Chapter 10: Infernal Machine
"Power, like a desolating pestilence,
Pollutes whate'er it touches."
-Shelley, Queen Mab, III
If reality, Danny didn't have much of a choice.
Well, he technically had three.
1) Go Intangible. This option was moot from the start as Danny's intangibility had been disabled by the Fenton-copter's weaponry, and even if it hadn't been, going intangible would have been a moot point anyway because if the missiles didn't hit him, they'd hit the building behind him, and considering Danny had been willing to sacrifice a great deal of his energy to stop the Fenton Ghost Obliterator from hitting the building, he certainly couldn't let eight highly destructive missiles hit it: the results would probably be far far worse.
2) Die. That was pretty much out of the question as well.
3) What he chose to do.
So, as you can see, as the missiles bore down on him, Danny Phantom really only had one choice.
Gandalf said it best.
FLY, YOU FOOL!
And Danny did so, as he gathered what little energy he had left and soared up, his nobler side hoping that the missiles followed him, which was immediately drowned out by his survival instincts yelling at his nobler side about what would happen if the missiles did follow him, and then the missiles actually started curving up to follow Danny and the boy managed to batten down the screaming primitive fears enough to do some thinking.
But not much, as the missiles had about 4000 pounds of thrust behind them and that allowed them to move considerably faster then Danny could. Then again, as mentioned, Hellfire missiles were technically air to surface weapons, designed to hit targets on the ground: despite their great lock on system, they really weren't meant to go chasing a target into the air. Now, why doesn't Danny use this and do some aerial fanciness until the missiles screwed up? The same reason Danny was flying into the air in the first place: even if he lost the missiles, they had to hit something. And that something would most likely be buildings filled with people.
So Danny was, for the moment, doing his own flying by the seat of his pants, as he flew high up into the air and started flying backwards, as the missiles began to curve towards him. Gritting his teeth, Danny ignited spectral fire on his hands, and as the first missile began to close in, he thrust out his hands and began firing.
Blast after blast slammed into the missile, causing it to stumble and then violently lurch, and Danny's heart leapt into his throat as he became afraid the missile would just lose its rocket booster and plummet into the heart of Amity Park…and then it exploded. Danny felt a brief surge of relief, which magnified when the second missile, which was right on the first one's tail, flew into the immediate explosion and was prematurely detonated by the heat. Danny would have let out a whoop, except there were still six missiles left, and they were farther behind: by the time they reached the spot where their first two fellows had met their ends, the explosions had dissipated enough to prevent the remaining six from being blown as well, and Danny yelped and kicked it into high gear again as the missiles flew after him, getting closer much quicker then he had expected. And despite his fear-driven air dash, they were gaining on him.
Peering up through the cockpit, Sizzle looked at the destruction of the first two missiles almost quizzingly. Looking down, she thought for a few seconds, and then glanced at the radar that showed Danny's position. Seeing what was happening, she smirked a bit, and then her helicopter turned slightly and she flew off in a different direction.
Leaving? Hardly. But Sizzle had been running on such high-octane screaming fury for so long that she had finally burned herself out, the insane rage finally being replaced by a colder, more refined wrath. True, it probably wouldn't take long for Sizzle's flames to fire up again…but at the moment, she was actually rather calm in her thinking process. Which was still to destroy Danny Phantom, but instead of just throwing stuff at him until he finally died, Sizzle was actually forming a strategy. She'd relied too much on the computer in this machine (indeed, some of you have wondered how Sizzle got into the Fenton-copter with there being a shield. The answer is, the shield was not turned on at that point: normally Maddie Fenton would have turned it on in advance, but she had, as you recall, been in a very offensive shoot them all and let God sort them out mindset, and it had slipped her mind. However, her computer had picked up the slack, as it had told her it had read the Fenton-copter actually beginning to attack and enquired if Maddie wanted to turn the shield on. Unfortunately, it was Sizzle in the driver's seat when that request had occurred, after she had launched the first volley of Spectral Destroyers, and Sizzle had just reacted by flipping the offered switch and resuming her "Die boy die" frame of mind. Considering how useful the shield had turned out to be, you can see what I mean about Sizzle just reacting and not thinking. On a side note, I rarely make these needed-to-be-retconned plot discrepancies, but hey, pobody's nerfect), she needed to actually think her way around destroying the boy. And she'd had an idea after watching his actions on the radar.
Said action was perhaps the hardest choice Danny had ever had to make in his life, one that could potentially haunt his dreams for the rest of his days, but Danny was, despite his gift/change/mutation/whatever the ghost portal had done to him, still human, and humans want to survive.
Danny had quickly discerned he couldn't outrun the missiles, and he had also discerned he couldn't stop and shoot at the missiles again because chances were one of them would get him before he got all of them. He'd tried shooting at them while on the move, but no dice: he couldn't aim well enough going at the speed he was going at to properly hit the missiles. And he couldn't wait around for one of the Titans to help: they might, but they also might not, and Danny didn't have the time.
So, he could do two things.
Stop, let the missiles hit him, and nobly give his life to ensure the missiles didn't harm his town. Which was pointless as Sizzle was still flying around and if he died with the Titans down they'd be nothing to stop her from turning her wrath on Amity Park.
Or, he could get the missiles out of the way by getting them to hit something else.
And the moral anguish was, there was nothing good he could crash them into. There were no nearby parks or abandoned districts he could reach before the missiles got him, nothing he could scapegoat with no risk, and if he tried to fly off and find one, the missiles would most likely get him before he could. He had to either crash the missiles into a building, which as previously mentioned was out of the question…or a street, and hope against hope that he avoided doing too much damage…or killing anyone.
And with six missiles needed to get rid of…the odds were against him.
A rock and a hard place.
The devil and the deep blue sea.
Damned if you do, damned if you don't.
It shows the character of a man, or a woman, if they can actually make a choice like this.
Danny did.
As he dove towards the ground, blocking out the horrors he could cause with the cold rationale he needed to do this.
And perhaps, finally, fate reached out and gave him a small blessing.
As he happened to see that a four way intersection between several tall buildings was relatively clear of cars. If he flew nearly straight down, the missiles should curve to the point where they would all hit the intersection of the four empty streets…but he knew it wouldn't be empty long, and this was probably the best chance he was going to get.
So down he went, the wind making his eyes water, even as his body reminded him he was beat, but Danny didn't care, he had to do this…the missiles were following him…but they were also getting even closer…was the grouping they were in tight enough to avoid hitting any buildings? Danny didn't have time to stop and figure it out, as he flew down between said buildings, drawing close to his target.
He flew over a car heading for the intersection, and he managed to turn and fire a blast at the hood, the car swerving when the relatively harmless to metal attack hit the hood, the cars behind it stopping in a scream of brakes. That helped take them out of danger, hopefully, and Danny managed to steal a glance upward. The missiles were coming, and they hadn't hit any buildings, but they were right on top of him and he was turning and putting everything he had into it as he flew and he saw some people and he fired at them to get them to run and then he was at the intersection and he had to look but there was no time he had to move as he dashed to one side and found cars coming…
The first missile hit where Danny had just been, and Danny felt an immense blow of heat and force slam into his back and propel him forward, and then the second missile hit and the third and the shockwaves were making him tumble through the air and sizzling bits of metal were slamming into his back and legs and he was bleeding and…
Danny slammed end first into the car windshield, smashing right through it as the male occupant screamed, even as the last of the missiles hit the ground and turned the four-sided street into a level of hell, fire and smoke exploding upward as windows shattered and nearby parked cars detonated as red hot bits of shrapnel pierced through their frames and people were thrown to the ground or went there on their own as the explosion blasted through their eardrums, even as the car Danny had crashed into swerved and found itself heading for a storefront window, a window the front end crashed into, Danny flying through a storm of glass and somehow not getting cut to ribbons as he flew into a bookcase and sent it crashing over, knocking over the following several rows like dominoes as one last wave of explosions and shrapnel rang through the streets.
And then silence.
Well, not really, but after the ear-rending noise of the explosions the dull crackle of fires and the screams, cries, and yells of people were almost akin to silence, as people got up, looked for loved ones, ran around, and generally acted like chickens with their heads cut off, as the center where Danny had directed the missiles burned brightly, belching huge clouds of smoke into the air.
Danny's eyes fluttered open, and for a moment he was amazed he was alive. Then his body reminded him there were downsides to that, as the exhaustion and ache came back full bore. But Danny toughed it out, as he rolled over, got to his knees, and somehow got to his feet. He was not aware of small pieces of metal falling out of his calves, thighs, buttocks, and back as he started staggering towards the hole the car had made, the bits of shrapnel being pushed out…by something. What? Who knew…all Danny wanted to know was if anyone was hurt, because that had been the curse of his plan, he so desperately didn't want anyone to be hurt…
An empty driver's seat and a blown air bag, as well as a lack of blood, at least assured Danny that the driver of the car had escaped, as Danny staggered past said car, limping and looking around. He saw people running, screaming, and yelling that the end of the world had come…but he didn't see anyone writhing on the ground, or worse, unmoving on the ground, even as he walked out onto the middle of the street, trying to see everywhere…
And then he stopped, needing air, suddenly very tired, almost to the point of wanting to go to sleep right there, but he couldn't, he had to see if everyone was all right, but then again, what could he do, he'd done everything he could have, and he could hear sirens…sirens, and no screams that sounded like agony…and…and…
Danny's mouth went dry as he heard the sound. The sound of helicopter blades.
And then it emerged, coming from the black smoke like an ancient demon from the pit, Sizzle flying the helicopter through the choking murk as Danny turned around, his eyes wide and pleading, but he knew there would be no mercy and Sizzle's cruel smile reflected that, as she moved one hand away from the main flying stick and to a new, smaller one.
"Oh no." Danny said.
The chain gun erupted, blasting out hot lead, and Danny found his body on autopilot, finding new stores of energy as he turned and ran for his life, even as the huge 30mm shells began striking the ground behind him and blowing small holes in it like each bullet was a small bomb, a line of mini-detonations that was chasing down Danny, as he tried to run with his limp even as he knew this was pointless he wasn't faster then a speeding bullet he had to fly to fly to…
Danny's body left the ground half a second before it would have been blown into several smaller pieces, as Danny flew down the street, even as people began screaming again and Sizzle, her smile fading as she shoved the helicopter forward, the aircraft flying off after Danny even as it shot at Danny, the chain gun ripping a line of devastation wherever the bullets hit.
Danny didn't counter-attack, and he didn't even bother yelling at people to get out of the way: he just blew them out of the way with spectral blasts if they were too close to him or if they didn't have enough sense to get out of the way themselves. Even so, Sizzle's bullets wrecked havoc, turning anything they touched into ruins: mailboxes, newsstands, fire hydrants, and a few cars that erupted into flame as the huge shells easily went through their frail metal forms, sparks igniting the gas tanks and causing more explosions, and as much as he wanted to Danny forced himself to fly on, because he knew the second he stopped Sizzle would reduce his form to bloody mist, but he was running out of room to fly as the road was coming to an end, turning to the left, and Danny instinctively turned and…
Stopped dead.
Unlike the previous street, this street was full of cars. And people.
And Sizzle was right behind him.
Literally, as Sizzle flew around the corner at a dangerous speed, barely turning and stopping before the side of the helicopter crashed into the building, the rotors barely missing the glass side of the skyscraper that would have shredded the motors and caused the vehicle to crash…most likely taking Maddie Fenton with it. However, the crazy move didn't exactly sit well with the helicopter, as Sizzle tried to turn it to properly face Danny and found it turning nearly 180 degrees instead. She cursed and spat, trying to get her machine back under control.
Danny took advantage.
"RUNNNNNN!" he screamed, hoping he could somehow be heard over the noise of the helicopter. He had some luck as the cars had stopped and people had actually started getting out to stare at this out of the ordinary sight, and then he started firing EE blasts again, trying to scare the people out of the way. It worked, somewhat, but what really worked was when Sizzle yanked the helicopter back the way it had been and overcompensated again, turning the helicopter in another 180 degree spiral (good thing the corner was REALLY large) even as she tried to fire at Danny again, but the chain gun was tilted too high and the blast went over Danny's head and exploded a line across the windows of one building and over to the other. THAT was enough to send the crowd into a full blown panic, which was bad in and of itself, but at least they had a chance, even as Danny fired a few more EE blasts to give people wings on their feet, and then he looked over his shoulder and gasped as Sizzle finally righted the helicopter. He couldn't stand still any longer.
"Now I have you!" Sizzle snarled, and opened fire again.
Danny took off as the chain gun blazed, and Sizzle followed. People screamed and ran for their lives as the chain gun tore through more cars, more explosions blasting through the street, but Danny had bought enough time for people to flee into the buildings and the subways, and that was all he could do as his body was now going from prodding to screaming that it had had enough. But Danny was ignoring that as the bullets were starting to catch up. Danny didn't want to fly up: if he put some distance between the two of them Sizzle could lock on more missiles and this time he knew he couldn't outrun them, and he doubted he'd get another spot to dispose of them. Instead, Danny started zig-zagging, trying to throw off the fact that Sizzle couldn't swivel the chain gun all that effectively without a co-pilot serving as gunner, but Sizzle just matched his move by flying back and forth across the street with him, getting dangerously close to the sides of the buildings each time but managing to avoid a crash. Part of this was the fact that Maddie Fenton was somewhat of a natural at being a helicopter pilot and the other part was that despite the great effectiveness of this weapon Sizzle was not afraid of crashing it. Why should she be? She couldn't die, she was already dead.
So she kept after Danny, the chain gun tearing through everything in its way, which was mostly cars (people? Who knew, Danny didn't have time to check), explosions, shrapnel, and worse nipping at Danny's heels as he fled, and he was coming to a T-section in the road, his route forward blocked by a tall building, he had to make another turn…
He stopped, looking right first…which was fortunate, as it allowed him to see immediately that it was the optimum way to go: there was no one in that direction. Instead, a line of cars went up the street to one of Amity Park's true skyscrapers…and Danny didn't have much time to ponder anything else as Sizzle was on his tail, as he flew down the road. There were no civilians: that was all that mattered.
After flying for a few seconds, Danny turned to look…and was surprised to find Sizzle wasn't still behind him. She must have gotten hung up somewhere…and after flying backwards a few more dozen feet, he stopped. He had a feeling he knew what was coming…
His whole body suddenly spasmed with pain, and Danny hunched over, his breath escaping in a gasp. It was worse then he thought. He couldn't keep it going much longer. But what could he do…
Sizzle emerged from the corner, and Danny somehow managed to shove the pain down as the helicopter again made a dangerous turn, nearly crashing into the building on its left side before Sizzle righted it. From her cockpit, Sizzle glared intensely at Danny. Danny matched her look, ready for what he was guesstimated she would do.
"The force is strong in this one." Sizzle muttered, and then wondered why she had said something like that as she locked onto Danny again.
"Please don't use all the remaining missiles." Danny said.
The rockets on the deadly projectiles ignited and flew at Danny…four of them. But Danny didn't have time to pat himself on the back for his correct guess: he still had to stop them, as his hands glowed brightly. His body screamed at him for the action, telling him that he was getting dangerously close to trying to get blood from a stone…but Danny didn't care. He had to save his mother, and to do that he had to stop Sizzle, and to do that…well, Danny honestly didn't have a clue, he was making this up as he went along.
Danny fired an ectoshot at the first missile, at a precise angle: the blast slammed into the nose and changed its pitch ever so slightly, which resulted in the missile nosediving into the street, blowing up two cars and sending several more up in flames. Danny was aware that Sizzle was coming up the street after her missiles, but he was more concerned as he started flying backwards. He couldn't aim well while doing this but he didn't need a direct hit for the second: just enough to send it off course. Three spectral blasts slammed into the missile before it lurched to the side and into an old building that was scheduled for demolition: the missile did the job for the city. Convenient, eh?
But Danny was out of strokes of luck, as well as almost out of room: he was backed up against the skyscraper, the branch of some big real estate business, nice building with a lovely fountain in the front. Danny couldn't pause to admire it though, as the third and forth missiles were almost there, and behind them, Sizzle, with a lot more where that came from.
Danny stopped where he was and concentrated fire on the third missile, several powerful blasts slamming into the weapon and finally causing it to explode in mid air. By now Danny's body felt like he was being dipped in acid, but he still had one more missile, as it punched through the fading flame cloud and flew in…
And Danny flew straight up at the last micro-second and fired his last bit of ectoplasmic energy downward, the shot slamming into the nose and sending the missile in a tailspin right down into the lovely fountain, which was reduced to not so lovely ruins as Danny flew up and away from the explosion, even as he began to feel light headed…
Sizzle's helicopter broke through the smoke cloud of the explosion, and she gasped and pulled up before she crashed into the skyscraper. The helicopter stopped…right under the ruins of the fountain…as several water pipes finally burst from the damage and a new fountain was born, right under Sizzle, the immediate water pressure so intense that it nearly flipped the helicopter upside down. Alarms sounded and sparks shot from the console as Sizzle screamed and dragged the spasming machine out of the water, as the computer warned that the water was in all kinds of places it shouldn't be, which was even more indicated by the fact that smoke had begun flowing from various parts of the aircraft.
"Damn ittttttttt……" Sizzle cursed, and even though the computer warned her not to, she put the helicopter in a steep ascent after Danny.
Who had just about hit the roof, and was lucky he didn't hit the building: his vision had begun blurring and splitting, and his muscles had actually gone beyond pain and gone totally numb, and even as Danny tried to figure out which way was up and which way was down, he floated over the edge of the building, staggered back and forth a little…
And then the circles appeared around Danny, and a second later Danny Fenton fell the few feet to the rooftop. He lay there, panting for a bit, before he realized what had happened.
"Oh no." He said, looking at his completely normal hands. "Oh no!"
Danny got up…
And Sizzle flew up beside the building, the helicopter engine noise roaring in Danny's ears, even as the wind blew him back, and he gasped and looked at the machine, eyes wide with fear.
Sizzle looked at the now human boy with curiosity.
"Well then, I guess the game is over." Sizzle said, as she began arming the last four missiles. The computer kept telling her that the lock-ons and struts were damaged, that the missiles would be wild, but Sizzle didn't much care. By now it was like shooting fish in a barrel.
Danny's head jerked over to a small shack. If he knew his skyscrapers, that shack led to the stairs that would take him into the actual building. And while he didn't know how safe he'd be in that, any port in a storm.
Danny started running frantically towards the shack.
Sizzle just shook her head: it figured it would end this way. Men, despite their claims to the contrary, didn't have much in the way of courage when faced with such a superior foe. Not to mention she was utterly sick of the boy, and she wanted him dead.
"So long fucker." Sizzle said, and fired the missiles. The struts sparked, but they launched Sizzle's four remaining Hellfire's, down at the roof Danny was running on.
Danny felt rather then heard the missiles coming.
"AHHHHHHHHHH NUUUUUUUUUTTTTSSSSSSSSSS!" Danny screamed, and then he was thrown off his feet and a huge cloud of dust and smoke enveloped him a second before the entire roof went up in flames, the backlash sending Sizzle's helicopter into another spin, but Sizzle just rode that one, laughing merrily.
"Ohhhhhhhhh…how sweet it is…!" Sizzle laughed as the helicopter went back to normal so she was observing the smoking roof, though her helicopter blades were rapidly blowing the smoke away. "Farewell forever…"
More smoke blew away…revealing a form. Sizzle's eyes widened.
"WHAT?"
Coughing and retching, a scorched and battered but still alive Danny Fenton was getting to his feet. As mention, the water had messed up Sizzle's lock on systems…and that had allowed him to escape all four missiles. How had he escaped the area effect and shrapnel? Apparently someone liked him.
"No. NOOOOOO!" Sizzle screamed. Well if she couldn't get the job done with missiles she'd settle for bullets…
Which were refusing to fire. Sizzle looked at the vid-screen that had come up before her.
"Chain gun jammed. Missile rails damaged. Would you like to initiate repairs?"
Sizzle snarled, but she knew she didn't have a choice.
"Yes." She said, grinding her teeth.
Danny was fully up by now, looking at his hands again.
"I'm alive? But…"
And then he recalled Sizzle, and he whirled…and saw that her chain gun and missile struts were retracting into the Fenton-copter. Danny didn't know what that meant, but he wasn't going to look this gift horse in the mouth…
And he happened to glance at his right leg, and his eyes widened. About an eternity ago, he'd stuck the Mini Fenton Ghost Catcher in his boot while in ghost state and forgotten about it. Now he remembered…and was finding that the device that could remove a ghost from the person possessed by it was gone. Where did it go? For a moment, Danny actually pawed at his pant leg to see if it was there. No dice. Wherever his costume went when he returned to normal, it had apparently taken the device with it.
Well, if he had to change back to get it, he'd do so, as changing back would greatly increase his chances for survival anyway, as he concentrated…
And got nothing. Zip. Zilch. Zero. The well wasn't just dry, it was Antarctic Desert, which hadn't had rain for two million years. Danny may have been improving in power somehow…but it had limits and they were DONE. Danny was stuck as a normal.
And Sizzle was stuck without weapons, and was rapidly on the verge of throwing that temper tantrum she nearly had thrown at the end of the last chapter.
Until something occurred to her. Against a human…she didn't need a weapon. This copter would SERVE as a weapon.
Once again, that cruel smile was back.
"If at first you don't succeed…get nastier." Sizzle said, as she yanked the stick down.
(Writer's Note: This was actually the original planned cliffhanger for Part 4! Trivia! Yay! Uh, we now return you to your regularly scheduled fanfic…or something…)
Danny was rudely jerked out of his pondering on just where the Fenton Mini Ghost Catcher had gone by the sudden increase of noise as Sizzle began flying the helicopter in towards the roof. He arched an eyebrow.
"Huh?"
Smirking, the smile hiding the great deal of effort needed to do this right, Sizzle flew in close to the roof and then carefully tilted the nose of the helicopter down, down, down…until she had put the machine at a near 60 degree angle to the roof…and pointed the whirling chopper blades in Danny's direction. Looking up through her cockpit, Sizzle's smirk increased in length as she twisted the stick and began flying towards Danny.
Danny yelped as he realized what Sizzle had done: turned the helicopter into a Cuisinart. He had to get out of here, NOW. The helicopter was moving fairly slowly, he could run to the stairs, where were the stairs, the stairs…
Danny found them with his eyes.
And his heart filled with ice.
The small shack that had once held the stairs was now a smoldering pile of metal rubble, courtesy of one of Sizzle's missiles. There was nowhere to run, except maybe around Sizzle…except the wind from the helicopter's whirling blades was making any kind of movement difficult.
Danny tried anyway, running to the left…only to find himself being blown back by the wind. He tried to go back to the right…and found Sizzle cutting him off. He backed up, away from the spinning blades…
And almost stepped onto thin air. Danny gasped and stopped as he realized he was at the very edge of the building…and Sizzle had cut him off from any retreat.
He was caught again, this time between the devil and the deep open air. Danny looked behind him as if needing to verify his mess, and then turned back to the approaching helicopter. Fear was now flooding his body…but with it came determination.
"All right…" He said as Sizzle closed in now. "Now, more then ever…I'M GOIN' GHOST!"
And Danny reached deep deep down within himself…
And found nothing.
He'd had it. Not even his impending death could squeeze another drop from whatever he drew his power from.
Danny Fenton was suddenly aware he was going to die. He had been aware of it before, but this time, he had no hope of escaping it.
Danny looked at the blades as they approached him. So he had one last choice left. Step off and fall, or be turned into hamburger.
He wondered which way. If he stepped back he was a coward. Soldiers were supposed to take death like men. But those deaths usually came from bullets: Danny could conceive of taking a bullet like a man but had no idea how to take giant, razor sharp shredding blades…
They filled his vision, all he knew was their blurring form…and the devilish gleam in Sizzle's eye.
Three feet.
And then four feet, as Danny, not so much in any real choice but as an instinctive reaction by his body he couldn't control, took a step back.
And found, like many before him, gravity could be a truly vengeful mistress.
"Ah FUCK!" Sizzle snarled as Danny stepped off the edge and disappeared from view. She'd wanted to see his blood and guts splatter all over the windshield. Well, maybe she could get a sample off the ground…
And Danny, more then anything, as he started to fall, was looking up to the sky…and apologizing to it. He'd already said a million apologies before to his family and friends for his failings…but strangely, now, he mourned that he would never piece that blue veil and see what lay beyond the planet, the planet that was carrying him back to it's bosom, that planet that would take his body violently…and yet…the sky was so beautiful…
As the white lines swung out, wrapping around Danny, and he blinked, confused at the sudden change, and then the reality came roaring back: he had been falling to his death…operative word being BEEN, as he was now wrapped in white energy attached to another form, as Savior shot out another coil as they fell, grabbing a roof and pulling them in like a fishing line.
And Sizzle screamed in her helicopter, the rage finally firing up again. What kind of a charmed life did that bastard boy lead? Even when he was doomed…his fucking Titan allies snatched him from the jaws of death. Well, if they kept denying death her snack, Sizzle was going to serve her up a feast, as she twisted the helicopter around, planning to do a wide turn in order to close in quicker.
"Jesus rookie!" Savior said as he set himself and Danny down on the roof, the fourteen year old looking stunned. "You certainly have a set to gamble that one of us would be able to catch you before you went splat."
"Huh…set…gamble…?" Danny muttered.
"Hey, kid! Snap out of it rookie!" Savior said, snapping his fingers in front of Danny. "Don't zone out now, this is a REAL bad time!"
"What? Huh? Where…" Danny said, as he finally came to. "What…Savior! You caught me?"
"No, this is heaven. God is apparently highly unoriginal." Savior said. "Don't thank me kid, it comes with the territory. You fall, we catch you. You can't count on much in this life but with any and all gods as my witnesses you can count on that." Savior said as he turned, looking as Sizzle began approaching the pair, though she was still fairly far away. "Damn, where did she get THAT ordnance?"
"Apparently my…parents left it on the helicopter." Danny said, suddenly ashamed. When Savior looked at him though, there was no judgment in the look.
"Great. Peachy keen. Ok, second question: why are you like that?" Savior said, indicating Danny's normal form.
"Uh…I kinda ran out of power."
"You did?"
"Yeah."
"You never bothered to test your limits, get a handle on how much stamina you had? Didn't you ever think a day like this might come?" Savior said: NOW he was looking judgmental.
"I…had homework!"
"Great, just GREAT!" Savior yelled. Sizzle was closing in, and the chain gun had apparently been repaired as it was emerging again. Savior didn't hang around to see how good a job was done: he grabbed Danny with a Shimmer line, pulling the teen along with him with a yelp as Savior leapt off the building and shot out another line, swinging away. But one of the advantages of flight was you could take shortcuts, and as Savior swung down a road and turned the corner he suddenly found his vision filled with the Fenton-copter as Sizzle dropped down in front of him, or more specifically, the chain gun in front of him.
"JESUUUUUUUUSSSSSSSS!" Savior yelled as he suddenly found death staring him in the face. Sizzle waved with her free hand, and then reached down and pulled the trigger.
That saved Savior, as he was in mid-swing forward when Sizzle had appeared and his mind went with the move, as he abruptly changed the nature of the Shimmer strand he was swinging on even as, at the same time, he "retracted" it back into his palm. Along with that, he let go of Danny, hurling the screaming teenager up into the air even as the retracted strand pulled him out of the way of the bullets. Flying up above the helicopter, Danny looked down and realized that he was out of the frying pan and into the fire: he'd come right down on the whirling blades…
Of course, Savior wasn't going to allow that to happen, as he changed the nature of the Shimmer energy again, converting it to extreme elasticity that yanked him upward like a rocket. As he flew up, Danny started going down, still screaming…as Savior fired off twin Shimmer lines…grabbing the end of the helicopter blade. The rapidly whirling blade yanked Savior forward at super-high speed, so quick he actually flew straight under Danny as he continued to fall…even as a Shimmer line sprang out of Savior's back and snagged the kid, pulling the two away from the helicopter as Sizzle tried to figure out what was going on. Savior, meanwhile, flew right over a roof and then abruptly changed direction as he fired off another strand, grabbed the end of a building, and swung low and up, flying up and landing on a water tower. He set Danny down beside him.
And Danny punched Savior on the shoulder.
"DON'T EVER DO THAT AGAIN!" Danny yelled, not having much liked the trip. Savior looked wryly at him.
"If I hadn't let you go, your weight would have screwed me up, and there's a good chance you, I, or both of us would be dead." Savior said. "Trust me. I'm a pro at this kid."
"Hey, I'm not…" Danny began.
"Can you change back yet?" Savior said, cutting Danny off. Danny blinked, and tried. Nothing.
"No, I…"
"Well kid, I know you don't like it, but over the river and through the woods…!" Savior said as he grabbed Danny again and swung off as Sizzle flew up near the water tower, gnashing her teeth.
Savior swung a few times and then did a tight turn onto another street. Sizzle was right on his tail, once again nearly crashing into the side of a building as she followed. The chain gun began blazing again, and Danny yelled in fear as a blast of bullets missed the two heroes by a foot, blowing another line across the concrete. Fortunately, by now news had spread across Amity Park that there was a lunatic flying around town in an Apache helicopter and everyone was off the streets and mostly in basements. Good for them, as Savior zig-zagged back and forth across the street, Sizzle on his ass as the chain gun smashed windows and building fronts and blew up even more cars.
"How you doing up there kid?" Savior tossed over his shoulder as he swung around a corner, flew over a few roofs, and landed, running rapidly. Danny just yelled nonsense to indicate he wasn't happy. "Good!"
Sizzle was there, and a line of bullets was ripping across the roof towards the running pair. That wasn't too good: what was worse was that Savior was on a building that was on the edge of Amity Park and when he hit the end there was nothing to swing or leap to except the freeway coming into Amity Park…which was several hundred feet away. Savior didn't seem to notice this though, as he continued to run towards the edge, but Danny sure did.
"AHHHHH! STOP! NO MORE ROOF! NO MORE ROOF!"
"SHUT UP AND LET ME DRIVE!" Savior yelled back as he reached the end…and ran right off it. Danny was barely pulled over the edge by the Shimmer line Savior was carrying him with before the bullets hit where he had just been, Savior running straight down the side of the roof via the Shimmer strand that had emerged from his back and attached to the roof. He hit the ground and stepped off, running a few more feet…and then stopping, as he thrust out his hands and snatched up a car.
"Now what are you doing?" Danny asked.
"Buying us a few seconds." Savior said, as Shimmer strands lifted the car up.
Sizzle flew over the rooftop…
And Savior hurled the car, sending the vehicle crashing into the helicopter's underside and once again putting the battered vehicle in a spin, Sizzle doing her usual screaming curses.
"MY MOTHER'S IN THERE!" Danny yelled.
"Yeah, and if that thing can absorb Cyborg's Drillers I doubt that put her in much danger." Savior commented, as he ran a few more feet…stopping at a pair of lamp posts. He fired out twin Shimmer lines, each one grabbing the top of the pole.
"Hang on." Savior said.
"What are you doing NOOOOOOOOOWWWW….!" Danny screamed as Savior pulled out every bit of elastic and retractive force he could muster to fling himself up in the air and off into the distance, towards the aforementioned distant freeway. It was such a long flight, Danny had to stop, take a breath, and then continue screaming. And if you think Danny is acting like a wimp, let's just say that Danny is used to extraordinary experiences in his Halfa form. His human form…not so much.
The two dipped down on the freeway, Savior grabbing hold of an 18-Wheeler on route into Amity Park and dropping the two down on its roof, setting Danny down gently.
"Do you USUALLY pull such suicidal stunts, or is it only when you have a passenger along to properly terrify?" Danny snapped at Savior. Savior just glanced at him.
"Take calculated risks. That is quite different from being rash. George Patton." Savior quoted, and then looked over to the approaching helicopter. He looked back at Danny. "Can you turn back now?"
"Uh…I'm goin' ghost!" Danny yelled, reaching deep down again.
I'm sorry, any and all power is out right now, please leave a message and we'll get back to you when we can…
"No! I'm still tapped out!" Danny said.
"Great. Guess we have to do this the hard way." Savior said, as he reached under his coat again. "I managed to retrieve this. Here kid." Savior said, tossing Danny the Special Fenton Thermos. Danny would have been glad to see it…if not for his current situation.
"Give me the Ghost Kicker Outer Thingie, I'll see if I can get in close enough to use it." Savior said.
"Uh…" Danny replied. Savior looked back at Danny, clearly not happy.
"Please don't say you lost or broke it."
"Uh…well no…it's just kind of…" Danny said, not sure how to explain.
"Great. Forget the hard way, now we have to top Mr. Bond." Savior said. "Or rather, I do."
Danny couldn't believe what Savior did next.
Neither could Sizzle, as her contentment that her missiles were finally being reloaded abruptly dissolved as Savior formed a sign over him with the Shimmer.
Specifically, a sign that said "Hey Bitch, WHERE'S MY SANDWICH?"
"You FUCK!" Sizzle yelled, as she armed the only two missiles she had at the moment.
"What are you doing! She'll launch missiles at that distance!" Danny screamed.
"Yes, I just hope she doesn't launch too many." Savior replied. Danny looked at the white haired superhero and decided that there was no two bones about it: the guy was totally loonytoons.
And then the missiles were flying at them.
And Savior was flying at the missiles, as he grabbed the end of the truck and threw himself through the air, flying over the honking cars as the missiles headed for Danny, and Danny wondered if he was going to be faced with another jump/get reduced to bits choice.
In the end, no, as Savior flew under the missiles, twisted in mid-air, and launched out Shimmer strands. Danny's eyes widened.
"No way. This isn't going to work." Danny said.
Savior turned around again, being dragged by the missiles, missiles that were getting too close for comfort to Danny, and he started backing up with a scream, and then with his own yell of effort, Savior yanked down on the missiles as hard as he could, pulling the projectiles towards the ground…and them, almost instantly, shifting the weight and force of the Shimmer, he shoved the missile back UP…so that they were facing the other way.
As he landed on a car roof, Savior thrust down his arms.
And the missiles flew off, heading back towards Sizzle, whose eyes went as wide as saucers at this ridiculous manipulation of physics Savior had just pulled. But in the world of superheroes, the laws of the universe existed to be broken.
"FUUUUUUUUCKKKKKKKK!" Sizzle screamed, recoiling.
The missiles slammed into the Fenton-copter, blowing it back and sending it into another spin, and Danny screamed at the thought of his mother being hurt, but as it was quickly revealed, the armor on the Fenton-copter was truly extraordinary, as it took the brunt and stayed up, even though it continued to spin and smoke was once again pouring from several parts.
"Buddha fucking Jesus!" Sizzle cursed, as she once again found herself in a war to get her machine under control, the machine that somehow managed to keep failing and failing in her quest to kill the boy and the Titans…
And part of it was about to fail again. Specifically, the door, as a sudden loud noise sounded near Sizzle, and as she glanced at her side the door was suddenly wrenched right off and Sizzle found herself looking at Savior. The shield might have blocked a direct attack from the Shimmer, but once Savior had grabbed the underside of the helicopter and pulled himself through it, he was free to use his ability, and while the armor on the vehicle was extremely tough, the hinges in the door were small, thin, and breakable.
"Pull over, I need to check your license!" Savior yelled as he reached forward, grabbing Maddie Fenton by her outfit and trying to yank her out.
"FUCK OFF!" Sizzle screamed, letting go of the controls to punch and claw at Savior, but he had thrown Shimmer guards over his eyes and general soft spots, even as he tried to cut off the seat belt…
And then Sizzle's eyes blazed with fire.
"You think I traded in my bite for a new toy?" She asked.
The explosion blew Savior right off the helicopter, the flames totally consuming him, and Danny yelled in disbelief as the smoking form fell…
And was caught by a black energy hand.
Scorched, Savior shook his head, and then looked up at his lady love, Raven, who was looking down at him with a look that said, how could you have not factored that in?
Savior changed the subject, looking down, and then pulling something out from under his coat, something that was around his neck.
"Well, at least your flame guards work." Savior said.
"Yeah, now let's go grab Danny before Sizzle shoves a missile up his behind." Raven said.
And then, with a woosh, four more missiles flew from the helicopter, headed straight for Danny.
"Too late." Savior commented.
"Uh, help anyone? ANYONE!" Danny yelled as the missiles flew in.
Then a dark portal opened up near them and Raven flew out, her eyes and hands glowing.
"ZINTHOS!" she finished yelling, as black energy encased the missiles and stopped them. For a moment they hung there, Raven making a low groan of immense effort and pain, and then the missiles broke into pieces, yanked into their component parts. Raven flew to the side, even as she threw the now harmless debris off the side of the highway, and Danny, safe for now, looked back at the Fenton-copter…and saw two more missiles had been loaded and were probably seconds away from firing.
"Man, I wish I could still fly." Danny said.
And suddenly Savior was next to him, the Shimmer grabbing him by his shoulders.
"Wish granted." Savior said, and hurled Danny off the truck and through the air. Danny screamed again…and then a black energy hand caught him, as Raven swooped in and saved him from becoming roadkill.
The missiles Danny had observed fired, and Savior leapt forward, putting his hands together as the Shimmer flowed out and formed into a huge mace-like weapon, and he swung it out, slamming it into the side of one missiles and half smashing half shoving it into the other. The two veered off course for a few seconds before exploding, and then Savior landed on the roof of an SUV, denting the metal. He paused for a second to see if the driver swerved in panic: he or she didn't. Indeed, the road was keeping it together pretty well despite the battle raging over them. Or maybe the "drivers talking on cellphones and hence dead to the world" had hit a new epidemic height, but Savior didn't care, as long as a thirty car pileup could be avoided. He looked back to Raven.
"Raven! The sides of the highway are relatively bare for the next mile! Throw the missiles there!" Savior thought, not wanting to try and yell over the noise of the highway. Raven, a telepath, heard him as clear as a bell. "You and I, switching off!"
"Got it." Raven said, and then she flew forward, and Danny was aware that the energy holding him was starting to shift.
"What's going on?" He asked.
"Trust me." Raven said.
And then she tossed Danny to the side, the poor teen so shocked by this that he didn't even get a chance to scream before Savior bounded across several cars, leapt into the air, grabbed him, and dropped down onto another 18 wheeler.
"AHHHH! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!"
"Making it as hard to target you as possible, so we can deal with the missiles easier." Savior said, as Raven flew forward, two more missiles heading for her, missiles that had been launched roughly at the same time Danny was getting a bird's eye view of the highway. She reached out, concentrating, and then black energy grabbed the missiles and shoved them towards each other. They too collided in mid air and detonated, even as Raven flew backwards, seizing whatever wreckage of the detonated she could and tossing it to the side so it didn't fall through some poor schmuck's windshield.
"Here we go." Savior said, and Danny couldn't even protest before Savior used the Shimmer to toss the two of them off the truck, and then he hurled Danny to Raven, who caught him as another missile fired off. Savior threw out a line, grabbed it, and yanked it off to the side, the missile flying and exploding into a barren field as Savior bounced back over the cars and Raven threw Danny back to him before he could even complain to her that he didn't want to be treated as a softball. While Savior grabbed the yelling/protesting/screaming/generally not very happy Danny and began doing Matrix acrobatics with the Shimmer back and forth along both lines of the highway., Raven flew in and grabbed the next missile with her black power, snapping it in half like a carrot stick and tossing it to the side where it exploded.
"How much longer are you going to do this?" Danny yelled, as he knew what was coming next.
"Until she runs out of ammo or we run out of the proper space to do this, whatever comes first." Savior said, and tossed Danny to Raven as she flew past him, Raven catching him as Sizzle launched yet another missile, apparently now so mad all she could do was pull the trigger again and again. Savior leapt across the rooftops of several sturdier cars and lashed a powerful blow against the side of the missile: the weapon spun off and exploded in the air next to the highway, and Savior grabbed onto a nearby truck and hurled himself back the way he came, Raven throwing Danny to him as she went in to take care of her missile(s).
It didn't take her long to realize something was wrong: the missile was flying too low. Sizzle had finally wised up and figured that if the Titans wanted to keep stopping her missiles, she'd make them work for it. And so she'd fired at the street.
Thrown off, Raven only had time to grab the missile and rip the explosive head off before the body crashed into the highway, and the street erupted in a gigantic squeal of brakes and other automobile noise as the myriad vehicles in front of the fallen missile tried to avoid it. Raven barely had time to get rid of the explosive tip of the missiles before she had to swoop down and start deflecting and moving cars with her powers, not wanting a huge crash to happen because of her error. But the strain of diverting/moving/outright STOPPING so many heavy machines was murderous, as Raven fought with all her might to give the cars with some distance from the accident time to stop (and hopefully there wouldn't be a crash in the distance, but the Titans were superheroes, not gods).
Raven succeeded…at a cost: she collapsed, utter exhausted and spent. Her brain immediately slipped into a meditative state to allow her the rest she needed: it wouldn't take long, but for now she was out of the fight.
Savior had known that when he saw her trying to stop the cars, and he had changed the plan accordingly, finally leaping off the highway as it came back into Amity Park and swinging through the downtown streets again. He figured it wouldn't be long until Sizzle was joining them again.
"Our incorrigible little friend in sight yet?" Savior yelled: the way he was carrying Danny was from a strand coming from his shoulder that held Danny slightly above him so Danny wouldn't get in the way. Danny was currently facing the opposite way Savior was, so while the boy was powerless he could serve as a second pair of eyes. At least the boy hadn't lost the Thermos: he'd strapped it to his back.
"No! I don't suppose you could just let me off somewhere and let me rest?" Danny asked.
"Forget it! She wants you! She loses you, there's nothing to stop her from letting loose on the nearest building and KKEEEE-RIST!" Savior yelled as the helicopter swung into the street in front of them, stopping the Titan in his (metaphorical) tracks. When you could fly, you could take shortcuts. Especially when you had a permanent lock on your target and a handy map you could bring up on the special cockpit videoscreen in front of you.
"Six…ten….fourteen…" Savior was saying.
"What?" Danny yelled.
"That helicopter holds sixteen missiles so there…"
The last two remaining missiles fired at the pair. Savior immediately reversed direction and starting swinging backwards.
"Do you see any civilians?" Savior yelled.
"Wha? Uh, no!" Danny yelled.
"Good, hang on!" Savior yelled as he swung down to the street, hit the ground running as the missiles flew in…and then he turned, grabbing a pair of cars with his ability.
"I really hope they're insured." Savior yelled, and then he hurled the pair of cars into the missiles.
The shockwave sent Savior tumbling ass over elbows backwards: Danny actually got the better treatment as the Shimmer strand was holding him a few feet above the ground and instead of getting tangled around Savior's body it moved around via itself (for newbies, the Shimmer has been theorized but never proven to possess some kind of sentience, aka self awareness, aka it might be alive in some way, which is why it can do that kind of stuff), so Danny stayed off the ground while Savior tumbled along finally, finally coming to a stop a few dozen feet away.
"I think I just lost about a pound of skin." Savior groaned.
"Ummmmm…" Danny replied, and then his eyes widened as the oh so familiar by now sound of an approaching helicopter filled his ears. "Uh, uh…!"
"Yeah I know." Savior said as he pushed himself to his feet and started running, tossing out more strands and swinging up into the air, as Sizzle once again did her dangerous spin to change direction move (and considering how banged up the Fenton-copter looked now, that probably wasn't the wisest move to be doing), and was about to start after them…and then she noticed something.
"Hmmmmmm." Sizzle said, looking at what lay at the end of the street. Then she yanked the stick up and flew off.
Savior didn't notice: he had pulled out his communicator and was holding it in front of him with another Shimmer strand as he swung down the street towards the skyscraper at the end.
"Cyborg, are you there? Have you finished repairing yourself yet?" Savior asked.
"Almost! How much trouble are you in?"
"Me, not sure, but if this battle goes on any longer there won't be an Amity Park left!" Savior said. Danny was yelling at him, but Savior ignored him: he had to finish. "Be ready when you show up, it's a real mess!" Savior said, signing off and immediately trying to raise Starfire.
"Starfire, are you there? Answer if possible! Starfire! Star!" Savior yelled into the communicator: nothing but static. "Shit!"
"SAVIOR! SAVIOR!" Danny was now screaming at the top of his lungs.
"WHAT?"
"She's gone!" Danny yelled, pointing, and Savior turned and found, much to his surprise, that Sizzle was indeed not chasing them.
"Where did she go?" Savior asked.
"Why are you asking me? I don't know!" Danny replied.
"Great. Now what?" Savior said as he looked around…and saw the skyscraper he had almost reached. "Ok, we need to find her! High altitude point!" Savior said, and started swinging again, and when he reached the skyscraper, began pulling himself and Danny up it.
Too bad that was exactly what Sizzle had guessed he would do. As mentioned, when not screaming mad, she had a fair brain on her.
Savior pulled himself up onto the roof, doing a small flip and landing, setting Danny down next to him. He paused to take a few breaths: all this running was tiring.
"You ok?" Danny asked.
"Yeah. Great. Better then the Atkins diet." Savior replied. "Ok look kid…"
And then Savior arched an eyebrow as he suddenly became aware of the noise.
"Oh fuck me."
Sizzle rose up on the opposite side of the skyscraper, smiling viciously, and why wouldn't she? She'd predicted the boys would go straight to the top of the building in some kind of bizarre phallic bonding Freudian desire something or other, and she'd reacted accordingly, flying around Amity Park and up the side of the building.
And now she had the two dead in her sights, and while her missiles were once again being reloaded, her chain gun was ready and about to go.
"Eep." Danny said, turning as white as his shirt.
"You're fired." Sizzle replied, in an echo of the greatest cheesy line ever uttered in a movie. Strangely, by a male movie star turned politician who wasn't well known for having treated women well.
"Ah crap." Savior replied, and then Danny was being yanked to the ground by a Shimmer line, Savior putting his body over his as a myriad of strands sprang from his back and right hand, covering the two in a protective cocoon, going as thick as it could in the second or two Savior had, as Savior braced himself for the impacts.
Sizzle opened fire on the energy dome.
As mentioned, Savior's clothing was highly refined armor, but it was armor designed to take bullets designed to kill human targets. Bullets from the Glocks and Smith and Wessons of the world. Not bullets from a M230 30mm chain gun, which fired rounds that were designed to puncture tanks and armored personal carriers. Body armor or no body armor, those kinds of rounds would have blown Savior's limbs right off with a single shot and punched holes in his torso the size of a basketball. No, this required the Shimmer's protection.
And indeed, the Shimmer was very good protection. It only had one major weakness: blades. And since bullets didn't so much cut or pierce their targets as they so much used the high velocity behind their ejection to ram right through them, the Shimmer was a very good shield against bullets…but even it couldn't take a myriad of impacts like the kind a 30mm depleted uranium shell could make and shrug it off like Superman could, and the cost of having to take it had to happen somewhere.
In this case, Savior's body, as an immense feedback from the barrage being rained onto the Shimmer tore through his form, all his muscles feeling like they were cramping up and all his nerves igniting and yelling that they didn't like this sensation. But Savior held the shield, pouring more and more "material" onto it to try and lessen the unique agony, trying to make as many of the bullets deflect off the barrier instead of outright absorbing the impacts, but it was still hell, and Danny, under Savior, knew it from the growling/moaning snarl that Savior was making under his breath, right into Danny's ear, even as Sizzle reduced the roof to swiss cheese, the glow of the tracers sparkling in her eyes…
And then the chain gun cut out.
Sizzle's happy look faded.
"What the fuck? It was just getting good!"
"Chain gun ammo depleted. Reload?" The computer asked. Sizzle snarled again.
"Yeah, fine! Fucking killjoy!" Sizzle cursed.
And the Shimmer shield pulled away and disappeared from above Danny, and he blinked and then looked as Savior pulled himself away from him. Danny looked at the Titan and gasped: blood was pouring from his nose and his ears. The cost of heroism.
"…………sorry kid…you're…on your own." Savior said, and passed out, blood pooling around his head.
Danny looked at the fallen Titan, and then looked back at Sizzle, as the chain gun withdrew back into the Fenton-copter, Sizzle taking in the scene below her.
"Well, at least I got one of the sons of bitches!" She said happily. Maybe with both her weapons being reloaded she could try her blender move again…
Danny looked up at the helicopter, as flashes of memory flew through his head…
Starfire's limp form flying off in the distance…
Cyborg falling to the ground with him helpless to stop it…
Raven collapsing on the highway road…
Savior's blood around his feet…
Danny's fists clenched so tight the knuckles whitened, and then he reached behind him, undid the Fenton Thermos, and dropped it to the ground as he turned furious eyes on the Fenton-copter.
"THIS. WILL. NOT. STAND!" Danny yelled, and once again he reached down within himself, as deep as he ever did, and this time he was either going to have a heart attack or he was… "I'M…GOING….GHOST!"
The circles sprang up around him, their luminescence wrapping around his form and finally bringing him back to what he was.
He was Danny Phantom.
And he was PISSED.
"SIZZZZZZZZZZLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEE!" Danny screamed, even as he kicked the Thermos up to his hand and snapped it back around him.
Sizzle looked down at the once again Halfa boy. She snorted disdainfully.
"Some people never learn."
And Danny launched himself at the Fenton-copter.
