Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom. I don't own the Packers. Why not? Because the City of Green Bay won't sell them to me!
#$%! READ THIS!
Yeah, so, what this is going to be is just an extension of the series. And we're going to pretend Phantom Planet never happened, kay? Kay. It's basically just a spin-off series of Dani. She's fourteen, Danny's sixteen, and Jazz is eighteen, finishing out her last year of high school. Danny's parents don't know about him, the world doesn't know about Vlad, and there are no Danny Phantom statues running amuck in this story. So that no one catches onto the fact that she's a clone of Danny, her name will be Danille, pronounced (Duh-neel), but in ghost form, she'll be Dani. I'm going to switch up the POV from chapter to chapter, so review and tell me if you like third person or first person better. I actually might try second person just for kicks. Let me know how that turns out.
I hear the cacophony of an experiment gone wrong before the mishap turns redolent. A telltale sign of ectoplasmic mist snakes around the bend in the steps and plumes of it shroud the rest of the onyx staircase, blocking my bird's eye view of the lab with an opaque gust of emerald.
"Jack! Maddie!" I shout, racing down the stars as fast as I can, wondering if they had struck out with their inventions one too many times, and that this was the one time that they finally —
"Over here, Danille! We're fine." Maddie's cool, composed voice is all I need to bring me to my senses. The veil of smoke thins until no remnants of the experiment are left, besides the vile in Jack's hand.
"This lab sure is a mess, though." Jack muttera to himself as he sets it down gently in a test tube stand, "Danille, would you be a doll and go get Danny to clean this up?"
"Sure." I smile vibrantly, as I race up the stairs again.
I can never, and will never get used to the thrill of them. Of real parents. Of a real sister. Of a real brother. (Even if we are supposed to be cousins.) Of a real family. One that I'm actually part of! It's just…it's a nice change from traversing the hallows of the Ghost Zone. In fact, it's a nice change from my whole past, in general. This perfect family, this loving home, this feeling of belonging I'll never let become casual, it's all just so great.
But while it is a nice change, it can't take away who I am, where I came from, and what I've done. Vlad is still my father, but I think Jack and Danny have a higher place in my heart for that role. Speaking of Vlad, I'm still not sure if he knows of this little arrangement I have here or not. It was only a few weeks ago that me and Danny overshadowed Jack and Maddie into letting their fourteen-year-old niece stay with them after her parents died in a horrible car accident. Either Vlad knew and was waiting for me to get stronger so that he can melt me down to make another clone, or he was none the wiser. I'm hoping for the latter.
I open the door to Danny's room and see he has company. Sam, his Goth girlfriend, who religiously acts in ultra recyclo-vegetarianism, and Tucker, his best friend, who can more than make his way around a computer, are sitting next to Danny on his bed, talking and laughing. As I stand there waiting for the sound of their laughter to die down, I can't help but notice that Tucker's gawking at me again. You'd think a man of his intelligence would take his eyes off someone like me, but he just keeps staring. I guess it's because I refuse to change the clothes of my default human half. I'm still wearing the blue sweatshirt that, after two years of aging, and a few harmful washes in the FentonWasher, barely covers my mid-section. But Sam's shirt is basically the same length as mine, why was he staring at me? It could also have something to do with the length of my red shorts, which have also shrunk significantly in the FentonWasher, as well as the tiny growth spurt I had. I'm supposed to, according to Danny, have a couple more in coming years, but, with the way Tucker's staring at me now, I don't think I'm looking forward to it. My hair has also lengthened considerably, coming down to my inner knee cap and gathering in an extremely low pony tail a few inches before its end, where it spikes out voluminously. Sure, the bangs are still spiked up in some places like Danny's, but, with a red head band replacing my red knit-cap occasionally, I look more like Jazz's clone than Danny's. I did say occasionally, right? I didn't trash the red knit-cap because it's my keepsake. Like a toddler's blanket, or a woman's wedding ring, it's a symbol of love to me. If I'm ever lucky enough to be in a tight-knit relationship like Danny and Sam's, then I want to give it to him, so I've been saving it for that someone special. And anyone who knows me, namely the family I'm currently residing with, knows that I don't let most people touch it. Only Danny really, and that was very, very briefly. I guess you could say I "lose my cool" whenever someone unwarrantedly touches it.
Tucker's stare is so creepy now it pulls me out of my thoughts and I notice the warning look Danny gives him. I guess that's why he doesn't look at Sam and the way she dresses, because the only thing worse than staring at a ghost vigilante's cousin, was staring at his girlfriend.
I look over the tight trio and it's apparent I'm not the only one who's changed over the past years. Danny's certainly grown taller, his frame filling up more with muscles acquired over his ghost-fighting career. Aside from that, he hasn't changed much, but his ghost half has differed from the simple hazmat suit he used to prance around in. It's grown more like his evil half's, practically, only his hair hasn't turned to a ghostly flame, and his skin is still tan enough. His human form has actually tanned quite a bit as well, differing from Sam's complexion, which seems to have paled even more. Small alterations have been made to the skirt she normally wears, having new dynamics, such as pleats and volume at the end, and bigger green stripes. Tucker's face didn't seem as round, and his chin was a bit more defined, working well with the stubble of hair above his lip and on his chin. Other than that and the obvious affects of age, they looked relatively the same.
After Danny's glare at Tucker had finally gotten him to take his eyes off of me, he turns to me with a smile,
"Whatcha need, Dani?"
"Mom and Dad need you to clean the lab. Another experimental mishap."
"Great. That makes the seventh time this week!" he huffed, then turned to the duo on the bed.
"Anyone want to help me scrape ectoplasm off the walls of my parent's lab?"
"Oh, look!" Tucker fished his PDA out of the plethora of technological devices in his book bag, "I'm getting a message." He glanced down at the dormant home screen and his eyes widened, "My, this is urgent! Gotta go!" With that, he sped out the door.
"Looks like Tucker could use some help with that!" And Sam was gone to.
He turned to me with a lopsided grin.
"You're not going to ditch me to, are you?"
"Are you kidding? I owe you my life, the least I can do is help you clean the lab every once in a while."
"Every once in a while?" he asked rhetorically as we made our way to the lab, "Try twice a day. And you've helped for a whole week. Don't get me wrong, it's been nice not having to do it on my own," he sighed, opening the door to the dark stair, "but you don't have to act like you're forever in my debt or something. You should take a page out of Jazz's book, she acts like she doesn't owe anyone."
After that, we sterilize the lab in silence, and before the hour is up, it's looking brand new.
"Well, that wasn't so bad, was it?" I inquired cheerfully with a hopefully-contagious smile.
"Speak for yourself." He simply mutters, stashing a dirty rag into one of the containment drawers.
"Oh, come on, it wasn't that bad."
"Eh. Guess you're right. But tonight's our last night of freedom. Wish I could have used it a little differently." He sighed with a wistful tone.
"I don't think it's too late to call Sam back up." I giggle with an omniscient smile.
"Hey, I get to spend school with Sam, it's not really her I should be worried about. You don't know anyone at that school. And what if your powers start acting up? You haven't exactly been handy with them around the house…"
"What are you talking about?" It was at that moment that my elbow decided to go intangible on me, causing my whole form the fall flat on the ground without the support of a desk to steady me.
"That's what I'm talking about." He says, not in an I-told-you-so tone, but a compassionate one as he offers a hand. I gratefully take it and settle myself on my own two feet.
"Did this happen when you first got your powers?"
"Yeah. You'd be surprised the kind of things I fell through. It was mostly my elbow, though, that gave weigh, but sometimes it would just be my entire self that would go intangible and I'd get stuck with my neck in between the floor of our living room and the ceiling of this place."
"Yeah, but that was when you first got your powers, I've had mine for nearly two years. Why is this still happening to me?"
"I guess after I gave you that injection, it returned you to a normal state. But have you been training with your powers at all? Have you fought anyone besides Vlad and me?"
"Well, no…"
"Then that must be it. Here, I'll help train you so you don't go haywire at school, but first, you want to spend one last night of freedom at the Nasty Burger before we have to get back to business?"
"If you're sure I'm not making you miss some date with Sam…"
"I told you, I can always see her at school."
"Then, come on! What are you waiting for?" And with that, I was racing up those black steps again.
The food at the Nasty Burger wasn't too great, hence the name, but the highly combustible condiments that Danny assured me could ruin an entire future, made all of the greasy and bland food taste okay. After all, you never really went to the Nasty Burger for their phenomenal French fries and notorious Nasty Burgers. You went for the people and the social background. Each table harbored a high school stereotype. The table we were sitting at was reserved for Danny's colorfully cultured group of techno, Goth, and, well, Danny was pretty ordinary in his human form, if you ask me. He didn't necessarily fit one stereotype, but managed to stretch himself over several, leaving the reigning popular stereotypes, which were of course in charge of categorizing all lesser stereotypes, to have no choice but to group him in the broadest category known to simple-minded jocks and their girlfriends alike. Loser.
But Danny's not the only one who likes to intermingle with the other stereotypes, I see. There's a blonde boy with cerulean eyes I can see not too far from where we're sitting who's wearing a baby blue Ralph Lauren polo, a pink sweater wrapped around his neck like a scarf-cape, and khaki capris. He looks like the poster boy for rich country club kid. He's sliding into a booth with a raven-haired boy dressed in a black wife beater and a faded army jacket with dark denim jeans that sport a bike chain. Prep and hoodlum, I'm guessing. An odd combination for friends. Then, while I'm analyzing them, the prep finally catches me staring, and waves. I wave back, almost in a daze, the question the hoodlum's asking him and the question Danny's asking me pulls both of us out of our little stupor.
"What was that?"
"Uh, nothing," I shrug, "Some kid was waving at me." He jerked his neck like he was planning on looking around, but I discouraged that with a harsh whispered instruction opposing the gesture. He looks at me funny for a second, but then just smiles. The next words out of his mouth are cut off by the warning of visible, ice-cold breath that extracts from his lips.
"Guess our night off couldn't last?"
"Not in Amity, it couldn't." he gave a knowing grin and we both headed down the hall to where the restrooms were. He let me pass through to the door with the ideology of a woman on it first while crouching half-way in a facetious bow.
"Ladies first." It's just a quick flash of light, and I'm fully emerged in my ghost self. It's mostly the same costume it's always been, but since my hair has lengthened, so has my ghostly white mane, which is identical to my human form's hair, only that most of the spikes in my bangs and at the very end of my pony tail have become smooth, completely rounded off by the transformation. I wait half a second before flying into the air, knowing that Danny is just a few paces behind me. I see a white polar bear-like figure with vicious eyes. It chases after me and I go intangible faster than he can barrel into me. He crashes into a wall and is rendered unconscious out for the time being. I don't know if he's completely knocked out, but it's always good to be prepared, just in case he's faking it. After a few analytical sweeps of my surroundings, it's clear to see Danny wasn't just a few paces behind me. He was no where in sight. And the polar bear ghost was getting back up, a bellicose gleam in his eye. He charged at me again, but this time, I just couldn't seem to go intangible. There was something holding me back, so I somersaulted out of the way of the deranged animal ghost, realizing that if I stayed there any longer, I would be dead meat. Or, well, dead ectoplasm. No matter what my remains may be, I couldn't let it become relevant in this fight. I don't even know what I was so worried about. I just had to survive until Danny came to help me, but in the meantime…
"Hey! Ugly bear monster! What are you doing in Amity Park? Got kicked out of the North Pole for that face." I taunted, an aquiline smile cutting across my face. Until Danny came, this was going to be fun. Sure the taunt might have been a little lame, but, hey, witty banter isn't as easy as it looks. Er, sounds.
Its roar was like a tiny version of the perfected ghost wail as its jaundiced eyes smoldered with animosity and came running for me again.
"Olay!" I exclaimed, firing a blast of energy at the creature. It was still not satisfied with the fight, and came for me again, this time instead of a roar, it was mumbling syllables, and not just syllables, but letter sounds.
"S-s-s-s-s…"
"What?"
"O-l-l-l-l-l…"
Its run became slower, as it made more coherent sounds.
"I-i-i-i-d-d-d-d…"
Its run turned into a walk as it neared me.
"P-p-p-p-p…."
It was finally standing toe-to-toe with me, staring me down as if trying to intimidate me with his height.
"U-u-u-u-u-n-n-n-n…"
Due to the lack of brains I knew he had, it wasn't exactly working. I could outsmart this sycophant any day.
"C-c-c-c-c-c-h-h-h-h-h-h-h…"
He smacked me to the side and I realized if he was as strong as he looked, he wouldn't need brains to win this fight, but there was no way I was going to take it lying down. I put a hand on the concrete and tried to make my way to my feet, but my whole arm just fell through the floor of the parking lot. The polar bear ghost was nearing me once again. I tried an energy blast, but he move out of the way as if it was nothing. What was is it he was saying earlier?
"S…ol…id…p…un…ch…?" I inquired out loud, "Oh! Solid punch!" I turned to the ghoul with a maligning smile, "You want a solid punch, do ya? I'll give you a solid punch!" But unfortunately, my talk couldn't keep up with my abilities, as I floundered to stabilize my fist and he drew nearer still. I cursed Vlad under my breath, but soon realized the man and his faulty manufacturing was the least of my worries as the polar bear ghost gripped my collar and lifted me into the air. I forced all the ectoplasm I could muster into my fist and swung it at him. I closed my eyes in fear of the results, but to my pleasant surprise when I finally did open my eyes, it was to observe him flying half way across the lot. A hand jerked down on my shoulder and I turned to see Danny, smiling down at me.
"Where were you, Danny? That thing almost took off my head!"
He just chuckles and waves off my comment dismissingly.
"Oh, Frostbite wouldn't do anything like that."
"Frostbite?"
"Please to meet you, Danielle." Without warning, the polar bear ghost was behind me, but his malevolent eyes looked a little more amiable in the fluorescent glow of the Nasty Burger's neon sign. Realization swallows me whole and I turn back to Danny, weighing my options between smacking that grin off his face, or just smacking him in general.
"You planned that? Are you kidding me? I could have gotten seriously injured!"
"Not to worry, honored one. I would never hurt one of your kind."
"But you smacked me across the parking lot!" I swung around to face the other hafta, who was beaming at me, "And you! What are you smiling at? You arranged this whole thing, didn't you?" I gesticulated a fist in his direction and he put up a neutral hand, utilized as a prelude to his explanation.
"What helped me stabilize my powers when I was your age was fighting some worthy adversaries. And I believe Frostbite to be more than worthy."
"Thank you, honored one. I'm glad I could be of some assistance to you once again. Until next time, I believe this is farewell."
"Bye, Frostbite! I'll visit again real soon!" Danny waved the ghost off as he disappeared into the sky.
"You could have told me!"
"Ahh, but then you wouldn't have taken it as seriously. See, Dani. I think of everything." He claimed confidently, stagnantly floating above me with his hands tucked behind his head.
"Well, I guess there really is no harm done…" I sigh, foolishly letting it go.
"And there's also some good done…"
"Guess you're right about that, too."
"Don't sound too happy about it."
"I'm not."
"You'll learn to cope with me being right all the time." He flashed a toothy grin.
"Well, I certainly can't stay mad at you for long. And you kind of are my ride home…"
"I do have that fortune in the cards." He stretches his arms and yawns, "Well, I'm beat. Come on, let's go."
The moonlight outside was dreadfully pale, placidly wavering shafts of color over the amethyst carpet of the mayor's home office through the window. A cat scampered away from its insipid grasp, into the hands of an even more dastardly threat. Vlad Masters stroked the feline absentmindedly, muttering some half-conscious question of where it had been hiding, while assiduously watching the screen in front of him, eyes knocking from side to side voraciously, savoring each delicious detail in front of him.
"So…it would appear young Danielle is back…and Daniel is training her..."
Danny's car's retreating form sported one last look of the two hybrids through the Nasty Burger security cameras, which, being the owner of the "fine" establishment, Vlad had the rights to.
"What does that make now, Jack? Two ghosts living under your roof and you're still none the wiser?" He arched his spine backwards and thew his head up as his throat racked with dark rolls of laughter. The porcelain-colored cat jumped out of its master's arms, alarmed by the sudden change of the composed man's demeanor.
AN:
Alright, so most of this chapter was first person, but that part at the end was third. Any winners so far? Let me know with a review. And, also, feel free to suggest ideas for chapters. I have an overlay of some of the big arcs, but there are some fun little fillers I need to add to introduce characters and other such formalities. So, please, review! Tell me what you liked, what you didn't like, what you hated, what you loved, what you would have loved, and what you would have hated! I'll take anything as long as it's feedback! And my update schedule (since I have a total of fifteen different stories I'm currently working on) is based on reviews and favorites. So, if you'd like to see more, you know what to do!
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