Chapter LXXXVII
Danny Fenton watched in mild surprise as pairs White Raptor jet planes blasted through the skies outside the window. Similarly colored tanks took to the streets below, followed closely by regiments of Guys in White agents. The GIW was out in full force throughout the city, engaging bounty hunters wherever they reared their ugly heads. The sounds of distant battle could be heard all through the city. The ground would tremble occasionally as a tank shell or an air-to-ground missile exploded.
The evening before, Agent X of the Guys in White had appeared at a press conference alongside the governor and Mayor Foley. Amity Park was officially declared to be in a state of emergency until the bounty hunter threat was gone. There had been no luck in finding the one responsible for posting the bounty in the first place, but Agent X had stated that the GIW Intelligence Department was close.
That scared Danny. If Plasmius was found out, there was no doubt that she would expose him. There was little he could do about it, though.
You have nothing to fear from her. If you are not responsible for her secret being exposed, she will not expose you.
Are you mad? Of course she will expose him! A harlot like Plasmius would take joy in telling the world about Daniel!
Perhaps. But we do not know if the Guys in White are looking at her as a suspect. Plasmius is a clever woman. It is likely she has managed to deceive them by leaving falsified information for them to follow.
That sounds like something she'd do.
Indeed.
Now, you must help rid your town of this menace. We will assist you in whatever way we can.
It's not like we have a choice . . .
Danny looked around. English, his eighth period class, was nearly over. His friends had distanced themselves from him for most of the day after Paulina had come running into school blabbering on about how Phantom had flown her home and saved her from a bounty hunter. Sam was especially cold.
Are you still mad? he scribbled on a note.
Danny tossed the piece of paper onto Sam's desk and waited for her reply. The note landed on his desk several seconds later and he quickly opened it.
What do you think? Ever since you found out how Walker was born, you've been getting closer to Paulina! It's like you WANT Walker to be born!
Danny sighed. I don't want Walker to be born, Sam. And I'm not getting any closer to Paulina than I was before. Maybe you're just noticing it more.
Danny tossed the note again and patiently waited. The clock was moving painstakingly slow, almost as if it was mocking him. He was jostled from this angry train of thought as the note landed on his desk again.
You know what, Danny? You can have Paulina. You can have her and make as many Walker babies as you can with her. I'm DONE trying to get through to you!
Danny sighed and squeezed the paper into a ball in his hand. He fed a small amount of ectoplasm into the fist and felt the paper burn in his palm. When he opened his hand, only ashes and barely visible green smoke remained.
When the bell rang Danny made a beeline for the door, not even bothering to continue the conversation with Sam. He stormed down the hall and shoved his book bag into his locker before slamming it shut. There was homework he had due for tomorrow, but he was going to be too busy to even think about it.
Danny made his way for the restroom, but was stopped short as two feminine arms wrapped around his neck. The teenager's temper flared and he thought about jerking himself from the girl's embrace, but something told him not to.
DON'T DO IT!
Why not?
You feel what's pressing into your back?
Uh, yeah? Most girls have them. And Sam is a girl.
Hers pale in comparison to those ones. That is not Sam.
Then who is-
"What, no hello?" the voice of Paulina floated into his ears and his tense body relaxed a small bit. "Was it something I said?"
Danny chuckled despite himself. "Sorry, I thought you were someone else," he said finally, turning around to face the girl. "Someone I'm not speaking to, at the moment . . ." he added in an irritated tone.
"Sam? Aw, did you two have a fight?"
Danny sighed. "We're not together, Paulina. I couldn't date someone with a temper like hers; always yelling at me about some dumb thing."
"So you're single?"
"Uh, yeah? Why?"
"I dunno," Paulina twirled her hair around her index finger. The thumb on her other hand hooked into a belt loop on her pants. "Wanna catch a movie tonight?"
Danny smirked. "I don't think your boyfriend would like that very much."
"Who, Dash? We broke up months ago!"
"No, not Dash," Danny glanced over at the jock who was laughing at some miserable scrawny boy he had just shoved into a locker. "Phantom. Word on the street is that you two are becoming quite an item."
Paulina blushed. "Really? Did he tell you that?"
"No, but everyone else has. So what's up with you two?"
The Latina girl giggled. "He's cute and everything, but he is a superhero. He can't possibly have time for a normal girl like me."
"I guess that makes sense," Danny felt like jumping for joy. She actually understood why they couldn't be together! It never really was an issue, but Danny felt his spirits soar. Thankfully, he was kept in line by his more intelligent other.
"So, movie tonight? Yes? No?"
"I'd love to, Paulina, but my parents are going out on patrol with the Guys in White and they, er, insisted that I go with them."
Paulina nodded knowingly. "And I take it you can't say no when they insist on something?"
"Sadly . . ."
Paulina smiled and placed a friendly hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry about it. Maybe some other time?"
"Yeah! Definitely! I'll, uh, I'll see you tomorrow?"
Paulina waved goodbye as she ran to catch up with her friends. Danny smiled to himself and turned towards the restroom, but came face to face with Sam.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" she demanded, fists planted on her waist.
Do not answer her! She is just as miserable a bitch as Plasmius!
That is an unfair assessment of the circumstances. She has every right to be angry.
Whose side are you on?
I never said I approved of her discontent.
Well then you can tell her I'm not speaking to her.
"Samantha, please do not be angered by Daniel's actions." The voice that came from Danny's throat was definitely not his own. It was older, more mature, and held a sophisticated German accent. "He is not trying to personally offend you."
Sam stared at her friend with wide eyes. "What in the-"
"Perhaps I should introduce myself. I am Tempest, one of Daniel's proto-consciousnesses. Myself and Folium, the other proto-consciousness, were left in Daniel's mind from the Shadow Phantom incident. We have slowly developed in his subconscious into the self-aware entities that we are now."
"So . . . you're not Danny?"
"No. Our glorious master has tasked me with communing with you, as he presently does not wish to speak to you."
Sam scowled at Danny. "Well can you ask him why he is trying so hard to get in Paulina's pants when he knows exactly what will happen?"
"I believe I can effectively answer that query myself," Tempest cleared Danny's throat. "After a considerable amount of speculation, we have decided that Walker cannot be conceived by merely talking to Paulina. The human reproduction process is much more complicated than that. Would you like me to explain it to you, Samantha?"
Sam's angry expression grew even angrier at Tempest's condescending tone. She wasn't five years old; she knew how those things worked.
"I'll take that as a no," the voice said. "You do not have to worry about Daniel mating with Paulina. At least not presently. He has conflicting emotions over who he truly has feelings for, and engaging in sexual intercourse with Paulina surely will not help."
Sam looked at Danny with trace amounts of hope glimmering in her eyes. "So he doesn't like Paulina like that?"
"Oh he does," Tempest corrected. "He only wishes to refrain from sexual activity. Everything else is well within his acceptable parameters."
Sam sighed. "I guess that's better than nothing."
Danny's voice was the one that spoke up next. "I hope that cleared things up?"
Sam nodded. "Why didn't you tell me about those protoceratops things?"
"I didn't want you guys freaking out," Danny rubbed the back of his neck. "Guess that doesn't matter now."
"So you don't want to-"
"No, Sam," Danny held up a hand, cutting his friend off. "I don't want to stick my gigoogity in her gishmoigen." Sam punched Danny in the arm. Hard. "OW! Geeze, come on! That really hurt!"
"What happened to chivalry? Don't tell me you're going to let it die too!"
"Oh, don't worry," Danny said reassuringly. "Chivalry's not dead; it's just inside the Fenton Thermos. I still hold doors open, say please and thank you and I try to kiss on the third date. Although that one's been out of my control so far . . ."
Sam giggled. "So, my knight in shining armor, wanna head over to my place? I got that new Jackie Chan movie from my uncle."
"Skulker?"
"No, Uncle Ted. He works at Hollywood."
"Ah. Well as much as I'd love to cuddle with you on the loveseat that can barely seat a toothpick, I have to go vanquish the bounty hunters from my kingdom. The Guys may kick ass, but I destroy it."
Sam cocked an eyebrow. "Is that one sexual?"
"Depends. Do you want that one to be sexual?"
Sam rolled her eyes. "Get going, hero. Just remember, I'm never mad at you. I'm just usually mad at the stupid things you do."
Danny stuck his tongue out at Sam as he rushed into the restroom. He gave a heavy sigh of relief when he saw it was unoccupied and transformed into Phantom. Those bounty hunters were about to feel pain that Phantom himself wasn't aware he could inflict.
Skulker looked around Plasmius' hotel room. He scanned the room, and then the other rooms attached to her suite, and finally the rest of the building. Plasmius was not here.
"Computer, locate ghost entity Plasmius," Skulker commanded his onboard CPU.
"Plasmius has returned to her castle in Wisconsin," his computer's monotonous voice responded. The recent software upgrade had scanners that could locate any ghost anywhere on the planet, or in the Ghost Zone. Skulker thought it a waste to use its incredible ability in such a short range. But time was a premium.
"Activate warp sequence," he grumbled.
The action would use up a considerable amount of energy, and Skulker could already see his power reserves draining on his Heads Up Display. His robotic body flickered with green electricity and Skulker concentrated on Plasmius's laboratory. His body flickered and shuddered before disappearing from the room entirely.
Skulker's warp sequence was powered by his teleportation powers as a ghost. The sequence was also tied into his GPS navigation system, and could take him anywhere within the hemisphere he was located on. It was limited to one jump, however, before his power was drained. In the Ghost Zone, where his energy source literally surrounded him, he could warp anywhere as often as he wanted.
Skulker felt his body rematerialize in the familiar pink and purple walled laboratory. He disengaged the warp sequence and shrugged his shoulders, trying to remove the stiffness that resulted from the procedure.
"Ah, Skulker, how nice of you to drop by," Plasmius said as she walked from another room. "And just in time, too. News stations all over the world are covering this event."
She snapped her fingers and a cloud of binary numbers appeared at her side. "You remember Nicolai Technus, right?"
Skulker stared at the cloud of binary as it hovered in place. "He is supposed to be in GIW captivity. How did he escape?"
"Oh, he's still in their confinement. For now," Plasmius mused. "This is a copy he spun off just before his capture. This duplicate brought the Mid-Morph DNA sample I had been so desperately trying to ascertain. Technus, darling, would you please?"
The cloud of binary swirled around and floated over to a massive projection screen. The device activated as Technus passed through it. Skulker saw the images that the news channel was reporting. Somehow, avoiding the detection of every database he had ever infiltrated, the Guys in White had amassed an army. Fighter jets, assault tanks, helicopters, even experimental armed walker units swarmed over the city, bludgeoning the bounty hunter forces without mercy.
At the head of the offensive was a familiar ghost, adorned with simple blue garments. Ectoplasmic cubes were fired from his hands; still others appeared from thin air. The Box Ghost was a fierce combatant and he led his employing force with ferocity that Skulker had seen only several times before.
"I am about to call off the bounty," Plasmius said as she watched the footage intently.
"Why?" Skulker asked without even turning to Plasmius. "This is but a minor setback."
"Perhaps, but I never intended for this to happen."
Skulker nodded. "Still no sign of that ghost that stole Johnny Thirteen's augmentation formula?"
"No," Plasmius sneered. "I had hoped this would create an adequate diversion so that I could infiltrate Amity Park as my ghost self and hunt the intruder down. There is no possible way that could be achieved now."
"And if I were to go in your stead?" Skulker offered.
"You've already been there," Plasmius replied. "And I am still without that formula."
"I was not ordered to retrieve it," Skulker countered. "I was not informed of your latest course of action until now. Allow me to retrieve the formula for you. Perhaps I can even enlist Daniel's assistance."
Plasmius folded her arms across her chest. "Very well, Skulker. But do not fail me. I grow tired of having no results for all the trouble I go through with my research."
Skulker nodded and tapped a button on his chest. The nearly depleted power source ejected from its insertion console and landed in Skulker's waiting hand. He walked over to the Ghost Portal and filled the device until it was filled to the brim with the glowing green substance. Slipping it back into his armor, he powered up his warp sequence again and vanished.
"Technus, are my override codes still in place?" Plasmius asked the cloud of binary.
"Affirmative," it replied in a hushed, dull voice. The duplicate had been growing steadily weaker ever since it was separated from the original Technus all those months ago.
"Excellent. Return to the replication chamber and continue to monitor subjects five-eighteen through five-twenty three."
"As you command." The cloud floated in through the door Plasmius had exited upon Skulker's arrival and the door slid shut behind him.
Despite all the minor inconveniences, this latest plan was going decidedly well. It was only a matter of time before that formula was back in her hands. And then, nothing would stand in her way.
Phantom flew over the highest buildings of Amity Park's inner city. He reveled in his speed and the altitude he gained with each passing second. The city was growing smaller and smaller beneath him. All the individual lights were merging together in the dark sky.
How come you didn't tell me you could talk through me? And with a different voice, no less!
You never asked using your voice.
Can you control my body?
Not unless our mutual survival depended upon it. Even then, it is only a temporary override of your corporeal form.
Even if you willed your body's control over to one of us, it would not happen. Only small things, like talking, are able to be used by us.
And you promise you won't do it without my permission?
Yes.
As you wish.
Thanks.
Phantom was caught off guard as two White Raptor fighter jets roared past him. Phantom regained his bearings and followed. He was soon at the same speed as both of the machines and looked from one pilot to the other. Each one gave him a thumbs-up. Phantom saluted them and dove down towards the city. The jet's followed him.
The exertion from his descent blurred his vision, but Phantom could still see clearly enough to discern a particularly large amount of GIW troops firing on a bounty hunter stronghold. Phantom charged his hands with ectoplasm, feeding as much energy into his clenched fists as he could muster.
Any chance you guys could help me out with this one?
I would be delighted.
The twin orbs of green pulsating energy began to spark and crackle. Electroplasm flickered up and down his arms and Phantom raced towards his target, slightly ahead of the jets. He pumped his fists forward and the twin blasts of electrified ectoplasm ripped through the bounty hunters' barricade. Bodies flew through the air with debris tossed up in the attack. Phantom heard two thuds and felt the air reverberate from the explosions. He grinned at the realization that the jets had followed him.
Cheers echoed up from the street as Phantom circled around. The Guys in White were expressing their approval as they fired into the stragglers. The ghost boy stopped in mid air to greet another ghost that was flying towards him.
"Nice shot, kid," the Box Ghost said with a smirk. "Nearly leveled the building with that one."
"Yeah, well, I do what I can to get by."
"Keep it up," the Box Ghost replied. "We'll have this city cleared out by morning."
"What got them to finally come out and stop this?" Phantom was looking at the uniformed government battalion.
The Box Ghost could only grin. "I did."
Phantom looked at the elder specter quizzically, but a sniper bullet passed through his head, preventing him from asking questions.
"You go check in with Mike and Jackson. I'll take this one," the Box Ghost sped off, hands glowing with ethereal energy.
Phantom turned to the scene below him and made his way for the center of the group. A comm. station had been set up amidst the battle and Operatives K and O were the ones working it.
"Nice to see that my Guardians In White decided to clean up my city," Phantom hollered down to them.
"Nice to see that our charge is finally taking some initiative," K shouted up at him.
Phantom smiled at Jackson's remark and hovered down to street level. "So how goes the siege?"
"Good so far," Mike said from his console. "We have no KIA or MIA, only four wounded, and none of those are critical." He tapped several more buttons, coordinating troops in other parts of town. "The Poor Bastards, as we call them, are dead, captured or running."
"Any preference before I head out?" Phantom charged his hand with energy and fired a blast into a window where another sniper had taken up residence.
"None of our guns have a stun setting, and everyone has a gun. You are weapons free, soldier," Jackson said. "Make us proud."
"Yes sir!" Phantom blasted off into the sky. The same two jets from before trailed him as he began his assault.
"Kids," Mike said with a grin.
"Yeah," Jackson replied. "Go figure."
Valerie watched as bounty hunters left and right were being dropped like flies. Nerve gas grenades were either used in excess or discarded completely in favor of deadly weapons. While some of the hunters were well equipped, none of them had the coordination to mount a successful counter-assault.
She looked from her window to her gear, spread out on her floor after being cleaned and inspected. Her supplier, the mysterious Plasmius ghost, had made another shipment to her the day after Phantom had saved her life. It wouldn't do her any good if she was actually killed in combat.
Valerie had considered helping the bounty hunters against the Guys in White, but banished the thought immediately. The GIW was a branch of the government and the bounty hunters were criminals. Helping them would remove her completely from any good graces in the public. Besides, Phantom was fighting with the GIW. He had very powerful allies.
Another glance out her window revealed two very familiar figured. X-Treme and Melee were running away from the juggernaut that was the Guys in White. A nerve gas grenade exploded near them, and X-treme crumpled to the ground. Melee, whose leg was caught in the gas and was now useless, hoisted his partner over his shoulder and tried to hobble away.
That was all the motivation the Huntress needed. She reassembled her gear and took off through her open window.
Melee ducked into an alley as more explosions rocked the ground around him. He stumbled back against a wall, safely concealed from the wave of white by a dumpster. With a sardonic grin, Melee realized this was the very alley, the very dumpster, where the first bounty hunter casualty had occurred. He looked down at his incapacitated partner and sighed.
"We will survive this," he said quietly as he tried to prop the slimmer man up against the wall. "I promise you, my friend."
"I hope you can make good on that promise," said a vaguely familiar voice. Melee looked up and saw the Huntress descending towards him. "God knows I can't carry you both from here."
"Ah, the Huntress returns!" Melee said jovially while still keeping his voice down. "Tell me, young lady, what brings you here?"
"We need to get off the streets. The Guys in White have Phantom fighting with them now. From what I've seen, he's been allowed to kill any potential threats."
"He has taken lives?" Melee asked curiously. "He never struck me as the murderous sort."
"He doesn't care if he killed any of them. He didn't care when he killed my mother."
"You can seek revenge on Phantom once we are safe. Get us into your house. I can concoct a drug to counteract the effects of this nerve gas."
Valerie nodded and crouch-walked over to the end of the alley. She peeked out and, after spying no government agents, returned to her comrades. "I can get X-Treme inside first, then I'll come back for you, ok?"
"I wouldn't have it any other way. Now go!"
Valerie hoisted the man onto her board and flew up to her open window. She maneuvered the board in through the frame and slid the unconscious man onto the floor before turning and flying back out. Melee was leaning against the wall, looking up and down the street. The Huntress swooped in and Melee grabbed onto the underside of her Banshee Board.
The craft struggled to rise, but after it adjusted its internal compensation system, it took to the air with ease. Melee stumbled into Valerie's room through the window, careful to make as little noise as possible. He hobbled over to her restroom and opened the medicine cabinet.
"This will do. Thank you very much, Huntress."
"You're welcome," she replied. "But I have to leave. Phantom's out there killing innocent people and I have to stop him."
Melee nodded as he began to mix an assortment of pills and powders together. Some ingredients came from his belt satchels. "Do what you must, Huntress."
Valerie nodded and ran from the room. She tossed her board through the window frame and leapt out after it. Her boots magnetically sealed to the device and she sped off, searching for Phantom.
Little did she know, Operatives K and O had seen the entire spectacle.
Lydia was roused from her sleep by a violent explosion. The vacant room in a shoddy motel she had decided to take temporary residence in was one of many buildings to have been struck by a tank shell. The building's structural integrity would keep it standing for the time being, but Lydia decided it was best not to be in the place when it toppled. She threw off the blanket that had covered her body and took off through the ceiling. Once in the air, she saw the damage was much more extensive.
Columns of smoke rose into the sky from dozens of locations. Jets flew around the city in pairs and tanks dominated the streets. Bounty hunters were fleeing in all directions as the government army advanced. New to appear on the scene were dozens of white helicopters, shining spotlights down on the bounty hunters as they fled. The light seemed to act as a beacon for missiles and tank shells, as the lit up areas seemed to explode almost spontaneously.
The tattooed ghost reached out and felt one of her tattoos through their telepathic bond. Phantom, who Lydia had discovered to be Danny Fenton, was flying through the air with a pair of jets. His own green blasts of energy exploded alongside the GIW's barrage. He had chosen a side.
After checking to make sure the augmentation formula was safely sealed away in her cloak, Lydia pulled her hood up over her head and took off.
Skulker pinpointed the location of the ghost he was sent to hunt down the instant he arrived back in Amity Park. His scanners were adjusted to key in on the unique energy signal given off by Johnny Thirteen's formula. Once he found the ghost, he began his hunt. There wasn't a ghost alive that could escape him.
Phantom heard the sound of Valerie's Banshee Board before he saw it. He spun around just in time to dodge the sleek metal craft as Valerie tried to remove his head from his body.
"I was wondering when you'd show up," Phantom called after her. "There are news crews all over the place, so they finally get to see you for the anarchist you really are!"
"Save it, spook," Valerie shouted back. "I'm not here to bring down America, I'm here to bring down you!"
"Oh, good one!" Phantom charged his fists with energy as Valerie circled around.
"Why does everything have to be a joke with you?"
"If it wasn't, then nobody would like me," Phantom replied as he dodged laser flak. "I have a reputation to maintain."
Phantom prepared for a second attack, but was distracted as his ghost sense activated.
That can't be the Box Ghost, can it?
No, your ghost sense is already aware of his presence. There are two more as-of-yet unidentified ghosts in the area.
DESTROY THEM ALL!
Not yet. I need to see who they are first. Maybe they can help me.
Phantom's stomach lurched as he saw the tattoo ghost that had attacked him at school. She was looking right at him, and her tattoos were spinning around her waiting to attack.
She was intercepted by a flash of silver and green as Skulker slammed into her. The two ghosts sailed through the air and crashed into a building. Once the dust cleared, Phantom and Valerie saw Skulker holding the tattoo ghost by her neck.
"Thought you could use a hand," Skulker said with an evil grin on his face.
"Uh, thanks?" Danny replied cautiously.
Valerie glared at the robotic ghost behind her visor. If he was attacking the female ghost, maybe that one could be of some assistance. The Huntress fired off a missile at Skulker, who threw Lydia behind him and fired a targeting laser at the missile. It exploded, but Valerie was already behind him and blasted the robot from his perch. Skulker tumbled from the hole in the wall and collided with the roof of a building below.
Valerie flew into the building and offered a hand to the ghost, who looked dazed.
"If that mechanized monster is after you, you can't be all bad. And I think we need each other's help."
Lydia looked from Valerie's masked face to her gloved hand. With a devious grin, she accepted the younger girl's help. The two flew from the building and faced Phantom and Skulker. The two pairs of combatants looked from one to the other with disdain.
"I'm giving you one warning, Valerie," Phantom growled. "This is serious; people can die here. And I'm not going to hold back."
Valerie stared at Phantom with unrestrained hatred. "And I'm giving you . . . NO WARNING AT ALL!"
K and O burst into Valerie's room, guns loaded and laser sights sweeping the area. X-Treme looked up from his position sprawled on the floor and watched in horror as one man gestured to him. The other pulled out a pair of handcuffs and moved towards him.
Suddenly Melee burst from the restroom, shattering the door into hundreds of splinters. The two men spun around and opened fire, but their shots went wide. Melee ducked under the gunfire and tackled the two operatives to the ground.
X-Treme saw his companion stand from the ground and hobble over to him. His leg was still immobile from the nerve gas. The massive ninja hunched over and held a napkin covered in an orange powder under X-Treme's nose. The vapors wafted into his sinuses and the muscles in his head and neck began working.
"Wus goin on?" he mumbled.
"No time, here, drink this," Melee tilted his friend's head forward and poured his liquid concoction down the man's throat. Almost instantly, the rest of his body regained functionality. "Now get out of here! I'll cover your escape!"
X-Treme nodded and looked out the window. His skateboard was lying on the sidewalk on the other side of the street. With the push of a button, the board sprang to life and flew up to the window. X-Treme leapt out onto it and looked back at Melee.
The ninja took a step forward, but stopped as the sound of a gun going off came from behind him. Melee looked down at his chest. His stitches, which were supposed to hold together the wound Phantom made, could not hold the blood that Operative K's bullet pushed out through it. The massive ninja clutched at his chest and reached out to his friend.
"Go!"
Melee toppled backwards and the last traces of life left his body.
"NOOOOOOOOOO!" X-Treme cried out in vain as the two government agents maneuvered around the bed, training their weapons on him.
X-Treme grabbed his own gun from his belt and opened fire. The Operatives ducked for cover as X-Treme filled the room with metal slugs. Once the clip had run dry, K and O pointed their guns back over the bed they had dived behind and returned fire, only to find that X-Treme had fled.
The Box Ghost saw the bounty hunter flee from the window of the residential area and flew down to greet him. Two ectoplasmic boxes were sent at him, but the man maneuvered his skateboard around the attacks and continued on his way.
"You can't run from me," the Box Ghost taunted.
"Who's running?" X-Treme's ecto-grenade exploded several feet away from the Box Ghost's head and sent him spiraling up into the sky.
The grenade was too far away to have seriously hurt the ghost, but the superheated air had burned half his face. The Box Ghost growled and prepared to attack, but two more grenades were tossed up at him. The Box Ghost dodged grenades and ecto-rifle fire as the bounty hunter chased him up the side of a building.
Once at the top, the Box Ghost saw he was floating in between four very angry beings. He saw the Huntress and Lydia, the tattoo ghost, on one side and Skulker and Phantom on the other. It didn't take much thinking to pick a team.
X-Treme was not far behind and sprung into the air. His last two grenades exploded near the Box Ghost, but a new player intercepted the explosions with his metallic body. Skulker waved a mechanical hand through the air, dissipating the dust cloud.
X-Treme looked over his shoulder and saw Lydia and the Huntress. He knew where he belonged in this conflict.
He looked back at his enemies as they powered up. The Box Ghost formed several ectoplasmic boxes above his head. The robot deployed multiple laser and rocket launching apparatuses. Phantom, rather than charging his hands with ghostly energy, pulled a familiar black object from his belt. With the push of a button, a glowing orange axe snapped from the end of the hilt.
Valerie hoisted her Shuriken launcher over her shoulder. Lydia surrounded her body with all her tattoos. X-Treme took the hint and reloaded his weapon. He was grateful that he didn't have eyes so that he wouldn't have to wipe away any tears. He redirected his sorrow and grief over the loss of Melee into anger and rage. These ghosts would pay for taking his best friend from him.
He didn't hear the first shot go off and he didn't know who fired it. It hardly mattered. For the first time in his life, X-Treme charged into battle without his massive comrade at his side. For the first time in his life, he thought he was going to die.
To Be Continued
A/N: Well this one was getting a little too long. NEXT chapter has the massive fight sequence. I needed to plausibly get all the fighters in one place before they could beat the crap out of each other.
So how about that? Danny leading an aerial combat unit? Being totally ok with killing people? Letting his others talk through him? Flying through the sky? What will he do next?!
Now I must go have my wet and voluptuous Latina and Asian nurses administer mouth to mouth resuscitation to me. And each other. At the same time. Because I am about to FREAK OUT. 90800+ hits?! 949 reviews?! ZOMFG, and we're not even at the REALITY WARS yet!
I may need a moment . . .
Ok, I'm better. Reviewers, I heart you. Especially Katreal, Fulcon, Bubski, Jiece18, darkness over day , Melodious Emptyness, Writin' Dude , MissMeliss4251, darkbunny92, Shining Zephyr, and Elaienar.
If I forgot you or misspelled your name, I apologize.
Now, some things I think you all need to be made aware of or to be made more aware of.
1) Transformers: Animated is one of the greatest shows on the planet. Part 2 of the season finale is next Saturday. WATCH IT. If you haven't already, find and watch the other 15 episodes of season one.
2) The Spectacular Spider-Man . . . will get better once they introduce Mary Jane as someone other than the "girl with the wonderful personality". And Venom. Watch it.
3) Magnus-7 is no longer my Deviant Art account name. I have relented and decided to reveal to you all that it has been changed to Grumbletron (I know; I'm so deviously clever). There are plenty of pictures for you to feast your eyes (AND COMMENT) on. I don't do "requests", but if there's a UDP character that almost everyone really wants to see REALLY badly, I can probably draw it. You can either search for me on the website, or use the conveniently located link for my homepage.
4) Have you watched Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film For Theatres yet? Well go do it. NOW.
YOU DON'T KNOW THE POWER OF THE DARK SIDE.