Chapter Text
That night, after flying with the flock, Danny went to bed happy. He didn’t really register the itch right below his shoulder blades until much later.
At first it was a minor, hardly noticeable. That morning, he flexed his shoulders, trying to ease the feeling between them. He was distracted by his mom calling him down for breakfast.
But the feeling didn’t ease. On the walk to school, in class, at lunch, hanging out with Sam and Tucker after. Even while patrolling in ghost form, while fighting Technus.
One, two, three days passed, each mostly the same as the last. And whether he was in human or ghost form, the itching never seemed to go away.
On Sunday night, Danny flew purposely across Amity Park, a flock of dark feather birds following him as always. He slumped, wrinkling his nose at the ectoplasm leaking from a cut on his arm.
Arriving at his goth friend’s house, he turned invisible and knocked on her window.
“I’m back.” He called softly.
The girl looked up from her seat in a bean bag chair. Tucker sat to her left, looking intently at something on his PDA.
Sam smiled, relieved, as the half ghost phased into the room and turned visible. “That didn’t take too long.” Then her expression fell. “You’re hurt.”
Tucker looked up at the words, frowning worriedly as well. “That’s a nasty cut.”
The ghost boy shook his head. “It’s not deep, looks like it just bled a lot.”
Danny floated forward as his goth friend stood. Without any more discussion, Sam retrieved the first aid kit. She returned just as the half ghost transformed back into a human and sat down on his beanbag. Sam sat down again as well, frowning at the injury.
“It’s not that bad, I swear.” The half ghost insisted.
“I’ll be the judge of that.” She narrowed her eyes, starting on treating the cut.
Danny sighed, shaking his head. He let his eyes flicker around the room. “Did Pitch run and hide again, as soon as I knocked on the window?”
Tucker chuckled at the question. “Yep. I’ve never seen a cat run so fast.” He pointed under the bed. “She’s under there.”
Sam put her hands on her hips. “You keep terrifying the poor thing.”
“Hey, I can’t help it.” The ghost boy shrugged. As much as Sam’s cat not liking him stung, he felt better after befriending his other animal friends.
“She’s a goth’s black cat and she’s scared of little old you.” The technogeek clearly found the situation funny, based on his smirk.
Danny raised his fingers, as if they were claws. “Hey, I’m a terrifying undead creature. She should be afraid.” He laughed, mock evilly, as his own joke.
“Okay, terrifying undead creature.” Sam rolled her eyes, tapping his arm. “Stay still so I can bandage this.”
The half ghost did so, lowering his arms. The trio chatted for a bit while Sam treated Danny’s cut. The goth moved to put away the medkit but stopped first. “Anything else bothering you?”
Danny opened his mouth to deny but paused in his movement. The muscles in his back twitched, itch flaring. “Actually… my back’s been itching for the past few days. Can you…uhh… take a look?” He reached up, subconsciously going to scratch the itch now that he’d mentioned it.
Sam slapped his hand away. “Don’t do that. I’ll look at it, okay? Just take your shirt off.”
Danny moved to do so but at the same time, there was a cat’s hiss. The half ghost tensed, expecting to find Sam’s cat glaring at him. But instead, he turned his head to find Pitch glaring out the window. Through the glass, a distressed caw sounded, with the flutter of wings.
“Pitch.” The goth chastised.
The cat glanced back at the sound of her voice but didn’t stop. Instead, she turned back to the window and swiped, her tail lashing.
Sam stood, approaching the window to shoe the cat away. Danny walked forward as well, calling through the glass. “Stop antagonizing Sam’s cat, guys.”
The bird closest to the window, possibly Mango, chittered offendedly. But after a few more hisses and swipes from Pitch, the birds started to fly away. The cat retreated, slinking back under the bed.
The two teens went back to their seats. Sam shook her head, the corner of her lip turning up. “Pets, am I right?”
Danny chuckled. “Yeah.”
“Yeah.” Sam then glanced down, eyes falling on his bare chest. She blushed slightly. “Uh… I was going to check your back.”
The ghost boy nodded, blushing as well. “Right.”
With that, Danny turned around, his bare back facing his friends. There was silence for a moment as Sam and Tucker looked. The half ghost glanced back, trying to see. “What’s it look like?”
He caught Sam’s frown out the corner of his eye. “There’s these… two lines, right below your shoulder blades. A few inches long maybe.” Danny saw her hand move forward, before hesitating. “Does it hurt or anything?”
The half ghost shook his head. “No, just itches really bad.”
Tucker nodded, visible on his other side. He gently reached forward. Danny shivered as his friend’s hand touched the area. “It’s kinda pink and flaky. But it doesn’t feel hot or anything.”
Sam slowly reached forward as well. “Tuck’s right.” There was a thoughtful pause. “You said it started itching a few days ago. Do you know what started it?”
Danny shook his head. “No. I… just came back from a flight and the next day, my back was itching.”
Both friends paused, considering the words. “I wondered if it was the birds.” Tucker cut in.
The half ghost blinked, suddenly startled. “What? Why would you think that?”
“They like to sit on your shoulders, Danny. Did one of them scratch you?” The technogeek suggested, more gently after his friend’s reaction.
“Oh. Uh… I don’t know. Maybe?” None of them had scratched him intentionally but those feet should be sharp.
Sam nodded. “Maybe that’s it. You got scratched and it’s getting infected. We should put some antibiotic cream on it.”
Danny bit his lip, doubting. That didn’t sound right. The birds hadn’t scratched him. And it felt itchy, not feverous like an infected wound. The boy nodded anyway. “Yeah, go ahead.” He trusted his friends’ advice; it wasn’t like putting cream on the spot would hurt anything.
So Sam did so, cleaning the area with alcohol before putting on antibiotic cream. “Does it still itch?”
Danny nodded. “Yeah. Can we try anti-itch cream too?”
“I’ll get some from the bathroom.” The goth nodded, returning with the tube. She added the cream to Danny’s great relief.
Even if the relief turned out to be temporary.
The next morning, Danny rose out of bed. He groaned, rubbing his palms into his eyes. His back was itching again. The boy swung his legs to the side and lifted off of the bed to go to the bathroom. He rifled through the drawers, the space under the sink.
“Come on. Where is it?” The half ghost muttered, practically growling. “Where’s that stupid cream?” There had to be a tube here, somewhere. Danny pulled out another drawer. There at the back… “Yes!” A half-full tube of hydrocortisone.
The boy roughly pulled off his shirt. He turned around, back facing the mirror. He glanced over his shoulder and his brow furrowed. He couldn’t quite see…. Danny shuffled closer to the mirror.
His eyes widened slightly. True to what his friends said, the skin was pink and flaky. But… it was weird. The rashes? Was it a rash? The boy shook his head. Whatever it was, there were two lines, each just below his shoulder blade on either side. They were perfectly straight, following the edge of his shoulder bone (that was called the scapula, right?), down his back. Tentatively, the half ghost reached. He couldn’t…quite.. Touch…. Danny grit his teeth, stretching. His fingers brushed the rash on his left side. And… the muscle underneath twitched strangely.
The boy withdrew his hand, shaking his head. This was strange. But… he shivered, as the uncomfortable itching flared. He whipped the anti-itch cream off the counter. Danny squirted some of the concoction on his fingers. Straining to reach, he slathered it liberally on the skin.
The boy let out a relieved sigh. “Sweet relief.” He muttered, wiping imaginary sweat for his forehead. That felt so much better. Danny put the tube back in the draw and redonned his shirt. See, it wasn’t so bad. The weird rash would probably go away soon. Nothing to worry about.
Danny walked to school with his friends, parting ways from them to go to his first class. The half ghost walked into the classroom.
Soon enough the bell rang and the class, Physics, started. The lights flickered off. They were watching a documentary on space. The boy’s eyes widened, excited for just a moment. Oh! He hadn’t seen this one before. What was this-
Then his back tightened. That itch. That stupid itch was back. He banged his head on his desk, holding back an annoyed groan.
Danny couldn’t focus. The whole day he struggled to pay attention. Normally, focusing on school was hard enough between the boring lectures, bullies, and ghost fights. But now… now, that damn itch. It was killing him. Danny kept trying to scratch. It was hard to reach but his fingers could do it. Yet it barely helped.
Soon it was lunch time. Danny walked into the room, gritting his teeth. He was going to get some food and wolf it down. Then he needed to get Tucker to look at his freaking back. Maybe some more cream, applied by someone who could actually reach it, would actually help.
The half ghost stepped forward, quickly approaching the line. But his ghost sense went off before he got to the front. Groaning, Danny turned around and darted out the door. He slipped into the boy’s backroom and transformed.
Instantly, the itching eased. The boy let out a relieved sigh, phasing through the ceiling.
As soon as he’s in the open air, the flock swarmed him. Black feathers glistened in the light.
Danny smiled. “Hey guys.”
He flew higher as the birds swirled around him. Ghostly flight was as easy, as effortless as ever. But… something in it made his core throb sadly.
The half ghost stopped, eyes flickering around for ghostly activity. A flash of green! There!
Danny dove towards the source of his ghost sense. For just a moment, gravity pulled on him. A muscle in his back tensed and flexed. And…. the phantom sensation of wings beating.
By the time Danny finished fighting and capturing the ghost, he’d forgotten that he was going to have his friend check his back. It didn’t even itch anymore.
Danny’s rash was fine the rest of the day. But when he woke up the next morning, it wasn’t an itch but a dull ache.
The half ghost winced, rolling over. He groaned. What hit him? He didn’t get in a fight last night, did he? Or was it-
The boy blinked, realizing. The weird rash.
Now alarmed, he got up. Much like the previous morning, he fast-walked to the bathroom and turned around to look in the mirror.
Danny’s brow wrinkled, worried. Now, the area was red and… was it slightly raised? Tentatively, the boy reaches to touch. It was… warmer than normal, slightly feverous. His eyes widened, feeling. It wasn’t soft or squishy. It didn’t give, like a blister. It wasn’t some weird pimple. It was firm. Like… scar tissue? But… there wasn’t a scab; he’d never been cut in the first place.
A muscle in his back twitched. His stomach dropped. His skin felt so tight. What the heck was happening to him?
“It’s gotten worse?” Tucker asked when they got to school, worry ringing in his voice.
The half ghost nodded. “Yeah. I don’t know what’s up with it. I mean…” He bit his lip. “I didn’t get hurt. I wasn’t in a fight or anything. But my back’s hurting and it’s kinda warm now.”
“It sounds like it’s infected.” Sam shook her head. “Have you been putting the antibiotic cream I gave you on it?”
Danny blinked. “Antibiotic cream…? You didn’t give me any cream.”
The goth frowned. “Seriously?” She grabbed his arm, practically dragging him down the hall.
“Hey! Wait up!” Tucker called after them.
They stopped in front of the janitor’s closet. The girl motioned to the door.
“Sam?” Danny asked, raising a brow.
“Get us in there.” The goth almost hissed. “We’re looking at your back again.”
The half ghost put up in hands. “Look guys, I’m sure it’s fine so-”
“It’s not fine.” Tucker interrupted. “You said it’s gotten worse.”
“Probably because you didn’t bother treating your wound.” Sam added bitterly.
“Hey, that’s not fair. I…” Danny let himself trail off at his goth friends’ glare. “Fine.” He rolled his eyes. Looking both ways down the hall and finding no one looking, the half ghost grabbed each of his friends’ hands and turned them intangible. The group walked through the door.
Once inside, Danny dropped the hands and started taking off his shirt. He let his friends look at the rash.
“It does feel warm.” The half ghost winced as Sam checked the temperature with her hand. “I think it’s slightly swollen too.” She lowered her hand and Danny turned his head to look at her. The goth was frowning. “It does look like it’s infected.”
“Yeah. It doesn’t look good, man.” Tucker agreed.
“We definitely need to put cream on it. And bandages too.” Sam added, already reaching into her bag for the supplies.
The half ghost’s stomach flopped. He didn’t complain as his friend applied the first aid. This was for the best, especially since he had no idea why his back was being weird. In hindsight, not putting on the antibiotic cream hadn’t been the best idea. (Even though he was sure that Sam hadn’t given him any).
“I’ll… see if I can get you some oral antibiotics.” The goth said nervously, as she was putting away the medical supplies. “If it’s infected, we don’t want it to get worse.”
Danny nodded. “Yeah.” That was the last thing he needed.
“It’s going to be fine.” Tucker put a hand on his shoulder. “Better before you know it.”
The half ghost sure hoped so.
A few more days passed and, even with oral antibiotics Sam got for him, it wasn’t getting better. If anything, it was getting worse. With the dull ache, the itching intensified.
Standing up against a tree in the park, Danny threw a ball to Cujo. “Fetch, boy!” The green dog ran off.
The boy leaned against the tree. A soft smile bloomed on his face. Man, the bark felt good on his back. He pressed into it, shimming up and down. That hit the spot! He rubbed his back against the tree, relief washing over him.
Then the ghost dog came running back. It let out a yip.
Danny blinked, startling. He straightened, stepping away from the tree. He’d just… He’d just been scratching on a tree, like he was some over enthusiastic bear.
His cheeks reddened, embarrassed. Eyes flickered around. Luckily no one had seen him. Except… the chitter of ravens behind him.
The boy rolled his eyes. “Of course you guys saw.” He waggled a finger. “Don’t tell Sam and Tucker about this.”
Danny joked but… his stomach knotted. Something… something about this wasn’t sitting right. He hadn’t been hurt and… yet, his back started itching, then aching. And slowly… that dull ache was growing in intensity.
As if sensing the thought, pain flared, right on his shoulder blades. He winced, leaning forward.
The half ghost whined slightly, a pained sound in his throat. “What the heck was happening to me?”
A bird’s curious warble sounded behind him and he turned. There on the branches was Maggie.
The boy let himself smile. “Hi there.”
The raven let out a pleased thrum before spreading its wings. With a flap, it leapt from the tree to his shoulder. Maggie folded its wings against its side and rubbed his cheek.
“Thanks buddy.” Danny reached up to rub the bird’s beak. “I’ve not been feeling so good lately.”
Maggie hummed comfortingly and the boy’s heart melted, his pained expression softening. He gave the bird a few scratches. Then… clawed feet gently tightened their hold on his shirt. Maggie spread its wings, flapping them with an encouraging caw.
“Want me to go flying with you?” Danny asked.
The bird lifted off his shoulder, bobbing in front of him. It let out a thrill.
The half ghost sighed. “Yeah, you’re right. Flying does anyway make me feel better.”
Turning his head to check that he was alone, Danny transformed. He lifted off the ground, following the ravens and crows through the sky.
The group rose, soon high above Amity’s tallest building. The ghost boy let out a relieved sigh, flipping onto his back. “So much better.”
Like before, his back wasn’t hurting anymore, not even itching. Something about being in ghost form, about flying helped but…. The corner of his lip turned down. That wasn’t a solution. He couldn’t stay Phantom all the time, nor could he always fly. As a human, he was completely incapable of more than floating a few inches off the ground. Something in the thought made him sad and yet…
Danny let his eyes trail around the sky lazily. Birds flapped above him, their wings straining to lift them up, into an air current.
The boy smiled. He didn’t always get to fly but when he could lift off the group and fly with his bird friends…it really was incredible.
The next morning, when Danny woke up, his back was aching. His breath caught in his throat, letting out a pained gasp as he rolled onto his side.
The boy blinked, wobbling onto his feet. Something… something wasn’t right. His shirt felt too tight, every brush of the fabric on his skin sending shivers through him.
Clumsily, Danny pulled off the shirt. He let out a breath. That was so much-
His back tensed, muscles flexing oddly. He leaned over. Okay, not better. His eyes drifted up, to the mirror on the back of his closest. The… the mirror. He needs to see…
Forcing himself to straighten, Danny turned to look at the two lines. His eyes widened. It was… the skin was raw and red, a series of criss-crossed lines between his shoulder blades. And on the actual ridge…. The skin… the skin raised in two lines the size and thickness of his finger.
What… what was this? Heart pounding in fear, Danny tentatively touched and…. Something twitched under his fingers. Bile rose in his throat. Something… something hard and boney pressed out, stretching his skin. His back twitched again, muscles rippling. Like… like….
The half ghost ripped his eyes away, feeling sick. This was… this was fine. He was fine, right? He… he just imagined that. Yeah, definitely. That was not real.
With herculean effort, Danny shucked a shirt on. He couldn’t… couldn’t do this. Couldn’t freak out. He needed to go to school, which meant he needed to put on a shirt, no matter how uncomfortable it was.
But… the boy felt like crying. His chest felt too… too full, his skin too tight, too sensitive. Something… something was brushing his shirt, ever feather-light touch hair-raising.
Danny bit his lip. He should… just stay home. Or… or go flying. Yeah, that sounded awesome. Flying with his birds…. The image of their shiny black feathers, strong wings… flashed in his mind. In response, his back twitched, pain spiking.
The half ghost pinched his eyes closed. No… no thinking about flying then. Okay. Okay. This was fine. He was fine. He’d… he’d just go to school and… and… it was Friday. After, he’d just go to the Far Frozen with Sam and Tucker and Frostbite could figure out what the hell was wrong with him.
Taking a shaky breath, Danny bent down and grabbed his bookbag. Carrying it by the top loop, he exited the room and walked down the stairs. He could do this. He’d grab breakfast and go, hopefully avoiding his parents. He’d go to school and he’d be fine. Everything would be fine.
The half ghost arrived at his locker. His eyes nervously flitted around the hall, looking for his friends. Where were they? He started gathering his things for his first class. Other students’ voices swirled around him. But he wasn’t listening. He didn’t hear a word. Because his shoulders freaking hurt!
The boy furrowed his brow in pain, eyes closing. Where were his friends? And… god… why did his back feel like it was going to spill open any moment?
With shaking hands, Danny texted his friends. ‘Where are you guys?’ he asked.
‘Honors Physics field trip. Remember?’ Tucker reminded.
The half ghost almost groaned. Of course, of course they weren’t here. They were on that field trip with their class and he wasn’t, because he was in stupid regular physics.
His annoyance just seemed to make the pain worse, muscles throbbing painfully. ‘Back hurts.’ He texted the group chat.
‘Take some pain meds. And put on your antibiotic cream!” Sam replied, pointedly.
Danny frowned down at his phone. Okay, right. Pain medicine. Why hadn’t he thought of that? Another spike of pain. Oh right, his back was trying to kill him fully.
Still… the half ghost wasn’t going to refuse the advice. Flickering invisible, he practically jogged to the supply closest, where they had hidden one of the first aid kits. He took a few ibuprofen, dry-swallowing them. Hopefully that would take off the edge.
The medicine helped for a while. It numbed the pain just enough for him to not go curl up in a corner somewhere. Okay… maybe he was being over dramatic. It couldn’t actually be that bad.
But… his chest felt too tight, skin sensitive and swollen. Something… something was strangely brushing the inside of his shirt. And… his muscles kept twitching oddly. Something was clearly wrong. What… what was it? What was wrong with him? What would Frostbite find, when they got him to check? Did he have like.. A tumor or something?
The boy stiffened in his seat. A… a tumor. That was it, wasn’t it? Some kind… he had some kind of tumor, some weird ghost cancer. Ghost cancer.
He was… he was gonna die again, wasn’t he? He was going to die! He’d just be gone and.. And he hadn’t told his parents about him being Phantom. He didn’t tell his friends and sister how much he loved them enough. He’d never get to graduate high school or get a job or get married. Or…
Danny was spiraling, there in the classroom, sitting beside the window. His world was falling apart. His friends weren’t here and his back was killing him. Tears started pooling in his eyes.
The boy’s breathing quickened, heart rate spiking. Eyes… there were so many eyes on him. Everyone was staring.
“Mr. Fenton, are you alright?” Mr. Lancer was standing in front of him, a worried look on his face.
Danny shook his head. But… he couldn’t… he couldn’t speak. He couldn’t… couldn’t stay here. Couldn’t be here. Everyone… everyone would see. They’d see and….
Suddenly, the half ghost stood. He ran out of the room, ignoring the voices calling after him.
Danny sprinted to the boy’s bathroom and into one of the stalls, slamming on locking the door behind him.
His chest heaved. He couldn’t… couldn’t breath. Couldn’t breathe. His shirt was too… too tight and it itched. Itched. Could feel every inch on his… his skin. Off… off. He had to get it off.
Roughly, Danny pulled the shirt off, over his head. He gasped painfully. It caught… it was caught on… on something. But… the fabric lifted past his shoulders. He was free of it.
Panting, the boy shook off the garment before balling it up and dropping it on his lap. His lap? When had he sat down on the floor?
He shook the thought away. Whatever. It was whatever. But…. he sucked in a breath, trying to calm his heart.
This was… this was better. His back could breathe. Nothing was touching it. The pain dimmed slightly in the relief.
This was fine. He was fine. He’d… he’d just been over reacting in the classroom. Danny’s eyes drifted down into his lap. He’d just take a few minutes to calm down and everything would be-
His thought cut off, eyes widening. There was something on the inside of his shirt. Some… some black fuzz, standing in sharp contrast to the white fabric. Shaking fingers touched the material. It was soft and fluffy, like… like a bird’s downy feathers. But… his ravens were nowhere near him.
Danny’s blood chilled, staring wide-eyed at the downy. How did… how did that get in his shirt? How? His birds were nowhere near, and it was on the inside. And…
A draft blew over his back, from one of the vents. And… he shivered, dread balling in his gut. There was… the air was… was ruffling something… something on his back. A fuzzling feeling making his skin crawl.
Trembling hands reached back to touch. His fingers brushed the raised portion. Just as warm and hard as this morning. But… his digits drifted to the side, right past the hard edge, and brushed something… something soft and fuzzy.
Danny ripped his hand away, as if he’d been burned. His eyes bulged. What the… what the hell was that?!
Tentatively, he reached again. Sure enough, his fingers caressed something soft and fluffy. It didn’t… it didn’t feel like hair, not like peach fuzz nor the longer strands found on his head. It felt like… like…
His mind cut off, unable to think the thought. Because… because that was impossible. He’d found feathers in his shirt. And there was… there was something on his back. But… that was impossible.
Suddenly, his back twitched achingly, the feeling making him curl in on himself.
Danny hugged his arms to his chest. This wasn’t… wasn’t happening. Because this was… this was impossible.
His back spasmed. Muscles tensed and relaxed, moving in ways they shouldn’t. Another ripple. And… and it was like… like… his muscles were trying to move something that wasn’t there.
The boy hugged himself tighter, fearful tears welling in his eyes. What was… what was happening?
Something… something was moving, fluttering under his skin. There was… was something… growing out of his back. But… the boy turned his head, as if to look. But… he ripped his head away, eyes fixing on the floor. His body shook. No, he couldn’t… he couldn’t look.
Danny trembled on the bathroom floor, tears running down his face.
Then… the door creaked open.
The half ghost gasped, holding his breath.
“Danny? Are you in here?” Someone called from the door. It sounded like Kwan. “Mr. Lancer wanted me to check on you.”
The half ghost’s heart clenched at the words. The jock actually sounded kinda worried. But… the boy kept quiet. He turned invisible.
“I know we’re not really…like… friends, but if you want to talk about it….”
Danny muffled a sob. He wished… he wished Sam and Tucker were here. He’d… he’d love to talk to someone about this but… but… Kwan… Kwan couldn’t see him like this. His… his classmates couldn’t see what…what freaky stuff his body was deciding to do.
There was a pause as the jock walked past the stalls. Then the other boy sighed. “Guess he’s not in here.”
Kwan walked out, closing the door. For a long moment, Danny waited, holding his breath. The sound of footsteps grew farther away and…
The half ghost sighed, returning to visibility. Kwan was gone, leaving him alone. But… he needed to get out of here.
Danny stood, too quickly. His back screamed in response. The boy leaned over, holding his stomach. Okay, alright. He’d have to take this slow. Maybe transforming would help.
With a flash of light, he turned into Phantom. He recoiled, letting out a whimper. It still… it still freaking hurt. That was… that was new.
Still… he needed to figure out what he was going to do. There’s no way he could stay here the rest of the school day. He couldn’t go to the Far Frozen by himself. Sam and Tucker were still on their trip.
Danny drifted out of the stall. He’d have to text them. First things first though, he needed to get out of the school.
Turning invisible, the ghost boy phased through the door. He’d left his books and papers in Mr. Lancer’s room. He’d have to just leave it or come back later. But his bookbag? He could get that out of his locker.
Danny floated to his locker. He invisibly phased the bag through the door. He opened it, checking to make sure he had his thermos, when the door to the teacher’s lounge was thrown out.
Ms. Tetzlaff walked through the doorway. The ghost boy stiffened, eyes widening. No. No. Crap. He couldn’t get caught sneaking out of school! He held his breath as the teacher’s eyes surveyed the hallway.
The gym teacher scowled, visibly annoyed. Her gaze lingered on him for a long moment. Then… she shook her head, turning around.
“Coulda sworn I heard something.” Ms. Tetzlaff muttered, before walking back into the teacher’s lounge and closing the door.
Danny let out a breath. That was really lucky. Somehow she hadn’t seen him. He glanced down, to zip up his bag.
His eyes met empty air. He blinked once. What? Then he rolled his eyes. He was still invisible. Of course she hadn’t seen him. He’d panicked for nothing. Shaking his head at the thought, Danny thoughtlessly slung on his bookbag. The weight fell on his shoulders and…
The boy choked on a scream. His invisibility dropped, body heavily falling to the floor. He ripped off the bag, gasping. That freaking hurt! His shoulder writhed with pain. What was happening to him?!
“What was that?!” Someone yelled from the teacher's lounge.
Danny’s heart rate spiked, eyes widening. Shit.
With shaking limbs, he managed to push himself onto all fours. He needed… he needed to get out of here. The boy lunged for his bag, flickering invisible again just as the door banged open.
Without waiting to see who it was, he lifted off the floor and rose through the ceiling. He sped through the sky, for once ignoring the ravens and crows flying with him.
He couldn’t… couldn’t be out in the open. Not when he was hurting like this. Not when his body was betraying him. He needed… he needed to get somewhere safe to rest, to sort this out, to-
Danny winced, another painful ripple surging through him. Something was brushing up against the inside of his suit. He tried to roll his shoulders, tried to relieve the pressure. But… he flinched. The fabric was sticking to him oddly. Like… like his back was wet.
The ghost boy raced, unable to think about what that meant, what any of this meant. This couldn’t… this couldn’t be happening. It wasn’t… this… this wasn’t what he thought, what he feared it was. It was going to be fine. He’d text his friends and-
Another agonizing throb. Something large, under his skin, tried to stretch. Liquid… liquid was running down his back.
Danny turned his head, barely seeing where he was. But that… that was Sam’s house. Thoughtlessly, he phased through her bedroom window. A hiss sounded, something dark and furry running away from him. It didn’t register.
The boy fell to his knees, stabbing, tearing pain overtaking him. White light sparked at his waist and spread. He wavered, suddenly so much heavier. His head swam.
There was something… hot and wet on his back. Shakingly, he reached to touch. Vision tunneling, he brought his fingers in front of his face. They were covered in red.
Another wave of agony. Danny’s vision went black and he passed out.
Danny woke up to the sound of his friends’ panicking.
“Oh my god! What happened?” Sam rushed forward.
“Danny! Please wake up!” Tucker came from the other side, falling to his knees.
Someone’s hands shook his shoulder. The half ghost let out a groan.
“You’re still with us.” The technogeek breathed, relieved.
Then… “Tucker. This… this is a lot of blood.” The goth sounded worried.
Blood? There was… there was blood?
The sound of fabric moving. Sam was… standing up? Her footsteps, going away from him.
Tucker’s voice, right beside his ear. “Danny, you gotta talk to us.”
“Hurts.” The half ghost managed to mumble into the carpet.
“I know, I know it hurts.” His friend rubbed his arm comfortingly. “But you’ve gotta lift your head up.”
Danny struggled, turning his stiff neck. He blinked, vision blurry. Slowly, it cleared. Tucker. There was Tucker and…
Sam’s approaching footsteps. “Okay. We’re gonna clean this to see what we’re working with, bandage it. Then we have to take you to see Frostbite.” Danny could hear her narrowed eyes.
He nodded slowly. “Good… good idea.”
Something cold and wet touched him. Danny shivered. Then he gasped, pain shooting through his back. Sam ripped her hands away.
The half ghost panted. “No. Keep… keep going.”
Tentatively, Sam lowered her hands and started cleaning again, wiping the blood away.
Blood. So he had actually been bleeding. But… why? The boy shifted, trying to turn his head to see. But another spasm went through him.
“Don’t try to look.” Tucker soothed, a hand on his arm. “Here, let me help you prop your head up on your arms.”
Awkwardly, Danny moved his head so he wasn’t staring at the floor. He turned to look at Tucker and asked. “What happened?”
The technogeek raised a brow. “You’ll have to tell us, man. Everyone was saying you ran out of Mr. Lancer’s class and didn’t come back. We tried texting and calling you and you didn’t answer. So I tracked your phone.”
“So that’s how…” He gasped again, at the sting of alcohol on his wound. “How you found me.”
Tucker nodded. “Yeah. Why’d you come here?”
The half ghost opened his mouth to answer but Sam’s voice interrupted. “Danny… what’s this?”
The boy stiffened at the words, the uncertain, uneasy tone. The movement of her hands had stopped, gently hovering over… something.
Danny swallowed. “What do you mean?”
“There’s something… black and fuzzy around the wound.” Sam’s hand brushed the material.
The half ghost’s mouth went dry. “What are you… you talking about?”
Tucker leaned over him. “It’s on the other side too.” The other boy’s hands ghosted over his back, touching the soft, black things. Then… there was a sharp tug.
Danny yelped, back twitching in response. “What was that?!”
The boy turned his head, glaring at his beret-wearing friend. But… his eyes widened, blood chilling. There, in Tucker’s hand…. A black stalk with soft, wimpy filaments coming out of it. Almost like… like…
“It looks like a feather.” Sam’s voice was breathy, somewhere between awed, confused, and afraid.
A feather. He’d found black feathers earlier. In his shirt in the bathroom. And now…
“But I pulled that out of his skin .” Tucker emphasized, eyes blown wide. ”And Danny, you… you felt that?”
The half ghost nodded numbly. He’d… he’d felt Tucker pull that… that thing out of his skin. That was impossible but-
Suddenly, muscles in his back writhed. Danny let out a cry of pain, burying his head in his arms.
“Sam! Did you see…” Tucker’s alarmed voice rang out.
There was a pressure, a growing pressure, just below his shoulder blades. Something inside, trying to press out. Danny bit down on his tongue, another painful spasm making his back ache.
Then… a pulling sensation. A wet, tearing sound. “You’re bleeding!” Sam yelped. Her hands slammed down on his back, applying pressure.
“There’s more feathers.” Tucker said, almost numbly.
Numb. Numb like… like Danny himself wished he felt but…. His stomach twisted. More feathers. Feathers, growing out his shoulders. He could… could feel them, pushing out through his pores.
The pressure of Sam’s hands on his back increased. Danny gasped. He can almost… almost feel his blood, seeping through her hands. The feathers, his feathers, under her fingers.
His feathers. He had feathers. Because… Because he was growing wings.
Danny pinched his eyes closed, brow furrowing in pain. The idea… the insane idea was suddenly in his head but… it made so much sense. It… it explained everything. He was growing wings. Or…. the phantom sensation of wings flexing. Muscles in his back tensed…
The half ghost almost screamed. Another tearing sound. Blood… blood was trickling from the two lines on his back.. More feathers poked through the holes. And.. and something solid and stick-like shoved its way through.
“Is that a bone?!” Sam shrieked
“What’s happening?!” Tucker yelled, just as alarmed.
“Wings. I’m….” Danny struggled to speak through the mounting pain. Another spasm and… More bone pushed its way through the gap in his skin. He hissed. “Growing wings.”
There was no denying it. He was growing wings. Growing wings. Or… Something huge twitched inside his chest. His feathers ruffled, somewhere far away and so close. Or… he already had wings. They were already inside of him, ready to burst forth.
“How do we stop this?!” The goth’s panicked voice cut through.
“Stop?” Danny croaked, mind spinning to a stop.
Stop. Could he… could he stop? Could it stop? Did he want it to? Images… curled on the bathroom floor. Kwan couldn’t see how much of a freak he was. His classmates couldn’t see. His teachers couldn’t see. And… and Mom and Dad… his parents, they… they couldn’t but….
For just a moment in the classroom, when he thought the growing wings were ghost cancer…. Regret. He’d never told his parents the truth about him. And…
Birds were cawing outside the window. Danny turned his head, struggling to catch a glimpse. Fluttering wings. Glistening black feathers. Just like… like the ones growing out of his back. He loved… he loved flying with them, sharing that gift, that miracle. Even if… if ghost flight was just a pale imitation. But… he’d always wished he could fly like his birds could.
Danny flinched, shaking under the pressure of his friends’ hands on his bare back. “Get off of me.”
Neither of his friends moved. “We need to stop the bleeding!” Sam insisted.
The half ghost bit his lip, whimpering at another spasm. Yes, the bleeding. He needed to stop the bleeding but…. Danny’s back buckled. He struggled to pull away. “Get off!”
“Danny! We’re trying to help. How do we stop this?” Tucker almost begged.
The half ghost shook his head, a laugh building in his throat. “Can’t stop it.” And he didn’t…. he didn’t want to. “I need… I need to let them grow.”
There was a pause. Danny just caught a glimpse of his friends looking at each other questioningly over his shoulders. Then… the hands lifted.
His back… his back was bare. Another wave of pressure. Danny’s core muscles tensed as the growing wings inched forward. Danny glanced back. He could see the tips now. Black feathers, not shiny and clean but… covered in his red blood.
Danny grit his teeth. God, this hurt. His wings were still so small. It was… It was going to get messier. But…. if he stopped resisting…. He breathed, forcing his muscles to relax and…. The pain lessened. The wings grew just a little bit longer.
Danny’s core also unclenched, humming pleasantly with his decision. He was… he was going to let this happen. White light sparked around his waist. His eyes widened slightly and he braced himself. He wasn’t sure how he knew but…. Danny willed the rings to pass over him.
And his back exploded, the new limbs stretching, pulling, growing exponentially. The wings grew inches and then feet in a matter of moments. Bones and nerves and blood vessels. Muscles, skin, and feathers. All tingled with energy, from the tips to the base, as his ectoplasm spread and formed the new appendages.
Fully formed in a matter of breaths, Danny’s wings wavered in the air, stretching high above his kneeling friends’ heads. For a moment, the boy felt the air caress every single feather. Then… the limbs crumbled as gravity pulled them down. The wings flopped heavily to the ground, spalted on either side of the half ghost’s chest.
Danny panted, lungs greedily pulling in arm. The growth spurt left him sore and tired. He laid there on the floor, not speaking, not moving, for a long moment. His breathing gradually slowed, eyes drifting closed.
Then someone shook his arm. “Danny?” He turned his head to the right. There was Sam, lying on the ground beside him. “Seriously, what the f-ck?” Her eyes were wide, alarmed.
Danny’s lips parted slightly. “I kinda just grew a pair of wings.”
“I can see that.” The goth rolled her eyes. “They knocked me and Tucker over.”
The half ghost blushed sheepishly. “Yeah. Sorry.” Then his brow wrinkled as his eyes drifted down, to the feathers draped over her body. “They’re white.” He lifted his head from his arms, moving one to the side as if to touch.
But Tucker spoke from the other side of him. “Danny, dude. Can you uh… get your wings off of us?”
Danny turned to look at him. “Right.” Another blush.
Flexing unfamiliar muscles in his back, he strained to lift his wings. Instead of draping across the floor, they lifted to about a forty-five degrees angle. Sam and Tucker crawled out from under, coming to sit in front of him. Letting out a breath, Danny let the new limbs drop back.
The technogeek’s eyes widened. “Dude…. They’re huge.”
The half ghost turned his head, trying to look. He frowned. He couldn’t see them that well from this angle. “Let me sit up.”
Danny lifted himself to all fours. He pushed his arms up to kneel before flopping back down to sit. There, now he could see.
The boy turned to look. Without an effort to move them, his wings were curled up slightly, sagging on the ground. Danny stretched his right arm out, meaning to touch the limb, but the wing relaxed, unintentionally stretching out at the movement. The appendage unfurled to itself full length.
Danny’s eyes widened, gaze flitting between the tips of his fingers and the edge of the wing. The tip of that feather was so far away. His wing must have been at least two and a half feet longer than his arm. True to what Tucker said, it was huge.
The half ghost tentatively moved the new limb, testing its movement. It flapped gently and….
There was a thud, the tip knocking into Sam’s desk and knocking off the contents.
“Sorry.” The boy apologized sheepishly.
“It’s fine.” The goth waved off, wide eyes only paying attention to the wing. She reached forward. “Can I touch….”
Danny nodded. Sam brushed her fingers through his feathers. And… he shivered.
The goth noticed his reaction, concern flashing over her face. She drew back.
But the half ghost shook his head. “No, it feels nice. Like… someone playing with my hair.”
Sam reached again, a smile slowly stretching across her face. “They’re so soft.”
Tucker shuffled to the side as well, reaching for Danny’s out-stretched wing. He also touched the feathers. “Yeah, they are. Man, this is crazy.”
“Yeah.” Danny agreed. He rubbed fingers over the white feathers as well. True to what his friends said, they were incredibly soft. And… he gently smiled. He could feel them. Every brush was like… running his fingers through his own hair. These were his feathers, somehow, impossibly a part of his body. “I thought they’d be black.” He mused, not disappointed but awed.
“You are in ghost form.” The technogeek contributed.
The half ghost nodded. That was right. He’d transformed right before these grew in. But, there’d been black feathers on his back before, when he’d been human. If he turned back then….
Curiously, Danny summoned the rings. He let them pass over him and…. The feathers turned black.
“So you have them in either form.” Sam said, still sounding awed.
The half ghost nodded, taking in the limb. Now, with the black feathers, it looked just like a raven’s. Danny turned to the other side, now more carefully unfurling the other wing. They were heavier than they’d been in ghost form, just like the rest of his body felt heavier as a human but…
“Why exactly… did you grow wings?” Tucker asked.
The question didn’t register. Danny was too busy staring at his wings. He gently flapped them. Papers on Sam’s desk fluttered as he stirred the air. Tears started collecting in his eyes.
“What is it?” Sam sounded concerned. “We’ll figure it out, Danny. It’ll be okay.”
The boy shook his head, a smile spreading despite his happy tears. His friends were always so ready to comfort him. “No, it’s not that. It’s…” He curled the right wing in, brushing his fingers through the black feather. “I’ll… I’ll be able to fly as a human.” So much joy, so much elation in those words.
Danny felt like weeping, tears of joy. And maybe he would have but… it was then a certain raven landed on the windowsill and started pecking.
The boy turned his head, gaze falling on the bird. It was Maggie. The bird let out an excited caw, beady black eyes falling on his own. Danny’s core sang.
Curling the wings against his back, the boy slowly stood. He walked to the window, putting his hand on it. “Look at what I’ve got.” He unfurled the wings slightly. “We match.” He wiped a happy tear from his face, chuckling.
Maggie tilted its head, before cawing insistently.
Danny shook his head. “Nah, I’m not letting you in here. Not when Sam’s cat is still hiding… somewhere. We’ll fly later.”
The bird almost nodded, before lifting its wings and taking off. Danny watched wistfully; It took everything in him to not phase through the window and do the same.
“Hold on, dude.” Tucker’s voice came from behind him. “What was that all about?”
Danny turned. He shrugged and his wings followed the movement, lifting. “Maggie probably followed me from the school. I guess it was excited about the new accessories.” He grinned.
Sam raised a brow, giving him a skeptical look. “Did the birds have something to do with… this?” She motioned to his wings.
“Yeah.” The technogeek wrinkled his brow. “They do kinda look like… a raven or crow’s wings?”
The ghost boy shrugged again. “Maybe? Look…” He lowered his shoulders, spreading his arms. “I don’t really know why my body decided to do this… or really even how… but I know I really love flying with those birds. So…” He trailed off, suddenly unsure. It made an odd kind of sense but… was it really that simple?
Something in his goth friend’s expression softened. “You sounded really happy at the possibility of being about to fly as a human.”
“Yeah…” Danny gave her a subtle smile. “I mean… I can fly no problem as a ghost but how those birds fly is so different and… it’s amazing…”
“So…” Tucker snickered. “This was your ghost powers, obviously. And, what, your core was like… yeah, we can do that. So bam, wings!” He motioned to the feathery limbs.
The half ghost blinked once. “I guess.”
“But… in your human form too?” Sam wrinkled her nose in confusion. “How’s that even possible?”
Danny lifted his arms. “I don’t know? It just is. Now…” He pivoted towards the window. “I’m really itching to try this puppies out so-”
“No, you don’t.” Sam gapped his hand. “You are not jumping out my window.”
“I’ll be fine.” He tried to wave off.
“You literally just grew those.” Tucker motioned. “Shouldn’t we… I don’t know… make sure everything’s fine first? You were in a lot of pain earlier.”
“I feel fine now. But sure.” Danny rolled his eyes. “We can make sure my back’s fine. Then I’m gonna-”
“Take it slow.” The goth interrupted pointedly. “Because you actually need to learn how to use those. You’re basically a baby bird right now.”
The half ghost crossed his arms, wanting to argue but… they both had a point. Flying took effort and he was more tired and sore than he was willing to say. These were new and… he was still struggling to keep his new wings from dragging on the floors, much less figuring out how often to flap, how to tilt them with the wind.
Still… he pouted, muttering. “Actually… I’m a fledging.”
Tucker laughed, while Sam rolled her eyes. “Come on bird boy. We can practice in the gym.”
Once in the gym, his friends checked his wings. They cleaned the dried blood off his back, pleased to see that the wounds had healed. Danny practiced for a few hours, holding his wings in different positions, moving them in different ways. He worked out the new muscles, slowly gaining familiarity. Finally, his stomach grumbling, the trio stopped for dinner.
“It’s lucky it’s Friday and we’ve got a three day weekend.” Sam commented. “We’ve got some time to figure out how to deal with this.”
“Yeah.” Danny nodded, taking a bit of his burger. It was great to have time to get used to the new limbs but… his insides knotted. “We’ll need to figure out how to hide these or…” He swallowed nervously. “What to tell everyone.”
“We’ll figure something out.” Tucker comforted, patting his shoulder.
The half ghost took a breath, convincing his muscles to relax. They’d think of something. Maybe he could work on turning his wings invisible and intangible. He probably couldn’t do that for an extended period of time though. But… maybe they could go see Frostbite or Dora or Clockwork. One of them might know something.
Danny comforted himself with the thought. He’d figure it out; with his friends to help him, he was sure of it.
A long weekend of fielding phone calls from his parents. Of almost being spotted by Sam’s parents. Of practicing, of working out his new wings.
They’d stayed in the gym mostly and gradually seen his control and range of movement increase. When Sam’s parents had been out, he’d even jumped over the stair railing on the second floor, much to the goth’s horror, and managed to glide.
But now, it was Monday evening, around sunset, and Danny was longing, was ready for more.
He and his friends had managed to sneak back to Fentonworks and up on top of the Ops Center. The boy, in ghost form, rubbed his hands together, surveying the ground below him. It was a long way down. But… his eyes drifted to the open sky.
His mouth stretched into a smile as he took several steps back. “Alright, I’m gonna take a running start and…” He mimed jumping off the building and rising.
“Hopefully fly.” Sam supplied, a tad nervous. “Stay in ghost form, okay? Just in case...”
“My wings fail me?” He raised a brow. “I’ve got this.” He reassured, confidently. “But… yeah, I’ll be careful, guys, I promise.”
His friends both nodded, accepting the comfort. Tucker waved him off. “What are you waiting for man? Go.”
“I’m going. I’m going.” Danny grinned. He braced himself, preparing to run. His wings twitched, filled with nervous excitement.
The boy breathed. In…. and out. His eyes followed the birds, swirling high above him. His core hummed pleasantly at the sight. Another breath and…
Danny ran across the roof. Four steps. His feet left the metal and… he was falling, the ground rising towards him. His heart stalled, stomach dropping like a stone. His friends' screams rang in his ears. The hard concrete was…was so close now. But…
His wings beat. A great, white-feathered flap pushed air under him and he was raising. The momentary terror turned to relief. “I…I did it!” Danny flew up, hovering above the Ops Center for just a moment. “I did it! Guys! I did it!”
His friends cheered him on, relief, joy and awe mixing on their faces.
The half ghost gave a whoop of pure joy and flew higher. Powerful beats of his wings sent him up and up until he was surrounded by black feathers. Like so many times before, ravens and crows swirled around him. But this time… chitters and whoops of elation.
Maggie spotted the boy, circling him before flying ahead. Other birds followed, a series of insistent calls. The raven in the lead turned its head back. Another caw and…
Danny laughed. “I’m coming! I’m coming!”
Adrenaline running through his veins, the half ghost followed. The flock rose higher, leading their new fledgling into the sky.
Danny’s muscles strained, his wings pushing against gravity with every flap. His heart pumped, lungs greedily taking in air. Soon, despite being in ghost form, he was sweating. This was hard work for a new flier. Too quickly, his muscles were burning. But he pushed through, even through the growing soreness.
Higher and higher the group went. Farther up and farther into the sky. Just when Danny was getting worried he’d have to switch to ghost flight, the flock leveled out. The half ghost followed suit, straightening his body and…
He gasped as his wings caught a current. They were in a stream now. The boy spread the limbs wider, letting the air carry him.
Danny chuckled softly, relieved for a break. Occasional flaps to keep him in the stream, to keep him moving but… without using so much focus on rising, he watched. The ground whizzed by below him. Clouds floated overhead, sunlight streaming through the fluffy white. The birds chittered and called around him and….
The half ghost breathed deeply. The wind caressed his wings, every russel of his feathers sending a tiny thrill through him. His core buzzed, happy. This, flying like this, was incredible, but….
The shiny black feathers around him, the same color as his wings in human form… he’d said he’d just fly in ghost form for now, just in case his wings failed him but… another flap, the movement as easy and natural as if he’d been born with wings.
Taking a breath, Danny let himself transform. Instantly, his weight increased and he started dropping. A few panicked heart beats, concerned calls from his birds. But the boy managed to right himself. He flapped up, panting heavily. Soon, he fell back into the stream, wind now ruffling black feathers instead of white.
Danny’s breathing leveled out, heart rate slowing. The adrenaline waned and… a smile grew on his face. He was doing it. He was flying! As a human! With his own wings! The boy laughed, chest shaking. He was here! He was doing this!
The flock flew around him, calling excitedly. The half ghost joined, with his own words. “This is awesome! You guys are awesome!”
The birds flew forward for a few more minutes. Then… they titled their wings, diving.
Laughing, Danny followed. Gravity pulled him down, body spiraling into a controlled free-fall. Every brush of air on his feathers magnified. Elation ran through his veins and his core sang.