I don't get it... How could everyone love a little one-shot about a PEN so much? Don't ask me... But thank you all so much for reviewing, even though it was only about a little pen rolling around. And some deeper stuff. Also, if anyone wants that one continued, you better have some ideas, cuz that is one that will probably STAY a one-shot. Anywho, here's the next random filler!
This one is Maddie and Jack's views on the portal, why it didn't work at first, and how it was suddenly up and running again.
Four: The Fenton Portal
Maddie stood at the control boards to the portal. They were bright, shiny, new, and probably would never be used again.
"Jack, darling, we discussed this. The portal isn't going to work."
Jack looked at his wife with those puppy dog eyes she loved so much. "But Maddie," he whined, "Can't we at least try? And why wouldn't it work? It's set up perfectly, it even has an Ecto filtrator!"
She sighed in exasperation. "It needs a life force to jump start it. Maybe not a full life force, but if someone were to be that jump start, they would at least be left in a coma, if not dead. We can't risk anyone's life like that."
Jack pouted, crossing his arms across his orange Hazmat covered chest. "It only needs half of a life force," he muttered.
Ignoring his last statement, Maddie decided on a compromise. "We can try it, but don't get your hopes up. If it works, great. If it doesn't, you get to be in charge of taking the portal apart."
"Fine!" He exclaimed, the power cords already in his hands. He shoved them together gleefully, carefully watching the portal. Jack was, however, disappointed. The portal sparked and fizzled before returning to its previous state.
Maddie walked over to him, sympathy in her eyes. "It's okay. We didn't have much hope anyways. Lets go upstairs for some fudge, and you can clean the portal up later."
They went up the stairs together, shoulders slumped in defeat.
Sam rang the doorbell. She hopped from foot to foot, clearly excited. And why shouldn't she be? Her best friend (and secret crush) had finally invited her and Tucker over. Not only that, but he had promised to show them the ghost portal his parents had been working on!
"Hey Sam. Come on in." Sam grinned at the boy in the doorway. He had black hair, baby blue eyes, and his favorite red and white shirt on. He also looked quite nervous.
"Hey Danny. Is Tuck here yet?" She asked, pushing her own black hair out of her violet eyes.
"Yeah. He's in the kitchen."
"Go figure." She followed through the house into the kitchen. "So are we still gonna take a peek at your parents' lab or did they decide to stay home?"
Danny shuddered. "They're out. They decided that we were old enough to know not to mess with their ghost weapons, so they went ghost hunting. Like they're going to catch anything."
"Yeah. Hey Tucker!" Sam said as they entered the kitchen.
"Hi Sam. Ready to visit the infamous 'Fenton Ghost lab?'"
"Oh yeah. I even brought my camera with," she replied, holding te expensive looking device up."
Danny cringed. "What's that for?"
"Blackmail." Seeing the look on Danny's face, Sam quickly went on. "Kidding! I'm starting a scrapbook. It's gonna be a memoir of sorts, all about our high school years."
"Fine. Come on, if you guys want to see down there, we had better be quick. You never know how long a ghost chase is going to last." Danny lead the way down a staircase, stopping at the bottom. "There. Lets go." He turned his back to the cluttered lab, walking straight into Sam.
"Pictures!"
Danny sighed. "How realistic?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, I'm not exactly supposed to be down here without a jumpsuit..."
Sam grinned. "That just makes it better! Just hold it up over there, in front of the portal. That is the portal, right?"
"Yeah." Danny moved around, weaving through the mess. Grabbing a white and black Hazmat jumpsuit and stood in front of the portal, just as Sam had instructed.
Tucker chuckled. "She's got you wrapped around her finger, man!"
Sam sighed, ignoring the comment. "Smile!"
Danny was ripped from his glare at Tucker, momentarily dazed by the flash. "Okay. I showed you the Portal, can we get out of here now? My parents could be back here any minute. Besides, they say it doesn't work anyway."
"Come on, Danny. A Ghost Zone? Aren't you curious? You gotta check it out."
Danny grinned, looking back at the portal. "You know what? You're right. Who knows what kind of awesome, super-cool things exist on the other side of that Portal?" He asked, pulling on the jumpsuit in his hands.
Sam groaned as she looked him over. "Hang on… You can't go walking around with that on your chest."
Danny looked at the sticker that Sam had just ripped off of his chest. It was a picture of his dad. No, he did not want to go around wearing that.
Nervous now, a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach, Danny turned from his friends, not knowing that he was about to embark on a life changing journey, no matter how short.
Maddie Fenton walked through the door to her house just in time to hear the ear-piercing wail. Eyes widening, she looked towards the open basement door. Had Jack taken the portal down yet? No, of course not! That had to mean someone had gotten in it. And Danny was home alone with his friends...
"No..." She whispered in horror, before darting down the stairs. There she beheld a strange sight; she could swear that her son - who was passed out in the arms of his friends, and who was very much alive - had just had two halos of light surrounding him. But he looked fine, especially when he began to move.
Looking up, the first thing Danny noticed when he awoke was the fact that, right in front of him was his mother. And she did not look happy.
"Young man, what are you doing down here? And how," she asked staring at the portal incredulously, "did you get the Ghost Portal working without killing yourself?"
Maddie narrowed her eyes when she saw Danny's friends' eyes widen and their breaths catch.
"You two should probably go home now." Watching as they scuttled off, she turned back to her son. "Danny, go to your room please. Don't come down until dinner. I need to figure out why this is suddenly working."
All Danny could do was nod and follow his mother's instructions. What had happened? The last thing he remembered after going into the portal was tripping, and then excruciating pain. He had thought he was dying, when it stopped. But why had his friends looked so confused, so scared?
Back in the lab, Maddie just stared at the portal, with its hypnotic green swirl and chilling allure. She didn't understand. The portal required at least half of a life force, and if that much were removed from someone, they would die. Their body would be able to replenish its health quick enough, wouldn't be able to keep pumping on only half the power. Danny should be dead. Of course, Maddie was relieved that he wasn't, but still. What factor was she missing? What hint, what crucial detail? She frowned down at the ground, eyes tracing the edge of a small puddle of ectoplasmic residue. It was right there! She knew it, it was so obvious... So why couldn't she recall it?
Of course, it would take a very long time for Maddie Fenton to suspect the ectoplasm. If that one puddle had jogged her memory... Well, let's just say the Danny Phantom as we know it would have been different. Very different.
Good? Good. Yeah, haven't updated in a while, but you know. School, church, sisters... Not wanting to finish a certain story (aka self induced writer's block that I just got rid of)... See ya on the flip side! Good old Johnny...
