Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N: This story takes place after "The Fright Before Christmas" and "Secret Weapons" but before "Flirting with Disaster" and I think the next one is "Micro-Management", so anything from those two hasn't happened yet Got it, good.

The Master Plan

Uric Igi Shelps

Chapter 5

Imprisoned

Danny didn't protest as Walker's guards roughly threw him into a cell, or shortly thereafter when the two guards backed out and Walker stepped in, eyeing Danny with an obvious glint in his eye. Victory.

"Welcome home, ghost-kid," Walker said, looking at Danny and taking pleasure in the younger ghost's apparent defeat. He strolled further into the cell, the metal door clanging behind him ominously. "Do you like your cell?" He inquired, floating closer still to Danny. Danny paid him no mind and continued to stare at the ground. "It's reinforced with Plasmius' human and ghost shield," he went on as if Danny had answered, "So your alter-ego is stuck in here as well,"

When Danny just continued his staring Walker's smile widened as he produced a pair of metallic, high-tech looking gloves. "He also made some ghost-gauntlets, one's that'll work on your human side,"

Walker put the gloves on and flexed his fingers as his insane grin spread, as he approached the shackled ghost-boy, Danny merely glanced up, his dull, lifeless eyes showing no fear, concern or even any acknowledgment for what was about to happen to him.

Walker raised his gloved fist, and after a moment's hesitation, brought it down—

"What are you doing here?" Jazz yelled at the half-ghost, even as she wiped the tears from her face with her sleeve.

Vlad merely smiled and raised an eyebrow. "Nice to see you as well, Jasmine," he said smugly as he examined his knuckles, "You're welcome, by the way,"

"We don't need help from you," Sam said, glaring daggers at the older man. Vlad continued his arrogant smiling as he put his hands in his pockets and strolled around the lab, looking as if he was just out for a walk.

"I beg to differ, young lady," Vlad said, "You'll need all the help you can get if you want to get Daniel out of Walker's prison,"

"We've done it before," Tucker said, "We can do it again!" Vlad shook his head and laughed humorlessly.

"Not likely," he said, "Not with the shield that Walker stole from my lab," his voice becoming noticeably colder as he spoke, and his eyes narrowing. Moments later, however, the demeanor had vanished. "You will need my help,"

Sam raised an eyebrow and put her hands on her hips, trying to take out her pent up frustrations with Valerie, Walker, and even Danny out on Vlad. "If it's a ghost and human shield — how could you get in?" Vlad held up a small remote control. "With this," he said, "but you'd need to be a ghost to get that close — and you can forget about that nifty little exploring vehicle you've got — he's ready for that," he added when Tucker had been about to interrupt.

There was an uncomfortable silence for a moment, before Jazz spoke up, "None of us are ghosts, Plasmius," she said, forgoing the use of his first name and any respect she may have had for him before he'd been exposed.

Vlad tucked the control into his jacket pocket and walked over to one of the cabinets along the far wall, opening one above his head and pulling out an empty glass beaker — how he knew exactly where the beakers were was something Jazz didn't want to think about.

Vlad continued to ignore them and instead fiddled with beakers and test tubes. Sam, Jazz and Tucker glanced at each other nervously. "What are you doing?" Jazz finally asked after a few moments of Vlad's secretive movements.

"I've been studying ghost hybrids for twenty years," Vlad finally said, as a bright, magenta flash briefly lit the room. He turned around, revealing a glass full of a liquid the same color. "And I believe that I've discovered a way to grant one of you ghost powers, temporarily, at least,"

There was a pause.

"You believe?" Jazz asked, disbelievingly, "Have you tested it?" Vlad looked uncomfortable.

"Of course I have," he said, seemingly affronted, "just not on a human…" he trailed off, smiling slightly.

"I'll do it," Sam said suddenly, despite her better judgment. In the end though, the thought of Danny imprisoned in the Ghost-Zone while she did nothing was too much to bear. Jazz and Tucker both looked surprised, and Vlad wore a slightly shocked smile for a moment before he quickly regained his stony countenance.

"Excellent,"

"Get away from me ghost!" Valerie yelled angrily, even as she backed up against the wall—keeping as far away from the spirit as she could.

After Plasmius had taken her into the ghost zone, he'd conversed with a ghost whom Valerie assumed to be something of a warden. Shortly afterward, Plasmius had disappeared in a red flash, and Walker had commanded several guards to put the defenseless Valerie into a cell.

She was unrestrained, which only further aggravated her, sending the message that she wasn't seen as much of a threat. And what was worse, Valerie knew that without her ghost hunting equipment, she really wasn't a threat. And that angered her.

"News flash human," the ghost-warden said, "You're in the Ghost-Zone, which is full of nothing but ghosts,"

Valerie's mouth opened to retort, but nothing came out, as she had nothing to say to that. For the first time since her capture she thought about her situation. No one knew where she was, she was defenseless, and the captive of a ghost.

A ghost whom she knew to be ruthless, since everyone knew that all ghosts were ruthless. She suddenly almost felt sorry for the ghost-kid she'd had locked up in her basement. Then she felt a flare of anger at herself for thinking such a thing, that horrible ghost-kid, Phantom, was her nemesis, and she would see his demise.

Coming out of her musings on the mysterious Phantom, Valerie decided that it would behoove her to pay more attention to the ghost menace in front of her, who at the moment was pulling some rather dangerous looking gloves from an inside pocket. "These," the white clothed weirdo said, holding up his now gloved hands, "are a modified pair of Ghost-Gauntlets," he peered at her from over top of his flexing fingers, "Care to guess what they do?"

Valerie didn't want to scream as the ghost raised his fist, but after the first steel fist slammed into her stomach and sent her reeling, she realized that she wouldn't be able to hold them back for long.

Sam eyed the red mixture warily as she swirled it around in the glass. Vlad arched an eyebrow at her in question. She glared at him, and quickly, before she lost her nerve, tipped back the glass and slammed it down.

Her first thought was that it tasted remarkably like…nothing. Almost like tap water, Sam thought cynically, wondering how Vlad had managed that.

Then, suddenly she felt something bubble in her stomach, but it wasn't ghost powers spreading through her veins, at least not really.

She realized what was happening a moment too late, as she tried to spin and warn Tucker and Jazz. Her body didn't obey. She screamed, but her mouth wouldn't move and no sound came out. She suddenly couldn't focus on what she wanted to, her eyes moved seemingly of their own accord.

But Sam knew better, she knew she was trapped in her own body.

Only Vlad noticed the brief inner struggle, and it was him alone who saw the almost instantaneous flash of red go through the young girl's eyes before they blinked back to her normal violet. Satisfied, Vlad quickly became invisible and floated up through the ceiling, departing unnoticed by Jazz and Tucker, both of whom were watching Sam with some amount of trepidation.

Just as Vlad arrived in the kitchen and became visible once more, the front door was flung open with a bang, and a very surprised Vlad turned around to find Jack and Maddie Fenton coming inside, arms loaded with luggage.

"Vlad?" Maddie asked, as she put her three largest bags on Jack's already massive pile, blocking his view of Vlad. The hulking man's knees wobbled slightly for a moment before he settled himself and started up the stairs.

"Be down in a flash V-man," Jack shouted in his booming voice as he climbed the stairs.

"Take your time," Vlad said, characteristically, as he started towards Maddie. He took her hand chivalrously, and bent to one knee and kissed it. Maddie flinched slightly, but allowed the billionaire to go ahead with his courtly, though trivial antics.

Before Vlad had returned to his full height, Jack had reappeared, thumping the smaller man on the back, as usual, completely oblivious to his own strength. Were it not for his years of ghost-fighting experience, Vlad would have toppled over, as it was, he stumbled forward, stepping on Maddie's foot and causing her to yelp in shock.

A good thing too, as a moment later, Tucker and Jazz came up the stairs, having only just stopped their conversation at Mrs. Fenton's yelp. Jazz immediately glared at the only half-ghost in the room, who rolled his eyes and then focused on his romantic interest, as he produced a piece of paper from his inside pocket.

He was about to speak when Jack looked around the room, "Where's Danny?" He asked loudly, causing Maddie to look up from her throbbing foot and Jazz and Tucker to look at each other in fear.

Danny sat in the dark, dank, cold cell, rubbing his swollen jaw with annoyance. Walker's Ghost-Gauntlets had really been made well. He hadn't lasted very long in ghost-mode, and after the first few punches he'd collapsed and changed back to Danny Fenton once again.

But Danny Fenton was just what the ghost-gauntlets had been redesigned for, so all Walker needed to do was spin a little dial before he continued as effectively as if he were still Danny Phantom.

He wasn't hurt too much, just a few cuts and scrapes and some torn cloths.

Danny sighed, as he eyed the pathetic meal lying in front of him — piece of bread and a glass of dirty water. Closing his eyes, Danny put the glass to his lips and choked it down, feeling the ghostly, chilled water refresh his arid mouth. Too soon, the water was gone, and Danny was now left desiring more water than before he'd been given the refreshments.

Picking up the bread in one of his shackled hands, Danny noticed for the first time how hungry he actually was. He thought that it might have something to do with being in ghost-mode. Come to think of it, he wasn't sure if he could even eat at all as a ghost. But he wasn't about to find out now; he had to conserve the little energy he still had left if he ever got the chance to escape. Which he knew was unlikely.

As he finished the bread, his thoughts wandered back to the subject he wanted to think about least of all, the death of his friends. His utter depression and stoic, uncaring demeanor had recently given way to rage.

Rage at himself, rage at Valerie for keeping him locked up all night when his friends needed him, but most of all, his rage was directed towards Plasmius, the one who did the actual killing.

Vlad would pay for what he did to Tucker and Sam. There would be no doubt about that, Danny thought. And this time, he would not let up, there would be no mercy, no stupid thermos for his arch-nemesis, he resolved. He. Would. Kill. Him.

But a moment later, with a sick feeling, Danny knew that he'd already had the chance to beat Vlad, and he'd failed.

Resolving to destroy Vlad when he next saw him, Danny decided that he should try to sleep as much as possible when he could. As he stretched out on the dirty, stone floor, he vowed to avenge his friend's deaths — no matter the cost.

"Maddie," Vlad said, brandishing the paper and handing it to her slowly. "I found this on the kitchen table. I'm sorry,"

Maddie took the paper with shaking hands and a brief, questioning glance at Vlad. She read it for a moment, and gasped loudly at the end. "What does it say, mom?" Jazz asked, looking at Vlad suspiciously. He merely smiled shortly.

"It — it says that a ghost named Walker took Danny into the ghost-zone," she said shakily, looking past Vlad to Jack.

"What?" Jack boomed, ripping the note from his wife's hands and quickly reading it himself.

"Why would a ghost do that?" Tucker said, also eyeing Vlad.

"Isn't it obvious, my boy?" Vlad said calmly, smiling at Tucker knowingly, "With the greatest ghost-hunters in history as his parents, I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner,"

Jack and Maddie looked at Vlad in disbelief for a moment, but it was a brief moment. In a flash, and as if on cue, both Jack and Maddie looked at each other and set their jaws determinedly. Maddie then leaned up and gave her husband a quick peck on the lips before she spun around, and walked purposely down the stairs, Jack following.

"I'll get the speeder ready," Maddie called to Jack as they walked, "You get together anything we'll need,"

Vlad, Jazz and Tucker were left standing in the kitchen, staring at each other in surprise. "They took that… well," Tucker said, nonplussed.

"Quite," Vlad said, regaining his composure and disappearing through the floor, leaving Tucker and Jazz alone once again.

"I am so glad Danny doesn't do that," Jazz said in frustration as she spun on her heel and traipsed down the stairs, left with no other option, Tucker followed.