A/N: Hey, long time no see, I know. Life. Anyway, here is a Danny Phantom oneshot that's been sitting on my hard drive. I just couldn't forget about the fact that they made a big deal about the Ecto-Converter hurting ghosts, and then it does nothing to Danny. Or maybe Ijust like to torture him. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom, and any familiar dialogue is taken from the episode Secret Weapons.
"Danny! Check this out! Your mother and I souped up the RV with an Ecto-Converter." Danny's father said proudly. Danny raised an eyebrow.
"Ecto-converter?"
His mom answered. "It converts a ghost's natural ecto energy into a constantly replenishing fuel source!"
Danny swallowed. That didn't sound pleasant. Jazz had the same line of thought.
"Does it hurt the ghost?"
Jack and Maddie laughed. "Oh, Jazz. You know your father and I don't care about that!"
"Yeah, if we hear screaming, we know it's working." Danny's dad finished, as he turned to follow Maddie up to the top of the RV. They continued working on the roof, while Danny eyed the new Ecto-Converter with trepidation.
Note to self, file under 'must avoid'.
He was about to make some excuse and leave, when Jazz spoke up.
"Too bad there's no ghosts here." She said loudly, and Danny looked at her from under a cocked eyebrow. Was she trying to give him away?
"Right, Danny? No ghosts here!" She slapping him on the back, and Danny winced, then scowled. She was. Could you get any more obvious?
"We know something they don't know." Jazz said in a sing song voice. Yes, apparently, you could.
"I get it. Can we let it die now?" Danny answered in the same singing tone, his voice low and face angry.
She hummed again. Gosh! Did she not know how to keep things quiet? How in the heck did she hide that she knew his secret for so long, if she was this obvious?
SLAP!
Danny's thoughts were cut short by another back slap from Jazz, this one much harder, causing him to stumble forwards. He tripped on his own feet, before catching himself against the RV. Against the RV! His hand landed directly on the Ecto-Converter, and Danny immediately felt a painful burning, and a sort of sucking feeling, as his own ecto energy was pulled into the device. He yelped, jerking his hand away and cradling it against his chest. The RV started up and began driving away, with his parents on top.
Jazz and Danny watched with wide eyes as the RV and their screaming parents crashed through the yard's fence, and into the street before running into the brick wall across from them. It was enough to stop the RV while Maddie jumped down, and climbed inside, stopping the engine.
Danny swallowed. That would be hard to explain. Not to mention, his hand was begging for some attention. He looked down at it, still instinctively holding it against his shirt. He uncurled it gently, wincing.
Reddened and blistered skin appeared along his palm and fingers. There was a bleeding sore in the center of his palm, where the ecto converter had tried to siphon his ecto energy. The whole thing looked a mess.
"Oh my gosh, Danny!" Jazz had caught sight of his burned hand, and was rushing over. "Is that from the ecto converter?" Danny pursed his lips, and nodded, hiding it behind his back.
"Mom and Dad." He whispered, knowing he couldn't let them see. Jazz glanced back at their parents, wide eyed.
"Oh, right." She gave Danny one last worried glance, before running out to the street. "Mom, Dad, are you alright?"
The Fentons were climbing carefully out of the Fenton Family Assault Vehicle, glancing at it quizzically, and muttering to each other. They turned when they heard Jazz's voice.
"Oh, we're fine sweetie. But, I can't imagine what caused it to go off like that! It drove away on its own!" Maddie said, still examining the RV and the Ecto Converter.
Jazz's mind raced, trying to cover for her brother. "Maybe a ghost was just flying by, and it picked up some of its energy..."
"Don't be silly, Jazzypants! We would have seen any ghost flying around here." Jack said, clapping her around the shoulders.
"Plus, it would have had to have been an incredibly powerful ghost. These readings are off the charts!" Maddie was looking at some measuring device, frowning. Jazz sent a worried look to her brother across the street. He was making his way over, hands in his pockets, hiding the burned one. He looked normal, but Jazz could see the lines of pain around his eyes and mouth.
"You guys alright?" Danny asked as he came up. Maddie smiled at her son.
"Of course, Danny. There must have been some problem with the mechanism inside." She turned to Jack. "I guess we'll just have to open it up and redo the calibrations."
Jazz took that opportunity to put her arm around Danny, as a second ago she had seen his face pale further.
"We'll just leave you to it then!" She said brightly, steering Danny back towards the house.
"Alright kids, night!" Maddie called, waving.
"Call us if you see a ghost!" Jack added, before their parents turned back to their work.
Jazz led Danny inside, trying to act normal until the front door shut. She could tell that Danny was struggling, for as soon as there was the barrier of wood between them and the outside, he let out a shaking breath.
"Oh, Danny. Let me see?" Danny jerked away.
"No!" He snapped, turning towards the staircase. 'This wouldn't have happened if you had just let things be." Jazz's worry for her brother faded under her anger.
"You're blaming me?" Danny glanced back over his shoulder, left hand gripping the stair railings.
"Yeah, I'm blaming you. You pushed me into that thing!" Danny gritted his teeth, as a spasm of pain jolted up his arm. Jazz winced as his eyes clenched shut, her anger dying.
"I- I didn't mean to...Danny, please-"
"No, Jazz. Just leave me alone." Danny left her at the bottom of the stairs, and trudged up to his room. He now kept a reasonably well-stocked medical kit under his bed, and thanks to his ghost healing, his hand would probably be better by tomorrow anyway. But his point still stood.
Jazz's interference put him in danger more often than the ghosts did, and he had to get her to stop. If that meant hurting her feelings, so be it.
He knelt down, and pulled out the kit with his left hand. His right hand was still in his pocket; frankly, he was a little afraid to pull it out. Carefully, with as little skin pulling against the denim fabric as possible, he tugged it out and uncurled it. The pain and burning increased with each movement, and by the time his hand was open in front of him, he was gasping, and sweating.
"Oww." He murmured, spreading his fingers out to examine the burns for debris. He'd had to learn the basics in first aid, some of it the hard way, over the past few months of having ghost powers, and though healing was greatly increased (which was a very lucky thing, or he'd had an even harder time hiding the marks of ghost fighting) he still had to take care of the scrapes and burns. He already had a couple of permanent scars from incorrect after care.
Danny sighed. The burn looked even worse in the light of his bedroom, still oozing blood and other fluids. The blisters were large, and ugly. This wouldn't be pretty.
He grabbed a roll of bandages, and some burn ointment, and antiseptic liquid, and headed into the bathroom, slamming the door. He then slowly ran his hand under the cold tap, stiffening as the pressure increased the pain, even as the cold soothed the burning.
"Ah ah ah..." He tensed, holding the hand under the running water until the burn was somewhat numbed. Now for the hard part.
The open blisters and the sore needed to be sterilized. He knew what that meant.
Danny uncapped the bottle of cleaner, opting to forgo the cotton balls he usually used to dab at his scratches, to instead just pour a bit over his whole hand. Quickly on, quickly off, right?
The cold of the alcohol flamed into an agonizing sting, and he had to bite down hard on his lip to muffle the yell of pain.
"Mmmhhhh!" He clamped his left hand over his face, breathing heavily through his nose. Finally, it died down, and he released his mouth with a whimper. His hand, newly cleaned, gleamed with redness as it throbbed.
He clenched his eyes shut, breathing in deeply for a minute or two, before picking the tube of burn cream off the counter. This stuff was a lifesaver, literally. He'd already gone through multiple tubes of the stuff, simply for the burns from the ecto blasts. He was always getting covered with them, so he kept a few tubes at home, at school, in his backpack...he'd probably have to replace this one after tonight.
Danny gently dabbed a gob onto his hand, carefully avoiding the open sore and blisters. It was heaven on the burns, and he spread it even over his entire hand before he grabbed the roll of bandages. Danny opened the roll with his teeth, and then started wrapping it around his hand. He had to stop a couple of times, as tremors overtook his left hand, the shock of the injury starting to sink in, but finally, his hand was completely encased in white gauze, and feeling much better than before.
He sighed, realizing how ridiculous it was that a fourteen year old kid could be so proficient at patching himself up, and hiding it so well. Then he shrugged.
This is my life now. I'd better get used to it.
Danny cleaned up the supplies, and carried them into his room, to be disposed of later inside the outside trashcan. Better to avoid suspicion.
Jazz was in her room, and she poked her head out when Danny emerged from the bathroom, hand cradled against himself. Jazz's eyes were filled with worry, but Danny wasn't in the mood to deal with her. He said nothing before letting himself into his room, and shutting the door.