Chapter Text
Danny still wasn't sure how this had happened. He might be a bit in denial over it in all honesty. He didn't want to admit how screwed he was.
Vlad had managed to get the drop on him and he hated that. He'd been worn down from a week of late nights of ghost fighting. Apparently, a whole bunch of ghosts had chosen exam week to start their nonsense again. Between the stress of the tests, the studying and the fighting, Danny was exhausted. He'd had an argument with Jazz over it since she was worried about his marks. There wasn't anything he could do though. He couldn't just leave the ghosts and focus on studying and sleeping. That wasn't how it worked.
But Vlad had taken advantage of his exhausted state right after he'd taken down Skulker again. He'd just been closing up the thermos when he was hit from behind by the bastard. Their scuffle was short since Danny was already hurt from the previous fight. Skulker had thrown the boy through a wall and Vlad's attack had only made the injury worse. His back felt like it was on fire. He was pretty sure that his left arm was broken and he ached from head to toe. He might have a concussion too.
None of that would be a problem in the long term since he healed pretty damn fast if the injuries happened in his ghost form. They were a problem now though since he couldn't fight back properly as Vlad snapped a glowing green collar around his neck.
He immediately felt his connection to his ghost powers cut off but also stayed in his Phantom form.
Shit, what was Vlad planning now? He'd been trying to avoid being captured by the mad halfa again since he learned about the cloning. Vlad was insane and he freaked Danny out a lot.
But there wasn't much he could do right now.
"There's a good boy," Vlad chuckled. "Off your game tonight Danny?"
The teenager glared over his shoulder at the man before yelping when his arms were suddenly yanked back, dropping him back to the ground. He ground his teeth together to stop a scream as Vlad roughly cuffed his wrists together, his broken arm flaring with pain. The cuffs must have been designed for ghosts since they felt warm against his wrists. There was no getting out of those unless he changed forms and he was pretty sure that the collar would prevent that. He groaned quietly when Vlad yanked his legs straight to cuff his ankles too. He wouldn't be walking either apparently.
Danny was still dazed when the gag was shoved into his mouth and that brought him back to life. He struggled as Vlad latched the gag in place behind his head, jolting his aching body even more. But it was too late and Vlad pulled back with a satisfied noise. What the hell was he doing? This was different from usual.
Danny groaned softly against the gag stretching his jaw. It also had a green glow and made him feel vaguely sick.
He flinched when Vlad ruffled his hair.
"There we go," he said, voice mocking. "Can't have you interrupting what's about to happen."
Danny twisted to glare at him again but he couldn't help the shiver of fear that ran through him. Something was very wrong right now.
He let out a muffled yelp as Vlad grabbed his hair and dragged him up into a kneeling position. He blinked back tears at the pain, not wanting to give the man the satisfaction.
A flash of light gave away Vlad changing back into his human form which only confused Danny even more. What was the fruitloop doing? He assumed he was being kidnapped again and he knew Jazz would realise something was wrong when he wasn't in his bed in the morning. No one knew where he'd been going or that he'd even been fighting again though. He hadn't wanted to bother his friends since they were stressed over tests too.
No one knew he'd been out fighting tonight. Shit.
The sound of a car engine cut through Danny's rising panic and he squinted at the bright light of headlights as someone pulled up. Was it a van?
The ghost boy's heart dropped when he heard the driver speak.
"Vlad? What's going on? You said it was urgent. Is that Phantom?!"
Danny really started to panic when his mom came into view. What was Vlad doing?!
"It is," Vlad said, sounding serious suddenly. He moved his hand from Danny's hair to hold onto the collar instead. "I wanted to tell you in person, Maddie. You deserve that much and I didn't want to leave you without answers."
Danny watched his mom come closer with a frown on her face. What was Vlad up to and why did he involve his mom?
…was he going to hand over 'Danny Phantom' to her to gain points? For delivering her nemesis? Was Danny going to get vivisected?!
The halfa let out a quiet panicked whine at the thought though he doubted either of them heard past the gag.
"What are you talking about Vlad?" She asked, eyeing Danny warily.
Danny dropped his gaze away from her, as always hurt by the suspicion.
"I'm sorry to tell you Maddie, but Phantom has been impersonating young Daniel for months now."
Danny's eyes widened. What?
"I've got proof. I'm not sure if he's been overshadowed, possessed or completely replaced but I plan to find out. I will do everything I can to save your son Maddie."
Shit. What was Vlad doing?! Shit shit shit!
Danny tried to jerk out of the man's hold but his grip on the collar was firm and the teen only succeeded in half choking himself. Tremors were running through his body now, jarring his injuries. He couldn't focus on that though. He was too terrified suddenly to think of anything except what Vlad was doing.
If Vlad convinced his mom of this then she could lie and no one would know he was missing. She could come up with some other explanation for why he wasn't at home and it could be ages before someone realised something was wrong.
She could also just demand Vlad hand him over for her experiments and with the gag he couldn't even try and convince her. He was completely helpless and couldn't change back or anything.
"What? What are you talking about? Danny hasn't been possessed or replaced. He's my son, I would know if he wasn't my son."
Danny's gaze darted up as Vlad stepped forward to hold out his phone to Maddie. He flinched when a video played and he clearly heard himself declaring that he was going ghost.
He was screwed.
His eyes dropped again and Danny didn't even fight the shivers running through him. Everything was ruined, how was he supposed to salvage this? His mom knew and- and Vlad was twisting the story. He was going to make Maddie hate Danny Phantom even more.
He couldn't blink the tears back this time and they trailed down his cheeks. His parents were going to hate him. His mom would tell his dad and they wouldn't ever listen to him if he tried to explain. They trusted Vlad and they'd always hated Phantom.
What was he supposed to do now? Vlad won. Vlad ruined his chances of going home again. He was going to leave with Danny and do who knew what with his mom's permission. He was-
"What- what is this?" His mom asked weakly and Danny flinched again. "Danny? My Danny and- Phantom?"
"I'm sorry Maddie. I swear I will do my best to save your son from Phantom. I just thought you should know the truth. We can tell everyone that he went to a camp in the meantime. We don't want to worry everyone else."
Danny squeezed his eyes shut as his mom remained silent. This was worse than he thought it would be. Vlad… Vlad won.
There was the sound of his mom's gun charging and Danny braced himself. She must want a shot in before Vlad left with him.
"Maddie?" Vlad sounded shocked.
"Let him go."
Danny's eyes snapped open and up to her in surprise. She was holding out her gun like he thought, but it was aimed at Vlad.
"Maddie-"
"Let. Him. Go."
"I know you're angry Maddie, but I might be able to save him still. Dissecting him should be a final resort."
Her expression twisted with sudden rage.
"Let go of my son Vlad," she snapped.
Danny stopped breathing.
"I know Danny's been pulling away and he's been distant. But I know my son. And it's been my Danny who's been living in my house. My son and not some imitation. He likes sleeping in, he loves the stars and he's got the biggest heart of anyone I've ever met." Her voice was shaking a bit but her gun was steady. "He isn't possessed. He hasn't been replaced. But a lot of things make sense now."
She finally turned her gaze on Danny and met his eyes. They looked so… so pained. He'd never seen his mom like this.
"I don't know how, but my Danny is Phantom. A ghost. But he's still my son. So either you let go of him Vlad or I'll make you."
Danny let out a muffled sob, tears running freely down his face. She didn't hate him? She wasn't going to let Vlad take him? She didn't believe the madman?
She was going to give him a chance to explain everything?
"Maddie-"
She shot Vlad in the chest, the energy blast sending him flying backwards. The movement jerked Danny back as well and he fell over, but he didn't get dragged along with Vlad.
Moments later, gentle hands were pulling him up and Danny looked up at his mother as she cupped his cheek. Her eyes were still pained but her expression was determined.
"It's going to be okay Danny," she promised. "It's going to be okay. We'll figure this out but I will never let anyone hurt you. And I'm so sorry I've been the one to hurt you in the past."
Danny leaned into the touch automatically, still shaking pretty badly. He wasn't sure if this was all a dream or not. Was this really happening?
"Maddie!" Vlad called, tone desperate now. "He's Phantom! You've said before that he manipulates people! All ghosts do!"
She brushed white hair out of Danny's eyes and pressed a kiss to his forehead before standing again.
"I said that because it was the only thing they made sense with the evidence I had," she told Vlad, stepping between the two halfas. "Knowing that my Danny is Phantom? That makes so much more sense. He helps people because that's who he is. Not because he's got another agenda. And if you try and take my son away from me Vlad, we will have a problem."
The man scowled but didn't seem willing to make her any angrier by making an aggressive move.
"You can't tell me that you honestly trust him," he argued.
"Danny being Phantom makes too much sense," she said, voice softer. "It explains most of my lingering questions about Danny's behaviour and things he's said. Last warning Vlad." Her hand was still steady as she pointed the gun at him.
The man glared for a moment, gaze flicking to Danny and back to Maddie a few times. He was probably struggling with his desire to take the younger halfa and his need to please Maddie. Eventually, he backed off and started towards his car.
"I'll be waiting for when you realise your mistake, Maddie," he called.
She scoffed softly and kept her gun trained on him until his car disappeared around the corner down the street. Only then did she relax, holstering her gun and dropping to her knees in front of the tied-up teenager.
"Danny," she gasped, cupping his cheeks again and scowling as she tested the gag. "Baby, are you okay?"
Head still reeling, Danny mutely shook his head. He still wasn't sure if this was all a hallucination from the concussion.
His mom's expression fell and suddenly he found himself gathered into a tight hug. He was still shaking and couldn't help but tuck his face into her neck like he used to do when he was little.
"It's okay, it's okay," she chanted softly. "I'm so sorry that I didn't realise Danny. I'm so sorry for hurting you and for making you believe that you couldn't tell me."
He choked on another sob, not able to properly cry with the gag in the way. He flinched when she started rubbing his back though, letting out a muffled sound of pain when she touched the bruised area.
"Oh! I'm sorry Danny, are you hurt? Did he hurt you?"
Danny hesitated before giving a tiny nod, still hiding his face.
"Why were you out here in this abandoned part of town?" She asked, fingers reaching up to carefully poke at the gag's latch.
This time he reluctantly lifted his head to nod in the direction of where he'd dropped the thermos with Skulker inside.
Her expression softened. "You were stopping a ghost?"
He nodded again, not quite able to look her in the eyes. What if she got upset when green eyes stayed green since he couldn't change back yet?
She pushed his hair back again. "You've just been trying to protect the town and we treated you so terribly," she whispered, guilt twisting her expression.
Determination took over a moment later.
"There should be bolt cutters in the van. I'm just going to get them so that I can cut those chains okay? Something isn't letting me take any of these restraints off and I want to get you home where it's safe, okay?"
He nodded hesitantly and hunched in on himself a little when she moved away. She grabbed up the thermos and hurried to the van before returning with the bolt cutters. Danny knew that the cuffs and gag wouldn't come off while he was in ghost form without a lot of work but he hadn't thought of cutting the chain between them.
He couldn't hold back the quiet sound of pain when his arms were finally released. He held his broken arm close to his body as he watched his mom cut the chain between his ankles as well.
"Can you show me where you're hurt quickly?" She asked gently, gaze flicking down to how he was holding his arm. "I don't want to hurt you by accident Danny."
He hesitated briefly before pointing at his arm and then at his back. The other aches were minor in comparison. After a moment of thought, he also pointed at the side of his head.
Frowning, his mom leaned forward and gently touched the spot he'd pointed at. He flinched and her hand came away wet with green ectoplasm.
Danny froze, staring at her with wide eyes as he waited for her reaction to the substance. Her eyes just turned sadder as she took in his reaction and she wiped her hand on her pants.
"Can you stand baby?"
He nodded quickly. He'd walked with worse.
He was still surprised when she helped him up and took some of his weight before leading him to the van.
"That's it," she murmured, helping him into the passenger seat. "I'm sorry I can't get the gag off yet sweetie."
He shrugged slightly, wincing as it pulled on his back. Those things would have to be cut off unless the collar went first.
His mom looked up at him as she climbed into the driver's seat when he reached up to touch the green metal.
"Vlad put that on you?" She asked, hesitantly reaching out to the collar.
He hunched his shoulders and nodded.
"Is it hurting you?"
He made a so-so motion before hesitating again. He gestured at the cuffs on his wrists and the gag before tugging on the collar.
His mom frowned slightly, fingers brushing the metal.
"Is the collar doing something to keep those in place?" She asked.
He nodded quickly at that.
"Must it come off first?"
He gave another nod of relief. Getting the collar off would solve most of the problems.
"Okay," she nodded, lifting her hand from the metal to brush over his cheek above the gag. "We've got some tools in the lab that should work."
He couldn't help it. He flinched at the mention of the lab and hunched in on himself. His mom's expression twisted with pain again.
"We won't hurt you. I promise Danny."
He looked down at his lap where he was fiddling with the cuff still sitting snug on his left wrist. He was starting to believe that his mom honestly did see past the ghost stuff and still saw him. But what if his dad didn't?
She gently placed a hand over his and squeezed lightly.
"Your father loves you. But I'm just as likely to shoot him as I am anyone else who hurts you."
He hesitantly turned his hand to return the squeeze. He desperately wanted to believe her. She just held his hand for a moment before pulling away and starting the car.
Danny closed his eyes and hoped things were actually going to be okay.