Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It all began during his parent’s college reunion.

Danny really didn’t want to go, but unfortunately for him, his powers had gotten him in trouble. Again.

He was trying!  He really was!  But it was just so rough for the poor kid. 

He just had more important things to worry about than his curfew.  Life sucks when you're regularly falling through the floor.  Or when you silverware keeps slipping through your hands during dinner.   Hell if he wasn't careful he'd sometimes find himself ominously levitating in the doorway on accident!  At least everything ghostly tended to happen when his parent’s backs were turned.  But it wasn't going to remain foolproof for long; skittish and nervous behavior around his parents (for a good reason! They were ghost hunters!) started to set off their ‘parental senses’  recently.  They were normally a special sort of inattentive regarding him and Jazz, but he had recently noticed them keeping an extra eye on him when he seemed to be having an especially bad day.  Like the other night! 

'What sort of jackass was sending freemason vultures after dad?  And why did it HAVE to be on a school night?'

Danny pressed his cheek against the window, sulking- the cold glass against his cheek used to pretty much cool him off when he was getting frustrated, but lately everything was just...warmer than him.  Dammit.  He knew why he was so damn cold all the time, but he hated thinking about it- he just wanted to be normal!!   Unfortunately for him, nothing of the sort seemed to work out in his favor.  Ghosts kept showing up and fucking it all up!  His grades were suffering big time!  He wasn't the best student but he managed to pull off a mid-B average before his sleep schedule got messed up so bad.  Danny wishe- wanted to pretend it was because he was just 'at that age', that he 'didn't care' or 'was slacking' like people said, but no.  He had ghosts pulling shit at all hours of the night, usually involving him.  Just last week he had to deal with a literal wishing ghost, and getting sick afterwards.  Danny grumbled to himself, thinking about all the shit he'd had to deal with.  If it wasn't for his failing grades he probably wouldn't have had to deal with overnight gorilla research.  And Skulker. Fuck Skulker.  All my homies hate Skulker. 

He glanced over towards Jazz.  She obviously wasn’t happy, but he'd just learned how to tune her out when she was like this years ago.  Right after she’d outright start glaring at him, he knew it was time to stare out the window and daydream until she got over herself.  This time she was basically radiating displeasure.  Every quip from their parents about his responsibilities?  Concerned glare.  They mention ghosts?  Annoyed glare.  They mention how much this trip will teach the two of them?  Angry glare.  

Jeeze!  It’s not like he’d meant for them to be forced to spend their entire weekend being dragged across state lines!  In fact, Danny had wanted to do the exact opposite!  He had plans to hit up the new arcade before finally hanging at Sam’s place.  The last time he’d had the chance to do that, a disastrous garage sale/party incident distracted him...

At least their parents stopped bugging them about school and were just singing now.  That was much easier to drown out.  Danny listened for a moment and groaned.  He hoped they'd finally stop for the night soon- it was getting dark and both he and Jazz could use a moment to stretch their legs. 

But, hey!  Look on the bright side; even cooped up in the RV this was probably the most non-ghost-related thing he's done in a while!  Well...even if ghosts were the reason he and Jazz were stuck going to Wisconsin in the first place.   But really, when was the last time he'd felt like an average, everyday, ordinary teenage boy?

He thought about how he almost got to be normal a month-or-so ago!  He'd been invited to THE party of the year!  Him!  Wimpy, clumsy Danny Fenton!  Jazz really did him a solid there, he'd have to remember to thank her again.  But that didn't last long.  He'd managed to show up only for Technus to ruin it.  He'd been so excited and it ended up just one big let-down.  He did get to be the school mascot like a week ago!  But...that was also...ruined- by Desiree, no less.  And then at the beginning of the year he got to the cute girl he liked to going to a dance with him!  It was nice to fit in for once, even is she was using him.  Normal teenagers dealt with that sort of petty shit pretty regularly, right?  And hey!  Paulina was still pretty, even if she was also sort of a dragon at the time.  That part wasn't fun, but he got to feel normal for almost a week!  It would have been nice for it to continue, especially since it seemed every few days, give or take, another ghost would show up and threaten his sanity, his skin, and sometimes his school. 

Danny shuddered, thankful the ghosts seemed to be mostly focused on him, rather than everyone else.  He's terrified to think about what would happen if the town at large or his friends and family were directly harmed.  If it did happen, it would all be his fault, though.  He was the idiot who accidentally turned the portal on.  He was the reason the ghosts had free reign to enter Amity.  The thought made his chest ache deeply.  It hurt, making him bring a hand to it to settle atop the strange buzz that had been making itself more prominent recently.

Why couldn't he just be normal?  

If he was normal, then he wouldn't be constantly on edge.  He was always worried about doing something ghostly when mom and dad were around.  What would they even say if he fell through the floor?  What if he flashed out of visibility for a moment?  Shit he just learned how to blast things!  Sometimes he would feel that energy pooling in his hands when mad... what if he accidentally exploded something?  Would they accept him?  Did the men in black actually exist?   Would they send him off to the FBI or something?  What if they wanted to experime-  No.  No they would never do that to him, right?  Even if they caught him it'd be okay.  They'd be so pissed though- all the lying he did would get him grounded for life!

Or. 

Would they even...notice? 

He didn't know which option was worse; shit, with his luck he could yell and 'go ghost' in front of them and they'd be miraculously turned away from him.  Knowing how things tend to go for him, he'd be able to do it standing on the kitchen table during dinner and they would still just, not notice.  It's not like they're at dinner half the time, anyways.  Danny sometimes swears his superpower was invisibility even before his accident.  He doesn't know exactly how he feels about that.  He should probably feel upset, but sometimes flying (literally) under his parents’ radar came in handy when he had to beat the snot out of the ghosts that wouldn’t leave Amity be.

Jazz was going on about something- probably the fact that they were taking so long to stop for the night.  How it was blah blah irresponsible, blah blah dangerous.  He could feel more than hear her griping about how it took nearly all day to comb that green crud out of her hair.  It was an accident, okay!  So, as a standard younger brother practice, he tuned her out and focused his attention on the rest area sign ahead of them.  Yes!!  They finally parked and he took the first chance he got to run off to the bathrooms and avoid his family for five seconds.  

Coming back he saw his parents getting hunkered down into their patented (why did they need a patent for this) Fenton Sleeping Bags™.  Jazz was making a point to set theirs up a little farther away from the other two, dad snored and sleep-fought ghosts after all.  He sat down on his bag and yawned, not hearing his dad's excited plans for tomorrow.  He knew Jazz would wake him up if he managed to not be surprised awake tonight- he didn't use to be a light sleeper, but how the turns have tabled.  He made motions to settle in, scrolling on his phone before something Jazz said made his ears perk up.

“-Masters? As in, Vlad Masters?  Who was named Affluence Magazine's Billionaire of the Year?  That Vlad Masters???”

'What...'

Danny watched his dad perk up in his sleeping bag, giddy even after driving literally all day.  "That's the guy! In college, he was my best friend- We were very popular guys. Roommates, lab partners, we did everything together.  Until the thick fingers of fate stuck themselves right in Vlad's eyes."  His dad frowned for a moment before continuing with another grin plastered on his face.  "You know the portal your mother and I built?"

"Well, yeah.  It's kind of enormous."  Danny answered.

"Well in college the three of us worked on a Proto-portal!  Tiny thing, it was, and hot!  The thing blasted V-man right in the face during our test.  And was usually a stickler for safety!  But, I guess we all got a little over-excited to test it!"  Jack laughed as if he just told the world's funniest joke.  Maddie didn't smile, just elbowed him in the arm.  "I mean, I got a little over-excited to test it."  He looked away sheepishly as his wife sighed.

"What happened to him?  He's alright, right?"  Jazz inquired, concern apparent on her face.

"Well he's probably alive, seeing as he's a billionaire.  And inviting us over."  Danny snarked back, only to earn another glare from his sister.

Jack began speaking animatedly once again, worry lines evident on his brow.  "He was hospitalized with a horrible case of ecto-acne! It devastated him...and killed his social life!  We actually haven't spoken since that day. But!  The good news is, I think after all these years, he's finally forgiven me!"  

Jazz was so thrown off from the revelation, and Danny could feel it himself.  How could he not?! His parents were friends with a weird billionaire from the sounds of it!  And they had never thought to mention it before tonight!   Hell, the guy was studying ghosts with them in college!  And what even was ecto-acne?  Why was his dad so nonchalant about this guy taking like twenty years to talk to him?  What did he mean he 'finally forgave him?'  Nothing made sense!!  Danny didn't even want to touch the implication of his parents being responsible for another lab accident like that with a forty foot pole, the thought of it made him full-body shudder as he remembered how it felt to be blasted with a fully functional one.  Masters was lucky he just had some weird ghost acne and didn't end up dea-

'Deep breaths, Danny.  You're here.  You're alive.'

After a moment of gathering his thoughts together he realized something.  His parents neglecting to tell them about an old friend may seem strange, he guessed other parents did the same to their kids.  But the fact that they didn't even so much as mention being close with a super rich guy who also studied ghosts with them?  That worked on the portal with them?  The same portal that was their crowning achievement?  They'd talked his and Jazz's ear off about that for weeks, and never once mentioned a third person who'd helped them design a prototype of the damn thing! 

Danny thought it was all a little disappointing, honestly. 

His parents did often forget to mention important stuff to them.  Stuff like ‘don’t mix bleach and ammonia’ -  Danny would like to thank whatever God was watching for having Jazz find him before he’d accidentally aliven't-ed himself that at the tender age of ten.  Other important 'being alive' curriculum was also omitted, such as ‘don’t eat the chicken that was left out on the stove night night'-  Unfortunately there was no God watching him that day, food poisoning was a foul mistress.  He'd learned his lesson after Jazz explained to him exactly why he shouldn't have done that.  His parents meant well but their selective memory and attentiveness could be an issue sometimes.  He didn’t want to be upset with them, but even he had to think about the amount of issues with the house; the chemicals left unlabeled in the same fridge as their food, the kitchen counters covered in something that made 'em glow a few minutes after the lights were off, the tendency to leave untested weapons on the couch.  Even the lack of goddamn rails down to the lab.  Danny had fallen off those stairs many a time when younger, even though he wasn’t supposed to be in the lab unsupervised before he was like ten.  But what did they expect?  The lab had zero locks on it!  Any curious brat was gonna try to check it out!

Don’t even get him started on the chores he was supposed to do in that death trap!  He was a klutz on a good day and he had no clue why he was even allowed down there after his school rightfully banned him from even handling beakers. 

Danny didn't want to think about all the chores that had resulted in explosions or minor burns.

All of that was a problem for future Danny though!  Tonight he was going to enjoy the relative quiet of being away from his town, even if there was a gnawing Anxiety about it settled deeply into his chest.  At least no ghosts had shown up this far outside of Amity.

Yet.

'Stop thinking like that Danny!!'

God he hoped he didn’t just jinx himself.  He really needed a break- and that break was going to be spent mooching off of a rich old dude in his mansion.  He hoped there was a cheese platter.  He deserved all the fancy pepper jack slices he could shove in his face after the last two months of ghost bullshit plaguing his town...

He blinked himself back into alertness, finally outside of his headspace.  Cool, dad had finished talking and was snoring soundly.  Mom too.  Score!  He was finally able to look at his phone without all the bumps in the damn road, and that's exactly what he was gonna do. He began checking all his apps, shooting a quick message to his chatgroup with Sam and Tuck to let them know what he'd found out.  Now that he was thinking about it, it wouldn't hurt to try looking up information on his parents’ old college friend.  He kept switching between articles and his feeds, snort-breathing at a few memes here and there.  He felt a tingle in the back of his head, not a ghost power though.  Nah, he just had the inkling that Jazz was still mad at him.

Looking up he could see he was right!  He had been trying to ignore Jazz’s glares again, but she could really hold a fucking grudge if she wanted to, and he really didn’t enjoy being on the receiving end of it.  He groaned. That sure was her signature 'concerned sisterly death glare'™!  Couldn't she just like, lay off for the night? 

After a few more minutes of scrolling while being watched, he finally relented.  Danny cleared his throat and tried to look as apologetic as he possibly could, “Jazz, I said I was sorry for getting you sucked in to this, too. You know I didn’t mean to get us both punished!  I get that you're pissed, but I could really do without the glaring.” He didn’t MEAN to get them both sucked in- it’s just how the ghostly cookie crumbled!

He watched her raise a single eyebrow in response.  “I know you didn’t mean anything by it, little brother-” she started, closing her book with an audible snap “-but you know- just like I do- that mom and dad haven’t noticed half of what you’ve been doing behind their backs, and they’re just worried.  I'm worried too!  You've been jumpy and nervous around them, but seem to relax near me, even if you try to shut me out.  They both know that you're more likely to relax when I'm around, even if they don’t outright say it.  I've always viewed myself as ‘mini mom’ and I think they expect me to be another set of eyes and ears.  At least, that’s what my notes have helped me conclude."  She closed her eyes and sighed deeply. 

"Even if they don’t say it outright, I’m basically your unpaid babysitter until I go to school.  Or until you finally decide to grow up a little more, whatever comes first.  Admit it, whatever it is that's making you act out is something that you feel may follow you here.”  She looked at Danny with a deep concern in her eyes.  "I'm always here for you, Danny.  Please remember that, even if I am a little annoyed that I had to come here instead of working on my thesis."  Great!!  She was gonna mother and psychoanalyze him this whole trip.  He didn't want her to do that for him, it was completely unfair to the both of the-

Wait...

HEY!! he wasn’t some infant!

He scowled up at her. “Listen, I know as well as you do that you’re also still just a kid.  You don’t have to look after me like this, I can handle mysel-”

She raised a hand up, cutting him off. “Danny, I understand.  You want to be independent, a lone wolf.  It’s all just a part of growing up, I know.  But don’t try and tell me you’d be better off without at least another set of eyes looking out for you.” 

She smiled at him, a knowing and loving smile she'd always had for him.  She honestly believed she was helping him by basically mothering him, by sacrificing her time to keep an eye out for his reckless, clumsy ass.  He didn’t want her help!  He didn’t want her to be there over his shoulder like a third parent. 

The two they shared barely even made a difference, and she'd already done so much for him!

She wanted to help him, but his problems...he couldn't drag her into them.  He had a hard enough time just protecting Sam and Tuck from the bullshit he'd get himself into.  He didn't want her feeling guilt when she had to watch him get his ass beat, when he was shot, burned, chased...hunted sometimes.  He couldn't justify bringing her into a situation that she had no control in, didn't want her to try to stop things that were beyond humanity's control.  What would she do in that situation?  She would try to stop, to mediate, but very few ghosts even gave him much more than witty banter before shooting.  No, she would probably just try to get him to quit ghost fighting.  She wouldn't be able to make him though...the ache in his chest over the mere thought of his town, his friends and family, being left unprotected, it drove him to do reckless, dangerous shit a normal human would never even consider.

Jazz wouldn't be able to stop him.

Just like she hadn’t been able to stop his dea-

No.

Take a step back.  Let’s not think about that. Not here. Not ever.

Just.  No.

Danny offered her a scowl.  He didn't want to do this, but he needed her off his ass, needed her to never consider getting close enough to find out.  He felt the buzzing in his chest lessen to a comfortable hum, putting on a standard 'younger brother shit-eating-grin'.   “Jazz, I'm a straight-D student, and even I know that you didn’t want to be here. They probably only brought you along because they didn’t want to worry about their ‘precious baby girl’ all alone at home while they were hundreds of miles away in the middle-of-nowhere.  It probably had nothing to do with you being my babysitter."  He smiled with way too many teeth for emphasis.  "They just didn’t wanna have to waste money on one for your spazz ass.”  He spat at her, he really didn’t want her on his ass this whole time, and this was one way to get her to lay the fuck off.

And it was working!!

Jazz glared at him, anger somehow contained compactly in all of her five-foot-six scrawny frame.  Crossing her arms, she yelped, “I’m just trying to help!  You aren't gonna push me away too!  I won’t let you.”

“Yeah, you and what army?”

She pouted for a moment, before her face was back to her calm, snooty smirk.  “Well, I can always tell mom and dad that you’re having some sort of ghost problem…”

She'd meant it as a light taunt, just a jab that she'd use their parents' obsession with ghosts to keep her brother under a watchful eye.  Danny felt an awful, deep dread pooling in his gut.  He felt the cold numbness he'd come to be familiar with in his ghost form creep into the tips his fingers, the numbness that happened when he felt he would be caught, when he felt as if he was in danger. 

No.  He didn’t want her to do that, not at all.  He tried to think of a way to make her stop, to reconsider what she was saying, to never mention it, to never threaten that again.  She didn’t mean bad by it!  No! Jazz had no idea what he was going through, and he wouldn’t let her.  

She was the one to bandage all his cuts and bruises. She was the one who took it upon herself to put out all the kitchen fires.  She was the one to nurse him back to health when he’d had the flu, when he was sick in general.

She was one of the only ones to notice that his ‘little shock’ from the portal may not have been so little.  

Jazz had helped him so much, cried over him so much- she wasn't allowed to know he'd become less than human.  He didn't deserve to be worried about like that!  Guilt clouded his eyes, and he’d not realized how pale he’d gotten from her meaningless, well-meaning threat.  

Danny mumbled, not realizing he was thinking out loud until the words passed his lips.

“You know, sometimes I really hate how talking about ghosts is the only way they pay attention...”

He watched as his sister’s face fell.  She looked as if she wanted nothing more than to pull him into a tight hug, and he allowed it.  If anyone asked, he would say  he resisted completely, and whole-heartedly.  Put up one hell of a battle against his sister's cooties.  He hoped he didn’t turn all gross and sappy from stuff like this...

Jazz pulled away from him and grabbed his hands in hers with a warm smile.  “Man Danny you always have the coldest hands, if I didn't know better I'd confuse you for an ice cube!” she chuckled, and it was so warm and so good.  He leaned on her, just appreciating how solid and there for him his older sister was.  Again, if anyone asked, he'd lie and say he wasn't being all mushy with the spazz.  It made him notice just how much he’d missed the sound of her laugh, how much he missed just spending time watching TV or even working on homework together.

Maybe pushing everyone away was a bad idea? 

He just didn’t want Jazz’s observant eyes to see him all the time.  Being able to vanish was a good thing, sometimes.

The kids broke their contact after a moment, sitting up fully when they heard dad snore, loudly, from his sleeping bag.  The two laughed a little in response.

“You know, if you ever need to tell me something, I’m two literally rooms down from you, Danny.  And I can keep confidentiality if you need me to. You shouldn’t need to go through-” she waved her hand in a small circle while she thought, “-whatever it is you’re actually going through.  Also I’m always available to help you bring your grades back up, even if I can’t stop you from getting so much detention.”

Danny smiled sheepishly, hand coming up to rub the back of his neck. 

Yeah, maybe he would take her up on that offer. Once he managed to sleep for a full night, that is- hopefully it'd be sometime in the next century.

“Yeah, yeah.  I’ll keep you in mind if I ever need a shrink.  But, we should probably follow dad’s example soon...I kind of wanna step out for some air first though.  Can you cover for me if they wake up and ask?”

She gave him a thumbs up.  “Always, just keep your phone on you!  Oh!  And don’t wander too far. I wanna be able to see you from the window.”

He was already slipping through the RV's door- Danny desperately needed some air after being cooped up in the damn car for so long, and he was glad he was able to do it mostly alone.  Jazz was gonna be nosy and peek ever so often, but he wasn’t too worried about it.  It wasn't like he was gonna go ghost in the open like this- especially with the other people sleeping in their cars nearby.  And especially not so close to the literal ghost assault vehicle.

He learned exactly why he doesn't wanna fuck with that mess of a vehicle earlier.

Nah, he was just gonna sit here on the bench.  He was gonna enjoy the late spring air, all from the safety of the bench.  And if anyone tried to accuse him of anything else, he was going to be very adamant he was sitting here, on the bench. 

It was a nice night, though; No mosquitoes, the smell of rain in the distance- no summertime humidity making everything stick in places just yet- perfect.

Danny sat, and he thought.  And thought.  Jazz had been right, though.  She may not have been expected to be the third parent, but she was sometimes.  And it wasn’t that bad right?  She was just overbearing and wanted to bother him as much as possible because they both knew their parent's weren't the most attentive.  It’s the older sister’s job to do that, she'd said. 

But Danny couldn’t stop himself from continuing to think about the amount of times she’d saved him from something in their own house.  It was way more than someone who was still a kid should have had to, but factoring in his clumsiness he wasn't too surprised.  He just felt guilty.  Guilt at the fact he’d basically gotten in the way of her having friends one too many times.  Guilt that he’d make her worry so much. Guilt that she’d hurt herself putting out fires and cleaning spills of things that neither of them should have even been near in the first place.  She really didn't deserve to be a parent at her age, let alone a parent to a half-ghost kinda dead kid whose hands made him drop things and whose shoelaces were never tied.

Nobody deserved to deal with that.

Sometimes he wished he could have turned invisible sooner.

Shaking the thoughts from his head, he stood up and stretched.  Dear God...it felt like every joint in his back and all the ones in his fingers had to pop after being crammed in a car so long. 

If his bones were gonna crack like goddamn glowsticks at the ripe age of 14, he deserved temporary bioluminescence as compensation.  He laughed and thought about it for a moment- maybe that would be another freaky thing his freaky body would make him do eventually.  The lamest power of all ghost powers- glowstick bones...

The door to the RV popped open quietly and he watched Jazz sticking her head out to look at him.  “Alright it’s almost midnight, and mom and dad want to leave at seven am sharp to make it there on time. Make it quick, little bro.”  She smiled at him and popped back in. 

Why did she call him that as often as she did?  He called her plenty of names, but never ‘big sis’ or ‘sissy’. At least, not since he was like five or something.  Whatever.  It she wants to act like a weird adult he’ll let her do it. 

Danny hopped up off the bench and snuck back in, noticing that Jazz was starting to nod off in her seat.  She was always the one to wait until he was good before finally relaxing herself. He found himself scowling slightly at the implication- would she have waited up until he was sound asleep? 

He really didn't deserve her, sometimes.  Danny wrapped Jazz's blanket around her shoulders and gently helped her lay down in her half-asleep state.  It only took a moment to wiggle into his own sleeping bag, but once he was good he found himself out like a light in moments. 

He could only hope that tomorrow would go alright for all of them.

Chapter Text

The Masters estate was...certainly something.

He didn't expect anything small, per say, but he wasn't expecting anything this...grand.  A mansion, yeah- maybe even a super huge condo or big house with a fancy pool or something, but he couldn't really expect normal coming from someone who put up with his parents in college, could he?  Danny has to crane his neck waaaaay back to see the top of the spires on the damn castle in front of him.  Wasn't this going a little over the top?  Did he think he was a fucking king or something?  He hoped the dude would be at least sort of down to Earth, at least.  Maybe the inside would be decorated by nerdy shit like storm troopers or whatever?   God please let it be something like storm troopers, and not super expensive Mozart paintings or something....he did those abstract paintings of people that looked like shapes, right? 

'Alright getting distracted, Fenton.'

But castles were always haunted!  Them's just the facts!  Shit, even Cinderella's castle probably had the ghost of a sickly Victorian child wandering its halls.  The castle before them didn't give off too much of a creepy vibe, though.  Danny just wanted a break, honestly.  Maybe it would just be Dracula wandering the halls?  Vampires are probably easier to reason with than ghosts...if they exist?  Did they even exist?  Or maybe it'd be like...the borrowers or something.  Or fairies.  Something that isn't fucking ghosts.  But deep down, he really hopes that this place was the outlier and hadn't been counted in those haunted castle statistics.

He felt Jazz finally stop next to him, hands folded behind her back politely.  She took a few extra moments to follow behind their parents, taking a picture or two of the gardens on the grounds to save for her scrapbook.  Or something.  He didn't really know if she was still into scrapbooking.  Huh.  He'd have to remember to ask her about that when he had the chance too, if only to make sure she hadn't gotten any super embarrassing photos of him to add to it like she liked to.

Danny looked up at her with a shit-eating grin as she stared, unblinking, at the literal fucking castle in front of them.  It was so rare he'd see her caught off-guard, and he was gonna cherish every second of it.  Jazz finally looked down at him and sighed deeply, pinching the bridge of her nose.  “If I have to be here against my will, I’m gonna at least try to find a nice, secluded corner to read in.  Away from mom and dad and their embarrassing college nostalgia."  Danny opened his mouth, but she raised a hand, stopping him from interrupting her thoughts.  "You had better keep out of trouble, and don’t break anything!  I know someone this rich has to have literal masterpieces on display, and we both know your clumsiness has gotten worse over the last few months-”

He knew it wasn’t a jab, it was just a state of fact.  He was banned from handling glass in the school labs, after all.

“Oh come on Jazz, this place is like...prime exploration material!  Does it have a dungeon?  Maybe a big-ass movie theater?  Or-or an observatory!  Jazz, you can’t ignore that it probably has secret passageways!  It looks like it’s gotta have secret passageways!"  He grinned at her unamused face.  "It might even a massive library with books up to the ceiling…perfect for a nerd like you!  Imagine that, Jazz- a huge private library with ancient books that nobody else has, perfectly quiet and away from embarrassment.”  He stuck his tongue out at her, realizing that they'd lost pace with their parents. 

Jazz smiled back at him, picking up the pace again.  “Just because I might find a quiet corner to relax in doesn't mean you can go off snooping around a rich guy's mansion-castle-"  Danny was ready to interject, but his sister continued,  "-But as you'd put it, I'm 'gonna have my nose glued to my nerd-books', so as long as you keep your phone on you I trust you enough to not trespass, and also to not break anything.”

Danny knew he was clumsy, but she’d practically given him the go-ahead to explore the castle...so long as he didn’t break shit.  And so long as she didn't catch him snooping around.  He could do that!  Invisibility was a very handy power...

Score.

“Noted!  Hey though, at least the place is big enough mom and dad can’t possibly embarrass us both at the same time if we’re not together!”  He gave her the standard smile of every scheming little brother on the planet. The chaos-preceding ‘I will try to not cause problems on purpose’ one that he knows will probably give her greys by 21. 

Danny looked up again as they continued their approach, and frowned when he didn’t see an observatory.  Damn, he really wanted to see the Eta Aquarids.  They were supposed to be super visible tonight!  He made a grumbling sigh in his throat and rested a hand on his chest- right over the humming feeling constantly brewing near his heart.  He'd been planning on watching them this weekend with his friends...Dammit, he didn't realize exactly how much it'd hurt to not see one of his favorite meteor showers this year.  Slightly more bummed, he shoved his hands in his pockets, Jazz sending him a slightly questioning look before turning her attention to the castle steps.  Danny didn’t doubt there’d be good spots to stargaze this far out from civilization, he just doubted the lights from the small rich-people neighborhood wouldn't dampen the starlight.  He hoped that wasn't the case. 

Maybe he could ask their host if there was a telescope laying around in a storage closet or something?  Yeah!  That was it.  He'd just ask Vlad Masters himself to borrow a telescope and hope it wasn’t an antique or something…

The Fenton siblings continued talking quietly when a new voice cut through; And there he was. 

Vlad Masters.  Billionaire rich old dude.  Who lived in a fucking castle.  In Wisconsin. 

Why the fuck was there a castle in the middle of Wisconsin? 

Why do rich people do anything that they do?

All the siblings knew is that they wanted to use a real bathroom for the first time in like two days.

They watched the man approach, and Danny felt something...off.  It could have been the way he stood- regal, powerful, kind of douchey.  It could have been his voice, or maybe his general vibes.  The ghost boy didn't know exactly what that something was, but it was definitely something off.  That something was really familiar to him as well; it was as if he knew this feeling from somewhere back home.  He felt a shiver chill up his spine while the dull humming in his chest decided to pang for only a moment.  

'Body can you be normal for like five minutes? '

Whatever the fuck that was, Danny just shook the overlapping thoughts out of his head and gave the man a big, winning smile.  Impressions do matter, after all, even if his presence made him think of the air before a ghost attack back home.

“Jack...and Maddie!  You've never looked lovelier, my dear.  Please, please, come in.”  They were led in quickly, and Danny heard the doors slam.  Oh no.  The feeling of anxious dread was somewhat worse here;  but it didn't last.  After a few moments of fighting his body transforming and flying the fuck away from here, it had settled down.  Danny realized it wasn't the man himself, no.  It was more like he felt as if he were being watched by something.  Like the second he stepped foot over the threshold of the manor he was somewhere dangerous.  It was like the house was warning him that it knew he was here, and that he'd better behave. 

Danny decided he didn't quite care for that feeling, at all.  

He took a breath and followed their host, really taking a look at the decorations.  Holy shit this dude was a Packers fan.  He grinned, thanking whatever fuckin force watched over his life that it wasn't all like, solid gold-plated floors and platinum walls.  He grinned widely at all the honestly cool memorabilia all over the walls, it made him want to explore the castle more, even if he'd just felt like the castle was gonna yeet him at the first sign of misbehavior.  Danny turned to his sister and saw that Jazz was kind of just staring at the décor with distaste. 

"What's with the green and gold? You're a billionaire! Surely you could afford an interior designer."  She crossed her arms with a pout.  God she could be so huffy about things when they didn't fit her narrow expectations, especially at first.  He smirked at her and put both hands on his hips in return.

"Jazz, uh, hello?  Football helmets, jerseys, cheeseheads?  He's a Packers fanatic!"

He felt Vlad walk towards him, placing a hand on his shoulder in approval for a moment.  "Oh, "fanatic" is such a negative word.  But, yes.  I do quite enjoy watching them play."

"I don't understand. You have billions of dollars! Instead of buying this stuff, why don't you just buy the team?"

Vlad grumbled, crossing his arms petulantly, like a bratty teenager.  "Because the Packers are owned by the city of Green Bay and they won't sell them to me!"  Danny watched as the man huffed out a bit of steam, wait was that actual steam?  Or smoke?  Did this guy vape?  Weird...Well, he was a rich old weird dude, so being told he couldn’t own a sports team was...likely to piss him off slightly.  But Danny was cool with it, it’d be nice to talk to an adult who wasn’t either a teacher or absolutely obsessed with ghosts. 

He giggled as he watched the steamed weirdo calm down in less than five seconds.  Smooth recovery, Masters.  He really did look like an angry smoking vampire dude for like ten seconds. 'This one's going in my cringe compilation' , Danny quipped to himself as he watched Vlad try to smooth out his ponytail.  

"Well, they're one of two things my wealth has not as of yet...been able to acquire."  Vlad chuckled and looked over at his mom, hungry look in his eye.

Was he...

Is he hitting on Mom?

Danny looked up at his sister with a concerned furrow in his brow.  She patted him on the back, whispering, “As long as we can use the bathrooms and she says no, I don’t really care.” Jazz was snappy, a telltale sign that she was absolutely done with everything and everyone around her.  She walked away, deeper into the foyer, and Danny was not stupid enough to mess with that right now, even if he was getting straight Ds at the moment.  He sighed and tried to ignore his parents' friend basically eye-fucking his mom as best as he could, continuing to look around the room for distractions and possible secret entrances. 

There was just, so much cool shit laying around- jerseys by players he'd known his parents to gush over, replica (or possibly real!) trophies on pedestals, and the signed prints- those were sick.  He turned to tell his dad to come look at some of it and frowned.  Wait a second.  Where was his dad?  Did he go back outside to the RV?  Or was he in the bathroom?  Did he get lost??  

Wait.  

He could hear the man pounding on the door distantly, calling for Vlad or his mom to let him in.

Did...

Did Vlad slam the door on his dad? 

What was going on here?   Neither he nor Jazz had actually seen the door slam, so it could just be a nasty draft.  Vlad wouldn't do that to his dad, right?  They were friends, even if his dad had admitted to not speaking to the man in like, twenty years.  And fucking up his face.  Vlad seemed pretty cool, if not for his obvious boner for his mom.  Ew. 

Danny really hoped it was only a nasty draft, seeing as the house had already set off his 'I'm in danger' senses pretty badly.  He was incredibly thankful it wasn't his ghost sense, but he still did Not Care for the shit that made his chest ache like that.  It was so bad he felt he needed to transform openly in front of his scientist, ghost-hating parents and their weird, eccentric friend who apparently had his hands in a few government agencies (as per his phone research last night), and who might have also possibly been a ghost-hating jerk.  Really didn't appreciate his fucked up body pulling that shit.  Danny felt a growl building in his throat thinking about it, but he pulled it back.  He remembered that this was, in fact, a castle, and probably super haunted, so it was probably a cursed object or the house fucking with his ghost powers.  'Cool!  Please, let it be anything else but ghosts!!’, he found himself praying, to nobody who was listening.

The boy heard another loud slam, and he felt more than heard his dad bounding up behind them.  “It's Alright V-man!  I got that door open!  That’s a wicked draft you got going on!!!”

“Yes Jack, I should apologize, I suppose.”  He watched as his dad started to talk animatedly to a very grumpy-looking Vlad, his mom notably standing with dad between them.  Cool!  Crisis adverted! 

Danny decided to ignore his parents from now on, he had a castle to explore, after all!!  He finally began to wander around the foyer- everything really was green and gold.  He laughed quietly, thinking about what sort of thing could even try to haunt a Packer's castle in Wisconsin.  He quickly stopped laughing just thinking about a football ghost wrecking his shit in the middle of the night.  Dammit.  Alright, chage of subject, where was he?  Oh yeah!  The decorations were in good taste, despite what Jazz tried to say, and it's not that surprising!  His parents and Vlad all graduated from the same university, didn't they?  And he knew his parents were huge Packers fans themselves.  He might not be the most athletic dude, but it's not like he didn't watch games with his dad when he could.  When his dad was around for games, at least. 

Danny quickly shook that thought away and turned his attention to a ball on a pedestal, absolutely covered in signatures- shit that looked legit too!  He could barely contain his glee as his eyes sparkled, gaining their host’s attention once again.  "Woah...cool!"

Vald gently placed his hand on Danny's shoulder as he came up behind him.  “Ah! I see you have an eye for quality, quite like mine.  This is signed by the legendary Ray Nitschke, himself.  It's my prized possession."

Vlad picked up the ball and brought it closer to him, letting him see the details in all the signatures.  Danny smiled up at him;  It was weird when he got any sort of attention from an adult, let alone one who had a similar taste in sports teams.  Now if Masters was a Lions fan?  Absolutely disgusting!  He’d have roasted the man immediately and without fail.  Even in his limited knowledge of football, he recognized that the Lions fucking sucked.  Vlad placed the ball in his hands and Danny felt his eyes all but sparkle at the embroidered details he could finally touch.  "Thank you for letting me see this, Mr. Masters!  Do you have any other cool junk?"  God what was he doing?  How did he talk to adults again?  The only ones he really was around that weren't teachers were the ones obsessed with ghosts...

And speaking of adults who are obsessed with ghosts- why was his dad snatching the football out of his hands? Didn’t he realize how valuable it was?  Wait why was dad- no!  Don't tackle the guy???  What the fuck?  Danny tried to hide his eyes behind his hands in shame as he watches Vlad twitch on the floor with a murderous look in his eyes.

"Ha! I see you've still got the old moves!"  Jack picked himself up off the floor, prized ball in his clumsy hands before Vlad quickly rises and snatches the damn thing out of his dad's grip forcibly.  

"Give me that!"  He gently places his prized possession back on its pedestal and Danny winces at the man's look.  He swears he sees smoke come out of Vlad's mouth again (what is he, a dragon?) as he continues, “I don’t have moves, Jack!  Not since I was left alone for years and dropped out to basically live in a damn hospital!!!”  Vlad’s outburst had the whole Fenton family blinking up at him in surprise, Jazz rejoining the group from the bathroom looking much less disheveled.   

“Anyways, it gave me the time to really think about what I wanted out of life, and to put those thoughts into action.  To make some decisions that helped to make me very wealthy, very quickly.  And it never would have happened without you, Jack."

Mom raised her hand, trying to placate the angry billionaire when she noticed dad about to speak.  "Uh, yeah...maybe we should go."  

Vlad composed himself, straightening his tie and taking a deep breath.  He smiled in a way that didn't reach his eyes, an arm coming up around dad, just a little too tightly.  "No, no, you should stay with me!  That's the whole reason I'm throwing the reunion here, in my castle- it's so I could...reconnect with you, Jack.  I insist you stay."

His dad seemed to think for a moment, scratching his chin.  "Well, I don't know. We do have a really cool RV."

"Let's stay here!"  Jazz fake-coughed.

"Smooth..."  He stage-whispered back to her with a roll of his eyes.

He waited for his dad's response, watching his mom tap her feet impatiently.  Vlad cleared his throat and placed a hand on dad's shoulder.  "You know, Jack, the Dairy King's ghost could haunt these very halls..."

Oh.

Oh no.

"I'll get the bags!"  Danny watched his dad run back out to the RV as dread pooled in his stomach.  Great, just fucking great.  There might be fucking ghosts here.  He hoped it was just speculation because he just wanted to have one good day.

Well, if that was the case he'd try to make sure to ask Mr. Masters for a telescope tonight...if he could find the time to.  He smiled up at his mom who looked less-than-pleased at the whole situation, trying to diffuse any possible conflict that may happen between now and the reunion, but somehow, fighting ghosts seemed to be easier than placating her annoyed mood.  Great.  He watched as Vlad walked to be front and center of the Fenton family (sans Jack) with a grin.  "Now, while we wait on him to grab those bags, if you would, please let me show you around…”

Danny found himself in a bed five times the size of his measly twin, and four times as soft. 

He felt genuinely bad about his dad’s behavior earlier.  He loved his dad, but he could be...well, overbearing was one word for it he guessed.  The guy tried really hard.  He didn't succeed often, but the effort had to count for something, right.  He'd just hoped that Mr. Masters wasn't one to hold too much of a grudge.  Or to be upset with Danny over his dad's mistakes.  He kinda liked Mr. Masters.  Yeah, he was eccentric and had a bit of a temper, but he was pretty cool and made Danny feel seen for once, even if he wasn't using his invisibility at the moment.  Who knew an adult showing him the bare minimum in the way of respect would make him feel so welcomed?  Not him!  He was just glad the guy didn't kick them to the curb when his dad nearly wreckt him with that tackle either!  Dad was in no way a small man and it looked like he could have broken his old college friend's neck like a toothpick with one hand!  

How did Mr. Masters not get any broken bones from that amount of force?

He shuddered at the thought.  Broken bones were not a fun time as he'd recently discovered.

Danny could barely complain about the arrangements either.  He was in a huge (possibly haunted) castle in a bed the size of his bedroom!  Jazz was just happy to have a bed and a shower at all herself.  Shit, he didn't understand how she was so unworried about their dad's behavior earlier!  She didn’t seem to worry about it one bit, walking away with a simple ‘they’re adults they can figure it out themselves, little brother’  sent his way. 

Again with the little brother comment too!  It was almost like she was trying to remind him of his place as the one to be protected. 

Danny felt the aching buzz in his chest twist painfully, making itself known once again.

NO

He gripped at it, pajamas fisted tightly as he felt his breath quicken like he'd just ran a mile.

He was the one that needed to be protecting her.

Jazz was the one to be protected.

He needed to protect her.

And Dad.

And mom.

And Tucker and Sam.

And the school. 

He hoped this ache didn't mean he was dying.  He did that once before, 0/10 do not recommend. 

He had this need to protect everyone, and he couldn't explain it.  Not when his friends asked, and not when he thought about it himself.  His best guess was that it was like a Spiderman thing; with great powers come great responsibilities, or whatever. 

It was his fault that all those ghosts were comin’ through in the first place.

Once the aches had subsided, Danny rolled over in bed, staring at the suit he’d packed- hung out for the party the next day.  He'd wanted to make a good impression, both so his parents would stop being so overbearing, and so he could maybe feel a little bit normal himself.  You're supposed to dress fancy for a fancy party, right?  And, maybe if he was on his best behavior at this reunion his parents would be more likely to ignore his future fuck ups? 

Unfortunately, he knew better than anyone that his parents had selective awareness of his behavior. 

They rarely noticed when he’d sneak out in the first place. 

Or when he was injured.

Or when he'd come home late.

Or when he’d just not come home at all.

No, that was all Jazz. 

She was the one who noticed.

He was so used to going unnoticed, that it was a miracle they even saw him come home late.

He wouldn't even be here if he could have just stayed invisible to them...

Jazz could be at home working on getting a full-ride to Yale.

She'd be so much better off without him.

...

'Bluh, enough of this wallowing, Fenton.  Get it together...'

...

Shit!!  He forgot to ask Mr. Masters about a telescope...

Kicking himself in the ass mentally, Danny rolled out of bed and onto the floor.  He wiped the mist from his eyes as he remembered that it was a cloudless night tonight.  The boy stood up, walking over to the  floor to ceiling windows; gauze-like curtains shielding the room from harsh sunlight.  And from peering eyes- not like there were any here, this was the middle of rich-people-rural bullshit nowhere!

Danny pulled the curtains aside and pushed the window open with a satisfying click.  They opened wide, letting in the cool, country night air.  He could picture just how nice this would have been if it were mid summer; Fireflies dancing everywhere as he watched the Perseids streak through the sky...so long as Mr. Masters wasn't one who paid to kill everything in his lawn with chemicals, or whatever.  That’d just be fuckin sad.  But the thought of watching that intense sky light show with dancing lights around him, it made him feel like he was floating, even outside of his ghost-form.

He walked out to the small balcony and sighed, looking up.  The stars looked nice from his window, he supposed.  It would have been better had he remembered to ask for something to stargaze with.

Danny watched as a meteor streaked through the sky.  Followed by another shortly after.  He felt awe nearly consume him, much more intense than it had during the last celestial event he watched.  “Man, there’s so many stars out tonight…” he gasped quietly.  He felt that warm hum in his chest buzz pleasantly as he watched the meteors blaze through the Wisconsin sky.  The same spot that had caused him intense pain not ten minutes ago bringing a warm comfort and joy to his heart.

He could see Taurus front and center, and it looked like Venus was also brightly visible in the moonless night, but not as clear as Saturn seemed to be.  He mourned not having a telescope- he may have been able to spot its rings with this sort of clarity... Danny brought his hands up, making an eye-hole with one to help him focus on what constellations he could see.  He searched for Orion and the twin bears first.  Then to Polaris, Canes Venatici, Coma Berenices...

He felt himself relax, and even without a telescope, he could clearly see so much of the night sky.  It was nice, too nice almost. 

He hoped that this trip would turn out to be a nice break from everything.

He hoped that Mr. Masters didn’t kick his family out for his dad’s...enthusiasm.

Danny watched a good six meteors streak across the sky, not noticing how his eyes shone with green-blue galaxies in wonder.  He would have made a wish if not for the lessons he'd learned earlier this week.  Oh well, he could continue watching the sky without making a wish!  He continued to name the constellations for a good while, eyelids becoming heavy yet refusing to close as he hyperfixated on everything in the infinite cosmos.

It lasted until a harsh chill ran down his spine, his breath misting up and out past his lips as his ghost sense went off. 

'Great... '

Danny yawned deeply, calling his ghost half to the surface.  He allowed the rings of white to was over him as he felt electricity shoot through his veins, electrifying and chilling his entire body; like a cold front blowing a supercell through a farm town.  A storm of electricity and ice ripped through his body in what felt like eternity but was really just a moment.  The change always left him energized and ready to go, adrenaline making him clench and unclench his fists for the first few seconds of going ghost.

Danny hopped from one foot to another, trying to wake himself up.  Whenever he had to fight ghosts exhausted, the change hit him like a pure concentrated energy drink times ten, he knew it wouldn't last and he'd need to make this quick.

Guess his vacation was really just gonna be him working from home, after all.

Or something.

He was tired and didn’t have a good pun for this.

"Why couldn't it have been vampires??!"

Chapter Text

He was going to do it- he was finally going to kill Jack.

Vlad could practically taste his own excitement in the air. 

It was like the stars had finally decided to align in just the right way for him, not that he actually believed in any of that pseudo astrology cheesecake business.  No, magic may be real in some forms, as ghosts are- but he was not the type to let the stars tell him what he was destined for, even if they were sometimes right. 

Vlad was determined to go forward with his plan; he’d get his well-deserved revenge on the orange idiot and slowly start the arduous task of working Maddie through her grief and into his caring arms.  How she would lament ever spending nearly two decades with the buffoon and say that she'd been mistaken, that Vladimir Masters was the one and only she should have picked.  He felt a delighted shiver race down his spine, core blazing in anticipation of actualizing his decades-long goal.  His Obsession was going to be fed in a way that actually mattered; he was finally going to have the Love he Desired from the woman he'd loved most.  A laugh escaped his lips as he descended to the lab, but a stray thought made him take pause about halfway down.  What about her kids?  He didn't really have much of an idea for how to deal with her children, but he was sure they would accept him with open arms once he'd comforted their mother in her time of grief.  And if that didn't work, well, paying a tuition or two, and shelling out for luxury goods is what most step-fathers try to do, right? 

Certainly he'd win their favor in time.

Once fully in his lab, he made quick work of closing his portal and sending the room into near darkness- the only lights being his emergency fuchsia neon runners along the floor and walls.  With a nod to his handy work, he made way back towards the 'entry way' of the lab, a small alcove separated by a thick glass door from the 'portal room'.  Containment of that much ecto-radiation was something he'd thought hard on when working on the lab.  Even in his plotting for revenge, he would never dare forgo safety precautions- Vlad had learned the hard way what ignoring laboratory safety measures could do to a man. 

He was reminded every time he glanced at his own reflection, after all. 

He felt his core flare brightly at the reminder of his fate, rage seething up and through his throat as smoke- a rather distasteful habit that had reared its ugly mug as of late.

'Not now, Plasmius.  No time for anger at the moment.  Only anticipation...'

Now where was he? 

...

Yes- he had been so excited when Jack accepted his invitation.  Vlad was relieved, even- no more headaches caused by those moronic birds returning over and over- empty handed, mind you.  Far as he could tell, it was all the doings of that meddling brat!   He couldn't even begin to understand why a ghost as fresh and obviously inexperienced as 'The Phantom' would dare claim an entire city the size of Amity as his haunt, let alone manage to defend it by the skin his teeth.  But it was no matter, really- the brat was only a threat to those foolish enough to enter another ghost's haunt without a plan.  Or Skulker, who often found himself outsmarted by new tech; a pity, really- the ghost was determined if a little dense.  Oh, and those birds.  They were...certainly something, he supposed. 

Stupid was just one word that came to mind when he thought of them.  

That ghost boy, however, was starting to become a serious thorn in his side.  He continued to meddle in his plans.  But, he fortunately stayed solely in Amity Park.  How a specter that new could stray outside of the Ghost Zone as long as this one did without destabilizing, he didn't know.  There were plenty of rumors surrounding the mysterious, yet annoying brat.  Some of the quieter whispers he’d heard were that this child was possibly some sort of hybrid.  Some even whispered he was a true 'halfa'.  Vlad scoffed.  Rumors were just that; rumors.  And even then, hybrids were extraordinarily rare.  If one truly existed he would have heard about it first hand, and not through the ghastly grapevine he so despised for its false leads.  Skulker wasn't smart enough to hide something like that about a ghost he'd dubbed his 'prey'.  But still, the brat was an anomaly.  Maybe one day he'd travel to meet the boy, see what exactly makes him tick.  But, heavens, Vlad knew he would easily be able to End the poor whelp with a single hand held behind his back.  It was mainly the distance that stopped him from doing just that to teach the ghost boy a lesson in humility.  That, and the fact he didn’t even consider dirtying his own hands with that sort of dastardly task.  That's what mercenaries were for, after all.

He knows his luck with things done by direct action is poor, at best.  Especially considering his luck with Jack.  The idiot somehow remained alive and kicking through all the lab mishaps and car accidents that should have maimed, if not killed, him.  It was this exact reason Vlad didn't even want to entertain the possibility of washing his old college roommate’s blood off of his hands.  Direct evisceration wasn’t quite worth it, and knowing how reckless and messy Jack continued to be while he was still alive, he knew his ex-friend's corpse would somehow manage to permanently stain Plasmius' white suit.

No, Vlad would do something a little more...refined.

He had to restrain a dark chuckle as it escaped his lips.  No, now is not time to go all ‘evil mastermind’ .  There would be time for that later.  For now, Vlad just need wait for those three dodo dunces to bring the towering idiot to his lab.  He'd trap Jack, reveal exactly the why and how of his mistakes, and he would relish in the absolute misery coming from that man.  He could feel his core temperature rising as he thought on his plans; his Need to get what he hasn't been able to, the things he'd been dreaming about for twenty years; the love of his life, his revenge, the possibility of a family...yes.  It tickled that dark side of him that he'd learned to hide from humanity.  The ghastly side he was so fortunately gifted by a man who refused to follow any OSHA regulations.  The same man he'd once called his best friend, the one he'd been there for his whole life...until that blasted accident. 

'Would he even feel remorse for abandoning me, for leaving me for dead and stealing the woman I loved?  Or would he deny it like the fool he is...'

He felt a snarl rise in his throat.  If anything particularly violent were to...stir within him upon seeing Jack's reaction, well, let's just say the lab is easy to clean for a reason.  It would be fairly easy to dispose of a corpse.  A single toss with the right amount of finesse and it would vanish into the portal for good.

Leaning against a countertop, he stared at his hands, checking his nails as he waited.  He always did this while deep in thought- a much better hobby than nearly turning into a fire-breathing anomaly out of anger.  Vlad pulled out a pocket watch; in about fifteen minutes the buffoon should be gift-wrapped and delivered to his lab.  There was no need for him to transform just yet.  No, that could wait for when he finally had his prey in front of him.  He saw it in his mind; clear as crystal.  Jack, dazed and confused out of his sleep, sitting in a heap on his floor.  If the man wasn’t fully cognizant he could play a little rough before monologuing bragging- he’d always been one for the drama, for the flair.  He was a theater kid, once upon a time, and still felt himself somewhat of a decent actor.  Having to be a conman in his deals so often left him well practiced.  He'd give a speech, not a monologue- he wasn't a cartoon villain, for cheese sakes...  And then, when Jack was fully aware of his deeds, he'd offer an ultimatum; toss himself bodily into the Ghost Zone and live in exile, or perish.  He really wanted to wish Jack Fenton a very pleasant...die.

Ah yes, the drama of turning the portal on with the snap of his fingers, the timing would be excellent.  Skulker was already aware to fly through the very moment it turned on- guns blazing at the ready to do Plasmius' dirty work...if Jack picked the latter option over the former.  Being in the Ghost Zone though...Jack would stand almost zero chance of survival- he knew his portal opened near some sort of death forest filled with monstrous beasts that no human could hope to defend against, let alone clumsy (if lucky) Jack.  The thought of the tangerine-clad fool running from a three-story tall rabbit with fangs made him chuckle.

A few more minutes pass and he idly fiddles with his suit cuffs, head filled with thoughts of murder.  A deep breath later and he's checking the watch clipped inside his vest.  Perfect, Jack should be down in the lab shortly- and all he had to do was transform and float ominously in the fuchsia-lit dark.

His core burst to life, dark light bursting from his center.  Calling Plasmius to the surface, he felt the familiar dark heat consume his form; the blazing feeling rushing over him in an instant.  He felt the all-too-familiar pain of the proto portal tear through him- a disappointing and infuriating side effect from being formed in such an unfortunate matter.  The quickly dulling pain always got the fire (metaphorically) pumping through his undead veins; the thrill of power threatened his sanity, nay his well-mannered persona, for a moment, both beginning to fray softly at the edges.  The adrenaline and lack of inhibitions were always just what he needed to do what had to be done.

A quick motion had him phasing through the thick glass wall into the deeper part of the secret lab.  He remained invisible for the time being, opting to scare the living sugar snaps out of his ex-friend.  He could practically taste the excitement radiating from him; adrenaline thrumming through his half-dead veins in anticipation. 

'No, Plasmius, you need stay collected.  Savor this moment, savor his screams and pleas for the mercy you were never offered.  Make him feel the pain you’d felt, but don’t go overboard.  We don’t want to make a mess, right?'

Plasmius floated for what seemed an eternity to him, checking his (currently gloved) nails for imperfections- nervous habits die hard.  What was taking his hired help so long?  Was Jack somehow stupidly lucky enough to outwit them even while asleep??  Did the birds get lost??  

"Oh Butter Biscuits…"

With a frown, Vlad found himself quickly, yet hesitantly floating up, up through the floors of his mansion- tracing his way towards the room Jack should have been in.  There was absolutely no sign of the buffoon.  How strange.  Did he wander off?  Or was he simply stuffing his face in the kitchen at three am?  Who does that at three am?!  Savages like Jack are who…

Plasmius floated the halls until a very familiar feeling built in his chest.  The puff of pink smoke passed his lips, and he knew he'd found his answer; the birds had buzzed off, down a floor for some reason.  The buffoon was probably sleep walking.  Of course that would confuse the pathetic parrots.  No matter, contingencies exist for this very reason.  And if you don’t do it yourself, then what sort of revenge would it be? 

Vlad decided he'd take his time, make this the most dramatic reveal he could- sneak up behind Jack from, grab him while still invisible, and fly him down to the lab with little to no resistance…Yes that’s how it’d go.  A slight change in plans, but a plan all the same.  He lurked quietly, following his ghost sense to his hired help.  

“-member me?!!”

Wait.

He didn’t recognize that voice...yes it did have a tone of familiarity to it, but it sounded distinctly ghostly.  He thought he knew what to expect, but a strange ghost intruding upon his haunt wasn't even in the top ten.  He had felt a small ping in his core when the Fentons had arrived earlier today, but he chalked it up to the excessive ecto-radiation they seemed to carry with them everywhere.  Did the Fentons manage to bring a specter with them?  Did the buzzards lead in some sort of...ruffian from the ghost zone? 

If Skulker chased another unfortunate lost soul into his lab during a 'hunt' he’d have to have several strong and angry words with his bounty hunter…

Plasmius stayed invisible for the time being, floating silently towards his buzzards, quite ready to chew them out and fire them.  After all, there is zero sign of the orange idiot.  Instead, what he does see intrigues him- a juvenile ghost in a black and white jumpsuit.  The child was facing the birds, fist-in-palm with a shaky, pretend-confident smile.  The ghost boy was quite weak in power and small in stature, scrawnier than most other young ghosts he’d encountered.  Ah was this...?  With what little description he'd managed to get from Skulker, this has to be The Phantom that haunted Amity.  Plasmius smirked.

'Why would he be all the way out here?'

No matter, Phantom was simply standing in the way of his twenty-year long plot for revenge.  Either he would either leave willingly, or be thrown bodily back into the Ghost Zone by the scruff of his jumpsuit.  Plasmius squinted at the boy's actions, his thoughts finally focused on the boy's body language.  Was he trying to scare off his birds?  Hah!  That technique is so...ineffective, pathetic more like.  He had to stop himself from rolling his eyes at the sheer audacity his hired help had to actually look frightened of this pipsqueak whelp and his high-school vocabulary level threats. 

And, is that....?  Oh sweet cheese wheels that was witty banter??   Does this child think himself a superhero?  The rumors floating around the Ghost Zone of a 'heroics-Obsessed kid ghost' were much more credible than he thought they should have the rights to be.  And what a strange behavior for a ghost!  Selfish creatures didn't normally ever develop behaviors as selfless as martyrdom and heroism- it was strictly against the self-preservation most ghosts had instinctively built into their Cores. 

He couldn’t stop himself from grinning at the sheer absurdity of the situation. He decided he was going to have his fun, and maybe put some fear into the punk ghost boy who kept meddling; teach him who the Master really was.  He had plenty of time to both scare the ghost brat off and murder Jack.  The night was still young.

Plasmius stopped hiding his presence, shifting back into the visible spectrum.  He delighted in seeing the wave of absolute fear overtake the buzzards as soon as they spotted him floating behind the kid, unawares.  He had to stop himself from chuckling as the kid huffed out a victorious laugh and pumped his fist in the air. 

"Okay. That was almost too easy..."  The brat looked at his fist in confusion, blinking.

Oh how wonderful this would be…

It was time to make his presence known.  He pulled at the source of his power, heating the air of the hallway with little more than a thought.  Dread flashed over Phantom's features, threatening to overtake the boy for a moment.

“Ah, bright boy..."  Plasmius cooed.  He took in the fear on the boy's face for a moment before he watched as the child size him up- how adorable!  Like he could dare dream of taking on Vlad Plasmius.  He scoffed out loud.  “I thought you’d be a bit taller, considering the amount I hear of you, but no matter.  I'm certain even someone with a skull as thick as yours can tell I am not one to be crossed.  Leave now, or be forced to go back by my hand."  He made sure to flare his aura menacingly, a true show of intimidation and how it should be done- with that display there's no possible way the brat would dare stick around and meddle.

“Oh, whatever. I was aiming for the birds, but you'll do!”  He watched the brat punch a fist into his palm.

Plasmius blinked.  He stared at the kid, and just...blinked.

Did this kid listen to anything he just said?  And...was he...talking to himself?  Oh dear.  Not only was this child foolish, but he also loudly gave away his plan for the sake of...???  He couldn’t figure out the reason if he wanted to.  But, if this whelp wanted a fight, then he supposed he’d have to fight.  Phantom was an intruder in his haunt after all.  How a ghost wandered into another's haunt without realizing or being chased off was a testament of either that ghost's power or their sheer idiocy. 

”Phantom, was it?  I believe that’s what those idiotic birds came crying to me about last I spoke with them…”  He tapped his chin, aiming to egg the kid on.  He wasn’t going to waste his time nor his energy throwing the first ecto-ray.  With how stubbornly idiotic this brat seemed to be, he didn't doubt he'd be stuck fighting a juvenile ghost in his own haunt for the next half hour.  Plasmius was determined to chase the kid off, but he felt he wasn't getting out of this without several massive headaches. 

He definitely had better things to do, and none of them were beating this brat into next week.

“Wait you know those vultures???  Why are they trying to waste da-aaaaaaaaaaoooooctor Fenton’s husband??  Answer me!!!”  Phantom pouted, seriously pouted while trying to look threatening.

Plasmius blinked.  Was he...seriously asking that?  He really was new at this, wasn't he?  “Who’s to say, hm?  If I did know them, then why would I tell you?  For someone who fancies himself some sort of superhero you certainly don’t plan very well, now do you...”  He offered a fanged grin, phasing backwards through the wall, into one of his many studies.  It was best to take this out of the hallway, just in case dear Maddie or her children wandered off to try and find the commotion.

To nobody’s surprise, the idiotic boy followed him with eyes flashing dangerously bright.  How quaint, they baby predator trying to make the apex predator its prey...

"You...you know me?"

"Of course I do!"  Plasmius chuckled to himself.  “You’re the ghost boy who uses his powers to do good, but what good does that do you, hm?  Enemies attacking from all sides, and from what I can tell, a poor handle on something that should come easily to you. Tell me, Phantom can you do this?”  Vlad began showing off his favored powers, the ones that had come easily with practice and were specialized after decades; duplicates, flaming plasma, shields- all as a show of power to intimidate the boy away.

The ghost child’s eyes darted around to follow him, frustration extremely obvious on his face.  He was like a kitten, puffing up to try and scare something way out of its league- just like Skulker had described to him at first.  The child was scared himself- terrified, even.  But he still tried to remain confident in the face of absolute terror.  Vlad used a duplicate to all but teleport behind The Phantom and buzz his core in a threat, watching the brat's shoulders jump in surprise.

Phantom turned around quickly, slowly backing towards a wall with his fists clenching repeatedly.  "No-no I can't!  How are you doing all this??!"

Wait, the ghost boy didn't know how to do things as basic as channeling his core into his ecto-rays?  Who was teaching the poor brat??!  It was no wonder every ghost around wanted to fight the boy themselves.  This would be all too much fun for a normal ghost, especially with half the zone convinced this flighty brat was some sort of hybrid.  It was a true test of their abilities since this brat seemed to beat every ghost that had fought him so far, even going an extra step and shoving them into an embarrassing contraption afterwards.  Pathetic. 

"Years of practice, which you, unfortunately, have no time for, it'd seem.  You apparently can't tell when you've entered another ghost's haunt, let alone respect when it tells you to get lost!  Tell me, Phantom, did it hurt when you tried to intrude uninvited?  I can't image you'd be powerful enough to ignore that sort of instinct completely."

Plasmius laughed; he was probably going to miss out on getting his revenge tonight, the ghost brat's determination and rage shining in his eyes said he would be the immovable object to Plasmius' unstoppable force.  The anticipation of a fight flowed hotly through his veins- adrenaline blazing through him at the thought of battle was coming off in literal heat waves.  It caused an all-too-sinister laugh to bubble up in his throat as he watched the boy flush in embarrassment.  It wasn't long before the brat could no longer find his words, yelling and lunging at his elder.

"Too easy!"  With a quick grab the kid was gripped by the wrist tossed like a ragdoll into a wall.  It did not deter him, coming in fast to hit Plasmius once again.  Pathetic... Another grab, another toss.  Grab.  Toss.  Over and over and over.  How was this child not tiring out?  Why would oneself let themself be thrown against walls?  Tossed into bookshelves or the ground like this?  It was almost sad, Plasmius thought.  Was the brat some sort of glutton for punishment?

“Give up, ghost boy!  I am much stronger than you.  There are literal decades of practice under the claws of my hand and running through my veins- why you aren't conceding defeat and running off is a mystery, but you have lost.  You will continue to lose.  I am not a patient man and I do not wish to throw you into walls all night.”  He chuckles, brow furrowing in disappointment when he catches the brat by his ankle, holding him upside down at arm’s length.

“Hasn’t your mentor taught you it isn’t wise to fight enemies that can destabilize you in an instant?  That it is downright idiotic to martyr yourself to protect others?  Or are they blind enough to not have caught on to this peculiar behavior, I wonder?”

The ghost child struggled in his grasp, squirming in his hold.  'He forgot he can use an ecto-ray to try and escape.'  Vlad held the brat steady, and it looked like he was beginning to get incredibly frustrated, his face turning flush in embarrassment.

“What do you mean mentor? Get off of me!!”

Plasmius just scoffed.  Had no other ghost decided to mentor someone so fresh?  Someone with this much raw potential??  The poor boy... Never mind that, though.  He had a lesson to teach, and revenge to achieve. 

"Give up, Phantom.  Leave me to my business, and fly back to your haunt before I decide to do something you regret."

Plasmius flashed his eyes a dangerous hellish red.  Phantom stilled for a second, but it didn't last very long.  He stared down at the boy, watching him grow more and more frustrated as he struggled, tears welling up in his eyes as he brought a hand to grip tightly at his chest.  Was he really going to cry?  He enters another ghost’s lair and then cries when confronted?  This won’t do-

“I- I won’t let you hurt them. Never.

You stay away from them they’re...they’re MINE.”

Wait. 

“Hm?  Care to repeat that?”

“Mine! I protect them, I protect- protect everyone! 

Don’t touch the Fentons, don’t touch Jazz.

They’re MINE to protect!!”

Was Phantom gripping at his core? 

No ghost does that unless they DO have an obsession at risk (but most won't risk being so obvious about it).

Plasmius was completely dumbfounded.  Not only was the ghost child unfortunate enough to be alone, no mentor in sight- he was also carrying a heavier burden than even Plasmius' core bore.  To have an Obsession so...self-destructive on top of that?  It was nearly unthinkable.  He watched with a pang of sympathy (not that he'd admit his core ached for the boy) as the brat hanging by his ankle began hissing, baby fangs bared in an illusion of threat towards his captor.  It was no wonder Phantom sent every ghost in Amity back through that blasted portal!  He was probably made of nothing more than determination and desperation.  He watched painfully as the ghost child continued to shake, fat tears dripping to the floor.  

It made Plasmius gag a little bit- this was way too precious for him.  Too...emotionally involved.  He didn't want to become invested in the brat and whatever issues he apparently carried with him.  Plasmius was not a father he didn't deserve to be, nor was he looking for a young ghost to mentor even if his core screamed for him to protect this kid.  No matter, he’d just scare the whelp off like he'd been trying to this whole time.  Yes.  An obsession like this was going to get in the way of his revenge against Jack anyways, and he wouldn’t dare stand for it- even if a child was the one in the way.  

'No time to go soft, Plasmius.  You have a job to do.'

He lifted the child hanging by his ankle, trying to hade the worry on his face.  This was no place for pesky emotions, he was trying to teach a lesson.  “It seems you don’t understand the first thing about being a ghost, child.  And I have zero time for this, so do me a favor, and get lost-”

Plasmius saw the shocked expression through teary eyes, surprise at being pulled out of an Obsession Meltdown, he noted.  He threw the child at the heavy study doors, a shocked noise coming from the crying boy.  He hoped the kid would take the hint and leave him be, but a nice, harsh 'thwack' pulled him out of his victory gloat.  A wince met his features when he realized that the kid hadn’t phased through, opting to physically slam into the door like a wet sack of napkins. 

With a sigh, he guessed it was time to see if anything else had been damaged before physically tossing the boy into the Ghost Zone himself.  With a pinch of his brows, he floated to the now unconscious ghost’s body. 

'Strange.  Ghosts normally become stunned from damage like that.  Why would he be-'

His thoughts were interrupted with a flash of bright light- halos splitting from the boy’s center.

'No.  Absolutely not.'

'This couldn’t be.  Vlad Plasmius is not having this today...'

He quickly undid his transformation, his everything, his core recoiling in absolute horror.  There, on his floor, Vlad stared in shock at one unconscious Daniel Fenton; out cold in his hallway, still in his pajamas- bruised and battered.

"Fuck..."

Chapter Text

Vlad Masters was, without a doubt, absolutely beside himself right now.  

The man was feeling more than he'd let himself feel in over two decades; almost as much emotion as when he woken up in a hospital alone with only a developing core and a wedding invitation from his two best traitors friends to keep him company.  This whole situation was making his blasted teeth itch- he wanted to break something- nothing important of his, but still- something had to pay...  or someone Jack Fenton was going to be the outlet for his current conundrum. 

These...feelings, these vile unfortunate things were twisting into something hot and unbearable- smoke rising from within.  Hot plasma raced through his veins, demanding to burst forth and change him into Plasmius, and it was this infuriatingly distracting emotion, this blended disastrous cacophony of feelings doing this to him. 

Was it worry?  Yes! 

Was it frustration?  Also yes! 

But it was so much more than just that.  Emotions to Vlad were a strange-tasting cocktail of things he normally pushed to the side, things he ignored to do what needed to be done.  So take that doubt and guilt, mix with a splash of disbelief, and top it all off with a nice shot of hindsight (always a 20/20 blend) to get the perfect 'what the fuck' cocktail of feelings- prepared, house special, for one Vlad "Plasmius" Masters. 

His core was vibrating violently in his chest; his other half always one to hate the feeling of being tricked.  Of being a fool. 

It just wasn't like him to be so positively... dense.  

Vlad's mind was racing backwards- rewinding through the happenings of the day.  He was trying to find a moment, any moment where something was off about Daniel- an action, a tell, maybe a single flicker of invisibility when the boy thought nobody was looking?  Maybe a twitch of intangibility when he was nervous?  He didn't know what to begin looking for, but he did know one thing, and one thing alone- Daniel shouldn't have gotten past his notice. 

He should have noticed another ghost intruding on his haunt!

But if he was similar enough to Daniel, it would mean they had similar advantages towards other ghosts...

He pondered.  He paced.  Vlad continued checking his nails for grime over and over and over again- a nervous habit.   He needed something to do to ground him, to keep Plasmius at bay so he didn't do anything... rash.  He continued checking over his shoulder, staring concerned daggers at the door through which his 'unwanted guest' was now sleeping peacefully... at least he'd hoped so.  Blast- he bet he made for a comedic sight- a billionaire, genius ghost in a suit, pacing frantically outside a closed door, picking his nails near-raw with his ponytail a decided mess.  

He was glad nobody else seemed to wake.

Vlad still had to wonder what he was thinking.  Here he was, moments after blasting an intruding ghost through a door only to be pacing like a worried mother outside the door of the very Phantom who- no.  No, that wasn't right, saying it like that meant ignoring something important to make himself feel more... comfortable with himself.  He was not pacing outside of ‘The Phantom's’ room, this boy wasn't simply 'The Phantom of Amity' as Vlad had foolishly assumed upon finding the young ghost meddling with his plans.  No, Vlad Masters was pacing outside of the guest room he’d given to one Daniel Fenton, the son of the woman he loved. 

A teenager.

Not only a teenager, though, he reminded himself.  Behind the heavy wooden door was a child, a ghost child.  One, who despite all the impossibilities, was somehow alive.  A teenager who was as impossible as he himself had been, as Vlad had assumed.  He could feel his core aching in... that something he tried to ignore longing, frustration, intruder, another hybrid, shock, surprise and rubbed his chest gingerly.  Plasmius can sit and stew in his issues while Masters tried to solve the puzzle before him. 

Take a moment, one, two, three- breathe in, breathe out. 

Vlad fixed his hair, smoothing his fly-aways and taking the moment to compose himself.  The fabric of his suit was prone to wrinkling, and he did not want to deal with getting it dry cleaned so close to his plans.  He had to keep up appearances, after all. 

It was time to think about this situation objectively- time to step away from these feelings, to step away from the fire calling out from his chest.  Plasmius had his turn already, for cheese sake.  it was Vlad Masters's turn to be, to exist, even if they are technically the same being. 

Having a firm divide between home and stage life was vastly important for his sanity, all things considered.

Vlad brought his overly-cleansed hands to pinch his brow in frustration.  Thinking about it, about everything- he'd forced himself to realize how many mistakes, how many oversights he'd made. 

He had been quite the fool, hadn't he? 

Ancients, forbid- he’d been fighting a living, breathing, child!! 

Well... he supposed the living part was slightly... debatable.  Daniel had been floating and zipping through Vlad’s walls only a scant ten minutes ago...

Just like a ghost could. 

Just like Plasmius could.

Vlad shuddered, suppressing a growl towards the thoughts snowballing in his mind.  "How did I not notice the boy had an ecto signature?   A rookie mistake, a beginner would do better than I have!  Blasted Fenton... distracting me yet again- in my own home no-less!!  How dare he cause me to overlook something this... monumental!!"  He ran a calloused hand through his hair, mussing up the ponytail he'd fixed moments ago, but that didn't really matter now, did it?  Vlad growled again- he could feel nothing but outright shame toward his own ignorance of Daniel’s… condition.

Yes, he'd noticed another ghost crossing his castle haunt's threshold, but the aura was so... subdued!  So faint- like it was being dulled by something.  Vlad knew his haunt had done its due diligence; a warning sent towards the pathetic specter of its trespassing, a warning for it to leave or make itself known.  But after nothing had come of it- not even noticing a shudder on the boy who was now clearly the one being told to leave.  Vlad had assumed the ghastly presence was nothing more than a pathetic blob of a ghost; the poor thing trapped in a containment unit so improperly assembled its aura was seeping out everywhere in its terror.    

Vlad had to stop himself from gagging at the train of thought.  Jack had never respected proper safety measures while they were in college, so why would the idiot think to do it twenty years later on a containment device, no less? 

The man was a buffoon!!  Saved only from certain death in every accident of his own making by his lovely, intelligent Wife.  Vlad could vividly picture Maddie saving the overgrown oaf- the one who ruined his life- time and time again.  It was so sickly sweet it made him want to hurl- the image of Maddie pushing Jack away from explosions, correcting his shoddy calculations, double checking equipment safe guards.  How was she not exhausted?  She’d kept her idiot husband from death many a time in college already. 

Vlad held back a curse as his train of thought left the building.  Sweet butter nuts, she definitely continues to be the sole reason the moron was alive to this day (minus the fact Daniel had saved him this once).  Jack's complete unawareness of ghosts trying to assassinate him minutes ago was more than enough proof he had no survival instinct, so why would he have developed any common sense, either?   The man was foolishly content, dumb as a sack of bricks.  His only track to survival unfortunately relied on his wife and now his teenaged son to keep him from dying like he deserved to.  A low growl vibrated in his chest. 

What a disgusting reliance on others- Jack lead a selfish existence, if Vlad had anything to say about it.  

The boy so much like himself didn't know yet that his father was a lost cause.

He snarled in rage, claws itching to shred the fool- how dare he trick Maddie into this sham of a marriage??   It was a familiar thought to him, one that his Obsession centered around some days, the thought of the family he could have had, the family that should rightfully be his. 

He gagged at the thought that came next.  The Fenton marriage was most likely the sole reason Maddie even bothered trying to save Jack, nowadays.  It was much too hard to raise two teenagers as a single mother, after all!  Let alone conduct the research he knew the brilliant woman wanted on top of her other responsibilities.  She was a gem, a queen deserving of nothing but love and luxury!! 

And yet, here she was wasting the most precious years of her life away with a fool who’d always pull her two steps back from every step she’d make.

And what progress it was!!  Aside from the several defunct gadgets Skulker and those insufferable birds had stolen from Fenton Works for analysis, most of the research was spot on- Maddie no doubt the one making progress on the studies the trio had founded two decades ago. 

The discovery of ectoplasm as a clean energy source was something he, himself had not considered.  Its infinite applications looked a lot like dollar signs to him, but Maddie had learned of it five years prior and he wasn't one to take her discoveries for himself (if it had been Jack, he would have stolen it in a heartbeat).  Why Maddie had pushed that brilliant science to the side to hunt ghosts, Vlad could only chalk up to her wild obsession with wanting to learn their biology- what made them tick, what made them work. 

He shuddered at the thought, whichever poor specter that wound up under her scalpel first would be a... necessary sacrifice for progress in their field.  Human morality shouldn't matter when considering things as small as barely-sentient blob ghosts, or somewhat larger animal ghosts.  So long as the ones studying them took necessary steps to ensure their own safety while handling the beasts, Vlad could care less how they go about it. 

Blob ghosts were often eaten by bigger, stronger ghosts in the first place, and animal ghosts were normally just large, spooky animals- which humans already experimented on quite frequently.  So long as the things couldn't pass the Turing Test, then why should it matter?  'Unethical' experiments, to put it mildly, lead to progress in understanding the universe and how it worked, not even considering another plane entirely; the flipside of their realm, the plane opposite theirs was vast and held many a secret.  To figure out ghastly biology, smaller, weaker ghosts would need to be tested- something most humans would find distasteful, seeing as none of them began to understand how and what ghosts are in the first place.  To understand a reality not your own, you have to be willing to take steps that others would call questionable, and Maddie was one he knew would be able to shoulder the burden of judgement.

The fire that lit in her eyes when she found something she wanted to take apart, something she wanted to understand.  It was endearing- she was an awfully brilliant and passionate woman.  She often rushed headlong into problems, barely a word to the other two before getting to the meat of a problem.  Picturing her, hair tied back, ecto staining her lab coat and smudged on her goggles- she'd never looked lovelier than she had in their college science lab.  She would do anything for results when it came to her research, not a care in the world for her appearance or what others thought.  It was why Vlad admired her so much, in the end- her determination to make progress.  

Even when done in a particularly... morally grey fashion, progress was progress, and Maddie Fenton had made plenty of it.  Progress like her discovery of clean energy generated by ectoplasm.  Progress like a functional ghost containment device, the Thermos was cutting edge.  Progress like a frighteningly viable ghost shield generator.

Progress like the completely functional portal they'd crafted without his knowledge...

A growl bubbled low in his throat- Vlad rubbed a hand over his Core.  The mere thought of the woman he so dearly adored putting herself in danger for her research was making his Obsession roil softly in the midst of his already panicked state.  The lava burning in his veins was threatening to burst forth and swallow him whole once again, to call his other half to the surface.

'No, Plasmius wasn't needed now- he can wait.'

Vlad looked at it objectively once again; used the information he could gather from seeing the family in person.  Maddie was still capable, she was still intelligent.  But… was Jack causing her to become... rusty?   Was the other man's mere presence causing her to overlook things?   He recalled their talk about the Fenton family's Inventions after dinner- Maddie chatting happily about some sort of... Ghost Weasel- a modified vacuum- that was for sucking ghosts out of people and objects, but could 'rip your right hair off if you're not careful!!'. 

Vlad remembered blinking at the two in surprise, a smile feigned to cover his annoyance and distaste.  He'd, at first, blamed Jack for the lack of safety measures on their new invention, but thinking back on it- Maddie had laughed happily about the obvious failure of their invention.  She was pleased with it despite the very real danger it posed towards normal humans- the very danger they'd apparently unleashed on their daughter a month prior, thinking she was possessed by a ghost. 

He growled lowly, remembering how Jack in particular had laughed the incident off as if it wasn't something horrific.  As if it were a joke.

Yes, he recalled Maddie elbowing the idiot for joking about it, but the worry still stands- could Jack have somehow corroded the iron fist Maddie had grasped around her experimental process?  The process she so adamantly refused to change throughout their college days?  The same process that had followed as many safety precautions as could possibly be followed? 

The same process he, himself didn't follow on the day of his accident? 

Vlad snarled once again, his Core remembering the pain surrounding that event.  'Maddie would still have been... safe about the Portal, correct?'

There's no way she wasn't safe around the portal- it was simply impossible.  What happened in college his accident was a fluke- Maddie's first and only failure in her string of successes stopping Jack from dying (or killing) horrifically.  The accident was her only failure in controlling the fool, he was sure of it!!  But, she was obviously suffering from the sheer amount of effort it took to keep Jack from ripping his face off on a regular basis.  Zone forbid, he watched her pull Jack down to avoid being shot with... something or other they were demonstrating earlier. 

But Masters still saw the telltale exhaustion on her face, the exasperation.  The worry lines on her once youthful face were prominent.  There's no way Jack's bumbling wasn't slowly draining the life out of her, no matter how passionately she was speaking at the time.  The thought made him seethe.  With how excited she'd been to discuss their now working portal, Vlad could tell the woman was still bright as ever.  She was working hard with her research; working to discover the unknown.  If she wasn't safe around the portal then something would have happened to her, he knows that for certain.  

The mere thought of his dear Maddie being hurt like he- it forced smoke past his lips, it boiled his blood.  He knew if he opened his eyes they would be a solid, hellfire red.

Vlad took a deep, steadying breath.  He needed to be steeling his nerves and pulling his Obsession back to his subconscious. 'This is not the time to lose oneself.'   He Had allowed himself to be so consumed... no, not consumed, he had control over himself.  He'd been so distracted by his hatred of Jack today, although as rewarding as it was, that he'd not noticed important information right before his very eyes.  This revenge plot somehow took every ounce of conscious perception he had.

Enough conscious perception he couldn't tell the child before him was as 'Schrödinger' as he.

Vlad ran a shaking hand through his hair, destroying his ponytail yet again.  '

This wasn't his fault!!!  Not completely...' 

How could it be?!  Phantom had set off his instincts- the boy no doubt triggering them when he changed forms to stalk those idiotic pigeons.  Plasmius was a ghost, after all- they're creatures of instinct, creatures of emotion and passion.  His instincts screamed for him to confront the intruder who dared appear in his haunt.  To fight the ghost who thought they would intrude unbothered.  But he hadn't been expecting Amity's resident ghost boy to be floating obliviously in the hall- completely unaware of the threat looming mere feet behind him.

Vlad once again pinched his brow in frustration.  Thinking back on it, that had been the ghost Plasmius sensed entering his haunt earlier- the ecto signature was unmistakable, if not several times stronger than before.  The earlier ping to his instincts hadn't been a blob ghost at all- the signature had, in hindsight, obviously been dampened in the boy's human form.  But he couldn't change the past- the ghost he'd seen before him seemed to be mocking Plasmius, taunting his ghastly side simply by existing in the same space as he.  In his space.  In his haunt.

So Vlad did what any self respecting ghost would have; protected his property.  Plasmius attacked Phantom.  Plasmius accosted the intruder upon his haunt, intimidated the oblivious young ghost and tried to torment the boy away.  Plasmius tossed the boy through walls, into book shelves, held him upside down and threatened to fry him.

Plasmius attacked the ghost boy.

Vlad fought a child.

The man shuddered as he tried to take another calming breath.  It wasn't working, he was barely able to center himself let alone do something as human as breathing right now.  Vlad leaned against the wall, pausing his pacing with a deep frown set on his features.  He fought a bloody child.  He fought the same child who’d been everything but rude to him.  He fought the same child who, with what little control he had over his powers, still had no idea how being a ghost worked.  He fought the same child who he watched struggle with possibly the worst Obsession to develop.  He fought a child who probably didn't even know what an Obsession was. 

Phantom... no Daniel was another hybrid, possibly the only other beside himself, and he'd fucked up.  Royally.  

Vlad Masters beat the Hell out of a child who was possibly the only other being anything like him.

The realization made him dizzy.  Vlad felt a growl build up in his throat, but it ended a mournful noise- a noise he didn't even think he was capable of making, one of a ghost fighting instinct.  The man pushed himself off the wall and began to pace once again- running his hands through grey hair once more, slightly tugging on the ends.  His core was practically screaming at him- practically begging him to atone for hurting the only other somewhat similar to him.  Plasmius is not one to beg, but this was an unforeseen circumstance of the highest degree.  Plasmius wanted nothing more than to make his life a living Hell at the moment, it seemed.  Trying his hardest to come forth even though Vlad had spent decades suppressing his more ghastly urges.  He still found himself wanting nothing more than to barge into the boy's room and... purr like ghosts do to their young (adopted or otherwise). 

He would have never imagining stooping so low, yet here he was- Vlad's thoughts mixing with Plasmius's instincts in a whirlwind of confusion.  'He looks nothing like I do, though- does that mean anything?  So much more human than I ever was... an illusion maybe?  A survival instinct?  Just how different are he and I?'   The lava in the man's chest was blazing through of him- his hands tingling from the heat.  He groaned- this was all so... unfortunately timed; secondary Obsession long thought dead, long thought to only be triggered by Maddie, of all the people he'd known.

His instincts demanding he treat young Daniel as... family?

Vlad froze, hand an inch from the door.  The sickly emotions racing through his mind and Core were clouding his judgement.  Was he about to barge in?  How... uncouth of him!!  Vlad Masters is a man of elegance, not compulsion!  He had manners, for cheese sakes!!  Yet... here he was about to barge into a teenager's bedroom and, what? Apologize for punching him through a door?  Beg the boy to renounce his father and join him??

Heavens no!  Those were awful ideas!  Admitting he was the ghost that attacked the boy without properly thinking through an identity reveal... it could only end poorly if the lad decided to go to his mother immediately.  Vlad couldn't have Maddie know of his condition until he was ready for it, before he could think through all the possible twists and turns such an action may take.  And renouncing his father- Daniel had a protection Obsession, he was ninety-five percent sure of it.  Doing such would only alienate the boy from his own affections, only drive the other hybrid away.  No, he'd have to show the boy through evidence that he was the better... father...

Vlad coughed into his hand, pulling at his collar.  When had it gotten so stuffy in here?  Father?  No, that wasn't something he'd ever thought about.  Blasted Core.  Blasted Obsession.  He was a man who wasn't slave to instinct!!

He needed to think about how to go about this with a clearer head.  All of this?  It was unprecedented.  Daniel was a hybrid, like he.  Daniel had no mentor, obviously, and Vlad had seen just how Liminal the poor boy was.

How did something like this happen?  He knew how.  How was someone so young and full of life so... dead?   Just like he was.

Vlad took another deep breath.  This boy was always accosted by ghosts, according to Skulker.  Did Daniel sleep?  How was his schooling? 

Vlad couldn’t possibly begin to imagine becoming a hybrid while still in high school.  He'd already had enough issues as an adult once the ghosts discovered him; he was always fighting off some sort of specter or another any time he so much as wandered where the veil was thin.  But to think of dealing with growing up a hybrid on top of high school?  With college on the horizon, dating, and all the other... normal things teenagers wanted to do... it was unimaginably bad in his opinion.  No wonder the boy was so twitchy, even as Phantom.  It made Vlad wonder how he'd even reach adulthood- would Daniel ever find another ghost to help?  Would his powers make him grow in strange ways?  Vlad was an adult when he became Plasmius, so he had no idea how this would effect a growing boy.

Would Daniel even grow?  

Vlad tried to suppress the same mournful sound his Core had made earlier- he could somewhat hear noises from behind the door- shuffling, rustling, and was that... whimpering?   Oh dear, he was having nightmares from the sound of it- no doubt caused by himself.  The boy had up and passed out in the middle of a fight, after all, and Plasmius was... a terrifying (yet dastardly handsome) ghost to those not prepared to face him. 

But what could he do?  Did Vlad even have the right to think of the other hybrid as someone to protect, as someone he could barge in and care for after attacking him like that?  He'd gone easy on Daniel, just attacking him enough to try and scare him off- nothing as severe as Skulker would have done... so it would all be fine!  They were both ghosts, and ghosts can just... be like that sometimes. 

The boy should be understanding, right?  

Right?

“Give up, ghost boy!  I am much stronger than you.  There are literal decades of practice under the claws of my hand and running through my veins- why you aren't conceding defeat and running off is a mystery, but you have lost.  You will continue to lose.  I am not a patient man and I do not wish to throw you into walls all night.”

The huge ghost slams Danny into the wall and he feels a crack.  The vampire ghost's face looms, large and intimidating in the background- his laugh echoing loudly through Danny's ears. 

He needs to go, he needs to leave. 

He can't let this ghost get any closer to the room; the door at the end of the hallway, where his family is sleeping. 

They needed him to Protect them!  But he felt the spot of his chest that always hurt scream out, yell at him, a sound he couldn't understand. 

They're going to die, Danny!    We I need to protect them!!!  Only you can do it!!!

He stills, body chilling like ice.  "Give up, Phantom.  Leave me to my business, and fly back to your haunt before I decide to do something you regret."

Danny feels that painful spot within himself shatter, a soul-rending sob forcing him to transform back human.  He was falling only to be caught by the monstrous ghost chasing him, the large ghost threatening what's his.

He can't let him get any closer!!  His family can't protect themselves from someone like this!! 

But... the hallway was moving, the saferoom- a door exactly like the black-and-yellow caution paint on the portal shutters- gleams at the end of the dark tunnel, racing closer.  The doors after doors after doors are slamming open one after the other with a strange springing noise, just as the ghost's fangs glint dangerously mere inches from his face.  They're coated in red, no green, no red, they're coated in BLOOD, coated in- no it can't happen, he won't let it happen!!

"Are these the people you love?  Your family?  Well, it would certainly be a shame for them to remain so... detached from your plane of existence, wouldn't it, Daniel?  Allow me to assist you with that..."

Danny was dangling upside down, chained from the ceiling over a pool of... was that the portal?  Swirling, green, and toxic, yet still cloying and calling to him in a way he'd never understood.  The vortex consumed the entire floor beneath he and his captor.  The vampire ghost floating menacingly in front of him, impossibly large compared to how he had been before.  The monster could kill Danny in a single swat  if he so chose, but he kept his eyes open, he watched the door- the portal to the room his family was hidden within.  It was suddenly resting embedded in the sheer wall, the opening directly above the portal, directly above where he-

Where he...

"Where you died?"  The cruel voice of his enemy chilled him to his Core, and he was floating.

Danny felt everything go dark.  No up nor down, no light.  There was no more strange ghost.  There was no more door.  It was just him and... a mirror. 

Though... his reflection was... it was his ghost half?  He touched the mirror, looking at himself. 

He hadn't really died, had he?  He was... he was alive, right?

"Would it be so bad for your family to join you?"    The same cruel voice echoed behind him. 

No, it was in front of him.  The ghost from before was in the reflection too, smirking behind him.  But as soon as Danny blinked, he was gone, no longer there... but Danny was still there- still staring at his ghastly reflection, feeling something in his chest scream that he was in danger.  

"No, I won't let them.  I'm alive so how can they... how could they join me??  I-I'm not dead, I have a pulse, and I breathe and-"  His reflection frowned at him and shook its head in contradiction.  "I can't be dead, my family needs me, you can't do this!"  

Danny felt his back slam against something and suddenly he was horizontal, his chains were back and he was... floating in a physically impossible arrangement. 

" Shame then, since I already started to help them cross over...  Daniel you need to understand you're not like them anymore, they won't accept you-" 

S uddenly the vampire ghost from before changed shape.  It was his father.  It was his mother.  No... it was Sam?  Jazz?  Who?  Who was it???

The portal was back, the only source of light shining a sickly, green shade upon a ghost he'd never fought, let alone seen before.  A menacing, large ghost who was getting closer, fangs bared in a mock of comfort.  "Oh Daniel, it's a shame really!!  No humans truly on your side, and no ghosts to help you either-  why not just escape to the Ghost Zone?  We can teach you so much.  We can save you..."

The chains tugged on him, squeezing.  "I don't need to be saved, I'm fine- my parents they love me..."  He felt himself cry again, the chains twisting tighter around him, turning into snakes and coiling ever stronger- he couldn't breathe.  

"I'm sure they do, child.  But that won't stop us from finding you- you need a mentor after all..."  The unknown ghost reached a hand out, consuming all of Danny's vision, squeezing him tighter than before- he was nowhere, he was panicking, he couldn't see, couldn't talk, couldn't breathe he needed to-

He needed to...

"No!!! Get away!!!!"  Danny thrashed heavily, ridding himself of his heavy duvet before blinking awake.  He was panting heavily, and it took him a few moments to realize he wasn't actually in danger. 

"..."

A deep breath, and then-

"What the fuck kind of dream was that?!!?!"  He facepalmed, sitting up and surveying his surroundings.  "I'm in... my room?  What happened?"  The last thing he remembered was... stargazing.  He had been looking at the night sky, watching a meteor shower, but... something distracted him.  Danny hopped out of bed, yanking the curtains open all the way with a harsh rustle of fabric. 

It was cloudy now.

Dammit!  He must have fallen asleep after the clouds rolled in... Shame!  But he was certain something was missing in his replay of events.  Danny knew he wouldn't feel so... wait was he sore?  Shit he was.  That wasn't normal for just passing out normally.  Think, Fenton- He was watching a meteor shower and then... and then...

...a harsh chill ran down his spine, his breath misting up and out past his lips as his ghost sense went off. 

"Shit!!"  The boy had to stop himself from reflexively going ghost from the surprise.  "Where's the ghost, did I fight it?  Did I win???"  Danny looked around his room frantically, searching for any evidence of a fight.  That awful ache in his chest buzzed violently, like it always did when he put others in danger.  He raced a hand up to grasp at his pajamas as the sensation knocked the very breath out of him.  He could ponder if he was dying later, thank you very much!  He had more important things to worry about-  Were his parents okay?  Where was Jazz?  Was Mr. Masters in danger, too?? 

The thought of him failing to protect a stranger who'd been nothing but nice to him caused him to wince. 

Danny struggled out of his sheets so quickly he fell with a dull thud, his worry had him pacing around the room looking for clues.  He needed to find something, anything that said where the ghost went, but nothing was there.  In fact, it didn't look like anything had happened here- so that means he must have... 

Shit did he fucking pass out in the hall or something?  Did he sleepwalk??   Nobody saw him, right???  Shit the ghost could still be out there- it could hurt them, it could hurt his family! 

Danny raced to the door, a noise erupting from his chest that sounded like a warbling whine.  He didn't need any ghost weirdness tonight, thank you!  What he needed was to go search for it.  He needed to stop it, but something made him hesitate.  He paused with his hand reaching for the doorknob, something was off.  He turned around after he caught a glimpse of his reflection.  He did a real-life double-take that almost left him with whiplash.  With a shuddering sigh the boy backed up towards the vanity and inspected his face.  He could see small bruises on his arms already starting to heal, a cut on his cheek that was already scabbed over and scarring. 

So he was in a fight- but... with who?  And more importantly, how did he get back in bed???

Danny's thoughts began racing.  The awful buzz in his chest was urging him to do something, to do anything to fix this- to fix his mess, his failure of catching the ghost, when a knock on the door shocked him. 

Fuck!  He had to hide, had to stay unseen.  He didn't want to answer any questions about injuries, especially considering he was supposed to be asleep.

"Uh, one moment?!"  The boy looked around the room for a solution before diving into bed, making sure to make it look like he'd been laying there like a normal, human person and not a part-ghost-boy close to a meltdown over his stupid mistakes.  After adjusting himself into a 'normal sleepy bitch' position, he had to wonder; who was knocking on the door at... two am??  Damn, it was late... His parents would be asleep, as Jazz would.  He was the only night owl in a cursed family of elusive 'morning people'.  Unfortunately. 

So if it wasn't them... who could it be?  He hoped it wasn't the ghost.  Danny shuddered to think it, but it would sure beat needing to go hunt the thing down before bed.  He sighed and tried to 'vibe' out the room, as he referred to it- sense the ghostly energies around him, but he couldn't sense anything.  Okay, so it was probably like, a maid or something.  A person. 

He cleared his throat, preparing for, hopefully, something normal.  "Come in?"

"Daniel?  I heard a crash, are you alright?"  Vlad stepped through the doorway and towards the boy who had (very obviously) scrambled into bed.  He found himself stifling a chuckle at how endearing the action had been- a boy forced to lie about everything yet with no clue how to do it convincingly?  It reminded him of himself in his younger days...  Maybe the boy would be willing to learn the art of deception at some point? 

Poor Daniel looked like he wanted to sink into the floor, to be anywhere else but here.  Had the nightmare been that bad?  The younger hybrid's eyes were darting around the room, his shoulders tensed- both things more proof he was in possession of a bothersome protection Obsession.  Vlad slowed his approach to the edge of the bed, looking as put-together as he could with sparse moments he had once deciding to bother the boy.  He stood, hands behind his back in a favored stance- he couldn't risk looking like a nervous wreck in front of a teenager.  He could prove he was composed, he was obligated to do so.

"Oh, yeah.  Nightmares, is all..."  Danny sheepishly looked away, eyes refusing to meet Vlad's.  "I must have been worn out from the long trip.  I-I'll be alright in the morning, though!  Sorry for the scare, Mr. Masters."  The boy offered a smile- forced, Vlad could tell. 

The older man could feel his pesky Core singing a mixed harmony, begging him to both comfort and protect this child.  "What's a little scare between friends, son?"  He offered a genuine smile in return, watching Daniel relax a little.  "May I sit here?"

Danny looked between Vlad and the corner of his bed Mr. Masters had pointed to, thinking.  The boy inhaled deeply through his nose- Mr. Masters didn't suspect anything, right?  So this should be fine...  "I guess, yeah?  Why, though?  Don't you have like... important adult things to do... like running your companies... or sleeping?  It's like two am??"

Vlad took his seat, deciding now that his nails were in need of a check-over.  Daniel didn't need to know of his nervous habit; Sitting down caused the action to be much less conspicuous.  "Now, now- it's my job as host to make sure my guests are comfortable, hmm?"  His left pinkie was in desperate need of a trim.  Maybe he should schedule a manicure after the reunion.  "You are comfortable, right Daniel?  This room is adequate for you?  I don't often host guests in these halls."  

Danny stared at Mr. Masters, not really knowing how to respond to the question.  Adequate?  This room made Sam's look like a broom closet!  "Uh, well it's huge!  That is, uh... compared to my room at home?  But it's not a bad thing! The bed is really comfy even if it's huge, and the windows are tall and clear, and the balcony is good for stargazing..." 

Danny's eyes flashed toxic green for a only a second, but it still caught Vlad's attention.  Interesting.  "Stargazing?  I didn't think you'd be one to enjoy that sort of hobby... but what do I know?  I'm just a lonely old man..."  He chuckled at the jab to himself.  He felt the need to get the boy to open up, and if he was correct about this then-

Danny lit up- both metaphorically and literally.  The tension vanished from his shoulders as he beamed.  "Yeah!!  I totally didn't want to come 'cause I was so worried I wouldn't get a good view of the Perseids shower while I was here- my friends and I were so stoked to go watch this weekend!"  The boy huffed a little.  "But!  The skies here are so clear- I'm pretty sure I could see the milky way if I really tried!!  The only thing missing is a good telescope..."  The boy smiled brightly at him, freckles shining just the faintest shade of green as he smiled.  Vlad nodded as Danny spoke, encouraging the boy to go on.  "Like, you know what Polaris is, right??  The north star?" 

Daniel's eyes were practically sparkling as he spoke.  "I do, dear boy, but are there other constellations visible tonight?  I don't often indulge in the night skies myself and could use a bit of a refresher-" 

"Of course!  First there's Orion and the Big and Little Dippers, but there's also less known ones like Canes Venatici- those are the 'hunting dogs', and often said to belong to Boötes the Herdsman, since they're so close to each other.  You could also see Venus tonight, but not as well as Saturn...it was so bright earlier!"  Vlad was relieved to see Daniel continue on a tangent.  Having a secondary Obsession was a good thing, especially if it wasn't something as easily exploitable as protection.  The poor child- Vlad knew how dangerous it could be to have an Obsession entangled around the existence of others. 

The man smiled sadly as he watched Daniel continue.  He didn't want this poor boy to go through the same heartbreak as he- the same realization that your loved ones are not immortal.  Family wasn't as dangerous as protection could be, but it was a close second on a list of 'Top Ten Most Dangerous Obsessions for a Ghost to Develop' countdown.  Vlad was frustratingly glad this boy had managed to re-activate his long-thought-dormant Obsession.

"Oh sorry, I uh... kind of ramble when it comes to space stuff?  It's kind of hard not to since I've always wanted to be an astronaut, ever since I could remember."  Vlad was pulled from his thoughts by Daniel's nervous laughter- the same awkward chuckle every teenager had when they were afraid of their interests being mocked.  The sound tugged at Vlad's Core, making it hum pleasantly. 

'No, Masters.  You cannot afford an attachment so soon!  Especially since you just attacked the poor boy!!  You do not get to purr like a damned cat!!!'

Vlad collected himself and chuckled warmly at the boy, offering a gentle shrug.  He needed to show Daniel that there was no need be act so afraid of others' reactions.  "My boy, there's no reason to apologize for being passionate about the stars.  We all have our... fixations, do we not?  You needn't allow others dictate what you can and can't be excited about, unless you're actively spewing poison at others with your words and actions."  Daniel relaxed again and Vlad could feel that annoying buzz of paternal instinct coming back with a vengeance. 

The older hybrid wasn't sure he was quite ready to show his hand just yet; to reveal to Daniel that he too was part ghost.  It was best to play this safe, to keep it close to his chest, seeing how he'd literally attacked the boy a few minutes ago.  There was literally no need to spook him if he reacted poorly to it.  But that brought up another good point; should Vlad tell Daniel he knows?  That he saw the other transform?  That he knew Daniel's secret? 

Vlad looked more intently at his nails as he pondered.  He needed to know what happened, and how it happened, as well.  He hoped it wasn't caused by the boy's parents...

The more he thought of it, the more his minds, human and ghost alike, urged him to do it.  It was a way to connect- a way to be something to the other.  Daniel would be overjoyed to know someone as (financially and politically) powerful as Vlad supported him completely.  He would be relieved!  A 'normal' human aside from his ghost-obsessed parents knew what he was and was 'hip' with it. 

Yes, he would be able to work his way up to telling Daniel the two were very much alike.  He could work his way towards claiming the boy as his ward, becoming his ghastly mentor for all things undead.  He closed his eyes and smiled, hoping his more ghostly attributes weren't showing.   Vlad nearly started purring again as the thoughts hit him. 

What could possibly go wrong?

He cleared his throat.  "Daniel, I feel like I should bring something to your attention?  Something I saw earlier??" 

Vlad watched as Danny stiffened, his smile fading and worry overtaking his face.  "Ye-yeah, Mr. Masters?  I didn't do something wrong, right?"    

Was the boy shaking?  There was... no need to be so nervous about a simple inquiry.  Vlad waved off the question as casually as he could.  "No, dear boy!  I wanted to mention something I'd noticed earlier.  So, you didn't do anything wrong."  Vlad closed his eyes, breathing out his nose.  Danny was still on edge, but the admission that the boy hadn't done anything erroneous had seemed to calm him down quite a bit.  The older hybrid wanted to say this as casually and clearly as he could.  Simple, nice and easy. 

Inhale.  "I was walking through the hallway to take my nightly bathroom break when I saw the strangest of things- a floating, white-haired ghost boy fighting some sort of... large birds!!"  He exhaled.  "The lad really did a number on them, from what I could see.  Can you imagine?  A ghost in my own home!  And not one that I recognize, either?" 

He tried to chuckle, to make it clear that he had zero issue with what had happened.  Good, this was going well!  He would look at Danny and the boy would be simply embarrassed at having been seen and- Vlad opened his eyes and looked at Daniel.  The boy's expression was particularly blank. 

Strange...

"Oh?"  The boy spoke, his voice barely audible.  His eyes began to dart around the room.  "Y-yeah that so-sounds impossible!  Ghosts don't actually exist..."

Vlad couldn't get a good read on the child but it was... concerning to say the least.  "Well, I doubt that ghosts don't exist!  Otherwise I'd be concerned that I was losing it in my forties, of all things!"  He ran a hand through his hair again, noticing Daniel beginning to sweat.  Okay, he... could continue this, right?  He needed to- and Vlad Masters was a man that finishes what he starts! 

"But that's not the only thing I wanted to bring up about it, Daniel.  You see, the strangest thing did happen afterwards..."  He turned to fully face the young boy and saw him flinch.  That... that's not right.  "I... Daniel."  Vlad sighed, swallowing the thickness in his throat.  "I watched as the ghost child passed out.  Imagine the look on my face when I realiz-" 

Danny flinched violently, untangling from the sheets in a hurry.  The boy before him had managed to untwist his cocoon of blankets, backing up as far as he could- pressing his back against the headboard; his arms crossed protectively over his chest as he began to shake. 

"Daniel?  Are you alright?"

"No!!"

It was Vlad's turn to flinch.  What sort of a reaction was this, why was he so... terrified.  "Danie-"  

"No!!  It's a lie!!  I'm not a-a ghost!!!"

"Daniel I watched you transform!!  I-I even carried you to bed so you didn't sleep on the floor, you can't deny that I-"  

"I'M NOT A GHOST!!  YOU CAN'T PROVE IT!!!!"  

The boy's eyes were a blazing, toxic green, and Vlad could feel the fear surging off of him in waves.  He could practically taste it.  Why was he so afraid?

This wasn't supposed to be how it went.

Vlad tried to move closer, but Daniel pushed himself harder against the headboard.  With a sigh he scooted back and saw the other relax a little.  This wouldn't do- he had to prove to the boy that he could be trusted, that he wasn't some crazed loon that would hurt him over something like this.  He would very much like the windows to stop frosting over like this- another small thing the young ghost had no control over, it seemed.  "Daniel, I swear I'm not going to hurt you- please just calm down, you're going to hurt yourself!  I'll just go wake Maddie and we ca-"

"NO!!  YOU CAN'T TELL!!  YOU CAN'T EVER TELL!!!"

The room shook, glass resonating with the boy's voice.  "Daniel, please! You'll wake the whole mansion if you're not careful..."  He needed to interrupt the boy, to calm him down.  Vlad was certain he'd been hearing some sort of power charging within his voice.  He didn't need Daniel so unstable his powers destroyed Vlad's haunt accidentally. 

"Why can't I tell?  Is there a reason why??"

Vlad watched as Danny started to sob, tears fat and heavy falling down his cheeks in steady rivulets.  "Please, Mr. Masters- I-I know I'm a freak of nature, but you can't tell my mom and dad!!!!"  The crying boy rubbed his eyes, words becoming more and more incoherent as he sobbed- hair floating with ghostly power as if he were underwater.  The ice stopped frosting the windows, thankfully. 

But what had been said... Vlad was completely taken aback.  Did Jack and Maddie not know?   How could they not know??  Were they so ignorant to what had happened to their son while the boy was living under their own roof??!?!?

Danny's sobbing continued.  "They-they wouldn't understand!!  They would just... they would want to study me-"  Vlad watched, sympathy making his Core ache something awful, as the boy hiccupped- his sobs breaking even more words apart.  "Th-they'd kill me!!  They-they already wanna di-dissect me!!!  They'd want to do s-so much because I'm unique, and they-they hate ghosts, they hate them so much!!  Even though I'm their son... they wouldn't be able to accept me like... like this!!!" 

That was the last straw- Vlad's Core was absolutely boiling at this point, and he's certain Daniel would have seen pink smoke seep from his lips if the boy wasn't so hysterical.  Vlad watched as the other hugged himself close, his arms wrapping around his Core protectively- tight enough it probably hurt.  "I haven't found out a way to tell them yet.. so- so you can't let anyone know!!  Nobody!!  Not even Jazz!!!"  The boy sobbed, his entire body shaking as his eyes darted around the rapidly cooling room. 

This teenager, this child, this... impossible Schrodinger's boy was so small.  He was small and scared of his own parents for cheese sake!!  Vlad's Core was running hot as ever- demanding he fix this, he fix it right now. 

Who would have thought that under all the false bravado and pointless heroics, Phantom was just a scared kid? 

How he didn't notice, he'll never know, but he refuses to make that mistake ever again.  He will make this young ghost feel safe.  He will make him feel accepted and loved.  He will promise to support him, to be someone to confide in.  To save him from his misery, to take him away from the pain and the hurt and the- no, Vlad couldn't take him away.  Kidnapping was quite illegal, if he recalled correctly. 

He had to think about the legality of adoption and how it would fit into his longer-running plans, to think of how to save this boy without getting the law against him to-

"Please, Mr. Masters- say something?  I promise I won't run away!!  I-I'll do anything-"  Vlad stopped dead, his one-track-mind engaging the emergency brakes as he heard something that made his entire body bristle, hair puffing up in shock as the words left Daniel's mouth. 

No, no he would not allow this.

Daniel had no idea what he was promising with that statement.  What all could happen to him with because of an offer like that. 

Vlad refused to listen to any of this another moment, bringing his hand up to quell the sobbing boy.  "Stop!  Daniel, just... stop.  Please."  And Danny does; his eyes wide, the sobbing continuing in silence with nothing but sniffles audible.  Vlad looked directly at the other, forcing himself to be as calm and collected as he possibly could. 

His voice was low, filled with both exasperation and concern. 

"You mustn't promise what you cannot give.  It's dangerous." 

Daniel stared up at Vlad in confusion, wiping the tears from his eyes.  Vlad pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration.  This boy...  "I will not tell your parents.  Nor will I tell your sister- or anyone else, for that matter.  That, I can promise you."  Daniel had grown silent, but the shaking had also stopped.  "But please, do not promise, ever, to do anything for someone you barely know."  He let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.  Vlad didn't think he'd ever feel any form of relief with how violently his core was reacting to this situation, but seeing the boy calm down was like an ice bath to his burning nerves. 

"Do you promise, Mr. Masters?  You won't tell anyone?"  Danny sniffled, and Vlad was glad his hair had gone back to a more normal, human-looking texture, the frost vanishing from the windows and floor.

"Yes, I promise Daniel,"  He stands, slowly.  Danny unfurls himself from the tight ball he'd curled into.  "And please, call me Vlad."

The boy nods with slightly more emotion to his face- progress is progress, right?  "Sure, uh Vlad?  It's kinda weird to call an adult by their name, but uh... this- everything, it means a lot.  Thanks..."  Danny fidgets, rubbing the back of his neck a bit and shuddering out a breath before coming just a little closer to the other.  "...you don't think I'm some sort of weirdo, right?  Being half-ghost and all??"  He looks up at Vlad expectantly.  "That I can be- that I'm still human, even though I'm something else too???"

Vlad reaches a hand towards the child, pulling it away when he sees even the slightest hint of a flinch.  His Core doesn't appreciate it, but he'd live- this boy deserved him at his best, did he not?  And respecting boundaries was one hell of a good way to be the best for Daniel.  "Of course you're still human, dear boy.  You're just... a little more than human, too." 

Vlad paused, thinking for a moment.  What had comforted him in his existential crisis of becoming a hybrid all those years ago?  How could he offer comfort to someone like he once had been??  Another moment passed before he spoke, reaching out for Daniel's wrist, pressing a thumb gently over the pulse point.  It was slow, barely there, and the boy's skin was clammy, but he was undoubtably alive.  "You still have a pulse, right?  And you still breathe and dream- you still laugh and experience emotions not tied to a singular Obsessive tendency?"  Daniel nodded, rubbing a stray tear from his eye as he pulled his arm back to feel his pulse as well.  "Then I would say you're definitely human yourself, little badger." 

He offered Daniel a genuine smile and stood, brushing off his suit- the frost had long since melted thanks to his Core's heat, but he had to be sure the coat didn't wrinkle.  "It's getting much later than an old coot like me should be awake for-"  Vlad paused, stopping with a hand on the doorframe.  There was still something eating away at him, another question he wanted answers to- something he'd regret not asking if he simply walked away now.  "-but... before I go I do want to ask something, Daniel."  He looked back at the other as he was settling back into the covers.  "I promise, you won't have to go into detail if you don't wish to- it's just a morbid curiosity of mine, I suppose."

Danny rubbed his eyes, looking as tired as a teenager possibly could.  "Hmm??  What is it, Vlad?"

Vlad steeled himself, his Core would not let him rest until he'd gotten an answer.  "How... did you become like this?  How did you become part ghost?"  His hand was gripping the doorframe tightly, but he turned just enough to see the younger hybrid sitting up from the pillow with a furrowed brow.

"Oh...uh..."  Danny fidgeted nervously, eyes shimmering with tears that still wanted to fall.  "I uh... turned my parents portal on while I was inside it." 

No.  No, there was no possible way. 

"I... didn't see the button on the wall?"  Vlad felt his heart, his very human heart, drop into his stomach.  "Why are you asking??" 

Vlad had to fight back a snarl from the realization, claws gouging faintly into the wood.  "Just, curiosity is all."  Vlad turned away from the boy, not wanting Daniel to see the rage starting to simmer under the surface- his eyes no doubt flashing red in his horrific realization.  "Try to get some rest tonight.  I'll see you tomorrow... little badger."

The door closed with a soft click, leaving the two half ghosts with conflicting trains of thought.

Vlad, seething with rage, rushed to his lab- to plot, to work through what he'd learned of Daniel's untimely fate.  All the while wondering just how badly the boy had suffered from his father's negligence.

Whilst Danny, his heart jumping with both anxiety and relief, burrowed into the thick blankets, only to helplessly stare up at the ceiling; wondering if telling his parents could also be this simple.

The two could only hope for one outcome, however.  They both hoped the actions chosen tonight, while deep in thought, wouldn't somehow come back to bite them in the ass tomorrow.

Chapter Text

Danny wakes in a sweat, the memories of last night making him shake– his hands clammy and fidgeting even after remembering what Mr. Maste– no, what Vlad had assured him of.

But even so, he can’t help but curl into himself and take shaky breaths.

No adult has figured out what was going on– what Danny is now.

It’s a little novel, all things considered.

Maybe with a little luck, life will get easier. Having someone in his corner could help him with school trouble, maybe even get his grades back out of their abysmal state in time to pass the semester.

Danny steels his breathing, keeps his legs tucked close to his body, and rests his head on them.

Maybe this wasn’t the end of the world?

He’s broken from his reverie by a knock on the door, glaring at it like it personally told him to fuck off.

“Yeah?” he responds, trying to keep the anxious lilt of his voice even. It results in him sounding grouchier than intended.

“Jeeze, Danny bite my head off first thing, why don’t you!” Jazz opens the door and greets him with a pout. “The reunion starts in a few hours–”

“Jazz, it’s Saturday. You know I don’t bother getting out of bed without at least two to four hours of vibe time first.” he rolls his eyes and burritos himself deeper into the covers. “You’re not my mom, so don’t bother lecturing me about being the early bird or whatever, I’m too full of teenage angst to give a shit.”

Danny hopes his attitude will make her leave before she starts picking apart his body language with a toothpick. Instead of scrutinizing his words, she responds by placing a hand on her hip like she’s about to scold him, eyes squinting in irritation.

Score! Being the annoying little brother wins again! 

“C’mon, Danny! I’m just worried about you, first missing curfew and now waking up at–” She checks her watch. “Two pm! And that’s after mom tried to wake you up, too! But it was like you were dead to the world or something.”

Danny cringes back from her words. Dead to the world is only a little inaccurate.

“Anyways, when you’re done being a hormonal teenager or whatever the heck is up your butt today, Mr. Masters had his butler save you a plate. But let me know when you’re ready to come down– I got lost this morning. Did you know this guy has like three kitchens??”

Danny blinks, his head empty except with a single thought.

“Why does a guy who lives alone need three kitchens?”

“Right????” Jazz throws her hands in the air in agreement. She quickly wags her finger and does her ‘wise psych’ shtick thing that has Danny rolling his eyes again. “The rich certainly live in excess beyond mortal comprehension, little brother. Now don’t be a jerk and make me wait for a million years or I’ll send dad up for a wellness check.”

Danny sighs. “Alright, just don’t sicc him on me, I don’t wanna be cleaning Fenton Foamer™ out of my hair before this thing.” 

Jazz offers him a snicker before clicking the door quietly behind her, leaving Danny alone with his thoughts.

He quickly deflates, but decides to get up and get ready anyway.

On the other side of the door, Jazz leans against it heavily. Her face is sad but she quickly wipes the expression away and locks it away.

Danny is hiding something, but prying isn’t the answer. 

She’ll just have to be patient.

Did Daniel feel fire remake him from the inside out like he had? Was it quick or did it get drawn out for months like his had- no. He’s sure Maddie would have called to inquire if Daniel had suffered the same skin condition as he, no matter how long they’d ignored him beforehand.

But, there had clearly been an accident. The boy under his very roof was proof! 

Vlad can’t help but pace, claws retracted for the time being as he tries to logic away the burning inferno in his chest. Plotting is his thing, it’s what he’s good at. Acting out on instinct is a luxury only afforded to the most beastly of men and ghosts alike, something he has rarely fallen to himself.

He circles another spot on his whiteboard, trying to figure out the timeline, the method, the exact details of what had happened to poor Daniel. No articles, no hospital records he could access (yet), no clue as to the ghost living under their own blasted roof.

‘They would have mentioned it, would have mentioned an accident like his, right?’

Right??

Maddie could have tried to stop this from happening to her son, she could have helped him, but she is as clueless as that oaf– clueless as Jack himself.

Vlad straightens as his core nearly melts out of his mouth in a pink ooze, his eyes flashing dangerously towards the open portal and his visitor.

“Skulker, I assume you received my message?” Vlad smooths his hair back and brushes the dust off of his suit. There’s no need to look like a feral thing in front of business associates, after all. 

“Triple pay and a new cannon? My my, Plasmius. If not for our previous dealings I would have pegged you for a desperate man.”

Vlad fights the urge to circle the weaker ghost like a predator does its prey. There’s no reason to play with the hunter blob as though he was a mouse in a cat’s paw. 

But it still doesn’t stop his pride from making his eyebrow twitch in annoyance.

“The plan’s changed. I need you to handle this with a bit of a more… delicate touch than we’d agreed to. The pay increase is simply for changing the deal so close to the event. I hope it’s to your standards, even if delicate isn’t quite our modus operandi, hm?”

“Why would I be here otherwise? I don’t waste my precious time on bad deals– only the most effective ones.” Skulker replies, his eyes taking in the state of the lab around him with a chuckle. “And I have to say, I love what you’ve done with the place, Plasmius. But I could have sworn that ‘mad scientist’s breakdown’ was more of a Technus thing.”

Vlad’s hackles rise as he embeds a marker in the stainless steel next to Skulker’s smug face with a snarl. “You realize I can dismantle your suit piece by piece all while barely lifting a finger, hm? And I can make it oh so painful with those realistic nerve receptors you asked for all those months ago…”  

Skulker puts his hands up to placate the very angry other ghost in front of him. If the suit was capable of sweating, it would be. “Fine, fine! Have it your way. Now what, pray tell, do you need of me that requires a ‘delicate touch’? Do you need me to kidnap the human woman? Someone you need alive while you destroy whoever it is you’re hunting?”

Vlad straightens up, looking all the proper business man he pretends to be. He chuckles, completely devoid of emotion. 

Skulker raises a brow in question before deviously smiling in return once the plan is relayed.

Vlad stares out at the estate. Guests will begin to arrive in mere moments. He fixes his cravat, straightens the cuff links, and dusts off his jacket once more.

He trusts Skulker to keep to the plan, if the ghost wishes to remain in one piece at least.

However, Vlad can’t risk ruminating on his plan much longer. 

He may be a bit of a megalomaniac, a bit of a villain, but he’s also a billionaire, a genius, and a very excellent host when he has company.

He has a schedule to keep, after all.

Chapter Text

Danny fumbles with his tie in the mirror– his suit jacket folded neatly on the vanity’s chair behind him.

He’s never had to tie a tie before. It was probably only the second time in his short life he’s had to wear any sort of suit. 

The dance at school a few months back (that was promptly ruined by Dora and her draconic temper tantrum) had seen him wearing a clip-on he’d borrowed from Tucker’s dad. His middle school graduation was a hurried flurry of realizing his only nice formal wear was very quickly outgrown due to a random growth spurt, so khakis and a polo it was.

Even at Aunt Alicia’s wedding (when he was maybe four) she’d told his parents there was no need for much formality.

So the suit and tie were very new.

“Alright it was under… no over?” Danny’s hands struggle with the stupid silken monstrosity on his neck before he gets it into any sort of semi-presentable shape.

“Well at least I can win first place for most rumpled tie in the room.” Danny deflates.

A knock on the side of the door frame interrupts his sulking.

“Hey Danny– almost ready?” His mom looks him up and down before coming to the half-assed Windsor knot and offering him a soft smile. 

“I’d be ready if this stupid thing would just listen.”

“Here, let me fix that for you.” Maddie starts masterfully fixing the strip of offending fabric while humming. In a few moments it’s perfect.

“Your father’s never been able to tie anything other than a clip-on in all the years we’ve known each other.” Danny smirks at his reflection in the mirror, his mom standing beside him in a very nice dress as she places her hand on his shoulder. “Nobody would believe me, but Vlad also used to need my help when we were in college together.”

Danny turns to her in disbelief. “Woah, really?”

“Honestly, that man was worse than Jack at it. But I bet with his billions he’s able to have someone do it for him.” 

Maddie smiles at him as Danny snickers.

“Could you imagine being rich enough to have someone dress you?” he asks.

“Money isn’t everything, honey. You need to be able to do things on your own sometimes. It’s why your father and I do the math on paper from time to time instead of using calculators.”

“But calculators are way easier, and faster.” Danny replies.

“Yes, but if you don’t do things the hard way, you lose the sharpness you have for the skill. Even when it comes to talking to the people you supposedly like…” she side-eyes a portrait of Vlad on the wall beside them.

Danny doesn’t catch the petty words and instead just shrugs. “Aren’t you and dad supposed to get there before everyone else? Something something catching up?”

Maddie sighs before stepping back through the doorway. “Your father and I were invited to help taste test some of the finger foods with Vlad before the rest of the class arrives. I shouldn’t keep your father waiting, he’s been excited for the cheese curds since Vlad mentioned it.”

Danny snickers. “I wouldn’t be surprised if dad got there earlier and is terrorizing the chef. And Mr. Masters.”

“You’re right. I can’t leave the boys together too long without me. Vlad might just kick us out if your father scares his private chef.” Maddie nods, smiling at her son. “Don’t hide up here all day, this is still a family trip, and you’re still not off the hook yet.”

“Yeah,” Danny nods, shoulders sinking, “Yeah, I remember. I’ll see ya later.”

He doesn’t want to watch a bunch of old people dance to weird music, but if he doesn’t show they’ll come looking for him later anyways.

He dons his suit jacket and smiles at the reflection.

He looks good.

The drop sizzles in the drink, turning it a vivid green before back to its normal gold.

Vlad smirks to himself before gracefully holding the poisoned flute in his off-hand and sauntering out of the wine cellar to his guest.

Showtime.

“Hey V-man! Did you know they made cheese curds with chilies in ‘em? Man are they hot!” Jack yells into the poor chef’s ear, spitting curd-bits all over his spotless marble countertop.

Vlad composes himself with a sly smile. “Why yes, Jack. It is why I had those very curds selected for your tasting. I even made sure to include some with more exotic ingredients– I remember you once declaring you’d love to try anything with truffle oil in it, as well?”

The chef produces a silver cloche before opening it to reveal a rather impressive small charcuterie spread, complete with a small carafe of white spread. 

“V-man! Sufferin’ spooks, you’re a great guy!” Jack wraps his arm around the shoulder of the chef, violently jostling the poor man. 

“Ol’ Vladdie remembered everything– he even used the little toothpicks that look like swords!” He turns his head to the poor chef’s shoulder and starts loudly crying tears of joy.

Vlad pinches his brow as his chef’s eyes beg for mercy from the buffoon. He briefly considers wiping the tears off of Jack’s face for good with a well-timed blast of ectoplasm, but stops himself.

No need to kill the imbecile now, not when his plan requires Jack to be alive before the fall.

“Now, now Jack. Why don’t we wipe those tears away and indulge in more culinary debauchery–” Vlad gestures to the spread set upon the counter. “Now this one is a goat cheese pepper jack, combined with home made bagel chips and served with garlic truffle aioli sauce.  Paired with a sweet white I guarantee it will… knock you off your feet.”

Vlad offers Jack the spiked wine with a friendly smile and the idiot takes it in his bumbling hands. Once he’s detached his snot-covered face from the chef, they quickly dismiss themself with a look of immense irritation. (Vlad will have to give them a bonus.)

“Oh boy! Pre-gaming? We haven’t done that since the last game we went to together!” Jack offers Vlad a massive grin. “Remember, me, you, Maddie– roping that underclassman in to be our driver? Good times, good times.”

“Yes, Jack. And– to even better times in the coming days!” 

Vlad raises his own flute to toast, eyes zeroed in on Jack as he brings the glass to his lips.

The plan has changed, as things are wont to do sometimes.

He could no longer simply kill Jack– not until he’s figured out just how at fault he was for Daniel’s untimely demise and horrifying accident. Not until he’s ruined the man in the eyes of the rest of his oh so loving family.

Time slows to a stop as he awaits his prey to follow the steps leading to his imminent demise.

An admission of fault will lead to the remaining Fentons latching on to whatever monetary and emotional support he’ll provide to the grieving family once his plan reaches the final step.

But this? 

It’s simply the first step, and he has no issue playing the long game. Not when it promises him with the life he’s wanted but never been able to have.

“Jack? Vlad? I hope this is the right kitchen… why the need to have three–” 

Time slows to a stop as heels on tile mark the arrival of the apple of his eye. Vlad can hear his core run in time with his broken human heart as Maddie unknowingly interrupts the very first step to destroying her idiot husband.

“Maddie!! Baby!!” He runs over to scoop his wife into his arms and spin her around with a disgusting kiss to her cheek. “Vladdie has curds for us, and some very fancy wine for us to pregame. Here, why don’t you try some– wuh-oh…” 

As he sets Maddie down, the flute tips out of his hand and falls– spilling all over his suit and crashing to the floor in a puddle of shattered ambition.

“Oops– sorry V-man.” Jack sheepishly takes off his suit jacket before realizing the wine has gotten on his white shirt as well. “Betcha that glass cost more than my entire suit, right?” he laughs sheepishly.

“Vlad, I’m sorry about this.” Maddie pinches her brow. “Jack, why don’t we help him clean and then get you into something dry?”

Vlad schools himself despite the fuse boiling under his skin. “No need to help me clean, I have people for that.” He snaps his fingers and a butler appears from the other room. “Please, go get presentable and we can do a proper tasting later, hmm?”

Maddie sighs. “If you’re certain?”

“Why don’t you stay here?” Jack looks at his wife with an apologetic smile. “Mads, it’s my fault. Why don’t you and Vladdie catch up– I’m a big boy, I can figure out my own outfit.”

Maddie remains silent for a few minutes before smiling brightly. “Alrighty, dear. Don’t take too long! The reunion starts in an hour.”

Vlad stares between the couple, no idea as to what might be going on in what is unsaid. He relaxes when he realizes he will have a short while with his beloved, uninterrupted by idiotic rambling.

“Yes, Jack– don’t be late. It wouldn’t do any of us good if my best buddy were to miss all the fun!” Vlad waves him off as he leaves.

The kitchen falls silent aside from the whirr of appliances. Maddie’s smile lessens but remains on her painted lips. 

Vlad calculates what to say with step one out the window and his core blazing under his jacket.

The tense air clashes violently between a burning combination of animosity and desire. 

Danny approaches the theater when he hears the sounds of sports.

He finds Jazz sitting in one of the middle rows, absentmindedly shoving popcorn in her mouth and staring at some sort of documentary about the Packers.

He stands in front of Jazz, casting a Danny-shaped shadow on the screen. “Jazz, aren't you coming to the reunion?”

“What? And watch a bunch of old fossils pogo to New Wave music? Pass.” She scoffs. “Did you know the Packers won the very first Super Bowl?”

Danny rolls his eyes. “Whatever– just don’t get mad when mom comes looking for you later.”

Jazz blows a raspberry at him as he leaves.

Why is it that she gets to do whatever, but he’s expected to go watch his parents make him wish he was fully dead? It’s completely unfair! And even if he is supposed to be doing this as some sort of punishment, watching his parents make fools of themselves with outdated dances should be a war crime against the campaign to survive teenagerdom.

Danny skulks towards the party, terrible music blasting over speakers and into his ears as suddenly he feels a chill run down his spine, into his guts, and out of his throat and nose.

Fog dances on his lips as he hears a chilling laugh fly through the halls alongside the noise of whirring.

“Oh, of course I get to be late for my punishment. Come on…” He says to no one as he turns down the hall and begins his chase.

Up and down hallways, round in circles, and marching up staircases that lead God knows where, Danny pants as he rushes through hallways dodging clueless adults.

The party being in full swing means he can’t risk transforming until he corners the ghost, not with so many random adults everywhere and the risk of his parents being nearby.

He finds himself led to a quiet, dark office filled with Packers memorabilia, his eyes tracing the shadows to try and find the (very likely invisible) ghost.

A hulking figure materializes behind him once he steps into the room and Danny spins around as he lets his transformation wrap around him.

“Hello, Ghost Child.”

“I need you to keep a young man distracted while I… have a discussion with his parents.” 

Skulker’s eyebrow raises inquisitively, as though what Vlad is suggesting is completely out of character.

“Privately of course. He’s the hero type, meddling. I can’t have him ruining this reunion for me, not when so many things need to be discussed before my original plan comes to fruition– a detour on my original roadmap, so to speak.”

“I’d ask what sort of discussion needs me to distract a hero wannabe from your oh so perfect plan, but this sort of pay means I don’t care either way. If it’s a human, I don’t know how non-fatal I can be. Humans are very fragile creatures… even the most tame of my regular prey would eat them alive if they so much as show an ounce of fear.”

Vlad nearly hisses, hackles raised and shadows in the room darkening– how dare this underling, this lesser creature, threaten his the boy? How dare he do anything aside from comply without question?!

Skulker raises his hands placatingly. “Relax, I’m just thinking aloud– this is not my normal prey, nor is it a normal request from my very generous benefactor.”

“Yes, I am quite generous aren’t I?”

Vlad stalks forwards, starting to circle his client. “But I am not so generous as to not both keep the payment and smash your precious exoskeleton to smithereens if you so much as think of killing my boy. A distraction. Non fatal. Non violent. One that keeps my plans unimpeded, and the boy alive. Do I make. My. Self. Clear?”

Vlad is mere inches from Skulker’s face– eyes boring into the sockets in Skulker’s helm. 

He squints back at Vlad suspiciously for a moment before he acquiesces. “Crystal, sir.”

“Good. Now get out of my lab before I change my mind.”

Today has to be perfect. 

His entire plan, years in the making, will work.

“Apologies for Jack’s behavior.” Maddie starts, shocking Vlad from his own thoughts. “He’s been very excited to see you again.”

“Yes, I can imagine–” Vlad smiles softly, hiding his annoyance. “It’s not like a phone is hard to pick up once in a while.” he adds under his breath.

“You two were thick as thieves back in the day, so it means a lot to see you being patient with him after so long. And the kids are excited too– Jazz has been interested in learning as much as she can while she’s here.” Maddie laughs softly. “Apparently, learning about the Packers from you is better than from Jack.”

Vlad softens his expression. “Ah yes, can’t blame a teenager for wanting to ignore her parents when possible. We were that way once.”

“I can’t imagine she’ll be anything like either myself or Jack– she’s so… mature for her age. It’s hard to get her to open up, unless it’s about psychology.” Maddie sighs.

“I can’t imagine she’s doing it for any reason other than the usual teenage rebellion, Maddie– you’re much too brilliant a star for even the most angst-ridden teen to ignore for long.” Vlad approaches her, offering her the platter. “Cheese curd?”

Maddie’s smile falters. “No thank you, I’m going to save my appetite for the main course.”

She checks her nails and Vlad clears his throat before Maddie continues. “You know, we almost didn’t bring the kids.”

Vlad’s brow perks up. “Really?”

“Yes, it’s a bit of a punishment to Danny for his recent behavior.” She sighs. “I have no idea what’s gotten into that boy, he used to be so well behaved. Now, it’s like I don’t even know him.”

Vlad’s heart thrums in his throat. “And there’s no idea as to why he might be… misbehaving? A girl maybe? A bully? Or something… traumatic?”

“Now what could he have gotten into that could be traumatic?” Maddie scoffs. “He’s never stayed out past curfew until recently, and barely leaves his room–”

“Yes, but things can still happen in the home– an injury, perhaps?” Vlad pries.

Maddie glares. “Vlad, I don’t appreciate what it is you may be implying here.”

“I’m not implying anything, dear Maddie– just suggesting reasons why Daniel may be… misbehaving as of late? An outside opinion helps with these things, I’ve heard.” His heart picks up the pace.

He doesn’t appreciate what he’s implying either.

“I didn’t ask for an outside opinion.” Maddie’s words are sharp. “And frankly, Vlad, I don’t know that I can trust yours.” 

“Trust? Trust comes after communication, Maddie.” Vlad bites back, pinching his own brow in annoyance. “It’s not like communicating was even happening, all thanks to Jack’s bumbling forgetfulness.”

Maddie’s glare nearly freezes Vlad’s heart. “No. You don’t get to blame this all on Jack. I admit I could have done better- but that’s on me, not him. We all could have done better, Vlad. Not just Jack. And not just me.”

Vlad stares vacantly at Maddie as his core rages, Maddie speaking to him as if this is on him despite everything… 

Before he can speak, Maddie raises her hand to stop him. “Not communicating is a two-way street, Vlad. It’s not like a phone is hard to pick up once in a while.”

The temperature in the room spikes sharply for a moment before he composes himself.  Vlad feels the heat he’s come to associate as purely love and adoration for Maddie rise in… ire- ire that he thought was purely reserved for Jack. 

The silence in the room is so sharp it could cut through aged Gouda. Maddie must see something in Vlad’s face- the hurt? The frustration? the anger, perhaps? 

No, her eyes fill with pity.

She steps back, having gotten close enough in their argument to press her manicured nail to Vlad’s chest in anger. “Vlad, I’m sorry– I’ll… go make sure Jack is ready.”

Vlad doesn’t look up; he only hears the kitchen door flap through the now empty room.

"Please do enjoy the party, my dear," he says to the cheese curds, left warming on the countertop. 

“Skulker?! What are you doing here? Specifically, why are you in Wisconsin?”

Skulker steps out of the shadows, holding some sort of box in his hands. 

“Good evening, ghost child. I see you’ve dressed your pelt for a special occasion.”

Danny shudders, taking a defensive stance. “I haven’t seen you since–”

“Yes, since I was forced to stare at a gorilla against my will.” He glares at Danny. “For a month, might I add. The beast is magnificent, but not nearly suited to be a part of my collection.”

“How’d you even get back into your exo-skeleton?” Danny swallows. “If you’re here to hunt me, can’t you just like. Wait until I get home? I’m already turbo grounded and I don’t need to deal with fighting an overgrown booger on top of it!”

Skulker looks at him questioningly before barking out a laugh. “A hunter never reveals his secrets.” 

He snaps and a trap under Danny’s feet activates, scooping him upside-down. 

Danny struggles against the net before grumbling. “Seriously, I don’t need to deal with you right now!”

“You don’t get to make that choice, ghost child.” Skulker laughs again as he watches his prey squirm. “And here’s a little gift to make sure you don’t get loose this time.”

He tosses the box he was holding and Danny finds himself held in some sort of containment device, only his head and shoulders free. He struggles, shoving his body as much as he can against the cold metal of the box that holds him. He almost gets it rocking and tries to tip it over- but then pain overwhelms him as the metal courses electricity through his body. His throat is sore and his hair is black, he notes. 

The shock must have nullified his powers.

Skulker stomps over, his face shadowed menacingly as he grips him by the hair and stares Danny in the eyes. “Marvelous, just like he said it would work–”

Danny groans. “You… what is this thing?”

“A gift from my benefactor, insurance that you won’t meddle tonight.” Skulker says, still gripping the boy by his hair.

Danny glares at the hunter with venom and growls. “You won’t get away with this! I’ll find a way to get out of here–”

Skulker’s face barely emotes.

He even looks… bored.

That can’t be right?

“Honestly, you’re worth more alive to me right now, otherwise I’d simply take your pelt and leave.” Skulker sighs. 

“What’s with the disinterest? What, am I suddenly not worth the effort?” Danny asks, and Skulker releases his hair with a scoff.

“No, you’re worth every ounce of effort I put into hunting you. This method simply is not of my making, nor is it your natural habitat.” Skulker stalks over to the desk in the room, turning to stare at Danny in the contraption. “My hunt will resume once you are in your habitat, so I may properly hunt you. This is simply contract work.”

“Contract work? Benefactor? Who are you working for??” Danny asks.

Skulker remains silent, staring at Danny with calculating eyes.

“You really are not the brightest, are you?”

“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean??” Danny shouts.

Silence answers the boy– the air thickens with ectoplasmic tension as Skulker readies his weapons, ignoring Danny. A shiver runs down Danny’s spine- then a shudder, as he’s filled with unnatural dread and the sense that something is watching him- something red and powerful and predatory. He can’t help but struggle against the metal that confines him- yanking his head and shoulders as hard as he can, not caring about the animalistic whimpers that leave his raw throat as long as he can leave, hide, get out of here, get out- get out- get OUT- 

And suddenly, the red sensation is gone.

There’s still ectoplasmic tension in the room- tension that Danny realizes with a start is centered on Skulker- but that feeling of being hunted by something far worse than an ectoplasmic frog in a tin can is no longer there.

What was all of that?

Skulker huffs and closes his gear, before finally turning to address Danny.

“Ghost child!”

“Can you ever call me by my name?”

“You are worthy prey,” Skulker starts. “However, you are not the brightest I have hunted. And I wish to continue hunting you, so heed my warning. Do not trust every soul you cross paths with. Not every being has your best interest in mind, and many are dishonest in dishonorable ways.”

“Oh, and why should I believe a ghost who’s been trying to mount my head on his wall about anything?”

“Simple– I value honor above everything– aside from the hunt. Ghosts are not to be trusted, but even so, humans lie for the sake of lying. Ghosts will lie to save their afterlife and to chase their reason for existence. It can be a sad existence for one to trust blindly.”

Danny stares at Skulker in disbelief as the ghost’s eyes turn… soft.

“Do not allow falsehoods spoken with honey to deceive you.”