Danny watched the glowing figure in the sky and involuntarily, his left hand began to shake. Memories of the time he faced him when he was 14 years old flooded his mind, causing him to live again the same despair as back then when he was about to lose everything. And now the past had caught up with him again. Or maybe it was his future?
Sam turned her gaze to Danny and watched all the expressions that flashed across his face: panic, fear, worry, anger… until he reached resignation. She knew that face and panicked.
- Danny. – She warned him. – Don't even think about it…
The two men turned to look at her, but for different reasons. Tucker had no idea what was going on, but Danny knew what she meant.
- We all knew this was a possibility… - He smiled weakly at her.
Danny began to float and little by little, to move away from them, with a serious face.
- Dude, what the hell are you doing? – Tucker said clearly worried.
- Daniel James Fenton, come back here! - Sam yelled.
- Danny! You can't fight him!
Danny smiled at them a few feet above the ground.
- Guys… - He tried to reassure them with his voice. – I have to try.
- Danny… Danny!
With a lump in his throat, he ignored his friends' pleas and flew toward Dan. To the rest of Team Phantom, that moment of helplessness felt all too familiar: they'd stepped aside when he'd fought Pariah Dark and been unable to help him when he'd had to fight Dan. And now the pattern repeated itself against the same villains.
"No more". Tucker thought.
- If we hurry, we can reach the center of the city in a few minutes.
Sam wiped away her tears and turned to look at him.
- And what are we waiting for?
Jazz stopped the Fenton assault vehicle as she caught sight of the green glow in the sky. It was late, he had escaped from the ghost zone and she had no idea where her brother or her friends were. She began looking for signs of her brother in the sky without any success. Dan took advantage of the attention he had to fall to the ground with great force. She lost sight of him, but after a few seconds, another explosion was heard a few blocks ahead of her position and people began to run away from there.
She started the truck again and thought about calling Danny, but she dismissed the idea, since he was probably already on his way in the same direction. Instead, she decided to call Tucker as she made her way through traffic.
- Jazz, now is not a good time...
- I know! But I already located him. – He interrupted Tucker's scolding.
- What?
- I'm close to where they will be. I'll send you my location. Find me there.
- Jazz, it is very dangerous that…
- Remind me where you two are heading!
Over the phone she heard Sam say touché.
- Do you have equipment?
- I have dad's truck fully equipped.
- Good. We'll find the van when we get there.
- Deal.
Jazz hung up and tossed the phone into the passenger seat as she kept driving, avoiding cars that had been left abandoned halfway after Dan had landed on the ground.
They parked their vehicle in the middle of the street and sped down to enter the premises, where a short man in uniform came out to stop them.
- You can't trespass. This is an area…
- Federal agents of the Paranormal Affairs Bureau. – K said throwing his badge in the face. – These were our facilities.
- And those were our comrades. – O whispered while he watched as the emergency services piled body bags on the floor while more stretchers continued to enter the facilities.
- Guys in White? What the hell were you doing here? – The officer responded, returning the badge to K and rubbing his nose.
- That's classified. – O observed the surroundings. - Who is in charge?
- That would be me. - A black, tall and bald sergeant said. – Jimmy, you can leave.
The policeman walked away, leaving the 3 men to talk to themselves.
- Guys in White. – K said, showing his badge again.
- Yes, I noticed. – He pointed to the suits they both wore.
- What happened here? - O asked.
- We're not sure yet… But Marshall Trent said the explosion apparently originated in the northwest wing of the complex. There is no evidence that it was an attack with a homemade or commercial explosive device. – He paused to look at the men.
- Casualties? - K asked fearful.
- So far, we have recovered 21 bodies. – He sighed. - But forensics keep going in and out as we speak. As far as I understand, the explosion originated where everyone was gathered. We're coordinating with the feds to find out if it was an armed drone strike. We could even be talking about a terrorist attack…
- It wasn't a terrorist attack. - O said.
- Gentlemen... if you have a suspect, my officers will be delighted to take your statement. – The sergeant walked until he was very close to both of them, with his hands on his hips. - And maybe you can help the Marshall figure out what the hell blew up. After all, you knew what was there.
- Yeah. We know. – K spoke and they both turned around. - Our colleagues were in the northwest wing.
- Look... I'm really sorry for your loss. – The officer said honestly. – I have also lost men in the line of du… What the hell are you doing?!
K and O opened the trunk of their vehicle and removed two large guns. One for each.
- We're going hunting. – K explained.
The sergeant was going to talk until the sky turned green. Everyone turned to look up, where they could barely make out a figure floating in the sky of Amity Park.
- And we already know where to go. – O commented.
- That ghost did this? – The sergeant turned to see the operatives while he pointed to the figure in the sky.
- "That ghost" is no ordinary ghost. – K said walking to the car.
- That's the ghost boy. – O confirmed.
- Danny Phantom is a hero. He would never...
- Tell me then, sergeant. How do you explain the ice in the facilities? – K opened the car door and got in.
- Maybe to put out the fire...
- After he had started it. – O closed his door and the vehicle started up.
Valerie was in a taxi, stuck in traffic caused by that explosion. When she finished assuring her dad that she was fine and that she had nothing to do with that incident, she began to check the news on her phone. Until now, there was no official report about that explosion. She blocked her phone and placed it face down on her lap. She watched the traffic caused by the constant flow of emergency responders through the car's windshield. She closed her eyes for a second and threw her head back, until the sound of another explosion snapped her back to reality.
A green glow was reflected on all the surfaces around her. The taxi driver leaned on the wheel to watch the sky, and she did the same through her window. A black figure rushed towards the ground, fleeing from everyone's sight. Instinctively, she brought her right hand to her left shoulder, but instead of touching her backpack, she only touched her blouse. She mentally cursed herself for not wearing her outfit, even though she technically didn't need to wear it since she was supposed to have gone to talk to Danielle. Which reminded her...
She quickly took her phone and opened the chat she had with her. Before she finished typing her message, she received one from Dani.
- Are you ok?
- Yeah. Still in traffic and without my suit.
- Ok. I'll check it out.
- Be careful.
She blocked her phone and looked out the window again, but saw nothing this time.
- Umm…. Miss?
Val glanced at the driver, who seemed a little anxious.
- Do you still want to go there? – He said trying to hide the tremor in his voice.
Valerie sighed and took pity on the poor man.
- Drop me off at Axion Labs, please.
- My pleasure.
The driver quickly changed lanes and took the first turning to the left, which would take him towards the facility that was located far from the center of the city.
He had already attracted everyone's attention and all it took him to terrify the citizens was to destroy a small hot dog stand. With all that chaos, finding him would be easy. Now he only had to wait a few seconds and at any time…
He smiled when he heard something breaking the air resistance near his location. When he heard the boots make contact with the ground, it was his signal to go out to meet his long-awaited guest.
- You know… For a moment, I thought you wouldn't come…
Danny swallowed at Dan's new voice. Now it was deeper, rougher and more terrifying. He released the air he was holding prisoner in his lungs to calm his racing heartbeat. He stood up straight and mustered all the courage in him to speak.
- After what you did? – He replied. – All those people…
- That was nothing. At least when you compare it with what I once did… or what I'm about to do.
Dan turned to face his younger self and smiled when he noticed the impact his new image had on the boy. From behind, Danny had only been able to see the new amount of fire that Dan had in his ponytail and that blocked much of his visibility. Now, face to face, he could see him in all the terrifying magnificence.
Dan's hair had grown into his ponytail, into the flame on his head, and now he also had a bunch of it falling in front of his shoulders. His eyes were red and around the right one, he had a black mark, which looked like a scar, running down from his head and down to his jaw. His costume had adopted elements of Pariah Dark's clothing, for example: his entire right arm had a metallic armor, especially the gauntlet on his hand and the spiked shoulder pad. His boots were also metallic now and, on his belt, hung the spiked mace. As an additional element, a strap crossed his chest diagonally, which in the center had a metal piece with the initials "DP" engraved inside a skull. The ring and crown glittered in his positions, plus Dan seemed to have grown, both in width and height.
Danny stepped back and raised his fists to the height of his chest.
- You really want to do that, boy? – He raised an eyebrow.
- No. – He was honest. – But you left me with no choice.
Dan watched as Danny flexed his knees, preparing to lunge at him.
- Fine. – He extended his left hand to the side and a sword materialized. – Entertain me.
- I don't see the truck nor Jazz. – Sam commented as they pushed the civilians running for cover out of their way.
Tucker was watching the GPS on his phone as he made his way through the crowd.
- There! - He pointed to an alley.
They ran to the van, the rear doors opening as they got close.
- You took your time!
Jazz tossed a bazooka at Tucker and two pistols at Sam. They both took their weapons and turned around. The redhead jumped out of the vehicle and closed the doors behind her.
- How long have they been there? – Sam asked activating her weapons.
- Danny recently arrived…- She said, accommodating the cannon she was carrying in his hands. – But I already heard some things being….
- Watch out!
Tucker pulled them both back into the alley, and a burning vehicle ended up crashing into the street in front of them. They poked their heads around the wall of the building and looked at their flanks. The three of them looked at each other and quickly began to move down the street in the direction of where some blasts were heard.
A block later, Dan punched the boy in the pit of the stomach and then kicked him. Using his sword as a spear, he hurled it straight at his chest. Danny slammed into a wall and managed to turn intangible moments before the sword plunged into the wall of the building. He took the sword in his hands and launched into attack. He was met with a powerful strike from the mace that sent both weapons flying to the side. Dan began to deliver furious punches that the young man dodged as best as he could.
At one point, he ducked to evade a blow and saw an opening, punching him in the jaw with his fists filled with energy. He managed to lift Dan's head high enough to make use of his speed and deliver blows across Dan's chest, culminating in the detonation of a basketball-sized sphere of energy. A smoke screen separated them, and when Danny thought he'd have a second to breathe, an arm grabbed his chest and flung him forward, where he was met with a punch to the face.
He went flying to the left, where a kick sent him in the opposite direction and was met by a heavy blow that sent him flying upwards. The original Dan greeted him by destroying a large column of ice on his back, sending him plummeting to the ground. He looked up in time to see all 4 of them shooting energy beams at him. He shielded himself with an energy field, but it gave in under the power of the attack, sending Danny flying away as he screamed.
- I said entertain me, Daniel. But I'm the one doing most of the work.
- Take of that crown and let's see what happens. – He replied trying to catch his breath.
- Wouldn't make a difference.
Dan's eyes began to glow and white fire shot out of them. Danny reacted and fired ice beams from both hands. As he struggled to defend himself, Dan continued walking towards him with a smile on his face. Danny began to lose ground and his arms began to yield.
- Burn!
He increased the power of his fire and broke down Danny's resistance. He was hit in the chest and ended up bouncing in a parked car and then through a brick wall. Face up and on the ground, Danny tried to force his legs to respond, but Dan did him the favor of picking him up off the ground and held him by the back of his suit.
- Face it, kid. You lost.
- Never.
Dan rolled his eyes and punched him in the stomach again.
- Let him go!
Dan looked back at Tucker, Sam, and Jazz. The three immediately opened fire on Dan. He dodged most of their attacks and, at one point, used Danny as a shield from a shot from Jazz's cannon, sending him flying in the air.
- Danny! – The 3 shouted.
- You know… if you weren't so annoying, I could consider your attempt as something noble.
Dan disappeared and all 3 of them went on high alert. They formed in a circle, backs to each other as they searched for any sign of their assailant.
- Guys! Look up!
Danny's scream alerted them in time and they all jumped out of that spot, where seconds later Dan fell down surrounded by white fire. On the ground, Jazz, took the cannon and as she could, she started shooting at him. He avoided the attacks by making holes in his body where the attacks passed through and when he was close to her, he knocked the weapon out of his hands. Jazz quickly pulled out a thermos and shot him with it. The white light touched Dan's abdomen, who only grabbed it with one hand and destroyed it.
- That doesn't work on me anymore.
He swung at the redhead, but Danny managed to push her out of the way. From behind him, Sam began shooting at him with both weapons. The attack didn't cause him much damage, but it sure annoyed him. He flew quickly towards her and grabbed her by the neck. The deflector she was wearing sent an electric shock through Dan, who just ignored the pain and ripped her belt off, throwing it away.
- Goodbye Sam. – He said bored.
A wall of ice formed between Dan and Sam, freezing his hand and preventing him from squeezing the girl's neck. Danny took her and turned her intangible, releasing her from him and moving her away. Tucker blasted the wall of ice with his bazooka, before Danny dragged him away from the battlefield as well.
- Guys… - Danny was trying to catch his breath. – I appreciate the gesture, but you have to get out of here!
- We won't leave you alone! - Jazz yelled.
- I can't fight him if you are in danger!
- Dude! You weren't fighting!
- You're just surviving! – Sam recriminated him with a somewhat harsh voice for Dan's grip.
- Not for long, I'm afraid.
The voice behind them made them turn around, but they only managed to see Dan's cape flutter in the air as he took Danny and crossed the wall that protected them. Danny ended up face up on the ground, Dan's boot on his chest preventing him from straightening up.
- This has already gone on longer than necessary. – He looked at him with a bored expression.
- What? Am I not funny enough for you? – He joked in an attempt to delay it long enough to receive some kind of miracle.
- Using sarcasm to mask your fears and insecurities? – He raised an eyebrow. - I see that Sam already rubbed part of her personality on you.
- Jealous much? – He joked again.
- Me? – Dan smiled. – Let me remind you that I caused her death in my timeline. And I will do it again.
Danny panicked when he saw the ring started to glow. Dan smiled at the fear in his rival's eyes, but frowned as red mist billowed from his nose.
- Get away from him, spook!
Dan became intangible and the individual who dared to attack him passed through him. Danny took advantage of it to move away a bit and recover, but the attacker was not so lucky. Dan returned back to normal and grabbed that ghost by the ponytail it had, pulled it back and with his left hand hit it hard across the face.
A brief glance at the ghost confirmed what he had heard: it was a girl. The aforementioned rolled on the ground before stopping far from there. Dan turned his attention away from Danny to focus on her.
Dani put a hand to her face. It hurt like hell. It was as if a freight train had crashed straight into her cheek. She was on her knees on the ground, while she tried to recover from the blow, with her back to that new ghost.
- I don't know you. - Dan walked towards her.
Dani straightened up, waiting for him to move a little closer.
- Well, you're about to.
Danny bit his tongue to keep from calling out her name, and flew toward her. For her part, Dani flipped forward, sending a blast of energy toward the ghost. Before she could touch the ground again, Danny grabbed her by the waist.
- Danny! – She called him cheerful.
- You have to…
Dan grabbed Danny's leg and threw him the other way. Finding herself exposed, Dani formed an energy shield around her, which Dan easily destroyed with a swipe of the ring. Dani fell backwards and quickly felt a puddle of energy wrap around her torso. Since she still had her hands free, she picked up a sword and a spiked mace that she found on the ground and with the sword she cut the rope of ectoplasm that her assailant used to pull her. Once freed, she took the mace in both hands and moved into an attack stance.
Dan smiled and reached out a hand, drawing the mace to him, girl included. Thanks to their noticeable size difference, Dan easily captured both of Dani's wrists with one hand and kneed her in the abdomen, knocking the air out of her. With his free hand, he took hold of her neck and lifted her into the air, taking the mace from her hands and dangling it at his belt.
Danny charged at him with the sword and Dan snapped his fingers, making it disappear just as Danny was going to hit him. Exposed and unarmed, Dan fired a beam into the boy's chest, leaving him frozen against the wall of a building.
Dani struggled to free herself, to the point of firing a point-blank ectoplasm beam into this ghost's face, but he didn't seem to budge. With a sharp movement, Dan flung her at Danny. The layer of ice that kept him imprisoned broke and they both fell to the ground. Suddenly, an invisible force lifted her up again and brought her in front of Dan. Danny tried to help her, but Dan shot a beam in his direction. Danny had to create a shield to avoid getting hit, but Dan's attack didn't stop and it was keeping him away from Dani.
Dani tried to get away from that force that kept her immobile. She looked to Danny, who was trying to walk towards her. She returned her gaze to the ghost in front of her, surveying her with his curious gaze.
- Why does she have the uniform? - He commented when he saw the initials on the girl's chest.
- What? – Dani asked, but she noticed that the ghost wasn't looking at her, but her cousin.
- Have mom and dad been busy since I was gone? – Dan joked.
Dani inspected the ghost and noticed that his left arm was flexed and his fist was clenched. What was interesting was that the ring on his finger was glowing with the same green color as the force that held her captive.
Dan began to look between the two of them and a macabre smile formed on his lips, before bursting out laughing when he saw Danny's stricken face. He increased the power of his energy beam and destroyed Danny's shield.
- Leave my cousin alone! - Dani yelled at him.
Danny lifted his head off the ground when he heard her say that.
- Cousin? – Dan repeated curiously before looking at the boy. - I didn't know we had a ghost cousin.
- … we had?
Dani watched that monster smiling at her, and it was then that she noticed the same initials on his chest. Who was that creature?
- What a nice family reunion. – He commented with a smile, before returning to his usual bored expression. – Now, the only one missing…
- Let her go.
The serious and even voice that he heard behind him was enough to recognize the identity of the newcomer.
- Speak of the devil…
Dan spun his head 180° to see Vlad Plasmius floating a few meters behind him, with energy in both fists and looking at him seriously.
- I said… Let her go!
- Alright. – He answered with a smile.
Dan dissipated the energy holding the girl trapped and immediately fired a red beam at her with the ring that sent her flying through a building.
- Danielle!
Danny floundered after her and Dan turned the rest of his body towards Vlad. He studied him for a few seconds and could notice the slight tremor in his fists. He was angry. Or scared.
- You should choose your words more carefully, Plasmius.
- Go back to the ghost zone and don't come back! – He yelled at him, ignoring his comment.
- And that I plan to do... as soon as I get what I want.
- You already have the crown and the ring. What else do you want?! – He yelled at him.
Dan was silent for a moment as Danny and the girl appeared around him. He gave each one a brief look, then shrugged.
- To exist.
- Too bad. - Danny said. – Your existence is incompatible with life.
He rolled his eyes.
- You know Daniel, I didn't come here with the intention of killing you… but you're begging me to do it.
- Sorry if I misinterpreted the punches you were giving me.
Dan shook his head and smiled.
- Then get ready for the next ones.
Angry, the first to attack him was Dani, followed by her cousin. Vlad, after a few seconds of debating whether to join or flee again, understood that it was already too late to withdraw and he had no choice but to join them. On the other side of the battlefield, Jazz was about to come out of her hiding place to join them, but Sam tugged on her arm.
- What are you doing? Danny needs…
- As much as I hate to admit it… they can help Danny more than us.
- Help? Tucker intervened. - Dan is playing with them!
- Now imagine what he would do with us!
They all fell silent processing that information. Had it not been for Danny's intervention, Sam would have died a few minutes ago. Defeated, they all looked at the ground and Jazz lowered her weapon in annoyance.
- We must do something to help! – Jazz's voice denoted desperation.
- Yeah. But not there. - Sam pointed to where Dan was grabbing Vlad by the cape and smashing him to the ground.
- I think I found our battlefield.
Tucker pointed to the window on the 3rd floor of a building in the nearby areas. The girls followed the direction he was pointing with his finger and watched an older couple looking through the glass at the fight taking place near their home.
- Jazz… bring the truck. Sam and I will evacuate them.
- Deal.
Jazz ran to the right and the other two to the left, keeping out of Dan's line of vision.
- Good morning, Amity Park. Or not so good if you are aware of the events that happened this morning. An explosion was registered on the outskirts of the city early in the morning and so far, there are no reports of…
Every television, screen, phone, and other technological device in Amity Park was receiving the emergency broadcast. At the Manson mansion, Ida and Pamela were watching the news while Jeremy tried to communicate with his daughter, to no avail.
- ... ghost attack. The exclusive, with our reporter Lance, who's in the air near the place where, according to unofficial reports, there is a confrontation between the heroes of the city and a new ghost...
- Masters' Blasters! - Vid yelled. - It's time to work.
- Hi. I'm Lance, reporting from a helicopter to notify you that the rumors have been correct so far. As you can see, the heroes of Amity Park, Danny and Dani Phantom are present fighting an unidentified ghost. However, what was not known was the presence of…
- Jack, look! The Ghost of Wisconsin! - Maddie said.
- Quickly! To the Fenton... - When Jack approached the bowl where they kept the keys, he couldn't find the vehicle keys. – Honey, where are the keys?
- As for the ghost they are facing, we only know that it is big and that it is sweeping the floor with…
At Axion Labs, Valerie watched the news from within the safety of her father's office.
- The ghost may be unknown, but I recognize that crown… - Valerie whispered.
When she tried to get up from the chair, two strong arms took her from her shoulders and sat her down again. She looked up and saw her dad's stern expression.
- We will come back to you when we have more information on how things are unfolding down there. My name is Lance and I hope to win a Pulitzer after this. I am not a war correspondent!...
Dan deflected Dani's punch into Vlad's face, then grabbed her leg and hurled her at Danny, who wanted to try to take the crown from him. He focused on Vlad, punching him in the face relentlessly only to end up kicking him into a building. He created a duplicate and attacked the cousins who were just rejoining the fight.
Danny used his ice powers to create a wall, but Dan destroyed it with a fireball. The pieces of ice that formed were thrown by Dan with his powers against the two of them. Behind both of their backs, the duplicate took Dani away from the protection of her cousin.
- How can you do that? - Danny said with erratic breathing. - I don't have that power.
- I applied the same technique that I used with your ice powers. After all, fire was always in my nature. – He pointed to his hair.
A noise reached their ears, and curiously, he turned to see the helicopter that was flying over the area where they were fighting in. Danny watched him too and panicked when he saw Dan's smile.
- Do not even think about it. – He threatened him.
Dan turned his attention back to him.
- Quite the contrary, Daniel. - He smiled. - I hope they take a good look at what is happening here.
Danielle's scream from behind them distracted Danny and he flew out of there to help her. Seeing him, Dan just stepped aside to let him pass. This had turned out to be more fun than he expected.
Danny saw the duplicate that had Dani cornered. He was shooting fire from his eyes and Dani's shield wasn't going to hold up for long. He flew at him, but the duplicate reacted in time and caught both of the boy's hands. With a surprise attack, Vlad appeared from above and destroyed the duplicate by hitting it over the head with a large piece of debris.
- I thought you were gone... - He told the older man.
- But I came back. – He threw the rubble on the ground.
- Why? – Danny's question was genuine, but Vlad only hardened his features.
- Here he comes again...
- I swear I didn't see anything!
- Shut up Tuck!
- Also, who wears a skirt to fight ghosts?!
- I didn't plan to fight ghosts in the morning!
- Can you shut up?! – Jazz turned to see the old couple who were in the back of the truck. – I'm very sorry, but we need to get you to safety.
She gave them a smile and returned her gaze to the road. She made a right turn and stopped the car.
- Here! We are safe.
She and Sam undid their seat belts and got out of the truck. Tucker opened the back doors and helped the couple to their feet. The girls helped them down and sent them in the opposite direction of the conflict, safe and sound. Tucker jumped out of the truck and Sam spun around to kick him in the shin.
- Ouch!
- So, what can we do now? – Sam crossed her arms, ignoring the pain of her friend.
- I don't know… - Jazz turned around to see them and took her phone out of her pocket.
An emergency notification from the municipality appeared on the screen, along with several messages from her parents.
- This is bad. – The redhead commented.
- And it's about to get worse.
In the distance, they observed a white compact car heading to that location and, from another part of the city, the Masters' Blasters' car.
As he could, Danny scrambled to his feet. His right leg gave out and he fell to his knees. He looked to his left and saw Vlad struggling to sit up. He then turned to the right and saw Dani shuffle away from Dan, who was looking at the 3 of them in amusement.
- Why don't you kill us?
Dan smiled.
- You're finally asking the right questions. - He put his hands behind his back and walked up to face him. – Killing you, Daniel… was never my priority.
Danny was going to speak, but he held up a hand to stop him, and continued speaking.
- That doesn't mean I won't do it... because I will. When we faced each other at the construction site, I wasn't planning on killing you. I had a plan in mind, but it failed...
- Thanks to Jazz.
- You humans really love giving yourselves more credit than you deserve… - He sneered. - No. You see, you're just a pawn in the grand scheme of things… a hunting dog, if you will. My interest is not in you, but in the master that pulls your leash.
- What? What are you…?
- Your powers are inconsequential compared to mine. Not even with your "league of super friends" could you do anything... - He pointed to Vlad and Dani, who were listening to them. – I can kill them right now and it wouldn't change a thing.
- So…? – Dani spoke.
- You may be useful to me. - Dan confessed. – I'm looking for someone.
- Clockwork. – Vlad said.
- Bingo. - Dan smiled.
- All of this… just for Clockwork?
- He has something I want. Unfortunately, he disappeared before I could break free. That's why I went after you. - He moved closer to Danny. – I thought that, if I threatened the life of his favorite pet, he would come out of hiding… but he didn't.
Danny lowered his head trying to process all the information. Jazz hadn't saved him…Dan had spared him. That's why he was looking around when he had him subdued!
- That's why I'll let you live one more day. So that you find him for me. And maybe… I'll let you live a little longer after that.
- And what makes you think that we will help you? - Vlad yelled.
- I'm glad you asked that. - Dan took four steps back. – I will give you a great incentive.
Dan moved quickly towards Dani and lifted her into the air, catching her head in one hand and unleashing an electrical charge through the girl's body. She started to scream in pain and Danny ignored his own. With the strength he had left, he threw himself against Dan, but he didn't flinch. When he had him close to him, he lifted his foot and placed it on his chest, driving him hard against the ground. Dani's screams ceased as she was knocked unconscious, and Dan tossed her aside as if she were garbage.
- Now… let the show begin.
He dug Danny into the ground a bit to hold him still for a few seconds and went at Vlad. Plasmius had been able to stand up, but it was in vain: Dan kneed him in the abdomen and with a quick movement, he circled him and landed a well-aimed blow to the nape of his neck.
The blue-eyed man watched Dan holding his unconscious archenemy by the back of his suit's neck, and then, two black rings formed around Vlad, transforming him into a human. The cape disappeared and Vlad fell to the floor, before Danny's fearful gaze. With each step he took, Danny was creeping back. Eventually, Dan caught up with him and grabbed the chest of his suit.
- Find Clockwork and deliver him to me tomorrow at Pariah Dark's castle.
- Or what?
- Or I will do to this city the same thing that I did to your yeti friends.
Danny's eyes widened.
- Frostbite? – He whispered.
- He fought well. For a while. - Dan smiled.
Danny's morale plummeted. The few allies he had in the ghost zone were gone and now… No. He had to hold on to hope, no matter what.
- You won't win. – He whispered hatefully.
Dan rolled his eyes.
- As childish as always. – He lowered it enough to leave him standing. – I will give you some advice and I say this from experience: kill the boy before he kills you. Or that they do.
Dan shifted his gaze to a point behind Danny, which was where the Masters' Blasters and the GiW were arriving.
- You are about to see how little your heroic acts are really worth. – Dan said in his ear.
He broke away from Danny and released him. Afterwards, he kicked him in the chest that sent him flying into a wall. Danny bounced off the wall and two white rings appeared on his torso. By the time he fell unconscious to the ground, he was already in his human form.