Chapter Text
Walker clasped his hands behind his back and did his best not to sneer at the lavishly appointed office. Oh, he liked his comforts as well as any ghost - and better access to them was one benefit of being the warden - but there were limits. This was beyond them. This was just decadence, pure and simple, of the kind that invited and thrived off corruption of the highest sort.
“Warden Walker,” purred the very avatar of that decadence from the depths of a high-backed antique plush armchair. “To what do I owe this pleasure? I would have thought that you’d be too busy for a visit like this one, what with your current endeavors in Amity Park.”
“Plasmius,” greeted Walker, briefly, nodding at the man (the ghost, for all that he currently wore a human face). Plasmius’s power was on the same level as his own. He had to be treated with some politeness. “That’s what I’ve come to talk to you about.”
“Oh? How so? Is little Daniel giving you more trouble than you expected?”
This time, Walker did sneer. “‘Little Daniel’ is living in a house with people who publicly discuss exactly how they’re going to cut him up, assuming they ever catch him.”
“Jack is something of a boar,” said Plasmius with a little shrug. “Can I offer you anything to drink? Tea? Or, I suppose, you’d be one for something harder. Whiskey?”
“This goes beyond being a ‘boar,’” said Walker. He held back a snarl. He had come to ask for Plasmius’s assistance, no matter how much he hated everything from the man’s smirk to his too-cultured accent. “They’re a danger to the punk. Hell, they’re probably why the punk’s a punk in the first place. He’s got to be removed. Before they do real damage.”
Plasmius rolled his eyes. Really rolled them. In that face, he actually had irises and pupils. Creepy. “What do you think I’ve been trying to do? I’ve made overtures to the boy, he’s refused them.”
Walker had expected as much.
“He simply doesn’t know what’s good for him,” continued Plasmius, reaching for the tea service on his desk and filling up a cup. “I’ve offered training, protection, a place for dear Maddie, of course, and escape from–”
“The mother is part of the problem,” interrupted Walker.
“That’s just Jack’s negative influence. Away from him, she’d surely come around.”
Another reason Walker hated Plasmius: he was delusional. But, again, Walker needed his help, and, honestly, his relationship with the mother didn’t matter.
“Be that as it may,” said Walker, “the punk - Phantom - can’t stay with either of them.”
“And what do you intend to do about it? I know all about his little jailbreak. You can’t hold him any more than I, let alone reeducate him.” Plasmius leaned forward ever so slightly, true red glinting in the depth of shallow blue eyes. “Perhaps you have a plan. One you can’t accomplish without a little help from me, of all people.” He said the last with an air of false modesty that made Walker grind his teeth.
“There’s an alternative,” said Walker. “Have you ever heard of the Finishing School?”
Plasmius put his cup down, folding his hands on the surface of his desk. “I'm listening.”
.
Danny rubbed his eyes. He hadn’t been sleeping well recently. He wasn’t sure anyone was sleeping well right now, honestly. Ghost invasions tended to preempt that, he guessed.
But, somehow, Danny didn’t think anyone else was tired enough that they were swallowing their cutlery. He phased his hand through his stomach and pulled the spork out. He scowled at it.
“Danny,” said Sam, “you okay?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?” he asked. “Just because the town is on high alert, my parents are at school with weapons of ghost destruction, and there are about a million ghosts who hate my guts overshadowing people?”
“Um,” said Sam, “yeah, actually? Also, your eyebags look like they have eyebags.”
Danny started to answer, but then his ghost sense went off. “Oh no,” he said. “Here? Again?”
“But we’re under your parents’ ghost shield,” said Tucker. “Where could the ghost be?”
The GAV exploded. Danny pushed Sam and Tucker down, phasing them through the table. “There,” said Danny. Under the table, he transformed, then leapt out, scanning the area, trying to see what ghosts were around.
The wolf-like ghost. A bunch of Walker’s goons. That shark-like guy. And–
Walker. Standing tall and ghostly white on top of the wreckage of the GAV, hands clasped behind his back, feet shoulder-length apart.
Danny’s eyes narrowed. The odds weren’t what he would call good, but maybe, just maybe, if he could take out Walker, he could end this.
He launched himself into the air, zipping towards Walker, then pulling up short. “Hey, Walker, what’s your problem, can’t catch one little rulebreaker without an entire army?”
“Punk,” said Walker. “You think I can’t catch you?”
“You haven’t yet!” Danny started pulling away. He didn’t want to have this fight here, next to the school. If he could just get Walker to follow him–
Walker swelled in size until he was easily three stories tall, if not more. Oh. Right. Danny had forgotten Walker could do that.
He dodged the sweeping hand and shot out, away, towards the football field. That was still too close to other people, but it was better than here. It would buy him time.
Maybe. Walker wasn't flying, but his strides were massive. On the other hand, his blind spots would be, too. If he could avoid the goons, he might have a chance attacking one of them.
But there were goons, armed with those weird ghostly guns that shot handcuffs, ropes, and sticky globs of ectoplasm, and his parents really weren't helping, shooting at everything that moved. Which, of course, included him. So, he had to keep an eye on them, too.
Which was how he saw it, the giant bazooka blast that came straight for him, and how he knew he couldn’t dodge it, not at this angle, not with all the goons shooting, too. If he dodged, he'd get hit by something immobilizing. He couldn’t afford to get hit by something immobilizing. Not when one of Walker's minions could open portals. Even if he was down for just a single second, they'd just drop him in one to the prison and–
Walker caught the blast on the back of his hand, then shook it out, grimacing. Wait, what? Why?
A volley from a new line of goons overhead forced Danny closer to the ground before he could even start to puzzle out Walker's motives. He really must've gone all out with this attack. The sky was almost green with ghosts, practically buzzing with ecto-energy.
And then, ghosts started to stream out of the ground. Danny had enough time to react, enough time to fend off the first few attacks, but not enough time to really recognize who was attacking him, before a terribly familiar pulse of electricity ran through his body, and he was falling, his transformation vanishing and his powers abandoning him.
Tumbling through the air, powers gone, nothing near enough to catch, was terrifying. But he didn’t tumble long. Vlad caught him, pinning his arms to his side. He reached for his ghost half, but it was out of reach, like when he’d been in Vlad’s spectral energy neutralizer box thing. Had Vlad miniaturized it?
More importantly– “You’re working with Walker now?”
“More the opposite, little badger,” said Vlad.
Danny tried to kick Vlad in the shins or smash in his nose with the back of his head, but Vlad just laughed and went intangible. He landed on the football field, still holding Danny firmly, as Walker shrunk down to human-sized and stalked forward.
“Get him on the ground so I can cuff him,” said Walker, gruffly.
“Stay away from me,” said Danny, kicking out. It didn’t help.
“A moment,” said Vlad. “I haven’t tested the Plasmius Maximus extensively, I don’t know how long it will last.”
A Vlad duplicate - or maybe the real Vlad - appeared in front of him, holding a black and green metal ring, one that looked far too much like the spectral energy neutralizer.
Hands grabbed Danny’s head, tilting it back and exposing Danny’s neck. Vlad came forward with the ring and pulled it open before closing it again - this time around Danny’s neck. It sat nearly flush against Danny’s skin and felt tingly, electric. It made Danny feel dizzy, like he wasn’t getting enough air.
And then, Danny was pressed face-down into the turf. Walker pulled Danny’s arms behind his back, then fired one of the handcuff weapons. Two cuffs, tingly in a different way, cinched tight around his wrists. A second shot, and his ankles were also cuffed together. A third discharge, and glowing green ropes wrapped around Danny.
He felt fear prickle up his spine. They really weren’t taking any chances. And - Where were his parents? He tried to look around, to spot them, but all he could see was Vlad’s feet and the tails of Walker’s goons.
Walker hauled him up into the air by the ropes and Danny shrieked and thrashed.
“Have some decorum, Daniel,” said Vlad.
Walker gave him a sharp look, then said, “We’ve got what we came for. Let’s clear out.” He frowned at Danny. “Thought you’d be happy, punk. Not much point making this town a prison for you if you ain’t here.”
“Isn’t ain’t against the rules?” He was making jokes, but honestly… This was a really bad situation. For him. If Walker really was leaving Amity Park alone, if he’d just wanted Danny… A complicated feeling swirled in Danny’s chest.
Walker laughed. “If you weren’t such a rulebreaker, I think I’d like you, punk.”
The wolf-like ghost and the shark-goon landed. Walker turned towards them. “Open a portal home, Wulf. It’s time to take the punk to school.”