Author Note: Please review!
~CWA

Chapter 2:

Third Person:

The house was gorgeous- a bit small, but beautiful. A simple two story house with a typical front yard and garden. Walking inside the house, Danny discovered the interior was just as good as the exterior. There were four bedrooms- one which was his, one was for Gear if she visited (he could tell because of all the computer screens on one of the walls and the note that said don't touch anything), and the last two were guest bedrooms (why he needed so many guest rooms was a mystery to him). There were also three bathrooms (one downstairs for guests, and the two upstairs where Danny and Gear's rooms were).

His room was everything he loved. He knew that he would never be able to thank Gear enough for making his room possibly the coolest thing he had seen. The ceiling was pitch black with the night sky on it. The walls were black as well, but the floor was white carpet. The bed was covered with neon green sheets and blankets. Humpty Dumpty posters, NASA posters, and various other posters covered the walls. A stereo and computer was on a desk. He was thrilled. It was better than his 'guest' room at Gear's house.

As he continued to search the house, he discovered the fully stocked kitchen, and the laboratory in the basement. He took a sharp intake of air for a brief moment, seeing flames in the lab before they quickly disappeared. Just a flashback, the lab is not on fire, this is not my parents' lab, he told himself before he finally gathered enough courage to fully walk into the lab.

It did bare a small resemblance to his parents' lab, but only because of the large portal on one of the walls and the metal covered everything. The portal wasn't even a hexagon, being more of an oval or circle. He looked over at the bare section of the lab, another vision hit him. He saw his parents looming over him with their tools and heard screaming. He quickly looked away. He looked at the tables filled with gadgets and the file cabinets that most likely had blueprints in them. Gear was an inventor, being the genius she was, so he was sure it was no issue for her to recreate the portal and tweak some of his parents' designs for anti-ghost tools.

The lab wasn't as big or full as the lab at Gear's house in France, but it was still nice. He figured it should do. It was big enough that he could train and he was sure that Gear made sure everything was not only sound proof, but pretty close to indestructible. He noticed a note on the wall near the door- right beside the portal and a big button on the wall.

Double D (aka Danny dude),

Press the button.

Just do it and knock yourself out.

-Gear

(P.S. You start school tomorrow at Happy Harbor High and there's a shit ton of new clothes in your closet for you- you're welcome)

Putting the note down, he hesitantly pressed the button, wondering what Gear was up to this time. As soon as the button was pressed, there were noises. He watched as every wall, aside from the one North wall that had both the door and the portal on it, changed. The walls switched like a revolving door, taking every gadget, table, and file cabinet that was against them with them. As soon as the walls were done changing, Danny looked at all the targets sticking out the walls, along with various rings. Some of the rings came out of the ceiling.

It was a training course. He smirked as he transformed.

Better get this training done down before school tomorrow.

Thunder and lightning were his worst enemies. They didn't scare him, per say, but as he slept that night the storm outside plagued him- causing him to remember the first time he died, how all of his troubles began. He tossed and turned in his sleep.

He walked inside the portal after Sam convinced him. He gulped slightly as he put a hand on the wall to guide him slightly. The portal wasn't on- it wasn't going to hurt him going inside, right? It wasn't even going to work. He glanced back briefly- Sam was taking pictures but she stopped to smile and give him a thumbs up. Tucker was looking as nervous as Danny felt- glancing around in a paranoid manner. Though Tucker stopped to give Danny an encouraging smile. They gave him the courage he needed to continue on his way through the portal.

Then he tripped- putting a hand on the wall to steady himself, he hit the button. The on button. He didn't even have time to process anything before a bright flash flooded his vision. He couldn't hear anything over the rumbling of the machine or over his own screams of absolute pain. It felt like something was tearing him apart, only to be put back together again. He was dying, he knew it. He just always thought he'd die peacefully, in the future, maybe with Sam as his wife or someone else. He never thought dying could… hurt…

When it stopped, he was grateful. The pain was gone, but he knew that he shouldn't be alive. How could he possibly have survived that? When he saw his reflection he realized that he didn't…

"I'm dead…."

Danny woke up with a start, cold sweat beating down his face. One hand gripped the covers while the other gripped his chest. His breathing was rapid and heavy. He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. He wasn't dead. It was just a memory. He was only half dead, but that brought little comfort.

He briefly glanced at his hand, the same one that pressed the button. He took off the holo-ring he wore and instantly his scars were shown- the scars from the fire showed all over his left side, his shoulder, and on part of his face, the scars from the torture his parents inflicted upon him were all over him, scars from ghost fighting, but there was just one scar he despised the most.

The faint scar on his that hand- the hand that pressed the button. It resembled a bit of a lightning scar, centered just on the center of his palm. The scar was a reminder of what caused all of his troubles. Scowling, he went back to sleep.

That stupid button… It caused all this… It caused everyone to think I was a menace… At least now what they're saying is true…

The next day, Danny was late to school. It wasn't his fault really- well actually it was. He forgot to set his alarm and he took too long in the shower. Still, he arrived there at precisely seven forty-five just as the bell rang. He hurried down to the office, knocking down people as he went.

"Sorry! Coming through! Make way! I gotta get to the office!"

People shouted at him and few cursed under their breath, mumbling about him being new. Of course, most of the people were whispering to themselves about the new student- it was clear he was new since he was shouting about the office, but was headed in the wrong direction. Danny winced as he ran into someone- causing him to knock backwards a bit. The guy he ran into seemed angry, but the girl beside him put a hand on his arm,

"It's okay Conner, he's new and obviously didn't see you."

"She's right," Danny quickly agreed, doing his best to avoid a fight, "I didn't see you and I'm sorry. But I'm new and I have to go to the office."

"The office is in the other direction," the girl giggled, "I'm Megan and this is Conner. Good luck with your first day here!"

"Thanks," Danny said before he ran off- this time in the right direction.

Megan continued to giggle to herself as she and Conner headed to their first class. Taking a seat, Conner huffed. Megan smiled,

"Come on, he's new there's no reason to be upset," Megan whispered, but Conner just shook his head.

He didn't say a word, but she knew what he meant. He was just naturally short-tempered and angry. It wasn't the new kid's fault that he was angry. The final bell rang just as the door opened and the new kid from earlier came in. He was about as tall as Connor, but not nearly as muscular or strong. In fact, the new kid was maybe a bit muscular, but lean. His pale skin contrasted with his black hair that was obviously a mess, yet it looked fine on him. His eyes were vivid blue and shining. He gave a sheepish smile as he rubbed the back of his neck with one hand, the other one holding his schedule.

The teacher just sighed,

"I take it you are the new student. Class this is Daniel Jefferson. Daniel, say something about yourself to the class please."

Daniel turned to the class, pure confusion and a bit of fear showed in them as he continued to rub the back of his neck, making a few girls swoon.

"It's Danny, please… And not much to say."

"There has to be something Mr. Jefferson," the teacher pointed out impatiently.

"Uhh…I traveled a lot. Just got back from France."

The girls continued to swoon. Conner rolled his eyes at the girls' reactions and tensed a bit when he realized Megan briefly swooned like the other girls. She gave him a sheepish smile, however, when she noticed he caught her swooning. One of the guys in the class obviously weren't convinced that Danny just came back from France.

"Can you speak French?"

"Je ne connais quelesrudiments du français," Danny said with a shrug, "Sorry I don't know that much- only the basics. Didn' live there for too long after all… Can I take my seat now?"

"May you take your seat," the teacher corrected, "And yes. Take a seat behind Mr. Kent- Mr. Kent raise your hand!"

Conner held back a huff and slowly raised his hand a bit. Danny looked relived as he quickly took his seat behind Conner. Soon afterwards, the teacher went back to teaching. Danny tapped Conner and Megan on the shoulder.

"Conner and Megan right," he whispered, "Thanks for helping me out this morning- without you guys I would have probably have been even more late."

He smiled and Megan gave a smiel back,

"No problem- you're welcome to sit with us at lunch if you want."

"Megan," Conner protested and Megan's mild glare kept him quiet, but he looked a bit huffy.

"He's new here Conner," Megan chimed inside his mind, "He needs some friends."

"Fine…"

Conner relaxed slightly and after a second, his expression towards Danny softened as well. Danny clearly relaxed and gave a sigh of relief. My first day and I'm already making new friends- it's like some sort of record…