A/N:

What is with me and keeping you guys waiting? I have no flippin' idea but I'm getting it corrected. And guess what? I'll have more time to write this and other stories now because I'll be glued to a computer every day for at least five hours to do actual typing work! But that's only because I found out that part of my graduation requirement is a research thesis paper monster assignment with at least one year of research and "findings" over something related to my major YAAAYY!

If you couldn't tell, I'm dying on the inside...But it doesn't matter because I'm graduating in 2017 and not even the zombie apocalypse is stopping me! Speaking of which, I narrowed my ideas to two and for now I'm just going to do them both. The first is the evolution of actuarial science from mathematics and the modern uses in global economies...and the second is about the mechanics and math behind time travel and different theories! Riveting isn't it?! On with the story!

Disclaimer: Had I owned any of this, Danny Phantom would have gone well into the end of high school, Phantom Planet would have never happened, Teen Titans Go! would have been shot executioner style, and Fairly Odd Parents would have been concluded before the live action movies...Doesn't Drake Bell have anything better to do with his life?

Chapter 8

Last time on "Jump Start"

So, Danny opened the door wide with abandon and incredulously greeted the new and third guest with a, "Vlad?!"

Danny stared at the man in the frame of the door with both surprise and suspicion showing equally on his face. If the night had not been weird before this moment, Vlad's presence would definitely make it worse. It was highly unnerving, the unexpected visit from the strange billionaire. In fact, Danny's initial thought was to slam the door in the older man's face and turn around to return to the dinner party as if nothing had happened. But it was Vlad's gaze on him that made him stop short.

"Daniel," Vlad praised, pleased and slightly triumphant with something the halfa did not quite understand, as the man's eyes raked over his ensemble. "You are dressed rather sharply. And the tie…nice touch." Vlad continued to stare at Danny which would have, in normal circumstances, creeped the boy out. But for some reason, after the shock of Vlad being there faded, his continual gaze calmed Danny down immensely. The younger boy knew he should have been perturbed by Vlad's attention but could not help but relax in the familiar and not actually grating presence of the man who had probably known him the best and understood what he has been going through the past couple of years...

Whoa...where did that come from? Danny thought as he tried to shrug off the slight haze in his mind that came from, he believed, being deep in thought as of late. But before he could fully clear his mind, a hand grasped his left shoulder, the body behind it lightly pushing him backwards to enter the house.

"I just came to check on you, my boy," the smooth voice weaseled into his ear as Vlad smiled down at Danny. "You did not seem well when you left the mansion last week." His concern would normally have sounded false to Danny but was now sincere…genuine. The whole situation was weirding the teen out even more as Vlad moved closer. "I came to see if you were alright…and I also wanted to talk to you about something."

As Vlad peered directly into Danny's eyes, the tone with which he spoke slightly frightened Danny as it left no room for questioning. Thankfully, the teenager's answer was interrupted by his mother calling from the kitchen.

"Who was at the door, Daniel?" He winced as he could still hear the anger and frustration at her tone. Vlad, on the other hand, looked aggravated at the interruption even though he supposedly loved the woman, and noticed Danny's hesitance in responding to her.

"Well, we mustn't keep them waiting," Vlad implored, steering a reluctant Danny towards the voices. "Lead the way."

Exhausted is one way to describe how Danny felt at the moment. Anxious, worried, and a bit timid would cover it, too. He knew the dinner had already taken a sour turn thanks to his and his family's conflicting beliefs…especially when Bruce and Dick sided more with him than the so-called experts in ectoplasm-related sciences. If they found out that Vlad, their trusted college buddy, sided more with their son, thus debunking over half of the supposed facts they had spewed at Bruce for the night, Danny knew the business deal would suffer even more. He groaned mildly knowing that the blame would fall solely on him after everything was over. Nevertheless, he ferociously hoped that his luck would make a change for the better, seeing as how it owed him for the previous hours.

The walk to the kitchen took longer than when he had brought the dinner guests inside the house because, Danny could tell, Vlad walked at a leisurely place. He could feel the man's eyes still on him, searching, as he walked forward. But as long as the man tried no actual funny business—no matter how creepy his stare was or how eerie he was acting—Danny was alright with him here. Before he had the time to ask Danny anything, the two heard once more as they stepped into the open way between the living and dining rooms, "I said, 'Who was at the door, Daniel?'"

At their entrance, Danny offhandedly chuckled, answering, "Well, you'll never believe this…" With Vlad in clear view of the family but behind the backs of their guests, both he and Danny could see Jazz's unguarded surprise, Maddie's shock and annoyance—at Danny or Vlad or both, they could not tell—and Jack's forever happy face at seeing—

"Vladdie, my man!" Screaming, the large man warred with himself on whether he would bear-hug his friend or continue to eat food. He decided to stay where he was and, at the chagrin of Danny, Jazz, and Maddie, offered, "There's always plenty of food for a good friend!"

"Jack," Vlad disdained, "lively as always." Turning to address the others, he focused on Jazz. "My dear, I have heard much of your accomplishments in the local school," he smiled, patronizingly congratulating her. "And Maddie…" He left it at that. And, to Danny's overwhelming shock, did not hit on, leer at, or ogle the older female Fenton in any way.

Maybe he's changing his ways.

As Bruce turned around to confirm his suspicions about who the stranger was, Vlad spoke, haughtily, "If I had known you had company this evening, I would have called instead and not intruded. Nevertheless, I deemed it worth my time to come visit."

Or maybe not.

"It's no problem at all for my best bud, Vlad Masters!" Jack exclaimed. "If it wasn't for you, this meeting wouldn't have happened at all!"

"Vlad Masters? As in Vladimir Masters?" Dick incredulously inquired as Bruce simultaneously asked, "What do you mean he is the reason for this meeting?"

"That's what I just said, isn't it?" Jack guffawed, amused with the slack-jawed look on their faces.

"It's true," Maddie admitted. "It was through Vlad and his secretary that we found out about Wayne Enterprises branching out into more unconventional modes of defense and alternative energy sources. This meeting wouldn't have happened without him."

The gratitude in her tone sharply contrasted her original annoyance at Vlad's appearance, making Dick confused, Bruce on edge, and Danny rethinking Vlad's recent attitude change. Vlad really had toned down the mad scientist, evil creeper vibes in the past few weeks and while Danny was still slightly wary about his growing closeness with the man, he couldn't help but see a different Vlad, one that was truly sorry for what he had done—a Vlad in a timeline that the young halfa was making sure never happened.

"Now, no more dilly-dallying! Danny, get a chair for Vladdie so he can join us!" Jack eagerly turned back to his food after he felt his contribution to the small conversation sufficed. Danny, glad that the animosity had simmered down once more, left to the kitchen closet to get a chair for the unexpected company. The slight but possessive squeeze on Danny's shoulders was not missed by Bruce and Dick as the latter openly glared at the man and Bruce's brow raised once more. During the short trip there and back, all Danny could think about was how grateful he was for Vlad being there to draw the attention off of him.

"So, V-man," Jack started as Vlad took the chair from Danny with thanks and placed it in between his and Dick's chairs. "What's got you coming down to our neck of the woods?"

"Oh, nothing much. I just decided to visit an old friend and his family," Vlad said, emitting the same cheese, if not laced with more cynical sarcasm, that Bruce and Dick had all evening. "And to check up on young Daniel, or course."

That, once again, brought a short-stopped silence to the dinner table as Maddie asked, "What's wrong with Daniel?"

The boy in question noticed his hand starting to cramp and hurt again as he caught some of the looks directed towards him. Vlad, catching on with slight pride oozing into his tone that Danny hadn't told anyone of their earlier rendezvous, admitted, "Yes. I had visited the school not a long while ago and noticed poor Daniel out of sorts a bit with his friends. I tried to get him to talk with me about it but...you know adolescents. So caught up with their own problems that they forget the importance of listening to someone who went through exactly what they are experiencing."

While the Fentons mainly voiced their approval or nodded their heads in agreement, Dick barely suppressed a flinch at the blatant jibe and Bruce focused his entire attention on Danny. Said boy was extremely conflicted and confused. In all ways possible, Vlad was right and had admitted nothing but the truth. Had Vlad visited the school? Yes. Was Danny having issues with those he used to call friends? Unfortunately. Was his current situation anything similar to what Vlad had gone through those twenty-something years ago? In innumerable ways. Danny did not like it one bit—being able to draw parallels with the old man. It made him feel as if he were stranded in a desert with the only viable sustenance was a sweet tasting fruit that, while keeping him alive, would slowly but surely drive him insane.

But...you would still be alive. Before that thought wriggled its way to the front of Danny's mind, the boy's facial expressions had ranged from anger to despair to confusion to disgust and self-doubt. And Bruce could see the very moment the teen's mind had changed. Vlad had leaned towards Danny once more and squeezed the boy's shoulder, drawing his attention. When their eyes met, Vlad's miniscule grin grew as Danny's conflicting expressions ironed out to a blank slate. But after looking at the older man for a while, the boy's forehead scrunched, lips pursed, and eyes squinted as if trying to figure something out or attempting to discern whether or not to say something. Bruce recognized the changing of Danny's face as it mirrored his own when he was younger and had to talk with his parents' business partners and acquaintances…namely the ones who should probably not be allowed around children or anyone malleable with any bit of innocence.

To save the boy from any further discomfort, Bruce interjected the silence with a, "Mr. Masters, it is a pleasure to finally meet you." Reaching over the table for a hand shake, making Vlad come away from Danny, he continued, "I have read about and heard much of your miraculous and almost instant rise financially and professionally in the last twenty years. Your story is, dare I say, impossible by normal means…"

Vlad, rising to the occasion, answered, "Well, my boy, I was a fully grown man when I was reborn. The…accident I had in college and the subsequent hospitalization allowed me to fully reevaluate my life and turn my newly realized skills into making profit in any new and up-and-coming ways I possibly could." As Vlad went on and on about his amazing journey to become the affluent business man he was now, Jack and Maddie couldn't help but look admonished at every mention of the college accident they now fully recognized as their—mostly Jack's—fault and Jazz kept mildly scoffing at Vlad's mentioning of his abilities and self-made success while admitting he was a pioneer in many fields of investment and ectoplasm-related sciences while, unlike her parents, making significant amounts of money.

Dick almost lost it at the nearly direct admissions of Vlad's less than legal modes of acquiring money, supplies, and business partnerships, as the older man decided to lecture Bruce on how he was a self-made man and did not have the fortune of his parents to rely on to make a good life for himself. And, of course, Bruce took this all in stride. A small part of him was relieved in getting his attention off of the young boy. Most other parts of him were battling between beating Vlad to a nonexistent pulp and refraining from pulverizing a friend of the people he was trying to make a deal with. Speaking of which…

"And this is what brought me to my latest project," Vlad surmised at the end of his rant. "Now, do not misunderstand. The physical aspect of ecto-studies will always fascinate me. However, I have to come find it necessary to understand, as well, the psyche of the beings. They are remarkable in many aspects, specifically their similarities to humans in their physical construct and social hierarchies. The many species that constitute what we categorize as 'ghosts' are extremely complex and not at all beast-like as some have theorized."

Mostly because no one was paying attention or too rapt attention to fully comprehend anything Vlad had said for the past ten minutes, a silence followed the man's closing statement. And it was very much so welcome to the night's visitors as Vlad's insincerity was grating on their ears and to Danny who wanted nothing more than to go to his room, fall asleep, and wake up as if the last two years were just a really weird dream. Nevertheless, the quiet was disrupted by a loud chortle coming from the Fenton patriarch.

"Oh, Vladdie," Jack laughed, forgetting about his shame about being the cause of Vlad's accident so many years ago. "That was good! I forgot you had a sense of humor!"

Vlad haughty smile twitched and grew slightly less friendly as he inquired, "Why, Jack, I have no idea what you mean…please, do explain."

"Well," the large man started, "ghosts aren't amazing or anything like that. They are cool! But they're not human-like at all. They're just mindless beasts focused on their obsessions and nothing else!"

Maddie smiled proudly at her husband while offering him a bit a fudge from the ceramic container in the middle of the table. "Well said, honey. Ectoplasmic creatures do not have the ability to form higher-level thought processes nor achieve great things humans have done in the past." As she continued, her continence hardened significantly. "And for the past two years, those pieces of scum have done nothing but trash or city, make our streets unsafe, and put or families' lives at risk. Especially that Ghost Kid!"

"Ghost Kid? You mean Inviso-Bill?" Dick asked, catching Danny's flinch at the horrible nickname. "I thought he was protecting everybody and fighting off ghosts and invasions."

"More like showing off," Jazz scoffed, frowning deeply into the remnants of her meal.

"That's my girl," Jack exclaimed. "That piece of ectoplasmic scum is nothing but trouble. He's the one that starts the fights! It's his obsession…stupid ghost. If I ever see him again, I'll obliterate him."

"No, dear," Maddie scolded, gaining the relief of Danny, "we decided we were going to rip him apart molecule by molecule."

"But, sugar-buns," her husband whined, "can't we just compromise and dissect him slowly and painfully?"

Sighing, the loving wife conceded, "Oh, alright. But after we're done, we'll disintegrate him and rid all realms of his disgusting presence."

As the two discussed their hypothetical plans, Bruce and Dick shuddered at the Joker-and-Harley-esque conversation and Jazz just shook her head at her parents' antics. Vlad frowned in disgust at the two whom he once considered to be friends and Danny was doing all he could to not violently vomit at the fact that his parents were currently discussing matter-of-factly the gruesome plans for his death.

It was Danny's extreme discomfort that brought Vlad's attention back to him. He took the advantage of the distressful moment and decided to scold the two Fentons whom, while he hated them to an extreme, he thought should have been able to recognize the truth behind ghosts' existence as other dimensional beings on par if not greater than humans in terms of advancement, socially, physiologically, and technologically.

"Now, Madeline, Jack, I would have thought that by now, you would have set your incorrect, preconceived notions aside and actually studied these beings with pure minds." The grey-haired man tutted and shook his head. "You two should know more about ghosts; you do even have a portal, after all," he mocked.

"You have what?" Bruce disbelievingly shouted. Not only were they bigoted against completely sentient—from his research—beings and advocating for the utter destruction of someone who was basically a child, but they had the means to travel instantly to the zone in which these beings resided. The more Bruce reevaluated the Fentons, the more the business plan dissolved from his mind and back up plans involving the League began to form.

"A portal, dearie," Maddie continued, obliviously, because apparently Danny was not the only clueless one in the family. "It connects our world, the Real World, to theirs, the Ghost Zone."

"And I'm the one who finally figured out how to work it!" Jack loudly claimed, grinning while their fortuitous business deal continued to slip away from his fingers.

Unable to hold back, Vlad interjected, "At the near expense of your son's life, you mean…oh, and mine…"

Oh my god, Danny thought, they're never going to get that business deal now. He watched as Dick's face broke open in shock and confusion while Bruce gripped the table so hard it looked like it could splinter even though it was metal.

"And…what, Dr. Fenton…does he mean by that?" Bruce quietly seethed while his ward both pitied and despised the man and woman who put their son in danger and was now no longer facing just Bruce Wayne, but another whose mantle even the blackest of darkness feared.

"I—umm—i-it was an accident," Jack calmed down, slightly cowering as he finally got a glance at a different side of the billionaire. The man looked to his wife for help but only received the image of a confused woman regarding their guest without familiarity. Even she was concerned about the sudden change of Mr. Wayne's demeanor and was contemplating how to turn the grievous situation around to their advantage. "You see, when we first finished building portal, we were so excited."

"Having the ability to view a world unseen was exhilarating," Maddie continued.
But when it didn't quite work, me and Jack, we just quit."

"But Danny took a look inside of it," Jack finished up. "Got a little bit of a shock, too. But it worked. Somehow, it worked."

"He ended up sleeping through the entire weekend after that Friday night," Jazz added. "And nothing seemed too weird then so we thought he was fine…except for the bit of static cling in his hair."

"A bit of—," Vlad scoffed, "forgive me Jasmine but I have come to know the specs of your parents' inventions and the electrical power plant output fluctuations over the years. That machine had hundreds of thousands of volts running through it when it first became operational. Daniel should have died."

The finality and even the prospect of death didn't bother him much whenever the topic was brought up to Danny. But that was only because he had seen life afterwards. Every now and then, he even contemplated what would happen if he died with his condition now. Would he become a full ghost? Would he move on? Would he be erased completely from existence? Could he even die? The last thought always sent his mind spiraling down into depression. But whenever the topic of him dying before the accident with the portal happened came into light, it would terrify Danny. He knew it was completely in the realm of possibility for him to have died that night...but he didn't. And yet, that does not mean he liked to discuss it or be around when someone else was talking about it.

So, the increasingly distressed boy spoke up and begged, "Could we please talk about something else?"

As if his presence at the table was forgotten for the moment, his quiet plea grabbed the attention of all, some startled, present. At the boy's bowed head, Bruce's face softened and Dick's cleared to worry. Vlad mentally kicked himself for straying from his purpose of the night. Jazz's icy demeanor melted lightly at her remembering how scared her brother was after the accident...and for good reason, too. Maddie and Jack still felt some parental concern about the incident, even if they were still peeved at the boy; nevertheless, they backed down from the subject for another discussion topic to arise.

"Sure, Danny," Bruce answered, taking the initiative since the entire deal was contingent on his input. He could tell that the boy didn't like the attention, positive or negative, the way he shied from it. So Bruce decided to interrogate Vlad while the man had to keep up some façade of civility around his supposed friends. "Mr. Masters, I was wondering if I could get another source of input about one inquiry I have." At Vlad's hand motion to continue, Bruce stated, "Being from Gotham and dealing with many business partners in major cities, I have had a plethora of experiences with not-so-human beings. All of which had some spectrum of sentience and ideas of morality. Now, the Dr.s Fenton are under the inclination that these 'ghosts', or ectoplasmic beings, are nothing more than mindless beasts made of a sinister matter not natural to this known universe. I wanted to know if I could have your input on this subject."

The way in which a person deals with something or someone they don't know and have nothing in common with, Bruce had come to know, shows clearly the truth of that person's core. He had seen the darkness and bigotry of the Fenton adults, to his dismay, and the conceitedness of the oldest Fenton child but had yet to discern the true Daniel Fenton from his observations and research. So, Bruce fully expected Masters to concur with the Fentons, or worse, claim allegiance with and total support for the group titled G.I.W., or Guys in White a change from their original laughable title of Governmental Investigators of the Weird, who also had less than pleasant business practices and inhumane experimentation methods. They had before asked for the "help" of Martian Manhunter and Superman for extraterrestrial defense which ended in the dissolving of that branch who were illegally and painfully studying aliens. However, Vlad's answering laugh completely threw him off guard.

"O-of course they wo-would say that," he choked out between laughs, gaining the interest of Bruce and Dick, the confusion of the older Fentons, the annoyance of Jazz, and the subtle lift of his head from Danny. "If you only observed the fights most ghosts have, anyone would believe that they are purely battling creatures bent on destruction!"

At this Jack took the time to yell, "Which they are!"

"Not, Jack," Vlad corrected. "They are not."

"And what do you know about it, Vlad, that you question the work my husband and I have been doing for almost twenty years?" Maddie heatedly asked.

"Oh, no, my dear. I'm not questioning your work. I am blatantly telling you that you are wrong."

Glad he didn't have any food or drink in his mouth, Danny barely held back from sputtering at Vlad's shooting down his parents. Jazz's gasp mirrored his shock and their parents' silence said enough for them.

"What my dear friends are guilty of, Mr. Wayne, is showing up only for the ghost fights, shooting before analyzing the situation, and making a bigger mess of what could have been contained," Vlad calmly stated as if he had not just delivered the business deal's finishing blow. "Had they also paid attention to the beings before and after the fights and even in the ghosts' natural habitats, inquired with the ghosts, or peacefully interact with them, they would know that most of their preconceived notions were incorrect."

"You mean, even though you have a portal, you've never been to the Ghost Zone?" Dick asked the Fentons who didn't have a chance to answer before Vlad responded.

"To my knowledge, they never have. Neither has Jasmine. But I have," Vlad affirmed.

"You didn't include Danny," Bruce interjected, gesturing to the boy who wanted nothing more than to go invisible or intangible through his chair.

"Ah, well," Vlad started, as if he actually had not meant to exclude the boy. "There was an incident last year in which Daniel came to me for help regarding an anniversary present for his parents."

At the memory, Danny's head snapped towards Vlad. There was no good reason for the man to have known about this nor for him to tell everyone about it. The only way Vlad could know is if he and Walker had talked, which wasn't too unbelievable. But the revelation would do Danny no good, he could tell, from the reddening of his mother's face.

"Daniel, why would you do something so dangerous as to go to that dreaded place? You know your father and I are ghost hunters! You could have been hurt or used as a hostage!" As her face shifted to the same shade as her hair, her husband fought between his parental concern and his envy at not being the first to go into the Ghost Zone.

"I couldn't just let your guys' anniversary present get lost in the Zone," Danny apologized. "I had to go after it. So I—"

"Came to me in your time of need knowing that I would retrieve it and all would be well," Vlad swooped in, cutting Danny off.

Bruce caught the two in the barely concealed lie, wondering what actually happened and planning on getting Dick to weasel it out of Danny later. "So," Bruce restarted, "to what you said earlier...if the Fentons are wrong...what are ghosts like?"

The older billionaire grinned widely at the question, knowing that the dinner was working to his favor. "Well, my dear boy, to understand what a ghost truly is like, one must know what a ghost truly is." Now that he had the complete attention of everyone at the table, Vlad decided to milk it just right. Of course, what he would say would be the complete truth but he knew that only two...humans in the entirety of existence were privy to this information.

"At the center of a ghost lies its core. This core is the channel through which all of the energy flows in the ghost; it can be tied to different elements of nature such as earth, fire, ice, and wind, and has a mirroring effect on the ghost's powers. Over time, through changes in the ghost's environment or to the ghost itself, a core can grow, evolve, making the ectoplasm that surrounds it, the 'body' of the ghost itself, change as well. This is how we account for shifts in the power levels of ghosts and the changes in their appearances as well. In fact, because of this and other factors, we can consider these 'ghosts' as living beings."

The lecture was abruptly cut short by Jack's barking laugh. "But, Vlad! They're ghosts! By name alone they're dead."

"Not quite, Jack," Vlad dismissed. "These beings are not quite 'ghosts' as we have come to understand." At the blank looks of confusion displayed around the table, Vlad sighed and continued. "Think about it. The Ghost Zone is not as much of an 'after-life' as it is an alternate dimension...a parallel dimension close enough for the energy and matter of one to cross into the other. Thus, if some seemingly random spikes of ecto-energy can occur on our side, then..."

"...bouts of our energy can pop up on their side?" Dick questioned.

"Exactly! And sometimes, that energy reacts with their atmosphere's ectoplasm, a substance native to their realm but not ours, and forms a core, creating human-like ghosts that may or may not be based on energy actually expelled by a human or groups of humans. Which brings me back to my point that they are not 'ghosts' as in remnants of the dead, but living beings of another dimension."

Continuing and not at all oblivious to the heated glare he was receiving from Maddie, Vlad stated, "We classify living beings by seven main characteristics. One, they are composed of cells. Since their realm has different substances, of course their cells will look different and be based on different substances...in this case ectoplasm. Two, they have different levels of organization on both cellular and molecular levels which can be observed looking at samples of the ectoplasm. Three, they use energy; this is in the form of ecto-energy made up of their core, surrounding ectoplasm, and whatever other energy they pick up from sustenance in the Ghost Zone or energy here such as emotion or 'life force' of our living beings. Four, they respond to their environment which is prevalent in their ability for speech, interaction, and adaptation to what is happening around them. This brings me to five: adaptation to their environment. When a ghost's environment changes, they also change, either in location are in power or appearance level shifts through their core. Six, they grow which is a process by which their core evolves. And lastly, seven, they reproduce..."

"And no ghost can do that!" Maddie affirmed, attempting to salvage her scientific credibility.

"That coming from you, who has not ventured deep into the Ghost Zone nor spoken with the ghosts who have formed families, is rich," Vlad mocked.

"You mean," Bruce cut in, "ghosts can have children?"

"In a way," Vlad answered assuredly. "The actual process veers severely from ours but essentially one or more ghost can shift their energies enough and manipulate the surrounding ectoplasm to form offspring."

"That's...that's amazing," Dick admitted, caught in the whirlwind of all of the new information.

"I would say so," Vlad concurred, satisfied with the boy's reaction, "especially since this evidence completely contradicts everything previously hypothesized about 'ghosts.'"

"Evidence?" Maddie scoffed as she slammed an open hand down on the dining room table. "I see no evidence. All I see is a man so bent on being right that he spouts ridiculous postulations without any proof, any data, and tests to support it!"

"My dear, Maddie, there is no need to be offended so," Vlad stated, motioning for her to calm down and act civilized, knowing that the current show they were putting on would both discredit and infantilize her in front of Wayne and his ward. "If you want proof, my lab has plenty of data collected from my many visits into the Ghost Zone and my encounters with our local haunters."

"Now," Bruce interrupted, more interested in Vlad now and disregarding the eldest Fentons, "what about a ghost's obsession? Dr.s Fenton earlier said that no ghost can live without one."

"That just comes from their not observing ghosts without attacking them, making them believe that all ghosts are violent and evil while they are, for the most part, self-interested and trying to save themselves from deranged ghost hunters turned exterminators. What has been termed as an 'obsession' of these 'ghosts' is nothing more than a routine or a chosen action to do for whatever century of life they are living. Any being with a long life-span can become fixated on one task or another. A ghost can exist without an obsession but a ghost without a core does not exist."

Jack and Maddie, inwardly seething but cowed for now, backed down on the subject. Jazz, who had paid severe attention throughout the lecture, mentally reorganized her knowledge of ghosts while keeping in mind that Vladimir Masters was not necessarily a man to be trusted or believed outright. Dick had felt like the first time J'onn attempted to explain to him the long and illustrious history of Martians; in other words, he absorbed most of the information but couldn't wait to see it for himself. Bruce, instead, had categorized the information and analyzed Vlad during the lecture. So, when it was over, there was mostly just one thing on his mind since the thought of taking Vlad down had lessened sometime during the evening.

"That sounds remarkably similar to what Danny was attempting to say earlier," he admitted, wondering how the boy who had seemed to dislike the older man so heavily was on the same mindset as the older man.

All the participants of the night were broken out of their individual inner thoughts at Bruce's utterance, bringing their attention once more—and hopefully, Danny thought, the last time—to the Fenton's youngest. And, of course, all were shocked, or at least had feigned shock.

"That's interesting…"Vlad commented, regarding Danny with a faker curiosity than the rest of his family and their guests. Fortunately for him and unfortunately for Danny, , everyone was too preoccupied with Danny that no one noticed the self-satisfied smile spreading across the man's face. Danny had his eyes turned down-cast at the sudden increase of attention. He could barely deal with everything around him and now people, even his family, were scrutinizing him to the point where he felt he could barely breathe.

So, he again attempted to shrug off the eyes by muttering, "I-it was just a thought…I didn't actually have anything to back it up."

"No, Daniel," Maddie started, fire stoked by the fact that her son was right where she, even after studying and experimenting for decades, was wrong. "You said the exact same things Vlad said. You even mentioned cores. How could you possibly know anything except if…Vlad?" She asked, turning slightly towards the man.

"He never came to me for anything, Maddie," Vlad answered, still telling the truth and reveling in the situation he was putting the boy in. "So there seems to be only one possible conclusion…"

"Danny, how long have you been interacting with ghosts?"

Maybe it was the fact that someone said it out loud, maybe it was the fact that the boy didn't deny it, or maybe it was the fact that it was Jack who asked the question first, but everything afterward just went straight to hell.

"You what?" Maddie yelled, enraged.

"Danny, how could you…don't you know that that's dangerous?" Jazz interrogated him as if she had completely forgot about the whole Danny-Fenton-is-Danny-Phantom situation.

"This is admittedly not 'astrous'," Bruce offered, so shocked that he used his ward's favorite word.

"Well, at least he had the initiative to look past others' xenophobia," Dick muttered, not to softly, and was caught by everyone at the table.

The glare he caught Danny giving to him was so scalding that he realized others could hear him but was drowned at by Maddie's insistence, "Excuse me, boy, but we are not xenophobic. We are world-renown scientists who have dedicated their entire life to finding out the mysteries of ghosts. So how dare you criticize us—"

"Dr. Fenton," Bruce interrupted, coming to his ward's side, "I would find that you would have a new outlook on the decades of the so-called pure science you and your husband have done. So instead of criticizing my ward, if I were you, I would be looking at myself critically."

"What—"

"I'm afraid Mr. Wayne is right, Maddie," Vlad agreed to the surprise of all paying attention. "Maybe before any deal can be made, we should reexamine your findings so that—"

"Don't talk down to my wife, Vlad," Jack glared. And for the first time in a long time, Vlad actually felt a sliver of fear at the larger man's changed demeanor for, even though he was still fully turned towards Danny, Vlad felt some of the man's anger shift towards him and felt a bit of pity for the young teen.

"And Mr. Wayne, I would ask you to reconsider us for the partnership."

Bruce sighed, having made up his mind long ago but now voicing his choice. "I would have loved to sponsor you all…but now? I think it would be best for all of us to reconvene at a much later date."

Maddie attempted, "Bu—"

"Understood," Jack cut her off firmly, his fists closing tightly on top of the table.

At a quarter to nine, few words and glances were exchanged, especially with Dick hoping to see Danny sometime in an online game, and the two Gothamites left. Bruce assured Jazz that her correspondence with his psychologist friend was not jeopardized by what happened that night. Vlad offered to speak with Bruce later for another business partnership between their two enterprises which the latter took readily, already planning another way to get dirt on the other along with the questions he had yet to ask Danny.

After the two had left, and no one had said any words for a few awkward seconds, Jack, as politely as possible, asked, "Vlad, if you would excuse us?"

"Oh," the older man answered, slightly peeved about the dismissal but satisfied at his progress. "I do suppose I have a few affairs to check on. I bid you all goodnight." But before he left, he offered Danny, "If you would ever want to talk about anything, I am always available."

It was most likely the earnestness with which Vlad offered his time to Danny, or maybe it was that the words were so sincere and came from his sworn archenemy, but the boy was frozen while Vlad left and didn't hear the footsteps behind him. In fact, nothing fazed his mind until his view was obstructed by bright orange and his face was abruptly shifted away from the front to the left.

The pain from the motion both on his cheek and of his neck was overcome by the dull roar brought on by the shock and the growing voices around him of Jazz screaming at their father, Maddie just yelling, and Jack shouting at him.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you boy!" The older man thundered which made Danny turn to his beet-red-faced father. His left hand was clenched hard at his side, shaking, while his right was open and red, about as red as Danny figured his face was when he realized—

He slapped me…

Dad…slapped me.

"You!" The man raged. "If you hadn't…if you had just kept your mouth shut! What the hell were you thinking, you idiot!"

"Dad, don't—"

"Let your father handle this, Jasmine."

"Why didn't you keep quiet? It was going fine until you spoke and then Vlad showed up and you…he…you ruined everything!"

In the background, Jazz was trying to get around her mother to Danny and Jack but Maddie's grip on her wrist was too tight and her deadly glare had the girl and Danny fixed in the spot.

Danny tried to speak but was abruptly interrupted. "I don't want to hear a single word! What the fuck is wrong with you?!" Jack raged, nearly foaming at the mouth. "We told you how important this was! We told you that this deal needed to go through! And we have told you time and time again that ghosts are evil pieces of ectoplasmic scum and did you listen to us? No-oh-oh. You had to go on by yourself, be an idiot, and then make me and your mother look stupid the entire night! Why do you have to be such a disappointment?"

As Jazz stopped fighting and Maddie came over to Jack, the older man tried regaining his breath after belting the last of his rant and Danny tried to keep himself together. "Don't think I don't know that people think I'm stupid. Hell, half the time I'm in the mindset to agree with them. But at least I'm not as much of a dumbass as you! Your mother is brilliant and I'm a scientist but it seemed like your sister got all of our sense and you got all of nothing!"

"Do not bring me into this," said girl huffed, not budging to help as long as she wasn't mentioned.

"You…you," Jack said, running out of words as he looked down at his son who had sometime during the last minute begun to quiver. "Fucking disgrace." And with that last mumble bit, he turned and stomped off, quickly followed by Maddie who only said, "Clean this place up when you're done." All he heard of Jazz was a disgusted sigh and light, retreating footsteps as he was left in the no longer warm, artificial light illuminating the dining room area.

The silence accompanying him was overwhelming and accented only by the loud slamming of bedroom doors. It felt so empty and so sharply contrasting to the early revelry that it, in his nearly splintered minds, was laughable. So, that's what he did. Laugh, that is. And hysterically too. So much so that it scared him when he heard it. It was nothing life the light-hearted laugh of his when he was with a friend or even the taunting laugh he gave his enemies but the demented, broken laugh of a lost, little boy. So harsh was it that after it died out, his throat burned from the rough use. He stood, seeing no point in sitting anymore, especially if someone had heard from upstairs and decide to knock more sense into him. But he knew they wouldn't…somehow, he knew that they just didn't care.

He straightened the chairs and piled the dishes in the sink, turning on the water and dispensing a small amount of soap to let them soak. The leftovers, he packed into the refrigerator and then gently closed the door, ignoring the battle cries turning into confused questions by the bottom drawer's ecto-weenies. He washed the dishes and placed them on the drying rack while pulling the plug to drain the dish water. Water was still plunking down into the metal basin so he checked three times to make sure the faucet was off before realizing the water wasn't coming from the faucet. His dry hands wiped the remnants of tears from his face he hadn't known he cried as he left the room spotless, turning off the light.

He ghosted through the house silently to get to his room and lightly closed the door, not caring if anyone heard him but still not wanting to be heard. He hung up his clothes and placed his tie on his desk, afterwards putting on a t-shirt to sleep in. He laid down, face up, on his bed, going through the motions to prevent himself from thinking. That little voice in the back of his head was doing enough for him anyway.

Idiot.

Useless.

He slapped you.

Disgrace.

Dumbass.

He slapped you.

Disappointment.

He was tired…so tired. And in the dark of his room, he saw nothing. No light, no smiles, no friends, no memories. All he saw was black and a slightly red glow from his alarm.

"Screw luck…I'm tired of this," he cried but the air never responded. So, he cried quietly instead, tired of hearing his own racking sobs echoing throughout his room, and too exhausted to keep the tears trapped in his eyes. He cried himself to sleep and all he saw that night was black.

A/N:

Welp...I'm depressed...both from the weird writing and Danny...mostly Danny. I'm a horrible person. But don't fret! It'll get better for everyone's favorite halfa in the end! I've never come across an actual abusive relationship either for anyone who I thought this came on fast or was too shallow.

Antyways...Along with this story, since single-mindedness is boring me, I'll be uploading at least one more and I think I'll start with "The Mark" (title pending cuz this is straight-forward but boring). Cool cool...been watching too much jacksfilms...

Replies to Reviewers:

EmeraldSeaGamer: No need to send out search parties! I live so here you go! Sorry for taking so long :P

Undeadhero143: He really does need to stand up to himself more. He's pushed around way too much and really is a brilliant kid, even in the series he was more smart than what most people saw. He saved all of existence more times than Jazz captured him in the Fenton Thermos!

UltimateTouken: NO cliffhanger this time, my friend...and...I really like pillows...I'll update sooner so please give me a pillow!

mymag99: I have and have and will continue to do so!

HopeLifeLove: Fret not for a non-cliffhanger chapter has arisen! And sorry for the delay...those'll get shorter now!

TheBoss3254: I will now that I have a schedule to set by for assignments and my job and stuff. I hope I don't disappoint either of us because I want to see the outcome too!

Bibbledoo: Not. At. All. Is this healthy in any way. Someone needs to cal CPS on the Fentons. And Jack just laid his hands on Danny. Only a little but that's enough. And no hiatus...just a reaaaallllyyy short-long-short break.

Poohbearmorris: XD You got that right! Vlad's role in this story is a bit two-faced like you're starting to like him more because he's the only one that is actually nice to Danny buuuut he's still an evil Fruitloop so no...just no.

Ninuhuju: Vlad's a major creeper and I love exploiting his creepiness for the good of the Phandom. I just...I don't even understand bullying anymore. I mean, I've heard stories, seen videos, read confessions and stuff about cyber and irl bullying and I just don't understand how or why it happens and how it's allowed to continue or how people getting bullied don't have someone to help them. I swear, if my friend were getting bullied, a couple of kids would be straight up corrected. No one messes with my people. And if one of my friends were a bully, they would get straightened out too!

Good Witch of Babble: I will never get tired of reading your comments XD! And they've noticed! Dick and Bruce will be keeping tabs on Danny for now...or at least...as best as they can once a certain thing happens next chapter! Let your frustration rage...especially because I have yet to actually figure out how Danny meets the Titans...I just know that he does in the next three chapters. And hilarity shall ensue in Jump. I have to integrate a bit of levity with all of this Danny-abuse!...The only problem I'm having right now is deciding about Trigon...should Danny come in after...before...during? I can't just right him out! That's a major TT arc! And let your good thoughts tide you over because it's gonna get worse...

Guest of honor: Dude...*shifts eyes*...maybe. Here you go and sorry for the lateness! There'll be scheduled updates from now on!

east231: No problemo. And jeez *blush* Thanks! Here you go!

AlternateInverse: You re-read...you re-read again! Wha-Why? It's not even that good! ASFDGKEDHGSALKDJSDLKAJ! I actually haven't decided whether or not this'll be Father!Vlad...probably not because he's still a major creep here. And thank you so much for the support! You're my 100th reviewer *FIREWORKS!*

What the motherflippin frijoles! Over 100 reviews, 84 favorites and 122 follows! Don't you people have anything better to do than read my crappy stories?! Well, I'm glad you don't and take the time to indulge a girl! Don't give up on me; I still write and will continue to do so until my fingers are stubby nubs when I'm well into my 90s and my great-grandchildren will wonder why I am on the relic of a site called fanfiction.

I love you guys so much and thank you so for dealing with me! Next chapter'll be about 4K words and'll come out the second or third week of next month! I'm enjoying going on this journey with you guys!

Love, JennaUtena...Deuces!