Author's note: Oh, Maddie. Maddie, Maddie, Maddie.

Disillusioned

I'm not sure I recognize you

...

Maddie could hear Jack hammering away at his workstation behind her in the basement lab, and as she attempted to work out her own calculations and chemical formulas, she could almost pretend that everything was normal between them, that Danny had never run away, that all was right in the Fenton home.

When Danny was missing, neither of them spent any time in their lab or Ops Center on the roof. But now that Danny was home again and back in school, they had nothing else to do during the day, nothing to distract them from the growing distance and tension between them.

Working in the lab gave them an excuse to not talk to each other. And they were glad to take it, no argument there.

Maddie could feel the strain in her back from being hunched over for hours. She stood and arched backward, her spine cracking pleasantly. She rolled her shoulders a couple times before checking the time on her phone.

Danny would be home soon.

She tidied up her papers and placed a few ecto-samples in the mini fridge on the counter before tiptoeing her way toward the stairs.

"Mads? Where are you going?" asked Jack.

Maddie froze with her hand on the stair rail. She clenched it, grimacing, then turned back to Jack.

"Just going up to use the bathroom," she said, trying to sound casual.

"But you put all your stuff away," said Jack, glancing over at her workstation. "Are you not coming back down?"

"Ah—no," Maddie stammered. "Danny and Jazz are going to be home soon, so I thought I'd say hi. And then I figured I might as well get started on making dinner."

Jack eyed her warily before nodding and turning back to his workstation. "I should say hi to the kids, too. Especially since it was Danny's first day back. I'm in the middle of calibrating something, but I'll be up soon."

Maddie stayed still a moment longer, watching the muscles in Jack's huge back contract and tense as he worked on his latest invention. She then started up the stairs backward, one step at a time, hanging onto the rail and never taking her eyes off Jack, but he did not turn around.

At the top of the steps, Maddie opened and then closed the basement door behind her, holding the door knob as she leaned back against it and released a huge breath. She then pushed off and headed toward the downstairs bathroom. Because she had told Jack she was going up to use it and she couldn't have him thinking she lied about that.

Everything she did made Jack suspicious now. Everywhere she went. Everything she said.

The cops, the media, her husband—who next, really?

After using the bathroom, Maddie took a seat on the living room couch and folded her arms tightly against her chest, her legs crossed while her lower foot tapped against the floor. She stared in the direction of the front door, her breaths deep but shaky.

A few minutes later, the front door opened, and Danny and Jazz stepped into the living room.

"Hey, kids." Maddie stood. "How was school?"

"It was great," said Jazz. "I aced my psychology test."

"No surprise there," said Maddie with a smile. "And Danny? How was your first day back?"

"Fine," said Danny, meeting her gaze but otherwise barely moving. "Everyone said it was really good to see me again."

"Well, that's—that's good," said Maddie, unsure what else to say.

"Yeah," said Danny.

They stared at each other, a tense silence hanging between them.

"A lot of people said the same thing to me," said Jazz. "Teachers, classmates. They were all saying they were glad to see Danny had come back."

"Oh, Jazz." Maddie turned to her. "Your graduation announcements came in. You need to address the envelopes so we can send them off."

Jazz's eyes lit up. "Really? How do they look?"

"Beautiful. Your red hair especially looks gorgeous against the background we chose."

"I want to see!"

"I put them on your desk." Maddie pointed up the stairs. "Along with a list of addresses for family and friends. Do you think you can get them ready to send out in the mail tomorrow?"

"Sure!" said Jazz cheerfully. "Thanks, Mom."

Jazz hurried up the stairs. Danny started following her, but Maddie blocked his way.

"Hey." Maddie lowered her voice. "How did it go, really?"

Danny sighed, his shoulders lifting and lowering. "Everyone's heard the rumors. About you. And me." He paused. "They all saw it on the local news."

"God damn the media." Maddie gritted her teeth. "I was so pissed when they kept focusing on your use of painkillers. That was all they ever asked me about in interviews. They never cared about trying to spread the word and help me find you." She huffed and shook her head. "Of course they'd have a field day with this new angle. Far more scandalous for a mother to be behind her own son's disappearance."

"But they don't suspect any connection to Phantom being gone lately." Danny shrugged. "So there's that, I guess."

"Yes. At least we have that." Maddie looked him up and down, noting the blue contacts in his eyes that covered most of the scar and the smudged makeup on his lower jawline that hid his bruises from the dental implant. "But what about you? Was being back at school overwhelming at all?"

She couldn't help but hope he would say yes yes he didn't want to go back, he wanted to stay home with her for the rest of the semester and then he'd let her homeschool him until graduation and maybe he didn't need to go to college either, he could just stay home with her forever and always—

"No," said Danny. "Principal Ishiyama assured me that I could still finish the semester on time as long as I do all this makeup work." He gestured to the backpack still on his shoulders, which looked heavy and full. "But she also said I could delay my finals if I need extra time."

"But how did you feel?" asked Maddie, trying not to sound too anxious. "Were you happy to be back? I mean, are you glad you decided to go back?"

Danny's brows drew together in thought for a few quiet moments. "It was good to get out of the house," he said eventually. "To be around my classmates, kids my own age again. And it was nice to see Sam and Tucker again, too."

"Yeah? How are they?" asked Maddie.

"They're the same," said Danny.

They stared at each other in the silence that followed. Maddie couldn't bring herself to say what she was sure they were both thinking, that Danny was certainly not the same boy as before.

And every day, she realized just how different he was. At times, she struggled to fully accept that he was her son, that he wasn't somehow an imposter instead—

Phantom—

Maddie shook the thought out of her head, her heart racing. No, he was Danny, her Danny Danny Danny and no one else.

A rumbling noise broke the silence. Danny clutched his growling stomach, sucking his teeth and looking sheepish.

"Danny." Maddie put her hands on her hips. "Please don't tell me you skipped lunch."

"I forgot to bring money," said Danny weakly, not looking at her.

"I prepaid for lunches for both you and Jazz. Don't give me that excuse."

"My jaw hurt too much. You didn't give me the last Vicodin this morning."

"You've been able to eat just fine the past couple days. I've seen you. And I did let you take some ibuprofen, remember?"

Danny huffed. "Okay, I'm sorry. I just—I had a lot on my mind today."

"You said being back at school wasn't overwhelming."

"And it wasn't," insisted Danny. "I mean, the school part of it wasn't. But, you know, Dash coming up to me at lunch and asking what my own mom, apparently 'the hottest MILF in town,' did to me while I was gone—I mean, yeah, that was a little much for me. That made me lose my appetite a little."

Maddie couldn't stop a blush from coloring her cheeks. "He called me a MILF?"

Danny raised his hands and let them fall again rapidly. "Oh, my God, Mom. Is that all you heard?"

"I mean—" Maddie jerked her head in a quick shake. "Dash really asked you about me?"

"I told you: Everyone at school heard the rumors being spread by the media," said Danny hotly. "They all know you were interrogated as a suspect in my disappearance."

"Then—then maybe I should just pull you out for the rest of the semester," stammered Maddie.

"No, Mom. No." Danny groaned. "I don't want to be stuck with you at home anymore."

Maddie felt a twinge of pain, hurt, offense, but she tried not to let it show. "Then maybe I could transfer you to another school."

"You really think they haven't heard these same rumors at other schools?"

More silence. Danny's stomach rumbled again.

"You still need to eat, Danny," said Maddie, trying to sound calm. "You know you can't skip meals. You need proper nutrition, especially in your condition."

"And what condition is that?" Danny folded his arms. "Is there some name for being tortured as a lab specimen for three weeks?"

Maddie flinched and pressed her lips but did not break eye contact with him. "I really didn't know it was you."

"Well, that's a relief. I'm really glad you told me that," said Danny dryly. "That makes me feel so much better."

"You could've told me it was you at any time."

"But you looked like you were enjoying yourself. I didn't want to spoil your fun."

Maddie inhaled through her nose, long and sharp. "This doesn't change the fact that you can't skip meals, Danny. So I'm going to make you something to eat right now, a snack before dinner."

"No." Danny shook his head. "I need to get started on my homework."

"I'll bring it up to your room, then."

Danny huffed and stormed off to the kitchen. He returned holding an unopened bag of potato chips. "I'll eat this."

"Danny, that's not food," said Maddie with a small moan. "That's junk."

"It's fine, Mom." Danny walked past her toward the stairs. "I promise I'll eat dinner, okay? I really don't have time for this. I've got a lot of homework and makeup work to do."

"But you don't have to do it this way," said Maddie. "I can help you catch up over the summer. You could just take it easy, play a video game maybe. You haven't played anything since you've—" Maddie swallowed. "Erm—since you've been back."

Danny stopped and turned back to her, sighing. "I really want to finish this semester on time. I might delay finals by a week, but that's it."

Maddie stared at him, tilting her head.

"What?" asked Danny. He clutched the bag of chips to his chest with one hand.

"I just never thought I'd see the day when you actually insist on doing your homework," said Maddie, her voice weak.

Danny looked away, crinkling the bag of chips. "A lot of things have happened that I never thought would." He paused. "Or at least, I hoped they wouldn't."

Danny's grip on the bag of chips tightened as he stared at the floor, his eyes glassy. Maddie longed to hug him, take him into her arms and kiss his head like she used to.

or is it holding him down and breaking him apart that you're really missing—?

Maddie shuddered right as the basement door opened and Jack stepped out into the living room. Danny jolted and nearly popped open the bag of chips.

"Hey, Danny," said Jack. "How was your first day back at school?"

"Fine. Great. I've got a lot of makeup work to do." Danny moved quickly toward the stairs and started heading up. "Let me know when dinner's ready," he called over his shoulder before disappearing down the hall.

Jack stared up after him. "He's still pretty jumpy. That hasn't improved at all." He looked at Maddie. "Did you find a new therapist for him yet?"

Maddie shrugged and kept her tone casual. "Not yet. It's only been two weeks."

"You found Brandan pretty quick last time."

"Yeah, and he turned out to be a quack. I have no doubt he's the one who turned the cops on me." Maddie pursed her lips. "I want to be a lot more careful this time, find someone we can actually trust to help Danny."

"But you do want to help him?"

Maddie frowned at Jack. Jack sighed and shook his head.

"Maybe I should go up and talk to him," murmured Jack, looking up the stairs. "I haven't had a chance to really talk to him since he's been back."

"You saw the doctor's report," said Maddie. "He's fine."

Maddie remembered how the doctor's eyes glowed red as he handed her the results of Danny's tests and blood work.

"A clean bill of health," he assured her in a smooth, robotic voice. "No indications of trauma or injury besides that corneal scar on his left eye, and that was clearly just an accident."

Maddie had stared into the doctor's eyes curiously, his mouth stretching into a smirk that looked exactly like Vlad's. She read through the report, all the comments that said Danny was healthy, normal, unremarkable. No mention of ectoplasm in his blood or unusual scarring anywhere else on his body or the possibility of missing organs.

She only wished she could've seen the look on Detective Calhoun's face when he read the report after he acquired a warrant to see it. He must've been so very disappointed.

"The doctor said that there were no signs of physical trauma," said Maddie. "No one hurt him while he was gone, Jack."

Jack sighed. "I know that's what the doctor said, but it's just so hard to believe. He's like a whole different person now."

a whole different person—

Phantom—

Maddie shook the thought out of her head because no, no, nope, it was Danny up in his room right now, Danny her son, her boy. Not Phantom pretending to be him somehow.

but what if he's tricking you—

isn't that what ghosts do best—

"No," said Maddie. "It's still Danny, Jack."

"But don't you think something happened to him, Mads?" asked Jack. "Something bad? Why else would he be acting so differently?"

Maddie didn't want to offer a reason, an explanation, a hypothesis, because maybe maybe maybe it wasn't Danny at all—

Maybe maybe maybe Danny was still lost somewhere and Phantom had come back in his place—

For what reason? No idea no idea no idea—

Just to trick her, his obsession to win her over—

you can't let Phantom win—

"He's been going through a hard time," said Maddie. "But he'll be okay. He'll be back to his old self once he's done with school for the semester and all that stress is gone."

Jack's lips thinned with disbelief. And a creeping feeling moving up Maddie's spine wouldn't let her believe it either.

A few hours later, the kitchen table was set with a warm casserole piled high with cheese, buttery rolls with flaky layers ready to peel off, and some vegetables lightly crisped in the air fryer. And most importantly, Maddie assured everything was clean and free of ecto-contamination, nothing that would make Danny sick, not this time, never again.

"Danno, we didn't get much of a chance to talk about how school was today," said Jack from his normal seat at the kitchen table.

"Not much to say." Danny twirled a fork in his casserole, picked up a bite, dropped it, cut the bite in half, slid his fork under one of the halves and picked it up again. "Just have a lot of makeup work to do."

Maddie watched Danny as he placed each bite into his mouth. He chewed several times before he swallowed and often sipped water between bites, but at least he was keeping his promise and eating everything.

She didn't even realize she was staring at Danny until he caught her eye. She quickly looked down at her own plate.

"Do you need any help?" asked Jack.

Danny returned his attention to Jack and furrowed his brow.

"With your makeup homework," Jack clarified. "I know you were having a little bit of trouble with physics before you—"

Jack stopped short, abrupt and obvious, his lips clamped shut. But Maddie knew what he had been about to say: before Danny ran away, before he became like this, this boy sitting at their kitchen table who very much looked like their son but was certainly not acting like him.

"I think I've got it," said Danny, "but I can let you know if I need any help. Lancer was telling me that I could get help from the tutors after school, so I might just stay an hour every day until finals if I find I'm struggling."

"Wow, you came up with that idea all on your own?" Jazz smirked. "Mom and Dad didn't have to twist your arm this time to get you to go see the tutors?"

Danny shrugged and picked through his casserole. "I guess I'd just rather do what I'm supposed to do the first time than have my arm twisted or leg broken or whatever."

Jazz's smirk vanished. Jack stopped chewing. Maddie nearly dropped her fork.

But Danny kept his eyes on his plate and stuck small bites into his mouth, one after the other.

"Well, if you need something, anything—" Jack cleared his throat. "—you'll let me know, right? I'd be happy to help you with anything, son."

Danny stopped eating and slowly set his fork down. He raised his eyes to Jack and gave him a small smile that looked strained, almost sad. Maddie tried to remember the last time she saw Danny smile for real.

"Thanks, Dad," said Danny. "I'll let you know. I promise."

Maddie once again only realized she was staring at Danny when he caught her eye. His fake smile dropped instantly.

When everyone finished eating, Danny stood and started clearing the table. Maddie placed a hand on his wrist to stop him.

"What are you doing, sweetie?" asked Maddie.

"It's Monday," said Danny with a puzzled frown. "Isn't Monday still my day to do the dishes?"

Maddie glanced at Jack and Jazz, who were watching the exchange closely.

"You don't need to do that." Maddie took the dishes out of his hands. "Jazz hasn't minded taking over for you. Right, Jazz?"

Jazz blinked. "Ah, no, of course not. But if Danny's ready to start doing them again—"

"I'm ready," said Danny. He tried grabbing the dishes back from Maddie, but she kept a firm grip on them.

"Really, Danny, it's fine," insisted Maddie, standing. "I'll do them."

Danny locked eyes with her, a small scowl tugging at his features.

But then his shoulders relaxed, and he let go of the dishes.

"I have more makeup work to do anyway," he muttered, and without another word, he walked out of the kitchen. Jazz was quick to follow him.

"He's been back two weeks now, Mads," said Jack. "If Danny wants to start doing his chores again and getting his life back to normal, why not let him?"

"He just started going back to school." Maddie began stacking all the dinner dishes. "And he might not want to admit it, but I think it's more stressful for him than he expected."

"Danny might be sensitive, but he's not weak," said Jack, gathering the glasses and following her to the kitchen sink. "He's not going to break if you let him do the dishes again."

"But I don't know what will break him." Maddie nearly threw the dishes in the sink and began rinsing them off. "I don't know what his breaking point might be this time. I don't know what will push him away again and out that door and this time maybe he won't come back—"

Maddie gasped and bent over, her hands still in the sink as her head ducked low between her arms. She shut her eyes and breathed, trying to force out the images of Danny's quivering body on the lab table, that fear in his eyes as he waited for her to do whatever was next on her nightly task list.

Her mind recolored the memory, dark hair and sky blue eyes just like his father's.

"I'm worried about pushing him too far, too," said Jack gently. "It's why I didn't mind having him stay home the past couple weeks until he felt ready to go back to school. I don't want him running away again either."

Maddie sighed and straightened a little, resting her elbows along the edge of the sink.

"But that's why I really think we should find him a new therapist." Jack's voice was tinged with urgency. "I've been doing my own research. I've found a couple that I think might be able to help him."

Maddie shook her head. "I've got it under control, Jack. I promise he'll start seeing someone next week, all right?"

She opened the dishwasher and began loading dishes into it. Clanking, metal against metal, repetitive motions.

Beside her, Jack watched in silence. Maddie switched on the kitchen TV for some noise to drown out his worrying, his judgment. The local news station had thankfully moved on to stories other than the return of the crazy ghost hunters' son. Tiffany Snow now reported cheerfully on an old Nasty Burger favorite finally coming back to the menu after twenty years.

"I can finish up, Mads," said Jack.

"I've got it, Jack. I'm almost done."

"You just seem so tense."

Maddie laughed, almost scornful, derisive. "Well, I'd certainly kill for a glass of wine right now."

Jack said nothing. Maddie turned away from the dishwasher to find Jack's lips pressed into a very thin line.

"Maddie." Jack cleared his throat. "Just because I can't drink doesn't mean you can't indulge now and then if you want. If you think it would help you."

Maddie groaned. "I shouldn't have said that. You know I want to support you, Jack."

Jack leaned against the counter. "I can't say I haven't thought about it either. Recently, I mean. With everything going on."

Maddie clutched at the zipper of her jumpsuit, afraid to ask if he meant everything going on with Danny or the current rift between them.

"I've been thinking I might need to go to AA meetings again."

Jack stared across the kitchen. Maddie studied him, remembering another reason they used to fight around Christmas and other times of the year when Danny and Jazz were small.

"I honestly haven't needed to go since I started really throwing myself into our research," Jack continued. "It just consumed all my thoughts. Ghosts, ghosts, ghosts, nothing but how to track ghosts and capture ghosts and rip them apart down to tiny molecules." He smiled. "And fudge too, of course. I just reached for fudge anytime I did want to drink."

"Traded one addiction for another," Maddie said weakly, a small joke she had made many times in the past but now it felt completely inappropriate and she wished she could take it back.

"Yeah." Jack chuckled as he usually did, but it sounded hollow. "But earlier today when I was working on that ecto-ophthalmoscope, I just noticed that…I couldn't concentrate." He looked down at his gloved hands, his fingers curling and straightening. "I kept making all these mistakes and having to start over. And that never used to happen before. Usually when I'm working on my ghost inventions, I get so engrossed, I literally can't even think about anything else."

"I know that feeling," mumbled Maddie, guilt twinging in her neck as another image of Danny chained up in that lab entered her head.

Why couldn't he just look like Phantom again why why—

"But I can't be there for Danny if I give in to old vices," said Jack resolutely. "And I can't just distract myself again and ignore what's going on with him. I've got to start being a better father."

"You're a great father," said Maddie, touching his upper arm.

"I haven't been paying as much attention to Danny as I should've," said Jack, not acknowledging her touch. "Even when you kept trying to tell me something was wrong when he snuck out of the house to get drugs from Sam, I just ignored that." He shook his head. "But not again. Not this time. I can't ignore him anymore."

Maddie pulled back her hand, her fingers curling in as she watched Jack's eyes harden with determination.

She could only hope he wouldn't pay too much attention to Danny and discover something that was best kept a secret even from him.

Perhaps especially from him.

The local news channel came back from a commercial break. Tiffany Snow flashed a pearly smile as the camera focused on her.

"Supernatural enthusiasts have been looking to the skies hoping to catch a glimpse of Amity Park's own ghostly superhero, Danny Phantom, who has been MIA for nearly two months now since the middle of March."

Maddie stared at the television screen, watching the archive footage of Phantom blasting enemy ghosts with glowing ecto-rays.

So much power.

Power that was briefly under her control for three weeks.

didn't it feel so good to finally possess him?

"In a press conference today to discuss future ghost safety, Mayor Masters extended his reassurances to those who are anxious about future ghost invasions without Danny Phantom around to fight off any rogue specters."

"The citizens of Amity Park have nothing to worry about," said Vlad on screen, standing at a podium with his gleaming white hair combed back as neatly as ever. "My anti-ghost initiatives and hired ghost hunters have kept our town well protected these past few weeks, and whenever our favorite ghost hero chooses to return from his break, he will be gladly welcomed back."

"Are you saying Danny Phantom is taking a break?" asked a reporter. "How do you know this?"

"Everyone needs a break now and then," said Vlad with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Mayors, superheroes—even the best of us can't be expected to work tirelessly all the time. I have no doubt Danny Phantom will get back into the fray when he is ready. In the meantime, please trust that our fair town is in good hands."

Maddie watched Vlad interact with the reporters, his charming smile, no hesitation as reporters continued to bark questions at him.

He really was helping her and Danny. Just like he said he would.

But she had to wonder what he was hoping to gain out of it. Because she knew Vlad always attached strings to everything.

"But not all ghost experts agree with Mayor Masters' assessment," cut in Tiffany Snow's voice.

A new image appeared on the screen, a bald man in a white suit and dark sunglasses. Maddie recognized him immediately as a Guys in White operative.

"Ghosts don't take breaks," said the operative, his tone even and deep. "Their obsessions drive them to act at all times. Mayor Masters is spreading dangerous misinformation that could cause harm to the citizens of Amity Park who believe that Phantom is truly on their side."

Maddie's mouth fell open. At one point, the local news station would've contacted her for an expert ghost opinion. Even though the media had moved on to other news, she realized now how completely ostracized she was.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Jack staring at her. She locked eyes with him, noting his deeply furrowed brow.

"So you really don't know where Phantom is?" asked Jack, folding his arms.

Maddie knew what he was thinking. All the things he suspected she had been doing with Phantom every night.

Phantom chained to a wall, tied to a chair, strapped to a table—

Arms by his sides or above his head, down on his knees or flat on his back with his legs slightly spread—

He looked like Phantom again in her mind, shining winter hair and dazzling toxic eyes.

She glanced up at the ceiling, in the direction of Danny's room. Then she returned her attention to the dishwasher and finished loading all the silverware.

"I really don't, Jack."