[Third Person Pov]
As Danny and Superman's fused body hovered high above the world, their silhouette cut against the vast silver glow of the moon drifting behind them. The air was thin, cold, and quiet—yet the combined hero breathed steadily, suspended in that tranquil pocket of sky. Danny slowly raised his arms outward, fingers spreading as a translucent green force-field blossomed around them like a dome of shimmering glass.
"What are you doing?" Superman's voice echoed from within their shared mind, calm but curious. Danny made sure not to push the other consciousness aside; the stability of the Super-Phantom form depended on harmony, on shared control rather than dominance.
The force-field began to contract, shrinking inwards with each motion of Danny's hands. "I'm making a countermeasure against Technus' kryptonite core…" he answered, focusing deeply. As the sphere tightened to the point where he could touch it with his palms and the soles of his feet, the energy coating wrapped around his body like living fabric, conforming to every angle and muscle.
Danny continued, "Basically, I'm turning the force-field into a protective layer—almost like a second skin. If I'm right, it'll stop the kryptonite radiation from draining us the moment we get close. No weakness, no interruptions."
Superman's presence hummed with approval. "I see. Clever. Very clever. Your adaptability is impressive, Danny."
Danny kept his eyes closed as the field compressed until it hugged him like a ghostly bodysuit. The glow intensified, bathing their entire form in a sharp green aura that made the surrounding clouds illuminate faintly. He released a long breath. The aura stabilized. He flexed his hands into fists, the energy tightening with him, responding like muscle.
Then he let himself fall backward.
The wind whipped past their ears as they dropped through the cool night sky. "Now then—" Danny muttered with a faint, confident grin, "let's go exorcise an evil spirit."
Super-Phantom plunged straight through the clouds, leaving a swirling vortex behind. Halfway down, he twisted his body in a controlled arc. Just before hitting the ocean, he flipped, kicked off the very air, and launched forward. The resulting sonic burst ripped the sea apart beneath him, splitting the water in two as a massive V-shaped trench spread behind his accelerating form. Trails of wind and radiant green light followed in his wake.
---
Down at the shipping yard, Technus stood atop a mound of scrap metal and machinery, basking in the chaotic storm of rotating parts spiraling around him. Panels, gears, engines, wires, and armor plates floated like metallic planets in orbit. Each piece clicked and locked together as he assembled an upgraded exosuit onto his stolen Metallo body. Green nodes flickered across his chest and face, pulsing in rhythm with the kryptonite core inside him.
His sensors flared. He grinned.
"Ah… looks like round three is about to begin."
He straightened, expecting a distant dot in the sky.
Instead, Super-Phantom was already in front of him—close enough to reflect in the villain's metal plating. Those jade-green eyes were wide, burning with spectral fire. His fist—drawn back over his shoulder—radiated swirling green energy.
Technus barely had time to cross his arms and form an electric barrier. It didn't matter.
The punch detonated against the shield and obliterated it instantly.
Technus rocketed backward like a launched missile, skimming across the ocean surface so fast he bounced, each impact throwing up a geyser of water. Danny blurred after him and delivered a classic Superman combo—one punch sending him flying, another catching up and striking him again mid-air, increasing the velocity each time.
Snarling, Technus steadied himself and thrust out both hands. Violet energy crackled, forming dense electric spheres that fired like rail-gun blasts. Danny swatted them aside with a casual backhand, the explosions lighting the waves far below.
The villain shot forward, lightning dancing across his reinforced gauntlets. Danny met him head-on, his own fist engulfed in burning heat and ghostly flame.
Their collision triggered a catastrophic shockwave that blasted a circular crater into the sea beneath them, exposing the ocean floor for a heartbeat before the water rushed back in.
Both combatants were flung back in opposite directions. Technus' gauntlet shattered from the impact, falling apart in molten chunks—but more metal instantly flew from the rotating orbit that surrounded him, snapping into place and reconstructing the armor piece with upgraded plating.
Hissing in frustration, Technus materialized his enormous electrified morningstar. Danny responded by summoning a construct of colossal spectral claws around his arm, each digit glowing with intense phantasmal power.
Then the night sky erupted.
The two surged toward each other, dissolving into a frenzied blur of clashes, strikes, and shockwaves. Firestorms and bolts of lightning burst with every collision, distorting the ocean beneath them into spiraling whirlpools and heaving waves. Metal debris exploded upward. The heavens themselves seemed to tremble from the ferocity of their duel as Super-Phantom and Technus unleashed everything they had.
Technus hovered above the churning surface of the water, electricity crackling wildly across his armored frame. Arcs of violet lightning whipped outward in every direction, dancing across the ocean like living serpents. The surrounding waves lit up with blinding luminosity, turning the sea into a frenzied, storm-like battlefield as Technus' power escalated to a dangerous, unstable peak.
In response, Danny inhaled deeply—his chest expanding like a bellows—and exhaled with explosive force. A roaring blizzard of frost, wind, and spectral cold surged forth. The temperature plummeted in an instant. The storm of electricity froze mid-flight, every violent bolt halted in time as jagged crystalline spires of ice swallowed the lightning. The arcs suspended within the frost glowed like eerie purple Christmas lights. Even Technus, who had been moments from unleashing another thunderous blast, became completely encased—an unwilling, perfectly still ice sculpture radiating faint violet sparks.
Danny didn't hesitate.
He dashed forward and dropped into a sliding crouch across the sheet of ice. Ghost energy flared around his fist, bright and focused. He thrust upward with a devastating uppercut. The impact shattered the frozen lightning and the ice coating Technus in a single explosive burst, sending crystalline shards spraying outward in all directions.
Technus lurched as blood burst from the corners of his mouth. The blow launched him into the sky like a rocket breaking atmosphere.
The sea below Danny rippled violently as he powered upward, chasing the villain with a green-streaked trail that boiled the water beneath him.
In the air, the two clashed again, exchanging blinding-fast strikes that blurred into streaks of color. Their silhouettes twisted and spun across the night sky, framed by sparks, flashes, and bursts of frost and lightning. Within seconds, Danny overpowered Technus' momentum and forced him into a direct power struggle.
Danny gripped the shaft of the electrified morningstar, pushing Technus backward across the sky at incredible velocity. Electricity surged down the weapon, flooding Danny's body with raw voltage—but the force-field layer hugging his skin neutralized it entirely, leaving Danny unharmed. Technus stared in disbelief, fury radiating from his eyes.
Panels on his mechanical suit snapped open. Rows of industrial-grade speakers emerged, each one humming with rising frequency. Then Technus roared, releasing a burst of sonic energy so intense it distorted the very air around them.
The attack hit Danny squarely.
"AAARGH!!" he cried out, staggering back as the sound pierced through him like daggers. He clamped his hands over his ears, conjured ghostly earplug constructs, and jammed them in place.
Then he inhaled again.
He puffed his chest—
—and unleashed a Ghostly Wail empowered by Kryptonian lungs.
The result was catastrophic.
The wail tore through the sky in a concentrated, pitch-controlled beam of supernatural sound. Technus was hurled back so fast he seemed to warp the air around him. Sparks exploded from every seam of his armored body. Circuits overloaded. Plates snapped. His entire suit screamed in protest.
Technus shook his head as he was still flying backwards, desperate to regain his bearings. He looked forward, he expected Super-Phantom to appear ahead of him.
But all he saw was empty sky.
"Ahem."
Technus whipped around—
Super-Phantom floated beneath him, arms folded casually, drifting along in his slipstream as if being pulled by nothing but boredom and gravity.
Danny smirked.
He reached out, grabbed the back of Technus' lab coat, and rocketed upward with brutal force. They soared above the clouds, above the winds, into the cold shimmer of the Arctic sky. Danny began spinning—slowly at first, then faster, then faster still until the world warped into a spiraling blur.
He released.
Technus plummeted like a meteor.
He struck the ground in an explosion of snow and ice, carving out a massive crater as a tidal wave of frozen powder surged upward. The land shook beneath the impact.
Despite the catastrophic landing, Technus somehow managed to sit up. His armor was in tatters—shattered beyond repair, falling off in a rain of metallic fragments. He was left shirtless, revealing his thick iron torso, crackling circuitry, and glowing green metal nipples.
He barely had a moment to react.
A streak of green and black tore across the ice, sending another burst of frost into the air. Danny seized Technus by the bicep at supersonic speed.
With a single pivot, Danny swung Technus around in a wide arc. And with each rotation the villain's body slammed into the ground, once, twice—over and over—each impact carving a fresh crater into the snow. The trail of destruction stretched for hundreds of meters before Danny heaved him upward and flung him into a sheer ice cliff.
Technus' body embedded deep into the wall. Cracks spread like spiderwebs, eventually triggering a distant avalanche that rumbled across the frozen landscape.
Groaning, Technus tore himself free and staggered to his feet, trembling with a mix of rage and exhaustion. He braced his stance, gathering every ounce of power remaining in his battered frame.
Danny floated before him, calm, poised, glowing.
Their eyes locked.
Then they vanished.
They slammed into each other in a blur of motion. Their fists became afterimages, striking faster than the human eye could follow. Each blow detonated the air around them, creating rhythmic shockwaves that pulsed across the frozen plains like the heartbeat of a colossal beast.
Danny fought with practiced precision—his training taking over as his fists and feet moved in swift, controlled patterns. Each motion was deliberate, each strike calculated. He wove through Technus' wild swings like flowing water, blocking with sharp forearms, deflecting with angled palms, and countering with snapping jabs. His punches slid through Technus' guard like serpents, striking pressure points in rapid succession.
Every connection made Technus' vision flare white.
Every parry felt like an insult.
Every counterstrike reminded him he was being outclassed.
"ARRGHH!!" Technus bellowed, his voice cracking under the strain. Panic swelled in his chest—a deep, crushing helplessness he had not felt in ages. Desperation overtook him. With a final, frantic command, his chest compartment snapped open, revealing the glowing green kryptonite core pulsing at full intensity.
Danny recoiled instantly.
"UURGH—!" he choked out, collapsing to his knees as his arms trembled, "No—Kryptonite! Our weakness! I—I thought the shield would protect us!?"
Technus threw his head back and unleashed a manic, triumphant laugh. "Hahaha!! So you still have your Achilles heel! You had me worried for a moment, your new form nearly made me forget—"
He stopped.
Danny lowered his cape and arm.
His jade eyes glowed brighter. Sharper. Playful.
A teasing grin stretched across his face.
"Kidding~."
"Wha—?"
Before Technus could finish the thought, Danny's eyes erupted with emerald fury.
The optic blast tore through the frozen air with an earth-shaking roar, slamming Technus so hard into the ice wall that the entire mountainside rumbled. Heat scorched the stone, melting a tunnel directly behind him and burying him deep in a glowing, steaming crater. Technus hung there dazed—fried circuits, cracked plating, and all.
Danny raised his hands.
With a smooth telekinetic pull, the kryptonite core tore free from Technus' chest in a burst of sparks. Deprived of its power, the villain's energy output plummeted instantly. His limbs went slack as the green glow faded from his eyes.
Danny reached to his hip, retrieving a small metal cube. He flicked it into the air. It expanded, clicked open, and captured the exposed kryptonite in a containment bubble, sealing it away with a soft shhhhk-clink.
The cube floated beside Danny, orbiting him lazily as he stepped through the dripping, steam-filled cave his heat vision carved. Snow melted and ran down the walls in little rivers. At the far end, Technus slouched against the stone, barely able to lift his head.
Danny's right hand ignited with spectral energy as a clawed gauntlet formed. His entire arm shimmered with intangibility. He reached forward and plunged his hand through Metallo's chest—phasing through the metal skeleton with ease—and wrenched Technus' spiritual essence free in one clean motion.
The Metallo body powered down, collapsing into inert metal.
Technus—now just his ghostly self—hovered weakly in Danny's grasp.
Danny smiled warmly. "Hello."
Technus gave a shaky, embarrassed laugh and rubbed the back of his translucent head. "Hahaha… Hello, fellow ghost friend. I, um—well, would you happen to know the way back to the Ghost Zone? I seem to have lost my way."
Danny chuckled. "Don't worry. I'll guide you there myself. But first…" He lifted his thermos, aiming it at Technus' chest. "Take a look at this neat piece of tech."
"Oooh, very pretty—" Technus began, mesmerized.
Then the thermos activated.
FWOOP!
Technus was sucked inside with a startled yelp. The lid clicked shut as Danny twirled the thermos on his finger and blew across the top.
"Man… I really need a cool one-liner for every ghost capture." He tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Hmm… okay, for this special occasion…"
He struck a heroic pose, cape fluttering.
"It seems the Super-Phantom tag team was a super success."
********************************************
+10 advance Chapters and my other patron exclusive content on: patreon.com/Shadow_D_Monarch3