Danny Phantom - Gender Bender (Discontinued)

Chapter Eight

With his final praising remarks, and making sure that the Fenton's had all of his contact details, Mr James Nguyen left Fenton Works and hopped in a black Mercedes before driving off. Danny watched him leave through the blinds all the way until he was blocked out of view by other houses and vehicles. As she turned around, her mum beckoned her into the kitchen to help serve up lunch.

Avoiding Vlad's stare and making sure to keep at least one meter between them as she entered the kitchen, Danny began to relax her shoulders, glad that there would be no more ghost talk that day. She placed the salad servers in the Greek and potato salad, and positioned the massive bowels onto the dining table. She straightened up the napkins and cutlery, while her mum finished cooking the sausages. Danny took her place around the table as Maddie called to everyone, "Lunch is ready!" With that, Jack, Jasper, Vlad and Helen entered the dining room and arranged themselves around the table. Thankfully, Vlad was two places up from the halfa on the other side of the table. 

The lunch passed with small talk and almost no talk of ghosts. Danny felt a little sick from before and so didn't eat much. Meanwhile, Jaz downed two sausages, a lot of potato salad and even more of the Greek salad. Danny smiled to herself. I guess he hasn't had a proper meal for the past week, only surviving on instant noodles due to study. Her smile quickly dissolved into a growl as Vlad brought up Danny Phantom.

"So, Maddie," he began, placing his cutlery down and dabbing his lips with a napkin. "What methods are you devising to finally catch Phantom, eh?"

"I'm so glad you asked, Vladdy!" Jack exclaimed with his boomy voice. Vlad rolled his eyes but listened anyway. "You see, the problem is that our Fenton inventions don't work on her, as if she knows exactly how each one works." Jaz and Danny side glanced each other with a dead look. "So, we are planning on getting the Guys in White involved."

Danny perked up and gasped. "What, like a team up?" Her voice was tinged with panic, which only Jaz and Vlad recognised. 

"Exactly that, Danny! Oh, that menace won't know what hit her when she sees the Fenton ghost hunters and the GIW coming at her." Vlad peered at her with a smirk. 

Danny wanted to change the conversation, but knew that would be futile, because everyone knew that when Jack Fenton started talking about Danny Phantom, he never stopped. She came up with an idea. "Well, what about that mysterious, ominous, devilish ghoul we see Phantom fight all the time?" Now it was her time to side smirk Vlad, who's face darkened. "Are you planning on doing something about him? I mean, at least Phantom helps people. She's considered a hero by the majority of the city. This guy just seems hell bent on destroying Danny Phantom."

Her parents thought about this for a moment. Maddie said, slightly annoyed, "Well, Danny, we don't have much intel on this ghost, and he doesn't disturb this town as much as Phantom does. He's not a menace like she is."

"Well, mum," Danny begun, a little salty about her mother's unnecessary attitude. "If this guy gets to destroy Phantom before you get to," she imitated her dad, "tear her apart molecule by molecule, then what have the last few years been all for?" Maddie frowned at her daughter, but Jack seemed to take this notion seriously. 

"By Jove, you're right Danny! I have never considered that before. Maddie! Our girl is a genius. We shall look into that later." With a triumphant sigh, Danny leaned into her seat and beamed at her uncle. His arms were folded and his knuckles tight, but his face was neutral. Jaz couldn't help but giggle a little in conjunction with his sister's cleverness. 

Lunch ended, Jaz and Danny cleaned up, and then it was time for Vlad and Helen to leave. Danny was received with a kiss on the cheek as she said goodbye to Helen, while Vlad ignored her entirely. As soon as the pair stepped out, a limousine parked at the kerb on queue. They hopped in a drove away. Immediately, Danny's ghost sense, which had been ticking obnoxiously inside her ever since Vlad arrived, disappeared and she felt her muscles loosen up. It was only four o'clock (they had had a late lunch) but the halfa decided to call it a day and made her way back up to bed.