Danny groaned as he flickered his eyes open and his senses alerted him to his pounding headache and blocked nose. He scowled as he sat up on his bed, turned on the bedside lamp and glanced at the clock.
Nine thirty. The family would be due back from the movies any time now. They had all been reluctant to have a family night out without Danny, but he had insisted they go. Although Danny was disappointed he wouldn't be joining them, he knew that Jazz still deserved to spend some quality time with their parents. After all, it wasn't often that Jack and Maddie took a break from their ghost research in favour of activities which most 'normal' families took for granted.
Danny also felt useless when confined to his bed. Most other Friday nights he would be patrolling the town with Sam, Tucker and Jazz when she wasn't too busy to tag along, ensuring that Amity Park was kept safe from ghost attacks. Sam and Tucker had insisted that they didn't mind patrolling alone tonight. They knew something was up when Danny wasn't at school. Jack and Maddie were strict about Danny's attendance as his grades often slipped, so they knew he had to have been in bad condition when their friend was granted a day off school. So with a couple of custom invented ghost fighting gadgets, obtained through a supportive Jazz, Sam and Tucker happily patrolled the town on a luckily ghost-free evening.
None of this consoled Danny at all. He didn't like to be forced on to the side lines, but this flu had really taken it out of him and had been doing so the whole week. He hoped it was just a nasty cold and would clear up on its own, but when it became increasingly worse Danny had to take his worried big sister's advice in the end and rest. Only for the shear fact that he knew that his ghost fighting and abilities were not as skilled or as powerful whilst he was this unwell and drained of energy.
Letting out a deep sigh Danny pushed his aching body out of the warm cosy bed to go to the kitchen and get a glass of water to sooth his scratchy throat and dry mouth. Whilst he was sat at the table shivering and sipping his water his heart suddenly skipped a beat simultaneously to his ghost sense going off.
"Oh no." Danny muttered to himself in dismay.
He glanced towards the open basement door. Clearly a ghost had entered his home through the unstable and temperamental ghost portal, and was now wandering freely around the ghost lab.
Danny frowned as he reluctantly called upon his ghost half. He knew he was weak and somewhat vulnerable at the moment, truth be told if his parents were home he probably would have let his parents take clear of this unwanted pest. However, he knew he couldn't just sit back and do nothing whilst a potentially malevolent ghost raided his basement and possibly attack the town. So as swiftly as he could he flew down into the lab, praying he would only find the box ghost.
Hovering above the floor and ecto-energy already glowing from his hands, Danny was prepared to defend and defeat whatever ghost had entered his home. However he paused for a second in shock when he saw who was lurking around in the basement, carefully handling and inspecting one of his parent's inventions.
"Plasmius?" Danny yelled in anger.
"Daniel?" His enemy retorted, surprise lining his tone.
"What are you doing here?" they both cried simultaneously in frustration.
"What am I doing here? I live here!" Danny shouted at the older half ghost.
"I am going to make those blasted birds wish they never lived an afterlife!" Plasmius muttered angrily under his breath.
The billionaire was furious by the fact that he had clearly been misinformed by the ghostly vultures, who had claimed that the Fenton's had gone out for the evening. This had given him the opportunity to inspect and potentially steal any useful gadgets or components to benefit his own blueprints or devices. However when he was informed the Fenton's 'were out' he had assumed that included the progressively more irritating Danny phantom.
"Hot headed as usual Plasmius," Danny sneered, "Maybe this will cool you off!"
Danny grinned confidently as he transferred his ecto-energy into his recently developed ice energy, hoping that temporarily freezing Vlad would knock him off guard and give himself a fighting chance. However as he prepared himself to execute the energy towards his enemy a sudden dizziness overcame him. Plasmius raised his eyebrows in surprise as he watched his younger counterpart cease his attack, and slowly return his feet to the floor where he eventually ended up completely on the ground slumped against the wall.
Danny groaned as he forced himself to remain conscious. He managed to stay in his ghost form, but knew better than to try to summon up the use of his powers again. He didn't realise how badly his sickness had affected him until now, and as he heard Vlad's footsteps approach him he knew this couldn't have been a worse time to learn this.
Still in his ghost form Vlad smiled evilly at Danny as he roughly gasped the boy's face to properly look at him.
"I knew you were weak Daniel but this is really beyond your usual pathetic standards." Plasmius sneered.
Picking up on Danny's dazed eyes, off-color skin and weakened bodily state, Vlad came to an obvious conclusion.
"Feeling a little under the weather are we, little badger?" Vlad chuckled condescendingly.
Danny glared at the evil half ghost, and shook his head free.
"What's it to you, Plasmius? What are you gonna do?" Danny asked boldly.
"To you? Nothing." Plasmius replied simply. "Honestly Daniel, you're barely a threat to me at full strength. To attack you when you are clearly suffering from Deficient Spectral Immunity would be low of me, and unnecessary given I can continue with my business here without you being able to obstruct me."
"Deface Spector What?" Danny mumbled irritably.
"Deficient Spectral Immunity." Vlad corrected. "More commonly known as ghost flu. You have symptoms of it. Clearly you have been in direct contact of many ghosts recently and picked up the virus. Lucky for you it's treated similarly to the flu humans are familiar with: bedrest."
"Well that's what I was doing until you showed up fruitloop." Danny snapped, "No wonder this happened, it's the first time I've gone ghost in nearly two days."
Vlad gasped as Danny transformed human again.
"You what? Daniel change back, now!" Vlad demanded. "You need to stay in your ghost form!"
"What? Why?" Danny asked.
Before Vlad could answer, both half ghosts turned their heads as they heard noise from upstairs.
"Danny, we're home!" Jack Fenton's voice boomed through the home.
"Oh butter biscuits!" Vlad swore as he glanced back to the bench with the gadgets he had been looking at before Danny interrupted him. He had clearly had a wasted journey. Turning himself intangible he angrily left the Fenton's home and returned to his lavish home which he purchased when he became mayor of Amity Park, instantly forgetting about the sick child he had been speaking with seconds earlier.
Danny scowled as he watched Vlad vanish. He felt mad and slightly embarrassed that Vlad had seen him in such a weak state. But deciding to brush it off, Danny quickly forgot about his enemy's unexpected visit and managed to pull himself back up on to his feet long enough to get back to bed.
()()()
Two days later Sam and Tucker were making their way to Danny's house.
"I hope he's okay, it's not like him to just not call or text or anything." Sam said concerned, "And we can't keep up the ghost hunting, we don't have ghost powers."
"Yeah, it's not so bad at the minute, but the second any of the more powerful ghosts like Skulker or Technus show up we're toast." Tucker agreed, "But its fine, Danny should be totally better by now."
When the two teenagers reached Fenton Work's, Jazz opened the door, a troubled look on her face.
"Hey Jazz, is Danny better yet?" Sam asked, smiling hopefully at the other girl.
"No Sam, he's not." Jazz replied worriedly, "He's worse, mom took him to a doctor this morning. He's been prescribed antibiotics to help fight whatever virus he's picked up."
"Oh no." Tucker said, "Can we see him?"
"Yeah, I think he's awake." Jazz replied. "Go on up, but don't get to close. Don't want anyone else to catch whatever he's got."
Sam and Tucker hurried up the stairs and knocked on Danny's room door. When a hoarse reply confirmed they could go in, they pushed the door open.
Both teens gasped when they saw who was supposed to be their friend, lying helplessly in the bed. Danny was so pale he could have genuinely passed for a ghost from the Ghost Zone, his eyes were dark and hollow, his lips were thin and dry and he was curled into a position which made him look about five inches smaller. Sam and Tucker couldn't believe how much Danny had deteriorated since Friday. Their friend looked 'deathly' ill.
"Hey guys." Danny greeted weakly, his eyes only half open.
"Danny…you look awful!" Sam cried with genuine concern.
"Yeah dude, I hope whatever that doctor gave you is strong stuff." Tucker added.
"Heh! I'll be fine." Danny smiled weakly. "Sorry I haven't been any help with the ghost hunting. Any trouble?"
"No, no trouble." Tucker reassured his friend, "We've got it covered."
"Yeah, just get better." Sam urged.
"I will…" Danny whispered as his eyes closed and his breathing steadied.
"Danny?" Sam quietly called.
"Think he's asleep." Tucker told her, "Let's go. We'll talk to him more when he's feeling better."
Danny's two friend's left the home feeling more despaired than before they went in.
()()()
Before Danny's eyes flickered open, he could hear a steady rhythmical beeping noise. When he fully came round he was horrified to see that he was hooked up to a heart monitor, an IV, a nasal cannula and even a catheter. He was in the hospital. He frantically moved his head around to see if he could find someone who could explain all this. His eyes quickly fell on his sister who was sat in a chair nearby with her head in her hands.
"Jazz!" Danny called out with his barely audible voice.
Jazz lifted her head quickly and shot off her seat to her brother's side when she saw he was awake.
"Danny!" She cried tearfully, grasping his hand, "thank goodness you came round."
"What…Happened?" Danny whispered.
"Oh Danny you scared us. When mom went to check on you this morning you wouldn't wake up. They've ran all sorts of tests but they can't say exactly what's making you sick. It's a good thing we brought you in, without all this oxygen and medicine the doctor said you could've easily drifted into a coma." Jazz explained.
"A coma?" Danny rasped in confusion, "I only have the flu."
"It's presenting itself as flu-like symptoms but that's not it. The doctors are really confused, mom and dad are with the consultant now. They've tested for all sorts of illnesses, even some STI's." Jazz told her brother.
"Heh!" Danny chuckled weakly, "Did they test for pregnancy too?"
Jazz laughed at Danny's sarcastic joke. It was a relief, for a while she was scared he would never open his eyes again.
"Oh Danny," She said sadly, "I wish we knew what was wrong with you, I wish we could help you get better. Is there anything you can think of, anything at all that might have made you sick?"
Danny thought for a moment. It was around this time last week when Danny started to become ill, back when he thought it was a cold working on him. The sickness progressed and got worse throughout the week. He remembered it started to get really bad on Friday past, because he was kept home from school and couldn't go ghost hunting or to the movies. He had to stay home. Alone. But he hadn't been alone, not the whole time. Vlad Plasmius had broken into the lab and Danny nearly fought with him but was too weak.
Danny yawned as he tried to think back to that incident, though tiredness was starting to overcome him again. He remembered thinking that Vlad could waste him because he couldn't defend himself. But he didn't, the older half ghost had spoken to him. He had mentioned some ghost sickness with a strange name. Was that it? Vlad knew what was wrong with him!
Danny yawned again and his head loped to the side.
"Danny?" Jazz called.
"..ad" Danny whispered hoarsely as he drifted into a sleep.
"What? Danny what did you say?" Jazz persisted, shaking her brother's hand slightly.
"Vlad." Danny mumbled more clearly before he fell into another sleep.
"Vlad?" Jazz repeated. Then she scowled angrily. "Vlad! Vlad Masters that creep! I should have known he'd have something to do with this!"
Jazz jumped up from her seat and snatched up her keys, as she headed to the door she looked back at Danny's bed.
"I don't want to leave you alone little brother, but I'm gonna get you help. I'm not afraid of that fruitloop!"
Jazz closed the room behind her, and hurried out of the hospital.
()()()
Jazz pulled her car up outside city hall, where Vlad Masters now regrettably worked. She scowled when she saw all the security guards walking around. It was no longer as easy to get to Vlad as knocking on his front door had once been.
"Alright Jazz," She said to herself, "Play it cool. You're not gonna get anywhere near Vlad if you freak out."
With a deep breath, Jazz got out of her car and entered city hall. She had no idea where the mayor's office was, not that making a run for it would be successful anyway. So she approached a somewhat friendly looking secretary.
"Um hi, I was wondering if you could help me. I need to see Vl- Mayor Masters." Jazz stammered.
The secretary merely blinked rudely at Jazz, as though she had barked at her.
"If you could tell him it's Jazz Fenton. He knows me, you see." Jazz added pleasantly.
The secretary still didn't say a word, but raised an eyebrow at Jazz.
"Uh, I'm his…niece." Jazz muttered with desperate frustration. "Please, this is urgent."
The secretary still didn't speak, but keeping eye contact with Jazz, she lifted her phone and pressed a button.
"Mr Mayor your 'niece' Jazz Fenton is here, she says it's urgent." The secretary mumbled into the phone in a monotone voice before setting the phone back down.
Jazz stared at the women for a second.
"So can I see him?" She asked in confusion.
Jazz's response consisted of a shrug.
Jazz gritted her teeth and clenched her jaw with frustration. She was about to scream at the useless secretary, condemning her rudeness, before an almost regal voice caught her attention.
"Jasmine, how nice of you to come and see your uncle Vlad!" Vlad called to her in an overly nice voice, "Won't you come into my office my dear."
Jazz glared at and swiftly followed the billionaire, and the second she was inside his office Vlad practically slammed the door shut and turned and scowled at her.
"Right. What do you want, girl? I hope you haven't 'run away from home' again, hm?" The man sneered.
"No I haven't!" Jazz snapped, "I'm here about Danny, what have you done to him?"
"Daniel?" Vlad scoffed, "Don't tell he's run away now? Goodness Jack Fenton just cannot keep children can he?" He added sarcastically.
"Danny's sick in hospital. He can barely keep consciousness and the doctors don't know what's wrong with him. The last word that passed his lips was 'Vlad.' Do you want to explain why he said your name?" Jazz demanded.
"Ha! How should I know what's going through his head in a state of delirium? What could-"
Vlad paused mid-sentence. He suddenly recalled the last time he had seen Danny. He had been sick, battling a nasty case of Deficient Spectral Immunity. Naturally no doctor would be able to recognise a sickness known only to ghosts, but how had Danny been hospitalised with it? It goes away with rest…
"Vlad!" Jazz snapped, I swear if something happens to Danny I'll-"
"Daniel has a ghost illness, Jasmine." Vlad calmly told the girl. "It was obvious when I last saw him, but I can't understand how it has put him in hospital."
"A ghost illness?" Jazz cried, "Well what's the cure, how do I make him better?"
"It's like the flu, it clears up on its own." Vlad said irritably.
"But…it's not. D-Danny's really sick!" Jazz wailed tearfully.
"Well I assure you it has nothing to do with me. There's nothing I have done or can do, so please get out of my office and stop pestering me." Vlad said coldly.
Feeling completely hopeless and frightened for her brother, Jazz burst into tears.
Shocked by her outburst, Vlad took a step back. He automatically looked around him, fearful that someone would see and accuse him of something sinister that made a young woman cry.
"Jasmine, please get a hold of yourself!" Vlad scolded.
Taking a few shaky breaths, Jazz's sobbing subsided.
"P-Please Vlad… She pleaded, "You have been a half ghost for like twenty years, you must know something that can help Danny. I don't know what else to do, you could be his only hope.
Vlad sighed as he looked into the desperate tearful eyes of the girl stood before him. He wasn't used to such strong emotions, and yet he could feel them tugging at his own conscience now. He recalled a time when he did genuinely care about this girl, so much so that he had been prepared to call her his daughter. And Danny he still cared for, yearned for. He knew the boy hated him and even more recently he had got on the billionaire's last nerve and pushed him to the edge…but he would never forgive himself if something happened to Danny.
"Jasmine," Vlad spoke in a more soft tone, "I'll come see him. But I can't promise anything."
()()()
When she returned to the hospital Jazz studied Danny's barely moving form. Her parents had returned to their son's side and were so concerned about his health it hadn't even registered with them that their daughter had disappeared for a questionable length of time.
Jazz was secretly dismayed that her parents where now back with Danny, she knew Plasmius was in the room too, intangible of course, but there was nothing he could do so long as Jack and Maddie were present.
Jazz sighed with disappointment. "I'll be right back, just going to the bathroom." She told her parents.
She quickly made her way down to the entrance of the hospital, where seconds later she was met by a frustrated Vlad Masters in his human form.
"How am I supposed to do anything with Maddie and your idiot father loitering about?" Vlad snapped at her.
"I don't know yet!" Jazz snapped back, "From what you've seen are you sure Danny has some kind of ghost flu?"
"Well the thing is Jasmine to have ghost flu you have to be a ghost." Vlad explained impatiently, "Now as Daniel is not in his ghost form, all I could see was a very ill teenaged boy."
"But could the ghost flu have something to do with it?" Jazz asked desperately.
"It's possible." Vlad responded. "If the spectral virus is in his ghost system it could be transferring into his human system. And of course a human immune system could not fight off a ghostly illness."
"So there's nothing we can do?" Jazz panicked.
"No, but it's a fairly straight forward illness. Daniel's ghost immune system can fight it off, but he has to be in his ghost form and stay in his ghost form until he recovers."
"That's it?" Jazz asked hopefully, "He just needs to go ghost to get better."
"Hm." Vlad confirmed. "However that will be difficult now what with Daniel being in a hospital under close surveillance, don't you think?"
Jazz stared back into the hospital, knowing that Vlad made a valid point. None of the medically trained people in this building could help her brother. But the malice man stood next to her could.
"I need to get Danny out of the hospital." Jazz thought aloud.
"Seems like the most logical plan of action." Vlad responded in a bored tone. "I suppose I'll return to my office now."
Jazz shot her head round as the billionaire began to walk away.
"Wait!" She cried as she jumped in front of Vlad's way, blocking his path. "I need your help to do this."
Vlad chuckled cruelly at the girl's proposal. "Jasmine, what makes you think I can unhook all of those IV's and walk out of the hospital with Daniel without getting caught hm? Especially with your parents stood in the room guarding him."
"Please Vlad, you're the only one who can help Danny." Jazz stated, "I'll get my parents out of the room, and I think I can unhook Danny from the machines and IV's. I shadowed a doctor during the summer to improve my resume for collage."
Vlad pinched the bridge of his nose with irritation, "That's all well and good Jasmine, but then what do we do? Don't you think your parents and the authorities will have something to say when a sick teenager suddenly vanishes from his hospital bed?"
"Oh that part is simple." Jazz smiled knowingly, "I'll blame it on a ghost. Everyone will buy it…and it won't be strictly untrue…"
Vlad sighed and raised an eyebrow at the girl's indication, "You want me to take Daniel. Where, exactly?"
"It doesn't matter, close by preferably. Maybe your home in Amity Park, then I could be with him too." Jazz suggested.
"…This is going to create a complete uproar down in city hall." The man grumbled to himself.
"Thanks Vlad. I'll meet you up in Danny's room in a few minutes. I'll get rid of my parents." Jazz told him.
She then left Vlad standing alone as she darted through the hospital to Danny's room. As she quickly approached it she realised that she hadn't thought of an idea to convince her parents to leave Danny. But she knew instantly that there was one thing which gets the two adults moving faster than a raging bull…
"Mom! Dad!" Jazz cried as she burst into Danny's room, "Ghost attack! On the other side of town! People are helpless you need to do something!"
"Jazz shh!" Her mother scolded, "You'll disturb Danny. Where on earth did you hear about a ghost attack on the other side of town?"
"Ambulances and doctors are heading there by the dozen." Jazz lied, "You need to go and get rid of that ghost."
"And leave Danny?" Jack professed with uncertainty. It was the first time he had felt reluctant to go and fight a ghost.
"I'll stay with Danny." Jazz reassured her father, "I'll keep a good eye on him, I promise."
"I don't know Jazz…" Maddie hesitated.
"Mom, you and dad are Amity Park's most affective ghost hunters. It's your responsibility. You won't be helping Danny if we are all over-run by ghosts."
"She's right Maddie." Jack murmured to his wife, "And the sooner we go and kick that ghost's butt the sooner we can be back here knowing we're keeping Danny safe."
"I suppose..." Maddie agreed reluctantly.
"Right, then let's go beat some ecto-scum!" Jack yelled as he charged out of the room.
Jazz smiled cunningly as she watched her mother swiftly follow her father. She knew a 'ghost attack' would be enough to distract them, it always was.
She quickly moved to her brother's bedside. "Right little brother, let's get you out of here." She told him determinedly.
Jazz had retained a lot of knowledge and skill from her work experience with the hospital doctor, she was easily able to remove all of the tubes and wires which were in some way connected to Danny…except for the catheter. She figured he may still need that.
As she finished wrapping the blanket around Danny's body like a cocoon, Plasmius entered the room.
"I saw your parents taking off in that ridiculous RV at a phenomenal speed." He stated dryly, "There must be a 'ghost attack' somewhere, am I right?"
"You got it, fruitloop." Jazz confirmed.
She bit her lip as she looked down at Danny's sleeping form and realised she was about to hand her defenceless little brother over to his dangerous arch enemy. Now that the time had come to execute the plan, she wasn't sure if it was such a good idea as she had originally thought. She looked up at the evil half ghost who was hovering patiently in mid-air. Jazz really detested the billionaire, but deep down she knew he could be Danny's only hope for recovering.
Vlad slowly lowered himself to ground and gazed down at his young rival. He knew straight away that Danny was gravely ill and did indeed need his help. And although Vlad felt a strong urge to leave and let the younger half ghost suffer, he felt an equally strong urge wishing that the illness had fallen on him instead and had spared the teenager. Vlad's body tensed as he felt the conflicting emotions pulse inside him. No one could spark these strong instincts the way Danny did.
As the older hybrid reached down and easily secured Danny in his arms, Jazz felt her hand form into angry fists.
"I'm warning you Masters, if anything happens to my brother I promise you you will never be able to show your face in Amity Park again. Human or Ghost." She threatened.
Plasmius merely scowled at the girl before flying away with a bundled Danny in his grasp. Jazz watched worriedly from the window, but she quickly lost sight of her brother and the billionaire when Plasmius turned invisible. She would have to stay until her parents returned, and claim that she was overpowered by a ghost who had then taken Danny. But she knew the second she got a moment she would find Vlad, and hopefully a much better Danny.
()()()
Vlad chose not to make matters more completed and he took Danny to his extravagant home nearby, rather than take him out of town. The older half ghost also knew that the sooner he got Danny to safety, the better shot he would have at helping the teen.
Still invisible, Vlad entered his home through the walls and landed in a bedroom where he set a still sleeping Danny down on the bed. Changing back into his human form, Vlad decided to get a closer look at Danny. His greyish skin and raspy breathing did not give a positive perception to his overall health.
"Jasmine was right." Vlad thought aloud to himself, "He's much worse than I thought."
Having a fair idea what may be the cause of Danny's worsened condition, Vlad decided that the best way to try to help would involve waking him up. The older half ghost firmly gripped his hand around Danny's shoulder and gave him a rough shake.
Thankfully, Danny's body hadn't deteriorated yet from leaving the hospital, and he groaned as Vlad began to effectively stir him awake.
"Wake up Daniel." Vlad growled, "Wake up if you know what's good for you…"
Danny eventually managed to open one eye, and his weakened heart skipped a beat when he saw his scowling arch enemy towering over him. He secretly prayed that his progressive fever was causing hallucinations.
"V-Vlad?" Danny mumbled, hoping the 'hallucination' wouldn't respond.
"You stayed in your human form, didn't you?" Vlad accused.
"Huh?" Danny muttered incoherently, slowly coming round to his senses.
"Stupid boy! You clearly didn't listen to me, you stayed human too long whilst infected with a ghost virus and now it's filtering into your human half and attacking its cells." Vlad explained angrily.
Danny slowly tried to sit up, and failed. Although he had been sleeping for what felt like forever he still felt exhausted and completely drained of energy. He rubbed his eyes whilst trying to process what Vlad had said.
"Why are you here?" Danny asked groggily. "Wait, why am I not in the hospital. What's going on Plasmius?"
"Your sister and I made an agreement." Vlad stated. "You're beyond the help of hospital staff, you need treatment involving your ghost half."
Danny glared up at the billionaire, noting the slight smirk on his face.
"Jazz came to you for help?" Danny scoffed.
"More like pleaded, but yes." Vlad confirmed confidently. "I imagine once she's finished feeding a stream of lies to your parents and the authorities about your whereabouts she will be along shortly. So let's get you on the mend and make this as painless as possible.
"Why should I trust you?" Danny sneered.
The teenager felt angry that his sister had actually resorted to asking Vlad Masters for help. Danny would never had made this move, now he felt more vulnerable than ever.
"Think about it Daniel, you are out of options." Vlad stated coldly. "If you don't start to make a recovery now, chances are you will die."
"How-How do you know that?" Danny asked, with a slight fearful tone in his voice.
"Twenty years' experience Daniel. You would be surprised what helpful little pieces of information I've picked up along the way." Vlad bragged. "Now you'll be glad to know that the solution to your problem should be simple. You can start by transforming into your ghost half."
Danny continued to glare at the older half-ghost, but he realised that given the situation he was in it would be unwise to start any argument with Vlad. So for once, he listened to the more experienced hybrid and called upon his transformation rings to change him into a ghost.
The two white rings slowly appeared around Danny's torso. However Danny felt a horrible squeezing sensation, and a dizziness threatening to make him lose consciousness. Danny yelled out in discomfort, and the rings disappeared, failing to change him ghost.
Vlad watched the display and raised an eyebrow with confusion.
"Why couldn't you transform?" He asked his younger counterpart.
"I-I feel dizzy." Danny mumbled weakly. It wasn't a lie, but truthfully he knew that he didn't have the strong or the energy to complete a transformation.
"I see." Vlad responded grimly. "Then this is going to be unpleasant."
Before Danny could question Vlad's motives the older hybrid transformed into his ghost half, turned intangible and forced his way into Danny's body, as though to overshadow him. However, once in control of the teen's body Vlad used his strength and power to force Danny to transform. Danny screamed as he felt the rings reappear and slowly move up and down his body. The previous discomfort he had felt from his first attempt to go ghost, plus the additional strain from Vlad forcing the change was almost painful. Once the transformation was complete and the rings disappeared again, Vlad fazed out of Danny's body.
Danny panted with exhaustion, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. He sat up on the bed and flashed an angry look at his enemy.
"You jerk!" Danny yelled. "Why did you do that?"
"How many times do you have to be told? To recover from a ghost illness you need to be in ghost form. Look, you're already stronger than what you were moments ago, you just have to stay as a ghost so as your spectral immune system can fight off the virus." Vlad responded knowingly.
Danny stared at the other half-ghost for a second. "How can I possibly hold my ghost form?" Danny demanded. "I don't have enough energy."
"Well then I suggest you lay and rest for a while." Vlad smirked. "And do try to remain in your ghost form, I can't be constantly overshadowing you, you know. Might catch something."
()()()
Several hours later of forced tears and untruthful statements, Jazz finally escaped the clutches of her terrified parents, horrified hospital staff, and stern police authorities. The teenaged girl was not prone to lying, other than to conceal her brother's secret, and this was yet another circumstance which was pushing her into a difficult situation with her parents. She felt horrible having witnessed the frightened responses from her parents as a result of Danny disappearing, especially knowing that she was primarily responsible for it. Her only consolation was knowing that she did it to help her brother, and that Danny may return to them again healthy.
The car screeched to a halt when Jazz reached Vlad's mansion. She practically ran up to the door and pounded loudly non-stop until Vlad appeared, greeting her with a scowl on his face.
"Will you keep it down!" He hissed at the girl.
"Where is he?" Jazz asked frantically.
Danny's sister pushed past Vlad and darted into his home, her heart pounding fast in her cheat out of fear for her brother.
"Where is he Vlad? Is he okay? Let me see him now!" Jazz blurted quickly, when she realised she had no idea where her brother could be within the large house.
"Calm down Jasmine!" Vlad snapped as he pushed the front door closed. "Daniel is upstairs, resting comfortably…Somewhat."
"What does that mean? Take me to him now!" Jazz demanded.
The billionaire led Jazz upstairs and into the bedroom where he had brought the young half ghost to rest. Vlad had checked on him regularly since he'd fallen asleep earlier, and everything seemed to be going smoothly; Danny was remaining in his ghost form and he was not deteriorating. This was an incredibly good sign as Danny was no longer being supported by medical drugs and devices as he had been in the hospital.
Vlad knew it was likely that Danny would still be asleep now, however as he walked into the room with Jazz he was just as shocked as she was to see the ghost boy awake and sat upright on the bed staring back at them both with a raised eyebrow. Jazz's loud entrance had clearly been enough to stir him awake
"Danny you're alright!" Jazz gasped with relief as she ran over and fiercely embraced her brother.
Danny cringed from the sudden impact inflected on his body. Not to mention his arch enemy was present.
"Ah! Jazz easy!" Danny scolded his sister.
Jazz pulled back and smiled delightedly at her brother. She couldn't believe the difference a matter of hours had made. When she'd last saw him he was so limp and lifeless.
"Danny you look so much better!" She exclaimed. "Your voice is even nearly back to normal."
Danny just blinked as a response to his sister's delightedness. Jazz then turned back around to face Vlad.
"How did you do it?" Jazz asked with confusion. "What medicine did you give him?"
Vlad merely smirked and raised an eyebrow at the girl, "it's simple, Jasmine. To be infected with and then recover from a ghost illness, one has to be a ghost. A state Daniel was having difficulty maintaining whilst at home with your parents and in the hospital. Hence he wasn't recovering, nor was he going to."
"But he'll be okay now, right?" Jazz asked, "He's in his ghost form so he'll get better?"
"Indeed." Vlad responded, turning his attention to Danny and smiling unkindly. "Pity you don't have to stay in your ghost form forever, Daniel. I think you would grow to become very comfortable here."
"Yeah right." Danny scoffed at the man. "More chance of me exposing my ghost half than living with you Plasmius."
Jazz bit her lip worriedly. She didn't want Danny to annoy Vlad right now. He was a very easy man to get on the wrong side of and Danny was too vulnerable to fight him and had nowhere to go where he would be able to safely stay a ghost.
Vlad continued to smile smugly at the boy. "You don't know what you're missing dear boy. I suppose you better make the most of the week you will be here, if that is the case."
"A week?" Jazz and Danny wailed at the same time.
"Why do I need to stay here a whole week?" Danny demanded.
"What I'm I going to tell our parents?" Jazz cried.
"You need to remain in your ghost half in order to completely rid your body of the virus, Daniel. If some of it remains it will regroup and attack again whilst you are human." Vlad explained. "And Jasmine I suggest you keep up the charade that your brother was kidnapped by a ghost. If they find out where he is we are all in trouble, and I mean all of us!"
"You told them I was kidnapped by a ghost?" Danny snapped at his sister, "How could you do that to them Jazz?"
"Well what else was I supposed to do?" Jazz despaired, "You were really sick Danny and I know it sounds weird but I had to get you out of the hospital. And I don't need a guilt trip I already feel awful!"
"Alright children, clearly emotions are running a little high." Vlad said calmly, "Jasmine maybe you should go home. Your parent's are already fretting about one missing child they don't need you vanishing as well."
"And leave Danny here?" She asked with doubt in her voice.
"What, you didn't catch the colossal hint?" Danny grumbled, glaring at Vlad.
Jazz stared sadly at Danny for a second or two. She knew she couldn't stay, for the sake of her parents, but she didn't want to go. She still didn't fully trust Vlad, and she would be constantly worried about her brother. But she had to keep things as sane as possible at home. Jazz also had to fill Sam and Tucker in on the kidnapping scam so that they wouldn't attempt to track Danny's ecto-signature with the Fenton Boo-marang, and cause trouble.
"Fine I'll leave." Jazz said firmly before raising an authoritative finger at Vlad. "But I'm warning you Masters, that's my little brother and if you so much as-"
"Yes, yes Jasmine I get the picture." Vlad boldly cut off the teen. "I promise you I will take care of him like he was my own."
Jazz frowned at the man. Funnily enough she didn't find this reassuring. She moved closer to Danny and gave him a hug goodbye.
"Bye Danny. I'll check in on you when I can. You better get better! Drink lots of fluids, get lots of rest and stay warm and comfortable." She nagged.
"Yeah I'll dry." Danny said dryly as they pulled away from each other. "Speaking of comfortable…I don't suppose either of you know how to get this tube out of my you-know-what?"
()()()
Soon enough, what felt like a long weak quickly passed and Danny had finally recovered from his deadly case of ghost flu. The teen was back to full strength and was able to continue on as before with no negative side effects from the illness. Danny was pleased to discover that he had returned to the way he had been before he got sick, and could once again change from human to ghost as he pleased.
As Danny stood in Vlad's back yard about to leave and fly home, he happened to turn around and see the billionaire stood on his balcony watching him. Danny raised an eyebrow, he couldn't help but think back to how Vlad had treated him during his forced stay.
Although there had indeed been no change in Vlad's usual spiteful and narcissistic personality, his actions spoke louder than words. Danny had dreaded and almost feared being at the mercy of Vlad whilst in his vulnerable state. However throughout the week Vlad had actually tried to help Danny. He had helped him to move around, put wet flannels on his forehead to lessen his fever, brought him food and water, rang Jazz for him, and even sat up with him when he was unable to sleep and told him stories about his experiences in the Ghost World. Having heard some of them Danny realised that the older half ghost hadn't exaggerated when he had told him that he could learn much from him.
Although Danny had now experienced this more pleasant side to Vlad Masters, he still remained wary of him. Danny recalled the horrible feeling from the times when his ghost half would falter, and Vlad had overpowered him to force the transformation. Danny was well aware that this had been for his own good, but knowing that a spiteful man like Vlad was willing and able to do so so easily was a little concerning to Danny. The younger half ghost also retained some of the vindictive things that the man had voiced to him whilst in some of his more bitter moods, usually nasty cheap shots about Danny's powers, potential evil intentions and Jack Fenton.
Despite this, Danny floated up towards the balcony where Vlad stood. He at least deserved a goodbye.
"Finally leaving little badger?" Vlad smirked at the boy.
"Yep." Danny replied awkwardly, feeling unprepared for what he had to say next. "So, uh thanks for uh…helping me out."
"You mean saving your life." Vlad corrected smugly. "Consider this one on the house, Daniel. But be careful, I'm not a man you want to owe a debt to."
Danny tried to ignore the evil glint in the older man's eye. He knew Vlad couldn't be trusted, all his kindness would come with a price.
"Yeah." Danny responded coldly. "So I'm gonna go. Got some parents to reassure."
"Ah yes, no doubt they'll be on hunt later on for an imaginary ghost who heals the sick and steals their memories…" Vlad expressed humorously. "That should go down well, I'm sure. Still, I'm sure they will be relieved to have you back Daniel."
During his last sentence Danny noticed a sudden change in Vlad's demeanour. The evil glint in his eyes had vanished. It had been replaced by an expression he often saw in his friends and family; people whom he loved. That indicated a very interesting prospect; Vlad had a caring/good side.
Upon seeing this Danny gave the billionaire a glimpse of a smile and flew off, heading towards home. Danny still pondered about Vlad along the way. Had he really saw what he thought he'd saw, or what he's hope could be there? But what did he care if Vlad had good in him? He had done plenty of horrid things which argued against it, and just now even suggested that he could entice Danny through blackmail or a personal debt.
But he didn't.
Was his dark side all an act?
Danny now certainly had much to consider after being on the brink of deaths door and being pulled back again by his enemy. But he simply couldn't deny that Vlad's actions and the hopeful look in his eye could possibly indicate one thing:
Vlad Masters may not yet be beyond redemption.
()()()
A/N
So I hope you all enjoyed this little story, my first attempt at a one shot. I know I could have easily expanded on the plot and brought in more characters and detail, but then it would defeat the purpose of a short story/one shot!
Please don't forget to review and tell me what your thoughts are. I won't lie reading other people's comments about my stories really add to the enjoyment of writing and gives inspiration!
Until next time, fellow DP fans!
xseriouslyx