Author Note: Please review! Some more info about Gear coming up in this chapter.
~CWA

Chapter 4:

Gear:

I was still a bit shocked that Danny was back. He was a full ghost. I supposed it was to be expected, after all, he was a halfa when he was alive. Still, it made for an interesting discovery because if that meant that Vlad would become a full ghost when he died then- I shivered. That would be horrible. I was about eighty percent sure, however, that the reason Danny was a ghost was because he had a tragic death. I shivered again- he did have a very tragic death which was why I was still reluctant to talk about it. I knew exactly what had happened. I hacked into the Guys in White. I saw the videos… I knew they were planning on killing the Fenton's, Sam and her family as well Tucker and his family… I was too late to warned them and I had scars to act as reminders that I was too late- I got caught in the explosion. Still, it was nothing compared to what Danny had to face.

I shook my head. There was no time to think about such things. I needed to get to work, and quickly. Danny agreed to come to New York with me, though I doubted he knew what he was getting into and I honestly didn't want to tell him that I was going to Bayville, New York, because of the reports of mutants. Granted, I put my moving plans aside for the past couple of weeks so Danny could get used to his powers again- I told him what all of his powers were and warned him that they may get stronger or that he may get new ones. He was beyond thrilled that he could turn invisible and intangible, going on and on about the pranks he could do. I smiled, that's my bro.

Now, however, Danny had control of his powers- for the most part. He was ready to blend into society and I was going to help him. Though, to be honest, one of the best things about him being back was that he could help pack up some of the heavier boxes into my pick-up truck (I used to have a motorcycle but I sold it when I realized a pick-up was more practical). Thankfully, we didn't have to dissemble the lab in the house- I had already done that way months ago (Jazz knew about me moving) and it was only last week that I moved the lab to the new house in Bayville (with minor help from Danny).

"Are you sure you're ready to do this," I asked as I drove us off and away from Amity Park.

He was looking out the window, watching the buildings past by us. He was still a bit angry at me for not telling him how he died, but honestly- I couldn't bring myself to do it. There was no possible way that I would be able to tell him what happened- it would break his heart and mine.

"Yeah," he answered, "Not much else I can do, you know?"

"Ain't that the unfortunate truth," I chuckled slightly.

"Hey Gear?"

"What's up, Double D," I asked.

I briefly looked over at him through the corner of my eye. He was looking at me desperately,

"What was my life like?"

I smiled slightly as I remembered meeting Danny for the first time. I chuckled slightly,

"Well, let's see… You were sixteen years old when you died, but I met your sister when I was six so you were around four at the time. Back then you were so scared of strangers."

I laughed,

"You were scared of me all the way until you were eight! Funny though, even back then you kept saying how you wanted to be an astronaut. I remember one time when you were about seven- I was only nine at the time. I spent the night at you guys' house and Jazz and I woke up pretty late at night only to find you running around the house with a fish bowl on your head that was huge. You kept repeatedly saying, 'I'm an astronaut!' It was the funniest thing… Man, dude, you actually wouldn't believe how many embarrassing stories I have on you…."

"Should I be scared," Danny asked cautiously.

"Oh yeah, dude. Piss me off and I'll be your worst nightmare. If it makes you feel better, there was that jock named Dash that always shoved you into lockers and when I found out about it, I spread the pictures of him with his stuffed animal collection all over school."

I laughed as I remembered that day- of course, shoving Danny in a locker was only partly the reason. I had been looking for a reason to embarrass Dash since the day I met him. 'Side he kept hitting on me and that got really annoying. Jazz wasn't too happy with me- said I was 'using my powers for evil.' Pfftt she knew I hacked into governments, sold secret info, and sold my tech since I was like fifteen and she thinks spreading a few embarrassing pictures of a jock is evil. Danny laughed,

"Did he really have a collection?"

"Only the biggest!"

We were still laughing for the next couple of minutes. I loved that he wasn't as tense as he was a moment before. I imagined that losing your memory couldn't be the easiest thing in the world. Granted, if I ever lost my memory, it would be hella confusing since a good portion of my life revolves around technology, passwords, and hacking. Not to mention with a lot of people trying to kill me, it'd be pretty dangerous. Though I supposed that Danny not remembering anything was dangerous too. I made a mental note to hack into Vlad's systems later as well as the Guys' In White. Plus I should contact Danielle- she'd want to know that Danny was 'alive' for lack of a better word.

"Gear," Danny whistled.

I jolted,

"What?"

"Considering that you are the one driving, please don't space out."

"Sorry," I shrugged slightly, "I was still paying attention though."

"Uh-huh which why you heard me when I was calling your name ten times."

"Never said I was paying attention to you," I stuck my tongue out, causing him to laugh slightly.

In just a moment, however, he had an attitude change as he looked out the window.

"….I really am dead, aren't I Gear?"

"Don't let that bring you down," I chimed, "You know what they say, 'to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.' 'Sides think of this more as a second chance at life. I mean, I can teach you how to really live."

He stared at me blankly,

"…I'm almost scared to ask what you mean."