Chapter Text
It was plain for Danny to see that Wes was in a foul mood the following day. He came to class right as the first bell rang, with an intensely dour expression that Danny didn't think he'd seen on him since well before they'd dared to become friends. He was honestly shocked Wes's eyes hadn't started doing that red smoldering thing they did whenever he got particularly angry.
Danny wasn't sure what had happened the day before to put him in such a mood, but he was determined to get to the bottom of it.
Wes left class much too quickly for Danny to follow him out, and second and third period were much the same. He was nowhere to be seen at lunch, either, even though it was only spaghetti day. That could only mean he'd tucked himself away at one of his hiding spots to eat.
He hadn't done that in a while, come to think of it. Whatever happened must have been bad if he hadn't even insisted that Danny came with him. That only made Danny even more determined to find him.
It proved to be an easier task than expected. Out of all of Wes's usual haunts (ha), the darkroom was by far the most isolated. He wasn't in the hallway this time around, so Danny simply phased through the door, blinking as he adjusted to the near-pitch darkness.
He couldn't see Wes sitting on the floor— save for his eyes, which inexplicably glimmered a deep jade even without a proper light source— but he could hear him, angrily jabbing his tray with his spork over and over. The squelching sound indicated that he was repeatedly stabbing his spaghetti, forceful enough that Danny could picture him imagining that it was the source of his ire instead.
Yikes.
"...So. Um." Danny said eloquently. "Any chance you wanna talk about it?"
He got no answer.
"...Oookay. Well. Is it cool if I sit with you?"
Once again, no response. Even if it wasn't a yes, it also wasn't a no. Danny sat. He figured Wes could use the company, and if he didn't want it after all, he'd say so.
Wes didn't object, even though Danny's elbow mistakenly bumped the side of his head on the way down. Hopefully that was a good sign.
The two ate in silence. Or, at the very least, Danny tried to; the rhythmic tak, tak, tak of plastic silverware was pretty distracting. He wasn't sure if Wes had even taken a bite yet. If anything, the assault against his lunch only got faster and faster, louder and louder.
It didn't take much more of that before the spork audibly snapped. Danny heard one end of it skitter across the floor.
He considered reaching out, but decided against it. If he could barely see Wes despite them being almost shoulder to shoulder, then Wes likely couldn't see him all that well, either. The last thing Danny wanted to do was startle him and end up on the receiving end of his food-murdering mood.
He tried a more casual approach instead, daring a bite of his own subpar pasta. "Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?"
"Vlad's going out with dad."
Danny promptly inhaled his bite, then coughed it right back out through his nose.
He whirled around, tears in his eyes as he struggled to dislodge the half-eaten noodles from his sinuses. "I'm sorry he's what?"
"He was in my house, Danny!" Wes cried, grabbing his friend by the shoulders and shaking him. "I walked in on them and they almost kissed each other!"
Danny tried and failed to fight a gag. "Hold on, back up. They're going out? As in, out out?! When did that happen?!"
"Yesterday, apparently!" Wes threw his hands up. "I don't know why dad likes Vlad, of all people, but I'm convinced Vlad's faking it! It's just too convenient!"
"Ugh, yeah, there's no way he's giving up on my mom," Danny groaned. "But why? What's he planning?"
"That's just it, I don't know!" Wes growled. "I thought he was gonna get back at dad for the kidnapping thing, but I guess he's been dad's boss for like a month now, so that's out."
"He's huh?"
Wes ignored him. "So the only thing I can think of is that he's trying to get to you again somehow, but I don't get why dating my dad has anything to do with that! And the worst part is, I can't even tell him anything! If dad finds out Vlad is Plasmius and then starts acting all weird because of it, Vlad'll finish him off for sure! I feel like I'm stuck, and I can't even relax when I'm home because APPARENTLY dad brings him over when I'm not there, and just knowing he's been there, and that anything could have happened without me knowing about it, is so... so...!"
Danny finally got around to putting a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, listen. We'll figure it out. If that stupid fruitloop knows what's good for him, he's not gonna try anything serious. If he's using your dad for something, and let's be real, he definitely is, we'll find out what it is. In the meantime, Mr. Weston is probably safe if Vlad wants him for something, and I bet he knows you won't let anything happen while you're around. We've got time. Whatever he's plotting, we won't let him get away with it."
Wes sighed, leaning into Danny's side. "Ugh, I know. It just sucks that I can't beat the crap out of him now and be done with it."
"Trust me, I know the feeling. But hey, he's paying your dad pretty well, right? You might as well milk him for all he's worth while you can. Bet he'd do anything to get in Mr. Weston's good graces right now, even if it means spoiling you rotten."
Wes rolled his eyes. "Normally I'd probably find that funny. But considering dad's safety is on the line here, I'm really not in the mood."
Danny hissed through his teeth. "Well, can't say I didn't try."
Right then, he and Wes gasped in unison.
Danny got to his feet. "Great. I wonder who it is this time."
He didn't have to wait long. The door exploded inwards, forcing him to hurriedly erect his forcefield to repel the debris. The light flooding in from the hallway illuminated the bulky silhouette of the ghost, its head haloed by flickering green flame.
"Hey, welcome back, Skulker," Danny sarcastically greeted him. "Haven't seen you in a while. It's been, what, six whole chapters?"
"Six what?" Skulker asked. But then he shook his head. "Never mind that. You know what I'm here for, whelp."
"Yeah, yeah, you want my skin, you've told me a hundred times by now," Danny groaned as the rings passed over him. "But, like always, we're gonna kick your butt, throw you back into the Zone, and you'll go home empty-handed. Sound good to you?"
"We?" Skulker guffawed. "You mean to tell me the fledgling will be fighting as well? I didn't think I would see the day you finally removed his muzzle. But I think you and I both know he can't do a thing to harm me, or have you forgotten?"
"Ugh. You've still got that fancy sapping trick, huh?"
Skulker grinned. "And more, just you wait."
Fantastic. Danny was reluctant enough allowing Wes to fight this recent iteration of Skulker; if he had gotten even more contributions from Technus since their last fight, Danny would hate for Wes to be on the business end when they didn't know what they were up against.
But, he reminded himself, Wes was far from helpless, and getting stronger by the day. There was plenty he could do without touching Skulker directly, and even if he took a bad hit, he'd proven himself to be oddly resilient lately. Besides, with Danny there to assist, it wasn't likely Skulker would be able to put up a fight for long.
They've got this.
Well. Assuming Wes was in any shape to join the fight. "Up to you, Wes. Feeling up for a good throwdown?"
"Are you kidding?" Wes bared his teeth in a malicious grin, transforming so quickly the changes took hold almost before his flash of light could obscure them. He cracked his knuckles, sparks jumping out from the gaps between his fingers. His hair trembled with unshed power in sheer anticipation of the battle to come. "Thrashing this guy is exactly what I need after the kind of day I've had."
Oh boy, Wes was in one of his bolder moods. This was either going to be really bad, or really good.
Danny couldn't blame a guy for craving an aggressive outlet, though.
"Glad to hear it. But how about we pick somewhere better to do this?" Danny suggested.
"Don't go thinking you have any chance of escaping, whelp!" Skulker declared.
"Wasn't what I said," Danny deadpanned.
Despite this claim, he flew through the ceiling, rocketing into the sky. Wes was right behind him, and with the prospect of both of his prey being able to flee, Skulker pursued them, one of his hands withdrawing to be replaced by a catch pole.
Seeing the attack coming, Wes swerved out of the way. Danny was not so lucky, one of his hands getting caught in the lasso.
"I have you now!" Skulker declared, pulling the noose taut. Danny jerked, but he refused to be pulled closer, tugging from his end. Still, the tether was stubborn, with pulling alone not being enough to dislodge it.
Luckily, Wes had him covered. He lunged, and snapped his jaws shut right over the center of the rod. It broke easily, sharklike teeth tearing through the hollow metal frame like it was floss.
Even this brief contact was enough to feel the smallest bit of energy leave him; evidently even the snare was a conduit with which to sap his power. It wasn't much, but he was going to need to be careful if Skulker had any more gadgets like that. And, knowing him, he did.
After reeling in the severed pole, Skulker resorted to the tried-and-true method of utilizing heat-seeking missiles, which split into two clusters in order to hit their desired targets. Wes avoided his easily, a simple shockwave being enough to deactivate the projectiles that got too close. Danny flung a scythe of green energy, which sliced right through his designated barrage and then kept going, heading straight for Skulker.
The mech didn't move, however. Instead, vents opened up throughout the suit, expelling blasts of frigid air like a smoke machine. By the time Danny's attack made contact, it had already cooled to the point of being ineffective, harmlessly fizzling away when it struck Skulker's chest.
"Huh. That's new," Danny hummed. Experimentally, he tried a more concentrated beam. This had a similar effect to his first attack, weakening on proximity to his target until it was more like a puff of warm air than supercharged ectoplasm.
Skulker laughed. "Don't you see, brat? Those attacks mean nothing to me now. So long as I have this suit, I'm able to mitigate all of your strongest techniques!"
Danny scoffed. "Okay, so you can cool yourself down. Big whoop, I can do that too."
He blinked, the green in his eyes overcome with frosty blue. He held out both hands, a crystal of ice forming in the air in front of him. He spun, launching it as he completed his circuit.
In response, Skulker's vents shut, then reopened. This time, they erupted with blistering hot steam. The projectile melted before it could get close.
"Are you really going to make me repeat myself?" Skulker drolled. "None of your attacks will work on me. At the very least, not your ranged ones. You're going to have to get close if you wish to stop me, but knowing your track record for dodging, is that a risk you're willing to take, boy?"
Danny gritted his teeth, knowing Skulker was right. It looked like he couldn't negate hot and cold at the same time, but it didn't matter. Danny couldn't produce hot and cold together anyway. So, good old fisticuffs it was, then.
He smirked, raising his dukes. "Fine by me. Seems like you need a reminder what these feel like, anyway. Also, you've forgotten one other thing."
Somehow, Skulker quirked a brow. "Oh yeah? And what's that?"
Danny grinned. "It's not just me you're dealing with."
Wes sprung up between them, arms outstretched as the aura around them blazed and surged, bright like headlights. Skulker hissed, squinting as he made a blind grab. However, Wes was ready, darting backwards just out of reach. At the same time, he tugged, forcing Skulker to accelerate.
Danny was waiting for him, fist cocked. Skulker's hastened approach, combined with Danny's already impressive might, sent him careening towards the ground when they collided.
He caught himself just before impact, his jetpack making an appearance to break his fall. He swiped his thumb across his concave nose, even though there was no injury to show for the blow.
"Fine, then. I can take you both on, if you dare."
Wes, being closer, charged first, one fist drawn back, the aura around it diminishing as he focused his energy within it. He threw it, but Skulker narrowly dodged it, slipping behind him and grabbing him by the back of his neck.
Danny's hands tangled in his hair as he watched the exchange. "Ugh, what the heck are you doing, Wes?!"
His frustration went ignored as his concern proved unnecessary. Wes raised both feet, and with a heave of effort, threw them downwards, sending himself into a powerful midair somersault. Skulker, still hanging on, was forced to spin with him until he lost his grip, getting thrown the rest of the way down to the ground.
Danny sighed with relief.
That relief, however, was short-lived. The grooves and contours of Skulker's suit lit up red as he charged his stolen energy, a wrist-mounted laser emerging from his gauntlet. He squinted one eye, aiming for his rapidly approaching attacker.
His concentration was disrupted by a blast from Danny, missing his mark despite his suit automatically negating the sudden assault. His red beam narrowly missed Wes's cheek, which still sizzled and greened as it whizzed by.
"You can't get close to him like that, Wes!" Danny reminded him. "He's just going to use your powers against you!"
"What, like yours are working perfectly?" Wes countered.
In his moment of distraction, Skulker lunged, one arm outstretched to make a grab for him. Danny intercepted him, planting himself between the two as he went for a devastating axe kick.
He was quite surprised when, instead of his heel meeting a metal face, he ended up getting caught by the ankle instead.
"Huh. You don't usually block these," he commented.
"Ha! When are you going to understand, whelp?" Skulker barked. He snapped his wrist back, then forward, chucking Danny at Wes and sending the both of them tumbling. "It's exactly as you said. This suit is designed to turn his powers against you! Nobody said it had to be lasers, did they?"
Danny corrected his flight path, groaning. "That a fancy way of saying you can buff yourself with it? Awesome. Sounds like Wes being here is gonna make this harder, not easier." He gave his partner a look.
Wes growled. "Stop looking at me like that, I know what you're thinking. This is still Skulker we're talking about, and a metal suit is still just metal. One good hit and he'll go down."
"Right. And the more chances you give him to grab you, the more chances he has to store enough power that I can't hurt him anymore. How much has he taken from you already?"
"Not that much," Wes pouted.
It wasn't a lie; it was true that Skulker could soak up whatever energy Wes mustered, but that also meant that it took longer to absorb it if Wes wasn't actively using it. If he kept his levels up and avoided getting caught, amplifying his attacks in short bursts was still a viable strategy.
That did mean having to restore what he'd lost, though. He hadn't exactly come to school expecting to have a ghost to throttle, and his reserves showed it.
"Keep him busy," he said, breaking away to cling to the nearest streetlight.
Danny threw his hands in his direction. "Really? That's kind of the opposite of helpful right now."
"I beg to differ." Skulker thrusted his daggered hand at him, with Danny's torso opening just in time to avoid getting skewered. He threw a punch, which Skulker blocked, sliding backwards. "It means more energy to steal, which, in turn, will help me speed up your demise."
"Not if I can beat you before he finishes," Danny challenged. He took the offensive, putting more and more power behind each attack in the hopes of outpacing Skulker's augmentations. Skulker, for his part, had the honed reflexes of an experienced hunter even without Wes's assistance, deflecting the blows he could parry, and evading those he couldn't. Neither could get a clean hit on the other.
Skulker's knives glowed, and Danny quickly leaned to the side. Though he thought he had enough clearance to dodge, he howled in pain as his shoulder was pierced anyway, one blade sinking through his flesh while the other merely nicked the skin near his collarbone.
Skulker drew back, chuckling darkly as Danny hurriedly covered the fresh wound with his hand. His daggers gleamed through the slick ectoplasm that coated them, both blades shimmering with red-hot energy that extended well past their pointed tips.
"Not just the lasers," Skulker echoed mockingly, "but not just my strength, either. You underestimate me, whelp. I won't give you the chance to do so again."
He didn't get an opportunity to make good on that promise before a black and orange blur had him toppling sideways.
Wes, reinvigorated, loomed over him, nostrils flared and fangs bared. His leg was still raised from the kick that downed his opponent, his calf dangling at odds with his kneecap, his foot crooked and limp. But with a flick like the crack of a whip, he corrected its alignment like he hadn't broken anything at all. One had to wonder if he actually had.
"You want me so bad?" he ground out, eyes glinting as the light caught them. "Come and get me."
Skulker finally sat up, pushing against the side of his head like he was cracking his neck. "Hm, you're more resilient than I remember, fledgling. We should put that to the test."
He charged, coming in swinging with his elongated blades. Having the benefit of knowing about their increased range, Wes ducked, coming back up for an uppercut. Skulker leaned back and grabbed his wrist, Wes's pulling doing nothing to free him as his newly acquired power was slowly leeched from him.
He didn't let his capture deter him. A second pair of arms erupted from him with a wet squelch, to which he redirected his energy for a forceful punch to the gut.
Skulker doubled over, releasing him. Wes, capitalizing on this, grabbed the back of his head to bring it down over his knee, extra limbs withdrawing in the same motion.
This did, however, leave him open to a swipe at his leg.
Wes screeched, reeling back as Skulker's weapon tore across his calf. Skulker didn't let him retreat, his other hand coming forward to grab his ankle. Wes attempted to kick him away with his other foot, letting loose a reflex shock, but it only bolstered Skulker's efforts to keep him down.
Danny was on him in an instant, both hands coming down like a club over Skulker's head. Stunned, he released his captive, who wasted no time in slithering out of his reach, favoring his bad leg.
"Oh, don't look so bent out of shape," Skulker crooned, blocking yet another blow from Danny as he rose to his full height. "You seemed so keen to remind me what you could do. I was only returning the favor."
He made a jab at Danny, who backed out of the way. Not at all bothered by the newfound distance, Skulker summoned a blaster and fired, spraying blazing red bullets like a machine gun. Danny aptly swerved around the barrage, but it just kept coming, until it eventually caught up to him, forcing him to bring up his shield. The onslaught stopped, but only so the barrel of the gun could narrow, firing a rifle round that pierced the shield and glanced across Danny's side.
"Just accept it already, whelp," Skulker gloated. "As long as I have this suit, and the energy to enhance it, there isn't a thing you can do to stop me. The sooner you recognize it and submit, the more painless this will be. As fun as it is watching you squirm, I can't skin you cleanly if you're still kicking."
Danny wrinkled his nose. "How do you make it sound even more gross every time you bring it up?"
Before Skulker could make his move, Wes was between them, hands pressed together. He then flung them wide, palms turned inwards, a massive orb of light appearing between them, his body guarding Danny from its blinding effects while Skulker roared in pain and covered his eyes. Wes reabsorbed the wisp before it could rupture, then backed up so that he was at Danny's side, the two of them retreating to the other side of the building where they'd be out of sight.
Danny's shoulder had already closed up, though the skin remained irritated and green like it could reopen again with one wrong movement. His more recent wound, however, still wept, ectoplasm seeping between his fingers where his hand pressed against it. He hissed through his teeth.
"This is getting bad, fast," he said, pointing out the obvious. "He can even get through my shield. I thought you said he didn't take much from you."
Wes frowned, wincing when he made the mistake of putting weight on his foot. "He didn't. He got more when he grabbed my leg, but I'm still almost maxed out."
He didn't think it was much, at least. It hadn't felt like a lot. Not enough that Skulker should have been able to breach Danny's defenses. Not enough that he should have been able to withstand his physical attacks. Wes couldn't do that even with his full might, let alone a portion of it.
"Mechanical efficiency, maybe?" he mumbled, speaking almost to himself.
"Huh?" Danny asked.
"When I use my powers, I lose energy," Wes explained. "I lose more when I shock stuff or use my wisps, but even using it just to strengthen my attacks means some of the energy gets used up. But Skulker isn't using it like I use my electricity, and I don't think he's getting weaker by using it. Maybe his suit can recycle it?"
"Fantastic," Danny moaned. "So the longer you stay, the stronger he'll get, until neither of us can take him on anymore." He sighed. "I know we just had a talk about this, but this might actually be a fight you should stay out of. We can't let him get any more mileage out of you."
Wes snorted. "It's too late for that, I think. You can barely slow him down already, unless you think a Wail is gonna cut it."
Danny shook his head. "I can't do that here. Too many buildings, and too many people. We'd have to lead him out of Amity Park, but even if we did that, he might be able to counter that, too. If I try it and it doesn't work, I'll lose too much energy to do anything else, and then we're toast."
"He's gotta have some sort of weakness," Wes insisted. "I know Technus's thing is impossible technology and all that, but you can't soup up a suit that much without it having some sort of design flaw."
"Oh yeah? Any idea what that might be?" Danny asked.
Wes grunted. "Not yet. Give me a second to think."
"Heh, alright, hotshot. But hurry up. We probably don't have much time before Skulker finds us back here."
Danny was right. Wes wouldn't put it past Skulker to have infrared vision or something. Or heck, considering his suit's specialty, it might even be able to track Wes directly.
That would make two of them. Even from their current position, Wes could feel the familiar thrum of power roaming the front of the school, almost as if it were an extension of himself, even warped and twisted to the point of it no longer being his. He was drawn to it almost as much as he was repulsed by it.
That was good. That would help him keep track of Skulker. He wouldn't be able to ambush them. But how would that help them beat him...?
He jumped as an ectoblast sounded off, coming from Skulker's position. Luckily, it came nowhere near them; he must have fired at a suspected hiding spot, maybe a bush. Which, luckily, debunked the possibility that he could sense Wes.
As focused on the current as he was, he was acutely aware of how it responded to Skulker's whim. Somewhat sluggish at first, in the way an idling car's motor was sluggish, all at once it raced the moment the shot was made, expelling a miniscule portion of itself that dissipated on presumed contact. It reflected in the dampened stutter of the current's cycle, until it thrummed once, renewing itself to its prior potency.
So the energy was being expended. But, it did lend credence to Wes's earlier theory. After firing the shot, Skulker was still left with just as much energy as before he'd fired. Unlike Wes, it seemed like Skulker's suit was able to restore what it lost. If he was relying on Wes as his battery, though, then the suit couldn't generate something from nothing; his power capped out at whatever amount Wes supplied him with.
Effectively, Skulker was a bottomless reservoir, and Wes was his means of making it deeper.
But, whatever he spent, he couldn't truly lose.
Wes knew exactly how to weaponize that.
He grinned. "I've got an idea."
Danny perked up. "You do? You've got his weakness figured out?"
"I think so," Wes replied. "Follow me."
He turned to start flying, but Danny grabbed him by the wrist, pulling him back. "Hold on, 'you think?' Wes, now isn't the time to take chances playing hero. If you rush back out there with a half-baked plan–"
"Danny, listen to me." Wes pulled his hand away. "I know it's hard for you to accept that I can take care of myself, especially when it's the kind of fight even you can't win. I'm not gonna blame you for that. But it's my power he's using, and I know how to counteract it better than anyone. I have a plan, and I'm confident it'll work, and I know it's exactly the kind of plan you're gonna call stupid after the fact. But if there's ever a time I need you to prove that you can trust me, it's now."
Danny sagged, shoulders slumping as he bit his lip. "Of course I trust you, Wes."
"I don't want you to say it this time. I want you to show me."
Danny met his eyes, expecting to find the indignant red of a perceived slight. Instead, they held a firm resolution, yellow-green pinpricks boring into his soul. Yellow, a color Danny knew usually represented joy, instead exuded confidence, Wes's self-assuredness so potent that it reflected in his pointed gaze. But even then, the color periodically diluted into a more indistinct orange, back and forth so quickly one might think they'd imagined the change, the only thing to hint at Wes's underlying uncertainty.
Danny couldn't explain it, but it felt like everything hinged upon his decision.
Or maybe the relatively higher-than-average stakes were making him overthink it. Wes wasn't asking much of him. Not really.
He sighed. He reached forward, not for Wes's hand, but for his shoulder. Danny tipped his head, bridging the short distance between them to plant a chaste kiss to Wes's cheek. It was almost funny; he didn't even have to stand on his toes to do it.
When he broke away, he smiled, that hand coming up to rest on Wes's cheek. "...Alright. Go get him, then."
To his surprise, Wes laughed, more of a snort than a proper chuckle. His own hand came up to clasp over Danny's. "Relax, you're acting like I'm making a final stand or something. The plan isn't that stupid, I promise. Just normal Team Phantom stupid."
The humor was contagious. Danny found himself snickering, too, his forehead pressing into Wes's chest. "Okay, fine, whatever. What's the plan, then, huh?"
"First, I just need you to follow me. After that, it's your turn to be the distraction."
"Leading Skulker to a better place to fight? Well, anywhere is better than right next to the school. I'm in."
Wes grinned, all bright eyes and razor teeth. And suddenly, Danny found it wasn't all that hard to let the worry melt away.
Wes took to the sky, and this time Danny didn't stop him. He flew up to join him, while the more eye-catching Halfa flickered all the colors of the rainbow.
"Up here, Soul Patch!" he called, frantically waving his arms. "If you want me you gotta catch me!"
Skulker looked up, smiling in a way that bared his zippered teeth. "Planning your escape after all? I was hoping for more from you, boy!"
He easily rose to the bait, racing up to meet the pair. Wes turned and took off, hampered by his inability to form a tail. Danny covered for him, flinging ectoblast after ectoblast at their pursuer as they flew. Even if they didn't harm Skulker, they did their job to slow him down enough not to overtake them.
Danny had assumed that Wes would lead them to a more secluded area. The Ghostly Wail had been his idea, after all, so Danny figured Wes would want to fight somewhere where Danny could do so safely. But to his confusion, they were going deeper into town.
"Where are we going?" he asked.
Wes just smiled at him in reply.
Danny wasn't sure if that was reassuring or concerning.
He didn't have long to wonder, though. Even at their slower pace, their presumed destination was in sight in a matter of moments.
The three of them were headed for some sort of structure that, from a distance, Danny couldn't discern the purpose of. It didn't quite qualify as a building, sticking out like a sore thumb on a city block all to itself. It was composed of a series of interconnected metal beams, bringing to mind radio towers, if such things had been crushed down and flattened into three-story rectangles. From the structure protruded cables that could have been telephone wires, which connected throughout and beyond the construct. The entire thing was fenced off, black and yellow signs visible all along it even from a distance.
"Is that where we're going?" Danny asked apprehensively.
Wes nodded. "Yep. And seriously. I need you to trust me here. Don't try to stop me."
Alright, that definitely wasn't reassuring.
They touched down, and it finally dawned on Danny where they'd ended up. The structure wasn't alone in the area; it was accompanied by what looked like a series of elevated platforms, each topped with half a dozen coiled rods. One side of the yard had clusters of metal cubes that Danny realized, upon closer inspection, were transformers. Everything hummed with electricity, so much of it that the buzz could be heard clear as day over the normal city sounds.
They'd come to a power substation.
"Wes, this is a stupid idea," he hissed. "This is the last place we should be!"
"You promised," Wes whispered back.
Ugh, yeah, he did.
Skulker landed as well, giving the place a quick once-over. "Hmm. An interesting place to choose for your burial ground, but seeing as I have everything to gain here, I won't complain."
Wes rubbed his hands together, hopping up onto one of the platforms. He pored over the wound cores of the circuit breaker, appraising them like one might for a buffet table. "Alright, time to see how well you can do the distracting, Danny."
Danny sighed. "Okay. But whatever it is you're doing, be careful."
"Isn't it obvious what he's doing?" Skulker asked. "He fails to see that making himself stronger is pointless. But, I won't stop him from trying. His efforts will only help me in the end, and it'll be fun to see the hope finally leave his eyes. You, however?" He squared up. "I know better than to give you extra chances."
Danny raised his fists, bouncing from foot to foot. "Oh yeah? Doesn't seem to stop you from doing it anyway."
Skulker snarled, and Danny sprinted, running at him head-on. At the last moment, he blasted the ground in front of him, kicking up a dirt smokescreen. Skulker tore through the smog with his glowing blades, head swinging to and fro as he searched for his opponent.
Danny's arms emerged from the ground beneath him, grabbing him by the ankles and giving them a good, strong push. Skulker fell flat on his face.
Danny came out, thumbs pressed against his temples as he spat a wet raspberry. "How's the floor taste down there?"
"I don't know, you tell me!" Skulker rolled over, bolas flying from a cannon on his wrist. Danny yelped, landing roughly as he was thoroughly bound.
"Don't think I've forgotten how long it takes you to escape these," Skulker teased, getting to his feet so he could approach. He kicked Danny's side, turning him over. "Long enough that I could have my way with you long before you have any chance of stopping me."
Skulker crouched, bringing himself to Danny's level. He grabbed the Halfa by the chin, lifting his head enough to force him to maintain eye contact. Slowly, ever so slowly, one blade slid out of Skulker's wrist, the air immediately around it wavering like a small, localized heatwave. As it neared Danny's throat, the skin there darkened and burned, steam seeping from the minuscule injury.
"I could just finish you off," Skulker hummed, the blade stopping just short of piercing Danny's flesh. "Even if your little friend came running now, he wouldn't be fast enough to stop me. But, it would be more fun to keep you alive instead. Should I let you stay conscious, or would it be better to show you one small mercy? Would you feel it even if I did? Hm, on second thought, I'd rather keep you awake. The least I could do is grant you the courtesy of telling me where you want the first cut."
Danny glared, hoping in vain that that would be enough to dissuade Skulker. But deep down, he found that he was actually kind of scared. He hated that it was Skulker, of all ghosts, to make him feel this way, but he was right. He had Danny exactly where he wanted him, and it wasn't likely Wes would be able to get to him in time to save him, if he could do anything at all. And Danny wouldn't even be able to save himself in the meantime. It would take at least a couple minutes to escape his bonds, and he didn't have the benefit of a distraction to save him this time, nor Skulker's inattention.
For the first time in a long time, Danny wondered if he might actually die here.
Until he was struck with a wave of force so intense it could have bowled him over if he wasn't already laying down.
It wasn't until after the initial wave passed that Danny realized it wasn't really a force at all. Not in the physical sense, at the very least. Despite this fact, Skulker stumbled, his knife narrowly missing the side of Danny's neck but nicking it anyway. Skulker rose, glaring at the source.
"What does that brat think he's up to now...?" he pondered aloud.
Danny squirmed as much as he was able, doing his best to follow Skulker's gaze.
He wasn't sure if he should feel awe, or worry.
Wes was gripping a core in one hand, tightly enough that the metal rattled and creaked. Nothing happened visually, but nothing needed to. The ongoing transfer of energy made itself clear in the form of a rising and falling hum, oscillating as if the very air had its own heartbeat. And it only got faster, steadily increasing in both volume and intensity.
Wes could feel it the moment he hit his ceiling. Goosebumps cascaded up his arms and across the rest of his body, each hair standing on end as if he were caught in a thunderstorm. His aura jittered once, twice, struggling to hold what his form contained until his insides were permeated by the glow.
But even at this peak, he refused to let go. He'd handled worse than this and lived to tell about it; compared to that, this was nothing. His core jerked and throbbed in protest, but he forced it down, condensing it like that would be sufficient to make more room than what he could possibly hold. Electricity rushed through him almost automatically, invigorating his nerves before setting them alight. He could feel it blazing within him, trying to force its way through whatever orifice he would let it. He gritted his teeth against it, both agonizing and relishing the way he could feel that and nothing else.
It was fascinating, how much pain could instead feel like power. How he could feel both like he was dying, and like he'd never been more alive.
Danny knew what was happening. Oh, boy, did he. He could see it in the way Wes's aura shook, his form blurring at the edges. He could see it in the way his eyes shone like two suns, anguished light escaping through the gaps between his teeth. In the way his form hunched, one hand clawing at his chest like he wanted to rip out his own ribs. The way his skin almost sizzled with strain, crackling steam seeping from his pores in a vain attempt to alleviate some small amount of the pressure building up within him.
In his mind's eye, Danny saw Vortex, laughing triumphantly. He saw Wes, glowing so brightly that Danny couldn't make out a single distinct detail. He saw light erupting from his chest, fragments breaking away like he was dissolving. He heard him scream, an awful, horrid thing that sounded so, so much like this pressure in the air felt.
"Wes... Wes, you have to stop!"
His plea fell on deaf ears. Wes didn't stop, even when cyan sparks left trails along his form, unable to make their way inside. Even when his back and shoulders rattled and bristled like a cat's fur standing on end. Even when he felt his insides twisting like a spring wound too tight, even when city lights in their vicinity violently flickered as their energy flow was continuously disrupted. He pushed through it all, even though he felt like he could black out at any moment.
He wouldn't. Until he knew Danny was safe, until he knew Skulker couldn't hurt him anymore, he would not go down.
Just as his core felt fit to burst, he released the coil, his fingers leaving indents where he'd clutched it. He went down to all fours, taking a moment to just breathe, even though his eyes didn't once stray from his target. His core readily adapted, circulating its overabundant power with increasing deliberation. Now that he had given himself time to adjust, his brimming core accepted the energy with not just grace, but enthusiasm, chasing away the excruciation that accompanied the intake.
Wes wasn't going to fall apart this time. This wasn't nearly enough to break him down, not like before. Power like this, he knew firsthand, wasn't even close to that of a lightning strike. But god, Wes sure felt a little like Thor right then.
He grinned, static twinkling along his canines.
"You want some of this?" he challenged, languidly rising to stand at his full height. "Come and get it."
Skulker thought that maybe the fledgling was trying to come across as intimidating; the way he exerted the full force of his pressure made that clear enough. He wanted Skulker to feel small, helpless, weak. But instead, he felt excitement, more than eager to turn that confidence on its head.
"You didn't have to go through all this trouble," he drawled with exaggerated humility. "But, who would I be to turn down such a gracious gift?"
He turned his wrists, each one firing off a pronged harpoon. Wes darted out of the way of both, moving so quickly that one could be forgiven for thinking he'd teleported. He closed in, looking less like a boy and more like a bolt of lightning.
Skulker made a grab for him, but Wes slipped by him, jabbing him with a fist quick enough that the air cracked instead of whooshed. Skulker's torso jerked harshly with the force behind the blow, but even that brief contact was enough to reinforce his own reserves. His abdomen opened up to reveal the barrel of a cannon, which immediately fired the pilfered energy.
Despite his proximity, Wes managed to avoid it, landing another devastating blow of his own, this time to Skulker's face, sending his head spinning. Wes's fingers, out of alignment from the attack, flexed as they repositioned themselves, preparing for another strike.
Skulker took the opportunity to stop his head, then backed away, missiles erupting from his shoulders to home in on his target. Wes swerved around them easily, his body sometimes contorting in ways it shouldn't be able to in order to evade them. He approached the moment the barrage ended, zig-zagging as he got in close, eyes leaving red trails in their wake.
Skulker's knife was waiting for him, primed as if to gut him. Wes grabbed his wrist and deflected it downwards, ignoring the way the blade sliced through and cauterized his hip. His opposite leg sparked, muscles taut, before kicking Skulker's chest hard enough to leave the imprint of his sole behind.
The hunter skidded backwards, barely remaining upright. Wes lunged, closing the distance with one fist cocked.
Instead of dodging, Skulker met him head-on, bringing his metal skull down in a vicious headbutt. Wes's head flew back, nearly folding back against his spine with a crack!, before he brought it forward to collide with Skulker's once more, a feral sort of determination in his eyes that had Skulker briefly faltering.
It didn't last long, however. Wes was in the perfect position for Skulker to grab him by the shoulders, forcibly sapping him of his power.
"Foolish brat!" Skulker gloated. "Your first mistake was challenging me to a fight you knew you couldn't win. Your second was stopping long enough for me to take hold. Now that I have you in my grasp, I'll be sure to take every last ounce of the power you worked so hard to get!"
Wes smirked. "Good."
Skulker blinked. "Good?"
To his surprise, Wes grabbed his wrists, not to pry him off, but to keep his hands in place. Power rushed out of him at an increasing pace as he willingly donated it to his opponent. The fact that he was draining quickly hardly mattered; with as much power as he'd managed to store, and with how close he was to a readily available source, he didn't need to make contact to ensure a veritable stream with which to keep feeding into Skulker's suit.
Though this should only have been beneficial to him, Skulker found himself growing uneasy. He tried to pull away, only to be halted when Wes's fingers dug in deeper, metal squealing as he tore into Skulker's gauntlets like it was tissue paper.
"Don't you see that you have nothing to gain by doing this?" Skulker demanded. "All you're doing is giving me more energy to overpower you with."
"Then why haven't you?" Wes countered.
Skulker's eyes widened.
"Here I am, giving you all the power you could ever want," Wes pressed on. Two arms sprouted from his torso and held on tight, further barring Skulker's escape. "But instead, you're trying to get away. You should be strong enough by now, but you're not. You talked a big game, but there's a pretty big difference between you and me."
Skulker gritted his teeth, acutely aware that his suit had started to groan in protest. "And what's that?"
Wes's energy poured in faster. "You're built for efficiency. When I burn myself out, the power stays gone. But you? It doesn't matter how much energy you use up, your suit will just make it right back up again. What I'm giving you right now? You won't be able to spend it. That's another difference right there. Your friend tried to build something that my body was already perfectly designed to do."
Wes's smile returned with a vengeance, more predatory than ever. Even through the strain, his eyes gleamed with satisfaction as Skulker's suit began to quake, vents protruding as it desperately tried to filter out the rapidly building heat.
"Did Technus ever tell you how I beat him for the first time?"
That was when it dawned on Skulker. He tried to escape with renewed vigor, but his suit barely responded to him now. It jerked and shook, unable to regulate the amount of power being pumped into it. But Wes showed no signs of stopping. If anything, he held on tighter, eyes boring holes into his skull.
"You're overconfident, Skulker. You thought I was too weak to take you on? You thought you could take my strength and make it yours? News flash, Soul Patch! You can try to beat me at my own game all you want, but you'll never be able to beat the original! Next time you try to copy me, never forget that I'll always be able to do it better!"
Wes heaved, and with minimal resistance, the gauntlets tore away from their master, spitting sparks with a pitiful whine.
"NO!" Skulker cried. He tried once more to retreat, but even if he could move, Wes's second set of arms kept him firmly rooted to the spot. "Do you have any idea how much time and effort Technus put into building this suit?!"
"Not my problem. You should have thought of that before you used it to try to make wall decorations out of us."
His extra arms tugged, wires and cables snapping as prying fingers pulled the plates away from Skulker's abdomen. Wes went in again and again, ripping the suit apart piece by piece, until all that was left was little more than its titanium-esque skeleton.
"You're not even good enough to be my fake. Don't try it again."
"You impudent little brat! Next time we meet, I'm going to make you pay for what you've done!" Those were Skulker's last words as Wes finally sucked him into the thermos.
Once the cap twisted shut, Wes sagged, wheezing on the exhale as he finally expressed the exhaustion he felt. As satisfying as it was to put Skulker in his place, he had very much overdone it. His veins felt like they were smoldering.
But, his plan worked. Even if he did cheat a little bit, Skulker's impeccable design proved to be no match for a genuine electric core. More important than that, Danny was safe.
Oh crap, Danny!
Wes whirled around, finally remembering that he should probably help untie him.
Danny, however, hadn't even started. He was just as thoroughly tied up as when Skulker left him, and didn't even seem to have moved. His expression was completely neutral, save for his eyes, which were a little too wide, and his cheeks, which were a little too green.
"...Wow," he said.
Wes smiled bashfully. "Too much?" he asked.
"No," Danny replied thoughtlessly. His eyes got wider, his face even greener. "Wait, uh, I mean, yes, way too much! I knew you said it was a stupid plan, but I didn't think you were gonna do something that stupid!"
Wes rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, but it worked, didn't it? I wouldn't have done it if I didn't know I could take it."
Danny sighed, but instead of weary, he looked fond. "Yeah. Yeah, I guess it did. Just give me a heads up next time you try to nuke yourself, okay?"
"Only if you don't try to stop me," Wes tutted, finally kneeling to begin untangling his partner. "Come on, I was so cool, wasn't I? Did you see me zipping around? Did you hear my speech? You gotta admit, that was pretty sick."
It was Danny's turn to roll his eyes. "Okay, fine, it was kind of cool. We already know a full charge makes you stronger on its own. It makes sense that a bigger one would make you even stronger." His nose wrinkled. "I didn't think you'd be able to unbreak bones on command, though."
"What? Oh! You mean this?" Without warning, Wes flicked his arm with a snap! It dangled limply at the elbow, facing the complete wrong direction.
"Wes, ew, holy crap! Yes, that, why would you even–?!"
"Chill out, it isn't broken," Wes reassured him. With another flick, his arm righted itself. His hand opened and closed, displaying its functionality. "I'm not fully human, remember? For a while, I've been able to fix the stuff that I thought I broke, and eventually I realized that my body just moves how it wants. If I let it do its thing when I get hit, it ends up hurting less than if I try to brace myself."
"...Huh. That kind of explains a lot, actually." Danny pulled a face. "Does it have to sound like that when you do it, though?"
Wes shrugged. "I haven't figured out how to make it stop."
"Great."
"Enough worrying about me, though," Wes said. "Are you okay? Skulker got you pretty good a couple times."
"Pssh, me? I'll be good as new before school lets out," Danny reassured him. He demonstrated that fact by gesturing to his shoulder wound. Or rather, where it used to be. The skin there was perfectly unblemished.
"Ugh, school," Wes moaned. "We should probably go back, huh."
"Dude, there's like two weeks left," Danny replied, "and nobody except Lancer will be handing tests out. I think we should get to sit the rest of the day out."
Wes pursed his lips. "I mean, sure, but..."
"Come on, Wes. You telling me you wanna try paying attention to math lessons or whatever after all that?"
Wes sighed. "Honestly? I just wanna sleep."
Danny removed the last of the length of bolas from his torso, then held out his hand. "Then give yourself a break and get over here."
Wes shook his head, but he was smiling. He reached out, grasping Danny's hand in his.
Only for a bout of static to leap between their intertwined fingers.
"Yeowch!"