It was a common knowledge through the whole of Casper High School that Danny Fenton was a wimpy, puny looser and that he had the 'privilege' of being Dash Baxter favored punching bag. That was the reason why every kid still littering the hallway gaped when the entrance doors of the school banged open, presenting them with a sight that no one would ever forget.
Danny Fenton was standing there, panting heavily and leaning onto his right leg to alleviate the stress on his other one, which had a long cut on the shin visible through the torn fabric of his jeans. He had several scratches on his arms and face and his black air was a total mess with twigs and leaves sticking out everywhere.
On his back, a figure clad in black and white remained motionless, unaware of the confused, amazed and worried stares directed at him. Phantom was completely unresponsive when Danny hoisted him up onto his back a little more, his left leg limping down as it wasn't supported in any way and bleeding ectoplasm from a long cut on it. A cut identical to the one on Fenton's leg.
Phantom's arms were loosely draped around Danny's neck and the boy was holding the right one with his left hand, the thick silver chain of a pair of highly technological shackles connecting the two's wrists together. If someone squinted, they might have seen that they were emitting a faint azure glow.
Taking advantage of the unnatural quiet and inactivity from the student body, Sam and Tucker elbowed their way towards the front and rushed to aid the sagging teenage boy by helping in supporting the unconscious form of Phantom.
"Ok, what was this time?" Sam asked in a whisper as he looked at the two Dannys in turn. "What did your father invent?"
If the black haired boy wasn't so busy holding his separated ghost half up, he might have used one of his hands to vigorously rub at his face in both frustration and desperation. "Ghost Catcher version 2.0..." he muttered, shuffling inside the school. "Then parents. Then Walker with the cuffs and after I manage to lose him, the Guys In White landed a lucky shot and knocked half of me unconscious..."
Danny didn't notice as the silent crowd of students parted to let him pass, nor that they were whispering amongst themselves. All he cared about at the moment was to hide for a long while and not come out until the coast was clear and both of him were awake and ready to fight back.
The trio plus a still unconscious ghost trudged through the hallway until they reached Sam's locker and helped Danny sit on the ground with his back to the row of cabinets. Because of the cuffs connecting his two halves by the wrists, it was a bit tricky to maneuver Phantom so that he was sitting to Fenton's left, body slightly slumped against his human half and head dropping down on his chest.
"Dude," Tucker whispered as Sam started to dial the combination of her locker, muttering something dark about idiots dressed in white. "Last time you went through that thing, your personality was split too..."
Danny snorted loudly and rested his head against the cold metal behind him. "New version, Tucker," he said with a humorless chuckle. "I'm not sure if version one is better or worse than the second..."
There was a moment of pause as Danny watched Mr. Lancer prance up to the frozen crowd shouting book titles every two seconds and demanding for every kid to get back to class. It was a losing cause though, for no one seemed to want to leave and miss the unfolding of such an event.
"It split me in a weird way..." Danny resumed in a whisper so that only Tucker and Sam could hear. "It's like duplicating myself... I'm still whole, only in two separate bodies. And while he gets the ghost body and spectral glow, it's the human one that has the powers... and to top it all, my parents believe that Phantom has formed some sort of connection with me and is using my looks and feeding on my emotions to exist..."
Tucker stared, one eyebrow raised as his mind tried to wrap around the explanation his best friend had given him. "You're right..." he said after a while. "That's weird."
At that moment, a soft groan filled the silent air, attracting everyone's attention. Phantom lifted his left hand to his head and massaged it, muttering something about never having a quiet day and finally regaining control of his second body. Danny still felt weird upon being able to be in two different places at the same time and still be able to act separately from each other, but he had a hunch that by the end of the day, the novelty would dwindle away.
Then, as Phantom finally lifted his head to try and reorder his own senses, the crowd erupted in loud chatters. No one had seen Phantom and Fenton so close together, so, also thanks to the chronic cluelessness that seemed to afflict the whole of Amity Park's population, no one had ever noticed how much the two looked alike.
"The Two Brothers!" Mr. Lancer's loud voice seemed to convey everyone's thoughts on the matter. "Mr. Fenton! You..."
He never managed to finish his sentence because the entrance door opened with a crash, revealing two irate figures pointing two very large weapons in Phantom's general direction. "Freeze, Ghost Boy!" Maddie's voice made everyone cringe and back away. "Release my son from your bond at once!"
Too focused on the odd pair of ghost hunters at the door, no one but Sam and Tucker noticed how both Dannys brought their hands to their faces and shook their head at the same time, muttering a "why me?" in a desperate whine.
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A/N: Been struggling with Writer's Block lately, so I decided to shift focus for a bit and write down this small one shot in hope to get back into gear for my other fics.
The Two Brothers is a story from the Grimm Brothers and the title sounded really fitting for the situation of seeing how much Phantom and Fenton look alike.
As for the rules for adopting this:
1- Must be lighthearted, so no angst or torture. And go easy with the wounds (I'd love to see some humor too).
2- It's not a revelation fic, although you can play with the whole "Phantom has a connection with Fenton" idea as much as you want.
3- Maddie and Jack Fenton are not the only ones out to get Danny. Walker and the GIW are lurking around in search for him too.
4- You can drag any canon character into the story other than Danny (and Danny), Sam and Tucker. Mr. Lancer, Dash, Kwan, Paulina, Jazz...
5- Send me a note so I can enjoy reading your insane (in a good way) idea on this plot.
6- Give me credit for this first chapter.
EDIT: I didn't know at first, but apparently WingsOfTech came up with a challenge with the same idea as this short. I'm pretty much on "WTF?!" mode at how much my short follows the challenge's plot...