Born This Way (Because Of Negligence Towards Basic Scientific Safety)
(IDK how far apart the Fenton kids are in age, so Jazz is an Undetermined Age Where She's A Toddler But Also Very Verbal. Maybe it's the Genius Genes letting her learn faster. Let's go with that.)
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Maddie coughs, spitting out another glob of ectoplasm. "Well, at least know it's not an issues with the cooling system."
Jack sneezes out the ectoplasm stuck in his nose, and then grins and stands triumphantly. "Still a step towards success!"
Jazz frowns from where she's playing with her doll, safe within a Fenton Anti-Ghost Toddler Chamber. "Mommy, you should cover your mouth." She points at her own mouth. "Mr. Wummy on TV says dat getting weird stuff in your mouth is bad."
"Mr. Wummy is a cartoon, dear. We're seasoned scientists, we know what we're doing." She wipes herself off, and sits down. "If there were any side-effects to accidental ecoplasmic consumption, we'd know."
"But what if Danny doesn't like it?" Jazz point at her mother's belly.
Maddie pats her belly. "The baby is still just a fetus, sweetie. It can't tell what it does and doesn't like yet. And why are you so sure it'll be a boy?"
"Because I'm your baby girl. So now you need a baby boy!"
Maddie tilts her head and smiles lovingly at her daughter. "Oh, you're adorable." Nothing cuter than Child Logic.
Maddie stands back up, and puts her hands on the workbench. "Now, let's see about that firing mechanism..."
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Maddie brushes her teeth, sighing when her toothbrush comes away glowing green. "We really messed up a lot of experiments today. I think I swallowed a whole ghost's worth."
Jack spits a similarly colored mouthful of toothpaste foam out. "At least it doesn't taste as bad as it smells."
Maddie puts her hands on her belly, the bump now quite obvious. "II hope we're right about it not having side effects."
Jack's expression softens. He gently pulls his wife into a comforting hug. "The doctors all say he's as healthy as can be, Mads. You don't need to worry."
"I still worry anyway, though."
"Of course you do. You're his mom! But we'll worry together, and if you ever need me to, I'll do the worrying for us both! While you relax and give him more tips on how to avoid ghosts once he learns to walk."
Maddie giggles, and sighs. It'll all be fine... nothing to worry about.
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Jazz has her arms crossed, a teddy bear hanging from one hand. "Five times!"
"Yes, and did we mention we're so proud that you can count so we-"
"Five times!" She shouts again, waving her little sticky toddler hand at them. "I saw you eat the bad green stuff five times!"
"We didn't eat it," Maddie says patiently, "It got into our mouths by accident."
"You swallowed it!"
"Only a tiny bit, only on accident, dear."
Jazz puts her hand on her mom's belly. "Danny is gonna be here soon and he's gonna be mad!"
"He won't even know it happened, sweetheart."
"Yes he will! He'll be the smartest ever, just like me and like you and like daddy! And he'll be so upset and never stop crying!"
"Babies do that anyway, sweetie." Maddie rubs her belly. It's true, Danny is due any day now. And yes... there's been some extra Ectoplasm Incidents lately. Maddie just can't stay awake sometimes, and... well. That's not exactly good when working on ghost hunting machines.
"Your baby brother will be perfectly fine," Maddie assures. "He's a healthy baby boy, and he'll be just as healthy when you meet him."
Jazz lights up at the mention of meeting him. She can't wait!
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Jazz bounces excitedly in her dad's arms. She gets to meet her baby brother! Finally! She's going to read him bedtime stories, and protect him from closet monsters, and show him how to throw a tea party!
Jack chuckles. "Calm down, sweetie, you don't get to play with him quite yet! He's still very fragile."
"But he's okay?"
"Yes, he and Mommy are both okay. Better than okay."
Jack knocks on the hospital room door, and they enter.
Maddie is holding Danny, and it looks like she fell asleep. Jazz gasps, even though all she can see so far is the blanket bundle.
"He's tiny!"
"Very." Again. Ah well. Jack had always hoped one of his kids would groww up to be taller than him, but maybe it'll have to be a grandkid.
He walks over, and smiles at his sleeping wife. "Okay, let's be quiet," he whispers. "We don't want to wake mommy."
Jazz nods seriously.
Jack sets her on the bed, and Jazz carefully crawls closer to Danny. She moves the blanket to get a good look at his face, grinning widly-!
She frowns. "Where is he?"
"What?!" Jack hurriedly picks up the bundle, making Maddie startle awake. "Holy-"
"Jack? Honey? What is it?!" Maddie's tone becomes increasingly panicked.
Jack, looking a bit pale, hands the bundle back to her. She gasps.
It's empty, and freezing!
"Where- where is-"
And then suddenly. He's there.
Fast asleep, wrapped up snug and tight. His little face still red from being brand-new to the world, his tiny tongue sticking out of his mouth slightly as he snoozes.
He disappears again.
Maddie thinks she's about to pass out.
Finally, Jazz breaks the horrified silence. "I told you to cover your mouths!"
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Danny sleeps all the way home, and all the way up to his room. Jazz is waiting by the bassinet, and peeks in as soon as he's placed down. She frowns. "Mommy, his hair is white. He's not old."
Maddie sighs. "No, he's not. Apparently it just... does that, sometimes."
Danny yawns, and opens his little eyes. Jazz's own eyes widen as well. "He's glowing!"
"Yes... that happens too."
Danny screws up his face, and starts crying. Maddie picks him up and rocks him. "Poor baby... he's so cold."
"Why?" Jazz tilts her head.
Maddie sighs. "Well... your father and I... we think he's half-ghost."
"How?"
"... Probably... the ectoplasm," Shame burns in Maddie's veins.
Jazz, wide-eyed, reaches to to try and touch Danny. "Is he dead?" She doesn't sound sad, because it looks to her like even if he is dead, he's still alive.
"No!" Maddie shuts the idea right down. "He is a very healthy, living boy! But he's... different."
"Are you gonna trap him?"
"Wh- Jasmine, why would you ask that!"
"He's a ghost."
"No! No, we never treat him like any other ghost. And he's only partly ghost, so it barely counts. Now, Mommy has to feed him so he can go back to sleep. How about you go pick a movie for tonight?"
Jazz nods. She takes that job very seriously. There's a science to picking movies.
She heads off, and Maddie looks at Danny's sniffling little face. His eyes are back too baby blue, but his hair isn't quite black yet.
At least he's still visible.
At least the side effects seem mild.
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It's about 6 am when Jack bolts up too use the bathroom. On his way back, he decides to check on the kids.
Jazz is asleep, cuddling a stuffed animal. Jack smiles.
Danny is also asleep, wrapped up in a cute little onesie and floating above the bassinet FLOATING ABOVE THE BASSINET?!?!
Jack runs over and grabs Danny from the air, pulling out a Fenton Ghost-Whapping Baton!
And then he looks at Danny, who's whining, and sees sleepy glowing green eyes looking at him.
"Oh. Um, sorry, son." He puts away the baton. "I thought a ghost was stealing you."
Danny yawns. Jack sees a cold breath puff out of his son's mouth, despite the room being temperature-controlled to keep him toasty during the nights.
Jack puts Danny back into the bassinet. He leaves, and comes back a little bit later with some equipment.
He sets up a rudimentary ghost-shield to keep Danny from floating away during the night, but won't trap him. He can still float a little, if need be.
"The scariest ghost we've faced yet," Jack mumbles. He kisses Danny's forehead, and sits there until Danny falls asleep. By then, Danny is human again.
Jack leaves, and in the morning he and Maddie begin working on some upgrades for Danny's room.
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Danny babbles happily as Jazz plays peek-a-boo with him.
"Boo!"
Laughter.
"Boo!"
More laughter!
"A-boo! A-boo!" Jazz can't stop grinning. She's a great older sister! Look at her go!
She takes Danny's hands, and moves them over his face. "Now, where's Danny? ... Here he is! Oh."
Danny isn't there. But his clothes are, and something's inside of them. And Jazz is still holding two chubby baby arms, even if they're cold and invisible.
Jazz stares for a second, and then speaks. "... Peek-a-boo?"
Danny reappears, and squeals with laughter!
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Maddie sits down to give Danny his bottle. She's brought him out shopping with her so she can grab some replacement parts that fried in their latest invention, the Fenton Ecto-Extractor!
Jazz had thrown a fit when she'd heard the name, and it startled Jack so bad he'd turned it on too early and it completely collapsed on itself! It took half an hour to convince Jazz that they weren't trying to use it to make Danny normal, just using it for themselves now that they know it can cause... strange things, to happen.
Danny drinks the bottle with no issue, and burps as soon as she starts his back. Really, he's a pretty easy baby. Except for the ghost part.
Maddie is getting him back in the stroller when Danny's face screws up. She watches a cold, visible breath leave his mouth, and then he starts to scream. Sobbing, wailing baby screams, attracting the concerned and/or annoyed attention of most people around them.
"He's just tired," she assures loudly. His breath is still puff out in cold clouds, even though it's perfectly warm in the mall.
Maddie quickly picks him back up and hugs him, bouching and singing to try and calm him down.
Danny starts to quiet down. She puts him back in the stroller, but as soon as she does (as soon as he looks behind her with those bright, bright green eyes) he starts crying again.
She sighs and picks him up, hurrying back to the car. She'll just come back for the parts later. Clearly, something is upsetting him.
Something that she just can't see.
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Jazz leans away from Danny, grinning. "There!"
Danny is propped up on her bed. Maddie and Jack needed to quickly decontaminate themselves, and so Jazz had to watch Danny for just a minute.
And in that minute, she's does some redesigning.
Danny's fluffy white hair has a little bow in it, and she's put some of her kiddie makeup on him.
Danny disappears for a second, and the bow falls. When he reappears, it's not on his head anymore. He looks at Jazz blankly.
Jazz crosses her arms. "No fair! I was making you pretty!"
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Maddie stumbles into Danny's room. She flicks on the light, and turns off the Fenton Ghost-Shielding Hanging Mobile. She reaches in and pulls the crying Danny out of the bassinet, shushing and rocking him.
Danny's eyes are bright green again, and Maddie can see his breath. "Oh, you always get so worked up when this happens," she says softly. "Is the cold upsetting you?"
Danny doesn't answer, just cries more.
Maddie takes him to her and Jack's room, and lays down with him on her chest. Jack rolls over in his sleep and puts his arms around her, cradling both of them.
Danny falls back asleep soon, and Maddie sighs. She can still see his breath, but at least he's calm now.
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Jazz holds up her drawing, and shakes her head. She goes back to scribbling, and moves closer to Danny. "This is black," she says to him, pointing at the crayon she's using. She picks up another color. "And this one is red."
Danny stares as Jazz keeps scribbling. Jazz assumes that means he's learning.
"I'm going to let Mom and Dad know I saw this in my closet," she says seriously. "I think people know you're special and want to steal you!"
Danny blows a spit bubble by accident, and laughs when it pops.
Jazz's eyes hold more determination than ever. She scribbles with the fury of a million warriors. "You're very valuable." She learned that word yesterday. "So you need lots of protecting."
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"Do you think this will make her feel better?" Maddie asks as she closes the panel.
Jack lifts his soldering mask and nods. "If one thing can make a person feel safe, it's fifty anti-ghost devices hidden in their walls!"
"I just worry about that doodle. What if something really got in?"
"Mads, you personally handcrafted every single sensor put up in the kids's rooms! If a ghost had gotten in, we'd know! To get past then they'd need deep knowledge of exactly how our deigns work and how they detect ghost energy, and no ghost has that!"
"You're right, you're right. Still, I hate to think she might be having nightmares about something like that. It looked like it had devil horns."
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"Peek-a-boo!" Jazz grins at Danny. "Peek-a-boo!"
It never gets old for him! No matter how many times they play, Danny loves it!
"Peek... a-boo!" Jazz does little jazz-hands.
Danny disappears, and Jazz grins. "Where's Danny? Where'd he go?"
Danny reappears, and-
"B-b-boo!"
Jack and Maddie dart into the room! Maddie swoops Danny up, eyes wide!
Danny giggles, and says it again. "Boo!"
Maddie and Jackie both tear up. In unison they shout, "HIS FIRST WORD!"
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Danny gnaws on the toy with his little baby gums.
"I can't believe it. Already teething," Maddie sighs, holding him. "Seems like only yesterday we were bringing him home from the hospital."
Jack wipes his eyes. "He's growing into a young man already."
"Oh, Jack, stop it, he's not nearly a young man."
"But he will be before we know it!"
Maddie pats her husband on the back comfortingly as he begins to blubber.
Maddie closes her eyes, thinking about those early months with Danny, figuring out how to prepare for his floating and invisibility, learning to not panic when his eyes and hair changed color, learning that sometimes when they do his clothes change color as well...
She's startled out of her thought by something warm and wet on her lap.
She looks down to see the teething toy on her thigh... and a whole lot of nothing where Danny's head should be.
Then it' back when she blinks, and he's beginning to whine for his toy.
She quickly picks him up off her laps and retrieves it, giving it back to him.
So... the ghost abilities are still developing, then. She'll have to let Jack know about this later.
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"Daniel Fenton," Jack says, the most serious Jazz has ever seen him, "You're in big trouble this time, mister. I don't know how you did this-"
Jack shakes the empty tube of baby snacks, safe for teething babies.
"But I will get to the bottom of it!"
"Look like he already did," Maddie jokes, setting Jazz's breakfast down for her.
Jazz laughs, because it sounds like a Smart Adult Joke and she thinks those are funny, even when she doesn't understand them.
Danny babbles, smacking his chair's food tray.
"Oh no you don't, mister! You're getting regular baby food this morning and that's all!" Jack grabs the jar of food, and holds up the spoon. "Now, here comes the Fenton Ghost-Tracking Copter!"
He puts the spoon up to Danny's mouth-
-and right through his head.
He gasps and pulls back, and Danny's head reappears. He babbles, smacking the tray again.
Maddie drops her fork. "I can't believe I forgot! That's what I was going to tell you about!"
Jazz looks at her parents. "You didn't know he does this?"
They both gawk at her. "You did?!"
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Danny reaches up and grabs Jazz's nose. Jazz wrinkles it, and he laughs.
Jazz sticks out her tongue and crosses her eyes, and Danny laughs even harder!
Jazz looks at her parents as they finish setting up the picnic blanket. "I'm the funniest big sister ever!"
"You sure are, sweetie!" Maddie scoops Jazz up and gives her a kiss on the cheek. "You get it from me."
Jack laughs. "It's true! Your mother could get the whole Ghost Hunting Club laughing out HAZMAT suits off all day long back in the day! ... 'Course it was just the three of us, but still, three's a crowd!"
"May as well have been doing stand-up," Maddie says, setting Jazz down on the blanket.
They enjoy the little outing, the sun shining but not beating down, the cool breeze just enough to crispen the air but not freeze.
And then Jazz looks at Danny. She sees glowing eyes, and a puff of breath come out of his mouth. "Uh-oh. Mommy! He's gonna cry!"
Maddie picks Danny up right as he starts to wail. She hugs him, and is shocked. He doesn't feel cold this time!
Is he just cold inside?
Or is there some other problem?
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Jack rubs his ears. "That child wails like a Banshee!"
"He could very well be doing exactly that," Maddie points out. "We still don't know what other abilities he'll develop as he ages!"
"Or how well he'll be able to control them. ... Mads... should we homeschool him?"
"It's a little early to worry about that, Jack."
"I know that tone, you're worrying about it too."
"... We can't just keep him isolated from the rest of the world, Jack. It'll be unhealthy for him. And what if it makes him lean into his ghost side too much?"
"So you think we should let him go to school."
"Yes. ... But not pre-school. We'll teach him to not use his abilities around other kids, and then send him to Kindergarten."
"... Alright, Mads. If you think that's what's best, then that's what's best!"
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"Come on, that's it! Yes, yes, WHOO!" Maddie picks Danny up as soon as he walks over. "Who's a strong little Fenton? Who's the best little boy at walking in the whole wide world?"
"Danny!" Jazz cheers from the couch.
"Danny!" Maddie and Jack both cheer at once.
Danny laughs and squeals, kicking his legs and flapping his arms. His first proper Walk! Not just a step or two and then crawling, that was real walking!
Jack takes Danny, holding him aloft. "You're a real butt-kicker in the making, son! You'll be as strong as your old man someda-"
Jack feels something bump him, hard.
He shouts as he goes down! Danny going with him!
But as Jack meets the floor, he feels Danny's weight disappear from his hands!
He lands with an "oof", and looks up to see Danny floating above him, surrounded by a faint white aura. Danny looks down and babbles, sucking his thumb. Then... he moves.
He's only ever floated in place before. But as he looks down at his dad, he kicks his little legs and moves! Moving right across the room!
And then he looks behind his dad, and his breath comes out in puffs. He starts crying and wailing hysterically.
Jazz peers at where Danny is looking. "Mommy, hit the air with the stick!"
Maddie gently grabs Danny. "Why, sweetie?"
"Danny is scared! So we have to protect him!"
Maddie grabs her Fenton Baton, and gives the area Danny was looking at a good thwack. She expects it to go right through the empty air.
Instead there's a loud zap! There's a cry of pain! And then a semi-transparent form zooming out of their house!
Maddie's jaw drops. Jack scrambles to his feet and grabs every ghost weapon in radius, forming a protective circle around the family with them!
Maddie looks at Danny, who's now calm.
And his breath isn't visible.
Hmm...
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"We're just seeing if my hypothesis is right," Maddie assures.
Jazz sobs, clinging onto her leg. "NOOOO! HE'LL GET HURT! OR STOLED!"
"Stolen, sweetie. And Mommy and Daddy would never let that happen."
Jazz scream-sobs again.
"What if we can promise you the ghost will be in a big, big box?"
Jazz looks at her mom with watery eyes. "Like around Danny's crib?"
"Yes, like that."
"But-but he's so little."
"It'll just be a second, sweetheart."
Jazz sniffles again. "... Can I hold the stick?"
Maddie smiles softly. "Yes, sweetie, you can hold the stick."
A couple hours later, Jack and Maddie return home with a ghost in a box. It's yelling something, but the box is soundproof.
Jack sets the box down, and goes to grab Danny. He comes back, and holds Danny firmly while walking towards the ghost. Danny's eyes are covered by a too-big hood on his little shirt. He can't see, or hear, that there's a ghost nearby.
Danny's breath comes out a visible puff about two feet away from the ghost, and he starts crying. Jack steps back a ways, and Danny's breaths become normal again. He settles down.
Jack walks closer. Puff of breath, and crying.
Jack steps back. Normal breath, calm Danny.
"He can sense ghost's," Maddie says, looking in awe at her baby boy. Her face breaks into a grin. "He's his own portable ghost detector! He'll never be caught unawares, he'll be able to always defend himself!"
She runs up to Jack and hugs them both, kissing Danny's little forehead. Danny babbles.
"He'll never be caught unawares," Maddie says again in relief. "Oh, this makes me feel so much better."
"Mommy? ... Does that mean we're haunted all the time?"
Maddie's relief hardens and breaks in her chest.
All those times Danny's Ghost Sense has gone off inside! All those times!
She pulls away. "Jack, we're upping our security!"
Jack nods. "Time for FentonWorks 2.0!"
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Danny giggles as his dad chases him around the house. He phases through doors and turns invisible in hiding places, always giving himself away with laughter.
Jack grabs Danny just before he phases through the next door. “Gotcha!”
Danny laughs, happy little kid squeals that you can hear through the whole house. Jack puts Danny on his shoulders and heads into the kitchen. “He’s getting pretty good at running! Say, whatcha making, Mads?”
“Meatloaf. Would you mind helping?”
Jack sets Danny down at the table and helps Maddie make dinner, while Danny eyes something on the counter.
“Cookie.”
Maddie looks over. Danny is staring at the cookie jar. “No sweetie, no cookies yet.”
“Cookie!”
“Not yet.”
Danny starts to cry. “Cookie!”
Maddie walks over, and gives Danny his binkie. Danny refuses it af first, but once he has it he calms down fast.
He looks at the cookie jar still, though.
And, slowly, he lifts out of his chair. He kicks his little legs, pushing himself forward. He plops down on the counter, and reaches into the jar with an intangible hand.
He pulls out not one, but two cookies!
He gets so excited that he starts waving his arms, making happy noises.
Jack looks over. “What? Maddie, he’s gotten into the cookie jar!”
“I’ve got it!” Maddie walks over and scoops Danny up in his old Anti-Ghost-Phasing Blanket. Soft, warm, and totally ghost-proof.
Danny whines. “Cookie!”
“I said not yet, honey.” Maddie grabs the cookies and puts them on the counter. She safety pins the blanket around Danny like a little cape, except it takes away his powers.
Danny sits in his chair, throwing a fit! But to no avail. Eventually he just sits there, tear-faced and angry.
And then Jazz walks in. She looks over at the cookies, and then at Danny.
She walks over and snatches them off the counter as quick as she can! She casually walks over to the table, and hands them to Danny.
Danny brightens up. He shoves one cookie in his mouth, and gives the other back to Jazz. His original intention.
Jazz smiles, and scarfs the cookie down just before Maddie turns around.
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“Why?” Danny looks at his mom with wide, innocent eyes.
Maddie’s heart aches. “People might get scared.”
Danny frowns. “Scawy?”
“No, no, you aren’t scary. But the... idea of ghosts, for a lot of people, can be scary.”
Danny thinks, and then walks over to the fridge. “Scawy.”
Maddie looks at the drawing Danny is pointing at. It’s Jazz’s drawing of The Ghost.
The one that’s been haunting them for months.
Black horns, it looks like. Red eyes. Deathly blue skin. It makes Maddie shiver, knowing it had direct access to her children for so long.
Danny starts to cry. “I scawy!”
Maddie scoops him up. “No, no sweetie! You are nothing like that monster, nothing like it at all! And you never will be, I promise!” Maddie hugs him tightly. “Oh, my poor baby... how about we take a break? Do you want to help Jazz paint something?”
Danny sniffles, and nods. They head upstairs, leaving the talk for another day.
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“Kindergarten, Jack,” Maddie says, packing the little lunch box. “He’s already in Kindergarten!”
Jack is already openly sobbing as he makes Jazz a sandwich.
“Do you think he understands what he needs to do?” Maddie asks no-one in particular, just worrying.
“He understands perfectly!”
Maddie jumps a little, and turns around to see Jazz smiling proudly. Danny stands right next to her, a shyer smile on his face. Maddie tears up at the sight of him with his little backpack and school outfit on.
Jazz looks at Danny. “Go ahead! Show them what we practiced!”
Danny puffs out his chest to look strong. “I won’t go through anything, turn invi-invisi- um, turn not-seeing-me, I won’t fly, and, um... and if I feel another ghost, I’ll use this!” He pulls his little Fenton Emergency Pager out of his pocket.
Maddie wipes her eyes. “Perfect, honey,” she says, letting the pride seep into her voice. “Oh, my baby boy! Growing up so fast!” She picks him up and kisses his face. Danny wraps his arms around her neck.
“Do I have to go, mommy? They’ll think I’m scary.”
“Oh, honey. You aren’t scary, I promise.”
“... What if I need to be scary?”
“Mommy will come be scary for you.”
“She very good at it,” Jack chimes in, shivering a little as he remembers the time a ghost attacked while Maddie was buying Danny’s first pair of little shoes. By the time it was over, Jack almost pitied the thing.
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Maddie gives Danny one last hug. “Remember, calls u anytime you need us, okay?”
He nods. “I love you, Mommy. I love you, Daddy. I love you, Jazz.”
“You’re just going to school, not saying bye forever.” Even as Jazz says it, her lip wobbles and her voice cracks.
Danny floats up to the car window give her a hug, before being quickly held up by Maddie to cover the power use.
“That’s the only time today you’ll do that,” she reminds him.
Danny nods.
Eventually... the goodbyes are done being dragged out. Danny’s family drives away as the teacher leads him inside.
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Danny sits on a swing by himself, not sure what to do.
Usually at home he plays using his powers. He doesn’t know how to be good at tag without making it so people can’t touch him, or how to play hide-and-seek without turning invisible.
He kicks the sand. This is stupid. He misses Jazz. He can play with her.
“Hi.”
Danny looks up. Another young boy is standing in front of him, holding some kind of electronic. The boy holds out his hand. “I’m Tucker.”
Danny shakes his hand, focusing very hard on keeping it a real hand. “I’m Danny.”
Tucker shows him the electronic. “Want to play my game?"
Danny looks at it. It’s a coloring game. He nods.
They pass it back and forth between each other for a while, both coloring in different parts of the same picture.
Eventually it’s time to back in. Danny and Tucker ask if they can sit closer together.
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“So, how was it?” Maddie asks, gripping the steering wheel tightly as she picks Danny up. “Have fun?”
“I made a friend!” Danny yells! “His name is Tucker and he’s really nice!”
Maddie relaxes. “Oh? How did you meet?”
“He let me play his coloring game!”
“That’s wonderful!”
“We made a tower out of blocks and it was the strongest ever! And I never used my powers!”
“I’m so proud of you, sweetie!”
Maybe Maddie can stop worrying now. ... Probably not.
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“What if we gave it big scary horns?” Danny says as he doodled something in crayon. “Like the thing that watches my window.”
Tucker looks at him with wide eyes. “A monster watches you?”
“My parents don’t let it touch me. They hunt ghosts.”
“Oh. Do you hunt ghosts?”
Danny shakes his head. “I’m too little.”
“Oh. Me too.”
“You should give it bat wings.”
They both look up. The quiet girl who usually sits in the back is standing in front of them, her hair pulled back in a tight black braid and her clothes perfectly pressed.
Danny looks at the drawing, and nods. He adds the wings. “We’re drawing the monster from that story we heard today.”
The girl sits down. “I bet it had claws. And could breathe black fire!”
Danny adds them on. “You’re really smart!”
The girl nods. “I am.”
“I’m Danny.”
“I’m Tucker!”
The girl grins. “I’m Samatha.”
“Wow... that’s a long name,” Danny says, eyes wide. “My sister has a long name too. Do all girls have long names?”
Samantha thinks. “I dunno. I haven’t met all girls.”
“Oh. We don’t know all boys, either.”
They spend the rest of free time coloring. Once it’s over, Samantha moves to sit with them.
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“So, how was today, sweetie?”
“I made another friend! She’s really good, and her parents make her have long hair but she wants it short, and we made this with her!” He shows Maddie the drawing.
Maddie grimaces a little, but turns it into a smile. “It’s lovely, dear. Looks... a little like Jazz’s picture.”
Danny nods.”The monster in the story lived in the window. So does this ghost.”
“... What?”
“He lives by my window. But he can’t come inside, so I make faces at him and make him mad.”
Maddie speeds up a little. “Danny, we’re going to be altering your windows when we get home. Okay?”
“Okay.”
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Danny leads Sam and Tucker to his room with his tiny arms full of snacks. He brings them inside, and proudly stands in the middle. “This is my room!”
"Cool!” Tucker exclaims. “Whoa, you have a computer?”
Danny shakes his head. “That’s to keep ghosts out. Ghosts hate us.”
“You’ve seen some?” Samantha asks, eyes wide.
Danny grins. “So many!”
“Can we see some?”
“Sure, I can even-”
They hear a gasp in the doorway. Turning to look, they see Jazz. “Danny, you didn’t let me meet your friends!”
Danny looks horrified. “Oh no!” He runs over and pulls Jazz into the room. “This is my big sister Jazz! She’s the coolest big sister!”
“I’m Tucker!”
“I’m Sam!”
Jazz grins. “Guess what I learned yesterday?” She points out of the room. “How to use the remote!”
The trio of toddler’s eyes sparkle. They cheer for Jazz as all of them descend, ready to Take Control Of The TV!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“-and this is The Box Ghost,” Danny says, showing his friends the doodle him and Jazz made at home. “He’s silly. He wants to be scary, but he isn’t.”
Tucker and Samantha nods like it the most important thing they’ll ever learn.
Danny pulls out the next drawing. “This is Scary, the ghost from my window.” It’s a new drawing, a little more detailed thanks to Jazz being better at drawing now. And Danny having seen the face so, so many times. “I don’t see him anymore. Mom and Dad kicked him out of the window.”
“He’s ugly,” Samantha says, wrinkling her nose.
“He looks stinky,” Tucker agrees.
Danny looks over at the window. “Shhhh! He’s here!”
Tucker and Samantha look at the window. They see nothing.
They look back at Danny. They see little puffs coming out of his mouth, and his eyes are the wrong color.
Danny pulls his pager out. “It’s okay. Mommy will come scare him away.”
“We can’t see him,” Samantha says.
Danny nods. “He’s hard to see.”
“Do you have to have glowy eyes like yours?” Tucker asks. “I have to have glasses. Are your eyes like Ghost Glasses?”
Danny thinks, and then nods. “I guess so. ... OH NO!” He covers his eyes. “You aren’t supposed to see that!”
“Why not?”
“Mommy said it’s a secret! You’ll think I’m scary!”
“But it’s not scary.”
Danny tilts his head, still covering his eyes. “It’s not?”
“No, it’s cool!”
He slowly uncovers his eyes. “... Do... you think this is scary?” He holds out his arm, and makes it invisible.
Tucker and Samantha gasp! Danny pulls his arm back, about to cry. They think he’s scary, they won’t be his friends anymore-
“That’s so cool,” Samantha says.
“I wanna do that!” Tucker exclaims.
Danny can’t believe it for a second. And then he grins. “I can do more stuff too! I’ll show you at my house!”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maddie paces the floor while Danny sits on the couch, his little face burning with shame.
Jazz sits next to him, arms crossed. Jack stands in front of him, Maddie pacing beside her husband.
“You told your friends?” Maddie asks again.
Danny nods, keeping his head low. “I didn’t mean to. I saw Scary, and my eyes turned green, and I can’t fix that.”
Maddie sighs. “I know, sweetie, but you showed them more after! We caught you flying them around your room! How can you even carry both of them at once?!”
“It’s easy when I’m a ghost,” he says, still keeping his head low. “Everything’s easy when I’m a ghost.”
Maddie stops pacing. “Oh, sweetie... I know it must be strange for you to suddenly have to hide it.”
Danny nods. He sniffles a little.
“It’s for your own safety, son,” Jack says. “You understand that, right? We just want you to be safe.”
“Other kids can be mean, Danny,” Jazz says. “I’m smart, and some kids are mean to me for that.”
“But Samantha and Tucker aren’t mean!”
“No, they aren’t,” Maddie concedes. “... I guess what’s done is done. Danny?” She kneels down in front of him and gently lifts his head up, wiping his tears away. “We aren’t mad. We’re worried. They’re your friends, but they also don’t understand this the way we do.”
“... Can you make them understand?”
Maddie nods. “We’ll absolutely have a talk with them. You can go get them from your room right now, even. But Danny? No-one else. Okay? These two kids are the only kids you will ever tell. Promise?”
Danny nods, still sniffling. “Promise.”
Maddie puts on her HAZMAT glove and holds out her pinkie. “Fenton promise?”
Danny links her pinkie with his, letting it go ghostly. “Fenton promise, Mommy.”
“Okay. You can send your friends down now.”
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Danny waits for his mom to come pick him up, Samantha and Tucker sitting next to him.
Samantha looks up suddenly. “I don’t like my name.”
Danny and Tucker look at her.
She stands up. “From now on, my name is... is Sam!”
Danny and Tucker clap, because they learned that’s the polite thing to do when someone has a dramatic moment like this. They learned it from watching the older kids do a play.
Sam sits back down. “I’m Sam,” she says happily. “Sam.”
“Sam is a good name,” Danny says.
“Easier to write,” Tucker says.
“Yeah.” Sam is very proud of her new name.
They wait a bit longer, and a long black car pulls up. Sam stands up, but her parents don’t step out.
A tall, white-haired man does, one none of them have ever met before. He smiles down at them. “Hello, Danny. Hello, Danny’s friends.”
“Who are you?”
“I’m a friend of Danny’s parents,” he says, giving a slight bow (or maybe just bending over to hear them better since they’re so much shorter than him).
“I don’t know you,” Danny says, accusatory. “Mrs. Emma told us about people like you!”
The Man shakes his head. “I’m not a stranger, I promise. Your parents and I are very close.”
“I don’t know you,” Danny says again. He steps between The Man and his friends. “I’m gonna tell Mrs. Emma on you.”
“Danny, really, your mother called and asked me to pick you up.”
“You liar! She always picks me up!”
“She’s fighting a ghost right now.”
“She leaves fights to come get me!”
The Man sighs. He grabs Danny’s arm. “Stubborn like your parents. Come on, I promise you’ll be fine.”
“NO!” Danny yanks his arm, trying to get away. “LET GO OF ME!”
“Stop making a scene!”
“LET GO! YOU-”
Danny gaps, a puff of breath coming out and his eyes turning green.
“S-Scary,” he whimpers. “SCARY! MOMMY! MOMMMYYYY! SCARY HAS ME!!! HELP!!!”
Danny yanks again, Tucker and Sam finally running inside to get Mrs. Emma!
The Man scowls. “I’m trying to help you, little badger!”
“YOU’RE THE SCARY IN THE WINDOW!” Danny looks at him with bright eyes, tearful and afraid. “GET AWAY!!!”
Danny’s little hand glows green, and suddenly The Man is clutching his stomach instead of Danny’s arm. Danny runs inside, right into Mrs. Emma’s arms. He sobs to her as she frantically calls the police, trying to read the plate of the car speeding off into the distance.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maddie hands Jazz a Baton. “This is in case this ‘Scary’ come after you,” Maddie says, still shaking a bit. “Okay?”
Jazz nods.
“Danny, this is for you.” Maddie hands him a black-and-white suit. “This is to keep other ghosts from sensing you, okay? So wear it under your clothes.”
Danny nods, still crying.
Maddie looks at Sam and Tucker. Their parents were late picking them up, but with the attempted kidnapping it was decided that they’ll stay with The Fentons for a few hours until their parents could get them.
“You two get these.” She hands them Fenton Pagers, and Fenton Fun-Sized Ghost Stunners. “They can hurt people too, so only use them on ghosts. Or if someone tries to do... what you saw today, ever again.”
Sam and Tucker nod.
“And Danny? From now on, wait with Mrs. Emma until we come inside to get you.”
“Yes, Mommy.”
“And when I get my hands on this ‘Scary’, I promise you’ll never have to worry about him again.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Danny looks around to see if anyone is watching. He, Tucker, and Sam are crouched under a desk in the classroom while everyone else is out at recess.
He holds out his hand to the stack of paper, and closes his eyes. For a second, nothing happens.
And then it glows green, and a small beam shoots from his hand! Tucker and Sam gasp!
“You’re like a superhero!” Tucker exclaims, standing up.
“A ghost superhero!” Sam says, standing up too. “You need a superhero name!”
Danny shoots up, smiling widely. “What should it be?”
They all think for a long, long time.
Sam perks up. “I know!”
She grabs a book from the corner. The book is a Halloween one, mostly for pictures with just a few words. She flips to a page, and points to it. “This word! It means Ghost!”
Danny and Tucker peer at it. “How do you say it?” Tucker asks.
Sam grins. “Phantom!”
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“Phantom?” Maddie says, looking at the doodle.
Jack nods. “Apparently Sam came up with it! Our boy wants to be a ghost hunter after all!”
“Superhero, this says.”
“Same thing!”
“Jack, what’re you making there?”
Jack holds up the suit, one of the prototype Anti-Ghost-Detection suits for Danny. “I got out my old needlepointing stuff and am making him a superhero costume! See, it’s a P!”
Maddie squints, trying to get a better look at the outline. “It looks like a D.”
Jack looks at it. “Hmm. I guess from some angles. But it’s a P! Or, DP! Danny Phantom!”
Maddie’s expression goes soft. “Awww! Okay, you keep making that, and I’ll hang this doodle on the fridge! But no actual ghost fighting until he’s at least fourteen, right?”
“Absolutely!”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Danny steps into the school “Halloween Party” with his hands on his hips and a bright grin, looking like a mini-version of his dad behind him.
“Aww, and what are you dressed as, Danny?” Mrs. Emma asks.
“A superhero ghosthunter!” Danny says proudly. “My parents made this for me!”
“It’s great,” Mrs. Emma says genuinely. “Alright, go mingle! We’re going to make paper jack-o-lanterns later so now is the time to trade candies!”
Danny walks over to his friends, still striking the pose. Tucker, dressed as a robot made out of cardboard boxes, pouts in slight jealousy as Danny comes over. Sam, dressed as a vampire, grins. “P for Phantom!” she yells.
Danny runs over faster. “Yeah! My dad put the logo on!” He shows it off proudly. “I’m gonna be the best ghosthunter ever!”
“You can work from the inside!” Tucker says, getting over his jealousy thankfully quick. “Make them think you wanna haunt stuff too!”
“Yeah!” Danny strikes another pose. “But I’m actually going to catch them all, because I’m Danny Phantom!”
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Danny and Jazz are playing with dolls in the living room. “Pow! Take that!” Danny shouts, making his doll punch Jazz’s.
“Nooo!” Jazz cries out in a husky voice. “But how? I’m The Scary! Nothing can not fear me!”
“I don’t fear you!” Danny waves the hand of his doll, making laser noises. Jazz shakes her doll around, making dying noises. “I’m Danny Phantom, the strongest ghost boy ever!”
“Nooooo!”
Maddie chuckles, watching them. “That Scary better watch out for more than just us.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Where are we going?” Danny asks again.
“It’s a surprise!” Jack says again, still as excited as when the road trip started.
Danny huffs, looking out the window again. “Why couldn’t Sam and Tucker come?”
“Because they’re spending Summer visiting their families,” Maddie says. “And so are we, sort of.”
“I though Auntie lived in Spittoon,” Jazz says.
“She does! This is different.”
After hours (years in the minds of the kids), they pull up to a mansion. All fo the boredom washes away instantly, Jazz and Danny cramming into the window to see it!
“Are we rich?” Jazz demands to know.
“We’re well-off, but not quite. Welcome to your honorary Uncle Vlad’s house!” Maddie cheers.
“Vlad was out best friend in college!” Jack says, grinning. “He got back in contact with us a few years ago and we’ve been thick as thieves since! He asked us too come over this weekend, and we thought we’d surprise him and let him meet your two at the same time!”
Danny and Jazz cheer! THEY GET TO STAY IN A MANSION!
The family piles out of the car, and stand in front of the door! Maddie and Jack make sure Jazz and Danny look extra nice, and ring the doorbell!
It takes a long minute, so they ring it again!
Finally, a man opens it up! “Oh, Maddie, Jack, I’m so sorry I didn’t hear-”
Danny shrieks. His eyes are glowing bright as they can, his breaths giant puffs! He holds up his hand and send a little beam right into Vlad’s side!
Vlad falls back with an “Oof!”
“Danny!” Maddie scoops him up. “What on earth has gotten into you? Oh, Danny!”
Danny is sobbing pointing at Vlad. “It-it’s him! The-The Scary! He-he tried to take me!”
Maddie and Jack freeze. Slowly, they both look at Vlad. Jazz pulls out her Baton.
“Vlad?” Maddie says coldly.
“Didn’t I only invite you two?” Vlad wheezes.
Jack points a ghost detector at Vlad. It goes off.
“Now, now, I can explai- AGCK!”
Jazz starts happening him with the Baton before he can finish his sentence. Maddie hands Danny to Jack. “Sweetie, close the door and take Danny back to the truck. I need to have a word with Vlad.”
Jack does as told, holding Danny in his lap and soothing him.
“He-he tried to take me,” Danny sobs again.
“Don’t worry, son.” Jack hugs him tightly. “No-one’s ever going to be able to do that. We’ll always keep you safe. We promise.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“And what do we always wear while testing new devices?” Maddie asks, handing Danny a Fenton Ghost-Zapper that would use Danny’s own ghost energy to work.
Danny grins, and puts it on. “Face mask!”
“Because?”
“Because lab safety is very important!”
Maddie grins. “That’s right! And who do we thank for reminding us of that every time we’re in the lab?”
Danny points. “Jazz! Thank you, Jazz!”
Jazz grins proudly.
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