Chapter 2: (C) Team Phantom

During lunch I met back up with Sam and Tucker and we sat at a table all by our lonesome. Which was completely fine with me, because I couldn't wait to tell them about the powers and maybe even how they worked. At this point, sure they've seen the transformation, but besides a change of outfit, nothing really happened. The moment we all set down, I moved in as close as possible and began my tirade.

"Guys! Guys! You won't freaking believe this. It's going to Blow. Your. Mind." I tried to whisper, really, I did, but honestly although it was in a hushed tone, it was still pretty loud. I don't think anyone heard though, it's a highschool lunchroom. The place is louder than Hiroshima on a bad day. I got 2 weird looks, one curious and one worrying.

"Danny, is this about what happened last night? You're suit inverted and your hair turned white. Not to mention your green eyes and the…" she lists off changed before stopping hesitantly. Maybe I imagined it, I mean it's possible but I don't want to become that one clueless protagonist in every story, so I'll stop that train of thought right there. I didn't imagine anything...she shivered in fear.

"The laughing." Tucker finishes while looking into my eyes. It's not like I've been here for long, but it's the most serious I've ever seen the guy. And that might be counting every episode I've watched of the show, which is all of them. With all of my excitement, I forgot that these two still had some reservations about yesterday. Without remembering what happened, I can't even understand why. What did I do? And why is my laughter such a horrible experience?

"Yeah...yeah it's connected to what happened. Will you guys just tell me what happened? Why are you freaking out so much? I was just chuckling a bit right? What's the big deal?" I ask looking at both of them. This conversation isn't going how I planned, which means it's off track completely. The sooner I figure out what happened, the sooner we can focus on what's really important. My powers.

"It wasn't just a laugh. It-it was a cackle. Deranged...evil. You came out of that portal with smoke coming off your body and looking completely different. Your eyes seemed to...to glow? And then you started. You started and you just wouldn't stop. And we didn't know what to do. I didn't know what to do. I thought you were going to hurt someone, or yourself, or parents, or sister, or-"

"Someone." Tucker finished for her with a sigh. "Look man, it was just freaky. One moment you're crazy and then next there's a ring appearing around your body and you're back to normal giggling like a japanese school girl. Now I found that part funny but Sam is having a little trouble getting over you. You got hurt dude, and she thinks something changed inside of you...and she thinks it's her fault." he explains. Which causes me to turn to my other best friend with a worried expression of my own. Her head swerves away to avoid my gaze.

"Hey, you know it's not like that. I went in there willingly. In fact, I fully supported the decision. Besides, look at me! Ha! I'm fine- no, I'm better than ever. You didn't force me to go in-" I try to explain further, but I'm interrupted by her stare as she finally looks me in the eyes. I can see tears. It hurt more than I thought it would.

"No...no. I'm the one who suggested going in there in the first place. Nothing anyone says will change that. I put you in danger. I made you crazy. You-!...Danny you could have died. You could have died and it would have been all my fault. Because I couldn't keep my mouth shut. Because I couldn't leave things alone. Because I thought-"

"Because you wanted to help support my dream." I add, this time me interrupting her. "You're right. When I went into that machine, I did change. Everything did." I exclaim while reaching across the table and holding her hand before looking around and making no one was too close. After confirming that we were sort of secluded, I turned back to my friends and slowly pressed my free hand onto the table. At first I saw confusion in both of them, before it turned to shock as they watched my hand go through the table.

"Dude...dude how are you doing that?!" Tuck whisper-shouts while looking back in forth from me to my hand. I chuckle at his reaction before looking at Sam for hers. Covering her mouth in shock, she leans back a bit. If I didn't tighten my grip she would've pulled away, and if she did that I don't know if I could fix this. I can feel her shaking. If she got up and ran, that may have been the end of everything. I needed to keep her here. I needed to make her understand. I scared her…

"Look at me. Sam look at me!" I say forcefully to get her to focus on me. She hasn't looked away from my hand since I showed her my power, even when I stopped. "This…I don't know how and I don't know why, but the explosion did more than just change my clothes. It made me more. It turned me into this sort of half ghost. It gave me powers. It's amazing. I feel amazing. And this is all because of you."

"Ghost...A ghost. I killed you. I really-"

"NO!" I shout, forgetting about my volume for a second. A few heads turn but I pay no mind, at this point her tears flowed freely. "I'm still here. I'm still alive. The only thing that's changed is me gaining these abilities. This is a good thing. I can help people. Save people. With these powers I could become a hero. So please...if you're going to take responsibility for anything, then do so of everything that we'll do together."

"We?" she asks softly. I give her a nod and gentle smile.

"We. Can't become a Hero alone now can I? I need my team. My friends by my side to have my back when I evidently do something stupid and need saving. So? Excited? Are you in?" I ask with my hopes up. She doesn't get a chance to reply however because I feel an arm around shoulder and find Tucker beside me.

"Damn right! We're officially a superhero team! A badass one too!" he yells, not hiding his voice at all. I contemplate shushing him before casting the thought aside. Yeah people hear, but I doubt it'll cause too many problems. At worst people think we're a couple of loser weirdos, but I'm pretty sure people already think that anyway. So no harm no foul. My attention turns back towards my goth friend when I feel a squeeze.

A nod.

A smile.

I like it…