Vlad rubbed his temples as his eyes began to close. It was nearly 1 AM and he was still working on a new weapon that he intended to equip Valerie with. However, what she didn't realize was a hidden device on it to be used for his own purposes.
It was well beyond any technology they had, and even Vlad, for all his brilliance, hadn't come close to duplicating it. He was told it was a gift from the one he talked to on occasion, but still knew little about. Still, it was astonishing in its potential.
He sat down in one of his chairs near the fireplace and relaxed, drinking a cup of tea. Vlad was well aware other people who had the kind of wealth he did usually had a butler or another form of servant fetch it for him, but he had gotten accustomed to doing things for himself.
Ordinarily, he would train his ghost powers for another hour before going to bed, since he did not want to grow soft and complacent; Daniel had already shown him the dangers of that. His thoughts wandered to him, as they frequently did.
Yes, he is intelligent and stronger, stronger than most give him credit for. Vlad thought to himself. Not many could continue to play the hero in spite of the injuries and hatred he once endured. To some extent he still did. Daniel had grown stronger, and was growing at a faster rate than Vlad ever did, bur just because ghost powers let you heal from injuries faster didn't make them any less painful.
"Does that make him noble or foolish?" Vlad asked himself, as he had many times before. "I certainly wouldn't be able to do it, and I'm not too inclined too, either." He had made exceptions in the past for a few people over the years, but by and large, he looked out for himself.
Lately, though, his goals had changed. He still wanted Maddie to love him, and hoped to win Daniel's affection as well. Jack, on the other hand… he wasn't satisfied with killing him. Vlad intended to ruin him, leave him with nothing in his life but misery. Just as he left me; I trusted him to do the right thing and he betrayed me!
His thoughts wandered to Daniel again; he sometimes chuckled when the boy referred to him as a villain, which he wasn't. Like many people, he was quick to judge, taking blind comfort in his beliefs. What would you do, Daniel, if your friends developed feelings for one another and left you behind? I'm sure you believe you would be noble and happy for them, but the real world is quite different.
However, when he was his age, his thoughts were similar. True, he knew things Daniel did not, just from things he saw and experienced. I wonder if he realizes that I've been a hero as well, if not in the same way he is. And ultimately, as he closed his eyes, memories from his past began to surface.
X X X X X X X X X X
"Are you sure about this, V-man?" 14-year-old Jack asked. He was still tall and strong for his age, but considerably smaller than he was in the future. "You're acting crazy!"
"Look, just listen to me, ok?" Vlad demanded. He thought a lot of Jack, but he could be real thick-headed at times. "I've had these kind of thoughts for a long time now. It's been nagging at me, and if it's true, we'd better do something!"
"I haven't noticed anything!" Jack protested. "She hasn't really said anything."
"Then why exactly did she go nuts when some guy tried to kiss her?" Vlad asked.
"I figured because she didn't like him being forward. Not all girls like that kind of thing, although some do." Jack had an evil grin on his face.
"Focus, Jack! Have you ever seen someone scream their heads off and curl into a ball because of a kiss? I haven't! Every other time, they either slap the guy or just pull away; they don't act the way she did!"
"Okay, maybe you have a point. She's never said anything to me about it, though."
"I haven't heard her talk about anything. I hope I'm wrong, I pray I'm wrong, but I think I'm right."
"Not Maddie; she always seemed happy and didn't mind being affectionate to either of us."
"I don't have all the answers, ok, but we need to check things out, at least." They continued walking to Maddie's house, Jack confused and Vlad extremely worried.
"Hey, so is this a rescue mission?" Jack asked.
"Well, I meant it for more of being sure, but yeah, if we see something, we go in. I must be out of my mind for doing this, but I can't let Maddie suffer!"
"So is this why Maddie's been down lately? Just wish she would talk to us; we are her best friends, after all."
"Damn it, this isn't something you can easily discuss." Vlad himself was reluctant to talk about some of the humiliation he had suffered from his parents. He was rarely physically hurt, but they berated him if he didn't match their expectations. His friends knew a little bit about it, mainly his low self-esteem, but he found it hard to be more specific.
"Any idea how long this has been going on? God, I'm going to make him pay!"
"Excellent idea, but I hope there's a pay phone nearby. If we see something, we better call the police. Hate authority figures, but they can't very well ignore something like this." Part of the reason Vlad hated them is when he went to teachers to complain about bullying, they usually said "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me." There were times he was accused of exaggerating, since they rarely saw anything.
They soon arrived at her house and looked inside. The shades were over some of the windows, but it was still possible to see through them. Vlad was cursing himself for his stupidity. Damn it, I should have figured this out a long time ago! I wondered why she didn't let us in her house, why she always seemed to dread going home. What kind of friend am I if I ignore her cries for help?
Time passed very slowly, both of them looking through the windows, somehow managing not to be noticed. Vlad looked around, not seeing anyone. There was still a voice in his head saying he was mistaken, but he ignored it; it was simply the voice that did not want to believe.
Jack broke the silence with a howl of grief and rage. He moved faster than Vlad thought possible, opening the door and sprinting inside. Vlad heard a clatter and thump, and walked inside himself, wondering what was going on.
He walked in to see Jack on top of Maddie's father, punching him in the head as the wrestled on the floor. Mr. Stevens was bigger and stronger than Jack, but he had been taken by surprise. Vlad kicked him viciously in the back before trying to tend to Maddie.
She was on the couch, half-naked with a terrified look. She was frozen and resigned to what was going to happen to her. "Maddie, come on; you need to get out of here!" He insisted, but she didn't seem to hear him; she was lost in her own dark world.
Her father threw Jack off and turned to Vlad, punching him across the jaw. He was no stranger to being hit, being a prime target for bullies at school, but he had never been hit that hard. Stunned, he tried to get up, but was thrown onto the ground.
Vlad rolled onto the floor, trying to get away, but to no avail. He was far stronger than Vlad and was utterly furious with him. Jack jumped on him again, but didn't last very long as he was thrown down too. The two of them wrestled, fighting for supremacy.
Then things took a turn for the worse. Maddie's father grabbed an ashtray and smashed Jack's head, leaving him barely conscious. To his credit, he still fought, but the battle was pretty much one-sided from them. Vlad punched him in the back as hard as he could, but he was physically weak, so his blows had little effect.
Vlad felt himself getting weaker and weaker; he tried to keep the man's hands away from his neck, but was losing. Things were going dark and he felt dizzy. His arms lost their strength and loosening their grip on his hands.
However, Vlad heard something very faint and was nearly too far gone to notice it, but suddenly the death grip loosened. Maddie's father fell to the ground, struggling to get up. As he coughed loudly, trying to get some air into his lungs, his eyesight slowly returned. He saw the man on the floor, Jack standing over him, holding the ashtray.
"Sorry I wasn't able to help more." Vlad coughed out; he still hadn't fully recovered. "Guess I'm pretty useless, huh?"
"Don't say that, V-man; you were quite brave." Jack reassured weakly. The blow, by some miracle, caused no serious damage, but he was still suffering from a concussion.
The commotion had not gone unnoticed. Apparently one of the neighbors called the police, because an officer walked into the room, asking what was going on. They saw a barely conscious man, a half-naked teenage girl, and his mind were rapidly forming a conclusion. Still, he decided to ask questions.
"So what exactly is going on here?" The officer asked. He was a man in his early 40's with a bald head, around 6 feet tall and 235 pounds. "We got a report of two young men breaking and entering."
"Look, we were trying to save Maddie!" Vlad protested. "I had a feeling something was going on, and we decided to find out if I was right. When we walked inside, we saw Maddie on the couch like you see her now, and him standing over her!"
"I saw him smiling, running his hands over her, and I… lost it." Jack admitted. "I ran into the house, jumped him from behind, and we got into a bit of a fight. He nearly killed V-man and he would have if I hadn't done something!"
"Easy, son; just trying to figure out what happened." He tried to reassure. He approached Maddie cautiously, who was slowly coming out of it. "Miss, are these two your friends?"
"Yes," Maddie managed to say after nearly a minute.
"And is what they are telling me true?"
"Yes,"
"All right, but I would like you two to come down to the station with me for questioning." Not seeing much choice, Jack and Vlad came along. Maddie rode in the front seat, away from them, while an ambulance was sent over.
After everyone was checked out, they were each interviewed at the police station separately. Jack and Vlad told their stories of what happened, while Maddie's father denied everything, and claimed those two jumped in and attacked him and his daughter.
Maddie stayed silent most of the time, but when her father was mentioned, she stiffened up and looked terrified. It took nearly two hours of questioning, but she finally spoke out and said that they did. Jack and Vlad's parents were inside the station, waiting anxiously for news about their children.
Finally, the man walked into Vlad's room. "Well, your friend has confirmed your story." He smiled at Vlad gently. "You're free to go. However, I should point out that what you did was very dangerous and you could have gotten yourselves. You should have just called us."
"Yeah, like you would have believed us!" Vlad sneered, glaring at him. "What were we supposed to do, let him do what he wanted to Maddie?"
"Look, I understand why you did it, and it was very brave of you two. She's lucky to have friends like you. You're a smart young man, being able to put the pieces together."
"If I had done it sooner, she wouldn't have endured so much." Vlad looked down, swearing at himself under his breath. "What kind of friend am I? I'm a fucking selfish idiot!"
"You're being too hard on yourself, son." The officer informed him. "What you did for your friend was very brave."
As it turned out, Vlad's conclusion was an understatement. He found out that Maddie had gone through this, to one degree or another, since she was 8 years old. Her father abused her and her mother was completely indifferent. It had gotten worse over time, and her father may not have had all-out sex with her, but he did just about everything else. Ever since Alicia left, it had gotten worse for her and more frequent.
X X X X X X X X X X
Not one of the more pleasant moments in our lives. Vlad thought to himself. So much for childhood being carefree and fun; what a joke! Out of the 3 of them, only Jack had a decent time. True, he had his problems, but he didn't have the kind of time he and Maddie did. Course, his father died right after he left high school, which took him some time to recover from.
Vlad paced through the house, lost in his own thoughts. Maddie's father was ultimately sentenced to 15 years behind bars, while her mother served 2 years. Well, in theory, anyway; Vlad made sure he didn't live to serve his entire sentence. It was one of the first things he had done after getting relative control of his powers.
"He didn't get half of what he deserved." Vlad snarled to himself. He put him through a long, painful torture session, while he screamed and begged for mercy. Vlad had nearly blown his secret in his rage, and killed him prematurely. "I wonder if you'd judge me for that, Daniel. You're not a fool, but you have little understanding of human evil."
And yet Maddie was a decent mother, far better than her own parents had been. He saw that the minute he saw his old friends again at the college reunion. Both her children seemed happy, though not carefree; it didn't take him long to figure out why.
Sooner or later, Daniel, it is something you will have to face. Vlad thought to himself. You take comfort in the belief that I'm a villain, that you could never do what I've done. I've tried to teach you that this world isn't pleasant, that the people you trust and rely on betray you, but you won't listen!
He admitted that he did like the boy and saw him as something of a son. True, they fought frequently, and Daniel suffered injuries, but he never intended to kill the boy. He even warned of the most severe consequences of such an action to the ghosts; they seemed to get his point.
"Damn it, why can't I have what you do, Jack?" Vlad screamed, his voice echoing through the walls. "You have everything I've ever wanted, and I have nothing! You took it away from me, you traitor!" The cold truth was that he envied Jack. He had the love of his life, a family, people who loved him. Vlad didn't have any of that.
He buried himself in his work and into making money to try and hide from that truth, but he was never able to. Vlad was a miserable person and had been for many years. If he had a choice, he would trade his life for Jack's in a heartbeat.
And to some degree, he envied Daniel as well. The boy was strong and noble, far more so than he ever was. He scorned it, yet part of him admired him for it as well. Why didn't you choose me, Maddie? I could give you far more than Jack ever could. He ignores you; I would not. He forgets things, he doesn't think about you, while I always do. I love you, Maddie, more than anything. He doesn't deserve you!
Not being able to sleep, he walked down into his lab, with the ghost portal swirling. Sooner or later, Daniel would come to him. Strong as he was, he would not be able to sustain it indefinitely. Sooner or later, he would have to go to the one person who could truly understand him.
"I'm not giving up, for any of you." Vlad promised. "I'll win your love, and I'll make Jack suffer for putting me through 20 years of hell!"
X X X X X X X X X X
Well, there you go. I added the memory sequence as an insight into the characters. That, and I seem to enjoy torturing Maddie and Vlad.