Hey there! This is my first fanfiction, so enjoy. Please review, I could use all the help I can get! This is for now just a long one-shot, but I might add more to it in the future.
I own none of the DP universe: All credit goes to Butch Hartman and his brilliant mind.
The night skies over Amity Park were surprisingly bright; the expected cloud cover had disappeared, leaving millions of stars twinkling lazily over the sleeping town. A figure cut through the peaceful scene, the dark figure appeared menacing against the pale contrast of the moon. Soaring quickly across the sky, Vlad Masters cursed at his exposure.
"Oh butter biscuits,I should have known better than to trust those fools on television!" When he returned from his little field trip, he would simply buy out the TV network and fire the fools. But that didn't matter, at least not right now.
"Focus, Masters!" he scolded himself; he would arrive at his destination soon enough. The summer breeze shifted slightly as he veered toward the center of town. While the breeze would normally ruffle his slicked back hair and priceless Armani suit, it simply brushed off the skin of half ghost side.
"One of the perks of being half dead," the older man sighed to himself. The elder halfa picked up the pace after that, glancing at his watch. It was well past midnight - surely the boy would be finished fighting those vulture imbeciles by now. Masters had personally attended to that. He crossed the familiar streets overhead, his eyes closing in on the only house with neon lights reading the phrase 'Fenton Works'.
"That idiot. Of course Jack would create something to keep the neighborhood up 24 hours a day."
No matter, the most important thing to worry about was the thin green screen surrounding the house. He scoffed at the shield's simplicity, sending out a brief apology to Maddie as he shorted out the device with a quick ecto blast. He took a deep breath and phased inside. The house was quiet and quite cold - it was the middle of summer, after all. "At least the boy's ghost sense will take longer to detect me," he grinned, slowly making his way upstairs. Knowing Jack Fenton, there were probably a few foolish booby traps lurking in the walls.
"I better make this quick, I've taken long enough as it is." As he approached the bedroom, Masters hesitated; it was a new feeling and he did not enjoy it one bit. Muttering darkly to himself, he silently argued with himself for a few excruciating seconds.
"Will Daniel hate me for this?" The thought of the look of hatred and mistrust in Daniel's eyes still haunted him after every fight, every encounter. No, soon all of that would change. And it would begin tonight. "He will thank me for this one day. I'm sure of it." His resolve strengthened, he silently entered the room. He heard the sound of shallow breathing - Daniel must have just fallen asleep.
"Good.This will make this whole operation a hell of a lot easier." Floating silently to the bed, he glanced briefly at the sleeping teen. His small frame was still, his face calm and serene. Masters couldn't help but let out a small smile - it was a rare occurrence to see Daniel's face void of any emotion, especially when Vlad was involved. He inched closer to the young halfa when he saw the signal. Blue frost shot out of Daniel's mouth, and suddenly those piercing blue eyes were staring straight up into Plasmius' glowing red ones.
"Good morning, Daniel." The young boy reacted quickly, grazing the elder's jaw as Plasmius drew back. The tension grew quickly, an intense, mistrustful gaze settling on Danny's face as he transformed into Phantom.
"What the hell do you want, Plasmius? Another pathetic shot at winning over my mom and me? I bet that cat of yours is missing you, so why don't you just get the hell out of here?"
Vlad dropped his iconic smirk, abandoning his usual witty banter in favor of a more somber attitude. He stood still for a moment as Daniel took in the sight.
"My dear little badger, I didn't come here to fight you or kill your idiot father. Not even your beautiful mother brought me here." Danny's face contorted in confusion.
"Then... What do you want?" Vlad frowned, "You don't remember, my boy? It's our anniversary!" The elder chuckled as the boy's face turned from confusion to bewilderment.
"What are you talking about, you fruitloop?" Vlad stepped forward slightly, "It was so long ago this very day that we first met and became mortal enemies! I thought you'd remember the day that you swore yourself against me to protect your idiot father and beloved mother. Such a future you could have had, Daniel!"
The boy started to make a heated reply, but was cut off quickly. "No, Daniel. I'm not here to convince you of anything. In fact, let's say I'm here to make a peace offering"
"No way," Daniel replied shortly. "Just get out of here. My answer is still no, anniversary or no anniversary. I will never join you, fruitloop. You should know that by now. Or do I have to beat it into you?"
Danny made a quick move to attack, but his rival simply held up his hands and sighed. "Very well, little badger. But here, this is for you." He held out a small box with a green bow. Danny looked at the object, apprehensive about taking it. "It won't bite, I promise. Please, Daniel. Why don't we try to start over, hmm? This date not only marks an event in the past, but can shape an event for the future." The elder placed the box on the nightstand, turning to face the boy once more. "We are so alike, Daniel," he sighed. "We could be – "
But Danny had heard enough. "I AM NOTHING LIKE YOU!" he shouted, his body shaking. He stopped a moment to calm down. Looking at his rival straight in the eye, he quietly added "and I never will be." The venom was clear as the night sky and his gaze nothing short of menacing.
Vlad looked pained for a moment and sighed again. "As you wish, little badger. Your life, your choices." As he turned to leave though, his voice turned to ice. "Just consider ALL the possibilities." And in a flash, the elder was gone.
Now alone in his room, Danny quickly reverted back to his human self and flopped on his bed. His head was already swimming from ghost fights and lack of sleep, but Vlad showing up of nowhere, while expected, was just unsettling. Staring at the small gift a moment longer, Danny yawned and resigned himself to think about it in the morning. The young halfa drifted off to sleep pondering Vlad's words.
"What did he mean,consider all the possibilities?" But Danny thought no more as sleep overtook him once more.
A few weeks had passed as Danny's summer vacation came to a close. Over that time, Danny had indeed thought about what Vlad had said, despite his friends' protests. "Don't worry about it, Danny. He's just trying to mess with you." Sam and Tucker had used those words several times in the past few days, but something still kept Danny on edge. It was the last day of summer vacation when Danny decided to act. If Vlad was really trying to be civil, why couldn't he give it a shot? That night, he took Vlad's gift out of the drawer he had attempted to hide it in. Danny just didn't have the heart to throw it into the Ghost Zone like he originally planned. He couldn't explain it, but he was, well, weirdly attached to it.
"Okay,here goes nothing." Danny slid off the ribbon and opened the package carefully. Taking a deep breath, he heard the box creep open. Peering inside, he saw a glimmering object. Rolling his eyes at Vlad's expensive taste, he gingerly took a platinum wrist watch. Imbedded with the blackest onyx and personalized with Phantom's logo on the face, Danny marveled at the gift, slightly amused at how much detail went into the gift. Enclosed in the box was a note from the V-Man himself.
To My Little Badger,
Please accept this humble token I've had made for you from my grandfather's old watch. It is a family heirloom, and since I have no children, I thought it would best go to you. It is my hope that you enjoy it and that it may guide you to a successful future.
Yours Truly,
Vlad
Staring at the note for a moment, Danny soon pushed it aside to examine the trinket further. After clearing it for any tricks or traps, the teen grinned and slid the watch on his wrist. "Well, here's to you, Vladdy." He clicked the watch into place, but did not hear the familiar tick. "Damn, the clock has to be reset." After fiddling with the dials and setting all the faces right, he secured the watch and clicked it back onto his wrist.
The effect was instantaneous. As quickly as the watch clicked, Danny suddenly felt numb. He started to scream as he slumped down to the floor, but the noise caught in his throat. He heard the watch beeping. Then came the pain. It was excruciating, worse than everything and anything he had ever felt. Worst of all he couldn't scream for help. His parents were right downstairs, his friends a phone call away. And he couldn't do anything. He couldn't fight it and he couldn't go ghost. Panic started to set in as the pain became too much, his whole body burning and stabbing as he was shrieking in internal agony. He didn't notice the beeping growing steadily faster and faster. The world became fuzzy, a giant blur that wouldn't stop spinning. The watch was beeping like a time bomb about to go off; Danny was going to die right there, he just knew it. But then it stopped.
The world stopped spinning as the white hooded figure of Vlad Plasmius towered over him, his face filled with triumph and pride. Danny looked on in shock, the silver of trust shattered like the rest of him. Swimming in and out of consciousness, he heard Vlad's sickening gloat as he scooped the teen off the floor. "You didn't really consider ALL the possibilities, did you my boy? I knew your logic skills were dull, but really, you could do better. Your choice to open my little gift has brought you right where I want you. Now your future is clear and bright, with me by your side. Don't worry, your friends and family will forget – I'll see to that." He carried the boy to the window, Danny's eyes wide in shock. Vlad chuckled as he gently put his fingers through the boy's raven locks. "Say goodbye, Daniel. You'll never see this place again. And this is only the beginning! Oh, the future is looking up, little badger, just you wait and see." Vlad let out a mirthless laugh that sent shivers down Danny's spine. Aching and utterly distraught, Danny finally sank into darkness as Vlad flew with him across the shining skies of Amity Park, the elder's prize finally captured and won.