Hey! I'm back with a new, hopefully longer story! I tried to write the "Shell of a Teen" tale, but it didn't work out, so I'm heading with this instead. Just so you know!
Thanks to those who reviewed the second chapter of "Almost Got 'Im". That includes Riverfox237, A Mere Servant of God, purpledog100, Point Given, Inviso-Bill and L'Ange-Sans-Ailes. If you're looking for a short fic about the villains giving their take on Danny, check it out!
Disclaimer: DP and all related characters belong to Mr. Hartman. The 'double' (in name and concept anyway) was created by Otto Binder.
You know the drill: Leave a review and I'll leave a reply!
Double Trouble
Flying was his favourite part of being a ghost. To be able to soar above everything without a care in the world, well some of the time anyway, when he wasn't fighting other ghosts to protect his town. The people walked or drove below him, looking like tiny ants on their way to or from their daily routines. The only routine he really knew was patrolling and protecting, but what was wrong with that? He loved it!
The cheers of the kids; the cooing girls; total strangers egging him on and congratulating him on saving their lives. That was all he needed, and it really was too. He didn't need food and little, or no, rest. The 'protect-and-serve' lifestyle made him feel alive and complete, which isn't easy when you're deceased.
He decided to fly past the high school and make sure that all was well there. For some reason, a lot of ghost attacks seemed to take place there. He had the school in sight, with parents dropping off their kids and some of the jocks throwing around a football before their classes started.
He flew lower so he could get a better look, and to tell the people of Amity Park that they were safe, as he would always be there. He was glad that after his battle against Pariah Dark, the majority of people had come to trust him, even admire him.
"I guess everyone needs a hero," he said to himself. "And I'm just happy that I'm finally theirs."
He glanced at himself, and grinned. He wore the typical superhero outfit too, for that matter. The rather tight, black jumpsuit with white boots, gloves, neck and waistline and symbol of a D encircling a P. That stood of course for his ghostly name. His hair was also stark white and his eyes were emerald green. And his voice was morphed by a slight, paranormal echo; completing the package of his afterlife state.
With the suit, strange colouring and voice distortion, it would be the perfect way to hide a dual identity, but he had no use for such things. He had no secrets to hide.
He heard a yell from the school, and saw a great number of kids giving him thumbs up.
"Hey, you rule, dude!" a jock named Dash Baxter complimented.
"Thanks, I try!" he yelled back, trying to hold back his ego with all the attention he was getting.
Suddenly he felt a chill, his eyes widened and a bluish mist escaped his lips. He heard a scream from behind the school and darted off to find the source.
The scream had come from a young woman named Paulina, who had been practicing her different maneuvers for cheerleading practice. The hero knew this girl. She was one of the few who had been loyal to him before his battle with Pariah Dark, and was more than friendly towards him. He made a mental note to talk to her later.
Unfortunately, Paulina's practice had been cut short when a twelve-foot tall ghost-ox appeared and charged her. She was now running as fast as she could, but the beast had the advantage with his superior speed, not to mention two extra legs.
"Hey, Bossy! Go home!" the hero shouted, flying towards the rogue bull.
The ox changed direction, now headed for the hero. Its eyes were blazing red, and it wanted nothing more than to pummel whatever moved.
The ghostly hero fired an ecto-ray at its face, causing it to crash headfirst into the ground. The hero landed beside it, and pulled out his Thermos, the device that would place the creature back into the dimension that it came from.
"Don't worry; you can run and jump around all you want in the Ghost Zone," he consoled it, aiming the Thermos.
But the beast wasn't interested in consolations, which it made clear by head-butting the hero into the school wall.
The hero rubbed his head where there was now a formidable welt.
"Okay, Note to Self: Next time try to comfort ghosts after they're in the Thermos!"
He flew back to the ox ghost, and was surprised to see that it seemed to be fighting something. Though the hero couldn't see it, he could tell that it was giving the ox a hard time. It kept thrashing around trying to hit what was tormenting it. The hero figured it must be another ghost, because he couldn't see anything but the beast.
He was ready to join in when the ox suddenly kicked with its rear legs;they collided with something,and then there was a flash of light in that direction, revealing not a ghost, but a raven-haired teenage boy in a white t-shirt and blue jeans.
"Oh, it's only Fenton," he heard someone mutter.
Nevertheless who he only was, the hero was obliged to save him. He fired another ecto-ray at the ox, and before it could react, he sucked it into his Thermos, leaving the school, although damaged, once again peaceful. He floated over to the boy to help him up.
"You sure had that bull angry, Fenton," the hero said to the boy, recalling his name, as he held out his hand.
"What? How?" the boy named Fenton was looking at him like he'd just been beaten over the head. Mind you, he had, so the hero was willing to let it go.
"Pretty gutsy, kid. But better leave the ghost-fighting to me," he advised, still holding out his hand.
But the boy called Fenton didn't take it, or more precisely, it didn't even register in his brain that he was offering it. He simply stared at the ghost hero in disbelief.
"You don't have to waste time on him, Ghost Boy," a sultry voice behind him commented.
He didn't even have to turn around to know that it was Paulina who'd spoken.
"Always in the middle of it all, aren't you?" he asked her.
"Oh, you know me: Wrong place at the right time." She giggled, batting her eyelashes.
"How about a later time?" He asked smugly. "Like dinner at seven?"
Paulina's eyes and smile widened; her answer came out as an indiscernible squeak.
"Is that a 'yes'?" the hero asked, chuckling.
"Yes, definitely yes!" she cried, her usually cool attitude abandoned for her glee.
The boy called Fenton, his eyes were getting larger, looking between Paulina and the hero.
"Uhh, am I dreaming?" he finally spoke.
"No, you just took a good blow to the head," the ghost boy told, holding out his hand once more.
Fenton, although reluctantly, took it and gathered himself back to his feet. But he continued to stare at the hero like he'd never seen a ghost before, and in this town, that was saying something!
"Danny!" a voice called.
Both Fenton and the hero looked to the side to find three people running towards them. One was a girl his age dressed in black and violet, her hair back in a ponytail. One was an African-American boy also of the same age in a yellow shirt and a beret. The last was a girl slightly older than him with red hair and a black shirt.
The hero recognized these people, as they'd helped him on many missions to keep the ghosts in line. They were his allies, his friends. They ran up to him and asked if he was alright.
"Tucker, Sam, Jazz! Sorry, but you missed the action. Me and Mr. Fenton here took care of it, didn't we?" the hero asked the boy.
It seems that they hadn't even noticed Fenton, because as soon as they laid eyes on him, they reacted the same way he did: Stammering and looking between him and the hero.
The hero was starting to get weirded out, so he decided to leave.
"I'll pick you up at your place at seven, okay?" he asked Paulina.
"Swell," she said, still not believing her luck.
"I've got some work to do," the hero declared and flew off into the sky.
Although everyone there was staring after the hero, Fenton, Jazz, Tucker and Sam were staring with their mouths agape.
"Danny?" asked Sam. "Who was that?"
"I have no idea, but I can't wait to ask him."
For the boy the hero had saved was Danny Fenton, usually overlooked as a socially low class loser, but possessed a secret. A secret that gave him the power to fight and stop practically any ghost threat. The ability to transform from Danny Fenton into Danny Phantom.
But if he was Danny Phantom, who just flew off into the sky?
OOOO
The hero was flying over the town, looking for any further alerts in the area. He stopped when he heard someone call him. He looked ahead at Amity Park's park and saw someone waving at him to come down. He did so, and as he got closer, he recognized it to be Danny Fenton, the boy he had saved earlier that day.
"What's the problem, Mr. Fenton?" the hero inquired.
"Well, to be honest, you are," he said bluntly.
"Excuse me?" the hero asked, taken by surprise.
"Listen, dude, I'm not sure who you are, but you can drop the act. You fooled the guys at school, but it's kinda hard to pull the wool over my eyes."
"What are you talking about? What act? I'm Danny Phantom! I'm Amity Park's Hero and Protector!" he yelled.
"Oh, really?" the boy questioned, chuckling.
"Uh, yeah!" he answered, without doubt.
"Then tell me something, huh, Mr. Phantom: How did you become a ghost?"
The hero thought for a second. "The details are still pretty sketchy. All I remember about my death is a big flash and a zap."
"So you don't happen to remember, maybe being in a basement with Tucker and Sam?" the boy asked.
"Can't say I do."
"Then when did you first meet them?" he probed.
"A couple of months ago, they showed up one day and helped me capture a few ghosts."
"And Jazz?"
"I just met her a week or two ago, when she helped me beat Skulker."
"Do you remember anything else when she helped, like another ghost you fought?" the boy asked.
"No, I don't," the hero responded, his border of patience now breached. "What is this about?"
"That you obviously aren't who you think you are."
"Okay, now you're crossing a line, dude. Not to sound selfish, but I saved your life, you could show a little more gratitude," the hero said.
"I would if you weren't stealing my alter ego," the boy explained.
Without warning a white ring surrounded Fenton's waist and began to spread out. His everyday clothes changing into a black and white jumpsuit; his black hair turning white and sea blue eyes melting into emerald green ones.
Now standing before the hero was an exact duplicate of himself, right down to the symbol. Standing with his arms crossed in front of his chest. The hero looked his doppleganger up and down, trying to decide if he was seeing straight.
"Okay, I'll bite. What's the deal?" the hero asked.
"You tell me. You're the one stealing my look."
"Listen, I'm done playing games. I wanna know who you are and what you want!"
"Funny, I was gonna say the same thing."
"Hey, I'm not the impostor here!" the hero quipped.
"Really, because your running make-up says something else." The 'formerly' Fenton pointed to the hero's face.
"What?" he questioned, raising his hand to his forehead.
But when he brought that hand back down to eye level, he was shocked to see that small bits of pasty flesh were sticking to his glove.
"W-what are you- Stop it!" the hero yelled, starting to panic. "I don't know what you're doing, but stop it!"
"I'm not doing anything, dude. I'm just standing here," he explained, holding out his hands, bare of any device or ecto-ray.
"Liar! Stop it now!" the hero shouted, all patience lost, and punched his look-alike in the face.
The 'boy' Phantom collided with a tree, not expecting the 'hero' Phantom to react so quickly. The 'boy' flew into the air and blasted at the 'hero', who evaded the shot and took to the air as well.
The 'hero' prepared an ecto-ray in his hand, and was ready to fire it when an overwhelming pain grasped his head. He lost control of the ray and released it so he could use both hands to hold his throbbing head, his face now hidden from the 'boy'.
The 'boy' was at a loss of what to do. Whoever or whatever this guy was, he thought he was Danny Phantom, and something was happening that even the 'hero' couldn't explain. The 'boy' started floating towards him, hoping to calm him down.
"Listen, uhh, Danny, something's wrong with you. Just let me take you to my friends and we might be able to help you."
The 'hero' raised his head, and if Danny didn't find it so weird, he would've screamed in shock.
In mere moments, the 'hero's' face had mutated. His semi-neat, snowy white hair had turned gray and wild, even a tad fiery. His focused, green eyes had become yellowed and off-kilter, and his mildly pale skin had gone a light blue. His strong jaw had gone slack, revealing, what once had been a clean smile, now: jagged and slightly yellowish teeth.
"Uhh, dude, I think you should come with me," the 'boy' suggested.
"I said stop it!" the 'hero' yelled, his voice several notches lower in tone. "Leave me alone!"
The 'hero' held out his hand and it began to spark with electricity. Before the 'boy' could get out of the way, he fired it, striking him dead on.
The 'boy' could feel the blast tearing into him, zapping every fibre of his body, and slowly weakening it. The level of agony became too much and the 'boy' passed out; the white ring once again engulfed him and he plummeted to the earth.
The deformed 'hero' saw the danger his opponent was in and dove to catch him before he became a grass splat. Once he had him, he landed and placed him on a nearby bench. He looked down at the now-human boy and sighed.
"No matter what you've done to me, your life is still precious," he growled in his newly baritone voice.
He scanned the area; there was no one there, save the two of them and some squirrels. There was no one there who might be able to help him. Then the 'hero's' face brightened up.
"But I know someone who might..." he said to himself, and then flew off to find them.
XXXX
There's Chapter One! I apologize if this confused anyone. I tried my best to distinguish between the two Danny's without revealing too much. Hope you'll like this as much as you liked "Almost Got 'Im"! That was a hit for my first DP fic. Read and review and I'll reply!