Danny stared ahead, blankly for several seconds as the room settled into silence.
"Oh," he said after several seconds, his face expressionless.
Tucker decided to take this opportunity and voice his opinion. "All of his other theories fit," he pointed out. "There's a good chance these will fit too."
"I hadn't noticed," Jazz said softly, "that he's only been awake when I'm around. It explains why I recover so quickly, and why I don't need sleep." The group sat around solemnly for a few seconds before Danny stood up.
"Well, it looks like we're going to have to switch back," he said coldly.
"Danny, I'm sorry," Jazz said. Danny forced a smile.
"Hey, I knew I couldn't get rid of this that easily," he shrugged and turned towards the entrance.
Sam blinked and shook her head in disbelief. "Do you really hate it that much?" she asked. Danny stopped at the door, and sighed.
"No," he looked down, shaking his head. "But I would like to be considered a hero by more than four other people. I would like to be able to keep good grades while handling the hero thing. I would like to not have to worry about my friends and the town's safety every three seconds. And, I would like to not worry about having to keep running from my parents." He looked back. "Is that too much to ask?" No one answered him.
"You'd better get back to bed, Danny," Jazz said softly, once again breaking the silence. "I'll go find that stupid machine." Danny nodded and complied, obviously not in the mood for an argument.
On her way downstairs, Jazz wondered what she should say to her brother. Advice had never been too hard to come by before, so why did everything confuse her now? Should she tell him that that's how life went? That things happened for a reason? As she descended to the lab, she felt her spirits fall with each step.
Should she even say anything at all? Maybe silence would be the best case in this matter, but she always hated just sitting there. She liked to DO things, and nothing could change that. Should she comfort him?
She growled in frustration and searching through the lab, throwing things and moving things around almost carelessly. She didn't particularly worry about the state of the place (not that her father kept things too clean anyways), so a small pile began do grow behind her as she would toss things over her shoulder (mostly things she knew wouldn't break).
For once, she didn't know what to tell him, or what to do. Pausing, she looked at her hand. It looked like any normal, human hand, but it reminded her of her brother and the power she now held...his power. Was this how Danny felt all the time? Was it Danny's personality that effected her now?
She didn't know, so she simply shook the thought from her head, and turned around to look at the cluttered workplace.
"Okay," she growled out loud. "Where is it!" She looked around a bit more, before standing up and placing her hands on her hips. "It's not here," she sighed. "Mom and Dad must have taken it. Guess there's nothing to do but wait." The familiar empty feeling that came after letting out anger and frustration seemed to drain away her resolve, and so she ascended the stairs looking deflated and sad.
When she reached Danny's room, she leaned around the door frame, to see the three friends sitting around, talking. "Um, Mom and Dad...Hey!" She smiled at the sight of Danny looking at her. "You're still awake."
"Yeah," Sam grinned.
Tucker shot a thumbs up. "He almost zonked just after you left," he said, "but he was able to fight it off."
"That's great!" Jazz grinned and entered the room.
"Where's the invention?" Sam asked. Jazz's smile left immediately.
"I couldn't find it. Mom and Dad must have taken it." She sighed, "And I can't–" A blue mist escaping from her mouth suddenly stopped her sentence. "Oh no," she slapped her forehead.
Sam stood up. "I'll come with you," she volunteered.
"No, I need you to stay here, with Danny," Jazz nodded at them. "I'm a ghost," she said calmly. The two rings appeared, and separated.
"Tucker can stay," Sam placed her hands on her hips.
"HEY!" Tucker protested, but neither girl listened to him.
"Look, I've gone on more ghost hunts than you may realize," Sam continued. "We help Danny all the time."
"Please, Jazz," Danny asked quietly. She looked up at him and felt a smile touch her lips again. He cared about her, even if he did act like a jerk sometimes, he was still her brother, and he did care. Several thoughts crossed her mind at that point, but only one really surfaced.
"Alright," she nodded. "As long as you can keep up." And with that, she launched herself through the roof.
Sam shot out the door, and downstairs, yelling about how unfair that was, and how Danny and Jazz were more alike than they realized.
"Figures that the girls would get to go," Tucker sulked. "I wanted to." Through the daze that Danny now felt, he couldn't help but laugh.
"Thanks a lot, Tuck," he chuckled. "Thanks a lot."
Thank you everyone who is reading this, again. This would never have come to be without you. I'm glad a lot of you got the last chapter, and thank you for letting me know. If you ever find faults or disagree with my theories, you're more than welcome to tell me. Actually, I'd encourage it. Please tell me. :hug:
Kraven the Hunter: Well, she did tell Desiree that he was out, but I was hoping for an implication of "you're gonna have to go through me first". She's also not really acting like herself, so yeah. However, you bring up a good point, and I'll see if I can fix it.
Faith's Melody: You're more than welcome, and thank you right back. :hug: I don't plan on quitting writing any time soon.
LaBOBruen: I'm telling you, I LOVE and absolutely ADORE writing evil cliffies. :D It's the only time that my "evil" side really comes out. ;)
Phew! Told y'all I'd reply:hug: Thanx again everyone!
