Standing outside the door, Jack sighed and pressed his forehead against its smooth surface. He closed his eyes and concentrated on breathing, on the feel of the door against his skin and the familiar hazmat that covered the majority of his body. Plain, normal things that would not change no matter who was half ghost or how they became infused with ectoplasm.
Pipes in the wall groaned, and water started running in the room next door.
Showers were normal, as well. Ghosts didn't take showers – they simply phased off whatever grime they managed to pick up. Maddie was taking a shower, and this fact alone contributed greatly to keeping the man calm right now. So long as she still acted like a human, Jack wouldn't have lost his wife. Hybrid she may be, but she was still his Maddie. They had worked through problems in the past, and they would work through this one as well.
As much as he wished to dwell on it right now, Maddie's condition wasn't the main priority.
Jack knocked on the door, and was rewarded by a startled "Just a second!" Before Jack could wonder what the boy could possibly need a moment to do, the cracks in the doorframe were illuminated by a flash of light.
"Okay, come in."
Jack twisted the handle, pushing the door open just enough for him to slip inside.
They were in a tiny laundry. Squashed in the floor space between the washing machine, the dryer, and the wall, was a nest of blankets and cushions. Phantom was folded into this pile, comic books strewn about near his feet and a half-empty bottle of ectoplasm sitting beside him.
The halfa stiffened. "Mr Fenton-"
"Call me Jack. What on earth are you doing?" Jack demanded, sinking into a crouch at the edge of the blanket nest.
Phantom shrugged. "It's more private than the living room," he muttered, cheeks flushing green.
He looked exhausted, and the bruises had now bloomed across a good half of the kid's face. Jack felt horrible just looking at them. "Did I hurt you badly?" he blurted, immediately berating himself for changing the topic.
"Not really," the halfa mused. "I get hurt worse in a lot of ghost fights."
"I don't see you covered in bruises," Jack countered.
"I heal fast."
When the hunter didn't respond, Phantom furrowed his brow. "Is there anything you need?"
Jack stared at the teenager that he had unwittingly turned into some sort of spectral half breed. "I'm the one who should be asking you that," he whispered. "Mads told me everything, and… Phantom, I'm so sorry."
"Hey, you only punched me a bit, I'm fine!" The kid gave a shaky laugh, but the movement obviously hurt. Phantom's smile morphed into a grimace as he reached up to massage his chest, arms unfolding from where they had been tucked against his sides like some origami trick.
Jack swallowed thickly. "Mads told me what our portal did to you," he said. Meeting Phantom's eyes, the hunter put as much remorse as he could into his next words. "I'm really, really sorry, Phantom.
The teen's mouth twisted into a sad smile. "Yeah, you're not to blame. I'd say that I'm sorry for going down there and getting turned into a halfa, but I'm really not."
Well, this was an interesting development. "You mean-?"
"Yeah!" Phantom nodded enthusiastically. "I used to think that I'd give anything to be human again, but a while ago I realised that I wouldn't give up my ghost half for anything. I use my powers to help a lot of people, and they're such a big part of me that I can't even remember what it feels like to be human anymore."
Letting out a deep breath, Jack felt himself grow significantly calmer. If Phantom's life wasn't ruined by Jack's carelessness, then there was really no reason to beat himself up over it.
Furrowing his brow, Jack decided that since that was settled, it was time to move onto the next topic. Reaching up, he switched on the clothes dryer.
Phantom stared at the hunter as though he had lost his mind. "Okay, I'm used to you doing strange things, but why'd you just do that? There's not even anything in it!"
Jack pushed aside the unsettling thought that Phantom was obviously very familiar with his erratic behaviour. To think that the halfa was in and out of the hunter's life was a disconcerting thought, threatening to rock Jack's world if he focused too much on its implications.
"I don't want Mads to hear us," he confessed, trying to ignore the small voice screaming in his mind that Jack encountered this kid's human persona frequently.
Phantom tilted his head, something about his expression, diction, and mannerisms maddeningly familiar in a way that the hunter couldn't pinpoint. "What's there to overhear?"
Jack leaned forwards until he was practically in the teenager's lap. "Mads is a halfa now, isn't she?"
The boy sagged, suddenly looking incredibly weary. "Yeah," he croaked, eyes glistening. "I'm really, really sorry, Jack, but I… I had to save her! I couldn't let her die!" Phantom wailed, a tear spilling over the rim of his eyelid and tracing a track down his bruised cheek. He seemed to be pleading for justification for some heinous crime, as though if Jack could just understand, then everything would work itself out.
"Shhh," Jack soothed, using a thumb to gently wipe away the boy's tear. "I know, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Thank you for saving my wife," he said, making the overused phrases sound as sincere as possible.
Phantom sniffed, swiping the back of his hand over his eyes. "You're not mad at me?"
"Never," Jack whispered, sliding backwards a bit to give the boy some space, "but I need to know if being a halfa will affect Mads in any major way."
Phantom winced. "Um, about that…" He shifted uneasily, a hand automatically moving to massage his chest again.
"What is it?" Jack pressed. The teen's hesitation terrified him, and thoughts of every possible problem with powerful obsessions sprang to the forefront of the man's mind.
"When her powers are fully stable, in about ten years, she'll become immortal."
"What…?" the hunter breathed, feeling the colour drain from his face. "Yeah," Phantom sighed, dropping his gaze to the blanket draped over his lap, "she'll stop aging."
Jack's chest constricted painfully, his eyes filling with tears immediately at the thought of what both he and Maddie would have to go through so long as he remained mortal. "I thought it'd be something like that," the man whispered in a voice that shook.
Phantom nodded miserably, keeping his eyes steadily on the blanket as gloved fingers kneaded his chest. He grimaced, and Jack jumped as a ring of light burst into existence around Phantom's waist.
The halfa's pained expression morphed to one of terror, and he doubled over with a gasp. The ring shuddered for several moments, briefly splitting into two before flickering out.
The room was silent except for Phantom's heavy breathing and the whirring of the clothes dryer.
"What was that?" Jack demanded once his brain calmed down enough to form coherent thoughts.
"'M tired," Phantom groaned. "I'll have to turn human again soon."
"The light turns you human?"
"More or less," the teen muttered, slumping back against the cushions.
Wow. Jack found himself grinning at this new revelation. Phantom didn't blame him, and now that he thought about it, the man realised something amazing: he, Jack Fenton, had managed to create a real live superhero! This kid was the perfect ghost hunting weapon, he had epic powers, and he was a super nice guy to boot. The thought filled him with childish glee, but the hunter did his best to suppress his excitement – it wouldn't do to scare the teen. "That's so cool," Jack announced, attempting nonchalance. "No wonder you decided to be a superhero – you've already got the outfit, the powers, and the awesome transformation sequence!"
Phantom chuckled weakly. "Of course you'd see it that way," he wheezed, both hands now pressing hard against his chest.
"Do you need some painkillers?" Jack asked, that small display of pain bringing his thoughts back down to a more practical level. Maddie would be proud.
The boy shook his head. "Nah, I'm off those super strong ones now – I can't take more of the lower-strength ones until dinner. I'll live." Phantom's mouth quirked as though he had just told a joke, and Jack supposed that in some morbid fashion he had.
Back to the real reason that Jack was there.
"Phantom, I have a big favour to ask of you. Don't do it until you're healed, though."
The halfa frowned. "What is it? I'll help you if I can."
Jack fisted his fingers in the blanket, locking eyes with this bizarre teenager. "Turn me into a halfa."
Phantom swallowed visibly, gaze as steadfast as the hunter's. They sat still for several moments, and although he wanted to fidget, Jack held as still as he could; it was as though moving would cause him to fail some sort of test. A muscle in Phantom's jaw worked as he chewed on the inside of his lip. "If that's what you really want," the halfa conceded after what felt like an age of deliberation. "I have no right to keep you mortal when Maddie's not."
Jack felt like he was going to explode from gratitude. He wasn't going to be kept apart from his soul mate! Jack could scream the news to the entire world and it still wouldn't convey the depth of his joy. "Thank you!" the hunter cried, throwing his arms around the boy's shoulders.
Phantom yelped, and Jack pulled back as quickly as he could, apologising profusely.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," the kid groaned, waving a hand dismissively. "Now, since you turned on the dryer, I'm guessing that Maddie doesn't know about this? I suggest you go tell her now – secrets can get real big real fast, and all of a sudden you have no clue how you could possibly tell anyone."
Jack guessed that Phantom knew from experience, but decided not to push the matter. "Your secret's safe whenever you want to tell us," he promised before flicking off the dryer and getting to his feet.
Phantom nodded. "Thanks, I really appreciate that."
The shower turned off, and Jack sent the halfa a sheepish grin before heading to the door.
The doorway was scattered with the textbooks that Phantom had knocked over earlier. Kneeling across the doorjamb, the hunter gathered the thick and somewhat familiar volumes into his arms, staking them neatly back into place.
Light illuminated the room behind him, followed by a groan that lacked the unnatural echo that accompanied any noise Phantom made.
Taking a deep breath, Jack screwed his eyes shut and got to his feet, feeling behind him for the doorhandle. He grasped the knob pulled it closed blindly, not trusting himself to open his eyes again until the door clicked shut.
Letting out the breath that he had been holding, Jack mentally congratulated himself for resisting the burning urge to watch the kid turn from something dead to something that was miraculously alive. Until Phantom was ready to tell him, the hunter would respect his privacy.
Despite this new resolution, the closed door was far too tempting.
Whistling jovially, the hunter ambled down the hallway before he could succumb to curiosity, wondering if Phantom had any fudge in the fridge.
To his utter delight, there was an entire platter of his favourite chocolate fudge, complete with almonds and a can of whipped cream.