Danny really hated Vlad right now. Sure, he always hated the crazed froot loop, but the man had infringed on his family's vacation and brought all of Danny's ghostly problems with him. He had hoped that Box Ghost had been a fluke, but after the third attack, he knew something was up. Now that Vlad had decided to reveal himself, Danny knew exactly who was to blame. Add to that the conceited bastard decided to get all high and mighty and disapprove of Danny's choices despite the fact that everyone they knew benefited from helping out Jim and his friends.

He was fairly sure it would, anyway. Assuming he got everything right. Which he probably had. Hopefully.

Regardless, Danny was still nursing several wounds from his most recent fights, struggling to keep himself awake, and glaring at Vlad from across the table only a day after the man had tried to talk him into abandoning the latest fight. More accurately, Danny was trying his hardest not to glare or let his eyes glow because Dr. Lake was much, much more observant than his parents were while Vlad chatted up everyone else at the table.

"So, James, what do you do in your spare time?" Vlad asked.

Danny forced his body to remain relaxed. Judging by the odd look Jim and Dr. Lake briefly gave him, he did not, in fact, remain relaxed.

"I mostly hang out with my friends around town," Jim answered, "and I cook."

"Jim spends more time than he should helping me around the house, really," Dr. Lake said. "Not, that I'm not grateful. I don't know what I'd do without his cooking." She laughed.

"Really?"

Danny rolled his eyes. "What were you expecting, Vlad? Some grand tale of adventure?"

Vlad scowled at him. "You never know what hobbies someone has, Little Badger. Cooking is hardly a normal pass time for a boy your age but certainly an admirable one. For another example, I do believe I know of a young boy that devotes a large portion of his time to swordplay."

Danny pointedly went back to picking at his food.

Vlad turned his attention back to Jim. "And what of your friends? Tell me about them."

Jim looked confused at the line of questioning, but after a quick glance at Danny, answered anyway. "Toby's been my friend for about as long as I can remember. I met Claire while we were doing Romeo and Juliet for the school play." Jim shrugged. "Beyond that… they're great people and a lot of fun to hang around."

"You met Claire, through the school play?"

"Yeah."

"They were the leads," Dr. Lake said, a proud smile tugging at her lips. "I swear it wasn't all just acting up on that stage either."

Jim blushed wildly. "Mom…"

Dr. Lake laughed at him. "You know I'm right," she teased. "You had a crush on her long before the play and it's not like you showed much interest in acting or Shakespeare before. I wouldn't be surprised if you tried out for her."

Jim went even redder and sputtered before ducking his head back down to his plate. The adults all shared a small laugh at Jim's expense.

"In all seriousness, though," Vlad said, a smile still pulling up the corners of his lips, "tell me about your extracurriculars."

Jim shrugged. "Beyond the play, we mostly just keep to ourselves."

"Then surely you have some interesting stories to tell, hm?"

"C'mon, Vlad," Danny interrupted. "Just because he doesn't spend all his time in a club or sport or something doesn't mean he's got any stories for you."

Vlad glared at Jim. "There was that one time you three decided to take Señor Uhl's truck for a joy ride in the middle of the night," Barbara said before Vlad could even open his mouth. Jim stilled for a second before shifting awkwardly in his seat, his blush rapidly disappearing as he paled.

"Not much of a story to it," he said, keeping his head down. "Just a bunch of teenagers doing stupid teenager things."

Dr. Lake smiled at her clearly embarrassed son. "There has to at least be some story to it. How did you guys decided you were going to steal someone's car? How did you even manage to steal it? I'm pretty sure none of you know how to hot wire anything."

"I'd rather not talk about it," Jim said. "And I built the Vespa from spare parts. Hot wiring a car wouldn't be that difficult."

"You built that Vespa yourself?" Maddy asked, sounding impressed. "You must be rather talented."

Jim smiled, relaxing now that they weren't talking about the disastrous night with the rogue gnomes. "It's nothing much, really."

"Mechanics like that aren't easy if you don't have someone to teach you," Jack said. "You must be pretty smart. Bet you do well at school, too."

Jim shrugged. "I do alright."

"What about after high school?" Vlad asked, taking control of the conversation again. "What do you plan to do with your life. I assume you'll be going to college or at least a trade school, but where and for what?"

Jim paused again. "I- I don't know," he finally said. Danny and Jazz suppressed twin winces. Even if Danny didn't really believe he would be able to leave Amity Park to go to college, if he lived that long, he still had a plan he could rattle off if anyone asked. Kept them from trying to figure out why he didn't plan on going to college. "I guess I'd want to go to a culinary school or something." He shrugged. "Cooking was always really my thing. Guess I just never really thought about it."

Danny forced a laugh. "You've still got time," he said. "Not everyone can be like Jazz and have their life planned out before the even get to high school, after all."

Jazz only had a second to glare at Danny before schooling her face back into a kind expression and turning back to Jim. "While Danny is right, you should probably start thinking about it and figuring out what schools will work best for you and what your budget will look like."

Jim nodded absently, long since lost in his thoughts. Danny couldn't really hide the wince this time. He had no doubt Jim was only just realizing how difficult it would be, if not completely impossible, for him to balance his night work with college, especially if he left Arcadia. And Arcadia definitely didn't have any culinary schools nearby.

"Well, I have no doubt you'd do well in the culinary field," Vlad smiled. "The dinner was absolutely delightful. Unfortunately, however, I must take my leave. You know how it is, so much work and so little time."

"Really? You're leaving so soon?" Barbara asked.

"Yes." Vlad stood and smoothed out his suit. "I have a meeting to attend early in the morning tomorrow and, well, I'm hoping to turn in early to make getting up a little easier on me."

Barbara nodded and stood. The rest of the family rose as well. The teens began clearing off the table while their parents walked Vlad to the door. "It was nice of you to visit, Mr. Masters," Barbara said.

"Oh, I should be thanking you and your son, Dr. Lake," Vlad said. "After all, you hosted, and the food was truly divine. James really would do well with his skills. I'd even be willing to help pay for his tuition."

Barbara's jaw dropped, and it took her several moments to pull herself back together while Vlad chuckled. "What!?" she finally choked out. "You'd do that? For us!?"

Vlad grinned at her. "Of course," he said. "A boy as talented as James deserves to live his dream without needing to worry about the financial strain. I already have funds set up for both Daniel and Jasmine, should they choose to use them."

"Should they choose to?" Maddy asked, frowning at Vlad.

Vlad waved a hand dismissively. "I have no doubt I'll be covering Jasmines education, seeing as she has her path chosen and it isn't cheap, but I intend to leave whether or not they accept the money up to them, and Daniel… he doesn't like me much. He may very well turn the money down out of spite. Assuming he goes to college at all."

Jack laughed, loud and booming through the house. "Nonsense," he said, slapping Vlad on the back and missing the man's glower, "Danny likes you just fine."

The two women of the group gave Jack and odd look, but Maddie spoke before Barbara could say anything on the matter. "Of course Danny's going to college," she said. "He wants to be an astronaut."

Vlad gave Maddie and almost pitying look. "With his grades, my dear? He'll be hard pressed to get his life back on track enough to even be eligible for the program, and I'm pretty sure he knows it. He did spend years calculating his odds and trying his best to prepare himself for the task."

"I'm sure he'll figure something out," Barbara said, trying to reassure her cousins.

Maddie nodded.

"Well, I'd best be on my way," Vlad said, finally stepping away from the door and down the porch steps to his car. "I shall see you when we return to Amity Park," he said with one final wave to the Fentons.

"Bye, Vladdie!" Jack called after him. Maddie gave a smaller wave behind him, watching their old "friend" disappear into the night.

Jim had a lot to think about. The whole college thing had really thrown him for a loop. But the really important thing was how interested Vlad Masters was in him. He assumed it was because was just the usual interest adults showed in people his age and their "plans," but that just didn't sit right. Something about it just rubbed him the wrong way. The only thing he could put his finger on was how closely Danny had watched the exchange, like he knew something important. Like he thought one of them was a threat. And given who was asking the questions and what Jim knew of Danny's relationship with Vlad… Jim didn't like it.

"Hey, Danny," Jim said as he prepared for his nightly excursion and Danny prepared for bed, "you seemed a little… I don't know, concerned? About Master's questions?"

Danny stared for a moment, then nodded, his mouth pressed into a thin line. "He's a manipulative bastard. If he's interested in you, it's not out of the kindness of his heart." Danny paused for a moment. "Although, I suppose he does have to put on a show of carrying when he doesn't sometimes, but I don't think he was doing it now."

"Why's that?"

Danny shrugged. "You're related to my family, however distantly. Even if he doesn't plan on doing anything any time soon involving you, he still needs to keep track of our relations." Jim nodded and turned back to his preparations. "Just… be careful out there tonight," Danny said quietly. "I don't want to find out he had more than a passing interest the hard way."

Jim glanced over his shoulder and nodded. He opened the window and left into the night once more.

Danny lay down on his makeshift bed and sighed, rubbing his hands into his eyes. The past week had been long and hard, and he hoped he could get an actual night of rest and that Jim and his friends were almost ready. They were running out of time. For now, though, he would sleep until he was awoken by either his ghost sense or the sound of breakfast on the table.

Danny groaned quietly as he sat up, cold still chilling him to the bone and forcing a shiver up his spine. He couldn't get one quiet night even when he was supposed to be on vacation. He stood up and skipped changing into day clothes and simply tapped into his core, becoming Danny Phantom, and floated into the air and out of the house.

Danny wasn't paying nearly as much attention as he should have as he flew through the air trying to find the ghost that had woken him up. Mostly because this was the fourth night in a row that he'd been woken up like this and the last two kept him up for between four and five hours each, so he was more than a little tired and done with this whole mess.

Which is why he didn't notice the ghost he was trying to find until he was attacked. More specifically, Plasmius hit him with a low level ectoblast. Strong enough to sting and get Danny's attention, but not to do any real damage.

Danny tumbled for a moment before righting himself over the forest and shouting up to the familiar spiky haired and caped figure of his enemy, "What the hell, Vlad!?"

"Oh, relax, Daniel," the old man grinned. "It was only a small blast. You'll be fine."

"It's the principle. You shot me in the back, but I will admit that's par for the course with a froot loop like you."

"Please, it's not like we haven't had the good times along with the bad."

"I don't remember any good times. Hey! You certainly weren't hitting on Mom as much as you usually do. Did you finally get that cat?"

"I've had Maddie for a while now, and you and I both know I had more important things to worry about."

"Yeah," Danny muttered as he lit his fist with green light, "like my fist." He flew forward, aiming for Vlad's jaw.

Vlad turned out of the way, letting Danny fly past. "Now, now, Daniel, that wasn't very polite. Don't you want to know what I think of your new friends?"

Danny scowled and launched and ectoblast. Vlad calmly blocked it with a small pink shield. "Not really," Danny snapped. "I don't care what you think so long as you aren't helping Gunmar."

"Well, I guess you're in luck," Vlad's voice hissed in Danny's ear. Danny jerked and tried to spin to face his opponent, but Vlad's hands twisted his arm behind his back in a firm grip and held him still. The Vlad in front of him vanished.

"What do you want, Vlad?" Danny said, gritting his teeth.

"Only to update you, Little Badger," his voice was so quiet Danny could barely hear him even with Vlad's mouth right next to his ear. "You were right for once. Gunmar's plans don't suit my goals."

Danny growled, his hand lighting up blue and a blast of ice encased the side of Vlad's chest, forcing him back and off Danny. Danny spun quickly as soon as he was released, lifting his foot and driving it into Vlad's jaw. "What're you going to do about it?" he said, still glaring at the older ghost who, for the most part, only looked a little ruffled as the ice broke off in chunks and fell to the ground below. "Going to just run off and ignore the problem? Leave me to clean it up like you always do? Or are you going to try and make me stop? Kidnap me and hide me away until the fighting's done? Or, hey, here's a good one, maybe you're going to pretend none of this is even happening and just go back to flirting with my mom."

"Daniel…" Vlad growled.

"What the heck?"