Using his Ultimate Control had been a horrible mistake on Danny's behalf. Not only had he been too weak to fully call upon it to do any serious damage, but it left him even weaker than before. That allowed Technus to attack him again, and this time, Danny was unable to defend himself.
He screamed in pain and felt his energy drain even more. The first few attack that Technus had sent him were energy suckers—a weak attack if not used in great amounts, but it had the ability to steal away some ghost energy.
Technus smiled deviously. "Not bad for an old ghost, huh?" he shouted. "You shoulda done some more practicing while lost in the Ghost Zone, Danny!"
Danny continued to cry in pain until Technus finally ceased attacking. Danny swayed weakly before falling backwards onto the ground, completely drained of strength.
But he only realized how deadly his situation became at that moment; for just as soon as his ghost energy had reached zero, he reverted back into a human, transforming his suit colors as well. But without the proper suit he had disposed of just minutes ago, he was immediately exposed to the dangers of space.
Danny shot his eyes opened and gasped for air while groaning in pain and contorting weakly. The thin suit he had on was only good to protect him as a ghost, but not enough to protect him as a human. And the mask he had traded only covered his face and part of his head, if the communicator toque did not count. The oxygen that came through the tube was not enough for him to properly breathe, which left him feeling like a fish out of water.
Technus laughed. "Ha, ha!" he said. "You should have thought of that before you transformed, Danny!" he mocked, pointing at the human as he continued to gasp for air. "Not only is your physical body destined to suffer, but your lungs are going to implode if they don't get the air they need! That's why ghosts are so much more powerful!"
Danny arched his back and clawed at the ground, still trying to breathe, until his vision began to blur. He became light headed and weak. Sounds around him began to echo and fade away. Slowly, he became immobile, although he subconsciously continued to try and breathe through his now wheezing air mask.
Technus floated up to him and held up his hand, palm facing the human. It began to glow green. "I think now is as good a time as ever to finally beat you for good, Kid," he said. "Say goodnight, Danny Phantom—!"
"Goodnight!"
A powerful blast exploded against Technus' back, propelling the ghost forward with a painful shout. Once he had regained balance, Technus turned to face his attacker.
Nicholas held up his ghost ray blaster while speeding towards him on a small bike-like speeder. He was fully dressed in his EMU, save the adult diaper, but completely ready for action. He clenched his teeth and frowned gravely while slowing the bike down to a stop in midair. "Get away from him, you Ghost!" he growled. "Or I'll let you have it again!"
Technus frowned. "What's this; a human taking on a ghost?" he scoffed. "Give it up, kid; you already tried that. It isn't going to work a second time—!"
"Try me!" Nicholas challenged, firing three blasts at him.
Technus pulled up a small shield, but it only blocked one of the three attacks. He groaned in pain and grasped his shoulder. "You'll pay for that, scum!" he snapped.
Nicholas jumped off of the speeder. "Considering you're now weak enough for this next trick," he announced. He pulled out his Fenton Thermos and pointed it at the ghost. "I don't think so!"
He pressed the button and out shot a bright ray of blue light. Technus gasped in horror as it wrapped around him. "No! Not that thing again!" he exclaimed. He tried getting away but failed, and was instantly sucked into the thermos. "NNNNNOOOOOOOOO!"
Nicholas held it in place until the last of the light had disappeared inside before slamming the lid over it. He quickly tucked it away in his suit and dashed over to his captain. "DANNY!" he cried out.
Danny remained immobile as Nicholas knelt down and raised him up. All Nicholas could hear was the weak wheezing of the mask as its last drops of oxygen were pouring into it. With this low of air to breathe, Danny had slipped into unconsciousness and had gone as limp as a fish.
Nicholas knew that he had little precious time to get the man onto the shuttle before the oxygen ran out completely. He raised the man into his arms and carried him to the speeder. "Arthur, do you read me?" he asked.
"Loud and clear, buddy," came the response. "Did you find the Captain?"
"Affirmative, but he's in critical condition."
"Critical? Where did Danny Phantom go?"
"He had to leave via the Ghost Portal. I caught Technus for him, but he told me that one of the ghost's attacks seriously injured Dr. Fenton."
Nicholas started the speeder up and flew as fast as he could towards the shuttle. There, the lift remained lowered, waiting for him to reach it.
"Contact Jacob and tell him to get the infirmary ready when we arrive!" Nicholas ordered. "Do it now!"
"Yessir!"
Nicholas landed on the lift and waited impatiently for it to rise. He looked down at Danny with worry-filled eyes. "Just hang on, Danny," he whispered. "Just hang on…"