A/N: I probably need to explain a few things about this story before I start it. It's set at one place but lots of it is a "story" Valerie is writing that takes place in D-Stabilized. The line breaker is when it's separated between story and present and it starts out with the story she's writing. My regular line breaker (889988998899) separates different scenes within either the present or the story. Lots of things are going to confuse y'all at first unless you can quickly figure out where everything's going (which you should be able to do by the end of this chapter if not before.)

Throughout most of the story, Val refers to Danny Phantom as simply Danny—usually—because after watching D-Stabilized again I realized she was calling him Danny most of the time. I don't know if I had ever realized that before so I was just pointing that off to ward off any confusion. If she's referring to Danny Fenton, his last name is mentioned unless it's extremely obvious.

Timeline: If had to guess, the trio was sixteen (or at least juniors) at the time of PP. There were two summer breaks during the entire show (Reality Trip and Claw of the Wild (that's the one, right?)) so it only makes sense that's how old they are.

That's what I'm using. Also, we know two weeks passed between the asteroid being knocked toward earth and the guys trying to stop it in PP. I'm adding a couple or weeks or so in between D-S and PP. Why? Just because. It would make sense that way; at least it would to me.

Spoilers: PP and D-Stabilized

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom or any related characters or episodes. I simply use them for my own personal enjoyment and the hopeful enjoyment of others.

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Chapter One: The Beginning

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But could you really take part in destroying a human?

The moment I saw Dani change into a ghost, my whole life's perspective changed. Were there other ghosts—or humans—like her? Of course, that wasn't the first thing that ran through my mind. The first thing that ran through my mind was capturing that girl, taking her to Vlad, and getting that new apartment he'd promised.

And then I used her. I used her so that I could find and capture Danny…Phantom. I guess I know why I was thinking that way then, but now I wouldn't do something like that even if I had the chance.

I had been so dense that I didn't even realize that she'd saved my life as she pushed me out of that collapsing building. I'd almost messed up a pretty cool possible friendship.

Whoa, whoa, whoa—I guess I'd better back up to the night it happened and try to forget about what's going on now. Ugh—I don't know if I hold out much hope for Danny and the rest of the team to be able to seriously get this operation off the ground…

It was the night I met Dani Phantom. After delivering her to Vlad Masters I had gotten Danny Phantom right where I wanted him. He'd either have to spill information or be tortured until he did.

After arguing with him and having to painfully get him to tell me that he'd give me the information I wanted, he started in on me giving up Danielle to Vlad.

Why is he so hot on this topic? He's knows I hunt ghosts and he's knows I'm gonna do what I have to do to get rid of them.

"But could you really take part in destroying a human?"

I stood there—stunned. I think it had just hit me that Danielle really was part human. Danny…he said that if the ghost part is destroyed so is the human half but…Vlad would never destroy anything—anyone!

But…what if Danny was right? He'd been right a couple of times in the past and what said he couldn't be right about this? What if Vlad really was out to destroy Dani? What if he'd lied to me to get me to bring her to him so that he could destroy her? Then I really would be taking part in destroying a human. I-I could never.

No, I thought,Vlad is a good man. He wouldn't destroy a human girl. I gulped in a breath of air and glared at the ghost boy trapped above me. He looked down with a serious but scared look. He was waiting on me. He'd said all he was going to and was allowing me time to figure out whether or not I was going to let Vlad kill a girl.

I sighed and pressed a release button. Danny fell to the floor and looked almost stunned. "Don't gimmie that look, Danny. I'm just setting you free so that I can see the look of disbelief on your face when you see that I'm right and you're wrong," I told him.

"Whatever. I'm just glad you let me go. Now, come on! We don't have much time."

He grabbed my arm and I protested but when he pulled me through the ceiling I understood why he'd needed to grab it. I jerked it out of his grasp, though, once we started flying to wherever he was going. I didn't say anything, quietly following him.

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We landed in the Fenton's basement. I looked around. I'd only been down there a few times, but it was always interesting to see. There were tons of gadgets and gizmos lying around. I looked back at Danny and realized his hand was still on my arm. I frowned and pulled it away.

"What makes you think the Fentons would have anything to help Dani? They are ghosthunters, not ghost helpers," I reminded him, motioning to a place on the counter that held a powerful looking ecto-gun.

"Yes…and no," Danny responded, walking over to a table and looking around for something. What was that supposed to mean? The Fentons were ghost hunters. They weren't very good in my opinion, but they still hunted ghosts. I followed him to the table. "My da—uh, Jack Fenton tends to be a little of both." And what was with that slip of the tongue? Why would Danny Phantom think that Jack Fenton was his dad? Ugh—there were so many questions back then.

He looked around on the table and smiled. He picked up some kind of injection device—at least that's what it looked like. "For the sake of all ghosts, I keep my eye on these guys and have a pretty good idea of what they're up to."

"You don't think it's a little dangerous flying into the lab of a family of ghost hunters?" I asked, curiously. If I was I ghost I sure would be afraid to come in this place.

A grunt caught my attention and both me and Danny looked up to where Jack Fenton hadsomehow gotten himself stuck at the top of some huge container holding some huge ghosts. "Something tells me we'll…be okay."

Eh…I had to agree with him there, even if not out loud. He grabbed my arm again and pulled us through the ceiling. Right as we got outside though he apologetically smiled and held up a finger. "Uh, hold up." He flew back down into the lab and I floated there, waiting on him, and telling myself that I was going in after him if he didn't show back up in less than thirty seconds.

He did, thankfully, and we shot off towards Vlad's mansion. I led the way and, again, there were no words exchanged between the two of us as we were focused into one thing: saving Danielle.

"Hey, Valerie."

I quickly shut my computer screen when I heard someone come up behind me. No one could see this, even if I wasn't very far into the story yet I didn't want anyone to see what I was typing.

Especially Danny.

And he was the one standing behind me…uh, Phantom that is.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"What are you doing? Playing on your computer while the world prepares to—"

"I'm not playing on my computer, Danny, I'm—I'm doing something that's important to me."

"Um, okay," he agreed. "I was just checking in to make sure you've got all you're jobs done. I don't mind you spending time alone in your room doing nothing, but your jobs to this mission have to come first, understand?"

"Crystal," I answered, not able to keep any kind of sarcasm out of my voice.

"Hey! Everyone has to contribute to this mission or else the world pays—"

"I know, okay Danny? I KNOW! I've got everyone's assignments to them, got everyone that's spreading the cables the right kind of aircraft scheduled, made sure those people know the times they need to take off and be back, and cleared it with every country's leader the approximate time they should expect the cables to land there. I know my jobs Danny. I know what I'm supposed to be doing tomorrow, when I'm supposed to be doing it, and how to do it. I just need a little bit of alone time and need a little break. I know I probably haven't worked half as hard or lost half as much sleep as you have preparing for this, but I know my part and I've done it. You can check it for all I care, but could you just…leave me alone for a while, please?"

The last part came pretty soft and I could tell that he hadn't been expecting me to reply that way. I couldn't tell if he was surprised at my outburst or surprised by the fact that I had nicely asked him to leave me alone.

"Um, okay then, well…yeah."

I smiled softly as he left the room with a confused look on his face.

Yep, there's the clumsy fool I knew him to be…

I glanced at the clock. It was late. Too late for me to be up writing some kind of crazy, but true, story if I needed to be up early tomorrow morning to help out with the operation. I saved the file on my computer and climbed into bed, but quickly realized that there was no way I was ever going to be able to fall asleep under the pressing circumstances everyone was under at the moment.

An asteroid, heading toward earth and expected to hit tomorrow, was sure to keep me awake. And I was part of the team to help stop it. True, I wasn't as important as Danny or the team that was responsible for spreading the cables all over the world, or Tucker as he set up and planned more than half of everything going on around here, but I was still here and part of the team that was trying to save the world.

I swung my legs over the bed, just then realizing that I hadn't changed out of my clothes before I hopped in bed. Of course, with the freezing temperatures, I had decided to sleep in my coat anyway.

My dad and I shared a small area in the cabin. Our place was basically two small rooms with a small bathroom that was adjacent to both of them. Dad was in his room, probably either asleep or working hard on something needed for tomorrow—most likely the latter—but he had tried to make it seem as if he was going to bed. I slipped out of my room quietly and slipped into the quiet and empty hallway.

I first passed by a few rooms. Was everyone really asleep the night before the earth was planned to be turned intangible? If they were, I was amazed that they had brought themselves to be able to sleep. Next I passed by the central dining room in which families would come in at whatever time they had to eat if they didn't want to eat in their rooms. It hadn't been used for an actually meal everybody was present for yet. In fact, half of it had been turned over to the computer savvy and wires and computers were everywhere.

I passed the living room and casually glanced through the small window. I stopped when I saw who was in there. Danny Fenton, Sam, Tucker, and Jazz were all gathered together on a couch and a couple of chairs, most likely talking about the next day's events.

I bit my lip, wanting to know what they were talking about. I noticed a vent right beside them in the wall and ran to the closet one I could find, hoping that it would let me hear their conversation. I opened it and leaned into it.

"You sure you don't want to sleep, Danny?" Tucker asked, concern for his friend clear in his voice.

"Guys, I'm fine. There's no way I'd be able to fall asleep with everything I have to do tomorrow anyway. Besides, don't you need some sleep too?"

"Danny, we don't have to go into the ghost zone and round up a billion ghosts and then work with them to turn the entire world intangible," Jazz protested.

"So? Tucker's got to manage the computers and make sure everything's going all right. And you two have your own things to worry about, one of them being whether or not we're going to be alive tomorrow afternoon."

"I have no doubt you're gonna do it, Danny; none," Sam assured Danny. I sadly glanced down. Hadn't I just written that I didn't know whether or not Danny could get this whole thing to work?

"Still, you need to be in bed just as bad as I do. Besides, I have a lot on my mind that doesn't involve the future of the world. I just went to check-in on Val, you know, like I had been doing to everyone who was going to actually be inside the tower tomorrow, and she seemed kind of…out of it's probably a good way to describe what she looked like."

"Out of it how?" Jazz asked. I know she didn't know me as well, but I could only imagine what Danny had told her about me.

"She was working on something on her computer and at first I thought it was a game so I kind of got onto her, making sure to remind her she needed to work on her assignments. Then she goes and tells me everything about everything she's been told to do. The strangest thing, I think, was that she said please when she asked me to leave."

So I was right. He had been wondering why I'd asked him nicely like that. I smiled. That was probably a whole new world to him.

"Um, shouldn't you be happy she didn't snap at you?" Tucker asked.

"Well, yeah, but I'm still concerned. After she let me go after we rescued Dani she's been acting a little weird towards me. Oh, and I walked up to her a couple of weeks ago at school—actually the day after the Dani ordeal—and she looked…horrible, almost like she didn't sleep, and she acted like she didn't want to talk to me. I haven't done anything—well, as Fenton—to upset her…I don't think."

"Danny, let me tell you something about girls; you may not know you did something, but you probably did," Sam explained to him, though I could imagine her face being tight as she said it. I'd have to be blind to not see how much she liked the guy.

"Ugh, Sam, don't start on that again," Danny complained. Again? How much was I talked about among them? A fast beeping noise filled the air. I heard the faint tapping of a pen and a gasp.

"Danny," Tucker began, his voice quavering.

"Yeah?" Danny asked.

"The asteroid…it sped up."

"You have that thing programmed to tell you when the asteroid speeds up?" Sam asked.

"How did you do that?" Jazz questioned.

But Tucker answered Danny's question. "What? How?"

"I don't know. I have no clue, but the point is, it's moving faster now and we were barely going to have time to stop it tomorrow anyway."

"So…when's it getting here?" Danny asked, and I imagined him standing up and heading toward the door as he talked.

"About," Tucker began, tapping again on his PDA, "three hours earlier."

"WHAT?!"

"Um, yeah."

"Come on guys. Get up and tell everyone that needs to be at the tower working to get up and be ready to ride over there in thirty minutes. Only tell them what's going on if they ask and don't take the time to tell them everything even then."

The others didn't verbally respond, but I heard footsteps through the vent, and, as I carefully shut it, I heard footsteps down the hallway. I ran back to my room and lied down on my bed, trying to appear casual.

Not seconds later did Danny Phantom burst into my room and yell, "Get up and be at the front door in no less than thirty minutes." I didn't bother asking why since I knew, and even if I hadn't have known and wanted to, he was gone anyway.

I gulped, afraid we weren't going to make it in time. I hopped out of bed, grabbed a notebook and everything else I needed at the tower, and knocked on Dad's door.

"Yeah?"

"Dad! We need to get going to the tower right now!" I heard footsteps and the door opened.

"What?" he asked, his eyes wide.

"Can't explain. Danny will probably in a few minutes, but we need to leave in less than thirty minutes."

"Okay, go on, I'll be right there."

I bolted out the door to the front door where there were already ten people waiting with confused looks on their faces.

So…here we go.

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So, I kinda hope y'all have figured out what happens in Val's story/my twist to D-Stabilized. If not, well, I guess you'll just have to wait until the next chapter.

This is going to be a five chapter story with chapters somewhere close to this length. Just letting you know. Review please!

Also, the story is finished so you don't have to wait months for an update…yay!