WoM- It took me a while to word this chapter the way I wanted to, so be grateful I'm so devoted to you guys! Well, the fact that I was bored outta my mind might have helped, too…
"Are you sure she's as good as you think she is?" Kayla asked doubtfully, frowning skeptically at the pictures before her.
"If she isn't already, then she will be with the proper training." Trent responded firmly. Kayla scoffed slightly, smirking at the younger boy.
"Wow, Trent…" She giggled. "You've got it bad…" Annoyed, Trent scowled back at the girl.
"The only thing I've got." He growled out. "Is a headache from putting up with you. Shouldn't you be looking into that boy's password?"
"Hey, we've tried everything." Kayla responded, shrugging. "Whatever it is, we can't crack it. All we've figured out is that it's 14 characters long. Other then that, the kid's got more protection then Fort Knox."
"No matter." Trent sighed. "Whatever the boy had logged away on that computer was of no vital importance when compared to the boy himself, anyways. How is the rest of the mission going? Did the girl see you?"
"Are you kidding?" Kayla rolled her eyes. "I couldn't have been more obvious if I had a blimp flying around!"
"I take it that means yes…" Trent said dryly. Just then, movement outside of his office caught his attention, and he turned sharply to find Megumi at the door.
"Are you aware that the rookie hunters are making a game out of hunting captured spirits down like wild animals in the training room before obliterating them?" She asked him, clearly annoyed. Trent frowned at this news, while Kayla perked up slightly.
"Really?" She said. "That sounds like fun…"
"Kayla." Trent sighed, shooting the girl a look. "Tell them to stop, Megumi. We need those ghosts for experiments."
"As you wish." Megumi said, slipping out of the room. Kayla made a face at her departure.
"You know she's plotting something, right?" Kayla asked Trent casually. "She has to be, with the way she's been talking to that half ghost every day, and pouring over books."
"Of course, Kayla." Trent sighed. "But we still need her for now, so it's best to just turn a blind eye." As he finished speaking, Trent stood and headed for the door. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have other business to attend to…"
"Oh, come on, Sam! What's the big secret, anyways?"
If you only knew… Sam thought dryly as she rolled her eyes before turning back to her roommate's pouting face.
"If that was any of your business, I'd tell you." She replied before busying herself with her homework.
"Please." Marie scoffed, looking up from her fashion magazine to shoot Anna an annoyed look. "let it go already, Anna, she's obviously lying." Sam snorted slightly.
"Whatever, Marie." She said sarcastically.
Ever since it got out that Sam knew Danny Phantom, she'd become surprisingly popular around the school, much to her horror. Apparently Danny was just as famous overseas as he was in the US. In fact, there was even a Danny Phantom Fan Club in her school, filled with girls who carried pictures of her best friend in their daily planners and stuck posters of him on their walls.
It was all Sam could do not to die laughing at the sight of them.
Still, the only thing funnier then the fan club was the fact that Marie was a founding member, and the vice president. So when Anna let it slip that Sam had actually met Danny Phantom, Marie was expected to get the full story from her. When that proved hopeless, Sam found herself more or less stalked by the girls as they asked her the most ridiculous questions in the world…
"You honestly think anyone will believe someone as famous as Danny Phantom would even associate with a girl like you?" Marie continued, apparently not ready to let the subject drop that easily. Sam scowled at that one
"Well maybe he's not as vain and conceited as you think he is." Sam said through gritted teeth, fuming at what she saw as an attack on her best friend's character.
"Then what is he like?" Anna asked curiously. Sam sighed.
"He's… sweet." She finally answered, getting a far off look in her eyes. "Easy-going, too. He's the kind of person anyone can be comfortable around. He doesn't seem all that powerful, but he's strong enough to handle anything. And I'm not talking about his powers, either. Danny's just the kind of guy who will protect anyone, no matter how much they hurt him, just because he knows it's the right thing to do. He's brave and compassionate and someone that you know you can always count on, no matter how ugly things seem to get."
"Wow, Sam." Anna said, awe clear in her voice. "You really seem to know him!" Realizing that she'd gone too far at the looks on her roommates faces, Sam blushed and turned back to her homework.
"Not really." Sam said vaguely. "I just, you know, saw him flying around and all…"
"Whatever." Marie scoffed. "You almost sound like you're in love with him, Sam." Sam faltered for a moment before she continued, her face carefully unreadable.
"Me? In love with Danny Phantom?" She repeated. "Don't be ridiculous Marie, why would someone like me fall in love with Danny Phantom…?"
BLACKBIRD
Chapter 17; Amity
"Home sweet home…" Jazz sighed happily as FentonWorks came into view, earning a smirk from Danny.
"Wow, Jazz." He said, laughing slightly. "That's gotta be the first time you didn't wince at the sight of our house."
"What can I say, after three days of camping with obsessive ghost hunters, the only place I want to be is my own room." Chuckling slightly, Danny shook his head as the Fentons climbed out of the GAV. Walking up to his room, though, Dannys smile fell away.
After he'd gotten away from Valerie by the skin of his teeth and returned Cujo to the Ghost Zone, something had changed between him and his friends. Valerie had been really quiet for the rest of the trip, and almost wary of him for some reason, especially when some of the ghost detection devices went off when he got too close. He didn't want to believe that she was on to him, but he couldn't see any other reason for her to be so cold to him.
She wasn't the only one who changed attitudes, either. Any progress made in creating peace between Valerie and Rae seemed to take a complete nosedive. Rae was now being harsh and cold towards Valerie, not trusting her with nearly anything. This had led to quite a few fights between the girls, and it got to the point where someone else had to stay near them at all times in case one of them snapped (usually Valerie).
Other then that, though, the rest of the trip passed by without incident. Danny and Jazz couldn't find any more information on the Haunters and the ghosts in Ghost Central took off the second their names were brought up.
All and all, Danny wasn't feeling too good about this new enemy.
Still, he had to agree with Jazz as he fell back onto his own bed to relax after the long trip home. It was good to be back in his room again. Those sleeping bags were murder to sleep in, and forest sounds had kept him up half the night. Yes, it was definitely a plus to be back to the peace and quiet of Amity Park…
"CODE RED!"
Falling out of bed in surprise, Danny got to his feet and opened his door to see what was going on, at the same time a confused looking Jazz stuck her head out of her bedroom door. Sure enough, Jack Fenton barreled up the stairs and grabbed Danny by the shoulders, dragging him into the hall before the teen even had time to yelp.
"Danny, someone has stolen some of our blueprints!" He announced, panicking. "Have you seen anyone on the property?"
"What?" Danny blinked at his dad in confusion. "No! I haven't seen anyone…"
"Hmm, he's being sneaky then, is he?" Jack said shrewdly. "Well, whoever this jerk is, he can't escape the sleuthing skills of Jack Fenton! I'll sniff him out no matter where he's gone!" And, before either of his kids could say another word, Jack took off, promptly tripping down the flight of stairs.
After rolling her eyes at her father's grace (as in lack thereof) Jazz crossed her arms and shot her brother a pointed, accusing look that he didn't catch for a minute. When he did, though, he went immediately on the defensive.
"Don't look at me!" He said, putting his hands up in front of him. "I didn't do it this time, honest!" Jazz sighed at that.
"And who else would want dad's ghost hunting stuff?" She asked dryly.
"I'm serious, Jazz, it wasn't me!" Danny scowled, irritated at the accusation.
"Whatever." Jazz rolled her eyes. "By the way, here's another letter from Sam for ya." Brightening, Danny snatched the letter out of his sister's hand, already ripping it open as he reentered his room and making Jazz scowl in annoyance. "You're welcome!"
Ignoring Jazz, Danny shook the letter open, grinning at the though of his goth friend in France. Maybe when he wrote back to her, she's be able to help him with this new mess he was in…
Dear Danny,
Hey there! Miss me, do ya? Well, you're definitely not alone there.
I've been going INSANE over here! Can you believe that they won't let
me dye my hair? They say it's against school rules or something. AND
they have standardized haircuts we're all expected to have now. As if all
the girls around here weren't cookie-cutter Barbie-doll wannabes already…
Haven't found anyone with a shred of originality yet, unfortunately.
Marie is still driving me crazy. Do you think maybe an attempted
homicide will get me out of this place of evil? Prison can't be half as bad as
Saint Marguerite's Finishing School for Privileged Young Women. Still,
I'm not sure how I could manage it… they've been keeping anything that's
sharp, blunt, or otherwise dangerous as far away from as possible. I'm
starting to think mom told them I was a suicide risk or something…
I definitely wouldn't put it past her to say something like that.
My other roommate, Anna, is tolerable. She's one of those sweet,
goody-goody two-shoe girls, though. It's not her fault really, she's been
deprived. Can you believe she's never even heard of Dumpty Humpty? I've
got to smuggle a CD in here for her before it's too late…
Anna and I had a funny conversation the other day about you, by
the way. Well, not you, but the other you. Apparently, you're infamous all
throughout the East here. Especially in England, France and all throughout
Asia. In fact, you picture is technically outlawed in China, and girls still
smuggle them in to hide in their rooms.
My school even has a fan club for you. Can you believe it? I met
the president the other day, too. Her name is Joan, and she actually walks
around with all these buttons and pictures of you, gloating about how she's
Le Fantome's biggest fan, and how some day she'll fly to America and
marry you. It's torture trying not to laugh at her…
Speaking of the Phantom thing, though, Tucker's been telling me
that you and Valerie have been getting a lot closer lately. I know your
hormones are making it harder to appeal to whatever sanity you have left,
but you really shouldn't be around her so much. You like her, I get that,
but you have to remember, Danny, Valerie's a ghost hunter first and
foremost, no matter what you feel for her. Getting so close isn't going to
help either of you, especially if she finds out.
Anyways, I'm off to break into the headmistress' office and break
those annoying china figurines she collects. Maybe that'll be enough to get
me expelled or something… Try and write back soon, and don't forget
about me over there, okay? Be back soon! (I hope…)
Lotta Love,
Sam
PS; One more comment on that French jerk who hit on me on the plane,
and I'll stow away back to the US to kill you.
Chuckling slightly, Danny folded the letter back up and stuck it back into the envelope before he put it with all of his other letters from Sam. It was nice to see that Sam was still surviving in France, though he could do without the cracks about his ghost half… not to mention the Valerie lecture. It figured Tucker would rat him out…
Danny has just finished addressing his return letter (To a Ghost Hunter in France, who was happy to play mailman in exchange for information and samples from the Ghost Zone, which he thought came from Jack and Maddie.) when there was a knock on his door, followed by a very timid request.
"Danny? Can I come in?"
The half ghost blinked at his door in surprise for a second, unused to such a drastic chance of character all of a sudden. Jazz never asked permission to enter his room, but always just barged in whenever she felt like it. Frowning suspiciously, Danny leaned back in his chair, eyeing the door carefully.
"Sure." He said cautiously, watching his sister enter with a nervous smile and close the door behind her.
"Hey Danny." She said sweetly. "I just wanted to apologize for earlier. You know, when I thought you took Dad's blueprints. I was wrong, and I just figured I should say sorry." Danny gaped openly at that, still trying to comprehend the last sentence before his eyes narrowed suspiciously.
"Who are you and what have you done to Jazz?" He asked, crossing his arms and glaring pointedly at the redhead. Jazz's smile melted at that.
"I'm being serious, Danny, quit being a brat!" Jazz scowled back. Danny relaxed, sure now that his sister wasn't being overshadowed or something.
"Okay then." Danny sighed. "Who died?"
"No one it's just…" Jazz shifted uncomfortably. "Someone's been into my diary." A long lapse of silence followed this bit of news.
"So?" Jazz cringed a little obviously hoping she wouldn't have to clarify any further.
"So," She said giving her brother a nervous smile. "I… well, I kinda had some stuff written in there about you being half ghost."
"No kidding?"
Raven sighed before nodding her confirmation, leaning against a door and crossing her arms underneath her cloak. She'd almost stared to miss the familiar piece of clothing…
"I couldn't believe it, either." Raven admitted. A little bitter, she added. "And here she was accusing me of stealing from the Fentons…"
"Well, are you sure she's a threat?" Robin pressed, frowning thoughtfully at the information Raven had just given him.
"As of right now, no." Raven said, her lips pressed firmly together. "But I'll definitely be keeping an eye on her…"
"Right, and the ghost?"
"He seems fairly benevolent, but I'm not ready to trust him completely just yet." Raven frowned thoughtfully. "Still, I'm pretty sure that he isn't some villainous mastermind out to wreak havoc on mankind or anything of that sort… He's too awkward and good-natured for that."
"Give it another week or so, then turn everything in and come home." Robin ordered. "You're needed here in Jump City, and it shouldn't take any longer then that to sort things out over there."
"Roger." Raven said, a strange pang going through her. While she wasn't what you'd call 'affectionate' of life in high school, she liked being able to pretend that she was almost normal for however brief a time… besides, hanging out with Danny was kinda fun.
"A week?" Beastboy shrieked, going strangely pale. Surprised, everyone turned their attention to the green changeling, who blushed vividly. "Heh, I mean… why so soon? I'm sure Raven's having a blast in high school!"
"No, not really…" Raven said dryly. "Other then Danny, there's no one in Casper I can tolerate for long periods of time."
"Danny?" Cyborg repeated, blanking out on the name. "The ghost kid is a student?"
"No, Danny Fenton, the boy from the ghost hunting family." Raven clarified, frowning slightly. She'd never noticed the similarities between Danny's name and Phantom's…
"You're still injured, and with Raven gone that only leaves three of us." Robin reminded Beastboy before turning back to Raven. "Make sure you tell your principal not to keep you there any longer then a week."
"Sure thing." Raven said. "I'm going to go out once more before turning in. I'll talk to you guys as soon as I can."
"Roger." Robin nodded. "Good luck, Raven." And with that, the boy wonder cut off communications.
Pulling her hood up, Raven phased through her wall and took off flying, savoring the cool feeling of the wind against her as she flew. The night was surprisingly quiet, without a ghost in sight. It was strange, too, since Mrs. Ishiyama had told her that no known ghost attacks had taken place in the Fenton's absence, expect for one or two that were suspected insurance frauds. Still, even though many of the citizens took it as a good sign, Raven couldn't help but have a bad feeling about the situation…
Which wasn't improved when Raven finally did run into a ghost.
"This is stupid! I don't even know what this psychopath looks like!" Phantom growled out impatiently, glaring off into space.
He never even noticed Raven coming to a stop behind him. She raised an eyebrow as he continued his one-sided conversation, much to the sorceress' amusement.
"And what the heck am I supposed to tell them, huh? They'll probably think I did it or something!" Another pause, this one a little longer. "Hey, I'm not the one who left everything out where anyone could find it, if my face ends up on the front page tomorrow morning, it's on your head!"
That one raised an eyebrow, since Raven would imagine that Phantom was used to news coverage by now. Before Raven could contemplate this further, the ghost boy heaved out a sigh.
"I know, I know… Look, I don't think we're gonna find the guy tonight. The best thing to do is get a fresh start tomorrow and hope the guy is still around. If we're lucky, he isn't trying to sell the information to the highest bidder was we speak. If not… well, we'll deal with that when the time comes." Raven faltered slightly at that, surprised at the severity of Phantom's tone.
Whatever had happened was obviously serious, and Raven had a funny feeling it was connected with the rest of the craziness that was taking place. Curious, Raven tried to listen closer to the murmur of voice responding to the ghost, hoping to place it with someone she'd met.
"Look, don't worry, okay? It wasn't your fault. None of us thought anyone would break in and go through your diary. Just try and find something so we'll know where to look. With any luck, he left something behind that'll point us in the right direction…"
Raven bit back an angry sigh at the way the ghost kept eluding around whatever it was he was talking about, unknowingly testing the half demon's patience to their limit. She took a deep breath an exhaled slowly, berating herself for thinking that it would be so easy.
"Sure thing. See you in a bit, Jazz."
Still irritated, Raven didn't catch the slip at first. When it finally clicked though, she couldn't help but gasp audibly, making Phantom wheel around with his fists glowing before he realized who was behind him and nearly fell out of the air in surprise.
"Raven?" He said, alarmed. "How did you What did you hear?" The ghost seemed frantic for a moment, and Raven came out of her surprise long enough to frown at him suspiciously.
"Enough to know that you're in contact with Jazz Fenton." She answered evenly, watching him flinch in response before sighing.
"Look, whatever you're thinking right now, I'm not doing anything wrong." Phantom said with a pointed look. "Jazz helps me because she trusts me. Her parents don't know and everything considered…" Raven chuckled slightly at Phantom flinched, easily filling in the blanks.
"I'll buy that." Raven said, smirking slightly when the ghost visibly relaxed. "As long as you tell me what was taken that's so important to you."
"Really? That's it?" Phantom asked, sounding a little surprised. "No problem. Someone broke into FentonWorks when we were at the camp out. Apparently, they snuck a peek at Jazz's diaries, which wouldn't be a problem is she hadn't written a lot of… sensitive information about me in there." Raven's eyebrow kicked up at that.
"How sensitive are we talking here?" She asked.
"My strengths and weaknesses as a fighter, a full list of all my powers and a lot of personal stuff about what makes me tick, to start with." Phantom sighed. Raven flinched slightly. "Yeah. You could imagine what kind of trouble I'd be in if that got into the wrong hands."
"Well, I'll be happy to help however I can." Raven said, earning a droll smile from the ghost.
"Thanks, but I really think this is something I need to find on my own. I mean, no offence of anything, but the thought of anyone knowing this kind of junk makes me nervous."
"Understandable." Raven said with a bitter smile, remembering how it felt when Terra had infiltrated their group and used their weaknesses against them. "Just let me know if I can help, okay?"
"Sure." Phantom said with a smile. "And by the way, thanks for helping me with the whole ghost hunter thing." Raven frowned a little there, tempted to ask the ghost more about Valerie, but before she got the chance Phantom disappeared on her.
Sighing slightly, Raven headed back to her apartment to get ready for school the next day, which already promised to be long and tedious…
Maybe it was some kind of mistake…
As much as Valerie wanted to cling to that hope, she already knew that it wasn't so. Frowning at the Boo-merang darkly as she sat lost in her thoughts, Valerie couldn't help but bring her resentment of Danny Phantom up another notch.
Even I never thought he'd sink this low… She said bitterly in her mind. Though I still can't believe how careless he got… Overshadowing a boy in constant contact with ghost hunters…
Still, for all of the bad things she had to say about Phantom, she had to admit he was smart. Smart enough to fool Jack and Maddie into believing he was their son, at least.
Not me, though. Valerie thought stubbornly, scowling slightly. Okay, maybe at first, but not anymore! And he's never gonna fool me again, either…
Valerie sighed softly, wondering what she was supposed to do now. She'd been trying to contact Mr. Masters since she got home, but his secretary kept telling her he was elsewhere, and that he couldn't be contacted.
He really chose the perfect time for a vacation…
Valerie shook her head, dismissing these thoughts. It didn't matter, after all, she could handle this on her own. She'd save Danny from that wretched ghost kid.
And when she did, she'd make Danny Phantom wish he'd never entered the after life…
WoM- That should be good enough for now:D More from me later, kay?
Thanks to;
BJA Fan, Hakkyou Kuusou, phantomshadowdragon, Kradeiz, Leppers, The Unknown Alias, Balkoth, epobbp, Zipidee, Shadowkeeper113, kingdomhearts222, Tetsukon, Ghostboy814, StrugglingArtist, MissMeliss4251, Kute Anime Kitty, Charys of the shadows, Invader Johnny, Itallia, The Sole Survivor, hammy ham ham, Shiva the Sarcastic, Gmasangel, Shades-of-Pink, Shadow49, Linariel, thelazywonderweasel, shojobutterfly, Firehedgehog, conan98002, Jenna Dax, Boongdaba, Rob Phantom, SamuraiSirius, Aki, DSK, blackkaosrose, aur0ra, Kirstyn.T, midnight, JPElles, AirGirl Phantom, SquirrelGirl13, Sasia, Zuzanny, BratCat, Awsome, Samantha-Girl Scout, Kagome the inu-kitsune/miko, Master Whiz, Darth Frodo, IntroSquirrel, Touch of the Wind, Nobody is Somebody, a.p.nikki1717, Wolfinson, Serena, moonlightning3, Frodo01228, ForgottenSmile, coolgirlc, deadzonedragon, BarnOwl93, LanHikari2000x, silver-geisha, ArrowOfHikaru, -StarPhantom-, Shewhodanceswithdragons, BadCatGirl, Becky Yuy, Sirithiliel, DP fan, Light Dragon SunsSong, Witch4ever, Rambie, Jimmy the Gothic Egg, Horselvr4evr123, ShiroAndFubuki, AirGirl Phantom, MissMeliss4251, Ghostboy814, Rob the Hedgehog, katiesparks, Shiva the Sarcastic, Dragonrider04, leilanisangel2, SoulcatSpirit, Girl of the Graveyard, Darkling Loki, dtechno, DrIvoRobotnik, fan-girls2.0, samanddan, Zirra Nova, Twisted Creampuff, YamiTora, Kyasarin-Maarukeehii1, vanilla72590, Sevvy101, Cyllwen