In which Vlad and Danny join a Superhero Social Club

Rating: T [Only for some language here and there]

Pairings: Danny x Sam [mentioned]

Ages: Danny is 15, everyone else is YJ Season One age.

Summary: Really Danny and Vlad are more alike than either would like to admit. Bad fortune seems to plague them both and they find certain life and death events more amusing than they should. Maybe you can't help but be a bit cynical and careless when your dead. Perhaps its time they were no longer left adrift without others to share in their weirdness.

Extra Notes: Warnings: A lot of witty banter, some terrible puns, and Daddy!Vlad. Batman has some competition for being the number one papa bear, maybe.


Robin felt a frown come to his face, before he could put his card down on the table. His hand stayed suspended as he started to analyze the situation and begin to figure out what could be up. The alarm in the Cave had started, quiet enough to not be heard from outside the cave but loud enough to reach all the rooms in the hideout. A soft red light was streaming around from the bulbs built into each room.

"Welp, you're lucky Robin. I was just about to destroy you," Wally grinned.

Artemis looked up and snorted. "With a pair of twos?"

Wally gasped in shock. "Cheater!"

"Yeah, maybe, but your poker face sucks too."

"Enough you two. Let's see what Batman wants," Aqualad said and gave the two a smile.

Superboy got up wordlessly from the couch he'd been resting on and Megan gave a smile as everyone started to move into the Mission Room, to receive a transmission from Batman. Robin smirked and turned his cards around with a few fingers, showing a royal straight flush to Wally. The speedster's mouth dropped open as Artemis moved past him and walked beside Robin.

"And he called me a cheater."

"I only counted cards…" Robin whined, trying to play innocent.

"Uh-huh." Artemis snorted.

"I'm never playing card games with you two ever again!"

"It's a travesty… I'll never be the same," Artemis replied sarcastically.

Wally hmphed before rushing past everyone.

Eventually everyone was in front of the computer monitor and Batman was facing them.

"What's up, Bats?" Robin asked, sporting a typical grin.

Batman ignored the playful gesture in favor of getting to the point. "We've received a hit on the ghost radar. A few level seven ghosts have appeared outside Happy Harbor."

Wally frowned in annoyance, he hadn't really gotten around to fully accepting the idea that ghosts were real. He was definitely with the theory that ghosts were just another inter-dimensional being of some kind. "Why would ghosts appear here?" Wally asked.

"I'm getting to that," Batman answered. A picture of a wealthy looking man standing next to young boy popped up. The man had long gray hair pulled into a neat ponytail. He also wore an expensive looking suit. The boy was dressed in a suit as well and his hair was combed back a bit. He wore a somewhat shy smile. "This is Vladimir Masters and his god-son, Daniel Fenton-Masters. Mr. Masters is the one that provided the League with the ecto-weapons and ghost equipment we have. The two are attending a business event in Happy Harbor. It's in regards to ghost equipment being made more available to the public."

"So are you thinking there's some ghosts that aren't happy with that?" Aqualad asked quietly.

"That's not typically the M.O. of a ghost though. Most ghosts don't care much about human activities and are too focused on themselves and their obsessions to plan out an attack like that. Generally they just don't care enough," Robin explained.

"True, though there are instances of ghosts obeying ghosts of higher power, acting subservient. There's a chance another ghost is commanding them to attack or even possibly a sorcerer or human is controlling them to do their bidding," Batman expressed. "We're sending you out into the field to find the ghosts and stop them from attacking Masters and his god-son. Seeing as ghosts are somewhat new players, a few of us will be joining you. Meet at the following coordinates and make sure to bring the proper gear. Ending communication."

The monitor blinked out right after that.

"Geez! They still don't trust us," Wally grumbled.

Aqualad hummed. "Ghosts are something that not even the League is completely acquainted with yet. It's not entirely surprising. Let's try to consider it a learning opportunity, so that next time, we may not need supervision."

"That's the spirit, Kaldur." M'gann nodded towards the Hanger. "Let's get moving."

The group split quickly to get suited up and to grab their gear before heading to the Bio-Ship.

zz

"At least the reporters won't be there," Danny hummed slightly.

"Yes, that's true, little badger. You really aren't one for public spectacle are you?" Vlad asked casually.

Danny arched a brow and then shook his head, accidentally freeing a strand of his tamed hair. Without prompting, he lifted a hand and fixed it back into place, putting a smile on Vlad's face. He could never replace the boy's mother and father, but with the help of his supportive friends and elder sister, Daniel had found comfort with Vlad. Vlad of course was pleased that after several arguments, some heartfelt talks, and giving each other the silent treatment a time or two, they'd come into something of a good relationship that wasn't far from father and son. Daniel had even adapted well to a life in the public eye, being Vlad's newly adopted god-son. He'd even become somewhat interested in becoming a businessman, minus Vlad's immoral methods, which the elder man had been trying to indirectly make amends for even if the time allotted for him to be tried for those thefts and other crimes had run out decades ago. Danny wanted to run FentonWorks one day, currently the name was being safe-guarded in Vlad's name, until Daniel could one day take it over. If things continued as they were… Vlad wasn't so sure he wasn't against letting Daniel inherit his businesses as well.

"You think we'll be able to convince them it's a good idea? And what about proper education?" Danny asked, flicking his baby-blues over to look at Vlad's cobalt eyes. "It would really be a bummer to see people mis-firing everywhere and the ectoplasmic cores can cause burns since they're irradiated-"

Vlad smirked. "Are you daft boy? Of course I've thought of all that. Axion had been teaching staff members about proper use, so the skeletal mainframe for proper education has already been set up, from there it will simply progress like normal fire-arm education. What we're most interested in at the moment is for these weapons to find action outside of military use. We're talking the police-force and so on. Eventually the everyday man will have access too, but that will come later. After all, we aren't looking to give everyone the opportunity to think anyone can become a ghost hunter. That's really the worst case scenario, a bunch of fools trying to become vigilantes and getting themselves maimed or killed. The lawsuits would be horrendous…" Vlad stopped when he saw Daniel give him a deadpan expression.

"So it wouldn't be horrendous for people to get themselves killed?" Danny asked in slight agitation.

Vlad shrugged. "It would be their own idiocy that got them there. However, yes. It would be dreadful."

Danny snorted before giving a small smile and looking back out of the limo's window.

Before long, the limousine pulled to a stop. Vlad and Danny exited the vehicle and made their way to the tenth floor of the building where the meeting would take place at. They made sure to tidy up in the elevator.

"You need to learn how to tie your tie in a neater fashion."

"Really? It looks fine."

"You didn't knot it properly."

"Hey, stop! You fruitloop!"

"There, see? It's flat now."

"You act like a fussing mother."

"Appearance can mean everything in these situations. It's a part of the game."

Danny paused and became quiet. Indeed, Danny had learned that Vlad's way of planning and manipulation, when used legally and honorably, mind you, had its merit and he'd learned a lot from listening to Vlad's lessons on strategy.

His musings were brought up short by the simultaneous ding of the elevator reaching the proper floor, his and Vlad's ghost senses bursting from their mouths, and Vlad's curse of, Oh sheet cakes.

The two hybrids came face to face with a slobbering, scaled, and honestly ugly looking monster of a ghost. It was like a massive lizard creature with spines from its head and down it's spine to it's tail. It looked top-heavy in the torso and arms and it's jaws were long and filled with teeth.

Before they could actually react, something smacked into the side of the beast's head and detonated, letting out a pulse of ecto-energy. The creature shrieked as it toppled over.

"Hmm… the ecto-wave arrowheads are working well," Vlad murmured. Danny gave him a look.

"Wait, you mean-?"

"Hey there!"

Danny flinched instinctually at being surprised, turning to see a boy clad in a yellow and red suit. No doubt, it was Kid Flash. Vlad folded his arms behind his back and eyed the creature before Superboy leapt past the view from the door's opening and pounced on the ghost. Aqualad and Manhunter, followed by the rest of the team and Batman, appeared next.

"And it appears the Gauntlets 2.3 are working well…" Vlad mused.

Danny snorted. "Ya think?"

Wally merely blinked in confusion at the two civilians' causal and totally not panicked responses. Vlad turned and looked past Wally to Batman. Danny noticed Wally get seemingly peeved from being ignored as Vlad talked.

"May I ask, what is going on?" Vlad questioned.

Batman's eyes narrowed ever so slightly before he responded. "We detected a few ghosts with your equipment. They were converging on this site and seemed to be targeting you and Daniel."

Danny watched Vlad's own eyes narrow. "Is that so?" Danny's own mind started to run more quickly. This wasn't normal. Ghosts didn't really try to assassinate people or anything. There were only a few ghosts that would actually have the power and motive to convince or order another group of ghosts to attempt such a thing. Danny looked over to lock eyes with Vlad, seeing that he'd figured out who it most likely was as well. Vlad gave a smile and nod to the heroes. "Well it's good that you're here then, isn't it?"

Danny rolled his eyes. Even if Vlad had turned away from the dark side, he still couldn't help but sound like a creep.

"We'll need to move you to a safer location while we locate the rest of the ghosts nearby," Manhunter expressed calmly.

"Oh, of course." Vlad turned to Danny and drew closer to him, wrapping an arm about his shoulders. "Come, Daniel." Danny couldn't help himself.

"Wow! I can't believe the Justice League is helping us out."

Honestly, Daniel?

What? I think it's funny. You used to do practically the same thing. Or do you forget, "Of course, why else would I say such a thing? I have to be some sort of diabolical villain to manipulate you like that."

Touché.

They cut off their mental communication as the heroes gestured them to follow.

"There are five, no six, seven-" Robin cut himself off. "Where are they all coming from?"

The group hurried down the hallway as Robin rattled off the news.

"Kid Flash, can you scout ahead?" Batman asked.

"You betcha!" Kid rushed forward, only to slam into something invisible. The ghost rippled into visibility and jerked away from the shocks coming from a belt on Wally's waist.

"And the new deflectors are working, oh goody," Vlad cheered before noticing everyone was staring at him.

"Not the time, Uncle Vlad," Danny deadpanned.

"Oh pish-posh, Daniel. Let me have my fun."

"Pish-posh? Who even says that anymore?" Vlad flicked the side of the boy's head. "Ouch!"

"Pay attention, or he'll get us," Vlad stated blandly, directing everyone's attention to the ghost that had swatted Kid and Batman aside. Batman flipped and landed on his feet and slightly against the wall of the cramped hallways, while Kid simply smacked into the wall.

Superboy whipped around and saw the ghost from earlier find them. "Who brought a thermos?"

Miss Martian, Robin, and Aqualad declared they had and most everyone could assume Batman had one.

"Uncle, J'onn!" Miss Martian called out and telekinetically tossed him a couple of black and green spheres.

"And even the energy spheres are working right!" Vlad declared as the spheres were activated with the Martians' psychic powers and used as blunt weapons against the ghosts. Aqualad took point and sucked the ghost into his thermos.

"We don't have enough room to fight here!" Artemis snapped, feeling helpless since she couldn't easily draw her bow in the tight quarters.

"I will take M'gann, Artemis, and Robin with me to protect Mr. Masters and Daniel," Manhunter spoke up, looking over at Batman. The Dark Knight nodded and the new group ran off, leaving the others to deal with the remaining ghost. They ran down a few hallways until they found an office area with multiple rows of cubicles.

"At least we can set up better here." Right after the words left Robin's mouth, several ghosts slipped through the floor and ceiling and roared. Artemis, none to pleasantly, shoved Vlad and Daniel behind cover before drawing her bow.

"How rude," Vlad grumbled. He flinched and instinctually covered Daniel's body with his own when a powerful ecto-ray whizzed past.

"Vlad-" Danny whined.

"Hush, Daniel. My core is stronger and can take a hit better than yours could," Vlad returned.

"They need help. I mean, they're doing okay, but I could help them."

"Absolutely not-"

"Sorry! Not sorry!" Danny chirped before he slid through the floor using a touch of intangibility.

"CIN-na-mon ROLLS!" Vlad snapped in pure frustration and was going to follow after the boy, when Robin was suddenly there.

"What happened? Where's Daniel?"

Vlad rattled off a million sweet curses through his mind as well as a few choice sour ones, before he responded. "It's dreadful! One of those ghosts grabbed him through the floor!"

Robin gapped before a more serious expression crossed his face. "Come on, let's move. There's still more coming and obviously staying still won't help much." Robin looked over at Manhunter.

"Keep Mr. Masters safe. I will search for young Daniel," Manhunter spoke before phasing through the floor in pursuit.

The three younger heroes started to lead Vlad out and the elder ghost could only hope Daniel could manage against multiple level seven ghosts. They would seek out his ecto-signature once they sensed it. Even though not many ghosts had a sense like Daniel and Vlad did, most ghosts still had a tingle or sense that innately let them fell how much ecto-energy was nearby. Usually it was for finding natural portals or the like. Daniel and Vlad's sense not only found ectoplasm in general but ghost cores, specifically.

They made their way down several corridors again, before he froze mid-step.

"Mr. Masters?"

Vlad didn't wait for the rest of the questions that were to come, but turned and bolted. His core was constricting painfully. Ectoplasm was burning through his veins and surely if someone were to look at him now, they'd see a red sheen in his eyes and a slight glow about his body. His obsession was being threatened, Daniel was in danger.

zz

"So a bunch of level sevens, huh?" Danny asked himself from the janitor's closet he'd found. He'd already turned into Phantom and was watching for movement and trying to focus his sense without accidentally being found by the Leaguers and their protégés. "They do have equipment though, good thing it doesn't locate half-ghost signatures. Points for the Fruitloop."

He leaned out and grinned when he saw one of the reptilian ghosts stomp around the corner. He could handle them one at a time-

"Hey, ugly!" Danny shouted, after jumping into the open. He gave the come-hither gesture with his two fingers and the beast charged. The smile dropped from Danny's face when three others rounded the corner behind the first. He gritted his teeth and prepared himself mentally as the ghosts roared.

Ecto-ray to the face, duck, push the first up and over, kick, land, round-house into the wall, ice-covered punch to the third-

CRUNCH!

He managed to internally call himself an idiot before he let out a blood-curdling scream. He should've known the first one hadn't been stunned enough. The ugly creature had snapped his jaws right around his middle, teeth tore into his stomach and sides. These beasts were definitely sent by someone else. They had great mental capacity and were mostly animal in mind and thought. The second ran forward to try and probably tear off Danny's left arm, if a Bat-a-rang hadn't sunk into the ghost's head and exploded. The reptile was flung away, completely dazed by the green explosion.

Batman and his group as well as Manhunter had found him.

"Isn't that Phantom?"

"What's he doing here?"

Danny heard two of the teens ask in confusion and he thought he heard other voices.

"Where's Mr. Masters and Daniel?"

"Daniel was taken by one of the ghosts and Mr. Masters just up and bolted away from us. We couldn't find him."

A smile crossed Danny's face when he heard Vlad had disappeared. He was coming to help him. It was nice not being alone anymore. He heard the beast snarl and try to bite further into him as the other ghosts were occupied with the other heroes and Danny froze the jaws in place, keeping the beast from doing any more damage.

"Ivovzhv srn zg lmxv, urogsb nlmtivo lu gsv Drowh!" (Release him at once, filthy mongrel of the Wilds!)

Everything seemed to freeze as the atmosphere of the room suddenly changed. The lights seemed to darken further and Danny could've sworn he heard one of the reptiles whimper like a kicked puppy.

"Kozhnrfh!" (Plasmius!) One of the ghosts finally garbled. It seemed these were the type of ghosts that only knew Ghost Speak and no other human language.

"Dv wrwm'g pmld blf dviv rmeloevw!" (We didn't know you were involved!) Another yelped.

"Sfiib, sfiib! Ulitvg gsv Kszmgln!" (Hurry, hurry! Forget the Phantom!) A third cried out.

"Ollp dszg blf'ev wlmv! Gsviv rh ml nvixb uli blf!" (Look what you've done! There is no mercy for you!) Plasmius faded into view, a snarl ripping from his throat, teeth bared. He rose a hand as orange flames crackled to life in his palm.

"Ifm!" (Run!) One of them screamed. They all tried to run, save the one Danny was frozen to, which was only a statue now. The other heroes watched with a mixture of emotions as this new ghost tore through the beasts, knocking them about with little effort and sucking them into a red and black thermos. Once he was done, he landed and walked over to Phantom and the frozen and remaining ghost.

"Ls orggov yzwtvi…" (Oh little badger…) Plasmius murmured as he started to melt the ice and then suck up the ghost. He pulled Danny into his arms; green ectoplasm leaked from a few puncture holes in his suit.

"R'oo yv zoirtsg." (I'll be alright.) Danny murmured, feeling shame rush through him. He'd just wanted to help.

Vlad wanted to scold the boy, but that could come later. "Blf wrw tivzg uivvarmt srn. Ivhg." (You did great freezing him. Rest.) Danny closed his eyes briefly, understanding Vlad's hidden request, as the ring of light passed over him. Vlad looked up at Batman and Manhunter. "If you had been anyone else, I might have fooled you. But of course, you noticed you can't get into our minds, seeing as ghost telepathy is quite a different wavelength that's as hard to understand as Ghost Speak, and that our facial structure is nearly identical and I could go on and on, but that would be rather dull. We have more important things to do than waste our time and money." Vlad stressed narrowing his gaze at Batman.

In case you had any doubt. The answer is yes, Mr. Wayne. Batman nearly flinched when the voice echoed in his mind. Batman narrowed his eyes dangerously at the ghost.

Plasmius transformed, making any of the teens there who'd managed to keep their jaws off the floor before at Danny's transformation, join their peers. The only two remaining completely calm were the two Leaguers. "I had wanted to do a more formal meet and greet at a later time, but it seems like some enemies of ours, didn't much like that idea."

Vlad frowned and looked down at Danny when the boy moaned slightly.

"Is he going to be okay?" Kid asked finally, seeing the blood dampening the boy's suit.

"Honestly, I'm more worried about getting the blood out of the suit. I'm afraid it's ruined though. Pity."

"You're so mean…" Danny grumbled, cracking open an eye. He could already feel Vlad's core resonating and strengthening his own. His wounds were healing and his energy was returning some.

"This wouldn't have happened at all if you'd have stayed put like I said."

"But they needed some help, Vlaaaaddd." Danny whined. Vlad merely tossed Danny slightly, making the boy gasp in slight pain. "Asshole!"

"Language, Daniel."

"No. I'm not using pastries or sweets for curses."

"No one will want to be friends with such a sour mouthed young man."

"Oh my God, stop."

"Are you healed yet?"

"Yes."

"Do you need some ectoplasm?"

Danny grumbled quietly.

"What was that, little badger?"

"Vlad!"

"What, embarrassed of a little pet name?"

"Fruitloop."

"That's just insulting, at least little badger sounds endearing."

Danny grumbled. "Yes. I could use a little."

"Good then. Let's go with the League and their kiddies and then I'll get you some ectoplasm at home. Then training. You did terribly, minus thinking quickly enough to freeze that one ghost."

"Hey!" Wally exclaimed at the kiddies jab, while the rest of the teens scowled slightly or a lot.

Vlad sniffed. "Until I see you do something noteworthy, I'll not be impressed."

"Good luck impressing him. He's a shrewd and incorrigible old man."

"I'm both insulted by your jab at my age and humored." Vlad smirked as he dropped Danny. The boy yelped and floated a bit before letting himself sit on the ground. "I did't know you knew the word incorrigible and you do realize I'm just as old as your father and mother were, correct?"

Danny pouted, before raking a hand through his hair, revering it to his typical style for the first time that day. "Ugh, you're so frustrating."

"I'm aware. I consider it a good sign of my intelligence and wit."

"You're ability to get on people's nerves?" Danny bantered.

"Ye-" Vlad stopped, catching himself, and fumed slightly. "No you twit! My ability to get under people's skin!"

"That's practically the same thing."

"You have no tact."

"At least I'm not so full of myself that I like to use dramatic irony when I'm trying to trick someone. "Oh what an amazing, unexpected and totally unplanned surprise." Danny mocked.

"It's not my fault if people are too predictable that it's laughable."

Robin blinked. Man, they're worse than Bruce and Alfred… only neither of them are as passive aggressive like Alfred…

"We can finish this later. Unless of course you want to talk our poor peers here to death. Oh I kill me…" Vlad scoffed.

"Hilarious and you call my puns dumb."

"I have nothing against good word play. The problem with your puns are they aren't creative."

Danny rolled his eyes and sat up. "Whatever. If I start talking like you, using pish-posh, and the like, then please suck me into a thermos and don't let me out for a while."

Vlad hummed as everyone started to walk. The elder halfa noticed the Dark Knight watching him like a hawk and smiled. "You do realize when Samantha asks where you got those scars, I'm not going to help you." The half-ghost barked out a laugh when he saw his ward pale.

"Oh crap! Crap, crap, crap! Sam's going to kill the rest of me!"

"Didn't she kill the first half of you? Does that mean she's going to finish the job?" Vlad asked blandly.

"Not funny. Oh dear Clockwork, I'm dead."

"Yes, that is the point, isn't it? We're ghosts."

"Vlad! This isn't funny!"

"I think it's hilarious. If you want my advice though, I'd say to be honest with her. She's going to be angry, but she'll be furious if you try to fudge the truth."

"But she'll kill me! I can't tell her. I'll have to try and hide them."

"Daniel. To be frank, you're a terrible liar and she's one of the closest people to you. She'll sniff your fear from miles away."

"You're not helping!"

"If you don't want to listen to my advice again, then it's not my problem. But hey, it's your funeral."

There was a pause as the group found themselves at the entrance to the Zeta tubes.

"Are you kidding me? Seriously, Vlad?"

"What? I was dying to use that line."

"UGH!" Danny groaned obnoxiously.

"Eventually, I will teach you properly."

"Just go in the tube."

And go in the tube they did.

zz

A few months later...

"So wait, do ghosts like causing fear?"

"Most of them use it as an energy source."

"And you?"

"I prefer positive energy, though startling someone every now and then is a thrill. Me and Vlad sometimes get into the mood and try to freak each other out in his mansions. We get pretty creative, seeing as we can overshadow random inanimate objects."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, it's like hide and seek, but to the highest level of extreme. I mean, we're ghosts. Hiding is kinda our thing."

"Does Vlad always act so over-protective?"

Danny paused from his talk with the other teens. It had been just a few weeks ago that Vlad had finally let him join the team. After a couple months, they'd trusted Vlad enough to consider letting him join the League when the next nomination period came up. After another month of Danny begging, Vlad had finally let the boy join the kiddies as he called them. The team had started talking to Danny and hanging out just within the last couple days.

"Over-protective? He's strict if anything."

"But he totally went ape-shit on those ghosts when we met you. He was vicious. Glad he's on our side," Wally expressed.

Danny smirked at his personal knowledge of Vlad's past transgressions. Though he was fairly certain, Batman and Robin knew about Vlad's past too; he knew that the League sometimes had their own type of moral ideals. After all, if what Vlad had told him was true, Artemis had questionable origins as well.

"Vlad's… a no nonsense type. That and ghosts are… different than humans."

"What do you mean?" Megan asked, cocking her head.

Danny gave her a bright smile before playing with the hem of his t-shirt. "Well… ghosts care more about physical strength than a lot of other things. So he kinda has to be vicious with them. They don't really consider such treatment cruel. If he'd gone easy on them, that would've been a sign of weakness."

"How strange… I mean! In a good way! Interesting, yes! Interesting!" Megan fumbled.

Danny laughed. "Yeah I know. Ghosts are weird. But… weird's cool." He subconsciously rubbed the silver ring on his left ring-finger.

"I wonder when the League's going to induct Vladdie? I mean, it wouldn't be a good move not to induct one of the only ghostly superheroes out there. Not many specialize in that kind of thing," Wally mused.

Danny snorted. "I was a superhero before Vlad was. He was more focused on his business practices at first."

"Seriously?"

"I have more experience using my powers to save people, but Vlad's powers are more developed and he's had more time to practice and hone his powers privately."

"I thought he was your mentor."

"He is now, but he wasn't. I was solo at first."

"Is that why he calls us the Kiddie squad?"

Danny frowned and looked at the ground. "I am sorry about that, but it took Vlad a while to even take me seriously. It's a mixture of pride and… concern? He has a weird way of teaching lessons."

Conner grumbled. "He still doesn't have the right to call us kids."

Danny shrugged. "He used to think I was an idiot for trying to use my powers to help people. Told me I was too immature to know what I was doing and that I was going to get myself killed. It wasn't until later that my persistence started to win him over." Danny paused. "Then my parents died and he realized how helpful a superhero would've been at that moment and he was grateful that I wasn't at home because I was fighting a ghost. He blamed himself, because he wondered what might have been avoided if he'd pulled his head out of his butt and helped people like I was." The half-ghost shook his head. "Point is, he'll soften up eventually. Truth of the matter is he's got a cinnamon roll for a heart, under all his pomp and circumstance."

Everyone froze as a grin crept onto Robin face and a smirk alighted on Artemis'

"Oh my God, no!" Danny cried out. "I can't start talking like him! You have a thermos on you, right Kaldur?"

"I'm afraid I have no idea what you're talking about, Danny." Kaldur smirked before Danny lunged for him.

"Training exercise, Don't let Danny touch you or get any of the thermoses in the Cave!" Wally yelled out. Wally was then gone in a blink of the eye. Robin vanished before Danny could turn around. Artemis and Aqualad took off. Megan giggled and faded from view and left Conner and Dany alone.

"You guys aren't heroes! You're evil! Pure eeeevvviiiill!" Danny whipped around and had a stare down with Conner. Danny shot towards him and Conner flipped backwards over the couch from his previous seating position and watched Danny face-plant into the cushions.

"Too slow."

"Mmmpsasfhpopafmmmppphhh…" Danny moaned and then vanished from the visible spectrum.

Conner's eyes widened. "Oh, shit." He bolted, hearing a ghostly cackle echo through Mount Justice.

"Ready or not, here I come…"

zz

"I'm not sure this is a good idea," Superman mumbled to the dark hero beside him.

Batman didn't budge. "Vlad may have some issues with past transgressions, but he could become a valuable ally."

"You just like him because he thinks like you, right?" Superman smirked, showing a bit of Clark in the smile.

Batman snorted, which surprised the Kryptonian. "I'd rather have that sort of thinking working for us. Being with us and having his obsession within reach, makes it less likely he'll be allured by someone like Luthor."

Superman frowned. "Is that why you let Daniel join the team?"

Batman didn't respond.

"You two really do think alike."

"You can win a battle before it begins if you're ready."

Before Superman could respond, everyone present in the Watchtower, turned to the Zeta tube when it activated. "Recognized: Plasmius, A-0-4." None other than Vlad Masters walked through, grasping the lapel of his suit with one hand.

"Oh my, everyone's all dressed their best and here I am looking so dreadfully dull. Was there a memo sent out?" Vlad asked, making his sarcasm obvious.

"Watch it, ghost," Hawkman grumbled out.

Vlad cut his eyes over to the alien. "I see someone has issues with the Ecto-Americans. Did a certain cursed spirit have something to do with that?"

Hawkman growled and Hawkwoman placed a hand on his arm to quiet him.

"Masters, we were wanting to talk to you about your affiliation with the League," Superman started.

Vlad sighed and deflated. "Fine. Let's all sit and chat."

Batman thought deeply about Vlad's behavior and recalled something Daniel had said to him in private. "I didn't really listen to him at the time because he was stalking me and had cloned me, but I realized later, that underneath all his obsessions trying to crush what humanity he had left, there was a man that really did want love. He could've become something terrible if I hadn't helped him out… if my parents hadn't helped me help him. I had the luxury of having people around me to help curb my obsessions and tell me when I was taking it too far. He didn't have that. He simply started to fall and no one was there to stop it. I can only hope Danielle will forgive him and try to give him a chance, but I also don't blame her if she doesn't.

The founders, Hawkman, Hawkwoman, Green Arrow, John Stewart, Zatara and Vlad sat down.

"Just to preface this talk, I will say that it's very likely we'll be interrupted, given my and Daniel's bad fortune, we seem to have ticked someone off," Vlad expressed.

Before Zatara could finish opening his mouth with a response, a sound, similar to ripping fabric tore through the silence. The Leaguers were on their feet as a green portal appeared.

"Warning. Warning. Ecto-energy spike detected in the conference room. Warning." The computer droned.

"Figures you'd give the humans that kind of leverage, Halfa."

Vlad remained seated, eyeing the portal as Walker, Bullet, and a couple prison guards stepped out into the room.

"Well I am partly human after all. Unlike you, I find myself quite comfortable in the presence of the living," Vlad expressed, finally standing up. "But to the point. Why are you here?"

Walker growled and then glared at the closest Leaguer, who happened to be Zatara. "Even siding with sorcerers. That's risky even for you, Vladimir."

"Being human gives me some advantages. Even Daniel was able to fight against such suppressing magic. You all may consider my and Daniel's hybrid status as a weakness, but I only see advantages…" Vlad grew serious. "I'll ask once more. Why are you here. You obviously know that you are at a severe disadvantage here."

Walker grinned a wide and inhuman grin that made a few of the newer Leaguers' eyes widen. "Well of course. I was only here to make a deal, Plasmius. I know you've been pining after control of the area leading to the easiest path to the Dead Sea. I believe there are some allies of yours there, who'd like safer passage into your territories…"

"They're allies of Daniel as well."

Walker cleared his throat in annoyance. "Yes… about the little punk…"

Vlad's grip on the large table tightened and he could feel the wood creak under his super-grip. "Yes?"

"I'm still a bit peeved that he freed all my prisoners…"

"You arrested them based on false and frankly silly rules."

Walker lost his cool. "You'll get the territory leading to the Dead Sea if you give me the punk in return."

There was a silence that filled the hall.

"He still owes me a few thousand years and some quality time in the interrogation room…"

Something told the others present that the interrogation room was anything but for talking. Vlad then started to laugh. It grew and grew, into almost something manic sounding and then Vlad stopped. "I didn't know you had a sense of humor, Walker." The man transformed and then slid right through the table as he stepped closer and closer to the prison warden. "I'm guessing that those reptiles were beasts you released to capture Daniel?"

Walker seemed a bit confused by Vlad's reaction. "Well, yes." His eyes narrowed as Vlad drew ever closer. "What's this about?"

"Daniel just so happens to be my son now. He is no longer a bargaining chip. If you pursue him again-" Vlad vanished then four of himself appeared, one hoisting the two guards into the air, the other choking Bullet, and the last lifting Walker off his feet. "Then I will have no choice but to retaliate. You may have more men, Walker, but they would fall quickly to the might of my own. I'm willing to play a little power dance with you, but if you step too far out of line, then you will be sorry." The voices of the duplicates synchronized eerily.

"So then, you finally have a weak spot, huh Plasmius?"

"Weak spot? Do you mean, Daniel? Please. He's obviously quite capable on his own. Especially against some like you. I'm not concerned really." Pink ecto-energy burned against the ghosts' throats before Vlad tossed all but Walker back into the portal. His duplicates then reformed with him. "I'll be securing that stretch to the Dead Sea by the way and if you cause any issue, then I'm certain Frostbite, Pandora, and their devoted peoples would love to hear how you've been hunting their savior and dear ally. I do believe they're both on the counsel and they might bring you up whenever they meet with the Observants next..."

Walker's face paled further than his normal complexion, as impossible as that sounds, and he growled weakly. "You may be playing for the humans now rather than yourself, but your mind is still interwoven with your same old evil thoughts and methods, hm? Fine. The passage to the Dead Sea is yours and I won't hunt the punk-" Vlad let go of the ghost as the warden turned to walk to the portal. He looked over his shoulder. "-for now. And next time… I'll have two Halfas in my prison. There will be law and order." And then he was gone.

Vlad huffed as the portal closed, obviously Walker had Wulf in his clutches again. "Daniel won't be happy about Wulf's capture. I wonder if Skulker would mind the extra money…" He murmured to himself. "Ozd zmw liwvi, sv'h ulooldvw srh lyhvhhrlm rmgl zylfg zh wzip lu z kozxv zh R lmxv wrw. R nzb szev gl gzpv gsrh fk drgs gsv Lyhviezmgh." (Law and order, he's followed his obsession into about as dark of a place as I once did. I may have to take this up with the Observants…) Then he looked up at the other heroes. "Terribly sorry about that, though I did warn you about my and Daniel's awful luck."

"You were pretty vicious to him," Wonder Woman spoke in her calm and leveled voice.

Vlad shrugged. "You must all realize that ghosts work differently than humans. They go by a scale of strength because mortal concepts of money, wealth, or anything else that is for practical purposes based upon social practices is worth hardly anything to them. Whomever is the strongest, and perhaps the most honorable, makes the rules, minus the primal ghosts. Believe me, the parts of me that are still very much human, find these exchanges to be primitive and unalluring at best."

"We have much to learn about ghosts then it seems," Manhunter expressed, causing a few slightly more humble of those present to nod in agreement.

"I suppose. Ghosts are hard to profile though. You'd have to know how the ghost lived and died or how it was formed and shaped through the eons, depending on what type of ghost it is."

Superman nodded and then gestured to the table. "Let's try to resume our talk."

"Very well."

zz

"Recognizing: Plasmius, 1-7." Vlad walked into the Cave and looked around, seeing no one in sight. Then suddenly, a form flew into the room, carrying several thermoses in his back, cackling madly.

"HA! You were all fools to think you could hide them from me!-ACK" Danny yelped when Robin pounced on him from the rafters.

"How long can you hold onto them is the real question!" Robin laughed back and snagged one of the thermoses from the ghost's back.

"Hey no fair!"

"Totally fair. It's not our fault you forget to instinctually go intangible five times out of ten," Robin replied cheekily.

"Speaking of-"

The two boys froze, Wally sped into the room and tripped, preforming a nice skidding face plant, Artemis peered out from behind a couch, Aqualad jogged in, Megan floated down from someplace near the ceiling, and Superboy walked out of a closet, letting a bunch of stored beach-goers items topple to the ground. Danny's grin blossomed on his face.

"Hey Vlad!"

"Should I even ask, little badger?"

"Probably not."

"I'm not interested any ways."

"You're never interested."

"Remaining aloof is an art form." Vlad smirked before gesturing to Danny. "Come on now, we need to return to Wisconsin. You have school tomorrow and I'm wanting to get some lessons squeezed in. It's about time I started showing you how to properly duplicate."

Danny flinched. "Yeah… duplication is…"

"What's so weird about duplication?" Wally asked, rubbing his red face.

"It's kinda ugly to learn…"

"What do you-"

"Multiple body parts that don't belong, two heads, one eye, I could go on, but it's not pretty," Danny expressed. He smiled at Vlad. "Alright." He went intangible, letting the thermoses clatter to the ground. Danny then grabbed his backpack near the couch and waved over his shoulder. "Later guys! I had fun! Maybe next time it'll be a mission or something."

"Bye Danny!"

"Later dude!"

"See ya."

The others continued with their goodbyes as Vlad lead Danny to the Zeta tube. Vlad wrapped an arm around Danny's shoulders before he began to murmur in Ghost.

"Blf ivzoob ziv szkkb sviv, zivm'g blf?" (You really are happy here, aren't you?)

"Bvh. R wlm'g uvvo orpv z uivzp zmbnliv." (Yes. I don't feel like a freak anymore.)

"R'n tozw, hlm." (I'm glad, son.)

"Gszmph Kzkz." (Thanks, Papa.)

After the word Papa had left Danny's lips, one could barely hear the practical squeal of happiness from Vlad and a groan from Danny.

"Recognizing: Plasmius, 1-7; Phantom, B-0-8."


So there you have it. Hoped you liked it!