HEY, EVERYBODY! I'M UPDATING AGAIN ALREADY! AS IT TURNS OUT, WHATEVER ASSIGNMENT I WAS SUPPOSED TO DO FOR HOMEWORK TONIGHT DIDN'T WORK OUT, SO I HAD OODLES OF FREE TIME. GUESS WHAT I DID WITH IT? THAT'S RIGHT! I WROTE ANOTHER CHAPTER! THE ACTION PICKS UP A LITTLE, BUT NOT TOO MUCH, ALTHOUGH THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL SOLVE THAT PROBLEM. AND NOW FOR DISCLAIMERS: DANNY PHANTOM, ALL OF IT'S RELATED CHARACTERS, AND THE EPISODE 'KINDRED SPIRITS' BELONG TO BUTCH HARTMAN AND NICKELODEON. THE INDIVIDUAL IDEAS PRESENTED IN THIS NEW PLOT-TWIST, HOWEVER, ARE MINE.
CHAPTER 5
Danny Phantom watched as Vlad Plasmius and the clone reentered the lab, both wary of what might happen, and somewhat afraid, for he knew that Vlad had certainly given this duplicate power and training that he himself had no time to acquire, what with school and family to deal with on a daily basis. He did not, however, allow his fear to show, for he knew that if he did, both of his opponents would seize it and use it against him. He couldn't afford that.
He did, however, realize that this clone was only hours old, and a few hours was not nearly enough time to master everything that Vlad could teach, super-ghost or not. This knowledge was enough to allay most of Danny's fears.
Vlad approached the containment unit in which he had sealed Danny two hours before and reached for the control pad. Danny readied himself, his body coiled almost too tight; if he were any more tense, he would certainly make a mistake upon exiting the chamber. Vlad first deactivated the energy that was negating Danny's ghost abilities, then pressed the button that would open the device. Danny, however, didn't wait for the hatch to open. He phased through it even as it hissed and eased upward, tackling Plasmius and sending him to the floor.
Danny curled his right hand into a fist and energized it with ectoplasmic energy, but as he flexed his arm and brought it downward, Vlad became intangible and phased through the floor of the lab. Danny halted mid-swing, not wanting to break his hand on the concrete. He jerked his head up and immediately began to search the lab for Vlad, but the other half-ghost was nowhere to be found.
The other Danny spoke. "I wouldn't worry about him, if I were you."
"Oh, really? And you're a threat because?" Danny stood up and faced the clone head-on, teeth bared in an angry snarl. "You, 'Danny Phantom,' are in way over your head. You've had your powers for all of a few hours. Mine, on the other hand, are months old!" Danny's hands glowed green, energy swirling away in little tendrils.
"First off," the clone replied, anger coloring his voice, "My name is Michael, Mike for short, and second: I may be inexperienced, but I have more power than you. I may not be able to do all of the same things, but what I can do is far more potent."
"If you're so confident, let's put you to the test, shall we, 'Mike?'" Danny faced the clone and raised a hand palm-up. He curled his first two fingers toward his palm in a summoning gesture, then repeated the motion, the universal signal for 'Bring it on!'
Mike, who had remained in his phantom form during the exchange, charged his own hands with energy. Danny noted that unlike his own ectoplasm, which was green and almost flame-like, Mike's was blue, and had a liquid quality to it. It seemed to drip from Michael's hands like water, only to vanish an inch or so away from his jumpsuit-covered skin. The effect was almost . . . mesmerizing.
Another peculiar thing Danny noticed about Mike was that his eyes were blue, like those of his own human form, and like the other boy's ectoplasm.
But he had no time to contemplate the differences between the two of them. He was already dodging attacks. Almost immediately upon charging his hands with energy, Mike released a jet of ectoplasm aimed at Danny's chest. Danny summoned a shield in response, allowing his barrier to absorb Mike's attack before retaliating with an energy blast of his own. Mike dodged.
Danny flexed his right leg and leapt forward, shooting ectoplasm and charging at the same time. He managed to hit Mike in the left shoulder, but the clone didn't flinch, or even utter a cry of pain; he simply stood there. Danny zigged to the right and kept coming, turning his body intangible when Mike thought to strike back with more ectoplasmic energy. Danny smiled.
"Is that the best you can do, copy?" Danny taunted as he hit Mike in the stomach with another blast. "You'll have to step up your game if you want to beat me!"
Danny closed in on the clone and grabbed the front of his jumpsuit, energizing his other fist and striking a direct blow to Mike's face. Danny released the other ghost, who fell to his knees on the floor. Danny stood over the boy and waited for a reaction. When none was offered, Danny took a step back and inhaled, preparing a ghostly wail to destroy the abomination before him. He didn't get the chance to unleash it. He hadn't even completely filled his lungs when he was grabbed from behind in a choke hold.
"You underestimate me." A voice whispered in his ear. "You assume that because I do not share the experience of many battles and years of practice, I cannot do what you can do. But you're wrong, Daniel. You are so wrong."
The Mike lying on the floor vanished, vaporizing like smoke and ceasing to exist. The arm around Danny's throat tightened.
But Danny was too angry, too determined to be afraid. He clamped his jaws shut and grunted as he shifted his weight and threw Mike forward over his head, but instead of letting go, as Danny had expected he would, the clone hung on for dear life, taking the other ghost boy with him to the floor. Only when Danny was sprawled on his stomach, recovering from lack of oxygen and struggling to get up, did Mike release his grip and hop to his feet. He circled to Danny's side and kicked him in the ribs.
"Still think I'm powerless?"
Danny rolled away, vanishing as he did so. "I never said you were powerless." Danny replied from somewhere on the floor. "I just said that I was more powerful." He paused, then added, "and that I was better."
Mike ignored the jibe at his pride. "I don't know if I'd say you're better."
Danny's voice originated from a new location, somewhere behind Mike. "And why is that?"
"Well," Michael stalled, "you're already cheating. Anyone can pull off the disappearing act. I can, too." To emphasize his point, Mike imitated Danny's invisibility move.
"You call this cheating, huh?" Danny remained unseen. "We're ghosts; if using the abilities we have is cheating, then we may as well change back to our human forms and fight that way."
Mike was no longer on the floor. Danny heard his opponent's voice come from somewhere behind him, but he didn't bother to turn around. "I'm glad you see it that way," the boy replied, "because with my enhanced powers, it doesn't matter if you're invisible; I can see you."
Even as surprised as he was, Danny didn't bother trying to turn around. It would be a waste of time and energy. Instead, he formed a shield at his back, darting forward as he did so. However, he was a split second too late; Mike was already between Danny and his protective barrier. Using Phantom's still-intact shield as leverage, Michael spun his body so he was parallel to the floor and planted his hands on Danny's shield, then thrust both of his feet into Danny's back, sending the older ghost careening toward the wall.
Danny, too startled to think, never thought to phase through the barrier. He hit the wall sideways, jarring his right shoulder and becoming visible once more; his ecto-shield vanished and he dropped to the floor, somehow landing on his feet. With a grimace, raised his left arm, hand glowing green, and shot plasma in Mike's direction, but the boy was no longer there. Danny blinked in surprise when the clone materialized in front of him and grabbed his throat, lifting him off the floor at the same time. Danny reached up and grabbed at Mike's arm. The clone's strength was incredible.
"I told you: You underestimate me, and that's a mistake, Daniel. I'm going to-"
"Oh, shut up!" Danny growled past the fingers wrapped around his windpipe. "If you're going to do something, do it! Don't waste your time, or mine, with a bunch of monologue like Uncle Vladdy does. It's annoying! Just like y-"
Danny was cut off as Mike's fingers tightened around his throat. "Don't insult me!"
Danny couldn't breathe, but he managed a grin. He released Mike's arm with one hand and made an obscene gesture, showing Mike the back of his hand before folding every finger but one into his palm. 'How's this for an insult?' He thought as gray began to creep in at the edges of his vision.
Mike, enraged at having been flipped off, curled his free hand into a fist and threw it at Danny's ribcage. He was satisfied with a subtle crack! as several ribs did just that. He dropped the ghost boy and allowed him a moment of coughing before he kicked him in the side again, harder this time.
Danny grunted and pulled one foot forward, rising into a kneeling position and crouching in front of Mike. The kid had no idea. . . .
x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.
Vlad watched with satisfaction as Danny and Michael fought. So far neither had done anything very impressive, but that was perfectly fine. Mike still hadn't awoken his full power, and Daniel continued to assume that the copy was as fragile as the others.
'But when the boy's DNA is completely bonded to the clone's, there will be no mercy, and there will be no reprieve.'
x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.
Danny braced his foot on the floor and lunged forward, knocking Michael's feet out from under him and bringing him down to his level. The two of them rolled on the floor, exchanging blows for a few moments, before Mike ended up sitting on Danny's waist. He immediately began to throw punches, but Danny crossed his arms over his face in a blocking maneuver and summoned another ecto-shield to defend himself. Mike simply began to blast it with his ectoplasm.
Danny sank through the floor, leaving Michael alone for a moment before reemerging behind him and grabbing the collar of his jumpsuit as he floated upward. Mike kicked like a child as he struggled to free himself from his opponent's grasp, but Danny refused to let go. He quickly reached his top speed and looped back toward the floor, flinging Mike ahead of himself and releasing his grip on the jumpsuit with shout of exertion. He watched as the clone sped toward the floor unchecked.
Michael hit the ground with a resounding thud, accompanied by the explosive sound of concrete shattering beneath his body. Dust flew into the air and a crater formed where Mike had landed.
x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.
Another short one, I know. Hope it was good. I didn't really like how it turned out, but then again, nothing seems very good when I stare at it for too many hours. Feel free to tell me what you think, good or bad! I need the criticism! Next chapter to emerge soon!
Oh, yes, and if you like my fan fictions, I have a DeviantArt account! I don't post my fan fictions there, but some of my original stories and poetry are there if you want to take a look! Here's the link: http:/ oreochema. deviant art. com/ Just copy it and paste into your address bar, then TAKE OUT THE SPACES! (Wouldn't want you getting sent to the wrong page or something like that! :D ) I'm going to warn you, though, my art is certainly not as interesting as my stories.