Chapter 2
DP
Detroit, Michigan
Vlad you bastard! How could you do this!? Danny thought as he flew over Detroit. The entire city was swirling in flames as Danny flew around, grabbing what people he could find, every time finding fewer and fewer people and more and more ghouls that he quickly destroyed with ghost rays. After his fifteenth flyover, he couldn't find any more people. "Phantom! We're low on ammo at the Southern Exit!" a voice yelled in an ear mic he had on. "I'm coming!" Danny yelled and adjusted his route. He landed in front of a battalion just as the gunfire ended and the army of ghouls shambled closer to them. Danny summoned up his power and blasted a pure white ghost ray from his hands, utterly obliterating the ghouls. "Get some more ammo and move in!" Danny ordered the soldiers before flying into Detroit.
Everywhere there were ghouls and dead bodies, and dead bodies rising as ghouls. Danny slammed down on the ground, sending ghouls flying up from the shockwave; he then froze the airborne ghouls with his ice rays, and let them shatter on the ground as he blasted all around him with ghost rays. Before he knew what happened Danny quickly ducked, it was a basic muscle memory instinct. He then saw the man, a large fat blonde man with a beard and red eyes, a smiling mouth full of fangs. "You and me Phantom!" the vampire challenged. The vampire raised his hand and punched at Danny, only for Danny to catch his fist. Danny had been training with Seras to battle vampires hand to hand better, his reflexes were just as good as a vampire's, if not slightly faster. The vampire tried the same with his other hand, only for Danny to catch it as well.
Danny wasted no more time and crushed the vampire's hands in his fists. The vampire screamed and Danny kicked him down. "Where is Vlad?" Danny asked him. "Fuck you!" the vampire yelled, and Danny blasted his head off. Danny then saw three vampires around him, two women, one blonde one redhead, and a short bald man. Danny didn't' waste time and spun around, firing ice rays all the while. When he finally stopped he saw that he had frozen all of them. Danny went to the man first and unfroze his head. "Where is Vlad?" Danny asked. "I won't tell you anything!" the bald vampire defiantly yelled. Danny punched his head so hard it exploded into blood and bone. He then went to the blonde, "Where is Vlad?" he asked after thawing her head. She only spat on him, and Danny decapitated her the same way.
He finally got to the redhead. She looked at him fearfully and said, "I don't know, I swear!" "Why did he do this!?" Danny yelled at her. "He said he wanted to show the world his power! Please, I didn't want this!" the redheaded vampire screamed. "How many people did you kill tonight!?" Danny yelled at her. "I don't know! I didn't have a choice! Once my Master gives me an order, I can't disobey him!" she screamed, tears streaming down her face. As if from nowhere a laser blast singed Danny's cheek and hit the red haired vampire, her head exploded right in front of Danny. "She never was a very enthusiastic fledgling," the last voice Danny wanted to hear said.
Danny turned around to see Vlad Masters, his skunk striped hair slicked back and his once midnight blue eyes glowing red as he walked up to Danny wearing his black suit. "My my Daniel, you've certainly grown since the last time we met face to face. I'd heard that you've started hunting vampires and ghosts. How are Samantha and the kids?" Vlad genially asked, smiling and revealing his fangs. "What happened to you Vlad? You always wanted power, but this!? You've murdered an entire city!" Danny yelled, as he and Vlad circled each other. "This is a demonstration of what I'm capable of. Once the Nations of the world see this, they will come begging to me, just to be spared my wrath," Vlad said, and smiled at Danny again like a Father to a wayward son. "You can join me, Daniel, you and your family. After all, the world is such a big place, I'll need someone strong to help me keep everyone in line," Vlad said and stopped.
Danny stopped and stared at his old foe and growled, "I'll join you in this slaughter when Hell freezes over!" "Very well then, let's see if you've learned anything!" Vlad said then with a high vampiric roar ran at him at full speed. Danny dodged the charging vampire and blasted a ghost ray at him, Vlad dodged the blast and picked up a broken piece of street and threw it at Danny's head. Danny blasted the debris and flew at Vlad, tackling him. "I got you now!" Danny yelled and with all his might performed a perfect Suplex, Vlad's head exploded as his body slammed into the street head first, cracking it. But Danny didn't have long to revel in his apparent victory as Vlad's body suddenly turned into a swarm of bats that circled all around him. Danny received dozens of cuts all over his body until he blasted all around himself with his ecto-energy, dispelling the swarm.
The swarm reshaped itself into Vlad, who slowly clapped his hands, "You've improved so much! I wasn't sure if I'd have to change to beat you, but I'm so very happy that you haven't disappointed me!" A blast of black energy erupted from Vlad's hands, blasting Danny back and through a building. Danny got up and a sonic boom erupted as he flew at full speed back to Vlad. Vlad had already transformed into his Ghost Form and was flying in his direction. The two halfas flew straight at each other, in years to come the soldiers who heard it would compare that first clash to the Fist of Almighty God destroying a mountain. Glass windows erupted all around them as Danny and Vlad backed off and blasted ghost rays at each other from their hands. The beams met in the middle, and neither one could make any headway. Vlad and Danny slowly forced themselves closer to each other.
The half human and half vampire eventually met in the middle, beams still blasting from their hands when Danny caught Vlad by surprise by kicking him in the chest, sending him flying back. Danny flew after him and grabbed him by his cape then spun around and threw him with all his might through a nearby skyscraper. Danny flew into the skyscraper then was attacked from above by an I-beam. Before he could recover the I-beam slammed into him again, sending him out of the now collapsing skyscraper and into an office building filled with ghouls. Danny blasted ghost rays right and left then blasted a final ghost ray at full power at the I-beam flying into the window, melting it and hitting Vlad square in his chest.
Danny sucked in air at this momentary reprieve, this is really it! Vlad is playing for keeps this time! A white aura surrounded Danny as he flew after Vlad, so am I! Vlad and Danny slammed into each other in midair, and Vlad grabbed Danny by his legs and spun around then threw him into the street, the road was cracked for miles around at the force of the crash. Danny rolled to the side just in time to avoid Vlad's follow up stomp and tripped him with his own feet then kicked Vlad in the side hard enough to send him back into the air. Danny blasted ghost and ice rays after him, praying one would hit. Danny flew up and looked around for any sign of Vlad. He got his sign when the wind picked up and Danny saw a black tornado coming straight for him.
Danny tried to fly away from the ectoplasmic tornado, but the supernatural twister was too powerful and he was sucked in along with dozens of cars and broken glass and other debris. Danny was slammed around on all sides from he knew not what, all he knew was that his body was being slammed and cut from a million places at once before the tornado stopped and he flew through the air before crashing into the street miles away. White rings flew up and down his body and a bruised, bloody, cut, and battered Danny struggled to all fours in time to throw up blood. He gasped for air that tasted like iron. He looked around at the ruined Detroit. He looked down at his hands and saw his wedding band from Sam. It was black iron and shaped like intertwined roses.
Danny's thoughts turned to Sam, and Willie, and Morgan, and Cammie, and Jazz, and Tucker and Valerie. If he fell now Vlad would have free reign to do whatever he wanted with them, and the world. He would not let that happen! Danny dug deep and found that last bit of power he had left, and waited. Five seconds later Vlad walked up to him, Danny was still on all fours. "I'm giving you one last chance Daniel, join me now, and I will spare your friends and family," he told him. Danny mumbled and Vlad got down on one knee and asked, "Come again?" Danny summoned up the power he had left and jumped up fist first as his fist uppercut Vlad right into the air as he went Ghost one more time and roared, "NNEEEVVVVEEEERRRRRR!"
Danny flew straight at the shocked Vlad and grabbed his shoulders, and blasted his head with ghost rays from his eyes as he forced the two of them to plummet through a skyscraper, roaring with all his might the whole way as Vlad's skin blackened and charred. Danny let go and kicked Vlad down as hard as he could and flew out of the collapsing building and summoned up the absolute last of his power and screamed out a Ghostly Wail that devastated the surrounding area for miles around. Danny floated down and collapsed, lying on his back. "That has to be it," he huffed. "I don't have anything left." After a minute he started to believe that it really was over and got up, only to hear the sound of the Earth breaking.
"No," Danny whispered as Vlad's black gloved fist erupted from the ground and the wounded creature emerged, half his head gone, and Danny saw that everything below his ribcage was gone as well. Black shadows reshaped themselves into Vlad's face then the rest of his body and he stood up. He slowly walked over to Danny, who defiantly stood his ground. Vlad walked up to him and growled, "You hurt me." He then backhanded Danny hard enough to crack his teeth and send him to the ground. "You! Hurt! Me!" Vlad yelled as he slapped Danny with each word, sending Danny's teeth flying and breaking his jaw even more. Vlad grabbed Danny by his throat and lifted him up. "Just remember this," Vlad said as he poked Danny's ribs, breaking them too. "Everything that I do to them is all your fault!" Danny then grabbed Danny's head and made him look at his burning red eyes. The last thing Danny saw was bright red light.