After much hard work and a little help, the saga continues.
A cry of pain tore itself from Vlad's throat as Danny's ice claw tore through his shield and raked against his chest. The billionaire reflexively backed away, giving the teen the opportunity to land a punch right into his gut. A sickening popping sound could be heard as ectoplasmic blood sprayed out from the elder halfa's mouth. He didn't even have time to breath before the giant ice arm came down on him like a club, sending him crashing into a warehouse at the edge of the city.
The blue-skinned halfa groaned as he climbed out of the crater, one arm wrapped around his chest. He looked up through the massive hole in the ceiling, waiting for the feral ghost teen to come charging in. The seconds trickled by slowly as he gazed up into the dark swirling clouds that loomed over the entire city.
A sudden chill ran up his spine as a silhouette grew out from the shadows behind him. As it began to approach him, the billionaire whipped around and fired a ghost ray, a wooden crate exploding in a burst of pink fire. Plasmius stared at the burning remains for a moment, his hearing slowly becoming filled by the beating of his own heart. A thin mist began to pool by his feet as he began looking around for the teen, the determination in his eyes slowly giving way to his fear.
"Where are you?!" shouted the billionaire halfa as he whipped around and fired another ghost ray into the shadows, destroying another partly frozen wooden crate. Blast after blast soon followed as panic began to overtake Plasmius' mind. Each time a beam struck something, the resulting explosion would light up the area surrounding it. Every so often, he'd catch a glimpse of the teen, his new form made even more frightening by the fading light.
"WHERE ARE YOU?!" shouted the billionaire, unleashing a Ghostly Wail at the vanishing silhouette. The pink sound waves followed the shadowed figure as it ran around the room, the figure barely keeping out of the hybrid's attack. A sudden rumbling shook Plasmius back to his senses, his attention suddenly turning to the falling bits of debris coming from the collapsing ceiling.
The heroes watched as half of the building collapsed onto the two halfas, a worried look appearing all of their faces as they approached the growing debris cloud. A cry of pain echoed out from within the cloud as the many heroes touched down. Thinking quickly, Superman took in a deep breath and blew into the obstructing smog.
The dust cleared away quickly, revealing Vlad Plasmius in the grip of Danny Phantom. The elder halfa screamed out in pain as he struggled to break free from the massive ice hand that enveloped his chest. A cruel, bloodthirsty smile sat on the young ghost teen's face as his malicious glowing green eyes watched hungrily as he continued to squeeze the elder halfa's life out of him. The look was replaced by a one of pain as two red beams sliced through the ice arm at the wrist, freeing his prey. The teen let out a cry of pain as he staggered back, clutching the ice stump with his other hand as he fell to his knees. His glare turned from the stump to the heroes landing on his left.
"What do you think you're doing?!" barked the teen, everyone backing away at the deeper, crueler voice that spoke just out of sync with the ghost teen's voice.
"Stopping you from doing something you'll regret for the rest of your life," said Superman after he recovered from his shock.
"I am not going to let him walk away again!" Danny shouted, the air growing colder as his green eyes narrowed dangerously.
"You have to calm down now kid," said Green Lantern as he stepped forward. "You…"
"YOU DON'T HAVE THE RIGHT TO TELL ME TO CALM DOWN!" screamed the ghost teen at the top of his lungs. Sections of frozen steel siding began peeling away the fallen roof as the winds grew in ferocity. The heroes scattered as the panels came whipping at them, Starfire barely avoiding one as it came whizzing by her head and imbedding itself in the hood of the approaching T-Car.
"I LOST EVERYTHING BECAUSE OF HIM!"
"Danny stop!" shouted Robin as he jumped out of the vehicle, avoiding flying debris as he approached the teen.
"I'M GOING TO MAKE SURE HE PAYS FOR WHAT HE'S DONE, AND NO ONE IS GOING TO GET IN MY WAY!" As soon as the words left his mouth, a new hand shot out from the stump of his ice arm. With just a swing of his arm, a massive blue wave of energy fired out at the heroes, creating a wall of ice between them and the halfas. Danny was just about to turn towards Vlad when two burly blue arms wrapped themselves around his arms and head, trapping him in a full nelson.
"I think this little tantrum has gone on long enough," Superman said sternly as he held the struggling teen firmly. "Now you need to calm down."
"Let go of me! Let go, or he's going to get away again!" the young halfa yelled as he struggled to break free again.
"Listen to me!" The teen stopped struggling at the man of steel's command. "You're powers are feeding on your anger and pain," he continued. "If you don't calm down, your body is going to burn out and you'll die." The teen remained motionless in the Kyrptonian's grip, the air becoming heavier as the tension grew.
"Then I guess I've got nothing left to lose."
Superman didn't even have time to look surprised as a second ice arm sprouted from the teen's ice-covered shoulder and grabbed his face, forcing the Kryptonian's head back and into the ground. Using the grounded arm as leverage, Danny lunged towards his hated rival, his claws growing larger and shaper as he moved. An insane, predatorial grin appeared on his face as he swung out at the downed halfa, victory seeming absolutely certain.
In an instant, the billionaire disappeared, the teen's smile turning into a feral snarl as his claws sank into the ground. Danny's head whipped back and forth as he searched for the missing hybrid, the second ice arm retreating back into the main arm. His glowing green eyes narrowed on the red costumed superhero that was setting the wounded villain a little ways down the street. The other heroes moved between in front of the Flash, their bodies ready for combat while their faces showed their hesitance.
"Don't do this man," said Cyborg as he leveled his cannon at the teen.
"Please, we do not wish to harm you," pleaded Starfire, tears brimming in her eyes at the thought of attacking the teen.
"Then get out of my way!" barked the teen, a green aura exploding around his body forcing those closest to him to shield themselves.
"We can't let you do that Danny," replied Batman as he and his protégé began reaching behind their backs for their bat/bird-a rangs.
"THEN I'LL MAKE YOU MOVE!" Without any further warning, the ghost teen charged forward, passing Martian Manhunter and Beast Boy as he rushed towards Plasmius. Several explosive disks and bat-a-rangs flew at the teen, the explosions knocking him back only slightly. The teen growled in frustration, his eyes shining even brighter as seemed to sink into his skull. Three more Dannys appeared alongside him, all of them letting out a savage roar before rushing off towards their prey.
"It is done," said Doctor Fate as he and the other magicians released the magic they had channeled into their hands. Their attention was suddenly taken by the loud explosion off into the city, followed by what seemed like a fiery green comet soaring through the air and towards the Tower.
"Move!" shouted Raven as she and the others scattered, just barely moving out of the way of the burning projectile as it crashed into the island. As the three magicians looked into the crater, Zatanna let out a gasp. Lying inside the crater, groaning and unmoving, was Green Lantern. Raven quickly turned her attention back to the city, expanding her senses towards the sounds of battle. Pain and despair flooded through her, causing her to clutch her head in pain from all the negative emotions.
"We have to go….now!" she announced as she closed off her empathic abilities again. "Danny's ghost half has almost completely eaten up his life force. We don't have much time before he kills his human half completely."
"Let's go," replied Doctor Fate as he waved a glowing hand over Zatanna, encasing her in golden energy as they all flew up into the air.
When they arrived, all they could really do was stare in surprise and horror at the sight. Both the Titans and the Leaguers were scattered everywhere along the ruin streets. Starfire, Cyborg, and Wonder Woman were lying on the ground, groaning as they struggled to get back up. Shayera was struggling against a severed ice claw that had her pinned to a wall. Martian Manhunter was completely encased in ice, a surprised look frozen on his face.
A green rhino landed on top of a car in front of the returning heroes, crushing it under its massive weight before transforming back into an unconscious Beast Boy. Their eyes quickly darted over towards where the changeling was thrown from and their eyes widened.
Superman, Batman, Robin, Flash, and Plasmius stood with their backs against a wall as four Dannys hovered between them and the magicians.
"This is your last chance," announced one of the Dannys as the others merged back into him. "Get out of my way or else."
"No," said Superman as his eyes narrowed at the young halfa.
"Then you get to join him…" growled Danny as his brought both hands over his head. A small green orb suddenly appeared and began growing at an alarming rate, until it was as big as he was. "…in oblivion." A silver blur shot past the three magicians, moving to stand between the ghost boy and his targets, her arms outstretched in a protective manner.
"Danny! Stop!" shouted Dani as she hovered in front of him. The teen's eyes widened in surprise as he took in the ghost girl floating before him. The giant mass of ecto-energy disappeared with a quiet pop as he lowered his arms.
"D…Danielle?" he asked, the glow in his eyes dying away as the two studied each other. Danny slowly reached out to the white-haired girl's face, his massive ice arm moving with a caution and grace contradictory to its appearance. One claw hovered just a centimeter away from contact before retreating, as if she would vanish from the sudden contact.
"It's okay Danny," the cloned halfa said as she reached out for the claw. "I'm okay now." The ghost boy's features softened for a moment before his eyes came alight again.
"Look out!" he shouted as he pushed her to the side, the blade just barely missing her before plunging itself into his chest. Ectoplasm sprayed out from his back as the jagged edges of the pink blade tore through his body. Plasmius grinned as he felt the hilt hit the boy's chest, his chest heaving from the effort of the attack. Danny looked up at the elder hybrid, a thin trail of green blood pouring out of his lips as he looked into the billionaire's glowing red eyes.
"Checkmate, Daniel."
Everyone stared in stunned silence as Vlad ripped the blade free, the victorious smile never leaving his face as he watched his hated rival fall to the ground. The silence was broken by the sound of glass shattering as the teen's arm was freed from its icy encasing.
"Danny!" screamed the empath as she ran over to him, turning him over so that he was lying on his back. She wasted no time in placing her hands over the wound, attempting to use her magic to heal him. A blue glow began to pour from her hands for a brief moment before dying away. Raven's eyes narrowed in determination as she tried to force the healing magic to return.
"You can't save him, child," said Plasmius, the sword fading into nothingness as he spoke. "I struck his core, and no ghost can survive without a core."
"SHUT UP!" Dani shouted as she punched the blue skinned halfa, sending him flying into a wall with enough force to crack it. Vlad slid down to the ground unceremoniously, the black rings washing over his body before he went completely limp. The ghost girl spared the unconscious hybrid one last glare before moving to her cousin's side, just opposite of Raven. His breathing had become more haggard as a puddle of ectoplasm spread out from underneath him. His burning hair had died away, leaving his white locks. Raven was starting to shake from the strain of trying to bring out the blue glow of her healing abilities.
"Stay with me Danny. You're going to make it through this," said the dark sorceress, more to reassure herself than him. Danny slowly lifted his head opened his eyes, revealing his usual green iris staring dully at the two of them.
"I'm sorry," he uttered weakly, his breathing beginning to hitch as he struggled to talk.
"It's okay, everything is going to be okay," said Dani as she caressed the ghost boy's face, tears beginning to pour down her own. Danny didn't seem to hear as his head began falling back to the ground, the glow fading from his eyes.
"I'm sorry," he whispered as the world around him began to fade away.
The last thing he saw before the darkness consumed his sight was a bright white ring, and the sound of someone crying out his name.
I know it's been a long time since I've updated, but I can explain.
I've been working on a very detailed outline for this new story I've been working on for the past month. Between that, school, and everyday life, I haven't had a lot of time to work on this. But it's done and I can assure you the next chapter will be up a lot sooner.