What Unusual halflives we lead

Chapter 10: Reckless Sentimentality

It was not one of Vlad Plasmius' best teleportation landings but he had never had to try with four unconscious passengers before. He, for want of a better term, crash landed in his long-suffering sitting room loudly and stumbled to his feet. His passengers remained unconscious and not one of the uttered a single sound; they really were out for the count, with a scrutinising glance at them Vlad immediately flew down to his lab. He needed to check the Ghost…and Spirit shield.

If it got in now everything would have been for nothing, and they would all be dead, he would check on the Fenton's once he knew that they were all going to live a minute longer. "Systems on," he commanded. The room instantly blared to bright sterile light and several large screens showed him the camera footage of the area surrounding his mansion. "Condition; Anti Ghost and Spirit Shield," a second after he had finished speaking a larger screen provided him with the status of his only protection against another lethal attack.

Fortunately he saw that his latest invention was running at full capacity, and the only other thing he had to rely on for his protection was himself…perhaps if things took a turn for the worst again his servants could once more divert the Calidae long enough for him to have the chance to improvise…but he didn't like to attempt such a risky move once…let alone twice. Not when his life was hanging in the balance. In a tight spot the only person a man could rely on was himself, and for his failures; a man could only blame himself. It had been about all he had ever heard his father say to him, and disgrace was inexcusable.

Vlad wasn't sure if he should be grateful or not to his old man and his traditional, antiquated philosophy, but it hadn't done him any harm to learn the hard way just how right it could be. The world was an unforgiving place where social ideas such as fate and karma had no say in a man's life; you had to carve your own destiny in the world. And Vlad believed that despite some of his rather unorthodox and questionable decisions in life that he had done pretty well for himself…by himself…with no-one to congratulate him or share in his success…

But that was fine, he had grown up with solitude as his only childhood companion, and he could live with it now as a man. Nothing had changed. Nothing…

"Marion!" Vlad bellowed as the battle garbed (un-wanted) visitors in his sitting room invaded his thoughts. The Spectral in question appeared in an instant. "In the sitting room…you'll have to deal with it for the moment…" Vlad said after he sensed her presence behind him.

He was still staring up at the huge screens on the wall and was typing furiously with blood spattered gloves. "Daniel will have to stay here, he can't go to a hospital…it's too risky…the others…you'll have to take the other three to the local hospital…they're too badly hurt and I have enough to deal with…" he continued and she nodded, still not fully understanding but she was startled when her master said 'hospital,' so casually. Nonetheless she flew out of the room to see what new 'visitors' the man had mentioned.

Vlad soon heard the woman shriek loudly in horror and shock; however he paid it little heed. Now at least, he was sure that he could do no more to keep himself and his mansion safe from attack, he could relax...in theory. Once he knew it worked he would need to expand it over the whole city, if only to protect himself from taking the blame from an attack, but it was unlikely that anyone else would be in danger.

So he phased back through into the sitting room and found the whole staff gawking and trying to help the injured humans…how amusing. He himself only spared a glance for Madeline and Daniel. He couldn't keep Maddie here, as much as he wanted too, she would be a dead weight and it would take them far longer to heal than it would Daniel. She needed a hospital.

Vlad morphed back into Masters and was once more wearing his impeccable black business suit, and removed his jacket. He rolled back his sleeves and lifted the boy into his arms once more, "Make sure you get them to the hospital…just…if they ask, tell them there was an explosion at Fenton Works…don't tell them anything else…I suppose I'll have to pay the bill…" he told them and they nodded, without another thought he then flew through the ceiling and up into one of the unused bedrooms.

He gently placed the sleeping child on the expensive sheets of white cotton and at once they began to soak up the colours of red blood and green ectoplasm. It had taken Vlad years to come to terms with the sight of his own strange blood, with no-one to tell him what had happened and no-one to reassure him, he had been left alone, and could only speculate the damage done to him. But it was even stranger to see the same substance coming from another person, there had been times that he used to despair at being the only hybrid in existence. Now he knew better. And their blood was not the most appealing thing in the world, the green ectoplasm resembled a parasite; it clung to the red blood cells with vice-like talons that refused to let go.

For a moment he stood over the boy and wondered what he should do.

Vlad now knew what Daniel had been trying to tell him…or trying to keep from him when they had spoken earlier; that he had been the recipient of the strange substance -Glaciem calidum- that could kill people by internal fire. And now it was threatening this child…why did it have to be Daniel, of all the people in the world, why him? It seemed that both had tremendously bad luck…maybe it was a trait of being half ghost…there was no-one else he could test that little theory on so he just had to stick with it.

But it still wasn't fair…it wasn't Daniel's fault that he was half-ghost…well in a sense it was mainly his parents fault…but both of them had ultimately been victims to curiosity. It was yet another common trait that made them so similar. But he shouldn't have to go through life like this forever…if he had a life after this…

Vlad would need to act soon if he wanted to save the child's life…if what he had read was true then the odds were stacked against them, and perhaps the wound had already begun to weaken the boy…It was a cross-road that he hoped he would never reach, but now it had come, and the choice was Vlad's.

Then, before he could move an inch the whole mansion trembled and quailed, the walls pulsated with visible strain and the windows cringed in fear. He ran over to the window and his eyes narrowed…attacking his shimmering barrier was the beast he never wanted to see in his nightmares again.

A dark shadow had descended on his mansion…the most predominant figure being the one whose presence he had vacated only minutes ago. It had to be toying with him…it could get from here to there faster than Vlad could teleport, no doubt, so the only reason it would act this way was if it was playing with it food. And Vlad hated being the mouse…it just wasn't dignified or beneficial to him at all. So he would just have to play better than his opponent…that meant choosing his moves…which move would be of most benefit to him in the long run?

As much as he hated to admit it if he went out there like a bull in a china shop he would most likely get himself killed…leaving Daniel defenceless then - also most likely dead as well. Vlad could control his temper…he would control his temper. He knew that his new technology was capable of preventing the Spirit from entering, so now he only had to watch as his intelligence…hopefully…outwitted his opponents…brawn and brute force would have to wait until the final move, the only upper hand he possessed, as yet was his mind.

A flurry of misty shadows and lethal talons continued to pound and scrape at the shield in tangible anger and frustration, with any luck Vlad had taken his enemy by surprise. He watched in astonishment as, despite its initial failure, the creature showed no sign of relenting. Perhaps this enemy wasn't as bright as Vlad had originally supposed.

But his ears protested in anger as a deafening roar shook the mansion…outside the attack on his barrier had come to an abrupt halt and the wealthy hybrid was taken aback by its now unpredictable behaviour.

Everything outside became entrenched by the growing black mist, it overtook Vlad's senses as a dark film covered his eyes. It felt like he had been jumped from behind and attacked…painfully. It felt similar to collapsing after being starved for months and pushed far past your limits…and after emigrating to a new country with next to nothing, Vlad knew all too well what that felt like.

But Vlad's vision soon returned with shimmering air, like the warm, heat-stoke inducing air of the deserts of Africa. His breathing increased as his lungs felt they were being deprived of air, and his heart was being held in a vice-like grip that caused him to grasp the front of his shirt in pain.

As he returned from this raw daze Vlad clutched at the corner of the window and sent a hate-filled glare at the being outside. He was safe…it was angry at him for having taken away its prey, and it had let Vlad know in the most blatant way possible. Clearly this battle was a victory to Vlad, but the war wasn't over yet…it was just beginning.

The mist quickly dissipated leaving a cold chill in its wake and with the certainty that their new 'friend' would soon return with a vengeance Vlad turned his attention back to the sleeping child. He frowned and went hunting for his medical supplies that he would need to patch up the child's wounds. He would need a sample of the threatening substance to analyse A.S.A.P.

He flew down to his lab and turned to the cabinet that he had always dreaded using, from all of the times he had had need of them himself, he had come to hate physical injury. After collecting the necessities he glanced over at the screen and brought up the damage done to his shield. Overall it could have been worse, it would need to be worked on of course, but Daniel had to come first, and he pocketed a small petri dish for the sample he was going to need. Vlad then expanded the shield and hastened to the kitchen.

He took one of his clean expensive towels from the pile of medical supplied in his arms and dowsed it with warm water. Then he set about mixing the saline he had perfected after years of 'educational' hospital treatment and uncontrollable ghost powers. He waited for the kettle to boil then powered the boiling water into a bowl, dissolving a small amount of salt into it as he did so. (*1)After he had finished he encased his hand in ectoplasm and touched the bowl, it absorbed the purple glow as he literally charged the particles with his own ecto-energy. The water began to bubble again as his electrical charge ran through the mixture and it shone brightly for a moment then subsided. He then hung the towel over his arm, and carried the rest of the supplies back up to the bedroom where he had deposited the unfortunate child.

Thankfully Daniel had not stirred, or even moved a muscle on the bed so Vlad could now get on with the task at hand without having to take in any unpredictable reactions into account. He didn't doubt the fact the fact that if Daniel was conscious he would be protesting in no uncertain terms that Vlad shouldn't be helping him. But there was no time for trivialities.

He instantly set to work and removed the tattered remains of the boy's shirt to better gauge the damage he would need to repair. Vlad was not impressed at the sight that met his eyes; the black, almost crystallised area on Daniel's abdomen was enormous and he touched it with uncertain fingers. Simultaneously a horrid chill ran down his spine and he pulled his hand away with a jolt…what was this thing doing to the boy?

He then saw the boy's cell phone; it had fallen out of Daniel's trouser pocket and onto the bed as Vlad had been removing the bloodied t-shirt. It was spattered with small spots of blood and was surprisingly still operational. With a surprised glance at the hardy piece of technology he switched it off and left it on the bedside table.

He then took the damp cloth and attempted to soak up the majority of the blood from the open wounds with his mixture of warm water and saline. The process was time consuming and difficult as the boy was wounded on his front and back and his legs were adorned with several lesions as well. Luckily Daniel didn't stir or even make a sound as Vlad continued his lengthy vigil.

After about 20 minutes he quickly bandaged the more serious injuries and was left staring at the only one that he knew next to nothing about. He took out a pair of tweezers and gently lifted a small section of the strange black substance that mocked him so. After placing it in the petri dish from his pocket he left it on the bedside table while he tidied up the bloodied fabric and left over water.

With worry still apparent in his eyes Vlad covered the child with the dense comforter and took the dish down to his lab. His care for Daniel would be his undoing…but now was the time for ruthless scientific thinking while his reckless sentimentality took a back seat.

"Anything?" Tucker demanded as Sam tried their friend's cell phone again. The goth girl paced the length of the techno geek's bedroom with the mobile apparently glued to her ear.

"No," she sighed and once more listened to the same monotonous voice telling her that Danny's phone was switched off. "You?" she asked glancing over at her friend staring lifelessly into the computer screen.

It seemed that Tucker was losing the will to live…this thing was really, really annoying him now. He had yet to come across the technology that could outwit him, and now after everything he had ever hacked into he was being beaten…by the Fenton's security system no less! Or rather the thing that had altered the Fenton's security system, but either way it was still irritating.

"No go, Sam," he replied, "this baby's locked up good. It's like when you and Danny come back after a date…it ain't gonna say anything and neither are you,"

Sam merely sighed in frustration, "We don't…uhhh," she moaned, "…never mind…" she violently threw herself onto the floor and her heavy combat boots made loud 'thumping' sounds on impact.

"Hey…watch the floor, it wasn't built to take repeated combat boot abuse, y'know," Tucker shouted and waved his fist at Sam's lethal boots.

They had now exhausted every plan, move and contingency idea that they had, the two teens were well and truly stumped for ideas. Tucker had had no breakthrough with the security system, Sam had tried Danny's cell, Jazz's cell and had called the All-Purpose Fenton Fone repeatedly. The grey device was lying in the Fenton's lab and was supposedly designed to receive and make calls in the most hostile frequency and signal environments in the world, but it was useless to her because no-one was answering the damn thing!

"Maybe we should just forget all this and just go over there," Sam suggested, "I wanna see what's happening," she looked up at her friend who was still sitting in the wheeled office chair at his desk

"So do I…but…Danny said…" Tuck replied but he had entertained the possibility himself of marching over to Fenton Works and demanding answers. But if Danny was in trouble…there wasn't much they could do to help him at the moment, Tucker didn't admit it often aloud but Danny was stronger than they would ever be. Physically, Danny was stronger than any human teenager could ever be and if the hybrid had come across something too strong for him, then he and Sam wouldn't stand much of a chance either.

They needed a plan…but to have a plan they needed to know what was happening…if anything was happening at all, but Tucker Foley, Techno Geek extraordinaire, had no idea what was happening. And it wasn't a good feeling…his best friend in the whole world could be hurt…or worse…and there was nothing he could do to help him!

"I KNOW what Danny said…but Danny's NOT here, and he could be in serious trouble, and we're just doing nothing!" Sam shouted

"Because we don't know what to do! And if we go over there and get ourselves killed that won't be helping Danny, would it?" Tuck said rationally, "I only have a Fenton Wrist Ray, a few Fenton Fones, an Anti-Creep Stick and a broken Spector Deflector!" Tuck counted on his fingers, "Now call me crazy but that's not the best arsenal to be taking when we don't even know what we're up against, do you?"

Sam only sighed furiously in response, but she knew he was right, she only had a few weapons at her house too, nothing serious enough to warrant jumping in face-first-guns-blazing and getting themselves killed. "Then what the hell are we supposed to do?" she demanded of no-one in particular.

"Wait. We wait for Danny to call us…I guess…" Tucker sighed, "If he doesn't call us by lunch time tomorrow, we go over there, right?" After all it would be daylight then, and though it sounded corny, most evil ghosts they had encountered liked to wait for darkness if they were going to do something really bad…or so he liked to think anyway.

Knowing it was probably for the best Sam nodded in agreement, "Right," she agreed and thought it best to go home and sort out the few weapons she kept in her room, "I'll be over bright and early, Tuck, so you better not sleep in," she said with a ghost of a smile on her lips.

"No problem," Tucker replied half-heartedly as the goth girl left his room. He stood from his chair and rooted around in his disorganised closet for a damaged Spector Deflector that Danny had given him to research and fix, it could possibly come in handy…but only if it was fixed by tomorrow.

Vlad threw yet another collection of papers straight across the room, in his defence he was really, really pissed off, although taking his anger out on helpless pieces of paper probably wasn't the best idea. Now the lab was littered with the stuff, the floor was buried under a sea of white sheets, some written on, some torn up and others crushed and thrown violently at the walls.

Under one of the most powerful microscopes that money could buy Vlad stared daggers at the source if his frustration. Who knew that such a small thing could make the billionaire so angry? But then so did Daniel…

He had taken readings and from his trusty 'Scientia collectivu' had identified all of the separate components thereby discovering what made the substance so dangerous. But what angered him most was that because Daniel was half-ghost the effects were rendered almost unpredictable! Their DNA was a combination of simple human chromosomes that were infected and combined with ectoplasm.

The 'Glaciem calidum' was composed of Spiritual equaplasym, and there inlay the major problem. The two substances were like fire and ice, they were not meant to meet, for when they did the results were catastrophic. This could spell disaster for his (future) son!

He read that the two elements had only ever been combined once before in the whole history of creation, the passage was somewhat limited and obscure but it basically stated that the Ghost Zone was the result of a kind of 'war' between Ghosts and Spirits. When the two substances collided they tore a hole into the very fabric of time and space, creating a place fuelled by its raw energy. It was named the Ghost Zone, he believed because very few people knew the difference between Ghosts and Spirits, it had taken him a long time to learn the difference because Spirits were so much elusive than Ghosts.

With the exception of this one it seemed, Spirits tended to inhabit a small, undetectable region and rarely ventured beyond its borders. So what had caused this Spirit to venture so far away from home and attack him and Daniel like this? Maybe it was just bored. Vlad wasn't sure but he intended to find out…somehow.

The manuscript would give him no further information on the Calidae, nor would it give him the location of the 'Dark Zone' of the Ancients. He resisted the urge to throw it across the room like he had the papers, he really just wanted to throw things and punch things or destroy them…it just happened when he was angry.

Maybe if he just made sure that the equaplasym didn't overwhelm the boy's system he could make sure that they had ample time to come up with some kind of cure…before it burned Daniel from the inside. That wasn't something Vlad was too keen on seeing. He refused to sit and do nothing when Daniel's life was on the line…this one child meant more to him than…than what…exactly? He had no idea how to treat the boy. He wasn't sure how a father was supposed to treat his son…he couldn't act as his father had; he would only drive Daniel away. Maybe that was what his father had tried to do from the moment he was born. His father never loved him. Of that he was sure!

But Daniel already had a loving father…in Jack Fenton…that oaf…he didn't deserve to have a son like Daniel; the whole thing infuriated him whenever he thought of it. But Vlad would wait, his Little Badger was no idiot, he would one day realise that Jack was not good enough and he was. He would wait for that moment to welcome the boy home with open arms…but there was nothing wrong with helping Daniel realise Jacks' inadequacy…just to speed things up so that they could spend more time together as a father and son should.

But he wouldn't have any of those memories to look forward to if he let his son die, so he once more looked down through the microscope and noticed something that rendered him speechless once more. In the few minutes that he had been down here…though it had seemed much longer…the substance had grown, only by a millimetre or so but with his powerful microscope there was no question of its reliability or its accuracy.

Was this happening to Daniel…was the substance slowly overtaking the boy before Vlad even had the chance to do anything about it?

On a whim he gently pointed his index at the sample and let loose an infinitesimal blast of ectoplasm. The purple substance at once clashed with the equaplasym and he watched in astonishment as the two fought a mini-war under the lens. He felt the microscope quiver slightly under the pressure he had created.

After a minute his larger, raw sample of ectoplasm had completely destroyed the equaplasym and now Vlad believed that things might not be so bad after all, maybe he had another upper hand over his enemy.

But if he tried to overwhelm the equaplasym in Daniel's body perhaps the repercussions would be worse than a little shaking episode. He would have to think about this…one false move could cost his little pawn his life. Comparing Daniel to a Pawn didn't mean to say that the child was weak; the Pawn was a powerful piece if one knew how to use it - Daniel was not weak and he would not let the boy die.

He would have to test his new theory once Daniel was awake…it seemed he was spending too much time waiting…wondering if Daniel was alright and Vlad wasn't used to worrying about someone else. But Vlad needed to know how Daniel felt once he tried to affect the substance infiltrating his body and he couldn't ask if he was still unconscious so it would be unwise to do so.

As he made plans for this 'experiment' he left the lab and floated up to his elaborate bedroom taking only the thick tome with him.

It was too risky for them to stay here; Vlad placed the book onto his enormous 4 poster bed and opened his wardrobe. He then pulled out a black holdall and tossed it onto the floor from where it had lain at the bottom of the wardrobe for several years since he moved here after his 'election,' and began rifling through his clothes. After folding several things up and placing them into the bag he walked over to a built-in closet and took out a large wheeled suitcase and began to fill it up with clothes. He folded the 'Scientia collectivu' in amongst the clothes in the holdall and continued to seize different object from around the room and added them into his suitcase.

Vlad had plenty of things and clothes at his Wisconsin Castle…but he didn't know if he was safe their either. He didn't want to risk it, so he packed anything that he would need as if he were going on holiday to a sparsely furnished hotel. They could always buy clothes for Daniel…but he would need to think carefully about this…if Daniel wasn't coherent by tomorrow he would have to take them both somewhere safe until he could discover what made them so interesting to the creature.

There was no doubt that they couldn't stay here, their location was known and the only protection they had was a quickly made shield that could fail them if it was attacked again. Once he had completed the majority of his packing he thought it an opportune moment to work on said shield…the first one would have to remain in Amity Park and he needed to start work on a second one to protect them if he went through with his plan to leave.

He went down to his still cluttered lab and rooted around for the plans of the device that protected them. Upon finding them on the floor he took them up to the sitting room where he laid them on the table and turned to the stereo. The room had been divested of its earlier inhabitants and cleaned thoroughly of the mess and blood from his earlier activities. He turned on the stereo and the atmosphere lightened as the beautiful sounds of classic violin music filled his senses.

Whilst he sat going over the plans and adding several improvements he listened to the inspiring music of his childhood, his favourite had always been Beethoven's Violin Concerto, and as he used the remote to skip to the 3rd Movement (*2) he listened intently to every note.

It wouldn't take him long to build another device to act as a shield for them, he could start building it soon, but he needed time to think. Where would he go that would give him enough time to work things out? His cabin retreat in the Rockies could be ideal…but it wouldn't provide them as much protection as he would like. His castle would also most likely be easy to discover and therefore not the best of hide-outs, after all a castle wasn't the most conspicuous of buildings, was it?

After a while he sensed another being in the room with him and he looked up to see Marion standing before him "Sir," she began "We took the humans to the hospital as you ordered and there were no problems."

"Good," he replied, only half listening to his maid. Then as if a light bulb had lit up he smiled, "Marion, I have a little job for you," he smiled and the maid only stared blankly at him in apprehension.

A.N. Awww. Another nice scene, I must going soft in my old age…but there is more horror yet to come…you can be sure of that! Mwah ha ha ah! Evil Ghost writer laugh! Not a very fast chapter but we needed to learn more about the danger that our beloved hybrids are in.

Anyway, at the start of the chapter I wanted to…obviously advance the plot…but I thought it was a good time to gradually start to introduce some of poor Vladdie's troubled past. I have already established that he left his parents home in England for…reasons still to come…and emigrated to the good old U.S of A where he attended college and met Jack and Maddie, his first…and last friends. This little sub-plot will attempt to explain why Vlad thinks the way that he does, as I shall endeavour to explain this to myself and to you amazing people out there!

But to advance his character I think I needed to explain what had made him the way he is, after all if he learned his philosophy from his father and was raised with it, he can't be blamed for being a total fruit-loop if he was raised by one, right? As I said before maybe you just think I'm rambling or that I'm a psychology freak...but whatever, let me know if you think there's something mentally wrong with me!

I think one of my weaknesses…or maybe it could be seen as a strength, is that despite all that Vlad has done to the Fenton's particularly Danny, I think he has real potential. And this has ultimately lead to me spending more time on this site than is healthy, and now adding to it myself…I'm really a lost case, aren't I?

(*1) I actually learnt a lot about treating wounds while I was researching how Vladdie would help Danny. So now, if any random ghost boy lands in my house all wounded I know exactly what to do! I didn't go into real detailed stuff, but I think I got the basics down okay…and obviously I added in the part where he used ectoplasm on it. Such Ingenuity…How do I do it? : ) LOL!

(*2) Beethoven's Violin Concerto…well what can I say, the whole thing is beautiful, but the 3rd Movement is one of the most beautiful pieces of music I have ever heard, it is VERY inspiring. No, I am not a classical music freak but I do appreciate the beauty of this music. If you search it in youtube you'll hopefully see what I mean. And it is the kind of music I can imagine Vlad listening to, I mean he probably does listen to other types of music from when he was in college like any other teenager, but this suited the moment best!