Sup? This is a continuation of the Danny Phantom series, so technically my interpretation of a fourth season. PP never happened, and that's not just because I didn't watch it.
Chapter 1 will be a sort of pilot, and if this gets a positive response, then I'll consider continuing it. Heads up, this will have OCs in it for the purpose of the plot, but they won't be a part of any ships.
Criticism is greatly appreciated!
NAME: Daniel James Fenton
ALIAS: Danny Phantom
RESIDENCE: Amity Park, United States of America
SPECIES: Halfa
CAUSE OF DEATH: Electrocution
CORE TYPE: Ice
Vlad couldn't say there was nothing about his job he didn't like. He had plenty of issues with it, such as the continuous letters of protest on the constant littering in the park or even the amount of teens occupying said park late at night.
"They're too loud," some complaints would say. Well, yes. They're teens. It's what they do. There's not much one can do when faced with the issue of unruly teens in a public place. It's not like they'll listen to their parents, so why would they listen to him?
Teens.
Vlad sighs as he slumps into the comfort of his pristine leather chair. Oh, how he missed Wisconsin. Quiet, comfortable Wisconsin. In Wisconsin, he wasn't expected to clean up someone else's mess. Heck, most of the time, that mess was his and dear Daniel's.
Speaking of the boy, half of these letters are made up of complaints on his ghostly antics. "Couldn't he battle his ghosts at a less ungodly hour?" You try being a halfa tasked with protecting ungrateful humans. See, this is why Vlad chose the villainous route.
With an annoyed grunt, Vlad rakes a hand through his greying hairs that he can absolutely blame Daniel for. Just the thought of the insolent child took off two years of his life expectancy.
Vlad blearily glances at the clock mounted on the wall as it alerts him of the time, screaming at him to get some rest.
01:00am
Vlad rubs at the bags under his eyes, as if that would be enough to wipe them away. He supposes he could always return to his work in the morning. It would do no good making important decisions while tired.
With a tired groan, Vlad lifts himself from the comfort of his chair and reaches blindly for the door as vertigo strikes him.
"Come along, Maddie," Vlad calls to the grumpy cat currently resting on the windowsill, half awake. "It would do no good for you to sleep by the window." Maddie drearily lifts her head, gives a long yawn, and hops off the height to follow after her owner.
Vlad smiles at the delightfully fluffy creature as it leads the way through the black to bed. There was certainly something endearing about the cat. Perhaps it was how, when she was tired, she'd remind him of a drunk man finding his way home.
It was like she was walking through a minefield.
"That's it. Up the stairs, dear." Vlad gives her a gentle shove up one stair. He jumps away as she hisses back at him and aims a strike at his arm with her clawed paw. Geez, he was only trying to help.
Vlad felt rather than heard what happened next. It started with the dull ringing in his ears, followed by an increase in temperature.
Tugging on the collar of his button-up cotton shirt, Vlad peers around suspiciously for any ghostly activity. It's not until a loud crash from his lab does he react.
Maddie jumps about three feet into the air and lands two steps away.
"You go to bed, Maddie. I'll handle this."
Maddie doesn't hesitate as she darts up the steps. Vlad watches her go briefly before allowing two white rings to reform his appearance. His grey hairs return to the youthful black he once wore with pride. His skin went from a healthy tan to a deathly blue. Not to mention the outfit.
With one last harrumph and a murmur of 'Skulker' beneath his breath, Vlad sinks through the steps and into the lab.
X X X
A skeletal figure with bright red hair huffs as he recklessly swings his chain into a couple of test tubes, shattering them upon contact.
"So this is the halfa's lab? Kinda disappointing. Not sure what I was expecting, really."
A figure cloaked in shadows sticks his head out of the ghost portal to shush the shorter. "Kid." He hushes, his husky voice delivering an unspoken warning, silencing the unruly teenager and he ceases his swinging.
"What? Not like he's gonna live long enough to need this stuff anymore," the skeletal child glances at the mess with a scowl. Just for good measure, he aims a kick to the leg of a nearby table. "Can't I wreak a little havoc?"
"We're here to finish the job, kid. No traces."
The kid huffs with a roll of his glowing eyes. "No witnesses. You never let me have any fun."
"The job's not fun. You knew that when I took you in."
The kid grins wickedly, flashing off his sharp canines. He doesn't have a chance to speak, though, as Vlad's arrival soon cuts him off.
"Skulker, do you have any idea how late it is?" Vlad begins to rant. Seriously, does the hunter have any respect? Or did he lose it all when he died?
Vlad soon cuts himself off from the rest of his complaint when he notices the two occupants of his basement lab. "Hang on a second. Who are you and how did you get in here?" His hands begin to glow pink with undead energy.
The kid turns with a wide grin and a mock salute. "Sup?"
The two were a sight for sore eyes, that was certain. The shorter obviously died with little to no fashion sense, and not too long ago. A black hoodie and skinny jeans were far from fashionable. His windswept hair perfectly framed his face and yet his crimson eyes gave off an aura of mystery.
In contrast, the second had to have died at least two centuries ago. A black cloak was all he wore with a scythe mounted on his back. And Vlad could faintly make out a skull in the shadows of his torn hood.
The older turns to the child with a huff as he gestures to the halfa sporadically. "Look what you've done. You woke him up."
The younger skeletal-being rolls his eyes and commences swinging his chain. "Relax. I've got this. Just let me do my thing and shut up."
The kid doesn't hesitate as he tosses the end of the chain at Vlad. Obviously, though, the kid has never dealt with another ghost before. Without even a flinch, Vlad allows the chain to fly through a gaping hole he created in his abdomen.
With a quirk of his brow, Vlad gives a hearty laugh. "Is that it? Child's play."
But the boy isn't finished yet. With one swift wink, he tugs on the chain and Vlad hardly has a chance to react as a table collides with his back. He's sent flying into the nearby wall, crushed by the table, and drops onto another table.
In his disoriented state, Vlad fails to go intangible as the chain wraps itself around his ankle.
The kid reassures his grip on the chain, licks his chapped, blue lips and uses all his might to tear Vlad from the mess he'd left him in. The kid manages to swing Vlad around the room with the strength no being, dead or alive, should have. Eventually, he releases his grip on the chain and allows Vlad to crash into the opposite wall, dizzy and disoriented. He crashes down on the table and destroys anything in his wake.
With a choked, harsh cough, Vlad pushes himself up and sets his sights on the laughing kid, steam practically coming from his ears. It's as if he saw this all as a game. "You don't know who you're dealing with, boy." He summons the ecto-energy again and smirks as it lights up the room.
The kid follows suit with a throbbing black glow. "Oh, I think I do."
They stare each other down for moments, waiting for the other to act. The atmosphere is so thick, you could cut it with a butter knife.
Of course, it's Vlad. He doesn't hesitate as he aims the first shot at the kid's shoulder. The kid narrowly misses it, earning a slight tear through the material of his hoodie for his troubles. With an annoyed click of his tongue, the kid acts next.
He misses.
The blast was strong, though. It made quite the crater where Vlad's head would have been had he not ducked out of the way just in time.
With a pant, Vlad turns to the kid. "That… that was impressive."
The kid smirks, his hand already glowing as he prepares another attack. "Thanks," he nods and holds out his illuminated hand. The attack is quick and swift, and had Vlad not phased through the wall, he would have died instantly.
With a click of his teeth, the child lowers his hand. "I hate that trick." He waves off his searing hand and approaches his fallen chain. He grabs it in one hand and wraps it around his palm like a BandAid to a wound. "It's like a cheat code in life."
"Your attacks are hasty and aggressive."
"What do you know!?" The boy snaps. "You're not helping!"
The cloaked figure doesn't react to the boy's threatening tone. Instead, he sets his hand on the wall. "Follow my lead." A crack begins to form around his hand. It scales up the wall and stops in the left corner of the room.
The child watches in fascination. He snaps out of his reverie moments later as the crack settles and follows his example. He sets his palm on the wall and a more rugged, catastrophic crack begins to tear through the wall and ceiling and joins onto his master's.
"Whoa. Just… whoa."
The master hums in approval. "Well done. This trick is used to locate invisible ghosts. It's not the most accurate or the most subtle, but it works. Now watch."
The master takes his hand back and builds up a small ball of energy at his fingertips. Once he's certain he has the appropriate amount for the task at hand, he gently presses his fingers to the base of the crack.
The crack glows and throbs gently with a ruby underline. The apprentice hums and turns his gaze to his own crack. He allows his hand to glow black.
"Vladimir Masters," the master calls into the seemingly empty room. But to all those present, they knew better. They knew there were more than two souls present in that room, "I am Reaper. You survived my initial attack, and I have returned to take the soul I failed to reap. You have been charged with unauthorised survival. The punishment?"
A shadowy ball of energy settles at the apprentice's fingertips.
"Death."
He presses his fingers to the crack.
And Vlad has only seconds to escape before his spirit is torn in two, as the black mingles with the red to create chaos.