FicWad

Thanks to caitgirl1 for beta reading!

XxxxxXxxxxxXxxxx

"We have to help him!" Sam shouted glaring at the tv. It was unbearable to watch Vortex torture Danny by repeatedly shocking him with forks of lightning. Every time the white rings formed, Sam's breath caught in her throat. It was only a matter time until Danny's endurance ran out.

"It's just a ghost, I don't see why we should help it," Maddie growled. Donned in her familiar hazmat suit, she too glared at the tv but for a different reason entirely. She despised the recent attention Phantom had gathered.

"Let's try catch him instead. This is the perfect opportunity to rid the streets of that putrid protoplasm..." Jack's loud voice faded at the end of his sentence. He sounded hesitant and confused. He wasn't smiling or excited at the opportunity to catch the ghost kid. Maddie frowned. For the past few days, Jack had been withdrawn and quiet. It was unsettling to say the least.

"Wait Jack. We can't go out there yet. That weather ghost is causing mayhem. We need backup before we try take it down. As much as I hate to admit it, we need the Guys in White for this one,"

"But Mom the GiW will target Da-Phantom too. He's protecting us! You both saw him save that family didn't you? Phantom is not the enemy here, Vortex is!" Jazz argued trying to block Maddie from reaching the phone.

"Mrs F don't ya think the GiW would have arrived already anyway? I mean they pop up the minute a ghost appears. It's been four hours since Vortex started attacking. What makes you think they're gonna help now?" Tucker shifted from foot to foot, glancing at the tv every once and awhile.

"Besides, the GiW couldn't catch a ghost if it farted in their faces," Sam mused. Tucker smirked at her.

"Interesting choice of words there Sam," the two chuckled.

Maddie scrutinised the three teens. When the attack first started they had all rushed off, including Danny. She and Jack raced after them, but when they had caught up, Danny mysteriously disappeared. Maddie was worried sick. The only thing that stopped her from searching the streets was that Jazz assured her that Danny had went off to town's shield. They knew something that she didn't.

"Why are you so concerned about Phantom? What do you know? He's a ghost. Nothing more, nothing less," Maddie placed her hands on her hips.

"Phantom is being tortured on live television. How can you stand by and watch? After all he's done! And you still think he's evil? For once Mom, open your goddam eyes!" Jazz's fists were clenched so hard that her knuckles had gone stark white. "Please Mom…"

Maddie didn't really know what to say. Jazz had often argued with her and Jack about one thing or another, usually on the topic of ghosts. For the past few months their arguments had been centered on Phantom. Jazz refused to believe that Phantom was malevolent. It was a well-known fact, all ghosts were. The sooner Jazz accepted that, the better.

A particularly loud scream echoed from the tv. Vortex continued to wave Phantom around upside down while randomly shocking him. His hair was singed at the edges and sticking out at peculiar angles. Numerous gashes and burns dotted his body. Every now and then a white ring formed at his waist. Maddie was fascinated. She'd never seen it before.

Phantom screamed again.

"That's it! I can't stand by and watch this! Sam, Tucker we're going in. Nothing you say can stop us Mom," a small tear slid down Jazz's cheek.

"Jasmine Fenton! You will not leave this house. Why can't you understand? There is no such thing as 'good' ghosts. The minute Phantom is free he'll turn on you!"

"No Mom, you don't understand! Ghosts are like people. There's good people, and then there's bad people. You can't paint them all with the same brush. Ghosts do have emotions. They feel happiness, they feel sadness and loneliness. They can feel other things than just anger and rage. Don't you dare bother to say that they don't. You've never talked to a ghost without a gun shoved in their face! Can you hear him screaming? You think he's faking that?" Jazz turned on her heel and rushed out of the kitchen. Sam and Tucker followed wordlessly.

Jack had remained uncharacteristically silent. He sat slouched at the table, gaze fixed on the tv screen.

"Maddie I think we should help them rescue Phantom. Jazz seemed so certain… Maybe she really does know more than we do. Phantom is a ghost, but he looks so young. He could even be Danny's age and I can't imagine anything happening to Jazz or Danny," he looked up, blue eyes stormy with emotion. Maddie's mind reeled. Jack never compared ghosts to humans. Ghosts had no humanity, they were just an impression, energy left behind.

Right? They can't feel pain, they don't have emotions…

"Jack?"

"I want to confirm something and I'll need to talk to Phantom, intact," Jack looked exhausted and weary. At night he would toss and turn. For the life of her Maddie couldn't figure out the cause of the sudden change in behaviour.

"Well we can hardly let those kids do the fighting for us. Come on let's go," Maddie weakly smiled, heading down to the basement. Jack went upstairs to the armory. Could all their research be wrong? Were they actually hunting sentient beings as Jazz so incessantly suggested? She shivered at the thought. Today she was going to get her facts straight, once and for all.

"Jazz wait! We're going to help don't go yet we need a plan if we want to get Phantom out!" Maddie yelled from the basement.

"Mom?" came an uncertain reply. Maddie finished kitting herself out and raced up the steps into the living room. What she saw surprised her.

"Do you even know how to use ecto-guns?"

Jazz, Sam and Tucker were dressed like a navy seal team. Each donned a Specter Deflector and a utility belt weighed down with weaponry. Sam was decked out with the Fenton Ghost Peeler. Tucker had numerous PDAs clipped to his belt and a Fenton Lipstick could be seen sticking up from a trouser pocket. And Jazz? Well Jazz looked ready to fight a war. Two Fenton Wrist Rays adorned her arms. A Fenton Bazooka and Fenton Anti-Creep Stick were strapped to her back. In her hand was the keys to Fenton Family Ghost Assault Vehicle as Jack adequately called it.

"Don't worry Ms. F, if it's technology, Tucker Foley will always know how to use it,"

"Why are you talking in third person?" Sam arched an eyebrow "We've had practice. We can handle ourselves,"

"What changed your mind?" Jazz asked, her long red hair tied up.

"I want to get the facts, not some hypothesis. To do that, I need evidence directly from the source. I want to interview Phantom,"

"What?!" the three teens yelled.

"Jinx!" Tucker said before Sam stomped on his foot.

"Interview Da-Phantom? Like on those TV talk shows?" Jazz sounded incredulous.

"As silly as it seems, yes something like that. Look we can talk about this later. You know Phantom personally don't you," they nodded " Well if I don't get to talk to it- him- could you ask if he's willing to talk to me? Jack and I haven't really tried to negotiate with ghosts before, and Phantom probably won't trust us not to shoot him…"

"I know it's hard Mom. But all that 'research' you have believed didn't come from real ghosts. You could change the world with accurate information," Jazz grinned eyes brightening. Maddie for once in her life hoped that her old information was wrong. The happiness emanating from Jazz filled the room, Sam and Tucker were grinning like idiots. If they were wrong, it'd crush them. But then again, if they were right, what horrors had her and Jack been doing all this time? Her stomach churned uncomfortably. She was torn. If she was correct her daughter would suffer and if she was wrong, it meant she had experimented on sentient beings… She almost puked.

Jack lumbered down stairs, a spring in his step. He had most likely listened in. "So what's the plan?" he boomed. Maddie wanted answers, and she hoped to God that they could both survive the truth.

XxxxxXxxxxxxXxxxxx

"Why couldn't we have taken the GAV?" Jack whined as his shoe slipped into some sewage.

"We need to be stealthy Dad. A giant RV with Fenton plastered on the side is not stealthy. Especially if you're driving…"

"Aww Jazzy-Pants, what's wrong with my driving? Jack Fenton can be the stealthiest man in the country if he has to!"

"Seriously?! Why are you talking in third person?"

"What crawled up your butt and died Sam?" Tucker got another foot stomp.

Everyone was so composed. The teen's movements were urgent but had a certain familiarity to them. Maddie continued to listen in to the relaxed conversation. Jack had never shown fear to ghost hunting, but the teens seemed perfectly at ease carrying weapons almost as big as themselves. And then it clicked. They've done this before. She'd ask them about that later. Right now, her focus was on Jack.

"You kids go on ahead, I want to ask Jack something," Jazz shot her a worried look, but kept walking.

"Maddie?"

"Jack… What's bothering you? The past few days, you haven't been yourself," Maddie placed a comforting hand on her husband's shoulder.

"It's just, I'm confused about ghosts. The other day, Phantom called me Dad,"

"He did what?"

"I know. At first I thought it was a trick, but it doesn't add up. Phantom was lying on the roof of the Op Centre. He'd tripped the new ghost alarm, you know the silent one that connects to our phones? So I went up, real quiet and I yelled at him. 'Come here' or something like that, and he said 'Yeah Dad, coming' and when he saw me, he looked so frightened Maddie. I don't think he even meant to say what he said," Jack sighed glancing down at the gun in his arms. "I really do think he mistook me for his dad, and I, I was about to shoot him Maddie. What if we're wrong? What if-,"

"Jack whatever happens, we'll get through this together. And any mistakes we've made we'll try to correct them," Maddie hugged him.

"Come on guys! Phantom needs our help! You can get all lovey-dovey later," Jazz yelled, her voice echoing in the sewer tunnel.

"We'll fix this Maddie, one step at a time," Jack smiled, breaking the hug. The two of them jogged back to the group. It was time to set things right.

XxxxxXxxxxxxXxxx

"Is everything ready?"

"Yep," Sam nodded.

"Are the charges in place?"

"Yep," Tucker checked his PDA for the fourth time.

"Do we all know the plan? If we mess up-,"

"Jazz honey, calm down. We all know what to do. You really do care for Phantom don't you," it was more of statement rather than a question. Maddie pulled her hood up. She fastened her goggles in place.

"Well, he's kinda like a second little brother," Jazz admitted. Sam and Tucker spun around with identical looks of confusion on their faces.

"Eh yeah, he's a friend. We all like, hang out and stuff," Tucker got elbowed in the ribs.

"Sometimes we help him, you know, after ghost attacks. He's nearly always injured or needs a nap," Sam said.

"Ghosts sleep?" Maddie asked. What else did she not know? And how much time had they spent with Phantom without her knowledge?

"Em no, Phantom is just a little different that's all," Jazz glared at Sam.

"Is there different species of ghost?"

The teens shared a look.

"Kinda?" Tucker answered, unsure of himself.

Interesting. When this was all over, Maddie had some serious research to do.

"Here's the manhole," Jack pointed out. He lifted the lid and climbed out, hauling a sack full of ghost hunting gear up after him. Jazz followed. Maddie was last up. She gripped the rusty ladder. After this she'd know; either her kids and their friends were being manipulated or she and Jack had been wrong all their lives...

Showtime.

XxxxxXxxxxxXxxxx

Danny felt like he was on fire. Everywhere hurt. The blood had rushed to his head and he knew that he was going to get sick if he hung upside down for much longer. The foot that Vortex had grabbed was numb.

"Had enough yet?"

Danny gritted his teeth. He was so tired, he just wanted the pain to stop.

"It's the Fentons!" an excited yell erupted from the crowd. Huh. Fenton. That's nice- wait crap Fenton. He opened his eyes. Stepping out of a manhole, his father appeared. Jazz came up after him with Sam and Tucker in tow. His mother was the last one to emerge from the manhole, replacing the lid as she did so. At least they were all right. He eyed the pile of weapons gathered at their feet. This was not going to end well. Danny weakly struggled, he tried to turn intangible, but he just couldn't focus enough.

"Stop squirming," another shock pulsed through him. He really hated electricity.

"Vortex put Phantom down right now!" Maddie yelled, her voice amplified with a megaphone. Boy, she sounded mad.

"And why would I do that?" Vortex replied. Danny was sure if he had the energy to look up, he'd see a cocky grin.

"We will fire," the five of them all pointed their weapons, with Vortex in the crosshairs.

"You'll hit Phantom as well, but I highly doubt that you'll care,"

A murmur went through the crowd. A crinkly old man spoke.

"Shoot them both! Those ghosts only cause trouble in this town,"

"Phantom saved my kids last week! Don't shoot," a woman cried out.

"It's him or us. You have to pull the trigger! No one else will save us now, and Phantom can't protect us. Look at him! He's barely awake!" another man shouted.

"You'd be like that too if you were repeatedly shocked with lightning!" someone else hollered.

"Is this how we repay him? By shooting him?"

"Repay him? For what? Damaging our houses, putting our children in danger? My daughter broke her arm in an attack. Now she can't play piano anymore!"

"It's not Phantom's fault!"

"Why do you think the ghosts come here in the first place? To attack Phantom. This town is caught in the crossfire!"

Soon the crowd was divided, both sides screaming and yelling at each other. Despite the seriousness of the situation, Danny felt a small surge of relief and gratitude. The majority of the town defended him.

"Everybody shut up!" Jazz screeched through the megaphone. The noise died down.

"Reminder to self, don't piss off Jazz," Danny smirked. His sister looked livid. Sam was equally enraged. Tucker was fiddling with his PDA. A cord connected it to the sack of weapons at his Dad's feet. Hm, they had a plan. He relaxed ever so slightly.

"We all need to work together! That includes helping Phantom," a small uproar broke out "Quiet and let me finish! My Dad is passing out some weapons. All you have to do is pull the trigger. They won't harm humans, just don't get it in your eyes or anything. Tucker has calibrated the weapons. They will not affect Phantom. I repeat they will not hurt Phantom. Everybody fire on my signal,"

"What?!" Vortex's grip tightened and Danny yelped as his foot was crushed. The hum of live weapons filled the air.

"Ready!" Vortex back-peddled. He threw Danny in front of him.

"Fire!" the order came a split second later. Dozens of shots of green ecto-energy hurtled through the air. Just before they collided into him, Danny felt the distinct pull of the Fenton Thermos. He didn't fight it. The last thing he saw before he got sucked in was Vortex being pelted with weapons fire.