Random idea I had after watching "Eye for an Eye." Rated for mild language, just cause I'm paranoid. Occasional snarky!Danny (his POV too) since readers seem to be liking that lately. Let's do this.
"What? He's going to zap his own clone to make himself look good! Unless…it does just the opposite! I've got an idea."
I turned intangible and flew down into Vlad's clone just as he was charging up the ecto-weapon to fire. The instant I entered, I knew there was going to be a struggle. Vlad's clone fought valiantly, but the poor old bastard just didn't have it in him to keep out intruders and maintain his human form. Awesome.
"Go ahead, do your worst," I said in his creepy voice, fully aware that Vlad knew I had overpowered his ghost half. The look on his face still held the steely determination of a mayor helping his town during a time of crisis, but I could see the panic behind his eyes.
Before Vlad could zap me, I took off. Admittedly I was a bit jealous at just how fast his ghost half could fly, but it wasn't going to matter in five seconds because Vlad Plasmius and Danny Phantom would be gone and Mr. Mayor's golden reputation would be destroyed. I launched behind his overpriced limousine and tried to change back as I heard a blast from just a few feet away. Key word here is tried.
For some reason, I couldn't transform, nor could I leave the body I was overshadowing. The limo blew up just as I had tried yet again, sending me soaring through the air and blinded by debris. Once I was hovering thirty or so feet off the ground, I stared back down at the wreckage and group of Amity Park residents that had been watching the battle between Vlad and me. By the look on his face, I could tell things weren't going as planned, but as always, he found a cover up faster than I did.
"Where's Danny Phantom now?" he cried out in the pretentious voice that was guaranteed reruns on the news channels later tonight. "If he was such a hero, why would he abandon this town at a time when we supposedly need him?"
"What?" I couldn't help myself. I was trapped in this guy's ghost body and he still had the nerve to call me out for being a useless hero?
My dad began firing several weapons at me, which I managed to avoid thanks to his lousy aim. But once Mom returned her attention from instructing the masses to run for safety and was back to focusing on me, that's when I knew I had a problem. I wanted to just fly away and figure this out on my own, but since Vlad had made Danny Phantom look like a pathetic wimp in front of the whole town, I couldn't leave without returning the favor.
"Oh no!" I yelled, trying to make sure everyone was catching this. "Jack and Maddie Fenton? The happiest married pair of ghost hunters in Amity Park? I must go before they destroy me with their expertly crafted Fenton weapons!"
I'd like to thank the Academy.
I flew away, hoping that Sam and Tuck got the hint that this wasn't exactly Vlad. I knew the old guy was pissed, but I didn't realize just how angry he was until later that night, when he showed up at my house in his human form.
Me? I was hiding on the roof of the Op Center, still stuck in Vlad's ghost form. It had been a horrendous five hours, to be perfectly honest. Getting stuck in the body of a guy thirty years older than me wasn't exactly on my bucket list.
"Maddie, so good to see you," I heard his vomit-inducing voice greeting my mom at the doorway. Her response indicated that she was less than thrilled to see him at Fenton Works. I would have cheered, but somehow I think she would be even angrier to see Plasmius hanging around the house.
"What can we do for you Vladdie?" my dad's voice boomed from the living room. Shrugging, I turned invisible and flew down to snoop around. The last thing I wanted was some crazy fruitloop mulling through my house without me around to stop him.
"…I can't believe the ghost boy was attacking the town again today. It's quite a shame really-" I heard Vlad saying. I would've shot him with his own ectoplasmic ray if it wouldn't have blown my cover.
"-Speaking of Dannys…how is young Daniel doing?"
My mom frowned. "I haven't seen him all day. Have you, Jack?"
My dad shrugged. "Probably in his room. Why don't you guys go check on him?"
"No!" I said, unable to help myself. Maybe I was starting to see who I got the clueless genes from.
Vlad was glaring at the walls and ceiling, now fully aware that I was hiding somewhere in my house. My mom hadn't seemed to notice, as her attention was fully centered on trying to nonverbally tell Vlad to stay away from her. Needless to say, it wasn't working. He followed her up the stairs like a lovesick puppy, but still kept his eyes on the walls around him. I felt a sick sense of satisfaction in knowing that he was nowhere near guessing where I was floating.
"Danny?" my mom knocked on the door and entered. Just as Vlad was about to enter, I turned intangible and took him through the floor, all the way down to the lab.
It would have been so much cooler knowing that the epic crash upon his landing had come from my own doing. I guess Vlad isn't lying when he says he's more powerful after all, but I still retain the element of surprise.
"Get out of there!" he snarled when he realized it was me.
"Why should I?" I asked, unable to resist taunting him, as much as I truly wanted out of here.
He grabbed the nearest ecto-weapon and pointed it at me. It was my dad's latest invention. One in which I knew definitely did not work.
"Come at me, bro."
Vlad stared blankly for a few seconds before firing. There was a little fizzle, but nothing more. I nearly laughed but immediately stopped, hating the sound of evil laughter coming from my lips.
"I'm stuck," I finally told him. "I've been trying to escape all afternoon."
"What did you do Daniel?" he snapped.
I observed him for a few moments, wondering why he wasn't transforming yet. "You can't change, can you?"
Vlad shot at me a few times with one of the ecto-guns that actually did work. That was a definite 'yes.' I easily avoided them and even used his own shield to reflect the rays back at him. He collapsed as they hit him directly in the chest. Again, it felt quite good to use Vlad's powers against him but in all seriousness, I was ready to accept his help as soon as he was willing to stop trying to kill me.
"Look, do you want to fight like this, or do you want your ghost powers back so it can at least be a somewhat fair fight?"
Vlad glared for a few more seconds before reluctantly put the weapon down.
"Even with all your anti-Danny Phantom tactics and maniacal rants about power, I'm still more clever than you!" I couldn't help but mock him, sending just one more pink ectoplasmic ray at him for good measure.
"There," I said, grinning and pretending to brush dust off of my gloves. "Now I'm ready to be serious."
"Well maybe I'm not, you teenaged brat!" Vlad yelled, just as my mom walked into the lab. She took one look at Vlad and one look at me-as-Vlad Plasmius.
"Are you fighting that ghost?" she asked him, caught completely off guard by the calmness and near-normality of the situation. I was surprised I hadn't been blown to bits yet.
"I believe Danny Phantom is overshadowing that ghost!" Vlad yelled, trying to amend the awkward scene by grabbing an ecto gun and firing away. His aim was much better when my mom was around, even with his attention slightly more on her than it was on me.
"Overshadowing?" my mom yelled over the sound of the ceiling caving in and inventions self-destructing all around us.
Just as the ceiling began to plummet onto their heads, I tried to go intangible and save them- well, at least my mom if I could only save one- but several sharp things tore into my back. I screamed, as it was one of the most painful things I'd ever experienced; and trust me, I'm a guy that knows pain.
Turns out, it was my dad, using the Ghost Gauntlets to rip me and Plasmius's duplicate apart. Once separated, I hit my head with my familiar white-gloved hand. Why didn't I think of that?
And across the way, I could see Vlad- still in human form- holding Mom's shoulders on top of the rubble. They were both intangible.
"Vlad?" my parents exclaimed at the same time. He quickly turned tangible, perhaps not having realized that his powers had come back after I was ripped from his ghost half. But the damage was already done.
My dad was in such disbelief that he was sputtering incoherent nonsense and my mom was just staring at him in shock. Vlad's mouth just hung open, with no words coming to his lips to help talk himself out of another rough situation. If only I had had a camera!
"Looks like you've got some explaining to do, V-Man," I quipped before saluting him and disappearing through the ceiling.
Vlad may have won the battles, but I won the war.
That was my first story with Vlad actually playing a major role. Expect a lot more snarky!Danny stories in the future (in addition to my current ones). Let me know what you thought!