Chapter Text
Valerie lurched forward to sit up, only for the pain in her ribs to flare up. Danny’s brows scrunched in concern.
“Are you oka-”
“YOU OWE ME AN EXPLANATION Mi-” a coarse cough cut her off, “Mister,” she finished much quieter.
“Ah, yeah, I definitely do, but first, you should probably check your injuries. We have a kit on the shelf. I’ll go grab it. Sam is usually pretty good about making sure the hideout kits stay stocked.”
Sam. Figures that Manson and probably Foley were involved in this. Looking back, it made sense why they finally started being friendly to her after she made a truce with Phantom. Phantom. Danny was Phantom. Was Phantom possessing Danny’s body? Or was he a half-ghost like Danielle?
The sweet space nerd was also the pain of the ass ghost she was chasing for nearly a year now. Though, she supposed the two versions of him weren’t entirely different. Valerie remembers watching Danny deal snarky comments to Dash in the hallways and his odd level of confidence leading the students when Ember captured all the adults. There were also times Valerie saw Danny in Phantom. After every battle Phantom would always make sure she was alright. During patrol on days that were particularly slow, Phantom would sometimes have a normal conversation with her.
Danny walked over with the first aid kit. Sitting down in front of her, the half-ghost(?) opened the case and splayed out the supplies on the floor.
“Here,” he passed her a bottle, “these are the human-safe painkillers. I'll, uh, I'll go over there and stare at the wall, so you can check yourself over. Holler if you need anything.”
Valerie watched as Danny walked over to the other side of the room and stared at the shelves. The Huntress retracted her suit and began to inspect the damage.
Thankfully, it wasn't too bad. A large bruise had formed around her ribcage, but there wasn't any external bleeding. She wasn’t nauseous or short of breath, so internal bleeding was not a huge concern. Valerie readjusted her shirt and sighed.
“You can come back now,” she stated, leaning her head back against the bean bag. Danny walked closer, but kept his distance. The boy scratched the back of his neck.
“So, I should probably explain things to you…”
“Ya think?” Danny flinched, “Sorry, I didn’t mean for that to come out so aggressively.”
“I guess I’ll start from the beginning.”
Danny went on to explain how he became a half-ghost, how the ghost dog, Cujo, really wasn’t his, how he knew she wasn’t in her suit when he destroyed it, about Dani. Valerie sat and listened. An old part of her wanted to believe that he was lying, that he was just a ghost trying to deceive her. The better part of her knew that this was Danny. Danny Fenton, the huge dork but a great friend. Danny Phantom, the massive nuisance but an effective patrol partner.
The two kept talking, asking questions and exchanging stories, when a loud crack of thunder interrupted them. Valerie watched Danny grow pale.
“Are you sure that ghost isn’t still out there?” she asked. Danny swallowed hard.
“I’m sure! Skulker is in the thermos over there, and my ghost sense hasn’t gone off. It’s just a regular thunderstorm.”
“Really? You seem kinda nervous.”
“Yeah…” Danny rubbed his arm. Valerie tapped the bean bag next to her, signaling him to sit. Another clap of thunder rolled, this time louder. The teen looked a bit shaky. Valerie’s eyebrows furrowed in concern.
“It’s…kinda silly, but ever since the accident, I’ve never been able to view thunderstorms the same way. It’s probably because the lightning reminds me of the electricity or something.” Valerie nodded in understanding.
“It’s not silly, at least not to me,” Danny perked up. Valerie continued, “When I was little my mom died in a car accident. I was in the back seat when it happened. For a long time, my dad had a hard time getting me in the car. To this day, I get nervous every time we’re going through an intersection. Even though your fear might feel silly to you, it’s not. You went through something horrible, and it makes sense that you’d have that kind of reaction to things that remind you of it.” Danny breathed out a laugh.
“You sound like my sister.”
“Well, I wouldn’t go that far. Your sister would probably tell you fifty different ways to identify and mitigate triggers or something. The most I can do is give you a pat on the back and distract you.”
Danny stretched with a groan before fully laying down on the bean bag.
“What time is it?”
“Last I checked…sometime after eleven.” Danny pulled his phone out of his pocket. He flipped it open to read the time.
“It’s currently twelve o’one.”
“Great. I don’t know about you, but I still have Lancer’s assignment left to do.”
“Same. With all the ghosts I didn’t have time. I was about to start it when Skulker came close enough for me to sense.”
“Yeah, I caught that bastard in Elmerton trying to steal something for one of his new traps. Chased him to the forest, and now I’m here.”
“Now that I think about it, I think that’s what Tucker was trying to tell me before my FentonPhones fell out. Skulker threw me into one of the taller trees, and they shook out of my ears.”
“Tucker knew I was here?”
“We have basic security to make sure the ghosts, GIW, or even random civilians don’t find our hideouts. You probably tripped the motion sensor which alerted Tuck of your location.”
“How many hideouts do you have?”
“Not a lot. We have like three proper hideouts for when we’re too far away from our homes to make it before resting up a bit. There’s also one close to FentonWorks incase we need a place to hide out and don’t have a lot of time to travel. Sam used some of her allowance to get the building materials. Other than that, I’ve mostly just stashed thermoses or what not in the walls of different buildings.” Valerie glanced back at the row of backpacks.
“Do…do your parents know you’re Phantom?” Danny’s smile didn’t quite reach his eyes.
“Nope. They just think I’m a regular menace like the rest of the ghosts.”
“Is that why you have the backpacks?” Danny nodded.
“I love my folks, but none of us are really sure how they’ll react to the whole ghost thing. They’re not the only reason though, the GIW could also find out and go after me.”
“Well, if you need somewhere in Elmerton to crash, you know where I live.” Danny smiled.
“Thanks.”
The storm started to lighten up. Danny offered Valerie a ride back to her apartment, which she graciously accepted. The two took off into the night sky towards Elmerton.
Well, tonight was a long night, but it certainly wasn’t the worst one.