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Danny flies right into Sam's room, hands still gripped over his mouth. There's ectoplasm leaking from where his nails are digging in now. He looks for her, and sees her at her computer playing Doomed.
He flies over and becomes visible again. Sam nearly jumps out of her skin. "Ah! Danny, what the heck-! Whoa." She takes off her headset. "Danny, are you okay."
He tries to speak. His voice still won't work. Danny shakes his head.
Sam turns towards him competently, turning off her computer. "What happened? Can you talk about it?"
Another head shake.
"Was it a ghost?"
Shake.
"... You parents?"
... Hesitant nod.
"Did they hurt you?"
His eyes well up again. When he shakes his head, the tears fall.
"... Did... did you... hurt them?"
... A nod. And a sob. And then he stiffens at the sound, curling in on himself a little.
Sam's eyes go wide. Clutching his mouth, can't talk, can't even make a small sound... "Did you Wail at them?"
Danny shakes.
"Oh, geez... okay, I'm going to call Tucker. Is that okay?"
Danny nods.
"Okay, okay, how do we find him?" Jack has various gadgets spread out on the table. "The Fenton Ghost-Finder? It's not our most advanced, but there's no weapons attached to it."
"What about the Boo-oo-merang?" Maddie suggests. "It's always locked onto him."
"It hits him in the head, remember?" Jazz points out. "Why can't we just call him?"
"He left his phone," Maddie sighs. "And even if he had it, I think that scream broke all the electronics in the room."
"Scream?" Jazz twists her hands together. "Okay, well, we know he probably didn't go far. What did you guys say to him? Anything that might've caused an extra intense reaction?"
"How does that help?" Jack inspects the rest of the gadgets for any weapon features.
"It'll let us know what kind of comfort he might need to seek out!"
Maddie and Jack think. "He didn't like when we mentioned blowing up ghosts," Jack says.
"Well, duh. But that wouldn't make him mad enough for that amount of damage, you guys say that all the time."
Maddie and Jack flinch a little. They know it's true, it's just...
How were they so stupid?
"... He... seemed very upset when I said ghosts have no humanity," Maddie says after a moment. "He went pale right away and stared into space for a moment."
They look at Jazz to see that she's gone pale, too.
"What is it, sweetie?" Maddie can't help the panic leaking into her voice. How bad was it, what she said?
Jazz takes a deep breath. "It's... hard to explain. Even harder when I don't really know what happened, just what I saw and what Danny felt okay filling me in on. But I do know that he saw a version of himself that lost his humanity, and it... really, really scarred him."
Maddie feel sick. "And I told him that's what he is. Oh, my baby boy..."
"Jazz. How much do you know?"
Jazz has never heard her Dad this... somber, before.
"There's some stuff I think Danny should tell you," Jazz says carefully. "I know that he's half-ghost-"
"Half ghost?" Jack sits down with a thud. "Half ghost? Not just ghost powers, half ghost?"
Jazz nods. "I also know that he's been trying to use his powers to help people, and he's terrified of hurting anyone with them. And I know that he's been through way, way too much for a fourteen year old to go through."
It's silent at the table. Jack grabs the Fenton Ghost Finder. "This one, then. Because he probably went somewhere private, right? To blow off steam?"
Jazz thinks, and shakes her head. "How was he when he left?"
"Terrified." Maddie hugs herself. "Terrified of himself, I think. He was keeping his hands gripped over his mouth like his life... our, lives, depended on it."
Jazz nods. "So he probably sought out reassurance. If he was having some kind of flashback, er, flashforward? Some kind of episode relating to the version of himself he saw that was evil, then he probably needs someone to reassure him that he's not that."
"Who would he go to? Does someone else know about his... condition?"
"His powers," Jazz corrects a bit harshly. "Condition makes it sound like you're considering it a sickness. It's not, it's just who he is now. And yes, two other people know."
"Who?" Jack is already programming the Finder to track Danny specifically. It's gone off around him before, it has his ecto-signature in it. The first one it ever collected, in fact.
"... Sam and Tucker." Jazz has her arms crossed, her body language prepped for fighting.
Jack and Maddie both freeze. Maddie smacks her forehead, and Jack almost crushes the Finder before Jazz plucks it away to finish programming it.
"Of course they know," Maddie groans. "That's why they're always causing trouble! They're covering for him!"
"And that's why he's always cutting class!" Jack slams his hands down on the tables. "He's been dealing with ghost powers and... and trying to fight ghosts with them!"
Jazz nods. "The worst part is he thinks he's stupid because his grades are suffering. But he's still incredibly intelligent, it's just being applied in different areas!"
"... Jazz. Does this mean when that... Ghost King, attacked, and we found Danny outside of the shield... he was out there fighting?"
Jazz hesitates. It's answer enough.
"How have we never noticed." Maddie is just in disbelief. "How?! After the accident we just- we didn't even take him to a hospital!"
"Didn't even check him over ourselves!" Jack crosses his arms. "We just moved on! ... Oh no, Maddie, he looked uncomfortable when we said we thought he'd Moved On, too. Could it be some kind of ghost trigger phrase?"
"Oh, no..."
"Mom, Dad, focus! Look, the Finder says he's still in the city! Let's just get in the car and follow it, okay? This isn't about you guys having realizations, not right now. You still need to have them, but later. Right now we have to find Danny and let him know you guys are fine, and so is he."
"So they tried talking to you."
Danny nods. Sam tries not to look at the ectoplasm trailing down his hands from his cheeks.
"And it came to ghosts, because it always does," Tucker continues.
Nod.
"And... they said something that hurt worse than usual."
Nod.
"Was it something violent?"
Shake.
"So... a wrong factoid."
Nod.
"Ghost don't feel pain?" Tucker guesses.
Shake.
"Something about all ghosts being evil," Sam tries.
Danny thinks, and shrugs. So... somewhat.
Sam thinks, and gasps. "Was it... about them not having humanity?"
Danny grips his face tighter.
"Oh, man." Tucker puts his hand on Danny's shoulder. "Hey, they're wrong, you know that. You're nothing like Dan."
Danny shakes his head, tears spilling.
"You accidentally let out one very small Wail," Sam says. "Right? Your room is still livable, right? Just a few things broken?"
... A shrug.
"And they were okay."
Danny's face screw up, and they watch him stifle a sob with physical effort. He shakes his head.
"They were walking and talking, right?" Tucker offers.
A nod.
"Nothing permanent, then," Sam follows up. "And you didn't do it on purpose. And you feel terrible about it!"
"Yeah! Dan wouldn't be crying about this! You are, so it's not the same! You aren't on that path, buddy." Tucker looks at his cheeks. "You can... stop hurting yourself for it."
Danny tries to let go. They see him try. But he can't.
"Okay. So it'll take some time." Sam stands up, and locks her bedroom door. With five locks. "And this will buy us that time."
She sits back down. "You're not evil, Danny. You're not becoming evil. You made a mistake, that's it."
"Yeah! And, we're teenagers! Prime mistake time!" Tucker pats his shoulder. "It's natural!"
But Danny can't afford to make mistakes. He makes mistakes, and people. Get. Hurt.
He starts shake-crying again. Tucker looks at Sam, and gestures for her to come in closer.
They both hug Danny, letting their currently-undead friend experience some warmth and reassuring heartbeats.
"Dismantle the dissection table," Jack says as he speeds through the streets, gripping the steering wheel like a lifeline.
Maddie write it down. "We should put his ecto-signature into the security system so it doesn't accidentally see him as a threat. ... Oh my god, Jack, what if it's already seen him as a threat before?"
"It has," Jazz says, "But only when he's in ghost form."
"Ghost form?"
Jazz cringes. "Um, yeah, that's something to have Danny elaborate on."
Maddie swallows. What has he been going through? ... At least he wasn't alone, she supposes. At least he had Jazz and his friends.
At least he had someone in his corner while his own parents were... threatening him.
Maddie clears her throat. So, um, table and security. We should also stop showing him our weapons. Or, maybe show him them, but in an educational way, not a... how-good-it-is-at-hurting-ghosts way."
Jack almost slams into another car and shakes his fist at them when they honk. Don't they know he's having an emergency?! "Maybe we should stop the talking about ghost psychology, too. I think we got a lot of it wrong."
Very, very wrong.
"Okay... okay... there we go."
Sam helps move Danny hand away from his face once he gets his fingers to stop digging in. His arm is stiff, and fights her a little at first, but as she moves it he eases up a bit.
Tucker starts wiping away the ectoplasm. "Should heal up in no time, dude."
A little longer than less... deep, scratches, But Danny heals fast. Soon they'll be gone, and he can get a little closer to moving forward from this.
Not moving on. Never moving on. That is not a ghost-friendly phrase.
Danny smiles every so slightly at his friends. Small, but there.
"Want to listen to some Dumpty Humpty?" Tucker asks.
Danny nods. Sam goes over to her player and pops in a CD. She knows which album is Danny's favorite and goes right for it.
Danny closes his eyes, and they see him relax a little. All little things, tying him to humanity. Chilling to music, getting small wounds cleaned out, an uncomfortable chair seeming like a blush bed when you're just tired.
It all helps, little by little.
Jack bangs his fist on the door. Two smiling faces open it, and then the smiles fall away. "Oh, The Fentons. How nice."
Sam's parents do not look like they think this visit is nice.
Jack puts his hands on his hips. "I need to go up and talk to my son!"
"It's just the other boy over right now," Sam's dad says.
"Danny is up there," Jazz insists. "He... had a fight with me, and came to Sam to hide out."
Sam's mom rolls her eyes. "Oh, such a... colorfully tempered family. You're sure he came here?"
"Why did Tucker say he was over?"
"Homework."
"Yeah, Danny is here."
Sam's parents begrudgingly let them in. They all three rush upstairs, and have to stop to ask the butler for directions to Sam's room. When they get there and try to open the door, it is very locked.
Maddie knocks softly. "Danny?"
"Danny?"
Danny's eyes open, and he stares at the door, petrified.
Sam stands up. "Danny's not here!"
"We have his ecto-signature right here!" Jack declares through the door.
"Dad!" they hear Jazz hiss. "That sounds like a threat!"
"Oh! Sorry, no I mean- well, I mean what I said, but in a loving way! We're here to say some things to Danny!"
"Oh yeah? Like what?" Tucker demands. He and Sam both put themselves between Danny and the door.
"Apologies," Maddie calls through the door, "And to have a real talk! Not like the one we just had, a real-real one!"
"We know, son." Jack's voice is a little softer. "And we're okay with it. We're not going to do anything to you. We just want to talk."
Sam and Tucker look at Danny.
He shakes his head, putting one hand over his mouth.
"He's not up for it!" Sam shouts.
"Danny, please!" Maddie knocks again. "We know you didn't do it on purpose! We know you love us, and we want you to know that we love you! No matter what!"
Danny brings his knees up to his chest.
"Danny," Jazz's voice comes again, "They're being honest. They even left all their hunting gear at home."
Danny looks up. Left it at home? His parents left it all at home?
"We don't know how long this has been going on," Jack says, "But we should've. The moment something this drastic changed with you we should have noticed and adapted too."
"We know we've never been the most... attentive," Maddie says, guilt clear in her voice. "Sometimes we've been borderline... neglectful, and this situation makes that clear to us."
"We're sorry that we missed something this major developing in your life." Jack's voice is breaking. "We should be the people you can turn to for any problems your facing, and instead we added to them."
"We don't believe you're inhuman, Danny." Maddie is clearly crying on the other side of the door, given her voice. "We would never believe that about you. You're a very caring, kind boy, and you're very aware of other people."
"And if we can make mistakes as big and as bad as we've been making lately, then you can make some too."
Sam and Tucker look at Danny again.
Danny hesitates for a long moment.
And then nods.
The door opens. Sam and Tucker are both glaring at The Fentons as they enter, even at Jazz. Jazz understands. They're in a protective mode right now, and she's on the wrong side of it in their eyes.
Danny switched back to human while am was unlocking the door. Maddie and Jack stand a couple feet away, just looking at him.
He looks back.
No-one says anything.
Jazz nudges them both, and gestures for them to get closer to him. So they do.
Danny flinches a little. So they stop.
"Look." Maddie starts going through her suit. "No weapons, see?"
"Just the Fenton Finder, most basic form." Jack holds it up. "Not even a mini-shield on it."
Danny nods.
"He can't talk yet," Tucker says, arms crossed. "If you need to ask something he can't answer, we'll answer for him if he says it's okay."
Jazz smiles. They really are the best friends he could have.
Maddie takes a deep breath. "Danny... was it... all of this, did it start with... The Accident?"
A hesitation. And then, slowly, a nod.
Jack plops down into a chair heavily. "Months. Months." His voice is strained. "We've been... we're so sorry."
Maddie wipes her eyes. "We had no idea. We-we should have had an idea, we should have. We never should have said those things in from of you."
Danny hugs himself, looking away.
Jack clears his throat, clasping his hands together. "You have... more ghost powers than just the scream?"
Danny nods. He glances at Tucker and Sam, and nods at them too.
"Invisibility," Sam starts off. "Intangibility. Ecto-rays."
"Ecto-shields," Tucker adds. "Ghost Sense, too. And sometimes he kind of stretches his body like it's made of smoke."
"And he's more, durable I guess, and heals faster," Sam finishes.
Madie's hands are shaking. His cells mutated that severely? He's had all of these abilities for months?
And they never noticed one?
"Do they hurt you to use?" she asks.
Danny shakes his head.
"Have you interacted with ghosts on your own?" Jack asks.
Nod.
"Are they... friendly?"
... Shrug. A glance at Sam and Tucker.
"Some of them aren't too bad," Sam says. "Usually there's a fight, but sometimes it's just a misunderstanding."
"Other times it's a little more... intense," Tucker says with a slight wince.
Maddie and Jack look back at Danny. He shrugs again.
"Have you been in a lot of fights?"
Glance.
"Almost daily since a month after the accident," Sam supplies. "We help him out whenever and however we can."
Jack grips his hands tightly. "Have you been attacked by humans, too?"
A nod.
"Have... we, attacked you?"
... Nod.
Jack lets out a breath, putting his head in his hands.
Maddie reaches out, wanting to hold Danny's hand, but he pulls away. She does too, and wipes her eyes again. "Jazz mentioned a ghost form. Does it look... very different, from you right now?"
Danny shrugs.
"... Can we see?"
Danny shakes his head.
"... Why not?" Maddie keeps her voice as soft as possible.
Glance.
"You'll recognize it," Sam says.
Tucker nods. "And it'll make everything even more complicated."
Recognize it? But... how? There aren't many-
Maddie looks at Jack, eyes wide and horrified. She sees the same expression on her husband.
There aren't many ghost boys they've seen.
Aren't many they've fou- attacked.
There's just one.
One they've sworn to dissect over and over. Sworn to capture, rip apart, disintegrate, blow to pieces, every horrible thing they could thing of doing to it, they've talked about it in front of Danny.
"Oh, honey." Her voice breaks so badly that the words are barely understandable. "Oh, honey, that was you? This whole time... Phantom was you?"
Danny curls in on himself.
Jack is staring at his son, tears streaming down his face. "I shot at your from the window," he says blankly.
Danny nods.
"I almost killed you in city hall." Maddie is choking on the words.
Danny nods again.
Maddie steps back, now not trusting herself to be close to him. "We-"
The words die in her throat. How can they even begin to apologize. And-
"You fought the Ghost King?"
Nod.
"You saved the whole town."
Nod.
"And you didn't feel like you could tell us." Maddie brings her hands to her chest, holding them there. "Because no matter how much good you did, we still hated ghosts."
"Hated you," Jack says, still blank voiced, still silently crying.
"... But you- Phantom did things that-"
"The mayor was overshadowed by one of his enemies and framed him for holding him hostage," Sam cuts in.
"And when he stole stuff, it was because a guy had a ghost-mind-control thing. But we broke it, so that won't happen again." Tucker imitates smashing something.
Danny raises an eyebrow at Tucker.
"Okay," Tucker says, raising his hands, "Danny's the one who broke it. Well, technically, it fell off of a train."
Jack and Maddie sit there. Both just...
Just...
Just.
Danny stays curled up.
Jazz watches them all, and steps forward a bit. "I think there's one important thing we're all forgetting to address."
No-one looks at her, but she's sure they're listening.
"Danny isn't okay, but he's okay. You two aren't okay, but you're okay. We can't fix all of these problems in one talk, but we have one problem that started this."
She walks over to Danny, gently moving his head. He lets her. "See? They're okay. Dad has a band-aid on because it didn't need anything more than that, and he's just got a minor sprain. Mom's shoulder is just bruised, not broken or out of place. Her ankle hit something funny, but it's not broken either, just sore."
Danny looks at his parents, soaking in what Jazz says.
"And Mom, Dad, Danny is sharing with you. It's not the most conventional way, but this is openness. He's letting you in on his life again, like you wanted."
Maddie and Jack look at Danny, their eyes red and puffy from the crying.
"It's a good start," Jazz reminds all of them softly. "It's a start at all, and that's progress. That's good."
...
...
...
"I am sorry," Danny says, his voice cracking like his throat is dry and sore. "Really."
Maddie shakes her head. "No, no it's okay. We pushed the wrong buttons, Danny, it happens. I once got a fork stuck in your aunt's arm during a fight."
"You didn't know."
"We should have," Maddie says. "We shouldn't have missed something this big in your life for all this time."
Jack stands up, walking over closer. "From now on, we'll make more time outside of ghost... research." The word 'hunting' lingers, unsaid. It's a little too late, but it's... an effort.
"... I could help with it," Danny offers. "... Help you understand it all a little better. A lot of it isn't... quite right."
Maddie and Jack nod. "We'd love your help,"Jack says earnestly. "We want to understand you, and if that means understanding ghosts from a more personal perspective, we'll do it!"
Danny smiles. "You mean it?"
"Absolutely." Jack crouches down. "And if we slip up, don't be afraid to remind us. Either of you." He looks over at Jazz.
She smiles, giving a thumbs-up.
Danny rubs his arm. "... Do you still want to see me transform? Even though you know what I'll look like?"
"If you feel okay with showing us," Maddie stresses. Boundaries. They're going to learn them. If it requires them to pull out their teeth or give up everything they have, they will learn how to respect boundries.
Danny hesitates a moment longer, and then stands up. "Going ghost," he says, his voice a bit nervous and shaky.
Maddie and Jack watch the ring of light appear around his torso, splitting and going up and down. They watch his old HAZMAT suit (of course that's his HAZMAT suit, how could they miss it, it's exactly the same just opposite colors-) appear as the rings go up and down.
They watch his hair turn white, and when he opens his eyes they're glowing bright green. A white sort of aura of light envelops him, and the rings disappear with a small flash of light.
There he stands. Danny Phantom. The ghost they've been hunting for months. The one they're sworn to capture so many time. The one they're swore to take apart. Molecule by molecule.
... No.
There he stands, Danny Phantom, their son. Their son, the ghost hero.
Danny's trying to smile, but there's tears already brimming in his eyes.
Maddie stands... and opens her arms for a hug.
Danny swallows. Looks at her like he can't believe it.
And then he crashes into her with one of the strongest hugs she's ever felt, stronger than Jack by far. And Danny is so cold, and even though he's solid there's something decidedly impermanent to it. Like Ooblek, solid and liquid at the same time.
Jack comes over, and hesitantly joins the hug. When Danny lets it happen, he hugs a little tighter.
It's... going to take getting used to.
It's going to take work to start getting things right.
To start making things right.
But this is... good for now.
This hug, with Danny in full ghost form, with them showing they don't care...
It's good for now.