Maddie was enjoying something that was very rare in the Fenton household: quiet. She was the only one home just then and was enjoying the peace as she studied the charts and graphs Jazz had made. The charts were amazing; the information in them represented a breakthrough in dealing with ghosts but Maddie couldn't help wondering what could have caused Jazz to have such an abrupt change of attitude.

Last summer Jazz wouldn't have had anything to do with ghosts, yet now she was helping her parents design an improved ghost shield. This one would basically absorb the negative energy in any ghost that came in contact with it, rendering them too weak to be a threat. As a plus, it would be almost unnoticeable and would need far less energy than their current ghost shield.

Oddly enough, though it would have been much easier to make the shield absorb all spectral energies, Jazz insisted that it only absorb negative frequencies. She said that the spectral energy was in some ways too similar to human emotional energy and it would be far safer to focus the shield on a very limited range of energies and decrease the possibility of it affecting humans. At times Jazz seemed almost obsessed with making sure that the only things affected would be ghosts that used negative energy. Sighing, Maddie turned the chart around; she was confused by, yet very proud of, her daughter.

Her musings were interrupted by someone at the door. When she answered it she found three members of the team of ghost hunters waiting there.

"Hello, Mrs. Fenton. We were wondering if we could talk to you about an encounter we had last night."

"Of course, Ms. Harrington."

"Please, call me Gabby. Ms Harrington makes me sound like a schoolteacher."

"I'd be glad to, and I'm Maddie. So what brings you here?"

Gabby chuckled, explaining as they walked into the living room. "We had an interesting encounter with your town's ghost boy last night."

"Was anybody hurt?"

"No. In fact, he seemed quite friendly and peaceful except when the other ghost attacked him."

"Attacked?"

"Let me start at the beginning. It's confusing enough as it is. Adam and Joe here," -she gestured at the two men- "saw him first."

"He came through a wall right in front of us," said Adam. "He looked about as surprised to see us as we were to see him."

"These two hurried to inform the rest of us about what they had seen," Gabby chuckled. "They were so excited and startled we weren't sure what they were talking about at first."

"Be honest, Gabby," Joe interupted. He turned to Maddie. "We got spooked and ran when all he did was stick his head through a wall and say 'hello'."

Maddie smiled. "Running is a normal reaction to seeing a ghost for the first time. But you said it didn't make any aggressive moves?"

"No," said Gabby. "He apologized for scaring us and said he wanted to talk to us."

"What?"

"He said he wanted to explain his side of the story without getting shot at and he said his name is Danny Phantom, (he seems to really dislike being called Invis-o-Bill). Then he was interrupted by a ghost that resembled a robot with flaming hair. It attacked him saying something about taking his pelt..." Maddie raised an eyebrow. "Danny Phantom taunted the other ghost and got it to chase him outside where they fought until Phantom captured the other ghost in a device he called a Fenton Thermos. He said he borrowed it from your lab, though I doubt it was with permission."

Maddie listened in amazement as they described the rest of their encounter with the ghost boy, saving most of her questions until they were done.

"He says he can still breath?" she asked.

"Yes. He also appeared to blush when embarrassed."

"But how? That shouldn't be possible."

"He didn't seem to know. He was definitely uncomfortable talking about it. He said he 'didn't get a book of instructions' when he became a ghost and that he didn't get along with other ghosts."

"But he defiantly claimed to use positive human emotions as an energy source?"

Yes, although he said he hadn't always known," Gabby said.

"That is strange... For a ghost of his power to use positive emotional energy...well, he would need a fairly large support system to even exist for any significant amount of time outside of the Ghost Zone."

"How large are we talking about?" Adam asked.

"It's hard to say. He'd need fewer people if they cared for him as strongly as if he was a member of their family, as unlikely as that is. Of course, he could be lying, but I can't see why a ghost would lie about this... Any ghost that needs negative energy would want people to be frightened of it."

"I think I believe him," said Joe, catching everybody's attention. "His only requests were that people get his name right, that he's not shot at or attacked on sight, and if he tells someone to run they should listen. Those don't sound like part of some clever plan; they sound more like something that honestly annoys him. And then, when he explained his reasons for protecting this town, one of the things he said was that there are people living here that he cares about and that, even if they don't trust him because he's a ghost, he still won't let them get hurt."

Maddie had an odd look on her face as she said, "I wonder how long he's been a ghost, and if he's tried to contact people he knew before... I'd like to see the recordings you made of the encounter and I'd like to see this ghost if he comes back."

"Sure," Gabby smiled. "Kate and my husband are studying the tapes today but we can make you a copy if you'd like. And he did say he'd try to see us again. I'd just like you to leave your weapons behind." Maddie looked unhappy at that condition. "He didn't threaten us in any way, and I think he'd be much more likely to talk without guns pointed at him."

"I understand. But Jack and I will be wearing our Specter Deflectors just in case. We have fought him before and he might carry a grudge."

"I hope not. I'd like to speak with him some more. Since your vehicle is rather unique, why don't we pick you up on our way to the school tonight?"

"Okay. But come here a little early if you can. We'll give you a tour of our lab and show you the information on ghosts we've collected."

"Sounds good! We'll be here about five, and I'll bring you a copy of the tape."

Maddie's smile faded a little after her guests left. 'How could a ghost that powerful exist using positive energy? I've checked Jazz's calculations and there shouldn't be enough positive energy available around here for a ghost to do more than maintain it's form and have some limited effect on solid objects. But why would a ghost claim to use positive energy if it didn't? If a ghost feeds on negative energy it doesn't make sense that it would try to reassure people...'

She hoped that tonight she would get answers to at least some of her questions.