AN: Hello, this is not the first thing I've ever written, but it's the first thing I've posted. I have had this idea for a little while, but I haven't made much progress as of yet. However, I have had this account for a while, and it needs to be used for something more than reviews, right?

Disclaimer: If I owned Danny Phantom or any of its characters, would I really be writing fanfiction for it?

Vlad Plasmius was desperately lonely, he realized as he reflected upon the years, and he scowled as he flew intangibly through the many rooms of his castle. It wasn't fair! His life had been destroyed in college by his best friend, Jack Fenton, to whom he lost Maddie, the love of his life. If Jack hadn't known how much Maddie meant to Vlad, a secret he had confessed to the man several times, perhaps the betrayal he felt wouldn't have stung so much.

Plasmius sighed regretfully. He probably would have forgiven Jack for the accident that gave him an unhealthy dose of ectoplasm, but he would never be able to let go of the resulting rage from the fat man's theft. He never had a chance, and it was all the fault of Jack Fenton, his supposed best friend. Vlad reprimanded himself for having ever trusted the idiot. Jack probably never intended to hurt him, but that didn't make the act of treachery any less agonizing.

Then Vlad thought back to the accident. He remembered it too clearly, and he visualized almost every detail flawlessly. He could practically feel the burning globs of ectoplasm seeping into his pores, infecting him, slowly traveling and making it to his bloodstream, tainting him irrevocably. He remembered the pain, the unyielding agony of the transformation, the anguish he felt when he realized he had no chance of leading a normal life, the unbearable restlessness he felt in the hospital. He shuddered at the memory of the terror he felt. He remembered how much time he had to reflect on the event during his hospitalization. He remembered the stabbing despair when he realized his best friend had caused this.

Then, he discovered the power he had been given. He recalled the fear he had felt. He remembered how terrified he was of himself, knowing there was no telling what he was capable of, and no one who could help him control his newfound abilities. There was no one to comfort him, no one to explain anything to him, and no one to teach him how to refrain from blasting things accidentally, or how to focus on staying tangible. He had no friends to rely on, to help him carry his burden.

No one but Jack, that is. No. Vlad couldn't bear the thought of relying on the man who was to blame for this. And even if he could still view Jack as a friend, he wouldn't be able to bear to tell him that he was tainted with ghost blood. Jack would have blamed himself. Or, more likely, Jack never would have been able to understand.

Of course, now there was one being who might have been able to understand him: the son of Jack and Maddie Fenton, Danny Fenton. But the boy hated him. Not only that, but the teenager got in his way every time he tried to attain his revenge. That made him so furious! Jack had destroyed him! It was only right that he should try to return the favor!

Right?

Vlad repressed his uncertainty. It didn't matter whether it was right to seek vengeance. He needed to. He was so miserable, so desperate to put a stop to his grief, his bitterness, the utter despair that tore him to pieces every day. He was so lonely. He craved companionship, understanding and compassion. He needed someone who comprehended the suffering he had endured alone. He needed the child, Daniel. He needed to have the boy on his side.

But that would never happen. Danny couldn't stand him. He would never see the awful loneliness in Vlad's heart. He would never understand, nor would he even attempt to.

Vlad needed Danny's acceptance, but he knew he would never get it. Perhaps his revenge might distract him from his solitude. Hell, if revenge didn't take that off of his mind, nothing would.

But Danny would never allow him to kill his father.

He'd tried everything to at least get the kid out of the way. Everything.

He'd hired the hunter ghost known as Skulker several times to distract the child. He'd armed an angry girl with ghost hunting equipment and pointed her in the kid's direction. He'd put a million dollar bounty on the boy's head. He'd tried to destroy Danny's faith in his idiot father. He'd even created clones of Danny, sending the brightest one (who happened to be female) to take him down.

Maybe he shouldn't have turned his back on the clone. At least she had accepted and understood him… for a little while.

Then again…

Vlad smiled. Maybe he hadn't tried quite everything yet. Sure, he had created a new halfa from Danny's DNA, but he hadn't tried making one from scratch, or rather, from an already existing human! Danny hadn't always been half-ghost, and neither had he. Just because both of their transformations had been accidental didn't mean he couldn't transform a human into a halfa on purpose.

Vlad Plasmius switched back to his human form, Vlad Masters, and thought hard. He had transformed after being exposed to unfiltered ectoplasm. Modern portals to the Ghost Zone would automatically filter the ectoplasm as long as they were turned on.

What if they weren't turned on? Obviously, the power would have to be turned on for the ectoplasm to flow at all, but there would be a few moments in which the filter would be inactive. So, if one turned on a portal while someone was inside, they would be exposed to unpurified ectoplasm. Hell, Vlad thought, that was probably how Danny got his powers. All he needed to do was trick someone into going into his portal, and then turn it on.

Vlad smirked. He had a new plan.

AN: Ok, I don't know when I'll be updating this, but I'd like some feedback, as long as it's not pure pointlessness (flamers, that means you)! I want to know if anyone likes my idea so far, so… reviews would be appreciated. See you next time!