A/N: Alright! Now I bring you the fifth chapter of Sparks! Won't it be exciting when Danny's parents do find out about his secret? ;) A final note before we begin: Here is where you'll see what I mean about the episodes this story is based on. As I only based it on eps up till "13", there's no such thing as "Invis-o-Bill" and the like. The truce with Vlad is also still intact, and so there's no mention of him. Of course, I might think about Danny informing them about what really happened at the reunion later – it'll be nice to think about what their faces would look like! If you have no idea what I'm talking about, I urge you to go back to the prologue and read the author's notes before the start of the story, so you'll know what's going on.

Chapter 5

"So the accident caused this?" Maddie Fenton sat across the living room from her son, goggles and protective headgear now off, revealing her short, copper hair and violet eyes just a shade lighter than Sam's, which scrutinized Danny sternly.

Danny shrugged, his eyes fixed on an imaginary spot on the sofa. He'd just finished telling his parents and Jazz everything. "Yeah."

Jack Fenton stood next to his wife, arms crossed. "What I still don't understand, son, is why you didn't tell us sooner!" He sounded deeply hurt.

"Look, Mom, Dad, Jazz – I'm really sorry, okay? I just... didn't think you'd take to the news well. Especially since you hunt ghosts and I'm... I'm now half a ghost, and..." Danny trailed off, shoulders slumping in defeat. "I just thought it'd be safer that way... for me, and for you guys too."

Maddie's expression softened. "Oh Danny," She walked over, sat down beside him, and put an arm around him. "It's okay. We understand – and we're not going to hurt you. I'm glad you finally told us, and we're very proud of you – going out like that and fighting ghosts all by yourself!"

Danny cleared his throat. "Sam and Tucker help most of the time," He pointed out.

"Oh, alright, so you did have some help." She laughed, ruffling his jet-black hair fondly. "You clearly don't need any assistance from us, if you've managed for so long! But I want you to know that we'll still be here for you if you need anything. And you can trust us with things like that in the future, Danny – we're your family for goodness sakes!"

He smiled gratefully. "Thanks, Mom." He could hardly believe things were going so well. Not only did his parents accept him for who he was now, they weren't even trying to get in into the whole ghost-hunting business! Maybe it was because they knew having the same powers as one's enemy was still a greater advantage than using one's own inventions against it. Of course, there was also the fact that he'd been able to handle all past events. All the same, for Dad and Mom not to jump at an opportunity like this, they had to think he was really growing up.

"Of course, we're only going to allow you to keep your powers if you don't abuse them." Maddie continued, a little more sternly. "You do realize they're not for you to wreak havoc all over the place or to do things to your liking, don't you?"

Okay, so maybe they didn't really think he was grown up yet. But his mother was right. There had been a few incidences where he'd been using them for revenge on Dash, and also the time when he'd overshadowed his father to get himself out of trouble...

But now that he knew better, that question seemed ridiculous. "Yes Mom," He sighed, rolling his eyes.

Maddie laughed at his reaction and hugged him. "Oh, of course you knew that. You're our little ghost-hunting hero, aren't you?"

Okay, they really didn't think he was grown up yet. "Mom..."

She let go of him sheepishly. "Sorry. Well, at least now we know the reason why your grades are falling, and why you're always staying out late and skipping your chores."

"Hey!" Jack cut in indignantly. "That doesn't mean you can continue doing that! I always get stuck with your chores you know?" Then his whole expression changed as he realized something.

"Hey, we could examine Danny's half-ghost form! He'd make a great research!"

"DAD!" Both Danny - and Jazz, who'd remained quiet until now, yelled while Maddie snapped "JACK!"

"Oops," Jack grinned sheepishly. "Sorry."

Then Jazz stood up from her seat across the room, looking uncomfortable. In fact, she'd been fidgeting the whole time while they were talking. And Jazz hardly, if not never, fidgeted. She took a deep breath. "Actually Danny, I – I have a confession to make." She sighed, turquoise eyes looking down.

"I knew about your ghost powers long ago. I saw your transformation over at the Nasty Burger, during the Casper High Spirit Week, when Penelope Spectra just happened to be around."

"What!" Danny yelped, jumping up from his seat. "You saw that? You – you... you knew? Why didn't you tell me!" He demanded, blue eyes flashing angrily.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Jack and Maddie added, just as furious.

"If I told Mom and Dad," Jazz explained to Danny. "I thought you'd hate me forever! So I decided to let you tell me yourself when you were ready. I was trying to respect your feelings, but seeing as what happened tonight..."

She sat down by Danny's other side. "I'm really sorry, Danny. If I'd known you wanted me to tell you, I'd have done it straight away. I just thought it'd be better for you if you came and told me yourself."

But Danny beamed at her and flung his arms around his older sister. "Aw, thanks Jazz – for keeping my secret all this time and thinking of my feelings. You're the best sister in the world!"

"And you're the best little brother," Jazz replied as she lovingly fondled his hair, messing it up even further.

Then, a second later, both their eyes flew open and they pulled apart. At the same time, both asked, "I said THAT?"

Jack and Maddie laughed, before grabbing their children into a huge family hug (mainly possible, of course, due to Jack's large frame).

"Love you, Mom and Dad," Danny told them.

"We love you too, Danny" Maddie smiled.

"But your curfew's still ten o' clock." Jack said firmly.

"Aw man!"

Danny was interrupted as the television, which was switched on, flicked to the image of a newscaster, the current program that was playing cut off. At the head of the screen were the words "IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT" in bold red lettering. The news reporter's voice came on, distinctly clear.

"...Thus the first major lightning storm since 1981 is on its way to Amity Park and all other areas around. It is expected to hit the location in roughly twenty-four hours' time. Residents are advised to stay indoors and school will be cancelled until further notice. The mayor has decided..."

"Oh no," Danny groaned. "A lightning storm? That's just what Electra needs!"

He was right.

Over at a gas station near the Fenton residence, Electra materialized by a car just as the driver got out to pump the gas. Smirking to herself, she then transformed into a bolt of electricity and entered the car's radio player, which just happened to be turned on at full blast.

She caught the news of the approaching storm as she reached the broadcast line, travelling in the form of a current of electricity.

"Perfect," she grinned evilly to herself. "The other generators were too weak, but a lightning storm is just what I need to make my power sufficient! Now, all I have to do is make sure those three brats are out of the way..."

"Who's Electra?" Maddie asked back at the Fenton residence.

"The ghost who caused the blackout just now," Danny explained. "And the blackout at school today. Bottom line is, she wants to absorb enough energy so she can harm humans and take over the world." He grimly flexed his wrist, which, fortunately, was feeling much better now, as he recalled the incident earlier that night. "And she can harm ghosts, too!"

"And... you didn't manage to catch her just now?" Jazz guessed.

"Nope. She got away." Danny sighed. "And now I'm gonna have to wait till the storm to stop her, plus make sure she doesn't get any of the lightning's energy before I do so."

"Not a problem," Jack whipped out a device from his black and orange lab suit, grinning. "We didn't ask you to come to us if you need any help for nothing, you know. The Fenton GhostFinder should help you get her by tonight!" He pushed a button on it.

"ERROR" A set of bold red letters flashed across the screen.

"ERROR?" Jack hollered in disbelief. He punched the button again, only to get the same result. He pushed it again. And again, and again, and again. "Come on, come on, work, baby!"

No difference.

"Argh, the stupid thing's got to malfunction at this time," Jack muttered frustratedly. "I'm going down to the lab to fix it." He walked toward the basement, still pressing the Fenton Ghost Finder and hitting it, trying to get it to work.

In fact, he was so focused on it, he didn't even notice that the flight of stairs leading to the basement was already in front of him...

There was a loud CRASH and the sound of clanging metal as Danny's father fell straight down into the laboratory.

"Oops. I'd better go make sure he's okay," Maddie got up and rushed down after her husband.

Both Jazz and Danny looked at each other, eyebrows raised.

"Smooth landing," Danny joked.

Jazz glared. He ignored her.

"Well," he sighed. It looked like his parents couldn't exactly help him now. "Guess it's just up to me, then."

"So, how'd the parent thing go?" Tucker inquired over the phone later that night.

He, Sam, and Danny were all on a three-way phone call.

"Nah, they were pretty cool about it," Danny told them.

"See? I told you they'd understand," Sam grinned into the receiver as she lounged on her bed, still in her casual day clothes she usually wore.

"Oh yeah," Tucker cut in. He was at his desk, working on his PDA. "I realized the reason why I can't track Electra. The strange amount of electrical energy in the air is actually due to the lightning storm that's coming up. Did you guys hear the news?"

Danny, meanwhile, was setting the Fenton Thermos down by his bedside table. "Sure did," he replied. "Dad wanted to let me use the ghost Finder, but it's spoilt. We'll have to wait until tomorrow. It shouldn't really be a problem though. All we have to do is find her, sneak up behind, and suck her into the Thermos before she even realizes we're there."

He took his pajamas clothe rack and tossed them onto the bed, where they'd be ready for him to jump into once he was out of the shower.

"It's a good thing school's cancelled," Sam remarked.

"Yeah," Tucker agreed. "So, everything's settled for tomorrow, right?"

"Yup," Danny answered. "Meet at my house – get ready to scout the whole of Amity Park again." He yawned. The clock on his bedside table, next to where he'd put the Thermos, blinked 11.06 p.m. "And if that's the case, I'm really gonna have to catch some shut-eye."

"Right. See you then." Tucker clicked off his phone, leaving Danny and Sam on the line.

"Okay Danny," Sam said over in her room. "Goodnight." She was about to lower the phone from her ear when his voice came again.

"Sam, wait."

She paused and frowned. He sounded like he desperately needed to talk to her or something. "Is something wrong?"

"No, it's... no, nothing's wrong!" Danny stammered, going red over the other end. He was glad she couldn't see him. "It's just... just now..."

The incident came rushing back to her as understanding dawned on Sam's face. "Back at the power house?" she guessed with a nervous laugh, feeling a blush creep onto her cheeks yet again.

"... Yeah,"

Then both blurted at the same time, "What happened back there?"

They laughed at the coincidence.

"I don't know!" Each answered again, at exactly the same moment.

"Okay," Sam stifled her laughter and took a deep breath. "We've got to stop doing that." Truthfully, though, she had a feeling that maybe she did know why things had taken such a turn back then... but Danny couldn't possibly feel the same... could he?

She bit her lip in anticipation, waiting for him to respond.

There was a pause between the two of them.

"You don't think – " Danny finally began, hesitantly. "You don't think we were about to... kiss for real, do you?"

"What? No! Why would we?" Sam laughed nervously. But part of her disagreed with that. Alright, so it hadn't been intentional. But if it wasn't going to be for real, then how on earth did they end up...

"Maybe... maybe it just... sort of... happened," She finally finished, somehow not wanting to say what she really thought. "You know, those... the sort of...for the moment thing?"

"Yeah! Yeah, that's gotta be it," Danny responded, relieved. But a single second after that, a frown crossed his face. It wasn't just relief he was feeling. Was that... disappointment clouding it? Had part of him wanted her to say yes? That they were about to kiss for real?

All of a sudden Danny was feeling downright unsure.

Both went silent again.

Finally, after an uncomfortable pause, both asked, "So I'll... see you tomorrow?"

They laughed, the tension between them disappearing for the moment.

"Right," Sam grinned, amused that they'd said so many things at the same time that night.

"Okay then. Goodnight, Sam."

"You too. Bye."

"Bye."

Sam groaned as she clicked off the phone and flopped back onto the bed, her doubts all returning now that she was off the line. "Great. Why didn't I just say it?" Deep down, she knew that she had indeed been about to kiss him for real. Why hadn't she wanted to tell him?

Was she, Sam Manson, afraid to admit that –

A sudden, unexpected cold drift of wind entered through her window, interrupting her thoughts. Sam got up, all thoughts if Danny forgotten. She walked over to the window and peered out, frowning suspiciously. It seemed like something had been lurking outside...

There was nothing.

Oh well. It was probably just the wind, what with the approaching storm and all. She made to shut the window.

Suddenly an all-too-familiar girl materialized in front of her.

"Hi," Electra smirked. "Remember me?"

AAAHHHHH! What a cliffy! I think I love this one best, out of the whole lot of cliffhangers for this fic! The long chapter was worth it!

I'm sorry to say, however, that I won't be updating again for awhile yet - I know, that's really mean, butI can't help it! I'm not done typing and i'm really busy, so expect Chapter six in about 3 to 4 weeks. I'm not giving anything away, though, just to keep the suspense going!

But while waiting, you can still feel free to look up my one-shot FtF alternate ending - just navigate to my profile page and you'll find it there.

OR, yep, you can also check out my new c2! Navigate to it from my profile page as well. I have quite a few good fics listed there. Details are on the profile page. Oh hey, and let me know if you think I should put my fics upthere too :)

Oh! OH! And since I live in asia, I couldn't catch Reign Storm cos they're not airing it. Someone tell me what happens if you have the time, ok?

In the meantime, I'll try to update ASAP. If you don't want to wait any longer after that, though, just review and let me know, and I'll make sure I finish all typing before next updating! But that, of course, would mean an even longer wait for now, so... you decide!

My thanks again to those who reviewed the previous chapter:

Mental Mess, Spiffy McFloogan, and BuffytheVampslayer.

Guinivere Sage: Wow, that was fast. I got ur review straight after I updated! It was actually around 2 pm over here... must 've been about eleven pm there right? Anyway, thanks, and I agree, Tuck should be included more :P I'm a little guilty of leaving him out too. I'll try to write more on him in some other fic... though he does play half a part in saving the world later...

Riverfox237: Oh yeah! They just screened Overdue/roachie here. I totally LOVED overdue! Ron was so funny! Hmm... no Vlad but Monkey Fist, eh? Ok, that sounds cool! Nevermind about Vlad then, though I say go ahead with your idea if you want to. Thanks for offering to do the mild DS :D

SupRStaR: U know, you're the first person who really sounded tweaked at me for my cliffys! Lol. But that's what we do! Thanks 4 ya review!

sam manson rulez: Yup, Tucker did ruin everything didn't he? (winks)

cakreut12: Hey, eight grade can't be that bad. You should try school HERE. Ugh. Anyway, look at it this way- Danny and co. are in ninth grade after all - you'll be only one grade behind them!

Okay... that's all for now... You still have to review, or I just might decide not to update at ALL! (Gives cheshire cat grin) Yes, I'm mean, aren't I?