Howdy y'all, and happy Valentine's Day! :D

This chapter here? It marks the first chapter that Wes isn't even in (save for a mention or two). So it may not be romantic, but instead I figure it's time to show Valerie a little love with something of a lore/headcanon chapter. After the events of the last chapter, it couldn't be avoided.

Heads up in this chapter for somewhat frequent blood mentions in the latter half. Nothing overly graphic, but it comes up several times.

Valerie approached City Hall immediately after school on Monday, shoulders tense. Her backpack was still slung over her shoulder; she hadn't even had time to stop by her house to drop it off when Vlad had called her, and he'd made it clear that it was an urgent matter that was not to be delayed.

Valerie wasn't sure what was so important that she couldn't take five minutes to put her things away, but whatever it was, it probably wasn't good.

She was well aware of where Vlad's office was located by now. Once she entered the building, her feet carried her on autopilot to her destination, and before she knew it, she was standing in front of an ornate and likely very expensive wooden door. Not giving herself a chance to lose her nerve, she knocked, the sound echoing throughout the chamber.

"You may enter," Vlad called. His voice carried through the heavy door, even though he didn't seem to have raised his voice at all.

Valerie refused to waver. She opened the door, not bothering to close it when she crossed the threshold. It didn't matter, though, because the door had more than enough weight to swing itself shut anyway, the thunk heavy but muted in the bookshelf-cluttered office.

The real office. Not the one with the big window that Vlad used to keep up appearances. That was for public matters. This one was where the more important meetings went down.

Valerie had been here many times. Usually when Vlad wanted to call a hit.

But who did he want out of the way this time? And why now? She hadn't told him she was back in the game.

"Are you aware of why I've asked you here?" Vlad asked, pulling Valerie out of her thoughts.

She decided to play along for now. "I've got a pretty good guess, sir. Got another ghost you need me to track down? I'm game, but if I can ask, uh. Why? I thought I was on leave."

Vlad sighed, long and weary. Injected with just the right amount of disappointment. "I thought so too, my dear. But Valerie, you must know that I don't like to be lied to."

Valerie fought the urge to flinch. Did Vlad know she'd been patrolling on the down-low? He did have eyes everywhere; Valerie knew it was only a matter of time, but she'd hoped she had longer to prepare.

Still, she played dumb. "I'm sorry, but what do you mean, sir?"

Another sigh. "Valerie, my girl. I know you've been using the suit. You contributed to last week's rescue efforts, did you not?"

It was Valerie's turn to sigh, though she disguised it well by exhaling through her nose. The jig was up, she supposed. "...Yes, I did. I felt the circumstances called for my intervention, and my expertise let me evacuate dozens." A true story, but she hated to be so cordial with this snake all the same.

"While that's true," Vlad admitted, "and I do commend you for it, that isn't what I'm concerned about. I'm more worried you've been using the suit with an ulterior motive."

"...An ulterior motive for saving a bunch of people?"

"You allied yourself with Phantom," Vlad snapped, apparently done beating around the bush. "Phantom and that slippery little eel he calls a sidekick. I've warned you about the evil, manipulative games those ghosts play, haven't I?"

"It was a temporary alliance," Valerie lied through her teeth. "Those ghosts don't want the town destroyed any more than we do. I did what I had to."

"Valerie, your 'temporary alliance' started when, exactly."

It wasn't a question. It was firm. An accusation.

"Just the one time," Valerie insisted. "I fight ghosts, not befriend them."

"Where did I ever suggest you were friends?"

Valerie's mouth snapped shut.

"...Relinquish your suit."

Valerie took a step back. "How come, sir? I haven't disobeyed you."

"You've fallen victim to Phantom's charms, and he's tricked you into thinking he's a positive influence on Amity Park. Your judgement has been compromised, and you are no longer fit to use the suit. So, if you would?"

Vlad made a beckoning motion with his hand, and Valerie felt a surge of defiance swell within her. "I can't do that, sir. And even if I could, I wouldn't."

Vlad's outstretched hand curled into a fist.

"...And why is that, my dear?"

"I just told you, I can't," Valerie replied. She didn't like the way he was eyeballing her.

"I gave you that suit," Vlad ground out, any pretense of civility slowly seeping its way out of him. "It's a one-of-a-kind product, and it was you I chose to bless with it. I could have hired anyone who'd be chomping at the bit, and I. Chose. You."

"I was fourteen!" Valerie shouted. "Why would you give me a ghost-hunting suit?!"

"This is your last chance to do the right thing, Valerie," Vlad warned. "Give me the suit. Now."

Valerie turned up her nose. "Or what?"

"Trust me, girl, you don't want to test me. Either you relinquish the suit, or I sue you and your family for every penny to your name and get it back the hard way."

Despite herself, Valerie laughed. "Ha! Hate to say it, but you don't have much of a case. This suit stopped being yours a long time ago."

Vlad raised a brow, confident as ever in his assured victory. "And how can you be so sure of that?"

In an instant, the suit had encompassed Valerie's form, and she had a pistol directed right between the mayor's eyes. "Because I'm guessing the old suit wouldn't let me do this."

Vlad's face twisted into an expression of alarm, hands coming up in a show of surrender. He looked more than convincingly terrified for his life, but Valerie knew better. He hadn't budged an inch. He hadn't even leaned back in his seat.

"V-Valerie," he stammered out smoothly, "what are you doing? Attacking the mayor in his own office, what's this all about?"

"Don't lie to me, snake," Valerie hissed. "You think I don't know what you are, what you're trying to do?"

Vlad's face fell, his brows settling firmly over his eyes. They almost glimmered in the shade they cast. "Why, whatever do you mean? Please enlighten me."

"You tricked me," Valerie spat. "For almost a year you made me think Phantom was the cause of all my problems. And he was, but he was never malicious. He wasn't the monster you made him out to be. If he really did ever attack you, I wouldn't blame him one bit. I was angry, and you took advantage of me for your own purposes. What those are, I don't know. But you...! You almost made me kill an innocent little girl! She didn't do any of the things you said she did! You just wanted her gone! Out of the way!"

"Don't you see?" Vlad drawled. "They've fooled you into thinking they're the heroes. Of course they would want poor, helpless Vlad to look like the bad guy."

"Shut up." Valerie jabbed the barrel closer, until it almost struck Vlad's brow. "I'm done listening to you, and I'm done coming at your every beck and call. I know who you are, and I know what you are. And I'm gonna finish you off once and for all."

A hand clapped itself over her shoulder. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Valerie didn't have to look back to know who had grabbed her. "...You have three seconds to get your slimy mitt off of me, Plasmius. Or would you prefer it if I called you Mayor Masters?"

She felt the hand flinch, but it remained firm. "What nonsense are you blathering on about? The mayor is sitting right in front of you, fool."

Valerie fired.

Vlad collapsed, thrown back by the force of the blast, his seat just barely remaining standing. The bullet hole smoldered, faint red smoke slowly seeping from it.

But it didn't bleed.

"Destroy the ghost," Valerie said, "destroy the clones."

"...Are you sure about that?"

It was only then that Valerie realized that Plasmius's grip hadn't disappeared. She tried to duck away, but he only dug in harder, drawing a pained yelp out of her as his claws buried themselves in her suit.

"You... You should have vaporized!" she gasped.

"And you jump to conclusions," Plasmius countered.

Before their eyes, Vlad rose, his movements sharp and deliberate. The wound marring his face didn't appear to bother him at all. He bared his fangs with a chilling hiss, his form dissolving into black smoke, which then flew into and merged with Plasmius.

"...You aren't the clone," Valerie realized, knowing right then that she had just made a very, very big mistake. "He was. He knew I was gonna turn on him, so that makes you..."

"The original," Vlad finished for her, finally shoving her away. "Congratulations, it took you long enough to figure it out."

Valerie staggered out of reach, then brought her gun back up, keeping it level with Vlad's chest. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't drive a bullet through your rotten, slimy heart."

"Aside from the fact that you're wildly outmatched?" Vlad offered. "Well, how's this for starters? Do you know where your father is right now?"

"Don't play with me," Valerie snarled, taking a step closer. "I always call him after school. And even if you did somehow kidnap him, all I gotta do is eliminate you, and whatever clone you've set up will disappear."

"Once again, you're assuming that the version of me in front of you is the real one," tittered Vlad.

"Then let me shoot you and find out!"

Of course, Vlad did no such thing. He charged, grappling her and turning the both of them intangible as he forced her out of the building and into the sky. Valerie, startled, didn't shoot, her instincts instead telling her to summon her hoverboard when she found herself airborne. Vlad was forced to let her go, lest he be skewered, both of them becoming corporeal once contact was lost.

Still, Valerie didn't let their newfound distance keep her off the offensive. The prongs of her hoverboard lit up, then began firing a barrage of twin laser bullets.

All Vlad had to do was wave his cape in the projectiles' path to dispel them, but despite no harm coming to him, he couldn't help but dust away the minuscule ashes where they'd struck.

"Hm, so you really have modified that suit," he hummed, admittedly impressed. "My core signature should be immune to the effects of your weapons. But you're no technological genius. Tell me, who helped you? Was it your father? The Guys In White? That oaf of a Fenton?"

"Like I would tell you," Valerie guffawed, even as she brought forth a staff to block Vlad's taloned grip when he charged her. "It's like I said before, this isn't your suit. That's all you need to know."

She shoved against him, and without giving him time to right himself, she pointed one end of her staff at him. The pointed tip hummed and sparked, and she dove in, hoping to jab him in the stomach.

Vlad laughed, easily darting closer so he could brush the weapon aside. "Fine. Then tell me how you learned of my secret identity. Surely you didn't figure it out by yourself. Did someone tell you? I must know who to send my regards to."

"You know what? Yeah, it was Nunya."

Vlad blinked. "Who?"

"Nunya business!" Valerie lunged, clubbing the side of Vlad's head with her weapon. He hissed, grabbing the staff and wrenching it away from her before tossing it aside, letting it fall harmlessly to the ground below.

She wasn't about to let him recover. A bazooka materialized in her hands, and barely giving it enough time to charge, she fired it point-blank.

The recoil sent her skidding back, but she easily righted herself, mounting the weapon once more as she prepared for her enemy's counterattack.

Slowly, ever so slowly, the smoke began to disperse. Valerie waited, hoping to ensure a clean shot when it cleared. But before it had much chance to thin, two Vlads leapt out at her, each grabbing one of her wrists. Their hands began to glow hot pink as they generated ghostly heat.

Valerie yelled, having no choice but to drop her rocket launcher. When pulling at her arms did nothing to relinquish the ghosts' grips, she instead did a somersault with her hoverboard, successfully flinging her attackers off.

Both Vlads chuckled, merging back into one. "Is this it?" he asked. "Is this the extent of your capabilities, of the oh-so-reliable ghost hunter I personally selected and employed? Really, I was hoping you would put up more of a fight than this."

Valerie clenched her fists, ignoring the vicious sting of the burns on her wrists that Vlad had graciously left her. The suit had done almost nothing to protect her. "Come over here and see how much fight I've really got in me!"

She didn't have a chance to ready another firearm. Vlad was already upon her with a speed he had not previously exhibited, shoving her off of her aircraft. It didn't matter that she had been clamped straight to it. She bit back a pained shout as Vlad's strength far outweighed the board's grip on her ankles, and she just knew they were going to be badly bruised later.

The two of them tumbled to the ground, with Vlad not bothering to slow their descent, and Valerie in too much pain to resist. They struck the ground hard enough to crater, Valerie taking the brunt of the blow. She could do little more than groan, her head lolling to the side.

Vlad sat up to look at her down his nose. "Are you about finished?" he asked. Of course, he got no response, save for some slurred muttering that might have been a swear. "In that case, I'll be taking back custody of the battle suit."

He reached forwards, hooking his claws beneath Valerie's jaw, where he knew he would find the seam of a hood. Only, he didn't; the flexible, somewhat metallic fabric continued seamlessly down her neck. Not deterred in the least, he only dug in further, forcibly tearing the helmet away.

It should have been fine. Valerie had removed that same helmet countless times. Sometimes she dismissed it with the push of a button. Other times, she lifted it over head like she was dismounting a motorcycle. This should have been no different.

And yet Valerie found herself screaming as her helmet was forcibly parted from her, an ugly sound tearing itself from her throat. She couldn't describe it. Such an inconsequential act, all things considered, but somehow it was the most painful thing she had ever endured. Vlad's burning hands had nothing on what she was feeling now. She barely even recalled the seared flesh of her arms, this new, bizarre agony drowning it out completely.

"Oh, quit being so dramatic," Vlad chided, continuing to strip Valerie of her exosuit. He didn't care about the damage he was causing in the process; he was of the utmost confidence that he could easily restore it to its former condition. He gave no care to the painful squeal of rending metal, nor to Valerie's piercing screams, worsening with every second that passed.

That is, Vlad didn't care until he began drawing blood.

Perplexed, he slowed, narrowing his eyes as he scrutinized the numerous welling red beads that dotted the freshly exposed skin of Valerie's arm like a rash. In his moment of distraction, she swung, striking his cheek with the previously forgotten staff. He offered little resistance, tumbling aside with the force of the blow. Valerie got to her feet before he could stop her.

Still, Vlad didn't even try. He barely bothered sitting upright, one foot on the ground while his knee supported his weight on his other side. From that position, he continued to study her.

He hadn't managed to remove much of the suit. Valerie's head, shoulder, and part of her chest were exposed, revealing the yellow fabric of the sweater she'd worn to school that day. What skin was visible was dotted with bloody pinpricks, which seemed to seep from her pores. And yet her face was sallow, almost gaunt. Though standing, she looked like she could keel over at any moment, having to support much of her weight on her staff.

But that wasn't the most unusual part. Vlad had assumed up until now that what Valerie wore was an updated version of the suit he'd granted her, composed of synthetic fiber, nanomachinery, and a variety of other technical marvels that made a suit such as hers possible.

But as he watched, the suit began creeping back up, the frayed edges slowly crawling towards her neck to cover the massive breach. It stretched itself thin to do so, tiny patches appearing throughout, sacrificing consistency for coverage. It was like the suit itself was alive, a cohesive entity determined to protect its master. Or, perhaps, simply following her will.

Come to think of it, where had the suit come from, if she didn't have the inconspicuous pack with her to contain it?

"...What is that?"

Valerie narrowed her eyes, uncomprehending. "What is what?" she gasped.

"That isn't my suit. It isn't even a modified version of it."

Valerie tried rolling her eyes, but the act only made her dizzy. "That's what I've been telling you this whole time."

"Is that Technus's work?" Vlad plowed on. Now that he was paying attention, he could see his mark in the red accents and the sleek, obsidian frame. "What purpose would he have to do something like that?"

Valerie frowned, not understanding and more than wary of the sudden lull in the fighting. Though she couldn't explain why, she felt compelled to be honest. There was something in the way Vlad was looking at her that left her uneasy.

"...No. I got the suit from Axion Labs. A company which you bought out last year. Shouldn't you know all about that?"

Surprisingly, he didn't. Thinking back on it, however, he recalled a time not long after the merger, where Valerie's feed had mysteriously cut out for a short while, with Vlad unable to access it. And after some days of effort, the connection was restored, and he continued his data collection of Phantom as normal.

He'd attributed the recovery to his master intellect and intimate knowledge of the technology at the time. It did dawn on him, however, that the unusual interference had coincided with Technus's attempted hijacking of the Mega Cybertron computer system. And suddenly, the possibility of his hand in the creation of the new suit was a lot more plausible.

Vlad was now certain that the two events were related. He was also certain that he needed to devise a much worse punishment for the ghost under his employ than docking his pay.

Valerie continued, unaware of his inner monologue. "What makes you think Technus has anything to do with this, anyway?"

"Have you not fought him enough times to recognize his technological signature?" Vlad challenged. Only now did he get to his feet, if only so he wouldn't be prone if Valerie decided to foolishly try attacking him. "Do you not see his craftsmanship? This is clearly his doing. What I want to know is why he would replace my suit with his own."

"I told you, I got it from Axion," Valerie hissed. "Phantom showed up, and there must have been some security protocol or something, because next thing I knew, the computer gave it to me."

A flimsy justification. Valerie herself didn't sound like she believed it. Surely she knew that the console was designed to communicate with a satellite, not certify teenagers for ghostly combat.

But, at least, the excuse answered Vlad's initial question, somewhat. If Daniel had been present, then it would have been to stop Technus's scheme. Perhaps the ghost had armed Valerie to buy time.

And in the end, Vlad supposed it didn't much matter. Even if the exosuit wasn't the one he'd graciously gifted Valerie with, he clearly still had access to its systems. It was still his, and now, he was more eager than ever to take it back.

Whatever the cause of Valerie's sudden weakness may have been, Vlad didn't want to risk giving her a chance to recover enough to stop him. He lunged, claws outstretched to cleave another piece of the suit away...

...only for it to congregate where his hand would have struck. In the same moment that Valerie recoiled, the suit reversed its progress to double down in the one spot Vlad had intended to grab it, reinforcing itself until he couldn't pierce it. It happened faster than the eye could track.

This time it was Vlad who drew back, baffled curiosity warring with sheer horror.

This went beyond a simple suit replacement. Vlad wasn't even sure it was a suit anymore.

Having fully expected him to press the attack, Valerie was perplexed when Vlad instead backed away, the toes of his boots barely touching the ground. The fragments of suit he'd already torn from her lifted off the ground, suspended by a mesmerizing pink energy.

What was he plotting now?

"There's been a bit of a change of plans," he announced, drifting further and further out of reach. "I had hoped to... fire you, so to speak. But now I think I've found something much, much more interesting. Expect me to keep in touch, my dear."

And before Valerie had a chance to demand he stay and fight, he was off, pilfered exosuit pieces in tow.

Once she was sure he'd left for good, she sighed, the tension leaving her in one long breath. Her knees felt like jelly, her throat was hoarse, and she felt like a jackhammer was trying to bury itself in her skull. Sure, she wanted to show that two-faced jerk what for, but in the state she was in, she wasn't exactly complaining that he'd decided to postpone his beating.

What she didn't understand, though, was why she suddenly felt like she had a nasty cold, and why Vlad had left in such a hurry after his impromptu interrogation.

For now, though, there was nothing for it but to head home and rest, recalling her hoverboard from wherever it had drifted off to. Whatever answers Vlad found, she was sure he would make it her problem soon enough.

({O})

Vlad phased through the ceiling to one of his many, many secret labs, wasting no time in depositing his spoils. He really would have preferred to have the suit intact, but, well, he had a hypothesis to explore, and he doubted he needed every last piece to get the answers he was looking for.

He inserted most of the fragments in a suspension chamber, safeguarding them for the time being. The smallest piece he left out, intent on preparing a slide for it.

As he waited for his lab AI to ready the necessary equipment, he issued it a basic command. "Maddie, show me Valerie Gray's surveillance feed."

The hologram of his yet-unrequited love materialized next to him, pantomiming turning on the large monitor like it was a TV. "Of course, pumpkin!"

A moment later, Vlad could see through Valerie's eyes, seeing nothing but clouds and a skyline as she flew towards home. Strings of data scrolled past next to her field of view, and little red circles appeared and disappeared at random as her systems automatically scanned for ghosts that weren't there. Occasionally the feed buzzed with brief bouts of static, but that wasn't surprising, considering her suit was at, oh, 87 percent integrity, if the display was to be trusted.

Finally, Vlad's slides were ready. He looked away from the screen so he could instead peer into his microscope.

He wasn't sure what to expect as he zoomed in on the vaguely metallic material, really. He wouldn't have been surprised by a number of outcomes. A hex pattern would have been predictable, to allow for the flexibility the suit boasted. He wouldn't have even been alarmed at the presence of separate, individual little machines, which made up the building blocks of his own prototype.

What he found instead was something much more akin to ferrofluid. Up close, it was almost sludgelike, squirming and twitching at odd intervals. It clung desperately to itself, but as he watched, tiny segments of it were wilting, droplets curling in on themselves and withering away.

The residue left behind by this odd behavior, so akin to that of a dying thing, was fluorescent green.

Vlad straightened up immediately, gaze trained on the monitor. "Show me her vitals."

"Right away, sweetie!" chirped Maddie, and the screen immediately brought forth new information.

Vlad's gaze immediately found the electrocardiogram, the jagged line demonstrating Valerie's heartbeat in real time. Vlad knew it to beat at an average pace, and it always spiked when mid-combat. Now, though, it was a tad slow, only occasionally reaching its normal resting rhythm. That shouldn't have been the case after an ordeal as stressful for her as what had just occurred.

"Her vital signs are within a healthy range," Maddie informed him, "though, um, how do I put this... They don't add up."

Vlad raised a brow. "Could you please elaborate?"

"Certainly. As I'm sure your genius has noticed, her heartbeat is slower than what's typical for her. But, well. Her blood flow has somehow increased."

Vlad frowned at her. "Well, she was bleeding. Shouldn't that be normal?"

"Not for how much time has passed," Maddie replied. "Currently, she is suffering from minor blood loss, but not nearly enough to trigger this sort of reaction. She also shows no signs of an open wound that would result in significant blood loss. There's no logical reason for so much to be transported with how slowly her heart is beating, and with no notable injuries to congregate at."

The more the AI spoke, the more his suspicions grew. It made sense, but at the same time, it really didn't. If Valerie was circulating so much blood without it increasing her heartbeat, then that meant that each beat was somehow more efficient than what basic scans would reveal. Her body had to be on circulatory overdrive for some reason, and that surely meant her body was trying to feed something.

But if not an injury, then what?

His query was answered when he noticed the suit integrity had increased to 89 percent. A moment longer, and the display ticked to ninety.

"...She's healing the suit," Vlad gasped. "There should be no way for her to replenish the synthetic materials, but somehow, just by existing she's repairing it! Maddie, internalize trace-ectoplasmic sensors!"

"Of course dear," Maddie obliged. "And please don't think I would ever question your superior intellect and judgement, but what exactly is it that you're looking for?"

Vlad grimaced, staring resolutely at the monitor. "...A core, Maddie. I found ectoplasm in the samples I brought to the lab. A negligible amount, to be sure, but if that means what I think it does... we may be dealing with another Halfa."

Maddie didn't speak as she scoured the influx of information for the tidbit she was looking for. Lines upon lines of code came and went in a flash, occasionally manifesting as bouts of diagnostic tangents. After several moments, Maddie turned towards her creator.

"...I couldn't find evidence of a core," she announced.

"That can't be right," Vlad growled. "The suit is composed of ectoplasm, and her body is replenishing it. That isn't possible without a core. Check again."

Maddie did so without question, reaching the same conclusion. "My scanners don't detect a core. It really does seem she simply doesn't have one."

At that point, Vlad had to assume she was right. To do otherwise would be to suggest his technology was flawed, and it had proven time and again not to be.

So it had to be true. Valerie was healing from what amounted to an ectoplasmic injury, something only ghosts and half-ghosts were capable of, and she was doing it without a core.

Somehow, Valerie had bonded with pure ectoplasm, enough of it that it had altered the function of her body. That much of the substance should have killed her, but it instead bolstered her, and she, in turn, nurtured it. Such symbiosis had never been seen outside of himself, Daniel, and Wesley. And even then, they all had to die, or come close to it, to achieve what Valerie was doing without a core to tie it all together.

Did she even know what she was? How uniquely paradoxical her very existence had become? Did she know that the suit she was so protective of was, in fact, a part of her? If robbing her of a mere fraction of it had sickened her so, what would become of her if Vlad had succeeded in reclaiming it in its entirety? Could she survive such an event?

Was Technus even aware of what he'd done?

Vlad groaned, rubbing circles against his temples as he felt the onset of a nasty stress headache. He had too many concurrent schemes running to want to even think about getting to the bottom of this. But he couldn't simply brush this revelation aside, either. This was too new, too bizarre to ignore.

Instead, he put it on the backburner for the time being. He had other plans that had to take priority.

And soon, he knew, it would be time to set things in motion.

OwO what's this? A human who isn't quite human, but definitively isn't a ghost either, and thus not a Halfa? More likely than you think. (I have A Lot Of Thoughts about Flirting With Disaster and have been itching for an excuse to delve into it just a little bit cjxjxxndndndj)

What is Vlad planning exactly? You'll probably find out a handful of chapters from now. And will I explain more of how Valerie can even exist? At a later date yes, whenever I can squeeze some details in. I have no intentions of doing what canon did and shafting her with an unfinished arc (if this would be considered an arc and not just me headcanon-dumping lol)

Next chapter: will there be ACTUAL gay? Who knows? ;)