The day had ended for Casper High and Owen was more than excited to get back to Willow Street. He hadn't seen Ophelia since the morning before she was taken out of school by Mr. Fenton on a "sick leave". He had to hear from Abi and a few witless social media posts about the incident at the gym. He was only glad people stopped calling her Snow Queen before it even began.
He had offered to take her homework to her so she wouldn't be behind on any of her classes, but all of her teachers told him that all of their assignments were online. Whatever else Ophelia might need, they informed him, Mrs. Fenton had them make sure to email them to her.
"Have you heard anything about Ophelia?"
Owen jumped back halfway to the other side of the hall. Inside his locker was the monochrome head of Sidney Poindexter, the unofficial ghostly mascot of Casper High.
"Jeez, Sid, give me a heart attack why don't you."
"Sorry"
Sidney pulled himself out of the locker and floated down to Owen's feet. Owen graciously accepted Sidney's hand and the ghost pulled him to his feet.
"I thought you would be used to it by now, considering you're dating a halfa."
"Well, I'm not, and I don't think it's politically correct to call her a halfa."
"I've heard her and her father get called a lot worse."
"Still not right."
Poindexter gave a nod to this, telling Owen that he intended to take his advice.
"Have you heard from her at all?"
"No, I haven't. Why are you so interested in my girlfriend all of a sudden? I've never seen you exchange more than five words with her."
Poindexter gave a shrug.
"Just because I don't know someone well doesn't mean I can't be concerned when they are being bullied."
Owen groaned. This isn't the first time Poindexter has asked him this question. Ever since he introduced Ophelia to the ghost, Poindexter has always looked at her oddly. These odd looks evolved into questions about Ophelia's experiences in her past schools.
"I told you, she's not being bullied. She might not be the most popular girl in school but that doesn't mean she's being bullied."
"Then what do you call that incident in the swimming pool?"
"Her god brother blamed her for his mom grounding him and he thought he was getting back at her. If anything, it's ersatz sibling rivalry."
"Don't play that jazz with me, I had an older brother and nothing he ever did kept me out of school for over a week."
"That's because of her ice powers coming in, unless you think the vice principal is a bully too."
Poindexter crossed his arms. Owen assumed he was trying to give him a intimidating glare but since he was the least threatening looking ghost he had ever met it only came out as stubborn pout.
"You might not be able to see it, and most of the time they never want anyone to, but I can tell when someone has been bullied. It may not be happening in the school but someone is picking on that poor kid."
Owen's jaw clenched, he wasn't sure how to respond. Technically, Poindexter was right. Ophelia was being picked on, but it was a lot worse than bullying. He heard about the upcoming Plasmius trial not too soon after the arraignment. He only heard what the charges were, never looking up details. He knew Ophelia wouldn't like it if he knew the whole story. He had known that something had happened to her grandparents, but he had never imagined they were murdered. Or that she was there when it happened. He couldn't remember much back when it happened, only that the grown ups became very worried after Christmas and never explained why. Now he understood. It was scary to think that something like that could happen in your own town.
Owen sighed.
"If you're worried about her so much, why don't you go over to the Fentons and check on her? Unless you're bound by some weird American Horror Story-type ghost rule."
Poindexter looked off, nervously fumbling with his glasses.
"I don't know about your stories, but I don't think it would be polite to just barge in on them unannounced. Like you said, I'm not that close with the kid and I haven't talked to her parents since they graduated from this school."
"Alright then, I'll check on her for you."
Poindexter turned his eyes back on him, utterly surprised. He looked as if he was waiting for a punch line.
"Gee willikers, you'd do that for me?"
"Um, yeah sure," Owen said with a shrug, "I was planning on doing it anyway so why not?"
Poindexter smiled, a very warm and kind smile at that.
"Gee, thanks, that's really nice of you. I'm sorry I have to ask, but as I've said before I've seen this type of thing before and it never ends well."
"I think she'll be fine, she's got superpowers after all."
"Being strong on the outside doesn't mean you aren't fragile on the inside. At our age, we're like glass, anything can shatter us. I still remember Phantom back when he went to school here. Everyone saw him as this big hero and loved him but he had this scared look. It was like he was waiting for it all to - what do you call it? 'Blow up in his face'? You catch my drift?"
Frankly, Owen didn't. He and his friends use to take the long way home so they could pass by the statue in front of city hall. He has seen old news articles, comic adaptations, every form of media under the sun depicting a young Mr. Fenton as this invincible hero fighting bad guys. Yet knowing what he once looked like, Owen had a hard time imaging Mr. Fenton ever being a kid, especially one that was just as insecure and scared as any other teenager. Then again, he thought the same of Ophelia before he got to know her.
Owen attempted to give Poindexter a sympathetic pat on the back, only for his hand to go right through the ghost.
"Don't worry about it, Sid, I'm sure they're all perfectly fine."
As soon as he dropped Millie at home and made sure at least one of their parents was there to watch her, Owen headed next door to the Fenton's house.
He knocked on the door and rang the bell a few times, but all he heard was Cujo yipping from the other side of the door. They must have the shield up, he thought. He took out his phone and texted Ophelia to see where she was. It took a while, but she responded to say that she and her dad were on their way home right now. With a shrug, he decided to sit at the doorstep and wait for her.
"Excuse me, do you know where I can find the Fenton's residence?"
"Sure, you're actually-" Owen stopped mid-sentence when he looked up and saw who had asked.
At first, he thought he was looking at a polar bear, seeing only the huge, bulky frame and white fur. But after a moment, he saw that the polar bear was clothed, had a tail and horns on his head that looked like they were made of ice, and had a face and body structure that was nothing like a polar bear. What struck Owen most was the creature's right arm, which was actually the skeleton incased in ice.
Owen stared dumbstruck at the creature for a moment before saying, "You must be Frostbite."
"Indeed, I am." He said while scanning a block, "Now, which one of these houses belongs to Danny Phantom?"
Owen turned his head to the door behind him and back to Frostbite.
"Um, this one?" He said, jerking his thumb behind him.
Frostbite smiled and before he knew it, Owen was snatched up in a huge, cold, furry, constricting hug and was being swung back and forth.
"My goodness, Ophelia, how you've grown! I could fit you in the palm of my hand last time I saw you."
"Wrong kid!" Owen wheezed through his crushed lungs.
Frostbite stopped swinging and pulled Owen from his chest. He looked at the dazed boy carefully, and sniffed his head as one would smell a carton of milk to see if it's still good.
"Whoops, sorry," Said Frostbite while dropping Owen to the ground. "I thought you were Danny Phantom's daughter."
"But I'm a boy." Owen replied.
Frostbite rubbed the back of his large neck bashfully. "Yes, well, you humans look the same to me."
Owen picked himself up from the ground. His arms felt sore from where he was hugged. He was certain he was going to get bruises.
"I guess that's fair," he grunted, "you probably don't see a lot of humans. I'm actually waiting for Ophelia myself, she and Mr. Fenton are on their way right now."
"Then we shall wait together." Frostbite said rather boisterously.
"Um, great" was Owen's nervous reply.
Owen returned to his seat at the top doorstep. Frostbite took a seat a few steps down, his large form still taking up a great deal of space and made Owen scoot to the side.
"So…where have you been living since the Evacuation?" Owen asked, trying to make this situation feel a little less weird.
"My people have been residing in the North Pole," Frostbite answered, "Somewhere near Siberia, I believe. We are at home to extremely cold environments."
"Then you must be baking out here."
"Nonsense, I am a ghost, climates do not bother me as it does you humans."
"So then you live in a desolate ice tundra because you like the scenery?"
Frostbite sent a look his way that, despite not seeming particularly threatening, made the color leave Owen's face.
"No, no, I don't mean that in a bad way, it's just…different for me."
Forstbite's face softened.
"This whole world is different for me, even the tundra. I haven't had reason to enter the Human Plane in my entire existence. Even last time the Ghost King was released my people and I stood our ground until the Great One defeated him. But now, without the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep to trap him, we had no choice but to leave our home."
Owen cast his eyes to the ground.
"Yeah, Phé's been upset about it, too. Pariah destroyed the Fenton's realm, so they don't have anything even when it's safe to go back into the Ghost Zone. I can't imagine losing my home, let alone getting booted from my home dimension. It must be tough."
Frostbite smiled and rose to his feet.
"Eh, it's nothing to worry about for long. Danny Phantom will defeat the Ghost King just like he's done before and we'll all be home soon."
He attempted to give Owen a friendly pat on the back, but instead knocked him off the steps.
"Sorry" Owen heard Frostbite mutter.
"Owen!"
Owen pulled himself up to find Mr. Fenton's car pull into the driveway. The car didn't even come to a stop when Ophelia phased out of the back seat and bolted towards him. Mr. Fenton's training must really be helping her. The first thing he noticed was her clothes. She wore a black knee length dress and black tights. She didn't have a coat on, not even a scarf. She looked smaller to him, after weeks of seeing her figure filled out with thick layers of sweaters and wool coats. Although she still looked paler than usual, the blue tint in her skin was gone making her look sickly rather than dead. She even looked a little flushed, most likely from the training session she just came out of.
Owen smelled Frostbite's breath when the ghost leaned down to him to whisper, "Is that her?"
Owen nodded. His was knocked back down into the ground when Frostbite's large tail swished as the snow ghost barreled after Ophelia. When Owen pulled himself up again, he saw Ophelia ensnared in a crushing hug by Frostbite, looking both stunned and confused.
"Ophelia, my goodness, I haven't seen you in ages! Yet you've hardly grown since. Look! I can still fit you in the palm of my hand!"
Somehow, Frostbite managed to have Ophelia sit on his hand to prove his statement. He held her up, striking a pose that reminded Owen of the strongmen in old-timey circus posters. Ophelia looked disoriented, not quite processing what was happening as fast as it was happening.
"It's a pleasure to meet your acquaintance." She drawled out.
"Careful, Frostbite," Mr. Fenton called as he emerged from his car. "Don't forget, she's human too."
Frostbite gave a nod and lowered Ophelia back down to the ground. She must not have processed that she needed to stand, for as soon as she was set down she fell over onto the grass. Owen was quick on his feet and hurried to her.
"Are you alright?" He asked.
Ophelia propped herself on her elbows and smiled at him.
"Just a little stunned, I'm fine."
"Need a little help up?" Owen asked instinctively.
"I'd love some," she said in a tone he wasn't quite sure was meant to be sarcastic.
Smiling, Owen held out his hand for her to grab. The minute her pale white hand grabbed his, and intense cold stung him. Not only stung him, but it felt like all the heat in his body was getting sucked out through his hand. The intense chill made Owen flinch and let go of Ophelia's hand, making her fall over once more.
"I'm sorry!" Owen stammered. He reached out to help her up again but Mr. Fenton stepped between them.
"It's alright," said Mr. Fenton, his back to Owen, "I got you."
In a swift motion, Mr. Fenton picked Ophelia up and set her back on her feet, only letting go when seemed sure she was stable again. Didn't he get cold too? If he had, he certainly wasn't showing it.
"Thanks, Daddy," Ophelia said once she was on her feet.
"I really am sorry," said Owen, too scared to look in the direction of Mr. Fenton.
"As am I," said Frostbite, "It has been such a long time since I've been in the presence of the Great One and his offspring."
"It's okay, Frostbite," Mr. Fenton said with a warm smile. "And you don't need to call me the Great One, I haven't really done much to earn that title."
"You and your modesty, Danny Phantom. What do you call saving the entire planet from that asteroid?"
Mr. Fenton shrugged.
"I'd call it a group effort. Tucker designed the machine and the entire Ghost Zone helped power it. I just had one small idea."
Owen was surprised. Everyone talked about Phantom Planet like it was a legend greater than the Twelve Labors put together. The day the Earth was saved became an international holiday (but since it happened in the summer it didn't affect schools all that much). Yet here was Mr. Fenton, the great hero himself, playing it off like it was nothing. How could Poindexter say someone like this was ever scared of anything?
"And what would you call defeating the Ghost King all by yourself?"
Mr. Fenton's face darkened.
"I wouldn't call that a victory, for one. Not when he's still out and all of the Ghost Zone is homeless."
Ophelia gave her father a hug around his waist, a looking up at him with a comforting half-smile and eyes telling him not to blame himself. Mr. Fenton returned the affection with a smile of his own and a hand to her head.
"But you didn't come all this way to talk about my not-so-glory days. She has an ice core that needs to be checked out."
"Actually, Dad," Ophelia said while pulling away, "Is it okay if I hang out with Owen first? I haven't seen any of my friends this whole time."
For the first in his life, Owen saw Mr. Fenton nervous.
"I know, sweetie, but I think we should have you checked out first before you meet up with anyone."
"But Dad, I've been doing so well, I haven't frozen anything for three days. I promise I'll head straight home the moment I get a chill. Please, Daddy."
Ophelia proceeded to give her father a pout that reminded Owen of those sad puppies in the old ASPCA ads. Mr. Fenton raised an eyebrow.
"Don't you think you're getting a little old to pull the puppy face?"
"Only if it stops working." She said, her eyes shimmering a little.
Mr. Fenton still seemed nervous, yet he smiled down at her.
"It still works," playfully he grumbled. "You and your big eyes."
"That's your own fault," she said while giving her father another hug, "you gave me the big eyes."
Mr. Fenton hugged back briefly before pulling away.
"Okay, you can go hang out with your friends, but the first sign of a chill you come home, alright?"
"Alright"
"And if not, get back here before dinner."
"I'll try"
"You'll do. I'm serious Ophelia, we've waited too long already getting you an expert, and with everything else that's been going on-"
Ophelia's eyes flashed a pale green. She took a step back from Mr. Fenton.
"Dad, I'm fine, really, stop worrying over me."
"If only I could."
Mr. Fenton turned to Owen, which felt like a jolt of electricity was shot into him that only got worse when Mr. Fenton went up to him.
"You'll text me if anything happens?" Mr. Fenton asked, a tone less accusing than Owen had expected.
"I don't have your number, sir," he said, surprising himself with the "sir".
"Have Ophelia give it to you, then." Leaning in, he whispered, "And keep an eye on her in case…let me know if she's acts a little off."
"Off?"
There was a look of concern in Mr. Fenton's eyes, it reminded Owen of that night Ophelia and Darcy were attacked.
"You know that trial coming up, the one that's been on the news all the time?"
"You mean Masters'?" How could Owen not? Within a day of the arraignment, the entire block was flooded with press. They mostly swarmed around the Fenton's house and Mr. Foley's down the street, but there were a few that would ask the neighbors about the Fentons. That was how Owen first heard about the trial. It had only died down a couple of days ago, the reporters having lost some interest in the story and not getting enough for their efforts.
Mr. Fenton flinched at the name Masters and quickly shushed Owen.
"Yes, that one. Ophelia's been taking it pretty hard. Her ice powers are triggered by stress, especially anything that involves Masters or the trial. Just be very careful what you say to her and watch her. She hasn't had an episode in years but with all that's been going on it doesn't hurt to be careful."
Owen gave a nod. Mr. Fenton smiled.
"Thank you," he said, sounding more genuinely grateful than Owen's ever heard in his direction. "You know, I think I would've really liked you if you stayed friends with my daughter."
"Thank you?"
Mr. Fenton turned back to Ophelia.
"Get back before dinner, and keep your phone on you."
"I know, Dad," said Ophelia as she ran past her father. She grabbed Owen by the arm and dragged him off towards the sidewalk. "Come on, let's go somewhere human."
Owen tried to catch up with her pace, hoping not to be dragged all the way to…wherever they were going. He turned back to the Fenton house.
"It was nice meeting you," he said while waving to Frostbite.
"It was nice meeting you too, human boy," Frostbite said before the two disappeared around the corner.
"He's nice," Owen said to Ophelia, "a bit odd, but nice."
"Well, you know, he probably thought you were odd." Ophelia said.
"He thought I was you."
Upon entering the house, Cujo went straight to growling at Frostbite. He took on his monstrous form before Danny and the Frostbite could calm him down and convince him that the snow ghost was not an intruder nor an enemy. Once he shrunk down to his usual size, Cujo to pawing at Frostbite with friendly yips.
"Sorry about this," Danny said, "He's been stuck in the house all day, it makes him go a little stir-crazy."
"Not to worry, Great One," Frostbite said, picking up the small dog to pet. "I have seen beasts much greater and much less friendly than this one."
"I wish I could be surprised to hear that."
Danny led them into the kitchen. Frostbite tried a few times to find a comfortable seat that could support his weight before making one out of the booth table in the breakfast nook. Cujo immediately hopped up and curled up next to him. Danny reached into the fridge for a soda, offering one before taking one for himself.
"So, how is your child doing with her ice powers?"
Danny paused before he could take a sip.
"Um, well, you can see for yourself when you check her ice core."
"Yes, but I'd like to hear from your experience as well. It's good to know what she's responding to and what she needs further training on."
Danny set the soda can on the kitchen counter and rested his palms flat on the surface.
"I've only given her the basic stuff, taking everything step by step, it's not like there's a monstrous plant ghost to make us have to rush things along…"
"You look distressed, Great One."
"Please don't call me that, I wasn't being modest when I said I didn't deserve it." Danny sighed, unsure what to say.
"It's just…she has been doing very well skill-wise. She's excelling way past what we were expecting, she doesn't even seem cold anymore, but…her power seems to be triggered by stress…and with that trial coming up…she refuses to testify, but I think the thought of it is upsetting to her. Frankly, I don't blame her, everything about it makes my skin crawl…what I'm trying to say is she's doing well but she's got moments where she loses control and everything gets covered in frost."
Frosbite face turned solemn. He stared down at Cujo while he petted the top of the small dog's head.
"I remember hearing about what happened to your family, all those years ago. It only feels like yesterday, but then at my age everything feels like yesterday. It wasn't just the act itself that horrified me, not even that it happened to you, though I consider you one of my dearest friends. What struck me most is that it happened during the annual Truce. I don't know if any of the younger ghosts respect it as much anymore, but when I was young in my afterlife that was one of the most sacred of traditions."
Danny's jaw clenched at the thought of the Truce. Sure, to Frostbite it may be a sacred tradition of peace and compassion towards your fellow ghost, but to Danny it became the excuse the ghosts hid behind that night when his family needed help the most. Maybe if the Far Frozen wasn't so far from the Fenton Portal II or Vlad's lair, he would've gotten that help and there wouldn't be a trial now.
"I am sorry this is happening to you," Forstbite said, "And that it fell at such a horrible time for your family."
"If it's alright with you, I'd rather not talk about it." Danny said, sounding unintentionally harsher than he wanted. "I didn't have you come all this way just so we can wallow in my miseries. My daughter needs help, more than I can give to her."
"Of course," Frostbite said with a nod. "Well, from what you tell me, she seems to be progressing very well. The instances of frost is perfectly understandable with what's been going on, so hopefully it will go away on its own once the worst of her stress is dealt with. I'll do what I can to help her suppress those instances, but I feel that would be better addressed with proper counseling. But of course, I'd have to see her use her powers myself and get a reading at her ice core before I can say anything for certain."
"So she'll be okay?"
"Like I said, I'll have to see how she uses her powers before I can say for certain, but I think this will be the least she'll have to worry about."
Danny knew that meant much, it was the verbal equivalent to a shrug if anything. Yet a small part of himself felt hopeful at hearing those words, enough for just sliver of a smile to break through.
"For her sake, I hope you're right."
"You sure you should order that so soon before dinner?"
Ophelia had dragged Owen to the Nasty Burger. Apparently, she hadn't been there in a while and was actually craving Nasty food. Laid out on the table was a large order of fries, onion rings, and a plate of vegetarian chili cheese fries (why she needed two orders of fries Owen would never know).
Ophelia smiled. She bit into an onion ring, ripping out the onion part and leaving the batter shell to crumbled in her fingers.
"You know, you're the only person who's nagged me about eating something."
Ophelia pushed the plates of onion rings towards Owen. He took one and dipped it in the puddle of ketchup on the empty side of the plate.
"I'm not nagging, I'm just worried you'll spoil your appetite…wow, I sound like my mom."
Ophelia giggled, covering her mouth so none of the food would fall out.
"You don't need to worry about me spoiling my appetite, in fact this is the first time I've actually had any kind of appetite since I got suspended."
"Suspended? I thought you were just on a sick leave?"
"That's what they call a suspension when they don't have enough ground to actually suspend you."
"That hardly seems fair."
"That's because it's not."
One of the staff of the Nasty Burger handed Ophelia a milkshake. She took it gratefully and handed them some money for their trouble. Owen looked at the note with wide-eyed surprise.
"Did you just give that guy a ten dollar bill?"
Ophelia shrugged.
"Why not?" she said, tearing the paper wrapper from a straw. "He definitely earned it for putting up with me when I couldn't decide what to get, especially since veggie- chili cheese fries aren't on menu." She stuck the straw into the shake and took a sip. "Mmm, double fudge malt."
"I don't think I've had that before."
"You wanna try it?"
"You don't mind me taking a sip?"
"As long as you don't mind some backwash."
"Of course not. For all I know, you might have magic healing spit."
Ophelia rolled her eyes.
"I'm half ghost, not half Gem, though admittedly that would be awesome too."
She pushed the glass towards Owen. He held the cup up, unsure whether in thanks or to make a toast, before taking a sip.
"Oh my gosh, that is so good."
"I know, right? If you want, I can order you your own. Ooh, or we can get a second straw and split this one! It's so cheesy but I've always wanted to do that!"
"You never did that with Richard?"
"Nope, the only backwash he was interested in was still in my mouth. Blech!"
Owen smiled.
"I missed you. Well, I'm pretty sure everyone's missed you but I miss you the most."
Ophelia smiled back.
"Aww, I missed you too!"
Owen was enjoying this. He didn't realize how much he missed her until he was finally in a room with her. It was so nice to see her smiling after so long. He didn't get what Poindexter saw to make him think anything was wrong. At the thought of Poindexter Owen remembered his promise. He didn't want to ruin such a good moment but a promise was a promise.
Owen sighed.
"Look, I know this is stupid but Poindexter's been asking about you and I promised I would ask-"
"Sidney's been asking about me? I barely talk to that guy, why would he be asking about me?"
"Well, he thinks you're being bullied and you not coming to school freaked him out. Bullying is kind of his trigger, you know."
Ophelia's face hardened and her eyes dimmed.
"You told him why, right?"
"I did, but he's still convinced that you're being bullied. He says he noticed this look since he first saw you. Like I said, it's stupid, Sidney's just hung up on his own stuff and he's starting to see it in other people."
Ophelia's lips became a thin line, eyes focused on the dish nearest to her.
"You want me to be honest, right? We promised to be honest to each other before you made that promise to Sid so if I tell you the truth you don't tell him, or anyone, right?"
Something prickled in his lungs.
"Um, sure, of course."
For a minute, more than a minute, Ophelia didn't say a word. Only took a few deep breaths. She was gathering the strength to tell him.
"I'm not okay, I'm really not okay. This whole thing…just thinking about it gives me this tightness in my chest. And I know my parents are feeling the same way, so I try not to cause them anymore stress. But keeping it all inside is just making it worse and I feel like I'm turning into stone, an ice cold stone."
Owen rubbed his thumb across his hand, still cold from when he touched Ophelia's.
"You're ice powers, they aren't getting better are they?"
Ophelia slid her hands behind her neck and clawed at the back.
"I mean, I've aced all the techniques my dad told me but…I don't know, it's like I feel colder every time I use my powers. And with…well, what's been going on, I keep having these freak-outs and I start freezing and I feel worse than I did before. The only good these lessons have done is kept me from visibly shivering. I just hope Frostbite knows how to fix this before I hurt someone, or myself."
"You have to tell them."
She shook her head fervently.
"No, I can't, not with all this. I've already let them down not testifying-"
"You're not testifying?!"
Her eyes flashed.
"Don't you judge! It's bad enough knowing that the whole world will be hearing the story and Vlad convincing them that none of that ever happened. They'd make me tell everything, every last detail, while some guy on Vlad's payroll picks apart every last syllable-"
Owen held out his hands.
"It's okay, it's okay, I understand. Well, I don't but…I'm sorry."
Ophelia's eyes dimmed again. She hugged herself and looked away. Owen could see the seat behind her as she made herself transparent.
"I'm sorry, you don't need to hear this."
"You have nothing to apologize for. You don't deserve what you're going through, no one does."
She forced a smile that became more visible when she made herself solid.
"Welcome to my world."
"Ophelia!"
Before Owen could track the origin of the voice, Ophelia was knocked into the booth by a pile of bouncing light brown curls.
"I haven't seen you in forever!"
The curls tilted up to reveal the smiling face of Ophelia's god sister. Ophelia's eyes brightened with her smile, more sincere that the she had a moment before.
"Hey, Marti, what are you doing here?" Ophelia said, returning the hug.
"I'm hungry." Marti replied cheerily.
"Of course, why else would you go to a restaurant" Ophelia giggled, "Did your dad bring you here?"
Marti shook her head.
"Daddy's busy"
"Did your mom bring you here?"
"Mommy's busy, too?"
"Then how did you get here?"
"Francis and me walked here."
She pointed behind her, where her exasperated older brother had arrived to the table.
"Marti, what has Mom told you about running off like that?"
Owen couldn't stop himself from scowling. Abi told him about what happened at the pool, how he only showed a small amount of guilt when the pool started to freeze over and how he disappeared before Coach Baxter got curious as to how Ophelia fell in. Ophelia appeared to have felt the same, though her smile stayed intact. Must be for Marti's sake, Owen assumed.
Marti's smile turned into a bashful pout.
"Mommy says never to run off from her or Daddy."
"That includes me too, Marti, especially when I'm watching you."
"Sorry, Francis, but look, Ophelia's here."
Francis' eyes swept from Ophelia to Owen, unfazed by their appearance save for a small, friendly smile in Owen's direction.
"That she is, with her boyfriend."
Marti looked over to Owen, who smiled and waved.
"Hey, you're Millie's big brother!" Marti cried, "Ooh, ooh, if you two got married, would that make me and Millie sisters!?"
Owen couldn't help but laugh.
"Come on, Marti," Francis said with a not-quite-patient tone of voice, "you know Ophelia's not our real sister."
"Why, because she's half ghost? That's not nice, Francis."
"Yeah, that's not nice, Francis," Ophelia giggled, her fists on her hips in mock offense.
Francis rolled his eyes, though, as Owen noticed, not as vindictive as he usually does.
"Sorry, didn't mean to be - well, mean."
"Can we sit with them, Francis, please?" Marti pouted, flashing puppy dog eyes almost as big as Ophelia's.
Francis seemed reluctant.
"You have to ask them that, Marti, but I think they're in the middle of a date right now."
Ophelia shrugged.
"It's alright with me, what about you, Owen?"
Owen looked at them all surprised. He thought Francis and Ophelia hated each other, but here they are willing to sit with each other without any adults around to make them? Must be because Marti's here, he thought, or maybe because Francis actually feels guilty for causing Ophelia to get taken out of school…
No, it must be because Marti's here.
Owen shrugged.
"I don't see why not."
"Yay!" Marti was practically bouncing in her seat. She got even more excited when she saw the food in the middle of the table. "Ooh, chocolate shake! Can I have some, please?"
"I'll get you your own shake, Marti." Francis chided. To Owen, he asked, "Do you mind watching her while I order our food?"
Once again, Owen shrugged. Francis smiled and walked off, tossing a "brb" over his shoulder. Marti curled up next to Ophelia and hugged her waist, which made her shiver.
"You're cold" she said.
"Then why are you still hugging me?" Ophelia asked
"Because hugs are warm and you need warmth."
"Aww," Ophelia looked like she was going to hug back but stopped herself, instead giving a pat on Marti's shoulder where she was covered by her hoodie and a backpack strap.
"I thought Francis was grounded," Ophelia said, Owen was able to hear the suspicion in her voice. "And that he was staying with your mom while you were with you dad."
"We were, but Mommy and Daddy are so busy trying to stop that Ghost King guy that they ungrounded him so he can watch me. I got an A on my math test so Francis took me here for dinner, and he promised to get me an ice cream sundae to eat all by myself."
"You got an A on your math test? Good job, Marti!"
"But I always get A's"
"Then you must get a lot of ice cream," Owen chimed in.
Marti shrugged.
"Sometimes I do, if it's a really hard test, but this one wasn't that hard. Do you wanna know a secret?" Marti leaned in to whisper to Owen. "I think Francis just wanted some ice cream, too."
Ophelia smiled.
"You know what I think? I think he just wants to spoil you because he missed you so much."
Marti looked at Ophelia like she had stated the obvious.
"Of course he missed me, it's the first time we had to stay in different houses. I thought Mommy was going to make him move away to another town like Uncle Danny and Auntie Sam did with you."
Ophelia's eyes flickered. It almost looked like she was internally flinching.
"Marti, you know they wouldn't make Francis leave town without you. You're his sister."
"So are you, and you moved around ever since I could remember."
"You know that was for a good reason," Owen said, "They had to move so-"
"Math test aside, how was school?" Ophelia interrupted. She flashed her eyes at Owen, letting him know the mistake he almost made mentioning Masters in front of Marti.
Marti shrugged.
"We're starting to read this book about a girl who gets magic powers from reading a lot of books. Millie and Luci taught me how to double dutch and I played with my new friend Wybie…oh!"
Marti took off her backpack and went rummaging inside. She was halfway buried into the bag when she happily chirped, "Here it is!" and came back out with a box.
"It's for you." Marti said, handing Ophelia the box.
Ophelia looked at it surprised, and so was Owen. It was a white gift box, barely bigger than Ophelia's hands, tied up neatly with black satin ribbon with a multiple-looped bow on top. It didn't look like something a seven-year-old could put together on her own.
"For me?"
Marti nodded. "Your friends wanted me to give it to you. They said you were feeling blue and this would cheer you up."
It was at this time Francis returned to the table, a soda in each hand.
"Okay, so the food will be out in a minute, but here's some soda for now- where'd that present come from?"
Ophelia shrugged.
"Marti said my friends gave it to her to give to me."
"Well, it's no one from Casper, that's for sure," Owen told them, "They would have had me pass it along if it was."
"And it would be weird for any of my ghost friends to have Marti pass it along instead of just handing it to me personally. Oh well, might as well see what it is, right?"
Ophelia tugged at the ribbon, letting it fall off the box and onto her lap. She opened the box. "It's wrapped in velvet. Whatever's in here must be pretty fan-"
Owen couldn't see what was inside from where he sat, but he could see the color leave her face clear as day. Even her irises seemed to lose their vibrancy, turning near white. He had never seen her look so horrified.
"Phé," said Owen, "Are you alright? What is it?"
Hesitantly, she took the object from the box. The first thing he noticed was the roses. Deep, blood red roses nested on black thorns. It was a music box, round and golden save for the roses tangled around. It looked like something from a hundred years ago, something his great grandmother would've had. Owen would have thought it was a nice gift if he didn't know how much the red flowers terrified her.
"Pretty" Marti said, unaware of what was happening.
"Oh my god," he heard Francis say.
Trembling fingers opened the box. Music played, trills airy and sweet from the mechanical device. Owen thought it sounded familiar, like something from an old movie or one of those ballets.
"What is that song?" he asked, but right as he did it hit the part of the song that he recognized.
"'Once Upon A Dream'" Francis answered, just as horrified as his god sister. "Or at least the composition it was based on. From Sleeping Beauty."
Owen was confused.
"But why? What's so special about…oh" It hit Owen. He remembered his mother telling the story to Owen when he was little, and then his sister after that. But she didn't call the story 'Sleeping Beauty', she called it by a different name every time she told it.
"Briar Rose"
Ophelia flicked her eyes in his direction, though it was clear her gaze was fixed anywhere near him. Her eyes went back to the box. Her thumb traced over the inside of the lid.
"It's engraved," she said, her voice as distant as her stare. "'To Briar Rose, I wish nothing but good fortune for…'" there was a catch in her throat, as if the words were choking her.
"'for my little princess'"
She dropped the music box. It landed safely back inside the gift box, cushioned in velvet. The lid fell shut, restoring silence to the table. An unbearable silence.
Francis pulled Marti out of the booth and knelt down at her feet. Owen couldn't have imagined Francis looking so worried until now.
"Marti, listen to me," Francis said, trying his best to keep himself together and speak with a calm voice. "Where did you get that?"
Marti seemed to understand something was wrong. The smile that seemed to take permanent residence on her face was gone.
"I told you, her friends gave it to me."
"What friends? What did they look like? Was one of them a man?"
"No, birds. Big ghost birds with little red hats. They talked funny."
"Marti, I told you not to talk to strangers."
"They weren't strangers, they knew Ophelia. They called her Briar Rose like the doctors do."
Francis pulled her into a hug, his face turned into sheer panic now that his sister couldn't see. Owen didn't fully understand what was going on, but he was sure he had a better idea than Marti.
"What's happening, wha..who is she talking about? Who sent her that box?"
"Don't be stupid, Dodgeson," Francis snapped, "You know exactly who sent it. Those vultures work for Plasmius."
Owen's eyes went wide and turned back to Ophelia. She was paralyzed, hands posed like she was still holding the music box. He could see her breath, blowing in like a fog machine when she began to hyperventilate. There were tears trickling down her face but stopped at her cheek, frozen solid in place.
"Ophelia? Are you okay?"
There was no response. She was shaking now. No, she was shivering. She was turning blue, her hair turning white. She looked like the photos he saw when Abi told him about the pool incident, but much, much worse.
"Oh my god, Phé!" Owen jump out of his seat to rush to her side. He was yanked away by the back of his shirt.
"Don't touch her!" Francis cried out, ushering Marti behind him, "You'll freeze yourself solid!"
"Well, what do you think we should do then!" Owen shouted back.
"I don't know, her episodes never had a subzero power-up!"
Ice creeped around her, but it seemed to stop after a few inches. Ophelia must be pulling it back, Owen thought. That couldn't be good. She was shaking harder and turning bluer. Her nose, lips and fingers were a shade so dark that it almost matched the black of her nail polish.
"Can she get hypothermia?" Owen asked.
Francis rolled his eyes.
"Oh, yes, I'm her god brother so I'm automatically an expert on everything half ghost."
"Really, you thought now was an appropriate time for sarcasm?"
Before a fight could ensue, they were stopped by a loud thud. Owen turned back to Ophelia, who was now collapsed under the table. She must have knocked over the music box when she fell, because the song started up again. The cheery, lighthearted music of his childhood could not have been a worse fit for the moment.
"Phé!" Owen tried to go to her again, but once again Francis tugged him back. Francis' free hand had his phone, dialing a number.
"What do we do?" Owen demanded. Francis glared at him.
"'We' don't do anything. I need to take Marti home and turn on all the security measures."
"What! You can't just leave me here to handle this on my own, I don't know the first thing on what to do."
"He threatened my little sister, Owen! What do you think I care more about right now?"
"What are you talking about? He sent that box to Ophelia-"
"But he had Marti deliver it to her. Why do you think Plasmius would do that when he could have easily left it on the Fenton's doorstep or in Ophelia's locker at school? It was a message. He wanted to show that he can get to any one of us if he wanted to and he doesn't even need to leave his prison cell to do it."
"Did I do something wrong?" Marti ask, her eyes glossy with the threat of tears, "Why is she on the ground and blue?"
"You did nothing wrong, Marti," Francis consoled her. "It's just….it's a grown up thing. Come on, we're going home."
"But what about Ophelia?"
"I'm calling Mom right now, she and Uncle Danny will take care of her."
Francis took her hand and started leading her to the exit. He put his phone to his ear while he waited for the call to go through.
"Wait, what am I supposed to do!" Owen shouted.
Francis turned to him, his phone still at his ear.
"Wait for Uncle Danny and my mom to get here and don't let anyone touch her. Do you have Uncle Danny's number?" Owen shook his head. "I'll text it to you as soon as I get off the phone with my mom. Call him, tell him everything, he'll tell you what to do. Whatever you do, just don't – Mom, we've got a situation."
And with that, Francis walked off, not saying another word to Owen. Owen went into a panic.
"Don't do what? DON'T DO WHAT?"
But Francis had already disappeared, into the crowd forming around their table and out the door. The last Owen saw of either Foley kids was a scared Marti waving goodbye. He turned back to Ophelia. She looked like she was unconscious under the table, but her body was still shaking. He was going to reach out and touch her when his phone pinged. He stepped back and checked his phone. He didn't recognize the number, but he guessed it was Francis.
Here's his contact, tell him everything
Whatever u do, do not touch her
Attached was a contact labeled "Uncle Danny", with maybe three different numbers, an email address, two different work addresses, and what may have been every social media account Mr. Fenton had. It was weird, having all those contacts on his phone, and that was excluding the fact that it belonged to the Danny Phantom. But Owen couldn't relish on it, he could only feel relieved that he was getting help.
"Wait, how did Francis get my number?"
Abi's dad's shift was just about to end, and so was her candy striper shift. She was just getting ready to go home when her dad got called about an incident at the Nasty Burger. Code Phantom.
Her dad went to answer the call, leaving Abi to wait and worry until he returned.
The ambulance arrived right around the same time Mr. Fenton did. A ghost was with him. Some crazy abominable snowman with ice for an arm. Abi had seen a lot of ghosts in her life, but she couldn't stop herself from staring at this one. This ghost was by far the strangest. Her dad and another EMT were wearing their thick jackets and thick gloves that made Abi think of oven mitts. They wheeled in a cocoon of thermal blankets strapped to a gurney, all Abi could see underneath were blue lips producing fog of blue mist. The air became colder as they passed by, sending a temporary chill to Abi's core. There was no doubt in her mind who was on that gurney.
"Oh my god, Phé!"
"Abi, don't!"
Her dad blocked her before she could get too close. She had reached out an arm towards her friend and immediately pulled back when she felt a stinging in her fingertips. She pulled back and found frost in on her fingers, whiting out the iridescent pink of her nail polish.
"You can't touch her," her dad explained, "she's like liquid nitrogen right now, your fingers might shatter on contact."
Abi pulled her hand close to her chest, holding it with the other hand. Her fingers were already wet from the ice melting. She nodded to her dad, "I guess I shouldn't risk it, considering I need my fingers."
She watch as Ophelia was passed over to the doctors. After the a few sconds of shouting and an announcement over the speakers, the doctors were rushing her down to the special part of the Emergency Room made for ghosts and halfas alike.
"Mr. Fenton!" Abi called, leaving her father to rush after him. Mr. Fenton barely stopped and turned to her. He looked annoyed with her, which made her feel embarrassed, but he also looked scared. The thought of the Danny Phantom being scared terrified Abi.
"Oh, Abby, hi," he said, "Sorry, I've got to go."
"She froze over again," Abi blurted, "What happened? She's worse than she was in gym."
"Look Abby, I've got to-"
"No you look! I haven't seen my friend in over a week and when I'm finally in the same room as her it's the ER. I thought you took her out of school to help her get better, why is she getting worse?"
Mr. Fenton looked mad at her now, which made Abi understand why Owen was so scared of him. But once again there was another emotion there, too. Guilt, maybe?
He looked back to the gurney, before it disappeared behind double doors.
"I've got to go," he said as he rushed after the gurney.
Abi just stared for a moment. Why the heck would she say that to Mr. Fenton? Ghost powers aside, he was a parent who's kid is hurt. If her parents heard her talk to patients or their relatives like that, she'd be in so much trouble. She began to panic when she remembered that her dad was right behind her. She turned to her dad, rambling off before he could get the chance to scold her.
"Omigosh, Dad! I don't know what I was saying, it just came out-"
Her dad held a hand up.
"It's fine, I know you're just worried about your friend. Just try not to do that again, not everyone reacts so well for being chewed like that."
"Don't have to ask me twice."
While she was remembering how to breathe evenly, her phone began to ring. Without even checking the ID, she answered it.
"Hello?"
"Abi, it's Owen,"
Abi's eyes went wide. How was she supposed to tell Owen that Ophelia was in the hospital again? He just about freaked out when she told him about the pool incident.
"Heeeeey Owen" she said with an unconvincing cheery tone.
"You're still at the hospital, right? Is Ophelia there yet?"
"Omigosh yes, she was blue and shivery and wrapped up in these blankets and Mr. Fenton – hey wait, how do you know she's here?"
"I was there when she froze up.."
"Really? What happened?"
"I don't know, I think it involves Plasmius. You know Marti, Francis' little sister? She got this box from some ghost birds to give to Phé and she just…I don't know, what it was. Next thing I know, she started freezing stuff and passed out."
"Oh my god,"
"Listen, you've got to help me out. Mr. Fenton wouldn't let me go to the hospital with her-"
"No, nu uh, no way. I'm not helping you sneak into the hospital again.
I'm still in hot water from the last time I helped you sneak in here. Not to mention I just called out Ophelia's dad to his face-"
"You called out Danny Phantom?!"
"I'd rather think of him as Ophelia's dad right now, thanks, I don't think my heart can handle telling off a superhero." She heard Owen laugh on the other end. "Don't laugh, I said it in front of my dad. You know how my parents are about telling off people at the hospital."
"I know, sorry, it's just funny that it didn't happen to me for once."
"Yeah, hilarious."
"Anyway, I wasn't going to ask to sneak back in. I just wanted you to check for me and see if she's going to be okay."
"You know she will, she always does, especially when her dad is close by."
"I know, but please. Just check for me. You don't know what it's like seeing her like that."
"Um, yeah I do. I was there when she froze the pool, remember?"
"Abi please!"
"Okay, okay, fine. I'll see what I can do, but I'm not making any promises that I'll hear anything. My mom doesn't treat everyone, you know."
"Yeah, but you always find the news on everything. And your dad was the one who brought her in, doesn't he have to check to see if she's alive afterwards or something?"
Abi rolled her eyes.
"I'll see what I can do, bye!"
She hung up and jammed her phone in her skirt pocket. She turned back to her dad.
"I think I should ride home with Mom tonight."
"You sure about that? She's got a graveyard shift tonight."
"I'm sure, Owen's never going to let me live it down if I went home before hearing about Ophelia."
"Okay, but you better have your homework done by the time you get home."
"Alright, Dad."
Her dad gave her a quick hug before leaving. Abi waved goodbye before he disappeared behind the doors leading to the exit. With that, she make a pivot turn towards the Non-Corporeal Care Unit, counting up the many favors she will be owed by the end of the night.
Danny waited outside in the hall while his daughter was once again put in a de-icing chamber to thaw. Frostbite was inside, overseeing the doctors' exams and performing a few of his own. He heard nothing conclusive yet, though they were all very certain that Ophelia was suffering a severe case of hypothermia. He had to wait until they were finished with their tests and she had received full treatment, but they all seemed certain that she would make a full recovery. None of that kept Danny from worrying, however. Not even close.
He told Sam everything that had happened the moment he got off the phone with the Dodgesons' kid and gave her an update the moment they reached the hospital. Sam told him she would be on her way, and to stay calm in the meantime. He wasn't sure if he could really be calm at that moment, but he could at least keep himself from freaking out.
Danny barley noticed the phone ring in his pocket. He answered it a split second before it went to voicemail.
"Hello?"
"Hey Danny," Tucker's voice greeted on the other side. "How are you holding out?"
"Hey Tuck," Danny said, a smile making its way to the corner of his mouth. "I'm fine, just barely."
"How's Ophelia?"
"She's hypothermic, that's the only thing the doctors are agreeing on so far. They're still running tests but they're sure there's no lasting damage, physically that is."
"I'm sorry, I wish I could go down there to help-"
"But you're still afraid of hospitals."
"Pfft, no. After being married to Valerie, there's little to be afraid of. You remember how she was when she went into labor, she threatened to tear pieces off of me and shove them in unpleasant places if I didn't get over myself and take her to the hospital."
Danny laughed, "I remember her using a lot more colorful language than that."
Tucker laughed a little as well before falling to a grave silence.
"But seriously, I've got the kids here. None of us can leave the house until it's a hundred percent safe. Valerie's getting that box checked out for any listening devices or poison or…"
Danny's smile disappeared.
"I'm sorry about this," Danny said, "about all of this. Your kids shouldn't have been involved."
"They shouldn't have been," Tucker said, sounding more serious than Danny had ever heard in his life. "But it's not your fault. I mean I should have known this would happen, this is why Valerie had me move the kids away. And he used Marti. She barely knows who he is. All she's heard of him is from the stories the kids spread on the playground."
Danny couldn't help but feel sorry for Tucker. Out of their group, Tucker had the least connection to the half-ghost rivalry. In fact, Danny wasn't sure if Vlad even knew Tucker's name. Now he and his kids were getting dragged into it, all because he made the poor choice of having Danny for a best friend.
Danny took a breath and waited until he could speak in a calm enough voice.
"I know it may seem impossible right now, but you have to stay calm. You're kids need you to be their rock, especially Marti. She's looking to you to see if everything will be alright, she needs to know everything's alright."
"That's what Valerie said." Tucker grumbled. "I've got to say, I'm glad to have Francis looking out for her. He's always been a good big brother but he's even letting her play makeover to keep her mind off of it."
"Girls still play makeover? Man, I still remember when Jazz used to drag me across the house and tried to make me wear our mom's dresses."
"Did I hear someone say my name?"
Danny fell through his seat, his surprise triggering his intangibility. He looked up from the ground at the familiar face in front of him.
Though she may not have been as lucky as Danny and Sam had been, she looked good for her age. There were only a wrinkle or two around the eyes and a crease around her smiling mouth to indicate that was turning forty. She looked travel weary, with her jeans and blouse wrinkled under her leather jacket and her red hair lazily tied in a knot with a pencil holding it in place. She looked just like their mother, only leaner and maybe an inch or two taller.
Danny smiled.
"Tucker, I'm going to have to call you back," Danny said once he remembered he was still on the phone, "My sister is here." He hung up before he could hear a response.
He sprang from the floor and trapped her in a hug.
"Jazz!" He cried.
"Hey there, Little Brother." Jazz replied, wriggling her arms free to hug Danny back.
"When did you get into town?"
"I picked her up from the airport today," Sam said, coming in moments after her sister-in-law. "We thought it would be nice to surprise you and Ophelia."
Danny pulled away. He smiled at both of them both it dropped into something more solemn.
"Yeah, well, I guess you got a bigger surprise than I did."
Jazz's smiled faded.
"Sam had the phone on speaker when you filled her in. Anything new since then?"
"No, sadly. Maybe you can go in and check? You are a doctor, after all."
"Of psychology, parapsychology, and paranormal science, none of those exactly qualify me to go in there and ask medical questions. And even if I was, it wouldn't be good to interfere with their tests."
Danny responded with a look of defeat.
"Yeah, I guess you're right."
Jazz smirked.
"You've been on this planet for thirty-eight years, you should know by now that I'm always right."
"Nine times out of ten, maybe."
Jazz tried to swing a playful punch at his arm, but he phased through her fist. They both laughed.
The door to the room Ophelia was kept in opened. Frostbite came out, no longer looking playful as he did earlier that day. This had to be bad news, Danny thought, he never looks that serious unless there's bad news.
"So what's the prognosis?" Danny asked, already preparing himself for the worst.
"There isn't any permanent damage, and the hypothermia should be gone after another hour in the de-icing chamber."
"That's good news, right?" Asked Sam.
"In itself, yes, but the cause of the hypothermia is what troubles me most."
"What do you mean?" Danny asked, "it's her ice powers, what else would it be? She had an episode and it caused her core to act up. You can show her how to keep her from doing that, just like you did with me."
"Unfortunately, Great One, I don't believe that is possible. You know well enough that her physiology is different than yours, having only half of both the humanity of her mother and the ghost energy you have. Because of this, her ice core is much more unstable than yours. Practicing her ice powers did help to an extent, but now the repeated use is having a negative affect on her human half."
"Meaning the more she uses her ice powers, the more hypothermic she'll get." Said Jazz.
"I'm afraid that is so."
"So instead of helping her, I've been making it worse?" Danny's heart sank.
He felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked over to find Jazz giving a reassuring smile.
"Don't beat yourself up about it, you didn't know-"
"Which also worries me," Frostbite interjected, "Even with the different physiology, there would have been symptoms prior to this. She would have still felt cold, just like you did when your powers were coming in."
"Maybe she mistook it for her ghost sense," said Sam, "the extra ghost population has made hers and Danny's act up since. Or maybe she acclimated to the cold because of the ghost sense."
"I'm not sure about that. She would have felt colder on top of her sense. She wouldn't have to be visibly shivering, but she would have felt colder each time she had to use her powers. You sure she didn't mention anything to either of you?"
"Not to me," she Sam. "Did she say anything to you, Danny?"
Concerned and guilty as he was, Danny still felt a swell of anger bubbling its way to the surface.
"She must have been hiding it so we wouldn't worry, just like she did when her ice powers first came in. I told her not to keep anymore secrets from us."
"Well, can you blame her?" Jazz budded in, "You guys are going through a really tough time with that trial coming up. I mean, I've only just got here a couple of hours ago and I can feel your anxiety. I can't even imagine how Ophelia feels it…"
Jazz's eyes went wide, in an expression Danny recognized immediately. Her "I should not have let that slip" expression for when she dances too closely around a secret.
"…Not that she'd empathize with you any differently than the average human or ghostly being. That would be crazy."
Danny looked at her curiously. It didn't take him long to figure what she was hiding, his eyes flashing involuntarily to the surprise. He looked over to Sam, who was sporting the same expression.
Danny turned to Frostbite, "Could you give us a minute?" He told them as calm and politely as he could. Frostbite nodded and returned to the room where (Danny assumed) he would tend to Ophelia. The moment he was gone, Danny turned back to Jazz.
"Jazz," Danny said, his suspicion apparent in his tone, "Do you know about Ophelia's…'insight'?"
Jazz's eyes widened, the color left her face.
"Is that what she calls it now? How did you…when did she tell you?"
"She didn't," Danny said, jaw clenched at the bitter memory, "Vlad found out and bragged about it when he captured us.
Jazz covered her mouth, failing to contain a gasp.
"Oh my god, that was her worst fear."
"How do you know about it?"
"In a way, I diagnosed her with it. Remember that one summer you had her visit me in California six years back? Well, I noticed how she behaved with other kids and she asked me questions about why everyone acted like they couldn't see anything. It didn't take too long to figure that she had an extra sense."
"You knew about this for six years and you didn't tell us?" Sam said, shooting an icy glare.
Jazz held her hands up defensively.
"I promised her that I wouldn't tell anyone before she did." She said. "Poor thing was so scared when she found out she had yet another power that made her different from everyone else. If I told you, she would never trust me again."
"You should have told us," Danny said, noticing too late how loud he was, "Vlad exploited her that power to find out all she knew about us. I wouldn't be surprised if he used all that information to trigger her and send her here."
"You don't get it, Danny. Ophelia has severe emotional after that night. The only reason she's been willing to talk to anyone is using her powers to read people to tell whether or not they are trustworthy. If I had broken my promise with her, it wouldn't have only been her trust in me that would've been shattered. Vlad made her think she's toxic to the people around her, that getting to know her would put them in grave danger. She wouldn't be able to talk to anyone or have anything remotely resembling a healthy relationship if I told you her secret. She barely gets counseling she needs with you two moving her around and switching therapists. It's a miracle that we found a more accessible child psychologist in the Ghost Zone, and that Ophelia felt comfortable enough to open up to them."
"Don't you think I know that? Don't you think I see how miserable she is? I've had to see her live with that pain for ten years, knowing that I'm to blame for all of it. I made myself a target to that madman when I was a kid and failed to keep her out of his sights. I had to sacrifice so much, made her sacrifice so much, all just to keep her alive and away from him."
Danny returned to his seat by the holding his head in his hands.
"I'm the only one who can help Ophelia gain control of her powers, who understands what she's going through, and I now I find out through my worst enemy and near fatal accidents that she's been hiding powers from me. I mean, I expected her to shut me out when she got into her teen years but this was the one thing I was certain she'd let me in on. The whole world and the Ghost Zone depend on me to protect them from each other and I can't even protect my own family."
How long has it been since he's felt such a crushing weight on his shoulders? Was that weight ever really gone? Were those first few years of marriage and fatherhood so blissful that he somehow ignored it? Maybe when that one fear had disappeared all those years ago, the threat of his ugly face resurfacing forever locked away and gone forever, maybe with that one load gone his burden seemed so much easier to carry.
Jazz took a seat beside him and clutched his shoulder.
"Oh, Danny," she said, "I didn't know you were having these feelings again. Nothing has changed since last time you went through your guilt spirals, even if Pariah is out. You can't hold yourself responsible for every disaster just because you have powers that could stop it."
"That may be true all the other times, but this is my kid we're talking about. I should've known about this, all of this. I thought I was helping her. You don't know how good it felt seeing her light up the day I started training her in her ice powers. It one of those small moments where I had no doubts that I was doing good, that it was the right thing. But of course that wasn't true…"
"Don't beat yourself up about this," said Sam, "None of this is your fault. You are doing the best you can, we both are. No on will blame you for doing your best your child, certainly not Ophelia."
Of course she won't, Danny wanted to say, she wouldn't want to hurt them by telling them the truth. If anything, she'll blame herself for everything, or hide the pain until it can't be contained like now. She's too much like her father.
No matter how many times people say that it's not Danny's fault, his conscience will never be convinced.
Danny wanted to say that, but instead he smiled and said, "yeah, you're right."
It felt like hours until Owen got a text from Abi telling him that Ophelia was alright and was being sent home. He could get nothing done, still stunned from seeing Ophelia collapse and get carried away into an ambulance by Mr. de Fleur. Or maybe it was shock from being questioned by Captain Grey. If that was how she talked to a civilian Owen only hoped he'd never end up a suspect in one of her cases.
It was late when he finally heard a car roll into the Fenton's driveway, a second car pulling in right when Millie was being put to bed. He would go over to check on her, he really wanted to see her, but Abi warned him that Mr. Fenton wasn't in a good mood. Even with the vague threat hanging over him, Owen didn't want to upset Mr. Fenton any further.
He sent a text to her, are you ok? The three dots on the screen told him she was typing something, but after a few minutes, they disappeared.
"Hey Owen,"
Owen jumped in his seat at his desk, knocking the chair and sending him down with it.
"Oh shoot, are you okay?"
A pair of black-stockinged feet approached him. He clambered out of his chair and got to his knees just as Ophelia knelt down to him. Both blushed when they noticed how close their faces were.
"Um, yeah, I'm fine. This is only the second time a ghost has startled me…or is it more like first and a half?"
Ophelia smirked, despite her eyes not expressing the emotions to match.
"You've had an eventful day, Mr. Dodgeson."
She got up and held her hand out. Hesitantly, Owen took it and let her pull him to his feet. Her hands weren't as cold as earlier, it felt like she had poor circulation rather than being made of ice. Those de-icing chambers must really do the trick, he thought.
Once Owen had got to his feet, Ophelia pulled her hand away. She clutched her upper arm, eyes flicking between him and the floor.
"I'm sorry about today," she said in a quiet voice, "you didn't need to go through that."
"Why are you apologizing? You were the one that got….I don't know what happened to you but I know you shouldn't have gone through that."
Ophelia shook her head. She turned on her heel and began to pace around the room.
"I just overreacted. It's embarrassing that I still react like that-"
"Wait, still? As in this has happened before?"
Ophelia's nails dug into her arm. Her whole body was tense, even when took a deep exhale.
"He's sends these 'gifts' to me at least once a year, just to scare my dad by scaring me and making us have to move away into another town. Usually he does this on my birthday, which is why I didn't celebrate my fourteenth back in September – sorry I forgot to mention my birthday until now, please don't get me a gift."
Her hands curled into fists, which began to glow with ghost energy. When she turned to him, he saw that her eyes were glowing as well.
"He crossed a line bringing Marti into this. She's only seven, for crying out loud! I mean, I was younger but…" She looked at Owen and her eyes dimmed, as if she became aware that he was there. She looked down at her hands and shook away the glow, looking embarrassed about the whole thing.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't come here to go all crazy on you."
"No, no, it's fine, I'm glad you're willing to open up to me. I mean, you don't have to if it's going to trigger you again."
Ophelia smiled meekly. The smile was short lived and replaced with a frustrated groan and a stamp of her foot.
"This isn't fair to you! You shouldn't have to put up with so much ugly – I shouldn't have to make you put up with it. You're a good, normal person, you should be worrying about whether your acne is acting up not about whether your super-powered girlfriend's PTSD is acting up."
With that statement it hit Owen. He had been there when she was kidnapped and when people have tried to kill her, he had known that she sometimes acted strangely and had been jumpy about one or two things once or twice. Never, though, had he ever once considered that she had an actual trauma.
Ophelia held her hands up.
"Look, before I get all crazy again, I wanted to say thank you. Abi told me you sent her to check on you, and I know you didn't tell my dad about me hiding my chills and thank you for all of that. I shouldn't have put you in that position, I was just scared. I'm always scared about stupid things and I do even more stupid things that turn lethal and thank god it was only lethal to me for once."
Owen took a step forward. Carefully, he took Ophelia's hands in his. He wanted to hug her, but he wasn't sure how comfortable she would be with that. She wasn't good with contact at the best of times, let alone when she was already jumpy.
"I don't understand what you're going through right now, but you shouldn't feel so bad about yourself. I do stupid stuff all the time and that's when I'm not scared. I'm pretty sure if anyone else were in your shoes, they wouldn't handle anywhere near as well as you do. You're a titanium teen, and I'm glad I can help you any way I can."
To his surprise, Ophelia quietly chuckled and shook her head.
"You know nothing, Owen Dodgeson." She looked at him, eyes giving away the conflict underneath. "You are the most trustworthy person I could ever hope to find, and I've been giving you the bare minimum of my trust. You deserve so much more, I know it, but….my….instincts…everything's telling me to trust you, but after Richard I can't even trust myself sometimes." Another confusing laugh, "I don't think I've ever known what's right-side up."
Owen's forehead crinkled so tight he could feel it. Nothing she said made any sense. He wondered if this was a sign of another freak out coming in. He wondered if he should call Mr. Fenton and hope that he won't be upset with Ophelia being in his bedroom.
"Um, Phé, what are you talking about?"
Ophelia smiled. She put a hand to the back of his heads, her fingers combing into his auburn hair.
"What I'm talking about is that I trust you, more than anyone I've over met outside of my family. And I'm going to trust you with something, and you'll be the first person I've willingly told anyone about before. Just…I don't know what you're going to see or whatever…just don't freak out."
"You know that telling someone not to freak out is as effective as telling someone in a high wire not to look down."
"Yeah, I know, but just try, okay?"
She put her other hand behind his head and used it as leverage to pull up to his face. Her lips touched his, and his mind was flooded. He felt things which he somehow knew were not his own. He saw images flash inside his mind, stronger than any dream he could remember but nothing like real life. He saw the Ghost Zone, more beautiful than he ever saw in pictures and fully populated. He saw stars, and the Earth right below him through a window. He saw houses and school yards and children, all strong yet soft like a memory. He felt his skin prickle like it was pins and needles numb. He saw red flowers that filled him with dread and panic. He heard screaming, crying, and felt like doing the same.
Every person he saw had something inside them. He had never seen it before but it was so plainly there he couldn't understand how no one could see. Stranger than that, he saw himself. He was a cloud of emotions and visions, but there was one feeling that stood out among the rest.
All of this happened within a span of seconds.
When Ophelia finally pulled away, he heard himself gasp. Every part of him was tingling. It reminded him of third grade when he got to touch the Van de Graaff generator and he felt the current go through his hand and made his hair stand on end.
"Wow"
"Yeah. Like I said, I have no idea what you saw, so sorry if there was anything in there that was unpleasant."
He couldn't say anything, he was too busy trying to process what exactly happened. It was her, he heard somewhere in his muddled thought, what I felt was her.
"You…you see that all the time?" he managed to say.
Ophelia nodded.
"Welcome to my world."