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 10: Searching For Vlad
Solene Elizabeth Brown was in a good mood.
She had lunch with her darling boyfriend earlier and she had returned to work. She just finished a meeting and returned to her office, wanting to finish the rest of her work as early as possible.
"Okay. Axiom's lab meeting about that insurance thing is all set. Now I have to file the necessary forms with the court before going to trial. Next, check up with Genius Magazine about that printing mishap. Afterward, call Johnathan to tell him the good news and then go to my volunteer shift at the soup kitchen..."Solene thought, as she opened up an email and sighed.
She knew that she had a fairly busy day ahead of her. She noticed a picture on her desk, one about her, Johnathan, and Star during their last trip together. Solene smiled as her eyes were on the photo, particularly about her boyfriend.
"Johnathan...what did I do to meet a guy like you?..."She thought with a smile, as she glanced at the image of Johnathan.
While they had only been dating for several months, she knew that their relationship was steady and becoming serious. It's been a long time since she last felt this serious about someone after so long, or anyone for that matter.
She hasn't had much of a love life and her previous serious relationship didn't end well, to say the least. That was part of the reason why she initially threw herself into her career before she truly found someone special. In some of her past relationships, things hadn't worked out and others had been less than great.
Thankfully, now she managed to find a man that she could romantically devote herself to and could do the same with her. A man whom she can trust and see a future with.
"Johnathan, meeting you has been one of my best choices yet..."Solene thought with a smile.
Now, she's in her early thirties, having a steady career with a job she loves, and she found a great guy to date. What more could she ask for?
She once thought about bringing up the possibility of marriage to Johnathan but then decided to hold off on that until Johnathan wanted to discuss it. Solene knew that the topic of marriage might be a touchy subject for him.
"He did go through a divorce just a few years ago. Maybe now isn't the time to think about...more..."Solene thought, feeling a little down but also hopeful for the future.
Right now, she needs to place her sharp focus on both her work and her relationship with Johnathan later.
"Now I wonder if Johnathan would want to get some Thai food later tonight. And maybe see a movie this weekend after my shift at the animal shelter..."She wondered as she made a mental note to ask him later after work.
Solene then heard her office phone ringing and then answered.
"Solene Elizabeth Brown, Esq. How may I help you?..."Solene answered.
It is from Genius Magazine asking to reschedule their meeting to discuss their lawsuit against Jock's Quarterly for next week. Which Solene agreed to.
Once done, Solene hung up and went back to work. All the while, thinking about her boyfriend and any plans they could make soon. And how much she wants to see him again soon.
Meanwhile
With Frostbite
Blizzard, Frostbite's second-in-command, was trying to find his boss and talk about something important.
"Where is Chief Frostbite? I must speak to him about an urgent matter..."Blizzard said, referring to Plasmius's little trap from earlier.
"He should be in there. But be quiet..."Snow, one of the warriors said, pointing to the hut where he and another warrior were guardians.
Blizzard walked in to check and blinked at what he was seeing.
It was the sight of Chief Frostbite, the strongest warrior and leader of the Far Frozen, and one of the mightiest ghosts in the Ghost Zone, was currently holding Pierre in his arms, and was telling him a story, while several other of their warriors were paying attention to the human child.
"And then the horrid Ghost King was finally locked up in the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep, and the Great One saved the Ghost Zone and Earth, and everyone there. The end..."Frostbite said while Pierre clapped his hand.
"Haha. Danny...yay...yay...Cat...tree..."Pierre said in between giggles.
"Yes, indeed..."Frostbite said with a chuckle but noticed that Pierre yawned and soon fell asleep.
"Oh, the little one is asleep. Good. I suppose hearing that epic tale of one of the Great One's many adventures throughout his journey so far has finally tired out the small one..."Frostbite said as he gently placed him in the crib that they had brought for him, and used several spells to keep the hut warm and quiet for the little infant.
"Chief Frostbite?..."Blizzard asked.
"Shush. The little one is asleep. Let us not disturb him..."Frostbite whispered, before turning to the sleeping Pierre.
"Sleep well, little warrior. Dream of future victories..."Frostbite whispered before turning to his subordinate.
"Let us speak outside..."The chief whispered and his second-in-command nodded.
Frostbite ordered two ghost Yeti warriors stayed with Pierre to watch over him and keep him safe. Afterwards, they walked out of the hut and started to talk.
"Any updates?..."Frostbite asked.
"Good news. Our scientists managed to find a way to turn off Plasmius's shield. Finally. Now we can track the temporal anomalies and locate the Infi-Map..."Blizzard said.
"Good! Now we can join the great one in battle and prove our might by showing the full wrath of the Far Frozen to that scoundrel Plasmius!..."Frostbite said in anger before he recalled someone.
"Before that though, make sure that at least Snow and Frost stay behind to protect The Little One. Babies do need care after all..."The chief said, refusing to forget about the defenseless infant that was in their care.
Blizzard nodded.
However, before they could do anything, they noticed something was off. Frostbite and the other warriors of the Far Frozen suddenly felt dizzy and off-balance.
"Oh dear! What's happening? I feel like...something is wrong..."One of the warriors said, feeling off.
Frostbite suddenly recognized what this was and panicked.
"The infi-map...oh dear...the Great One is in trouble...and so is reality!..."Frostbite said in dread, realizing that Plasmius must have gone too far.
His fellow warriors felt the same, knowing that something must be VERY wrong with the fabric of time and reality.
Elsewhere
With Team Phantom
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!..."Team Phantom all yelled as the map dragged all of them through a vortex of space and time.
It finally stopped and they were relieved, to say the least. Though they didn't enjoy how it hurled them through the air.
"I think that I'm starting to get used to this...and I'm not sure if that's a bad thing or not..."Tucker muttered, still feeling a little sick from all of that.
"What I'm never going to be used to is the bad hair day that I keep getting using this thing..."Star said as she grabbed a comb from her handbag and began using it.
"You carry a comb with you during our adventures?..."Sam questioned, raising a brow.
"Yeah, what's your point? Don't you?..."Star asked, as she quickly managed to fix her hair.
"Okay. We already know that Vlad is in this era...and the piece of the Infi-Map should be near too. The question is where?..."Danny asked out loud.
"We better find out fast. I'm starting to get a low reception on my PDA..."Tucker complained.
The rest of Team Phantom rolled their eyes at the techno-geek's personal tech priority over the situation they're all currently in right now. Even so, they managed to figure out where they are, due to it being a place that Sam recognized.
"Hey, we're close to my family's old weekend home..."Sam said.
"Weekend home?..."Danny asked, confused.
"It's kind of like a second home that people stay in over the weekends and holidays..."Star explained.
"Yeah, my parents bought it since all their snooty friends were buying them at the time and my parents, as always, just had to have one due to being total copycats. They absolutely LOVED bragging about how "nicely" they decorated it. They eventually sold this place after that whole trend ended and went out of fashion or some such nonsense like that. It didn't take long for it to be replaced with something just as shallow and insignificant instead of them actually getting jobs and doing something productive..."Sam muttered in distaste.
"Why did the Infi-map bring us here?..."Tucker asked out loud, since it had to be around here and Vlad had to be somewhere around there too
"One way to find out. Let's get the map and that Fruitloop..."Danny said as he made everyone invisible and then phased inside the Manson's old property.
A few moments later
The heroes all snuck in and soon found themselves at their current destination. The Manson weekend home.
Thanks to the Mansons not changing where they keep the spare key and Sam remembering how to get there, especially since it was similar to their current house in the present.
"We're here..."Danny said, while the others noticed how overly fancy the house looked.
"Oh joy, this place is even more of an eyesore than I thought it be..." Star mutters annoyed, before she recalls who is here. "No offense Sam or to your grandma..." She said apologetically.
"None taken. I know my parents are crazy. Ugh, I remember this. Why the heck did those pieces take us here at my old house?..."Sam asked out of confusion.
"You call this a house?! It looks like a mansion!..."Tucker said, being reminded of how rich Sam's family is.
"Yeah, but a few years later my parents wanted to try and give this place a home makeover before they decided to sell it for basically the same they paid for it too. Ugh so many decorators and designers who overcharged my family into turning this place into an even more pretentious place, which also turned into the longest annoyance I had to tolerate in my life..."Sam said.
"If they hadn't kept themselves busy doing all that, I might have wanted to keep the house and no, they wanted to prioritize their possessions first..."She added.
"Plus, all those snooty decorators were jerks calling the ideas that I had for my own bedroom drab and how it supposedly messed with the atmosphere they were trying to create..."Sam grumbled with bitterness.
"You were five..." Star pointed out disgusted. "What kind of insecure, petty loser says that to a five-year-old? Especially the daughter of the people signing their paycheck?..."She asked.
"Psycholette...The old bat...Jean-Puke...Misty evil ancestors...Toadman and his buddies...Vlad..." Tucker listed. "There's a lot of people who'd be that petty..."He said and the others nodded.
"Fair point..."Star admitted, while her boyfriend felt like they were getting off track here.
"Let's just find the piece of the map and leave and get back to finding Vlad, stop him, kick his butt and go home..."Danny said, wanting this done with before they make any more changes to the timeline.
However, their plans were put on hold when they all heard a familiar voice speak up.
"What was that noise?..."The voice of Jeremy was heard, and it was approaching.
"Don't try to change the subject on me, Jeremy. We're still talking about Sam..."Ida's voice was heard.
"Grandma. I wanna go outside and play with my new friends. Please. It's so boring in here..."A little girl's voice said, which was a younger Sam.
"Oh man, I forgot. School ended early today..."Sam said, as Danny made her and everyone else invisible and pulled the others behind the couch.
Just in time, as the Mansons and the younger Sam walked into the room, they immediately opened the curtains to brighten up the colorful room. Sam and the others had to stay hidden because she was at a point in the past when she was a little kid, and who knows what would happen.
"Huh? I thought I heard something in here..."Jeremy said, before noticing the window opened.
"It must have been the wind. Nothing's in there but that tacky couch your wife bought. Now stop trying to dodge my questions and talk to me like an adult.."Ida said, while her daughter-in-law glared at her for that remark.
"You're the tacky one. Dress livelier, please. Also, we've had this discussion over a dozen times, Ida. And like always, our answer won't change..."Pamela said, before turning to her daughter who still didn't look happy about any of this.
"Come along, Sammy. Time to try out your nice new dress and get you ready for your little play date with mommy and daddy's friends children at the country club. You'll look so cute in your new dress..."Pamela said, while her daughter began to throw a tantrum.
"NO!..." Sam heard her past self shout. "I don't wanna go! I wanna play with my new friends I made at school today! I don't wanna go to meet your snooty friends, they're mean! I wanna play with my new friends way more than your stupid friend's kids!..."Little Sam yelled, while her mother ignored her complaints.
The rest of Team Phantom heard all this and remained hidden from sight. While also peeking through the walls with Danny's intangible powers.
"Samantha Manson, you must go to the country club with us. It's important that you bond with your social peers at the right age. Besides, your usual babysitter isn't available today because of a cold or something like that..."Pamela Manson demanded.
"Besides, Reginald and Darla Loadman are also coming to Amity Park for a charity event and we must be there..."Jeremy added, mostly because he wanted to get closer to them due to their status.
"Yes.. Plus, other young ladies your age will be there..."Pamela nagged, while her daughter continued to pout. "You'll need to know the right kind of people to become the future debutante and captain of the cheerleader squad at The Amity Park Academy for girls and to avoid losers if you can..."She said while grinning at the idea.
"You also need to dress the part too..."Pamela said, still wanting her daughter to wear the pink monstrosity that she called a dress.
"NO! I HATE PINK! AND THAT DRESS LOOKS STUPID!..."Little Sam yelled, throwing another tantrum while her parents continuously insisted that she wear the dress they chose for her.
"Leave her alone and stop trying to make her wear those tacky dresses that look like they wouldn't even look good on a fairy tale character!..."Ida criticized.
"How dare you say that? I have impeccable taste in clothes..."Pamela argued.
"Your taste is like expired cotton candy. Accept it already..."Ida snarked, and Pamela got mad at that remark but Team Phantom was surprised by one detail.
"The most exclusive private school in the city? Your parents wanted you to go there?..."Star questioned.
Sam nodded, looking embarrassed.
"I don't want to talk about it..."She muttered.
"How are you at Casper-..."Danny began but his friend cut him off.
"I don't want to talk about it!..." Sam said, her tone leaking complete embarrassment.
"What happened was as embarrassing to me as Jean-Puke being married to Star's mom is for her..."Sam said, and Star cringed.
"Say no more..."She muttered, feeling her pain.
Whatever the Mansons did, if it was as embarrassing as being related to Jean-Puke through marriage then Star didn't want to know.
"Please let Pierre have gotten more Traville genes than Bevier genes. And by that, I mean from Grandpa and not that old bat..."Star internally begged as they all continued to watch the past argument in the Manson family.
"Samantha, enough. Now stop acting like a child and do as you're told like a good girl. We're your parents and you need to mind what we say. You also need to make a good impression with the RIGHT kind of peers..."Pamela nagged her daughter.
"Ugh!..."The child said, upset with her mother.
Sammy didn't like any of this but she reluctantly cooperated, but her grandmother stepped in.
"Pamela, let her have some fun. She's a kid and she needs actual friends. And at least let her dress up in something that she can actually play in. My little bubbeleh doesn't even like that frilly eyesore of a dress that you chose. ..."Ida said, and soon the two had another disagreement.
"We know what we are doing, MOTHER! Sammy is going to be the belle of the ball when she wears the dress we chose for her. After all, she's going to grow into a respectable, well-mannered young lady and a proper member of high society, like Pamela and I..."Jeremy said, but his words had a hint of bitterness due to how "free-spirited" his mother was in his youth.
"Yes. Also, Ida... this dress is perfectly stylish and functional. And it was very expensive too. So, Sammy-kins is wearing it. The other girls and their families will be envious ..."Pamela said.
Ida frowned.
"Now Sammy-kins, let's hurry as we don't wanna be late. This is for your own good to hang out with people from the same social circles. And remember, this is for charity..."Pamela said, and her daughter sighed.
"Well, if it's for charity..."Past Sam was willing to put up with the club's snobs for as long as it was for charity.
"That and the fact the Loadmans are Golden Guild members and could get us in there..." Jeremy replied greedily, hoping to finally get in with Golden Guild members.
Ida sighed and Present Sam could understand why. Ida was secretly a Golden Guild member but wouldn't say anything because she knew her son and her daughter-in-law were too selfish for it.
"Not to mention that the Loadmans have a son of the same age as you..." Pamela added. "You and Donovan could become friends and who knows, this could be the start of something more when you both grow up..."Pamela said.
"EWWW! Yucky!..."Little Sam shouted, not liking the idea while her mother thought she was being fussy.
"Come now, Sammy-kins. There's nothing icky about love and it's not something that would happen for years and years..."Pamela said.
"Thank goodness..." Jeremy and Ida muttered at the same time, both agreeing that Sam was much too young for that.
Soon, the past version of the Manson family left the room, unaware of the invisible audience they had the entire time. Past Sam followed her parents but had an angry look on her face, while Ida felt sorry for her and planned to have a word with her son and his wife yet again.
Sam was shocked until she remembered she was at a point in the past when Donovan Loadman was a little kid who had yet to cross the line that even her parents and Jean-Puke wouldn't cross. At that point, Danny and the others were also shocked to find out that Sam had met and knew Donovan back when she was this young.
"Your parents forced you to hang out with that creep Toadman when you were 5 years old?!..."Tucker asked, looking stunned.
"I didn't even remember any of this! I can't believe that they actually thought I'd like Toadman! So gross!..."Sam said in disgust and angru that her mother actually CONSIDERED the possibility of Sam liking that jerk at one point.
"Yeah, well...thankfully, they changed their minds by the time he tried to "court" you. And who knows, he's a little kid now so he's probably not evil yet..."Tucker said.
"I doubt it..."Sam grumbled, remembering the jerk that he would be in their time.
"I SERIOUSLY doubt it..." Star said, agreeing with Sam.
Danny simply shook his head in disapproval of such an idea even being possible. Regardless, even if Donovan supposedly was decent as a little kid, what he became now in the present was terrible and they all knew that.
"Knowing them, they would try setting me up with Chip Skylark the 3rd if they had the opportunity. At least until before they found out he isn't rich despite being famous. I'm at least glad that my Grandma had my back even when I was a child. And still has my back even in our present, unlike my parents..."Sam grumbled in bitterness and even a hint of sadness as this was also the beginning of losing the image of parental figures in her Mom and Dad.
"Even back then, I was just an accessory or something they could use to shmooze with rich people. And this was one of the many times my parents ignored my complaints. It's also the time I started to view my Grandma as the real parental figure in the family..."Sam said with a sigh.
"Yeah...well it's their loss. You're not at fault here..." Danny said, disgusted with the Manson parents and how self-centered they could be.
While his parents could be embarrassing and clumsy and could blather about ghosts for hours, they made it clear they loved him and Jazz for who they were, not for being a mini Jack Fenton. This is something Danny will always be thankful for and something that Sam will sometimes be secretly envious of.
"Still...your dad and grandma...they just agreed on something for once?..." Team Phantom all said, actually surprised by that.
"I didn't that think that was possible..."Sam muttered under her breath.
"I thought that Colette would act like a genuine human being before they ever agreed on anything..." Star added.
"I thought that we'd walk on the sun before they agreed..."Tucker finished
"Let's just focus on what we came in here to do. Namely finding that Fruitloop and decking him..."Danny muttered, wanting to end the conversation and get back to searching for the piece of the Infi-map.
The others nodded, knowing they didn't have any time to waste.
"Now, where is that piece of the map?..."Star asked out loud, as they all kept looking.
Danny spotted the piece of the Infi-map.
"Found it!..." The ghost boy said as he grabbed it and it merged with the rest of the map.
"Good...but where is Plasmius?..." Star asked, looking around.
"Probably looking for either my Mom or my Dad. Keep your guards up everyone, there's no telling where he might be in this era of time..." Danny said.
"Then let's hurry and find that Fruitloop and kick his butt before he messes up the past again..."Star said and the others nodded.
"Yeah, before he somehow manages to figure out that the pieces of the map can still travel and he tries to prevent my grandparents from ever meeting..."Danny said, still worried about that.
The half-ghost boy then opened up the map, which was only 2/3 of what it used to be, hoping that it would still work like earlier.
"Okay. Infi-Map. We know Vlad is somewhere in this time. Now please take us to wherever he is right now...Please..." Danny asked, really hoping that this would work.
The newest piece of the Infi-map started to glow bright and took the heroes to a nearby open natural portal. The map dragged all of them through it as the teenage heroes hung on to it for dear life.
Present Time
At the Manson Home
Ida Manson was not having a good day.
No, scratch that. She was having a lousy day.
Her granddaughter had left home early and hasn't come home or called yet, and her son and his wife are still making the situation worse by her son and daughter-in-law being stubborn and set in their ways, even in their attempts to "apologize".
It was clear that they hadn't taken their situation seriously yet. They kept insisting that it was all that awful girl's blackmail scheme that they had such difficulty connecting with their only child recently, but Ida knew that situation was just the straw that broke the camel's back and this problem was due to years of not communicating better with their child and trying to change her into being more like them and acting so dismissive about the things they didn't approve of.
Which was just about everything.
And even now, they thought some measly presents and a few words of apology could make up for that. Well, Sam made it clear that it was going to take A LOT more than that before she even considered the idea of forgiveness.
If she ever will.
"I hope my little bubbeleh doesn't do or say something that she might regret later in life. Still, If my parents accused me of a crime that I didn't commit and used it to try and send me away, I probably would've stopped talking to them too at that age..."The old lady thought, still feeling sad about this situation.
Ida exhaled tiredly as things grew tenser and tenser as Jeremy and Pamela tried to buy their daughter's love. The more she pushed them away and went into the arms of her friends.
"Idiots! Why can't they understand?!..."The old lady thought.
Ida knew that it was only because of her Bubeleh's friends that she managed to stay on the right path and not do something crazy in an attempt to rebel against those fools and find some freedom.
Even so, things were still tough between the Manson family and they don't look like they will be fixed any time soon given how her son and his wife still didn't seem to understand the REAL cause of this problem.
"What am I going to do? I just don't know what to do now. It's plainly obvious that my son and his wife won't be of any help..."Ida thought as she rode her scooter around her manor to her room.
She feared that her family was finally starting to break apart, which broke her heart to think about.
"Where did I go wrong with that boy? If only he didn't hang out with those snobs...and maybe I should have done more but...I just didn't want him to feel like he didn't have any freedom like I was growing up...but I guess that I really messed up..."She thought in sadness and disappointment.
However, once she entered her bedroom, Ida's scooter bumped into her nightstand and caused it to drop her family photo album. She picked it up and felt a bit nostalgic. It was a familiar photo that was taken a long time ago.
Some were taken during her younger years, with her late husband Mordecai and their son Jeremy back when he was a child. Back then, Mordecai looked identical to their son, only stockier, with a mustache and beard. He also wore glasses and had a much deeper voice compared to Jeremy.
"Mordecai honey... What am I doing wrong? What would you do if you were still here with me?..."Ida thought in sadness as she sighed.
She did love her late husband very much, even though she was sure that she hated him and would never have imagined the two of them getting together when they first met.
He was such an arrogant guy who kept pursuing her and tried to impress her. She recalled how, despite his ego, he made genuine attempts to get to know her better by taking an interest in her hobbies and passions...and over time she learned that his heart was in the right place and eventually he grew on her.
She eventually agreed to go on a date with him after he learned how to break down his tough guy facade and opened up his feelings with her. And she eventually decided to give him a chance...and the rest is history.
She thought back to all the fights, arguments, and getting into competitions with each other, they had so many silly fights in their youth, which she now realizes was just one of the signs of them falling in love without her realizing it.
"We were so silly back then. If only we both knew how much we actually loved each other back then. I wonder how different things could have been if we'd stopped acting like dumb kids sooner..."Ida thought as she got lost in her memories.
FLASHBACK
50 years ago
A 21-year-old Ida was not in a good mood.
She had just gone to one of her friend's parties in the park, she had picked out a great gift and just parked her motorbike. She was ready to have fun but she had to run into HIM again.
That snobby Mordecai.
He was some obnoxious rich boy who she met a few months back who tried asking her out, but she turned him down. But he has kept trying to ask her out many more times but he was always getting on her nerves by putting on airs.
"Come on, Ida doll. Just one dance..."Mordecai said again, getting on her nerves again.
"Don't call me that and I said get lost, you stick in the mud! How many times do I have to say no for you to get a clue?!..."Ida snapped at him, but Mordecai still looked infatuated with her.
"Come on, doll face. Give me a chance. We both know that you like me, Ida. Plus, there isn't a better-looking man here than me. Plus... I'm in med school and studying to be a doctor. Ain't I the bee's knees?..."Mordecai said in a snobby way, before he sent her a flirty look.
"Plus, my diagnosis is telling me that you have the hots for me..."He said, thinking he was being smooth, even though he wasn't.
Ida rolled her eyes.
"Cheese and crackers. Do you even hear yourself, Mordicai? There's not enough room in your arms for me and your ego. Plus, being a doctor doesn't make you some movie star, you greedy, egocentric string-bean..."Ida said in irritation.
Mordecai just kept smirking and even chuckled at that.
"Come on, Beautiful. What's it gonna take for you to give me a chance and show you the kind of man I am? Why don't we step out, maybe grab a bite to eat?..."Mordecai asked.
"I'd rather be dateless than go out with a boring square like you, Mordecai! Leave me alone until you get rid of that oversized ego of yours, rich boy!..."Ida snapped at him in annoyance before marching away, mildly annoyed...not seeing the absolutely smitten look on Mordecai's face.
Ida might not have seen it yet, but Mordecai kept looking at her with sincere love in his eyes like Ida was the only exceptional person in the world to him.
"That woman is going to become my wife one day. I can just feel it in my heart to be true..."He whispered in a lovesick way, unaware that one day, his wish would come true.
End Of Flashback
Present Time
Ida's memory ended and she sighed with a slight smile on her face at that memory.
"Well...he won sooner or later. He sure was persistent, wasn't he?..."She thought, missing him.
Back then, she used to hate how arrogant and annoying Mordecai was. But one day, she saw him helping out a homeless man by giving him the coat off his when he thought no one was there. She also saw how he didn't rat her out when she and her beatnik friends were running wild and some of their stunts went out of hand. She also found that he even started opening up a soup kitchen for the less fortunate and offering them some clothing to replace some of the dirty clothes they were all wearing.
Those were some of the instances that showed her that while annoying, Mordecai had a good heart underneath all that ego.
Once he showed that he was an actual decent guy deep down after she finally decided to get to know him, the more the closer they became to each other. And now, all she could do was remember about the old days with sadness and longing.
"Honey...why did you have to leave me?..."She said, as she still glanced at the photo.
However, something strange suddenly happened. Ida blinked, feeling a headache coming on, and hissed.
"Huh...what...I've got such a headache. I just had a checkup with the doctor two weeks ago..."Ida said before she noticed something off about the picture.
She blinked, raising a brow as she felt something wasn't right there.
"Strange...I don't remember there being a blur in the back of these photos. Do I need to get new glasses again?..."Ida said out loud, unaware of what was going on.
Back with Team Phantom
"AAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!..."The heroes all yelled as they clung to the map as it kept dragging them across town very fast.
It eventually stopped and they were dizzy again.
"Where are we now?..."Star asked, looking around.
They soon saw that they were at the old Amity Park with only a few landmarks they recognized.
"Why did it bring us here?..."Tucker asked.
"Vlad must be here somewhere. Let's find him quick and get back home..."Danny said.
Looking around, Danny saw classic cars, beatniks, hippies, people dressed in suits hats, and dresses that looked like they belonged in his Grandma Fenton's closet.
"I get the feeling that the internet hasn't been invented yet here either..."Tucker commented in disappointment.
Danny, having seen the date on the guy's newspaper, had a brainstorm.
"You hear the news about? They are gonna try and land a man on the moon by the end of the decade. Isn't that incredible?..." A man asked his friend, who looked like Dash, who shrugged.
"Don't believe everything you read in the papers. You expect me to believe something like sending a man to the moon? Next, they'll be saying someone will invent a telephone you can carry with you outside..."He replied, passing by looking at Danny and his friends and sent them disapproving looks.
"These hippies will wear anything these days..."He said in disapproval as they walked away.
Sam frowned.
"Looks like Dash's grandpa is just as "charming" as he is..."She grumbled sarcastically.
"You know that might not be Dash's grandpa right? It could be just a blonde guy who just so happens to look like him...and have an attitude..."Tucker pointed out.
"With our luck, for all we know, he might not even live in Amity Park in the future...or our present..."Star muttered since she did see a resemblance between them.
"So... it's the sixties and we haven't been to the moon yet. Anything off the top of your heads, Vlad could do to target our families and get rid of us here..."Danny said, sounding worried as he was trying to think of any reason why Vlad would be here at this time.
"Not mine since both of my families are likely still in New York at this point..."Star answered, knowing her family wouldn't be in Amity Park until before she went to middle school.
"And my parents move to Amity Park when I'm a baby. Before that, both their families lived in Seattle. So, I doubt my grandparents would be here unless they did a trip that I wasn't aware of..." Tucker said, knowing his own family's history.
"My grandparents live here and my dad's not born till the late sixties..." Sam answers, worried about what this could mean.
"That's a horrifying possibility, guys..."Danny said before he recalled something.
"Now that I think about it... I remember my grandparents telling me and Jazz about how they had their first date around this time. It was a blind date their friends set up..." Danny said, remembering a story he heard over Thanksgiving plenty of times.
"Fenton or McDonaldson?..." Star asked, getting a bad feeling about this.
"Fenton..." Danny answered before realizing what damage Vlad could do if he was here.
"This isn't good. Vlad might actually go through with this threat and target your grandparents like he said. To try to keep your Dad from being born, Danny..." Star said, while her boyfriend got angry.
"I swear, if Vlad does something else that'll change the past... Then I'm going to kick his butt from here to...where's somewhere on the other side of the planet?!..." Danny growled, but one of his friends answered him.
"Timbuktu..."Tucker answered.
"I'll kick his butt there. Thanks Tuck..." Danny said, while his friend smiled.
"Happy to help..."Tucker said.
"Okay. Just to be safe...where did your grandparents have their first date?..." Sam asked, having a bad feeling about this.
"A burger place..." Danny answered. "It's where the first Nasty Burger is or will be. You know what I mean..."Danny said.
"Great, that makes it easy. Let's go..."Tucker said. "From what I recall, the first Nasty Burger opened in Amity Park...but on the other side of town, near Elmerton... before it closed down in the eighties due to an earthquake destroying it and it eventually moved to its location in our time..."Tucker answered.
"How do you know that?..."Star asked.
"It was on the Nasty Burgers website..."Tucker answered, while his friends sent him looks.
"I was waiting too long for my order and got bored, so I looked it up..."Tucker said, while his friends sighed.
"Let's just find that fruitloop already before things get crazy again..."Star answered.
Danny nodded, grabbing everyone they flew invisibly as they headed for that place. Still, his girlfriend couldn't help but ask the following question.
"Hey, Boo. How come I haven't met your grandparents yet?..."Star asked.
"They live in a retirement community in Florida. Funny enough, my mom's parents are their neighbors. Anyways they come for Thanksgiving and family reunions. You know... stuff like that..."Danny said with a shrug.
"They're pretty nice. They'll like you..." Sam said.
"Now let's save the timeline so they can meet their future granddaughter-in-law..."Tucker said, getting a blush from the couple.
He noticed the looks he was getting from the others.
"Just trying to defuse the tension..."Tucker said with a shrug, as they all kept flying to make sure that their first meeting went as it was supposed to go.
And stop Vlad from ruining all of it.
A little later
Flying as fast as possible, Danny soon found the burger shop, the one that would be where his grandparents would eventually meet.
"We're here..." Danny said.
"Okay. Time to find your grandparents..." Star said.
"Yeah, before Vlad trims your family tree..."Tucker said sardonically.
"On the bright side. as long as I'm still here means it hasn't happened yet. Hopefully..." Danny said in an uneasy tone.
"Let's make sure to keep it that way. Now let's go find that Fruitloop before he manages to stop Mr. Fenton from being born and erasers both Danny, Jazz, and even Danielle from reality..."Sam said in a dark tone, making the others cringe.
"Whoa, Sam. That sounded really grim, even for you..."Tucker said, feeling a slight chill go up his spine.
"I'm just being realistic about our current situation here. The stakes are a lot bigger for all of us personally..."Sam said, making her point as clear as possible.
"Either way, let's stop Vlad and keep everyone safe..." Danny said.
"Uh. Boo..." Star said as she pointed up ahead.
They soon spotted a man who looked a lot like Danny's father Jack Fenton, though he had blonde hair and brown eyes and he was with a pretty woman with black, curly hair. They were both in front of the entrance, with the man flirting with her.
Unbeknownst to the young couple of the sixties, they were being stalked by an evil half-ghost man from the future.
Danny saw Vlad following the couple closer behind with his ghost powers. Approaching a couple, Vlad proceeded to overshadow a man forcing him to "trip", spilling cola all over the woman's dress. Once done, Vlad stopped overshadowing, remained invisible, and smirked as he witnessed this fight.
"Oh no!..."Star said, worried they were too late.
"Ugh. You klutz!..."The woman said before she slapped him and then walked off upset.
"What was that for?!..."The Jack-look-a-like said, angry as he walked away.
Vlad, having left, smirked.
"Finally! Now everything will be the way it was meant to be! Making Jack's birth never happen, which will result in him never getting in my way ever again! Hahaha!..."Vlad laughed in a deranged manner, thinking that he finally succeeded.
Danny rushed forward, tackling Vlad phasing the two through the wall. Crashing into an empty alleyway with a few dumpsters as cover.
"PLASMIUS!..." Danny shouted while Vlad glared at him.
"I knew you fools would eventually try and track me down. All to get this piece of the map back. But you are all too late..."Vlad said as he held it in his hands.
Team Phantom glared at him.
"Plasmius, just hand it over now and I MIGHT consider giving you only one black eye today!..." Danny warned.
Vlad merely scoffed.
"Oh, what? You actually expect me to listen to that. You either need to improve your negotiating skills or your threats, possibly both..."The villain snarked.
"Sure, let me start by kicking you all the way to Timbuktu..." Danny shouted, kicking Vlad in the chest and sending him flying several yards away.
While Vlad was distracted by the fight, Danny's friends and girlfriend tried to fix this mess.
"Okay quick, we've got to fix things for my boo's grandpa!..." Star said in a panic, but Tucker stopped her.
"That wasn't Danny's grandpa..."Tucker said, shocking Star.
"He's not?..." Star asked, surprised.
Sam and Tucker nodded, pointing to a dark-haired man with glasses and a beard, sitting at a table laughing with a woman with black hair who was as tall as Jack Fenton and actually looked almost like a female version of him.
"From the photos we have seen Mr. Fenton show us, that's supposed to be his parents. Danny's actual grandparents..."Sam said, surprising Star.
"Really? But then who was that guy who Vlad just overshadowed?..." Star asked, looking lost since that guy looked a lot like Danny's father.
"That must have been Mr. Fenton's uncle. His mother's twin brother, that's why they look so alike..."Sam explained, and Star was surprised.
"Danny's grandma has a twin brother?..." Star asked.
"Yeah. According to Danny, his grandma's brother lives in Texas, spending his retirement years with his own family..."Tucker explained.
"But... then why did Vlad overshadow that guy?..." Star asked, seeing the couple whose date Vlad had tried to ruin was fixing things on their own.
"I guess he never met Mr. F's parents...Or at least, apparently forgot what they actually looked like..."Sam figured.
"Yeah, Vlad spent a fortune stalking Danny's family...but he didn't do any real research since, in his mind...all he needs to know is that Danny's dad is...according to him...the guy who ruined his life and Mrs. Fenton is some prize for him to steal..."Tucker added.
"Speaking of the fruitloop, we should go and help Danny..."Sam said and the others nodded and went to help the ghost boy.
With Danny
The ghost boy and his archenemy were still fighting in midair, both angry and trying to find an opportunity to pulverize the other.
"No good, lousy fruitloop!..."Danny said as he kept firing at his archenemy.
"Pesky little bra!t..."Vlad said, as he dodged and kept firing ecto-blasts at his enemy.
Danny scowled before he evaded the blasts by speedy around each one and then using that momentum to throw some ecto-powered kicking Vlad in the chest and sending him flying into a building.
"Little brat! I am most definitely NOT going to miss these fights!..."Vlad muttered as he peeled himself from the wall before firing several ghost rays with a wave of his hand.
Danny rolled around the blasts, barely avoiding them and he started to mock his enemy.
"What's the matter, Frutiloop? Still rusty?..."Danny taunted.
"I'll show you, rusty...little badger..."Vlad said before he blurred forward, throwing a punch that sent Danny flying back into the path of a ghost ray he dodged.
"Uh oh..."Danny said as he tried to dodge but it was too late.
It exploded against this blast though Danny recovered quickly.
"Oh fun, guess he's shaking the rust off. Great..."Danny grumbled before firing a ghost ray at his archenemy.
Vlad dodged by separating into two and both looked annoyed.
"Don't make me repeat myself, Daniel. You can't defeat me, Daniel. When are you going to accept it? I have twenty years more experience and I can predict your moves..."Both Vlads said before merging together.
"Because you're a deranged lunatic and only a cat likes you! And you named her after my Mom!..."Danny shouted at him.
The two ghost-powered individuals rushed forward, throwing a blast that shook the area, glass shook and the asphalt cracked from their fists colliding, making it easier for the rest of Team Phantom to find them.
The two girls and Tucker rushed out to see the fight going on above and it didn't look pretty, to say the least.
"Oh man, Vlad and Danny aren't going easy on each other this time..."Tucker said.
"No kidding..."Sam said, concerned about her best friend and trying to keep out of sight from others.
"We can't just stand here and watch. We got to help..."Star said, concerned for her boyfriend and trying to figure out how to help him.
Unknown to them, both halves of the Infi-Map began to glow a strange red aura and soon the area started to become unstable while the heroes didn't notice yet. The Infi-map began to glitch randomly. The images on the map started to shift ever so slightly.
Back in the present
At Fenton's Work
Jack, Maddie, and Stella were in the lab, and the latter insisted on "helping" testing their new gadgets.
Mostly by using them for target practice.
"HIYA!..."Stella shouted as she used a blaster to hit several ghost targets at once.
"Nicely done, Stella. I see your aim has improved quite a lot..."Maddie admitted.
Despite how Stella has been overstaying her welcome, she has to admit her aim has gotten better. Stella smiled widely at the compliment.
"Thanks. It's because of my skeet shooting lessons. You really should join me the next time. It really is fun when you when you hit the target perfectly. It's a great way to deal with stress. I can show you next time you're at the club..."Stella said as she went a little too close to Maddie to say this.
Maddie blinked at the sudden lack of personal space and lack of restraint.
"Um...I'll think about it..."She replied in an awkward tone.
"I'll give it a shot! Bonsai!..."Jack said as he fired at the targets...only to miss and hit a few beakers, instead causing them to break.
Stella blinked and Maddie sent a scolding look at her now sheepish husband.
"I...uh...I'll get the broom..."Jack said in defeat as he went to clean this up.
"Husbands can be so silly sometimes, am I right?..."Maddie commented with some amusement in her tone.
"I'm not sure what you mean..."Stella said, sounding genuinely clueless.
Maddie blinked but decided not to expand on that.
"Uh never mind, why don't you help me get the dustpan? Jack always forgets where we put it..." Maddie said.
"Happy to..."Stella said with a smile, before pausing. "A...dust...pan?..."She asked in confusion.
Maddie sighed.
"Never mind. I'll get it..."She said as she went to go help her husband clean this up, unaware of what was happening during the timeline right now.
Back with our heroes
Danny, Star, and the others kept battling Vlad.
Danny and Vlad continued to clash moving at high speeds trading blows up close or at range neither side giving up an inch. Once the collision between Danny's ghost ray and Vlad's ecto-beam subsided, the younger half-ghost couldn't help but try to get under his arch-enemies skin again.
"Seriously! Trying to mess with my grandparents' meeting?! What'd they ever do to you?!..." Danny demanded.
"They spawned the fudge-loving imbecile who ruined my life and he later spawned you! That's the crime they committed!..."Vlad yelled.
He somehow failed to notice, however, that Danny was still present. That was something that Danny chose to speak up about.
"Too bad for you, the couple you messed with weren't my grandparents?..."Danny said with a smirk.
"WHAT?!..."Vlad yelled in shock, unable to believe what he just heard.
"Does the mere fact that I STILL EXIST slip your mind? What's wrong? You actually missed a clue like that, Fruitloop?..."Danny mocked.
"If that fat idiot who looked like Jack wasn't your grandfather, then who is?!..."Vlad demanded.
"As if I'd ever tell you!..." Danny said as he sent blasts at his foe.
Insolent child!..." Vlad shouted as he retaliated with many anger-fueled ghost rays of his own.
Vlad's eyes glow as the blasts stop suspended by an aura of pink energy before being redirected ricocheting around Danny, hitting him from all sides.
"DANNY!..."Star, Sam, and Tucker all shouted in concern but were relieved that he was alright.
And the ghost kid didn't stop fighting either. Danny's eyes glowed as he unleashed an explosive wave of ghost energy that destroyed the blasts before blitzing toward Plasmius, rocketing him in a downward spiral. Danny broke away letting gravity do the job sending Vlad crashing into the street.
"Gah! Little pest!..."Vlad said as he tried to get up but his foe kept floating, glaring at him.
"Give it up, Fruitloop! You're outnumbered!..." Danny shouted as Vlad floated in the air.
"Never, Daniel! I will achieve my destiny one way or the other and you won't stop me! I deserve my happily ever after after your fool of a father ruined my life!..."Vlad said, while the heroes just rolled their eyes at his outburst.
"Just give it up already, Fruitloop. You're the only one who ruined your life!..."Danny shouted. "Stop blaming my dad for you wasted twenty years obsessing over a woman who DOESN'T want to be with you and who already proved she WOULDN'T like you even if that accident never happened! Just give up and move on already!..."Danny shouted.
"NEVER! I will never give up on my destiny!..."Vlad yelled, looking more deranged as they shouted.
"Oh, give it up, Plasmius! The only destiny you have is being locked behind bars once everyone sees you for the kind of person you really are!..." Star snapped at him, while the fruitloop glared at her.
"Insolent girl. I will most definitely will NOT miss you once I set this timeline to the way it's supposed to be. As in me, becoming ruler of the world, with Maddie as my queen...and with children of our own. And you not existing to interfere with my plans..."Vlad said, threatening to make sure her parents never meet each other.
"NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS!..." Danny shouted at him as he fired ice blasts at him.
Vlad dodged and deflected them, but before the battle could continue Star noticed the Infi-Map was acting strange now.
"...uhh...guys...is it normal for the Infi-map to charge images like this?..." Star asked as she pointed out how the images on the Infi-map had changed from how it originally looked before.
"Normally yes, but only when we ask it to take us somewhere. This feels different..." Danny said out of caution, thinking that something might be wrong.
Really wrong.
-To be continued-
Next time on Theft
Dimensional Shifts
A/N(1): I dedicate this chapter to my family, my friends and my love for God :)
A/N(2): Special thanks for Luiz4200, 61394, Jay The Average Fanboy and NeoMark for their help. You guys rock :)
REPLIES to my loyal and totally awesome reviewer:
RonaldM40196867: Sorry, no spoilers. I guess that we will have to wait and see what happens.
Invader Johnny: Yeah.
Jebest4781: Thank you :)
Scooter2: Sorry, no spoilers. I guess that we will have to wait and see what happens.
JDF Legacier Morphicon: Thank you :)
Here are my responses to your questions:
1) I think that Jean-Luc would like golf.
2) I think that Dani and Wulf would do anything protect each other from any threats.
Guest: Thanks for the suggestion. I will see what I can do.
Nicolas Belasco: Thank you :)
:) I hope you enjoyed this! Remember to read and review :)