Danny stood in the lab, glaring at the dark portal that sat in the wall before him. He couldn't believe it. He couldn't believe that his parents had continued working on this project, even after all this time. Not only that! But it was still in the house where anyone could just walk right up to it.
Jazz would always talk about how their parents and Vlad were always negligent. How they didn't take care of them like regular parents were supposed to. Danny never thought much about it until the sight of the ghost portal brought back deeply hidden and almost forgotten memories.
He had only been about four when they tried it the first time. They built the proto-portal in the kitchen of that apartment the five of them had all lived in back then. They must've thought that setting up the tv and closing the door to their bedroom would be enough to keep Jazz and Danny's attention while they did their thing. And it did for a little bit, but eventually he got hungry and wanted a snack.
He stepped into the kitchen, about to ask for a juicebox, right as a beam of green light started bouncing around the room. His dad tackled his mom and Vlad to the floor, narrowly missing the beam, and it slammed into Danny, pushing him to the ground. The last thing he remembered was his mom shouting his name and the movement as he was picked up and rushed outside, leaving Jazz behind in her room.
He was lucky the accident hadn't happened when he was any older because his parents kept him inside and away from prying eyes for a year until they were sure his new ghost powers were no longer acting up and he knew not to use them in public.
The first time he walked out the front door again was his first day of kindergarten. He was nervous about going and his crying nearly made his mom take him back home again, but once he got there he was bowled over onto the ground by Sam and Tucker. They had been his best friends before the accident and they spouted question after question at him. He hadn't even realized that they would still want to be friends with him after so long, but it was the first time he had felt free, like himself, in over a year. He had grabbed onto them both and pulled them into a hug.
And now, they built another portal. Danny still glared at it. Were his parents that dense? Did they not care about hurting someone else in the name of their science?
He remembered that terrifying feeling he had as he watched them plug it in. He dreaded a repeat of what had happened to him. What would happen if he got hit again? Would he actually die that time? He hadn't wanted to find out, but his parents had forced him and Jazz to stand and watch in the basement as they turned it on.
Luckily, the portal only let out a spark before going dark again. Danny let out a breath he was holding and Jazz rolled her eyes and headed back upstairs. Danny wished he could say the disappointment on his parents' faces made him feel guilty, but that wasn't true. It had been a huge relief.
He stood in silence, looking at it, for a few more minutes before he could hear the sound of soft footsteps coming down the stairs behind him.
"Ah, little badger. Are you doing alright? Disappointed it didn't work?"
Vlad. Danny scoffed. "As if. If I had any say in it, this thing wouldn't even be here."
"I agree, these aren't really the best conditions for a portal. Amity Park has always had some ghostly activity, but this particular area isn't-"
"Are you kidding me?" Danny stared at Vlad, interrupting the other man. "That's what you're concerned about? The location?" Danny waved his arms angrily. "How about, I don't know, the fact that it's in your house? Where your children are?"
Vlad sighed. "Daniel, this was the best solution. We would have otherwise had to rent or buy another place and we already had enough space here. Plus they wanted you and Jasmine to be able to see their work regularly."
"I don't care to see their work regularly! Or at all! Their work is what nearly got me killed, if you didn't remember. It kept me in isolation for an entire year of my life. I didn't go outside for a year, Vlad!"
"Daniel-"
"No." Danny said, stepping forward, shoving a finger into Vlad's face. "You do not get to keep justifying this to me."
"You are being childish."
"No I am not!" Danny shouted. "All my life I have been terrified of what you and my parents do! Because I was in a serious accident involving it! And it was your guys' fault!"
"Well, maybe if you had stayed in your room like you were told-"
"MAYBE!" Danny pushed against Vlad. "You guys shouldn't have been working on some volatile experiment where the snacks are. Where a hungry toddler can wander into."
Danny pushed Vlad again. "You guys are negligent." A push. "Irresponsible." Push. "Terrible." Push. "Stupid."
Vlad shot him a particularly wounded expression at the last one but Danny kept pushing forward.
"I hate you guys for what you've done to me. For what you allowed to happen to me. I hate you!"
Danny gave one last, hard push against Vlad which sent him falling back. The anger disappeared from Danny's face and was replaced with a wide eyed look filled with horror. Before he could do anything, Vlad fell into the portal, trying to brace himself against the wall before he landed on his back on the ground. The click of a button pushing rocketed around in his ears and before he knew it, the whirring of the portal came to life and a flash of bright, radioactive green blinded Danny.
Danny shielded his eyes at the flash, but Vlad's screams echoed around the lab. When they stopped, Danny brought his arm down and looked at the portal, which swirled menacingly. Looking down at Vlad, Danny hurried to him and grabbed him by the ankles, pulling him out of the swirling portal.
Upon seeing Vlad, Danny covered his mouth in terror. Vlad's aging hair and clothes had inverted themselves. His clothes were fried and he looked like he was covered in burns. Danny sat there for a few moments trying to figure out what to do when a familiar ring appeared around Vlad's waist.
A sickening feeling sunk into his stomach and he stared at Vlad as his hands went numb.
What has he done?