So, it appears I've found a fandom I obsess over as much as Magic Kaito. Is that a good thing . . . ?

The only Phantom I own is my cat.

Maddie was down in the lab when she first noticed the cold spot. Her latest experiment was at a delicate stage, and she was tempted to brush it off as normal, basement chill. However, she was a huntress, and this was Amity Park. If a filthy ghost had escaped the portal, better to deal with it promptly.

"Alright, ghost," she called, hefting an ectogun. "Show yourself!"

For a few seconds, nothing happened. Then, slowly, a tiny ball of ectoplasm formed in midair.

Maddie blinked. The glowing sphere was hardly bigger than a candle's flame. "Is that all you've got?" she asked, her tone deliberately mocking.

The light wiggled a bit, somehow managing to convey embarrassment and apology.

". . . You can't be serious."

Another wiggle-shrug.

Maddie sighed in exasperation. "Look," she said, lowering her weapon by a fraction. "You obviously can't fight me, and I'd rather not trash the lab shooting at you, so why don't you just get back in the Ghost Zone where you belong? I'll open the portal."

A brief pause, then the light bobbed up and down in agreement.

Maddie pressed her thumb against the genetic lock, and the portal's doors opened with a hiss. She watched as the light flew into the swirling mass. Satisfied that the cold spot had also vanished, she closed the portal and went back to work. An incident like this wasn't worth bothering Jack about.

~oOo~

Several days later, the cold spot was back. Maddie groaned, reaching for the nearest weapon. "Show yourself, spook!"

A small light flickered into being.

Maddie scowled. "You again? I thought we had an agreement! I should have known that a putrid ball of ectoplasm would bounce right back to cause trouble!"

There was a pause, then the sphere dropped to the floor and began bouncing up and down.

Maddie fought to keep her mouth straight as it jumped around the lab, keeping a respectful distance from her and the equipment. "It doesn't matter how cute you act," she said sternly. "You don't belong here. Go back to the Ghost Zone."

The light halted in midair, seeming to deflate slightly, and followed Maddie as she moved to thumb open the portal.

"Stay where you belong, ghost. I don't want to have to keep doing this."

The light wiggle-shrugged and vanished.

~oOo~

The next day, they received a call from the school. Ghost attack. Maddie grabbed her equipment and rushed after Jack, slamming the front door behind her. Maybe today they would actually arrive in time.

Jack, bless his heart, drove like a maniac to get them to the site as fast as humanly possible. Unfortunately, the ghosts were quicker. By the time they reached the school, there was nothing to see but charred ground and a rapidly vanishing blur on the horizon.

"Suffering spooks!" Jack exclaimed. "He got away again!"

Maddie patted his arm. "Don't worry, dear. We'll get him someday."

"You're absolutely right, Madds! No ghost can escape JACK FENTON!" Her husband turned to shake his fist at the sky. "YOU HEAR THAT, INVISOBILL? WE'LL GET YOU EVENTUALLY!"

"Come on, Jack," Maddie said fondly. "Let's go home and work on that new gun."

"Great idea, baby! To the Fenton Family Ghost Assault Vehicle!"

Maddie smiled and climbed into the RV.

Later that night, Maddie lowered her blowtorch as a shiver raced up her spine. "So, the ghost returns."

Seconds later, the familiar green light appeared.

Maddie sighed. "What will it take for you to realize? You don't belong here."

The light shrugged.

"You know, if you keep this up, you'll be a bigger nuisance than that ghost with the boxes . . . ."

The light went spastic. It whizzed around the lab, ricocheting off walls, spitting angry sparks, and letting her know in no uncertain terms that it was insulted.

Maddie couldn't help it; she laughed. She knew ghosts were volatile, but she had never expected to witness one throwing a tantrum!

The light froze for a few seconds before sending out one last sheepish pulse of energy.

Maddie eyed it as it sank down to eye-level. "You don't act like the other ghosts," she mused. "I wonder . . . what makes you so different?"

The light hovered silently.

Maddie shook her head. "I suppose it doesn't matter," she said reluctantly. "Come on, little phantom - back to the Ghost Zone."

She thought she heard a sigh, but the ball of light complied.

~oOo~

Maddie was at a loss.

The phantom light continued to appear, always when she was alone in the lab. It had yet to make a hostile move, and returned to the Ghost Zone when prompted. It didn't even interfere with her experiments. In fact, its actions were so far outside the established pattern for ghost behavior, she was beginning to question whether it was a ghost at all. There was still plenty about the supernatural they had yet to discover. Perhaps her visitor was something new entirely.

In any case, she would wait to tell Jack. His enthusiasm might scare the phantom off for good.

~oOo~

The temperature dropped; Maddie looked up and smiled. "Hello, Phantom. Back again?"

The ball of light bobbed up and down.

"If you're not careful, the other ghosts will start to think you like us humans."

Soft laughter echoed through the lab.

Maddie turned her head, trying to pinpoint the sound. It wasn't the first time she had heard it, and it raised a thousand questions in her ever-curious mind. "How developed is your form?" she murmured, not really expecting an answer. "Is that light really all you can manifest?" She paused. "A ghost's form is a reflection of self. I wonder what yours would look like."

Phantom stilled. After several long minutes, it drifted closer to Maddie, closer than it had dared come before.

Maddie watched carefully. Was Phantom just a ghost after all? Had her innocent question provoked an attack? Her hand twitched toward the gun at her belt.

The light halted, only a foot of distance between them. Another pause. Then Maddie nearly jumped out of her skin as a cold hand was placed over hers. "You-!" She stared wide-eyed at the light, then down to where the invisible hand rested. She swallowed, then stood and carefully ran her fingers up Phantom's arm until she found the ghost's shoulder. Immediately her face softened. "You're just a child," she realized. Her hand moved again, tracing over a smooth cheek and coming to rest atop messy hair. "No older than my son." She drew a slightly ragged breath before smiling and ruffling the ghost's - the boy's - hair. "Feels like you could use a haircut, Phantom." This time, she felt the breath of his laughter as he shook his head.

Maddie had never felt more certain than she did in that moment. Whatever Phantom had been, whatever he was now, he was not a ghost.

~oOo~

Yesterday had been sheer insanity.

In the aftermath of a full-scale ghost invasion, not to mention the entire town being pulled into the Ghost Zone, it took Maddie longer than it should have to notice Phantom was missing. At first she assumed the spirit (as she now classified him) had gone into hiding like the regular ghosts. But as days passed with no sign of her visitor, she began to worry.

It was a week after the invasion that a chilling possibility hit her. Some ghost - most likely the infamous Invisobill - had stolen the Ecto-Skeleton. The Ecto-Skeleton had been in the lab. If Phantom had been there- if he had encountered the most dangerous spector in Amity Park- Maddie shuddered. Phantom was only a child!

She marched down to the lab and started sifting through weaponry, intent on finding Invisobill and beating some answers out of it. If that sorry excuse for a post-human consciousness had harmed her Phantom-

A wash of cold air froze her anger in its tracks. She whirled around, eyes zeroing in on a familiar green light. "Phantom!"

The light bounced a little, cheery as ever.

Maddie sighed, tension draining from her shoulders. "Thank goodness. I was afraid something happened to you."

Phantom drifted closer and placed an invisible hand in hers, giving it a quick squeeze.

Maddie smiled and returned the gesture. "Well, I suppose now I don't have to go looking for that darn Invisobill. I was going to interrogate it," she explained as Phantom's light tilted questioningly. "In case it hurt you when it was down here making off with our property."

There was a pause, then the lab was filled with laughter.

Maddie could only listen in confusion. What on earth did he think was so funny?

~oOo~

A cold hand tugged her away from her half-assembled weapon; Maddie glanced, exasperated, at where she guessed Phantom's eyes would be. "I am in the middle of something, you know."

A huff of excited laughter was the only response.

Maddie raised her eyes heavenward, but allowed herself to be pulled from the workbench and over to the far wall. Her hand was dropped, and Phantom's light went out. She frowned, but seconds later, a blue glow lit up the lab. Frost began to spread across the wall, forming intricate designs. Maddie gasped, raising a hand to her lips. "Phantom . . . is this you?"

The blue light moved to a clear section, focusing in until it was a spark instead of a glow. The spark glided along the wall, leaving a trail of ice behind it, tracing lines and curves and occasionally jumping to a new place. Finally, the spark moved back and she was looking at a series of letters.

Hi Maddie

She laughed, moving to touch the ice but pulling back at the last second. She didn't want to melt it. "Phantom, this is amazing! I had no idea you were so artistic!" She glanced back at the original frost patterns. "Maybe you should open a gallery, huh?"

He laughed, as she had intended him to, and Maddie went upstairs to find her camera.

~oOo~

Sometimes, Maddie wondered if she was getting too close to Phantom. Ever since she had discovered the spirit was the same (physical) age as her son, she couldn't help but compare the two. The playful attitude, the slightly sarcastic humor, that messy hair that she loved to run her fingers through . . . there were so many similarities. It was clouding her objectivity. She tried to pull back, reestablish the appropriate scientific distance, but it never worked for long.

For better or worse, Phantom was firmly entrenched in her heart.

~oOo~

Maddie smirked victoriously. For once, they had Invisobill on the run. The dark blur sped across streets and through buildings, but the improved radar on the RV had it pegged. It was only a matter of time. All they needed was an open space and- there! Jack swerved, clearing her shot, and Maddie punched the button. A green net fired from one of the roof cannons.

The ghost disappeared, probably going intangible as well, only to blink back into the visible spectrum as the phase-proof net wrapped around it. Beside her, Jack was cheering as he slammed on the breaks. Maddie barely gave the RV time to stop before she was out the door, weapon trained on their latest capture. The net was tangled so badly that it was hard to discern the ghost's form; all she could make out was white hair and dark fabric.

Jack stepped closer, ectogun pointed at the specter's face. "Don't even think about trying to escape, Invisobill - we've got you trapped!"

The ghost shifted, and she found herself staring into acid-green eyes.

"I only answer to Phantom," it said quietly.

Maddie froze. The net obscured the ghost's face, but those glowing eyes were fixed on her - how she wished she could see its expression! "What did you say?" she demanded.

The ghost looked at her, silent.

Maddie pushed past her husband to kneel before the specter. Keeping a tight grip on her weapon, she pushed her free hand through the net to trace across its face. Her breath hitched. She reached up, and something within her shattered at the familiar texture of its hair. "How can it be you?" she whispered. Tears threatened to form, but she would not let her weakness show. Instead, she yanked her hand away. "You were supposed to be different!"

She had never felt so betrayed. Phantom - her Phantom - was just another ghost. No different from the rest. She had been deceived by a filthy, semi-sentient bundle of ectoplasmic malevolence.

The ghost flinched back. "I am," he- it said. "I am different."

"Don't lie to me." Maddie rose to her feet, icy glare fixed on green eyes. "You've done enough of that."

"No! I never- I didn't lie to you! I didn't even say anything!"

Maddie turned away. "You don't need words to lie to someone, Phantom. You pretended to be good. But in reality, you're just like every other evil, destructive ghost out there."

"I'm not! Maddie!"

She stiffened, opening her mouth to give a sharp correction, but the ghost kept talking.

"Look, I hunt ghosts, okay? I'm not terrorizing anyone - I'm just trying to keep them safe! I-I'm a hunter, like you!"

"Like we'd believe that, spook!" Jack exclaimed.

Poor Jack - he probably had no clue what was going on. She never had gotten around to telling her husband about Phantom; maybe that had been her first mistake.

"It's true! Please, Maddie, think about it!" The ghost was squirming, trying to catch her eye. "I've been hanging around your lab for months-"

"WHAT! YOU-"

"Jack, wait!"

"-when have I ever hurt you? When have I ever even touched your equipment?"

"How about when you stole the Ecto-Skeleton?" Maddie scowled. So that's why Phantom had laughed at her concern!

The ghost winced. "Point. But I needed that to defeat Pariah Dark. Besides, you said yourself it could have been fatal! Who better to use it than someone who's already dead?"

That made her pause, but she wouldn't let him- it talk its way out. Being fooled once was enough. "Then why didn't you bring it back? For all I know, the entire attack was part of your plan!"

"My pla- ugh! I'm a C-average student, I don't make plans! And I couldn't bring it back because Plasmius stole it!"

Maddie clenched her fists. "There's always an excuse, isn't there, ghost!"

"It's not an excuse if it's true!" The ghost's hands glowed blue, sending the temperature plummeting and spreading ice across the net. Distress was evident in its voice. "Why can't you just trust me for once?" The net shattered.

Seeing the ice powers Phantom had taken such delight in showing her was the final blow. Maddie broke down, suppressed tears spilling from her eyes. An expression of sheer guilt covered the ghost's face. He vanished, but seconds later she felt cold arms around her.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't want it to happen like this. I'm sorry. Please, Mo-Maddie, I'm sorry."

"Phantom," she said quietly. "Show yourself." Without a second's hesitation, he flickered back to visibility. Jack raised his gun, full of righteous fury, but she motioned him back. "Why were you in our lab?"

Phantom sighed. "You mean when you first caught me? Your portal is the most convenient way to get rid of the ghosts I catch."

"And why did you keep coming back?"

Phantom pulled away, gaze dropping to the pavement. "I thought . . . maybe if I got on your good side . . . I could show you not all ghosts are evil." He glanced up at her before looking away again. "I'm so tired of everyone hating me," he said in a small voice. "I'm always, always trying to help, but no one ever sees it." The broken little laugh he gave was a far cry from the carefree one she had grown used to. "To them, I'm just another ghost."

Maddie closed her eyes briefly. All ghosts were evil. But Phantom . . . was not. She couldn't bring herself to believe he was. Not after the past few months. Slowly, she placed a hand beneath his chin and turned his face toward her. His eyes were so wide - just like a child's. "You're not just another ghost," she said softly,

He closed his eyes, jaw tightening. "I don't even know what I am."

Maddie smiled, wrapping her arms around his trembling shoulders. "Don't worry, little Phantom. We'll figure it out."

~oOo~

Once they returned to Fenton Works, several hours' worth of explanations were in order. First of all, her dear Jack had to be convinced that Phantom hadn't brainwashed her. After that, things calmed down considerably.

They settled in the lab. It was odd, to say the least, to see Phantom floating there completely comfortable among the ghost weapons and ectoplasmic experiments. Even Jack had to blink a few times before shrugging it off.

"So," her husband stated. "Got any cool powers?"

Phantom laughed, his proper one this time, and then they were off on an hour-long discussion of powers, technology, and the best way to catch ghosts. As it turned out, Phantom had been using their tech almost since the beginning.

"I didn't steal it!" the spirit defended, holding up both hands. "Jack threw it at my face! Said something about it not working and just chucked it."

"Oh," Jack said sheepishly.

Maddie laughed. "That does sound like you, Jack. You should be careful from now on - we don't want to accidentally arm any other ghosts!"

"You can say that again! My life- er, afterlife is hard enough as it is."

"Well, it's about to get easier, Spooky!" Jack gave Phantom a hearty slap on the back, pitching the spirit forward. "From now on, you've got JACK FENTON on your side!"

Phantom blinked wide eyes. "Really?"

"Of course," Maddie said with a smile. "Call us anytime you need backup."

"I- wow. Thanks!" Phantom's smile was so bright, his face could barely contain it. "If I knew this would happen, I would have let you guys catch me ages ago!"

They shared a laugh, then Jack raced upstairs shouting something about celebratory fudge. Maddie looked at her Phantom and smiled. "Any other secret identities I should know about?" she joked.

Phantom hesitated, then turned to face her. "Just one."

Maddie stared, momentarily stunned.

"But I don't think you're ready for it. Don't worry, though, I'll tell you soon." The spirit grinned. "Who knows? You're a smart lady. Maybe you'll figure it out yourself."

As she looked at Phantom's familiar smile, Maddie thought perhaps she already had.