Chapter Text
It’s time to go, Danny.
When Danny woke up, words were spinning in his head. The dizzying thoughts made him almost puke, the bile forming sickly and thick in the back of his throat. The deep cold from the dirt beneath him seeped into his back through his damp white shirt. Danny shook his head and gasped, confused by the feeling on his skin. Didn’t he go to sleep in his bed?
Danny shot his eyes open in panic, his heart racing faster than he was used to in a while. He quickly sat upwards, his palms digging into the dirt to lift his upper body upright. Each grain of dirt presssed against his hands, his nerves almost feeling on fire.
It was daybreak. The sky seemed a tinge too yellow, a drastic change from the toxic green that he had grown used to over the last few years. The sun was bright and heavy on his body as it continued to rise above the plains of well-kept grass and hay that surrounded the area.
Danny looked around slowly and methodically; there was an old barn on his right. The red paint on the outside was starting to fade from the kiss of prior storms and the dark brown roof had done a perfect job of protecting whatever was inside. It was obvious there was a lot of history in this barn, love and hate and frustration and happiness and sadness radiated from the building and seeped into Danny’s bones, filling him with ice cold and blazing heat all at once. The old red tractor some ways ahead of him had been an important part of someone’s life before, and it was in need of desperate repair.
Like himself.
“Clockwork,” Danny spat. “Why did you have to do this yet again?”
Danny swallowed hard and tried to clear the ghastly taste still in his mouth. His mouth felt dry and sticky; when he swallowed it felt like he was swallowing the very dirt that he was sitting on. Slowly, he pushed on his hands to stand up, surprised that his balance seemed to be restored. The dizziness he had felt earlier was almost completely gone, his heart rate slowing down to his normal levels. He was sure there was no danger here. He was sure he was safe.
Danny swatted the dirt off his dark blue jeans and took a couple steps, happy to no longer be sitting on the cold and damp ground. He felt light. As he walked, the blades of grass and hay that were scattered around the barn didn’t even make a sound as it pressed underneath his dirty and old white shoes.
Once he made it to the bend of the barn, he poked his head around the corner to take a look at what was on the other side. Danny’s eyes opened wide at the sight, his lips starting to form a smile. The first time in a while.
A beautiful two story house was in front of him. The pale yellow paint on the exterior was freshly done, and the white front porch almost urged him to say hello. Greeting him. The house seemed to have a life of its own, and it filled him with the warmth of his childhood and the unconditional love of family. Happiness. Hope. Safety.
But why was he here?. If Clockwork sent him to this farm, then there must be a reason. Clockwork never sent him somewhere for no purpose, but normally they got to talk, chat, maybe argue, do a little song and dance, you know, the usual. But this time, Clockwork never said a single word to him, and that thought alone sent a shiver down his spine, filling him with frustration and concern.
Before Danny could think too much more about Clockwork’s antics, he could hear the rhythmic thumping of someone walking down a flight stairs. The sound blasted in his ears, clearly coming from inside of the house. The noise was harsh and heavy. Whoever was inside was clearly upset. A moment later, the emotions that came from inside the house started twisting and morphing into anger.
The sudden change from the peace that was radiating just a moment ago nearly pushed Danny back, the pressure building in front of him. He held for a second to keep his footing while he frowned.
The feeling was strong. Extremely strong. He had never felt emotions this strong before.
Danny was a ghost; experiencing emotions was an everyday thing for him. After all, ghosts are emotional creatures, and they have an aura that was readable from across a room, and it tended to tell other ghosts exactly how they were currently feeling and what they were currently motivated by. But this feeling was way too strong . Danny had learned that the stronger a ghost was, the deeper their aura of emotions tended to feel to other ghosts, and the further the distance that other ghosts could feel it from. So how strong were they?
Danny was certain that even he didn’t give off an aura like this. He had been working on containing his emotional aura for a year now so he was more in tune with it now than ever before. He had started training to control it ever since he realized that it gave himself away at critical moments. But it wasn’t an easy thing to do, especially when he was in his ghost form. He was still working on it, but at least a ghost had to be within a few feet to feel it now. And although he was only half ghost - a fact he had been forgetting a lot lately - he was a strong one. He had been told many times before. He refused to believe it at first, but when he had defeated the Ghost King himself a few years back, he slowly and painfully changed his mind.
Danny tried to put a little bubble of protection around him, pulling into the small and dense ghost core that laid deep in his chest next to his slowly beating heart. He pushed a little energy outwards to create a small force field around him to keep the emotions out. It barely helped, but it was good enough for now.
Danny continued to stay steady as his eyes glanced across the front exterior of the house, feeling the pressure continue to build around him. A startling fact ran across his mind that held him in place, threatening to take the air out of his lungs.
Whoever was inside… was not a ghost.
Jon walked heavily down the stairs, making sure his feet pounded extra loud on each step, the wood creeking and bending underneath his shoes. He knew his dad could hear him regardless, but he had a point to prove!
“You’re up early,” Clark sighed from the dining table, blowing out a puff of air with his words. Clark continued to look down at the book in his hands, flipping to the next page. “What did Jordan do now?”
Jon dragged his hands down his face, his dad clearly didn’t seem to care. Jon took a deep breath and spoke angrily, “Jordan thinks he’s so special now he finally has all his powers! I feel like he constantly wants the attention on him nowadays. He’s going to make me lose everything if he doesn’t get his act together.”
Jon aggressively pulled a chair out from the kitchen table, ensuring to scrape the chair legs across the hardwood floor so that it would certainly make a loud noise. As the chair creaked, he let out a small huff of satisfaction.
He took a moment to see what was on the table. He couldn’t help but appreciate how neatly his dad had set everything up, their typical red and white table cloth was laid carefully onto the wooden table, a white plate stacked with over ten pancakes placed in the center. A small plate of butter, a container of maple syrup, a small bowl of blueberries and cut strawberries, a jug of orange juice, and extra plates, forks, and knives, were calling to him to take a seat and enjoy.
Jon grabbed one of the spare plates and lazily plopped some of the pancakes onto it. He poured some maple syrup on top, the sweet smell wafting towards him. How can he be mad when these pancakes smell so good? Jon mumbled his thanks for the pancakes, grabbed a fork, sat down, and happily dove in.
Clark looked up from his book and over to Jon. He gave him a small smile. “Jon, we will definitely need to talk about thi–” Clark tilted his head to one side.
“It’s fine, go,” Jon sighed. Of course his dad had to leave now.
“No, it’s not that, there’s someone by the barn, I can hear a–” Clark thoughts were interrupted and he seemed to focus on something else for a moment, waiting. “Really really slow heartbeat.”
“I’ll check,” Jordan yelled from the second floor, as he jumped 10 steps at once and headed straight for the front door. Jon rolled his eyes at the unnecessary display, knowing that Jordon floated slightly in order to land that gently.
“Call me if you need me,” Clark yelled to Jordan.
“Yea, yea, I know, dad,” Jordan mumbled as he opened the front door.
Danny gained some courage and started walking closer to the large house, footsteps quiet and precise as he walked forward. The house was calling for him to go inside, begging to reveal its secrets.
Danny was certain that the human inside was the reason Clockwork sent him here in the first place. The air around the house had switched from burning rage to peaceful quiet as he heard a couple people inside the house speaking about pancakes. Pancakes, of all things! He looked down at his stomach and frowned as it started gurgling.
When he was several feet away from the beautiful front porch, he breathed in the smell of fresh flowers that hung from the ceiling. Gorgeous blues, pinks and purple blossoms filled the several flower pots and seemed to glisten in the light, the sun a perfect angle now that it sat higher in the sky. He eyed the two soft white chairs on the porch that were to the left of the front door, clearly loved and used often. He was about to take a careful step up onto the porch when he heard rustling coming from behind the door.
Someone was coming.
Danny quickly backed away, still quiet in his movements, when he pulled into the frigid cold of his core urging it to make himself invisible. Right after he did, the brass doorknob shook slightly before it turned and the door opened wide.
Danny continued to back away slowly, hoping he wasn’t making any noise. When the door fully opened, a young boy walked onto the porch. Danny was sure he was in his late teens, curly black hair swayed as the boy turned his head back and forth, clearly looking for something. Looking for Danny.
The teen locked his brown eyes in Danny’s direction, a gentle smile growing on his face. “I know you’re there,” the boy called gently from the porch. Danny froze.
Danny stared aghast at the boy and then he looked down at himself. He was invisible, right? He triple-checked to make sure he could see his typical transparent body that only he could see when he was in this state. He swooshed his arm in front of his eyes, certain that he could see the ground through his arm. He felt the subtle cold tingle that spread across his body. He was definitely invisible.
He should run, right?
Danny looked at the boy again, noticing his large black sweater move gently as he started walking forward down the several steps of the porch. The sun flashed across the boy’s black square-framed glasses as he angled his face towards Danny's direction. The teen continued to have a soft smile on his face, and Danny could tell he had non-threatening vibes. But something about him worried Danny regardless. As he drew closer, he could tell that the boy had incredible power beneath the surface that seemed to swirl around him threateningly. Dangerously.
Danny quickly ran back towards the red barn. He pulled at his core to turn him intangible in order to enter the large wooden barn doors without having to give away his position. He felt the doors pass through him as he went inside. It was dark and musty, smelling of stale dirt and dust. There was no light besides the daylight sneaking its way in from the windows above.
Danny’s breath picked up slightly, his nerves were starting to grow as he heard the boy walk closer to the barn, one painstaking footstep at a time. He wanted to run, but something was keeping him here. A pull from the house told him to stay. To trust.
The barn doors opened and flooded sunlight into the barn. The doors squeaked as they opened into their full position. Danny stayed out of the ray of light, his back facing the wall as he saw the boy enter the barn, the sun shining behind him.
“My name is Jordan. What’s yours?” The boy asked as he continued to walk closer to Danny. Jordan looked up and down at where Danny was and scrunched his eyebrows together. “Are you hurt?”
Jordan was… worried about him? Danny moved his blue eyes to look directly at Jordan’s. Jordan was now just a few feet away from him when Jordan snapped his eyes right back, seeming to stare directly into Danny’s soul. Jordan was worried about him, Danny could feel the gentle concern flowing around him, like how the wind blew autumn leaves on a crisp fall morning, tempting winter to say hello.
Danny thought about how the emotions Jordan gave off weren’t strong at all. Well, humans don’t give off the same level of emotional auras as ghosts do, that’s for sure, but Danny could read them when nearby thanks to his ghost core. But the anger he felt from within the house earlier - Danny was certain that had to be someone else.
Danny cursed the Ancients and took a deep desperate breath, taking in the smells of the barn to ground him. He took a step forward so that he was in the warm light. He released his invisibility and spoke quietly, “I’m Danny.”
Jordan was playing video games in his room upstairs when he could tell his dad was on alert. Jordan paused his game and put his controller down, moving his head slightly so that his right ear was facing the front of the house. That’s when he heard it; a very strange heartbeat coming from outside. It was slow, too slow, to be someone that wasn’t about to die .
Jordan quickly stood up from his black beanbag chair and opened his bedroom door. Jordan jumped down the stairs, choosing to use a little flight to help him land quickly and quietly. He was sure he would get a talking to about that from his father later. He saw his dad sitting at the kitchen table eyeing the front door, certainly hearing the same thing, when his dad’s eyes snapped towards him.
After a quick fatherly chat to stay safe, per usual, Jordan opened the front door to see… nothing. He looked around the barn and the rest of the farm, keeping his precise vision alert for movement. He continued to hear the slow heartbeat. It sounded extremely close, but it was slowly moving away.
Thank goodness for x-ray vision.
Jordan’s x-ray vision had come in a couple months ago, right on his eighteenth birthday. At first it was disorienting, the world full of complex layers that he had no control of zooming in and out of. He had been bed bound for nearly four days, a foreign feeling since he hasn’t even gotten a simple cold in four years.
He had been waiting years for his final power to come in, almost feeling incomplete when it felt like it would never show. He even got his flight powers when he was fifteen. He was confused when something that felt so simple took so long to show itself. Plus, he felt like his father would never let him go out to be a hero alone without it. Unfortunately, even his x-ray vision coming in didn’t change that. His father still didn’t trust him to handle things alone.
Jordan’s eyes turned subtly blue as he used his x-ray vision. He looked around again and saw something standing near the barn. It was fuzzy and blurry, more like a blob than a human being. It was unusual, and Jordan wasn’t quite sure what to make of that. He could vaguely see bones in the figure, and the bones were definitely human. But normally he could see a distinct outline when he was looking at a human with his x-ray vision, which was clearly missing here. Jordan focused closer, zooming in on their bones. He could tell that they were around nineteen years old based on their bone age.
Jordan took a few steps forward until he was off the porch, the blurry blob started running towards the barn before they slipped right through the doors without even opening them. Jordan had suspicions that they had powers, invisibility perhaps, but invisibility wouldn’t allow them to pass through walls, right? He took a second to contemplate calling for his dad. Someone with powers would be out of his wheelhouse right? Surely his dad would think so, anyway?
Jordan shook his head and pushed the thought away. He was sure this wouldn’t be an issue. He walked towards the barn and soaked in the sunlight hitting his skin, warmth filling him pleasantly and powering him like nothing else could. He opened the barn doors and walked inside.
Jordan had a feeling that this person was scared, so he put on a soft smile and put on his bravest posture and spoke. “My name is Jordan, what’s yours?” he asked. When they didn’t respond, Jordan once again tuned into that heart beat. So incredibly slow. How were they even conscious? “Are you hurt?”
After a few moments, the color of the stranger was suddenly visible, the outline of his skin crystal clear in the morning light. Jordan turned off his x-ray vision to get a good look. The boy’s skin was deathly pale, and nineteen seemed about the right age. His black hair was disheveled, dirt was visible across his blue jeans and white shirt. Jordan looked at Danny’s hands and saw brown dirt caked under his fingernails.
“I’m Danny,” the boy said cautiously, eyeing Jordan with concern and trepidation.
“Nice to meet you, Danny. Are you injured?” Jordan asked, tilting his head upwards slightly to look into Danny’s blue eyes. Jordan was still worried that Danny’s heartbeat meant something. Something important.
“What?” Danny said while raising both of his eyebrows. “Oh… no. I’m not. Sorry, I really didn’t mean to intrude, I think my mentor just wanted to play games with me. ” Danny raised his voice slightly at the last few words of that sentence. He looked up at the ceiling like he was talking to someone.
“It’s alright. Do you need help? Can I at least get you a change of clothes?” Jordan asked, nudging towards the dirt splattered across his white tee.
Danny looked down at his shirt and pulled it so he could get a clear view. He looked surprised at the state of it before he looked back at Jordan as he answered. “Actually, that would be great.”
Danny followed Jordan as he directed him to the house. Danny didn’t know what to think, Jordan seemed calm and friendly and something in his core told him that he could trust him. But the powerful aura that surrounded him kept him on his toes. Danny knew he couldn’t relax yet. Not when he was in the presence of something potentially deadly.
As they continued walking towards the house, Danny looked at his clothes again and noticed how absolutely dirty they were. He swore he could start smelling how bad it was now that he knows how it looks.
Danny had been in his ghost form for almost three years nonstop. He hasn’t seen his human clothes since then, and now that he thought about it, he was surprised he was even in his human form when he woke up this morning. When he was a young teen, he used to be forced into his human form when he lost consciousness, even while sleeping, but he had learned to control that a few years back.
As they got a few steps away from the porch, Danny could hear two people inside speaking to each other, but more importantly, he could feel the strong emotional aura beating down on him once again. It wasn’t anger, or happiness, but more like confusion. It circled around him as he took a deep breath.
“His name is Danny and doesn’t seem to be injured. They’re coming in now for a change of clothes,” Danny heard from inside, it was a deep voice, probably a father figure.
“Clothe–” a younger voice started questioning, as Jordan opened the door and gestured for Danny to come inside.
Danny looked around inside the house, dark wooden floors spread throughout the first floor. A six-person kitchen table with delicious smelling pancakes was in front of him, with a well-kept white kitchen behind the table. The walls in the kitchen were covered in old yellow wallpaper, dotted with a green floral design, clearly meaningful to the family that lived here. He looked to his left and saw the staircase that the person from earlier must’ve stomped down.
Danny looked over to see who was sitting at the table when he saw two men sitting down. One was an older man, maybe about forty – although he didn’t quite look forty – sitting with a book in his hands. The other was a younger adult, probably around the same age as Jordan. He got the feeling that they were fraternal twins.
As the boy sitting at the table moved his eyes to look at Danny, Danny suddenly felt that harsh wave of confusion hit him like a truck. Danny struggled for a moment, shutting his eyes tightly, trying to hold it together. After a calm and deep breath, he opened his eyes again to see all three of them staring at him.
“Um, yea, so dad, this is Danny,” Jordan said, as he moved over the table. “Danny, this is my dad Clark and my brother Jon.”
“Hi,” Danny said nervously while he trailed behind Jordan. Danny looked back and forth between Clark and Jon. Danny’s eyes landed on Jon, now certain the emotions were coming from him. They were deep and harsh, swirling around Danny like blades of glass, almost convincing him that he was feeling the same way, too. He shook his head. These weren’t his emotions. He could handle this. He pulled into his ghost core willing it to give him at least some protection from the onslaught, happy when he got at least something .
He looked over to Clark and eyed his brown hair and cleanly shaved face. He could clearly see the family resemblance between these three. He saw the pancakes on the table and his mouth nearly started watering at the sight.
“Dad, I brought Danny in to get a change of clothes… and maybe some food?” Jordan said, looking at Danny with a hint of an eyebrow raised.
“Oh, uh, yes that would be great,” Danny responded, forcing a smile on his face.
Jon got up from the table, scooting his chair back. Danny noticed the pancakes on Jon’s plate weren’t finished and was confused why he was getting up.
“You seem to be around my height, so I’ll grab some of my clothes for you to use,” Jon said.
Danny gave Jon a nod of thanks, almost feeling a sincere ‘ you’re welcome ’ coming off of Jon as he quietly walked up the stairs, a stark contrast from earlier. Jordan walked over the kitchen table and grabbed a white plate for Danny and himself, adding a couple pancakes to each. Jordan placed the plate down in front of a seat across from Clark and gestured to Danny to come sit down.
Danny walked over and noticed a couple family photos on the kitchen counter just ahead. Danny was drawn to them. He walked over quietly, feeling a soft pull urging him to take a look. He knew that Clark and Jordan were watching him, but he walked over there anyway. He picked up one of the heavy frames with one hand, looking closely at the photo. There were four people in the frame; Clark, Jon, Jordan, and a woman. Danny’s best guess was that she was Jon and Jordan’s mom. He set the photo down gently, grunting a little when the brown thick frame made a small clank on the counter as it settled.
He picked up the other frame and noticed an older woman. Danny could tell she passed away, maybe a few years ago. She was a kind soul and was loved dearly, by many more people than just this family. Danny smiled at the photo and put the frame down. He turned around to see Clark looking at the photo, too.
“My mom, Martha,” Clark said. Clark forced a smile on his face and his eyes glistened slightly in the light. If Clark was raised by a woman like that, Danny was definitely safe here.
“I’m sorry for your loss,” Danny spoke softly. Clark’s eyes opened slightly in surprise for a quick moment before he nodded.
Danny walked back over to the kitchen table and took a seat at the chair that Jordan had offered a moment ago. In front of him were the most glorious pancakes he had ever seen. Solid golden brown, cooked to perfection, made with love. He grabbed the silver fork that was placed to the right of the plate and dug in. The pancake was luxuriously soft and spongy in his mouth.
“Are you homeless, Danny?” Clark asked with a soft smile. Danny peeled his eyes away from the pancakes and looked at Clark fully for the first time, straight into his light blue eyes that were situated behind his black-framed glasses. Now that Jon was further away, Danny could feel the energy coming off of Clark. Danny was taken aback for a moment, surprised to find terrifying power deep within. He forcibly swallowed the bit of pancake that was still in his mouth.
Danny sat staring for a moment, almost mesmerized about what he realized. Jordan seemed to have some sort of power, considering he was able to see him while he was invisible. Plus the vibe Jordan gave off when he was nearby was full of surging strength. Danny didn’t quite know what that meant until he looked at Clark now. The feeling Clark gave off was similar, but stronger. Dense, dense power. Headstrong confidence. Mind blowing indestructibility. Years of painful experience.
And that must mean it was genetic.
Danny gulped hard, a flash of worry spread across his face. He wondered why Clockwork would throw him into a tank of hungry sharks.
“Danny?” Clark said.
“Sorry, what?” Danny asked. He had completely forgotten the question.
“Are you homeless?” Clark said again.
Danny considered the question and thought about what the best answer was. He did technically have a home in the Ghost Zone, but he had been living on his own for a few years now. Danny’s eyes swelled as he thought about his family. He really missed them. He missed sitting down with his parents, eating family meals. Sharing stories about his day to his sister Jazz. Going to school with his best friends Tucker and Sam. But he hasn’t seen any of them in three years.
For three long and painful years, he had been completely alone.
“Yea… I guess I am.”