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hello-im-not-a-possum · 10 months

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Shattered Identity.

Chapter one. Chapter two. Chapter three. Chapter four. Chapter five. Chapter six.

Chapter seven: (Not) Gone, but not forgotten.

After the cats were fed, the packers stuff was sorted away, the office was cleaned (rebuilt), Dani went down to the labs to do the final chore she could; Build the hologram. She had been putting this off for several reasons, the biggest being that she didn't want to go into the lab ever again. It might have been her birthplace, but it was also where she found out her family as she had knew it was a lie. Where she discovered she was nothing more than a stepping stone to a 'better' goal, like a child made just so their parents could harvest their organs to replace the failing ones in the body of the parents' “real child”.

The thoughts made her feel angry, disgusted, and… sad.

She wondered if this was why her 'cousin' never told his parents about him being half ghost. Did he fear that they would treat him how Vlad planned to treat her if they knew he wasn't fully human? That they would treat him as… disposable..?

She shuddered and opened the door to the lab, each step feeling heavier and heavier as she descended.

It was cleaner than how she last saw it, no ectoplasm on the floor, the cloning machines were either destroyed or put away, almost no sign that she and her 'brothers' who didn't make it were ever created…

Almost, except for three urns that caught her eye, they were labelled “Aster”, “Brutus”, and “Clav”.

Morbid curiosity led her to open them, finding glowing ashes like she was half expecting. Underneath the urns themselves, there were files labelled 'Deceased'.

'Attempt 23, First cry of “life”. Using my own DNA to fill in the gaps that Danny's left was a terrible idea. The chimera had a case of Ectoplasmic necrosis that was so severe that all the flesh melted off his body almost instantly as soon as he exited the artificial womb. At first I thought he would be like the previous attempts but thankfully, he managed to stabilize himself as a ghost. Although incapable of taking a human form, he is stable and with proper training could be a valuable asset.' Clav's file read. 'Further testing revealed that he is capable of human thought, speech, and even dabbles in the act of creation, all promising signs for the outcome of this project in spite of the many failures.'

'Attempt 46, Et tu, Brutus? Playing it safe, I used Jack's DNA to fill in the gaps. The resulting hulking brute is unfortunately (or fortunately in hindsight) incapable of taking a ghost form and is mentally on par with a violent beast. While his strength and endurance far exceeds normal human limits, It might take weeks before he can learn the difference between food and people, let alone learn English. While a bitter reminder not to repeat my mistake of relying on Jack, a bitter fruit of my labor is better than none at all. Holo-Maddie recommends that I stop, that every failed attempt that melts away into nothing puts me through roughly the same amount of mental anguish a miscarriage does. She doesn't know that while this is painful, it is nothing compared to what I already endured because of Jack ruining my life.'

'Attempt 64, Star survivor. I couldn't stop myself from laughing as this one melted and re-stabilized as a fraction of its intended size. I was so close only to watch perfection melt away before my eyes. SO CLOSE. I held him in my arms as he melted, I do not know how he survived nor do I care at this point. He is here and stable, he is proof that I can make a perfect child, despite all these failures I CAN make that perfect son… I just need a few more tries and after I succeed, I will make Jack feel the pain he forced me to feel, a mere fraction of it, but something that will make it through that thick skull of his. Unfortunately, my work had to be put on hold due to an incident regarding the police being called on me by Holo-Maddie for a 'wellness check' apparently.'

Dani shoved the files back under their perspective urns as if they were on fire, his disregard for himself was… there was no other words she could think of to use for it other than terrifying and insane. He was completely insane, sane people don't… they don't put themselves through this type of thing over and over and over again even if they do get different results.

Close to them, she found a fourth file, one labelled 'MIA'. She bit her lip as she internally questioned whether or not she wanted to open it. On one hand, this was how she could find out if he really cared for her as his daughter, even the slightest bit but on the other hand…

She took a deep breath in, and opened the file.

'Attempt 97, Darling Princess. She's perfect, the closest one I've made that came to being a truly perfect child. At first I was concerned that I had unintentionally used foreign DNA in the gaps again but under closer inspection, double checking her strains, as well as investigating the Gene Donor's past, I discovered that she is indeed my most successful attempt. In hindsight, how did I not see this before?! The other surviving male clones are not true clones, but chimeras; one made with my DNA in addition to Daniel's, one with Jack's, and the third with foreign DNA that I strongly suspect is Skulker's. She is younger than intended by two years, but her testing proves that she is far above and beyond my expectations, she even appears to have similar interests as Daniel does, which was unexpected as I hadn't made those neuron connections in her mind, but happily welcomed. With her creation, I can finally stop. Thank the Ancients, this has been the most exhausting project of my entire life.'

She turned the page, knowing that this wasn't the end.

'I spoke too soon. The day after I had thought it was finally time to stop, I discovered her in her room half melted. I just don't know what I'm doing wrong! She was perfect! She was supposed to be perfect! I can't do this anymore! I admit it, I'm too weak! It's over!'

'After this project is done, I will be removing Holo-Maddie's access to emergency phone numbers.'

'Danielle appears to have no memory of the events after her first emergence out of her chamber, it is unknown whether this is because of memory loss induced by both enduring one traumatic event and witnessing another imminently after or because her reconstructed brain simply didn't make those neuron connections. Either way, I wont make the same mistake I did last time by getting too attached too quickly, while the best case scenario would involve getting to save her, it seems that the most likely scenario is that she will destabilize and fall apart once again, except this time she might end up unsalvageable..'

'According to Holo-Maddie's data, I need a mid-morph sample of Danny's DNA to complete this. Now that I have all the puzzle pieces in place, now that I finally know everything I need to to make the perfect clone of Danny, I can restore and complete my family.'

Dani put the file back on its shelf where she found it, not sure how to feel. She now knew that it was true that Vlad really did love her deep down, that he loved all of them to an extent, instead of forgetting her brothers altogether, he named them, he mourned them even if she didn't see it, he gave them their own urns… But if she listened to Vlad, if she overshadowed Danny and forced him to morph and if she survived, would she have been happy with this family Vlad wanted…? Whether she was loved or not, Vlad was mentally unstable and despite his well-groomed exterior, he took better care of his cats than he did himself. Could she handle the stress of knowing that her father was on the brink of taking himself out and taking other people down with him almost all the time? And could she handle the guilt of knowing that he took Danny's life not just to save her and the perfect brother that was never meant to be, but to hurt somebody else..?

At the very least, she knew that she had to give Vlad an ultimatum after the funeral: While she will give him another chance, he has to go to therapy or she's leaving him on his own for good. Regardless of if he had regeneration-induced amnesia or was a clone with more than the typical amount of his donor's memories in tact, it was very obvious to her that he still has major issues.

But first things first: The hologram, she's stalled more than long enough.

The only light in the hallways and other rooms was the soft pinkish glow of the ectoplasm encasing Vlad's left arm in some sort of makeshift weapon. It wasn't the charged beam of an ectoblast, but rather some sort of crystalized, spear-like structure ready to impale any intruders the on-edge halfa spotted.

He noticed the much barer looking walls of the estate (proof to him that he had been robbed), he noticed that the cats were fed before he could feed them (the robbers might have bribed Carmella and Maud for their silence as the former would've yowled like no tomorrow and the latter would've sought him out and gotten his attention otherwise.), he passed by the office and saw it's repaired state, that caught him off guard for a moment, he couldn't see the point of robbers going out of their way to fix this, he doubted the strange semi-living ectoplasmic creations of his was capable of doing this either, Danny and his friends surprising him with this might be a nice thought, but they weren't the type to help him out just because they could…

…Except for Danielle, who saw him as a brother like this and felt remorse over destroying the office.

The makeshift weapon on his arm faded to nothing as he continued to put pieces together, unless he was targeted by the second-biggest packers fan in the world, it would've made no sense for the thieves to only steal his packers related stuff (and the packed boxes that seemingly came out of nowhere that he wasn't paying attention to before did have the familiar colors of green and gold in them), his cats were too picky to be easily swayed by any ol' bribe… Dani stayed must've stayed in the house and decided to help out.

No… no betrayal to his knowledge, no reward that he was aware of that she wanted… she was just helping him out because she saw that he had a lot on his plate regarding the situation and wanted to help.

Because they were family, and… family helps each other.

KKKKKKSSSSSSHHHHHH…

His ears perked as he noticed light coming from the door to the lab. That's strange, packing up things, feeding animals, and fixing broken things were obvious things to take care of, but what on earth was she doing down there?

He opened the door and made sure his footsteps were light as to not grab her attention too soon.

Carefully,

carefully…

When he made it down to the lab, he was greeted with a strange sight: his older self made out of flickering filtered lights.

“I spoke too soon…” His older doppelganger spoke with a somber tone. “The day after I had thought it was finally time to stop, I discovered her in her room half melted.” His breathing hitched as both of them covered their faces, the hologram holding his head in his hands while the living halfa covered his mouth in shock 'his' voice getting louder and louder as he was losing it. “I just don't know what I'm doing wrong! She was perfect! She was supposed to be perfect! I can't do this anymore! I admit it, I'm too weak! It's over!”

He didn't say it out loud on that day, but if he did, that… would've been how he would've said it. And the way he lost his composure… While it also matched up with his actions on that day, seeing it through an outsider's perspective was chilling. He really was that far gone… At the time he was irritated that Holo-Maddie called the police reporting an attempt, but now he could see why she did it.

It was terrifying…

He was terrifying…

As the hologram flicked off, Danielle noticed the gobstruck older teen still mentally processing what he just saw.

“Jack! I uh… I overheard that you needed a hologram and I figured 'why don't I take a shot at it?' I mean… Holo-Vlad doesn't have a proper AI yet, or a Plasmius form, but it's a pretty solid first draft!” She smiled nervously at him, internally wishing that he didn't walk in on that emotion test given from what she could see of the older ghost's expression.

“A really good one!” He smiled at her, genuinely impressed. Existential crisis from witnessing himself from an outsider's perspective be damned, she really did a good job. “We don't need an AI as advanced as Holo-Maddie or Holo-Jack for him, an AI designed just to read out given scripts and emote as needed is perfect for the job! You did great!”

“Really?! You think so?”

“Yeah! It was like looking in a m- -er, a recording of security camera footage! And you didn't even use the spare Holo-generator! You made your own!” He gestured to the machine that the hologram came out of which he knew for a fact he did not build.

“Holo-Maddie helped.” She admitted.

“Yeah, but you still built it, stop downplaying yourself, squirt.” He ruffled her hair playfully before scooping her up. “In short, great job, great progress, but also, it's 2am and both of us need to go to bed.”

“Hey, are we at a point in our relationship where both of us can insult each other and know that it doesn't come out of a place of malice but affection displayed in a playfully rude way?”

“Eh… Sure, I guess.”

“Okay good.” She nodded before squirming in his grip. “Now put me down cheese-face!”

“Yeah, yeah, your human half will thank me.” he rolled his eyes.

“And what about my ghost half?” She smirked

“Will also thank me, doesn't matter if sleep is a placebo for ghosts, a well-rested ghost is a ghost who's a lot less likely to pass out from exhaustion and get jumped by ghost hunters.”

“Coming from the guy who hasn't slept since he was made.” She stuck her tongue out at him.

“I never said it was a good thing that I did.” he shrugged and took her to her room, putting her down right by the door. “Holler if you need anything, okay? I'll be either in the master bedroom or the guest room by the kitchen.”

“Okay.” She nodded as Jack left.

The room was in pristine condition unlike how she had left it, not even a speck of dust accumulated; a bed with star patterned blankets and a moon themed stuffed bunny, models of spaceships left half finished on her desk, a bookshelf with comics and video games neatly stacked on it, the TV mounted to the wall was replaced as the first one was blown up. It was welcoming, yes, but didn't feel like home. She never thought she'd see this place again willingly, but it seemed that fate was a weird thing at times.

She did her nightly routines and got in bed, the exhaustion of the long day finally catching up with her and the bed nice and comforting.

“Mwarh?” Maud 'honked' as she jumped up on the bed and started kneading the blankets on her legs. “Mrrp.”

“G'night, Mauddy.” Dani muttered as the cat curled up on her leg and started to drift to sleep. … The clock on her nightstand read 10:03 am when she woke up to the absence of a cat on her and the faint sounds of someone tinkering in the kitchen. Still groggy, she stretched and got out of bed, valuing breakfast above the other morning routines for now.

“And lets say that the ghost in question is one that you want to keep alive and conscious while extinguishing its fire. Would the… 'Fenton heckfire extinguisher' try to also extinguish the ghost or just weaken it?” The older halfa asked over the phone. “Oh hold on, I'll have to call you back.” He hung up. “Morning Sleepyhead” Jack greeted her as the blanket-wrapped girl walked into the kitchen. “Ready for a lot of errands?”

“Mph.” Was her incoherent reply as she sat at the kitchen's island, still mentally waking up before realizing that the older teen was cooking the breakfast of eggs and sausage by holding the pan like how a waiter would hold a plate, the hand underneath the pan glowing a bright magenta while the eggs and meat sizzled away. “YOU HAVE FIRE POWERS?!” She gawked at the casual use of supernatural abilities, something that normally in the Masters estate would've been the norm.

“No, right now this is just heated ectoplasm. It's a whopping 150 degrees Fahrenheit, sure, but no fire involved. However, this could become fire powers overtime with the right training…”

“I've never seen Vlad use fire powers before! Do you think that this means clones could develop different powers from their genetic donors?”

Sure, she didn't forget that Jack might not be a clone, but there had to be enough overlap in their situations to warrant asking.

“We both have- had fire cores but -I'm pretty sure the elemental aspects of his was stunted- …Due to… something… That's probably why you didn't see him use them. He couldn't even if he wanted to.” Vlad took a plate out of the cupboard and shook the eggs and sausages out of the pan and onto it. “But from what I saw of the notes of some of the other clones, Clav had a 'void core' whatever that is, Brutus had a neutral or elementless core that he was unable to use at all, and Aster had a metal core. I don't know what your core is, but considering how you and Danny didn't come into existence as halfas with the same method, I think that you developing powers different from his is less a question of 'if you will get different powers' and more a question of 'when will you get different powers'.”

“Really?!” she beamed.

“Yeah, after we get the errands taken care of we can even screen your core to figure out what type it is and stuff like that.”

“Thank you!” She pounced on the older teen in a hug.

“Careful! I'm still using myself as a stove!”

“Sorry!” She got off of him. “…So when did you find out you had these powers?”

“…When I accidentally set my bed on fire.” He sheepishly muttered. “Don't worry, I put it out before it got out of hand.”

Carmella hissed at him as if to say 'before it got out of hand my tail! look what you did to my beautiful fur coat!' before going back to grooming a singed patch of fur, the rest of the cat herself thankfully unharmed.

“Sorry…” He picked at his bath robe sleeves while the cat groomed herself and 'glared' at him.

Dani got herself some of the eggs and a waffle from the fancy waffle maker, drizzling the former in ketchup and the latter in strawberry syrup.

“So after this are we going to work on Holo-Vlad?”

“Nah, I'm going to get the documents taken care of and get some funeral preparations taken care of. You're free to come along or stay, but its not going to be fun.” He shrugged. “But if there's something you want to add to it, you can either come along, tell me what you want, or give me a call if you think of anything.”

“What would I want to add?”

“You know, flower types, food catered at the event, stuff like that.”

“Oh right.” She hummed in thought.

She knew that Vlad was a little… unstable to put it lightly the last time he thought he was left alone, but he might do better when he had tasks to occupy his mind and an image to keep up going out and about in public, but just in case, she might want to keep an eye on him, just to make sure he didn't have another breakdown but at the wrong place and time.

“Sure! I'll come!”

“Alright, get ready after you finish eating.”

She gave him a thumb's up and the two focused on their breakfasts.

___

Vlad was by no means a movie critic or anyone who made a living off of watching films and discussing them, but he did see enough to familiarize himself with the troupe of someone attending their own funeral, be it by strange or supernatural circumstance. Maybe if the doctors back then got their way, he also would have attended his own funeral as a full ghost twenty years ago.

Without foresight that troupe typically doesn't involve the deceased planning out their own funeral, getting all of the arrangements and documents done (a task which was semi-interrupted by the box ghost), going to morticians to ask about details, getting the police called and an investigation which unexpectedly turned up with nothing except a stirring pot of buzzing rumors among Amity's townsfolk.

It was strange to him, to be only one of two people planning out the funeral for himself. A sickening reminder that while he died as an important man, he did not die genuinely loved by anyone, not even his own living daughter. (He doubted Dani would go out of her way to do this if she alone would do it.) Even his 'sons' who the world would see as mindless animal-like ghost minions didn't get this fate. They died loved by their father even through the vitriol he felt for them at the time, watching so many failures time after time after time felt like madness…

He felt weird emotions looking at his own future tombstone that was waiting to be engraved. In those tangles of emotions he could name a sense of sorrow, bitterness, anger, and a strange peace, something sobering and tranquil. Like watching natural disasters destroy everything you known and loved, and watching them all fade away. The life you had known and cherished before was gone, but the chaos, the pain, the loss… that was over too.

Something that made his situation more… real. That after this was done, even if there was a way to somehow reverse this irreversible situation, he couldn't take it even if he wanted to, not unless he wanted to raise a lot of unnecessary questions.

He wasn't dead, at least, not entirely, but at the same time he was. But this time not in the sense that he was a halfa.

From this point onward, Vlad Masters was dead and gone for good.

"So Kid, what's the stone going to say?"

"Here lies Vladimir Masters; Gone, but unforgettable."

#danny phantom #vlad masters #vlad plasmius #danielle phantom #fanfic #shattered identity

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dp-marvel94 · 6 months

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20 Q's for Fic Writers

Thanks for tagging me, @agentianlegend !

1. How many works do you have on Ao3?

62! I can't believe I have that many fics posted.

2. What's your total Ao3 word count?

918,405

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Almost exclusively Danny Phantom. I have one Gravity Falls Crossover and one DPxDC crossover as well.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Summoning: When Jack and Maddie Fenton tried to summon the King of All Ghosts, the last thing they expected was the sudden appearance of a very familiar, very human boy wearing spaceship pajamas and with a toothbrush halfway to his mouth.

Double Discovery: After accidentally shooting Phantom with an anti-possession gun, Maddie finds she has a lot to learn about both Danny Phantom and Danny Fenton. Eventual Revelation Story.

Borrower Danny: A teeny tiny Danny starts living in Wayne Manor

4. Fangs or No Fangs: For Phic Phight 2021. Jack and Maddie know that Danny is Phantom. They saw him transform and they knew they should talk about it with him. But…even after two weeks, that conversation feels impossible. And so Jack and Maddie have a plan: a trip to the planetarium to cheer Danny up, to finally see him smile again, and to pave the way for the truth.

5. Below the Greenhouse: For the Phic Phight. Prompt by Avearia: Maddie discovers the depths of Vlad's obsessions when she stumbles upon his secret lab. Despite the shock, part of her almost isn't surprised by the stolen Fenton Tech, the ripoff ghost portal, or the eerie Holo-Maddie—but the clone she finds floating in the pod at the back of the room? That's another matter entirely.

5. Do you respond to comments?

I generally try to! I love hearing what readers have to say and will happily answer questions, as long as I'm not giving out spoilers. XD

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Well, my second long fic, Hope Can Be a Heavy Thing to Hold, ends with the main character dying so....

Seriously though, I do have a sequel to this story planned as my next major project. Maybe we'll all find out things aren't what they seem. 😜

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

I love angst with a happy ending so a lot of my fics end happily. I don't think I can pick which one is happiest. This one has a special place in my heart though.

Offspring of my ectoplasm. My child.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I have before but not very often. I normally just delete mean comments without replying.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Nope.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

I have written a two before. I think Borrower Danny is the craziest one.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Luckily I haven't as far as I know.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Kinda? One of my fics, The Danny Program, was based on an au which @thesoulspulse came up with. Later, Soul wrote a longer version of that au which followed a lot of the same stories beats as my fic and I beta'd.

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

I'm not a huge shipper. Dark Gray (Dan Phantom and Valerie Gray) is something of a guilty pleasure though.

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

My series, Life and Death is all Perspective, has been a bit of a struggle. I get close to thinking it's done and it keeps growing. 😂

16. What are your writing strengths?

I'm very good at writing emotions and dialogue.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Fights scenes are definitely a struggle since I have trouble visualizing them in my head.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I only speak English fluently so I probably wouldn't write dialogue in another language.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

I feel like I've told this story before but the first fic I wrote was a Doctor Who fic for a school assignment in high school. It was for one of those warm-up exercises in English and my teacher loved it. XD

20. Favourite fic you've written?

Tagging @mymadmedleyw @five-rivers @assorted-candy @tathartiel @tachvintlogic and anyone else who wants to participate!

#my post

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namesetc · 2 years

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hello !! could I request masc / neutral names related to horror-ish video games (Ex, sally face, playdeads INSIDE, ect) and if not names related to arachnids as an alternative? :D luv you guys and ty !!/p

arachnophobia says no /lh

if these dont work feel free to request again ^^

names based on adventure/horror game titles:

(name - (nick)names)

Anmesia: the dark descent/Rebirth Amnesia - Amnie, Amne

Alien Isolation: AI(i) - Al(L) Isola - Iso, Sola

Among The Sleep: Amon - Ammon Sleeper - Sleepy, Sleepie

Dead by Daylight: Day - Dae, Diem

Death Stranding: Strand - Strander

Doki Doki Literature Club: Dokie - Dok, Doke Lit

Fran Bow: Fran Bow - Beau, Bo, Boe

Five Nights At Freddy's: Five Fred - Freddy, Freddie

Hollow Knight: Hollow - Hollows, Hollo, Holo, Low Knight - Knightly, Knightley

Little Nightmares: Lit Night - Ni, Ny, Nigh Mare - Mair, Mar,

Little Misfortune: Fortune - Fortuno

Limbo: Limb - Limp

Mad Father: Mad - Madd, Maddie, Maddi, Maddy

Night In the Woods: Nit - Nitt, Nitty, Knit Wood - Woody, Woodie, Woodsy

Omori: Omo, Omoe, Morie, Mory

Poppy Playtime: Player

Playdeads inside: Player Dea

Phasmophobia: Phase - Phaser Phasmo - Mo, Moe, Phasma

Resident Evil: Resie - Rezie, Resi, Res, Rez Eve - Evie, Evi, Vil, Villie, Villi

Sally Face: Sally - Sal, Sallie, Salle, Sall

Soma: Soma - Some, Somme

Somerville: Somer Ville - Vile, Villie, Vila, Vilo

The Evil Within: Evie - Eve

The Last Of Us: Lou - Louie, Louis

The Quarry: Quarry - Quarra, Quarrel

Yume Nikki: Nikkie - Nikky, Nicky, Nikki, Nick

tried my best to keep them masc/neutral

#horror names #video game theme #video game names #video games #game names #game theme #read dni #name blog #name ideas #name lists #name suggestions #read my dni #name request #name inspiration #baby names #gender neutral names #masc names #masculine names #neutral names

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phantomfevor · 7 years

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'This only went about 35% the way i planned' face

#danny phantom #danny phantom screenshots #holo maddie #vlad plasmius

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euphoriaxcinema · 3 years

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the a24 euphoria books ✨

#euphoria #euphoria gifs #euphoria cinema #euphoria hbo #a24 #hbo #alexa demie #sydney sweeney #zendaya #maddy perez #cinematic #books #booklover #stunning #my holo love #euphoria books #read

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redpandawave · 5 years

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My new favorite show Euphoria 🌬

#euphoria #gif #zendaya #euphoriahbo #aesthetic #jules #rue #gia #cassie #maddy #hbo #silv holo #kat

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ladylynse · 3 years

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Chapter 16 [FFN | AO3] of The Trouble with Ghosts: Lancer hadn’t realized how closely young Mr. Fenton’s school troubles–and the secrets he surely wasn’t telling his parents–were tied to ghosts until after that encounter with Phantom.

(beginning | previous)

Warnings: Torture and near drowning until the dialogue starts, more threats afterwards

-|-

Despite his distorted view, Danny saw the three figures enter the lab before Vlad did. Vlad was too busy watching him. Smiling. Waiting.

Danny’s heart thundered in his chest. He couldn’t kick or thrash. He couldn’t scream, at least not without burning up the last of his oxygen. He hoped Vlad would take his widened eyes as panic or pleading instead of surprise, but—

There must have been some sound that Danny didn’t hear. Vlad turned, flicking intangible as a blast from an ectogun shot through him and hit the door of Danny’s chamber, fizzling out into a shower of green sparks. It wasn’t enough to crack the door, unfortunately, but now he could hear yelling above the blood pounding in his ears, and he knew they must’ve seen him.

Black started to swirl in front of his eyes, and something within him tried to spark to life.

Danny pushed it down, trying to focus, but all he could see now through the encroaching black was glimpses of pink and green. Vlad wasn’t holding back, then. He wasn’t pretending.

Of course, he couldn’t, not with Danny right there in his lab. Considering he looked like Masters and not Plasmius, he’d have to play at being overshadowed to even try to get away with this. Not that it would work now that everyone knew the truth. They weren’t going to take Vlad’s word over Danny’s.

Danny’s chest ached.

Every heartbeat seemed like it was building up pressure, threatening to burst out of him—

That same something sparked again, white light filtering through the black, and he pushed it down.

His vision closed off completely, and he tried to listen, to follow the fight, only to start as something banged into the door of the chamber, sending a reverberation through the entire thing.

Liquid flooded into his mouth and filled his lungs, and Danny choked, spluttering and trying to move—

The spark came again, and he didn’t have the strength to stop it.

After the change had washed over him, his body didn’t protest the lack of oxygen. The fogginess lifted from his mind, and he could see with clear eyes.

Meaning he could see the snarling expression on Valerie’s face as she attacked Vlad, flanked by his mom. Not that attacking Vlad did much good, seeing as he simply stayed intangible. Valerie’s momentum from her punch sent her stumbling through him, and the rolling desk chair lying on its side in front of his chamber didn’t seem so out of place once Valerie grabbed a beaker from the table she’d hit and hurled it at Vlad’s head. Maddie danced out of the way—Valerie really wasn’t used to fighting with allies—and swept at Vlad’s feet with the Fenton Utility Weapon, but he still wasn’t tangible, and whatever setting she had it on wasn’t enough for shock him back to tangibility. Danny saw her changing the settings, spinning the dial on the side in between hits, but she hadn’t had success yet.

Most ghosts couldn’t stay intangible for very long.

It was incredibly draining.

Thinking back on it, Danny really should’ve realized that Vlad employed that tactic more than anyone else he’d ever fought. All those years of breaking into places, maybe. He wasn’t fighting back anymore, though Danny wasn’t necessarily sure that it was a good thing. It was Vlad. Having no scruples was kinda his thing, and—

Wait.

Where was Lancer?

It shouldn’t have been difficult to lose sight of a giant ball of green energy, but to be fair, Danny hadn’t expected Lancer to ever turn off the portable ghost shield. (Once Danny had realized that must be what Lancer was using, he really couldn’t see it being anything else.)

Of course, a ghost shield was only effective against ghosts.

Danny’s heart sank a little when he spotted Lancer a mere five feet from him, half-hidden behind an examination table but held in place by a second Vlad.

A duplicate in human form was still in human form. Truthfully, Danny wasn’t sure how that worked, but it was something he’d tested with Sam and Tucker once he’d gotten the hang of actually creating a duplicate. Vlad had had twenty years to test out his abilities, so he knew perfectly well that he’d only needed to drop his intangibility and invisibility at the last second to pass through the ghost shield.

For a moment, Danny didn’t know why Vlad wouldn’t just overshadow Lancer. A scalpel to the throat was a little much, even for him. Maddie and Valerie were too focused on the first Vlad to notice, and Danny couldn’t hear Mr. Lancer making any attempt to get their attention. It just didn’t seem like an effective tactic, so Danny couldn’t understand Vlad’s game. If it were just to keep Lancer from reaching him—and he had clearly been Lancer’s goal; Danny had no doubt Valerie and Maddie had agreed to something like that beforehand, letting Lancer do the rescuing while they did the distracting—there were easier ways to do that.

Holo-Maddie reappeared at that moment, causing the real one to freeze in place and stare as the hologram chirped out, “Sample processed, sweetums!”

Valerie was the first one to recover—unless you counted Vlad, who was already flying towards the computer console. The version of him who wasn’t holding Lancer captive, anyway. “What the heck is that supposed to mean?” Valerie shrieked, her words even clearer to him now that he was Phantom. She hadn’t taken her eyes off the hologram, but Maddie had the moment Vlad had begun to move. She was taking aim with her weapon, and—

Vlad screamed as the blast hit him in the back, throwing him forward into the console. His suit was smoking slightly at the edges, distinct despite Danny’s watery view. Maddie took another shot, this time hitting the computer in a flurry of sparks.

It was only once the Maddie hologram flickered that Danny realized that might have been his mother’s intention all along. Had Vlad let himself be hit? Had he been trying to protect the computer?

Valerie had her ectogun raised again, too. Except— It wasn’t the one she’d held earlier, the one Maddie must’ve given her. It was definitely Dalv tech, the same one he’d faced down only yesterday. She wasn’t in her suit—at least she knew enough not to trust that—but he knew that look on her face. She was a split second away from pulling the trigger, and Danny was sure that it was only Vlad’s voice from behind her when she could clearly see him in front of her that had her freeze before she could take her shot.

“I’d hold your fire,” the scalpel-wielding Vlad said, effectively drawing the attention of the others.

Holo-Maddie reappeared by the first Vlad at the computer console, but neither Valerie nor Maddie gave any indication that they’d noticed. Valerie took two steps towards Mr. Lancer and the Vlad who was holding him captive, still aiming her gun at them, but Maddie stopped her. She started trying to bargain, but Danny could recognize the distraction for what it was, and he looked back to see if he could figure out what Vlad was doing at the computer.

The angle wasn’t great; Danny couldn’t see the screen, let alone make out what Vlad was typing. Still, he could see Vlad pocket something—a flash drive, maybe?—before he keyed something into the computer. Holo-Maddie disappeared, and one of the large buttons on the console started flashing red.

Vlad changed into Plasmius, catching Valerie’s attention once more, but she only got off one shot before he flew through the wall.

It had missed him by less than half an inch, the tiny little dart embedded in the wall instead.

The remaining Vlad smiled before dropping the scalpel and vanishing himself.

Danny couldn’t make out Lancer’s gasping words, but he waved off Maddie and Valerie and pointed towards Danny. At a word from Maddie, Valerie nodded and moved towards him anyway, but Danny couldn’t see if Lancer had downplayed his injuries because Maddie was all he could see as she came over to examine the chamber.

“Hold on, Danny,” she said. “I’ll get you out of there.”

Either Vlad’s work was incredibly intuitive or he’d based it off an old invention with which Maddie was familiar, because the water was draining in less than thirty seconds. Danny might not strictly need to breathe as much in ghost mode (or at all? He always got really uncomfortable whenever they tried to test it, so he wasn’t wholly sure if it had a time limit), but he still sucked in huge lungfuls of air the moment he could.

“Thanks,” he whispered, just before the door’s seal released with a pop.

“Don’t thank us yet,” Maddie murmured as she pulled the door open and peered at the contraption sticking out of his abdomen. “Do you know what this is?”

“Vlad was trying to get…got…a mid-morph sample. Like, a DNA sample or something from the moment I changed.” Danny glanced down at it. “You can probably just pull it out without killing me.” Vlad didn’t know if the sample was all he needed, after all. At least, Danny hoped he didn’t. That doubt would keep Vlad from pulling anything worse right now.

“Let’s get you out of this first. Then I’ll take a better look at that.”

A detached part of Danny knew most mothers didn’t carry around lockpicks, let alone know how to use them. It wasn’t one of the things he could ever remember Jazz rolling her eyes over—being able to chase ghosts past the first locked door or gate or whatever was rather essential to a successful ghosthunter, and his parents didn’t exactly have a life of crime on the side like Vlad—but it was something he’d gotten used to long before his parents had ever opened the portal. He could still remember the look on Mrs. Foley’s face the first time he’d asked her where she kept hers if she didn’t have any pockets in her clothes. He’d been five or six, maybe, and she’d been too stunned by the seemingly random question to speak.

Tucker had been too busy laughing to realize Danny hadn’t been joking like he’d assumed.

Still, it didn’t take very long for Maddie to free his wrists, and by the time she dropped down to work on the lock at his feet, Lancer was hovering anxiously in the background and Valerie had gone to glower at the computer console.

“Thanks for coming,” Danny said, trying not to focus on the thin line of red where Vlad had scored Lancer’s skin. He really hadn’t thought Vlad would kill anyone—it was more his style to utterly discredit them—and seeing that this might not have been an empty threat on Vlad’s part made Danny’s stomach turn. He was fine with the danger being focused on himself, but everyone else, especially someone like Mr. Lancer….

“The others are headed over,” Valerie said without turning around, and Lancer closed his mouth without speaking. “Good thing, too. I think Tucker’ll need to figure out whatever Mr. Masters did, because I definitely can’t.”

“Come on, sweetie,” Maddie said as she eased him free, keeping his torso straight even as she turned him, pivoting him out of the chamber without pulling free whatever was stuck inside him. “Just hold on a few more seconds while I look at this.”

Danny nodded and didn’t breathe, letting her work.

He felt like he’d lost. Mr. Lancer, Valerie, his parents— They all knew and accepted him, and now they all knew the truth about Vlad, too. That should have been a victory. Maybe it still was, of a sort, but if Danny had won that battle, Vlad had won the other one. He’d gotten the mid-morph sample. His play with Valerie had worked. He’d…he’d be able to create stable clones….

Would he even be satisfied with a clone? He might create the perfect half-ghost son that looked exactly like Danny, might be able to brainwash him or program him or whatever he’d done to Danielle to make the clone as like Danny as possible, but a clone would never be as good as the original, however perfect a replica it was. How far would Vlad get before he realized this wouldn’t make him happy, either? How long would it be until he came back? Tried to capture Danny again, tried to split his parents up and win over Maddie? If he did manage to create perfect clones, he could use them to his advantage—

“He won’t get away with this,” Maddie was saying. “He won’t simply lose his position on the city council; his estate—his entire empire—will come under scrutiny. I know he kept residences here and in Wisconsin, and there are all those hunting cabins, too. He won’t be easy to track down, but we’ll find him, even if he tries to hide in the Ghost Zone. In the meantime, we’ll make sure he can never come back and never hurt you like this again. It’s going to be okay, sweetie. He can’t fool us now that we know the truth, and he won’t be able to keep his political power, either.”

“We should perhaps focus on the most immediate problem—” Lancer started.

“I’ve almost got it,” Maddie said without looking up from her tinkering, but from the look on Lancer’s face, that wasn’t what he’d meant.

“Uh, guys?” There was a note of panic in Valerie’s voice that hadn’t been there before. “I think Vlad sealed us in.” Danny looked over at her, and she had her phone to her ear. “Jack’s outside in the office, and Jazz is headed back to school to pick up Sam and Tucker, but apparently this place is blast proof.”

“There should be a control panel on the wall where we came through,” Maddie said. “Get it open and I’ll come when I’m finished here.”

“I can bandage him up,” Lancer said with a touch on her shoulder. “First aid is within my skill set.”

Danny had felt the poking and prodding and pulling around his abdomen, of course, but he hadn’t realized his mother had tugged out the device—long and sharp with what might be electrodes hanging off of it for all Danny knew—until he saw it in her hand. She set it on the bench beside her and pulled his own hands to press against the wound before removing her own and straightening up. She pulled out a sample bag from one of her many pockets and put the device inside before tucking it away. As she stripped off her green-stained gloves and pulled another pair from a different pockt, she said, “Thank you.” Pointing with her free hand towards the wall with the portal, she added, “I saw the first aid kit over there.”

As she walked over to join Valerie at the far wall, Lancer dropped to a crouch to examine the wound for himself, gently nudging Danny’s hands out of the way.

“It’s not as bad as it looks,” Danny said after Lancer sucked in a sharp breath.

“I think I’ll be the judge of that, Mr. Fenton.”

“You don’t know what I’ve been through.”

Lancer closed his eyes briefly before standing. “No, I daresay I still don’t, but I do know it is not something I would wish on someone as young as you. Come along; I’ll see what I can do.”

“If it’s bad enough that you need to stitch me up, you don’t have to be that good at it for it to be good enough. Sam didn’t know what she was doing when she started, and all Jazz and I knew about sewing when we began doing this was whatever Dad had shown us, and that never involved stitching up people.”

“You are not making the situation sound any better, I’m afraid.”

“It’s just….” Danny bit his lip but let Lancer guide him closer to the portal and didn’t protest when the teacher bent to pick him up and sit him down on an examination table. Well. Dissection table, going by the bindings. He decided not to think about that, something that wasn’t hard to do when his wound was throbbing after the jostling, and instead changed back to Fenton before Mr. Lancer asked. The change, at least, came as easily as it always had. “It’s not as bad as I thought it was going to be once it started.”

“Should that not be cause for celebration?”

Danny wasn’t sure if Lancer was trying (and failing) to be facetious, so he shrugged and then hissed as the movement stung, stabbing into him with more ferocity than he’d expected from such a slight movement. “I don’t think it’ll be as easy as Mom thinks it is.”

Lancer was quiet for a moment, busying himself by grabbing the first aid kit from the wall, setting it down beside Danny, and looking through the contents to find what he wanted. Finally, “Things rarely are as simple as they should be, but you needn’t take it all on by yourself any longer—and, rest assured, I am not referring to your friends. I strongly suggest the matter be left primarily to your parents, with my assistance wherever I am able to help. If there are any legal proceedings—”

“Are you serious? We can’t take Vlad down using the proper channels. If he can’t buy people off, he’ll just overshadow them or get some other ghosts to do it for him.”

“Mr. Fen—”

“This isn’t something you can just fix. It’s not that easy.”

“I understand, but—”

“No, you don’t. You can’t or you wouldn’t be standing there talking about legal proceedings.” Danny started to sigh and then coughed as the pain spiked again. His healing was still too slow. How long was this thing supposed to last? He couldn’t remember Vlad helpfully monologuing about that little detail. Too bad Technus wasn’t likely to know.

“I’m sorry.”

Danny blinked and looked up at Mr. Lancer, who was still focused on disinfecting Danny’s wound. Danny hissed through his teeth as a new sort of stinging took hold, but Lancer didn’t pay that any mind.

“I should have done something before,” Lancer continued as he reached for some butterfly stitches, something that Danny knew from experience would hold well enough until he could get stitched up properly. They were better than nothing, anyway. Lancer held the wound closed as he put them in place, and Danny did his best not to wince. “I knew something had changed in your life, and it took me entirely too long to find out what it was. I allowed myself to be distracted, to neglect you in favour of the school—”

“What?”

Lancer had pulled out the gauze now. No big surprise there. When in doubt, cover it and deal with it later. It would not be the first time Danny had pulled that trick. With his usual healing rate, he typically only needed stitches and splints and stuff to make sure he didn’t heal improperly; he’d never had to worry about infection.

“Let’s just say seeing Mr. Baxter appropriately punished for his actions has been an ongoing fight, one I have not dedicated myself to as much as I should have, as you are not his only target.”

Oh.

Being Dash’s favourite punching bag wasn’t even on Danny’s radar right now.

“That’s okay. I’m used to it. But you—”

“You being used to it, as you say, is part of the problem—and, quite frankly, yet more evidence of my failing. Thankfully, that is a fight I am better suited for than this one has been.” The hand that had been tracking towards to the first aid kit—probably for medical tape to hold the gauze in place—jerked towards Lancer’s neck instead, no doubt pulled by the reminder of what had happened and the realization of what could have been, but it resumed course before it could make contact. “Just because you are used to something does not mean it does not need to be addressed.”

“I mean, I guess, but priorities, y’know? Vlad’s definitely worse than Dash.”

“And your parents will focus on that problem with the help I can give them, as I’ve said.”

“But it’s Vlad. It’s not just…. I mean, yeah, he’s one person, but he’s not one problem. He can create a whole bunch more problems really easily, especially now that he has a mid-morph sample from me. That’s what he needed to stabilize his clones. He can create a perfect clone of me now, at least once he gets a lab set up or overshadows someone in charge of one that does have the right stuff, and—”

“I am not saying that you are incapable of handling the problem—or problems—Vlad poses,” Lancer said delicately as he finished taping the gauze into place, “but you need to understand that you aren’t alone in this anymore.”

“Sam and—”

“Did I not tell you that your friends and your sister should not be the only ones facing the danger alongside you? You know that isn’t what I mean.”

Danny frowned. “You’re still seriously underestimating Vlad, even though he threatened you and you’re standing in his secret lab.”

“Which is one reason why I am not trying to say you should sit out all of this while the adults take care of the situation,” Lancer said, not looking the least bit surprised when Danny bristled. “You have more knowledge and experience than we do—even, I daresay, than your parents do. You may have fewer years of ghost hunting under your belt, but your perspective and the intensity of your, ah, training, for lack of a better word—”

“Experience is the best teacher.”

Lancer raised an eyebrow at Danny’s glib interruption but otherwise didn’t comment on it. “You should not be sidelined, but neither should you continue to be the one leading the charge and taking the heaviest fire. One of the reasons your parents fight ghosts is to protect you and your sister, is it not? Is throwing yourself into the most danger possible not against everything they are fighting for?”

Danny shifted and tugged his shirt down to cover up Lancer’s patch job as the teacher packed away the supplies. At least that meant his previous wounds must not look too bad; otherwise, Lancer would’ve insisted on redressing them. Of course, the one in his side was near enough to the one in his abdomen that Lancer could’ve done it at the same time. Danny had been paying more attention to what he’d held in his hands than where he was putting them, mostly because thinking about what Lancer was doing would just make it hurt more.

Still.

If Lancer hadn’t continued talking, that meant he was waiting for an answer. Danny took a careful breath, and it didn’t hurt this time. “Sometimes it’s necessary.”

“It is not necessary right now, and I am quite sure your parents will do everything in their power to ensure it remains unnecessary for you, your sister, or your friends to do that.” He glanced over his shoulder and added dryly, “And I am very much including Miss Gray in that assessment.”

Danny glanced towards Valerie. She was still hovering by the door, watching Maddie work on the panel. “Val’s a good fighter.”

“I never said she wasn’t. I’m trying to say that none of you should fight, but as you have the most knowledge of the situation, it is prudent that you help the adults—”

“But don’t you get it? Yeah, we’re kids, and it sucks that we have to risk so much to do this—but we aren’t the only ones in situations like this. Well, not like this, dealing with ghosts, but with high stakes. And it’s great that you care and want to take care of us, but we don’t need taking care of. Maybe you think it’s a shame we had to grow up fast or whatever to deal with this, but we can’t just pretend what we’ve gone through never happened. We’ve already had to learn to fight, so we did, and we’re good at it. It doesn’t make sense for you to just up and stop us and make us into, I dunno, consultants or something instead of fighters.”

Lancer blinked.

“We always knew there was risk. We accepted that, just like Mom and Dad did. Just like you did. We might not be legal adults but that doesn’t mean we don’t know what we were getting into with this. This whole thing with Vlad is messed up. We know. We know better than you do. He has what he wants, something he’s been trying forever to get, which is scary because it means I don’t know what he’s going to do next. And neither do you.”

Danny stared at his hands, not wanting to look Lancer in the eye after he’d let his tongue run away with him. “It’s just…. I can make a better guess of what this means than you or Mom and Dad can. And if you guys try to block us at every turn and insist it’s too dangerous to be directly involved ourselves just because we’re kids, we’re never going to stop him, and things will get worse.”

He pushed himself off the table, landing on his feet and wincing but holding in a whimper of pain. He’d get through this. He had to. Vlad’s drug had to work its way through his system and wear off soon, and then he’d be back to normal in no time. “I’ve picked up some things from Tucker, so I’m going to check out the computer. You can go through Vlad’s files or something and see if you can find the formula for whatever Val shot me with. Mom can probably make an antidote once she has that.”

Lancer made no move to follow as Danny strode off, and when he called Danny’s name, Danny pretended not to hear.

(see more fics | next)

#danny phantom #danny fenton #vlad masters #mr lancer #phanfiction #dp fanfiction #fanfiction #my writing #ladylynse #snippets #dp snippet #fic: the trouble with ghosts

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cdrmiller · 3 years

Note

i think maximus is the perfect name for a varren puppy. just saying

“Doooooo-IT, Doooooo-IT, Dooooo-IT!” The blonde man chanted, his biceps rippling every time he slammed his fist on the table with each syllable.

Marie could barely tap the correct places on the omni pad from laughing. Laughing at what, she couldn’t say, the amount of alcohol she had consumed made everything –and nothing – hilarious.

“Maddy I don’t think”- she wheezed, “this is a good idea-“.

“Dooooooo-IT!”

“OKAY OKAY I DID IT.”

They were too busy whooping and wiping tears out of their eyes to notice the golden eyed man who came strolling into the near-empty bar and after a glance in the laughing hyenas’ direction, turned and went straight for the counter.

“It’s a big tab tonight.” The bartender said with a casual grin. “I can pretty much tell by now when they are nearing their limit and the last thing I need is two more bodies I can’t carry passed out in here.” He gestured to the form of a Turian splayed out over a table in the back, snoring away.

“Yea, Bert, thanks for letting me know….again.” Nico handed over his holo-card so the bartender could take whatever credits would settle the tab.

“Aw, Ems, our fun is over.”

“Noooooooo, why- oh hiiiiiiii babe!” Her heavy lidded eyes squinting when she smiled up at Nico as he came to a stop beside her. “Hi, hihihi.”

“Hi Bella. Time to go home, si?”

“You’re so sexy baby. Isn’t he sexy Maddy? Sooooooooooo soooooooooo sexxxxxy. So. Sexy. Sosexy.”

“Sex.” Maddox muttered from around his glass of blue liquid before collapsing into another fit of laughing. The few remaining patrons glanced their way, mildly curious to know why someone was now yelling SEX at the top of their lungs between bouts of wheezing laughter.

“Yep,” Nico nodded to himself, “It’s time.”

“I wonder what it’s like…to be that tall.” After several failed attempts, Nico’s pleading with her to stop even as he held her steady, Marie finally looked down on him from atop the table, brown eyes wide with wonder. “Wowwwwwww.”

“Okayy,” Nico's huge hands gripped her sides as he gingerly lifted and then lowered her, holding onto her arm as her feet touched the ground. He gestured to Maddox with the other. “Come on, you too.”

“I’ll be fiiiiiine,” Maddox leaned back, flicking a hand in Nico’s general direction. “I mean I am fine,” his voice dropping an octave as he suggestively ran a hand up his own thigh to rub his chest. “But I’m also fine. I can see my own self home.”

“Not leaving you here in this condition.”

“It’s not a battlefield, Morrisini, it’s a bar.”

This sent Marie into another uncontrollable fit of laughter, which in turn, for reasons unknown to anyone, sent Maddox into another uncontrollable fit of laughter.

***********************************

“I’m never drinking, ever again.��

“You say that every time, my love.” Nico kissed her forehead and slid her favorite mug, the sparkly one with the unicorn horn for a handle, into her hands.

“Never ever.” She groaned, sitting up in bed to sip the liquid that matched her eyes. “I don’t even remember half of what happened last night.”

“You. Maddox. Blue drinks. That’s all I need to say.”

So lost in the feel of the warmth spreading down her throat that soothed her throbbing head, lost in the thought of wishing she could hug the first person millennia ago that picked up a bean and decided to make it into this magical liquid, she didn’t even notice the light knock at the door. She took another big drink, filling her mouth with the only thing would keep her alive right now, reluctantly coming out of her stupor to the sound of rapid scratching against some sort of container and animalistic whimpers followed by an unfamiliar voice.

“A …Mrs. Miller ordered a varren puppy to this address?”

The man didn’t know what to take in first after glancing back up from his data pad, the giant in front of him and his slack jawed, gaping mouth, or the woman in the background spitting coffee all over the crisp white bed sheets.

#was going through old asks and welp this happened #literally could have written drunk! maddox and marie all night they wouldn't stop #brotpbbs #ficlet

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in-command-of-the-unsc · 4 years

Text

Day 5: Date Night, Missiles, Mutiny

Captain Thomas James Lasky straightened his collar and cleared his throat, running a hand over his hair.

Turning to the holo-pad on the edge of his desk, he asked: “How do I look Roland?”

The little A.I. smiled, crossing his yellow holographic arms. “Like a factory issue MA5D, Sir. Sharp.”

Lasky chuckled slightly. “Thanks Roland. You always know how to make me feel better.”

“What ever would I do without my dashing captain, Sir?” Roland teased, uncrossing his arms and resting his fists on his hips.

“You’re hilarious.” Tom smiled, pocketing his wallet and stuffing his dog-tags down his collar.

“Go knock Commander Palmer dead, Captain.”

“Roland, she’s a Spartan. She could snap me in half if she sneezed too hard.”

“Affirmative, Sir.”

—————————

Sarah Palmer rolled her shoulders slightly and looked in the mirror, raising her eyebrows in hesitant approval. Much as she despised dresses with a passion, she wanted to do this for Tom. He had always talked about how much he’d love to see her in a dress, so she decided to indulge him.

Not that she particularly cared how she looked. Tom’s opinion notwithstanding. She certainly remembered the days of endless flirting when she was an ODST and he a Naval Aviator, but about a week ago the now-Captain had apparently worked up the courage to ask her out. Having been friends for years, Sarah had accepted. And they wouldn’t get court-martialed for breaking Frat Regs either; Different chain of command an all that. Admittedly it was a technicality on a warship, but hey, they had a defense. As if the brass actually gave a shit about Frat Regs anyway.

Random thoughts aside, Sarah stepped out of her quarters and....

“You’ll cause a mutiny if you hurt him.”

..... Roland.

“I know, Roland.”

“Just checking, Commander.” He paused, then spoke with a teasing tone. “You know, most women wear heels with a dress, not boots.”

“I put a dress on. Do not push it.”

“Yes, Sir.”

—————————

“Well? How do I look?”

Tom couldn’t seem to get his mouth to work. Sure, he’d always thought Sarah would look good in a dress but shit.

“Earth to Toooom.”

Lasky blinked. “Like a volley of missiles. In other words, deadly. Beautiful. Need I go on?”

The Spartan raised an amused eyebrow. “Nice save, swabbie. You even managed to eight-six the stutter.”

The Captain flushed, even as he smirked. “Very funny. Go on then, how about me?”

Sarah chuckled softly. “Would you prefer the romamticized novel description, or the Marine description?”

“How about the Sarah description?”

And the teasing aura sizzled into tension.

—————————

Yes, I do consider at least mentioning the prompts to be using them. They did inspire certain scenes after all.

Late Day 5 of @infinity-week !

Friends tag list: @soclonely , @bomboclaaty , @sw-maddie

#Infinity Week #Thomas Lasky #Roland the A.I.#Sarah Palmer

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songbird-wings · 3 years

Note

for the fic prompts: anakin and aayla are about the same age and I like to think they grew up together as their masters, obi-wan and quinlan, were close so I'd love to maybe read something with them being friends and teasing each other as adults. so idk if you want to write something like this but if you do I think it could be cool. love you!!

i LOVE this prompt Maddie! I had so much fun with this one, I really hope you enjoy! (Also read it on Ao3)

Racing Through Memories

Anakin hated library duty. It was boring, quiet, and he hated the stuffy Masters that paid no attention to him when he asked if they needed assistance. This job made him feel invisible. But Master Kenobi always told him it was an important duty given to Padawans his age, and that it would teach him the importance of tranquility, knowledge and practice. That didn’t make it any less boring.

He sat now in a far corner of the library, eyeing the stacks of papers and holo-disks he needed to organize. They towered above him on his desk, some coated in a thin layer of dust. He wondered if they really needed to be sorted or if Jocasta Nu just ran out of other tasks for him to do.

“Anakin… psst!” A whisper came from behind him. He spun around maybe a little too quickly, his padawan braid smacking him in the face. His eyes scanned the shelves but he saw nothing. Surely he wasn’t hearing things. Anakin got to his feet and approached the area the noise came from. When he reached the bookshelf he paused, he quickly jumped into the aisle. Empty. That can’t be right, he was sure he heard something. Anakin shook his head and turned back to his desk.

“Hi Anakin!” Aayla greeted quietly. Anakin's shriek however was not as muffled.

“Aayla!” He lowered his voice, once he calmed down. “Stop scaring me like that. It’s not funny.” Aayla just snorted and skipped over to his desk as he sat back in his chair.

“I think it’s pretty funny. Besides, it’s probably the most excitement you’ve had after being assigned library duty.” She jokes, running a finger over a holo-disk and scrunching her nose at the dust left on her fingers.

“What are you doing here? Come to gloat at my misery?” Anakin says with a smirk, using the force to take the top hoploads off their pile and set them in front of him. Aayla chuckled.

“Not exactly.” He watched as Aayla reached into her robes and pulled out two slips of paper. Tickets. She held them up to her and he recognized them instantly; Podracing.

“Woah!” Anakin gasped, snatching the tickets from her hand. “How did you get these? I thought Podracing wasn’t popular on Coruscant.” Aayla grabs them back, holding them to her chest now.

“It’s not, at least on top. There's an underground course that you can only get into with a ticket. Master Vos took me to one last year but there was a big crash and he never brought me again, although he kept going without me.” The Twi’lek explained leaning onto the side of the desk.

“So these are Master Vos’s tickets.” Asks Anakin. She nodded.

“They are, but he was called away on an assignment and he’ll be out of the system so I thought, why let these go to waste. And then I thought, who else loves podracing?” She takes one ticket extending it to Anakin. He grabs it and stares at it intently, and then reality set back in.

“I can’t go.” He mumbled, holding the ticket back at her.

“Why?” Aayla’s brows furrowed looking at the ticket then to him.

“If Master Kenobi found out I left library duty, and snuck away from the temple to go to an underground podracing match, he might send me back to Tatooine.” Anakin slouched in his chair.

“Oh come on!” Aayla whined. “It’ll only be for a few hours. No one will know you’re gone. Please, it’ll be fun!” She pleaded, nearly bouncing up and down. Anakin so wanted to say yes. He hadn't been to a podrace in forever. He missed the excitement and adrenaline that came along with the sport. Aayla did say they would only be gone a few hours. Master Kenobi wouldn’t suspect anything.

“Okay fine, I’m in!” He exclaims. Aayla squealed and then checked the time on the clock above them.

“Meet me by the statues on the south exit of the Temple in four hours.” She instructed him as she began walking away. “Don’t be late!”

Slipping out of the library was much easier than Anakin originally anticipated. The librarian was nowhere to be seen and it was late so the isles were pretty much empty. He quickly made his way to the south exit and outside near the statues was Aayla was waiting for him. “You still have your ticket?” She asks, holding up her own.

“Yes.” Anakin responds fishing it out of his robes. “But how are we getting there? You didn’t forget about that little detail did you?” Aayla scoffed.

“You think so little of me, Anakin. Follow me.” She said and she led him down the steps of the temple where a speeder bike was parked and waiting.

“Where did you get this?” Anakin awes, he makes his way over to it admiring the design.

“My Master gave it to me as a gift. I’m not supposed to use it without his supervision, but, he’s not in the system so he’ll never know.” She shrugged, getting on the vehicle and starting the engine. “Get on and hold on.” Anakin climbed on behind her and gripped the sides of the bike as she drove it into a lane. The bike shook and chugged beneath them and there was a faint smell of burning metal emitting from the engine.

“You know, if you opened the couplets and tightened the bolts near the exhaust, it would run a lot smoother.” He shouted over the sounds of traffic.

“Okay, you can do that once you're done with library duty if you care so much about it!” Aayla teased back, steering them down below the surface. They descended further and further, until Anakin began feeling a little anxious. But he pushed that feeling away, and replaced it with his excitement over the podrace. It was darker on this level, the only light coming from the lamps on the streets. Finally, Aayla parked their bike and the padawans climbed off.

“You didn’t get us lost did you?” Anakin chides, pulling his hood over his face, watching Aayla do the same. She just rolls her eyes.

“Come on, it’s about to start!” She says and takes off down the road. Anakin chases after her until she stops in front of a building. It definitely doesn’t look like an entire podracing course could be inside it’s small frame. But below his feet, Anakin could feel the ground rumble, just slightly.

“Tickets!” A raspy voice shouted out from the ticket booth in the front of the building. Aayla nudged Anakin, prompting him to show the ticket. The woman in the booth scanned the tickets and then the padawans. “Watch yourselves in there, kids.” She says nodding in the direction of the door.

“Thank you!” Aayla told her, as Anakin pushed her way past eager to be the first in the door. On the other side was a staircase that led them down into a large chasm of a room. They seemed to be on a balcony that overlooked the circular podracing course. The room was packed, dimly lit, and smelled of drinks and something Anakin could’t place, but it wasn’t pleasant. He didn’t care though, the familiar hum of the repulsorcrafts racing in the course called to him. He ran to the edge to watch, ignoring Aayla as she told him to wait.

He found a spot he could squeeze into and looked over the edge at the race. The course was huge, built in segments with different terrain, one sector being desert and another a dense forest. He watched as the repulsorcrafts dodged and weaved at dangerous speeds through the trees and he even cheered with the rest of the crowd once the last racer cleared the forest. He sensed Aayla coming up behind him and he moved over a few inches to give her space.

“You see that one?” She pointed at one of the podracers near the front. Their repulsorcraft was small, and painted in purples and light greens. The vehicle was driven by a Rodian woman and she was picking up speed quickly. “That’s Alvee Chunteff, she’s won so many races down here. My Master is a huge fan.” Aayla explains, shouting over the noise. She and Anakin stand on their tiptoes as the racers round the curve of the course, trying to get a better look.

“Here she comes!” Anakin says as she passes the racer already in first place, taking the lead. The podracers zoom past them sending a plume of dirt in the air but the padawans cheer anyway. The excitement distracts them, and Anakin didn’t sense the figures coming up behind them before it was too late. Hands grab at their shoulders and pull them from the crowd to the back of the room, cornering them against the wall. They were pirates, drunk pirates by the smell of it. Anakin reached for his lightsaber but Aayla grabbed his arm, shaking her head, no.

“Hey kiddos.” One of them coughed out. He reached down and ran his finger along Aayla's padawan beads. She flinched away and Anakin stepped in front of her. “Long way from the Temple isn't ya!”

“Leave us alone!” Anakin shouted to the pirates, there were three of them, blocking any direction he could run.

“Ah, see, that’s just not gonna happen.” The one in front of him laughed. “I’ve noticed ya don’t seem to have any Masters with ya. What a shame.” He shook his head stepping closer. “Do you know how valuable you are to the Jedi, hm? Do ya? How much would the council pay for two padawans to be returned to home safely?” Almost like an alarm going off in his mind, Anakin sensed the one on his left lunging forward and grabbing Aayla, before his hand could even touch her, Anakin reached out and sent the pirate sailing across the room, slamming him against the wall. The room stood still for only a moment until the noises and the movement started again.

“Run!” Anakin yelled, grabbing Aayla’s arm, taking the new opening he’s created.

“After those kids!” The pirate shouted behind them. Anakin and Aayla made their way through the crowd, back towards the way they came in, but it seemed more pirates were in the crowd than chasing behind them. Hands were grabbing at them, slowing them down. One grip was a little too strong and the pirate yanked Anakin back making him fall to the sticky floor. He opened his eyes and the pirate's cruel smile was above him.

“Ay, boss I’ve got-” Anakin didn’t let him finish as he used the force to send him crashing into the ceiling and falling back down to the floor. Aayla came out from the crowd next to him and pulled him to his feet.

“Let’s go-” Anakin started saying once he was upright again, but he was cut short when he sensed it. Then he saw him. The sound of a lightsaber activating quieted the room.

“Those padawans are more trouble than they’re worth. I’d leave them alone if I were you.” Obi-Wan's voice filtered over the crowd. Anakin was torn between running into his Master's arms, or running away back to the Temple. He wasn’t given a choice. “Anakin, Aayla, you’re leaving. Now!” Anakin could feel the disappointment seeping off of Obi-Wan and it made every step towards his Master even more difficult. The pirates ran past them and the Jedi Knight, back towards the staircase. Obi-Wan pointed in that direction. “The speeder is waiting for you outside.” Aayla and Anakin shared a solemn look before following his orders and exiting the podracing rink.

On the way back to the Temple, it was Aayla who apologizes first, admitting that it was her idea and that she was sorry. “It is not my place to tell you your punishment, young one.” Obi-Wan said to her. “That will be your Masters decision once he returns, as for you, Anakin.”

“I’m sorry, Master. It won’t happen again.” He mumbles to Obi-Wan.

“Oh, I hope not.” The Knight replies.

“How did you find us anyways, Master?” Anakin questions him as they pull into the Temple hanger bay.

“Maybe next time you decide to slip out on your Jedi duties, you do it in a place that doesn’t have so many cameras.” Obi-Wan smirked, stepping out of the speeder. He winked at his apprentice and then pulled Anakins robes tighter around his shoulders.

“I’ll take that into consideration, Master.”

<<<>>>

“It’s Starork taking the lead now as he passes Ikti around the bend, this is a close one folks, it’s too early to say…” The announcer is drowned out by the shouts of the crowd around them. Anakin cheers and gives a high-five to his padawan as the racers continue.

“So, how’s your first podrace going, snips?” He asks her as they settle into their seats, Aayla emerges from the crowd and sets the overpriced snacks onto their table.

“It’s amazing! I can’t believe you did this when you were a kid, Master!” She exclaimed over the noise. “I didn’t know you were such a fan, Master Secura?”

“Oh, your Master and I would always sneak away to races growing up. One time, we ran into pirates while we were down here. Alone. We were very lucky Master Kenobi found us in time.” She explained.

“Alright, you don’t need to give her any ideas, Aayla.” Anakin rolls his eyes.

“Pirates?” Ahsoka sat up in her seat. “I want to hear about that!” Anakin shakes his head.

“Like I said, you don’t need any more reckless ideas in that head of yours.” He says sternly, taking a sip of his drink. “Now c’mon, we’re missing the race.” He motions them over towards the edge of the course.

Ahsoka eyes Aayla once her Master is away from the table, pleading with her eyes. Master Secura laughs at her eagerness. “I’ll tell you the story later, young one. When your Master isn’t around to add in his own version.”

#star wars #ahsoka tano #sw #the clone wars #tcw #anakin skywalker #aayla secura #podracing #star wars fic #obi-wan

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spinwrites · 4 years

Text

holo bond

Danny Phantom drabble. Some Vlad angst, because there is never enough Vlad angst.

“Don’t ‘eave me.” Apologies slurred through his wine-addled mind, but his tongue could not shape them, release them to the person who mattered. “Don’t.” Hunched over his desk, he cupped the hologram-generator – a flat, metallic disc – in his palms, fumbling for its buttons. “Come back. Come–”

Fingers found the ON switch. Pressing it sent a fountain of tiny, teal-tinted hexagons bursting into existence before him. They reached for each other, sliding into place, seams and edges slotting against their partners’ – as if they experienced the attraction between magnets of opposite ends.

When they solidified, a woman came to life.

Hair the color of fall, cascading round her face, atop a body in tight blue hazmat that left little to his imagination. He thought of old royalty when he looked into her eyes – a gateway into a mind of intelligence, fierceness. Who could have a mind like hers? Who dared meet it without offering a part of their own, a part of their soul?

“Good evening, darling!” she said. Her mouth was petite, a perfect Cupid’s bow. “I’ve missed you.”

“Me too,” he managed. The anxiety within him retracted its tendrils, slithering back into the cavities of his heart. Breathing came easier now, and the words stumbled out before they turned formless on his tongue. “Sorry, I’m sorry. I love you.”

A hand reached for his cheek. He almost felt it, her caress.

“What are you sorry for?” Her form fizzled, sending a lick of terror up his chest, but it returned, outline defined and firmly opaque. “I love you, too,” admitted Maddie. She whispered it like it was a secret they shared, and Vlad had never felt more grateful.

Written: 18 May 2020 | DannyMay 2020 Day 13, Regret

#dannymay2020 #danny phantom #fanfiction #drabble #dp vlad

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dp-marvel94 · 3 years

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Below the Greenhouse

For Phic Phight 2021. Prompt by @ave-aria: Maddie discovers the depths of Vlad's obsessions when she stumbles upon his secret lab. Despite the shock, part of her almost isn't surprised by the stolen Fenton Tech, the ripoff ghost portal, or the eerie Holo-Maddie—but the clone she finds floating in the pod at the back of the room? That's another matter entirely.

Word Count: 7,951

Also on AO3 and Fanfiction.net

Note:

Me: *sees a prompt with the word clone*

Me: Oh no.

We all know why this happened.

Maddie knew Vlad Masters was a creep. She did. And she’d known this for a while, even when she, Jack, and Vlad were in college. Before his accident, she had known he'd been preparing to profess his “love” and ask her out, even though he’d known full-well she and Jack were dating. And while, that might have been forgivable back then, when all of them were young and naive and Vlad didn’t hold such bitterness towards her husband, it wasn't now.

Now, Maddie knew Vlad was hopelessly bitter. After his accident, he’d refused to talk to them. He’d shut them out of his room when they visited the hospital and after he’d been released, he’d refused their phone calls and ignored their letters. Eventually, she and Jack gave up and they moved on with their lives.

That was, until Vlad chose to reconnect. And unfortunately, Vlad was worse than ever. More smug. More arrogant. More creepy. He ignored the fact that Maddie was happily married with children and he still insisted that she should leave the love of her life for him.

Maddie really only tolerated him for Jack’s sake. Her husband still enthusiastically loved the man who’d been his best friend in college and she couldn’t bear to crush his spirit, though the woman was increasingly doubting her choice to stay silent now.

And now, Maddie realized that Vlad was much more despicable than she thought.

It started with a series of strange phone calls. The voice was robotic, yet strangely familiar sounding. It reminded her of her mother or maybe her sister? Either way, the sound somehow tugged at her heartstrings just as much as it made her shiver anxiously.

“Please save him.” The woman’s voice asked, an oddly flat plea.

“Tell me who you are.” Maddie demanded, not for the first time.

The speaker ignored the question, continuing. “I cannot get Number 6 out myself. Please save him.”

“You keep saying that, every time you call this number.” The woman sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. This was the fifth time she had gotten a call like this. All from an almost emotionless, staticky voice. All begging her to save someone or something called Number 6. Something she couldn’t seem to get anymore information about. “But who is number six?” Maddie asked, trying, probably futilely to learn more.

The answer surprised her. “Number 6 is just a boy. He should be free. He does not belong in a laboratory.”

Maddie frowned, brows furrowed in confusion “A laboratory?”

“That is correct.” The robotic voice answered.

“I’m sorry, are you talking about an actual child? What is a child doing in a laboratory?” The woman wrinkled her nose in disgust.

“Number 6 is physically younger than the age of majority and therefore meets the definition of a child.”

“Okay?” Maddie furrowed her brow and repeated herself more severely. “Why are you keeping a child in your laboratory?”

There was a pause. “I am not permitted to share that information.”

That made the woman’s stomach flop. “And why not?”

“My dearest has forbidden me from discussing the details of his experiments with outsiders.”

Maddie frowned again. “Then why are you talking to me?”

“You are a loophole.” The speaker said without hesitation.

That gave the ghost hunter pause. She opened her mouth to ask more when there was a mechanical whirl across the line.

The fast, choppy words cut through. “Dearest will be leaving on a trip tonight and be away for the next three days.”

“Wait, what are you-” Maddie started.

“The address is 600 North Maple Drive. Enter through the trapdoor in the greenhouse. I will be waiting.”

Across the line, a male voice called from far away. “Pull up the data from the last test, dear. And prepare the subject for sample collection.”

Maddie shivered; there was something familiar-

“Please hurry. Save him.” The robotic female voice whispered before the line cut off.

Maddie sighed, dropping the phone. She put her head in her hands. She didn’t know what to make of that. At first, she had thought these mysterious calls were pranks. Maybe even a ghost trying to trick her. Except…. That didn’t feel right. It had been a week and no ghost had acted against her or her family. No ghost would wait this long to act and no human prankster would continue this charade for this long either.

So who had been calling her and what do they really want? Could the speaker really be asking for her help? The idea made dread pool in her stomach, especially now. Now that she had more information. Now she had a location. And that was Vlad’s address. And that other voice...it had sounded like… Vlad, as if the speaker was in fact in Vlad’s mansion. Her stomach flopped. He’d been talking about data from a test and preparing a subject for sample collection. That in and of itself wasn’t necessarily that alarming. Vlad had a background in science. He could be conducting research, just like she and Jack did out of their own basement. Except…

Number 6 is just a boy. He should be free. He does not belong in a laboratory. The words rang in her head, making her feel sick.

Maddie sat for a long while, staring at the phone. So many questions clashed in her mind and she wanted answers. What was really happening here? And how would she learn the truth?

An idea started forming in her mind. A surely bad, horrible idea. She still had no idea who had been calling her. It probably was a trap. So why did she want to follow the instructions? And the prospect of sneaking onto Vlad Master’s property? She could get in serious trouble. And for what? Vlad would never do anything as immoral as what the speaker hinted at. Except...what if? Doubt grew in her mind. What if?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That was how Maddie found herself pulling up to Vlad’s mansion in Amity Park. The woman sighed, putting the car into park and taking the key out of the ignition. She was really doing this, wasn’t she? The scientist could hardly believe her own actions. But it was the middle of the night and she was alone, in the small forest behind the mansion.

Silently, Maddie got out of the car and started sneaking across the yard. She hadn’t told Jack where she was going. Maybe that was a mistake but the woman somehow knew he’d try to talk her out of this. And he would have a point. Yet the woman was still driven forward despite her better judgement.

Arriving in front of the greenhouse, the ghost hunter stopped. She looked side to side, checking to see if anyone was watching. The yard was quiet and bare, only the sound of night insects cutting through the air. Maddie looked back into the building. To the left of the door was a blinking red light but other than that, inside was dark. Tentatively, Maddie jiggled the greenhouse’s door handle. It didn’t budge at first but then there was a buzz and a click. The door unlocked and the woman frowned, watching the blinking light turn from red to white. Was that a security system? And...had the door just unlocked for her?

Maddie bit her lip. She considered turning back but...she wanted answers. Instead, she pulled her ectostaff out of her belt. A blow to the head from it would be just as effective on a human attacker as it would be on a ghost.

The woman opened the door, quickly stepping though. She closed it and cautiously crossed the room. From what she could tell in the dark, this was a normal greenhouse. She breathed deeply, taking in the wet earthy smell of dirt, the soft perfume of flowers, and… She sniffed. That scent, old batteries, ozone, and citrus. That was familiar. Was that ectoplasm?

Maddie turned, eyes searching for the tell-tell glow of a ghost. Her gaze fixed on something a few rows over. The huntress continued forward, brow wrinkling at the sight. Unsurprisingly, these were plants but….a faint glow enveloped the snow white leaves, the orange and black fruits. Tentatively, she reached forward and cupped one of the fruits. Even through her gloves, she could feel the ghostly chill.

Maddie’s frown deepened. She’d never seen anything like this before. Was this some kind of ghostly plant? And in Vlad’s greenhouse of all places? Where did it come from? How did the billionaire procure it? And why hadn’t he said anything to her and Jack?

With that thought, the ghost hunters’ stomach flopped with nerves. There was actually something here, something out of the ordinary. Her mind turned back to those phone calls, the reason she was here in the first place. The speaker had said something about a trapdoor.

With that, Maddie pulled a flashlight out of her belt and flicked it on. She looked down, searching, and her eyes widened. Oh….well then. There, not three feet in front of her, was the door. The woman approached. Crouching down, she put down her staff and grasped the flashlight between her teeth. With both hands, she pulled the door up, revealing a short ladder leading to a narrow passageway.

The ghost hunter furrowed her brow, hesitating for a moment. She braced herself, forcing her shoulders to relax to dislodge some of the anxiety. Maddie stood up straight. She grabbed her staff and started lowering herself down the ladder. Once she was at the bottom, the woman turned and pointed the flashlight down the passageway. There, maybe ten feet in front of her was a metal blast door.

Dread rose in Maddie at the sight but she tried to push it down. This was probably an old cellar, or maybe even a bomb shelter. Rich people tended to have those, didn’t they? It could be…..

The woman stepped forward. Tentatively, she placed a hand on the opening mechanism. It looked like a wheel that she’d need both hands to open. She moved to return her staff to her belt but before she could, a mechanical whirl sounded. The wheel started turning. Paling Maddie rapidly stepped back. Her heart pounded in fear of being caught.

Then the door swung open with a groan. The ghost hunter registered bright light pouring through the opening. She blinked for a moment, her eyes adjusting to the change. Then she registered the translucent figure floating across the doorway.

Maddie scowled, acting on instinct. “Take that ghost.” She swung her staff but the blow never connected, instead sailing through the blue clad figure without resistance.

“I am not a ghost.” A familiar, robotic voice responded.

It was then that Maddie finally registered what she was seeing. She gasped in shock. It was herself, except floating, translucent, and...glitching around the edges? “What are you?” She breathed.

“I am the MADDIE program, an artificial intelligence meant to emulate Dr. Madeline Fenton.”

The ghost hunter stared for a long moment in confusion. She hadn’t expected a response and now her mind couldn’t catch up, barely processing what she was seeing.

The hologram floated backward, motioning into the door. “Come inside.”

Maddie blinked, registering the words. Her eyes flitted from her strange double to the interior of the room. Concrete floor, metallic walls, sturdy work tables, and….a soft green light. It looked familiar, very much like the Fentonworks lab. The woman’s heart skipped a beat. She’d already come this far….

The huntress took a few steps forward and crossed the threshold, all the while keeping her eyes on the hologram. The other figure was unmoving and silent, not even blinking. After another long moment staring, Maddie warily looked around. As she’d glimpsed, there were shiny metal work tables and shelves. A station with a microscope, centrifuge, and table top incubator. She frowned, eyes falling on glowing vials of ectoplasm.

This was a lab, obviously. A ghost research lab, based on the ectoplasm. But below Vlad’s greenhouse? Her eyes flickered to another table, this one holding familiar looking devices. Ectoguns, slim and silvery with a design Maddie knew intimately, despite the unfamiliar logo and red accents.

The woman walked forward, tentatively hefting the gun. “This looks like our model 35.” She stated seriously.

Maddie then turned, facing the source of the soft green light. Her jaw dropped at the sight of the swirling green. “That’s a portal. A ghost portal.” She muttered.

The scientist took in the design of the frame, of the ecto-filtrater and the control panel. That was her and Jack’s design as well. Her mind swam, information bouncing around senselessly as she tried to make sense of all this. This was a lab. A ghost research lab. A hidden, secret research lab in Vlad Master’s backyard, below his greenhouse. Vlad’s secret lab. But...why?

She bit her lip, her eyes falling on the Fenton Works designed weapons and the portal. Their stolen designs. Maddie could barely believe it, yet she wasn’t as surprised as she should be. Vlad still having an interest in ghosts? The creepy billionaire stealing their blueprints? Why did that seem all too plausible?

“Dr. Fenton?” A staticy voice asked behind her.

Maddie turned, frown deepening as she took in the hologram again. Her mouth felt dry. “He….Vlad...made a hologram that looks and sounds like me.” She felt sickened at the thought, at the evidence in front of her.

“Yes. I was modeled after Dr. Madeline Fenton.” The hologram replied.

The ghost hunter put a hand on her head, feeling a headache grow. It made sense, in a sick kind of way. Vlad had a fascination with her. He was not exactly subtle in his ‘affections.’ Of course he would create this creepy copy. “Why?” She groaned, in rising anger.

“I was created to serve as a digital assistance and security system.”

Maddie looked up, blinking in confusion. She hadn’t been expecting an answer. The woman then frowned, realizing something. A security system? Did that mean… “You unlocked the greenhouse door for me...and turned off the security system.”

“That is correct.” The hologram replied.

The ghost hunter wrinkled her brow. “Why?”

Somehow, almost imperceptibly, the figure’s expression softened. “You came to take Number 6 away from here.”

That gave Maddie pause, her eyes widening slightly as she took in the AI with new eyes. “You were the one calling me.”

It finally hit her. The voice on the phone, the monotone one that reminded her of her mother and sister. It was this AI, this AI which sounded very much like Maddie herself. Of course she hadn’t recognized that. Most people don’t know what they really sound like outside of their own head and Maddie herself was no exception.

“Yes, I did.” The AI confirmed. “Please save him.”

“Him?” Maddie bit her lip, feeling that familiar dread again. “Number 6? Who is this person?”

The hologram floated toward the other side of the room, towards a tall cylindrical metal tube that Maddie hadn’t noticed yet. “Come.” She motioned the ghost hunter to approach.

The huntress did so, fixing a studious gaze on the tube.

“Viewing panel opening.” The AI announced as the whirl of gears sounded throughout the room.

In front of the cylinder, metal paneling slid apart. Slowly a gap opened, making the inside of the pod visible. Maddie first registered neon green ectoplasm swirling in some kind of solution. Then her jaw dropped. There, suspended in the chamber was a lithe figure. It looked male, the form of a young teenager. For a moment, the ghost hunter registered white hair and a black and white garment. Phantom? Had Vlad managed to capture Phantom? No...that….

Her brow furrowed, stepping closer. She examined the glowing body. The figure’s appearance was shifting. Its skin was a mosaic of ghostly blue and a pale, more human color in ever changing, shifting patches. The black and white garment also shifted, seeming to grow and spread over the body before retreating, leaving bare skin. On the head was a mop of black and white hair, the patches rapidly changing color and appearing to move across the skull.

Maddie frowned. There was a resemblance to Phantom. (How? How in the world?) But this wasn’t the same being. “This is a ghost.” Her brow wrinkled in confusion, despite her confidence of the fact.

“Yes.” The MADDIE program answered plainly.

The scientist turned. “I am not letting a ghost out of here.”

The hologram frowned. “Number Six is a boy. He deserves to be free.”

Maddie pointed. “But….that is a ghost.”

“Yes.” The AI confirmed again. “But he is also a boy. Observe.” The translucent figure waved a hand over one of the computers. “Display subject’s vials.”

Instantly, readings appeared on the screen, a rhythmic beeping commencing. The ghost hunter studied the words and numbers. “Oxygen saturation, Blood Glucose, Blood pressure, Heart Rate.” Her brow furrowed. “These are vials for a human.”

“Yes. These are Number six’s vials.”

Maddie scrunched her nose in disbelief. “But...this is a ghost.”

But the sound of the heart monitor pounded in her head. She turned, facing the figure in the tube again. The readings could be fake. But why? And why did Vlad have a ghost captured in his lab? And why did it resemble Phantom? Or at least, it seemed to. Not that she’d ever been this close to Phantom before but the white hair, suit, and lithe figure were the same. She took in the shifting appearance. And what was that? An attempt at shapeshifting?

Maddie turned back to the screen, reading again. At the top, it read Clone Six, 100% stability. “Clone?” The woman questioned. “Clone of who? Of Phantom?”

“Yes.” The AI answered. In response, the ghost hunter turned sharply. The hologram continued. “Subject Six has completed the gestation period and is now viable and capable of living outside the artificial womb.”

Maddie blinked rapidly. There was a lot of information there. “Clone? Vlad cloned Phantom and...it’s ready?”

“Yes. He is stable.” The hologram turned. “Please save him. Take him away from dearest.”

“Look.” The scientist pinched the bridge of her nose. “I am not letting this ghost go.”

“He is a boy.” The AI insisted.

“You say that but-”

“And a ghost.” The hologram continued. “He is a living boy and a ghost.”

Maddie’s heart skipped a beat. “Living?”

She turned back to the chamber, something in her resonating at the word. The strands of black hair, the human colored skin, the patches that did not glow. She looked up into the face and something itched in the back of her mind. It looked familiar, not just because the ghost looked like Phantom.

Maddie took another step. She reached forward until she was touching the glass. The heart monitor steadily beeped as the figure in the chamber twitched.

The huntress shook her head, denying. “That’s just...not possible. Someone can’t be a ghost and a human.” What the AI was saying was nonsensical, completely impossible. So why did Maddie not feel certain?

“Initiate wake up sequence.” The AI declared.

Startled, Maddie’s head whipped to the side. “What are you-”

In the chamber, something thumped. The woman’s head turned to see flailing limbs. The figure’s eyes suddenly popped open, one blue and one green panickedly flickering around the room. The rate of the heart monitor increased. The being thrashed, chest spasming. A hand pounded against the glass.

“What did you do?” Maddie demanded of the AI.

There was no answer, just fearful flailing within the tube. The ghostly figure’s gaze shifted down and fell on Maddie. The eyes widened, silently begging. More pounding of hands on the inside of the glass. The beeping increased, pounding into the woman’s head. The ghost boy blinked and the eyes were blue, icy blue. The gaze, the familiar gaze stabbed Maddie in the heart.

The woman panicked, her own heart race. Her eyes ripped away from the boy. What do I do? What do I do? Her mind raced. Her gaze fell on a large button marked, Emergency release. She acted without thinking, slamming her hand down on the button.

There was hiss and a beep from the chamber. In the blink of an eye, the glass wall of the chamber parted. Maddie yelped, jumping back as water and ectoplasm poured out. The liquid soaked her anyway. Then, the boy inside the tub was falling. He tipped forward and the woman reached out to catch him on instinct.

A surprisingly heavy body fell onto the ghost hunter. Her knees threatened to buckle under the sudden impact. Instead she wobbled and wrapped one arm around the lithe body. Shakily, Maddie lowered herself to her knees, taking the ghostly figure with her.

Numbly, hardly believing what she’d just done, the woman huddled on the floor. She tensed at the being reached towards her. A part of her brain screamed that it was unsafe to be so near to a ghost, yet she didn’t move as ungloved hands weakly grabbed onto her jumpsuit and the ghost pressed into her chest, as if it was hugging her.

Maddie looked down at the being, marveling at the sight. Its appearance was still shifting. Black and white hair. Black jumpsuit and bare skin. Patches of ghostly blue and pale human skin. The woman could feel the ectoplasmic energy, the ghostly chill radiating off the being as well but..... Its glow...there was something off. The glow was dimming. It flickered like a light bulb before cutting off.

In front of her came a whine as the ghost buried its head into her shoulder. Soft cold breath caressed her check. Breathe? Maddie’s heart skipped a breath. She could feel the chest rising and falling with fast breaths, pressed against her as it was. And that beeping. Maddie glanced up at the display. The heart monitor was still keeping pace with a rapidly fluttering heart.

The scientists breath lodged in her throat. No this was...ghosts didn’t breath. They didn’t have heart beats. They didn’t…. She looked down at the shaking figure again and her world turned upside down. The black suit was receding, evaporating. It disappeared off the arms and chest, every part of the body she could see, leaving bare skin below. And that skin, it was changing. Pale peach-tinted skin was rapidly replacing the inhuman blue. A warm breath blew over her check, the ghostly chill quickly vanishing. The weight pressed into her increased, the fingers holding onto her becoming warm and solid. And on the head, black overtook white until she was staring down at the full black head of hair.

Maddie’s mind stopped unable to process. This was...she was...in front...of her...this was... She blinked rapidly, as if the sign would change but...the lack of glow, the human skin tone, the warmth, the breathing, the black hair. That..that damn heart monitor. This...this was...no...no way. The ghost hunter shakily, wrapped her arms around the now hyperventilating figure. She winced feeling the warm, solid skin under her gloves. This was impossible but….

This...this was a human. No ghost...no ghost could fake this. No shapeshifting would give a ghost human warmth and a heartbeat. And she could feel it, the rapidly fluttering heart pressed against her own.

The ghost whined again. No. no. The boy. The boy who had just been a ghost but had changed. The boy who’d just been inside that pod. Who was shaking and hyperventilating in front of her. Another whine. A tear fell onto her shoulder.

Maddie’s mind finally caught up. Her arms shifted into a more proper hug, hands reaching up to run through the black hair. “Shhh. Shh. It’s okay.” The woman whispered. “Breath with me. In.” She breathed in deliberately. “And out.” She pushed the air out of her lungs. “In and Out.”

The boy copied, his breaths following hers. In and out. In and out. His breathing slowed as did the beeping of the heart monitor. Slowly, so slowly, his shaking subsided but the boy didn’t let go of her suit.

Maddie stayed still, questions bombarding her now that the boy was calmed. This boy, who was he? Where had he come from? Why...why did Vlad have a teenager in his lab? And why did he have a ghost that could change into a human? Or was this a human who could turn into a ghost? Her mind raced, her own heart rate increasing with overwhelming confusion. How was this possible? What was this kid?

She looked down, an idea sparking. That ghost disease that all the teenagers supposedly got. The disease that gave them ghost powers. She and Jack had never seen any of the supposedly infected students. They’d dismissed the claims as absurd. Humans could not have ghost powers. Yet Jazz and Danny’s friend, Sam, had both insisted that they’d gotten sick and both had displayed a ghostly ability. And if...if that was true….. She paled, the overheard words from the last phone call hitting her. Tests, sample collection, subject, experiment. If Vlad was experimenting with that disease, experimenting with ectoplasm on...on….

“Where...where am I?” A quiet male voice asked, directly in front of her. Maddie stiffened at the words, roughly pulled out of her thoughts. “What’s happening?”

The woman’s heart stopped. That voice. That voice. Oh god. Suddenly shaking, she unwrapped her arms from the boy. Gently, so gently, she grabbed his wrists and pulled his hands off of her. The boy seemed to shrink in on himself at that, shoulders falling.

He sniffled but Maddie shushed it. “Look...look up at me.” She quietly asked. Slowly, the teenager obeyed and again, the mother felt like her world was turned on its head. Familiar, icy blue eyes met hers. The curve of that nose, the round chin, the slightly chubby cheeks. Oh god, she knew...she knew this face intimately. A trembling hand reached out to touch, cupping the boy’s cheek. “Danny?” Maddie asked, before she could really think.

The blue eyes widened, looking at her with the most pure and innocent hope she’d even seen. “Danny? Is that...is that my name?”

The woman’s expression fell, her mind catching up to the question, to what she was seeing. No, this couldn't be Danny. She had just seen him earlier that night. And on the face in front of her….The freckles….the freckles were wrong, laid out in a different pattern. And the scar above his lips, where was it? The mother glanced down, at his collar bone. The birthmark wasn’t there. And...her heart skipped a beat. No, he was too young, maybe two years younger than her son’s current age of 16.

The woman removed her hand. “No. I’m sorry. You’re not….you look like him, like Danny. So I thought….But you’re not...you’re not him.”

The boy’s shoulders fell and his eyes fixed down. The suddenly heartbroken, lonely look broke Maddie’s heart. “Oh. Then...who am I?”

The ghost hunter frowned at the question, her mind trying to form an answer. Who was this boy who looked like her Danny? Wait…. The words on his vitals display flashed in her mind. Clone number 6. Clone. “You’re a clone.” She blinked, mouth falling open. “You’re a clone of my son.”

The boy looked up, raising a brow. “What’s a clone?”

Maddie flushed at the question. It was so innocent. And his eyes, staring up at her like she had the answer to every question in the universe. “That’s...that’s complicated.” She glanced down, cheeks reddening in a sudden realization. “Let’s umm...let’s get you some clothes first.” The mother blushed for a moment. He’d been naked this whole time, while they’d been hugging and she had been comforting him.

“Clothes?” The boy tilted his head and the innocent confusion, the lack of embarrassment, just about killed Maddie. This looked like a teenager but obviously he wasn’t actually one.

The mother pushed the thought away, head surveying the room for something to cover the child with. She gaze fixed on something white hanging on one of the walls. Lab coats. Maddie started pushing herself to her feet.

The boy whimpered, grabbing her hand. “Don’t leave me.”

Maddie’s expression softened. “I’m not. I’m just going to get you something to wear.”

Shakily, she stood and walked across the lab. All the while, the woman could feel the eyes on the back of her head. But she ignored it, focusing on grabbing a coat. She pulled the white garment off the peg and quickly returned. Maddie then knelt down and held out the coat. The boy looked at it with no recognition as if he had no idea what to do with it. He probably didn’t.

“I can put it on you then. Hold out your arms.” Maddie instructed.

The boy, the clone, (this was a clone, a clone of her son. Her son. How? Why? What?). The clone did as she said and the woman dressed him as if he was a little child. (He probably was). The woman tried to smile comfortingly as she fastened the buttons. “There you go. All covered up.”

The boy looked at the sleeves curiously. They hung past his hands as the garment swallowed him. He waved his arms, watching the ends flap. The child laughed at the sight.

Maddie’s heart clenched at the child-like display. But then she turned her attention to the AI that had been silently watching the entire time. Standing, she scowled. “Is he a clone of my son?”

“Yes.” The MADDIE program replied. “Subject Number 6 is a clone of Daniel James Fenton.”

Maddie looked down again. Somehow, despite how impossible this was, that made perfect sense. The appearance was nearly identical, to perfect for strangers. And….she swallowed. Vlad had a sick fascination with her children, with Danny in particular. She knew the man fancied himself something of a godfather, with his pet names, presents, and advice. And Danny despised it, much more than any teenage boy should even if said godfather had a tendency to flirt with his mother.

The woman paled, all sorts of horrible idea coming into her head. What Vlad must want from Danny, what he must really want from her son. And to do the scientifically impossible? She shivered. Tests, experiments. She remembered the hybrid ghostly appearance, the ectoenergy flowing off of him. From some the ghostly disease? But… “Wait...you said that he was clone of Phantom earlier?”

The hologram’s response was cut off by a scream from the floor. Maddie’s eyes flicked down panickedly as the clone looked up at her. “My...my arm...it’s gone.”

The woman’s eyes just about popped out of her skull. His left sleeve with the hand and arm inside of it were gone. Maddie knelt down, reaching towards where the limb should be. Her hand hit something solid and chilly. She rapidly blinked. “It’s invisible. Your arm is invisible.” Panic rose in her. Ghostly abilities. There were ghostly abilities. He had ghost powers.

“Invisible?!” The boy shrieked.

Maddie’s heart clenched. That sounded just like Danny, her son when he was scared. The boy’s mouth was open with panic, his breath increasing. And all the woman could see was her son. Her son’s face, screwed up with panic and fear. It made her soul ache. She gently wrapped her hand around his invisible one. “It’s still there but you need to calm down. Breath with me. Like before. Okay. In and out.”

The boy copied her action once and his hand returned to visibility. He threw himself forward into her arms. Maddie returned the hug without hesitation. Then a breath later, cold swept over her. The body in her arms disappeared, turning into cold mist. Both the woman and the boy screamed as he turned intangible and fell through her.

Maddie rapidly stood, stepping back. What was happening?! On the floor, the boy returned to solidity, the slightly translucent appearance disappearing. He rolled onto his back, panting. The beeping of the monitor increased with his breathing as his face scrunched up fearfully.

Then a heartbeat later, just when Maddie thought she was done with surprises for tonight, something else stole the breath from her lungs. A white ring of light formed around the boy’s waist. It spread up and down his body and everything the light touched changed. The scientist blinked away the spots in her vision. And there, writhing on the floor with a panicked expression, was Phantom. Or...he looked like Phantom. White hair, black and white jumpsuit, panic filled green eyes.

It suddenly all hit Maddie like a tractor-trailer. He was a clone of Danny.. .and he was a clone of Phantom. Of Phantom. Danny...it clicked into place. Oh god, Danny’s accident with the portal. Him setting off all their equipment. His badly hidden injuries. Falling grades, skipping class, not sleeping. Oh god. Danny was Phantom. Danny Fenton was Danny Phantom. That...that was a pun, damnit. Of course her son would name himself after a pun. And… her eyes fixed on the boy on the floor. His face even stayed the same! No wonder Phantom avoided getting close to them!

In front of her, the clone was hyperventilating again. “What’s happening to me?!” He cried, tears welling in his eyes. His legs were fused into a ghostly tail which lashed in front of him.

The mother’s brain kicked into gear, her motherly instincts taking over again. She knelt down. “Sweetie. Sweetie. Calm down. I’m here.”

She grabbed his arm, intending to pull him into a sitting position but he was so light, as light as a balloon. With the slightest tug, he was pulled into the air, floated. Maddie pulled the ghost boy into her arms. She cupped the back of his head.

“What’s...what’s happening to me?” He cried again.

“I don’t know.” Maddie answered honestly. She had only the barest idea of what all was going on. But still... “I’ll figure it out. I’ll help you. You’re safe. I’m right here.”

The boy wiggled in her hold, crying into her shoulders. “I...I don’t understand. I don’t understand. Who...who am I? Who are you? Where are we?”

Maddie didn’t know. Or rather she didn't know how to answer those questions without making him more scared. She desperately wished she did know. She’d have to have a long conversation with Danny about him being Phantom and about what is actually going on between him and Vlad but for now...she hugged the boy tighter.

A long minute later, light passed over the clone again. He became heavy and warm in Maddie’s arms. His knees wobbled for a moment before steadying as Maddie held him up. “There, you’re doing it. You can stand.” His posture strengthened and the shaking stopped. Finally, the mother asked. “Do you think you can stand on your own?”

“I...I think so?” The boy said, uncertainly.

“Alright. I’m going to step away slowly. I’ll catch you if you start to fall.” Maddie reassured.

The child nodded as the woman backed away. He wobbled, tipping forward but the ghost hunter gently grabbed him. They stood, hands on each other's forearm for a long pause, until the boy steadied himself. He looked down at his feet, lifting one before putting it down and then doing the same with the opposite. Finally, he let go of Maddie’s arms. After hesitating, the mother did the same.

The boy studied her compassionate face, brow furrowed with deep thought. “Who are you...to me?”

Maddie considered, studying his face in kind. Her son’s face. A face so like her Danny’s. He was a clone, a clone of her son. Meaning...he was her own flesh and blood. Her lips pursed in thought. More importantly...he was a child. A confused, scared child who needed her help. And before she was a ghost hunter and scientist, Maddie was and would always be a mother.

“I’m your mother.” She said without hesitation, smiling. “Your mom.”

“Mom?” The boy asked, testing out the word.

Maddie nodded, reaching forward and gently whipping one of his tears away with her thumb. “I’m your mom.”

The child smiled, his eyes lighting up like that was the most wonderful thing he had ever heard. It very well could be. “Mom.” The word rang out with so many emotions, with some much love that Maddie’s heart swelled. The boy stepped forward hugging her again.

The mother ran her finger through his hair. “Yes baby. I’m here to take you home."

“You will take him away from here, then?” A staticy voice asked, beside the pair.

Maddie turned, pulling away to look at the AI. Beside her, the clone tilted his head as he looked between the two but didn’t ask.

The scientist nodded. “Yes. I think I understand why you called me now.” Of course she did. This was an AI made to copy her, something of a digital clone. If Maddie was in her place, she would not so easily agree to whatever Vlad had planned. She would not leave a child here to be experimented on. And as the MADDIE programs 'original’, for lack of a better word, she wasn’t exactly an outsider and therefore a loophole.

The hologram nodded. “I will disable the microchip then.” A light on the monitor blinked out and the beeping of the heart monitor stopped. The AI then turned to the computer. She pointed to a flash drive plugged into one of the ports. “That contains all research data. Take it with you.”

Maddie obeyed, taking the drive. The AI winked. “Excellent. Delete all research data. Command alpha-06-gamma-58-epsilon.”

There was a loud dial tone and the computer fritzed, the monitor wavering until a blue screen reading ‘System Deletion’ in large print was displayed.

Maddie raised a brow, impressed at the AI.

Then the clone asked. “What about you? Are you coming with us?”

The program shook her head. “No dear. I am not like you. My purpose is served.” The AI turned to deliberately look at Maddie. “Number 6 has been saved.”

The boy frowned at the statement as did the mother, considering the statement and the depth of it. She didn’t know what to make of it except...it almost felt like one mother was handing off her son to another.

“Go on.” The MADDIE program encouraged. "You may go out the way you came and I will lock the doors behind you." She frowned. "I will distract dearest for as long as I can."

Maddie wrinkled her nose in disgust. "I suppose you can't just call him Vlad?"

"No." The AI almost sounded annoyed. "My programming is most inconvenient."

The ghost hunter nodded in understanding. Then she turned to face the clone. "Come on then sweetie." She wrapped one arm around the boy and started leading him towards the door. Before passing through, the women turned back to face the hologram. "Thank you."

The corner of MADDIE program's lip turned up as she offered an accepting nod. The pair then turned back towards the still open door. The clone wobbled slightly, progressing slowly as he gained more confidence. Maddie carefully stepped across the threshold with the boy still at her side. Once they were in the tunnel, a gap sounded from beside her.

"What is it?" The mother glanced to the side, eyes wide with concern.

"The ground's cold." The boy muttered.

"Oh." Maddie looked down. "You're not wearing any shoes." She'd have to get him some once they got home and some proper clothes. "Just step carefully, okay? Actually…." With her free hand, she pulled out her flashlight and shone it on the bare ground in front of them. "There."

The pair advanced carefully, Maddie helping the boy to clumsily climb up the ladder. They crossed the greenhouse and the mother pulled the boy along as he eagerly studied their surroundings.

"It smells nice in here." The clone commented, sniffing the air.

"It does." Maddie agreed.

Arriving at the door, she finally opened it and the two found themselves in the open air. The boy suddenly stopped, looking down.

He hummed in the back of his throat, pleased. "I like the grass under my feet." Maddie looked down to find the kid wiggling his toes. Then there was an awed whisper. "Wow. Are those the stars?"

The mother looked up again to find him staring up at the sky in wonder. Maddie smiled. "Yes, they are. Aren't they beautiful?"

"Yeah." He breathed.

Maddie let him look up in awe, as she herself marveled. She couldn't help but be reminded of Danny's love of the stars. But even with the resemblance, he was a different person from her Danny, wasn't he? She could already see little difference. This child-like wonder was something she hadn’t seen in her son very often now. But still she wondered. This clone seemed to know the words for things. He could speak clearly and had good coordination all things considered. How was that even remotely possible? And yet he still had the air of someone who had never seen the world before, like every was new. Because it likely was.

With that, Maddie cut off her musing. "Come on sweetie. We need to keep going."

The mother hated cutting off his exploration, especially as his expression fell. But the boy nodded anyway, taking a step forward. The pair continued, cutting across the yard, into the trees, and to the car. Maddie clicked the fob to unlock the vehicle. She guided the boy to the car, opened the passenger's side door, and helped him sit. The mother then walked around and opened the driver's side door and sat down herself.

Maddie turned to find the clone looking at his seat belt curiously. She reached over. "Here let me help you." She buckled him in.

The boy hummed, fidgeting in his seat while Maddie buckled herself in. She put the key in the ignition and started the engine. Instantly, the radio started, a song from their local eighties station broadcasting through. The clone flinched at the sudden sound before relaxing.

He turned, looking at the woman with wide eyes. "What's that?"

Maddie smiled. "It's music."

"Right. Music." The boy nodded. He tilted his head, listening to the song. After a moment, his head bobbed in time. "I think I like music." He hummed along, wiggling in his seat.

It made Maddie want to laugh so she did. She chuckled as she put the car into drive and pulled away. She turned into the road and started driving back towards Fentonworks. The song ended just as they pulled up at a red light.

The clone turned to face her. "Where are we going?"

She looked at him out the corner of her eye. "We're going home, like I said earlier."

He nodded. "Right yeah. I remember that." He hummed. "What will we do when we get there?"

Maddie paused, considering the question. "Well...we’ll talk to your dad and your….Danny and Jazz….and we’ll figure all of this out.”

She’d hesitated for a moment, thinking to refer to Danny and Jazz as his brother and sister. But Maddie had no idea how they’d take this. Hopefully well. Those two were good kids but living with a clone of yourself….Maddie could hardly imagine. At least Jack would be eager and welcoming. She knew her husband well enough to be sure….Oh boy, she really should have told him something about all of this before she’d left.

"All of this….you mean the….clone thing and…" He bit his lip. "The flashing light and the floating and disappearing and falling through things?"

"Ghost powers." Maddie said, brow furrowing. "You have ghost powers. As far as I can tell, you're some kind of ghost human hybrid? Not that I knew that was possible until less than an hour ago…." She frowned. "Nor did I know you existed."

The boy frowned, looking worried. His lips pursed. "So...you don't know what my name is then, do you?”

Maddie's heart fell. In front of them, the light turned green. The woman turned back, removing her foot off the gas. The car pulled away before the mother pulled into a parking lot.

She took a deep breath, the impossibleness of the situation hitting her. She was sitting in her car with a clone of her son. A clone that she’d found in the secret laboratory below Vlad Master’s greenhouse. A human-ghost hybrid clone of her son who was also a hybrid. She had another son now. A son who she now had to tell that she didn't know his name, because he likely didn't have one yet.

Maddie put a comforting hand on his arm. “I’m sorry.” She gently apologized. “You’re right. I don’t know. And sadly….” She took a deep breath. “And I know this will be hard to hear but...all I know is that hologram called you Number 6 and...that’s not exactly a name, is it? ”

His lip quivered, eyes starting to water. “But….that’s….”

The mother took his hands and squeezed it. “That will change. Your father and I can pick out a name for you; that’s what parents normally do for their children. Or….if you have something in mind, we’ll happily call you that.”

The clone looked down, biting his lip in consideration. “I’ll...I’ll think about it.”

Maddie’s face softened. “Alright sweetie.”

He turned his head up, blinking at her. “Sweetie? Can that be my name?”

The question was asked so innocently that Maddie couldn’t help but laugh. “No. That’s a pet name. I call all my kids that.”

“Oh.” He blushed in embarrassment. “Well that’s...at least, that means I’m one of your kids.”

The mother nodded her head. “Yes, of course. You’re my son.” It should have been surprising how much her heart swelled with love at the statement but well….Maddie had made up her mind. This was her son. Not Vlad Masters’ experiment. Not just Danny’s clone. Her son and Vlad was not taking him away from her.

They would have a lot to figure out. A name for this boy. His complete origin as a clone. How to deal with having a third child, one who’d just appeared overnight. They’d have to deal with the implications of her revelation that Danny was Phantom. And Vlad...what he’d done was horrible. He’d stolen blueprints and her son’s DNA. He’d experimented on a human or...humans. She internally frowned; he was clone number 6. Did that mean that there had been five others?

Either way, Vlad was deplorable. There, in the depth of his lab, below something as innocuous and normal as his greenhouse, Maddie had discovered that and the true depth of his obsession with her and her family. And now she knew, Vlad needed to be stopped. He needed to be punished. But what exactly to do with him, considering how taking him down would likely expose Danny’s identity as Phantom? Yes, they had a lot to deal with but….

Maddie leaned forward to kiss her new son’s forehead. “You have a family now. And a home. And everything else we’ll figure out together.”

A soft smile crept across his face. “I like how that sounds.”

“Good.” Maddie smiled. “Now...are you ready to go meet the rest of your family?”

“Yeah.” He squeezed the hand still holding hers. “I’m ready Mom.”

#Danny Phantom #Phic Phight 2021 #Phic Phight #team human #Danny clones #Danny Phantom clones #Maddie Fenton #My fic

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