Chapter Text
Valerie hovered high above Vlad's mansion. Her mask was retracted as she rubbed her face with her hands.
Best case scenario, she'd had to awkwardly make up a reason for why she was visiting Vlad. And put up with his lectures. And lie to his face again. And hope time and time again that she didn't slip up.
She couldn't keep everything straight anymore. One day, she was gonna slip up with Danny. Or he would find out. Through Vlad, or by accident. And he would never trust her again. She's lucky if he'd forgive her at all.
She wasn't ready for that– to lose Danny. She only just got him.
And then there was Vlad. If Valerie slipped up or Vlad found out, not only would she say goodbye to her job hunting ghosts, it would be goodbye to her equipment, her hobby, her ability to help Danny at all.
Goodbye to her dad's job too, probably, since he worked under Vlad's subsidiary. Goodbye to her whole life as she knew it.
Vlad had a lot of power, both as a millionaire, and as a ghost. It was scary to think of what he could do to ruin her life.
What did she do to deserve getting caught up in such a dangerous person's whims?
Was there really no way out?
She needed to stop lamenting over her own life. If Danny was in Vlad's hands, that mattered more than anything else.
Think-- what was an excuse she could use to visit Vlad's mansion?
There was a ghost?
Oh. Duh. She literally saw a ghost on her tracker. She had a real reason.
Well, she'd better go in.
Valerie took a few deep breaths and re-summoned her hood. Descending to her designated side window, Valerie's nerves felt like static.
She slipped through the open pane. Looking down at the hardwood floor made her grimace. She'd rather stay on her board and not announce her presence with her gigantic metal boots.
She squatted low down on the board and gripped the front edge with her hand. This way she could fit through the doors and hallways while hovering off the ground.
Her board slid forward in the air, very slowly through the hallway. The house was dead silent. Only a slight hum sounded from her equipment.
Just as before, all the rooms in this hallway were eerily vacant of people. Some of them had couches, or tables, or loads of Packers memorabilia. But why would anybody need this many rooms?
She approached his office at the other end of the hallway cautiously. The door appeared to be wide open. She inched her way past the doorway. The room was empty. But the light was on.
Her nerves deepened at the emptiness and silence.
What if Vlad was invisibly watching her explore the mansion? Right now?
Valerie forced the thought out of her head and focused on looking as intimidating as possible while she flew onward to the first floor.
She pulled up her wrist radar, to see if that ecto-signature was still present. It wasn't.
Looking through various rooms on the first floor, Valerie was still unable to find a soul.
Until she came into a large room with a green armchair, a fireplace, and a gigantic bookshelf.
Most of the shelf's space was taken up not by books, but more statues and Packers stuff.
In the center, the bookcase had been swung open, and a steep staircase led down beneath the foundation of the building.
This must be where his lab was, where he always spoke of sending ghosts back through a portal and creating new equipment.
As she approached the top of the staircase, Valerie could hear Vlad's voice faintly echo from the bottom.
Her breathing felt shaky.
Here goes.
She carefully descended the staircase.
At the bottom, it sounded like Vlad was just on the other side of the wall.
"You cannot fight it. I promise. Give up on trying to struggle; you're wasting your energy."
She retracted her hoverboard and landed on the concrete floor as quietly as she could. She dared to peek around the wall and saw exactly what she feared.
Danny, as Phantom, was pinned to a table at the far end of the lab. He looked battered and bruised. Valerie regretted every second she wasted not looking for him.
At least, he didn't seem to be in much pain at the moment. Of course he did look very stressed, being held hostage and all.
Around his waist and pinning his arms down was several wrappings of a thick, green, glowing wire. It was phase-proof, if Valerie had to guess. Clamped to his upper arm was some kind of metallic device, a glowing circular centerpiece, with four petals that looked like they hooked into his skin. Ouch.
Vlad was over to the left of the lab, fiddling with some equipment, or probably preparing something to use on Danny.
Did Vlad even know Phantom was Danny?
Valerie tried to decide if she should sneak across the lab to free Danny. It probably wouldn't work. After seeing how Vlad reacted to her sneaking up on him last time, she didn't want to take any chances with that again.
The first time she snuck up on him, she thought he was a ghost. It was normal for her to attack random ghosts. If she attacked "human" Vlad, it would be a very different story. He would know something was up.
Valerie looked around the rest of the lab.
On a table between Vlad and Danny, there were about half a dozen more of those clamps like the one on Danny's arm.
On the far right wall, Valerie finally saw Vlad's own portal to the Ghost Zone. It looked strikingly similar to the Fentons' portal. Except, this portal's surface was a deeper green, and the entire enclosure was incredibly sleek, a pale grey, clean, smooth finish around the rim.
In the back corner behind the portal stood a large, thick steel box. It had all sorts of lights on it, and several empty Catchers were scattered next to it. What was that for?
The rest of the lab was littered with different electronic devices, exposed circuitry, test tubes, and vials of different liquids (probably ectoplasm or power cells for weapons?)
It was unlike the Fentons' lab, where every gadget, every component, every piece of hardware was assembled and disassembled and reused again and again. Every piece worn down and overused. A piece of a gun removed and transferred to another. Ectoplasm for a blaster repurposed for a shield. Needing a microprocessor for a new gadget meant stripping down an old one and slotting it into the new.
Not in Vlad's lab. Here, there was ten of everything. Half of it wasn't even used. Pristine and never unboxed. Never assembled. Never powered up.
Vlad looked up from where he stood at the workstation on the left wall. When he noticed Valerie, she knew her time for observation was up.
"Ah, my dear little viper, what brings you here?"
There was no use trying to run or hide. Just play innocent. After all, Valerie was here to find the ghost on her radar. Vlad never mentioned having a lab, nor the lab being off limits.
Valerie stepped around the corner, standing up straight and walking at a hopefully normal speed. "I saw that there was a ghost nearby," she held up her wrist radar and stepped into the center of the room, "but it seems you… have it covered." Valerie glanced down at Danny on the table.
Danny's face darkened from stress and irritation to full-blown horror.
Vlad laughed. "You didn't realize that I had assistance, did you, Little Badger?"
Valerie was relieved that her mask and voice-mod covered up her own disgust.
Danny glared daggers back at Vlad, but he said nothing.
Valerie wanted so badly to run over and pull Danny off that table. Get all that shit off of him and get him out of here. Maybe give Vlad a couple punches while she was at it.
But she knew who had all the power here.
It was Vlad's equipment she wore. The Catchers, radars, guns and blasters, even her suit and hoverboard are rightfully his. And he might be able to control them if he wanted. No matter how much Valerie fought, Vlad would have the upper hand.
Not to mention he also had ghost powers. She'd seen him fight Danny. Danny could barely counter him, and Valerie definitely couldn't. He was too experienced.
So Valerie decided the best course of action would be to wait for an opening to let Danny "escape".
"What are you keeping him here for? I thought you usually sent the ghosts back to the Ghost Zone…" Valerie said. Might as well figure out his motives.
"Good question, dear." Vlad slunk back over to his workstation on the wall. He picked up a couple different tools and held them up for Valerie to see.
The first was a very thick needle.
"I always take samples of your captures before sending them back." He set it back down.
The next was another one of those metal devices with the petals.
"For the more… malicious ghosts, I attach this stabilizer. It prevents them from using any of their abilities. They become virtually harmless." He set it back on the counter. "Extremely helpful in case they return to this dimension again. They can no longer wreak havoc."
"You liar!" Danny finally spoke up. "You don't even send them back to the Zone. Ember's been missing for weeks. And Wulf. And now Skulker. Where are they?"
Vlad spared Danny a side-glance. "Well, there are some exceptions, of course." He turned back to Valerie and smirked, like Danny's question was so stupid.
It took all her willpower to not let her blood boil over.
"Some of them are too useful to send back right away. They're worth keeping for… educational purposes," Vlad said.
He walked to the cabinet on his left. His finger danced across the vials of viscous liquid that were lined up. Each liquid was a different shade. Some looked dirtier than others. Some were a bright vibrant pink or blue. Others were muddy.
"How else could I learn to infuse my weapons and equipment with ectoplasm? Or learn to create temporary portals, perhaps?”
Valerie took a deep breath, hidden under her helmet.
Vlad walked back over to his workbench. He picked up a syringe full of some black substance, and examined it.
"If you are interested in the research, you are welcome to assist me," Vlad said. He turned around to face Danny and Valerie.
He was going to inject that into Danny.
No. He wasn't.
Fuck this.
Vlad didn't have all the power. He might be powerful. But his control over Valerie? It was mental.
Besides, she didn't give a flying fuck if she lost her job. And her equipment. And her dad's job. He wasn't allowed to control her.
And he definitely wasn't allowed to hurt Danny.
And his physical power? His ability to fight?
Valerie still had an upper hand. Vlad didn't know that she knew his secret. And he didn't know that she had already decided to betray him. She had already chosen Danny.
And she was angry.
Vlad took a step towards Danny on the table, syringe in hand.
"Stop," Valerie said. Her voice-mod made her sound more threatening than she felt.
Vlad paused to look at her. Tilting his head back, he regarded her.
She dared not to look away or even move.
Vlad then chose to scoff. "You want to make demands of me like that? Be careful how you speak to your employer." He gave her a cold look, then continued towards Danny.
But he didn't make it a step closer.
Valerie summoned her gun, and shot at the floor where he was about to step. Bright green fluid singed the pristine tile before evaporating. A black spot of ash remained.
"Don't" –Valerie retracted her helmet– "touch him." Her ecto-gun remained at the ready, the sights just below her eyes. She didn't look away from Vlad.
Vlad grinned. "So that's how it is? You want to defend this random ghost? Why? Because he's a hero at your school, or something?" Relinquishing the syringe to one hand, Vlad reached blindly behind him with the other.
Valerie's face tightened. "Don't move," she growled.
"Valerie, dear little viper, why don't we sort this out? We can discuss this like adults. I know you are a very mature young woman." He continued to reach even further behind him.
No more warning shots.
Valerie aimed at his right shoulder and pulled the trigger. It was spot-on.
He went down immediately.
Fortunately, it seemed that Vlad in his human form was more vulnerable to ecto-attacks.
But it wouldn't be long before he stood back up and transformed into a ghost.
Valerie stalked over to him and pinned him down with her heavy boot. Luckily, he was still a bit shell-shocked.
Valerie looked around the room. Danny was staring at her from the table, wide-eyed,still a bit horrified. Hopefully he didn't hate her.
But, she needed to focus on Vlad's recovering body right now.
On the counter to her left… aha! One of those– what did he call it? –stabilizers? The metal device with the petals. She picked it up off the counter and flipped it around in her hands a couple times.
It looked like it had a little pinprick on the back, and some sort of latching mechanism with the petals.
Worth a try.
Valerie bent down and shoved it forward against Vlad's chest.
It had no problem springing shut. It latched onto his skin through the thin fabric of his button-down.
Valerie backed away from Vlad, who was left in a daze. At least he was less of a threat now if that thing could really block his ghost powers.
She took a few seconds to catch her breath.
She looked over to find Danny still stuck, laying there on the lab table. Time to get to work.
She made her way over and began unlatching the straps around his legs.
"Valerie…" he said. He stared up at her but she didn't look him in the eyes.
She grimaced from the stress as she went, working on the straps over his shoulders now.
He still had the glowing metal wires around his waist, holding his arms down. And that stabilizer on his arm… She'd have to worry about that later.
“Vlad's getting up," Danny blurted out.
Valerie turned around.
Vlad planted his hand on a lab stool, pulling himself firmly off the ground. He tucked a loose hair behind his ear.
"Miss Gray, think about what you are doing. If you go through with this, you are losing much more than your job." He stood fully back up and leveled a look at her.
He didn't seem like he was going to fight her. He probably knew he was helpless without his powers. So now he was trying to manipulate her, to scare her back into obeying.
But he was right. She was going to lose a lot more than her job here.
She might as well make things even.
Valerie turned on her heel and stomped her steel boots back across the lab, towards Vlad.
He shrank back as she approached, but she passed right by him.
Right up to his shelf of the glass vials.
They were lined up so neatly, basically touching.
She made a fist and looked down at her right hand. Her hand was covered in a black glove underneath, but on top of her joints were piecewise bulky red chunks, thick armor that would protect her knuckles.
She looked back up at the shelf and angled herself at the end of a row of bottles. And then she punched.
In a chain reaction, every single one shattered. Her fist only went halfway across the shelf, but they all went crashing down. Like dominoes.
"No!" Vlad yelled.
He stumbled over to grab her, and she pulled her arm away quick enough to scare him.
Her arm still held back, she didn't move despite her heavy breaths. She stared at him, eyes wide.
He stared back, but didn't make another move. He was powerless.
She grinned.
Valerie ran back to the other side of the lab, next to the large box in the corner. She grabbed a stool off the ground, and heaved it in a wide arc. Straight into the big metal box.
The box dented but didn't give.
She swung the stool again with a grunt.
It dented more and sank down. A hiss came out of the wrinkled spot..
She hit it one more time.
Two large chunks of aluminum ripped and flew apart from the box in an explosion. One of them knocked her to the ground. Luckily, her suit took the brunt of the hit.
Along with the pieces of metal flung chunks of ectoplasm, splattering all over the lab. Valerie could feel some of it landed in her hair. Gross.
Out flew several ghosts. Wulf, Skulker, the clown, and a dozen others. Almost every single one she had caught for Vlad.
Valerie laughed harshly. How surprising. He lied to her about everything. Legitimately everything.
The ghosts yelled some shouts of joy, some shouts for revenge, or even rambled to themselves, but they all quickly fled the room.
She should get out of here too.
She could already feel the exhaustion setting in, nerves, adrenaline, that hit from the box exploding.
She had probably caused enough destruction for one day.
She hauled herself off the lab floor and shook out her arms. She glanced at Vlad one last time.
He seemed to have been knocked back from the blast as well, but he was quickly recovering.
Valerie ran back towards Danny.
Vlad began desperately scrambling towards her.
She bent down and hauled Danny off the table. He squeaked in surprise.
She would have laughed if she wasn't so stressed.
She turned tail and made it to the stairs of the lab. Summoning her board, she hopped into the air and flew, flew them both up and out of there.
She ducked down and flew into her bedroom window, landing softly on the carpet. Her full suit retracted as she set Danny on the side of her bed.
He still had that thing in his shoulder and the wires around his arms.
Without even looking at him she turned and marched out her doorway. She held up a finger to the side, telling him to wait, as she went down the hallway.
She walked from the kitchen, to the laundry room, to the living room, pulling open drawers and closets until she found the first aid kit, wire cutters, and a couple water bottles.
He watched her closely as she came back into the room and dropped her tools on the floor.
She chugged her water bottle, and then picked up the second one.
Oh yeah, his hands were kind of unavailable right now.
She set it on the bedside table instead. Then, she grabbed the wire cutters and sat down next to him, getting to work on the glowing binds.
She slid the blade of the cutter beneath the first piece of wire next to his arm, and then squeezed hard with both hands until it snapped.
Danny continued watching.
She cut the second wire.
Danny opened and closed his mouth.
"What?" Valerie spoke out but didn't look up.
The third wire snapped, losing its form slightly.
"I just…" He looked up and stared at her bedroom wall. "Why are you helping me? I'm just a ghost…"
Valerie finished off the last wire. And then she unbent the large pieces until they fell onto the floor.
Danny bent and unbent his elbows, and rubbed his arms where the wire was. The skin was tinged green and irritated.
Valerie straightened up and looked at him, fighting a smile. "Someone told me that ghosts are misunderstood." She looked at the marks on his arms. "They're just people and they deserve to be treated like people."
Danny's cheeks turned green, and Valerie decided to drop the cutters and move on to her next task. She looked at the stabilizer on his arm, poking and prodding it with her fingers. It didn't seem to have any buttons or latches.
"Do you know how to get this off?" she said.
Danny hung on his words. "Uhm, I think you just have to… pull it out."
She thought that might be the case.
Without missing a beat, Valerie gripped it hard and pulled. It came right out.
He yelled. Just a little bit.
Valerie grimaced and dropped the device, pulling open the first aid kit. "Sorry, figured it'd be better if you weren't expecting it." She started patting away the green stuff nonchalantly with a cotton ball.
Danny blew out a heavy breath. "You can be scary sometimes."
Valerie smiled. "I know," she said in a light tone. She continued cleaning the injury.
At least it didn't leave too much of a wound. The needle made a tiny hole, and the hooks holding the device in didn’t go very deep.
Valerie finished wrapping his arm and cleaned up in silence. She stood up and looked at him.
He stared out the window awkwardly.
She looked him in the eye and then looked pointedly at the water bottle.
He followed her gaze and made a questionable noise.
"Drink." She wasn't even sure if he needed to drink water. But he was going to, whether he wanted to or not.
He made a disgruntled noise, but reached for the bottle.
She retreated down the hallway, putting everything away. She closed all the drawers and doors she left open. And then she grabbed a spare pillow.
In her room, the water bottle was back on the table, but it was about half empty. She'd take it.
She chucked the spare pillow onto his side of the bed.
He tensed up. He gripped the edges of the bed like he meant to get up.
"I've been gone for too long. I need to–"
Valerie pushed him down with her hand. "I'll tell your friends that you're safe."
He relaxed for a minute. Then he furrowed his brow and turned to face her again. "Wait, do you–"
She smiled. "Get some rest, ghost boy." She pushed on his shoulder again, this time with barely any force.
He gave in and plopped back onto the pillow, but he didn't wipe that confused look off his face. And then he grinned a tiny bit.
Valerie made sure to text Sam and Tucker. Danny's with me by the way. He lost his phone. They weren't coming to whisk him away any time soon.
Valerie went to her own side of the bed. She laid down and got comfortable. She was ready to pass the hell out.
Vlad was definitely going to come back to bite her, but she didn't care. Danny was safe and right next to her. And they would figure it out together.
Valerie let out a deep breath, about to drift off.
She felt movement that made her open her eyes.
Danny had rolled on his side to face her, green eyes lighting up his face in the dark.
It was almost creepy until he opened his mouth.
Barely a whisper, he said, "Y'know, I think we're moving a little too fast. Two dates and you already–"
Valerie blew a raspberry and shoved the pillow in his face.