Archive of Our Own ^beta

Danny couldn't take it anymore.

Sitting at the dinner table, hearing his parents rant on about ghosts for the hundredth time in as many days, was too much.

“Those pieces of ectoplasmic scum…”

“Evil remnants of post-human consciousness.”

“Rip them apart, molecule by molecule!”

Jack emphasized his statement, swinging his fork wildly. Danny flinched back as a drop of tomato sauce hit the tablecloth. He was on his own when it came to dinners anymore. Jazz had left for college a few months ago, and with her went her ability to keep their parents from excessively talking about their hatred of ghosts.

She had managed to keep some of it at bay, claiming that it was the least she could do to help him. A large part of him wished she was still here, but he would never want to hold her back from her dreams. When she first left he figured he'd just have to endure his parents at mealtime, and if he could do that, he'd be fine. It's not as if his parents really left the lab for anything but meals and ghost hunting anymore. He barely spoke to them outside of dinner.

The reality was far different. The fact that their children were growing up seemed to hit the Doctors Fenton as their daughter settled into college, and they decided to spend more time with their son as a result. Now Danny saw his parents for two meals a day, and for at least an hour after school.

They had tried to ask their son about his day, his friends, and the like, but soon it became clear that they were bored with those topics. Jack and Maddie had never been great conversationalists after all, always preferring to speak about their work when possible.

So that's exactly what they did. They began to talk with Danny about ghost-hunting. In excruciating detail. This would range from their theories on what made ghosts tick to their plans for ghost dissection once they caught a ‘more sentient’ one.

For this evening meal, the popular topic of ‘the evils of ghosts’ had started up, and Danny was tired. He was tired of feeling scared and unsafe in his own home, and maybe tonight he could work on changing that.

“What if, like, ghosts are different than you think?” He asked cautiously, keeping his gaze fixed on his plate of spaghetti. “You don't know for sure that they're evil, right? Or that they can't feel pain. You've never caught one that could talk after all.”

Danny chanced a look up only to find his parents’ concerned looks.

“We don't need to catch one to know what they are, dear.” Maddie pulled her HAZMAT hood, which she had absently kept on off her head. “Their existence alone proves it.”

“Right!” Jack interjected with gusto. “They're just ectoplasmic copies of post-human consciousness that assumes human form! Their whole purpose is deception!” Maddie nodded along with her husband before passing the pasta bowl over to him for seconds.

“But,” Danny ground his teeth in frustration. “you don't know that! Have you ever even talked to a ghost? Tried to figure out why they keep coming to Amity Park?”

Danny had spent two long years now since The Accident doing just that. At first, he had just fought the ghosts who had shown up, but with time he learned. There were always some ghosts who were just looking for a fight, but others? So many others just wanted the freedom to indulge in their Obsessions. So he would talk to those who were willing. Those with non-destructive Obsessions he left alone (so long as they didn't harm anyone), and for others like Spectra, he was more than willing to utilize his ghostly allies to keep them away.

“Of course we know why they're coming here, Dan-o!” Jack boomed. “Ever since the portal activated, they've been trying to get their hands on us Fentons for trying to explore their realm! We ghost hunters are their natural enemies after all”

“Which is why you should never talk to or even approach a ghost young man,” Maddie scolded. She and Jack were well aware of their children's sympathies towards ghosts, and we're hoping to educate them to the contrary.

Danny stared in stunned silence before silently nodding and returning his attention to his plate. Neither Jack nor Maddie seemed to notice he wasn't eating, just picking at his food. They were too busy boasting about their abilities to hunt ghosts to see the look of grim determination on their son's face.

. . .

Later that night, after his parents had gone to bed, Danny intangibly floated down to their basement lab. There, weapons and what looked suspiciously like torture devices were strewn about tables. Some were finished, with notes scribbled on random pieces of paper and post-its detailing their use. Others were still in pieces with odd wires sticking out from handles.

With a glance towards the ceiling where his parents were sleeping just two floors up, Danny made a decision.

With a charged ectoblast, he incinerated the tech. Ghost hunters were his enemy right? He had tried talking to his parents, both in human and ghost form. Talking hadn't worked, and it was well past time he started protecting himself from them.