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Face to Face- Chapter 43

Summary: When Danny went through the ghost catcher, he expected to be cured of the ghostliness that had haunted him since the accident, not to wake up on the lab floor with his parents saying he’d been overshadowed but everything’s back to normal now. But why does Danny Fenton cry himself to sleep to then dream of flying? Why does Phantom, the ghost who was supposedly possessing Danny remember a life that wasn’t his? Most of all, why do both the human and the ghost feel that something vital is missing, in their very soul? Or: Trying to cure himself of his powers one month after the accident, Danny accidentally splits himself but neither his ghost nor his human half know that that is what they did

First -> Last -> Next

Word Count: 6,856

Also on AO3 and Fanfiction.net

Note: Another chapter! As always, a big thanks to my sister, @nervousdragonrebelpie, for beta reading. You guys can thank her for the 'disco ball' scene; that was all her idea. :)

Both adults and the three and two halfs teens went down both sets of stairs and into the basement lab. Phantom’s eyes widened at the sight. “Mom… Dad…” He breathed, amazed. “You guys…”

The ghost boy trailed off, just taking it in. The lab tables had all been pushed to one side of the room, leaving the middle space open. Along the wall to the left of the portal were targets of various sizes and shapes. That was familiar; he’d seen his parents set up targets for shooting practice in the lab before. But…. the boy looked up. The hoops that had been installed along the ceiling were new. And in the middle…. There was a strange collection of objects: chairs, half assembled shelves, empty barrels, tables turned on their sides. What was all this? Was it supposed to be an-

“An… obstacle course?” Fenton asked, putting the pieces together. “You set all of this up for us?” His eyes were wide but soft, just as moved as his ghost was.

“Yep!” Dad said, excited. “Isn’t it great?! This here…” He whipped a device off a table, waving it around. “We got that speed gun! And those targets! Show off those ectoblasts! And the obstacle course! Do you like it? I thought to add the rings to the ceiling! A double layer course and-”

“Jack, honey.” Mom stopped the ramble, giving an understanding look to the Dannys who were suddenly overwhelmed by the rambling. “Let’s slow down.” She turned towards both versions of her son. “How about you start by demonstrating each of your powers? And we’ll go from there.”

“Yeah.” Phantom nodded and he did just that. He flickered invisible, making funny faces at his friends. He turned intangible, phasing through one of the tables. He flew a lap around the room. He shoot ectoenergy at one of the target.

“Great aim, son!” Dad patted him on the back.

“Is that everything?” Mom asked, looking up from where she’d been taking notes.

“Well… I’m pretty sure I can possess people but… I’m not going to try that.” Phantom’s nose wrinkled. “But there’s this…..” The ghost furrowed his brow in concentration. There was a long silent pause as ghost Danny held his hands out in front of him.

“What are you doing?” Jazz broke the silence.

“I’m trying to make it colder.” Phantom said, brow still wrinkled in his focus.

“You’re…trying to make it colder?” Dad asked, confused.

“Yeah… I’ve like… made the room colder before when I was…uh… upset but… I don’t know how I did that.”

Mom looked at once thoughtful and worried. “Why don’t we come back to that later? Do you want to start with target practice?”

“Sure.” Phantom shrugged.

“I was thinking we make a game of it.” Dad pointed. “Ten shots. You get more points the closer you get to the bullseye.”

Mom pulled out a case. “And we have darts for everyone else. For some friendly competition.”

“So we won’t be shooting ectoguns?” Sam asked, looking slightly disappointed.

“No. Our prototypes aren’t ready for that. Not that we’d let you handle those without your parents’ permission.” The woman gave both of her son’s friends a serious look. But at the same time…. “We won’t be shooting any… actual weapons today.” A queasy look of guilt passed over her face, her eyes flickering to Phantom’s abdomen.

Both Dannys understood. “Hey.” Phantom reached a comforting hand forward, touching her shoulder. “It’s okay, Mom.” Fenton said it at the same time, mirroring the action from the other side.

The woman looked between the two meaningfully, her expression softening. “Thanks, sweetie.” Both boys just smiled as she wiped the sadness away with renewed eagerness. “Who’s going first?”

“Me!” Phantom lit his hands, excited. He smirked at the other teens competitively. “I’m going to beat all of you.”

That was easier said than done. The first thing the ghost realized was how difficult producing small, precise blasts was. It wasn’t like throwing a dart or a ball. It was more like shooting a gun in one of those arcade games except… more physical.

The ghost’s brow furrowed in concentration. “Come on.” He muttered, straining to control the light wafting around his hands. “Come… come on. Yes.” He willed it to condense into a spherical ball and- “Yes!” roughly shoved it away from himself, towards a target. The ectoenergy impacted with a loud sizzle and Phantom winced. “Oops.” The entire surface of the bullseye was cracked and blacked. “Sorry.” He hitched his shoulders up, embarrassed.

Ghost Danny looked back towards his parents, half expecting shocked or wary looks. But Dad just patted his shoulder. “It’s okay son. Maybe put a little less power into it next time though, eh?”

“Yeah….” Phantom looked down at his hand, still a little sheepish. He looked to his mother.

“It was a good start.” The woman encouraged. “Try again, sweetie.”

The ghost turned back to the targets, shoulders falling as he relaxed. He slowly smiled, trying again. A tennis-ball sized sphere of energy condensed in his hand. Phantom shot it forward and- “Yes!” This time, it hit just to the left of the center, leaving a fist sized mark.

“Good job!” Jazz congratulated.

Phantom glowed brighter at the praise. He kept shooting at the targets. He experimented with different sizes and strengths, different ways of shooting or throwing. There were close shots, near misses, throws that went way off course. But his loved ones encouraged and congratulated the whole time, even throwing in occasional teasing.

“I think you aimed a bit too high.” Tucker commented with a smirk.

Phantom huffed, eyeing the scorch mark near the ceiling. “I can see that.” He rolled his eyes and the technogeek stuck out his tongue. The corner of ghost Danny’s mouth turned up. He lit his hand, preparing for another shot but then winced, as the ectoenergy flickered out. His core clenched, tensing up and he rubbed the spot. “I think that’s it for now. I can’t shoot anymore.”

Both adults suddenly looked worried. “What happened?” Mom asked.

“My core just can’t do any more for now, without pushing it.” The ghost tried to explain but both parents were still wide eyed and anxious. “I’m okay, just tired. Like… I don’t know… how your arm gets tired after throwing stuff for a while.”

Understanding flashed over both adults’ faces. “Okay… do you need anything?” The woman offered.

“Just to rest.” Phantom was tempted to roll his eyes.

“We’ve got ectoplasm.” Dad pointed to the lab mini-fridge. “I know you said it doesn’t taste good but you can drink it, if you need.”

The ghost wrinkled his nose, wanting to refuse. Drinking something that tastes like dirt was the last thing he wanted to do but if he needed the energy… He bit his lip. “Maybe later. I’ll just… rest for now. Sitting near the portal should kinda help anyway.” He floated over one of the lab chairs and let gravity act on him, settling into the seat. He looked back at the humans. “Are you gonna play with the darts now?”

Sam and Tucker gave him odd looks while Fenton grabbed one of the darts. “Yeah!”

The two friends shock the expressions away, turning attention back to the targets. And so the human teens took turns, Fenton, Sam, Tucker, and then Jazz competing.

Phantom watched, comfortably reclined in his chair. His eyes followed his loved ones, mind passively following the conversation as a soft smile graced his face. Relaxing in front of the portal felt good too, the light shining on his face and soaking through his suit. And the song…. He sighed, contented… It really was beautiful.

Man, this was nice. Just getting to be with his friends and family, getting to use his powers in front of them, getting to sit near the portal. Someone was laughing. There was a celebratory shout. Oh! Fenton just got a bullseye! The human was really enjoying himself. Sam and Jazz were talking, both rolling their eyes at something his human half side, even while smiling. Tucker laughed again. Oh, this was great. His friends and sister having fun. And his parents…. Dad gave Fenton a hard pat on the back while Mom congratulated him, writing down the score. Earlier, Dad had excitedly praised his ectoenergy shooting, thinking it was the coolest thing and Mom had taken notes, commenting on and analyzing the different techniques. And it was nice to see them so excited about his powers, not wary or anxious. They were interested and wanted him to improve, to be confident in what he could do. Now, both of his parents were happy and relaxed. And it was great. He loved this. He-

“Danny?” Oh, someone was calling his name. The ghost blinked, eyes finally focusing on the speaker, Sam. “Dude, you’re glowing.”

Phantom blushed slightly. “Sam… I normally do that? So…”

“Yes, I know that but like… rave level. Like, I’m wondering where you hid all the glowsticks.” The goth grinned teasingly.

Tucker chuckled. “Yeah, Dude. Did you like down a dozen glowsticks?”

Fenton also laughed. “Well, they might taste better than ectoplasm.”

His ghost, still blushing, inspected his hands. “Yeah. You’re right.” He wiggled his fingers, giggling at the after image of his hand left by the almost blinding glow. “About the glowing I mean. IDK how glowsticks taste. Although….”

“Don’t you dare.” Jazz narrowed her eyes, even as the corner of her lip turned up.

Phantom rolled his eyes at the statement, just flapping his hands and watching his fingers blur.

Tucker pointed. “You know, if we turned all the lights off and you spun around really fast….”

“You could be a disco ball.” Sam raised her eyebrow, pointing at him.

“Do you want me to throw up?” Ghost Danny asked skeptically.

“Can you even throw up?” Fenton shrugged. “I mean you haven’t really eaten since…” He counted on his fingers. “Five days ago. Plus you don’t have a stomach like half of the time…” After a thoughtful pause, he snorted. “Or an esophagus.”

Suddenly, disco music came from behind them. The teens turned around and…

“You kids talking about disco? We’ll show you how to buggy.” Dad yelled enthusiastically.

“Actually we’re talking about EDM.” Sam muttered. “If we were going to listen to 70s music, I’d listen to punk, like the Ramones.”

Her comment was completely ignored as Maddie bumped the man with her hip. “Just like high school. Come on, Jack.” She cartwheeled over him.

“I don’t remember that in high school, Madds.” Dad turned around, shimmying.

“We didn’t meet in high school, honey.” Mom teased, body-rolling backward.

“We didn’t? Well, I feel like I’ve known you my whole life.” He said, embracing the woman in a kiss.

“Uh! Gross.” The Dannys groaned, only somewhat authentically.

“Why are you groaning? Healthy romantic relationships show vulnerability in physical affection in front of others.” Jazz lectured.

Meanwhile Sam and Tucker laughed uncontrollably.

“Jazz!” Phantom complained, even though he was smiling at the girl. In all honesty, while he didn’t enjoy seeing his parents be all lovey dovey with each other, he’d rather them do this than argue, which he’d kinda dreaded just a week ago.

Jazz opened her mouth, a down right mischievous look on her face. But Fenton interrupted before she could say something else. “Uh…. Did everyone finish with the darts? Who won?”

Sam’s eyebrow quirked, her expression betraying the fact that she knew what this was, a distraction from his parents being embarrassing. But still, she answered. “Your parents’ haven’t gone yet but,” The goth grinned smugly. “I’m winning.”

“Of course.” The ghost grumbled. Sam had great aim, being the most athletic of the trio.

“What was that?” The goth crossed her arms.

“Nothing.” Fenton looked away. “Dad, you go next.”

“Sure thing, Danny boy.” The man hustled over while Mom turned the radio down. Dad took a dart. “Let your old man show you how it’s done.” He closed one eye, moving the object closer and farther away from himself to aim. Dad launched the dart, and… “Rats.” it completely missed, bouncing off the wall a foot above the target.

“That’s too bad, honey.” Mom frowned, a tad teasing.

“Just a bad first throw.” The other adult waved it off. Dad threw his next dart and eight more, completing his turn. “What’s my score, Madds?”

The woman looked up from the clipboard where she’d been keeping track. “You got a seven….”

“A seven? That’s not too bad.” Dad said proudly.

“Out of thirty.” Mom winced, smiling.

The man’s face fell, disappointed for just one moment. Then he shrugged. “Can’t win them all.” He waggled his finger at the teens and other adult. “Next time, next time I’ll getcha.”

The ghost boy rolled his eyes; at least Dad didn’t break anything this time.

Mom smiled at her husband knowingly. “I’m sure you will.”

Phantom shook his head, even while smiling at the familiar song and dance. Baseball, darts, proto-type ectoblasters. No matter what it was, his father had notoriously bad aim and he knew it. But the man always vowed he’d do better next time. And Mom always gave that knowing look and agreed.

“My turn.” The woman took her first dart. Her brow furrowed in deep concentration and…

“Bullseye!” Dad cheered.

Nine more turns. Bullseye, Bullseye, Bullseye, Bullseye, Bullseye, Bullseye, Bullseye, Bullseye. And… “Fiddlesticks.” Her dart lodged in the second circle, to the left right outside the bullseye.

“That’s the last one so…” Jazz looked up from where she’d been tallying. “You’re twenty-nine out of thirty.”

“Great job, Madds!” Dad congratulated.

“Ms. F, that’s awesome.” Tucker said, amazed.

“That’s incredible.” Sam said, eye wide in admiration.

“I really thought I’d manage a perfect score this time.” The woman muttered, disappointed. Then she looked at her son’s two friends. “Thank you, Tucker, Sam.” She said authentically before addressing the goth. “You did incredibly yourself. Twenty-five out of thirty. Well done.”

“Yeah. Good job, both of you” Phantom congratulated his Mom and friend.

More congratulations were shared, from Jazz and then Fenton. Finally…. “So Mom’s in first place. Sam got second. And…” Human Danny glanced at the list and fist pumped. “I got seventeen so I’m in third.”

Phantom peaked over his shoulders. “And I got…. nine.” He winced, disappointed at the number.

Fenton gave him an understanding pat. “But….” He held up a finger. “If we add our scores…” He silently added the numbers on his fingers. “Twenty-six…. Ha! Second place!” The human boy teasingly stuck out his tongue. “Take that, Sam.”

“Actually… if we’re being fair, we should average your scores. That’s…. What did you say… twenty-six divided by two so…. thirteen” The goth pointed smugly. “Oh look, you beat your dad… but lost to everyone else.”

Ghost Danny looked down at the scores. Jazz at sixteen, Tucker at fourteen, and he and Fenton at thirteen. He frowned, cheeks turning green in embarrassment. “Well… I was.. Throwing ectoblasts, not darts so… it isn’t a fair comparison.” He looked down, still embarrassed at doing so poorly. “We should… just throw out my score.”

“In your defense,” Mom started graciously. “Shooting ectoenergy is a new experience for you. You did well for having so little practice.” She ruffled his hair. “I’m very proud of you.”

Phantom blushed, but for a different reason. He stepped away but didn’t complain about the affection. It felt nice to be complimented.

The ghost didn’t have any more time to think on that as an odd sound came from the ghost containment unit. There was a curious mew, reminiscent of a cat. Everyone turned and… the small green blob was pressed up against the glass, watching the group with big eyes.

Everyone stared for a long moment, Sam and Tucker’s expression the most startled.

The goth closed her surprised mouth first, shuffling forward. “What’s this?”

Tucker strolled up beside her. “Yeah. Where’d it come from?” He tapped on the glass, eliciting a soft hiss from the creature. He drew back his hand. “Alright. Won’t do that.”

Fenton walked forward. “Mom was trying to make ectofood.”

“For me.” His ghost continued. “It… uhh… didn’t exactly go as planned.” He and the human Danny explained what happened the first time with the ectoweenies and earlier that day, how the food had animated and tried to attack them, producing these strange blobby ghosts.

“So that’s where this little guy came from.” Sam leaned down, examining the blob at its eye level. Said ghost floated back letting out a whimper.

“Yep.” Phantom confirmed her statement, coming to float beside Sam, on the box’s right side. “Hey, you’re okay.” He muttered to the ghost.

The blob reacted to his voice, turning to look at him and letting out another curious hum. Ghost Danny’s own brow rose in curiosity. Tentatively, he placed one hand on the glass, relaxing when the other ghost didn’t shy away or hiss. Instead, after a pause, it pressed itself against the glass opposite his hand.

“Huh, I guess it likes you.” The goth teen commented.

The little eyes squinted, body visibility squishing up and wiggling to get closer. Then, it let out a distressed squeak.

Ghost Danny frowned. “Sorry, buddy.”

“It looks so sad and pitiful in there.” Jazz lamented, her eyes soft and round.

The blob hummed sadly, mournful eyes looking up at Phantom who quirked an eyebrow. “What are ya looking at me for?”

“You don’t like being in there, do you?” Sam’s voice pitched up, like she was talking to her cat. “You want out?”

The little ghost didn’t respond to the goth, instead pleadingly squeaking at Phantom again. The ghost boy’s face softened.

Fenton came up behind him. “You just want all the attention, huh?” The blob’s eyes shifted, now looking at him. It trilled.

So it liked both of them. “Got tired of just watching us, little guy?” Phantom said.

The blob squished itself against the glass again, whimpering. And Phantom could feel his heart melting. Dang. It was so freaking cute. The little guy looked so sad and needy, like Jazz said. It was so squishy and pettable.

Ghost Danny looked up with pleading eyes. “Mom… can I please let it out?”

The woman blinked, processing the question. Then she frowned. “Sweetie… I don’t know….”

Phantom’s shoulders fell, suppressing a touch of disappointment at reaction. “It’s not going to hurt anyone.”

Mom’s expression instantly shifted, eyes widening. “Oh, Danny, no. I’m not worried about that…” She bit her lip. “We were going to keep it for observation.” Then she looked up at the other adult. “Jack?”

The man shrugged. “If it gets away, it gets away. We can find another. Plus….” He looked at both versions of his son. “The little ghosty does seem to like you. This’ll be interesting to see more ghost on ghost interactions.”

The Dannys looked at each other, considering the words. Interesting…. Phantom wasn’t sure he liked that. But Fenton shrugged himself. He moved to open the unit, the door effortlessly sliding open.

For a moment, the blob hesitated. Then, in a flash, it flew out, colliding with Phantom. The ghost yelped, throwing his arms back. He was being attacked. It was attacking him again. It- Wait.

His brow furrowed, looking down. No, his first impulse was wrong. It wasn’t attacking. Instead, the little ghost was pressed right up against his chest and rubbing up against him, much like an affectionate cat.

Phantom relaxed, a smile stretching across his face. “Hey there.” He gave it a pat, petting its little head. Or…. there really wasn’t a head, since it was just one mass of ectoplasm. Still… he stroked it.

And the little ghost practically vibrated in pleasure. It hummed and…

Jazz tilted her head. “Is it…. purring?”

“I don’t know?” Phantom raised a brow. “Maybe…” He stroked the blob again. “It feels kinda electrical though, like… a lawn mower?”

Tucker looked over at Fenton, skeptical. He mouthed the word. ‘Lawn mower?”

The human Danny just shrugged and reached over to pet the small ghost. “You’re a good little blob, aren’t you? Aren’t you? Good little blobby. Sweet little blob. You’re such a good blob.”

The blob cooed and rotated in the air so its eyes were facing the floor and its ‘belly’ was in the air. Human Danny gave it scritches, smiling.

There was more cooing over the cute ghost, more scratches and pets. More comments from the friends and family. Most playful and harmless except…

“Uh? Phantom.” Tucker asked.

Ghost Danny looked up. “Yeah.”

The technogeek was giving him a curious, if uncertain look. “So… you eat ectoplasm, right?”

“Yeeeeaaaah?” Phantom said, raising an eyebrow.

“And that…” Tucker pointed at the blob. “Is made of ectoplasm. So…”

Phantom blinked for a moment, mind trying to catch up to the meaning. Then… “Tucker. I mean this in the nicest way possible but… what the f-” He glanced at the parents, catching himself. “hell, man!”

The technogeek raised his hands. “Hey, it’s an innocent question. I was wondering, if other ghosts like… hunt and eat blobs?”

“Seriously Tuck?” Sam punched him in the arm. “Why would you even ask that? Look at that thing. Why would anyone want to eat something that cute and intelligent and-”

“It was just a question.” Tucker emphasized, cutting her off. “I mean… we eat a bunch of cute animals. Like… veal and lamb is a thing. And those are baby cows and sheep.”

The goth gave him a death glare.

“And of course you’d say that. It ‘has a face.’” Tucker did air quotes.

“That’s not-!” Sam started angrily.

“Stop!” Ghost Danny cut them off. “Sidney did not say anything about that. But…” He looked down at the small ghost, which had stopped purring. Big eyes bored into him. “Blobby’s not on the menu, guys!”

The dietary squabble continued but the Dannys tuned it out to shower more love on the little ghost. “No. No. It’s okay, Blobby. It’s okay. Don’t listen to the mean girl and boy arguing. No one’s gonna do anything to you.” Phantom soothed.

Yeah, their little blob was definitely too cute to eat. Not that the idea would have even crossed Phantom’s mind if Tucker hadn’t said anything. It kinda made him want to throw up. But….it did bring up a question though. He knew there was lair-made food and ghostly plants but were there other ways ghosts got energy? Hunting blob ghosts or… ghostly animals like that ectopus he saw? Like Tucker said, humans did do the same thing, hunting or raising animals for food so… another thing he’d need to ask Sidney.

Mom interrupted his thought. “Ah, a boy and his blob ghost.” She cooed. “So cute.”

Phantom met her eyes. “You think so?”

The woman nodded sincerely.

For a moment, ghost Danny was surprised by the reaction. But he really shouldn’t have been, not now. Still… the positive interaction gave him courage.

“So…” Fenton hazarded. “Can we keep it?”

Both adult’s brows furrowed in question. “Keep it… like a pet?” Dad asked.

The Dannys nodded, eyes big and pleading. “Please?” They whined in unison.

Mom’s lips pursed, unsure. “It is very cute but… a pet?”

“Please.” Ghost Danny begged. “It doesn’t eat. There’s no litter box to clean up or anything.”

“And… it’s quiet.” Fenton added. “So it’s not going to start howling in the middle of the night, or something.”

“Alright, but Danny…. We’ve never even had a cat or dog. But this…” The woman held out her arms. “How are we supposed to know how to take care of a blob ghost?”

“We’ll figure it out.” Phantom said earnestly, green eyes boring into her. “And I can go ask Sidney if we have any questions.” Slowly, her expression softened but she hadn’t cracked, not yet. But one more push…

Fenton jutted out his lip, eyes big and round. “Come on. Look at that face. Blobby wants to stay with us.” He held up the blob, its pleading gaze turned on both adults.

Mom’s lip twitched. She glanced at Dad who was also holding back a smile. They shared a look and… “Alright.” She sighed. “You can keep it.”

“Yes!” Twin fists pumps punctuated the moment.

Mom shook her head. “You made a good argument. And the puppy dog eyes…” She muttered the last part.

“Your mom never can resist the puppy dog eyes.” Dad chuckled. “And you’ve got two for one.”

The Dannys looked at each other smirking. Double puppy dog eyes? Yeah, Mom didn’t stand a chance.

The woman rolled her eyes at the other adult’s statement before saying. “You’ll have to keep an eye on it. I don’t want it getting into things in the lab.”

Phantom’s eyes widened, nodding. “Yeah… that would be bad. We’ll definitely do that.”

Mom hummed approvingly at that. Then she held up a finger. “But… It's your pet. It’s your responsibility to keep it happy and healthy. You’re old enough to handle that.”

The Dannys nodded enthusiastically. It was then their friends and sister finally interjected again.

“So we have a pet blob ghost now.” Jazz commented.

“I have a pet blob ghost.” The Dannys emphasized. “It doesn’t like you.”

The red-head stuck out her tongue.

“What are you gonna name it?” Tucker asked.

Fenton looked down at the blob, which had started purring again. “Blobby.” He answered without hesitation.

Phantom laughed.

Sam raised a brow. “Blobby? Really?”

“It’s perfect.” Ghost Danny mused, giving the small ghost another scratch. “It’s that right, Blobby?” The blob ghost chirped excitedly. “See! See! They like it. You like it, don’t you? Don’t you?”

The newly dubbed Blobby trilled again before floating out of the boys’ hands. It settled onto Fenton’s shoulder, nesting itself into his hair. The new pet was marveled at for a few more moments before…

“Alright.” Dad put his hands together. “Obstacle course?”

Phantom perked up. “Yeah!”

“You start here.” Dad pointed to a line tapped across the floor. “And end there.” Up on the opposite wall was more tap, this time in a circle. “The goal is to get through as fast as possible.” He motioned the path with his finger, through the obstacles on the ground, up to the hoops and then back through them to the end point.

“You can fly or use intangibility to go through objects. Whatever combination gets you through fastest.” Mom added. “Go all out.” She put an arm around him. “I’m excited to see what you can do.”

Phantom’s core hummed at the words, smile widening as he eyed the hoops on the ceiling, the odd arrangement of furniture on the floor. This was going to be fun. His aura flared brighter and he took off, going the fastest he had in days. It didn’t last long though.

Ghost Danny turned too quickly, running into one of the desks. The corner dug into his left arm and he hissed in pain, an identical cry coming from somewhere to his right. His right hand instinctively went to cover the injury. He careened to a stop, awkwardly stumbling on his newly re-formed legs.

Phantom was barely standing again when Mom was in front of him. “What happened?”

He winced, hazarding a look at his upper left arm. “Ran into that corner. I think I cut my arm.”

“Let’s see.” The woman insisted, worried.

Ghost Danny tentatively lifted his hand. His brow wrinkled in displeasure. Sure enough, there was a cut, maybe the length of his pinkie, down the outside part of his arm. Ectoplasm welled up from the area, the neon green a sharp contrast from the black of his torn suit.

Mom frowned. “We need to clean this.” She started directing him to the lab’s bathroom, under the stairs. Phantom followed with a nod.

But both turned at the other adult’s voice. “Wait. He’s hurt too.”

The ghost’s stomach flopped. Beside their dad, Fenton stood, with an identical cut on his left arm, the only difference being his red blood.

Confusion flashed across Mom’s face. “How?”

“Injuries transfer. If one of us gets hurt, the other does too.” Fenton said, hissing as he moved to re-cover the cut.

The woman’s eyes widened, guilty. “Oh. Of course. I remember.” She shook her head. “I’ll get both of you patched up.”

Human Danny nodded, following her.

The three entered the small restroom. Mom started rummaging through under the sink for the first aid kit. Fenton took a seat on the closed lid of the toilet and Phantom drifted up to float near the ceiling.

The ghost looked down, finally noticing the blob ghost still perched on Fenton’s head. Blobby looked up at him with big, almost worried eyes. “Hey, I’m okay.” Phantom said softly. The little ghost hummed and floated up to him. It gently brushed up against his uninjured arm before settling on his shoulder and starting to purr again. “Thanks buddy.” He patted it.

“Here it is.” The woman finally commented, standing. She started pulling supplies out of the red box. “I’ll clean and disinfect it. We’ll need to tab on a gauze bandage, I think.”

Fenton nodded, as Mom turned around. He looked up. “Phantom, you go first.”

The ghost didn’t argue. He’d been the one to actually get hurt in the first place. Fenton stood, coming to stand in the doorway and Phantom sank in the air until he was sitting where his human just was. Ghost Danny then started shrugging off the sleeve of his hazmat suit. The motion dislodged the blob, which flew back to Fenton.

The woman stood in front of the ghost boy, opening an alcohol wipe. “This might sting a little.” She said sympathetically.

“I know.” Phantom shrugged. He let out a quiet hiss as the wet pad impacted the cut. The adult’s movement paused for just a second before she continued cleaning.

“It doesn’t look that deep.” She sighed with relief. Then her lips pursed. “That was just the first round and you already managed to get hurt.”

Phantom turned his head down. “Sorry.” He muttered guilty.

“No.” Mom said earnestly. “This isn’t your fault. It was our obstacle course. We should have ordered some mats and padding but…” Another sighed. “Your father and I were so excited to do this for you.”

“Hey, it’s okay.” The ghost looked up. “I’m the one that was flying too fast. And it’s not that bad, right?” He glanced at the now much cleaner cut. “It doesn’t actually hurt that much anyway.”

The woman gave him a skeptical look as he winced again.

“It’s the alcohol.” He chuckled sheepishly. “That’s hurts more than the stupid scrape.”

Mom looked a little more convinced. She grabbed a gauze pad, gently holding it over the cut with one hand. “Can you hold that?”

Phantom nodded, moving his hand to the pad. At the same time, the adult prepared the medical tape. She tore off a length and gently pressed it onto the edge of the pad. Forming a rectangle of tape, she secured the bandage onto his skin.

Ghost Danny inspected her handy work. “Looks good.” Carefully, he pulled on his sleeve. “Ah man.” He frowned down at the fabric. “It’s torn. How am I gonna fix this?”

“I can sow it.” Mom offered. “I’ll need to figure out how to make ectoplasm-based thread.” She frowned thoughtfully.

Phantom opened his mouth to comment when a tingling sensation in his upper arm cut off the thought. He looked and… his eyes widened, mouth falling open. As if moved by unseen hands, the two sides of the tear in the fabric came together and… melded. Neon green oozed from… somewhere, the marred section of the sleeve glowing with the color until it darkened and solidified. Second later, only black, unscarred material remained, unblemished as if it had never been cut.

Ghost Danny blinked once. He blinked again. “Did my suit just…repair itself?”

Mom looked just as dumb-founded. “I think it did.”

Phantom shook his head, as if to dispel the fog of confusion. “It’s never done that before.”

The woman said nothing, still staring at his sleeve.

Fenton interrupted. “Could we talk about this later? I’m still… uh… kinda bleeding.”

Mom paled. “Of course. Come on sweetie.”

The Dannys switched places, this time Blobby leaving the human boy’s shoulder for the ghost’s. The adult quickly cleaned and covered Fenton’s cut, just as she had Phantom’s. No one said anything else about his suit, even as the ghost experimentally fingered the area. It was as smooth as ever, no sign of what had just happened. But…he winced as he accidentally pressed too hard. Okay, yeah. He was still injured under there.

“All done.” Mom finally said, throwing away the trash and putting away the kit.

The trio left the bathroom, joining the others who’d been talking at the other end of the lab.

Jazz’s brow furrowed. “Are you okay?”

Both Dannys nodded. “Yeah. It wasn’t that deep. Barely a scrape.” Fenton answered.

“Dude…” Tucker pointed. “You tore your suit. How….”

Phantom shrugged. “It just kinda… fixed itself.”

“But… how?” Sam asked, eyes wide.

“No idea.” Ghost Danny shrugged. He glanced at the obstacle course. “Can we… talk about it later?” His arm was patched and not hurting as much. And the surrealness of his suit healing itself was passing. So now… “I wanna give it another try.” He was still eager to fly, to show off what he could do.

Dad frowned. “Are you sure? We can take a break first. And… your arm….”

“My arm’s okay. And I’m good to go.” A repeat of the puppy dog eyes. “Please. I was really looking forward to this.”

There was a pause. The adults looked at each other, contemplating. Finally Mom said. “Go slow this time, okay?”

Phantom nodded. “I will.”

Ghost Danny gently shoed Blobby off of him and moved back to the start. This pass was deliberately slow, casually swimming through the air to get a sense of where the objects were, their position in relation to each other. He contemplated which ones he could fly around, which ones he should phased through. He fluidly slid through the hoops, once, twice, before placing his hand in the finish circle.

He floated back to the start, rolling his shoulders and cracking his neck. “Alright. Here goes.”

Ghost Danny still started relatively slow and cautious but as he gained confidence, he went faster. He could do this. He could do this. Again, he nearly ran into the desk. Okay, go over it. Or…. he could phase. Duh. He squeezed between two shelves but… no, that was slowing him down too much! But….

He let himself go limp, turning sharply. Fluid. He was fluid. This body didn’t have any bones unless he thought it did. He let his legs become a ghostly tail.

His friends and family were silent at first but slowly…. Voices started picking up.

Phantom sped up. Yes! He could squeeze there. He fit if he wanted to. He zipped through the air. Around that barrel, through that bookshelf, over the table.

“Woh!” “Danny!” “Go, son!” His loved ones cheered.

He spiraled through the hoops, looping back on himself in a tight arc. His long tail trailed behind him, its movements quick and fluid; he must have almost looked more like a merman or sea serpent than a ghost.

Ghost Danny laughed. “This is awesome!”

Somewhere in the back of his mind was a distant wistfulness, a longing. He caught a glimpse of Fenton’s blue eyes and understood. But… soon, soon. He whispered to his human, gently prodding back with his own happiness and excitement.

Somewhere across the lab, human Danny laughed.

And Phantom kept flying. He spun and dived, darted and weaved like he was made to fly. And maybe he was. Maybe he’d survived the accident, gained his ghost form for this. Maybe this made it, made the pain worth it.

After a few minutes, Phantom stopped, breathless. He reached for the ending circle, more swatting at it than tapping. He paused, trying to calm his breathing. Which was still weird. He didn’t actually have lungs, didn’t actually need to breathe as a ghost. But still… his body sometimes didn’t get the memo.

Finally, he looked down. Everyone was staring up at him with surprised and delighted expressions. A moment of quiet, then…

The silence crumpled.

“Dude! That was awesome! You were going so fast! You just phased through the desk like that.” Tucker motioned with his hands. “And you darted around that. You almost hit it but you pulled up and…”

“You looked so happy!” Jazz clapped her hands. “And like you were having so much fun! And so relaxed…. I’m so glad you're feeling more comfortable…”

“Why didn’t you tell me you could change your shape like that?! You squeezed between those two boards. They’re maybe… five inches apart. And you just bent and stretched like it’s nothing. It’s so spooky.” Sam grinned, her voice ringing with the compliment.

His friends and sister were talking at once, excited and happy for him. Phantom floated down to them, accepting the celebratory high-fives, fists bumps, and one-armed hugs. He beamed. “Yeah! That felt so good! I didn’t even know I could move like that! Did you see how….” Ghost Danny trailed off, noticing something.

His human half was quiet, standing just outside of the circle of friends. Complicated, bittersweet feelings almost wafted off of him. Phantom’s lip twitch, smile trying to fall. But he reached back, offering his hand. The identical eyes met, fingertips touched, and ghost Danny opened himself up.

The fluidity of his movements, the thrill of a near miss, the excited pulsing of his core. All of it, the experience of flight completely under his own power. Phantom offered it freely and Fenton accepted, because it was his memory too. He let himself fall into it. For just a moment, they were just Danny, remembering the joy of flying, his favorite thing about being a ghost.

Then, both blinked and they were Fenton and Phantom again. Human Danny allowed himself to be pulled to his ghost half’s side, now smiling himself. “That was awesome! Did you see how…”

Both Dannys rambled for a while, about what Phantom just did, what Fenton remembered. Their friends and sister offered comments, congratulations, observations. Ideas about their powers and other things they could try, other ways of using them.

Fenton shook his head, still smiling. “There’s no way we could do that.”

“Nah, I’m telling you. You’ve already got the ghostly tail thing going on. And you were bending like you’re made of putty. You could go full on Elastigirl. We gotta watch the movies and take notes! She does that parachute thing and… a trampoline, I think?”

Phantom bent over laughing. He wasn’t sure whether he should be disgusted by the thought of manipulating his body like that or excited by the prospect of another power. Well….. three weeks ago, he definitely would have been absolutely horrified but now… “What the heck, why not?”

Fenton agreed, shrugging. ”Yeah. Might as well give it a shot.”

It was then, a cough from behind Phantom interrupted the conversation. What was… Oh, right. He blushed with embarrassment; they’d really gotten caught up enough to forget…. The ghost’s eyes widened, stomach flopping. Mom and Dad had just been quietly listening and… they were talking about him manipulating his body in completely inhuman ways. Just floating around the house, using his intangibility for chores, and occasionally having a tail was one thing but that…

Slowly, the Dannys turned, shoulder ripe with tension.

“Hey?” Phantom muttered, trying to still smile. This was… this was fine, right? Everything was okay-

“Danny.” Dad stepped towards him and the ghost boy blinked, the knot in his stomach starting to loosen. “That was amazing.” The man smiled, not his normal ‘excited about ghosts’ smile but… soft and tender. “You did great. I’m so proud of you.” His voice rang with affection.

“Breathtaking…” Fenton and Phantom turned to their mom at the word. “That was absolutely breathtaking.” Her eyes misted with her emotion but… she was smiling too. The woman walked forward, stopping in front of the Dannys. With a gentle hand, she brushed hair out of Fenton’s and then Phantom’s face. “You were incredible.” The words vibrated with love. She opened her arms, leaning forward and both boys hugged her. “I’m so sorry you got hurt but… I’m glad you got to do this and I got to watch. I’m so happy I got to see you like this.” There were layers of meaning there, layers that the Dannys didn’t care to parse out now.

Instead the boys and their mother stayed in that hug for a long moment. Phantom’s core buzzed with his happiness. He was glowing brightly, like a neon star. But this time, no one said anything.

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