Daniel Jack Fenton had faced down obstacles that would usurped many a mortal (Or immortal, for that matter) as a fourteen year old boy. Who can say you've had half of your genetic code irrevocably and agonizingly reversed, leaving you half of who you once were?

Quite literally, as in, only half of you were still human, still alive?

As if trying to obtain some understanding of a teenage body torn between living tissue and vaporous ectoplasm weren't enough, imagine trying to balance that, AND using a host of newfound powers to become a defender for people who loathed and feared you?

And, if that didn't seal the deal already, how about trying to keep your identity a secret from your own friendly neighborhood, ghost-hunting parents who may or may not want to dissect you?

Or trying to ward off specters that just kept coming out of the Ghost Zone over and over and over again?

Or trying to balance high school and some sad shreds of a social life, for that matter?

Or, possibly the very worst of them all, and this had Danny waking up screaming in the dead of night, how about when your evil, maniacal counterpart decides to-

Still crouching in the dark safety of the Fenton family's assault vehicle, Danny violently shook his head, and shuddered, expression formulating to sheer horror.

No. No. He gripped his raven hair between his hands.

He wasn't going to recall the memory blooming across his thoughts like an enormous ink blot, he wasn't going to remember the scene that made him want to vomit for a month without stopping-

Darn it!

Danny groaned, even without his father's merrily spinning the RV into a posh neighborhood, forcing several people to dive for cover on the sidewalk.

From the passenger's seat, Maddie cast her son a questioning glance through the rearview mirror, but the teen was now far too upset to notice.

Of course, he thought bitterly. He just had to remember that creepy, wrong, disgusting evening that he tried over and over to banish from his sub-consciousness forever, with no results. He couldn't help but feel dirty, even though it was all Vlad. All creepy, psycho Vlad, who really was going to desperate lengths to win his mother over this time. Whatever ploy the man was now trying wasn't going to work, and it certainly did not flatter Danny, whatever it was.

Doing his best to avoid the now much-hated and much-recalled scene, the boy glanced back out the window, watching a few lanterns fly by, and Jack narrowly avoid slamming into a few parked cars, a mailbox, what might have been a raccoon slinking past, and a few trees.

He closed his eyes, and longed for his father to turn around, for the comfort of home, for this wretched night to end.

According to Tucker, Danny at least deserved some sort of Congressional medal for his pains. While Danny certainly didn't know about that, (If it meant anything at all) he believed there had to be some sort of 'fairness' scale to occasionally tip in his favor. Just occasionally-as in, a Friday night off. Specifically, this one.

For some reason or another, ghostly activity had been fairly low in Amity Park recently, and it finally looked like he, Sam, and Tucker were going to spend a nice evening maybe watching movies, or heck, even studying for end-of-the-year finals, which were coming up soon. He hadn't had a sleepover with his friends for a long time-it would have been nice to enjoy the three day weekend.

But no. Jack had burst into the kitchen during breakfast Wednesday morning, triumphantly waving a ridiculously fancy, gold embossed invitation from Vlad. Some stupid formal blah-blah-blah for some stupid blah-blah-blah advancement the DALV corporation had recently made. Something about expansion in all countries of the globe, by now.

Danny rested his forehead against the cool glass, biting his lip as more and more streetlamps rushed by his eyes.

He hadn't wanted to go, of course-and Jazz had pleaded that she had to stay behind and study for finals, if she still wanted to claim valedictorian title. Danny had pled likewise,
(Only for his tests, as he was still only 16 years old) but Jack had pooh-poohed Danny's pleas, even though Maddie and Jazz had backed him. In the end, Jack insisted that it wouldn't kill Danny to show a little support for a close family friend, and unfortunately, Maddie at last agreed.

So now, the three were hurtling towards Wisconsin, just in time for the masquerade. The
Party's identity had made Danny want to snort just a little bit-how like the fruitloop to choose something so outdated and ostentatious. Did people even do masked-balls anymore?

Well, either way, it didn't matter. He remembered all too well what had nearly happened at the College Reunion; who knew what Plasmius had in store this time?

He had to keep the billionaire away from his parents. Regardless of the cost.

And himself. Vlad could not, not be allowed near him.

The responding memory made Danny angrily bite the inside of his mouth so hard, he almost let out a squeak of pain, in spite of himself. Still, his hands slowly curled into fists as Jack merrily drove the RV into the outskirts of Vlad's private property, his knuckles turning starkly white as they drew ever closer and closer in the cool night air.

No. Vlad wasn't that stupid. Misguided, dense, and heartless, yes-but he'd see that Danny didn't believe his latest ridiculous stunt for a second, and simply move on.

He could only hope, even as the RV slowly moved to a creaking stop before an enormous pair of elaborate, black iron gates.

Danny reluctantly slammed the RV door shut, miserably staring at his own reflection in the glass.

Who knew? Maybe his parents would somehow believe that he had contracted malaria over the long car ride. His Dad might buy it, though he knew his mother never would. Still, Danny wondered why she even bothered coming here, especially considering how uncomfortable Vlad had made her at the Reunion.

'It always comes down to the so-called "saving my life," garbage!' Danny thought angrily, even as his mother reluctantly trudged in front of her son to where her overexcited husband was impatiently bouncing to one foot to the other.

If he could only tell his parents what had REALLY happened when Vlad had come to visit last time, Maddie would not only allow Danny to miss this stupid masquerade, she wouldn't allow Vlad anywhere near him. In fact, knowing his mother, she'd probably be too occupied shoving Vlad in a thermos, setting said thermos on fire, and then rocketing the thermos straight into the deepest depths of the Ghost Zone whilst it exploded into a trillion shards of shrapnel.

The thought made Danny smile just a little as they joined the crowd of laughing party-goers trudging up the many stone steps to Vlad's hideous mansion. He glanced uneasily around himself at the lurid and expensive masks the wealthier section of Vlad's clientele had brought to this ridiculous charade. All the women were finely outfitted in silks-which Danny didn't envy, considering how much those few not wearing mink were shivering in the chilly evening air. All the men were supporting absurd, ornate masks-most with rather grotesque expressions. All in all, Danny much preferred his Dad's silly homemade parrot/gorilla/sasqatch mask and his mother's simple peacock mask to the lurid display of opals on some old lady's mask nearby.

'Maybe Vlad forgot to write down a memo that this wasn't a Halloween party.'

Danny uneasily fingered his own stupid 'Phantom of the Opera' mask that he'd borrowed from Sam. Still, it was better then his 'V for Vendetta' mask that he had at home-though he wished his parents had let him show up in something that covered ALL of his face. Maybe then, Vlad would leave him alone, and this whole evening could just turn out to be some sort of unpleasant memory.
As they continued to climb the stairs, Danny's knuckles turned starkly white as he heard the all-too familiar voice of Vlad Masters pompously greeting the visitors in front of him. Danny almost turned around to bolt down the stone steps when his father's gloved hand seized his arm.

"C'mon, Danny! Get a little pep in your step!"

Someway, somehow, his Dad would pay for this.

Rushing through the affronted crowds with wife and son in hand as though they were footballs, Jack eagerly pushed through the aristocrats to the front door, slightly out of breath when a pair of cold blue eyes slowly turned to Danny's father.

Behind his parents, Danny subconsciously crouched a little, color draining out of his complexion, heart beginning to pound again.

'It's okay,' he told himself uneasily, though he could FEEL Vlad's hooded, midnight eyes sweeping over the crowds, searching. 'Vlad's crackpot scheme failed last time, so he'll just go back to being his normal fruitloopy self. Just relax, don't let him see you react-'

"Vladdie, my man!"

His father lunged forwards to receive the billionaire in a hug, but Vlad, who appeared to want to keep his internal organs, sidestepped Jack (Who slammed into the front door), and turned to Maddie, whom Danny was still a few steps behind.

Danny tensed as Vlad took his mother's hand, smiling cordially. Maddie was smiling as well, though her countenance looked much more forced then Vlad's.

"Madeline. Lovely as always, my dear, lovely as always…."

He looked over the heads of the crowd again, absentmindedly addressing Maddie again, who, while looking surprised at the circumstances, also looked relieved.

"And, young Daniel is….?"

Maddie had been casting the man a puzzled look, but then started.

"Oh! Yes, yes-Danny, where are your manners?"

She withdrew, and with it, Danny's last line of defense. The boy stiffened as the pools of light flooding out of the expansive doorway and windows gently draped over him, making him wince. The older hybrid's smile became a true one once his gaze fixed on Danny.

"Ah! And who could ever forget about Daniel?"

Maddie had by this time turned around to help Jack, who seemed a little dazed and disorientated. Faster then anyone could blink, Vlad had seized Danny's hand, and after giving the frozen boy a heated smile, kissed it chastely.

Maddie turned around just in time to see Danny whip his hand out of Vlad's, face now nearly scarlet with anger.

"Danny, be polite," murmured Maddie in reproval, casting her son a warning, but also sympathetic glance. For all the wrong reasons.

Danny glowered at Vlad, which was lost on the man as he tut-tutted Maddie's warning, shaking Jack's hand with a somewhat kinder smile then he had allotted the ghost-hunter in months.

Waving aside their invitation, Vlad beckoned the trio come in, as they were now holding up the line. As he did so, his arm purposely brushed against Danny's as he bent, leaving the two hybrids shoulder-to-shoulder. Danny froze again, and wondered if the swords from the suits of armor in the main hall were still functioning. Perhaps Vlad guessed what he was thinking, soon withdrawing back to the doorway as the Fentons slowly stepped inside the Main Hall.

"You heard your mother-be polite, Daniel," Vlad murmured teasingly, though his smile had faded somewhat, and his eyes bore into Danny's. The teen immediately looked away, and hurried to look at the nearby portrait of the Dairy King still serenely perched at the top of the steps, feeling Vlad's stare bore into his back all the time he did so.

~*~

When out of the corner of his eye he affirmed that Vlad had at last turned around and no one was looking, Danny drew the back of his hand to his opposite sleeve, feeling revolted as he tried to wipe off yet another memory now painted into his thoughts.

If only he COULD tell his parents what had happened!...but then, Vlad would simply tell them his secret in a flash, and then…well, Danny didn't really want to think about what would happen then.

He sighed wearily, drawing up his gaze to the cheerful grin of the Wisconsin Dairy King's portrait. If he got through this night without Vlad making some other attempt to ruin his father's reputation and 'win Maddie' by his side, he was personally going to indulge at the Nasty Burger for the best sundae they had the menu.

Twitching the corner of his itchy mask, Danny leaned against the stairwell, lost in thought. What Vlad had done outside meant that he was still playing his sick mind game-still desperate to prove to Danny that he'd dropped his vendetta against Jack and had forsaken his love and adoration for Maddie for another….

At the memory that flashed through his mind, Danny's blue eyes widened, and he thrust his face in his hands, teeth grit.

It was a lie! All a lie! All a sick, twisted, unbelievably wrong, revolting LIE! Vlad had given up twenty years of obsession-twenty years of both hatred and desperate, unrequited love and scheming-for him?

Of course not. Danny's hyperventilating slowly began to fade.

'He's still playing the gay pedophile card on me. I wish I could get the authorities on him….they'd put him away from us! If I never, ever see him again, especially after that night, it'd be too-"

But a whispering voice suddenly cut into his thoughts, soft and sweet like velvet as they recounted words Danny had read over and over himself weeks ago before he'd crumpled the evidence:

"Darling One,
Whilst my tongue hath no poetry of the bards of old, and I stammer with the multitude of praises that threaten to come pouring from my mouth, my thoughts are brimmed with your likeness, and my weary step made light and joyous by the blessing that is your presence on this wretched rock.
My pen trembles-ah! It's a faulty instrument in these clumsy hands, for it could never last me the years I could spend writing of my utmost adoration of you, my precious apple of Eden."

Danny's frantic hyperventilating picked up again.

~*~
Nearly made sick with adrenaline, Danny twisted around, still faintly listening to the guests mix and mingle with one another, laughing and chattering as waiters bustled around with glasses of champagne and spirits.

But when Danny turned his eyes around him, there was no one there. For the voice to have come directly behind him, they would have been BEHIND the glossy, redwood banister…12 feet in the air.

Impossible for anyone but-

Danny let out a gasp as he felt his ankles being unceremoniously seized and squeezed from beneath the rich green and gold carpeting beneath him.

"Gah!"

But before he could even think to pull himself free, the young halfa was abruptly turned intangible, and dragged through the floor below. Jack was currently enjoying a half a dozen different appetizers, and Maddie was deep in discussion with an eccentric old patron of Vlad's company about ghosts.

The boy was here in an instant-gone in a flash. But no one noticed.

~*~

Danny grit his teeth as the two phased through several walls of cement and stone, before at last sinking into the darkness of some room.

This had happened before. But the arms hadn't been so nearly as gentle as this, nor did they simply allow him to drop onto a cold, tiled floor this time.

But Danny still fought like a trapped cat. Mentally cussing, he rolled over in his captor's arms, captiously muttering something that sounded suspiciously like 'cheesehead' before he phased safely into ghost form, and zoomed a few meters away, glowering at the red eyed specter casting him a slightly amused look.

"Now, now. Someone's looking a little more….lively."

Danny said nothing, biting the inside of his cheek so hard it hurt.

"….Plasmius."

The elder hybrid absentmindedly picked at an imaginary thread from his luminous clothing, though his gaze remained locked on the admittedly frightened young boy.

"Good to see you as well, Daniel. I haven't seen you for quite some time."

At this point, fear and black and white images still bubbling in Danny's mind frothed with anger.

"I found your stupid little security device in my BEDROOM," Danny snarled, his face reddening as he remember the horrid occasion he'd been searching under his bed for an old book-and had instead dug out a series of microchips the size of his fingernails. "The less you see of me is more."

Vlad chuckled softly in the darkness.

"Mmm, well, you certainly deprived me of an invaluable activity, Daniel," he drawled, appearing not to notice Danny's shudder. "Even the Packers winning the Super Bowl this year couldn't alleviate the fact that I couldn't watch you sleep anymore. Nor could I enjoy my rare treats when you changed clothes in your bedroom instead of your bathroom…." He quietly mused, lost in thought even as Danny's face changed to that of utmost horror and revulsion.

Oh, was he glad, so very, very glad that he started taking showers at Tucker's!

"You….you really are sick, aren't you?" Danny sputtered, floating a few inches away from the older ghost as if afraid of contamination. "Do you-I mean-Do you have ANY idea just how CREEPY you are? How you deliberately TRY to be?"

Vlad still remained unperturbed, though another smirk graced his face.

"Well, you do make it a point to remind me, dear boy."

Danny immediately sent a brilliant burst of emerald energy at the elder ghost, though the older hybrid carelessly deflected it as if the two were repeating their first, fateful meeting in Vlad's study.

But now, the smile was again wiped from Vlad's face. After immediately constructing a pink energy shield around himself to avoid the onslaught of three consecutive blasts, he raised a gloved hand in warning.

"Daniel….enough. I don't want to hurt-aaahhh!"

Danny had fired another shot immediately at the man's chest cavity, proceeding to knock the air out of the older hybrid's lungs-and send him directly into the opposite wall. With a great CRASH! And BANG! The dazed billionaire slid to the floor below, stars flashing in and out of his vision. Growling under his breath, he staggered up again, ready to shoot the boy with a ready round of electricity-but lowered his dark blue hand.

Danny shot an almost wild, angry look at the ghost, biting his lip, and fists clenched as he landed effortlessly on the ground before Plasmius, hopeful-pleading.

Pleading for the ghost to get up.

Pleading for the ghost to proceed to knock him upside the head a few times. Then, Vlad's stupid intentions could come out again, as always-and then, this could all….

But Vlad's cracked voice had filled the room.

"My….did you miss me that much, Daniel? I should have come to see you earlier, considering how we left affairs last time-"

Danny desperately shook his head, wishing his hearing wasn't so hypersensitive, not wanting to see or hear any more of what he knew so well.

"…..that was a filthy trick, Plasmius. I haven't fallen for it for one bit. So cut the garbage, and just-just STOP IT!"

Vlad slowly stood up, expression cold as he crossed his arms.

"As I remember it, you seemed to believe whoever was sending those letters. Did you like that last one, Daniel? I spent a long time pondering it-"

Danny scoffed, though his brilliant white hands were now shaking violently.

"Yeah, who'd you ask to write that? Your secretary? Someone chained at their desk at Hallmark?"

"I assure you, Daniel-those feelings were all mine."

Danny immediately flew into the air, intent on giving Vlad an aerial barrage, same as always-but thought better of it. Stomach reeling, he cast Vlad a panicked look from above-trying really, really hard not to notice the look of concern slowly dawning on the aristocratic villain's face.

"Daniel….when I came for you that night, I swear I didn't mean to frighten you like that," he said seriously. "But I was so distracted in getting you to believe that I was indeed your admirer that I just-"

Danny shook his head yet again; face paling in what little moonlight had trickled into the chamber from the canopy windows.

"You're a liar," he whispered, his words faint, but resonating in the sudden silence. "You're a liar, and you tricked me. I hate you."

Vlad cringed at the last three words, hoping the other halfa didn't see. He glided into the air, arms outstretched imploringly. Danny eyed him suspiciously, like an animal well-accustomed to being beaten by humans.
"Daniel. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for hurting you like that. I swear, I arranged this affair over a trifle at DALV during what would be a quiet weekend so that your parents would-"

There were so many things wrong with what Vlad had just said, and Danny could name one.

"What do you mean 'quiet?'" Danny hissed, hearing Vlad sigh, and watched him roll his eyes. "Are you STILL watching my family, you freakish fruitloop?"

Vlad bit back a retort, eager to keep his voice gentle.

"Little Badger, it simply means I might have….had a hand with the lack of ghost attacks in your town, lately."

That stopped Danny short. Flabbergasted, he immediately searched Vlad's eyes, intent on finding a lie in those grave eyes. Darn it, Vlad had a great poker face.

But unlike Vlad's stupidly absurd FIRST story, this one was actually tangible. Vlad DID have a lot of contacts in the Ghost Zone, and his name DID carry some weight. Danny felt his stomach shift uncomfortably. Vlad was pulling out all the stops here for this plan, but it HAD given him some unexpected down time…..

….and now, some new nightmares. Danny groaned, and drew a hand over his eyes in shame. A long moment of silence passed between the two.

"…..even if I were to believe….THAT…." said Danny wearily, now drawing a hand through his hair, looking exhausted.

"…..it doesn't change anything, Vlad, though I liked the relaxation time. It was a good try-you almost had me fooled this time."

Vlad bit back a torrent of pastry-related curses, though he couldn't stop the anger from bursting into his red eyes. Danny apparently saw this, and uneasily moved away again. But the billionaire extended his hand out to the boy, expression beseeching.

"Daniel. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Let me show you how much."

At this, Danny let out a short burst of laughter.

"I don't think so. I wouldn't touch you with a-"

Hissing, Vlad's own memories dimmed in his mind, though the image he'd held onto was now paramount in his mind. Danny had, for a second, believed him when they were alone on FentonWork's rooftop-he knew that much. That moment of sweet willingness when Danny's lips had brushed his own had been paramount-fantastic beyond any reckoning. But the next thing he'd known, that wretched locket had had to fall out and help ruin everything…..

But there was none of that, now. Vlad was sick of spying on the boy-sick of feeling pathetic. Daniel had to believe him. There was no other alternative, now.

Teleporting behind Danny in a puff of dark vapor, forgetting everything that had gotten him in trouble to begin with, Vlad seized Danny by the shoulders, and roughly yanked him around.

Danny's words died on his mouth almost immediately as his mind went blank with horror. No. Not this again. Not-

Vlad leaned closer, closer-until his forehead was nearly flushed against Danny's, and his
scent was sharp and icy in the paralyzed boy's nose.

"Well, now, Daniel, you do realize actions speak louder then words."

And, hands becoming alive with strange, incandescent energy, they seized Danny's wrists as Vlad brought the boy's lips up for a very passionate, very needy kiss.