Chapter 14
The past week was emotional to say the least. Jack's condition went from bad to worse, just as Maddie had predicted. They had to admit him into the ICU due to a very elevated heart rate and high blood pressure.
When Maddie wasn't staying overnight at the hospital, she was at home working to find a cure for hours on end. She wouldn't take any breaks. This whole thing was eating her alive.
Danny was down in the lab with his mom as she concocted a potential cure. She tried it and looked under the microscope. She shook her head sadly. This was the tenth experiment they had tested. Another failure.
Maddie took her goggles off and tossed them on the table in frustration. The doorbell rang. "I'll get it," Danny said.
When he opened the door, he was shocked to see his uncle. "Uncle Vlad!" He exclaimed as he hugged him.
His uncle smiled and hugged him back. "Good to see you too, Daniel."
"Mom's down in the lab," he said, leading him down there.
"Maddie!" He said as he saw her.
"Vlad, hi! What a nice surprise," she said, hugging him. He embraced her for a while before she let go and smiled.
"So, what do we have here?" He asked, scanning the chemicals, compounds, and papers strewn about the large table in the center of the lab.
"Failures," Maddie said, dejectedly. "I thought that the ex-ecto might do the trick, but this bug is strong."
"And how is Jack? It is so scary what he's going through. I wish there was more I could do to help."
Maddie's face contorted as she struggled to keep from crying. She shook her head, unable to keep up the facade and breaking down in tears.
"Oh, there there, my sweet," Vlad said, hugging her again and stroking her red hair with his hand.
Danny narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms. This is weird.
He wanted to interrupt Vlad's strange display of affection, but his mother was crying hysterically.
Instead, he busied himself with reading the papers, trying to make sense of things. But his brain could only comprehend so much. He wasn't a scientist. He was barely scraping by with a B in biology.
"Anyway," Maddie said, wiping her eyes. "It's just good to have good friends around. And family, of course. Jazz and Danny have been a real help."
"Mom, you should go to the hospital or maybe get some rest here. Uncle Vlad and I can continue testing for a cure."
"Well, actually, I thought we might get Jack something to lift his spirits," Vlad suggested. "Care to join, Maddie?"
She smiled slightly and sighed. "You know, I think Danny makes a good point. I need rest. I'll meet the two of you at the hospital later?"
"Sure, whatever is best for you."
After Maddie went to her room, Vlad and Danny went to the mall to look for a gift for Jack.
"A gift for Dad? He's a simple man. I don't think he'll really want anything. Unless it's the latest ecto-gadget. We just need to get him out of this hospital."
"Nonsense!"
Danny shrugged. "Which store?"
"Hmm," Vlad said, looking at a map of the mall.
"Hey! You have to pay for that!" A shop owner yelled to the left of them. A man was doing tug-of-war with them for a pair of socks. The shop owner lost their grip, and the shoplifter made a run for it.
Vlad smirked. "Time for a lesson."
Danny's eyebrows furrowed as Vlad walked quickly to the men's bathroom and gestured for him to follow.
"Change, Daniel," he instructed, before transforming, a black ring forming at his torso and moving up and down his body, revealing his white cape, blue skin, and black hair.
Danny did so too. Vlad flew through the door, and Danny followed him. They ended up in an alleyway where the shoplifter was giving the socks to a kid.
"Wait behind here," he told Danny, pointing to a spot behind trash cans.
"Didn't someone teach you stealing is illegal?" He said, crossing his arms, as he approached the shoplifter.
"Huh, what?" The man said, eyes filling with fear at the glowing entity floating in front of him. The kid hid behind him.
"Daddy, who's that?"
"Run! Go!" He urged the boy. But he didn't budge.
He turned back to Vlad, who lit ecto-fire in his hand. Then he began punching the man with incredible speed; he kicked him, went through him, and hit him upside the head several times. Finally, he put his hand around his neck and lifted him up into the air, against the brick wall behind him. The child screamed and pounded on Vlad, but it was no use.
The guy gasped for air. "Pl-please. I - I –"
All the while, Danny was watching in utter horror. The man was beaten to a pulp. His child witnessed every moment, with tears streaming down his face. And now, this man was at the brink of death. Danny stepped out from behind the trash cans.
"Plasmius!" He shouted.
If Vlad heard him, he didn't let on that he had. He walked closer. "Plasmius, stop!" He yelled. "I…think he's learned his lesson."
Vlad smirked without turning around and let go of the man. Danny was quick to catch the man's fall. The man coughed and gasped for air. Danny held the bloodied man for support as he looked up at Vlad with narrow eyes.
"And that's how it's done," Vlad told him, walking out the mall exit.
Danny had been silent since what Vlad had done. He just couldn't believe it. It was a complete abuse of power. That man almost died, and for what? Shoplifting a $3 pair of socks?
"Why did you have to hurt him so much?" He asked softly.
"Oh, Daniel. You have to do these things, so they don't do them again. Perhaps now that man will turn his life around."
"That man won't be able to walk right for days, maybe weeks!"
"It's a lesson learned then. You're overreacting."
"I don't think I am," Danny said, defiantly.
Vlad stopped in his tracks and turned around, with a change in tone. "I've been doing this for longer than you've been alive. Soon enough, you'll see the human race for what it is. They are very flawed creatures. Take note, Daniel. You might just learn a thing or two," he turned abruptly around and smirked. "With our abilities, we rule with strength, and you have to show that."
Danny frowned. He wanted to say more, but he had to process what had just happened. He was beginning to feel that his uncle wasn't the friendly, generous man he had always thought he was.