Chapter Four

It actually stopped raining. Truly a sign of the apocalypse. Poverty Beach could never be considered to be teeming with people, but there were a few taking advantage of the break in weather. Two such individuals were taking a stroll, hand in hand, along the edge of the surf.

"I don't think your dad likes me very much," said Roy, so very perceptive.

Jazz shrugged. "Well…he's just being Dad," she imitated Danny from the day before in an unconvinced voice.

"I just don't want you to go, Jazz." He stopped and took her hands. "I want you to stay here with me."

"And I want to," she assured him, gazing up into his blue contact lenses. "But Mom and Dad would never go for that." She laid her head against his chest to allow him to fold his arms around her, while above and slightly behind them, her little brother quietly mimed throwing up.

How long they stood like that, Danny was no mood to contemplate, but finally they did break apart. "We'll think of something," Roy murmured. "We could run away together."

Okay, time to this break up. Danny flew out over the water and aimed an energy blast at just such an angle that the lovebirds were inexplicably drenched by the splash. Jazz squealed and stumbled back from the water. Roy did not squeal, but he did fall over trying to back away. He stood and shook himself out, then laughed slightly. "Must have been one ticked off gooey duck."

Jazz glared suspiciously at the edge of the bay for a moment before acknowledging the quip with a small smile. "I better go home and dry off," she sighed. "See you later?"

Danny groaned inwardly and turned around to gag as they kissed. After he judged a suitable time had passed, he cautiously turned back around to see that his sister and her boyfriend had parted company, and took off for the house. He peeked through the wall of his room to make sure his parents were elsewhere. Seeing that they were, he settled himself at the small corner desk to pretend he had been working on homework the whole time. He was actually making pretty decent headway considering he hadn't learned any of it yet.

About twenty minutes went by during which he wondered if he should go looking for his sister. Suddenly, the door slammed open. "You were following me!" said entity accused angrily.

Danny turned in his chair, the picture of hurt innocence. "I would never spy on you," he lied.

"Right, so the green flash of light I saw just before we got splashed was a gooey duck."

"Might have been," the boy agreed, trying not to laugh.

Jazz stomped in the room. "That wasn't funny, Danny. Next time it happens, I'm telling Mom and Dad."

The threat worked. "Telling them what?" Danny demanded fearfully. Rather than answer, Jazz gave a patronizing smile and walked out. "Jazz, what are you going to tell them?" Danny called after her.

"Don't follow me," Jazz answered in her sickeningly sweetest voice. "And you'll never have to find out."

"That's blackmail!"

"I prefer extortion. 'Bye, Danny."

And then Danny understood why none of the other superheroes had siblings.

It had started raining again. The moon was not out, but the light from long-gone sun as it bounced between the water and clouds created more than enough radiance. The rain just barely covered the world in an ethereal haze. It would have been a moving sight if anyone had been paying attention.

On the outside wall above the glass door that led between Jazz's room and the balcony was perched an invisible fly who wished his quarry would hurry up and show. It was almost midnight, and he was tired. He repressed yet another yawn and considered calling it a night until the door opened. He snapped to attention as Jazz walked onto the balcony. She appeared to be sleepwalking.

Danny was about to call out before he remembered that sleepwalkers shouldn't be awakened. He couldn't remember why right off, but he didn't want to play roulette with his sister's well-being. He just hoped she wasn't being overshadowed.

The feeling of something wrong hit him hard as Jazz leaned on the rail and looked out to the sea. Danny floated next to her as much to catch her should she be influenced to jump as to find out what she was looking at.

"We could run away," Jazz whispered. She seemed to be speaking to a lone person on the beach. She stretched out her arms and leaned farther into the balcony rail.

Deciding that enough was enough, Danny reappeared and grabbed the nearest arm. "Jazz, wake up!"

She blinked and took a step back, then collapsed. Danny caught her before she hit floor and carried her back to bed, then ducked into his room to get his cell phone. Sam was going to murder him, but he needed answers. He shot back into Jazz's room as he hit the speed dial; she hadn't moved.

"Come on, Sam," he muttered. "Pick up."

The ringing stopped at last and a bleary voice said, "You know I'm going to murder you for this right?"

"Sam, I need you to find Kat right now!" he exclaimed so quickly that his words almost ran together. "Jazz is in trouble!"

Once that sank in, Sam said in a much more awake voice, "I'll call you back when I find her."

"Right. Check her garage first; she usually goes there after karaoke night."

"…Do I want to know why you know that?"

"She told me," he replied dryly. "Just hurry, please!"

It took fifteen minutes to get from Sam's house to the parking garage where Kat liked to hang out for some reason. Danny spent the entire time alternating between pacing and reassuring himself that Jazz was still breathing. Twenty minutes later, the phone rang. "Sam?"

"Kat," replied the voice on the other end. "What's with Jazz?"

Danny relaxed marginally. Kat may or may not have been a ghost, but her father definitely was one. She knew considerably more about them than even Jack and Maddie. "What kind of a ghost wouldn't set off my ghost sense?" he demanded. After a short pause, he practically yelled, "I know what I'm asking; just answer the question!"

"Okay, okay," Kat placated quietly. She hemmed and hawed for a moment while she tried to think. "Okay! Tell me exactly what's going on."

Danny took a deep breath, although whether he was trying to collect his thoughts or control his temper was up for debate. He began with the crying that had awakened everyone except Jazz. He told her about the possible ghost on the balcony and the feeling he kept getting. Finally, he told her about the mural before ending with the nights events. Kat was completely silent throughout the telling and for a few seconds afterwards. Danny was about to snap at her when she spoke again.

"Okay. This ghost is trying to possess Jazz for some reason. Without knowing what it's thinking, I can't hazard a guess. The reason it doesn't just move in and take over is probably because it's too far away, which also explains why you can't sense it. All you can do is pick up on its influence. There's something in or near the house that it's connected to, and using as a medium. Find it, and you may find your ghost. Or at least a better clue."

She hung up, signaling an end to the conversation. "Darn it, Kat!" Danny exclaimed. He faced the balcony as he considered; he had a pretty good idea what the ghost was working through, but it still didn't help much. He heard the bed creak behind him and turned just in time to see a blast of blue energy before everything went dark.