(I'm so cheesy lol)
Vlad's eyes widened at the sight of the boy's body vanishing without a trace, causing fear to crawl up his spine. Shouting Danny's name over and over again, he heard no response, and by now, his throat began to hurt from his efforts.
"Daniel, please," he murmured, diving through the clouds and flying right under them, hoping the teen wasn't hiding in the opaque layers. "You can't do this. You'll never find your way back."
As much as Vlad was annoyed with the boy's immaturity and silent treatment, he felt a strong sense of worry- one that even surprised him. Anyone could get lost in airspace, and it was hard to pinpoint accurate locations where no physical markers were to be found.
An airplane zoomed by at an incredibly loud speed, and the man turned himself invisible and phased right in, wondering if Danny was resting somewhere inside.
Nothing.
The older halfa grunted in disappointment and exited the aircraft, his heart racing at the thought of Danny disappearing into thin air- quite literally. His Fire Core worked extra hard to keep him warm, but he could hardly feel the meager comfort with all the emotions rushing through his mind. He only wanted to teach the child a lesson, not make him disappear of all things.
But after searching the skies for an extra hour, it appeared to be exactly what he'd done.
Vlad's face was grim as he descended back down to earth, juggling problems in his mind like a frazzled circus performer. One one hand, he'd managed to lose track of Danny, already making his head spin. He'd also taken time away from his mayoral duties, and would no doubt have to double up his work later on. That was, if he could even find the time to do so, since the boy was more of a priority.
The hardest part would be to explain the situation to his parents.
Transforming back into his human self, he landed at the Fentonworks doorstep, smoothing out his mildly disheveled hair. He tied the silver locks into its usual ponytail and knocked on the family's front door, dreading the conversation to follow. There was no easy way to explain things.
And to make things worse, it was Jack who greeted him at the door.
"Vladdie!" the orange clad man exclaimed rather obnoxiously, wrapping the mayor's thin frame into a bear hug. "Wasn't expecting my main mayor to come by! Maddie, come look!"
The woman of Vlad's dreams waved casually from the inside, reclining on a sofa with a confused expression on her face. "Hello... Vlad."
Gazing at her beautiful face only made a knot form in his stomach. She wouldn't be pleased to hear about the fate of her son.
Her husband led Vlad into the house and onto a couch, boisterously offering snacks and refreshments. His guest declined, his face stern.
"Jack, Maddie, we need to talk," the mayor informed them. "It's about Daniel."
Maddie raised a brow. "Is something wrong?Was he disrespectful?"
"Worse. He's gone."
Jack tilted his head in confusion and crashed onto a sofa. "What?"
Vlad sighed. "This isn't easy for me to tell you, but your son has been reported as missing. He... ran away, but hasn't been found since. I don't know how long he'll be gone, but there's a very real chance that it'll be indefinitely if I don't help establish a search party for him soon. I don't know all the details, but this is a dire situation. As bizarre as it seems, he could be in any country by now."
Maddie scoffed. "Vlad, really, is this all you came to tell us? I don't know what you're up to, but it's odd, to say the least."
Jack nodded. "I'm not sure what he's talking about either. Is this a game?"
"No, it's not!" Vlad retorted, scowling at their disbelief. "He's lost and if we don't do something about it, we may never see him again! Why can't you understand that?"
"Because Danny is in his room," the curvaceous woman revealed. "I think legal work is getting to your head, Vlad. He just took a shower, and I asked him to go change and come down for dinner."
"Are you feeling alright?" Jack asked before raising his head towards the staircase. "Danny! Look who's come to visit!"
Vlad twisted his body to find the boy at the top of the stairs, shocked to see him alive and well. The child flashed him a quick smirk before descending and entering the living room, sitting next to his mother. Maddie placed a hand on his lap in comfort, sharing the sense of distrust in the mayor with her son.
"Danny," she began, "Vlad says you disappeared. Did something bad happen?"
The teen shook his head, feigning innocence. "No. I mean, I just took a longer route to walk back home, but I made it in time for curfew and everything. Maybe he's talking about some other kid?"
Jack turned to his college companion. "Yeah, you probably heard of someone else going missing. I still say the cause was probably evil ghosts, but our son is home safe. That's all that matters to us for now."
"It wasn't another child," Vlad insisted. "Look- I- oh, crispy croutons! May I please have a private word with Daniel?"
Danny immediately tensed up, prompting a soft squeeze on his shoulder from his mother. "Why? We've got nothing to talk about. I haven't even seen you all day."
"Danny, don't be rude!" Jack lightly scolded him. "Things happen, and besides, you're the mayor's favorite second hand man! Besides me, at least. Have a nice talk with Vladdie, okay?"
Maddie rolled her eyes but hesitantly agreed to the ordeal, standing up and leaving the room with her husband. By the time they were gone, Vlad had a soft red glow in his eyes as he stared directly at the boy.
"What were you thinking!" the mayor hissed. "Nearly entering outer space was a terrible abuse of your powers! What was going on through your mind?"
Danny shrugged, a mischievous twinkle in his eye. "I don't know what you're talking about. I've been here for a while now. How could I have been in outer space?"
"Cut it out, Daniel," Vlad snapped. "This isn't the time. What if you'd gotten lost? What if you never found your original state? What if you landed in the middle of the jungle? Do you ever think ahead? I suppose not, considering your recent pranks on me. Still, you were absolutely ridiculous-"
The boy coughed. "I'm ridiculous? You're the one putting stupid laws all over the place. But guess where you can't put them."
The mayor frowned deeply as Danny's finger pointed straight up.
"So you think you can just escape into the air whenever you want?" the older halfa ranted. "Do you know how idiotic that is? All your responsibilities are down here."
"I don't care what you think. I can fly, and I can do whatever I want with that. Unless there's crazy evil ghosts like you in the air, I'm perfectly safe. You just want me on lockdown."
"Butter biscuits, Daniel! I was worried about you!"
The boy sat in silence, allowing his enemy's words to settle in. It was a completely unexpected reaction, but it only took a few moments for Daniel to chalk it up to a form of lying and manipulation. That made the comment all the more expected, really.
Typical Vlad.
"Yeah, I'll bet," Danny replied sarcastically. "No, you were worried I wouldn't be under your punishment. Admit it. You're trying to use your mayor powers to strangle me to death."
"That is what happens when you attack without warning!" Vlad pointes out. "Did you really think there would be no repercussions to your actions? I should have known your little trip to the Moon was just to spite me."
"Spite you? I was trying to get away from you. You didn't have to follow me- you chose to. I can't help it if you're obsessed with me, or my mom. You're just a creepy stalker."
Vlad resisted the urge to slam his fist on a coffee table. "What, should I have let you fly higher and higher until you left the atmosphere? You were almost there! Don't you realize that?"
Danny scoffed. "So what? I was in ghost form. It's not like I needed to breathe. Plus, it's nice and cold up there. You're just being a control freak, as usual."
"Daniel-"
"Oh, and you know what?" the teen continued, grinning. "You aren't always gonna be around to watch me. I'm gonna do it again. Free as a bird."
"Speaking of birds, I'll send my vultures after you," the mayor threatened. "How does that sound?"
"Sounds good to me. They'll be just as useless as you were today. Heck, they might be just as freaked out as you about flying up for fun. Why are you so against it? Haven't you ever gone up that far before?"
Vlad paused. "Daniel... that's not the point."
"Can't answer, old man?"
The older halfa sighed as he recalled the first and only time he'd ever nearly flown to the stars above.
The memory was ingrained in him by heavy, unsettling emotions he'd learned to sweep under the rug. It was when he had only just begun practicing his powers, and like Daniel, flown past the clouds and into free air. But after seeing the entire world beneath him, and having remembered how his life had been torn apart by the accident, the vastness of the earth only served for one purpose.
To remind him how alone he was.
Of course, that was before he'd made a name for himself and became the billionaire he was today, and even better, he was now somewhat in contact with the love of his life- even if she was a bit avoidant of him.
But Danny could have been lost forever. He had ghost powers, yes, but he was only a child, and if he'd lost track of the way the planet spun, or the location of his continent, he might have been lost for at least a month. Even then, the boy's ghost form would have eventually tired out, leaving a human trapped somewhere where nobody could find him.
A whole slew of problems Danny hadn't bothered to understand, and it was partially his fault.
Perhaps he was being too harsh with the new laws.
"I can answer that, but it won't lead to anything, Daniel," Vlad began. "I understand... why you did that. I still believe you lost your mind, but the cause isn't incomprehensible. I am fully aware of how my new laws inconvenience you- after all, that was their purpose."
Danny cocked a brow. "So?"
What could the mayor do? Go softer on a boy who'd fully intended to aggravate him?
That didn't make any tactical sense.
"Promise me you won't do that again," the older halfa demanded, his tone suddenly stern. "Promise me, or so help me I'm going to track you down and use my Plasmius Maximus against you until you're practically fully human again. Now."
"What?" Danny exclaimed, astonished. "You- you can't do that! Who's gonna fight all these ghosts?"
"In case you've forgotten, I've employed more ghost hunters, including your fool of a father. The choice is yours, Danny. Promise me, or if I catch you flying that high again, I won't hesitate."
Danny's blue eyes widened. "No! Look! What about training me and all? You can't do that if you keep blasting me with the Maximus!"
"You aren't even serious about that," Vlad replied coldly. "Secondly, I have no need to train anyone who routinely abuses their abilities."
Danny racked his brains, but other than running away- a stupid and useless plan- no practical solution came to mind. Vlad could easily track him, and in respect to skill, was far his superior. Even if the teen destroyed the Plasmius Maximus, his enemy could always build ten more in its place, which would constantly leave him under the threat of having his powers removed.
Checkmate.