Chapter Seven: Dani
Dan managed to get up to his room on his own that night, pausing to look out the window at the melting snow on top of the glowing ghost shield. "Ice powers, huh…" He murmured, then placed a hand at his chest. "…I wonder…if I can still gain any new powers, after what they did to me…" He clenched his fist and walked on. 'I can't let them know.' He thought. 'They'll consider me useless, weak. The machines didn't detect anything strange, so long as the core was there and still working. But, if they knew why I needed so much energy…'
He changed clothes into Vlad's old pajamas again and climbed into bed. Strange, he felt so calm wearing the clothes of his old enemy. Was it because he'd been with Plasmius so long? He let himself drift off to sleep, not even waiting for Tucker to check on him before he did like usual. Besides, Tucker was busy. He was mayor now, after all, and the city was facing a crisis.
"Do you still think that you can defeat me?" Plasmius hissed in his ear, gripping Dan's shoulders tightly. "Defeat Pariah Dark? You're just a foolish child, Phantom, and you've always been. Clinging desperately to anything to make you complete; why, anyone would do. Like a whore, you reach for the closest powerful creature and join with it, but it didn't work out as you wanted, did it?"
Dan didn't reply, his gaze empty as he stared at the ground, the chains digging into his wrists. Plasmius laughed and then stepped back. "How many more people will suffer before your eyes before you break, Phantom?" He asked, snapping his fingers.
Dan stared blankly at him, but gasped when he saw Jazz being dragged in. "Jasmine…no, Plasmius, please…"
"Do it." Plasmius smirked.
Dan's eyes widened as he saw Jazz be brutally murdered before his eyes, the girl screaming for him to help her over and over as he pleaded desperately for it to stop. Then she fell to the ground, laying still.
Plasmius released the chains and chuckled, letting Dan run to her. "Oh, such a foolish child." He cooed.
"Jasmine?" Dan knelt next to her. She was trembling…still alive? Then he heard a laugh escape her lips and gasped, moving back – not in time, though. The girl changed into the ghost Amorpho and his neck was roughly grabbed before he was thrown back, Plasmius grabbing the man's long locks roughly. "Ngh!"
"You care too much, boy." Plasmius cooed. "That's why you get hurt."
Dan struggled in his hold, but soon gave up. Why even bother? The more he struggled, the more amusement Plasmius gained from it and the more he'd be hurt. He was shoved against the wall and chained up again, his body shuddering as the older ghost licked his ear, his hand going to the younger ghost's zipper.
A weight on the edge of his bed awoke Dan with a start and he stared into the darkness, confused. What was…who was there? "…Danny?" He murmured.
A head of black hair poked up at him, but it wasn't Danny. At least…not the Danny he knew. This was a teenage girl, who looked a LOT like Danny but wasn't Danny. He reached over to an intercom that Tucker had set by the bed in case he needed anything and pushed the call button. "…Tucker? Why am I staring at a female Danny?"
"Oh! I'll be right up to introduce you – so THAT'S where she went!" Tucker said over the speakers.
The girl tilted her head at Dan curiously, then reached up to touch his face. "Are you really Dan Phantom?"
"Yes." Dan said calmly.
"Danny said that you were dangerous, but you look about as dangerous as a teddy bear." She said honestly.
"A teddy bear with fangs and claws?" Dan raised an eyebrow.
She blinked and then stretched his lips open. "Oh, so you do have fangs! Still, you look pretty harmless."
"I'm weak, not harmless. I can still bite." Dan replied.
"Guys, get along." Tucker entered the room. "Dani, this is Dan Phantom. Dan, this is Danielle. She's Danny's younger clone."
"…'Clone'?" Dan frowned.
"Vlad Masters created me." Dani explained. "But, I don't have any other ties to him."
"Huh…" Dan nodded. "A lot of…differences."
"Huh?" She blinked.
"Dan is…well, you weren't created when he split, remember?" Tucker said to her. "He's still getting used to all the differences from his reality and this one."
"Oh, right. Danny told me that." Dani nodded, then looked at Dan. "So…how come your skin's not blue?"
"Because the blue skin is with Pariah Dark." Dan replied. "The blue skin and red eyes were from Plasmius."
"Oh, okay." She nodded. "What about the cool fire-hair?"
He chuckled a bit. "Well, my ghost energy is too weak for my hair to flare up, unfortunately."
"Why not?" Dani asked.
"Because Danny doesn't trust me, so he won't give me more energy." Dan said sadly.
Dani looked thoughtful. "Well, I'm sure we can change his mind. We'll talk to him tomorrow, 'kay?"
Dan nodded, looking over at the glowing shield outside the window. The snow had melted off it, but he could still see snow on the ground beyond the shield. "Why hasn't it melted yet?"
"What, the snow? It'll take a day or two." Dani smiled. "Danny makes it early winter every now and then to use his ice powers freely against ghosts."
"Doesn't that ruin the ecosystem?" Dan raised an eyebrow.
"Well, kind of. But it melts in a day or two, so it's just a freak snowstorm." Tucker smiled. "We survive. And he usually gives us a heads-up. With us all in the shield, we were safe from it. The most we faced was the cold."
"I see…" Dan looked thoughtful. "I suppose people are used to it by now, then."
"Yeah." Tucker nodded. "I hope everyone in the ghost zone is okay. Maybe Plasmius convinced Pariah Dark that destroying the other ghosts wasn't the best move, and it'd be better to rule them."
Dan nodded. "Uhm…I'm going back to sleep, if that's okay."
"You sure? You were moaning and crying out a lot." Dani commented.
Dan sighed. "I need my rest. Even if I have to recall things I'd rather not."
Dani gently took his hand. "I can lay down with you, if you'd like." She smiled. "Maybe some company will help with the nightmares?"
He blinked. "Uh…sure, if you want to try that."
She smiled and kicked off her shoes, climbing onto the bed and squirming under his blanket to lay next to him.
"Dani, what about pajamas?" Tucker raised an eyebrow.
"I could strip into my underwear, or I can sleep in my shorts and tank-top." She said, pulling off her hooded shirt. "Whichever Dan is more comfortable with."
"Don't care either way." Dan said, glancing to the side.
"Dani, when you are in my house you will have some sense of decency!" Tucker said firmly.
"Oh, hush. You sound like dad." She stuck her tongue out at him.
Tucker shrugged. "I'm a mature adult, and you're a brat."
"I'm seventeen!" She pouted.
"And still a minor. And I won't have you sleeping in your underwear next to Dan with he's trying to sleep. No seducing my guest." Tucker wagged his finger at her with a playful grin.
"If I was gonna seduce him, I'd do it with my clothes on and still manage." She smirked. "I'm just THAT good."
Dan laughed, watching the two's banter. "You really are his clone! I recognize that cocky attitude!"
She looked at Dan. "Well, yeah! I'm awesome!"
"…And also a little of Valerie." Dan said wistfully.
"I've been living with her, so I guessed I picked up a few of her quirks." She smiled and lay her head on his chest, tracing the embroidered V.M. on the left chest pocket. "You would look better without these letters, you know."
"I wear what I'm given. I have no right to refuse anything." Dan said, looking away.
Tucker sighed. "Alright, that stops now. I'm going to call a tailor tomorrow and we'll get you some new clothes. Got it? You can pick the design."
Dan blinked and nodded. "Okay."
Tucker nodded. "Good. Now, you two go to sleep. Call me if you need anything." He walked out, shutting the door behind him.
Dani sighed happily, reaching up and playing with Dan's long, white hair. "Your hair…kind of reminds me of daddy's." She murmured, nuzzling him. "But you're not him. You're Phantom."
Dan nodded, letting himself drift away to the sound of her voice. He wasn't sure if it was intentional or not, but her voice was really soothing him.
Danny Phantom - Ruining the ecosystem since 2004! Or 2005. Whenever he started using ice powers.
Tucker, maybe you've been spending too much time around Vlad's old stuff. XD
Dani is a pest and always will be. XD ~ Zone