Chapter 25

Vlad sat in a business meeting, listening to the head director for one of his research projects ramble on about the progress of his work. The man wasn't telling him anything that Vlad hadn't already known, so his mind wandered to other matters.

The reunion and his fights with Daniel kept playing through his mind. How could he make the boy see that he was the better man? How could he gain the boy's trust? Vlad knew hardly anything about Daniel except that he was a victim of Jack's idiocy like Vlad himself. He needed to learn more about the boy, to understand him better, so that he could more easily lure the boy to him.

I could spy on him, Vlad thought absently as the man droned on becoming mere background noise in his head. But that takes time, and keeping up appearances as Vlad Masters doesn't give me the kind of time I would need to pursue such a course of action. I barely have time to step out of the office while I'm here in Amity Park.

Vlad had been in meeting after meeting since his arrival. Once this final meeting ended, he had to rush back to Wisconsin to check on other laboratory facilities. The price of his fortune cut into whatever free time he had quite often during evaluation periods and maintenance checks and approvals of new projects.

At least it's only a few times throughout the year, Vlad thought, idly rubbing his temple as he felt a headache coming. Did this man not know how to get to the point of his presentation? Vlad swore he was working with morons.

"In short, the suit should be ready to be used in a few days," finished Mr. Hayashi, gesturing to the red suit on the mannequin.

"That's all very well," Vlad said, placing his hands on the table as he pushed himself out of his seat. Before he could say more, the security alarms rang. He clapped his hands over his ears and glared at the man. "What is going on here?"

"We just had a new security system put in," explained Hayashi. "Perhaps there's a small malfunction in it."

It sounded more like a question than a statement, which didn't sit well with Vlad. As president of Axion Labs, he refused to accept any little malfunction in its security. He stormed out of the conference room and down the hallway to his office. He equipped his office to be able to check in on any of the security cameras around the facility. Flipping them on, he quickly scanned through them looking for any intrusion.

"What?" Vlad exclaimed as he spotted the familiar form of Danny Phantom flash before one camera.

Vlad quickly brought up the next camera. His eyes narrowed, watching the boy point toward the black girl, who looked to be around his age and covered in some sort of ectoplasmic – Is that drool? Vlad asked, his brow furrowing. His question was answered when he spotted a dog run through and Danny Phantom chased after it.

"A ghost dog?" Vlad muttered darkly as the large dog rampaged around his facility, destroying months of tests and research. His hands clenched at his sides as he sneered at the beast.

Once the dog and Daniel were gone, Vlad's gaze was drawn back to the girl, now hanging in the net along with the rest of the security members. He vaguely recalled seeing her here before. If his memory served correctly, her father was the chief of security.

Vlad could already guess that his director, who was busy checking the security features, would fire that man for deciding to implement a flawed system. The director had no knowledge of Vlad's research on ghosts, though no one except those working on specific projects was supposed to know that. He couldn't hold the poor man accountable for designing a system that didn't guard against ghost attacks.

"Perhaps he should be given another chance," Vlad mumbled as thoughts danced in his head. His gaze flicked to the door, a plan forming in his head. "But I have to make certain first." He walked over to his desk and pressed the button on intercom that connected to his secretary. "Joan, could you cancel my flight back to Wisconsin?"

"Uh, but, Sir, you have meetings to attend," Joan replied in uncertainty.

"And I have pressing matters to attend to here," Vlad said, keeping his tone calm. "If a new security chief is necessary, I would like to be here to oversee the matter and ensure that the new system he installs works. Until this matter is resolved, I shall remain here."

Vlad lifted his finger from the button before Joan could make any argument. Smirking, he strolled out of his office, heading back to the conference room. Looks like I might get to test that suit, he thought. However, before he could put that plan into action, he had a few details to take care of.

After some researching, Vlad had a name to put to a face of his chief of security: Damon Gray. Mr. Gray had a daughter named Valerie, and two years ago, his wife died of cancer. The two unit family struggled financially after that until Mr. Gray landed the security job at Axion Labs six months later. Now they would return to that same struggle.

Vlad shook his head at the thought as he took a seat on the roof top of the Gray house. He had no reason to care if this man fell on hard times. It was a common struggle for those on the lower end of the working class. He decided it was the daughter's potential usefulness that made him care. Giving Mr. Gray a second chance to prove his worth would show the girl that he had heart, and she would be more willing to help him.

Vlad spotted Valerie as she walked out the front door, carrying a large box labeled "Val's clothes." She wasn't a lazy girl who sat around and let her dad and the moving guys do all the work. Vlad liked that fact about her.

Daniel was present, along with his two friends. The black boy walked over to Valerie as soon as she came out of the house. They offered help, though Daniel's Goth wannabe girl friend scowled, clearly not wanting to help.

"Thanks," Valerie said as she glared at the trio of friends, "but I'll pass."

Daniel gasped, his ghost sense leaving his parted lips in a thin blue wisp that no one else seemed to notice. "I'm gonna have to pass too," he said before he rushed off down the street.

There's no way he sensed me, Vlad thought, frowning as he watched the scene before him. He was certain he suppressed his presence enough to go unnoticed.

The ground shook suddenly, and Vlad stood up, wondering what was happening. A large ghost dog broke out of the ground, sending a dresser filled with clothes flying toward the curb. The three teenagers jumped out of the way as the dresser crashed upon the sidewalk. A passing car ran through a puddle and splashed water upon the dresser. Valerie shot a glare at the ghost dog that was too busy sniffing the ground to notice.

Such anger, Vlad thought, smirking. If he could direct her anger toward – Then he spotted Danny Phantom flying out of the ground behind the dog.

"Whatever you are, get out of here," Valerie ordered as she glared at the ghost. "You and your stupid dog have done enough."

Perhaps making this girl see Danny Phantom as her enemy won't be all that tough, he thought. Daniel was virtually doing that job well enough on his own without any interference from Vlad. He watched with mild amusement as the dog dragged Daniel around by his leg before they ended up in the moving van, the door slamming shut after them. Shouts, barks, and crashes filled the air as Daniel tried to capture the dog. A moment later, he phased out of the van with the dog in his arms. Then he flew off as Mr. Gray opened the moving van door.

"What's going on here?" asked the man as he looked into the moving van, and Vlad could only imagine the damage done to the furniture.

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out," Valerie answered, eyes narrowing with fierce determination.

Almost, Vlad decided as he left the Gray house and headed back to Axion Labs. The girl needed a little more nudging, a little understanding of what she witnessed twice now, before she was ready to receive his gift for her. Vlad still had a few adjustments and surveillance features to add to the suit, but everything was proceeding well.

The next day, Vlad decided to stop by the school during his lunch break. He learned that Valerie attended the same high school as Daniel. Reaching the school, he first sought out the cafeteria. He peeked through the window in time to witness Valerie being dumped on by her friends.

Vlad snorted at the sight. Right now, popularity was an important factor to these teenagers. They didn't care if they hurt the feelings of others if those people weren't in their little circle. Vlad could clearly remember the pain of being picked on by the popular people in his school. Shaking the memories from his mind, he focused his attention back on watching Valerie and Daniel.

Valerie sat alone at a table and looked depressed over the way the three popular people treated her. Daniel's male friend, who Vlad discovered after doing a little background check was named Tucker, approached the girl. Whatever they spoke about didn't last long as the ghost dog appeared to interrupt them, snatching up Valerie's bag lunch and tearing it to shreds.

The other students screamed and ran from the cafeteria in fear of the ghost. Vlad sat back and watched the unfolding events. Predictably, Danny Phantom appeared again to deal with the ghost dog problem. Once distracted from the lunch lady, the dog leapt at Phantom, and they both phased through the wall. Vlad wondered again how Daniel could have bested him when he couldn't even properly deal with a silly dog.

Vlad floated close enough to overhear some of the conversation that occurred between Tucker and Valerie after the attack.

"Ghosts," Valerie said in disbelief. Then she realized that Tucker was right. "Oh my god, ghosts!"

The girl finally knew what the boy and dog were and where to direct her anger. Now was the time to give her the equipment she needed to seek revenge upon the ghosts that ruined her life.

Later that night, Vlad paid a visit to the new home of the Gray family. His nose wrinkled at the dingy apartment. It almost reminded him of the dorm room he lived in during – No, he wouldn't think about that time in his life. He focused on what was happening inside the apartment. With the window now open, Vlad could hear what was being said.

"I'm getting one last chance, Sweetie," Mr. Gray told his daughter. "I've convinced them to let me guard what's left of the research lab while they rebuild."

I'll let him believe that, Vlad thought with a frown. Mr. Gray barged in and stated his case before the director could tell him that he would already be given a second chance.

"Well, that's great," said Valerie with excitement. "How many of your employees can you put on it?"

"I don't have any more employees," Mr. Gray answered awkwardly. "I have to guard it myself, at night, in that." He pointed to the uniform hanging on the back of the door.

"Nice," mumbled Valerie, her hopes deflating as she hunched over. "And if things get worse, you can use that outfit to deliver packages."

"Which reminds me." Mr. Gray hurried off to grab a package and walked back over to where Valerie sat on the couch. "This arrived while you were at school today, from Wisconsin." His watch beeped right then. "Whoa! Don't want to be late. Bye, Sweetie." Placing the package in the girl's lap, he kissed his daughter on the cheek. Then he rushed out of the room to change into his uniform.

Vlad watched as Valerie stared at the package before cautiously opening it. She pulled out the note and read it aloud:

"Heard about your recent ghost troubles. Hope this helps. Vlad."

With a smirk, Vlad vanished in a swirl of smoke. He had set things into motion. Valerie could hunt ghosts to her heart's content while he would secretly be watching Daniel. He would learn more about the boy so that he could get Daniel to join him.