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redrobin-detective · 3 years

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Delayed Mourning

Going Angst Day 5: Death

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It was 3pm when there was a knock on Maddie Fenton’s door. She huffed and set down the meal she’d been working on. Of course the one day she had time to pre-plan a nice meal from her family was the day she’d get interrupted.

“Yes? May I help you?” Maddie asked, opening the door. She had expected a salesman. Possibly even a neighbor coming to complain, again, about the noise or the smells that came from Fentonworks. Instead she found a small woman who couldn’t have been much taller than 5 ft with dark brown hair tied up in a tight bun. She was wearing a sharp white shirt and suit jacket with a matching white skirt.

“Mrs. Fenton, hello,” the woman gave a polite little head nod. “I’m from the the Government Institute of Interdimensional Warfare though I hear the locals like to call us the Guys in White.” She said with a knowing smiling, “of course, as you know, it’s not only the guys who are interested in ghosts. May I come in?”

“Oh yes, hello,” Maddie blinked, opening the door to let the agent in. The petite woman stepped inside, her heels clicking on the hardwood floor. Her small frame, her oversized glasses and soft nature seemed so at odds with the meatheads Maddie usually found in the GIW. “Is there something I can help you with?”

“Perhaps,” the agent demurred. “It’s more there was something I wanted to inform you of. If you’re not too busy, may we sit down and talk? Your husband and children are not home.” Maddie thought that last statement was a bit odd, framed as a statement of fact rather than an inquiry but moved on.

“Yes, Jack’s out of town visiting a relative and my kids won’t be back for a little while,” Maddie said. “Let me just finish putting this roast together, I’m almost done. Can I get you anything? Water? Tea?”

“No, thank you,” The woman said quietly. “And please, continue while you’re doing. Let me give you a little bit of background.” The agent adjusted her large glasses with her tiny hands. “Let me introduce myself, you may call me Agent S. I work primarily out of Washington for the Institute but sometimes I am deployed on site for... special cases. And, as I’m sure you’re aware, your town is very special.”

“Now, as you may have noticed, I am not particularly built like the normal Institute agents you have probably come across. That is because I do not work in the field but behind the scene in Investigations. My job is study the history and happenings of hauntings and spectral entities.”

“Oh that sounds fascinating,” Maddie beamed as she finished with her final preps and put the roast in the over. She looked over her shoulder at Agent S while she washed her hands. “Jack and I dabble a bit in history and folklore but we’re more versed in the hard sciences of ghosts.”

“Yes, I’ve read some of your papers, you and your husband truly are the frontrunners in the field,” Agent S nodded. Maddie preened at the praise and sat down, delighted to have a sophisticated conversation with someone in her field who she wasn’t married to. If more of those GIW agents were like Agent S then Maddie would get along a lot better with them. “So, Maddie, may I call you Maddie? What date and time did your portal start working?”

“It was August 28th,” Maddie said proudly. “It didn’t work at first when we first plugged it in. I’m afraid I don’t have an exact time it started up as we weren’t here. Jack was convinced one of the electrical conduction pieces wasn’t fully connected and was preventing ectoplasmic distribution. We ended up driving 4 hours to Springfield and back for some specialty parts only to find the portal working when we returned.”

“I can help you there,” Agent S said with a soft smile reaching into her white briefcase and pulling out several thick folders. She laid them out gently on the table and Maddie was unnerved by some of the information: schematics of Fentonworks, past and present financial records, transcripts of public statements. Her shoulders tensed when she saw Jazz and Danny’s names on some of the files. “Toll camera captured your vehicle on the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway at exactly 1:26pm on August 28th. We can confirm you and your husband’s vehicle traveled to Springfield and back via video feeds and credit card statements at 10:45pm that same day and were therefore out of the city all day.”

Maddie suddenly felt very trapped by the woman’s sharp grey eyes as she plucked a piece of paper and pressed it towards Maddie.

“At 3:18pm, the majority of the residential power in town went out for a period of 2 and a half hours. The cause was determined to be from a massive power surge that blew out the transformer. You may recall being blamed for this outage given your history with previous outages but the news that you were out of town settled that argument. However, I was not convinced.” She pulled out another piece of paper and Maddie bristled to see it was a Casper High attendance sheet.

“Your daughter, Jasmine was at her final summer cram session which ran from 2pm until 5pm. I spoke to her tutors and she never left the whole time and, in fact, stayed late to help a fellow student work through her study materials. But what about your son?” Agent S asked with with a curious smile but her eyes belied the fact that she had her own answers.

“How dare you spy on my family, on my children,” Maddie hissed, crumpling one of the papers in her fist. “Get out of my house, I will sue the pants off of your organization for this invasion of privacy! Get out!”

“Now Maddie, don’t you want to know how your son started up your Portal?” Agent S asked coyly, that drew Maddie up short. Danny? No, he couldn’t have possibly. He had no interest in their work, in fact, now that she thought about it, Danny had been sick that day. Agent S pulled out a set of blueprints for the Fenton Portal. Some small component inside the Portal was circled.

“You left at approximately 1pm and your daughter presumably left not long after. Phone records indicate Daniel called both Tucker Foley and Samantha Manson. Your neighbor, Mrs. Benson, saw them coming into your house not long after but before the 3pm power outage which I was able to triangulate did in fact originate from your home.” Agent S tapped the circled part of the inner portal mechanisms. “Now did you happen to push the on button in the Portal before plugging it in?”

“On button?” Maddie asked with a dry mouth, overwhelmed by the amount of information being thrown her way. All she could think about was how Danny hadn’t seemed sick when they’d left that afternoon but had looked awful when they returned. Would he have really gone downstairs and messed with the Portal? Had he gotten hurt? Been contaminated down there? Images of Vlad’s sickly visage after his accident flowed through her head. She should have paid more attention but she’d been so excited about the Portal working...

“It’s right here in the blueprints you submitted to the patent office, buried under dozens of other hardware bits. Its small, such a little thing compared to all the moving parts required to open up a dimensional portal. Daniel was a bright boy, his middle school records prove it. A bright mind, friends to impress, no parents around to chastise him... I think you can see where I’m going with this.”

“No, no,” Maddie said, burying her hands in her hair. “No, I’m not. You’re saying -what? - that my teenage son turned on the Portal when we were gone? No, my Danny wouldn’t lie to me about that... Why wouldn’t he say anything?”

“I don’t blame him for not mentioned in because, if my hunch is correct, he was inside the Portal when it turned on, killing him instantly,” Agent S said with a carefully neutral face. “I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news but I’m afraid this haunting has gone on long enough.”

“My child is alive!” Maddie screeched, standing up in her chair. “Danny is alive and healthy and he is not a ghost!”

“I will admit the evidence of how he died is circumstantial but the fact that Danny Fenton is deceased is not.” Maddie fell back into her chair as he legs gave out underneath her.

She watched the agent put paper after paper in front of her and detailed all sorts of data about her son that Maddie, who lived in the same house as him, had missed. Unusually high ectosignatures picked up by GIW (and their own) detectors, Danny being spotted in some form before most ghost attacks, faked signatures of hers getting him out of nurses’ visits. Maddie barely felt alive herself as she stared at a red light camera photo of her baby sitting atop a light post late, late at night. His eyes were a toxic green color.

“I know this must be distressing as a mother but your child never left that basement, never attended high school and will never achieve his dream of working for NASA.” Agent S said with carefully measured sympathy as she gathered up her papers and put them back in her case. “But you are a brilliant scientist, unlike your husband, you should be able to look past your emotions and see that your child is gone and the ghost he left behind is dangerous.”

“My husband?” Maddie asked blankly, running a finger down Danny’s unnatural photograph.

“I approached Jack two days ago, mistakenly believing he would be the most understanding of you both. He refused to believe the evidence and was, in fact, going to warn your son’s ghost that we planned on taking him. He is safe but he presently being held at one of our facilities until the capture is complete.” Maddie should feel outraged at her husband’s kidnapping but all she could think about was the fact that her son was dead, dead, dead, killed by her own invention over a year ago and she never noticed. How could she not have noticed?

“Daniel’s ghost is extraordinary, not only able to pass as human so accurately for so long but immensely powerful. We need to make sure he doesn’t harm anyone else. Think of his friends who are probably being forced to aid him and keep his death quiet. Think of your husband, your daughter, living in the same house as a dangerous ghost.” Agent S dropped some of her professionalism and plucked the photo of Danny out of Maddie’s hands and replaced it with her own tiny hand.

“I know this is impossible thing to ask but I must do it anyway, will you help me capture what remains of Danny? There is a chance with his charade exposed, he will be able to move on and so will you. You have been wronged, Maddie. You have been denied the right to process and grieve your child by his own ghost. But a delayed mourning is better than none. Danny’s death is a tragedy but please don’t let it become someone else’s.”

“Maybe he’s not-” Maddie’s breath hitched, “he’s never shown any signs of aggression. Jasmine spoke of benevolent spirits... maybe-” Agent S sighed roughly and retracted her hand to grab another photo from her case. Maddie was surprised when she held up a picture of Phantom.

“Ignore the glow,” Agent S instructed. “Change his white hair to black, his green eyes to blue. Think of how often Phantom is spotted in your neighborhood, around Casper High. Remember how he always has his hands on your technology,” the agent frowned. “Think of how he grins when he sees you, like he knows something you don’t. Like it all just a big joke you’re not a part of.” Maddie felt like she’d been slapped.

“Your son is dead,” Agent S said more forcefully, throwing the picture of Phantom next to the spooky one of Danny. “And his ghost has taken his place, taunting you, stealing energy from your family, from the portal that killed him. Phantom’s power is increasing too rapidly and soon we won’t be able to contain him. It’s why I was brought in to identify his haunt so that he could be stopped before anyone else died.”

“I will state this plainly, I am giving you the chance to participate in putting your child to rest but you are not required for this operation. If you refuse, you will be confined with your husband until Phantom is taken down. Do not let this monster with your son’s face trick you any more. So I ask again, Maddie Fenton, will you help us stop Phantom from making a mockery of your son’s memory?”

XxX

“Mom! Jazz! I’m home!” Danny announced, kicking off his shoes and grabbing a paper out of his backpack as he walked into the kitchen with a grin. “And I have a present! Jazz’s tutoring paid off, look at this A I got on my history test! Well A- but a solid A-!”

“Oh... that’s great,” Mom muttered quietly. She was sitting at the kitchen table, not cooking or tinkering with some gadget. Just sitting there quietly, twiddling her thumbs and not looking at him.

“Is everyone okay?” Danny asked, dropping his bag on the floor and walking over to his mother. “I saw Jazz at school but is Dad okay?”

“No, everything is not okay,” she said turning and looking at him with tear-filled eyes. “Someone died, someone I love dearly and I’m not ready to let them go,” she sniffed and wiped at her eyes. “But they've been gone for a long time, even if I’m just hearing about it now. I’m upset but it’s better to know and be grieve than to go on in ignorance, living a lie.”

Danny was about to ask who had died when something was jammed into his neck and he was shocked within an inch of his half life. His body spasmed to escape but his mother was gripping his arm to hold him in place. He transformed unconsciously but that only made it worse. He fell to the floor, ectoplasm leaking off his form as he could barely hold himself together.

“Mom,” he croaked, reaching for her despite everything. She stomped on his hand which was practically goo from such a vicious, destabilizing ectoplasmic shock.

“Don’t you ever call me that,” she hissed through angry tears. “I didn’t want to believe it but the proof is right in front of me you horrible, selfish ghost.” She kicked him in the side and half of him ended up on her boot. “How dare you, how dare you impersonate my son! How dare you string me along all this time, make me look like a fool who had to told that her own child was dead! I bet you just laughed and laughed at our stupid, human ignorance of what your were!”

“‘lease,” he begged through the ectoplasm in his mouth. “I’m still your....”

“My son is dead and he has been for a while,” Mom said, throwing the ecto-taser away from her. Danny vaguely heard the door being kicked in and in his rapidly diminishing vision, he saw black boots and white suits. “With you gone, I can finally come to terms with it and not be tormented by an inadequate replacement.” She turned her back to him. “Get that filth out of my house, I never want to see it again.”

“Of course,” a quiet feminine voice said as his goopy arms were restrained with ghost proof cuffs. “I know this is hard, Maddie but you made the right choice for your family and Danny’s memory. Jack will returned to you within the hour. I spoke to my superiors, for your cooperation, the Institute will take care of declaring Danny dead as well as covering costs for your boy to be laid to rest, the first step in moving on.”

“No, the first step will be removing that duplicitous monster from my home. It’s stolen enough of my baby’s life. Now please leave, I have - I have a funeral to plan.”

#going angst week 2021 #*jazz hands* I uh finally contributed #this is another interesting thing that just sorta happened #I was actually rereading and writing more for Side Effects when I realized that someone could follow the paper trail of the accident #which led me to a tiny lil GIW Investigator who blew Dannys secret wide open #which *then* led me to the tragedy of Maddie learning of her child's 'death' second hand but over a year after a fact #there's something about delayed tragedy... thinking everythings ok only to learn it hasn't been for a while #Love Mads but btw her an Jack shes the one who seems the more likely to take offense to her son's ghost haunting his own life #to keep playing along and pretending to be alive #him secretly being Phantom was the final straw #Both pretending to be Danny then *teasing* her when he saw her as a ghost #(obviously thats not the case but Maddie believes was Made To Believe it was)#Oh I wanted to strange Agent S this whole time typing #the blatant.... manipulation #Maddie may feel free to grieve now but her child's torment was only beginning #haha good times see ya

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five-rivers · 3 years

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Loved chapter 4

Written for Dannymay 2021 Day 3: Portal, even though the connection is sort of tenuous.

Bad things happened when Vlad came to Amity Park. For that matter, bad things happened wherever Vlad was. It was part of what made Vlad Vlad. Some part of his otherness, some twist of the shadow-fabric he was made of that left rot and ruin wherever his hem brushed. Of course, Vlad was never affected by this misfortune. In fact, he seemed to suck the luck out of everyone around him. Like a vampire.

Along with sanity. But that was a given for the others, even partial others, like Vlad. Or Danny.

But Vlad didn’t even try to hide or ameliorate the effects he had on people, didn’t try to keep them safe, to make their lives shine like the precious lights they were.

(Danny drummed his fingers on his chest and wondered, if, perhaps, it would feel less empty if Clockwork let him become a jewel box.)

But that was the way Vlad was, and Danny felt him enter Amity Park like nails on a chalkboard. His skin started to itch. His teeth hurt. Pressure pulsed in his head like waves of heat coming off asphalt. Being human, being real, was too tight, too heavy. It would be so easy to slip into the cool waters of the Dream and cut through them to wherever Vlad was.

No. He couldn’t. As shown time and time again, that would just exacerbate things. No matter what Vlad did, it would be worse if they fought, especially if there was anyone there to see it. Like what had happened with Jazz…

Danny was beyond lucky he’d been able to snap her out of whatever Vlad had done to her, but she still was quite right. The Vultures had actually apologized on Vlad’s behalf, after that.

(And wasn’t that strange, standing in the Dream on ground covered by bones and feathers, the Vultures on a dead tree, speaking as one. A thing of terror, apologizing for their ward. For pain suffered through Love. For lines crossed.)

Still. He had better… supervise Vlad, for a lack of a better word. Make sure he wasn’t getting up to anything. He’d go as a human – as himself.

He sighed and splayed his hands out on the table.

“Something wrong?” asked Sam, who had been making a complex sigil out of her fries and ketchup.

“Vlad’s in town,” said Danny. “I—”

The doors to the Nasty Burger were thrown open with a bang as Jazz came running in. She ran halfway through the store, to weak protests from the employee behind the counter, and skidded to a stop in front of their table.

“Vlad’s here,” he said.

“You saw him?” asked Danny, concerned. “Did he try—”

“No,” said Jazz. “I can just—It’s like he’s under my skin, and I—” She made a sound of frustration and gripped both sides of her head with clawed hands.

“Hey,” said Danny, gently, grasping her wrists. “It’s going to be okay. I’ll take care of it.”

“Okay,” said Jazz, breathing deeply. “Alright. I shouldn’t have freaked out like that.”

“It’s okay,” said Danny. He looked back to his friends. “Anyway, I’m going to go see what he wants, okay?”

“I’m coming with you,” said Sam, standing.

“Me too,” said Tucker. “Sort of. Halfway.”

“You really shouldn’t,” said Danny. “You know what happens when we get together.”

“Which is why we want to back you up,” said Sam. “As long as he stays physical, there’s stuff we can do.”

Unless Danny was prepared to do something incredibly inadvisable, there wasn’t much he could do to stop her. “Okay,” he said. “Just… be careful. If it looks like it’s going to turn into a fight, you need to leave.” He didn’t want them to get anymore spiritually messed up than they already were.

“We know, we know, you give us the spiel every time,” said Sam.

Yes, and Sam ignored it every other time. Danny shook his head. “Alright, let’s—”

Danny was promptly interrupted yet again, this time by his parents rushing in wearing… He could loosely call them clothes.

“It’s retro night, baby!” shouted Jack.

It was not retro night. There was no such thing as retro night at the Nasty Burger.

“I’ll take care of them,” said Jazz.

“Thanks,” muttered Danny, sliding out of the booth. “Come on, let’s go out the back.”

The alley behind the Nasty Burger was fetid in a way that made Danny’s shadow lift from the pavement and float on the air. Something that inhabited rats skittered in the corners at Danny’s presence and ran for a storm drain. He breathed shallowly.

“Which way?” prompted Tucker.

“He’s actually coming this way,” said Danny, frowning, debating facing him in this alley, just to see the disgust that would surely paint itself on Vlad’s face, paper-thin mask that it was.

Reality rippled, the surface tension that kept the Dream from bleeding in snapping. A miasma rose from the ground. Vlad stumbled into the alley, clutching at his face, which was melting. No, transforming. No, stretching. No, layering over itself a in dozen sickening ways, all the masks Vlad wore flickering over whatever truth he had all at once.

“Help me,” he grated. His words felt sick, diseased.

“Guys,” said Danny, fighting back the urge to vomit, “run.”

“No!” shrieked Vlad. “Help me!”

And sanity fractured like glass.

Whatever Danny’s parents had done to stabilize Vlad had worked, to a degree. It hadn’t fixed the underlying problem, which Danny could still feel slinking through the Dream. It also didn’t fix whatever he’d done to Sam and Tucker, although it had kept it from progressing further.

Danny took a slow, angry breath and ran a mental count of the lives stored inside his chest. They were there, all of them. Whatever happened to Sam and Tucker, they wouldn’t die.

But Danny knew there were fates worse than death.

His fingernails left half moon impressions on his palms as he clenched his fists. The Dream roiled with his fury, the force of it enough to keep Vlad’s diseased thoughts away.

“Daniel,” croaked Vlad. “Cure me.”

“That’s what Mom and Dad are trying to do.”

“Find a cure for me,” said Vlad, as if he hadn’t heard Danny at all, “and you’ll find a cure for your precious little friends.”

Danny stilled. “You did this on purpose.”

Vlad laughed. “Of course, I did, my dear boy. What value is a simple human mind compared to those such as we?”

Any rage Danny had felt up to this moment paled in comparison. The mirror over the sink cracked down the middle, never to show a true physical reflection again. He hated—

A concerned tug at Danny’s throat jolted him from his thoughts. Clockwork. Clockwork would know what to do. He turned, and without a second glance at Vlad, strode bodily into the Dream.

It took Danny even less time than usual to find Clockwork, and, when he did, he immediately found himself at Clockwork’s center, deep within the castle that was his metaphor. Dozens of Chains were fixed to Danny’s collar, each of them completely taut, holding him perfectly immobile, the embrace of a relieved but panicking parent. Clockwork’s emotions, too vast for Danny to fully comprehend, were transmitted directly through those chains, microscopic vibrations raising gooseflesh on Danny’s skin. A wordless noise both distressed and pleased wound its way from Danny’s throat, continuing to echo long after he’d run out of the breath to maintain it.

Clockwork’s avatar cupped Danny’s face in its hands, long fingers almost completely encircling his head. There was more of Clockwork in it that there usually was.

“Clockwork…?” asked Danny, weakly, confused and overwhelmed by the sudden flood of affection.

Poor little one, whispered the avatar, this is what happens when matters are not properly attended to. The Vultures should know better, should take care of him properly… It pressed its forehead to Danny’s, startling a squeak from him.

Danny, reflexively, brought his hands up to clutch at the avatar’s robes.

My poor child. What are they thinking, letting him run around so ill, so that he might infect other children?

Clockwork saw Vlad as a child, too. Not surprising, considering how ancient Clockwork must be, but good to know.

That emotion! It was only a shadow, and even so-!

“Emotion?”

Hatred, hissed Clockwork’s avatar.

The collar around Danny’s neck constricted, a tighter, more Loving, more comforting, hug. Danny gasped, although breathing here was psychological rather than physiological. The cloth of the avatar’s robes began to wind up Danny’s arms.

Even the pale, human shadow of it is not something you should experience, my child.

Danny didn’t like being that angry, but—

Even the concept of it is too much, too heavy. You should not have to bear it. I should not have overlooked it. The avatar’s hands moved to the back of Danny’s head, pressing his face against its shoulder. It must hurt you so,murmured the avatar, carding fingers through Danny’s hair. Fear not. I will excise it. All of it, even the idea of it shall not touch you, shall not sully your thoughts.

The avatar stepped away.

“Wait!” shouted Danny, panicking.

Not being able to hate? Danny had mixed feelings about that, but he doubted he’d be able to talk Clockwork out of it, not with how damaging Hate could be. In the end, it wouldn’t be that much of a loss. Not being able to understand that it existed? Not being aware of hate at all? Being unable to understand that, sometimes, people would go out of their way to hurt one another?

That was dangerous. That would render him unable to even begin to comprehend vast swathes of human history and humanity.

“If I don’t know what it is,” said Danny, “if I don’t know that it exists, how can I protect myself against it?”

A gust of wind blew through Clockwork’s sepulchral hall like the sigh of a giant. It is my duty to protect you, my child.

The sheer possessiveness of the words lingered on Danny’s skin. He wanted to lean into them but held his imaginary breath.

But very well.

Danny let himself relax, slightly, even as the avatar walked to somewhere he couldn’t see, its silent footsteps giving him no clue as to where it was. With only the constant, regular hum and tick of Clockwork’s gears to stimulate him, it was hard for Danny to stay vigilant. He found himself drifting, his thoughts wandering.

Did his hatred of Vlad cause him pain, as Clockwork said? What was it going to be like, to not be able to hate at all, rather than just not being able to Hate? Would he still be angry at Vlad? He hoped so. The man deserved it.

Two points of frigid cold touched the back of his head, contracted into a single point, and pulled. Danny felt something within him come free, and he sagged as much as the chains would allow him.

The avatar walked back into view, and Danny recoiled from the thing he was carrying, clasped in a long, silver pair of tweezers. “Is that,” started Danny, before he swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry. “Was that in me?”

Yes, said Clockwork’s avatar, lowering it into a small, jeweled box. Danny felt relieved as soon as the lid closed on it and he was no longer forced to look at it. At the same time… Fear not, said the avatar. I could never destroy something of you. It will be remade into something more useful.

Danny nodded as much as he could and shuddered. He felt… dirty. Unclean. Just remembering what he’d felt, what he’d thought… It left a deep sense of wrongness.

Come, said Clockwork. I have just the thing for that. You are due for a bath. A cleansing, inside and out.

The metaphor of the chains fell away, leaving just the one, usual, slack one. Danny knew Clockwork could call them back at any time, that, in truth, they had not gone anywhere at all.

“What about Vlad?” he asked, twisting his hands around the hem of his shirt. “And my friends? Can you help them? Please.”

He felt Clockwork examine him appraisingly.

Perhaps the bath can wait for another day.

The mirror was a portal, tall and wide as a door, glassy surface gleaming with otherworldly light. The edges were crimped, filigreed, flared. Beyond the reflection, Danny could just make out the suggestion of movement.

It is not real, said the avatar, putting a hand on Danny’s shoulder, but a might-have-been.

“But I can find a way to fix things in there?”

The avatar did not answer. A prickling feeling rose up inside Danny, settling in his stomach. Somehow, this felt similar to when he’d eaten the mirror with the bad future.

It is,confirmed the avatar, briefly nuzzling Danny.

“Why?” asked Danny, just a little horrified.

Is it not satisfying to complete two tasks at once? I told you, back then, that our next task would be to remove those presents that seek to exclude you.

Danny didn’t understand.

You will. Clockwork’s avatar paused, as if thinking. This is what the Vultures should have done for young Vladimir, although they would have accomplished it differently.

“Oh,” said Danny, trying to wrap his head around that.

Clockwork’s avatar nudged him forward. Follow the chain when you are ready to come home.

Danny wasn’t connected to anyone in this might-have-been world. It was odd, watching every eye slide off him as if he wasn’t even there. If he wanted to interact with someone directly, he’d have to put a lot of force of will into it.

It was strange. Other than that, everything here seemed perfectly real. Not imaginary at all. The sun shone. People spoke to one another. The grass crunched under his feet.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison lay before him in all its questionable glory.

He’d have to find Vlad and his parents. They had rented a small lab space for their experiments with the Dream and research into the others.

Normally, he’d follow his connection to them to find them, or the disturbance Vlad made in the dream, but neither of those things existed, now. Not yet. Danny didn’t exist yet.

He could just wander, try to seek out questionable lab space, but the university’s campus was large. Normally, he’d ask for directions, but…

Yeah, the no one being able to see or hear him thing really didn’t allow for that.

But there was one other thing he could try to do, one other thing he could try to sense. Their experiments. They should send waves across and through the Dream.

He let his eyes drift closed and walked blind across campus. When he opened them, he was in a lab, watching his parents and Vlad working on a kind of magic circle, inscribed with runes.

A portal, intended to let humans directly access the Dream. A portal that had created Vlad, all because he leaned too close, watched too closely, seen too much, became something else, changed.

Something like anger stirred under his skin. After this, his parents had continued to experiment, continued to try to reach the Dream, to create a weapon against the others, and in doing so both doomed Danny himself and Amity Park by making what amounted to a highway for the others to come to the real world.

But they hadn’t intended to do that, he knew. They’d been trying as best as they could to fix things. Had been trying to defend the world the best they knew, portal or no portal. And speaking of the portal… If others could damage human sanity, if Danny, small and weak and almost-human as he was, could damage human sanity, then how much more could a direct link to the Dream do? Discounting, of course, that normal dreams could lead to the Dream… That connection was more tenuous. Filtered.

His anger was a distraction from what was really bothering him.

These people, they looked like his parents. They were his parents. But… they weren’t. There was no attachment there. Nothing. It was like looking at empty shells. No Love.

It was distressing.

He watched, waiting, making note of the symbols and the placement of the ritual objects and the technological enhancements. There had to be something here that would help explain why Vlad was having such a hard time, while Danny had transitioned to his present existence without much problem.

He leaned over his not-mother’s calculations, then his not-father’s, made note of the differences. Looked at the fire, the knife, and the carved cylinders. Some of them didn’t feel quite right. One of them had been nudged out of alignment by a soda can put down by not-Jack, shifting the circle, making it bigger. Could that be something?

Vlad leaned over to examine the circle, and, at the same time, not-Jack pushed a button on the tape player, which started chanting. Danny could feel the hole boring into reality before the first syllable was finished. They’d made the portal both too well and too poorly.

Danny reached for Vlad and pulled him back, out of the way of the opening portal.

Danny may have made a mistake.

He’d saved Vlad from becoming other. In doing so, he’d changed things, altered this entire make-believe world. The way the story was progressing was no longer the same as his own. Which meant that it might be useless for collecting clues for fixing Vlad, Sam, and Tucker. Mostly Sam and Tucker.

(He’d help Vlad if it wouldn’t hurt his friends, he didn’t hate the man, not anymore, didn’t desire his suffering. But his friends were, of course, his main concern.)

But he couldn’t just leave. He’d made note of all the flaws in the portal, but that wasn’t in any way conclusive, wasn’t a guarantee.

And, in the meantime, his not-parents and not-Vlad had continued working on the portal, which they hadn’t shut down, unlike in the proper timeline. Or had it been disrupted by Vlad? He didn’t remember the exact sequence of events. His parents had never been clear.

But the portal was on, it was working, and it was wrong. Everything was wrong. The portal was in a class of things that should-not-be.

Just like Danny, in this world. He… With the portal, and the way things were going, he shouldn’t exist here, the butterfly effect would keep him from being born, and he was becoming painfully aware of that fact. Literally painfully. It was starting to hurt, being here, a throb in the back of his head.

Or was that the portal?

Either way…

(He couldn’t shake the suspicion that he was breaking things just by being here. Everything was going wrong. So many little accidents.)

(Or was that the portal?)

He kept watching.

It had been… a while, now. It was easy to lose track of time like this, with no one to talk to. Days? Maybe? He’d been drifting, which should have been troubling.

Maybe he should go back. Cut losses.

(Besides, it was disturbing watching his parents flirting with each other. And Vlad. Even if they weren’t really themselves.)

Then his parents wheeled in a… What was that? He walked closer. This was about the same size around as the pillars that had done this to him.

Danny would never forget those, after all.

Something hummed inside him, picking up a kind of resonance between the active portal and the pillar.

The ground fragmented beneath his feet.

Reality followed soon after.

He found himself nowhere with nothing. Only nowhere and nothing.

Oh, no. Oh, no. Oh, no.

What had he done? He’d, he’d destroyed a world, he’d—

There was a gentle, but insistent tug on his chain. He followed it home.

He clung to Clockwork’s avatar, gasping, as if he was the only real thing in the world. His emotions were too much, too great, uncontained and roiling. They battered him like a stormy sea.

It’s alright, it’s alright, comforted the avatar. It wasn’t real, and now it never will be. All those worlds where you would not be. All gone.

No. No. No. Horror buzzed in his brain. He couldn’t have destroyed so much.

Never were,continued the avatar, Clockwork apparently oblivious. All disproven. Paradox. You could not be and yet you were. You were in the places you were not. So, now you exist, in all these places, in everywhere that could be, and always will. It stroked Danny, brushing away tears. Only one more to go, until you never were not, my beloved child, until you always were mine, as you were meant to be.

Danny keened into the robes of Clockwork’s avatar, distraught. Wind ruffled his hair.

Considering the point in time in which you were placed, said the avatar, Vladimir will be well again.

Danny looked up, hopeful for the first time in hours.

Mostly. The underlying cause has been removed. You should bring the rest to your… progenitors. They are at least competent in this area.

Danny nodded vigorously and attempted to extract himself from the avatar’s grasp. He was unsuccessful, although the avatar did adjust its grip on him.

You have had a difficult day, it observed. It then presented Danny with a cookie.

Confused, Danny took it.

A gift, said the avatar, Clockwork having evidently returned to his normal laconic mode.

“What’s it made of?” asked Danny, suspicious.

Love. What else?

“How do you feel?” asked Danny.

“Weird,” said Sam. “But okay.”

“What was it like?”

Sam shrugged. “It was like…” She waved her hand. “Watching a thousand different movies of my life, but they were all wrong. Like if they were crappy biopics done fifty years after I died or something.”

“Speak for yourself,” grunted Tucker. “I just got a lot of sand. So, so much sand. And sun. Do I have a sunburn?”

“No?” said Danny. “You look fine.”

“Ugh, I forgot you were white. You don’t know what sunburns look like.”

“I’d argue,” said Sam, “but you’re not wrong.” She fell back against her pillows. “I just want to sleep.”

“Same,” said Tucker. “I never want to see the sun again.”

“We’ll make a goth of you yet,” joked Sam, tossing a pillow at him.

“Okay,” said Danny, backing away. “Should I get the lights?”

“You don’t mind?”

“Sleep well,” he said. He hoped they would.

(Because he would not.)

#danny phantom #loved #eldritch abomination AU #dannymay #dannymay 2021 #dannymay day 3: portal

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goldenchan-fx2thepeacock · 3 years

Text

Don’t Go Running Off Into Danger, Even If I Do pt 2

So, I have no clue what a publishing schedule is. So here, have more of this dumb fic at 11 pm. FUCK SLEEP! SLEEP IS FOR THE WEAK!

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Chapter 2

Danny and Jazz managed to finish just in time to put everything away before their parents got home. He’d actually managed to have a ghost free night. But the peace wasn’t going to last. And this wasn’t about ghosts. He got slammed into his locker. “Hey look, it’s Fenturd. What’s with the dumb picture of Phantom? You’ll never be on his level,” Dash said and laughter broke out. Danny groaned. At least they didn’t know he was trans. He’d be beaten twice as much if they knew. The locker door closed and locked. “Seriously Dash? I have to get to class!” He yelled through the metal. “Whatever Fentina. No one cares! Oh hey, it’s fresh meat!” Dash went away from Danny’s locker. Danny had found out a way to make it so he could open his locker from the inside without it being outerwardly compromised. He jumped out. It was those kids from last night. “Leave them alone Dash. They haven’t even been here for a day yet. The rules are that newbies get a probation period,” Danny crossed his arms. “I don’t know Fentoenail. Would you like to take their beating?” Dash mocked him. Danny sighed. He’d have to do this. “Any day,”

Danny regretted everything. Dash had hit him twice as hard as normal and his locker trick wasn’t working. Everything hurt. He was going to miss Lancer’s class. At least his ghost sense wasn’t going off or something. Lancer wouldn’t miss him. Suddenly, his locker opened and he tumbled out. He yelped. “Are you okay?” The girl twin said. “No worse than what I’m used to,” Danny brushed himself off. “You didn’t have to do that,” The boy twin told Danny. “Yeah, I kinda did. The probation period is sacred. Dash knows that,” “Probation period?” The boy said. “A rule we made up last year. If Dash really wants to break it, I take the beating instead. Fenton gets to take the beating so the new kids don’t have to,” “That’s not fair. You should report him,” “Nah, he threw like four perfect throws last night and is exempt from punishment,” “Football?” The boy gave Danny a knowing look. “Danielle- I mean Daniel Fenton to the main office,” The loud speaker said. “Oh come on! At least it was probably just a misread,” Danny was fuming. The beating plus being deadnamed was getting on his nerves. “We have to head there too,” The girl said. Danny shrugged and let them follow him.

Lancer called them all in at once. “Sup Lancer. Can I help you?” Danny leaned against the wall. “Mr Fenton. You and I both know that you need to show me more respect. W-what happened to you?” Lancer looked up from his papers. “Just a certain football star. Nothing I can’t handle. He broke the probation period,” “That’s a rule between students. I have no need to enforce it,” Lancer sighed. “I have no clue why you of all people were chosen for this, but you are too be Mr and Ms Pines guide around the school,” “Jazz not good enough for you? Had to pick the ‘slacker’ Fenton?” “Daniel, mind your tone. Jazz is our top student,” “We all know I’m destined to fail in life. Can I get their timetables?” “Yes of course. Listen Danny, both you and I know you’re capable of better grades. I don’t understand why you don’t try,” Danny wasn’t in the mood for Lancer’s pep talks. “I’ve got more important things to worry about,” Danny grabbed the papers and stalked off with the Pines Twins on his heels. “Why didn’t he do anything about Dash?” the boy asked. “He has no reason to. Not like I’m about to ask,” Danny handed them their timetables. He’d seen that the girl was named Mabel and the boy Mason. “We’ll start with your classes Mason,” “I prefer Dipper,” “I’m not calling you by a dumb nickname. Let’s go,” Danny growled.

Just as he was about to lead Mason to his first class, a royal pain in his ass showed up. “Daniel! I require your assistance, little badger,” “It’s bound to be another plan to get in my mom’s pants. Go away,” “Now, don’t be like that. I’m the mayor after all. You should be honored,” “Plasmius, shut your goddamn mouth. I. Don’t. Give. A. Fuck,” Danny said so that only Vlad could hear. “Well, something’s got you in a tizzy. I’ll ask later. I should tell you though, it’s about Danielle,” “What did you do to Dani?” Fury. Wait, he had to get the kids to class. “Nothing. It wasn’t me. You should ask your ghost hunter girlfriend,” Vlad grinned. Fucking Valerie. “Come on kids. You’ve got to get to class,” Danny ignored Plasmius. Valerie was going to die.

At lunch, he purposefully turned into Phantom and waited for Valerie on top of the school. She took no time at all. “What. Did. You. Do. To. Dani,” He glared at her. “I didn’t do anything to her! You’re going down ghost!” “Am I really?” Danny was pissed. She wasn’t getting any mercy today. He teleported behind her. “What the... HOW?” “Where is she?!” He growled. “What do you care? She’s always off on her own,” “Does it look like I care Valerie?!” “How did you know?!” “I know more than you seem to think. Tell me where Dani is. NOW!” He froze her feet. She looked terrified. “What’s wrong with you!? Why do you care so much about her? Ghosts don’t have feelings,” Danny lost it at that point. The laughter was dark. Hollow. Horrible. Val’s terror was visible. “Don’t have feelings? DON’T HAVE FEELINGS? FUCK YOU! I’M SO TIRED OF ALL THIS!” “Phantom, calm down,” Val was terrified. Danny wasn’t done. The rings were threatening to come down and expose him to her. “So you admit this is real? Would you like to know how it feels to die Val? How it feels to live on the line between life and death? Wait, I can’t do that! You don’t have a deactivated portal in your basement that I can make you turn on while your inside. I don’t have a stupid jumpsuit with your dad’s face on it so I can take off the that sticker. You don’t have parents that threaten to rip you apart molecule by molecule for just exsisting! You don’t have to see a future where you become evil because you cheated on one test and your family all died! Can you even begin to comprehend what I go through? Ever been cloned? And forced to do something incredibly painful so that one clone can get fixed and watch another get lied too? And that’s just the brunt of it Valerie. Keep telling me how I don’t feel. How I’m nothing!” Danny screamed at ice engulfed their feet. Val’s eyes went wide. “D-Danny?” She said quietly. “Congratulations! You aren’t as niave as the rest of Amity Park! How does it feel?” He’d snapped. “Calm down! I’ll tell you where Dani is!” She shrieked. That hollow laugh came back. But instead of an angry rant afterwards, he just sunk to his knees and screamed. It wasn’t a wail. It was a scream of pain. Of being done with the world. “I can’t do this anymore,” He sobbed and the rings went down. All that was left now was a beaten, broken Danny Fenton. “You should change back. I’ll take you to Dani,” Danny nodded and followed her. “Sorry I broke down. I’m just sick of people telling me that I can’t feel. That all ghosts can’t feel. You don’t even bother talking to us, ya know?” “Ghosts lie,” “And so do people! I’ve talked to the ghosts. Listened to them. Heard their stories. I protect people, but I protect them too!” “How do you know those aren’t just acts?” “Cause they make sense. I’d have the same response if it was me. If my parents burned down the place I was in because I got caught being gay,” “I’m confused,” “Ember. I told her I wouldn’t tell anyone. But you need to know that they all have reasons for being the way they are. Skulker’s family was hunted, so now he hunts to prove his strength,” “Maybe we should talk to you more,” “Maybe you should. No one asks to die,” “But your parents say that ghosts don’t remember their lives. They’re the leading experts,” “That’s like putting a ten year old in a room of babies. They’re the expert by default in that situation, but an adult would be the expert the moment they walked in,” “Why don’t we know about that,” “Dying is traumatizing. Even half dying is traumatizing. It’s taboo to mention it unless you’re told. No one explains it until they’re ready. And talking about a life before that is almost wrong,” “How did you learn?” “Skulker told me during the Christmas Truce. Ember told me one day when she just wanted to be left alone, but I did too. I guess things end up working out in weird ways,” “The Christmas Truce?” “On Christmas Eve and Christmas, ghosts have a truce. No one is allowed to fight anyone that day. The Ghost Writer broke the truce and Walker got to haul him off in just means,” “We really know nothing about ghosts, do we?” “No, you don’t. They even have a party. I got invited last year. Skulker let me make the star! It took me weeks to get it right,” Danny smiled at the memory. He’d made a scale model of a blue giant that went through it’s life stages. “So there’s a whole society?” “A government. Systems. Main rules. Taboos. Just cause we’re ghosts, doesn’t mean we don’t have a system,” “I’m sorry,” “What?” Danny nearly froze. “I’m sorry that I made so many assumptions. I never should’ve chased you or any ghost like that,” “Keep them out of Amity Park and send them back to the Zone. Most ghosts forget that living is dangerous, so they just rampage. I keep trying to talk sense into them, but they’re pretty stubborn,” “What about the dog?” “Dog? You mean Cujo? I was trying to stop him from trashing Axiom. He was trying to get a toy. I’m sorry that recked your life Val,” “My life? Wrecked? When compared to you, my life is a dream. It’s not like I died,” “I guess you’ve got a point,”

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Thanks for reading. I just like fics where Val finds out, and this one seemed like an okay place to stick it. Dani is fine. I’ll fill you in on that next chapter, but I should get some sleep.

#danny phantom #danny fenton #trans!danny #trans!dipper #danielle (dani) phantom #valerie gray #mr lancer #red huntress #cujo #skulker #ember #ghost writer #christmas truce #gravity falls #dipper pines #mabel pines #I know Dipper's real name because I learned about the series through journal three #ocs

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phantoms-lair · 4 years

Note

I know very little about Leverage as a show except for what I've read on your tumblr. But I've been on a crossover spree, and from what I've learned about Leverage? My mind suggested a crossover with Danny Phantom while reading your tumblr. If only to bring down Vlad, and to help a trio of TEENAGERS defending a town.

Mr. Lancer took a sip of the coffee offered him and glanced at the people facing him. He didn’t know what they could do, didn’t know what anyone could. But he was out of options, so he had to try.

“Last year Daniel Fenton entered Caspar High as a freshman. His sister was a joy to teach and I’d hoped he’d be the same. And while he didn’t have her raw genius, he was a bright inquisitive boy who was fascinated by space and dreamed of being an astronaut.” “Then in mid fall he changed overnight. That’s not hyperbole. There was some sort of accident, no one ever got any details as far as I know. But suddenly Mr. Fenton was withdrawn and skittish. He also became incredibly clumsy, ending up being banned from holding things like glass test tubes and beakers. He also skipped his homework and fell asleep in class. Any one of those things wouldn’t be odd for a teenager, but all at once?” “At one point we hired a school psychologist. I hoped she’d help, but it turns out taking Mr. Fenton there was the worst thing I could have done. That...that bitch was using her skill in psychology to manipulate the students into states of apathetic depression, which I’m sorry to say it seems many other school districts translated as ‘good behavior’. She was chased out, but the odds of Mr. Fenton trusting an adult, especailly one of the faculty, because nil to none.” Nate listened. He hadn’t heard anything they really could help with. His first impulse when he heard about the mysterious accident was that Danny’s behavior was linked to something his parents had done, yet that didn’t seem to be were Lancer was headed. “I made some small attempts, but nothing became clear till spring, when Amity Park got a new resident. One who was, it seemed, an old friend of the Fenton family. And what became immediately and readily apparent was Mr. Fenton- Daniel that is, not his father, loathed the man. One could not even mention his name without seeing the boy tense. His sister actively tried to keep him away from the man, seeming angry and scared in turn. I made a discreet inquiry to the Fentons and Jack, Daniel’s father, mentioned said friend had lost contact with him, but they’d gotten back in touch. Last Fall.”

The insinuation couldn’t be clearer. “Mr. Lancer, who is this friend.?” Nate asked. It had to be someone powerful, or else the man would have gone to child services at least. Lancer scowled. “Vlad Masters.”

“Vlad Masters, as in CEO of Dalv Vlad Masters?” Sophie clarified.

Lancer nodded tightly, anger etched on his face.

Hoo boy, This wasn’t going to be easy, but not the worst they’d done either. “Mr. Lancer, what is it you want us to do?”

He was quiet for a moment. “Protect the children. Ideally drag that rat bastards name through the mud and cost him every cent of his billions. But above everything else, protect the children.” He took a deep breath. “But you need to be aware of what happened in November. Our Mayor was up for election and Masters, despite only living in Amity Park a few moths threw his hat into the ring. He shouldn’t have had any chance and yet he won - by a unanimous vote.”

“Little obvious he fixed it,” Elliot commented.

“If it were just that...I remember going to the polls that day. I remember showing my ID. However, I have no recollection of actually voting. I can tell you for a fact I was fully intending to vote for Montez, but the truth is I can’t say for sure what I did in that booth.”

That...was significantly more worrying.

“Don’t worry, Mr. Lancer. Handling these cases is what we do.” Nate stood and shook his hand. He and the team had planning to do.

As soon as the client left, Hardison was on his feet, pacing the room trying to get rid of all the nervous energy he’d had building the moment he’d head that name. “I know him.”

“You know Vlad Masters?” Parker asked. “Have you hacking his system already? I was getting ready to rob him right before Dubenich.”

“No. The kid. Danny Fenton. I know him. He’s...he’s best friend with my nephew. There’s some billionaire bastard targeting kids and Angela’s baby boy is right there.” His voice was thick with emotion and it was obvious he was trying to hold back tears.

Sophie put a hand on his shoulder. “It’s going to be okay.”

“You don’t know that.” Hardison snapped.

“It’s going to be okay.” Elliot repeated, putting his arm around Hardison’s shoulder. “Because we’re going to make it okay.”

“It’s what we do.” Parker chirped, hugging all three of them.

Nate didn’t join in the hugging, but he did catch Hardison’s eye and nodded. “Let’s go steal a billionaire’s peace of mind.”

#Danny Phantom #Leverage #The Ghost Town Job #Ghost Writing #Lancer's not using his book name expletives because they're to keep him from cursing in front of kids #He's not around kids now. Also going with Tucker's Mom being another of Nana's kids #youareshauni

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ayamari-no-goshi · 3 years

Text

Verboten 15 | (T)

ff.net | AO3

Fandom: Danny Phantom (DP)

Summary: AU. When Danny was five years old, he went missing for 2 weeks. In the years that follow, his family tried to make sense of what happened, only for the truth to be discovered years later.

Warnings: rated T for violence, mentions of death, language. Be prepared for some very weird things

Parings: Danny/Sam

Notes: originally uploaded to Ff.net. Cross-posted to AO3 and tumblr. This fic is very heavily inspired by folklore surrounding mysterious wilderness disappearances

Chapter 15

It took almost twenty minutes for Danny’s mom to finish her tirade against the police. Watching her flip out on the officers was almost therapeutic, and by the time she was done, he was more amused then terrified. It made the actual interview much easier.

The police were initially skeptical, especially since his dad took the lead on explaining what happened. His childish excitement at getting to chase something made it sound like some made up fantasy, but that changed when Vlad gave his account. With his reputation, they were forced to take it seriously.

The older of the two officers, O’Brian, took the statements as his partner, Kiziah, reviewed the scene for any clues or evidence of how the creature got in the house. Other police offers were on the way to do a proper investigation.

“You’re the one that reported that murder… That was just, I guess it’s two days ago now,” O’Brian mentioned as he glanced at Danny, who nodded. “We chalked up the weirdness of your original statement due to shock, but if you’re telling me this thing is the same perp, I have no idea what we have on our hands.”

“I… I don’t really know if it was the same thing or not, but it looked like it.”

The officer frowned as his partner returned. “No obvious sign of a break in,” Kiziah stated, “but I don’t want to touch anything without an evidence kit. There’s definitely a weird substance in the living room and near the front door that will need analyzed.”

“You didn’t hear anything?” O’Brian looked back towards Danny and his parents.

“To be honest, our family tends to be heavy sleepers,” his mother explained as she gave him a sheepish grin. “Jack can sleep through almost anything, and I tend to wear earplugs.”

“And I am of the opposite,” Vlad stated as he made himself a cup of tea. “However, it wasn’t until I heard Daniel sprint up the stairs and bang on his parents’ door that I awoke.”

“Sorry about that.” Danny winced at he glanced at the man. Vlad didn’t seem as creepy as he had the previous day, but something still seemed off about him.

The man gave him a dismissive wave. “No worries, my dear boy. I believe your actions were more than understandable given the circumstances.”

“Err… I guess you want me to say if I heard anything?” Danny shook his head as the officers stared at him. “I didn’t. It… it was just a feeling, you know? Like when you get a sudden chill.” That statement was true enough. He figured it probably wouldn’t be a good idea to state the more paranormal aspect of it. “I thought I was just being paranoid until I looked down the stairs and that… that thing stared back at me.”

An awkward silence fell as O’Brian took some more notes. It was only broken when Kiziah received some sort of notification and moved to let the investigation team in. They quickly went to work examining the scene and looking for anything out of the ordinary. While they worked, an older man with a scar down the right side of his face took O’Brian and Kiziah aside and spoke with them. Once they finished, the older officer approached Danny and his family.

“I’m Lieutenant Metzger, and I’ve recently been put in charge of the investigation of the recent murders in the city. You’ve probably heard the rumors this is a serial case. Well, that’s true.” A muscle moved in the man’s cheek as he seemed to debate with himself over how much he could tell them. “Due to some of the details, we were under the impression these were ritualistic in nature and called in the FBI for some help.” He sighed before asking, “Is it okay if I sit?”

“Sure,” Danny’s mother shared a confused look with her husband before she asked the officer if he needed some coffee.

When he agreed, he waited until there was a cup in front of him to continue. “Look, I don’t want this being leaked. We don’t need people thinking the police force is wasting money on chasing fairy tales.” Once the Fenton family agreed, he continued, “You aren’t the first one to report something not quite human around the time of the incidences. Due to shock and figuring it was some sort of disguise, we originally disregarded that. However,” he glanced around before he leaned in, “one of my own officers gave a report earlier this week of glancing something inhuman. It actually attacked his patrol car before it vanished. On top of that, I don’t think whatever that thing spilled on your carpet has any sort of mundane explanation behind it.” He sighed and rubbed his eyes, “Mr. and Mrs. Fenton, I’m going to be frank with you. I would like to contract you for some sort of weapon for this thing. From previous experiences, I’m fully aware your… experiments don’t tend to do harm to people, so if… by the off chance, this isn’t something normal, we’ll have a way to stop it.”

Danny’s father immediately lit up in excitement. After rambling some idea, he ran down to the lab to act upon it before anyone could stop him.

“Don’t mind him,” his mother fondly chuckled. “Jack is very enthusiastic about our work.”

“I… uh… take that you’re willing to help us?”

“Oh, absolutely. If this thing is what we think it might possibly be, we were going to do that anyways. But I do need to ask you something. You mentioned you thought the attacks were ritual in nature. I’m not really sure how to ask this, but for those poor people, was there a part of the body missing?”

Metzger’s shoulders tensed at her question as his eyes narrowed. “How did you know about that?”

“Wait… wait, you’re telling me… that thing… what it was holding in its hand…” Danny couldn’t say it. The memory of the blood dripping from that thing’s hand temporarily overwhelmed him. He must have swayed as his mother gently put a hand on his shoulder.

“You don’t have to stay if you don’t want to. If you decide to go help your father, I think he’d gladly welcome the help.”

Danny shook his head at the suggestion. He needed to stay put. It just felt safer with her and the officers around. She must have somehow understood as she gave his shoulder a motherly squeeze.

“You didn’t answer my question.” An irritated edge crept into Metzger’s voice.

His mother calmly turned back to him and returned his gaze. “I didn’t until just now. After Danny relayed his story, it struck a chord with me, and I did some digging. There is folklore in different parts of the US which tells of creatures who steal the life of humans and often a part of the body. If… if that’s what’s happening, then we’re in trouble.”

“What do you think this thing is doing?”

“Nothing good. Throughout history, humankind has offered up blood and other bodily sacrifices to gods, spirits, monsters, and everything in between. While usually the Aztecs come to mind, you can find evidence of this around the world. It’s believed those sacrifices would either strengthen or appease whichever entity was the focus.”

“Maddie, are you suggesting this thing is doing something similar?”

She nodded. “I… We aren’t sure if this thing is trying to strengthen itself or if it’s taking its gains to something else.”

A different memory surfaced in Danny’s mind. “That… when we were being rescued… the… the person that helped us get back… he said the A-listers got targeted for their blood,” he stammered before he could stop himself.

Everyone in the room stared at him. He and his friends really hadn’t talked about Frostbite. They mentioned to the police they thought someone helped them, but purposely left it vague. With how disoriented they were when they were found, the police were under the impression the trauma obscured some of their memories. Well, the cat was out of the bag.

Matzger stared at him. “Are you telling me what happened to your classmates may be related to… to this thing?”

“I don’t know. Maybe? Like I told my mom before you came, the person who grabbed me and my friends isn’t the same… whatever that thing is. But, I don’t know what Dash and them encountered after we got separated.”

“Hmm… what about the person who helped you?”

Danny shook his head. “Not the same person. He called himself Frostbite, and…” How could he even explain Frostbite? He was a ghostly yeti with an ice arm for God’s sake! “I didn’t think he was real,” he eventually stated as he glanced down at his hands. “He was so friendly and helpful. He was so much different than that thing.”

“Honey, you never really talked about this Frostbite person before.” His mother tried to reach out for his hand, but he pulled away.

“I… I thought he was a dream or hallucination or something for a while.” He hoped he sounded sincere. It was somewhat true after all. The fantastical nature of what happen still didn’t seem real to him, but he knew better. “I think he had helpers… there were other voices besides his.”

“That would line up with some of the evidence we have from your case,” Matzger stated as he rubbed his chin. “The injuries of you and your two friends were vastly different than the others who went missing which suggested multiple perpetrators. One of the other boys did mention that he thought they were rescued by a small group of people. I will have to take a closer look at the injuries of your classmates to determine whether or not they match up with our current victims. That should give us an idea if it’s the same thing or something different.”

“Sir,” officer Kiziah interrupted, “we’ve finished our initial sweep. We did have some trouble trying to keep Mr. Fenton out of the way in the basement area, but he’s promised to stay at the one table while we work. He’s apparently drafting some blueprints. Forensics is here and are working on collecting evidence. They’re hoping to talk to you.”

He sighed. “Thank you, Kiziah. Can you explain to them their options during our investigation progress?” After flashing them an apologetic smile which seemed out of place with his features, he told them he would be in touch and excused himself.

After shaking his head at his superior, Kiziah stated while the family could stay in the house during the investigation process, it had the possibility of accidentally contaminating evidence. He recommended for them to stay at a local hotel for a time.

Although his mother seemed hesitant to leave the house, she eventually agreed to head to a hotel after Vlad made a show of being concerned for the family’s safety. It took a bit of time to get his dad to leave the basement, but by the time seven am hit, Danny found himself in the best hotel in Amity Park, per Vlad’s firm recommendations.

After sending his friends a few texts to let them know what happened, that he was fine, and where he was, he told them he’d call them after he got some sleep. Although he wasn’t exactly happy he shared the room with Vlad, the pristine bed ended up being far more important to him than any worries.

…..

Several hours later, Danny woke up to one hundred and three texts, fifty-four missed calls, and eleven voicemails. Sam and Tucker had only one voicemail and call apiece and only a handful of texts. The rest were from his sister. Groaning, he sent Sam and Tucker messages to let them know he’d call them after he contacted his sister.

He really didn’t want to talk to Jazz at the moment. When she was scared, she became spastic, and a spastic Jazz was the last thing he wanted to deal with at the moment. Okay, the third to last think he wanted to deal with. The creepy thing and Plasmius took the top two places.

After taking several minutes to do everything other than call his sister, he finally buckled down and called her. As predicted, she spastically demanded to know if he was okay while berating him for not contacting her sooner. He just let her talk while making the occasional ‘uh huh’, ‘sorry,’ and ‘yeah.’ From experience, he knew it was better to let her get it out of her system.

He put Jazz on speaker while he attempted to find the hotel’s TV remote. Vlad didn’t seem to be in the room which really didn’t bother him. The man didn’t need to listen to Jazz flipping out after all. Eventually, he found the remote next to a message from Vlad stating he and his parents went to discuss something with the police and would be back with food.

“Danny, are you even listening to me?” Jazz demanded. He must have been quiet for too long.

“Uh? Yeah, I just happened to find a note Vlad left. You were saying something about how it was irresponsible for Dad to go running after the thing?”

“Wait, are you telling me you were left alone after everything that happened?”

“Jazz, I’m seventeen. I think I’m perfectly fine being alone for a few hours.”

“You were kidnapped by a crazy man and then were attacked in your own home! Do you really think it’s safe for you to be alone right now?” With that, she flew into a different tirade.

Knowing it would be a while, he decided the TV would be a preferable alternative to his upset sister. He turned it on only to have it immediately turn off. Thinking he accidentally doubled clicked the button, he tried again only to have the same result. Thinking the remote was damaged, he moved to try the button on the machine. Only, it turned on by itself. It and the lights began to dim and flicker, and his breath began to mist.

Glancing around, he watched as a girl emerged from the wall. At first, it seemed she didn’t notice him as she moved towards the opposite wall, but she stopped midway and faced him. She looked human but her entire body seemed insubstantial and almost wispy. Her skin, if it could be called that, was an unearthly white while her blue hair flickered like a flame.

She smirked at him while moving a little closer. “You shouldn’t be here, Baby Pop.” Her sultry and musical voice seemed far away, almost as if it was being broadcasted over an old radio. “Don’t know what you’re doing on this side of the veil, but you shouldn’t stay here.”

“What… what are you talking about? Who are you?” he stammered while vaguely registering Jazz asking him what was wrong.

“I like to slip to this side for some fun, but I might stick around a little longer this time. It’s already chaotic here, and a little more might do me some good. Besides, it seems I need to make a few people remember I still exist.” After appraising him, she gave another smile and headed back towards the wall. “You might want to get out while you can, Baby Pop. Things might get a little hot, and you new guys often aren’t strong enough to deal with the heat.”

“Hey, wait!” He tried to get her to stop, but she just vanished back into the wall. Unsure what to do, he stood in the center of the room dumbfounded until he realized his phone was still on speaker and his sister was calling for him.

“Hey, Jazz, I’m going to have to call you back,” he stated as he moved towards the door. “Something really weird just happened.” He hung up on her as he ran into the hallway looking for some evidence of the ghost.

He barely made it to the elevators when the fire alarm sounded. Not wanting to stick around, he quickly found the stairs and made his way to the lobby as the rest of the guests started to follow suit. By the time he reached the third floor, he began to smell smoke. There had to be a fire. Is that what that ghost meant? Did she somehow set it?

He really hoped that wasn’t the case. He really only needed on potentially supernatural thing causing problems in his life at a time.

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kinglazrus · 4 years

Text

When the Time Comes

Phic phight 2020

Submitted by @pipermasters: how does Vlad react to having to spend ten years watching Dan destroy the world

Summary: Knowing you caused the end of the world isn’t easy, but Vlad's had to live with that fact for ten long years. A surprise visitor forces him to reflect on his role in Dan's creation and the destruction he brought to the world.

Word count: 2077

People say not to dwell on the past, but when the present is a hell of brimstone and fire, there's little else you can do. Ten years is a long time to watch the world burn, too long. Vlad often wonders what right he had to survive for so long, wasting away in the crumbling remains of his manor. He doesn't sleep, he doesn't eat, yet still he lives. Even with his ghost half long removed from his body, he lives. It must be some cosmic punishment. His debt to pay to the world. Everything is his fault, and for his crimes, he must witness humanity's slow demise.

Vlad didn't realize what he was unleashing all those years ago, what havoc it would wreak. How could he? When he sank his claws, quite literally, into young Daniel's chest, he truly believed he was helping the boy. It seemed like such an easy solution. Ghosts, despite all their emotions, have always been simple beings. They are not restrained by heartache and loss, left to frolic in the life-after-life without worldly concerns.

At the time, Vlad wished someone had been around for him in his college years, the same way he was for Danny then, to rid him of his pain. Abandoned by his best friends, left aching, alone, and—he believed—dying, a younger Vlad would have revelled at the thought of release. He only wanted to give Daniel what he himself could never have.

Daniel, sedated and unconscious, felt nothing. Despite all his villainy, Vlad wasn't cruel. At least not unnecessarily so. There was always a chance the procedure could hurt, and Daniel had been through so much already. Vlad wanted to spare him whatever pain he could.

The procedure was a resounding success. His modifications to Jack and Maddie's Ghost Gauntlets worked like a charm, not leaving a single scratch on Daniel's human body. The ghost in Daniel resisted at first. Vlad did not expect it to fight back, and he almost stopped, believing Daniel didn't truly want this.. But then he remembered his years of pain and misery and spurred himself on. His arms trembled, sweat beading his brow, as they fought their little battle of wills.

Vlad won out, in due time, dragging the ghost out of Daniel's body, a pale shade of itself. For a moment, the sudden success shocked him. He always had faith in his smarts and his abilities, but there was a little part of him that whispered it wouldn't work, that something would go wrong. When Vlad raised up his arms, Phantom hanging off his claws, that voice was silenced.

Until the monitor watching Daniel's vitals started shrieking. Phantom reacted violently. His eyes, so much duller than they should have been, snapped open and he threw Vlad across the room. Vlad knew, then, that something was terribly wrong.

Daniel's heart was slowing, his lungs failing. Phantom looked moments away from destabilizing, the wounds on his chest bubbling and seeping ectoplasm.

"Wh... at... did y... ou do," Phantom asked.

Vlad wishes, now, that he had tried to explain. If only he had found the words, he could have told Phantom, this was is you wanted, isn't it? Neither of them could have foreseen it going wrong. But Vlad's wits failed him in that moment.

Maybe it's just wishful thinking, wondering if he could have stopped it all back then. Perhaps Phantom would have listened. Or he could have ignored Vlad's harried excuses, and nothing would change at all. Vlad will never know.

His next memories are lost to a haze of pain. After getting his own ghost half brutally torn out of his body, he was left on the verge of death. Spirit broken, his very being ripped apart, he collapsed in agony. He remembers only the shadows and how they writhed as Phantom tried to overpower Plasmius.

Mercifully, he did not witness Daniel's death. Vlad awoke, cold, alone, consumed by a gnawing pain, and found the body. It was mangled beyond recognition, but he knew it could be no one else.

Vlad didn't know what horrors followed that harrowing night until weeks later. He secluded himself in his mansion, mourning everything he had lost. Without Maddie, without Daniel, there was nothing left for him beyond these walls. His wealth meant nothing if he could not have them. Locked in a prison of his own anguish, surrounded by riches most men could only dream of having, he was resigned to wallowing in misery.

He wishes that's how it happened. But Vlad had a price to pay. Fate, the world, whatever or whoever, refused to let him die. So, Vlad watched. Hiding away in his manor like the coward he was, he watched Dan destroy the world.

The killings were brutal. Violent displays of power that levelled whole cities. Nothing could placate Dan. Like Vlad, he was consumed by greed, hellbent to obtain something he could not have. No amount of destruction could bring back the people Danny had lost.

That pained Vlad the most. Dan was a monster, a cruel beast with no remorse. But inside he was a child in mourning. He was confused and scared and hurt, and Plasmius' influenced twiste him in horrible ways.

Vlad tried to stop Dan, but only once. Four years after Dan began his crusade against the world, Vlad finally crawled out of his manor, a pitiful slug, and made his way to Amity Park. By then, it was well on its way to being the last city on Earth, the only place fortified against Dan's power. Vlad stood outside its walls, an ecto-pistol in hand, and waited. He didn't have to wait long.

"What a surprise! I never thought I'd see you again, old man," Dan said. He looked so much worse than Vlad ever imagined. Sickly pale, purple veins throbbing under his skin, bloodshot eyes. Despite all that, he gave off a suffocating aura of power. Vlad was instantly reminded of his own weak state. For the first time, he felt afraid of an opponent.

"Daniel, you have to stop," Vlad said.

"Daniel. I always hated it when you called me that." Dan raised his hand, firing a single beam of ectoplasm from his finger. Vlad flinched as it shot over his shoulder, singeing his cheek and burning his hair. The sight of it made Dan chuckle.

"Danny," Vlad amended.

Another beam shot over his other shoulder.

"That's not me anymore," Dan hissed, his forked tongue slipping between his teeth.

"Dan," Vlad finally said. When Dan didn't immediately attack him, he continued. "You can't do this forever."

"Funny words from someone like you."

"This won't bring them back." Vlad instantly regretted saying it.

Dan rushed forward, grabbing Vlad and pinning him against Amity's barrier. Despite not having a ghost half anymore, the barrier remained firm against his back.

"Don't act like you know me, old man," Dan growled.

"But I do, because you're part of me as well! Is this what Maddie would have wanted for you?"

"It doesn't matter what she would have wanted! She's gone! They're all gone!" Dan roared in Vlad's face, pulling him forward and slamming him back, over and over, against the wall. The back of Vlad's head struck the barrier, rattling his brain. It was like getting hit in the head with a sledgehammer. His vision blurred, dark spots filling his eyes, and he didn't realize Dan had stopped until he blinked and found himself on his hands and knees over a puddle of vomit.

The back of his head felt warm and wet.

Dan, disgusted, sneered. "It's not even worth killing a pathetic thing like you." Turning, he started flying away.

"Stop!" Vlad called weakly after him. Struggling to his feet, he raised the ecto-pistol in a shaky hand. "I will stop you, Dan. I can't let you do this anymore."

"Funny, you seemed okay with it so far."

Vlad pulled the trigger. The bullet shot out of the gun, flying straight for Dan, and... it did nothing. A hole opened in the middle of Dan's back, letting the bullet pass harmlessly through him. He didn't even look back. The gun fell from Vlad's hand with a clatter. He dropped to his knees, useless. That was the day he truly gave up.

—

"Why are you telling me this?" Danny asks.

Vlad pauses his tale, giving Danny a long, considering look. To Vlad, Danny's motives have always been scrutable, his face as easy to read as a children's picture book. Dan shares the same trait. He may be more brutal and more cunning than Danny ever was, but beneath all that sadistic violence are signs of the boy Vlad once knew.

Having Danny in front of him now is such an odd, yet liberating experience. It reminds Vlad of a time untainted by his machinations. This boy's future still has a chance. Vlad despises it.

"Since meeting you, little badger, my one wish has always been to impart my wisdom. You can't blame me for that. Humans are so attached to their legacies." Vlad leans back and gestures to the decrepit room. "This is my legacy."

Rising to his feet, he points to the ceiling. "That, out there, is my legacy. It is not one I want people to remember. I suppose, with how few people remain left, that won't be an issue for much longer. Is it so wrong for me to want to change that?"

"You want... to help me," Danny says.

Oh, how Vlad missed that slow wit of his. "Yes, Daniel. I want to help you."

"Why?"

"Because, as hard as it is to believe, that's all I've ever wanted."

Danny pressed his lips together. Nodding stiffly, he motioned for Vlad to continue.

"There isn't much else to say. I returned here and took up a silent vigil. If it is my fate to see this through to the end, then that's what I will do."

"That is pathetic."

Vlad's eyes hardened into a glare. "I don't expect you to understand."

"You're right. I don't." Danny gets up from his seat on the floor and gestures to the portal. "You all just gave up! So Dan beat you once, and you decided to never try again? That's just stupid. If you had all worked together, you probably could have stopped him. You guys might not care anymore, but I do."

Bitter, Vlad smiled. "Don't you see, little badger? That’s exactly why everything rides on you. Dan is both of us, even though he likes to pretend there's none of me in him. If your human half were still alive, Dan would be as much his responsibility as he is mine. I had my chance to stop him and I failed. Now, it's your turn."

Danny accepts, of course. A hero with a bleeding heart. Vlad removes the medallion from his chest, although not without one last threat, for old time's sake. The second it's out, Danny pops out of existence like a bad cutaway. One second he's there and then the next he's not.

Vlad stares at the empty space for a moment, then turns back to his chair, abandoning his gauntlets on the way. The medallion he keeps in his hand. It's been a very long time since he's seen one.

"It was you all along, wasn't it?" Vlad asked. He didn't need to hear the rustle of cloth to know Clockwork was hovering behind him. "How did you do it?"

"Time is a relative experience," Clockwork says with his familiar lisp. "Not everyone experiences it at the same pace."

"That's a lofty way of saying you kept me from dying so I could be here for Daniel when he finally arrived."

"Yes. Yes, it is."

Vlad turns the medallion over in his hands, running his thumbs across the gold surface. If he puts it on, here in his own time, he could live forever. But it would be in a hell of his own making. Sighing, he sets the medallion down on the arm of his chair and turns to Clockwork.

"What now?" Vlad asks.

Clockwork's gaze his kind, the wrinkles on his pale face tugging as he smiles. "I think you've paid your price."

Vlad closes his eyes and leans back, feeling older beyond his years. "Yes, I think so to."

Ten years is a long time to watch the world burn. He hopes it was worth it.

#phic phight #phic phight 2020 #danny phantom #phanfic #phicc #clockwork #vlad masters #danny fenton #dan phantom #tumblroneshots

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sporesgalaxy · 5 years

Text

You know what? Fuck it. Here's the whole ass WIP script for the Danny Phantom/Ben 10/Deadpool crossover nightmare, which is called #follow ur crossover dreams, by the way. I think copy-pasting on my phone is gonna delete some italics but whatever.

Reminder that it's still a really early draft with a lot I plan on changing (wade Motormouth wilson doesnt say nearly enough bullshit, for starters), but hopefully u will enjoy it. happy birthday to me, my gift is letting myself share ideas without maximum effort

[BEN is running through a crowd of high school students, excitedly. He is on his phone] BEN: C'mon, Gwen, just tell me where to go! I wanna fight some bad guys today! It's been weeks! [GWEN is on a computer] GWEN: Ben, for the last time, you are NOT going into this alone! We aren't even sure what's causing this yet! Seismic activity at this scale is totally unheard of around here, and whatever's causing it-- BEN: Is gonna get it's butt whooped by the one and only Benn Tennyson! BEN: Don't worry, I can totally handle this! GWEN: Yeah, cause things always work out perfectly when you say that. BEN: Just give me the location, and you can catch up with me there! GWEN: No, Ben. I'll fill you in when we know more, but.until then, don't run off. [BEN is dejectedy watching TV at home, when suddenly, there is another earthquake. Soon after, a newswoman reveals the epicenter just outside of town, and Ben gets an idea] [BEN gets off a public bus at a bus stop far outside of town. He looks out into a dry hilly wilderness, and down to his phone gps to confirm he is going in the right direction.] BEN: all right...I didn't wanna risk timing out before I got there, but I think I'm close enough now... [BEN places his phone gps at his feet, closes his eyes, and slaps the Omnitrix] [BEN transforms into Stinkfly] BEN: Well, I was hoping for XLR8, but I guess I can work with this? [BEN picks up his phonr and flies off] [when he reaches the epicenter BEN finds, embedded into a large hill, an abandoned lab of some sort.] BEN: ooOh [BEN enters the lab, and shortly times out, becoming human again. He sort of tries to sneak, but is clearly too excited/curious to be very effective] [The lab is full of rusting, inscruitable equiptment. Finally, Ben enters a natural cave turned testing area deep inside the lab, a cavernous room machinery littering the floor. There seems to be a fixation on machinery that we would recognize as Danny's parents' portal, but not embedded into a wall, so like a door attatched to a tube. Spare parts and dissasembled prototypes rest along the edges of the room, and a few assembled peices rest towards one end.] [Ben stands on the far south end of the cave, looking around at all of the strange wiring and such.] BEN: I wonder if this is Plumber tech... [BEN kicks a bundle of cords on the floor, and the sound echoes through the room.] [Then, a stranger sound eminates from somewhere just outside of the cavern. And another, similar, closer sound is accompanied by a visible flash. And then-- in a green streak, DANNY bursts into the air in the cavernous space, and then hits the floor and skids. When he stops, he turns human as he falls unconscious] [BEN has no fucking idea what is going on] BEN: uh...h...HEY. ARE YOU...OKAY? DANNY: ... BEN: HELLO? HELO-O? DP: ya think he's dead? BEN: AUGH!!!! [BEN jumps violently, very surprised by Deadpool's presence, and takes a step back] BEN: Who the heck are you?! DP: Call me Deadpool! [BEN gives him a look of utter disbelief. That is the stupidest superhero name he's ever heard. He's about to say that, but then,] DANNY: [groans] DP: [hops down. Puts a hand out, signalling for Ben to stay] Stay here, kid. [Ben is offended to be belittled even if it's reasonable. He stands with an angry look on his face for a moment before following just a few steps behind deadpool, hand at the ready above his watch.] [DP veeery cautiosly walks over to Danny and then....abruptly switches gears, standing up straight and gently bumping the boy's shoulder with his foot] DP: hey. hey. get up. DANNY: five more minutess.... DP: ...7Your mom made pancakes? [DANNY's eyebrows furrow. He groans again. He props himself up, and rubs his head. He's covered in dirt and some blood. He opens his eyes and his expression is full of exhaustion and dread as he processes his unfamiliar surroundings. He looks up at Deadpool] DANNY: ...........I don't smell any pancakes. [DEADPOOL and DANNY stare at eachother for a moment. DANNY seems to be waiting for something. He suddenly looks at BEN, incredulous] DANNY: So are either of you going to attack me, or are we having a staring contest? BEN: I dunno, are YOU going to attack? [DANNY is so tired. He's had a long day] DANNY: I'd prefer not to, but it tends to happen a lot. DP: Well that's depressing! BEN: Well if none of us are fighting, I have a question. BEN: Where'd you two come from? DANNY: Ghost portal. DP: Time travel. BEN: ... BEN: You're not giving me much to work with, here. [BEN points to DANNY] BEN: Especially you. I get time travel, I can live with that-- DP: Thank god. BEN: --But, "ghost portal?" Like a portal for ghosts? Are you dead?? [DP slowly prods Danny with his foot again. Danny is too busy suddenly realizing that he's in human form to be concerned with that] DANNY: I--uh-- BEN: Was that what was up with the green energy? DANNY: Maybe I just went through the ghost portal, ok? I--where are we? BEN: Somewhere on the outskirts of Bellwood, Nevada. DANNY: Nevada? BEN: Nevada DANNY: Huh. DANNY: And why are you here? BEN: [excited to sound smart] There was some unnatural seismic activity around here, and I came to check it out, see if it was anything nefarious. BEN: [cocky] You know, usual superhero stuff. [Danny is a little shocked. He's never really met another superhero before, who wasn't a clone, or accusing Danny of being evil or something] DANNY: oh. BEN: What? DANNY: You're...you're really a superhero? DP: You're like 12 is that safe? [What is the deal with all these young superheroes but say it funnier] BEN: I'm 16!!! DP: Children trying to be superheroes never works out well, trust me kid. BEN: I'm not a child!! Why do you care, huh? DP: Cause I hang out with a lot of superheroes and the heroism business has never done anyone's mental health ANY favors. [DANNY puts his hed in his hands] DANNY: Ugh, tell me about it. BEN: Ha! You AREN'T a normal kid! DANNY: oops. BEN: What can you do?? Do you have GHOST POWERS? [DANNY bites his lip] DANNY: What about you? Do you have powers? BEN: I can turn into any of hundreds of aliens! DANNY: ...care to show me? [BEN looks at the Omnitrix. It's still timed out] BEN: ...in theory... [Danny raises an eyebrow] [meanwhile, Deadpool loses interest. He starts climbing on stuff, looking at the scattered tech.] BEN: Uhhh...can it wait a minute? I just flew here. DANNY: What?? BEN: [gestures to watch, grinning sheepishly] Alien tech! BEN: I swear I'll show you later. What about you! Show me yours! [Deadpool arches an eyebrow at them in the distance] DANNY: ...I guess, since you already guessed it... BEN: What are you so worried about? Ha, haven't you ever met another superhero before? [Ben was sort of kidding, but...] DANNY: BEN: DANNY: Uh, no. Not really. BEN: ...So do you fight bad guys all on your own? DANNY: Uh, yeah? I'm kinda the only person who can. [Reconsiders, and adds with bitterness] Well, the only one who can and will. [Ben thinks about that for a second. He knows how it feels to think you're the only person who can save the world, but Ben is usually wrong when he assumes that's the case. He doesn't like imagining how he'd feel without all the support he's gotten in his hero-ing career. He's genuinely concerned for Danny.] [Danny notices the concern in Ben's expression. Ben seems to be about to say something, but Danny suddenly feels insecure about being pitied. He finally stands up, brushing himself off] DANNY: But like, I have friends, and plenty of tech they can use to help me out. I'm just the only...I guess I'm the only superpowered person willing to deal with fighting ghosts all the time, okay? Whatever! I've been at it for 2 years, I'm used to it. [Ben then adds something together in his head] BEN: Wait, have you never heard of me? Ben 10? DP: Wow! Humble! BEN: No, seriously! Never? Have you ever seen any aliens? DANNY: Uh, no? BEN: Where are you from? DANNY: Colorado. BEN: I've saved the world, like, several times. [DANNY and DP raise an eyebrow each] BEN: Publicly!! People know about me! I'm a big deal!! This is--You guys aren't from here. I need to take you to the Plumbers, so we can-- [A portal powers up again. DANNY seems to suddenly remember something. He goes stiff] DANNY: Oh no. BEN: What? Is that the Ghost Portal? DANNY: Yeah. And you're about to meet the guy who punched me through it. [DP rejoins them to look at the threat] DP: Oh, now that you two have your shit figured out, I should mention I'm from another universe. BEN: WHAT! You said time travel! DP: Yeah, time travel gone horribly, horribly wrong. BEN: How??? I've time travelled a few times and never seen anyine mess it up that bad. DANNY: Yeah since when does time travel take you to other universes? DP: OH SO WE'RE ALL TIME TRAVEL EXPERTS HERE ARE WE??? I'm not telling you two how to live YOUR lives! DP: How about I start bragging about being a superhero expert! Neither of you even know what an X-man *IS!* BEN: Like from the comics? [DP looks at Ben. He won't say it out loud but his expression says "WHAT THE FUCK DUDE"] [BEN shrugs]

[time to get DISJOINTED!!! Here's 2 comic transcripts]

...[some fighting I havent written yet]...

DP: DANNY WHY IS YOUR GHOST DAD SO HOT?? DANNY: HE'S NOT MY DAD. PLEASE DON'T CALL HIM THAT, IT'S A WHOLE *THING* WITH HIM-- [VLAD beams] VLAD: Now, Daniel, is that any way to speak to your father?? DANNY: SEE?! Now he'll never shut up about it! VLAD: I've had enough of your sass, young man! You're GROUNDED. [VLAD spikes Danny into the ground HARD.] [DP is pissed off now. He reaches for his katanas.] DP: Ok I get the picture.

...[more unwritten fighting]...

VLAD: Well, now that I have your undivided attention-- [DANNY has just been punched into the ground. He's sitting up, now] DANNY: --You can start the evil monologue. Joy. VLAD: Evil is such a reductive word. Don't you ever get tired of being beaten half to death to protect people that couldn't care less if you lived or died? [DANNY stands up, with some difficulty] DANNY: You *would* think having a conscience is exhausting. [VLAD is taking a lazy step towards Danny every few moments] VLAD: ...Have you noticed where we are, Daniel? VLAD: Because it isn't Amity Park. It's not even in the same universe as Amity Park. VLAD: And it's not anywhere your idiot father will ever bother finding, seeing as it has nothing whatsoever to do with ghosts. [VLAD is standing over Danny, now] VLAD: Do you know what that means, my boy? VLAD: Nothing I do here can spoil my reputation. VLAD: And none of your little friends are coming to save you. [VLAD places a hand on Danny's shoulder, gripping too tight] VLAD: So VLAD: I'm going to make you the same offer I made you the night of the reunion VLAD: One. Last. Time. VLAD: Either abandon Jack and let me teach you how to really use your powers, [VLAD summons some ghostly energy between his hand and Danny's shoulder] VLAD: Or force me to make poor, dear Maddie file a missing person's report that will never be resolved.

[wow direct segue into comic!]

..[just a tad more unwritten fighting]...

[Vlad has Ben by the neck very far up in the air, and Ben is frantically pressing his Omnitrix] VLAD: [cackles] Goodness, I think your powers might be even more tempermental than Daniel's! It's a little sad, honestly. I was looking forward to a real challenge for once. DP: [on the ground, a distance away] Superpowers shmuperpowers [cocks gun, and fires a couple of shots at Vlad] [Vlad was watching DP talk, unimpressed. He becomes intangible, clearly no longer interested in Ben, allowing him to plummet to his death] [After becoming tangible again, and without breaking eye contact, in a flash of pink energy, Vlad is right in front of Deadpool, and violently pins him to a wall] DP: AWH, you can teleport?! That's not even fair!! VLAD: [close to Deadpools face, crushing his neck harder] No. It isn't. And that's just how I like it. DP: [choking] [thinking] don't say harder daddy don't say harder daddy don't say harder daddy [cut to Ben falling through the air, desperately, repeatedly smacking the Omnitrix] BEN: PLEASE WORK PLEASE WORK PL-- [Danny swoops in and catches him] BEN: [clinging to Danny, obviously spooked but trying to be cool] Thanks! DANNY: [amused] Don't mention it. [Danny puts Ben down on the ground] BEN: Um..where are your legs? DANNY: Oh, they uh...they just do that sometimes. DANNY: Is something wrong with your watch? BEN: [glares at the Omnitrix] It just does this, sometimes. [Danny sees something coming] DANNY: Well you'd better fix it fast! [Ben looks up just as Danny turns them both intangible, seconds before Deadpool is sent hurtling through them and into the ground] [BEN is grinning, watching his hands as they turn re-tangible] BEN: That is SO COOL! I've only ever gotten to do that to myself! Y'know, as an alien! [DANNY was looking at DP's crater, but turns to BEN, surprised at the genuine enthusiasm] DANNY: [maybe blushing a little?] Uh, thanks! [BEN grins at him, and Danny smiles back. They're cute.] [Deadpool's hand pops out of the crater, waving (flailing)...reassuringly?] DP: Don't worry about me, all he did was break [groans] most of my bones. [Danny grabs Ben and pulls him out of the way before Vlad fires an energy blast at Deadpool] VLAD: Still think you can manage without superpowers? [DP sits up painfully and slowly, and coughs] DP: Ac-- [Vlad hits him with a copious amount of energy blasts for an unnecessarily long time as he slowly lowers to the ground] [When Vlad lands and stops firing, he turns around to face Danny and Ben] VLAD: Where were we, Daniel? [Danny is horrified. He's gripping a fistful of Ben's shirt like his life depends on it, expecting to have to save him a third time. Ben is a bit shaken but still determined, and holds his hand at the ready over the Omnitrix] VLAD: ...That was rhetorical, my boy. I had just asked you a very simple question. VLAD: [turning his gaze to Ben] And I don't want to repeat myself. [Ben is not quite picking up on Vlad's thinly veiled threat. Danny, bug-eyed, follows Vlad's gaze to Ben, and is clearly absolutely terrified to be responsible for the deaths of two people he just met. Danny tightens his grip on Ben's shirt.] DANNY: ...I-- [a gunshot hits Vlad from behind. Vlad is completely shocked] [behind him, DEADPOOL is sitting up in the crater, charred to all hell but somehow still alive. He appears to only have one (barely) functioning arm left, which is holding the smoking gun] DP: I never said I didn't have any superpowers, jackass. [DP narrows his eyes] DP: I just like guns. [DP tries to shoot VLAD a few more times, but VLAD has turned intangible, and flies to a safer distance] Vlads gonna say some shit and run off Im not done yet but hoo boy. Oh man.

#void screaming #follow ur crossover dreams

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darkiplurrr · 6 years

Text

A New Hero: Chapter 1

Author’s Note: So, I was inspired by some of @bones-and-tomes stories (Go read them, they’re awesome!) and came up with my own original character! This is based on her idea of the egos living in a dimension ruled by the imagination and creations there are called thoughtforms! Also the concept of supers is directly inspired by X-Men!

Warnings: Violence, swearing, bullying, mentions of prejudice, alcoholism

If anyone wants to be tagged in this series, let me know!

There lies a dimension beyond our own world where the dreams and imaginings of people are given life. They share a world parallel with reality, one compromised of people and mythical creatures and sharing the same history and culture as the real world.

At the beginning of the 1980s, when the X-Men comics were at the height of their popularity, the world of the thoughtforms received a massive change. The dreams of children in the real world, who played pretend at being superheroes, began to seep through the dimensions. Thoughtform children started being born with mutations, special powers and physical differences.

As these births became more and more frequent, these people began to be referred to as supers. Over time, a few of them banded together to form the League of Superheroes, deciding to use their powers for good like their comic book predecessors. Two famous superheroes were known as Jackieboy Man and Silver Shepherd, a Septic and Iplier ego, created specially by humans in the real world to use in comedy sketches. In the thoughtform world, they were real heroes. They were always there in time of need.

In the town of Sighisoara in Romania, famous for being the place where Vlad the Impaler – The inspiration for Bram Stoker’s Dracula – lived, a baby was born to the town doctor, Amara Petrescu, and her husband Denis, who was a skilled painter. When the baby was placed in his mother’s arms and wrapped a tiny hand around his father’s forefinger, tiny claws like a kitten’s suddenly unsheathed from his fingers, causing a nearby nurse to scream in surprise. Baby Lukas Petrescu simply cooed in response.

“Mama, can I go to the square today? I want to do some sketches.”

Amara looked up from her medical files and smiled at her son. “Yes, dear, just don’t wander too far. And don’t go into the forest, the wildcats will snatch you up. Be back in time for supper.”

Lukas nodded, excitedly pulling on a jacket and flinging the front door open. “Bye, mama!” He raced out into the cobblestone streets, barely noticing the looks in his direction as mothers fearfully pulled their children out of the boy’s way. Lukas understood he was different, but was still too young to understand how deeply rooted prejudice could be. His parents never gave him a direct answer when he asked why he wasn’t allowed to go out at night to chase fireflies with the other children. He didn’t hear the whispers as passersby stared at his hands, trying to catch a glimpse of his claws, which were now as big as a tiger’s. The most he had gotten out of his father was, “People fear what they don’t understand. You just stand tall and don’t let them get to you, you’re perfect the way you are.”

Lukas ducked through an alleyway into the town square, pushing through the throngs of people going about their daily lives. He spotted a store where an elderly man was selling painting supplies and headed inside, admiring the fresh paper and buckets of brightly colored paint. Lukas handed the store owner eighty leu in exchange for a new horsehair paintbrush, which he quickly put in his satchel. The boy then sat down on a bench at the edge of the square, pulling out a sketchpad and paints and beginning to draw out the scenery around him. He had inherited his father’s talent for art, able to paint in great detail ever since he was six years old. Painting allowed him to express himself, to put the world as he saw it down on paper. He could lose himself for hours in the steady motions of moving the brush across the page and the satisfaction in seeing the images take shape. He dreamed that he would someday be a famous artist, with his work displayed in art galleries for people to marvel at.

As Lukas was trying to find his green paint to sketch out a nearby tree, a muddy shoe suddenly came down hard on the paper, crumpling the half-finished painting. “Hey!’ He shrieked, looking up in anger. “What are you-“

Three slightly older boys were standing over him, smirking at Lukas. The one whose foot was resting on the painting was Daniel Moraru, the local bully. His mother had died suddenly the year before, causing his father Andrei to spend most of his time drinking. That left Daniel to wander freely, taking out his anger on others. His grin was as wide as a shark’s as he said, “Sorry, mutie, guess I wasn’t looking where I was going.”

Lukas could feel his cheeks turning red with anger as he tried to yank Daniel’s foot off of the torn paper. “You ruined it! And don’t call me that!”

Daniel rose an eyebrow. “Call you what? Mutie? That’s what my father says you are, you’re a freak. Unless you’re a werewolf, like my little sister thinks. Are you a werewolf, mutie? Did you come down from the mountains?” He reached down to snatch Lukas’s paintbrush, turning it over in his hands.

“Give that back!” Lukas cried out, jumping to his feet and reaching for it, held back by the other two boys. “Let me go, that’s mine, I just bought it!” He felt tears starting to run down his face. “Please, I’ve been saving up for it!”

“Ohh, it’d be too bad if it …” Daniel snapped the paintbrush in two. “Broke.” He threw the pieces at Lukas’s feet as the other boys grinned. Then Daniel roughly shoved Lukas to the ground, who then whimpered as he tried to pick up the shattered remains with his trembling hands.

Lukas felt as if the world had faded away. Fiery rage bubbled inside him like lava. They had destroyed the things he loved and made fun of him for something he couldn’t help being born with. His heartbeat thudded in his ears as he stood, his claws unsheathing. In the blink of an eye, he scratched the side of Daniel’s face, leaving a large wound. He and the other two boys went silent in shock for a few moments before Daniel started to scream in pain, causing the nearby crowd to gasp and cluster around.

Daniel’s father Andrei stumbled out of the nearest pub at the noise, giggling a little from the effects of the whiskey. He blinked as he stared at his son before he realized what was happening. His face became a mask of rage and he raced over, desperately trying to calm the crying boy, before catching sight of Lukas and his bloodstained claws. “You! What the hell have you done to my son?! You’ve hurt him, you little brat!”

Lukas cowered at Andrei’s angry voice. “I … I’m sorry, I …”

“Lukas!” Lukas’s father, Denis, was running up the street towards them, eyes wide as he took in the scene. He pulled his son into his arms. “What’s happened? Are you hurt, son?”

“Is he hurt?! That little monster of yours almost killed my kid! He’s too dangerous to be wandering about where he could attack people! I’m trying to keep my family afloat, we don’t need this right now! I’m warning you, Petrescu …” Andrei spat, glaring at Denis.

“Enough!” Denis barked before looking down at Lukas. “Why did you scratch Daniel? Just tell me what happened.”

“H-He …” Lukas’s eyes were wide with fear. “He br-broke my new p-paintbrush … A-And he r-ruined my painting … And h-he knocked me down … He did it on purpose, I told him to stop …”

“My son was just messing around, he didn’t mean any harm, you-“ Andrei began to snarl before Denis held up a hand.

“Bring the boy to my wife and she’ll fix him up,” Denis said softly. “It sounds like your son provoked mine but I’m sure we can settle this somehow. Let’s just help your own son for now, alright?”

Andrei glared at Denis but picked Daniel up and shouldered past the artist towards Dr. Petrescu’s office, hissing, “Your family will pay for this, I’ll make sure of it.”

Denis sighed and began to guide the trembling Lukas along. “I know you’re telling the truth, he was bullying you. I probably would’ve reacted similarly. But you have to be careful, son. Defend yourself if someone attacks you, but I don’t want you getting into any more fights if you can avoid them, you understand? I just don’t want anything happening to you. It’s my job as a parent to always protect you.” He knelt down and hugged Lukas tightly. “I’m sorry this happened, let’s go home now.”

Lukas nodded tearfully, pressing closer to his father and staring at the ground so as not to see the stares and hear the whispers of the townspeople as they passed. He never wanted to hurt anyone ever again.

#markiplier #jacksepticeye #markiplier egos #septic egos #oc #original character #markiplier fanfiction #jacksepticeye fanfiction #fanfic #jackieboy man #silver shepherd #they'll show up in later chapters #my writing

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freshwater--mermaid · 6 years

Text

Ersatz Ch 26: Paramnesia

Despite the chaos outside, everything within the Fenton residence was still and silent. There was no tinkering in the lab, no flickering television, and no book pages being turned. Even the lone occupant of the house was entirely motionless, lying prone on his bed.

The sun's return to the sky brought an end to this picturesque scene, however. The day broke the hold of the Knight's blade over Danny's mind, freeing him from its cage.

It started in his hands; fingers twitching and gripping at the sheets. And soon his legs and arms too were moving, struggling against restraints that were no longer there. That were never really there.

And then Danny's eyes flew open, and he scrambled up his bed. His hands moved up to rip off the gag that was not there, nails scratching at his mouth before he realised.

'How did I get back here…' Danny thought distantly, his mind numbed by confusion.

He looked down at himself, cautiously lifting his shirt to look down at his unmarred midsection. He could still feel the pain, and winced sharply as his fingers touched skin that had been wrenched apart only seconds ago.

"Maddie!" the sound of his father's voice erased all growing questions from the boy's mind.

His head whipped toward his window, where he could see the glow of the anti-ghost shield outside. Fear erupted within him, blooming outward in faint arcs of electricity. He couldn't get out. His parents were nearby and he couldn't escape.

Images of pain and cold faces danced before his eyes, and Danny launched himself off the bed and out of his room. He flew down through the house, going so fast that his shoulder clipped the corner of a wall. The pain from the collision only heightened his panic, and he continued his descent all the way to the lab.

Once there, however, he was brought to a sudden stop as his eyes landed on the lone table in the centre of the room. It was utterly pristine, glinting under the light. As Danny stared down at it, hovering in the air, he felt his horror turn to rage.

How dare they. How dare they betray him like that. How could they do that to him? Danny couldn't understand it. And worse, they may have stolen his body away!

Sparks ignited in the air, and soon flashes of white and green were lashing out from the teen, smashing into objects and sending them flying around the room. The bright lights above seemed to roar in Danny's ears, bathing the room in their harsh illumination.

The sound of his name being called brought everything to a halt, silence ringing as various objects settled against the floor.

He didn't wait to find out who was calling for him He flew straight to the portal, passing through the closed metal doors and embracing the comfort of the green glow.

~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~*

"Danny!" Jazz tried again, concern mounting as she received no reply.

She had seen Sam and Tucker within the shield earlier, and so had been comforted by the knowledge that her brother must be nearby.

That assumption was quickly proven false, however, as Jazz mounted the stairs two at a time and burst into Danny's room.

The force of her entrance caused a few stray papers to flutter, but otherwise the room was still and empty.

Fear ran down her spine and to her hands, which began to shake. She clasped them together tightly, searching the rest of the rooms just to be sure. As she entered her own room, memories of a small Danny climbing into her bed to escape imaginary monsters came to the front of her mind. She fought the waves of images away, forcing her panic down. It settled like a rock in her stomach as she repeated to herself that Danny was alright. He was somewhere safe, unable to get home, but okay. She refused any thoughts that said otherwise.

"Danny!" she yelled loudly one last time, pausing her steps in the small hope of a reply.

Pacing around the house, Jazz was at a loss. Should she stay put and await her parents' return home? Or should she take to the streets and search for her brother?

She knew what she wanted to do, but she wasn't sure if it was the sensible option. She didn't even know where to begin looking.

Jazz sat down heavily on the living room sofa, staring at the black tv screen before anxiety forced her to her feet once again. She continued to walk slowly around the house, in and out of rooms. Her eyes searched but her mind was occupied, grappling over what she should do.

~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~*

Once they knew that Paulina, Lancer, and Mrs Fenton were all safe in the hospital, Sam and Tucker had attempted to leave and head to their homes. They didn't even make it out the front entrance before Jack was calling them back, firmly telling them to stay put. It simply wasn't confirmed safe yet to wander the streets.

Being around Jack was like being with a stranger; his worried and stern demeanor completely alien and unwanted. It also kept affirming for both teens that this was indeed actually happening, like some dizzy nightmare made real. Neither of them could sit still within their seats, scuffing their shoes against the floor, sitting on their hands and chewing at their lips. The low, strained voices of the staff members around them did little to help.

They occasionally cast their gazes toward a window, looking out onto the street. A few cars sat abandoned in the road, illuminated by the pale blue sky of morning overhead.

~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~*

Vlad glanced around as he slowly walked through the warped twin to the Fenton residence. His gaze drifted over the dark walls and shifting floor. He stayed rooted to the floor as he ascended the stairs, letting his steps be heard.

He entered through the open doorway to Danny's room, looking around briefly. As predicted, no sign of the boy could be seen. But Vlad knew better.

Swiftly, he reached out and flung open the closet door, stepping aside to avoid the ecto blast that was sent sailing from the shadows. It slammed into the far wall, leaving a rather impressive burn mark.

Danny stood ready inside the small closet, glare set on his face as his hand glowed with another attack. As recognition alighted in his eyes, the energy drained out of his clenched fist, which relaxed and lowered.

"Mr Masters?" his voice cracked in surprise.

"Yes, Daniel." Vlad answered, looking the boy over. "Do come out into the room. Hiding in your bedroom closet is both a poor defense, and rather pathetic."

Danny's glare was back, and he took two strides out into the open. This show of bravery was undermined by fear as his eyes immediately swept to the open door, looking out nervously into the hallway.

"Do they know I'm here?" he asked quietly.

"Who, Daniel?" Vlad asked, though he was certain he already knew.

"Them! My parents!" Danny flung his arms out in frustration. "Do they know I'm here? Are they on their way?"

Vlad closed his eyes, bringing a hand up to rub at the bridge of his nose. He then settled a calm gaze on the frazzled teen, who looked ready to jump out of his own skin.

"Daniel, your parents have no idea that you're currently in the Ghost Zone. In fact, I'm sure that they're wondering where you are right this moment."

Danny paused his anxious fidgeting to quirk an eyebrow at the man, who continued to speak.

"They also have no clue that this building even exists on this side of the portal, or that you are a ghost. They don't even suspect it. Your parents are, fortunately for you, quite unwilling to closely examine your…peculiarities."

Danny obviously had many questions, but seemed unable to put them into coherent words at the moment, and so Vlad elaborated further. He made sure to keep his voice low and steady, so as not to further agitate the delicate state the child was in.

"Daniel, whatever it is you experienced, it was nothing more than a powerful illusion. A dream made tangible by the Knight's sword. Don't you remember fighting him with me, near this very spot?"

Danny's brows drew together as he thought back, a frown pulling at his mouth, eyes drifting absently to stare at the floor.

"I remember that. You were fighting this big ghost in armor, and then…I don't know." he raised a hand up and raked his fingers hard through his hair, glancing up at Vlad. "Hey, why were you here fighting a ghost in the first place?"

"I'll explain everything fully, in time." Vlad assured. "For now, you must return home before your family begins searching for you, if they aren't already."

"No way!" Danny recoiled, stepping back into the dark closet.

"Daniel…" Vlad sighed heavily, walking over and standing before the small space, frowning at the teen within. He managed to keep his eyes from flitting down to look at the black shape slumped in one corner. No need to anger Danny even more.

Thankfully, the teen was too preoccupied to realise how close the man was to his old body. He crossed his arms and slid down to sit on the hard floor, glaring up at Vlad.

"I'm not moving an inch until you explain what the heck's going on here." he stated.

Vlad thought for a moment about refusing, and simply dragging the boy back through the portal, but he quickly realised that that would only worsen the situation. If he didn't want the kid to run at the first sight of his parents, or attack them, then he would have to take the time and explain everything.

Vlad moved to the bed, sitting down upon its edge as he began.

~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~*

Maddie lay still upon the white bed, thin sheets pulled up to her shoulders, lost in a medicated fog.

Her wounds had been worse than she thought, leading her doctor to quickly order her bedridden and on some pretty powerful painkillers. Maddie hadn't been happy at first, but as the medicine dulled her senses, she cared less and less.

The sound of her cellphone vibrating on the side table jarred her to near wakefulness, and she cracked her eyes open and watched the slurred image of her husband walk over and pick up the phone.

His words swam over her, slithering across the blankets and slipping her by, even as she fought to understand what he said. She turned her head slightly toward him, but Jack did not notice, his back to her as he spoke quietly.

All too fast it seemed, he was hanging up, setting the phone down, and rushing out of the room, door closing quietly behind him. Maddie lay alone in the room, wondering what could be happening and frustrated that she couldn't help. As silent minutes passed, the drugs dragged her mind back below the surface of its vast thick sea, and Maddie's eyes drifted closed once more.

~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~*

Sam and Tucker looked up as Jack walked over to them, looking even more worried than before, if that was even possible.

"Kids, I'm going to be gone for a while, but I'll be back as soon as I can. Now, you two still need to stay put here." he said quickly, glancing repeatedly down the long hall. "Promise me that you'll stay here."

"We promise, Mr Fenton." both kids replied immediately.

Jack was obviously too distracted to be skeptical of their hasty responses. He gave the pair a nod before nearly jogging out of sight.

"What do you think happened?" Tucker asked softly in the ensuing silence.

Sam stared down the hall for a long moment, already sure of the answer but unwilling to voice it.

"Do you think it has something to do with Danny?" Tucker spoke again.

Sam stood up and turned to him, hands resting on her hips and a frown set across her mouth.

"Come on, now's our chance." she said.

"Chance?" Tucker looked up at her, still seated.

For a moment, Sam faltered. Tucker looked utterly exhausted, and still very scared. She was sure she looked similar. But she swallowed back the lump growing in her throat, and forced a determined expression onto her face.

"We have to find out if our parents are okay, Tuck."

"I know." Tucker replied, though the affirmation seemed to only make him more uncertain. He slouched forward in his chair, eyes drifting down to look at the tiled floor.

"Hey," Sam stepped forward. "It's gonna be okay."

She reached out and grabbed his hand, bringing him to his feet. She pulled him along as she marched out of the building, daring any they passed to try and stop them.

They were completely ignored, however, and were soon on the empty streets. The morning sun stung brightly in their eyes and the chill air sent goosebumps across their flesh. Sam picked idly at her torn dress with her free hand, wishing for the thousandth time that she had worn a jacket. Tucker's equally ripped shirt also offered no warmth, and the two remained clasped hand in hand as they began their long and fearful journey home.

~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~*

Jazz sat with her hands squeezed between her knees as she watched the television.

The reporter looked just as bedraggled as the citizens shown in the video clips that played repeatedly. Thankfully the death toll wasn't as high as Jazz had predicted it would be, but it was still a lot, and the hospitals were overrun with the injured.

Jazz glanced around the house once again, legs bouncing as she resisted the urge to pace. Soon her father would arrive, and then they would find Danny together.

The teen had called her mother's phone, but when Jack answered Jazz knew her mom was worse off than she'd let on.

It made her even more afraid, and she blinked rapidly to fight off the burning behind her eyes. No, she could not fall apart now. Not when her father was on his way. He would know what to do; he would know how to find Danny. And once they did, and Jazz lectured him soundly, she would then shut herself away in her room and finally let herself cry.

'But not a moment before.' Jazz promised herself, forcing her legs to still.

~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~*

Danny had been staring hard at the floor beyond his shoes for several minutes, and Vlad was trying not to lose patience.

"So…none of it was real?" Danny asked hesitantly.

Vlad couldn't contain the heavy sigh that fell from his lips.

"Yes Daniel, for the fourth time now. Everything you experienced after fight the Knight was an illusion. Your parents do not know you're a ghost. They do not know you can enter the Ghost Zone. And they are not on their way to capture you."

"Alright, alright! I get it." Danny was just as irritated as Vlad, throwing his hands up and finally standing. "It just felt so real…"

"That is the point, Daniel." Vlad said solemnly. "The Knight exists to spread chaos and terror. What better way than to force an individual to confront their worst fear."

At his words, Danny's angry expression darkened further, green eyes glowing harshly as he glared over at the man.

"I'm not scared of my parents." he said lowly, voice radiating with threats of violence.

Of course, Vlad feared no such threats, and calmly offered the boy a skeptical look in return.

Danny just redirected his glare elsewhere in the room, avoiding Vlad's gaze. He of course didn't need to be reminded of how he'd been in a complete panic earlier at the thought of his parents coming for him. He crossed his arms sullenly, leaning back against the wall, and said no more.

After several minutes ticked slowly by, Vlad decided to try and move things along, resisting the urge to pull out his watch and check the time. He instead strode over to the boy, resting a hand firmly on his shoulder. He pulled Danny away from the wall and toward the exit, reaching out and closing the closet door as he went.

The teen jumped slightly at the sound, but let himself be led out into the hallway and down the stairs. All stubbornness was drained from him, and he was wrapped up entirely in his own thoughts.

He came back to himself as he felt the glow of the portal wash over him. He looked up at it, reluctant to venture beyond it and back into his home. The rational side of his mind knew that he had to, though. He couldn't very well hide away forever.

"Now, Daniel," Vlad began, tightening his grip on the boy's shoulder to gain his attention. "You cannot tell your parents about my involvement in all of this. As far as they need to know, I am currently in my home, many miles away. Understood?"

Danny attempted another glare, but he just looked sullen and tired.

"I'm not stupid." he said shortly.

He looked back at the portal, stepping out of Vlad's grasp and, pausing half a moment, walked through the green light without another word.

All Danny wanted to do now was be alone with hid thoughts, and Vlad's tone and mere presence were scraping away at the remains of his nerves. He slowly trudged up the basement stairs, eyes unseeing as his mind began to drift.

He reached the kitchen, traveling under the archway and into the living room, only to jump sharply as a loud gasp shattered the silence.

His gaze shot up to meet his sister's wide eyes. She shot to her feet, walking around the table as she stared at him in relief and confusion.

"Danny!" she exclaimed. "What-where-but…where were you!?"

"Uh…" Danny uttered dazedly, not prepared for conversation so soon. His hands gestured loosely toward the basement door.

Jazz looked between him and the open doorway several times, her face twitching through several emotions, as though unable to settle on just one.

"Do you know how worried I was?" she asked heatedly. "Didn't you hear me calling for you?"

"No?" Danny answered, unsure of what else to say.

Jazz looked ready to start yelling, but was interrupted from doing so by the front door slamming open.

Jack's hulking frame cast a shadow into the house as he froze, one leg thrust forward over the threshold.

"Danny!" he shouted, rushing forward with arms reaching out toward his two children.

Danny backpeddled so fast his head smacked the wall behind him, and he fought to remain still as the others stared at him for a moment.

'Don't freak out. Don't freak out.' Danny kept up the mantra as his father's voice buzzed incomprehensibly in his ears.

Jazz spoke as well, pointing at the kitchen, but Danny couldn't look at either of their faces. Jack was not wearing his usual jumpsuit, and looked downright odd in normal clothing. It was this strangeness that helped Danny pretend, just a little, that it wasn't actually Jack standing before him.

But the strategy was quickly failing him, and Danny threw himself away from the wall, walking hastily to the stairs, speaking over his shoulder as he went.

"I'm gonna go upstairs, I'm really tired." the words poured out of his mouth, half-jumbled.

"Bu-wait!" Jack called after him.

Danny forced his legs to stop. He stayed staring ahead, not looking back down at them. It was the best he could manage.

"I said, where have you been this whole time?" Jack asked, his tone sounding much like Jazz had earlier.

"Down in the lab." Danny answered in a rush, just wanting to get away as fast as possible. "Y'know, ghost weapons and all..figured it was the safest place."

He then strode up the remaining steps, ignoring whatever Jazz began to say. He darted into his bedroom, locking the door behind him. He then walked over to his bed, falling face down onto it.

He tried desperately to relax, to let his mind drift away as it had begun to do minutes before. But he found that he couldn't. His body was tense and his mind ran at exhausting speeds, refusing to slow. The sound of footsteps coming up the stairs didn't help matters.

Jazz spoke from beyond the door, which muffled her words. The door handle jiggled as she attempted to open it, knocking lightly and still speaking. It all buzzed in the air, feeling like static within Danny's own head. The teen sat up, moving to sit at the head of his bed, pulling his knees up to his chest.

"Go away, Jazz." he said, though it was too choked to reach her.

He squeezed his eyes shut against the coming tears, but they fell out anyway. They left messy trails down his face, and he quickly buried it into his knees, shoulders quaking as Jazz continued to knock at the door.

~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~*

Two small figures wandered the abandoned streets of the city, locked hand in hand to fend off the chill and the loneliness.

They didn't speak, but instead looked around at the aftermath of the chaotic night. Any dead bodies had already been taken away, but pools of blood still stained the pavement and road.

The two were careful to step around any pools of red in their path, hands tightening briefly, and then quickly walking away from the sight. They went through empty crosswalks with broken signals and traveled down desolate roads with abandoned vehicles.

Eventually they came upon a corner that they both stopped at. They stood there, staring down different paths, hands straining to keep hold as they both subconsciously pulled in their differing directions.

Neither wanted to part from the other, but both wanted to rush to their home. They stood in the silence for several aching heartbeats, desperation and loyalty warring a new battle on already scarred ground.

Tucker was the first to look back at Sam, who met his gaze. And slowly their hands unclasped, fingers falling away from each other.

"I'll call you later…" Sam said quietly, before turning away and crossing the road, hastening her steps as she went.

Tucker watched her before continuing down the sidewalk, looking ahead to the end of the block. He could see his street sign, and wanted to slow down and speed up at the same time. He felt sick with dread, not wanting to go near his home for fear of what he might see, but unable to turn back.

Too soon he was standing in front of his house, looking down at the worn welcome mat sitting untouched before the front door. He berated himself internally, willing his legs to move, to take that first step.

But he couldn't. He stayed rooted to the ground, not sure how much time was passing. He'd since numbed to the cold, no longer shivering even as a breeze bit into his skin.

Suddenly the door burst open, and Tucker recoiled back with a cry. His parents rushed to him immediately, grabbing their son and nearly crushing him in a joined hug.

Tucker couldn't believe it. They both spoke quickly, and their words melted together, churning in the rolling ocean within Tucker's mind. He felt as if he were drowning, not quite able to catch his breath as words and tears of his own spilled forth.

Together, the three stood outside their home, sobbing into each others' arms and babbling incoherently.

~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~* ~*

Sam, too, stood outside of her house. She looked up at the high windows, eyes searching for signs of damage; for signs of movement.

She lowered her gaze to the ornately carved door, fear rising up within her. She breathed in deep, forcing the feeling back down. It settled like a stone in the pit of her stomach.

But she wouldn't allow it to stop her. Schooling her features once more into a determined expression, she stomped up the steps, grabbed the door firmly and pushed it open.

Inside was exactly as she had left it, albeit darker now that the power was out.

"Mom?" she called out, leaving the door open as she stepped inside. "Dad?"

Her shadow stretched long across the floor before her, and her shoes clacked loudly in the silence.

"Mom! Dad!" she tried again, anger coloring her tone. "Come out already, it's over!"

Nothing. Sam glared into the darkness, angry and frustrated at the lack of a reply and at her parents and at the shadows as they clung to the walls. She marched down the hall, coming into the main room, looking around as if she would spot them hiding behind the sofa.

"Where are you!" she yelled, her voice scratching at her throat.

She thought she heard the creak of a floorboard, and spun around. It dizzied her, and she swayed as everything swam momentarily. But when her vision righted, there was no one to be seen.

"Where are you? Come out!" she said, continued to turn this way and that, angrier and angrier by the second. "Come out!"

In a heap she fell, legs hitting hard against the floor. Tears and sobs burst out from her harshly. The sounds were absorbed into the walls, which offered no noises in return. No sound of a door opening, no hurried footsteps, no voices.

There was nothing. And all Sam could do was sit on the floor, just beyond the light of the doorway, and weep heavily.

#ersatz au #danny phantom #what am i even supposed to tag this sad chapter as #sam manson #jazz fenton

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phantomrose96 · 6 years

Text

Souls Follow After

Half an hour late--here’s my Christmas Truce fic for @bloodblossomtea, who requested something based on an old fic of mine, Minds Follow!

So, here’s the companion piece to Minds Follow: Souls Follow After

The death of Daniel Fenton had been called a lot of things.

“Tragic” ranked among the most common, near-tied with “heroic” and “untimely” and “heart-breaking.” Every new media account blended the themes, calling Daniel soft-spoken and meek and kind, unpopular and unnoticed and bullied, culminating into a sacrifice all the more tragic, all the more heroic, all the more heart-breaking when he gave his life for the sake of his classmates.

Vlad Masters had stopped listening to the media accounts.

He saw it differently, in a light the papers and newscasters and forums didn’t capture.

It had been a betrayal.

Daniel had cut their game short.

He’d thrown his life away with no regard for what it meant to those around him, no thought spared for how many of Vlad’s plans came crumbling down, long-term intentions and near-solidified future snipped short.

Vlad raged, and Vlad grieved. He mourned for his son who’d died, his child in everything but blood, and he destroyed his lab in an outpouring of rage for the manner in which Daniel had gone out. It had been that one most irritating trait, that one so distinctly un-Vlad-like quality that Vlad so despised, that Daniel so reveled in—that self-sacrifice for others. It had been as though Daniel’s final words were “I’m nothing like you Vlad,” and as though he had died before Vlad could offer so much as a single word in rebuttal.

Vlad called in with his condolences to Maddie, as any politician and any bachelor would, but he did not expect anything to come of this. That family of him, Maddie, and Daniel no longer existed, and that resentment of his spilled over to Maddie. She’d raised her son to be like this. She shared the blame.

Vlad did not attend the funeral. It was the right choice. He wouldn’t have wanted to be present when Danny turned up anyway.

Because unlike everyone else, Vlad Masters was not interested in giving Danny a second chance. When his ghost form appeared at his own funeral, disoriented but still so charmingly Danny, everyone had been so quick to forgive. Joyful, tearful, thankful relief greeted him from a gathering of loved ones and admirers who had believed him truly dead. Vlad alone wasn’t so quick to forgive.

He’d considered it. In the mangled twist of emotions gripping his heart, sipping wine in a living room so far away and removed from Amity Park, he thought about revoking his grudge. Maybe he would still pursue what had been rightfully his. That family and that half-ghost—…whole-ghost son. But the more Vlad considered it, the more he seethed against the pieces that Daniel had irrevocably tainted.

Daniel had thrown away his half-ghost identity, that single uniting tether between him and Vlad, setting them apart as the two isolated individuals who could ever hope to understand each other. Daniel had revoked that. And he’d imprinted himself on society as that thing Vlad so despised—a “hero.” The childish kind. The comic book kind. The kind that threw their life away for high school nobodies, useless sniveling pathetic teenagers who’d only ever mocked him.

And, perhaps the thing that Vlad detested the most about the whole situation—Daniel was now holding all the cards. He made this clear to Vlad with an irritatingly smug phone call a few days prior, because now Danny’s identity was common knowledge, and so now Vlad’s identity was held hostage. Danny offered to keep Vlad’s identity secret under the condition that 1) Vlad stayed away from Amity Park. 2) Vlad no longer targeted his dad. 3) Vlad forked over $10,000 to Danny, for the hell of it.

The $10,000 was nothing. It was the blow against his pride that stopped the words in Vlad’s throat. He hated it all, but more than anything, he hated being held by the neck.

So he did what made most sense. He moved on.

Vlad wouldn’t say he lost. That wasn’t in his vocabulary. Instead, Daniel just wasn’t worth his time anymore. He was an idiot, a traitor, a fool, and worst of all a ghost. Not a half ghost. Just a ghost, a ball of proto-plasm, a construct of filthy spiritual energy. He had no claim to his humanity anymore, so he had no claim to Vlad’s interest.

Vlad buried himself in projects far more important. Vlad’s networking through the ghost zone expanded. Plans to successfully acquire Pariah Dark’s powers formed from the ether. His A.I.s advanced, a Maddie who understood him intimately, and now a Daniel who would never betray him. They’d rule at his side, timeless and ageless, important features since Vlad intended to procure the immortality that came with the Crown of Fire.

Money bought power, and experts, and silence. His laboratory evolved into a labyrinth of cutting-edge breakthroughs and ghost weaponry the likes of which no one had seen, the likes of which Maddie and Jack Fenton could only dream of. As the years passed, the contact that Jack made with Vlad slowed to a trickle, and stopped all-together. Vlad left all of Jack’s messages unopened and unread. He wanted nothing more to do with the Fentons, as he understood finally the truth of the matter: they had only held him back. He never needed Daniel, dead now. Nor Maddie, dead to him now. Nor Jack, who was simply not worth the energy to make dead.

The A.I.s developed. They understood him. They valued him. They called him “Dear” and “Dad.” The Maddie A.I. occupied the bed with him at night, gentle light and soft buzzing warming the room. The Daniel A.I. Vlad altered over time. He removed the most Jack-like features from the boy’s face—that wide nose and flat jaw, those blue eyes, that idiotic stubbornness—telltale in the crease of his brow and quirk of the eyebrow. Vlad took them away. He swapped them for features recognizable in himself.

They were Maddie and Daniel Masters. Ten years on, the name “Fenton” hardly crossed Vlad’s mind.

…

When the phone rang, it was a number instantly recognizable. It was embedded in Vlad’s memory from years back.

On a whim, Vlad answered.

“Hello.”

“Vlad?’

Vlad trailed his hand along the arm of his recliner, sweeping around it and sitting down, legs crossed, leaning into the phone. “Oh if it isn’t Maddie Fenton. What a pleasant surprise hasn’t it been ages? How are you? To what do I owe this distinct pleasure, my old flame?”

A beat of silence followed.

“Hi Vlad… Yeah it’s um. It’s been a while. I’m fine. But it’s um, it’s Danny…”

Vlad investigated his manicured nails. There was such an organic nuance to Maddie Fenton’s voice, something he hadn’t quite perfected in Maddie Masters. It was almost nostalgic to hear that again, so…lacking in adoration for him. He’d train the Maddie A.I. on this voice recording. Maybe he could barter to get Daniel on the line as well.

“Oh how is the young lad? Last I saw him he was only a teenager. When, ten years back? How time flies. Has he married that little goth friend of his yet?”

“…No, Vlad. Danny’s not—It’s um… it’s more complicated than that.”

Vlad bounced his foot. That was right, Maddie used to over-enunciate the first syllable of her words, pitching up. He’d tweak Maddie Masters’s speech program to incorporate it.

“Complicated how, my darling?”

“It’s something about his ghost form… He’s been acting strange. Slowly. For a while Jack and I thought he was maybe um, just coping with losing his friends to college.”

“Has he attended college?”

“No.”

Vlad faltered at this, jaw tensing. His foot stilled, and an old tinge of anger licked just beneath his ribcage.

“I see. He’s given up all aspirations of the future to stay home and play hero. Typical of him. It’s rather cute.”

“Yes but… no, Vlad. God um… I thought Jack told you.”

“Jack?” Vlad eased. The Fentons weren’t his problem anymore. He’d answered the phone out of simple nostalgia. Vlad kicked the recliner footrest up. “I haven’t heard from old Jacky in years. How is he?”

“Jack… No he’s messaged you. He—it—never mind. Danny. Something’s off with him—been off with him. Ghost theory. Well it—he—sorry, Vlad. I thought you knew most of this from Jack.”

“Knew what?”

“I’ll—” Through the phone, Vlad heard the sound of a door shutting. “I’ll start over. Danny’s not been himself. Slowly. Since the incident. He can’t leave the town, and he’s been…” Static crackled through. “Jack and I have theories. It would be easier to explain in person. Samples and tests. But, explanations don’t fix anything. We’re at a loss. You’re the only other expert who maybe. I know you don’t owe us any favors, but if you could just—somewhere in your soul find it to… We still live in the same house Vlad. We aren’t going anywhere. If you could come by, and maybe just, see if you can find something we can’t.”

Vlad pursed his lips. He’d been growing rather bored lately, and Wisconsin winter had been growing cold.

“Ooh, sorry Maddie Dear. I’m quite the busy man these days. It’s just not feasible.”

“I’ll have dinner with you.” The phoneline crackled again, the shifting of hands. “I talked it over with Jack. I know what sort of man you are Vlad. I still am your friend Vlad… even if I don’t trust all of the person you’ve grown into.”

Vlad let a smile pass over his lips. “You’re assuming that I haven’t moved on from you.”

“Vlad, please…? For Danny, if not for me.”

Vlad stood, and stretched, and mulled the offer over in his head. He quirked an eyebrow, and nodded only to himself as he realized, if nothing else, it was a perfect opportunity to record Maddie’s mannerisms in person. And his A.I. deserved only the best training data.

“Alright Maddie. I’ll see what works with my schedule, and I’ll let you know.”

…

Jack had grayed. Maddie herself was not far behind. Vlad eyed her thinning hair and bag-creased eyes with a twinge of smugness. Maddie Masters retained her youth.

“Hey there, V-man, safe trip…? Um, do you still go by V-man?”

Vlad set his suitcase down, and he shook Jack’s outstretched hand. “I never went by V-man.”

“Oh, haha.” Jack looked away after a moment, hand moving to the back of his neck. He was just as hefty as he’d been ten years back, orange-clad and aging. His small eyes were watery, veined with crows feet. Laugh lines ridged through his cheeks, set above peppery stubble. He’d lost something. His buoyant energy had vanished. “Been a while, yeah? Um, y’know I’ve sent some messages to ya here and there. They must’ve gotten lost in your spam filter, huh?”

“Oh, must have.”

Vlad broke off conversation, and he stepped over the Fenton threshold to Maddie, who he pulled into an all-consuming hug. He let it linger, smelling her scent, tracing the contours of her back. As much as he preferred his Maddie A.I., he had not yet figured out scent and touch. Future models, he planned, would have a physical body.

Finally, Maddie pushed away.

“It’s nice to see you Vlad… Thanks for finding the time to come out here.”

“Oh it’s all my pleasure,” Vlad answered, his eyes roving over Maddie, drinking her in. She’d aged too, once-smooth skin scrunching with wrinkles, cheeks more pallid, more sallow than the rosy ones he’d fallen in love with. Her eyes were tired, and Vlad was so glad that Maddie Masters was eternally pleased to see him.

Vlad broke away from her. “Now, I was thinking Italian for dinner. Or, if you would prefer, an upscale Hibachi restaurant. Money is no object, my dear.”

Maddie studied him, eyes wide, words chosen carefully. “Danny. He’s in the basement.

“Oh right, the little badger. It’s such a shame to hear he’s been feeling off.”

“I sent you a document,” Maddie continued. She stepped closer to the basement, eyes lingering behind on Vlad, as if pleading him to follow. “It’s all of what Jack and I have theorized so far. Experimental procedures and results. Have you read it yet?”

Vlad waved her off. “My apologies. I haven’t found the time. I am very busy these days. I’m sure you can get me up to speed.” He followed, arms folded behind his back, attention set on the basement. Maddie walked next to him, visibly tense.

“He hasn’t left the basement in a few days now,” Maddie continued.

“I think he’ll change his tune when he sees me.”

Maddie remained silent. She set a hand to the basement door, easing it open cautiously. Vlad paused behind her, stealing glances. She’d lost weight, instantly obvious in comparison to the Maddie A.I., who’d been a flawless duplicate of Maddie Fenton ten years back. Vlad pondered absently on how much Daniel may or may not have changed. Certainly something mental had changed—it was what he’d been called in for. But the state of Daniel Fenton had no bearing on Daniel Masters, so it mattered to Vlad little.

Vlad followed Maddie down the creaking stairs, and ten years’ worth of petty, vengeful thoughts filtered through his mind. It may have been his last chance to make Daniel owe up to the grief he brought into Vlad’s life.

The lights were off, the portal open. Vlad blinked as he noticed the gleam, starkly emerald and blindingly bright, swirling through darkness, casting a swath of light that sent shadows dancing across the wall. Someone small stood just in front of the blaze—floated, rather. Tail flickering listlessly, gloves trailing worn patterns into the dusty portal edge, eyes hypnotized in the gleam.

Maddie folded her arms in against her stomach, taking a step back as Vlad overtook her, a twisting discomfort swamping through his mind.

“Daniel? Haven’t aged much my boy, have you?”

Vlad paused. Danny did not move. His tail flicked, his hands traced, his eyes remained consumed in the brightness before him.

“Daniel.”

No response. Vlad pressed forward. He stood beside Danny, right hand raised to shield his eyes from the brightness of the portal. His brow furrowed, investigating the glassy nothing that seemed to exist behind Danny’s eyes.

He turned to Maddie. “Certain ghosts possess hypnotic powers. He could potentially—”

Maddie shook her head, resigned. “Jack and I ruled that out already. It’s not hypnosis. This was gradual…”

Heavy footsteps creaked down the first few stairs. Vlad glanced, finding Jack hovering just as the door to the stairwell.

Vlad ignored him, fixing his attention back on Danny. “So it’s something to do with his ghost core then?”

Danny’s eyes sparked, shoulders dropping, head perking. He twisted to face Vlad, a single, sudden, jerking movement. “Ghost?”

Vlad stared. The spark in Danny’s eyes seemed to be little more than an echo, glassy glazed and empty, like a recording. Like a reflection. Like a memory, rather than a person in and of himself.

“Is that what you’re doing Daniel? You’re hunting ghosts?”

“Where?” Danny asked, firecracker-like excitement. His tail flicked, and he floated closer to Vlad, until mere inches separated them. Vlad stepped back. Danny’s breath froze over.

It was as though the gun fired. Danny pounced, throwing himself against the portal with the fervor of an animal at feeding time. His gloves skimmed the swirling surface, tracing ripples through the portal as his aura flared like fire around him.

“Show yourself!” Danny shouted. “How’s about an ectoblast that fires off at mach 3? If the blast doesn’t wreck you, the shockwave will!”

“That’s all he responds to,” Maddie said quietly. “Ghost.” She moved beside Vlad, putting a hand out to rest on Danny’s shoulder. The boy studied it quizzically, rolling his shoulder to free himself. Maddie let her hand drop without resistance. “We think it’s—”

“An obsession.”

“…Yeah,” Maddie conceded.

Vlad rubbed his forehead a moment, thoughts sober. His smug giddiness drained away, replaced with something dense in his chest. “Why though?”

Maddie leaned a shoulder against the portal. “We have… a couple theories. It’s maybe a flaw in…what he is. That ghost-human hybrid… It made something about him unstable.”

Vlad chewed his lip, feeling out a twinge of power beneath his palm. “No. I don’t believe that theory. What else?”

“…A ghost sickness, perhaps…”

Vlad shook his head.

“No.” He offered no further elaboration. The Fentons were not entitled to his research.

Maddie’s voice dropped to a whisper. “Jack doesn’t like this theory, but I’m—it’s what I’m most convinced of.” She moved forward again, and trailed her hand along Danny’s cheek. He’d calmed down once more, only hazily aware of his surroundings, eyes fixated on the portal. “I think it’s… maybe that Danny wasn’t meant to come back. And it was this obsession that brought him back. He died saving people. It’s what his ghost half knows to do. Fight the ghosts. Save the town.”

Maddie lowered her hand to Danny’s shoulder once more, turning him to face her. He turned, but he did not look at her. His eyes saw through her. Scanning. Eternally searching. She leaned in and kissed his forehead, lingering against him, eyes shut to forget.

When she leaned back, she continued. “It was his obsession that came back, that’s his ghostly fuel, and the rest of him just came along, the parts that were supposed to be dead. We didn’t notice. We didn’t do anything. Those pieces can’t live in the human world. …And they rotted away. And they left behind just what a ghost is… just an echo.”

Vlad backed away.

“Something doesn’t make sense. So many ghosts still have their identity. This is different.”

“If Mads is right, then… it’s our fault,” Jack answered, easing down a few more steps. “He had other things keeping his spirit alive, back when he was in school and had his friends and his sister. He had a job even, once. But those things… Danny graduated, and his friends went to college, and he just kinda… He lost those other things that mighta been keeping him healthy… Danny can’t leave—it’s this radius—some kind of barrier that keeps him a certain distance from the portal. And it just kept shrinking. It—we were trying to make it easy on him. He was losing so much. So when he doubled-down on ghost-hunting… I was excited. We let him… We let him just… boil down to an obsession…”

Vlad hesitated. “Maddie, Jack, would you two kindly leave the basement for a few minutes? I’d like to speak to Daniel.”

“Why?” Maddie asked.

“Just something I would like to test.”

“What, though?”

“Do you want my help or not?”

“Yes but—”

“Then leave. I won’t harm him. It’ll be quick.”

Reluctantly, Maddie backed away. She retreated to the steps, climbing until Jack set a heavy hand to her shoulder and guided her out. Vlad heard the door click shut behind him.

“Now then.” Vlad squared his feet, breathing deep, allowing a sudden lash of power to envelop his body. It swept over him, chilling, invigorating, sparking like electricity. Aura swamped him, skin turning pale sickly blue, eyes red, fangs glistening, cape sweeping out behind him. Vlad rolled his shoulders, and he cracked his neck.

“Ghost.”

Danny turned with an instantaneous flicker. His eyes were consumed in fire, deliriously giddy and yet hardly present. He fired off a blast that Vlad absorbed into his shield.

“Daniel, we’re going to have a little chat about this.”

Danny lunged, firing off round after round of ectoblast. Vlad dodged and blocked with ease, spinning and catching Danny by the neck. The boy choked, sputtered somewhat, and then squirmed under Vlad’s grip. Vlad turned, and slammed him against the portal edge.

“Listen, Daniel. It’s Vlad. Vlad Masters. Vlad Plasmius. If there’s an ounce of the real you left in this shell you’ll recognize that name. Tell me you recognize the name!”

Danny’s struggling eased. He stared back instead, eyes filmy and neon. He blinked, brows twisting in pained concentration, his face just as young and boyish as the last day Vlad had seen him a decade before.

Danny set a hand against Vlad’s chokehold, inquisitive, stressed, the tiniest spark of thoughts trying to form behind glazed nothing.

Then Danny squeezed, and Vlad’s fingers cracked, and Vlad howled, dropping Daniel to the floor.

“Thought you had me, didn’t you ghost? How’s about an ectoblast that fires off at mach 3? If the blast doesn’t wreck you, the shockwave will!”

“Daniel, stop.” Vlad closed in. “It’s bad enough you died. It’s bad enough you betrayed me. It’s absolutely unacceptable that you tarnish your own dignity in this way. Is this how you’d like me to remember you, oh Hero of Amity Park? Like this?”

Danny raised his hand. Green energy gathered in his palm. “Hey ghost, how’s about an ectoblast that fires off at mach 3?”

Vlad snarled, and then he screamed, and he let off a single shot of violet energy that struck Danny dead center. The boy flew back, cracking against the lab wall. And the rage welling in Vlad’s chest—the anger of betrayal, of loss, of grief, of insult to the boy he’d once called his son—all vanished in a sudden new ice front. Some other all-consuming feeling that climbed his throat and snuffed the fire in his chest.

After having given up so many years ago, he realized with a jolt that, perhaps, he was staring at his own future after all. Not the one with Daniel dressed in a tailored tuxedo, and Maddie in a ballgown by his side, as guests made of the world’s most affluential people flocked to the Masters’ mansion for Vlad and Maddie’s engagement party.

This was a different future, one of empty feral eyes and one-liners, repeated on record, until all identity had sapped away. Vlad stared at Danny’s bruised ghost form, and he understood instantly. Daniel’s transition to full ghosthood hadn’t been a measure to separate himself to Vlad. Rather, Daniel had just gone ahead first. He died and found the future that, someday, may be the fate awaiting Vlad. Empty eyes and repeated one-liners about, what exactly? His A.I.s? Maddie? Danny himself?

Vlad gave one last look at the green nothing staring back at him. And then the lab door burst open. And Vlad vanished through the wall.

…

Maddie had reached out to Vlad three more times since then. The first time had been the very same day, leaving a heart-felt apology for whatever had provoked Danny to attack Vlad like that, and begging that he not give up on helping. There was still hope. She was still available for dinner.

The next time she called came a decade later, the day that Maddie’s sister died. Maddie left a message, rambling and incoherent, broken mutterings seeking reassurance. She’d been leaning on her sister for support all these years, and breast cancer had taken her away. She had no one left to tell the things that hurt Jack too much to hear about. Danny hadn’t spoken in years. Jazz almost never called home. Maddie had these dreams, recurring nightmares, that she went to the basement and found Jazz there too, empty eyes on the portal, gone. She wanted to shut the portal down. She wanted nothing more to do with it. She was afraid that Danny might vanish all together if she did that.

She left this all in a message. Vlad did not pick up.

The third phone call came after seven more years. She was calling because Jack had died, peacefully, in his sleep. He felt no pain. He did not suffer. It was just her now, her and Danny, in the house. And Maddie could not sleep at night. Not without Jack’s snoring beside her, not without his warmth. Not with the sound of the portal humming through the night. And then she trailed off, silent, voicemail recording nothing but the shallow sound of her breath. Vlad had not answered. Maddie put the phone down.

Perhaps she did it because she had no one to stop her. Maddie pulled the RV out of the garage, and she kicked the engine to life, and she drove. It took two days, hardly sleeping, hardly stopping, just the nav and the hum of the engine around her. It was easier not to think like this, easier to believe none of it had happened.

When Maddie pulled up to the Masters’ mansion, she took out the key she’d stuffed in her pocket, a decades-old relic, given to her back when Vlad still craved her company—“if she should so ever get tired of that bumbling fool she married.”

Maddie let herself in, and the mansion was dark. She flicked on light after light, calling out Vlad’s name, scanning the walls with wary eyes. A thin layer of dust coated the windows, the book shelves, the sills, the light switches that Maddie flicked. Looming granite archways felt hollow, abandoned, like the dark catacombs of a cave, untouched. The living room was icily cold, a window left cracked, water damage staining down the length of wall beneath it. The wind blew, and the window howled. Maddie kept on.

She came to the library, and she pulled out dusty book after dusty book. She knew Vlad Masters well enough to know he had a lab hidden away somewhere—that an empty house did not necessarily mean he was not in it. And she knew Vlad Masters well enough to know he would hide it away in the most grandiose way possible.

One of the statues clicked under her touch, cold and copper-headed, and the nearby wall opened up to a stairwell below.

Maddie followed it, shivering with the temperature drop. Her breath curled in front of her, crystalized. She hunched her shoulders in and braced herself. Marble stairs carried her footsteps with resounding echoes, clacking forward, consumed in the dark nothing ahead of her.

At the bottom, the floor leveled out, and another few steps brought her around the corner, where everything she expected met her eye. Crackling equipment stretched floor to ceiling, strung up with wires and flashing warning colors. The air turned sharp and citrusy, poorly ventilated. Maddie walked, heels clacking, carrying her through rooms of lab tables lined with beakers whose contents had solidified to the bottom, incubation tubes large enough to house humans and lit from the inside, monitors flickering with jagged static images. The citrus smell turned to rot as she came upon the last room.

“Vlad?”

Maddie looked around her, peering through darkness.

“Vlad?” her own voice echoed back.

Maddie spun, and found herself staring into her reflection. Though it wasn’t her reflection exactly—it was a younger Maddie, eyes bright and untroubled, hair curled, jumpsuit unzipped just a fraction down the front. This reflection batted her eyes. “Are you ready to snuggle, Vlad?”

Maddie let out a strangled gasp and kicked back. She knocked against a table, and grabbed it to steady herself.

“Dad?”

When Maddie turned, it was as though chains had tightened around her heart. Danny watched her from the other side of the room—her Danny—human Danny—his hair dark and his head quirked, blinking quizzically. “Are you home yet, Dad? I was hoping you could show me how to use my powers.”

“Do you like them?”

Maddie gave a third startle, ducking forward and clutching at her chest with a pained gasp. She looked up, eyes wide, certain she’d grown too old for surprises like these.

She squinted, recognition bubbling beneath the fear. It was a familiar form, glistening fangs, pallid blue skin, piercing red eyes.

“It’s you! The Wisconsin Ghost. You’re still here?”

“Please. Call me Plasmius.”

“Are you home yet, Dad? I was hoping you could show me how to use my powers.”

Maddie pushed herself away from the table. “You’re still around.”

“Indeed I am. Does that surprise you?” the ghost asked. He quirked an eyebrow and stepped closer. A fiery acid-green crown sat atop his head, casting a light ghoulish and sickly across his face.

Maddie didn’t answer. It wasn’t worth dwelling on anymore.

“I’m looking for Vlad.”

“Vlad dear, I baked you a pie. Let’s cuddle up.”

Maddie flinched, but managed to ignore her own voice. Another side-long glance revealed that her look alike flickered and wavered, her form cold blue and transparent. The fake Maddie smiled, and it was a look full of love.

“Why are you looking for Vlad?” Plasmius answered. He inspected his manicured nails, a ring as bright as his crown nestled on one finger.

“I don’t have anyone else to turn to anymore,” Maddie answered. She watched the Danny hologram from the corner of her eye. There was emotion in his eyes. It twisted Maddie’s heart to recognize it.

“Maybe consider making a few new friends then. Vlad isn’t really around much to be your emotional shoulder to cry on.”

“Where is he?”

“Preoccupied, at the moment. He’s absolutely crushed with work.”

“Dad, are you home yet?”

Maddie shut her eyes. She breathed deep. Jack. Oh god, Jack…

Her nose curled, on the air, something rotten drifted. Under different circumstances, Maddie might have fought away the thought that crossed her mind. Lately though, she’d been dealing with enough grief to believe it.

“He’s dead, isn’t he?” Maddie looked up, inspecting the emotionless nothing in the Wisconsin Ghost’s eyes. “…Did you kill him?”

“Oh… in a sense, I suppose.” The ghost shrugged, and he flashed a fanged smile. He jerked his head toward the corner of the lab. “A nasty accident, but for the best I might say. Don’t dig too far through the fallen machinery over there, you might not like what you find rotting beneath.”

Maddie shivered. She didn’t let it show on her face.

“Are you saying it was a lab accident?”

“I’m afraid so. I’d almost be embarrassed—crushed to death beneath some poorly-anchored machinery.”

“And why are you here?”

Plasmius’s face split into an awful grin. He reveled in the moment. “Did you really think young Daniel was the only half-ghost among us?”

Maddie’s heart pounded, pieces clicking. Icy dread washed through her core, shriveling up a part of her that she thought had been too wrung-out to feel anymore. She gripped a hand to the table, and lowered herself slowly.

“…God.” It was a name she’d heard him shout to the portal, time and time again. Plasmius. Images of the 20 year reunion party flashed through her mind. Incidents of Phantom and Plasmius gripped in battle. This cruel, twisted, awful creature, from a world made of cruel and twisted and awful creatures. The last man she had come to for help. “I really have no one then…? Is that really you Vlad?”

“I’m sorry to say it is.” He swept his hand across his body, dark under the sparse lighting, lit by the flaming crown on his head. “In the not-quite-flesh.”

“Are you going to go in the same way too?” Maddie asked quietly. She glanced around the lab, fizzled and dying and abandoned equipment.

“Hey Dad, do you have some time to play football later?”

“The same was as Daniel? No, dear Maddie, I will not.” Vlad gestured behind him, capturing the distant shimmer of a portal tucked away in the very back end of the lab. “I’m only here for a brief visit. My alarm system tripped so I figured it would only be polite of me to come say hello to you after all these years. And to pass along my gratitude.”

Maddie stared at him, losing the will to properly care. Whatever happened to him, or to her at this point, it hardly mattered, not with the way everything had slipped away around her. She fixed her eyes on the Danny hologram once more. He waved. Maddie did not wave back.

“Visiting Daniel was a bit of a wake up call, my dear. I ran some choice experiments after that visit, and your theory was spot on. Daniel gave into his obsession, trying to exist in the human world as a ghost, and he let the rest of himself rot away.”

Maddie glanced to him. Vlad spread his arms wide, cape billowing out. The crown threw shadows against the wall.

“When I woke up from my accident, just a ghost form torn out of a body that had been crushed unrecognizable beneath a two-ton monitor—well, I knew what I needed to do.” He stepped forward, pausing just in front of Maddie and crouching to her level. Vlad gave a fanged smile and tilted his head. “I did exactly what could have saved young Daniel.”

Maddie’s head jerked up. The thought sent something writhing through her, a discomfort like suffocating guilt. “We could have saved him?”

“Most assuredly. It worked for me.” Vlad stood again. “I cut all ties with my obsession.” And he turned, and walked a path over shattered remnants of equipment and fizzling cable. “I cut all ties with you.”

“Were you…really that obsessed with me…?”

“I was consumed with you,” Vlad answered, spinning back, lashing out, his form towering and ghastly to behold. He reeled himself in, and smiled once more. “With you and Daniel both, with the family we would made. My desperation drove me to make a family of my own.”

“How’s about that pie, dear?”

Maddie locked eyes with herself, an expression untroubled, frozen, echoing someone she might have been. Maddie breathed out, her breath in crystals.

“But, I did what had to be done. I stopped caring. These A.I.s? They’ve been frozen here for fifteen years. So has this whole lab. They’re nothing to me—they don’t think, they don’t feel, they’re heartless, empty worthless. I don’t care for them. And I don’t care for you. And I don’t care for Daniel rotting in your lab. I don’t care for anyone really but myself. I’ve beaten my obsession. I get to live my afterlife on my own terms.”

“…You’re a monster,” Maddie whispered in response.

“No.” Vlad retreated, his feet beating a path toward the portal at the far end of the room. He turned once more, eyes locked on Maddie, and he tapped a single finger against the crown on his head. “I’m the king of monsters.”

He vanished, whisked from sight into the swirling matrix of the portal, and it closed down behind him. It threw the lab into utter darkness, pricked only by the glimmering hollow light of the A.I.’s left behind in the lab.

“Hey Mom, when Dad gets home, can we all watch a movie as a family?”

Maddie sunk low to the ground. She crumpled forward, and buried her head in her arms.

“Yes Daniel, your father would love that.”

Maddie did not move. She hardly breathed, because she refused to cry again so soon. She steeled herself, and lost herself to the dark nothing around her.

“Good. I miss him.”

#Danny Phantom #dp fanfiction #bloodblossomtea #dark fic #dp #christmas truce 2017

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mabel-but-slytherin · 7 years

Text

Ghost of Adam - A Superphantom Crossover (1/1)

Cross-posted on ffn and ao3 with author’s notes.

Despite what tabloid rumors and his vast fortune may lead the average person to believe, Vlad Masters did not have an army of servants to care for his vast mansion.

Yes, living in a large, empty home all by himself could feel lonely, but that was why Vlad filled the endless foyers and sitting rooms with memorabilia of the things he could not have. Anything else would just make him feel emptier. The job of cleaning the vast corners and high chandeliers was much more easily handled by a few weak spirits he employed, though he knew the feudalistic nature of the Ghost Zone too well to keep no more than the few families he would need. Despite what Daniel and his improper friends insinuated, the half-ghost businessman had no desire to take over the world, merely obtain the power necessary to finally have what he wants. Except what he needed to keep up appearances, Vlad Masters did not indulge in things that would bring company.

A normal human may complain that the situation left the Wisconsin estate feeling rather dead. Should that happen, Vlad could all too easily see himself flashing some fangs and the 'scary eyes' and remarking that the sentiments didn't bother him in the slightest.

Right now, however, the only complaint Vlad had with his housekeeping was that they were absolutely useless in entertaining callers who came to the door, given the whole visibly dead thing. It was late on a Thursday night, almost early Friday morning, and Vlad had been contented to spend the rest of the evening upgrading the latest Fenton ray his spies stole for him as well as tinker with a number of his own original designs when the unmistakable sound of the doorbell broke his concentration. Gritting his teeth, Vlad tried to ignore it and return to his soldering when the sound echoed more persistently.

The billionaire was certainly not expecting visitors.

With a mutter of 'oh fiddlesticks' the businessman peeled off his ectoplasm-resistant gloves, shrugged into his suit jacket and tie (it better be someone important at this hour) and stomped his way downstairs.

The ringing had gone quiet after its third chime while Vlad was still in the lab, and the man angrily plotted the ways he would get back at whoever disturbed him if they ran away before he had a chance to face them. That was one benefit of living in the middle of nowhere: even if they were in a car it'd be easy to invisibly chase them and pinpoint exactly who it dared play Ding Dong Ditch.

There was in fact a person at the door when Vlad slammed it open with a scowl, although not at all what he was expecting. She was young, in her early twenties, with long brown hair and a plain face that had an innocent, natural beauty. The look was emphasized by her modest white dress, but quickly fell apart at the small amounts of dirt on the fabric and what appeared to be a sizeable bloodstain on the middle of her side. Looking down her feet were barefoot, caked in enough dirt to show that she had been walking for a while that way, but not enough to make it seem she went out of her way to dirty herself.

She had an almost serene smile on her face, but Vlad had met enough sharks to see the hunger behind it.

"Hi." Her smile grew slightly wider as her gaze finished taking in his appearance in turn and the billionaire knew she was trying to appear slightly bashful, despite her inner confidence drowning out any attempt at subterfuge. "Can I come in?"

"I'm sorry miss, I don't get involved in this kind of thing." Vlad all but spat, getting ready to slam the door in her face. Some of the details were unexpected, but Vlad had dealt with exactly this type of scam before, had even used it on a few competitors. Send a pretty, lonely girl to someone rich and famous's house at night and see if you get any good blackmail material out of it. Especially for a man living alone almost any outcome could be scandalous: at best you get an affair, at worst you get him coldly shunning her to the streets or taking her in for unsupervised 'alone time.'

Vlad already had a reputation for being cold and ruthless, whoever would set this up would be disappointed by the lack of a headline they found themselves with.

Her hand reached out and easily caught the door, despite the heavy wood being at the fastest point of its momentum. "I'm not wanting to do anything like that." She murmured, her face looking slightly disappointed by his rejection but still holding that mockingly serene smile, as if she was always on the inside of a joke with the world.

"I just wanted to get to meet you face to face. I've heard so much about you and couldn't help my curiosity." Her fingers trailed along the wood grain of the ornate door in a way that was not helping expel Vlad's preconception, and he mentally pinched his nose at the thought of either a crazed seductive fan or a very determined blackmailer.

"It's such a pleasure to finally put a face to the legends…" She pursed her lips and somehow managed to whisper the last word in his ear from more than two feet away. "Plasmius."

Vlad's blood ran cold. Perhaps she did have a secret in with the world.

"Wh-who are you? How do you know that name? Did Daniel put you up to this?" The last question came out just to hide the twinge of fear creeping in on the billionaire. While he and Daniel may have their fights and games, the boy should know that there were boundaries. If he told a stranger about this as a sick joke he'd…

"No, I don't mean to hurt you at all, Vladimir." She kept her voice to the same soft even tone Vlad once mislabeled as seductive, leaning in closer to him with all of the common signals but none of the intentions. Her finger trailed down along his tie and pulled it out of his suit jacket, yet she never tried to touch his skin. "I promise you I just came here to meet you, and maybe to have a little chat."

Vlad swallowed, promising himself it was just nerves, and let his voice harden. "You never told me your name."

The girl leaned her head back to meet his eye and let that knowing grin spread all the way across her face, as if she held the answers to the universe. "I'm Eve."

Knowing who she was, Vlad wouldn't be surprised if she did.

Even though she got her children to let her out of Purgatory in order to start a war, Eve would be lying if she said she wasn't trying to have a little fun during her time on Earth. There were, however, very few things Eve cared about other than her children, and like any good mother her sole focus was entirely on what would keep them safe. For that reason alone she had little desire to leave Purgatory before Crowley started torturing her firstborns, and few motivations to stick around when she was done.

It was rare that she ever focused on something other than her children, so when Eve had heard of a creature that fascinated her as much as her own monsters from within the realm of Purgatory she was for once disappointed at her imprisonment. Once she starting planning an escape she promised herself she'd find time to visit when she was Earth-side.

Ghosts always called out slightly to Eve, in-so-far as they were twisted versions of the human soul that could prey on and kill the species they once were. They were far nobler than demons, who rotted in Hell and their own militaristic hierarchy, and Eve respected their individuality and the soul that Hell beat out. Eve valued the immortal soul as more than just a power supply, and considered it the core of her offspring, to be protected just as their bodies were. There were no classes of monsters beyond the distinction of her firstborns, and Eve only made her monsters an army because she needed them. Her battle plans were merely to turn all of humanity and starve Hell rather than put her children in harm's way.

Unlike demons ghosts lived (died? As a resident of an afterlife herself Eve was in no position to judge) largely in solitude and were ruled by emotions and lost souls. The Mother of All in Eve had long yearned to adopt them into the fold of her family, but Death and God were persistent that those who refused a Reaper be left alone in punishment and insisted that she already had her own supply of souls.

As the one primordial beast who still believed in balance, and was safe and immortal because of it, she wouldn't fight against the status quo unless encroached upon first.

But the man in front of her… was amazing.

Human and ghost, Dead and lingering but with a soul that had yet to be committed to a final destination. He had never met a reaper or ignored their advice, had never died and been brought back as another creature. He wasn't cursed into a haunt by Death's taboo.

He got his powers through an accident. And he had turned.

Eve liked to think that that made him fair game.

And while she had spent the past couple weeks flitting from town to town, hitchhiking her way and greeting her children and turning every human she met in hopes of working out the kinks in the perfect monster for her plans, Eve couldn't help but dream up a more impossible design. It would be impractical for the entire human race, a change hard to force and noticeable to the victim, but not a single human had discovered the current halfas' secret and that was a level of discretion that she admired.

The ectoplasm she could sense pulsing through veins of the man before her was a paint Eve had never had access to before, and the artist in her longed to reach her fingers out and smear it across his canvas.

She could make him such a precious child, her heart swelled at just the thought of it, and she just knew he would learn to appreciate every gift she gave him.

He had been so alone. An Alpha without a Mother, coming into himself on his own and convinced that his beautiful gift was a disease. Abandoned by the pair who made him, rejected by the woman he loved after she changed his life, spurned by his only descendant: Eve had to push herself back from reaching out to him and keeping the man by her side forever. He would be the perfect general, his resources and technology helping her spread her newest creation even further, his experience with supernatural experimentation maybe even able to help smooth out chinks in her beta testing.

But she held herself back. Vlad Plasmius was an Alpha in his own right. And she had too much love for creation, be it hers or the God she was modeled after or anyone else's to mar such a stunning original.

Even if she was tempted to make improvements, she wasn't the little girl vessel she appeared to the world, and she could control herself. But she still yearned.

"I can help you." Eve voiced as she followed Plasmius into his sitting room, unafraid to do a small twirl to take in the grandeur of the place as if she really was her virgin vessel before sitting on a purple and gold armchair. There was a love seat nearby that remained empty, and Eve had to bite her lip at the thought that that's where they'd sit if she turned him.

She just had to keep remembering that he was already turned, despite not being one of hers.

Vlad walked briskly out of the room and returned with a teapot, his eyes still glancing her over with caution clear in his gaze. He was confused and unsure, and clearly not expecting her behavior after what he had heard of someone so feared. But he still stood strong, with the intimidating aura of a man (with just a little more leaking through) who fought and cheated his way to the top, and would do whatever it took to hold his position.

Eve couldn't help herself from being relaxed in his home. His wealth didn't make her nervous; it made her proud.

"I didn't think that ghosts fell under the category of monsters you look after." The man only responded after he poured her tea and sat down, using the distraction of his own full cup to avoid eye contact. His gaze met her only seconds later, however. He was far too used to intimidation games to spend long being afraid.

"I already said I don't want to harm you. I don't have anything against anyone except Crowley." Eve saw Vlad's face curl slightly in disgust at the name and let her smile become more genuine. She tilted her head at his piercing gaze and pressed the irony of the situation. "Is that alright? I thought you two did business."

Vlad stiffened, either from fear of her mentioning his friendship with her mortal enemy or the fact that the Mother of All was slightly teasing. "Crowley's deals are profitable from time to time and we each admire the other's resources, but neither of us are a fan of competition. Crowley throughout his reign has had a habit of sticking Hell's fingers where they simply don't belong, and he isn't opposed to backstab a friend if he thinks they might one day have the strength to become an enemy."

"I suppose you could put it that way." Eve kept sipping her tea. She came here to meet the soul behind Vlad Plasmius, she needed him to make the first move.

And within less than a minute of waiting he did, leaning forward in impatience as she calmly sipped her drink. "That doesn't explain why you personally came looking for me. My businesses are involved in very little outside of human and ghosts and I know for certain none of our arrangements involve what he is doing to your monsters. You have no reason to come after me."

Eve couldn't help the burst of anger at his phrasing, "What Crowley is doing is torturing my children and I am going to do everything I can to hunt him down and kill him!"

She forced herself to lean back and take another sip of her tea, recognizing the faint brew of a rare plant that had the property to temporarily calm souls. She had no soul, at least in mortal terms, so it wasn't like it would have an effect, but the thought was cute. However looking up at the man trying to hide his primordial fear of her Eve figured perhaps the brew was intended for himself.

"I won't apologize, but don't worry. My visit here is completely separate." Eve took another sip of her tea. "I wouldn't lie to you. Like I said I wanted to meet you."

Vlad's eyes narrowed "Why?"

Eve didn't look down or away as most would. Instead she turned her gaze right back into his red ones. "Because I look after firstborns."

He paled. "I'm not your monster. I'm-"

"-Not a human, not a ghost. You're the first of your kind." Eve cut Vlad off, her voice laced with an almost seductively reverent understanding, made all the deadlier in its sincerity. "The oldest, the strongest, you've had so much time alone to master your own powers and it's made you incredible." Eve leaned forward and in her eyes Vlad saw the hunger of an all-powerful creature faced with the one thing she was denied.

A passing thought wondered if this was what Daniel saw when he looked at him.

"Any decent mother will always recognize her children, but a good mother can pick out and feel for an orphan child as well." She pulled his empty teacup out of his lax fingers with a soft grip, still never touching his hands. "You've come so far on your own, and made yourself into such a beautiful creature that I don't need to make you mine to care for what I see."

Eve cleared away the dishes to the side table where a servant would've waited had Vlad employed any as she continued. "You know a war is coming, but I'm not asking you to fight. You've already done too much on your own for a mother to ask that. Just let me help you get what you want in the aftermath." Coming back Eve settled herself on the love seat she noted earlier at a closer angle to her present target.

Taking in his expression for the first time now that she returned, Eve could make out the surprise at her words, followed quickly by suspicion at the unexpected gift. Of course he would be. He was a businessman: he wasn't used to anything coming that easily. Especially not when he was expecting to be threatened or coerced by something stronger. Both the man and the monster knew from experience that that never ended well.

It only made Eve want to care for him even more.

"Why are you offering me anything? Why do you care about what I've been through?"

Eve smiled. "You remind me of my children, and I give gifts to anyone who does. Gifts I'm not sure you would accept," she let a small frown settle on her lips. "Not to mention it would be a shame to change another firstborn. Just because you're not mine doesn't mean you deserve to die. Or to be alone."

"What are you proposing?" Vlad's glare still cut like ice, as if he was the other one who held her interest. The billionaire didn't seem any more convinced by her sentiments.

"My monsters have already started building an army, and soon they'll start moving even faster. I'll turn the entire human population if I have to, until Crowley lets my children go or runs out of souls to keep his operations running." Her hand reached out to his sleeve, caressing in a way that wouldn't change him. "I didn't want to hurt you by involving those you love without asking, so I made a stop along the way. That, and I wanted to meet you to make sure you were someone I wanted to work with."

He pulled his hand back. "What are your terms?"

Eve sighed, running that hand back through her hair. "Don't tell Crowley of my plans and I'll let your family live. Your real family. We both know that ones who turned you and your own kind run deeper than blood." She could see that moment that she finally caught Plasmius's interest.

"Tell me where he is, or at least prove to me you looked," she met the halfa's eyes to show that she'd know if he lied, "and I'll bring them back to you. My gift."

Eve smiled her most maternal smile and Vlad stared, his posture helplessly losing its formality for a moment to wonder. "But you'll-"

Knowing they were going down a dangerous path Eve cut him off before they reached the technicalities. "They won't be minions. I said I'll let them live and I'll keep them safe. They're your family, and if you'll let me…" Eve leaned all the way out of the love seat, pushing herself onto the armrest so she could lean a breath away from his ear. For the dozenth time she swallowed the temptation to turn the man before her.

"If you let me, by extension they'll be my family too."

Vlad pushed himself until he was sinking in the high-backed chair, panic at her advance driving out all previous lines of questioning like Eve planned. "I'm not one of your monsters, and I don't want to be."

Eve let her face fall and backed away as she let him pretend he had his victory. "You may not be my monster, but you will always be a firstborn, and all firstborns are my most precious children. Just accepting that makes us family enough."

With that she danced out of the chair, loving the way her virgin vessel let her smile serenely at the world and care with all the human's heart as she gave it to those who no longer had them. "I am so glad to finally get to meet you, but I need to keep moving before my children get jealous. I hope you'll enjoy my gift when I next see you."

She wanted to smirk at the way Vlad was torn between a snarl and a polite smile. He was just as fun to play with as to care for. "I think you seem to already know perfectly well what I'd like."

She smiled back to him. "I just want to help you." And she did. She was just glad to clear up that she could do so in a way that helped herself.

Without needing Vlad to show her the way Eve started towards the front door, her bare feet echoing across the marble as she thought of how this would fit in with her plans.

She'd be sure to be in Amity Park when her army got to turning it. She'd either let one of her more violent children kill Jack Fenton or she'd bring him to Plasmius as a peace offering to sooth his anger. Maybe she'd even let Maddie or Jasmine Fenton remain human if that'd calm him even more. There was little harm in leaving one or two human souls remaining for Crowley to potentially prey on, that was far too little to keep his war machine running. In fact, she was planning on offering a similar deal to the Winchesters in exchange for their help.

She'd need to win Vlad's favor back after all, with what she planned to do the crown jewel of his desires. As much as the mother in her yearned for the ghostly orphan who gave her the hope of experimenting with ectoplasm, nothing would allow her to put another creature before her children.

She promised him none of them would be minions. She didn't say they wouldn't be monsters.

Because if Vlad Plasmius was the hope of new species, the masterpiece of fate and circumstance she had to refrain from experimenting on, Danny Phantom was the prodigy she couldn't wait to take under her wing and recreate in her style. He was already strong, and had a title among the ghosts she once wished she could turn, but still he was human. A human turned monster due to the interference of another of his species, with enough of a blast to cause instant transformation and avoid the pesky dance with death she could smell in Vlad's past. Even if Vlad hadn't intended Danny to become a halfa when he sabotaged the Ghost Portal blueprints in an attempt on Jack's life, neither he nor Eve were disappointed in the result.

The calling card of a monster versus a new brand of spirit was the ability for an existing to infect a human to become like them. Ghosts had never done that before, and more than anything that technicality gave Eve all the leeway she needed if ever confronted by the wrath of Death or God.

Vlad had given her with so many gifts and unique abilities that Eve couldn't help but thank him in person, even if she had to hold off on giving him her favorite gift in return. Still, once she turned his family he would be family in turn, and Eve giggled at the perfect end to this incredible anomaly.

It was disappointing she could never own Vlad because he was an Alpha, and Alphas were off-limits. But there's no hierarchy beyond firstborns either in monsters or ghosts, meaning everything else is fair game. So while she loathed the limits on what she could do she could still tie him closer with everything he desired, giving and taking and twisting his soul as much as if he were truly her Alpha.

And Eve couldn't wait for the chance to make the world's second halfa an Alpha in his own right.

#superphantom #supernatural #danny phantom #vlad masters #eve mother of all #eve #mother of all #I'm happy with how creepy this came out #especially the second scene #also just glad to be posting oneshots again #akg fic

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voxvociscruorawriting · 7 years

Text

Online Dating For Pathetic Fruitloops: Chapter 2

(Read on FF.net, Read on Ao3)

-o-oOo-o-

The Count of Monte Cristo. That's the show she chose. He'd never heard of it before, nor did he bother to look anything up about it—why ruin the experience?

The tickets had been particularly tricky to get his hands on. The show only had a few weeks left in the theater and had been sold out for months. A small part of him suspected that Marilynn might have known that when she made the decision. Perhaps she didn't think he'd be able to obtain them and would thus have an excuse out of date. The idea was ridiculous and he understood it was only the blossoming anxiety talking, but still. Fortunately, he learned that it was quite easy to bribe two admissions into his possession, without the use of any ghostly “persuasion”. Turns out people liked an extra ten thousand in their pocket than seeing a musical.

When he told Marilynn he'd gotten tickets, she hadn't believed him at first. So he sent her pics.

Her response of “ahhhhhhHHHHHHHHHHH??!!” amused him to no end.

Three days later, he flew in his unmarked private jet to New York during the middle of the night. He'd admit, he was fond of media attention and the paparazzi (to an extent; they were fun to play tricks on), but he did not want it known he was in New York. People knowing meant they'd been looking for him, and he needed to keep his fame under wraps from Marilynn, at least for now. She did not seem to know who he was, if her messages were anything to go by.

His full name being Vladimir had been one of his best kept secrets. The public always knew him as Vlad Masters. Even Daniel had expressed surprised when he discovered it.

He did not want to trap Marilynn in the public eye. Her being seen with him could ruin her life irreparably, the harassment was horrible for those who didn't want, or couldn't handle, it. If he played things carefully, neither of them would be bothered tonight.

Currently, he was standing outside the theater at 7:24 pm, the pavement bustling with people entering and exiting. He scanned the sea of heads, the lights of the street casting shadows on heads. He couldn't stop digging his nails into the palm of his hand, a nervous tick from his childhood. When he noticed, he tried to rub away the angry red marks. To say he was anxious was an understatement.

Over the past few days, he'd been having....second thoughts. Sure, he still wanted to meet Marilynn, but he still wanted Maddie too. Daniel's words had dulled with time, lost their edge. The boy was wrong, and now he wanted nothing more than to prove it.

This bit of him was worried, because what....what if he started falling for Marilynn? What would he do then; he couldn't chase both of them. He'd have to choose.

His nail bit deeper into his skin. New York City seemed to be filled to the brim with black haired women tonight.

A blur of color from the corner of his eye caught his attention, and he turned. His breath absconded.

She stood out from the hoard of people around her. The bright pink dress she wore seemed to catch and toss light like a thousand stars. Her hair seemed longer than in her picture, but he couldn't tell for sure since it was tied up into a messy, yet oddly elegant, bun. In her hands she clasped a small handheld pocket purse, matching her dress. She was checking her watch and looking into the crowd, searching, obviously, for him. For a moment, it felt like his heart has stopped functioning.

'That's concerning. I don't want to die tonight.' a monotone thought slipped into his head, and left just as quickly.

Vlad inhaled a breath, and approached.

“Pardon. Marilynn?”

She jumped, swirling around. Her eyes were angry until she saw him, and recognition flashed across her face. Her expression softened and she smiled, placing a hand on her chest, “Yes, that's me. You startled me.”

Vlad offered his hand, “My deepest apologies; it wasn't intentional. It's a pleasure to meet you.”

Marilynn's smile grew, “Indeed it is, it's a pleasure to meet you too.” she replied, taking his hand. Her fingers were so small, but her grip was strong. And cold; it sent shivers right to his core. “I'm quite impressed that you managed to get tickets to a Broadway production so quickly. Normally you have to reserve months in advance.”

Vlad chuckled. “It wasn't any trouble at all. You just need to know which strings to pull.” He waved a hand nonchalantly, and Marilynn raised an eyebrow. He raised his arm to her, gesturing to the building, “Shall we, my dear??”

“We shall.” she shrugged and nodded, looping her arm through his.

Vlad led the way into the theater. After a brief exchange of trying to figure out just where they needed to go, they proceeded deeper into the theater. Marilynn's black stilettos made soft noises on the carpet, her free hand resting on his bicep. The contact felt odd, as he wasn't used to being touched. He was amused, mostly, because he had to take shorter steps than normal, due to Marilynn's small legs.

As they walked, he said, “You look absolutely gorgeous tonight, if I may say so.”

It was the truth. He felt like he couldn't take his eyes off her. Seeing her in person, he saw more subtle differences between her and Maddie: her cheeks were higher and her jaw was a different shape, more supple. Her eyes too, oh god those eyes. So many different hues of blue. They almost glittered, like the waters of the Caribbean if you wanted cliche metaphors. Magenta eye shadow and black eyeliner sharpened them, giving her an almost avian look. If he believed in angels, he'd be certain one was standing in front of him.

Then again, he thought the same of Madeline.

“Quick to the flattery, aren't you?” she questioned, but her lips pulled up into an amused smile.

“Simply making observations.” Her smile grew.

“Have you ever seen The Count of Monte Crisco before?”

He shook his head, “No, I fear I haven't. The title sounds familiar, though..... Was it a book?”

Marilynn hummed, “It was. Written by the same author of The Three Musketeers.”

“Well you learn something new every day.” Vlad mused. He looked down at her, curious, “Is there any particular reason you chose this production?”

She flashed a toothy smile, “It's been one of the ones I've always wanted to see live. It's one of my favorites.” She was quiet for a beat, before adding, “I think you'll enjoy it.”

“Oh? Why do you say that?”

“Hmm, I dunno. You've just got a way of speaking that gives off that impression. It's quite pompous.” Marilynn said, shrugging. He chuckled, holding the door to the seating area for her. She murmured her thanks.

“Well, I've heard less flattering ways of it being put. I just like to be proper.”

“Oh trust me, it's a welcome change from the guys who drag their pants at their knees.”

His eyes snapped to her, “What kind of men have you been dating? Petulant teenage gangster wannabes?”

She snorted, her eyes rolling. “It sometimes feels that way.”

“I admit that I can sometimes be a little....childish. Although not quite to that extent.” he admitted.

She chuckled. “Well at least you’re honest about it.”

They were seated by the usher near the isle, and not too many from their section had taken their seats yet. They waited until almost everyone else had arrived, and during this time, Marilynn had pointed out her favorite songs in the playwright they'd been given. When they did finally sit down, Vlad realized the seats were closer together than he had expected, both horizontally and vertically. RIP his long legs.

Marilynn touched his arm and told him to turn his phone off if he hadn't already and he noticed she was the doing the same. When doing so, Vlad noticed he had a missed call from Daniel. He ignored it and powered down the device, returning it to his pocket. He smiled at Marilynn and she returned it. Several minutes later, the curtains rose.

-o-oOo-o-

The Count of Monte Cristo, based on the book by Alexandre Dumas, follows the tale of Edmond Dantes, a young and innocent shipmate and fiance of the woman Mercedes. After being forced to land on the isle of Elba the isle on which Napoleon Bonaparte had been exiled to, because of his dying captain, Dantes returned home and been elevated to captain of his own ship—his dream. Most unfortunately, beings of greed locked their eyes upon him.

Danglars, the first mate of the ship and the person whom had attempted to rat out Dantes for the decision to land at Elba. His plan backfired, resulting in Dantes' new position, and his anger rose. He was supposed to be Captain, not Dantes. Whilst on Elba, Dantes had been given a letter from Napoleon, an act that was considered treason. Danglars knew this. He began to plot.

Mondego, whom Dantes believed to be a friend and cousin to Mercedes. Most unfortunately, Dantes did not realize his feelings of friendship were one-sided, nor did he know that Mondego had also set his eyes on Mercedes. Hate and contempt for Dantes brewed in Mondego.

The two spiteful men conspired, and Dantes, amiss his own wedding, was arrested.

Believing himself to be innocent, and sure that his arrest is a mere mistake, he goes willingly, to the chief magistrate, Gerard de Villefort. Interrogated, Dates claims his innocence, and Villefort believes him—until Dantes, oblivious, reveals the recipient of the letter to be Villefort's own father. Fear for the destruction of his reputation blooms within Villefort; he cannot let this information be known. He makes a choice. He sentences Dantes to life imprisonment in the Chateau d'If, an island prison.

Three selfish men, each responsible for locking an innocent man behind bars for life, to get what they wanted.

Years pass and Dantes remains locked away, slowly losing hope that he will ever return home. Mercedes, ever strong, awaits his return. Mondego, after so long attempting to win her over, realizes that she would never turn her gaze to him while she believed Dantes still lived. Thus he tells her that Dantes has died. She falls into heartbreak.

One day, Dantes encounters another prisoner whom had been attempted to tunnel to freedom, Abbe Faria. The two join each other, Faria offering to teach Dantes, whom is illiterate and unschooled, everything he knows in exchange for help digging. They become quick friends. Faria tells about who he was before being imprisoned, a priest and academic who served a wealthy Count. He was granted the knowledge of where the Count's wealth had been hidden away, on the remote isle of Monte Cristo. The two agree to share the treasure once they are free. Fate has other plans, and Faria is fatally wounded during a tunnel collapse. Dantes is granted the entire fortune, and despite Faria asking him to forget and forgive his desire for revenge, Dantes cannot bring himself to. He joins Faria's body by playing dead, and is thrown into the sea, escaping the prison.

Dantes made his way to Monte Cristo, discovering the treasure was indeed real. He rechristens himself as the wealthy Count of Monte Cristo, and returns to France with revenge burning in his heart.

Upon buying a huge mansion, Dantes attempts to settle into a lavish lifestyle while he gathers information about the three devils whom ruined him. Danglars has become a Baron, Villefort the chief prosecutor for Paris. He then discovers that Mondego and Mercedes had wed, and borne a son, Albert. Overcome with rage, Dantes vows to bring Hell upon all of them, Mercedes included for her betrayal.

-o-oOo-o-

By the time 'Hell to your Doorstep' faded away and Intermission began, Vlad had dug his fingernails into his skin hard enough to bleed.

He jumped when the lights turned back on, illuminating the theater. He tried to swallow, but his throat was tied into a knot and refused to budge. It felt like he was suffocating. Like every word of the show had kicked him in the chest. All of his muscles felt wound too tight and were about to snap at the slightest--

he flinched, eyes snapping to the soft fingers touching his arm. He looked back up at Marilynn. She was frowning, brows knitted together.

“Are you alright? You look a little pale.” she asked, her voice quiet. Vlad forced his throat to unlock, but it did little for the queasy feeling in his stomach. Made it feel worse, actually.

He smiled, and hoped—prayed—it looked convincing, “My apologies, I'm fine. I just need to use the restroom. Please excuse me.”

She nodded silently as he stood up and excused himself. He could feel her eyes on the back of his neck until he went through the doors. He slipped and wove between the handfuls of other people, can came across a men's bathroom. He pushed himself inside and practically collapsed onto a sink. His carefully woven control fell away in tatters. His hands gripped the porcelain so tight it hurt, and he welcomed the feeling. Anything to distract himself. He struggled for breath, his lungs heaving but his throat not permitting. All that squeezed out were shallow inhales. His arms shook, threatening to give out just as much as his legs were. His core felt like it was twisting, pressing against his heart and stabbing itself. His blood pounded in his ears. He screwed his eyes shut.

Daniel's argument returned like a tsunami and devastated his mind.

Marilynn just had to pick the one musical production in the world that constantly felt like a parade of his own life.

He had been Dantes. The idiotic fool who trusted too easily. Whom put his trust into the wrong people, and gotten stabbed in the back for it. Gotten locked away in isolation for it. Died a little each day because of it. The moron who hadn't had the gut to tell the woman he loved how he felt about her, and thus lost her forever. 'I love you, Madeline; please take care of her while I'm gone, Jack.' 'Sure, I'll take care of her very nicely, I'll marry her and have two goddamn children with her, one of whom will be the bane of your existence AT. THIS. VERY. MOMENT!'

He was the wealthy Count, using his money and power for reaping revenge, forever stuck shackled by the past. So blinded by what he thought was true, what he wanted to be true, that he was incapable to see what really was true. The one who hid behind 'an eye for an eye'. 'You hurt me, so now I will make you hurt just the same.'

the pathetic fool willing to destroy himself while trying to ruin everything else.

His hands tightened, the porcelain heating from the ectoplasm throbbing beneath his fingertips. His fangs were too big for his mouth, stabbing into his gums as his jaw remained clenched shut. 'And yet...'

He wasn't Dantes. His Mercedes never loved him. His accident hadn't be intentional, hadn't been a ploy or plot or murder attempt. He did not have any right to justice for his so called 'injustices'. He was just a man who couldn't move on, who fixated on his pain because it was easier to be angry and think himself right then it was to admit that it hadn't been anyone's fault; things went wrong, and he'd made mistakes.

Daniel was right. He had always been right. Annoying and insufferable about it, yes, but he knew what he was talking about.

He didn't know whether to laugh or cry. How the world loved to kick him in the face.

A knock sounded from the door, startling him.

“Vladimir?” Marilynn. Of course. She knocked again, “Are you in there? Are you okay?”

He smelt the tangy sweetness of ectoplasm and opened his eyes. Magenta energy faded from his palms, leaving a seared palm mark on the white sink. Thick lines of blood dribbled from his knuckles down his fingers. He exhaled, the tension slowly uncurling from within him. His muscles felt very sore as his senses came back to him. Why did existential crises have to be so exhausting?

“I'm fine. Please, forgive me.” he called.

He turned on the tap, fully cold, and washed the red from his hands. The crescent moon cuts stung and began to throb, but they'd be gone in an hour so he payed them no mind. He splashed his face, the water soothing his heated skin. He ran his hands over his hair, pressing down the small flyaway strands that had come loose. Looking back at himself in the mirror, he winced. He still looked quite haggard. The deep bags under his eyes from insomnia and stress, dull eyes, several small round scars that his doctor had been unable to fix due to the sensitive area they were located. Hands marked with nebulae from years of trying and failing and trying again to force ghostly powers to bend to his will, his control, despite his fleshy human body.

'My mom is not the same person she was in college! No one is! Not her, not Dad, and certainly not you!' his chest tightened.

This is who he'd become. This....stupid fool, who would be a complete stranger to the bright-eyed, clumsy, social reclusive 20 year old he had been. He distantly wished he could do things over again. But he couldn't. There was no returning to 1981.

He almost snorted. 43 was a hell of a time to try to start anew.

'But not too late. And not impossible.' The voice pointed out. He growled at his own thoughts, 'Shut up, Daniel.'

He stepped out of the bathroom. Marilynn was standing beside it, waiting for him. He offered her a smile, and apologized again. Her frown deepened. He started to walk back to the theater, assuming she'd come with him, but she stepped in front of him. Her hand pressed against his chest, just enough to stop him dead in his tracks. He blinked down at her, surprised.

“Vladimir? Talk to me, please, I'm worried. I can see that you're unsettled by something. Is something wrong?” Her brows furrowed as she stared up at him, her eyes searching him. All he could do was stare at her, shocked.

“It's....” he tried to speak, but he couldn't think of the right words. Something had been wrong, and still technically was, but he didn't really know how to explain. Marilynn seemed to become more concerned by this, and he cleared this throat, “I....admit, that the, ah, story is hitting....a little close to home.”

Marilynn nodded slowly. “I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-”

“Hush. It's fine. Don't blame yourself.” Vlad said. He placed a hand over hers, giving it a gentle squeeze before lifting it away. She looked unconvinced, but allowed him to put an arm around her. He motioned down the hall “Come, we should go back before intermission ends.”

-o-oOo-o-

Act II begins with Albert attending a carnival, and being quickly drawn away from it and captured. Dantes, pretending to be captured as well, helps Albert free himself and protects him from bandits after they are attacked. This was done intentionally, to gain the boys trust and to get closer to Mondego and Mercedes. Introducing himself as the Count of Monte Cristo, Dantes invites Albert to a ball being held at his mansion.

Gossip is rife among the attendees before Dantes arrives, dazzling everyone with his charm and wealth. One after another, Danglars, Villefort and Mondego are presented and promised rewards for being noble and just. None of them recognize the Count for Dantes, until Mercedes. She does, becoming shocked her deceased lover still lives. Dantes does not give her a chance to speak; he has nothing to say to her.

Dantes sets a trap for the three men. He uses an informant to give the three instructions to invest their money into a company, Llerrom International, which, unknown to them, Dantes owns. The men, none the wiser, fallow the suggestion, and profit substantially as a result, becoming quite rich themselves. Danglars plans to become the richest man in Paris, Villefort to bribe voters for his election campaign, and Mondego wants to bask in endless wine, women and gambling.

Upon having the three's livelihoods dangling from his fingertips, Dantes liquidates the company. The trio loose everything as it all comes crashing back down. Danglars shoots himself, unable to bear it. Villefort is exposed, and sent to Chateau d'If. Mondego, the last, reads the name Llerrom backwards; Morrell being the shipping company Dantes used to work for. Mondego, realizing the Count's true identity, is enraged.

Albert, however, is not pleased with the shame the Count has wrought upon his family. He challenges Dantes to a duel, despite Mercedes' attempts to talk him out of it. Valentine, Albert's fiancee and lover, attempts to change his mind, but fails to stop him as well.

Mercedes begs the Count to spare Albert's life, but Dantes has not forgive her. Mercedes accuses him of heartlessness, but he does not listen.

The duel between the Count and Albert is pathetic. Albert draws first, and misses, leaving Dantes the victor. As Dantes readies his gun to kill Albert, Valentine jumps between them, begging the Count to spare her love's life. She is pulled away, still begging and crying, and Albert prepares himself to die.

The Count shoots into the air, sparing him. The young lovers are reunited, like a reflection of the younger Dantes and Mercedes all those years ago. Shaken from his anger and spite by Valentines display of love, Dantes questions where his old self had gone, contemplating all of the agony and loss he suffered before finally, letting if fall away. His revenge completed, his ire extinguishes. He returns to Mercedes, and they forgive each other. Mondego, however, is not so keen to let Mercedes go. He engages Dantes in a sword fight, but is easily defeated. Yet Dantes cannot bring himself to kill Mondego.

Despite the offer to live and be free, Mondego is too angry, blinded by his own desire for revenge. He attempts to stab Dantes in the back, and Dantes is forced to kill Mondego to save himself. Dantes and Mercedes rekindle their love, and vow to never leave each other again.

-o-oOo-o-

Vlad attempted to not think about the ending. He downright ignored it. He pushed away the unsettling weight in his stomach, refusing to participate in the song and dance for a second time.

He stood, stretching, his back and legs popping from sitting so long. Beside him, Marilynn rolled her shoulders and neck, sharing his stiffness. She allowed him to take her arm again, staying close to him as they exit the theater back into the night, away from the suffocation of other people. The cool air of night bites their faces, feeling quite nice after being inside for nearly three hours. People still crowded around the outside, and they squeezed a way through until they get to an area of sidewalk that was fairly barren of others.

They walked down the street a bit, Vlad watching Marilynn's struggle to pluck away strands of hair that plastered themselves to her lipstick out of the corner of his eye.

“That was quite the enjoyable, all things considered. I hope I didn't ruin your experience.” he states eventually, casting a curious glance at her.

Her eyes go wide, “Oh no, I absolutely loved it! I can't thank you enough. I haven't had such a good first date in forever, I almost don't want it to end.” she said. Vlad raised a brow, humming.

“Well it doesn't have to.” he replied, the corner of his lip pulling up, “Anything else you'd be interesting in doing?”

Marilynn is surprised, but rolls with it, her head tilted as she thought. It was past ten at night, but that meant little in the City That Never Slept.

“Hmmm I'm feeling kinda hungry. Could you go for some pizza?” she said. He grinned.

“I'd love some. Pizza it is, then!”

Marilynn lead to way to a small, family owned pizzeria several blocks away, which was a good thing since Vlad got completely turned around the first right they made. He'd never been one for such huge cities; he liked living in the outskirts of both Madison and Amity. They'd decided to order a single pizza, half pepperoni and half ham and pineapple. This brought about his first true discovery about her; she liked fruit on her pizza. Blasphemy!

She also attempted to pay, which he intercepted. He had promised that everything tonight was on him, after all.

There were only three other people inside at such a late hour, but they decided to sit in the back anyway, away from them. While they ate, they made small talk, which turned into a short argument about pineapple on pizza and then about certain other dubious food combinations. Like mint and chocolate; she refused to believe he would ruin perfectly good chocolate like that.

Vlad could feel it, though. She wanted to say something, but she wouldn't. Eventually, she did.

Marilynn put her drink down after taking a sip, “May I ask you a question?”

Vlad waved a hand, “Shoot, my dear.”

She hesitated. She bit her lip, which had been stripped of her blood red lipstick before she started eating. “I'm...sorry if I'm overstepping, but....why was the play hitting close to home for you?”

Vlad opened his mouth, then closed it immediately after. He'd been expecting this, of course, but he still didn't know what to tell her. He'd never told anyone before. He sighed, “It's a long story.”

“I'm not planning on leaving anytime soon.” Marilynn said. He didn't respond, and she tilted her head, her scowl deep, “Did someone betray you?”

'Observant and logical. Impressive.' he thought. Reluctantly, he gave a nod. Sighing, he leaned forward, elbows on the table.

“I had...a crush on one of my friends, in college. I loved her, quite a lot. I never got to tell her. She and another friend, they believed in this....bizarre idea, about the existence of....another realm, of sorts.” Vlad began, motioning with his hands. Marilynn nodded, listening, “It was ludicrous, absolutely ludicrous. But, she was dedicated to it, and I went where she went, so I got dragged into things. Theories and experiments. And then they started working on a machine to open a sort of door to this alternate realm. They were so convinced that it would work, didn't listen to me or any kind of common sense.”

“One day, about halfway through my second year, this machine was completed and they decided to test it out. That was how it was, jump in with both feet, who cares about repercussions if it works. My best friend at the time didn't listen when he was told that some things weren't right, and it—” Vlad bobbed his head, searching for the words, “Malfunctioned right into my face.”

“I was rushed to the hospital. It was a rather....unpleasant experience. Five years later, I come out penniless, kicked out of college, drowning in debt and.....they're both happily married in a quaint little home. It was all quite....painful, to say in the least.”

His fingers itched towards several faint marks on his hands, some circles, other pinpoint dots. It felt like they throbbed at the memory of pain from years passed. The phantom feeling of rupturing blisters tingled across patches of his skin. He shuddered.

“Well that certainly explains things....” Marilynn said after a while. He didn't raise his eyes, and she looked away as well, “You still have feelings for this woman, don't you?”

He opened his mouth, but no words came out. He didn't know what to say. Say 'yes, I do, I'd still love to pine after her but a teenager won't let me'? He's pretty sure that'd be the most surefire way to both end the night and earn a 'please never get within thirty feet of me ever again.' restraining order. But if he lied, he'd have to keep up the lie, which would be hard since he still couldn't completely let go. Madeline was part of his obsession, and obsessions weren't easily denied. He swallowed.

“I....I won't lie, I do. But I have begun to come to terms with the realization that I could never have her.” he said, deciding that it was best to be honest. The best way to not be caught in a tangled web of lies later was to not weave them, right? Despite this, it was still quite hard to actually say it himself, to hear it in his own voice. “I don't want to spend another twenty years chasing ghosts. I...need to try to move on.”

Marilynn nodded, a sad smile on her lips. Recognition and understanding flashed across her eyes. Vlad blinked, confused. Noticing this, she looked away again and began to pick at her nails. “I know how you feel. Well, sort of. I don't mean to say my pain's the same as yours, but....I know what it's like to feel betrayed. To feel forgotten. To feel worthless.”

His confusion deepened.“Who would be so cruel as to hurt someone like you?”

Marilynn snorted, “I met this guy in my AP class. He was tall, handsome and oh lord, was he sweet. To say I fell head over heels is an understatement. We started dating, and I felt like I'd found my soulmate. I wanted to marry him, I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. He didn't particularly agree with my degree choice, he thought that 'pretty girls don't know anything about computers'. He tried to get me to drop out. And...” she heaved a sigh, “For him, I did.”

“I spent a year living with him. Got engaged and everything, but......my mother was ill. She'd always been rather frail, but it was still...still hard, to finally lose her. I'd rushed home, stayed for a couple of days for her funeral. When I went back to Penn State, everything was gone. The apartment was up for rent and he,” Her hands curled into white-knuckled fists, “He, the man of my dreams, the man I'd die for, the man I derailed my life for, had decided that he liked the swimmer he'd been dating behind my back better and that he belonged in Miami.”

“It turns out he'd been waiting for when I was out of the apartment to get up and leave, because he didn't like how 'dependent' I'd gotten. He took everything from me.”

Vlad could only stare, “I'm so sorry to hear that.”

She shrugged, smiling. “It was a long time ago.”

He could tell it was a fake smile, the 'It's fine' smile. It was familiar.

He scoffed, “Don't I know those words well. 'It was a long time ago, I'm fine. No, I'm not still angry. Yes, I've forgiven you.' Such tiresome lying, when you just want to say to opposite but can't. You just have to smile and pretend.”

Her face lit up, “Exactly. You have to dance the dance because everyone else will judge you if they know it still hurts you. 'C'mon, it was so long ago. How come you haven't let it go yet?' Like bitch, Brittney, it ain't that easy!”

He nodded, picking up his glass and swirling the water inside, “It appears that we are both quite similar. The broken and the betrayed. It's almost sickeningly Avant Garde.”

Marilynn snorted, but flashed a smile. “It's comforting, to know someone who can understand what it's like. I'm glad to have met you.”

“I would like to say the same about you, my dear.” he replied, then cocked his head, “Y'know, it's funny, I've never told anyone about my accident before, and yet I've told you tonight.”

She lifted her piece of pizza, but paused before taking a bite, “I'm glad that we both feel we can trust each other with our baggage, that's a good thing.” she said. “Don't worry, it's safe with me, I wouldn't dream of telling anyone. I trust you'd do the same for me?”

“I wouldn't ever dream of hurting you, my dear.”

She hummed her thanks, her mouth full. She finished chewing, then said,“You like to do that, don't you?”

He blinked “Do what?”

“Call people 'my dear' or 'my darling'. You've done it quite a few times now,” she said, stirring her drink with the straw and taking a sip. Realization hit him.

“Ahh, it's a bit of a habit. I often use it around some of the other women I know, so sometimes it just slips out. I don't mean to make you uncomfortable, if that's the case.” he explained. It was true. He called Maddie and Haley by simple pet names all the time. He recalled even doing it with Jazz once, much the young lady's disgust. Marilynn waved her hand, dismissive.

“Oh, no, I don't mind. It's just something I noticed. I think it's quite sweet, actually.”

“Do you? I haven't heard that before.”

“How come? I would expect that a man like you,” she gestured him up and down, though he didn't know if she meant his suit or the body in it, “wouldn't have any trouble at all dating. And yet here you are.”

He chuckled, leaning back on the seat, ignoring the noise the old thing made, “Ah, looks can be deceiving, Marilynn.” he admitted, “I'm fairly....romantically inept, so to speak. Lack of experience.”

“So that's why you chose online dating? You're too shy to go bar hopping?”

“I am not shy!” Vlad decided to ignore the little 'Mmhm' and the smug smile on pink lips, “But as to the reason why, that's a rather funny story, actually. Well, one part funny, two parts annoying.”

“Oh? Do tell.” Marilynn laced her fingers together, resting her chin on her knuckles.

“I didn't register myself. A bratty teenager who can't keep his nose out of my business took it upon himself to try to get me in a relationship. He signed me up on the site, and I caught him not too long before I first messaged you.” Vlad explained, “That's why my profile was blank, by the by.”

Marilynn laughed, trying to hide it behind her hands, “Okay that's the best thing I've ever heard. You needed a teenage wing man.”

“Well, when you put it like that...” Vlad muttered, and she laughed harder. He pouted, but found that he wasn't really all that angry or embarrassed about it. “As annoying as it was, I can't be too angry with the boy. After all, we wouldn't be here if it weren't for him.”

Marilynn wiped a tear away from her eye with her pinky, “Good point. You should thank him.”

Vlad snorted, picking up his glass, “He probably wouldn't believe me if I told him I actually went on a date already. He'd think I was making you up, and then he'd start to pity me.” he downed the rest of his water.

“Well at least he wouldn't be right. I'm real and I'm here. Somehow.”

“Sometimes crazy works, you know.” Vlad stated, raising his chin proudly. Marilynn rolled her eyes, and finished off her pizza, the faintest smile visible behind the crust.

“And if I may be so bold, I'd love for you to tell me more about yourself, since you are here.”

She rested a cheek in her hand, “What do you want to know?”

“A lot of things.” Vlad replied, a sly gleam creeping into his eyes, “All of your favorites. Your best stories and memories. Your hopes and dreams. Your laugh when you just can't stop. How you look when you're doing the things you love. How you look in the summer sun, and bundled in ugly Holiday sweaters, and when you wake up every morning. What your hair smells like. If you lips are as soft as they-”

“Okaaay, slow it down there, eager beaver. It's only the first date.” she waved her hand, cutting him off. He smirked, leaning back and observing the pink blush spreading across her cheeks to her ear tips, “There'll be other opportunities.”

His smirk grew wider, a brow raised, “Ahhh, so I have snared your interest then?

She hummed, “I wouldn't say that just yet. But I do like you.”

“I'll consider that a small victory.”

“How about this, I'll answer three questions every date.” Marilynn said, holding three fingers up, “But I get to ask three of my own back and we both have to be honest. Deal?”

Vlad shrugged once, nonchalant, “Deal.”

Marilynn gestured for him to go first. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table, “Let's see.....You said that The Count was one of your favorite musicals. What's your absolute favorite?”

Her head fell back, “Ohhh, that's such a hard question right off the bat! I have so many that I love! Wicked, RENT, The Scarlet Pimpernel! But I'm gonna have to saaay....Chicago. It's got a special place in my heart.”

“Oh? And why is that?”

“It's the first one I discovered, the one that started my love for musicals and theater. When I was younger, I actually wanted to be an actress because I liked it so much.” she explained, flashing an innocent smile, “That counted as two, by the way.”

He frowned, “I hadn't even thought before I asked, but fair is fair. What do you want to know?”

Marilynn tapped her bottom lip with her finger, humming. He could almost see the ways the gears turned in her skull, in the way her thin brows crinkled and her eyes wandered. For a moment, her eyes lingered on the white stripe parting his silver hair and he could practically feel her mind questioning it.. But she didn't voice any aloud, instead moving on and looking elsewhere.

Eventually, she made vague motions with her hand, “You know I'm learning German, right? But what about you, do you speak a second language or learning anything?”

Vlad hummed, “Ahhh, interesting. I speak a couple, actually. My first language is actually Romanian, English is my second. I'm fairly fluent in French as well.” her brows raised.

“Romanian? That's one you don't hear about any day. That's neat.” she leaned forward, table creaking lightly under her weight, “Can you say something in it? For me?”

Vlad chuckled, “Sigur. Cred că am îndrăgostit de tine.”

“That's awesome. What did you say?”

“Ahhh, but you've already asked your three questions tonight, my dear.” Vlad smirked, amused at her dumbfounded expression, which he found absolutely adorable, “I guess you'rer going to have to wait until next time to figure it out.”

“That's just mean.” Marilynn muttered, and he chuckled again.

“Go ahead, ask another; I won't count them, since one was technically a request.”

For a moment, she looked like she was going to protest. Instead, she asked, “Why me?”

Vlad frowned, “What do you mean?”

She shrugged, “Why did you decide to message me? What made you interested?”

Vlad stared at her. After a moment, he looked away, towards the tile of the wall, thinking. What, exactly, had made him interested in her? More interested than the other five? Her interests? Her profession? Her looks? He couldn't pinpoint it. Well, he could, but he attempted to ignore that particular reason right now. She was certainly beautiful, yes, and he did feel attracted to her, but there had been something else, something he couldn't figure out. Something he knew he saw, but couldn't identify. Or was he overthinking it? Thinking there was something else when all that was there was the physical attraction, and the similarities of Maddie? He...honestly, he didn't know. He was dumbfounded for a second time.

“Vladimir?” he looked back to Marilynn, broken from his musings.

“My apologies, I just hadn't thought about why you stood out to me before. It's a good question. I guess I....well, I don't want to paint myself as being shallow, but a substantial factor was your beauty. The other part was that I was reading your profile and I couldn't stop thinking that this was a woman I wanted know more about. I felt more magnetized the more I read, But I haven't any idea why.” he said.

Marilynn's face softened, her smile brightening, “I've asked every single previous guy that same question, and most of them tried to come up with some superficial vague crap; not one of them admitted it might have been because they thought I was attractive. Thank you for being honest.”

His face contorted in confusion, “You're quite welcome? I don't understand, why does that please you?”

In an instant, her face hardened. Eyes narrow, jaw tight, smile gone.

“I hate being lied to. I can't stand it. I don't appreciate when people, particularly men whom I go on dates with, attempt to pull wool over my eyes with fluffy words and a sickeningly sweet disposition. It's a game to them, they're focused on a goal rather than who I am. I'm not a possession, nor a trophy, to be won. I don't play the game.” she explained, and Vlad could only stare at the dull, nearly irritable tone, “They only get one chance. Either be honest with me or get out; I haven't time for the bullshit.”

'Seems like I'm not the only bitter one here still compensating for past grievances.' he thought, nodding. 'Daniel's goth friend would like this attitude.'

“Makes sense, but, still...Why?” he questioned, thought to be honest, he didn't really know how else to respond.

“I've been lied to enough in my life. I refuse to have my time wasted. Never again.” she replied, adding, “It's also easy for me, because I'm very well aware that I'm beautiful; there's no denying that.”

His brows shot up, “I wouldn't dare, I quite agree.” she laughed, and he relaxed a little.

“Since I've most likely used my third question, and fourth and fifth probably, it’s still your turn, my dear.”

“I've lost track, honestly.” she admitted and he chuckled, “Let's go with something easy since it's getting a little late. Any fears?”

'Too many.' he mentally kicked the thought in its nonexistent ass.

“Death.” he replied, “Hospitals. Being alone. Bees. A few superstitions, as well, thought not as badly. Your typical sorts of things. What time even is it?”

Marilynn checked her phone, “12:22. I think I should head home.”

Vlad nodded, his spirit deflating. He didn't realize they'd been here for so long; it was a good thing the pizzeria was a 24-hour one. He was quite sad that he'd have to say goodbye soon, and a tad surprised by that. It'd been a very enjoyable evening, one he didn't quite want to end yet. But it needed to, as he assumed she had work to do later and he himself needed to get back to Amity by 8 am for a meeting. Most likely because of Daniel's destructive heroics, the brat went out on a limb to make his work even harder.

They split the remaining few pieces of pizza into to-go boxes, and left together, a handsome tip left on the table while Marilynn's back was turned. Outside, she hailed a taxi, and he caught her hand before she got in.

“Allow me to pay for your cab. It's the least I can do-”

She shook her head, “You've paid for enough tonight. I appreciate it, though. I'll be fine.”

He nodded, and released her arm. “Very well, Marilynn, if you insist.”

she smiled up at him, “Thank you again for tonight. I couldn't have asked for a better night.”

“It was my pleasure, I'm glad that you enjoyed yourself. I'd love to take you out again sometime, if that's alright with you?” her sculpted brow raised.

“You're just full of surprises, aren't you?” she said, but her smile told him she didn't really mind. She pulled out a post-it pad from her purse and scribbled something down. He tried to look at it, but she hid it, and tucked it into his breast pocket with a playful pat. “Call me.”

Vlad was stunned, jaw slack for a second before he closed it, “I most certainly will. Have a goodnight, my darling.”

She smiled, a playful glint in her eyes. She took one quick step towards him, and placed her lips on his cheek, then stepped back again, “Goodnight, Vladimir.”

Vlad didn't respond, stunned. She chuckled as she entered the cab and waved as it pulled away. Dumbly, Vlad waved back, watching the vehicle disappear among the hundreds of others. His brain felt like a rug had been ripped out from under it, and it couldn't figure out how to get back up. He barely recalled calling his own chauffeur to come pick him up until he was actually in the back seat and on his way back to the airport. He raised his hand to his cheek, fingers brushing over the place where her lips had been for just a fraction of a second. It seemed to tingle a little at the memory, and he snapped from his daze. He hid his face in his hands, his cheeks burning.

'Oh my god!'

-O-

AN: Oh Vladdy. Getting all flustered at a cheek kiss.

#OnlineDatingforPatheticFruitloops #Danny Phantom #GetVladAGirlfriend2016 #chapter 2 #OldThings #vvcwriting

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goldenchan-fx2thepeacock · 3 years

Text

Don’t Go Running Off Into Danger, Even If I Do

Randon idea for a DP (Danny Phantom) GF (Gravity Falls) crossover. I’ve been browsing Tumblr tags for way too long and whatever. This, unlike the neighbourhood phantom fic from earlier, will have multiple chapters. Also, Danny is sixteen and Dipper and Mabel are fouteen.

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Chapter One

The fight with Skulker was a long one. Maybe that was an understatement. Sam and Tucker were both out of town and he was stuck with Wes and the ghosts alone. Well, Wes wasn’t exactly an issue, but if he somehow got proof, Danny would be in a pickle. He set down in the alleyway and stared at the tattered remains of his jumpsuit. Whatever. Street clothes Phantom would have to do for now. Danny sighed and the glaringly visible binder. At least Skulker hadn’t seen. With a twirl of his fingers, the tattered jumpsuit becam a pullover hoodie with the Phantom logo and ripped jeans. Once the clothing change was done and it didn’t seem like anyone was watching, he transformed. As his luck would have it, he heard a gasp. Luckily, it wasn’t someone he knew.

~~~~~~~~~

Mabel and Dipper had just moved to Amity Park to live with their Aunt Molly. Dipper was excited because he’d heard that there was a lot of paranormal activity here. Mostly ghosts but still. What he wasn’t expecting was to see a boy with white hair wearing a black sweatshirt turn into one with black hair and a red tee. Both he and Mabel gasped. The boy cursed under his breath and turned around. “Oh thank god. At least you aren’t anyone who knows me. Welcome to Amity Park!” The boy seemed stressed. “What was that! That’s so cool!” Dipper said excitedly. “Listen, I’ll tell you, but you gotta promise to keep it a secret. What do you know about Amity so far?” “Just that it’s a hotspot for paranormal activity, nothing like Gravity Falls, but alot happens here,” Dipper said and pulled out the journal to write info down. “I don’t really know what Gravity Falls is, but Amity is a hotspot for ghosts. Mostly cause my parent made a portal in the basement of my house. So, you know nothing about Danny Phantom?” “I think I might’ve heard rumours on the street?” Mabel says. She was staring at the boy. Great, a new crush. “Well, Danny Phantom, who just so happens to be my alter ego, goes around dealing with the ghost threats and making sure Amity doesn’t get completely destroyed. My name’s Danny Fenton by the way,” “Don’t you think that’s kinda obvious?” Dipper scribbled a picture of Danny into the journal. “Nah. Even my own parents don’t know, and they’re the ‘leading experts’ in the field of ectobiology and ghost hunting,” “The what now?” Mabel said. “Study of ghosts. Heck, the portal wouldn’t even be open if I hadn’t half died when turing it on,” Danny laughed. “You died?” Mabel stared at him. “Yes and no. Nobody knows Danny Phantom is only half ghost except fucking Vlad and the rest of the ghosts,” “Who’s Vlad?” Dipper was curious. “Ah, Vlad Masters. Mayor of Amity Park. Pretentious billionare. Creep trying to get into my mom’s pants. Oh, and Plasmious on the side. Could you believe that my parents created two half ghosts?” “We let a dream demon into our world a couple summers ago,” Mabel said. “Mabel, that violates the Never Mind All That Act,” “He’s been through weird stuff too!” “I mean, I fought an all powerful ghost king that sucked Amity into the Ghost Zone,” “Fair enough,” Dipper conceded. Danny looked down at his watch. “Listen, I’d love to stay and chat, but I’m gonna miss curfew. And Skulker needs to go home before he figures out a way out of the Fenton Thermos,” “Wait! Where can we find you?” “Look for the big glowing FentonWorks sign. It’s impossible to miss. And don’t mention the Phantom thing to my parents. They want to rip me apart molecule by molecule as is!” “Are you sure that’s enough direction?” Dipper was skeptical. “You couldn’t miss FentonWorks if you wanted to,” He laughed and ran off. Dipper had half a thought to follow him, but they had to get to Aunt Molly’s.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Danny ran to FentonWorks. He probably would’ve flown if he’s though of it or if he wasn’t concerned about getting caught. The kids weren’t from Amity at least. He managed to get in just as his curfew alarm went off. “Daniel, you almost missed curfew!” his Mom said. “Yeah, but I didn’t!” Danny said triumphantly. “No, I suppose you didn’t,” She sighed and went back to whatever blueprints she was drawing up. If it mattered, he’d find out. Once he was certain she was distracted, he went down to the lab and stuck the thermos in the attachment. “Dann-o! You catch a ghost?” Fuck. Danny turned to his dad. “Nah. But I left my thermos out accidentally. I put it in just in case someone caught one with it,” He was getting way too good at lying. “Oh well. It’s good to see you got back in time,” Dad pulled Danny into a bone crushing hug. “Dad! I gotta get my binder off before you can break my ribs!” Dannt squeaked out. “Oh right. Sorry Dann-o. Go get changed,” Dad put Danny down and gave him a slap on the back. Ow. Danny rushed upstairs. He wrangled the binder off and flopped back on the bed once he put his shirt back on. Jazz poked her head in. “Hi Danny!” She said cheerily. “Sup, Jazz Spazz,” He sat up. He had a burn on his thigh from the fight. “Keep in mind only you can call me that. Finally catch ‘Ghost X’?” She said. Danny snorted. “I’m going to kill you if you call Skulker that seriously ever again. Yeah, I caught him. A couple of newbies saw me transform though. Now I have to explain stuff to them so they keep my secret,” “Well, at least they won’t tell!” “Jazz, always looking on the bright side,” Danny pretend narrated. They both giggled. “Well, Mom and Dad are gonna be out giving protection to the people tonight,” “Planning sesh! Yes. I can fix the jumpsuit,” “Oh geez, what happened to it?” “Just got shredded. Skulker didn’t see anything, but still,” “Oh. I’ll get the sewing supplies,” She walked into her room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dipper and Mabel walked into Aunt Molly’s house. “Hey kids! Glad to see you got here in one piece!” She rushed over to them and kissed their heads. “Yup. We’re here. Hey, Aunt Molly, do you know where FentonWorks is? We met someone who said they lived there today,” Mabel said. “Oh, that eyesore. Nothing against Jack and Maddie, but they could really use some decorating help. Who did you talk to? Jazz or Danny?” “Does everyone in town know them or something?” Dipper was shocked. “Well of course. Fenton tech is the best protection from ghosts other than Phantom,” “Well, it was a guy, so Danny I’m guessing,” Mabel said. Of course it was Danny. “Ah, Daniel. Poor kid. Dash Baxter needs to leave him alone. Runs at the sight of a ghost. If you ever need to get to his place, I can give you a ride,” Molly sighed. Dipper would’ve thought more in depth about it if there wasn’t a loud knock on the door. “That must be the Fentons. I forgot it was safety tech day,” She opened the door. A man in an orange jumpsuit came in. He was massive. But the black hair and blue eyes were recognizable. A woman came in behind him. She was in a teal jumpsuit. “Jack, Maddie! Come in. These are my neice and nephew, Mason and Mabel,” “Can you call me Dipper?” He turned to Molly. “I thought you would at least introduce yourself formally,” Molly sighed. “Ah, new kids. Remember kids, if you see the menice of that ghost boy, you stay clear. Town might make him out to be a hero, but he’s not!” Jack said. Dipper and Mabel exchanged a look. Poor Danny. “Alright, that’s not why we’re here. Do you want a ghost shield to keep the kids safe Molly?” Maddie pulled out a strange contraption. “You know, that doesn’t sound like a horrible plan. I don’t know why you bother with yours when you have a portal in your basement,” “We close the portal most times,” Maddie seemed offended. “Oh well. I’ll take a few lipstick lazer and wrist blasters with that,” Molly placed the contraption on the shelf and Maddie pulled some lipsticks and weird blaster thingies out of her bag. The Fentons left. “Don’t listen to them about Phantom. They have prejudices against him for no reason. He’s saved our town too many times to count. The least they can do is stop threatening to dissect him!” Molly scoffed. Dipper went pale. But he didn’t have time to think about it. They had school in the morning.

#danny phantom #danny fenton #jack fenton #maddie fenton #jazz fenton #mabel pines #original characters #dipper pines #gravity falls #trans!danny #trans!dipper #crossover

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ayamari-no-goshi · 3 years

Text

Eidolon 8 | (T)

ff.net | AO3

Fandom: Danny Phantom (DP)

Summary: AU: What started off as the result of a simple act of rebellion ends up causing his life to spin out of control. How will young Danny cope with the results as well as a past that has a strange habit of coming back to haunt him.

Warnings: rated T for violence, mentions of death, kidnapping, and various other things

Parings: hints of Danny/Sam much later on

Notes: originally uploaded to Ff.net. Cross-posted to AO3 and tumblr

8. Double Teamed

It had been an incredibly trying day, and Winston was more than glad to be home. Chaos greeted him as he walked into work and had remained until it the end of the day. His ears were still ringing from a rather vicious call from a mother claiming that the school was somehow brainwashing her child. Although it was quite possible that one of the teachers had said something questionable in class, he highly doubted that aliens were in any way involved. To make matters worse, he was forced to go to a meeting afterwards with one of Vlad's representatives, which ended up being far more problematic.

The representative as well as the state mediator (who had been sent to babysit them) explicitly told him that a date had been set for a hearing, and if the judge found that the accusations were valid, than Danny's case would go to court. It sounds simple enough, but Winston had no idea where Vlad had managed to get his so called evidence. Maltreatment of a child? That was preposterous! He had done the best that he could to take care of the boy, and although he was nowhere near perfect, he felt that Danny was growing up just fine. How Vlad managed to convince the state that there was a problem was beyond him.

What was even more surprising was learning that the date for the hearing was so soon, just after Danny's birthday. Due to how busy the U.S. court system could be, it could take months to years for a hearing to occur, let alone an actual case. Yet, he was going to have to deal with one in just a couple weeks. It was, for lack of a better word, uncanny. It was possible that there just happened to be an opening that particular day, but it was more likely that Vlad had somehow used him money to move up the date.

There was just something not right about the entire mess, and the more Winston thought about it the more he became convinced there was something else to the motives of the eccentric billionaire. When the representative called his boss during the meeting and mentioned when the date was, the man seemingly lost it. Although Winston could not make out any of the words, it was very clear that something about the date was in no ways appealing. It was also odd that Vlad had managed to convince the state of a possible problem with Danny's current situation. With there being no previous reports, complaints, or evidence it seemed utterly ridiculous that the state would have taken such a claim seriously, especially without having sent their own investigator out.

He also had a sinking suspicion that Vlad was somehow involved with Plasmius, but there was no way to prove it. The strange co-appearance of the two had strengthened previous misgivings that had been brought up by the letters the Fentons had sent him prior to their disappearance. But Vlad was too intelligent to have any dealings with a creature like Plasmius. They could be in contact through a second party, but that would be stretching it as well. There was also the fact that Vlad had alluded to having knowledge about what was currently plaguing Danny. If that was true, how would he have gotten that knowledge?

A throbbing pain interrupted his thoughts. The migraine he had been trying to ignore throughout the day was no longer manageable through willpower alone. As he searched the kitchen cabinets for some medicine that could take the bite out of the pain, he tried to push the previous thoughts from his mind. It was true that Vlad's motives did not seem to add up, but it was probably nothing more than the man's unusual nature. Paranoia and anger can be some of the best motivators of the imagination.

It was probably in his best interest to lie down once he managed to take the medicine, but he figured that he should at least try to get some idea of how he was going to break the news to Danny first. The boy had finally gotten out of the funk he had been in after being informed about what had happened to his parents with the help the apparent help of his friends. It had been their idea to have a sleepover tonight, since tomorrow was the start of the weekend, to help keep him in good spirits. Winston had been very glad that they had been worried enough to try and get through to him. Everything he had tried with the boy had failed miserably, and had been considering taking him to a psychiatrist if his closed off mood continued.

As he thought about it, he figured that it would probably be best to explain the situation fully once Danny returned home. He had tried to keep most of the details hidden as to not worry the boy, but with the severity of the current situation, the time for secrets was over. Danny was going to need to know exactly what to expect.

He sighed as he rubbed his forehead. His migraine was getting worse. After checking to make sure that all of the legal papers he was going to need within the next few days were organized, he decided to turn in for the night.

….

Getting to sleep was harder than Winston thought he would. His migraine prevented any position from being comfortable. After about twenty minutes, he had finally managed to start to doze when a strange noise caught his attention. Sitting bolt upright, he strained his ears for any further noise. The house seemed quite enough and his throbbing headache was a compelling enough reason to go back to sleep.

As he lay back down, a severe chill crept over his body. Knowing that the situation was quickly becoming dangerous, he slowly reached down to retrieve the gun that was hidden under the mattress.

"Do you really think that toy will be effective against me?"

He had rolled out of bed as soon as the voice had begun to speak. A moment later, he was standing with his gun trained on the specter. "Plasmius…." he hissed, "what do you want?"

The ghost smiled as it placed its hands behind its back. "Normally, I would say the boy, but he's currently not here at the moment, is he?"

"If you already knew that, why did you come?" Winston asked while trying to determine a possible escape route. Of course the ghost had placed itself between him and the door.

"It's simple, really," it told him with a flourish. "The current chain of events is moving a bit too slowly for my liking, so I'm speeding it up a bit by removing you from the equation."

Winston cocked the weapon in his hands as he readied himself for any sign of attack. "Sorry to burst your bubble," he told it as he slowly started to move towards the door, "but if I'm gone, Danny will just be sent to Vlad Masters. And believe me when I tell you that the man has the money to get what's needed to keep you away."

An amused laugh answered him. Winton eyed the specter carefully as he asked, "What's so funny?"

"Because that's exactly what I want to happen," it replied as it suddenly fired a plasma ray at him.

He barely managed to dodge, and by the time he had caught himself, another blast was coming his way. The strange cool but burning energy sent him flying backwards into the wall when it hit. After sliding down the wall, he glanced up at his attacker. "I don't understand," he told it as he winced. The attack had done some damage to his ribs.

It laughed again as it approached him. "With as intelligent as you are surely you've noticed that there's some sort of connection between myself and Masters. Only, it's far more complicated than you think it is." As it spoke, a strange black ring of energy came into existence around its waist before it split. Both halves of the ring traveling along both halves of its body as it melded its appearance into that of Vlad Masters. "Ta da. It's a handy little trick, don't you think?"

Winston had seen a great deal during the course of his life, especially after having served in the military, but not even that had prepared him for such a shocking event. "Wh-what are you?" he stuttered.

"Me?" the billionaire asked with faked surprise. "I'm the same as young Daniel is… or I should say will be once his birthday comes around."

It suddenly became apparent to Winston why Vlad had been so angry during the phone call earlier. The hearing would fall after Danny's birthday… after he became… He didn't even want to think about it.

"Did you know that Jack and Maddie had gone into the field of paranormal studies in order to find a cure for their son's 'aliment' years before he was even conceived?" Vlad gave him a disgusted look as he… it began to pace. "They knew what a child of theirs could end up being, but they failed to see the truth of the matter… The boy would be given gifts that no human could ever dream of understanding. So, I did the boy a favor and got rid of them. But, unbeknownst to me at the time, they had thrown a wrench into my plans, you!" It glared at him as the black rings formed again and returned it to its proper appearance. "But after tonight, that's not going to matter anymore."

"And I say that it's not going to be as easy as you think, you crazed-up fruit loop!" he shouted as he raised his gun, stared into those crimson eyes, and fired.

xxxxxxxxxxx

"Guys, after everything that's happened, do you really think it's a good idea for us to be out, in the park, alone, at night?" Tucker asked as he followed behind him and Sam. His voice betrayed just how frightened he was.

Sam just rolled her eyes as she continued to walk. "Wasn't it you who said that the ghost couldn't leave its haunt?"

"Well, yeah… but…"

"But what? Come on and live a little!"

Danny smiled as he watched his two friends argue. Although he too was a little wary about being alone, he figured that nothing too bad could happen to them. Ignoring the ghost that appeared on Wednesday, Amity Park was usually a very safe place to live, even at night.

It was Sam who managed to once again convince them to come out at night. Though, this time, he wasn't exactly sure if it was to talk privately or just to get away from her parents. She had decided to have a sleepover at her house because she thought that they were out of town, but something had prevented them from going. He couldn't forget the look of horror she wore when they entered her impressively large house to find them waiting for her. In a way, it was apparent why she didn't like them too much; they were dressed very brightly and had an unusually sunny disposition making them the complete opposite of their daughter. After having dragged himself and Tucker into her room, she apologized, much to his surprise.

"So Danny," Sam said suddenly, catching his attention, "have you heard anything new about what's going on with your case?"

"No, not really… Winston had mentioned on the phone earlier that he was supposed to be going to a meeting for it today. I guess I'll find out tomorrow if anything happened," he replied with a shrug while trying to keep his voice neutral. Winston had kept saying that everything was fine, but a worried expression seemed to be appearing on his face more and more after getting off of the phone with anyone who had anything to do with the case.

"Well, that's good, isn't it?" Tucker asked, his voice betraying a strange mixture of hope and concern.

Danny shrugged and continued walking. Although it concerned him, without having a lot of information, he couldn't get too worked up about it. "So, pushing that aside, what's going on in the realm of the normal?" Little did he know how much trouble he would get into by Sam from just using the word 'normal'.

….

After a few hours of walking around the park and having Tucker continue to complain, the three of them decided to return to Sam's house. Although he couldn't be certain, he was fairly sure that it was after midnight. There was just something about the silence combined with the lack of cars or other people that suggested it.

There was something about the night that was concerning him. Perhaps it was the paranoia of everything else that had happened weighing down on him, but the shadows seemed to be darker and more defined than usual. The feeling of being watched was also present, though this time, he was unable to see any movement.

A cold chill ran through his body. Thinking it was just the wind, he hugged himself hoping to gain a little more warmth as they walked. "Dude, are you okay?" Tucker asked, surprising him.

"Yeah," he replied as he tried not to let his teeth chatter. "I'm just a little cold." His friends looked like they were about to shrug it off until he and they noticed that his breath was slowly becoming visible. He stared at the misty vapor as it formed for a moment before disappearing. Had it really gotten that cold?

After sharing a look, both Sam and Tucker grabbed his arms and began marching, for a better lack of a word, towards the entrance of the park. "Guys, stop! What's wrong with you?" he demanded as he yanked his arms out of their grip.

"Um, Danny, I don't know if you've noticed, but every time something weird happens to you, something weirder happens," Sam told him.

"And after hearing about what happened last time, I really don't want to be around when it does," Tucker continued.

He just stared at them. "What do you mean weird? It's just cold out here!"

"That's the thing. It's not the temperature that's cold, it's actually you," Sam tried to explain. "I don't know what it is, but you're skin's like ice, and I'm fairly certain that you weren't like that earlier."

Danny frowned as he looked at his hands. How was that even possible?

"Anyways," Sam told him with an uncertain tone as she gave him a slight push, "let's get you back to my house so that we can get you a blanket. No matter what other weird stuff is going on with you, it is probably not a good idea for you to continue to be that cold."

He grudgingly agreed and allowed himself to follow his friends. An uncomfortable silence fell between them as they walked, which really began to grate on his nerves. Okay, so he was cold. That was a problem how? Not all that strange. Falling through solid objects, on the other hand? That was a completely different matter.

As they approached the street a high pitched whine disturbed the night. He had just enough time after noticing the initial flash of light to make some sort of noise and tackle both of his friends to the ground. The sharp vibrations that followed verified his initial fears.

"What was that for?" Sam demanded as she pushed him off of her.

"You're welcome," he replied sarcastically as he stood up and glanced around. Something told him that was just the opening for something much larger.

"Um, guys…" A hand was tugging on his pant leg. Glancing down, he saw Tucker pointing at something. The boy's face was as white as a sheet, which was rather impressive for how dark his natural skin color was. Danny allowed himself to take a look and gasped. Where the three of them had been standing only moments before, the ground was warped and destroyed. Whatever that light had been, it was certainly strong and dangerous. He did not want to think about what could have happened if they hadn't moved.

The feeling of being grabbed startled him, but he quickly learned it was just Tucker using him as leverage to help stand back up. "What… what was that?" His voice was little more than a frightened squeak.

Danny did not replay immediately. Inwardly cursing that there weren't more lights in the park, he tried to find any sign of where the source could have been. There was absolutely nothing! No shadow, no further noise; just an eerie silence that was only broken by the sound of breathing. "I-I'm not sure…" he told his friends hesitantly as he turned back towards them. "But, we need to get out of here… Wait… what was that?"

A strange noise had broken through the silence and was quickly becoming louder. It was difficult to place what it could be, but it definitely had a metallic sound to it. But there was an unusual sort of hitching within the sound, which almost made it seem like it was laughing.

"Come on!" Sam's sharp tone brought him back to reality as she again tried pulling on him and Tucker. "I really don't think that we want to be around when that thing shows itself." She had just managed to get them moving again when another blast hit nearby sending them back to the ground.

He must have hit the ground pretty hard because the next thing he knew, Tucker was trying to shake him awake. "I'm okay…" Danny told his friend as he tried to push himself up. As he did, he could feel something wet beginning to run down his face. Great, he was bleeding, but he was going to have to push that aside, escaping was far more important.

After a few more heart pounding moments, the three of them had managed to get to the outskirts of the park. Taking a hesitant breather, they scanned the area hoping that they were free of whatever had just attacked them.

Thankful for the temporary break, Danny took the chance to wipe the blood off his face and out of his eye. If he was going to have to run again, he really did not want any other distractions. Grimacing at the sight of his blood covered hand, he realized that he was going to get the cut taken care of as soon as possible. He was also going to have to figure out what else had managed to get on his face. Although it was faint, there was an odd looking green color that had gotten mixed into it.

"Danny! Behind you!"

The fear in Sam's voice was nothing like he had ever heard before. Startled, he turned to see what was wrong and found himself face to face with the barrel of a gun.

"I have you now, ghost child."

#Eidolon #danny phantom #danny phantom au #fanfic #fanfiction #my writing #dp #dp au #danny fenton #sam manson #tucker foley #vlad plasmius #fantasy #supernatural #paranormal #alternate universe

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