Going Ghost! (Young Justice)

Chapter 188: No Mercy

[Third Person Pov]

Bertrand looked toward Danny with a mixture of raw terror and simmering anger burning in his eyes. He understood the situation perfectly. If he did not eliminate Danny right now, in this very moment, then the balance of the battle would shift completely against him and he would be the one in mortal danger.

Desperation and fury surged through him at once. Without another thought he triggered his transformation, his body warping and expanding as it shifted into the form of a giant monstrous wasp. His wings buzzed violently as he launched himself forward at blinding speed, driving straight toward Danny with his massive stinger thrust out like a spear meant to run him through.

Danny calmly extended his hand forward and formed a force-field around himself just before the attack connected. The protective sphere surrounded him instantly, smooth and perfectly shaped. A glowing white halo formed around the barrier and pulsed outward, releasing a powerful repulsive force. The energy blast slammed directly into Bertrand, stopping his charge and violently knocking the giant wasp backward through the air.

At the same moment Danny's entire body began projecting a furious blizzard of freezing air. A storm of cold erupted from him and swept across the battlefield before slamming into Bertrand. The icy wind cut straight through his transformed body and hardened skin, forcing a pained screech from him as the brutal cold bit deep into his flesh. Frost rapidly spread across his wings, legs, and thorax as the freezing energy overwhelmed him. Unable to keep control of his flight any longer, Bertrand was knocked out of the sky and sent crashing downward.

Danny's eyes began to glow with an eerie light as he drew even more power from his cryokinesis. However, his control over the ability was not raw or reckless. He used the discipline and precision he had mastered through his pyrokinesis to shape and guide the ice with careful intent, refining every movement of the cold energy he unleashed.

Sharp icicle shards formed beside him in the air, hovering like weapons awaiting command.

One after another they continued to lengthen, thickening and sharpening as more power poured into them. The frozen spears grew larger and more durable as Danny fed them greater energy. When they had fully formed, Danny pointed two fingers forward in a precise motion and the icicles launched at once, lancing across the battlefield like deadly projectiles.

They struck Bertrand with brutal accuracy, piercing through his body and pinning him in place. Blood sprayed violently from the wounds, splattering across the battlefield in a mixture of shattered ice and spectral green ghostly blood. The ground below was stained with the strange glowing liquid as fragments of frost scattered everywhere.

Bertrand cried out in agony as the pain overwhelmed him. His transformation collapsed under the strain and his body reverted back to his humanoid form. In a desperate attempt to survive he turned intangible, allowing the frozen spears that had skewered him to fall harmlessly through his body and clatter onto the ground.

"Hah… Hah… Hah…" he panted heavily, his breath ragged as he struggled to stay upright. The wounds across his body were still visible, though they slowly began to regenerate as his ghostly physiology struggled to repair the damage. His body trembled as he forced himself back to his feet. With a sharp motion he slapped his hands together.

As his hands separated again, a sword materialized between them, conjured from ghostly energy.

"You! I won't forgive you for this!!" Bertrand roared furiously as he shot upward through the air once more, gripping his newly formed weapon tightly.

Danny simply held his palm out in front of him.

The moment Bertrand saw the gesture he instinctively stopped and took a cautious step backward, subconsciously expecting another force-field to appear. However, as he stepped back his body suddenly collided with something solid.

"Huh?"

He turned his head and looked behind him, only to see a thick floating platform of solid energy that Danny had quietly constructed.

Bertrand snapped his head back toward Danny in alarm, just in time to see another platform forming in the air nearby. His eyes widened as he quickly glanced around in every direction. More platforms were appearing around him one after another. In mere seconds he realized what was happening.

He was being caged in.

Thick, solid platforms surrounded him on all sides. One above him, one below him, and four more closing in from every direction. All six sides were slowly forming a perfect frozen enclosure around him.

Danny slowly spread his fingers apart and the platforms responded instantly. The slabs of energy stretched outward and connected with one another seamlessly, locking together until they completely boxed Bertrand inside a solid prison.

"Do you believe this will be enough to catch me!!" Bertrand shouted angrily.

In a furious burst of strength he swung his sword and slashed at the platform directly in front of him, shattering the wall into countless fragments.

He immediately shot forward through the opening in an attempt to escape, but Danny's eyes suddenly flashed.

Twin beams of freezing energy burst from his eyes and struck Bertrand head-on. The attack slammed into him with crushing force and sent him flying backward, straight back into the enclosure.

He crashed into the opposite wall with a heavy "oomph," and at the same time another platform instantly formed where he had broken through before, sealing the opening completely.

Realizing he was moments away from being fully trapped, Bertrand began transforming again, his body twisting and expanding as he attempted to become a giant wolf, hoping his increased size and strength would allow him to break free from the prison.

Danny simply scoffed in contempt.

"Idiot," he said coldly, his arm still extended outward.

"Do you honestly believe I created that to imprison you? Imprisonment is too kind for the likes of you. I created it to crush you."

Danny slowly began to close his hand into a fist.

Inside the cage, Bertrand suddenly felt the walls pressing inward.

The platforms surrounding him began sliding closer together from every direction.

"You becoming larger only makes this easier for me."

Bertrand howled in pain as the walls closed in from all sides, the crushing pressure growing stronger and stronger as the space around him rapidly shrank. The cage tightened relentlessly until there was barely any room left at all. His body was squeezed from every direction, his ribs creaking under the pressure as the air was forced out of his lungs.

The enclosure continued closing until Bertrand could feel himself suffocating under the crushing weight of Danny's power.

Danny slowly lowered himself and Bertrand toward the ground, guiding the shrinking cube down until it settled on the battlefield directly in front of him. The walls continued to grind inward, the confined space growing tighter with every passing second.

"Ahhh! Stop!" Bertrand cried out as unbearable pain spread through his entire body.

"Alright Danny, that's enough," Robin said with a slight frown. "We can capture them now."

Danny acted as if he hadn't heard a word. His hand remained raised, his fingers slowly closing as he continued forcing the cube to shrink.

"AWHOOOL!" Bertrand screamed. The cry was cut short as the sickening sound of bones snapping like dry twigs erupted from within the enclosure. Blood splattered violently against the inner walls of the cube, streaking the surfaces with dark stains.

"Danny!" Robin called again, his brows furrowing deeply.

Inside the cube, Bertrand's body began to shift and distort uncontrollably. His form constantly flickered between different monstrous shapes, each transformation a desperate attempt to escape the crushing prison closing in around him.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" he roared in agony as more bones snapped audibly, the sounds echoing horribly within the cage.

Robin rushed forward and grabbed Danny's wrist firmly.

"Danny, that's enough," he said with a hard frown.

The cube immediately stopped shrinking.

Danny's eyes slowly turned toward Robin. The cold emptiness in them remained unchanged, and the moment their gazes met a deep shiver ran down Robin's spine.

Even so, Robin gritted his teeth and tightened his grip on Danny's wrist.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he demanded. "There was no need to go this far."

"I'm merely doing what Batman taught us to do," Danny replied flatly. "Exact vengeance. As for the need, the number of victims they left behind should be more than enough justification."

"This is not the vengeance Batman taught us," Robin snapped back immediately. "Don't go around twisting his teachings. Look at how you left them. Batman taught us vengeance with justice. What you're doing right now is vengeance with cruelty. You're mercilessly torturing them."

"Mercilessly?" Danny repeated calmly. "You want to talk about mercy after everything they've done? The fact that their core isn't shattered and they haven't experienced true death yet is already more mercy than they deserve from me."

Danny's energy suddenly spiked outward in a powerful surge.

The force blasted Robin backward and tore his grip away from Danny's wrist. Robin stumbled several steps before steadying himself as Kid Flash instantly appeared in front of him, ready to intervene if things escalated any further.

Danny calmly walked toward Robin until he stood directly in front of him, staring down at him with the same emotionless gaze.

"I want you to go to every single family they destroyed," Danny said coldly. "Visit the home of every victim they drove to suicide. Go speak to the parents who just lost their daughters, the children who lost their fathers, the brothers and sisters who will never see their family again. Then ask them how much mercy they're willing to give these two."

His eyes hardened slightly.

"Just don't be surprised when you realize how short that answer comes up."

Robin clenched his fists tightly as he stared back at Danny, concern beginning to creep into his expression.

"What exactly happened to you?" he asked quietly. "This isn't you. You aren't like this."

Danny didn't hesitate.

"Once you stop letting emotions dictate your life, everything becomes much clearer," he said calmly. "Only logic and reasoning remain. Abstract concepts that once seemed complicated become very easy to understand."

His gaze shifted briefly toward the bloodstained cube before returning to Robin.

"For example, mercy."

Danny's voice remained completely steady.

"Mercy isn't something that's simply given. Mercy is something that must be earned."

He looked back toward the frozen prison holding Bertrand and at Spectra that was still in his grasp.

"And these two have earned none from me."

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