A/N: Apologies for the wait. I had a lot on my plate. And even more now that I'm in the Leadership Alliance at Brown in Rhode Island! Whoo WHOO!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything but what others let me own.

Chapter 13

Daniel was on the screen, reading a book in his room as ordered this morning. Vlad had not had to enforce this with his powers at full force since Danny tried his best to avoid the complete loss of will. The teenager preferred to fight slowly since he knew, after the first time he tried to escape, that Vlad was not going to be as lenient next time.

Sighing, the man chuckled fondly at the botched attempt. Danny had finished his daily lesson that Vlad had demanded he do before the man returned from work. Seeing as how the man had not ordered him to do anything but finish a few problem sets and read selected books, Danny was relatively free to do whatever he desired. And he most of all desired to get as far away from Vlad as possible. So, Danny crept through the giant mansion to find some sort of way out. Neither his bedroom nor the study he was in had any windows. Danny did not remember being in any other rooms except for the lab which definitely had no way of getting out except maybe a ghost portal. He crossed many halls and even more locked doors. Any unlocked door opened to a closet or a trophy and artifacts room, each housing glowing trinkets or weapons or football paraphernalia.

As time passed, the boy grew anxious, knowing that the less time he had, the smaller chance he had of getting away. Finding that there was no one in the large home, Danny tried to go ghost but failed, figuring that it was a left-over effect from one of Vlad's orders. He huffed belatedly at the futility of roaming the place blindly. The hallways and unlocked rooms were starting to look the same and, without a timepiece or even a grandfather clock to tell him the time, Danny was completely ignorant of how much time he was wasting. But, by some sudden turn of luck, Danny came across a pair of large doors that were miraculously left unlocked.

Preparing for disappointment, Danny was filled with shock as the doors led to a grand foyer with a giant cascading stair-case, knight armor, and profile paintings of different individuals, mainly Vlad at different ages. There were a few others who looked like they could be related to Vlad and some that looked like Vlad in different time periods. A few looked suspiciously like the different fights Vlad and Danny had while the younger chased after the older after he stole the Infimap.

As he got lost in his memories, Danny's mind travelled back to a time where his relationships with his friends and family were solid and filled with fun which made him compare that to the current states of his relationships, creating a feedback loop of warmth, sorrow, longing, and anger that was only amplified more by Vlad's manipulation. He lost more time just standing in the open space and thinking, unaware of the hours that had already slipped by. But, he shook off his thoughts and turned towards the obvious entrance.

In the front of this grand lobby stood doors that looked like they could lead to the outside world. But, with his paranoia growing, Danny was wary of this option. Instead, he looked towards the windows draped by large flowing green and gold curtains. At least Vlad's flare for his love of the Green Bay Packers had held constant. Avoiding the carpet near the door, in case any traps were to spring up, Danny tried to see if the massive window nearest to him had a latch that he could use to open it. Thankfully, there was one that he could reach on his tip-toes. He turned it as silently and carefully as possible, ready to jump back at any moment, and opened the window as wide as it could go. Seeing the slight opening, Danny knew it was going to be a tight squeeze, but he would make it. Throwing all caution to the wind, he shimmied through and jumped down, landing around five feet below on a soft bed of grass.

He took his time and breathed the fresh air in for the first time in what seemed like months. He must have still been in the Northern Hemisphere, he noticed, since he could still feel the sharp bite of the late autumn cold and the surrounding trees shedding a large number of their leaves. Looking around, he saw the gargantuan structure in which he had been for a while, remarking that it was bigger than either of Vlad's mansions near Amity Park or the other in Wisconsin. It was situated atop a slow incline covered in grass and a few planned outcroppings of flowers, bushes, and small trees. Beyond that lay a surrounding of trees, dense and towering. Danny could neither hear nor see any signs of civilization. So, he followed the pave way but stuck to the trees lining it.

Walking for what felt like hours, Danny was beginning to doubt that he was ever going to get off of the property, but a sudden sound made him flinch and leap back into the underbrush. Just in time too, because seconds later, a sole, sleek black car lumbered down the path. The driver could not be seen but, since the car was so small and the area was so secluded, Danny knew it had to be Vlad which meant that he had even less time to get away. As soon as the vehicle was out of earshot, he sprinted away, still sticking to the trees but following the road, and came to a stop in front of a massive wall connected to a gateway. It looked so much like the same Vlad had around his home in Amity that Danny's nerves were fraying even more.

"There's no way I can jump over this," Danny said, allowing himself to speak for the first time that day while he tried to figure a way around this obstacle.

There was, fortunately a walkway connected to the wall as if it was made for the sole purpose of him escaping on foot. Danny trusted it about as much as he trusted everything else that was happening around him but he knew he had to take a chance. All of the trees were too far away from the wall that no one could jump the distance without a bit of extra juice and the vehicle entrance was blocked by an iron-wrought gate with key code and card security mechanisms. And the wall was too smooth and well-put together to scale by hand without tools. The opening was his only chance. But it was also his defeat.

As soon as Danny stepped fully into the stone corridor, an alarm sounded and glowing green gates swooped down quickly, sealing both ends shut. Like a caged animal, Danny first froze in fear and then ran as quick as he could to the opening that would be his freedom to pound on it with his fists only to be repelled backwards with the gate sparking electricity against him. He beat more on the gate, not caring when it started to seriously damage his hands and burn his skin, as he grunted and wailed his frustration, causing a nearby flock of birds to fly away startled.

He kept fighting for a while, even beating the stone walls that lined the path. But that only lead to burned, bruised, and bleeding hands and feet. It took him almost three hours to stop fighting in interspersed moments and almost four more hours until he heard the engine of a car come his way. By then, it was dark and the only sources of light he had were the glowing-green gates impeding his escape. His once heavy breathing had calmed down after he tired himself out and he was slumped despondently against one wall and staring at the other.

The bright lights of the car pulled up and blinked off, followed by the light footsteps of someone walking towards him. Both parties were quiet for a while until Danny looked up slowly to see the infuriated visage of Vlad.

"Daniel," he seethed, "what are you doing?"

Feeling a bit self-destructive, Danny responded, "Oh, nothing. Just thought I'd go for a stroll and get caught in this ridiculous trap, stopping me from escaping and condemning me to your all-encompassing wrath."

He did not really care about what Vlad was going to do next since he knew he was going to be punished regardless. But the comment only stoked the fire under Vlad's feet as he commanded the boy to walk towards him. Danny followed the order without Vlad's power being used since he had gotten used to be controlled against his will anyway. As he drew nearer, Danny could tell he was seriously in for it when he saw and heard Vlad grinding his teeth, nearly foaming at the mouth. Vlad slammed his hand on a brick on the wall, a scanner started to run, and the gate turned off and began to recede.

Danny held up his hands and started to say, "Wait, Vlad. You can't blame me—", when Vlad shot forward and grabbed him by the wrist. The sudden movement startled Danny as he let out a slight "meep" and tried to pull back.

"Hold still," came the cold command, enforced by Vlad's power. Danny felt the cold wave of rigidity run over him even as he tried to fight it off. But all Vlad did was turn his hands over and look at his injuries.

"What did you do? Answer honestly and succinctly," the monotone voice said.

Danny felt his mouth open and begin to tell Vlad what had happened. Even though he thought Vlad wanted the truth behind his bloodied knuckles, Danny could not help but wonder what loopholes, if any, he could use.

"I woke up at 6:00, showered and dressed, had breakfast with you at 7:00, and saw you off to work at 7:20. I completed the maths assignments by 9, the science assignments by 1, and had lunch. I—"

"Not your daily schedule, Daniel," Vlad corrected, his tone becoming harsh once more. "How are your hands like this?"

"Oh, that," Danny feigned innocence, satisfied with his experiment. "Well, while I was trapped in the gilded cage you built for me, I decided to get some fresh air but got caught in this. I thought it best to get out as soon as possible; so I fought. And I will continue to fight as much as I can."

He started off light but grew harsher as the reality of his situation closed in on him. Danny knew he had little time before to fight Vlad's influence on him. The man was basically controlling his mind. Vlad only had to say a few words and Danny would do anything, think anything, and feel anything the man made him do, think, or feel. It was only by the least broken part of Vlad's mind that the man realized he did not want Danny to be some zombie drone at his beckoned call but instead a slightly unhesitant partner-in-crime or son that Danny had the majority of his mind intact. Vlad did not want to snuff out the fire that made Danny Danny and they both knew it.

A glare fought to keep itself on Vlad's face but was lost to an empathetic frown as the tumultuous emotions rolled through Vlad's mind and slightly into Danny. The man, no longer raging, lightly held Danny's hands and squeezed minutely at some discolored places that should have already healed. The teenager winced sometimes in response which made Vlad's visible worry only increase. Not minutes before, the Fruitloop was ready to blow a hole through the boy's head and beat his body until nothing remained. Now, all he wanted to do was care and heal his Little Badger.

"I knew there would be some stipulations but I would have thought the subconscious would have counter-acted," Vlad mumbled to himself, not caring that Danny heard. Danny was still focused on how he had kind of subverted Vlad's initial order. He figured that the key to his freedom may lie in the manipulation of what Vlad said.

Thank Clockwork he can't actually read my mind, Danny thought in passing as he continued to fight the order and tried to wrench his arms away from Vlad.

"I supposed you could just heal yourself if I let you," Vlad offered, gaining a disbelieving huff from Danny. "No, you're right. And I would much rather like to deal with it myself."

Vlad let go of Danny's hands which stayed in place in front of him because of the previous order which made Danny squawk and Vlad chuckle a bit.

"You can relax now," Vlad said, making Danny's arms drop. "You are such a handful, Daniel," Vlad laughed, mirth dancing in his clearly crazed eyes.

"Well," Danny proposed, testing Vlad's stability, "if I'm too much of a handful, then maybe you should let me go?"

Vlad paused for a second, as if he were in serious thought of the possibility, but shortly burst into raucous laughter. And it did not seem to end any time soon until Vlad forced out, "Not on your life!"

They went to the house after that, Danny sullenly following Vlad when told and quickly obeying as instructed. Quietly, Danny thought about his next escape attempt and Vlad let him, making sure to load the boy with more academic and physical work to tire both his mind and body and use all of his time alone. Since Vlad had no one watching the house, he would have to keep tabs on Danny another way. Vlad could not hire any humans. They would surely help Danny escape. He would have to get rid of them and that was quite messy. He definitely could not have ghosts watch Danny. The increase in ecto-energy would bring the attention of ghost hunters, agencies, and, even possibly, Danny's biological parents. That could not come to pass.

So, for the past few days, Vlad had increased Danny's workload while he went to work and spent more time with him in the evenings. Most of this time was met with silence and derision from the younger party which confused and angered the older. He was offering Danny everything and yet the boy still threw it all back in his face! But, no matter. He would win Danny over. They had all the time in the world together.

Vlad sat back in his office chair, smiling contently at the last thought. No one could take Danny away from him this time and the lack of distractions would let Danny come to realize that Vlad was right. Already, the man's subtler manipulations were changing Danny's thought patterns and behaviors to become more acceptable. Soon, Vlad would no longer have to use his powers on Danny; the boy would just have fallen into the lull of repeated behaviors influence by rewards and punishments. Isolating someone from human contact and focusing his or her actions is all that is needed to change that person's perspective.

Lost in thought as he continued to recline, Vlad heard neither the timid knocks nor quiet calls of his newest secretary until she turned the doorknob and entered his office.

"Mr. Masters?" She asked. "Sir?"

Vlad flinched and quickly covered the evidence of his day-dreaming. As the relatively young red-headed woman neared him, Vlad also rapidly tapped a few keys on his keyboard to close the video feeds of his house and pulled up a few reports that were supposed to be signed off on.

"Yes, Ms. Stadler," he sighed, feigning disinterest. "What is it?" He eyed her from his peripheral, making sure she thought he was revising the important papers and not keeping watch on his kidnapee.

Satisfied with finding him working, she pushed up her sharp-rimmed glasses with her middle finger and huffed. "Your 12 o'clock meeting, sir, with the partners started twenty minutes ago. When you did not appear in the first ten minutes, I thought you just wanted them to sweat but then you really did not show up…"

The company really cannot function smoothly without me, Vlad thought as he sighed at the incompetence of his employees. He mustered the strength to bring back his mask of an emotionally stable businessman. Standing, the man brushed off imaginary lint from his shirt and gave of an air of cool nonchalance that made his secretary stiffen slightly. Stadler followed him as the CEO walked out of his office and leisurely strolled through the aisles of his workers who all snapped up as the heard, saw, or felt his presence. They quickly resumed working or began working harder in his presence and only stopped for a second when he had passed, all fearing possible termination for lack of good work ethic.

Walking through his private office into the throngs of employees, Vlad was reminded of how his power affected humans. Throwing a bit of fear at a pompous hulk of a man turned him into a quivering mess. A bit of lust at an otherwise timid, mousey-type woman made the lasciviously wink at her neighbor who was an uptight mother of four. Anger at two people at the water cooler caused a fight to break out which was only lessened by his presence. The dichotomy of his actions tickled himself; not that he showed it outwardly as he continued his way to the conference room occupied by seven people.

The group waiting for him, turning to see him as Vlad opened the door and entering the room, consisted of three of his company's partners, one recording secretary, and three lawyers. All of the women and men waiting somewhat patiently for Vlad were feeling peeved and anxious. Some were thinking that the man was extremely…upset at the lack of being able to convince Mr. Wayne and others from pulling out of present and future deals. Others, mainly one uptight self-starter, blamed Masters for the sudden drop in funding for their group projects and the dark mark that fell on his company and name at being associated with Masters.

"Vlad," said young blood, Geoffrey Blanchard, cried out, "I'm so glad you've decided to grace us with your presence!"

While a few gasped and shifted, disquieted at the blatant disrespect, Vlad walked to his seat at the head of the table with Mrs. Stadler at his side. Vlad let his eyes shift over all of them, lingering for a second on the Blanchard man…well boy. He was a mere 26 years old and got lucky on a few choice stock market investments ad friendships with crafty law students and lawyers. The self-made millionaire had a good eye for money, Vlad would give him that, but his wallet had inflated at the same rate as his ego and Vlad deemed it his duty to correct this oversight every time they interacted.

"Geoffrey, my boy," Vlad soothed patronizingly as he pulled out Stadler's seat and pushed her in, "I am dreadfully sorry I have wasted your precious time from perusing on your smart phone to find your company for the night, or at least a few minutes, or scheduling a meeting with your pediatrician." Moving on from the now sputtering tomato that was Blanchard, Vlad addressed the rest of the table while sitting down. "Ladies, gentlemen, forgive my delay. I have called this meeting today to discuss the upset in recent dealings with Vlad Co. and its partners."

The rotund, swarthy man at the end of the table, still laughing at Blanchard, said, "I'm just glad you showed up, Masters. I thought you would have been buried so deeply in paperwork trying to fix this problem that you wouldn't have time for us!"

Vlad smiled tightly and answered, "Almost, Duncan. But not quite. I am in need of your assistance in bringing back our lost partners who have abandoned us. I see that the representatives of Wayne Enterprises and Queen Industries elected not to come. But we need to take the initiative and reach out to them and show that they should reconsider our offers."

Silence and disbelief inundated the room as everyone began to eye each other, wondering who was the poor sap that was going to tell Vlad that that was impossible. With the massive influence that Wayne Enterprises on many companies and public image, the loss of that partnership massively cut profit margins across the board. The only other company that could help fill that ditch would be Lex Corp. And while Vlad Co. and the other companies' dealings were dark, none of them would do deals, public or private, with any of Lex Luthor's friends or the man himself. At least, they were unaware of Vlad's deals with the man which had only increased with Wayne's distancing. But Vlad wanted hands in both companies. And as of late, Vlad was getting used to getting all that he wanted without resistance.

"Mr. Masters," one aspiring lawyer peeped up before getting shut down by a vicious side-eye of the woman for whom he translated and represented.

Thankfully, all of their attentions were distracted by a ruckus outside and coming closer. It sounded like a disgruntled group of people arguing in the hallway and was only getting louder as time progressed. Even though the entire moment lasted only seven seconds, most in the room were relieved at the break in tension but Vlad's temper quickly flared. His emotions which had been mainly under control for the day were starting to fray and these feelings seeped from him into the room and licked at the edges of everyone's awareness. It only made the people in the room more agitated and more than ready to leave. But that quickly changed when the interruption stopped at the door and opened it.

"Sir," an insisting and squeaky voice uttered, "you really cannot go in there at the moment. Mr. Masters is having a meeting and—"

"We know," a heavily contrasting, smooth and amicable voice offered. "That's what we are here for but, unlike my friend here, I like to travel the speed limit. It caused us to be a bit late but we needed to come."

A different voice, even deeper and less warm, responded, "Well if you hadn't given your hair and outfit so much attention this morning, we would have left sooner and been on time."

"Come on now!" The first laughed. "You know that this doesn't just happen. It takes hard work and dedication. Don't you think?"

The last question must have been posed to the first man who tried to get them from entering the room as the door was open to reveal the two guests and one lightly blushing employee who stood defeated and confused on the other side. The door closed lightly in his face and left the two newcomers with the rest of the meeting's attendees.

"Mr. Wayne? And…Mr. Queen?" One of the lawyers squawked, trying to desperately fix her conservative hairstyle into something more appealing, earning a wink from Oliver.

"Hey, everybody. Sorry we're late," the brighter of the two apologized, flashing a brilliant smile that sort of diminished the sincerity of his apology.

Oliver Queen was not recently known to go without a smile in public, whether polite or play-boyish. But Bruce Wayne's temperament was renowned for being as wishy-washy as the man, ranging from stressed to anguished to exuberant to morose to depressed to over-the-rainbow optimistic. Today, his being was, thankfully, settled on a polite, business ready attitude. This obvious contrast always bewildered observers when seeing the two in public, knowing that their personalities crashed, but those people only knew the surface of their relationship.

"Yes," Bruce followed, "we would have arrived earlier had it not been for certain…complications." He shot Oliver a short look which made the other only grin more in stick his hands in his pants pockets, thumbs wiggling out playfully. Bruce turned to the group who were still dumbstruck and shrugged as if to say, "You know how it is," when they had no actual idea what exactly was going on.

"We…we were expecting representors from your companies," Stadler stuttered, "not…not you."

The two looked at each other knowingly, Oliver becoming more somber and Bruce becoming more alert. "Who else better to represent a company than the head itself?" They said this one half following the other as if they had planned it, which Vlad was sure they did. No problem. Now that they were here, he could get the very thing he wanted.

"Well said, gentlemen," Vlad complimented. "Now, since I believe you would rather speak to each of us individually rather than be 'assaulted' en masse, we will adjourn for the day and I will see you all later."

He stood abruptly and left the room, motioning for Bruce and Oliver to follow him while they left the others to leave the premises and Mrs. Stadler to assuage the again affronted Blanchard. The walk back to his office went the same as it had before with Vlad manipulating his employees on purpose and accidentally with his powers and escalating positive and deceptive emotions roiling into a dangerous, volatile mix.

After entering his office, Vlad gestured for the two men to sit on the chairs offered in front of his desk while he closed the door behind them, making sure to glare at any lingering eyes and nosy ne'er-do-wells. Vlad rounded his desk as his more than welcomed guests settled in and checked his computer screens once more. He saw that Daniel was doing as ordered and was pleased to see the boy had moved on to another assignment and had organized the books he had used and tidied his workspace.

"Gentlemen," Vlad started, bringing back the attention to them as he changed the display back to the less important report, "what can I do to rebuild our candor?"

Oliver barked a laugh. "There's nothing wrong with that, Mr. Masters! It's just—well, for myself—Queen Industries needed to update their bookkeeping and some accounts just didn't look right or were no longer viable; some were gotten rid of with little oversight and I came to correct that."

"As for Wayne Enterprises," Bruce answered, his baritone matching that of the man whom Vlad hated more than anything in life but lacking the oafish happiness, "sudden changes in national, international, and Earth security made most of our priorities shift, causing us to disinvest in our branching projects. I came to personally apologize for any snowballing backlash our part played in recent events."

Vlad took this time to feeling minor distress, frowning and solemnly nodding. "Yes. Many key moves were blocked by this unforeseen action. But I digress…"

"Again," Bruce said, "my apologies. But this was not the most important reason we came here today."

Confused by the turn of events, Vlad struggled to keep down a simmering hatred at Bruce's brushing off of how badly Vlad Co. had tanked. He suppressed this and raised an eyebrow to tell the other to go on.

"While my business cannot monetarily fund or partner with yours at the moment, that does not mean that I cannot provide personal assistance to certain other projects," Bruce hinted, pointedly nudging Oliver to prompt the man to retrieve something from his briefcase. The latter pulled out three separate files, each laden with pictures and reports written in as much detail as was possible on each photographed individual, event, and area.

The files, listed by person in and alphabetical order, where spread in front of Vlad by Oliver as Bruce watched for any changes in the older man's countenance. Bios on him, Danny, the Fentons, Danny's friends, teachers, and classmates, and other potential suspects who were in the area were highlighted and detailed with first-, second-, and third-hand accounts. Each had a timeline highlighting where they were and who they were with the last night Danny was seen. And those with the shakier alibis where marked off with a large circle with a line going through it, much like a dart stuck on a target, or an arrow.

"We know the toll Daniel's disappearance has taken in your professional and personal life," Oliver tried to say as mildly as possible. "So Bruce and I decided to lend a hand in the investigation."

Slightly alarmed, a bit of it showing, Vlad's otherwise cheery disposition faltered. Bruce added, "Yes, we hired detectives and gathered some favors from some less savory sources to aid in your endeavors."

Vlad's agitation grew palpable as his nervousness grew. While Oliver brushed it off as shock and awe, Bruce thought against it.

"And by less savory, you mean…" Vlad tentatively inquired, not liking at all how these strangers were closing in on his business and personal dealings with his son. They were nowhere near close, even with the amount of information they had, to figuring out what was going on. But Vlad liked to control all information revolving the "incident".

"He means 'not as liked by law enforcement as the media portrays'," Oliver took over, winking at the man whose befuddlement was warring with a darker paranoia. "We partner sometimes with heroes and vigilantes that can do more beyond the duties of the Average Joe…namely the Batman."

He was still for a while before reclining back languidly in his chair. His mind had blanked momentarily, erasing all signs of physical distress that his two visitors has picked up on. Both men were alarmed by the sharp change of emotions as they felt the room grow colder. Vlad clasped his hands together, tight enough that they shook lightly, and stared off into space for a while as Bruce and Oliver tried to think of something to say.

The former, of course, started first but was interrupted by another change in Vlad's demeanor. He clapped his hands together and laughed heartily, smiling a bit too widely at his guests. When they did not laugh with him, Vlad had to calm down.

He told them, "Gentlemen, you have no idea of how much you have lightened a burden for me. My poor godson has been missing and, were it not for my efforts, would have been completely forgotten by those whom he loved most." Vlad paused for dramatic effect, always the theatrical one. "I can't say how grateful I am for your assistance. Now, let's see what we have."

For the next half hour, Vlad entertained his guests by being acquiescent in their meddling and Bruce and Oliver entertained Vlad by trying to gain some insight on what he knew. They were escorted out by Ms. Stadler who still looked flustered at their presence and a goodbye for Vlad. As soon as they got into Bruce's car, Oliver had to say something.

"So, are you sure the Joker doesn't have a cousin or a creepy uncle? And did you see how stressed the office people were?" He asked, only half joking. "Because that was majorly freaky. Are you sure about sending your mini-me into this?"

Bruce just gripped the wheel harder, the leather squeaking under his hands. For anyone else, it would have been a sign not to question him but Oliver knew that his friend was getting warier as the moments passed.

"All we can deduce is that he knows what happened to the kid," Bruce said after a few minutes of silence. "His story is too well put together and he remembers too many details for it not to be rehearsed. Too many people saw him at the estimated time of Daniel's appearance and there is no one who would have a greater benefit than Masters at his disappearance. And the bug we planted will take a while to decrypt his files. Whoever he has protecting his information is well trained."

The two knew that the headache that was Vladimir Masters would only grow but they would leave it to the kids—no, teens—who had become heroes in their own right. Now it was time for them to sit back, offer support, and heavily monitor the children they have come to mentor.

Vlad, back in his office, watched from half-lidded eyes the security cameras around his building. With no audio, he could not tell what the two entitled brats of men were discussing but he figured it was about him and Daniel. But it was no matter, really, he assured himself. If they were to ever discover where Daniel was, it would be too late to do anything. Vlad's new approach of slowly wearing the boy down was working so much better than the alternative cumulative onslaught by any heavy brainwashing techniques. The half acceptance Daniel was giving him was turning into a benefit for Vlad and a double-edged sword for Danny. Every time he gave Vlad want he wanted, the man would reward this behavior and punish others, conditioning Danny subtly and firmly by his own hand.

He pulled his keyboard closer to him and typed in a few commands. The screen quickly turned to an image of Danny back at the mansion organizing the work he had done on paper that day in folders separated by subject. The boy looked like he wanted to do something—scream, run, sigh in anguish—but all he did was shake his head and turn to the camera watching him. Vlad leaned forward, surprised Danny had caught the hidden device so quickly, and slightly wondered if the boy was going to tamper with it but waved this off as he saw Danny make a wide sweep of the room with his eyes, stopping at certain places. Danny knew he was being recorded, and Vlad would give him credit for that. How else would Vlad have known exactly what Danny had been doing that day without giving him direct orders to be followed like a robotic soldier without a mind of his own.

As Danny turned to the door that would lead to a quick path out of the house, Vlad tensed, wondering if his lenience would cost him. The boy walked ever closer to the door and looked as if he were to leave the room, with his work done, and try to escape as before. But he was rewarded as he saw Danny go instead for a bookshelf nearest to the door and acquire a book on the use of dynamic game theory in economics and war which he had read numerous times. The man leaned back in his office chair as Danny freely read a book he was not instructed to. Danny had not even paused in his motions and returned to his seat and began to read and go over the notes written in the margin.

He will have to be rewarded, Vlad thought as he watched his godson—my son—for the next few hours before packing a few materials in a briefcase and locking his computer. Stadler rose as he excited his office and walked him out, as they were the only two still left excluding security. It was about 9 in the evening that he left in a chauffeured limousine. He had started this practice of publically leaving his workplace and being driven home after considering that he may be followed by anyone who suspected him of Daniel's abduction. After reaching his Amity Park Mansion, he waited a half hour until taking a smaller, black, luxury vehicle through a back exit only he and a few unofficial delivery sources knew about. It took him 2 hours to get to his larger abode which held his absolutely most prized possessions and all the family he needed.

Walking up to the door and through the foyer, Vlad resisted calling out for Danny and settled in surprising the boy as he walked into the library he knew Danny to be in. The sight that met him calmed and warmed his unstable heart. Danny, folded in himself, clutched the long and detailed book in one hand, as he slept soundly, stretched out and peaceful. Knowing that he would not be allowed this moment of vulnerability again soon, Vlad took his time in mentally fawning over his son and then walked towards him to pick him up. Lifting the boy bridal style, even though he was almost at eye-level height, Vlad gently toted Danny to his chosen room. Danny, feeling the slight jostling, groggily began to stir and wake up. His eyes widened in a fashion that would have been comical had the man holding him had not been staring at him with the fondness of a predator and its immediate prey. He fought a moment before Vlad became upset.

"Hold still, Badger," he ordered, relishing in the feeling of Danny once more sinking into his arms. He had missed out on so much. Vlad was no longer going to let that happen. "You are my son now, Daniel. And if I wish to dote on you, I shall. Now let me carry you to bed and you just fall slowly back to sleep."

Vlad had pushed his influence on Danny enough that the halfa could feel his body and his mind following Vlad's words. He was less upset with Vlad calling him his son which freaked him out. But this was quickly muddled by the growing warmth and fatigue he felt. Fighting only made him more tired. So, as Danny fell asleep in Vlad's arms, the only half-awake thoughts he could form were not on how creepy the situation was but on how Vlad claimed him and that the man would probably never turn him away. This made Danny, who was otherwise starved of genuine care and love, ashamedly happy. He was wondering what was wrong with him, if Vlad's continued influence had a growing negative impact by twisting his mind even when not fully employed. But the thought was lost as his consciousness faded into the black, Vlad's chest rumbling as the man hummed contentedly.

A/N: Been watching a lot of Arrow and have Oliver Queen on the brain. Does anyone know a good Stalker!Vlad fic? I try to read a good bit of creepiness and kind of distanced-mentality cases to make Vlad seem OOC and believably creepy.

Thanks to all you wacky kiddos who continue to read, follow, and favorite this story though I'm a slackerdoodle of a person!

Response to Reviewers:

east231: Hope you like this chapter!

MiaulinK: "Grey Ghost" is Valerie (Grey) with Danny (Ghost). I think there's some sight out there with all of the headcanon pairing names. And thanks for reading! Danny & Robin'll be better in the end...maybe.

Good Witch of Babble: About the hasty kidnapping, I think Vlad was a bit worried about how well Danny was fighting off his influence and the minor setback Dick influenced set him off, making him abscond with Danny. And it will definitely be his downfall. And I like what you're thinking about Danny's and Vlad's aura projection. His family is definitely too quickly assuming that he'll forgive them. I sure as hell wouldn't and I don't think this Danny would so easily either. And exactly, Vlad's power did little more to them than suggest certain thoughts and amplify a few bad feelings. His control over ghosts and the mix of Danny is levels upon levels worse than what he can do to humans. But a lot of them are extremely weak willed. Only a few, like some of the nerds and Valerie actually acted like normal with Vlad's interference. And they are petty. Remember the two times Tucker got jealous and a bit of power and went psycho? When Sam wished for Danny to not be the ghost boy anymore without even considering what he felt? When Jazz just steamrolled over his problems and fit him into neat categories that fit what her textbooks taught her? When Maddie and Jack act like they're listening just to sweep their children's existences under the rug and pay more attention to ghost hunting and inventing than their own family? When everyone is perfectly fine with Danny risking his (after-)life to fight ghosts but always blames him on the property damage and complains at the slightest inconvenience even though they're still alive?! I digress. Danny'll be fine (and an excellent cook) and Robin will (hopefully) be there every step of the way...later on. Bella may come back in a dreamscape or something but since she's mainly a manifestation of power, the only way I can think of giving her a corporeal form is if Danny's powers develop some kind of ice/energy familiar like a tangible Patronus and it's a female deer than may have small antlers. And fine, I'll try to breathe normally but the enthusiasm at which I'm waiting for your stories is astronomically high. And you have to exact opposite problem of me! I know my beginning and my general desire of an ending but the middle eludes me until like an hour after I sit in front of a blank screen! All the best of luck to you!

Guest of honor: Oh they probably won't get the chance to lay a hand on Vlad. Sorry it took so long!

Guest (1): I hope you'll be even more excited now!

UltimateTouken: ...that was some description. And RavenXDanny is a pairing that makes so much more sense to me than DannyXSam. And I tried to twist the normal plot line to see where it would go.

TheBoss3254: Thank you so much! It's just that, you know, when you write, your own works never seem good enough until you read them through someone else's eyes. And you're doing that for me just by reading; so, thank you again!

Ninuhuju: He's fighting as best he thinks he can without losing all control of himself!

LoveMuffins: Fangirl away! I'll join you!

Nightshade1712: Go ahead and write! That was not in my plans at all! And it's good. A lot of us think the same but only a few take the time to...babble our ideas out...goodness that was bad.

Crystalzap: They'll be here next chapter and I'm changing the theme. I'll try to put the next few chapters up ASAP so you can get more of the story!

Guest (2): Updated! Not soon but at least I didn't give up!

e2001: Wait no longer! And thanks so much! I try to keep as canon as possible but I like tweaking the characters just a little bit.

Derin Leviathan: Thanks! I hope this wasn't too bad of a chapter. The next will probably be super long and filled with Danny awesomeness!

the-darker-side-of-things: Thanks and here you go!

Darkverger1: Cool! Hope I still have you on board!

randomphandom: Thank you so much and yes, the snap is proving very fun to write. Vlad is messed up but I'm starting to feel bad for him which may change the outcome of a story. The old cheesehead is starting to get on my good side since, in his twisted mind, I think he truly believes he is doing what is best for Danny.

Guest (3): Why thanky!

Darke13: Thank you; I try!

DragonChild2000: If this is your favorite, then you are in store for some other extremely amazing stories on here, some of which or over 300,000 words long series combined! Thanks for reading and here's your update!

Hope you all liked it and I won't take so long the next time since I'll be glued to a computer at least 5 hours and at most 10 hours a day now with absolutely no excuses excluding food breaks.

Love, JennaUtena. Deuces!