[Third Person Pov]
Danny quickly stepped in front of Superman, planting himself between the Kryptonian and the raging chaos above. He tapped two fingers toward his lips, trying to get Superman's attention without alerting Technus. "You can read lips, right?" he mouthed carefully.
Superman gave a small nod of confirmation, his expression tightening with concern "I can."
Danny exhaled sharply. No time to waste. All across the city, every piece of tech, from cars to vending machines, was being torn free from the streets and pulled into the storm of circuitry swirling above them. "Okay, good, because I've got a plan," Danny mouthed, speaking fast. "But… it isn't exactly a great one."
Superman's brows pulled together. He didn't like the sound of that at all.
"I'll fight Technus head-on—"
"Absolutely not," Superman interjected immediately, his response almost too loud. "It's too dangerous. I won't let you. I promised Batman I'd look after you."
Danny shook his head vigorously. "I wasn't done explaining," he said, speeding up his silent lip movements before Technus noticed. "I won't be fighting alone. You'll support me—from a distance. Use your heat vision, your super-breath, throw anything heavy enough to hurt him. It's the only way we can fight him without you getting too close and letting him weaken you again. You need time to recover, and this is how we'll buy it."
Superman hesitated. Danny could see the conflict tearing through him—his protective instincts screaming no, his tactical mind acknowledging the grim truth. Around them, the sky glowed an unnatural neon green under Technus' influence, crackling with corrupted electricity. There wasn't time to come up with anything better.
Finally, Superman exhaled a slow, defeated breath. "…Alright. But be careful, Danny."
Danny opened his mouth to respond—but a booming voice echoed through the clouds above them.
"AHA!! THERE YOU ARE!!"
Technus' voice thundered like a corrupted speaker system. Danny felt the Tachyon Capacitor in his pocket jerk violently, then rip free as though grabbed by an invisible magnet. He leapt into the air and grabbed the device mid-flight, but its momentum dragged him upward like a hooked fish.
"Danny!" Superman shouted, lifting off the ground instinctively before catching himself—too weak to close the distance safely. He let out a resigned sigh. "…I suppose the plan starts now."
Danny was hauled upward by sheer force as Technus reeled him in like a trophy catch. The villain's massive, mechanical arms reached toward him, fingers splayed wide. "Give back what is MINE, boy!"
"Eat bolts, metal man!" Danny snapped, digging his heels into the air as though he could slow himself down.
"How RUDE! Take that back at once!" Technus bellowed, genuinely offended.
"Never!!" Danny yelled stubbornly, even as the pull intensified.
"It will only end badly for you!" Technus warned, electricity crackling across the sky in jagged green arcs.
"Fine! You want it so badly? HERE—TAKE IT!" Danny shouted, suddenly releasing the Tachyon Capacitor. It rocketed straight into Technus' open palm.
"AHA!" Technus crowed triumphantly, hoisting it overhead. "AT LAST—IT IS FINALLY MI—"
A blast of bright green ecto-energy shot from Danny's eyes, striking the device squarely. The Tachyon Capacitor erupted in a violent burst of scrap metal and smoke.
Technus stared at his now-empty hand in stunned silence.
Then came the scream.
"MY TACHYON CAPACITOR!! What have you DONE, you miserable brat?!"
Danny floated forward, fists clenching, pain and determination flaring together. "It's not just what I did," he said, voice low and steady. "It's what I'm going to do. And what I'm going to do… is stop you."
He rocketed forward with a punch aimed directly at Technus' chest.
Technus caught it effortlessly.
The metal giant twisted Danny's wrist backward, eliciting a raw cry of pain. "You insolent child," Technus growled. "You will PAY for that."
"Do you take Apple Pay or CashApp?" Danny gritted out through clenched teeth.
Technus reared back his fist—but before it could strike, a beam of searing heat lanced across the sky and struck Technus dead center, hurling him backward like a ragdoll.
Technus steadied himself mid-air and glared down at the source. Superman was rising from below, his flight shaky, his body clearly depleted—but he still stood defiant.
Danny didn't waste the opportunity. He surged forward, delivering an ectoplasmic-charged punch that cracked across Technus' jaw and sent him spinning through a cluster of floating cars.
"FINE!" Technus shouted, his digital voice glitching with fury. "If THAT is how you want to play—THEN LET US PLAY!"
He launched himself like a missile at Danny.
Their clash was nothing short of chaos. Danny had known from the start that he was outmatched—Metallo's body gave Technus raw power he could barely comprehend. But quitting wasn't an option.
Technus' blows shook the air itself, shattering through Danny's ecto-shields and sending him hurtling through buildings and abandoned vehicles. Machines fused together mid-air under Technus' command, forming cannons, blasters, even makeshift drones—but each time they fired, Superman would swoop in with a shaky blast of heat vision, destroying them before they struck Danny.
Whenever Technus tried to focus on the weakened Kryptonian, Danny would reappear from the green haze, striking him, taunting him, pulling his attention away.
Two exhausted heroes against a technopathic powerhouse.
And still—they fought on.
Through every clash, Danny did everything in his power to steer Technus away from the city. Each blow, each dodge, each desperate burst of ghostly energy was aimed not only at survival but at redirecting the technopathic menace toward open space. Buildings trembled beneath them, windows cracked, and loose metal shuddered in Technus' wake, but Danny forced himself to stay focused, to stay smart.
He inhaled sharply, feeling the energy coil in his lungs, and unleashed a focused blast of his Ghost Wail. The scream wasn't his full-power version—just a compressed, concentrated pulse—but even then it hit like a battering ram of sonic ectoplasm. The shockwave hammered Technus backward, sending static flickering across his stolen metallic body.
Superman caught on instantly. With a grim nod, he appeared beside Danny, supporting him in perfect sync. He sucked in a lungful of air and released his Superbreath, a roaring cyclone that layered itself over Danny's Wail. Together, their combined force shoved Technus farther and farther toward the outskirts of Metropolis.
Technus' eyes flared with excess energy, glowing so intensely they resembled twin spotlights bleeding neon green. The expression on his robotic face warped into something monstrous. He raised both hands dramatically, and with a surge of technokinetic power, every piece of collected machinery in the tornado above him began to converge.
The accumulated tech snapped apart, restructured, and slammed together over and over, forging plates, limbs, and a massive torso. Within seconds, a colossal Technusbot—easily the size of a skyscraper—stood towering over the battlefield, its glowing veins of circuitry running like molten rivers.
Superman glanced back and his eyes widened.
The giant android's head snapped toward them, its eyes blazing with unstable energy. A massive plasma beam fired from its lenses, tearing through the sky like a burning spear.
Without a second thought, Superman spun in the air with a practiced, elegant twist. He placed himself directly behind Danny, puffing out his chest as the beam slammed into him. The force crackled across his body but didn't push him back an inch—he braced himself, clenched his jaw, and held firm, taking the full brunt of the attack to shield the boy behind him.
Danny opened his mouth to shout his name, but Technus was already charging another attack.
Violet lightning gathered between Technus' palms, building into a swirling, unstable orb of destructive energy above his head.
Danny immediately reacted. He dropped into a stance midair, pulling his hands back to his sides. Ghost Ray energy crackled around his fingers while spectral flame ignited along his forearms. Both energies fused in his palms, filling them with trembling, volatile light.
Superman's eyes narrowed, his eyelids sliding open as they burned brighter and brighter with heat vision.
"HAAAAAA!!"
All three of them roared at once as they unleashed their attacks.
Technus hurled his violet beam forward, a jagged bolt of lightning that distorted the air around it.
Danny thrust his hands outward, firing a blazing emerald-and-white stream of Ghost Ray Heat that spiraled like a comet.
And Superman's heat vision erupted, pushing back the plasma beam from the giant Technusbot inch by inch.
Danny's attack collided with Technus' in a violent clash of color and pressure that churned the air into a luminous shockwave. Meanwhile, Superman's heat vision overpowered the Technusbot's beam, crawling up the incandescent ray until it struck the robot's metal face. The impact melted its armored skull, causing the giant machine to stagger backward. It nearly toppled like a collapsing skyscraper but managed to catch itself at the last second.
The energy clash between Danny and Technus intensified until it detonated in a powerful concussive shockwave that sent both combatants flying apart.
Danny was flung backward directly into Superman's back, knocking the wind out of him. Technus spun through the sky like a short-circuited satellite.
Superman looked over his shoulder. "How are you feeling?"
"Exhausted…" Danny admitted, panting. But the fire in his eyes never dimmed. "But I'm far from done."
"That's what I like to hear." Despite their battered, bleeding, and bruised states, Superman let out a low, breathless laugh. "Let's finish this fast."
"Agreed."
Both heroes sank into a crouch mid-air, facing opposite directions. Their feet braced against one another in perfect synchronization. No words were exchanged—none were needed. Their instincts aligned, their resolve crystallized.
A pressure ring formed between them, vibrating the very air.
And then—
BOOM.
They launched apart, releasing a shockwave that rippled across the sky.
Danny's entire body ignited in emerald flame. Light bloomed in his open palm, swirling with spectral intensity before he clenched his fist, wrapping it in blazing fire.
He shot forward with blinding speed. Technus barely had time to look up before Danny appeared right in front of him—practically eye to eye.
Danny drove his fist forward.
The instant it connected with Technus' face, the world erupted. Light burst out like fireworks trapped inside a prism. The explosion detonated outward in a halo of ectoplasmic fire and concussive force.
Technus shot through the air at Mach speed, breaking the sound barrier as he was blasted away, his body tumbling.
Danny's arm remained flexed, his knuckles scraped raw and trailing thin wisps of smoke.
Meanwhile, Superman became a crimson-blue streak slicing through the sky. The world blurred around him, reduced to wind and pressure.
The Technusbot attempted to crush him beneath one massive foot—but Superman twisted around its leg in a spiraling arc before shooting straight upward toward its head.
He cocked his arm back. Air resistance folded around his fist. He struck the Technusbot's chin—
—and its entire head crumpled like a soda can.
The force ripped the titan off its feet, flinging the colossal machine straight through the atmosphere and out toward space, while superman stared up glaring at it.
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