Disclaimer: I own nothing

The Master Plan

Uric Igi Shelps

Chapter 2

Defeated

Monday Morning

Samantha Manson pulled her black sweatshirt tighter around her as the blistering morning wind swept by. Glancing at her watch for what had to be the tenth time already, Sam rolled her eyes and looked down the road again. If Danny and Tucker didn't show up soon, they'd all end up being late for school.

Moments later, a familiar face in a green beret turned the nearest corner. Tucker, as normal, had his head bent over and his eyes riveted to the screen of his PDA. Somehow, by a sixth sense of sorts, and more likely years of practice, Tucker was able to perfectly maneuver the crowds without glancing up once. Unfortunately, he didn't sense Sam stretching out her leg in his path, and he fell face first into the sidewalk.

Sam couldn't help but laugh at his position, PDA safely over his head, and glasses cracked on his face. Evidently, Tucker valued his PDA over his face. Groaning, Tucker sat up, tossing the remains of his shattered glasses into a nearby trashcan. "What was that for?" He asked, blinking as he pulled out a spare set of glasses.

Sam, who was just now regaining control of her laughter, smiled and shook her head. "You should watch where you're going next time," she chastised.

"Hey!" Tucker said, sitting up, his latest embarrassment already forgotten, "Where's Danny?"

Sam's smile faded, "I was hoping he'd be with you,"

Tucker shook his head, "I haven't see him since the movie yesterday," He said, thinking. Then, looking around, he lowered his voice, "Ghosts?" Sam looked to be thinking along the same lines as she nodded. "If it is ghosts, then I'm sure Danny can handle it — besides — " he looked at his watch, " — we've only got two minutes to get to school," he took off running down the sidewalk, leaving Sam standing at the corner.

With one last, desperate look in the Fenton's general direction, Sam sighed and started off to school. "I sure hope you're right, Tucker,"

Danny had long ago given up on struggling, inside of what he now knew to be a ghost-proof cage. He had no idea what time it was, but he could see that the sun was up, which meant that school had to be starting soon. Which meant that he'd been awake for nearly 24 hours, and on top of saving all of those people the night before, he was utterly exhausted.

He'd been forced to literally hold his eyes open all night long, afraid that if he fell asleep, he'd lose his hold on his ghost form and become Danny Fenton once more, effectively revealing his secret to one of the last people he wanted to know.

It had proved to be a good idea, because Valerie had come down to where he was being held numerous times over the course of the night, taunting and mocking him relentlessly. She hadn't yet seemed to notice his apparent lack of energy, but Danny knew it would only be a matter of time before she did, unless he completely passed out first, of course.

He had pieced together that he was most likely being held in the basement of Valerie's new house, one that her and her father had just moved into recently. They'd managed it with help from Danny, Phantom, not Fenton.

By unmasking Valerie in front of her father, Danny had provided Mr. Gray a lot of questions for the 14-year-old. One of the questions that had cropped up was how she had managed to procure her arsenal of high-tech guns and equipment. Evidently, she had named names, and Mr. Gray contacted the mysterious supplier.

Apparently, the two had reached some sort of a deal. The details weren't clear to Danny, but the house was obviously part of the agreement, as well as a steady job for Mr. Gray. The fact that buying a house and securing a job, not to mention obtaining a full arsenal of ghost hunting equipment, all but proved to Danny that Plasmius was the weapons supplier. Add to that his familiarity with Valerie, and Danny was sure it was Vlad, he just couldn't figure out why.

Apparently her father had agreed to keep her secret for her, and Danny had no way of knowing if her ghost hunting was being affected or not. Evidently, he mused, not.

Danny had learned all of this by accident, he'd been searching for the Box Ghost invisibly, when he'd come across Valerie and her father talking about it when he picked her up from school one day. He hadn't gotten a name though.

Then there was his relationship with Valerie. Both of them. On the one hand, Valerie hated Danny Phantom much more than she ever had before, despite the fact that he'd inadvertently helped her out. But far more…disturbing to Danny, was the sudden change in attitude that Valerie had for Danny Fenton. She seemed to be around him constantly at school, and had even expressed interest in hanging out with him after school. Which was something that Danny obviously couldn't have.

Besides his certain secrets, Tucker, and especially Sam, didn't seem to like Val very much. And honestly, with the way she used to treat all of them, and the way she still treated Danny Phantom, he couldn't blame them.

The sound of the door opening jarred Danny from his thoughts, and he forced himself to look somewhat alert. Down the wooden staircase came Valerie, dressed in her casual school clothes, and accompanied by a somewhat surprised looking Mr. Gray. "You actually caught the ghost-kid?" He asked, staring at Valerie with a look of interest, which quickly turned to confusion. "Why? He saved the entire city!"

Danny, who had been too busy trying to keep his eyes open and had been only half listening, perked up when he heard the surprising support.

Valerie rolled her eyes, apparently prepared for such criticism. "He's a ghost, dad," she said, as if that explained everything, "I wouldn't be surprised if he rigged the whole attack just to get the idiots in this town to trust him!"

Mr. Gray arched one eyebrow and crossed his arms over his chest. "Are you calling me an idiot?"

Valerie looked surprised for a moment, before she realized what she'd said and she blushed slightly. "No, daddy," she said respectfully, examining her shoes laces.

Danny snorted at the normalcy of the situation, but looked away when Valerie glared at him.

"You can keep him until I speak with the Fenton's," Mr. Gray went on, and Danny looked up, suddenly alarmed. "Once I have their opinion, we'll go from there," he kissed her on the forehead quickly, "Now get off to school, your grades are already slipping with this ghost-hunting you've been up to, and if you don't make the honor roll I'm taking all of your weapons,"

Valerie rolled her eyes again, "Yes, daddy," she said, defeated, and together they trudged back up the stairs. He heard the door close and some muffled footsteps from above before another slamming door told him that they were gone.

He immediately let the façade fall, relaxing and leaning back against the ghost and human proof bars. Knowing they wouldn't be back for a while, Danny leaned his head back and closed his eyes, hoping to just relax for a few minutes before trying to figure a way out.

"Has anyone seen Mr. Fenton?" Mr. Lancer asked as first period started, looking around the room as he took attendance. Most of the students looked as if they didn't even know who Danny was, "Ah, well," the middle-aged teacher sighed, "I'm sure he's on his way, it's not as if he values punctuality,"

A few students laughed, though most weren't paying enough attention.

Sighing, she tuned out Lancer's latest lesson and thought about what Danny could possibly be fighting that would prevent him from calling her or Tucker. Looking across the room, Sam unintentionally caught the eye of Valerie, who was similarly staring off into space, not to mention decidedly ignoring Tucker's unwavering stare.

Sam narrowed her eyes and looked away. Ever since Pariah Dark's defeat, and in Valerie's eyes, Sam's "confession" of her feelings for Danny, her and Val hadn't spoken. Sam almost felt like some sort of silent contest had been declared. Not that she'd be participating in anything like that, she didn't like Danny that way…

A few moments later, more out of boredom than anything else, Sam looked back at Valerie, who was now staring off into space. Judging by the look on her face, Sam would have to say that something very wonderful had happened to the young ghost hunter.

Before she had time to dwell on possible reasons for her demeanor, the bell rang, dismissing them from class. Sighing, Sam got up and waited for Tucker to put his things away, before they both left class.

On their way to their next class, one of the people Sam wanted to see the least sidled up behind them. "Where's Danny?" Valerie asked, looking somewhat concerned.

"We don't know," Tucker said honestly, "He wasn't sick yesterday and he didn't mention anything about missing school,"

"Oh," Val said, obviously uncomfortable, but just as clearly still in her good mood, "Well if you see him, tell him I said hi," she walked away.

Tucker looked at Sam, who was determinedly looking anywhere but at Val's disappearing form. "What's she so happy about?"

"Wake up Daniel,"

Danny jolted awake, looking around the room frantically, and finding Vlad Plasmius floating in front of him, his arms crossed over his chest. Blinking, Danny saw through one of the basement windows that the sun was now much higher in the sky than the last time he saw it, meaning he'd fallen asleep.

Realizing that he was back to being Danny Fenton, he quickly changed into Phantom and jumped up into a fighting stance, noticing with some surprise that the ghost cage around him was turned off, and he phased through it.

Plasmius rolled his eyes. "Oh please," he scoffed, "You couldn't beat me with a full night's sleep and a full stomach, there is no way that you could so much as look me in the eye without an hour of sleep,"

Danny hesitated, knowing, furiously, that the older man was right; he wasn't exactly in great shape for a fight. He put his arms back at his sides and relaxed slightly. "What do you want, Plasmius?" He said the name with as much contempt as he could muster.

"There's a good boy," Vlad said, touching down and allowing himself to become Vlad Masters once again. Danny followed suit, hoping to keep as much energy as he possibly could. Danny tensed as the older man reached one arm inside his jacket and withdrew a deli sandwich, tossing it into Danny's hands.

"I dare say that the young Miss. Gray won't be feeding you anytime soon," he explained. Danny eyed the sandwich wearily, not so quick to accept a sandwich from his arch nemesis. "Eat it or not, it's of no concern to me, though you may actually be a match for me if you were to become a full-ghost,"

He looked thoughtful for a moment, but then shrugged and resumed his sour countenance. "Either way, you'll find that where you're going, the menu will be much less appetizing than that sandwich,"

Danny raised an eyebrow, "And where, exactly, do you think I'm going?" He asked tiredly, knowing that Vlad could literally force him to do anything he wanted at the moment.

"With me, of course," Vlad laughed. He smiled, and suddenly two black rings appeared around the older man, traveling the length of him and turning the charming billionaire into Danny's most hated rival.

Before Danny could react, Plasmius blasted him backwards and into the wall. Exhausted and grunting in pain, Danny quickly changed into his alter ego and stood, ready to fight.

Vlad just smiled, and before Danny knew what was happening he suddenly felt a horrible pain in his right arm. Looking down, he saw the hoagie in his hand alive with red energy that was quickly spreading up his arm.

He tried to drop it, but he couldn't move his hand or his arm. The pain soon spread up his shoulder and it wasn't long before he fell to the ground, writhing in an odd sort of numbing pain.

In his last moments of consciousness, he heard Vlad laughing, "It would have been so much more entertaining if you'd just eaten it,"

A bright flash briefly illuminated Plasmius' laughing face, and then all Danny knew was darkness.

Tucker and Sam were walking through the crowded halls of Casper High, headed towards their next class in silence. From behind him, someone shoved Tucker aside as they hurried past without looking back. "Hey!" Tucker protested, before he looked up and saw that it was Paulina who'd pushed by him. "Oh, sorry for getting in your way, Paulina!" Tucker shouted after her, choosing to ignore the fact that she didn't acknowledge him whatsoever.

Sam rolled her eyes, "What is she in such a hurry for?"

"Who cares?" Tucker said, hurrying ahead to catch up with her as Sam reluctantly followed, "Look at her run!"

"Valerie!" Paulina said, coming up next to the other girl and slowing, "Did you hear?"

Sam almost laughed as she could practically see Valerie rolling her eyes, "Hear about what?" Valerie asked, looking at the Hispanic girl with annoyance.

"About the ghost-boy!" Paulina said, with what sounded like concern. Sam and Tucker looked at each other in alarm and soon caught up to the more popular girls ahead of them.

"Oh," Valerie said slowly, "What happened to him?" she asked innocently.

"That horrible ghost-hunting monster kidnapped him after he saved me and some other losers last night," Paulina said arrogantly, "He didn't have a chance!"

"What happened to the ghost-boy?" She asked, hoping to sound nonchalant. Both Valerie and Paulina turned to her, surprised. Valerie opened her mouth to answer, but Paulina beat her to it.

"What do you care about the ghost-boy?" Paulina asked scathingly, "He never saved your life," both Valerie and Sam rolled their eyes and tried to check their tempers.

"I'd bet that the ghost-boy probably only saved you because he thought your pathetic screaming was some little kid!"

"He still —"

"Shut it!" Valerie interrupted, eyes flashing in anger. "First of all, Sam, what happened to the ghost-boy is really none of your — or Tucker's — business," she looked at them both coldly, "and secondly," shifting her gaze to Paulina, "no matter how many people are willing to forget how he held the mayor hostage and stole thousands of dollars, I won't, he's evil, and I hope that ghost-hunter destroys him!" She stalked off down the now nearly empty hallways.

Paulina stared at Sam, as if trying to read the goth girl, "He's mine, you know," she stated, as if daring Sam to challenge that fact.

Sam opened her mouth, but thought better of it a moment later and closed her eyes. "He's a ghost, how can you have a crush on a ghost?"

"Hypocrite," Tucker mumbled from beside her. She shot a glare at him, and his grin disappeared.

Paulina stalked off without a word, just as the late bell rang, signaling that Tucker and Sam were late. "What do you think happened to Danny?" Tucker asked her once Paulina was out of earshot.

"I don't know," Sam said after a moment, "But we're gonna find out,"

Danny woke up in what he immediately recognized as the same specter-deflector that Vlad had imprisoned him in on their first meeting in Wisconsin. He didn't appear to be in Vlad's lab though, as everything in sight seemed to be made of wood. It also looked to be fairly unused, as dust covered the many shotty looking tables and chairs, as well as heavily coating the floor. There were no footprints in the dust, but then, his captor was a ghost.

Knowing that it would be pointless to even try to go ghost, Danny sighed and closed his eyes again, deciding to rest while he could. Moments after he'd woken up, he heard Plasmius' booming voice approaching. "So in exchange for Daniel, your men will — why hello Daniel!" Plasmius said, apparently well aware that Danny was feigning sleep.

Danny opened his eyes and saw Plasmius accompanied by, to Danny's annoyance, Walker and half a dozen of his men. Vlad stuck out one finger and fired a small ectoblast, which struck a button on the outside of the box, turning it off and releasing Danny.

Climbing to his feet, Danny went ghost and hovered there, waiting for Walker or Vlad to make the first move. "Not going to run, Daniel?"

Danny narrowed his eyes, "When have I ever run, Plasmius?"

Vlad smiled, "Let's see if we can't get you to run," By some unspoken signal, Vlad, Walker, and all the guards fired blasts at him all at once. Unprepared, Danny was blasted back against the wall, shaking the structure and raining dust on them all. Danny fought back, firing two ectoblasts out of both hands.

One of Walkers more inept guards was struck in the face with and was sent through a wall, while Plasmius stuck out one hand and absorbed the other blast before he hurled it back at Danny, who just barely ducked.

"Darn it!" Danny said, frustrated. He fired again, with similar results, but this time Plasmius conjured a simple shield to deflect the shot, and the rebound struck Danny before he could get out of the way.

He was blasted back against the wall again and choking through the dust, could just make out Walker's guards moving in to corner him. Defeated, Danny decided to live to fight another day, and he went intangible as quickly as possible, spun around and leapt through the wall — SLAM!

Disoriented, Danny fell back to the ground. The other's laughter brought him back to reality, and Danny knew he had lost. He was given the chance to fight his way out, and so far he'd been embarrassed.

But there was one thing he was sure Vlad didn't know about. He spun around and opened his mouth and tried his Ghostly-Wail.

Nothing happened. Mentally cursing, Danny assumed that he didn't have the energy needed to use his best attack.

Plan B, then, Danny thought, as he closed his eyes and his hands ignited in green ectoplasm. He fired double blasts again, but didn't see the magenta dome that had formed around him. Both blasts reflected off the dome and struck him, then bounced off and hit the barrier again, before they came back and hit him again.

The blasts kept rebounding and reflecting until all the energy became heat and they fizzled out, leaving Danny Fenton on hands and knees, wheezing.

"Very good, Daniel," Plasmius said, "but you've lost more than just your freedom, I'm afraid," Danny looked up as one of Walker's guards shackled his arms together.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm sorry to have to tell you that your friends — I believe their names were Samantha and Tucker — died last night," Plasmius didn't sound sorry at all, and Danny scoffed.

"You killed them?" He said, trying to keep his voice nonchalant. "I don't believe it,"

"You don't?" Plasmius mused, floating closer to Danny slowly. "I can show you if you like,"

"Show me?" Vlad was now inches from Danny, who was backed up against the wall. Vlad held up one finger and put it to Danny's forehead before the younger ghost could protest. With a flash, Danny's mind was flooded with images.

Danny saw the scene play out as if it were a movie. He was standing on cold concrete, and the wind was violent in the night sky, and Danny had the sense that they were very high up, on some sort of roof In front of him, Tucker and Sam lay, ten feet apart near the edge of the building, while Plasmius faced them on the other side, looking like evil incarnate.

"Goodbye," Plasmius said, charging a blast of red energy in his hand and aiming it at Tucker. "Any last words, boy?"

Tucker, who had been all fours, struggled to his feet and wiped his face. His glasses were gone, presumed shattered, his cloths torn, and his face bruised and bloody. "Yes," Tucker said, "I want you to tell Danny that I hate him, and that I'll see him in —" Vlad blasted Tucker off the rooftop before he got any further, as Sam screamed and dashed to the building's side and looked over.

Moments later, she spun around; tears flowing freely down her face as she faced Vlad defiantly. Vlad smiled cruelly, "Do you have a message to Daniel, young lady?"

Sam smiled coldly, the smile of someone who had lost all hope. "Tell him," she paused, "tell him that I hope he has a good time with Valerie now that he's killed his best friends,"

Vlad smiled, "I shall relay the message," With that, he blasted Sam off the edge before she could even blink, and her scream was soon drowned out by the wind.

The vision ended, and Danny lunged at the ghost in front of him, unaware of the tears flowing down his face and the shackles on his hands. Vlad simply became intangible, and Danny fell flat on his face.

"Pick him up," Walker said to the guards, "And bring him to the Fenton Portal, it's time he went home,"

Danny didn't protest as he was gruffly thrown on his feet by two guards and hoisted into the air before being flown through the ceiling. Walker looked at Vlad, "Did you really kill his friends?"

"Of course not," Vlad scoffed as he became invisible, "But the best way to beat Daniel is to give him no hope of rescue, no hope of escape, and no reason to live," Vlad said. "Why do you think I gave him an opportunity to escape? If he feels like he lost his one chance to get away, he won't try it again," his bodiless voice sounded farther away, and it took Walker a second to realize that the invisible ghost was gone, before he too flew away.