Thank you for your reviews! They seriously make my day. Tenuem's especially made me laugh. It looks like I surprised some of you with how quickly Vlad got his hands on Danny. I'll admit that this story will move pretty quickly.

The big question now, is what Vlad plans to do with Danny, and if Danny will be exhausted enough from his battle to change back in front of Vlad. Hope you like it!

Update: I have gone through and edited this chapter, because there were parts of it that felt wrong. Overall, not much has changed, but it should be a little more clear.

Vlad gathered the last of the tools from a table in his lab, carefully phasing them into one of the many hidden alcoves in the walls. His eyes kept straying to the innocent looking cylinder sitting alone on the long counter on the opposite side of the room. After Phantom's display with the gemstones, Vlad had realized it would be wise to not leave anything that could be used as a weapon sitting out in his lab. He was going to be dangerous enough to deal with as it was. Finished, he strode over, snatching up the container.

Ms. Gray had offered to stay while he interrogated Phantom, but Vlad had refused. He had almost gone out into the field when the readings on her suit began to fail, but she had come out on top, as she always had, without his help. Still, she was obviously dead on her feet. He knew he had been pushing her too hard, but the prospect of catching the ghosts of Gothica red handed was too tempting. Especially if it meant he could capture Phantom.

Vlad turned over the small cylinder in his hands, feeling a surge of satisfaction that he literally held the afterlife of the ghost that was causing so many problems in his hands. He could destroy Phantom so easily. A flick of a switch, and the refined Fenton thermos could send a surge of destabilizing energy through its contents. Phantom was already weakened by one of Ms. Gray's darts, he wouldn't stand a chance. Vlad's finger traced contemplatively over the switch.

No. No, that would be too easy. He wasn't going to waste this opportunity. He had too many questions that demanded answers for him to just destroy Phantom. That, and he wasn't above admitting that he wanted to see Phantom squirm a little before he destroyed him. It was the least he deserved for the foolish doubt he had temporarily caused. Personal desires aside, he supposed he owed it to Ms. Gray to show some results for all her efforts. She had taken quite the beating. Nothing she couldn't handle, of course. She was very good at what she did, despite her age.

Vlad couldn't prevent his lip from curling as black rings of energy formed around his waist, splitting apart to reveal his ghost form. Even now, nearly ten years after his first transformation, it still disgusted him. It wasn't enough that he'd lost everyone he had loved because of ghosts. No, instead of being left to mourn in peace, he'd been mutated into something he'd never believed existed. Something he couldn't help but hate.

Still, even he could appreciate the symbolism of his ghostly appearance. It was poetic really. What better form than a demon for one whose only desire was to punish the souls of the departed?

Plasmius rose into the air, giving his laboratory one last look over. Weapons and blueprints had been hidden, the tables shifted out of the way. Even the battle suit Ms. Gray had just barely left behind to be repaired had been carefully stored away. He willed forward a shield. The shimmering pink energy rose in a large circle around him until it joined above his head to create a complete dome. He could sense the energy extending beneath his feet, completing the spherical shield. He'd really have to look into the idea of an official interrogation room. He had never needed to actually speak to any of the ectoplasmic filth, beyond assuring them of their impending destruction, but if it could happen now he supposed it could happen again.

He couldn't say that he didn't have some reservations about what was about to happen. It had taken every ounce of his self control not to react to the ghost's words and quickly remove himself from Circus Gothica at their last encounter. He had to remain in control, especially if the ghost boy had hypnotic powers. He refused to let this ghost cause him any more turmoil.

Plasmius' face tightened into a scowl, his solid red eyes darkening with conviction. He didn't look down as he reversed the function of the slender cylinder in his hands and pressed the button.

An echoing scream accompanied the flash of blue light as the ghost boy was expelled into the small ghost dome. Plasmius watched impassively as he tumbled heavily to the floor. Phantom slowly sat up, groaning.

"Ugh, what happened?"

Phantom cradled his head for a moment, then lifted it to look around. Plasmius waited patiently for him to notice his presence within the shimmering pink ghost shield. The boy suddenly gasped and spun around to face Plasmius, a puff of freezing air emerging from his mouth.

"Woah!" Phantom yelped, scooting backwards rapidly, "Who are you supposed to be?"

Plasmius frowned at the ghost at his feet. Ms. Gray had been very clear that as a ghost, the boy had red eyes and a muted grey aura. How many variations could one ghost have? The boy in front of him had luminous green eyes, and his white aura, though flickering slightly, was bright enough to be painful. At least the hair and clothes were right.

"I am Plasmius. The more appropriate question, is who are you?" That really was the only question that mattered. The answer to every question he had about this whole situation was tied in some way or another to this one question.

"I'm Danny." The ghost boy said slowly, looking at the the glowing pink shield with more than a little apprehension. He was completely oblivious that Plasmius's eyes glowed brighter red in anger at this statement. "But everyone calls me Phantom. . ." The boy trailed off, then gasped, turning back to him urgently.

"The huntress!"

"I beg your pardon?" Vlad asked coldly.

"There was a huntress in red chasing me! I. . . I can't remember what happened." His brow creased in distress.

"I asked her to bring you here, of course."

"She works for you?" Phantom's voice rose in disbelief and anger. His feet vanished to form a dark spectral tail as he finally rose from the floor, his clenched fists glowing slightly with green energy. "She almost wasted me!"

"You were trespassing on my domain. For someone intangible, you have surprisingly sticky fingers." Plasmius did not appreciate the threatening posture the boy had taken, though he could see that Phantom was in no condition to fight. The serum from the dart was probably just barely starting to wear off. He was barely staying off the ground, and a light sheen of sweat covered his brow. The energy abruptly vanished from the Phantom's hands, though Plasmius couldn't tell if it was because of confusion or exhaustion.

"Sticky fingers? What's that supposed to mean?" Phantom's tail thrashed back an forth in agitation.

"It means that you and all the rest of your ghostly friends, are nothing more than petty thieves." Plasmius crossed his arms and scowled. "I don't see why, you have no use for the things you steal."

"Steal?" Phantom contemplated this for a moment, then his face cleared with realization. "Oh! I was reaping when she caught me."

"Call it what you like, I'm afraid the nuance will be lost on the Red Huntress." Ha, Ms. Grey would have to like that one. It wasn't a bad name. To bad a ghost had come up with it.

"Did the others get away?" Phantom's question tore Plasmius from his thoughts. There was an undercurrent of worry in his voice that gave him pause. He sounded genuinely concerned.

"Your crew members were allowed to escape." Phantom's posture relaxed, and a small smirk quirked his lips.

"Well, that was a stupid move on your part." He scowled at Phantom. The boy obviously had no idea who he was dealing with. He was relaxing into the same sarcastically confident attitude he'd had the last time they spoke.

"I'm more than prepared to fend off a couple level three ghosts." Plasmius said dismissively, though he Phantom closely for his reaction. If he truly was hypnotizing a large group of ghosts, he would surely not hesitate to boast about his numbers.

Phantom just laughed and sat back down, casually leaning back against the shield. "I wouldn't underestimate my mom. She's gonna be pissed."

"Be that as it may, I doubt she could breach this shield. We have time, Phantom, so let's talk about you." The boy blinked, obviously not expecting that.

"Me?"

"If I had wanted to talk about your little dwarf henchman, I would have asked the huntress to capture him." Plasmius said sardonically. Phantom laughed.

"Fair point. What did you go through all this trouble to ask me?" Plasmius frowned. The boy had no idea how much his surviving the next few minutes without injury depended on his answers.

"Why did you say your name is Danny when you're known as Phantom?" Plasmius internally froze in surprise at his own question. That hadn't been something he'd planned on asking. He was so startled that he almost missed Phantom's reply.

"Maybe because I like it better than my real name."

"So Phantom is your real name, but you like Danny better than Phantom?"

"I didn't say that." Phantom said, amused.

"Yes, you did."

"No I didn't."

"Yes, you did!" Plasmius rubbed his temples, and decided to abandon that particular question. Another unbidden question sprang to his lips.

"How old are you?"

"I'm dead you fruitloop, what does it matter?" Plasmius pushed down the urge to strangle the boy. Fruitloop? What sort of insult was that anyways? An effective one apparently.

"How long have you been a ghost then?"

"Why should I tell you?" Phantom seemed to be enjoying himself. "I don't have to tell you anything."

Plasmius closed his eyes, trying to calm himself. These questions were getting him nowhere. They didn't matter. He felt a surge of disgust as he realized why he had asked them at all. It was clear to him that some part of him, however small, was still clinging to the idea that this ghost could be Daniel. His eyes snapped open, glowing red. Phantom tried to get to his feet as Plasmius stalked forward, red electricity sparking from his palms, but he was too slow. Plasmius grabbed the ghost by the hair and slammed him against the shield wall, his furious face inches from Phantom's own.

"What are you doing in Amity Park?" Plasmius growled, his voice low and dangerous. He would not allow this ghost to twist his mind! Phantom glared weakly at him, his green eyes glowing a toxic green.

"Hanging out. Reaping. Talking to nosy vampire ghosts, apparently." Plasmius abruptly released his hair, only to wrap his free hand around Phantom's throat. Phantom immediately grabbed at Plasmius' wrist, white gloves trying to find purchase on black.

"You think I want to be here?" Phantom hissed, his casual demeanor gone, "If it were up to me, we would have never come here!"

"Don't play games with me, Phantom. I know you're the little ringleader, so. start. talking." Phantom had the gall to laugh, his voice barely rasping its way past the iron grip around his throat.

"You think I'm afraid of you?" Phantom challenged, his eyes dancing with mirth. Plasmius's fingers tightened, his hand almost completely wrapping around the ghosts neck. He had not forced himself through years of training and plotting and clawing his way to the reputation he had among ghosts and humans for this child to taunt him.

"You'd be very foolish not to be."

"Well, I'm not! You want to know why?" Phantom spat, "Because there's nothing you can do that would be worse than what my master will do if I tell you anything!" Plasmius froze, his anger replaced by surprise.

"Master?" Plasmius repeated. Phantom's eyes went wide with horror as he realized what he had just said. As Plasmius stared into Phantom's suddenly terrified eyes, searching them for any sign of deceit, a memory sprang unbidden to his mind of the last time he'd seen such frightened green eyes.

Daniel's tear filled eyes locked on to Vlad's, shining green as they reflected the eerie light. The torrent of energy exploding towards them as a hole was ripped in reality.

Plasmius released Phantom as though he'd been burned. Phantom stumbled, his white aura fluctuating badly as he coughed, massaging his throat. Vlad forced the memory down, disturbed that it had come up at all, and tried to focus on the ghost in front of him.

Phantom wasn't afraid of him. That much was very clear. He hadn't panicked when he'd realized he was trapped. He hadn't flinched as Plasmius threatened him. He hadn't so much as blinked when he'd had him by the throat. Only at the mention of his master had he shown true fear.

Phantom had a master? How was that possible? The ghosts were travelling as a circus troupe, they needed someone who could navigate all the twists and turns of the human entertainment industry. Someone whose authority was uncontested. Someone who would benefit from all the stolen money. Someone Plasmius himself had seen ordering the ghosts, and being obeyed without question. Someone he'd completely disregarded in favor of Phantom. How was this possible?

"The ringmaster." Plasmius muttered quietly. As quickly as it had come, the fear in Phantom's eyes was gone, once again hidden behind a flimsy wall of scorn.

"You need to let me go." Plasmius jolted back to reality at the flat statement. Phantom had retreated to the other side of the dome, watching him warily. "The others will have told him what happened. They'll come looking. I don't want you anywhere near me when he finds me."

"I already told you Phantom, I'm not worried about any of your 'master's' minions, and I'm even less afraid of him."

"You don't understand." Phantom shook his head, resentment clear in his voice. "My master has spoken of you. The ghostly protector of Amity Park. He wants you to join the cast."

As stunned as he was by all he had learned in the last few minutes, Plasmius scoffed. As if there was anything that could tempt him to work for Freakshow. The man was a basket case. Yet, if Phantom's words could be trusted, he was a basket case that somehow had about three dozen ghosts completely loyal to him. Add that to the list of ever growing questions about this whole affair.

"Forget it, Phantom."

"Look, I don't want to be enemies," Phantom said hotly, "I mean, sure, you've been kind of annoying, but I don't want to fight you. I will if I have to. Your time is almost up."

"Neither of us are going anywhere until you answer the rest of my questions." Plasmius was almost amused. Phantom was obviously in no condition to carry out his threat. He had enough energy to give Plasmius an exasperated look.

"You have more questions?" Plasmius ignored his tone, his mind whirling with questions. The most baffling one was the one he voiced.

"Why would you work for Freakshow?"

"He's very charismatic." Phantom said sarcastically. "Besides, I've been working on a new act. It would be a shame if I stopped working for him before I could perform it. Care for a demonstration?"

Distracted by this flippant remark, Plasmius was too slow to realize that Phantom's eyes were suddenly glowing blue. A flash of freezing energy exploded from the boy, encasing everything around him in solid ice. Unfortunately for him, that included Plasmius. Frozen in place, Plasmius tried turning intangible to escape, but could not. He could only watch, stunned by this sudden display of power, as Phantom brushed off his palms casually.

"I think I'm going to call it Frostbite, but I'm not sure yet. Black Ice is pretty catchy too." Phantom started to turn away from him, but staggered, his white aura dimming to almost nothing as the energy he had spent caught up to him. He braced himself against the shield wall, panting. After a few moments, his face tightened in concentration and he stood up fully. Phantom pressed his hands together, as if in prayer, then pulled them apart rapidly. A glowing scythe materialized in his hands, and his aura immediately brightened slightly. Plasmius felt a surge of dread as the weapon appeared. If Ms. Gray was right, it had the power to absorb and redirect energy. He could not remain in such a vulnerable position. He let his core flare, its hot energy fighting to melt the glowing ice that surrounded him.

His efforts were apparently in vain, as Phantom completely ignored him. He inspected the pink shield for a moment, and then swung his scythe in a fluid motion. The glittering blade sliced cleanly through the energy, and a large rent appeared in the shield as the weapon absorbed the energy with a low hum. Phantom nodded with satisfaction.

"Sorry about the mess, but that ice should melt pretty soon, and I really have to get going." Phantom stepped through the torn shield and turned back to Plasmius, "I would tell you to come see the show, but it's really in your best interest to stay away from Circus Gothica. I might be in it for my afterlife, but that doesn't mean I want you to be."

With a flick of his wrist the scythe disappeared, Phantom turned intangible, and vanished through the ceiling.

He's loose!

Surprised? Disappointed? Confused? Again, I rewrote all this last night, so if something is wacky, send me a message!