Daniel's agreement went right in one ear and out the other, as Vlad stared back at the younger man with unquestionable shock.
How did he... the clones...! "Pardon me." His voice practically grated out of his throat, not angrily, only forced. He shouldn't know of that yet. He must not know of that yet! Not until... "What do you mean, clones?"
A last resort, an ace in the hole. Vlad always had a spare plan, a back-up, in case of unexpected trouble. Such as finding it at last assured that the boy truly, genuinely never would come to appreciate what Vlad offered him, that there would never be anything but hostility between them. Finding that the boy was a lost cause. The clones should all be sealed up for now, safe and waiting in stasis, each stage in the testing process slightly more like Daniel until the near-perfect clone needing just some more time and a few more DNA samples had been created. How could Daniel possibly..?
"You've been spying on me." It was more in surprise than an accusation and lacked any heat, but it was the only explanation he could think of. True, it would be hypocritical of him to blame the boy, but he didn't blame him; it was an intelligence that Daniel had never shown before, to look ahead and peer into Vlad's labs uninvited. Frankly, it would be a bonding moment, if he didn't have the sudden dreadful feeling that this would be the turning point from 'possibility' to 'impossibility' in young Daniel's heart for a half-ghost father.
At least that explained the boy's violent hostility.
no subject
How did he... the clones...! "Pardon me." His voice practically grated out of his throat, not angrily, only forced. He shouldn't know of that yet. He must not know of that yet! Not until... "What do you mean, clones?"
A last resort, an ace in the hole. Vlad always had a spare plan, a back-up, in case of unexpected trouble. Such as finding it at last assured that the boy truly, genuinely never would come to appreciate what Vlad offered him, that there would never be anything but hostility between them. Finding that the boy was a lost cause. The clones should all be sealed up for now, safe and waiting in stasis, each stage in the testing process slightly more like Daniel until the near-perfect clone needing just some more time and a few more DNA samples had been created. How could Daniel possibly..?
"You've been spying on me." It was more in surprise than an accusation and lacked any heat, but it was the only explanation he could think of. True, it would be hypocritical of him to blame the boy, but he didn't blame him; it was an intelligence that Daniel had never shown before, to look ahead and peer into Vlad's labs uninvited. Frankly, it would be a bonding moment, if he didn't have the sudden dreadful feeling that this would be the turning point from 'possibility' to 'impossibility' in young Daniel's heart for a half-ghost father.
At least that explained the boy's violent hostility.