Hello everyone. Sorry this update took a little longer (at least I think it did, it feels like it did) but it's a longer chapter, so yay for that!
LooneyAces: I feel blessed to have surprised you!
Nesy: And action you shall get!
Mimi1012: Lots and lots of trouble, but not just for Danny ;)
Sophie the daughter of Nyx: Thanks!
Princessbinas: They might be getting a little more than that (you'll know what I mean once you read the chapter)
ShinyMudkipGal: Yay, glad you liked it!
Randomphandom: I though the spinning head would be a nice touch, and I think Hayden is my favourite among my OC's for this fic. He just wants to be strong!
TheBoss3254: 3…2…1… action!
Phantomfanforever: I had someone pick a random number for how many Amity Park volunteers there would be, then made a chart and divided everyone up based on their weapon and which team they would be on. Seriously, I have a whole chart dedicated to the division of the teams, and 90% of that info will never be mentioned
Third comment: It would be tragic, wouldn't it?
Enjoy!
"This is Valerie. We're ready."
"Hey, it's Jason. We're ready too."
"We're all ready here Danny-boy!"
"Hi, honey, Jazz and I are in position."
"This is Goth One to Clueless One, we're ready."
"Hey, I'm not clueless! Not anymore, at least," Danny grumbled. A round of snickers burst through the Fenton Phones as well as rippled through the ghosts behind him. He glared at Ember, who had instigated the laughs on their end. It was stupid that his enemies realized he loved Sam before he even did, and Ember would never let him forget it.
"Hey, Phanturd, we're ready."
"Very creative, Dash," Danny subtly mocked. "And that's everyone. I just need to hear from the GIW, then we're ready to go. Tucker, are they on screen yet?"
"No, not yet… Wait! Yeah, I see them. Whoa, they have tanks?!"
"Yeah, they have tanks. Are they close?"
"Seriously, dude. You better stay away from them. And yeah, they're almost there."
"Okay, good." Danny switched on his other Fenton Phone so that the GIW could hear him speak. "We're all ready to go. Are you?"
"Affirmative. We have reached our designated start point."
"Okay," Danny took a deep breath, and turned to the ghosts, motioning Wulf forwards. The animalistic ghost bounded forwards eagerly, giving Danny a friendly lick on the face. "Bona vidi vin ankaŭ1!"
Danny quickly stepped back, whipping the slobber and grin from his face. He turned serious, and gave Danielle, who stood beside him, a brief hug.
"Stay with Dora and Ember, and keep in touch," Danny hastily spoke.
"Uh-huh. Be careful, Daddy, I love you."
"Love you too, Dani," Danny ruffled her air and looked back to Wulf. "Malfermu la portalo2."
Wolf grinned, splaying his claws, and raked them through the air. The very fabric of the Ghost Zone tore open, making a neon green portal. Danny closed his eyes for a moment, then stepped through it. He surveyed the mass of wraiths down the street in front of him, crowded together before the ghost shield. The portal behind him closed with a sharp pop, and Danny started floating forwards. His hand fell to his side, where the Specter Protector still circled his waist, and his fingers closed around one of three vials strapped to his side. They were filled with ecto-dejecto.
In such a short time, Jack had only been able to make enough for three vials, and Danny had immediately taken them for himself. The mixture made ghosts stronger, so it stood to reason that it would work on Danny, who was, at this point, probably a little more ghost than human. He had contemplated giving some to Danielle, since it had once saved her life, but with the addition of another human's DNA, he wasn't sure how her body would react to another dose. So, he had decided to only use it himself, so that the risk only fell on him.
Danny slid the vial out of his belt and gripped it tightly in his hand, swinging his hand around and stabbing the needle into his shoulder, all in one fluid motion as he continued to stalk forwards. At this point, the wraiths had noticed him approaching, and turned to face the halfa, ragged moans tearing from their throats. Danny pressed down the plunger, and the green liquid flooded into his bloodstream. He could feel the power coursing through his body, his ghost core swelling, threatening to break apart. His normally white aura flared a bright green, and his eyes began to glow. He planted his feet and held his fists firmly at his side, barely a few metres from the oncoming wraiths. He took a deep breath, feeling his vocal cords start to vibrate, and when he spoke, the ghostly echo in his voice was stronger than ever.
"When you hear the scream, start."
Tucker, Lancer, and Mikey, who had volunteered to help them, had their eyes glued to the same laptop of all the computer and TV screens in front of them. Danny had, apparently, had started making this plan long before he had even know what he would be dealing with. When he rerouted the ghost shields power to the school, he had apparently also routed it into Amity Park's traffic cameras, a system that Tucker easily hacked with a little assistance from the workers that normally monitored them. Now they had live feed from cameras in the surrounding blocks where the fighting would be taking place.
Currently, they watched Danny situate himself before the wraiths. Mikey, who didn't know Danny's identity, simply assumed that Phantom had finally come to help them.
"When you hear the scream, start," Danny's voice echoed in Tucker's ear, and his eyes widened as he saw Danny Phantom open his mouth, and heard the wail. Even from this distance, Tucker, Lancer, and Mikey were forced to cover their ears to block out the sound. The air before Danny visibly rippled as the force of his scream travelled down the street, shattering windows and ripping trees from their roots.
Operative O, albeit a little confused at Danny's strange instructions, immediately jumped to action when the wail reached his ears. Floating above Alpha squad's tank in his intangibility suit, he raised his fist and whipped his arm forwards, signalling to the other operatives that it was time to move. The tanks rumbled to life and started rolling forwards towards the mass of wraiths. Operative O raised another hand in the air and sliced it downwards two of three cannons powered up and shot bright blasts of anti-ecto energy while, unbeknownst to Operative O, the third tank started driving South around the shield, and away from the wraiths.
Jack, Sam, Maddie, and Jazz stood before the ghost shield, staring down the wraiths that were clacking their teeth excitedly on the other side of the shield.
"When you hear the scream, start."
They shared worried glances, a scream didn't sound like anything good. Then they heard it. It started as a low moan, then rose in pitch and volume until everyone was forced to throw their hands over their ears in an attempt to block out the noise. They watched as the very air rippled and waves of green energy flew towards them. They crashed into the wraiths, sending the skeletal ghosts flying and immediately taking them out. As the energy barreled towards them, a few people wondered how thought out this plan was, because soon it would be tearing them apart just the same is it had the wraiths. But when the energy hit the ghost shield, it dispersed. The green wall shuddered under the blast and blasts echoed around the space inside as the energy continued to make contact.
When the wail stopped, and the last of the energy hit the shield, there was a moment of silence, a fifty metre space having been opened between the wraiths. Then Sam ran forwards, hoisting her blaster in the air and giving her loudest war cry. As she burst through the shield, the Amity Park forces gathered their bearings and followed, her cry echoed two hundred times over.
Valerie, Jason, and Dash's teams did not immediately jump into action when the wailing stopped. They waited until four portals suddenly appeared in the sky outside the shield, and ghostly allies came pouring out, led by Dora, Ember, and Danielle. They waited a few moments more, as both forces met and started fighting. When the wraiths were adequately distracted, Valerie led her team through the shield, hiding behind parked cars and around buildings, working their way through the scattered groups of wraiths that managed to avoid the onslaught, quickly and efficiently taking them out.
Jason and Dash did the same, one street over each. Jason was nervous about being in such a commanding position, not actually ever being one the more overbearing jocks. It didn't help that most of his team was older than him. Dash, on the other hand, was very comfortable in his position. Although he had been surprised when Danny had given it to him. The blond jock had been certain that Danny would refuse to put Dash in a position of power. Dash's ego had recovered quickly, and now he was thinking that of course Danny would give him such an important role. Although he began wondering why the route he was assigned with seemed to have the least amount of wraiths.
"Hurry up, slowpoke!" Erin shouted. Hayden stumbled behind her, hands tightening around the Creep Stick. He swung out blindly, expecting the metal bat to pass harmlessly through the wraith in front of him. Instead it connected solidly with the ghost, sending a jolt through his arms, and Erin quickly spun around to douse it in foam. The wraith shrieked and fell before melting into a puddle of ectoplasm.
Hayden yelped and jumped away from the puddle, earning a quick laugh from Erin. He gave her a small smile and followed her to their next target. When Hayden had revealed to Erin that he would actually be fighting on her team, she immediately claimed him as his partner, as it quickly became apparent that any person wielding a gun was partnered with someone who was not. Erin having a Fenton Foamer, meant Hayden was stuck with a Creep Stick. Not that he cared, he much preferred the bat to a gun. The few seconds of battle had been chaos. Erin had dragged Hayden up to the front of their group, between Maddie and Kwan. Determined to be brave, Hayden hadn't protested. But that also meant that they had been among the first to clash with the wraiths.
Luckily, their ghostly foes had still been a little disoriented by Danny's attack, and they had been able to take out a fair number of them in that first charge. Now, though, the wraiths were starting to get their bearings.
Hayden quickly swallowed down his fear and, determined not to let anyone down, pretended that his hair was snowy white instead of dirty blond. He pretended that his eyes were a fearsome, piercing green instead of brown. He pretended that, for at least a short while, he was invincible.
Immediately after unleashing his wail, Danny launched himself into the sky and onto the roof of a nearby building, taking a moment to observe and regain his strength. Maddie and Jazz led their teams to his right, where they would be pushing that half of the wraith force east towards the GIW. Jack and Sam did the opposite, intending to force the remaining wraiths west around the shield, and up North towards their ghostly allies.
"Tucker, how's everything on the tail ends?" Danny asked, eyes roaming to the curve of the shield where the enemy forces disappeared from view.
"The portals opened okay and man, there's a lot of ghosts coming through! Your d- uh, Danielle, is a seriously good fighter!"
"Of course she is, you've seen how well her parents fight," Danny smiled proudly.
"Wait, what?"
"What, is something wrong?""
"Dude, you just said parents. As in, plural… Just wondering, but, whose human DNA does that 0.0001% belong to?" Danny could hear the grin on Tucker's face.
"Uh, not really the time Tuck."
"Dude…"
"I promise I'll tell you later! But for now, what about Val and the others, or the GIW?" Danny urged, wanting desperately to change the topic. He did want to know about the others, of course, but mostly it was the topic change that he desired.
"You better. Jason and Dash are doing okay, and Val's team appears to be, but I can't actually find her."
"What?!"
"The Red Huntress is there, but Val is a no show."
"Oh, that's right, you don't know. Val is the Red Huntress." Danny hoped sincerely that she wasn't listening to them talk right now, or she might just turn her ecto-gun on him later.
"What?!"
"Yeah, but questions later!" Danny chuckled, cutting off anything Tucker might had just asked. "What about the GIW?"
"That might actually be a problem."
"What's happening?" Danny asked, tone flat and serious.
"I can see two of their tanks, but the third is gone. They aren't being overwhelmed or anything, and there's no wreckage, so it wasn't destroyed. It's just not there. I'm not sure if they planned this or not."
"Okay, okay. I'll talk to Operative O. You look out for that tank," Danny instructed. Tucker gave him a quick confirmation, then the line clicked at he went off. Danny growled and spoke into his other headphone. "Operative O, are you there?"
"Yes, Danny."
"I don't know what happened, but one of your tanks is gone."
"… Shit. Operative M, can you locate team Beta?" Danny momentarily turned his attention away from the GIW as they conversed, and instead focused on the fight before him. Here, everything appeared to be going well. A little too well. Danny had fought the wraiths several times before, and always struggled with one, but the hastily trained Amity Park Forces were holding their own, and even winning, despite the overwhelming odds. Danny was ecstatic, but worried as well. At this rate they could beat the wraiths within the next few hours, but there was no sign of Kraeva.
"Team Beta has gone rogue."
Danny returned his focus to the GIW. "Any idea of when they left?"
"Almost as soon as the fighting started. I'll send someone after them."
"No, don't. All your forces are needed there. The GIW may be well equipped, but there still aren't a lot of you to handle such a big task. You can't afford to lose any more people. I'll have Tucker notify me when the missing tank turns up."
"Affirmative."
Danny sighed and gripped his raven locks. Of course something had to go wrong so soon, but it was still manageable. As long as the missing team didn't turn up on the north-west side where his ghostly allies were fighting, everything should be fine.
"Tucker, Operative O doesn't know where the other team is either. The moment you see it, tell me."
"You got it."
Danny allowed himself one more moment of rest, then rose to his feet. He contemplated using another syringe of ecto-dejecto to help take out a much larger quantity or wraiths, but decided against it. He may need them later and regret using them now. Instead, he braced his feet on the edge of the roof, and jumped off, swooping down towards the ground. At the last possible moment, Danny pivoted and shot towards the closest mass of wraiths, those on his left. He flew through the Amity Park forces, cheers erupting in his wake as he shot forwards, and dove into the midst of the wraith army. He thrust his palms out, beams of ice streaming from his hands, and freezing the wraiths surrounding him. Green electricity sparked along his legs and jumped across the ground, from ghost to ghost, immediately immobilizing them. Danny whipped out his Fenton Thermos, spinning in a circle and sucking in as many wraiths as possible before capping it and flying off to another section.
He was moving as fast as he could, hardly even thinking about his actions. Ectoblast, shield, punch, kick, repulsion field, back slide, and electric shock. He didn't even know how long he was fighting for, or how far he had gone, but at some point he had left Jack and Sam's teams behind and found himself fighting back to back with Johnny 13's Shadow.
"Glad you could join us, kid!" Johnny cried out, his motorcycle skidding around to take out a few wraiths.
"Wouldn't miss it for the world!" Danny shouted back, ducking a sword swing and thrusting a sparking palm upwards. The wraith went flying backwards, body jolting from the ecto-electricity blast Danny had provided. Without even watching to see where the wraith landed, Danny swiveled around and punched another, his aura flaring briefly as he called on his ghostly strength. As he sought for another opponent, Danny spotted Danielle some feet away from him, struggling against her own circle of opponents. Both Ember and Dora were nearby, and both were preoccupied. Ember with playing a few power chords and turning the wraiths on each other, and Dora with sweeping masses of them away with a powerful swing of her tail.
The wraiths around Danielle all lunged at once and Danny panicked. Hardly even thinking about it, he teleported to his daughter's side. Thick white rings formed around both of them and spread outwards, similar to his transformation, but instead of changing Danny from Phantom to Fenton, it repelled the surrounding wraiths.
Danny gasped as the rings faded, pressing a hand to his chest. He was using a lot of power, possibly too much. Not only had the teleportation taken a lot out of him, but aural projection was a particularly volatile attack that normally left him worn out. When the rings formed around his waist a second time, it was with the intention of changing him back. But Danny couldn't let that happen. Before the upper ring had even reached his shoulder, Danny had the second syringe in his hand and the ecto-dejecto was once again coursing through his veins. With the new surge of power, he was able to force the rings closed.
"Daddy, are you okay?" Danielle asked, looking up at Danny with worried eyes.
"I'm fine," Danny said, nodding groggily.
"But your nose," Danielle pointed. Danny raised a hand to his nose, and the fingers of his glove came away bloody. Quickly, he wiped the trickle of blood from his face.
"Really, Danielle, I'm fine," Danny urged. Danielle scowled, but wasn't able to for long, because the wraiths surrounding them soon claimed her attention. Danny was about to help when a transmission from Jason stopped him.
"Hey, Danny, it's been a while since either Valerie or I have seen Dash. We went back to look for him, but couldn't find anything. We think something may have happened to his team."
"Thanks, Jason. I'm on it." Danny rocketed into the sky and headed towards Dash's designated sweep zone.
Something had indeed happened to Dash and his team. He and the nameless losers he had been stuck with were trapped inside the lobby of some office building. They had been sneaking up on one of the few groups of wraiths they had had to face so far when they had suddenly been ambushed from behind. Surrounded on all open sides, Dash had immediately directed everyone inside the nearest building, and now all guns were trained on the windows and door.
At the moment they were safe, but they were also trapped. Dash pulled the trigger on the Fenton Crammer in his hands and shrunk the next group of ghosts that piled through the door while the rest of his teammates shot at them with their wrist rays.
Dash, stupid as he was, did not miss the irony at the fact that he was now wielding the very weapon that had caused him so much distress last year. Nor did he miss the irony of Danny swooping in to save them, while in Phantom form, after he had needed Dash's help during that same previously mentioned distress causing incident.
"Guys, I found them!" Danny spoke into his Fenton Phone, and his eyes settled on Dash. "What happened?"
"We were ambushed, forced to hide," Dash explained shortly.
"Good thinking, it kept everyone alive," Danny nodded in approval, once again surprising Dash, and he beamed.
"Of course it was good thinking," Dash boasted, but Danny's next words tightened his tongue.
"Why didn't you use your Fenton Phone and call for help?"
Dash wanted to puff out his chest and boast about how he knew he wouldn't need any help, although that was obviously untrue. Instead he settled for the truth. "It got destroyed."
"That is a problem," Danny said, eyes wide. He shoved a hand into his pocket and pulled out an extra Fenton Phone. "Luckily I was prepared for that."
Dash sheepishly took the extra Fenton Phone and shoved it in his ear.
"Dash, buddy, you're okay!" Kwan's voice assaulted his ears.
"Whoa! Kwan, super-hearing over here. A little quieter please," Danny winced, and Dash couldn't help but chuckle. "I wasn't expecting you to speak first. Paulina, no words for your boyfriend?"
"Boyfriend?" Paulina and Dash echoed the word at the same time.
"Um, yeah, aren't you guys dating?" Tucker's voice rang out. Apparently, everyone was on right now.
"No," Dash answered.
"Why did you guys think that?" It was Star this time.
"It's sort of in the rules of high school-dom. Most popular jock dates most popular and air-headed cheerleader. It's a law or something," Sam said bitterly.
"You sort of are referred to as the king and queen," Danny pointed out. "That's kind of a matched set."
"Guys! There's kind of a war going on!" Valerie shouted.
"Yep, yeah. Dash, you go meet up with Jason's team. I might have already taken care of any wraiths in this area on my way over," Danny rubbed the back of his neck and looked apologetic.
"Dude, I found the tank!" Tucker's yell surprised everyone.
"What? Okay, tell me! Everyone else, go back on standby and return to fighting," Danny ordered, flying out the building and leaving Dash's stunned team behind.
"Come on, we have ghosts to fight," Dash prompted, jogging out of the building, and his team was quick to follow.
Any Amit Park citizen not fighting was confined within a three block radius of Fenton Works, and mostly everyone was crowded in some form of living room or another around a TV or laptop screen. The live feeds that Tucker was monitoring back at the school were simultaneously being streamed online, something that many worried family members had requested minutes before the plan was put into action. Now they, along with anyone in the world, could see what was going on. At the moment, they weren't sure if anyone else was watching, but had no doubts that someone else was. The Mansons, who had not volunteered to fight, were worriedly watching one of these screens, and had their gaze focused constantly on one area of fighting in particular. Sam's team.
They may have constantly urged for her to adopt a lifestyle more similar to their own, and they may have disliked her association with the Fentons, but Jared and Pamela Manson felt an immense burst of pride as they watched their daughter fight and conduct tens of people. She was exceptional. They even only minded a little when she gave a passing Danny Phantom a high five. After all, lots of the other teenagers were doing it, so it probably meant nothing at all.
Although they did disapprove when, as Phantom returned to that area of fighting, they spent a few moments fighting together. Their synchronized movement made many people believe that the ghost and the Goth had known each other for a long time.
"Seriously?" Sam shouted to be heard over the sound of fighting as Danny ducked under her arm and blasted an oncoming wraith.
"Yeah. The tank will be there soon," Danny said. Tucker had found the tank making its way towards the area where Maddie and Jazz's team were fighting. On his way over, Danny had landed next to Sam to help out for a minute.
"What are you going to do?" Sam asked, allowing herself to be pulled to the side as Danny wrapped his arm around her waist. A black sword sliced through the air where she had been a moment ago, and Sam fired her blaster at the body it belonged to.
"Not sure. I'll try and convince them to go back, I guess. As Fenton, of course. If I can't convince them of that, we should be fine as long as they don't head any farther west." Danny's hand lashed out and electricity sparked from his fingers, over a nearby Paulina's shoulder, and into the chest of a wraith that had been lunging for the Latina. She shrieked when the ghost collapsed at her side, frantically trying to flatten her hair, which had become statically charged by Danny's electricity.
"Do you really think that'll work?" Sam aimed her blaster over Danny's shoulder while he fired and ectoblast over hers.
"Not in the slightest," Danny shook his head and jumped away.
"Danny, they're almost there."
"Okay, I better go. Stay safe," Danny urged.
"Sure thing, ghost boy," Sam smiled and spun around to face her next target as Danny rocketed off into the sky. Hardly three seconds after he had left, Sam felt someone's back pressing against hers. At first, she didn't think anything of it, believing that it was simply someone who felt a whole lot safer knowing that their back wasn't in the open. Sam couldn't really complain about that, so she maneuvered easily to maintain the contact, preparing to turn at the slightest hint of movement. What she was not expecting, was a certain lilting voice in her ear.
"So you two are officially dating now?" Sam jumped in surprise and sprang away, rolling forwards and whirling around to face… Paulina.
"Paulina, what do want?" Sam hissed, stalking towards the Latina and ducking a few stray sword swings and ectoblasts.
"Nothing much. It's just that, your boyfriend is Danny Phantom."
"So what if he is? Now isn't really the best time anyways, and you should be with your partner, where are they?"
"Somewhere over there," Paulina waved her hand in a general direction, firing off a few shots from her wrist ray while doing so. "And about the boyfriend thing, I just wanted to make sure you know. I haven't given up on Phantom just because he's Fenton. In fact, I think they're both kind of cute."
Sam faltered. Never had she ever believed would hear those words, used in that order, coming from that mouth. But she just had.
"I swear, if you go all Nathan over Danny-"
"Then I would be going with him to senior prom," Paulina smirked.
"Valerie would never agree to that," Sam grunted as she elbowed a wraith, then swung her blaster around and shot it point blank.
"I think you're forgetting, Valerie was once my friend. She may not like the geek, but she will definitely give him a pity date," Paulina flashed that ditzy smile of hers and disappeared into the throng of fighting, no doubt to find her partner.
Sam, on the other hand, stood stock still for a moment, processing that she had just had a civil conversation with Paulina Sanchez. "What the hell just happened?"
It had become obvious to anyone watching the live feeds that Danny Phantom was on the side of Amity Park. It also looked like a bunch of other ghosts were as well. Even Danny Phantom haters begrudgingly admitted it. That's why nearby towns, spurred by the bravery displayed by a teenage boy, not matter how dead he appeared to be, prepared their police forces with the intention of sending assistance to Amity Park.
Those that would be unable to help remained in front of their screens, hoping for victory. Their hopeful expressions turned to horror as they watched the next few minutes play out before them.
Finally, team Beta of the GIW had circled around the shield and were where the fighting was thickest. It had taken a while to get past the wraiths on the outskirts of the ghostly army, and they had been forced to take a few detours in order to keep their arrival timely. Now Operative H, who was wearing team Beta's intangibility suit, was standing on top of the tank and scanning the battle, searching for where they may be able to provide the most help.
As he did so, his eyes registered a black and white blur, and they widened.
"I've spotted the ghost kid," H said to Operative K, who stood beside him.
"Suspected leader of the opposing forces?" K asked.
"Affirmative. Our primary task is now to detain him for questioning and experimentation," H confirmed, pulling a small, pulsating blue cube from the pocket of his suit.
Hayden and Erin, along with several other members of the Amity Park forces, were huddled against the side of a building, out of view of the wraiths. They were, unsurprisingly, exhausted after fighting for so long, and had sought a moment's peace to catch their breath and prepare themselves to go back out there. So far, they hadn't heard of anyone earning any serious injuries, just a few worrisome cuts and bumps here and there. Erin had a few such injuries, mostly from jumping in front of Hayden to keep him from getting hurt. The freshman looked guiltily at a shallow cut falling down her shoulder, one she had recently acquired when shoving him out of a swords path.
His eyes narrowed, and Hayden ripped off the sleeve of his shirt so that he could tie it around Erin's arm. She blinked at him in surprise, but didn't protest. When it was done, Hayden didn't feel any less guilty, but was relieved that the cut was at least covered. Erin was rising to her feet, and prompting Hayden to do the same much to his dismay, when Danny touched down beside them.
"Hey, I was looking for you guys!"
"Is s-something wr-rong?" Hayden asked, cursing silently at his stutter.
"No. I mean, yeah, but nothing involving you. I just wanted to make sure you guys were doing okay," Danny said quickly, casting a glance at something behind him, before his neon green eyes settled heavily on Hayden.
"Danny, can I t-talk t-to you?"
"Uh, yeah," Danny nodded, throwing one more worried glance over his shoulder, before guiding Hayden to a secluded spot. "Are you regretting joining the fight?"
"W-what? N-no, never!" Hayden shook his head vigorously. "I-it's just, what i-if I c-can't protect her?"
Danny followed the younger boy's gaze to where Erin was leaning casually against the wall of the building, watching the fight they were soon to rejoin with eager eyes.
"Oh, you like her, don't you?"
"N-no! W-we're just f-friends!" Hayden stammered, and Danny was sure that it wasn't just the result of his stutter.
"She'll be safe," Danny reassured Hayden, laying a gentle hand on his shoulder.
"H-how do you kn-now?"
"Because you'll protect her."
"But I-"
"And I'll protect you."
Hayden stopped his protests, looking up at Danny with anxious eyes.
"I know Erin will be safe, because she will have you to watch out for her. And I know she'll have you to watch for her, because I will protect you. I will keep you safe, let nothing bad happen to you, so that you can do the same for her. Erin is strong, but that doesn't mean that you can't be strong too. And I'll be there to make sure that you can be. Okay?"
Hayden swallowed and nodded, then stood up straight and set a determined scowl on his face. The expression was foreign to him, and the result was slightly amusing. But Danny didn't have to tell him that. Hayden clasped his Creep Stick tightly and strolled towards Erin.
"Come on, l-let's go," said Hayden firmly. Erin nodded eagerly, and they ran back into the fray. Hayden fought with newfound confidence, no longer waiting until a wraith had been weakened by Erin, but instead swinging first and leaving the remains up to her. He repeated the mantra that he had devised when the fighting first begun.
I have white hair. I have green eyes. I'm invincible.
I have white hair. Hayden swung the bat out, arms stretched as far as they were able, and it connected solidly with a black skull.
I have green eyes. He blinked, a smile creeping onto his face, and turned to Erin. Her back was to him and, occupied as she was with the wraiths in front of her, hadn't yet noticed the sword swinging at her back.
I'm invincible. Hayden lunged forwards and shoved Erin out of the way, much the same way that she had been doing for him earlier on. He felt the blade slice through his shirt, and whipped the bat around to smack the wraith away. Hayden staggered, and pressed a hand to his shoulder, where a thin red line had emerged. He grinned at the blood on his palm.
I'm invincible.
"I can protect you," Hayden said with a smile focused solely on Erin, who was smiling in return at his sudden display of bravery. The widening of her eyes was the only hint Hayden received of the sword bearing down on him from behind.
Danny smirked at Hayden's back as he and Erin rejoined the fight, glad that he had been able to help. Hayden was, after all, a good kid. He deserved to be brave. After waving to the people still resting by the building, Danny flew into the sky and scanned the area for the GIW tank. It didn't take him too long to find, and he started to fly lower so that he could find a secluded place to transform, and hopefully convince the squad to return to the other GIW. Tucker had informed Danny that the remaining men of the government agency were holding their own and doing their job quite nicely, but it would be best if they were at full strength.
Danny had been about to transform when something in the throng of wraiths and humans caught his attention. A sword swinging towards Erin's back. He panicked, and immediately shot forwards, subsequently flying right past an operative in an intangibility suit.
"There!"
The shout barely registered in Danny's mind, but Hayden saving his friend (and possible crush) did, and he momentarily slowed, relieved and relishing in the grin plastered across the young boy's face. But his panic returned when he spotted the wraith that Hayden had just battered aside creeping up behind him.
"No!" Danny shouted, jumping into the air so that he could fly forwards and stop the falling sword. But before he could do anything, Danny dropped to his knees, crying out in pain. He opened his eyes, pressing a hand to his chest and struggling to remain upright, and noticed that the world had suddenly been tinged blue. His eyes danced frantically around the small dome that had encased him. One of the GIW portable ghost shields.
"Target has been successfully apprehended," a voice said from behind him. But Danny paid it no attention. Instead, he lunged forwards at the shield, pounding his fist against it, and watched helplessly, every second enhanced by his improved senses, as the as a black sword was plunged into the chest of Hayden Marx.
I'm just going to leave you to your probably angry thoughts.
1Good to see you too!
2Open the portal
Also, congrats guest Third comment for predicting the final events of this chapter, you must hate that you were right!
'See' you next time
