Author's Note: I'm using the wiki's episode order since the box set I have is out of order for some reason. Reign Storm in the box set comes before Memory Blank which is impossible cause of Danny's costume. For context in this universe the accident happened two months before the end of their freshman year. I own nothing.

7 Further Experimentation

It was ridiculous how easy it was to sneak into the lab and steal a few vials of ectoplasm. There were a few different kinds here. Dani set them down on her desk tapping Glooby on the nose to dissuade it from messing with the samples. Sam and Tanya were now both present. Sam looked a little unconvinced.

"How is ectoplasm supposed to help you heal though?" He asked frowning as Dani set down a scalpel she'd also purloined from the lab.

"Well I mean ghosts are made of ectoplasm…." Dani floundered. Tanya had her back though.

"I think it's sort of how people need water even though we're like seventy percent water." Dani pointed and Tanya and nodded.

"Yeah. Like that."

"You have no idea what this is going to do, do you?" Sam deadpanned.

"Well these days I'm not sure of anything Sam but think about it. Glooby got ectoplasm all over my burned hand, the next day it's a fully healed scar." The bunny chirped and hopped off the desk disappearing under Dani's bed. Sam frowned.

"I still can't believe you named the dead rabbit." Dani shrugged.

"What was I supposed to do? It's not hurting anything." She laid down a towel on her desk and unwrapped her once burned hand. She picked up the scalpel and sliced a thin cut into her thumb. Setting down the scalpel she picked up a clean eye dropper and dipped it into the first sample of ectoplasm. Sam reached out and stopped her.

"Don't get it directly into your bloodstream first! At least do a patch test on your skin to make sure it's not gonna kill you." Dani laughed lightly.

"Sam, I'm already mostly dead." Sam rolled his eyes taking the dropper from her.

"Yeah well we like you as alive as we can get you." He turned her hand over and dripped a bit of the ectoplasm onto her wrist. She frowned and hissed in pain, snatching up a corner of the towel and scrubbing the ectoplasm off. There was a small burn on her wrist.

"Well that disproves that." Tanya said and Dani shook her head.

"There are different kinds, well two currently. That one was refined, it's the stuff mom and dad use to power most of their inventions." She frowned and Sam shook his head.

"And we were testing that one why!" He demanded setting the dropper aside. Dani shrugged picking up a second dropper.

"I wanted to see what would happen."

"You sound like your dad." Tanya said and it didn't sound like a compliment. Dani rolled her eyes and dipped the fresh dropper into the second vial.

"This one's straight from the portal." Before either of her friends could protest she dripped a small amount onto the burn that had resulted from the first test. It sat there and for a moment they were sure nothing would happen but when she wiped away the ectoplasm with the towel the burn vanished with it as though erased. Dani grinned and dripped the fresh ectoplasm onto her cut thumb. The injury sealed itself.

"That is just unfairly cool." Tanya said and Sam nodded. Dani grinned, not bothering to wipe off the ectoplasm this time.

"And now we know, refined ectoplasm is bad for me, straight from the Ghost Zone ectoplasm is good for me." Without thinking Dani lifted her still slightly stinging thumb to her mouth and briefly sucked on it, as one would do to stop the bleeding. Sam and Tanya stared at her and she quickly stopped realizing that she had just licked the ectoplasm off her thumb. "I didn't mean to do that!"

Tanya dissolved into hysterical laughter and Sam rubbed his temple.

"Are you ok? Cause I'm pretty sure people aren't supposed to taste ectoplasm." Dani shrugged she didn't feel any different, maybe a little like she'd taken a sip of coffee actually. She shared as much with them. Tanya couldn't seem to stop laughing. Sam just shook his head.

"So… Wait." Tanya choked out between her chuckles. "Does that mean that ectoplasm is like an energy booster for ghosts?" Dani shrugged.

"Maybe. We're very much in uncharted territory here. My parents haven't actually caught a ghost before so there's almost no info to work off of." Sam frowned at Dani's words.

"Last time you said they hadn't even seen one, when did that change?" Dani went slightly pale.

"They may have caught a glimpse of Dani Phantom. During the fight." Both Tanya and Sam stilled. "So the ghost they were talking about dissecting, yeah that's me." Sam hissed in sympathy.

"What are you going to do?" Tanya asked and Danu shrugged.

"My best not to get caught. I need more training time." Dani said running her hands through her hair. Tanya nodded.

"My mom's going out of town for a few days, some nursing symposium. Dad wants to go with her. I could have you at my house, we'll practice in the park but you can work on basic control at my place where no one can see you." Dani stood and hugged Tanya. Sam stepped over to them and Dani pulled him into the hug. Over Dani's head Sam met Tanya's eyes, they were in silent agreement. If Dani's parents ever found out about her powers they would do everything they could to protect her.

March passed into April and the end of their freshman year loomed. The ghost attacks hadn't kicked back up again since she'd taken care of the lunch lady. Dani's now regular lessons with her mother were progressing quickly. She was surprised at how quickly she built up muscle. It had taken a while but she finally had a handle on her transformation and could, for the most part do it at will. One morning Maddie approached her daughter.

"So Dani have you thought about what you're gonna wear?" Dani frowned, wondering if she'd missed something. Sensing her daughter's confusion Maddie smiled. "The spring fling dance?" Dani shook her head. She'd honestly forgotten that the spring fling dance was still a thing. It was one of the few dances of the year that allowed freshmen to attend though, most others like prom were for the older students.

"Honestly sort of forgot about it." Dani admitted and Maddie frowned.

"Well I'm free if you want to go dress shopping. I bought Jazz her first dress for a school dance too." Maddie said with a nostalgic smile. Dani frowned.

"I don't know mom. No one's even asked me to the dance. I might just not go." Maddie frowned.

"Oh don't let them spoil your fun. The dance isn't until the end of the week. And at the very least it'll be fun." Dani frowned. "Let's at least go looking, and if we don't find a dress you love, we'll get ice cream." Dani frowned but nodded. At least she'd be spending most of the trip in a dressing room away from her mothers eyes should she loose control of her powers.

Maddie and Dani worked their way through half of the mall before Dani found it. It was a deep blue scattered with stars, like a nebula. Maddie turned to her daughter after a moment, realizing she wasn't following her anymore. She quickly caught sight of the dress that had caught Dani's eye. Maddie grinned. She'd been hoping they would find the right dress and this one looked like it had been practically made for Dani. It was perfect. Maddie stepped over to the rack and rifled through the dresses for a moment before triumphantly pulling out the dress in Dani's size. They headed straight for the dressing room, Maddie knew this would be the dress Dani chose. She was tentative to come out of the dressing room though.

When she did step out though Maddie couldn't help the smile on her face. Dani looked fantastic. The dress was sleeveless, but floor length, the skirt slim but not quite form fitting, with gold detailing around the collar. Dani bit her lip, looking unsure.

"You look fantastic Dani!"

"It's so fancy though." Dani protested turning around to look at herself in the mirror.

"You look so grown up! Dani it's perfect for you!"

"You really think so?" Maddie hugged her daughter.

"You look beautiful Dani!" Dani grinned at her mother.

"Ok yeah this dress is pretty perfect." Maddie nodded and patted her daughter on the shoulder.

"Ok, then we'll get this one. We just need to get you a few accessories and you'll be ready for the dance on Friday." Dani grinned as she headed back into the dressing room.

Meanwhile back at Fenton Works Jack was fishing for ghosts, but when he left for a bathroom break he missed a large black dragon exiting the portal with a roar.