Danny Phantom Unlimited Chapter 12

Chapter 12:

The Day That Never Comes, Part 12

The Hour after Midnight.

01:00 AM UTC

"This was his plan all along. The reason he made me fight them like… a gauntlet, one after another… It wasn't to kill me, at least not this second round. No, it was a diversion… an excessively complicated and elaborated distraction so he could set up his bomb, a complete waste of energy, my energy! So that way, by the moment he shows his actual plan, the moment he shows me his bomb, I would be too tired to do anything to stop it.

"And sometimes when you grow tired, you feel weak, and when you feel weak you feel that you wanna just give. But you gotta search that thing in you, you gotta find that inner strength that pulls that shit out of you, and get that motivation to not give up and not get quitter, no matter how bad you wanna just fall… no matter if you feel like you are out of breath, that earth is dragging you down.… You gotta keep going up, higher and higher every time, until you reached past the limits… "

Those were Danny's last thoughts, in his last moments of consciousness before passing out, he thinks of the only thing that makes push himself over his limits, the only thing that motivates him to go beyond any danger even if it means the death of himself… the love for his family and friends.

It is for them he will never fall, it is for them he will stand tall and strong, because in his heart he know nothing could ever be worse than losing them…

00:55 AM UTC

- See that, child? That is the time you got left. No more than five minutes. So you get to choose whether you fight me, or you get rid of the bomb. But chose carefully, if fight me the bomb shall raze your city and if you chose the bomb I'll be gone before you notice, and not even with your clones you'd be able to do both, so what is it gonna be kid? Me or the bomb?

T-minus 05:00

- Danny, this bomb has enough power to blow at least half the city, it's basically a ghost nuclear bomb. You have to get rid of it now.

- Analysis…

- What?

- Give me a damn analysis! I wanna know everything about this bomb! How does it work. How to unplug it! EVERYTHING!

T-minus 04:57

- There: The bomb is 137 Feet height. 150 Tons weight. - Says Gas showing the scan with the analysis on the bomb, on Danny's lenses. - It's controlled by two built in computers. I'm trying to override it but the main computer has a ten thousand codex, it'd take me an hour. And there are no cables to cut.

T-minus 04:49

- Then I'm gonna take out it of here. Take it to space.

- Take it to space? Oh, you are gutsy Fenton. Gutsy, gutsy Fenton - said Technus with derision.

Danny smites him with a white energy wave.

T-minus 04:42

- Danny, that's way over you class weight. Not even with me on. You-

- Then give me the extra energy!

- What?!

- You said that can grant me access to more of that extra energy my core is spitting out whenever I needed, right? Well guess what? I fucking needed it now!

- Rerouting excedent ghost core energy through the user's body. Energy levels: 35 % out of 100%.

With his body empowered by the excedent energy his ghost core is expelling, Danny losses any feeling of tiredness.

- Good luck, boy. You are gonna need it to pass through that impenetrable dome.

His body was glowing green, irradiating ghost energy, feeling stronger than before. Strong enough to lift the bomb and fly away with it.

- Danny how are you going to pass though the shield? It is phasing proof and you don't have time to break it.

- I bet is not teleporting proof - said getting closer to the ghost dome.

- You sure about that?

- I'm not sure about anything I do, but most of the time they work for the best. I just gotta hope this does.

Using his teleportation Danny manages to get out of the dome, appearing 50 Kms in the air.

- Hey, it worked! Yes! Yes! My brain is better everyone else's! Now let's get this thing out of here to where it can't hurt anybody.

T-minus 03:35

Pushing himself further and further, he flies through each layer of the atmosphere, calling for more energy, reaching a 40% of his full power.

T-minus 02:19

Calling for even more energy, his eyes turn completely green, and his hair slowly began to ablaze as he gets to a 50%. His disk-backpack grows, taking a jetpack shape to project his extra energy in order to fly even faster while his cowl mask shapes into a cowl mask-helmet with white locking bolts on each side, and little rectangular flat white lenses, with the holographic bubble face mask as soon as he gets into the thermosphere, allowing him to breathe.

T-minus 01:36

- Danny you should drop it now. We're already far away from the city.

- No! If this thing explodes inside the earth atmosphere, the nanobots could spread through the air like a virus and it would be worse, it could affect any other city. Besides, we're only a 10 Kms away from the exophere.

Missing only thirty second for the bomb to explode, Danny finally gets out of the earth atmosphere.

The absolute lack of gravity makes the bomb float away from him

- Ha-ha! I did it! I did it! I'm the greatest hero on earth!… Well, it would be if I was on earth, but you know what I mean.

- Yes. Now don't get cocky, boss. Remember what happened last time yo-

In that moment, the bomb explodes with the intensity of a nuclear bomb, and the energy released by the bomb knocks out Danny. Fortunately, his suit and his enhanced level of energy protected him from any serious damage.

01:01 AM UTC

"Suit Systems Status: Rebooted and Online. User Status: Stuporous. Initiating User Wake up Protocol."

Danny's nervous system gets shocked by a 500 Jules discharged used by the suit to wake him up from his stupor.

- God-damn it Gas! Why did you do that? - yelled angered with his hair still blazing.

- You where in stupor. That means-

- I know what that means. I actually pay attention to health class, you know?

- And still you are a C straight student.

- Very funny. Now let's go back to earth. I promised Technus I was going to break his ass and that's what I'm gonna do. And now I just realize how wrong that came out.

At full pelt, Danny flies back inside the earth atmosphere, unharmed by the heat generated by the reentering the atmosphere.

When getting back in the city, he unveils his mechanical spider legs and his shoe-blades, sticking them in the ground to generate more traction in his landing.

"Rerouting Ecto-Energy back to the ghost core. Ecto-Energy levels in the user's body back to Gauges Level."

- Wow, that was cool. I saved the city from a nuclear G-bomb, I went to outer space and came back, all in less than ten minutes! I love this new suit.

- Your suit is certainly fascinating - said Technus behind him.

- You! I see you were stupid enough to stay here when you could have run like the coward you are. I guess that you are gonna have it by me, and again that came out wrong. I'm gonna fucking beat you up!

- That new suit of your. It is made of an organic technology much more sophisticated than mine. So advanced I can't control t for all the organic in it yet it is still technology, living technology. I wish I could dissect it. But that is not what I'm here for.

- Don't care! - said firing a white streaming plasma ray.

Technus avoids the attack with ease and holds Danny with his new telekinesis.

- You should care about why I'm still here. There is something I learned from all my years as a villain: the key to success is redundancy.

In that moment a second bomb explodes in the other side of the city.

- No - said Danny flabbergasted, with his face deadpan.

- There you have it. A second bomb hidden all the other side to the city, in case the first one wouldn't make it. A real twist isn't? Now good luck hunting down my ghosts, and don't bitten - said laughing as hard as he can, while teleporting back to the ghost zone.

Danny falls on his knees, devastated, staring in awe at the huge blue mushroom cloud forming on the other side of the city, thinking of all those people he couldn't save and who got turned into ghost-zombies.

The next day, 03:24 PM UTC

- Mom I swear I'm ok, I was far away from the bomb, and the fight in pier… I know it seemed like I had a rough time, but when I came back for the second round, I beat their ass quite easily. - said Danny to his mom on the phone.

- Oh, but sweetie, the city is a wreckage now, and Jazz, your sister said you needed surgery.

- She was exaggerating. I could have healed from that on my own. But she beefed on the doctors to do it anyway. Look if it makes you feel any better, you can come back here as soon as you can. Now that the ghost dome is gone...

- Sweetie, are you sure you are ok? Isn't there anything you want to tell us?

- Well, my old suit was destroyed so had to get a new jumpsuit. Much cooler than my old jumpsuit.

- Is that it?

- Oh, and now I have a mask like you, but opened at the top so my hair can stay out. Look I gotta go, I said Tucker I'll help to rebuild the city and I'm running late. I love you, bye.

- You lied to them - said Jazz glowering at her littler brother.

- Yeah well, what did you want me to tell them: "Yes mom, I almost died in a fight, then I lost control of my powers and I had to get a major surgery". Is that what you want me to tell them?

- No, but-

- Do you think I like lying to them? No, I don't, but if I tell them the truth they will be as worried as you we're in the hospital or even more. And I don't want to do that, I don't want to make mom and dad feel like that, not now not ever!

- So think is better lying to them through your teeth?

- Yes I did. I do that, but I did it because I love them. And yes you can tell them the truth if you want, but keep in mind that that'll only cause them more pain. Is that what you want?

- No, I-I'm just worried about you Danny. You-

- You don't have to worry about me. As I said, I'm fine. Now if you excuse me, I have a city to rebuild.

Danny said goodbye to his sister with a kiss in her chick and a huge hug, and flied away from their house in his human form, convinced he was doing the right thing by not telling his parents what truly happened.

- Oh Danny, you're so not fine. If you could only see things my way - said Jazz with deep sorrow as soon as he leaves the house.

Epilogue 1: What came from the outer space

The day after the bomb.

G.I.W. Headquarters. Amity Park.

03:30 PM UTC

- We've managed to scout the affected area with some operatives sent from D.C. in replacement for the lost agents during the battle with the Fright Knight and the operatives turned into ghost zombies by Technus and his crew - explained K to Danny who was in his ghost clothes, when walking on their cellblock.

- We also managed to capture some of those… I don't even know how to call them - said J -, specimen…

- Ghozbies.

- What?

- Ghozbies. That's what I call them, cause they're half ghost and half zombies, ghozbies.

- Right… Well, we've managed to capture most of those… ghozbies during the clearance of the area, as you can see there are in our second most powerful containment cells. Our scientist are currently running some tests, trying to figure out how and why they're like that, and looking for a way to bring them back to normal…

- And?

- Nada - said J -. They only thing we got so far is that they were turn into this monsters by-

- Nanobots, phased straight into their bloodstream, pumping ghost energy into every cell of their bodies.

- Correct, how did you-? Never mind. We've tried several methods to turn them human again. We tried shutting down the nanobots with EMPs, nothing. We tried separated them from their ghost half, nothing, even worse, those who were separated remained as zombies. Some others just wouldn't make it, the energy would reduce them into goo or carcasses, or both.

- Eventually we stopped trying since it seemed futile, and focused all our time and energy into capture the remaining ghozbies of there are before they bite some else.

- Wait, does it mean…?

- That their bite is like a zombie bite? Yes, your bitten, your one of them. - Explained K.

- Ok, good to know that, but again, why am I here?

J and K glare at each other.

- For this. - Said K opening the gate to the lowest cellblock, where they locked the worst and most dangerous captives.

- An empty broken cell? - asked Danny.

- Exactly. This empty broken cell should be anything but empty and broken - pointed K.

- This cell is our most secure cell. Nothing can get in or out, neither human or ghost, unless they have granted access, something only our highest officers have.

- Except for powder and dust - said looking at the floor, squaring to take a better look and touch it.

- This isn't powder. It's sand - said Gas, zooming in the sand to the microscopic level. - More like ghost sand.

- Ok, what am I looking at here other than sand.

- Three months after the asteroid thing, we scout all over the earth in search for the ectoranium meteors that felt on earth following the asteroid. During those three moths we found nothing but killing ghost green rocks scattered all over the world, until a search group heard stories of a life energy sucking ghost haunting a little town in Malaysia. What they found, according to their report… was the most horrific thing in the world. Far worse than their worst nightmares.

- They couldn't describe what they saw. Mostly because none of them would live long enough for it. No one who came across would survive. They only thing left was a dry and whitered shell and the very, very few who survived were to scared and traumatized to describe it. They would only talk nonsense about a vampire shadow or something.

- Yeah right, a vampire, like those things - are real - laughed his partner.

- Eventually, we sent our elite forces, they fought it and hard, but it took another three months and around six hundred operatives to capture it. And then it was imprisoned in the most impenetrable cell we had, which was right here and no one but our superiors would know what it was.

- But apparently, that ghost Technus knew about it, and moved an really complicated operation to extract it.

- And penetrated your impenetrable cell. When did this happen?

- During the attack. We believe your fight with them in the pier and the Fright Knight assault on the city was nothing but a massive diversion to call our attention and lure us out leaving this place empty so one of his allies could break in and take it out.

- Wait. You are saying… that I almost died, that my ghost core got broken and that I had to pull a giant bomb out of the planet just because you had a live sucking ghost in the city?!

- That's one way to put it - said J nervous.

- It is the only way to put it! - yelled Danny - You not only jeopardized the city by bringing that thing here, but you also forced his hand to destroy the city to get his new asset, you also caused him to destroy the only line of defense it had in times of war.

- What?

- But then again, what can I expect from the government. You're lucky that line is now being rebuilt and stronger than before.

- I don't think I'm…

- Why are you telling me this any way?

- We believed that he pretends to use that ghost in an full out war attack on us.

- And based on what we saw, it is most likely that. So we thought you might want the heads up.

- Thanks. Now if you excuse me, I have an anniversary date to plan and with almost every restaurant wrecked I have a lot of work to do to get a good place - said teleporting himself out of there.

- You lied to him.

- Lying for omission isn't really lying. Is just… omission. Omission of information that he isn't supposed to know. Not that we know it anyway.

- Good point. By now...

Meanwhile on the ground zero.

- Ok, what's the word Gas?

- Just a shorter version of my name.

- …sure it is. I mean what the word on their words. What did you get from their computer when we where there?

- Two things, one: the government has the worst security system ever! And two: the only information they had in their computer about their… prisoner is that it came from the outer space. You know what that means, right?

- I sure do, it means it's an… alien! - said Danny very exalted, laughing and making the same hand gesture than Giorgo Toskolo. - But seriously, what do you think? - asked when he stopped laughing.

- I don't know… I don't know…

- Did you have to make a dramatic pause?

- I don't know… I don't know…

Epilogue 2: The Ghastly, The Bad and The Ugly.

- If there is something I've learned from all my years as a businessman is that the key to success… is redundancy - said Vlad Plasmius, floating inside his containing chamber, filled with stabilizing ecto-goo, created by the G.I.W. in order for him to maintain his ghost form. - Now Technus, would you be a dear and turn on the lights? I've spent way too much time in the shadows.

- Of course my friend.

- Oh, that's so much better! So since I'm now in your lab, I must assume our little skim has played out just well, right?

- There were some… deviants from our original plan, but overall, everything played just as we planned.

- And to whom do I owe my liberation, if I must know?

- The name is Hotep-Ra - he said. - You are welcome.

- He is the one who infiltrated the Guys in White H.Q. during the assault, through the ventilation system in his sand form, which is undetectable to their radars, and the one who set you free from your prison - explained Technus.

- So that was the plan all along. -asked Skulker among his beaten partners.

- Part of it, sure why not? - said Vlad.

- And just to be clear, why is he still swimming in that chamber? - asked Spectra.

- Oh Spectra, my dear. If you only knew… See, after that giant ecto-ranium asteroid phased through earth, I was crashed by meteor that follow it. During the crash I lost my human side. The radiation separated my ghostly part from my human part, and when it came to earth, it sadly… passed out. Then I was left in Malaysia weak, near death, to the edge of oblivion, unable to sustain my form. But with every closed door, there is new window, a new window of ghost powers. See, the separation cost me my humanity, but in exchange the lack of real body, somehow gave new abilities, powers I could have never dream of. Powers that helped me to maintain my ghostly form.

- And what is that power?

- The ability to absorb life energy. Oh, but my disgrace is nothing but endless… where as I gained a new power like other, I also became… dependent, like a parasite. You see the life energy I consume to maintain my ghostly form, the more it weakens, and the more I'll have to absorb, that unless of course I get a new human body, a host to exist in and feed on.

- Don't worry buddy, we'll take care of it. I have-

- I'm fully aware of what you got here, our telepathic conversations were not just the product of leisure. And I need a better host, a body much stronger than those people you kidnap for your little experiments and with more influence. And I just have someone in mind.

Elmerton, Old Warehouse.

11:56 AM UTC

- …for years, we've pulled out with this kid, and all the ghost he lures into our beautiful city, and in time we came to live with it knowing he would be there to "protect us", oblivious to the fact that it is because of him, that we are haunted, it is because of his presence in our beautiful city, that we have ghost floating on the streets every night, ghost that come here only to fight him, to hunt him down, and who ends paying the price? That's right, us! The humans who live in Amity Park, we are the ones who suffer, we suffer for his fights, we see our city destroyed in every one of their clashes every single day. We lose our house, we lose our jobs. That is the cost of him leaving among the humans, and even though at some point it was tolerable, this… this is the last straw. Now because of him, half of our beautiful was ravished by a storm of monsters and the other half destroyed by a nuclear ghost bomb, and to make things worst, the people got caught in the explosion wouldn't even die quickly and rest in piece, no. They were turned into monsters… aberrations, half ghost and half zombies. And now we not only have to watch our backs for ghost, but for ghost-zombies! So now I ask you when will this end? How much are we going to pay for the presence of Danny Phantom? This is Lance Thunder, talking to anyone who listens to public radio at midnight - said turning off his microphone. - This is what is what I've been reduced to? From the very good looking weather guy on tv to a guy who yells on a radio station that no one listens to? - asked with a lower tone - This is all your fault Danny Phantom, you cost me my job and now I'll make sure you pay with everything you have! I don't care if I have to sell my soul to the devil.

- That sounds delightful. - said Plasmius, his voice ethereal. - But if you really want to make him suffer you'll need to do more than yelling at a microphone at night - said pouring himself through the walls, the floor above, and the ventilation system like a black goo and smoke, and forming his ghostly body in his shadow-looking form, making a small tornado in the basement where Lance lived now, and making a huge disarray. - And in that, I consider myself-self quite an expert. Well just one self now.

- The devil you know. And actually is Plasmius now, just Vlad Plasmius. Here to serve you, well sort of. I've been listening to you little radio communication for months now, during my days in prison and I think you are the ally to carry on my plans, thus I proposes you: give your body and ill give everything you need to make his life a living hell. Oh, and keep in mind that whether you say yes or no, I'm still taking our body. So what do you say?

- … I say… yes!

With a wide smile, Vlad becomes a black and red smoking stream of goo and pours himself through Lance's mouth taking full possession of his body.

- Now, let's get business started. - said with a huge grin, twitching his head and his suit. - First order of the day: bring misery to Danny Phantom's life.

Epilogue 3: Starting anew.

It's been a week ever since the bomb, and things have been changing back to normal pretty fast, faster than expected. The city is being rebuild again, faster than ever and much stronger, all thanks to an anonymous server of providence who provided us with everything we needed in this days of misery to rebuild our city and our lives. That man being Mr. M, something only I know. He appears to be good, he claims to be good, and since now I'm crutched to this suit he made for me, I just gotta hope he is one of the good guys.

But now, now i don't have time for that, because now I float around the earth. Now my mind is far away from that, from all that chaos, that ruckus life in Amity Park has become, because now, I'm with the woman I love, the only person I love more than anything or anyone. And today, we celebrate our anniversary, something I felt I needed. Because after all that has happened, I felt that I needed this, a moment of calm, silence and happiness. I needed a break from being super, and being just awesome me.

- I still can't believe it. How did you managed to pull all this out? A dinner in outer space? In a ISS satellite? - she asked stunned for my anniversary surprise, something I planned long ago.

- What can I say? I'm half awesome.

- No, you are completely awesome. Uh, not that I don't appreciate it but, why are dining away from earth?

- Because I now how much you like darkness, and in this crystal ball-like satellite, we can eat surrounded by all the darkness of the universe. As long as the artificial gravity works, otherwise we would make a mess and I don't wanna clean up after dinner.

- Oh, I soooo love it.

- I know you do - I said griming at her. - Besides, after everything that's happens, being away from earth is the best for us.

- That aside, this awesome Danny. To be honest I thought you may forget it again, and try to make it up with a lousy gothic teddy bear like you did last year, but this is... wow.

Sam speechless. That alone is something more impossible than taking a 150 tons bomb out of earth and, a sign of how great I am.

After our dinner, we stared at the cosmos, cuddling; we watched the sunrise from above; we glanced the darkness in which the stars float. Everything was magnificent, but the best part was just being with her, just the two us together, alone in the universe.

- You never told me how you did it. How did you get a "reservation" for this.

- Let's just say I have good friends in the NASA.

- You overshadowed them, didn't you?

- Some of them - I said kissing her chick, hugging her from behind.

- Have you thought what are you going to do when we go back?

- I though of not doing it at all. I thought of staying here, with you. Only the two of us, alone in the dark, with no one to bother us.

- Sounds good, like a perfect way to spend our days. But we have to go back at some point. What are you going to do about the whole Technus thing then?

- Let's not think about that. Let's focus on the now, because now, now it's a new beginning, and I want to share this moment with you - I said while we saw the sun rise in what I think is Japan.

- Ok Mr. Bombastic - she said giggling, and kissing me back...

The sun goes up, the starts float still over, and after that day I keow that my universe is not going to be the same anymore. That's why I'm glad we get to spend this lottle moments, just she and I. Becuase only that counts.

Epilogue 4: Fight the future.

Amity Park, 7 Years later.

A 24 years old Danny wakls on the streets of Amity Park, now known as New Amity Park.

The city he walks in, was completelty different from the one he grew up in. No only buildings changed, but people as well and Dannt himself was not behind. His change was more than just a new ghost suit: a black trench coat with white lapels, over a more stylized black and white jumpsuit with glowing green bulbs on his belt and gloves. No, his change was more than just that.

After everything he lived over the last seven years, Danny grew up to be a man, way diferent from the man he tought he would be. He was now, not only the savior of one or two worlds, but savior of a multiverse.

And today, he walks down the streets, passing by next to a sing of him and Technus shaking hands with the words "Two species working together for one better world", to see the man he could have been. That man, who is now locked down in the Guys In Black's Maximun Security Prison.

- Say, it was about time you came to visit. You pay more respect to your elders - sneered Dan, sitting, shacled with blue ectoranium, on a metal shair.

- I came here because you wanted to see me.

- No, you came because you wanted to see yourself. You came because you wanted iit.

- What do you want? - he asked after taking a deep breathe.

- I just wanted to see how I was doing. How is the family doing, you know now that I didn't kill them - he asks twitching his head.

- They're fine.

- And what about us?

- There is no us.

- You are right, that's more of a simbyote thing. How am I doing outside this walls.

- You are locked down, for good. That's how you are doing.

- All right, if you want to play that game... How are you doing, oh great president of the world? Oh great face of human and ghost race - he asks with derision.

- I'm annoyed. Thanks to you.

- How is your little pseudo dictatorship going? And I use the word pseudo loosely.

- I don't know what are you talking about.

- Yes, you do. I mean come on, you got cameras everywhere. There is no part of the world that you don't have bugged.

- That is for the world's safe.

- Yeah, yeah. Not the first dictator who uses social security as an excuse.

- Is not an excuse. People choosed me to be their leader.

- When no other fool would take the place.

- I made this world a better place. That is much more than we can say about you, you murderous scum. - he said with loathe in his voice and hearth.

- How? By allying with Technus during the Age of Clusters?

- He is a different man from who he was. He wants the best form both ghost and humans.

- And you believe him? After everything that's happened?

- Yes, because even he is more human than you.

Dan laughs effusively at his words.

- Do you really believe that? Do you really believe people can change?

- I do.

- Does it mean that there is still hope for me?

Danny mulls into that for a few seconds.

- I wish there was.

- Ok, then answer me this last question, with all the honesty in your hybrid hearth. After everything that's happened, and I mean everything not just the Cluster's Age, the Technus War, the days of invasion and the ghozbie apocalypse, but after everything you and our family have been through, don't you wish you would have never changed our past? Haven't you thought that things would have been better if you would had turn into me?

For anyone the answer to that question would be a big no, but Danny looks in his hearth for an answer, a real answer that would please him and himself. And what he sees is the only ruth he can't deny. The only truth that feels reals and not a lie instead.

- Sometimes... I do - he said prone.

Danny answers his question honesty as well as great sorrow and grief.

Dan instead, smiles and grins at him.

- Of course you do. Look at you. You lie to yourself, you became worst than I and you won't see it.

- Shut up! I have saved universes! Not just this universe but plenty of more others!

- Well, me on the other hand. I'm glad you changed our past, otherwise I would have never had a second chance in life. A second chance with Sam. And boy, we took that second chance together, we really did - Dan said with a big smile on his face.

The moment he hears those words Danny bursts in blind rage, and starts beating his helpless old self, sputtering in rage. He punches him with all his strength looking to kill him, even though he knows he can't.

The prison guards pulled him out of the room against his will. It took over fifty men to get him out.

- I knew it. I knew this little reunion wasn't going to end well. I knew it wasn't going to end we'll!l - said a poor and beaten Clockwork, in his old man form, who at this point in his life had lost any ounce of sanity and would only sputter incoherences, floating in his ectoranium cell.

Danny leaves the prison he built himself to lock the worst ghosts ever, full of rage, repeating to himself: "I knew it, I knew it... I knew it wasn't going to end well."