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Going Ghost! (Young Justice) Chapter 154: Exactly As Planned
🕑 Added 2025-12-10 00:58:29 +0000 UTC[Third Person Pov]
Lex Luthor stood amid his once pristine office. The cold night air drifted in through the gaping wound torn into the buildingâs side, carrying with it the distant echoes of sirens and the faint hum of a city struggling to recover from chaos. He stared out into the metropolis, his expression unreadable as he observed the aftermath of the brutal clash between Danny, Superman, and Technus. Smoldering rooftops dotted the skyline, and the glow of emergency lights strobed across downtown like a heartbeat.
â...Sir, if I may,â Mercy ventured, her voice cautious as she stepped closer to him. She kept her tone neutral, professional, almost delicate. âWouldn't it have been⌠more beneficial to make use of the ghost? His abilities could have benefited our objectives greatly.â
Lex didnât react at first, only narrowing his eyes at a particularly distant plume of smoke rising from the east side of the city. âHmm. Perhaps,â he murmured at last, the word dripping with disinterest. âBut he outlived his usefulness to me. After my⌠encounter with that vile phantom child, Iâd prefer to have as little personal involvement with beings of his kind as possible.â
Mercy noticed the tremor beneath his calm, the subtle tightening of his jaw. He rarely displayed emotionâexcept when speaking of Superman. But now, the same venom began to seep into his tone.
âIn fact,â Lex continued, voice sharpening, âafter what he did to me⌠after what he made me doâafter he violated my very bodyâmy goal extends far beyond simply keeping my distance.â His eyes hardened like steel. âI want to purge this world of his kind entirely. The dead should remain dead. Their affairs with the living should have ended the moment their hearts stopped beating.â
Mercy stood straight, hands clasped behind her back, her expression carefully controlled. Sheâd seen Lex furious before, sheâd seen him triumphant, sheâd even seen him uncertain on rare occasions. But thisâthis cold, festering hatredâwas deeper. More personal.
âIâve already extracted everything I needed from our dear âfriendâ Nikolai. His technical skill setâwhile impressive for a deceased individualâis ultimately redundant. What he designed, I can recreate better. Perfectly, in fact.â His voice rose with arrogant certainty. âAnd now I know precisely what technology is necessary to track, restrain, and neutralize these specters. The challenge, of course, lies in securing authorization to deploy it. Bureaucracy is always the true enemy.â
âI see⌠so thatâs why you sent Technus toward S.T.A.R. Labs,â Mercy said, the pieces falling into place with chilling ease.
âYes,â Lex replied, lips curling into a satisfied grin. âHis final usefulness to me. I knew the commotion would attract that bruteâs attentionâheâs predictable, after all. And once Superman arrived, well⌠conflict was inevitable. Their clash was dramatic enough to put the entire world on notice. A perfect demonstration of the threat these apparitions pose.â His eyes gleamed with triumph. âAnd with that fear properly cultivated, approval for my new specialized ghost-hunting task force becomes practically guaranteed.â
He turned his head just enough to glance at her, amusement flickering in his gaze. âI havenât decided on an official name, but Iâm leaning toward calling them the M.I.W. The Men in White. Has a certain⌠authoritative ring to it, donât you think?â
âExcellent work, sir,â Mercy replied with a crisp nod. âIt seems everything proceeded exactly as you intended.â
Lex chuckledâlow, pleased, and utterly self-assured. He turned back toward the ruined opening in his office, the night wind rippling through his coat as he looked out over the battered but gleaming cityscape.
âYes,â he whispered, savoring the view like a king surveying his domain. âExactly.â
âŚ
Super-Phantom stepped out of the ice-crusted cavern he had carved, boots crunching heavily against the brittle snow. Frost clung to his cape as he emerged into the open air, Metalloâs battered metallic body slung casually over his shoulder like a bag of discarded scrap. Floating beside him, secured within a humming containment cube, hovered Metalloâs Kryptonite coreâits toxic glow muted.
Danny crouched low, one fist pressed firmly against the frozen ground. A deep rumble vibrated beneath him, and a ripple of pressure erupted from his position, racing outward in every direction. The snow trembledâtiny clusters of icy powder lifting off the earth, defying gravity as if responding to his pulse of otherworldly power.
Then, with a deafening crack, he launched skyward.
The ice beneath him split open like fractured glass as he rocketed into the air, a blistering trail of white light streaking behind him. Snow exploded upward in violent flurries, spiraling into the sky as Danny punched through the atmosphere at impossible speeds.
He soared across the globe with a wild, unrestrained grin stretching across his faceâMetallo still tossed over his shoulder like a rag doll. The shockwaves of his speed rippled behind him as continents blurred beneath his feet and oceans curved along the horizon.
In what felt like seconds, he burst through a final layer of cloud cover and came to an abrupt halt above Metropolis, the sudden stop releasing a concussive ring of displaced air that fluttered out all around him.
Danny glanced toward the Daily Planet globe gleaming in the moonlight. His grin softened into a sly smirk.
Perfect.
He drifted down toward the rooftop with deliberate softness.
---
Lois Lane stood leaning against the rooftop railing, her posture heavy with contemplation. The city lights flickered across her face as she stared into the bustling avenues below, lost in thought.
A familiar flutter of a cape brushed through the air behind her.
She smiled without turning. âLooks like youâre back alreadyââ
She froze mid-sentence.
Superman had landedâbut not the Superman she knew. His suit, usually vibrant and heroic, was now an eerie contrast of black and white, the symbol on his chest stark and somber. His eyes, too, carried something different. Something heavy.
âWhat⌠whatâs with the black-and-white ensemble?â Lois asked, confusion knitting her brow.
He lowered Metalloâs limp frame and the containment cube to the ground, never breaking eye contact with her. His expressionâfull of grief, regret, and something unspokenâmade Loisâ stomach drop.
âIâm sorry, LoisâŚâ he whispered.
Her heart stopped.
âWhat?â
âThe fight⌠It pushed me too far. It cost me my life.â He staggered forward, his form flickering, becoming faintâalmost translucent. âThe only reason I was able to put an end to it was due to a deal I made with Death.â
âW-Waitânoââ Lois stepped forward instinctively.
He caught her by the arms, though even his grip felt thin, unstable, like mist trying to hold onto warmth. âI canât explain much. I can feel the pull alreadyâthe other side calling for me.â
Terror washed over her face as she watched him grow fainter and fainter, his body phasing like a whisper in the wind.
âJust know⌠I couldnât leave without telling you, one last timeâŚâ His voice echoed, breaking.
His fingers slipped through hersââI love you.â
And he vanished.
Lois stood frozen, breath trembling, the rooftop suddenly unbearably quiet.
âY-Youâre joking, right?â she whispered, voice cracking. âPlease tell me this is some kind of prankâŚâ
The air in front her rippled violently.
âUrghhh!!â Super-Phantom materialized in a burst of spectral energy, doubled over and clutching his stomach. Light poured off him in chaotic pulses.
Lois staggered back just as he threw his head back and roared, ghostly power bursting from his chestâ
âand Danny Phantom shot out like a launched projectile.
He tumbled across the rooftop, skidding on his back, clutching his stomach as he wheezed and howled in laughter.
âHahahaha! Owâowâeverything hurts!! But I canât stop laughingâhahahahaha! Owâmy ribs!â
Superman dropped to one knee, panting, glaring daggers at the boy rolling around on the floor.
âWhat is WRONG with you?! How can you joke about something like that?!â
Danny was too breathless to answer at first, tears streaming from the corners of his eyesâhalf from laughter, half from pain, maybe both.
Lois blinked rapidly, torn between horror and bafflement. âWaitâso youâre not dead?!â
âNo! Of course Iâm not dead!â Superman said, waving his arms in a frantic attempt to calm her down. Furious and flustered, he jabbed a finger at Danny like a frustrated parent. âIt was just a cruel and completely unfunny prank! Bad DannyâBAD! Apologize!â
Danny sat up with a groan, raising both hands in surrender. âIâm sorry! Iâm sorry! I know I shouldnât haveâI know it was wrong but the opportunity was RIGHT there!â
Lois glared at him with the fury of a woman who had just aged ten years in ten seconds, her growl low and deeply murderous.
Superman added a disapproving frown of his own.
Danny, however, only smiledâproud, smug, and far too pleased with himself.
Comments
KingSpy25i .
Well, at least I know the choices that led to the big disagreements between Danny and Superman. Plus, all the troubles the ghost brought with him. Also, thanks to the Penguin, now Lex and the Government, actually have some pretty solid samples of the technology that will be used against the ghosts. Thank you for the great chapter đ
Bryan Vargas
Lol đ¤Ł
Rogue_Eagle99
From all of us who help suggest it youâre totally welcome for the idea
