Disclaimer: I own nothing from Danny Phantom

Note: Warning! Character torture and a death scene ahead along with a brief mention of drugs and kind-of-sort-of rape through possession. You all probably knew this was coming as far as Freakshow is concerned but I've never done anything like this before nor planned to so just be aware of that because I'm usually against using any of that even for a story like this. I know this is an AU, but the only reason I'm going through with the 'character death' part is because this particular version of Freakshow messed Dani up pretty badly and what he did was more or less the straw that broke the camel's back. Also, if you didn't catch the hint in the last chapter, Lydia physically abused her too which left its mark on Dani as well. True, the Freakshow encounter didn't last any longer than it did in the show like I was planning, as in I was going to have a whole 'Vlad mounts a huge rescue mission after Danielle suddenly goes mysteriously missing for weeks' sequence, however, I think it's actually better this way. It lets me show off that Vlad, while he does care about Danielle very much and would do anything for her, that's not always a good thing and he has over 20 years worth of evil plotting, blackmailing, vengeance and so on to get over using as his first resort, not last.


Chapter 28: Vengeance


Vlad's POV

To some degree, I was actually grateful for the fact that this town didn't know how to protect themselves from ghostly sabotage and infiltration because it was child's play to shut down the security camera's in the Amity Park Penitentiary and overshadow the right people so I could proceed to 'interrogate' Freakshow completely undetected. And seeing as he was human and therefore could not sense ghosts, Freakshow was oblivious to my presence both inside the guards and eagerly awaiting him in the interrogation room, invisibly flexing my fingers around his coveted staff while resisting the urge to snap it in half this very moment...

I wanted to make this all the sweeter by convincing his former victims to assist me with getting vengeance on their former master, but as expected they were quick to vacate the premise to avoid falling under the staff's control again after just barely regaining their freedom. Not that I could blame them since I WAS going to use the staff to control them if they didn't agree to my plans just long enough to pin Freakshow's murder on them instead of my ghostly persona as Plasmius. I did, however, track down the female ghost I assume was actually his second in command who didn't need the staff to be controlled. In fact, as soon as she saw the staff in my hands she grew violent and tried to attack me.

That was very foolish on her part since it confirmed my suspicions that this particular ghost was the one who had left those marks on Danielle's skin, the one who physically hurt her. As such, I showed her no mercy. I poured all of my hate and malice into the staff and once it took control of her I set her core ablaze with unspeakable agony. A shame she was mute so I couldn't hear her screams but it was satisfying watching this ghost writhe on the ground, every inch of her green skin glowing with a fiery red aura, including the outlines of each and every tattoo carved into it.

I said this before that I was normally opposed to such violence being used against any female, ghost or otherwise, but since she harmed Danielle this was the least she deserved. I didn't have to literally destroy this ghost, but I could shatter her spirit as a message to others that I was NOT joking around. Because the next ghost that so much as looked at Danielle wrong would find themselves begging not to be torn apart limb from limb. Of course, that was still only in the event that Danielle faced an opponent she couldn't handle herself because even I knew that despite feeling that overprotective of her it was unreasonable and unrealistic to track down every ghost who has ever injured her in order to beat some sense into them.

Either way, once I finished torturing her into submission I left that tattooed ghost curled up in a fetal position, her fingers twitching jerkily from suffering such agony through the staff's power. I stared down at her coldly, feeling not even the slightest hint of remorse, and then as if burning it into her mind like a brand I ordered her not to interfere with my plans and that once she could fly again she was to flee to the Ghost Zone and never return. I'm sure the suggestion would fade from her mind once I broke the staff of course but this would keep her from trying to save her beloved master from my wrath...

Ideally, I was hoping the body memory of the torture I subjected her to would more than suffice to quell any foolish notions of coming after me or Danielle to avenge Freakshow's death. As more of a last-minute idea, I ripped the red cloak off of her to bring with me as proof that I knew exactly who Freakshow was and I was serious about getting even with him after he attempted to steal something precious from me. I'm sure hearing this would confuse the man but it was true. Danielle was by far, the most precious thing I owned. Her heart anyway.

Still, if not for the efforts of Danielle's friends to save her from his control and the fact that she finally reached out to me for help in her time of need with more than just homework by giving me a call, Freakshow may have very well succeeded in kidnapping her and I wouldn't have caught wind of it until it was much too late to stop them from getting away. I would still find them and stop them of course but that would have meant she'd have been exposed to his abuse for much longer and worse...if Freakshow had decided to go ahead and have sex with Danielle-

I shook my head, knowing it was too dangerous to even think about that since it would make me act rashly and just snap the man's neck to be done with it. Because like I had with that tattooed ghost, whose name I never quite uncovered, I wanted to savor this moment. I wanted to see all the color drain from his already pasty face as the reality of his impending doom sank in and Freakshow realized there was no escape.

He was, as of now, on death row.


"Now gentlemen, can't we be reasonable about this?" I heard Freakshow attempt to argue charmingly to the two guards I had overshadowed who were bringing him to me after rudely dragging him out of his cell. "I've already told you everything I know about those ghosts and the staff but it's gone now anyway so I'm as weak and powerless as the rest of you. Surely there's no need to be so rough. I bruise easily you see and have no stomach for violence."

Could have fooled me given how you tried to murder two teenagers, one of them you even made TWO attempts to kill recently, and then you proceeded to trap countless concerned parents, news reporters, and police officers in a large tent and set one of your ghostly minions loose on a crowd of innocent bystanders who you knew damn well couldn't fight back, I thought venomously to myself, disgusted by the fact that he was still trying to play innocent as if his crimes only included theft.

I took the liberty of checking his criminal records and Freakshow had a rap sheet a mile long that contained everything from pretty theft to as I feared...predatory tenancies with young girls. In fact, I was shocked to find that the tattooed ghost I tortured earlier was, in fact, the ghost of Freakshow's former girlfriend named Lydia Thomas who died of cancer when she was 17 but by then he was nearly 25 and they'd been dating for about three years prior to that.

However, after she passed it turned out that he did, in fact, have a record of seducing other young girls over the years each time his circus rolled into town. But the thing is that they never came forward about it so no charges were pressed because most of them could only remember talking to him before their memories became hazy and it was dismissed as them partaking in something they shouldn't have been anyway seeing as each and every one of them was a troubled teen with a record of their own in most cases. Sadly I had a feeling Lydia had something to do with their hazy memories because maybe at first Freakshow must have terribly missed having a...relationship with her and so he used those poor girls as an outlet so she could possess them while they made love to each other just like old times.

I'm just glad that Freakshow never discovered that Danielle was half-human and used her in a similar fashion now that he could get away with it since it looked like there hadn't been another incident over the course of the last few years. My guess is that he'd either been forced to stop or simply grew tired of the hassle of seducing girls just so Lydia could have a body he felt comfortable having sex with. Besides which, Freakshow was probably more interested in the stealing once the robberies started in earnest anyway. They started small with shoplifting as a teenager and as an adult here and there but then it suddenly changed when I assume he inherited this staff after his parents retired before passing away a few years later and that's when Freakshow discovered a new profitable use for his ghostly performers that involved far less effort on his part.

Regardless, the fact that there have been robberies linked to every town he's visited with his circus that couldn't be tied to him and the fact that there was at least some record of his misdeeds it was entirely possible that Freakshow HAS murdered before. In fact, he may very well have murdered his parents for all I know to inherit that staff from them since they were the former ringleaders of Circus Gothica before him. It was a bit of a stretch I'll admit but not entirely outside of the realm of possibility.

If I had to hazard a guess, the theft started out as his way of drawing their attention away from the ghost performers they controlled and treated like loyal pets they had trained for years when in reality they were no more innocent than Freakshow was controlling them at all using the power of that staff so they were still trapped against their will and likely probably have been for as long as their family has owned that relic. But that was all about to change tonight because I was about to end the cycle forever so that Danielle would be their family's final victim...

Shoving Freakshow into the chair at the table and strapping him in, the 'guards' left without another word and Freakshow seemed confused at first. Was someone else coming to interrogate him now? In a way he was correct in that assumption; however...this was all off record and thanks to how well I could cover my tracks thanks to having my OWN powers, not to mention billions of dollars and resources at my disposal, by the time we were done here not only would his legacy be ruined but he would die knowing his mistakes had finally caught up to him and he bit off more than he could chew this time.

It was hardly the time for this but given how we were already here I might as well get some valuable information out of him regarding this staff and any other artifacts he might have stored away that belonged to his family. All I had to do was play his tune and trick him into thinking he would soon be off the hook since I could 'control' ghosts too. I would show him the perfect example of what using ghost powers properly could lead to and then...crush him with the truth so Freakshow's face would be frozen in fear and shock once the light left his eyes as he met his own end at the hand of a ghost, a halfa in fact.

Using a similar tactic I've used countless times, I phased through the wall to switch places so my duplicate was holding the staff in ghost form while I, on the other hand, assumed human form again and strolled right into the interrogation room acting like I owned the place. Given what a small town hack Freakshow was I doubt he's even heard of me. He could tell I looked important though so a knowing smile curled up on his lips as Freakshow crossed his legs, assuming he had something I wanted badly enough to strike a bargain with him and his eyes shimmered greedily. Amateur, the poor fool didn't even know how to conceal his reaction to seeing me as any poker player would know...

Sitting down opposite from him, I, on the other hand, was flawless in my delivery of keeping my features carefully blank but allowing just enough curiosity to show to grab his attention because people like him LOVE talking about themselves. Especially when they think they're holding all the answers and cards in their hand. Make no mistake though, being within inches of this disgusting bottom feeder made me feel dirty already even being in the same room but I didn't let it show. I didn't want to alert him to my real purpose here before getting him to lower his guard so he'd give me what I wanted before I ended his miserable existence.

"So I take it you're the one they call 'Freakshow?'" I asked, sitting perfectly still whereas he was sitting slouched while bobbing his foot up and down in a childish manner.

"In the flesh! Because yes, unlike my underlings I'm still a living breathing meat sack like the rest of you losers," he cackled.

I nodded, smirking, "Yes, so I've heard. Speaking of which that's why I'm here. I'm-"

"What? No proper introduction? That's awfully rude you know. Usually, people exchange names before striking up deals wouldn't you agree? I can only assume you're here to ask about my staff just like the Guys in White were earlier. You with them?" Freakshow asked and this time I openly frowned.

"Well if you'd let me finish I was about to introduce myself but first of all, no, I am not here with the Guys in White. I'm here because of a more...personal venture. You see, I'm quite the collector of ghost-related artifacts myself and I was wondering if you would be willing to trade information about any you have or might know about in exchange for my help setting you free?" I offered, smiling internally thinking that the only freedom he'd be finding was freedom from that 'meat sack' body of his once I killed him.

Licking his lips Freakshow clapped his hands together as best he could with the handcuffs on and beamed, "But of course! I should have guessed you were a fan of the occult from how much eyeliner you're wearing! What do you wish to know Mr...?"

"Masters. Vlad Masters," I told him dismissively.

Shaking his head and blinking, Freakshow looked stunned and asked, "Wait wait wait, are we talking about the billionaire Vlad Masters? I've heard about you, my parents told me once that they sold some ancient ghost relic book to you but it wasn't the one you wanted which was the one containing our family history. Is that what you're here for now?"

Now that he said that it DID ring a bell that years ago I began searching for a reliable source of information on ghosts and had been reduced to researching specialty stores across the country. Eventually, I was directed to a small house in the suburbs located in an equally small town in Massachusetts where I met an old couple who was happy to part with at least a few of their antique books and one of them turned out to have what I was looking for at the time. That was so long ago that it never even crossed my mind that they might be-

After taking a moment to recollect my thoughts and composure I finally responded, "That among other things if possible. But first, I'm VERY interested in that staff you used to control the ghosts who robbed those banks for you. It was a foolish idea to strike so many places at once. Not to mention you targeted the local ghost fighting hero Dani Phantom who has quite the reputation as it is so using her to assist in the robberies inevitably drew too much attention to yourself. And THAT, I'm afraid, is why your recent plans of conquest to gain more wealth were doomed to fail spectacularly from the start. Subtly and patience is key, Frederich Isak Showenhower, as you will soon learn..."

"I see someone's done their homework," Freakshow glowered, hating to hear me make full use of his real name as he raised an eyebrow. Then with a disinterested shrug, he said, "Anyways sure, why not? If you can get me out of here you can have whatever you want rich boy."


Seemingly satisfied by my answer I begrudgingly listened as Freakshow dramatically went into detail about his family history of 'training and controlling ghosts' with a hint of envy in his voice that was unmistakable, even some bitterness regarding his parents. It was all very typical for someone like him who was all about 'sticking it to the man' as the kids say acting as a literal ringleader to antisocial teenagers and other goths who supported his views. His parents clearly ignored their son in favor of controlling their ghosts but it looks like must have at least taught him their secrets and gave him advice on how to implement the staff's powers. Not that it was very hard mind you...

Once I felt like I had taken everything I could from him, I stood from my chair and smiled, "Thank you for the information Freakshow. I believe we're done here..."

Glaring at me he held out his hands and gestured at the cuffs at his wrists and huffed, "Um hello? We had a deal remember? What about my freedom?" Nodding in the direction of my duplicate who then revealed themselves holding his staff, I smirked upon seeing his shocked expression as Freakshow blubbered, "My staff! How did you-? Where was it? And how are you controlling that ghost without it?"

While my duplicate reached over to phase off the cuffs around his wrists and legs in one swift motion, I replied coldly, "I have my ways. As for this, as it so happens I found it among some of the other things you've stolen and one of them belonged to me so I'll be taking this as payment I'm afraid. You won't be needing it where you're going."

"Payment? Now wait just a moment, let's not be hasty! I don't recall stealing anything from someone as powerful as you, even I'm not THAT insane!" Freakshow laughed nervously, eyeing his staff as if looking for an opening to steal it back.

Wringing his hands together Freakshow continued, "Feel free to take back any goods I wrongfully took from you with no hard feelings since I didn't know any better. I suppose it's possible that you owned one of those banks I've robbed but still! At any rate, if you'll just give me my staff back I'll be on my way and you'll never have to see me again unless you happen to come to visit me at my circus again. I can always get more gold and jewels and once I've reclaimed my minions I'll start over again in a few years under a new name. Perhaps one day we could even work together because I know secrets about ghosts you can't possibly imagine and with all your power an wealth we'd be an unstoppable force!"

Commanding my duplicate to hold his chin up using the staff, I narrowed my gaze and warned, "Do you honestly think I'll be that easy to fool? I'm not a simpleton like the rest of the idiots in this town. I've been playing this game much longer than you and I've read your records. The truth of the matter is that even if I agreed to such madness, you'd look for the first opportunity to stab me in the back! As for what you stole from me, it's not an object, in fact, it's far more precious to me than any material item I possess. And I do not take kindly to those who attempt to steal from or deceive me. Most barely survive their first attempt to oppose me either literally or manage to crawl away with their sanity intact. I rarely settle for only giving out warnings to crush such idiotic notions that they stand a chance against me. I strike without warning, my retribution swift and decisive unless someone really stepped out of line and I decided to take my time toying with them before teaching them a lesson they'll never forget. You should be grateful I didn't simply take what I want through force, leaving you here to rot. This isn't a game, Freakshow. And even if it was you lost before we even set the board."

Laughing hysterically, Freakshow clapped his hands together gleefully, smirked, and said, "Ooo goodie, I love games! Speaking of which, it looks like the joke's on you rich boy!"

Yanking the staff from my duplicate's hand with a slight of hand that normally would have impressed me if I hadn't allowed him to take it from me since it was all part of my plan, Freakshow twirled it a few times before pointing it at the only ghost in the room and ordered, "You may be rich and powerful and have some way to control ghosts too that I don't know, but this staff has been in my family for generations and has the power to enthrall any ghost! It was brief, but I even managed to control Dani Phantom herself! Therefore your little bodyguard stands no chance against me! I always have a trick or two up my sleeve like any good magician!"

Resting my hands behind my back, undeterred, I challenged, "Do you think it's wise making an enemy out of me? You do realize I'm the richest man in the world and have the power and resources to wipe you off the face of the Earth while leaving your family in disgrace, don't you?"

"Well you know us circus folk, we live for danger and the thrill of living on the edge of a knife or high atop the tight rope! It comes with the territory. But you're right, I'd rather not make an enemy of you. The truth is that I just wanted my staff back, and a friendly gesture you can have your guard dog back once I've escaped this backwater town so I can make plans to regain control of the ghost girl. I'm sure she's eagerly looking forward to an encore of serving me!" Backing away, he turned to my duplicate and ordered, "Now then, it's been pleasant doing business you, but I think I'll be taking my leave. Drone! I order you to get me out of here and take me to Lydia! She should be waiting at the Ron-de-Vu point we set up in case plans changed."

The look on Freakshow's face was priceless when I dismissed my duplicate and it vanished before his eyes which threw any plans of escape out the window. Because not only had it not followed his orders, but it laughed at him before dissipating into nothingness. That's when I pulled out the red cloak I took from that ghost and threw it at his feet. I might as well have shown him her mangled remains because his face turned stark white with fear once Freakshow realize he'd been outmatched.

"I told you before, Freakshow-" I hissed in a low menacing tone, "-that this isn't a game, did I not? I've cut off every exit, erased every possible way to trace our encounter, isolated you from anyone who might have been able to stop me which there are none anyway, and most of all I've figured out the way you think long before we ever spoke to one another. I know what you've done, I know who you're in contact with, and I know it was YOU who did this to my little badger and you're going to pay dearly for that. It takes more than flattery and sleight of hand to get the jump on Vlad Masters! Or better yet-"

Encasing his staff with ecto-energy, I ripped it from his grasp and pulled it back towards me, grabbed it, then transformed into the very same ghost he thought was only an underling of mine. Terrified now Freakshow backed against the wall and exclaimed, "What?! What on earth ARE you?! Guards! Guards help! There's a ghost attacking mfffmh!"

Rushing forward with inhuman speed, I clamped one gloved hand tightly around his jaw and sneered, "It's no use calling for help. No one can hear you, and no one can stop me. As for what I am, I am the first of my kind and Danielle, otherwise known as Dani Phantom to you, is my lover and you made a HUGE mistake laying your filthy hands on her. Do you want to know why she was able to resist you even slightly when no other ghost ever has before? It's because she's only half-ghost. We both are. Obviously, I'm more powerful than her at present but someday that will change and when that day comes scum like you will NEVER be able to hurt her ever again."

Struggling uselessly against my monstrous grip, Freakshow's eyes began to bulge as I applied pressure to his jaw, feeling the bones start to crack beneath my fingers, then I leaned forward and whispered in his ear, "This is what happens to those who invoke my unbridled wrath. You want your staff back so badly? Then here...take it!"

Pulling back, I flipped the staff so that the pointed edge was facing him and before Freakshow could recover from the shock and the soreness from the death grip I had on his jaw, with one strangely elegant motion I drove it clean through his chest, impaling him and pinning him to the wall like a butterfly in a display case. He stared down at it in shock as blood poured out of the wound and formed a puddle at his feet before some of it bubbled out of his mouth and trickled down his chin. And then, to my astonishment Freakshow started to laugh weakly in the face of death before going limp as the life slowly left his eyes. To my growing surprise, even the orb's swirling red luster faded along with his lifeforce which told me that it really was tied to blood magic, as in the staff had been MADE by his family and with him gone it lost its power.

It would have been a different story if I simply shattered the orb because even in pieces it likely would have retained its power so things really were better for her this way. Now that Freakshow was dead he could no longer come after Danielle or enslave any other ghost ever again, not that I cared about any of them aside from her. Just as an added safety measure though, I slowly backed away and shot a ray of ecto-energy from my eyes to shatter the orb once I was certain that it had been completely drained of power once the bloodline of the ones who made it died with it's last surviving heir. And I could only hope that this would be enough to lift the spell on my sleeping princess back home...