A Dash of Magic
I HAVE WANTED TO DO THIS FOR SO LONG. YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW. I'M NOT EVEN GOING TO EXPLAIN MUCH ABOUT IT. JUST GO FOR IT. TRUUUUSSST MEEEEE.
I don't own Danny Phantom.
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"You know…..you could always WISH to be home."
"Phantom, we've been through this before. If I do that, how will I explain it to my servants down here?"
"I don't know, and frankly, I don't care. I NEED wishes, Vlad! Can't you cut your crummy rich man act for one wish?"
Currently, Vlad Masters was standing in his wrecked penthouse suite in CA. The entire left side of the huge place having been torn apart by a series of tropical storms. Hurricanes, to be more specific. Course, this did nothing to deter his companion from his musings. Nor did it put a dent in the business man's incredible wealth.
He was just about ready to call his insurance agency when his partner snapped the phone out of his hands completely in a puff of smoke.
Irritated, Vlad groaned. "Phantom, PLEASE. I need to get this fixed as soon as possible. How else am I going to explain this to my clients?"
"Doesn't matter anyway, Vladdie. Storm cut out all the power lines, service is maxed out. Face it. You finally get to sit here in the land of misfit toys like the rest of us dollies."
Vlad turned to glare at the teen currently holding his phone above his head and peering at him with his bright, neon-green eyes. The boy's snow like hair contrasted nicely with his bare, tan, shirtless form. Not that Vlad had any interest in the boy whatsoever in those regards. Rather, he was more so focused on the excessive amounts of jewelry that adorned the teen's body. On his black and white puffy pants, he had a few belts lined with trinkets casted from the finest gold in all of Egypt. His ears were pierced with long silver ovals centered around an emerald. Necklaces and bracelets also were common sights on his companions form. He DID tend to change his wardrobe up once in awhile. But the amount of goods the boy teased the businessman with each day might as well be criminal.
It was especially criminal the way he was practically grinning ear to ear, ENJOYING Vlad's misfortune. Though, only so much much could be said on the many mysteries of Vlad Master's genie.
"Please, Phantom. For all I know, you could be lying to me again. Remember the time with the oranges?" The billionaire inquired with a teasing edge to his voice.
He quickly noticed Phantom's eyes narrow as the phone magically poofed away to wherever place it goes, Vlad wasn't sure himself. The genie pointed a tan hand at him and glared.
"Now, you listen here, MASTER. That bloody monkey had it coming!" Phantom began to float in his sitting position above one of the only remaining chairs in the room the two were in.
"It was a Koala, and no. It did not deserve to be pelted to death by oranges. It was merely bathing." The older responded, glancing out the gaping hole in his penthouse to watch the sunrise.
Phantom threw his hands up in the air in clear frustration and playfully pouted at the other.
" Whatever! You can't tell me that thing wasn't gunna try anything. It looked like a demon, Vlad. A DEMON. Those things don't just be all cute and cuddly, then the next second be a terrifying, fire-breathing monster from the Netherworld. It just doesn't happen. " Said genie folded his arms across his thin chest and smiled, happy with his argument.
"It didn't breathe fire. " Vlad simply retorted, a role of his eyes accompanying it. "Honestly, Phantom. Where do you come up with such ridiculous stories?"
With a huff, Phantom turned and got up into the billionaire's personal space and smirked. "Well then, what about kittens?" He asked loudly.
"Kittens?" Vlad questioned with a raise of a manicured eyebrow.
"Yes, kittens. Are kittens terrifying when they bathe, Vlad? No. They're cute, fluffy, and adorable all the up to their inevitable deaths as roadkill on the side of the highway." The genie quickly clapped both of his hands together and made a squishing noise, making the older of the two grimace.
"Cats lick themselves, Phantom. They don't 'bathe' as the Koalas do. " With that Vlad turned and began packing his suitcase since the phone wasn't an option.
"Nuh uh! Well, yes. But, cats have baths too. I've seen people do it! " The teenager floated over to his master and plopped himself down on the now tattered bed. He kicked his legs out in an effort to contain his hyperactiveness.
The older quickly leaned down and glared at the genie, making him move back a bit. "Have you been SPYING on people again, dear boy?"
"N-No! But uhh… Hey! We were talking about the storm cutting the power off, right? Geh heh…" The teen rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly and sweat dropped when the older narrowed his eyes at him. "Uh huh… Yep! We WERE talking about the outage! Hah, what a problem, eh buddy?"
Vlad sighed and continued packing his things. "Yes, I suppose we were talking about that. Until you veered off track again." He folded a piece of one of his remaining dress shirts and peered down at the boy. "As a response to your earlier statement regarding the matter, I don't take well when you lie to me, Phantom."
"Eer! But, I wasn't lying! Honest! I flew around the city and saw all the damage. It was uh…" He rubbed the back of his head and shrugged. " pretty bad, at least." He fell off the bed when his master threw a shoe at him.
" You FLEW around the city?! Did ANYONE see you, Goodness! Do you EVER stop to think-"
The genie flung some magic at his master's mouth, willing it closed and got back up. "No, No! Invisibly, of course! No one could see me, just as you would have wanted! Jeez. Calm your temper."
He left the spell on a few moments after he was done speaking, seeing as his master was not done raging. It wasn't until he saw Vlad's eyes close for a second then open again to look at him did he know his master was calm. With a snap of his fingers, the spell was removed and his master folded his arms and looked at him, sternly.
"So, you saw all the wreckage from the storm?" Vlad said slowly.
The genie nodded, his jewelry jingling with the motion. "Yeah, it was pretty bad. Like I said before, you're not gonna get any service on that phone. Looks like your wish worked perfectly, no?" He teased, leaning closer to Vlad and waddling his eyebrows.
"I didn't wish to completely eradicate the West coast, Phantom. The storm came on it's own." He shoved some more things into his suitcase.
Phantom laughed, beginning to float beside the other. "Oh, I'm sure. BUT, you did wish for your fortune along with yourself to be spared, yes? Sounds rather low for a person with the ability to STOP such a storm to use it to only save himself, as well as his money. Don't you think?" His tone was far from playful, Vlad knew the genie had a few problems with his selfishness, but he could really care less. The boy had a slight hero-complex and really, that wasn't Vlad's problem.
"So? It is not my job to play the hero, Phantom. It's my choice if I want to allow a natural storm to wreak havoc on the shoreline. " The billionaire nonchalantly tossed a few more trinkets into the luggage and abruptly shut it, turning to look at the teen.
"But, you had the power to stop it! We are the … YOU are the only living person, aside from a few of your servants, for miles! " The genie grabbed ahold of the older's collar and roughly brought him closer to his face. His eyes flashed dangerously, making Vlad shudder.
It was no secret that Phantom could tear Vlad Masters to shreds if he ever wished to. It was only the mercy of the boy's hero-complex, and the spell that bound him to his master that kept him from doing so. That spell had saved Vlad's life more times than he could count. Especially when situations like this would arise
Vlad had noticed early on with his discovery of the genie, somewhere in his mid twenties, that the boy had a few issues. He could be furious one second, giddy the next, then suddenly spiral downward in depression. The older could only assume it was due to something happening before his time in the boy's life. Maybe with one of his other masters?
"YOU have the power, Phantom. I'm just a mere mortal, remember?" He looked down at the genie, carefully.
"DON'T YOU DARE SAY THAT. I can only do what my master wishes." He slammed Vlad into the side of the wall, next the the gaping hole in the side. " And YOU wished to save yourself! How could you be so selfish?! It hurts! It ….hurts…." Phantom slowly let go of Vlad and slid to his knees.
The businessman watched him go with a raised eyebrow.
Phantom held onto his shoulders and shook his head. "It HURTS...because I can't do ANYTHING about this! You're so selfish, Vlad! Can't you care about anything, anyone?!" The boy's shoulders shook as he felt tears fall down his face. "People...so many people.. They DIED, Vlad… Can't you see..?"
Vlad slid down to the genie's level and placed a hand on the smaller shoulders, sighing when the boy jerked away. "Dear boy. I know that this is hard for you… I'm not exactly okay with this result either. I didn't realize how extreme the storm was going to be until after it was over. Still, you know I'm not one to meddle with the natural order of things. Son, you KNOW this was meant to happen. I can't change that." He pulled the boy close, ignoring the struggles and insults in favor of holding the other against himself. "The same as YOU can't, my boy."
"Vlad… Vlad, I've been with you for eighteen years… Yet, I still know so little about you… Why is that?" Phantom looked at his shaking hands while still being held in Vlad's arms. He fiddled with the ripped tie around his master's neck and shivered.
It took the billionaire a few seconds to understand what the boy was trying to ask him. He finally gave Phantom a squeeze and held him back at arm's length. "Phantom.. You know as much about me as I do you. I believe it's only fair that we tell each other a few things about each other that we didn't know, hm?"
Phantom visibly perked at the idea and a small smile touched his lips. "A-Alright then. You start, Vladdie…" He said quietly.
"Me first?" Vlad gave a small sigh, and leaned up against the wall, using it as support when the genie curled up against him. "Well, I came from a small family, my father was a drunk, and my mother tended to be a bit antisocial. But, as a young boy, younger than you appear, I had a love for science."
The genie scrunched up his nose at the last fact and looked up at his master. "Science? You liked science? Well, then why didn't you pursue it later in life?"
"There was a fine line between simple science and experimentation, dear boy. " The other replied simply, almost aloof-like, with a far off look.
"Vlad, what are you talking about? " Phantom watched the older's expression carefully.
"Hm? Oh, nothing, Phantom. But I believe it's your turn to tell me something about yourself, child." He shifted his gaze down to look at the younger.
Phantom pouted up at Vlad, then sighed. "Fine, but you know I can't remember much about my mortal life…and my life as a genie before meeting you was nothing to mention. " He said slowly, looking a bit unsure of his statement.
"That doesn't matter, dear boy. Just tell me, tell me anything, Phantom."
"Okay, then.. Well since we're being all buddy buddy about it, my name as a mortal was Danny." Phantom looked out at the wreckage as the sun creeped up onto the jarred floorboards.
Vlad hummed at his words, using his arm to wrap around the boy as they both watched the sun rise over the decrepted remains of a skyscraper. It was strange, Vlad thought. To think of where he and the boy were now, after eighteen years of companionship. Everything seemed surreal, just yesterday he felt like he was a man of twenty six, sitting on the side of the road, bottle of liquor in his hand, and freezing to death. Then he met the boy who had changed his whole life.
And as the sun rose over the skyline, he felt himself rise with it, his arms wound tightly around the boy he thinks now as a friend and sighed wistfully.
"Daniel, huh? It rather suits you.." He gave a small, amused smirk when he saw the smaller pout up at him.
"No, I said Danny. Not Daniel, Vlad come on…" The genie, formally called Danny, whined in embarrassment.
"Ah, ah, ah. I am a man of business. As such, a name as personal as 'Danny' shouldn't be used by me. " Vlad gave the boy's shoulders a squeeze.
Phantom looked up at the other with a raised eyebrow. "Vlad, I am HUNDREDS of years older than you… You don't have to patronize me, you know. Besides, I feel our relationship over the years has changed from strictly business to something akin to friendship. Am I mistaken? Personally, I believe we are more than comfortable calling each other by names, nicknames even. So why do you feel the need to lessen that?"
Truth be told, Vlad has always treated the genie like a child because that's how the genie had always looked. Like a boy, no older than fifteen. So, it was a bit hard for Vlad to remember that Phantom was hundreds of years older than Vlad himself. It was kinda disorienting for him to think about. It didn't help that the genie constantly acted like a teenager, save for small windows like these when he would show Vlad his true age and wisdom.
The smaller looked up at Vlad and gave a small smile, placing a tan hand on his shoulder. "I have more trust in you, than I have had for any of my former masters. That's something, and I am more than willing to allow you to call me by my formal name. " Phantom's eyes gained a mischievous tint to them and he smirked. "But, only IF you promise to call me DANNY. None of that "Daniel" nonsense, understand? THAT is what I wish from you, master."
Vlad Masters was a stern man. He wasn't close to anyone in order to joke, laugh, or loosen up for anyone. But, he was to Phantom. His genie was the only one on this earth that could possibly ever come close to understanding him, and he felt that he understood the boy as well.
With a small, astounded nod, Vlad gave the teen a smile. Watching as the other gave one back, practically beaming up at him.
"Alright then...Danny"
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So this is a two-part short I wanted to do because of how awful I have made Vlad in my newest Twisted Passing.
I needed something to show Vlad's softer side, as well as a bit of my fave AU type… GENIE DANNY.
Truly, I LOVE genies! LOVE THEM. They're so interesting, mainly because ANYTHING can happen with a genie! Many of them are so quirky and devious, so I really hope I do Genie Danny justice.
So, obviously this is part one of two, and the other part will be out shortly.
AND CH.5 OF TWISTED PASSING IS BEING WORKED ON AS WELL, SO DON'T WORRY.
Now, until next time, my lovelies! -ShadTastic