This story has been in my head for a while, and I finally decided to write it. It takes place in between the accident we see in Memory Blank and the events of Mystery Meat. Slight DxS.
Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom or any of the characters. It's all property of Nick and Butch Hartman. --
My footsteps echo dimly as I walk into the tunnels, eyes wide in the gloom. The only light comes through the opening in my parent's lab, and that's not a lot- we didn't want to attract my parents, and Sam doesn't like using up extra energy.
A part of me wondered what the heck I am doing inside a portal to another dimension. Especially if said portal was made by my dad and supposed to lead to a world full of evil dead guys. Peer pressure, I answer back. Don't you just love it?
Still, I'm not that worried. The portal doesn't work. If it did I wouldn't be anywhere near it- I can still remember when Dad accidentally threw our house into another dimension. I do not feel any need to repeat the experience.
So I walk in, just to satisfy my friends (and my own,) slight curiosity. I go in farther than necessary, which turns out to be a big mistake.
I mentioned earlier that it was dark, right? So it was no surprise when my foot caught on one of the loose wires scattered across the floor.
I lost my balance and toppled to the side. I flailed my arms, and was able to catch myself on the wall, just in time to stop my head colliding painfully with the ground.
That's when I notice that I've pressed against something. I quickly lift my hand up, and stare in horror at what I see. It's a large green button labeled 'ON'.
As a quiet humming builds up accompanied by green lights I just have time to think; this is not going to end well.
Pain shoots through me, an electric charge that shocks every molecule of my being. It felt like I was being sipped apart, sliced by invisible blades. I must have cried out, the pain was so intense, but I can't remember hearing anything but a rushing in my ears.
In my shock-numbed brain, one thought remained. GET OUT OF HERE!
Somehow I blindly stumbled through the piercing green light, not knowing where I was going.
After an eternity I fell through a veil. The pain lifted, and I found myself standing in a large room. As darkness ate away at my vision, I was just able to see the stunned faces of my friends.
Then I plunged into unconsciousness.
I was floating in an abyss. I felt extremely comfortable. There was nothing to think or worry about. How long had I been floating there, I did not know. I didn't care.
Then there was a humming of sorts. It interrupted the peaceful quiet like a blaring horn. I willed it to stop. It continued. While it did so, it became more distinct. Eventually, I was able to make sense of it.
"…is it?"
"Don't know. You don't think that maybe…?"
"We could ask."
I knew those sounds. They were the familiar voices of my friends.
Shut up, said that little part of me. I wanted to go back to that soothing darkness.
But the rest of me could help but notice the anxiety in their voice. Shouldn't I try to calm them?
So I let out a low groan, hoping to get their attention. The effect was instantaneous- the two voices stopped talking, soon replaced by hesitant footsteps.
After a few moments a voice said, "Danny? Is that you?" It was a light falsetto voice: Sam's.
I cracked my eye's open before answering, fully dragging myself out of unconsciousness. I was rewarded by the beautiful sight of Sam's boot. Wonderful.
"Of course it's me? Who did you think it was- Mr. Lancer?" I pushed myself up into a sitting position.
I got a good look of Sam's face, and behind her, Tucker's. They both held a strange mix of emotions- relief, astonishment and….fear?
Suddenly I realized exactly why I had been lying on the floor of my parents' lab, uncurious. The accident. The terrible pain.
Of course they were afraid. I'd just been shocked by a giant portal to another dimension before collapsing on the ground. They must have thought I'd died.
I smiled to reassure them. "Hey, guys, don't worry. I feel fine. In fact, I feel great!" That was true. I felt as if I was supercharged with energy, like I was one sugar high.
Sam and Tuck didn't seem to believe me. They exchanged anxious expressions. "Dude," started Tucker hesitantly, "you don't look fine."
"What? Have I grown a third arm or something?" I tried to keep my tone light and joking, but I did feel a stab of fear. Being shocked in some weird portal-thingy powered by my parents 'ectoplasm' couldn't be healthy.
I craned by neck and inspected my body. Everything seemed normal- no extra limbs or weird marks. Perfectly fine.
At least, it seemed fine. It happened when I glanced at my hand. At first, I just couldn't put my finger on it- but something was different.
Then I realized that my glove was white. That was wrongly. I distinctly remembered that my jumpsuit (which my parents had insisted on buying) had black gloves.
I was also pretty sure that my gloves didn't glow.
My friends must have noticed my contemplation of my gloves, because Sam said; "You might wanna look in a mirror."
I was way ahead of her. I quickly walked to the mirror built into the wall above the lab's sink, vaguely registering that the tunnel I had walked into earlier was now filled with green mist.
I peered into the reflective glass, and gazing back at me…was a stranger.