Work Text:
I'm gonna kill you
If you don't beat me to it
Dreaming through Tokyo skies
I wanted to see the world
Then I flew over the ocean
And I changed my mind
Today sucked way more than Danielle Phantom thought it would. Dani had been enjoying her travels around the world, seeing things, figuring out herself, searching for a way to stabilize her body. But as the date had grown closer, supermarkets began to be filled with cards and merchandise, and advertisements began to play on TV's she passed in store windows. "Come on down to the Nasty Burger for a special Father's Day deal!" the TV in Amity Park chimed, and Dani felt tempted to blast right through it.
The day had finally arrived, Father's Day, and no, Danielle Phantom was not prepared for how much it hurt.
A little under a year ago she thought she would be spending the day with Vlad, in one of his mansions, giving her Father some cheesy gift she'd found and spending the day with him. But here she was, alone, and every commercial, billboard, and magazine cover was a reminder of him. She couldn't get him out of her head.
Dani wondered if he even thought about her. She doubted it. He was probably fixated on Danny today. Or worse, moping, locked up in his bedroom with his cat watching sappy movies on the television. The thought of the latter pissed Dani off so much her eyes began to glow for a second as she trudged down the city's sidewalk. What right did he have, to sulk and whimper and moan about poor old Vlad, who only wants to be a father, when he'd had a perfectly good daughter he cast aside?
She shook her rage off. Property damage would not solve her problems, or make her feel better.
Dani ducked into an alley and shifted into her ghost form, flying up to perch on top of one of the aforementioned billboards that overlooked the city. From here, she could see the mayor's house. A part of her wanted to go invisible, phase through the walls, and see what her father- no, not her father, not anymore- Vlad was up to.
But she restrained herself.
Dani had had to grow up too quick, too fast, being tossed out by her creator, and knew that whatever she saw, whether it was Vlad happy or sad or angry, would only make her hurt more than she already did. Because there was no right way for him to feel about the situation, because there was nothing right about what he had done.
Regardless of her self control over her actions, the memories still flooded.
"Now, Danielle, transforming is like any other basic human- or ghost- skill. At first, it may be difficult. But once you master it, it's as natural as walking or blinking or breathing."
"Breathing's difficult?" Dani blinked.
Vlad chuckled. "At first. Most babies come out of the womb struggling to breathe dry air," He paused, playfully smiling at her. "I wonder if your body skipped that step."
"Ugh." She flopped back, balancing on the billboard in a way only someone with her powers could do without tumbling to their death below. Why had she even come back to Amity Park today? She knew reminders of him, on today of all days, wouldn't help. Wouldn't make her feel better. Wouldn't cause anything but pain.
"I thought I saw someone fly up here," Dani turned and saw Valerie behind her, floating in the air. She took a seat on the billboard beside Dani, who quickly straightened up to sit with her. They sat in silence. She knew Valerie could tell what was bothering her.
Dani finally broke it. "Don't you have things to do with your dad today?" She asked.
"He wanted us to take him out for a big breakfast," Valerie said. "So we got back an hour ago. If I'd known you were in town, I would've asked if you wanted to come along."
"No," Dani said, quickly. "I mean... No. I don't think it would've helped."
More silence.
"Dani..." Valerie started. The younger girl looked up at him, and he faltered. Dani knew why. There was no right thing to say here, no magic words to make it all better, because there was nothing either of them could do to make Vlad realize he'd been an idiot, make him beg for Dani's forgiveness, make him be the father he should have been to her.
And there were no magic words to make either of them forget that Danny, Valerie's boyfriend and Dani's best friend, hero of Amity Park beloved by (most) all, was the one Vlad actually wanted.
It was just as Dani looked back down to the street below that Valerie tried to speak again. "Even if he can't see it, he was right," Valerie said. This made Dani look up at him, surprised. Vlad, right? About what? Despite the irrationality of it Valerie's words made Dani's mind race. Was Vlad right to toss her aside?
"Danny told me that once, Vlad said you were his greatest creation. And he's right, even if he thought he was lying and trying to manipulate you at the time. As much as I hate the asshole... the one good thing he's done was make you." Dani took a deep breath, listening to her friend's words. She wasn't going to cry. Nope. No. She wasn't. "And even if he had it in his heart to make apologies for anything he's done, he wouldn't deserve your forgiveness. He was a shit dad. But you were a great daughter."
"It's just..." Dani said. "I wish I understood why. And how. Why I wasn't good enough. How he could so easily dispose of someone he'd made-"
Valerie cut her off. "Hey. That's not a good train of thought," She said. "You're talking like there's a you reason. Something wrong with you, that made him be a jerk. There's not. Sometimes... parents just suck at being parents."
Dani nodded, slowly. Valerie put an arm around her and the two quietly stared off over the city.
I don't forgive you
But please don't hold me to it
Born under Scorpio skies
I wanted to see the world
Through your eyes until it happened
Then I changed my mind