A/N: ...my bad. Leadership Alliance Symposium is today. Just presented! Geophysics confuses and yet I somehow did it! YAY! Onto le chapitre!

Disclaimer: I'm a student and researcher...not the owner of DP or TT.

Chapter 14

Even with the Christmas season starting, the last few weeks had been ridiculously busy for everyone. It was like the overall decrease in temperature brought out all of the crazies and froze the common sense of everyone else.

In Jump, a record setting number of criminals had wrecked the Eastern and Southern parts of the city, causing an amount of damage that would cost the city almost thirty times more than usual. Robin hadn't had the time to obsess on anything, like the lack of Slade or any of Raven's increasingly odd behavior. Beast Boy and Cyborg hadn't fought about meat and tofu since they were too busy fighting the villains. Starfire hadn't attempted to make her friends any food or ask to shop or do the hair with Raven in a long time. Raven was more volatile and distant from her friends, obviously keeping secrets from them which they all felt at varying levels of awareness.

In Gotham, the usually charismatic and carefully poised Bruce Wayne was irritable and angry whenever bothered. He was seen often by workers and secretaries rapidly typing on his set-up at work and then leaving for hours on end frustrated and looking ready to punch more than a few holes into walls...or people. The Batman, as well, was increasingly violent when doling out justice to any who crossed his path. And, as soon as he was done rounding up criminals, he would vanish even quicker than before, not to be seen until he was called again. His increasingly frigid demeanor filled the streets with cowering common criminals and overly cautious, hardened super villains wary of much more than just the season's cold.

In Amity, the lack of ghost activity had sharply decreased the amount of tourism the city brought in, leaving the city to be the quiet town it once was three years ago, sharply contrasting the lively and excited environment that most residents had gotten used to. Even the Fentons' neighbors were no longer calling in noise complaints because none of them had barely made a peep since Danny had last been seen. At Casper High, a betting pool was going on with when the odd behavior between Samantha Manson and Tucker Foley was going to end. The girl had hardly blinked, let alone protested, when the school brought in frogs for another dissection section for freshman biology. The boy didn't even sigh when a teacher took away his PDA which was disturbingly at a very low charge and not in immaculate shape. Jazz, when she went to work, showed up late, with ten minutes being the latest time, scaring all of the people she was around since the girl was known to be there sometimes even an hour before she was even needed. When seen in public, neither Dr. Fenton was wearing a jumpsuit or actively and excitedly ranting about some ghost or projects or something. When Jack was seen driving, he was actually following the speed limit and obeying traffic laws. Most worrisome was the lack of arguments from the two elder Fentons on the existence of Santa Claus. If it weren't for their calendars and the threats of snow, no one in Amity would have realized the upcoming holiday.

In another part of the city, mostly dedicated to businesses of a variety of sizes and other 9-to-5 jobs, Vladimir Masters was absent in mind and, sometimes, body from his company. He had been physically appearing later than usual and was always looking for a way to leave early but he was never angry. No, he was frighteningly ecstatic according to those who saw him openly smiling and waving at passers-by. Vlad even gave the option for some of the days to end early. The sudden and extremely unusual character change in their boss set many Vlad Co. employees on edge. Most of them had nerves so frayed that bars, hospitals, and therapists witnessed a sharp rise in frequenters. But Vlad paid no mind to how much he was distressing his employees. He did not even notice the near heart-attack he gave Ms. Stadler when he told her he was going to be away for an unforeseen amount of time for the holiday season. When she questioned his decision, he told her it was personal leave for family of which she knew and everyone previously thought he had none. It must have been the end of the world but he was nowhere near caring because of whom he had waiting at home for him.

In the mansion Vlad had paid for just for him and Daniel, the latter floated in an Olympic sized, salt-water pool housed in a glass-enclosed structure on the western side of the house just passing time between his breaks. Today was one of the days that Vlad let him rest from the mental and physical training and do whatever he wanted to do. And Vlad did mean "whatever". The teen took this time to surf the web, play the few video games Vlad purchased for him, read less education texts and more fantasy novels, watch science fiction shows and horror movies...but Daniel was wondering when that "whatever" he wanted to do stopped including escaping back to his family. He chuckled and thought it was probably around the same time he realized that his "family" didn't even want him around and preferred he no longer existed. Thinking about them just brought up thoughts about Samantha, Tucker, and Valerie and whose friendship washed away faster than the stinging in his eyes from the tears brought on by the salt in the pool. Danny knew he should have been worried—no, freaked—that he no longer cared about escaping Vlad, whether that resulted in his crawling back to his blood relatives or not. But Daniel knew it was all for the best. Vlad was doing what was right for them and no harm was coming to anyone. And he was acting like a real family member—father—should. So what was the problem?

The problem is I'm starting to turn my back on everything I have ever believed...and I don't feel perturbed about it.

Danny shook off that train of thought to do a few more laps in the pool and then exited, going to one of the lounge chairs to dry off and pick up the book he was reading. It was some old book with dragons and epic adventures he found collecting dust in one of the libraries but the illustration on the cover looked interesting enough. He never would have pegged Vlad to be the type of person to have these kinds of books. But what did he really know about Vlad anyway? The man kept most of his thoughts and his past to himself. Except for a few business ventures and Vlad's longing to having someone to love, which morphed into a stalker obsession with Danny's mother which led to a worse obsession with Danny and his subsequent abduction—and the man's ire at still not being able to purchase the Green Bay Packers—Danny knew little about the man. But he didn't worry. Daniel knew that he and his father would have plenty of time to bond after he stopped fighting it.

...My brain must seriously be water-logged, Danny thought as he fought to hold on to the panic he felt but lost against the relentless tide of calm he had been feeling for the past few weeks. It was creating this sense of ambivalence that overcame his desire to fight. Sometimes all he wanted to do was accept the life that Vlad was making for him but he knew that it was fundamentally wrong. So, he held on to what he could while he could.

I won't stop. The guy's a Frui—...

A major cree—…

He...

Spaced out, trying to catch on to the slight insults he used to sling at Vlad at every opportunity, Daniel started to realize something which should have made him curse, scream, cry, something except for sigh despondently. Even though he had found the loophole in following Vlad's orders weeks ago, except for the infrequent slight bits of rebellion that Vlad mostly thought was hilarious, Danny was making no leeway in finding a way to fight the man. It was almost as if he were no longer interested in opposing Vlad in anything larger than what he was going to study or what part of his body he was going to train or what they were going to eat that day for their meals together. And even then, Daniel would end up conceding to what his father thought best.

...Again with this?

He put the book down, fully annoyed now but not an inch angrier or more worried than normal. That was another thing that he knew should have been bothering him: his emotions. They were almost subdued, hesitant, in letting themselves be known unless they were happiness, pride, and something highly akin to love when Vlad was around. Other than that, most of what he felt while conscious was curiosity about his lessons or Vlad's life before he knew him, anger at his past family and fake friends, and annoyance at not being able to feel worried or anxious or even the least bit scared that he was warming up to Vlad which was something that he definitely did not want happening...or, at least, he thought he didn't want it. And when he caught himself thinking of Vlad as his father...

The only times Danny was certain that his feelings were organic were right as he fell asleep and the few moments as he woke up. Most times, his heart would race and an almost panic-like state would overcome his better judgment. Vlad saw him having an "attack" one morning and, after questioning Daniel about it, fixed it so the boy would not have to worry about it anymore. Those moments of clarity were lessening with every passing day and all Danny could feel when he thought about it was gratitude. He knew it should scare him that he was just letting Vlad change him more without much resistance. But he felt like either he was already trying his hardest to fight off the man's influence or he couldn't be bothered anymore to fight what was good for him. And it wasn't like the man was doing anything bad to him or was making him do anything bad. He seemed to genuinely care for Danny's well-being and that affection had filled a whole in Danny's heart that he didn't even realize was empty.

Daniel sighed again and looked at the book, mind racing too fast and too sluggishly at the same time to concentrate and actually enjoy it. So he decided to just lounge and dry in the heat being pumped in artificially instead. He had been cold for long periods of time and shivering much more often than usual. Danny thought it was a buildup of energy from not using his powers as much as he used to. Thankfully though, it wasn't as much as when his cold core first showed signs of developing. So, Danny wasn't very much so worried about it.

The silence encompassed the area with only a few far away tunes of birdsong keeping Danny from fully falling asleep. His mind had lulled enough into a half asleep state that would have resulted in a nap had he not seen a discolored spot flicker in the trees closest to him beyond the glass panes. He jolted up, squinting and glaring at the will-o'-wisp he thought he saw. But a pleasant bell chiming distracted him from the faery image. Picking up his phone, his mood faltered for a millisecond, then quickly evened out as he saw Vlad's name on the caller I.D..

Who else could it have been anyway?

"Hey, Vlad," Daniel answered brightly. "What's up?"

On the other side, a deeper, warm voice replied, "Nothing at all. I just wanted to know if you wanted anything special for dinner tonight. I was just telling Ms. Stadler I'll be coming home early, so I wanted to know if you wanted me to pick up anything on the way."

The lack of nicknames alerted Danny that Vlad was near someone who didn't know that the man had abducted him. Is there anyone who actually does know I'm here? Danny wanted to scream loud enough that whoever was listening on the other side would hear and maybe help him but he also really just wanted a—

"Nasty Burger, Nasty Fry, and a strawberry Nasty Shake?" He waited for the refusal he knew as going to come as it had been for the past few times he decided to ask for something to eat that didn't suit Vlad's tastes. If it wasn't remotely foreign or at least didn't sound like it could give you a heart attack just by looking at it, then Vlad was whole-heartedly against it.

"Well," Vlad started as Daniel's shoulders began to sag from the oncoming dismissal, "I think I can do that just this once."

"Wha—really? Thank you. Thank you! Thank you so much, dad!" Daniel excitedly exclaimed, not catching the slip which made Vlad's heart pitter-patter and the man's face warm into a light blush with a small creeping smile. Stadler shuddered in fear of the genuine happiness Vlad was exuding. It just wasn't normal.

"Alright, I'll be home with that in less than three hours," Vlad answered, still ecstatic about the pleasant change in address.

"Cool. I think I'm gonna swim. See you later, Vlad!"

This time Danny didn't confuse what he called Vlad but the man was satisfied anyway. This next step would be cemented soon. The ties that bound Danny to Vlad were tightening and it was too late for the former to fight any of it off, not that he wanted to with Vlad's continued insistence that he didn't. And Vlad was rarely infuriated with the boy anymore, even now with him hanging the phone up on Vlad with no time for the man to say goodbye.

So, instead of getting upset at the abrupt dismissal, like Stadler believed he would as she tensed in fear of the backlash of emotions sure to rush through, Vlad placed his cellphone back in his suit jacket pocket and chuckled fondly while staring into the distance. The frazzled secretary blinked with wide eyes at the more than odd behavior and determinedly snuck out of the man's office to get away from whatever was happening. Her boss must have blown a few fuses...or, whoever was on the other side of the call was doing him some good.

Vlad prepared himself to leave for the day because of the long drive to his newest mansion, closing his files and emails before turning off his computer. He had not done much work other than look over approval forms sent by those of lower levels of authority in his company and the files a few of the people he hired under the guise of finding Daniel. One had evidence of some spike of ecto-activity in southern Indiana in the exact location of the mansion he was keeping Danny in. Vlad figured it had occurred the last time Danny tried to get away...an attempt the man made sure was erased fully from the young man's mind. Had Vlad known Danny's cold core was so powerful that it fried all ecto-suppressant machinery, he would have reigned it in long ago. But it was just another prideful tidbit in Vlad's mental record on how strong his chosen charge was. Oh, well. It really was a shame to get rid of that information and the person who acquired it. They were such a useful source.

But, now was not the time to think about that. He had to get Daniel his artery-clogging reward. Pulling out his phone to search for the closest Nasty Burger to the Mansion, Vlad neglected to notice a small, nearly invisible metal circle on the tower of the computer ping a light green.

It had taken three hurriedly rushed days for Batman to filter and provide all of the information from the bug he placed in Masters' office to Robin. And another two days were filled with the pair arguing about who would go and how the situation would be handled. After one particularly determined speech from Robin, Bats conceded in letting his protégé handle the problem while offering back-up when needed. With his thanks, Robin told the team his plan and had them contact all of the secondary Titans to see who could protect the city in their absence. Taking their place for the short while, Aqualad, Bumblebee, Speedy, Kid Flash, and a coerced Jinx, who would destroy anyone who even thought she was one of the lame-o good guys, would watch over the city and try to keep mostly to the shadows so no villains would notice the normal team's disappearance.

Robin finally had the time and the freedom to explain to his teammates the situation they were in and, after an unexpected burst of rage from Raven, informed them of how exactly the plan would be enacted. Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Starfire would stay in the T-car some distance away from Amity Park. Robin and Raven would go in civvies to visit some of the residents. It took the team just over nine hours to get to Amity since they were allowed to go well over the speed limit but not yet that of commercial airplanes. After a short re-debriefing, Robin and Raven, given the code names Dick and Rachel respectively, left, dressed in clothes warm enough to fight the chill of December.

The appearance of the two unknown teenagers at the Fenton household startled both Maddie and Jack until the latter recognized the boy from his height and voice.

"Dick?" Jack questioned, startling both Robin and Raven a bit since Robin was wearing the sunglasses he normally did with his civvies to protect his identity that was hidden from even his teammates. She knew his actual name ran along the lines of Dick but, other than that, knew next to nothing other than what Robin allowed himself to tell them or let accidentally slip. And Robin never figured the older Fenton man to be observant enough to catch his identity before he told them. The people he usually associated with never paid enough attention.

Letting themselves be ushered in, the now-referred-to-as Dick introduced Raven as Rachel, a friend who had the ability to help. The two adults where interrupted in asking what she could help with when four other teenagers walked through the door. At seeing the company, Jazz greeted them after saying hi to her parents and led Samantha, Tucker, and Valerie into the living room with her. Seeing the two who should have been Danny's friends made Dick's otherwise well-managed friendly demeanor darken a bit, picked up by Rachel who just wanted to get this done with as soon as possible.

"So, sweetie," Maddie said with a forced sweetness, "what did you say you could help with?"

Dick thought it best to ease the six into the situation but Raven had a different plan in mind.

"We know where Daniel is."

He groaned out loud as their audience visibly froze. Dick wasn't even sure if it was good to alert the parents, let alone the sister and ex-friends, of the situation until Danny was secured but was only going to do so at the insistence of Bruce. He definitely did not want to just unload it on them like that, especially with the onslaught of questions he was sure he was going to receive. But the instead reaction of silence and awkward shuffling just threw him for a loop.

"And you don't care," Raven noted by the lack of actual response. She was used to being the only distant individual in the room. They were supposedly Daniel's friends and family. They should have a much more...violent reaction. At least her last statement invoked some kind of response.

"Now look here," one irate teenager exclaimed, her fist clenching, making her normally dark knuckles whiten from their intense grip. "We do care. We do. And we want him back more than anyone. We want him back more than anything—"

"But apparently not enough to actually search for him," Raven bit back, tired of the too late concern the girl, Valerie, was giving to the situation. It shut her up effectively, causing her to sputter as she tried to think of a good retort. But nothing could come to mind.

"Rachel," Dick sighed, using his Robin tone which made Raven calm down with him calling her by her birth name. "Apologies for our flippancy," he said, turning to them. "We figured it would be best to tell you since he is legally still under your care."

"And, what...what are you planning to do with the information?" Jazz asked. But Dick was interrupted by a different emotional teenager.

"And how the fuck did you get it anyway?" The resident goth, sans make-up and usual half-ponytail, interjected, glaring in suspicion at the two people who, just on looks, were the around her age and thus, could not possibly have more resources at their disposal.

"We didn't give up when we hit an obstacle and we didn't feel the immobilizing guilt of pushing him away and then slandering his name and treating him like trash," Raven snarled, emotions bubbling frighteningly from what they were dealing with in Jump, her birthday approaching, and the sharp flares of emotion coming from everyone in the crowded space.

Effectively chastised, the group was quiet as Dick offered that Rachel go and leave the rest of the dealings to him. She accepted with a huff and left via the door only to be consumed by a dark shadow she teleported back to the rest of their group after making sure no one was around to see the strange sight. Dick was left with the others, trying to explain as best he could without revealing too much.

"So," he started, taking off the sunglasses that framed his face and normally hid his identity from the public, "we need to talk about what you're going to do next."

"What we are going to do, young man," Maddie started, patronizingly, "is turn that information over to the police and find our son with their assistance. But before that, we are going to get that information from you and thank you kindly as you leave the matter or us to deal with."

His brow twitched at her definitive dismissal. He was used to adults not acquainted with being out of control try to grasp at any semblance of authority when they had no power. But it still pissed him off. Thankfully, Dick had learned better than showing his anger since he had been with Bruce. A smile in the right place could through anyone off their game.

The smirk Dick pulled from his repertoire, however, may have been influenced by the Joker more than anything. "I don't think you understand the position you're in Dr. Fenton. This is a very...delicate situation and the task has already been given to those able to deal with it. There were some...complications in the abilities of Danny's kidnapper."

No one was going to say anything, mostly because they were still unnerved by the creepy look on the boy's face, but the silent one in the room decided to speak up.

"So he was kidnapped?" Tucker asked timidly, wanting to get anything he could from Dick but not trying to push anymore of his buttons.

As a child, both in the circus and with Bruce although the man would often huff at his antics and pestering, Dick was taught that there was no such thing as a stupid question. But this, this really took the cake.

"You really think that Danny would have run away just because of what you guys put him through? I mean, yeah, you guys may have no longer been his friends and family anymore but it takes more than that for someone like him to just give up on a situation that could have been a lot worse."

Dick almost got sick at the relief that they were showing. Somehow, they had gotten the idea that Danny's disappearance was no where near their fault. He felt it his duty to correct that.

"But this could have been avoided altogether if you all did what you were supposed to do as his friends and family." Some looked ready to argue before he continued. "If you had been there, physically, emotionally, for Danny, he would have been able to fight harder. Hell, he probably would have been able to figure out what was planned for him if he didn't have to deal with the crap you all put him through."

Thoroughly admonished, the group was coming to the full realization of their part in Danny's abduction. But there were still a few vital details that he had left out of the equation. It was...difficult, approaching the matter in a way with more tact than usual. These people were still civilians and he had no idea how they were going to react. The Fentons had amassed a lot of ecto-weaponry over the years which would be very useful in getting Danny back and the teenagers all had records in sticking their noses where they didn't really belong. Bruce figured the entire group a hair's width away from becoming vigilantes and was even looking at the Red Huntress as having ties with at least one of them. Dick knew he couldn't tell them everything, but just enough to let them know that Danny was going to be rescued.

"When Danny didn't show up and I was never able to contact him when Bruce and I left, I had Bruce call in a few favors. We got a good group of people, detectives, law enforcement, supers, metas, the works."

Some of the incredulous faces in the living room made him stop and realize how chimerical his reasoning must have seemed to them. So he tried to shorten his words as to not belabor his point.

"Living in Gotham and being so high-profile, Bruce and, by association, I have amassed and eclectic group of allies," Dick attempted to brush off. "The point is, it was the Batman that got the identity of Danny's captor and his location after some less-than-legal sleuthing..."

He trailed off, knowing that their full cooperation would be necessary for the best outcomes in this situation. So far, except for the widened eyes he received for talking about Batman, their reactions had been steady. Dick just worried how awkward the upcoming line of questioning.

"So," he tried to sound light, "how well do you know Vladimir Masters?"

It was probably the teens' reactions that shocked him the most. He was used to being surrounded by observant people but, with their dismissal of Danny, he really did not value their input much. But they, with Samantha and Valerie vying for the lead, took it upon themselves to hurl any insult that came to mind. Some of which Dick saved in his mental compendium to use later. They definitely hated Vlad and, from their yells and screams, knew plenty of Vlad's underhandedness and two-faced acts the man had committed over the years. There was no lost love between them and the older man.

The adults, on the other hand, were silent and morose. Maddie looked mostly disgusted as she listened to the children talk. Jack flinched every time a new grievance came up, taking it upon himself to shoulder all of the backlash of Vlad's actions since he felt it was his fault. But that really wasn't too far off the mark.

"Alright already!" Dick had to yell over the still harping group just to reclaim attention. His voice squeaked a bit, which he hated, but effectively did the job. After they had simmered down to a dull roar, Dick continued "So, you know some...well a lot. But do you know about what he's able to do...about his abilities?"

Since Danny had gone missing and the teenagers had told the older Fentons about Danny's nonpublic extracurricular activities, they had also gotten around to discussing other people's involvement. Valerie outed herself as the Red Huntress which caught only the parents as a surprise. She was originally pissed that Samantha, Tucker, and Jasmine knew but was admonished in knowing that they all kept secrets from each other. Tucker had unlocked most of Danny's Ghost Files that he kept on his personal computer until he was met with firewall upon firewall upon redirect and firewall so human and ghost-proof that he seriously doubted Danny was smart enough to code. But then again, he had ignored Danny and grown apart from him for such a long while. What did he know? They had shared all of the information they had and changed a great majority of it from Danny's observations. His were so much more detailed and articulate than any school assignment they had ever seen him work on. It made them really think on how much they didn't know Daniel Fenton and how they probably never would get the chance to.

But the main topic of concern between the six of them were Halfas in total. With everyone together, they thought that there were three Halfa's in existence because only three humans had both human and ghost forms now more-or-less stable: Daniel, Vladimir, Danielle. But Danny's information completely destroyed this belief. According to the information he had gotten from scientist ghosts, especially those of the Far Frozen, Danny was actually the only Halfa because his body was the only one at a constant stable flux of almost 50-50 Real World and Ghost Zone matter. Vlad was a human with extreme ecto-radiation which explained his long period of hospitalization that Danny never had to undergo. Vlad's reaction to ectoplasm was extremely unstable and he was lucky to be alive. Dani too was human. Frostbite figured that she was from a new wave of clones Vlad was attempting because, unlike the others, she was only about 80% Danny and the rest from some female donor. So she was a human with ghost powers just like the creep who made her. But the group had no idea how much of this and other things Dick knew.

Taking their silence as approbation to move forward, Dick said, "Well, we—the Batman thinks Vlad has some kind of energy manipulation ability that was formed sometime while he was in the hospital after an accident with an experiment the three of you were working on." He had motioned to the Fenton parents at this point, them wilting at the reminder that they were the reason most of this had precipitated. "Since we can't really test it safely, we've been working on the assumption that Vlad can influence emotions in humans, bringing out even the tiniest of feelings and amplifying them to his liking. And...because his power comes from ectoplasmic interference, it is possible that he has an even greater control over ghosts since they're made up of ectoplasm. This could explain the changes of activity around. When he was formulating his plans and realizing that he had powers, he could have experimented first with ghosts, making them attack the city at his bidding and the pulling back when he wanted."

While the parents were still hung up on the result of their actions, the kids struggled with their emotions. Mostly, they were relieved that Dick, and the Batman, had somehow not found out about the other things in both Danny's and Vlad's lives. Other than that, they were starting to feel extremely worried. If what Dick was saying was true, then Vlad could be controlling Danny. But what for? The scenarios running through their head went from everything from national take-overs to world domination. Vlad was always a big picture man. But, even though they all knew that Danny would have been a potential asset to Vlad, the man seemed to have backed off for the good part of the summer, or, at least, for the parts they were around Danny.

"And that's where it gets a bit tricky," Dick continued, closely watching the civilians as he thought he understood their looks of worry and guilt were about. "In humans, Vlad can only amplify existing emotions. It's not really mind control but more like...perception manipulation where he can influence what someone feels based on what already exists. We figure that before he messed with Danny, there were some more broad based target groups...like the whole of Amity Park. I mean, did no one even question how the man had won a mayoral election unanimously or why he ran in the first place?"

Even though Dick wasn't privy to the prank war Vlad and Danny were having at the time or that Vlad had actually overshadowed all eligible voters to vote for him, they could all see the merit in his thought process. It was the reason they were letting him do all of the talking. They were trying to see what he and his people had come up with before letting any information on their side slip up and cause them and Danny any trouble.

"So, we got people to investigate different incidents in Amity Park to see when Vlad started his plan and what exactly he had in mind. And it really wasn't until the beginning of this year that most of anything escalated. There were a number of fights and hospitalizations, and increase in therapy sessions across the board, weird relationship pairings," Dick listed, making Tucker and Samantha look at each other briefly. "People just started acting out funnily and the ghosts slowly stopped appearing. Vlad showed more in the public eye, especially in places like Casper High, the mall, the park, and other places basically any and every teenager in this town frequent. We have no concrete evidence about whom he influenced or when he started narrowing his sights but it became clear that his endgame was Danny. The only thing we were missing was 'why'?"

This was a prompt for them to give him answers but none of them could think of a way to tell him anything without telling him everything. Telling partial truths and lying really weren't in any of their skill sets, even after all the secret keeping and attention diverting they've had to do over the past few years. Giving each other a few furtive glances, not trying but succeeding in making Dick suspicious, they decided to only tell the beginning of the truth, starting back as far as they possibly could.

"When we were in university together," Jack recalled, "Vladdie—Vlad had always been a loner. And when we became friends, it was almost like he didn't know how to react with other people. I tried to bring him out of the shell he had made around himself and he seemed to be happier for a while. A few times, I knew I was over-the-top but he was my friend and..."

Maddie took the reigns at this point. "He was clingy. Jack was too lovable and a bit oblivious—sorry, honey—to notice it but the man had serious jealousy issues when it came to Jack. And then when I expressed interest in ghosts just like they did, I was quickly welcomed into the group. Jack and I grew closer and I think Vlad grew jealous. At first, I thought he figured I was trying to take Jack away from him but, the day that we finalized the calculations on the portal, he confessed that he liked me. I was so relieved and it showed. I think he took it as I felt the same way but...but Jack showed up before we could talk anymore. And then the accident happened. And...we felt so guilty. We thought he never wanted to see us again. We never forgot about him but we just didn't want him to hate us. And we hadn't talked for twenty years until our reunion which he hosted."

"It was like the group was all back again," Jack half-heartedly chuckled. "But he felt...off. More pushy and angry all the time. I tried to act like I didn't notice the change but...it was pretty obvious, even for me. He hated me. And he still felt the same way about Maddie...we thought."

"Then he showed up here," Sam picked up. "Everyone thought he was just some rich, well-off man who wanted to 'better the community' or some mess like that but really..."

"He was just manipulating us to get what he wanted...the Fruitloop," Valerie finished, echoing the nickname they all recognized Danny coined for the man.

"And the longer he stayed around, the worse he got," Tuck whispered. "Danny used to tell us all the time how much he would hit on his mom and threaten to kill his dad—"

"He what?" Dick exclaimed, knowing it was serious but never thinking it was to that degree.

Tuck ducked his head down even further than it already was. "Well, yeah. Danny was the first to see Vlad for the major creep he was...and most of us didn't believe him at first until we started to see what Vlad did when no one else was around."

Jazz, having been the mute of the group for a while, spoke up. "And it was this among other factors that probably changed Vlad's target to Danny. My brother gave the man the attention he craved after being shunned for the majority of his life. He hung out with our family more and the banter between those two...it was antagonistic bordering on flirtation. But we never saw it until..."

"Until Vlad's interest turned away from the Dr.s Fenton and solely to Danny," Dick surmised, mouth pursing at the seriousness of the situation. "And after he got his sights set on Danny, he figured he would what? Warm up to him? Use his powers outright?"

At this Sam, Tuck, and Jazz peeped up, all with varying looks of disgust on their faces.

"No," Jazz answered, "I always played it off but Danny must have known the man's intentions early on. And he told us a few times that Vlad had offered him things: money, clothes—"

"Taking care of Dash," Tuck interrupted, gaining an elbow in the stomach from Valerie and a glare from Sam who continued.

"And other things that Danny didn't really talk about or like talking about...like offering to make him an apprentice or adopt him."

"And my brother turned him down every time. Even when Vlad would badger him about it, how he was the only one who understood him, how many similarities they had, how he could guide Danny to be a better person."

"He was a glorified stalker who sweet-talked his way into everyone's good graces and Danny only tolerated him because he thought it would hurt us—or he would hurt us—if he turned Vlad away," Maddie finished, justified tears coming from her eyes at the danger she ended up putting her son in.

"And we never turned him away from our son. We encouraged it," Jack admitted, disgusted with his role in the matter. "We figured we could be the family Vlad wanted so bad...but he ended up obsessed with Danny."

Dick and the rest of the Titans who were listening and recording the conversation in the T-car were getting a very disturbing picture of who Vladimir Masters was and how much trouble Danny was in. Dick couldn't help but draw parallel with Danny's situation and his issues with Slade. But somehow, Danny's was creepier. Slade wanted power and an advantage and found that through Robin. Vlad just wanted Danny. And since the family and friends were all too choked up to contribute any more, even though Dick knew they had more they were hiding that he sincerely hoped would not hinder the rescue, he commandeered the conversation.

"So he used his influence and ability to take advantage of Danny's aggravated situation and could have twisted your thoughts to abandoning Danny, alienated Danny and finally persuaded him into joining him, or just abducted Danny," Dick theorized, leaning heavily on the first and third ideas. "But another reason I came here before Danny was secured was to ask Mr. and Mrs. Fenton if there were a way to safely administer ectoplasm in a human with minimum permanent side-effects."

The inquiry brought on confusion and then varying levels of horrified understanding. Maybe Dick knew more about Danny and Vlad than he was letting on, they thought. Maybe they understand what Vlad's doing to Danny, Dick thought and talked more before they could worry too much.

"I ask because even if Vlad were able to influence emotions, if fought against hard enough, Danny would easily be able to fend him off. But, if Danny had enough ectoplasm integrated into his system, Vlad could manipulate that and Danny's emotions into a sort of double-whammy that would be more permanently potent than either of them separately. When we got the information, we found that Vlad had been recording Danny when the man was still in the public eye. The footage was...it looked like..." Dick could not calmly describe the possessiveness that Vlad showed and the hold he had over Danny but he tried his best.

He told them about how the man kept Danny in a trance-like state for the first few days and how the man would feed Danny, pick out his clothing, and read to Danny. He recalled how Danny seemed to wake up at moments which were quickly snuffed out when Vlad's eyes glowed red. How Danny finally "woke up" and Vlad's temper brought him to rage and how he manipulated Danny by showing him the videos. How Vlad put "enrichments" into Danny's food which were glowing and green. How Danny fought as much as he could but was just losing the will to. How close he and Vlad were now and how forcibly normal their situation had become. It was the weirdest case of Stockholm syndrome he had ever witnessed and he wasn't sure that Danny would have a normal life or outlook on Vlad that was not determined by the man himself. And, among the rage and fear that clouded the minds of Dick's audience, they reached the same conclusion.

With the man's power's potency and constant use, Danny may not be Danny anymore but some puppet that Vlad had made answer to every beckoned call. That thought alone should have been enough to deter them from ever trying to save someone who could have ended up an empty shell, a bad copy of a person they once thought they knew. But they all agreed that the time for pity parties was over. While Dick spoke to them about how this was going to be handled by a well-trained group of supers called the Teen Titans, they were forming plans of their own.

After Dick was done and got a few supplies, courtesy of the Fentons just in case Vlad had some bodyguards of the ghostly variety as an extra security measure, they began planning. There was no way the Titans could go in and conceivably win without heavy damage should Vlad and, God forbid, Danny fight back with even a fraction of their powers that the supers didn't know about. It was a good thing Maddie managed to convince Dick into telling them roughly where Vlad was keeping Danny and that Dick and Rachel stepped foot in the house. There was still so much residual ectoplasm in the air that a finely tuned instrument could track the two for a week. When the Titans left to get Danny, they would be right behind them. There would definitely be backlash with their withholding information but Danny was at stake. Nothing was going to stop them from finding him.

A/N: I sincerely hope that that is sufficient enough for tonight's installment. I'll see you guys next time on "Will She Update More than Once a Month?"!

Response to Reviewers:

FanficFan920: Probably not. I might have an idea for DP and all the DC TV shows as a one-shot series as an eventuality though.

KingPlotBunny: Next chapter...it will DEFINITELY happen net chapter.

Poohbearmorris: He's seriously messed...but likable(?) in some cases. Vlad seriously just needs a break. But he's gone a little too far. Gonna have to do a lot to make up for this.

Synaps: Thanks and fixed. I had stalker on the brain!

Bibbledoo: I'm so happy you do! And he's oddly getting kind of stable now that he has what he wants...but he's gonna go guano insane.

TheBoss3254: "Wait for it," is all I can say. Just because a character has an idea or asserts something doesn't mean it's all the way true. But I get where you're coming from and I'll definitely clear that up in the next chapter.

MiaulinK: Thank you! Vlad always came off to me like a guy who always thinks he's in the right and everything he does is justified but other people can't see it so he has to make them. My mental-Vlad is a major creep.

Sora Rider X: Thanks a bunch! Hope you stick with me!

Good Witch of Babble: I'm a complete mess when it comes to HP/DP stories! I really am looking forward to bringing Bella back...maybe as my kind-off OC that I have through most of my stories. And I think that it's going to be a large deciding factor in the story on who saves Danny in the next chapter. Or if he gets saved at all. Trust will be heavily strained after this and Danny will have to work hard to get a semblance of his old mindset towards any family or old friends but he'll be sort of okay/workable in the end...maybe. And the secret identity reveal will of course bring major tension between Danny and TT because of course he has to find out who they are! And he may be exposed in the meanwhile. Dick'll hopefully not act like his nicknamesake at this point!...I love spoilers...I'm just weird like that but I'm glad you're thinking the plot through. To be honest, I'm kind of thinking about this as I go along (*massive sweatdrop*) but it's working this time so yay! I'd love to hear about your fic! I have no doubt that I'll be an avid supporter!

east231: Nope. MY undergrad thesis is over dynamic game theory and I incorporate what I'm learning about to familiarize myself with it. There are some GRE words in here for the same purpose. And my Danny's overall pretty smart. It never hurts to expand your horizons.

Ninuhuju: Momma Bats never lets Baby Robin do anything alone! JK. But I can see Bruce following most of Dick's progress and looking after him but allowing him to do things on his own. They're just way too close to not worry about each other even if they act like stubborn children.

Guest of honor:...well...ummm...He'll be fine...eventually.

Phantomdwsu: You're giving me ideas I have no time to write! I already have 20+ separate ideas for fics I want to write!

moonmunirah97: THANK YOU SO MUCH! I love you for giving me the chance! You really should try to read more! Some are reeeaaally well written and the plot twist...GAHHH! But thanks! And remember to stay well hydrated...for all of the tears you're crying :P

Guest (1): He's human; deep down (wayyyy deep) he needs to not be lonely and deprived of connections. And it just makes it worse for what will happen. It almost justifies his actions and makes me feel bad for him even though he's a criminal and a creep and an overarching Fruitloop.

Nightshade1712: I'm sorry that happened to you and while I can't help in that aspect, I will definitely give Vlad what he deserves and maybe some of what he needs. And no rush. Cultivate your ideas. I've more than twenty written down in a trusty journal that I know I won't get to in the next two years. Thanks and you're absolutely right. Let's just hope that monster doesn't lose sight of his lighter days.

Luci: :) Thank you kindly!

Vokva: Always into the Dracula/Lucy mirrorings with Vlad/Danny interactions...I just don't feel comfortable with the age I put Danny as for them to have a relationship relationship...and it would be rape since Danny's not mentally capable of consent.

randomphandom: Thanks and I think Bella will make a reappearance if not in the next chapter then the one after that! Someone in Vlad's position where he is convincing himself he is doing the right thing is a very dangerous individual and I'm hoping to portray that well in the next chapter. I refuse to write character death but there WILL be bad times ahead.

Guest (2): No problem! And they found him! Now they just need to secure him!

So about this Pokemon Go, though...

Love, JennaUtena. Deuces!