Author's Note: Cross-posted from AO3. AU where Fenton jumpsuits are replaced with MOPP gear because hahahaaaaaa.
"Guys, it's not gonna turn on. My parents said it doesn't work."
"Sounds like somebody's looking for an excuse to get out of putting their gear on," Tucker said with a knowing smirk.
Danny scoffed, wiggling the thick white overpants of his Fenton Tactical Ectoplasm Protective Outergarment over his jeans. "No, I'm not. I just think this is a waste of time, that's all."
"But what if it does work?" Sam took a picture of the inactivated Ghost Portal. "It'd be good for you to be prepared if something came out, don't you think?"
"I guess? I've never seen a ghost in my life though, so don't hold your breath."
"C'mon man, you've got your own personal chem suit in your parents' creepy basement laboratory." Tucker flicked a beaker full of something green and glowing. He quickly took a step back when it gurgled. "How about best Halloween costume or what?"
Danny rolled his eyes as he adjusted the black Velcro strips at his ankles. "More like my family is all set in case of nuclear fallout." He shrugged on his white smock, zipped it up, then reached for the loop of elastic cord on the coat's hem to pull it between his legs and tie it in the front. "What about you guys? I don't have any spare suits, and I'm pretty sure neither of you wanna try swimming around in one of my dad's."
"We'll be over there," Tucker replied, pointing at the blast-proof glass walls on the other side of the lab. "Y'know, just in case things go horrifically wrong."
"Wow, thanks Tuck. Hey, pass me that black bag next to you."
"Sure. What's in it?"
"My gas mask."
"That's so cool." Sam snapped several pictures as Danny strapped the bag to his leg and pulled the mask out.
"Not really. It's actually kind of hard to breathe through and-ugh, I hate how rubbery it smells." He put the black mask on, pressing his hands against the filters and taking deep breaths while he fiddled with the six straps behind his ears. Eventually he just scoffed, the sound muffled, and gave it a good enough shrug. He reached awkwardly behind himself for the large black hood. "Mind giving me a hand? I can never get the stupid throat clasp thingy without a mirror."
Sam set her camera down beside her on one of the lab's many stainless steel counters and gestured for him to come closer. "This stuff's not so speedy to put on, huh?"
"You're telling me." Danny had to exaggerate how high he raised his legs just to walk without tripping in his overboots, which were three sizes larger than what he normally wore and made of thick black rubber. "Mom and Dad make us do ghost drills every month to make sure we can get dressed quickly if we're under duress."
Sam laughed as she clicked the barrel clasp at his neck together. "That too tight, Danny?"
"Nah, that's fine. Is my hood flush with the edge of my mask?"
She gave his hood a few tugs, then smoothed the Velcro on his chest where it had bubbled. She blushed when she realized what she was doing and quickly dropped her hand. "Y-yeah, you're good."
Unseen, Tucker rolled his eyes. "You gonna put on the riot gear too?"
Danny's laugh came out wheezy through the filters. "And waste another fifteen minutes putting on shin guards? No thank you. Now where I'd put-aha." He fumbled two pairs of gloves out of his pocket; the inner pair of white cotton, the outer stretchy black rubber. Once on, he tightened the black Velcro straps at his wrists and then posed stiffly. "Ta da?"
"Not bad," Sam said approvingly. "Except just one thing." She peeled the bright orange sticker of Jack Fenton's face off of Danny's chest. "You don't wanna run into any ghosts with that on you, right?"
He huffed and turned at the waist to look at the Portal. "Thanks. You know, it would be really cool if it worked."
"A door to a mirrored reality where all ghosts originate from?" Tucker shrugged dismissively. "Nah, that's totally boring."
Danny's smirk went unseen behind the bluish plastic eye cover. "Can you imagine though? Who knows what kind of awesome, super cool things exist on the other side of that Portal?"
"Uh-huh, well we'll imagine over here, away from the inevitable explosion." Sam waved as Tucker locked the blast screen behind them.
"Pfft, some friends you are." Danny scuffed his way inside the Ghost Portal his parents swore was completely inoperable. A moment later his gloved hand found a button where there shouldn't have been one at all, and his world was filled with hot green light.