Chapter Text
Fenton Works, a small indie company ran from an old two-story house, creates security technology. Not just for protection against the average thug however. No. The Fenton Family was one that was obsessed with the capture, cataloguing, and neutralization of the supernatural forces. None are in their wheelbarrow quite as firmly as ghosts.
Currently, all “employees” of Fenton Works are in the basement, preparing for the unveiling of their first invention. The grey-blue tiles on the floor being lit by large fluorescent bulbs. Many workbenches sat around with numerous tools, all of different levels of completion, cluttering them. In a nearby bin, countless crumpled papers were discarded. There was also a large fridge that was holding one of the co-founder’s homemade fudges. Otherwise known as what they’re paying their interns with.
Maddie Fenton was currently finishing calibrations on a large mechanical gateway built into the wall, as well as welding together loose looking sheets of metal before slamming them with her shoulder to confirm stability. She wears a blue rubbersuit jumpsuit that clings to her full form, with black spots to pad delicate areas. A hood covering her head as her violet eyes are kept safe from the light of her welding tool via her red goggles. All just final checks before
Her husband, Jack, was currently standing before a trio of interns who were listening to his little preamble to get them ready for the job. He was wide, some may see him as portly, but in truth he was just sheerly gigantic. His massive figure also held onto tightly via an orange jumpsuit that shows he’s a sort of composite between overweight, and jacked. His black hair was carefully combed back, with white marking the sides and dotting the black. His blue eyes sparking with life as he grins ear to ear giving his little speech.
“You see, kiddos. When I was a child, living in a small cabin in Illinois. I had an active imagination. My father lived in constant abject terror of the world around us, seen and unseen. I however, craved to see the unseeable. He took me hunting one day. And on the journey I saw a beautiful creature. It was a large bird with green and red feathers, it almost looked as if it had a beard. I couldn’t help but want to capture it. Alive. And view its majesty every day.” Jack recollected this memory fondly, before his face dropped. “And then father made it into stew.”
“Piasa Bird.” One of the interns says as she lifts her hand up.
“Hu-what?” Jack questions as he turns to look right at the girl. “Could you speak up a little bit, miss Manson?”
“That’s a general description for a Piasa Bird. Illinois’ cryptid. It uh. It relates to some native american tribes, being painted on cliff sides near the Mississippi river.” The girl clarifies. “And please. Just… Sam.”
The girl wasn’t wearing a jumpsuit, she was far more comfortable with what she was wearing. A black t-shirt with a purple cat face on it. A matching black pair of shorts being kept tightened with a purple belt, adorned with a silvery buckle to keep everything fastened. Black bands on her wrists and neck, each adorned with silvery studs to act as accessories. Purple stockings to stay warm in the fall weather, and some thick black leather boots. Her black hair was tied back to stay out of her purple, almost apathetic looking eyes. Her porcelain skin would almost exude a coldness. Tucked between her left arm and her side was a book of lore.
“Hey so. How does any of this relate back to your inventions?” Another intern lifts his hand as he asks. “I was under the assumption we were inventing security measures?”
“Ah thank you for the question mister Foley.” Jack begins again, speaking triumphantly. “Well, you see. We need fresh minds to assist in our combat with the unseen. But we need scholars, we need those young with a thirst to learn. That’s why you three were chosen.”
“Alright, thanks? I guess?” The boy added on, before correcting. “And it's Tucker. Mr. Foley’s. Weird.”
Tucker also chose something more casual for the sake of this setting. A yellow turtleneck that fits snugly on him was the obvious choice. He also has some faded green cargo pants that hold a number of "necessities", otherwise known as useless gadgets he’s personally tinkered on. Some light brown boots that fit him comfortably. His skin is warm and free of blemishes due to near constant maintenance on himself, for the ladies of course, his black hair cut short and covered by a red baret. The young man’s turquoise eyes almost glow with intrigue behind his thick glasses.
“Now. Any other questions?” Jack asks as he looks between the two who shake their head, then to the boy in the center. “Danny?”
“Uh… Yeah. Why am I here?” Danny questions as he looks up at Jack.
Unlike the others, he was wearing his jumpsuit. It was white with black highlights, including built in safety measures on the boots and gloves. He knows the kind of stuff that goes down here, and would rather this get ruined over his actual clothes. His hair was a half-combed mess of black, and his tired eyes were blue. He, much to his chagrin, looks like his father when he was young.
“Well son. You’re here because I know you are destined for greatness! You’ll be a hunter of the strange just like your old man!” Jack explains excitedly as he puts a hand on the boy’s shoulder, before gesturing to the gate behind him. “After the gate’s been completed, we’re going to finally have access to a realm beyond the seen! Isn’t it exciting, boy?!”
“I guess?”
Danny was unsure how to make heads or tails of what was going on. His mother walks over after setting the blowtorch onto a holding rack for tools. She gives a thumbs up to Jack to signify all her checks are done.
“Alright! It’s time! Get ready kids, your names are going to be in history books soon enough!” Jack excitedly says as he puts on a hood to cover his face, blue goggles on his face.
The duo move to different monitors. To keep the first test perfect and safe for their audience, they have to stabilize things remotely.
“Preparing first contact! Gate open!” Maddie shouts as she flips a switch, causing the black and yellow door to open and reveal how far back it goes.
“Ecto-Rate at 15%.” Jack confirms as he presses a green button, causing a vat at the back to become visible, its contents green.
“Re-Routing energy from the second floor and above to the portal!” Maddie excitedly declares as numerous power downs can be heard throughout the building.
“Ecto-Rate at 30%.” Jack confirms again, pressing another button as the vat was becoming more full.
The kids all watched in awe. Tucker at the sight of the wondrous machine, and the idea of another world. Sam at the fact it apparently runs off ectoplasm. Danny at that it isn’t just a worthless piece of junk.
“Safety Guard. Unfold!” Maddie declares as a number of see-through glass gates open around the device.
“Ecto-Rate 45%!” Jack was also feeling the excitement, it’s never gone beyond 30% in tests before.
“Plasma Coils! Activate!” Maddie shouts as a number of coils appear around the glass box, to shock anything that comes through.
“Ecto-Rate 60%!” Jack shouted out. “Sixty-Five! We’re doing it!”
“Was there doubt in you, my love?!” Maddie smiles ear to ear as she lifts up a finger, pressing a button. “Circulating Pulse Signals!”
“Ecto-Rate 80%!” Jack shouts before flipping another switch. “Preparing the tumbler!”
“Contact in five!” Maddie shouts, pointing one hand at the gate as she lifts all five fingers on her other hand.
“Holy crud…” the three kids say in unison as they just stare on.
The vat was seemingly full, and now spilling into the machine as vibrations and electric pulses form a spinning effect. It was like watching laundry spin slowly, gaining momentum gradually.
“Ecto-Rate 95%!” Jack shouts, now counting down with Maddie. “Four!”
“Thrrrree!” Maddie shouts, rolling her R.
“Two!” Jack flips one final switch.
It seems that the portal was finally going to work. After what felt like four years of testing, they finally got it down.
“One!” Both say in unison.
At the zenith of their success, the power to the lab goes out. Silence fills the air as the two pointed at the gate, which was now just open, with the green liquid spilling into grates for re-use.
Silence. Silence and darkness. Not even the hum of the lab, or the fridge sat in the corner of the room.
Not a word from the two. Though one might hear a quiet sob beginning to escape Jack. Maddie remains totally unmoving as the power to the entire lab goes out. This causes the duo to collapse, at the exact same time as the see-through wall that was between the viewers and the portal.
“Okay! Take five kiddies!” Jack manages to pull out a chipper voice, covering his face with one arm before walking to the fridge to set out three trays of fudge. “I’m going to go… Check the breaker box! Yes!”
After the trays were set out, the man ran quickly up the stairs. He’s taken the route countless times in the dark, so doing so with his eyes covered to hide his crying was nothing.
“Ah… We were so close.” Maddie sighs quietly before glancing into the portal. “We quadruple-checked everything. Sorry for wasting your time, kids.”
“No! No, don't be!” Tucker was quick to stand up and look at the small coils around the walls. “This was frankly a treat! Got me all hyped up for that ending though. Hey! Maybe I can help figure out what the power problem was!”
“No. You and Sam aren’t in your jumpsuits. Danny, please be nice to our new interns. Just stay here. I’m going to make sure your father doesn’t fry himself.” Maddie spoke in a quiet doting voice before hurrying up the stairs. “Come on big guy! We were this close! That’s gotta count for something right?!”
The three kids were left there in silence. Danny glancing between the two. He doesn’t know these people. They don’t know him. They all were just tangentially classmates. Tucker was always kind of too busy with his gaming and tech stuff, and Sam was… Well frankly she’s scary. Hard to get a read on either of them.
“So… How’s uh. Class going?” Danny awkwardly asks.
“Could take it or leave it, personally.” Sam admits, reading her book using a flashlight. “Took this spot in hopes of learning more about the weird world.”
“I’m here because it was this or shop.” Tucker speaks quickly while examining a pair of strange clawed gauntlets on a workbench. “And gonna be real, Fenton. Your family’s everything I was hoping to find.”
“Aha… Yeah. Not as fun when it’s… every day, haaa…” Danny quietly mentions, patting his lap a little bit before clearing his throat again. “Hey. Do either of you want some fudge?”
“Nah, I uh. If it’s got eggs or dairy products, I can’t eat it. Vegan.” Sam explains, lifting a water bottle she was keeping in her bag to drink from it. “Thanks, though.”
“Oh! Uh. I’ll let dad know. He keeps a bunch of different fudges. Mooost use milk. But I think the almond fudge uses almond milk for like, ‘more almondy flavor’. Whatever that means.” Danny was trying so hard, so hard to connect in some way.
“Heh. More almondy? Does he really talk like that?” Tucker jokes as he takes a piece of fudge to bite into. “Ah, what am I saying. Did you hear how crazy he was getting? He definitely would.”
“Yeah. Should be here when he talks about unicorns.” Danny laughs before doing a hand motion similar to Jack’s. “And when we find them, we’ll make a ranch called Fenton’s Family Farm!”
The trio laughs at Danny’s rather spot on impression of his father, before Sam finally moves over to sniff and check the Almond fudge over. She was close to risking it, but she sets it down until one of the adults can confirm it. Finally she turns back to the portal.
“So… what do you think went wrong?” Sam finally asks as she walks towards the entrance, looking inside the almost void-like entryway.
“Could be a wiring fault. Or maybe they forgot to enable some kind of stopper or something. Definitely was taking in too much power and blew something.” Tucker says as he shines a light from his PDA into the machine. “So… Think that stuff was actually ectoplasm?”
“Could be. Not sure what Ectoplasm LOOKS like so… You know.” Sam nudges Tucker before clearing her throat. “Think we can see what’s up?”
“Hey! No!” Danny calls out to the duo as he approaches. “If the power comes back on, that thing might start back up.”
“Really?” Tucker asks, before stepping back. “Well. Just curious is all.”
“I get that. Trust me, I do. But there’s a saying for curiosity and cats.” Danny reminds, managing to get the pair away.
“How long has it been in the making?” Tucker asks, tilting his head.
“Tch. Since I was little little I think.” Danny admits, feeling his own interests piqued before taking a deep breath. “Alright. Alright! I’ve been here for a while. I’ll see if there’s anything loose. Sometimes they just. Fail to get cables fastened or something.”
Silence filled the room as Danny steps through the portal, looking around the dark space as he checks structure spots, and the wiring around the bottom of the machine. His hand momentarily rests on a nearby wall.
“See anything?” Tucker asks from the safety, trying to shine the light so he can see.
“Nothing!” Danny responds before finally making it to the back wall.
The boy’s hand reached to touch the wall to keep him balanced. Danny’s hand would press further than he was expecting, causing him to hear a click. Then a loud ringing he goes from in near darkness, to a blinding light. He was afloat in some place he’s never seen before. Shapes around him were familiar yet alien. And he couldn’t find his footing.
The space around him would slowly shift to a green. And then he would look up to see a figure staring down at him. A tall figure in a black robe, its face pure white, no light to it at all. It carries a scythe. Danny begins to realize what this is staring down almost apathetically at him.
“Daniel Fenton. Age 14. Cause of Death. Accident.” The voice spoke in countless voices, old, young, familiar, alien. “Come with me.”
“Wait. No. This-This has to be a mistake!” Danny shouted back, trying to run from the thing before finding a mere dead end. “I-I’m just fourteen…”
“Life is an unfair place Daniel. Here, though. You need not fear be alone again. Here, people have waited to see you again.” The creature reaches out, its hand becoming like a claw before stopping midair.
Ba-Dump.
“Mmh. What… are you?” The reaper questions before pulling its hand back. “It appears, time has been added.”
The creature stamps its scythe against the ground, and Danny awakens on the cold floor of the basement, coughing and gagging, rolling and vomiting onto the floor from the sheer terror. His pooling spirals of fear and confusion before he gets grounded by hands on his shoulder.
“Danny! Danny!” Sam shouted, trying to hold onto him. “Are you… Are you okay?”
“I-I think… I think I just died?” Danny mutters out in confusion. “We can’t tell them. At all.”
The two interns hesitated for a moment. They really should tell the Fentons about what happened. But… At the same time, they definitely broke some kind of rules. Without thinking the three came to an agreement. And now that they had a horrible secret they could only share with each other, they had something binding them together. Danny felt a lurch in his stomach that this seemed to be the first way he gets friends in Casper High.