Whew, this is a record of me...but most of this was already typed out beforehand, so...I dunno. Here's your silly part ten. Enjoy.

The Origins of Danny Phantom

By FlikFreak

Part Ten: Conversations with a Mirror

Lunch time was abnormally quiet compared to the previous few days. Danny poked at his food uncertainly, his thoughts still on the mysterious attacker from before. The feral that had eluded him several times was finally captured, but now he had something completely different to deal with, and he was certain that this wasn't a feral ghost.

"Danny, are you going to finish your meatloaf or can I have it?" Tucker asked.

"I'm not all that hungry," Danny replied, leaving his friend's question partially unanswered.

"What happened to you out there, anyway?" Sam said, hoping to change the subject off of food. "We saw you catch that octopus, but then you were being thrown all over the place."

"I don't know," Danny replied. "Whatever attacked me next kept calling me 'Phantom.' I don't know who Phantom is – other than he's not me – but that thing apparently did and he wasn't too happy to figure out that I wasn't a ghost. I have a really bad feeling he's going to take his frustration out on the school."

There wasn't really a response for him. Sam and Tucker continued their meals, while Danny's mind wandered. In spite of the reassurance he had received from his mirror the previous night, he was feeling even more lost than before. His confidence was completely gone.

The rest of the day went by slower than ever. Danny forced himself to take notes during class and write down a reminder for any homework assignments. The last bell of the day was salvation for him, and yet still he felt miserable. He walked home immediately following the bell, not bothering to catch up with his friends; his poise wasn't the only thing that had been drained after the surprise attack.

Clockwork warily entered the human world via the mysterious portal. After confirming that no humans were around, he phased swiftly upward through the roofs, ending up in a small room cluttered with papers, a few pieces of furniture, and a basketball in the corner. One poster caught Clockwork's attention: it was a picture of what he recognized as a space ship, sitting dormant at its launch station. Also in the photo were two adult humans and two children.

"He wants to be an astronaut."

The voice caught Clockwork's attention, but the strange echoing quality of it kept him from lashing out in self-defense. Nearby stood a mirror, in which was an image of the boy from one of the pictures on the desk, but with some major changes: he wore a mysterious black-and-white jumpsuit, and rather than pitch-black, his hair was white. A strange glow surrounded him, and his eyes shone an eerie green. The room, however, did not currently contain the boy in question, and it didn't take a genius to tell Clockwork that the mirror was haunted, and he knew who was doing the job.

Clockwork's eyes narrowed softly. "So, there you are, Phantom."

The boy in the mirror nodded. "It's been a while since I last saw you. How's the Ghost Zone?"

"In chaos," the ever-shifting ghost replied. "We've been trying to track you and the feral for a good amount of time. When I arrived and felt your presence in two places, I was puzzled to say the least."

"You're telling me," Phantom grunted. "The moment I escaped through the portal, it was like something tore me in half. I don't know what hit me, but when I woke up I was trapped in this mirror, and all of my power was gone. I've been feeling weaker and weaker since then."

"I know," Clockwork responded. "My estimates indicate that you have less than a day left. Do you know about the boy?"

"Not much," Phantom said, glancing around warily. "He's not exactly high on confidence all the time. I've spoken with him a bit and taught him a few things to keep my power under control. Of course, it's not my power anymore, but I think you get my meaning."

Clockwork nodded. "Many in the Ghost Zone are still opposed to letting any part of you remain free, considering what your future apparently holds for them."

Phantom scoffed.

"We have, however, received reports that the feral has been vanquished," Clockwork concluded, hoping to change the subject.

Phantom grinned. "Not bad. Looks like Danny can pull himself together after all!"

"I wouldn't be too sure," Clockwork replied. "Another opponent has arrived on the scene, bent on your destruction. You don't have much time, Phantom. You must tell him the truth before you are gone forever. It may not accomplish much, but it would at least put you at peace should you do it before you fade."

"I know," Phantom replied sadly, looking at his hands once more. They were flickering uncertainly. "I'll tell him once he's back from school. Letting someone live believing a lie isn't my style, anyway."

Nodding approvingly, Clockwork left.

Danny trudged into the house wearily, partially thankful that his parents were busy in the lab. As he made his way upstairs, he noticed his sister's light on and cautiously triggered his invisibility, hoping to get through the hall unnoticed should she open her door. He phased through his own bedroom door and returned to normal, tossing his schoolbag unceremoniously onto his bed and slumping onto his desk chair.

"Heard you beat the feral," said a familiar voice. "Impressive work."

"Yeah," Danny replied half-heartedly, not bothering to make a remark on Mirror-Danny being far too knowledgeable than he should be. "Caught it in Dad's invention."

An odd and uncomfortable silence passed through before Mirror-Danny sighed. "Let me take a wild guess and say there's another ghost after you now, and a much more powerful one at that. Am I right?"

"Yep."

"I knew it," Mirror-Danny groaned. "That's the only thing that would send you down in the dumps after coming so far and finally beating that feral. Even I couldn't beat it, though; you should be proud."

Danny's attention was caught like a fish on a hook. "Wait a minute, you?"

"Yeah, me," Mirror-Danny replied. "Did you really think you were talking to yourself in a mirror this whole time?"

"I thought something was odd about this," Danny muttered. "What do you mean, you fought it?"

Mirror-Danny sighed. "Long story short, I'm a ghost."

"And you're haunting my mirror," Danny concluded.

"Unwillingly, but yes." Mirror-Danny glanced toward the window, looking very uneasy. "That feral attacked me and I couldn't take it down, so I decided to escape into the human world. The problem was there weren't any portals nearby. At the last second I saw one open up, but when I tried to go through…something went wrong."

"What happened?" Danny inquired, suddenly all ears.

"I felt like I was being torn in half," Mirror-Danny continued. "When I finally woke up, my powers that I had as a ghost were gone, and I was stuck here in this mirror. I felt my ghost powers somewhere else nearby, slowly growing more powerful, but in return I was getting weaker. My power must have been transferred over to you."

"But how?" Danny asked. "If you were trying to get out of the portal, why did you get split in half instead?"

"The Ghost Zone is a sort of alternate universe of the human world," Mirror-Danny explained. "Pretty much everything in the human world has a counterpart in the Ghost Zone. One world can't really exist without the other."

Danny crossed his arms. "So my parents opened up a portal to an alternate dimension," he concluded. "What does that have to do with me getting stuck with your powers and you being stuck in my mirror?"

"That's the part where the introduction is in order," Mirror-Danny pointed out, taking a sweeping bow. "I never got to do this properly before because I wasn't sure, but it's better to do this now than later. My name is Phantom, and I'm your ghostly equivalent."

"So, you're my Ghost Zone counterpart?"

Phantom nodded. "Yep. It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Danny."

Danny blinked, not sure whether he liked this or not. "So, what, I'm two people at once now?"

"Not quite," Phantom replied, grinning. "You're still you, but with a slight upgrade of sorts. I'm just stuck in your mirror now."

"Upgrade" isn't exactly how I'd like to put it, but I'll go with it for now. "Isn't it uncomfortable in there?" Danny asked, hoping to sound thoughtful.

Fortunately, Phantom wasn't upset. "It's not that bad. I can only really show up in your reflection in this mirror, and since we're still technically the same person, I don't think it matters. Besides, I won't be here for much longer."

Danny's eyes widened. "Why not?" he protested. "You haven't been here that long, and I only just now got to know who you are!"

"I was your ghost zone counterpart, remember?" Phantom replied, a somewhat sad smile on his face. "My power got sucked into you when the portal went off, but my consciousness was stuck here. All I can do is give a little bit of advice for you from what little I know. Once I'm gone, you'll be on your own." Just as he finished his sentence, the reflection in the mirror began to shift. Phantom clutched his head uneasily as his form began to phase in and out uncertainly. "Right on cue…" he groaned, wincing.

Danny raced up to the mirror, holding onto the edges as though it would help. "What's wrong?"

Phantom was obviously in pain. "My time is up," He said through gritted teeth. "Listen…if anything goes wrong, Clockwork will help you! I'm sorry I can't tell you much more than that!"

"You can't go!" Danny cried. "I still need your help! How am I supposed to get rid of that ghost? I'm not strong enough!"

"Whether you're strong enough or not is up to you," Phantom grunted, beginning to shudder. "I've taught you as much as I know, and there are…still a few things that I haven't learned on my own yet." Even as the image began to fade, Phantom opened one eye and locked it onto Danny's. "I know you're…not very sure of yourself, but you're strong enough to beat that thing, and I've got full confidence…that you can do it."

"I…"

"Don't doubt yourself!" Phantom insisted. "I know you can do it, Danny! Just don't forget!" And with that, Danny's reflection flickered for the final time, leaving the raven-haired boy truly alone in his room. Phantom was gone.