Thanks to all reviewers! Just to let you know, advice is welcome. Also, how long do you want the chapters to be? I originally thought a little over a thousand words for each chapter would be good, but if you want them to be longer, by all means, I'll write more, just tell me how long you want them.

Chapter 2: Screams

The looks on the adult Fentons' faces when they turned around to go upstairs were hopeless. Here lay the project they had been working on for decades, since college. The aim of all their work. The window that could have taken their knowledge to a whole other level.

And it didn't work. They'd never be able to go beyond theories and conjectures.

Jack was about ready to cry. His wife's promise of a cookie, something that always cheered him up, was completely ineffective.

Danny was startled to see that his mom's face was a reflection of his father's (excluding the pout). The determination he usually saw was absent, replaced by depressed resignation. He shifted uncomfortably as they trudged by, heads down.

"Come on upstairs, Danny," his mom said sadly.

"Actually, I might just stay down here a little longer," Danny said, nervously rubbing the back of his neck.

"Well, okay." She didn't have the spirit to inquire further. "We're going to go to the grocery store and run some errands. We'll be back by dinner. Don't forget to do your homework," she added automatically.

At any other time, Danny would have rolled his eyes.

Instead, he watched his parents go upstairs silently and then turned to face the Fenton Ghost Portal.

The cause of their sadness just sat there.

Maybe he could find out what was wrong with it. It could be as simple as an unplugged wire. On the inside, he mentally added as he observed the external wires. I could just go in, look around, and see if anything was wrong.

Yeah. If he had a death wish. And how would he know if anything was wrong?

But it's not working, he argued back. It's not doing anything. He had to at least try instead of just standing by and watching.

A few minutes later, Danny was pulling on a white hazmat suit with black boots, gloves, and trim along with a black belt. It was rather old-fashioned and bland without any colors, but it was the only one that fit and it wasn't like he'd be wearing it again, Danny reasoned. He did persist, however, in tearing his dad's face off of it. He didn't care if his dad saw, he wouldn't be caught dead with it on.

The portal was full of wires and paneling that he could sort of make out. In fact, it was kind of cool. He could easily pretend he was floating in space. Captain Danny to the -!

Danny shook his head. He was getting as crazy as his parents. It wasn't like he was eight anymore.

Turning around, he headed back towards the door to inspect more closely, but after two steps, he tripped and stumbled into the wall. Danny's breath hitched as he tried to brace himself on it and his left hand pushed a button.

A green glow came from the other side of the portal, illuminating the inside to reveal the green button Danny had just accidentally hit and the closed portal doors. The light was getting brighter, becoming a blazing white. The temperature dropped as the source of the light approached and while Danny shivered uncontrollably and hyperventilated, he could only think of one thing:

Who puts the 'on' button inside their invention?

The light source had finally arrived, making the wires spark as it passed them, leaving a swirling green void. Everything it touched fizzed and when it reached Danny, he shuddered away from the sense of emptiness emanating from it. But he only had a few milliseconds to register the feeling because the moment it touched him, he fizzed, too.

It was a feeling he wouldn't wish on his worst enemy, even Dash Baxter. His senses went into overload as the white light enveloped him. His eyes burned, his ears rang, his nose throbbed, and his throat felt enflamed and raw. Subconsciously, he knew he was screaming, but no sound came out of his mouth.

The worst part was the feeling. It seemed like lots of little, unseen particles were trying to go through him, but couldn't. Each time one got stuck in him, he felt a sharp electric shock that wouldn't have been so bad if it was alone. No, instead he was feeling billions of these shocks, all at the same time, wave after wave. The pain from the waves was excruciating, and after being battered for what seemed like hours, Danny fell unconscious.

The first thing Danny saw when he woke up was a grey ceiling with shorted-out wires. Odd, that wasn't what his ceiling looked like.

Danny's eyes snapped open as he remembered the past few – what, minutes? Hours? Seconds? He jumped up and raced out of the portal at a speed he hadn't realized he was capable of, then turned around and surveyed the lab. Nothing seemed wrong or different about it, except maybe the fact that it looked a bit greener than he remembered. Danny quickly wrote this oddity off as an effect of the accident. The question of whether the lab had been affected or himself he ignored. Other than feeling a bit cold, he seemed okay, so shockingly enough, he had to be fine.

What now? Danny wondered. He supposed he should tell his family. Ugh. Just the thought of their reactions made him shudder. Maybe he shouldn't tell them; after all, nothing showed that the accident had ever happened. But no, he wouldn't lie to them. They should know about this.

However, they weren't there right then. So. What was he going to do right now?

The answer popped into his head. 'Don't forget to do your homework.' He didn't have a huge amount. Maybe if he got it all done before they came back, he wouldn't be in as deep with his parents.

And maybe pigs would fly. He cringed. He was so going to get it.

Danny walked up the stairs to his room with a tired sigh. It was worth a shot, and the homework had to get done anyway.

It wasn't until he was already pulling out his books that Danny realized he was still wearing the hazmat suit. Ew. He frowned as he absent-mindedly shut one of his desk drawers. He could have sworn it had been black on white instead of white on black. Huh. With a shrug, he made to get up only to be blocked by the drawer protruding out of the desk. Hadn't he just shut it?

Okay. Maybe that shock messed with me more than I thought, he mused, becoming slightly concerned. Frowning again, he consciously reached out and shut the drawer. With jumbled thoughts, Danny walked back to his door with the intent of returning the suit to the lab when he glanced at the mirror.

Danny froze.

Who was that?

The being – boy? – in the mirror froze, too, looking scared and shocked. He was in the exact same position as Danny, and when Danny moved to put distance between them, the boy moved in the exact same way, too.

Danny's thoughts roared.

What happened to me? How am I going to explain this? What am I going to do?

He rushed up to the mirror and grasped some of the snow white hair that hung messily over the boy's – his – face. After blinking in disbelief, he saw that his eyes were green and glowing. Glowing! The rest of him was glowing too! Danny began to freak out again. I can't explain this! I don't even know what 'this' is! How would I tell my parents, Yeah, going against all the rules you taught me about the lab, I started exploring the Fenton Ghost Portal, but then I tripped and hit the 'on' button, which you so intelligently put inside, and got badly electrocuted and came out looking like a ghost!

A ghost? No, that can't be right. But that had been the first comparison that came to mind. Okay, calm down Fenton, he told himself as he stared at his reflection. Ghosts are dead. You're not. You are alive.

Am I? he couldn't help but wonder. I shouldn't be alive, not after that shock.

But I'm breathing, he argued.

Big deal. I'm glowing, just like a ghost.

I'm moving.

And your point is? Do ghosts act like statues?

I'm warm. Sort of.

No, I'm cold. It just doesn't bother me. I feel … empty. Like something's missing.

My heart is beating.

Is it?

Danny put his hand over his heart and closed his disturbing eyes. Beat, he begged silently. Come on …

A flood of warmth engulfed him as he felt a thump – his heart. A bright flash of light blazed through his closed eyes, and when he opened them, he saw a black-haired, blue-eyed boy with his hand over his heart in the mirror.

Danny Fenton taking the Pledge of Allegiance, folks.

Danny squinted at the image, still incredibly unnerved. He had no idea of what to do. Had he hallucinated? Was this a weird side effect from the portal? There was no way he was going to tell his parents about the accident now. If he said he'd looked like a ghost …

Except. Ghosts did not exist.

Fears allayed, Danny decided to do something normal.

Like the math homework sitting on his desk.