7

The brothers had never seen anything like it. Well, they'd seen something like it when running with the Ghostfacers. But never something that'd worked. And never something that could even possibly have worked on such a big scale. No more digging up bodies to burn when you could just vacuum pack your ghost.

"Well," asked Dean, sitting on one of the few intact boxes. "Just what is this thing, ghost kid?"

Danny hesitated for a second. Then reluctantly. "It's a thermos."

"Yeah, I can see that. And I can see that it holds more than soup."

There was a sigh. "It collects and stores ecto-plasmic matter and energy using polarized fields."

Seeing Dean's confusion, Sam stepped in to translate. "You mean it's a magnetic ghost box?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

There was an "Ah-hah" of understanding that passed over Dean's face. He turned over the thermos in his hands. "Looks pretty high tech. You steal this?"

"No!" was Danny's automatic answer. "I mean, not really. Not in a way you could press charges. Great that makes me sound really guilty." He was getting flustered. "Look, I'm not a thief." The brothers looked incredulous. "I just… borrow sometimes. For the greater good."

"So sneaking around at night is just a hobby?" asked Sam.

"Yes -I mean no." He gave them a piercing look. "Is it yours?"

"More of a family occupation," answered Dean. "So you 'borrowed' this thermos to do some nighttime vigilantism." He fought the urge to mention Batman. "To fight against your own kind?"

Here Danny was the one to look confused. "What? You mean ghosts? No, I'm not like them. Not-"

"Evil?" interrupted Sam.

"Dead."

Sam pinched the bridge of his nose. "Here we go…"

"Are you sure?" continued Dean. "Forgive us if we don't believe you, but you look pretty dead to us."

The boy looked both blank and vaguely offended.

"I mean, the floating around... the green glow…. You're not making the best case for yourself."

"Well, it's kindof a long story. But let's just say they're part of my supernatural gifts."

"You mean superpowers?"

"Sure, I guess."

A big grin plastered Dean's face as he turned to face his brother. "Look Sam, this kid thinks he's ghost Batman."

"What! No! Batman doesn't even-" Danny gave a pained look as his earpiece burst with feedback.

"Danny! Danny!" Tucker's voice echoed in his ringing ear. "Can you hear us Danny?"

"Yeah, you're coming in loud and clear."

Two sighs of relief. Then *Sam's voice crackled over the phone. "We've been trying to reach you for ten minutes. Tucker says we lost the signal once you were in the warehouse."

"That or we might've thought you kicked the bucket. For good this time."

Tucker was chuckling at his own joke when Sam cut in again. "Didn't you wonder why the earpiece wasn't working?"

"Umm…" Danny eyed the two men with guns still standing in front of him. "I was a little busy."

"Errgh. This is why you don't go in without radio support. What if something had happened to you?"

"Stop nagging. It was the Box Ghost. Worst case scenario,I eat a few packing peanuts."

"Well, you know, those things can kill." Danny really hoped she could see his eye roll through the phone.

"Hate to break up this fight you two. But there is a reason why we've been trying to call you." Tucker's rolly chair squeaked in the background. "Your parents are headed back from their nightly rounds. You've got about 8 minutes."

"What? NO. Dangit. I guess if I cut across 3rd…" He cut off talking to himself. "Wait, how do you know my parents are coming home?"

"I put a tracker in the Fenton Ghost Assault Vehicle."

"You bugged MY PARENTS! That's… actually a good idea."

"I know it is."

"Okay, thanks. I'm just in the middle of something."

"Well wrap it up like a Christmas ham and get your butt back here." Sam had the weirdest metaphors. "Over and out."

"Got it."

Danny finally turned his attention back to Winchesters. The brothers had stood silently, even patiently, throughout the entire exchange, not sure how to react but rather enjoying the show.

"Sorry guys. Gotta book it or my parents will kill me. You know the drill."

Then before Sam or Dean could move, the boy dropped through the floor. His voice echoed after him. "Keep away from the warehouses and leave the ghost hunting to the experts."

"We ARE the experts!" yelled Dean after him.

"That was," Sam chose his words carefully, "Unexpected."

"Yeah, kid thinks he's some kind of superhero." He gave a little laugh, then found himself getting serious. "You think it's a Molly McNamara situation?"

"You were the one asking him all the questions. Maybe." The brothers turned, shuffling back out of the warehouse and towards the Impala. "It was weird though. Not the usual haunting. Either of them."

Dean stopped walking, looking thoughful. "He kind of reminded me of someone though..."

"Who?"

"You, dumbass."

"What! How?"

"He was a smart-ass little punk."

"Ha, ha." The side door Dean jimmied to get in rattled as Sam opened it again. The wind outside was warm and leisurely. The perfect breeze you at the end of summer, before fall really sets in.

"What now? Follow up on some other leads?"

"Something like that." Dean still held the tube -thermos- that had vacuumed up the warehouse -the box ghost. He squinted, trying to read in the dark. "Fenton Works," he made out.

"Hey, I think we passed by them earlier! A few blocks north of downtown." Dean looked blank. "You know, the one with the big satellite on top."

"Ahh, that one. I thought they were scanning for aliens. I guess in this town you scan for EMF."

"This is the Roswell of ghost hunting."

"Too bad for them ghosts are real."

"Well, technically…"

"We're not going to talk about the fairies."

"You're the one who mentioned Roswell."

"Well, just forget it. I don't want to think about it. It's… 2am and I'm turning in early for once."

"You just don't want to have those weird Tinkerbell dreams again."

"That was one time!"

"You mean one month."

"Shutupp."

"Okay, okay." Sam was laughing now. "So you go get your visions of sugar plums and we follow up this 'Fenton' lead tomorrow. Right?"

"Right."

*Not Winchester Sam. This is Sam Manson. The Sam with unresolved sexual tension with Danny. Though if you wanna read about Sam Winchester'sunresolved sexual tension with Danny Phantom, I'm sure you can find that in the search bar. Good luck.