Danny Fenton was lying on his back, only dimly aware that something about the situation was not right. "Let's think here... This isn't a bed, so we probably aren't waking up. Something hurts; did you fall?"

He turned his head to the side and groggily opened his eyes. He was indeed lying on a floor.

"OK, we probably fell then. Did you slip on the climbing rope in gym class again? Check if you're wearing shorts and a t-shirt."

He looked down his prone frame. He was definitely not in gym class. It was much worse than that.

"Well, we're in the Fentonworks lab. You're wearing a white hazmat suit. Everything hurts, and we're just regaining consciousness. This does not bode well."

"Danny!" The voices shouting in unison did more to wake him up than his idle musings. Two people came running up to him. They seemed concerned about something

"There you are! Dang, are you OK dude? You must have been launched a clear 50 feet!" said one person. He looked like a male.

"To be clear, when I suggested you take a look inside, there was no implied 'Hey, maybe turn it on and get shot out like a human cannonball!'" said the other. She seemed female.

Danny's head was still swimming. The things they were talking about seemed familiar, but the best he could manage was "Wh... Who are you?"

"...you're not serious, are you?" The female was definitely concerned.

"Come on, that's Sam Manson. You know her. The guy is Tucker Foley. You remember them. They've been your best friends since forever. Now say something normal before they totally freak out."

Danny gave his head a shake, then winced. "OK, ouch. The head is on the list of things that are hurting." He cleared his throat before continuing. "Whoa, sorry about that guys. Guess I got knocked around a bit, huh?"

Something like relief washed over his friends' faces.

"Geez Danny, you had me worried there for a second." Tucker held out a hand to help his friend up. He stumbled a bit on the ascent. "You've got two legs, Fenton, use 'em both..."

His head was still pounding, but when his eyes came into focus, he was looking straight over Tucker's shoulder, jaw slack. Sam noticed his gaze and smiled. "Whatever you did, it worked. You maniac."

Sam, Danny, and Tucker stood before the ghost portal. Where there had previously been an empty hole in the wall, there was now a barrier of green, swirling energy; what, if anything, lay beyond it was hidden from their view by the cloud-like vortex.

Tucker spoke softly, as if afraid of being overheard. "Do you guys think it really leads to another dimension? I mean, some kind of ghost world?"

"Well, if the last two months worth of frantic parental enthusiasm is any indication, that's probably a yes on both counts." Danny grinned at the thought. It was all his parents had been talking about all summer, and since Jazz had made her lack of interest in all things ghost-related very clear, Danny had borne the brunt of it. "My parents seemed pretty sure, and believe me, they went over their blueprints with me in detail. Great, agonizing detail." Which was not to say he had really minded so much. The notion of exploring the supernatural realm had a certain... Allure.

He was trying to recall exactly how somebody was supposed to go through the portal when he got a light punch on his left shoulder. "Oh man, what was Sam saying?" Danny turned to face her with some surprise. "Sorry, what was that?"

She frowned. "Well, I was saying that it 'looks pretty deadly, it looks like you got off lucky', but now I'm starting to wonder if your hearing's been affected."

He tensed up as he heard footsteps thundering down the steps. "Yeah, and what if I told you I heard trouble coming?"

"DANNY BOY!" He suddenly found himself grabbed by the shoulders in his father's characteristic death grip. "Shoulders... Also still hurting... Ugh." Jack didn't seem to notice his son's discomfort. "You got the portal working! Great work kiddo."

Where his father had bounded down with the excitement of a small child on Christmas, his mother practically flew. She stopped next to the teen long enough to crush him with a hug, parental treacle briefly overruling her excitement. "Aw, Danny! Good work honey!"

"Maddie, he's a regular Thomas Edison! Always finding new ways to not build a light bulb, just like his old man!"

"You know this means you're only going to hear more about ghosts from now on, right?"

Danny shuddered at the thought. "Hey, guys, I was actually just leaving—"

However, like a squall, his parents had already disappeared as quickly as they had arrived. They were by the portal, taking readings and fiddling with equipment.

"...OK then. Let's get out of here guys, we can check out the ghost world some other time. Before my parents manage to make it boring."

Sam smirked. "What, you aren't up for a little 90-minute lesson in metaphysics?"

"Well, since you ask," he began with a smirk.

"I'd much rather enjoy a good burger on our second-last day of freedom," Danny concluded, before munching on a fry happily. The three friends were at their usual table in the Nasty Burger, and, as usual, Tucker had already knocked back three double cheeseburgers in the time it took the other two to get halfway through their orders.

Sam just looked at him. It seemed like she wanted to say something, rapidly chewing her last bite of tofu melt. Tucker lowered the straw from his mouth to reply immediately. "What're you talking about?"

"Well, the first day of school is Wednesday, right?"

Sam knocked back a gulp of water before weighing in. "I think he means, you'd rather do this than what?"

Danny grinned. "You just asked me if I was up for a lecture in metaphysics. Did you want to stick around for that? 'cause I didn't think you were the 'sit and listen to authority' type, Sam."

"Uh, Danny? I asked you that back at your place."

The grin faded. "Oh, uh." They were in the Nasty Burger. Well, obviously they were in the Nasty Burger. But how did they get here so quickly?

"...like half an hour ago, dude."

"Wow, you must have really spaced out on the walk over here."

The smile was back in a second. He probably shouldn't mention that he totally hadn't been paying attention to them for so long. "Yeah, I know that. Are you saying you aren't willing to wait a few minutes for comedic genius?"

Tucker seemed relieved, joking right back. "I don't think 'comedic genius' is what you call it when you come up with lines like 30 minutes later dude. You're gonna have to work on that response time."

Sam didn't seem quite so convinced.

They spent the rest of the afternoon wandering the town, trying to take in the last few moments of summer freedom. If his friends thought he seemed preoccupied, they didn't mention it again. For Danny's part, he was mostly just trying to deal with the slowly developing aches and pains all over his body. He was definitely going to have some bruises.

But that was tomorrow's problem. Clambering into bed, he resolved to take it easy for a while; wandering all over town while injured probably hadn't been the smartest plan. He was hurting almost as much now as when he had just been thrown across a room. He laid his tired head on the pillow; for now, at least he could sleep through it.

"It's a shame, really. This might be your last night without homework for the year."

Danny's eyes snapped open. Wait. What had just said that?

The voice replied. "Now that's the million-dollar question, isn't it?"

Author's Note:

Well. This was unexpected. Originally, I had not intended to write multiple fanfictions involving Danny Phantom, let alone one that recasts the origin story. And yet here we are.

What can be said? I had a plot bunny pop up while writing "Spaceman" that refused to leave until I had written a plot summary and the first few thousand words. Feedback very welcome. Although I suspect that, as is apparently my mode of operation, Chapter Two will follow closely behind this one. ;)