This story will be in script form - I'm trying to make it as much like the TV show as possible. I feel like narrative overlays at some parts are necessary so that's gonna be a thing. This story is a work in progress and Danny is going to be a lot more independent as Sam and Tucker will not know that he is a half-ghost. Though they may find out (and by may I mean, yes they will find out but I'm not sure when or how yet). I've been wanting to write a fanfiction like this and I have written some bits and pieces of the story but I never got around to writing the actual origin story so here is the first chapter! I hope it's good :D
UPDATE 4/25: REWRITE OF FIRST FEW PARAGRAPHS (per ReconstructWriter's suggestion) AND EDITS TO THE REST (b/c I am OCD about grammar and saw that I had a good bit of mistakes)
A couple, a small, slender woman and a large, loud man in different colored jumpsuits with black accents, excitedly works on the massive octagonal machine. Maddie, wearing red goggles and a hood, sets dials in place. Jack, has a big grin on his face as he writes in small letters FentonWorks® on the very bottom of the control pad. Their son Danny sits at a lab table and watches eagerly as they put the finishing touches on this incredible machine. Jazz, his older sister, sits across from him, reading a book titled Surviving Adolescence Through Therapy, periodically looking up from it at her parents' progress with skeptical curiosity.
Maddie (excited): Okay, I think we are ready!
Jack (finishing the logo and grinning wildly): I can't believe it! After a whole year, we finally are ready to test this baby. And it has to work this time around! I'll do the honors!
Maddie smiles as he holds up an extension cord and a plug connecting to the ghost portal. He presses in the plug and sparks dissipate just as soon as they fly. When nothing happens, Jack tries over and over but still, nothing. The two ghost hunters look at each other confused.
Maddie: WHAT?! But I thought…but all of these calculations are right.
She and her husband run over to the blueprints that are up on a stand to the right of the octagonal portal.
Jack (dejectedly): How could it not have worked?
Maddie sighs, taking her goggles and hood off revealing her purple eyes and red hair. She crosses her arms.
Maddie (sadly): Maybe this won't ever work…
Danny frowns as he hears his parents' disappointment, looking into the octagonal room with dim electric blue detailing. It was an exquisite site. He hated to see his parents so easily let down, but he couldn't blame them. They thought for sure this last time would work. But it didn't. What could they be doing wrong?
Jack (puts an arm around her): Don't worry Mads. We will figure it out some day. Let's go eat some fudge and try not to think about it.
She looks up at him lovingly, nods, and they walk up the stairs into the house.
Danny's troubled face is zoomed in on as a circle forms around him and the screen zooms out to show a dark room where forest green gears are turning and a ghostly figure shifting between ages of young, middle-aged, and old, holding a cane with a clock on top and clothed in a purple cape. Eyes are red, a scar across the left one, and skin is light blue. He looks at the globe which displays Danny looking unamused and depressed.
Clockwork: Daniel Fenton…only fourteen years old. A lot can change in less than 24 hours… Little does the boy know what lies in his future, or that this afternoon will become the most defining event in his life. This child, destined for greatness, sits on the brink between greatness and obscurity. (Danny looks into the unfinished ghost portal with a mixture of insecurity and excitement spread across his face.) And so the brave halfa's story begins…Time in.
Cue in theme song!
Danny works on homework at his desk in his room. There's a knock on the door.
Danny (while fiddling around with his pencil in his hand): Yeah?
His red-head older sister pokes her head in.
Jazz: Just wanted to let you know that I'm on my way to the library and probably will be out for a while. Leftovers for dinner are in the fridge, and Mom and Dad will be back at 11:00 PM from their anniversary dinner just FYI. Anyway, good night!
Danny: Night!
Danny hears her close the front door behind her and sighs as he stands up and looks at the clock: 7:02 PM. He sighs and walks downstairs to heat up the leftovers but, upon smelling the old meatloaf, covers the dish and places it back in the fridge with a repulsed look on his face. He then sees a post-it note on the fridge:
Danny-boy, I forgot to ask you if you could clean up the lab nice and pretty for your mom tonight before we get back. It would be a great surprise and possibly make tonight better - what with the upsetting ghost portal failure! Thanks! -Dad
Danny shrugs but complies. He pulls some cleaning supplies out of the broom closet, then walks down the stairs to the lab. He starts sweeping the floor and works his way around, then arrives right in front of the octagonal abyss, the possible portal to another dimension. He stares in awe at his parents' work. Whether it worked or not, it was an impressive piece of machinery. He rubs the back of his neck anxiously. Maybe Icould fix it… He was only joking to himself obviously…clearly he wasn't any sort of a scientist like his parents and didn't know the first thing about ghost-hunting technology. But…what if he could make it work?
Danny: Well first I would need to go inside…
He chuckles to himself and shakes his head, and sweeps some more, but, again, looks into it curiously. His eyes wander along the screws keeping the frame of the tunnel intact. All of his parents' hard work all gone to nothing. With purpose, Danny puts aside the broom and grabs a suit from the storage room - custom-made by his mom in hopes that he would decide to follow in his parents' footsteps. He pulls it on, but then sees a big sticker of his dad's face on the front and peels it off quickly and tosses it into the garbage. He turns back to the portal with unsure, nervous icy blue eyes. He grabs a flashlight and shines it into the seemingly endless tunnel. He sees that, there is, indeed, an end, and walks further in. The flashlight flickers then the battery dies.
Danny: Dang it.
He tosses the flashlight behind him and places his left hand on the cold, slick wall to steady and guide himself to the back wall. He trips over and his hand presses down on something as he tries to keep from falling. He raises a brow as a whirring initiates from the end of the tunnel and a bright light forms all around him. Before he can even think of running away, this light envelops him and his body shakes uncontrollably. He was nearly too shocked to feel the pain going up and down his spine…nearly. No one was there to hear his cries of intense agony. No one was there to help him out of this torture chamber. It lasted for several minutes, electricity and green ecto-energy seeping through Danny, merging with his DNA and changing him forever. Once it was all over, ectoplasmic smoke arose all around him, and he barely managed to crawl out of the portal before he coughed up green liquid which he thought may even be ectoplasm but was most likely bile. His body convulsed with sparks of electricity and his heart rate actually slowed. He thought this was the end for sure. He doesn't even realize that his hair is snow white, his entire body is glowing, and his black and white-silver suit has inverted colors before he falls unconscious.
…About 4 hours later…
Danny wakes up with a start, glowing eyes neon green. He pants and looks around himself frantically, unsure if what he thought happened, had actually happened. He notices a strange hum coming from behind him and green lighting in the whole lab. He turns his torso and sees a green swirl in place of the previously empty ghost portal.
Danny: Did I do that?
He covers his mouth, mixed excitement and wonder crossing his mind. He sees his gloves are silver and scratches his head.
Danny: I swear these were black before…
He doesn't think much more on it and cleans his vomit off the floor. He then goes upstairs to brush his teeth to rid himself of his bad breath, not even bothering to look up in the mirror. He rinses his mouth then splashes water in his face then looks up. He's paralyzed. He can't move. His eyes start to water because he can't close them. He looks closer, then backs up quickly, and the reflection follows in suit. He waves a hand in front of his face but his appearance doesn't change. He closes his eyes tightly then peeks one open but nothing is different from before. He still has white hair, green eyes, and a glowing aura around him. He can feel his heart pounding against his chest. Suddenly he is aware of all of his senses, especially his hearing. He can still hear the hum of the portal, he can hear the water moving in the pipes, sirens from a few blocks away, some person next door dropping a paperclip on the ground, a car pulling up the driveway in front of his house…He gasps.
Danny: Mom and Dad!
He slams the door of the bathroom closed. He runs over to the bathroom window and closes the blinds. He starts to pace around, wondering what he could say or do.
Danny: They can't see me like this! I - I - what am I? How can I even explain this when I don't even know myself?
He is still staring in the mirror, terrified of what he's done, horrified that, as he speaks, his reflection does so too. It has the same mannerisms, the same facial and body structure…Yet it isn't him. It can't be. His hair and his eyes…
Maddie: Danny! We're home!
Danny: Okay!
Jack: Mads, why don't we go down to the lab and run a few tests on that new invention we were working on?
Danny: Oh God no! The lab! They'll see that I fixed the portal. They'll know that something is up with me…
Jazz (locking the front door behind her): Hey! I'm back!
Danny: Jazz too?
He looks back at the mirror. He still can't - won't believe that he is the same person as that thing staring back at him in the mirror. Jazz starts up the stairs.
Danny: Oh no, I forgot to lock -
His body somehow becomes buoyant and he starts to float upwards. He yelps as he hits the ceiling.
She opens the door the bathroom and washes her hands. All the while, Danny is stuck on the ceiling and praying to God that she doesn't look up and he doesn't fall on top of her. Danny falls just as she leaves and slams the door behind her as she's turning around to see what the thump was. Jazz looks abundantly caught off guard and a little fearful.
Jazz: Was that a ghost? Oh jeez, I'm becoming as paranoid as my parents…
She turns around and decides to ignore the strange occurrence. Danny breathes out a sigh of relief and gets up on his feet again.
Danny (whispering as he turns): Okay -
He sees nothing in the mirror. He wants to scream but doesn't want anyone to be alarmed. Besides, even if he tried, nothing would come out because he was just that frightened. He attempts to look down at his feet but every part of him has completely vanished. He shakes his head.
Danny: Nonononononono. This is not happening.
Jack: DANNY-BOY! COME DOWN! YOU'VE GOTTA SEE THIS!
Danny: ONE SEC!
He touches the counter with his invisible hands, and they touch the cool surface. Then suddenly his whole body is back again. He gasps. His hands then sink down below the counter and he yelps and jumps backwards, his back slamming into the wall. He moans in pain then gazes at his hands fearfully.
Danny: What the heck?!
His hands, now translucent, become solid again.
Danny (rubbing a hand on his back): What is happening to me? All signs are obviously leading to: I'm a freaking ghost, but…I still feel alive…mostly.
Jazz (rapidly knocking on the door): Danny, you really gotta come down to the lab. Mom and Dad are freaking out!
Danny: Um…
Jazz: Really, believe me when I say this is amazing. You know I'm the biggest skeptic, but even I have to admit: this is really cool!
Danny: I'm going to the bathroom!
Jazz: Oh…Sorry. Come down when you are finished!
She runs back down.
Danny: Okay, my condition sucks, but it could be worse, right?
His legs form into a tail, but he forms them back into legs, yelping again.
Danny (staring at his legs): And I take that back…
A white flash suddenly ensued from within Danny, a ring formed around his body and split up and down. Black and white hazmat suit to red and white T-shirt and jeans (where did the suit go? the world may never know…), green eyes to blue, white hair to raven black. He was himself again. He breathed out a sigh of relief.
Danny: It's over.
Danny (voice-over): And with those two words, I couldn't have been more wrong.