Author's Note: Hello, all! This chapter is a twist on Reign Storm. Enjoy!
Planned
"Vlad, I just can't believe you." Maddie's voice was hoarse after hurling every curse word she could. "Not only did you free the ancient tyrannical ghost king Pariah Dark and steal his Ring of Rage, but then you gave it to Valerie, a child—"
"She's a mature young lady," insisted Vlad. "Very competent."
"Really? Is that why she practically handed the ring back to Pariah Dark?"
Vlad sucked his teeth. "Okay, I didn't expect her to do that."
Maddie paced the floor of the Fenton basement lab. Jack crossed his arms and glared at Vlad, who sheepishly rubbed his upper arm.
"Why did you even have that ring in the first place?" Maddie stopped pacing and turned to Vlad again. "What did you want with it?"
"Ah—" Vlad shrugged. "I just thought it would prove useful for my research, that's all."
"Liar," spat Maddie. "You were after power, weren't you? You probably wanted to get the Crown of Fire, too."
"You wanted to be the next ghost king?" asked Jack with a small smirk.
"I—no," blurted Vlad. "It really was for research."
"Then why didn't you run it by us first?" demanded Maddie. "Why would you do such a thing without telling us?"
"Because I have my own research objectives," Vlad shot back. "I only report to you for anything concerning Daniel, and this had nothing to do with him."
"You still should've told us." Maddie gritted her teeth, clenched her fists. "Everyone is in danger now because of your selfishness. You should've told us."
"Why?" Vlad's fists also clenched. "Why should I tell you anything about my own private ghost research? It's not like we're married, Maddie."
Maddie released a sharp exhale and narrowed her eyes. Vlad held her stare, not backing down.
"Enough," said Jack, coming between them. "We're wasting time. People are going to die if we don't find a way to stop the ghost king right now."
"Vlad, you and Danny need to team up," said Maddie.
"Daniel and I are strong," said Vlad, straightening up. "But we can't defeat Pariah Dark on our own, not when he possesses both the Crown of Fire and Ring of Rage—and don't start yelling at me again, Maddie, I know it's my fault he has both. You've made that abundantly clear."
Maddie shut her mouth, pursing her lips.
"Even if we recruited and convinced all of the ghosts to join us in this fight, it still wouldn't be enough," Vlad continued. "We just aren't strong enough as we are. We need something to…enhance our powers."
Vlad's voice echoed with a meaning Jack and Maddie both caught. They looked over their shoulders at the Ecto-Skeleton, light gleaming in its shiny metal armor.
"The Ecto-Skeleton would magnify the user's abilities by over a hundred times," murmured Maddie. "And that would include ghost powers."
"But it's dangerous," said Jack. "It could kill whoever wears it."
"What choice do we have, Jack?" asked Vlad. "Everyone will die if we don't do something, and Pariah Dark is simply too strong. We have to try something more drastic."
Jack sighed. "If you're sure you want to do this, Vlad, then I'll see if I can make some quick upgrades that will keep you alive as long as possible."
Vlad scoffed. "Me? What makes you think I'm going to wear it?"
Jack's brow furrowed. "Ah—well, I just assumed—I mean, I would wear it, but I don't have ghost powers like you do."
"But I am not the only one with ghost powers," said Vlad, folding his arms.
Jack looked at Vlad, then at Maddie, who was biting her lower lip and looking down at the floor.
"No," said Jack. "Not Danny."
Maddie lifted her head. "Jack—"
"Maddie, we are not making Danny do this."
"We wouldn't be making him do anything. We would guide him to make the decision on his own."
"That still sounds like making him do it."
"He really is the best choice, Jack," said Vlad.
"How exactly is a teenage boy the best choice?" spat Jack.
"Well, to begin, his young age means he's more likely to survive," said Vlad. "And his powers are already superior to what mine were when I had them for the same amount of time."
"But they're not superior to your powers right now."
"Perhaps not, but his ghost form is also stabler than mine is, considering his DNA was compatible with the mutation from the start whereas mine wasn't, hence I nearly died."
"You're stable enough now, aren't you?"
"Enough on my own, but the Ecto-Skeleton would likely be less stable in its enhancements for my ghost powers than Daniel's. And again, that means he's more likely to survive."
"He's still just a kid, and your powers are still stronger than his," said Jack. "We're the adults here. We're supposed to protect him, not the other way around. We've always controlled everything in our experiments to keep him safe."
"His safety won't matter if Pariah Dark destroys Amity Park."
"This is all your fault to begin with, Vlad. You're really going to make a child wear the Ecto-Skeleton and take on the ghost king because of your mistake? Because you're afraid of dying?"
"It's more than that," said Vlad, sounding cross. "He also has a greater chance of success. Daniel's ghostly obsession is far more suited than mine to the successful completion of this task."
"We still don't even know what exactly his obsession is!" yelled Jack.
"Whatever it is, it's made him choose to become a superhero," said Vlad. "And that's what we need right now: a superhero."
Jack huffed and turned to Maddie. "You don't actually agree with this, do you?"
Maddie chewed the inside of her cheek. "Well…"
"Maddie, that's our son! He could die."
"You were perfectly fine with shocking him in that portal and turning him into a ghost hybrid," said Vlad with a sneer.
Jack rounded on him. "That was not my idea. I was never fine with it."
"But you didn't stop it," Vlad shot back.
Jack gritted his teeth. "We calculated everything to ensure he would survive."
"And that's what we'll do now," said Maddie, her tone calm. "Danny must be the one to wear the Ecto-Skeleton, Jack. Vlad is correct that Danny's ecto-stability and obsession give him the best chance of defeating the ghost king."
"And we can certainly make some modifications that will be specifically compatible with Danny's ecto-DNA, increasing his chances of survival," said Vlad.
"We'll have to hurry," said Maddie. "We can formulate a plan to put the idea to wear the suit into Danny's head while we're working."
"Perhaps we can even find a way to make the suit transform and change colors to match Daniel's ghost form."
"We can preinstall mechanisms to channel his known ghost powers, too."
Maddie and Vlad continued discussing the matter while heading over to one of the lab workstations. Jack watched them but did not follow.
"Jack?" Maddie turned and frowned at him. "Jack, we need you. You're our top engineer here."
Jack's eyes were wide as he shook his head, threading his fingers through his greying hair. "This just can't be happening."
"It is happening," said Maddie. "And we don't have time to keep arguing. People are going to die if we don't modify this suit for Danny's DNA and powers."
Jack said nothing, did nothing.
"You know I'm right," said Maddie firmly.
Another couple beats of hesitation, and Jack finally gave in and joined Maddie and Vlad at the workstation.
