A/N: This story occurs in an AU where the events of Phantom Planet did not take place as shown in canon (the full explanation will probably come up in a future fic) - though the Fentons have since learned Danny's secret. This timeline assumes things progressed naturally from the year DP first aired meaning Danny is now 28.

Danny ran his hands over a blackened section of the roof, spectral skin tingling with the strange energy still lingering in the area. It had been nearly a week since the particle accelerator exploded, but Danny could see why FEMA had classified STAR Labs as a class 4 hazardous location – and it wasn't because of the charred spire and partly-missing roof.

His parents had explained the whole thing to him before he came but all he remembered was some vague stuff about dark matter and unpredictable consequences - not that they hadn't spent several days putting up one hypothesis after another, but nothing could be proven until someone actually went to assess the situation. That was his job.

To be fair, investigating the unknown had become more and more of a family affair since his parents had learned his secret. Sam and Tucker had resisted working with them at first but they'd gotten used to it, especially once they'd all turned 18 and could give up the ruse of staying safely tucked away. Their parents still weren't happy about it, but at least the Fentons were supportive – and Sam's grandmother.

This time, however, he was the only one on the scene. His parents were halfway across the country, probably still arguing over whether or not the effects of the explosion would be more interesting than any results the machine would have gotten while functional. Sam and Tucker were in Dakota City checking out reports of unusual activity while they were both there for a conference on green tech.

It felt odd to be flying solo on this one, especially in a new city, but also nice to know his family had confidence in his abilities – not that Jazz hadn't called him twice that morning to make sure he'd traveled the ghost portals safely and wasn't having any anxiety. It was amazing she could still have the energy to worry about him like that now that she had her own practice with actual patients.

Activity at the entrance pulled his head out of the clouds and he went invisible, floating down to watch.

A van and a car had pulled into the garage, three people pulling a gurney out of the former while a fourth helped a man out of the passenger seat and into a wheelchair. Danny didn't recognize the person on the gurney or the man and young woman running beside it but the other three worked here at STAR Labs – or owned it, in the case of Dr. Harrison Wells. He'd seen the three of them on the newscast from the night of the incident, though the only name he knew was Wells'.

He couldn't fathom why they'd be bringing someone here rather than the hospital, but chances were it was related to the explosion and the energy wave it had released. Danny followed them, invisible and intangible, spending a few awkward moments with the unresponsive guy on the bed and his five silent escorts as they rode the service elevator before exiting on – level 600? What, was there a skyscraper's worth of underground lab here? This place could only be 20 floors tops - though there might be more levels in the spires than he'd thought, or maybe the spires were counted separately since they didn't connect to each other? Even then, 600 seemed... and he should definitely be worrying about more important things right now, like where everyone had gone while he was thinking about how many floors the place had.

Fortunate for him they weren't far and the single hallway made it clear how to get there – not that he couldn't have gone straight through the walls.

"I appreciate your feelings Detective West, but you must give Dr. Snow room to work. You can watch from here with your daughter."

Dr. Wells' voice was calm and rather more cool than seemed warranted considering the medical instruments squealing in the background; so he wasn't a friend of the patient? Maybe he just felt guilty since his machine had caused whatever was wrong with the guy...

Raised voices escaped the next room where the STAR Labs crew worked over their patient, who seemed to be seizing. Danny squirmed as the man - Detective West? - comforted his daughter, both of them sneaking glances at the adjoining room before swiftly looking away. He backed out of the room when the woman started crying, burying her face in her father's chest.

The patient's condition would probably provide valuable information for his investigation, but he didn't need to intrude on their private moments. Hopefully there'd be opportunity for him to get some intel later. For now he'd take a look around and see if there were any more of the affected here or anything else that could help.

Better get started; I've got at least 600 levels to check out.