Written for the Phic Phight 2019. The prompt by Lynse was: The Wisconsin Ghost. Plasmius. Whatever name they call him, Maddie has him captured now.

These are first uploaded on Tumblr, and they've been up on AO3 for a few days as well since I wasn't sure how to deal with them here. On AO3 all my entries are linked in a series, but those don't exist here. But they're also too long to conveniently upload as chapters in one work so, eh.

As always, I deeply appreciate feedback and critiques! English isn't my first language and sometimes that trips up my brain. Non-language related feedback is also welcome, of course!

With a whirring sound, the Thermos emptied its contents into a ghost-proof cell. Three of its walls, as well as the ceiling and the floor, were made out of shiny steel. The remaining wall, facing the lab itself, was made out of extremely strong glass. The entire cell was ghost-proof, with a ghost shield covering the lab itself – just in case the ghost somehow got through the walls of its cell. It had been designed to hold Phantom.

The ghost that was now dumped into it, however, was not him.

Grumbling, the masculine specter pushed himself off of the floor. He dryly dusted off his clothes, not even looking at his captor as he started complaining. "My boy, did you really have to resort to-"

Then he fell silent, as he had caught sight of her. Apparently he had expected someone else.

She quirked a challenging eyebrow at him, not that he could see it. Her hood was up, the goggles covering her eyes. "Disappointed?"

"Hardly," the ghost immediately answered, his empty red eyes narrowing. "Simply… surprised."

He got over his shock quickly, however, and glanced past her. Inspecting his environment, most likely. Looking for a way out.

"You're not getting out of this cell." She crossed her arms, staring him down. "It was designed for Phantom, so it will do perfectly well to hold you, too."

This seemed to have offended the vampiric ghost. "Excuse me?" he said, tone incredulous. "Are you implying that Daniel is stronger than me?"

Daniel? He must be referring to Phantom, based on the context, but she had never heard anybody refer to the ghost as Daniel. Although he did call himself Danny Phantom sometimes – Daniel must be his full first name.

It was an interesting bit of information, and she quickly stored it away. If Daniel really was Phantom's first name, it would help them track down the ghost's former identity.

She ignored the fact that the ghost shared a name with her son. It would do her no good to dwell on such a thing. Besides, Phantom was Phantom – he never used his first name anyway. And neither did the ghost hunters.

But this raised an interesting possibility. This ghost, the so-called Wisconsin Ghost, apparently knew details about ghosts they didn't know. Even before subjecting him to more in-depth research, he could form a brilliant source of information. She could always proceed to the more… damaging… procedures afterwards.

More to the point, however… "I know that Phantom is stronger than you."

The ghost narrowed his eyes even further, lip curling up in a sneer and revealing his fangs. "Ha! So he wishes."

Maddie rolled her eyes at the insistence. All ghosts were stubborn to a fault and believed themselves to be the best – that's why they were so prone to fighting. They all came to take on Phantom over and over again, believing themselves capable of beating him.

The Wisconsin Ghost, admittedly, was a pretty close match for Phantom. Or, he was a close match to some of Phantom's older data. At his current level of strength, Phantom far outmatched the vampiric ghost.

"Stronger than him or not," Maddie said, deciding to humor the ghost, "You're not getting out of this cell alone."

Now that she was no longer ruffling his feathers, the Wisconsin Ghost relaxed a little. His sneer transformed into something of a smirk. "Who said anything about me getting out alone?"

Ah, a rare ghost with enough intelligence to create and maintain allies. Or, more likely, minions. This just proved the dangerous nature of the Wisconsin Ghost – and raised another question. If he had any kind of back-up, why was he always seen alone?

"Yeah? Where were these allies of yours when you were fighting Phantom?" Staying out of it, most likely. His minions either weren't inclined to fight Phantom, and thus wouldn't be much of a challenge for her to fight off – or he instructed them to stay out of it. Actually, based on the fact that he genuinely believed himself to be stronger than Phantom, this last one was quite likely.

But the ghost flapped a dismissive hand, looking like he would've liked to roll his eyes. "Please, like I need help to defeat Daniel."

Once again, he insisted on being the stronger of the two. And again, he referred to Phantom by his supposed first name. Did the Wisconsin Ghost know Phantom? The two were rarely seen together, as the Wisconsin Ghost was a rare sight in the city, but admittedly the vampiric ghost was never seen without Phantom nearby.

Not that these petty squabbles mattered to her. The only reason she was hearing him out was in the hopes of learning more about ghosts, and specifically Phantom, from this one. And knowing how to annoy him, which buttons to press… Well, that could be useful information.

She turned her back to the ghost, walking further into the lab. Shrugging loosely, she answered the ghost. "It didn't look like you were winning."

No answer came. When she looked over her shoulder, the ghost had crossed his arms and turned away from her. The surprisingly childish response drew a laugh from her.

"Ah, and so the big and powerful Wisconsin Ghost sulks in the corner. Truly a terrifying force of nature."

Whirling back around, the ghost snarled, once more baring his fangs. "What did you just call me?"

"The Wisconsin Ghost." She offered him a cheeky smile. "It's not like we know your name, after all."

The aggression seeped from the ghost again as a weary sigh escaped from his lips. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he muttered a reply. "Which was the oaf's idea, I'm sure."

Was the ghost insulting her husband? Unbelievable. It reminded her, bizarrely, of Vlad Masters.

It was also definitely something she wouldn't let the ghost get away with.

"Actually," she said, her tone a little too cheery, "It was my idea. We first encountered you in Wisconsin, after all."

The ghost looked at her with something akin to horror. Then he cleared his throat, glancing away from her for a moment. When he looked back, he seemed to have composed himself again.

"Yes, well. As nice as your reasoning is, I would prefer if you could call me by my chosen name; Vlad Plasmius."

And there was another similarity to her old college friend. What was it with these ghosts and having first names that coincided with people she knew?

"Plasmius then." She nodded towards the ghost, then turned away from him to walk towards one of the tables in the lab. "It doesn't change that you won't get out of that cell."

"Perhaps not," the ghost concurred. "You are quite the capable ghost hunter, Madeline. If you say I can't get out of this cage alone, I'm inclined to believe you."

How did the Wisconsin Ghost – Plasmius, whatever – know her name? More importantly, however… what was it trying to accomplish by complimenting her? Was he hoping that she would release him if he got into her good graces? He would have a better shot at that if he told her something useful.

Not that she would let him go, but still.

"Yet you seem very calm, for a ghost caught by a ghost hunter and with no escape available to him." She spared a glance over her shoulder as she fiddled with an invention. Plasmius was eyeing her in turn, arms loosely crossed.

Seeing that she was looking at him, he shrugged in response. "Oh, I have no intention of staying here, dear Maddie. But you said I couldn't get out without help, so I am waiting for him to arrive."

So he was expecting a ghost to come to his aid. And just a single one, by the sounds of it. Perhaps she could get him to tell her more about this ghost, so she could capture him as well. Use Plasmius as bait for whichever ghost he had managed to recruit.

"Is that so?" she questioned, turning her attention back to the invention. If she could make sure it worked, catching the allied ghost would be a cinch. "It must be quite the ghost you've allied yourself with, if you're expecting him to succeed where you failed."

"Quite so," Plasmius growled. Then, with a calmer voice, he continued, "Daniel is quite the escape artist."

Daniel? Isn't that what he called Phantom? But why would the teenage ghost show up if they had been fighting just before? Surely they weren't allied?

Unless… Unless her theories were true. Phantom was inviting other ghosts into Amity Park, just so he could beat them up and come across as a hero. If Phantom was the reason why Plasmius was here, then of course the vampiric ghost would expect the other to come free him. Even if not out of true sympathy, the faux-hero couldn't risk Plasmius revealing his plans.

"Is that so?" She made sure to sound disinterested. The ghost, for some reason, seemed to care about her opinion of him. Maybe she could tempt him into revealing more.

"Indeed. Surely you've noticed how troublesome he is to capture, let alone hold?" She had, of course. Phantom continued to be an elusive target.

More curiously, however… why did Plasmius care? Was he truly this invested in the other ghost? Or… had they previously gone through genuine fights? If so, how had they ended up as allies?

Or, if they weren't actually allies, why was Plasmius expecting Phantom to come save him? And likely soon, too, as he didn't seem worried about the possibility that she might start experimenting on him before the other ghost showed up.

"And you're expecting him to apply this to you as well?" She ran her fingers over the gadget in her hands, pressing a button on its side. It lit up, the bar on its side glowing bright green to indicate its full charge. If Phantom really did show up, she would only have one shot at this. To take down Phantom or Plasmius, she needed a full charge. If she missed, she could not try again.

"Oh, I know he will. Little badger is too much of a hero," he bit out the word with venom, "to leave me to my fate."

Now that was an interesting implication. Plasmius was suggesting that he and Phantom weren't allied at all. Instead he was playing along with Phantom's heroic act – was he still acting? Was he afraid that Phantom would leave him if he couldn't prove that he hadn't revealed their secret plot?

And what kind of nickname was little badger? Honestly. You would think that a ghost would spend a little more of their eternal lifetime on coming up with good names for each other.

Maddie turned to face the ghost again, leaning back against the table. One hand, she kept on the invention. Plasmius didn't need to see it. "I take it you don't agree with his 'heroic' nature?" she asked, conversationally.

Plasmius raised a single eyebrow at her. "Maddie, dear, what I think of his nature doesn't matter. I know for a fact that you don't believe him to be a hero anyway."

She repressed the urge to grimace at the ghost's insistent use of the word 'dear' to refer to her. It reminded her far too much of the slimy man Vlad Masters had become. And it was far, far more uncomfortable in the mouth of a ghost.

"Maybe I'm just interested in the perspective of another." She cocked her head. "In the perspective of a ghost."

Plasmius shook his head dismissively. "Don't take me for a fool. You have no interest in ghosts beyond how we function. What we think of one another matters not."

Narrowing her eyes at the ghost, Maddie ran her fingers along the edge of the trigger button. The motion was soothing, a reminder that she was in control. "Clever, but wrong. Knowing what ghosts think of one another is, or could be, crucial knowledge. Knowing why you insist that Phantom will come and save you despite being his enemy…"

She trailed off, hoping that Plasmius would answer her unasked question.

The echoing voice that answered, however, came from the other side of the lab.

"Well, that's easy," the teenager said, remaining invisible. "This is a fate I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy."

Unbelievable. Phantom had actually shown up, in the lab of a ghost hunter, to save another ghost. A supposed enemy ghost. How stupid was he?

"Took you long enough," Plasmius grumbled, stepping away from the glass that separated his cell from the lab. Maddie was curious to see how the ghosts planned on getting through it – she and Jack had designed it to withstand the strongest ecto-rays imaginable.

But Phantom remained invisible, didn't even deign to reply to Plasmius. Maddie's hand closed around her invention, but she couldn't use it if Phantom remained unseen. Worst came to worst, she might have to use it to recapture Plasmius.

If Phantom could bust him out, that is.

Suddenly she realized that the glass of Plasmius' cell had fogged up. No, not fog. It was frost which covered the glass, clouding her image of the captured ghost.

Then with a sharp crack, the glass shattered. Plasmius, one hand lit with pink flames, floated out. He became see-through as he turned intangible for a short moment, letting small shards of glass fall through him.

He eyed Maddie, contemplative. But he seemed to decide that she was no threat (and how dare he!) and turned to face an empty spot to his side. "Cleverly done, Daniel. I see I've been underestimating you and your uncanny ability to escape from traps."

Phantom scoffed, becoming visible right where Plasmius had been looking. "You're always underestimating me, you patronizing ass." Was that a swear? Phantom never swore – it would break his heroic facade. At the very least, it would hurt his child-friendly act. "Now fuck off, I have better things to do than fight you. Again."

This seemed to have offended the other ghost. Plasmius crossed his arms and narrowed his red eyes, turning even further away from Maddie. Now neither of the ghosts were looking at her. "Daniel, Daniel, Daniel…" he tutted, shaking his head slightly. "Must I remind you that it is your choice to fight me? I've offered you, time after time, to work together."

"Yeah, no. You've offered me to become your evil apprentice." Were they still acting for her sake, or was this genuine? Either way, Maddie was drinking up the details for a later moment… and getting ready to fire her invention. She just had to pick a target. Phantom was the more desirable prey, but Plasmius had already proven a valuable source of information. That, and he was good bait for Phantom.

Said ghost squared his shoulders, the glow around him brightening. "And not only that, but you were asking me to betray my family to join you!" He shoved the other ghost. Maddie blinked in surprise at the strangely non-violent response. That, and the information that not only did these two ghosts know each other, Plasmius was also familiar enough with Phantom to know about his family.

That, and Phantom himself still knew his family. Most ghosts would forget such details on death, and they certainly wouldn't care about them anymore.

Now Plasmius was the one who scoffed, slapping away Phantom's hand. "No, dear boy. I only asked you to betray your father, the stupid oaf."

Phantom growled, his fists lighting up green. "This is your last chance, Plasmius. Leave now or I'll make you."

A sound like an explosion, and suddenly Phantom flew backwards and against the far wall of the lab. The ghost crumpled to the ground with a groan.

Plasmius stood tall, pink ectoplasm swirling around his fist. "Make me, then," he said, dismissively.

Were they really going to fight in the lab? It sure looked like it. And that… wasn't good. There were too many prototype inventions at risk here. That, and if they caused too much damage, the whole house might come down. No one else was home, thankfully, but she was. If the house collapsed, she would likely be crushed to death.

Suddenly she remembered that the entire lab was covered by a ghost shield. How had Phantom even come in? Would they be able to get out?

Another explosion snapped her out of her thoughts. Right. Focus on the two brawling ghosts, then figure out everything else.

Plasmius and Phantom were now floating in the upper airspace of the lab. Both had their fists lit up, the green and pink casting strange lighting all over the lab. They seemed to be having some sort of stand-off.

Maddie lifted her invention, taking aim at Phantom. He was the preferred target. Plasmius was a consolation prize last time, and he wasn't much more appealing now.

Before she could shoot, however, Plasmius struck. Phantom was blown backwards and into the wall.

Again.

The ghost didn't get up immediately. Did Plasmius take him out?

Either way, Maddie switched her attention to the remaining ghost. Phantom, even if he wasn't knocked out, was significantly weakened. He would be an easy catch.

Plasmius, on the other hand, seemed to be mostly fine.

A devilish grin spread on her face. She took aim. Plasmius wasn't looking at her at all, and his chest – the location of his vulnerable core – was exposed. It was an easy shot.

She fired.

The ghost shrieked, immediately dropping down onto the floor. He landed on both his feet, stumbling but not falling. Both black-gloved hands clawed at his chest – the taser-like darts were still stuck. The ghost pulled them out – using brute strength instead of intangibility, another detail that implied that the weapon had functioned as it was supposed to.

A sound like shifting rubble alerted her to Phantom's reappearance. She whirled around, suddenly very aware of the fact that she wasn't carrying any other weapons. She silently cursed her lack of foresight – she had been too focused on the experimental machine to remember that she might need another weapon.

Phantom hovered in front of the wall he had freed himself from. His eyes were shifting between Plasmius and her. His face, strangely expressive for a ghost who couldn't feel emotion, clearly displayed one thing: horror.

"What did you do?" he asked, appalled.

Maddie considered putting down the invention. Then she realized that Phantom wouldn't know that it was out of charge. He would think it could do the same to him. She aimed it at him and prayed he wouldn't call her bluff. "Disabled his powers," she answered, grinning wide – all teeth and no humor. "Want to try too?"

Phantom's eyes widened, and he looked past her at Plasmius. Then he mutely shook his head and faded out of visibility.

She waited another moment or two for him to reappear. When he didn't, she turned back to Plasmius.

The ghost had collapsed onto his knees while Phantom had distracted her. He was curled in on himself despite his mostly upright position, his back curved and his head turned downward so she couldn't see his face. Perhaps he was hiding his vulnerability?

Suddenly the ghost's aura flared, and Maddie threw up an arm instinctively to protect her eyes. A bright flash lit up the entire lab, and she found herself blinking away black dots. Plasmius shouldn't have had access to his powers anymore. Had he attempted some sort of failed last stand with the last shreds of his power?

She lowered her arm to look at the ghost.

And blinking back at her, dark blue eyes blown wide, was Vlad Masters.