Hello, StarboundMonarchy here! We've had this particular AU in the works for a while, and it's one of our overall favorites. This is just the prologue, but we promise it gets pretty interesting later... as in, pretty much immediately.

Please enjoy the story!

WARNING: Some violence. Insanity. The usual.

Danny was pretty sure things couldn't get much better than this.

For the first time since before the Accident, he felt truly accepted by his friends, his family, and society as a whole. After saving the world from the Disasteroid with a plan to make Earth intangible instead of altering the anti-ghost substance, the vast majority of people gave him public approval. In fact, many cities around the world had apparently made monuments to him, as embarrassing as it was. Amity Park was the only one that had made a huge statue, as far as he knew, but it probably wouldn't be rare to see some sort of plaque in others.

More importantly, in Danny's opinion, his family had accepted him for who and what he was. Of course, even Danny was still uncomfortable talking about it - how do you explain to your parents that you don't know if you're technically alive? - and they had grounded him for two weeks before he was given the opportunity to explain his earlier "villainy," but overall he was relieved to have the support.

And there was another benefit to the entire debacle.

"I'm really glad you got your powers back, Danny. I would've hated to lose your friendship… and our relationship."

Danny smiled and nodded at Sam. A tiny inkling in the back of his mind reminded him that Sam was the only one who said that he would lose anyone's friendship because he wanted to be a normal human, but he quickly brushed the thought away. Sam loved him, and he had never loved a girl more than he did her.

"I don't know what I was thinking, now that it's over," Danny responded, holding his girlfriend close, "I mean, I kind of do? I thought that being normal would get rid of all of the misery that the last year or so has brought…"

Sam raised an eyebrow in warning.

"...But of course, I'm much happier this way! You were right, my powers make me special." the halfa amended hurriedly, not having intended to make her mad.

Danny's girlfriend kissed his cheek lightly, "Of course they do! You wouldn't be the Danny I love so very much without them, you know."

"Oh, I'm sure he isn't, Samantha."

At the sound of the unfortunately familiar voice, Danny and Sam both froze. Then both turned to see the very man no one expected to meet again.

Danny stood from the park bench, baring his teeth in a snarl as his eyes flashed green, "What are you doing back on Earth, Vlad!?"

"That's simple, my dear boy," The older halfa said with a smug grin, a strange glint in his eyes, "I've come for what is rightfully mine. I've returned to take your mother as my queen so we can rule the universe!"

"You're kidding, right?" Danny transformed mid-sentence, rolling his eyes, "You almost destroyed the world, and tried to blackmail everyone into paying you and making you their leader. I mean, c'mon, don't you know that third world countries exist? Besides, people are more likely to follow a person who treats them well… Look around! I did something out of the kindness of my heart, and now I have everything I could have asked for and more."

"That matters not, little badger. You WILL be mine!" Plasmius' grin stretched into something a bit more unsettling, sending a chill up Danny's spine. Was Vlad okay..?

Shaking his head, Danny leapt into the air and charged up a pair of ectoblasts in his hands. "Sam, back me up!"

Sam quickly jumped backwards, reaching towards her wrist and activating her Fenton Wrist Ray, only for it to be blown off by a pink blast from the threat floating above. "Danny! I'm unarmed! You need to handle him yourself!" Sam quickly sprinted away,"Good luck!"

"Wait, WHAT!?" Danny cried out in terror, turning in her direction. In his panic, he momentarily forgot about Vlad, who shifted out of visibility. "Sam, aren't you coming back!? Hey!"

Just before Danny could take off after her, he was knocked to the ground by a fuschia ectoblast to the back.

"OW! Jeez, talk about rude." He complained as he stood up, rubbing the slightly burned area gently.

He looked up towards his nemesis, expecting to see annoyance, but instead saw his face as a mask that reminded Danny forcefully of the murderers from horror films. "V-Vlad?" he shakily asked, "What happened to you?"

"It's Plasmius now!" he hissed, throwing another ectoblast. It hit Danny square in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him.

Vlad took the opportunity to tackle Danny to the ground, grinning all the while; the look on his face was inhuman. It didn't just scare Danny, it terrified him. "W-wait Vlad! No! I-I can help you! Please, I can fix this- you, please!" His words jumbled somewhat unintelligibly as he was scratched by the ghost's razor sharp claws.

Danny let out a scream of pain, "NO!" the burns left by his searing claws were unbearable, "Vlad! Stop please! I can help! We-my family! We can fix you!"

Vlad chuckled darkly, "You cannot fix what was always broken." he whispered the words into Danny's ear with an odd calmness that shook the young hero to his core. He charged up a blast, holding it above Danny's face. "Finally, it's over. Stay still and this won't hurt too much."

Danny closed his eyes and turned his head away, bracing for the impact and searing pain of heated ectoplasm. Instead, an oddly familiar cold washed over him.

"Daniel."

"Clockwork? What am I doing here? Did… did Dan escape or something?"

"Not at all. I merely came to discuss a potential job for you."

"Let me guess: this'll be a lot more complex and involved than it seems, and will probably also have some huge affect on my future."

"Actually, if you accept, this task will change not only your own life, but should also improve many others, provided you succeed."

"I… My family and friends will be alright if I help, right?"

"Yes."

"What do I need to do?"

Word Count: 1021

The next chapter is already typed up, we just need to do a little editing. It'll be up soon, probably!

This is SA and AA13, wishing you a nice day/evening. Thanks for reading!