#Vlad is understandably panicking

[puppetmaster13u]

Prompt 332

So the team might’ve gotten hit by a magic-user before being able to contain the whole bullshit chaos going on. But nothing happened! So they’re fine. But then when they go to sleep they…. Wake up? They’re tiny, with snouts and wings and covered in goo. They’re dreaming, they’re all confident in that, but it feels so life-like all the same. Their surroundings are alien, skies fading between unfamiliar constellations and a poisonous green as a large form encircles them. 

Stars flicker between fur and scales as a form rumbles, that same poisonous green dripping from scars as the dragon, for what else could it be, stares down at them oh-so gently. A long sinewy body twists into the shadows, flames burning a soft pink and wings upon wings coiling across its form. 

And when they awaken they nearly forget about it at first, yet each time their head hits their pillow, exhaustion weighing down their limbs, they blink their eyes back again, in that place of floating isles, broken keeps, and forms flickering in the skies. 

It’s not until they start talking that they realize they’re all dreaming of the same things. 

[help-itrappedmyself]

Dead On Main part 7

Masterpost

dedicated to @cervinebotanist and @leafyeyes417 for responding so quickly and with such enthusiasm to part 6. Thank you for the encouragement and support.

Danny takes a deep breath. He can hear scrambling from somewhere else in the car, but he can’t pay attention to what’s happening as he focuses inward. He closes his eyes, and reaches inside himself.

Jason has a tiny baby core! Danny almost coos at it, but it’s so underdeveloped that he’s sad instead. Danny can feel ectoplasm in himself, in Jason’s body. But it isn’t enough. This ectoplasm has been reused, reduced, recycled one too many times. It’s got barely enough to stay alive left in it. Jason is mostly being sustained by his human half right now. It feels like play-doh that turns to dust where it should stretch, dried-out and old. It makes him even more sad. And slightly ill. But the sadness makes the rioting ectoplasm calm back down inside him.

Danny opens his eyes. He’s slightly disoriented, but calm now, eyes no longer glowing. They had stopped the car. He looks at Tim, who is leaning against his door and braced against it and Dick’s chair, giving Danny as much space as possible. His hand is almost on the door handle and his tablet on the floor. Dick and Bruce are exchanging panicked looks in the front seat, both now unbuckled for some reason and completely turned to face the backseat.

“Hey, speaking of ectoplasm, this body really needs some.” Danny informs them. “If it doesn’t get some new ectoplasm soon his core is going to cease functioning, and that would be really bad, and possibly irreversible.” 

“Uhhh.” Dick’s panicked look is turning straight to confusion, as is everyone else’s. “What?” 

“I didn’t realize that Jason was, I mean he had mentioned he died, but he- well, I guess I didn’t want to talk about it over the phone either. Does make it easier to talk about since we’re the same, but of course we couldn’t have known yet. But his core needs some help, do you not have access to ectoplasm back home?” Danny is rambling, brain spinning at the thought of how much he and Jason have in common. This big thing that no one else would truly understand by each other. And Vlad, sort of, but nobody likes Vlad. “It’s amazing that we ended up soulmates. He’s only the third person in the world I’ve even heard about with this condition. How long has he been without ectoplasm? Is he having trouble finding any, or does he not know he needs it? Either way, I’m giving him some as soon as possible.” Danny doesn’t know whether he should freak out over that fact that his soulmate is as dead as he is, that he’s currently dying from lack of ecto, or that his soulmate’s entire family is probably going to end up learning about him and ghosts, or the fact that he is currently taking another body that the GIW is going to want to study straight to them. All of these things seem like great reasons to freak out on their own, so all together he is just panicking.

Danny doesn’t seem to be able to breathe. 

“Hey, come on, that’s fine, you can totally give Jason some… ectoplasm.” Dick says.

“Danny, you have to breathe, okay.” Tim is much calmer than Dick, so Danny focuses on him as Bruce and Dick whisper in the front. “Danny, match my breathing.” Danny stares at Tim, who is making very exaggerated breathing movements, and tries to time his breathing to match. “We’ll figure everything out, but we don’t need to do it right now.” Tim is still helping Danny, talking calmly, but he says this with enough force to distract the two in the front seat enough for them to shut up for a second. Danny appreciates the bit of silence.

“You need to start driving.” Danny, tells Bruce. “Right now, his human half is sustaining the rest of him almost entirely. If Jason doesn’t get more ecto soon, his other half will die, and I’m not sure what will happen to his human side if that happens. He may die again completely.”

There’s a beat of silence in the car. Bruce stares right into Danny’s eyes.

“You are saying there is an active threat to my son’s life, ” Bruce asks, voice hard. 

Danny nods. Then everyone is buckled back in and Bruce is pulling them back onto the road. 

“You know what’s happening and how to help him?” Bruce asks, voice steady but Danny can sense all the emotion underneath. Bruce is really worried right now, he looks around the car and realizes that Dick and Tim are as well. They both have phones out, but are tense, tuned into his conversation with Bruce.

“Yeah, It’s a simple enough fix, I’m just worried because he’s really…” Danny takes a moment to think of the right word. “Ecto deficient? His core is definitely malnourished, and his body and mind definitely need it. They are being sustained with human stuff for now, but eventually that won’t be enough.” 

“How urgent is this?”

Danny feels for Jason’s core, feeling like he’s invading his privacy, but without other options to check. It’s not cracked, but it’s not fully formed either. Half starved baby core, not even strong enough to present. Its link to an obsession is strong, but frayed enough that Danny can’t tell what it is. The core is not strong enough to produce it’s own ecto, even in response to the obsession being fulfilled. Everything is stable, but strained.

“I’m not an expert, but he’s sustained himself this long. And we’re already on the way. We should be fine, but I’ll keep an eye on it just in case.”

[nelkcats]

Dad War

Danny Fenton became a father and he's not panicking at all (this is a lie)

Danny should have known that asking for an uneventful week was an exaggeration. He tempted fate by saying that "nothing bad could happen now that ghosts and humans lived in peace with each other"

Of course, it was right after saying that sentence that his daughter cousin appeared in front of him with her arm melted. Having gotten used to that particular scenario he steered her into his ecto-dejecto reserves, both of them panicked when this didn't solve anything.

With no more options, Danny took her to Far Frozen, surely the Yeti would have a better idea of what was happening to the girl.

Frostbite examined Ellie just like the first time but instead of scowling like Danny had expected he looked extremely pleased, almost satisfied.

"The time has finally come" Frostbite told him happily "you must let it happen, Great One"

"Do I have to let Ellie melt down!?" Danny yelled in concern, he never thought the Yeti had a sadistic streak in him. Ellie looked just as shaken by the information.

"Not like you're thinking" The Yeti noticed his mistake and decided to explain himself "she's not melting, she's stabilizing"

"If I'm stabilizing, why is my arm goo?" Ellie groaned, the sensation of melting never failed to be strange.

"That explanation is much simpler" Frostbite smiled "how old are you, little Phantom?"

"Uh" Ellie tried to assign herself an age, she aged much slower than the other halfas "16?"

"You didn't understand the question, I didn't mean how you look" Frostbite denied affectionately "how old do you consider yourself?"

“…5” Ellie muttered in embarrassment, even if her age was a bit older than that number, she felt much younger, like a child. She didn't count her early years, between Vlad and traveling the world she hadn't begun to think about it.

Even with all the knowledge stored in her head, she wanted to experience a childhood like other children, to make friends. Something that her adolescent appearance did not allow. As much as Ellie loved talking to Val, she was one of her only friends and unlike her, Val had a whole life to live.

"There is your explanation" The yeti pointed out "ghosts take the appearance of how they see themselves, your core takes into account your wishes and therefore you are reforming into a child"

Danny remembered when he first shifted into his ghost form and Frostbite explanation made sense, but his head reminded him of a very important detail.

"Wouldn't that be troublesome? A lot of people in Amity know you as my cousin” Danny pointed out worriedly. The secret of the halfas was still closely guarded.

"Well, there is a way to leave her appearance the same as it currently is, but that's up to her" Frostbite looked at the girl waiting for an answer.

"No" Ellie denied "I want it to happen, I also...I also want to have a childhood, like the others"

Ellie had always felt bitter about being the only halfa exploring the concept of death more than life; unlike Vlad and Danny who had lived fairly normal lives before their respective accidents, she had been robbed of the possibility.

She wanted to live too.

"It's settled then," Frostbite nodded "Now, this is just getting started and someone has to look after your core while you reform. Do you have any candidates in mind?"

"Danny, can you?" Ellie asked, taking the sleeve of his suit, she wouldn't have considered asking anyone else. Even if she didn't admit it, Ellie always saw him as her father.

"You don't even have to ask, I'll be here when you get back" Danny ruffled her hair with a smile.

"Thank you, dad" Ellie closed her eyes as she let herself be carried away by the sensation of her core. It was a little strange that what she thought would kill her was fulfilling her dreams.

Before the halfa could reply to the comment, Ellie melted, and the ectoplasm was quickly absorbed into her core.

Danny looked at the green stone in his hands with concern.

"How long do you think it will take her?" he asked the Yeti.

"A couple of hours" Frostbite sat down next to him "it's hard being a new parent isn't it? I still remember when my children were born"

Danny avoided mentioning that he had no idea about his children. He wondered if he had them in life or death.

"I- Ellie is my cousin," Danny tried to tell him, but his argument sounded weak.

"She doesn't seem to see you as such" The Yeti shrugged as he handed the boy a cup of tea, but the halfa refused to take it as long as he held the stone in his hands.

Frostbite snorted while setting the mug aside, a new parent, in fact.

"Uh, looks like it's time for me to leave my parents house, don't you think?" Danny tried to joke, even Jazz had her own house in another place.

He had temporarily tried it when he was balancing his college life with his spooky duties, living with Sam and Tucker was fun but in the end he came home.

"It seems so" The Yeti shrugged "congratulations, it's a girl"

Danny laughed as he held the stone closer to his chest. He had really become a father, hadn't he?

His core purred at the thought, while an invisible thread connected the two half-ghosts.

Being a parent didn't sound bad. Maybe it wasn't even as hard as people made it out to be.

───────────────

Danny regrets that last thought, he regrets it so much.

He just had to think that, didn't he?

As usual, he called Jazz to inform her of the day's events as he held the stone to his chest (Frostbite had told him it was safe to do so).

Jazz didn't seem too surprised by the news, on the contrary, she started recommending him books on parenting, so many books.

Danny tried to tell her that Ellie probably wouldn't be a difficult child, he got a 30-minute lecture on how she'd probably regress to the mental age of 5 or 6, and therefore he had to be prepared for it.

Deciding to listen to his older sister, Danny googled for advice.

Checking on wikihow how to take care of a child didn't work, Danny could attest to that.

The halfa sighed as he looked at the "I'll bring you some books tomorrow" message that Jazz had send him. Did he really have to read?

It couldn't be that hard, right? His parents took care of Jazz and she ended well!

Danny was ignoring Sam's voice in his head saying that "Jazz is the spiders georg of children and should not be counted"

Of course, Danny was also avoiding to look at the fact that his parents also took care of him and he kinda died. Ellie was already half dead so he couldn't fucked up that part.

He put his phone aside as he stared at the stone on his chest. It had been hours, was Ellie okay? Perhaps something had gone wrong?

He frowned wondering if he should call Frostbite when he noticed the glowing core. Before he knew it he had a 5-year-old girl crushing his stomach.

"Ouch," Danny groaned in pain "fatherhood hurts"

"Daddy! Daddy!" Ellie jumped on his stomach, she didn't seem to notice the change in title "Look! Look! Do you like my new look?"

Realizing that Jazz was right, Danny pretended to think for a few minutes, Ellie looked bummed out at his lack of response.

"Of course I love it!" Danny scooped her up into his arms as she giggled "you look perfect!"

Ellie chuckled as she ran off to Danny's room where she had kept his phone before the whole mess.

"I'll be back soon! I have to tell Val!" The girl ran off, probably forgetting that she could go through the ceiling and get to the room faster.

Danny gave her a thumbs up, as soon as Ellie disappeared down the stairs he lay back on the couch rubbing his stomach. His daughter had strength.

"We're definitely moving" he muttered, closing his eyes. Not in a million years would a girl with that much energy go unnoticed.

Danny checked his phone again and saw messages from Sam and Tucker. The halfa pouted, Jazz was a gossip.

───────────────

"Are you sure you have everything?" Tucker asked, checking a list on his PDA. No matter how many years passed, he still loved his technology and refused to throw it away.

"Definitely sure" Danny yawned as he loaded the boxes onto the GAV. Ellie was asleep in the passenger seat.

"Papers?" Tucker checked the list.

"Legal and illegal" Danny held up a folder "Thanks for that, by the way"

"You're welcome man" Tucker shrugged. He had created Ellie's papers a while back, but they had never been needed. Adapting the age was a surprise.

"Food? Money? Clothes?" Tucker recited the list, to Danny's nod he continued, "materials to put together the new portal?"

"Ready" Danny pointed to the box that said "danger", there were also the ectoplasm samples.

"I still think that's a stupid idea" Sam rolled her eyes "that thing killed you"

"Yes, but we need ectoplasm on a regular basis and well, building one was the easiest way to get it" the halfa shrugged. It still made him shudder to think about the accident but the portal was necessary "Besides, portals don't measure distance in the Realms, I can build one that's only a few feet from home"

Also, having Far Frozen close to them was always an advantage and the ghosts had promised not to invade the new town without his permission. He still couldn't believe he was moving to New Jersey.

"That's the only reason I'm letting you get away with it," Jazz snorted as she bent down to kiss her brother's forehead "Remember, we're just a phone call away"

"I know, I know, you don't need to move out as well" Danny shook his head amused, he felt that if he didn't stop them they would really try to " I never thought I would have to move"

"It's been so long since the accident" Sam remembered as she placed a hand on her hip "even though it seems like yesterday"

"It feels like it happened yesterday" Danny admitted while touching the scar on his hand. The memories of the electrocution were still fresh in his mind.

"By the way dude, are you sure to leave Vlad as her biological father?" Tucker winced at the document, he could see the reason but he didn't like it.

"Of course, that idiot must pay me child support" Danny smiled "eat the rich and all that"

Having an excuse to spend Vlad's money was always fun. And if his stupid biological sex could help that, he would use it. Danny was honestly relieved that his legal documents had been changed. He wondered if Vlad knew the real reason why he was never able to create a male clone.

"You could just ask us for money" Sam patted his shoulder "Tucker and I could support your poor ass"

Both had been very successful in their respective fields. Sam had graduated in law and was getting another degree as an Environment Protection Technician, she had changed a lot in a short time. On the other side, Tucker had created his own Technology & Security company, he was currently negotiating a deal with Wayne Enterprises.

Danny had a feeling that his friend wanted to use him to close a deal and had suggested the city as an option for that reason. Bludhaven wasn't far from Gotham after all.

"Just because I'm unemployed doesn't mean I'm poor" Danny pouted "I'll get a job in the new town before you know it"

"I hope so, your savings aren't going to stretch that long" Jazz sighed. Her brother's lack of planning never ceased to be worrisome "Oh, and don't forget to take off your blinder, you need to breathe"

Danny frowned at the comment but nodded. His ghost form was more comfortable because it suited his chosen gender, he wondered if he could change the human as well.

"Okay, I guess that's it" Tucker put the PDA away  "remember not to drive like either of your parents, we don't want you to get a ticket so quickly"

"Nor that the weather news announces when you're going out" Sam smirked, she remembered when Lance Thunder started announcing when Jazz and Danny were learning to drive.

"That's impossible, you know I'm an excellent driver and therefore I'm not going to get a ticker" Danny stuck out his tongue at his best friend.

"Whatever you say Danny" Sam snorted "call us when you get there, and have a safe trip!"

His friends and sister said goodbye to him as he got on the GAV. He started driving away from home. It wasn't long before he passed the "Welcome to Amity Park" sign. The little ghost drawings around it made him smile.

Still, Danny was offended by the skepticism of his friends, he was sure that he was not going to get a ticket anytime soon.

───────────────

An officer was giving him a ticket.

Danny banged his head against the steering wheel of the vehicle as the police officer asked him the routine questions.

"Does this vehicle have a license?" The officer raised an eyebrow. Danny sighed as he handed over the GAV papers, he had licensed all of his parents' inventions long ago "Okay- wait, is this a SUV?"

"No, it's a GAV" Danny growled without further explanation, he was still annoyed by the situation. Clockwork was laughing at him from his damned tower, he was sure "Do you need anything else, officer...Grayson?"

Officer Grayson looked at the vehicle with doubt, the damn thing had more modifications than the Batmobile, he really hoped the boy wasn't some future villain.

He had so many questions to ask.

Before Dick could question him further or Danny risked murder on his first day in town, Ellie woke up from her nap.

"Daddy?" Ellie yawned looking at the driver's seat curiously "Are we there yet?"

All the halfa's anger melted away and his attitude took a complete turn.

"No honey, we got pulled over for speeding but we're in town now" Danny leaned down to brush her hair out of her face "you can go back to sleep"

"You're a bad driver" his daughter smirked, she wondered if driving skills were hereditary.

"Are you new in town?" Dick leaned in curiously, the girl reminded him of his own daughter.

Danny was about to tell him it was none of his business but Ellie answered first.

"¡Yes! We're moving" Ellie smiled "That's why we brought all the boxes, I'm going to enroll in a new school and dad is going to get a job"

"That sounds wonderful" Dick smiled softly as he handed Danny the ticket along with the GAV's papers "You should be more careful on the streets, I don't think there is anywhere that accepts 120 km/hr as a normal speed"

The halfa frowned, didn't the officer have a heart!? At least he could forgive a new neighbor for a silly mistake!

"Yeah, yeah, thanks" he murmured as he put the ticket in the glove compartment.

"Well, all seems to be in order" Dick straightened up "you can follow your way, enjoy Bludhaven!"

Danny hoped that he would never see him again.

When he arrived at his new house, the halfa carried Ellie to the couch and let her sleep, after which he began to unload the things from the GAV.

He wondered if he should start unpacking everything or just sleep. He felt tired at the thought of opening all those boxes and fell asleep on the couch with his daughter.

When he woke up it was night, Danny peeked out of the window as he heard a motorcycle park next door. Perhaps he could see his neighbors?

He gaped at the sight of fucking Officer Grayson reaching down to grab a little girl and carry her into his arms.

Wasn't it enough to be physically perfect and heartless, but he also had to be a good father? Damn everything!

It had to be a fucking joke

X

[strong-with-the-sarcasm]

Revenant!Jazz thoughts Pt.2

Continuing from this post

This time, I’m thinking about Vlad and his reaction to all this. In the show he doesn’t particularly seem to care about Jazz in any way, probably because of his hyper focus on Danny and Maddie. I doubt he’s registered Jazz as a threat of any kind, much less to him.

If Danny winds up Bat-dopted, Jason or classic “Bruce stole another one” and the news catches wind of the new Wayne, Vlad would be livid. Danny is supposed to be his son afterall, doesn’t matter that it was Maddie who severely wounded her own son.

In the midst of Rogues dropping like flies, Jazz sets a trap for Vlad by baiting him with Danny. Her brother is never in danger, not with her around and certainly not with the bat family lurking nearby, but Vlad cannot help himself- he tries to kidnap Danny by overshadowing the adoptive parent. Jazz allows it to happen only until Vlad takes Danny out of the public eye, then straight up punches Vlad out of the person he’s overshadowing, sucking him up into a thermos she stole from the GIW and throwing it into an abyss.

Wouldn’t someone recognize Jazz then?

Beyond the walking dead look that came free with reanimating, Jazz walks, talks and looks completely different then she was in life. Memories shape us and without most of hers Jazz wouldn’t be quite the same anymore. Where she once walked with a relaxed gait and a calm demeanor, as a Revenant Jazz masters the murder strut, because that’s pretty much the only thought going through her head on a constant loop….Other than ‘make Danny Safe’ of course.

Who killed Jazz? (Asked by @someonebored0100 )

Originally I was thinking it would be either the Fenton parents in the GAV or the GIW, but then a delicious angst idea popped into my head….

Batman chasing down Joker led to him slamming into Jazz’s car, which resulted in her death and a new son for him to care for….

Batman says nothing when he brings in Danny, marks down Jazz’s death as a murder and does not go out as Batman again for a week.

Was Jazz autopsied?

Thee death rate in Gotham must be higher than any other city in the world, so the coroners embody (pun not intended) the phrase “overworked and underpaid”.

So no, she wasn’t autopsied, but they did make record of the punctured artery and removed the shrapnel by request of Batman for testing.

What happened after Jazz’s body disappeared from the Crematorium?

Bruce Wayne paid for the cremation personally, so it’s understandable the mortician would be Panicking at the very likely notion that someone stole a dead body paid to be cremated and sealed into an urn by Bruce Fucking Wayne.

If the mortician cremates an unclaimed body and slaps the wrong name on it, we’ll, add it to the list of morally questionable things he’s done as a mortician in a Gotham.

Thoughts about Jason’s reaction to a true Revenant?

Her veiny visage, with the broken sclera and eyes that seem to absorb light and give none back, horrifies Jason to the bone. Did he look like that when he dug himself out of his grave? Did the Pits actually do him a favor? It makes him wanna puke just thinking about how accurate his zombie jokes could have been… then makes him swear to stop telling those same jokes because clearly he’s no longer one of the walking dead if he looks better than this dead woman who looks just… horrifying.

Though once Jazz kills the Joker in the same way the clown killed Jason, he seeks out the Revenant and after doing some digging… swears to do whatever he can for her.

If this is Dad!Jason, then he’s very upset for Danny and Jazz’s tragic history.

No hardcover pairing this time?

Maybe? Doubtful, but it could happen. I don’t think it should though.

Does Jazz have a vigilante persona in this one?

Hmm, not exactly. She’s not tying to hide anything, definitely not her less than living appearance. She wears boots, a canvas jacket, jeans and gun holsters with hair that looks like a drunk toddler attacked it with dull scissors.

She doesn’t save anyone, not directly, but ending the rogues that killed so many earns her the name “Reaper” and it sticks.

What’s Danny’s reaction to all this?

We all know about the dark timeline that resulted from The Ultimate Enemy, Dan.

The Fenton parents are still hunting him down, Sam and Tucker are trying to move to Gotham, he’s been adopted by a Kevlar-clad billionaire furry who acts like a himbo with way too much ease for it to be all an act. He’s got a home that’s not an active threat to his afterlife and the food is the farthest thing from radioactive.

(Alfred Pennyworth nearly had a heart attack at the mere thought of a child eating radioactive food and that a piece of toast on his plate was a punishment.)

But… Jazz is dead.

It’s true that they hadn’t had the best relationship for the last few years, especially after his accident, but Jazz had become his rock. Sam and Tucker were his best friends, but they had no real idea what it was like to grow up a Fenton. Sure they had some context clues (was the giant portal entrance with the on-button inside not a giant warning sign?), but Jazz had kept him alive even as a kid herself.

She worked herself to the bone to make sure he had food to eat, some hours to sleep at night, and a shoulder for him to put some of the burden on her as Phantom. In the end, she hurt their parents to get him out of the lab and away from them.

She had died trying to get him to safety.

He’d seen her car, the wreck, the blood, the still radioactive substance he called his blood… he sat in the driver’s seat and cried for his sister- he wanted Jazz to tease him and call him ‘little brother’ again.

Sure, he had Cass now and several brothers, but nothing could ever replace Jazz.

It’s the thought that Jazz would be upset with him that keeps Danny from turning by his grief into a ghostly wail, to wreck everything and everyone.

Then he meets the Reaper. And he knows.

“Little Brother.”

/////////////////////////

What about the ending for Jazz you talked about?

That’s gonna be in another post, this one was getting long enough as is.

[sleepy-grav3]

Obsessions - Family

A/n: So, a while back, I made this little thing about obsession speculations. Well, I made a few oneshots about that even further back and just found them. It's a mini-series that looks like it was attached to another fanfic plan? Well, I have no idea what the plan was, so I'm giving you this. There are 4 parts I made? This and the 3rd part are finished, but the 2nd and 4th are incomplete. Better together but still understandable as a standalone, you know?

Summary: Jazz has finally gotten through to Vlad in their therapy sessions. Danny is a bit on edge but relieved. Then Vlad has a talk with Jack and Maddie. Many things are shared.

TW: Unprofessional and very improvised medical treatment, mention of stalking, mention of attempted murder, intensified canonical death(s) (I made it so much worse, but it's not too detailed), hints at suicidal thoughts, hints as attempts, internalized homophobia, polyamory (I don't consider it a trigger but some people don't like it so whatever), mention of a dead kitten

Vlad/Maddie/Jack; Danny's obsession is Space and Protection; Vlad's obsession is Family; Liminal amity Park; Vlad loves animals; Amity is Danny's haunt and the people, animals, ghosts, and more sentient plants that live there are his people; Ghosts feel things more intensely and it's overwhelming for halfas who are also still alive and not built or used to it; ghosts are empaths, they know what other people around them are feeling

Danny was sitting on his bed with a needle and fishing line in hand, sewing a particularly long and deep enough cut from his last fight, when his door slammed open. He jumped, eyes wide, blood draining from his face, and heart entirely stopping.

He feared the worst, thinking about how to explain to his parents about such a large injury that couldn’t possibly be from bullying, but then he realized who it was. Jazz.

She was more frazzled, hair a mess and panting heavily. But thanks to ghost speak, allowing him to be the best empath a living person could be, he could tell she wasn’t scared or panicking. It was similar in intensity, but it was the opposite. She was excited and enthusiastic.

“I did it!” She laughed. Tears were springing forth from her eyes as she paced around, waving her hands around. “I actually did it! I-I helped him- I convinced- I- Holy shit, Danny! I did it!”

Danny sighed, shoulders slumping without the previous worry he harbored. He allowed his heart to beat once more, finishing his stitches as Jazz let out her excitement and… relief? No, it was satisfaction. Huh.

“It wasn’t- I didn’t think that- Wow! I didn’t know how it was all going to work because of how obsessions work and his seemed like it was leaning towards control but- But it wasn’t! And while the situation is a bit weird now, it’s- I got a breakthrough!”

Danny raised a brow as he looked up, having finished tying the knot and snipping off the rest while she spoke.

“Can I ask or are you implementing privacy protocols?”

Jazz took a few breaths, letting out a few airy chuckles.

“I-... No it’s…” She took another breath. “Vlad- I’ve been talking to him.” she quickly went to clarify once seeing Danny tense. “And yes, I’m fine. He hasn’t done anything. He’s sent me gifts and sent me a bunch of textbooks and all that- but nothing over the moon.”

Danny pursed his lips, making Jazz smile. He always hated how she’d slip in astronomy into the conversation to calm him down. She knew how it affected his ghostly side. It was like a sedative, a drug. It worked every time.

He was worried the addiction would grow like it had for other ghosts. Jazz stated that it was more like a prescription for a health condition. After that conversation, it clicked. She must’ve been talking with Frostbite. Damn her empathetic nature. It wasn’t even caused by some instinct (though he supposed that she may have a mother’s instinct with how she always saw through him).

“When did you…?”

“He wasn’t sure which place to get Maddie from and what would be best suited for them.” It took a moment for Danny to remember about Vlad's first cat.

“But why did he ask you?”

“He thought I wanted to be a vet. And yes, I did for a while just to be around animals. Always wanted a snake- but it wasn’t really… Anyway- The last time Mom talked about me before the incident, it was about me helping a friend with their grumpy cat.”

“Well, he went to the right person, I guess. He officially has 4 of them now.”

“Officially?”

“Remember the whole stray thing?”

It started with Danny finding a dead kitten in a parking lot. His obsession about protecting his people, including the animals and even some plants, had hit him hard. He ended up crying to Vlad about it when the older halfa saw him going on a frenzy to find all the strays in Amity to see if they were ok.

Vlad decided to join him and bought a whole building for the strays they've found. It's a play area open for adoption and just to hang out. But before that, he had to keep them in his mansion. He had to throw out his old wardrobe because of all the fur.

It was funny to think back on. Vlad spoiled them so much but refused to admit how attached he got to them even when he had 3 kittens climbing him, a surprise raccoon on his shoulders, and 2 dogs running circles around him.

“Oh, right.” Jazz snickered a bit before shaking her head. “After approaching him enough times while you were out, I was able to start talking with him. And now, he came to a conclusion!”

“And that is…?”

Jazz hesitated for a moment.

“So… how do you feel about hooking him up with mom-”

He opened his mouth.

“-and dad?”

He closed it, eyes now wide. Jazz pursed her lips, analyzing every micro-expression before falling back into therapist-brain when she found nothing.

“I know you aren’t comfortable with him after everything, but you must’ve noticed how he’s calmed down a bit, right? He’s trying and-”

“It’s related to his obsession. He has one.” Danny interrupted; Jazz could hear his slow relief sneaking in. “It’s not… You said it wasn’t control. It's... it's really not?” His expression held hesitant hope. As if he was trying to be careful not to get his hopes up.

Jazz smiled softly. “No, it’s not.”

Danny let out a small sigh of relief, slumping forward. Jazz could see the energy- something similar to adrenaline- drain out of him. He looked more tired now.

The exhaustion he carried was identical to that of a retired veteran soldier. It made a piece of her ache each time he let loose enough to show it. It made her wilt when she saw the similar expressions on his friends as well.

Val was an exception, but it was only because she acted like a military person during training rather than after war.

It made sense.

She hated how it did.

He looked up again, now with a more appreciative look. One that was thankful and genuinely happy.

“Congratulations on your breakthrough.”

“It’ll be a bit easier now, right?”

Danny let out a small chuckle. “Maybe.” He let out another sigh as his head spun a bit from the relief.

He could feel how fuzzy everything was starting to become as something in him twisted. He could feel his core amplifying whatever emotions he was feeling to the point he felt numb. The feeling made it harder to tell if he was breathing, it made it harder to stay in the moment.

He could see Jazz coming closer and he could only smile. He was happy. He was so happy. It felt like he was a step closer to completing something.

“Maybe…”

---

“Can we talk? Just the 3 of us?”

It was a few days after another session with Jazz when he finally convinced himself to talk with Maddie and Jack. Maddie looked at him more skeptically.

It was to be expected, and it made his core want to cry. But Jack accepted without hesitation, looking more than excited to see him. He smiled a bit, feeling his core mend itself with the acceptance alone that he received from Jack of all people. The very person he wanted to kill until about a week ago.

They shuffled to the living room where Vlad could finally sense Daniel in his room along with Jazz’s liminality along with him. It was always difficult to sense liminals, ghosts, or even Daniel in the household due to how much ectoplasm the scientists dealt with. It was worse than how difficult it was to track Daniel’s presence (ghost form or not) when he left Amity Park while Daniel out with his friends or at school.

It’s why he implemented cameras. He had deactivated them once the second truce came around, instead deciding to call Jazz regularly for updates. She was fully honest with him, it was relieving. It made his core hum with glee.

“So what did you want to talk about, Vladdie?”

Vlad took a shaky breath. He didn’t want to lie anymore. He didn’t talk about this to any of the children, but he didn’t want things to bite him back in the future if this worked out.

“Remember the proto-portal? The one we made back in college?”

“Yes?” Maddie confirmed hesitantly, feeling the tension of the room grow.

“Something happened to me then. I got a disease of sorts. It was fatal.”

The 2 of them stilled.

“But you recovered!” Jack exclaimed, though there was a growing puddle of fear. Of concern.

Vlad took another breath, eyes starting to sting.

“I was put into intensive care. They didn’t know what to do, it was a new field entirely. I kept getting sicker and sicker until they gave up and prescribed pain meds in dosages that should’ve been lethal near the end.”

Their hearts dropping was almost audible. Jack’s expression crumbled and Maddie’s became unrecognizable. There was too much weight in her emotions to try and piece together what she was feeling. He was too scared to find out. He was too scared to regret not saying the words “I wish” when his recovery picked up years ago.

He remembered the months during his recovery after he became a halfa. He woke up feeling a rush of so much that he felt numb until he could process it properly. He was still under immense danger of dying. He argued with the doctors, even begged, to go back into the coma he was placed into. He wanted to die without fear or any more pain.

They told him that he’d heal quicker if he was awake. That he was getting to the top of that hill. That he’d go downhill at top speed to his full recovery. He didn't believe them; he didn't want to hope. But heal, he did.

But it was so different as he did.

Too different.

He felt things so much more and it was so intense. His emotions were so strong that he couldn’t stand existing any longer in his lonely room. A room he thought he’d have to stay in for the rest of his life when his condition would go back to life threatening.

“I-” His voice cracked a bit, turning to Jack. “I thought what I felt for you was hate. That I blamed you for what happened to me.”

He wanted someone beside him then. He craved warmth he had only gotten from Maddie and Jack. The feelings he held for Maddie were so simple to understand at that time. It was socially accepted. What he felt for Jack was different. It was, in fact, much more intense. Shivers and goosebumps each time he remembered how Jack would hold him when he got a small injury or was out of breath trying to catch up to the athlete. He felt so small, so vulnerable.

“Vlad-” Jack started, his heart shattering from the fall and flowing through his voice. Vlad could see his tears at the edge of his eyes, ready to begin a stream.

To Maddie, he felt like he could provide whatever she wanted.

To Jack, he thought he felt like he was being treated like someone below him, that he needed to be doted on to be on par with the 2 of them.

But that wasn’t it.

To Jack, he felt like he didn’t have to shoulder any burdens. That he could be loved without truly doing anything in return, that he didn’t need to do anything but be himself.

“It only made sense in those times that it couldn’t be anything but. However…” He turned to Maddie and smiled softly. “It turns out that it wasn’t just you.”

He hadn’t understood it until Jasmine convinced him into therapy lessons. Practice, she claimed, she swore, she lied. She reminded him of how passionate ghosts were. How passionate he was and is.

It was then that he found that he loved Jack more than Maddie at first. That it was such an intense feeling that he confused it with hatred.

It didn’t help that their relationship would’ve been frowned upon then, that it would’ve been impossible and potentially illegal to seal the deal with a ring or even a simple kiss.

It took a moment for her to understand what Vlad was referring to. Her eyes widened, jaw dropping as she looked over at Jack before back at Vlad. Vlad nodded. She shook her head and took a breath.

“What? What do you mean-” Jack was still in the dark. Though, he always was the dense one. “You… You don’t hate me?”

“No, Jack. Though I hope that after this, you’ll be willing to give me a chance.”

“After- I don’t understand.” Jack turned to his wife. “What does he mean? The illness and ‘not just you’? What is he talking about?”

Maddie placed a hand on his shoulder, lips starting to wobble. She seemed to shake her head for a moment.

“He’s been-” She paused, eyes widening slightly before she let out a broken laugh. “He’s been obsessed with me for a long time. And… well, I guess you’re a target now too.”

Jack took a moment to process her words before his face flushed scarlet red. Though he couldn’t speak a word or react further. He simply froze up, making Maddie smile before her lips wobbled and dropped it.

“Are you normally so aggressive?”

The topic was obvious. It made Vlad hopeful that she’d listen.

“No. I was in denial and it had made me sick. For those of my kind, emotional and mental pain is like physical pain to the living. Denying my… my purpose for existing, my obsession, took a toll on me. Ghosts that attack Amity aren’t actually aiming to hurt people. They tend to go too far and forget how fragile living beings tend to be, especially humans.”

Maddie took a breath, looking down.

“They know.” It wasn’t a question.

“They know.” Vlad confirmed. Jazz and Danny knew about him from the very beginning.

Maddie took another breath.

“Why Danny?” Why did you obsess over him like you did with me?

“What- what about Dann-o?” Jack blinked back in.

“It was easier to get to him than Jasmine in my mind. Not only is he a male, but he was struggling with studies. There was also a sort of… connection I had with him. Perhaps it’s due to that portal downstairs. He has been exposed since the womb. Your children have not been fully human for a long time. Liminals at the very least, just as the city is becoming.”

“The city..?”

“Let’s just say that the ambient ectoplasm is the only thing blocking their signatures while that portal is only strengthening their liminality.”

“...”

Jack and Maddie seemed more sick. But Jack shook his head, getting himself back into the topic at hand.

“So- You-... You’re an ectoplasmic entity?”

Vlad swallowed.

“Yes… I’m what they’d call a halfa. According to a roommate, the long exposure from the proto-portal had forced my body to eventually adapt to it and learn to circulate and circulate it differently until it had… Halfas need to go through the process multiple times before they’re stuck as part of the living and part of the dead.”

“Vladdie…”

“I did not feel the final process. I was put into a medical coma. According to the doctors, I had flatlined multiple times and they had to shock me back plenty of times before I became what I am. I still get reminders, but that is a topic for another time.”

It was silent after that. Jack moved almost robotically as he came over, pushing up a sleeve and checking for his pulse. It was too feint to detect from there. He went for his neck next, looking up to Vlad in case he wished for him to give him space. Vlad didn’t fight back, so Jack started focusing on the pulse rate and translating it.

20 beats per minute.

It used to be a low average of 60-70 bpm. It had slowed over the years. He didn’t want to think what would happen when it finally stopped for good. It was already hard enough to remember he had to give a little thought of keeping some semblance of being alive when he was still so tempted to utter a wish.

Maddie came up next to him, lightly pushing him so he’d move enough to let her continue the silent physical exam. Once he did, she started checking his breathing. Then his reflex speed of his eyes in response to light. Then his joint reflexes.

They did all sorts of harmless tests, Maddie writing them down. After finishing the doctor check-up basics, they gave him some room. It made him both relieved and even more scared.

“Would a concussion show as a normal reaction speed?” Maddie asked.

Vlad blinked.

“Ah… No. While it’s much faster now, pupil dilation while concussed is the same as a normal person. Also, bleeding is less in volume, but I can self-heal.”

Maddie nodded and wrote it down.

“Do… Do ghosts have doctors? What if you get sick? We don’t know enough to help you if you do.” Maddie mentioned.

“What… What are you saying?” Please, please be what I’m thinking.

Jack placed a hand on his shoulder, smiling brightly.

“I think we have some time to make up! I’ll make some fudge!”

Maddie grabbed his shoulder before he could rush to the kitchen.

“I may be a little… on edge about this whole thing, but with time, I think we can be something. The 3 of us.”

Vlad’s eyes widened and teared up, his core practically squealing in delight. He felt as though his body was lighter. It felt easier to breathe, to make his heart beat, to- to exist.

All he needed to do was give it time. He hoped they’d be as accepting with Daniel as they were with him. And Danielle… They’d accept her too, won’t they? He hoped they’d forgive him about that. It wasn’t his… best moment.

He didn’t realize he started crying until he was pulled into a tight embrace by Jack, who had moved him onto his lap to comfort him. Maddie left them to it, deciding her next step.

She had traps to get rid of and weapons to recalibrate.

-----

A/n: Yes, Danny did faint. Why was that? Well, I'm not telling. comment what you think though. Hope you enjoyed.

Also, the next chapter or whatever, it's a dc x dp thing. I'll comment when the next chapter is up and add 2 links, a masterlist and part 2.

[ailithnight]

After this chapter, I will no longer be doing a taglist. Sorry folks, there's just too many of y'all and I'm on mobile. Please subscribe on AO3 for updates, or follow the tag A King in Arkham.

A King in Arkham

Chapter 4

AO3 Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3

Danny. I understand you don't want to go with your godfather. Is there a reason for that?

Can't go with Vlad!

If you know something we don't about him, you need to tell us. Otherwise he will win custody.

It's.. He'll.. he'll make me.. turn me.. his fault!

What's his fault, Danny?

His fault. All his. All.. My.. no, my fault. It's all my fault...

Danny?

IT'S MY FAULT! I KILLED THEM! ALL DEAD! Because of me...

Now Danny, I'm sure that's not true. What happened at the Nasty Burger-

I made it happen.

Corporate negligence-

He knew. I knew. Dan knew what would happen. Dan made it happen. He knew the sauce was gonna blow. He knew Lancer would arrange the meeting there. He cheated. He lured them there. He bound them up so they couldn't escape and ran the time out until they exploded! Dan did that and Dan was me, so I did that.

Daniel...?

I murdered them. I murdered everyone. 

Da-

IT'S ALL MY FAU- *static*

.

Tim started talking after the audio cut to static.

"What you just heard is the last, partially recovered therapy session of Danny's in Chicago. The cameras were beyond salvaging. No one except Danny knows what happened after the audio cuts. What is known is that nearby witnesses heard what they claim sounded like a 'screaming moan' coming from the therapy room. When doctors and staff went to check; the therapist Mrs. Alders was slumped against the wall, appearing to have been forcefully pushed, with minor head trauma. Danny was curled up on the other side of the room, panicking and muttering about a Dan.

While Mrs. Alders mostly recovered from the incident, she does not know how she ended up slammed against the wall. Once this audio was recovered, it was turned over to the police. Given the severity of the... confession... in conjunction with the apparent assault, the courts decided to move Danny to an asylum for the criminally insane." Tim paused in the debrief, letting the information sink in. After a moment, Duke raised his hand. Jason scoffed at the action.

"This ain't kindergarten kid, say your bit."

"I just, that explains why an asylum in general. But why Arkham?" Tim nodded, pulling up a picture of a document.

"Kid's godfather, business tycoon and multimillionaire, Vlad Masters. Insisted that if his godson should have to go to an asylum, he'll go to the- and I quote- 'Best in the country.' Made a deal with the state that he'll foot the bill while he continues fighting for custody. Apparently didn't do his research enough to know that 'Best Known' and 'Best' are not the same." Bruce had the next question.

"So, Master's doesn't have custody yet?"

"Nope." Tim popped his 'p', pulling up more documents. Investigative reports. "Given Danny's reactions to him, CPS started investigating. Found a lot of shady shit. Narcissism, anger issues, control issues, coercion tactics. 

One agent said he tried to bribe her with a rather large sum of money, which she might have taken if she wasn't well enough off from a family inheritance and mostly doing this work for the kids. Of course, same agent also said he had 'Rancid vibes' and 'tried to posses' her, but her 'Grammy's necklace protected her' so her credibility was deemed iffy.

Still, there's enough there that it's unlikely Masters will be able to gain custody any time soon. So if Gotham's favorite serial adopter with a good track record for helping troubled kids, Brucie Wayne, were to step in..." Tim's smirk is infectious and makes its way around the table. Bruce's lips twitch ver briefly into a fond smile, before dropping back into a frown.

"What do you make of the... confession?" Jason doesn't even try to hold in his groan.

"Seriously, B? It was survivor's guilt or some kind of psychotic episode or something." Damian frowns.

"I would not discredit him so quickly, Hood. After all, his ghosts are real apparently."

"Hnn." Bruce gets that look on his face. The almost constipated frown that means he is going to have to do something unpleasant like host a gala or attend a business meeting or, "I will have to call Constantine to verify what the entity we are dealing with is." 

Jason lets out a gleeful snort. "Have fun with that one, B. In the mean time can I go break our kid out yet or what?"

"Actually, Hood," Jason turns a glare on Tim, who is once again holding his hands up placatingly. "That still leaves us with the issue of making him an escapee and you an accomplice."

"Well fuckin Brucie Wayne can't exactly just walk up to Arkham and ask if they've got any blue eyed black haired boys for him to adopt."

"Not exactly what I'm suggesting here."  Batman sighs.

"What are you suggesting." Tim pulls out a case he had tucked under the desk, a truly devious smirk painted across his face.

"Just a little temporary theft. Only long enough to put the kid's face on the news for Brucie to stumble across." He opens the case, sliding it over to Jason. Inside, a replica of a relic from Tim's own past; resized to fit his bigger, broader brother. "You remember Red X, don't you?" 

The green that had been tinting Jason's vision the whole meeting finally subsides, giving way to wicked mirth.

"Oh, hell yes." 

Batman sighs.

.

"You don't get it do you? I'm still here. I still exist. That means you still turn into me."

Another night, another nightmare of a memory jolting Danny back into the waking world. His chest is tight, a high whine suppressing itself in the back of his throat. Danny's eyes dart around his room, searching for the shadowy void of his most frequent visitor. But Spectra isn't there tonight. She hasn't come back since she was seen by Banana Bat. 

It's strange. Danny had gotten used to waking up with her there, towering over him, shadowy clawed hand resting somewhere on his body as she feasted on his misery. He didn't mind, really. He had plenty to give and she didn't even rough him up too bad. Just enough to keep the psyches concerned. The last 3 days without her presence had been... not lonely. Danny was already lonely. But emptier. Like the one good thing his continued existence was doing for someone had been ripped away.

Truly, Danny felt he had nothing left in this world. Nothing to give, nothing to gain. But he couldn't die. Couldn't unleash full ghost Phantom on the world again. That's what created Dan. No, this was what he had to give. All he had to give. To stay human so that Dan never becomes ghost.  To live, as the least burden he could be, so that Dan never died. 

Clockwork must have known what would happen if Danny fully died. That must be why he spared him. The Observants sentenced Danny to death. But Clockwork was smarter. He sentenced Danny to life. And really, it's such a small price to pay for the sins of his other self. 

Despite what the others say, Arkham isn't hell. The only issue Danny's had was the clown and that's not really anyone's fault. It's just, Danny looked at the Joker and he saw Freakshow. And he saw that stupid staff. And he heard that grating laugh. And all he could think about was how that was the only thing that could still turn him into Dan. If the clown took control again. He couldn't let that happen. He couldn't! Not becoming a Dan, not becoming a problem; that's all he could do now! He couldn't he couldn't he couldn't...

Danny was broken out of his spiraling thoughts by the now familiar buzzing echoing clanging sound of another break out. He closed his eyes, letting out a heavy sigh. Then, suddenly, he was lifted up, hoisted onto someone's shoulders in a fireman's carry. 

"Damn kid, do you weigh anything?" 

Danny's eyes flew open, his body subconsciously tensed for a fight Danny wouldn't actually fight. The voice, clearly modulated, sounded high and breezy. His head turned to look at the person now forcefully evicting him from his room. Black body suit. White mask. Red slashes in a stylized X. Built like his Dad... Danny had no idea who this was.

For a moment, Danny felt a twinge of fear. He had no idea who this was. They obviously weren't with Arkham. They had just stolen him from his room and, holy shit they were flying now. No. Not flying, grappling. And running. Moving very fast towards the exit. With Danny. For unknown reasons. 

Holy shit, someone was kidnapping a teenager from an insane asylum. That, probably wasn't good. Any normal or sane person would be scared for their health and wellbeing. But, well... Danny was hardly normal. And sane was becoming increasingly questionable. 

And this guy, well he didn't trigger Danny's ghost sense. No chilly breath escaping his mouth. So he was human, not a ghost. It's not like a human could kill Danny. Not with his ghostly healing factor. Sure, they could make his life a living hell. Beat him, violate him, enslave him. But a human couldn't turn him into Dan so... Danny doesn't think he really cares. 

"Um, why are you carrying me?"

"Taking you out of here." 

"Clearly, I meant why?"

"Owe someone a favor." That was mildly concerning. Danny could think of one person who would stoop to this.

"Did Vlad send you?"

"Master's? Nope. He couldn't afford my services."

"Oh. Okay." As long as it wasn't Vlad. They were almost to the main gate now. There was screaming behind them, now. Danny loomed behind them as the person grappled up the wall and vaulted them over. Danny caught the barest glimpse of the twink in a burlap sack mask striding out the door, leaving a noxious cloud in his wake.

Then they're gone, grappling to then moving across rooftops. It's not a bad feeling. Kinda fun even. Flying as a ghost was nice. Really nice. But different from this. Gravity literally didn't touch you if you didn't want it too. But this? Danny could feel the pull of the earth, the force of every swing. Gravity was still there, exerting its influence, but they were defying it. 

For a tiny moment, Danny felt the ghost of a smile on his lips. The good feeling was fleeting, like all his feelings these days. But it was there and it was enough to shock a small "Oh." from Danny.

"Oh what, runt?"

"Nothing, just. Never grappled before. S'nice."

"Oh." It was such a soft thing, Danny once more found himself pondering the intentions of his kidnapper. 

"Do I get to know where we're going?"

"Safe house for the night. I'm your baby sitter."

"And tomorrow?"

"We'll see."

"...Okay."

.

The next morning, Vicki Vale stumbles across the story of her career (so far) sitting dazed and confused in her office. A prepubescent boy in an oversized Arkham uniform? The day after a breakout where Scarecrow and only one other inmate escaped? Oh this is bound to sell.

Okay, I know the show pretty heavily implies that Teen Titans Robin us Dick.

But

What if it was Tim?

[saphiraarts]

Chapter 3 Since when was my Godfather half dead?

For the past few weeks essentially Danny Fenton has been a nervous wreck with countless accidents at home and at school. He was banned from handling any fragile school property now and he sighed as he walked home that friday. He just wanted to curl up in his room where no one could see him and get dinner that night. He perked up hearing voices in the kitchen and walked closer and he smiled.

“Vlad!” He called happily, seeing the man at the table.

“Danny,” Vlad said warmly, standing and opening his arms and he rushed over and gave his godfather a hug.

“Where have you been?! You missed the start of the school year!” Danny called.

Jazz sat across the table drinking some tea after a day at school and she smiled seeing her brother so happy noticing how stressed he had been. She thought he had been stressed about starting high school but she wasn’t sure how to approach him just yet. She had been a bit short with him lately especially at the end of her sophomore year and finals. Vlad wrapped his arms around him and gave him a gentle squeeze.

“Sorry I was at a conference. I could not reschedule it no matter how much I tried,” Vlad said with a gentle tone as he pulled away.

Danny settled into a seat setting down his bag. Well he tried to but his bag fell to the floor and Vlad’s eyes widened seeing his arm vanish from sight. Danny sighed, sounding tired as he sat down and just did his best to smile.

“New year jitters my boy?” Vlad asked.

“I guess so,” Danny said with a nervous laugh but sighed. “I think I should lay down in my room.” He stood his smile fading, not wanting to face his sister or Vlad right now.

He grabbed his bag and went upstairs. He heard footsteps but he shook his head and he gripped his pants just in case. When he reached his door his arm phased through the door as he went to grab it and he waited for it to become solid again before he entered his room and flopped onto his bed. He didn’t even feel motivated to hang out with Sam and Tucker; he was one freak accident away from becoming the local freak. There was a knock and Danny buried his head under his pillow which just phased through his head and he panicked when he went through his bed and yelped when he crashed to the floor under it.

“Daniel?! You alright?” Vlad called.

Oh crud. Danny said, “Yeah!” He crawled out from under his bed covered in dust. “Uh come in!” It would cause more concern and problems if he turned Vlad away.

Vlad opened the door and shut it behind him and he saw him covered in dust and confirmed what he needed to know without having to see it. That incident he saw was no trick of light Daniel was half ghost.

“So uh what brings you here?” Danny asked, rubbing his arm praying he didn’t do anything as he sat down on his bed.

Vlad took a seat at his desk pulling the chair up and he said, “I will just be upfront. There is no gentle way to go about this.” He held up his hand and pink energy wrapped around it and he shut the curtains of Danny’s room and turned on his desk lamp.

Danny jumped tensed seeing it gripping the bed and his eyes widened when black rings wrapped around Vlad washing over him. Vlad went from a pale toned man to a well built green skinned vampiric looking ghost with black hair with solid red eyes.

“I am half ghost as well. It seems that your transformation or should I say partial death happened recently,” Vlad said.

Danny was in shock, “Si-Since when were you h-half ghost?!” He called. He yelped as he phased through the bed again. Vlad flew over and turned intangible, grabbing Danny and helping him back up onto the bed.

“Twenty years ago this year, senior year of college,” Vlad explained calmly as he flew away. “I understand why you've been so nervous now I would be in your shoes in a house of ghost hunters who speak of tearing ghosts apart.” He floated back to the chair, settling back in it.

Danny was breathing a bit heavily as he took this all in that his godfather was half ghost like what?! He ran a hand through his hair as he sat there and Vlad gave him this silence letting him come to terms. Danny looked up to him and he drew in a breath and focused. The ring of light appeared at his waist washing over him. He appeared in the inverted fenton jumpsuit and his white hair covered his face.

“I can help train you but not here. Too many risks. How about you stay the weekend at my manor?” Vlad asked him. “We could work on the basics so you don’t have so many incidents.”

“You would help me?!” Danny called as he stood.

“Of course. I know too well what it is like to have no guide,” Vlad said smiling. “Let’s cover the basics now while we have some time.”

Danny stood at attention waiting for instruction, unable to believe how lucky he was that he found a mentor in the form of his own godfather. There was solace in the fact he wasn’t alone. To Sam and Tucker this was just something that made him stand out and they didn’t seem to truly understand his fears.

“Your ghost powers respond to your emotion and that they are still unknown to you. You are still learning how they feel. It is like awakening to a new sense so to speak and you have to recognize its triggers and be able to temper it,” Vlad explained as he stood.

“Okay so how will I know what it feels like?” Danny asked.

“Well from what I gathered it is different per ghost based on something called an elemental core,” Vlad replied. “We need to determine your element. Mine is fire so my powers felt like a burning sensation flaring up and intensifying at times. The emotions they respond to most often are fear and anxiety.”

“Oh great,” Danny said after hearing that part sighing, running a hand through his hair. “How can I not be scared or anxious?!” He asked him throwing his arms out. “I am half dead now! My parents want to hunt me and do who knows what to me!”

“I don’t know how they would react to this knowledge so it is understandable to be fearful,” Vlad said which didn’t comfort Danny that he didn’t even know how his parents would react. “But know that if the worst does occur and that is if, I will protect you.”

Vlad approached and placed a hand on Danny’s shoulder and gave him a smile and Danny wrapped his arms around him feeling tears form. He let it out the tears he had been holding in and cried into Vlad’s chest. Vlad pulled him close, wrapping him in his cloak and letting him cry it out. He remembered how he was like after he fully transformed after the slow and painful partial death from ecto acne. He was a nervous wreck breaking down in the dead of night where no one could comfort him. He was alone in figuring it out and spent those years living in fear before he gained control then he channeled that fear into anger and then regret. Vlad changed back and produced a handkerchief from his breast pocket and knelt down and held it out to Danny who took it and wiped his green tinted tears away.

“I know it doesn’t seem like it Daniel, but you will be okay. You don’t have to endure this alone. If you need me message me I am an email away,” Vlad told him. “So chin up. You will learn control. Even if there are a lot of unknowns I can do what I can to help you.”

Danny smiled but blinked when the rings of light washed over him shifting to his human appearance, “That wasn’t supposed to happen.”

“We’ll figure that out,” Vlad said, chuckling as he stood. “I went through similar phases.”

He held his hand out for his handkerchief and Danny handed it to him and blinked when he set it aflame and turned it to ashes. He walked over to the trash can and deposited it.

“Don’t want your parents suspecting anything. Let’s go down to dinner,” Vlad said and Danny nodded, feeling better with Vlad there.

Danny was packed for his weekend at Vlad’s but it wasn’t just normal time with Vlad it was training. It took convincing but Sam and Tucker were allowed to stop by if they wanted as they knew his secret being there for his accident. He knew they were hiding it but what happened traumatized them. Tucker recoils slightly everytime he sees a bright flash and Sam has been weary of electricity and appliances that use it. She says it is a part of her counterculture views but it didn’t start happening before his accident. He also noticed some nights that they don’t get much sleep with bags under their eyes. He still has nightmares of the accident so he was glad for some time out of the house. It was hard being in the lab with everything that happened. He walked outside and looked at his parents.

“Have fun sweetie!” Maddy purred hugging him.

“Have a great time with V-man!” Jack called patting him on the shoulder.

“Th-thanks see you guys Monday,” Danny said and he rushed to the car where Vlad was waiting.

He climbed into the passenger seat and Vlad gave him a smile and he waved goodbye to the Fentons and he pulled away.

“Are you sure you are ready to train right away?” Vlad asked him.

“I wanna get a handle on this as soon as possible,” Danny said, looking at his hands. “I need to. Ghosts have been entering the house…” Danny admitted.

“I see they haven’t figured out a gate lock yet. Then again it doesn’t work the same way as you would think,” Vlad said as he drove. “You have to have a reinforced lock with a passcode made from a material that is hard for ghosts to manipulate which is difficult to come by. I can give your parents the supply. Maddy and Jack aren't fond of my manner of help when I have figured things out they haven’t.”

“You are a pushy fruit loop,” Danny said, the nickname being one of endearment he had from when he was a child.

“Hey,” Vlad said, narrowing his eyes at Danny before chuckling knowing he was right and focusing back on the road.

Danny laughed and Vlad cracked a smile and they finally reached his manor and he climbed out and so did Danny grabbing his bag from the backseat. He walked with Vlad inside the garage door closing and he was used to his godfather’s extravagant tastes. It still made him feel out of place even though he was at his godfather’s home and been here throughout his life.

“Did you make sure to have a lot of protein?” Vlad asked and Danny nodded with Vlad transforming. “Alright let’s begin. We will work on mastering flight, intangibility, and invisibility.”

Danny transformed into his ghost form ready for training and the pair would spend the day training trying to master the basics and he made headway. It wasn’t perfect but Vlad called it for the day and began to prepare dinner. It always surprised Danny that Vlad made his own meals and didn’t have a 100 staff members. Then again Vlad was half ghost so it made a lot of sense now. Danny was laying on the couch in the living room when his phone went off and he pulled it out. He hadn’t been able to convince Vlad to let him tell Sam and Tucker over the fun.

OnlyTechUnderstandsMe0101: Heyo still up for us stopping by Vlad’s?

TheOneGothGirl42: Were you able to keep things all hidden?

SpaceTraveler60: Uh yeah come on by! Vlad’s making dinner

TheOneGothGirl42: You’re keeping things from us you better spill when we get there let’s go tucker!

TheOneGothGirl42 Signed off

OnlyTechUnderstandsMe0101: See ya then dude better spill when we get there lol

OnlyTechUnderstandsMe0101 Signed off

Danny sighed as he stood walking to the kitchen, “Sam and Tucker are coming by. Will you tell them you're training me?” He asked.

Vlad looked back at him, “Yes I will. You asked me to tell them and be honest with them. I hope they both are trustworthy.”

“I know they are,” Danny said firmly. He knew his friends were some of the more trustworthy people he knew.

“I trust your judgment Daniel, just be cautious. The government has been slowly building up the agency that hunts the supernatural like us. It started with Witch Hunters in the colonial days before more knowledge had been gained to form an organization known as Supernatural Elimination and Containment Agency or SECA. Fortunately funding has been reduced for those government dogs but they have enough to be ready and all Congress needs is a reason. So be cautious of who knows your secret. The government just needs a miniscule excuse to spend taxpayer dollars on anything military over actually useful programs,” Vlad explained as he knew that tone.

Danny listened to Vlad’s explanation and he had no idea a government organization like that existed and he looked to him. Vlad sounded scared almost even though he tried to hide it. It sounded like they weren’t bad for now but he would try to avoid them if Vlad recommended it. While he didn’t outwardly say it he knew and if they had been around so long there had to have been old methods his parents tested before switching to more advanced tools.

“You will recognize members by their cologne. It is made from Blood Blossoms,” Vlad explained.

“What’s blood blossoms?” Danny asked.

“It’s a rare species of rose that has been cultivated by those that hunt the paranormal and government agencies due to its ability to repel and weaken ghosts. A bundle of Blood Blossoms is more effective than the strongest ghost weapons but fortunately it became endangered. The government has been focused on building up the species so they are only able to have a cologne made from the extract of the rose,” Vlad explained. “It smells overwhelming. Sicking almost. Sickeningly sweet and bitter like being trapped in a room you have sprayed air freshener in but also with hints of rosemary. The pain it causes is one of the worst I have experienced.”

“I see,” Danny shuddered hearing its description. It was terrifying that a plant could do that.

Vlad finished dinner and the two were eating when there was a knock at the door. Vlad went to the door insisting Danny eat after today and he brought Sam with her arms crossed and Tucker fiddling with his shirt to the table.

“There is plenty more if you want some Tucker,” Danny said gesturing to the kitchen. Vlad had made a japanese style curry with white rice. He knew Sam couldn’t eat it due to her diet.

“I already ate before I left,” Tucker said.

“I ate too,” Sam said.

Silence consumed the dinner making it awkward and when the pair stopped eating Vlad stood with the dishes to clean and let Danny tell his friends.

“So how have you been hiding your powers?” Sam asked, leaning forward.

“I haven’t needed to. Vlad is half ghost too,” Danny said simply.

“What?!” Tucker called. “Vlad Masters head of Vladco is half ghost?!” He hissed, being much quieter now.

“Woah didn’t see that coming,” Sam said.

“I know right?! He has been training me and I made progress! After this weekend I shouldn’t have any more accidents at home or school! Or at least not too many,” Danny sighed at the reminder Vlad gave him to not put his hopes that one weekend will perfectly give him mastery.

“Hey that’s great man!” Tucker called.

“How did Vlad become one?” Sam asked.

“Something called Ectoacne which he compared to cancer,” Danny said frowning.

“Well that’s dark,” Sam said, blinking at the response Danny gave.

“For real!” Tucker called.

“Hey Sam? Could you look into something for me?” Danny asked.

“Shoot,” Sam replied.

“Something called Blood Blossoms,” Danny explained.

“I didn’t know you were into botany,” Tucker said.

“I am not! It’s a flower that can repel and even hurt ghosts,” Danny sighed. “We need to know all we can about it.”

“I can find that info for you,” Sam said, seeing his worry. “But who uses it that has got you worked up?”

“Government ghost hunters known as SECA for short,” Danny sighed. “With the ghost portal at home they are bound to show up eventually.”

“I’ll look into those guys too and sulk around the forums,” Sam said.

Danny sighed resting his hand on the table and Sam stood placing a hand on his shoulder and Tucker reached over and placed his hand on his arm.

“Hey dude we got ya!” Tucker called.

“Yeah you have people to support you. You aren’t alone,” Sam echoed, smiling.

Vlad stood in the doorway smiling seeing the three. Maybe he was wrong to judge them so harshly as Daniel seemed to have good friends at his side.

----

I am not sure how to continue this fic. I have ideas for how my au will go like how Dani will come to be and how Dan would still exist but I am not sure how to write it from here as he will face still similar threats just Vlad at his side. The government is the one that creates Dani due to how active he is fighting the Guys in White and they learn his secret early. It will be broadcast still against Freakshow when he has the reality guantlet. And Danny makes the guys in white forget he is half ghost, forget ever making dani, forget vlad, and ignore all of them as threats before destroying the reality gauntlet. So consider this the ending!

[annkamol]

礼仪之丹

Dream I think Dan is not a rude guy, he just believes in violence, in fact, he is very educated… Vlad is a scientist! And Danny is also a very smart kid! A bad temper does not mean stupid 🤔… I watched the animation carefully, and I even felt that he maintained a very strange civilization Oh… I think I need to rethink some of my settings

skull when you say he is not a rude guy, do you think he wouldn't say things like "fuck" or behave like an animal? 🤔 yes… i suppose i have him act a little differently because he's never been beaten so low before and im choosing to interpret dan's depression as something that has chipped away at his intellect as well… perhaps he will behave more like his usual self when he's in a more comfortable situation

Dream No, I'm talking about my own understanding… I thought that maybe talking to Dan rationally could unexpectedly convince him, and maybe he would even be willing to listen🤔

skull oh! i think that's a good idea! 😳

Dream I used to think that when Clockwork tried to reason with him, Dan would say, Get lost, I don't want to listen! But I realized that if I think about it from another perspective, there is another possibility. He would look at Clockwork with contempt, wanting to see what nonsense he could say, and try to discern the sophistry in it and find out where he could fight back?🤔

skull yes… dan could be cunning!!

Dream Maybe he never had the chance to debate with anyone… or maybe his arrogance made it impossible for others to convince him

Dream Yes I mean this！ Because I saw some fan fiction that described Dan as an uncivilized beast… No, actually if you think about it carefully, if you want to rule the ghost world for so many years, wisdom is essential So maybe he is actually closer to that kind of high IQ criminal🤔

skull i think Dan could be a sore loser after everything is said and done… but he calls Valerie on the phone to gloat before destroying amity park's shield being a sore loser, i think he could constantly be throwing a tantrum, and that makes him act like a beast. but his ordinary characterization is very smart!

Dream As a ruler, force and wisdom are inevitable… After all, if he doesn't have a smart assistant, he has to think about many things by himself (Looks at the Terror Knight)（？） But you are right, I think he will beat Clockwork without listen any reason😋 After all, he is his prisoner Honestly, I think Dan will do very well in school！ He will definitely achieve high grades

skull omg definitely :3

Dream And sometimes Clockwork will say something bluntly sarcastic, which is funny！！

skull and dan will laugh…. it's like a dangerous meeting of two cunning minds

Dream Yes… so the observants must be panicking because they know how smart and cunning Dan is, and they're worried that Dan will convince Clockwork to destroy the world

skull oh my god????? 😂😳 thats CRAZY it could be crazy if dan was so reasonable… trying to persuade clockwork… and they spoke civilly, as the fate of all mankind swung in the balance like a pendulum, or a watch on a chain 😋

Dream Imagine! The observers saw the possibility of Dan and Clockwork merging, and they panicked, saying that you can't use yourself to act! What if you are really eaten by him, the world will be destroyed! So if Dan merged with Clockwork for pleasure, they would be homophobic🤣

skull LMAOOO the Observants are homophobic against their colleague's marriage…

Dream Thinking from this perspective, I think Clockwork might agree to Dan's request to merge (for pleasure), but they won't let observers see the fused form

skull what do you mean they won't let them see?

Dream These big eyeballs are gonna be scary!

skull surely they see almost as much as Clockwork

Dream Clockwork will ask to be unfused when an observer comes to visit🤔 Yeah, but they can't look inside the clock tower… they don't know how much debauchery there is between Clockwork and Dan😋

skull oh, i see! this is true…

Dream They could only see that Dan and Clockwork were very intimate, but they didn't know how far they had progressed or how many times they had sex😋

skull thats cute!

中文：

梦 我意识到，丹不是一个粗鲁的人，他只是相信暴力，其实他很有教养…弗拉德是个科学家！而且丹尼也是一个非常聪明的孩子！脾气不好不代表愚蠢🤔… 我仔细看了动画，甚至觉得他维持着一种很奇怪的文明 哦…我觉得我需要重新考虑我的一些设定

skull 当你说他不是一个粗鲁的人时，你认为他不会说“他妈的”之类的话或表现得像动物吗？ 🤔 是的……我想我让他表现得有点不同，因为他以前从未被打得这么惨过 我选择将丹的抑郁解释为某种削弱了他智力的东西……也许当他处于更舒适的情况下，他会表现得更像平常的自己

梦 不，我是在指我自己的理解……我认为也许理性地和丹交谈可以出乎意料地说服他，也许他甚至愿意听🤔

skull 哦！我觉得这是个好主意！😳

梦 我以前以为，当 Clockwork 试图和他讲道理时，丹会说，滚开，我不想听！但我意识到，如果我从另一个角度思考，还有另一种可能性。他会用鄙视的眼光看着 Clockwork，想看看他能说出什么废话，并试图辨别其中的诡辩，找出他可以反击的地方？🤔

skull 是的……丹可能很狡猾！！

梦 也许他从来没有机会和��何人辩论……或者他的傲慢使别人无法说服他

梦 是的，我就是这个意思！ 因为我看到一些同人小说把丹描述成一个未开化的野兽……不，其实如果你仔细想想，如果你想统治鬼界这么多年，智慧是必不可少的 所以也许他实际上更接近那种高智商罪犯🤔

skull 我认为丹在一切都说完做完之后可能会成为一个输不起的人……但他在电话里打电话给瓦莱丽炫耀，然后摧毁了阿米蒂公园的防护盾 作为一个输不起的人，我认为他可能会不断发脾气，这让他表现得像个野兽。但他平凡的性格塑造非常聪明！

Dream 作为统治者，武力和智慧是必不可少的……毕竟，如果他没有一个聪明的助手，他必须自己思考很多事情 （看看恐怖骑士）（？） 但你说得对，我认为他会毫无理由地殴打Clockwork😋 毕竟他是他的囚犯 老实说，我认为Dan在学校会表现得很好！ 他一定会取得高分

skull 哦，天哪，绝对的：3

Dream 有时Clockwork会说一些直言不讳的讽刺话，这很有趣！！

skull 而Dan会笑……这就像是两个狡猾的头脑的危险会面

Dream 是的……所以观察者一定很恐慌，因为他们知道Dan有多聪明和狡猾，他们担心Dan会说服Clockwork毁灭世界

skull 哦，我的天？？？？ 😂😳 太疯狂了 如果丹这么通情达理……试图说服发条……那可能就太疯狂了…… 他们说话彬彬有礼，而全人类的命运就像钟摆，或链上的手表一样摇摆不定😋

梦 想象一下！观察者看到了丹和发条融合的可能性，他们惊慌失措，说：你不能用自己来演戏！如果你真的被他吃了怎么办！世界会毁灭！ 所以如果丹为了欢愉而和发条融合，他们会恐同🤣

skull 笑死 观察者们对同事的婚姻是恐同的……

梦 从这个角度考虑，我认为发条可能会同意丹的融合请求（为了欢愉），但他们不会让观察者看到融合态

skull 你是什么意思，他们不让他们看？

Dream 这些大眼球子会被吓坏！

skull 他们看到的肯定和 Clockwork 一样多

Dream 当观察者来访时，Clockwork 会要求解除融合🤔 是的，但他们看不到钟塔里面……他们不知道 Clockwork 和 Dan 之间有多少放荡行为😋

skull 哦，我明白了！ 这是真的……

Dream 他们只能看到 Dan 和 Clockwork 非常亲密，但不知道他们进展到了什么程���，也不知道他们做了多少次爱😋

skull 好可爱！

[picklefics]

Imagine if somehow (yes this is not how fingerprints work, but they’re probably not gonna run a DNA test on a random shoplifter-seems silly) instead it’s Dani (Elle) who gets recognized as Bruce Wayne’s kid. This COULD be a trans Danny, cis Elle story maybe? Because if you wanted to do a good or unknowingly bad Fenton parents AU Elle is more likely of the two to wind up in Gotham, and Sam would absolutely be open to providing money I think. Plus one time I saw a fic where Danny did ice sculpture to make money to support Elle. I don’t remember most of the story but I thought it was neat.

Just, the idea of Bruce coming across the younger clone instead of the original and…maybe assuming time shenanigans related to his work as Batman? Like somebody targeting him but Elle escaped, and he’s a) panicking over somebody knowing to target him, b) thrilled to have his kid back, c) confused by how she’s acting because something doesn’t line up. Then later Elle tells him about Danny. He naturally goes to see him.

Maybe this could blend with the prompts where Danny is living with the Waynes and keeps dropping the weirdest info and neither the bats nor Danny have a good scale for normal anymore. The Waynes don’t know what happened with the kidnapping (could be kidnapping or could be accidental…I have some ideas such as Jazz wanting a sibling and finding a kid wandering around in Gotham and just, like, persuading the Fentons Danny was there all along-Danny may or may not remember/be aware of this, haven’t decided yet; Jazz either feels guilty about it now or has kind of forgotten because she was 4 or 5 and childhood memories aren’t known for being easy to hold on to. Or maybe she’s not aware that he’s Bruce’s kid and is convinced that she rescued a random Gotham boy from a terrible situation (because Gotham and random kid on the street in a sketchy section of town) so her actions were justified if poorly thought out) and when they find out, they assume the cloning was related to Danny being a Fenton, not being Phantom. Even when they find out about Vlad, they are kind of like “yeah, cloning as a way to cope with not being about to get the person you want is…not normal but understandable and this could happen to a civilian!”.

…oh dear universe, the plot bunnies are coming for me. I haven’t even read DC much except some 60s comics so this is NOT ideal and I already have several ongoing fics!

Dc x dp idea 113

Danny was falsely arrested. How dare the store. He may look homeless being on the run from his parents and all.

But really.

All he did was stuff the item in his pocket so he could help someone grab an item.

They didn’t even give him the chance to explain. He had the money. Sam insisted on giving him cash before he ran.

When they took his fingerprints he really didn’t mind. He was running from his parents not the government. As soon as he was left alone he’d high tail it out of Gotham.

To bad he wouldn’t be left alone. Being Bruce Wayne’s kidnapped son was not on his bingo card.

Now Bruce Wayne billionaire had never expected to have his son be found. Never for him to be found stealing food and obviously homeless.

[xysidhequeen]

So sorta a prompt/sorta a brain worm that got stuck in my head.

What if.... When Jason died originally he came back as a ghost and he and Danny met. Jason helped him fight ghosts and taught him some tricks of the trade. He offhandedly told Danny that if he ever needed help to go to Gotham/Blüdhaven (depends if you want to spin Jason still feeling kind towards Bruce or him being more in Dick's corner). Jason vanishes when he's resurrected and Danny doesn't hear from him for years.

Well something happens. (Either everyone he loves dies, and he runs to the GZ or away to prevent himself from turning into Dark Danny, or his parents find out his secret and react Badly. Or maybe they react well but the GIW takes them out)

Danny runs to the only place he thinks can offer sanctuary, Gotham/Blüdhaven. Running off the words of a friend he hasn't seen in a long time.

He arrives and is probably exhausted, stumbling around when he feels a familiar energy. He follows it, only to nearly collapse at Jason's feet as Red Hood. (This is probably post Outlaws when Jason has a more peacefulish relationship with the Bats) and looks up.

"Jason?"

"Danny?!"

[wastefulreverie]

penciled lines

Vlad dies. He isn't gone written for day 26 of ectober month 2021: autopsy / pumpkin more parts of this series: 2 | 3 | 4 | 5  (links fixed)

"Daniel. Daniel, listen to me."

Plasmius floated behind him, reaching out to grab Danny's shoulder. Danny kept walking, accelerating his pace so that he was just out of Vlad's reach.

He had to get to class. Vlad's nonsense could wait until after he failed his physics exam.

"You can't let them do this to me! You of all people should understand what will happen."

Danny scoffed, not bothering to look behind him. "Maybe you should've thought of that before you got yourself killed. I mean, really. One of your little projects was bound to blow up in your face sooner or later. Don't expect me to feel sorry for you." Especially since said project had been human experimentation, vivisection. It hurt enough that the subjects had been Danny's clones, but all things considered, at least Vlad had paid the price.

Jazz didn't quite see it that way, and it was hell to see his parents so devastated over their dear friend's untimely death. But Valerie knew. She'd been the one to tell him the details of what happened, of how she'd found Vlad elbows-deep in a boy that resembled Danny Fenton. Of how she'd panicked and shot an ectoblast that just grazed Vlad's shoulder, which hit one of the cloning tanks and detonated a chain explosion. How the poor clone on the table had reacted with a final ghostly wail, decimating everything in a ten-foot radius and slamming an unsuspecting Vlad against the ceiling. Which then caved in.

Valerie's suit was the only thing that saved her from being buried alive in the lab.

Vlad, on the other hand, was dead even before the mansion collapsed.

"This isn't about your fondness for me, Daniel! If they do this, we're all in danger!"

"I don't know, sounds like a you-problem."

Danny ducked into his classroom, slamming the door in Plasmius's face. Of course, the bastard phased right through and followed him to his desk.

Ugh, what would it take to get him to leave?

He'd already tried the thermos, but Plasmius knew too well how to evade it. He wouldn't budge without a fight first, a fight that Danny didn't have the time for.

This exam was one-third of his grade, after all.

"Daniel," Plasmius hissed again. "Daniel, we don't have time for this."

Mr. Falluca was beginning to hand out the exams. Besides the soft rustling of paper and scratching of graphite, the room was silent. Dammit. Was Vlad going to torment him during the entire exam?

"You have to fly to the morgue, now. The autopsy is this afternoon. They're going to scan my body for ecto-contamination and it'll all be over. They'll know about half-ghosts."

… what.

Why should Vlad care about half-ghosts? It wasn't like he was one anymore. Hell, he'd died experimenting on their kind! If anything, all Vlad cared about was protecting his reputation and estate!

Fuck him.

Once he was out of this room, Vlad was getting the pummeling of his afterlife. He'd see to it.

"Everything alright, Mr. Fenton?" Mr. Falluca asked.

Danny's pencil was broken. He wasn't sure when it had snapped—when he'd snapped it. Mr. Falluca looked concerned though, concerned enough to ask about it.

Danny brushed it off.

"Nerves."

He expected Dash, who was only a couple seats away, to laugh as always. Instead, Dash rolled his eyes and kept to himself. There'd been talk around school about Vlad's death and it wasn't a secret he was a Fenton family friend. Huh. Guess Dash did have a heart, albeit a small one.

"You've got this, Mr. Fenton," Mr. Falluca assured.

Maybe if there wasn't a self-centered ghost leaning over his shoulder. He felt like that added a lot of unnecessary pressure.

"You're wasting your time!" Plasmius snapped. "There will be other exams, Daniel."

The first question was simple. On a stationary object, there are two forces. Draw these forces.

"Once they know about half-ghosts, they know! That can't be taken back!"

Free body diagrams are child's play.

"Why aren't you listening to me?"

He drew a box on a line, two arrows jutting out of the top and bottom of the box.

Just… keep working.

"I shouldn't have to explain the severity of this!"

Normal force and gravitational force. Mr. Falluca would count off points if they weren't labeled right.

Plasmius flew forward, his torso now in Danny's desk. He couldn't see his paper now.

"This is in your best interest, Daniel!"

Goddammit. His best interest?

Forgetting himself, Danny grabbed a fistful of Plamius's cape and pulled him to the side. "And since when did you care about me!"

The scratching of pencils stopped.

Chairs creaked as people turned back to stare at Danny. Who was clutching onto nothing but dead air.

Fuck Vlad.

He would kill Vlad twice, no, thrice?

Again. He'd kill Vlad again.

Mr. Falluca groaned. "What now, Mr. Fenton?"

Danny released Plasmius and cleared his throat. "Uh, I'm good. Just… was confused?"

"Solid excuse," Plasmius informed him.

"... shut up," he muttered.

Mr. Falluca raised a brow. "Excuse me?"

"Nothing! Nothing, I swear. I'll be quiet now."

No one looked convinced. Danny felt his cheeks rush with cold, and not-so-subtly covered them with both hands. The rush of cold meant ectoplasm, ectoplasm meant green blush. That wasn't right. He couldn't let them see.

"You're a mess," Plasmius retorted. "If you let them find out that I was a half-ghost, it will only be a matter of time before they connect the dots. Once they know it's possible, both of your identities will be on the line. Only a matter of time until they try to replicate what happened to us. You have to stop the autopsy."

He didn't want to admit that Vlad sort of had a point.

People finding out that Vlad was a half-ghost wouldn't bode well for Danny at all. Chances were his parents would be among some of the first few consulted about it… and if the GIW got wind of it then who knows what twisted experiments they'd dream up.

But why did it need to be him? If Vlad felt so strongly about it, he could do it himself.

He could sabotage his own damn autopsy.

Danny turned over his exam packet to the back. There was a blank page.

do it yourself? he wrote.

Plasmius scoffed. "If I could, I would! Your mother and father caught me last time I was in the morgue and set up a ghost shield."

… of course they did.

and you want me to go thru? then what?

"Well, my entire body is imbued with ectoplasm. It's not like there's a way to undo that. Ideally, just steal my body and phase it deep into the ground somewhere."

Oh, Mom and Dad would be pissed about that. They'd taken on the funeral preparations. If they found out that Phantom stole their best friend's body…

Well, actually, them thinking that Phantom was a body snatcher was better than them finding out about half-ghosts.

He'd take it.

after the exam. just this one class.

Plasmius groaned. "We don't have much time, Daniel."

buy some time. haunt the doctor until I'm done. I'll be there.

Before Plasmius could protest, Danny flipped his exam back over and resumed with question two.

"If you don't show up, I will make your life miserable," he threatened.

Danny rolled his eyes. Like he wasn't doing that now.

Plasmius, with one last flourish of his cape, flew through Danny and out through the nearest wall. That bastard—!

At least he was gone. That's all that mattered.

Now, he was able to focus on his exam.

"I AM THE BOX GHOST, MASTER OF ALL THING CUBICAL AND—!"

Danny slammed his pencil down on his desk once again. "For fuck's sake!"

[sadlynotthevoid]

Fic idea: Vlad accidentally discovers that all this time Jack knew that Vlad kept resentment against him and still called him his friend. This discoverment lets Vlad confused and questioning everything he thought he knew, because he had been cruel and petty to him for a long time, hurting him purposefully many times, and this man treated him with kindness, not for ingnorance, but despite knowing that. He hated Jack for years--decades!--blaming him for his accident, despising him for stealing Maddie, but now he was starting to think that maybe he was wrong. Then, in middle of his crisis, Vlad bumps with Jack and decides to ask why. Why he doesn't hate him? So they talk for a long time, being honest with each other. At the end of the conversation, they understand each other a little better. There are still a lot of things left to say, but this is a beginning. That day, for the first time in a while, Vlad notices, he's not angry or mad. Not at him, not at the world, not even at those stupid burocrates he has to deal with at the work. He felt lighter than ever and finds out that he actually liked it. Of course, that's when everything went down south.

- Just when Jack and Vlad were starting to recover their friedship, a building sets on fire with 28 people inside, including Jack and Maddie. There weren't any deaths, gladly. As soon as Danny sighted the fire, he (as Phantom) rushed into the building, rescuing as many people as he could and coopering with firemen and paramedics in order to maximize the possibilities for the victims- ...Until he found his parents. He found them in the subsoil, one next to the other. At first he didn't recognized them, too gray--too covered in ashes to be them, then he saw something shine. Silver, green and circled, small enough to fit in his hand--his parents prototype-- And suddenly they were too orange and blue but not enough because there was too much gray and flames--and he had to do something now! Everyone on the scene could see when Phantom jumped through the flaming walls once more time, before flying out, carrying the both Fentons parents with him and calling for an ambulance. Everyone could notice that Phantom was panicking and nearly to cry and no one could understand why. Then a medic tried to deny him of accompany them. "Please! I'm their son!", he begged out loud. That seemed to stop the world, no one speaked, moved or breathed, expecting something. Then happened: a white, bright, circle made of pure light emerged around Phantom and divided in two, separating more and more and changing his appearance as they passed. When it was over Phantom has gone and Danny Fenton was left instead. With a shaking voice he asked again, "I'm their son, please let me come", but the medic was too surprised to say anything else except "...Ahhh..." for five seconds straight. Unfortunately, that gave everyone enough time for recovering. Soon, reporters, cameras and Wes Weston were running towards the young hero, who didn't notice until they were too near to run away and, most important, they were impeding the ambulance from left. Everything was on chaos. Flashes and questions were shouted, there were people pulling, the medic was trying to get Danny in, the firemen and the police were cooperating to clear the way but nothing was working and the teenager was visibly more stressed per second. A very bold reporter in particular raised his arm to catch Danny's t-shirt and found his wrist trapped by a hand--

--Vladimir Masters', the Mayor, hand.

--------------------

After Vlad menaced everyone there (and their families, friends and even pets) until he was satisfied, they left to the hospital where Maddie and Jack were sent to urgency and undergoing surgery. While he, Danny and Jazz (who came as soon as she heard) were waiting together, the siblings question Vlad about his reasons to help them. Is he doing this for mom? Is part of some evil plan?

And he explains everything. About his discoverment and the existential crisis that it leaded. About Jack and him talking honestly and the feeling of peace that came after. About him letting down the resentment towards his once best friend and how they started to rebuild their friendship. He's just worried for Jack, he promises.

Of course, it's not enough. They don't trust him. They would be too naive if they do. But Jazz believes that people can change and Danny has been always full of hope, so they gave him a second chance.

They decided right.

When the surgery is finally over, their parents stable, and the doctor tells them that they don't know when they are going to wake up but that they will recover, is Vlad who pays for the medical attention and the room they will occupy ("the best one you have--that it's not already occupied, of course"). And when some lady in a suit asks them if they have someone to take care of them because 'you both are minors, not matter how mature you are' or if she has to get them a foster home, is Vlad who offers to be their temporary tutor ("yes, Little Badger, I know this is temporary"..."yes, I know what temporary means, Daniel") and let them choose if they want to stay in his house ("your mansion--that's a mansion, not a house"..."I don't care if it's smaller than the previous one, it's still not a house") or they prefer him to move to their home ("Yes, temporarily! We already talked about it!").

And when the GIW tries to do a move against Danny, is also Vlad who orders his whole team of lawyers to sue them for everything they can ("unnecessary property damage, injury to a minor, emotional and psychological damage to a minor, emotional damage to me--" ... "because one of them insulted me" ... "not, that's not overreacting, he hurted my feelings, Daniel!" ... "He called me old! I'm not--I'm not old! Stop laughing Daniel! I'm not old!!").

Between leading with the aftermath of The Reveal and the school, his classmates, and Valerie and almost losing his parents the GIW and and and and there's always more--...Danny finds out that living with Vlad is not the worst thing (that would be his parents almost dying) nor the most annoying one (that would be Wes, who is not going to shut up--). It's kinda nice, actually.

[moss-covered-thoughts]

Whooaa I mean the whole psychological manipulation thing goes hard, that's terrifying. It's also differently terrifying to imagine him, essentially in a kind of low-key sedated state? Cuz...yeah it makes sense why he would never have tried to get back to his friends, get back to his family if he's on good terms with them, but yeah his "check-ins" consisting of them reading over his bio signs, growth developments (it's so w e i r d ghosts are dead, they shouldn't grow), they def keep him as a live subject as a halfa, they make him go thru exercises where he uses his powers, transforms, they measure it mid-transition like how Vlad wanted to do that one time. And at the end of each check in, they give him a small dose, maybe oral or just needle, give him some praise (they've learned it responds well to positive reinforcement).

Danny feels a little more light headed than usual the day they give it to him, but it's okay, he knows it's important, it helps him sleep. The next day he's back to normal, his anxiety has almost completely disappeared since they started their study, and the rest of the time he's encouraged to engage in his usual activities. So he goes to school, studies, still goes out as a ghost at night, and the only thing he has to do is keep a little device around his neck (it's not a collar of course, it's loose enough he could comfortably remove it) and a wrist bracelet (again, not tight, it's okay), it tracks what he does, what elevates his energy levels (signatures go up same as hear rate, theyve found, how fascinating). Danny feels a bit weird about it, since he had the idea for so long to always keep his vigilantism a secret. It's also weird because he knows he's never really alone, never has time for himself. Every once in a while, he thinks about just wandering, looking up at the stars and just wanting to go visit. He tried it once, just to get a nasty shock that he wasn't expecting. He had cried, moreso because he didn't understand why it had happened, and he went home. They were waiting for him. Calmly explained that his flying was restricted to the area needed for his patrols, but he couldn't go too far away. They had given him another dose and he didn't cry about it again, just kept relatively close by.

Just an interesting set of mental dynamics there that are super sad:((( also makes me wonder if Tim and the bats got him out, however that is, or at least get to him, and they're trying to help, would he refuse. would he insist he's fine??

Now let's say they totally get him out, away from the cameras and they remove/negate the tracker and other devices on him. Let's say a few weeks passes as he's trying to adjust, but they can tell somethings off. He's sometimes unresponsive, he spooks easily, he seems uncertain how they're treating him. They're being kind of course, and gentle, but it's like he's waiting for them to snap at him. He feels like something is wrong. And then after a couple weeks, he starts getting unexplainably sick. Becomes lethargic, tired all day, and then gets cold symptoms and eventually a fever that lasts a few days. They realize the sedative the GIW had been giving him was also having withdrawal effects, having been on it so consistently for long. When it clears up after a nasty week where Danny really.onpy talked to Tim, and shied away from everyone else, he comes out one day, looking around like he's confused where he is. Tim and the others maybe are sitting at the breakfast table, Bruce is carefully watching his face, and he looks at all of them like "how long have I been here?" And Bruce slowly answers, knowing the number of days off the top of his head, and Danny is looking slightly panicked now. Tim stands up and goes to him like, you alright there?? And Danny, a hand on his chest where his anxiety is raging, looks scared. He looks so scared, it puts a pit in Bruce's gut, and danny responds "I think something's wrong with me, i-i don't know.... I don't know why I'm here-- it's like, it's like I can't remember--" and Bruce interjects like "you dont have any memory how you got here?'" and Danny shakes his head like "I remember, I just don't understand"

"Date? Me?'

Tim nods, milkshake in hand, sitting outside of McDonald's with his study buddy, Danny.

The other teen looked flabbergasted with a firm blush building up.

Tim found him utterly adorable.

"I can't date anyone? I'm property of.the goverment."

Tim Drake-Wayne, aka Red Robin, has various questions to that statement.

[lordmyst]

The Birth of a Dhampir- A Castlevania Mpreg Fic

This is the first story of the blog, and I decided to go with story that explained the birth of Alucard but in a world where Dracula gave birth to him. 

Content Warning: Mpreg 

Something to know: english is not my first language so some mistakes are expected but I did my best to make it understandable, feel free to provide some feedback. 

                                             The Birth of a Dhampir 

  The castle’s room was warm, the walls had torches that illuminated the room and a  fireplace that provided enough heat for the cold nights of the winter. In the sofa in front of the fireplace seated the lord of the castle, a full-fledged vampire that went by the name of Vlad Dracula Tepes, but instead of Tepes he liked to be referred by Fahrenheit, last name of the love of his life and last name he took after marrying her. Who would had thought that the vampire lord, who hated humans and  terrorized the towns of Vallachia for centuries, is pregnant with a dhampir baby. 

  He was reading “Paradise lost” by John Milton, he considered as his favorite novel by the humans, it was hard for him to understand that they would make a novel that would set an interesting explanation for how everything started according to Christianism and filled in the parts missing in the bible.  While reading Vlad felt some little bumps on his belly, he smiled and looked down his belly. 

“ What is wrong little one? Are you hungry or are you protesting for me  to go to bed?” Said the man by caressing his belly. 

  Then he noticed the sun rays that filtered from the window behind him, he looked back and saw how the sun was starting to rise from the horizon. He also noticed that his body started to feel tired and was also time for him to go to bed. So he stood up and placed the book in the place on the bookshelf. Then he went to the room that he shared with his wife.  He remove the bed sheets and fixed his sleep gown, which was a long, loose dress that had delicate embroidery at the end of the sleeves and skirt, as well provided comfort for him and the belly that had been growing for the past months. 

 He laid himself on the bed and looked at the empty side besides him, the one that belongs to his wife. “ I wished you were here with me” Said Vlad sadly, his wife had passed the last months walking around the towns of Wallachia taking care of the sick, Vlad had servants that helped him with his pregnancy, but he wished his wife would accompanied him in this stage of his life. Then the sleepiness started to take control over him and drifted into a deep slumber. 

  Hours of restful sleep passed time, but a sudden event would interrupt them. A poignant pain in his abdomen would wake Vlad up. He noticed that his water broke and that the little dhampir is to be born. He called for one of  his faithful servants, Lilith. In a matter of seconds, the succubus known as Lily appeared in the room. 

“ My lord, is there anything you need?” Asked Lilith while giving a reverence. 

“ Lilith, I think… the baby is coming.” Answered Vlad struggling. 

  That panicked the succubus and she went to the bed to help her master, the helped him laid on the bed and went to get some towels and water, some minutes later she returned and set everything for the delivery of the baby. 

“ So when I say push, I need you to gather your strength and push, ok my lord?” Asked Lilith, Vlad replied with a nod. 

“ 1, 2, 3, push!” 

 The eldest  vampire gathered his strengths and started to push, he thought that due to his state of being a vampire he wouldn't feel these pains but he would still considered it as one of the worse pains he had ever experience in his long life.  Hours had passed and Vlad felt that this wouldn’t ever finish, but when he heard a newborn’s cries he plummeted into the bed, his white hair was mess, his body was covered in sweat and his throat hurt for all the cries he made due to the pain. Lilith cut the umbilical cord and  covered the little baby with a blanket she found while getting the towels, and placed the little bundle on Vlad’s chest. 

“Congratulations my lord, you gave birth to a healthy baby boy” Said Lilith with a smile. 

 Vlad looked at the bundle that was placed upon his blossom,  it was so small and his little head was  covered  with a thin layer of blond hair. Vlad also noticed the little yellow eyes that looked at him in manner that for him it was the cutest thing he ever saw on his life,  He cuddled the baby with his arms and noticed that the newborn was trying to look for some nipple to get milk, that warmed Vlad’s heart and accommodate the little bay so he can easily breastfeed, this was a new experience but he was glad that he hadn’t to live in solitude anymore and got to experience motherhood. At the look that everything was okay, Lilith smiled and left the pair of mother and child alone.

 Lisa was  arriving from her trip, she hadn’t thought that this trip would take long than expected and had to leave her husband alone with his pregnancy. But finally, she was at home and she was goin spent a lot of time with her husband.  She looked and smiled  at the bag that she brought, filled with gifts for her husband and upcoming baby, she hoped he loved the gifts. 

   When entering the castle Lisa met with the succubus that she recognized as the one that is his husband’s right hand. 

“ Good day Lilith, has everything went well during my absence?” Greeted Lisa with a smile. 

“ Yes My Lady, I have something important to inform you” Replied Lilith. 

“ Yes Lilith, tell me.” This concerned Lisa, she was worried if something happened to her husband and child. 

“The Lord had gave birth, he is at your room with the baby.” 

“ Really! Thank you for telling me, I’ll go now.” Exclaimed Lisa, this answer made her suddenly happy, she wished she was present for the birth but either way she was glad that everything went well. Then she hurriedly went to her room and left Lilith behind. When she stood in from of the bedroom’s door, she was really nervous, she couldn’t expect what she would find when she opened that door, so she tried to calm herself and opened the door. The thing she saw impacted her in an unbelievable way, there was her husband, cuddling a little bundle that she recognized as their little newborn baby. It seemed the baby was fed, so they was soundly sleeping. 

  She entered the room and left her things on the floor, this made the vampire being noticed of her presence, he tilted his head and saw her, tears started to form on his eyes, he wouldn’t believed that his wife had finally came home. 

“ Vlad, my love, I’m home” said Lisa while she approached. 

“ My life,  you’re here. I had missed you ” Replied Vlad, then he felt how Lisa embraced him. 

“ I’m sorry for leaving you alone for so much time, never thought the trip would take me a long time. But, I decided to tend the sick here to be with you and the baby.”Said Lisa with a soft voice. 

Vlad smiled at what she said and placed his head on her shoulder while looking the little baby on his arm, this made Lisa to look at the baby. 

“ So this is our little angel?” Asked Lisa, she was met with the adorable sleeping expression of the newborn. 

“ Yes, Lilith said that he is a healthy baby boy,  but still doesn't have a name. I had been thinking of naming him Adrian but I don’t know if it would fit him” Explained Vlad. 

“Adrian Fahrenheit, I love how it sounds.” Reflected Lisa while looking at the baby. 

“Then Adrian Fahrenheit will be” Answered Vlad as a way to confirm what Lisa was saying. 

 The two adults looked at the little cutie pie that was on Vlad’s arms, Lisa passed her hand over the little tuft of blond hair of the baby, who at the moment he felt the unknown contact opened his eyes, Lisa was finally to see the adorable yellowish eyes of her little Adrian, and instantly fell in love with him. Vlad and Lisa looked at each other agin and gave to each other a warmth smile, they decide to enjoy this moment with their new little baby dhampir. 

Quick note: I know that Dracula have dark hair but I based him on his design of Symphony of the Night, that  is why he have white hair in this story.

[five-rivers]

Like Kind

Prompt by @dp-marvel94: As soon as Maddie saw Phantom, she KNEW. It had happened, the thing that she dreaded and feared but in the back her mind knew would happen. Her Danny, her baby wasn’t human anymore….but then again he never had been completely human.

 In retrospect, she should have seen this coming from miles away.  Perhaps she had seen it, and her surprise now was the result of having willfully turned away.  But now, it was being rubbed in her face, thrown up in front of her in gleaming neon letters, staring her in the eye.  

The last was literal.  

Phantom floated a few meters above the ground, eyes fixed on hers.  

Phantom, who was undeniably Danny.  Her son.  Her baby boy.

He vanished from sight, flying up through the ceiling.  Maddie waited ten minutes, frozen and holding her breath, before sitting down hard on the floor.  She had thought—She had hoped—

(A memory plagued her.  Out with Vlad and Jack after Vlad was discharged, Jazz with a sitter. Red eyes where there should be blue. Panicked apologies.  Blood on the sheets and an ache radiating through her whole body.)

She had hoped.  

Had hoped that a child born to someone who had been possessed would be entirely human.  

(But even as a young child, something had been… not right about Danny.  He’d stared at empty corners, spoken to thin air, had a bizarre fixation on clocks. There had been other signs.  She’d dismissed them all.  But then.  Phantom.)

(She couldn’t ignore this.)

She went through the rest of the day, even the kidnapping of the mayor and a fight with a whole horde of ghosts in a daze.  Danny was there.  Fighting.  Doing these… these things.  And now she knew.  

Did Jack realize?  Had Jack put two and two together to realize that the boy he’d raised, the boy he’d taken as his own son, was now… this?

Was now a ghost?

.

“He’s our responsibility,” said Maddie, hands clasped under her chin.  She couldn’t meet Jack’s eyes.  “He’s our responsibility, and he’s giving in to his—to his nature.  What he did last night…”

“Maddie,” said Jack, reaching across the table.  “Just.  Stop.  Maybe… maybe there’s another way we can do this. Up until now, he’s been fighting the other ghosts, hasn’t he?  Maybe we could encourage that part.  Guide him to something less, less malevolent.”

“That’s what we thought we were doing from the beginning,” said Maddie.  “It hasn’t worked, Jack.”

“That’s when we thought he was still human,” said Jack. “We can—We could invent something. To help him control his—”

“This isn’t a movie, Jack,” snapped Maddie.  “He isn’t a vampire we can feed animal blood or a werewolf we can lock up during the full moon.  He’s a ghost.  This isn’t going to get better.  It’s going to get worse.”

“We don’t know that,” protested Jack.  “We could at least try, couldn’t we?  Don’t we owe him that?”

“Jack…”

“He’s our boy, Maddie.  We can’t just give up on him.”

“It’s already getting worse.  You’ve seen his grades.”

“It might not be because of intellectual degeneration,” said Jack, urgently.  “If you suddenly found out about—” he waved his hand vaguely “—wouldn’t you have some trouble focusing on schoolwork?  I know I had enough trouble when I was in school…”

“This isn’t the same,” said Maddie.  

“I know, that’s my point.”

Maddie covered her face and sighed.  “Alright,” she said.  She couldn’t let herself hope again.  “We’ll… we’ll try it your way, first.  What do we tell Jazz?”

.

“You already know?” asked Maddie, aghast.  

“Yes, I saw him transform, once, but I thought it would be better to let him come to me, tell me on his own terms.”  Jazz licked her lips.  “Does this mean you’ll stop shooting at him?  Maybe be more supportive of what he’s trying to do?”

“Jazz, he kidnapped the mayor.”

“I’m not sure he did.  A lot of people were possessed this past week.  The mayor could have been one of them.”

Maddie closed her eyes and swallowed, suppressing the feelings that rose in her at Jazz’s casual pronouncement.  

“I mean, a lot of people at school were talking about how little they remember…  Mom, are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”  She collected herself.  “Ghosts,” she said, “aren’t human.  They don’t have a human psychology.”

“Danny’s still human.”

“Partially.  For now. We don’t want to lose him to this. Will you help us?”

Jazz looked away, frowning.  “Even if ghosts are different,” she stressed the word, “that doesn’t mean they’re evil.  The wolf ghost helped Danny, didn’t it?  And Danny’s doing good.  I don’t think you should try to ‘fix’ him.  It isn’t right.”

Jack jumped in.  “That’s not what we’re doing,” he said, reassuringly.  “We just want to make sure that he stays himself.  That this doesn’t affect him negatively.”

“But you don’t want me to tell him that’s what you’re doing.”

“Based on recent events,” said Maddie, “we’re concerned that he’ll react poorly and run.  We just don’t want that to happen.  We can’t help him if he runs from us.”

Jazz bit her lip.  “Okay,” she said, finally.  “But you can’t do anything to Danny that he doesn’t want.  No experiments.  No tearing him apart molecule by molecule.”

“That isn’t—”

“Don’t tell me it didn’t cross your mind,” said Jazz, harshly.  “You talked about it at the table at breakfast.  More than once.  I’m keeping an eye on everything you do.”

It was better than her running to the police or trying to free Danny right away because she couldn’t understand.  

“Alright,” said Maddie.  

.

It was a good thing Danny’s physiology hadn’t changed enough to give him a resistance to simple sedatives.  Watching him nod off in the middle of dinner was as cute as it was tragic.

Jazz was… unhappy.  Clearly.  But she didn’t say anything.  

.

Danny knew he was in lab as soon as he woke up.  The buzz of the overhead lights and the hum of the portal made his hair stand on end and his mouth go dry.  

This was bad.  This was a nightmare made real.  

He didn’t move.  Maybe, if they thought he was asleep, they’d hold off on the dissection.

Although… he didn’t seem to be on the examination table. That was a good sign, right?  IT had to be a good sign.  

“Danny.”

His breath caught in his throat and his fingers curled on the surface beneath him.  It wasn’t metal.  Something… not quite soft.  But not hard. Like… a thin air mattress.  

“Danny, we know you’re awake.”

He screwed his eyes shut even tighter.  

“Please don’t hurt me,” he said.  “I’m me.  I’m really me.  I promise.”

“We know,” said Jack.  

That made Danny open his eyes.  “You do?” he asked, hopeful despite the fact he was in a box with thick, plastic walls.  He pushed himself up on the bench.  “Then why—” He was almost hyperventilating.  

“Danny,” said Maddie, “Danny, calm down.  We’re just- We know you’re Phantom, and we’re here to help you.”

“We know how hard it must have been for you, fighting those ghostly urges,” said Jack.  “But we’ll find a way for you to beat ‘em back, son.”

“I don’t- I’m not—” He shook his head.  “If you’re talking about the robberies—”

“That’s exactly what we’re talking about,” said Maddie.  “But it’s okay.  We’re going to keep anything like that from ever happening again.”

Danny bit his lip and felt despair clutch at his heart again.  They weren’t going to listen to him.  But—Jazz. Jazz would notice he was missing. She didn’t even believe in ghosts, not really.  She’d save him.  Or Sam and Tucker would look for him.  

He just had to hold out.  Even if they thought he was… succumbing to his ‘ghostly instincts,’ they wouldn’t hurt him.

Right?

.

“It isn’t working,” said Maddie, head in her hands, surrounded by crumpled by pieces of paper.  “He’s getting worse.”

Jack had to admit that he was.  It was tragic to watch his son fall to what could only be described as a ghostly Obsession.  Just last night Danny had been reduced to clawing at the inside of the containment unit. Crying.  Screaming to be let out to fight ghosts and ‘protect the town.’  

He… didn’t know what to do about it.  Any of it.  

“Maybe…” said Maddie.  “You remember what he said about the portal.  What if he was right?  What if he really…”

What if he really died?

“What if he did?” asked Jack.  “What would it change?”

“He’s not really alive,” said Maddie.  “If he isn’t… maybe we should… let him go.”

“W-what? You mean give up on him?” demanded Jack.  “We can’t do that!”

“No!  Not give up.  Never give up.  But- but maybe it would be better for him if he, if he was among like kind.  If he was…  We don’t have to destroy ghosts after all.  We just have to… have to put them on the other side of the portal.  Close it.  Close it so no more ghosts can get through.”

“You can’t be saying what I think you’re saying,” said Jack.  

“Like kind,” said Maddie.  “You remember that one Grimm’s fairy tale.  The little boy who couldn’t move on.”

“That’s not Danny,” said Jack.  

“I know.  I know it isn’t.  But, still… We…  Please, Jack.  Just… Tell me, what can we do?”

.

Danny tumbled head over heels into the Ghost Zone. He stopped, turned around, sending a blast of ectoenergy from his foot to accelerate himself back towards the portal.

He was too late.  The portal doors slammed shut, then winked out of existence.  

They were gone.  Danny was stuck here.  In the Ghost Zone.  

Fine.  

You know what?  Fine.  

He was here.  He was stuck here, because he didn’t know where or how to find natural portals. He didn’t know what was happening back home in Amity, and he was half out of his mind with worry about it.  

Fine.  

They thought he was a ghost.  A terrible, evil ghost.  Something to be cast off and thrown away.  

Fine.  

He was a ghost.  And he’d be the best ghost.  Ever.

[obsidiancreates]

Master's Degree (Part Two)

The RV speeds through the open gate, Jack leaning out of his seat to press on the gas as much as possible.

Danny looks out the window as the mansion- castle, really- comes closer and closer at frankly alarming speeds. He notices the front door open, and a shadowed figure waiting in the doorway.

Not surprising, given how loudly they're roaring into his driveway.

Jack screeches the RV to a halt, throws the door open, and runs up to the entrance! Vlad steps out, and Jack immediately crushes him in a bear hug! Vlad coughs, taken by surprise.

"Vladdie my man!"

Vlad coughs again, starting to turn blue from lack of oxygen.

Maddie clears her throat, tapping her husband's should. "Jack, sweetie?"

Jack opens his eyes, and laughs. "Oh, right." He lets Vlad go, leaving his old pal heaving for breath.

"Thank you, Maddie," Vlad says with a cough. "He still doesn't know how to draw the line between 'tight hug' and 'death hug', I see."

"Well, you know Jack," Maddie says, holding her husband's hand (both out of love, and to keep him from nearly suffocating their host again).

"Yes, I'm glad I still do after all these years. I was worried you'd both be so different now, after being married and having kids... speaking of, nice to meet you both."

He shakes Jazz's hand, and then Danny's. Danny's a bit surprised by how cold Vlad's hand is.

"Come inside, come inside!" Vlad steps out of the way and lets everyone in.

Jazz cringes when they get inside. "Oh wow, what's with the green and gold? You're a billionaire, sure you can afford an interior designer."

Danny looks at her like she's grown a second head. "Jazz, hello? Football helmets, jerseys, cheeseheads! He's a Packers fanatic!"

Vlad grins. "You know the Packers, dear boy?"

"Danny," he says. "And yeah. I mean, I don't watch sports super often, but Dad used to put the games on and cheer for them even though they weren't our team."

"Just wanted to support my old chum's favorite players!" Jack says, hand on his hips proudly.

"How sweet," Vlad says, his smile not quite reaching his eyes.

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

"Because they're owned by the city of Green Bay, who refuse to sell," Vlad spits.

Everyone looks at him with slight shock.

Vlad laughs a bit sheepishly, straightening up. "But it's fine. Money can't buy everything one could want. Like more time with my old friends."

He puts his arms around Jack and Maddie, but his eyes focus on Maddie herself.

"Though I suppose now, it has." Vlad pats them both on the back. "And more!" He gestures at the kids. "So lovely to have you all in my home! Feel free to look around."

Jazz starts taking some notes on how she would improve the decorations, while Danny looks at all the memorabilia. He comes upon a signed football on a stand. "Whoa, cool!"

"Indeed!" Vlad picks up the ball. "This ball was signed by the legendary Ray Nitschke himself! It's my most prized possession. You have an eye for value, Daniel."

"Danny," he corrects again.

"Yes, right. I'm just so pleased to find that we have things in common." Vlad's smile is a bit... wide. Almost knowing. But before Danny can think further about it, Jack runs at Vlad.

"HEADS UP, V-MAN!"

He slams into Vlad, crushing him into the ground. Jack laughs. "I see you've still got the old moves!" He picks the ball up off the ground and stands.

Vlad stands as well and snatches the ball away. "Give me that!" he says, panicked. He checks it for damage. "I never had any old moves, all those years in the hospital robbed me of-!"

He looks up form the ball. Everyone is staring again.

He sighs, adjusting his bow tie. "Sorry, sorry. I'm just very protective of my memorabilia. I know you didn't mean anything by it, Jack, you just weren't thinking."

Jack rubs the back of his neck. "I wasn't, was I? Sorry, Vladdie."

"It's fine." Vlad carefully put the ball back on it's stand. "Like I said, it's good to know you're still the same you from college. Always so well-meaning, but not always thinking it through. Despite it all, though, things always turned out fine in the end."

Danny finds himself nodding. Yeah, that's... pretty accurate.

"And still, it gave me time to chart out a course for my life, didn't it all? Let me plan, make well-thought-put decisions that helped me become very wealthy astonishingly quickly." He smiles again. "All thanks to you, Jack. If it weren't for those calculations being wrong, my life would be completely different now."

"Thank goodness for mistakes," Jack says with a wink.

"Yes, yes. Thank goodness for them. And actually, that's why I'm throwing the reunion here. I wanted to show there were no hard feelings, and let you all stay here with me."

Maddie frowns. "Oh, I don't know. We brought the RV with us."

"But it's such a gorgeous estate, isn't it? It used to belong to the Wisconsin Dairy King, it's a very historical property. I had the guestrooms all touched up and remodels just so I could reconnect with you!"

"Aw, you missed us that much?" Jack gives Vlad a friendly noogie. Vlad pulls away, patting his hair back into place.

"Yes, I missed you both so painfully. And I thought I should get to know your children better, too. I missed out on so many years of being their honorary uncle, like we'd always talked about before The Accident."

"Honorary Uncle?" Jazz crosses her arms. "Let me get this straight, you guys were that close, but still had no contact for twenty years?"

"Well, my dear, sometimes friendships grow apart. Especially after such a horrible, guilt-inducing accident." Vlad looks at Jack, eyes searching.

"But it's all in the past now!" Jack declares happily.

Danny thinks he sees Vlad's smile drop a bit. Not that he blames him. His dad isn't the most... sensitive, sometimes. And Vlad was pretty clearly looking for an apology there.

... It makes Danny grateful for Sam and Tucker. His parents just... left Vlad on his own after the accident, and it only gave the man ecto-acne. Danny got ghost powers and his friends still stayed by his side. He doesn't always remember how big of a deal that is. How their support helps ease the isolation his powers can make him feel.

He looks at Vlad again when Vlad sighs. "All in the past," Vlad echoes from Jack. "... Anyways, I insist you all stay. We have a king-sized mattress in every bedroom, and personal space heaters and AC-"

"Let's stay here!" Jazz coughs.

Danny gives her an unimpressed look. "Smooth."

Vlad's eyes light up. "Not to mention, Jack, that the Dairy King's ghost could haunt these very halls." he nudges Jack's stomach with his elbow. "A chance to capture a royal ghost."

Jack is already to the door. "I'll get the bags!"

Maddie sighs, and then smiles at Vlad. "Well, I guess we'll be staying after all."

"I'm so glad." Vlad gives her a hug. "It's been far, far too long apart."

Maddie hugs back. "It really has."

Vlad pulls away, and looks at Danny. "And I especially look forward to getting to know you better, Daniel. It's not often I meet someone who I can relate to. I have a feeling we'll get along swimmingly."

Danny smiles a bit. "Yeah. Me too."