Chapter 17: Tears of Ice
Disclaimer: I own nothing
"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."
John 15:13
Chapter 17: "Tears of Ice"
If I think about it…everything started on that one day. The final straw that broke the camel's back. The beginning of the end.
Part of me questions about whether or not I could have prevented it. If I managed to predict what would happen, maybe everything would have been different. Or maybe nothing would have changed at all. It's hard to tell, really.
But I am sure that it was that day was when it began. Everything changed in a single moment. So much evil and terribleness occurred because of what happened. But at the same time…it was the day that Danny made his choice. The day that the Fate Changer decided to fulfill his role.
I didn't realize it back then, though. I was too broken up myself. It was one of the worst things to ever happen to my family. Yet, at the same time, it made us all so much stronger.
Was that the purpose of it all? To make us stronger? To prepare us for what was ahead?
Because if it was…then it worked. We were ready after that day.
(Tuesday-May 4, 2010)
"Thank you for all your help, child. Your assistance was most helpful." Technus grimaced as he looked around the spare bedroom that he was in. "But I must ask…why are there so many people in this room?"
"We apologize, Nicolai, but we are all curious about what happened." Vlad noted from his place of leaning against the nearby wall.
"Yeah!" Dani agreed as she sat on the edge of Technus' bed. "We put a lot of time into fixing you."
"Don't be rude, Dani." Danny pulled up a chair and sat on it backwards. "I'm glad you're better, but we need to know what happened."
"And is there a reason for the snow cone and the fur ball are here?" Technus glanced at Klemper and Wulf.
"Hey! We helped move you. We have the right to here this too." Klemper frowned as Wulf nodded.
"And her?" Technus gestured toward Ember.
Everyone turned to the siren ghost at the back of the room. Danny shrugged. "We don't really know. She just showed up."
Ember grunted. "I was bored."
Technus sighed. "Fine, fine, what do you want me… Technus! Master of all technology! To tell you?"
"We figured out that they Guys in White captured you, but we have to know…what really happened?" Danny questioned.
"Well...I suppose it happened right after that fiasco with Nocturne. After he was capture and put in Walker's jail-"
"Eh, Technus…" Dani raised an eyebrow. "That like over two months ago…"
"Two months…" Technus muttered. "Makes sense, I suppose. I decided to put my plans for world domination on hold for a while after the Nocturne Crisis. I was stocking machinery in order to improve my chances when they burst in…those Dudes wearing Grey…"
"Guys in White…" Danny corrected.
"I wasn't prepared, so they captured me. They were smart, too. Kept me away from all technology. Nothing electrical was near me." Technus shivered. "It was torture."
"Was being away from tech that bad?" Klemper asked.
"No, not that…what they injected into me…" Technus looked ill. "I felt…terror, desperation, like the world was closing in around me. All the systems had crashed…another stone age…"
"You mere mumbling things about that…" Vlad sighed. "So what we thought was true. This seems to be the work of the Scarecrow. He's working for GiW…"
"The scarecrow…I remember that thing…the maggots and bugs that invested it…" Technus took a nearby bucket that they had placed there for emergencies and threw up into it.
Danny sighed. He would need to tell Batman. "This means you were probably in Gotham City, then…"
"Probably… I remember the air being more polluted than here…" Technus composed himself. "In retrospect…I suppose I was the lucky one. They had several other test subjects. All of them completely lost their minds. The Guys in White eradicated them."
Dani frowned. "So they passed on to the other side?"
"Not in a good way." Ember spoke up. "If a ghost dies and doesn't complete its purpose, it dissolves. Only leaves a messy puddle behind and even that fades quickly."
"Unlike Desiree…" Danny noted. "She fulfilled her purpose. From what I heard, that's different. Better. She willingly moved on with complete satisfaction. But ghosts like Vortex…they just cease to exist. There's a big difference."
"Vortex and the Desiree child are gone…" Technus placed a hand on his forehead. "Ah, I'm feeling old now. So much has happened…"
There was an awkward silence. Indeed, a lot had occurred in the last few months. Not to mention, that soon even more disasters would occur.
Feeling the bad atmosphere, Dani attempted to change the subject. "So…what's your obsession, Technus?"
"Danielle!" Vlad gave his adopted daughter a stern look. "It is rude to ask such personal questions."
"Ah!" Technus beamed at the chance to talk about himself. "So you want to hear about Technus, the master of all things technological! Excellent! It was a snowy morning…"
"Cut to the chase, Grandpa!" Emeber yelled. "We don't got all day!"
"Brat! Respect your elders!" Technus shouted. "Why in my day…"
"Um…Technus, your story?" Klemper tried to get everyone back on track.
"Fine, fine, short version it is…" Technus cleared his voice. "When I was alive, I was an aspiring inventor. I made fantastic machines, unfortunately, I let something get in the way…"
"Music?" Ember questioned.
"Snowcones?" Klemper asked.
"(Freedom?)" Wulf growled.
"Bark?" Cujo hopped up on the bed.
"Why, yes, Cujo, It was love." Technus patted the dog.
"You can understand dogs?!" Dani was shocked.
"Of course not! I just like messing with people, gahhahahahhahah-Ow!"
Vlad had sent a mild ecto-blast at Technus' head. "Continue, Nicolai."
"Yes, well, I fell in love with this beautiful woman. And she appeared to care for me, too. I was happy…" Technus frowned. "Until she stole the plans for my ultimate machine and ran off! I was devastated. Because of that, I lost my home, my pride, and the pathetic human emotions that drug me down. When I finally died, I vowed to gain the recognition I was supposed to get when I was alive as a master of technology."
Danny nodded that made sense. All of Technus' actions were caused by his previous life…that and Danny's dumb suggestions on how to take over the world. It was no excuse, though. Danny could better understand his enemy now, though.
Ring! Ring! Ring!
Danny pulled out his Tucker Phone. "There's a fire downtown…"
"Can't Miss Grey handle this?" Vlad suggested. "This meeting is important."
"My ice powers could be of some use in putting out the fire, though." Danny stood and began to exit the room. "Don't worry, I'll be back in ten minutes tops."
"Can I go?" Dani questioned.
"Yes, go on. It'll be faster that way." Vlad gestured to the door.
"Yes, go do your pathetic hero thing, youngsters!" Technus yelled. "I'll just be here telling stories to these children."
Everyone groaned. "Get back here soon!"
"I'm going ghost!"
The heat of the fire was intense. The entire building was glowing red and smoking. The firefighters were trying to use the hoses to put out the flames, but it was no use. The flames were too hot.
Luckily, they weren't too hot for Phantom and Spirit.
"Got another one!" Spirit fazed an older woman outside the building.
"Good!" Phantom looked over to the people they already rescued. "Anyone else in there?"
"S-some pets." A man coughed out.
"Got it." Phantom flew into the flames without an ounce a fear. Compared to Torch's flames, these were like candles.
Making three duplicates, Phantom quickly found a dog, some fish, and a hamster. The duplicates carried them out as Phantom continued to search.
"You good, spook?" Red Huntress questioned over the Fenton Phones.
"Yeah, how's it going outside?" Phantom questioned.
"Not good, the fire's spreading." Red Huntress noted.
Phantom felt the memories of his duplicates come back to him. The man had said there was no one else in the building. "I can handle it, but I need you to make everyone is a good distance away."
"Everyone's already clear."
"Here we go…" Blue light began to dance around Phantom. He quickly speed through the entire building. His cold energy managed to easily put out the flames. The fire was completely put out in minutes.
Exiting the building, Phantom examined his work. It wasn't perfect, but he managed to save at least half of the stuff in the building. Add that to no one really getting hut, and you get a really good day.
"Show off!" Spirit flew up to him. "I could have done that if I had ice powers!"
"I'm sure you could." Phantom smiled at his partner.
"Wooh! Go Phantom!"
"Saving the day again!"
"Spirit, you're amazing!"
"Red Huntress handled the fire so well!"
"Phantom!"
"Phantom!"
"Phantom!"
The crowd continued to cheer for the halfa and his friends. Phantom was a little surprised by their reaction. The cheers were something new…
Red Huntress flew up to them with a smirk. "Pretty different than a few months ago, huh?"
"Yeah, a complete 180." Phantom nodded numbly.
"Why do you get the most cheers?" Spirit whined.
"I did most of the work." Phantom teased his sister.
"What!?" Spirit went to punch Phantom, but Phantom merely held her back with one hand.
Phantom turned to Red Huntress. "Can you handle the rest, Red? We need to head back and deal with some family issues."
"Let go of me!" Spirit cried. "You're embarrassing me, fool!"
Red Huntress clearly wanted to ask about what the issues were but held her tongue. "Yeah, I'll make sure everything's safe."
"Good. Sorry about-"
Spirit didn't hear the rest. A clear thought popped into her head. It was a Premonition. '(Ecto bullet flies from the building on the left. It hits Danny cleanly in the head. Blood and brain matter fly everywhere…)'
"Duck!" Spirit pulled the arm holding her. Phantom was moved to the side just as the ecto bullet soared by him. The blast hit the scorched building behind them.
Boom! The sound spread.
The crowd screamed and began to scatter. Usually, the heroes would try to calm the crowd down, but they had more pressing matters with which to deal. They turned to the source of the shot.
"Thanks, Spirit, I owe you ten." Phantom prepared himself for a fight.
"Don't mention it…" Spirit tensed. Her premonition wasn't telling her anything about an incoming attack. While she didn't like to constantly rely on her new power, she wasn't sure when the next attack would come. So, she allowed her premonition to remain active and drain her energy.
"Who was that?" Red Huntress pointed her gun in the direction of the building.
"DANNY PHANTOM!" A man walked up to him while speaking into a bullhorn. Phantom didn't recognize him, but the halfa did recognize his attire. He was part of the Guys in White.
"…Yes?" Phantom questioned wearily. He was ready in case they attacked again.
The man approached them. He had a shaved head that showed his dark tan. He wore the same white suit as all Guys in white, but he had several badges and medals on his suit that spoke of his rank. Despite his greying mustache, this man didn't appear to be older. He looked more like a wall of moving muscles than a person. "By the authority given to me by the Anti-Ectoterroist Act and the UN, I am placing you and the little ghost girl under arrest. Come willingly and no one needs to get hurt."
"Funny…" Red Huntress glared. "It sure looked like someone was trying to kill Phantom. Does that not count as someone getting hurt?"
"This is none of your business, you armature ghost hunter." The man growled at Red Huntress. "I am on the side of justice here, not you."
"You said the Anti-Ectoterroist Act, right?" Phantom questioned. "I thought that wasn't even passed yet."
"It was passed not ten minutes ago." The man smirked. "And now we have every right to hunt you down and bring you into custody."
"You mean experiment on us like you did with Technus and those ghosts you killed!" Spirit shouted.
The man seemed fazed by that. "How did…"
"Look, Mr…" Phantom trailed off.
"Agent Z." The man grunted.
"Agent Z, I'm fine with going back to the Ghost Zone. In fact, Spirit and I will go there now. You will never hear from us again." Phantom tried to reason.
"No dice, you freak of nature." Agent Z pulled out a gun. "You're far too dangerous to even exist, let alone live free. No way could an entity that can jump from a scale 7 to a scale 9 ectoplasmic power could possibly be left to roam free."
"So…that's it, huh?" Phantom mention. "This won't end peacefully."
"No, it will either end in your capture…or death." Agent Z grinned.
"We'll see about that…" Spirit growled. "You and a sniper won't be enough to stop us…"
"That's why I brought a small army…" Swarms of Guys in White flooded onto the streets from the nearby houses and alleyways. A chopper flew appeared above the heroes. Hover scooters rocketed by the houses towards the halfa. Every single enemy was armed with some sort of ecto-weaponry.
"An ambush…" Red Huntress realized.
"You…" Phantom's eyes widened. "You started a fire just to lure us out. Why the hell would you do that?! Someone could have gotten hurt!"
"We had to act before you could realize that the act was passed. If we didn't do something immediately, you would have disappeared into the Ghost Zone." Agent Z pointed his gun at Phantom's head.
Phantom growled as he looked around. They were completely outnumbered. Escaping and turning back into a human would be difficult, but possible. With Red Huntress however…it would be impossible.
"Red…" Phantom addressed his fellow ghost hunter. "Now would be a good time to cut off our partnership…"
"And leave you to fight alone?" Red Huntress questioned. "Like hell."
"We can escape easier without you." Phantom whispered.
"Escaping won't work anyway." Agent Z noted. A green dome quickly appeared around the area. It seems that they came prepared. The Ghost Shield would make this fight even harder…
"Dammit…" Phantom cursed.
"Will you surrender?" Agent Z asked.
"Hell no…"
"Then…open fire!"
"No!" A figure lunged in between the heroes and the Guys in White. It was Paulina.
"I won't let you do this to them!" Paulina shouted. "He's my love!"
"Paulina!" Phantom yelled. "This is too dangerous for you!"
"It's even more dangerous for you!" Dash joined the cheerleader. "I'm with you, go Phantom!"
"Me too!"
"Yeah!"
"Save the heroes!"
Dozens of more of Casper High students stepped in between the heroes and the agents. They were all spread out and each blocked a different GIW agent.
"You stupid children!" Agent Z growled. "You think this is a game? Agent O, escort these children out of the area!"
"They're not the only ones!" A crowd of adult citizens of Amity Park all joined the students. Phantom realized that this was the same group that was cheering them earlier. They hadn't left. They merely distanced themselves from the gunshot. They…came back for him and his friends…
"We won't abandon the people who protected us all this time!" Someone from the crowd yelled.
"Fools!" Agent K exclaimed. "Do you realize that you could be arrested for this!?"
"Do you realize that you're violating people's rights!?" Spring Whitiker shouted through the crowed. She put the microphone right in front of Agent Z's face. "Phantom hadn't even had the chance to hear about the act being passed. How would he know that to stay away from Amity Park?"
"Ignorance of the law is no excuse!" Agent Z exclaimed. "Now everyone, get out of the area immediately!"
"But Phantom stated that he would willingly head back to the Ghost Zone. If I remember correctly, it was a specifically stated that a ghost would be issued a warning first." Spring got right up in Agent Z's face. "And what was this I heard about you starting a fire?"
"That's it!" Agent Z's veins bulged. "You're all under arrest for obstruction of justice!"
"What?!"
"Like hell!"
"That's so unfair!"
The Guys in White tried to arrest the people of Amity Park, but the people struggled back. None of them were willing to be arrested, but no one was going to abandoned Phantom and his friends. Eventually, a large mash pit began to form.
"Wait!" Phantom floated above everyone. Everyone turned to face him. The only thing could be heart was the sound of the helicopter high above them. "Don't hurt them! I'll let you take me in."
"No!" Paulina cried.
"You don't deserve this!" Dash exclaimed.
"Danny?" Spirit looked at her brother. She understood. She didn't want others to get hurt either…
"It's fine. I have friends that will make sure…"
Boom!
No one was sure who fired the weapon. No one knew who would be stupid enough to shoot at a man that was willingly turning himself into the authority. No one knew why this happened.
All they knew was that Phantom exclaimed in pain as the ecto-bullet pierced his shoulder. All they knew was that Phantom was in pain as he fell to the ground. All they knew was that the Guys in White shot their hero.
In that instant, the entire city went into a rage. Everyone was filled with fear and anger. Someone decided to take that anger out on the GIW and threw a punch. Another person thought that would be a good idea. Then, another person tried it. Eventually, the entire city was attacking the GIW.
Thus began the Riot of Amity Park.
Spirit rocketed toward her brother. She ignored raging people all around her. Danny was more important right now. "Phantom!"
The halfa girl wasn't able to catch Phantom, so she leaned over him and checked him over. His shoulder was bleeding badly, but it was already healing. He was hurt but would live.
"Crap that hurt." Phantom groaned as he sat up. Clutching his shoulder, the halfa looked around. "Oh man…they're out of control…"
Red Huntress approached the two. "We need to stop this."
"Yeah." Phantom looked at his shoulder. The shot really got in deep. He wouldn't be able to move that arm for a while. "I won't be able to fight well for a while…"
The chopper above them began to circle around. The Guys in White on the hover scooters began to approach the mosh pit. Plus, there was still that sniper from before…
"Okay," Phantom stood with the help of Spirit and Red Huntress. "Spirit, I need you to take care of that helicopter. You handled one before, right?"
"Yep!" Spirit had to grin at that memory.
"Okay…don't crash it, just land it on the roof."
"Kill joy."
"Red, I'll need you to take out the guys on the hover scooters. Try to ground them." Phantom instructed. "And both of you should look out for that sniper…"
"What about you?" Red Huntress questioned.
"I can't fight right now, so I'll try to calm down the crowd." Phantom explained. "I hope I can calm things down until help arrives. That Spring lady was broadcasting. Hopefully Vlad was watching."
"Got it!" With that, the two heroines were off.
Phantom turned to the rioting crowd. "Hey!"
No one listened to him.
"Stop this, now!" Phantom tried to float close to the crown. He was rather shaky. "This won't end well!"
Once again, there was no reaction.
"Damn it! I'm trying to-Ahg!" Phantom pulled back away from the crowd. There was nothing touching him. He was being pulled in like…oh, crap!
Phantom quickly turned back into a human. Luckily, his disguise belt hid his human form. The force pulling him instantly stopped, and halfa crumbled onto the ground.
Turning around, Danny quickly changed back into his ghost form. He needed to be in ghost form to use his regeneration to its fullest extent, and trying to fight as a human right now would be suicide. When he turned, Phantom expected to see a Guy in White, but what he saw surprised him.
It was an android that stood over seven feet tall. Its head was smooth and round. It had no nose, mouth or ears, but it had glowing red eyes. The body of the android was modeled to look like a white suit, but Phantom could see that it had various joints and compartments on it. The body that wasn't decorated by the white suit design was a dark green. In fact, the metal almost looked like ectoranium.
What really caught Phantom's attention was the single word written across the front of the machine…It couldn't be…
The android had its right arm extended. A cylinder that was extended from the palm of the android quickly retreated back into the palm. Then the android lowered its arm. It seemed to be processing something.
"They were connected." Phantom realized. "They always were. That's why the Guys in White stopped hounding me. They all got what they wanted. The ultimate anti-ghost weapon…"
"Tactic failed. New strategy required." The machine announced.
In an instant, the android was rushing towards Phantom. Its speed was incredible. A mere second later, Phantom was in a fight for his life.
Despite this, Phantom could only see one thing about the android. The words on the front of the front of the machine…
The Necromancer.
Spirit landed the helicopter on a nearby roof. In actuality, landing that was rather easy compared to flying the Specter Speeder. The halfa girl wished that she could have gotten the helicopter farther away, but the Ghost Shield prevented that.
After making sure that the pilot and passengers from the helicopter were unconscious, Spirit went to make sure that the sniper was gone. There was no one on the roofs, so the sniper must have left the high ground to assist his friends.
Spirit noted that Valerie had already knocked down the Guys in White on the hover scooters. With that out of the way, she could join the fray and knock some heads…Ugh, she meant calmly talk everyone down. Yep, that's exactly what she meant…
"Wait…" Spirit looked around. She saw Red Huntress down there, but where was…
Boom! Rumble!
Spirit turned to the end of the street. The explosion happened at the edge of the Ghost Shield. Wait? The Ghost Shield was falling? Is that where Danny was? Did he want to turn off the Ghost Shield?
Boom! Rumble!
…Well, if so, he was going overboard, and that was her job!
Spirit flew to where the explosion. She wanted to stop the riot, but she would need Phantom's help. Together with Red Huntress, they might be able to stop the madness.
When Spirit arrived at the area where Phantom was, she was surprised. A robot that obviously belonged to the Guys in White was fighting Phantom. Well, fighting was a relative term. Phantom seemed to be struggling to keep up.
The robot punched Phantom in the face and knocked him into a nearby car. Missiles appeared out of the robot's shoulders and shot at Phantom. The halfa managed to move out of the way to avoid the damage, but the explosion knocked him forward.
Phantom used this extra moment, though. He rolled forward and quickly formed an ice broad sword. The halfa then lunged toward the robot and swung the ice sword.
Green blades sprung from the robot's wrists. It used the blade on his left wrist to block the ice sword. The robot then tried to use his other blade to cut Phantom. Luckily, Phantom lunged backwards to avoid the blade.
Spirit decided to use this opportunity to attack the robot. She flew towards the back of the robot and decided to do a sneak attack. The female halfa covered her foot in ectoplasm and kicked at the robot.
"Spirit, no!" Phantom tried to warn his sister.
Spirit's kick made contact. "AHHHH!" She screamed in pain as electricity surged through her body.
('Robot swings its arm. Blade cuts throat. Blood pores out…') Spirit's Premonition warned her of the robot's intention, so she lunged back in order to avoid the terrible attack. The blade missed her by a hair.
"The Necromancer's made of ectoranium!" Phantom shouted. "Touching him will only hurt you!"
"Then how do we fight him?!" Spirit circled around and flew next to her brother.
"No physical contact." Phantom instructed. "You fight from a distance and I'll use my sword to cut him up."
"Okay…" Spirit nodded.
"Recognized. Spirit." The Necromancer processed this new information. "Ectoplasmic power: 5. Threat level: Average."
"Average?!" Spirit was outraged. "I'll show you average, you piece of garbage!"
"Don't lose focus." Phantom instructed. "This thing is dangerous. It had a Ghost Shield built into it, but I managed to make it turn the shield off. We need to hold it off until help arrives. Where's R.H. anyway?"
"Trying to control the crowd. She saw me go and probably thought we could handle this." Spirit explained.
"Right." Phantom rubbed his shoulder. He managed to heal him arm mostly, but it still hurt a lot. Just holding the sword was a pain. Swinging it? That hurt like hell.
"Recommended tactic: Wide spread attack." The Necromancer analyzed. Its armor shifted. Various guns and weapons appeared.
"Oh, crap…" Phantom noted.
The fight was not going well. The Necromancer was made to fight against ghosts, so none of their normal attack worked. Spirit managed to dodge all the attacks, and Phantom's ice powers were giving him an edge, but things were not looking well.
"New tactic: close range elimination." The Necromancer announced. Once again, the blades came out of the weapon's wrists. In addition, blades came out of the weapon's knees.
"Danny! Fly up!" Spirit yelled.
Phantom followed his sister's instructions and flew up into the sky. He rose just in time to avoid being sliced up. Luckily, the Necromancer could not fly.
"Agh!" Phantom felt a blade cut his side as the Necromancer launched itself into the air. It may not be able to fly, but it could jump to unbelievable heights.
Before the Necromancer could continue, however, it was blasted down by a ball of snow energy. Phantom felt a wave of relief hit him. Help had arrived.
"Sorry I'm late, Danny." Klemper noted.
"It's fine…" Phantom sighed. He focused on healing his wounds. Right now was not the time to be hurt.
"Is there a reason there are riots all over town?" Klemper questioned.
"It's spread that far?" Phantom questioned.
"Yeah, the others are out calming things down. I even convinced Ember to help." Klemper noted.
"How did you do that?" Phantom questioned.
"Bribes." Klemper explained.
"Ah?" Phantom would have explained more on his question, but the Necromancer took action.
The Necromancer lunged at the two. The blades on its wrists were ready to cut at the two. Both ghost lunged in different directions in order to avoid being cut. Because it viewed Phantom as the bigger threat, however, it continued to follow after the halfa.
Phantom continued to retreat as the Necromancer jumped after him. It was a difficult task to keep moving considering the cut at his side. He wouldn't bleed out, but like the wound on his shoulder, it still hurt significantly. If he tried to attack, he might flinch and end up dead.
Seeing her brother's distress, Spirit sent several blasts of ectoplasm at the machine. Each made contact, but did almost no damage at all. Her attacks weren't strong enough to pierce its ectoranium armor. The female halfa didn't let up, though. She continued to try and strike the machine down.
Klemper wasn't idle either. He followed up behind the machine and the halfa. He tried to use his ice to freeze the Necromancer's joints. This slowed the machine down a little, but the Necromancer continued its chase after Phantom.
Luckily, Klemper's and Spirit's assistance provided an opening for Phantom. He quickly kicked the machine in its head. The blow did manage to send the Necromancer in the air away from him, but felt his foot go numb from the physical contact with the ectoranium.
"Dammit…" Phantom groaned in pain as he landed on the ground. He was covered in small cuts. Nothing was lethal, but he could feel his skin cry out in pain as if it was on fire. The wounds were quickly healed, but Phantom was running out of energy already. His regeneration power was one of his most draining powers, right behind the Ghostly Wail.
"You okay, Phantom?" Klemper helped his friend stay on his feet.
"I'll live." Phantom grunted out. "But we should retreat. We know nothing about this weapon besides that its purpose is to eradicate ghosts."
"Good idea," Klemper noted. "Spirit, retreat!"
Spirit frowned at that. She didn't want to leave the fight, but things were not looking well. Phantom was wearing down, and none of her attacks had any effect…she knew she needed to work on her raw power! Ugh…fine then…"Okay! Meet you at home!"
"I can fly." Phantom got out of Klemper's grip. "Let's go. We have to leave before it puts up a Ghost Shield."
The ghost's all tried to fly off. Spirit went in one direction, and Phantom and Klemper went in another. The Necromancer would probably give chase, but they would be able to run and hide long enough to either lose it or for help to arrive.
"Ahhhh!" Phantom felt several ecto-bullets and ecto-blasts hit his back and wounded side. He instantly fell to the ground in pain.
Hitting the ground, Phantom realized that Klemper was hit as well. He was lying about ten meters away from him. The ice ghost looked somewhat hurt, but not as nearly as bad as Phantom was injured.
Looking around, Phantom realized what happened. Some of the Guys in White had returned. Each one had a smoking gun pointed in their direction. That means that Phantom's comrades broke up the riot or the GIW…dealt with the people. Phantom wasn't sure which was true, because more GIW seemed to be approaching the area. They all looked ready to shoot Phantom…
"No!"
"Stop it!
"Bark!"
Cries rang out as Phantom's comrades stopped the approaching GIW. Wulf and Cujo had jumped the group that had shot at Phantom and Klemper earlier. Ember and Red Huntress worked to stop the approaching group.
Relief hit Phantom. His friends were here. He was scared for a moment. He thought that it was over…
Something caught Phantom's eyes. Something was running at him rapidly. The Necromancer had returned.
Phantom tried to move, but he couldn't get himself to fly. He was too weak from his regeneration, so Phantom tried to push himself out of the way, but his right foot was still numb from kicking the Necromancer's head as hard as he did. His friends couldn't help either, they were struggling to get out of their current fights. Maybe he could-
It was too late. The Necromancer was merely yards away from him. Its blades were ready to strike.
In the next moment, the road was splattered in green blood.
"Spirit!" Plasmius grabbed a GIW and knocked him out with a simple punch before the agent could shoot at his daughter. "Be more careful! These morons are everywhere"
"Sorry!" Spirit flew up to her father. "But Danny said to retreat and meet back at home."
"Good, strategy." Plasmius nonchalantly sent a wave of ectoplasm act three GIW agents. "But it might not be effective. Swarms of GIW were heading to your previous location."
"Oh, no!" Spirit scowled as she split kicked two GIW and sent them rolling. "Danny and Klemper might be getting all the action!"
"No they won't!" Plasmius dodged a couple of ecto-bullets and sent an exploding ball of energy at his attackers. "Daniel's friends went to help them. I came to make sure you're safe."
"Are the people okay? The riot looked bad." Spirit noted as tilted her head to avoid being shot.
"We stopped part of it by taking the civilians to somewhere safe, but the GIW that were freed because of it headed to your location." Plasmius knocked another GIW out by head-butting him. "We had to leave the rest behind to come save you!"
Spirit frowned at that. "Okay, but-" ('Necromancer lunges at downed body. Blade makes contact. Blood flies everywhere.')
The Premonition hit her like a ton of bricks. The Necromancer's intent was to kill someone, yet…it wasn't anywhere near her. It was weird enough that she could sense the intent of a machine, but add in the fact that it was probably still down the street with Danny…
…down the street with Danny…
"NO!" Spirit flew back towards her brother at her highest speeds. She ignored her father's shouting at her. There was not time. She had to save Danny!
As Spirit approached where she last saw Danny, she tried to figure out what to do. She couldn't hurt the Necromancer as she was, but she had to do something.
Luckily, she hadn't moved too far from Phantom and Klemper, so she quickly caught sight of them. She ignored her friends fighting the GIW and instead focused on Phantom. He seemed to be injured very badly. The halfa looked like he couldn't even move, which was a bad thing considering that the Necromancer was heading right to him.
Despite the fact that Spirit was flying towards Danny as fast as she possibly could, Spirit knew that she wouldn't make it in time. She wasn't nearly fast enough to cover that much ground in such a short amount of time. As she flew toward the doomed halfa, all she could do was watch. None of her distant attacks would even faze the Necromancer.
That didn't stop her from trying though.
"Stop it!" Spirit cried as she saw the machine lunge at her brother. The Necromancer didn't stop though. It thrust both its blades at Phantom.
Spirit froze as she saw the green ectoplasmic blood splatter. It wasn't Danny's blood, however. No someone had protected Phantom as a human shield…
It couldn't be…Spirit felt tears run down her face.
It was Klemper.
Phantom felt numb as he saw the duel blades stick out of his friend's back. During the Necromancer's charge, Phantom didn't even notice as Klemper got to his feet. Phantom didn't recognize that Klemper was coming to his aid. In fact, he could barely register what was happening right in front of his eyes.
"No…" Phantom mumbled weakly…
"NOOOOO!" Phantom heard Spirit yell, but Phantom couldn't focus on that. He didn't care that his friends had managed to abandon their fights in order to charge at the Necromancer. The halfa didn't even flinch as the others managed to peal the Necromancer away from Klemper.
Phantom did notice however that Klemper was now falling backwards because he wasn't being held up anymore.
Catching the ice ghost and gently lowering him to the ground, Phantom asked. "Why? That was meant for me? You…didn't have to…"
"I couldn't let you die…" Klemper's voice came out as a mere whisper.
"Yes, you could have!" Phantom felt tears fall down his face. "I don't want anyone to die because of me!"
"It's because of you that I ever felt like I was alive in the first place…" Kelmper gasped out green blood. "You gave me my obsession…"
"What?" Phantom mumbled.
"All I ever wanted was one friend…." Klemper noted. "It was because of you that I got it…"
"Klemper, I…" Phantom couldn't come up with any words to make this any better.
"And what did I get? I didn't get friends…I got a family…" Klemper smiled as tears of joy flowed from his eyes.
Phantom merely sobbed.
"A crazy, dysfunctional family that goes out and fights for what they think is right…the best family…" Klemper laughed weakly.
Despite the situation, Phantom had to marvel the change in Klemper that he had never noticed before. Gone was the hideous face, terrible hunch, and whinny voice. All Phantom could see now was Klemper's normal face, straight back, and deep voice. How had he never noticed before…
"So much has changed…" Phantom whispered. "I liked it the way it was yesterday…Why can't we go back to then…"
"It doesn't work that way…" Klemper noted. "What has happened can't be undone…I'm sorry... I've been trying to hold it back for a little bit longer…to be with my family as long as possible."
"What are you talking about?" Phantom could barely see through the hot tears staining his face.
A single ball of light floated off of Klemper. It was then followed by two more. Then, there were dozens of balls of light floating off of Klemper. It couldn't be…
"My purpose…my obsession has been fulfilled for months now…" Klemper explained with a smile. "I couldn't let myself leave you guys alone. You all needed me."
"We still do…" Phantom sobbed softly. "We need your help. I need your help. Don't leave. Be my friend…be my family just a little longer."
"I'm sorry, Danny." Klemper's form was quickly fading. "Maybe if this hadn't happened, but now I have to go home…I'll tell Desiree you said hi."
"No…" Phantom trembled.
"Goodbye, Danny." Klember gave one last smile. "Thank you for being my friend…"
"Not a friend…a brother…" Phantom cried.
"I'm…so…glad…" With that, Klemper's form finally faded.
Phantom continued to kneel down of the ground. He looked at the spot where Klemper had just been. Phantom felt cold…so cold…not like the usual cold either. This…hurt. It was a familiar pain. It was the pain of loss…
"AHHH!" Phantom shouted in despair. It wasn't fair! Why did someone else die because of him!?
The cold slowly overtook Phantom. His skin stung like it was dipped in ice water. His bones felt frozen. The tears on his face froze, leaving ice streaks on his face.
Blue light began to dance around Phantom. It covered him in a cloak of despair. Phantom clenched his teeth in terrible pain. Cold! Cold! Is was so cold! Make it stop!
"AHHHHHHH!" Phantom was lost in the chill of despair. He could see nothing but the terrible blue light of Klemper's death.
(Play: Bodies by Drowning Pool)
Spirit was in a rage. Her Premonition was screaming at her, but the female halfa didn't listen. She didn't care if she got hurt. All she wanted to do was destroy the Necromancer.
"Raw!" Tears ran down Spirit's face. She couldn't thing right now. If she did think, she might have a mental collapse.
None of Spirit's attacks had any effect on the Necromancer. Each ecto-blast merely bounced off the machine. Unfortunaelty, Spirit didn't have that much help. Wulf, Cujo, and Red Huntress all got preoccupied trying to hold back the GIW. So the only ally she had right now was…Ember.
"Crumble!" Ember sent a sound blast at the Necromancer. This seemed a little more effective than the regular blasts, but there was still very little effect. "Hold on, girl! I'm all for acting without thinking, but this thing is too dangerous to keep…"
"Ah!" Spirit once again lunged at the Necromancer.
"New tactic: Midrange attacks." The blades retreaded. In their places were round panels that spread across the Necromancer's joints. Each panel flowed green with energy.
Spirit was forced to dodge to the left as the Necromancer shot a blast of ectoplasm at her. Unfortuantely, it didn't stop. The Necromancer sent serveral smaller faster blasts at the halfa. Spirit cried out in pain as they made contact and blew up against her skin.
Suddenly the blasts stop as Spirit heard the sound of a guitar being strummed. Ember was right next to spirit was using her powers to shield them.
The Necromancer kept attacking, however. It sent more powerful blasts at the ghost. The shield held strong for a while, but was beginning to crack.
Ember grunted as she continued to play her guitar. "I can't hold the shield much longer."
"Good!" Spirit growled through her tears. "I'll tear it apart!"
"You're hurt enough as it is!" Ember looked at Spirit's cuts and bruises. "Danny will die if you get hurt too."
"Shut up, I-"
"AHHHHHHH!" Spirit and Ember heard a terrible yell. The air suddenly became incredibly cold. Frost formed on the ground all around them. Everyone felt an incredible Haunting Aura spread across the area.
At that moment everyone stopped what they were doing. They all looked at the looked in fear at the source of the freezing temperature and rage filled Haunting Aura.
Phantom stood there. Blue energy danced around him angrily. Ice formed on his body. The ice on his arms shaped into long sharp claws, while the ice on his leg formed into braces that connected Phantom's feet to the ground. Icicles hung from the halfa's hair.
Frost and ice slowly formed over the halfa's wounds. The ice didn't heal the wounds, however. It would merely dull the pain and keep them from becoming worse.
What really shook Spirit up was Phantom's face. The halfa's lips were twisted into a gruesome snarl. He held the look of pure hatred on his face. His eyes…were pure blue. There were no pupils. His entire eyes were glowing blue balls of hate.
"RAWWWW!" Phantom roared as he flung his giant claws into the air.
The response was immediate. Every GIW turned their weapons towards Phantom and sent a barrage of ecto-blasts to strike the halfa down. None of the blasts even made contact, though. The blue light surrounding the halfa froze the ecto-blasts and then shattered the chunks of ectoplasm.
"What?" Ember mumbled in shock. "Danny's ice powers aren't that strong…"
"GRRR!" Phantom snarled at the GIW. A massive snowball formed above Phantom. With a fling of his wrist, the snowball was sent flying towards the group of GIW. Wulf, Cujo, and Red Huntress barely managed to fly out of the way, but the GIW were not so lucky. The Haunting Aura had them frozen in place. They were completely covered in a blanket of snow in an instant.
"What are you doing!?" Red Huntress shouted weakly through the Haunting Aura. "You could have hit us!"
"RAW!" Phantom completely ignored the ghost hunter and turned towards the Necromancer.
"Scanning…Danger, ectoplasm level at dangerous levels. Exceeds level 10. Recommended tactic: Complete annihilation. Activating reserve power." The Necromancer began to change. This time, however, he had all the weapons he had used before. The close range, mid-range, and far range weapons were ready to go. Spirit realized that using all these weapons at once would require an absurd amount of energy.
The Necromancer sent several rockets at the halfa. Each one soared at Phantom with dizzying speeds. In response, Phantom swiped his ice flaws up and struck the missiles. The following explosion destroyed the claws, but Phantom quickly reformed them with ease.
The ice bracing Phantom's legs to the ground shattered as Phantom stepped forward. As soon as Phantom's feet landed on the ground, they froze to the ground again. The cycle continued as Phantom continued to approach the Necromancer. Spirit wondered what would happen if the braces weren't there. From the wounds on his right leg, she assumed that her brother would collapse.
"Move!" Ember grabbed Spirit and dragged the halfa away. The siren ghost wasn't looking too well. In fact, everyone was looking pretty bad. The Haunting Aura was suffocating and made movement slow and difficult.
"Uhg…" Spirit grunted as she rolled on the ground.
Ember struggled to get up. "Keep moving. We need to get out of the way."
As the two ghosts moved, the Necromancer charged at Phantom. It sent several rockets and ecto-blasts, but each one was swatted away. The Necromancer closed in on Phantom. It's armor became covered in ice and frost.
The Necromancer moved to stab Phantom, but once again, Phantom used his claws to block. With their arms preoccupied, the Necromancer brought its knee up to use the blade attached to stab at Phantom's midsection.
Phantom didn't dodge. A thick layer of ice formed where the Necromancer was stabbing at. The blade sunk deeply into the ice and barely nicked the halfa's skin.
The Necromancer was far from down, though. Its eyes began to glow intensely. Ectoplasmic energy poured out of its eyes and hit Phantom in the face. Despite the new burns and injuries, Phantom didn't flinch. The halfa's claws began to shake as the blades began to break under the pressure.
To everyone's schock, Phantom managed to shatter the ectoranium blades. In the procees, Phantom's claws were destroyed, but Phantom didn't seem to care. He then brought his hands to the blades on the Necromancer's knees and grabbed them.
Those blades shattered also. Then, in a blast of blue light, the Necromancer was sent flying down the street. The ball of blue energy that was pushing the machine left a trail of ice behind in its wake.
"Spirit!" Plasmius flew towards the halfa. He didn't seem affected by the Haunting Aura at all. "What happened?!"
"Klemper…" Spirit felt tears fall down her face. "He's… gone…"
"No…" Plasmius turned to look at his apprentice.
"AHHHHH!" Phantom screamed. His hands were badly cut and bleeding. Luckily, the ice reformed into claws and closed the wounds.
"This power…" Plasmius glared. Three of his duplicates had dragged Red Huntress, Wulf, and Cujo behind him, so he could shield them from the Haunting Aura. "I can fell Klemper's power. As he…passed…he must have left his the rest of his power to Daniel. That's why he became so powerful so quickly."
"Like with Vortex?" Red Huntress questioned. "But Danny never acted like this…"
"The pain of the loss and the overwhelming power has caused a mental collapse. He's fighting like a wild animal." Plasmius frowned. "No control, and without control, the foreign power will continually wear down his body."
"He looks fine, though." Ember noted.
"He may look fine, but the cold is tearing his body apart." Plasmius noted. "I need to stop him…"
"No! He needs to kill the Necromancer first!" Spirit shouted.
"Danielle, I can't-"
Boom!
Something blew up against Phantom. The Necromancer was using most of its rockets and missiles to try and kill Phantom from a distance, but Phantom formed a large wall of ice to block to block them. Most of the missiles hit the shield, but others moved around the shield and hit Phantom's exposed body. Luckily, the blue light surrounding Phantom managed to block most of the force.
"RAW!" Phantom screamed. He flung his left hand arm towards the Necromancer. The ice claw was sent flying towards the Necromancer. The machine dodged the ice claw and began to run towards the halfa again. It didn't even notice as the claw obliterated the spot where it just stood.
The Necromancer gather ectoplasm to its palm in order to blast the halfa. It closed in and prepared to attack. The machine didn't even get close, though.
"RAW!" Phantom roared as he slashed the right ice claw at the Necromancer. The sharp claws made contact. Deep slash marks ran across the Necromancer's body. If it were made of anything other than ectoranium, then the ectoplasmic ice attack would have cut the machine into five pieces.
The Necromancer shook and rattled at the damage. Several of its key parts were either destroyed or damaged. It couldn't move properly, and Phantom took advantage of the situation.
Phantom stabbed his claws forward and impaled the Necromancer. With a flick of the wrist, Phantom flung the machine to the ground. The Necromancer quickly turned off because of the internal damage. This was not enough for the halfa, however.
Phantom stood over the machine. He repeatedly stabbed the machine. The halfa was relentless in his rage filled attack. Soon, the Necromancer was more holes than machine.
"Danny?" Red Huntress stared in shock as the halfa destroyed the machine.
"Daniel!" Plasmius stormed up to his ward and left the others unshielded from the Haunting Aura. "That's enough."
Phantom ignored him.
"I said that's enough! You'll kill yourself if you continue!" Plasmius reach out to Phantom.
Phantom responded by batting the older halfa away like a fly.
"Plasmius!" Ember cried as Plasmius flew into the side of the building.
"(Friend, stop!)" Wulf growled out.
"ROAR!" Phantom took hold of the Nectromancer's head. Electricity ran through Phantom as he came in direct contact with the ectoranium. Phantom ignored the searing pain in his hands and began to crush the Necromancer's head.
It exploded in a burst of blue light.
"AHHHH!" Phantom screamed in agony. His eyes glazed over as the tears in his eyes froze before they could fall.
"Danny…" Red Huntress began to cry as well. "Klemper…"
The rest of the ghosts mourned as well. They had lost a friend today, and none of them could fault Danny in destroying the machine that killed him.
"Surround him!"
"Don't get too close!"
"I feel so heavy, though!"
"It's the Haunting Aura, just shake it off!"
It seemed that the GIW had managed to escape the snow and were circling the halfa. Each one had a weapon ready. Phantom ignored them however, and continued to flare around and yell.
"Don't shoot at him!" Plasmius yelled as he pulled himself out of the building.
He was too late, though.
The GIW opened fire at the halfa. The result was no different from before, however. The blasts froze and shattered before they could get close. Each ecto-bullet lacked the power necessary to hurt the halfa in his current state.
What the GIW did manage, however, was to get Phantom's attention. Looking around, Phantom realized that he had new targets to take his anger out on. "AHHH!"
Blue light spread across the ground around the GIW. Large chucks of ice sprang up from the ground. Every GIW was sent sprawling. They were all on the ground broken and hurt.
Phantom then walked over to the closest GIW. He raised his arm and was ready to strike.
He felt Plasmius grab his raised arm. "Enough."
Phantom struggled to stab the GIW.
"I said enough!" Plasmius ignored the pain as ice covered his skin.
Phantom didn't listen.
"This isn't you!" Plasmius shouted.
Phantom's claws slowly began to extend. They drew closer to the man on the ground. "RAW!"
"Sniff…sob…sniff…"
Phantom froze. What…what was that noise?
"Ahhh…sniff…sob."
Someone was crying. It sounded so familiar.
"…Klemper…" Spirit's voice cracked as she sobbed over her lost friend.
Phantom stood up straight and turn. As he did so, Plasmius let go of his ward. The older halfa turned to see what made Phantom stop. He was surprised by what he saw.
Spirit had moved to where Klemper had…passed. She was quietly sobbing over the last spot Klemper was. Despite this, her eyes were glued on Phantom. She showed no judgment on what was happening. She was waiting to see what he would do.
She was watching…
The coldness vanished in an instant. The ice on Phantom shattered. His eyes turned back to their normal green as he pupils reformed. Klemper's borrowed power was gone.
Phantom instantly crumbled into a heap. Luckily, Plasmius was there to catch the halfa. "I'm sorry, Daniel."
"…Take me to her…" Phantom mumbled.
Without out a word, Plasmius complied with Phantom's wishes. When they arrived at Spirit's location, Plasmius gently placed Phantom on the ground. He then took a step back and bowed his head in mourning of a good friend to his daughter and apprentice.
"Dani…" Phantom cried. "I'm so sorry."
"I…he…they…" Spirit broke down as she hugged her brother tightly. "I don't want him to be gone!"
"Me neither…" Phantom said in between sobs. "…me neither…"
The two adopted siblings held each other and sobbed. That was all they could do.
"I have finished, child." Technus spoke to Danny as the halfa was packing.
"Thank you Technus." Danny looked across the lab. After they managed to get home, Danny immediately dragged Technus to the lab. He claimed that he needed the tech ghost to repay his debt.
Perhaps he should be more focused on his own injuries, but Danny was too mad to care. He merely bandaged his wounds, took some pain killers, and got to work. If he were too look in a mirror, Danny would realize that he looked terrible. His entire body was covered in wounds. He could barely stand, and his entire body trembled in pain. Despite this, he kept working.
"I can see why you were having trouble with the final calibrations." Technus noted. "It might have been difficult if not for my incredible abilities with technology. But it is done. I must say, though. This was the easiest debt that I have ever had to repay. Was it wise to cash in a favor on such a small thing?"
"This thing will make all the difference." Danny looked over at the black cylinder. "Without it my plan will fail."
"Then perhaps you were wise to make sure it works perfectly." Technus noted. "We won't know until the end, eh youngster?"
"I suppose not…" Danny mumbled.
"I shall return to my room, then." As Technus was leaving, he stopped for a moment. "I may be a critic of emotion, but if it helps…I am sorry child."
"I wish it did." Danny almost growled out.
"I didn't think it would." Technus noted as he left. "It was worth a shot, though, I suppose…"
Now that he was left alone, Danny went back to packing. On the table in front of him were a few specialized weapons for the trip. There was also some emergency rations. But the most unusual thing was that Danny had took all of the ghost artifacts from the vault.
"Daniel…" Vlad came out of the elevator. "Danielle has finally fallen asleep."
Danny grunted.
"It might have helped…calm her…if you stayed with her." Vlad noted sadly.
Danny was silent.
"…Do you even care that your sister cried herself to sleep?"
Danny froze. "Do I care? You're asking if I care…"
Danny turned to face his mentor, and Vlad was shocked. Danny's face was one of untold rage. Vlad hadn't seen that face since the Nocturne Crisis.
"Of course I care!" Danny shouted. "But how the hell am I supposed to face her right now?! I'm a damn wreck, and you can be sure that I can't control my temper! I'll make things worse before I make them better!"
"Daniel…" Vlad mumbled.
"It was my fault." Danny admitted. "I had to keep being the damn hero. If I just stopped, then Klemper never would have even been in that situation."
"The world is full of what ifs, Daniel." Vlad noted. "Speculating won't change what happened."
"Yeah…nothing will change it, but I can prevent it from every happening again." Danny growled as he turned to his packing.
"What are you doing?" Vlad asked suspiciously.
"Packing for a trip. I'll be back in a week at least." Danny's answer came out more angrily than he wanted.
"You're leaving at a time like this?" Vlad stormed up to Danny's work space.
"Yep."
"Are you crazy?! I know that you're hurting right now, but leaving is not an option!" Vlad glared. "After what the GIW just did, there is going to be chaos in the Ghost Zone. War will be demanded, and you promised Vision that-"
"So this is about your new girlfriend?" Danny snarled. "Is she suddenly more important than me and Dani?!"
"No!" Vlad grabbed Danny by his shoulders. "But I don't think you really understand what all this means."
"I know exactly what will happen, Vlad." Danny slapped the man's hands away. "The ghosts will rally behind Vision. The ghosts will attack first. People will get hurt and die, and I won't let that happen!
"Today…today is just an example. The entire city had my back, and they paid for it. Some arrested, some being held in their homes, some in the hospital…and one of my closest friends died." Tears once again sprung from Danny's eyes. "I won't let anyone else I care about get caught up in all this because of me."
"This isn't your fault, Daniel." Vlad tried to comfort his ward.
"Yes it is, Vlad! Don't lie to me!" Danny shouted. "All of my choices have merely pushed this conflict further! The Nasty Burger Incident, the Nocturne Crisis, my kidnapping, the Council of the Elite, the Vortex Storm Watch, and even the Riot of Amity Part as everyone seems to be calling it…it's all influenced this in some way. Both sides of myself have been the fuel to this fire."
"It was inevitable." Vlad countered. "Without you, things would have been far worse. You aren't the fuel, you're the man trying to put the fire out."
"Yet they only get worse…" Danny mumbled. "I need to stop this. I need to keep this city and my family safe…"
"…What will you do?" Vlad questioned. He saw that he wouldn't be able to stop Danny from going.
"I need to stall for time at the very least." Danny pulled out his Tucker Phone and showed Vlad the pictures on it. "Remember, I have allies that are high up. Batman will work to repeal the Anit-Ectoterrorist Act. Superman likes both sides of me and will most likely get the people on my side. Not to mention that Wonder Woman is in the U.N. as the representative for the Amazons. She likes Dani and will fight to keep her safe.
"Not to mention all the other allies I have in the Justice League. They can handle the human world, all I need to do is stall the Ghost Zone. If I can prove that the humans won't or can't attack the Ghost Zone, then everyone will stay calm for now. Torch, Scribe, Frostbite, and Pandora already stated that they don't want war, and Vision would only attack if necessary. If it's unnecessary, then they won't do it. That will be enough…I hope." Danny put his phone away.
"And how do you plan to prove that?" Vlad questioned.
"The GIW are the main force the humans has to fight ghosts besides the Justice League. If I can prove the Necromancer was a onetime thing, and they don't have enough resources and power to attack, then everyone will be satisfied." Danny reasoned.
"The GIW? How do you plan to get that kind of information?" Vlad asked.
"They must have bases all over the world." Danny noted. "I just need to find one and download all the information I can."
"How will you find one of those bases?"
"Because of Technus, I know where one is. The GIW are working with Scarecrow. Scarecrow is in Gotham City. If I go there and find the Scarecrow, I find the GIW." Danny rationalized. "I can't tell Batman, though. He can't know that the ghosts are ready to attack."
"Even then, you won't get one foot in the door before they sense your ecto-signiture." Vlad stated.
"Not if I wear a suit that both hides my signature and makes me one of the world's deadliest hand-to-hand fighters." Danny pointed to the black cylinder.
"Wow…" Vlad was impressed by this plan...or its stupidity. Danny wasn't sure which it was. "But…I can't let you go alone. It's too dangerous."
"I won't let anyone else go with me." Danny's last words were barely audible. "I won't let any more of my family die because of me…"
"It's suicide alone." Vlad sighed.
"Then I'll enlist help." Danny glared at the table. "I'm technically an outlaw now. Getting help from the underbelly of Gotham will be easy if I pay the right price."
Vlad gained a pained look. "Then I will see you when you get back."
"…Vlad, if I don't come back…" Danny began.
"Don't say that." Vlad snapped.
"If I don't come back, then I'll make sure no one will ever connect Phantom and Fenton. You and Dani will be safe. Tell the media that I ran away." Danny gave a weak and obviously fake smile. He picked up a gun. "I'll keep your involvement secret no matter what, even if I have to end it myself."
"Daniel, stop this!"
"Tell Valerie that she needs to stop the hero thing. It will be too dangerous after this, and I won't be there to have her back. Tell Wulf that I went to make sure he stays free. He'll need some closure if he loses another friend. Tell Ember that I'm sorry I never got that music lesson. I would have really enjoyed it. Oh! And give Cujo a big bone for me…"
"Please, stop…"
"And tell Dani that she my sister. Genetics, science, and even death won't change that. And tell her thank you. She was the person that kept me sane for so long after I lost everything."
Vlad trembled. His back was now to Danny, so Danny couldn't see his face. "I'll tell them…"
"Thank you Vlad," Danny picked up the last item he had yet to back into the Fenton Portable Crammer. It was the black cylinder. "You've been the best teacher I could ever ask for. After I leave, take Dani and leave. Get away from Amity Park. It won't be safe here for long."
"Yes…you're right." Vlad walked to the elevator. "We will leave tomorrow."
"Good." Danny nodded. "Goodbye, Vlad."
"Goodbye, Daniel." And with that, he was gone.
Danny looked down at the cylinder in his hand. He had forgotten to tell Vlad one more thing. He wanted to tell Dani thank you for giving him such a great design for the suit. For on the front of the cylinder, there was one big red letter. The letter that Dani had so graciously wrote across his notes…
Red X
That day, Danny was filled with a terrible rage. He was angry at everyone for what happened, especially himself. Truthfully, the anger and hate was always there, but now, Danny let the world see it.
I never blamed him, and no one else did. We all were hurting, and each of us separated to deal with the grief in our own way. Maybe we should have comforted him. Maybe Wulf should have been with Danny instead of howling in the Ghost Zone. Maybe Ember should have confronted him instead of throwing herself into music. Maybe Valerie should have cried on Danny's shoulder instead of crying in her room over the friend she never knew she made…
Maybe I should have been there for my brother instead of clutching Cujo in my bed, but none of us could barely hold in our own sorrow. We wouldn't have been able to help Danny properly.
There I go with those what ifs again…I suppose I should look at what is instead of what could be, because what happened after that was a story unlike any other…Or was it the end of one story and the beginning of another? It's hard to tell sometimes.
My friends always thought that my Premonition was infallible, but its true lack of insight is hilarious. Having the intent to do something is far different than what will actually happen. If intent did equal the future, then it would be a terrible future. After all, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
And technically, almost everything that we've been through had someone trying to do some good, but was going about it the wrong way. It even happens to the "heroes" every now and then.
I suppose that was Danny's biggest problem, too. He has so many good intentions, yet things never worked out the way he wanted. There was always a hitch in the plan. Something always went wrong. Hell broke loose eventually.
Nothing exemplifies this more than what happened during the next month after the Riot of Amity Park.
Indeed, nothing seemed to go as planned. But in all…I think the ending was better because no one could really predict what would happened. That's my opinion, at least.
-From the personal memoirs of Danielle Masters
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Insane_Nyon
Insane_Nyon Thank you all for reading and please remember to...
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