"Mom? Dad? You down there?" Jazz called.
"Yes, honey! We have a surprise! Come look!" Maddie put down her surgical tool, smiling triumphantly. How proud she would make her children.
The stairs creaked as Jazz descended, still wearing her book bag from school. Her eyes swept the lab, before stopping on the examination table. Maddie watched her eyes begin to grow wide with horror. The books she had been carrying clattered to the ground. Her face lost all color.
"No…" She whispered, in a daze as she stared at Phantom.
"Come Jazz, it's alright! He can't hurt you!" Maddie ushered over her daughter, concern etched in her features at her daughter's terrified reaction.
"What have you done." Jazz said in a low voice, still in a state of shock.
Phantom twitched on the table, and that was all it took to snap Jazz from her stupor. She flew down the stairs, running to her brother's side.
There was so much blood. It stung her nose, made her eyes water.
"DANNY?! DANNY!" She screamed, shoving away the blood blossoms and fiddling with the restraints.
"Jazz, what are you doing?!" Maddie demanded.
"Please, please, wake up." Jazz murmured, mostly to herself. The straps were wet with her little brother's blood. She tried to not think about that. She freed his arms first, than his legs. Jack and Maddie inched closer, but too stunned to prevent her from freeing their subject.
"Danny?!" Jazz struggled to take off the specter-deflector belt, her fingers shaking. The second the belt was removed, Phantom's eyes snapped open. They were pure green, illuminating the lab. The ghost boy leapt off the table, hovering into the air. His face was emotionless.
"Danny?! Are you okay?" Jazz asked, staring at the green orbs.
His face contorted into something else. Anger. Rage. Wrath. He rose his hands and shot a blast of ectoplasm at his parents. The scientists hastily dodged, scrambling for their weapons.
Jazz stared at him, "Danny! Stop! It's us! Your family!"
Phantom snarled, his eyes crackling with energy as he released an unearthly ghostly wail. Jazz ducked behind a cabinet as the wail slammed through the laboratory, sending the examination table flying across the room. Glass shattered and broke, expensive equipment smashing onto the concrete floor.
Phantom breathed heavily, fists still raised. Jazz peeked over the cabinet, her mouth open in worry and fear.
"Danny- you're okay! They're not going to hurt you anymore! Please! Listen to me! Come back! Come back to me!" She called, staring into the unfamiliar eyes.
His chest heaved with breath before the green glow began to fade. He dipped in the air, his face scared. "Jazz?"
The exhaustion hit him instantly. He collapsed to the ground, crumpling into himself. A bright flash enveloped the lab, revealing the small, near-skeletal figure of their son.
"Danny." Jazz ran to him, kneeling beside his fallen form. His eyes were rolled back. She propped his head off the ground. Tears finally found her eyes as she looked up at the two scientists still staring with numb expressions. "What did you to do him?!"
Jack fumbled for words, "Our… Our son?"
Maddie was silent, her hands folded over her mouth. She was crying.
"We- we need to take him to a hospital!" Jack cried.
"No! No." Jazz looked up at them, holding her brother protectively, mostly from their own parents. "He has ectoplasmic blood, we can't risk notifying the Men in White again."
Maddie let out a broken sob, hiding her face.
Jack tried to think, "We-we have to help him!"
Jazz had never seen her father so… Utterly helpless. "I'm taking him upstairs. I think it's best if you two… Stay down here for now."
"But-but we can help!" Jack's voice shook.
"You've helped enough." Jazz growled coldly. Her parents were taken aback by their obeying daughter's response. She hooked her arm under his legs and picked him up. She was painfully reminded of how little her brother weighed. He was skin and bones. He was covered in his own blood. Green and red.
She gave her parents one last look of accusation. A silent, how could you have done this?
She stood on shaky legs, turning and climbing out of the lab. She could hear her parents breaking down behind her. She shut the door tightly, moving to set Danny down on the couch. Once he was lying down, she ripped out her phone and frantically dialed Sam.
She couldn't bare the sight of the broken body lying in front of her.
"Jazz? What's up?" Sam asked on the other side.
"It's Danny-" Jazz's voice cracked. "It's… It's bad."
"I'm on my way."
"Hurry." Jazz hung up the phone, tossing it aside as she assessed her little brother's injuries. She had to be strong for him. She couldn't breakdown now. Not yet. She didn't want to leave him like this, but he wasn't awake yet. She needed first aid. They kept an emergency stash in the bathroom. For emergencies. Like this.
She took the large container and rushed back to Danny. He was out. His ghost abilities were already working on mending his wounds. But they were still not to their full capability. Unlike Danny's normal injuries from ghost fighting, there was no need to clean the wounds. Afterall, their parents kept clean equipment to tear him open. No, he needed bandages.
Jazz unrolled the thick, white bandages. With the other hand, she gently removed his shirt. A gasp found her mouth. His chest was covered in cuts and discolored bruising. A long line of blood was stitched together. It ran from his nape to his belly button. She had cut him open.
Jazz's heart dropped as she clumsily took the bandages and began to dress his bloody wounds. There were so many… Tears blurred her vision. She should have been there. She was supposed to protect him. She failed him.
A knock on the door caught her attention. She left Danny as she opened it. Sam and Tucker stood worried expressions. Upon seeing Jazz's face, the paled considerably.
"Where is he?" Sam asked, trying to contain the fear rising in her throat.
Jazz stepped aside, revealing the small, limp frame on the couch. Sam sucked in a breath as she ran to him. Tucker stayed where he was, his eyes wide and unblinking.
"What happened?" Sam asked in a thick voice.
"Our parents… Found him as Phantom. They- captured him. Experimented on him." Jazz took a shaking breath, leading Tucker inside and closing the door behind her. "I don't know exactly what they did to him- but if I hadn't came down when I had…"
Sam was sitting beside his head, stroking his hair that was matted with sweat and blood. Her eyes didn't leave him as she asked, "Where are they?"
"I told them to stay in the lab. When Danny was awake, I freed him and he-he freaked out. His eyes were completely green. He destroyed the lab. He couldn't control himself, but he calmed down when he saw me." Jazz moved towards him. "I was trying to fix his wounds- I didn't know what to do… He was so scared."
Sam gulped heavily, continuing to run her hands through his hair, "He's going to be okay. We'll take care of him."
"What about his parents?" Tucker finally spoke.
"I'll deal with them later." Jazz dismissed with a sharp edge.
Sam kept one hand on his hand, cradling it. The other searched for his pulse. It was weak. "He needs strength. He's lost a lost of ectoplasm. He needs more." Sam looked to Tucker. "Check the lab for some ecto-dejecto. Jazz, can you get some painkillers? An ice pack?"
Jazz and Tucker nodded, seeming glad to be given a job. Something to distract them. Sam continued to hold Danny. He looked so frail. He was warm. Too warm. Sam placed a hand on his forehead, finding it burning hot. His ice core was malfunctioning. He needed to cool down. Sam replaced herself with a pillow, keeping his head elevated so he wouldn't choke on his own blood or drool.
Rushing, Sam ran to the storage closet. She grabbed an electric fan, coming back to the living room and plugging it into the wall. The cool air washed over them. Jazz returned with an ice pack and bottles of pills.
She tenderly placed the ice pack on his forehead, before glancing over the labels of the narcotics.
The basement door opened, Tucker holding an ecto-dejecto. Maddie and Jack followed closely behind him, faces etched with guilt and pain. Sam jumped up, stepping between them and Danny.
"What have you done?" Sam snapped, her voice dark. Tucker ducked around her, handing the serum to Jazz.
"We-we- we didn't know…" Maddie began, her eyes trailing to their son. "Oh God…"
"You need to leave." Sam said, dangerously low.
"We can't- that's our son!" Jack yelled, tears in his wrinkled eyes.
"You should have thought about that before you cut him open and tortured him." Sam clenched her hands. Maddie couldn't meet her eyes. Jack was angry and upset and guilty… So guilty.
"Mom, dad… Maybe it is best." Jazz spoke up, keeping her eyes down. "You saw how he reacted when he saw you in the lab. "It's too soon. Just let him rest."
"We want to… Fix this." Jack pleaded.
"The best way to do that is to clean up the lab. Give him space." Jazz glanced towards her little brother. "He can't see you right now."
Maddie chewed her lip, "Our baby boy…"
Jack took her shoulders, silently guiding her back to the basement. They were both covered in Danny's blood. It made Sam's stomach churn.
Danny breathed in sharply, his fingers twitching. His eyes fluttered open, still bloodshot and puffy. He panicked, breathing increasing as he clenching the sides of the couch, eyes burning green as he looked around wildly. Jazz reached towards him slowly.
"No!" He screamed, his voice raw and dry. "Don't- don't touch me!" He flinched away from Jazz's desperate touch. His eyes were round, breathing fast and shallow, his whole body trembling with uncontrollable fear.
"Danny, it's okay. It's me, Jazz. I'm not going to hurt you," Jazz said, gently taking Danny's hand and holding it firmly. Their eyes met. "Listen to me. You're safe and they aren't going to hurt you again. I'm here now. Trust me, I won't let anybody hurt you.'
Jazz almost expected Danny to yank his hand away in his panic, but he didn't- instead he relaxed a little. His eyes faded back to their familiar blue. Tears formed and he let out a breath. "I..."
"It's okay," Jazz pulled her little brother into a hug. "It's okay, I'm here."
She felt him finally relax in her arms. All the tension and pain, he let go of, just leaned heavily against his sister in pure exhaustion. He was quaking.
"You won't leave?" He murmured into her orange hair.
"Never." She assured him, releasing him to look for damage.
His face held the lines of trauma. He fell back onto the pillow, having no strength to hold himself up. His eyes closed.
"Danny," Jazz murmured. "You need to take some medicine."
His eyes opened again. She was holding a pill. Danny tried to sit up, but unable to. His brows furrowed in frustration, Sam quickly moving to help him sit up. He took the pill from her, his fingers shaking as he brought it to his lips. He was handed a cup of warm water to wash it down. His eyes began to glaze over as he leaned into Sam, slipping back into the darkness.
Jazz took the ecto-dejecto and sprayed it over him, hoping it would rebuild his strength. The trio sat in silence, all watching him fearfully.
"We need to keep him cool. More fans. We have to reduce his temperature back down." Sam finally said, unable to sit there and do nothing to help.
"She's right. His ice core needs to be refreshed. We need more ice packs and maybe clean up some of the blood." Tucker said, wincing at the last part. Jazz and Sam retreated into the kitchen while Tucker stayed by his best friend's side. "You- you're gonna be okay, man. You're strong. You're so strong."
Danny was swept in and out of consciousness. He never stayed awake too long, and was constantly in pain. Both Jazz and Sam would calm him down and soothe him back to sleep, however they could. Once night fell, Sam and Tucker were forced to return home for their curfew.
"You'll call us if anything happens?" Sam asked again, standing anxiously in the doorway.
"Yes, I promise." Jazz assured her.
"C'mon, Sam, he's in good hands. We need to let him rest." Tucker pulled gently on his friend's arm.
Sam reluctantly nodded, giving Danny's sleeping form one last look before leaving. Jazz carefully closed the door and turned back to her brother. Her heart stopped. He was gone.