Thanks for the reviews guys. Now, show of hands...how many people want to see Vlad outsmarted by a two-year-old? Well, I sure did. I had fun with this chapter...it reminds me of my brother SO much. Well, enjoy the next chapter, and as always BIG THANKS to Epona Harper for beta reading.
"Ah, much better…" Skulker said to himself as he got into his spare armor. He had split off from the rest of the angry mob to fetch another suit and more weapons. He did not care to try to stow away on someone's shoulder. He was just about to leave and catch up with the hunting party when a figure just outside his door caught his attention.
"Skulker," it said, "where is just about everyone in the Ghost Zone going?" Skulker motioned for his guest to come in.
"Well, Plasmius," Skulker said, grabbing a bunch of weapons from his arsenal on the wall. "Rumor has it the Box Ghost turned the ghost child into a two-year-old." Plasmius raised an eyebrow.
"So they're all after Daniel? That's stupid. Who listens to what the Box Ghost says."
"Oh, but it's true." Skulker assured him. "I've seen him myself. He can't remember a thing either, but we're not after the child…" He turned around, but Vlad wasn't there. A smile snaked across Skulker's face as he realized where his boss had probably gone. "Don't say I didn't warn you," he snickered as he took off to find the others.
Danny spun around as he flew. It didn't seem like anyone else in Amity
Park could go this high...and he was enjoying it to the hilt. He found a flock of birds and followed them into a cloud. The toddler was dripping wet when he came out of it, but he didn't care.
"BIRDIE!" He shouted, throwing himself over the flock which scattered in fear. He giggled to himself and continued flying in circles. The toddler ignored the blue mist that appeared again, although he was beginning to figure out what it meant. Every time that happened, someone weird would come. He wasn't about to go look for them though. Why bother? He always ended up running into them anyway…
"Having fun, Daniel?" A voice asked. The toddler was on his back, gazing at the clear sky. He didn't answer the voice, even though he had been sort of expecting it. A ghost appeared beside him.
Of course, the first thing Danny noticed was that his skin had a creepy blue color. He also had red eyes, and black hair that was in a 'U' shape similar to mean ghost who hit him. But something about this ghost was different. Danny wasn't too sure what it was, but he knew he didn't like him.
The man grabbed Danny's foot and spun him upright.
"Hello, Daniel," Vlad grinned at the two-year-old. Danny frowned back.
"You'we weird…" he said bluntly. "And my name's Danny, not-"
"Oh, no my boy, your name's Daniel," he said. Danny frowned. "Oh, no, it's not..." He broke off as Vlad chuckled.
"What's so funny?"
"Your voice," the ghost replied, smiling at the child's scowl. "Allow me to introduce myself, although we have already met…" The toddler cocked his head to the side in confusion. The older hybrid gave him a reassuring look and continued.
"I am Vlad Plasmius, but please, call me Father…"
"But you're not my Daddy-"
"Ah, poor, poor Daniel-" He pulled the toddler into a hug.
"Danny-"
"Whatever. You hit your head, and have something called amnesia." He stifled a sigh as the halfa only stared at him. "It means you forget things…"
"Oh." The toddler bit his lip in thought. Vlad ruffled his hair and grinned. His plan was working. After all, how hard could it be for him to charm the child into believing him? He slowly brought him back down to earth.
"But I alweadys gots a Daddy…" Danny defended.
"Yes, you do." Vlad answered, pulling the baby ghost closer. "You have me." Both hybrids landed on a roof top, and Danny slipped out of Vlad's grip.
"Nuh-uh!" The toddler objected. Vlad knew he was referring to Jack, but he had to get that image out of Danny's head. Besides, if this worked, getting Maddie would be a piece of cake.
"My daddy isn't as ugly as you." Plasmius twitched. "And der's no way my mommy would wike someone wike you."
"You…you saw them?"
Danny nodded. "Saw dem make Mr. Fweaky Man go POOF!"
Vlad tried to pick Danny up again, but the toddler pulled away. "I'm your father. Not that bumbling fool you've come to know." Danny blinked. He was so confused.
"What?"
"I'm your dad. End of story." The toddler shrugged and smiled.
"Okay whatever you say Mr. Cwazy Man." He ran up and hugged Vlad. "I means Daddy!"
Vlad smirked. "Yes," he said to himself. "Everything is going according to plan. Soon Maddie will-"
"Why you talking to youwself?" Danny asked, appearing by Vlad's shoulder.
"I wasn't talking to-"
"Yes you was!" Danny insisted, giggling and jumping back on the roof. "Yous was going wike dis!" Danny stood upright, and put on a very stern face.
"Huwah! I am alones, and talking to myselfs!" Vlad's face grew red. How was it possible for an ignorant toddler to be so adept at mockery?
"I assure you Daniel, I was not-"
"DANNY!" the toddler shouted. He still didn't like this man, even if he did claim to be his father. Not to mention half the things he was saying made no sense. "DANNY! DANNY! DANNY! My name is DANNY!"
"Okay," Vlad snapped. "Either way, your mother and I will live happily in my mansion along with you, and possibly your sister, Jasmine." Danny stared at the vampire-looking ghost in front of him.
"Wow, you awe weiwd!" he said at last. "You'we such a cheerio!"
"It's fruit loop, not cheerio. I'm a fruit loop." Vlad realized what he said a little too late. "I mean I'm not! I AM NOT A FRUIT LOOP!" Danny blinked and took a step backward. Why did everyone always get crazy when he was talking to them?
"Sooo, if you'we not a fruit loop then you'we a cheerio…"
"No! I am not a cheerio either." The toddler thought for a second.
"Soooo…awe you wike…Fwosted Fwakes?" Vlad growled.
"NO! I AM NOT ANY TYPE OF BREAKFAST CEREAL! ESPECIALLY NOT A FRUIT LOOP, SO STOP CALLING ME THAT!"
"But…yous said it…not me." the toddler calmly stated. Plasmius sighed. Patience Vlad, patience…
"Fruit loop," he managed to say calmly, "is another way of saying crazy."
"Ooooooooooooh!" the toddler smiled gleefully. So they weren't talking about cereal. "Yeah, yeah, you'we definitely dat…" Vlad grabbed the toddler by the shirt and shook him as he spoke.
"That is no way to speak to your father young man! You must treat me with respect! I am in charge of you. I control you!" Danny shook slightly in fear.
"No," he said, going intangible and slipping out of Vlad's grip. "Yous don't! Get a wife you fruit loop!"
"I will get a wife! Very, very soon! YOUR MOTHER!" Vlad was furious. How dare Danny act this way? Especially to him!
"I said wife, stupid! As in wiving." Vlad realized that Danny's two-year-old speech patterns were the source of his confusion and tried to reign in his anger...only to lose it again when Danny added, "But you need one of d'ose, too...or a kitty!"
That did it. Never had he been so insulted in his life! And by a two-year-old! With a snarl, he raised his arm and shot the toddler off the side of the building. Only after the blast hit Danny, did Vlad realize what he had done. Panicking, he dove off the side after the falling boy…
"Jazz? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in school?" Jazz flinched at her mother's words. She was still searching for Danny and decided that he might have been at home. He might not have been there, but Jack and Maddie were, and she got caught trying to sneak back out.
"Um…well, you see Mom," her mind was racing with possible excuses.
"You skipped school! Didn't you young lady!" Jack asked, frowning in disappointment. Jazz gulped.
"N-No…" She smiled innocently. "Um…school…just let out. I just came home afterwards…" Jack's face lightened a bit, but Maddie wasn't buying it.
"Jazz, it's 3:28. School ends in two minutes. Where have you been?"
"Uh…" she tried to think of a way to get out of this, but she was interrupted by a scream.
"GET BACK HERE YOU OBNOXIOUS, UNGRATEFUL, LITTLE-"
"MOMMY!" a shrill, childish voice shrieked. Maddie froze and turned to see toddler-ghost flying to her at full speed. Another figure was chasing him. Jack and Maddie instantly recognized him as the Wisconsin Ghost.
"GHOST!" Jack yelled, and fumbled for his weapons.
"Plasmius!" Jazz muttered under her breath. "What's he doing here? And who's that little…"
White hair, green eyes, distinctive jumpsuit and he called Maddie "Mommy". Jazz's eyes widened as realization dawned. "Oh…my…"
"What was that Jazzy pants?" Her father asked, tearing his attention away from his ecto-guns and looking over his shoulder at his daughter.
Jazz was too speechless to respond.
"Go away you fwuit woop!" the panicking toddler cried as he collided with Maddie. She pulled him into a hug without hesitation. The toddler sobbed into the woman's shoulder, and clung to her for dear life. Plasmius landed a few feet in front of them and flashed his most charming smile.
"Come on Danny…" he started. Maddie glanced down at the baby ghost who trembled in fear. "Daddy's sorry he shot you with that ectoblast…"
"You what?" Maddie hissed.
"You'we not my daddy!" Danny continued to cry. "He is! He is! He is!" Danny wouldn't look at Vlad, but he kept pointing to Jack. Jack looked up from his guns again and frowned. "Go away and weave me awone!"
"Danny?" Jazz asked. The ghost still wouldn't unbury his head.
"You hit him?" Maddie gritted her teeth. Vlad's face softened at the woman he loved.
"Yes, my dear," Vlad slowly stated. "It was an accident…I really didn't mean to…"
"But you did hit him? And you made him cry?" Plasmius stared with curiosity.
"Yes, I did. But I must ask my dear…why do you care?"
"W-What do you mean?" Vlad's grin grew.
"You're protecting a ghost…aren't you two Amity Park's local ghost hunters?" Maddie pulled Danny closer.
"Um…"
"Just hand over my son and you can get on with your happy pathetic lives…"Danny looked up at Maddie and bit his lip. His emerald, green eyes were shiny with tears and his silvery hair was falling over his face, adding to his waif-like cuteness. Maddie felt a smile tug at her lips.
"He's not my daddy, mommy…" Danny said, trembling again. "Pwease don't make me go wifh him!" Maddie bit her lip. He was just so precious! How could anyone resist a face like that?
"Don't worry sweetheart…" Maddie smiled. "You're not going anywhere…"
"What?" Vlad boomed. "But, he's my son-"
"I don't think a son would be so terrified of his own father…" Maddie spat.
"But he's a ghost!"
"Last time I checked…" Maddie finally set the shaking toddler down. He ran behind her and clung to her leg. "So are you…"
"Oh…butter biscuits!" Vlad muttered before the irritated mother snatched her Fenton Bazooka from Jack and blasted Plasmius away.
"Danny?" Jazz whispered, causing the toddler to jump. She crouched down next to him, staring in amazement. "Is that really you?" Danny scrambled around to the other side of Maddy's leg.
Slowly the toddler nodded his head.
"There, there, Danny," his mother cooed, picking Danny up again and slowly started rocking him. "You've been through quite a day, huh? You must be so tired..." Jazz stared in shock as her mother rocked her younger brother to sleep.
"Maddie? What are you doing?" Jack asked slowly. He didn't quite get what was going on. Weren't they supposed to destroy ghosts? Molecule by molecule? This didn't make any sense!
Maddie looked up from the slumbering two-year-old in her arms.
"What?" It must've hit her after she saw her family's facial expressions. "O-Oh…now Jack…I've been…thinking…" Jack raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. "T-This…is Danny Phantom, a very powerful ghost that somehow got turned into a two-year-old."
Jazz tried to hide her gasp. So that really was Danny!
"Yeah…" Her husband prompt. "What's your point Maddie?"
"W-Well, as a two-year-old, he has mistaken us as his parents. Think about it Jack. We could do harmless test, after test, with fantastic results. And as long as we don't hurt or scare him to much, he would trust us just like any other child would trust his parents…and you and I would know so much about ghosts, it would make the Guys in White look bad." Jack's face lit up with excitement.
"Maddie!" He grinned. "You're a genius!" He kissed his wife on the cheek and she went inside the house.
"I have to call Sam and Tucker!" Jazz said, suppressed excitement in her voice. She had found Danny, and he was okay...except for the fact that he was a two-year-old who couldn't seem to remember anything.
"Oh no you don't young lady!" Jack scowled, snatching her cell phone away. "You skipped school today! No cell phone for a week!" Her father followed Maddie into the house and Jazz was left alone on the sidewalk.
"This isn't happening…" Jazz muttered. She screamed at the thought of the experiments her parents were planning to do on her little brother. "HOLD ON DANNY!"
Three guesses who's next. I'll give you two hints:
1) It starts with 'Jazz' and ends in 'Fenton'. Now who could that be?
2) It's not Sam...why? Because I'm evil and doing her last. Yes people, Sam ends Terrible Twos...so when you see her name in the chapters...it's over. Sorry to say so, but it's true.