Danny Phantom: Cloning Blues
by Futuramakid
Special thanks to my Beta-reader and sounding board Anthiena
DISCLAIMER: I own nothing.
Amity Park. The not-too-distant future.
Vlad rushed around the lab. Everything was in order, Phantom hadn't been there yet. Thank goodness. Around the room, there were in tubes, mostly vaguely human forms, the last hope for humanity. Clones. Clones of Danny Phantom. They were the only thing close in powers to the monstrosity that had been unleashed. But, they were unstable. They couldn't live too long, not fighting against him- It, he reminded himself, that... thing... isn't Daniel, whatever it may be.
He was going to train them, and send them to fight. If he was lucky, they'd be able to defeat Phantom. He hadn't been observing their growths, though they seemed fine... He pulled the switch. Around the room, there were hydraulic hisses as the pods opened... except one. One broke open first. A behemoth emerged from it, just standing there... A failure. From another, a skeletal form. Another, a melting monstrosity. A speck of light. It all continued, deformities, freaks not even resembling anything human until, from the very last pod, there emerged... a rather disoriented little girl. Vlad was... stunned, to say the least. He walked down, taking an interest in apparently the only one that had real humanity in it.
"...Dad?" she said.
Okay, so the subliminal knowledge downloads worked...
"Yes."
He steeled himself- I can't let myself get too invested. They are cannon fodder, nothing more.
The girl yawned, and asked a simple question-
"When's breakfast?"
He chuckled.
"You'll all have breakfast," he said, "in a moment."
"Good. We're all hungry."
She smiled.
"I'm sure you are. But there's still one family member absent..."
He went to the last cloning pod, from which nothing had emerged. But, something was in it- a perfect duplicate of Danny. It looked perfect. But... it seemed catatonic. It just... stared. Not even the presence of mind to get up like the others. He tapped the boy's shoulder.
"Hello? Son?"
Nothing.
"Danny, time to get up."
Nothing at all. Everything was in order, the lights were on, but nobody was home.
Dani walked to it.
"What's wrong with him?" she asked concernedly to her father.
"I... I have no idea," Vlad admitted, "He just... seems mindless. No response to anything."
Dani reached in to the boy.
"Come on... get up, brother."
The boy's expression changed very slightly, his eyes seeming to focus as he stood.
"Get up... brother..." he repeated, rather dully.
Dani looked rather unsure at him, and Vlad even moreso, but he moved on.
Dani, however stayed.
She concentrated a moment... and then she had a look of utter sympathy and horror.
"...there's nothing. Nobody's there," she said, "he's... empty."
"...what?" Vlad said as he turned around to face her.
"...His... his mind. It's... cold. Cold and empty. There's... no presence, no... spark."
...Incredible. She's got even further powers. She apparently sees into his mind, Vlad put together.
"...You... you can see into minds?" Vlad questioned.
"...Not all minds... just my brothers," she said, "but... it's so sad. His mind is... empty of presence. All my brothers, dealing with... their broken bodies... And here is this perfectly healthy body... with a broken mind."
She hugged the 'perfect' clone, which mimicked her movements.
"There, there," she said, "we'll take care of you..."
"...care of me..." he echoed dully.
Vlad put a hand behind his neck uneasily.
...Could she really be an... no, Vlad. Stop. It's not a she. It is an it. A copy. An echo. Nothing more. It's all they are.
But, his heart was far less certain than his head.