There are only so many times I actually have particularly fertile ideas without me needing to write down a five page essay on how to write it first without mucking it up completely. Maybe I should start listening to my natural instincts more often, even though they tend to be kind of lame most of the time.

This is set in the alternative timeline of The Ultimate Enemy episode. It was a thing I felt compelled to write for some reason or another.

The Day After

He couldn't remember how much time it had passed since that fateful day. He wished it had been a nightmare. A nightmare would have been easily explained and cast away as an unimportant footnote. He wanted to wake up one morning, shake his head and wipe the sweat off his forehead, then go by his business and never give it another thought for the rest of his life.

But this?

This was hell.

He stood outside his ruined home, looking hopelessly toward the bleeding horizon. In less than a week, a good portion of Wisconsin was in flames. The entire state was placed under lockdown with the military personnel parading the city streets, setting up ambushes and calling in heavy artillery, to try their best and contain the disaster that had been unleashed upon this earth so unexpectedly, nobody knowing exactly where it came from or what it wanted.

It didn't work.

Every attempt at fighting the creature failed miserably and the country's defenses started falling apart like flies. A massive panic began brewing all over the known United States, frightened citizen running away in large packs like animals to find shelter from an incoming storm. This would be later known as the day when a single person brought one of the largest and most powerful nations in the world to its knees, barely giving it enough time to hear it beg for mercy. Not even the Ghost Zone expected such a volatile response from the world of living and as it stood, the specters themselves cowered in utter fear of what the former hero had become.

Nobody was safe anymore and he was powerless to stop it. The man's personal tragedy paled in wake of the immediate carnage that ensued.

But he didn't forget about it… he didn't want to. He was the only one who knew the origin of this disaster and it was entirely his fault.

He shouldn't have outlived Danny. He was far too young to have faced such a terrible death, especially at the hands of his other self that went off on a rampage after robbing him of his powers. Every single day the silver haired man spent at the boy's makeshift grave he wished it had been him instead. He deserved it far more… he was a horrible person with horrible decisions and in the end those decisions ended the known world.

Only because he wanted the pain to go away.

On the other hand, he didn't wish for him to face the cruel reality the world was thrown into after the newly empowered being sunk its claws into the fragile earth and started tearing it apart piece by piece until there would be nothing left to destroy.

The only thing the former billionaire could do now was pronounce himself dead which wasn't far from the truth. He was already dead inside.

He was outside again by the lone grave, silently begging forgiveness from no one in particular, although in this case it might as well be everyone that lost something or someone in this slaughter.

The older man observed with forlorn expression as the scarlet sunset prepared for departure, the barren wasteland he was personally responsible for started slowly disappearing into the night. He sat on infertile ground, holding his knees tightly against his chest and tried hard not to break himself apart as his tired eyes irritated him constantly. It's been a while since the last time he made it through the night without a nightmare clawing at his mind, awakening him instantly and terrifying him enough to never fall asleep again.

He thought to himself if there was anything he could have changed or done differently at the time. Through many sleepless nights the silver haired man realized a long time ago he couldn't change the past no matter how much he wanted to, but nowadays these lingering thoughts of his were the only comfort that kept him going in this messed up world.

The best days of his life were the only hope he could possibly hold onto, ensuring himself that even his perpetually lonely life once held some light in it.

However, even those bright and happy feelings were occasionally squashed underfoot by the very catastrophe he helped to create when he heard a distinct sound towering over him like a familiar shadow.

He picked himself back on his feet just barely, knowing very well he could've died on that day. But no… toying with him had been a better option when it presented itself, just like it used to be his best weapon against those that frequently stood in his way to achieve a certain goal. As weak and discouraged he was now, he still refused to be taken for a fool.

"Like what I've done with the place, father?"

There was a sort of condescending sick pleasure coming from that line. Danny had never called him father and he didn't expect him to. He was far too lost in his agonized grieving to let go of his real family… the family whose life ended so tragically and suddenly he himself had trouble accepting they were truly gone when he had personally plotted to get them out of the way many times before.

It was a shallow empty victory and nobody contributed from it, much less himself. Particularly when it led to him losing everything and everyone he ever cherished in his life.

He faced the monster but refused to speak as he gazed upon him in unspoken terror. For the first time ever since the day of creation, he saw up close what his other self had become. He became everything he used to be but worse than anything he wanted to be.

A living nightmare.

"What's the matter?" the caped being spoke in a thick layer of tranquil fury, unbelieving he would be so quick to pass him off as an unimportant dream in his head even when he was standing right before him. That same mind was so stricken with a perpetual cycle of anger, sorrow and regret, there was barely any room left for ordinary or sane thoughts, "Remember, you were once me too. You're no better now or then."

The silver haired man scoffed at the creature despite trembling all over his body in fear and revulsion. He wasn't anything like that... like this! Not anymore he wasn't. He was just barely a shadow of his former self, nothing more and nothing less. He wasn't a saint by all means, but he didn't draw enjoyment from meaningless destruction and purposeless killing.

"Actually, I should be grateful…" the monster merely grinned and folded his arms as he circled around the older man like the frightened prey he appeared to be, "You released me from that pathetic prison and gave me the chance to do anything I want, at any time in any place in the world. And that is all thanks to you, father."

The man narrowed his eyes, refusing to accept any kind of gratitude from him, "And I respectfully regret it…" he noticed the confronter's face suddenly tensed but he didn't care if he died today. At least he wouldn't have to live with this never ending guilt that ate him from inside out every day little by little.

If only it had been so easy to call upon death. He wouldn't be amongst the living if it was.

The crimson eyed being spread out his hands with a smug grin, as if to remind him of his presence here, "Are you not in awe of your creation?"

For a moment the older man believed that was a legitimate question, only for him to immediately drop his arms by his sides as he continued with gritted teeth, "No, of course not. You're too busy mourning that little brat who had done nothing but stand in your way the entire time. He refused to see what you could offer him, he refused to accept you as his family and he refused to let go of his sorrow because he was too weak and selfish. The fact is… he brought this on himself."

He continued trembling uncontrollably. This time it wasn't out of fear but quiet fury. He felt his hands tighten into fists, his eyes narrowed into slits and his teeth clenched tightly together… not that it would do any good. He couldn't take on him as a normal human.

The creature noticed his reservations, striking that wicked fanged smile he would previously only see in the mirror, "How quaint. You'd still die for him," he then slowly started approaching the broken man as if with every intention to fulfill his last wish. The former billionaire's common sense was screaming at him to back away from the monster but his legs stiffened in place and didn't obey him.

He could only watch in near horror when the caped being towered over his hunched figure, the man's cloudy blue eyes meeting the fiery red ones as he leaned toward him, opening his mouth to reveal the long forked tongue that caressed his fangs.

"He's not here anymore," he chuckled darkly, gesturing at his chest with the same type of arrogance that reminded the man of himself in his better days, "But I am. Aren't I a better Danny, father? Tell me I'm everything you wished he could've been."

Just hearing the teenager's name aloud again after such a long time sent shivers down his spine and he didn't appreciate that he all of people had to bring him up. The man exhaled heavily at the monster and pressed his lips into a thin line, a clear indication he would never say anything like that, especially not to him. That was the last straw as the creature bore his teeth at him.

He grabbed the older man's neck at a terrifying speed and lifted him up into the air. As he desperately clawed at his strong hand, the crimson eyed catastrophe suddenly spoke with harsh resentment, bringing back all those hurtful words he had been the target of during simpler yet nostalgic days, "All of your life you've been a miserable wreck, longing day and night for that love you believed you deserved for all those years of misfortune. If you deny me, you deny everything you ever worked for. Now tell me… who am I?"

Breathing erratically, the silver haired man grabbed onto the creature's wrist, mildly surprising him at the amount of strength he still possessed at this time. He lifted his chin slightly and looked down upon those fiery eyes, to give an impression of dignity and superiority he thought he lost a long time ago on that fateful day. If these were his final moments, he would go out staring down at death with no regrets.

"You are not Daniel. And you will never be him," he answered with a hiss as calmly as he could, making sure to thoroughly emphasize every single word that left his throat as he disliked repeating himself.

Despite the nature of his creation, he could barely dream of taking Daniel's place. He wasn't the Danny he used to know. Not the Danny that acted like the hero he was, not the Danny that teased him about his solitary position in life, not the Danny that lost his family and friends to a freak accident, not the Danny he tried to be a parent to or the Danny he wanted to care for with all his strength.

Not his little badger.

The monster took it better than he thought at first… almost. He slammed him against the earth, barely stopping himself from tearing him apart right here and ending his miserable existence once and for all. After all, this is what he wanted and he didn't hide it one bit, albeit with no words to confirm it. The man didn't lose his composure, never allowing himself to lose his sight on the caped being.

He eventually decided he wouldn't grant him the easy way out and backed away, "You've always been pathetic and that hasn't changed one bit. I promise you, when I rip the world apart, I'll make you watch. I want to see the last bit of your dignity crumble into dust."

With that out of his system, the creature pushed himself from the ground and flied away into the sunset, never to be seen again. When the dust settled upon him, the former billionaire realized he was alone once again, with only his thoughts and guilt to spare.

What dignity?

Vlad Masters had none to give anymore.

Well, wasn't that fun?