HELLO! Kate here! Thank you, my oh-so-kind reviewers! This is the second (and final) chapter. Enjoy!
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Danny, Nickelodeon, or any other nicktoons. I DO HOWEVEROWN this story, the concept of Nick, and the random fangirls ;P
About a dozen men were checking and prodding him all over.
Danny cringed as they measured his height and weight, took pictures and muttered quietly to one another. Nick was standing in a corner, looking very amused. The men interviewed Danny about many things, all of the questions bizarre and seemingly unimportant. They even told jokes to see how he laughed. They took notes and presented them to Nick. He checked them over, frowning, smiling, his mood changing with every page. He pushed them back at one of the workers and looked at Danny.
"Results are in."
He led Danny out of the room, and stared at him seriously.
"Is... there a problem?" Danny ventured, not sure of what to expect.
"Yes, there is. These results were compared to those of our biggest superstars, and you're clearly off the tracks."
Danny blinked. Is it bad that I'm different from Spongebob?
"Here's the bad part," he said as if chiding on a small child, "and I'm saying this because your expression tells me you don't understand. You are too unique. Unique is BAD. All who tried to be unique here failed. We have to make you more normal, or else. You have a choice. Be yourself, and end up in the failure room. Follow my advice, and you may just scrap yourself some honor. Are you with me?"
Danny didn't answer.
"Very well. Your change begins now."
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Now Danny was facing a black rotating cylinder, opening facing him. It reminded him of those special entrances to photography darkrooms. Nick pushed him in the back between his shoulders, and Danny stumbled in. Everything inside was dark and before his eyes could adjust, the cylinder rotated again and Danny was pulled out.
"What-?" he started, and cut himself off when he heard his own voice. It sounded deeper, but more unnatural.
"Like your new voice?" Nick smiled smugly.
Danny started to answer, but Nick cut him off.
"No arguing. A well-known, respected voice actor. You will easily be recognized."
"Um... what's his name?" mumbled Danny, trying to ignore the drastic change.
"Who cares? He's well-known. And that's all YOU need to know. Now... the fun has just begun."
Danny had a really bad feeling about this.
They went through a set of doors and Danny found himself face-to-face with a nerdy looking young man in a uniform. Nick got on with the introductions.
"This is your translator. He's in charge of translating everything you say into Portuguese. And that means he gets to choose what you say, up to some point. This means he can shape your cartoon style into one of our tested-and-approved styles. Spongebob and Jimmy Neutron. Of course, you'll never be identical to them. But the more similar the better. And this," Nick said, waving at a guy who had just come in, "is your publicist. He will make commercials and advertisement for you. He will create an image for you. As normal as possible."
Danny gulped. He was led to a few other departments, with a little tour of each, and then assigned a dorm room. He spent his time very lonely for days, weeks, months? He didn't know. He lost track of time.
One day a knock on the door and a messenger signaled his first real minutes in the spotlight. He wasn't very thrilled. It was a small marathon, but maybe it would pay off.
It was a fiasco.
His ratings dropped quicker than a boulder in a river, and Nick wasn't pleased.
At all.
Two months after the disaster, with a few feeble returns that quickly dropped again, Danny was called for yet another spotlight. Something called "Nick vs. Nick", whatever that was. Now, out in the bright sunlight, Danny and a few select shows were marching down a street lined up with fans. To Danny's surprise, a fangirl jumped out at him and hugged him, only to be pulled off by another girl who muttered, "Get off, that show's for 5 year olds..."
As first round of the tournament, Danny was facing Amanda, from the Amanda Show. As soon as the fight began, a wave of dizziness swept over him, vertigo causing his eyes to unfocus, and his brain felt soggy. He resisted, but it soon became too hard to fight, and he passed out.
When he woke up, he was lying on his back in an almost deserted patio staring up at Nick, his expression unreadable.
"Danny," he growled barely loud enough to hear, apathy lacing his words, "Ghost powers won't win you a tournament. Popularity will. Popularity is something you lack. There is a place for you until further notice..." he pointed to a black door. Danny got up and went inside. The other cartoons looked up at the most recent failure.
The End (?)