Chapter 26

Danny sat on his bed, chin balanced in one hand as he stared at the corkboard he had put up on the wall over his desk. Sometime around four in the morning, he couldn't sleep anymore, so he set up the corkboard, first pinning the card he got from Kyle in the center of it. Since then, he added anything else he could think of to the board. A note about the robbery at the Manson's facility, which he connected to Spike and Jazz's death with an addition note of a short man being Spike's partner. Ember's disappearance after being approached by two mysterious men. He included the explosion at school, but he doubted it had any actual connection to Jazz's murder. For now, he was merely adding anything he could think of that happened recently out of the ordinary. Then he fixed his gaze upon the corkboard like he thought if he stared at it long enough answers would magically appear before him.

"I need more clues," Danny mumbled as he rubbed his hands over his face. He didn't have enough information to figure out who Spike's partner was, the one who actually murdered Jazz. Frowning, he lowered his gaze to his hands, holding them out before him. When he confronted Spike, a part of him wanted to kill the man. His anger, pain, and sorrow nearly drove him to be no better than Jazz's killer. He closed his eyes, bowing his head as his fingers tangled in his raven locks. If Jazz had seen him then, she would be disappointed in him. She would never want him to kill someone, even if it was to avenge her death. She would seek justice, but she wouldn't resort to killing.

"I'll find the one who did this, Jazz," Danny said, raising his head to glare at the corkboard. "I'll bring him to justice the way you would. Without killing."

His focus on the corkboard was interrupted when his alarm clock rang. Danny groaned as he dragged himself off the bed, his muscles aching from sitting too long without moving. He wanted to solve the mystery of his sister's murder, but he wouldn't find the answer unless he left his bedroom and went out to search for clues.

After a quick shower, Danny dressed and grabbed his school bag then headed downstairs for breakfast. His parents were already in the kitchen when he arrived, and Danny suspected they might have gotten even less sleep than he had. His father worked on autopilot next to his wife at the stove as they made scrambled eggs and bacon. Danny dropped his bag next to his seat at the table then walked over to the cabinet to grab plates.

"Just in time," his father said, grinning too forcibly to be his natural cheery self. He picked up a few slices of bacon and dropped them on the top plate for Danny.

Then his mother served up a big spoonful of eggs onto the plate. "You're going to school again today? Eat up and don't be late."

"Yup," Danny said, leaving two plates at the ready for his parents. "I can't fall too behind in my classes." He carried his own plate over to the kitchen table. The newspaper sat on the table, waiting to be opened. Once he sat down, Danny pulled the newspaper to him and unrolled it. As he ate his breakfast, he scanned the newspaper for any interesting news stories, searching for anything that might be related to Jazz's murder.

"Another murder," his father said, reading over his son's shoulder before taking his seat. He sighed tiredly, and Danny found he missed his happy-go-lucky father. A lot. "Looks like the same MO."

Danny glanced over the article to which his father referred. Some underground mobster was found tied up in the warehouse he did business out of, and his head was chopped off. No concrete evidence was found, but they felt it safe to assume the killer was the same as the previous case as both of them involved the victim having their heads cut off.

"You're doing the tutoring thing tonight?" his mother asked as she joined them at the table. "Be sure to come home before it gets too dark. I don't like the idea of you being out late if there's some weirdo going around chopping off people's heads."

"I doubt I'm going to run into such a person, but if it'll make you feel better." Danny shrugged and bit into a slice of bacon. When he finished his breakfast, he took his dishes to the sink. "I'll be back after my tutor session with Elle." He grabbed his bag as he passed by the table again.

"Danny," his father caught his arm before he could exit the kitchen, "you'd tell us if anything was wrong, right?"

"We understand if you'd rather discuss what happened with someone outside the family," his mother added with a concerned wrinkle in her brow. "Sometimes that's easier. We're just worried. Since you were there when it happened."

Danny shook his head. "I'll be okay." He managed a small smile to reassure his parents. "I have people to talk to when I'm ready for that." His parents nodded, and after that, he was free to leave the kitchen. Danny released a sigh once he had left the house. He knew everyone was concerned about him after Jazz's murder, but it was becoming too much with everyone asking him if he was okay or needed someone to talk to about it.

The walk to school gave him the time to clear his head. Even though he promised to be home before dark, Danny knew that would be his best time to search for clues. Where to begin the search, however, was what had him stuck for the moment. Trying to scare more information out of Spike sounded unpromising. Spike didn't seem to know anything more than what he already said, especially if these people were careful about not revealing names to each other. Maybe if he could find Ember - Danny shook his head. He would probably have the same problem with Ember not knowing any of these people's identities to help him. But he still needed to find her. For Elle. He hoped during his hunt for his sister's killer he would be able to discover to where Ember disappeared.

When he arrived at his locker, Danny blinked. "Where Tuck?" He opened his locker, shoving a book inside and grabbing a different one.

"Robotics stuff or something." Sam shrugged. "As soon as we got here, he said he had something to do."

Danny frowned slightly, tugging the strap of his bag over his shoulder. "I was hoping to talk to both of you before school. But I guess I'll wait until lunch."

"Is this something we should worry about?" Sam's eyebrow arched as she folded her arms.

Danny pondered for a moment. "Maybe. For now, just wait until lunch." He waved to Sam, who huffed in frustration like she usually did when she hated not being told something. Then Danny slipped into his first period class. He hadn't thought everything out on the way to school, but he was piecing together some ideas. When he sat down at his desk, he got out his books for class then flipped open his notebook to a clean page. He couldn't allow himself to be distracted during class, but between classes gave him the opportunity to work on some sketches.

"So Sam said you had something you wanted to talk about?" Tucker lifted curious eyebrows as the three friends sat in a quiet corner of the library.

"Okay. I haven't worked out everything," Danny said then took a deep breath. "Spike wasn't the one who killed Jazz." The lights flickered eerily, and he tilted his head back to frown at the ceiling. "I haven't been imagining that, right?" He pointed toward the ceiling as he lowered his gaze to his friends. "The lights have been doing that all day, right?"

"Yeah," Sam answered with a shrug.

"One of my teachers said it was probably just from the workers rebuilding the damaged part of the school," Tucker said, though his eyes held some doubt.

"Okay," Danny drew out the word. "Well, anyway, so Spike said he was working with a partner, and that partner was the one who shot Jazz."

"How do you know he isn't lying?" Sam folded her arms as she leaned back against the wall.

"I nearly punched my fist through the floor just inches from his head. I think he was too terrified of what I would do if he lied to me." Danny leaned forward, balancing his elbows on his legs. "Unfortunately, Spike doesn't remember much about the other guy, so now I have to play detective and hunt the guy down."

"Or," Tucker cut in with a concerned frown, "you could take this information to the police and let them do the detective work."

"I already told Spike to go to the police with what he knows. But I can't just sit back and do nothing. Someone killed my sister. I was right there." Danny struggled with the feeling building inside him, threatening to choke him. "I shouldn't have left her there. I should have stayed. I should have done something." He had to stop for a moment, or he knew he would begin screaming, maybe even break down crying from the emotions twisting around inside him. "I can't - I have to try to find this guy, or I'm going to go crazy."

Tucker lowered his gaze. "Sorry. I didn't-" He shook his head then met his friend's eyes. "I wasn't thinking about how you were dealing with all this. Is there anything we can do to help you?"

"So here's the thing." Danny moved a little closer to his friends. "Spike said these people hired him to rob some places. Sam's parent's facility." He gestured to Sam. "Dalv Pharmaceuticals. And I'm sure there are others. That's about the only thing I have to go on right now. So I'm going to patrol around town and check for anyone trying to hit any other places dealing with medicine. Maybe I'll get lucky and come across the guy that killed Jazz."

"That sounds," Sam's mouth pursed, "dangerous. Danny, you'd be putting yourself at risk. If they know what you look like, they can come after you, or your parents."

"Which is why I won't be going out as me." Danny grinned, but his friends merely stared back in confusion. "Uh, ghost form?" He mimed smacking himself in the forehead. "But for that, I think I'm going to need a look for it." He dug into his bag and pulled out a notebook. "Think you can help me with this?" He flipped it open to the sketch he had worked on and showed it to Tucker.

"Whoa!" Tucker took the notebook from his friend. "This is so awesome! Consider it done." Then he frowned as he lifted his gaze to Danny. "But wouldn't-"

"Yeah, you'll have to make it in reverse," Danny agreed. He gave it a lot of thought while he was working on the sketch, and a black and white theme felt like the best fit. If they made the costume in white, it would turn black when he transformed. "The other thing is," he held out his hands before him, staring at them, "I'm getting decent at the whole intangibility thing. But can I do more? I want to see if I can extend that intangibility to other things. Maybe I could even make someone else intangible, for like, escaping through a wall if things get dangerous. And if I have these ghost powers, why is it just intangibility? Can't ghosts fly and turn invisible and stuff? Shouldn't I be able to do that too?"

"Maybe it's like a progressive thing," Sam suggested. "You start off small, only knowing one skill, but as time goes on and you get stronger with your powers, you develop new ones."

"Flying would be pretty cool, but invisibility would really give me the advantage of surprising these people." Danny hoped Sam was right because the more abilities he had at his disposal, the better chance he had of surviving if things came to a fight.

"So," Tucker said slowly, "you're planning on doing this all by yourself." The disapproving frown and slight narrowing of his eyes were enough to tell Danny his friend already knew what was going on in his head.

"I can't risk the two of you getting hurt because of me. This is my fight."

"Yeah, but, Danny," Sam's face was the picture of determination, "you don't have to do this alone. And you can't really expect to tell us your plan and have us sit back and do nothing."

"Well, unless you have some way to monitor police reports so you can contact me about any burglaries you overhear." Danny shrugged helplessly. If these people were carrying guns with them, he wasn't worried about himself, as long as his intangibility didn't fail him, but his friends didn't have powers like he did. If they were shot at, Sam and Tucker could die, and Danny refused to put them in that kind of danger.

"I could probably get something together for that," Tucker said, scratching his chin in thought. "Though I would first need parts." He glanced to his side where Sam sat.

"Oh fine." Sam rolled her eyes. "I can get any parts you need. Just give me a list."

"Sweet!" Tucker cheered, throwing a fist into the air.

"Only the things you need for listening to the police radio." Sam glared at Tucker, who looked perhaps a little less cheerful.

"Ruin my fun," Tucker muttered. "Who am I kidding?" A grin cracked across his face. "I feel like we're spies or in some comic book. I know. I know." He held up his hands. "I shouldn't be getting excited about this since it's the result of Jazz's death. But-" He frowned as the whole mood turned grim at the mention of Jazz.

"And on that note, I think we should hit the cafeteria before we miss lunch completely." Sam stood, slinging her bag over one shoulder, which seemed to put an end to their secret conversation. Danny and Tucker followed suit, grabbing their things. Tucker tore out the sketch from Danny's notebook then handed the notebook back to his friend as he folded up the sketch and tucked it safely into his bag. Then the three friends left the library and walked through the halls to the cafeteria.

Danny spent the rest of the school day anxiously awaiting the end of his final class. He wanted to begin his search for clues about the man who killed Jazz, but he knew he needed to wait until they had everything prepared. For one, the costume was necessary to protect his identity. Thanks to training, he could maintain his ghost form for longer than he could at first, but it could still drain his energy fairly fast.

When the bell finally rang, Danny packed up his things in a hurry and dashed out of his last class. He stopped by his locker to say goodbye to his friends before leaving the school. Once he left the building, he headed off down the street and walked toward Elle's home. He stopped at the street where the car nearly ran him over, and his gaze drifted around the area, seeking the hooded man. With a shake of his head, he crossed the street when the walk sign appeared. Of course the man wouldn't be hanging around that same spot. But after last night, he almost expected to run into the man again.

Danny rang the doorbell when he reached Elle's home then waited for Carmina to answer the door, as usual. After he stood there for about five minutes, the door opened. Danny grinned at the dry expression upon the woman's face. He, clearly, wasn't doing a good job of warming up to Carmina. The woman stepped aside with a slight bow of her head as Danny entered.

"That is completely unreasonable!" Mr. Masters snapped, exiting a room off to the side of the hall. "We had a deal, and now you're going back on it. I-" He caught sight of Danny and hesitated in his rants to the person on the phone. "I'll have to call you back." He ended the call and slipped his phone into the inside breast pocket of his suit jacket. "Ah, Daniel. What brings you by today?" He walked over to Danny as Carmina bowed then left to take care of her duties.

"Oh, I'm just here to tutor Elle." Danny shifted his weight. It was the obvious answer since he only came over to their house when he was meeting Elle for a tutor session. Though, if given the opportunity, he would love to prod Mr. Masters about some of Axion Labs' space exploration projects.

Mr. Masters nodded, but he wore a grim expression. "I do hope she isn't causing any trouble for you. I-" He frowned then placed a hand upon Danny's shoulder. "I heard about what happened. I'm sorry. I may not have known your sister, but I am truly sorry for your loss."

"Thanks." Danny bowed his head with a frown. The tutoring session with Elle was supposed to help him take his mind off Jazz's death. "Um, I heard that the person who shot my sister may have tried to rob your company. Was anything stolen?" The lights flickered overhead then went out completely.

Mr. Masters sighed. "My apologies. I thought they had fixed that."

"You're having electrical problems too?" Danny wondered if there was some connection between the lights going out in the Masters' house and the lights flickering at school. They were quite a distance away, though, so a connection might be less likely.

"For most of the day. Excuse me." Mr. Masters left Danny standing in the front hall.

Danny wandered around the hall, pacing the length to alleviate some of the awkwardness of being left alone with nothing to do except wait. Elle, apparently, hadn't returned home yet, or Carmina would have announced she would retrieve Elle for him when she left. On his sixth lap around the hall, the front door opened, and Elle stepped into the house.

"Danny!" Elle greeted when she looked up to see him standing before her in the hall. "I hope you weren't waiting long. Are you okay?" She touched his arm with that same sympathetic frown most people gave since Jazz's death. "You don't have to force yourself to tutor me if you're not feeling up to it."

Danny shook his head. "No, it's fine. A distraction now and then is good."

Elle nodded solemnly. "If you're sure." Then she grabbed hold of Danny's arms, staring at him with wide blue eyes. "You mentioned Ember on the phone. And then you just hung up on me!"

"Oh!" Danny had forgotten about that. Did they have their phone conversation only yesterday? It felt like weeks ago with everything happening. "I ran into someone who thought they might know something about what happened to Ember. Some guys approached Ember and gave her a card, but she dropped it. That's why I was at your father's company that night. The card had the address of Dalv Pharmaceuticals on it with a date and time. Unfortunately, it seems the card was telling her when to meet up for a robbery."

"What?" Elle gasped, backing up a step like he had slapped her. "No! Ember wouldn't do that!"

"I know it sounds crazy." With a sigh, Danny raked a hand through his hair. "I didn't tell you about it when I first got the card because I didn't want to get your hopes up about finding Ember and then it turns out she isn't there. And she wasn't. She didn't show up at all. So maybe she didn't agree to whatever those men asked of her. But now we're back to square one on trying to find Ember."

Elle frowned, lowering her gaze to the floor. "I'm just worried about her. I don't understand why she would run away like this." Then she shook her head. "No more of that. We're supposed to be studying."

"Right. Uh, the power seems to be out still." Danny glanced toward the ceiling at the dark lights.

"Here too?" Elle's brow furrowed. "We were having problems with the lights at my school. They were flickering all day. Let's go out to study. I don't want to stick around here and risk hearing more of my dad's lectures about how I need to devote myself to my studies more and why can't I be as smart as Daniel." She rolled her eyes as she grabbed Danny's hand and dragged him toward the front door.

"I'm not really that smart," Danny argued. Was this electrical problem a city wide problem? Elle's school wasn't close to Casper High, yet the problem had spread there too.

"You know, putting yourself down like that isn't very attractive." Elle closed the door behind them after they stepped out of the house.

"What if I was trying to be modest?" Danny grinned as he walked beside her.

"Hm, maybe, but it didn't sound like false modesty." Elle gave him a bump with her hip. "You're plenty smart, so stop thinking otherwise." She led the way, and Danny almost laughed when he found himself standing outside the nearest Nasty Burger to Elle's house. At least, they similar tastes in hang out places. They found an open booth in the back and got to work on the report Elle had due tomorrow.

YumiStar: Woo for detective work! 8D The bad guys better watch it when Danny's on the case.

BringbackDannyPhantom: Let's hope Danny can start getting some answers to those questions! XD I keep imagining Spike being pretty tall so lots of people qualify as shorter than he. Too bad he couldn't give Danny more of a description! D:

Poohbearmorris: Aw thanks! 8D Hopefully I'll never let you down on writing!

HawkeyeLover: Noooo! No dying! D: *throws a phoenix down* What a sweetie, huh? XD And yes! Costumes! This needs to happen already! At least Danny's first, uh, patrol should be soon.

simplegay me: What a mysterious guy he is! Thanks~ 8D I need to buckle down and start on the next chapter!

The freedom girl: Let's just hope Danny doesn't find himself in a situation he can't handle! But he does seem to be running into lots of problems lately.