A/N: Again, millions upon millions of apologies on why this wasn't posted sooner. Writer's block is a pain, but it's a miracle at what forbidding yourself from Kingdom Hearts II can do.

So I hope you don't find this chapter a little dry, but it holds a lot of important information necessary for the plot. I tried to make it as fun as possible though. Next chapter, however, will have the goods. A lot of action, a lot of plot advancement, and a lot of revenge. It'll be great!

As always, thank you so much to my loyal reviewers. You guys rock! And I hope you enjoy!

Chapter Twelve
Explosive Possibilities

"Stupid cell phones," Sam complained as she tried for the millionth time to call Danny's house. "They never get service where you need them."

"Hey, don't insult the technology!" Tucker yelled. "It's not their fault that their signal can't penetrate through the metal of the locker."

"No, cell phones just suck. I mean, they barely get service in the school when you're not shoved into a locker."

"It's not the cell phone's fault!" Tucker argued vehemently while he too tried to get service from his cell.

"Fine! Stupid cell phone companies then!"

"Now you can complain about them freely."

"Alright, someone's bound to notice that we're not home by now," Danny remarked after losing track of how much time he'd spent in his locker.

"Unless your parents think we're fighting ghosts," Sam remarked.

"Oh yeah, didn't think about that."

"Alright, the important thing is that we just need to keep talking. There's bound to be someone who'll walk past us, like the janitors or another teacher or something," Jazz suggested.

"I don't think that's a problem. It's not like we have anything else to do," Danny pointed out.

"It's a pity none of us are claustrophobic," Sam remarked.

"Don't you mean it's a good thing?" Tucker asked.

"No, it's a bad thing, because if one of us were claustrophobic we'd go into shock and have a right to sue the crap out of Dash for doing this to us!"

"Here's an idea, let's devise a suitable revenge for him once we get out of here," Tucker suggested.

"Murder," Sam nominated.

"Alright, I was thinking of something that didn't involve us going to prison."

"I agree with Sam," Danny voted.

"Sam, Danny, if I wanted to be put inside a box with limited movement I'd just as soon as stay in the locker. At least then I wouldn't have a roommate who might want to kill me."

"Should we really be thinking about revenge? Shouldn't we just leave it up to the police and the school?" Jazz suggested.

"No," Sam, Danny, and Tucker all answered.

"Jazz, don't make me hurt you," Danny remarked.

"But still, you might get into serious trouble depending on what you do, and I'm not talking about…"

"Quiet!" Danny ordered. "I think I hear something." Danny leaned as close as he could to the side of the locker without directly touching it. He heard a gentle clapping across the floor that sounded a lot like footprints…

"Somebody's coming! Quick everyone, start yelling!"

The three of them started yelling for help while Danny continued to listen for the footsteps. They got louder, like the person was approaching them.

"Keep yelling! I think they heard us!"

Danny heard the footsteps coming closer. When he heard them just outside the lockers, they stopped, and then started up again, but this time getting quieter.

"No, wait! Don't leave!" Danny yelled as sound of the echoing footsteps disappeared. "Please come back!"

"Maybe he's getting help?" Jazz suggested.

"Without even asking how we got here or what was the problem? Doubtful. They just don't care," Sam replied bitterly.

"But why wouldn't he help?" Danny asked.

"Maybe it was just Dash walking past to see our suffering again," Tucker suggested.

"No, if it were Dash his shoes would have made a squeaking noise. This was more of a clapping."

"Could have been a photographer or reporter, getting a tip from Dash or something."

"They would have rather opened the door, then they would have gotten a picture of me actually shoved inside my locker."

"Speaking of the press, and I know this sounds really bad, but haven't they noticed that you never came out of school? I mean, you think they'd be on top of that sort of thing," Tucker added.

"Not unless they think Danny just flew home while invisible," Jazz suggested.

"Man, why are there so many excuses for why I'm missing?" Danny asked angrily.

"Yeah, why didn't we have all these excuses before everyone found out your secret? It would have made things a lot easier," Sam complained.

"Because that would just be too easy," Danny lamented.

Then Danny heard more footsteps. These sounded louder, and quicker.

"More footsteps!" Danny yelled. "Hey, out there! Please help us! We're stuck in our lockers!"

The sound of the footsteps picked up their pace and stopped outside of the lockers.

"Lord of the Rings! Why are you in your locker Mr. Fenton?"

"Mr. Lancer? I don't think I've ever been so happy to hear your voice."

"What are you doing in here?"

"Dash shoved us into our lockers," Sam remarked bluntly.

"Ms. Manson? You're here too?"

"All four of us are," Jazz answered.

"Hamlet Prince of Denmark! Don't worry, I'll have you out of there soon."

Lancer ran off and returned a minute later. "I have just called the police and they'll be sending a rescue squad immediately."

"Thank God, we'll be out of here soon. I don't think I've ever looked forward to breathing fresh air so much in my lifetime," Sam stated.

"It sure makes you want to take care of your locker more and maybe put in a few air fresheners or food," Tucker commented.

"Or an escape hatch?" Sam added.

"That too."

"Sir, did you see anyone walking around the school?" Danny asked.

"Well Mr. Dickens was on his way to my office," Mr. Lancer explained while Danny kicked the wall of his locker and Sam swore. "We were going to talk about you like I promised, why do you ask?" he asked as he looked around curiously at their reactions to the information.

"Because someone walked past here and stopped in front of the lockers but wouldn't help us. It had to be him. That lousy, stupid, prejudiced jerk!"

"Yes, his office is from this direction. Don't worry, I will be talking to him about this as well."

Danny's eyes glowed green, lighting up the inside of the locker. "Not if I get to him first." This was just the perfect topping to an already horrible day. Mr. Dickens singling him out again in class, Dash making fun of his half-dead state, Dash shoving him into a locker with a ghost shield, Mr. Dickens walking past the lockers without bothering to help, it was all too much.

Danny was snapped out of his thoughts of his horrible day by the sound of an explosion.

The four of them jumped in shock from the noise, bumping their heads on the tops of their lockers.

"Ow! What just happened?" Jazz asked.

"A locker right across from us, it just exploded in green light," Lancer explained as he stared in awe at the locker.

"Exploded?" Tucker asked.

"Green light?" Sam asked.

"Danny," Jazz stated slowly.

"What?" he asked annoyed. "I didn't see it. If you forgot I'm stuck in a locker just like…wait, you don't think I did it, do you?"

"C'mon Danny, green light? Almost all your powers emit some form of green light."

"So do all of Mom and Dad's weapons, but that doesn't mean that they did it either. Besides, I can't even make things explode."

"And a few months ago you couldn't turn your voice into sonic waves but you can now," Sam pointed out.

"So?"

"So chances are that you did it. And you were pretty angry."

"What has that got to do with anything?"

"Well, wasn't it an emotion that triggered the Ghostly Wail?" Sam asked.

"And the ecto-blast?" Tucker reminded.

"And frankly any of your powers right after the accident?" Sam added.

"Alright, I get the picture."

"Um, can I ask what's going on?" Lancer asked, staring at the four lockers, extremely confused.

"Danny did it," Tucker and Sam answered.

"But how did…never mind, I've given up trying to understand."

"Hey Danny, why don't you try to make the locks explode?" Tucker suggested, always the instigator when it came to showing off Danny's new powers.

"I don't know…"

"Aw come on. You know you want to," Tucker pressured.

Danny closed his eyes, focusing on the lock outside of Jazz's locker, and then thinking about Dickens simply walking past them, not caring, not bothering to help…

He heard an explosion and immediately he opened his eyes. He did cause the explosion.

"What happened?" he asked in urgency.

"The lock on Ms. Fenton's locker, it just, exploded," Lancer described.

"Sweet! Danny, you can make things explode!" Tucker gushed. "Mine next, mine next."

"Alright, be quiet. This takes a lot of concentration."

"It takes a lot of concentration to be angry? I thought it would be easy, especially since a lot of people have seemed to piss you off today."

"No, that's the easy part. The hard part is aiming."

The lock on Tucker's locker exploded, soon followed by Sam's and finally Danny's.

Tucker and Sam jumped out of their lockers, joining Jazz in rejoicing to be out of the uncomfortable rectangle by stretching.

"Uh, I think my back's going to hurt for weeks!" Tucker complained as he started to straighten his back while his spine popped and cracked.

"Mr. Lancer, we're here," the police officer announced.

"Thank you, but we seem to have already sprung the students from the lockers."

"Courtesy of Danny's new power!" Tucker bragged.

"Tucker," Danny warned.

That drew Mr. Lancer's attention to Danny. "Mr. Fenton, why don't you get out?"

"Can't. Dash put a ghost shield up around the locker."

"Grapes of Wrath you must be kidding me!"

"Boy I wish I were," Danny lamented as he tried to stick his hand out the open locker door but the area glowed green and Danny wrenched his hand back quickly.

"We need to find my parents. They'll know what to do."

"Alright, officer, please escort Ms. Fenton here to her house, and do it quickly!"

The officer nodded his head and they headed out.

"Don't worry Mr. Fenton, we'll get you out of there, and then I'll begin paperwork to see if I can get Mr. Baxter expelled."

"Isn't his father on the school board?" Sam asked.

"Yes, which is why I didn't explicitly say that he will be expelled, but I will try. Oh I will try."

A few minutes later, Danny heard his mother's voice echo down the halls, calling his name. His head lifted, as did his spirit. His parents would be able to get him out. They knew what they were doing. It was their invention after all.

"Danny are you all right?" his mother asked as she stood in front of the locker.

"I found the missing ghost shield," he answered with a slight smile. His mother smiled back.

"Don't worry son, we'll get you out. We just need turn off the shield," his father comforted as he grabbed a chair from a nearby classroom and started looking at the ghost shield on the top of the lockers.

""Oh sweetie we're so sorry! We thought you were out fighting a ghost!"

"Told you," Sam gloated.

"You know, we really need to set up a system so you know when I'm fighting ghosts and when I'm not," Danny added as his father deactivated the ghost shield. Danny jumped freely out of the locker, never more thankful to be out of the locker.

"Man, I don't know which is worse, the locker or the Fenton Thermos," Danny moaned as he cracked his back.

"You've been inside the thermos?" his mother asked.

"Yeah. Jazz has horrible aim."

"So I messed up once."

"Once? Try three times, in a row!"

"I thought we were over this."

"Over it? How can I be over it? Have you ever been sucked into a cylindrical container?"

"No but I have been shoved into a locker and…"

"And so have I, so we're still not even."

"What is this, a contest?"

"At the moment, yes."

"Alright, I think that's enough. I think you've all been shoved inside lockers near each other for too long. Let's get you all home," Maddie suggested.

"I'll meet you there. I want to fly home."

The rest of them looked at him suspiciously.

"What? I'm not going to do anything to Dash, I just don't want to be holed up in a car when I can be out in the fresh air."

His parents finally nodded their heads in agreement and he went ghost, flying through the roof and into the sky, relishing in the soft, cool breeze that rushed across his sweaty face. He cleared his mind and left all the thoughts of exploding locks, annoying bullies, and biased teachers behind and just let the feelings of comfort wash over him as he took his time getting home.

Danny flew in through the door, smiling when he noticed that all the windows in the house were opened. Obviously they still felt as closed in as he did. As he turned human, he felt someone grab his arm and start dragging him up the stairs.

"Danny, we need to talk," Jazz demanded.

"Okay, but you don't have to drag me! I can walk up the stairs myself!"

Jazz dragged him into his room and shut the door, turning to face him. "What's this about making some strange vow with Vlad?"

"Wait, how did you…?" he started to ask, then he noticed Tucker and Sam sitting on his bed. "Thanks guys. Way to keep a secret."

"Danny, we had to tell her," Tucker defended.

"We needed her opinion," Sam added.

"On what?" Danny asked.

"On whether or not that's responsible for giving you the power to blow stuff up," Jazz finished.

"What? No, that's not possible. Vlad said that we wouldn't be able to access the energy the other one gave so it wouldn't make us any weaker or more powerful."

"And according to you he also said that he didn't know what it would do to half-ghosts," Sam argued.

"We think you somehow found a way to tap into that transferred energy, which is what gave you your new power," Jazz explained.

"Or maybe I was just due for learning another one."

"I doubt it. Last time I checked Vlad can't even make things explode yet, which means this one isn't normal, just like the Ghostly Wail. Something triggered it's appearance. While in that locker something happened that allowed you to tap into that stored energy, and we need to know what."

"And you think I know? I was just feeling really pissed at that stupid teacher for walking past us and not helping. I mean honestly, would it have been that hard to get some help? I mean, he didn't have to let me out, but he could at least have been decent enough to help you!"

The lamp on his table exploded in a blast of green light and everyone turned to stare at him. He grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, lost control."

Jack and Maddie burst into the room, weapons blazing. "What happened?" they asked.

"Oh nothing, Danny's just blowing stuff up because he can't control his emotions," Jazz explained as she pointed to the charred remains of the lamp on his desk.

"Since when have you been able to blow stuff up?" Maddie asked.

"Today," Tucker and Sam answered.

"Because Danny's going around making deals with evil ghosts that screwed him up."

"It's not like I had a choice!" Danny defended.

"Daniel James Fenton, you explain this to us right now!" his mother demanded.

Danny sighed and sat down on his bed, telling his parents about the Ghostly Vow, which they'd never heard of, omitting what the deal actually entitled.

"Alright, so you traded some of your power with the Wisconsin Ghost?" Maddie asked in disbelief.

"Not traded. It was more of a reflection," Danny explained.

"And so you have a reflection of his power within you."

"Yes. And I can only access it if he breaks my end of the bargain, so thinking that this gave me a new power doesn't make any sense because I shouldn't be able to tap into it."

"Danny, I know you're not going to like hearing this and I don't like suggesting it, but I think we need to run some tests."

"What? Come on, you guys are way overreacting."

"But you said so yourself that you shouldn't be able to use the power inside you, but clearly you are. There's something wrong here," Jazz argued.

"I want to see this energy, make sure that it's not doing anything bad to you."

"Alright fine," he agreed. Could the day possibly get any worse?

They went down to the lab and Danny laid down on a stretcher, his sister and friends standing next to him, making sure everything went all right. His father wheeled a machine near Danny's body while his mom pushed some buttons on a control panel.

"Alright, what is this thing?" Danny asked.

"This baby? We've been wanting to try it out on you for ages!" his father bragged.

"What?" Danny and Jazz asked, their eyes wide with worry.

"Jack, you're scaring them!" Maddie reprimanded. "It's nothing bad. This is like a ghostly version of an x-ray. It measures and maps out the energy stored inside a ghost. We always said that if we ever captured the Ghost Boy we'd run this test to see how much energy you actually have because it seems like you have more than a common ghost. But don't worry, it won't hurt at all."

"Have you ever tested it?" Jazz asked.

"Well, no," Maddie admitted.

"And you know it doesn't hurt…how?"

"Because it's just an x-ray, there's no reason why it should hurt."

"Can we just get this over with please?" Danny asked, having better things to do with his time, like talking to Mr. Dickens or getting revenge on Dash.

"Alright. Sam, on my signal, kill the lights," Maddie instructed as she pushed some buttons and the machine started to hum. "Danny, ghost form please, and I'd shut your eyes."

Danny went ghost and closed his eyes as Sam turned off the lights. His father moved the machine so it encased Danny's entire body. Maddie pushed a button and icy blue light poured from the top of the machine and over Danny's body. On the computer attached to the machine a picture of Danny's body started to form in white, glowing brightly against the black backdrop of the screen.

"It looks like the energy runs through Danny completely, which isn't unexpected, though it is much brighter than it is for other ghosts. And there seems to be a large concentration of energy in his chest. That could be where the transferred energy is being stored.

"Alright Danny, when I say go, I want you to create a dome around us and then turn invisible a few seconds afterwards, alright?"

"What for?"

"To see what it looks like when you normally use your powers. Ready? Go!" Maddie ordered as she pushed a button. Danny created an ecto-dome around them and then released it. He waited a few seconds and then turned invisible, held it, and then regained visibility.

"Alright, that makes sense. Now Danny, I want you to blow something up."

"What?"

"I don't know, find something."

Danny smiled. He knew exactly what he wanted to blow up.

"Not an invention!" his father shouted.

"Darn, I wanted to blow up the Ghost Gabber. It would be so easy to get mad at that stupid invention."

Danny instead selected as his target an empty box. He thought this time of Dash's comment at lunch and the box immediately exploded.

"Yup, just what I thought. You are using that energy."

"What?" Danny asked.

"Here, let me show you." Jack slid the machine off his body and Maddie pointed the computer screen towards him. The way his body looked on the screen reminded him of the way heat sensors looked when they detected a human heat signature. "See, this is what happens when you normally use your powers." The white glow that made up the shape of his body increased it's intensity before dying down again, and then repeated the action, but not as brightly.

"See Danny, all your energy is used when you use a power, and the more it glows the more energy you use. Now, this is what it looks like when you blow something up."

The energy in the center glowed brightly and the glow spread throughout his body from there. Then it died back down, heading back towards the center.

"I don't know how Danny, but when you blow something up you're tapping into that energy source."

"But I shouldn't be allowed to."

"What exactly was the deal you made with Plasmius?" Jazz asked.

"I wouldn't tell anyone about him and he would promise to help me out when I asked."

"What exactly did he promise? Word for word."

"Oh come on, you expect me to remember that?"

"If this vow has such severe punishments for not obeying it, then yes."

Danny thought back to the night they made the vow. Remarkably, the events were strangely clear in his mind. "He said he owes me a favor, to help at any time and for any purpose save stopping his own plans."

"Of course," Jazz muttered after a few minutes of silence. "Don't you see Danny? Plasmius screwed up! He worded it differently than what he wanted to say! He said he owes you a favor and to help you at any time. Obviously the Ghostly Vow took that as giving you the ability to tap into his power whenever you need help."

"But when I blew that thing up I didn't need help."

"No, but you were angry, and generally when people are angry, they can use all the help and resources they can get to ramify the situation. And, didn't you need help getting out of the locker?"

"So, what exactly does this mean?" Sam asked.

"It means that Plasmius' power is helping Danny out whenever he needs it by increasing his power and/or teaching him new ones."

"Sweet," Tucker remarked.

"So see, making this Ghostly Vow thing wasn't such a bad idea after all, huh?" Danny asked with a smile at Jazz.

"No, it was still a bad idea, but at least it's turning out for the best."

"And I can still ask for a favor, right?"

"You should be able to. I don't see any reason why you shouldn't. The only problem I see is that I don't think you can access Plasmius' power against him, since he excluded himself."

"Darn, that would've been nice."

With the experiment over and the explanation found, Tucker and Sam headed home while the Fenton children retreated to their bedrooms to work on homework. Danny breezed through his Biology assignment with no difficulties, probably because he actually paid attention to Lancer for once, and pulled out his math homework. Just looking at the assigned problems made his blood boil and his pencil explode, but he didn't care.

He headed to the window, staring out at the city. He looked back at the forgotten homework on his desk and returned to staring at the buildings, one in particular. He made up his mind and went ghost, flying through the window and out into the sky.

He was going to have a talk with his math teacher.