#'and here is vlad masters (plasmius) in his office'

[vladdyissues]

[camels-pen]

You hurt the Prince like the common ghost? Oh, jail for Plasmius! Jail for Plasmius for 1000 years!

Ectoberhaunt day 3 - Order & Chaos

Summary:

Ghost Speak, like any other language, takes time and effort to learn.

Vlad really wished he’d bothered to learn it.

Ao3 Link | part of the In Service of The Realms series

Vlad blinked awake. He was standing in a massive courtroom surrounded by Observants on all sides. 

“Did you kidnap me from my office?!” The familiar flames of anger burned through him as his transformation rings appeared, exchanging a pressed black suit for white, black, and red hazmat and cape. He felt his ecto-energy pool in the centre of his palms and glared. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t burn you all to one-eyed ash immediately.”

The Head Observant, sitting atop a tall seat behind a judge’s table right in front of him, said, “For crimes against the heir to the throne, you, Vladimir Masters-Plasmius, are on trial.”

“I don’t care about whatever paltry excuses you have, just—” Vlad blinked. “I’m sorry, did you say trial?”

“Correct, for the crimes against the heir to the throne.”

“What crimes? What heir?”

The Head Observant’s body language changed as if he were speaking, though no sound escaped.

Vlad blinked. “I’m sorry, I don’t think I heard you.”

The Head sighed. “Fine. I will repeat myself.” The Head Observant repeated the same changes in body language. Still Vlad couldn’t hear anything

He furrowed his brows and rubbed the skin just in front of his ears. He popped his ears for good measure. “Okay, one more time.”

The Head squinted at him. “This is the final time I shall repeat myself.” Vlad nodded. 

For a third time, the Head’s body language changed, but this time Vlad could hear a small ringing in his ears that had changes in tone and pitch as if someone was irritated and speaking slowly. Yet still, Vlad could not hear any words.

“Er, I still can’t seem to hear—” The ringing raised in volume and Vlad winced.

At one point, the other Observants seemed to start chiming in and Vlad could barely focus on anything with the constant different ringing noises hammering through his head.

Then, all at once, silence.

“Do you have anything to say for yourself?” the Head said.

Vlad felt his anger from earlier resurface and he yelled, “How can I be guilty for whatever you’re accusing me for when I didn’t understand anything you said?!”

Thus, here Vlad sat, almost 12 hours later, in a pathetic little halfa-specific jail cell in Walker’s prison, being laughed at by Daniel and his little friends all while trying to negotiate his freedom from them.

[ecto-stone]

So I don’t really know that much about that my blood au you created could you tell me a bit about it?

Ha hah I Hope this is Edible

So My Blood Au is just Me dumping all the cool stuff i can think of into a DP what if Vlad is Good ^For Starter MB Vlad or Vladimir Jude Masters is a Paranormal investigater/ hunter/exocist in a sense. He seemingly Perfect in People eye, Not Really on the inside as he have many problem stem from living so long and going though alots of thing that he prefer not to talk about that he hide from People , go so far as to adjust his own emotion to what he find fit to the situration making him really hard to read. (Not Jack and Danielle, those are close enough 2 peel him like an onion if they sense something off). -Vlad And Danny are not same kind of Halfa in this AU, Vlad is Two soul (Half Blue Demon Vampire Ghost, Half Human twisted together and blend into one) and Danny is Soul within soul (Going though the accident give him two identical soul that over lapped each other) -Ghost are nerf and ecto beam and ecto Base attack can harm ghost but they can't harm Physical thing in living world Unless they are infuse with Core element same with Human entering Purgatory. -The world have 5 Realm: LivingWorld, Purgatory (GhostZone), Elsewhereness, Fairy Land and Unworld. +Going with the idea that originaly Vlad is supposed to be a vampire and many ghost in the series feel like they are more supernature creature then Ghost. Living world now have many Human and other Creature living among each other , hidden in plain sight +Purgatory: Where Ghost go and heal before they move onto Elsewhereness (Heaven in this verse) or Rebirth back to the living cycle. There are many area in Purgatory that fit human decription of after life look like , this is due to collective faith and ideal of many Ghost focus with each other to created these Resting stop. Incidentally like the living world these area are also watch over by being call King and Queen of the Death (Caretaker and protector of the Death soul, a being with incredible power capable of bending reality). Most well known one are the King Dark, Prince Argon and Princess Dora of the Dark Age Zone. Queen Desire of the thousand and one night. ect.. newest King of the death is Ghost Writer (library of the forgotten) but he prefer not be refer to as king, just Ghost writer. +Elsewhereness: The final resting Places of enternal Bliss. Once the Soul is ready to let go of all earthly desire, they are send here. Not much is known about this realm or it location. When a Soul reach enlightment it will automatically know where to find it. The realm also House many god. +Fairy Land: Home to care taker of the childhood inocent and many god that work to keep the universe running. Most common creature that live here is Fairy with two side one silly colorful side that appear to children to granted what ever their heart desire. The other is the Blue fortune side that Weaved the fabric of Luck and fate. +Unworld: A Dark realm with one way in no way out. It house many dangerous creature, ancient outer god and unspeakable Evil that have been banish to through age by god and human. >the Origin Story: +Vlad and Jack are Friend from Childhood (Their Bond are really tight kinda like Sworn Brother ) unlike their canon counter part meet in college. They Hunt Ghost but in more of a Release soul from their earthly bound kind of way via the info they get from the Masters Family Grilmore. (There is one major inconvience is that You need to wait for the correct day and time to perform ritual sending ghost back to purgatory so they can Move on to Elsewhereness/heaven of this verse ) +They Meet Maddie in college (Maddie and Vlad almost alway in a total clash with each other with Maddie tech almost Hunter like way in dealing with ghost and Vlad more traditional Way of Handling them) Which end with Three of them forming the Original Ghost Trio. With Maddie accept Vlad and Jack Respect the Death ideal. And Vlad and Jack incorperate More Technology into their Asset. +Maddie point out the inconvinient of having to wait for the correct day for each ghost to send them back to Purgatory (Their room are fill with

Container for ghost), Which lead to them comming up with the idea of Making a Ghost Portal. <Note: MB Vlad is not into Romantic relationship, Platonic one Matter to him more> >The Accident: No diet soda the Accident is purely due to one miscalculation that cost Vlad life (his Head got Blash Clean off infront of Jack and Maddie) In that Split Second of His face getting disintigrating, Vlad get a Glim into UnWorld (the Realm where are Demon and evil of the four realm are banish to) and Got Latched on and Pushed Back to the living world by a Demon Vampire Ghost Both Soul are now inhabited Vlad headless lifeless body, in Which about 3 day after Vlad burial that Vlad Body got completely decontructed inside the coffin and recontructed into a body that is more fitting to host both . Vlad have a hard time remembering Who he is after kinda get rebirth and Wander the world until he Get Suck into a Natural Ghost Portal and got Flunk Back in time. >Journey of an Immortal Being: -Vlad Stuck in the Past, He recovered his memories, Going through existenal crisis, Evil phase, Evil make me feel bad, Not Evil anymore, Found out that he is immortal now, Existenal crisis part2, Acceptance, Travel the World and Start doing the what ever he like, learning old way of magic still helping ghost and other supernatural being. -Caused several Major Change to the past that Mythical Creature got un extinct. (Due to the Law of life and death this does not affect who get born or not, it just that the world got alots more races now and those used to be born human in the original timeline might get born as another races entirely) -Get Mistaken for Messiah.( Look You can't kill Vlad, He would just be gone for like 3 day then comeback) -Caused the legend of Dracula. -Vampire cult have a horrible obession with Vlad as a Whole. Look like vampire act like one, can walk in plain day light and more importantly the ability to Open a Portal to Unworld . ( Vlad don't use this ability much and can only open small one as it is very energy consuming) -Meet his own ancestor Which is the Fentonightingale that Later Splited into Fenton and Nightingale (later change to Masters) leading to revealation that Jack and Him might be very distant Related. -Bickering With Time God (Do not trust the Clock Man that work for the Eyes) -Get Caught in War far too many time. -Meet Phantom (an odd entity that is oddly clingy to him) in the Great War. -Meet Other Some of the DP ghost when they still alive -The Horrible Bar incident that reveal Phantom true nature, an evil being that wish to turn the world back to it original nature of nothiness and try to turn vlad to the his side, Kill, Seal in Rock Case covered with Sigil to prevent Phantom from escape, Chuck it into the ocean. - The Contruction of the Coffin Ghost Portal. (Havent actually went into the Purgatory caused the CCP is one Way Portal. -Forming of many Hidden town that home supernatural being. Amity Park is one of them. - And many more unseen story >Daddy Stolen Ribbone saga (MB Vlad is sterile, he want to have kid but can't.) -The Vampire cult that he have grudge with attemp to Clone or at least created a child that have Vlad Power through ritual and cult like method. Imagine Danny Clone but even more mess up . -Vlad end the life of most of them by his own hand (they are suffering, it is best to let them go) -Birth of Danielle: +Danielle Evelyn Masters or just Dani/Dee for short is the only Stable child come out of this whole odeal. She is Created From Vlad Ribone like a Twisted Eve. And like in the book it caused both of them to be very attached to each other in a Fatherly Daughterly Way. +Dee Have Vlad Ghost power and Demonic Power but No ghost form (Her default funtion as both and whether she is in ghost mode or Human mode is all Up to energy control) and no connection to Unworld there for she can't open portal to Unworld. Dual Soul nature Wind/Fire.

+She like Frog and is interested in Marine biology (which Vlad have full support over, she have a room fill with Vlad hand made frog plusie that she all named. +He raise her teach her everything he know about how to deal with supernatural being and how to Snipe Vampire from a long distant with pin point accuracy.

+An kidnapped incident with the Vampire cult latter resulted in Dee Death at the age of 12 (1999), and Vlad becoming fully Merged into one Being with Plasmius. and wipe out the entire vampire cult in a horrible Vlad the impaler way). +After wiping out the remainder of the cult, vlad go into retirement and work as a wall Painter < he work supper fast on celling painting and no one know why> >The Boy Who Fly (2 year before the start of actual MB story) -Danny Gain his power at the age of 10, his parent know. The event of Portal acivation caused the whole town to have a black out. -They move House alots for 2 year. And Jack try his best to make his family as normal as they can be after accidenly k his friend all those year ago and now half eff his own son. -They finding out amity park their new home is on accident when the RV engine die mid way through the middle of no Where (The town shown it self to those in need) -Danny hide his abiltiy. But after a gym incident. and getting Praise by his peer for it instead of scold like with the adult Danny start getting bolder using Floating power around his new friend when no adult is watching. <Vlad who is Working on the Giant Raven paiting for the School Saw this and know imediately What Danny is> -They offically meet each other on the the roof top, when Danny mom ask him to go down the store and by some bread and he decided to try to Air Frog Swim to it. They become friend and Vlad even teach Danny how to fly properly before having to leave (they visit each other alots after the revealation, and vlad is a good adult friend that Danny can talk to) (Danno forgot about the bread and return home breadless) -Jack may stop with the whole Paranormal hunter/ghost scientist job but not Maddie. She keep doing it behind his back due to danny special need in ecto base consumtion (he havent grow abit since the accident and keep getting smaller and it concerning) -Jack found out and they have a Fight. which lead to Maddie go to his Sister house. -Danny Found out about why his dad was so stressed out about ghost thing now. When looking through his parent old stuff with his new friend tucker. (Dude why does your parent have a Picture of the wall painter in thier old junk). He show the image to Vlad. -Danny Get jack to tell the story about the inccident. Dad what if i tell you that Your friend who die 18 year ago survived and is on our front door right now. Reunion, Jack feeling guilty about making them both like this. Go Get Maddie. Happy reunion of the trio. -Fenton Parent become accepting to Danny condition, Danny have a good mentor that can teach him ho to control his power And they live happy ever after for now

[thesoulspulse]

Danny Phantom Randomness (The Wisconsin Ghost)

You guys might be sick of all my Vlad posts by now, but please bear with me because at least this one is semi-spooky! So another thing we wondered on my discord server is...does Vlad actually have any ghost myths about his alter ego in Wisconsin? We assume that Jack calls Vlad Plasmius the “Wisconsin Ghost” since that’s just where they were when Plasmius overshadowed him at their 20 year college reunion...

But, what if there’s more to it than that...?

From what I could find, Wisconsin is considered the 14th most haunted state in America which is pretty cool actually. And lets face it, every country in the world has its fair share of ghost stories and local folklore. But here I’d like to focus specifically on Vlad and his whole vampire aesthetic since that’s what he was originally going to be when the show was pitched; it was scrapped though since the producers and Butch thought it would end up making Vlad “too scary/occult.”

And yet...vampires have been all the rage so it’s actually more of a missed opportunity. The show came out in 2004 but the book Twilight became a best seller with teens so, yeah, ya done goofed Butch. Still, I like the nod to vampires in the alter-ego name Plasmius since plasma is found in blood. Plus there’s the other obvious nod with the name Vlad itself which makes us all think of Vlad the Impaler:

“Vlad is of Slavic and Old Russian origins and it is traditionally a boy's name. According to its Slavic origin the meaning of Vlad is 'to rule' or 'glorious rule'. The name Vlad is a shortened variant of the Old Russian name Vladislav or Russian Vladimir.” ~ https://kidadl.com/baby-names/meaning-of/vlad

Fun Fact: I used the name Vladislav in my Unseelie Vlad AU

Now, there is a myth in Wisconsin about “The Vampire Of Mineral Point” which tells of a thin, tall, figure dressed in all black who was first seen in a graveyard on a snowy February night in 1981 by officer John Pepper after they received several concerned calls from locals about suspicious activity in the Graceland Graveyard. When the figure realized he’d been spotted, he ran and reportedly jumped a 6 foot fence with ease and when the officer made it to the other side, expecting to find this figure there was no sign of him! Not even footprints on the thick freshly fallen snow...

On March 14th 2004 there was a second sighting where the dark figure was attacking people from a tree near an apartment complex and when the officers pursued him, he escaped and the footprints ended at a wall as if he had flown away.

The last sighting (so far) was on July 11th 2008 when a couple was fishing at Ludden Lake when they heard scratching underneath the pier where they were fishing. Then they heard splashing and scraping like something was crawling underneath their feet on the pier. The guy started banging his feet on the boards thinking it was an animal and shined his light through the boards when they saw a caped figure crawling up the side towards them. His girlfriend fled in fear but after the guy came to his senses he threw the flashlight at the figure then ran to the car to catch up with his girlfriend.

Unfortunately the figure still tried chasing after them but eventually the couple managed to escape to the Mineral Point police station to make a full report, only realizing once they were safe that they had left all their gear behind. When officers arrived at the scene, all the fishing stuff was still there except...for the flashlight.

Ok, so now that we know the legend of the Vampire of Mineral Point here’s how I’d propose we adapt it to be about none other than Vlad Masters:

First of all, since we don’t know the show’s timeline I usually set it in 2004 when it first came out but I’m flexible if it’ll make this myth fit.

We know that Vlad is in his 40′s give or take a few years in the show’s timeline and his accident happened 20 years ago so if we subtract 40 years from 2004 we get 1964. So lets say that this is the year is roughly when Vlad Masters was born.

Since Vlad was in his 20′s when he became half-ghost if we add that to his new birth year...guess what it adds up to? 1984! That at least brings us close to the first “vampire” sighting in 1981 which means if we tweak this a bit we could make it work! Therefore, if I’ve done my math right...if we change Vlad’s birth year to 1961 then that will bring us to the 1981 year mark we need as the first spooky encounter once he has his ghost powers!

For the most part we all assume Vlad doesn’t have any living relatives or much control of his powers at first so lets assume since the first vampire sighting was in Graceland Cemetery...maybe Vlad was visiting his parents grave and freaked when an officer started chasing him. For the added angst, maybe they passed away while he was in the hospital so Vlad missed their funeral which just adds to his anger towards Jack for landing him there in the first place. Maybe, Vlad was even hoping he could “sense” their presence like any other ghost but they had already moved on, unaware that their only son is now suffering and utterly alone in the world.

The second sighting in 2004 was likely a misunderstanding and the people in the apartments just assumed Vlad was attacking them on purpose since he couldn’t control his powers. Maybe Vlad was having a really bad day and the only reason he was in a tree was because he was hanging onto it for dear life so he wouldn’t float off into space or something and the “attacks” were caused from random charged of his ecto-energy going off and a few stray shots hit a couple of people by accident.

As for the last one in 2008...I think by then Vlad had a bit more control of his powers but he had another really bad day after finding out about Jack and Maddie’s first child, aka Jazz, which probably really stung since he was so bitter about Jack not even telling his supposed best friend about their first born daughter personally. Not to mention they might not have even bothered to invite Vlad to their wedding since at that point he was still hospitalized. Anyways, I could totally see Vlad taking out his anger on this random couple by scaring the ever-loving-crap out of them out of pure spite at this point in time. Probably kept the flashlight as a memento too, the fruitloop.

After the 3rd and final “vampire sighting” Vlad probably switched gears and kept a lower profile while obtaining his riches and plotting revenge on Jack Fenton. At least, until a new legend emerged that the castle owned by the billionaire Vlad Masters is reportedly haunted by a vampire ghost that has attacked many a robber who has trespassed on the property. Maybe residents avoid Vlad’s castle for that reason since it’s supposedly the new home of the Mineral Point Vampire but it was Jack who dubbed Plasmius as the Wisconsin Ghost.

Who knows, maybe Mineral Point was Vlad’s home town before he inherited the Dairy King’s castle. Locals probably already considered it haunted by the Dairy King before Vlad moved in but unlike the vampire they saw him as harmless. That is, if anyone ever saw him in the first place since the Dairy King likes his privacy which I’m guessing is why he had the castle built on the outskirts of whatever town we see nearby. Anyways, there you go, a possible urban legend adapted to Vlad’s backstory!

You’re welcome!

[impyssadobsessions]

Vacation Crashers Chapter 7

Read Whole Story on Ao3 “A battery?” Danny raised a brow. Batman nodded, having informed them to reason he was there and how he had crashed. They needed a distraction from the current situation, and from what he saw, they were well informed on the subject he needed answers for. “That’s what was classified? Are you sure it was using ectoplasm?” Jazz asked as she stood far from Danny, but still in the vicinity of the shield. She was dangling a stick out of arms length, ready to spray a tiny bit of the ghost repellent at the end of the stick. They only needed a small sample. No need in making Danny miserable. He should recover from it quickly if they couldn’t find a solution.

“Substance of the matter is unknown by our database, but after what information I had gathered from here, that it is indeed one in the same.” Batman explained, “Power levels matching the levels in this area.” Danny furrowed his brows, as he leaned his back against the log, sitting on the ground next to where Batman sat on the log. “Hmm. That’s odd. Our parents don’t sell converters or batteries, since they haven’t fixed the whole food coming back to life thing.” The what? Batman quickly shoved that thought aside. “Yeah. We would know to, because Dad wouldn’t shut up about it.” Jazz started spritzing the stick trying her best not to get any on her. She didn’t want another trip into the lake. “And we would have known if one got stolen.” Between Danny’s hero work, Jazz’s cataloging of inventions, and their parents ridiculous security system, it be hard to steal from them too. Danny pulled his legs to his chest hugging them, resting his cheek on his knees. “So that leaves us with Axion Labs or the GiW?” He didn’t like the idea of that. Danny didn’t need everyone getting their hands on ghost tech. Let alone Gotham. He could only imagine how many ghosts would form or feed from there, if it had an increase of ectoplasmic energy. Danny shivered. Batman squinted his eyes, both were unfamiliar to him. Axion Labs briefly came up in his research, but it was label as an organic material replacement research facility. Though, now that he thought about it, there was little to any information on what Axion Labs specifically made or researched about. He should of looked more into it. That was a lapse in his judgment. Now the GiW, he never heard of them at all. “GiW?” “Oh um, they’re a secret government organization that deals with ghost. We call them the guys in white, mostly because they’re always dressed in white suits.” Danny explained motion with his hands. “We think their official title might be called the Ghost Investigation Ward, but we’re not sure.” Jazz chimed in. “I never heard of that agency.” Batman frowned into his hand, deeply. He had on file every government funded organization, fraction, and office. How did an entire organization slipped past the cracks. “Not surprising. We didn’t either until they started showing up in Amity Park.” Danny grumbled into his knees. That’s odd. Batman felt the wheels turning, he have to look into them more. He guessed by how Danny reacted to mentioning GiW, that they had a negative affect on their lives. “Honestly, they’re always causing more harm than good. The GiW loves to flaunt their new devices, but they don’t take security lightly. And Axion Labs was bought out by VladCo, who also doesn’t take security lightly. Though to be honest, he needs to update his password.” It had been something related to Maddie since Danny and Tuck started hacking into his systems.

“Vlad Masters?” Bruce knew the man. He always avoided business with him. There were a lot of rumors circulating through the elite about the man, but even with his detective work, he found nothing amiss. Business deals just too conveniently going his way. Danny hesitated on answering as he realized he might be revealing too much. What if Batman drew the connection between Vlad and Plasmius. “Yeah. Vlad was a college friend of our parents.” Jazz walking closer to the two, the ghost repellent left on the ground from where she had sprayed the stick. Trying to keep Danny’s distance from it. “Ok, the sticks ready.” “I’m not going to do a control.” Danny glaring at the stick. He could smell it a bit from here. Batman nodded, as he pulled a small gas mask from his belt. He only had one for himself, as he hadn’t planned on needing more than one. At least not on hand. “Why do you have a-” Batman raised a brow at Danny. Danny just chuckled awkwardly in response, realizing how dumb that question is. “Many of my rogues use specialized chemical gas as weapons.” Batman decided to explain anyways as he handed Danny the mask. It was a little too big for Danny, but it would do for the test. Jazz waited for the ‘ok’ from her brother, before wagging the stick in his face. “You look like you’re having too much fun with that stick, Jazz.” Danny huffed as he held the mask in place. “The sisterly urge to poke you with a stick is still strong, brother. And I have doubt it shall ever die.” “Well, it still stinks, but I think that’s because the smell been burnt into my nostrils.” Danny sniffed. “Any physical reactions?” “No, not really.” Besides the normal discomfort of smelling anything rotten, Danny didn’t feel ill like he had instantly when their parents sprayed it. “Definitely not feeling sick like before- Oh shi-shoot!” Danny clumsily dropped the mask. Jazz quickly tossed the stick far behind her in panic, hearing the stick snap against a tree. “Sorry,” Danny picked up the mask, making sure it was ok. He brushed off any dirt then he handed it back to Batman. “Its fine. We’ll adjust it.” He fiddled with the straps. “As long as it work.” “Yeah, wish I had thought of that.” “Danny, it wouldn’t have worked. Mom and Dad sprayed EVERYTHING remember? I had to double check the food didn’t get spritzed!” Jazz groaned, she was the one who had to scrub everything clean for the week. It had been very stressful vacation for her. Batman kept his stare on the mask. Why would their parents keep using a product that obviously gave their child discomfort? Unless... “Do your parents know?” Danny froze, face paling. His eyes searching his sister for help, she was just as paralyzed with panic. “Uh, a-about what?” Batman frowned, “About your contamination?” “Oh! That-” Danny felt a bit of relief, trying to hide the deep breath he let out. Jazz did the same, with her hand over her heart. Danny cursed, maybe they gotten too comfortable. “Uh.. they do... just uh..” Danny wasn’t sure how to word this, eyes pleading with his sister again for help. This time she was able to respond. “They don’t know how badly contaminated he is. They know their devices malfunction around him, but not sure why. Its kind of hard to tell them anything about ectoplasm or ghosts.” “How come? They are experts in this field, correct?” “Tch, yeah. They get proven one thing right and now everything they ever said or theorized about ghost is also true.” Danny huffed, then flinched as Jazz bumped her foot into Danny’s leg. A signal to watch what he said. Right, they were with Batman. World’s greatest detective. That thought just now settled into his brain. They were with the world’s greatest detective, who was investigating an ectoplasmic battery that lead him to ghost, knew Jazz and Danny can fight ghost as well as had extensive knowledge of them, and he was going to help them fight Plasmius. He was going to find out. They were going to turn on him. Danny didn’t want to be chased by heroes! It was bad enough he got gunned down by his parents and the

government daily. “Mom and Dad have a large bias against ghosts and are a bit... extreme with the subject. So its hard to tell them anything without it either being blown out of proportion ooooorrr... dismissed with “logical reasoning”. If they don’t start talking non-stop at the word ghost first. T-they don’t mean to but uh.. yeah.” Jazz knew her parents on paper were textbook definition of neglectful. Their absent mindedness and hyper fixation on ghost caused the majority of the Fenton children’s problems. They were constantly endangering their children’s lives despite all their safety lectures and protocols. Danny was a living example of it, or not living example. However, Danny and Jazz still loved them. They were goofy and loving, they just loved their work and hated ghosts more. Even if they both denied it. Even though they would fight to end of the earth for their kids, they would always return straight back to work with a tool in their hand. It was something Jazz and Danny accepted. Batman nodded, gripping the strap tight in his hand. He was liking it less and less about the Fenton situation. Even more so to know it had been going on for a while. He never even knew. Once back home, he’ll have to double check his systems files one by one to make sure they were accurate and up to date. That there wasn’t any missing or false information. Though he swore to clean up Gotham, this was something that should have came to the league’s attention. Batman side glance towards the boy who seemed to curl up into himself. It hurt, having just seen the boy relaxed by his side a moment ago. Batman looked back up at Jazz. She was standing firmly in place, strictly in protective mode. No doubt because of her brother. Jazz was trying to decipher Batman’s reaction. “Hmm. I see.” Batman choosing his words carefully. The kids were on the defensive. “I’m sorry that they don’t listen.” He had to learn that lesson. More than once. Bruce couldn’t recall all the times Dick or Alfred had to pull him out of his head. Though he could recall some of his fondest moments were when he sat down and just listened to his children talk. Their one on ones. Like when Tim was questioning his place as a Robin, or Jason back when he was a Robin telling him about his life before Bruce. Even just mundane talks like when Dick calls just to say hi and tell him about a new restaurant, show, or about the weather, as his way to have a small break from family and vigilante life. Stephanie sitting him down to teach him current slang or about a viral meme. Damian talking about injustice of not allowing pets in school, or swords.

There were even moments that they didn’t need to talk to be listened to. Duke just needing comfort of someone standing beside him. Or when Cass sneak into his office, pulling up a chair to sit on and rest her head on his shoulder as he worked.

They just needed to know they were there and welcomed. And they were some of Bruce’s favorite moments. Jazz was stunned, furrowing her brows as if she didn’t hear that right. She shuffled in her spot after a moment to regain composure. Her shoulders were visibly more relaxed with a soft smile growing on her face. “Thank you.” Danny never lifted his head up from his arms, but he was confused. What did Batman have to be sorry for? Not his fault their parents on/off switch was ghosts. That’s just how they were. “What are your views on ghost?” Batman asked. These kids didn’t agree with their parents bias about ghost. Whether he knew what the bias was or not didn’t matter. Though it would appear negative. And so far, he trusted these kids more about the subject than these unknown parents of theirs. He definitely would like to have a word or two with them by the end of this. Danny raised his head shocked, glancing at Jazz who just smiled happily. Her eyes glistening. Danny rubbed the back of his neck looking away from either of them, feeling awkwardness creep up. Had, nobody really asked them that? Huh. Weird. “Uhhh, They’re just.. like anyone else. Some ghosts were people or animals with a cruddy end in a place with high ectoplasmic levels. Most just want to live their life... afterlife? doing what they never was able to before. Sometimes they cause trouble but uh.. most just stick to themselves." Danny blew out some air. He never really put to words how he thought about ghosts. Kind of weird seeing as he was one. Half of one, to think of them as just ghosts. At least ever since Jazz’s intervention, when she saw Danny having a crisis in the middle of the night, worrying (Crying) that he was a monster because his eyes were constantly glowing outside of ghost form and he was growing fangs. That was, one heck of a week... month. All about accepting that he was still Danny and not Dan, nor a monster because he didn’t see other ghosts as monsters either. Something about how their parents bias rubbed off on him, blah blah. “Majority of them don’t even leave the ghost zone.” Danny continued. “Ghost... zone?” “Dimension ghosts and ectoplasm come from, its connected to our world. There are pockets all over the world that can open up any time any place. ” Jazz sat down on the log, on Danny’s other side. Her hand going to mess with their brother’s hair, mostly just to fiddle with something in her hand. Danny frowning but making no effort to make her stop. Batman just hummed in response. So much new information. He would like to dive in deeper, but they had to focus more on what was relevant. “And what about the ones that don’t stay in the ghost zone?” “They want to have fun, at least that’s how Ember puts it- sh-” “Ember is a rockstar ghost who manipulates people with her music. She’s usually pretty chill when she isn’t trying to indulge in her obsession. Obsessions what gives ghost purpose.” Jazz explained before Batman could ask. Danny giving her a weird look, but Jazz just gave a reassuring smile at him. Batman must have passed some invisible test for her. “Uh.. yeah. Its because of their obsessions, or boredom they tend to sneak out of the Ghost Zone to cause some mayhem. Pain in the butt. There only a handful we met that want to cause harm or death on people.” Danny still giving a strange look at his sister, trying to figure out what made Jazz soo calm? “Plasmius is one of those?” Danny glancing back at Batman, biting his lip. ”...kind of.. yeah. Though his is.. or was more personal. He’s kind of a strange topic.” “Strange or uncomfortable?” Danny blinked, “Uh.. b-both?” Batman handed back the mask once the straps were adjusted for Danny to try again. Jazz helping from where she sat, adjusting it a bit more to see how it fit. They would test it again against the repellent, seeing how much the mask can filter out before Danny felt ill. None of them really speaking, but the silence was comfortable. Bruce reached up to turn his comm back on. He needed to hear them again, besides once they reach

the coordinates they won’t be able to communicate again til they landed. --- Dick was at the helm of the plane, humming to himself as he flew. Damian was curled up in his seat, already having stolen some of the snacks from Alfred’s basket, examining each one out of boredom. He was trying not to look interested in the game Jason and Tim were playing. Jason sat leaned back in his seat, legs spread and an arm hanging off the back of his chair. Tim sat semi crossed legged, leaning over as he debated his next move. They both held cards in their hands and a crate was shoved between them to use as a table. They were chatting with Steph over the comm. “All I’m saying, he looks way to weak! There’s no way.” Steph said over the comm, staring at the picture of the Fenton family that popped up on the screen. She had been bragging about being right since it appeared. “And who be loosing money if that was the case, me not you! I still bet 50 bucks and a burger he’s a heck of a fighter. You don’t need to be strong if you have a weapon. Little demon spawn proof of that.” Jason tossing a card down. “I can end you with my bare hands.” “Yeah, yeah, in five years maybe.” “Don’t start fighting. We got to at least get there in one piece.” Dick sparing a glance between Jason and Damian. Tim stated as he laid down a card. “Uno.” “No! Bullshit. You just had five.” “Yeah, so I reversed, skipped, reverse, skipped, and had to draw. Got a wild card, so now its green.”

“Fuck this game. Hey, demon brat come play. You been eyeballing us for last 10 minutes. Game better with more people.” Jason having to pick up five cards before he got a green. “It has not been 10 minutes.” Damian huffed. Tim laying down his last card with a ‘whoop!’. “Also, I think Danny’s probably a vigilante.” “Your opinion is only valid if you bet on it.” Steph huffed. “You already got 30 bucks off of me, Steph!”

“Gotta put a penny to your thoughts for them to be heard, red bird. Preferably not a penny though, because that’s lame and we are going through inflation.” “Fine, another 30 he’s a vigilante.” Tim shook his head as he watched Jason stomp off to find some “real” cards. “50- he’s self taught.” Cass popped out behind Tim, who dropped all the cards he was attempted to put up. “Gah! Cass!” The other 3 birds jumping at her voice, letting out a screech of their own. “Cass? When did you-” “She has been with you since you left the bat cave. Also we might need to try contacting Bat’s soon. I found some information about the Fenton family and that there is a town in Illinois, called Amity Park but... I only get a few sentences and articles in before I’m kicked out or the information corrupts.” Barbara stated with concern. “Its kind of creepy. The files go all VHS filter on ya, then deletes it stuff. Almost like watching a horror flick to be honest.” “I might hold off on getting anymore information, until B can look at it, or someone can go to see the town in person. I’m running system for viruses now.” “Someone doesn’t want anyone to know about the town.” Dick stated the obvious with a frown. “So these kids... have bigger troubles, huh?” Jason huffed, hands in his pockets. “What did you find out about the Fentons, besides that Danny has black hair and blue eyes?” Tim asked. “Jack and Madeline Fenton, are self-employed scientist and inventors with a degree in the paranormal. They are considered mad by the scientific community, but experts with in their own field of study.” “Get this! Says that they’re ghost hunters and have been hunting ghosts for 20 years. Crazy right?” “Yea, the dead coming back to life? Insane.” Jason snorted. “Er... I guess you have a point. B-but ghosts aren’t the same... right?” Damian frowned, “Grandfather... never said anything about ghosts.” “What else Babs?” Dick pressing to try and see if Batman was online yet. “Well, only other thing I was able to cook up is medical records. Apparently Daniel Fenton was taken to the hospital shortly before his freshman year. About two years ago. He showed signs of electrical burns and hypothermia. Doesn’t say what caused it.” “Fuck.” They all grimaced. “Why did Duke decide to power nap now? Just when we found out Danny’s probably a meta!” “Looks like he won’t be the only one in the manor. I doubt Father is going to ignore that.” Damian sighed. “We don’t know the specifics.. but.. that’s not looking good. We’ll let B know, try to rest up when you can. We’ll keep you updated.” “Affirmative. Be careful. We don’t have a third plane up and ready.” “Will keep that in mind.” Dick weakly chuckled. Everyone grew silent. Jason had returned to his seat, kicking his feet up on the crate, arms crossed. Tim resting his chin in his hand in thought. Cass leaning against controls, with a grimace still showing on her face. Damian had pulled his legs up to his chest, pouting. This was going to be more than a simple rescue mission. “Soooo Abba?” “NO DICK!” Dick already was reaching to play some music, all of them scrambling to take it away from him. Then they heard a click. Batman was back on. Dick reaching hand up to his ear. “How far away are you?” Before Dick could reply, Jason and Damian were already blowing up Bat’s comm.

[flutteringdreams-matw]

Out of Time (5)

First/Last

Read on AO3

Word Count: 4347

Previously: Danny and Dan clashed above Amity.

Now: "When you faced Dan in the alternate future, he fused a time medallion within you and then took your place within your time. That created the first paradox. What he didn't realize is the ramifications of that action." Clockwork's expression softened slightly, observing Danny carefully. "Time Medallions are exempt from my powers of controlling time, but not time itself."

As always - please let me know what you think!

---

"I want a damage report on the attack from earlier, any footage from that attack and for goodness sake… will someone deal with the media!"

"Yes Mayor Masters!" a chorus of aides and officials replied, scurrying out of the room.

Vlad sighed, rubbing his temples as he leaned back in his office. Dealing with Daniel's heroic exploits were one thing… but this was taking it to a whole different level! The blasted dome had been up for days and now a ghost that even he felt the presence of from inside his office shows up with the same power as the boy?

Vlad frowned as he looked up at the dome overhead, remembering the events from previous summer. Daniel had certainly grown since then, but to keep a shield this powerful up for this long? Could he truly be this powerful?

A ring brought him out of his musing, feeling the vibrations of his phone from his left breast pocket. With a slight scowl, he absently grabbed the phone and glanced at the number. His eyes widened in recognition before answering. "I was wondering when you would call," he said into his cell phone, annoyed and exasperated.

"It's Maddie," the voice answered curtly. Vlad's eyes furrowed as he scrambled more upright into his seat.

"M-Maddie!" he exclaimed nervously, flattening out his hair to make it look more presentable. He briefly berated his silliness as he settled his nerves. "What a pleasant surprise!" He stiffened slightly, confused. "Wait… why are you calling from Daniel's phone?"

"Why were you expecting him to call you?" she rebutted dangerously. Before Vlad could even think of a reply, he heard her sigh on the other line. "What do you know about heat cores?"

Vlad frowned, slightly surprised at the question. "It's one of the types of cores for ghosts. There are a few different ones – ice, fire, electricity. Surely Daniel must have mentioned them?"

"Not about heat cores specifically," she replied. Vlad still noticed the tartness in her voice; she really didn't want to talk to him.

Vlad got up from the chair, pacing as he thought of how to continue the conversation. This was Maddie! She barely spoke to him anymore; he needed to keep her talking. "Heat cores are fire based," he explained. "Depending on the ghost, it could have direct correlations to their powers like warm ectoblasts, from their appearances etc."

"What would happen if a heat core came in contact with an ice core?"

Vlad stopped pacing, looking at the phone curiously. "That would only happen if two ghosts merged somehow or if someone striped a ghost down to their core levels and combined them forcefully."

"But what would happen?" she pressed.

Vlad stayed silent for a moment, pondering her question as he searched for an answer. "I would assume… that it would behave quite like ice when exposed to heat. It'd melt – either absorbing the ice core or drying up anything the core left behind." Maddie went quiet, making an uneasy feeling creep up within the man. "Maddie," he said quietly. "Daniel has an ice core."

"He's fine," she replied quickly, but he caught the small worry in her voice. "He's resting in the infirmary." Vlad's frown deepened, waiting for the woman to explain some more. "That fight took a lot out of him."

Vlad scoffed. "Of course it did!" he replied, annoyed. "He's held a powerful shield that reflects attacks over the entire town for days. Even if he was Phantom all the time this would take a lot out of him. He's still half human! It's reckless and I can't believe you are entertaining this idiocy."

Maddie was quiet for a long time, the weight of Vlad's words hanging in the air. "This is more complicated that you even know," she said finally, the tartness coming back in full force.

"Then tell me!" Vlad exclaimed angrily. "Believe me to be the bad guy all you want Maddie, but I know Daniel! We're the same!"

"You are not the same!" Maddie exclaimed, cutting across the man's tirade. "Do you think I like seeing him do this? He's fifteen years old Vlad, and I can't do anything to protect him!" The line was quiet for a few moments before she sighed tiredly. "Look, I trust Danny's judgement. Whatever that ghost is will be a force to be reckoned with, and while I hate to say this, we may need all hands on deck. Keep the media off our backs and I'll be in contact."

"Maddie wait-" Vlad started, but it was too late. Maddie was gone, the beeping of the disconnected line entertaining his ear. Vlad brought his phone down slowly, staring at Daniel's number with a concerned frown. "What on earth is going on," he murmured, confused.

:-=-:

Maddie frowned as she hung up the phone, staring at the device in her hand like it was a foreign object. With a sigh, she opened her son's phone again, scrolling through the call log until she saw the most recent one. She stared at the four letter name, slightly surprised that her son didn't label it "Plasmius" or "Fruitloop," before finally pressing the delete button.

She didn't want to admit it, but the man was right; Danny wasn't acting logically. Danny was acting on instinct and fear, with no regard for his own safety. And here she was, powerless and unable to stop him. Her hand curled around the phone determinedly, before setting it back on Danny's nightstand and walked out of his room. As she went down the stairs, her mind wandered back to her conversation with Vlad.

If Vlad thinks that mixing Ghost cores is a bad idea, then it might have truly been an accident. She mused. But if this alternate future has a heat core… how did it change? Which core absorbed which? Our Danny has an ice core… but what if the alternate Danny didn't start with one?

"Maddie?"

The sound of her husband's voice brought her out of her thoughts. Maddie looked to meet Jack's worried gaze, confused at her current state. He and the two ghosts were at the kitchen table, apparently in conversation while she walked into the room in a daze.

Maddie shook her head and smiled apologetically. "Sorry, just thinking through something." Her smile quickly disappeared, guilt creeping up in her chest. "How's Danny?"

"Still out," Jack told her with a frown. He turned towards the large wolf ghost sitting across from him. "Ethelwulf was just filling me in."

"It's more exhaustion than anything else," Ethelwulf continued sombrely. "Most of the bruises and burns he acquired from that fight have all but healed; the only reason why he's still unconscious is because he fixed that shield."

Clockwork said nothing, regarding the humans and ghosts expressionlessly before moving away from the table. Maddie was a little unnerved by the purple clad ghost, but Danny had once said he was a friend, and Ethelwulf seemed to trust him. Maddie sighed sadly, taking a seat at the table.

"He hasn't been sleeping well," she told the healing ghost. "Not since he put up the shield."

Ethelwulf frowned, glancing back toward the time master before regarding the mother. "Let's let him rest then," he said, changing the subject slightly. "Best fill everyone in together."

"Maybe you can help us out then," Jack said, scratching his chin in thought. "Most of our inventions have a failsafe for Danny's ecto-signature, but if Dan's ecto-signature is similar…"

Clockwork moved slightly from the corner of the kitchen. His red eyes found Maddie's, staring straight at her as Jack and Ethelwulf discussed possible ecto-signatures. Maddie held his gaze, awestruck at the power this ghost seemed to hold in that stare. The world disappeared around her, the faint sound of clocks in the distance drowning out the world.

As suddenly as it happened, the gaze disappeared and Clockwork floated slowly toward the entrance to the lab. Maddie watched as he made his way away from Jack and Ethelwulf, down the stairs; Maddie followed quickly.

"Clockwork?" she called, making the ghost stop in the middle of the lab. "Danny told us you took Dan in the Fenton Thermos the first time he faced him. Is there some way-"

"You cannot stop him," Clockwork cut across bluntly.

Flustered, Maddie stopped, looking at the back of the ghost with wide eyes. "What?"

"Any parent wants to shelter their children from harm," Clockwork told her sagely. "You mean well Maddie Fenton, but you cannot stop Daniel from growing up; from facing his fears. There are only so many things you can still protect him from."

Maddie frowned. "I don't understand."

Clockwork sighed, glancing back at the woman over his shoulder. "I know what you're planning – but we're running out of time. If you cannot figure how to separate their ecto-signatures, even with Plasmius' help, then you must be prepared to accept what Danny decides to do. Along with the consequences that come with it."

Maddie's mind reeled with the weight of Clockwork's words. She swallowed nervously, her response coming out in a whisper. "He's my son; how can I just watch as he throws himself into danger?"

Clockwork turned back, continuing towards the infirmary. "You don't," he replied sadly. The ghost turned invisible then, leaving the stricken mother in the middle of the lab.

:-=-:

... "Vlad?" His voice felt hoarse to his own ears.

"Daniel, there's no time!" the man yelled frantically as he freed the boy from the operating table. He heard the screams from further away. "It went wrong. You need to run, get out of here. I'll hold them – it – off to buy you time." The smell of ectoplasm and blood made him sick. "Quickly before –"

Vlad was tackled from behind from a white and black blur. Not wasting a second, he ran toward the exit of the lab. Suddenly, he felt something hit him from behind. With a shout, he crashed into the wall hard.

"Did you think you could run away from me?"

He looked up at the voice. It was his voice – except it was distorted somehow, more evil. His ghost half was different, hair on fire and skin blue. Phantom looked like those ghosts he fought over the last year – before everything. His body was shaking.

"Did you think you could throw me away Danny? After everything?" Phantom said, in the same strange voice. "Let me show you which half is disposable."

He met the blood red eyes of Phantom before he saw green.

Danny gasped as he awoke, startled from his most recent dream. Eyes shooting open, he immediately groaned at the too bright lights bombarded his senses. He brought a hand to his face, blocking out the light briefly, hissing slightly at his soreness as he did so. Danny stayed like that for a few minutes, taking in the smell of antiseptic and ectoplasm as he tried to shake the dream from his thoughts.

"What's wrong with me?" Danny asked, distraught. "Why now?"

"Both excellent questions."

Danny shot upright, wincing heavily, at the voice. "Clockwork?!" he exclaimed, confused. He looked around widely before he saw him, sitting in the chair beside the bed. The Time Master's face was hidden beneath his long silvery beard. His hands were folded neatly under his chin, eyes sparkling in small amusement as he watched Danny's slacked jawed response.

"Hello Danny," he said. Clockwork shifted the chair closer, letting it rise above the ground slightly as he did so. "Good to see you awake."

Danny blinked at the words before his brow furrowed in anger. "Where have you been?" he asked angrily, gesturing wildly. "Dan escaped days ago and you show up here now to do what? We could have-" Danny broke off, grimacing as a set of sparks went through his frame. He doubled over with a groan and closed his eyes as he breathed through the pain. The sparks subsided after a few minutes, but Danny sat hunched, breathing deeply.

"Easy now," Clockwork soothed, his tranquil voice made Danny's body relax slightly. "There's a lot to explain and best to do it all at once with your team present." Danny nodded, pushing himself back into a sitting position. Clockwork sighed, rising from the chair and drifted over to Danny's bedside. Once he was in front of the teen, he placed one of his hands on Danny's shoulder. "How are you feeling?"

Danny scoffed. "Like I was run over by a truck while I relived my worst nightmare over and over again."

Clockwork rolled his eyes at the response. "Fifteen year olds and sarcasm; I meant your energy levels. Apart from battling a powerful enemy, you also put more energy back into the shield. You've been out for a few hours."

Finally opening his eyes, Danny looked around the room. Mildly surprised, he realized that he was in the lab – more specifically the infirmary. Stark white walls lined with shelves full of first aid supplies surrounded them in the large room. There were tons of medical equipment all adorned with the Fenton logo. "What happened?" he asked in response. "I remember the shield being cracked, but everything else is a little hazy."

Clockwork sighed again, crossing his arms. "You insisted on fixing the shield and managed to do so by putting more of yourself into it. Unfortunately, you were also low on energy and passed out. Which brings us full circle to: How are you feeling? I know it's a question you tend to deflect, but humour me this once."

Danny cringed slightly, frowning in thought as he assessed himself. "I… don't feel as drained," he said after a moment, confused. Danny looked up at the Time Ghost. "If I put more energy into the shield, shouldn't I be feeling worse?"

"That's a question for Ethelwulf I'm afraid," Clockwork replied with a sly smile. "However, that probably means you can chance the stairs. Your friends will be here shortly and it's best to get everything out in the open." Clockwork picked up his staff, which Danny only noticed was at the foot of his bed, and gestured toward the door. "Shall we?"

Danny watched as Clockwork floated to the door, turning the knob. He sat up slowly, carefully standing before staring back to the Time Master. "Clockwork?" Clockwork hummed as he turned back to Danny expectantly. "You haven't shifted forms."

Clockwork raised his eyebrows slightly, smiling. "Perhaps you aren't as clueless as you seem." Danny ignored the jab and stared at his friend. Sighing, Clockwork gestured again towards the door. "Everything is as it should be – for now at least. I'll explain more upstairs."

:-=-:

"Danny! You're okay!"

Danny managed to turn from his spot on the couch before he was tackled by his friends and sister. He waved them off with a smile. "I'm fine." All three teens stood back and gave Danny an exasperated look. "Really!"

Sam let out a small breath. "Good," she said with a small smile. Before Danny could react, she hit him hard on the arm repeatedly. "What. Were. You. Thinking!"

"Ow!" Danny exclaimed, scowling as he rubbed his arm. He looked at Jazz and Tucker for any assistance, but neither seemed to want to get in the middle of whatever tirade Sam had planned. "Seriously?"

"Danny you passed out," she gritted out, violet eyes blazing. "In the middle of class, then decided to go off and face an evil version of yourself when he attacked." She crossed her arms and sent the boy a withering glare.

"I think Sam's trying to say you scared us," Jazz said, frowning disapprovingly. "Thankfully Tucker managed to get to me in time to sign you out of school before we went into lockdown. It took ages to get through to Mom and Dad."

Danny sighed guiltily. "Yeah, if it wasn't for Ethelwulf and Clockwork, I don't think I would have gotten out of there."

As if on cue, Ethelwulf walked in the Fenton's living room, quickly followed by his parents and Clockwork.

"Hi kids!" Jack boomed as he sat down across from the teens. "Perfect timing."

"I thought you couldn't find Ethelwulf?" Tucker asked, confused. "Or Clockwork for that matter."

"Apparently, it's a long story," Danny said, eying both ghosts warily. "Now that we're all here, can you just tell us what's going on?"

Ethelwulf chuckled, sitting on the couch and faced Clockwork with amused eyes. "I told you he'd be all business."

Clockwork said nothing, waiting until the humans settled before he floated toward them. He inspected his staff, frowning slightly, then at the wall clock across from him. His old frame hunched further, floating down toward the ground and put his staff out in front of him, using it as a cane. "What would you like to know?"

Danny frowned, realizing now how frail Clockwork looked. "Are you okay?" he asked worriedly.

Clockwork smiled sadly. "Have you ever heard of a paradox?" he retorted. Danny shook his head, while Sam, Tucker and Jazz all nodded. "A paradox, in regards to time, is when a situation contradicts the natural order of time. It can be an event, a person or thing that doesn't belong. I see time like a parade, from above; whenever I sense a paradox – I intervene to move time away."

"Why?" Maddie asked.

"I control time," Clockwork said simply, turning towards her. "Except time is not a simple concept for any being, especially humans. It moves in all directions. When a paradox occurs, it stops the parade; time gets backed into fewer and fewer pathways until it's forced to go in one direction." Clockwork turned toward Danny, looking at the boy's face to see if he understood yet. "Paradoxes, unfortunately, are my weakness. As the timelines dwindle, so does my grip on time and my powers. My form stops shifting, I lose the ability to see all the possible pathways; It is increasingly harder for me to start, stop and manipulate the timeline."

Danny's eyes widened, finally connecting the dots. "You're not shifting because of me," he said, guilt and regret in his voice. "You're losing your powers because of my future self and the alternate timeline."

Clockwork chuckled. "I wish it was so simple." When Danny shot him a confused look, he continued. "When I saved you and your family, I created another paradox by removing Dan Phantom from the time stream."

"Wait – another paradox?" Jazz asked incredulously. "What was the first paradox?"

Sam gasped. "We created the first one," she exclaimed, looking at Tucker with wide eyes. "Remember? We jumped straight into a future where we didn't belong."

"No," Clockwork answered. "Dan Phantom created the first one by interacting with you, Danny. Unfortunately, this many paradoxes have limited my view on time as it unfolds. One paradox I can deal with – two have sadly created more dead ends. Which reminds me; The dreams you've been having."

"Frostbite told us," Ethelwulf explained, when all humans looked at him confused. "Though, Clockwork suspected as much after you faced Nocturn."

"Nocturn?" Danny asked, confused. "What does he have to do with anything?"

"I asked Nocturn to investigate a hunch," Clockwork told the wide eyed teen. "When you faced Dan in the alternate future, he fused a time medallion within you and then took your place within your time. That created the first paradox. What he didn't realize is the ramifications of that action." His expression softened slightly, observing Danny carefully. "Time Medallions are exempt from my powers of controlling time, but not time itself. By fusing one with your core and leaving you ten years in the future, it started to solidify your place within a new time stream. Those dreams you've been having? Glimpses of the future you erased as well as possible outcomes of what's to come. Nocturn confirmed it when you two clashed earlier this year.

"However, while that timeline has been erased from the main time stream, a piece of it still exists within Dan. I removed him from time, meaning that my powers no longer affect him -just like they no long affect you since a part of your core assimilated to a different timeline. One that no longer exists."

"What…" Danny said breathlessly. He put his head in hands; it was too much to take in.

"Since that battle, how many times have you moved through time without one of my medallions?" Clockwork asked sympathetically. "How many times did I have to forcibly manipulate time around you?"

Danny stayed silent; mind reeling as he went through the questions Clockwork was asking. He didn't dare look at his friends or family.

"The time medallion, even though it's now out, is a relic of time Danny," Clockwork continued. "It doesn't follow a linear path. Its power shows itself unpredictably. It's why I was able to stop time around you on Fear Island, transport you to and from the past into multiple timelines without needing to use the medallion, and yet still was able to stop time during your fight with Dan last year. It's also why you did not see any of these glimpses until the paradox was upon us. You can see parts of it in random orders, sense wounds before they happen. You and your future self are the centre of this paradox Danny – time cannot move forward until you face each other."

"Hold on," Maddie said slowly. "You said you couldn't see past this paradox – how do you know Danny has to face the evil Phantom?"

Clockwork regarded her for a moment, red eyes scanning her before turning back to Danny, head still in his hands. "The last thing I'm able to see clearly is Danny and Dan facing off – but I'm not the only one who can see possible outcomes right now. In fact, I don't believe that my account for the future is as far we can see."

All eyes turned to the teen with the weight of the world on his shoulders. Finally looking up at the Master of Time, Danny sighed. "I've seen it too," he confessed reluctantly. "Multiple different times where we fight – Actually, I think we just lived through one." Danny shuddered slightly in remembrance. "I saw his creation. I've seen him escape multiple times…" Danny swallowed, silent again.

"Which prompted you to put up that shield," Ethelwulf said pointedly. Danny nodded. "Danny, you're powerful enough to keep that shield up without using your core energy. If what Clockwork said about the Time Medallion is true, your core might be feeling the effects of these dreams or these phantom injuries."

Danny hummed, agreeing with his mentor. "Wait – Clockwork said I put more energy into the shield. How come I feel okay?"

Ethelwulf frowned disapprovingly. "The fight between you and your future self drained quite a lot of your base powers, which helped balance your extensive use of your core powers from the past few days. Now that you've regained some energy, your base powers unconsciously switched with your core powers in that shield as a way to help you recover your energy. It's probably wise to continue to use your base powers with the shield unless there's a larger threat upon us." The wolf ghost turned to Clockwork before back to Danny. "You said you've seen multiple visions of Dan escaping?"

"Had another one this morning," Tucker supplied worriedly. "In the middle of class."

Danny felt his parents' eyes move to him in concern and possibly exasperation. "Yeah," he said softly.

Ethelwulf moved to the boy, trained yellow eyes scanning carefully for any injuries he could have missed. "When did he actually escape Clockwork?"

"This morning," the time master replied with a frown.

"And how many times have you seen him escape?"

Danny sighed. "About six or seven. I lost count."

Ethelwulf frowned in thought, looking between Clockwork and Danny expectantly. "Were there any indications that last vision was the one from this future?"

The boy in question frowned, his eyebrows furrowing as he thought back. "I was awake with this one?" he supplied.

"There weren't any sparks this morning," Sam said, frowning slightly. "He just … fell over."

Danny hummed in agreement. "That's true; most of the other visions I had affected my core powers. That one just… happened."

Ethelwulf stared at the halfa in front of him, before looking toward Clockwork. Clockwork gave a slight nod, indicating his acceptance and Ethelwulf continued. "Danny, you need to take it easy for a bit; you're going to need your powers at full strength before you can face Dan again."

Danny nodded, not trusting his own voice. The world felt like it was taunting him, showing him these glimpses of time. Suddenly feeling overwhelmed, he stood, feeling all eyes move toward him. "I'm going upstairs," he said quietly.

"Danny –" Jazz called out to him, but he shook his head, cutting her off.

"Just a little tired," he said with a small smile. It didn't reach his eyes. "Let me know if there's any trouble." He walked out of the living room, still feeling the concerned gazes of his friends and family as he made his way up the stairs. Finally reaching his room, Danny entered it hastily, leaning against the back of the door as he closed it with a soft click. He let out a shuttering breath, as the conversation that just happened washed over him again. Clockwork losing his powers? Seeing the future? Timelines? Dan?

Dan.

Danny frowned at the memory of his evil future came to mind once more. Going into that fight this morning was stupid, sure, but it made him realize something- Dan wasn't holding back. When Danny faced him after he returned from the future, Dan was reserved, calculating to make his plan move forward. Now? It was like the evil spectre was playing with him. Danny sighed, staring out into his room.

"What are you after?"

:-=-:

Power flooded his veins as he ripped through another Ectopus, absorbing their energy with fervour. As the poor ghost disappeared, lost to the mass of the ghost zone, Dan's aura shone brighter, relishing in the excitement.

He floated toward the edge of the floating rock nearest to him, hearing in the distance the vague screams of terror from a distance. He smiled cruelly – it truly was great to be out of that thermos. Brow furrowing, he turned quickly, ecto-blast at the ready before he dropped the attack. A mirror image of himself floated above him – a little worse for wear- echoing the power hungry demeanour. He smiled, feeling the duplicate rejoin him and giving him the memories it carried with it.

"Well now," he said quietly, chuckling darkly. "Seems like the old me has some new tricks – and allies." He paced up and down, thinking about his next move. "If he's able to keep that shield while fighting, then his power levels must have improved somewhat…" he stopped, staring out to the Zone in thought. "Perhaps I should divide his attention." He smiled again as a plan formulated in his mind. "I can't wait to watch as his world falls apart."

:-=-:

Valerie slipped the blaster's core back into her main bazooka with a grin. Flipping the switch, her smile widened as it hummed in response. Switching it back off, she threw it over to her already large pile of weapons on the table as she grabbed another smaller ecto-gun from the pile beside her. She needed everything in tip-top shape to face off against whatever attacked Amity today.

With a frown, she turned back to the TV as it ran a repeat of the ghost attack from earlier. Phantom 'saved' the town from a ghost attack by putting a giant shield around the city. That he put up. "Probably more of his dirty tricks," she muttered, cleaning some ectoplasmic build up from the gun she was working on. An image of the Ghost Boy falling and hitting the shield graced the screen as Lance Thunder speculated some sort of hair-brained theory.

She winced as it was shown again; that was probably fifteen feet, twenty tops. For the Ghost kid to drop out of the air like that – his opponent certainly packed a punch. Usually he was flying off with some stupid smile or quip on his lips after battles. This? This was different.

Valerie inspected the gun, making sure there was nothing out of the ordinary before she hunched forward and studied the footage. Everything about this fight was opposite from what she's seen from the spook. Even from afar, she can tell there was no banter – every move he made was calculated. He never fought with a team unless he needed to and whoever those two ghosts were, well, it was testament to their strength to see them just disappear like that. Valerie had only seen Phantom fight like that on two occasions: The Ghost King and last month… when they faced the mayor.

The dark skinned sighed as that thought crossed her mind. When she said knowledge was power, she didn't mean the knowledge that the mayor was a ghost. And possibly a criminal mastermind who almost murdered a young girl. Definitely a manipulative son of a –

Ding Dong

Startled, Valerie looked up from her spot on the sofa to the piles of weapons across the small apartment. She cringed, scrambling upright and grabbed the blanket on the armrest, throwing it over the couch. "Just a second!" she called, looking around frantically for something to cover the table as the doorbell rang again.

Seeing the pile of lab clothes at the foot of her father's room, Valerie tossed it onto the table, jumped over one of the table chairs and stood in front of her door. She took a deep breath to centre herself before opening the door slowly.

Valerie gasped; in front of her stood a girl, no more than 12 in a baggy sweatshirt, red shorts looked up at her through giant blue eyes. Her long jet black hair was covered by the red beanie, poking out a bit in the front.

"Dani?" Valerie asked, dumbfounded at the young half ghost girl in front of her. "When – how?"

Dani smiled shyly. "Hey Valerie," she said with a wave. "Mind if I stay with you for a while?"

Link to Ecto-Storm Series

[five-rivers]

Interview with a Ghost (part 5: Buried)

(PART 1) (PART 2) (PART 3) (PART 4)

.

.

.

"What?" said Captain Jones, as Collins and Paterson finished explaining their understanding of the situation to him. "What? What?"

"That was my reaction, too," said Paterson. "Just, you know, internally."

Jones waved one hand, the other supporting his forehead.

"Er, sir?" said Collins, leaning forward, trying to catch the captain's eye. "How should we, you know, proceed on this? I don't think there's any precedent."

The captain bit back a groan. "No, there isn't. He was insistent that the Fentons, his parents, didn't do anything to him?"

"Yeah."

"But it still can't be- can't be healthy for a ghost or- or whatever he is to be there," said Jones. This was making his head hurt. "They have weapons, and even if it was an accident, he died and they- No one noticed!"

"That is pretty messed up," agreed Paterson.

"That's got to be child neglect, at least, right? Negligent homicide?"

Collins nodded. "We can't really charge them with that, though, can we? Not without revealing he's a ghost and getting the GIW and whoever stole the body coming down on us."

"That could just be something Phantom's saying, though," said Paterson. "We don't know if it's true or not."

"It felt true," said Collins. "He sounded like he was actually scared."

"But can we just let a kid- two kids, with his sister- be in a situation like that? Even if one of them is dead. Especially if one of them is dead. Or whatever Fenton, Phantom, whatever, is claiming to be."

"He didn't really claim to be anything, really," said Collins.

"Look, I already have a headache as it is. What it comes down to is, I don't want a kid to be living under the same roof as people who regularly and publicly shoot at him."

"So, what do we do?" asked Collins. "He doesn't want to leave, and I don't think we can make him, physically."

"No, we can't. But does he know that?"

"I think he's aware of his laser murder powers," said Paterson.

"He kept coming to talk to you, though," said Jones. He massaged the bridge of his nose. "There's something here..." Suddenly, it all came together. He clapped his hands. "He wants to keep his secret from the public, right? That's our leverage."

"Leverage?" asked Collins, dubiously. "Captain... he is still a teenager."

"I know, I know, but hear me out. We tell him, he has to let his parents know, and his parents, they have to make their house safe for him. If they're reasonable, they'll do it. If not, we can get them for, I don't know, going crazy and thinking their kid is a ghost, or having weapons all over their home. Obviously, he isn't. That's the position we'd maintain." Jones took a deep breath. "No need to expose him publicly, and, as long as he isn't, he'll have to act like he's human, right? If he wants to maintain the illusion?"

"I guess that would work," said Collins. "But... do we have to get child protective services involved? I don't see that going well."

"Not if everyone is reasonable," said Jones, a crazed look in his eyes.

"Hold up," said Paterson. "Doesn't this hinge on getting him to, you know, tell his parents?"

"Weapons. Home. Around children. And- We'll agree to bury the rest. Tear up documents. Hide everything. Cover for him. We already know what killed him. What's the point of bringing it into the light?"

Collins and Paterson both nodded slowly. "I'll call him," said Collins.

There was a knock on the door. The three glanced at each other.

"Come in," said the captain.

One of the officers stuck her head in. "Sir?" she said. "The mayor is here to see you."

.

Danny would have been at home, plotting with Jazz about how to get his body back, but, no, Skulker had to show up, again. He should have wrecked his suit instead of just sucking him into the thermos last night.

"Hah! Ghost child!" shouted Skulker. "Today I will have your pelt! I have new-!"

Danny screamed in frustration, the harmonics of his voice almost touching a ghostly wail. "Can you leave off about my pelt for like five seconds?" demanded Danny, attacking more aggressively than was his usual wont. One of Skulker's arms flew off his body, clattering on the tiles of a nearby roof. "Didn't you have enough of that, helping Vlad steal my corpse yesterday?" There, after days of dancing around the word, he had finally said it.

"Wait, your what?" asked Skulker, pirouetting awkwardly to avoid another barrage of ectoblasts.

"My. Corpse!" screamed Danny. "You helped him steal my corpse!"

"You don't have a corpse, you're still alive!"

"Shut up!" It was a good thing they were so far up. Even at the volumes they were speaking, they wouldn't be overheard. "You don't know anything! I'm half dead, so I have half a corpse, and I had to bury it, and then the police found it, and you helped Vlad steal it!" Danny was basically in tears at this point, hands clenching the metal of Skulker's chest so hard it buckled and warped, holding the unfortunate ghost above his head.

A number of complicated emotions passed over Skulker's face. "Uh," he said. "Time out?"

"What?" snarled Danny. He was more than ready to rip Skulker apart.

"Your body, whatever there is of it, did Plasmius really take it?"

"He basically gloated about it to my friends," said Danny.

Skulker's face twisted up, the metal plates it consisted of glinting in the sunlight. "Disturbing the remains of another ghost is... distasteful, at best." He shifted, obviously trying to get out of Danny's grip. Danny held on, tighter. "Let me go," he said. "I'll spread the word. There won't be a ghost in the Zone who'll work for Plasmius after this."

Danny sniffed. "I want it back," he said.

"Of course you do," said Skulker, nervously. "Just- let me go, alright, ghost child?" He paused. "Phantom?"

Danny relaxed his grip. Before Skulker could recover, he whipped out the thermos and sucked the other ghost in.

"I'll let you go," he grumbled. "Right into the Ghost Zone."

.

Jones did not like Mayor Masters. A complete outsider, a stranger to Amity Park, the man had somehow wormed his way into the mayor's office. Jones had always suspected bribery, but had no evidence.

This visit of his... it was suspicious. Incredibly suspicious. The timing felt rotten. Masters had barely set foot inside the station before this.

Well, the timing and the questions he was asking. Jones was glad he had told everyone to deflect questions about the body and Phantom beforehand, no matter who was asking.

Jones fixed a grin onto his face. "I'm sorry, Mr. Masters," he said. "We can't discuss ongoing investigations."

"I think," said Masters, "that, as mayor, I am exempt from that rule. I am, after all, your boss."

"That's true," said Jones, "but this case is especially sensitive, and everyone is a suspect."

"I can't possibly be," said Masters. "I didn't even live here two years ago. I believe you are dancing around the subject, sir. Let us not have our personal feelings get in the way of things, hm?"

This bastard- There was no way he should have known that particular detail. Not without suborning the ME or her assistant.

Or stealing the records. The initial reports had gone missing with the body, and the computer system had been hacked.

Jones pressed his teeth together so hard they ached. He could feel them grinding inside his head.

"Why don't I give you an overview of what we know so far?" he asked, voice as sweet as he could stand to make it. "We'll start with Cameron over here. He's the head of our cult division, and a real wizard with computers."

If anyone could drive the man off, it was Cameron.

.

"I didn't think babypop even had a corpse," said Ember, crossing his arms. "Are you sure he isn't just delusional?"

"He could be," said Skulker, "but that's not the point. He believes it. Do you really want to be dealing with him as a restless spirit?"

"Oh, god, no. He's already such a spoilsport. Can you imagine?" The blue flame her hair was drawn back into shuddered.

"I don't have to imagine," said Skulker. "He tore my arm off."

"He always tears your arms off," said Ember, dismissively.

"He's only going to get worse though," said Skulker, "if it really is his body. If Plasmius is doing anything to it. That anxiety. A person's body should be taken care of properly, not messed about with."

"Hey!" said Technus, who was on the other side of the room, fixing Skulker's mechanical body. "I donated MY body to SCIENCE! I'm perfectly fine."

"Yeah," said Ember. "Some people would disagree with that, but the thing is you chose to do that. Those're the rites you wanted."

"Do you think I, the great TECHNUS, master of all things technological and-"

"No, actually, I don't think you knew," said Ember.

"Ohhhhh! I'll alter all your auxiliary cables, you little-!"

"Can we get back on topic?" asked Skulker, his high-pitched voice cutting above the argument. "We need to get Phantom's body back! Otherwise he'll be completely unbearable!"

The ghosts looked at each other. "Agreed," they said.

.

Danny leaned over Tucker's shoulder. "Are you sure?" he said.

"Positive," said Tucker. "Sorry, man, but Vlad's super secret super villain stuff isn't online. Your body isn't mentioned at all. Nothing is. His internet enabled stuff is all pretty bland, compared to what we know he's doing. I mean, some of it is kind of sketchy, but it just isn't the same level."

"Anything we can blackmail him with?" asked Sam.

"Not really. We can't exactly say how we got it, after all, so he'd have plausible deniability."

Danny groaned. The groan turned into a long plume of blue mist. Danny growled. "Whoever is interrupting this time-"

"Whoa, calm down, man," said Tucker. "This is pretty normal."

Danny's phone began to ring. If this was those detective he was going to-

It was Jazz. "What?" he asked.

"The ecto-exodus alarm is going off," said Jazz. "Where are you?"

"Tucker's," said Danny. "I'm going to check it out."

"Be safe. Mom and Dad are out there with blasters, and they've notified the GIW."

"Noted," said Danny. He hung up, then turned to Sam and Tucker. "This is a big one, apparently. You might want to stay in."

"Good luck with that," said Tucker, pulling a ecto-rifle from beneath his desk. "I've been wanting to try this baby out."

"Please don't name it," said Sam.

"I think I will!" said Tucker.

"Just don't shoot if we're not fighting, okay? They might not be here to cause trouble. Don't give me that look, I'm trying out some optimism."

Before his friends could say anything about that, he flew up through the roof. From there, he had no problem picking out the crowd of ghosts who had just passed by.

Skulker was leading them. Danny scowled, and flew forward to intercept them, too angry to process whether or not confronting a group of ghosts that large was wise.

"Hey!" he shouted. "I thought you said you'd leave!"

"Chill, babypop!" shouted Ember. "You're a cold core, aren't you? We're here to get your body back."

That brought Danny up short. "Wait, really?"

The other ghosts, largely the rabble of the Wastes, the region of the Ghost Zone right outside the Fenton portal, gave a ragged sort of cheer.

"Yeah. And trash Plasmius's crap."

"Oh," said Danny, taken aback. "He has a ghost shield around his mansion, you know. A human shield, too, before you say I can get past that."

Poindexter floated up, over the mass of the crowd. "He can't keep them up all the time, can he?" he asked adjusting his glasses.

"No, I guess he can't. One sec." He pulled out his phone. "Hey, Tucker, can you find out where Vlad is right now?"

.

"... and these are the cults that believe ghosts are divine messengers, there's a lot of variety in them, too," Cameron was saying, pointing eagerly at his computer screen.

"Excuse me," said Vlad. "But I don't see how this is relevant. At all. To anything."

"Oh, it's very important," said Collins, nodding sagely. "We got some of our best leads in this case from the cults."

Cameron beamed.

"I am myself quite familiar with the local cults," said Vlad. "If they become relevant, I'm sure I can come back to-"

"No, no, Mr. Mayor," said Paterson, "you won't understand without context."

"I-"

Several dozen ghosts suddenly entered through the roof. Everyone dove for cover.

"Hiya, grave robbers!" shouted a ghost with fiery blue hair. Ember McClain. "Or one grave robber in particular."

Actually, come to think of it, she'd masqueraded as a human for a while, too. Collins was going to have a crisis about how easily ghosts could blend in with humans at some point in the near future. Not today, but before the end of the week. He'd need to talk to a shrink. Preferably one who wasn't a ghost.

Oddly, the ghosts weren't attacking.

The sound of Mayor Masters clearing his throat issued from behind a sizable desk. "What are you here for?" he asked.

"You know, grave robber. We've got a bone to pick with you, until you give back what you took."

A few feet away from Collins, Jones inhaled deeply. He stood up. Collins resisted the urge to drag him back down.

"We don't have Phantom's body," said Jones, "if that's what you're here for."

"We know," said Ember. "That's what this's about. We know who took it, and we don't want to deal with Phantom while he's freaking out over some jerk having his body. So. We're giving an ultimatum-"

"Hey, guys," said Phantom's voice. "I found the shield deactivation button. It was in his car, next to his garage door opener."

"Oh, cool. You trash his car?"

"Nah, I let these little gremlin dudes do it. They looked like they were having fun."

"Whatever, babypop. Let's go get your body!"

As quickly as they came, the ghosts were gone.

Mayor Masters swore, and started for the door.

"Hold up," said Jones, putting a hand on the taller man's shoulder. "Where exactly do you think you're going?"

"To call some competent ghost hunters, since those menaces are clearly after my belongings!"

"Nuh uh," said Jones. "We've got some questions for you."

"Yeah," said Collins, "like why you seem to think that they're going to your house, when they could have been talking about anyone."

"Wow!" said Cameron, smiling. "That was exciting! I'm glad I was livestreaming, like you told me to, Paterson!"

"Well," said Vlad. He paused. "I need to call my lawyer."

"Better make sure they're a competent one," mocked Jones.

.

Collins was surprised when Phantom materialized in the middle of the room with a long, dark plastic body bag in his arms. So were most people. Across the room, next to the coffee machine, one of his more caffeine-addicted coworkers do a spit take, and Jones burst out of his office in an avalanche of paperwork.

"I want a burial," said Phantom, finally. "A real one, this time."

Silence.

"I think I can arrange that," said Captain Jones.

[ayamari-no-goshi]

Eidolon 6 | (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

6. Phone Call

Winston was at a complete loss as to what to do. Though Danny was feeling better, he firmly denied anything strange happened before he started feeling ill. Worse, his friends had decided they were not going to leave for a while. After everything that had happened during the day, he really needed to talk to the boy. It was just he did not want company to hear… though, knowing Danny, he would probably tell his friends anyway.

His other problem involved trying to figure out just how much he should say. He knew he had to explain what happened to the boy's parents, it seemed to factor into both Masters' and Plasmius' involvement in the whole mess. But the other aspect, which held most of Plasmius' attention, was a touchy subject. Unfortunately, that would have to wait until a later time. Without Danny's acknowledgement, there was little that could be said.

He ran his hand through his hair while he continued to pace. Why did everything have to be so complicated?

A sound from the phone interrupted his contemplation. Irritated, he glared at the number and realized it was in his best interests to answer it. Blasted social services! They couldn't leave him alone for more than a few hours anymore. Though, in this case, he did deserve it. After taking a moment to calm himself, he answered the phone, expecting to hear the social worker from earlier in the day. Instead, he was shocked to discover the educated-sounding voice on the other end belonged to none other than the Vlad Masters.

"Hello! Is this Winston?" he asked with a strange, almost false, enthusiasm. "Splendid! I'm just calling to check in as I was informed earlier that you had to cancel a meeting with one of my representatives due to an emergency earlier today."

Winston's eyes narrowed as he listened. "Sorry about that. I tried explaining to the woman that I'd gladly reschedule as it was imperative that I checked in on the situation. It was just as much as a shock to me as to everyone else." He paused for a moment. "You know, I wasn't told that the meeting was with one of your people."

"What?" The voice on the phone had the nerve to sound shocked. "I could have sworn that you had been informed. I'll have to make note to talk to the office about that. Anyways, the meeting was supposed to go over the legal aspects of young Daniel's case."

"Legal aspects? What 'legal aspects'? The courts decided years ago that I had full legal permission to take care of him! You honestly want to remove him from the place he's called home for the last twelve years?"

"There's no need to get testy with me, now is there? Yes, you were given permission, but things have changed since then. That letter of yours was definitely written by the Fentons, but it's hardly a true legal document. So, I've decided to retry the case."

"I hope you realize if it was considered fine back then, it most likely will have the same result now."Although he tried to sound civil, Winston could hear the growl lurking beneath. Just from the way Masters was talking, it was clear there was something abnormal about his interest in Danny. Not only that, but it just did not make sense the problem of a couple missing documents would turn into a potential court case so quickly. It seemed like Masters was doing his best to puppeteer everything to a favorable situation, which was starting to sound worrisome.

"…I'm also going to remind you, even though you probably already know this," he continued, not caring if Masters had something else to say. "It is unlikely that the courts will want to remove Danny from a home where he's been well-taken care of. Not only that, all of the proper paperwork has been turned in showing I've adopted him legally, other than the couple forms that have disappeared. It will just be easier for all parties to have me continue to take care of him."

A somewhat dark laugh answered him. "Let's look at this piece by piece, shall we? Are you certain the boy's happy and healthy? Why, when I visited your house earlier today, he looked under the weather. Think of what the courts will think when he doesn't get better."

"And are you insinuating that he won't?" he demanded. Silence was the only answer he received, though he could almost sense the smirk forming on Masters' face. "And what do you mean visited? You're telling me that you were here, in person?"

"Oh yes. Though, I must say that Daniel was quite displeased to find me in your kitchen. He wasted no time in confronting me. Haven't you taught him not to talk to strangers?"

Winston could just feel his blood pressure rising to the boiling point. "Y-you…! HOW DARE YOU! DO YOU HONESTLY THINK THAT YOUR MONEY GIVES YOU THE RIGHT TO BARGE INTO OTHER PEOPLE'S HOMES?"

"Oh dear… It appears as if our conversation has turned a bit sour. Let's continue this on a different day, hmm?"

It took nearly all of his willpower to calm down to the point where he was sure that he was not going to yell again. "Fine… but let me ask you this first: what is your interest in Danny? I know that someone like you rarely involves himself in the personal lives of other, especially those we aren't in your social class. So, why?"

"Me? I'm simply trying to do what my two old friends requested of me before their deaths."

"Forgive me if I don't believe that. And, what makes you think they're dead? No evidence has ever been found. I'd think as a friend, you'd be hoping for the best until proven otherwise."

"Oh ho, more questions! And here I thought we were done." There was a pause before another strange laugh came across the phone. "But I'll indulge you one last time tonight. Though I'd love to be told that Maddie and Jack have been found, I know it's quite unlikely. It's been nearly thirteen years, and statistics have shown that the odds of a missing person surviving that long are so minute it's laughable." He then paused for a moment before speaking again. "Winston, as a… normally… reasonable man, so I implore you to think about this carefully. A court case will be messy and will probably drain you financially. Also, think about the boy's happiness. You're telling me that he wouldn't be happier in my care?"

"From what I've heard over the phone, you sound like you view Danny more as an object than an actual person, so I doubt it," Winston snorted. "Mr. Masters, until that court date, stay away from my house and my family. Now, if you excuse me, I have some things that I have to attend to." He then slammed the phone down and breathed.

It had taken all of his willpower to not start cursing at the man. If he didn't trust the man before, he certainly didn't now. There had been something that had been left unsaid in the conversation, even if they had danced around the topic. Masters had made it sound earlier that Danny would remain ill, but with how angry he had been at the time, he hadn't bothered to press the subject. Was it possible that he knew about Danny's 'condition'? And, could he have been the associate that Plasmius mentioned?

Well… whether he was or wasn't, he still needed to talk to Danny. Without wasting another minute, he started towards the boy's room.

xxxxx

"Tucker, asking him the same question over and over is not helping!" Sam warned the boy while eyeing the PDA in his hand. From Danny's vantage point, he wasn't entirely sure if she making sure it wasn't going to be thrown or if she was thinking about swiping it.

"But... he's gotta know something!" Tucker's voice was panicky. Since his scare earlier, he had been trying to find a rational explanation for what had happened, but his efforts were failing miserably. However, it wasn't because he wasn't asking the right questions, but rather, Danny honestly did not have the answers.

He sighed as he watched Sam threaten to destroy the PDA in what he assumed was the wrong was to calm someone down. What was going on? Although he didn't want to admit it, this was similar to what happened on Sunday, though he hadn't gotten stuck that time. The best thing that he could come up with is that it was some weird sickness that was causing it. He really didn't want to say anything to Winston, especially since this was only the second time that this had happened.

But, although falling through solid objects was definitely strange, it was not the first odd occurrence he had experienced recently. There was that frightening encounter the previous week with that thing... "Hey, guys..." he said quietly as he tried to put his thoughts in order, "Do you think this could be related to that strange thing that chased us?"

Tucker looked confused for a moment while Sam just narrowed her eyes. "You mean the thing that appeared in the cemetery? Why would you think that?" she asked, dubious.

"Why'd you have to go and bring that up?" Tucker nearly choked. "I've been trying to forget about it!"

Danny allowed himself to smile at Tucker's reaction in spite of his concerns. "Well... nothing really strange started until that happened. Also, do you remember that it said something somewhat odd before it vanished? I think it was something like, 'Enjoy it while it lasts'."

"I remember that..." Sam told him as she looked at him curiously. "It was almost like it was saying that you weren't going to be around for much longer." A frown appeared on her face as she thought about it for a moment. "So... do you think he knew about this?"

"Or maybe it made this happen..."

"Great, just great! That's just what I need to hear! You don't think that thing scared me enough when we first saw it? Now you're giving it super powers!"

Unsure what to say, he just watched as Tucker's fearful exclamation turned into a full-blown rant that somehow seemed to jump from the fear of the unknown entity to worry that his precious PDA would be damaged back to the fact that people shouldn't be able to get their leg stuck in the floor. Although he knew he should probably stop him, it was probably better if he got it all out now. It would definitely make it easier to talk to him, once he calmed down either by his own volition or by Sam's.

However, he wasn't stopped by either things. Instead, a loud shout, which was probably more comparable to an enraged snarl, took all of them by surprised. Danny looked towards his door in shock. Winston almost never raised his voice like that, but when he did, usually it was not a good thing. He only hoped that he was not going to end up on the receiving end later on.

"Uh... was that...?" Tucker asked worriedly. It was almost as if he was afraid to finish the question.

He nodded and listened for a moment. It sounded like his guardian was on the phone with someone. "He doesn't lose his temper too often," he told his friends before donning a wry smile. "But when he does, I'd rather be facing that weird thing again."

...

It was a little later when a knock on his door interrupted his conversation. "Danny? May I come in?" Winston's voice called from behind it. Although Danny really did not want to deal with his guardian at that moment, he knew that it would be dangerous to refuse, especially after the outburst earlier.

After telling him that he could, Winston came in, and it was very clear that he had a lot on his mind. The man looked so worn and stressed, that he seemed to have aged at least ten years in a single night. Hopefully, that was just a temporary thing.

"Danny... I know that this is probably not the best time, but..." Winston's tone suddenly changed from pleasant to accusing. "Where did find those?"

He was definitely confused by the question, until Winston gestured towards the letters that were now on his end table. With everything that happened, he had completely forgotten about them. "Oh, those. I had found them in your study when I came home... "

"He was the only one who went inside though!" Tucker piped before anyone else had a chance to say something. "What?" he asked after Sam gave him a strange look. "I'm trying to save him from getting in trouble."

Danny was surprised when he watched Winston's suspicious glare change into a more amused expression. "You definitely have found some good friends."

"Actually, they found me," Danny corrected. After all, it was them who decided to go look for supposed ghost in the cemetery. That thought just amused him. Who in their right mind thought that he was a ghost?

"Would you mind handing me those?" Winston after allowing himself to take a set at the end of the bed. After being giving the letters, he seemed unsure of what to say. "Did... did you take a look at these?"

"No... After I found them, we ended up being distracted by that Masters guy... Oh, that's right, I... uh... forgot to mention that to you..." Even he could hear the nervousness in his voice. Random people being in the house without permission was somewhat important.

"I know... He was the one who called earlier, and he decided to let that slip..." There was a momentary pause before Winston looked at him with a very serious expression. "These letters both have something to do with what happened to your parents and part of what's happening now. And, it's about time that you knew."

Wait, was Winston really about to tell him what he thought he was? He wasn't too sure what to say until Sam made a noise, making him jump. For a moment, he had forgotten that his friends were still in the room.

"Uh... do you want us to leave... since this is a delicate subject and all?" she asked. From her expression, he could tell that she really didn't want to leave just yet.

"It's alright... I know that no matter what, you'll end up hearing the story anyways." Winston replied with a bit of a grin. "How to start this off...? Danny, back before you were born, your parents were actually making quite a name for themselves as scientists and inventors, focusing mostly on the field of parapsychology, which is how I ended up initially meeting them."

"Parapsychology? You mean like research on stuff like ghosts and psychic abilities?" Sam asked. It was clear that her interest was clearly peaked.

Winston nodded. "The very same, though they tended to focus more on what they referred to as ghost hunting. Anyways, it appears that some of their research caused a bit of a problem for them. Someone by the name of Plasmius... started taking a negative interest in your family. It's a bit unclear why, but shortly after you were born, Plasmius decided to, for lack of a better word, attack your family."

"Your parents seemed to know he was coming... and called me shortly before that attack happened. But, I got there too late. By that time, the house was a mess and your parents were... just gone! It's not entirely clear what happened to them. I searched the house for some clue, but it was as if they vanished into thin air. Yet, somehow, I was able to find you, Danny. You were unhurt and tucked away in a laundry basket of all things."

"Where... do the letters fit in?" he asked, unsure how everything was related.

"I'm getting to that. Now, according to your parents' will, a friend of theirs was supposed to take care of you if anything ended up happening to them. However, about a month before the attack, I was sent a letter from them that asked if I would be willing to take care of you instead." Holding up the one letter, he frowned as he examined it. "It looks like someone's been reading this... Anyways, although it's not a proper document, the courts seemed to view it as an updated but unofficial will. It caused a lot of problems for your parents' friend who seemed almost desperate to get a hold of you."

"I'm a bit confused..." Tucker interrupted. "Why didn't Danny's parents want their friend to take care of him?"

"It's not entirely clear..." Winston told them rather slowly as if he wasn't sure how to phrase what he wanted to say. "But, from what I understand, they seemed to suspect him of somehow being in league with Plasmius. After the problem with the court was settled, I moved us away from your old hometown, hoping that it would bring an end to the trouble... I was wrong. It... it appears that he past is trying to repeat itself. The second letter you found was from Plasmius, saying that he knew where we are. I was so shaken up... I went out to see if I could find you, but I ran into it... him instead... On top of that, Vlad Masters has gotten himself involved again... He thinks that he can win this time... It's such a mess."

There was just silence as Winston finished up. It was very clear that he was deeply troubled by the whole even, and Danny was just as lost. There was just so much information to sift through and try to understand, but something was sitting a little off. "'win this time'?" he repeated. "Do you mean that the guy that was in our house today was the same person my parents didn't want to take care of me?"

"The very same. I don't know exactly why he's so dead set on this. It could be related to Plasmius, or it could be a completely different matter. I don't know." Winston sighed for a moment before he looked directly into his charges eyes, making him nervous for some reason. "All I do know is that Plasmius is very dangerous and has some sort of interest in you." He then stood up and moved towards the door. "Be careful. I don't want to find out that the next time you disappear is because of him."

[sellyoursoulforagoodfic]

Runaway Chapter 8

Vlad Masters x reader

Word Count: 1768

Summary: FLASHBACK TIME. AKA, how we got here

Note: This is edited a lot less, so I apologize if there are errors.

A short while later, the Fentons stood watching a wall-sized screen while Vlad operated the device and Plasmius stood inside the tube with a few probes on his head.

“Now watch the screen because I am going to show you the important parts of our early relationship so you will finally stop thinking I kidnapped her or something. It’ll be a composition from both of our points of view since we’ve been developing it together.”

With that statement from Vlad,  the screen started playing like it was a movie, showing Vlad’s self from a few years before walking down the street. His face looked like he was bothered by something as he entered a coffee shop. Imagine the Fentons’ surprise when they saw their daughter working the counter.

When she saw the depressed-looking man at the counter, a concerned look formed on Y/N’s face. She hurried to write something on the man’s cup before handing it over to him.

The ‘camera’ once again followed Vlad as he left the shop. It wasn’t until he reached his office that he saw the note on the cup near his name. “Sorry about whatever’s bothering you. I'm here if you need to talk.” A little smile formed on his face.

From his thoughts the audience of two could tell that he’d gotten a few notes from Y/N before. Meaning she’d instigated their relationship. Which was the opposite of what Jack expected. That was when Vlad’s thoughts tipped into the territory of asking this girl out for lunch and all of the insecurities that went along with that.

The next day, Y/N was just clocking out when Vlad entered the shop. “Hey!” she greeted happily as she stepped out from behind the counter.

“Hello yourself,” was his warm reply. “Thank you for your note yesterday, Y/N. It really helped.”

Pink tinted the tips of her ears. “You’re welcome, Vlad.”

“I do hope it’s not too forward of me, but would you go to lunch with me sometime?” His heart lurched at the beaming grin that spread across her face.

“I thought you’d never ask.” The image paused.

“That led to our first date,” present Vlad explained. “As you can see, we were both fully consenting to the whole thing. It was all rather domestic, actually.”

“What’s next?” Jack asked. After all he’d missed in his daughter’s life, this was proving to be quite enlightening.

“The next was when I told her about what I went through to get where I am now. Hospital and all. We’d been dating for a year.”

Tears fell down Vlad’s face as he remembered all those years he spent seething in his own hatred and fear of how he would pay his hospital bills with no income or family to help. All that stress was still so vivid even later after he had so much. “We’d been doing an experiment. I-I tried to tell Jack that something wasn’t right . . . I was caught in the blast. I was in that hospital for so long.”

Concern was etched into Y/N’s features while her hand went to his cheek; her thumb wiped away some of his tears. Both of her arms slid around his neck so she could pull him down into a tight hug. Her fingers combed gently through his hair since it was out of its ponytail for once.

“I was alone for so long,” Vlad whispered the admission.

“Well, you’re not anymore. I’m here to stay,” Y/N murmured.

Maddie gasped at Past Vlad’s little head shake. It’d never occurred to her that she and Jack hadn’t visited their friend after the accident they had caused.

Y/N leaned back to kiss his lips. “I’m sorry.” Another kiss. “I’m so sorry.” Inside, guilt was eating away at her since her own parents were the ones that put him through so much suffering.

“How about the first time we kissed?”

They were at a gala for Vlad’s company a few weeks into their relationship. Y/N had finally managed to get Vlad alone out on one of the balconies after an hour of trying to rescue him from the various press demanding conversations. The sounds of the party were behind them, only slightly muffled by the glass doors. A smile pulled at her lips at the sight of Vlad looking relieved to be able to breath without fans, employees, or press breathing down his neck.

On impulse, she stood on her toes to kiss him. At his lack of response, Y/N nervously retreated. “Should I not have . . . ?”

Vlad swallowed thickly, lacing their fingers together to keep her from moving farther away. “If it were any other time . . . I would happily return your affections. The problem is,” his grey eyes met her e/c ones, “if I kissed you now, I don’t think I’d be able to stop.”

Heat instantly flared in her face at what she was about to say. “Maybe I don’t want you to stop.”

“As tempting as that is, it would be highly improper for me to disappear from a party that I am hosting.”

She pouted. “Well that’s just no fun.”

“Perhaps,” Vlad trusted himself to brush his lips to her jaw, “we can make good on that offer after everyone leaves if you’re still up for it?”

A wicked smirk formed on her face. “Oh, I like that plan a lot.”

“Or maybe this?”

The Vlad on the screen was talking to his secretary while getting dressed for his date that evening. For their six month marker, they’d decided to go to a rather nice restaurant. “While I am gone, tell Eric to check with Research about that new PDA. I haven’t heard anything on it in almost two weeks.”

“Yes, Mr. Masters,” Sally nodded. “Sir, can I ask a personal question?”

“Of course, but I reserve the right to not answer it.”

“Fair enough. I haven’t seen you like this since, well, ever. Is it this woman that’s making you so happy?”

Vlad raised an eyebrow. “Well that is quite forward, but the answer is yes. She is . . . something I thought I’d never find, to be honest.”

Sally had a growing smile on her face. “By God . . . You love her don’t you?”

That made his heart beat faster. Y/N had been saying it for months, but every time Vlad was unable to repeat the words to her. Yet she was the one that made his heart race like no other. Not even Maddie back before the accident had challenged him as much while also making him feel like he was home no matter where they were. Even now he found himself smiling at the mere memory of her touch. 

“I suppose I do.”

Sally was all-out grinning by that point. “Good. I’m happy for you, Mr. Masters. You’d best get to your date before you’re late, now.”

“I thought I was the boss here?” Vlad teased.

“Go!”

“Or perhaps when I proposed to her will convince you that I didn’t force her into this relationship?”

“V-man, I think we’ve seen enough.”

“No, Jack, you haven’t, because I can still see the accusation written all over your goddamn face. Now sit and watch.”

Two years. They’d happily been together for two years as of that morning. Vlad smiled to himself as he looked next to him on the bed at his girlfriend sleeping there in one of his t-shirts. He resolved to ask her to marry him that day even though he hadn’t found a ring he liked for her just yet. Knowing her, that wouldn’t matter anyway.

Vlad carefully extracted himself from the bed to go make breakfast. He didn’t bother to get dressed; he just went down in pajama pants with no shirt.

Y/N stirred as soon as the door clicked shut behind him. She was rather groggy while getting up and following him out to the kitchen, meaning it took a lot longer than usual. The fog of sleep had lifted during the time it took her downstairs, however, so she fully enjoyed the sight of her boyfriend’s muscles flexing as he cooked.

“Mornin’, sexy,” she greeted as she poured herself some coffee.

“You’re supposed to still be asleep so I can bring you breakfast in bed,” he commented.

“Yeah, but my pillow abandoned me.”

That’s when he turned to look at her and froze at the sight before him. Seeing her there in just his shirt sealed it for him. Vlad reached behind him to shut off the stove as he spoke, “Well in that case take my hand.” He offered his free one to her.

“Why?” she asked suspiciously, putting her steaming mug on the table.

Vlad chuckled, knowing she was half expecting him to put her on the table and fuck her right there. “I’m trying to ask you to marry me, so take my damn hand!” he laughed.

Blue eyes widened dramatically at both the words and at Vlad’s look of genuine happiness. Aside from shock, only one thought was rattling around in her skull and she voiced it. “Why me?”

“Because you saw me when I was invisible,” he shrugged as if it was obvious. “Sometimes literally, but you’re the only one to ever just care about me rather than my money or fame. Because I love you. I don’t have a ring yet, but I’m working on fixing that. So will you--”

“Yes! Of course I will, you goddamn idiot!” she interrupted. Y/N tackled him by hopping up to wrap her legs around his waist, knowing he’d catch her.

“Now just what are you doing?” he asked with a chuckle as his hands moved under her as to support her weight.

“You are gonna put me on that table and fuck me on it until I’m screaming your name and we both collapse.”

“And that’s enough of that memory!” Vlad coughed awkwardly as he cut off the program. “I’d forgotten that that morning ended like that.” Another cough coupled with him scratching at his newly-short hair. “Anyway, I hope that all of that will convince you that what we have is real. Not an illusion or her wanting my money or whatever the two of you think is going on between us.”

“Fine,” Jack finally admitted, “there’s nothing wrong with you two being together other than your age. That doesn’t mean the ghosts aren’t possessing you.”

Y/N entered the room and therefore halted whatever Vlad had been about to say. “Fight that fight another time, Vladimir. I figured out how to reverse it, so they need to get the fuck out now.”

Vlad’s ensuing grin was positively evil. “You heard the lady. Leave.”

--

Note: And that’s literally all she wrote. As usual, I might come back and write some more if anybody wants it (or if I feel like it), but as of 11/4/2019 that’s it.

[danthectoman]

Vlad is sitting in his office, admiring his newest piece of Packers memorabilia. Sure, he had to possess Lil’ Wayne, but it was all worth it for the absolutely beautiful piece of gold and green leather that was currently sitting against the far wall. The spaces in the armrests were already filled with specially printed bottles of white wine wrapped in green and gold foil and the Packers logo emblazoned across the front.

In a move completely unbecoming of a billionaire, he flopped onto the couch face first without a care in the world. This is as close as he’s going to come to owning the Packers, probably. Maybe. He needed to document this. Now. Immediately. After a few more moments of enjoying the perfectly crafted sofa, Vlad rose and retrieved a camera from the cabinet. Spawning a duplicate, he handed it the camera and went back to the couch.

Vlad laid across the couch once again, this time posing like Burt Reynolds in the Cosmo centerfold, unknowingly asking to be painted like a French girl. The double took the photo and Vlad continued to make a few more pinup-style poses for the camera in his human form, safe in the assumption this was for HIM and his own PERSONAL CALENDAR. After each photo, the double would hold up a thumb, signaling that he could go to the next pose. 

Having a great time, he didn’t even hear as his office door opened, an intern standing in the doorway. Vlad transformed into Plasmius with a laugh as he laid upside down on the couch, head touching the floor and legs thrown over the headrest, and flashed his fangs at the camera. The intern was still standing in the doorway, visibly shaking and unsure of what to do with the scene unfolding in front of her.

After a moment, she steeled herself and cleared her throat, quietly asking “Mr. Masters? I.... I have those reports you wanted....”

“...Oh. Uhhh..... Hi.....He will be with you in a moment. I’m....Waiting on him ....too?” This was the most pathetic attempt to cover anything Vlad had ever heard. He didn’t even know how long the girl had been there. She could have seen everything....

“...Suuuuure...... You know I’ve been standing here for like, five minutes, right?” 

“Oh, Shittake Mushrooms.”

[darks-ink]

Disinterred CH.15

Chapter 15: Clean It Up

And Amity Park… Amity Park was used to dealing with the unusual. The impossible. The non-existent. So, really. Having a ghost and a clone of said ghost testify for the crimes of another ghost… It wasn’t that far out of there.

(Tumblr hates links and I want this to appear in the tags so… for author notes/full fic summary/links to the other chapters/mirror links to AO3 and FFnet, click here)

“We need to talk to detective Payton.”

The woman behind the desk quirked an eyebrow at him, then glanced at the group behind him. “If you have a crime to report, you can speak to whichever officer is available.”

“It’s more complicated than that,” Danny insisted. “It involves a case he was working on.”

She opened her mouth again, clearly intending to shoo him away. Jazz cut her off, however. “It’s really important, please. Can you just contact him and tell him that the Fentons want to talk with him.”

The lady glared at them shortly, but complied. The call involved a brief back-and-forth, but once Payton had heard the words “Fenton” and “case” he seemed to have made up his mind.

Sighing, the woman at the desk put the phone down again. “He’ll be here in a few moments.”

“Thank you.” Danny grinned, just a little too pleased with the small victory. Hey, he would take whatever he got right now. Any distraction from the upcoming conversation was more than welcome.

When Payton appeared he looked more than a little resigned at the sight of their group of teenagers. “I thought that the Fentons wanted to talk to me?”

“We’re temporary stand-ins for his parents,” Sam said with a shrug. “They’re… occupied.”

Payton sighed but, to his credit, didn’t otherwise react. He simply led the four of them to an empty room so they could talk.

“What is this about, then? Because I’m guessing that the ‘case’ you wanted to talk about is yours?”

“Yeah,” Danny confirmed with a nod. “We… We kind of left our some details.”

“You are aware that it’s illegal to lie to the police?” Payton crossed his arms, a mild glare send towards the teens.

“We didn’t lie!” Sam exclaimed, throwing out her hands. “We just didn’t tell the entire truth.”

“Is that so?” Payton didn’t look particularly convinced. Danny didn’t really blame him. In fact, he kind of felt bad for the officer. His involvement in the case certainly made it a lot harder than it had any right to be. Ghosts, in general, made work for the police difficult.

“When we talked about my… ghostly nature,” Danny started hesitantly, “we implied that my… more ghostly appearance was just a one time thing. It’s not.”

Payton nodded, now looking slightly more believing. “Is this related to your glowing green eyes during the confrontation with your parents?”

“Uh, yeah. I can trigger the whole transformation on command, but the glowing eyes happens for all sorts of reasons. Usually when I’m using my powers or when I’m experiencing really strong emotions.” Danny shrugged. “I kind of… use my more ‘ghostly’ form as a disguise of sorts, so people don’t recognize me.”

“But what would you need a disguise for?” Payton squinted at him, suspicion clear on his face. “Nothing illegal, I hope?”

Danny snorted in response, leaning back in his chair. “Hardly,” he said, before tapping into his powers to make his eyes glow on purpose. “Come on, it can’t be that hard to figure out.”

Payton scrutinized him for a few long moments, eyes gliding over him. Then the man sat forward, arms resting on the table. “You’re saying that you are Phantom? Well, that certainly explains why you laughed when I said that if Phantom thought you were okay, it was probably safe to trust that judgment.”

“What can I say, ghost hunting runs in the family.” Danny smirked, a rather Phantom-like expression, to drive the point home.

The detective continued to eye him, then sighed. “You do realize that this isn't going to change the decisions we made last meeting, right?”

“Yeah,” Danny agreed with a shrug. “I mean, I guess I’ll try for college but if I can’t get in I’ll just work for my parents. I’m already following their footsteps as Phantom anyway, might as well give inventing a shot too.”

Then his expression fell again. “But to get back to the original topic… I’m not just telling this for fun. It’s a secret for a reason.”

“Yes, I suppose it is,” Payton agreed, sitting back again. “What is it then?”

Danny frowning, running through his options. Apparently he took too long, because Jazz spoke up. “He’s not the only one. Not the only one with a human and ghost appearance, I mean.”

“And you’re telling me this because… you don’t think they deserve their secret if you didn’t get to keep yours?” Payton queried, cocking an eyebrow at him.

“No,” Danny bit out. “I’m telling you because he’s a jackass who uses his powers for bad purposes!” The vivid green light from his eyes flickered on the desk in front of him, but he ignored it. “He hurts people, he manipulates people! And he has gone too far!”

“And who is he, then?” Payton seemed genuinely intrigued. Apparently Danny’s rant had convinced him to at least play along.

“In human form or ghost form?” Tucker piped up. “Because he looks drastically different and he has no problem flaunting that fact.”

“In his ghost form he calls himself Plasmius.” Sam crossed her arms. “But the public usually calls him the Wisconsin Ghost, I believe.”

“The blue skinned vampire ghost?” Payton frowned. “I’ve heard of him, yes. Known to cause problems, picks fights with… Phantom.” The last word he said more quietly, realization of Phantom really being a 16 year old apparently striking him.

“That’s him,” Danny confirmed. “His human form is also well-known. Old family friend of my parents, current mayor of the town…”

Payton grunted. “You’re saying that the Vlad Masters is a ghost like you?”

“How do you think he won the election?” Jazz questioned with a scoff. “He didn’t stand a chance until he overshadowed most of the voters.”

“And that’s just one of many sketchy things he has done with his powers.” Tucker’s jaw visibly tightened at the thought of everything the man had done. Of what he had tried to do to him. Danny was glad for friends like these. “Stealing money, overshadowing business rivals to take over their companies, attempted murder of Jack Fenton…”

“Kidnapping Maddie Fenton, twice. Kidnapping Danny at least that often, including trapping him in ghost-proof bindings and electrocuting him,” Sam continued. “Sending potentially dangerous ghosts to Amity Park, in the hopes to either kill Jack or hurt Danny.”

“And that’s not even to mention that he tried to clone me,” Danny joined in. Then with a grimace, he added, “And emotionally abusing the one clone that survived. Well, as far as a ghost can survive, of course.”

Payton blinked, apparently stunned by the information overload. Then the last part processed, and he frowned. “He cloned you?”

“Not very successfully, but yes.” Danny shrugged, a faux casual air about him. “She didn’t quite come out right, and she wasn’t stable. But she’s with my parents now, and we managed to save her.”

“Which is also why they’re not here,” Tucker explained, leaning on Danny’s shoulder. “Hence Sam and I as the replacement parents.”

Payton remained quiet for a few moments. Then he sighed. “You are aware of how bat-shit insane this sounds?”

“Welcome to my life,” Danny said with a snort. “Or, well, you know what I mean.”

“We can’t just take your word for all of this,” Payton insisted. “It sounds… Well, it sounds too bizarre to come up with, but that doesn’t mean that it’s true.”

“And we can provide you with whatever proof you need.” Sam glowered at him. “We just need your assurance that you’re gonna look into it, and that you’ll do your best to arrest Vlad.”

Payton sighed, looking like he was very much regretting his involvement in this case. Again. “Of course. That’s literally my job, miss Manson. Although I do wonder how you expect us to arrest and contain a ghost.”

“Inventions to restrict his powers exist,” Tucker supplied. “You can probably move to arrest him the normal way, since he won’t be expecting you to know. Use some ghost-proof cuffs and you’ll have him before he realizes.”

“Fine. It’s a deal. I’ll need all evidence you have of his crimes, including witness reports,” Payton instructed, looking like he was trying to get back in control of the situation.

Danny nodded, then pulled out his phone. “I’ll call the Red Huntress. She was one of the people Vlad manipulated, and he straight-up tried to hire her to catch the clone when she escaped.”

Looking he was going to regret asking, Payton nonetheless asked. “I thought the Red Huntress didn’t like Phantom? Or ghosts in general?”

“Misunderstanding,” Danny explained, waving Payton’s concern off with his hand. “We got everything figured out, and she knows of both my identities.”

“Of course,” Payton groaned. “And I’m guessing you know who she is, then?”

“We all do.” Sam grinned at the clearly overworked detective.

The detective only groaned, but didn’t say anything. Danny figured he had a pretty good idea of what the agent was feeling like.

But it was for a good cause.

It took a few days to gather all the evidence the police required. The witness reports alone took a considerable chunk of time, considering the sheer amount of people in Amity Park alone that knew about Vlad’s shady business. Aside from the Fentons (all five of them) and Sam and Tucker, Valerie also had to be included.

And sadly, that was easier said than done, as she needed to reveal her identity for the report to count. After all, a judge wouldn’t just accept the statement of a masked vigilante that no one knew.

Thankfully she trusted Danny’s judgment (and, of course, the judgments of his friends and Jazz) and allowed Payton and his team to know. They were… less than pleased to discover that she, too, was a teenager.

Knowing that it had been Vlad who pushed her into ghost hunting in the first place… Well, that eased their moods a little. Besides, she and Phantom now worked together – and they trusted Danny to keep the people of Amity safe. From ghosts, at least. Human crime… Well, that was their job.

Additionally, there was some trouble with Dani’s witness reports. Law wasn’t exactly made with cloning in mind. Legally, Danielle Fenton didn’t exist.

But then, neither did ghosts.

And Amity Park… Amity Park was used to dealing with the unusual. The impossible. The non-existent.

So, really. Having a ghost and a clone of said ghost testify for the crimes of another ghost… It wasn’t that far out of there.

Most of the people involved who knew enough about the case to know that three of the people involved were ghosts… Well, they were just glad that the ghosts were solving their issues like normal people. Instead of, you know, blasting each other to bits on the streets.

When Danny first heard people mention it, it had been some of the other officers of Payton’s team. People who knew he was a ghost, but who hadn’t been told about his Phantom alter-ego. He immediately thought back of all the times he and Vlad had brawled and burst into laughter.

The officers looked at him like he had gone crazy, eyebrows raised. Between giggles, Danny managed to explain himself. “You- You really don’t know the half of it.”

That hadn’t really explained anything to the cops, but Payton coaxed them back to work before they could question Danny. The detective attempted to glare the boy into behaving himself, but failed once more. Now that he knew what the boy had faced off against, he wasn’t surprised.

Finally enough evidence had been gathered. The cops set out, armed with anti-ghost weaponry and ghost-proof cuffs. A cell had been prepared beforehand, covered by a ghost shield provided by FentonWorks. A special one, they assured, which would hold even the most powerful and skilled of ghosts.

Payton double-checked his gear. Then he gave the start signal, allowing his officers to pour into the mansion.

Within minutes the team returned, guiding Vlad Masters in their middle. The man was dressed, as always, in an impeccable suit. He frowned at Payton when his guides stopped him in front of the detective.

“Sir, with all due respect, but what on Earth is happening here?”

Payton offered the man a lopsided smile. Then in one swift movement he cuffed Vlad’s wrists together, preventing his escape.

“Vlad Masters, also known as Vlad Plasmius, you are under arrest for… Well, for a lot of crimes.” His smile grew a little wider, a little more genuine. “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can be used against you in court.”

Vlad’s eyes widened, his gaze shifting between his bound wrists and the police officers surrounding them. Payton ignored him, continuing with his whole rights speech.

“Wait, no,” Vlad pleaded. “You must be mistaken- I have never heard of a name like ‘Plasmius’ before.”

“Save it for court.” Payton shoved the man forward, towards the van that would transport him. Several officers, all armed with ectoplasmic weaponry, would ride with him. The cuffs should prevent him from using his powers to escape, but better safe than sorry.

Then he turned towards the rest of the officers still waiting. He inclined his head towards the mansion that stood before them, looming in the approaching dark.

“Well then, let’s see how many sketchy things we can find in here. Sources say that he has an underground lab hidden, like some kind of supervillain.” He grinned at the crowd of police. “First one to find and enter it without disturbing actual evidence gets a reward.”

He clapped his hands together. “Ready, set. Go!”

And then the officers were off, leaving Payton to observe. The boy had been right. Arresting Vlad had been easy, as the man hadn’t expected them in the slightest.

How clever he thought himself. What a sham.

The Summer vacation hadn’t done much to calm Casper High’s rumor mill. The turbulent arrest of ex-mayor Vlad Masters right after the start of said vacation had spurred on all rumors. Not much was known about it, but that didn’t stop the teenagers. They whittled away, discovered the smallest details. Any slip-ups were gladly accepted and brought into the rumors.

So it wasn’t much of a surprise that they discovered that Danny Fenton had been involved as well. Not as a perpetrator, oh no.

As a victim.

Which, of course, combined well with the previous rumors of him being a ghost. It didn’t take long for the first theories to emerge, suggesting that Vlad was his killer. That he had played a critical role in the death of Danny Fenton.

And so when the school year started, against all odds… The rumors hadn’t died off. Quite the opposite. Even more people than before believed that the boy, now in his final year of school, was a ghost.

So they kept their eyes open for his arrival.

Eventually, their wait was rewarded. The doors of the school opened, and in the opening he stood.

Lanky, with unbrushed but shiny black hair. Icy blue eyes that, ironically, sparkled with life. A surprisingly healthy gloss to his pale skin. A playful but kind smile on his face. For once, he looked well-rested. No bags under his eyes.

Perhaps… Perhaps Vlad Masters really had been responsible for his death. Perhaps Danny Fenton could finally rest easy, knowing that the man was finally arrested.

His outfit was much like the usual.

The girl he had his arm wrapped around… much less so.

She, unlike Danny, looked uncertain. Shaky. A red beanie sat perched on her head, but messy black hair still spilled out of it.

Her eyes, blue as the skies, glanced around the entrance hall with vigor. She looked guarded, like she was expecting someone to suddenly attack her.

She had her hands stuck in the pockets of her oversized blue hoodie. A crease in her brow suggested, however, that said hands were clenched into fists.

Standing right next to Danny Fenton, it was very very clear that she looked almost exactly like him. A little younger, perhaps, but undeniably identical.

The crowd parted the let the two through. But they remained nearby, hovering around the two. Waiting. Watching.

In the end, it was Dash Baxter who decided that he’d had enough. He stepped forward, breaking from the line and into the circle of personal space that had been granted to Danny and his… whoever she was.

“Hey Fenton,” he bit, stressing the last name of the ghostly teen. “Who’s this?”

“Oh hey Dash,” Danny greeted as he turned to face the other boy. He pulled the girl next to him a little closer to his side, drawing a displeased hiss from her. “This is Danielle, or Dani.”

“With an i,” the girl muttered under her breath, barely audible.

“Okaaay.” Dash frowned, looking between the two. “That still didn’t answer my question of who she is.”

“Oh, right.” Danny flapped his free hand. “She’s my dead sister.”

Dash froze up, and sharp intakes of breath could be heard from everywhere in the crowd. “She’s your what?”

“My dead sister,” Danny repeated, finally releasing the girl to reach towards his locker. Then he looked over his shoulder at the crowd and grinned.

And stuck his arm right through the still closed locker door.

“Funny how that works, huh?” he said, with his arm still waving through his locker. He looked like was searching for something without being able to see it.

Dani, meanwhile, seemed to have gotten over her nerves. She leaned back against the lockers, standing right next to Danny. She was still eyeing the crowd, however, a little warily.

Soft mutters could be heard from the crowd, but no one had a real response. Sure, everyone had been convinced that Danny was a ghost. Hell, Dash had even seen the boy go intangible before.

But this was undeniable proof. And it was a lot less feeble than a whiffed punch by a jock.

Finally Dash got his thoughts back in order, though. “So why’s she here now?”

“Well,” Danny hummed as he finally pulled his arm out of the locker again. Held in his hand were several books for school. “You guys all knew I was a ghost anyway, so she didn’t have to hide anymore.”

He turned back to face his once-bully with a lopsided grin on his face. Then he shrugged. “Besides, where else is a ghost going to get an education?”

[sp00pygal]

Darn it anon, you are on to something, and now my brain won't shut up until I write it. To be clear, this is not nessicarily cannon to Gil's arkham Guard storyline, if you want you can consider it a "What if"; or perhaps how things could have happened somewhere out in the many alternative universes and realms in DPX DC. This will be a short oneshot, a window into a moment between moments.

The angels claimed they were here to save humanity. They said so on TV. The president had everyone working in full cooperation with the thanagrian army, people had united all over the world to help build the warp gate, even the justice league had been doing their part. Danny had been miles away from the action. Amity was a small town, but she needed protection from the ghosts all the same. The bigger heros could help with the gate, or so Danny had thought.

When the ships started firing, Danny wasn't even fighting ghosts. He and jazz had finally gotten a chance to have a movie night together while his sister was home from Gotham University for the break, just the two of them like it used to be when they were little. Their parents had been the ones fighting the ghosts. It was just box ghost, so Danny hadn't felt the need to intervene. Sam and Tucker, much to Danny's chagrin had both gotten detention while they covered for his ghostly activities, but he swore he'd make it up to them.

The movie was suddenly interupted by an emerging broadcast. The TV showed Lance Thunder reporting as the ships fired lasers on the innocent civilians of Amity Park. Red huntress, Jack, and Maddie were in the center of the fray, fighting for their town. But their weapons were meant to fight ghosts, not aliens. All Danny could do was watch in horror as they were vaporized. The camera turned on Mayor Masters, Lance asking for guidance. But Vlad didn't hear. His eyes were fixed on the spot where his best friends had just died. There was a flash and Plasmius stood where Vlad had been, before taking off and swearing vengeance. He'd lasted 15 seconds before he was gone too Then the invaders started taking out buildings. The mayor's office. The library. The highschool.

It was all Jasmine could do to keep her brother calm by this point He was all she had left. It was all Danny could do to throw up a sheild and protect his sister as the invaders systematically took out their house next. She was all he had now. Everyone and everything else they had known and loved was gone. Destroyed by heartless invaders from the stars Danny had loved. Amity Park was Dead.

As the Thanagrian ships flew away to continue their conquest elsewhere, Jazz looked Danny in the eyes, and whispered in a broken voice "are... are you going to leave too?" She glanced down through the holes in the rubble, down to their parents lab where the portal was sparking, but miraculously still in tact, the green light bathing the forsaken ashes of their home.

For a terrible moment, Danny was silent in thought. He knew the dead could return, and it was within his power as king to reach into the infinite realms and create the town anew. And all it would cost was his place in the mortal plane. His sister.

Danny smiled at Jazz tiredly, finally lowering his protective shield as the portal sputtered and slowly died out. "Hey. I'm right here. We gotta finish our movie night still, right? "

Jazz turned her gaze over at the hopelessly broken TV, returned her brother's weary smile, and hugged him as they both broke down in sobs.

You know the original Justice League Cartoon of the 2000's, or more specifically when Hawkgirl's people invaded with the end goal of sacrificing earth to when their little war? Can you imagine what might have happened if this occured during the time when Danny was a guard at Arkham? Like aliens have invaded, the Justice League had been imprisoned and Danny decides to lend a hand.

I had to call the High Council and ask what the heck you were talking about (thanks @sp00pygal for the info!) and omg the angst potential is amazing.

Imagine Danny first interaction with people from beyond the stars is an invasion. It would break him to pieces (more than what he is now in my interpretation, but it doesn't have to be in my fic's universe lmao). The poor boy.

In the High Council’s words: “I'm just imagining the look on Danny's face, the boy who wanted to be an astronaut and see the stars, fade as he watched the invasion on TV and people from the stars invaded indiscriminately and threatened everyone he loved”

And of course he would help. He might be the Ghost King but that doesn't mean he wants to see the living be enslaved and/or killed.

Also this could be a funny point to start an Arkham Guard Danny fic! Anon you might be onto something here 👀