Vlad: Until next time... son.

Bitter Reunions

Note: CelloSolo2007 reminded me of something. The quote for "Mr. Clean" is actually from Bitter Reunions. Sorry about that little mix up.

Father's Day

Vlad sighed, slightly out of breath as he entered his lab via the ghost portal. He changed back into his human form and retreated up the stairs, limping slightly. He'd just gotten out of a fight with young Daniel Phantom, and he wasn't all too happy that he'd lost... again. How did that boy keep winning? Vlad was much stronger than him. But that blasted Ghostly Wail always got the better of Vlad.

And to top it all off, it was Father's Day. Vlad slumped down in his comfortable chair and sighed heavily. He had never celebrated Father's Day; his father had abandoned his mother, and his mother never mentioned his father. Father's Day was a curse in Vlad's eyes, just another day that could laugh at him, mocking him for the accident that had ruined his life twenty years ago and had prevented him from marrying Maddie and becoming a father himself.

Of course, if he hadn't been in the accident, he'd have never acquired these powers, which aided him in his present day glory. Living in a huge castle all to yourself wan't half bad... it was just a bit lonely. But no matter what Daniel said, he would not get a cat. Never. He hated cats. Long story. Vlad would never talk about his childhood to anyone, especially Daniel. Maddie and Jack were the only ones who knew of his... problems with cats in the third grade, where he had been attacked by an alley cat and taken to the hospital. That was his first time in the hospital, and certainly not his last.

The doorbell rang, prompting Vlad to get up and answer the door. When he'd made it down the hallway and opened the door, the person who had rung the doorbell was long past gone, but sitting at his feet was a small package. On the exterior of the box was a card, addressed to "Vlad Masters". There was no return address or anything to reveal who the sender was. He picked up the package and carried it inside.

After he'd set the package on the table in the den, he carefully opened the envelope attached and took out a card. It was a simple card, probably costing no more than a dollar at a local store. The front read "Guess what?" and had a little cartoonish puppy with a curious look on his face. Vlad opened the card and another image of the puppy, now with outstretched arms, appeared, and it said in big bold letters "Happy Father's Day". A little handwritten note to the side caught Vlad's eye. "I thought this might cheer you up, Plasmius." Vlad blinked. Only a few people knew him by that name.

He hastily opened the package to find a very amusing looking Danny Phantom voodoo doll. Vlad stared at it, then shook his head in disbelief. "Daniel, you are one of a kind." He took the voodoo doll from its resting spot and noticed another, much smaller note. He leaned in to read it.

"Vlad, I hope this provides you with at least some amusement, so you can stop terrorizing me for a while. -Danny." Vlad smiled for the first time that day. He then proceeded to poke the doll's eye with a needlepoint pin.

Danny sat in his room, wondering if Vlad had gotten his package yet. He was on the computer, playing his NASA simulation game. "Ahh!" he cried out and his hand covered his right eye. "Yep, he got it," Danny mumbled before pausing his game and heading towards the bathroom to clean his eye.

"Danny, are you okay?" Jazz asked, knocking on the bathroom door. Danny chuckled.

"Yeah, Vlad's just enjoying his first Father's Day."