Disclaimer: I don't own DP
Hi! I got great reviews for this story!!! I can't believe it, this story was fun to write but I was at such a writer's block that I had to stop it earlier than I'd intended. Should I just add more to this one next time or another chapter, for less confusion? I need ideas, though!!!!

Anyways, on with my fic...

What A Year Can Do

Chapter 2

Danny whipped his head around, startled. Above each door in the hall was a red beacon, flashing continuously, and the halls were bathed in a moving, eerie glow.

He heard a strangled gasp from inside the room.

"Mr. Lancer, it says there's a ghost in the building! Outside the door!"

"What?"

Danny was stunned. A part of him, each individual nerve there, was screaming to let go of the handle, but a bigger part was keep the hand affixed.

He heard shouts burst out from each room, now.

"Ghost attack!"

"They're gonna kill us to death!"

"I-I don't believe in ghosts! It's probably… a science experiment…"

"Phantom's back!"

That last comment made Danny wrench his hand off of the door, and start backing away. But it was too late.

A waterfall of ectoplasmic rain burst over each class' door, and streamed to the ground. The droplets melted together instantly, and became a shield. A glowing, green, vibrating shield.

In front of Danny, the same thing was happening. The shield was forming in front of his very eyes, and almost immediately the class' voices were muffled.

The PA system crackled to life, and a recorded byte of Jack Fenton's powerful voice streamed out of it.

"Everybody remain calm. Stay in the room you are in. We will be coming immediately to deal with this ghost."

There was a terribly obvious change in Jack's voice, and Danny felt his stomach drop down about five more inches. He was laden with guilt. His dad seemed so… different. No long happy, fun-loving, and slightly crazy… in a good way. He was much more serious. In fact, the strongest thought running through Danny's head was, "That announcement actually made sense…" Danny's guilt throbbed, again. Did he do this to him?

He didn't have time to think about it anymore when a squeal of breaks sounded from outside the school. The van, he thought instantly. I gotta get out of here!

All the power that had seemed to seep out of his muscles whipped right back in, as Danny heard the slam of the main door opening, and slamming against the wall. After teetering backwards onto his foot and swivelling around for a few seconds, he whipped down the hall, amazed at this newfound adrenaline rush. But apart from the hot power now rushing through him, Danny felt another rush: fear. Would his parents hurt him? Would they accept him back?

You worry too much.

I told you before, SHUT UP!

I'm not going to. This is highly entertaining.

How's that? I thought you're me. And I don't think that!

Indeed, Phantom. But lets face it: An missing boy, presumed dead, shows up at his high school a year after he disappeared, only having to be chased out by his loving, heartbroken parents? Sounds pretty entertaining to me.

Danny slowed down. Would he really throw away all he'd been planning up to that point, to run away? He felt that the voice was repeating the facts that he'd neglected to think of.

No. Not neglected. He didn't want to think about them.

Jazz stared at the cracks on her ceiling. Her gaze meandered past the pretty carved lamp hanging from it, and wandered around the edges of the blank square, where fluffy splotches of pink paint had escaped the new, fresh white coat. She had painted it recently, maybe less than a year ago, to hide old scars. It helped, a little.

A little.

She lifted her hand up to her head as if to brush back straying hair, but instead wiped away forming bubbles of tears from her now closed eyes. She didn't want to think about Danny, but as each day went by, she was becoming more and more doubtful of the fact that he would actually return. Jazz could remember the day he had gone like it was yesterday…

Swirling clouds matched the anger of the flashes that erupted from the base of them, attacking the town below. The school seemed to be swaying; a couple of times Jazz was sure that her desk was moving to the side and she had to push it back to its proper position. The windows were being battered with lead-like rain.

Through the windows, Jazz saw a strange cloud formation- it could have been a very irregular thundercloud… except that it was glowing green. She scraped back her seat to look at the windows, ignoring the sharp call of the teacher. She was entranced by the eyes of the ghost -for that was what it was- an iridescent, pulsing fiery-orange… swirling… she felt herself sinking into the ominous gaze… then, suddenly, another flash, behind her, broke the spell.

She whipped her head around to look at the boy who had come up- and saw her little brother, Danny, as a ghost. He shot a blast at the cloud-creature through the window, shattering it instantly. Cold air blew over the people in the room, freezing rain spattering onto the floor. Jazz looked up to see Danny in fierce combat with the ghost, and heard behind her chairs being pushed back hurriedly, the occupants hastily backing up into the walls and scrambling for the door. Even the teacher followed, gulping for air as though what she already had wasn't enough. Everyone was out in a flash of green energy.

Not Jazz. She couldn't move, again entranced by what was in front of her. Danny and the ghost were sharing green bolts of energy, daring each other to fire the last. She watched, stunned, as her little ghost boy-brother formed a rope out of his powerful green ectoplasm, and lassoed the Evil ghost around the neck. She gasped, as the ghost then retaliated by conjuring a ball of throbbing red power and throwing it, baseball-like, toward Danny. He was pushed backwards, and sent soaring through the room. He phased through the back wall just in time, arms at his sides and legs splayed out in front of him.

Then the cloud turned its makeshift head toward her, eyeballs wide and, by now, a deep blood red. It hissed, and reached out one of its whirlwind arms, grabbing at Jazz's waist. She felt herself lifted up effortlessly, saw the ghost bare its ragged teeth, which were hung haphazardly in the huge mouth space, and turn toward the window it had come through. It let little whirls of dust escape, making it smaller so it could get through more easily.

Jazz shut her eyes tightly, feeling the blood beating quickly in her eyelids, much too quickly, her heartbeat skipping the beats every few seconds. She tried to scream, and after the first few strangled cries she let out a blood-curdling holler. The still-monster of a ghost barely flinched.

Then, there was an immense crash at the back of the room. The ghost turned around, confused, and then had barely time to form a surprised face when a small yet powerful fist, laden with layers of ectoplasmic energy, collided with his face. Releasing Jazz immediately, the ghost smashed through three tall windows, into the front of the school. Jazz fell through the air, but Danny caught her and set her on the ground.

"The Fenton thermos…" was all Jazz could choke out. Danny shook his head, eyes wide.

"I-I don't have it!" was her little brother's strangled reply. "Me a-and Sam and Tuck were practicing fighting, and we-we left it in the basement!"

Jazz's eyes grew wide in turn, and she had just opened her mouth to say something when a force collided with her head, and she felt herself flying through the air, and landing, whacking her head on a desk. The last thing she remembered was a voice:

"We have come for you, Phantom."

All went black, and Jazz found herself waking up, three hours later, on a hospital bed with a huge bandage around her head. She saw her mom crying in front of her. The events of the pat few hours were distant, hazy… unfocused, but they suddenly became as clear as day when her mom spoke.

"Jazz! There was a ghost. It- they say- Jack's there now, he's double checking, but-" She held up part of a white, ripped t-shirt. Danny's t-shirt.

"They- they took him!" burst out her mom, collapsing in a flood of tears. Jazz just sat and stared, not wanting to believe it. But she had to believe.

Jazz clutched Bearburt tighter to her chest, breathing in his familiar, comforting smell. She felt more tears slide down her cheeks, but didn't brush them away. It was unlikely that anything could heal these old scars.

So, how did you like it? I was hoping it would be longer, but the flashback took up so much room, and I figured it would be best just to let it end there. PLEASE give me ideas! Thank you for your great comments , but I would really like some constructive criticism and story ideas.

Do you think:

1) The story could have more suspense/action/fun?

2) I am a little late in introducing Jazz/Sam/Tucker/Maddie/Jack?

3) that there is anything that doesn't make that much sense?

4) there is anything else you would like to comment on, or give ideas for?

Thank You! Please answer the questions! Nyita7