Danny Phantom - Gender Bender (Discontinued)

Chapter Twenty Two

The two stories were blaring on the morning news. Danny ate her cereal in silence as she elected to ignore the reporters. The story of her 'terrorising' the night bars seemed to have a longer segment than the story of Phantom preventing a rape. It didn't matter; Lance was on the late night news, so she would wait to see if he upheld his word. She didn't realised Jaz had come home last night, but he sat opposite her, munching away, peering curiously at his sister. Choosing to avoid his thoughts, Danny spoke up.

"Where's mum and dad?"

"At a meeting with the GIW for tomorrow." He frowned at Danny's smug smirk. "Have you got a plan?" She nodded and finished up her breakfast, stocking her bowel in the dishwasher.

"Oh, you bet we do." She sighed at his insistent eyes. "We got Val on side."

Jaz choked on his mouthful, swallowed hard, and then coughed. "What?"

"Don't get your scarf in a twist, bro. He's on our side now - sort of."

"Bu- but he's the Red Hunter. Hired by our evil uncle who wants you and our father dead. You can't possibly trust him."

"I never said I did. It's an initiation, Jaz."

"Bu- b-b-but-"

Dany held up her hands, a slight smile at her brother's over-protectiveness. "Chill. He's sabotaging the pods this afternoon with Tucker. And if the plan does go awry-"

"You could be found out, killed!" Danny side hugged her tense brother.

"Jasper, I'll be fine. Who knows, it could be a good opprtunity to display to the public that I and my vigilante team are actually good." She let go of him and flew out the door to school. Jaz huffed, dissatisfied with her charade. Her nonchalantness made him even more on edge. He frowned and clenched his fists. Why would Danny allow Val to help? He's betrayed them before, what's stopping him from doing it again? He ran to his car a sped along to the school.

He parked and hopped out. He scanned the area for his target. He stormed up to Valentino and dragged him from his friends and behind a dumpster. The boy resisted fruitlessly. Jasper straightened himself up and popped some gum in his mouth.

"Ok, listen up, mate." He glared at Val. "You're dealing with my sister, which means you're dealing with me too. So, if you betray her, do anything to harm her or her friends in any way, you'll have to deal with me." He shoved him into the bin again. "She may have superpowers, but her ability to see the goodness in people makes her weak, and there is nothing that an older brother wouldn't do to protect his sister." He grabbed him by the collar of his school jacket and snarled. "One piece of advice. Our uncle is shifty as fuck. You can't trust him. But you can trust Danny with every ounce of your worthless life." He let go of him and pointed a strong finger towards Val. "I hope, for Danny's sake, that you listen to me." And with that he slinked back to his car and drove away without a trace of him having been there, apart from a stunned Val sliding down the wall of the dumpster.

***

After school, Valentino flew on his jet board to the city centre, to thw Mayor's office. He needed to debrief with Masters on how to activate  (and sabotage) the pods. He waited patiently outside Vlad's office doors until a woman walked out. She was tall, pale, and lean. She wore a pastel pink blazer and matching skirt, her hair tied into a tight, neat bun. She smiled at him. "He's waiting for you inside," she said and then walked away, her heels clopping the tiled floor. Val slipped inside and took off his helmet.

"Got a lady friend, Mr. Mayor?" Vlad stood up from his large, black swivel chair and walked towards him.

"Yes. That was Helen. You'll be getting more acquainted with her soon enough. Now." He pressed a button on his smart watch and the bookcase swung outward, revealing a dark decsending hallway, the walls clad with cold metal. A dim green light flickered on and Vlad ushered Val into the hallway. As soon as they had descended the flight of stairs, the bookcase closed itself, and the two were left alone. "You're gonna activate the pods today, Hunter. And tomorrow, you'll work alongside the GIW and the Fentons." Val said nothing, but gave a curt mod in response. Vlad side-smiled. He loved how obedient he was. "How's your mother doing?" Vlad said after a long while.