What is a hero?
It was in the dead of night. The sounds, the smells, the darkness around showed it to be so, yet in the darkness a cry of pain shattered the still silence. Where everything was once dark, now were flashes of light that filled the night sky. Where there was once silence, now was a cacophony of blasts and explosions. Where there was the fragrance of mist and dew now was the smell of burnt air. This particular night started the same as any other night. Soft, still, quiet. Other than the normal sounds of your normal night owls it could have been said that it was just another night. But as the cry of pain rang thru the night it turn to something totally different. Tonight was the night where a hero would fall and the self-fulfilling prophecy would once again become true. For the cry of pain was of the hero that had given much to a people that did not deserve it.
What is a hero? Is he or she just a paragon that is used when needed and discarded in the next or a self sacrificing fool that doesn't know better. Or is it a feeling that just digs and digs until the hero has no choice but to react to such feelings. Is it an obsession to protect based on the environment or stupidity knowing that there is no other choice available. Our hero in question fell into the category of obsession.
What is a ghost. Is it an imprint of a soul that refuses to move on; or a conglomeration of feelings that give rise to a metaphysical being that is able to interact with the more physical world; or are they quite simply obsessions that were not fulfilled in the course of a normal human life. It doesn't really matter now as these questions, these ponderings fled our hero's mind after he crashed landed in the cold hard asphalt of the city that he tried to protect. You may be wondering what self-fulfilling prophecy was mention, but ponder on this "what people like more than building a hero, is tearing one down". Humanity as a whole is a fickle thing. One example is this; an officer of any military is applauded for achieving promotions that put him or her in charge of more and more men, but in the self-same applause the same people tear that officer down when he or she try to do the right thing rather than the common thing. It is the same with an enlisted soldier.
But for those like our hero a special sort of hate is given. Sure in the beginning its an unbearable adulation that causes for such character to try to hide everything that is their normal life to have that normal life. But when those secrets get out and that thin blanket of anonymity is torn asunder and the fact that the icon that was once worshiped is seen as who they are in real life the praise is turned to hate and hate is turned into a dangerous situation. It can be said quite clearly that the phrase; "the only thing that people like more than building a hero up is tearing one down" is that self-same prophecy that is fulfilled when one of these "heroes" rises up.
It is a bitter pill to swallow when the knowledge that the people that one is sworn to protect are the very same people that lead to road of destruction. And as our young hero rose from the place that he landed he cursed the day that anonymity was torn from his daily life. After all he had done to serve the same people that now wanted his destruction; after all he had to done to ensure that everybody, human and ghost alike, had the fortune to see another day, the betrayal stung.
He was tired. The fight and flee situation that he found himself in had taken all his strength. Well he was far from his planned destination. He could his in the distance the energy fluctuations that were commonly associated with the presence of an open ghost portal. The only problem was the reaching the location without falling prey to the hands of his enemies. A casual observer would ask who were his enemies and why he was running but that answer would reveal itself as his pursuers made themselves known.
As mentioned previously the quote "the only thing that people like better than building a hero up is tearing one down" is quite literally the situation that our young hero found himself. The people of city of Amity Park were his pursuers. The reason wasn't clear to our hero well, not really. The fickleness of the people that he swore protect was not lost to him. As the silhouettes of his pursuers were made more clear; the panic within our hero grew. The reasons behind this panic were made evident. For every one of his pursuers were carrying weapons that were detrimental to his well being. It is not unlike a mob, where instead of torches and pitchforks , although there were some who had such mentioned items, the weapons of choice were ecto blasters, cat-of-nine-tales, and any other weaponry that was designed to harm those who were of his type; well those who our hero shared similar characteristics.
They had raided his home. They had vilified his family, his friends and all how had supported him. And the thing that caused our hero the most pain was the he could do nothing to change it. We all know how the story goes. We all know who its supposed to end. The hero gives his best to save whatever it is that he or she is supposed to save. The hero at the end gets his or her rewards at the end. It how the story goes. But for our hero the least likely of all the possible events happened, and now he suffered for it. That day, that moment, would go on to be the day that Earth, or at least that version of his earth , would lose its greatest protector, its only protector. And it all began with a single, silly little thing, fear. That's right folks, it all began with fear. Fear of what, our casual observer would ask, was it fear of the unknown, or the fear of something different. And at this point, that really didn't matter.
He had rescued his family, friends and supporters. He had made alliances with some of who once called him enemy. He had played the last of his hand and now it was near the end. As shots rang out, as dirt was lifted when they hit the ground around him, as the pain in his body increased when more and more shots rang true; all he felt was a small measure of relief along with the ever increasing panic. Fear had gripped his heart, for the knowledge that he would fail to reach his destination. But maybe that wouldn't be a bad thing. After all he had delayed his foes from finding those who meant the world to him. Of course it wouldn't be a victory if he didn't make to them.
All these thoughts raged within him in those seconds that it took him to rise from his earlier position. It is ironic he thought that the people same people that once worshiped him in adulation, now wanted his destruction. So he pressed on and on. Our hero knew that couldn't retaliate as that would just enrage the crowd more. He knew that he couldn't depend on the massive defensive repertoire that he had, as his powers were on the fritz and he knew that he couldn't hide as the instigators of the mob had trackers. No the only thing that he could do was fly and run, even if flying made him a much bigger target.
As he drew closer and closer he could see that the portal was getting smaller and smaller. He was running out of time and the mob just kept on getting closer as well. He could here the beat of his heart getting louder and louder with his fear gripping it tighter and tighter. The uncertainty of his arrival, the pain of the wounds inflicted upon his body and the ever reducing of the ghost portal, all made for a very tense situation. As time seemed to go slower and every step longer and more painful our hero began losing the little help he had left. It was odd for him as hope was usually the last thing he lost. With the absence of hope, despair began to set in.
What could he do? Could he try to reason with them; could he curse the instigators, or could he just give in to what was east and just attack the following crowd? Well those were answers that he would never know as he could see a white stinger jet flying in fast from the distance. The panic and desperation that had settled within him and turn into outright terror. That meant that they wanted not only his destruction, but that of the ghost zone as well. Maybe they didn't deserve but he couldn't in good conscience let them destroy themselves. There were too many innocents, besides the ghost zone was the place where his friends and family had taken refuge. In that moment it didn't matter that to him that he couldn't control his powers, It didn't matter that consequences could be dire. All he thought was that he couldn't let them fire the heavy payload that he knew that the stinger was equipped. So he did the one thing that he had never accomplished to do, he teleported.
It was surprising to our hero. The one power that had eluded him, since he got his powers, had appeared. The elation of having a new power was something that he really didn't experience much. Whatever it was, he was at the point where he was just steps away from achieving his goal.
There was one problem though. In his desperation to reach his destination he unintentionally unleashed the wild and unstable power that was stored within his body. What thoughts must have been going thru his head? What pain and anguish must have flickered thru his eyes as he saw his power pour out in waves in all directions. But as it was the horror on his face said it all. For in his range of vision he saw two ghosts struggling to hold the ghost portal open. And as he went thru the haze of pain cause by the departing energy, he couldn't help but wonder why those two were helping him.
" Reaper One, Reaper One come in Reaper One"
"This is Reaper One, over"
" We need a Sit-Rep"
" Sit-Rep is as follows; Subject P01 has unleashed destructive waves of energy."
" Destructive Energy, what is the damage radius?"
" Unknown, the energy is still traveling. Permission to deploy heavy payload"
" What is your ETA on the ghost portal"
" 10 secs"
" Deploy it then. You have one shot. Make it count, Reaper One"
" Reaper One Out"
It is said that every cause has an effect, well actually every cause does have an effect. You drop a glass full of water and you get a shattered glass as well as a wet floor. Cause and effect. Simple things really, the effects are usually direct to the causes. But what happens when the effect are not even in the realm of possibilities. What happens then? Would it be even possible to explain? And if it is, can it be justified? These are just really inane questions that aren't normally thought of.
The moment that our hero teleported and lost control of the energy in housed within him, nobody could have predicted or even explained the effects of such a moment. It was a ripple in time that even the time masters could not foresee. As all the defining factors aligned and the actions of the decisions made were put in place, the world which knew the hero would lose its only hero and as such bring pain and ruin to itself. For in the desire to destroy their hero and claim his power for themselves they forgot one thing; he was the only thing that kept all that crawled in the night away. He stood for them when they couldn't. And as the payload descended upon the three at swirling green portal, the universe itself brought the destruction that these humans so actively pursued. From chemical weapons to nuclear weapons, the humans from his world has managed to bring about the creations of their self-destruction. Heck, even his own parents contributed to that ever growing list. But they all believe that nobody could be stupid enough to actually use the nuclear deterrent. After all the were the ones with the higher form of thinking. But our hero had stopped one such nonsense before, who was to say that they would repeat the same mistake. For as it was, his pursuers never really did learn the consequences of such attempt. Harmless to humans, but devastating enough to destroyed the parallel dimension that was connected to their, twas was the payload made off. After all, in their thoughts it would rid the world of the pesky ghost problems.
In that moment, where actual reasonable thought failed and discrimination, lust of power, and envy reigned, a last act of heroism for our hero saved their pathetic little world. For it was that in the moment when the hero saw his power go out unrestrained, he created an energy shield that encased the two beings that were helping him. It wasn't to save the humans, as he now saw them for what they were. Granted it wasn't universal for all humans, as there were some who were innocent in the majority. but he did do it in an effort to saved the two beings how showed more humanity than the actual humans themselves.
Lets think on a higher train of thought for a moment. A popular and accepted theory that energy can be neither created nor destroyed. As such the mathematical equation e=mc2 which was postulated by the renown physicist Albert Einstein. So when three or four types of diverging energies collide, what is the expected result? Is it something common as alternating energies that are just grounded or can it be something completely different, like something pulled out of a physicist wildest dream. For example the "God" particle or the energy released from the splitting of an atom. The observer in this particular time can quite honestly say he does not know.
But as stated earlier, the impossible happened. When the diverging energies met; the combined force between them created a universal force akin to a black hole. The resulting explosion of the converging energies completely destroyed everything within a fifty meter radius of the epicenter. Now the phenomena wasn't too different form the swirling ghost portal, in fact it changed the ghost portal completely. In color it was completely black, almost as if light could not escape it. The center of it was a dull pulsating red as if blood itself were pouring out. With each pulse the effects of the earth's natural gravity completely vanished and reasserted itself. But with each pulse the effects got worse and worse. The destruction of the surrounding areas just kept on getting worse and worse. But that is not really important as this observer did not really care for the damaged that was caused, as he had seen the current nature of the humans and felt that it was their just deserts.
No, what was actually important was the fact that even the observer didn't know what the black portal meant.
It is theorized that the mysterious phenomena that occurred in the Bermuda Triangle is quite possible a tear in the space time continuum. As things, from ships to planes and anything in between, just disappear into literal thin air, it was said that with just the right circumstances and all the appropriate requirements, that it was possible to recreate the phenomena. But then again, nobody had bother to ask our hero the right questions. After all he discovered the origin behind the legend of the Bermuda Triangle. For him it was just another gateway to the realm of the dead; or is it undead, as his type of ghost did have some semblance of life. They had joy, anger, happiness, and they even could marry and have children. But their emotions where so much more greater that it often led to what is known as obsessions. The blind love for rules, the desire to be known, or seeking the ultimate thrill in hunting the ultimate prey, these are among the few thoughts or emotions that led to some of the obsessive natures of the denizens that inhabited the Ghost Zone. Although their "lives" could quite possibly extend for an eternity; as there were some ghosts that were almost as ancient as time itself.
The would have been the normal circumstance, had the color of the portal been that glowing ominous green. The new color threw everything off. Also the creatures that all of the sudden started pouring out. Creatures that were as black as midnight with plates of bony protrusions jutting out off random places in their bodies. They seemed as if Doomsday for the DC comics had met an Venom from the Marvel Comics and they had a love child. In their eyes all they had was a feral intelligence that was only seen in animals that were infected with rabies. But these creatures made those animals seem like likable house pets compared to them. And what was more frightening was the fact that weren't true slaves to their baser natures.
On the eve of this particular event, the pulsating of the portal started getting worse than it already was, literally creating craters in its wake. And as the craters were formed, they were filled with a black like ichor that spawned even more of the monstrosities. More and more creatures spawned as the pulses grew in frequency and depth. As it stood in that moment, the spectacle could be seen for miles around. It was truly a terrifying spectacle to behold as the portal grew in size and destruction.
In the middle of it all stood our hero, as he tried to maintain the only thing that was protecting his partners and himself. But he knew that he could not handle it much longer as his body was starting to give out. It didn't help that creatures that were spawning were attacking his shield as well as the pulsing energy battering down on him. He was going to fall and he knew it. He could barely see out of his eyes and what he could see was rapidly growing darker. With his eyes losing the last little of light that he had he saw his companions disappear in bright flashes of light, but that was something that he was not worried about. No the thing that chilled his blood was who stepped out of the black portal. As we all know, no one can be a true hero without making any enemies. And boy did he have them. But the person that stepped out was one that he wished to never see again.
As the light in his eyes dimmed, and what picture he could see grew smaller and smaller, he saw the boots of the one that he never wanted to see again get closer and closer. With the last little bit of consciousness that he had left, he heard that parting remark " I win Daniel"
The moment that our hero lost his consciousness and the energy of his shield receded back to himself, all hell broke lose. For the energies his shield were also containing destructive energies of the every growing black portal. And with a final surge, the destructive energy broke threw its confinement and a phenomena that could only be described as a black hole occurred. But it didn't function as a black hole would. It didn't created a vacuum space that would destroy everything and be so strong that even light couldn't escape. As the phenomena grew larger and larger it started going higher and higher into the realm of space. All that energy and all that destructive force shattered everything that was in its way. In those moments, it claimed its first of many lives that would be lost due to it, as it came in contact a fighter jet that was trying to fly away and could due to the gravitational force that was released by the phenomena. It crumpled the fighter jet as if it were mere paper and no one would hear the dying scream of the pilot as even sound was absent. Nothing could withstand it and nothing to could escape. And as it broke the earth's atmosphere, not even celestial bodies proved to be a match as it shattered the moon. And with the shattering to the moon, it pulled with it a body that had almost destroyed the earth before. Gleaming in a bright green, the Disasteriod was pulled back into the orbit that it had left a mere week before. In the time to come it was said that it would have been better if the Disasteriod had destroyed the Earth when it finally hit. But that was not to as the "Black Hole" destroyed even that . And with the two gravitational forces in such near vicinity of each other the shattered pieces had nowhere left to go, but the much greater force, which just so happened to be Earth.
As time would go by and what was left of humanity began to rebuild, that day would be remembered as the Day of the Grim. For in the midst of it all, humanity's last hope disappeared. That was the day that Earth's only hero, Danny Phantom disappeared.
AN: It feels good to be back. I know that it has been a few years since I have submitted anything or even thought about posting anything, but what can I say Life really does get in the way sometimes (just kidding). Besides I have been very busy and writing is something that has been left to the side. But I bear good news, updates to my first story are on their way and new projects will be see such as this one. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.