Danny talks with his parents.
Jazz had come to Maddie just before dinner.
"Danny's back," she said.
Maddie dropped her tools and shot out of her seat. Jazz raised a hand to stop her.
"Wait," Jazz warned.
Maddie sat back down. She bit her lip to hold back her questions.
Jazz sat across from her, looking stern. "He's still scared of you, but he has something he needs to ask you about. He won't tell me what." She frowned. "He's asked me to arrange a meeting with you and Dad. Tomorrow, after lunch. "You will not bring any weapons or analyzing equipment. You will not touch him. You will not press him for answers he doesn't want to give. If you break any of these rules, or you make Danny uncomfortable, the meeting is over and you may not speak to him. Understand?"
Maddie didn't like being ordered about by her daughter, but she knew that was only her pride talking. She was willing to push it aside for Danny's sake. "I understand."
Jazz nodded and went downstairs to have the same talk with Jack.
Maddie got back to her work, but she didn't get much done. She felt like she was in a fog all through the night and into the next day.
Lunch was a quiet affair. The three Fentons had slept in late, because it was a weekend and they could get away with it for once, and now they sat around the dining table, poking at their food and waiting for Danny to show up. Jazz had forbidden Maddie and Jack from entering the lab until after the meeting, so that Danny would be able to sneak through the portal without interference.
Around one o'clock, Jazz heard something moving in the basement. She stood, sent her parents a stern look, and walked downstairs.
Maddie waited impatiently. She could hear Danny and Jazz talking, but they were too quiet for her to make it out. Jack placed his hand over hers and squeezed. Maddie turned to him. He looked just as nervous as she felt. They shared a weary smile.
Finally, they heard Jazz's footsteps climbing the stairs. They stared at the doorway eagerly.
Maddie saw Jazz first. She seemed uncomfortable, but determined. She sent her parents a warning look, and stepped to the side.
Then Danny appeared. At least, Maddie assumed it was Danny. The face shape was the same, but everything else seemed to have changed. Danny's eyes were mismatched, one like a void with a single shining star for a pupil, the other's iris was a pale icy blue. His skin was a pastel green, with darker green freckles spattered across his cheeks. His hair was odd, too. It seemed to be a mix of black and white streaks. Maddie realized that it looked like a meteor shower against a pitch black sky.
Danny's clothes were also strange and new. His shirt seemed to be painted on, black fading into green around his neck. His pants were the same shade of void, flaring around his shins slightly. His boots, interestingly, were a bright glowing white, and streamlined rather than clunky. Lastly, he wore a pitch black cloak with a clasp shaped like a planet with a ring at his throat.
Jazz cleared her throat, and Maddie realized that she had been staring. She shook her head.
Jack coughed awkwardly.
Danny was curling in on himself from where he floated just off the floor.
The room was drenched in uncomfortable silence.
Finally, Jazz sighed. "Alright, people, let's get this moving."
Danny straightened. "Right." His voice had a strange echoing undertone. "I have something to tell you, but first - what can you tell me about Vlad?"
Maddie frowned. How did he know about Vlad?
Jazz muttered, "Who's Vlad?" She seemed confused by the topic.
"Oh!" Jack said excitedly. "We went to college with Vlad! The three of us were the only engineering majors interested in ghosts. We did everything together!"
"Until," Danny interrupted, "he got in an accident with one of your projects. Right?"
Jack sobered instantly. "Right."
Maddie squeezed her husband's hand. "The Proto-Portal exploded. The blast hit him in the face, and Vlad was hospitalized for years. We tried to keep contact, but the hospital wouldn't let us visit, and we eventually grew too busy. We gave up."
"We kept tabs on him, though. He's an amazing businessman, really made a name for himself." Jack smiled proudly. "A few years ago Vlad offered to fund our research. It's because of him that we were able to create the portal in the first place."
Maddie shrugged. "When the portal didn't work, we visited Vlad to have him go over our blueprints. We were going to start over, you see, try a different method. But then you had your accident..."
Danny and Jazz winced.
"So we rebuilt the portal, using the revised blueprints. And it worked. It's thanks to Vlad that we can see you again." Maddie smiled tearily.
Danny nodded. He floated silently for a moment, thinking.
"Okay," He said eventually. "You've filled in the blanks, thank you. Now."
He turned to stare at Jack and Maddie challengingly. "You say you still love me. Prove it. Listen to what I have to say without interrupting or judging me. Actually think about what I tell you before you say anything."
The adults were confused. "Sweetie, of course we'll listen to you. Why wouldn't we?"
"Because you're really not going to like what I tell you." Danny frowned determinedly. "But you need to know, you need a warning."
Jazz furrowed her brow. "Wait, does this have something to do with Vlad?"
"It has everything to do with him." Danny looked grim. "Vlad isn't human."
Jack instantly opened his mouth to argue, but Jazz sent him a look, and he stopped.
"Not really, anyway. He's something called a halfa. Half human, half ghost. It was his accident with the Proto-Portal, it mixed his blood with ectoplasm." Seeing the disbelieving looks his family sent him, Danny hurried through his explanation. "You don't have to believe me, but it's true. I saw him transform, right in front of me. He chased me through half of Wisconsin, I didn't hallucinate it!"
"Calm down, Danny," Jazz soothed. "Yes, it's hard to believe, but I know you wouldn't lie." She sent her parents a look that said, 'You'd better notaccuse him of lying.'
"Hon," Maddie shared a glance with Jack. "It's not that we don't want to believe you, but none of our evidence suggests anything like what you're proposing. It's just not possible."
Danny scowled, revealing tiny fangs in place of his canines. "It is possible, and I've seen it."
His family shared a look, and Danny sighed.
"But that's not important. You'll see the proof soon enough. What you really need to worry about is that Vlad has his own ghost portal. It's in his basement, in a secret lab. He has weapons and a supply of ectoplasm and a giant portal, more advanced than yours. I asked around earlier today, and apparently Vlad has a truce with some really dangerous ghosts. You need to be on the lookout for them, because I think he'll try to send them after you."
"But why would Vlad try to hurt us? He's our friend." Jack frowned. He was having a hard time making sense of this.
"No," Danny said. "He's just pretending to be. He blames you for his accident."
Jack and Maddie looked at each other, unsure how to react.
Jazz sighed. "How about we end the meeting for today? We've all got a lot to think about. Danny, go spend some time with Sam and Tucker before you leave, they've been worried about you. I'll let you know when we can continue this conversation. Mom and dad, how about you go take some time to think? You've had to take in a lot of information today. Tell me when you're ready to talk again, and I'll set things up."
All three looked ready to argue, but Jazz sent them a look and they backed off. They all sat in silence. Finally, Maddie sighed, stood from her seat, and took a step towards Danny.
He floated backwards.
Maddie froze. She looked pained. "Baby," she said, "I'm so sorry for what happened the other day. I'd take it back if I could. I love you, and I would never knowingly hurt you."
Danny looked conflicted.
Maddie sighed again. "That said, I'll give you time. I won't push my boundaries. It's up to you if and when you want to reconnect." She sat back down. Jack squeezed her hand.
Danny floated in the doorway to the lab. He tipped his head, thinking something over. He looked to Jazz for help, but she only shrugged. Danny turned back to his parents. "I can't forgive you, not yet." He looked uncomfortable. "But I will, someday. And I still love you two."
Before anyone could react, he zipped forward and gave his parents a fast hug, then flew back down into the lab.
Jazz left to give her parents privacy to cry.