WARNINGS: fighting (finally!), underage drinking (danny is 17, legal in some provinces in Canada, so stuff it), self-deprecation, anxiety, brief vomitting, mentions of child neglect, swearing, also meatlady i hate her

A/N: hello its me again after so long with the longest chapter yet. i'm sorry it took forever, but i HATED writing this with a passion but its needed to move the story along. i was very tempted to kill her off by the end so i never ever have to write her again.

"I wanna stay inside all day
I want the world to go away
I want blood, guts, and chocolate cake
I wanna be a real fake"

Marina, Teen Idle

It was with such a genuine smile on his face that Danny realised he hadn't been this happy, and had this much fun, in a long, long time. Possibly Ever. It was nearing dusk in the woods, an internal ticking counting down for when it would have to end, the trio just laughing and meandering. Since ditching their classes, Danny felt a sense of peace. He stayed in his ghost form the whole time, trying to fly around them, turning his invisibility on and off and appearing randomly behind trees, or them. He even managed to transfer his powers to them, if he touched them and concentrated hard enough sweat began to drip off his chin. It was still a win in his books; he lifted Tucker a foot off the ground, turned Sam invisible, and managed to turn both of them intangible the whole walk back to the park when he realised their 'human' eyes couldn't pick up the deadfall like he could. It was almost like wearing night vision goggles, but without the jarring blindness of daylight and nighttime; his eyes automatically adjusted to the light setting perfectly. He wondered how it would work in a thick snowfall, underwater, or through fog. It was kind of freaky once he started thinking about it too much.

Danny walked both Tucker and Sam home, considering he could just go invisible and fly home now that he'd figured out the transformation and they were all surprised by the slight drifting of the tiniest of snowflakes. It was too warm for anything to stick, but at least it was pretty. He figured if ghosts were going to keep coming through the portal, which is why they ditched classes in the first place, he might as well get used to flying around. In a way it was his fault there was even a door connecting dimensions and he should at least make sure they weren't wreaking havoc in the city. Danny wasn't sure yet what he would do if they were, but he'd have to figure it out. He would probably have to fight them, he'd met more ghosts prone to violence than not, but what would he do with them after, if he didn't get his ass handed to him?

T'was the magic question.

Saturday morning, Danny begrudgingly peeled his eyelids apart at the sound of his alarm he apparently didn't shut off. He slapped at it, hitting it on the corner and sending it flying across the room, plug included. As a gift from his annoying sister, it had a blackout backup, so it just kept blaring its annoying frantic beeping, getting increasingly louder and louder. Something in him snapped.

Danny was up and standing over the alarm faster than he could blink, in between heartbeats even. He couldn't comprehend how he'd moved so fast, even just in his 'human' form, nor did he even have time to think of the consequences of his rising bare foot. His anger was driving it and with the force of something no teenage boy should be able to execute, he drove it home on the alarm. With a satisfying crack, the thing exploded into pieces and his foot went through the hardwood floor. With a not-so satisfying crack.

Danny stared at it and would have started hysterically laughing or crying, but he didn't want to make any more noise. Jazz would already be downstairs, Thank the World, he didn't go all the way down to the ceiling of the first floor, though telling by the plaster brushing his bare toes, he was close. Danny winced when he pulled out his foot, and judging by the scabbing already covering his fresh cuts, it was more on instinct than feeling real pain. Plus the hole in the floor wasn't anything to scoff at, it was a decent pit trap right in front of his bedroom door. It's like he turned into a monster overnight or something, ha-ha. On the bright side, it was comforting to know that super-healing was on his No-Show and Tell list. Not so comforting to know that he would have to learn how to hide that too. If anybody ever witnessed him injure himself, how on Earth would he explain that? The alarm clock was another story. It was a Saturday and he didn't really have an excuse to not clean it up other than he didn't want to look at it. Jazz would be mad if she found out he broke it, so he'd have to throw it out when she wasn't around.

Danny sighed and resigned himself to having a terrible morning, but at least he could go chug some coffee and annoy Jazz. He made his way downstairs and into the kitchen to the sound of her puttering around. He hadn't seen her much since moving in, only in the mornings when he was incoherent and she had way too much to say for somebody who also never slept.

"Good morning, little brother!" Jazz cheerfully called, her loud voice buzzing his ears. He refrained from clapping his hands over his ears, instead just waving her off. His ghost senses are always touchy when he first wakes up, but he still finds her constant optimism, well, annoying. When he'd have too much of it, he wakes up before her and does it to her instead. It's childish, but so worth it to see her obsessive-planning-schedule thing go wack. He can physically see her rearranging her entire day on her face just because he started eating breakfast before her. It makes him feel more in control of his own, derailing life.

"Yeah, g'mornin, whatever," he mumbled back, shuffling around her to grab a mug from the cupboard and fill it with the dark roast that was more like battery acid. His dad kept ectoplasm in the fridge, so in his reality it was an improvement over whatever was in there. He took a sip and leaned against the counter, eyeing her swishing red hair out of the corner of his eye. He had words to say, but they hadn't arranged themselves yet. She hummed while she buttered her toast, wiping the counter of her crumbs, and taking her place at the seat facing the kitchen window. In the two weeks (that was it?) that they'd moved here, she was already predictable to the point of obsessive. Their family was cursed with that gene; he was the same way with things he had an interest in, but he was grateful he couldn't be read like an open book. Skimmed maybe, but he didn't think he was obvious with his psychosis. Years and years of trying to be normal hid most of it. That wasn't really what he was worried about.

"Have you seen 'em lately?", he asked around his slurps of coffee, trying to keep his voice low incase he summoned them.

Jazz took a crunch of her toast, wiping both sides of her mouth with a napkin when she was done chewing. He was expecting a very scientific answer, with the exact date and time down to the millisecond, but all he got was a "Nope," with her popping the P like somebody else who was already adapted to never seeing their parents. It'd be sad if they weren't almost adults who'd spent their childhood this way. Even living in a RV together for almost ten years, they still managed to be distant in their studies and in teaching them. It was always about ghosts; never to do with what they might have been interested in. In the end, there was almost a chasm between the Fenton's and their kids; you could call to each other, hear one another just fine, but they weren't close. They would never be close. At least, that was something that unified Jazz and Danny. They had to look out for each other. He sighed, "I think I have some cash left over from milk last week, want me to get groceries?"

"I'll write you a list. I have some stuff for a slow cooker, but all the organics in the fridge have begun to mutate."

A deeper sigh, "I'll throw 'em out."

After half an hour of trying to pry semi-coherrent ectoplasm fused vegetables and some poor, poor bacon out of the fridge, Danny scowled at the eyes blinking out of the carrots and said "Fuck it."

There were no cameras inside the fridge, and the closest one was facing the basement door so Danny tried to initiate core experiment numero uno. He'd been able to change forms now lickity split, and half of last night was him transforming at different, controlled speed rates. He'd also noticed, as this morning's destruction was a great example, that even though he was more physically human at the moment, his powers still bled over into this form. He'd already known this with his improved hearing, sight, and smell, he just didn't know to what extent. Danny threw the unhelpful spatula into the sink and pulled off the almost armpit high gloves ("These are the proper P.P.E for fridge cleaning, honey!") before focusing on his hand. His heart was beating, the sluggish tattoo calming him, and he could feel the chill of his core next to it pulsating. You're my body, he thought, You know what I want. A silver shimmer went down his arm, not unlike the glow that engulfed his body when he goes through the full transformation, just not as intense. Almost like a chameleon changing color, his black-longsleeved shirt-sleeves molded into white, staticky leather. It blurred the edges of reality where the air around it moved, and Danny was almost panting at the focus it took to keep it from changing back. He moved his fingers, his black nails jarring against his bloodless white fingers, and it was almost as freaky as having your arm be a different temperature than your shoulder. He was sweating almost alarmingly, his flannel shirt sticking uncomfortably to his back, but he couldn't help but grin at the vegetables who were now eyeing him with panic.

"Oh, you thought you were the only one to be genetically modified with ghost goo in this house, huh? Thought wrong, son." He said as he grabbed at it. Danny's hand moved lightning quick, definitely faster than his human hand would have been able to perform. He might have laughed a little crazily when the vegetables went intangible, but his hand caught them anyways. He started stuffing them into the garbage bag while humming a marching tune, pleased he was finally making progress. That was probably why he didn't hear them come trudging up the stairs.

"Danny, sweetie, what are you doing?"

Before the first syllable left his mother's mouth, his arm phased back to normal, the pack of bacon, the only survivor left, slipped through his fingers and to the back of the fridge. He was frozen to the spot, and he almost went invisible from the sheer panic of not wanting to be seen by them. He slowly turned his head, looking at his parents who looked dead on their feet. Danny counted his lucky stars that their brains were probably working at max half capability after working down there for more than twelve hours.

"Just… cleaning out the fridge."

"Your eyes are glowing, honey," she said, almost, almost analyzingley.

"Oh, I drank some ectoplasmic milk by accident, I'm sure it'll go away. I didn't drink much."

They stared at him both for a moment too long- Danny thought he was busted. What the fuck was he thinking, transforming inside the house with parents that dissected ghosts for breakfast? Was he actually losing his mind that he didn't recognize the danger he was putting himself in? His gut turned, sour and hollow, filled with nothing but acid coffee.

Then, "Okay, that's nothing we haven't done before. Just be careful next time, Danny, and let me know if it lasts longer than today, okay?" He nodded and with that they were gone. He stood frozen in place until he heard them close their bedroom door upstairs and he launched for the sink, bile spilling out of his mouth barely before he reached the basin. Turning on the faucet to rinse his mouth out, he realised his hand was shaking. That call was closer than he would have ever liked it to be. That couldn't ever happen again.

There was no doubt in his mind; if he was caught by his parents, there was no way he would be able to convince them he was their son, and not possessed by something that came through that door in the basement.

After that series of unfortunate events that seemed to be his Saturday morning, Danny proceeded to go to the grocery store for his sister. She tried explaining the thesis she was writing for her course, but he got out of the conversation as soon as she started asking him questions. Danny loved his sister, though he would seldom say it, and one of those reasons included the constant feeling of her psychoanalyzing him. They'd have multiple fights that started with him telling her to find her own test subject, and the best thing he'd learned from those was to walk away before it began. Jazz couldn't help but look for ways to fix other people, but in his opinion he thought she should learn to know when to mind her own business. Fuming while he walked under his breath, he almost jumped a foot in the air when his chest started vibrating.

"Jesus Fuck, am I on edge." He whispered, pulling his flip phone out of his chest pocket. Finding his pack and lighter in the same pocket, he lit one and began to walk. Flipping the phone open, he scanned his messages. With a shock at his forgetfulness, he realised it was from Valerie, whom he hadn't talked to other than quickly in hallways between classes since their date. He'd totally forgotten the ghost dog they had seen, which had seemed to have gotten lost in his brain after their makeout session. If he thought about her too long, he could feel the ghost of her soft lips on his. But since the Thing That Had Happened In The Basement and then That, he had been feeling guilty on multiple accounts. Despite their history or maybe because of it, he still hadn't told Sam and Tucker about it. Then there was the obvious incident of where he had died and become some kind of half-paranormal creature; how the heck do you explain that to your barely-girlfriend?

hey danny, sorry got lost in the roach suit again… how are you?

A bitter smile came across his face as he read it again, dragging on his smoke and dodging a pole. How does he respond to that without lying? If he was never going to tell her what he was, how did he deserve to keep dating her? The worst thing about it, how did he make it seem like he wasn't dumping her because she wanted to go down on him? 'Cause it definitely wasn't that; he'd have done it if she'd asked. Possibly even offered, if he got the nerve. Valerie was witty, funny, she could throw him over her shoulder despite being almost a foot smaller, she didn't give a shit about what other people thought. He liked everything about her, really. There was just the animosity between her and his best friends, and the giant secret between them.

I'm good, just trying to catch up on all this homework. Can I call you tonight?

His phone buzzed almost right away, ya on smoke break. done at 5

Well, he had until then to come up with something.

Danny bought all the ingredients at the store and was lounging on a couch in the furniture section of some random department store when he heard a familiar sigh. A loud, grumbling sigh that he heard every weekday for the last two weeks. There was Sam, with her black hair pinned up in a half ponytail being dragged by a blonde woman impeccably clothed in a dress and fur coat. The look of utter hate on Sam's face kept him from calling out, but when she caught his eye he waved.

"Lemme go, Mom, I want to go look at the rugs."

"Okay sweetheart, meet me at the front."

When Sam turned away she made gagging faces and Danny couldn't help but laugh.

"What are you doing here?" Sam asked.

"Eyeing the rugs to hide the hole I stomped through my floor this morning. What about you? This doesn't seem like your scene."

"Okay, you are not distracting me from that. Care to elaborate, my freakishly tall and now strong friend?"

"Hey, I was always strong! Just not strong enough to, uh, stomp my alarm clock almost to the first floor."

"Dude!"

"That's Tucker's line."

"Well, somebody has to do it!"

"I was just gonna cover it up with a sheet of plywood then a thick rug. These are just like, seventy dollars more than I have. I didn't think they'd be this expensive."

Sam looked at him, and not for the first time, he had trouble gauging her expression. There was no judgment, no horror, nothing other than maybe wry amusement. Perhaps like she might be thinking of ways this could be possible blackmail. What for, he didn't want to do anything to find out.

"I'll get it for you, but you gotta tell me what's going on."

Danny eyed her. Apparently it was too late to be worrying about what for, 'cause it was too late. He wasn't even sure what the heck she was talking about. She sighed at his expression, clearly getting it.

"You and Valerie."

"Oh, that. I know you don't like her, but-"

"C'mon Danny, we're friends. I've known her a long time, but… people change I guess, and I can put aside my dislike of her for you."

"And Tucker?"

"You noticed that, huh?"

Danny scoffed, flicking through a few rugs just to hear the satisfying clink of the hangers. "You mean the way he deflects every time she comes up in conversation or the way he literally gravitates towards her when she enters a room? Kinda noticeable."

"He's… liked her for a while. He didn't want to say anything."

"He didn't have to," Danny muttered, refraining from saying 'he won't have to worry about it anymore'. He flicked through a few more before stopping on a blue and gray one.

Same picked it out, "This one is you. With the funky patterns." She looked at him, her purple eyes earnest and almost apologetic, "Tucker and I have talked about it. We don't care, Danny. We just don't want you to feel like you have to hide stuff from us."

Danny looked at her and just stared. He wasn't ready to talk about having to potentially dump Val, which was starting to look like the easiest option. The better option, for Valerie. He decided to confess the stuff that had settled in.

"Nothing really, guess her Dad got attacked by a big ghost dog and got fired and then it charged us when I was walking her home. We kissed a bit, but nothing else."

"What!"

"The kissing?"

"No, the dog, you numbskull! Did you attack it infront of her?"

"Now who's the numbskull? Of course not! I just shot my Fenton Lipstick at it."

"I am going to forget how that sounds and ask you to elaborate."

He scoffed, "God, are you Tucker incarnate today? No, my mom makes these self-defense things for ghosts and makes them look like cosmetics so she can smuggle them into conventions. They're technically weapons though the blasts pass through most live-organic material." He pulled one out of his pocket and showed her. She was looking at it with glee, almost like "disguised weapon" was the best thing she'd heard all day. "Want it?"

"Hell yes!" She practically snatched it out of his hand and was smiling a little crazily, "Oh man, I can't wait to test this out!"

"Should I be worried?"

"Probably."

He got home, dropped the groceries off in the now sanitized fridge, and went out to the garage. He found a conveniently sized piece of plywood in there that he noted when he was cleaning his room out of ghost weapon junk. Danny bee-lined it to his bedroom once he had it. The cleanup of the alarm clock, which was still smashed all over his room, gave him time to think. Once he connected his core to being his "ghost heart", everything seemed to click. He still struggled during times of anxiety, or the time he stole half the bottle of vodka in his parent's freezer and filled the rest up with water (his hand went intangible and he almost dropped the bottle), and he would do ghostly things that he couldn't control. Mostly now, he found with little concentration he could begin to tether it back in. Much like earlier when his arm was in the fridge, his fear- more accurately, his instinct- had turned his arm back before he could think about it. Danny felt much better now that he could go to school and not worry about slipping through the desk. The only thing lacking was his stamina. It didn't mean his insomnia was any better but, in the end, it was an improvement. Once all the pieces were swept up and thrown away, he unrolled the rug and something fell out from the centre and dropped on the floor in a whump.

Danny bent over and picked the journal up off the floor. It was black and leatherbound, with golden stars pressed into it in an array. He opened it up and inside was Sam's neat, looping scrawl: For your scientific discoveries (y'know, for ALL of them) -Sam

A grin stretched over his face and he threw it on the bed. He placed the rug inconspicuously in front of his door, ensuring the hole was placed in the middle, so even if the edges got kicked up it wouldn't show the plywood. The rug was the perfect thickness you couldn't even notice the raised height compared to the rest of the floor. Sighing, deeming it a job well done, he went and grabbed the bottle of water that wasn't really water that was on his desk and locked his door. His parents had already trudged their way downstairs, probably to eat whatever Jazz cooked up and went straight down to the basement. That incident from this morning still made him sick to his stomach.

He wanted to forget that it ever happened.

If there was one positive thing to being alone and also an insomniac it also meant that it gave him time to learn some things about his ghost form, other than his now permanent black nails which he noticed in the fridge. Danny crawled on his bed and crossed his legs before the ghostly light engulfed the room without a sound other than his slowed breathing. He still couldn't get over how much his ghostly form affected his surroundings. Just like when that ghost dog showed up, everything in the vicinity looked different. His dark blue walls turned a vicious purple and everything darker turned into endless shadows. His unearthly glow reflected off of every picture frame, every screen and made it seem like he was in a horror video game. Anywhere he looked, his green glowing eyes reflected back ay him. Holding the water bottle he had poured the vodka into in his hand and a debate in his head. It wasn't so much of "Oh you're a thief and should put it back", he was long past guilt hiding his guilty pleasures, smoking included. The debate was more 'Do I waste perfectly good liquor on a body that might not even process it?'. Danny hadn't tried drinking the liquor he lifted since the Basement Thing. He tried smoking already but stopped when he accidently went intangible and the smoke drifted through him.

"Ah, fuck it." He lifted the bottle to his lips and chugged a couple mouthfuls before shuddering and gagging, still not used to the burn. He put the cap back on, and tried to focus on what he wanted to do this for in the first place. All sentient ghosts with cores had fundamental powers, but what he didn't understand was why some ghosts powers were elemental based. Danny had tried controlling water like that ghost mummy had done a few years ago, but other than just phasing through it, nothing. He did stick his head underwater in the tub for as long as he could until he breathed in, expecting water, and was pleasantly surprised to find he could all along. When he passed his ghostly hand over his lighter like he usually does for fun, he found on the first pass that it burns, the pain throbbing deep, completely unlike the warmth he feels with his human hand. Avoid the heat, his gut told him. Over the years travelling with his parents he had witnessed ghosts controlling plants, fire, water, a tornado one time. Did he have an element power as well? How did he unlock it, if he even had one? There was nothing elemental about his transformation; the spikes in his leather jacket were now bone spikes that moved effortlessly with his body. He could control their length, even the ones that ran down the back of his forearms. Once he realised the bones poking out under his skin, he only stopped panicking by comparing it to a pufferfish. He laughed, and it grounded him, literally. He didn't realise his head was almost brushing the ceiling the more anxious he got. There was no point worrying about it; just learning to live with it. The spikes didn't have any feeling, and neither did the skin around them. The ones closer to his neck moved independently when he raised and lowered his arms so they wouldn't poke him. Slapping at one, it disappeared under his palm like whack-a-mole. He did indeed look like a glowing, white porcupine. Danny snorted at the mental picture, realising with the heat in his gut that the liquor was working.

His phone vibrated on his bedside table, and with an instant rush the buzz left him. Danny sighed, realising it was useless to consume any more in this form unless he wanted to waste it. He'd taken a decent swaller of vodka, enough to usually leaving him with loose inhibitions and dozing off for at least an hour. Floating back down to the bed, he transformed back into his other form and reached over for his phone. Settling down into the pillows and flipping it open, he saw it was from Val.

'home.'

He quickly wrote back, his thumb a flurry on the numeric pad. It was a wonder the buttons hadn't worn out yet; it was the most action the phone had seen in a decade.

can i call u

'yess'

After dialing, he didn't have to wait long. He almost wished she would have, so he could prepare himself for what to say. Danny would never break up with someone over the phone, for the simple reasons that it was a shitty thing to do and he wouldn't want someone to do it to him. He would want more after giving yourself to someone else, even friends.

"Hey Danny!" her voice came over the phone, and if he wasn't kind of reeling from the quick trip to sobriety, he would almost say she sounded nervous.

"Hey Val, how was today?"

"Ugh, sweaty and gross. How are you?"

"I'm… doing alright. Today was kinda shit, I'm enjoying a beverage tonight."

"Well, raise one up for me! Cheers!"

Danny laughed and rubbed his face, "Working tomorrow? Can I walk you home?"

"You're answering your own questions again…"

"So you don't work tomorrow?"

"I do, and you can. I get off at nine, so you better not start drinking before then."

"Ha-ha, I don't indulge that often."

A touch exasperated, "Don't think I haven't noticed how much you've been smoking. You smell like an ashtray when I pass you in the hall."

"Yeah, I got a problem. I'm working on it though. I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah, bye Danny."

If he was a little quick to hang up, he hoped she wouldn't notice. Hit with a wave of dreariness, Danny put the bottle on the nightstand along with his new journal and phone. Instead of peeling back the covers and duvet, he practiced going intangible, working through the layers until he was against the fitted sheet. The rate of his adaption was getting quicker the more he worked at it, and he found he wasn't sweating as much.

It wouldn't take long for it to be effortless, and on that positive note he drifted into a restless sleep.

The next day, he awoke with a much better start even though he dreaded breaking up with Valerie. He spent the whole day avoiding his family in his room, not giving a shit what Jazz came up with for dinner if anything, or whether his parents had found any more ghosts. He kept them firmly tuned out of his head; his ghost sense seemed to realise he didn't need to listen to every ecto-blob dissection. It wasn't good for his mental health, and neither did his potential breakup. Danny did good on his promise to Valerie to not indulge any more liquor, but she didn't say anything about sleeping the day away. In the end, it made him feel much better. All those nights spent as an insomniac, trying his powers and listening to those god-awful sounds in the basement, he deserved a decent rest. He slept in 'til noon, did all last week's homework until maybe three or four and took another nap to get him through close to nine. He pretty much snuck out of the house; his curfew was technically ten, but with his luck hopefully his parents would be too busy downstairs to notice. That was, if they didn't notice him leaving to be suspicious. He was getting good at avoiding the cams.

He was refreshed from a proper sleep, but still had not pieced together what he would say to her. Danny tried to play it cool when he met up with her outside the fast-food joint and they shared a smoke, like they usually did when they did this.

Danny walked her home, the night sky and cheap city lights omit of any ghostly presence, other than his own hidden inside. The whole walk was tainted with his mind running a mile a second, thinking of what to say, what to do. Does he kiss her on the cheek goodbye, or is that cruel? He wants to- is desperate to remain with a positive relationship. She was the first person he really befriended coming to this city, he didn't want to lose her friendship. Though, he knew if she needed space, or never wanted to see him again, he would have to endure it.

Coming to the entrance of her apartment building Danny paused. Before he could get the words out, Valerie spun on her heel facing him. Her long curly hair twirled around her and bounced where they landed. She was speaking before he could even process the words.

"Look, Danny, we're really good friends and I really like you," But, Danny thought, "-,but, I have a lot going on in my life right now and I can't give you all that you deserve. But! I would really like to remain friends, if it isn't too awkward?"

It took an embarrassingly long time for him to process that, and by the time he did, her cool-calm demeanor was beginning to crack and look nervous. "Uh, sorry that was a lot to take in, but I understand Valerie. I feel… kind of the same way. Are you serious about being friends? I can still walk you home and stuff?"

Valerie smiled and pulled him into a light hug that he responded to quicker this time. He was almost getting used to being touched. "Yes, I mean it, you dummy. I'm going to be taking on working with my dad some nights, but I would like that."

Danny gave her a genuine smile, bid her goodnight, and went home- the usual way when he was sure he wasn't being watched.

Valerie trudged the stairs of her apartment building- the only good thing about the elevator being broken and living on the tenth floor was having the rhythmic sound of your trudging steps accompany your endless thoughts.

She felt guilty about lying to Danny, but was so happy that he seemed unphased and wanted to still be friends with her. He didn't have to know that she wouldn't be 'working with her father', nor would her father have to know that she wasn't taking on extra shifts at the Nasty Burger. Nobody would know about the weird, older man that approached her across the counter on shift and did not request something off the menu. He simply said to her:

"If you want the proper tools to be able to take on your little dog problem, or any related problem, give me a call and I'll deliver it. On the condition that you sign the agreement that comes with it, of course."

He handed her a business card and left the building without saying another word. The rest of the day was spent as if in a dream.

Valerie couldn't stop obsessing how this guy knew about the ghost, knew her, and it would normally set off red flags; but he seemed normal enough, maybe a little sharp, but he didn't look sketchy. Plus the business card looked like it was embossed with real gold, which means he wouldn't be lying about the means to get her equipment. For the most part, he seemed legit. Honestly, the only thing that kept her from dialing the number right away was the conditions of the contract, and if she'd be up for it. She'd signed a contract for her cellphone, but other than that had no idea what to expect. If there was one thing she'd learned from her Daddy, it was to read the whole thing thoroughly, even twice. The only thing bugging her was, what if she found something in it she didn't approve of? Did she send the box back, or did she argue her stipulations? Either way, there was no way Valerie was signing her soul away, though the thought of being able to fight ghosts was tempting. She at least wanted to be able to defend herself; and it wasn't like the lipstick thing Danny gave her wasn't some comfort, she just didn't know if it would continue to be effective.

The other problem, the one that had her pulling out her cell and punching in the numbers, was the rumours. Danny was right about her; she didn't listen to nasty gossip, but there were some rumours that her ears would automatically pick up on. Ghosts were one of those things. And in the last week, more people had been talking about them than probably her whole life in Amity Park. It had to have something to do with the Fenton's being back in town, and bringing up old complaints in the community that easily led to fake stories (and if there was one thing she heard from her Daddy about them was that they were impervious to negative comments like water off a duck's back, which is weird knowing Danny who was at least a little self-conscious about them). Saying that, there was a chance that the stories were just that; fake gossip created to stir the shit-pot. However, there was something about them that was a little too similar to her experience. Something was causing a rise in ghost activity, and that meant there was nobody doing anything about it because nobody important believed. The higher-ups fired her father for it, it seemed like all the half-brains were in charge of noticing when things weren't right. How could anybody miss the temperature changes, the way the lighting became dark and bright all at once with all the wrong hues that made your eyes burn? If nobody was going to do it, Valerie knew she was more than capable with her self-defense training and almost being a blackbelt. This would be a great experience if she could pull it off. If she could overcome this fear then nothing would stand in her way; plus it seemed like nobody else was going to do it.

She called the number, and the week after she signed the contract and put on the suit that seemed to be built from the future.

With a start, Danny awoke Monday morning.

For once in what felt like a whole month, but was really only three weeks, he had slept the whole night through without waking once. No ghostly night-calls coming through the floor, no sister's head thudding the desk halfway through an essay in the early morning next door, no stupid thoughts zooming around and preventing a dreamless sleep. Sunday had gotten him too used to rest; he only had ten minutes to get ready and be at school in time for the first bell. If he was lucky, he could throw on yesterday's clothes and run to school and make it. Danny was getting used to having so much anxiety it was hard to have an appetite, but it didn't help if he was going to start missing breakfast because he no longer owned an alarm clock.

Danny rushed as best as he could- brushing his teeth while trying to pull on his shoes- but he could still hear the second bell ring two blocks away. He stopped jogging down the street, resigned to the fact that he was definitely going to be facing Mr Lancer's wrath. He wasn't exactly making a good repertoire with his teachers, but he couldn't exactly help it; since the Basement Thing, he'd had trouble reading and writing. It was like whatever happened to him turned him dyslexic. He'd been re-reading his journal entries from over the weekend, and he was noticing that he wasn't even writing in English at some points. He hadn't even realised he'd resorted to weird squiggles and symbols that somehow made sense to him. It was almost a good thing; he was writing in code without even knowing it. At least everything he knew would be encrypted. Danny just had to make sure he didn't hand in any homework written with it. He wasn't sure how he'd explain that, but he was sure he could blame it on his parents homeschooling somehow.

Once he arrived at class, he was right about getting chewed out by Lancer. He was giving the disappointment lecture and ignored the other teen's stares as he made his way to his desk. He spent the class trying to pay attention and ended up only copying half the notes. The bell rang and as the other kids were collecting their things and rushing out into the hall, Danny made a split second decision.

He walked up to Lancer's desk at the front and stood at the end furthest from the door. Lancer only raised an eyebrow and waited until everybody left the room. Danny respected that. "Sir, I'm, uh, having trouble reading the board. Would there be a way that I could get a copy of them somehow?"

Lancer only studied him for a moment, clearly trying to size up if he was making an excuse to be lazy and doze off in class or being serious or not. He sighed, seeming to go for the latter today. "I can leave the notes up on the board for you to take a picture of after class, as long as I see you make an effort to try and pay attention during the lesson."

Danny thanked him and made a move for the door when Lancer called him back. "Let me see what you got today. I saw your look of panic when I erased the board. Thank you for telling me."

For the first time since he began the semester, Danny went to the cafeteria before heading outside. If he didn't eat, he would get even more irritable than he was already feeling. That was no way to start his Monday, especially to his friends. Making his way to the counter, he grabbed a tray and eyed the thing they were serving up. It was perfectly summed up as this: a trovel of the field outside on top of a slice of Wonderbread. Deadpanning at the little old lady, he stuck out his tray. "What's this."

She was deadpanning right back, not even the fat mole on her cheek twitched. "New vegan option," she said, tossing the plate on the tray with a frisbee spin.

"I can smell meat, this can't be it."

"You're delusional, kid, NEXT!"

Well, he could at least eat the bread, he thought, picking at it on his way outside.

Tucker was laughing at him even before he sat down.

"Oh no, you got Sam's 'suggestion'"," he said pointing and guffawed at him.

"You knew about this?" Danny mock accused, throwing his tray down and body onto the bench.

"I suggested healthier options, and nowhere did I say dirt served on bread. Plus, the bread is so high in sugar and- Danny!"

He was shaking the slice over the ground, the grass and earth going back to where it belonged. "What, it's the only thing actually edible!"

He asked them how their weekend was, Sam filled Tucker in on them running into each other on Saturday. They shared a knowing look and Danny jumped in before they could start talking about Valerie.

"So, she broke up with me on Sunday."

"Seriously?" Sam said, disgusted.

"It was mutual, Sam. We both got a lot going on right now. I'm not sure how I can tell her about what happened, or anybody for that matter."

Tuck patted him on the back, "That's rough, buddy."

Sam gave him a small smile, unusual for her on a Monday. "I'm sure you'll meet someone you can trust."

"I got you guys, that's pretty sweet."

The bell signalling end of lunch rang and Danny grabbed his bag.

Noticing a commotion by the door, Danny stopped dead when he recognized who they were. His parents were in their gaudy orange and teal jumpsuits and pushing on a pull door. He called out to them before they could figure it out.

"Danny-boy!"

"What are you guys doing here?" he said skeptically, already regretting the answer.

"Well," his mother started, already bouncing with excitement, "I noticed you didn't take your lunch today, and we wanted to make sure you got our new prototype!"

Before he could latch onto the fact that they had made him lunch (?), he noticed his dad holding a grey and green thermos with a F stamped on it.

"It can hold ghosts!" His dad yelled, thrusting it out at him, "And Soup!"

Danny took it, and as he processed it, began looking at the thermos in a new light. This was exactly what he needed if he ever ran into any ghosts. Mind already spinning like a hamster wheel, he thanked his parents. Sam and Tucker said their greetings before pulling him off, excusing them for class. As soon as they were out of earshot, he started rambling.

"Oh, man this is sweet. I think I want to destroy the prints, otherwise they might want to make more and I don't want them used on me. Also, they made me a lunch? What in the ever-loving-"

The rest of the school day was normal, up until the point that the school cleared out of students. Mr Lancer had asked Danny to come back to fill out the rest of his missing notes, and as reluctant as he was to do so, he knew he would never get it done if he didn't. Sam and Tucker said they would come with him and they would continue to hang out after. They were going back to Sam's house later to do Tucker's defense training, which was hilarious to watch he assumed. Sam seemed like the type to have access to all sorts of classes through her rich parents, and she wasn't the kind to pass up opportunities like that. Tucker was also the exact opposite of athleticism so it would definitely be entertaining. If it was fun enough, maybe he could even spar. His parents had taught him more than enough self-defense.

After writing the notes, Lancer being surprisingly patient, they made their way towards the entrance of the school. Passing by the cafeteria doors, Danny stopped cold when a blast of cold air escaped his lips. He reached out a hand to both of them when they continued walking, deep in conversation. Catching their elbows, he pulled them close to the doors. They were eyeing him with serious concern, but Danny lightly peeked through the cracked doors without saying anything to them yet.

"Houston, we got a problem," he said, moving out of the way so they could peek through the door in his place.

At the counter, instead of there being the little old lady with the mole that he'd met this afternoon, there was a rather heavy-set floating woman in an older style server garb. With his human eyes, it was hard to see her features through the glitch and blurr of her aura. What he could see was her apron was pink with frills and she had a matching hat that made her look utterly ridiculous, but for the most part she looked harmless. She had the distinct characteristics of a weak ghost; minimal atmospheric changes, only light green skin and wispy hair (stronger ghosts exhibited a bluer hue, normally), and the stronger the ghost, the more wild the environment reacted. They glanced down the hallways for all clear before sneaking into the cafeteria. It was empty except for the ghost, and them now willingly. Danny approached her and, hoping to get this over with, was already fishing the thermos out of his backpack.

"Excuse me ma'am, what are you doing here so late?" he asked innocently, batting his blue eyes.

"Why hello, dearie!" she said in just as innocent, but grandma voice with that distinct echo. "I'm just finishing up. Say, did we serve all the meat? I can't find it anywhere."

Danny was wondering how to respond to that, and decided to skip over the automatic response that, as the Cafeteria Lady, she should know where it is. Before he could say anything, he heard Tucker chime in behind him. "No, Sam got meat off the menu."

Instantly, the room turned colder and everything exploded into harsh light. She flamed into blue, her hair burning up towards the ceiling. "NO MEAT?"

Danny involuntarily took a step back. All of a sudden, she was showing characteristics of a much more powerful ghost. The room had dropped at least ten more degrees and the lighting was suddenly blinding and he had to focus to keep his eyes from automatically adjusting with his powers. His body prepared for an attack as he lowered into a defensive position, nervous of how the ghost would react now. The sudden change in personality was almost frightening.

"Whoah, whoah, whoah, I didn't mean to get it off the menu! I just said they needed some healthier options!" Sam defended before Danny could say anything again. Appliances, dishes and food trays were all beginning to float around in warning. It was as good a time as ever to transform before the sound of things being destroyed alerted whoever was left in the building. His rings of bright light didn't do much to contrast the now piercing glare from the other ghost. Though he was getting used to the sensation of floating off the ground and the weightlessness that came with it, he was still adjusting to the speed at which he moved. Any small burst of movement and his light body moved easily, and he often overshot where he wanted to go. Harder, even, to stop momentum. It didn't help that his ghost vision automatically attuned to the brightspot that now emitted from the enraged ghost. As cool as it was, it could be distracting and he wasn't yet used to the unique luminescence ghosts gave off. Instinctively from years of being blinded, he wanted to avert his eyes but forced himself not to. He could see through her natural camouflage now, and she really did look like an older, heavy-set lady whose cheeks had begun to droop. She almost did look normal, except for the fangs now growing out of her mouth and the red overtaking her scleras. Even her skin was beginning to change hue, much to his dismay. Of course the first ghost he would come across would be powerful. Danny often learned his lessons the hard way, though not for lack of trying.

"HEALTHIER OPTIONS? THERE ARE ONLY FOUR FOOD GROUPS: MEAT, MEAT, MEAT, AND MEAT!"

With each shout, the school rumbled. A clattering sound down the hallways were echoing towards the cafeteria, like multiple things were ricocheting off the lockers. Between whirlwind of clanging coming their way, objects around the room crashing and breaking, and the hum of energy the Cafeteria Lady was buzzing with, it was deafening to all of them. Danny dropped the thermos in an effort to protect his sensitive ears and saw his friends doing the same. Rage was bubbling up in his stomach at the ridiculousness of it all and as he turned to shout something nasty at her, the cafeteria doors flew off their hinges. He had barely enough time to register it, and for once his speed worked to his advantage. As soon as his hands felt both of his friends body's under them, he turned on the intangibility. Just in time for a flurry of produce to go through them and towards the ghost welcoming it with open arms. It was uncanny how much there was; it was draining to hold the intangibility on all three of them with so much passing through them. Danny felt disgust as chicken wings, pork chops, steaks, anything meat to be named stuck to her body and packed until she was gone and stood in her place was a still-growing meat monster. A mouth opened in what seemed to be the face, underneath the two red glowing orbs serving as eyes. Bits dropped off the roof of the mouth to be swallowed up by the lower jaw. It was a hypnotic, disgusting waterfall of slurry. It took a lumbering step towards them- the building shook in response, with cheap plaster ceiling tiles breaking on the floor. That's when he remembered the thermos that was now significantly closer to her than it was to him. Instead of thinking, he lunged for it. This time, his speed was a little too excessive. He managed to snatch the thermos as he blew by it, and too late did he see the meat leg appendage swinging towards him with an accompanying roar.

Intangible! his brain screamed at him, but the hit had already connected. Too late! He screamed back at it, as he sailed through the cafeteria wall and onto the field outside. Distantly, he heard his name being screamed by Sam and Tucker and the lumbering footsteps of the monster advancing. Pushing himself off the ground and shaking his head to try and get his wits about him, he lunged back through the wall. His friends had backed up to the farthest wall, but with each huge step she gained on them. Danny pointed the thermos and concentrated his energy in his hands, prayed for the best, and took off the cap. A silver beam blasted out and hit her dead-on in the back, and he'd be guilty about it if she wasn't so terrifyingly close to his very human, mortal friends. Instead of it doing what his parents said it would do, but honestly wasn't a big surprise, it did nothing but enraged her. She turned and roared at him, turning in a staggering circle and coming towards him instead. Danny would take it as a win. Popping the cap back on, he wondered what to do next. His parents had given him no instruction with it, so there was a chance he was doing something wrong.

There was an even greater chance that it never would have worked in the first place.

Tucker's voice yelled across the hall, but he cut him off as soon as he recognized his name. "Da-!"

"Don't! We need to get used to you not knowing me!" he panted, suddenly overcome with fatigue from the use of intangibility and the loss of energy he had put in the thermos. His side where he landed on the ground throbbed and his arm hurt whenever he moved it. Deep bruising from landing on it, most likely. Whatever he was going to do, it had to be quick.

Tucker looked surprised at his outburst, but his look was one of understanding. Danny had told them about his encounter with his parents when he was ghost elbow deep in the fridge, and the threat of being discovered had begun to seem more real. He knew he wasn't mistaken in how his parents, or anybody, would react to what he was now. Catching the ghosts were second priority compared to keeping his identity secret.

"Like a Pokemon!" Tucker continued, and elaborated at his confusion, "Maybe you have to weaken it before you catch it!"

Danny didn't have long to think about it, but it seemed logical. How could the thermos suck the ghost up with a foot-thick meat suit preventing contact? The meat had to go, but he had to be close enough to destroy it. Gripping the thermos tight, he threw his fear out the window and did the unexpected. He charged her, needing to get the intangibility just right. There wouldn't be many more chances before his exhaustion caught up with him.

The first attempt was a spectacular failure. Realising too late that she was onto him and was already swinging a meaty fist, he decided to just take the hit rather than waste the energy. The collision with the wall, then the floor hurt a bit more than the grass outside. It took him longer to peel himself off the floor, even longer to realise she was speaking to him. Muffled booming through the meat layers, but still enough to ring in his ears and throb his already spinning head.

"JUST A HATCHLING," she tutted, "LET ME TAKE CARE OF THE MENU-CHANGER. YOU ARE MUCH TOO YOUNG TO DISOBEY ME."

She approached a few more thundering steps and he swayed on his feet. This had to be it; he wasn't sure if he could take another hit like that. Every minute the dizziness got worse and her words were sounding less and less like actual English.

"HOWEVER, YOU DO SMELL DIFFERENT. NOT LIKE A REGULAR HATCHLING," another step closer, vibrating his brain, "AND WHAT IS THAT THUDDING? SOMETHING IS MOVING IN YOUR CHEST."

Again, Danny didn't have time to really process her words before she was practically on him. Was she really that quick, or was he concussed? Time seemed to move slower as her fist came towards him this time and he took the chance. Meat passed through him once again and when he was close to the centre, he released it in his arm and dug his fingers into the cold make-up of a ghost's body (it wasn't quite flesh).

'Meat ain't no good with freezer-burn,' sounded a lilting, teasing voice between his ears. There was no time to file away that it didn't seem like his thought, nor his voice. Instinct seemed to take over after that; he needed to disrupt her armour and there was really only one way that he'd been practicing. The spikes lining the forearms, shoulders, back and neck of his jacket obeyed his vision of a skewer kebab. In one simultaneous move, the spikes elongated, two-three-four feet, and burst the meat suit into a million chunks flying everywhere.

Left in a ring of cleanliness from the force of the blast, Danny and the Lunch Lady stood alone. She stared at him in shock, reverted back to the 'nice' appearance before her little outburst. Danny had one hand gripping her shoulder and the other had the thermos pointed at her gut.

"Sorry 'bout this, but I don't do well with orders." he said, flicking off the cap with his thumb. The silver beam connected with her this time, and instead of it just absorbing into her, it seemed to be absorbing her. She blurred into the beam until she was spinning towards it. Once she was sucked inside, Danny quickled popped the cap back on. His legs and powers gave out at the same time, slumping to the floor in his regular jeans and flannel. Chest heaving from the exertion and adrenaline, he was so focused on trying to calm his breathing he didn't hear his friends approach. Flinching at the touch to his shoulder and the shame realising what he done was only reduced by their sympathetic faces.

"That was awesome, Danny! Are you alright?" Sam said.

It took him a long time to process that because he was focused on processing that she was covered in bits of meat. In her hair, stuck to her face and clothes. Tucker was pretty much the same. He was laughing until their worried expressions caused him to snap his mouth shut.

"Sorry. Yes, I'm fine. I might've hit my head, but it's nothing i can't handle. Let me get that meat off you."

Danny knew he was pushing his limits with his powers, especially with the extra effort it took to transfer with his human body in control. It was more of an exercise in control. He knew he had the strength for it; if he overestimated himself, he would just be pushing his boundaries.

If all ghosts coming through the portal were as strong as that, or even stronger, he needed to advance like, yesterday.

Danny grabbed both of their hands and a burst of willpower, they went transparent and all the meat dropped off them. With a giddy grin, he shook both their hands excitedly, "I did it!" and promptly passed out.

Tucker wasn't exactly sure how ridiculous it looked for two teenagers, especially them- dweeby, lanky guy like him and tiny Sam in her ripped black pants and goth makeup- carrying a 6'2" lanky guy like Danny down the street. Danny had been heavy when they had dragged him up two flights of stairs the Day of the Basement. Though, he'd been semi-conscious that time. Now he was pure dead-weight. Tucker had taken a turn piggy-backing him home. He was ashamed to admit Danny's shoes may have dragged on the ground a third of the way. By then he was panting and ready to keel over. Sam scoffed at him.

"You're building up muscle mass for our training class."

"If I have to build up muscle mass, so do you pipsqueak!"

He knew how much she hated when he brought her height into arguments. It was a good way to get her to do what he wanted for once. That was how they ended up with his arms hooked under Danny's armpits and Sam walking between his feet, holding his ankles. She was even demonstrating her muscles by alternating lifting his legs up like weights. When they finally arrived at his house, they could only hope that his parents were absent like he often said they were. Sam had to do an odd maneuver to open the front door, while Tucker whisper-shouted at her to hurry up. Sneaking into a house carrying a passed out teenager was not the quietest. Tucker accidentally slammed the door closed when he used his foot. Hopefully his family wouldn't notice the slight dents in the wall from the corners of them banging into the credenza. They got as far as the bottom of the stairs, Sam already a few steps up, when the sound of someone clearing their throat stopped them dead. There, standing in the doorway from the living room to the foyer, was a red-headed girl with steely blue eyes. They were a greener shade than Danny's, but they both had a stubborn, no-bullsshit look. Obviously related then. It must have been Jazz, who Danny had mentioned, but they'd never met. No time like the present, Tucker thought bitterly.

"Hey, Jazz, right? Danny had a rough day at school and fell asleep after class, so we decided to bring him home!" Oh, what an atrocious lie. He could feel the burn of Sam's death stare at the side of his head, but with years of training he ignored it. Giving a subtle push towards her, she got the message and started to slowly step back up the stairs.

"I'm Sam, this is Tucker. We're gonna hang out for a while, but we'll be out of here before dark. Bye!"

Jazz looked like she wanted to say something, but nothing was coming out. It was eerily similar to how Danny looked when they mentioned something he'd never heard; they were familiar with this look, Danny was seriously uncultured when it came to their generation's trends. Jazz also seemed to have a knack for spacing out, like Danny. They were at the top of the stairs and in his bedroom before she figured out how to respond to one of the strangest things Danny has found his way into the middle of.