It was just a few months after his 12th birthday when he messed up big time.

Life hadn't been that great but it also didn't get much worse. Sure, puberty was right around the corner. He was the main target of pretty much every single bully at school, much by his own doing. Quite a strong 'rather me than others' mentality made sure of that.

And of course he barely ever talked to his brother.

It's not like he didn't want to, he just felt like a bother, is all. He didn't have much to do except hang with his friends and tinker away at the invention of the week. His brother had so much on his plate already that he didn't want to add onto it. They both do try to reach out every now and then, but mostly it just faded over the 2 years since he really started to get into the hero thing. He caused a whole bunch of kids to follow into his footsteps and become a hero as well.

Oh how he would love to meet all of them one day. Not just because he aspired to be like them one day, even though that seems like a far off dream by now. No, he also just wanted to meet the friends that helped his brother through a lot of the hardships that he wasn't there for. Gotham was only an hour ahead of him, but it still made it difficult for both of them as there was only a small window between school, dinner and his nightly activities for them to talk. And Danny can't hold it against him that he might not always be the first choice to spend that little time with.

It wasn't all bad however. Because of all the free time he has, he had become very close with his two best, and only, friends. And when they didn't have time, he worked on the inventions. He had gotten really good at the tech part, with much thanks going to Tucker for teaching him a lot about computers and some debatably legal ways of using them. Not that it mattered much, he lived in the middle of nowhere, in a town nobody but the townsfolk know about. Well them and the paranormal tourists they get. How the 'most haunted town of America' wasn't more well known was beyond him. Best guess would be the rumors of it all being a fake.

But that wouldn't be for long anymore.

His foster parents had been working on their biggest invention as of yet. They were working on a doorway between our world and their hypothetical spirit realm. He hadn't thought much about it, really. He had always thought that if ghost were real, then they would simply exist on a different level than them within the same dimension. Much like in a way that 2D objects couldn't perceive 3D objects, humans couldn't perceive ghosts as they simply existed on a different level. Still, he had about as much proof for his theory as they had for theirs so it was an even playing field really.

It was hard not to get excited as well when it finally came time to the testing phase. Their child like excitement for this project was rubbing off on him as it would be a massive scientific breakthrough were it to work. Sadly, outside of a few sparks within the dark tunnel of metal and wires, nothing happened. Disappointment quickly washed over all of them. The impressive hunk of technology and ingenuity was nothing more than a bunch of wires and metal scrap. His foster parents has left the lab, even ignoring their own rule of not leaving the kids unattended there. Their grief over their failed project hitting them hard.

Danny felt really bad for them. Sure, he may not fully support their theory but he did really wish for it to work. He called up his friends and asked them to come over. He needed Tucker as a second opinion. If he was going to try and see if he could do something about this, a second brain would be handy. Sam was mostly there to make sure they didn't kill themselves by not being cautious enough.

Oh the sweet irony of that.

They had indeed worked on the ghost portal, as his foster parents liked to call it. They had managed to decipher the mess of a blueprint and made a few adjustments. Some of the wiring wasn't hooked up right and the flow of energy was disrupted in a few places. Likely the explanation to the sparks he saw when they first tried to power it up. However it had yet to turn on even with it being reconnected to the power grid. After a few more hours of painstakingly breaking their brains over the issue, the boys were about ready to give up. They took a small break to let their brains relax as Sam decided to have a go at it. There wasn't much she understood from the mess of scribbles. Except for one little detail.

"Um, guys? Why does this point to an ON button?"

Both the two boys halted their conversation mid sentence as they rushed over to the blueprint. Just as Sam had said, there was in fact an on button. They groaned in unison as they let their heads fall to the desk. Had they really been that absorbed in the big picture that all four of them had looked over the massive design flaw? Tucker sighed as he walked over to the tube but didn't see any buttons on the outside. It was just pure smooth metal. "Did they forget to install it or something? I don't see any buttons."

Danny facepalmed as he got up and grabbed a flash light. Surely, these two geniuses wouldn't have made such a massive mistake, right? Sure enough, as he peered into the tube from the outside edge, he could see a faint glimmer of red deep inside. He gave in to his intrusive thoughts again as he slammed his head into the outer casing. "Nope. It's there. On the inside." Both his friends perked up at that and rushed over to see for themselves. "Dude, for a pair of geniuses they really are idiots. There is no way to fix this without ripping the whole thing apart and reinstalling it on the outside. All the hours we wasted on this. Damn. We could have gotten past that one level in Doom!" Tucker complained as he started to pack his stuff up. They weren't supposed to be there, so better not leave any proof of it.

"Why don't you just press it?" Sam asked innocently. "The button is right there. All you need to do is push it and it should work right?" The boys shared a glance. She was right. Success was so close, their work wouldn't have been for nothing if it does work. Why would they let a little button stop them?

Except that was exactly the issue.

The button was so deep inside it would already be quite a parkour to get to it, let alone get out again. If anything would go wrong, Danny wouldn't be able to forgive himself. He couldn't let his friends, his new family, get hurt. "I mean, you have a point. But I don't think we should. Besides, Jack and Maddie would kill me if they found out what we have been doing here." He tried to de-escalate his friend, but he could see the taunting smirk grown on her face. "What's wrong, Dann-o? You scared of a little button?"

Danny rubbed his face trying to calm his nerves. Yes, he was scared. Scared of them getting hurt and losing them just like he lost everybody else he held dear before. But it's not like he would admit that to them. "No, Sam, I'm not. It's just that we aren't even supposed to be here, let alone meddle with their inventions. They wouldn't even let me work on a basic blaster without being supervised. Maybe when we are older they'll let me, but right now is not the time." He tried, really. He tried to change her mind, but the goth girl continued her teasing.

"Oh no, Danny boy. I did not sit here for hours watching you two geek about boring ass tech that I don't understand without anything to show for it. Hell, if you won't then I will." She walked over to the closet where they safety gear was kept and pulled out a protective jumpsuit.

Danny had cold sweat going down his back. He knew damn well if she went in, and something went wrong in there, she wouldn't make it out fast enough. She might have been the most athletic of the three, but she lost all the advantages she had over them when she panicked. And she would for sure panic if it wasn't just pressing a button. Tucker would be even worse as he can barely jog for half a minute, let alone if he panicked. He pretty much turned into a defenseless flamingo when he did.

No, if somebody had to go in, it would be him.

"Hold it, Sam. I'll do it. You wouldn't fit in those suits anyway, they'd be too big on you." He desperately tried to cover his shaking hands by quickly snatching the gear out of her hands. It was somewhat true that she wouldn't fit, mostly because the smallest sizes were designed with Danny in mind. They were for emergencies, of course, but at least they were prepared.

"Dude, are you sure? You really don't have to, especially if it's only because Sam is pushing it." Tucker sent a pointed glare at the girl as she shrugged her shoulders. He knew the dangers of going in, just like Danny did. Maybe to a lesser extent but he was aware of the risks. Danny frightened a smirk as he tilted his head to his friend. "Don't worry Tuck. She's right, it's just pressing a button. In and out. Plus, imagine if it actually worked. Maybe I could score some better grades because of this." Danny joked but couldn't look Tucker in the eye. The boy didn't dare to question his friend either, even with how obvious it was that he was lying. He knew Danny was scared but refused to admit it. "Fine," he sighed, "but I'm taking a damn picture of this before she tried to call you a scary cat next time something happens."

Danny let out a genuine chuckle as he got fully dressed in the suit. He was about to go in when Sam made him pause. "Wait! Before Tuck gets that picture of you," she ripped off the ugly sticker of his foster father's face from his chest," this thing does not need to be in it."

Now with the proof for ever lasting glory, if he makes it out, acquired, Danny walked in. He remembered roughly where he saw the button as he made his way to the back of the tube. He had failed to factor in that him being in there would be blocking out most of the light in there.

It was pitch black inside.

There were cables all over the place. He did his best to be careful, but cursed be his lack of night vision as he stumbled over a cable he hadn't spotted before. He stumbled a little as he placed a hand on the walls to prevent himself from falling. Of course, with his oh so amazing luck, he just so happened to put his hand on the button. Danny screamed out in pain as he got electrocuted with who knows how many volts. The pain was so intense he could barely hear himself screaming. Every cell in his body felt like it was set on fire, ripped apart or exploded.

Sam and Tucker stood in shock as they watched their friend be surrounded by green electricity. They swore they heard multiple voices scream out until all they heard was Danny's tortured screams. Tucker finally snapped out of his shock as Sam started sobbing next to him. He quickly ran over to the main power cable and ripped it out. The portal shut down and Danny's screaming stopped. They couldn't see him as there was a lot of smoke coming out of the tunnel. Much to their shock, and admittedly horror, Danny stumbled out. He looked extremely confused and out of it. He barely set a foot without the support of the tube before his vision went black.