Jason in the Ghost Zone

Danny has an idea

From where she stood Valery could see the Ghost boy fly the other pointy-hatted boy over to another island, and gently set him down. It wasn’t somehow different from any ghost behavior she’d seen before. Normally the ghost kid just fought off other ghosts, protecting his territory like a wolf. What made this boy different? Was it just because Phantom was still in the ghost-zone? Was this new ghost just not a threat?
She squinted to get a good look at him as Phantom flew out of her sights. The red-eyed ghost just stood at the edge of the new island. It was hard to tell fro this distance, but it looked like his arms were crossed. He hadn’t looked too different from most ghosts aside from his more humanoid form. When she thought about it, she hadn’t seen many ghosts with white hair either. Was it possible that…? No it wasn’t, it was just that he wasn’t a threat, Phantom probably couldn’t be bothered to fight the other boy. Valery hadn’t seen the jester-kid use a single ghost power. Whatever reasons Phantom had for not destroying the kid on the spot was none of her business.
Her phone beeped and she waited. The Fentons were almost here, as soon as they got her close enough she’d get the ghost kid then get home. Hopefully she wouldn’t be in trouble for being so late. It was a few minutes later that she heard the sound of an engine whirring. The sound got louder, but before whatever vehicle the Fentons had used to get to the ghost-zone was even in sight Phantom picked up the other ghost again and flew off, the humans she’d seen still nowhere in sight.
Her frown grew a little deeper. If they hurried she could still get him
“Sorry, but we’ve gotta get going like, yesterday.” Danny said lifting the ghost-kid into the air and taking off as fast as he could into the depths of the ghost-zone, putting all his effort into getting as far away fro his parents as he could.
“Wait, aren’t you gonna get your friends away first?” The Kid said, surprising Danny with the glare he sent the hero.
“They’ll be fine, don’t worry.” Danny tried to smile. It wasn’t a lie, Sam and Tucker weren’t ghosts, at worst their parents would get a call. They couldn’t exactly be blamed for being kidnapped now could they; all Danny had to do was get home before his parents did. First he had to find out what to do with this ghost.
There wasn’t anywhere in the ghost-zone that Danny felt comfortable leaving him. Where did one take a ghost child? Danny couldn’t really keep an eye on him from the human world, and he really doubted that a ghost daycare was a thing.
“Where are you taking me?” The kid asked.
Danny hummed in response. Maybe there was a king of ghost foster home. Where did new ghosts usually start out? Wasn’t he supposed to have a lair?
“Are any of these yours?” He waved his arm, indicating the many doors floating around him.
“No.” The kid huffed.
“You sure?” Danny asked, a quick solution would have been so much easier than the only answer he could think of.
“I think I’d know if I had a floating door.” The kid said rolling his eyes.
Would he though? If he didn’t know he could fly, or about any other abilities he might have had. How much did a new ghost really know about their situation, did he even know what he was? Danny let his eyes fix on the face of the boy he was currently flying through the ghost-zone, suddenly filled with a kind of sadness he didn’t really have a word for. How would he even ask about something about that? The younger ghost’s eyes were shifting around taking in the unchanging landscape like it was all something new, like it would hurt him if he wasn’t ready.
“So, uh…” how did he start this? “My name is Danny, and you?’”
“What?” The kid asked incredulously, like it was the last thing he’d expected to hear.
“Your name.” Danny smiled in a way that he hoped looked patient. “I told you mine, I need to call you something right?”
Emotions flashed across the kids face too fast for Danny to read, while somehow still staying almost neutral. “My name?” He muttered.
“Yeah.” Danny sighed how was that a difficult question? Wait, if the kid had only recently been born… “Do you have a name?” He asked.
“Of course I have a name.” The kid focused on their surroundings again.
“Well, will you tell me what it is?” Danny asked.
“No,” the kid said. “How long is it going to take for us to get wherever?”
Danny resisted the urge to groan in frustration. Normally ghosts couldn’t tell him their names fast enough. It was always. I am the box ghost! Say my name! - things like that. Was it something that came with age, or just something about the ghosts he was always stuck fighting?
“I’m not sure.” Danny said calmly. There was no way he could tell the ghost something he himself wasn’t sure of. He wanted to say that he was taking him somewhere safe, but there wasn’t really anywhere in the ghost-zone Danny could think of that fit that description. Where did new ghosts usually go? There wasn’t anyone Danny could ask, no one he trusted to give an honest answer.
The nameless ghost kid tensed for a second, then turned to look up at Danny. “Are one of these doors yours? Do you know what they are?”
“They’re entrances to lairs.” Danny said.
“Lairs.” The ghost raised an eyebrow. “You mean like, for vampires ‘n stuff.”
“’N stuff.” Danny said. “As far as I know, every ghost is supposed to have one.”
“Ghosts?” The kids’ eyes began scrutinizing his surroundings even more intensely. “You’re kidding right?”
Well the question of how much the kid knew about his situation was partially answered. “You mean you didn’t know?” Danny asked just to be sure.
“How would I know something like that?” The kid frowned. “S’not like floating door automatically equals ghost.” His frown turned thoughtful.
“I guess not.” Danny said, he had to much to worry about now without the potential freak out he knew he would eventually have to deal with if when the kid inevitably found out what he was. The kid was saying something. “What was that?” Danny asked. “I was kinda lost in thought.”
The kid had a grin on his face. “Said I shoulda guessed with the colourful poffs floatin’ around. I just thought the guy screaming about being the Box-Ghost was a loon.”
“You met the Box-Ghost?” Danny asked immediately more alert.
“Yeah, really likes boxes, pretty weird, but didn’t try anything, not like most of the other things here.” The kid shrugged. “Why, he a friend of yours?”
“Not exactly,” Danny said with a relieved sigh. Sure the Box-Ghost was a pushover for the halfa, but he wouldn’t have had a problem with a powerless kid.
The silence that followed was so awkward that after a few minutes even the kids next question was welcome.
“Are you sure your friends will be okay?”
“I’m sure.” Danny answered a little too fast earning him a strange look from the kid. The hero slipped a smile back on his face. “The worst possible thing that will happen is their parents grounding them for a few days, don’t worry.”
The kid didn’t look too convinced, but the conversation had sparked a new idea in Dannys mind. “What about you?” The hero asked. “Won’t your parents be worried right about now.” Of course he knew that ghosts didn’t have parents, but if this one was only recently formed, then Danny was hopeful that his might still be around.
“My parents?” The kid repeated. “Mine are, were, they’re…,” He brought up a hand to start tugging on his hair.
Danny set the kid down on a nearby floating island and moved to stand in front of him. “Is there anyone you can think of, someone I can help you find?”
“Someone?” The kids red eyes locked Dannys on him. “Someone, there’s someone, but I can’t…” He wrapped his arms around himself, eyes shut tightly.
Danny gently laid a hand on the taller boys shoulder. “I can help you find them if you like.”
“No,” the kid shook off Dannys hand, and backed up, looking like he was on the verge of freaking out. “Someone’s…”
“I just want to help you.” Danny said, pushing down his frustration yet again. The kid looked scared, very scared, kids weren’t supposed to look like that when they were offered help.
“I know.” The kid half whispered, his expression hard to gauge with his hair hiding his eyes. “Why?”
“It’s what I do.” Danny said.
“You some kinda hero or somethin’?” The kid said.
“Exactly.” Danny said, and the kid flinched.
They stood in silence for a while before Danny noticed the kids’ shoulders shaking. He hurried over to try and offer some kind of comfort, but before he was close enough to the kid though back his head, loud laughter escaping his mouth. Now was Dannys turn to back up, he stood at what felt like a safe distance, too shocked to move at all. I think I broke him It took a few minutes for the laughter to soften and die down into soft chuckles.
“I, I’m sorry.” The kid forced out the words through breaths. He looked up at Danny with genuine mirth in his slightly watery eyes. He laughed a little again. “It’s just, you don’t, haha, your so small, but with that get up, I shoulda thought of it.”
“Er, yeah.” Danny tried to summon up some righteous anger at what could have possibly been an insult to his capabilities, but was still too shocked for that. “I’m uh… a hero.”
“Sure you’re not someone’s sidekick?” The kid looked relaxed again.
“I’m sure,” Danny did not grumble, heroes didn’t grumble.
“I’m sorry,” the kid said, but he was laughing again, nit sounding at all sorry. At least this laughter sounded normal. “It explains a few things that were bugging me. I’m betting your parents don’t know?” His grin wasn’t mocking, his posture relaxed.
“No,” Danny couldn’t see a reason to lie when it was obvious the ghost didn’t wouldn’t believe him.
“You were serious about helping me?” The kid asked his grin a little less sure. “I don’t know if you can”
Dannys anger softened, but didn’t disappear completely. He’d help this kid, even if it was just to prove that he was capable of doing it. Whatever people said about hi he was still a hero, he could save a kid, he was serious so he nodded. “I was. I’ll help you, I can.”
“You can’t.” The kid said. “Just leave.” He sat down. “I’ll be fine, you should get back home. There’s nothing for you to do here.”
Danny wanted to argue, but the kid was right, if he couldn’t get the ghost to say anything about where he’d come from, then there was no way to help. “I’m sorry.”
The kid rested his head in his hands, expression blank when he looked up again. “Get going, you’ve helped enough, I can deal.”
Danny turned to leave, catching one last look of the kid before he left. There had to be a way he could help, and he’d find it. The kid would be helped, whether he felt he needed it or not. Without being able to fly, there wasn’t anywhere the kid could go. Danny was going but he’d be back. He waved goodbye, the kid didn’t wave back, but Danny didn’t mind. He’d be back