A/N:
Oopsie poopsie! I've been away for a while. A long while. For many reasons. All good. Just not any that need to be discussed. To make up for the delay, here comes extra long chapter of about 12k words! Yay!
Disclaimer: Still nope but on goes the hope...rhymes make me happy.
Chapter 11
Even before Danny received his ghost powers, he felt a bit estranged from everyone around him. His parents had always been into ghosts. His micromanaging sister had been into psychology. Samantha was always into the unique, rebellion, and being a Goth. Tucker was always into his tech, obsessed with modifying and buying the newest, shiniest devices. They all had their heads turned resolutely down, focused solely on the matters around them. Danny was the only one that looked up to the sky.
He found it calming and peaceful, the massive expanse of space. It was ever-present, ever-changing, and forever a mystery, one that felt far away but personal at the same time to him. He found himself drawn to the stars and galaxies lightyears away rather than focusing on what was right in front of him. Because of this, he was often called out on daydreaming, tripped on objects in plain view or over his own feet, and alienated himself from the world around him. He felt safe amongst the stars, so bright and powerful but distant from all others.
After he gained his powers and mastered his flight, he would often go to the highest peak around and gaze up at the twinkling balls of gas and wish to fly with them. He did not have to think or even breathe when he looked at the stars. He did not have to talk to them or listen to them or do anything for them. They expected nothing from him; so he just existed with them, admiring them from afar. Doing this calmed his mind and his nerves, ridding Danny of stress and anger.
So when he found his mood spiraling further and further down while he stomped away from the park, Danny's feet led him to a cellphone tower near Axion Labs. He did not transform but instead climbed hand over foot to the top of the tower until he found himself purchased on the highest stable point of the old tower. Danny sat down, legs swinging over the side of the impromptu bench, and tried so hard not to think. He placed himself up there to get away from the rest of the people in Amity Park. It had felt too claustrophobic; so he walked until he felt as far away from people as the stars were from him. At this distance, with this silence and solitude, he could relax and rest.
He found this to be better, his calming down and not unleashing his anger at those around him. Danny knew how powerful he was and he was working so hard on not lashing out in snippets of anger and pain. He had seen the horrible possibility of a future when he let his emotions rule him and override his better judgement. Danny hated not acting, not letting those around him who had hurt him get the same hurt back, but he also knew that that would lead to an unless cycle of hurt and pain that could affect more than just them. His stupid hero complex hindered him from acting like anyone else would in his situation, making him equally glad and frustrated.
Danny thought he had found a friend in Dick but was tricked once again by the false smiles and forced laughter of someone that just wanted to use him for their own hidden motives.
They've all lied to you...sometime or another, a thought whispered from his subconscious. He knew it was true. It just hurt to admit it. They never actually cared. Just lied. They had. They treated him as a friend, a son, and a brother but turned against him when their patience wore too thin. Used. He was just their shield, an insignificant spec at the edge of their existence, only important when they were in dire need. Cheated. They were his friends and they never told him, never talked with him, just cast him aside. Stole. They had wasted years of his life with their lies and false love. They toyed with his emotions and played with his mind. You were never someone to them...just a placeholder. He couldn't trust any one of them. Not a single one. Not his idiot father, Jack Fenton. Not his useless mother, Maddie Fenton. Not his inept sister, Jazz Fenton. Not his leaches of friends, Tucker Foley and Samantha Manson. Not even that stubbornly prejudice huntress Valerie. Definitely none of the A-listers. Nor could he trust any of the other Amity Parkers. The nerds would use you like a frog on dissection day. The adults would give you to some government agency buffoons to keep their stagnant views correct. And the GIW would—well, you would definitely not come back from that.
He was alone, more so than his stars which at least had the assurance in each other's existence. The ghosts that used to come to Amity Park had vanished except for Boxy that one time months ago. Dani was no longer "Dani" and wanted nothing to do with him. And the only other person whose situation even slightly reflected Danny's was Vlad. He trusted the man less than anyone else...or at least, he used to.
Fatigue washing away any further thought in that area, Danny looked once more to his stars which had become more prominent in the near two hours he had spent there. Not particularly worried about the time lost staring into space, chalking it up to in depth thought, Danny jumped from his seat of well over sixty feet in the air and landed with a slight thud mere seconds later on slightly bent knees.
Can't trust them. He stepped towards a path that would take him to the city.
Can't believe them. He found the street that would lead him the quickest to his home.
Can't be around them. He climbed up the fire escape, knowing that none of the residents of Fenton Works would care where he was but not wanting to walk through the brownstone that held the façade of a loving family.
Alone. So alone. He lied down on his bed, clad in an old band t-shirt and boxers. He no longer questioned where his thoughts went or what they were saying. It was easier just to agree. It was him, after all, and it spoke the truth in the beginning. And even if the truth was painful, at least it did not lie.
We don't have to be alone, it proposed, causing Danny to jerk a bit as he succumbed to the growing sleepiness he felt deep in his body and his mind. Just trust me. It spoke, painting a dream so real and convincing that Danny's sleep addled brain was lost until he would wake the next morning. He didn't fight it. There's no need to fight. It was only a dream. A better dream. So he fell and kept falling, deeper and deeper into the red.
The explosion that shook the house late that morning is what woke him and any other residents who opted to sleep late that day. He calmed down after recognizing a loud groan from Jack and a disparaging chastisement from Maddie. Danny sunk back into his bed, his pillow wrapping around his head which ached fiercely as if he had a migraine brought on by a persistent concussion. Groaning, he sat up and checked his watch on his nightstand, finding that it was already after 10. Jumping up in surprise, Danny rushed to the bathroom to get ready and was out of the door with a toaster waffle no later than 15 minutes after waking up. It wasn't until he was about five blocks away from the house that he questioned his urgency.
"I don't have anyone to meet nor anywhere in particular to go," he said to himself, alone on the residential road with house decorated in neon greens, purples, and oranges and deep blacks and reds. Realizing the date, Danny started walking once again, heading to Casper High's sponsored haunted house which he had helped decorate ever since the Fright Night incident freshman year.
The walk to the avenue bustling with people in preparation for the night's festivities did not take Danny long. Most of the streets were empty anyway because people where in their houses preparing or at the mall shopping last minute. Danny walked quickly, nevertheless, with a classical music playlist ringing through his earbuds. It was not his favorite music but he found himself liking it more and more and refraining from listening to the metal and rock he usually loved, especially because it was helping keep his migraine at bay.
He approached Haunter Way, renamed from Hunter Way after the ghosts brought so much profit from tourism to the city, and looked at the commotion in front of him. About ten blocks were closed off by horses and police cars, in which various booths, rides, food trucks and trailers, and performer stages were being set up. The Annual Amity Halloween Harvest, fondly referred to as AAHH! by the locals, was looking to be big this year, even with the lack of ghosts around. Already, excited reporters and curious tourists and out-of-towners walked through the street, watching, interviewing, talking, and offering assistance to those around.
Danny passed them all by, waving when waved to, speaking when spoken to, and helping out when asked, but he mostly stuck to himself. He remembered everything he thought last night and, as a result, none of his smiles reached his eyes nor waves as warm and welcome as those given to him. But the music he was listening to calmed him a bit, enough not to spazz out in the middle of the slowly growing crowd.
He sped up his pace as he neared the house at the dead end of Haunter Way. It was different from either of the two that they used his freshman year which led to the Fright Knight issue but it still looked the part. Standing two stories tall, the old and slowly rotting house leaned slightly to its left in disrepair. The once proud purple paint which decorated its outer walls had withered and peeled, leaving behind something that looked like worn black strips slowly coming off the house. The old shutters and shingles dangled from their places, struggling to stay attached to the house. A once shiny knocker glared its dull lion eyes at any who looked at the warty, sickly dark green door. The drapes flowed eerily in the open windows, tattered and ridden with moth holes. It did look pretty spooky, for kids and non-Amity Park natives anyway.
An admission booth was in front of the house with a sign proclaiming that there was a $3 entry per person and children under 6 get in free. Sitting behind that booth was a balding man dressing in a blue shirt, plaid pants, and a black tie with smiling jack-o'-lanterns, purple bats, and floating green bed sheet ghosts. He looked like he was furiously grading some highly disappointing term papers when he looked up and saw the youngest Fenton approach.
"Mr. Fenton," he acquiesced, "I was wondering when you were going to appear."
"Good morning to you too, Mr. Lancer," Danny replied, not hiding much sarcasm. The older man's eyes twitched as he held back a short reprimand. The aging teacher instead sighed and waved Danny off to the house where he knew the teen would work his magic and make the house terrifying even for Amity Park locals. Ever since the Halloween his freshman year, Danny had been the main decorator for the Haunted House. With his pranking skills and ghost powers, it came easily to him and no one could best his work. So, Lancer and he had an unspoken agreement that Danny would always place the finishing touches or correct the house before it was opened for business.
So, without further ado, Danny mock saluted Mr. Lancer and let the man get back to his more than disappointing paperwork. The older man just huffed and watched with raised brow as the younger Fenton hummed Für Elise. He was not aware that the boy listened to such music and had seen much changed in him in the last few months. Some was for the better. His school work was better. He no longer fell asleep. But some things about the boy worried him. He had estranged himself from his friends. He was more short tempered and often day dreamed during the school day. He was often zoning out in the middle of conversations. His eyes were, more than one time, reportedly blood shot and hazy. Lancer shrugged it. Where could he have gotten the drugs anyway? And whatever he was doing seemed to be working.
But these other children, Lancer internally groaned as he turned back to grade his sophomore English class's papers over Catcher in the Rye.
On the other hand, Danny focused on the mess that was supposed to be a scary haunted house. Unfortunately, the A-listers held the reigns on decorating this year and the job they did...well...even a toilet-training baby wouldn't wet his diaper. He rolled up his sleeves, knowing the amount of work he had to complete in the next three hours before the first few eager people walked through was tremendous, even for him enhanced by ghost powers.
He turned up his playlist momentarily as a darker and more morose sounding song came on to get in the mood of cleaning up the mess in front of him. First, he got rid of the silly string lying about. He figured they meant it to be cobwebs and the like but ended up spraying it at each other will-nilly, ending up in rooms covered haphazardly in the gunky gray and pink—probably Paulina's decision. He reached around and grabbed chunks of it, blasting away the messes as he moved from room to room, hallway through hallway.
On the way, he also picked up and eradicated any trash left over from the A-listers' involvement. A few chip bags and cans of coke were thrown helter-skelter throughout the house. It was a dump, not a scary dump, just a dump.
Danny figured they had a little party there and didn't really focus on decorating. He knew they never actually went through the Haunted House but they always got the credit the days following which is why they got to be the face for the attraction. Danny was perfectly fine with that but he was not about to let this shortbread presentation pass off as an actually scary place.
Shortbread? He stopped, holding a container of discarded Girl Scouts—or, in Amity Park, Ghoul Scouts—shortbread cookies. Wha—why? He huffed in frustration, not paying attention to the ambient noises of the growing crowd outside or the eerie track playing from his phone, and returned to destroying the half-hearted decorations in the house.
It took almost a full two hours to get the entire house clean to a working level at his leisurely pace and it would take about one more hour for him to make the house haunted. All throughout the house, he left cobwebs that were already standing and dusted them with a light sheen of ice, making them reflect when light was shown on them. Walking around again, he tested for weak floorboards and other creaky fixtures which, when pressed, would secrete the ectoplasmic slime he put in the open spots. Some of the A-listers had the good idea to make fake ghosts and left the bed sheet creations swing freely anywhere. Danny took them down, refigured their faces so it would look somewhat scary in low light, and made pressure releases from random pieces of wood by door frames. When people would try to lean on a door or explore a room, the "ghost" would fall from the ceiling or jump from the floor. Everyone loved a good jump scare.
He included a bit of other things here and there, nothing too spectacular because none of his ghostly friends were at his disposal this year. He phased some of his ice in certain places, creating the "cold spots" people associated with ghosts. He exuded his aura a bit and created something like ectopusses that could not harm people or touch things, just eerily float around. He phased furniture halfway through walls, giving the place a Wonder Spot feel. It wasn't much but, for the tourists and most of Amity Park, it would do.
If he had heard the commotion building up outside, he would not have gone ghost to finish the final touch. He phased through the floors and settled in the basement where no one was supposed to enter. Feeling around inside, he suppressed his core and increased his ghostliness, hoping to pull of the same trick he asked Pandora to do last year. He felt around for what he could only describe as "death" and pulled at it, forming an imaginary sphere inside himself, condensing it to a bright glowing ball of energy. Danny, in Phantom form, placed both hands in front of him together and turned his palms upward. He focused that "dead" energy into his hands and visualized it coming forth. To a human, all it would look like was the air shifting a bit as if a source was providing heat. Only someone attuned to another side, or the other side, could sense or see the slowly pulsing energy Danny held in his hand. It was mesmerizing. Tendrils lashed off of the sphere of energy. It was purity in the rarest form, harnessed by a being who should not exist. For anyone who could see it, it was white and pure and clear and powerful. For Danny, it just was. It was him and his reality, a part of his weird being and it felt powerful. More powerful than anything he had ever felt.
As soon as the ball of energy formed a large enough space in his hands, Danny threw it upwards, allowing it to pulse once, twice, and then explode, a shock wave blowing throughout the property. Immediately, the atmosphere of the house changed. Shadows seemed deeper. Cold spots seemed colder. Weak spots seemed weaker. Lights seemed dimmer. The entire place would set even a more grounded person on edge, which was exactly what Danny wanted. The odd thing was, even though he knew he should have felt the same, because this "death" originated from him, the entire house just felt right to him. It felt safe and made him smile. He felt a bit weak though and decided to walk upstairs instead of flying.
The music pulsed so heavily in his ears and he was so focused on his task that Danny had not noticed how much time he had truly spent decorating the house. He had arrived at the house no later than 10:45 and the cleanup ended almost exactly at 1:00 but his decorating had lasted much longer than just a few hours. It was more like six. Had Danny checked his phone, he would have seen that it was 7:10, just 20 minutes away from the official start of the festival, meaning that more crowds had grown through the street. Several people witnessed the growing creepiness of the house and a few were anxious to check it out. The amount of people growing around their claimed attraction gained the attention of the A-listers and their guest who had nothing better to do than to tag along with the best source of free information in the city.
But Danny did not pay attention to any of this and could not see that the sun had already set when he simultaneously transformed into Fenton and walked up the stairs to the first floor. He was focused mostly on getting outside and teller Mr. Lancer that he was done so he could enjoy the festival as much as he possibly could in his current mood. As he approached the front door, another group crowded around Lancer's booth as the teacher tried to keep the children from entering the house before it officially opened for business. Danny walked out of the house and whistled the tune ringing through his ears as he approached the booth where Lancer and a troupe of fairy tale creatures, monsters, and superheroes gathered.
The overweight teacher was getting red in the face from fencing off the badgering teenagers and was about to give up when he turned around and saw Daniel Fenton come closer to him. "Ah, Daniel. That took longer than usual." The older man smiled tiredly at the approaching boy, happy to have a distraction from the grating teens.
"Yeah," Danny shrugged, "sorry about that. I guess I just got too into the groove."
"Well, it looks like you did a good job," Lancer complemented. In truth, the house was completely different. Especially because of the nighttime and the inner changes Danny made, the haunted house actually looked haunted. And the chills felt by all standing near the residence was added testament to whatever Daniel Fenton did. "It's not the same as last year"—especially because Pandora, Amorpho, Youngblood, and a few others aren't here—"but offsetting none-the-less."
Danny almost beamed at the unexpected praise as Lancer walked away but was interrupted by a sparkly mix of a princess and a stripper, Danny guessed.
"Wait, what is Fenton doing in my—our—Haunted House?" He recognized the voice past the make-up and straps of cloth she called an outfit that the girl was Paulina which meant the shiny yellow witch was Star, the zombie football player was Kwan, the one dressed as Skulker? was Dash, and the mini-Batman was—
"Hey, Fentoni," Dash commanded, trying to look intimidating in the outfit that had several odd face and body paint metal plates and a bad neon green dye job that would definitely not go away for a few weeks. "What're you doing messing up our gig? You better not have geeked it up!" His juvenile threats were accompanied by a balled fist shaking threateningly towards Danny as Dash moved closer.
But he was stopped by mini-Batman. "Chill, Dash," a familiar voice said. "It's not worth your time." Recognizing the voice as Dick, Danny felt a bit of confusion whether that last sentence was pointed to Dash or to Danny. But Dash took it as the former and calmed down just as Lancer returned, a freaked expression on his face.
"Mr. Lancer, are you okay?" Kwan asked. They all knew the man was easily frightened because of how quickly he would rattle of book titles when he was startled. But he was almost shaking when he came into view of the kids. Kwan almost had to ask twice when Lancer turned to Danny.
"Tales of Horror from the Beyond, Mr. Fenton!" Lancer exclaimed as Star heavily questioned the sanity of their teacher. "The subtlety, the jumps, the spooks, the flickering...you had me questioning if I was even on this plane of existence." The man's face only grew more disturbed as his breath grew more and more ragged. It seemed like he was going to have a heart attack before he sat down and sighed, "Good job as always."
The four popular kids and the visitor looked between Danny and Mr. Lancer back-and-forth before settling on the widened eyes and concerned face of Danny. Dash, Kwan, Star, and Paulina were, at various levels, coming to the realization that their Haunted House was really a hit because of his work and that maybe Danny was good for something except for being a punching back, a scapegoat, and an all-around loser. Dick, eyes hidden by the fake cowl that Bruce had groaned loudly at before, raised his eyebrows in appraisal and searched Danny for any slips in his mask.
"Oh-okay then. Take it easy, Mr. Lancer." Danny waved to his teacher, hesitating a second just to make sure the man was alright, nodded to his bugged out classmates, glanced warily at Dick, and walked quickly away to some random attraction.
When they finally got over Danny, the group slowly moved into the house, still not believing that Fenton could make an actually popular haunted house. It didn't take but one minute for Kwan to break. Star held for two minutes after that. Dash and Paulina lasted for five more minutes before sprinting out of the house. Dick, on the other hand, held in his emotions after walking calmly behind the fleeing couple.
"Did you see the woman in the bedroom? Or what was left of her?" Kwan whimpered.
"I was too busy trying to keep the skeletons from grabbing me!" Star screamed.
"So. Much. Blood." Paulina cried.
"It was fake! There's no way! It must've been the fog! Drugs in the fog!" Dash argued, heavily denying his fear.
Dick stayed silent, not trusting his voice, and just followed the group as they moved away from the Haunted House and to the bright, warm, happy festival. They could still hear some of the screams of the people who went to the attraction. He had already discredited the hallucinogens in the air theory; his cowl—hand-made—had the same filtering system that his mentor's did. The urgency, dread, and bone-chilling fear he felt seemed to be organic terror, although his mind warred with what could have actually happened in that house. How was it even possible that Danny had the tech or the know-how to construct holograms from machines even Dick could not detect, speakers unseen, strobe lights with no visible source, drastic temperature decreases without fans or any coolant source, or the differing sights they all claimed to see. Dick never saw the less-than-there woman Kwan witnessed, there were no skeletons like Star, and no blood at all.
So, Dick broke away from the popular kids and tried to follow the nonexistent wake Danny made in his escape. Even with yesterday's events and the odd warning from Mr. Masters, Dick felt compelled to tell Danny at least some of the truth—which he had rehearsed in his head all day—and apologize. Danny did not seem to be in the same infuriated mood he was in last night; so, Dick thought he stood a chance. Now, only if he could catch up to him.
Danny had been weaving through the crowd for the past few minutes, waiting for the actual commencement of the festival. The food trucks and booths had already started selling food but none of the vendors, carnies, or rides would start until after the speech given by some city official or another. He was about to buy some neon green funnel cake when a fanfare played from the center stage about 30 feet away. Turning his head along with everyone else in attendance, Danny was met with the sight of a vacant and darkened stage. A few curious people, after a few seconds of waiting, moved closer, only to jump back in mild shock and surprise when a smoke bomb went off in the middle of the stage. Overhead lights began to flicker on and off, waving wildly through the crowd, before settling on the front middle of the stage. As the smoke began to clear, a hunched, shadowy figure appeared with what looked like a cloak behind him.
Danny smirked a bit, his enhanced vision allowing him to see what was going on before everyone else. The smoke had almost fully dissipated when the figure's cloak opened and bats flew out towards the crowd, turning to the night sky. From the slightly crouched position, the figure slowly stood, beaming its sharpened canines at the mesmerized crowd in front of him.
"Friends, family, welcomed guests," a voice rang out, booming from speakers on the stage. "We welcome you in fair jest to a night of haunts and scares filled with revelry, tricks, and dares. May your wildest nightmares come true and bad luck befall you. As mayor of this good city, I, Vladimir Masters, say unto all who hear, let this year's Annual Amity Halloween Harvest fill you with delicious fear!" Vlad threw down another smoke bomb and, almost immediately, fans began to blow the smoke away, leaving a band of zombies about to perform.
"Alright, Amity Park!" The lead singer screamed. "Who's ready to wake the dead tonight?"
The music began, a mini mob staying in front of the stage as some people laughed at the mayor's speech and others walked around to find friends, food, or something to do. Danny watched the band for a while before returning on his quest for questionably colored funnel caked. He turned around and saw that the line had filled greatly during the distraction. Danny decided against waiting and walked around a bit more until he could find something that garnered his interest.
Moving towards the cheesy games, he found one that was clearly rigged where participants had to shoot prizes over the railing to win them. Unfortunately, only three corks where handed out for every five dollars and the greater the prize, the heavier the weight. One prize required the shooter to shoot three individual targets down to win; the giant Danny Phantom plushy sat on a stool, grinning and encouraging players to try their hand at this impossible game.
Danny decided to play the game, handing five dollars to the smugly grinning man in the booth. When he loaded his fake rifle, a family of four appeared beside him. The father was holding a toddler, boy by the outfit and the short hair, and was standing next to his wife who held the hand of a little girl who was probably about eight years old.
"Now which one did you say you wanted, Melissa?" The mom asked, smiling down at her daughter.
"That one. That One. THAT ONE!" She screamed, only becoming more and more excited at the prospect of winning a Danny Phantom that was just a little bit bigger than she was. She scrambled up to the booth and reached behind her, silently asking for money from her parents.
"Alright. Alright," her mom conceded and fished out a ten-dollar bill. She gave it to the man in the booth asking for change. After he handed her five ones, he handed the little girl a standard rifle and three corks. After showing her how to load it, aim it, and shoot, he told her that she had to shoot the targets that said special in neon green paint to win the grand prize and stood back with that same fake grin plastered on his face. Melissa took the gun, sloppily, and let off one shot which careened to the far right. But she did not falter, re-aimed the gun, and shot at the center special target. "Ooh," the man joked. "You got to hit it harder than that." His attitude was starting to get on the parents' nerves, and on Danny's who stepped aside so the little girl could have her chance. "You have one more shot. Why don't you try again?"
Determined to win that prize, even with all of the odds against her, the little girl squared her shoulders, calmed her nerves, and aimed right at the same target. As it fell over, Melissa's face broke out into a grin and she turned around to her parents. Her mother was glaring at the cheesing man while her father smiled at her with a "good job, sweetie". She then turned around and looked at the working man expectantly.
"Oh, I'm sorry," he faked. "I'm afraid that wasn't enough to get the Inviso-Bill doll. But it was enough for the Crate Creep!" He pulled a smaller Box Ghost plushy from under the counter and handed it to the girl whose face was quickly falling.
Before she took the doll, her father gave the mom the toddler and said, "It's alright, honey. You just have to work at it a bit more. Here, let daddy give it a try." He slapped down the five ones the worker handed to his wife earlier, challenging the man. The worker just smiled more and handed the man three corks. The father loaded the rifle quickly and, remembering how off it shot for his daughter, aimed at the target in the center.
After hitting it, effectively knocking it over, he wasted no time locating the other one and shot it down as well. As he aimed his sights for the third target, the family grew happier with Melissa cheering. A small crowd began to form but the man was not worried at all. In fact, he was leaning nonchalantly on a side wall as if he knew no one was going to win the giant plushy that was probably worth more than what he was going to earn that night.
The father shot once more and the fired cork hit the target dead center. It lurched back a bit and wobbled but did not teeter over the edge. A faint chorus of disappointment rang through the mini-audience as the father almost slammed the toy rifle down.
"Nice try but I'm sorry, sir," the man said, smiling. "But two special targets mean that your daughter can get a Jinn or a Ghost X." The satisfied man pulled two slightly bigger toys out of Desiree and Skulker. The father frowned but grabbed the Desiree doll and tried to placate his growingly upset daughter.
Maybe it was because he didn't like the disappointment on the family's faces. Maybe it was because the girl reminded him of when times were simpler. Maybe it was because he had already given the man five dollars. But it was probably because he called his ghost form "Inviso-Bill" but Danny was going to win that doll.
"Mind if I give it a shot?" He asked humbly, both to the family and the worker.
Melissa sniffed before being nudged by her father. "Please…"
The man behind the counter only laughed a bit snidely. "If you want to try, go ahead. Just make sure you knock all three special targets straight off their platforms and you win!"
Danny had watched when the father shot at the third target, switching his vision between normal and enhanced. The target should have fallen down but the man had added more weight to the back of it. There was no way that anyone could knock it over with just one cork without a little extra help.
So, Danny filled his rifle and aimed at the first target. After knocking it down and gaining light applause from the surrounding people, he moved on to the second and swiftly took it down as well. Then, everyone became silent. The father, who seemed to know about the added weight, looked ready to ask Danny to give up and thank him for trying. The crowd was on the fence. The man behind the counter looked like he was trying his best not to laugh while he prepared false condolences. Danny only smirked at the man, making his smile falter a bit.
Danny fired his last cork and smiled as he watched the target pushed back and then teeter back and forth until…
DING DING DING DING DING!
Some pressure sensor alarm rang, lights strobing on the booth. The worker stood in shock. The crowd gasped. The mother and father watched the scene wildly. Danny was the only one who moved to grab his prize and hand it over to the still shocked but ecstatic Melissa.
Danny leaned down and stage whispered conspiratorially to the girl, "I heard his real name's Danny Phantom."
He left quickly after that, leaving an overactive, hyper girl to scream in joy and shove her toy in her shocked parents' faces. The worker still stood slack-jawed and straightened to call Danny out on his cheating since the game was rigged for no one to win the grand prize but corrected himself when he thought about revealing rigging the game. The crowd half cheered and half stood there, looking at the game, the worker, the family, and the quickly closing trail that the youngest Fenton had left when he escaped.
Danny, as he walked away, let himself smile, his pace light, thinking about how he made that girl's night and that crowd's week. He would have continued in this mood unhindered had a sudden presence not come in front of him.
The white eye pieces looked directly at him from the Batman cowl worn by the less vertically advantaged person in the costume. Danny knew it was Dick from his stance, even if it was tensed. As soon as Dick saw Danny, he was relieved. It had been almost two hours and it would have been completely dark had lights from lanterns and stands not illuminated the area. With the massive throng of people and the other's uncanny ability to disappear, Dick was starting to think he would not have been able to find Danny. So, he figured that walking in a routine track through the attractions and food would eventually give him a glimpse of his target; and, fortunately, it only to thirty minutes of this plan to come to fruition.
"Danny…" Dick started as soon as he knew the other had paid him attention. Unfortunately, when he spoke, Dick saw Danny's face twitch in mild discomfort as he inched back minutely. It may have been too soon to confront Danny after their blowout yesterday but, if Dick wanted to complete his mission and salvage any part of a good relationship with the kid, he had to apologize.
Before either could talk, a white-gloved hand grasped Danny's shoulder and abruptly turned him around. Danny's vision and head spun a bit at both the touch and the sudden change in direction. Maybe it was because of recent events, or the holiday, but his emotions and powers, as proof of the Haunted House which was still scaring people silly, were exaggerated that night. It was making his head pound increasingly without use but had decreased since he "cheated" in the shooting game. The man who focused his attention though only made that head ache return with a vengeance.
"Daniel, good show," Vlad started, talking about something about which Dick was completely ignorant. The older man, still dressed as a vampire in a darker color scheme of his ghost form's clothing and his actual, not plastic, fangs, clapped Danny's arms congratulatorily. As a silence grew, Danny was taken a bit back by the affectionate gesture and looked at the man questioningly. Getting the hint, Vlad chuckled and smiled wildly, "Your act of charity in winning that young girl a Phantom doll has spread a little through the crowds. Most do not know your name but the scenario played to something you would have done."
It was getting increasingly odd how much Vlad was proud in Danny, the direct physical contact and attention he demanded, and how Danny was more than alright with it.
"Oh," Danny sighed. "Thanks, Vlad." He saw the man smile at him and felt his face returning that smile. Vlad's grew more proud, if that was possible, but was sharply interrupted by a diminutive bark by mini-Bats.
"Hey, Mr. Masters," Dick spoke, drawing the duo's attention back to him. In doing so, he broke whatever weird connection the two had for a second, visibly angering the cloak-covered man and confusing the plainly clothed teen.
Oh, right, Danny thought dazedly, Dick is here. And it wasn't just that. When Vlad spoke to him, it was like a bad case of hyper focus. All of his surroundings dulled and the volume gradually decreased. But now, the flashing lights, yelling people, and obnoxious game sirens came back at full force, only making his once mild headache grow to a full blown migraine.
In Danny's confusion, Dick had loosely grabbed a sleeve of Danny's shirt and pulled him forward. Danny didn't catch the snarl that momentarily flashed on Vlad's face nor Dick's question. But he did see Dick's hand wave in front of his face when he didn't answer.
"Danny, you don't look to good," Dick worried. "And your eyes are kind of bloodshot. Did you eat something?"
Danny was about to answer when a wave of dizziness fought his consciousness. "Ummm" was all he could say.
"Maybe you should sit down for a while," Dick offered as he tried to lead Danny away.
"If he is not feeling well, then I'll take him to a nurse's station," Vlad suggested. "I'm sure there is one near here."
Dick eyed the man warily. He wanted to get Danny away from him so they could talk. And something about Masters had set both him and Bruce on edge when they met a little over a month ago. They felt from him the same emotional instability from many of the criminals who were seasonal residents of Arkham. So, before the older man could tag along or get any closer, Dick waved Vlad off saying, "It's okay. I passed one on the way here. I'll take him and make sure he's looked after.
The two quickly escaped, Dick steering and Danny tagging along, leaving Vlad alone in a sea of people. In their haste, Dick missed Vlad's eyes glow a darker tint of red and his supposed fake fangs growing sharper along with some of his other teeth. So did everyone else because they were too caught up in their revelry to notice their glowering vampire mayor disappear as he weaved through the crowd.
When Dick had finally wrestled Danny to the nurse's station and got him looked over, it was just 30 minutes before the finale of the festival: the fireworks display. Danny was still a bit out of it but was coming to. Dick did not want to badger him much but felt desperately the need to explain himself at least partially to his semi-friend. Apparently, from Danny's question, this led to Dick staring the other down intently.
"What? Taking mental notes for posterity?" Danny questioned tiredly. "Sorry I can't do any tricks right now. Not feeling too well."
"Yeah, you are pretty boring," Dick joked. He shot Danny a cheeky smirk that quickly turned off when he saw the other glare coldly at him.
"What do you want, Richard?" Danny sighed, not looking forward to being in Dick's presence any longer.
"Ouch," Dick said offended, holding his heart in mock hurt. "Government name. Did I really do that bad?"
The look Danny told him said yes. Completely. 100%. You just answered your own question, dumbass.
"Okay, yeah," Dick admitted. "I did do bad...worse than bad. It's just...," he started, ready to give Danny the same spiel he gave whenever he got caught on his tasks by a civilian, which was extremely rare. But Danny again cut him a look, the coldest side-eye he had ever witnessed. It, dare he think it, rivaled Raven's on her bad days.
"If you're going to lie to me, again," Danny growled, "then just leave me alone."
Dick was tempted, to do both lie and leave. Why was he going through all this trouble anyway? He could always get the information from someone else. He shouldn't have to trouble himself with some random teenager who seemed to have more secrets than the entire Justice League combined. But he felt a connection with Danny. It was the same one he felt with most every hero or vigilante he came across and that scared him. Some people just weren't cut out for the hero business and he wanted to spare Danny the added heartbreak and pain that came with it.
"Fine," Dick sighed. "Truth truce, then?" The question gained a less peeved and more interested look from Danny. Dick took it as a chance to explain. "You ask a question and then I have to answer it truthfully. Then I ask a question and you have to answer it truthfully."
Dick sighed, taking his cowl off, and ran his hand through his hair. He glanced around at their surrounding for a bit, watching the nurses and volunteers at other beds and tables. He turned towards Danny and saw him intently staring at him, telling Dick to continue.
"You don't trust me. I get that. But you should know at least a little bit why I'm here."
Danny found himself asking a bit incredulously, "So we're just going to play a game of basically 'Truth or Truth' until we're both satisfied?"
"Well, when you put it like that…," Dick said, defeated. It was stupid idea and Danny would never go for—
"Okay, I'm in."
Wait, what? "Really?" Dick asked, making Danny shoot him another look. "I mean, yeah. Sure. Let's do it! You start." He rushed, anxious to get Danny talking freely again.
"What's your favorite color?" Danny blandly asked.
Dick, facing him, felt his mouth twitch and was about to give his temporary friend a smart comeback but saw Danny's face shutting down on himself. If he couldn't trust him to answer the simplest of questions truthfully, how could Danny trust him when they asked the heavy hitters?
"Black. Definitely black," Dick finally answered. "You?"
"Blue. Any shade," Danny said truthfully. "What's your favorite school subject?"
"Any of the sciences, really," Dick admitted and asked the same question.
"Same, especially astronomy and environmental studies. What's your favorite food?"
"Pizza. I have a favorite place I go with my friends all the time. You?"
"Used be ham...but it's a close tie between Nasty Burger burgers and lasagna now. What do you think your element is?"
Now Dick was confused and apparently Danny caught on.
"You know," he explained. "A natural element you feel inclined to. Like fire, water, earth, and stuff."
"Oh, never had to think about that really," Dick admitted, falling into a slight lull. After a minute of pondering, he answered, "I'm pretty sure it's air, or wind. I always liked gymnastics and my parents were performers so…" Dick's thoughts wondered off. He never usually talked about his time before Bruce. He did not know why he was telling Danny these things either. It was private but he felt safe around Danny.
"I get it," Danny responded. "Mine's ice, by the way. And since you didn't actually ask that question, it's still your turn."
Danny was being extremely gracious with this but Dick did not want to take advantage of it yet. So, they decided to go through more asinine questions. And it almost took them twenty minutes to finally calm down enough that they could laugh freely again as if nothing had happened the day before.
"So…," Dick questioned, running out of things to talk about while avoiding the target questions. "Doom?"
"Doom?" Danny perked, attitude light and now peeked.
"Doom," Dick affirmed smirking wildly.
"Place?" Danny wondered minutely.
"Top 50th. BirdBrain," Dick answered, crossing his arms over his chest proudly. "You?" He asked, not expecting Danny to better him.
"GhostBoy. Top 10," Danny said, grinning right back.
"What? How? That's not—" Dick exclaimed, completely confused. Danny, on the other hand, turned his grin to a sheepish smile as his cheeks began to blush. Dick's face started to glow in awe and he feigned over-the-top bowing exclaiming, "My liege, how could I ever have graced upon your greatness?" Danny started laughing and kept going until he lost balance on his chair and fell to the floor.
Landing with a thud, Danny rubbed his bottom and then looked sharply up at the silence that followed his fall. Dick was peering down at him a bit questioningly, but, at seeing that Danny was okay, started chuckling and then all out lost it. Danny soon joined in the tomfoolery. The two were reduced to tears and giggles at the inanity of the situation. After calming down and resituating themselves back on their chairs, Danny decided to pick up his turn.
"Alright. We're basically back to friendly," Danny said, cutting to the chase. "What exactly did you want to know from me?"
It was still a touchy subject. They both knew that. But it was essential that they move on to the main point. And Dick really wanted that information from Danny. But their budding friendship was something he wanted too.
"Argh," Dick moaned. "One thing at a time." He shook his head and formulated his question. "Vladimir Masters is your godfather and a college friend of your parents."
Danny nodded, going along with it. "That was one long statement. I don't think I heard a single inflection in that sentence." He was joking a bit but he did want Dick to just go ahead and ask. But only if he asked a broad enough question so that Danny could answer with the truth but not the whole truth.
"Yeah," Dick agreed, picking up on Danny's wish. There were a lot of specific questions he could ask and it felt like Danny would answer only one of them anyway. Should he ask about Masters' habits, his manner, his money, his ability to persuade people against their better interest, his overall life? He could not decide. So, the blandest question seemed the least bad. "Who is Vlad Masters to you?"
It was broad, boring, and extremely open ended. Good. Now, Danny felt that he could tell Dick whatever he wanted while keeping his and other's secrets and not lying. Danny smiled at Dick for a second, showing his approval, before gathering an answer that he felt would satisfy Dick for at least tonight.
"Well, past what you already know," Danny started, "my parents and Vlad had a falling out in college because of an accident during an experiment. While Vlad was hospitalized, Mom and Dad moved on with their lives. When Vlad got out...he became a business magnate, and fast. Twenty years passed by without them interacting and, out of the blue, Vlad invited them to their college reunion at his mansion in Wisconsin. We all went. A ghost appeared. My parents fought it. After that, Vlad kept showing up randomly around Amity, making deals with Axion Labs, the Guys in White, the Masters Blasters, becoming mayor. Over time, I saw him more and got to know him better. He actively inserted himself into our lives and still acts like my parents' friend. But," He commented, making Dick lean forward in interest, "sometimes, the mask he wore for everyone cracked."
Danny took his time to answer and looked down at his watch. It was only ten minutes before the fireworks display. He knew that the A-listers where probably looking for Dick. So, he tried to wrap it up.
"Basically, Vlad's not as warm and family-oriented as his campaign committee made him seem to be. He is sneaky and manipulative. But the most frustrating thing about him is he never lies. Even if it's twisted, he always tells the truth and is always right. He's greedy and selfish and power-hungry." Danny was getting impassioned and angry. Thinking about all the times Vlad had used him and others to get what he wanted just reminded him how much he disliked the man. In that moment, it was like something broke in the back of his mind, like a plant that had long ago taken root had been pulled from the very tendrils that were keeping it grounded. "For some reason—I don't know, fate maybe—he and I have a lot in common."
Danny waved off a look that Dick gave him for that comment and continued. "And he tried to use that against my parents. But he keeps forgetting, I am not him and never will be him." Accompanied by a slight flash of green through his eyes, the vehemence of this proclamation spoke to Dick's heart. "So," Danny said, making Dick look him in the eye, "whatever deal Bruce wants to make with Vlad or whatever dirt you want to find on him, don't go looking for trouble. Be careful because he's already got eyes on both of you."
The chill of the night made Dick shiver, or that's what he chalked it up to. At least he and Bruce were right on Danny knowing about Vlad more than others. But from the anger in Danny's tone and the weariness in his eyes, Dick knew he was not getting anything else concrete for the night.
"My turn," Danny stated, making Dick tense. He had made a promise but he could only hope that Danny was going to word his question so he could not weasel out of answering fully. "Why do you want to know so much about Vlad?"
Dick internally sighed in relief and responded, "Bruce wanted to know if making any deals with Vlad Co. or any other businesses Masters is a part of would be a bad idea. He likes to know people as best as possible before interacting with them. Can't be too cautious, right?"
Danny looked at Dick, knowing that he was talking more about them and not Bruce and Vlad. "Word of mouth isn't always the best source. Sometimes actually hanging out with the person just to hang out with them is fine enough."
"Okay," Dick laughed. "I deserved that. But with how high profile Bruce is, he just doesn't want to risk it. And, over the years, I've learned that you can never be too prepared."
Danny had thought about that. It was the major reason the two were talking at all now. He wondered how much of that "high profile" affected their lives. And on that note remembered, "They'll definitely be looking for you now." Dick looked confused for a moment until Danny continued. "Especially Paulina. You were supposed to be her rich, arm candy for tonight." He shot Dick a grin that just made the other groan.
"Man, don't remind me. It took the longest to get away from them the first time!"
The two laughed for a bit longer, not talking, neither wanting to undo the work they had done towards rebuilding their relationship. It wasn't until the sirens went off that either of them moved. At the loud whirring, Dick jumped in surprise, frantically glancing around for the problem until he saw Danny grinning wildly at him.
"I have never seen that reaction to the 'Fireworks Alarm'," he laughed. "You sure are something, Richard Grayson."
"Right back at you, Daniel Fenton," Dick mocked before turning to go. "So...," he said, lingering at the doorway.
"Go ahead," Danny motioned. "We'll see each other later."
Dick shot him a grin and disappeared into the night leaving behind a warm feeling in Danny. The latter got himself up too, no longer feeling sick nor the slightest bit woozy. He thanked the nurses and left so they too could go see the ending of the festival. It was 10:28 and the fireworks were supervised and set on a timer to go off at 10:30 and keep going for fifteen minutes after that. Danny walked around a bit, going in the opposite direction of the major flow of people so he could find a place to watch by himself.
Before the first shot off, he found himself on the roof of a business. He had flown up the side of the building invisibly so no one could see him. He sat down on the ledge and watched all the people under him get comfortable with their family, friends, food, and prizes as they all faced the Haunted House from whose backyard the fireworks would be fired. They all looked so happy from up here. From his high purchase on his metaphorical bell tower, he watched the normal people mull about, mainly ignorant of what was happening around them. It was during these moments of lonesome that he envied them and he would have continued to think about this if the first display had not grabbed their attentions.
The first few light shows made references to some of the most famous ghosts, made to show outlines of their bodies or a box, a guitar, a genie lamp, and more. Others included random shapes and spirals making it look as if live fire flew and twirled through the air. Spectators of all ages were completely mesmerized by the show with its loud colors and vibrant sparklers. For at least fifteen minutes, no one in the visual limits of the fireworks wound be focused on anything else except for three people.
Dick had contacted Bruce before Paulina and the A-listers inexplicably found him, telling his mentor of his correction. The two had branched together more since his leaving for Jump City and the occasional trips and missions together helped. Dick informed him about what Danny thought about Vlad and Vlad's interest in Danny. When he offered to keep an extra eye on Danny until Bruce was satisfied, he was informed that his team needed him in Jump more. His absence had been noted by the Hive Trio and a few others, allowing them to dismantle some of the delicate peace the city normally maintained when the Titans were at full capacity. Resigning himself to say goodbye to Danny tomorrow, he let Dash direct his attention to the latest display of a silver, green, and white outline of a mechanical ghost with green glowing eyes and a Mohawk. He smiled at the whimsy of the event and wondered whether or not he should bring his friends next year. Raven and Starfire would probably get a kick out of the mix of gloom and cheer. Beastboy and Cyborg would approve of some of the games and definitely the food.
Danny was laughing at the not so well planned Skulker display. He would have to ask the hunter why they thought it appropriate to make him smile so jovially with a butterfly net in his hands. Thinking about Skulker made Danny wonder about the other ghosts, enemies, allies, and all in between.
"I wonder where Skulker and them have gone," he said to the air out loud.
This time, the air deemed it necessary to respond. "I would assume that the ghosts, about whom you are thinking, are in their domains or haunting some random fools. But most likely the former."
The sudden voice made Danny jerk in shock and almost fall off of the ledge. Thankfully, his grip was planted firmly enough that he was able to hold on and the hoist himself up. Through his spectacle, Vlad watched closely, eyeing Danny's every move.
"I wanted to know if you were feeling better," the older man asked, hands slowly clenching and loosening by his side. "It seems that my worry was not needed."
"Yeah," Danny replied, wary of Vlad's appearance. "I'm fine."
Vlad took the short answer with a sharp nod, still looking Danny directly in the eyes. "And Richard? I'm assuming you two—"
"We talked," Danny cut him off. "About nothing. About some things. Then we said goodbye and went our own way."
The back and forth was wearing Vlad's patience thin and it was starting to show as a dull red glow showed through his eyes. "You would think that as of late you would not treat your sole acquaintance, or, dare I say, friend with such short dismissals," Vlad seethed, his voice rising to a holler by the end of his sentence.
The sudden change in temperament made Danny flinch and step back in surprise. Vlad had been nothing but congenial, if not less creepy for a while. And "Mad Vlad" was not something he had seen in a long while.
At seeing Danny's reaction, Vlad took deep breaths to calm himself. "Forgive me, Daniel. One of the setbacks of using my new power is the amplified emotions. It really is an inconvenience," the man prattled on, steamrolling Danny's growing concern. "I have had to replace three secretaries and seven other inconsequential staff members because of certain…incidents."
Vlad sighed, rubbing his hand down his face, while Danny's concern gave way to confusion.
"New power? What new power?" Danny asked. "And what incidents? Who got hurt?"
His voice brought Vlad out of retrospective thought and the man looked at Danny pityingly. "Always the hero…worrying about someone else," he commented. "We'll have to fix that."
Vlad's controlled attitude was setting of bad vibes Danny had not felt in months. They were the kind of sixth sense vibes that screamed, "Get the hell out of dodge and never look back!" But for some reason…
"I can't move," Danny said, mostly to himself.
"Your concern and your near subservient attitude will be the first things we whittle away," Vlad continued, again ignoring Danny. "We may make a model young man out of you yet." Finishing with a fake smile that was more deranged than usual, Vlad took the steps necessary to stand right beside Danny.
The younger was about to protest again until Vlad said, "Turn around and look at them."
Danny's body and eyes swiftly complied as it turned to face the crowd below them who were still viewing the fireworks. He tried to fight the movement and look towards Vlad or inch away from him. But as soon as he was turned all the way around, he could move no more.
"I was hoping," Vlad sighed, "that all the work I had put in for the last almost half year would not be derailed by two—well—one outlying factor. It is a shame. It worked so well on ghosts; perfectly, in fact. And the influence on humans…it was enough for Ms. Manson and Mr. Foley to 'realize' their feelings for each other and for your family to finally 'understand' your relationship with them."
Danny was seriously freaked and fought his hardest to move but could only get the mildest fidgeting through. But he could still talk. "What…what did you do?"
Vlad glanced at Danny, looking disappointed in him. "I'm surprised you haven't figured it out yet, though I do admit I had set your mind preoccupied on other things."
The people below were completely ignorant of the interaction on the roof. They watched only the dazzling spectacle in front of them. Massive shapes leapt and bounded across the sky, eliciting oohs and ahs from the crowd. Every single person, from Melissa and her family huddled together, to Dick and the A-listers, to Mr. Lancer and some of his friends from a literature club, to Valerie and her dad munching on fried Oreos, to Samantha and Tucker hanging near a barren tree, was blissfully unaware of Danny's struggle.
"Let me go, Vlad!" Danny demanded, raising his voice in volume and anger.
Vlad glared at him and commanded, "Face me," making Danny's body turn towards him. Both of their eyes glowed, Vlad's a deep red and Danny's a neon green. Danny's face was contorted with anger but Vlad's looked oddly hopeful.
"You don't have to worry, Daniel," he soothed. "I'll take care of it just like I've taken care of everything else."
With him not being able to fight back or move in the slightest, Danny's anger was quickly turning into fear, which Vlad noticed.
"You don't need to be afraid either," Vlad said, his eyes glowing red. Danny felt his fear fade into nothingness, leaving him feeling a bit empty.
"Wha—What did you just do?"
Vlad smiled, his eyes glowing red and shining promise. "My new power, of course. That's what I have been trying to explain to you but you keep interrupt. Now, if you could just be quiet." Danny's mouth snapped shut. "Ah, much better." Vlad clapped and laughed gaily.
"If you could see the look on your face," he chuckled. Danny struggled some more but only managed to blink, breathe, and glare. "Oh, come now," Vlad admonished. "Don't you want me to tell you about my new power?"
Danny hesitated, then nodded his head. Whatever Vlad was up to, it did not seem wise to make him mad even in the slightest.
"Good. Your powers, I believe, come mostly from necessity, with your 'Ghostly Wail' coming from, most likely, an instant need to escape. Your energy was directed in a yell or shout. Your 'cryokinesis' came from the Undergrowth incident," Vlad lectured, pacing lightly and not worrying about Danny's struggles increasing every time he looked away. "And you relatively easily mastered powers on your own that took around ten years for me to grasp as quickly. Ah, the joys of youth."
Vlad paused to catch his breath. "With your increase in particular powers, I decided to explore my own. And I tried every kind of kinesis you could think of. Fire. Earth. Water. Air. Plants. Fear. Grasping for straws, I couldn't think, couldn't breathe! You put me in such a bind, Daniel." He turned back and stomped towards Danny, shoes clacking angrily on the stones and cloak flapping dangerously behind him. "I had finally accepted that you were never going to become my apprentice or son. And the clone scheme—that was ridiculously impractical. Every time I tried to do something, earn something, gain something, I was met with the crushing reality that I was alone. I was alone in the world with only one other person like me who could not understand what I felt, who could not understand what I knew!"
Vlad exploded, a fist lighting up in pink energy sailing towards Danny's face. The boy could not even flinch before the fist halted centimeters away from his face. The heat vaporized a drop of sweat that rolled down his forehead.
"But," Vlad sighed as he stepped back. Danny would have gulped if he could. "Something happened, one night. Skulker was reporting back to me for a weekly routine on some business venture or another and I was so angry! I yelled at him to shut up, my anger went with it, and he did. But not only that, he stopped moving completely. His green eyes had turned red and his entire attitude had changed towards me. I asked him to do something and he did it. I told him to do something and he did it. I thought about him doing something and he did it."
Vlad kept pacing, unable to hide his excitement as he kept lecturing to Danny. The latter, on the other hand, was ignoring most of what Vlad said and frantically trying to escape his grasp. The growing childishness of Vlad's speech only made Danny think more that the man's sanity was derailed.
"After that, and many tests later with him, I tried other ghosts that he could bring me: Ember, Desiree, Ghost Writer, Behemoth, Box Ghost," Vlad listed. "That imbecile, though, the Box Ghost, evaded me more than I would like to admit. When focused enough, I could completely control the actions and thoughts of any ectoplasmic based being whenever I was within auditory or visual distance from them. For weeks, I tested my strength: distance, endurance, loyalty, devotion. I can control them whenever now, and have been doing so since the beginning of August. I decided to keep them away from Amity Park for another experiment."
Vlad's lecture had turn into a rant. His background music was the cacophony of fireworks in the sky and the audience on the ground added with Danny's silent and petering out struggles. He was tiring from all of his fruitless work and Vlad's voice was lulling him into a misguided sense of security.
"Yes," Vlad continued. "I saw how well my new powers of…'persuasion' worked on ghosts, I wanted to see if they worked on humans. I started small, advising employees I was already over, influencing people who already looked up to me, speaking to people whom I speak to everyday. I saw no improvement and thought I was solely able to affect ghosts," Vlad sighed, actually looking heavily dismayed.
"But, then," he spun towards Danny, a bright smile lighting his face the same time a red display boomed in the background. "Your insufferable teacher, William Lancer called me one day, asking if I could do an interview for your school's journalism club. When I appeared at our appointment, the 'involved' students who were interviewing me were more interested in their phones than their job. So, I snapped, yelling at them that they were too involved in their electronics and not enough on the processes of local government. I felt some of my anger, my passion, leave me and I immediately saw the difference. The children hesitated in using their phones and paid more attention to me."
Vlad sighed, seemingly bored with the conversation but committed to finishing it. "I experimented more with random people on the street. First, I advised them on things. That didn't stick. Then, I 'pushed' my emotions towards them, forcing a pure feeling into the surrounding air. That worked much better! People started to act the way I made them feel! It was exhilarating! Liberating! Addicting…"
Vlad had started pacing again and stopped this time, balancing on the balls of his feet. "The more I used my power, the more it affected me. As I influenced others, I found my emotions influencing me stronger than ever. And that made me think about all the good and the bad in my life…And there was so much more bad."
Vlad's face twisted in anger. "I have been shorted, side-stepped, laughed at, and stomped on for the better half of my life and it took the stupidity of my 'best friends' to see that the only way I could ever feel good or happy was to be above them, control them, order them around. The only way I could be satisfied was to ruin the life of others like mine was ruined and I had to rebuild by myself by any means necessary."
Danny felt every mood swing Vlad had, whether intentional or not. He could only stand there, hit over and over again by hope, anger, happiness, hate. It was extremely disorienting. Danny was sure that he was standing only because Vlad had ordered him to. Speaking of which, because he was a halfa, how was Vlad able to affect Danny so much?
"And one of the many opportunities that was taken from me was the chance of having a normal family," Vlad cried. "We're basically freaks, Daniel! Who could ever love us?" He shouted, sadness ringing through his tone and despair making his voice crack. "But," he calmed, turning again to Danny, mouth beginning to smile. "We are not alone. We have each other. And we can be together now, Daniel!"
This new focus on him made Danny try to struggle more. He wondered how no one had heard Vlad's yells and shouts. Danny could not believe that the fireworks display had gone on this long. Would anyone even know they were there? Would anyone see him?
"Daniel," Vlad barked, making Danny refocus, "that's better. Now, just listen." The order made Danny pay attention to every word Vlad said. "Good; you're finally concentrating. I thought and thought and thought and realized that we never had a good relationship because of the emotional block between us. Because of my powers, I could remove that block! But, you're a halfa. So I did not know how my powers would affect you. I targeted those around you instead. I made them 'realize' a divide had grown between them and you. Samantha and Tucker finally 'understood' they 'loved' each other more than they loved you. Your parents 'realized' you were a blight on the family name. Young Jasmine 'realized' she was wasting time on ever trying to help you."
Vlad shook his head consolingly at Danny who could only whimper in response. He felt anger still but it was muted by a forced sorrow from Vlad.
"Valerie was tricky. I had to make her feel 'estranged' from you. But her emotions and reactions are naturally volatile; so, it was better to make her ambivalent to the situation. No one else actually cared enough to influence you. So, I decided to try my powers on you. Small things first. Music. Times you wake up and go to sleep. Dietary habits. Behavior. School. Then bigger things. Directing your attention and urgency to go certain places. Making you think certain events were happening. Having you hear voices that would help align your thoughts. All so I could bridge the gap between us, Daniel."
Vlad, facing Danny, reached his hands to grasp Danny's shoulders in a one-way forced loving embrace. He continued, "It's great that my power worked halfway with you. Half one way and half the other. It's almost double the potency! You were mine, Daniel. Free to do whatever I asked…Ha! Free!" Vlad's joke made him laugh in an uproar. When Danny didn't reciprocate, Vlad shrugged and said, "Oh well. You'll come around. You already did until that little brat and the pompous rat came into town."
Seething, Vlad gripped Danny's arms tighter, making the boy wince. "If that boy hadn't spoken to you and distracted you, we would have been together much sooner. And you would not have fought so hard. I had you and he took you away from me! Not again! Never again! I get what I want when I want it and I want you!"
His eyes radiated red and Danny, while he was caught in his gaze, felt completely trapped and confused. That woozy feeling was returning a hundred-fold and, this time, Danny knew the reason why.
"You don't have to fight it, Daniel," Vlad soothed, loosening his grip and smoothing the crumpled sleeves. "He ruined my long standing work but since I know how my powers affect you, I can start from the beginning. This time, there will be no distractions between us. We can finally be father and son, or partners first, if you prefer. You don't have to stand so stiffly now. Relax."
It felt as if whatever held him up, suddenly let Danny drop. And drop he did. Without Vlad still slightly holding him, Danny knew he would have been on the floor. He was extremely weak in the knees and his headache had returned with the wooziness. He felt sick and tired. So tired.
"So tired."
Was that him or Vlad? Danny couldn't really tell anymore.
"It doesn't matter."
It's not like it mattered anyway. No, something mattered. Something was happening. Vlad was doing something! Danny was sure of it. He was affecting Danny somehow but Danny had no idea how to stop it or slow it down. There had to have been—
"Nothing."
There was nothing he could do. Just fall. Just—
"Listen. Look."
Listen to Vlad and look into his eyes. Just focus on Vlad. Nothing else mattered. The outside noises and lights dimmed and disappeared.
"I told you, Daniel," Vlad smiled. Danny smiled back sleepily. "It would be so much better if you just went along with this. I could teach you so much. You wouldn't have to be alone anymore. You wouldn't have to worry about anything. You wouldn't have to fight or think or do anything you don't want to do."
It sounded so good, what Vlad was saying, even though Danny could not process everything. Something inside him wanted him to fight, screamed at him that something was definitely not right. But he couldn't bring himself to care.
All he could do was listen to Vlad and stare and fall and fall and fall into the red.
A/N:
Big chapter over. Dear God, never again. Next update will happen by the second week of March. Sorry for the short notes; I'm very tired. Thanks to all old and new followers of the story and me!
Response to Reviewers:
LupinCrisis: I'm so sorry I hadn't updated for so long. And thank you very much! I completely understand about the email thing. I have three and can barely keep up!
Basket in a Nutcase: 1) I lover your username. 2) Yes, your reactions and responses to which I can not actually formulate a response bring me much joy!
Lord Vortex: Sorry about leaving the Titans out. I figured they needed to be in Jump and Dick is the only one that leaves without too much problems; even in the series he did. And Dani did nothing; I just had no clue how to incorporate her into the story. She'll come later though with help in the end.
TheBoss3254: Oh goodness, the beat down is imminent! Sorry about the lateness though!
Piplup1212: I did and I do! And this happened! It'll get a bit confusing in the next chapter or so. Try to stick around please!
Good Witch of Babble: As always, I appreciate your existence! That Slade/Lancer thing will come up. Ghost purring? That. Sounds. Glorious! I'm posting late and barely keeping my eyes open. I always save your reviews for last. But, I will say that I have imagined over half of your review as part of the story. I don't really plan in advance. It just plays like a movie in my head while I type it. So, I'm not really sure if Vlad has an actual plan or if he's completely lost it! Anyway, thanks for reading and I am so very sorry for the long delay!
UltimateTouken: Oh, it will. Danny'll meet some more supers in the next two chapters!
Echo the Slowpoke: I love toad/frog. And Slade will DEFINITELY make an appearance. He's my second favorite Fruitloop! And I do kind of like that idea. It's overdone but there are plenty of good stories with that base.
Ninuhuju: He is quite creepy...almost pedophilia-style. But I tried my best to make him off in this chapter and hope you like it!
east231: Persuasion and manipulation of energies and emotions. It's not exactly mind control. But it's close enough that he can seriously screw someone over.
Guest of Honor: Thank you. Bad things. Vlad is planning bad, creepy things. And Danny does deserve all of the happiness in the world. But sometimes we have to go through our lowest lows to realize our highest highs. Sorry about the update delay! It won't be so prolonged next time.
Siri: Sucker is nice when they're not mean about it. Red is nice. Cujo will come. He's the best dog ever. Oh yeah. Bats. Banner as in large sheet of fancy paper for announcements not the Hulk. No warding. Just slight providing. Good lord, get some food.
Guest: Sorry for the wait! Hope you like it!
hadoukendave: I didn't make him into a cat. I think you're reading the wrong story. And it's not genderbender either. So, he/she doesn't have a period. But maxi pads can be used to stop bleeding in other areas. Maybe you should hold it too your head to stop things from leaking out! Thanks for reading!
randomphantom: Thank you! Your summary is exactly how I felt when I first thought of this fic. We'll find out things about the Zone and the other ghosts in the next chapter. Thank you and double thank you!
Guest: Yep. Not a good thing. Sorry for the wait but here you go!
Blazingkill: Vlad as good? It happens but DEFINITELY not here!Sam and Tucker dating is plausible but I don't think they would act like this way around Danny. And the blow up will be glorious!
Axcel: Very. Thanks! Hope you like it!
Stormshadow13: Why thanky! I hope you enjoy the rest of it!
Poohbearmorris: Don't apologize! It took me forever to update! YouTube is addicting. Grayson's entire life, cartoons and comics, makes me sad. But he has his friends most of the time; so, that's good.
Blue and Black: Your username...thank you for this!
Alright! That's it folks! Hope to see you again soon!
Love, JennaUtena. Deuces!