Note: So I realized, I've got a bunch of ficlets and story ideas on Tumblr which I haven't added to this collection. I'm going to try and slowly do that so the next several entries will be those ideas, largely unedited. So shinygoldstar and I got to talking about one of their prompt ideas on AO3, which of course led to talking about clones (because this is me we're talking about). And you know, clones and duplicates are potentially very similar. The idea of a duplicate staying separate from Danny long enough to become their own person is really interesting. I've only seen one story where it was hinted at and one where it actually happened. But it could be fun. So I decided to share an idea I played around with an idea a while back, when quarantine was first starting.

It begins with a college age Danny having to quarantine alone, with his friends and family in different states. He's lonely and ends up duplicating so he can have a video game partner. And it's nice to have another face to look at that's not over a computer, to have an excuse to talk out loud and to not just yell out in his quiet apartment with no answer. It kinda feels like he has someone to talk to now, even if he's just pretending. He starts calling the duplicate by a name that's not Danny, because it's kinda fun to have something to call it (him) that's not just 'hey, you.'

Except the problem is…naming something makes it real. This is especially true with ghosts, who are molded and shaped by their identity and sense of self, much more than even humans are. A duplicate is an ectoplasmic copy, but one without Danny's name, with its own name? One who Danny treats less like an extension of himself, an other limb and more like another person, like a friend? That's enough to spark something behind those eyes, something that's not just a reflection of Danny's own self.

The duplicate, now becoming a true clone, realizes he's a duplicate. And it's strange. He was little more than an ectoplasmic robot, a simulacra programed to respond and behave exactly as Danny would but not to think. Never to think. How could he? A duplicate is nothing more than another limb and an arm does not think on its own. It does not have thoughts separate from the rest of the body. Yet here he is, thinking.

Of course, our becoming-clone can't verbalize any of this. He can barely understand this. And he's torn. He's not supposed to be this. He's not supposed to be separating. And yet…the thought of being reabsorbed like all duplicates are meant to, of not existing any more makes him sad. With a sense of dread, the duplicate watches Danny start to nod off and eventually fall asleep while watching a movie. Just like every other time his original loses consciousness, the duplicate blinks out of existence.

Imagine the almost-clone's surprise when the next time Danny forms a duplicate, he exists again. Somehow, he can feel that he's the exact same being as before. It's impossible but…he's still here. He is still self aware. He really should say something. He should stop acting like he's just a mindless extension. He should let Danny know that he's not actually alone anymore.

Except…he's afraid. He is not supposed to exist, not like this. He's a duplicate gone rogue. He's…a cancer. A cancer. That's that word for when a group of cells goes against their programing and grows past their instruction. He's a cancer. And cancers need to be cut away to save the rest of the body. Cancer should be eradicated. And he doesn't want to hurt Danny. Danny's the one who named him. And he cares about the boy, maybe even loves him as a brother, if a cancer like him is even capable of that. But still… the almost-clone wants to exist. He likes existing and he's scared of what will happen if Danny realizes exactly what he's become.

So he stays silent, thanking the stars that somehow, Danny hasn't realized that something's wrong. That whenever he reabsorbs his duplicate, he doesn't gain its memories anymore. That's he's not picking up on any of its senses. No double vision, hearing through two sets of ears, feeling with two pairs of hands. Danny hasn't realized or maybe…

Secretly, Danny has realized. Something is off. His duplicate's actions and words are the same as always, perfectly in character. But…there's something in the way it moves, the tone of voice, the subtle facial expressions when Danny's not looking directly. Something is wrong.

It culminates when there's a ghost attack for the first time in months. Danny flies off to face the monstrous beast of a ghost tearing up the park. And his duplicate follows, fighting the ghost exactly as Danny himself does. But it's too much. The ghost is too large, too fierce for Danny to fight alone, even using every trick he knows. There's no backup coming. Not his parents, not the Red Huntress, not Sam and Tucker. It's just him and…

Danny lets out a cry of pain as the beast slams him into the pavement, hard enough that his head is swimming. He still tries to fight. He gets hit again, his head impacting the pavement. And…his vision starts going black.

Meanwhile, the not-quite-a-duplicate is still fighting. A surge of fear courses through him when he sees Danny slammed into the ground the first time. And the second time Danny's head hits the ground… the duplicate trembles, feeling his body flickering and dissipating around the edges. His original is fighting to stay conscious and terror surges through the duplicate. If Danny passes out, then he'll disappear. Danny will be alone and vulnerable on the ground, at the mercy of this beast. It would be certain death.

Danny blinks awake again on something… soft? He's groggy, his head splitting and eyes unable to focus. Cold hands are on one of his arms, doing something. The boy tries to sit up but a hand gently pushes him back onto the…mattress?

The duplicate flickers again as Danny's eyes struggle to stay open. No. The almost-clone grits his teeth, wrapping his arms around himself as if that can keep him together. He can't disappear. He has to stay. Danny needs him. But- Another flicker and… Danny blinks and passes out.

"Hey, don't try to sit up. You hit your head."

Danny blinks. Huh? What? Who's…who's there? And…that voice…there's…

"Try to look at me."

There's a face looming over him and…Danny struggles to focus and when he does, he sees. The… the person leaning over him, it's…himself?

The boy's mouth falls open. He pushes himself into a sitting position, despite the other person's protest. "What's happening? How did I get here? Who are you?!" Danny demands.

The other boy frowns. "It's me." He says the name, the name that Danny had been calling his duplicate and… "We were fighting that ghost and you passed out. But…I didn't fade. I…I don't know how. But…I stayed and I got it in the thermos and took you home. You… you got really hurt so I treated your injuries."

Danny is freaking out, not understanding the meaning. This…this isn't possible. It isn't.

But the other boy tries to explain. He tells Danny about the movie they watched last night, how they cooked pasta together the day before.

"But that's….you're not…" Danny's eyes flicker up and down his duplicate. "You…you shouldn't be here. I…I passed out and… I didn't…" He shakes his head.

"I know." The not-really-a-duplicate tries to put a comforting hand on his arm. "But… you were…you were gonna die. And…I couldn't do nothing. So... I had to… I had stay."

Danny shakes his head, violently. "No. You're…you're just a duplicate. You're not…this isn't possible."

The other boy frowns, pitying. "Danny….I'm…I'm not just a duplicate."

"No. This isn't happening. This isn't real." Danny shakes fearfully.

"Yes, it is. Danny please-"

The boy recoils, practically leaping off the bed. "No." Fear lodges in his throat. He'd…he'd sensed something was different, something was wrong. But this…this wasn't possible. "This is…this is wrong."

The not-duplicate holds his hands out in front of him placatingly. "Please, just listen."

"No!" Danny shouts. "You're…you're just a duplicate. You're not real. This…this is wrong. This shouldn't be happening."

The boy's eyes widen with hurt and Danny can practically see his heart breaking. "Just…just hear me out."

Danny refuses, his mind reeling. "You're…you're supposed to just be a duplicate." He's afraid and angry and confused. And the more the not-duplicate tries to argue, the more angry Danny gets.

"Can you even hear yourself?! This is ridiculous!" Danny lashes out, surprised by his own boldness as he roughly grabs the duplicate's wrist. "There's something wrong with you, obviously. I should…I should just reabsorb you."

"No. Wait!"

Danny doesn't wait, his core already activating to reabsorb the secondary body into himself. The edges start to go fuzzy.

"Please." There's tears in the other boy's eyes. "I don't want to. Please. I want to exist. Let me exist."

Danny doesn't listen. And the duplicate doesn't resist as he is unraveled, unmade. And Danny cries.

For several days, Danny doesn't even think of duplicating himself. He's too afraid. He doesn't…he doesn't know what that was but… it can't happen again. The apartment is so quiet and he feels…lonely but…he can't do that again. If that means he never duplicates again or if he can figure out what went wrong…

Danny tries to remember. If he can remember the duplicate's memories, then maybe…there's nothing there. He concentrates. He meditates. He tries everything but he can't remember and…he rubs his core. Something's…something's different. He closes his eyes and tries to feel out his memories. There's…there's something here, something at the edge of his perception. It's…Danny shivers. There's…a presence, in the back of his mind. It's… It's not quite like being overshadowed but…

Danny has a dream. He walks through his apartment. There's…something waiting for him or someone… He opens his bedroom door and….

"You're still here." Danny whispers, eyes falling on the person sitting on his bed. The not-a-duplicate nods and the boy feels like crying. "I…I reabsorbed you but…you're still here."

"Yeah." His counterpart confirms.

"How?"

"I…I don't know."

"But… how…how are you even here? How…how can you exist at all?"

The not-duplicate looks up, blue eyes boring into his. "You named me." Danny's mouth opens and closes, disbelieving. "You…you gave me a name. You didn't act like I was just you. You…you treated me like I was your friend."

Danny shakes his head. "No. That…that shouldn't have done…this."

The almost-clone stands up, approaching Danny. "But it did. You wanted a friend and…I became your friend. I'm still your friend."

Danny searches the eyes, the same color as his and finds the words true. His heart aches. He…he did this. His actions did this. He shaped and molded and inadvertently made this person. Danny confesses how scared he is, how lost he feels.

And the not-duplicate confess as well. "I…I'm scared too. I don't want to hurt you. I've never wanted to hurt you. But…I'm scared that I am… I am hurting you. I'm…I'm like a cancer. I was never supposed to break my programming. I…I was never supposed to separate. I was never supposed to become self aware. But…I did and I am and… and it's so selfish but…I want to keep existing."

And that is the problem. Their life forces are intertwined, connected. The new being isn't quite a duplicate but…he isn't quite a true clone either. He's still feeding off of his original's energy like a parasite.

"Maybe we can fix that." Danny proposes. "When I passed out after that fight, you didn't fade. You were strong enough to exist without me. Maybe…we can figure out how to break the connection between us."

"You mean…." The not-duplicate's eyes widen.

"Yes. Let's…let's do it."

Danny wakes up in his apartment, alone. Except… no, he isn't. The boy focuses inward and speaks. "I'm gonna separate us. Maybe…maybe we can break the connection together."

The boy feels the answer and transforms. Once in ghost form, Danny pushes with his core, focusing on the feeling of making a duplicate. Except this time…this counterpart pulls. There is the same elastic splitting feeling there always is but…it's stronger, two forces pulling in opposite directions. Original and almost-clone strain, focusing. Danny needs to make a duplicate. No, they need to separate, separate so completely that the not-a-duplicate becomes a true clone. There is a snap, a recoil like a rubber band breaking and…

Danny is flung one direction, landing on the floor with a thud. And in front of him..

"Umph!" There is a startled cry.

Out of the corner of his eyes, Danny can see a white boot. The boy sits up and… there across from him is his counterpart.

The other boy inspects his hand, wiggling his fingers. "It worked." He whispers, awed.

Danny shrugs. "Welcome back. That was the easy part. Now-"

"No, Danny. It worked. It worked completely."

Danny blinks, trying to sense the thin line between him and his ectoplasmic copy. It should still be… a white ring appears around his counterpart's waist. It spreads and soon Danny is staring at his human likeness.

A pale, ungloved hand reaches for him. "Danny, it worked." The hand is warm and…

Danny's eyes widen. "No…no way." He reaches for the wrist of the other hand and…there, under his finger is the slow fluttering of a pulse. "You're…you're human. Actually…really human."

It isn't…it shouldn't have been possible. A duplicate is an ectoplasmic copy, truly, always a ghost even if the appearance was human. Not…not real flesh and blood unless…

"I'm…I'm not a duplicate anymore." Danny's clone whispers, awed. "I'm…I'm real."

Danny's expression softens. "You've been real for a while now." He leans forward, embracing the new clone. "I'm sorry I didn't see it before."

"It's okay." The other mutters. "I'm…I'm just so happy to be here."

"Me too, friend. I'm…I'm happy you're my friend." As Danny hugs his new clone, his friend, his brother, his twin, he means it.