. I mean, this means we can go back to our date without worry..."Star said, just wanting to go back to their date.

Hand in hand, the couple walked away from the battle sight. They had a date to get back to after all.

The teens soon left to go on their date, unaware that a certain robotic bug was spying on them. Or that something even more troubling was on its way.

-To be continued-

Next time on Theft

Making Plans

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A/N(1): I dedicate this chapter to my family, my friends and my love for God :)

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A/N(2): Special thanks for NeoMark, BCW, 61394 and Jay The Average Fanboy for their help. You guys rock :)

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A/N(3): Be sure to check out "Court", another Stranded side-story.

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A/N(4): Edited on 9/30/2024

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REPLIES to my loyal and totally awesome reviewers:

RonaldM40196867:

1) I guess that we will have to wait and see what happens.

2) Jazz probably would do that.

3) Right.

4) I will let you know soon.

5) I will see what I can do.

6) Right now, it's not necessary since they have the proof they need.

7) I wrote those as separate stories.

8) Star destroyed it and the one at school was taken down.

CMR Rosa:

1) They had met once before these events, but they didn't particularly like the man but had to tolerate him due to his positions as the superintendent.

2) He likely met them at one point but didn't bother to remember them due to dealing with so many things with his job as superintendent. He only tried to punish them because he actually thought they were the culprits and didn't bother to double check the evidence.

3) Sorry, no spoilers. I guess that we will have to wait and see what happens.

SuperSonicBros123, Soggy Fysher Woods, Jay The Average Fanboy, Nicolas Belasco and JDF Legacier Morphicon: Thank you :)

Luiz4200: Sorry, no spoilers. I guess that we will have to wait and see what happens.

Danifan3000: Sorry, no spoilers. I guess that we will have to wait and see what happens.

Invader Johnny: Yeah, Vlad never learns his lessons.

Scooter2: I agree that Colette needs help and Danny was just bluffing to scare Colette into listening to them. As much as he hates her, he wouldn't willingly let her or anyone else share that fate if he could help it. He and Ember were just trying to scare her into giving up her crazy plans.

Riccardo facchini03: I think Colette is worse since Vlad has shown he is capable of some remorse, but Colette isn't capable of doing even that.

Fiction Realm: Yeah, Vlad never learns his lesson.

Guest(1): Thank you. I will also see what I can do.

Guest(2): He might not bother to help Danny unless he saw some way to benefit from the situation, but I do think he would be unimpressed with Colette's methods and being reckless.

NightShadow2955: I guess that we will have to wait and see what happens.

Luffy is king: Thanks for the suggestion. I will consider your ideas but I am not sure if I see Stella and Reginald as a couple to be honest. Sorry.

Rock1030: I guess we will have to wait and see what happens.

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:) I hope you enjoyed this! Remember to read and review :)