"Whump"tober 2021

#25) Cat and Mouse- DP

Prompt #25- Hide and Seek. Danny Phantom S2 "Kindred Spirits" slight AU where Sam and Tucker don't get to Vlad's hiding place as fast as depicted... 

Danny braced himself on all fours, tremors wracking his body. Through blurry vision he saw Vlad rise. What remained of Danny's breath caught in his throat. The ghostly wail had taken everything he had- and then some. If that didn't stop Vlad...

Danny's gaze slid to the broken containment holds along the wall. He shuddered involuntarily, as much from the lingering effects of the electricity as well as the memory of it. Danny couldn't face it. Not again. The mode of his half death pierced him to his core more than any other torture any ghost- or ghost hunter- could dole out.

A feral growl pierced Danny's thoughts. Vlad stalked toward him, murder written in his eyes.

"You will pay dearly for this insolence, Daniel."

Hysteria bubbled within Danny. So it was 'insolent' to try and escape a psychopath who'd literally just tortured him and was playing God with his DNA?

A flash of black and silver blocked Danny's vision. "Leave him alone!"

"Da-ni, no." He rasped. She needed to get out of here while she still could.

"You lied and manipulated me so you could hurt Danny!"

Green light flared at the edges of Danny's vision. He sucked in a deep breath, willing his body to recover. Bit by bit he could feel his core gaining energy from the natural ectoplasm in the air, but it wasn't fast enough. Dani didn't have long before her body began to break down from the use of her powers. If she were hurt (worse) and/or dissolved because she tried to defend him... that was something Danny would never be able to forgive himself for.

Gathering what strength he could, Danny gripped Dani's ankle and willed her to be invisible and intangible. With a yelp, she vanished and fell through the floorboards.

Vlad curled his lip, rings shot over him as he took his Plasmius form. "Just as well. I do believe we have some unfinished business, you and I."

An ecto blast sent Danny flying backward before he even saw it fired. Air rushed from his lungs and his head throbbed in time with his side. Dark circles filled Danny's vision. Several frantic blinks chased them away, but everything remained blurry.

"You can't win. You've given everything for that clone, it's only right you finish the job for my other clones."

Gritting his teeth, Danny swung his arm up and shot a blast at Vlad's face. Vlad cried out, his hands flying to his face. Quickly Danny transformed, phasing through the wall at his back.

Dirt surrounded Danny. He floundered upward, landing on the grass with a pained gasp. But he didn't have time to stop. Acutely aware how little distance he'd made between him and the lab, Danny forced himself upright.

Fire seared through his side. Looking down, Danny realized for the first time Vlad's blast left an open wound. Danny clenched his hand tight against the hole in his abdomen. Sickly green ectoplasm oozed between his fingers, falling to the ground. Cursing under his breath, Danny could do nothing about the trail other than try to keep moving.

Not like it would keep him ahead of Vlad for very long.

With a deep breath Danny coaxed his body off the ground. He floated a few inches above the grass, inching his way into the woods. If only he could find somewhere to hide for a bit, reclaim some of his strength. Another confrontation now with Vlad could very well be his last. Shaking, Danny forced the images of the failed clones out of his mind. To essentially see himself dissolve into ectoplasmic goo... What little remained of Danny's stomach threatened to reappear.

Vlad was a psycho. A creepy, narcissistic, megalomaniac. But unfortunately one with resources and knowledge to put up a good fight. Given how many times Danny defied Vlad's demands, Danny knew Vlad would be all too happy to condemn him to a life as a lab rat. Ironic how Danny's parents also wanted that, though they didn't have the full picture of who Danny was like Vlad did. Would they act like Vlad if they...?

'No.' Danny grit his teeth. As eccentric- and often embarrassing- as his parents were, Danny knew they loved him. He would not allow Vlad to twist that like he had so many other aspects of Danny's life.

"Little Badger-" Speak of the devil. Literally. Danny forced himself invisible. "-I don't have time for this. We both know it's pointless for you to try and play your hero game. I hold all the cards here. Come out and make this easier on yourself."

Hard core no thank you. Danny inhaled sharply, body shaking with the exertion to stay afloat and invisible. More of his blood dripped off his fingers, turning a vibrant green as it left his hand.

Trying to ignore Vlad, Danny tried to put more speed into his flight. He didn't have a destination in mind- didn't even know what state Vlad had brought him to- just that he needed to put more distance between himself and the wackadoodle on his tail.

'Now would be a great time for Sam and Tucker to swoop in.' Danny's toes brushed the grass. 'No! Come on, come on!' Instead of heeding his plea, Danny's ecto reserves snapped. His transformation dropped and gravity took over. He blacked out before even hitting the ground.

It could have been anywhere from seconds to hours when Danny forced his eyes open. Green leaves danced just above his nose. Too exhausted to try moving, Danny looked around. He'd somehow rolled or fallen under a clump of bushes. Sunlight danced between the leaves, hopefully of the same afternoon it had been when Danny collapsed.

Lying still, he tried to hone in on the sounds around him. Wind moved softly through the leaves, a few birds chirped, his own breathing echoed harshly in his ears, but no sounds of pursuit. Danny contemplated continuing his run. He braced himself to sit upright, but his torso loudly protested.

'Okay, nope.' Danny's hand trailed his side. The blood had congealed, which was good. He couldn't tell how much had healed by touch alone, but he didn't think it felt as deep. Not anywhere close to fighting fit though.

Danny let his hand fall to the ground. For better or worse, he'd have to wait until Vlad forced him to move, or he had enough strength to move of his own volition. Hopefully Dani had made it out safely. Danny's core flared weakly at the thought of her caught in Vlad's warpath, but even his obsession couldn't give the energy needed to do anything about it.

'She'll be safe- from Vlad at least.' Danny tried to assure himself. With Vlad focused on chasing Danny for his DNA, another seemingly failed clone wouldn't be of any concern to Vlad at the moment. That logic was enough for Danny's obsession to be sated.

Pinpricks of light swirled across Danny's vision in a hypnotic dance. He tried to follow the movements, but it quickly became too much effort to keep his eyes open. 'Just- just a little rest. Vlad prob-probably isn't... around here if he hasn't... found me yet. Then I can... I can get home...' Despite the danger, Danny found himself letting go. Just as he surrendered completely to exhaustion, Danny thought he heard the rumble of an engine- an engine that sounded just like the Specter Speeder...