AN: I'm gonna begin with apologizing profusely. So profusely. And endlessly. I'm so sorry that I have been absent. I blame school, which ended just a few days ago. And writer's block. The endless writer's block. And then Netflix got rid of Danny Phantom streaming... it could go on endlessly. I'm so sorry. But here it is, chapter nine. (Sorry it's so late!D:)
Nine:
Vlad masters didn't often visit what was once Fenton's Works. It brought back too many memories, and none of them were good. In fact, he wouldn't be coming back at all, if he wasn't hoping that one day Danny would come back.
He respected the fact that Danny needed space, but it had been months. It seemed as if Daniel had disappeared off the face of the earth. He wanted to five him time, but he was starting to worry. The ghost activity had gone down in the town, and it had made Vlad suspicious.
Not that he was going to complain. It meant less trouble that he had to go through. Without Danny there to save the day, he would have had to do it himself. And Vlad Masters didn't do things like that.
He transformed into his ghost form, and slowly floated through the walls of the had had a feeling earlier that he needed to check the place out, so here he was. The room was empty and slowly collecting dust. When he got back to his mansion, he would send people over to put white sheets over the furniture.
He floated through the living room ceiling to the second floor and then to the Fenton Ops Center. Whenever he did a sweep of the house, he always started at the top. As usual, the Ops Center was empty. He floated through the floor to the second floor, and ghosted through the walls. As usual, just like the Ops Center, the second floor was empty.
He floated through the floor to the first floor, and then the basement. He always hated this part of the sweep the most. It was the room that Maddie had put her whole being into. Everything was just as it had been the morning Maddie had died. He didn't have the heart to do anything about it. A few test tubes still had some chemicals in them. Maybe he would have to at least dispose of those.
Usually the room was empty and silent, but not today. Somehow, the Ghost Zone had been opened and activated. And not from the Ghost Zone side. Vlad immediately turned invisible. He narrowed his eyes when he saw a figure exit.
The figure was tall and lean, but well muscled. He wore a heavy suit of black armor, and his face was covered by a two-colored mask. One side was black, and the other was orange. The figure appeared to only have one eye, which was a chilling grey. He kind of reminded Vlad of Pariah Dark. That was impossible, though, since he was suppose to be locked up.
The figure instilled a heavy dose of anxiety into Vlad. In his right hand, he held a Fenton thermos. Vlad had never seen that specific thermos before, but he subconsciously knew that he shouldn't have it. It was dented slightly, with a prominent face on the side.
Vlad stared at the man, at least he assumed the figure was a man, and tried to imprint him into his memory. The man had an "S" insignia on his armor. He looked around the room, making sure it was empty, then headed up the stairs to the first floor.
As he exited, Vlad followed him silently. He followed the man until he got on a motorcycle a few blocks away from Fenton Works. He would have followed him longer, but he would have been unable to keep up with his motorcycle.
He soared high into the sky, and turned visible again. He switched his brain to autopilot, so he could ponder what the man was doing there instead of focusing on flying home. He had figured absolutely nothing out by the time he reached his house.
As he flew into his study and shifted into his human form, his study phone began to ring. A few minutes into the call he began smiling. When he hung up, he picked it up again.
"Hello? Yes, I would like to purchase a plane ticket to Jump City, California. I want to leave as soon as possible."
~~..~~
Danny had been having trouble sleeping ever since his dream several nights ago. And Wulf's visit and warning certainly wasn't helping him. Not even his newly returned bike had silenced his nightmares.
He had tried everything he used to do before it was trashed, and he just couldn't get his adrenaline high. He'd swerve at the last minute, he turned at break-neck speed, he drove over bumps to get a few seconds of air, but it didn't get his blood pumping. He didn't understand what was happening.
PResently, he was once again sitting behind the cash register in the book store below his apartment. He was reading Frankenstein. It wasn't as interesting as he had hoped it would be, but he was attempting to stick through it. When he was fourteen, he never would have been able to read it. But he was sixteen now. That meant older and wiser, and he wanted to make Jazz proud of him. You know, if she was alive.
He was a few chapters in when the earth started to shake. Book ends shaped like famous authors and musicians began to shake, and a delicate, stained glass fell off a small stand. Danny looked around in surprise.
He assumed it was one of the Titans' multiple villains. Then, he ghost sense went off. He stared at the frozen breath and it quickly disappeared.
"You've got to be kidding me," He groaned.
He slowly walked up to the front winder and peaked outside. He jumped back just in time to avoid getting hit by a large, dark green vine. He looked over the vine, and saw that the street was crowded with the same type of vines that had broken through the bookstore window.
"Undergrowth," Danny muttered.
And we're back in action! Woot!
And it's back, Danny grumbled. Go away.
You're meant to help the world! Go kick butt! Undergrowth is begging for it. You know you can't just stand on the sidelines.
"You're right. I won't. But I'm not going ghost," Danny spoke aloud.
He headed for back room. He wasn't about to go ghost, but he was going to evacuate.
"Chris! We gotta get out of here man!" Danny called.
"What's up?" Chris said.
"We got a problem," Danny said, gesturing to the window.
"Again? Man, that's my third window this year!"
"Head to the mountains," Danny said. "There's some shelter there that the Titans' built for this kind of problem."
"How'd you know?" Chris asked, flabbergasted.
"I just do. Now get out!" Danny told him, turning to leave.
Danny rushed out into the streets and started climbing over the vines, heading for the center of town. He refused to help the Titans, he was retired, this was their problem, but he would help the people. The people didn't deserve his hatred. Not that the Titans deserved it either, but he couldn't help himself.
He went to apartment after apartment, and store after store, helping people evacuate. He ignored the Titans and their fight against Undergrowth, but when Starfire went crashing into the ground inches away from Danny's feet, he had to finally pay attention.
Starfire sat up, and looked around. "Not-Friend Danny!" She smiled. "Are you here to help us?"
"And how would I help you?" Danny asked crossly.
"Friend Robin recognized this villain as one of the ghosts from your home town. You would know his weaknesses," Starfire grinned.
"Look, I'm not in the mood. You're on your own," Danny growled.
Starfire immediately deflated. "Do you not want to help us? Or this town?"
"I'm helping evacuate. But you Titans are on your own."
"What did we do to you?" Starfire asked sadly.
"You're never we're people may or may not need you," Danny said simply. He wasn't sure where it came from, but it popped out of his mouth.
Danny turned away and continued to help evacuate the town. After clearing out a few more shops, a feeling came over him. He hadn't necessarily felt it in a long time, but he knew what it was. It was guilt.
I thought I told you to go away, Danny told his conscious.
Oh, this isn't my doing. You're feeling guilty on your own.
Danny sighed, and walked back to the center of town. He looked up at Undergrowth. He stood towering into the sky, several stories tall. The Titans were giving it their all, but Undergrowth was just too strong. The only things that seemed to work were small bolts of pink energy. Danny looked around, trying to find the source.
It was a small pale girl, with a shock of bright pink hair shaped into horns. She had large, cat like eyes. She was dressed in a black dress with stripped socks. Danny was temporarily distracted, until Robin jumped in front of him to push him out of the way of a vine.
"What do you think you're doing!?" Robin growled.
"Oh great, I was looking for you," Danny said.
"What?" Robin asked, startled.
"I know how to beat this guy," Danny confided.
"Star said you didn't want to help us."
Danny rubbed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Look, do you want help or not?"
"What do you have to tell me?" Robin finally asked.
"His weakness is ice. Hit him enough times after he's frozen and he'll get smaller."
"And how will we get him out of the city?" Robin demanded.
Danny raised an eyebrow. He didn't appreciate the way Robin was shouting at him. "He'll probably disappear if he knows he's been defeated. Good luck. Now, get out of my way," Danny turned and stomped off.
"I need to get more sleep!" Danny growled.
~~.~~
After Undergrowth was defeated and fled, everyone was once again allowed to return to their homes. Danny sat on his bed, shirtless, staring down at his hands. He eyelids drooped now and again. He was running on empty.
He sighed, and laid down. He tunneled under his blankets and closed his eyes. Danny tried to clear his mind. When that didn't seem to work, he resorted to counting sheep. He jerked awake several hours later when his ghost senses went off.
Danny sat up a looked around. He was shocked when he saw Vlad.
"Please tell me this is a dream. If it is, get lost. And if it isn't, you can still get lost," Danny grumbled.
"Daniel, why did you run away?" Vlad asked.
"I had too, is that good enough for you? What do you want," Danny demanded.
"I came to warn you," Vlad confessed.
"Why oh why don't I believe you?" Danny shouted.
"Listen, Daniel -"
"No, you listen Vlad. I don't need anyone, especially you. I'm doing just fine on my own. I don't want anything to do with my old life, I have a new one! Please, just go."
"Daniel, this is important," Vlad tried to say.
"No. You're probably just going to try to trick me. I don't need this. Save it for someone who cares." Danny slammed back into his bed and purposefully turned his back on Vlad. He didn't hear Vlad leave, but he didn't care.
AN: Ok, that was ... Idk how to describe it. I hope it was okay, but I guess you guys are the judges. I am, once again, so sorry that I took so long to update this. I'll try to get better. I mean, it's summer after all. Love you guys, and thanks!
