"Danny!" The black-haired boy turned at the sound of his name to see Sam jogging toward him along the busy hall. "Where were you this morning?"

Danny held up his Fenton Thermos with a sigh. "Box Ghost."

"Oh," Sam chuckled.

"Yeah," her best friend agreed with a wistful nod. "Too bad we don't have the same class next," he added as an afterthought. "Then-" He stopped as they rounded a corner, almost running into Paulina and her usual mob of followers. They stared at each other for several seconds before the Latina regained her composure.

"You two losers are back together?"

Danny and Sam both bristled at the comment. "We're NOT together!"

The popular girl brushed off the comment with a roll of her eyes. "Save anyone recently?" she asked with a cruel, mischievous tone.

"Actually, yeah," Sam stepped in before Danny could stutter an answer. "He saved you."

"Psh," Paulina waved her hand, not noticing Danny's confusion. "Like, when did he do that?"

Sam's own mischievous grin crossed her face slowly. "Because we were at the arcade all weekend with Tucker, it distracted me from everything you did on Friday."

"And how is that saving my life?" She asked, taking a step towards Sam, who didn't back down.

"You're still alive, aren't you?" She ignored Danny's surprised blink. "Him doing that stopped me from coming after you. See, he is a hero. Come on, Danny," she reached back and grabbed his arm, dragging him past a steaming Paulina, who didn't seem to know how to answer back. Instead, she turned around with a flip of her dark hair and walked into the main hall, her followers trailing after uncertainly.

"That wasn't like you, Sam," Danny said slowly once they'd gotten out of hearing range.

She looked down and slowed her pace slightly. "I'm just sick of them making fun of you like that when you really have saved their lives more times than we can count. I guess I've been acting different lately too…and I'm sorry."

"I'm the clumsy one that's always putting everyone in danger when I don't mean to, and you're the one apologizing?" Danny asked with a chuckle.

At his comment, she rounded on him, her eyes narrowing. "Danny, you are a hero, okay? You put everyone else's life ahead of yours and you risk your own skin to save innocent people and the people who hate your guts. I'm sick of the news reporters and people like Valerie always twisting things around and making you seem so selfish when you're not: sick and tired of it…and I get a little compulsive when I'm angry about something."

"You can honestly say that after what happened?" Danny asked quietly and looked down, a slight blush coloring his cheeks. "Thanks."

Sam shrugged with her own blush and turned to walk back down the hall.

"So," she started after a long pause. "Other than the Box Ghost, did you have a ghost-free weekend?"

"Yeah," Danny couldn't help but grin. "Slept in and everything."

"You deserve it," a voice behind them caused them both to jump and whirl around.

"Jazz," Danny breathed, putting a hand over his heart.

Jazz giggled. "Have you reached the epitome of surprise when you can scare a ghost?"

"Not funny, Jazz," he said sulkily.

"You know," Sam interrupted before Jazz could respond. "There's one thing I don't get."

The siblings exchanged a glance. "What's that?" they said at the same time before shooting each other a mock glare.

"Why did you look like you did when Vlad sent those skates? I mean, you didn't look like that ever before, not even with the Freakshow thing."

"You know," Jazz replied, "I've been thinking the same thing, and here's the theory I came up with."

"Uh oh," Danny muttered under his breath.

Jazz ignored him. "When Danny put those wrist guards on, it made a permanent impression on his ecto-signature. It made that side of his personality…well, tangible."

Her brother sighed and looked over at his best friend. "Was I supposed to understand that?"

"So you're saying that they gave him a form to revert to when someone sets off his trigger?" Sam asked.

"I am right here, you know," Danny muttered dryly and leaned against the wall. "You don't have to talk about me like I'm not."

"Sorry," Jazz reached a hand over and ruffled his hair. He slapped it away playfully.

The red head smiled warmly at him. "As long as no one betrays you, you're fine." Danny's look sobered but he nodded sincerely. "Oh, and Danny," she leaned over, putting a hand up to one side of her mouth and whispering loudly, "I'd make it a priority to avoid Dash right now."

"Why?" he asked, a slightly worried tone creeping into his voice.

"Something about the whole team not being able to practice because someone messed with all of their lockers—"

"The itching powder!" Danny cringed.

Sam and Jazz blinked at him. "That's what you were doing when Tucker and I came in?" his sister asked.

Danny nodded, his hands covering his face.

"Next thing that'll happen is everyone will discover my secret again," he groaned, banging his head against the wall.

"Or worse," Jazz commented with a sigh.

"How could something be worse than that?" Danny's head shot up.

Jazz gulped. "Um…a certain billionaire could find out your trigger."

Danny's face turned white as a sheet. "Or worse," he agreed. Looking to be lost in thought, he turned around and started walking towards class again.

"Don't worry, Danny," Sam said hastily, shooting a glare at Jazz, "how could he find out anyways?"

"He has a television, you know," Danny gulped. "He has to know about this weekend, and it's only a matter of time before—"

"Danny," Sam stepped in front of him, stopping his movement. "He can't know what caused it unless one of us tells him, and he couldn't torture it out of us. Not even Tucker."

"Besides," Jazz stepped in, "even if he does find out, how could he possibly convince one of us to betray you again? Not gonna happen."

Danny stopped and looked at them gratefully. "Thanks guys," he smiled just as the bell rang.

"Aw crap," all three of them said at the same time and with a mutual nod, dashed off towards their respective classes.

Meanwhile….

The warm breeze couldn't touch the perpetual cold that seemed to hang constantly around Mr. Master's recently rebuilt mansion.

He liked the location of his new office better than the old one. A floor higher, it looked over a great deal more of the landscape on the shadowed side of the small hill it had been erected on. The view was spectacular.

He stared out of the window from his place behind a rather expensive looking, mahogany desk. "You were supposed to get close to him, and earn his trust, even if only for a short while. Did you succeed?" his sultry voice drifted from behind his tall-backed, red, velvet chair.

"Yes, sir," came the short reply.

Vlad couldn't suppress a smile. "Are you aware of what happened in Amity Park this weekend as well?"

"Yes, sir."

"And the price for your services? The usual?"

A hesitation. That surprised him. "No, sir."

He quirked an eyebrow. "Very well, what then?" Another hesitation. What exactly had happened?

"When you use this information-." he turned at the sound in her voice and faced the two nearly identical ghosts standing in the room. "Tell him we're even."

"Done," he said, an evil grin crossing his face. "Please, explain." He had a feeling he was going to enjoy this.

The End

I wasn't kidding when I said that all of the anti-climaticness of the story would be well worth this ending. /./sees people with chainsaws coming after her/./ Um...I think I'm going to go now...AAAAAAA!" /./dashes away/./