Archive of Our Own

"How?"

"Oh, um, I dunno really."

Having been drawn downstairs away from her AP Bio project thanks to all the noise and her curiosity of said noise, (her parents had been down and on a disheartened swing after a recent and most hopeful attempt to their long running huge project) Jazz frowned at her brother's answer. 

Neither of them were highly likely to follow their parents' footsteps, both long into eye rolling and accepting the quiet suffering of listening to their parents talk of 'ghosts'.  But Danny had always been intrigued by the science and tech and how things worked together.  He enjoyed that part of their parents' work and that was often how he spent quality time with them these days, since he hit that teenager area of being annoyed by family in favor of friends. 

Combined with Danny's love of the skies and stars, his dream was astronaut and working with NASA.  He had managed to pull off getting accepted into their big summer junior astronaut program. And he'd completed it.  With a special award gifted to him.  An award in honor of his skills related specifically for engineering.

So.

What did Danny mean, he didn't know how he tweaked their huge long running project into working?

Jazz narrowed her eyes.

Had it been a silly obvious fix?

No, he'd tell them, right?

Rolling his eyes and laughing about it.

Embarrassed by the fact he really didn't know how?

Like it was a possible combination of things he tried, but what exact combination.

Possible.

And he would have been more on the side of proud of managing to figure out what they couldn't.

Like when he was a little kid and Mom would play down her knowledge to let Danny figure it out and excitedly cheer with him when he got it, never correcting Danny on him being a proud peacock on doing something impressive that his mom couldn't do.

Guess he'd likely be spending more time down there with them, trying to sort out how it got working so he'd have that knowledge for himself in his repertoire and be able to explain it.

"Well, that's okay Danny."  Mom reassured Danny.  "We'll figure it out and have more to work with since it's working at the moment."

"Sounds great.  Have fun with that Danny."

As if sensing the teasing, Danny's head lifted up and turned to Jazz, his nose crinkling.

Jazz smiled.

"Don't let a real live ghost get you before they can capture and study one."

At the shoe dropping, Danny scowled up at her on the stairs, body tense as he gripped his hands into tight fists.

Knowing their parents were right there as well as he did, Jazz smiled and laughed.  He was so easy to tease.  Especially about this.  It'd become one of the only ways he'd go out of his way to talk to her these days.  Then Jazz would steer the conversation into other directions with him.  At least, before Danny cottoned onto what happened.

Danny was so silly about things the past year.  Somehow, in some way, it felt like he was teenage rebelling against her more than their parents at times.  No more sharing and having friends in common.  No.  There were lines drawn now.

"You are such a-"

"What's important is that it's working!  After all this time!  We can do more and study more!  Doesn't matter how you did it son!  We're so glad it's finally working!  And you played a part of it!"

Laughing, Dad clapped Danny on his back.

Halfway turned for returning upstairs to her AP Bio project, Jazz turned back around at the strained squeaking noise that'd come from Danny.  His face frozen, eyes stuck open.  Sucking in a breath, he shifted and wiggled his shoulders, sliding himself out from under Dad's arm curled atop his shoulders.

Reaching up to rub at his neck, Danny grinned and ducked his head, face flush with color.

"I'm just glad I could help you guys.  I know how much it all means to you."

"Come on, Danny boy!  You gotta join us in the lab!  See history in the making!  Being able to get to the place ghosts exist!"

"Uh huh.  Uh, right.  Ghosts exist.  I'll help you guys how I can."

Mom smiled, already heading for the door into the basement and towards the lab there.  "Go ahead and grab your tools, Danny."

Ignored in favor of the exciting big thing now working and to play with and explore, Jazz stood halfway up the stairs watching them.  Questioning.  Uncertain and wondering.  Had that been something?

Her instincts niggled at her.

Dad was big and hearty, slap and squeeze happy, but typically and historically did not cross the edge of too much.  Danced the edge of it at times.  Always very energetic.  Seemingly oblivious.  And really, kind of was.  But never went into the side of hurting and causing pain to others.  It could be Dad was on the high high upper area of his excitement with this new development in their huge long running project.

Trailing back behind their parents rushing downstairs, Danny rolled his shoulders with a wince, then bounced down after them, snagging his own massive box of tools by the door as he went.

Hm.

Dad far too excited and for once crossing the line in his strength?  Or the far more likely answer of being a few weeks into the school year and Dash deciding if Jazz couldn't see it, then technically he could have his cake and eat it too?

She was going to have another talk with that boy.

Danny's opinion on her not butting in be damned.

And she was going to be decidedly not as nice about it this next time.

But first, an attempt in asking Danny about it.

It got Jazz sharp annoyance by her 'fretting' over him and an 'I'm fine' with a grand finishing touch of door slammed in her face.

Figured. 

Dash swore up and down he hadn't touched Danny. 

Jazz isn't altogether positive if she believes him.  He was rather upset and angry about his word to her being called into question.  By the end of it, he was using a lot of sweet words and leaning in as he not exactly subtly pressed her about spending some time outside of school together. 

Could be Dash spoke the truth.  Or he spoke to appease her because he wanted something from her.

He was easy to look at, but it was difficult to be too interested in giving him false hope of more when Jazz was more attracted to a guy who could stand his ground and tell others to fuck off.  Plus, the whole he did bully Danny off and on during middle school.  There would automatically need to be time to make sure he told the truth because Danny was always going to be her little brother she looked out for.  Time for her and time for Danny.  But with Dash so far showing that he was such a people pleaser...

She'd remain polite and see.

But, oh!

Perhaps Tucker would be helpful with his friendly mouth despite the silly line drawn by Danny.  Now.  If she could find Tucker without her brother nearby.  She only needed to know one thing.  Was Dash keeping his word?

Useless.  But nothing there, Jazz supposed.

Tucker had been found without Danny, but had been with the newer friend, one who had been made a friend of after Danny's lines.  Sam Manson.  Apparently Danny's similar take of his own friend to have...after the eventual decision that Spike could remain more of Jazz's friend with Hannah. 

Hannah had been clear cut right from the start, with being in Jazz's grade and a girl and closer in general to Jazz compared to Danny.  Spike was in the grade between them with a, sort of punk vampiric rock goth look.  Sam gave off more alternative rock goth from Britain vibes.  (It was the plaid, the constant plaid skirts)

Similar take.  Ish.

But Jazz didn't have the same or much rapport with Danny's replacement Spike friend.  Tucker gave Jazz more than Sam liked.  And enough for Jazz to figure out Tucker baffled enough that he didn't know anything.

Dash was apparently in the clear and no culprit.

Jazz probably just overreacted and it'd been nothing.  Maybe the surprise of the sudden clap to the back.  It's not like she'd seen anything more besides that rub to his neck.  Nothing since.  And she'd been looking.

Yet Jazz couldn't remove the tenseness of her shoulders, that itch, and the memory of that sound from Danny.

It sounded like something.

That had been the quickest Jazz had ever seen her parents get to the school.  An emergency?  No.  Not really.  Word of a potential ghost at school.  As soon as the ghost outlook possibility appeared, and frankly always had been zero, they had zipped over with smiles and relief for Jazz and Danny.

They were fine.  Had been fine.  Jazz made sure of it.  As soon as Jazz had finally found and spotted Danny in the chaos (it'd likely been some stupid student prank for disruption), she hadn't let him out of her sight.  He'd been grumbly, arms crossed, leaning away, and short with her.  Snappy at everyone.

"You helped them."  Jazz said.  "They think they have a chance to study a ghost now."

Huffing at these super extreme ghost believers being their parents, Jazz wrinkled her nose and rolled her eyes.

Danny shuffled on his feet, not looking at her, jaw tight.

Poor kid.  He wanted so much to be normal and fit in at times.  His high dreams and high science/math grades were one thing.  The entirety of their parents was a whole different basket of cats.

Sighing and smiling, Jazz went softer in her voice.

"You were just being helpful.  It's good, Danny.  I don't hold it against you and neither should you.  I'm proud of you when you do things like that."

"Ugh.  Stop being such a mother Jazz.  It's gross."

A response that wasn't trying to bite her head off though.  Jazz considered it a success in itself.

"Even I should have expected where their excitement might lead them.  Of course they jumped at first chance to get one under their invented tools for some readings and get ecto-whatever samples and cut some so called ghosts open.  Might take a while for their excitement to-"

"She looked like Tucker's grandma."  Danny muttered to himself.

Jazz paused at the interruption.  And...  Huh?  Okay.  Weird change of topic.  But okay.

"Who looked like Mrs. Theresa?"

"Oh.  Um.  This, uh, lunch lady that was here a little while ago.  She offered me cookies."

"Oh.  That was nice of her.  Offering a treat to calm people in all of that."

Danny snorted, nearly a laugh and smile.  Jazz brightened, her spirits lifting at the sight.  She'd made Danny laugh and smile.

"Oh, she tried to have a calm presence for a bit."

"Didn't put up with nonsense?"  Jazz asked.

Danny actually chuckled. 

"Nope."  He popped the 'p'.  "No, she did not put up with nonsense."

Even if he still wasn't looking at Jazz, he was being Danny without all the rebelling against family teenager thing. 

Jazz grinned.

She bumped up against his side.  

"Well I-"

She froze and was the one to cut herself off this time.  Not Danny.  But it was because of Danny.

He'd flinched.

A snapshot later, all laughter and smile and chuckle and good vibes between them were gone.

Scowling, he pulled away from her and quickly made for Tucker nearby.

"Go bother your own friends and leave me alone, Jazz."

As if he'd just realized they were getting along and being close to each other.

"What was that?"

Having wandered over, Hannah blinked, head lifting up to look and find who Jazz was looking at.  "Ah.  I see Danny's being Danny and shoving off his third parent."

"You don't help when you refer to me like that."  Jazz muttered distractedly.  She kept her eye on Danny standing with Tucker.  Danny was mostly listening to Tucker ramble, who was brimming full of excitement at the recent events.

"We all jokingly called you that for years.  For all of us.  Speaking of.  Spike asked me to store a bag of clothes at my place just in case of a late night sleepover."

"Wait."  Jazz's head turned, alarms having already been primed and now ringing.  "Huh?  What happened?  Did his parents actually press through on the-"

"The Catholic private school?  Sounds like they are.  With some special 'extra events' run by their church."

Jazz winced.  And summed it up best in one word.

"Shit."

Hannah tilted her head.  "Yeah.  I took the bag, obviously.  I'm thinking I'll be swiping a set of extra janitor keys for the school today.  He's always kept things to himself and not big on broadcasting anything, so.  I thought your idea about a place without any extra watching eyes to sleep and shower was probably good."

Jazz nodded.  "It's there to have if it comes to that.  Neither of our parents would be...quiet about it if he stayed too long at our places.  And I've given thought on him having use of my car.  I plan on getting a new one with my money saved up from tutoring anyway.  More room and his own area to keep his stuff.  Spike has definitely been against going anywhere among other people when I've brought up living situation issues.  If it hits that point..."

Hannah snorted, then sighed and shook her head sadly.  "It will.  Eventually.  At some point.  With how his parents think and believe.  It's not like Spike can change who he is."

"No."

It went quiet between them.  Jazz's thoughts all swirling about Spike's ongoing situation increasing in concerns to him and his person.  Then she caught sight of Spike, walking into the cafeteria in companionable silence with Sam.  The two parting ways as Sam veered off for Danny.  Who quickly turned his body to greet Sam with a big smile.

Then, with a slight eyebrow crease, pressed a hand to his side.

Continuing on with a smile among his friends.  Hand still tucked up and pressed to that side.  Leaning into it.  It was almost a hand on the hip.

But.

Jazz narrowed her eyes at her brother, instincts rising back up and fuming fresh from the Spike update.

What was it?  

Bully?

Old one?

New one?

Did Danny realize?

It didn't seem unconscious.

Was he overworking and lifting things too heavy down in the lab?

There were big pieces down there, especially in that huge longrunning thing.

Tucker didn't know anything.

Tucker hated hospitals though.

Was it Danny's health and he was hiding it and not thinking it was or wanted to make a big deal about it?

Panicking, Jazz forced herself to rip her eyes off Danny.

He wasn't keeling over.

Focus on Spike here first.

Then corner Danny as soon as they were booted away for classes continuing for the day.

Surprise, surprise, surprise.

Three guesses on how that went.

First two don't count.

Well.  With that much energy, Jazz certainly hoped and thought not to it being a health issue.

Rushing, Jazz scooped up everything she needed for the day and rapped on Danny's bedroom door. 

The past couple weeks had been crazy in the Spike ongoing situation.  He might have gone even quieter, but he approved and accepted what Jazz and Hannah had offered, finally feeling he had enough (from his parents and in friend support) to get out of that immediate and daily dangerous situation of remaining under their roof. 

Plenty of new concerns and things to worry about with Spike that'd probably arise because he was no longer there.  But.  Jazz felt relief her friend had a place and plan and was now removed from that far more immediate and concerning danger to him.

"Danny!  I told you to get up thirty minutes ago!  Did you ever set your alarm?  As I said this weekend, my old car isn't here and it'll be a little bit before I get a new one, so we both need to plan for-"

CRASH-CHIME!

Jazz stared at the closed door.

Well glad to know he had an alarm clock.

"Fine!  Fine!  Shut up, I know!  I'm getting up now!"

She could hear his louder breathing from the door.  Of course he was angry about her getting him up.  As usual.  And now earlier than usual.  But he knew this.  She told him.  Maybe not as to why her old car wasn't here, but she-

Jazz went still.

Went still at the hiss sucking in of a breath on the other side of the door.

Then a quiet, "Shit.  Fuck."  Followed by the groan of a bed and a groan of Danny.

"Danny?  Danny, are you okay?"

"Stop mothering and stay out!  I'm fine!  Just didn't realize how much I'd be feeling my helping out in the morning!"

"Helping out?" 

Jazz rushed that through her head and swiped long loose strands of hair back behind her ear. 

Dad would work longer than he should, getting wrapped up and end up tired.  It would be a delayed time realization from him if Danny helped late last night.  Mom was better with time, would have been there too with their huge project 'working'.  (It did stuff at least, but there had clearly been no ghosts since it started as much as they claimed there had been)  Mom and Jazz were both aware of their own body strengths and weaknesses, much more than giant teddy bear Dad.  Mom would have and has always shooed Danny away for breaks.  And for Danny trying to push body limits when he got wrapped up in things and didn't want to stop.

But if Mom didn't notice and Danny hid it to keep trying to help them while in the middle of something...

Jazz pinched the bridge of her nose.

"What'd you do?  Did you pull something?  I can grab you the ibuprofen."

Silence.

Jazz reached for his door to poke her head in.

"Yeah.  Yeah, I can try that.  It was a longer period of..."  Danny's quiet voice trailed off.  "I'll be fine!  Promise!  Don't be weird Jazz."

"If you promise not to overdo what you're doing if you keep helping them!"

There was a sharp bark of a laugh.

"What I'm doing?  With this?  Nah.  I promise I'll pretty much be doing nothing!  I'll stick to doing only with my old usual things."

Jazz frowned.  Something was odd here.  But she nodded at the door.  "Okay!  You promised!  Let me go grab you some ibuprofen and water quick!  The bus gets to the corner in about 15 minutes!  Think you're good to get ready and get to the bus in time?"

"I don't need to spend an entire hour primping on my face and hair."

Rolling her eyes, Jazz set down her backpack and hurried to the upstairs bathroom to grab the glass and shake out a couple ibuprofen.  Heading back, she knocked on her door before grabbing the knob and turning.

Clunk.

She let out a long suffering sigh.

"Danny, your door is locked.  I have the pills for you.  Open it up."

"I'm getting my shirt on!  Hold up!"

There was shuffling and little noises and tight tiny hisses.

So.  He'd pulled something with an arm or something.

Door clicking unlocked and open, Danny's complete mess of a bedhead popped out and his eyes immediately latched onto her offering.

"Nice!  Hope this helps!"

Jazz waited as he took the two pills, glancing over what she could see of him through the opening.  His one arm she could see through the opening and beneath the shirt sleeves looked fine.  There was a faint long scratch down it that was nearly gone.  Huh.  She never noticed that before.  But it was on the inside part.  And nearly healed up and gone.

Frowning at her gaze, Danny shifted and nearly shut his door again on her.

"Stop it.  It's fine, I'm fine.  Er, kinda and will be, fine is really super relative anyway.  Go.  I'll be right behind you.  Freaking stupid worry wart."

Scowling at his mutter, Jazz took it as, yep.  Danny is feeling back to his more normal self these days.  Huffing and rolling her eyes, she picked up her backpack.  

"If you're not down in 10 minutes to head over to the pick up corner, I'm dragging you out.  You sure you'll be okay?"

"I will heal.  I've already figured that out about my body, thanks.  And, okay?  Okay?"

"Okay, mister sarcasm.  I'll go away so you can get ready for school."

"Awesome."

His door clicked shut.

With that, Jazz headed downstairs to wait with her backpack, switching out the cereal on the table for an apple and banana to shove in Danny's hands.  Then used her waiting time wisely in cleaning up in the kitchen.  She had time to put clean dishes away and put the few dirty things from the sink into the dishwasher.  As she was finishing up, her parents came up from the lab talking over papers her mom held.

They were down there early.  Earlier than usual.  Jazz had figured they were sleeping in past normal breakfast time from a later night with their huge project.  But being down in the lab this early also happened.  Just not as often.

"The numbers and info and footage we got.  But I don't trust-"

"We got more than what we started with last night.  Whether the deal is kept or not."

Deal?  Did they get some potential investor or something with their huge project successfully running for this long?  Well.  Great for them, Jazz supposed.  And whatever investor believed in it and in ghosts too.

"I know, Jack.  It's all amazing!  There's so much.  But from what I know and a vast majority of what is known and shared.  I don't know."

Dad gave an easy shrug.

"It's possible.  My parents may have been more traditional, but Dad for sure was always of the notion most on our plane had been human once.  He said, get a group of people together and the loudest, most noticeable ones that stand out to leave impact are those filled up with anger and hate.  Loved pointing at political rallies.  But they're not representative of everyone.  Same true of ghosts.  I mean, I've leaned toward not great after finding out about the Scott Vulker ghost that'd been bothering Vlad back when we first met in high school.  But ours from last night with their offered deal to...  Hey Jazzy!"

"Morning, Dad.  Mom."

Jazz almost said something, to be polite, but she didn't have time to listen to whatever this deal was or ghost talk.  If it was noteworthy, they'd say anyway.  Even if it was only noteworthy to mostly them.

"We have the most exciting news!  Your mom and I found a ghost last night to study!  It was-"

"Uh huh."

Aaaand any interest gone.  No deal.  Just a ghost.

Ha.  Right.

It was probably just a weird and big kind of moving thing of the ectoplasm stuff.

"Sure.  That's exciting."

Time for Jazz to double check the doors down to the basement and the lab before leaving home and when she got back.  The kitchen was right at the top of those stairs.  It'd been more than a year since they'd had a food touched by her parents' ectoplasm stuff.  But Jazz wasn't doing that again.  

She swore.  With enough belief and interest in the weird, it led to things actually being and turning weird.  They just had to study this stuff that they and others like them scattered across the world had gotten officially coined as ectoplasm back when Jazz was born.

She sighed.

At least habits stuck past current excitement about this.

The door to the basement was shut and locked behind her parents. 

"Look.  Danny and I need to head off to school soon.  Remember?  I don't have my old car right now.  So we need to make it out for the bus."

Jazz turned to yell upwards.

"Danny!"

"Jazz!"

Apparently already down, or just arrived down, Danny popped his head into the kitchen.  Hair somewhat better, jacket and backpack on.

"Morning Dad and Mom.  You guys look excited.  Get a bunch of helpful stuff from working last night?"

Jazz groaned.  "We don't have time for this.  They think they got a ghost to study.  We've got to-"

"Oh yeah, Danny-o!  Lots of great stuff last night!  And maybe more to come!"

Mom hummed.  Her face flat, eyes narrowed the slightest.

"Your Mom's just a bit pessimistic, don't listen to that.  It was lots of great stuff!"

Mom tilted her head, rolling her eyes with a smile and bumping up against Dad.  "Right.  We still have plenty more to go through and compare from last night.  You kids run off to school now.  I was thinking of using up those eggs."

"And bacon!?"

"With bacon."

"Right.  Bye Mom!  Bye Dad!"

"I'm glad!  That you guys got lots of great-"

"Come on, Danny!"

"Stop nagging, Jazz!  We'll probably get there 5 minutes before the bus even shows up knowing you!  Did you lie about the time?"

"It can sometimes get there early!"

It was amazing her worries were gone over Spike's well being. 

Well, mostly.

Jazz still fretted on him getting caught in school after hours or someone looking too close at her speciality license plate to him being the one in the car.  At least it seemed his parents, pissed as they were, did not want to create attention on this problem and issue right now.  They were pretending things were normal.  No way that would last.

But.

But.

There was Danny.

It had been a little off niggling thing, little off thing here and then there, but now it was a constant.

It was driving her nuts.

He wouldn't talk to her about whatever it was causing him pain.  He'd insist he was fine.  And Jazz never saw any injuries.  But there was something!  She knew it and heard it!

They shared a bedroom wall!

When her alarm clock went off in the morning, Jazz had taken to lingering in her room near that shared wall, ears wide open.

He'd moan and groan in the morning when woke up by the sound of her alarm.

It was not a complaining kind of noise about the alarm.

Jazz knew the difference.

And she'd been marking it.  It'd be louder one morning, getting less and less so in the following days.  Then it'd be louder again.  Like a cycle.  She had marked it as weekly, every Monday.  Something was happening Sunday night.  Right?  But what?

She could never find him for chunks of times Sunday night until he just, popped back up.  It was feeling impossible in figuring out where the hell he went during those slices of time.  Then to find him chilling in his bed or in the OPs center like he'd never been gone.

Argh!

Those Sunday nights.

Then Monday mornings and the week going by.

She didn't notice anything in his daily body language when he was up and about.  As if it was simply more painful to get going in the morning.  Like Danny was an old person of 94 instead of a young teenager of 14.

But weekly.  A cycle repeating.

No one else seemed to notice or know anything.

Hannah would watch sometimes, but they were all more focused on Spike's situation if they were being worried about something together. 

There were moments. 

These little passed off and waved off flinches.  Tucker shrugged with agreement that it could be, but Danny was probably just wound tighter because of ghost talk spreading after that chaotic unclaimed prank.  And tighter wound because of classes and grades slipping down a few percentage digits.

"I dunno, Jazz.  He just seems mostly frustrated about something with schoolwork and not doing as well as he'd like.  Other than that, Danny's fine.  Oof!  Okay!  I'll go, Sam.  Jazz is asking about how Danny's doing, that's all.  See ya, Jazz!"

This remark by Tucker was fresh in Jazz's brain right now.

In a rare moment after hitting teenager, Danny had not closed his bedroom door for privacy and had been focused on methodically storming around in there.

So Jazz looked.

Face pinched, Danny reached for yet another model on his shelf and shoved it into a box.  Down the line.  His models, the figures, the carefully cut out photographs, all the books, and then his framed certificate of completion with the gifted award ribbon.  Shoved and squeezed into a huge tote box. 

Space all packed up and out of sight within his bedroom.  All gone.  Like an empty scar of nothing left behind.  It was completely ripped out.

Except for the stars painted on his ceiling.

Jaw clenched with anger, Danny kicked the box into his closet and spun to storm away.

Freezing at the sight of her watching.

He scowled.

"What do you want now?"

"I was just curious about the noise.  Danny.  Why'd you take down all your space and astronaut stuff?"

"It's my room.  I can do what I want."

"But-"

"I don't need it, okay?!"

"Is someone saying something about your-"

"No!  I did."

"What?"  Jazz reeled back and then stepped forward.  "Okay, clearly someone said something.  Perhaps has been saying it for weeks.  On Sunday?"

"No!  I said I'm fine and I'm fine, Jazz!  I'm just, you just hear what happens when I think about another week of school being able to see Paulina!  Is that a good enough answer for you, Jazz?!  Does that help?  Now.  Get out of my room!"

With a huge shove, bigger than Jazz expected, Danny pushed her from his room and slammed the door shut.

Click!  Merrily went the lock.

Stumbling, Jazz got her footing back and stared at her brother's door.

Who was hurting her brother so deeply?

This was killing her.

And, by the time she figured out who, she might just seriously kill them.

No one makes her brother suffer to the point of throwing away his passions!

Hannah stared at the keys being presented for her to take.  Honestly, so did Jazz.  Her fears zooming right back up about Spike.

"So you don't get in trouble.  I found a guy to let me in.  Return them."

He dropped the keys into Hannah's hand.  They jangled so seemingly loud.  Hannah quickly closed her hand on them so no one near them saw or heard the forbidden keys.

"You found a guy?"  Jazz stressed, leaning forward and in close with eyes wide.  "Who?  Can you trust him?"

Spike lifted a shoulder.

"It's a kid your brother knows.  Sid's cool.  He gets it."  Spike paused, then clarified.  "Enough.  He's got like, a ghost key."

Jazz sighed as Spike's lips did their tiny little twitch of humor.

"You mean a skeleton key.  Can we meet him?"

Hannah nodded.  But then.  "We can trust Danny."

"Oooooh!  Don't get me started about trusting him lately!  He still keeps saying he's fine and telling me nothing of any real answers!"

Hannah patted Jazz's leg and shared a look with Spike.

"All right.  Go ahead.  Let it all out.  We promise to sit here while you hit the release valve of worry all stuck inside your brain, Third."

"I'm not a third parent, I have a proper amount of worry about my brother and my friends' well beings!  This isn't like when we were kids playing at stuff, none of this is a game.  With Spike and my brother and-  Do you know what he sniped at me this morning?  And just for noticing he had rubbed at his left leg during breakfast!  Makes me think he's been kicked and bruised or something by someone!  Him snipping at me so fast that I-"

"Yes, we know.  Too big a reaction.  Go on."

And Jazz did so until all the air left her and she was deflated.

"Feel better?"

"Um, yes.  Sorry.  But I'm still concerned on what's going on with Danny.  It's not even a weekly cycle anymore.  It seems to be every morning.  It's not some...other thing.  It definitely sounds like pain more than...pleasure."

Quiet fell between the three of them.

Spike cleared his throat.

"Sid gets it.  Being not...right.  But more...with massive amounts of people.  So he can be a bit...  But let me see if he'll agree to meeting you."

"Huh?  Oh!  Okay.  That'd be one thing off my plate."

"Of worries."  Hannah and Spike said together.

"Shut up."

"He knows Danny."

It took Jazz a second to realize the connection and why Spike seemingly randomly brought Sid back up.

"Oh!  You think he might know something!"

Spike lifted up his shoulder again.  

"Maybe.  At least some weirdness explained.  Sid is well, a little bit unbelievably world changing."

Hannah's head lifted, eyes sparkling with immediate interest at that, her voice as even as always, but the question blunt and to the point of what caused her to light up.

"Is he cute?"

Spike's mouth pressed together, then swung his leg around, sliding up from his seat and glided gloomily away.

Hannah turned to look a Jazz and gave one sharp quick nod.

"He's cute."  She declared.

"Hey Danny."

His head rolled, eyes piercing her with an upside down view over the back of the couch, black hair in complete disarray.  If he would just at least use some product.  And a brush and comb.

"Whhhat.  Jazz."

"You know a Sid?  Spike mentioned you did."

Danny blinked, paused, and his gaze narrowed suspiciously.

"Yeeeah.  I do.  I thought they'd bond okay and who Sid is could be helpful for Spike right now.  Why?"

Jazz couldn't help but smile. 

"What!"

"It's nice you still see Spike as a friend."

Danny huffed.  "No.  He's your friend."

"Mmhm."

"You're an idiot!"

"Okay, sure."

"Don't be giving me platitudes!"

"Placating?"

"Whatever!"

Sometimes, when Danny was annoyed, it was kind of funny.  More like when he was a kid.  Belligerent.  But in a silly way.

"Think you can introduce me to this Sid you've got helping out my friend?"

Jazz asked it, already knowing Spike was going to ask this Sid about being okay with a possible meet up with Jazz.  But Danny didn't know that.  And it was a way to press along for some information out of her brother.

"No way.  Sid prefers to keep out of the way of people, stays mostly invisible, and is definitely not a fan of people being forceful around him.  He likes retribution about that now that he's able to."

Ding.  Hello.  That was interesting.

And concerning that Danny willingly or perhaps was forced to give this Sid a connection to an already maltreated kid scrambling out and desperate for any solid structure beneath their feet.

"Oh?  He does?"

"Yeah.  He does."

Danny was getting aggrieved and heading toward a point of slamming down on this conversation.

Best hurry up before commercial ends anyway.

"Sounds like you know this Sid well.  And he probably knows you really well."

Danny's upside down eyes squinted at her.

"What are you getting at?"

Jazz blinked.  "Just that this guy you've never mentioned to me, yet introduced to help Spike when he's floundering right now, is likely to probably know you really well."

"What the hell are you...  Oh!  Oh!"

Head snapping up, Danny lept up off the couch, snarling.

"No!  He just happens to be a guy I know, even if you don't, you, you, you slanderer!  Sid is cool.  Okay there, Buster Brown.  Hangs ten, but fuck the assholes that treat people like shit.  Like you right now.  You don't know shit about Sid.  Don't listen to when I say I'm fine!  And you think I'd let another asshole infiltrate into Spike's life?  Fuck you!  Sid would much rather venture out past his little haunt to say and do something to Spike's parents if Spike gave permission!  Not do anything horrible or worse to Spike!  You think I would ever let any being just, just...  Fuck you, Jazz!"

Huffing and breathing hard, Danny stormed out of the living room and left the house with a SLAM.

There was that relief for Jazz.

This mysterious Sid she had yet to meet was not a causer of pain to her brother.  Or aiming to be another abuser attached to Spike.

On the other hand, if Danny said anything to this Sid, she was shit out of luck for Spike introducing them and finding out if this Sid knew anything about what was the causer of Danny's hurt and pain lately.

Jazz sighed.

One of the bonuses of being dragged along with their parents to a 20 year college reunion, was that if it was someone hurting her brother, Danny would be nowhere near them.  One of the negatives would be in the thicker castle walls and likely not rooming next to each other.  So she couldn't monitor his apparent pain levels in the mornings.

It had become pretty constant, so her fear of it being a health thing was going back up.  Danny had still been going down to help with inventions and equipment in the lab.  Mom and Dad were still on a long streak of going going going with their huge project still working and their so called ghost to study.  Jazz had seen nothing down there but ectoplasm.  So.  So much for their beloved ghost to study.

But if some or enough of that had gotten onto Danny despite lab protocols, the suits and gloves and googles and wash station...

She knew that was a good connection and time Danny still spent with their parents, being able to tinker and fix and work on stuff.  And him still showing he was still Danny, helpful as ever.  (Jazz was positive that was another point for why Sam as a new friend, she was always asking and demanding help with all her 'better the world' undertakings.)

No more of him adjusting and improving their research tools.  Their parents could do that themselves.  Finessing lasers and knives and accuracy of readings and basic care against the devices breaking down.  They could do it themselves.

It was Jazz's job as the older one to help Danny.

And this, thing, whatever it was, was not helpful to his entire being.  Physically, mentally, emotionally.  Entire being.

She swore.  She was going to figure this out and put her foot down on it.

The look and glare was down pat.

As soon as their parents' old friend, Vlad Masters (really, that was the Vlad Dad talked about?) shook Danny's hand...  A look, a slight wince, and a glare shot at Jazz.  Already knowing she was watching and looking for it and saw it.

Yep.

Look and glare.

Down pat.

That little...  Ooooh!

Danny knew exactly what was up!

"Oh, hey!  V-man!  Have me and Maddie got some footage for you!"

"Oh?"  

Okay, seriously, that sliding glance over at Mom was super obvious.  Gross.  

"Does she now?"

Oblivious to that tone, or not seeing it as an issue, Dad cheerfully continued on at Vlad Masters.

"We've been studying a ghost!  Got one and been finding out all sorts of fascinating things and getting great readings."

"Oh yes.  The anatomy of our ghost is quite similar with humans, but we've found there to be important differences!  Once we get settled, Jack and I can go out to the Fenton RV and  pull out the readings and show you the footage of our nightly sessions with our ghost."

Vlad Masters seemed taken back enough by this that he ceased with any flirtatious eyes with Mom.

"Excuse me, dear Maddie."

Nope.  Nevermind.  Still there.

"Did I hear correctly?  You have been...studying a ghost and their anatomy?"

Danny's head lifted up to Vlad from rubbing furtively at his wrist.  Blinking.  Clearly paying attention to another adult conversing with their parents about their study of ghosts hullabaloo.  Vlad Masters appeared taken aback and surprised, despite knowing their parents when they got away with studying this in college.  He had apparently studied it with them, but that'd been all when they were younger.  Not old enough to know better.

Which, considering the entirety of Vlad Masters in all his businesses and corporations, definitely hit a point of knowing better.

Flirting with Mom aside, not as if Mom was flirting back and it was expected out of rich guys, Jazz could approve.

A grown adult in one of their parents' circles that was reasonable and level headed?

Thank.  God.

"Yep!  Our ghost has really been quite helpful!  Goes by Phantom apparently.  As much as they do resemble a human.  The name is...  Well!  Very unlike the ghost you dealt with back when we were in school!  In their nature and name, not like Scott-"

Vlad, particularly violently, started coughing.

"V-man!  You okay?"

"I'm fine, Jack."  It came out tight and the man quickly slipped out from beneath Dad's arm.

First.  That looked practiced and second nature.  Huh.  Vlad Masters really was the Vlad Dad would mention or talk about.  That both felt wrong and right, but definitely strange.

Second.  That looked forced with the coughing fit Vlad Masters had just now.  Noted.  A topic the man strongly didn’t care to talk or hear about.

Third.  (Second point add on?)  If Vlad had thought he was haunted by a ghost and gave it a name, it was probably a person who passes away he either had a bad relationship with or felt guilt and blamed himself for the death.  Which was interesting.  That would definitely be something talked about with a man this prominent.  Or paid to be hushed away.  But, kinda fair.  Whatever it was, happened when Vlad Masters was just a kid.

Letting out a long breath, Vlad rubbed at his brow (she felt that with her parents about their work too) and turned back to them with a forced upon smile.

"Sure.  I can, take a look myself at your readings."

"And the videos too, Vlad."  Mom added in.  "We brought them too.  To go through again in our downtime in some second look throughs with our numbers."

Vlad Masters smile grew a touch wider at Mom, not flirtatious anymore but strained at the edges of his face.  If Jazz guessed right, disbelief. 

That's right, Vlad.

Proclaimed videos of a ghost.

"Right, Maddie.  And the videos of course.  Of..."  He looked to Dad and to Mom.  "Your ghost."

"Yep!  Ours!  Helpful and curious our ghost is."

"I wasn't sure at first when it appeared, with how ghosts are often horrible scum."

Danny flinched.

Again?

Jazz looked him over and guessed his side or stomach this time.  He seemed queasy.  Then again.  Long car rides and Danny were top tier historically bad when Danny was little.  Great.  With Danny being like this, that long drive here probably got to him.

Did they still store those nausea-

Glaring again.

Jazz sighed and turned away.

"But our ghost is really quite reliable and accommodating.  A great help to the leaps and bounds were making in ghost biology."

"Mom.  Dad."  Jazz slipped in to interupt them quickly where she saw her chance to.  "I'm going back out to the RV to grab something for Danny.  Do you want me to grab anything else while I'm out there?"

"Just our laptop and binders if you would.  Thanks, Jazz."

"I shall give you a hand, young Jasmine.  Go ahead and get yourselves settled.  I feel a need for some fresh air today anyway.  See you in a bit.  Perhaps come back down after a half hour to get yourselves situated and have a quick freshening up?"

Dad laughed and clapped Vlad Masters on the back.  "Sounds good Vladdy!"

Out of recent habit, Jazz caught sight of Danny's pinched face and upon spotting her worried face, he flipped up his middle finger.

Scowling, she spun and stalked her way outside and to the RV.

"He's going to make himself all impossible to find again, I swear.  Forget all about me grabbing him something to help after that long car ride.  Nooo.  Not with how he's been the past few months."

Halfway to the vehicle and hearing the second crunching sound following her and her angry mutterings, Jazz froze, going red in the face.

"Oh gosh!  Mr. Masters!  I'm so sorry!  I didn't mean to, um."

His smile at her was polite, distracted, but perhaps amused at her stuttering.  

"That's quite all right.  However.  Young Jasmine.  What do you know about this ghost your parents have been studying?"

She scoffed.

"Oh, only what they've gone on about.  But, sir, don't worry.  I've not seen anything other than them, my brother, and a few globs of ectoplasm moving around down in their lab when I do my weekly chores in there.  Ghosts, as just about everyone know, are not real."

The man hummed, watching as she slid the RV door open.

"Really?  You think so?  Even with your parents?"

"Uh, yeah.  Obviously.  Ectoplasm simply causes reactions and changes in things, that much I've seen for myself.  But that's true of other elements and compounds.  A little weirder with ectoplasm, sure, but.  Come on.  Ghosts?  I think it's just another, bigger, mass of ectoplasm they've got or something tucked away down there.  They've always gotten their hopes up and see ghosts in just about anything.  As if it has ever been a dangerous ghost they've seen in all my 16 years of life.  I'm more concerned about the real and immediate dangers of the world."

Like Spike with his parents.  

And Danny with his health or bully or depressive state.

She was going to get to the bottom of that.

Once she found her brother.

Jazz glanced back to the castle Vlad Masters apparently called home.

"I wonder what room he's in."  She mused.

"Hobson will be able to inform you which room your bird flipping little brother chose for himself."

Jazz went red again.  Embarrassed and angry at her brother, fo that being spotted by Vlad Masters.

"You saw that?"

Amused, Vlad nodded.

"He has quite some rebellious spunk, doesn't your brother?"

"Mostly against me lately because I actually care and worry about the little-"

She jerked herself to a stop.

Jazz shouldn't be going off like that and Vlad Masters didn't need to subjugated to rants he never asked for from a kid he barely knew.

"Let me just, let me just grab what I came out her for and head back inside so I can locate a room."

"Yours?  Or young Daniel's?"

"Both probably.  It's just Danny.  Unless you want to join my solo party of glares from him."

"Not a bad idea.  A party should be quite a gathering.  Hobson would likely enjoy being considered part of this one.  That man does do proper to the fullest extent where he so chooses.  Such as names.  Does Daniel believe?  Seen...their ghost?  Here.  Allow me."

"Huh?"

Thrown, it took Jazz a moment, then a few things clicked at once.  She handed him the binders and laptop to carry.  Then slid the door back shut with the long trusted ginger item of choice for Danny geting car sick.

"Oh, no.  Both of us haven't believed ghosts are real for a long time.  And he's not said he has seen this supposed ghost.  But Danny has also been...very decidedly against getting along with me.  Particularly lately.  Teen years just keep sucking with him!"  Jazz declared brightly.  "What can you do other than keep helping and out stubborn them to show you're still there for them?"

She slumped and sighed.

"Sorry.  It's not your problem."

Vlad Masters lips twitched.  As did his fingers along the edges of research materials.  Flipping up the corners of papers in the binders with a growing crease to his brow.

"Mr. Masters?  Are you..."

"Don't you fret about this old man, young Jasmine.  Go on upstairs and find your brother to give him that for his stomach."  

His fingertips delved deeper into the binding of notes and numbers, muttering under his breath about it.

"Are you sure?  I can-"

"As glad as I am to see Maddie has raised quite the caring and helpful daughter, go.  I can take care of myself without aid quite fine."

Hunching up her shoulders at that bite, Jazz nodded and hurried away for upstairs to find Danny.

She did glance back.  Poor guy.  He wasn't married.  No family of siblings or parents around on his walls.  Or anyone like that to be photographed with in papers and magazines as far as Jazz was aware of.  Just this huge empty castle with servants.  No one really close.  Him and her parents might have been close years ago, but they'd clearly drifted apart from keeping in touch for whatever reason.

No one that'd care to notice him feeling unwell and get him a ginger drink and tell him to relax and take things easy.

Danny better realize that himself someday.  To be thankful he did have people who cared.  Like Jazz.  And Hannah and Spike and Tucker and now Sam, with their parents.  So many people with their own strengths and abilities and ways they kept him safe.

Jazz swore.  If this thing was because of someone, she would kill them.

Really.

Not with kindness.

But with...other things.

Yeah.

"Jazzerincess!  You've yet to see our ghost!  Come!  Join us!"

Jazz hesitated.  Then sighed and walked into the small movie theater.  (Rich people, castles, really?)

"Might as well see whatever this is."

Scooting into the open seat between Vlad and her brother, Jazz shoved the tried and true ginger into Danny's hands.

"I don't need this.  Quit trying to be helpful about this stuff.  I'm the one being helpful."

"In telling me to stuff it and stop worrying about you?"  Jazz hissed back.  "Never.  Car sick aside, how's your hand?"

"Fine.  I keep telling you everything is fine."

"Relatively."

"That's right, Jazz.  Good.  You do listen."

"I will-"

"Kids, kids."

Jazz and Danny both scowled, but pursed their mouths shut.

"Ready to see a ghost and their biology?!"

Joy.  Human biology, maybe.  Jazz was in the AP Bio class, so that kind of video would be helpful.  She did fine with any other educational health videos from freshman year.  So, no problem there.

But this was fantasy and what her parents 'saw' in globs of ectoplasm.

Tap tap tap tap tap.

Gaze focused and brows furrowed, Vlad Masters stared at the screen as one stiff finger tapped noticeably on his thigh.

"Phantom."  He muttered under his breath.  "That name is..."

"Just another word for a ghost?"  Jazz commented dryly.  "Or means a figment of imagination?"

A perfect name for her parents' ghost.

"We can pull that one up first!  That night was one of the nights we were able to study the chest cavity.  It's quite interesting to see how the heart and lung systems of humans compare to a human formed ghost."

"Well, that'll be a different view."  Danny drawled.

"I know, honey.  Not what you get excited about.  Don't worry.  We packed a couple things to work on and your tools are in the RV too if you-"

"Like the Spector Deflector?  You know I was working on tweaking the output better."

Mom laughed.  "It's in there."

"Why didn't you tell me before we reached a castle to explore?"

Taptaptaptaptap!

"I take, I guess that this was a later night of footage?"

Heads spun back to Vlad.

Later night?  Maybe he had watched some of it already with the papers he'd been flipping through.

"Oh yes.  We worked our way up from the smaller samples and readings and studies of anatomy.  Get a good overall working picture started and going."

"Got that one!  Play!"

Dad slammed his thumb down on the play button  and sat upright, gaze partway on the screen and partway over at Vlad Masters to watch his reaction.

Fine.  Ghost.  Sure.

Jazz turned her head to look at the oversized home screen.  There was the lab, back corner of it with the long stretched out table, the computers up along the wall, the small moving wheelie table with various tools, a couple devices attached to the ceiling pulled down.  A light or laser, something like that.  Looked life size on this big screen.  As did her full lab outfitted parents.

Unless you counted the camera cutting off their legs.

That was it, her parents moving around the lab and setting things into place.

Not a lick of ectoplasm in sight.

The phrase was correct, Jazz was not going to let her parents live down that accidental door open leading to the basement which ended up with some of that stuff in the kitchen.

And then, a shadow of a human made by end of the day sun came into view of the camera.  Coming down through the ceiling.

Jazz's mind went blank and stared.

That shadow was much too solid at the edges.  Too real.  No human attached to it to make it make sense.  Definitely not at all looking like any ectoplasm Jazz had ever seen before.

What was this?

Drifting all the way down, the shadow sharpened even more around its edges.  Clarifying it's shape and few colors.  Mostly a slim black.  Gloved white hands, white boots, a belt.  Head covered in black, except the mouth and nose and cheeks beneath a pair of white googles outlining the single display of expected ectoplasm color of bright green green green.  

That's all there was for anything within those frames for what should be eyes.  All bright green green green swirling like a ball of copper flames tightly bound into a shape.  The green squinted and blinked, then returned, head slowly rotating as those endless too large eyes apparently took in the area.

Having floated down far enough, Jazz could tell this, this, (it couldn't be a ghost, what was this?!) shadowy person was as tall as Mom was.

One gloved hand lifted up at Mom in the video.

"A bit early tonight."  Mom on the recording commented.

"You said you were thinking bigger tonight."

The voice crackled and echoed, slightly too loud and out of sync, screechy high and bass scratching all at once, like hearing a dj talking when you had the dial not quite on the dot for that radio station.

"That we were!  That fine?"

"I'm here.  Early.  What are we studying tonight?"

"Where would be the main respiratory area on a human, where the blood would pump."

"We got a diagram up of what and where if you want to look at it beforehand."  Jack on camera pointed out.  "And if you have issue with it.  We can adjust."

"Jack.  We pretty much have everything set up and organized for doing that."

Having drifted over, the green green green behind the reflective glass of goggles blinked slowly, then stared right through the diagram and words on the computer screen.

Hissing, snap crackle and popping chuckles vibrated out from the shadow figure.

This could not be a ghost.

This was...something else.

Beside her, she could hear Danny snickering to himself, failing to completely cover it up.

Jazz stared at those ectoplasmic, far too green and far too large circles, placed where eyes ought to be were at on this, this person's face was.

Not real.

Not right.

Wrong.

Something was really wrong here.

"This?"  A gloved glowing white finger pointed at the diagram.  "I can make jokes with this.  What joke first...  I suppose I'll figure it out once I'm under the spotlight."

"Gotten more chatty."  Mom commented in a low tone to Dad on the screen.

"That's true."  Jazz heard Mom say down the row of seating.

"Need a hand with anything?"

"Oh!  We're good.  Practically done, just calibrating this over here.  But thanks, uh.  Huh."

The huge orange lab covered Dad on screen paused in his cheerful answer.

"Well, we've just been calling you our ghost.  You never said and we never asked."  Pausing, onscreen Dad asked with plain, wanting to know, curiosity.  "Do you have a name you go by?"

This shadowy person gave a little smile beneath those green filled goggles, floating vaguely through the area, touching lightly at various objects and instruments.

"Yours."

This, this ghost, paused in their casual perusal and turned their head just off to the side.  Green wide and unblinking.  Quiet, still, staring at seemingly nothing. 

"I'm just...a phantom.  Phantom.  Like my dreams."

The figure spun in midair.

"But here I am for yours!  For I am yours!  I get a mirror to see?  It'll be a hard area for me to see for myself tonight..."

Their too wide beaming smile tilted.

"Help me as I help you?"

They paused.

"Maybe the joke is being able to hold my still beating heart!"

Their screech of excitement about that idea was...awful on Jazz's ears.  

Onscreen, Mom wrinkled her nose and rubbed at one of her ears.

"You know it's not really a heart there."

They spun to Mom with a surprised smile.

"Yes.  I know.  But, frame of reference.  The idea is easily gotten.  Ah.  Maybe not that for the prized first joke about this..."

"Joking?"  Vlad muttered beside Jazz.

She finally ripped her eyes off the screen as this Phantom laid out on the table for her parents to start studying their anatomy.

(Like a corpse on a mortuary table!)

Vlad Masters was gripping tightly at his knee, eyes gleaming with a spot of reflected EXIT sign red.

"Who is this?  Are they, are they a child?"  

At that whisper, Jazz realized a few things.

Vlad Masters still and did believe in ghosts.

This Phantom probably was or had been a child.

And she wasn't...a ghost, but her human biology limits were very much at the forefront of her mind and screaming about this human shaped person of a likely child being deeply sliced into.

"This is..."

Sucking in his breath, Vlad stood up.

"Ah.  I believe I need to consult some bits of information to check on a theory I have about this...ghost of yours.  No need to go in half baked. I feel I have the strongest desire since college of needing to absolutely find a precise collection of information to consolidate into the answer.  This Phantom appeared sometime start of autumn, correct?"

"See?  This is great stuff for the study of ghosts!  It's only the one.  But a starting point to compare once we capture another.  Our ghost, Phantom, says he'll bring us one, wanting to determine and be certain they consent to us doing so!  Vladdy!  Wanting and gaining consent from others of his kind!  Such a higher level of sentience than the few we managed to get glimpses of in college!  A little more like your Scott Vulker ghost for intelligence."

Vlad Masters winced at that and that name cropping up again.

Dad.  Definitely more on the oblivious and not realizing here.  Being far too comfortable and at ease in what he said.

Perhaps it hadn't been quite as much a sore spot back when they were in school.

"Yes.  Well.  I need to find the right bits of information.  Quickly.  Perhaps take a trip down to spend a few days at your place of residence."

"That'd be amazing!  I've missed you being nearby!  And it can be like old times!  Better!  You should see our lab set up.  The precautions set up and everything we got in there!  Get to know the kids!  Jazz has got such a level head and Danny here has the greatest knack and knowledge in engineering that I've ever seen in a kid!  Our Dan-o was the one who officially got our portal running!  Professor Chin would be ranking him right up there with you!  I swear, Vlad.  It'll be worth it."

"We'll see.  Maddie."

And there that tone was back from Vlad for a nanosecond.

Right before leaving, so that was fine Jazz figured. 

Hearing a humming noise, she turned, surprised to find Danny curled up in his theater seat with a smile, happily humming to himself.

"Are you...humming?"

"Mmmm, yep."  He smiled more.  "Don't Dad and Mom look so happy about all of this?"

"Uh."  Jazz goggled at her brother as he watched and listened to their parents excitedly chattering and throwing ideas back and forth to each other.  "Sure.  They look happy."

"And I helped."

Jazz raised an eyebrow at the back of his head.

"I'm so glad I could help them this much.  Aren't you proud?  That I did?"

"Yeaaah."  She answered slowly.

It was like his hisses of pain, grunts, groaning, moans caught a heard of in the mornings.  Like his flinching and wincing and rubbing.

It niggled and itched at Jazz.

"But you."  His face puckered into a pouting scowl, twisting to look at her instead.  "You are impossible to help.  I keep telling you I'm fine.  You don’t need to worry about me and my safety."

Alarms.  Alarms.  What is that?  What was that?  Why did it come off as concerning?

"Danny, what do you mean I don't need to worry about-"

"Stop stressing out, Jazz.  You got your whole life ahead of you and big dreams to amaze the world with.  I don't think those plans include being a teen mother."

Jazz stared at her brother and his growing big, shit eating grin.

"Danny, you little-"

Cackling, he lept up and hurried off.

"Dead man walking!  Step aside!  Out of the way!"

"Danny!"

After a few minutes of Jazz tucking her stocking clad feet up beneath her in the comfy reading chair, Danny distractedly reached for a loose screw spinning a circle almost out of his reach.

And then noticed her there.

"Great."  He scowled sullenly.  Voice a sharp bite. 

All his intense focus, gone.  The little hums and frustrated huffs and intrigued huhs and curious noises, gone. 

Danny scrunched his nose and debatingly glanced to the door.  Then slumped and continued on with the screw he'd grabbed for the mechanical belt looking thing he had in his hands.

"You found me.  Congratulations.  Want a medal or is just looking at me helpful for you?"

"Very helpful."  Jazz tugged at the bottom of her pajama pants, attempting to straighten them and keep her whole leg covered.  She shifted in the reading chair.  Debating herself.  But on one of the books stacked on the side table beside the chair.

She disregarded them.  They looked like a stack of pretentious architecture books.  Nothing terribly interesting to her.

"I knew I wouldn't find you in the room you picked."

"Stupid servant guy."  Danny muttered and twisted the screw in tight.

"Since I've never found you in your room around this time of night for the last many weeks.  I can be glad to have my concerns on where you are quelled right now in this overlarge house."

"Castle."  

Jazz ignored his mutter and he avoided looking at proof of her in the library as he worked over one of their parents' new things.

"Now, if you'll inform me just where you've been disappearing to when I try finding you at-"

He snorted.  And shot her an unrepentant grin.

"And lose that?  Hell.  To the fucking.  No.  In your dreams and in dreamland only.  Sorry.  I'm already fulfilling other dreams at this time, take a number."

Sighing, Jazz rolled her eyes.

Happily, glad to smash that idea and treat it like a joke slap to her face, Danny directed his focus back to the long object in his hands.

"What is that anyway and what are you doing?"

Pausing, Danny gave a long suffering sigh.  But he did shift how he was seated on the carpet so she could have a better angled look at it.  And went right into going off for her, getting caught up and wrapped up in his words.

As he pointed a piece out in his explanation, looking at the piece instead of her, Jazz smiled behind her hand at him.

"So, Spector Deflector?"

"Don't look at me with its name."

"And the basic idea is that it attacks and chases out any apparent ghostly possession?  With electricity?"

Danny appeared a little pained, but nodded.

"Yeah.  Pretty much.  Like I said before, I'm improving the output."  He rolled his eyes and huffed, tone sing songy as if he were speaking, and making fun of, a small child.  "With it's electricity."

Jazz ignored it, thoughts trickling elsewhere, concerns drifting a little with her brother safely in her sights.

"Hey.  Danny.  About that.  Ghosts.  The...ghost in Mom and Dad's footage."

He half twisted his upper body to her from returning back to the fancy tech belt.  Waiting.  Clearly waiting for more.

At nothing more, he kinda shrugged and didn't look her in the eye.

"You gunna say they don't and shouldn’t exist?"  

"So you think they do?"

Startled, Danny turned again.  Blinking dumbly up at her.  "Do I think they...  Well they clearly aren't exactly human."

His voice twisted angrily.

Jazz jolted back in the reading chair, taken aback at the sudden hard turn of emotion in Danny's voice.

"Well," she began slowly.  "I don't know.  Past the outward appearance, the cover of their ghostly book so to say, what I saw past and inside on who they were...they seemed pretty human to me.  That was a person.  Probably a child in their joking around.  In that way, they made me think of you."

Danny's face went slack.  Blank.  Drawn and white and pale and staring at her.

"Made you think...of me. You saw me in...in that?"

"Them."  Jazz corrected.  It felt far, far more correct than using 'it'.  Danny's drawn pale face gaped up at her.

"Them I'm pretty sure I can say.  Ghost or whatever they exactly are.  Ugh." 

Jazz wrinkled her nose and shook her head. 

"The idea of Mom and Dad being right about ghosts is...  No.  No.  Ugh.  But I don't know who or what that was, but they were clearly-"

"Not even Mom or Dad noticed."  Danny spoke to himself, eyes still wide and unseeing.  "I thought if they didn't, then no one..."

"Notice what?"  Jazz asked, worry and curiosity swirling at Danny's current state and words.

He squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head, wild black strands flying further out into a mess on that head of his.

"Nothing!  Nothing.  Just...  Just something, apparently wrong, I'd thought about this for quite some time."

Jazz leaned back in the chair and chuckled.  "I think we both thought something we found to be wrong about this.  Ghosts.  Parental weirdness leaping over logical correctness.  And-"

"Yeah, I'm just gunna get back to this."  

The words flew out of Danny at rocket speed, hurriedly looking away and rushing to finish getting pieces slotted back on and into place.

She felt that.

Avoiding the thought and idea and sight of their parents being right.

Maybe one of these architecture books could be found interesting enough, Jazz mused.

With Danny already having one avoidance wall up, now wasn't likely the time to press about him being and feeling hurt a little too often for Jazz's likings these days.

Still.  She was persistent and he was still in the same area as her and hadn't been as full force teenage Danny about it or in speaking with her.

"So.  Danny."

Danny spun, the now fully put together belt in hand and pointed like a weapon.

"You know what, Jazz?  It's time to test this.  Want to give it a go?  Don't worry."  He simpered.  "My goal with this was in the input and output for ghost to human.  To be less of a...shock, for humans when it finds a ghost to zap at.  You should be fine and without any reaction as you don't have any ghost part of you, right little miss obsessive much?"

Okay.

Jazz trusted Danny's abilities and skills.  Like 100 percent, no question really.  He was really good at this kind of thing.  It was his jam.

But she did not trust that look right now on Danny's face.

He potentially and very much would set it up with a little shock just to gleefully get back at her.

"Um.  Well.  You know, that doesn't make for a good test.  I don't have any so called ghost possessing me."

"Nah.  You've just always been like that.  Just worse.  Okay."  Danny apparently declared and rolled up to stand.  "I'll do the test.  It's settings are set lower for human than before anyway.  At most, tiny shock for me right now."

Jazz slumped and groaned and made to stand.  "Danny.  Don't be putting that on if you think there is a chance you didn't do it correc-"

"Click!  Too late!  I can handle it.  What were you saying now, Ja-ah."

Danny's face sputtered and froze, hissing and jaw clenched tight, crackling noises sounding and sparking visibly around the belt clicked securely around Danny's waist.

"Shit."

His whole chest heaved, body seizing at him, jerking for movement and his voiced strained in his wide eyed alarmed pain.

White sparks danced and spun thicker around his waist, popping off further down his legs and up his chest.

Jazz's mind went blank.  Staring.

"Shiiit."  Danny hissed through his grinding teeth.  His eyes even wider, head hitch jerking it's small turn to look straight at Jazz.  "I fucked up.  The input.  And output.  I.  Shit.  Switched them a-oh, fuuuuuuuck."

The visible show of electricity on Danny's body snapped angrily, impatiently, violently.

Jazz jerked out of her stunned shock.

"Danny!  Take it off, take it off!"

"Can't. It's locked in.  I, ugh!  No.  No, no, no, no, no!"

"It will not be!"  Jazz snarled.  

Jazz's head spun frantically.

"Rubber!" 

She couldn't touch him without a barrier.  Rubber! 

"Rubber, right?  Where is something with rubber?  Why isn't there a pair of rubber gloves here?!"

"Bathroom.  Around corner.  Took off to.  Ugh!  Get out!"

Jazz spun to the library doorway.

And from the doorway of the library, Vlad Masters came running and skidding in, panic on his face.

"I didn't expect you two in here, I'm not used to others in here, so I hovered at the door to wait until you two left so I could look into something, but then I."  

His words were frantic, spilling out at a ramble as he ran over to them, eyes wide at Danny.

"Child.  Child!"

If he wanted Danny's attention, Jazz didn't see what that'd do or help.

"Rubber!  We need his rubber gloves in the bathroom to-"

"No.  I trust you."  Danny growled out past his pain of constant high shock.  Staring right at Jazz.  Blue eyes pleading with her, flashing with need and bright color.  Jazz went still beneath his eyes.  "And I need your help to get him out.  Now.  I only want your help and I will help you in showing I'm fine.  Ugh!  Please!  Hurry up, Jazz!  Stay, but.  Get him. The hell. OUT!"

Jazz stared at her brother, straining past the held into place pain, pushing it back until it was safe, eyes only on her, eyes flickering and each flicker clicking a tiny truth into her brain.  All as he desperately pleaded for her to help him.

She turned on her heel, looking straight at Vlad.  He ripped his eyes off the stiff back of Danny, hands hovering, but not willing to touch.  Met her eyes.

"Young Jasmine.  No.  This child is-"

"I'm sorry, Mister Masters.  Get out.  If you know her, you should know my mother is a competent fighter and she taught me.  It is a daily workout and skill I keep up with simply to keep in shape, which, my brother here, complains about and has refused to take part in spars with me because I always defeat him and often our giant man of a father."

"Faster.  Fuuuuck.  Fuck, fuck, fuck!  Argh!  Stop being so damn POLITE!"

"Child."  The man's attention was back to Danny, circling to make his way around to face Jazz's brother.  Disregarding Jazz and her words and Danny's wishes completely.

"If you merely reversed wires, then you can simply-"

At Danny's newest scream, Jazz shifted and lashed out, feeling only a twinge of guilt about knocking their host out. 

"About.  Fucking.  Time.  Close fucking enough."

Breathing out, Danny released the tightness shaking at his body, eyes flickering stronger and in relief as he let go.

Sparks flew up and down his body, a flash of white covering him for a moment, then left splotchy spots dancing in Jazz's eyes from staring directly at him.

Not all the newfound areas of darkness were gone from Jazz's sight.

Shifting and stretching their body one way and then the other, the shadow dark form of Phantom cracked their neck and jaw.

"Ah.  That's better.  And there is the light shock.  I blame you for distracting me.  But at least now..."  

Phantom's gloved white hands worked at the belt and unclicked it.

"Now the mechanism unlocked.  Ha.  Take that you strangling bastard."

"Danny?"

Bright green green green eyes taking up all the space behind the glass of the goggles, lifted from their waist and up to Jazz.

Silence.

No crackling static echoing voice sliced between screech and scratchy.

Only silence.

Terrified at the answer being yes, Jazz forced her quivering voice to go steady.

"Danny?"

Phantom stared.

Then, in the most stupid and pure idiotic little brother voice, they crossed their arms and smugly responded.

"I told you I was helping them, didn't I Jazz?"

Jazz stared, the implications of that sentence washing over her with less kindness than a sudden polar plunge.

Helping them.

Horrified, cold, her own body shaking, Jazz crumpled to the floor, hand over her mouth, nausea rolling up fast and sticking in a great lump in her throat, tears thick as her strangled sobs.

Phantom, Danny, uncertainly uncrossed his arms and drifted closer, his mouth pulling downward beneath the bright green goggle-eyes.

"Jazz?  Come on.  See?  I helped you with all your needless worry.  Showed you that  I really am fine.  I mean relatively.  But, hey!  I can be so helpful this way!  It's great because I heal-"

"No.  No, Danny.  This is not..."  Jazz forced in a shaky breath, breathless and choking over nausea and sobbing.  "Oh my god."

Hissing and a groan came from beside Jazz crumpled on the floor.

Both her and Danny froze, wide eyed at each other.

"Mmm'anna ill'm."  

Vlad Masters coughed, clearing his throat, upper body barely off the floor beneath his fisted hands.  Facing away from Jazz and Danny.  Danny.  Who looked like that right now.

Danny had trusted Jazz with this!

Crap!

Snot still dripping from her nose with tears blocking her from full vision, Jazz shared a panicked look with her brother.  Danny squeezed his eyes shut.  White sparks, quiet now without the belt, forming at his middle and spreading.

That better be how he looks more, uh, as expected.

Less easy slice and dice worthy.

'I told you I was helping them.'

Oh my god.

She was going to kill him.

'I'm fine!'

No.

Her throat lodged up harder, half sobbing.  Every noise he made from his bedroom.  Every cut sliced into him to study.  Because he was, was a ghost.  Dead and...

Jazz choked and felt like she was going to throw up again.

Danny, looking as expected, threw her an exasperated look as if she was overreacting.

"I."  Vlad coughed, clearing his throat with a growl.  "Am going to slice and cut and tear and rip into that flesh and pay back equally with high interest before I kill-"

"Woooah."  Jazz and Danny said in a shared unison they hadn't had since Danny drew the line in the sand between them.  And then a breathless, "What the fuck?"

Fingers digging deeply into the floored carpet, the smell of acid char spreading out from the smoke steaming up from his hands, Vlad slowly turned his head look at them.  Eyes red red red and pissed.  Jazz stumbled back into and with Danny, clutching at him and him clutching at her.

"He's right.  We do heal.  And I commend you, young Jasmine, on momentarily taking down my person while I was in shock of the child, proving not to be a difficult find.  But here.  Here and-  Daniel.  Jasmine too.  Stay.  Here.  I will not hold back in assuring you are kept safe."

And Vlad Masters sank into and through the library carpet.  Gone.  As if never there.  Except for the burnt claw marks gauged deep through the smoking carpet and wood beneath.

What.

In the.

Everloving-

"Hey Jazz."

"Uh huh."  Jazz said weakly back. 

"Soooo.  I had a thought."

"What's that?"

"Vlad said 'we'.  'We do heal.'"

"I heard."

"There's someone else like me!"

"That's just...just great Danny."

"Right."  Danny's voice dropped from cheerful.  "So I have a very good and bad idea on what he is able to do."

Snatching up the discarded belt that lay on the floor, Danny ripped it open with a bare hand, switched two wires, and slapped it back together in place with bright green fingertips.

"Take this."

Fumbling, she took it.

"Close your eyes."

Jazz did so, seeing the sudden flash of sparkling bright behind her eyelids.

"Hold on.  I've only done this with objects."

"Done what?"

Danny didn't answer her, they just simply sank and flew through the floor.

Jazz shrieked. 

"Danny!"

"You want him to kill Dad and Mom?  Help me.  We're gunna belt and leash him."

"He only wants to because they dissected you!"  Jazz snapped back. 

Absolutely terrified of Danny flying her in a straight path (through solid objects!) for their parents' room. 

She screeched at him, beyond pushed to the limits on everything, but especially...

"And you know what, Danny?  I kind of fucking agree with Vlad about that feeling right now!"

"I said I was fine!  I'm fine with it!  I went to them and offered!  It was my idea!  I was just helping!  And he's going to stop their work and kill them for it?"

"Oh, right!  Like this is anything like you working their gadgets and-oh my god.  You helped make, and improve, on those gadgets they were using on you!"

Horror anew washed over Jazz.  She slumped.  Danny tightened his grip and kept flying through objects and walls with her.  She felt each one they passed through, body tingling with a quick sharp statically feeling.  Like, and not at all like, one of her limbs falling asleep.

Danny.

Danny.

No.

No.

She couldn't just.

Jazz choked back a new sob.

They were going to stop Vlad (from something truly awful, don't get Jazz wrong here).  But Danny saw nothing wrong with this current Phantom agreement with their parents.  Did a lot to see it through.  To help.  Glad about it. 

Jazz and Danny would be stopping Vlad, sure, but there was this in Danny's mind.  To keep continuing his current arrangement of consenting repeating dissection done upon him.  By their oblivious, unknowing parents.

Jazz was not going to remain speechless.  Or against finagling a way to have Vlad Masters to be her physical threatening presence about this on her side.  He was willing to go there.  Farther than Jazz could or wanted it to go.  But to scream and tear into them.  Verbally.  Yeah.  Bodily harm was an option, if they, if they after being told...

Vlad used Daniel.  He was in this party with her.

Jazz would give anything for Danny to help him.

Even, probably, any good will or love Danny had for her.

"Okay Danny.  You asked for it.  And ask or not, you are my brother.  So."  Jazz swallowed, tightening her trembling grip on the belt, hoping to steady herself as Danny flew them ever closer to their destination.

"Here we go.  My help it is."