Heya!First, this story is inspired by promsien's art and characters! When I think of Vlad and Danny, I think of them often through their art. Please check them out at tumblr, they are amazing!
Also, this fanfic. has some clarification needed. 1.) Danny's parents know he's a ghost, but are unaware he will never die. 2.) Vlad and Danny had a truce, similar to the show. 3.) Danny receives his ice powers with his core, but never meets Frostbite, and therefore the power is uncontrollable.
If anything is confusing or weird, please let me know!
And Thanks for your support!
Chapter 1
Danny wiped blood from his nose, a dark green color, and swore. "My, my. That's not appropriate language for a boy your age, is it?" A few yards away, floated a smug Plasmius. He laughed, his fangs flashing.
"At least I don't look like some fruity vampire with a stupid cape!" Danny snapped. Plasmius frowned and glanced at his cape, "Hmph, I wouldn't expect you to understand fashion, my boy. I mean look at-" In his distraction, Danny focused his power into his hand; it swirled and pulsed, cool and dangerous. He was getting better with his core, his ecto-blasts were taking a more bluish color of lately.
It burst from his palm and soared into Plasmius' chest, knocking him clean out of the air. His body smashed into an Amity Park Tree. Danny, taking offense, shot after him, fist clenched in front of him. Dust settle in time for Plamius to recognize the incoming threat. He phased away leaving Danny to pull up short. "What th-?"
A sound of something slicing through the air alerted Danny in time to duck, but the sharp object caught the top of his wrist, cutting in deep. Danny let out a scream. Blood pooled around the wound. A laugh sounded behind him, mocking him. Danny spun, glaring. Plasmius held aloof a sharp sword. Danny recognized it from a nearby statue. Damn it. Plasmuis spoke, but Danny didn't hear it. The pain in his hand was intense and the anger in his head pounded. A bluish light glowed in his chest, turning him and the surrounding air cold. Plasmuis paused in his taunting to dodge an icy blast of ghost energy, then another and another. On the ground, Danny shot energy at his upwards enemy.
Ducking a particularly close blast, Plasmius thought it best to leave. Even though it was night, the fight had bothered a nearby festival and its' inhabitants were coming to investiage. How annoying. "Well, dear boy, as much fun as it is-" He swerved another blast "dancing around your pathetic attempt at an attack, I have what I need." He jestered to the sword. "Farewell." And as suddenly as he floated there, he was gone.
Danny dropped his hand and cradled the other against his stomach, staining his suit. "Great." He muttered. The sounds of a curious and concerned investigators reached his ears. They would be on him in minutes. "Oh, wonderful" He quickly took to the air, becoming invisible until he reached a safe height. A clock struck ten somewhere. "Oh, freaking fantastic. Mom's gonna flip".
His mom did flip, especially when Danny, at a lost of how to hid his wound, presented it to her and his father instead, saying a dog attacked him. It was a weak excuse, but his parents, both worried, bought it. He was lucky that night, a few stitches and a grounding, but he knew his run-ins with Plasmius, infamous Vlad Masters, were far from over. "If there is ever a moment I don't totally hope he rots, I'll be damned" he muttered to himself as he fingered the fresh wound and stitches in bed that night.
~7 years later~
A light, raised scar was all that was left from that night. Danny probably would have forgotten that night by now if not for it. Not that it mattered. 4 years ago, he and Vlad agreed on a truce. As long as Vlad didn't harm the city or who Danny cared about and steered clear of obvious trouble, everything was good. And, for the most part, everything had been good since then.
Danny graduated from Casper High and went on to University to study computer design. Sam and Tucker went to separate schools from him. Sam, a liberal art school, and Tuck, a top tech computer school. It was heartbreaking to say good bye to his ghost hunting and best friends ever, but, at last, that is fate. Besides he would see them during breaks when they all came back to Amity Park since freshman couldn't stay on campus when it was closed. However, that what Danny thought.
"What?!"
"Oh Danny, it'll be fine. Don't be so dramatic." His mother's voice hushed him from across the table.
"Yea, Danny! Staying with Old Vladdy will be great! You can have some serious bonding time!" Jacks' voiced boomed. Maddie shot him a look. Clearly she highly doubted the 'bonding', but since she and Jack would be gone for most of the summer, Vlad was their best choice for Danny. He certainly couldn't stay here alone.
"Why can't I stay here? I'm an adult. Come on."
"No can do, Danny boy! The Portal been acting up. Don't want to leave you here alone with a dangerous machine like that!" Danny grumbled something about it not mattering when he was 14. His parents didn't catch the irony of the comment, luckily.
"Then let me come with you! Or stay with Jazz?" Danny begged.
"I'm sorry pumpkin. We can't bring anyone else with us and we'll be traveling the whole summer."
"Gotta travel with those ghost, Danny! Ghost travel too!"
"And Jazz is at a summer internship. We asked, but she doesn't have any room or enough money to pay for the both of you."
"I could wor-"
"Danny, enough. You're staying with Vlad while were gone." She stood up, conversation over. Danny fumed in his seat. Jack slapped him on the back, "Better go pack there buddy! Gee, staying with Vladdy! Back when we…" His father started blathering on. His mother, exiting the kitchen, kissed his head fondly. He sighed, giving in as he pushed his chair in and headed up to re-pack his bags.
The next day he hugged his parents, his dad nearly crushing all his bones, and said goodbye. In the taxi, he readied himself for a long trip. Sure, through the ghost portal it was short, but in the human world, Vlad lived about 3 hours away. He glanced at his phone, a text from Sam and Tucker wishing him luck and telling him to contact them if anything crazy happened. He would have stayed with his buddies if he could, but they were busy too. Tucker was staying at school to work on a big project for his sophomore year and Sam was on a mission trip in Sri Lanka, helping children. He didn't blame either of them, though he did wish he could be with them and not in this small taxi. He pressed his face against the window and pushed his headphones in.
He wondered what it would be like to see Vlad again after all this time. They had a truce, but still it was sure to be awkward. God, he would die if he only talked about his mom. Unconsciously, he rubbed the scar from that night. Whatever, he would just read and study and hike. He would stay out of Vlad's way and talk to him as little as possible. "I, mean, he lives in a mansion, how hard could that be?" he muttered. The taxi driver gave him a look. He should probably stop talking to himself aloud. He turned his music up, embarrassed. After a while, he got tried of worrying about Vlad and drifted to sleep in the hot backseat of the taxi.
"THUMP!" Danny was rudely awoken by a dirt road jostling the taxi. He rubbed his eyes and blinked. The cab driver glanced back, "'Bout there, kid. Ya' can see it from here." He nodded forward. Danny peered between the seats to see the tip of the Master's Mansion between the trees. He leaned back, a feeling of nerves rising up in him. He swallowed and started to roll up his headphones, which had fallen out somewhere along the trip. A scenery of green flew by as the taxi rounded a last bend and the loomed over them, spectacular and enomorous. Turrets jutted out from the tops and sides. Vast windows and vines decorated the walls of the mansion. And, at the very foot of this palace, at the top of the steps, stood his old arch-nemesis.
He was dressed in his usually black suit and dark red bow tie. White hair slicked back, but no longer the wavey length Danny remembered. He must have cut it in the past year. As Danny stepped out, the cabby grabbing his bag from the truck, Vlad glanced up from straightening the cuff-links. Their eyes met and Danny felt an old spark flicker; he was on edge. He unconsciously rubbed the scar on his left hand. The sound of his suitcase dropping beside him made him jump, breaking eye-contact. "T-thanks". The man nodded and Danny dug in his pockets to pay the man, but stiffened when he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Here you go, good sir. Keep the tip." The man looked surprised at the amount of cash suddenly dumped in his palm. "T-thank you!" He quickly got into his car and drove away, probably afraid the tall gentleman had made a mistake. Rest assured, thought Danny He just likes to flash his money around. The hand on his shoulder tighten as the taxi disappeared. "Jumpy, dear boy? One would think you didn't trust me." Danny brushed the hand off him and faced him. Despite Danny's growth spurt, he was still sereval inches shorter than the man, and had to look up to address Vlad. "Just because we have a truce, does mean you've earned any kind of trust, Plasmius."
"Oh Daniel, you wound me, really." Vlad commented sarcastically, spinning away from the boy and walking into the mansion, leaving Danny to grab his luggage and backpack and scramble after him.
Upon walking through the doors, a butler took his items and asked him to follow him. He glanced at Vlad, having expected him to take him to his room and show him the mansion, but Vlad waved him away, disappearing in another direction. Danny frowned. What could he be doing that he's so busy? The butler cleared his throat, "Master Fenton, if you'll follow me. Mr. Master's is very busy with paperwork today. I'll be showing you around." After a pause, Danny smiled and followed the elderly butler upstairs.
About an hour and a half later, Danny plopped down into his bed. He had been shown all the specifics: the dinning hall, the kitchen, the gardens and patio, the media room (which was freaking awesome, Tuck would love to play DoubleDead Zombies on that screen), the library, and the bathroom down the hall. His room, unfortunately, didn't have one included said the butler. Danny couldn't help but think it was more on purpose than accidental, but couldn't really be bothered because walking to the bathroom was really not a problem at all. Nice try Vlad, but we're not all snotty, old, rich guys.
Danny stretched on the bed, feeling oddly tired despite not doing anything. He had to admit though, staring at the ceiling, it was kind of nice. After being swamped with college essays, working part-time, and the occasional ghost hunting (luckily the college he went to wasn't permeated with ghosts the way Amity Park was) he was thankful for a chance to just lay down. Sure, he may be sharing living quarters with Plasmius and who knows what else, but whatevs. Above him, the ceiling started to blur as he yawned and sank deeper into his bed. It's just so soft. I didn't know beds could be this comfortable. After sleeping on his dorms rubber blue mattresses, this felt like Heaven. Eventually, he drifted to sleep waking later in a darken room.
He rubbed his eyes blearily. There were no clocks in the room, but he was guessing it was past 10. He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and, checking it, saw he was right. He also had a missed call from his parents and a message from Sam. He clicked the voicemail and heard his mom's voice saying Vlad had called and assured them he was safe and sleeping. His dad yelled a hello, probably surprising his mom, because there was a clattering sound and scolding before his mom hung up. He sent them a quick message insuring he was alright. Then he checked Sam's message.
Hey Danny! Hope everything's okay. Let me know. Sorry Tuck and I were busy. Can't talk for much longer, I'm boarding the plane soon. Have a great summer. Send letters!
She included an address. Danny checked the message and cursed. She had sent it over an hour ago. He had missed his chance to say goodbye. She was probably on the plane by now. Danny shot her a message anyway promising to write. Things between him and Sam were better than they had been in the past, but still a little awkward since the break-up. Danny always thought she had been the one all through high school, but when they dated in his senior year, he found he was unable to 'perform'. Sam was crushed and Danny ashamed and confused; He had no explanation for the event, especially when he had been waiting for the moment for so long. They broke-up later, Sam ending it and assuring him it would be fine. Danny knew heart-break in that moment. They were both devastated, and Tucker faced a very strained month of the two mending.
It wasn't until later, in college, Danny felt stirrings in his gut watching his roommate change or seeing guys around campus boarding or even playing sports with some new friends he had made. He confided in Tucker, who listened, and then laughed. Danny felt hurt at first, until Tuck caught his breath and said, "Dude, you're gay!" His jaw had dropped. "But I never felt anything for you or Dash or any of them!" Tuck had become serious over the phone, "Ouch dude. Harsh. I'm not good enough for you?" Danny stammered foolishly until- "Joking dude. But seriously? Of course you probably wouldn't. We've been friends for years and Dash always tormented you. Plus you were too busy fighting ghosts to really notice anyone else in all likely hood." Danny had felt guilty at first and scared. He tried arguing, but in the end, had to admit Tucker was right. It explained all his feelings during that time and still explained his feelings now. It was strange coming out, but Jazz had supported him fully and help him tell his parents, who were amazed, but understanding. It was harder to tell Sam, but she, too, had accepted him willingly and agreed it had made sense. Still, it was slightly awkward between them.
Danny stretched as he hit the send button to Sam, hopping off the bed. He felt his stomach grumbled and wondered if anyone was awake. "With my luck, probably not". He muttered. Maybe he'd go back to bed, but his stomach protested at the idea. He didn't feel like walking down and running into servants or, worse, Vlad. He transformed into his ghost form. He had long abandoned his yell of "I'm Going Ghost!" since it made little sense trying to keep a low profile. He felt himself float above the ground and smiled; it felt great to be weightless again. He hadn't done this in a while. At least a month. Cloaking himself in invisibility, he phased through multiple floors before finding himself in the main hall. "Hmm, I think he said it was this way…"
Danny floated through the air to his left towards where he thought the kitchen was. "BINGO!" A white wall kitchen greeted him and smelt heavenly. However, there was no food out. He was probably smelling the remains of what had been served that night. He pouted as he drifted to the floor, exchanging his ghostly tail for feet. There was no one around, and judging by the rooms and floors he had flown through, most had retired for the night. "I guess that leaves me on my own then."
He pulled open the fridge door and found some left over ham and some fancy mac-n-cheese from the looks of it. Popping it in the microwave and checking the fridge for a drink and he found some obscurer beers. He grabbed one eagerly and plopped down at the counter. Sure, he was under aged, but every college student gets it one way or another. Plus, Danny had grown a little fond of beer in his first year. It helped that the edge off all the school work. Uncapping the beer, he took a swig. It was malty and dark. He didn't like it much, but shrugged and started eating, occasionally sipping at the bottle. He nearly choked however, when he heard someone clearing their throat behind him.
"I may be wrong, but remind me, Daniel, are you old enough to be partaking in this beverage."
He whipped around to come face to face with his old enemy. "P-plamius!" He jumped up off the stool and floated a few feet above the counter, prepared to fight. But all his actions earned him was a raised eyebrow. "Really now Daniel? I was under the impression we had a truce." Danny paused, biting his lip, before lowering his fists, glaring at Plasmius suspiciously. Reaching out, a blue hand confiscated his beer. "Hey!" he objected, but was silenced. "While you are here, you will behave like a proper child. There is juice in the fridge, drink that." Danny crossed his arms defiantly, "You're not my parents and I am not a child! I can do what I want." Plasmius poured the beer down the drain in response.
Danny was annoyed. What a waste! "I am not your caretaker, true. But you are just a child in this world. And you will stay a child for a long time." A harsh grin broke through his serious expression. "A ghost-boy forever and a weak one at that." Danny gritted his teeth, feeling power curling in his stomach. "Shut-up! At least I'm not some rich dick-head." Vlad bared his teeth. Had they gotten sharper? "You, my dear boy, are treading dangerous waters. Watch what you say while you stay here. Or shall I tell your beloved parents to cancel their trip?"
Danny hesitated then. He knew by now that Vlad was a man of his word and not to take his threats lightly. Danny scowled, but bit his tongue. Vlad smirked and turned away, phasing through a wall, disappearing. Danny drifted to the floor, furious. Truce or no truce, Vlad was a jerk. Danny reached for the fridge and pulled out another beer and started to uncap it. A bright light exploded, shattering the bottle and spraying Danny with foam and beer. "AH!"
A snicker was heard floating through the air. "I told you to behave… Daniel…" The voice drift away as Danny let out a frustrated, "UGG!" He could rid himself of the beer, but not the smell with his powers. He left the mess and flew back to his room, deserting his dinner. In the shower, back in his human body, he scrubbed the smell away. Hot steam floating through the air, disappeared, and reappeared again. A stream of heated water cascaded over him, but losing its burn as it came into contact with his skin. His core was fluctuating with his emotions, the chill rising in him as his anger flared.
He toweled off and settled on the bathroom floor, breathing in through his nose and out his mouth, trying to focus on soothing thoughts to calm his core. It took awhile, about an hour, but eventually he felt the air around him adjust to a normal setting. Standing, he brushed off some ice that had settled around him and watch it dissolve on the floor as he changed into boxers and a shirt. His core offered awesome powers, but he still understood very little of it or how to control it. The best he could do was try to breath, and when he couldn't- he tried not to think those times.
He kicked some of his stuff out of the way and crawled into bed, his stomach grumbled, forcing Danny to resort to eating a granola bar he had packed. Between bites, he cursed Vlad for ruining a perfectly good dinner. "Damn it, thinking he can control me. Stupid Vlad. Ug!" Head hitting the pillow, he felt his eyes get heavy. As he faded to sleep, he reassured himself he could avoid seeing Vlad and his awfulness.