NOTE TO ALL: First off, if I get loads of stuff wrong, it's because I've never been to America and I don't know much about your schools, slang, etc. So, I'm sorry, and if you spot any major mistakes, please tell me so I can try and correct them. I am given to understand that own characters are not always popular, but hopefully Mimic isn't too bad. I have tried; please tell me what you think.EDIT: looking through this, I've found a couple of typos. I've corrected what I've found, but let me know if you spot any that I've missed.
DISCLAIMER: Danny Phantom belongs to Butch Hartman and Nickelodeon, not me. Mimic is mine though, for all that that's worth.
MIMICRY
CHAPTER ONE: Meeting Mimic
A teenage ghost emerged from her lair for the first time in almost nine years. She had very pale blue skin, bright green hair, and glowing green eyes. Her name was Mimic, and she gazed around the Ghost Zone with a sigh. It had been so long since she had stepped out of her own personal part of it, and she had almost forgotten what it looked like. Looking around now, she felt it wasn't worth the bother of leaving her lair: Just a bunch of doors floating in swirling green space. But she couldn't stay in her lair forever...
'Hi. I haven't been out in a couple of years, who are you?' She called cheerfully to the first ghost she encountered: a large, muscular-looking man with flaming green hair. He looked at her curiously, and introduced himself. 'I am Skulker, the Ghost Zone's greatest hunter. Who are you?' Mimic ignored the question, instead choosing to interrogate Skulker about what had happened in the past few years. He sighed. 'Alright, girl, but it's a long story...'
'...So you're saying there's some... uh, 'halfa' called Phantom who everyone hates because he's preventing you from wreaking havoc in the human zone?' Mimic asked, after sieving out the useful information from Skulker's boasts. Her mind was racing. A 'halfa'? Impossible, surely. And one that wanted to protect humans? A thought hit her like a ten-ton mental rock. Maybe...
'Hm. Perhaps I ought to talk to this Phantom guy...' she said thoughtfully. Skulker laughed. 'Are you joking girl? You want to talk to the Ghost Child? That's the craziest idea I've heard in my afterlife. Hunt him, kill him, recruit him, imprison him, I've heard all of those, but... talk to him? That's a new one. You'd be back in the Ghost Zone before you'd even opened your mouth, girl.' He sniggered. Really, the girl was crazy. Go to all the effort of getting into the human realm, just to try and talk to the whelp? Why would you want to, anyway?
Mimic glared at Skulker, irritated by the hunter-ghost's attitude. 'Sure, I might just get myself battered and sucked up by that... thermos... you mentioned. But I can do something you can't, Skulker. It's not a particularly dangerous power, but it is useful.' Mimic told him, grinning. Skulker's brow furrowed, not sure what the strange ghost was getting at. Mimic, still smirking, closed her eyes, and focused hard on Skulker, on his shape and voice, forcing her ectoplasmic form to restructure itself in his image. Once she was done, Skulker's jaw dropped. Had she just turned into him? He'd seen morphing before, of course; he'd met both Bertrand and Amorpho. But it was still unusual, and he hadn't been expecting it from the strange new ghost.
Mimic-Skulker opened her eyes again and widened her grin. 'Phantom will talk to me, Skulker. Because I can be anybody.' She told him using his voice. And then, purely because she couldn't resist, she added: 'They call me Mimic for a reason... whelp.'
Danny Fenton, the human half of Danny Phantom, closed his schoolbook with a sigh. He finally had a ghost-free night to finish all his homework in, and he didn't understand any of it. He put the book in his schoolbag and flopped onto the bed. So far, no ghost attacks, so maybe, just maybe, he might be able to get a decent night's sleep for once. Or so he had been hoping, until his ghost-sense went off.
He changed into Danny Phantom with a groan, and floated out through his wall into the empty street beyond. He flew higher into the sky, searching for the ghost he knew had to be there, somewhere. But the spectre failed to appear, and although Danny spent the night searching, he still hadn't found it when the sun rose high over Amity Park. He searched a little longer, then flew back to his room to where his alarm clock was just about to go off and changed back into Danny Fenton. He dressed himself, and wandered downstairs for something to eat, his mind focused on the elusive ghostly intruder he had been searching for without success.
His ghost-sense went off again after he had handed in the homework he had completed before his evening had been so rudely interrupted. He sighed, and raised his hand. 'Can I help you, Mr. Fenton?' Lancer asked as he looked up from the book he'd been reading to the class. 'I... don't feel well, Sir. Can I go to the nurse's office?' Lancer narrowed his eyes at Danny slightly. 'Mr. Fenton, you've asked to go to the nurse's office three times this week, but when I mentioned it to the nurse, she said she hadn't seen you. I trust you will actually be going to the nurse's office this time?' Danny gulped. Lancer would check with the nurse later, and then he would be in so much trouble... but he had to get that ghost! 'Yes sir. Sorry sir. Can I go now?' he asked nervously. Mr. Lancer sighed and nodded. Danny left the classroom quickly, and as soon as he was alone, allowed two white rings to pass over his body, transforming him into Phantom, ghostly defender of Amity Park, USA.
But the ghost was, once again, nowhere to be found. Wondering if his ghost-sense was malfunctioning, Danny returned to class. 'Feeling better, Mr. Fenton?' asked Lancer, sceptically. Danny nodded, and slid into his seat, only to have a note shoved at him instantly by Sam. He unfolded it. Didn't take you long. Was it the box ghost again? She had written. I don't think there even was a ghost. That's the second time my ghost-sense has gone off and there was nothing there. Talk at lunch, Ok? He scribbled, and chucked the note to her when Lancer wasn't looking. She nodded, and they both went back to work.
Mimic watched a confused-looking Phantom fly back into the school. She was currently in the shape of a human girl: the girl she had been before she died. She had short, curly brown hair that was at least an inch or so short of her shoulders, and large blue-grey eyes. She was a tall, skinny girl around fourteen or fifteen, and wore a plain blue t-shirt and black trousers with dark blue trainers. A grey bag was slung over her left shoulder, and she was currently staring at the entrance to Casper high, a plan forming in her mind.
She duplicated herself twice, and morphed the two duplicates into a tall, skinny man with brown hair and glasses and a somewhat shorter woman with blonde curls, both in their mid-thirties. Mimic and her duplicates entered the school, and the male duplicate marched up to the receptionist's desk. S/he smiled warmly at the young woman behind it, while the real Mimic quickly tried to think what to say.
'Good morning, my name is Jason Tanner and this is my wife, Louise.' Mimic-Jason gestured towards the other duplicate, (AN: The duplicates are now called Jason and Louise, because it's easier. This includes any appearances the two might make in future chapters!) who nodded a greeting. 'I'm here to enrol our daughter in your school. This is...' The duplicate stopped, as Mimic tried to think of a name quickly. Unable to think of one, and with the secretary giving 'Jason Tanner' an odd look, she settled for the name she'd had before her death: she may have hated it, but at least she was familiar with it. '...This is my little Antoinette. Can we speak to the principal, please?' The secretary smiled, and told them that, while the principal was currently very busy, the vice-principal would be with them as soon as he could, and would they have a seat while they waited? The Mimics nodded and sat down.
Danny Fenton's stomach churned as he heard an all-too-familiar voice behind him. 'Hey Fentoad!' Dash shouted from the other end of the corridor, sneering. Danny considered fleeing, but the bell would ring soon, and running away would just make him late. He resigned himself to his fate, and that is why Danny Fenton, known to a select few as Danny Phantom, missed the arrival of the new girl.
Had Danny been there, he would have realised that something about her wasn't quite right. Mimic, slightly nervous about going back to school (of all places!) after having been dead for ten years, had very briefly phased through the floor. To anyone who didn't deal with ghosts on a daily basis, it would have been unnoticeable: just a slight dip in her height for a second as she sunk an inch through the floorboards. Danny, however, did deal with ghosts on a daily basis, and had experienced similar problems to those Mimic was having when he first got his powers, and, on a few occasions, when he was nervous. Had he been there, his ghost-sense would have gone off, and because of that he would have paid close attention to the person who had just entered the room. He would have seen her sink into the floor, he would have pieced it together and Mimic would've been back in the Ghost Zone before she could say 'Skulker Sucks!'. But Danny was not there. Instead, he was stuck in his locker, and Mimic-Antoinette would be being far more careful now. After all, if she wanted to do this, getting discovered early would cause chaos.
'Get a grip, Mimic... remember why you're here...' she told herself quietly as Lancer introduced her to the class. When told to take a seat, she scanned the room for Phantom's human form, and a few seconds later, half-annoyed, half-relieved not to have found him, she settled instead for sitting behind Sam Manson, one of the humans Skulker had described as Phantom's friend. She needed to befriend Danny before she could talk to him, and it was just possible Sam Manson and Tucker Foley would help her.
Danny, having just escaped from his locker, shivered and gasped; his breath becoming blue for a moment. 'Oh, great...' he muttered, breaking into a run. 'Goin' ghost!' he shouted, transforming into his ghostly alter ego and phasing through the ceiling. He flew high above the town, performing an aerial search for the ghostly problem, but couldn't see anything. He turned invisible and intangible, performing a quick search of the school, the mall and other places the ghost might be, but found nothing. He returned to school, becoming Fenton again, just in time for the second half of his lesson. As he entered the classroom, his ghost-sense went off for the fourth time that day. That would mean the ghost was in the school, but where? Feeling irritated, and convinced that his powers were playing up, Danny decided he'd just have to wait and see. Apparently, he'd missed the arrival of the new girl. What was her name again? Anita? Antonia? Annette? Whoever she was, Sam would fill him in later.
The next few days continued in much the same way: his ghost-sense would go off, but when he went to search for the paranormal problem, at least ¾ of the time it wasn't there. Oh, sure; he'd found a couple of the usual subjects: The Box Ghost, Skulker, Desiree... but the fact remained that most of the time, it went off and there simply wasn't a ghost to be found. He didn't understand why his ghost-sense was going haywire, especially around Antoinette, who definitely breathed and had a pulse. (That had been really embarrassing: how do you explain to a girl you've barely even met that you want to check her vital signs? He could hardly tell her he wanted to see if she was a ghost.) He'd told Tucker and Sam, and they'd eventually decided that she seemed friendly enough, but to be on high alert all the same. A few weeks had passed since then, and he was beginning to think it must be a problem with his powers: Antoinette was just too... human.
Apart from his 'malfunctioning' ghost-sense, Danny felt life was looking up. There had been fewer ghost attacks lately, even if his ghost-sense had been going nuts, and his education was feeling the benefit of his increased study-time and sleep. And he was beginning to kind of like Antoinette, as well. She was new to Amity Park as well as Caspar High, and she and Sam got on like a house on fire (well, after a few misunderstandings). Pretty soon, she was part of their group, and although he hadn't liked her much at first, he had come to like her and now Danny enjoyed her company almost as much as Sam and Tucker's. She was funny, and what's more, she believed in Phantom's innocence without fawning over him. (Danny had started to get sick of fan girls mooning after him because he was famous, and it was relief to find someone who liked him for saving the town rather than his looks/fame.)
Danny, contemplating all of this, was interrupted by a shout. 'Danny!' called Sam, approaching with Tucker and Antoinette. Danny beamed. 'Hey guys. What's up?' Tucker's face split into a grin. 'You should've seen it, Dude. It was hilarious.' Danny gave Tucker an odd look. 'What was hilarious?' Sam rolled her eyes. 'Paullina and Valerie were fighting over you. Paullina was going on about you being a 'major loser', and Valerie sorta stood up for you. Then someone brought up Phantom, and you know who Paullina and Val feel about him. So, another massive argument over y- Uh, Phantom, until Tucker burst out laughing, and they all stopped to shout at him instead.' Danny grinned. It was kind of funny, after all. Paullina liked Phantom and hated Fenton, and Val had the same feelings, but reversed. Neither knew that Fenton was Phantom, of course. Ah, Irony.
He suddenly remembered that his newest friend would have no idea why this would seem funny, and snuck a look at her. As soon as she saw him looking, Mimic made an 'I-have-no-idea-what-this-is-about' gesture. He made a mental note to apologise to her about all this if he ever told her his secret, although with the ghost-sense thing he wasn't sure he ever would. 'Guys, you're confusing Antoinette.' He said, gesturing towards her. Tucker and Sam, having just remembered that Antoinette didn't know, looked sheepish, and Mimic's brow furrowed even more. 'You've got that right, Danny.' She said innocently. 'I really have no idea why that's funny.' She smiled, lying through her teeth. After all, Mimic had known about Danny's secret from the very start.
Mimic-Antoinette was pondering her next move. Did Danny trust her enough yet? She couldn't talk to him if he didn't, he'd just kick her into the Ghost Zone. Of course, she could return: take on another shape, try again. But Danny wasn't stupid. He'd have realised she was the reason his ghost-sense had been going off when there was supposedly no ghost. And when it started happening again, he wouldn't be taken in. She needed Phantom to trust her. When Skulker had told her about Amity Park's ghostly hero, she had known exactly what she wanted to do. But she needed his trust, or she wouldn't be able to do anything. And now that she'd finally found something she really wanted to do, for the first time since she'd died, she didn't want to mess up.
Mimic's friendship with Danny grew over the next few weeks, and finally, she deemed the time to be ripe. She rung him late one evening and told her it was urgent he meet her the next day, early morning, alone. Danny had reluctantly agreed (knowing that getting up early meant less sleep) although he had said 'It had better be really urgent, Antoinette.' Mimic had sighed. 'It is, Danny. Really.'
True to his word, Danny arrived early next morning outside the house Antoinette had told him was hers. He had been surprised when he saw it; it was, quite frankly, a ruin. Antoinette lives here? He thought to himself. Apparently so, he added when she emerged from the house. His ghost-sense went off, but when didn't it go off around her? Antoinette smiled widely, but there was another emotion on her face he didn't recognise. She took another step towards him, a thousand thoughts rushing through her mind at once. It all depended on him...
Had she not been dead for the past ten years, she'd have taken a deep breath to calm her nerves. Okay, so she had been breathing lately, but only because it was somewhat expected of her. She looked Danny steadily in the eyes, and cleared her throat.
'You know Danny, I've been wanting to talk to you ever since I heard about you.' she said. Danny gave her a quizzical look. 'You have?' he asked, unsure how to react. Why would she want to talk to Danny Fenton? Mimic nodded, not quite trusting herself to speak. This was the crucial part, after all. And Murphy's Law had a nasty habit of turning up at times like this. What can go wrong, will go wrong, she thought. Here goes everything...
Still looking him dead in the eyes, she sighed. 'Hello, Danny Phantom.'
AN: Sorry about the cliffhanger. What do you think so far? I'll try and update quickly, I'm a relatively fast writer, and I've got the plot all done, so it should update in a few days. Thank you for reading this, and please review, because it's my first Fanfic ever and I'd like your advice. Flames are welcome, because, quite frankly, if you're going to flame and I ask you not to, what are the chances you'll listen? Besides, I did ask for your honest opinion. –MayaAlexia