After rummaging through some old documents, I found it. I took the torn piece of photo out of the drawer. The rest of the worn college picture was in the ornate frame to the side of the desk. This was only the corner. In the torn part is the man I swore vengeance on ever since I gained consciousness at the hospital. Ever since that fat idiot turned me into the one thing that the woman I love will never accept: a ghost. Well, half ghost anyway. It was with these same powers the moron accidently gave me that I have used to make myself one of the wealthiest men in the world, and I will use these same powers to end his life.
A glowing claw took the photo and look at it intently, either trying to memorize it or attempt to see it, I'm not sure.
"Well? Are you three going to do it or will I have to remove you from my services and have someone else?" I asked the trio of ghost birds.
"No need. Amity Parks is where he will be?" the leader asked for the hundredth time.
I lost my patience. "Of course it is! How many times must I tell you? Now go!" I yelled. Hopefully those morons will be able to find Jack without anyone else getting in the way. I sent them to test his ghost hunting ability. Better safe than sorry, after all. I don't want to try to kill him and find out that he is stronger than I gave him credit for.
I have heard rumors of another halfa that has been moving around there from many of my minions. The trio of vultures were not the first that I have sent for this. They say he is a teenager, as a matter of fact, which makes me wonder what life he has had to become such a thing so young. He uses his powers for good! There is so much more that can come out of them if he were to use them for personal gain. Not to mention he would learn to better use his powers with a teacher. I could very well use an apprentice. But I will look into that matter later. First, it's time to finish off Jack once and for all.
If the birds fail at the hands of the ghost boy - Danny Phantom, he calls himself - than I have a back-up plan.
I glanced back to the rest of the collage photo after the Canadian vultures left. A younger version of me was standing beside the most beautiful woman on the earth: Maddie. Her bushy brown hair flowed behind her shoulders, and violet eyes pierced my soul.
I was almost hoping that the five-thousand year old vultures would fail, because my back-up plan would allow me to see the current Maddie, rather than this out-of-date picture. This very picture I would sometimes stare at for hours at a time.
It wasn't until late next day that the birds came back with an update on the mission. They came through the wall, slow and panting heavily. "That Phantom kid threw us out of town the instant we got there," he managed to get out between wheezes.
"Yes, and we only asked him where could we find the man in the photograph so we could peck him to death," complained another.
"The boy was extremely rude!" exclaimed the last one.
I was afraid this would happen. No matter. I will simply go onto to plan B. "Very well. You are to be back in this house in two days. I have another plan. You will wait beneath the floor until night. When Jack gets out of bed, which he will, knowing his sleep walking, you will grab him and pull him into the lab. You may attempt to finish him off then. If you fail this time, note that there will be consciences," I told them sternly with slight resentment in my tone.
They look terrified, which, of course, is what I was aiming for. "Y-yes sir," the leader stammered before gliding through the floor. The other two quickly followed.
I might as well start sending the invitations to all of the old college classmates. I can't have only Jack and his family here or there would be suspicion. It will be much easier to say that he was killed during the party celebrating a college reunion.
Two days later a RV pulled into the long, bush guarded driveway. The driving was completely reckless, so Jack must have been behind the wheel. Once it came to a stop the other occupants hesitated before climbing out, to make sure they were at a complete stop and not going to run into anything, most likely.
Jack jumped out as soon as the RV rolled to a stop, soon followed by (my heart skipped a beat) his wife, Maddie. She wore a blue jump-suit with a hood that was down, therefore revealing her angelic face. Jack was wearing the same horrid orange jump-suit that he wore in his college days, though it seemed larger, probably because he gained weight and didn't fit into the old one. Their kids stepped out next. The oldest was a girl with long, red hair and a blue head-band. She had on a black shirt and blue capris. The boy was a couple of years younger. He had on a white and red t-shirt. Unlike his sister, he had raven black hair. His blue eyes were a bit more pronounced than his sister's, but they were the same color.
I watched from the doorway until they had all exited the vehicle. I stepped forward when they reached the steps.
"Jack," I greeted, "and Maddie, you've never looked lovelier, my dear." I said her name with enthusiasm and a smile. I put my arm around her and the children and led them in the door.
"Vlady, my man! It's good to see you," he said, stepping up to me before I closed the door and locked him out. After it was locked I heard him say, "Hello?" I smiled and introduce myself to the two teens.
We entered the entrance hall which holds my pride and joy: my football collection. I saw the boy, Daniel's, eyes widen with interest. The girl, Jasmine, looked around incoherently. "What's with the green and gold? You're a billionaire! Surely you could afford an interior designer," she said. I smirked as Daniel explained. I was starting to like this boy.
"Jazz, hello? Football helmets, jerseys, cheese heads. He's a packer's fanatic."
"Hello?" Jack called again, further lifting my spirits.
I grinned at the boy and ruffled his hair. "Now 'fanatic' is such a negative word… but yes."
"I don't understand!" said Jasmine. "You have billions of dollars. Instead of buying this stuff, why not buy the team?" she asked. I frowned, thinking about the fuss I had made with the major of Green Bay about this.
"Because the Packers are owned by the city of Green Bay, and they won't sell them to me!" I said a bit more forcefully than I intended. I noticed Maddie staring at me and I quickly fixed my attitude. "One of two things my wealth has not, as of yet," I chuckled, looking Maddie full in the eyes, "been able to acquire."
She smiled at me and I heard Daniel speak quietly with his sister. "Is he hitting on Mom?" He asked incredibly.
"As long as he has working toilets and Mom says no, who cares?" she replied before walking off. I paid the two no mind, focusing my intent on Maddie and her nervous smile.
"I'd, umm, better let Jack in," she said before running off. I turned my attention to the children.
"Whoa!" exclaimed Daniel looking at my most prized possession. "Cool!"
I smiled at his interest. I was truly starting to like this boy. "Indeed, this ball was autographed by the legendary Reed Nickhimself," I said, picking it up. "It's my prized possession."
Just then the large dimbo came in and yelled, "Yo, heads up V-Man," before brutally tackling me to the ground. "Ha! I see you still got the old moves."
He stood up and I yanked the football out of his unworthy hands. I walked back and placed it carefully back on its pedestal before turning back to Jack. "I never had any old moves! All the years in the hospital robbed me of that!" All of the family looked at me as though I was insane. I quickly returned my composure. "Yes," I sighed trying to cover for my out-break. "Well, that gave me a chance to plot out a course for my life didn't it? Help make certain decisions that helped make me very wealthy, very quickly. And it never would have happened without you Jack." I smiled evilly, thinking about how those same abilities were going to finish him tonight.
Maddie decided to break-in and stop the tension. "Uh, yeah, maybe we should go."
Oh, cheese balls. Better reassure them or the plan won't work. "No, no, you should stay with me. After all, I'm throwing the reunion here in my castle. Previously owned by the Wisconsin Dairy King." I put my arms around Jake's shoulders and turned him to the portrait of said man, who was now a ghost that I have come across on occasion in the Ghost Zone. "Just so I could… reconnect with you Jack. I insist you stay."
"Oh, I don't know. We do have a really cool RV," he said in reply.
"Let's stay here," I heard Jasmine "cough."
Daniel elbowed her and whispered teasingly, "Smooth."
This will be easy. "You know Jack, it is said that the Dairy King's ghost haunts these very halls."
"I'll get the bags!" he yelled like a small child waiting to get the towels for a trip to his favorite beach. I smiled my evil smile again, thinking about the upcoming night.
Later that night I turned to my ghost form, otherwise known as Vlad Plasmius. I followed Jack as he sleep walked to the bathroom, just to make sure that the birds don't mess up.
The three birds followed Jack stealthily. Just when they were about to grab him, intangible hands came out of the floor and grabbed his ankles. Jack was so drowsy that he didn't even notice being pulled into the closest bathroom.
He woke suddenly when the ghost boy left him. "Ah, sweet relief," he said believing that he had gotten there himself.
The ghost boy returned to the previous floor to address the birds who were still staring confused at the spot Jack had vanished in the floor.
"Hi guys, remember me?" he asked them hitting his fist into his palm. I smirked and turned tangible behind him. The birds naturally saw me and ran for their lives, likely thinking of the warning I had given them about not failing.
"Okay, that was almost too easy," the ghost boy said to himself.
"Ah, bright boy." I floated down and made my presentence known to him. Let's see how much he has learned so far.
"Oh, whatever. I was aiming for the birds, but you'll do," he claimed with a cocky smirk before coming towards me. With a smirk of my own, I raised one eyebrow as he made to throw a fist at me. I caught it with no problem and one hand behind my back. I used the hand I had caught him with to toss him against the wall.
He yelled as he flew through the air and hit the wall hard. A large chunk of the brick fell out when he hit and fell to the ground below. "Whoa, that was fast," he muttered. "All right, better stop fooling around."
He got up and made a crouching position before fly back into the air. When he made to come around for another punch, I grabbed him around the neck, again with one hand, and I threw down to the ground.
"The vultures were supposed to bring the big idiot to me, but you'll do," I said tauntingly. "Danny Phantom, right?"
"You… you know me?" he asked.
"Of course I know you!" I decided to show off a bit, to show him what can be accomplished with many years of practice. I glided through the wall into the library. He followed looking confused and curious. "You're the ghost boy who uses his powers for good. Oh, please. Aren't you going to try to shove me into your ridicules thermos?"
"I-I don't want to fight you," he said, starting to panic. This made my smile broaden.
"No, no you don't." I pulled my hand back to fire an ectoplasmic energy beam. He flew across the room when the purplish-pink beam hit and crashed into a section of books. He scowled.
The boy took off into the air and shouted, "Get away!" as he shot an ectoplasmic beam of his own. I raised a shield and deflected the green blast.
"Ah, ectoplasmic energy blast," I named when he fired. He continued to fire and I blocked each blast with one hand still behind my back. I crossed my arms over my chest with a bored expression placed on my face. He fired again in a desperate attempt. I raised the shield again and blocked the double handed blast.
I yawned into my hand. "So… year one," I told the child. He looked at his glowing hands in confusion and desperation. This was likely the first time he had ever faced anything that could deflect an ectoplasmic energy blast. My smile broadened even more. "Tell me child, can you do this yet?" I knew that he wouldn't, for it took me three more years to discover the ability, let alone master it.
I split myself into four. The feeling was strange, like being caught on fire and frozen in the Arctic at the same time. The peculiar sensations should not have mixed well, but the experience was exhilarating. It felt right.
Danny Phantom stared in astonishment at each copy of me that formed around him. He flew back slightly in shock. "No, how are you doing all this?" he asked, eyes wide.
My three duplicates and I formed a straight line. We all spoke so Daniel couldn't tell which one was truly me. If he were to injure me, the duplicates would disappear. The duplicates would also vanish if you hit them hard enough, but that took too long and would leave you vulnerable to be hit by another.
"Years of practice," we spoke. "Which you, unfortunately, have no time for." The four of us charged both of our hands with an energy blast. The goal was never to kill him, if that is what you are inferring. It is simply easier to fight him when he is freaked out. I was using his own emotions against him. Something I will use many times in the future. All I really wanted was to knock him unconscious. The instant you knock out a halfa he will go back to his human form. This I found out after I accidently knocked myself unconscious when I was in my lab trying to create a cure for ecto-acne, which I knew I would get again in the future.
Sorry, I'm getting side-tracked.
The two blasts in my hand merged after they left my hands, and the same thing happened with the duplicates. The four double powered beams hit him from different angles. He yelled in pain when they hit. Danny Phantom fell out of the sky and onto the ground.
He was bruised and weak, but he still stood in a pained position with a hand over his midsection where one of the blasts had hit. He was still conscious! This white-haired teen was stronger than he looked. He would make a very good apprentice.
No matter. He was getting weaker by the second, making it much easier to make him unconscious and discover his human identity. I landed a few more ectoplasmic beams and kicks on him that shook the mansion slightly whenever he hit the floor or wall. I gave one last punch to the chest that sent him through the door to the hall from the library. Danny Phantom phased through the ornately carved door.
He landed on his back and moaned softly as his glowing green eyes fluttered closed. I flew eagerly through the door to see just who this teen halfa was. An incandescent ring appeared around his middle and split into two; one went up to his head and the other down to his feet. The change was similar to mine, but my rings are dark black as his are bright light-blue.
The rings traveled slowly, revealing the boy's pajamas and eventually his face. When I saw who Danny Phantom truly was, my eyes went wide. I gasped and muttered in surprise, "The ghost boy is Jack's son!"
This I hadn't seen coming. But it does explain how he became half ghost. Jack must have tried to create another ghost portal and Daniel got in the way. Though, I have been keeping an eye out at the hospitals all over the U.S. for another case of ecto-ache. None have appeared which means that Daniel must not have gotten it when he was changed.
But what was I to do now? I desperately wanted Jack to pay for destroying my life. But now I have just discovered another human-ghost hybrid that is also Maddie's son. Maddie's own blood courses through this teenager's veins, and the same teen also knew how it felt to have two identities and what it is like to hide large secrets from the people you love. In Daniel's case: his family. And in my case: Maddie.
Perhaps I could have everything I wish for: Maddie in my arms and have her take my hand in marriage, Jack dead for ruining my existence and stealing the love of my life, and have a son that has similar, if not the same, powers that I have. And the boy is the key to all of this. It should be no problem to win Daniel over once I show him all that I can teach him and help him. Maddie would be easy to get as well, as she would be grieving Jack's death. And wouldn't it be grand to see the look on the oaf's face when he discovers that his own son is half ghost, and it would be even better to see how he looks when Daniel betrays and disowns him.
A smile replaced the shock that was on my face at the thought of it. I glanced back down at Daniel's unconscious form. I changed back to my human form as I formulated how I would humiliate Jack in front of Maddie so it would be easier to win her over to me when he dies. But before I decide about that, I needed to get Daniel out of here before he woke up.
A.N. ~ How was that? I've had this on my computer for forever now so I just decided to post it. I'm not sure if I should do the rest of the episode and any other episodes that involve Vlad. I just love writing about Vlad! It's fun to write about how someone just gradually begins to become insane. Please review and tell me if I should continue with Vlad POV episodes! Title for the story was given to me by Cassy Tyler.