Chapter 1

"Daniel Fenton I know you can hear me. There's no escaping who you are. There's no escaping me." The voiced bellowed like thunder through the emptiness of the dream turning it into a nightmare. A nightmare that Danny had hoped was past him. But some things just aren't that simple.

"I know what you're feeling. You cannot hide it from me!" The voice laughed conceitedly, all knowingly. "This feeling of regret. Regret that you could not keep all of our power. You pathetic little boy. I should have ended you instead of playing with my food. But woe is me. I just can't pass up a good show. So what's it gonna be Daniel? What are you going to do-" The voice faded with the black nightmare as light streaked through the half open blinds.

It had been six years since the asteroid incident. And its been five years since Danny lost his powers again. But that wasn't gonna stop him. He finally had the chance to live like a normal teenager. What more could he wish for? He could wish for his powers back. For the first few months it was golden. Time to spend with his girlfriend Sam and his friend Tuck. Not to mention getting to study for the internship under Dr. Deanna Crawford for astronautics. One step closer to his dream. One giant step back from his life. A life that he know could never be normal again; no matter what he was.

"Hey, yo Danny, open the door!" Tucker wailed banging away like a Jehovah's witness. "I know you're there man. You didn't show up to any of your classes. Not that you'd show up anyways." He mumbled the last part to himself.

Silence.

"C'mon man. Open up... Sam sent another postcard." Tucker placed his ear to the door listening intently for any sound. "DANNY!"

"Tuck." Came an annoyed voice from behind.

"Hey. Wow you're up."

"Gee... thanks." Danny wheezed hunched over catching his breath.

"Why the heck didn't you go to any of your classes?"

"I woke up late. I haven't gone in years. Shall I continue?"

"And is that sweat? Did you go running?" Tucker rambled on forgetting why he was there.

"Oh my, this," stretching to a standing position. "No. I decided to go swimming in my running sweats." He reached above the door frame grabbing the apartment key. "Of course it is stupid," he said opening the door. "I went a little past eight."

"It's two-thirty man."

"Long run. You coming in or what Tuck?"

Tucker glanced uneasily through the green-gray door. "I don't know man. Is it safe?"

The apartment was small. To small for a former hero. A single bed was in one corner while the kitchen was on the other, taking up half the wall. Next to that was the trash can.

"Wow. This place is clean."

Danny looked back to his friend. He didn't say anything. Just looked. So much time had passed since the incident. Days turned to weeks- weeks turned to years; and yet his best friend from childhood still remains the same. Or so he thought. What was Danny to know. He hadn't seen Tucker in four years. How he knew Danny didn't go to his classes was beyond him.

Danny just sighed. "Still wearing that stupid hat." Nothing would ever change between them. No matter the scenarios.

Tucker haphazardly stepped through the doorway. Whatever he was expecting wasn't there.

"You know for a man who doesn't get out much this place isn't have bad."

"Yes, yes. We went over this already." Danny cut in. "What is it that you want Tucker?"

"My, my. Grumpy as ever are we." Tucker laughed taking a seat on the only chair in the room. "You know you've got great furniture for a hermit." Stroking the leather chair, "Seems almost out of place though." He added.

"Tucker!"

"Oh right. Almost forgot why I was here."

"For Christ sake get on with." Danny was starting to loose his patience. Tucker may be his childhood friend but still how he kept yapping on and on. It's no wonder he could ever hold a girlfriend down.

Tucker got up from his comfy spot in the chair and handed Danny the postcard he got from Sam. Or more like the postcard that he took from Danny's mailbox.

"You didn't have to come all the way here to give me this."

"Awe, it's no problem man." Tucker smiled throwing his arm around Danny's shoulder. "Anything to see my best bud."

Danny shrugged him off.

"No. I'm being literal here. You really didn't have to bring this to me." He said as he tossed it with the rest of the pile.

Only then did Tucker notice. Really notice. Has it really be so long that he'd forgotten how to tell something was troubling his friend. The pile of postcard was big. Most were stacked and tied neatly together, while others over time it seemed were just tossed unsystematically.

"So you did read some of them."

"Yeah."

"Why did you stop then?" He asked. "Sam's been out there searching doing whatever she can to help you get your powers back. The ghost portal didn't work. Desiree was no where to be found. For the most part the ghost were becoming scarce. And Vlad was out of the question.

"Why did you stop when Sam and I are out there looking for a way to help you." His anger at his friend was starting to show and Tucker was anything but angry for the most part. So why was his friend being such an imbecile?

"Help. You think I wan't you help. That I want my powers back." Danny's anger was out shinning Tucker's by a mile. "Why would I want something as useless as my powers back?"

Tucker was taken aback. Was his friend still beating himself up for something he couldn't control at the time?

"Her death wasn't your fault. No one blames you for it." Tucker reasoned.

"Yes. Yes it was Tuck." Danny sighed feeling defeated for the invisible battle he had with his friend. Friend. A friend he hadn't seen in such a long time and he didn't want things to go sour between them so quickly.

"I know you're trying to help. Both you and Sam. But I... I don't deserve to have them back. I don't want them back. So please just leave it. No more talk of this."

"Fine. But don't think this is the end of it." Tucker opened the door. "I'll be back with proof that you deserve to have your ghost powers back." He turned as he closed the door. "Just you watch."

Danny smiled. Still the same old Tuck.