Full Summary: Another horrible summer is in Danny's future as he's forced to stay at Vlad Master's mansion for two weeks. Things seem to get worse when Vlad takes Danny all the way to Ecuador this time to visit an uncle, but nothing is as it seems. Danny's given plenty of freedom, Vlad's uncle is a likable guy, and Vlad himself seems to be in a kinder mood this go around. Danny starts to wonder if his hatred toward Vlad is just an immature emotion or if he's getting played. He'll have to find out quickly because not even the jungles of Ecuador can hide a man's secrets for long.

A/N: Alright, so after months of my writing laying dormant because of lack of time to write while in college, I realized with sudden horror that my writing skills worsened with the lack of use. So, after sharing my lament with my friend, MutantLover09, she gave me the brilliant idea to start up again on a fan fiction that I like. After some brainstorming, I finally settled on the idea of a Powerless sequel. So, all of you who begged for a sequel, thank MutantLover09...'cause she's awesome and stuff!

Anyways, I'm still not sure of a set plot for this fic. I know some of what I want to do and some plot points, but most things are pretty fuzzy. So bear with me if things get weird because I might let my imagination go wild on this one.

I would like to add that this sequel takes place a year after Powerless. So he's about 16. It's before Phantom Planet, though. So his parents still don't know about his ghost powers and all that jazz. Just thought I needed to clarify that before we start.

UPDATE: To new and old readers alike, I'm proud to announce that I finally published my first book! For more info on it and to find out where to buy it, just check out my profile page. There's also links there to the Facebook and tumblr pages where you can see sketches of the characters and get more info about the series. Go check it out! Thanks!

And without further ado, I give you the sequel to Powerless! Enjoy and review!

Disclaimer: Oh, wow. I don't miss these things. Yeah, I don't any of the Danny Phantom characters. That all belongs to Butch Hartman and Nickelodeon and crap.

Incommunicado

Written By: Pixiegirl13

Chapter 1 Into the Shark Tank I Go!

Evil. They were wicked, sick, vile. Every form of the word you could possibly think of was what my parents were that very moment. It was like they were dangling my helpless body out over a tank or hungry sharks and about to cut the rope that was the only thing in the world keeping me out of harms way. You know how bad that feeling is? It's a feeling that sticks to you, infests your very senses until the point that even the taste in your mouth is a queasy tang. You just can't get rid of it.

As I stared up at the immense stone structure of Vlad Master's great mansion, that taste was coming back with a vengeance. It created a knot inside my stomach the more my narrowed stare took in the perfectly trimmed hedges, the marble front steps, and even the lame castle-like green flag flapping in the breeze up on the top peak of the looming building.

I couldn't believe this was going to be my home for the next two weeks.

"Don't just stand there pouting all day, Danny," Mom scorned me with a disapproving tone as she slipped out of the RV's passenger seat. "Help your dad get the rest of your things from the back. Come on now."

I just couldn't do this. I couldn't allow myself to walk willingly through that front door. Desperately, I groped for different strategies inside my head. Finding one that seemed legit enough in my time of dire need, I said to my mom, "Please, mom, do I have to do this? Why can't I just stay home? I'm 16! I can take care of myself! Please!" I wished I had Jazz's puppy-dog-pout eyes then. They would have come in handy for all the begging and pleading I was doing. Too bad she had already left to preview at a university the night before.

"We've been through this," mom told me, sounding flustered from all my whining. "Vlad invited you to stay with him. We can't turn him down now."

"Yes we can!" I said. Like a leech not ready to give up on its host, I followed my mom around the car, saying in a rush, "We haven't rung the doorbell yet. He doesn't know we're even here! We can just pack up things right now. You can leave me off at a bus stop along the way. I can find my way back home while you guys go ahead and drive to your vacation."

"It's not a vacation, Danny," she said, now annoyed with me and my pestering. "It's work. There are ghosts to catch, and you are not coming along for the ride."

"You're driving to Florida," I scoffed with a roll of my eyes. Who was she kidding? "Florida beaches, to be exact. How many ghosts do you think you'll find there?"

"That's none of your business," she said tersely. She slung a duffle bag out of the trunk and shoved it into my unwelcome arms, saying sternly, "And we're done arguing about this. The next thing that come out of your mouth better be something other than complaining or we're leaving you with Vlad for more than the alloted time. Got that, mister?"

"Got what?" my dad asked, confused. He had just stumbled into the conversation as he had joined us at the back of the RV. As he got my suitcase out he looked back and forth between mom and I before asking slowly, "And why is everyone frowning at me? Did I do something wrong?"

"No, sweetie," mom sighed. She gave a tired smile to dad. "You're fine. Danny's still upset about being sent here. That's all."

"Why?" dad asked, the surprise evident in his shocked voice and his wide eyed stare. "Vladdy is the best friend I've ever had! He's going to take great care of you, Danny. Just like last summer. Don't you worry!"

"Yeah. Sure. Let's just get this other with," I muttered. I didn't even try to hide my resentment. The battle was lost. Not worth the effort to fight anymore. I needed to conserve my energy for Vlad.

"That's the spirit, Danny!" dad extolled me with a fatherly slap on the back. He was never the one to take a hint. Actually, he wasn't good at catching the meaning even if it was written on a billboard. That's dad for you.

Dragging my feet the entire way, my parents and I made our trip up the elaborate staircase to the front door. I watched on with dread as my dad rung the doorbell and we waited for the inevitable. My stomach churned. The sick taste in my mouth came back to torture my taste buds. I found myself white-knuckle-gripping the strap to my duffle bag. I'd give anything to turn ghost and fly out of there.

Then, suddenly, the door was swinging open. Vlad Masters appeared before us looking as classy gentleman as ever. His calm but powerful demeanor exuded confidence. The knowing smirk he wore looked like it was put there just to irk me. It was his eyes that lightly landed on mine that got me, though. Icy spiders raced up my spine at the cold connection. I repressed the sensation. I would show no fear.

"Jack...Maddie!" the millionaire and mayor of Amity Park said, welcoming my parents with pretense hospitality. "I'm so glad you could make it," he said, looking at my mom the entire time. You know that puke sensation I had been feeling? Oh yeah. It was real now.

"You were along the way, Vladdy," dad said, roughly slapping Vlad on the shoulder.

"No it wasn't," I growled, still pissed I had to do this. "This house is like six hours off your course." Mom glared at me. Dad looked even more confused. Vlad grinned. Instantly, guilt picked at my insides. Jeez, did I have to be so jerky? Still, wasn't like I was apologizing. Maybe if I was difficult enough they would change their minds. It was a lame hope, but it was the only hope I had at this point.

"Ah, Danny. As spunky as ever, I see," Vlad said, ruffling my hair with a hand as if we were old friends. I shot him one of more lethal death glares. Spunky? Seriously? What was I? A hamster?

"I'm sorry, Vlad," my mom apologized for me. "Danny is a bit testy. He really wanted to spend this time with his friends. He'll be fine after we leave, though, just you watch."

"Oh, I'm sure, Maddie," Vlad said with understanding. He clung to every word my mom uttered. You could see it in his eyes. He wanted and desired her. It was so gross. I wanted to ask the man for a barf bag. It would be common courtesy to give me one in my opinion.

My mom looked uncomfortable under Vlad's stare. She showed this with a faltering smile. She quickly propelled the meeting to conclusion by saying, "Thank you so much for taking Danny in, Vlad, but we must be on our way. It's a long drive. You two have fun!" Then, in a sharp whisper to me, she ordered, "Behave."

I wanted to tell her I loved her. I didn't. I was too frustrated, too angry to respond to her.

"See you later, Danny!" my dad called back to me as he and mom descended the stairs.

Suddenly, I realized they were leaving. They were leaving me alone with my arch enemy. That rope keeping me away from the sharks was being cut right before my eyes. In a few seconds they were going to be gone for two whole weeks. There was nothing I could do to stop them. My stomach wrenched at the horrifying feeling. No! I couldn't let them do this!

As I lunged forward, Vlad shot his hand out and grabbed my shoulder. With a steady grip, he pulled me back towards him, saying quietly, "Don't embarrass yourself, Daniel. Let them go."

Maybe it was something he said. I don't know what it was, but I let my shoulders slump in defeat and released a rejected sigh. What were they going to do? It wasn't like they were going to be able to miraculously see through Vlad's disguise, realize he was an evil ghost, and then drive me back home where it was safe and sound. That option wasn't possible. There was no plausible way to get them to let me leave with them. Realizing that really sucked.

Vlad and I watched the RV slowly roll out of the circular driveway with the extravagant stone fountain in the middle. When the car had completely vanished from our sight Vlad lifted his hand away from my shoulder. I glared up on him, trying to give him the vibe that I wasn't scared of him and knew exactly what he was doing...which wasn't really true. I had no clue what the devil wanted with me.

"Shall we get you settled into your room, Daniel?" Vlad asked me, his voice oozing with suffocatingly fake generosity.

"If you think I'm going to go through with this, Vlad, then you're an idiot," I growled at him. I grabbed my extra suitcase off the ground, simultaneously going ghost. I wasn't going to stay there and fall into all of Vlad's traps like some lab rat. My specter butt was getting out of there.

"I'd rethink that plan of yours," Vlad said, taking out a cellphone from his jacket pocket. He flipped it open, saying seriously, "I can dial your parents right now and tell them you ran away. They'll have to turn around and search for you. And when they can't find their son, they will call the police to try and find you. You'll make a fool of yourself while ruining your parents' trip at the same time. You'll waste their time, make them angry, and eventually have them mistrust you. Consequences, Daniel. You must remember them."

"Just let me go, Vlad," I pleaded with the merciless man.

A sly smile slithered onto Vlad's lips at my obviously amusing actions. "Now why would I want to do that?" he asked me mysteriously. "We already have so many plans booked together. Canceling them would waste money, and you know how much I love my money."

"Plans? What kind of plans?" I asked skeptically. This didn't sound good coming from Vlad. The last time he had drawn up big plans for me, I was kidnapped, dragged to Japan, forced to date a psycho, and was obliged to defeat a golem that practically killed me three times. Yeah. That hadn't been a fun trip.

"I know how much you love secrets, so I won't be telling them to you so soon," Vlad said sneakily as he yanked the suitcase out of my hand. He briskly walked indoors, saying over his shoulder, "You might want to change back into a human. I have hidden video cameras stationed around the house. It would be a shame if one of my security personnel happened upon your ghostly form and reported it to someone other than myself."

Cheeks turning color despite my want for control, I quickly turned back human. Grimacing, I walked through the door and followed Vlad around the large, impressive foyer. As I hurried to catch up with Vlad while passing by glass display cases full of Packers paraphernalia, I hated myself and my curiosity. It was going to kill me. I just knew it. Either that, or stupidity.

"I'm not staying here very long if you don't tell me what you're planning," I told him as we traveled up a winding wooden staircase. The plush red carpet padded our footsteps. Old, antique oil paintings with ornate frames were neatly displayed on the walls all the way up to the second floor and beyond. I wondered how many floors the place had. Seemed like a lot.

"Tomorrow," Vlad said.

"Yeah? Tomorrow what?" I asked.

"Tomorrow morning I will tell you everything," he said, giving me a calm nod.

"Yeah right," I scoffed. "You think I'm really that dumb? You'll probably have me strapped down to some dissecting table by then, and while you're cutting me open you'll tell me your disgusting plans."

Vlad grinned. It wasn't an evil or calculating one. It was an actual, real grin. As he led me down the lavishly designed and decorated hallway, he said with a chuckle, "You have a morbid imagination."

"I'm not being funny," I persisted. "That's exactly what you'd do with me."

"Of course not," the man derided me with a dismissive wave of his hand. "You're too important to throw away like that, Daniel. You know that."

"You're avoiding the subject," I said, shaking my befuddled head. "You have to tell me your plans now, Vlad, or I'm leaving. Got that?"

As I was saying this, we had entered a bedroom. It was bigger than my mom's and dad's, it was that big. A four poster bed sat on the left side. Other dark, wooden furniture dotted the rest of the spacious area. A massive window was on the far wall, looking out over the side of the house where a beautifully manicured garden sat on display. The room even had its own bathroom with a shower and hot tub. If it didn't belong to my enemy, I might have said I'd arrived in heaven.

Vlad set my suitcase down on the queen size bed which looked really comfy after a six hour ride in the bumpy and uncomfortable RV. He turned to me, smiling when he noticed that I had been looking around in wonder. I couldn't help it. Expensive, lavish things are alien to my ghost hunting middle class family.

"You like your room?" he asked me.

"It will do," I muttered back with a cool glare. "And you're still dodging the subject."

"Oh, yes. That," Vlad said with a dispassionate sigh. He gave me a pointed look then, as if he expected me to know all the answers. Finally, he asked, "What makes you think you'll be able to leave now?"

My breath hiked up into my chest for a second. I refused to believe he was serious. To make things clear, I asked tentatively, "What do you mean?"

"Try the window if you don't believe me," he said, lazily pointing to the glass structure.

I said nothing as I stomped over to the window, glaring at him the entire time. He had better been kidding. How come I had the awful feeling he was telling the truth, though? Fingers feverish with anger and fear, I gripped the window ledge and lifted it open with a grunt. A fresh breeze carrying the scent of summer flowers brushed through my hair and T-shirt as the air rushed in. My hand hesitated before I shoved it outside the window...and was prevented access as it hit an invisible shield.

Damn. No, no, no! What had I just done? I had just walked into Vlad's trap like some dumb rat who had smelled that lovely piece of cheese on the snare and went blindly after it. He must have activated the shield as soon as I had stepped inside the house. I felt like a complete and utter moron.

"Dinner is at six," Vlad told me from the doorway.

I whirled around, instantly infuriated. I was going to punch the snot out of the man. As I ran toward him, I pulled my cool core to the surface and flashed into ghost mode. From months of experience, the change was swift and instantaneous. I meant business. Still, Vlad was faster because he had anticipated my anger outburst. He threw a small metal cube at me. With a yelp, I tried to put on my brakes and dodge the thing, but I had been going to fast.

An explosion enveloped me in that second the cube made contact, but no fire or any kind of heat was there. When I opened my eyes, I saw that I was on the floor and that the world had changed color. Everything had a blue tint to it. A second more of thought told me I was in one of Skulker's ghost confining boxes. I'd been in one before. They don't give you much leg room. I couldn't stand up, the area of entrapment was so small. There was no getting out of it being ghost or human.

"Get me out of here, Vlad," I growled at the man, pounding hard on the box from where I had to sit on my hands and knees. First abandoned by my own parents, then becoming the idiot who got himself trapped, and now the embarrassing ghost kid stuck in a blue box. I wasn't in a happy mood.

"Only if you promise to behave for a while," Vlad said, flaunting his power with a twisted and triumphant smile. He still stood placidly in the doorway, leaning against the frame with his hands loosely folded in front of him. He was really enjoying this.

I gave a heavy sigh to try and compose myself, running a gloved hand through my snowy hair. I needed the time and the clarity to think things through. This wasn't one of my better days. Still, it wasn't my worst. I'd been in and out of plenty of scrapes to know that for sure. Besides, there wasn't much I could do at this point. Wasn't like I could leave anymore. Like it or not, I was stuck here. I might as well start figuring out Vlad's game and finding a way to get myself out of the mess. And the only way to do that was to go by his rules...for now.

"Promise," I muttered.

A/N: Poor Danny. He probably feels so stupid. I would too. Anyways, I don't want to go at the bimonthly updating schedule I used to have. I'm gonna try to get a chapter out every weekend. They might be smaller chapters 'cause I'll just throw out whatever I have written. But if it's less than four pages or so, I'll just skip that weekend or something. Hopefully that will work.

Hope you readers enjoyed the chapter! I'll see y'all next week!

UPDATE: To new and old readers alike, I'm proud to announce that I finally published my first book! For more info on it and to find out where to buy it, just check out my profile page. There's also links there to the Facebook and tumblr pages where you can see sketches of the characters and get more info about the series. Go check it out! Thanks!