Ahoy, mateys! How is all? Since I got more reviews than usual (one more) and since I was more in the mood than usual, I was able to bring you Chapter 5 now. Also, did any of you see the commercial for the Ha-Ha Holidays starting next week? I'm sure you saw clips of Danny Phantom's special, "The Fright Before Christmas". Can't wait for it! It's on December 6 at 8:30 PM. Don't miss it!
Along with that, "Secret Weapons" is scheduled to air on December 9 at 9:00 PM! It was postponed from November 18, but this time I think it's genuine. Two DP premieres in one week! How cool!
Now that that's out of the way, here we go with Chapter 5! Danny and Steve's battle can now begin!
Ghostly Competition
Chapter Five: Phantom vs. Spirit
Sam got out of the way and watched behind a bush with Tucker as Danny and Steve flew straight at each other to start the battle off.
Danny threw a punch at Steve but Steve quickly ducked and fired a ghost ray at him. Danny projected an ectoplasmic rebounder and it bounced away. Steve fired another, but Danny kept the rebounder held out and it bounced away as well.
Still with the rebounder up, Danny flew straight at Steve.
Realizing he couldn't hit Danny since his rebounder was still up, Steve dropped below and fired a ghost ray from below Danny. But Danny saw this and diverted his rebounder downward so the ghost ray bounced off once again.
Danny said to Steve, "Had enough, Spirit?"
Steve growled, "Not a chance, Phantom."
But as Steve said this, he knew that Danny had practiced with the rebounder very well. It was deflecting everything he threw at him. But he knew it couldn't protect him from everything.
Steve shouted, "Try this!" He fired another ghost ray with his right hand.
Danny sighed, "Oh, please." He held up the rebounder again to block it. But just after he fired the ghost ray, Steve suddenly fired another ghost ray with his left hand.
Danny gasped, "What the?" He blocked the first ray easily but wasn't fast enough for the second, which hit him in the head and sent him hurtling to the ground. As he did, his rebounder disintegrated.
Danny sat up and rubbed his head, which ached.
Steve looked down at him and shouted, "Not so high and mighty now, huh Phantom?"
Danny growled and fired a ghost ray at Steve, but Steve quickly dodged it. He then flew at a head-long dive toward Danny. Seeing the other hybrid coming, Danny quickly phased through the ground and out of sight.
Steve stopped diving and called out, "Come out, Phantom! There's no respect for being a coward!"
From behind him, Danny said, "Not cowardice, just a temporary retreat to regroup."
Steve turned around and saw Danny, but not fast enough as Danny fired a ghost ray at him, which hit and knocked him down.
Steve got up and fired a ghost ray at Danny, with Danny doing the same. The ghost rays collided and hung in mid-air for a few seconds, and then came a large explosion, knocking both hybrids backward, but they hung in mid-air still. A huge cloud of smoke filled the area where the explosion went off.
Steve tried to fly through the smoke to Danny but coughed as the smoke surrounded him. Then he held his breath and waited for it to clear.
When it cleared, he saw Danny right in front of his face! Danny punched him and he was knocked down to the ground.
Danny then yelled down to Steve, "Don't you get it, Spirit? You're no better than I am!" Then he held out his hand and said, "Couldn't we just burry the hatchet and join forces?"
Steve scowled and angrily replied, "Not gonna happen." Then he flew straight up at Danny and gave him a hard punch with both hands. Steve remained on Danny and drove him up into a tree before letting him go and floating downward.
After a few seconds, Danny dropped out of the thicker part of the tree, bouncing off a few branches before hitting the ground. Unfazed, he got up and fired another ghost ray at Steve. Steve flew out of the way, flying at Danny as he did.
Danny flew upward and away from Steve, and then flew straight down, giving him a hard kick right in the face. Steve fell down and was slow to get up.
Danny landed back on the ground and called out, "Steve, maybe we should stop this before someone gets hurt bad."
Steve glared at Danny and said, "No way." Then he ran at Danny and tried to punch him. Danny flew up and landed behind him.
As he did, Steve smirked, "That's what I hoped you'd do." Then he fired a ghost ray at Danny. Danny ducked and said, "Ha! Missed!"
Steve just smiled, "Did I?"
Just then, Danny heard a loud creaking behind him and saw that the tree had a hole in it and was falling! Danny couldn't get out of the way in time and it fell right on him!
Fearing the worst, Sam and Tucker cried, "DANNY!"
But just then, something rose out through the tree. It was Danny!
Danny phased out of the tree, turned to Steve and said, "Not clever enough, my friend." Then he flew upward, with Steve doing the same.
Steve tried to punch him, but Danny dodged and tried to kick him. His foot connected and Steve went flipping through the air. But as he did, he fired a ghost ray. It was somehow right on the money and it struck Danny, knocking him to the ground.
Still flipping, Steve fired another ghost ray at the ground. It hit right where he was going to fall, and the blast it sent up softened his fall.
Both Danny and Steve got up, with both of them looking exhausted.
Danny panted, "Had enough, Spirit?"
Steve responded, also panting, "You wish, Phantom."
Danny grunted, "Well, take this."
Right after that, Steve said, "Get a load of this."
Then they both opened their mouths wide and started screaming as loud as they could with whatever energy they had left. Powerful waves of energy were emitted from the sound waves and spread in all directions, sending Danny and Steve flying backward. Tucker and Sam covered their ears as the waves passed by them.
Finally the Ghostly Wails stopped, and both Danny and Steve were laying flat face-down on the ground, amazingly, still in ghost mode and still conscious.
Sam called out, "Danny?"
Tucker called out, "Steve?"
Struggling, both hybrids tried to get back on their feet.
As they struggled, Danny thought, I can't let him win. I've come too far just to stop here. It's my duty to protect this town from danger, not this newbie.
At the same time, Steve thought, He thinks he's so great. He's nothing special. He's not gonna win this. I'm gonna defeat that brat and assume my rightful place as a hero so I can actually be somebody…and make my parents proud.
After several tense minutes, both Danny and Steve had somehow gotten back on their feet.
Steve panted, "You just don't quit, do you Phantom?"
Danny responded, "Yeah, well neither do you." Then he tried to power up a ghost ray, but it disintegrated in his hand before he could release it.
Danny groaned, "Oh, no. I'm too weak to fire a ghost ray."
Steve then said, "Yeah, well what about me?" He powered his own ghost ray, and unlike Danny's, his shot out of his hand and hit Danny squarely in the stomach. It knocked him down to the ground.
Steve smiled and walked slowly toward Danny as he groaned on the ground. Finally, the two rings went across Danny's body, turning him back into Danny Fenton.
Sam sighed, "The battle is over. Steve Spirit is the winner."
Steve pumped his fist and transformed back into Steve Reynolds willingly, while Danny just lay on the ground, stunned.
Steve looked down at Danny and said, "I'll give you this, Fenton. Your skills are very impressive and you were actually a worthy opponent."
Danny gave a very smile but very real smile.
Steve went on, "But regardless, a deal is a deal. I win, so now I protect this town. But if you want to use your powers to walk through walls or goof off or anything like that, feel free. But if you see any evil, just leave it to me."
Danny got up to his feet and said, "What if I just decide to forget that and fight evil anyway?"
"Because then I'd have to reveal to the whole town who Inviso-Bill is."
Danny scowled, "Hey, nobody calls me that anymore."
"Whatever. If you go back on our deal, then you'll have to pay the price of having your secret exposed."
Sam and Tucker walked towards them, with Sam saying, "You can't do that."
"I'm afraid I can, and I will. We've seen today who was more powerful. That person is the best to protect this town. Agreed?"
Danny stared at Steve for a few seconds, and hung his head, unable to say anything.
Steve smirked, "That would be a 'Yes.' With that, I'll see you three around."
And without another word, Steve turned around and left the park, with the trio's eyes never leaving him, Sam looking angry, Tucker looking baffled, and Danny still looking devastated.
Wow! Danny lost! Bet you guys weren't expecting that, huh? But don't worry; even though Danny's lost this one and is forced to renounce his superhero duties to Steve, this fic is far from over. There's plenty more to go! Wait until Chapter 6 for more!