They were down in the Fenton Works laboratory. Danny had done as promised and had taken out all of the equipment necessary for Dash's tests. It felt strange to Dash to see all the equipment he had been wondering about actually operating. As for him, things seemed to be normal. Being tested by his half-ghost boyfriend was normal. It beat the hell out of having to listen to some girl jabber on about some inane thing. Dash viewed the tests that were about to start as a physical, like the many he had taken in his life. He found himself in a similar state of dress or undress, as it were. His shirt was neatly folded on a workbench on the other side of the room.
"Take your shoes and pants off," Danny told him, looking official in a lab coat. Danny's clothes underneath the lab coat were not so official, but that was of little consequence.
He, the blond one, followed directions and stripped down to just his underwear. Dash could not be sure of this was a legitimate exercise in discovering the truth or an unashamed attempt to get him naked. Dash did not mind either way. It was not as if Danny was a stranger.
What was different this time was the lack of any sort of examination table. In fact, Dash was standing, nearly naked but unashamed, in the middle of the space. Danny had turned up the heat to make him more comfortable. The warmth had produced a slight glisten on Dash's torso and legs, which Danny appreciated. And, without doubt, the room's temperature made Dash's package a bit more pliable, not needing to shrink at all. There was little left to Danny's imagination, and, for that, Danny was grateful. He ripped his eyes away from Dash's cock and spoke to him. He wanted to put it simply what he would be trying to figure out.
Danny knew that Dash's body was still completely alive, but that he had some powers left only for the dead. Dash had achieved immortality, a ghost sense, a new warmth that kept him alive. Dash had also acquired increased speed, skill, and precision. Dash's hair grew more luxurious, his eyes glowed bluer, and his skin presented clearer. Danny could find no flaw in Dash's looks before, but now he looked as a ideal, having moved from cute, to handsome, to truly beautiful to behold. Danny knew he was not imagining these things, there had been murmurs in the school about Dash looking better. Danny would have loved to take vain credit for it, but this transformation was beyond even his power.
The powers hitherto described were nothing as compared to Dash's power to perceive and be perceived. Dash could hear anyone's thoughts if he put his mind to it. He had a universal key to humanity, a pathway into the one thing that men could call their own, their conscience. Danny thought that power was awesome. By awesome, he meant heavy, consequential, and unwieldy. Listening must have been easier because he could choose who and when. Danny did not envy him in this respect.
Even these powers were nothing to Danny when companies armed to the two that thrilled him. Danny still could not think of a reason why Dash would be able to see him when he was invisible or touch him while he was intangible. This had not practical purpose, but seemed only to be a manifestation of something deeper. Danny wished he could find a word or sound to describe it perfectly.
Taking all of these things into account, Danny thought it unlikely that Dash would be limited to these abilities. He did not kid himself. He knew that the powers that had thus been presented were not trivial or insignificant. On the contrary, it was the natural prowess and sturdy mindset that Dash carried that made Danny believe that they were scratching the surface. If anyone in the world was qualified to speak on powers, it was Danny.
The ghost boy felt as if he had been growing stronger. This put a few thoughts between his ears. First, the increase in power, whether welcome or onerous, could not be stopped. He did not know yet if he welcomed the newfound strength as much as his blond counterpart did. Second, as an intelligent person, Danny could see the relationship in their powers. Both of them grew more skilled everyday. Once Dash's powers were introduced into the equation, Danny's way of being as a human and as a 'superhuman' were elevated. His life grew easier, though not simpler, not by degrees, or even exponentially, but geometrically. Third, he still was not a fatalist, but he could not separate the whole medieval prophecy thing from what was going on now. A ghost, a human keeper who fit all the prerequisites, the joining of two bodies and two hearts into one, and relative ghost silence all fit was was prophesied centuries ago. The word Danny had so many times dismissed as archaic nonsense were ringing truer with every passing day.
Danny believed that he still had choice and control over his life, but all signs and circumstances were pointing towards something incredible coming to pass. He could only prepare the best way he could, by continuing his training. He would have to keep his mind and body in top shape to handle the events that may arise. That said, those were inauspicious times. Nothing, except for his boyfriend's love made anything work any better for him. Knowing how his life seemed to be patterned, nothing would happen before the school year ended and probably nothing before the end of next summer. That meant that Danny, and therefore Dash, had just about a year to put together something to combat whatever was coming. It was being asked of Danny to defend against a threat he could not define.
That's a hard thing to do, but he, no, they had to do it.
"Tell me." Danny started, "Have you been feeling any differently lately?
"No." Dash answered, "I feel normal, healthy, never better. I haven't been using these powers that have come up, you know, except for last night. I had to put that cow in her place, but, other than that, I haven't been going around reading minds or looking into the sun."
"Dash," Danny started, "I'm just not convinced that your powers end there. I mean, that thing calls you the 'King of the Earth', and I can't see that what you have being the whole picture."
"No?" Dash asked.
"Again, 'King of the Earth', I don't know if this means you can manipulate things or people to do what you want."
"I don't want to manipulate anything or anyone." Dash said, feeling put off by the verb
"But that's what a king does. He exerts control over his dominion, and yours is said to be the Earth. So, maybe you can command much more than you give yourself credit for. You might be in charge of things that I can hardly imagine."
"Like what?" Dash asked.
"Oh, I don't know. Maybe the weather? Or being able to manipulate materials supernaturally. You could have super strength. You might be able to fly."
"Me? Fly?" Dash scoffed at the idea. "I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you."
"I don't require oxygen." Danny gently reminded him, joking.
"Oh haha." He laughed sardonically.
"Seriously, think about flying." Danny said. "But wait a second."
Danny went over to one of the table and grabbed what looked like a blood pressure cuff. The cuff was attached, by means of a few wires, to a Cold War-esque machine that had gauges, dials, lights and buttons on the front. On the back there was what could only be described as a polygraph lookalike. It had the roll of paper and needles to deposit ink. The top gauge was resembled a speedometer and was marked from zero to fifty.
The dial read zero as Danny affixed the cuff to Dash's arm.
"Now try it." Danny said turning the machine on.
Dash closed his eyes and concentrated, not on flying himself, but on Danny flying. Dash went back into his memory and remembered seeing Phantom fly while he was on patrol, float while he fought, and soar to the upper reaches of the atmosphere. Dash managed to detach himself from the gnawing concerns of the world and almost meditate on his boyf. This would have been obsessive to anyone else, but the fact remains that they had overshadowed and known each other more than they knew themselves.
Dash's eyes remained shut, and he felt nothing.
Then his boyfriend gasped.
He open his eyes.
He was floating. It was only a few inches above the ground, but he was levitating. Humans were not supposed to be able to do it, but he was.
"D- D- Danny," Dash whispered breathlessly, impressed with his new abilities. "I- I'm flying."
"I know." Danny said, breathless, marveling. He turned his head towards the meter. The needle in the 'speedometer' pointed to 50. Danny looked over at the polygraph paper. It had spiked and leveled out at the top of the chart. Danny looked at Dash who was now starting to play with his ability to float. He did is so effortlessly that he made Danny jealous. Danny had struggled for weeks to float without motion sickness, let alone control himself. Dash was doing it so easily.
"Dating you has many perks, Fenton." Dash remarked as he moonwalked perfectly in thin air.
"It's not fair." Danny fake pouted. "I was a wreck for months when I got my powers, and look at you. You're floating and dancing in the air like there's nothing to it."
"Well, sorry I guess…" Dash tried to assuage a pang if guilt he felt. He felt bad flaunting what had been a burden to Danny. "I shouldn't be gloating like this." Dash descended carefully, yet forcefully, still in control.
Now Danny felt horrible for guilting him. "No, enjoy it. I didn't mean to get all heavy. Still am jealous."
"I have a theory I guess as to why you struggled." Dash comforted by wrapping his arms around the one with the smaller frame.
"And what's that?"
"You said that you got these powers freshman year, well, like- or like the summer before?"
"The August before 9th grade, right."
"Well, uh Danny… I'm not trying to be mean, but you were a weakling back then… and I kinda think these powers get stronger as your body gets stronger. You have more control over your body if your muscles are bigger, maybe it's the same with… powers." Dash theorized, and delighted in his notion.
Danny did too. "I did get more muscly when I trained more. My physical training was important to helping me improve. I think your right. And in eighth grade I was a little out of shape."
"You were getting a little pudge there, Danny. Those cheeks were getting kinda slappable."
"Which ones?" The black-haired one asked.
"Oh stop," Dash insisted. "I wasn't crushing on you then."
"Really?" Danny put his hand on his hips.
Blondie could not resist the attraction he felt towards a sassy Danny, so he admitted, "Okay, maybe a little…"
"And you did smack them." Danny said flippantly, while removing the cuff from Dash's arms.
"Which ones?" Dash found himself asking.
"The cheeks I sit on." Danny answer not batting an eye.
"Did I?" Dash said, half amused half mortified.
"Yes. You smacked them and said something like 'Fatass Fenton' or some other lame nickname you devised."
"Sounds like me." Dash answered, "Did it hurt?"
"No, of course not. You never hurt me, not even once." Danny answered.
"Well that's good." Dash answered, "I'm sor-"
"Nope, don't even. I jacked off thinking about it later that night."
"What?" The blond always got flustered to think of his boyf's excitement. "You what?"
"You heard me correctly." Danny said as if nothing graphic was involved. "Now, before one of us passes out from arousal, lets see if you have all the powers I have. Danny went invisible, clothing and all. This resulted in Dash looking like he was standing in an empty room alone to you and me, the average observer. Dash could still see Danny, of course, but in a phantasmagoric, shadowy way. Danny's frame was preserved but his color looked washed out. "Do you think you can do this?"
"I'll try." Dash did not know what to think to turn himself invisible, so he cleared his mind. This time he kept his eyes opened. Then, after some more head-clearing, he raised his hand to his face and could see through it. Dash's jaw dropped, realizing that more and more, simply being the town's (closeted) football star and all around jock-extraordinaire had died. These powers put his ability to be normal to rest for eternity. Dash finally understood what death could mean, but, at least, he approached a new, scary life. Out went one reality, in came a new, heavy, and unpredictable way to live. He understood Danny now. He could wrap his head around mind-reading, super strength, and flight, but the ability to disappear from all mortal eyes was too much. To disappear from people was to die, yet, notwithstanding his corporeal nature, he was unable to stop living. Immortality seemed more like death than life. Deathlessness was so unappealing, but Dash could be happy he could share it with someone.
"So, is that how I look when you see me invisible?" Danny asked. "All ghosty like that."
"Yes." Dash walked to the mirror and saw nothing looking back. He figured that he might as well do the third thing and make it official. He reached through the mirror and his hand phased past the solid material. Along with invisibility came intangibility and imperceptibility. He stopped his phasing through the solid objects.
Dash shuddered to think about what he was putting on now. The sudden jerk turned into a fearful trembling, as if someone was draining him of all of his life force. His face looked as if he had just killed someone, and, at the same time, somebody killed him. It was shock, doubt, and shame (for having dreamt about having powers before).
Danny saw the look on Dash's face and recognized it as one that had been glued to his face. Danny saw the same agony he had when he died. Dash may have been spared the physical anguish, but his mental affliction was al the same. Dash had just given up life how he knew it, and he felt a sense of grief about it. Life, with all its hardships and imperfections, had been ripped away from him. Though he still had a pulse and still breathed, Dash's existence could not be called life. It could not be called death. So, with a heavy, though unwaveringly committed heart, he accepted his new station in existence.
Danny could only hug him as the blond stood silently. After a moment, they came back into tangible being together.
"I'm just glad you're here and that you absolutely understand." Dash mustered, his voice cracking a bit as they parted.
"And you understand me too."
"So, what now?" Dash asked, "Where do we go from here. I just wanted a boyfriend, and now I've got the whole world on my shoulders. I don't blame you, I just wonder why us? Why are we so special. I mean we're not particularly gifted or better qualified to handle this stuff than anyone. There's billions of people on Earth. Why-"
"Dash," the ghost boy started, "I learned to stop asking those questions long ago. I learned not to get mad about the things I cannot change and accept all of these things. Dash, I can't give any answers that'll come close to making you feel better about things, but I can say this. For whatever reason, we have been given these awesome powers. Fate has decided that these responsibilities would fall on us and us alone. I don't know what is coming, but I do know that we can't waste a second feeling sorry for ourselves. We have to get on with training for whatever all of these things mean."
"You're right. And hey, I have you by my side, and that's enough." Dash said.
"Stay tonight," Danny said, out of the blue "I don't want you going home and being alone. I remember how lonely I felt when I was left here alone after the accident."
"But your family…"
"Doesn't have a clue." Danny finished.
"I-"
"Please." Danny asked, "I don't want you be alone, and I couldn't, in good conscious let you sleep alone tonight with this on your mind."
"Fine," Dash said, secretly grateful for the offer, "I um… will tell my folks I'm staying at Kwan's. And-" He trailed off.
"What?"
"Thanks." Dash said.
"For what?"
"Thanks for caring." Dash clarified.
Sam and Tucker had cooled off and decided to meet one another. They were not getting back together, but they decided to have a powwow to discuss what they would do for Danny and Dash. Admitting it was not easy, but Dash was important to this whole equation. You know, the equation that they had so terribly miscalculated. They were in her room, after recovering from what had been the worst experience of her young life. She sat on a bed on he on her swivel chair by the desk.
Tucker started it plainly, "We fucked up."
"I know," she replied lying down, looking at her ceiling. "Big time."
"I don't know how to fix it." Tucker said.
"We have to apologize to him, and we have to show him that he can trust us." She said.
"But how?" Tucker posed, "We threatened to out him on both counts. We need to make this right. Do you think trying to befriend him again would work?"
"The way to Danny is through his heart." She answered. "He always operated with passion rather than reason."
"Through his heart, huh?" Tucker considered, "That means through Dash."
"Bingo."
"But how? He hates us, especially after the way we treated his boyfriend. He would quicker snap my neck then talk to me." He assessed the situation perfectly.
"He has to be a big softy inside to have Danny that into him like that. We just have to find a way to let him know that we would never hurt Danny… again." She said.
"Maybe through Jazz then." The geek tried.
"She doesn't know he's a ghost and she probably doesn't know that he's gay or dating Dash. So she's not the way either. Apologizing to his face might work, but we can't do it at school, but catching him anyplace else would be impossible to do considering we're not talking."
"Well, we could call him." He mused, "We have to make the first move. It was completely our fault."
"But how?"
Danny found Jack sitting at the kitchen table. Surprising Jack was not eating. He was reading the mail.
"Dad." Danny called from behind. There was no response. Danny was puzzled and walked up to his father who looked deep in thought. He tapped his father on the shoulder.
Jack turned instantly and was a microsecond from pouncing in his son. He relaxed when he saw his boy and proceeded to remove some earplugs. That explained why he didn't hear the younger Fenton, but the question rose in Danny's mind as to why he was wearing them.
"Dannyboy, what can I do for you?" The older gentleman asked.
"It's nothing but I was just wondering if Dash could stay the night."
"Is it a school night?" Jack asked.
"No, today's Saturday." Danny replied.
"Fine with me. I'll leave some money for a pizza." Jack said. "I have to go get the girls back."
"What?"
"Well, Jazz's boyfriend… I did a 'protocol fifteen' on him. He didn't seem to mind very much and he came back clean. I thought was the end of it. Kuei his name was… right?"
"Kwan."
"That's right." He ended.
"That still doesn't explain where they are, Dad, or why you're going to find them."
"Well, when Jazzycats got home she was angry with me." Jack's voice still showed his absolute confusion, "She yelled at me about how she'll never forgive me for ghost testing him. Yelling and crying and I don't know what I did. I tried to explain to her that I was only doing it because I want to keep her safe from ghosts. I had to make sure that he wasn't one himself or that the poor boy wasn't possessed."
"And why's Mom with her?" Danny asked.
"When Maddie heard all the commotion, she came and asked what was going on. By then, your sister was in full crying hysterics mode. So, your mother said that she was going to take her to a spa for the weekend to make up for it."
"I don't think going after them will be a good idea." Danny added.
"Well I wasn't going to stay for too long. They probably wouldn't let me stay. Then, I'm going to go and look for Inviso-Bill."
"Oh, is that right?" Danny asked, faking concern.
"Yes, Danny boy, look at this letter I got yesterday." Jack handed over the letter that looked very official. Danny's hand trembled when he saw the seal on the paper. Danny asked out loud, "United States Department of Defense?"
"Inviso-Bill." Jack answered, "They want him to be captured, intact and sent to the Pentagon to be questioned."
Danny read along as his father spoke, "The readings of spectral energy, as you have no doubt seen, has been higher than ever before. They think in the Pentagon that it has something to do with ghost activity been strange as of late. Every so often they have these scares where they think that the activity needs to be monitored. What's strange about this time is that they want one ghost specifically."
"Five hundred thousand dollars to find him?" Danny kept reading, feeling a growing sense of dread. Nothing could be or would be normal for him, and he knew that there was no use crying over spilt milk. He just could not stand that Dash could no longer be extricated from the situation. Dash was in this for eternity and no one could do anything about it.
"Yes, son, half a million bucks to capture him. I could put you and Jazz through college. So, Danny, I was in it before because of what I believed, but now there's incentive."
"So, what now?" Danny asked. He could hear his heart beating in his ears.
"I'm going to catch him if it's the last thing I do." Jack answered.
Danny looked at his father and saw the same determination that guided Danny's pursuit of justice. He saw that drive in his father to hunt him and turn him over to be destroyed. Every vigilant, Danny made sure to take a mental photograph of the letter before him. Danny used his superb memory and took an image just like a camera. Once it was seared into his brain, he gave the paper back to his father."
"Good luck," The ghost boy could barely get the words out, so his voice squeaked.
Jack was too preoccupied to notice the tone, and went back to the other mail. Danny had not seen the other envelopes.
It read "HM Government" and was from the Home Office. Her Majesty's Government was offering £1,000,000 to do the same. Jack did not flinch for a moment. He knew that the U.K. was offering more money, but that he would be working for the USA. He was very patriotic after all. Danny had left the room by the time he opened a third letter, this time from the Chinese government.
He went back downstairs and told the news to Dash by sharing the mental image with him. Dash had dressed himself by then and lost the color in his face the same way Danny had.
"They're after us." Dash said exasperated and concerned, "They're actually fucking after us."
"No, Dash, they're after me. You're fine."
"No, if they're after you, they'll have to go through me." Dash said. "No one hires a bounty hunter to go after my boyfriend. No, I'm not fine till this is over."
"But it's not just one." Danny deduced, "If they're alerting my father, they're alerting all the other truly legitimate ghost hunters in America."
"And how many is that?" Dash asked, "Hundreds of millions of people, how many would be after that reward."
"There's a few thousand. My Dad is the best one in the country, I mean others look to him for advice. I don't think there are thousands of those letters going out, but maybe the top ten or five who have gotten the letter."
"Well, what's that mean for us?" Dash asked.
"We keep our heads down and hope that this pattern of no ghost attacks continues. What we need to do in the meantime is train. Every second you're not at football practice, you need to be here with me learning how to use all of this equipment."
"About that…" Dash started.
"What?"
"I was thinking about giving it up so that I-"
"No, Dash. First, you love it almost as much as you love me. You love being out there; I can tell by how you talk about it that football is your passion."
"You're my passion." Dash responded.
Danny continued but did note Dash's comment, "Second, it would draw too much attention to have you quit the thing that everyone knows you love. Think of how the teachers, coaches and all the other kids in school would be looking into you, trying to figure out what's the matter with you. Hell, half the town would be furious or frustrated with you up and leaving like that."
"I guess you're right." Dash said, feeling relief that his boyfriend's circumstances did not require as much sacrifice as they seemed. He was willing to make these sacrifices, but his willingness didn't make it easy to do.
"Third, I still want to watch you play and kick Elmerton's ass. Fourth, I want you to have some time away from me. What I mean is that I don't want you to have me dragging around you. Have fun, and do things for yourself. A good relationship needs space too, gaps where the missing the other person, and excitement to see them could go. Football is just your chance to do that and be with your other friends."
"Thanks, you're real considerate." Dash said comforted that his boyfriend was decent. "But I would be leaving you all alone. Your friends kinda ditched you, and I wouldn't feel right leaving you all alone. And, i mean, it's hard to make new friends with you having to hide half your life away."
"Look, I've been dead before, loneliness doesn't scare me. And I won't be lonely knowing that you'll always come back. Go and have fun, just no girls." Danny chuckled.
"Girls are boring," Dash said, "Told you that already. Now a cute boy in a dress is a different story…" Dash said to gauge his boy's reaction. Then, he reconsidered and didn't like the idea of a boy sashaying and swishing around like a 'bitch'. He wanted to fuck a man, so that first thing was completely out of the question. "Actually, on second thought, scratch that thing about the dress; I wouldn't want that. Just seduce me in a jockstrap and socks and I'm a happy camper."
"Noted." Danny actually committed that to memory.
"So, I can play my football?" Dash asked like a little kid, possessing it as his own with 'my'.
"Of course you can, and every time you win, you can fuck me." Danny smiled cheekily/
"And if I lose?" Dash asked.
"Well, I would have to make you feel better somehow. Probably just a blowjob then."
"Really?" Dash asked.
"No." Danny answered quickly.
"Wh-"
"That's what you get for telling me to wear a dress." Danny chuckled. "I'd look like an idiot."
Dash drew a mental picture and started to laugh hysterically. "Yes, you would." Danny joined in as Dash shared the image of Danny dressed like a hooker in Elmerton, red shiny pleather dress that left nothing to the imagination, a ratty red wig that had seen better days, holey thigh high fishnets, and stained black stilettos. The cigarette in Danny's ruby red lips and overzealous application of rouge, mascara, teal eyeshadow, and eyeliner made the image complete.
Their laughter died and Danny grew serious.
"So, Dash, are you sure you want to do all of this. If you walk away now, I don't blame you. You can walk away, save yourself, and I will leave you alone and thank you for the lovely memories. Are you sure you want to stay with me?" Danny basked away and went back to the equipment table. He stood behind it and leaned on it, steeling himself for Dash to come to his senses and run away from this shit.
Dash gave an impassioned speech to answer this question, "Yes. You have taught me too much about myself and the world. I've never been this happy in my life. Since September 5th, I've had my first kiss, my first date, a cutie for a boyfriend, a sexy cat and mouse game, multiple orgasms, love for you, and for myself for the first time since I realized that I am gay. I actually look in the mirror now and I actually don't feel ashamed in my skin or in my preference. You've done all of this for me and today is only the 23rd. I can't put into words what you mean to me, how you make me feel, how special you are, or how fucking lucky I am to have you. I'm not giving this up and you can't convince me to, either. You've taught me a lot, and now it's my turn to help you. Let me help you, Danny."
"Okay, so you want me to teach you, huh?" Danny asked, grabbing a Fenton Thermos from the table.
"Yes siree." Dash answered enthusiastically.
"Catch!" Danny threw it and Dash caught it like a football.
Dash looked at the thing and made sure to examine it carefully. Dash did not realize it, but his innocence made him smile in eagerness to learn something new.
"Lesson One." Danny said with a smile. Things looked bleak, but Dash's smile was like a light in the darkness. Danny felt hope, real hope, for the first time in his life.