Only Half

Decision

Blinking blurrily, Valerie groaned as the sight of her shabby bedroom zoomed into focus. She managed to sit herself up, just barely keeping her balance as she shifted her weight so as to remain sideways on her mattress. She looked around in an almost dazed state, wondering for a millisecond where she was and how she got here. It occurred to her no less than a second later that she was currently in her small apartment. Her dad must have been out, because she didn't hear the buzzing of the TV's static in the nearby kitchen-living room quarters.

How did she get here, though? She distinctly remembered having been... where was she before? With a few more blinks, her eyes widened as all the memories from just hours ago flooded back to her. It almost gave her a headache to remember so many things at once, but she was too busy focusing on the vivid pictures she was now viewing in her head. She had been in Vlad Master's mansion, and he had turned into Vlad Plasmius right before her eyes... then he had been going on and on about... something... what was it? Oh! The ghost kid! Danny Phan- but... he had said that Phantom had been half human, just like Danielle. To prove it, he had even pointed out how Danielle's weakened state was a result of her being a clone. It only made sense that who she was a clone of was Danny Phantom. Everything that Plasmius told her made utter and shocking sense, as much as Valerie's heart wished to disbelieve it.

How could she let Plasmius go after that, though? But... she didn't, did she? She must have passed out. Yes, she remembered her vision fading to black shortly after hearing his piercing laughter, and what happened afterwards must have been her return home. Plasmius must have taken her home. That made sense too. What ghost in their right minds (evil as they all were) would want a ghost hunter "snoozing" in their house?

She would get to him later, Valerie promised herself. She would get Plasmius eventually if it was the last thing she did, and though she hated to admit it to herself in the future, his ploy had worked. Vlad's intent in telling her the ghost boy's secret was not just out of spite for Phantom, but also to bide his time and figure out a way to get out of Valerie's hunting zone. A sour taste formed in her mouth, though, for she was now thinking of Danny. How could he have never told her his secret? Well, he was evil, that's why! She reasoned. But... how could he feign such an innocent disposition when his ghost form was so vile? Was the ghost half somehow taking over the human half, as if Danny were being overshadowed? Valerie knew the possibility was dim, but she was grasping at straws trying to reconcile the fact that the boy she had loved and the ghost she despised were one and the same. It still hadn't fully sunken in.

Danielle was different. She hadn't hurt anyone even in her ghost form, as far as Valerie knew. And she was just a girl. A younger girl. Phantom, on the other hand, he was the same age as Valerie. He always claimed himself to be fighting ghosts rather than forming alliances with them, but how could she trust Fenton now that she knew he was the same as Phantom? All those times they had spent together, those moments... those special moments...

The mixed emotions in her head were threatening to overwhelm her. Although she didn't want to hurt Danny Fenton, her stubbornness to destroy all things ghost was beginning to triumph over her apparent guilt. It was true that she also wanted to hunt Plasmius, but she had had her eyes on Phantom for the longest time... She had always wanted to make him pay for everything evil he had done (ruining her life, kidnapping the mayor, the string of robberies when that circus came into town a while back), yet he always seemed to disappear right under her nose. Now that she knew why, she could hunt him down like the ecto-scum he was... couldn't she?

The more she thought about it, however, the more she mulled over the option of going after Plasmius first. She wouldn't hesitate going after him, and it would give her a great excuse to take out all her rage and aggression.

Shaking her head as she settled on this decision, she noticed a small slip of white paper on her desk. Raising an eyebrow, she used her left arm to pull her body towards the table, snagging the piece of paper with her right hand. It held fancy yet legible handwriting on it, that Valerie recognized from the notes she had received along with the packages Vlad Masters had sent her full of ghost hunting equipment. It read:

Valerie,

So it seems you now know my – as well as Danny Fenton's – secret. I just thought it kind to remind you that I still owe you a small gift for delivering Danielle. Before I hand it over, however, I request that if you plan on killing young Daniel, you allow me to take a DNA samples first. Oh and a word of advice? Danny Phantom is a novice when in comparison to myself. Should you choose to ignore my warning and come after me, not only would it be in vain as you cannot hope to defeat me, but I will make sure that you and your father's lives become a living hell. It should be wise not to go blasting your gun where it does not belong.

Sincerely,
Vlad Masters

She had forgotten all about her payment for handing over Danielle! She had been so draped with fury that she had entirely missed the fact that despite her efforts to put Vlad to rest permanently, he still owed her a new house... a new home where she could finally be at peace in, where she and her Dad could live in luxury (compared to their current living conditions) for a long time to come. But that didn't even matter to her anymore. There were more important things... And Vlad's message at the end did not go unnoticed. He had a lot of pull as the mayor, and even if he was no longer the mayor, he had enough financial backing to follow through with his threat. She didn't care what happened to her, but her dad... She couldn't let Vlad Masters singlehandedly destroy everything her dad had worked for. He deserved better. Damn it to hell, she growled within the confines of her mind. Now she couldn't hunt down Plasmius until he held true to his promise... And maybe then she could find a way to get rid of him for good.

But at least she knew who she could hunt down. Danny Phantom. Her resolve was clear. At the moment, she didn't that he was half human. She couldn't afford to think about that. All she cared about was revenge on his ghost half, taking out her frustrations, and the fact that she knew who he was now. It would be impossible for him to hide.