Chapter 4: Combining Characters
Vlad flew through a sea of green ectoplasmic air, glancing occasionally at a projection from his smart watch. He had been working on this map ever since he became half ghost twenty years ago, but with this new minicomputer of his he could update it in real time with each new discovery. Based on interviews from various ghosts, he was certain that somewhere beyond Pandora's lair lay the lair of this mysterious Clockwork, but he could not be sure so he had to see for himself. Surely enough, he encountered a dusky island filled with scenery reminiscent of Dali's famous "The Persistence of Memory".
'This must be the place.'
Landing, he walked aimlessly through a forest of dead trees and clocks until arriving at a dark tower. An owl hooted a warning, but he shrugged it off, pushing open the creaking doors and entering. Glowing clocks of various sizes lined the interior, ticking at various speeds, each sporting a different time. The walls appeared non-existent; it was as if he had entered a separate dimension.
'At least his castle makes him look worthy of the title of Time Lord.'
Although it was only a few minutes, it felt like eons before he arrived at a small room with gray walls. On the side was what he assumed to be a trophy display box, as it contained medals with a C.W. engraved in them. 'C.W.? Clockwork!'
He had found him.
The room was filled with round monitors of various sizes, displaying nothing but static. He had to wonder if Clockwork had used these to spy on other ghosts; he had to be called the ghost of time for a reason. 'Ghosts of past, present and future, like the Christmas tale.' He walked to the end of the room where there was a small table with a dented Fenton Thermos on it. He smiled. He had not run into this Clockwork yet, but did not desire to do so. He did not have time for a confrontation. He grabbed the Thermos and flew out, surprised that it took him less time to leave than it did to arrive. Soon he was on his way to his home portal.
He grinned. 'Step 1: Complete. Now for Step 2.'
-1-
Clockwork sighed, coming into view as soon as the intruder went his way. The observers appeared after him.
"How could you allow Vlad Plasmius to just take the criminal, Dan Phantom? If the ghost boy that exists out of time is set free, do you know what disaster he will cause to the human realm and the Ghost Zone?!"
"Now now," Clockwork said, morphing into an old man. "Relax, it is all under control. At least, in the reality in which we are heading towards."
"You said that there were two other possibilities. One was that in ten years, Dan will manage to escape his prison on his own and will once again wage terror upon the world. The other was that Plasmius would gain ultimate power by absorbing Dan, which would also lead to total destruction. Clockwork, I think you know what you must do. Dan must be imprisoned again and Plasmius must be destroyed forever."
"I said relax, didn't I?" Clockwork glared at them. "Yes, it is true that those possibilities do exist in the flows of time. But it appears that with a little tweaking, things turn out entirely differently."
He zoomed in on a fuzzy white animal.
"A cat," one of the Observers stated. "What can a cat do to stop Plasmius?"
"Oh, not stop. Merely, guide him in the right direction. With time, we may see this villainous fellow deal with our little Dan problem in a more permanent way. We can't have someone exist out of time forever, can we?" Clockwork morphed into a small child.
The observers oohed. The tallest observer merely replied with a straight face, "You fiddled again, didn't you."
"For a good cause." Clockwork smiled a little sneaky smile.
-2-
Pamela paced back and forth, waiting for the results of the surgery. She knew she was going to feel guilty if the kid didn't make it out okay, even if it wasn't her responsibility, so she called Jeremy to let her know that she wouldn't be back tonight. Surely enough, Samantha had been out late with her friends and went straight to bed. She was sure those boys were a bad influence on her, but at least they kept her safe.
She turned when she heard the swing of the door, and the surgeon came out.
"The surgery went well. We'll be moving her to a room while keeping close observation."
"Excuse me, Doctor," Pamela started, "What do you think might have happened to the child?" She figured the kid was hit by a car but since the doctor was right there, she thought she had might as well ask.
"I-it seems that, based on her injuries and my experience as an emergency surgeon, she was pushed to the ground at certain distance, or possibly thrown out of a moving vehicle, and attacked with some sort of gun at point blank. She was very fortunate that her heart was mostly unharmed; if the blast hit her even a fraction closer to her heart she would have died instantly."
"Ah." She wondered if that girl had been somehow abducted by some sort of gang.
"Excuse me, ma'am, what is your relation to the victim?"
"Huh? No relation at all. I just wanted to make sure she was alright." She was aware that doctors were not supposed to give information about patients out to strangers, so this question was not surprising to her.
The doctor nodded, and then walked past her.
As she walked back to the lobby, reflecting on what she had just experienced, she felt a hand grab her elbow from behind.
"Excuse me?" Pamela said, startled.
It was a lady doctor in blue scrubs, with a white mask still hanging from her neck. From what Pamela recalled, she had seen the woman head into the surgery room with the injured girl.
"You're really not related to her? You know nothing about her but her first name?" She asked her with fierce eyes.
'What is wrong with these people? It must be the air they breathe.' Pamela wanted to shake her head. She bottled up her frustrations and merely replied, "Yes, quite."
"We've been getting a lot of abuse cases these days." The woman continued, narrowing her eyes. "I'll have to ask you to verify it with me."
"H-hey!" Pamela exclaimed as the lady started to drag her off. "Just what is your p-"
"If you're telling the truth, the DNA test will come out negative and no harm will be done right?"
Pamela was beyond peeved. Oh she'd get her blood drawn alright – it was the fastest way of dealing with crazy people – but it would not be the last time they heard from her. She would file so many suits it would put the whole hospital out of business. From what she remembered of the girl Dani's appearance, she didn't resemble her in the least. Sure, her darling Samantha also had black hair, but it and the eye color had skipped a generation. Plus, the little girl's facial structure was totally different, so she had no idea where they were coming up with something that sounded like it came from a soap opera.
She followed the detestable woman down the hall and into an office, thinking fondly that once she got out of there she would be free to report the lady for overstepping her bounds. Eyeing her chest for a nametag, she found that the woman was a Dr. Tami Scott. She took a mental note for her complaint later. She observed as the female doctor took out a sealed package, opened it, and assembled it. The woman then felt for a vein and inserted it to collect her blood.
Pamela looked away, her lip wobbling slightly; she hated needles.
"Oh, and the police will probably be checking your limousine's black box, since there is due cause for suspicion. I hope you understand, Mrs. Manson."
"Uh huh," was all Pamela could manage to say without giving off her true feelings.
She was seething in rage by the time she stomped out of that office. This would be the last time she would be a Good Samaritan.
-2-
Vlad cracked his knuckles. He could hardly wait for this moment. He had the Thermos sitting on the table, ready for depositing in the Suction Tank that would generate the power he needed to see his new future through. This was the second chance he was waiting for. Going over to the machine, he double checked the settings for ectoplasmic energy siphoning. 'Perfect.' Everything was running smoothly. He even had a backup absorber in case the ghost somehow escaped, but that was unlikely. It was then that he heard a sound that he should not have heard: a cat's meow.
Swiveling around, he saw it: on the table beside the Thermos was the cat's bowl, filled with cat food.
'Strange…I don't recall putting it there. '
He could only look helplessly as Maddie the cat leaped onto the table, knocking down the Thermos as she made her way to her bowl. He heard a beep and a hiss as the Thermos released its captive.
"Oh Snickerdoodles.'
He heard mad cackling as the smoke filled the room, a buff figure forming behind it. "Finally, I am free!"
The smoke cleared, revealing a ghost he had never seen before. Based on his muscular figure, he assumed he was strong.
"Uh, hello there," Vlad attempted to engage him in conversation to try and distract him while he tried to formulate another plan. "I'm Vlad, welcome to my ghost lab."
The figure landed in front of him, his grin turning into a serious expression. "I know who you are, Uncle Vlad. I'd say I'm glad to see you again, but I no longer have those pesky emotions, thanks to you. I couldn't have imagined that you'd be the one to finally set me free, for the second time."
"And who are-" Vlad stopped. The only one who called him Uncle Vlad was Daniel. But that was impossible! That uniform's emblem was the same one as the young lad, but the ghost's form was all wrong. It reminded him of his own ghost form somehow, a grown man. "Who are you?"
"Well, well, I suppose in this timeline we haven't met yet. I see." He nodded, before darkly grinning again. "It's me, Danny Phantom."
"Timeline? You're saying you're Danny from the future?"
"Yes, yes I am. But by all means, do call me Dan. In a lot of ways, you were the one that made me to be what I am today."
"Pray tell." He said, folding his hands as he feigned curiosity.
"I suppose you should know, before your death. Or maybe if I combine with your ghost half, as I did before, I can become even more powerful and successfully destroy my past self's future once and for all, making sure he becomes me."
And he told him that fateful tale, of the Nasty Burger Explosion that killed his family and friends, to his depressing time living with Vlad. He explained how Vlad had tried to help him by removing his emotions, only to lead to the events of Danny Phantom combining with Vlad Plasmius to create the Dan Phantom now in front of him. He gloated of the destruction he then dealt upon Amity Park until the Daniel Vlad knew saved the day, with the help of Clockwork.
"Although I didn't spare my human half, the pitiful thing, cowering in a corner as I destroyed him…" He took a moment to laugh. "I did spare you, Uncle. In a way, I suppose, I began to view you as a father. You were so kind as to give me a piece of yourself so that I would become what I am today, the new and improved Danny Phantom. And it is today that I will do so again. You always were so angry at your suffering as a halfa, so I will do you a favor by robbing you of that power again. Tell me, am I not the son you've always wanted?" His gaze was cool and calculated.
Vlad thought of two possibilities: 1. that this ghost was a liar and trying to deceive him, so he should immediately transform, fight him and somehow stick him in the Tank to melt him down and steal his powers; and 2. That this ghost actually was Daniel in the future and was now out to take his ghost half from him, again, robbing him of the very power he now depended on, and to stop him he must fight him and force him into the Tank to steal his powers. Either way, he had to fight him.
He sighed. He didn't know that having the real Daniel as a son would turn him into some kind of villainous monster worse than him. 'Oh well,' he thought, shrugging. He didn't desire someone who wanted to kill him as a son. 'Time to take out the trash.'
Transforming into Plasmius, he smiled and declared, "Try to take it from me, my boy."
"I shall."
Shots were fired from both sides, causing Maddie the cat to scamper out of the lab as the doors closed automatically behind her.
Vlad struggled to dodge the red blasts from Dan as he fired green ones, trying to aim carefully so that he would not hit any important machinery if Dan avoided them. Dan was cackling as he fired haphazardly, seemingly glowing each time a glass vial or beaker exploded.
"Ah, this is the sound I want ringing through the town," he said, hitting Vlad in the shoulder. "The question is: did you invent it yet? The gloves to separate human from ghost."
"Oh, those gloves?" Vlad feigned knowledge, and then winced at his injury. "I chucked them, useless really."
"Well, if you haven't invented them yet," Dan said, his eyes narrow, "I could always make you."
'Drat, this kid is smarter than he looks,' Vlad thought. He dodged another blast before grimacing. 'Gingersnaps, there goes the cloning machine.' He turned back to Dan angrily. "You'll pay for that."
"Make me." Dan was clearly enjoying the destruction he was causing.
"Oh, I plan to." He replicated himself, generating five body doubles.
Dan did the same. "Aww, just like old times. Eh, Uncle Vlad?"
"Only the real Daniel can call me that, and you're not him." Vlad stared him down, looking down on him in the same mocking manner as he was used to doing in his confrontations with Daniel.
"I already explained it to you, didn't I? Or do you think I'd gain something by deceiving you?"
"The real lad is like me, half ghost. You're just a ghost." Vlad smiled as Dan erupted in his fury.
"I am better in every way now that I am full ghost. I'll show you my power!"
Before he realized it, Dan's clones surrounded him then blasted him, causing Vlad to roll his eyes back in pain. Vlad's clones rushed to fight back, managing to stop the onslaught. He struggled to get up, feeling ectoplasm leaking from all over his chest and arms. Gathering his energy, he transported behind Dan, blasting him in the back.
Dan cried out in pain, bleeding green. "Why you-"
Vlad paused; he felt a familiar presence in his lab, one that wasn't ghost. He glanced at the security footage on the wall. In the corner was his lackey, Valerie. All he had known was that she had suddenly stopped responding to his requests when he was in the process of assembling the Masters Blasters. It was only a few days later that she confronted him, armed with the knowledge of his ghostly identity and promising to face him if he ever did something to harm the town. He wondered why she was here now. 'If that child's sense of justice is still in play, I may be able to use this to my advantage.'
First, if this Dan was anything like how Daniel used to be, he would enrage him with some more carefully phrased insults. "Thought you had me that time, didn't you. Typical ghost, can't think two steps ahead. Well you can't defeat Vlad Masters that easily. You're just a wittle ghost."
Dan's eyes glowed red in response. "I'm more powerful than you ever were, Vlad. You're only a half breed!"
"Oh really? Maybe, maybe you're a tad stronger than I was in that timeline, but I feel that I have a little more up my sleeve than you were ever aware of. Oh, Valerie!"
A young teen clad in a red suit slowly stepped out from behind a shelf of various chemicals, seemingly startled.
"You?" Dan said, shell shocked. "It's been a while. I thought I'd never seen you ally with your sworn enemy, a ghost."
"Who I ally with is none of your business, ghost trash," The girl replied defiantly. "And trust me; he'll be next on my list. But if you're out to destroy the world, I'm here to stop you!"
-3-
Valerie had just come from Star's place, comforting the poor girl from her recent breakup.
"I can't really blame him," Star had sniffled as she blew into a tissue on her bed. "Kwan's a gullible guy, but he's so big and loveable I just can't hate him." She started crying again.
"Oh Star," Valerie said, sitting beside her. "Someone who can't believe you isn't worth it. Just forget about that jerk."
"I can't." She was full on sobbing now.
"There there." Valerie patted her on the back. "I can't believe anyone would think you'd be into that old mayor." 'Who's secretly an evil ghost,' she added to herself.
"It's not like I hate the Mayor," Star started. "In fact, I'm his biggest fan. Do you know how great it is to actually hear his speeches from up close? To actually see him as he makes policies to help Amity? It's really humbling to see how much he cares for the town. He has to be the best Mayor Amity Park's ever had. I just can't believe they'd make up that rumor about me and the Mayor at school, I'm so ashamed."
"Why did you get in his car in the first place, Star? That kind of thing is real easy to misunderstand."
"It's not like he's just some creep, Val. I trust him. The whole town should trust him. I wonder who spread that rumor." She looked downtrodden, hanging her head as she stared at the floor.
"Paulina." Valerie said, unable to hide the anger in her voice. "That disgusting witch!"
"Paulina…about me? But we're such good friends! We tell each other everything…" Star looked at Valerie with watery eyes, clearly feeling betrayed.
"Yeah, well remember I used to be friends with her too, going out of my way to make her happy, thinking it was so cool to be hanging out in her presence. She's just showing her true colors. She's just jealous of you Star, because you have real happiness that she can't even hope to possess. Don't let her steal that from you. Whenever you're feeling sad, just give me a call or something. I'll be there for you, okay?"
"You're such a great friend to me Val, thanks so much." Star hugged her tightly, dropping a few tears onto Valerie's shoulder.
Valerie held her back, clenching her fist in anger. Sure, she hated Paulina for what she did to poor Star's relationship, but it was partially Vlad's fault as well. After this, she made up her mind to bust into Vlad's lab and tell him not to even go near Star to put an end to the rumors.
However, she was beginning to regret it as she found herself as a witness to a fight between Vlad and a ghost who claimed to be Danny Phantom from the future. 'First ghosts, now time travel?' Sure, she could believe it, she had to. He looked like an older, more vampiric version of Phantom with abs that sung of his fighting caliber. She figured she had walked into the middle of the fight, trying her best to avoid glass shards that littered the floor. After digging in her yellow skirt's pocket, she pulled out the cube holding her costume and pressed the release button, letting it envelop her. Just in case either of them noticed her, she had to be ready to defend herself against either, or in the worst case, both of them.
Listening to the exchange between them, she determined that this future Phantom was most definitely eviler than his present day counterpart and had to be prioritized, or he would destroy Amity Park just like he was currently destroying the lab. She was shocked out of her wits when he told the part about how he gruesomely murdered his human half. 'Human half? Like Dani?' She thought back to the girl she had met, that she was convinced was evil, only to discover that she was innocent and very human. Danny Phantom had even offered himself to protect her, and called her his cousin. Dani Phantom was half ghost. Why wouldn't he be as well? She found herself coming to the conclusion she was reluctant to accept: that the sweet and considerate boy she had fallen for and dated not too long ago was also Danny Phantom. He and Dani definitely had similar appearances. Phantom and Fenton were also similar enough. He had kept it a secret from her and she knew why: because she had vowed to destroy him. One thing was for sure though; this ghost was no longer Danny Fenton but pure evil. She slapped herself, using sheer will to pull herself together. She could talk to Danny and apologize later, and hopefully change the future. This future Phantom would have to be killed before it was too late.
She really wasn't expecting Plasmius to call her out, which pretty much was a plead for her to help him based on the look he was sending her. 'Plasmius, being good?' She wasn't so sure, but she would help him this time for a greater cause.
"You?" The future ghost kid asked her, acting like he knew her when he had clearly changed for the worst. Then he smiled with a face of pure evil; it made her shiver in distaste. "It's been a while. I thought I'd never seen you ally with your sworn enemy, a ghost."
'Like I didn't ally with you before, as long as you were fighting for the right things,' Valerie thought forlornly. 'But you've clearly changed, and I will destroy you this time, once and for all.'
"Who I ally with is none of your business, ghost trash," She yelled out in challenge. "And trust me; he'll be next on my list. But if you're out to destroy the world, I'm here to stop you!"
"Like you could ever stop me. Ten years from now, you were the only one left and still stood no chance against me. Well, I suppose it's the day to relive the past, right Uncle Vlad?"
"You're no nephew of mine where I'm concerned," Plasmius spat. Valerie wondered what the connection was between Plasmius and Phantom, but she had to leave that line of thinking that for later.
"Touché." He turned to Valerie. "You know, I used to have a thing for you. It's too bad we never dated."
"I'd rather have dated the old Phantom than you any day, you deformed freak! At least he has a heart." Valerie retorted.
'But we did date,' Valerie thought. It was strange that this Phantom didn't remember, but then again, he was a crazy fruit loop. Putting that thought aside, she wondered if she'd ever be able to date again. 'After hurting Danny by breaking up with him for ghost hunting, and Star's painful breakup, I don't think I'm ready to risk another romance,' she thought to herself. Right now, she didn't like anyone that way, at least that she was aware of. All she wanted was to focus on her friends and saving the town from ghosts. And this one was most definitely in the way of her ideal life.
Shaking her off-topic thoughts away, she glared at the future Phantom, who suddenly had grown colder at her last remark.
"Do call me Dan. It's the last time we'll be seeing each other before your afterlife, you know." He spoke in a musical fashion.
"Maybe it's your afterlife you should be worried about, Phantom!" She said, and then dived into the fray, blasting lasers from her cube weapons as she summoned her hover board from yet another cube. From the corner of her eye she saw Plasmius joining in.
While Plasmius confronted Dan, Dan sent his clones after her to try and corner her with ecto-rays. She blocked most of them with an energy shield but was hit from above, causing her to fall off her hover board. Commanding it to catch her from below, she maneuvered herself in the air and fired at one of the lower clones, managing to decimate it. The others flew towards her, only to be grabbed by four of Vlad's duplicates. Freed from the pincer attack, she flew towards Dan, firing madly at him.
"Always so full of rage, Valerie," Dan chided her, calmly firing as she barely blocked the rays in time. She was growing tired; her vision was blurry and she could feel the sweat piling. This fight had to end soon, or else. She looked over at Plasmius, who was struggling to breathe. This foe was tough. "Ever thought to take a chill pill?"
"Not now, maybe once I beat you!" Valerie cried out, taking out her handheld ray gun and hitting him squarely on the chest. He cried as ectoplasm splashed out from his wounds at her, covering her eye shield. In retaliation he blasted her in the face, shattering her helmet. She winced as the broken glass cut her cheeks as they fell to Earth.
"You," he gurgled, covering up his bleeding chest with one hand. He fired in succession, destroying her blasting cubes. "I'll kill you once and for all." He went to blast the gun out of her hands but she blocked with her body, falling to the cold tile covered floor.
She couldn't feel her arm and she felt stickiness on her right side, but she knew she had to push on. Looking up, she noticed some sort of device made of glass. 'Maybe I can lure him there for a final shot,' she thought, then pushed herself up and made a final dash.
She looked back as she ran desperately. Plasmius had fallen to the ground, unmoving. She was the final wall between Phantom and her beloved city. She collapsed inside the device, coughing up blood as she turned around, only to face Phantom looming over her, wearing a cocky smile.
"Well, look what we have here. Are you afraid, Valerie?" He knelt down, touching her cheek.
"I'm not afraid of no ghost!" She choked out, pushing him away with one hand while grabbing her gun in the other, hoping he didn't notice.
He did. Snatching it away from her, he threw it on the ground and blasted it to smithereens. "What do you say now, Red Huntress? Still feeling tough?" He glared at her with those red eyes, as if she were staring into the burning fires of hell. "I wonder how Danny Fenton would feel if you died. Would he cry for you?"
"I won't let you touch Amity Park, you monster."
"Me, the monster? No. I'm only doing what's natural. No one deserves to live, is all."
"No one deserves to? What about you? What did you do right that everyone else was wrong about?"
His eyes narrowed, almost showing emotion. "I fought for those people, time and time again. I was rewarded with only hate. I was called a ghost that didn't feel, that had no right to exist. When I lost everything, when I spent day after pointless day in Vlad's castle, I realized it. I didn't want to feel anymore. I wanted strength to destroy everything, and when nothing's left, I will destroy myself!" He laughed as if overflowing with madness.
"Wow, so dramatic," Valerie chuckled, and then sputtered blood. "Sounds like just the kind of soap opera my Grandma likes to watch. Why don't you just destroy yourself then, bonehead. You're just making excuses in hopes that I'll feel sorry for you. I'll tell you the truth: you enjoy killing people. Danny Fenton wasn't like this. But you're not Danny anymore, you're just a shell."
He paused. "You know?" He seemed soft for a moment, and then hardened again. "The more pleasure I'll get when you're finally out of my hair. I'll almost miss you Valerie, you were my favorite foe."
"Sorry to say, I won't miss you," said a voice from outside the room. The glass doors hissed closed, locking Valerie in with the monster. She struggled to look up, seeing Vlad in his human form in front of the control panel.
"Vlad, what are you doing?" she screamed out.
"Sorry, my girl, it's the only way." He said nonchalantly, pressing a few buttons on the console.
"What is the meaning of this?" Danny Phantom yelled out, blasting at the glass only to have it fizzle out. "This was a trap?!"
"Ah, yes, and you fell into it brilliantly, young badger. It's too bad really, you'll have to go, but don't worry, it's for a valiant cause." He smiled crookedly, still clutching his injured chest as a stream of blood went down from the corner of his mouth. "I shall enjoy ripping you apart, oh what was it that idiot Jack always says? Oh yes… 'Molecule by molecule'." He pressed a button, causing a large high frequency sound to fill the room.
"I shouldn't have trusted him, I shouldn't have trusted him!" Valerie muttered like a mantra, covering her ears. What she saw next shocked her: Phantom was screaming as his skin started to evaporate from his body. He banged his head on the walls desperately blasting them as he pleaded, "Let me out!" He blasted wildly every which way. She could hear Vlad Masters cackling from outside the machine. One of the red blasts grazed her leg; she was too tired to dodge. Phantom released a wail of some sort, leaving Valerie's ears feeling like they would burst although she tried her best to shield them. The machine buckled with a noise like rusted hinges, the glass finally cracking underneath the pressure Phantom was putting on it.
"Oh, Fudge Buckets," Vlad said calmly as a wall finally shattered. "This is the absolute worst thing that could happen. Valerie, try to make it out before he does. We need to try to stop him here, permanently."
She had no time to wonder what Vlad had attempted to do with the machine, but she half hobbled, half crawled out through the broken wall. Leaning against a toppled case, she eyed the disoriented Phantom, who seemed to have two heads.
"What…What is happening to me?" He cried, and then his voice faded as his form wobbled into two.
As the forms stabilized, she recognized them: it was Plasmius and Danny Phantom, well, as he used to look. 'But it's impossible! Plasmius was right in front of me the entire…wait a moment. If this Danny Phantom was from the future, that means this Plasmius should be as well. What do I do?!'
"Ooh, my head," future Plasmius said, blinking his red eyes. "Where am I?"
Future Phantom just looked dazed at his hands as he cried for some odd reason.
'What is going on?' Valerie wondered.
She turned around. Vlad had walked up to the pair, before walking up to future Plasmius. He then said, "Well well, what do we have here? Myself. Why stick with that kid? He's weak. Join me again, and we shall be greater."
Future Plasmius looked reluctant, then took his hand. Vlad had some device in his other hand and pushed a button. All of a sudden, Plasmius was sucked into Vlad's other hand.
"I can feel it!" Vlad cried out as green steam was emitting from his body. "The power, the power!"
'Was that his goal all along?' Valerie could barely stand, so she allowed herself to sink to the floor. 'Did I just help an evil ghost?' She wanted to cry. She felt a hand on her shoulder. It was future Phantom.
"I'm so sorry, Val," the boy told her tearfully. "I couldn't…I couldn't stop myself, from anything. It's all my fault. You were right all along about me. I am evil."
"Oh Danny," Valerie said. "Y-you're back to normal, I see. Maybe it was that man's anger that turned you into that monster." She eyed Vlad as he was radiating ectoplasm. "Not that it excuses you. I mean, you killed Danny Fenton, your own human self, in the future."
"I still was conscious the entire time. Killing myself, hurting others, destroying the town. I felt myself enjoy it."
"It's not too late Danny." She hoped to God it wasn't too late. "You can still do good."
He seemed to think about it, tears coating his face. "My power, my experience," he said finally. "It may be too late for me, but I can give it to someone who can truly do good with it." He gave her a wobbly smile, briefly reminding her of the Danny Phantom she knew. He turned around towards a big circular metal device. "I have to go. Without me there for motivation, I doubt that Plasmius will be able to do much."
Before she could say another word, he sped off, pushing a button to reveal a green swirling portal. Then he flew inside, disappearing within its recesses as metal gates closed behind him.
She turned around; Vlad was leaning on a table.
"Vlad?" She asked, walking closer. "What did you do with the future you? You absorbed him to make yourself stronger?! What is your goal, Plasmius? What's going on he-"
Before she realized it he suddenly pivoted around, grabbing her throat and holding her high as he squeezed it.
"I h-helped you M-masters," she managed, her legs kicking underneath her as she helplessly struggled against his grip. "A-and this is h-how you rep-pay me?"
"I hate you all, humans!" He spoke in an inhuman voice, with eyes glowing red.
"W-why? Why do y-ou h-hate?"
"Because! Because…?"
He let go of her, leaving her to fall to the floor in a heap. She coughed madly, trying to breathe through her crushed throat.
"I hate Jack! He ruined my life! I hate Maddie! She never has looked at me, not even once! No one ever respected me; I had to fight tooth and nail to get here. They should all die, every last one of them!"
Valerie took a deep breath, tears coming out her eyes. She managed to say, "That's so stupid. Killing everyone for a love that ended badly? Everyone has had disappointment, and you, at your age, can't handle it? My best friend Star just had her social life ruined because of a rumor that she's having an affair with you, Masters. She's not going around killing people though. She still respects you. You know what she said to me today? You're the best Mayor ever. You, a ghost! If you go around saying you're going to kill people and disrespect the people I care about one more time, I will. End. You." She stared at him fiercely, knowing she hadn't the energy left to fight the extreme nutcase version of Vlad.
His eyes flickered, changing back to the normal blue as his hands shook. He gripped the end of the table as if in desperation.
"What in the world?" Valerie said aloud. "Vlad, you're in there right? I don't know why you wanted to absorb that thing, but it's clearly eviler than you right now. You can fight it. You must! I don't know what you have planned, but if you destroy everything, there will be no future for me or you."
"Uggh!" He cried, his face crunching up as he leaned into one of his hands, obviously listening to her plea. "Valerie, my girl. Get out of here now."
"Or what?" She spat out.
"Or I'm afraid I might actually kill you."
It may have been the way he said it or the way he looked at her or his clinically insane behavior just a moment before, but she summoned all her strength and bolted out of there as fast as her bleeding legs would carry her. She knew she had some thinking to do later, but for now, she had to go.
-4-
A/N: I sincerely hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you did, please let me know by reviewing, I'd love to hear from you. See you next time, I hope.