[Third Person POV]
As everyone's attention locked on Jack and Johnny's escalating clash, Danny silently slipped behind the towering VR. He scanned the scene for a brief moment, his eyes narrowing as he made sure no one saw him. A faint whoosh of energy flared around his waist as a luminous ring of light circled his body from head to toe.
In an instant, the boy vanished into a burst of white, revealing the glowing, silver-haired figure of Danny Phantom. Without a word, he dropped into the pavement, phasing through solid concrete.
Above, Tucker had already scrambled onto the roof of the VR truck, crouching low with the Fenton Bazooka braced on his shoulder. The oversized weapon hummed with charged ecto-energy, the mounted side-screen flickering with a live targeting feed as he tracked Johnny's unpredictable movements through the digital scope, thumb poised over the trigger.
"What on earth are you all doing?!" Jazz shouted from the sidelines, her voice a sharp blend of alarm and disbelief. "Have you finally lost it?!"
Her mother snapped back, her own voice rising in heated reply. The two of them fell into a rapid-fire argument, their words overlapping as green energy blasts and ghostly howls filled the air.
Down below, Johnny snarled as Jack came barreling toward him like a runaway freight train, fists cocked for a crushing blow. With lightning reflexes, Johnny caught both of Jack's massive fists mid-swing, the collision sending a shockwave through the ground.
"Locked on," Tucker muttered, narrowing his eyes. He squeezed the trigger. The bazooka released a screaming bolt of neon-green ecto-energy that tore across the sky—only to meet a sudden, writhing obstruction.
From the darkness beneath Johnny's feet, his own shadow rose like a living shield, a black claw of spectral slashing through the air. It intercepted the blast with a sharp crack, shredding the attack into fading sparks.
"Darn it," Tucker hissed, yanking the scope aside. The shadow detached from Johnny and streaked upward toward the rooftop.
Sam and Tucker reacted in perfect sync. Sam fired rapid burst of anti-ghost goo while Tucker pivoted the bazooka to continue attacking. Twin flashes of emerald light lit the street as both attacked continuously, their combined fire forcing the shadow to twist and split into two writhing halves that dodged in opposite directions.
On the ground, Johnny took advantage of the distraction. With a vicious kick that cracked like a gunshot, he drove his boot into Jack's midsection. The older man flew backward, crashing into the side of a parked sedan with enough force to dent the metal frame. Alarms blared as panicked civilians scattered, fleeing without a second glance.
"I've just about had it with you people!" Johnny snarled, his eyes flashing an ominous green. Spectral energy flared around his clenched fist—until a sudden explosion rocked the back of his head.
Johnny staggered forward with a snarl of surprise. He whipped around to see Danny standing confidently on the rooftop of a building, hands cupped together as he charged another blast of ghostly energy.
"Oi!" Danny called out, his voice carrying a sharp, mocking edge. "I may not know them, but you better leave that poor family alone! You've bothered them long enough!"
'Nailed it. They won't have a clue it's me,' Danny thought smugly, hiding a grin behind his serious façade.
From his dented perch, Jack caught Danny's eyes and gave the faintest approving smile. Pushing himself upright, he clenched his fists and charged again. Without missing a beat, Danny launched himself from the rooftop. The two of them converged on Johnny from opposite sides like a coordinated strike team.
Johnny's eyes darted left, then right, calculating. He let out a low growl, his own spectral aura igniting like a storm. Jacket snapping wildly behind him, he unleashed a surge of ghostly power that made the air vibrate. His fists burned with toxic green fire as the three combatants collided in a chaotic flurry of punches, kicks, and blinding ghost rays.
Jack, playing perfectly into Danny's deception, flashed a wry grin even as he ducked a flying elbow. "I don't normally work with ghosts," he quipped, voice dripping with dry amusement, "but for you, I'm willing to make an exception!"
Danny smirked in return, narrowly twisting out of the path of a crackling ghost blast. Jack mirrored the dodge, both men moving with uncanny synchronicity.
Meanwhile, Maddie yanked Jazz behind her as the rogue shadow streaked toward them. Her arm snapped up, the weapon mounted her forearm spitting out a rapid barrage of ecto-energy. Emerald bursts streaked, each shot precise and deadly.
The shadow was unnervingly agile. It darted between attacks, splitting and reforming in liquid motions as it closed the distance. Sam and Tucker joined in from different angles, firing goo rounds and anti-ghost beams to box it in. Still, the entity twisted and warped through the onslaught, its form fragmenting and rejoining faster than their weapons could track.
Finally, it reassembled inches away. Maddie seized the moment, grabbing the reinforced ecto-lasso which she used against Jazz. With a practiced flick of her wrist, the glowing rope whipped forward and coiled tightly around the shadow's torso.
"Gotcha!" she barked triumphantly, tightening her grip as the rope's green light flared.
The shadow let out a low, guttural growl—a sound halfway between anger and amusement. Slowly, almost mockingly, it reached down with an inky claw and grabbed hold of the lasso itself. Maddie's eyes widened.
With a single, violent yank, the creature jerked the rope forward. Maddie's feet left the ground as it swung her like a ragdoll, spinning her in a dizzying arc before hurling her across the road.
"Mom!!" Jazz screamed, her voice breaking with panic.
Before Maddie could crash into the brick wall behind her, Sam fired a quick-thinking counterattack. A wave of ecto-goo splattered across the wall in a thick, glistening sheet, cushioning Maddie's impact. She slid down the slick surface with only a jarring thud, spared from serious harm.
Tucker swung the Fenton Bazooka back into position, eyes narrowing as the shadow darted across the ruined street. With a sharp exhale, he squeezed the trigger. The weapon bucked against his shoulder as a surge of neon-green ecto-energy burst forward and struck the creature head-on.
The shadow shrieked like, its body being blasted downward. It slammed into the asphalt where it phased straight through the ground and vanished.
Everyone froze, scanning the battlefield with wary eyes. Tucker adjusted his grip on the bazooka, shoulders tense. "Did… did I get it?" he muttered.
No one answered.
A sudden whir of machinery broke the uneasy silence. The VR truck—their own armored command vehicle—began to tremble. Its engine roared to life on its own, headlights flaring bright as the mounted turrets swiveled violently in every direction. Screens flickered with static before glowing a sickly green.
The shadow hadn't fled. It had possessed the VR.
Before anyone could shout a warning, the machine went berserk, every weapon activating at once. Side panels slid open with a metallic screech, launching a deadly rain of ecto-rockets and energy blasts.
"Move!" Maddie bellowed.
Tucker leapt from the rooftop without hesitation, hitting the ground in a rough tumble that rattled his teeth. Sam vaulted over the hood of a nearby car, rolling behind the chassis just as a green beam sliced the air where she had stood. Sparks erupted across the street, turning parked cars into shrapnel.
Jazz barely had time to react. Her eyes went wide as one of the mounted cannons swiveled directly toward her. A lance of neon light fired—too fast to dodge.
"Jazz!"
Maddie sprang forward, dual neon-green Fenton Saber igniting in her hands with a sizzling snap-hiss. She spun the blades into a shield just in time, catching the blast and deflecting it in a shower of sparks.
Without pause, Maddie lunged toward the VR, sabers held to her side as she charged to draw its attention. Every turret pivoted toward her, drawn to her reckless charge. A rocket streaked forward, the familiar Fenton logo spinning across its side. Maddie leapt into a twisting kick, striking the missile midflight and redirecting it VR before rolling across the cracked road to avoid a second beam that obliterated a chunk of street into molten rubble.
Jazz clutched her chest, her breath coming in short, ragged gasps. Around her, the world blurred—her mother dancing between attacks, Tucker scrambling frantically, Sam firing bursts of ecto-goo…
"Mom…" She breathed between each pant.
Her gaze snapped toward the center of the street. Danny and Jack were locked in a desperate two-on-one against Johnny. Danny hurled a glowing goo grenade at the ghost biker's feet, the capsule bursting into sticky ectoplasm that trapped him momentarily. Jack seized the opening, swinging a massive fist in a crushing overhead strike.
The blow landed with a wet crack, whipping Johnny's head to the side and splattering the pavement with glowing green blood.
Johnny snarled, eyes blazing. He snapped his leg upward, breaking the goo at his feet with a blast of energy. Before Jack could recover, Johnny lashed out with a brutal right hook that smashed into Jack's face. The impact echoed like a cannon shot. Jack stumbled back, nose snapping audibly as blood streaked down his chin.
"Dad…" Jazz whispered to herself.
Johnny didn't hesitate. He thrust his palm forward and unleashed a massive blast of ghost energy, the searing green wave streaking toward Jack with lethal speed.
Danny shot forward in a blur of silver and black, his eyes wide with fear. He arrived in front of Jack's body at the last possible second, taking the full brunt of the blast himself. The energy engulfed him, hurling him right through Jack and into the payment. He tumbled violently, skidding through rubble as Jack shivered from having Danny phase through him.
"Danny…" Jazz whispered, voice trembling. She squeezed her eyes shut as if battling with herself. Her breathing quickened, teeth grinding as an involuntary growl escaped her throat. "Don't… touch him… Don't touch my brother…"
A sharp pain bloomed behind her eyes. She clutched her head, nails digging into her scalp as her hair fell forward to veil her face. Her enchanted jacket and scarf flared with a faint emerald glow, struggling to contain her emotions. But the enchantments were losing the fight.
Danny recovered and shot forward again, phasing through Jack, unleashing a deafening Ghostly Wail. The sonic blast shattered windows and tore chunks of asphalt free, but Johnny slipped back with uncanny speed, dodging the attack. In one swift motion, the ghost biker clamped a hand over Danny's mouth, cutting off the scream. With a cruel twist, he spun Danny around and slammed him into the ground hard enough to send a shockwave of debris outward. Jack barely had time to cross his arms against the spray of jagged rubble.
"I. Said. Not. To—" Jazz's voice deepened to a guttural growl, her face twisting with rage. The glow of her jacket and scarf blazed brighter, then began to shake and sputter. "—Touch. My… BROTHERRRR!"
The words ripped through the air like a thunderclap. The enchantments gave way with a violent snap, the Jacket and Scarf flying away from her body as if being on her burned.
Jazz dropped to one knee, panting hard, eyes squeezed shut. Clarity flickered across her face, as she held her forehead.
The sheer force of her roar stunned the entire battlefield. Danny froze beneath Johnny's grip, wide-eyed. Johnny himself recoiled in confusion, his iron hold faltering as he stared at her in disbelief.
'She… she broke free?' Johnny thought, a rare flash of unease cutting through his bravado.
He had no time to process it. Jack surged forward with a savage uppercut, his massive fist connecting squarely with Johnny's jaw. The blow launched the ghost biker backward in a spray of ectoplasmic sparks, breaking his grip on Danny.
Johnny spat a streak of glowing blood onto the cracked pavement, dragging his sleeve across his mouth. He started to sneer—then froze.
Past Jack and Danny, Jazz was looking his way. Slowly, deliberately, she flipped her hair back from her face, revealing eyes shrouded in shadow and burning with a predatory gleam. Her stare locked on Johnny like a predator sizing up prey while slowly rising.
Without a word, she reached for the handbag slung over her shoulder. From inside, she withdrew a compact handheld blaster, The Fenton Peeler.
She leveled it forward—and pressed the trigger.
A soft hum swelled to a rising whine as plates of sleek white and silver armor unfurled across her body, wrapping her in a snug exosuit that clicked into place with mechanical precision. A helmet slid down over her head with a final metallic snap, her fists transforming into compact blaster cannons.
Circuits pulsed to life across the armor, releasing faint crackles of energy that danced along her limbs. The twin barrels of her arm cannons glowed hotter and brighter, discharges of raw power spitting from their rims.
Her voice, amplified by the helmet, rang out with icy finality.
"Leave my family alone," Jazz snarled with venom, "You ghost."
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