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One-Shot Summary: Amity Park does the unforgivable to Valerie in the name of securing peace.

Chapter Warnings: Mild sexuality, language, Dan being creepy


Deliverance

Shot 65: The Betrayal


It was an early Sunday morning. Overhead, the sky was streaked with red and purple clouds, hiding an orange sun. The strong towers of Amity Park's Shield hummed with power. Several heavily armed soldiers waited in the silence for a familiar figure to appear over the horizon.

Soon enough, he did.

The infamous Dan Phantom materialized, his body configuring together into hard muscle. He landed on the other side of the Shield, a few feet away to avoid being injured by its defensive properties. His deep voice was rough and unimpressed. "Amity Park." His red eyes—too intelligent—searched the crowd before him. And then his handsome face twisted in disgust. "You dare call for my presence, and yet you do not have Valerie with you?"

He began to turn, as if to materialize away. He had made it quite clear over the last ten years that Valerie was the only human worthy of his intellectual attention. The other humans, he had deemed, were little more than vermin to be eradicated.

"Wait!" called out a high-tenor, male voice. "We have her here! We need to talk!"

Dan's eyes narrowed. He turned back around and said nothing, expectant. To his surprise, the man who had called out to him was none other than one Dashiell Baxter. His lip curled in increasing irritation.

Lieutenant Baxter was one of the vermin who had occasionally supported Valerie in strategic attacks to expand Amity Park's borders. He was still a hot-tempered idiot.

"I will not speak with anyone but Valerie," Dan repeated slowly, as if unconvinced that Baxter had understood him before. "Where is she?"

But the lieutenant raised his chin. Without another word, he snapped his fingers. The surrounding soldiers immediately moved away from the door to the nearby building. The door opened, and out poured another small entourage. In the center was one bound and gagged Valerie Gray. She wore only a dirtied tank top and sleep shorts. Oddly glowing zip ties held her arms behind her back. A chain clinked around her ankles as she dug her bare feet into the dirt, struggling wildly against her captors.

Her teal, panicked eyes briefly met Dan's surprised gaze. She looked away and began to struggle even harder, requiring the strength of seven men to push her forward.

They forced her to her knees on the dirt and trained human assault rifles at her head. She gasped in pain, her breath short and uneven beneath her gag, sweat dripping from her temples.

"What is this?" Dan demanded.

"The city is making a deal with you," Dash said, purple eyes hard. "If you leave us alone, we'll let you have her. No questions asked."

Phantom blinked, truly surprised by the proposition. And then a genuinely delighted smile split his lips a bit too wide. "Are you turning on your own to save yourself?"

"Cutting a deal to save thousands," Dash corrected. "We know you want her. She's why you even come by Amity Park. So you either take her and leave us alone forever, or we kill her. Right now."

One of the resistance members grabbed onto Valerie's curls and forced her head up. Her teal eyes squeezed shut in pain, but she did not cry out. They pushed gun barrels to her temple. Her breath still shuddered unevenly—the only indication of her true fear.

From there, Dan could see the bruises that darkened her skin. Her right eye was nearly black. Blue fingerprints and swelling coated her neck. She had put up quite a fight. But it seemed those ties on her—they carried an unusual power. As if someone had been planning to negate her suit for a long, long time.

Phantom's eye twitched. His fist clenched, but his voice remained jovial. "You think I desire her over the demise of your city? What gave you that impression?"

Dash looked a bit desperate. He did not want to order Valerie's execution from his own men's rifles. He walked over and grabbed onto her curls. From behind her gag, a muffled scream of anger and pain echoed. He tilted her head back to reveal the slick skin of her neck. "You flirt with her," he said. "You lure her to the other side of the world to fight her away from us. Tropical islands, romantic waterfalls—you knock on the Shield only when she doesn't answer you."

Even as he watched Dash touch Valerie, Dan felt a jealousy unfurl in him. The ghost's jaw set for but a second. "That is a rather curious observation," he mocked. "Perhaps you simply do not understand the advantage I have with Valerie out of her element. It is a simple military tactic."

The man holding Valerie down tensed. His captor trembled on the ground, in fear and absolute, blinding fury and pain. Tears of betrayal streamed down her cheeks. "Nngh," she cried out against her gag, managing to elbow Dash.

His hand twisted harder into Valerie's hair to cow her, and her bruised face twitched with pain. Her gag muffled her yelp. Dash's voice roughened. "So it's a military tactic," he tested, "when you say she'd be a good fuck, huh?"

Phantom tilted his head. "How do you know what I say to her?"

"In her reports. But I'm guessing she leaves some things out."

The ghost fell silent then, rolling his eyes. It seemed his appreciation of Valerie's form was well-known, then. "I am not convinced that the effort to contain her is worth leaving Amity Park alone."

The lieutenant said, "She can't break these bonds. They're designed to keep her suit dormant." His face twisted as Valerie tried to struggle out of his grasp again. "She's just human now."

Dan's blood eyes swiveled back to Valerie's panicked face. "And if you discover one day that I have broken her into pieces, will you avenge her?"

Dash seemed to falter a bit at that, paling. Then he hardened his gaze. "That's not our problem," he said. "You can do anything. We won't come after you. We just need your acceptance of the deal that you'll stop coming after us."

Dan smiled, and his thin lips stretched far too wide to be natural. His fangs gleamed in the early morning light. "Hnn. You are so eager to cast lambs to wolves if it means your own life." His eyes slid to her, eyeing her form. "But I will accept your deal. I can think of something to do with her. Or to her."

They forced her to stand. When she refused to walk toward Phantom, one of them shoved the barrel of a rifle against her back. She stumbled forward as the chains about her ankles twisted, and she fell hard into the barren dirt, her upper half now outside the Shield. She turned on her side, breathing hard against the gag in her mouth as she began to cry, her ringlet curls gathering dust from the ground. The resistance members simply lowered their guns level with her head and chest.

For a time, she simply lay there, her eyes swiveling to Dash, who still stood nearby. A muffled, angry scream for help blurred through her gag.

Dash's voice was short with her. It sounded odd from the other side of the Shield. "Amity's the last colony. We can't afford to fall."

She blinked away fast tears, desperately trying to make sense of anything. "Ngh," she cried from beneath her gag.

"We need you to do this," Dash added, nodding hard. He looked pale and cowardly, unable to look her in the eye. "It's bigger than us. This is for the future of humans."

Dan huffed. "Oh, please. Do not pretend to be so self-sacrificing." He leaned down over Valerie and roughly grabbed her by her bound arms, forcing her onto her feet. She gave a muffled cry and tried to pull away from him, but he held her tightly to him.

Before the city of Amity Park and the resistance, he smiled. He buried his nose into her bruised neck, breathing in deep her scent of fear. She was shaking. "Oh," he moaned to Dash, red eyes glinting darkly, "you have no idea what you have traded." His eyes closed as if in bliss. "All I want. All mine to do whatever I want."

Dash looked a bit sick. He flickered his gaze to Valerie's, only to nearly wince at her expression as she withstood Phantom's touch. Dash quickly looked away.

Phantom caught the small exchange.

"Do not fear!" he mocked. He ran his free hand down her front slowly, and she flinched, jerking away from him harder. His long fingers squeezed around her breast, hooking into the collar of her tank top and dragging it down with his fingers. Her struggles grew even more intense. Her body was warm against his, her muscles straining to move away. "I will take her far from here, where you cannot hear her screams."

Valerie gave an anguished noise against her gag, her eyes wide and dazed with genuine fright. He dug his hand hard into her hip and pressed his lips against the shell of her ear.

"Or perhaps," he murmured loud enough for all to hear, "I will have my fun right now."

The soldiers of Amity Park all stood, eyes lowered to the ground. They neither came to her aid nor moved to leave. A few even dared to look up, curiously roving over Valerie's body.

Phantom's eyes hardened against them in great irritation. He waited but a moment more, as if expecting them to respond to the fate he had suggested for Valerie—to suddenly attack him. But they did nothing. He lowered his hand to grip Valerie's hip and instead hissed at them, "Know that you have traded her life for sanctuary in Amity Park only, insects. The Wastelands are still mine."

And then the great and terrible Dan Phantom de-materialized into a wisp, taking Valerie with him.

The surrounding valley outside the Shield fell silent.


Dan materialized several miles away in a rotted, abandoned city, a struggling Valerie in tow. He pushed her against one of the fallen skyscraper beams in the rubble, and she immediately reacted, teal eyes flaring with hatred. A muffled shout escaped the gag.

But instead of reaching for her again, as she feared, he simply stood and beheld her. He clenched his hand, recalling the warmth from her body and the softness of her flesh. Already, her human heat was beginning to fade from him.

He had never touched her in such a way.

Valerie's chest heaved with uneven breaths and panic as she watched him tensely. Despite the anger in her, her eyes watered with tears.

He crossed his arms. "I did not think your people capable of such savagery," he murmured, his baritone voice a smooth wave against her. "To offer you as a sacrifice to satiate me. As if I were one of those gods of old."

Valerie inhaled sharply as her eyes narrowed. The ties and chains upon her body made her movements jerky. She struggled against the skyscraper beam to defensively pull her legs to her chest. By that point, her left eye was beginning to swell further. Her bruises had darkened and spread. The injuries distorted her image, which Dan had so often found attractive. Now, her powerful presence was muted. Pitiful even, given the origin of her abuse.

He narrowed his eyes almost playfully, his fire hair flickering against his sharp cheeks. "But what shall I do with you, I wonder." In a blur, he appeared beside her. His strong hand pushed her back to hold her taut against the beam. He added, "Just imagine the haunting nightmares your people would have, if they were to hear you screams in the air. Or if I sent them various dismembered parts of you as tokens of my gratitude."

The woman closed her eyes, and tears leaked down her dirty, bruised cheek. Her breath came in more uneven gasps.

Dan Phantom was a sadist. He would not make her death easy, providing he even let her die.

His gloved hand tightened upon her shoulder as he searched her face curiously. "Do you not want them to feel the weight of their decision?" He trailed a finger down her sweaty temple and cheek, catching a stray tear.

She screamed against her gag, trying to jerk away from him. He held her in place. But instead of reaching to crush in her throat, he simply hooked his fingers into her gag and pulled it from her mouth, allowing it to drop to her chest.

And then he slipped his hands from her entirely, stepping back.

Her full lips were cracked and bloody from the rough material of the gag. They gaped open without speech for a second. Her confused and watery eyes met his for a time as she caught her breath, chilled by the cold of his touch. Her voice was hoarse, most likely from screaming. "Get away," she demanded sharply. She scooted herself further away from him, pressing her hands against the skyscraper beam behind her, fingers desperately searching for a loose screw, a piece of wood—any weapon at all. Maybe something to cut her ties.

He huffed in amusement and an odd admiration. "Always on the defensive." He waved at her bound hands and feet. "Even when completely defeated, you cannot help but strive for victory—your most admirable quality."

"Fuck you."

That inspired a genuine smile across his face. He was pleased that, beneath her beaten and broken appearance, Valerie still existed.

The powerful being said lightly, "The word fuck gives me ideas, Valerie dear."

She tensed, freezing for a second. "Don't you dare touch me again," she threatened. And then she grimaced, blinking away her tears as she continued her search for something sharp. "I'll fight you. Tied or not. I'll make you regret it."

It was odd to see the contraction of her bare muscles. To see so much of her skin, which Dan had discovered was soft and warm. He tilted his head. "What else was I to do? I had to test whether Amity Park could relinquish you to an undesirable fate." His dark brow angled. "How surprising to discover they could."

Her face burned, even as her eyes watered again. "Don't act like a saint," she snapped, but her voice wavered. "You touched me like a—" Words failed her, and her breath hitched. "Don't ever touch me again."

For a time, his contrary spirit desired to frighten her simply from displeasure at being told what to do. But he reined in his instinctive thoughts and retorted, "You have such human fears sometimes. As if I would actually debase you like some inferior bandit would. You know I have better tastes than that."

Valerie said nothing, still suspiciously watching his every movement with hawk eyes.

He frowned. "Why so silent?" His gaze roved over the reddened bruises across her cheek and her throat, thinking that perhaps her silence was due to pain. "Did the insects damage you beyond repair? I am already cross that they have manhandled my property."

Her hoarse voice snapped like a whip. "I'm not yours." But her voice wavered on the last word. The fact that her own friends had so violently turned on her left her mind spinning. She'd given up her search for a weapon, having managed to merely slice several of her fingers on the rusted metal beam. Her breath was uneven once more from the pain, her cracked lips in a grimace.

Dan's sharp nose could smell the blood welling from her, and his red eyes flickered to her side. "But you are mine now." He moved forward, reaching out to her with dark eyes. She flinched, trying to jerk away. He grabbed onto her chin and wrenched her to face him as he kneeled before her.

Her voice was ragged and distorted beneath the pain. "N-no—don't touch—"

"—Calm down," he murmured. His blood eyes searched hers. "I am doing you a favor."

He pressed his other hand against her cheek. Gently, he pushed some of his energy into her skin, and she gasped at the cold feeling, her watery eyes widening. It felt like a cool summer night sweeping into her spine, a wind kissing the swelled bruise around her eye. He was healing her, she realized. It felt so terribly good that her eyes brightened with a new wave of tears. It took all of her will not to lean into his touch. "I didn't ask for your help," she whispered, her busted lip knitting over into smooth skin. A question colored the tone of her voice.

Dan's searching gaze softened in miserable merriment. "And I am not expecting a thank you." Then he gently patted her cheek. "Now you look like less of a kicked puppy. I cannot feel as sorry for you anymore."

She glowered at him despite the tears in her eyes.

He leaned back against the rubble, staring up at the stars, which still occasionally fascinated him. "What have I been telling you this whole time, Valerie? That humanity is worthless. You have cast your pearls to swine."

"Shut up," she whispered. But she could not stop her tears, and Phantom did not remove the cuffs on her hands or feet. She inhaled a shuddering breath, only for a sob to shake her shoulders. "Just sh-shut up."

"They abandoned you," he told her, voice delighted. "The insects sacrificed you to me, simply to save themselves."

Tears rolled down her face. "Shut up," she said, voice cracking. "I don't want to hear this. I don't need to."

Then his expression faltered. "You seem angrier at me than at your own people, and this is one ploy I truly cannot take credit for."

Valerie realized she could not refute him. The entire city had watched in silence as the resistance dragged her out to Phantom. She felt her tears rise at his words, and she tried to look away from him. He was picking at her raw wounds, trying to twist her mind into breaking.

This was psychological warfare. But it had never felt so real before. Phantom had never made so much sense.

"It was Dash," she breathed unevenly, narrowing her eyes, even as she cried before him. "I know it was him. The rest—they must have followed."

"And are you surprised? Betrayal is standard behavior for that city. Even I have felt its sting, in a previous life. So here is my proposition, my dear." He leaned forward, eyes searching hers. "Join me. And together we can ensure that Amity Park suffers for turning against us when we needed it most."

"…What?"

He cupped her chin, not unkindly. "Do you not want to hurt them?" he asked. "To make them suffer for their crimes?"

Valerie squeezed her eyes shut to block him out. "No. No, I don't. You made a deal. For me. You promised not to attack them."

"Oh, Valerie." His long fingers slipped from her face. "I promised? They did not specify how long this deal should last, nor did they engage in any blood-binding contract." He waved at her vulnerable form. "And after throwing you out like some piece of garbage, I would think you would have the backbone to assert your own power."

The woman's breath inhaled sharply, and she narrowed a watery eye at him. "This isn't about backbone," she hissed, breath still hitching. "And instead of monologuing like a dip shit, if you really wanna be helpful, why don't you break these ties off me, huh? Or are too scared to let me loose?"

His red eyes beheld her, and he tilted his head. "Hn. What has the world come to, when you beg for my help."

"I'm not begging,"

His brow arched. "You are attempting to reverse-psychology me into cutting you loose. That is your version of begging."

Valerie failed to respond for a second, her full lips gaping for words.

Dan's face split into a dark grin. "And for that teary-eyed, speechless face of yours, I just might release you." He leaned forward, his cape shifting down his shoulder. His nose was only inches away from her own. "Although I do quite like you all tied up."

"Just do it," she said, voice tight. She fought to keep down the plea in her tone.

He gave a noise of amusement and then reached to behind her shoulder, his long fingers hooking into one of the ties. He pulled on it, expecting it to give easily under his strength.

But it held tight and made Valerie wince.

His red eyes narrowed in consternation. "What matter of a tie is this?" He wrapped his other arm around her for leverage to pull the tie apart. "It is infused with some sort of energy. They must have greatly feared your retaliation."

Valerie, worn and teary-eyed, dared to lean her cheek against his shoulder as he worked. In her exhaustion, she wondered if perhaps he was genuinely trying to help her. Or perhaps he would end her quickly with a blast to her back—at least a more honorable and quicker way to die than the torture she'd imagined.

Like this, his shoulder was almost soft.

Dan stiffened at the feeling of her heavy cheek leaning into him, her shaky exhale a puff of warmth that seared into his jumpsuit. Her curls tickled his chin and nose.

An odd emotion rose in him, which was the sudden desire to pull her closer and hide his face in her hair. It was a gnawing for human contact—a recurring emotion he had in the loneliness of the Wastelands in his weaker moments. Except it seemed he was having more and more of those weak moments. Especially right then. He shifted a bit against her as he snapped a glowing tie from her wrists.

Her hair smelled like sand and flowers.

"Who betrayed you first, mmh?" he dared to ask as he worked to snap the second tie on her arms. "Was it your father?"

Valerie's breath shuddered. He felt her swallow hard against his shoulder. "No. He's gone."

The ghost paused in genuine surprise. "…What?"

A noise of sorrow escaped her as her lips quivered. It was a barely withheld sob. "Just cut the tie," she said, voice hoarse. "Please."

In ten years, she had never pleaded for anything.

His brow angled as he pushed her back and tilted up her chin. Her full lips trembled as she blinked away tear after tear, unable to hold his gaze. A morbid curiosity overcame him, and he demanded, "What do you mean, he is gone?"

The question inspired Valerie to stare at him directly. Her voice broke. "Don't act like you care."

His grip upon her chin softened. "Damon is hardly above an insect himself," he murmured, "but he is your father. Did the other insects of Amity Park snuff his life?"

She suddenly pulled away from him with a sharp inhale, her wrists still held with one tie and ankles chained together. Her struggles sent her careening backward, and her elbow hit the dirt hard. An odd, metallic sheen appeared across her skin—her battle suit surging within her blood, straining to cover her. Another sob worked its way passed her lips as she unsteadily leaned into the metal beam to sit up. She looked up at him, her watery eyes hard. "He's not an insect," she snapped in great pain. "He was never an insect—don't you dare call him that ever again!"

The ghost, in hatred of orders of any kind, sneered at her. "Such emotion from a loving daughter. I suppose this means he truly is dead, then. Did they tie him up as they did you? Or did they shoot him and hide the body?" He raised aristocratic nose and inhaled lightly. "I do not smell death in the wind."

Her vision blurred hard with tears. "Shut up," she said hoarsely. In that moment, she looked so defeated and small, her body and clothes smattered with dirt. "He's sick. He fell asleep and didn't—and why the hell am I tell you anything." She looked down, trying to fight down another wave of tears. "You hurt him more than anyone else has."

With a groan, Dan waved his hand in the air. "Oh, will you let that go. It was an accident—it was not even my fault that he happened to be in that particular building. At least he lived."

"With an amputated arm," she retorted harshly. "And I will never let it go. I will never let any of your crimes go—you're a monster." Her skin shined in a metallic way again, her teal eyes hardening against him despite her tears. "You're a monster. Don't pretend to be doing me any favors."

A pause stretched between them for some time.

"You have always known what I am," he said evenly. "And yet here you are, in need of my help. Tossed out. Alone. I should very much levee a price against you in return for releasing your last tie."

Her jaw set. "I don't have anything to offer you."

"…Oh, I believe you do." He dared to lean toward her again, the wind picking up his wild hair and the edges of his cape. "You have many things to offer me."

She incrementally leaned away from him. "Like what?"

The powerful being hummed. "An ear to listen. Eyes to see me." His eyes were dark. "Lips to kiss."

Her breath hitched. "Don't you dare," she whispered.

In a blur, he snapped the last tie on her arms, and then he grabbed the chains that linked her ankles together and turning them intangible. He pulled them away from her, and they fell in a limp clink to the dirt.

Her shock inspired her not to kick him.

"I am giving you the option," he declared, searching her eyes. "Join me. Or go crawling back to your precious Amity Park and beg them for sanctuary." He leaned in close enough to brush his nose against hers, the space between their lips almost nonexistent. He could feel her lips trembling. "Keep in mind, they treated you so well."

She inhaled shakily, trying to lean back to put space between them. He had her fairly pinned between himself and the metal beam behind her, but she could feel her battle suit freely surging in her blood. Odd that she suddenly did not feel the need to call for it, even with him so close. "I'd explain they got it wrong," she whispered. "That you don't want me."

His gloved hand came up to her cheek and brushed away a few of her tear tracks.

She felt his lips stretch.

"Oh, Valerie," he murmured, "they think you are the reason I still target Amity Park."

She swallowed hard. "…Am I?" she breathed.

He smiled something awful, revealing his sharp fangs. He patted her cheek. "You are the only reason Amity Park still stands. Now, you can choose to remain with me and live. Or you can go back to them and die at the hands of a frightened mob."

She searched his eyes, haunted. "I'm not staying with you," she snapped, although her voice broke. "I'm not going back to Amity Park."

"Ahh, you have found the third option?" He tilted his head, pulling away from her. "That will be a difficult road." He smiled, and his genuine appreciation made him handsome in that moment. "This is why I enjoy you, Val. Always full of surprises. Evolutionary. As adaptable and strong as myself."

The woman looked away from him and eyed the vast horizon of the Wastelands, scanning. Her heart pounded as she turned back to him, activating her battle suit. And then she pushed him away. Her jet sled configured as she jumped into the air, reaching for the open sky. The sun had risen, bathing her in bright light that sparked off her armor. The scenery blurred with tears.

She did not know where she was going. But she had to get away. Away from Phantom, away from Amity Park—everything.

Dan's amused voice boomed after her. "Where will you go? Amity Park hates you. The Wastelands are crawling with ghosts. There is nothing left for you here!"

But Valerie kept flying away, streamlining her body into the wind. Her lips still tingled with the feel of his. Her skin was still goose-bumped, and another sob escaped her.

And then suddenly he was flying right beside her, a blur to the right. "You will see the error of your ways," he hissed.

She gasped, turning to grab him.

He dematerialized and rematerialized on the other side of her. "Admit it, you want revenge."

Valerie grabbed her blaster and shot just as he disappeared again. Her heart was pounding as she tried to rapidly blink away her tears.

Dan's large hands grabbed for her shoulders.

Next thing she knew, he was standing on the jet sled behind her. "You will join me one day," he declared softly in her ear, his red eyes hot with a psychotic satisfaction. "The loneliness will break you, and you will run to me, with hate perfected in your heart. And together, we will tear down that city once and for all."

He nuzzled his nose against her free hair, his hand sliding up her hip. "My only equal."

Her breath hitched, and she reconfigured her blaster into a sword, swiping for his hand.

His laugh rang out like bells, echoing around her long after he'd blurred out, leaving her alone in the open of the vast, vast Wastelands, where nothing but silence and death lived.

"I'll never join you," she called out roughly.

But her voice wavered.


A/N: Hello, all you wonderful people. It's been awhile since I've written bad-boy Dan, so this odd one-shot crept up, haha. I also think the concept of future-evil!Valerie is fascinating and terrifying at the same time. I hope you enjoyed it!

I've been super busy with work and family lately, so I've not even had a chance to think about what to write for next chapter. I've also gotten into the Voltron: Legendary Defender show and may have written something for it under my AO3 account? (Don't worry, Dark Gray is still my favorite to write, haha.)

Anyway, please review with your thoughts, questions, constructive criticisms, and ideas! Thanks!