Chapter LXXXVIII
The rifle held in Thomas's hands was extensively uncomfortable. Being one of the newer laser-tech models, it had not yet been at the forefront of the mind of science to slim down the design to make the weapon easier to carry and use. Unlike almost every other weapon with similar size issues, this one had accuracy and power that made up for the discomfort. Still, accuracy didn't mean much if one could not keep the rifle steady long enough to take advantage of said accuracy.
And that was the exact problem Thomas was having. His target was standing out in the open. Hardly any bystanders, no federal agents, no police, nothing. It was a perfect setting. Now if only he could get the shot . . .
"Don't move, bounty hunter scum," said an ice cold voice from behind.
Thomas's grip on the rifle tightened. He was wrong; there were police in the area. They were just behind him. The bounty hunter watched as his target nonchalantly looked around the area. He smiled at a mother and her child as they walked down the street before standing away from his bench and moving away.
"Put the gun down, stand up and put your hands on top of your head," the same man commanded.
Thomas slowly complied. The rifle clattered to the ground and he slowly rose to his feet. He turned to face the officer and placed his hands on his head. Seeing that the policeman was accompanied by two others, Thomas sighed. There was no way he was going to get out of this one. His skateboard was lying on the ground some distance away. Two officers advanced on him, bearing handcuffs. The third held his pistol steadily in his hands, aiming the barrel right at Thomas' forehead.
The man looked from the officer's gun to his face and back again. He didn't resist as the steel bindings were locked over his wrists. There was no point. He would either die in prison or die right there on the roof of the building. Thomas decided that he wasn't too keen on having his brains splattered all over Detroit.
Suddenly, a black dot appeared on the horizon. It steadily grew larger and larger at an impossibly fast rate. Thomas saw that it was no dot, it was a man. And he was massive. With a THUD that rocked the building to its very foundations, the enormous black-clad man landed on the building behind the officer aiming his handgun at Thomas's forehead. The giant clamped a large hand over top the officer's head and threw him. The officer tumbled to the edge of the roof, teetered on the edge, and finally tipped over and fell.
The hulking wall of muscle didn't wait to see the first officer plummet to his demise. With a flick of his wrist, a black cylindrical object in his hand sprouted a glowing orange axe. He hurled the energy weapon through the air, making it spin like a boomerang. The axe made an arc around Thomas and tore through the remaining officer's hands, severing all four appendages just under the elbow. They both cried out in pain and stumbled back, falling over the other edge of the skyscraper.
Thomas looked at the monster as he caught the axe in mid air with ease. The orange energy axe dissipated and the black cylinder was returned to a clasp on the man's belt. He slowly approached Thomas, deliberately taking his time. Thomas was not afraid.
"Who are you?" he asked, trying to keep his voice steady.
Before the giant could answer, the sound of a round being loaded into the chamber of a gun whispered though the air. Both men's heads snapped toward the sound. The first officer, who hadn't fallen off the side of the building, was supporting himself on the edge with one arm while taking aim at one of the two criminals with the other.
Thomas knew the barrel of the gun was pointed at him. The ninja must have known that as well, because a heavily muscled arm pushed him out of the way as the gun belched out a metal slug. Thomas thought he had closed his eyes out of slight shock when the gun fired before blacking out. It wasn't until some time later did he realize that, even though Melee had tried to push him out of the way, the bullet had still hit him. Just missing the temple, the bullet had torn through the front of Thomas' head. The damage done to his nasal cavity was fixable, but his eyeballs had been completely obliterated by the shot.
Melee had sworn to stop bounty hunting for life, but Thomas would have none of that. Once a mysterious benefactor had given him the power of sight in the form of an optical sensor visor, Thomas retrofitted his skateboard so that he could hunt alongside his new found friend. Melee had insisted that they both swear off bounty hunting.
"Well," he had replied with a grin. "That wouldn't be very . . . extreme, now would it?"
X-Treme ducked under an ectoplasmic cube that had been aiming to decapitate him. He flipped off his skateboard and over two more cubes and landed back on his device, firing at his ghostly offender.
The three-on-three fight had been a standstill for quite some time. At least from what the bounty hunter could tell. The Huntress and Phantom's fight had taken them from the city and out into the park. Lydia and the robot ghost were dueling down in the streets. Neither of them seemed too concerned about the safety and wellbeing of those around them, and the Guys in White were having quite a time protecting the evacuees.
His battle with this box themed ghost had also taken them into the streets, but in the opposite direction of Lydia and her dance partner which was a good thing, because even if Lydia was there to help him, the robot ghost would be there to help this box ghost. And X-Treme didn't want to fight both of them at the same time. He probably would not be doing so well.
"Whoa!" X-Treme ducked under a bus that had been thrown at him. The vehicle crashed through a small building and toppled it.
The bounty hunter reciprocated by tossing two of his ecto-grenades at the ghost. The one was sealed in a cube and detonated harmlessly inside. The other bounced off its intended container and landed in the Box Ghost's front pocket on his overalls.
"Well crap," the ghost murmured before it exploded.
The Box Ghost clutched at his stomach as his body was sent flying through the air. He slammed into the side of a building and crashed through the wall. X-Treme pursued. Once inside, the bounty hunter immediately regretted his decision. Amidst the rubble floated the Box Ghost. Despite his severely damaged body, a devilish smile was spread across his face. Perhaps that had something to do with the ridiculous amounts of boxes that lined every wall in the warehouse.
Amity Park's Park was unnervingly silent. There were no people meandering through the trails, no couples cuddling together on a bench, no bikers, and no pets. Nothing. The sun had almost disappeared behind the horizon completely and the last rays of light were fast retreating after it, as if they too wished to escape Amity Park. The serenity did not last, however. A flash of ghostly light passed under the cover of several closely grouped trees. Barely a second later, pink laser energy burned through the canopy and scorched the earth beneath the foliage.
Phantom pulled up from his current flight path and circled around. The Huntress was close on his tail, and her ability as a ghost hunter was practically screaming at Phantom. He only just dodged her missiles, he only just evaded the spinning metal Shuriken laden with laser energy, and he only just outmaneuvered her. Only just was not going to cut it for much longer.
The ghost boy dropped mid-flight and grabbed onto a tree branch. Valerie soared overhead, her speed forcing her to make a wide circle in order to resume her attack on Phantom. Her Banshee Board fired at Phantom relentlessly; its ecto-fusion power core giving the flying machine's weapon systems unlimited energy. Phantom too had unlimited energy. What he didn't have was unlimited, machine-like stamina.
As more and more of the Huntress' shots got through his defenses, Phantom knew his weariness was showing. And not even his trophy weapon, which had long since been returned to his belt, could help him now.
"Valerie, stop doing this!" Phantom shouted as the girl's laser blasts ripped through the air much too close to his face for his liking. The smell of ozone filled his nostrils and Phantom nearly gagged on the overabundance of the smell.
"Why? So you can go back to killing people?" the Huntress spat as she swooped in for another attack. "You took my mother's life, and now you're murdering more innocent people-"
"Do you even hear yourself?" Phantom roared as he caught a missile and let it detonate in his hand. The blinding pain was temporary, but Phantom saw his mangled appendage was already starting to heal. "These people aren't innocent! They're criminals!"
"And so that makes it ok to slaughter them like animals?!" Valerie switched her rifle from semi to full-automatic and opened fire.
Phantom lazily dodged the assault. Many of the laser bolts tore through his body. "I'm not trying to kill them," he gritted his teeth through the pain. "I'm trying to save this town!"
"You've done a great job so far, you sonuva-"
Phantom grabbed Valerie by the throat as she passed by. An ectoblast disabled her Banshee Board's stability generators and the board fell from the sky. He flew down into the streets and held the girl out by the back of her top.
"Look at this, Valerie," he said sadly.
The girl slowly stopped struggling and looked at what Phantom was talking about. People were running through the streets to GIW safe zones where helicopters were moving the citizens to safer parts of town. Phantom aimed the Huntress in another position and she witnessed two bounty hunters, amidst the chaos, looting an electronics store. Further down the street, screams of horror and cries for help echoed into the sky. The lucky ones would be answered and saved. The rest . . .
Phantom flew down into the park and set a now still and contemplative Valerie down on a bench and floated in front of her.
"This has gone on long enough. I know you hate me. Try as I might, I think I'm starting to realize that you'll never believe me when I say I'm sorry that I couldn't save your mother. You say I'm a murderer, that I'm nothing but a ghost." Phantom touched down on the ground and sat next to Valerie, who scooted away from him. "I wanted to change your mind. I guess I can't. So I'm not going to try anymore."
Phantom exhaled a deep, ragged breath. "But we can't fight now. This city," he looked into her eyes, "our city needs us tonight. Otherwise, there might not be one to defend tomorrow."
Valerie looked at the ghost boy, thankful that her mask partially covered her face. Her slightly agape jaw would have been a dead give away to the surprise that had overcome her, but Phantom was looking dejectedly at the ground. After several minutes of silence between the two, with the faded sounds of panic and war coming from somewhere in the distance, Phantom slowly rose to his feet. He rose up off the ground, but a gloved hand grabbed onto his forearm. Phantom looked down and saw Valerie standing, holding onto him.
Her mouth curved into a small grin, and Phantom's mouth mimicked the gesture. For tonight, the arms and wrath would be discarded. Tonight, Phantom and the Huntress fought together.
Skulker had decided that either Lydia was playing him for a fool, or she was really as pathetically weak as she made herself out to be. The biggest of her tattoos, consisting mostly of snakes and spiders, were about as dangerous to the mechanoid as ambient dust particles. The mercenary vaporized them before they could get anywhere near him.
Any other ghost would have a time-and-a-half with Lydia. Her tattoos were bonded to her very being, and the designs on her body acted as spawn points for the various creatures she could create. As long as she had enough power, her tattoo army was as limitless as the stars in the sky.
Skulker's shoulder-mounted ecto-cannons were targeting the tattoo monsters Lydia was generating. They were doing a very efficient job at eliminating them, but the creatures were replaced as quickly as Skulker blasted them away, which meant that he was making absolutely no progress, unless one counted depleting one's nearly limitless ammo progress. And Skulker very seriously doubted that.
The robot activated his arm-mounted ecto-beam rifles and opened fire. To nobody's surprise, Lydia evaded the barrage with relative ease. Skulker's annoyed expression deteriorated to an increasingly angered one. Lydia was a moving ghost factory, and she could move very fast.
As Skulker was thinking of what his next move should be, his audio receptors registered the Huntress' Banshee Board making a fast approach. Skulker's face contorted into undeniable disgust. Lydia was hard enough to fend off. How was he going to defeat the Huntress as well?
As if to answer his question, a green lance of ectoplasmic energy slammed into Lydia and flung her into an abandoned SUV, which flipped over on its side. Skulker's head rotated around and he cocked an eyebrow as Phantom and the Huntress flew down to his level.
X-Treme leapt over a box only to be hit in the face with another one. A third box opened up underneath him and the man fell into it. He emerged out the other side and found that, instead of on the ground level, he was now up closer to the ceiling. X-Treme tried to grab onto the end of the box, but it moved away from him. Two more boxes slammed into either side of the bounty hunter, knocking the wind out of him while breaking a few ribs. Another box smacked him in the back of the head and he toppled forward, grabbing onto yet another box to stop his descent. Three more boxes flew at him. One collided with his face, breaking his visor and effectively blinding him. The other two crushed his fingers down on the surface of the box he was holding on to and he cried out as he slipped away.
The man felt another open box catch him and he fell through. The other side revealed a cold steel floor that he tumbled across. Something about this floor was different, though. And the air, it smelled different. X-Treme felt along the floor until his fingers wrapped around something. Cold, steel bars. The Box Ghost had, somehow, locked him in a cage. The temperature in the room dropped and X-Treme felt his muscles tense up.
"In hindsight, I probably should have done that to all you bounty hunters before this whole thing became a problem," the Box Ghost rubbed his chin. "But then again, everything looks better in hindsight."
"Where am I?" X-Treme demanded.
"An old shipping warehouse on the outskirts of Amity Park," the ghost replied. "All the warehouses and docks in these parts are abandoned. They're supposed to tear them down soon. I hear Amity Port is gonna be huge for the tourism industry."
"And you're just gonna leave me here to die?"
"Yeah, that's the idea. You see, there are more important things going on in this world than bounty. The ghost child that you were trying to cash in on is worth more than every last modicum of currency that has ever existed in history. If only you knew . . ." the Box Ghost sighed. "That doesn't matter now. Nobody will find you here. Nobody even knows you are still alive."
"So I'm just supposed to starve to death?"
"Well when you put it like that, I sound like a jerk. But yes, that's exactly what you're supposed to do."
"Why me?" X-Treme's voice was trembling now. "Out of all the bounty hunters here, why am I the one you get to play your sick ghost games with?"
The Box Ghost chuckled. "There's more in store for you than just this life," he replied coolly. "Those who are to shape the very future of existence cannot be so easily be erased from it. Regardless of how you die, you will serve a higher purpose. I'd just prefer that you aren't imprisoned by the Guys in White. I think you'd take a much longer time to expire in there."
X-Treme felt like breaking down. Melee was dead and, as the temperature in the room returned to normal; Thomas knew he was going to share his partner's fate. In his misery, the Box Ghost's words echoed in his mind. "Regardless of how you die, you will serve a higher purpose". Tom dug through his ammo pouch on his belt and a weak grin came to his face. His fingers wrapped around a grenade and he slowly pulled it from the satchel. He turned the device around in his hand, examining it through touch in the absence of sight. His thumb slipped through the pin and gently removed it. The handle that prevented the object from exploding was held tightly against the turtle shell-like surface.
"I'm sorry," he whispered. So many people deserved that apology, and it was directed to all of them. Thomas's grip on the handle loosened. He heard a barely audible click and leaned back against the bars of his cage. Three seconds later, Thomas was on his way to serving that higher purpose.
The Box Ghost heard the explosion, but didn't look back as he flew back to Amity Park. Clockwork had foreseen these events, and the Box Ghost was the one who was needed in order to make them come to fruition. Danny Phantom was the key, and there would be no obstacles to stop the door from opening.
Skulker did not hold grudges. He didn't judge anything, ghost or human, based off of what others told him. That is why he was able to work so harmoniously with the Huntress as the two flew through the sky, matching each other's moves with machine-like precision. Lydia was being pushed to her limitations; defending herself against all three of her opponents. Speaking of which . . .
A green ball of energy exploded in the tattoo ghost's face courtesy of her third opponent, temporarily blinding her and cascading pain all over her body. Lydia recovered from the attack and continued to spin off animated manifestations of her tattoos. The relentless swarm of ghost creatures did next to nothing to deter her attackers.
Phantom had been using his standard ghost attacks to lead the offensive on Lydia. Her endless army of monsters absorbed all of his attacks. After an exorbitant amount of time was wasted in trying to break through her defenses, Phantom drew the black hilt from his belt and activated it. The umbrella-like shield erupted from the front and Phantom used the newly formed barrier to cave in a ghost serpent's skull as it lunged at him.
The Ghost boy moved in, blasting away with his free hand while protecting himself with the shield. He sped past Lydia's minions and reached their leader. Lydia's shocked expression was replaced by one of pain as Phantom slammed the shield into her abdomen. She tumbled through the air and was intercepted by Skulker, who had taken advantage of the lull in activity. His fist snapped down, striking Lydia in the face in the middle of one of her flips. Her body collided with the concrete below, cracking the pavement.
Valerie descended from the sky and turned into a tight, archaic spin. The tornado of laser and missile fire rained down on Lydia's battered body and raised a large cloud of dust. The Huntress pulled out of her death defying spin and tried to steer herself to her temporary battle buddies. Her impaired vision made the feat very difficult. Phantom chuckled.
"Job well done," Skulker said monotonously. "Now stand aside, I will exterminate this harlot."
"How about this instead?" Phantom offered the mercenary a Fenton Thermos. "I think I've had enough extermination for one day."
Skulker squinted his eyes at Phantom and cycled through his various optical settings. Phantom watched as the robot's eyes shifted in size and shape before a narrow pair of eyes rested on his lower lip. The robot's mouth curved into a grin.
"Even after she did this to you?" Skulker reached down to Phantom's face and peeled the bat tattoo animal off him.
Phantom gaped at the creature as it squeaked and flapped its wings in an attempt to escape. "What is that?" he asked in bewilderment.
"A tracer," Skulker replied. "Curious. She would have had to kiss you to get this so firmly on your mouth."
Valerie punched Phantom in the arm. "So this is your girlfriend? Is that why you don't want Skulker to waste her?"
"She is not my girlfriend," Phantom insisted. "We fought outside Casper High. I thought it was weird that she kissed me. Guess I should've figured it would be something like this."
Skulker crushed the bat in his hand. "I just pray there isn't another one anywhere south of your waist, ghost child."
"DUDE!" Phantom threw his hands up in the air. "Totally uncalled for!"
Skulker chuckled and pointed the Fenton Thermos into the crater, only to find that Lydia was gone. The robot whirled back around and glared daggers at the two teenagers.
"Hey," Valerie said before Skulker could reprimand them. "That one was all you."
Skulker grumbled and blasted off into the sky. Phantom was about to follow the mercenary, but Valerie's hand on his shoulder stopped him.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Sure, Valerie," Phantom replied.
"The night my mother died, you flew away laughing. Why?"
Phantom stared at the girl in shock. "I wasn't laughing," he finally whispered. "That night, and every night after it for a really long time," he paused. "I couldn't stop crying. I wanted to be a hero, and look at what I've come to," Phantom gestured to the carnage around him. "I'm just what you said I am; a murderer."
Valerie's hand slipped off Phantom's shoulder and hung at her side. "You really did try to save her?"
Phantom nodded. "But I failed. I care about you, Valerie, and so do a lot of people I know. The only reason why I didn't throw in the towel that night was because I knew I had to stop it from happening again. It kills me inside knowing that you have to live your life without a mother because I couldn't save her. And instead of keeping my promise and keeping it from happening again, look at what I've come to."
Phantom turned and walked over to a building that had been damaged during the bounty hunters' scuffle with the Guys in White. The area was taped off, as was most of the rest of the block. Valerie followed him over and stood next to him.
"These bounty hunters are people! They have lives, families, friends, people they care about and people who care about them. And I killed them!" Phantom sank to his knees. "I'm not a hero, Valerie. You were right."
The Huntress looked at her prey. Her burning revenge had been reduced to cinders. Her hatred for Phantom was washed away by waves of emotion. She wanted to comfort him, to tell him he was wrong, that he was a hero. Instead, she stood there, not uttering a word. Phantom took off into the sky, not even bothering to say goodbye. He made his way through the war zone, which was significantly less boisterous, and headed for a building in the inner city. A cold rain was starting to trickle down from the sky, but the temperature meant little to the ghost boy.
Looking out over his city from his spot atop Amity Park's Terror Tower, Phantom consulted his others.
Why did I do it?
Do what, Daniel?
Why did I kill those people?!
You are a warrior! Your power is-
SHUT UP! SHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUP!
No, YOU SHUT UP!
Phantom clutched at his head as Folium bellowed deep in his mind.
Did you consider the alternative? Say you had only mildly injured them. They would go to prison. The ones without any previous criminal records would get minimal to no sentencing and would be set free. Those who committed worse crimes would be apprehended, but for how long? And when they're free, what would possibly keep them from reverting back to their old ways? The scum you cleaned from the face of society today makes the future shine brighter for all mankind.
That doesn't make it right.
Who's to decide what's "right", Daniel? You? A fourteen-year-old boy with super powers? I think not. The line between right and wrong is not black and white. No, it is much more obscure.
But they were people!
What is your point? The worst tyrants in human history were people. The beings that populate this town are people. Soylent Green is people, for God's sake! Don't you get it? The humanity of a being does not excuse it from punishment!
I'm not the one who is supposed to make that decision!
Ah yes, because a gavel-wielding man wearing a powdered wig is much more qualified than you.
Phantom was silent.
The path you have chosen is not going to be an easy one, if your experience up to this point has been any indication. You cannot hope to save every sentient being, Daniel. Some of them are going to have to die.
It doesn't have to be that way . . .
But it is. In eliminating these bounty hunters, you protected this town from total destruction. You saved the lives of those who live here and you ensured that future generations would prosper. A few guilty lives in exchange for limitless innocents? Was there really any wrong done?
"Phantom? That you?"
The ghost boy turned around and saw Jackson standing on the rooftop behind him. Mike was off to his side.
"What are you doing up here, kid?" Mike asked. Neither of the men minded the rain that poured from the sky.
"Guys," Phantom started hesitantly. "I-I did some bad things tonight, didn't I?"
"Whaddya mean bad things?" Jackson inquired. "You led some of America's finest against an army and won!"
"But I killed people!" Phantom argued.
"So did I," Jackson said with a grin. "What's your point?"
"But you guys are-"
"What?" Mike spoke up. "Government agents? Licensed to kill? Adults? This was a state of emergency, Daniel." Phantom looked between the two men helplessly. "Kid, this is never easy for us. Even with ghosts. We have to make decisions like this every day."
"Then why do you do it?"
"'Cause that's the way the world turns, Daniel."
Phantom sighed. "I already killed Valerie's mom, that spy kid, and now a whole bunch of people I don't even know!"
"You're fourteen," Mike said calmly. "You're not supposed to understand these kinds of things yet."
"What I understand is that I'm becoming a monster!"
Jackson knelt down next to Phantom and placed a hand on his shoulder. "In a week, maybe even less time than that, this town is going to be back to the way it was before this bounty was put on your head. The very day Mayor Foley declares that the state of emergency is over I want you, Danny Fenton, to go to the park. Bring your friends, family, I don't care, but I want you there that same day. And then ask yourself if it was wrong; what you did tonight."
Phantom looked at Operative K as he stood back up and tapped a button on his wrist. A helicopter came into view and sped closer to the hotel. Mike stood next to his partner and the two boarded the chopper once it was close enough to the building. Once they were safely aboard, the vehicle took off leaving Phantom alone.
One week? What could possibly happen in one week that would change his mind?
To Be Continued
A/N: Yay! I think.
Go to my DeviantArt page for a blog-esque thing. It recaps the events of my week so I don't have to do it here! Remember, its Grumbletron now.
I think it's important that Danny struggles with the whole morality situation. He's just a kid, and he's already killed people and/or been directly responsible for several deaths. From my experience, most 14-year-olds don't have to deal with things like "was it wrong that I killed a whole bunch of people?" I'm not sure if I did a good job putting it in perspective.
But I do feel REALLY bad for not having an epic all out brawl in this chapter. I know you were all looking forward to it. So when I finished this chapter, something completely out of the blue smacked me in the face. I saw what I had thought up and it was good. Evening came and morning followed, but I couldn't remember what day it was. There will be the beginnings of a very awesome twist towards the end of this segment. Actually, make that THREE very awesome twists. Think of it as my apology, because I'm on the same page as the rest of you who wanted a super-duper fight. I know how you're feeling. You don't know whether to kill me . . . or kiss me.
Anyway, there are still a few chapters left in this segment. I think I might actually deviate away from Danny Phantom and focus on some other characters. Danny has a week of contemplation to do and I don't think you want to read about him dwelling on how he's a horrible person for 3 more chapters. Mad World is starting to get to me . . .
Reviews are climbing back up to the double digits! YEAH! Thanks to all 960 of you (at the time of this chapter's posting). Special thanks goes to Prince of Mu , Hero07, Musicallity, Fulcon, Bloxham, dpphan333, MissMeliss4251, darkness over day, darkbunny92, Thunderstorm101, and Silverline Scimitar.
POSTAL SCRIPT!
I have a new story up called Phantom Rising. Its a way for me to slaughter every character in the DP universe with kickass fights, foul language, partial nudity, and graphic scenes of violence involving liquid nitrogen and ghost rays. If you can stomach it, go check it out and review it to tell me what you think.
DECEPTICONS! TRANSOFRM AND RISE UP!