Thanks to coolgirlc, CalicoKitty13, Silent Elegy, Phantomdragon333, Jenna Dax, Ghostboy814, katiesparks, Dragon of Despair, and linkmaste.

Jack made his way up to the Op Center, one of the few places he figured he might be alone. He felt slightly guilty about deliberately becoming invisible to avoid his wife, but he needed to work through this alone. He pressed his forehead against the glass, hoping the coolness would calm his mind like it often did. He felt the chill run through his body and shivered. He was just about to pull back from the window when he found himself sliding forward. Then he was falling through the air. He tried to activate the flying again, but his powers seemed to be overridden by panic. Then they seemed to catch and he was moving upwards and away from his house. But no, he was still in the curled up position he had been falling in. Someone must be carrying him. Someone had saved him.

He turned his head to look, and saw Danny Phantom's face just inches away. The ghost seemed worried, and maybe even a little frightened, which was odd for a ghost. They were dead, so there was nothing left to worry about. Or was there?

"It's okay. You're new at this. It always takes time to adjust and get things under control."

"Where are you taking me?"

"Somewhere we won't be disturbed. I've been watching you for a while, and you look like you need someone to talk to. I don't want people to see us, 'cause I don't get the best reaction in the world."

That sounded like a sincere answer and Jack's first reaction was to trust the ghost. But then a small voice piped up in his mind, reminding him that Phantom willfully attacked the mayor and destroyed countless buildings almost on a daily basis. Phantom was an evil ghost, no doubt about it.

"How do I know if I can trust you?" Phantom seemed have been expecting this.

"If I were evil I would have just let you fall." He sounded bored, as if he had to give that kind of answer a lot. Jack believed him enough to trust him for the moment, at least.

Several minutes of silence later, Phantom set him down on the island in the middle of Amity Lake.

"You're Jack Fenton, aren't you?"

"Was. I don't know who I am anymore." Phantom nodded.

"Same with me when I started out. It really helps to have someone to talk to, you know. So why don't you just tell me everything. Maybe I can help you?" Phantom seemed to be genuinely helpful, and still had the worried air about him.

"I don't ever remember dying, and everyone seems to think I'm still alive. I can't bring myself to correct them. Maddie and I have taught my family to hate and fear ghosts, and I don't know what they'd think of me if they found out that I am one. I have to look after my family though, or I'd leave. If I'm going to turn evil, I should leave so they don't get hurt. But I've got to protect them, because I know there are worse ghosts out there. And I can't shake the feeling that I'm being hypocritical by being a dead ghost hunter either."

"Don't worry. Your problems are nothing compared to mine, trust me. Actually ... no, you've got it bad, but I'm definitely worse. No one trusts a teenager. And if you were going to be evil, I think you'd know already, or at least have signs. Not all ghosts are evil, contrary to popular belief. Some just want to be left alone or help people."

Like you, thought Jack, and his little voice added, at least, that's what you want us to believe.

"You shouldn't leave your family either. They do need you, and it's not going to harm them, as long as you can stay under the radar. I can't imagine if ... my dad had left my family." Phantom sounded thoughtful. "You know, there's this ... theory in the Ghost Zone that a human-ghost hybrid should be possible, given the right conditions. I've never heard of one before, but maybe you're an example. You certainly look different now than you did before."

"I do?" Jack looked down. His trademark jumpsuit was gone. It had been replaced by a dark forest green tunic and loose black pants. He retained his gloves, but they had gone from plasticized latex to leather. The clothes felt ... different, but comfortable. Nothing compared to the orange jumpsuit, though. He started moving around to get the feel of the costume.

"A hybrid, you say? How would that work?"

"Well, the theory is that if a human gets surrounded by massive amounts of ectoplasm, maybe with some sort of electrical charge to it, that the ectoplasm will bind to their DNA and give them ghost powers and a ghost body, along with the human one. Like I said, I hadn't heard of one until now." Jack's gut feeling to that statement was that Phantom was lying. The father in him kicked in and Jack didn't mention his suspicions. His companion probably had a good reason for not mentioning what he really knew. Trying to protect someone, maybe.

"But I've never been in that kind of situation. My powers suddenly started acting up a couple weeks ago. I haven't been able to think of a trigger. I can't control my powers either, and keep having to leave to fix the problem. Someone's going to get figure it out eventually."

"You'd be surprised..." muttered Phantom. Jack looked at him curiously. The boy rallied. "I mean, people can be pretty blind to the truth if they think it's unbelievable. If they haven't noticed anything odd yet, you're probably okay."

He's covering again, thought Jack. Out loud he said, "It's been good talking with you, Phantom, and I guess I did need to get that stuff off my chest. I think I'm going to have to rethink my opinion of you." Phantom looked surprised and grateful at that. "I really need to be getting home, though. Maddie will be worried, and it's getting late. Could we talk again, maybe?"

"Sure, I guess." Phantom's voice had undertones of hesitation. "When do you want me to come by? I'm kinda a tough guy to find." He laughed, trying to ease the mood.

"Sunday night, maybe, if it's not too difficult?"

"Shouldn't be a problem." Jack noted that Phantom didn't sound too confident of that and wondered again what the ghost teen was hiding. He shouldn't have any ties anymore, or any emotions. Something stirred in Jack's memory and he shifted nervously.

"How do I get home from here?"

"Fly. Here, just jump into the air and don't think of coming back down." Jack tried this and failed. "It might help if you close your eyes." Jack shut his eyes and bounced. When he didn't feel the pull of gravity, he opened them again. Phantom was floating beside him, just above the tree line.

"'Kay, now just think about moving forward..." Jack shot off into the night, and Phantom followed closely, to make sure he didn't run into trouble. Jack fought to suppress a laugh. He'd dreamed of flying ever since he was a kid. Maybe being dead, or half-dead, wasn't so bad, if he got to fly whenever he wanted. His joy was cut short, however, when he found himself over the Op Center again.

"How do I go back to human?"

"Think about it, I guess. I wouldn't know exactly."

Right, thought Jack, Phantom is a full ghost.

He descended, managed to get back to human, then turned to look at Phantom, who gave a salute and flew off into the night. Jack quietly crept downstairs again and climbed into bed. Maddie was already asleep, bless her, and soon Jack's snores filled the air.