Danny woke up groaning looking up at the ceiling as he blinked feeling disoriented and lost. He put a hand to his head feeling a headache coming on then rolled over in an attempt to go back to sleep. Maddie had woken up at the sound of Danny's groan and went over placing her hand on the former ghost boy's back.
"How are you feeling?" Maddie asked. Danny looked up.
"Fine." Danny answered then closed his emerald eyes. Maddie nodded.
"Are you sure you're ok?" Maddie asked. Danny groaned.
"Tired. Sleep now." He mumbled. Maddie released her hand from his back shocked by how human he seemed, how much like her own baby boy he was.
"Ok. If you need anything just ask." Maddie said. Danny gave a short grunt and Maddie tucked the white haired boy into bed. Without another word she settled back down into her son's bean bag observing the ghost boy. After a while watching the rise and fall of the boy's chest she checked her watch it was four in the morning. Maddie sank further into the bean bag and soon fell back asleep.
It wasn't long however until Danny's bladder woke him up. He usually phased through the door to get to the hall easier at odd hours when he was sure his family wasn't awake. This time however something didn't feel right about triggering his powers, almost like they were gone, sure enough Danny walked smack into the door and fell back down. The light clicked on and Maddie helped him up.
"Wha-" Danny said disoriented. He rubbed his eyes trying to get used to the bright light.
"Are you ok? What's wrong?" Maddie asked.
"Bathroom." Danny mumbled. Maddie nodded then opened the door leading him to the bathroom, which Danny thought was weird. Another light blared on burning the teen's retinas. Danny turned closing the door and taking a leak his eyes wandering until he finished.
Danny fixed his pants and then washed his hands glancing up into the mirror then back down at his hands. He then froze. He could see white hair in the warped image of the sink faucet. Danny turned off the sink and dried his hands before slowly looking into the mirror.
Danny screamed. Maddie opening the door as Danny stared at himself in the mirror.
"IM HUMAN!" Danny said touching his face, "PHANTOM IS HUMAN!" Danny gapped. Maddie gripped onto the boy's shoulders.
"Yes, calm down, its ok, you're alive again, calm down." Danny continued to stare at the mirror in shock. Jazz had heard her brother's scream and came bolting down the hall.
"DANNY!" Jazz yelled but noticing a human Phantom in the bathroom she froze as did her father who went a step further and pulled out a ghost weapon from you really don't want to know where.
"FREEZE SPOOK!" Jack yelled. Maddie shielded the boy with her body.
"No Jack, he's human now." Maddie said. Jack slowly lowered the ecto-weapon.
"You mean it worked?" Jack asked then he swung his wife into a hug and a kiss.
"IT WORKED!" Jack yelled. Danny however was hyperventilating and holding his face one hand on the mirror.
"Not good, so not good!" He was saying, and then he shivered, "So very not good." He clutched his arms his nails digging through the fabric and into his arm. Jazz tried to get him to let go before he drew blood. Danny was frantically shaking and trying to keep it together beads of sweat appeared on his skin. Danny started to look lost his body waving as if he was on a ship. Maddie finally took notice feeling Danny's forehead. He was cold and clammy, his pupils were dilated and he was shivering.
"Phantom." Maddie spoke soothingly, "Its ok." Danny shook his head.
"Oh, this is not right, not right… its not good… my parents…" Danny shook his head. Maddie continued to try and calm them.
"Phantom, calm down, lets go lay down, ok. I'll explain everything." Maddie said. Danny shook his head again his deep green eyes darting around worriedly.
"I… I can't… oh god… Jazz what do I do…" Danny looked down at himself. "I can't go ghost… I can't… I can't phase… I can't…" Danny shook his head, "No, not right." Danny muttered. Maddie slowly tried to calm the boy down and got him to his room laying him down on the bed and placing pillows under his feet. Jazz followed Jack as well as Danny shivered and Maddie tucked blankets around him warming him up and trying to comfort him. Jazz watched wondering if she knew.
"Mom… is that… is that Phantom?" Jazz asked at last.
"Yes sweetie. Will you go bring a big glass of water?" Maddie asked. Jazz left.
"Hey baby, why are you being so nice to the ghost boy?" Jack asked.
"Because he's not a ghost anymore, he's human and he's scared." Maddie said. Jazz who had paused in the hall heard this and clenched her fists storming down the stairs. Her mom had heard what Jazz said but had interpreted to suit her needs.
Danny eventually was able to calm down, drinking water and taking a muscle relaxer helped that. Though Maddie was kind of worried to give him that and some water in case he threw up. Maddie had shoed Jazz and Jack away and was the only one in the room with Danny. As Maddie continued to sooth the boy until Danny sat right up his human green eyes staring at her intently.
"What happened to me?" He wondered. Maddie smiled.
"I brought you back to life. I made you human again." Maddie said as if it were the best thing in the world, "See what I did was convert your ectoplasm into living cells. Kind of like a Frankenstein effect you see." Danny stared at her.
"But… oh god, everything is so messed up." Danny said pulling at his white hair, "How could you do that! How am I supposed to fight ghosts now? Oh god… my parents." Danny groaned.
"I know about your parents." Maddie said.
"Wait… you do? What do you mean… I…" Danny asked, he figured if she knew his secret she wouldn't have done that to him in the first place. Danny rubbed his hands through his hair again nervously.
"I heard you on the roof, you said your parents don't even know that you're dead. If you don't want to go back you can stay here; my own son probably won't mind, my daughter won't either. I'm willing to take you in." Maddie said. Danny froze.
"Hey aren't you the same woman that has been shooting at me trying to kill me… again, wanting to dissect me, tear me to shreds and rip me apart molecule by molecule?" Danny said, "Why are you being so nice all of a sudden?" Danny asked.
"Well, because you're human now, you weren't aware of your actions as a ghost, you were just a manifestation of post human consciousness, now that you are actually human you can adapt, grow, learn and think." Maddie said matter-of-fact-ly. Danny turned red then turned and breathed deeply.
"Look, Maddie, name the evil things I've done and I'll tell you what the circumstances were." Danny said trying to use this to his advantage.
"Kidnapping the Mayor." Maddie said.
"He was overshadowed by a ghost named Walker that was trying to turn the entire town against me. Needless to say it worked quite well." Danny responded sitting on his bed.
"Going on a rampage and stealing precious items, gold, paintings, even an Egyptian statue." Maddie said.
"I was being controlled. All that stuff was found in Freakshow's train cars right? You remember that glowing crystal ball on the staff he always had with him? Well, it's an item that is used to control ghosts. He took control of me and made me do horrible bad things. I hated every minute of it, I can only vaguely remember what happened during that time but… what I can remember… well it's not very good." Danny hung his head.
"You've caused untold damages to our town." Maddie said growing angry despite the fact that this boy was no longer a ghost, he still protected them, which pissed Maddie off.
"So have you and Jack!" Danny said then he paused and whispered something to himself and continued talking, "Would you rather untold damages be taken out on the citizens, I try and keep the ghost fights contained as possible, but when you're flying and punching and pounding and getting pounded its harder than it looks. I don't purposefully smash through walls!" Danny said he too was growing aggravated as well.
"You were a ghost at the time so I don't hold any of it against you." Maddie said trying to curb her anger.
"Yeah!" Danny said his anger growing, "What if I was a freaking vampire at the time, or a yeti, or Darth Vader! That has nothing to do with it!" Danny yelled, "I'm going to keep protecting Amity Park, Dead, Alive or in between." Danny huffed.
"What if it was your son that was a ghost!" Danny threw at Maddie shocking her. Maddie paused.
"That's different." She said.
"Why because I'm alive now! Because your son was alive and you knew him when he was, if he turned into a ghost you wouldn't see him different because of that?" Danny yelled standing up, "IF YOU KNEW ME IN MY HUMAN FORM AND KNEW IT WAS ME IN MY GHOST FORM WOULD YOU STILL SHOOT AT ME! WOULD WE BE HERE RIGHT NOW! WOULD YOU HAVE RUINED A DELICATE BALANCE AND CLOCKWORK ONLY KNOWS WHATS GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT!" Danny began ranting.
"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND ANYTHING! YOU DON'T SEE, YOU DON'T CARE! IF YOU STOPPED OBSESSING ABOUT GHOSTS MAYBE YOU WOULD HAVE NOTICED. IF YOU STOPPED BEING SO SMALL MINDED, IF YOU STOPPED HATING, IF YOU JUST STOPPED…" Danny had tears running down his eyes, "Where is your son anyway?" Danny asked pleading with his eyes to get his mother to see him see what she had done, "He isn't here… is he dead? Is he alive? Do you know?" Danny dropped to his knees wishing he could fly out of there, "Do you even see him?" Danny asked looking up eyes filled with tears that he hastily wiped out of shame but purposefully left to show Maddie how much he hurt.
"Of course I see him, I see him in the mornings, and after school. He's probably at his little friends' house right now. They are always hanging out together." Maddie said, "You've been a ghost for so long you haven't felt real emotions in a while, so every little emotion will seem amplified. Its normal. So calm down." Maddie said. Danny laughed at the absurdity of it then threw up his hands.
"Fine, I give up. Do what you want, I'll just see what the hell happens from here." Danny threw himself on the bed and stared angrily up at the ceiling.
"Good night Phantom." Maddie said closing the door. Phantom scoffed and rolled his eyes Maddie gripped the doorframe but let it go since she figured he'd still be in shock. After Maddie closed the door Danny stood up.
"Goin' ghost!" he said punching his fists into the air.
"I said, goin' ghost!" He said. Nothing happened once more. Danny sighed then put a hand to his chest the pump of a heart beat beneath him. Danny sighed the familiar ghostly core was gone. Danny closed his eyes and lay down on the bed.
"I can't take this anymore." Danny said then he took of his pajamas and pulled on his usual set of clothes, blue jeans, white t-shirt with the red oval, collar, and sleeves. Danny then pulled a blue sweatshirt out of the closet and pulled it on over that before slipping on socks and taking his shoes in his hand. Danny peered out the door; his parents were in their room talking. Danny slipped down the stairs avoiding the squeaky parts that he had memorized just in case his ghost powers wouldn't work and he had to sneak out like he was doing now. He slipped out the door pulled up the hood and put his shoes on then took off down the street at a sprint.
"Damn it." Danny cursed to himself, "This is so not good."