Chapter Text
Danny honestly had no idea how he pulled one of the biggest lies he's ever had to make off. He'd only been in this world for four months, getting set up and researching how different it is from his home dimension. So far he's found that the biggest difference from his own is that this world has heroes and aliens, of all things, living here. But that wasn't important at the moment. What was is that in the next ten minutes, he's going to be called to audition for a chance to become an idol.
"Damn Ember for making me do this," He muttered under his breath. He couldn't believe he'd lost that bet after she had heard Danny singing to himself when they were hanging out. The conversation following that could be boiled down to Ember basically threatening to sic Johnny 13 and Kitty on him if he didn't allow her to teach her 'Babypop' the ways of song and songwriting. It wasn't as bad as he thought it would be and he'd actually had a lot of fun which brings him to his current predicament.
~FLASHBACK~
"Young one, I need to have a word with you", came the voice of the only ancient that Danny would spend any length of time with.
"Clockwork please, any time I can get away from these meetings is a dream come true. So what can I help you with?" Asked a young ghost dressed in royal attire, he had luminous white hair shining and moving like starlight-turned water vapor, slitted glowing emerald eyes, and glowing constellation freckles that moved every so often. This was Danny Fenton aka Phantom, the Ghost king of the Infinite Realms and Ghost of Space and Protection.
"There is a world I would like you to check on, it seems during Pariah Dark's reign there was a deal made to leak ectoplasm into pools in the mortal realm and give whoever uses it a sort of false immortality, however over time those pools became corrupted and toxic causing madness, uncontrollable emotions, fits of paranoia and more. This cannot continue. I fear that unless something is done, those pits will spawn something that cannot be contained by that world's forces", announced the ghost known as Clockwork.
"So all I have to do is go there and close those pools. Sounds easy enough," Danny said.
"That's not all I would like for you to do. You, Little King, need a vacation; so how about taking Ms. McClain up on her offer and putting it to use while you are there? Who knows, you might find something special." Clockwork smirked at him and not the normal fun smirk but the 'I know something you don't and it's going to give me great amusement watching you flail trying to figure it out' one.
~FLASHBACK ENDS~
So taking Clockwork's advice he went to Ember and started learning about how to make music and write songs, which was a lot harder than he thought it would be. It was during this training that Danny learned something new about his ghost form.
Apparently, since becoming king, Danny could influence reality around himself and choose what affected him and what didn't. Ember was so mad finding out that, in theory, he could make special effects using his powers. So she drilled him on finding ways to use his core and other powers to make effects and alter how they look and feel.
This brought him to now, before leaving the ghost zone Clockwork locked Danny in his ghost form, and when he asked (read; demanded to know) the Time Ghost why he did that, Clockwork being his cryptic self, as per usual, refused to answer. Apparently, he had decided that helping Ember was in Danny's best interest; and any attempt to gain information on why was met with a smirk and him saying 'All is as it should be'.
A voice knocks him out of his thoughts. "Danny Phantom, the judges will see you now." A man ushered him into a room where he would either make it or fail horribly; the room where his future would be decided by how well he performed. The man hands him a bracelet at the threshold.
Danny takes a deep breath. Stepping into the room, he gazes at the three people who will be his judges. One male and Two females, the man introduces himself as Sean, and the two women as twins Mello and Dixie. Sean then explains the rules for this audition.
1) He can pick a song or sing one of his making
2) If he has powers, he's allowed to use them as long as no harm comes to him or the judges
3) He has to wear a bracelet that prevents emotion-based manipulation
4) Give it his best shot
5) They will choose the Theme
As he waits to hear what his theme will be, Danny slips on the bracelet. After speaking with each other for a few moments, Sean tells him his theme will be "Broken Love".
Taking that as his cue to begin, he settles on a fairly recent song he'd made, giving his phone to the guy from earlier. He directs him to the instrumental for it and, with a nod, signals the music to begin.
Dimming the lights, he let his core lightly mist around him.
"" Remember when love was all that mattered? I do
Remember how I used to make you laugh until it hurt
Now those memories felt like thorns on a bush
A rose I can no longer touch"
Slowly moving around, he lets shadowy images play around him; a boy and girl having fun and messing around
"You're just another scar placed on my heart
A sign that we are made to be apart
And even though you might not be the one
I'm gonna miss you daily
We fought so hard, we drag us down
And basically watch how we had drowned
And even though I know you're not the one
I'm gonna miss you daily"
Adjusting the images, he shows the boy alone with his head in his hands, and the girl walking away with another man, leaving him broken on the ground.
"You're just another scar placed on my heart
A sign that we are made to be apart
And even though you might not be the one
I'm gonna miss you daily
Broken, but I know I'll get over you
I'll try to focus on what's in front of me and not behind
What is life without the one you love the most
Who I am without you"
Next he showed the boy trying to get through life without the girl, falling and failing sometimes but never giving up. Hoping that everything will be alright. Brightening the room, he shows the boy now doing a lot better and no longer breaking down at anything that reminds him of the girl. Letting his voice gain an enchanting effect, the next part would have been instruments, but being what he is, he lets out an inhumanly high autotune-esque noise as he continues the song.
"You're just another scar placed on my heart
A sign that we are made to be apart
And even though you might not be the one
I'm gonna miss you daily
We fought so hard, we drag us down
And basically watch how we had drowned
And even though I know you're not the one
I'm gonna miss you daily
I'm gonna miss you
(You're just another)
(You're just another)
I'm gonna miss you daily
You're just another scar placed on my heart
A sign that we are made to be apart
And even though you might not be the one
I'm gonna miss you daily"
Ending on that note, he lets the lights come back and gets rid of the shadows and mist. Nervously looking at the judges, he fidgets while they mutter to each other and make gestures toward him every so often.
Hearing someone clear their voice Danny tunes back into reality, "We have come to a conclusion." Sean says.
"Danny Phantom..... Welcome to Central City's Red One Entertainment. This is your Starting Line."
Frozen in disbelief, Danny could only repeat the words "I did it, I actually did it" inside his mind. Looking up, he uttered into the universe, "I did it".
~GHOST ZONE~
Elsewhere in the Ghost Zone, Clockworks smiled. " All is as it should be, this is your Starting Line Danny, have fun."