I think this is going to just be a one shot. I might add more if I'm in the mood. Or if I'm bored one of these days. . . Which is very likely. But anyway. . . Moving on. I hate long Author notes.
Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom. I never will. I can only wish that whoever does makes more episodes.
Dash's point of view
I worshiped Danny Phantom. He was my hero. He was undoubtedly one of the bravest people, or ghost, I ever met. I even got the chance to spend a whole day with him once. Of course, we were both smaller than ants and had to work together to get back to our regular size by taking a field trip through Fenton's house. But still. It was a cool experience. Despite the fact that an evil ghost was also trying to kill us. And so was a giant mouse, but since we were shrunk so tiny, it only looked giant to us. Id never realized how dangerous mice were. After that incident, I have a whole new respect for rodents. And even more for the town hero, Danny Phantom.
Danny Fenton is a loser. He's always running out of class for unexplained or stupid reasons. He's always late. He's also my personal punching bag. And that's all he's good for. I sometimes think we'd all just be better off without loser. Its not like he does anything for the town or anything. Not like Danny Phantom. But I suppose he's just like everyone else. Except for the complete loser factor. And my favorite nerd to beat up when I feel like it. Fenton's weird. He always just takes it. He never fights back or anything, he never complains when I shove him in his locker. Though how he always manages to get out when nobody's around to help him is a constant mystery to me. Oh, well. I like nerds that don't complain and don't play tattle tale. It saves me explanations for why I beat up defenseless geeks like him. But I can take out all my anger on Fenton, and I never get in any trouble. That's why he's my favorite. And plus he's very weak. . . I'd bet he couldn't hurt a fly. I feel kinda bad for the loser sometimes. Cant even defend himself. But that just makes it easier for me.
" Mr. Baxter, were you listening?" Lancer pulled me out of my thoughts. I looked up at the overweight teacher. He had a frown on his face. He didn't like it when one of his better students zoned out in his class. Personally, I didn't like the guy. No one did. But I played nice, I put on the Football-Star-Likes-All-His-Teachers act. It worked, too. I was his favorite student, I never got a detention.
" What was that again?" I asked him innocently.
" I wanted you pass back these tests for me." he handed me a pile of papers. I shuffled out of my seat.
" Sure thing, Mr. Lancer!" I grinned. He smiled back and went to his desk. I started passing back the tests, making sure to look at everyone's grades so I could know who was failing and needed a good pounding to get back in shape. When I came across my own paper, I noticed I had a D. I was furious. I guess I'd have to just beat up all the nerds. Starting with Fenton. When I handed him back his test, I made sure to give him a threatening smirk. He shrank back in his seat. The wimp. I chuckled slightly as I finished up with the tests. I couldn't wait until this period was over, so I could give Fenton his daily wailing.
Danny's point of view
I knew Dash was ready to shove me in my own locker. He gave me that smile in English again. The one that said he got a bad grade and needed someone to take it out on. I'll bet he was already on his way to torment me.
" Hey Fenturd!" he called across the hallway. I was right.
" You know Danny," Tucker was saying, " Maybe you shouldn't just let him get away with this anymore, show him what you're made of!"
I chucked. " You mean partially ectoplasm and post human consciousness?" I asked.
" Yeah! The Danny Phantom ghost half, you know, you should really get back at him. Maybe you should haunt him at night, give him a little scare, wouldn't that be fun?"
" I'm not really into the whole haunting thing, Tuck."
" Or maybe just bust out some of your ecto beams, melt his shoes to the floor again." he suggested.
" Oh, no. Danny you know that's dangerous," Sam cut in, " that's the exact kind of stuff that will get your secret blown."
" I know, Sam. But this really gets annoying." I glared at Dash as he approached.
" Suit yourself, dude." Tucker told me.
" Guess what Fentonia, I got a D on my test in English. You know what that means." Dash yelled, in my face now.
" You're a failure?" I shot back.
" Like you aren't!" He grabbed me by the shirt and threw me against the wall. I glared at him in fury.
" At least I have a good reason!" I yelled before clamping my mouth shut. Major oops. No one knew of my 'reason' besides Sam, Tucker and my sister Jazz.
" What's your reason than, loser? I can't imagine what's so important." he sneered at me.
" You wouldn't know. All you do with your time is plot how to beat me up."
" Is that a problem?" he cracked his knuckles.
" Yes." I stated. I was sure my eyes were glowing green, but I didn't care. I was sick of his games.
" Then let me teach you a little lesson, wimp." he picked me back up, swinging my locker open. It was safe to say I think I lost it. I turned intangible for the smallest fraction of a second, just long enough for him to drop me. Then I brought my fist up and it connected with his jaw. Hard. I had tapped into my ghostly strength. It barely hurt me. But it sent Dash into a row of lockers. Denting them. I heard him groan in pain. He shook his head and look at me in utter shock. I was still fuming, my eyes glowing with the ectoplasm within my DNA structure.
" Danny. . . " my friends warned, grabbing my arms, " cool it." I blinked, my eyes returning to normal. The heat of the anger faded.
" Fe-Fenton?" Dash stuttered. " When did you get so strong?"
" None of your business." I told him scathingly.
" What was wrong with your eyes?" he questioned.
I turned away. " Let's get to lunch." I told my friends. Leaving a very confused Dash.
Dash's point of view
What on earth had gotten into Fenton? He was weak. Or I'd always though so. He failed every gym test. But what just happened was. . . Downright disturbing. All I remember is picking him up, and it seemed like he just slipped right through my grasp. Next thing I know, his eyes changed to a strange glowing green and his fist is in my face and I'm knocked back into the lockers behind me. And it sure did hurt. Quite a lot I admit. And from Fenton! I didn't know he was that strong. He seemed so wimpy. But what was truly frightening was how his friends had to restrain him. Like he would have actually seriously hurt me. But the most confusing thing was the eyes. Glowing, yes, they were glowing green. Sort of like Phantoms. . . But he was a ghost. Danny Fenton was not a ghost. It was probably just radiation from his psycho parents ghost experiments. Yeah. That's it. It has to be.
I made my way to lunch, sitting down at the popular table next to my best friend Kwan.
" Dude!" he fist bumped me, " did ya get Fentonia good this time?" he asked. I ignored him, I heard Paulina talking about Phantom, at least there was a distraction that had nothing to do with Fenturd.
" He's so cute!" Paulina was saying. " He's like, the only boy who I ever want to date!"
" You know," I said, " Have I ever told you about the time we were both caught in some invention of Fenturds dad that shrunk Phantom and I with this other evil ghost? I like, totally got to meet him. And he was so cool! He helped us get back to normal. And defeat that other Ghost."
" Tell me all about it!" Paulina screamed. I launched into my story. Starting with how I had come to the Fenton's to whip the loser into shape for a fitness test. Paulina hung on to every detail of Phantom that I described. She sighed a lot. I was sure I was never going to understand girls.
Eventually Kwan managed to come back to the same question I was trying to avoid. " So what did you do to Fenton?" All eyes at the table turned to look at me. They were expecting the usual play by play of events. Unfortunately I had only bad news.
" I think Fenton got mutated or something. I think being around his parents experiments did something to him. His eyes were literally glowing green. And I swear that when I lifted him up to shove him in his locker he went right through my arm. And then he punched me into some lockers and made this huge dent. Not a scratch on me though, I can take a punch. But that loser is even more of a freak than I thought. A lot stronger too."
" Wait a minute. Fenton got a punch on you?" Kwan said disbelievingly.
" I'm sure it was just all luck for him. I distracted trying to figure out how he got out of my grasp." I defended myself.
" That kid is so weird." Paulina snorted, " I so wish I could-"
" Ghost!" Star shouted. " look! Over there!" she pointed. I swiveled around, and sure enough there was a ghost. He was wearing overalls and his skin was blue. I kinda thought he looked a little familiar.
" Beware! For I am the Box Ghost! I haunt all things square with the occasional roll of bubble wrap! Beware of my power! Beware of the power of the mighty Box Ghost!" he yelled into the cafeteria. A few people were wimpy enough to scream. I think I was one of them. But before the Box Ghost could hurt anyone, the great Danny Phantom was there.
" Can you ever give me a break?" he asked, " I mean how many times do I have to stuff you in the Fenton thermos before you get the message?"
Wait. The Fenton thermos? What, did he take that from them? Because I'm sure they would not have let him borrow it. Jack and Maddie Fenton hated the ghost boy. They thought all ghosts were evil. Including Phantom. There was no way they would allow Phantom to have one of their inventions. Unless he stole it. And Phantoms a good guy. He doesn't steal.
" Some day my power will reign! For I am the mighty Box Gho-ahhh!" Danny Phantom caught the Box Ghost in the thermos. A blue beam caught him and dragged him to his prison. People cheered. I think I was one of them.
" Sorry I can't stay and chat!" he called, " I have things to do, places to be." he turned invisible and vanished. I heard Paulina sigh again.
" He is so brave!" she squeaked.
The lunchroom started to settle down. Ghost attacks were common, Danny Phantom sightings were also common. People went back to talking and eating their lunch. Of course, there was still a buzz. It took time for the chatter of Danny Phantom to go away after he saved the school.
I noticed Fenton walk out of the janitors closet. What in the world was he doing in there? Weirdly I saw him carrying a thermos. Not the kind you usually see at lunch, with soup in them, but a Fenton thermos. With ghosts in them. Exactly like the one Phantom had. How strange. On the other hand, he was a Fenton. But I got suspicious. I got up and went closer to the loser table. Thankfully, it was by the bathrooms, I could just pretend that was were I was headed. . .
" That box ghost never gives me a break! I mean he just comes right back for more. I think I should stop releasing him back into the ghost zone. He finds his way out like a day after I send him back. I should just keep him trapped in the thermos." Fenton was saying. I tried to process that information. I opened the door to the bathroom and went in. I tried to make sense of what I just heard.
Danny Phantom had said the same thing. The Box Ghost never gave him a break. . . He had used the same thermos Fenton had. . . Fenton had walked out of the janitors closet with said thermos in hand for no apparent reason. Unless. . . No. That was impossible.
But then I thought about it. The way Fenton's eyes had glowed green earlier. . . Exactly like Phantoms. . .
The way he slipped out of my grasp. . . Like he had gone intangible. . . Phantom could go intangible.
Danny Fenton. Danny Fenton. Danny. Danny Phantom. Danny. Both had the name Danny. Fenton. Phantom. They were almost too close. . . It could not be. No.
Danny Fenton was Danny Phantom. Come to think about it they had the same hairstyle, same voice. Same height. Oh my God. How could I not have seen it before? My hero was my punching bag. But I had to make sure. I stepped out of the bathroom, looking for Danny. He was sitting with his geeky friends. I walked over nervously.
" Uh. . . Fenton?" I asked. He looked up immediately. His eyes flashed green again. And I knew why.
" What do you want Dash? I'm eating." he said coldly.
" I just wanted to ask you something."
His eyes narrowed. " What?" he said between clenched teeth.
" Do you know Danny Phantom?" I blurted out. " You kinda look like him. Are you related or something?" I watched as his face turned pale. He muttered something under his breath. It sounded like " or something" but I wasn't sure.
He cleared his throat. " Nope. Don't know him. Not related in anyway at all." his eye twitched. He was lying.
" Why did Phantom capture that ghost with a Fenton Thermos? Unless he stole it, I don't know how he must have gotten it." I raised an eyebrow.
" He used a Fenton thermos?" Danny stalled.
" Yep." I popped my lips on the 'P'.
" How odd." I could tell he was sweating.
Finally I just told him. " I'm on to your little secret." with that I turned and walked away.
Danny's point of view
My mouth gaped open. He knew. Dash Baxter knew my secret. Oh no. This was very bad. Would he tell? How long would it take for the whole town to learn the truth? Would my parents find out? What would they do?
As soon as I was through the door I was grabbed. A net fell over me.
" I got him Maddie! The ghost boy. If we would have known he was our own son we would have been able to capture him sooner! And perform painful tests, not to mention ripping him apart molecule by molecule!" my dads voice boomed.
" Well Jack, I'm not sure. . . He is our son after all, how can we-"
" Our son that's a ghost! Ghosts are evil! Even though he is our son he is still a ghost, we destroy ghosts!"
" You're right dear!" my mother agreed. She aimed an ecto gun at me. " Say goodbye ghost boy!" she fired.
" Danny! Danny! Hello?" Sam waved a hand in front of my face. " You here?"
I shook my head to clear it. " I'm sorry, I was just daydreaming, or rather. . . It was a daymare."
She looked confused. " A daymare?"
" Yeah, y'know like a nightmare, a daymare. I wasn't really asleep, like daydreaming, only it wasn't anything pleasant so it was a daymare." I tried to explain.
" Oh." she let it drop. I zoned out again.
My parents would never do that. They would accept me. I was sure. They were my parents. They loved me. But can they love the ghost me? Currently, my parents hated Danny Phantom. They've been plotting to capture and rip him apart molecule by molecule for forever. I shuddered.
Or maybe Dash was lying. He couldn't possibly have figured it out. He was too much of a dumb jock. But he had pointed out some things he'd noticed. . . Like the thing about the thermos. . . How we looked alike. I suddenly knew I had to talk to him. Alone. I ran in the direction Dash had walked off to.
" Danny? Were are you going man?" Tucker asked.
" Need to talk to Dash " I replied as I fled.
I wandered down the hall. I saw him staring at the dent in the lockers where I had punched him into. He was muttering to himself.
I cleared my throat. He looked up. " Fenton."
" Do you really know?" I asked him.
" I don't know if I'm right." he said.
" What don't you know if you're right about?" I asked.
" That you're. . . Danny Phantom." he said.
I was silent. He knew. He knew.
" Would you tell anyone?" this is what was most important.
" No." his answer was definite.
I was shocked. " Why not?" I asked, stunned.
" Because if I am right," he paused, " then you're my hero. I wouldn't want to reveal his secret identity. And. . . Fenton?" he asked.
" What?"
" Am I right? Are you Phantom?"
I paused. Not sure how I was going to address the situation. Eventually I said, " I knew somebody would connect the dots someday. . . I just never thought it would be you of all people. I didn't think you would want to realize that you're hero was actually the kid who you shoved into lockers on a daily basis."
" So I am right?" he asked. I laughed.
" What do you think?" I asked.
" I'm sorry." he said suddenly.
I was confused. " What?"
" I'm sorry, for shoving you in lockers-although now this explains why you always got out when no one was around- and I'm sorry for being such a jerk to you. If I had known. . . " he trailed off. I smiled a little.
" Maybe this is a sign telling you that you shouldn't pick on the geeks anymore, because you never know which one of them is saving you on a daily basis, no matter how many time you've stuffed that same kid in their locker." I chuckled. Like Dash would ever give up bulling. It was his profession.
" Actually. . . I think you're right." he said, surprising me. " I should have never bullied you around. I should stop to. In fact I'm going to. You never did anything to deserve it. In fact you deserved it the least. You saved all our sorry asses time and time again." he looked down. " I'm just really really sorry." he said at last, ashamed.
" It's alright. I forgive you."
" That's what makes you a hero. You so good. You never let anybody down. You save the people that hate you, knowing that the next day their gonna be the ones trying to make your life hell. I'm actually. . . Sort of honored to know someone like you."
I blushed. " Wow, thanks." I told him. He smiled and held out his hand. " Apology accepted?" he asked.
I reached for his hand and shook it. " Apology accepted."
Tell me if you want more. I don't want to put in effort if nobody likes it. Until then. . .
~ TheSunIsStillDark