Summary: Vlad Masters is a busy man with many projects he is working on, though some of them are kept secret.
Characters: Vlad and Skulker
Written: January 2015
Note: This is set after chapter 43 of Spectacular Specter.

Chapter 43.5

He paced the laboratory, chewing on a thumbnail. It was a habit he had whenever he was deep in thought about something, and despite attempts to break the habit, he continued to do it. Back in college, Maddie would always scold him when she saw him biting his nail. The corner of his mouth twitched when he remembered Maddie. He had such fond memories of her, and to an extent Jack.

Vlad shook his head. Now was not the time to be distracted by past crushes. He had plans to focus on. Pausing in his pacing, he stopped before a containment unit, a four foot in diameter cylinder made of thick glass. Inside the unit, electricity sparked, bouncing around at dizzying speeds but unable to break free from its prison.

"We could have done great things together." Vlad placed a hand to the glass as his mouth thinned and his eyes narrowed. So many plans were ruined because the experiment hadn't turned out exactly how he expected. "Honestly, I think you should have thanked me. I gave you a power no mortal has. If I hadn't done what I did, you would still be stuck in that coma with your body rotting and wasting away." His hand curled into a fist, and he pounded it against the containment unit. "I'll get them for that explosion. They've gone back on their word and plotted behind my back one too many times."

For now, he was still trying to think of a safe way to use Technus, who couldn't even maintain a form long enough to be a threat at the moment. And that was the number one problem. If the machine disrupting his energy was shut down for even a second, Technus would escape and continue his obsessive desire for revenge.

Straightening his stance, he glanced over his shoulder as he smoothed down his suit. "I hope you have good news for me."

"Have I mentioned how creepy that is?" A man stepped out of the shadows and into the light of the laboratory. He was tall with broad shoulders. His dark skin stretched over his tight muscles, his figure suggesting he worked out a lot. Given the type of work he did, it was no surprise.

Vlad scowled, wrinkling his nose at the leather pants and bright green hair sticking up. The man could easily be mistaken for some kind of rock star. "You look like things didn't go so well."

The man ran a finger down a fresh scar on his cheek. "I ran into a little trouble, but I'll be better prepared next time."

Vlad twitched, struggling to hold back his rage. "You failed?" His nails dug into his palms, and his knuckles ached from how tightly he had balled his fists. This man, this Skulker, wasn't his first choice to go after Phantom, but said first choice had refused to accept the job. He snorted to himself. What kind of mercenary who claimed to take on any job would refuse one as simple as capturing a silly superhero?

"I would have captured him," Skulker growled, his green eyes flashing angrily, "if my system hadn't exploded on me. I don't know how he did it, but somehow he planted some explosives to take out my controls." He reached into a sack he had with him and retrieved a small vial from within it. "But I do have a gift for you."

When Skulker tossed it to him, Vlad snatched the vial out of the air. Then he held it between his index finger and thumb, staring at the green substance inside it. "And what exactly is this supposed to be?"

"While I couldn't capture him, I did succeed in wounding Phantom. That," Skulker pointed at the vial, "is a sample of his blood that I pulled off the spike that stabbed him in the foot."

Vlad eyed the green substance curiously before he slowly smirked. "Well, that changes things." He curled his hand around the vial then looked at Skulker. "Though I would prefer having Phantom himself to study." Still, he could learn quite a lot just from the small sample of Phantom's blood. The corner of his mouth curled into a cruel smirk. This would only be the beginning.

Tetractys: Alicia was only in it for one episode, so we didn't really get a lot of characterization about her. But what you said basically sums up the way I've always seen Alicia. XD