Chapter Eleven
“The Last Straw for Valerie”

It was Christmas Eve and Danielle still couldn’t find the perfect gift to give to Danny and time was almost out.  In the days prior, she searched the entire city and some of the surrounding cities that she went to without permission and found nothing.  She was starting to panic, but she knew that Danny wasn’t that materialistic; however, she still wants to find the perfect gift for him.  There had been a few ghost troubles but nothing serious; however, this does not include Valerie’s hatred for all things ghosts.

She had also pointed her blasters at the ghost guest of Jack Frost warning him to get out; however, she was on a shoot first and never ask questions rampage.  Jack Frost just relocates himself to another location only to be found by Valerie again.  There had been some instances when Valerie had gotten the short end of the stick as Christmas neared.  Danielle, and Danny included, suspected that Jack Frost was up to his usual, amusing winter pranks as he dumped snow from tree branches and tried to knock Valerie off her feet with a strong gust of wind.

Danielle walked through the crowded mall that had been packed with last minute shoppers since the mall had opened in the morning.  She had passed the stores to find that the items that are in demand had already been cleaned off of the shelves since the mall had opened or had been cleared out earlier.  She also spotted other people that she knew that were most likely buying things for themselves.  Paulina could be seen fighting with others for the now in demand Phantom wear.  Danielle shakes her head not believing that someone like Shallow Paulina could put up a vicious fight to get what she wants.  This thought makes Danielle compare Paulina to the Trendy Ghost on how they act to get what they want in the best of fashion.

The mall had just been repaired from the last ghost attack and the newspapers blamed the Red Huntress‘, the name they had given Valerie’s alter ego, lack of judgment and her apparent hatred for ghost for the damage to the mall.  The mall was safe to enter the next day and repairs were still in session as the late shoppers shopped below.  The ornaments had been re-hung and the tree had been set up on a previous night while volunteers hung the ornaments and lights on the tree.

Danielle left the mall to head towards the Amity Park’s neighboring town‘s, whose name was said to curse the person who said it and those within earshot, mall.  She heads into a nearby dark alley and transforms before flying heading south while she enjoyed the crisp, winter air in her face and hair.

The neighboring town, aptly called “that town” by the students of Casper High, was about the same size as Amity Park, but their schools were in a heated rivalry that some say had started since the two towns’ founding.  There had been some rumors that Casper High students that went there alone were left up high and dry on a flag pole while they suffered from a severe wedgie, and the same things have happened in Amity Park to those that went to Casper High’s rival, whose name was said to also have a curse.

Danielle headed into a nearby alley to return back to her human form and enter the mall.  She knew, as a student of Casper High, that she was in unfamiliar territory, and if she is caught by a student that went to school in “that town;” there is a fate far worse than a wedgie for a female that is caught in this town.  She kept her head down as she browsed the shop windows as she passed them hoping that she doesn’t get caught.

“I haven’t seen anyone like you around here before,” a smooth voice spoke behind her.

Danielle looks in the shop window to see a small gang of jocks approaching her.  She knew that they were jocks since they wore those pathetic jackets, lime-green jackets, that showed that they are good at sports.  She ignores them but that didn’t faze the jocks as one of them puts a hand on her shoulder turning her around to face them.

“I haven’t seen anyone like you around here before,” the smooth talking jock repeated.

Danielle slaps his hand away from her and tried to think of a way to get out of this.  She decided to have a little fun with them before she tries to humiliate them.

“I live too far out in the country and I’m home schooled,” she replied with the white lie that had worked for her.  “I’m just passing through to visit my cousin before we ran into some engine trouble.”

“So you must be poor to not come to our school,” another jock remarked causing his friends to chuckle in agreement as they high-five each other.

“Try having a dad who owns a vintage vehicle that is quite rare and is worth a quite deal of money,” Danielle retorted hoping that she can defuse with situation before her anger getting the best of her.

“Who cares about vintage these days?” another jock retorted.  “When a brand new vehicle has much better features than some Model T.”

Danielle couldn’t believe that these jocks were just the same as the ones at Casper High.  They only care about what’s in style and they throw out what’s considered out of style.  She was now infuriated that they couldn’t act like Chad did to everyone else back in Casper High.  It wasn’t long before she finally snapped releasing her anger on them; although, she was saving her statements for Paulina.

“At least I have friends who treat me as I am, and not as some jock who only cares about being popular and having an image to keep!” she gritted her teeth at them and she continued before they could recover from her rant.  “When one of your own fall out of their popular status, you treat them like the scum you think they are!  You only care about being popular, and newsflash,” she was in the face of the apparent leader of the gang with eyes radiating a radioactive green, “you have no true friends other than the ones on your team!  The others just hangout with you just to show that you are friends with them and they want to be popular!”

She was breathing hard after her rant with her anger slowly fading and her eyes returning to their aquatic blue.  The jocks just stared at her lost for words, and the leader recovered almost immediately.

“Wow,” he said dumfounded, “I’ve never thought of it that way.  Maybe you’re right.”

Danielle wasn’t fazed by that since she knew that he was lying, and she couldn’t help to be more than right.

“NOT!” a fourth of the gang said loudly causing the gang to join in on his joke laughing.

“Being popular is the best!  And that is something you can never experience, and I think you’re lying about having friends!” the leader retorted as he moved his jacket making sure that it was on.  “We’re going to show you what happens when you get on our bad side.”

He made a grab for Danielle only for her slap his hand away as she backed up.

“Grab me again,” she fiercely replied, “and I’ll scream harassment!  I don’t think you’ll want that for a reputation?”

“Well then,” he replied as if unfazed and this startled Danielle, “we’ll just say that you went to Casper High and we’ll do what everyone does to those who go there.”

Danielle backed up giving her some distance from them knowing full well that she can bring them all to their knees moaning in pain but she decided against it since it could expose her.  Before she could implement her escape, her Ghost Sense went off followed by a loud voice causing everyone to root themselves to the spot.

“How dare you sell synthetic?!”

“What was that?” the fifth and last of the gang terrifyingly said while Danielle mentally groaned in her head.

A body was thrown through the shop window they were standing in front of knocking all five jocks to the ground.  Following the terrified clerk was a ghost that Danielle knew all too well.  It was the Trendy Ghost and she was dressed in her diamond-laced coat.  Danielle flees the scene looking for a place to transform.

“How dare you sell synthetic?!” the Trendy Ghost repeated holding up a fur coat.

“P-p-please,” the terrified female clerk stuttered, “we do not have the cash to have real fur.”

The Trendy Ghost lets out a loud wail and summons all of the synthetic furs towards her with her long dagger-like nails outstretched.  She then turns all of the furs into shreds of nothing more than tufts of fur.

“You have insulted me,” the ghost’s accent changed to a French accent, “with your inferior coats that are not genuine furs!”

Before she could pick up the clerk, a green blast hits her in the side of her head catching her attention.  She turns towards the blast to see someone with a green glowing hand smirking at her.

“Causing trouble again?” she asked.

“Strayed from your haunt; have you beautiful?” the Trendy Ghost replied with her usual accent.

“Hey, look,” one of the jocks shouted, “it’s Dani Phantom!”

“Yeah,” another shouted, “and she’s hot!”

“Yeah,” the third shouted, “hotter in person!”

Dani ignored her “fans” and focused her attention on the Trendy Ghost.

“I was just on a flight when I found you causing trouble at a mall!”

“You should show your Spirit, my dear, since it’s that time of year.”

“Then why don‘t you,” Dani retorted since she knew what the Trendy Ghost was referring to.  “Also, you need to learn to control that temper of yours.”

“I do not have a temper problem!” the Trendy Ghost roared before she charged at her opponent.

She attacks Dani only for her slash to go through her making the image vanish.  She was soon hit in the side of the head by Dani knocking her a few feet from her position.  The Trendy Ghost recovers only for something to fall from her head causing her to become dazed.

“Where am I?” she asked with a hand on the side of her head.

“It appears that the subject has regained its will,” a voice spoke from above and down came to figures on hover scooters.

One was a Caucasian male and the other was a African-American both dressed in white tuxes, dark shades, and they were both bald headed.  The two were members of the Guys in White, the government’s secret ghost hunting unit, and Dani had only one previous experience with them in which she was wounded by them.

“Affirmative,” the African-American stated, “therefore, it has served its purpose and must be eliminated.”

“Hey, nimrods,” Dani shouted with outstretched hands getting the two agents’ attention while allowing the Trendy Ghost to escape, “I’m much more dangerous than her!  You consider my brother a Level 7 Ectoplasmic Entity!  What am I?  A Level 1?”

“You, Dani Phantom,” the Caucasian spoke pointing a finger at her, “are a Level 7 Ectoplasmic Entity like your brother and therefore must be destroyed.”

“I love to see you try,” she fiercely sarcastically said with her eyes blazing a darker green.

They open fire on her only for her to dodge; however, the blast ricochets off of the ground knocking her onto the ground near a chili stand with hot chili.

“Surrender freak!” the two agents said with weapons on her.

She mischievously smiles and turns part of the cart intangible while catching a hot container of chili.  Dani launches the container at the agents before detonating the container with an ecto-blast while they dodged covering them in hot, scorching chili.

“We have a cleanliness breach,” the African-American spoke with some disgust in his voice and they didn‘t even scream in pain as the chili scorched their bodies.

“Chili enough for you?” Dani sarcastically asked before tying them up with her ecto-webs and flying away from the mall.

She dumps them at their base before heading back to Amity Park.  Danielle lands in an alley to return back to her human form and to return to her thoughts.  She takes a shortcut through the park to find that some of the evening festivities had already started.

The snow sculptures were being judged, the carolers were singing their carols, and children were having an evening snowball fight with their peers.  Danielle’s mind began to wonder as she passed the various scenes with teary eyes.  She wished that she had a normal life, but wishing was a bad thing in Amity Park when an evil genie-like specter could grant wishes that are not what they wanted to be.

“I wished it snows like this everyday,” Danielle heard a child sigh as she walked passed while she shook her head thinking ‘wishful thinking.’

A soft cackle was heard and Danielle knew of only one person, or in this case specter, that had the power to grant the child’s wish.  Without a second thought, she ran to find a place to transform before things get out of hand.

“You wish it,” a feminine voice spoke as a jade cloud started to appear, “so shall it be.”

The cloud takes form of a woman dressed in Islamic clothes and she waved her glowing jade hand to grant the child’s wish; however, she was knocked to the ground by a green light causing panic in the park.  The ghost hits the ground leaving a deep rift in the snow while people scattered from the scene.

“Hey, Desiree,” a feminine voice spoke in front of her, “I suggest you keep your wishes to yourself!”

The genie-like ghost, Desiree, looked at the one who had hit her taking in her looks, and she looked familiar to her.

“I don’t recall you wishing to be female, Ghost Boy.”

“The name’s Dani Phantom, and I believe you know my brother.  I also have a wish for you,” she points at Desiree.  “I wish that you were back in the Ghost Zone where you belong!”

Desiree sighs in defeat as a jade cloud started to envelop her.

“You wish it; so shall it be,” and she was gone.

Dani sighs in relief that Desiree was just as easy to defeat as the Box Ghost, but she was soon hit in the chest making the rift behind her deeper.  She tries to get up only to meet the barrel of a weapon pointed in her face, and she didn’t have to guess who it was.  Dani tries to get up only to be forced to the ground by a foot on her chest.

“Causing trouble again?” Valerie said with her weapon on her.

“No,” Dani innocently replied, “just cleaning up another ghost’s mess.”

“A likely story,” as she charges up her weapon, “I wouldn’t try anything stupid.  So just give up and make it easier on yourself.”

“Well, Red,” Dani said using the name the press had given her, “you’ll have to live with the negative press and my brother won’t hesitate unveiling you to everyone.”

“I can handle the press and my supplier told me to eliminate you first so I can bring your brother down emotionally.”

Dani’s eyes flared green when she heard this and thought, “That fruit loop isn’t going to forgive me for betraying him, and he’s using Valerie to break Danny down!”

She unleashes green beams out her eyes knocking Valerie off of her and on the ground where she landed on her feet before charging at her prey.  Dani dodges Valerie’s attack by flipping over her with a half twist landing behind her.  Valerie turns to face her prey and point her blaster at her.  Dani knew that there were spectators behind her and dodging would be unacceptable.

“That’s a new low even for you, Red!” Dani snapped as she shifts into a fighting stance.

“Then surrender so I can eliminate you!” Valerie snapped without removing her blaster on her.

“I’d rather go down fighting then to surrender to someone like you!”

Valerie didn’t answer since she opened fire on her prey while she put up a shield to protect her and those behind her; however, once the projectile came into contact with the shield.  It became a sticky green glue-like substance that fused Dani’s hands together making her shield vanish.

“This is a new weapon from my supplier,” Valerie spoke as her prey tried to free her bound hands, “that drains a ghost of its powers and weakens them to the point where they flare out making it easier for them to be destroyed.”

Dani flies away to retreat only to fall headfirst on the ground tumbling a few feet from where she had landed.  Her hands were now bound to her chest thanks to the green glue that was on her hands.  She also head Valerie laugh at her as she approached.  Dani does a roundhouse kick on Valerie only for her to block the attack, and in one quick motion Valerie grabs her leg and drops her opposite elbow on her leg causing a loud snap to be heard in the leg.  She screams in pain as her leg was snapped and she falls onto the ground moaning in pain as she tried to hold back her tears from the pain.

“That’s odd,” Valerie said slightly confused but her anger was still persistent, “ghosts don’t have bones in their bodies.”

“Well,” Dani snapped as she tried to get up but failed while her voice became steadily weak, “I’m different than most ghosts; more than you think.” she added the last part in thought.

Valerie wastes no time in grabbing her down foe and lands several powerful blows on her that could make anyone flinch in pain at each punch.  She soon throws her foe by her broken leg towards a gazebo making the spectators in and around it scatter as her body hits it making it collapse in on itself.  She slowly approaches the wreckage of the gazebo just as Dani pulled herself out of the debris.  Valerie forces her to the ground with her foot pinning Dani to the ground.

“I want to destroy you like the pathetic and cowardly ghost you are!  I won’t allow you to stand up for me to destroy you!”

Dani tried to knock Valerie off of her with her ecto-beams but that fail since her strength was now beginning to fade and her sight began to become clouded.  She didn’t know what to do and she feared that Vlad had won this round.  She didn’t even tell Danny about a secret that she had been carrying with her ever since she had left him in the first place.  Dani waited for the final shot to be fired until a strong gust of wind whipped by her followed quickly by a loud smack.  Seconds later the sound of a body hit the ground and she quickly guessed who had actually saved her.

“Danny?” she faintly said before she had passed out succumbing to her wounds.

A few hours later, Dani woke up to meet her terrified and completely relieved cousins by her bedside.  Upon her request, Danny told her what had happened after she had blacked out.  There was a few exchange of words before Danny unleashed a devastating new version of their Ghost Stinger rendering Valerie’s suit inoperable.  She had trouble moving her suit as if it had been a rusted suit of armor.  Danny allowed Valerie to leave and he took Dani back home to be treated.  There was one other thing he couldn’t explain and that was her leg had been completely healed before he had brought Dani home.  Jazz had hypothesized that they could lend each other some of the powers to heal each other when needed, but that was her best guess to explain how her broken leg had recovered.

Dani spent the better part of the afternoon in her room and she was glad to have the green glue off of her.  She didn’t press for questions since she and Danny would need to stay one step ahead of Valerie along with Jack and Maddie since they had taken samples of the green glue from the fight scene to analyze it.  She turned back to her diary and continued to write feeling defeated that she had failed to get the right gift to Danny.  Dani turned her attention back to a slip of paper that held a poem that she had been working on in her free time, and she mentally kicked herself in the head for being so dense.

She decided that the poem that she had been writing would be the best gift she could give to Danny in order to thank him for being so good to her.  She folds her poem in half and puts it into a card that was meant to be her fallback plan if she didn’t find the perfect gift for him.  Dani leaves her room and pokes her head intangibly through his closed door to find that her dear cousin was fast asleep in his bed as he quietly sawed logs.

“I hope you like my Ode of a Clone, my dear cousin,” she thought as she propped her gift on its edge behind his clock before she phased herself through his wall heading back into her room.