The Past is Present

Chapter 1: Not Enemies?

"Three whole weeks!" Danny lamented as he crossed another day off his outer space themed calendar with a pen. Each day was marked off with a big red cross and this one was no exception. "Not one ghost attack...something's so not right," he muttered.

"Ah, relax, dude," Tucker replied, "Enjoy it while it lasts."

Even when Danny and his friends ventured into the Ghost Zone, no one attacked them, not once and Danny was confused.

"Y'know, you could've used that time for studying, Danny," Sam said, unimpressed. "You're always saying you need to up your grades," she said.

"Well, yeah, I do but..."

"Then let's get started," the goth girl said, lifting up a heavy black handbag. She began unloading school books and dumping them onto Danny's bed. "Better late than never. I got history, science..." she continued.

Danny and Tucker shared an unimpressed look but Tucker then smirked at his friend. "Don't look at me dude, you're the one with the toilet grades," he said.

"Thanks, Tucker," Danny frowned.

In the last few weeks, Amity Park had undergone some dramatic changes. Billboards for Vlad Co had began to surface all across the city and as well as rebuilding the damage that Undergrowth had caused, he'd also began building a new mall and a handful of shops as well as the office block he'd mentioned to Maddie. The last developer had cut his losses and ran for the hills after Undergrowth's attack so people, the mayor especially, was delighted to have someone else invest so quickly after a ghost attack. However, he had yet to set foot in the city itself. Everyday there was newspaper articles and television reports about 'America's richest billionaire' and everyone was wondering just why the man was investing so much money in the city if he wasn't even going to visit it at all.

"Urgh," Sam bemoaned, holding out her hands dramatically. "Urban blight. So thrilled to live in the twenty first century," she said, dryly as they walked to school the next morning.

"Me too," Tucker smiled, missing her dry sarcasm entirely. "That new arcade in the new mini mall, next to the new hotdog place looks awesome...and new!"

"I know," Danny replied, "Besides, Sam, there's nothing wrong with a little progress."

"Yeah," Tucker said. "I still think Vlad's kind of a jerk but...come on! All this new stuff he's building is awesome!"

"And even you can't complain," Danny smirked at her a moment later. "He's made like a thousand jobs for people in that new office thing he's building downtown and Jazz says they're building a vegan restaurant thing in the new mall, too," he said.

"Yeah...but why?" she asked.

"Dunno...maybe dude's gone vegan," Tucker shrugged and she sighed.

"Not that!" she snapped, "I meant why's he doing all this in the first place?"

"No clue," Danny answered, unhelpfully. "Though, to be honest, I'm more worried about the ghost attacks...or y'know...the non existent ghost attacks. I mean...they've gotta be up to something, right?"

"What, and Vlad isn't?" Sam asked.

"Where is he, anyway?" Tucker asked. "You'd think he be here taking all the glory for all this," he said.

"Yeah," Sam agreed.

"Well...Vikki says he's still in Canada," Danny said.

"You believe that?" Tucker asked.

"I guess so," his friend answered, "He did say that's where he was going."

"And he's never lied before, right?" Sam scoffed.

"Good point," Tucker said.

"Yeah, I know, okay," Danny sighed. "Let's just...get to school," he muttered, scrubbing a hand through his hair as he walked a little faster.

"What's with him?" Sam asked and Tucker shrugged.

"I can't take it anymore!" Skulked exclaimed, stomping around in his heavy metal boots.

"Don't be so dramatic," Vlad rolled his red eyes and Ember snorted.

"But it's been almost a month and I haven't even..."

"There's literally billions and billions of people and animals and thousands of other ghosts out there for you to hunt. Pick one of them and get to work. Or hang up your hunting gear and grow gardenias and aspidistras for all I care," the hybrid told him, as he'd done several times before.

"But..."

"No," Vlad snapped. "You know what happens if you hunt the boy, Skulker," he warned.

"But..." the ghost began to protest again but as always, a stern look from those infamous blood red eyes was enough to silence him, just about.

"You don't really think this is gonna last forever, d'you?" Ember asked, crossing her arms. "We've all got it in for that brat and there's no way everyone's gonna be able to stay away much longer. All it's gonna need is one of us and then..."

"You really think you could stand up to me?"

"Well...that's not the point," she said, suddenly nervous.

"The point is you'll do as I say or face the consequences," he glared at her and she took a subconscious step backwards. One she realised she'd done it, she tried to glare back but it didn't quite have the same effect on Vlad. He just gave her a small, fanged grin. "I knew you'd see it my way, my dear," he said when she blinked away, breaking eye contact first.

"Whatever, just...don't...don't call me that. I'm no one's 'dear'," Ember shuddered as he continued to grin at her.

"I trust you'll keep everyone in line for me," Vlad said to the exasperated Skulker. "And if you discover anything about the Infi Map you'll..."

"Contact you at once, yes, I know, I know," Skulker sighed.

"Splendid. In the meantime, I have to make my triumphant return to America," Vlad said.

"Your what now?" the hunter blinked, confused but Vlad vanished in a swirl of smoke leaving them both confused and irritated.

"Pushover," Ember muttered to Skulker.

"Oh, and you're not?!"

"Hey, Danny," Jack yelled cheerfully into the kitchen where his children were sat at the table eating their breakfast before another school day. "Come over here quick, Vladdie's on tv...and he's in the newspaper. He's back!" he said.

"Oh joy," Danny muttered. "Since when did we start getting the paper delivered again? Didn't they scare all the..."

"New guy," Jazz muttered back, rolling her eyes.

"Ah...poor dude," Danny smirked as he uncovered his glass of water and took a sip. Then he and Jazz trudged into the sitting room where their father was excitedly pointing at the tv with Maddie sitting next to him on the sofa.

"So...he's back, huh?"

"Yes, apparently," Maddie nodded. "But so far it mostly just been telling us just how rich he is," she remarked dryly.

"And good looking, too," Jack said.

"It actually said that?" Danny frowned.

"In here, too," Jazz said, after skim reading the large newspaper article and Danny groaned in frustration.

"Just what he needs; an ego boost," he grumbled.

"If you think this is bad, you should've read the special Forbes magazine did about him," Jazz told him.

"No, thanks," he shook his head.

"Have you heard from him at all?" she asked, quietly.

"Nope," Danny answered, quietly.

"Well...at least that means he isn't...planning anything, right?"

"Who knows?" he shrugged, "This is Vlad, we're talking about."

"But he did say he'd think about what you..."

"Doesn't mean he's gonna actually do it. You know how much he...hates dad and...'doesn't hate' mom," Danny whispered back.

"He 'loves' her," Jazz corrected him.

"Ewww," her brother shivered, "That's still gross."

"Grow up, Danny," she lamented. "It's probably not the best idea Vlad's ever had and I'm pretty sure he knows mom loves dad, but you can't help who you fall in love with."

"So, you're some kind of love expert now, huh?"

"No," Jazz scowled, "But if nothing else, you gotta admire his dedication. Even if it is overly obsessive."

"Sure, whatever," Danny said turning back to the tv and then staring in confusion. "Okay...erm...is that...Vlad?" Danny muttered. "Erm...does he look...different to you?"

Vlad's staged return to American soil may as well have been treated, by the press at least, as a national event. It wasn't every day that private planes landed but most passengers weren't greeted by an army of journalists all with flashing cameras and microphones. Of course, he was used to this by now, it simply couldn't be avoided it if you were a billionaire. But the Vlad Masters they greeted that morning looked slightly different to the one that had left. When he'd left, his thoughts had been consumed by his father and how much he truly hated the man. He wanted to distance himself from Vladislav as much as he could even if that meant changing the way that he looked.

Vladislav Masters had always been pale and so had his son. Unfortunately, he couldn't do anything about that. Any tan he got was quickly seen as an injury by his ghost powers and it was healed instantly. However, there were other things that he could change.

Vlad could always remember his father having long white hair and he'd always taken care of his own long hair until he'd finally cut it because it reminded him too much of the old fool. Now it was shorter and brushed back slightly without being too neat looking. It was still white but there was nothing he could do about that. In the years since his accident he'd tried to dye it black to how it had used to be, but the dyes had lasted for hours if he was lucky before it had reverted back. He could have ghostly eyes as a human, even a ghostly tail, but for some reason if he tried to make his ghostly black hair appear when he was human it just took too much concentration and it would revert back without his intention.

Another thing that he had in common with his father was his dedication to wearing a suit no matter the occasion or weather. He probably owned a few hundred tailor made suits all worth a small fortune. The clothes he was wearing now were no less expensive, but it wasn't exactly a suit. He was wearing jeans for the first time since his college days along with a white button up shirt, managing to make him look both casual and smart at the same time.

"Ermmm...is he having some kinda...err...midlife crisis or somethin'?" Danny asked as they all stared at the tv.

"Lookin' good, Vladdie!" Jack exclaimed as though Vlad could actually hear him.

"This is just weird," Danny said to his sister.

"He's had a makeover, I guess," she shrugged.

"Vlad?" Danny scoffed.

"People have makeovers all the time."

"But he...but...but...he looks cool!" Danny exclaimed, "This is so not...cool."

What Vlad had no way of knowing was that his father was watching his decent from the plane and through the airport to his limousine on the tv along with the rest of the country. He also had no way of knowing that Vladislav Masters had the better part of a month to live according to his doctor, and that he was now bed bound for what little remained. Even Rosalyn, his wife didn't know just how bad his condition was because he hadn't spoken to her for over three weeks. She, along with Valya and her daughter were living in Vlad's castle, Valya's father having returned to his wife in Russia.

To Vladislav, it seemed too much like they were now suddenly trying to play at happy families while he lay forgotten about and dying. Not to mention the fact that Vlad was far more wealthy than he'd ever been and the limelight was now all his. It just didn't seem fair at all.

Several days later, Danny found himself running towards the school with Dash not far behind him.

"FENTON!" Dash bellowed.

"Oh man," Danny panted, "Day's not even started yet and he's already out to get me."

"There's no way you can outrun me, Fenturd!"

"For once, he's right," the hybrid muttered and began looking around for an alleyway or a secluded area where he would be able to go ghost and out fly the jock. "Whoa!" Danny cried, looking forwards and seeing a shiny black Mercedes which he almost ran into, or which almost ran into him depending on how you look at it.

He stopped quickly and turned back to see Dash right behind him. "Oh man, I'm toast," he lamented and went to run off again when a strong hand shot out and caught him by the scruff of his shirt and stopped him from running anywhere. "Hey, let me go!" he yelled, angrily, swatting at the hand as best as he could.

"Calm down, Daniel," a familiar, exasperated voice said and Danny frowned in confusion.

"Vlad?" he blinked and stopped struggling.

"Fentina, you're dead!" Dash grinned as he made his way over but he stopped when he saw Vlad. "Mr...M...Masters, sir?" he stammered, suddenly acting like a frightened child.

Danny didn't blame him. Vlad looked different, there was no question about that, but he was no less imposing. In fact, without his usual suit blazer, the muscles on his arms were far more visible under his white cotton shirt and he towered over most people anyway. Not to mention his eyes had a way of glaring people into submission and Dash was no exception.

"Mr. Baxter," Vlad said with an air of disinterest. "I see you're acquainted with my dear godson, Daniel," he said.

"Your...your...godson?" Dash stammered, gulping.

"Yes," Vlad smiled at him, menacingly.

"...Him?" the teenager exclaimed.

"Yes," Vlad repeated and Dash took a step back.

"I...I...didn't...didn't know...I mean...we're best pals...right, Fenton?"

"Oh yeah...real pals we are," Danny rolled his eyes and straightened the neck of his shirt now that Vlad had seen fit to release it from his hand.

"Heh heh," the quarterback nodded.

"Well, get to class, boy," Vlad told him.

"Err...yes, sir," Dash said and ran off as fast as he could without a backwards glance.

"What the heck was that?" Danny asked when he was gone. "The whole school's gonna know you're my godfather by the time I get there! Like I wasn't enough of a freak already."

"Hello to you too, Daniel, its very good to see you after all this time, and you're very welcome for saving you from that ridiculous oaf by the way," Vlad replied.

Danny sighed and rolled his eyes. "Fine," he muttered. "Hi, unckie Vlad, its only been like a month but hey I really, really missed you too. Thanks for saving me from the big bad quarterback 'cos I've never had to do that before, but thanks anyway. Oh, and by the way, you sorta almost ran me over back there but hey, who cares, right?"

Vlad chuckled at him and it only made him laugh even more when Danny got increasingly frustrated at his amusement. "I'd never run you over Daniel, that's not very creative, is it? Give me some credit," he said.

"That's creepy," Danny replied.

"Well, thank you," Vlad said and opened the passenger door to his car. "Get in, I can't have you being late for school, can I?" he asked.

"...Seriously? I can't turn to up to school in this!"

"Why not? You've just said yourself that everyone will already know that I'm your godfather by the time that you get there. So what's the problem?"

"But...but the...but you...what the heck is going on, this is really weird day," Danny sighed and got into the car without much of a fuss.

.

"So what was that all about?" Vlad asked as he began to drive towards the school.

"Huh?"

"You and that brainless oaf. I take it you weren't competing to see who can run the fastest?"

"Oh...yeah, that, erm no we weren't. I dunno," Danny answered. "Maybe he got up on the wrong side of the bed or he forgot his homework or...something, I dunno. He's always like that."

"And you let him treat you that way?"

"I get my own back...sometimes," Danny shrugged, "How'd you know him, anyway?"

"His mother works for me, she's very intelligent but unfortunately for him, that doesn't seem to be hereditary."

"No duh," Danny muttered. "What's up with you coming to my rescue?" he asked.

"I'm your..."

"Yeah, yeah, my godfather, I get it...but...I thought...we were...I mean..."

"You thought I was coming back to rid myself of my arch enemy?"

"Well...erm...no...but, now you mention it...are you?"

"I'm driving you to school. Now, I'm well aware that teenagers view school as the living embodiment of doom and gloom but I don't think one more day there will be enough to finish you off," Vlad drawled.

"Ooooooookaaaaaaay," Danny droned, "So...no attacking arch enemies?"

"No."

"Huh. So...how was Canada?" Danny asked after a moment.

"Fine."

"Oh," he nodded. "Good...and erm...I gotta ask, ok...what's with the hair?" he asked.

"What's wrong with it?"

"Nothing!" Danny welcomed, quickly, holding up his hands in mock surrender. "Just...erm...you look different, is all," he explained.

"That was rather the point," Vlad muttered back, his hands tightening on the steering wheel.

"Sooooo..." the teenager said, nervously. "Erm...we...saw you on tv," he said.

"So did a lot of other people."

"Yeah, they really rolled out the welcome mat for you, huh?"

"If you call a mob of flashing cameras and pushy journalists a 'welcome mat'," Vlad scoffed, "Then yes, they did."

"So, you're like Mr. Popular, right?"

"I have been named billionaire of the year for, oh I don't know...how many years running now?" Vlad grinned, smugly.

"Show off," Danny grumbled. "Anyway...everyone here won't shut up about how great you are since all the," he waved his hand around by the window, "Building stuff. Even Tucker thinks it's all cool."

"Splendid, that was of course my main concern."

"Fruit loop."

"What was it your 'friend' called you earlier? Fenturd? Fentina?" Vlad retorted and Danny sank back into the plush car set and crossed his arms, grumbling to himself. "Quite amusing for someone with the IQ of a monkey," the man said, "I wonder what he'll come up with next."

Danny couldn't help but snort at Vlad's 'monkey' comment even though he was doing his best not to smile. "I can't help but wonder why Jack and Maddie haven't done anything to stop his behaviour," the older hybrid said after a moment.

"Erm...they probably would...if they knew but, well, they don't," Danny muttered.

"I see."

"And it's not like the teachers care. Dash is the best quarterback in the school so he can do whatever he wants."

"Well," Vlad sighed. "But the time you get there, everyone will know that you are my godson; you'll be able to do whatever you want as well. Money will make you exempt from anything far longer than the achievements of a teenage quarterback."

"But I don't want..."

"Letting him get away with his behaviour when you could easily knock him through three brick walls simultaneously is not heroic, Daniel, it's stupid. You won't get anywhere in life if you don't learn to defend yourself."

"I get my own back, ok? It's not like I let him get away with everything. And I thought you said things were going back to the way they were before...like we're back to being enemies, right? So why's it matter how the bullies at school treat me if we're enemies again?"

"Who says we're enemies?"

"...We're...not?" Danny asked, unable to disguise the hopeful tone in his voice.

"I rescued you from your very charming friend, who I'm sure had every intention of giving you a black eye, I made my protection of you very public and now now I'm driving you to school, do you need me to make it any more obvious that we're not?"

"Oh," the teenage hybrid blinked at him.

"Sometimes, Daniel, I really do despair," Vlad lamented, shaking his head.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, dear boy, nothing at all. Now I do believe that this is your school," he said, switching off the engine.

"Yeah," Danny nodded. "Just...lemme check...not enemies?" he asked, staring at Vlad's infamous eyes.

"No, not enemies," he answered.

"You're sure?"

"Yes."

"Just like that?"

"You think this is easy for me? You made your terms quite clear and it's going to take some time for me to deal with them. It's what you wanted though, isn't it?" Vlad asked.

It wasn't as though he'd been left with much of a choice after being shown the future that would happen if he didn't at least try. He'd be exiled in outer space and return to wreak havoc on earth and murder Danny Phantom in cold blood. And he hated to think of what the version,of himself would have done to his cousin and her daughter. That Vlad was a warped killer and they had no hope of defending themselves. Clockwork hadn't shown him what had happened to them, but in some ways that was worse, he was left to imagine it and he unfortunately had a vivid imagination and some very realistic nightmares.

"Well, yeah!" Danny said, jolting Vlad from his thoughts.

"Then stop complaining."

"I'm not complaining."

"Good," Vlad said.

"Y'know...everyone staring at us," Danny said, looking out of the blackened car windows. No one would be able to them specifically, but it wasn't every day a Mercedes stopped outside of Casper High.

"Naturally."

"No, not 'naturally'," Danny snapped, "Bad. This is really, really bad."

"You'd better get to class."

"Maybe I'll just wait here till they've all gone."

"Don't be a baby, Daniel."

"Easy for you to say."

"Do you need to me walk you to your class?"

"No!"

"I'm sure we'll find it, come along, little badger," Vlad grinned, getting out of the car.

"No! Vlad, don't, wait!" Danny cried but it was too late. "Oh...shoot," he grumbled, sighing before he climbed out of the car too.

Ignoring the whispers was impossible, especially since Danny had better hearing than most people but they only seemed to inflate Vlad's ego even more whereas it made Danny want to curl up in a dark corner until it was all over.

"You'll have to get used to this kind of attention now," Vlad told him quietly.

"Is this like payback for something?"

"It's not a punishment," he snorted, "Most people would enjoy the attention being related to me will bring you. You have a whole day to get used to it. Have fun," Vlad smiled at him and left him there.

A.N. I've been wanting to write a sequel for ages now but I'm still kinda short on ideas so it's taken a while just to get started. If you guys have any suggestions I'd love to hear them. Also, with this and the last two stories, I'm running out of 'past' phrases for the story names. Lol.