Chapter Seven: The Healing Touch

"I'm a very relentless individual and have a lot more insanity coming." - Alex Hirsch

Technically, visiting hours are over. But, they made an exception for us because of the circumstances.

My head is still foggy when we reach Jazz's room. My sister is standing on her own two feet and arguing with a nurse about how she doesn't want to lay down because she's spent the last week in bed.

Jazz is in a hospital gown and is still too thin and her hair needs washed, but there's color in her cheeks and her voice is strong if a bit raspy from disuse.

When she sees us gawking at her, those blue-green eyes brighten and she calls out, "Mom, Dad, Danny!" before trying to run up to us.

Her legs are too shaky for that, but Mom and Dad run over and grab her before she can collapse. The three of them hold each other, crying and laughing and I-love-you-ing. I am rooted in place, my brain still catching up with what my eyes are seeing.

Reaper, the Master of Death, said that Jazz was going to die. Yet, here she is, still standing, still breathing. Reaper opened a portal so I could say goodbye for the last time. I'd left my sister covered in ectoplasm, yet she's okay.

Ectoplasm. My healing powers.

Did Reaper know? They said they know the names and faces of spirits. Do they know the powers each spirit or halfa has? Is that why Reaper sent me here?

"Danny-boy!" Dad says, waving me over to their group hug. "Join in, son! What are you waiting for?"

I'm waiting for my legs to start working. I can only stand in the doorway and stare at my beautiful big sister. I flashback to a few hours earlier, when I poured everything I had into my healing powers. Then I recall how much better my core felt when I woke up from almost destabilizing.

My Obsession is helping others; doing so keeps my core happy and healthy. Did my core know what I did even when my brain didn't?

Jazz clears her throat. "Can I get a moment with Danny?"

After some more hugs and kisses, Mom and Dad grant her that moment, saying that they'll talk to the doctors about when she can come home.

Once we're alone, Jazz slowly walks up to me, careful on her atrophied legs. I meet her halfway and just look at her.

There's so much warmth and love in her eyes. "Did you have something to do with this?" she whispers. "On a related note, please explain why I woke up with ectoplasm on me. Again. Don't worry. I was very clear that no one was to mention said ectoplasm. Mom and Dad would freak."

I can't speak. I cup Jazz's face in my shaking hands, needing physical proof that she really is here. She pulls me in close, and I hold her so gently, terrified of breaking her again.

"I had this dream," Jazz whispers, stroking my back. "I don't remember much of it, but someone was talking to me. I couldn't make out the words, but it sounded like your voice." Her own voice cracks, and she tightens her embrace. "Are you the reason I'm standing here, Danny?"

And, that's how I end up standing in the middle of a patient room, bawling my eyes out in my sister's arms.


Once Mom and Dad go to bed, I go ghost and head back to the hospital. I also send two of my duplicates to get Sam and Tucker. If anyone comes into the room and says anything, well, we'll cross that bridge when we get there.

The doctors want to keep Jazz under watch for one more day, just to be safe, but everything looks good as far as her health is concerned. Dad had called it a miracle of modern medicine. I just rolled with it.

Of course, that wasn't the only thing I had to roll with.

My ghost-self is officially back to being my parents' number one enemy. They had promised to only attack ghosts who posed a direct threat to the public. Well, Danny Phantom "attacked" the hospital and worsened Jazz's condition. If Jazz were there, she would have started an argument over it.

Me? I did what I always do: keep my head down and go along with whatever horrible things are being said. Mom and Dad took my silence as a reluctant agreement. Mom even tried to comfort me.

"I know you thought well of Phantom, sweetie," she'd said, "and I know it isn't easy to let go of that. You just take all the time you need to process, okay?"

"In the meantime," Dad added, "we'll make sure Phantom never hurts anyone ever again."

Because I knew nothing I said would change anything, I responded with a quiet, "okay."

Two weeks. Almost two whole weeks of my parents leaving me alone. I'm amazed that it lasted that long.

But, I'll worry about that later.

My duplicates phase Sam and Tucker, both of whom are dressed sloppily, likely having thrown on whatever in a hurry, through the wall of Jazz's room before vanishing. I watch happily as my best friends pile on Jazz where she sits up in her bed. Neither of my friends are criers, yet they both have tears running down their faces as Jazz nuzzles them. There isn't a single wire getting the way of all that love and relief.

The sight brings tears to my own eyes, but I blink them away.

"It's a miracle," Tucker sobs as he and Sam pull back. "An honest to God miracle!"

"That's one word for it," Jazz says with a big grin. She turns to me. "Tell them."

My friends look expectantly at me, and Sam asks, "Daniel James Phantom, what did you do?"

A smile pulls at my lips as I hold out my hands. "I have a new power. You know how my hands have been cramping up? You were right, Tucker. It was because I was getting a new power." A watery laugh escapes me. "I have healing powers. I have healing powers, guys!"

"What?" Sam gasps. "For real?"

"Bro," Tucker dashes around the bed and grabs my wrist, staring intently at my hand, "that is awesome! Hey, any chance you could take care of this pimple I have on my-"

"I will not," I say, pulling my hand away in disgust.

"Danny," Sam says, running up to me, "this is incredible! Think of all the lives you can change with this." She starts counting things off on her fingers. "Abused animals, poor families who can't afford medicine-"

"Well, I think I need to be careful with how much I use it," I interrupt. "When I cured Jazz, uh, let's just say it took a lot of me. Like when I use the Ghostly Wail."

Jazz narrows her eyes and says the thing I was avoiding. "You don't destabilize when you use the Ghostly Wail, Danny."

Sam and Tucker freeze, look at each other, then look at me.

I chuckle sheepishly. "Yeah, so, I kind of started to destabilize. But, only because I was really pushing myself. I used it to heal Valerie earlier today, so I think it's okay in small doses."

"Valerie?" Sam says with a raised eyebrow.

"You didn't mention that part," Jazz adds.

Well, they're going to find out sooner or later. "Um… So, speaking of Valerie. She found me when I was all gooey and disgusting and I kind of passed out and I ended up transforming in front of her and she knows my secret now. But, it's cool. We had a long talk about it, and she's agreed to stop hunting me and to keep my secret."

Stunned silence. Then Sam says, "Okay, we will be talking more about that later."

Tucker waves dismissively. "But, that's a problem for later. Jazz is on the road to recovery, and," he points to me, "since Danny Phantom is to thank for that, you are officially off your parents' radar. Life is good." He sees the look on my face and frowns. "Isn't it?"

I suck in air between my teeth and rub the back of my neck. "I don't know if I'm off their radar so much as…have an entire radar dedicated to me."

"Seriously?" Sam snaps. "You save their daughter's life, and they're still going to hunt you?"

"I-I might not have mentioned that part."

"Why not?" Tucker's turn. "It's kind of an important part of the story."

I sigh. "You know how my parents are. They'll just say that I did it to save face. They think I hurt Jazz on purpose." My voice cracks at the end.

"We'll talk to them," Jazz pleads. "Tomorrow, we'll all sit down and talk to them-"

"Don't bother," I say bitterly. "Let's face it. We all knew the peace wouldn't last forever. I've dealt with them before, and I can do it again. Look, I don't wanna think about this right now. I just wanna focus on the fact that my si-" I hear the door open. "That this poor girl is alive and well."

Everyone shrinks back and stares in horror at the person behind me. I don't need to look to know who it is.

"Visiting hours are over," Caroline says in that deep baritone of hers.

I whirl around and I think she's gotten taller since I last saw her. "I-it's okay, Caroline. I brought them here. I-I thought visiting hours didn't apply to me."

"To you, no. To them," she gestures to Sam and Tucker, "yes."

"Uh, we'll just be on our way," Sam says. She grabs Tucker, who suddenly remembered his phobia of anything doctor-related and is frozen in place. "Come on, Tucker. Let's get out of this…beautiful, peaceful forest."

"Yes. What a beautiful forest," Tucker says in a daze as Sam half-drags him away. "Look at all the trees. And, there's a family of deer over there."

I'm relieved when the door closes, but I know our conversation isn't over.

When Caroline shoots me a curious look and jerks her thumb toward the door, I explain, "It's a coping mechanism. I assume," I add quickly. "It's not like I really know that guy."

Caroline grunts then leaves the room.

"That woman is terrifying," Jazz says when it's just us.

"Yep," I agree. I giggle at a memory. "You should have seen Vlad's face last night when she showed up to give him a sponge bath. I thought he was gonna wet the bed!"

That gets a little grin out of my sister before a deep frown takes over. "Vlad's a patient? Vlad Masters? I mean, I can't say I feel that bad for him, but what happened?"

The image of him convulsing on the ground, freezing from the inside-

I make a mental note to visit the Far Frozen as soon as I get the chance. I do not want to freeze blood solid again. Next time, it might not be someone like Vlad…

"Don't worry about it," I say, fighting a harsh shudder.

Jazz raises an eyebrow but lets it go for now. The new topic is only slightly better. "Back to Mom and Dad. I'm sure we can convince them-."

I shake my head hopelessly. "Jazz, you know how they are. They were suspicious of me even when they were leaving me alone." I cross my arms and turn my head. "Nothing's gonna convince them. Especially now that I almost…" I can't finish that sentence.

"Danny," I can hear the heartache in my sister's voice, "you don't really blame yourself for all this, do you? Vlad's the one who made the salsa. I'm the one who ate it without asking questions."

"Because you were too worried about me to think of it. And, I'm the one who dumped ectoplasm on you."

"You didn't dump it on me. You were protecting the town, and things got out of hand."

"I was careless." I sniff and wipe away the tear that slips down my cheek. "You could have died, and it would have been on my head."

"Danny, come here," Jazz coos. I obediently kneel at her bedside. "No one is mad at you, Danny. Vlad's the one who made me sick in the first place. And, I know you didn't exacerbate my condition on purpose."

The smallest tries to form on my lips. I'll never get annoyed by my sister's vocabulary again. Well, not for a while. "Exa-what?"

Jazz rolls her eyes fondly. "You didn't make things worse on purpose."

"Of course not."

"Then, I'm not mad at you, Danny."

I shoot to my feet. "Well, I'm mad at me! I threw that stupid ghoul, not even looking where it was going! Even if it wasn't you in the crossfire, it would have been someone else! And, the only reason we're having this conversation is because I just happened to develop magical hands or whatever!" I fist my hands in my hair and glare down at my white boots, struggling not to scream, not to break something. Any time I'm upset, it morphs into anger. Then I freeze someone's blood or almost kill them with an overpowered ghost ray. Vlad's right about my temper, about my emotions getting out of hand. When I speak again, my voice is small, broken, unrecognizable even to me. "Everyone says I'm a hero. I've never felt like one, and I really don't feel like one now. Hero's are fearless and they don't let their emotions get in the way and…" I let my hands drop at my sides. My skin heats up, and I speak through the lump in my throat. "And, I'm a fucking mess."

With a stricken look, Jazz takes my hand and gently pulls me back down. "You're not a mess, Danny. You're a person. And, heroes aren't perfect. No one is. I know you don't like the moniker, but you are a hero, Danny Fenton. You're a hero because you selflessly go out of your way to keep people safe. You put the safety of those in need before yourself. As much as that scares me, I'm proud of you, little brother." She lightly caresses my cheek. "Really, really proud of you."

I gulp down sobs, leaning into her touch, hoping to get my thanks across without speaking.

The door opens again, and I swipe at my face before embarrassment can set in.

Dr. Kumar's voice is kind but firm. "Young man, I'm afraid visiting hours ended some time ago."

I look over my shoulder, confused. "But, I thought-" Out of nowhere, Jazz ruffles my bangs - my black bangs. No wonder I felt so warm. "Oh. Oh! Right! Of course." I quickly stand. "Uh, sorry, sir. I must have lost track of time. I'll just be on my way." Before I leave, I press a kiss to my sister's head. "I'll see you at home."

"See you there," Jazz promises.

Dr. Kumar shoots me a look of understanding as I walk out the door. I know he understands because he has three sisters and a son and a daughter.

Because of the number of witnesses, I walk through the hospital like a normal person to leave. On my way out, I run into another not-normal person in the lobby. And, I'm not sure how to feel about it.

"I didn't know they released patients this late," I say as I catch up to Vlad.

Vlad Masters is back in his business casual attire and looks like he recovered pretty well. "I signed myself out," he says as we exit the building. "They wanted to keep me one more day. But, I feel well enough. And frankly," we stop at the entrance and he narrows his eyes meaningfully, "I've spent enough of my life in hospitals."

After the accident that made him a halfa, Vlad (allegedly) spent five years in and out of hospitals. He blames my father for this. Granted, it was Dad's fault, but that doesn't excuse Vlad's…Vlad-ness.

"Though, I'm surprised to see you here so late, Daniel," Vlad goes on. "This you, anyway. Checking on your sister, I presume? A little of that guilty conscience you accuse me of not having?"

Oh, that's right. I hate him. "Jazz is fine now. Thanks for asking."

"Is she? Well, I'm glad to hear it." Vlad actually sounds like he means it. "I would hate to see such a vibrant young spirit crumble so completely."

"Well, rest assured, Jazz won't be 'crumbling' any time soon."

Vlad gives me the old condescending smile. "I was talking about you, my boy. You and that soft heart I mentioned. I can't begin to imagine what the act of taking a life - your own sister's life at that - would do to your already fragile psyche."

I stare at him, tug on my shirt, run a hand through my hair, just kind of exist for a moment. "You know, sometimes I look at you and I think, 'Maybe he has a heart in there somewhere.' And then, you say things like that."

"I'm trying to help you, Daniel," Vlad argues. "You need to get a handle on these emotions of yours. You feel things too strongly, and that's going to hurt you. You have no idea what's coming-"

"Oh, up yours, fruit loop!" I snap, raising a certain finger for good measure. I don't care if my temper flares when it comes to this guy. "Any 'help' you ever gave me ended in me or my loved ones getting hurt. Maybe I am over-sensitive. Maybe I do have a temper. At least I'm a good person. You have your powers and all the money in the world to work with. Do you know how much good you could do? Of course, you do. You just don't care! You go on about how much you want love and a family. Newsflash: you need to care about something other than yourself if you want to love and be loved in return-"

"Do not bring my Obsession into this!" Vlad screams, his eyes flashing the bright red of his ghost-form's. Thank God no one's around. I take an involuntary step back because I've never heard him scream like that before. Vlad places a hand on his forehead and takes a deep breath before speaking normally. "Because I know you've had a difficult week, I'm willing to overlook what you just said to me."

Come to think of it, I never did figure out what Vlad's Obsession was. I always assumed it was power or money or the Green Bay Packers. But, what is it really? Love? Family? He is always trying to get my mother and me to live with him. Obviously, his Obsession isn't an excuse, but it would at least offer an explanation.

I wonder how long it's been since he's fulfilled his Obsession. Assuming it is love or family and with Vlad being the way he is, it's probably been a while. And, I doubt he fulfills it as often as he should. An unsatisfied core can make a ghost pretty unstable mentally. Again, it's an explanation for his actions, not an excuse.

I made fun of him relentlessly when I found out he got a lonely guy cat. Now, him having a pet seems like a necessity.

"Daniel!" Vlad's annoyed tone brings me back to the present. He scoffs. "Why do I bother speaking when you never listen?"

Before I can think up a witty comeback, the automatic doors open. Caroline runs up to us, carrying a neon orange sticky note. There is a wide grin on her face that should make her look less threatening. Instead, it makes her look like an ax murderer.

"Oh, toaster pastries," Vlad pseudo-curses under his breath.

"Mayor Masters," she says, shoving the note into Vlad's hands. "You left my phone number in your room." She punctuates this statement with a suggestive eyebrow wiggle.

Vlad's face is pale, and his Adam's apple bobs. He holds the note like it's an angry scorpion. "I wasn't aware that it was in my room."

Caroline leans in. "Well, now that you have it, you can use it to call me. Maybe we could have dinner when you're feeling better."

This.

Is.

Glorious.

When Vlad wastes too much time standing there and stammering, Caroline grabs him by the shirt collar and pulls him up, growling, "You will take me to dinner."

"I will most certainly do that." Vlad's voice has never been that high-pitched before. Satisfied, Caroline sets him down, and his voice returns to normal, albeit very tight and scared. "But, it's going to be a long, slow recovery."

Caroline tries to sound seductive again. "I'm a patient woman." She sends Vlad a wink and an air kiss before returning to work.

"That was so touching," I snark when she's long gone. I fan my hand in front of my face. "My heart is too soft for this!"

Vlad doesn't look at me, but there's a furious grin on his face. "Up yours, Daniel," he says through gritted teeth.

I copy his signature posh tone. "For your sake, I'll let you have the last word this time." I give him one of his finger waves too. "Ta ta, cheesehead."

He growls at me as I saunter off, whistling a happy tune just to rub it in. Wait until I tell the team about this! You wanted love, Vlad? You got it now!


When I said I wanted some one-on-one time with Reaper, one of the Gargoyles brought me to a private room. The room has purple walls and a matching carpet. There is a dark gray boxy couch and a black armchair with devil-horn-like spikes poking out of the top. That's it. It's a pretty small room.

The Gargoyle told me to have a seat until Reaper arrived, but I'm too excited to sit and instead pace the room. The whole room. In other words, I'm standing on the ceiling when Reaper arrives. I still can't tell if they have a face under that hood, even from above.

"Danny Phantom," Reaper greets, closing the door behind them. "You seem…happy."

"You knew," I say. I do a flip and land on my feet in front of Reaper. "You knew about my new power, didn't you? That's why you sent me to the hospital!" My voice catches. "You knew I'd save my sister."

Reaper cups their "chin" and hums. "If you are suggesting that I can see the future, then you have mistaken me for Clockwork."

My excitement dims somewhat. "But, you said Jazz was gonna die. And then she didn't. I-I just figured, well, if you know the names and faces of spirits, then you probably know what powers they have." I gesture to them. "Master of Death and all."

"I know their names and faces and the causes of their deaths, but I do not know everything about them. As for your sister's survival, to be honest, that was not what I foresaw."

A knot forms in my stomach. "So…she's still gonna die?"

"That is not what I am saying." I let myself relax. "Death is…a peculiar thing. Some people live long lives and die peacefully at an old age. Others are destroyed by outside sources. And of course, there is everything in between. All creatures born in the human realm die at some point, but the cause is never certain. Not even to me."

"But, your Orb-"

"-shows me when someone is about to breathe their last breath. Which your sister was." A chill runs up my spine at their words. "However, that does not mean that a miracle cannot occur. You mentioned a new power. Is this power what saved your sister?"

"I think so."

Reaper kneels down to my level as I hold out my hands, palms up. I recall the warmth I felt and let my hands glow yellow with it.

"Ah," Reaper gasps with interest. They lightly rest their hands under mine. "The Healing Touch. I have not seen this power in a long, long time."

"Healing Touch?" I repeat, releasing the energy and pulling my hands away to look at them myself. "That's what it's called?"

"And, you are very blessed to have it. For the Healing Touch is the rarest of all ghostly abilities."

My head shoots up. "Really? Why? I mean, I guess I can see bad guys not having it. But, it stopped someone from dying! Shouldn't more people have it?"

Reaper chuckles. "Spoken like one who is able to wield it. From what I have seen, only those with true goodness inside them can acquire the Healing Touch. And even then, not everyone obtains it."

True goodness, huh? I lower my head in shame as I remember all the bad things I've done. Freezing Vlad's blood. Shooting Valerie with that ghost ray. Every time I got petty revenge on Dash (even if he did have it coming).

Another version of me willingly having his humanity ripped out so he wouldn't spend the rest of his life grieving.

"Name one evil thing that I've done!" I challenged.

Clockwork showed me a scene of Jazz finding the CAT answer sheet that I found by accident but didn't give back. Jazz started crying when she realized that I planned to cheat on such an important test.

"Bet you can't find two," Tucker taunted.

Another image, this one from ten years in the future. A spirit who looked far too similar to me wreaking havoc.

Clockwork turned back to us, to me. "How about two thousand?"

"I'm not perfect, Reaper," I lament. "I…I do bad things sometimes." Massive understatement.

Reaper rests a bony hand on my shoulder, making me look them in the… I assume they have eyes. "Doing bad things on occasion and being a bad person are not the same thing, Danny Phantom," they assure. "Even the most gentle souls in the world are not without wickedness."

I smile. Just a little. "Okay."

Reaper takes my hands once more, this time folding them together. "You have been given a gift, Danny Phantom. It is a powerful gift, but it is not without its drawbacks. You see, the Healing Touch works by transferring one's life energy into another."

I grimace. "That explains why I almost turned into goo after I used it on Jazz. But, I feel fine now."

"As a ghost, your energy replenishes itself. But, if you use the Healing Touch too often and without rest in between, well," they release their grip, "I trust you understand."

I take another look at my hands then nod, feeling the weight of my new power fall over me. I could do so much good, save so many lives…but I also couldn't. This one's a real double-edged sword, but I can accept this.

Because my sister is alive when even the Master of Death themself said she wouldn't be.

"Thank you, Reaper." My voice quakes.

"I have done nothing worthy of your gratitude," Reaper says, slightly amused as they rise to their full, very tall height.

I look up at them, feeling nothing but awe and respect for this demon. "Yes, you did. You got me to Jazz in time."

Reaper cups their "chin." "I suppose I did." A bit of smugness breaks through that calm, quiet tone. "For this, you are most welcome. But, everything that came after was your doing, Danny Phantom. Be proud of yourself. I have heard talk of your exploits, and I know that this is not the only thing you have to be proud of."

Once Reaper leaves, I look down at my hands again. I let that wonderful power spread over them in a pale yellow glow that becomes tinted green when my eyes fill with tears. I let them fall as they please and cup my hands over my heart and core.

I am not sad, nor scared or angry. I feel…content. Deep down, I've always known where I stood on the "good vs evil" scale, but I could never completely overlook my past poor behavior. Hearing someone, especially an Ancient, confirm my morality leaves me with a sense of peace.

I could bask in the feeling all day, but I can't stay here forever. So, I wipe away my tears, knowing that they will be the last ones I shed for a long time, and make my way back home, back to my friends, my parents, and most importantly, my living, breathing sister.