Chapter 3: "Teamwork"

Disclaimer: I own nothing

"When you start out in a team, you have to get the teamwork going and then you get something back."

Michael Schumacher

Chapter 3: "Teamwork"

(Sunday-July 18, 2010)

Danny woke up feeling warm. This wouldn't be considered unusual for a normal person. It was the ideal situation to wake up warm and comfortable. For the halfa, though, it did not happen every day. His core as a ghost was naturally cold, and it influenced him even in his human form. In a sense, Danny could ignore any temperature that wasn't lethal.

Waking up with Ember by his side, however, changed that.

Danny didn't move as he woke from unconsciousness. He didn't want to wake the girl. She was never in a good mood if she was woken up by someone else.

"Good morning…." Ember noted as she continued to let her head rest in the crook of his neck.

…If she woke up by herself on the other hand…

"Morning…" Danny mumbled as he used the arm that Ember wasn't currently clutching to rub his eyes. "Were you awake long?"

"Long enough…" Ember still hadn't moved.

"Meaning you hadn't moved since you snuck in here five hours ago." Danny chuckled.

"You knew I came into your room?" Ember questioned.

"Ghost sense, remember? Hard to ignore." Danny noted as he looked at the girl lying next to him. Her long blue hair was let down for her sleep. "Not that I mind, of course, but you do realize that you have a guest room set up for you, right?"

"What would be the fun in that?" Ember chuckled as she smiled at her boyfriend. "Besides, your bed is more comfortable."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, you make the best pillow…" Ember laid her head on his shoulder.

"I must be, because this is the fifth time you snuck in here for the last week and a half." Danny frowned. "Is there a reason for this?"

"I don't need a reason to sleep next to my boyfriend." Ember insisted.

"Really? Because I think it has to do with your upcoming tour." Danny insisted.

Like he had promised months ago, Danny managed to use his (really Vlad's) influences to get Ember back into the music business. Through the power of I-tunes, Ember's talent, and great publicity, Ember became a hit once again. People were loving her music, and Ember was elated. Soon, she would begin her fall tour, and after she left…Danny didn't know what would happen.

"Okay, I get it, but let's not talk about that right now." Ember insisted. "Instead, let's talk about your continued punishment."

"Still?" Danny felt like crying. "It's been like two weeks since I missed the fireworks."

"Not just that." Ember sat up. She was wearing loose sleeping wear. "You've been busy with work and that weird team of yours."

"I've made time for you." Danny sat up as well. "Two hours a day, at least, right?"

"That's true, but that's not the point." Ember grabbed his hands. "We're teenagers, Danny, and yet you have all this…responsibility."

Danny sighed. "I know, but I can't just quit now. I had to work hard to get to this point…as both Fenton and Phantom."

"Okay, I get the inventing thing. I really do, and soon Axion will be taking over most of it, but a team of young superheroes? What's with that?"

"I don't really know myself." Danny admitted. "It seems like a really bad idea if you think about it. This will just take me away from an Obsession that I have only recently reclaimed, but…I have a feeling that I have to do this. I feel like I need to be a part of this team or…"

"Or what?"

Or his guilt and numbness would surely get the better of him. Danny knew that this team could go south very quickly. Part of him felt like this could be a chance for some redemption. Danny felt that keeping those young heroes alive would make up for all the lives that he messed up for his decision…if only a little.

"Well, I feel responsible, that's all." Danny smiled.

"Gah! Responsible! It gets so annoying." Ember sighed dramatically. "I'd be mad if I didn't like that about you."

"Good to know…" Danny smiled.

"I bet it is. But we still need to be teenagers and be spontaneous, so…" Ember kissed Danny.

"Ah…" Danny noted after a moment.

"Yep, you still do have an hour till you have to get ready, so…Woah!" Ember laughed as Danny pulled her down. "Now we're talking!"

"So bored…" Dani mumbled as she sat by the community pool. She was wearing a simple black one-piece swimsuit. "And nothing to break…"

"What's with your fascination with breaking things?" Dani's friend Rachel Roth noted as her dark eyes looked up from the book she was reading. Despite the heat, she was wearing a purple hoody and jeans. Apparently, she had no intention of swimming.

"The better question is…" Nyx's head popped out of the water as she splashed the violet haired girl. "Why are you so against it?!"

Nyx was the daughter of Pandora. Her normally purple hair and blue skin were hidden by a specialized piece of Fenton equipment called a Disguise Ring. She now appeared to have blond hair and darkly tanned skin.

"…" The now soaked Rachel glared at Nyx. "I will kill you."

"You can try!" Nyx laughed.

"Yes!" Dani smiled. "That's exactly what I was talking about! A fight! I haven't had a good fight since Solomon Grundy."

"Can't believe I missed that by like five minutes…" Nyx pouted.

"Too bad for you…" Raven sighed as she dried herself off.

"I heard that guy was huge!" The three girls heard a boy's voice approach them.

"Yeah, and…What are you wearing?" Dani raised an eyebrow at her unlikely friend.

Like Nyx, Youngblood was allowed to come into the human world while in disguise. He now appeared as a normal blond haired boy…who just so happened to be wearing scuba gear. This included flippers, goggles, and an oxygen tank.

Rachel placed her palm to her face.

"I'm a deep sea scuba diver!" Youngblood exclaimed. "Ahoy!"

"That's a sailor, not a scuba diver." A small voice came off the skeleton necklace around Youngblood's neck.

"Can't I be both?" Youngblood questioned.

"You can be neither." Rachel shook her head in embarrassment. "Go. Change. Now."

"But whhhhyyyyyy?" Youngblood whined.

Rachel glared.

"Fine, fine, I'll take the tank off at least." Youngblood drooped in depression.

"So you were talking about that Grundy guy?" Nyx questioned.

Dani nodded. Even before this conversation, Dani had thought a lot about Solomon Grundy. She thought about why he stopped his attack on her. He had the chance to kill her, yet he muttered her real name. Not only that, his eyes…He had same eyes as Spirit had….as Phantom had…

She didn't tell anyone this, though. No one else saw the connection, so maybe she was being paranoid? It's just that…She recognized those eyes. They were the eyes of a phantom…

"Dani?" Nyx splashed the halfa. "Earth to Dani! Wake up!"

"Huh?" Dani shook her head. "What is it?"

"Grundy? Was he strong?" Nyx questioned.

"Yeah, but he was super slow. There was no way he could catch me normally." Dani frowned as she remembered how she froze. "But it was amazing at the punishment he could take. Even after Fright Knight and Dad took him down, he was still struggling."

"Speaking of your bodyguard…" Rachel glared upwards. "How long is he just going to float there invisibly?"

"Well…Dad and Danny asked him to keep an eye on me, so…" Dani shrugged. She really didn't mind. It wasn't like Fright Knight ever did anything anyway.

"Forget about the Tin Can!" Nyx climbed out of the pool. Her love for nicknames didn't even make her friends flinch. "I'm in a fighting mood after all this talk about the Zombie, I think a spar's a good idea."

"That would definitely stop the boredom." Dani agreed.

"Sounds good!" Youngblood nodded enthusiastically.

"Do we have too?" Rachel questioned.

"Yes, yes we do." Nyx nodded.

"Yes, we have to make the most of summer…like Phineas and Ferb!" Dani smiled.

Both Nyx and Youngblood grinned at that.

"Okay!" Rachel interjected. "We can spar, as long as you don't sing the theme song."

"…"

"…"

"…"

"No deal."

Rachel groaned as they began to sing. "Sometimes, I hate my life."

Recognized: Danny Phantom B04

Phantom walked into the cave via Zeta Tube. He had to admit, it was an efficient way to travel. Teleportaion was definitely that way to get across the country. The halfa was just glad that the League had one installed in Amity Park.

"Hey, people!" Phantom walked up to Aqualad, Superboy, and Miss Martian who were all wearing civilian clothes. "I got your message. We finally getting a mission?"

"We are hopeful." Aqualad smiled at his friend.

"So…no, then." Phantom frowned.

"We're hopeful." Miss Martian was ever the optimist. "We're going to ask Red Tornado about it."

"I thought Batman was responsible for missions?" Phantom questioned.

"He is, but if I don't get out of this cave soon, I'll go nuts." Superboy crossed his arms and scowled.

"Alright, worth a shot." Phantom shrugged. "So we waiting for Robin and the Speeding Banana?"

Superboy snorted at that joke. Miss Martian and Aqualad were more polite, but were still amused.

"Yes, they should be arriving shortly." Aqualad explained.

Recognized: Robin B01, Kid Flash B03

"Speak of the devil…" Phantom noted as his other teammates approached them.

"Did you ask him!?" Robin questioned.

"What did he say!?" Kid Flash asked.

"He's arriving now." Aqualad stated.

"Then what are we waiting for!?" Kid Flash began to run to the entrance to the Mountain.

Phantom rubbed his eyes as they went. He muttered, "This isn't going to work, I bet…"

"I thought you said it was worth a shot?" Superboy questioned.

"Meh, my hopefulness dies very quickly." Phantom admitted.

"Okay then." Superboy shrugged. "I can understand that."

The six young heroes walked out of the ramp entrance to the Mountain. Red Tornado began to descend in front of them. Phantom marveled at the red wind he was generating. He could understand why Torch had such a hard time with the android.

"Red Tornado!" Kid Flash greeted with a wave.

"Greetings." Red Tornado's mechanical voice sounded. "Is there a reason you intercept me outside the cave?"

"We hoped you had a mission for us." Aqualad admitted.

"Deploying missions is Batman's responsibility." Red Tornado answered.

"But it's-" Robin was interrupted when Phantom put a hand on his shoulder.

"Got it, we're just getting restless." Phantom explained. "Some sort of test or mission would help, you know?"

"Understood. You shall be tested soon enough." Red nodded. "For the time being, simply enjoy each other's company."

"This team is not a social club." Aqualad stated, and Phantom had to agree with him.

"No, but I am told social interaction is an important team building exercise." Red Tornado noted as he began to enter the cave. "Perhaps you can keep busy by familiarizing yourselves with the Cave."

"Keep busy?" Phantom questioned. "I'm busy enough. I don't need to work to make it worse."

"Oh, really?" Miss Martian questioned. She seemed eager to hear about it. "Like what?"

Phantom gave her a side glance. "Personal stuff…"

"Oh…" Miss Martian deflated.

"Does he think we're falling for this!?" Robin exclaimed in outrage.

"Oh, I'll find out!" Miss Martian exclaimed. She appeared to be concentrating at Red Tornado.

"Um, Miss Martian?" Phantom stopped her. "I don't know how things work on Mars, but on Earth, doing that would be considered pretty rude."

"Oh…" Miss Martian looked sheepish.

"It's fine, not like it would work on Red anyway." Phantom shrugged. "He's non-organic. No 'mind' to read."

"You can read my mind, though." Kid Flash leaned in at the pretty green skinned girl. "Can you tell what I'm thinking, right now?"

"We all know what you're thinking now." Robin elbowed the speedster.

"And now we tour the clubhouse…" Aqualad frowned.

"As long as you don't call it a lair. If this was a lair, I'd be out of here. I'm not into the ghost stereotypes." Phantom joked.

"Well…Superboy and I live here. Maybe we can be tour guides." Miss Martian suggested.

"Don't look at me." Superboy grunted.

"We won't!" Kid stared at Miss Martian. "A private tour sounds much more fun."

"She never said private!" Robin interjected.

"Team building." Aqualad stated. "We all go."

"So lead on, oh powerful tour guides." Phantom stated as he followed the others inside.

Truthfully, he was rather upset by this turn of events. He had a lot of better things to do than a stupid tour of the 'clubhouse.' He wanted to use this free time to train, and he was sure that it would do the others good as well, but it wasn't his place to bring that up. He wasn't the leader, so he wasn't going to go bossing them around.

But it would surely be better than a public tour. He already knew enough about Mt. Justice based on his own exploration. Now, he would just be bored as Miss Martian went over every nook and cranny of the Cave.

Oh, joy.

Lake Eerie was one of the most forgotten parts of Amity Park, Minnesota. It was a dark depressing lake that fit in just fine with Amity Park's reputation of being the most haunted city in the world. Not many people came here, especially after the Fentons died. Danny, however, remembered his father's secret fishing spot, and tried to take Dani fishing once.

She hated it, but it did allow her to find a secret training spot. And after what happened the last time she fought in the mansion…well, Dani was sure that her dad didn't want anything else broken.

"Well…I think this place is creepier than the Ghost Zone." Nyx noted. She had removed her disguise and was now wearing her regular golden armor and black skirt.

"It looks like a place from a horror movie." Youngblood noted. His green hair was now showing, and he was wearing his normal pirate clothing.

"I like it…" Rachel smiled. She was now wearing a purple cloak that covered her entire body. A hood was up that hid her entire face.

"You would." Spirit smiled. "Apparently the fishing here's pretty good, but I kind of broke our boat before I could find out."

"Of course you did…" Rachel rolled her eyes.

"So, how we do this, tournament style?" Nyx questioned.

"Oh! Sounds good, me livers!" Youngblood nodded. "I'll go first."

"Rack! It's me hearties." Youngblood's parrot stated. "You got it right before…"

"Right, I forgot…" Youngblood shrugged.

"Okay, then. I think-" Spirit gasped as blue mist escaped from her mouth.

"Your Ghost Sense." Rachel noted.

"It's probably just the Tin Can." Nyx shrugged. "He's guarding you, and who else would come here, anyway?"

"…Right." Spirit nodded slowly. If a ghost was attacking, they already would have attacked.

"But I don't see him." Youngblood stated. "Why would he be invisible now?"

"…Good point…" Rachel nodded. She sometimes forget that Youngblood was rather intelligent, if naïve and forgetful. "Why is he hiding?"

"I…" Spirit looked around. "I don't know, but my Premonition isn't going off, so…"

"Then we're good!" Nyx cheered. "Come on. Captain Kid and I'll go first!"

As their friends flew over the lake, Rachel turned to Spirit. "Are you sure nothing's wrong?"

Spirit turned to her friend. After finding out that Danny and her Dad knew about Rachel's magical abilities, the younger halfa had them both sit down with talk with Rachel. Neither of the older halfa's had a problem with the magic user, but Rachel always seemed on edge…always. "Right now, no. Soon, though? Maybe."

"Oh, joy." Rachel rolled her eyes. "Tell me when something goes wrong, then."

"You'll be the first to know…" Spirit looked behind her for a second. There was nothing there.

As she turned back, she missed as several miniature green creatures began to dance around.

The tour had been boring as predicted. A lot of the knowledge about the Cave was in the database that was available to the team. Phantom was concerned that people, villains specifically, knew about the Cave. The security and idea of hiding in plain sight helped ease Phantom's worries, but they did not fade completely.

…Maybe that was just Phantom's paranoia, though…

Superboy sniffed the air. "I smell smoke."

"Ah! My cookies!" Miss Martian cried as she flew into the kitchen.

The males in the group followed the girl as she telekinetically lifted the tray of burnt cookies out of the oven. Miss Martian seemed very upset. She mentioned something about a cooking show, but Phantom didn't know too much about cooking shows, so it meant little to him.

"I bet they would have tasted great." Robin encouraged. "Besides, they seem to like them."

Both Kid Flash and Phantom looked up as they swallowed the burnt desserts. Kid Flash noted. "I have a serious metabolism."

"I have an iron stomach." Phantom noted. "As long as the food doesn't bite back, I'm fine."

"Okay…" Miss Martian seemed surprised.

"You've had food that bit back?" Superboy seemed amused.

"Yep. Long story." Phantom shrugged.

"I'm still sorry that I burnt them. I'll make more, okay?" Miss Martian smiled.

"It was sweet of you to make any." Aqualad acknowledged.

"Thanks Aqualad." Miss Martian stated.

"We're off duty. Call me Kaldur'ahm." Aqualad noted. "Actually, my friends call me Kaldur."

"I'm Wally." Kid Flash tried to flirt and failed. "See, I already trust you with my secret id. Unlike Mr. Dark Glasses over here. Batman's forbidden Boy Wonder from telling anyone his real name."

"At least you guys have secret identities." Phantom noted. "Danny Phantom is actually my name. Calling me either Danny or Phantom works. Don't really have a preference."

"Mine's not really a secret either. It's M'gann M'orzz." Miss Martian state proudly. "But you can call me Megan…It's an Earth name, and I'm on Earth now."

Phantom had to bite back his sarcastic remark. He really wanted to say, "Really? This isn't Mercury? I've been lied to all my life," but Phantom knew that she would take it the wrong way. It would hurt her feelings, then he would have to pretend to be remorseful. It was too much of a hassle for a quick comment.

"Get out of my head!" Superboy shouted angrily.

Phantom turned to him in confusion. "What are-"

'What's wrong? I don't understand.' M'gann's mental intrusion caused Phantom to flinch. 'Everyone on Mars communicates telepathically.'

"M'gann, stop!" Kaldur stated.

"This isn't Mars. It's like I said with Red Tornado, it's rude to invade someone's mind." Phantom noted as he shook off his mental shock. "Our minds are one of the few things Earthlings have that is completely private."

"Besides, Cadmus's creepy little psychic Genomorphs left a bad taste in his brain." Kid Flash cupped the side of his mouth like he was telling a secret.

"I-I didn't mean to-" Miss Martian stuttered.

"Just stay out!" Superboy growled as he stormed away.

Thus a terribly awkward silence overcame them. No one spoke. The tension felt like it could be cut by a butter knife. There was only one thing to say in this situation…

"Awkward." Phantom noted.

"Dude!" Kid Flash…Wally…exclaimed.

"Sorry, someone had to be the comic relief. Usually it's Spirit that does it, but she's not here so…" Phantom shrugged.

"Spirit is your partner in Amity Park, correct?" Kaldur noted.

"Yeah. She's also my cousin." Phantom remember the lie they made about their relationship.

"I've heard people call her…your sidekick." Robin frowned.

Phantom snorted. "That would imply that she actually listens to me."

"I have met her. It was when Daniel Fenton was kidnapped. She is quite formidable in a fight." Kaldur complimented.

"Then why isn't she on the team?" Wally questioned.

"Trust me, she is not ready to be on a team that needs to be discrete." Phantom noted.

"Yeah, I met her during the Nocturne Crisis a few months ago." Robin chuckled. "I would have to agree with you on that."

"That was when that sleep ghost tried to take over Earth, right?" M'gann questioned.

"Yeah…" Phantom nodded. "But I don't want to talk about that."

"Okay…Wait… Hello, Megan!" M'gann exclaimed. "I know what we can do."

With a few shrugs, Kaldur, Wally, Phantom, and Robin began to follow M'gann. Before he left the room, Phantom stopped and looked at Superboy. As if he sensed the eyes on him, Superboy looked up.

"C'mon, SB." Phantom nudged his head in the direction of the door. He said nothing more as he walked out the door.

He didn't need to say anything else, though. Superboy had already gotten up and followed after Phantom. Inside, Superboy was just glad to be called something other than Supes, the Superboy, or Project Kr.

And that was enough for him.

"How are you such a good fighter?" Nyx grumbled angrily at Youngblood.

"It is all about experience, wench!" Youngblood exclaimed.

"Excuse me?" Nyx questioned dangerously.

"Um…fair maiden?" Youngblood tried to fix the problem.

"Bleh! I think that's even worse!" Nyx spat.

Spirit was not surprised that Nyx was angry. It was sometimes unusual how powerful some ghosts in the Ghost Zone actually are. Even weak appearing ghosts like Youngblood could be powerful. Looks in the Ghost Zone truly were deceiving.

The only reason Youngblood lost to Phantom and Spirit so easily several months ago was that the halfa's natural teamwork was great. In a one-on-one fight, Youngblood's tricks and surprising power could actually trip Phantom up from time to time. At least, that's what Spirit heard. Youngblood tended to stay away from the halfas until after the GIW war.

"It's our turn then!" Spirit cheered.

Rachel sighed. "Do I have to?"

"Yes! Don't you want to get stronger?" Spirit questioned.

"Yeah, but if my mom finds out I'm using my powers…" Rachel grumbled.

"She won't!" Spirit exclaimed.

"Mom's always find out…" Nyx frowned.

"Very true…" Rachel agreed.

"Yep…" Youngblood deflated. "I remember my mommy…you know, before I…"

Spirit looked away. She didn't have a mother. Well, she technically had a genetic mother, but Spirit was a clone. No birth, and no being raised by the genetic mother. Especially considering that Sam Manson was dead…

"Eck! Enough sadness!" Nyx frowned. "Girl Scout, you need to go ahead and fight Raven."

"Raven?" Rachel questioned.

"Yeah." Nyx shrugged. "I think it suits you."

"Actually…I like it." Rachel looked away thoughtfully. "Raven…"

"Okay then, Raven." Spirit smiled. "Shall we fight?"

"Whatever." Rachel rolled her eyes. "Let's get this over with."

"Why get it over with if it's so much fun?" A voice rang out. "In fact, we should prolong it!"

('A wave of green crashes down on them. They are covered on all sides.') Spirit's Premonition told her, but it was too late.

A swarm of small green beasts and skulls began to attack the four children. Each one was caught by surprise. They were quickly separated and sent into the water. As quickly as the attack started, it stopped. The swarm quickly flew away to a ghost gloating above them.

This female ghost had black spikes coming out of her head. She had red eyes, green skin, and a nose ring. A black cape and leather clothing barely covered her. The beasts and skulls quickly attached to her skin like tattoos.

"Thank you, Lydia." The voice from before came from the lake's edge. "And now…Behold the Gem of Life!"

The water around the four ghosts glowed red for a moment. Then, the water began to constrict around them. It began to strangle and crush them. Behind them, a large head made of water popped up and glared at them.

"Gah…" Spirit groaned as she looked at the man at the edge of the lake. "I-urk…know you…Freakshow…"

A man dressed in a grey trench coat and bowler hat grinned at him. His long nose turned up at them as his red eyes danced in delight. "In the flesh!"

Phantom could only watch in awe as the Martian Bioship flew through Happy Harbor. This technology was amazing…and it was alive! It was actual organic/synthetic life. In fact, the seat belts automatically locked across him when he sat down. Possibilities ran through Phantom's mind. Could it be possible to use this technology as a human?

Perhaps he could determine that later…

"He'll come around…" Robin whispered at M'gann. Superboy still seemed upset about what happened, and M'gann was obviously regretting her accidental insult to him.

"He doesn't seem to like me very much…" M'gann mumbled.

"You guys remember that he has super hearing, right?" Kid Flash mentioned.

"You don't need super hearing to hear you guys!" Phantom fake whispered to them as he looked at them from his spot in the front. "Awkward."

"What's your deal with that, anyway?" Wally questioned.

"Meh, I calls it as I sees it." Phantom shrugged.

"Hey," Robin smiled. "How about a little Martian shape shifting?"

M'gann happily complied. She first turned into a female version or Robin. Then, there was a female Flash. Finally, M'gann shifted into Phantom as a girl.

Before Phantom could mentally question whether Dani would look like that later, he noticed Wally staring at M'gann. "Hey! Don't look at me like that!"

"What?!" Wally sputtered.

"I saw that look." Phantom glared as he pointed at M'gann's face. "My eyes are up there."

Robin just laughed as he stated. "Impressive, but you know you're not exactly going to fool anyone with those."

"Mimicking boys is a lot harder." M'gann admitted.

"Physically? Maybe. Emotionally? It's pretty easy." Phantom commented. "Just act like all you think about is girls, sports, and food and you're done."

Kaldur smiled at that. "Very true….but what about your clothes?"

"They're organic like the ship. They respond to my mental commands." M'gann explained.

"As long as they're the only ones…" Superboy muttered.

Phantom was about to say something as Aqualad mumbled. "I believe that joke is getting old."

Phantom shrugged.

"Can you do that ghosting through walls thing Manhunter does?" Wally inquired.

"Density shifting?" M'gann looked embarrassed. "No, it's a very advanced technique."

"Flash can vibrate his molecues right through walls. Hehehe! When he tries it…blood nose!" Robin chuckled.

"Dude!" Wally exclaimed.

"You can pass through walls, though, right?" Kaldur questioned Phantom.

"Yeah. Intangibility." Phantom nodded. "It's actually a lot harder than it looks though. When I was first trying to figure out my powers, I had a lot of…accidents involving pants."

Everyone laughed at that.

M'gann then questioned. "You have a lot of powers, though, right?"

"Well…yeah." Phantom admitted. "I've got a lot of different powers, but I'm sure you can find people with stronger individual strengths. But I have intangibility, flight, invisibility, ectoplasmic ghost blasts, cryokinesis, turning into smoke for a second, rapid regeneration, duplication, and my Ghostly Wail…oh, and overshadowing."

"Overshadowing?" Superboy glared at the ghost.

"Yeah, you know, taking over someone else's body." Phantom shrugged.

"Ghosts can do that?" M'gann questioned.

"To weak willed people, yeah." Phantom nodded. "But I haven't use that power since…wow. I haven't' used is since I was training it last October."

"Why would you train it?" Superboy growled.

"I got tired of accidentally falling into people's bodies." Phantom shrugged.

"In theory, you sound like a terrible person to make an enemy out of." Kaldur stated.

"Yeah, but each of my powers have terrible weakness. Especially my more advanced powers. I could easily tire myself out in moments if not careful. Like in Cadmus. If my Ghostly Wail failed, I would have been defenseless against Blockbuster."

"Like with my metabolism." Wally stated.

"Well, eating does replenish my strength, but a lot of my powers depend on emotions." Phantom explained. "Mental exhaustion is just as likely as physical exhaustion."

It was very true, but he didn't have that problem before. His emotions were wild and powerful before. Phantom mostly had to worry about his stamina before, but now? There was a likely chance that his powers wouldn't respond if overused.

"Wow…" Robin noted. "I'm whelmed."

"Would you stop that?" Wally rolled his eyes. "That isn't going to become a thing."

"Yes it will. Don't crush my dreams."

"Wait, you said invisibility? I have something similar." M'gann stated as the ship blended into the background. "Camouflage mode."

"Red Tornado to Miss Martian." The android's voice sounded in the ship. "An emergency alert has been triggered at the Happy Harbor Power Plant. I suggest you investigate…covertly. I am sending you the coordinates."

"Received. Adjusting course." Miss Martian replied.

"Tsh! Tornado's keeping us busy again." Robin frowned.

"…Um… I don't think that's true." Phantom stated.

"What makes you say that?" Wally questioned.

"The giant ass twister heading straight for us."

"Oh…"

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Spirit and her friends struggled against the water as it seemed to grab them. Turning intangible proved to be impossible. The red glow of the water seemed to stop that power.

"What do you want?" Spirit shouted.

"Well, I want a lot of things, riches, fame, revenge." Freakshow smiled. "But that's not for today. No, today I want Pandora's precious daughter."

"Me?!" Nyx seemed disgusted. "What do you want from me, Pinocchio?"

"Pinocchio!?" Freakshow seethed. "How dare you! Gem of Form!"

The water suddenly changed. It was now green slime. Nyx was silenced as the slime quickly consumed her. A large bubble of green slime quickly raised from the rest of the slime and floated towards Feakshow. "This concentrated Ectoplasm will stop all your powers. Even the ones that no ghost should possess. And if you try to resist, the ectoplasm will turn your attacks against you."

"Azaroth Metrion Zinthos!" Rachel cried, but then screamed in pain as black and white magical energy blasted against her.

"Oh a magic user!" Freakshow laughed. "Didn't you just listen to me? Both ghost and magical powers are useless.

"Wait…Nyx can use magic then?" Youngblood realized what Freakshow meant.

"Ah, a smart child. Of course she can use magic!" Freakshow yelled. "You don't even know the girls origins?!"

"And neither should you…" A dark voice appeared behind Freakshow. The Fright Knight raised his sword to cut him down.

"NO!" Lydia actually shouted as she pulled Freakshow out of the way.

Fright Knight eyed the female ghost. "I know of this man. He has no respect for ghosts. Why save him?"

Lydia just glared at the ancient ghost.

"Fine…Unholy slime, release the children or suffer the might of Soul Shredder!" Fright Knight flung his sword. It first traveled to Nyx's bubble and freed her. Then, it went to the other children and freed them. Each child quickly made some distance from the slime. Soul Shredder then returned to its master.

"Dramatic much?" Spirit questioned.

"What is life without a little drama!?" Fright Knight shouted.

"Very true, Fright Knight." Freakshow smiled as he was released by Lydia. "But I must say, your dramatics almost ended badly for me. So, in return, I will make my dramatics become your end! Gem of Fantasy!"

The area around them morphed into a demented circus tent. The slime lake completely disappeared. That was the only good news though. In the place of the living slime was a heard of demonic clowns, giant strongmen, and other various freaks.

"Like it?" Freakshow questioned. "This is the power of the Reality Gauntlet!"

"Reality Gauntlet…" Fright Knight stared at the gauntlet on Freakshow's arm. "That cursed item is not meant to be used, mortal. You have no idea the ruin it brings."

"Oh, but I do know its history." Freakshow pointed to the gauntlet. "I know how each gem was created and the original purpose of the gauntlet. And I know how many lives its ruined. But that's because no one knew the access code. If I get that, I will become master of all reality."

"Fool!" Fright Knight glared. "It is that weapon that brought about Nekron the Reaper to this planet in the first place!"

"There is no proof of that. Besides, even the physical incarnation of death pales in comparison to this."

"You have no idea how wrong you are…" Fright Knight frowned.

"Silence!" Freakshow frowned. "You won't be saying that when I discover the access code."

"And you think Pandora knows?" Fright Knight glared.

"No, but she would know how to obtain the code." Freakshow stated.

"That's why you want Nyx?" Spirit questioned as she looked around at the various enemies. "For leverage?"

"Of course…" Freakshow smiled.

"You're nuts…" Rachel stated as she prepared herself for battle.

"Says the demon girl who surrounds herself with ghosts." Freakshow laughed.

"ARG!" Younblood drew his sword. "Your nonsense is shivering me timbers!"

Youngblood's parrot look at his master. "I won't even tell you why that's wrong."

"Then I suppose that we should get on with-" Freakshow was interrupted.

"Wait!" Nyx stared at Freakshow. "What did you mean? Can I really use magic?"

"You don't even know?! Ha hehhehehe Ha!" Freakshow laughed. "Then I won't spoil the surprise."

"What surprise!?" Nyx questioned. "What do you know?"

"Little girl, I know everything about ghosts. Attack!"

And they were all swarmed by the storming swarms of circus freaks.

Weirdest. Fight. Ever.

As soon as Phantom had exited the Bioship, he noticed the people screaming and running. They were fleeing the Power Plant. He didn't blame them with the huge twisters flying all over the place. Several cars were flipped over, and Phantom could see the destruction the twisters had caused to the terrain.

"We need to…" Phantom then noticed that his teammates were heading towards the power plant. "Idiots! We need to help the injured."

Phantom flew to the nearest destroyed car. A woman was in the driver seat with two children in the back. "Dammit, I'll have to check all these cars. I forgot what's it's like without Spirit, Red Huntress, or the others to help."

The halfa quickly made three duplicates. They began to search the other cars. Phantom then fazed the woman and children out of the car. He then gently laid them down on the street.

"Guh…" The woman's eyes opened a little. "My…children…"

"I got them first." Phantom stated. "They're alright for now, but I'll call an ambulance."

"T-hank…y-you…" The woman lost consciousness.

"…You're welcome…" Phantom and his duplicates then quickly searched all the cars and directed the civilians away from the plant. He heard most of them calling 911, so he knew that dozens of cops and ambulances would be by to help the people soon.

Good, now he could deal with the problem…Crap! He forgot about the team!

Phantom instantly flew into the plant. It was a strange sight to see. His team (Note to self: come up with possible team names. Saying "the team" and "his team" would quickly get annoying) was sprawled all over the place. On the opposite end of the plant was a red android that was generating wind to fly…he must be the one that did this.

The android looked similar to Red Tornado with the color scheme. His demeanor, scarf, and actions proved the difference, though. This robot was going done.

Phantom flew at the android at top speed. Granted, it wasn't as fast as he normally could go, but it was enough to pack a punch. Despite the android's actions, Phantom decided to him a heads up. "Hey, ugly!"

The android turned…just in time to be punched in the head.

…What? He never said anything about the amount of time he would give the machine…

Red Tornado #2 was pushed back a pit to the point where he was several yards outside. He looked at the halfa and stated. "Ah, so the children did have a babysitter. Danny Phantom…What are you doing so far from home?"

"Oh, just sightseeing. Imagine my surprise when I see a Red Tornado on steroids hurting innocent civilians and fighting my new friends." Phantom frowned. "Not a very good sight. I think I should change it by getting rid of you."

"Ah, a real challenge then. Very well, I am Mr. Twister and-" Mr. Twister was interrupted when Kid Flash began running up and tried to tackle the android. The android managed to dodge the tackle.

"What did you do to the rest of my team!?" Kid Flash questioned.

"Embarrassed them largely." Mr. Twister extended his arms.

"Kid, move!" Phantom warned, but it was too late. The wind caught Kid Flash and sent him flying at Phantom. The halfa caught the speedster and tossed him back on his feet. "You need to be more careful. Just standing at that close of range is dangerous."

"What do you suggest then?" Kid Flash snapped.

"Move in and out as fast as you can. Never be predictable. Keep moving, and don't focus on heavy blows. Take him down with mosquito bites." Phantom explained. "That's how you fight a wind user."

"…fine…" Kid Flash grunted. He obviously was just going to fight normally.

Phantom scowled.

"Kid! Phantom!" Robin shouted as the rest of the team approached them.

"Where were you?" Superboy glared.

"Helping the civilians. They were hurt and in a panic." Phantom didn't turn his gaze from Mr. Twister.

"An unfortunate casualty." Mr. Twister noted.

"What do you want!?" Aqualad shouted at the android.

"That doesn't matter." Phantom drew the attention of everyone in the area. His eyes turned blue as a broad sword made of ice formed in his hands. "He hurt those people. To me, he's asking for an ass kicking."

"Hmm…Quite amusing…" Mr. Twister noted.

"Read his mind, Miss Martian. Try to find a weakness." Aqualad ordered.

"But I thought that I'm not supposed to read minds." Miss Martians remembered.

"It's okay with the bad guys!" Robin shouted.

"It wouldn't matter anyway. He's an android." Phantom stated. He knew when he was fighting a machine.

"Hello, Megan!" Miss Martian exclaimed. "Mr. Twister is Red Tornado in disguise! He's inorganic! An android! How many androids do you know that can generate tornadoes?"

"At least two!" Phantom stated as he flew up at Mr. Twister.

"Phantom, wait!" Kaldur shouted.

Phantom didn't wait, though. He followed through with his attack. He swung his ice sword at the android. Mr. Twister merely dodged. He then sent a large gust of wind at Phantom. The halfa followed his own advice though, and moved away from the android as quickly as possible.

Using his own experiences from fighting his old foe Vortex, Phantom managed to dodge all the tornadoes and blasts of wind sent at him. Unfortunately, his blasts of ice and sword strikes could not get past the wall of wind protecting Mr. Twister. He couldn't get in close enough to hit the machine.

'Crap! I can't fight him like this!' Phantom mentally growled. If only he could spread out his ice energy more…

"Phantom! Stop! It's Red Tornado!" Kid Flash yelled up at the halfa.

"No, it's not!" Phantom roared as he lunged back to avoid a tornado. He sent a blast of ice energy at Mr. Twister to break his concentration.

"Red, we know this is a test!" Kaldur shouted. "We will not indulge you!"

"You can stop with the act!" Superboy glared.

"You think I'm Red Tornado? Ironic." Mr. Twister noted as he blasted Phantom back with a large gust of wind. "Tell me, can Red Tornado do this?"

Mr. Twister raised his arms. Twin tornadoes flew into the sky. Dark clouds formed. The wind increased. Lightining blasted all around.

"An impressive show, but we will not engage!" Aqualad shouted.

"Idiots! Move!" Phantom yelled down to them, but it was too late. Lightning came crashing down...

…Only to completely miss the team of young heroes and hit the nearby trees…

"What?" Superboy looked up in shock. Phantom had struck Twister right before he sent down the attack. This had diverted the attack enough to miss the team. Not only that…three Phantoms were fighting Mr. Twister.

"Ah!" All the young heroes cried as non-painful blasts of ectoplasm sent them back. Kid Flash was the first to react. "Dude, what are you doing?!"

"Getting you out of the way." Phantom stated. "Standing there like that was going to get you all killed. My duplicates will stall Twister and we're at a safe enough distance now."

"Safe enough for what?" Robin questioned.

"For you to get a wake up call." Phantom stated. "So…What the hell are you guys are you guys doing?"

"…What?" Aqualad stared.

"You ignored the civilians. You obviously tried to fight Twister without a plan. And you're letting your stupid feelings and insecurities about this team get in the way of a fight." Phantom stated.

"We might have helped you if she-" Superboy's angry blame was stopped by Phantom.

"Now is not the time for the blame game! We have an enemy that we have to fight, and my duplicates won't last much longer. If we want to win against this guy…as a team…we need to cooperate." Phantom stated.

Everyone was silent.

"No one person here is at fault, but I can tell you this, you guys can either help me come up with a plan, or you can go to the Bioship. Because I refuse to be embarrassed in front of the super villain! That's my top rule!" Phantom stated.

"Yes. You are right." Aqualad conceded.

"We need a plan, then." Robin noted.

"We can use your strategy from before. Move in and out quickly. Beat him with small wounds." Wally suggested.

"Would that work?" Superboy questioned.

"That plan was for a one-on-one fight, or with a few people." Phantom stated. "We can modify it, though."

"How?" M'gann questioned.

"Robin and Kid Flash are the most agile and quick. They can move in and out and be a distraction. Superboy, Aqualad, and I are the heavy hitters. We look for openings and strike when the time is right. M'gann, you can use your powers to try and stop the wind and give us support. If one of us gets in too much trouble, pull our asses out of there." Phantom stated.

"Sounds plausible." Aqualad stated.

"Good, because my duplicates just got destroyed." Phantom turned to see Mr. Twister directing his attention at them.

"Let's do this…" Superboy growled.

Spirit had to say. This had to be one of the weirdest fights she had ever been in. Yep, it had to be at least in the top 5.

…Well, the clowns might have made go up to the top three actually…Okay, it was probably number one.

"Well, this is fun!" Spirit yelled as she punched a demonic clown in the face.

"For once, I agree." Rachel used her magic to send the various circus freaks sparwling.

"I should have dressed as a ring master!" Youngblood noted. His sword cut through the fake beings and made them disappear into smoke.

"How are you doing, Nyx?"

"…"

"Nyx?!"

"…"

"Stay focused, child!" Fright Knight cut through the clowns that were about to strike Spirit's unprotected back. "They may be weak, but they outnumber us!"

"Yeah, but Nyx isn't answering!" Spirit yelled.

"I know where she is! She is fine! Keep fighting!" Fright Knight's flaming hair spread out and began to consume the area.

Suddenly, however, the flames began to change. The once burning purple fire was now fragile cracked rocks. Freakshow smiled as he lowered his gauntlet covered arm. "So sorry, but I'm getting bored with the show. Now let's move on to the next act!"

Freakshow raised his gauntlet into the air. It began to glow…when Nyx suddenly latched onto the deranged man. "What!? Get off me, stupid child!"

"No! Not until you tell me what you meant!" Nyx screamed. "You're not lying! I know it! What did you mean exactly!?"

"Lydia!" Freakshow ordered.

The green skinned ghost instantly obeyed. She grabbed the shadow ghost and pulled her off Freakshow. Nyx obviously didn't like this. "Let go of me, Pin Head!"

"Let go of her!" Spirit broke away from her group. She flew at full speed at Lydia. Her fists glowed green as she prepared to strike the circus ghost.

"No no no…" Freakshow waved his gauntlet covered hand. Spirit was instantly frozen in mid-air. "Can't have that now. After all, I just got my bargaining chip."

The circus ringmaster smiled as he circled the girl. "You're related to that blasted Phantom, no? Then he would be quite upset by your demise…Excellent! But he will be even more upset if you suffer…"

Spirit screamed out as pain surged through her. It felt like the air itself was trying to crush her. Every part of her body seemed be constricted. Yet there was nothing she could do. She couldn't will herself to move. The hafla was helpless.

"Oh, you look like you're going to cry? What is it, little girl? Are you sad? Afraid? In despair?" Freakshow mocked.

Spirit tried not to give him the satisfaction of flinching. She really really did. In the end, though, she couldn't stop it. The pain was stopping her mental resistance.

"Oh you are? You hate to feel powerless. How-" Freakshow was interrupted by a sword being slashed at his head. He instantly raised his gauntlet to protect himself. Soul Shredder hit the gauntlet with a clank.

"Unhand her!" Fright Knight growled angrily. "She is under my protection, and I won't hesitate to kill you to keep her from harm!"

Freakshow struggled against the sword. Luckily, the Reality Gauntlet greatly boosted his strength. Unfortunately, with his focus being on the Fright Knight's attack, Freakshow couldn't concentrate enough to use the gauntlet. It was one of the greatest weaknesses of the gauntlet without the code…

"Lydia! I need assistance!" Freakshow desperately yelled.

He got it alright. Lydia basically tackled him. She didn't stop there, though. The green skinned ghost began to pull him away as quickly as possible.

"What in blazes are you doing!?" Freakshow shouted. "What about the prisoner?!"

Lydia pointed back at where she was previously.

A tall, blue shinned female ghost was how where Lydia once stood. In the two of the ghost's four arms was Nyx. Like Nyx, the ghost holding the child was wearing Greek armor and a long skirt. On her head was a helm that still allowed everyone to see her scowling red eyes and purple hair.

Pandora had arrived.

"HOW DARE YOU!?" Pandora roared. "YOU TRY TO HARM MY CHILD?! I SHALL DESTROY YOU!"

"Oh…" Freakshow deflated. "I apologize. You judgment was correct.

The odds were already bad against them. The Fright Knight would have pushed them to the limits even with the Reality Gauntlet. Add in another S-rank ghost? They didn't stand a chance, especially without the gauntlet's full power.

"Perhaps we should retreat…" Freakshow flicked his wrist at the ghosts. The wind flew up dust all around them. They were now hidden from view. "But dramatically!"

Lydia's tattoos came to life. They swarmed all around them. In an instant, the duo was gone.

After the dust died down, the circus tent they were in began to change. The sky returned. The ground was now covered in grass. Lake Eerie had returned.

"Pandora…" Fright Knight stated as sheathed his sword. "You are here…"

"Of course. You think I don't have this place watched as well." Pandora frowned as she placed her child on the ground and approached the knight. "I was surprised that one the Ghost Zones most wanted people attacked my child and her friends…He will pay."

"That we can agree on…" Fright Knight growled. "Forgive me for being unable to protect her properly."

Pandora yelled. "You were up against the Reality Gauntlet. No one man can hope to overcome it, besides you bought time for me to come here."

"We must take measures to make sure this does not happen again." Fright Knight stated.

"Agreed." Pandora nodded.

Back with the children, Rachel and Youngblood approached their friends. The magic user questioned. "Are you two alright?"

"Arg! That was quit the rumble." Youngblood noted.

"Whatever…I'm fine." Nyx huffed. She glared at her mom. The shadow user would get answers.

"What about you, Dani?"

"I…" Spirit remembered the feelings of helplessness. "I don't know…"

(Play: You're Gonna Go Far Kid by the Offspring)

After coming up with a workable plan, the team quickly turned the tides against the wind user. Mr. Twister needed to focus in order to create tornadoes and electricity. They made sure never to give him that time to concentrate.

Kid Flash quickly bumped into the android before he could react. The blow caused the android to be put off balance. He stumbled back and tried to right himself.

"Hehehehe…" Robin's laugh filled the air. His shuriken hit the machine straight in the back. The machine didn't have time to remove them. The wind generating machine was blown forward by the explosions.

Before Mr. Twister could right himself, Superboy was there to meet him. The Kryptonian clone hammer striked the android into the hard ground below. Superboy didn't stop there, though. He followed though and sent a barrage of punches into Mr. Twister.

Tired of this barrage, Mr. Twister then used a tornado to send Superboy flying. The Kryptonian cloe didn't go far though. Miss Martian caught Superboy mentally and then sent the clone back to the android. With the combined power of Superboy's strength and Miss Martian's telekinetic force, Mr. Twister was sent flying away.

Aqualad was there to meet him. The Atlantian used his Water Bearers to form a large hammaer. He then swung the concentrated water as he yelled a battle cry. "Hah!"

After a moment, Twister was once against pushed into the ground. A green blast of energy stopped a lot of his energy and caused the android to slide to a halt. Phantom floated away from the android just in time to avoid being caught up in a powerful blast of wind.

"I will admit, you have skill." Mr. Twister pushed himself to his feet. He was covered in dents and cracks. "But this farce must end."

"I agree!" M'gann's eyes glowed as she mentally threw a bolder at the android.

A tornado destroyed the bolder. "Please, as if that would-"

"Yah!" Kid Flash ran up and drop kicked the android.

"Futile!" Twister was about to blast Wally, but Phantom intervened. The halfa used a ball of ectoplasmic energy to stop the android.

Superboy used this distraction to grab the android. He sent several powerful punches at the machine's midsection. The last blow sent the android flying.

Miss Martian then used her telekinesis to force the machine into the ground. The android struggled to stand under the pressure. He then tried to form a tornado to attack the heroine.

Luckily, Robin stopped him. He landed a flying side kick to the android's head. In a flurry of movement, the Boy Wonder dropped smoke pellets and jumped away.

"Pointless." Twister used his wind to dismiss the smoke. He then found out the point of the move. It wasn't to completely stop his vision. No, the smoke was to give the team a few precious seconds.

Phantom ran up to the android from the front. An ice broadsword was in his hands. Aqualad ran from behind the android. His Water Bearers were in the form of a sword. The intent of the two young heroes was clean.

Phantom gritted his teeth as he forced as much energy into his sword as he could. The fight had drained him significantly…far more than he would like to admit. This would be the last big attack he could do. If this failed, he didn't know what he would do…

Luckily, it didn't fail. Phantom's sword cut through Twister's right arm. Aqualad's water sword sliced off the left arm. The now useless hunks of metal fell to the ground.

Phantom had to fight not to do an 'you just lost your arms joke.'

"Looks like you've just been disarmed!"

…He failed…

"Fools, I don't need-" Twister was cut off when Superboy landed on him.

The Kryptonian clone grabbed onto of the android's legs. Kid Flash hurried over to the android and worked on the other leg in a blur of motion. In a moment, Superboy ripped off one leg while Wally managed to disconnect the other.

"He's unlegged, too!...Dang it, you took the good one, Phantom." Wally grumbled.

"I don't apologize for my comments during a fight." Phantom stated. He and the entire team began to approach the downed android.

"Foul!" Mr. Twister's chest opened. A man was sitting in a control area of the android. "I call foul!"

"You don't get to call anything." Phantom grabbed the man by the throat. "…M'gann, can you read his mind."

"…No…"

"I see." Phantom's hands fazed into the 'man's' chest. "You're an android..."

"What are you doing?" Wally questioned.

"Checking for an explosive or inner weapon." Then, a moment later, Phantom stated. "Nothing."

"Please, let me go!" The fake man pleaded.

"Okay, then. Superboy, can I borrow your foot?"

"Gah!" The fake man cried as Superboy's boot stepped on his metallic head and pushed it into the ground.

"Don't act like you can feel pain." Phantom knelt down. "Why is a robot piloting an android? Isn't that redundant?"

"…Then you don't see the big picture…" The men said. He just stared at Phantom. Then, a moment later, the man went slack. If he was human, he would have appeared to be unconscious, but because he was inorganic…

"He deactivated." Wally noted as he examined the machine.

"We need to examine this at the cave." Aqualad stated.

"I'll check to make sure there's no foreign software or tracking device…" Robin pulled out his wrist computer and began to scan the machine.

Crack! The team looked to see the robot's head crushed by Superboy's foot.

"What?"

"…I guess that works too…" Robin sighed.

"Cool!" Wally knelt down and picked up the robot's eyeball. "Souvenir!"

"This thing was clearly meant to find you. It's too similar to you to be a coincidence." Phantom stated to Red Tornado. They had returned to the Cave with the broken androids. "The questioned is…why?"

"It must have been a seek and destroy mission." Aqualad noted.

"Either that, or capture." Wally suggested.

"Agreed." Red Tornado nodded.

"Either way, you should be on guard." Phantom examined the machines on the table. "You never know when something like this could happen again."

"Noted." Red Tornado acknowledged. "I shall be on the lookout for similar threats."

"Good." Phantom looked over at the android. "Thanks for not interfering, by the way. I prefer to solve my own problems…or in this case, the team's problems."

"Why didn't you come to help?" M'gann questioned with the tilt of her head.

"This was your battle. As Phantom stated, you shouldn't rely on me to solve your problems, and I shouldn't rely on you to solve mine." Red Tornado explained.

"But if you're in danger…" M'gann stated.

"This matter is closed." Red Tornado began to walk away.

Wally and Robin walked up to Phantom. The speedster stated. "Batman, Aqualad, and Flash…They'd have jumped right in to fix things."

"Yeah." Robin agreed. "Guess if we're going to have a babysitter, a heartless machine is exactly what we need."

"Dude! Harsh…"

"And inaccurate. I have a heart. Carbon steel alloy." Red Tornado stopped and turned around. "I also have excellent hearing."

Phantom chuckled. "Awkward."

"Would you please stop with that?" Wally rolled his eyes.

"The moment you guys stop saying stupid and disrespectful things like that, I will." Phantom stated.

"Fine…"

As the others walked off, Phantom continued to examine the remains of Mr. Twister and the android piloting it. It wasn't the first time he fought a wind user, but it seemed a lot different than fighting Vortex. The team made it so the fight was much easier. Nevertheless, they needed to get on the same page if they wanted to avoid losing badly.

Spirit and he had a lot of time bonding and spending time with each other before they partnered up. Then, they constantly trained to improve their teamwork. That was why they worked so well with each other. They had experience and trust. This team…did not have that.

Phantom looked at the group. To make this work, he would need to invest time and energy. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to fight with them. But the question was…Was he willing to invest in this team?

They were rather unusual people. Phantom could tell that they each has some sort of baggage, but it wasn't like he could talk. He had his own problems like the rest of them, but would those problems impact the group? It most likely would.

The smart thing to do would be to quit the team before the first mission, but…Phantom remembered fighting Mr. Twister with them. It had been exhilarating. Not to mention, that when he was with them, he felt like a teenager for once. He felt normal.

Phantom hadn't realized how much he missed that feeling of normality.

So, he made his choice. "Hey!"

The team turned.

"I don't want to bell all bossy, but maybe it would be a good idea to do team training and drills? You know, to make sure we don't get killed?"

The team shared a look. Phantom already knew their answer.

"Let's start tomorrow, okay?"

Spirit frowned as she looked up at her brother. "You're late."

"Sorry, I ran into a Red Tornado wannabe." Phantom explained as he approached Lake Eerie. "So, Freakshow showed up?"

"Yes. He was after Pandora's daughter." Fright Knight explained. "He appeared to want the access code to the Reality Gauntlet."

"Yeah, I heard about that." Phantom looked over to Plasmius who was standing by his adoptive daughter. "Why would he think that Pandora would know it?"

"Perhaps he didn't." Plasmius suggested. "The King's Advisers might just know how to gain access to the code, though."

"You were a part of that group." Phantom noted. "Is that true?"

"We know a few possible ways…maybe." Fright Knight shrugged. "Rumors, legends, things like that. We are quite old."

"He wanted to use Nyx as leverage." Spirit frowned.

"That was because Pandora is the only one of the Pariah Dark's old advisers that has such a…vulnerability like a child." Fright Knight stated. "For the rest of us, he would have to attack us directly."

"And that's not smart." Plasmius noted. "But this couldn't have been his first option. Getting on Pandora's bad side is a bad idea."

"Yes, she…borrowed Wulf and Cujo to try and find him." Spirit snorted. "I don't think it will work, though."

"He must be going down the list from best options to worst options." Phantom sighed. "Eventually, he might find the code…I should tell the League about the real nature of the Reality Gauntlet, and the danger that Freakshow could cause." Phantom suggested.

"No. If that information would to get out into the public, everyone would be after that blasted thing." Fright Knight snarled. "But they don't understand the consequences of altering reality. The only one that truly knows the consequences would be the Ghost Writer or that genie ghost that passed on. But I do know that it could leave to worldwide destruction."

"Fine." Phantom sighed. "Then it will be up to Vision to find him."

"No, the gauntlet will hide him from everyone unless he wants to be found." Fright Knight stated. "We will have to wait for him to act first."

"Oh, joy."

Bonding Moment: Robin

"Okay…how about unruly? It means unorganized, so ruly should mean organized, but no one uses it." Phantom suggested as he and Robin waited for the others in the Cave.

"That works, but I think it's in the dictionary." Robin stated.

"So is whelmed." Phantom noted.

"Alright, then. Disintegrate." Robin shrugged.

"I've heard people say integrate."

"Then you do one."

"Infatuate?"

"Fatuated…Ha! That's hilarious. How about uncanny?"

"Nice! Disaster?"

"Invested."

"Fricassee!"

"What?" Robin raised an eyebrow. "That doesn't work like the other words."

"I know." Phantom admitted. "But it's a fun word to say."

"Hehehehehe…" Robin chuckled. "I guess it is. It doesn't sound all that great either. I bet it'll be considered profane in like forty years."

"We can only hope."

A few minutes later, the rest of the team arrived. You can imagine their surprise when they saw Phantom and Robin laughing while rolling on the ground. Despite their teammate's prying, though, the duo refused to tell them what was so funny.

It was an inside joke.

Unlike the last chapter, most chapters won't have the same name of the episode its based off of. Why did I change it? I don't know. I wanted to.

A lot of information was hinted at in the Freakshow part of the chapter. The secrets of the Reality Gauntlet are not that well known. Oh, and before you ask. To those that picked it up. Yes, it is who you are thinking of. I love the "In Blackest Night" story line.

Amity Park's actual location is unconfirmed. However, on Danny Phantom Wiki, the voice actor for Danny said something about it being in Minnesota, so I'm going with that.

*Okay, I have held off on this for a while, but I need to rant about this...*