Vlad spent the rest of Saturday planning and preparing to take the actions needed to save the Fenton's. That night he called Skulker.
"Plasmius," greeted Skulker walking into Vlad's lab.
Vlad inclined his head, "Skulker."
"You said you had a job for me?"
Vlad smiled it was a little sharp, "Yes, since you are the greatest hunter in the Ghost Zone I thought you would be up to the task."
Skulker stood taller, preening under the acknowledgment of his prowess, "Yes, if that's what you're looking for then you have the right ghost."
"Excellent. I want you to keep all the ghosts out of Amity Park for the week by any means you deem necessary. With the exception of Danny Phantom. I have plans for this week and I'd rather not have any ghosts interfering. This will also be an immediate start and is to be done as discreetly as possible," said Vlad laying out the task.
"And what's in it for me?" asked Skulker.
"The usual, upgrades to your suit and weapons, enough to compensate your time of course. Are there any particular improvements you would like this time?"
Skulker paused for a moment, seemingly considering the offer, "Upgrades to my jetpack. That brat is getting too fast for me, I want to be faster."
"That can be done," said Vlad neutrally, "But remember Phantom is off limits this week."
Vlad would prefer for Danny to always be off limits, but he couldn't just start protecting Danny one day out of the blue, he had to build up to that. Or at least that is how it would have to appear to Danny.
"Yes, I will leave the ghost child alone this week," said Skulker sounding slightly disgruntle.
Vlad nodded, "If you have any other upgrade requests contact me. Until next week Skulker."
Skulker grinned, "See you next week Plasmius."
Skulker ignited his jetpack and blasted away to complete the task that he'd been given.
Hopefully, that would help young Daniel to actually study for his exam. Even if it was only a week, some study was better than no study. That was all that Vlad could really do for Danny.
Vlad headed back to the foyer where the remnants of the scuffle between him and his past self had been left. Now that Vlad had some things sorted, he would clean up that mess and hide the evidence. There wasn't much more he could do to prevent the accident until Monday. So, Vlad would bide his time and make sure he was ready when the time came for action.
As soon as trading hours commenced on Monday Vladimir Masters purchased the fast food franchise known as Nasty Burger. He immediately ordered every branch to be assessed by both health and safety workers. Vlad made sure that the people evaluating the Nasty Burger branches didn't work for Nasty Burger prior to his purchase. Whoever it was who assessed it the first time clearly neglected the obvious hazard that was the secret sauce.
The fact that Nasty Burger had changed owners was kept very hush-hush. Vlad wanted no chance of Danny finding out that he had purchased the fast food company. And while Vlad knew that Danny wouldn't be able to find out on his own Vlad didn't know how in the loop the Mason child was. If the Mason child caught wind that the Nasty Burger had transferred owners, either Danny would figure it out or the Foley child would find out. That was not something Vlad wanted to happen, not this week. Once it got past this Saturday and Vlad had dismantled the production of the secret sauce within the Amity Park branch then, and only then would it be safe for Danny to find out.
Unsurprisingly the reports from the health and safety workers started flooding in, with every single Nasty Burger branch failing the safety tests. Vlad was then able to proceed as planned and ordered every branch to close until the problem could be rectified.
Vlad demanded that every branch safely remove the vat explosive condiments. Unfortunately, to Vlad's fury, it seemed that there was no safe way to do that.
Vlad let himself breathe for a moment.
New plan.
He had people take a sample of sauce and send it to one of his company labs for examination. This was a rush order to find out what it would take to safely stabilise the sauce. Unfortunately, even with it being a rush order Vlad would have to wait a few days.
Once again Vlad was stuck, but at the very least he had the stores closed down and had the secret sauce vats shut down. This meant that there would be no ticking time bomb, although there was still the chance that something could still cause the sauce to explode. However, any such thing would be an external factor and out of Vlad's control.
Vlad was silently stewing in his fury. He has done as much as he could for the moment, yet it might not be enough. It took a bit, but Vlad finally calmed down and then continued to work on merging the Nasty Burger with his company. He would have to do a complete staff overhaul. At the very least the higher ups of the company needed to be restaffed. They would have known about how dangerous the sauce was, and if they somehow didn't know then clearly, they were not fit to be in their positions.
While Vlad wasn't the most upstanding company owner, he would not have any companies, or branch companies of his with the potential to cause death or permanent harm. The lawsuits for one would be a headache. Not that Vlad couldn't deal with it, rather he would like for it never to occur in the first place.
The in store staff at the Nasty Burger was given the week off with pay. Vlad sent more sauce samples to a culinary expert he hired two minutes ago to recreate the sauce, this time without the explosive potential.
There was so much to do if Vlad actually wanted to keep the Nasty Burger. Which Vlad did plan to do if only so something like the accident wouldn't happen again.
Wednesday morning rolled around, and Vlad was still busy trying to weed out the idiots in the Nasty Burger who authorised the secret sauce in the first place. Vlad had finally gotten a report back from the lab this morning detailing the components and makeup of the sauce. Vlad, having graduated with an engineering degree and taken chemistry courses knew exactly how bad it was once he read the list of compounds. He was stunned at how the Nasty Burger managed to get away with it. Then again, money talks, or in this case, likely bought silence.
Because of the lab report, Vlad knew that they were on the downhill run to finding a way to neutralise the secret sauce, which meant it could soon be safely removed and disposed of. Both of these facts relieved Vlad and made him anxious. It was getting closer and closer to the day. Vlad needed to sort this problem before then.
It was close to lunchtime and Vlad was glaring hard at the list of compounds, seeing if he could figure out a solution himself when the doorbell rang. Vlad looked up and frowned. He wasn't expecting anyone today.
Vlad stood up, and for the sake of his charade, took a Fenton blaster with him. Once Vlad reached the door he peered through the peephole and all his breath left him in a rush. Vlad swung the door open.
"Maddie, what a pleasant surprise," said Vlad somehow managing to maintain his composure. Oh, how he missed her.
"Hello, Vlad. I'm here to drop off the new ghost shield," said Maddie holding up what looked like another blender, however, this one looked sleeker and didn't have the odd wire hanging out.
Vlad gestured for Maddie to enter, "Please come inside, you can show me if this one works differently from the other or not."
Vlad wanted to talk to Maddie. He just wanted to be able to see her when he heard her voice.
"Both shields work exactly the same. But I do need to speak to you," said Maddie with a stern tone as she strode in.
Oh, butter biscuits. Maddie didn't sound happy.
"Would you like some tea?" offered Vlad hoping to placate at least some of Maddie's silent anger.
Maddie eyed him over for a few moments and Vlad kept his poker face as neutral as he could.
Eventually, Maddie seemed to see something, "Yes, I'll have some tea."
Vlad led Maddie to the kitchen thinking it might be best to keep this talk informal and put on some tea while Maddie sat at the small two person table in the kitchen. Vlad put on the kettle and got out some cups and tea leaves. After Vlad finished his preparation, he turned to face Maddie while leaning against the bench.
"You wanted to talk?" Vlad prompted.
Maddie took in a breath and straightened herself in her seat, "Jack said you were captured by a ghost and that when he found you, you were unconscious and looked horrible."
Vlad gave a mocking offended gasp and put a hand to his chest, "He said I looked horrible! Oh, how hurtful!" said Vlad with a light smile and a little joy in his eye. Vlad would have to rib Jack about that another day.
Maddie looked unimpressed, "Yes, but currently you don't look anything like how he described you. You look exactly the same as the last time I saw you."
"My dear, a hot shower, clean clothes and a good shave do wonders," said Vlad with a smile. His posture was purposefully open and easy-going.
Maddie's eyes narrowed, "Where is your ghost shield?"
"Upstairs in my office," said Vlad honestly, "That's where I've been most of the day."
"Why didn't you bring it with you to the door?" asked Maddie, leaning forward slightly.
Vlad sighed and pulled the blaster out from his inner suit pocket and put it on the bench, "Because I thought a blaster would be enough for a short trip. Especially since I scared it away when it came back."
Maddie's eyes widened in what Vlad thought could be worry, "And you didn't call us?" Maddie hissed making her quiet fury known.
"I thought I could handle it on my own, and I did. Although the gauntlets I borrowed got destroyed. But the ghost has yet to come back again," lied Vlad easily.
"When was this?"
"Sunday."
Maddie let out a deep breath, "Vlad you should have called Jack."
Vlad gave Maddie a soft smile, "If you were there I would have called, but Jack is hardly the best shot. He is more likely to destroy my home than capture the ghost. Besides the ghost shield he made was doing its job just fine. I stayed inside the ghost shield. Mostly. I tried to destroy the ghost with the gauntlets but that didn't work. Although I hurt it enough to scare it off."
Maddie took a few moments before she said anything, "Next time you see it, call us ok Vlad?"
"I think I have things well in hand-"
"Vlad," Maddie cut in sharply.
"Very well I'll call you the next time I see it," responded Vlad.
The kettle blew and Vlad turned to tend to the tea. Once Vlad handed Maddie her tea he stood back against the bench with his own. Maddie looked down at hers for a while. Vlad let her and just sipped his tea. Oh, how nice it was to have good tea again.
"Vlad, how did you get back?" asked Maddie quietly.
"I don't know," answered Vlad in the same tone, "I remember escaping, but it's all a blur. Everything else is blank after that and frankly, I don't think I want to remember."
Maddie looked concerned and worried, but slowly her gaze changed to eye Vlad over, "Jack said that you were brought to a place in the Ghost Zone when time ran differently. We've found no such disturbances from our research."
Vlad needed to sit down. If he was going to continue to talk about this, even it was only lying to cover his own ass. Vlad put his tea on the table then took the other chair from the table and pulled it back, trying to keep a respectable distance between himself and Maddie. Vlad slumped down into the chair with a heavy sigh, dropping the facade just for a few moments. He was so tired, but here he was trying to fix it all.
Vlad ran a hand over his face as he lent over in the chair head in his hands, "I know you don't believe me, Maddie, I don't expect you to. But while you only saw me a few days ago it has been so long since I last saw you. I've been so alone, just trying to survive and I-" Vlad felt tears prick his eyes. That was too much detail, Vlad wasn't supposed to spill that much.
Vlad felt a gentle touch on his shoulder, and he looked up with wet eyes to look directly into Maddie's.
"I don't know if I can accept the time dilation, but I can see that you went through something horrible. I am sorry that you did. Please let me and Jack help you in any way we can. Don't be stubborn. If you need help, ask."
"I-" Vlad couldn't form words, he couldn't think, Maddie was looking at him so earnestly and with what was definitely worry. Vlad swallowed and tried again, "I will try," whispered Vlad, completely and utterly lying. They couldn't save him. He was going to be the one saving them. He wasn't going to lose them again.
Maddie smiled and leant back, dropping her hand from Vlad's shoulder, "Good."
After a beat, something crossed Maddie's face and she gulped down her tea then stood up. Vlad stayed sitting for a few moments before he also stood up. His head was still spinning with the expression of worry Maddie had displayed.
"I'll show you how the new shield works. It should be the same as the last one, but it's much more stable and the battery lasts four hours without charging. It also has a charge indicator, which Jack forgot to add last time," explained Maddie as she pointed to a gauge on the side, then she pointed to a button, "This is the on and off switch. This one should also be quieter than the other one."
Honestly, Vlad was only vaguely aware of the instructions Maddie gave him, "Yes, thank you."
Maddie handed him the ghost shield machine and he somewhat numbly took it.
"I'll be leaving now," said Maddie as she started to walk out of the kitchen door.
That shook Vlad out of his stupor.
"Lunch!" Vlad blurted out. Vlad's eyes widened as he realised what he just said. He quickly cleared his throat as Maddie turned back to look at him with a raised eyebrow, "We should have lunch on Saturday."
Maddie's brow furrowed slightly, "I'm sorry Vlad but Danny has an exam and Jazz is studying. We won't all be able to make it."
"Oh, no that's fine. I was hoping to just have you and Jack over," said Vlad trying to get a hold of his emotions. He wanted to talk with his friends, and today's talk with Maddie had been nothing but business and lies. With only a little truth added in. But Vlad didn't want to talk about the future, he wanted to just talk with his friends about useless things.
Maddie analysed Vlad, then her expression relaxed, "We don't have any other plans. What time?"
Vlad mentally sighed in relief, "Twelve o'clock."
"We can talk more about this ghost that took you," said Maddie.
Vlad stiffened, he didn't want to build lies into that conversation, he didn't want to tell half truths about the future, "No, Maddie please, I'd rather not," said Vlad softly.
Maddie's eyes widened for a brief moment before she gave a soft smile, "If you don't want to talk about it then we won't."
Vlad smiled and escorted Maddie to the door, "Thank you. I'll see you both on Saturday."
"Goodbye, Vlad," replied Maddie with a smile and a wave.
Vlad watched her hop into the Fenton RV and drive off. Only then did he close the door. Vlad then ran his hands down his face and groaned. Inviting them for lunch was a good idea. He wanted to keep an eye on them and make sure they were safe. He would have a duplicate keep an eye on Jazz. But not for Danny. Vlad would be detected if he got too close, so as anxious as it made him, he had to keep his distance at least till the exam was done.
But his good logic didn't make up for his embarrassing moments. He almost cried in front of Maddie, then he blubbered like a child after being shown the tiniest bit of affection. He really had been alone too long.
All of this for his second chance. Vlad still didn't know how he ended up in the past, but he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. He could only hope he managed to do better this time.
-o-
Hello! Yes, I'm back. This fic has really latched on tight, so I'm pumping out content. Including a bunch of sketches for chapter 1. I've put them up on my Tumblr if any of you want to see them.
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Thanks so much for the positive feedback! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!