Going Ghost! (Young Justice)

[Third Person's PoV] 


Danny streaked through the sky, his white hair whipping back as he flew with his arms outstretched. Skulker was ready, standing with a smug grin, his arm extended. From his forearm, a ray gun charged, glowing with ectoplasmic energy.


Danny twisted sharply to the side as a beam of green energy shot past him, narrowly missing. Skulker activated the jetpack on his back, propelling himself toward Danny.


"You'll pay for what you did!" Danny shouted, meeting him head-on and landing a punch across Skulker's face.


Skulker's head snapped to the side from the impact, but he seized Danny’s arm, yanking him forward and driving a knee into Danny’s gut, forcing a gasp from him. "Your little friend should have stayed out of my hunt!" Skulker sneered, before punching Danny toward the ground and firing another ectoplasmic ray at his torso.


As Danny fell, screams erupted from below. He phased through a car that swerved in panic and sank into the ground, becoming intangible to avoid causing any harm.


Emerging from the ground, Danny ignored the onlookers and flew back toward Skulker, forming green ectoplasmic energy into sharp disks in his hands.


He hurled the disks at Skulker, who barely managed to dodge, the disks slicing through the air with a sharp whistle. One disk grazed Skulker's arm, exposing the wiring beneath his exoskeleton.


Skulker's grin widened into a twisted mix of anger and excitement. "Hahaha! I love it when my prey fights back! It makes the hunt so much more thrilling!" Rockets emerged from his shoulders, locking onto Danny.


Danny saw the rockets trailing smoke as they homed in on him. He twisted and turned, firing ghost rays at the incoming missiles, but they were relentless. Turning intangible only made the rockets follow suit.


Realizing he had no other choice, Danny spread his arms wide, forming a green forcefield around himself. The rockets collided with the forcefield, causing a series of explosive booms.


BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


The forcefield trembled under the bombardment, cracks appearing across its surface, but it held. As the smoke cleared, Skulker flew at Danny, smashing through the weakened forcefield with a fierce punch that sent Danny spiraling through the air, green blood splattering from his face, causing Danny to let out a grimace.


Skulker roared after Danny, his jetpack blazing, and delivered another powerful punch. He continued his relentless assault, each blow forcing Danny lower until he crashed onto a rooftop, skidding across its surface and smashing into various appliances.


…


Inside one of the apartments below, a man sat on his couch, eyes glued to a soccer game. The commentator's excited voice filled the room.


"He shoots and– Static"


"NOOOOO! Did he score?! Stupid piece of– garbage TV!" The man bellowed, hurling his beer can at the screen in frustration.


…


Danny collided with a brick wall, the impact shaking the rooftop entrance. He slumped against the wall, his white hair disheveled, eyes struggling to focus. Pain radiated from his body, bruises and cuts decorating his form, and a stream of green blood dripped from his mouth. He spat a thick glob of it to the side, using the wall for support as he slowly tried to stand.


Skulker landed with a thud, his gaze fixed on Danny. As Danny struggled to maintain his ghost form, a transformation ring appeared around his torso, reverting him to his human form. His hair returned to black, and his eyes shifted back to blue. The injuries carried over, leaving him weak and bleeding profusely.


Skulker's eyes widened in surprise. His sensors confirmed that Danny was still alive, yet no longer a ghost. Excitement lit up his face. "A halfling! This is the greatest discovery in the Ghost Zone! And I, Skulker, the greatest hunter, have found you! You'll make a fine addition to my collection, boy!”


Danny's stance widened, and he raised his fists in a boxing guard. Despite his battered state, his determination shone through.


Skulker chuckled, his stance shifting into a combat-ready position. "Still fighting, even now? I'm impressed, kid. Let's continue, then."


Skulker launched the first attack, swinging his fist toward Danny. Danny weaved to the side, narrowly avoiding the blow. Skulker pressed on, each punch met with a dodge or deflection. Danny blocked a punch with both arms and shifted his weight to counter with a strike to Skulker's torso.


Clang!


The impact echoed as Danny's fist met Skulker’s metal exoskeleton, in his half delirious state forgetting for a moment that Skulker was made out metal. The pain jolted through Danny, and before he could react, Skulker's fist smashed into his face, sending blood spraying from his mouth.


Danny resumed dodging, his movements more deliberate. As Skulker's fist came at him again, Danny leaned back, redirecting the punch with a fluid motion. He twisted around Skulker's arm, reaching into his utility belt.


In one swift move, Danny pressed a small explosive device to Skulker's torso. The device blinked red as it adhered. Danny rolled backward, narrowly avoiding Skulker's retaliatory stomp.


Skulker glanced down, noticing the flashing device. With a smirk, he turned intangible, phasing the bomb out of his body, and tossed it away. The device exploded in a fiery burst behind him, the shockwave rumbling through the rooftop.


Danny gritted his teeth as the fight continued atop the rooftop. He moved with a mix of desperation and determination, dodging, blocking, and parrying Skulker's relentless attacks. Each maneuver was an attempt to find an opening, a way to turn the tide against his powerful foe.


But Skulker's brute strength finally broke through Danny's defenses. With a devastating punch to the gut, Skulker sent Danny crashing to the ground, blood spurting from his mouth as the air was violently expelled from his lungs. Danny gasped for breath, his body trembling as he fell to all fours, blood dripping from his nose and mouth.


Skulker reached down, gripping Danny by the front of his shirt and lifting him effortlessly. He held Danny close, grinning triumphantly.


"Ready to call it quits, kid? You put up one hell of a fight," Skulker chuckled. "But what use are you to me dead? Just give up. You've already lost."


Danny's eyes burned with defiance, despite his battered state. His hand, hidden from Skulker’s view, reached into his utility belt. He slowly uncorked his Fenton Thermos with his thumb, preparing for his final move.


"You made two mistakes," Danny rasped, his voice hoarse from pain and the blood he'd coughed up.


"Oh, really?" Skulker sneered. "I'm not the one bleeding to death in the palm of my enemy."


"Your first mistake," Danny said, his voice steady despite the agony, "is deciding that I've already lost. No one but me gets to determine that."


Skulker scoffed, amused. "And the second?"

Clang! The sound of the thermos cap hitting the ground caught Skulker's attention. Danny seized the moment.


"Your second mistake," Danny continued, "is bringing me close to your face!"


Summoning every ounce of strength, Danny made his hand intangible and drove it through Skulker's face, forcing the ghost hunter’s true form—a small, green figure—out of the back of his exoskeleton.


Skulker released Danny as his true form was ejected. The tiny figure screeched as it was launched into the air. Danny collapsed to the ground but managed to aim his Fenton Thermos at Skulker's true form, activating it just in time to capture the shrieking ghost.


As Skulker was sucked into the thermos, he clung to the rim, shouting in desperation, "Voice activation! Self-destruct!"


Danny's heart sank as he sealed the thermos. The female robotic voice from Skulker’s suit began the countdown. "Initiating self-destruct sequence. Activation in 3..."


Danny’s eyes widened in horror. There was no time to escape.


"...2..."


He closed his eyes, crossing his arms in a futile attempt to shield himself from the impending explosion.


Just as the countdown reached its final second, a wire shot through the air. Batman, propelled by his grappling hook, flew toward Danny, his cape billowing behind him. With a swift motion, he enveloped Danny in his cloak, shielding him with his own body.


"...1. Self-destruct."


BOOOOOOOOOM!


The explosion erupted, sending both Batman and Danny flying. The force of the blast knocked Danny unconscious, his body limp in Batman's protective embrace. The dark knight grimaced as he absorbed the brunt of the blast, maneuvering mid-air to shield Danny from the worst of the impact as they crashed onto a nearby rooftop.