I know some people have been waiting for this chapter for years...

"You ready?" I asked. We'd spent all night talking about how Danny would finally tell his parents his secret. We hadn't slept at all, which probably wasn't a great thing considering what we had to do.

"You're staying with me, right?"

"Of course, and Jazz will be there, too. We'll help you along, but you're going to have to do most of the grunt work."

"Okay. Do you think they're up yet?"

"I smell coffee, so probably."

"Alright." Danny stepped into hero mode. He didn't do it much in his human form, but when he did, it gave him a little more confudence. "Let's do this."

We walked downstairs to find Jazz and Maddie at the table, coffee in hand.

"Good morning!" Maddie chirped, clearly already on her second mug of coffee. She was way to cheery to still be working on the first. "Did you kids sleep well?"

"Eh, not really." Danny's hand found it's way to the back of his neck as we sat down. "We were up kind of late talking about stuff. Is dad here?"

"He can be if you need him. He's been banished to the lab until he cleans up the mess he made yesterday. He got ectoplasm absolutely everywhere. I'll help clean up after an accident, but this was just plain old sloppiness. He knows how to keep expierments contained, he just didn't bother with it." Danny looked a little pale. "Everything okay, sweetie?"

"Yeah... I... uh... I just need to talk to you about something."

"Okay. I can go get your dad."

"No! I mean... this'll be easier if I do it one at a time. Fewer questions being asked all at once."

Maddie looked puzzled, but sat back down. "Okay. What's going on, Danny?"

"I, uh... shit." He look between me and Jazz. "Do I really have to do this?"

"Yes!" we answered in unison. He'd made us promise not to let him back out.

I squeezed his hand. "You can do this. Everything is going to be fine."

"You're starting to worry me, sweetie. Just talk to me. Whatever it is, we'll figure it out."

"Okay, here goes." He took a deep a breath. "Do you remember the portal accident a few years ago?"

"Of course. It was similtaneously the best and worst day of my life. You got the portal working, which is still the highlight our careers, but you got shocked so bad we all thought you dead for a few minutes."

"Yeah...I know. I mean of course you remember it. That was the day the ghosts started coming out and terrorizing the town. The day I realized ghosts were real and you weren't crackpots. I scared Sam and Tucker half to death, kind of half died myself. Basically everything changed in a matter of seconds and nothing will ever be the same and-"

"Danny." He stopped in his tracks to looked to Jazz. "You're rambling, little bro. Get back on track. You can do this."

"Right, sorry."

I squeezed his hand again. "It's okay. You just need to calm down or she'll find out before you actually tell her. Your energy is pulsing a little."

He took another deep breath. "Okay. The accident affected me a lot more than I ever told you, and I'm not just talking about the mental stuff. It's the reason I skip class and sneak out of the house and all that other crap."

"Okay. Are you ready to tell me the truth?"

"Yeah, but it's hard to find the words. I've been keeping this secret for years. At first I was scared, and then it just became easier than telling the truth." He let out a sigh. "But Sam and Jazz think it's time to come clean and they make pretty good arguments. I don't want them to be right, but I know they are.

"I...look...I... I'm not really..." A blue wisp came out of his mouth. "Son of a bitch," he muttered. "Really? Now?" He looked to us.

"Danny, that can wait," Jazz said.

"But-"

"No. You're just looking for an excuse to get out of this. If you want to go deal with that, you need to take care of this first."

Danny glared at his sister, a sure sign that he knew she was right. "Fine. Look, mom, I've been ghost hunting."

"Danny, why didn't you tell us? We could have helped you!"

"Because it's not that simple!" he shouted.

I felt the odd combination of ice and warth coming from his hand, the feeling that came when an ecto blast was charging up. "Danny, calm down. You're losing control."

"Did I do something wrong?"

"What? No! Sorry. I'm not mad at you. I'm mad at myself because I made this so much harder than it needed to be. I should have just told you from the beginning, but I was scared you would reject me and once I realized you wouldn't, it felt like I was in too deep."

"You're still dancing around it, Danny."

"I know, Jazz! It isn't easy to tell your parents you're fucking half-ghost!"

Maddie dropped her mug and it shattered on the floor. We all froze as we realized what just happened. Technically, he'd finally told her, but that wasn't how he wanted it to come out.

"I gotta go." Danny ran from the room, and it was probably for the best. I knew he wasn't really angry at anyone, he was just lost in a pool of emotions that he didn't know how to deal with in the moment.

"Danny, wait!" Maddie called, but he was already gone.

"Let him go, mom. He'll be back, I promise. He just needs to blow off some steam."

"Yeah, I feel bad for whoever was dumb enough to come out today. That ghost is going be in bad shape for a while. He'll be back soon, Ms. Fenton. He just needs a little time to get his head on straight again."

"But what does that even mean? How does someone even become half-ghost? It shouldn't be possible."

"I don't know how it's possible, but the portal accident did it. Tuck and I saw the whole thing. It's actually why we thought he was dead at first. He just changed back before you guys got there," I said. I wasn't really sure how much I should say- Danny hadn't exactly finished telling his story.

"Changed back?"

Damn. I set myself up for that one. "He has a seperate ghost form that he can change into. I'm not going to tell you who he is, yet. I think Danny needs to be the one to do that, and I'm sure he will when he gets back."

"Where did he even go?"

"I don't know if you noticed that little blue wisp that came out of his mouth earlier, but that was his ghost sense. There's a ghost running around town somewhere and he's taking care of it. It's probably going to get a little misplaced agression, but it'll help Danny clear his head." I really hoped I wasn't giving her too much. She'd find out Danny was Phantom before too long, but I didn't think it was my place to tell her.

"And you aren't worried about him?"

"He knows what he's doing, mom. If he needs help, he'll call us or Tucker, depending on who's closer."

"But he didn't even take any gear with him!"

"He doesn't need much. He keeps a mini thermos in his pocket for emergencies. He's half-ghost, mom. Danny is his own weapon. As long as he's got a thermos, he's fine."

Maddie was silent for a minute. I guess even the little bit that Danny had managed to get out was still a lot to process. "How long have you known, Jazz?"

"I found out a couple months after the accident. He was in a bad place and didn't realize I was following him."

"Just the four of you know?"

That was a harder question than it should have been. "We're the only humans who know," I said. "Most of the ghosts know who he is, though." I'd let Danny decide how to handle the whole thing with Vlad.

"How?"

"In the early days, he overexerted himself a lot and wound up transforming in front of a lot of them when he lost a fight. Back then, they didn't see him as a threat, so they just left him alone once he went down, but the rumors traveled through the ghost zone pretty quick and now basically all of them know who he is."

"And they don't leave him alone anymore?"

"Nope. Danny just doesn't lose anymore. You know how ghosts think, you literally wrote the book on it. They can't adapt as quickly as humans, so Danny has the edge now that he knows what's he doing."

"Skulker can kiss my ass." Well, Danny hadn't used the door. That was a good sign. We turned to see him, the thermos in one hand and the other hanging loosely by his side. He was covered in bruises, but we could all see them disappearing before our eyes.

Maddie jumped to her feet. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just some bruises and couple broken ribs. It'll be gone a few hours."

"How?" She was asking that question a lot, but I guess it was better than yelling at us.

Danny sat down. "Half-ghost, mom. I heal pretty quick." He seemed to be doing a lot better. Now that part of it had come out and he'd had a moment to breathe, he seemed a lot more comfortable with the idea of his mom knowing his secret. "Can someone pop my shoulder back into place?"

"I got it," I said. "Ready?"

"Go for it." He winced as I pushed his shoulder back into place. "Thanks."

"What happened," Maddie asked.

"Skulker got a new toy. The bastard was basically firing sledge hammers from a cannon." Maddie gasped as Danny disappeared for a second. "Sorry. Should have warned you. That happens sometimes when I'm healing." Maddie just nodded, staring as Danny's flashed green before returning to their usual blue.

"I'm sorry for running off. My nerves got the best of me, I was losing control, and I didn't want it come out like that. Fight or flight kicked in and well... I ran off and got into a fight."

"I understand. It's... It's a lot."

"Yeah... Did they tell you the rest?"

"Not what I'm guessing is the important part."

"Damn. Alright, give me a second. I've got to find words."

"Looking at you, I'm not even sure how you're still speaking, so take your time, I guess."

"Believe me, it's not as bad as it looks."

"Broken ribs, Danny."

"It's fine. They're mostly healed already. See?" He lifted up his shirt and turned the skin and muscle on his chest invisible, leaving us a clear veiw of his ribcage. I could see the lines where some had been broken, but they were growing thinner and thinner. "The big stuff tends to heal first. Another 30 minutes or so and the bruises should be gone, too." He let his shirt drop back down. "You know, you're taking this a lot better than I thought you would."

"I'm kind of in shock over here, sweetie."

"It's probably about to get worse."

"You finally gonna do it, Danny?"

"Yeah, Jazz. I figure I should do it while I'm still feeling all cocky from kicking Skulker's ass. Just catch her if she faints, please."

"Do what?"

"Show you my ghost form. You actually know me pretty well, everyone does. I just don't want you to beat yourself up over how things gone down in the past. I knew the risks when I chose to keep this from you, and I don't hold anything against you."

Danny stood up and chuckled to himself a little. "You know, I've actually never really tried to do this while I'm still healing. I kind of figured if you found out right after a fight, you be seeing this transformation the other way around. Let's see if this actually works."

He closed his eyes and the white rings appeared around his waist, slowly seperating. It wasn't as fast as is usually was, but his attempt to transform was definitely working.

"Phantom," Maddie whispered.

"Mom? You okay?"

"I... We... You..."

"Oh no. Please don't start that. You didn't know it was me. You don't have anything to feel guilty about."

"I should have seen it. I should have known."

"How? I made a point of keeping it from you."

"Your my son! You shouldn't have been able to keep this from me!"

"If it makes you feel any better, Jazz said you were pretty close."

"I knew you were ghost hunting, but I didn't have a clue about this! I thought, maybe, the portal gave you a few minor powers, but that was it. How did I not see it? I hunted you! Your dad and I both did! We looked you right in the eyes and never saw you who you were." She broke down in tears.

"Mom, it's okay, I promise." Danny changed back and ran to her side.

"No, it's not."

"Yes, it is. You never actually hurt me. I knew your weapons well enough to avoid them."

"What about the spector deflector? That could have killed you."

"Yeah, that was scary, but there were other things going on that day that kept it from being an issue. It actually helped more than anything."

"How? That thing was designed to dispell and ghostly energy that stays near it too long and you can't tell me it doesn't work because I've seen it do it's job in the field!"

"Vlad took my powers away for a while."

Maddies head whipped around real quick to look at me and Jazz. "You told me you were the only humans who knew."

"We didn't lie!" Jazz said quickly, trying to backpedal, but there wasn't really a way around it.

"Really?"

"Really," Danny said. "He's going to cause me a lot of trouble over this. Vlad's like me. He's not fully human, so they didn't lie."

"Who is he?" She demanded.

"Promise you won't start anything. He's got 20 more years of expierience than I do."

"That depends on how much I like your answer."

"Plasmius. The Wisconsin Ghost."

"He knew who you were and he tried to kill you anyway. That bastard is going to pay for that." At least she wasn't hating herself anymore.

"He already has, mom. He's got more experience, but I've got him beat when it comes to brute strength. As long as I can catch him off gaurd, he's not that much of a threat anymore."

"I don't care if he's not a threat anymore. He still went after you."

"Mom, please don't pick a fight with him. We're both a lot stronger than the average ghost."

"I can take care of myself."

"I know, I just don't want to see you or dad get hurt."

"It's not your job to protect us."

"It's my job to protect everyone."

"It shouldn't be. Your only 17, Danny. You're too young to have to handle all this responsibility."

"It's still my responsibility. This is kind of my fault, you know. If I'd left the portal alone, it might not have ever opened and the ghosts wouldn't have gotten out."

"We would have cracked it eventually."

"Yeah, but we all know there's no substitute for teenage stupidity."

Maddie laughed a little. "True."

"You're not mad at me or disappointed, are you?"

"Of course not, sweetie. I can't say I'm thrilled you never told me, but I understand why. Your father and I make a living hunting ghosts, experimenting on them, and making weapons. Of course you were scared to tell us- that fear has been ingrained in you basically since birth.

"You know when you were little and first realized exactly what our job was, you told us you were scared that one day you'd become a ghost and we'd hunt you because we didn't recognize you. We told you that could never happen, but, well here we are."

"To be fair, you never expected me to both be alive and a ghost."

"True. You've always surprised us in the weirdest ways."

"I had to have at least one talent," Danny smirked. "So am I still grounded until I fix my school problems?"

"No, but you will graduate. I don't care what it takes."

"Hey, if I wanted to be a highschool dropout I already would be." Danny laughed and they shared a comfortable moment of silence. Danny sat up a little taller, like a weight had finally been lifted from shoulders. "I guess now I have to tell dad."

"That'll probably be easier than you think. He's wanted always one of you kids to become a ghost hunter."

"I don't think he planned on one us becoming half-ghost, though."

"I don't see how anyone could."

"Are you sure you're okay, mom? I kind of dropped a bomb on you first thing in the morning."

"I'm still processing things, but I'll be alright. If you're ready to tell him, I'll go get your father."

"Okay." Danny let out a sigh as Maddie walked away. "Well, that could have gone worse."

Jazz cleaned up Maddies shattered coffee mug, all the little pieces that could be put back together, but would never be the same again. "I did spend the morning talking to her about acceptance and being open minded. I didn't get to talk to dad, but like mom said, all he's ever wanted was for one us to be a ghost hunter. He should be the easy one."

"One down, one to go," I said, as I hugged him from behind.

"Can I just let mom do all the talking?"

"I don't think it's fair to put that on her. She's already been through a lot today."

"Alright, I'll do it."

"Hey, Danny-boy! I heard you got something to talk about!"

"You might want to sit down, Jack."

"Oh, alright. Must be pretty big news."

"Heh. You could say that." Danny took a deep breath, preparing to reveal his secretdor the second time in one day. "You remember the portal accident, right?"

"Of course, son! That was the day all our theories were proven correct!"

"It was more than that, dad."

"Sure it was! We finally earned the respect of fellow scientists and our ghost hunting business really started to take off after that Not to mention our first sighting of a real ghost and-"

Maddie cut him off. "Jack, let Danny speak."

"I'm sorry, son. Go ahead."

"The accident more than that, something I never told you about. It changed me, like on a DNA level."

"Well, if you run that much power through anything, it's bound to leave a few marks. It's a risk of being a scientist in such a niche field. Of course your mother and I thought we were the ones taking that risk."

"I'm really not sure whether or not I'm glad it was me." Danny was a lot calmer this time around, but he still looked to those of us that already knew for assurance. "Dad, it didn't just leave a few a marks, it changed my whole biological make-up."

"Oh, I'm sure it's not as bad as you think. Your mother and I would have seen it!"

"Yeah, except I was the dumb teenager who made a point of hiding it from you and almost everyone." Danny buried his head in his hands. "Why is this the hard part?"

"It is the key that unlocks everything else, sweetie," Maddie said.

"Mads, what's he trying to tell me?"

"Danny will get there, just patient.

"Can I just use the same line as last time?" Danny asked, hopefully.

"It works, but it is rather blunt, sweetie, and I know that's not how you wanted to say it the first time."

"Why do all the women in my life have to be right about everything?"

Jack laughed. "That's their job, Danny-boy. We'd end up dead if it weren't for them."

Jack got a smile out of Danny. "True. Sam's kept me alive more times than you know."

"That's how you know you got a good one," he smirked. "Come on now, son. What happened with the portal?"

"Okay, so when the accident happened, Sam and Tucker didn't think I was dead because I got knocked out. It was a lot more than that- I literally looked like a ghost. At first, we thought it was just a short-term lingering effect of being in the portal when it got turned on, because you know, ghost portal and worlds we don't understand and all that.

"Then strange things started happening. Things were falling through my hands, times when people literally couldn't see me, weird energy surges that everyone could feel, but no one could explain."

It was slow, but Danny was getting there. Jazz and I weren't going to jump in unless we had to. Our job was to keep him on track and help his parents understand once it all came out. I think Maddie had decided to take on a similar role, though hers was mostly keeping Jack's boisterous personality from taking over the conversation.

"You were pretty clumsy your freshman year. 34 dropped beakers, pants always falling down, getting lost between classes, and you're still banned from handling fragile school property. You must have gotten it from me. Maddie's the only reason I didn't get banned from the labs in college."

"I wasn't clumsy, dad. I just didn't have control over anything."

"We all feel a little out of control when we're teenagers, son. Why, I remember-"

"Jack. Let him finish."

"Alright. What couldn't you control, son?"

"My powers. The portal turned me half-ghost."

Jack was silent for a few moments, thinking things over, then he started laughing. "Now I know why I wasn't allowed to talk about the lab when I got up here!"

Danny put his hand on the back of his neck. "Yeah, mom made that mistake earlier. So your not mad or dissapointed? You don't hate me?"

"Of course not. Your my son, no matter what."

"I really hope that's true, because I'm not done yet." Danny stood up from the table. "I became a ghost hunter, probably sooner than I should have since I didn't have any control at first, but maybe the ghost fights are why I got it all figured out."

Jack looked to his wife. "I told you Danny would be the one to follow in our footsteps!" He wore a proud grin, like the words "ghost hunter" were the only ones he'd actually heard this whole time. Maybe they were just the only ones he could actually wrap his mind around.

"Not now, dear. He isn't done yet," Maddie chastised.

"I have a seperate ghost form, dad. It's the reason I've been able to keep this from you for so long, but I don't want to hide anymore. I want you to know who I am. Please don't freak out or get hung up on what happened in the past. You were just doing your job and you didn't know it was me. I don't hold anything against you."

"Here goes," he muttered as he once again summoned the rings of transformation. The rings moved quicker this time, he powers no long preoccupied with healing him.

As Danny's tansformation finished, all Jack could do was stare in shocked silence. "Maddie..."

"Jack? Are you okay?"

"I..uh... I did not see that coming."

"Dad?"

"Give me a moment, son." I guess the reality of the situation finally hit him. "I guess it's a good thing I can't aim."

An uneasy silence fell over the room. "Mads, we're sure that's actually Danny, right?"

"I'm sure of it. It fills in a lot of gaps, Jack and the girls are backing him up."

"We should have seen this. How did we miss it?"

"I don't know. I think we just didn't want to see it."

Danny let his rings wash over him once again. "Dad, don't beat yourself up over it. I put a lot of effort into keeping it from you."

"That's the thing, son. You shouldn't have felt like you had to. It means we failed you somewhere along the line. We should have been the first people you came to when it happened. This conversation should have happened two years ago, but you were scared and I know why. I mean, this whole thing by itself would be terrifying, but add in how we've dealt with and talked about ghosts over the years and it's no wonder you didn't tell us."

"Are we okay? You know, as a family?"

"Why wouldn't we be? You're our baby boy, Danny."

"Whether you're human, ghost, or somewhere inbetween, you're our son," Jack, added.

"But I spent years lying to you."

"Danny, if we're not allowed to feel guilty over the past, neither are you. It was a messed up situation, but all we can do is try to move on and be thankful it wasn't worse." Maddie wrapped Danny up in a hug. "Thank you for telling us."

When she released him, Danny turned to Jaaz and I, eyes wide in disbelief. "It didn't blow up in my face."

"Told you so," we said in unison.

Holy crap. This is probably the longest scene I've ever written. Keeping track of that many people in one scene is rough, but hopefully I did okay.Comments and feedback are always welcome!

Invisible One