Author's Note: I guess I'm striking gold here. Alright! I'm gonna try a third chapter and see if I can keep the quality going. As much as I also ship Danny/Sam, I wish there were more Danny/Ember fics that could actually explore the relationship instead of just the hooking-up part. I mean, why not? Right?

Anyways, going with the comic book theme, I was inspired to actually make fun of a certain aspect of a certain Fruit Loop… Makes me wonder if Marvel actually said anything about this. Lol. Obviously, there's going to be some Phantom Rocker goodness, but let's face it. What 'comic book series' is complete without the dreaded "guess who's back?!" storyline? This one's going to be more humor than anything else, since I'm mainly just pulling a storyline out of my hat based around one little comparison. Those that're used to the way the last two chapters were, I hope you like the comedy.

Disclaimer: You know the drill. Don't own anything.

Part 3: The Return of the Revenge Of The Returning Villain Plotline…Returns!

'God, are you there? It's me, Deadpool… or at least it seems that way!' was the dazed, frantic thought that came out of nowhere in the mind of one Danny Phantom as he stared up at the familiar monstrosity floating above him. Everyone in the loop of the ever-growing chronicle that is his life had thought they had seen the last of Vlad Plasmius, publicly known as Vlad Masters.

Ever since the ambush in the form of a sucker-punch that surely broke Danny's jaw when he decided to "announce" his return from space minutes ago, Danny had decided enough was enough. Plasmius, Masters, it didn't matter what the hell his name was. Looking upon Vlad's history with the Fentons and his obvious motives, the fact was practically in plain sight and needed to be stated.

Danny biggest nemesis was nothing more than a Doctor Doom knock-off.

Now, freeze-frame a second, readers. Think about it. An accident in college between best friends… The victim blames the best friend… Gains superpowers and dedicates his life toward villainy and vengeance… Constantly gives Danny trouble solely because of his last name. For crying out loud, Vlad has enough money to practically own a small country…ahem…like Doctor Doom does… My name might as well be Reed Richards Jr. Dammit, Dad, why'd you screw up that experiment…?

Now back to the action… Wait a second…

Why am I suddenly reading text? Like my life is a story?

And why is there a voice in my head reading said text in a deep, friendly, narrator-type voice?

What? Me? No, that's just your hero side, from that time we split forms using the Fenton Dream Catcher.

Oh. Hey, what's up?

Not much. Hey, got any movies up here?

What?

In your head. Got any entertainment? Even hero complexes get bored after a while.

All I got are thoughts!

Oh. Well, those will do. We are merely entertainment, so our thoughts should be like movies. I won't bother you much.

Whew, guess that's ok. For a minute there, this seems so much like… No…

It can't be! The voice in my head? Narrating text? Knowing I'm fictional?

I don't "seem" like Deadpool… I AM DEADPOOL!

"DANNY!"

Danny Fenton, yes, his human form, woke up with a start. "Yaaah! Killer chimichangas!" he yelped in a daze, rolling aside among the debris just in time to avoid an energy blast from the hovering Plasmius. Good news was that there really wasn't any voice in his head. Bad news was that his returning mortal enemy was no dream.

It was a blessing that Danny's rough landing happened to fall upon an old, abandoned apartment building. Otherwise, panicking citizens might've been an added concern to the situation. Although, it was a probable chance that there were at least a few homeless living in the lower floors… Danny climbed a nearby wall to his feet, looking for his girlfriend, the source of the shriek that awakened him. It was like he had beer-goggles on… A few loud, frantic guitar riffs told him that she was defending herself.

"Hey… Doctor Doom! Down here, you metal-masked asshole! Leave her alone and finish your job! C'mon, Doomie! It's freakin' clobberin' time, you jackass!" he yelled, tripping over his own two feet as he navigated along the wall around the now roofless apartment room. One would wonder if a concussion was beginning to set in. But head injury or not, his lover was his main concern.

"I thought we were done with this…" he muttered before he tried and failed to go ghost, causing his head to throb in pain. "Ugh… Lost my powers? I…We already… did this, right?" he slurred, falling back down to the floor.

"Damn Doctor Doom…"

"Behold, the power of vengeance and training! Daniel, defeated in one blow! What amazing power!" crowed Vlad as his hand passively swatted aside the energy fists of Ember's guitar chords like they were lazy flies. "What's this? Ember McLain, fighting for Daniel? My, how times have changed. No matter, you were no major threat to anyone anyway!"

He finished his statement by pointing one hand at Ember and firing a sizable ecto-beam at her. Ember barely had time to float aside to dodge it, the blast was that much faster than his regular ones were. Apparently, outer space had worked wonders on him…

"For one thing, you sucker-punched him. How the hell do you call that a fair victory, dumbass?" Ember asked, playing more guitar riffs to try and keep the known felon on the defensive.

Vlad yawned, his left hand practically on auto-pilot as it barely made any effort, successfully deflecting every attack. "Ever heard of the phrase 'by any means necessary'? That's the problem with the world's bleeding hearts, they don't have the nerve to take any opportunity that presents itself!"

"Umm… Yeah, says you and every other typical meta-jackoff." the ghoulish diva said in an unimpressed tone, unleashing an energy wave by means of working the hell out of her guitar's whammy bar while strumming a riff.

"Hey, I've spent the past couple of years trapped in space, I think you can cut me some slack!" growled Plasmius, having been pushed back a ways by Ember's loud sound waves.

"Heh… Based on what Danny's told me about you, this ain't the first time you jumped on a bandwagon, Vladdy!" Ember retorted, flying in close for an axe attack, hoping close-quarters combat would bring her better luck. Vlad clapped his hands together, blocking the guitar swing like a martial artist might catch a katana blade.

"Really? Name one other time!" the older halfa challenged, smashing his foot into her gut while he had a hold on her guitar, pushing her back a little and forcing her to double over in pain.

"Revenge on a man's whole family? Really? Like you're sooo original." Ember groaned, stubborn til the bitter end. "How about the whole 'evil clone' idea? I've seen that before." She ducked a punch. "The thing with Fright Knight? Yeah, you're not the first goon to think they can control a powerful entity." She flew up over a sweeping kick. "Legally become an authority figure? It's called Congress!" she said. Vlad paused.

Ember paused. They glared at each other.

Then they burst out laughing!

"Congress! Ha! I take it they still haven't gotten anything done?" Vlad said, barely containing his laughter enough to ask.

"I don't pay much attention… hehehe… but as far as I know, they haven't!" she snickered. Amazing how comedy can create moments and perhaps break some tension, especially if it's funny because it's true.

"Oh, will they ever learn?" Vlad mused, breaking the moment with a swift haymaker to Ember's face, sending her plummeting down, near the same abandoned apartment building Danny crash-landed into. "Rule One: Never let your guard down, little girl…" he sneered.

Danny had finally gotten to his feet again. His head feeling like its swimming in a large martini, he looked up just in time to see "Doom" send Ember falling down, somewhat in his direction. He panicked. Moving as fast as his body would let him, he dashed toward a window that just happened to face the direction of where Ember seemed to be falling. With a crash, he leaped through.

The best news was that his timing was straight out of a Saturday morning cartoon as he managed to catch the falling singer. The good news was that, while Vlad had gotten stronger, Ember seemed to be merely knocked for a loop. This woman was tough! The bad news… was that they were falling together. Why did his powers have to short-circuit worse than a malfunctioning Iron Man suit? Infuriating, isn't it?

'C'mon… Go ghost… Go! Any second now!' mentally screamed Danny as he strained and struggled to activate his ghost form as the trash-strewn ground of the alley came up to them at an alarming speed. Danny did the only concussion-inspired quick-thinking his hero complex would allow him to do: shift his body weight so that he was beneath Ember to hopefully help cushion her fall, held her close, and closed his eyes, savoring his last moment with her.

Then, Danny hit something… Something that seemed hard, but also seemed to bounce, sort of like the ground was…floating? He opened his eyes, his still-unsteady vision seeing nothing but his girlfriend's eyes, one of which was blacker than usual. That must've been where Vlad socked her…

"Hey, Dipstick… Guess I'm doing all the work today, huh?" she said in a pained tone, although Danny could still sense a hint of amusement, even in his current condition. Danny looked around. They seemed to be moving, despite the notable fact that they're still horizontal, Ember lying on top of Danny.

He tried sitting up, only for Ember to gently shove him back down. "Ah, ah. I wouldn't do that, Baby-Pop. You'd lose your balance."

"Huh?"

"Have you forgot? My guitar can act like a hoverboard. You're currently riding it like a hovering gurney." As they spoke, the hover-guitar was currently flying the duo along the sidewalks and streets of town at a brisk pace, a little faster than a running human and no more than two feet off the ground. It seemed better to lie low at the moment, considering…

"Whoa…" He did forget about that. Concussions during an emergency situation have a funny way of doing that… "Who needs the Silver Surfer when we have you?" he said, almost slurring his words. The adrenaline rush was over and the head injury was coming back, almost with a vengeance.

"Lamest pickup line ever… Also, you referenced! So unoriginal…" she scoffed, although her face showed she was more concerned about him than feeling mischievous. Even at times like these, she couldn't resist busting his chops about originality. It was beginning to seem a little too much like some sort of psycho-instinct thing… She merely hoped that she wouldn't run out of new ways to exploit his lack of inventiveness.

"Ugh… Where's Doom…?"

"Huh? Who?"

"Ya know… Doctor Doom, the guy who hit me like a freight train…"

"Man, he really messed up your head. That's Plasmius, remember?" She put a gentle hand on his forehead and began to carefully run it through his hair, looking for a bump or bruise or some other obvious hint of his head trauma as the guitar sped along, almost on a sort of auto-pilot as it navigated. She wondered if he forgot that she was already dead, having noticed the shifting around during the fall. Like that would've mattered, despite the fact that ghosts could still get hurt…

"I know, Em… It's a…It's an inside joke... Did I ever tell you why he's outta get meeee?" he said, beginning to slur again.

"Not really, Dipstick. You guys've always seemed glad to be rid of him and never bothered to tell the story. I can see why, though. The guy's a total dweeb! What was he, some trust-fund kid who went postal when his mom threw her outta the basement against his will?" she said, beginning to rant toward the end.

That got a chuckle out of Danny. "Certainly acts like it! Ugh…" a twinge of head pain. "Man, we gotta deal with him… Where'd he go…?"

"We left him back there. I doubt he's still there, though. Either he's hunting us down, decided to take off for the night—"

"Or he could be in our flight path!" called out Danny. Indeed, a grinning Plasmius was hovering, arms crossed, at the end of the street that the guitar was currently flying down.

"What's the matter? Got a hot date to get off to? Or were you just planning on getting off?" It didn't seem possible, but the disgusting grin on his face seemed to turn perverse after saying that.

"Oh, EW! Sex puns?! Really?" griped Ember, managing to stop the guitar, leaving the couple hovering a good ten feet away from the supervillain. Could this get any more disturbing?

"Oh, 'cum' now, dear. Don't be so 'easy'… to pick on. You just really seem the type to 'put out'…of your misery." He paused, looking lost in thought. "No, wait, I think that last one needs tweaking…"

"Ya…ya know what needs tweaking…?" slurred Danny, a drunken glare aimed right at Vlad. "Your face!" Then, he started laughing. He really needed some medical attention…

As Vlad scowled, Ember rolled her eyes up and looked at the nighttime sky, feeling defeated. Stars were out, a few puffy clouds hanging around. A peaceful view, ironically. 'What the hell kinda ending is this for us…? The great Phantom, addled by concussion, slain by revenge… Queen of Rock, Ember, wiped out of existence, guilty by association… Pfft, those would be nice tombstones…' she thought sarcastically.

"Doesn't matter, brat, because your fate's still the same. Total annihilation!" Vlad's voice cut into her brief mental monologue, her attention drawn to him powering up another supped-up ecto-beam. He seemed to take his time with it. The grin on his face was evident, he was blatantly savoring the moment. The sheer nerve of that egomaniac…

"Hey… Doctor Doom… Where's your maaaask?" Danny's drunken speech almost seemed comical, as if he wasn't paying attention.

"I am NOT Doctor Doom! However, I AM YOUR DOOM!" snarled the older halfa, firing the ecto-beam. It was a sizable beam with what should be enough power to reduce a human to ash, even if said human happens to be a powered-down halfa. Finally, it will be done and over with, this redundant feud…

…or so he thought.

A barely-visible bubble suddenly formed around the couple, just in time for it to deflect the powerful beam harmlessly skyward. Danny, had he been completely coherent, would've recognized it as a Portable Fenton Ghost Shield having been deployed.

"I thought we impeached you for good, Plasmius!" came a familiar feminine voice from above. Surfing on her hoverboard came Valerie the Red Huntress, blaster drawn and hovering mini-blasters armed. Once again, timing proved to be everything.

"I merely demanded a recount, my dear." sneered the vampire-like halfa, turning his attention to the newcomer, hands glowing with power. "This time, you'll find the ballot box to be more in my favor!" he added as he launched himself toward her. Valerie began firing as Vlad seemed to focus on getting in close to her. Punchy little creep, ain't he?

"You seem so sure, Masters. It wouldn't be a surprised to me if you misjudged the voter turnout" the Huntress remarked, sounding rather amused, despite the circumstance. Vlad frowned. Teenagers with their cocky attitude…

However, Vlad's flight suddenly took a detour as a sudden weight slammed onto his back and forced him back down toward the street. He met the concrete face-first, managing to put a few cracks in the asphalt. The villain felt movement, as if whatever landed on him was climbing off. He raised his head to get his bearings, only to hear a familiar giggle of satisfaction…

Looking around, he spotted a very-familiar mini-Phantom standing beside his fallen form, smirk on her face and fierce glare in her eyes. Holy karma payback, Batman…

"You…! Just what I need…" he growled, nonplussed, as he got to his hands and knees. He shook his head lightly to help clear it before moving to stand up. However, Danielle merely jumped up and landed feet-first on his head, smacking his head on the street again. Never has it felt so good to go Mario-style on an enemy!

"Better practice only rising when told, Vlad. 'Cause you're going to court for this!" proclaimed the epitome of Danny's feminine side.

Valerie flew down to Dani's side, weapons aimed at Vlad. "Either that, or exile to the Ghost Zone. Your call." the dark-skinned hero added, her tone icy-cold.

"You two… are just fresh meat. I've gotten stronger…" answered Vlad as he got to his hands and knees again, a little dazed from the blows to the head. At this time, Ember and Danny had floated over to them, still riding the hover-guitar. Vlad was flanked from two opposite sides now.

"So have we, moron. You lost the element of surprise. And now, we have you outnumbered." Ember said, her cocky smirk back on her face. Danny stirred.

"Yeah… Cause we're the Fantastic…" the loopy halfa stammered.

"Dipstick, don't say it…" Ember interrupted.

"The Fantastic…"

"Don't!"

"I say we're the Fan…"

"Fans! Yeah, real good, Baby-Pop. We're all fans of being superheroes, that's it. That's what you meant to say. Very nice of you. We appreciate it" Ember said rapidly, cutting him off for good. Last thing the little team needed was being hit with gimmick infringement! "Rest now while we barbecue this asshole…" she said soothingly before swinging her head in Vlad's direction, mentally throwing a wave of blue fire toward Vlad with her 'hair'. The odd-colored fireball smacked Vlad in the face before he could move, burning his head while making him tumble back to the ground, on his back.

Valerie fired her blasters while Dani shot a pair of ecto-beams, hoping to wear him down with constant fire. So far, it seemed to work. Ember quickly glimpsed down at Danny. He seemed to have lost consciousness for the time being. She sighed before jumping off the guitar. Vlad was going to pay. She slowly approached the revenge-driven villain who was busy defending himself from the constant barrage. His back was turned. Good, for now. She wasn't sure what she was going to do. Her guitar was still carrying the KO'd Danny.

Improvise. That's what she'd have to do. She was getting closer, her mind trying to come up with a plan, some form of attack. As she came within two feet of the now-standing foe, she could only come up with one idea…

She pounced, her legs wrapping around his midsection while using her notably-sharp fingernails to frantically claw his face like a feral cat. Vlad, like most people that suddenly have a feral cat attacking their heads, screamed and panicked and stumbled around, trying to get the "cat" off of his head.

"What the hell?! Get it off! Get it off! Oww! Dammit, OWW!" were some of Plasmius' frantic screams as he shambled around, shaking himself, trying to swat at Ember. The rock diva just kept clawing at his face, eventually causing him to bleed. Vlad stumbled back into a building wall, back-first, hoping to jar Ember off. No such luck. He tried again and again.

Ember glanced Dani and Valerie watching the random phenomena, looks of amused awe on their faces. "As much as this seems like a once-in-a-lifetime moment, I can't hold him forever! Got a Thermos?!" she asked, managing to jam a thumb in Vlad's eye, causing him to scream louder and get more frantic. He fell down and tried to roll over to shake her off.

Dani shook her head, but Valerie began feeling around her back, knowing she had one on her. Taking it out from its holding place, he uncapped it and aimed it toward Vlad. "Move, girl! Otherwise, I'll end up getting you too!" she warned, ready to go.

"One second!" was the ghost's answer as she untangled her legs from the writhing Vlad. The villain frantically tried to grab her, meaning to perform some counterattack. Ember scrambled away from the bloody-faced halfa as the Huntress activated the Thermos, capturing Vlad in a matter of moments.

Ember panted, her adrenaline wearing down. "If that jerk didn't need a mask before, I bet he does now…" she muttered, getting to her feet.

"You alright, McLain?" asked the Huntress. It had taken quite the effort on Danny's part to convince her that the diva was going legitimate, especially since Ember tended to still cause light mischief now and again. But at some point, Valerie began to at least trust that Ember would be a trustworthy ally in protecting the town from major threats.

"I will be as soon as I wash my hands… Eww, pervy old man blood…" Ember shook her hands as if they were soaked, little flecks of ectoplasmic blood scattering to the street below. Dani floated toward her.

"Is Danny going to be ok?" the little clone asked, concerned for her 'cousin' as she gazed toward the fallen boy. Clearly, he was still unconscious. Ember hoped he was 'sleeping it off'. "I hope so, Dani…" muttered the singer.

"Should we take him to a hospital?" asked the Huntress, knowing the possibility of the Fenton parents going into a panic from finding out that their son was put in the hospital by a supervillain. She remembered the time the Fentons burst into Casper High, armed to the teeth… They scared more people than the ghosts-in-question did!

"Nah. I'll deal with him. He mentioned to me a few times that he built himself a little stash of medical stuff. Between me and his sister, I think we can patch him up, no problem. He'll be sore for a few days, but I doubt he'll be joining my ranks yet." Ember said, turning away from them. The trio went over to where Danny lay, guitar obediently hovering in place.

"Should we have known that something like this would happen?" Dani asked, looking at her beaten original.

"Perhaps. It wasn't as if he died after the asteroid incident. I suppose halfas can breath in space, as long as they're in ghost mode… He was definitely the vengeful type of guy…" mused Valerie, glancing at the occupied Thermos like a scientist observing a specimen.

"Just like comic books. 'Oooh, the mortal enemy returns'… I guess there is truth in fiction." Ember took to giving Danny a good observation, assessing the total damage. It was fortunate that it was mostly bruises and cuts, aside from the obvious bump on the head.

There came an awkward silence. The four of them never really just "hung out" as a group, with Ember having defected from villainy just several months ago, Dani's constant journeying across the country, and Valerie normally flying solo. Perhaps sometime. After all, there's a first time for everything…

"So… What do we do with him?" asked the Huntress, raising the Thermos. Ember said nothing, continuing her observation of her lover. Dani looked thoughtful, however.

"Well, we can't just put him in the Ghost Zone. He'll just find a way out and the fight continues another day." reasoned the clone. "No need for us to have our own personal Joker…"

The Red Huntress frowned in her helmet. Dani was right. Why have a supervillain put in a situation where he'll just break out again and again and again, laughing at the hero's expense? He did come back from seemingly everything, even outer space. Something had to be done. But what? They weren't murderers or anything.

Her musings were cut short when Ember bluntly took the Thermos away, glaring at it. "I got an idea of what to do with this. You two just chill, alright?"

"Ember, I don't…"

"No, Huntress. I got this. Trust me. He won't be back, at least not for a long time. I know you goody-goodies don't like the whole 'cruel and unusual punishment' thing. Good thing for you all that I'm not ALL good. Just keep telling yourself that this clown had it coming and don't think about what I have planned." Ember explained with an eerie calmness which would've concerned Huntress and Dani had it not been for the obvious fact that Vlad had indeed crossed the rock star and, before his space exile, crossed everybody anyway.

"Alright. I'll take your word for it, Ember." Valerie replied, nodding her head as if confirming it to herself. Ember nodded back, attaching the thermos to her belt. She then carefully climbed onto her guitar (and Danny) and slowly began to hover away, in the general direction of Fenton Works.

"Catch you guys later. Perhaps we can all team up sometime when the town's in danger. We'd totally rock evil's world!" she said with her usual confident smirk before speeding up and away.

Dani and Valerie were left standing there, all alone in the street. "Well, there's a thought… A team." said Dani, trying to fill the odd silence with some conversation.

"Yeah, as if our lives aren't strange enough." chuckled the Huntress. She began to wonder if she'd really miss the days when this gig seemed simpler… After all, most things aren't so cut-and-dry. There are always the 'shades of grey'...

Danny slowly began to come back into the realm of the living. He hoped the soft surface he felt himself lying on wasn't a soft fluffy cloud of heaven, like that old stereotype. What had happened anyway? He managed to open his eyes to find a familiar ceiling. He was in his room, on his bed! He would've smiled for joy, if it weren't for the headache suddenly coming on right at that moment.

"Arrgh… Man, what happened…" he weakly asked himself, not knowing if anyone was around. Fortunately for him, someone was as a familiar shade of blue and pale-white invaded his vision.

"Heeey, Baby-Pop. How are you feeling?" asked the worried diva, leaning down to plant a gentle kiss on his lips. The weak boy was grateful that Ember was holding herself back. He wasn't sure if he could withstand her usual rambunctious ways of showing affection.

"Headache and a stiff body, although I'm suddenly feel a bit better, thanks" he said, smiling through the pain.

"Flatterer. I don't have healing powers. Anyways, Vlad's been… taken care of. The 'Iron Maiden' and the little duplicate came to our rescue." It took Danny a little while for him to figure out who she meant by those descriptors. "Between the three of us, we got lucky… I think I rocked out loudest, though." Ember grinned. Leave it to Ember to brag.

"Where is he now?"

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that. We Thermos'd him."

"And?"

"Trust me, I took care of it." A smug look appeared on her face. Danny felt like he should almost pity Vlad. Almost… He knew that look. It was the same look she got when she got the upper hand in her villain days. The same look she got after proving a valid point during the few times they argued. The same look she got the first night they decided to take things to the next level and he found out the hard way that she preferred to be in control…

Did Batman ever have a situation where Catwoman dealt with a specific Arkham villain and he was left wondering what she did with him? Probably.

"Ehehe… Uhh… Thanks, I guess?" Danny wasn't sure what to say to that, although he did truly feel grateful toward her for apparently taking care of him after Vlad knocked him out. Guarding a targeted unconscious person wasn't exactly easy work, especially against a really strong enemy.

"No prob, Baby-Pop. So… Care to explain to me why you called Vlad 'Doctor Doom'?" she asked, curious, as she sat down on the bed and slowly placed herself next to him to cuddle, careful not to accidentally hit a sore spot. Bruises were peppered throughout his body. He'd probably have problems walking and moving around for a while…

"Huh? I called him that?" The confused look on his face was priceless to her. She adored it. She'd have to stump him more often.

"Yeah, remember?" she pressed. She figured he probably wouldn't remember a lot of his addled behavior.

"I guess I can see that. How Vlad became like he is… well… It's the same thing as Doctor Doom's origin." He explained.

"Gonna have to explain, dipstick. Fantastic Four wasn't exactly one of the superhero gigs I kept up with. I at least know that Doom keeps targeting those heroes specifically." Ember shrugged. At least talking should help get his mind off the pain, so she reasoned.

And so, for a while, they discussed superhero stuff. It was nice to have a normal enough discussion for a change.

Meanwhile…

Ember's realm consisted of a small messy apartment, filled with music equipment and memorabilia, both of her own career and of famous rock bands. And by 'filled', it should be noted that it should mean 'practically overflowing'. Like a normal rebellious 18-year-old, Ember's realm was quite messy, some spots more so than others.

Case in point, her closet. It was placed in a spot in her bedroom that could be described as 'out of the way', in a spot that nobody would look twice at unless they were deliberately looking for said closet. And out of the way it truly was, for Ember rarely needed to go in there for much.

Despite that, the inside was a veritable mountain of various random items. Musical trinkets, knick-knacks from various Ghost Zone spots, old no-longer-cared-for clothes (including lingerie), some trash, empty makeup/facepaint containers, etc. It did look like it was accessed recently, with the giant pile looking more disheveled than usual. But the pile would eventually settle with time. And a lot of time there would be for that…

Deep, deep within the smelly, old, unclean mass of detritus, down toward the bottom, there sat a Fenton Thermos, hidden away and already forgotten about… If one listened extremely carefully in Ember's bedroom (only if there was complete and total silence), one can almost hear something, almost like a whisper….

"Let me out! You hear me!? Why aren't I being let out!? You guys usually let ghosts back into the Ghost Zone! What's taking so long? I demand to talk about my release! You can't keep me in here forever!"

Vlad panted, having exhausted his voice from constant yelling. What the hell took so long? Did they take long putting ghosts back in the Zone? He wasn't sure.

And so he waited… and waited…

And waited…

"How long's it been? 10 hours?" he asked. He didn't even have a watch. At this point, it could've been two days. Maybe four.

Waiting's a bitch, isn't it?

"Huh? Who said that?"

Oh nobody. Just the voice in your head. Loneliness will do that to some people…

"Am I… insane?"

If you have to ask at this point, you're crazier than I thought. Who's up for a movie?

"Umm… We don't even have a TV in here?" he growled like the impatient idiot that he is. "I am not an idiot!" You're acting like one now. "No, I'm not!" You're talking to a narrating voice in your head. That doesn't exactly scream 'genius', now does it? "Insanity and stupidity are two different things!" Ah, so he admits he's crazy! "DAMN YOU!" Just giving you some companionship, pal. Friends joke with each other. "Who says we're friends?!" Calm down, Skippy. We got a long wait ahead of us.

A looooong wait… When's Spring Cleaning?

"What does that have to do with anything?!"

Nothing! Said too much for the fourth wall…

Author's Note: And there it is, a fic pulled out of nothing but a tiny little observation. I really hope it's not too strange or unusual, considering how the first two chapters were.

About the one observation, seriously, anybody else notice that Vlad's origin/motive is practically the same as Doctor Doom from the Fantastic Four? Two college buddies? Accident during a science experiment? Victimized friend blames the other friend and declares revenge? Becomes rich and powerful and uses that to attack? I'm not too sure if Vlad's backstory is supposed to be a legit parody of Doom or if they did that on accident, but I'm still surprised that it's not pointed out. (Unless some of us fanfic writers already did point it out and I just haven't read those yet, of course.)

As always, feel free to review and tell me if I did a good job or if I should leave the 'strange comedy' to other better writers. Thank you.

Shameless plug, but if anybody's interested, check out my Teen Titans fics and my sole Beetlejuice fic. I could use some more inspiration to crack this writer's block I seem to have, especially with the Beetlejuice story… Reviews are important! Or, at least thoughtful… Lol.

Until next time!