This is the machine that almost took my son's life, thought Jack Fenton, and I built it. He gazed at it, with both contempt and awe, it was closed but with the simple press of a button the chaotic greenness would be visible again, the ectoplasm. The Fenton Portal really was a doorway to another dimension. He wasn't certain what the future held for it now. Anyone else would dismantle the thing after an ordeal like what they'd gone through. But he and his wife had worked on it for nearly two decades of their lives. A part of Jack simply wanted to abandon it out of spite for what it had done. He couldn't blame a non-sentient piece of machinery by itself. He was at fault too. And...so was Maddie. He didn't like to think about that.

The lab was dimmer than usual, Maddie entered information in to a computer a few feet from where he stood. She didn't look at him. They both knew what had happened never should have. What were they supposed to do? Close it all down? It would be injustice after the effort they put into it. Damn it all, Jack was torn, my son almost died.

"Jack," Maddie spoke up.

He turned to her.

"I know what you're thinking. I'm thinking it, too."

He frowned.

"We can't give up."

Isn't that cold?

"I love you, Jack, and I think we should continue."

"...Alright."

Jack pressed the button; the Portal opened. Just as planned, at least, before everything went wrong. Time to begin anew. They both felt the wave of coldness fill the room, but neither saw the invisible specter exit the Portal, pausing to study them both. It flew upwards out of FentonWorks and out to the world at large without so much as a sound.

Sam was a vegetarian, Danny remembered, eyeing the all-new vegan menu the school cafeteria was boasting. She was also something of an activist, always trying to get involved in campaigns for animals' rights. He wouldn't be shocked if she had something to do with this. The Goth girl was perpetually participating in activities to try and change the school, along with other kids concerned with the same things she was. He was alone, and really he planned to stay that way until all this freakishness passed. On some level he didn't want to burden his friends, on another, he just wanted to be alone.

He sat at an empty table, far away from anyone else.

"Fenton!"

Oh, hell.

Dash Baxter marched up to Danny, "You see this?" He indicated his tray of vegan food.

Danny didn't even answer. Glared.

"I asked you a question, retard."

Danny shook his head, "I"m not dealing with you."

"Oh, bullshit," spat Dash, "See this garbage? You're gonna eat it!"

People were staring now.

"Leave him alone!" A furious yell rang out from across the cafeteria. Danny craned his neck around to see Samantha Manson charging over to meet Dash face to face, "He's done nothing to you! Screw off!"

Dash for a second seemed taken off guard, but then, "The faggot has to have his ugly girlfriend defend him, I get it," he scoffed.

Sam's shoulders squared and she positively seethed, "I'm not his girlfriend. At least I'm not peaking in high school," she snarled. The confusion in Dash's eyes revealed he didn't understand the insult. Of course not, "And at least I don't bully innocent people!"

Danny coughed once—a bluish wisp escaped his lips. Instinctively, he knew what it meant, even if he didn't understand it, and he thought fast. He grabbed his own tray of tomatoes, fruit and cabbage leaves—and shoved them in Dash's face. People ooh'd. Laughed in disbelief. Danny took the deepest breath he remembered taking since waking up in the E.R.

Students looked at each other. A troublemaker raised his own tray and tossed it on someone's head. More mimicked him. It was a food fight. Danny couldn't believe it. He thought this sort of thing only happened in cartoons, it was like everyone was on the exact same line of thinking.

He didn't waste the opportunity. He met Sam's eyes, tried his best to convey apology, then stood up and ran.

He followed the chill, the sense of something there that penetrated the cafeteria, he wondered how in the world no one else seemed to be feeling it, but he did. His chest reverberated with the knowledge of it.

"You're gonna fuckin' pay for this, Fenton!" Dash thundered.

Dodging flying vegan food, Danny dove for the lunch ladies' door, hoping it wasn't all in his head. It wasn't locked, it swung open, Danny pulled it with all his strength, it thudded once it hit as far as it could go. He scrambled in, bringing it closed behind him. He prayed to a god he didn't believe in that Dash wasn't chasing him. He couldn't help it. He laughed hysterically, winded.

"Well, hello there, child," an old woman's voice greeted kindly. Danny jumped, electricity sparking in his bones. He turned and looked right through a portly lunch lady. That's all he could describe her as. She was dressed as one, up to the hairnet. She was transparent and green-skinned, "Could you help me? Today's lunch is meatloaf, but I don't see the meatloaf!"

Danny goggled.

"Oh, my, you look like you've just run a mile! I'll get you some loaf as soon as I can, growing boys need their meat...did someone change the menu?"

Slowly, he nodded.

It was like all hell broke loose.

"Someone changed the menu?!"

The air pressure in the room skyrocketed, the coolness became freezing, the woman became monstrous in her rage. It was so sudden that Danny gasped sharply. An unnatural gust of wind nearly pushed him off his feet.

The door opened and both Sam and Tucker, with varying amounts of thrown food stuck to their pants and arms, appeared. The door shut; they saw Danny first, then the undead lunch lady. They gaped. Something inside Danny flared to life, he barked to them, "Stay behind me!" They didn't move.

There was no hiding from what was going on here. This was a ghost. And he..."I'm goin' ghost!" He cried. Maybe it, the sensation in his chest, would obey him if he spoke aloud. It was as if a second nature took hold of him, he drew his arms and legs into a defensive stance; pale rings materialized at his waist and traveled up his torso and down his lower body. The black t-shirt and brown jeans replaced his previous clothing.

He willed himself to fly up higher, to see eye to eye with the ghost. He scoured his brain for things he'd seen on TV shows about amateur ghost hunters.

"I command you to—go away!"

She didn't even flinch. Pointing an arm at a stack of dishes, they glowed and shot out, aiming straight for him. He didn't know how but his body simply wasn't there when they were supposed to hit. It was like he'd gone intangible.

But some were still flying. Heading for...Sam! And Tucker!

His legs disappeared, turning into a wisp, some innate logic told him he'd be faster this way. He shoved them out of harm's way just in time. Sam screamed, he winced. It was practically right in his ear. He couldn't blame her, though. Tucker spouted a curse word, he didn't blame him for that, either.

Holy Christ, what was he doing?

The dishes all broke with a deafening crash on contact with the wall.

He looked at the lunch lady ghost again. Her expression was definitely irritated. The ovens behind her thrummed and banged, aglow with...ectoplasm, Danny realized. She floated up through the ceiling, leaving them alone with the ovens—which were shooting viridian flames of death at all three of the teenagers—which wanted to kill them. The things began to move at high speed toward them, Danny panicked. He grabbed Sam and Tucker by the shoulders; Tucker particularly hard since he squirmed. He focused all his energy on repeating what he'd done before. Becoming non-physical. It worked, it spread to them, he hoisted them into the air and through the wall, just before the ovens slammed into them.

They tumbled unceremoniously in to a hallway.

"What the hell was that!" Tucker shrieked. His naturally high-pitched voice reached ear-piercing levels.

It was at that moment that the lights went out with visible electric shocks above their heads. The halls went dark.

Lockers opened; notebooks, pens, pencils and papers went shooting each and every direction. Danny ducked repeatedly to avoid getting smacked by various textbooks. The objects were moving in a pattern...Danny's eyes trailed them to their source. There she was. The Lunch Lady. Staring at them lifelessly.

Then, he smelled meat.

It was so unexpected, he made a face.

Pieces of meat, likely having been stored away wherever the school's lunch staff kept their meats, were gathering together upon the Lunch Lady's body. It was grotesque. She pointed a fleshy finger at them, "Prepare to learn why meat is the most powerful of the five food groups!"

Danny didn't know he was speaking until after the words left his mouth, "Forget it!"

What was visible of the Lunch Lady's eyes appraised him, "Then, perish!"

He made his hand into a fist—

And transformed back into his normal, powerless self.

What?!

The Lunch Lady monstrosity roared, beefy hands wrapping around Danny and flicking him aside to collide with Tucker. Apparently satisfied with the damage she'd caused, she dematerialized. Who knew where she went to. The halls were still dark, but the chilly wind was gone. Papers and many other items lay strewn all throughout the floor. It was chaos.

Shaking, Danny hurried off of Tucker, who was huffing—hyperventilating?—Sam was huddled against the lockers.

Danny didn't know what he was, but he was pretty sure he'd just used his...powers, to save the lives of his two best friends.

He was exhausted. There was a certain straining in his chest which drained him. He didn't faint until after he was sure his friends were alright. They ogled back at him as his vision blacked out.