Author's Note:

Chapter three, how exciting. =3 This is going a lot longer than I originally expected. I thought it to be a really short thing, but oh well! I love writing this, and it's going pretty epic. About now, I'm not too concerned if people think it's wonderful or not. I just want to write down the ideas that come to my head.

So, enjoy! Once again, I apologize for any slaughtering of the characters. I'd think they would take this whole ordeal somewhat more seriously than they do in the show. SO I'll stop ranting now and let ya read.

The alarm went off, as it always did; loud, relentless and annoying. With a groan, Danny turned over, hand groping for the button. He finally managed to push it, lying in the silence for a moment with his arm still extended. Pushing himself into a sitting position, he rubbed his eyes, blinking blearily. Lovely…a Wednesday. He could never get the hand of Wednesdays. Swinging his legs out of bed, he glanced down with a rather puzzled expression. Why on Earth had he gone to bed in his jeans and shoes? He knew Sam and Tucker had been over earlier when his parents had called them down into the lab…probably to show off some new experiment. The boy couldn't remember it exactly, but knowing them, they had made he and his friends help clean something up. It would've taken all night, hence his exhaustion. Shrugging the thought off, Danny shuffled around his room in his habitual routine, changing into a new set of clothes. He stood in front of a mirror for a few moments, willing the black hair to lie slightly flat. After a while, he gave it up as a losing battle and wandered into the kitchen. Jazz looked up from her cereal momentarily, eyebrow raised.

"You look terrible, Danny," she stated bluntly, going back to the bowl. "Did you sleep at all last night?" Danny shot her a rather weary glare, pulling the milk carton over to him as he sat down.

"Good morning to you too," he muttered. "I'm just tired. I figure mom and dad just wore me out last night…"

"Tucker said you were studying," she told him critically. "Did you get anything out of that, then?" The boy blinked, pondering over this for a moment. Studying? Why would he have studied? There wasn't any test today…he hoped. Instead of trying to puzzle it out, he simply shrugged.

"I'll survive. Lancer's tests aren't that hard…Why would you guys have the air conditioning on?" He glanced up at the clock without waiting for any sort of answer. He could either wait in here with Jazz lecturing him for five minutes or wait outside alone for five minutes. With a muttered excuse, he stood, abandoning the half-poured bowl of cereal and grabbing the backpack that hung over his chair. Though his sister peered at him closely, he avoided her gaze, blue eyes lowered to the floor as he strode outside. The boy paused for a moment to glance up and down the sidewalk. It seemed much colder than what was normal for this time of year. Rubbing his arms, Danny sighed. Why was he so tired? Maybe he had gotten hit on the head or something down in the lab and someone put him to bed. It would explain his having no memory of the event. Though he considered it for a few minutes, the thought was driven from his head as the bus pulled up and he climbed on, supporting himself heavily on the handrail. Everything was habit, really. He couldn't have told anyone exactly what seat he sat in on the bus, but he knew it was the same one each time. Flopping down onto the plastic, he sighed, looking up to meet Tucker's eyes as he twisted around to look at him. His expression was one of utter shock and Danny raised one eyebrow at him. "Good morning?" he greeted hesitantly. "What's up?"

"Your…your hair…" he stammered. "What happened to it?"

"It's called sleep, Tuck; it sticks up everywhere all the time. It's not like I ever have it neat."

"No, I mean it's…" He shook his head, swallowing. "It's black." Tucker was hesitant? Apparently there was something gravely wrong that he wasn't quite grasping. "And your eyes!" It was a near yelp, and Danny started at his tone. "Danny, how did you do that?"

"Do what?" he demanded, arms crossing. "I got up, changed clothes and got on the bus. Just like I do every morning, as habits command. We've been doing this since the beginning of the year, man, it's not that weird." He was met with a blank stare, and Danny finally looked away, staring out the window as they trundled down the road. He wasn't entirely why he rode the bus anyway. The school wasn't extremely far away. Jazz called it his teenage instinct to be lazy, though he reasoned that being able to finish assignments sloppily as they drove was also a plus. It did provide the extra time for people to stare at him though, as Tucker was now proving. Rather disconcerted, Danny stood as soon as they pulled up to the school's parking-lot, swinging his backpack over his shoulder and joining the throng of people trying to depart all at the same time. Tucker called after him once, but the boy simply waved, anxious to get out into the open air. Everyone packed around him seemed far warmer than usual, as if they all had a fever. Maybe a bug had started to spread over the past week…though how everyone had gotten it this quickly was beyond him. A few people shot him rather startled looks as they jostled past, something he was use to by now. The son of the Fentons who wasn't obsessed with ghosts? He was weird both because of his family's oddity and because of his normal tendencies. Typical high school.

"Danny!" There was Tucker again. He pushed his way out of the bus just as Danny was reaching the front steps. With a slight sigh, he turned to his friend who was hurriedly straightening his orange hat. "What is up with you, man?" Tucker demanded, jogging to catch up as Danny turned around again to push open the door. "You seem cold today…literally and figuratively," he added as he placed one hand on the other boy's shoulder. "Did you end up missing your room and sleeping in the freezer last night?"

"What are you talking about?" Danny questioned with a frown. "It's just cold out here this morning. I'm guessing winter decided to come early or something." Tucker simply shook his head, eyes widening.

"Cold? We passed the bank, you know. Thermometer was at 72. This is far warmer than usual. I don't know what's going on, what with your hair and eyes…and now this?" He frowned. "Is this some side affect?"

"Side affect? Side affect of what exactly?" Tucker simply bit his lip, avoiding his friend's eyes. The awkward silence was broken suddenly as they walked into Lancer's classroom, the babble of the rest of the class pulling Danny out of his lull. He lengthened his stride to weave between the seats, habit once again instructing him on exactly where to go. Danny tossed his bag onto the floor beside the desk, vaguely wondering if there was anything fragile in it today. Well, not anymore at least. To the right, he felt Sam's violet gaze on him. Turning, the boy blinked. Her face matched Tucker's pervious one nearly perfectly; she looked fairly petrified which shocked him more than his other friend's babbling had.

"Erm…Danny?" she said almost hesitantly. "What happened?"

"Well apparently that's what everyone is failing to tell me!" he snapped, shooting a glare at Tucker as he took his seat behind Sam. "What, was I supposed to wear a wig today or something? There is nothing wrong with my hair! Or my eyes, for that matter; I must have missed the memo that I was supposed to look different." His friend's shot each other a wary look, but any reply was cut of as Mr. Lancer entered the room calling for silence. Danny sat down, reluctantly pulling out a notebook to give some impression that he was actually planning on working. He set a pen on the desktop and automatically put one hand in front of it to stop the writing utensil's customary flight down the slanted surface. Glancing up at the board for a moment to see exactly what it was he wasn't going to absorb today, the boy was startled as he heard the familiar soft clatter of his pen managing to escape to the floor. He blinked once before bending down to pick it up again. He must have moved his hand without realizing it. Strange though, it was such a habit now. Flipping to a blank page in the notebook, he glanced over at his friends before scrawling a hasty note.

Enlighten me then; what exactly am I suppose to look like today that I seem to have forgotten? With practiced ease, he slipped the paper onto Tucker's desk The other boy glanced at it quickly, shot a rather worried look at his friend and then passed it to Sam. She took it rather reluctantly, biting her lip as she read. Taking far longer than it normally would for such a short reply, she finally passed the note back to its creator, her writing rather shaky.

So you don't remember last night? A few words were scratched out, though he could make out something that resembled 'accident' through the black. He frowned, writing hurriedly with the occasional glance up at the front of the room. They had all mastered the art of pretending to work by now. It wasn't like there was anything to learn in first hour. Character Ed ended up just being a teacher attempting to get them to talk about morals and such when all that was really accomplished was a bunch of teenagers getting even better at holing up in themselves. Danny pushed the paper back onto Sam's desk having figured by now that Tucker was staying as far out of the conflict as he could.

I know you guys came over for the 'grand unveiling' of that portal thing my parents built. I was tired even then, so I don't remember a whole lot of it except for the fact that it was a flop. Big surprise. I just went to bed after you left and then showed up here apparently some huge shock because I'm normal. Any explanation? She glanced over at him again with a look that was getting rather tiring already. It was if they expected him to drop dead any second or something. Sam hastily wrote a reply before shoving it onto Tucker's desk behind her accompanied with a scowl that warned him to take part. He looked about to protest but then gave in, picking up his pencil. As the paper was given back to Danny, he unfolded it as quietly as he could, as the class had now gone quiet with most everyone writing something down.

I'm sorry, Danny, but it just doesn't seem like something you'd forget easily…You went into the portal after your folks left and it kinda...turned on. You were caught in the middle of the thing and passed out once it shut off again. I can't believe you don't remember it…

It's not all that uncommon, actually. Trust Tucker to have the geeky response. Sudden shock can often lead to a short-term memory loss. The mind will block out traumatic events in an attempt to protect itself from the stress. That was a decent shock you took, man. Quite literally. Danny frowned, rereading the words again. It didn't make sense. If he was caught in some explosion in the lab, why wasn't he hurt? His parent's inventions often blew up and they would at least singe hair or something. If this was as big a deal as they were making it out to be, how was it that he was able to be at school today?

Right…school.

"Mr. Fenton, are you with us today?" The freshmen looked up suddenly, startled out of his thoughts by his teacher's sharp voice. Mr. Lancer was standing a few feet away, arms crossed. Luckily he didn't seem to realize that the paper Danny held wasn't full of deep thoughts about the lesson. Hastily putting on his 'interested' face, he looked up at the man and blinked.

"I'm sorry sir, I was finishing writing," he told him. "Did you ask me something?" The teacher frowned as if not entirely convinced of the excuse but shrugged it off.

"We're covering motivation, as you should know. Though the discussion isn't getting very far…" He swept a glance around the rest of the room that had promptly gone back into their conversations now that attention was focused on someone else. "It might help to actually have your book out." As Lancer flipped through the teacher's guide, Danny shot a rather pleading look at his friends. He was surprised to see Sam writing something quickly; no one ever did anything in this class. Why would she be suddenly interested? The reason was presented, however, as she nonchalantly reached back and handed the now-folded paper to Tucker who opened it instantly. Private conversations. Just what he needed right now. Glancing up again, he was rather startled to see Lancer still standing there with the look of someone waiting for an answer.

"S-sorry sir, what?" The teacher sighed, finally turning away to go interrogate someone else.

"Wake up, Daniel. You have seven more hours to get through today." With a slight scowl, the boy watched as Tucker pass the note back, clearly trying his best to keep it hidden. He could tell they were discussing him just by the looks on their faces. Tucker was easier to read than a first-grade chapter book, and Sam seemed far more stressed today than was normal. Danny glanced over the paper still on his desk. Leaning with one hand propping up his head, he watched the clock for a moment trying to think of some response that wouldn't get him hit. How would he forget something like that? 'Trauma' or not, if he were electrocuted it seems like something that wouldn't just go away…Though maybe that was why they were freaking out so much. He wasn't supposed to be alive, let alone coming to school. The thought startled him suddenly, and he felt his elbow fall off the desk. In an automatic attempt to make it seem like he wasn't a giant klutz, he bent over his backpack with a puzzled frown. That was odd…his arm hadn't been that close the edge, or so he had thought. Maybe it just gradually moved without him realizing it.

Putting the thought out of his mind, he moved to absently rub his arm which was protesting about the corner of the desk. Danny blinked as his hand didn't seem to meet anything except the chair. Had his arm gone numb? Looking down, he had to contain a startled yelp. Everything from the elbow down appeared to have…well, disappeared. He looked around hastily, almost ready to get his friends' attention. Was this some after-effect of the shock, thinking he still had an arm when it had actually been blown off? The boy looked back down again and his eyes grew even wider. No…no, his arm was there, just like any normal arm should be. Grasping his wrist to verify that it was indeed solid, Danny shook his head slightly.

"You've got to get more sleep, Fenton," he told himself under his breath. "People already think your crazy. No need to prove it to them." Picking up his pen again, the freshmen glanced once at his two friends before writing two short sentences and putting the paper in front of Sam.

Outside for lunch today. Apparently there's a discussion to be had.

Ironically, Danny was late for his own meeting. He had been halfway to the cafeteria when he remembered that they weren't actually eating there today. Consenting to looking rather dumb as he quite suddenly spun around and began walking against the crowd of people, he mentally glared at his own habits. They were demanding sometimes, and when things were as strange as they appeared to be now, they didn't really help.

No, Danny had certainly not had a normal day after his first class. Granted, that one hadn't been all that normal either, but it had gone steadily downhill from there. Though he had classes with Tucker and Sam, he took every effort to avoid them until lunch; not only was there a slight resentment that they had been discussing him in attempted secrecy, but he had a hard enough time concentrating without their worried looks. He was clumsy enough as it was, but it seemed that near everything he held today just didn't want to stay in his hands for very long. Even his backpack was making desperate bids for freedom. Danny paused, glaring down at the floor as he suddenly realized that there was no familiar weight over his shoulder. Once again, the bag had slipped to the floor somehow. With a mutter about the stupid straps, he picked it up again and pushed the front doors open, blinking in the sudden sunlight.

It was a warm day out, he could tell…so why was he so cold? Rubbing one arm, he frowned slightly as he went down the steps onto the lawn. Maybe he was the one who got sick. People got chills with fevers, right? The boy put it out of his mind for the moment as he spotted his friends already seated at their customary table off to one edge of the lawn. They looked up as he strode toward them and Danny almost winced at their faces. Sam looked as worried as she had this morning, and though Tucker was currently stuffing his face full of a hamburger, it was obvious he was just as concerned. Danny seated himself next to the other boy and instinctively reached down to open his bag in search for some kind of food. For a moment, he couldn't seem to find the backpack, his hands simply feeling the air. Glancing down, he frowned. No, it was there…why hadn't he felt it? Putting the thought off, he pulled the zipper open and managed to extract a rather squashed sandwich from the mess. The silence pressed on as he bit rather ravenously into the soft bread. Finally, Tucker put his own lunch down and leaned on the table to try and meet his friend's eyes.

"Right, well, we're here," he reminded Danny with his eyebrows rising. "What's up with you, man? You've been avoiding both of us since first period." Well, there certainly was no denying that. He had been the one who had wanted answers, which was the entire point of this meeting. Swallowing the mouthful he had with some difficulty, he ran one hand through black hair.

"Yeah, well, you guys seem to be avoiding any coherent answers," he muttered. "I come to school today and you both act like I should be dead or something." There it was again, that wary glance they seemed to be giving each other a lot. He frowned, arms crossing. "Look, apparently I'm missing a whole lot here. What exactly happened that has you two all freaked out?" Tucker opened his mouth as if to reply, then hesitated. He hurriedly picked up his burger again and took a large bite to fill the silence. Sam simply sighed, leaning forward to rest her elbows on the plastic table.

"You honestly don't remember it, do you?" she questioned, and at Danny's glare shook her head. "It was…it was scary, Danny. You went into the portal and must have triggered something in there…It turned on, I think." She broke off suddenly, looking away and Danny turned to the boy next to him with an expectant look. Hesitantly setting his food down once more, Tucker rubbed the back of his neck with one hand.

"I didn't see it all," he explained. "It was the flash that caught my attention."

The flash…

The flash of light was blinding, white at first before turning a bright green. Though his eyes burned, Danny found he couldn't close them…

"It must have shocked you or something, because you were screaming at first. I was surprised your folks didn't hear it. Scared the heck out of me, let me tell you."

His hands clenched, and only the gloves prevented his nails from drawing blood. His face was contorted with the agony, still trying to scream even though his lungs seemed robbed of all air.

He didn't think he had actually screamed. Apparently when it first hit, there was enough air left in him to get out something. Hands clenched on the bench as Tucker continued apparently wanting to get it said before he was slapped or something similar.

"Once it turned off, you kind of…tried to walk out, I think. You passed out then and we had to pull you out of the blasted thing, thinking it might go off again." He paused as if reluctant to continue, then plowed on, ignoring Sam's glare. "You had changed, somehow. I don't know what did it, but your hair was…well, it was white. Like, snow white. Your eyes had turned green, and…" Again, Tucker paused, and as he went on, Danny could tell there was more that neither of his friends were willing to tell him. "Once you woke up, you kept telling us you were fine. We finally just let you go to bed and went home. It's just…we kinda figured you'd still look like that. It didn't seem like something that would wear off overnight." Danny simply stared at him for a moment until Sam spoke up, her voice slightly choked.

"We were worried about you, Danny," she told him. "I mean, that shock…that was huge. I'm amazed you didn't-you came out of that unscathed." Real subtle, Sam. He could hear the words, even if she hadn't finished the original sentence. I'm amazed you didn't die…It had been that bad, hadn't it? As if prompted by the first ones, memories of the blast suddenly came racing back. Phantom pains seemed to clutch at his chest, and the temperature around them felt like it fell considerably. It was pain like he hadn't felt before, as if every atom was being pulled apart and then sent crashing back together. With a shiver, unconsciously rubbing his arms, the boy looked back up at his two friends.

"So…so how did I get back to normal?" he muttered. "The eyes…people can't just change their eye color while they sleep."

Danny exhaled purposefully, dimly wondering why he wasn't out of breath. He then looked up, the reflective surface of the monitor about two feet from his face. There was a dead silence as he stared into the bright green eyes that were staring back at him…

Those had not been his eyes. The face that he had seen wasn't even his. It was a complete stranger staring back at him. Snow-white hair, bright green eyes…and it was like he had been glowing faintly. That was probably just an after-effect of getting pumped full of electricity, though.

"I dunno how it happened, man," Tucker admitted, drawing Danny out of his thoughts. "It wasn't exactly a walk in the park…even if you couldn't remember this morning, you were really jumpy. How many beakers was it that you dropped third hour? Like, five before the bell rang?"

"Yeah…Everything's been falling today. Maybe it's just nerves…but I can't hold onto anything, it seems." The three suddenly jumped as a loud ringing announced the end of the lunch period. With a slight groan, Danny stood, stuffing his half-eaten lunch back into his bag. "I'll see you guys after school…" Without a backward glance, the boy strode off toward class, habit guiding his steps. He was paying practically no attention to his course, his mind still running over the memories that now threatened to overwhelm him.

…no sound seemed to be coming from his screaming mouth. The pain hit a moment later, as blinding as the light had been. It tore through his entire body and even his hair felt like it was burning.

Danny managed to half turn, the entire room swimming in an out of sight. He caught a glimpse of his friends, both with identical looks of terror on their faces before the boy stumbled forward and collapsed, clutching at his sides as a renewed wave of pain rolled up his body…

Stupid portal…

Indeed, chapter three is done! Sorry if the last bit seemed a bit forced there. The bell always interrupts important conversations, and things wouldn't be any different at Casper High. ^^ Yes, it seemed like an extremely short lunch period, but I'm going slightly from experience here. Our school gets half an hour each day, so I guess we wouldn't be the only ones that have it cut short. -shrug-

This was a long chapter. O: I'd like to thank all of my wonderful readers again! Especially ayamari no Goshi, who somehow gave me the impression that this thing isn't failing quite yet. (Despite the fact that her version PWNS. Go read it, kay?)

Anyway, as it's nearly 1:30 now, I shall finish with my final plea: REVIEW! PLEASE! =3 Any sort of reviews are wonderful! I love them all, and try to reply to every single one I get! Now before Waggy rambles your ears off, I head to bed!

Kudos!