The mood in the Fenton lab was ecstatic. After years of research, arduously calculating and recalculating, they were ready to prove not only themselves, but also the existence of ghosts, to the world.
"Are you even sure it will work?" Danny asked skeptically from the stairs.
Maddie assured him with details of their calculations, then turned to her husband to check one final thing. "The on switch did get moved outside the portal, right sweetie?"
"Of course, I had Danny-boy do it."
"That should be everything. I think we're ready to turn it on. Jack, would you like to-"
"I'll push the button!" Jack exclaimed, racing over, slamming it in, and turning towards the portal to see it flash to life. When he saw no such flash, not even a spark, the expectant grin fell from his face, replaced by a look of disappointment.
Maddie's face mirrored Jack's. She removed herself from the lab, mumbling that she'd be upstairs. Jack followed her, saying something about finding Jazz to tell her it failed.
...
"It doesn't work. They tried to turn it on yesterday and nothing happened," Danny told his friends, who had come to the lab to see the strange failed portal. Looking toward the stairs, he added, "Come on, we shouldn't be down here."
"But aren't you curious?" Sam asked, peering into it, fascinated. "There's no harm in checking it out."
After much internal debate, Danny conceded and grabbed a hazmat suit, slipping it on as a precaution.
Before he could do anything, Sam stopped him to peel a sticker of Mr. Fenton's face off his chest. She inspected the rest of the suit for Fenton emblems, then nodded her approval.
"Well, here goes-" Danny paused as he glanced to the side, then chuckled. "No wonder it doesn't work. They forgot to plug it in."
He walked over, reached down, and grabbed the ends of two cords. Bringing them together, he connected them. A spark, and green light flared in the portal. A spark, and Danny's body flew backwards, electricity coursing through it. It stayed there, unmoving, without even a heartbeat, as his shocked friends called his name and rushed to the corpse.
...
Hours later, in the ghost Zone, a newly-formed ghost sat down to rest on one of the many floating islands. He had been fighting off other ghosts since his formation, which was evident from his torn hazmat suit. Now that he had evaded them all, he could finally rest. That's what he was doing when he was found not long after by Vlad Masters.
AN: This is the first time I've posted a multi-chapter fic. I have an idea of where it's going up to a point and have part of that written, but I'm winging it after that. I'm new to this, so I'd love some feedback if you can spare a minute. Thanks for your support!