Third Person POV

1982, University of Wisconsin. A University well known for its advanced science department and high achieving students. Many of its graduates go off to do amazing things in the world of science and business. On this day, in room 101 of the science building, an odd group of friends was busily working away on their latest project.

Jack Fenton, Vlad Masters and Maddie Haynes were busily putting the finishing touches on their own pet project; a ghost portal. It had taken a long time, but they finally had something to show for all their research. A small device they had dubbed the 'Proto-Portal'.

Maddie was busy tinkering with the portal when Vlad walked up to her. He summoned up his courage and leaned close to her. "Maddie," he began, "there's something I've been wanting to tell you for a long time.".

"One second, Vlad." Maddie interrupted, turning her back to her friend. "Jack!" She called. "Did you remember to fill the filtrator with ecto-purifier?" She asked.

The larger man spun around, his mullet flowing gracefully behind him. "On it, baby!" He replied, not looking up from his clipboard. He grabbed the nearest container and walked over to the Proto-Portal unit, pouring in the liquid while shooting a sly smile at Maddie.

Vlad stared on in jealousy as Jack and Maddie exchanged looks. He was well aware that Jack and Maddie had mutual feelings for each other. That didn't change the fact that he had feelings for Maddie. Ever since Jack had introduced her to him on their first day of classes it had been love at first sight. He had tried his hardest to get her to notice him more than as a friend, but it was useless. Today he had decided he was going to muster up all his courage and confess to her before Jack could get the chance, yet she continued to ignore him and notice only Jack.

Maddie and Jack returned to the research table and Vlad decided to get a closer look at the portal. He had never really been interested in ghosts or anything related to them, but Jack was his best friend and seeing his friend so excited about the study of ghosts that he practically begged Vlad to join his research, how could he say no? Maddie also being interested in this research may or may not have been a deciding factor as well.

Vlad looked closely at the portal and sighed. He stood up and crossed his arms. "I'm telling you Jack, it won't work." He stated.

"Bogus V-Man, it totally will!" Jack replied confidently. "This Proto-Portal is guaranteed to bust open the wall into the ghost dimension." He finished by slamming his fist into his open palm. Jack and Maddie turned back to the table once more as Vlad continued to observe the portal up close.

Jack picked up the controller as Maddie picked up their research notes. As Jack got ready to activate the portal, Maddie briefly glanced over the notes. She frowned as she looked over Jack's part of the research. "Jack, these calculations aren't right." She said.

Her words fell on deaf ears though as Jack shouted, "Banzai!" and activated the controller. The Proto-Portal began to hum and the filtrator began to shake. Sparks flew out of the filtrator as the Proto-Portal's humming got louder. A whining sound rang in their ears and got higher and higher in pitch as time passed. Vlad gasped as the portal charged itself with electricity and a swirling mass of green filled his vision. He backed away from the portal, closer to his friends.

Just as they were about to exclaim happily that their experiment worked, the Proto-Portal began to shake violently and shot out a burst of green energy. The blast took them by surprise and before any of them could move a muscle, the burst hit Vlad directly in the face.

The smell of burning flesh quickly filled the room as Vlad screamed in pain. "Bogus!" He shouted as the energy faded and he fell to the ground.

Jack and Maddie immediately rushed to their friend's side, calling out his name. Maddie reached Vlad first and lifted his head onto her lap, turning him so that he now faced Jack and Maddie. The two gasped in shock as they saw Vlad's face was now covered in glowing green splotches that looked like acne.

"Jack! Call an ambulance!" Maddie shouted. Without a word, Jack ran to find the nearest phone. Maddie hugged Vlad close to her chest, fighting back tears. "Please be okay, Vlad." She whispered into his ear.

A shaky hand rose to her cheek and she gasped. Vlad's eyes were open and he had a strained smile on his face. "Maddie." He whispered, pulling her closer. Maddie let herself get closer to Vlad as he brought her ear to his lips. "I always wanted to tell you... that I like you... as more than a friend." He whispered before going limp once more.

Tears fell from Maddie's eyes as she held her friend, his breathing slowing. "Vlad," she sobbed, "You idiot. Don't say stuff like that and then pass out." Maddie finished as she hugged Vlad close.

Yo, it's me, Normal Line Break. That was quite the opener eh? Or not... everyone has their own opinions. What are you still doing here? Go on to the rest of the chapter, I'm good.

When Vlad opened his eyes he was staring up at a pristine white ceiling. He looked around and saw that he was now in a hospital room. There was a window to his right with two chairs on either side of it, both empty. A small table was also on his right and had a glass of water. To his left was curtain. He tried lifting his arm to move the curtain but he felt so weak that keeping his eyes open was becoming an issue.

He heard a door open behind the curtain and a woman with frizzy red hair tied back into a ponytail came into his sight. She was quite tall and had pale skin with freckles dotting her nose and cheeks. She had bright green eyes, soft pink lips and a pointed nose all framed perfectly on her narrow face. "Oh, you're awake." She said softly. A smile graced her beautiful features. "How are you feeling?" She asked, walking to his side.

Vlad opened his mouth to answer her but no words came out, only a small squeak. His face immediately burned red with embarrassment and the nurse held back a laugh.

"Well, I'm glad to see you're awake at least." She said, picking up the clipboard at the end of his bed and writing a note on it. She placed her pen in her chest pocket of her jacket and replaced the clipboard. "My name is Rachel," she said, heading for the door. "If you need anything, just press the button beside your bed. I'll come as quickly as I can." Rachel said as she neared the door. Just as she was about to leave, Rachel paused. She turned back to Vlad, a slightly concerned expression on her face. "You have a few visitors that have been waiting for a while. You want to see them?" She asked.

Vlad slowly nodded his head. It was probably his family, he could already hear the lectures coming his way. Rachel smiled and opened the door, poking her head out into the hall. Moments later, a curly haired woman and large man with a mullet burst into the room. Vlad's eyes widened as Maddie rushed to his side and gave him a hug while Jack looked at his friend with immense guilt on his face.

Vlad felt his shoulder start to get wet as Maddie held him tightly. He weakly raised his hand to pat her on the back, feeling his strength start to return. Vlad was confused. Why was he in the hospital? Why were Jack and Maddie so sad? The last thing he remembered was the Proto-Portal activating and then darkness.

"Vlad, we're so sorry. We didn't know this would happen." Maddie sobbed, hugging Vlad tightly. 

Vlad was now even more confused. Jack must have noticed his friend's confused expression because he stepped out of the room and came back moments later with a hand held mirror. Maddie let go of Vlad as he took the mirror and looked in it. His heart immediately sank and he felt sick as he saw what was in the mirror.

His face was now covered in glowing green splotches that looked like acne and his hair was an elderly silver. Vlad stared at his reflection in horror. "What... happened?" He managed to squeak out after the shock had worn off.

"The Proto-Portal worked. But it malfunctioned." Jack explained. He raised his hand and ran it through his long hair. "You unfortunately were caught in the blast cause by it." He finished, though his voice was quieter.

Tears welled in Vlad's eyes. He placed the mirror on the side table and lowered his head. "Get out." He hissed.

Maddie reached for her friend's hand. "Vlad, we're so-" She began.

"Get out!" He screamed, moving away from Maddie's touch causing the female to jump. He kept his head lowered and avoided eye contact with his friends. Vlad heard Jack whisper something to Maddie and they left without another word to Vlad, closing the door behind them.

He sat in the silence, thinking of nothing. Rage filled his heart and spilled out through his eyes. He fell back onto the bed and turned on his side, pulling the covers over his head with his back facing the door. He lay there for hours, not moving. Rachel came into the room later and gave him his dinner, but he didn't touch it. He didn't feel hungry. His hands kept moving to his face, remembering the horrible blemishes that now adorned it. How could they look at him and not be disgusted? He was a monster! And it was all because of that stupid portal. In his mind, Vlad cursed Jack, but deep down he knew that he held some of the blame for his situation. 

As night descended on the hospital, Vlad felt himself getting sleepy. Just as his eyes were closing, Vlad's face began to burn. The burning sensation soon spread through his body and it felt like he was being stung by a thousand fire ants. Vlad cried out in pain as he thrashed about on his bed. His hands flew to his face as he clawed at the blemishes. Tears trickled down his face as the pain was becoming unbearable.

But, just as suddenly as the pain started, it stopped. Vlad relaxed on the bed, covered in sweat and panting. His limbs still tingled from the pain but there was no more burning sensation. Vlad removed his hands from his face and just lay still. He bit down on his bottom lip as more tears fell. The taste of blood filled his mouth and Vlad sat up in shock, wiping his lips. Even though Vlad thought he hadn't bitten down that hard blood was on his hand, but that wasn't the most shocking part. The skin on his hand was covered in blue splotches, and it seemed to run up his arm. Vlad stared at his arm in shock, raising his other arm to wipe sweat from his brow.

To his surprise though, he felt none the acne-looking blemishes that covered his face. Ignoring the oddity of his arm, Vlad's hands flew to his face. He felt no blemishes. Vlad's eyes widened and he looked to his side table, turning on the lamp and grabbing the mirror he had placed there. Vlad looked into the mirror and felt his stomach churn. In the mirror was a horrifying image.

A man, with blue patches on skin covering the right half his face and neck, paired with a solid red eye and a fang. The other half of his face was tanned skin and a solid green eye, but his teeth were normal. Vlad screamed in horror and threw the mirror, falling off the bed in the process. The mirror hit the wall and fell to the ground, smashing into pieces. Vlad sat on the floor, clutching his chest and breathing heavily. He gulped and started to crawl towards the shattered pieces of the mirror on the ground. He picked up the largest piece slowly and looked into it. In the reflection, Vlad once again was covered in the glowing acne. 

Vlad dropped the broken shard, moving back until his back rested against the wall. Did he just imagine what he saw in the mirror? Could it be a side effect of being exposed to ecto-radiation? Vlad's hand went to his face and felt the blemishes. He frowned. What he had seen in the mirror had not been an illusion. Vlad didn't know how he knew but deep down in his heart he knew it was true.

Tears spilled from Vlad's eyes. "What's happening to me?" He asked, pulling his knees to his chest as he cried alone, in a dark room with no one coming to his side.

A/N: So that's the first chapter to my new book, 'A Different Kind of Hero'. I know it's short but the chapters will start to get longer as I get the story on its feet. Let me know what you think! It might encourage me to publish the next chapter sooner. ;) See you all in the next one!