The full reality of what he had done didn't hit Danny until he was sitting in the back of a police cruiser, on his way to Amity Park's local station. He stared blankly at his lap, his blue jeans and white t-shirt flecked here and there with specks of blood.

Dash's blood. Even a bit of Kwan's...

'Oh man,' he thought, feeling a heavy weight fall on his chest, constricting his breathing. 'I really hurt someone...humans.' Unbidden, an image of the jocks' bloodied faces appeared in his mind's eye. Danny squeezed his eyes shut tight, shaking his head back and forth as if denying the truth would somehow turn this nightmare into just that...a nightmare.

'Maybe I was foreshadowed...yeah, that's it. Poindexter must have taken over my body again and fought back against the bully...' At least, that's what he tried to tell himself, though it wasn't very effective. Deep down, he knew; knew that he was completely in control of his body. No one else was calling the shots but Danny Fenton. He had done that himself, and that thought terrified him.

By the time the car pulled to a stop by the police station, Danny was hyperventilating. His breath came in short gasps, his lungs feeling as if there wasn't enough oxygen in the air to fill them. He visibly flinched as the officer opened his door and placed a hand on his shoulder to lead him into the building.

Noticing the boy's distress, the man smiled sadly at Danny, giving his shoulder a reassuring squeeze. He had seen many of the things the small teen had been through involving Dash and the others since he started his job at Casper High a while back; had tried to do something about it, but because the bullies also happened to be the school's star athletes, no one would lift a finger to help poor Danny. Nor would they let him do anything about it. Partiality was an ugly thing, indeed. In all honesty, he knew it was only a matter of time before the teen couldn't take any more. He just had no idea things would get this bad...

"Relax, son. Take deep breaths...come on, now."

"C-can't," Danny wheezed.

The man, who's badge read "Officer Johnson," then wrapped his arm around the boy's shoulders, helping him out of the car and to the awaiting police station. Once inside, he ushered Danny to a nearby row of chairs with built-in handcuffs on the armrests, then freed his hands, being sure to avoid his injured knuckles.

Before he could secure the metal devices around his wrists, however, there was a startled cry of, "Daniel? What on Earth are you doing here?"

Johnson spun to see none other than the mayor of Amity Park himself looking at the pair with an expression of pure shock and confusion. "Mr. Masters, sir. You know him?" he asked, motioning to Danny at his side, who was simply staring at the white-haired man with wide eyes and looking as if he might pass out any moment.

"Know him?" Vlad asked incredulously. "Why, he's like a son to me! Now tell me, Daniel, what is going on here?"

Danny felt as if the walls were closing in on him. His breathing came out as even smaller gasps as he stared into the face of his arch-nemesis. In a voice that sounded way too small and ragged to be his, he stuttered out, "V-Vlad, I..." Wrapping his arms tightly around his chest and wincing as cloth brushed against his tattered hands, Danny couldn't help the tears that spilled out over his cheeks, staining his blood-splattered face. "I...m-messed up..."

He bowed his head in shame, his body shaking with a suppressed sob. So distraught was he that he barely registered a pair of strong arms wrapping around him, let alone that they belonged to Vlad Masters. It took Danny a full minute to regain his composure enough to feel the gentle circles being rubbed into his back.

Pulling back a bit to look up at the taller man's face, Danny tried to spot any sort of malice or hidden motive there, but there was none. Vlad was either hiding his emotions under a well-placed mask, or he was genuinely concerned. He really hoped it was the latter. He was too tired to deal with an evil scheme at the moment; or anything ghost related, for that matter. Besides, ghosts were the least of his problems now...

With this thought in mind, the boy managed to say, "I got in a f-fight at school, and I...I really hurt some people. I didn't mean to though! I-I don't know what came over me!" He hated that he felt the need to justify his actions to someone as evil as Vlad, but that was exactly what he was doing. Voice raising in volume, Danny continued, "Dash and his friends pick on me every single day and I just couldn't take it anymore! They always call me a loser, and they know I can't stand being called tha-"

He was cut off by a shushing motion from Vlad. "I know they do, Little Badger. You needn't explain your reasons to me." Giving a nod to Officer Johnson, he moved around so that just an arm was around the boy's shoulders. "Come. Let's see what we can do to remedy this problem." With that, he led them to the police chief's office.

Once there, Vlad knocked on the door a few times before simply walking in. The head officer was on the phone at the moment, but quickly hung up when he saw who his visitor was.

"Mr. Masters, what can I do for you?" he asked, glancing over at the other two momentarily.

"It would appear my nephew here has gotten in a spot of trouble," Vlad started, voice grave. "I was wondering what we could to do make this all...easier."

The chief looked from Vlad to the small, cowering boy next to him, then back again. "And what, exactly, is this trouble he's gotten in to?"

Danny remained quiet as Officer Johnson stepped forward and recapped the things he had seen. After he finished, he was ordered to take the teen back out to the row of seats. Johnson sat him in a seat near the end, gently placing the metal cuffs on either side of him onto his thin wrists.

"What's gonna happen to me...?" Danny asked him quietly as he turned to head back to the office with the others.

Kneeling down in front of the boy, Johnson sat a hand upon his head, ruffling his hair slightly. "I'm afraid I don't know. But I wouldn't worry so much," he told him. "You've got the mayor himself on your side; you're in good hands."

Danny didn't feel very comforted by this. He knew Vlad was manipulative and good at getting what he wanted, but the question was: What was it that he really wanted? For all he knew, the man would do everything he possibly could to make it so Danny was locked up for the rest of his life. It would certainly make his other plans go a lot smoother if the one thing standing in his way was gone for good. Just thinking about it made the boy feel sick.

Noticing his words of comfort hadn't helped in the slightest, Johnson said, "Danny, look, he's not the only one on your side. I've been here in Amity Park for only a few short months, but in that time, I've seen how those kids have been treating you. Now, I'm not saying what you did today was the right thing to do, but...well, let's just say, I don't blame you for it".

Though the boy managed a small smile, hearing he had done wrong hurt. He was a hero; he was supposed to always do the right thing. Heroes weren't supposed to be so weak as to let something like bullying tear them from their righteous path. They were always the bigger person, no matter the circumstances. He had made a promise that he wouldn't go astray from that belief. How could he have sunken so low?

His depressing musings were interrupted as Vlad eventually returned, Johnson standing upon arrival. The two men talked in hushed tones for a moment, too quiet for even Danny's inhuman hearing to pick up, before the officer gave him a, "Good luck, Danny," and a nod to the mayor before turning and heading back to work.

After thanking Johnson, Danny turned his attention back to the white-haired man standing in front of him. "What's gonna happen to me?" he asked for the second time that day.

"All in good time, Daniel," Vlad said, pulling out a pair of keys for the handcuffs. Unlocking the metal bands, he added, "Now, come along".

Danny looked at him, completely confused. "Where are we going?" he asked warily.

"Why, home, of course. We must inform your lovely mother and idiot father of the situation."

Rubbing his wrists, sore and bruised from his previous struggling in the cuffs at the school, Danny stood, his feeling of confusion being drown out by utter dread and horror. He'd have to tell his parents that not only had he gotten in a fight at school, he'd been arrested. He was so not looking forward to this.

As he followed behind Vlad in a nervous daze to the awaiting limo outside, Danny missed the evil smirk that made its way onto the man's face, a gleam in his eyes that spoke of absolute victory.

A/N: Wow, never before have I had so many comments on the first chapter. You guys are awesome! :D

Now a bit of a heads up on how this will be updated: See, I don't have a scheduled "writing time" each day; I just write when the mood and inspiration hits me, so updates will be sporadic. Be sure to add this to your Story Alerts so you don't miss them!

One more thing, I know I always put "Reviews are always loved!" at the end of every chapter. I really do mean it. They're what puts me in the mood to write in the first place, so if you want faster updates, help motivate me! -is a terrible procrastinator- D: Nine reviews got you chapter two this quickly. Let's see how fast you can get me to get number three up here! :D