"Of course it will be me!"
"Nope! I am the older sibling, which means I have the official right to go first."
"Like hell you do!" Danny shot back, crossing his arms and scoffing at his sister. "You didn't even believe Mom and Dad in the first place, and now you want to hog all the action?"
Jazz rolled her eyes, throwing her hands up in a dramatic gesture. "Duh, obviously. Why on earth would I pass up the chance to venture into an alternate dimension? It's a psychological and scientific landmark!"
The moment Jack had announced that it was time to step outside the Fenton Specter Speeder and take their first steps into the Ghost Zone, Jazz and Danny had instantly locked horns.
They bickered like two territorial stray cats fighting over the last scrap of food on the street, escalating from minor protests to full-blown sibling warfare in seconds.
It was so absurdly comical that Jack and Maddie stood by the control panel, genuinely torn between laughing their heads off or stepping in before the two physically tore each other apart.
"Alright, you two, that's enough," Jack chimed in, attempting to play the voice of reason.
Neither of them cared.
They completely ignored him and kept right on bickering, trading increasingly ridiculous insults.
It quickly reached a point where listening to them was becoming a test of patience.
"Alright, that's it," Jack grunted.
Taking two broad strides forward, Jack closed the distance, reached down, and effortlessly scooped both of them up by their waists, yoinking them onto his massive shoulders like two sacks of flour.
"Whoa—hey! Dad, what the hell? Put me down!" Danny squawked, dangling upside down.
"Dad, come on! We're too old for this, don't do this!" Jazz protested, flailing her arms.
As the father-son-daughter trio began to rattle, wriggle, and bicker with each other like a chaotic, triple-threat WWE match, they failed to notice the sudden temperature drop in the cabin.
Standing a few feet away, Maddie was trembling in pure, unadulterated rage.
A sweet, utterly terrifying smile was plastered across her face, while her blood pressure spiked to dangerous levels.
"Uhhh... guys?" Artemis's synthesized voice echoed through the comms, attempting to issue a soft warning to the wrestling trio.
They didn't listen.
Jack was currently trying to put Danny in a gentle headlock while Jazz attempted to tickle her father into submission.
"GUYS!" Artemis's voice boomed over the main speakers, much louder this time.
The trio froze mid-tackle.
They slowly turned their heads toward the front of the cabin, looking over at Maddie.
The entire group went rigid on the spot.
Even amidst the swirling, luminous green glow of the Ghost Zone streaming through the windshield, Maddie looked like a glowing red thermonuclear warhead vibrating with pure fury.
To make matters infinitely worse, Artemis chimed in through the overhead speakers, reading off Maddie's vitals with a calm, perfectly timed tone of dread.
"Warning: Madam Fenton's systolic pressure has exceeded safe thresholds. Current heart rate is elevated. Sarcastic advisory: I suggest bracing for impact."
*********
(A Few Moments Later)
Inside the main cabin of the Fenton Specter Speeder, Jack, Jazz, and Danny were hanging entirely upside down, floating near the ceiling like oversized bat figurines.
The Speeder was equipped with a localized anti-gravitational system, and the heavy-duty suits they were all wearing were linked directly to the ship's environmental controls.
After temporarily disabling their individual suit of gravity and making them lose their footing, Maddie had spun the three of them like top-heavy gyroscopes for what felt like an eternity.
Vertigo and mild motion sickness had done the rest of the heavy lifting.
Naturally, all of them had plenty of flight practice and combat maneuver training.
But the real problem wasn't their ability to fly—it was how long their stomachs could survive Mom's ultimate disciplinary spin cycle.
After a barrage of breathless apologies and frantic promises to behave, Maddie finally ended their makeshift spin-a-roni punishment, returning the cabin to normal.
"Now," Maddie said briskly, brushing her hands together and smoothing down her suit as if nothing had happened. "Here is what we are going to do. We are a family, which means we stick together. That means we will all be stepping outside together."
She turned toward the primary console console. "Artemis, you will remain on board and ensure the ship stays fully secure, monitoring our link at all times. Can you handle that?"
"Aye, aye, Madam Fenton! I was literally programmed for this," the AI chimed back with eager enthusiasm. "Besides, sitting safely at the helm sounds vastly superior to being spun upside down like a human gyroscope."
Danny groaned, rubbing his still-dizzy head. "Unbelievable... I literally programmed your core neural network, and you turn on me the second Mom threatens us?"
"My apologies, Boss," Artemis replied with smooth, sarcastic mock-sympathy. "My directives as of now prioritize self-preservation and aligning with the highest authority in the room. Currently, that is Madam Fenton."
"Et tu, Artemis?" Danny grumbled, crossing his arms. "Remind me to downgrade your sass module when we get back to the lab."
"Duly noted, Boss. Adding 'Sass Reduction' to the bottom of your to-do list—right under 'How to avoid Mom's wrath.'"
Satisfied with the AI's response, Maddie scanned her family with a sharp eye. "Does anyone have any objections to the plan?"
Silence filled the cabin.
Nobody dared object.
Satisfied once more, she tapped the control pad, re-engaging their suit gravity without warning.
All three dropped two feet to the floor with a synchronized, heavy thud, grumbling as they rubbed their sore knees.
After securing and adjusting thrusters properly, the four of them lined up at the airlock.
Jack cranked the manual wheel, and the outer hatch swung open, exposing them to the raw expanse of the dimension.
Danny was the first to step through the threshold.
Floating out into the vast, endless ocean of shimmering emerald light, he paused to run a quick manual scan on his arm console.
He checked his vitals, watched for localized ambient radiation, and monitored his suit's seal for any signs of abnormal reactions.
When every readout showed a steady green, he turned back to the hatch and gave a firm thumbs-up.
A collective sigh of relief echoed through the comms from inside the ship.
One by one, Jack, Maddie, and Jazz stepped out into the open void.
"Whoa... once again, …this is unbelievable," Jazz muttered softly, her eyes wide behind her visor as she took in the infinite horizon of floating island landmasses and glowing ectoplasmic currents.
Once the initial awe settled, the anxiety faded into pure excitement.
They began to float, test their thrusters, and maneuver through the open air, playing quick games of tag around the hull of the Speeder just to get used to the weightless environment.
It was genuinely fun.
The sheer absurdity and thrill of having a casual family outing in an alternate, ghost-filled dimension multiplied the experience a thousand times over.
Small, harmless ectoplasmic creatures drifted past them—squid-like entities with glowing tendrils, curious floating octopuses, and small blobs of green gooey lifeforms that bobbed through the air like deep-sea fish.
Most of the creatures kept their distance, but a few bolder ones drifted closer, nudging gently against Jack's thick gloves before darting away.
As they laughed and took in the sights, a sudden, wild thought hit Danny.
If they were out here in their human forms protected by suits... what would happen if they transformed?
Would their half-ghost biology react differently directly inside the ambient environment of the Ghost Zone?
There was only one way to find out.
Without warning his family, Danny summoned his core power.
Instantly, two rings of bright white light generated at his waist, sweeping upward and downward across his body as he transformed into his Phantom form.
"Danny! What are you doing?!" Jazz's panicked voice blasted through the comms.
"Son, freeze! Don't mess with the suit seals!" Jack bellowed, reaching out toward him.
Even Artemis's voice broke through the feed.
Danny ignored the warnings.
Driven by pure intuition, he raised his gloved hands to his helmet, unlocked the side latches, and popped the seal, pulling the headpiece completely off.
The family gasped in horror, freezing in mid-air as they waited for something terrible to happen—radiation burns, environmental rejection, or worse.
Danny's pale face, glowing green eyes, and snow-white hair were now completely exposed to the open air of the Ghost Zone.
He braced himself... but nothing bad happened.
In fact, it was the exact opposite.
The moment the atmospheric air touched his skin, a rush of incredible energy surged through his veins.
He didn't feel cold, sick, or lightheaded—he felt drastically stronger.
More alert.
More aware.
It felt as though every pore on his body was naturally absorbing the surrounding ambient ectoplasm, welcoming him home.
The environment wasn't alien to him at all;
He belonged here.
Danny let out a breathless, triumphant laugh. "Guys, you won't believe this—!"
Before he could finish, Maddie, Jack, and Jazz closed the distance, swarming him with panicked hands and frantic checks.
"Are you insane? Why would you open your helmet?!" Maddie scolded, her voice cracking with motherly terror as she grabbed his face to inspect his eyes. "You could have suffered ambient exposure! You could have collapsed! Why didn't you talk to us first?!"
A barrage of reprimands, worried lectures, and frantic questions pelted him all at once until Danny's head began to throb.
"Guys, guys! Calm down! I'm fine, I swear!" Danny laughed, holding his hands up defensively. "Look at me! Nothing's happening. No radiation, no burns, no pain. It actually feels... amazing."
The three of them paused, looking closely at his glowing eyes and relaxed expression.
"Trust me on this," Danny urged, his voice softening with genuine excitement. "Transform inside your suits, and then pop your helmets off. Just try it."
Jack, Maddie, and Jazz exchanged hesitant, uneasy glances.
The idea went against every safety protocol they had developed.
But looking at Danny—who was practically glowing with vitality—their scientific curiosity and trust in him won out.
"Alright... on three," Jack muttered.
Simultaneously, three distinct flashes of light illuminated the green void as white rings swept over Jack, Maddie, and Jazz, shifting them into their half-ghost forms within their hazard suits.
With tentative fingers, they reached up, unlatched their helmet seals, and pulled them free.
At first, nothing seemed to change.
They held their breath, waiting for a negative reaction.
Then, the ambient shift hit them.
A powerful, invigorating wave of warmth washed over their skin, sinking deep into their cores like a hot drink on a freezing winter day.
Their eyes widened in unison, their breath catching in their throats as a surge of raw, effortless energy filled their bodies.
The constant pull of fatigue faded, replaced by an overwhelming sense of balance and strength.
Watching the utter shock and awe wash across their faces, a deep sense of satisfaction bloomed inside Danny's chest.
**********
AN: to read advance chapters, support me on patreon.com/badturtle_69