Jazz was not suprised in the slightest to see both Sam and Tucker waiting for them at the house when they got there. They looked up hopefully as Jazz and Maddie pulled in front of the house. Jazz hated to take their hopes down.
"The only thing we were able to discover was that he was in Wisconsin," Jazz explained to them after they had offered to help unload the car.
"Wisconsin," Sam said, as if a memory in her mind suddenly rang a bell.
"Yeah," Jazz shook her head, "But he arrived traveling first class, and was picked up by a limosine," Sam and Tucker both stared at her around their arm-full of suitcases.
"But-"
"Yeah," Jazz sighed. "We don't know how or from where he got the money." She watched as her Mother walked by them in a daze to numbly grab some more bags. "It doesn't make sense."
"Didn't you guys go to Wisconsin a few months ago?" Tucker asked, setting his pile near the couch to be sorted. Jazz and Sam followed his example.
"Yeah," Jazz wiped her forehead. "Mom and Dad said they fought this Ghost there," She looked up suddenly as if an idea had struck her. "Would that Ghost be the one getting to Da-"
"Jazz," Sam interrupted nerveously, "I thought you didn't believe in Ghosts."
"Er..." Jazz tapped her chin, "Well, there had to be something there that they faught. Doesn't mean it's a Ghost, I just don't have a better term for it." She said matter of factly, and turned on her heels and walked towards the door, stepping aside to let her mother in. Jack came down the stairs at the sound of them opening the door, and stopped his wife. She let him, and burried her head in his massive form. She didnt' cry, Jazz doubted she had any tears left, but the picture broke her heart. She'd never seen her parents so miserable.
"Why would a ghost want to do that?" Sam asked as she followed the other two outside.
"I don't know," Jazz shrugged. She didn't know the details of his "adventures" back then. "To get at Mom and Dad?"
"But why now?" Tucker asked. Jazz shrugged, and turned to see only Tucker behind her. Sam had stopped on the stairs, a thoughtful look covring her face.
"Sam," Jazz asked suddenly, "Do you know anything?" Sam seemed to be jerked out of her trance, and walked over to them.
"Well, I remember Danny saying that he saw the...uh...phenomenon ghost thing, and that he called himself...some name...like Plasma."
"Plasmius," Tucker supplied. "Vlad Plasmius." Jazz started at the name.
"VLAD Plasmius?" she asked. It was Sam and Tucker's turn to stare at her. "What did this VLAD guy want?"
"Um..." Sam looked embarrassed. "Your mother," she said softly. She fully expected a loud laugh from Jazz, but instead Danny's older sister rushed into the house.
"Dad," Jazz walked up to her parents, still standing in the hall. "You said that you experamented with Ghost technology in College. What ever became of that?"
"Jazz, this isn't a time for Ghosts," Maddie said, her voiced still low and depressed. Jazz would have jumped for joy at her mother's words if the situation hadn't been so grave.
"Please," she said, "This is important."
"So is Danny-" Maddie started, but Jack shook his head.
"If it get's our minds off of it for a little while..." He trailed off. Maddie looked at his face, and nodded.
"Well, I had several calculations incorrect throughout college..."
"Like the time that you got your friend, Vlad Masters in the face?" She heard Sam gasp.
"Yeah," He sighed. "Even your mother, who could spot just about anything at the time, couldn't work out all the bugs until just recently though."
"That's all I wanted to know," Jazz said, and turned to find Sam and Tucker dissapearing out the door. "We're going to finish unloading," she said, and slipped out after them.
"...d's just like Danny!" She heard Sam whisper loudly to Tucker. "He never told us, and I don't know why, but maybe he wants Danny to join him."
"I don't know..." Tucker was saying when Jazz cleared her throat and stepped through the door.
"Sorry about that, you guys," Jazz smiled at them.
"Uh, that's okay," Tucker shrugged nerveously.
"By the way," Jazz said, "Mom called Mr. Masters, and he said he hadn't seen Danny, but would look out for him. The cops searched his home, but apparently found nothing but some weird invention stuff." She shrugged. "Apparently there are other loons out there like Mom and Dad." She watned to pat herself on the back. She'd set up the whole converstaion, whith neitehr side even suspecting she knew what she did.
"Well, we gotta get home," Sam said suddenly. "It's Spring Break next week, and I have to plan my holidays. C'mon Tucker," she said and started jogging down the street. Jazz had a pretty good Idea what Sam would do over her break.
8 8 8 8 8
Danny layed on his new bed, staring at the celing, his mind returning to his life's events over and over again. He wished now, more than ever that he could just go back to the way things were before he got his Ghost Powers. Vlad had said that his DNA had actually been altered, though, and even if he got rid of his powers (he had been thinking of the Fenton Dream Catcher at the time), that he would still have the genes. His children would have it...that assuming he ever got married, and there was, as Vlad had pointed out, no real point in getting rid of his powers now. Danny had reluctantly agreed, but now he longed to find a time machine and stop any of this from ever happening.
"Mr. Fenton?" a knock on the door and his name being called jolted him out of his thoughts. He walked over to the door and opened it wearily, not noticing the blue mist rising from his mouth.
The door opened, and an elderly gentleman floated, Danny took a double take, yes floated there. "Mr. Masters has asked me to inform you to meet him. If you will please follow me." Danny sighed and walked out of the room, closing his door behind him. Still in the presence of a ghost, and not in Ghost form, he walked behind the floating figure, shivering. They took several turns, and finally ended up in front of several large doors.
"Here, Mr. Fenton, if you please," the ghost waiter opened the door, and Danny walked in. Vlad was sitting on one end of a weight room, sipping tea as he sat in an arm-chair. The weight-room had punching bags and exercize equipment scattered everywhere.
"Ah, Daniel," Vlad stood. "If you are to work for me, you must begin training immeditately."
"Why?" Danny asked. "What will I be doing." He said it out of habit, not really caring.
"Oh, various odds and ends," Vlad waved his hand, "But you may need to go through some dangerous ghost zone area's."
"Oh," Danny sighed and nodded.
"And you will need a new name," he said, "In case the police want to send you back."
"Why would they send me back?" Danny asked.
"Because, your parents would have been required to send a missing bulleton out about you, not to mention it would attract every enemy of yours like a magnet if they did."
"How would they know I had enemies?"
"You're a ghost, and what about the Ghost Hunter's Guild? Or the International Ghost Hunting Assostaion? Or-"
"Oh," Danny interrupted. "Look, let's get stated." He looked around.
"We'll start by training your human form, and move to your Ghost form later," Vlad said, walking over to a weight machine. "Now let's see how much you can lift without your ghost powers."
