Well, well, well, I see you've come back for more. We finally find out just what Vlad was up to back at the hospital. Well, of course, *I've* known all along, but it's time for *you* to find out. Standard creeper fruitloop warnings apply. And then…
…well, you'll just have to see. :) Keep an eye out for cameos and references as usual!
A big shoutout to my wonderful betas who help make this story as wonderful as it is!
General Notes:
"This is dialogue."
"This is alternative dialogue, meaning whispered or spoken from a distance such as on the phone."
'This is thought.'
This and THIS and *this* are emphasis. The *this* emphasis is more along the lines of the snarky or sarcastic.
[This is digital text, such as notifications on a computer or smartphone.]
I do not own Danny Phantom nor Young Justice.
Ch. 14 originally published: Friday, August 9, 2019
RECOGNIZED
Chapter 14
The Grapevine
17:35, Wednesday, March 21 — Amity Park, Ohio
Only the distant, subterranean crashing of bowling pins disturbed the serenity of the Manson residence. Somewhat uncharacteristically, Vlad shifted under Sam and Tucker's gazes. He sat in a chair opposite the teens' shared loveseat, the most divided seating arrangement possible while still technically sitting together in the same room. Sam reclined, arms crossed and gaze falsely unperturbed. Tucker instead leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees, his right thumb and index finger forming an 'L' to support his jaw as he glared.
Vlad glanced between the two a few times and cleared his throat. "Not many researchers fully appreciate the impact of ectoplasm on the prefrontal cortex of the brain. To a certain extent, it deregulates one's impulse control and reasoning. That is why ghosts are so commonly associated with an 'obsession;' the fact that they are entirely made of ectoplasm means that any lingering hint of the prefrontal cortex has been completely subdued, thus they have little to no power over themselves. Hence the reason why Skulker is my most valuable assistant and bounty hunter; his obsession with tracking and capturing is virtually uninhibited."
"Fascinating," Sam drawled.
Vlad ignored her quip and continued, "In humans its effect can be highly unpredictable, though it noticeably affects human physiology in extreme concentrations. The effects of gradual, ambient exposure in lab conditions with proper safety measures will be negligible. When you take a blast directly to the head as I did, however…
"Well, you can only imagine what such an extreme concentration of ectoplasm accelerated into the prefrontal cortex can do."
"Drive you loco?" Sam offered.
"Go full-on fruitloop?" Tucker added.
Vlad leveled an indignant glare before continuing. "The ecto-acne was the least of my concerns. It took years for the ectoplasm in my system to balance and distribute, giving me the abilities I now possess, but in those early days, I had a difficult time controlling my new abilities, let alone impulse control." Vlad massaged a phantom pain in his wrist. "I may have isolated myself from Jack and Maddie, but I assure you, it was only because I recognized an ugly truth about myself: The ectoplasmic exposure manifested my love for Maddie into irreconcilable mania. For her own sake, I had to stay away.
"But then…I heard she was pregnant again."
Sam did her best to hide her slight, concerned frown.
"Jasmine had been uncomplicated: predictable, on-time, healthy, a textbook pregnancy and birth. When Daniel was coming along, everything seemed to be the same, so Jack and Maddie took a spontaneous last-minute transatlantic cruise. By that point, I had a mere modicum of control over my powers, so naturally I thought it would be best to…secretly accompany them and look out for her in case anything did go wrong."
"You stalked them?!" Tucker blurted.
"I am not proud of my earliest decisions after receiving my powers, apart from the ones which would lead to my incredible wealth and prowess. But, I assure you, I did my best to keep my distance from the disgustingly happy couple.
"Everything was fine until Paris. Day two of their stay, and Maddie went into labor while touring the historic center."
Sixteen Years and Two Days Prior — 16:20, Tuesday, March 19 — L'Hôpital Hôtel-Dieu, Paris, France
The hospital staff quickly produced a wheelchair for Maddie as they whisked her from the waiting area. It had only been minutes since her water broke on the steps of the nearby Nôtre-Dame.
"Do not weurry, Madame Fenton," the nurse encouraged in her best English. She gripped the expectant mother's hand and squeezed it in reassurance. "It 'appens all ze time. Your leettle miracle is simply early, zat is all."
Maddie, amidst her Lamaze breathing, managed to offer a small nod and smile of acknowledgement.
The nurse and the Fentons soon found themselves in a delivery room where a doctor stood waiting. While the nurse situated Maddie in the bed, Jack tossed their travel day pack onto a chair and went dutifully to his wife's side.
"J-jazz, how's Jazz?" Maddie grunted through the pain.
"I'll call your mom and find out, hm?" Jack assured, and stepped out to find a phone and contact his in-laws.
Before he could get far, though, the doctor emerged and called after him. "Mister Fenton, might I have a word?"
Jack nodded and waited for the man to catch up. "Is everything alright?"
The doctor sighed. "I was wondering if there were any complications during your daughter's birth?"
"N-no, I don't think so," Jack answered, anxiety growing. "I think the doctors used the word 'textbook' to describe it. Wh—why, is something wrong? Is my son okay?!"
"We are detecting an abnormal heart rate for the baby. Now, it is not an immediate — euh comment-dit-on — 'red flag,' as you say, but if there are any patterns between this and the previous birth, we can avert any potential disaster."
"No, nothing that I know of, doctor."
"Not to worry, Mister Fenton. We will monitor your wife and child closely and take immediate action if and when necessary."
"Thank you. Can you please direct me to a phone which I can use to make an international call?"
"Certainly, sir."
—
"Of course, that was only the start," Vlad continued in his narrative. "Delivery lasted hours, so long that it was early the next morning when Daniel was finally born. They didn't know, of course, but I had stayed on hand watching in my new ghost form, disguised in a doctor's lab coat in case my invisibility failed. It was rough on everyone, but then, a few minutes after Daniel was finally born…"
—
An intern held the baby close while Jack comforted and congratulated Maddie. Everyone present basked in the relief after hours of anguish and worry. But, the intern immediately noticed something was amiss with the boy in his hands."Il n'respire pas…" ('He's not breathing…')
"Quoi?" ('What?') the doctor replied, midway through setting aside his instruments after the apparently successful delivery.
The intern gently pressed his finger to the boy's jaw and waited. "C'est pas un pouls…C'est- Docteur, c'est pas un pouls!" ('There isn't a pulse? There's- Doctor, there's no pulse!')
The doctor dropped his tools and dashed to the intern's side to confirm as the younger man began attempting resuscitation. He took over and shouted, "Infermiere! Venez venez venez! Maintenant!" ('Nurse! Come come come! Now!')
The nurse who had originally comforted Maddie sprinted into the room. They tried repeatedly to revive baby Daniel, but to no avail. Without a word, the intern placed newborn Daniel Fenton into a waiting isolette and rushed to the Natal Intensive Care Unit with the doctor in tow. Their nurse stayed behind to calm and encourage the Fenton parents.
"Docteur, le bébé est mort…" ('Doctor, the baby is dead…') the intern said despondently.
The doctor had only lost a baby once in his career. "PAS ENCORE!" ('NOT YET!') he shouted.
—
"They whisked young Daniel away so quickly, I lost track of them. It took me a few minutes to find where they had gone."
—
Plasmius crept invisibly into the NICU room with an uncomfortable sensation in his core. He could not yet place the feeling, though he would later recognize the odd feeling as his ghost sense. He resolved himself to serving as sentry for the revived Fenton baby and making sure everything was alright, especially now that the staff had busied themselves with the other babies in the room—two Grayson twins, based on the charts. The incessant beeping of the EKG machine had never sounded so comforting to the man.
Vlad stared lovingly down at Maddie's creation. It had been a long time since Vlad was able to be so near a newborn; in fact, he struggled to remember any time he had had a chance at such proximity. That his first time should be with the offspring of his dear Maddie only served to make the occasion all the more fulfilling.
Vlad gently gripped the edge of the isolette and smiled down on the boy with his blue beanie and scrunched eyes. A few wires and tubes reminded him the situation was far from ideal, but Vlad overlooked their presence. His Maddie had a son who was safe and alive.
"Vla-?"
The sudden squawk of noise caused Vlad to jolt and momentarily lose grip on his erratic ghost powers. A large spark of ecto-electricity jumped from his hand and sparked around both isolettes in the NICU room.
'No…No no no no no!' he mentally cried.
The EKG machines erupted into total alarm. The Fenton isolette's EKG flatlined, and one of the Grayson twin's EKG's started beeping once more. Vlad panicked, accidentally releasing another, larger arc of electricity which overloaded the breaker and plunged the ward into temporary blackout.
The NICU was in instant chaos as some of the doctors and nurses tried to restore power to the room via the backup generator while the remainder attempted to assess the condition of the dozens of babies throughout the wing.
In those few seconds before the power returned, Vlad confirmed that Daniel Fenton's breathing had stopped. Not quite trusting the EKG, he reached an intangible hand inside the isolette and felt for a pulse.
Nothing.
He had killed Daniel Fenton.
He had killed Maddie's son.
Panic, hypertension, lunacy, mania, psychosis: none of these words adequately describe the degree to which Vlad had crazed in that moment. His thought process in total shutdown, Vlad saw there was only one thing for it:
Surely these Graysons, whoever they are, wouldn't need both their babies if his Maddie would be getting none...?
With the hospital staff still distracted, Vlad made quick invisible work of disconnecting the deceased Fenton child from his EKG and other systems and replacing him with the live twin in the red beanie.
'Sorry, Richard,' Vlad thought to himself.
He hardly had time to reconnect new-Danny's EKG wires before power was restored. Fortunately, this momentarily distracted the staff from the Grayson isolette, affording Vlad a moment to reconnect the wires for new-Richard.
It seemed as if…he had gotten away with it. 'Danny Fenton' was now alive and well, the Grayson family still had the baby in the yellow beanie, and the baby in blue-
The baby in blue!
Vlad's invisible vision darted around the room looking for something to allow him to steal just a moment more with the babies; surely the nurses would notice a change in color of the beanies. There! A storage cabinet sat ajar. He reached out and pushed a number of glass containers off the shelf and onto the floor. The shattering glass naturally caught the nurses' attention instantly.
One nurse aggressively removed a glove and thrust it to the floor. "Putain de verre!" ('Fucking glass!") he shouted and stalked over to clean up the mess.
Not 10 seconds later, the blue beanie had returned to 'Danny Fenton's' head, and the red had returned to the late 'Richard Grayson.' Vlad allowed himself a moment to release a long, relieved breath as he gripped and leaned against the Graysons' isolette.
Spark.
Curse his powers. Curse his college-era parascientific fascination. Curse the bumbling fool Jack Fenton! Because Vlad once more momentarily lost control over his abilities and released one final, small arc of ecto-electricity. To his horror, it didn't disperse in the isolette's construction.
Instead, it restarted red-beanied Danny Fenton's heart, and it stopped that of the Grayson in the yellow beanie, 'James.'
"Butter brickle," Vlad muttered lower than a whisper. If he didn't act quickly, the Fentons would be going home with the only surviving Grayson, while the Graysons would leave with the Fenton child.
But it was at this moment that the red-beanied, actually-Danny-Fenton began to stir and opened his shockingly blue eyes.
Danny's…had been violet.
Vlad would know; he was there at the moment of delivery as well. Daniel Fenton entered the world earlier that morning on March 20, 2002 and opened his vibrant violet eyes before going into cardiac arrest. And now, the baby who had been in the Fenton crib—now wearing the red beanie—was never Daniel to begin with, so where was the true Fenton?
Vlad raced to the Fenton isolette to check the resuscitated Grayson-in-blue's eyes. Sure enough; they were an arctic blue as well. Which meant…
Vlad hesitated before returning to check the deceased, yellow-beanied baby's eyes. He reached in and gently lifted the eyelids, and-
Vlad fell backwards and slammed into the EKG machines, losing his grip on his invisibility. His as-yet-manifesting ghost form consisted of blood-red eyes, ink-black hair and blue skin, though it lacked the musculature and aura which would come to define his Plasmius persona in the coming years. It appeared his preemptive donning of a lab coat would come in handy after all.
"Putain de merde!" ('Holy shit!') the same nurse exclaimed. "D'où viens-tu?!" ('Where did you come from?!')
"Um…uh…scusay-ma!" ('Excusez-moi!' / 'Pardon me!') he blurted in broken French.
Vlad bolted out the door and down the hallway, forgetting all the while he could simply phase through a wall and lose any pursuers instantly.
"OW!" Vlad rubbed his nose, still recovering from Kid Flash's prior assault. "Will you all quit punching me!"
"I can't believe you'd switch those innocent babies when you didn't even know better!" Sam steamed.
"What about Dani?" Tucker whispered.
"That's different," she hissed back.
In truth, Dani had operated under Clockwork's explicit instruction to switch the babies. Vlad had indeed acted on his own selfish agenda.
"Look, I do not know how the 'real' Daniel Fenton was already in the other isolette," Vlad said. "In my frantic state of mind, I was half-convinced I had gone insane. Regardless, I know for a fact I switched the babies in blue and red. How the true Daniel Fenton ended up in the yellow beanie has haunted me to this very day."
Thanks to their previous conversation with Dani when Vlad had first been taken, Sam and Tucker knew exactly how. The girl had arrived before Vlad and swapped the true James Grayson with the true Daniel Fenton. Vlad, therefore, swapped the true James with the true Richard.
Tucker found himself reeling.
"Little did I know that the other living baby in that room would become such an important figure, or that this whole affair would come back to haunt me in such a way. And yet…here we are, one child his parents' own nemesis and local hero, the other an extremely public figure in both of his identities. I had hoped that the whole sordid affair would fade into the fabric of time and allow both boys to flourish in their own independent realities, but I suppose the strings of fate decided to tie them more closely together than I had ever anticipated."
Sam and Tucker sat silent in utter shock.
"Well, I have told you all I know. I believe I have fulfilled my half of our bargain, just as you did yours," Vlad said as he stood. "I never thought I would be thankful to you two meddling kids, yet here we are. For what it's worth, I hope young Daniel is found and recovered swiftly."
"Wait, that's it?!" Sam snapped as she stood as well. "You're telling me you swapped some babies around and altered TWO families' lives forever, and you dare to have a laissez-faire, 'Oh, well, what can you do?' attitude?!"
"How dare-" Vlad growled.
"Sam-" Tucker began.
"NO!" the girl snapped, wheeling on her friend. "Who knows what could have been if Vlad had never interfered!"
"We might never have had a Danny!" Tucker spat back.
Sam and Vlad both stilled.
Tucker looked between them before dropping his gaze and loosely gripping his elbow. "There could have been no Danny. No NASA geek to drag us halfway across the country to space camp, no Dumpty Humpty fan to rock out with, no—no superpowered weirdo to get us involved in crazy adventures and make our pointless teenage lives mean something. Yeah, Vlad's a creeper who messed with 2 families' futures and he seriously needs therapy; But, there could have been no Danny, and you and I may never have been friends because of him."
Sam released a deep, fatigued sigh before looking back to Vlad.
"Y-yes, well…" Vlad coughed once into his fist. "I think I've done and said enough for today."
Pamela chose that moment to enter the room carrying some fresh-cut flowers. "Oh, are you leaving? I've brought you some daffodils. They signify respect and admiration," she added with stars in her eyes.
"Oh, thank you, my dear," Vlad cooed and accepted the bouquet. "I will certainly make a point of attending the next council meeting at which DARE will be petitioning."
Slightly Earlier That Evening — 17:31, Wednesday, March 21 — Central City, Missouri
*Ping*
The gloriousness of Wally's after-school nap slowed his response to the sound. He rolled sluggishly on his home's sofa, distancing his mouth from the drool spot on the cushion.
It was such a peaceful afternoon at the West household. His mother's humming drifted through the house as she prepared dinner. Just outside the open window, Wally's father, amidst sporadic grunts from weeding the flowerbed outside, carried on a jovial chat with their next door neighbor. A sleeping white pit bull puppy named Brucely — the latest addition to the West household as a result of Artemis' influence — draped himself spread-eagle over Wally's hip.
*Ping*
Wally scrunched his eyes before rubbing and finally opening them. He stretched and collapsed in place, overwhelmed by the stretch's relief. Brucely grunted his disapproval of the shift but settled right back into place.
*Pingpingpingpingping*
Wally twisted to reach for his phone. It was a string of texts from Artemis' civilian number.
Arty: [Hey turn on the news]
Arty: [News. Now.]
Arty: [WALLY.]
Arty: [TURN]
Arty: [ON]
Arty: [THE]
Arty: [NEWS]
Wally fumbled for the TV remote and switched the set to GBN.
"-amidst reports of a new agricultural venture," Cat Grant reported. "LexCorp director Lex Luthor's presence is critical to establishing the multinational corporation's position in the undertaking, connecting Her Majesty's Treasury with local developers in Qurac. We now go to the doorstep of 10 Downing Street, where Mr. Luthor addressed the assembled press outside the famed London residence of the Prime Minister earlier this evening."
The interview switched to a recording where Luthor stood in front of a microphone. "LexCorp's experimental technology division pledges to be the inter-continental middleman for this new development scheme," he said. "With Her Majesty's funding, my corporation will be able to step in and allow rural Qurac villages to increase agricultural production and flourish as individual communities."
"Mister Luthor," one reporter asked, "many fear this is a first step in reestablishing British colonial influence over the Middle East. Do you have any comments?"
"LexCorp's involvement will ensure that Qurac continues to operate as a politically independent trade partner of the United Kingdom."
"And what about LexCorp's presence in the nation? Are we going to have another Nestle situation?"
"No further questions." Luthor proceeded inside the Prime Minister's residence.
Wally scrambled for his uniform.
17:50, Wednesday, March 21 — Mount Justice, Happy Harbor, Rhode Island
"Luthor's presence in London as well as increased zeta beam radiation in and around LexCorp's build site in Bishopsgate is all the confirmation we need." Batman instructed the assembled protégés. "The search and rescue operation for Robin and Danny Fenton has been green-lit by the League. Unfortunately, my covert presence is required in Rhelasia for a confidential mission above your security clearance, so the team will have to proceed with the operation without League assistance.
"As you proceed, I fear it is purposeless to remind you of the clandestine nature of your task, but I must reiterate the importance of covert operation. Miss Martian, prepare the bioship for departure later this evening."
"Yes, Batman," Miss Martian said.
"We do not know what array of monitoring systems are currently installed on site since it is still under construction, however we can assume that the Light will be anticipating League protégé intervention. Due to their familiarity with the bioship and its cloaking mechanisms, aerial and surface infiltration are not recommended. Therefore, you will proceed to the site in disguise via the Underground network from London City Airport and use the network of subterranean access tunnels to approach."
"But how are we going to get in?" Zatanna asked.
"M'gann, how has your phase shifting been progressing?"
"Uh…almost there, Batman," she weakly informed.
"It will have to be 'there.' You protégés have taken on the entirety of the Injustice League with fewer members than are currently present; I'm sure you are capable of getting past a few padlocked doors. Are your orders clear?"
"Have Tucker and Sam been informed?" Kid Flash asked.
"Why should they be?" Batman parried.
"They don't even know he's been taken captive. Besides, they have worked closely with Danny in a variety of situations and might be able to help."
"You wish to involve civilian teenagers in an intercontinental Justice League protégé operation?"
"Well-"
"No. Prepare yourselves for departure. This briefing is over."
Batman left via zeta tube.
The protégés turned to see Kid Flash steaming.
"Wally-" M'gann began.
"Wouldn't you want to help or even just know if it was you?" he spat. "He's their best friend."
"But they do not have League authorization, protection, or diplomatic immunity," she countered. "Nor do they have known metahuman capabilities."
"Neither does Artemis. Or—or Rob."
"Kid Flash, we already have enough difficulty overpowering and outwitting Cadmus and LexCorp employees as it is," Aqualad said. "Adding two more civilians to look after will not help our focus."
"Well, they should at least know where he is."
"Kid Flash, do not engage Sam and Tucker until we know more, that is an ord-"
"Recognized: Kid Flash B-03."
M'gann released a deep sigh. "Shoot."
18:04, Wednesday, March 21 — Amity Park, Ohio
It had the makings of a pleasant spring evening as Tucker trudged home from Sam's. The sun hid behind partial cloud cover and cast golden rays onto Amity Park's sleepy neighborhoods.
"Stupid fruitloop with his stupider obsessions," Tucker grumbled to himself. He huffed, kicking a stone on the sidewalk and watched it ricochet across the pavement into the street.
The entire community seemed to have been subdued with the disappearance of Danny Fenton. Parents who normally let their kids play outside kept them close instead, afraid that they would run away as well. Not even a ghost attack disturbed the peace.
"Hey, man."
"GAH!" Tucker shouted and recoiled. Kid Flash stood in full uniform next to where the techno geek had just been walking. It took a moment for Tucker's heart rate and breathing to drop down to normal again. "Don't do that, dude!"
"Sorry," Kid Flash grumbled. He looked down the road in the direction of Tucker's house. "Can I, uh, walk with you?"
Tucker frowned at Kid Flash's hopeful expression. "Um…sure."
The pair began to meander down the street, neither in any hurry to reach their destination.
"So, uh, why are you back in Amity Park? Not that it isn't nice to see you again," Tucker finally spoke.
"Again? We haven't met-" Kid Flash attempted.
"Dude, come on, I'm not stupid," Tucker said. "We both know that we both know more than we both…think." He momentarily mouthed his words back to himself to try to make sense of them. "Besides, Wally, your appearance changes a heck of a lot less than Danny's."
"Eh, touché," Wally conceded and pushed his goggles back onto his forehead. "I was never big on the whole 'secret identity' thing anyway. Makes things too complicated."
"You don't even know the half of it," Tucker chuckled. "Anyway, why are you here? Is Danny okay?"
"Um…"
Tucker stopped walking. "Wait…you hesitated."
"He's kind of…captive?" Wally offered weakly.
"Captive?! Oh, man, why the heck didn't Vlad tell us that?!" Tucker exhaled and continued walking.
"I dunno; he's kind of a creeper."
"More like a fruitloop."
Kid Flash huffed a single chuckle.
"So who has him?"
"A secret terrorist organization got him while we were rescuing Masters."
"Not the Light?!"
"Yes, the L- Wait, how do you know about that? They're secret!"
"The online data acquisition community is very skeptical of certain 'upstanding,' prominent members of the business world. But anyway, Danny didn't…um…?"
Kid Flash sensed Tucker's reluctance to reveal any more information than necessary. "No, he didn't 'ghost' his way out. Too many witnesses, plus he wasn't really—well, he thought he saw his brother get murdered in front of him, so-"
"Wait, what?"
"Turns out Robin was a clone." Wally shoved his hands in his suit's pockets. "Has been since last Saturday. But Danny didn't know that and then 'Robin' got caught and shot in the head because he'd gone rogue or something. But Vlad told us Robin was actually a clone, so everything's fine, right?"
Tucker looked at him in shock. "Fine? Dude, your best friend—our best friends are missing and being held prisoner by a secret terrorist organization. I'd hardly call that 'fine.'"
"Well, you gotta find a way to cope in this kind of life, you know?" Kid Flash said with a shrug. "Find a silver lining. Keep going until everything actually is fine."
"Are you—are you doing okay?" Tucker threw an arm around the superhero's shoulders.
"I dunno." He shrugged again. "Just—he's going through so much. And there's nothing I can do until we get to Lond- …Wait. I shouldn't say that. Nevermind."
"Lond-what?"
"Nothing."
"Tell me."
"I'm not allowed."
Tucker used his arm to stop the yellow-suited protégé in his tracks. "Damn it, you freakin' turbocharged french fry, if you know where my friend is, tell me!"
"Ugh, Batman's gonna kill me," Wally grumbled and rolled his eyes. "There's a skyscraper under construction in London's banking district and Vlad said Luthor might be taking Danny and Robin there. Our team's on the way there this evening to investigate."
"Huh…" Tucker began wondering how long it might be until the Fenton Satellite was ready for another overboosting. He continued walking, and Kid Flash followed. "The Fenton's are on high alert now, so there's no way Sam and I can get away with 'borrowing' the Speeder again…" Tucker mused aloud.
"Batman doesn't think you guys should come anyway."
Tucker gave a short laugh. "Sorry, what? We're the ones that got you all involved in the first place!"
"The Light is not exactly merciful on kids."
"You think we care? He's our friend!"
"You think your ghost gadgets will help you against humans?"
Tucker frowned. "Well…that's true." 'Ghost gadgets against humans, perhaps not. But…a *ghost* against humans—?' "Well, thanks for letting me know. Sam and I have been worried sick about Danny."
"Sure, man. It…didn't feel right keeping you guys in the dark. How has Amity been surviving the ghost attacks without its local hero?"
"Eh, the Fentons are coping for now. Hasn't been that much activity, fortunately."
"That's good. At least the Fentons are specially trained for that anyway."
Tucker fell silent as those words echoed in his mind: 'Specially trained…'
"Tucker!" Maddie greeted with only a measure of her usual warmth. "Can I help you?"
"No, but I can help you."
"Oh? Whatever for?"
"Danny."
Maddie dropped all pretenses. "Come downstairs."
Tucker followed her to the lab in the basement. "How has the Fenton Finder been working?"
"Perfectly. Though I wish the cells could replenish more rapidly."
"Mood."
Maddie perched on a stool. "So what is it, Tucker?"
"I-" Tucker paused to marvel at the wide array of ecto and standard weaponry arranged neatly on Mrs. Fenton's workbench. "I have some news about Danny. Mostly bad, but…it's a lead."
Maddie tensed.
"One of the Justice League protégés informed me he's been taken captive by a secret terrorist organization."
"Not the Light?!"
"Yes, th- …Wait, how do *you* know about the Light?"
"I can't believe those wackos have my son!"
"Look, Mrs. F., Sam and I can't go because the Justice League thinks this might be over our heads."
"Why are the Justice League and the Light involved in Danny's disappearance?"
"I can't really explain, it's…complex. And confidential."
'Boy, I *invented* confidential.'
"But I can tell you they're going to London where they think the Light might be holding Danny in one of LexCorp's facilities," Tucker continued. "From what I found, I think they mean a skyscraper currently under construction in the Bank District."
"Hm." Maddie's gaze was so piercing that Tucker felt positively transparent. "So why come to me? Why not just steal our Speeder again and take Sam to rescue him by yourself?"
"Borrow, we BORROWED it!" Tucker sighed. "But, for once I think the adults may be right. As you now know, Sam and I have a lot of experience helping Danny fight ghosts, but non-obsession-driven humans? With guns and developed strategy and stuff? I don't think Sam and I could cut it. I mean, these aren't the useless Guys in White. Plus, now there's no way we'd be able to sneak away without all you adults finding out, and then Sam and I would be grounded till kingdom come."
"You're talking awfully casually for a teenager who let me ignorantly hunt my own son for years without blinking an eye."
The boy winced. "Yeah, well…the situation's changed. You know that Sam and I are more capable and involved than you thought, and you're apparently more badass than *we* thought. So on that note, I came to you because you mentioned having training. Training in what, exactly?"
"Unimportant."
"Mrs. F," he prodded.
Maddie thought for a moment, apparently sizing up the boy. She meaningfully roved her vision over her personal arsenal on display, letting Tucker appreciate its full extent. Finally, the woman pursed her lips and gave a curt nod before locking eyes with Tucker. "Ever heard of the North Korean invasion of downtown San Francisco?"
"…No?"
"You're welcome."
18:30, Wednesday, March 21 — Amity Park, Ohio
"Now come on, Mads, this is ridiculous," Jack argued. "You can't seriously expect to fly halfway around the world and then find him, especially now that the Justice League's involved?"
"Like hell I can't," she barked and stuffed some more clothing into her black duffle bag. "My baby boy is out there, and he needs help."
"Well, I'm coming with you," Jack insisted, and went to the closet to get a bag of his own.
"No. You'll only slow me down."
"Like hell I would!"
"I need you back here manning the Fenton Finder. It will be more efficient than us both doing everything in the field."
"But you're not a one-woman rescue squad, you're just a-"
"Just a what?" Maddie interrupted and paused her packing. "Just a ninth-degree blackbelt? Just an expert markswoman? Just a master huntress, ghost or otherwise? Just a genius scientist? I never say anything about the order of power in this household so everyone can get along just fine in their delusions, but let's get one thing straight, Jack Fenton: I am NOT the docile, obsequious housewife everyone thinks I am. I'm more capable and qualified than you know." She returned to packing.
"You're right, I don't know!" Jack answered. "So tell me what you aren't telling me!"
Maddie frowned and slammed their bedroom wall with the side of her fist to open a hidden panel. She withdrew an M16A2 rifle from inside.
18:47, Wednesday, March 21 — Amity Park, Ohio
Maddie hesitated at the doorbell. She let out a grunt of frustration before schooling her expression into something more despondent and finally ringing the bell.
Moments later, the door swung open to reveal a surprised Vladimir Masters. "Maddie!"
"I-" She choked slightly on her words. "I n-need your…h-help."
Vlad's smile oozed endearment. "Of course, my dear, come on in." He escorted her to his private study whose windows had yet to be repaired.
"What happened in here?" Maddie asked.
"An unfortunate kidnapping, from which I was swiftly liberated."
"Oh, my!"
"Worry not, my dear. All part of life in the corporate world, I'm afraid. Now," he said and gestured for Maddie to take a seat opposite his desk. "I must say this is a nice change from our more recent interactions. It's a blessing you've managed to go two minutes without pouring steaming-hot tea on my head," he added with a cool, amused expression.
"Oh…yes…that," Maddie murmured. She painted her face with regret. "I'm sorry about that, Vlad. I don't deal well with romantic advances."
"You know, I've had some time to reflect on my behavior, and I see now that I was out of line," the man admitted. "I have always loved and adored you, Maddie, and nothing can ever change that. But I must accept that I have no chance."
"Yes, well…knowing that makes this somewhat more difficult. I hope you don't think I'm taking advantage of your feelings when I ask this of you."
"Ask…what, exactly?"
"I need your jet."
Vlad blinked. "I'm sorry?"
Tears falling, Maddie sniffled and rummaged in her purse for a tissue. "I've just missed Danny so much. My innocent little boy, running away from home—and completely out of the blue! He's been improving his grades, getting better about his curfew… Everything has been going so well, and then he does this!" She blew her nose.
Vlad furrowed his brow with concern.
"Apparently he emailed Tucker to say he's in London now," Maddie said, and Vlad's concern began to evaporate. "I don't know how he got there without taking his passport, but Danny's been rather good at slipping away." She hesitated. "I need to get to London to find him, and I need to be able to pursue if he runs. Vlad, dear...I do know how you feel about me, and I'm not blind to your affection for Danny as well. — Don't act like I don't know about the will; I still think you should tell him. — But…please, do it for his sake, if not for mine. My boy is lost in the world, maybe being held prisoner somewhere." Maddie let one final tear roll down her cheek. "Please."
Vlad looked her up and down. She was the picture of desperation and regret, but that was the problem. It felt...out of character for her. Plus, he knew for a fact that Danny couldn't have emailed Tucker. He sighed. "I know you are a very capable woman, and though I have a feeling you know more than you're letting on, I agree to help. I have no need of the jet until next month anyway."
"Thank you, Vlad. I really appreciate it."
"Of course, my dear." Vlad stood, and Maddie followed suit. "I will have it prepared at once, so you can depart within the hour. I just need to make a few…arrangements first."
"Of course."
"Now, you'd better get a move on!" Vlad shooed her out the front door, thought for a moment, then stalked to his lab.
19:38, Wednesday, March 21 — Amity Park, Ohio
Tucker shoveled another handful of Cheetos into his mouth. "Hook, line and sinker, I'm telling you."
Sam shoved another bottle of water into Dani's pack. "Yeah? And you really think it's a good idea to get Danny's mom even more involved? Won't she be in the way?"
"Why not? Mrs. F's clearly hiding something—which even *I* can't find online—and whatever it was trained her to be a total badass." A bite of jerky. "Besides, her tracking skills plus Mr. Fenton acting as her 'guy in a chair' plus my technological intervention: it's a recipe for success to help lead Dani straight to Danny."
"Yeah. And while she's fending off the Light goons," Dani added, lacing up her shoe, "I can go and actually get Danny out of there."
Tucker heard his computer sound an alert and spun his desk chair to face the screen. "Alright, the Dalv Co. corporate jet has just pulled up to the terminal for Mrs. F. to get on, and a flight plan for London City Airport was just added to air traffic control's log," Tucker checked the clock. "It's less than 10 minutes until scheduled takeoff. Dani, you think you can get there in time?"
"Sure, no problem," she assured.
"Great!" Sam said. "At least Mrs. Fenton will have a little Team Phantom help, even if she doesn't know it."
"I've just sent the address and building schematics to your phone," Tucker said, and Dani's phone pinged accordingly. "If all else fails, just follow Mrs. Fenton."
"Will do," Dani agreed. She put on her pack, transformed and flew straight to the airport where a plane in Dalv Co livery was taxi'ing onto the runway. She landed invisibly inside, inches away from literally running into a worried Maddie Fenton. Dani backed slowly away towards the shut door at the back of the plane.
A blonde flight attendant emerged from the cockpit. "Mrs. Fenton, Mr. Masters requests that you refrain from entering the bed chambers at the back of the plane," she informed.
"Of course," Maddie replied. "I doubt I'd sleep much anyway."
'Maybe Vlad's stowing away himself, creeper-stalker that he is,' Dani thought to herself. 'I'll stick to being invisible in the cockpit.'
Both women settled in for the nearly 8-hour overnight flight to London.
11:50 Local Time, Thursday, March 22 — Undisclosed Location, London, UK
Something was off when Danny awoke. He was inside some sort of containment which didn't feel…right. This glass cylinder wasn't simply to imprison him, per se; rather, it was more to sustain him. Danny gradually forced his eyes to focus on what was beyond the glass. It was some sort of darkened room, so poorly lit he could barely make out a single detail save what was bathed in the containment pod's puddle of illumination.
The boy still felt raw in every sense: emotionally raw from seeing his only true family member he had left be slaughtered in front of him; physically raw from being restrained; and mentally raw from not knowing what the hell was going on anymore. Something just wasn't…
…right.
Most of all, though, something was off because of what woke him up: Him.
Not Robin-him. Not Dick-him. Not even Danny-him. No; it was Phantom-him.
Danny's eyes widened to their maximum aperture, mouth open in an enlarging 'O,' a scream ready to pierce the air.
Outside the pod, Phantom-him's eyes also widened, and he quickly raised his hands in a submissive manner. Stepping forward and speaking in a rushed voice, he said, "Okay, don't freak out…"
Gosh, everyone's manipulating everyone else…
This week's references:
- Brucely, Artemis and Wally's future dog in seasons 2 and 3 of Young Justice, appearing here as a puppy
- Shoutout to my favorite show growing up, Scooby Doo: Vlad calling Sam and Tucker 'meddling kids'
- 'Guy in a chair:' a reference to my favorite MCU movie Spider-Man: Homecoming
- The reporter's Nestle comment to Lex Luthor: a reference to the numerous controversies surrounding the Nestle corporation's bottling and monetizing of fresh water sources
I love hearing your guys and gals' reactions and feedback and engaging in conversation! Stay tuned for more :) Only a few chapters to go. What a ride it's been! I'll have to decide what to write next. There's a story idea I started playing around with featuring a crossover with the MCU Spider-Man, and another I was developing earlier; that one's with the Teen Titans and already has 130 pages drafted, though it's a little more angsty and probably needs a lot of reworking.
Keep an eye out in the next couple weeks for another Danny Phantom oneshot!