Chapter 18: Frozen in Fear
The Wendigo looked at Danny, his fangs barred and eyes glowing red, staring at him like he was a buffet.
"Eyes… lungs… pancreas… So many snacks, so little time…" The Wendigo said with a sinister grin.
He moved in closer, ready to bite Danny's face off before a blast of cold hit the inside of his mouth, forming ice that kept him from closing.
Danny, revealed to still be conscious, managed to force the Wendigo's grip to open.
"Kitchen's closed!" Danny shouted, punching the monstrous Wendigo in the stomach.
Angered, the emaciated monster backhanded Danny back to the ground before managing to break the ice with his jaws, letting the pieces fall out before panting heavily.
"No more talk! No more wasting time!" The Wendigo said before pinning Danny down. "I'm tired and hungry!"
Before he could bite Danny, a large chunk of ice surrounded his lower body, trapping him for a moment
"Back away from the Great One!" A familiar voice shouted.
With the wendigo frozen, Danny let out a breath in relief.
"Frostbite… I am so glad you're here! Wait… why are you here?" He went from excited to questioning.
"Word of your foes uniting against you had spread through the Ghost Zone." Frostbite said before taking a look at the Wendigo. "However, I do not recognize this creature. It is no ghost, that I know for sure…" Frostbite said.
"That's the Wendigo." Danny stated.
To his mild surprise, Frostbite only laughed.
"The Wendigo isn't real." He said. "Such a creature is-"
"A cautionary bedtime story made up by humans to scare their kids into listening… Yeah, I heard. He's very real… and he very really tried to bite my face off." Danny said flatly, much to Frostbite's surprise.
"Your tired reaction to me saying that tells me you have repeated this." Frostbite said.
"Yup." Danny said.
The Wendigo then dug his claws into the ice to break free, snarling at the two.
"Another ghost interfering with my meal?!" He shouted, baring his teeth at Frostbite.
"Meal? You intend to eat him?" He questioned with much fury and horror.
"No duh!" The Wendigo said before snapping his fingers.
It was then his giant snarled down at the two.
"Oh right… forgot about Mighty Joe Young's big brother there…" Danny muttered.
The giant then sneered at the heroes.
"Get rid of the hairy one! Leave the skinny one to me!" The Wendigo said with a desire to kill.
The giant nodded before it charged at Frostbite.
"Have at thee!" Frostbite shouted as he fired ice beams at it.
The giant blocked with its hand before trying to swat Frostbite away.
At the same time, Danny attempted to be rid of the ravenous monster himself.
"Go back to your cave!" Danny said, swinging his fist.
"Oh…" The Wendigo said as he backed his head away. "But I just got here!" An evil laugh followed.
Danny swung his arm, unleashing a wave of green energy, which the Wendigo ducked out of the way from.
Pulling his arm back before taking a wide step, the Wendigo swung his claws downward, causing Danny to jump back to avoid it.
Seeing an opportunity, Danny then stomped on the hand on the ground before jumping up and kicked the fake skull downward, causing the Wendigo to fall into the concrete with his face.
Thinking his opponent downed, Danny attempted to attack again, only for the Wendigo to pull away in time before the fist could reach. From there, the Wendigo grabbed the arm.
"Oh? I start with a wing? If you insist…" The Wendigo said with a sinister grin.
Before the Wendigo could bite Danny's arm, a rocket hit his back, launching him and Danny away, rolling on the ground.
Looking up after the rolling stopped, Danny saw who his unexpected savior was.
"Skulker?!" He exclaimed, surprised.
"Don't get the wrong idea. If anyone is removing parts of your body, it's me!" Skulker declared.
"Wow… I'm so flattered…" Danny muttered sarcastically.
The Wendigo, getting up, shook his head to clear it. Once he became aware of Skulker, he growled.
"Come after my prey, you BECOME my prey!" Skulker shouted as he flew at the Wendigo.
In response, the Wendigo backed away in time before the hunter could reach him.
"Let's prepare my victory feast!" The Wendigo said before grabbing Skulker and slamming him into the ground. "Big guy!" He called out to his giant. "Forget those two! I'll deal with them now that Tin Man is down! Gather humans to feast on later!"
Skulker pushed himself up, only for the Wendigo to break his legs off.
"No!" Skulker shouted before his head was pushed into the ground.
With that, the giant turned its head, seeing a large and emptied dump truck from a construction site. Picking it up with one hand, it started making its way downtown, grabbing screaming people and placing them inside the truck's cargo.
Seeing this, Danny is about to get involved when the Wendigo grabs him by the foot and slams him into the ground.
"Uh-uh-uh! I'm not in the mood for fast food!" He said.
Before attacking Danny, Frostbite tackled the Wendigo and had him in a headlock. The Wendigo attempted to bite his arm, only to find it was the arm made of ice, which meant Frostbite felt no pain.
"I have this foul creature! Rescue the people of your realm!" Frostbite called out to Danny.
With a nod, Danny flew in the direction the monster went.
Meanwhile
Crowds were panicking and Sam was trying her best to help with crowd control.
"Come on people, this way!" Sam said as she tried to help them evacuate. However, she noticed the giant nearby and how it was capturing people. "Oh come on, now this?!" She exclaimed.
It got worse when the giant spotted her and sent her a sneer.
"Grruggrrhh…" It went as it licked its teeth.
"Why do I suddenly feel like a meat lover's special in front of Tucker?" She asked in dread as she tried to run away.
The beast tried to reach for her as it was long enough to reach, but something unexpected happened.
"Sam, look out!" A voice was heard.
Sam was suddenly pushed to the ground. The next thing she saw was the giant taking Kwan away.
She was left stunned, watching as the creature placed him in the truck and lifted it up.
"Did...Kwan just save my life?" She asks as she watches it run away.
With Danny
He sped up as fast as he could, but found himself shivering.
"So c-c-c-cold. What's going o-o-on? I thought I have an ice core?" He asks, wondering why he was feeling so cold in ghost form as he lowered to the ground.
Before he could get answers, he was nearly hit by a blast. Not from a ghost or monster.
''Freeze Phantom! You're under arrest for… whatever is going on!" Operative O of the Guys in White said as they appeared, aiming weapons at him.
"This? Now?!" Danny questioned.
"We have no idea what the thing is, but we suspect it's ghostly in nature!" Operative K said.
"You have no idea how wrong you two are…" Danny muttered.
"Hold still!" Agent K said as he shot at him.
Danny dodged it, glaring at him.
"That thing is taking people and you're wasting your time on me?!" He shouted.
Before they could fire again, a blast from nowhere knocked their weapons out of their hands.
"Leave my big brother alone!" Dani said as she appeared.
Danny sighed in relief.
"Dani?! Where'd you come from?" He asks.
"Lower district… I'm guessing another of those things means you didn't send Skinny back home." Dani said as she threw blasts that kept the Guys in White back.
"You'd guess right." Danny said.
The Guys in White pick up their weapons once more.
"Freeze, freaks!" Operative O demanded.
A gust of wind blew, causing all of them to shiver.
"W-W-What's going on?" Dani asks, hands on arms as she rubbed to keep warm while lowering.
"I-I-I don't kn-kn-know…" He said, getting on his knees.
"W-What did y-you spooks do?!" Operative K asks.
"N-Not us…" Danny said before noticing warmth was coming.
To his surprise, blue flames cut between the two pairs. Flames that he saw came from a familiar source.
"Sup." Ember said with a thumb's up.
"Oh, so you're helping me now?" Danny asks.
"If it helps… I hate that thing too." Ember responded.
"Wait, how come you're not shivering?" Dani asks. Ember gestured to her hair. "Lucky…" Dani muttered.
That's when the giant's footsteps made them aware of his presence.
The two operatives raised their weapons and ran after it as it picked up someone Danny was familiar with.
"Ghost boy! I'm being kidnapped! Save me, please!" Paulina cried out.
"Don't worry! I will save you!" Danny declared with intent.
He then saw the two operatives of the Guys in White being grabbed as well.
"Save us, Phantom!" They cried out in fear as they were placed inside the same truck.
"If it's convenient!" Danny responded, sounding nowhere near as eager to save them before looking to Ember. "Think you can launch me?"
"Huh?" Ember asks.
"You got a built-in heating unit on your head, but this cold is somehow affecting me. So much so that I can barely fly, so I'll need help getting over there." Danny explained.
Seeing how serious he was, Ember answered with a shrug.
"If you insist…" She said flatly.
"What can I do?" Dani asks.
"Get ready to catch that truck and the people inside it as soon as he lets go." Danny ordered as he got in place. "Ready?" He asks Ember.
''Ready..." Ember said as she prepared her guitar.
"Okay." Danny said with a nod as he walked towards her.
He had his feet on Ember's guitar as she used her strength to launch him upward.
"Ready?!" Ember asks as Danny made a ghost shield with his feet. "Let's rock!"
Ember used her guitar to fire at the shield, launching Danny towards the giant.
This did not go unnoticed. Putting the truck down, the hairy giant stomped in Danny's direction, reaching out for him before he felt something go into his nail.
Danny created an energy construct in the shape of a sword, going under the beast's nail.
The people not captured watched before all of them made audible sounds of pain. Sam, seen among them, even waved her hand as if she were the one struck.
The hairy giant cried out in pain before glaring at Danny.
"Uh… oops?" Danny went with a nervous smile.
In reaction, the giant swung its arm, sending Danny into a nearby apartment building.
There, in the kitchen, he found himself in the apartment of Tiffany Snow, where she was about to have lunch before seeing him on the floor.
"Danny Phantom? What are you doing here? Aren't I a little old for you?" She asks with an eyebrow raised.
Thinking fast, Danny saw both a glass of water and a large black blanket being unused.
"Excuse me…" Danny said, taking the glass of water and drinking it before putting it down and grabbing the blanket. "Gotta borrow and by borrow I mean you'll have to buy a new one, charge the Fentons!" He said quickly before running out to where he was forcibly thrown in.
Jumping out and using the blanket like a makeshift cloak, he draped it over his head to keep snow out of his eyes, letting him get a good look at where he was going.
He saw the giant going back to capturing people when he decided to call out while jumping off rooftops.
"Hey, Hairy! Buffet's closed!" He called out, getting the monster's attention.
As the crowd cheered, the giant grew impatient and decided to deal with Danny Phantom. Seeing a wrecking ball at a construction site, it tore it off the chain and used it as a makeshift mace.
Seeing the object coming towards him, Danny zipped out of its way to his left, letting the thing tear off a piece of the roof in the process. It tried once more, this time Danny flipped over it in time before quickening his pace on another rooftop.
Good thing I have this… Danny thought as he turned invisible, creating a state of ice in his place before phasing out of the blanket.
The wrecking ball came once again, smashing the ice statue before Danny turned visible and grabbed the side. With an excited "Woo-hoo!", he stood atop the wrecking ball as it swung upward before running across the wire.
Seeing its prey, the giant pulled the wrecking ball closer to get at Danny, only for Phantom to jump off in time, spinning before aiming for the arm holding the pipe. Blasting the knuckles of the beast, he made it left go.
Dani Phantom was there, using her hovering and strength to catch it before it could reach the ground, straining herself slightly before letting it down gently.
With a relieved nod, Danny was able to see the giant reach for him in time before firing a short explosion from his hand that propelled him upward.
From there, he ran up the arm before almost reaching the shoulder. He flipped in the air before creating another sword construct, piecing the shoulder in the process.
The giant let out a primal roar of pain before aiming a punch to crush the ghost boy. To its surprise, Danny seemed to be gone. It stared at its shoulder a moment longer before Danny appeared on the other side of its head.
"Hey, Hairy?" He asks, getting its attention. "I'm about to hit a-" The beast tried to grab him, only for Danny to jump in time, landing atop the hand and firing a shot in its eyes. "Bull's eye!" He went, finishing his sentence.
The giant wildly swung its arms out, forgetting what it was holding.
The wrecking ball was now wrapping itself around its body, something Danny noticed in time.
Knowing how he can survive this, he stood atop the beast's rather stubby nose.
"Hey, still hungry? Here's something with a lot of iron!" He said before turning intangible, allowing the wrecking ball to be in plain sight.
The giant could only widen its eyes in shock before the impact struck, forcing its mouth wide open.
Seeing an opportunity, Danny flipped backwards and held his hands together. He created a large ball of energy with green fire before throwing it down the beast's throat.
As Danny managed to perform a superhero landing, the giant clutched its chest as the heat reached the inside, melting its heart and causing it to buckle its knees before falling down.
People prepared for the worst as Danny stood still, knowing what's to come.
The creature then started to turn to ashes, fading away before impact.
As the crowd cheered, some covering their nose due to the awful stink of the creature, Danny noticed more blue lights leaving for the sky. Whatever those were were now free now that the creature was destroyed.
Good riddance. He thought before recalling Frostbite.
Dani used her power to break a hole to get people out of the truck. Once done, she hovered towards him as he gestured to her to follow him.
"Frostbite's here and he's keeping our hungry visitor waiting…" He said.
"He should be here." Danny said as they sped up, the two were forced to run due to the cold.
To the two's horror, Frostbite was on the ground, severely injured.
"Frostbite?!" Dani questioned.
"Frostbite!" Danny shouted in a panic as he hurried over to his friend. "Are you okay?"
"I-I believe so…" He said weakly.
Another cold gust of air occurred, causing the two Phantoms to shiver.
"Really wish I didn't have my midriff exposed for everyone to see." Dani said.
Danny took a moment to examine the area around them, confirming there was no one else around.
"I don't see the Wendigo. I don't even see Skulker…" He said.
"Wait… so that skinny thing is somewhere here in Amity Park?" Dani asks, realizing how dangerous this was.
"Somewhere. Good news… he's too fixated on me to attack anyone else. Bad news… he's somewhere here…" Danny said.
As Danny and Dani worked to carry Frostbite to a place to be healed, the Wendigo watched from afar atop the rooftops.
"I'm going to need to get to him without anyone else in the way… Hmm…" He pondered before his eyes darted to city hall.
A sinister smile appeared on his face.
At Fenton Works
Frostbite was in the middle of having his wounds treated, courtesy of Jazz Fenton.
"Hold still..." Jazz said, administering bandages while Frostbite hissed.
"Please hurry, I must return to battle and help the Great One..." Frostbite said, hating being on the sidelines.
"Danny might be your great one, but as long as I'm treating you, I give the orders..." Jazz insisted.
"If only my healing could kick up, but that creature is more powerful than anything I've ever seen." Frostbite said.
Danny, who was in the room, heard that.
"More powerful?" Danny asks. As Jazz went to get more bandages, he approached. "Can you explain something?"
"What's that?" Frostbite responded.
"When the Danny Phantom Revenge Squad, dumb name I know, tried to fight the Wendigo, they tried a bunch of powers. Ghost Writer's typewriter, Johnny's shadow, even Kitty's kiss… they didn't do anything to him. At first, I thought it was because he wasn't a human or a ghost… but now I'm thinking that's not it." He said.
"You are correct. I'm surprised you don't know this, though it's not exactly a thing all ghosts know. Mostly those who come from the Ghost Zone rather than, as your mother put it, being a mixture of ectoplasm and post-human consciousness. Have you ever wondered why, despite not liking his master, the Fright Knight never tried to use his Soul Shredder on King Pariah?" Frostbite asks.
"I… just assumed he'd get his butt kicked if he even tried it." Danny admitted.
"You're not wrong… but it's also because the Ghost King is stronger. Too strong for it to work." Frostbite noticed Danny raised an eyebrow, meaning he should continue. "As you know, there are abilities that can alter others' bodies or control them, as well as teleport them without their consent. As explained by my retired master, the effectiveness of abilities that can perform such things is dependent on the difference in power between the caster and their target. Such as the Ghost Writer casting his poem spell but failing due to the creature being stronger."
"Would Clockwork's power help?" Danny asks.
"It should… though the master of time would insist you handle this yourself…" Frostbite stated.
"Right…" Danny muttered.
At City Hall
Mayor Montez was in the middle of numerous members of his staff informing him on current events.
"Mr. Mayor! People are reporting blackouts!" One said.
"Mr. Mayor! Property damage has been skyrocketing and people are demanding you fix it!" Another said.
"Mr. Mayor! What do you have planned for the city's upcoming anniversary of its founding? I know that has nothing to do with what's going on, but people keep asking us about it!" A third went.
Groaning, the mayor entered his office and locked the door.
"Another day of wondering why I wanted my old job back..." He said in a tired voice. He then went to his desk and sat with his head in his hands. "This cannot get worse…"
"Wanna bet?" A sinister voice said outside his window.
"Who said that?" He asks, looking up.
Just then, something crashed into his office. It was the wendigo, standing in front of him.
"That'd be me..." The wendigo said, teeth barred in a grin.
The mayor screamed in horror.
"A GHOST?!" He screamed.
"Not exactly… But do what I say and you won't be my first snack after I deal with Danny Phantom…" The Wendigo said with an evil laugh following.
At Fenton Works
Jazz walked up stairs from the basement, having finished tending to Frostbite. Maddie noticed this.
"I never thought our lab would be used to help a ghost." She admitted.
"Considering the situation, neither did I." Jazz admitted as she heard the television in the other room. She saw her father and younger sister sitting, watching what was on screen. "Anything?" Jazz asks.
"Nothing we don't already know." Jack said, gesturing to the news, reporting the same info on the storm as it had begun snowing.
"It's actually colder than it was in Canada…" Danielle said.
It was then they heard grunting, they saw it was from Frostbite as Danny helped him.
"I will be fine, my healing factor is kicking in." Frostbite insisted.
"As long as you're feeling any pain, you're not leaving this house." Danny insisted as he helped Frostbite sit at the couch as he too sat.
"If you insist…" Frostbite said.
As Danny let out a breath in relief, he noticed Danielle was sitting next to him. Or she was before getting up.
"I'm getting something to eat…" She said quickly before walking away, not even looking at Danny.
Danny let out a breath.
"And… she's back to being mad at me…" He said flatly and with a disappointed look on his face.
"Can you blame her? Dating a vile specter like that. Don't you know you can do better than some, putrid ghost?" Jack questioned before recalling their current guest. 'Uh… no offense…"
"... quite a lot taken, actually…" Frostbite said, frowning at that.
"That's also not the point." Danny said, getting their attention. "She's just been making friends to prove she can, not because she wants any."
"That makes sense…" Jack said.
"Pardon the choice of word given the situation, but her cold demeanor over this is a tad extreme. Should you not speak to her?" Frostbite asks.
"We should." Jack said.
"Speaking of cold, here's something I don't get. Why is it so cold that I can feel it in ghost form?" Danny asks Frostbite..
"What do you mean?" Frostbite asks in return.
"I get Ember having an easier time with that fire on her head, but I have an ice core, so why was I still freezing?" Danny asked.
"Pardon? An ice core?" Frostbite asked in confusion.
That surprised Danny, having learned about the concept of ghost cores from him.
"You're the one who told me about cores. You said my central core reading indicated extreme cold when I came to you..." Danny said.
"... I forget you are still young." Frostbite said.
"Huh?" Danny asks.
"Great one, there is no such thing as cores for ghosts, ice or otherwise. I was talking about your internal body temperature at the time..." Frostbite explained.
Danny blinked.
"Wait, for real?" He asked, feeling dumb now. Frostbite nodded. "Wow… I guess that just flew over my head given that's not exactly terminology everyone knows. So...that's why I still feel cold?" He asked.
"Indeed. Well, to be fair...those with ice powers do indeed have more resistance to the cold. That doesn't mean you can't feel it, just that you're more resistant to it. However, this winter is too cold...even by my standards..." Frostbite admitted.
It was then that things got more chaotic on the news.
"We just got news of an incident going on at City Hall." Tiffany Snow said on the television. "We now cut to Lancer Thunder, who is being contractually obligated to report it."
It cut to Lance Thunder, looking as miserable as usual as he shivered.
"Why is Tiffany reporting at home? Her name is Snow so she shou-" He then noticed he was on. "Uh… ahem. Folks, I'm at City Hall where Mayor Montez is ready to make an important announcement.
The mayor stood in front of his podium, a serious look on his face.
"Citizen of Amity Park. Until this freak snow storm is over, citizens are required to evacuate to the nearest shelter or head to the convention center if you're unable to stay home until further notice.." Montez said.
"Does that mean us too?" Danny asks.
"Most likely…" Jack said.
Maddie, entering the room with Jazz and Danielle, the latter eating a cookie, had a pensive look on her face.
"I suppose we can go to the convention center. Maybe aid people and put up a ghost shield." Maddie said.
"But he's not a ghost." Jazz reminded her.
"True… but the shield should still keep him out. I reverse engineered some of Vlad's old tech before the government seized it all. His research is finally saving people instead of ruining them." Maddie said.
Before they could discuss it further, something else on the TV caught their attention.
"And there's a message… for Danny Phantom…" Montez said.
That got the alarm bells ringing for everyone in the room.
"Me?" Danny asks.
Mayor Montez looked at a sheet of paper and stared at it. However, his hands began to shiver. It was not from cold, but from fear.
He smacked his lips, almost as if making a mistake would end his life.
"H-he… that… that thing… says to you… Danny Phantom." He took a deep breath. "I said I won't eat them yet… never said I'd never let them freeze to death. I don't mind my meat cold though."
That caught Danny's attention.
"Meat… eat them… it's him…" Danny said, realizing who this message was from.
"This storm will continue to grow colder… I'm giving it everything I got. If you choose to run from me, know that I will bring this storm with me. If you hide, know that the longer it goes, the more powerful it will get. Imagine my storm up north, but focus in one small location. Pretty soon, people w-" Montez choked on his words, afraid to say what was written. "... people will die from the cold. In one day, enough people will freeze to death and it's because you took my meat from me…" Montez looked ready to lose his mind, looking like he'd break down in tears. "If you want it done… face me… alone. No friends, no family, no enemy of my enemy team ups… otherwise… every frozen person, from the old folks to the babies, will be on your head… a head I w-" Montez looked ready to vomit. "... I will be ready to tear off and feast o-" He put the sheet down. "I can't read this anymore!" He pulled away, turning back and vomiting from what else the note had written down. "What he made me write is too vile!"
As people went to help the mayor, the room was dead silent. All eyes slowly turned to Danny, who was just as stunned and afraid as them.
At City Hall
Mayor Montez was shivering in cold, disgust and terror as his assistant helped him back to his office.
While equally stunned, Lance Thunder continued.
"As… you heard him, folks. If possible, please head to the Specter Street convention center for shelter or any nearby shelter as soon as possible. That includes those of you relocating the former Nasty Sauce from Nasty Burger. Back to you, Tiffany…"
As that went on, a figure watched from a rooftop about a block away. A figure that was on its toes, nested on the edge while sitting hunched.
Now that his message was delivered, the Wendigo cackled, awaiting his next meal.
New chapter with help from Flower Princess11.
Can you spot references to both Venom 2018 and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish?
Also, me making it clear the "ghost cores" concept is not a thing in this story, as that was from a misunderstanding from a line in Urban Jungle.
Okay... 7 more to go.
Also, please spread this story and the first one around. The more reading, the better.
Invader Johnny: Too bad they're not powerful enough to pose a threat.
RonalgM40196867: Not yet. Uh... that should have been obvious at this point. Maybe. Because association. Eh... maybe?
Guest: I will consider it.
cg037: Thank you.
danifan3000: That was something from Growing Pains, not Stranded. Also, not sure but she won't be the one to take him down. 2. Wait and see.
SoundVenom: As I said, Desiree won't be the one to do it.
Luiz4200: Yup.
Leonardo: Not yet. I do think these games have replaced Nicktoons Unite, but I got a few issues. Number 1 being I don't like that the developers play favorites and pick the classic Turtles when the 2012 Turtles are more important to Nickelodeon.
