WoM- Mistress Wings here, with a new story. I'll keep the AN brief since this is the first chapter. I don't own Danny Phantom, or any of its characters, and I never claimed to. This disclaimer is for the entire fic, since I'm lazy and despise repeating myself. This story takes place a few weeks after Reign Storm
"All's fair in love and war."
-Francis Edwards
Chapter 1; Competition
"Go left, Go left!" Sam yelled as she clung to Tucker. "Can't this thing go any faster?"
"Hey, I'm goin' as fast as I can here!" Tucker countered over the roar of the scooter's engine and the screams of the innocent people running around them. Behind them all, a giant ghost snake hissed viciously. Baring it's fangs, it lunged for the kill.
"AHHHHHHHH!" Sam and Tucker yelled as one.
'Wham!'
Stunned, the snake shook it's head and hissed at its new target.
"Dude, what took you!" Tucker asked in irritation.
"You're welcome," Danny said dryly. "You got a problem with my timing, take it out on Johnny 13, he was trying to rob a motorcycle place."
"Slightly more crucial problem here," Sam said, pointing to the hissing snake, which had turned to a mother and her baby, obviously deeming them an easier target than the ghost-child.
"Right," Danny said hastily, flying to attack the serpent.
The snake lunged viciously, spitting acid that melted straight through a nearby streetlamp, which nearly hit Danny as it fell. Breathing a sigh of relief at his escape, Danny shot the snake with his ecto-ray, blasting it against the wall again. While it was still dazed, Danny took out the Fenton Thermos and sucked the snake ghost it.
"That was easy," Danny said as he sealed the Thermos. He blinked in surprise when the crowd behind his friends began cheering.
"Thank you, Danny Phantom!" The mother said earnestly as she hugged her baby close.
"Hehe… No prob," Danny said, feeling a little awkward. Though he'd been getting this a lot since the incident with the Ghost King, he was still unused to the new light people looked at him in. Sam and Tucker, however, looked like they were close to gloating at the loud cheers.
"Three cheers for the ghost kid!" one shop owner yelled. The crowd responded vigorously, and a few cameras flashed, only increasing Danny's embarrassment.
"Well, Now that everyone's safe…" Danny muttered to himself, flying away, invisible and intangible. He flew to a deserted alley, where he turned back to human. Walking out, he met up with Sam and Tucker.
"Way to go Danny!" Tucker said grinning, "Did you see the crowd screaming for you? You're a total hero now!"
"He was a hero before, too," Sam said with a frown to Tucker, before turned a smug smile to Danny "But it is about time people gave you the respect you deserve for saving them from ghosts. Just as long as you don't let all the attention go to your head."
"No way!" Danny responded at once, "I'll just keep doing what I've been doing,"
"Yeah, Sam," Tucker said, putting an arm around Danny, "Danny's totally got it covered. He learned his lesson after the thing with Paulina," Danny shot him a dark look at that.
"Thanks for bringing that up…" he said dryly.
"No problem," Tucker responded airily. Sam shook her head.
"Come on, guys, we're gonna be late for school." She said, grabbing Danny's hand and pulling him towards Casper High, leaving Tucker to catch up on his own.
A few building tops away, a young woman smirked as she watched them go, Tucker yelling at the two to wait up for him…
"Alright, class everyone settle down," Mr. Lancer said, waiting for his students to find there seats, "We have a new exchange student coming here from Paris, so everyone please give a warm welcome to Miss Neris Dryad." The door opened, and suddenly every male in the classroom was sitting upright.
In walked a beautiful young girl, with ivory skin and long, wavy red hair. Her eyes were a bright green, lidded with dark lashes. Her pink lips were curled into a seductive smile, pearly white teeth glistening for the world to see.
She wore a dark blue spaghetti strap, with matching detached sleeves. A black silted skirt showed off her legs, and a baby blue belt hanging loosely around her hips. Black high heeled boots that ended two inches below her knees clicked against the floor as she walked.
A black velvet choker clung to her long, slender neck, and a heart shaped blood red jewel glittered on a silver chain above her chest.
"I think I'm in love…" Tucker said in a puppy worship voice as she stopped in front of the class, her skirt still swaying slightly. Danny rolled his eyes, bemused that Tucker's hormones were taking off without him again.
"I hope all of you will do your best to make Miss Dryad feel at home. Miss Dryad, is there anything you'd like to tell the class?" Neris gave Mr. Lancer a brilliant smile.
"No, sir," She said, a mild accent coloring her words. "I wouldn't want to take up any more of your valuable class time with my silly introduction. I'm far too eager to listen to someone of your educational merits," Mr. Lancer blinked at her before smiling back, his chest puffing with pride.
"Thank you, Miss Dryad. I think you'll fit in quite nicely here…" Neris only smiled at that, completely blowing off the way the girls (Paullina in particular) were glowering at her and the boys were sighing in adoration.
An hour later at the end of class, Danny sighed dejectedly as he bent down to collect his papers and books. They'd had a pop quiz worth a good 30 points, which he was pretty confident he failed.
It wasn't really his fault, though, how was he supposed to keep up with famous poets during the Civil Wars when he was too busy worrying about whether of not Ember was going to pop out of nowhere, or if Stalker had been locked away firmly in the Ghost Zone this time?
"Excuse me, Are you Daniel Fenton?" Danny jumped at the unfamiliar voice, hitting his head on his desk at he did so. Blushing at the snickering from the popular students, Danny looked up at the pretty new girl, rubbing his head.
"Uh, yeah," Danny said, cursing himself for sounding so stupid. "Yeah, that's me. Call me Danny," Neris smiled brilliantly at him as she crouched down to get eye level with him.
"Pleased to meet you, Danny. I'm sorry to bother you, but your sister told me to ask you for help if I ran into any trouble, and I'm afraid I've become very lost in your school. I haven't even found my locker yet."
"Jazz said that, huh?" Danny said dryly, not exactly surprised. Jazz would volunteer him to show the new kid around.
"Of course, if you don't want to…" Neris said, sounding disappointed. Danny flinched, realizing he'd hurt her feelings.
"No, it's not that!" He assured her hastily. "I'll be happy to show you around." Neris gave him her million-watt smile again.
"Perfect," She said, standing up and offering him a hand. "It's nice to know there are good people in this school."
"Uh… sure…" Danny said, a little uncomfortable as he took her hand and stood. His eyebrows drew together as a sharp, unfamiliar chill ran through his body at the skin-to-skin contact. Shaking it off, he withdrew his hand, missing the shock that chased across Neris' face. "Well, let's start by finding your locker, okay?" Neris blinked.
"Yes," She said, smiling at him again, though this one seemed a little weaker, "Yes, my locker…"
"Danny!" Sam yelled, waving at him from their usual lunch table.
"Hey," Danny said, sighing in relief as he sat down. He was a little drained from giving Neris the grand tour of the school. The girl had wanted to know where everything was, and was constantly asking questions about little things.
"Where've you been, dude?" Tucker asked. "We haven't seen you all day!"
"I've been showing Neris around." Danny explained. Sam choked on her salad.
"The new girl!" She asked incredulously. "How come you have to show her around!" Danny missed the tinge of jealousy Sam hadn't fully managed to hide from her tone.
"Jazz volunteered me." Danny said.
"Did you get her phone number!" Tucker asked, "Tell me you got her number!"
"Tuck-er!" Sam said, glaring at the boy, "I dunno, Danny, she seems weird to me."
"You're just jealous Danny's hanging out with a pretty girl." Tucker said, earning himself a sharp elbow to the ribs. "Was that out loud?"
"Calm down, Sam, She's actually not that bad." Danny defended the new girl, "Eccentric, yes, but still pretty nice. I'd rather hang around with her then risk running into Dash."
"Danny!" Neris shouted as she bounded over to the table. Completely ignoring Sam and Tucker, she sat down next the Danny. "The lunch food here is much better than it was at my old school!" She said vigorously.
"Remind me never to eat there," Danny said, making a face at the tray in front of her. Neris laughed.
"Well, I suppose I don't have room to insult anyone's food," Neris said, pouting slightly, "I can't cook very well myself."
"I doubt anything you make could be as bad as the Ultra-Recyclo Vegetarian stuff Sam made us eat," Danny said, motioning towards the sulking Goth, his comment doing little to improve her mood. "This is Sam and Tucker, by the way. They're the friends I told you about. You guys already know Neris…"
"Feel free to call me Tuck," Tucker said, hitting on the unimpressed Neris, "Or anything else you want to, I'm open,"
"A pleasure," Neris said in a monotone voice, turning back to Danny. "I can't thank you enough for your help today, Danny." She said sweetly.
"Ah, it was no big," Danny said, smiling back.
"Oh, but it was for me! I'd have been lost for ages if it wasn't for you. If you'd let me, I'd love to make it up to you."
"You don't have to do that," Danny protested, "It's really not a big deal,"
"I insist!" Neris said, "Perhaps we can meet at the mall after school for a movie?"
"You know, Neris, that sounds like a good idea." Sam said in a too-sweet voice, "As a matter of fact, Tucker and I aren't doing anything after school, so we can probably come too." Neris and Sam locked glares, Though Neris' scowl vanished as soon as Danny turned her way.
"That's a great idea!" Danny said, "This way you can get to know Sam and Tucker better." Neris smiled brightly again.
"Yes, it'd be a great outing for us all!" She said sweetly. As soon as Danny turned away, she shot Sam a dark look that promised retribution.
"How does 7:00 sound for everyone?" Danny asked.
"Seven's good for me," Tucker responded.
"Me too," Sam said, shooting Neris a challenging look.
"And me," Neris said brightly, "Excuse me, Danny, I have something to take care of. It was nice to meet you Tucker. Samantha." Sam scowled at the girl as she more or less glided off, ignoring Dash as he tried to flirt with her.
"See, Sam?" Danny said, "I told you she was nice," Sam sighed and rolled her eyes heavenward.
Boys…
Meanwhile, Neris was growling softly to herself as she entered the bathroom. Fury marred her pretty face, and her green eyes kept flashing red. Heading straight for the sink, she splashed water on her face until the red receded back to green for good. Her anger, though, was left unspent.
That nosey little bitch! That little Goth Princess was ruining everything she'd planned. If she kept getting in the way, Neris would have to find a way to eliminate her permanently. She'd worked far too hard to let some geek in black to ruin everything now that she finally had her claws into the famous half ghost boy.
"You okay?" Neris frowned, eyeing the girl who was watching her coolly, mildly annoyed that she had slipped under her normally superb perceptions. Valerie was giving her a suspicious look as well. Her arms were crossed, and her eyes hard as she waited for a reply.
"Fine," Neris answered in a chilled tone, "Not that it's any of your business." Valerie stiffened.
"Well excuse me for asking," She snapped back. With one last glare, she brushed past Neris, heading for the door. "Oh, and if your really after Danny, you've got a lot more than Sam Manson to worry about," Valerie said, smirking as the girl stiffened. "And I'm not as nice,"
Before Neris could make a response Valerie left, successfully annoying the redhead even more. But then Neris smirk as an idea came to her. An idea that would finish off both Valerie and Sam without a finger lifted on her part.
"Can you believe her!" Sam fumed as she and Tucker headed home. Danny had flown off after an escaped ghost, telling them to go ahead without him. "Who does that evil little hussy think she is!"
"Lay off, Sam." Tucker defended her, "So she likes Danny, it's nowhere near as dangerous as Danny's relationship with Valerie, right?"
"I dunno, Tuck, I just have a bad feeling about this…" Sam sighed.
"Worried Danny and Neris are gonna be an item?" Tucker predicted.
"NO!" Sam yelled, glaring at him, "I'm just worried that Danny's gonna let himself get caught up in another pretty face."
"Relax, Sam. I don't think Danny even knows Neris likes him, and he definitely doesn't seem to like her like that,"
"That still doesn't mean we can trust her," Sam said, irritated that Tucker was defending the redhead now too, "What if she's a ghost after Danny for something?"
"Don't you think that would've set off Danny's ghost senses?" Tucker said. "Face it, Sam, she's just a really pretty girl who likes Danny."
"Well maybe you're willing to just accept that, but I know something's up!" Sam said angrily, storming off.
She couldn't believe it. Why did every man on earth believe pretty girls could do no wrong! Paullina… Valerie… and now this Neris girl… it was as if so long as they relented their individuality for societies perception for beauty and acted like cold blooded whores, they were completely sweet and harmless to the male population.
'Blam!' Yelling, Sam hit the ground and covered her head as loose brick fell on her from above. After she was sure her head was safe, Sam looked up and resisted the urge to groan. Speak of a devil…
About four stories up, Valerie stood decked in her ghost-hunting gear, blasting away at an ugly looking green creature that was something between a cross between a crocodile and a pig, which was trying to attack her.
"Deeeeestroooooyyy…" The creature growled, clawing at Valerie's neck.
"I don't think so!" Valerie snapped, blasting him away. "It'll take a lot more than you to bring me down!" Sam rolled her eyes. Talk about arrogant…
"Ah-ha!" Valerie said, blasting the creature again. This shot hit dead on, though, and the creature exploded with a slimy green gook that got all over Valerie… and most of the street at that. Sam, thankfully, was shielded by one of the gas guzzling cars she despised so much. "Oh, gross!" Valerie moaned. She flew over to an ally, and a few minutes later walked out dressed in her normal attire.
Deciding that she didn't want any trouble with the ghost hunter, Sam started to slowly back in the opposite direction when she slipped in some of the green gook, landing gracelessly on her butt.
"Ow…" She moaned.
"Sam!" Valerie said in surprise. "What're you doing there!" Sam froze, before hastily deciding to play dumb.
"Falling, apparently," She said, "What in the world is all this gunk?"
"W-what makes you think I know?" Valerie asked defensively as she helped Sam up, a guilty look crossing her face as she took in Sam's slime covered clothes. "Come on, I don't live far from here. You can clean up at my place."
"Thanks," She said as she followed Valerie down the streets.
"What're you doing out here all alone, anyways?" Valerie asked, "Shouldn't Danny or Tucker be with you?"
"Danny had some things he needed to take care of," Sam replied in an airy tone, "and I got so tired of Tucker defending little Miss 'She's-so-Nice,' I decided to head home on my own today."
"I'm taking a stab in the dark that you're referring to the new girl," Valerie said dryly.
"Yeah…" Sam said, her tone of voice becoming cooler, "That little tramp is up to something, I know she is!"
"Agreed," Valerie said, surprising Sam slightly. "And even if she isn't, someone like that two faced slut isn't worth Danny's time of day,"
"My thoughts exactly," Sam said, smirking slightly.
"Temporary Truce?"
"Just until Neris hits the road."
"Definitely."
WoM- This and Chapter Two used to be one big chappie, but I cut them in half for reading purposes. (Everyone was complaining it was too long.) I'm sorry if this confuses anyone who was reading from the start. Also, I went back and edited. My grammar was TERRIBLE! .