Pilot episode! Yeah!
Disclaimer: I do not own the real Danny Phantom, which is owned by Butch Hartman. I do, however, own this version of DP. Deal with it.
Edit: 5th September 2018. Fixed up some grammar issues, added a summary.
Summary: The Fenton Ghost Portal has finally been finished, and the unfortunate Fenton Twins are the one to get it working.
"Come down here, kids!" a voice called from the basement of the Fenton house. This was even though the basement had soundproof walls, and the only way in or out was through the door leading to it from the kitchen.
Daniel Fenton, better known as simply Danny to his friends, looked up from his English homework, nudging his sister with his elbow. The boy leant in, running his hand through his black hair. "Hey, Dani, wake up!" he called in a soft tone. "Dad's calling!"
Said sister, one Danielle Fenton, also known as Dani by the same friends that her older twin brother had, woke up with a mumble, eliciting a series of laughs from the other three kids around the table. The fourteen-year-old yawned and stretched, the red beanie on her head falling onto the floor. The girl, still sleepy from a night of hearing the machinery their parents owned at work, made a grumbling noise and rubbed her eyes.
"Fetch, boy," the boy opposite her commanded. He was a dark blue-eyed blonde, with a skinny frame and short stature, making him look a couple of years younger than his real age of fourteen. A small puppy, a Golden Retriever, bounded to the hat, picked it up and deposited it in the boy's hand. The boy held it out to Dani, who winced and picked up her hat with two fingers.
"Thanks, Terrence," the girl stated, making a face at the dog slobber that covered her favourite hat. "Ugh..." she muttered, holding it at a distance. "This was my favourite red hat!" she complained.
"Does it matter?" A girl beside Terrence looked up, her dark brown eyes glinting with mirth. The Asian girl snickered and brushed one of the stray strands of ink black hair behind her ear. "All of your hats are exactly the same!"
Dani made another face before throwing her hat at the girl. "Shut it, Penelope!" she retorted right back. "Your favourite shirt is black - just like all of your other shirts!"
Penelope sniffed. "At least my shirts have variety."
"That's enough, girls," chided the red-head sitting next to Danny. She had a blue headband in her hair that complemented her teal eyes nicely. Unlike the other two girls and the two guys of the group, she had long finished her homework and was merely here to act as a part-time tutor to the Fenton twins as well as Penelope Hadley and Terrence Morris. She herself was one of the top scorers in the school, Jasmine Brown, though commonly known as Jazz by her friends, actually having skipped two grades. "Now come on. Mr Fenton called."
With a collective grumble, the teens stood, Terrence with his puppy in his arms, and the group of five headed down the stairs that led to the basement. Danny led the way, and Dani rounded up the rear, making sure the other three didn't stumble or trip in the darker lighting of the basement with the almost telepathic connection that they had. The older of the Fenton twins reached the basement first, and after reaching about for a while, found the light switch on the wall. He flicked it, hoping the thing still worked.
The dim light on the ceiling flickered on, providing the group of five to wander over the basement to reach the Fenton twins' parents on the other end. The two older Fentons, both clad in conspicuous neon hazmat suits, looked up as they approached. Mrs Fenton, one Madeline 'Maddie' Fenton nee Walker, was an attractive red-head in her early forties, clad in a blue jumpsuit with black accents. The woman removed the red goggles she wore and let them sit on her head as she smiled at the teens.
Jack Fenton, Danny and Dani's father as well as Maddie's husband, was a stocky man, also in his early forties but with a heavy build and a streak of white in his otherwise black hair. Despite the fact that he held a sparking tool in his gloved hand, the man, clad in a day-glow orange suit, was jumping around like an excited child. "Come on, kids!" he called brightly. "We're going to make history!"
Penelope, known by her friends as 'Penny', stared warily at the contraption, shaped like an arc with a door that had the words 'Danger: Ghosts' painted onto it, quickly moving to hide behind Danny. "Uh, Danny?" she piped from behind him. "Are you sure that that thing's, you know, safe?" The Asian girl kept behind the boy, who winced at the reminder of his parents' inventions tendency to blow up while in use. The last time that had happened, it had detonated half of the basement-cum-lab.
"Sure it is, Penny!" Maddie Fenton cheerfully piped in, her hood up over her head and her goggles back over her violet eyes. "There'll be no explosions this time, right, Jack?" When the older male Fenton didn't respond, she repeated her sentence again, though through slightly grit teeth. "Right, Jack?"
"Right, Mads!" Jack yelled, springing in front of the teens with his face-shaped welding mask on.
The five teens took a stool each and took a seat, warily keeping an eye on the adults working on the arc, Penny scooting to the very back as she hid partially behind Jazz and Danny. The younger of the Fenton twins scooted over to Danny's other side, peering curiously at her parents' work. "Ya think it'll work this time, Danny?" she murmured.
Danny shook his head. "I hope so, but Mum and Dad can always get... overzealous." Both twins reflexively winced at the statement. "Let's just keep our fingers crossed," the boy suggested.
"Right," Dani echoed.
Both the Fenton children watched with bated breath as the two adults stepped back, finally satisfied with their work. The twins swallowed nervously and reached for each other when their parents reached to flip the switch labelled 'on' beside the contraption, knowing all too well what a thing like that could very well do. Instinctively, they squeezed their eyes shut and waited for the 'boom'. When nothing happened except for a small fizzle, Danny chanced a glance.
One of his blue eyes slowly cracked open. Nothing had happened. Dani, he called to his twin. It's okay, Dani. Every thing's fine.
Really? Dani deadpanned her thoughts into her twin's mind. Last time you said that, we ended up having ten detentions consecutively.
I mean it this time! Danny insisted. He shook his sister, who finally conceded and opened her eyes. Both glanced warily at the contraption, which was now just the arc with a tunnel-like pathway inside it. The boy looked over to his friends, who had a bored look written all over their faces. Then, he glanced over to his parents, who looked like they were just about ready to cry in disappointment.
"I can't believe it, Mads," Jack mumbled, defeated. "It didn't work. Again. Just like with Vladdie."
Maddie put her hand on her husband's shoulder with a heavy sigh. "Sorry kids," she muttered. "Jack and I really thought it would work this time. I guess we wasted your time." The two adults slowly trudged up the stairs dejectedly, Jack even breaking down into sobs on the way.
Jazz stood up, dusting her deep blue turtleneck off. The girl stretched with a lazy yawn. "Well," she quipped. "That was a waste of time." The genius teen looked down at her watch and gasped. She immediately turned to the stairs and ran up, shouting back at the group, "Sorry, guys. It's already four and I have a test tomorrow! I'll see you at school!" The girl disappeared into the kitchen, leaving the twins, Penny, Terrence, and his puppy in the basement, staring quite blankly at the arc.
Penny moved out from behind Danny, standing up and wandering over slowly and warily. She peered inside, saying, "It's not going to blow up in my face, right?"
Terrence shook his head from behind her, the tanned blond joining her on the other side of the arc. "Doubt it," he stated matter-of-factly. "If it didn't explode when Mr and Mrs Fenton switched it on, it's unlikely to do so now." The boy was no technological genius - that title was instead owned by the resident popular guy in their school, Tucker Foley, whose smarts had made his one of the most well-liked people in Casper High - however, he still had his talents with electronics, and while Danny doubted he could be trusted with the machinery his parents made, Penny relaxed at his assurance.
The black-haired boy also rose to join his friends, staring into the arc questioningly, with his twin shoving him slightly to the side so she could look as well. Both twins spoke in unison, "Wow... that's a new one." Danny turned to look at the walls beyond the arc. "Especially for our parents," he added. Without looking, he knew that Dani was nodding in agreement. The teen felt something from the machine and instinctively stepped back, along with Dani, who was giving the arc a distrustful look. The twins shared a glance, and both knew that they shared the same feelings about their parents' latest invention.
"This machine does look kind of cool though, don't you agree, guys?" Penny asked curiously. The Asian took a step inside and looked around. "All high tech and stuff, and lots of glowy wires," she added, backing out of the device.
"Why don't you two go in and look around, Dannies?" Terrence asked with the name he had coined for the twins together. "I mean, it can't hurt you if it can't activate, right?" The puppy yipped, possibly in agreement.
Danny and Dani shared a wary glance. What do you think, Dani? Danny asked his twin, his blue eyes reluctant as he debated whether or not to enter the strange machine.
I dunno, Dani shrugged, her eyes locking with his. Looks safe enough.
Danny sighed and stepped forward, Dani quickly following. Both the teens entered the arc, quizzically looking around at the black and green insides of the tunnel. "Dani, hit a light," the boy called out, trying to feel his way around the back of the place. His hands brushed the walls, and briefly, a button. Against his better judgement, he leant onto the wall as he reached for the button.
"Hey!" Dani yelped, and Danny felt his sister trip over his foot and stumble into the wall... hitting the button at the same time. A whirring sound started up from all around the two teens, and the twins were soon able to see each other when glowing green light lit up the tunnel. The twins glanced at each other and paled, only managing to squeak one word out in unison. "Uh-oh."
Pain hit, excruciating pain. Danny's eyes squeezed shut, and the boy let loose a hoarse scream. His nerves were lit like Christmas lights, and he could tell that Dani was in no better condition. Both were on the ground, writhing in indescribable pain as neon green electricity raced through the arc. He reached out to his sister, choking out her name before he collapsed in pain.
After what seemed like forever, the explosion of light died down, and Danny felt the pain recede. "Dani," he gasped out, forcing himself shakily to his feet. "Dani!" he hissed, seeing his sister lying unconscious on the ground. But there was something different about her... "Dani...?" The boy stared in confusion.
The younger twin looked like she had gotten all her colours inverted. Her skin had turned a couple of shades darker, and her raven-black hair had turned white. The blue and red hoodie and pants outfit she had been wearing had also seemed to be turned into a monochromatic version of her usual clothes, with the blue denim hoodie now half white and half black, and the pants coloured similarly. Her red sneakers had also turned mysteriously into white boots. The girl finally stirred at the repeated calling of her name, and she opened her eyes, revealing glowing green irises. "Dan-Danny?" she mumbled, rubbing her eyes. Then, she stopped, gaping. "Danny! Your hair and eyes!" she shrieked.
"What?" Danny nearly stumbled into the wall. His hair fell in front of his face, completely white. He paled and quickly stared out at the mirror that was conveniently placed opposite the arc. His eyes were the same green as his sister's, and instead of his usual white shirt and jeans, he was wearing an all-black ensemble, with two white stripes on either side of his shirt and pants. His sneakers had also turned into white boots as well. He stared down at his hands, surprisingly tan despite the fact that both he and Dani were exceedingly pale.
"Dannies?" Terrence asked, jaw wide. His hand was on the 'off' switch outside of the arc, shaking. His puppy whined a bit and hid behind Penny's legs.
"Dani, Danny?" Penny whispered, her brown eyes wide in terror.
Danny shakily helped Dani out of the portal, and both collapsed onto a chair... except they fell and hit the ground. "What?" Danny yelped, springing up. To his surprise and then horror, he didn't stay on the ground. He floated into the air, and then, he smashed onto the ground again.
"Danny?" Dani cried out, sounding panicked. "I can't find my hands! Or my feet!"
He looked up, seeing that indeed, the white-haired girl was missing her body parts. Both screamed in terror, not sure what was going on. Suddenly, a blue ring appeared around each of their mid-sections, bisecting and passing over them. Danny blinked, and he saw Dani, back to her normal appearance. He looked at himself and realized that he was back to normal too. He got to his feet, and along with a shaken-up Dani, glanced warily at the arc. "What was that?" Danny hissed.
The door to the basement slammed open just as Penny and Terrence joined the twins' side. Jack and Maddie Fenton hastened down the stairs. "Kids!" Jack yelled. "We heard you shouting! What's wrong?"
Maddie was a bit more observant than her husband, though, and she saw that the switch to the arc was turned off. "It's nothing Jack," she assured her husband. "The kids just turned off the power to the machine. Let's turn it back on." And she flipped the switch.
Instantly, a burst of neon green filled the basement, and the arc whirred to life, the area where the metal doors had been turning into a whirlpool of bright, glowing green. All four of the teens stared at it, shocked. The adults were another story. Jack was leaping in joy, yelling at the top of his lungs, "Booyah, Mads! We did it!"
"Mom... Dad?" Danny forced out, eyes transfixed on the machine in front of them. "What is that thing...?"
Maddie and Jack proudly shut the door to the machine and turned around with a bright beaming smile. "This, Danny-boy," Jack said with a childish grin. "Is the Fenton Ghost Portal... "
Danny didn't hear the rest of what his father said. He just looked at his twin, eyes wide.
Ghost portal?
Well? Tell me what you think. Next up, Mystery Meat!