Basic Math

Disclaimer- Butch Hartman, not me, repeat ad nauseam. Come on, you got this far, you KNOW the drill...

Contrary to popular myth, Cade mused, peace and quiet was not, for most people, really conducive to deep thinking. Years of school and personal experience had taught him that if you really wanted to THINK about something, you needed a distraction. Something that used little to none of your higher functions, but managed to keep all the lower ones from bothering you. Some people knitted, others fixed toasters. He went to the gym.

Not that he didn't work out on a regular basis anyway. In college, he'd taken a couple of Aikido lessons, mainly on Lita's insistence, then found himself drifting more or less permanently into kickboxing on his own. After that, his stint with the Vegas PD had kept him in the habit, and life in Amity Park was a good incentive not to drift out of it.

But in cases like that, his regular routine generally involved sparring, running, and a set of isometrics. Occasions for deep thought were entirely different. Then it was time for the weights.

Settling into the slow rhythm of the weight machines, Cade let his mind wander to the mess currently preoccupying his time. Specifically, the situation involving two ghosts and two humans, sharing two names between them. He was missing something. He knew that much. Something obvious, some piece of the puzzle that would make all the tangled threads settle into one coherent whole. The problem was, he didn't have a CLUE what it was.

Okay, breathe. Focus. Let's go back to the beginning on this one. As his mind cleared, Cade found himself remembering a conversation from several years ago, back when he was still working with the Las Vegas Police. It had been late, and stormy, and one of the criminalists had been in an unusually talkative mood.

"Profiling's not that far off from being a CSI," he'd said. "You have to forget your assumptions and build a structure based solely on the evidence. People can be wrong. Assumptions, even the most basic, can be wrong. Evidence never lies."

All right... evidence. Start from the beginning.

Fact: Danny Phantom and Danny Fenton shared a name, several mannerisms, and an undeniable similarity of appearance. Height, body conformation, and facial structure appeared to be identical, with coloring the only major visual difference between the two. And the uniform that the ghostly teen wore was nearly identical in style to the jumpsuits worn by Jack and Maddie Fenton.

Fact: Vlad Masters and Vlad Plasmius also shared a name, mannerisms, and a similarity of appearance, though not such a close one as Phantom and Fenton.

Fact: Both Danny Fenton and Vlad Masters bore the common empirical indicators of high-level long-term PKE exposure, such as higher than normal sensitivity to external stimuli and hints of a possible "sixth sense."

Fact: Vlad Plasmius had a strong, but poorly-defined obsession with Danny Phantom, appearing paternal and possessive by turns. Vlad Masters had a strong, well-defined obsession with possessing Maddie Fenton in a quasi-romantic sense.

Motions slowing, Cade frowned, allowing the machine to settle the weight brick back onto its stack. Something was odd there... In everything else, Masters and Plasmius seemed to echo each other... why were their obsessions different.

Unless... They're NOT different. A few questions to Jack and Maddie had revealed that Plasmius WAS interested in the Fenton family, for reasons that had not yet been explained. According to Jack, the ghost had attempted to abduct Maddie on one occasion, and had nearly stolen the Fenton Portal on another, nearly killing the whole family in the process. And Masters...

The white-haired man WASN'T just obsessed with Maddie, despite what Danny Fenton had said or implied. Cade's casual comparison of Danny to Jack during the open house had drawn too swift and defensive a reaction from Vlad. If the man had seen Danny simply as an obstacle to gaining Maddie, he wouldn't have cared if Danny was painted in a less-flattering light.

Parental and possessive by turns, Cade mused, moving to the next machine. Like a man with a rival who might become his son. It was obvious that despite his arrogance, Vlad had a respect for Danny that he didn't hold for many others, adult or not.

He thinks Danny can stop him, even while he's confident that Danny won't tell anyone of his interest in Maddie... or at least that no one will believe it. The question was, why? Danny was a smart, tough, ruthless kid... but he WAS still a kid. How could he keep Vlad away from Maddie without the only weapon a kid had-- the truth?

Okay, drifting into speculation here... it was time to move back to the evidence. Fact; Danny Fenton, unlike his two closest friends, had the reflex set of somebody used to sudden and intense danger. He kept his back to the wall when possible, especially in the lunchroom. Upon entering any situation, he scanned for threats, weapons, and exits in that order. New people received a quick scan and evaluation; and it was obvious that Casper High's jocks received a verdict of "not worth worrying about." But Danny's home environment was extremely safe, so that was certainly not the source of the behaviors.

Fact: Danny seemed to be nursing minor injuries on a semi-regular basis, injuries not consistent with the type of bullying favored by Casper High's popular teens. In addition, Danny seemed to have trouble remaining awake during the school day, a fact that had previously annoyed and now was beginning to worry Mr. Lancer.

Fact: According to the Amity Park PD, teenagers matching the descriptions of Sam and Tucker had both been sighted with Amity Park's resident ghost hero, assisting him in his work. Danny Fenton... had not. In fact, there was only one case Cade could remember in which the two were ever seen in different places at the same time... and he KNEW Phantom had been having a case of multiple personality at the time.

Stopping, the psychiatrist stared at his reflection in the mirror. Could it really be that simple? Of the three teens, it was obvious Danny was the most tied into the entire mess. He should have been seen MORE often, rather than less. And it fit with the appearance of the Shadow earlier in the year. Danny Phantom's hair was white, his eyes green. Danny Shadow had grey hair and red eyes. From what he'd learned about how the appearance of a ghost was determined, and the various types of ectoplasm-- that would almost REQUIRE the presence of a third Danny... one with black hair and blue eyes. Danny Fenton.

Cade sighed. So he had a theory, based on the evidence... now he just needed to figure out what to DO with it. Somehow, he had a feeling that was going to be the hard part...