Gravitational Phantoms: After the Storm

Chapter Twenty Five: Goddess of Destruction (Part Two)

Ohhh man, you guys. I am so, so sorry. I had surgery, and then I got sick, and while I was sick I had a million school projects to work on. But I'm back now! Huzzah! This chapter is pretty short, though. Sorry about that.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Vlad Masters. Mabel remembered the name from the aftermath of nightmares and hushed reassurances of safety.

Danny was somewhere between terrified of him and exasperated with him, which was honestly something that she could relate to (seriously, how many of the more evil monsters in the forest were there that wanted her specifically as their leader/queen/wife?), but she knew that Vlad was still very dangerous.

And didn't he want to melt Dani down into green goop?

Mabel's eyes flickered out of the front window desperately. The Halfa wouldn't dare attacking her in front of the storeowner, but couldn't he duplicate? Mabel was pretty sure that he could duplicate.

Shit, this was bad. Mabel didn't usually curse, even inside of her own head, but she couldn't help but think that it was kind of appropriate in this situation. Besides, it wasn't like anybody could hear her.

"Well," she replied, hoping that her voice sounded cheerful enough that the man didn't notice the hint of desperation and worry that leaked into it. "My name is Mabel. It's nice to meet you! I haven't met your son, but can I help you with anything?"

"It's a pleasure to meet you too, my dear." Mabel had to physically resist cringing. "And I do have a small favor to ask, even though we barely know each other. I was just wondering if you knew anybody named Daniel Fenton? That's the son that I was looking for."

"No," Mabel lied through her teeth. "There's no Daniel Fenton here that I've met." 

Just a Danny Pines who hates you, and a Danielle with every right to be scared of you.

"Really now?" Vlad pressed. "Please think harder. Is there anybody that you don't know that you've seen around? He has to be here, he just has to be."

The girl had to hand it to him, Vlad pulled off an excellent 'concerned father on the lookout for their son' impression. But that was all it was-an act. A good act, to be sure, but still. 

And Mabel would be damned if she let him find out where Danny and Dani were.

"Nope. Although... What does he look like?" She tried to play along, act like she didn't know exactly who it was that the billionaire was looking for. 

"Black hair, blue eyes, should be pretty skinny and scared of people. He's a runaway and was in an abusive household before I rescued and adopted him." Vlad smiled pleasantly. "He may have tried to... Hurt himself in the past, so he will possibly have the scars from that. Ring any bells?"

"No. I hope you find him!" Mabel practically ran to the front desk and hastily paid for her items with what remained of her allowance. Then she was gone, walking as casually as was possible while she was still in front of the store, then sprinting away as soon as she was out of view. 

The thirteen year old ducked into the space between two buildings and looked around. "Dani?" She called in a hoarse whisper. "Dani, where are you?"

The girl popped into existence in front of her. "Yeah?"

The Halfa jumped slightly as the other teen grabbed her shoulders. "W-we have to go back. To the Shack, I mean. I'll explain on the way, alright?"

Luckily, Dani didn't ask questions and kept a steady grip on Mabel's wrist and waist as she flew them both back to the Shack.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Vlad Masters?" Dipper wrinkled his nose. "Isn't he even richer than the Northwest family? And a lot more evil?"

Dani nodded. "He's the one who made me," she said in a small voice. "He said that I only existed to serve him and that was all, and that I was an imperfect copy of the real thing, the real Danny Phantom."

Mabel crossed her arms. "He sounds like a butthead."

The corner of Dani's mouth quirked up into a small half-smile. "Yes, yes he is."

"Should we tell Danny?" Wendy asked. She was the fifth member of their impromptu council of war, and the one with the least experience fighting ghosts. Even though her 'police force' was still up and running, they primarily dealer with monsters, not ghosts, and even if she was perfectly capable of taking care of a ghost on her own (and had done so in the past) she still didn't have anywhere near the amount of experience that Dipper, Mabel, and Ford had, let alone Dani. "I mean, it is his arch-nemesis."

"I don't want him to freak out," Dipper said, crossing his arms. "I mean, we just got you two"-he looked at Mabel-"back, and I don't want to lose either of you again."

"When will you guys tell me what happened?" Dani growled, kicking the bottom of Dipper's mattress. "You keep acting like I should know, but I really have no idea."

"It's not important right now," Ford sighed. "What's important is that we get rid of Masters without alerting Danny to the fact that he's here and looking for him. Which means that you can't leave the Sha-the house, Dani. If he recognizes you, he'll just try to... Melt you again."

Dipper could practically see Ford's scientific brain struggling not to ask how Vlad had been planning to melt her, and spoke up before he lost that battle. "What about me and Mabel? He already saw her, but not me."

"It should be safe for the rest of us to go into town, as long as we don't let on that we know Danny."

"But how are we going to keep Danny in the house without letting him know that something's wrong?" Mabel asked. "He'll figure out that something's up eventually."

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Ford answered.

The four teenagers exchanged nervous looks.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Maddie, do you think I'm looking in the right place?" Vlad asked the fluffy white cat that was winding around his feet. She purred and dabbed at his shoe with one dainty front paw. "I know that Danielle is there, but what about Daniel?"

"Mrrow."

"And I could have sworn that I had seen that Mabel girl before..." Vlad paused. "I wonder where she lives. Perhaps one of those townspeople can tell me."

"Mewr."

"You're right, my dear cat. If Daniel still has that foolish hero complex, then he won't be able to resist a chance to save someone's life. She will be the perfect bargaining chip."