I haven't been to the phandom in quite a while!

New story, and this is a oneshot :) I wrote this to take place before the show, as how Danny became half-ghost. I wrote it while rewatching the series but before I remembered they did an episode where they showed this as a flashback or something. So this might not be quite canon but its just slightly different :)

Hope you like it and I also hope to be back soon with another DP story!

~cosette141


Danny swallowed, pulling himself around the corner at the top of the stairs from where he'd been eavesdropping. His parents were down in the lab, like usual, trying to work the kinks out of their dysfunctional Ghost Portal. Jack sighed heavily. Danny had never once seen his father look so… defeated. The man bubbled with energy, blabbering on about ghosts. Ghosts, which Danny wasn't even sure actually existed.

Danny peered around the corner again, eyes traveling to the chair his father had sunk into. It creaked a bit under the man's girth. One hand rested under Jack's chin, holding up his pout. The other hand held an extension cord, the same cord that Danny had watched his parents repeatedly plug and unplug for the past week. It seemed that just now, his father had decided to finally give up.

"Jack," came a gentle whisper, as Maddie draped an arm across his shoulders, though she barely made it to the middle of his back due to their astounding difference in size. "Let's go to bed. We can try again in the morning. We'll reroute the—"

"No." Jack stood up, throwing the cord to the floor. He scratched the back of his neck, in much the same way Danny had grown accustomed to. "It's—it's never going to work."

Danny watched his mother's heart break in her eyes. Turns out he wasn't the only one surprised to hear the amount of angst in his father's tone. "Jack—" began Maddie, but Jack only shook his head and started toward the stairs.

Danny yanked himself around the corner, stumbling to his feet as his parents started up the stairs. He flung himself into the living room and on the couch, pretending to watch whatever psychologist show Jazz had left on before she'd left the room. Probably for bed. Danny glanced at his watch and stifled a yawn; it was almost midnight. He shut the TV off.

His parents climbed the stairs toward their bedroom behind him. Danny waited until he heard their door shut before he stood himself and started up the stairs to his own room. But his foot hovered over the last step, and he shot a glance toward the basement.

Without really thinking about it, Danny found himself padding quietly down the stairs into the lab. He flicked on the light.

The lab was always cold. Danny hugged his arms, suppressing a shiver. His eyes scanned the walls, where half-constructed guns and blasters hung. Vials, test tubes, and other pointy objects that Danny didn't even want to know were for littered the stainless-steel tables. He knew his parents were inventors, knew they had obsessions with proving the existence of ghosts, but didn't exactly know what all their inventions were for. Or even if they would ever be used. But ghosts kept his father's exuberant personality. Though Jack and his HAZMAT suits embarrassed Danny and Jazz on a regular basis, Danny couldn't help feeling a little crushed seeing his father so down. And if they never got this… this portal working, then all of their hard work would be for nothing.

Danny's eyes wandered to a lone HAZMAT suit, hanging in a closet beside him, shrouded in the dark corner. Never been worn. His.

Touching the sleeve, Danny rubbed the tough fabric between his fingers, then turned to the dark opening to the Portal. Danny took a breath and sighed.

He had to at least try.

Danny pulled on the HAZMAT suit over his own clothes, already feeling stupid. He could only imagine the looks on Sam and Tucker's faces if they saw him, the spitting image of his parents. Danny shook the thought from his mind. He was doing this for his dad. And besides—its not like anyone would ever see him in this ridiculous suit in public.

Pulling a little at the collar of the suit, Danny looked down at the D on his chest. Made specially for him. He knew that the suit that had been made for Jazz, with a J on hers, was somewhere in a dumpster where she "accidentally" dropped it a few years back. Danny hadn't the heart to follow in her footsteps, not when he saw the look on his father's face when he heard about the travesty that befell his daughter's HAZMAT.

The extension cord lay on the floor where Jack had dropped it, still plugged into the wall. Well, it's plugged in out here, so the problem must be… Danny raised his eyes, feeling a slight chill slip up his spine. He stared into the dark opening to the Portal. Now that he thought about it, he really never saw his parents ever try turning it on from the inside.

Gulping, not too fond of the darkness, Danny trudged forward, into the dark depths. As soon as he crossed into the Portal, his footsteps echoed loudly on the metal floor. He walked slowly, squinting, wishing he'd brought a flashlight. He continued taking steps forward, the light behind him not reaching any further, but his curiosity spurred him forward. Wires webbed the walls. Danny squinted again. Maybe I should go back for that flashlight, he thought nervously. The air was so dark he couldn't see his own hands in front of him.

Taking his own advice, Danny turned and started back toward the lab. But before he took two steps, his foot suddenly caught on some thick cable on the floor. Danny stumbled, falling forward into one of the walls. His hand shot out to catch himself, his hand coming into contact with the solid wall. But something gave beneath his fingers, as if he were pushing a button or switch.

And then it happened.

The spark seemed to ignite the entire tunnel. Pain like he never knew erupted in his veins, tearing a scream from his lungs. His blood boiled, steaming lava beneath his skin. Hot, so, very hot. Danny's body convulsed, the force dropping him to the ground. His vision whited out, blackening as the pain seethed, like lightning snaking within him, refusing to let him go.

And just like that, he was gone.


Danny stirred.

His muscles felt like charred lead. Moving his head was excruciating. Danny raised a hand to his forehead, pressing his palm to his ice-cold skin.

Wait… why am I so cold? Danny pulled his hand back, hissing from moving his muscles too quickly. An eerie, green glow lit up the room. Or, rather, the tunnel. Danny blinked his eyes open, trying to sift through blurry memories. What happened to him?

Yesterday… was Friday, his mind supplied. Right. Danny pressed his hand to his head again, the memories coming quicker. His father had given up on the Ghost Portal—

The Portal.

Danny bolted upright, forgetting about the pain. He gasped, falling to his hands and knees, his entire body sore. He was still wearing the HAZMAT suit, the lighting making his entire body seemed to have some unearthly glow. Danny blinked again. Yes, that was most definitely the lighting making him glow.

Danny took a shallow breath. He shook himself gently, forcing himself to slowly get to his feet. He stumbled, holding out a hand to catch himself on the wall. Suddenly remembering what happened the last time he did that, Danny snatched his hand back, staring at the now well-lit wall. There were two small buttons resting within the metalwork. Both labeled on and off.

"Did… I fix it?" whispered Danny to himself hoarsely. But what knocked me out?

Deciding those questions could find answers later, Danny slowly made his way out of the Portal, its walls still buzzing with some sort of electrical energy. Energy that Danny had no desire to experience for a second time. He stumbled out of the portal, the florescent lights from the lab burning his eyes.

Danny pulled himself up the stairs, every step horribly painful. Crap, if Mom and Dad see me like this, they're going to freak. Danny hurried his pace, ignoring the pain, and made his way slowly and painfully to his bedroom. He passed by his parent's room and Jazz's seeing both empty, making him wonder just what time it was. Daylight streamed in through the windows; no one seemed to be home.

Danny pushed open his bedroom door, dirty clothes that littered the floor making the door skid across the carpet. Danny shoved harder, and walked in falling on his bed. He hissed in pain, several muscle groups protesting at their treatment. One glance at his nightstand clock told him it was already after noon. Saturday.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Danny remembered planning something with Sam and Tucker. He groaned into his comforter, and pulled himself up to change. He stumbled to the bathroom and leaned heavily against the sink. He raised his tired eyes to the mirror, wondering if he looked worse than he felt.

Danny screamed.

White hair. Glowing green eyes. Skin almost as pale as a sheet of paper. Danny yelped and fell back, falling into the shower curtain and collapsing backward into the tub. Breathing hard, Danny scrambled out of the tub, ignoring the ripped curtain and yanked himself back to the mirror. It had to be a trick of the light. Something.

Green eyes stared back at him. Jaw dropping, Danny pressed his palms to the chilled mirror, leaning closer to his reflection. He blinked. Green eyes blinked back at him. Danny stumbled backward again, barely avoiding falling backward into the tub for a second time.

Eyes glued to the mirror, Danny raised a shaking hand, and touched the stark, white hair. His hair. His fingers tousled the strands, making them fall over his glowing eyes.

Danny's chest heaved. "What… the hell…" He backed away from the mirror again, hitting the tub for a third time, but instead of falling backward into it, he fell backward through it.

Danny's chest constricted, a scream trapped in his throat. He watched the bathroom disappear as he flew backward through the solid wall, hitting his bed in his own bedroom. Danny yelped again, scrambling back to his feet. He backed away from the bed, rushing toward the wall, feeling it with his hands. The moment he did, his hand passed through the seemingly-solid wall. He ripped his hand away, but found that he couldn't even see it anymore. His hand was gone.

Danny screamed, staring at where his hand should have been, where his sleeve just seemed to end. His back hit his bookcase, a few books falling to the floor. Danny's hand suddenly reappeared, making him sigh in relief, shutting his eyes and falling back against the bookcase.

Or so he thought.

He fell through the bookcase, hitting the wall on the other side of his bedroom. "Agh!" Danny rubbed his head, watching his body reappear. He stared at his white-gloved hands. They were trembling violently. "What… what is happening to me?" His voice was shaking. He felt his chest, wondering if it was even still there. It was. He was solid. He was okay.

"Danny?"

Danny jerked, his head whipping toward his bedroom door. He could clearly hear his front door slamming shut, downstairs in the living room. It was Tucker's voice.

Using the wall behind him for support, praying that it would stay solid, or rather he would stay solid, Danny stood shakily to his feet. Something was wrong with him. Really, really wrong with him.

He heard two sets of pounding footsteps on the stairs, Danny looked nervously toward the door, Sam's voice floating in from the hallway. "Danny! You were supposed to meet us at the Nasty Burger an hour ago, loser. Don't tell me you're still asl—"

Sam and Tucker suddenly appeared in Danny's doorway. Sam's arm was still on the door, holding it open, but they both froze at the sight of him.

Sam screamed.

She stumbled backward into Tucker, eyes wide at the sight of him. "T-Tucker, is—is that—"

"It's a ghost!" exclaimed Tucker, eyes widening behind his frames.

Danny's own eyes widened, stepping toward them, arms out. "Guys, wa—"

They both bolted from his room. Sudden hurt ripped through him. Can't they recognize me? Danny rushed after them, feet pounding on the floor. Before he even realized what was happening, he was falling through the floor, a strangled yelp tearing from his throat.

He landed hard and solid on the living room floor, in front of the stairs where Sam and Tucker were both running down. Tucker stopped with a startled cry, and Sam ran into him, making them both tumble down the rest of the stairs. They landed in a tangled heap of arms and legs, both struggling to get away from Danny, who was unsteadily pulling himself to his feet. He slowly approached them, hands held out nervously. They both crawled backward away from him.

"Guys!" begged Danny, stopping, seeing the terror in their eyes. "It's me! It's Danny!"

Tucker's eyes bugged out of his head. "The ghost ate Danny!"

Danny's face twisted in disgust. "Ugh—no, Tuck, I'm Dan—"

But he was suddenly tackled backward by Sam, his back slamming into the wall of the kitchen. She pinned him to it, fury in her eyes. "Where's Danny?!"

Danny hissed as she mistreated his already sore muscles. Suddenly, a bright flash of light surrounded his waist, encasing him in the light. He cowered from it, terrified.

Sam gasped, and Danny cracked his eyes open. He stared down at his hands, his t-shirt and jeans. He was himself again. He breathed out, pressing his hands into his chest, his arms, his legs. He was himself.

Sam fell back, eyes wide. She and Tucker stared at him. She swallowed. "D-Danny?"

Danny raised his eyes to hers. He then stared at his shaking hands. "Some—something's wrong, w-with me," he stuttered, fear coating his words. He slowly pressed his hands against the floor, the walls. Still solid.

"Danny," whispered Tucker, slowly poking Danny's shoulder. "Man, is… is that you?"

Danny slowly nodded. "I'm… I'm myself again," he whispered, mostly to himself. He staggered to his feet, resting his back against the wall, clinging to it, as if it could keep him solid.

"Danny," came Sam's nervous voice. Both she and Tucker slowly rose to their feet, staring at him as if he might suddenly disappear. "What… what happened to you?"

"I—I don't know," he said. "I—" Danny's eyes searched past them, toward the stairs to the lab. He suddenly darted past them, down the stairs, ignoring his burning muscles.

"Danny!"

Footsteps pounded after him. Danny stopped in front of the Portal, watching as the strange green glow that had lit it earlier deepened. It continued to spark. Danny stared.

"What—" began Sam, stopping beside him. She gaped at the Portal. "It works?"

"I turned it on." said Danny emotionlessly. "From the inside. I…" he ran a hand through his hair. "I went down last night. My dad just gave up on it, it wouldn't turn on. So I figured it might be something on the inside. I went inside and—and hit something, and there was—" He stopped himself, his breath hitching in his chest.

Pain. There had been so, so much pain. Danny's hand grasped his shirt over his chest, remembering it all too clearly. Feeling his friends' eyes on him, Danny swallowed and said, "I—I was electrocuted." He bit his lip. "I—I think, I was." He ran a hand through his hair again. "The next thing I knew, I woke up on the floor." He looked up at his friends, his eyes still a bit wide with fear, the image of his bright green eyes burned into his mind. "I—I looked like—like—"

"A ghost," finished Tucker quietly.

Danny sunk into a chair, the same chair his father had last night. He grasped at his hair. "I—I've got to be dreaming." He looked from Sam to Tucker. "I'm dreaming, right?" But before either of them could reply, he suddenly fell through the chair, invisible and intangible. All three of them yelped in surprise.

Danny hit the ground and reappeared, forcing himself back away from the chair, stumbling back to his feet. He breathed heavy, staring at his hands. "What is happening to me?!"

Sam grabbed him forcefully by the shoulders, holding him so tight it nearly hurt. Danny's fearful eyes met hers. Her fingers gripped him tighter, as if she were afraid of him slipping through. "Danny, just—uh, relax," she tried, steering him back into the chair, and he luckily remained solid on it. He stared at himself, terrified of falling through it again. "I…" Sam looked back toward the sparking Portal. She cleared her throat. "I think… I think that Portal… did something to you."

"Ghost Portal," said Tucker quietly, almost to himself. "If Danny got shocked… and woke up as… as a ghost…"

"Danny," said Sam, almost inaudibly. He raised his eyes to hers. "I think that Portal… killed you."

Danny's eyes nearly bugged out of his head. He jumped off the chair, away from her. "It—it what?"

"But he's right here!" said Tucker, looking between Danny and the Portal. "How could it have killed him? He's standing right in front of us!"

"Then what were we looking at upstairs?" she countered. "Danny was—he turned invisible for god's sake, Tucker!"

"I—I don't feel dead," stammered Danny. And he didn't; he could feel his heart beating. It was practically hammering in his head. He was breathing hard—dead people didn't breathe, right? He grasped Sam's hand and pressed it to his own wrist. "I have a heart beat."

Sam hesitated. "You do…"

But something still felt wrong; his chest, something deep within his chest. Like… ice. The moment he felt for it, the light suddenly appeared before him again, circling his waist and transforming him. Sam's hand crushed his wrist as she held onto him. The light disappeared and Danny felt… lighter. His body glowed with that strange, nearly supernatural glow. "Oh—oh, god," muttered Danny. He suddenly turned intangible again, sinking through the floor. Sam's hand slipped through him as he sunk into the floor. With a startled yelp, he pulled himself back up through the floor, panting. He reappeared, but his feet didn't touch the floor. He was floating.

He was floating.

"Oh, my god, Danny, you're flying!" breathed Sam.

Danny stared at the white gloves, feeling himself rising toward the ceiling. He suddenly kicked and waved his arms, as if he were trying to swim through the air. He stopped flailing and quickly realized that he could partially control it. He froze, then forced his sense of gravity toward to floor. He floated back toward Sam and Tucker. But before he could make it back to the floor, the rings of light reappeared and he dropped back to the ground.

"Danny!"

Danny groaned, pushing himself up. "I—I'm a ghost?" he whispered, more to himself than Sam or Tucker.

"Maybe you're a little bit of both?" tried Tucker. They both knelt next to him.

"I can't believe your parents created an actual Ghost Portal," said Sam, shaking her head. "That shock… electrocution can kill people. But maybe whatever was in that Ghost Portal—what do they call that ghost substance?"

"Ectoplasm," mumbled Danny, only half-listening, still staring at his hands. His seemingly human hands, just waiting for them to disappear again.

"Maybe that… saved you, in a way?" she tried.

"So…" Tucker looked between them.

"So," said Danny. "I'm dead… and alive?"

The three of them shared an uneasy look.

The front door suddenly slammed shut again, making the three friends whip their heads toward the door.

"—one more try, Jack." Maddie was saying, her voice floating down the stairs.

Danny's breath hitched. "Oh, no, no, no—"

The three didn't have any time to move—the two Fenton parents were already descending the stairs. The moment they reached the bottom, Jack and Maddie froze, seeing Danny on the floor. "Danny!" they exclaimed, rushing toward him.

"Mom, Dad—!" said Danny nervously.

"Danny," said Maddie, kneeling beside him, her hand resting on his forehead. "Honey, are you okay? What are you doing on the floor?"

"I—" began Danny, but Jack suddenly cut him off.

"Maddie!" he exclaimed. "The Portal! It's working!"

Sure enough, the green sparks within the Portal were linking together, creating some sort of swirling mass of color.

"I—I figured out how to turn it on," said Danny nervously. Maddie turned back to him. "It—it shocked me—"

"I knew it would work!" bellowed Jack. "You've got ghost-fighting blood in your veins after all, Danny-boy!"

"You don't look too good," said Maddie, still feeling his forehead.

"Mom…" Danny shared an uneasy glance with Sam and Tucker. He swallowed and said, "There's something I have to tell you—"

"I can't wait until we find those ghosts!" exclaimed Jack, pulling a heavy-looking gun off the wall, standing in front of the Portal, determined. "I'm going to take those pieces of ectoplasmic scum and rip them apart! Molecule by molecule!"

Danny felt his heart freeze in his chest.

"Something you have to tell us?" prodded Maddie.

Danny looked at his friends, who's expressions told him they felt the same terror that he did at his father's outburst. "Uh—nothing," he said quickly. He suddenly felt himself sinking through the floor and his eyes widened. Sam and Tucker quickly grabbed his arms and pulled him back up before Maddie had a chance to see anything.

"Danny, maybe we should take you to the hospital," she tried. "How badly did that Portal shock you, sweetie?"

Danny felt that icy core within him again. Crap. I have to get out of here. He shot a warning glance at his friends, who helped pull him to his feet. "No—I feel fine, really," said Danny nervously, letting his friends drag him to the stairs.

"Danny," called Maddie, reaching for him, but Jack suddenly pulled her into a bone-crushing hug, yelling, "We did it!" It was plenty of cover for Tucker and Sam to drag Danny upstairs to his bedroom, right before he transformed back into a ghost.

Danny collapsed onto his bed. He ran his hands over his pale face, pulling at white strands of hair. Tucker and Sam sat on the edge of his bed. They looked at each other uncertainly, realizing that Danny was hovering above his bed.

"Are you okay?" asked Sam hesitantly, reaching out to put a hand on Danny's arm. His skin was deathly cold. She nearly pulled back in shock.

"My parents are ghost hunters, Sam," he said, rubbing his face. "They're going to find out and… and 'rip me apart, molecule by molecule.'"

"Then…" Sam felt her heart sink. "Then they won't find out."

Danny pulled his hands away and glared at her. "I can barely stay visible, Sam!" He dropped his face to his hands again, mumbling through his fingers. "This is crazy. This is crazy."

"Danny… it's… it's okay," said Sam, looking nervously to Tucker, seemingly at a loss for words.

"Just think!" said Tucker in a hopeful voice. "If you can turn invisible now, you can hide from Dash."

"Tucker," said Sam with a glare. To Danny, she said, "It's going to be okay, Danny. You have us to help you."

Danny lifted his head. He looked between his two best friends. "You're… you're both… okay with me being some ghost freak thing?"

Just to prove the point, Sam touched Danny's glowing shoulder, giving him a firm look. "Of course we are. You're our best friend, Danny, whether you're… half a ghost or not."

Danny held her gaze, only until the light flashed out at his middle again. He gasped as the light sped up and down his body, transforming him back to normal.

Sam's hand never left his shoulder, and her eyes never left his.

Slowly, Danny gave her a shaky smile, turning it to Tucker as well. "Thanks," he whispered. He stared at his hands. They were still shaking. He swallowed. "I just wish I could control it."

Sam released his shoulder, and she and Tucker sat on his bed. "Maybe you can," said Sam.

"That might want to be the first thing you figure out," said Tucker. "You know, before you turn into a ghost in front of your parents during dinner or something."

Sam swatted his shoulder.

But there was plenty of truth to that, so Danny shut his eyes.

He tried to remember what it felt like each time the change happened. It was like an icy feeling inside the center of his chest.

The moment he felt for it, he felt something shift inside him, like a switch being flipped.

Trying his best to control it, Danny opened his eyes, watching the light flash out. And with an exhale that was almost bracing himself for a life he never asked for but was meant to have, he whispered words that suddenly came as naturally, as right as an instinct. Words that he would unknowingly one day carry with the pride and confidence of a hero.

"I'm going ghost."