Chapter 3: Warnings

Disclaimer: I own nothing

"The past speaks to us in a thousand voices, warning and comforting, animating and stirring to action."

Felix Adler

Chapter 3: "Warnings"

(Saturday-September 28, 2013)

The past two weeks could only be described as hell for the half-ghosts. In one day, everything seemed to begin to crash around them. Friends were maimed beyond recognition or taken control of. That was something that the half-ghosts could not let go. No one messed with their friends.

Unfortunately, they had no leads to finding Nyx, Youngblood, Clockwork's attackers, or even Dark Dan. That was troubling to say the least. Despite having every sensor and tracker active constantly, there was no trace of any of them. They had disappeared off the grid, and everyone was left in a constant state of worry. This was especially true in the case of Dark Dan. The alternate version of Danny was powerful enough to fight off Superman, smart enough to keep up with Batman, and cruel enough to make the Joker do a double take. Because of this, everyone's main focus was on his capture. This included Young Justice.

"Alright, Team," Phantom looked around at the old and new members of Young Justice, "As you can tell, we have some new recruits."

"I can see that. Three at once. I believe that is a new record," A tall dark skinned Atlantian man nodded. He had buzzed blonde hair, webbed hands and feet, and dark eel tattoos running down his arms. This nineteen year old man was Aqualad.

"Indeed," The deep voice of Batman sounded out as he stood beside his newest protégé. The Dark Knight wore a dark cowl with pointed ears and a cape connected to it. His uniform was dark gray with a yellow utility belt and a bat symbol on the front, "This is Robin."

"So, Robin the second?" Kid Flash joked.

"Tsk," A teen wearing a black and red body suit snorted. His hair was slicked to the sides. A domino mask covered his eyes, and black cape ran down his back, "More like Robin done right."

"I'll ignore that." Nightwing chuckled.

A tall dark haired woman stepped forward next. She was a rather muscular woman outfitted with a tiara, silver bracelets, and a red, white, and blue uniform that could be described as close to a bathing suit. Wonder Woman spoke, "I believe I shall go next. This is my little sister Donna Troy. She will be going by the name Troia."

"Greetings, dwellers of Man's World." A dark haired girl that looked just like the taller woman spoke. Unlike the older woman, this girl wore a red body suit that covered more of her body than her sister's uniform did. The only things exposed were her shoulders and arms. Yellow stars danced up the side of her clothing while a yellow belt with a large W hung to her hips. "It shall be a pleasure to work with thee…even the men."

"Donna!" Wonder Woman glared at her sister, "I told you, you need to respect both genders. We all work together as equals in this world."

"That's not what mother says…" Troia mumbled.

"Great…" Superboy whispered to the more veteran members of Young Justice. "A man hating Amazon. I can just tell that she's going to be fun."

Everyone, even the girls, had to nod at that. Young Justice, for the most part, acted like a completely equal and cohesive unit. They recognized their various differences, but it didn't bother any of them. Having outright discrimination thrusted in was going to be an experience to say the least.

"And our last member…" Phantom looked over to the tall man beside him. "Is Cyborg."

"Yeah…" The recently transformed Victor Stone nodded slowly. "Outside of missions, though, you can call me Victor."

Using every available technology available, the scientists of Axion Lab managed to get Victor to the point that he would live. Unfortunately, that meant that over half of his body was outfitted with blue and grey cybernetic armor and synthetic intestines to replace what was lost. The only part of Victor's real body that was visible was the right side of his face. Everything else was blue and grey pulsing armor that was thick enough to stop bullets with ease. Even Victor's left red glowing red eye was synthetic now.

While the procedure did manage to save the young man's life, Victor was obviously upset by what happened. In one day, he went from a genius jock with a bright and shining future to a cybernetic man that would forever be outcasted from the normal world. Of course, Danny did everything he could to allow Victor to live a normal life. The tech in Victor's armor had artificial nerves to allow him to feel when he wants to, special disguise tech could give him the appearance of a human, and no one interfered with what made Victor a man in the first place.

Nevertheless, Victor went into a rage when he awoke. He cursed almost everything, but nothing more so than his father. Victor, now Cyborg, called his father out and claimed that it was all Silas's fault. Silas was the one that started the test early. Silas was the one that ignored Danny's warnings. Silas was the reason that Victor was like this now. It was for these reasons that Victor forsook his father and stated that he would never forgive the older man.

Oddly enough, Victor…Cyborg held no ill will toward Danny. The teen claimed that Danny was the only one that tried to prevent this from happening to him and that Danny was the reason he was allowed even a small glimpse of what it was like to be normal again. Danny did argue that it was his machines and inventions that caused the incident. Victor's response was surprisingly wise.

"You didn't create you machines for them to be misused. It was my Dad that perverted what they were meant to be for. Inventions are made to better the world. It's wrong to blame the creators when other people use them incorrectly."

After this, Victor stuck close to the Phantom Family seeing as they were all odd themselves. But Danny didn't think that was enough, so he proposed giving Cyborg a chance to interact with people his own age that were a bit out of the norm themselves. The young man quickly agreed, and his parents would say yes to anything in order to get their son back in speaking terms with them. Cyborg had requested help in training hand to hand combat years ago, so the young man was already trained enough. Thus, after a few weeks of getting used to his new body, Cyborg was ready to be a member of Young Justice.

"Usually, I would start us all on some team drills, but we have missions to do." Phantom nodded to Batman. "So, we're going to do some 'on the field' bonding."

Various images popped around the Team and League members. They showed three different locations, the Ghost Zone, Atlantis, and a S.T.A.R. Labs location.

"Batman has offered to take coordination and monitor duty so that we can all go out in the field." Phantom explained. "Squad Alpha will be led by me. Nightwing, Kid Flash, Secret, Red Huntress, Zatanna, and Robin, we're going to be investigating Harm's breakout and what happened with Clockwork."

"Who's Clockwork?" Troia questioned.

"The ghost of time." Robin shrugged. He noticed he got weird looks. Usually, the 'freshman,' as they called the new guys, often never did their homework. "What? Batman briefed me on it."

"Yes, both Jason Blood and Doctor Fate are working together to try and locate them. Their work has been ineffective for the most part, but they did get something," Phantom pointed to the display's showing and underwater city, "They managed to locate faint traces of Nyx's and Klarion the Witch Boy's energy in Atlantis."

"What?!" Spirit perked up at that.

"Yeah, I thought you would be interested in that." Phantom noted, "Aqualad, you're leading a team of Aquagirl, Tempest, Spirit, Raven, and Cyborg to Atlantis. You three have the home turf advantage and those three have a big stake in this. I would send Secret too, but I thought she would want to deal with Harm."

Greta nodded. "Thank you." She turned to her friends. "You okay with that?"

"We'll be fine." Raven nodded.

"Yeah, underwater city…fun for the metal guy. Good thing my body's equipped with swimming equipment." Cyborg shrugged. "It will be great ignoring the rusting. But...We'll find out what happened to Nyx and get a chance to save her. So it'll be worth it."

"Yeah..." Spirit clenched her fists.

"Squad Gama," Phantom began. "M'gann, you'll be leading Artemis, Rocket, Superboy, Troia, and Dusk. Take Wolf and the Supercycle with you for help. We got information that a S.T.A.R. lab in New York will be attacked as the next target for the string of thefts. No one has a clue what the Shadows are up to, but we believe they're feeding the tech to the Brain, and whatever he's building can't be good."

"Understood." M'gann nodded.

"Any questions?" Phantom looked around. No one spoke up. "Alright. Dismissed."

"What's his status?" Phantom questioned to a large yeti like being beside him.

"Nothing has changed." The white haired beast with ice horns mentioned. The yeti ghost was large, muscular, and had a fake left arm made of ice. "He remains comatose."

The Land of the Far Frozen was a large domain in the middle of the Ghost Zone. The frozen wasteland did not have much, but it did have Frostbite and his people. They lived in ice huts and spent their lives guarding over the Infi-map, a map that could take someone anywhere in the Ghost Zone and some places in the human world. The only problem with the map was that it had a mind of its own and acted sporadically at times. They would have used it more for their problems, but the Infi-map could be blocked by magic and powerful barriers. Not only that, they didn't want to risk having such a powerful object fall into the wrong hands.

In the middle of the frozen village was the yeti people's surprising advanced medical facility. The Phantom Family had often used this place to heal after hard battles. This was the area that they took Clockwork. The Master of Time floated in a healing tube in order to recover, but nothing was working.

"Clockwork's one of the most powerful ghosts, right?" Kid Flash looked up at the floating ghost in the medical tube. "How was he even taken out?"

"Clockwork's main way of fighting involves freezing time. You find a way around that, you can beat him." Phantom explained as he looked over the medical charts. "And don't act like he's dead yet."

"Yes…" Secret was examining the other tubes around the room. The blonde ghost had healing abilities and was considered the medic of Young Justice. As such, she was always looking for ways to improve her powers and help save lives. "Every ghost has a fatal weakness. A way around their powers. Sometimes it's physical, sometimes it's emotional. You find that, then they're not much of a threat anymore."

"Oh?" Robin smirked at her. "And what's yours?"

"I despise fighting with a passion." Secret explained as she glanced at the new Boy Wonder.

"Dusk doesn't really like fighting either." Kid Flash mentioned.

"Yes, he prefers not to fight and tries to avoid it, but he can stomach it. I can't stand it. I hate hurting people." Secret sighed as she peered into her reflection in one of the tubes.

"Do not act like that is a bad thing, young one." Frostbite smiled kindly at the girl. "It is easy to hurt people. Very few have the gift of healing, though. Your distaste for violence is what makes you who you are."

"Well, I think you're in the wrong line of business," Robin spoke up. "A vigilante has to fight. If you don't, you'll get your ass kicked."

Kid Flash snorted. "Rob…man, that's weird calling someone else that…You haven't spared her yet. Secret is no pushover. She can handle herself even if she's better as a support role."

"Oh, really?" Robin seemed to light up in excitement.

"Calm down, kid." Phantom snorted and handed the charts back to Frostbite. "We'll have sparing matches soon enough."

"Awesome."

"Until then, though," Phantom turned and eyed the Boy Wonder. "You have to remain calm. Don't let your emotions guide your judgment. And always listen to what the senior members of Young Justice have to say."

"Is that why you put me on your squad?" Robin looked amused. "You want to keep me in line?"

"I read Batman's file on you, Robin." Phantom shrugged. "You have an attitude problem and serious issue with authority. I just want to make sure you know how this Team works."

"Don't worry you're ghostly little head." Robin crossed his arms. "I only give people a hard time if they haven't earned my respect. You, dear sir, earned my respect a long time ago."

"Good." Phantom nodded slowly. There always seemed to be a bit of a mocking tone in that kid's voice. It was both amusing and entertaining.

"Hey, I thought we were going after my br…Harm." Secret mentioned as her hands reached up to grasp the silver pendant around her neck.

"We are later, but Dark Dan is the bigger threat." Phantom noted. "Not only that, we think the Black Lanterns were the ones that attacked Clockwork. Double wammy."

"Is that why you sent Nightwing and the others to look at the Infi-map with that fire guy?" Kid questioned.

"Yeah. The Black Lanterns can usually hide themselves, but if they make a-"

"TORCH IS HERE! CAN SOMEONE GIVE TORCH A HELL YEAH!" The six foot two inch tall man with a dark tan had spiked up black hair with red highlights. His eyes were covered by blue sunglasses. This ghost was wearing a red vest over a black long-sleeved shirt and torn dark blue jeans. Black tennis shoes covered the ghost's feet. The ghost was wearing a chain necklace around his neck. Various rings were on each of the man's fingers. Simple silver piercings were in the man's ears, right eyebrow, and tongue…which was sticking out at them.

"Hell yeah!" Robin raised a fist to the air.

"Don't encourage him." Phantom sighed. "What is it, Torch?"

"We got a hit." Zatanna entered the room behind the fire ghost. She was followed by the rest of the members of squad Alpha. "Well, multiple hits really."

"Already?" Frostbite frowned. "My people have been monitoring the map for weeks and saw nothing."

"Torch is just lucky!" Torch grinned at them. "See, this is why Torch said that Torch should come by."

"Are you sure it's just not a distraction for your lack of prisoners and Ember's snooping around your prison?" Phantom questioned.

"Shut it, DP! Torch could kill you!" Fire danced around Torch. "Torch is not bored or cowardly! Torch just knows that these guys need to be caught! In fact, Torch will go get them by Torch's self!"

"I wouldn't get carried away." Red Huntress noted. "The guys we found are pretty tough. We better work together."

"What did you find?" Phantom questioned.

"There are three large signals." Nightwing sighed. "One in Atlantis, one in New York, and one in the Ghost Zone."

"What?" Phantom's eyes widened. "New York…Damn it. Gama…"

"What about the one in the Ghost Zone. We should deal with that first, then we can help Gama." Kid Flash mentioned.

"Look at you being all sensible." Nightwing chuckled. "Artemis has really beaten that into you."

"Dude! Not cool! And at least I can keep a girlfriend, man. Not like you, you dog. You have a new girl every other week." Kid Flash's face flushed.

"He does…" Zatanna chuckled at her old boyfriend's behavior.

"Enough of that." Phantom cut off any retort from Nightwing. "Torch, where is the signal in the Ghost Zone coming from."

"Not that far." Torch looked at the scroll Infi-map. "In fact, it was pretty damn…close…Oh, shit."

"What?"

"The map says that the energy signal is coming from this room."

With that said, the room was suddenly filled with explosions.

Atlantis was a city of beauty. The ancient architecture was covered in glowing coral and streaming seaweed. Atlantians and merpeople swam around the entire city and acted like it was nothing. Spirit, however, was in awe by the beauty. If she wasn't busy and underwater, she would take a sketch of the gorgeous city. She would just have to save that for later.

"Welcome to Atlantis." Tula, aka Aquagirl, smiled at the three visitors behind her. She was a beautiful woman with short trim red hair and piercing blue eyes. The thin woman wore a yellow tank top that showed her midriff, yellow fingerless gloves, and a short sarong-like cloth around her waist. "If not for the mission, I would love to give you a tour. I'm sure you would love our art gallery, Spirit."

"You bet!" Spirit's eyes lit up, but she quickly got control. While the girl did not need air to live while in her ghost form, she did need it to talk. That was why she wore an oxygen mask over her face. "But first we have to find Nyx."

"Right. Do not worry. We shall find your friend and what exactly is going on." Garth, aka Tempest, looked back at them. He was a muscular young man wearing a skin tight black and blue shirt and black pants. His long dark hair was pulled up into a pony tail.

"Good. Then can we get out of here?" Raven grumbled. To withstand the pressure of the deep ocean, she covered herself in dark magical energy shaped like a raven. Her face was visible, but it was protected from the water by an invisible force. "I thought the bottom of the sea would be dark. This place is brighter than up on the surface. It's giving me a headache."

"Must you always be so droll, Raven?" Tula questioned. "Atlantis is a beautiful city, and very few non-Atlantians have had the pleasure of seeing it."

"Whatever…" Raven grumbled. While Tula was a kind and caring person, she was a bit too chipper and bright for Raven's taste. Sure, Spirit was cheerful, but not to the sickening degree and almost self-righteous way that Tula was. Raven could only deal with the red-head with so long without losing it.

"What's our first move?" Cyborg looked over to Aqualad as they were led through the halls of the palace. Because he still needed air despite his modifications, Cyborg had an oxygen mask over his face. His new body did deal with the pressure problem, though.

"First, we will report to King Orin." Aqualad explained. "He knows of our mission and shall give us direction."

"Alright." Cyborg nodded. Jets that came out of his back allowed him to keep up with the more mobile members of his squad.

Beta Squad quickly made their way through the palace filled with water. All three of the surface dwellers were impressed by the designs, not that Raven would ever admit it. In fact, each one of the three outsiders were curious about the different aspects of Atlantian culture, but they had to remain focused on the task at hand.

Once they arrived in the throne room, all three of the native Atlantian members of Young Justice gave an odd, closed fist solute to the people sitting up on the thrones. "Your Majesty, we have arrived for our mission."

"I see that, welcome." Aquaman smiled as he rose from his throne. He was a tall, blond, muscular man. His shirt was covered in orange scales while his pants were covered in green scales. A golden trident was held in his right hand.

"Hey, Aquaman." Spirit waved at the Leaguer.

"Er…Should we bow? I mean, when in Rome…" Cyborg mentioned.

"I'm not bowing to anyone," Raven muttered.

"Hahahahahahaha!" Aquaman laughed. "Hello, Spirit, Raven. And you…must be Cyborg. Phantom mentioned you to me a few days ago. I welcome you all to my home. This is my wife Mera and my son Arthur."

"Greetings." A slender woman with long red hair smiled at them. A golden grown was on her forehead. Her clothes were rather revealing with the green bikini top and the green sash around her waist. A blond haired two year-old boy sat in her arms. "It is a pleasure to meet some of the surface dwellers my students speak so highly of."

"They must not have mentioned me," Raven rationalized.

"We did…but not as much." Tula chuckled. "We do not wish to depress our queen."

"…Fair enough." Raven shrugged.

"Not to be rude, but can we cut the chitchat for now, please?" Spirit questioned. "I want to go see my friend."

"Ah yes…" Aquaman swam up to them. "The energy disturbance at the edge of the city. I'm having my soldiers look into it as we speak. You are welcome to go there and move about my city freely."

"Thank you, your majesty." Cyborg bowed his head.

"Think nothing of it, young ones." Aquaman smiled. "If something happens, I will come to assist, but I need to make sure that my wife and child is safe first."

"I can take care of myself, Orin." Queen Mera chuckled.

"Better safe than sorry, my love." Aquaman noted. "Normally, I would have Orm guard you, but he's away on a political trip. With him gone, I must guard you myself. It would kill me if anything were to ever happen to either of you."

Gama squad was hidden just outside the S.T.A.R. Labs facility in New York City. Miss Martian and Superboy were disguised as regular people. Artemis was hiding up on a nearby building to give her a sniper's point of view. Dusk was hiding in the area by using his invisibility.

Rocket was up in the Martian Bioship. The red and black ship was slick in design. The center seemed to be like a large pod with wings coming out the side. Inside the ship with Rocket was Troia, Wolf, and Sphere the Supercycle. Troia was there because she lacked experience with stealth. Wolf and Sphere, the 'pets' of Young Justice, on the other hand stood out too much. Wolf was a genetically modified white haired wolf the size of a small bear. Sphere was alien technology that could transform into a flying motorcycle.

'Why do you let that ghost man lead you?' Troia questioned through the mental link established by Miss Martian. 'You could lead the team just as well as any man.'

'Girl, you don't get it.' Rocket's voice sounded through the link. 'None of us want his job. Danny's job sucks.'

'Amen.' Artemis snorted.

'I certainly don't want it.' M'gann smiled.

'Ah, I see. You allow him to have the job to make your life easier.' Troia nodded to herself.

'It's not that,' M'gann briefly looked up to the camouflaged Bioship. 'Danny does a great job as leader. I was part of the original group that decided that he should lead, and we've never regretted it. He's always pulled us through hard times.'

'Besides, he's more patient with people than most of us are.' Artemis mentioned from her sniping spot. Her bow and arrows were out and ready to go. 'He has to deal with a lot of conflicting personalities. And when newbies show up, he has to delegate teams so there isn't too much friction during the adjustment.'

'What do you mean?' Troia questioned.

'She means that Dusk and I don't care about your sexist comments.' Superboy grunted. 'He doesn't let anything bother him, and I really don't give a damn about the battle of the sexes.'

'Sexist? How is what I say sexist?'

'It works both ways, Troia.' Rocket mentioned. 'Yes, men can be pigs and take advantage of women, but trust me when I say that women can be far crueler than men when they want to be.'

'If you want to be on this Team, then you have to accept both genders and realize that they are equal. We all have our roles to play, but no one role is more important than another. If we don't work together, then we will fail.' M'gann noted.

'Yeah, and all that's coming from the girl that bakes cookies and makes sandwiches.' Artemis joked. 'Talk about stereotypical gender roles…'

'I do that for everyone, not just the guys. Besides, you eat the cookies too.' M'gann's face flushed.

'That is…not a lie.'

As this conversation was going on, Dusk scanned the area. Truth be told, he didn't care about Troia's point of view. She could dislike men all she wanted for all he cared. As long as it didn't interfere with the mission, he didn't give a damn. Of course, that was his attitude on a lot of things.

That was why he was on this mission in the first place, though. Simple words would never get under the youngest halfa's skin. He has endured far worse than a few pathetic insults. It was easy to see that was the reasoning as to why he was placed in this squad. Phantom wanted to ease Troia into accepting male teammates. Dusk's and Superboy's indifference on the issue made them ideal for helping the Amazonian woman. The other men on Young Justice might make things worse. Kid Flash had a perverted sense of humor. Nightwing was a player. Robin and Cyborg were too raw. The Atlantians and Phantom himself were plausible choices, but they were needed for other missions.

Still, this was not Dusk's ideal mission. He would prefer something that didn't have to deal with the League of Shadows. He had a bad history with them, and the teen wasn't even exactly sure what the history really was. Originally, the youngest halfa thought that he was merely taken in by the Shadows at a young age because of his talent and potential. It was only after being excommunicated and rescued from the monstrous Ghoul Project that he would find out that he was actually the son of the Shadow's leader Ra's Al Ghul.

Now that was turn Dusk never saw coming. A few years ago, Talia Al Ghul, Ra's daughter, tried to re-recruit Dusk back into the Shadows by putting him in situations that would require Dusk to kill. Apparently, the entire reason Joel was even put in the Ghoul Project was because Ra's was sure that he would live, be hardened, and come back to eventually take over the Shadows. The teen would be lying if he said that the plan didn't have merit. Dusk almost did break his personal vow of never killing more than once, but he remained strong. He was sure that Ra's and Talia weren't going to give up any time soon, though.

'…I found one.' Dusk finally spoke up in the mental link. 'M'gann, at your five o'clock.'

'…Jinx.' M'gann looked through the crowd.

'Yeah. What are your orders? Do you want me to get the jump on her?' Dusk questioned. He was probably the only one in Young Justice besides Nightwing that could get close to the girl without her noticing.

'You think you can do it without anyone getting injured?' Superboy questioned.

'Yes. I can stun her so she won't be able to lash out.' Dusk answered.

'Do it.' M'gann ordered.

'Right.' Dusk carefully made his way over to Jinx. Despite his invisibility and intangibility, he might be detected. Jinx always had some sort of six sense.

Getting close to the woman, Dusk got a good look on the assassin that was actually a companion to Danny. The woman was moderately tall. Her black hair was long and silky. With a soft and curvy form and a beautiful heart shaped face, Jennifer Savage was incredibly attractive. This was her normal form too. Her combat form could arguably be considered even more stunningly beautiful than her civilian form.

This villain had an odd relationship with the Phantom Family, or Danny more specifically. Originally, Jinx was assigned to seduce and grow close to Danny Fenton. The only problem was that she grew to care for Danny. So, even when they found out each other's secrets, they still tried to make their friendship work. Of course, Dusk knew that Jinx wanted something more intimate than friendship.

Despite this odd relationship, Jinx was not above the law. Even Danny had to admit that they couldn't give her exceptions. As such, if Jinx got caught, she wouldn't get out because of her connections to Danny. Of course, her connections to her father Vandal Savage might help…if she ever got caught. Jinx was a veteran at this after all, and she proved it yet again.

"Sorry, kid, but that won't work." A man said quietly from behind Dusk. The halfa recognized the voice, but he could do nothing to stop the incoming attack. In a blaze of green, Dusk was sent sprawling.

The affect was instantaneous. The crowd panicked, began to scream, and ran away. That was good, though, considering the fight that was about to happen. No one wanted them to get caught up in it.

Quickly jumping back up, Dusk glared at his attacker. "Deathstroke."

"Hello, ghost." The man in the bronze and black armor lowered his ecto pistol and pulled out his sword. The left side of his mask did not have a hole for an eye, and a long white pony tail hung out the back of the mask. "Ra's has high hopes this time. Shall we begin your next test?"

"Son of a…" Phantom grunted as he released Robin from his hold and lowered the shield he formed around them.

"T-thanks…" Robin muttered in awe at how fast Phantom reacted to the danger.

"Don't mention it." Phantom gathered energy to his hands and did a mild blast to dispel the smoke and snow in the air. "Is everyone okay!?"

"Great One!" Frostbite called from Clockwork's tube. He had created an ice shield around him and the Master of Time. "I believe your comrades exited the building during the explosion."

"Right…" Phantom nodded. He went to guard Robin, and the other regular human members of the squad were close enough to the exit to leave and avoid damage. Kid Flash was fast enough to escape on his own, and Secret had a few ways to leave as well. That meant that they were most likely all outside. "We need to go back them up."

"I shall stay here and guard Clockwork." Frostbite noted. "Go, help my-"

"RAW!" Several other yeti ghosts flew into the room. While they were not as large, powerful, or dangerous as Frostbite, they still had an instinctual viciousness about them.

"Woah!" Robin's eyes widened as the yeti ghosts began to attack them. The new Boy Wonder flipped over the ghost that attacked him and then rolled out of the way of the next yeti. He then pulled out shock shuriken and flung them at the ghost's unprotected backs. The ectoplasm empowered shuriken hit the backs of the creatures and electrocuted them, but the followers of Frostbite did not fall.

"Crap…" Phantom quickly activated his own cryokinetic powers. His eyes shined a neon blue as a chilling energy danced around him. He quickly used his abilities to freeze the yeti ghosts that were being electrocuted by Robin's weapons. The halfa then followed up by sending out a wave of freezing ectoplasm at his own attackers.

Frostbite growled as he froze his own attackers. "They're being controlled!"

"Ghosts being controlled…It has to be Harm…" Phantom clenched his fists. "And the only reason he would be here would be…The Infi-Map."

"Go stop him!" Frostbit roared as more of his followers flooded into the room. "I shall protect Clockwork! Please, try not to hurt my people too much!"

"Right." Phantom nodded and looked back to Robin. "Hold on, kid."

"Hold on to whAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" Robin's eyes widened as he was suddenly grabbed and pulled through the room. The new Boy Wonder was in shock by the speed at which Phantom weaved through the ghosts flying into the room. In a blur, the two of them were out of the room and into a miniature war zone.

"That was awesome." Robin smirked as Phantom let go of the teen.

"Stay sharp, Rob." Phantom noted. The halfa slid into a self-defense stance and looked around at the chaos that was the Land of the Far Frozen. Almost all of the yeti ghosts that lived here were going nuts. Along with them were several different skeleton ghosts that were dressed up as pirates. "Torch had the Infi-map last. So, Harm's going after him. If we head towards the fire, we'll find Torch and Harm. I need your help, though. Guard my back."

"Do you normally trust people so quickly?" Robin questioned skeptically. Not even Batman seemed to trust him so nonchalantly. It always seemed like everyone was automatically wary of him. Phantom's attitude surprised him.

"No, I don't trust regular people, but I always trust my teammates." Phantom stated with a quick glance to Robin. "You're part of Young Justice now, Robin. In this Team, we need to trust each other completely, or we might all die. Our trust in each other is what makes us strong. Remember that."

Chuckling, Robin reached to his utility belt and pulled out a metal tube. The tube extended into a staff with a subtle green glow. "Yeah. You got it."

"Then let's go." Phantom rushed forward with Robin right behind him. The halfa instantly went on the offensive to the various ghosts around him. Knowing that they were being controlled, Phantom decided to only use his cryokinetic power to subdue the ghosts because while humans would be killed by being frozen, a ghost could survive such an ordeal.

With a wave of his hands, Phantom formed several different ice broadswords that floated around him. The swords flew forward towards the enemies. As soon as the blades hit their targets, they instantly exploded in a wave of blue energy. This flash froze the different yeti and pirate ghosts hit by the swords.

While this was going on, Robin guarded Phantom's back. He used his staff to knock the different ghosts away from the duo. When he was about to be overwhelmed, Robin flung some shuriken that either exploded out with entrapment foam or electrocuted the various ghosts to stun them.

"Guys!" Phantom yelled as he and Robin saw the other members of Young Justice fight off the ghosts. "Work together and get to Torch! He's the target!"

"Easier said than done." Nightwing grunted. He used his electric batons and his extreme hand-to-hand combat abilities to fight of the ghosts. He flipped, kicked, and hit the ghosts on the left side of the battlefield into submission. "Harm seems to have purposely separated him from us. We've been trying to get back with him, but we can't get past these ghosts. It's going to take a lot to get to him."

"We need to work together!" Phantom grunted out. He formed massive ice claws around his arms and began to bat away and freeze the ghosts around him. "I'll try and lead the way. Everyone, give me some support!"

"Roger that, boss man!" With a mock solute, Kid Flash used his incredible speed to rush around the openings between the ghosts at the right side and smacked them upside the heads. Secret then used her white smoke to trap the distracted and outraged ghosts. The smoke quickly solidified and became almost like white foam that made sure that the ghosts wouldn't move.

"You got it! Evig Motnahp a tsoob!" Zatanna pointed her hands to Phantom. The magic user changed magic into the ghost. Normally, ectoplasm and magic was not very compatible. It often ended up exploding in the users face. Zatanna and Phantom were different, though. Years ago, Phantom gained experience channeling magic during his time bonded with Doctor Fate. Using this experience in practice with Zatanna, the two members of Young Justice could combine their energy. Of course, this kind of process couldn't work with any magic user because Phantom needed to have the same intentions and a strong bond with the user so there wouldn't be side effect, but when all the requirements were filled, the result was rather impressive.

Slamming his ice claws into the ground, Phantom channeled all his energy into his next attack. Giant spikes of ice spread out in front of him. The ice caught dozens of the ghosts and instantly froze them all. Then with a wave of his hand, Phantom spread the spikes of ice away and created an opening towards the blasts of fire that shined in front of him.

Seeing that the ground was dangerous, the remaining ghosts went into the air. This was exactly what Red Huntress had wanted, though. Using her special red and black surfboard glider, the ghost hunter had left floating ectoplasmic mines above the fighting. With the reaming ghosts in the air, Red Huntress quickly activated the mines by blasting one with her retractable wrist gun. Luckily, the mines were not explosive. Instead, they all connected with green ectoplasmic ropes. All of the pirate ghosts and yeti ghosts were instantly trapped in a massive green net.

Now free of the fighting, Phantom rushed forward. As he went, he grabbed onto Nightwing and Robin. It took only a few brief seconds to catch up to Torch's fight. The fire ghost looked beaten up and bloodied, but he was still fighting. One of his opponents was the mind controlled Youngblood. Luckily, the ghost was still in his child form so he wasn't a huge threat.

The real threat was Torch's second opponent. Harm was a tall pale man that seemed to be made up of lean muscle. His torn brown trench coat was opened to reveal his shirtless torso. His long dark hair fell over his shoulders, and three red scars ran down his face in an almost enraged manner.

Harm was wielding a broadsword of his own. Yellow electricity danced around the blade. Phantom could tell it was magic. That would explain how the normal human was able to keep up Torch. In fact, the magic seemed to be protecting him from the flames and allowing Harm to keep Torch in a deadlock. Torch used his special black and red flame scythe to stop Harm's attack. They were trying to outmuscle each other and seemed to be even. Unfortunately, Youngblood transformed his peg leg into an ectoplasmic cannon and was about to fire at Torch's unprotected back.

With a roar, Phantom spun around and flung the protégés of Batman to Torch's enemies. Robin flew to Youngblood with no trouble and kicked the child ghost away. Nightwing, on the other hand, tried to use his batons to strike Harm's head. Seeing this, the scared man used a kick covered in yellow electricity to push Torch away. Harm then blocked Nightwing's attack with his sword. Unfortunately for the human hero, the magical electricity in Harm's blade overpowered the electricity in the batons and began to shock the young man.

"I got your back, Jack!" Kid Flash rushed forward and elbowed Harm in the ribs. The force of the blow caused the scared man to grunt out in pain and skid back several paces. This delay allowed the rest of the members of Alpha squad to catch up and surround the villain and his mind controlled henchman.

"Hehehe…" Harm chuckled as he stood upright. "The its are not bad. But the its fail to bring forth any real harm."

"Oh Merlin…" Zatanna face palmed. "Are you really still using puns with your name? That's so sad."

"The it should not mock Harm, or Harm shall kill it." The scared man glared at the magician.

"Oh, you can try, psycho, but let's see how far you get." Red Huntress floated off to the side. Rocket launchers jumped out of her shoulder padding and pointed at the sword wielder.

"Hmm…" Harm looked around at the various heroes around him. "Yes, this situation does not favor Harm…Especially with the Secret it here…"

"Brother…" Greta gave her insane brother a look of pity. Her right hand began to fiddle with her silver amulet.

"Do not look at Harm in such a way! Harm is pure again! Harm's master made it so that Harm's purity will no longer be shaken by the Secret it!" Harm snarled.

"Give up, Harm." Phantom warned. "You can't win this fight. We outnumber you."

"This is true. This is not a good battlefield for Harm, but Harm does not plan to fight here." Smirking, the psychopath raised his left hand to reveal the Infi-map.

"What?" Torch reached into his coat only to find nothing. "He must have taken it from Troch during the fight!"

"That's right…" Harm raised the Infi-map while plunging his sword into the ground. A magic circle appeared around all of the fighters in the immediate area. "Infi-map, take us to Harm's master! Take us to Magaine le Fey!"

And with that, they all disappeared in a flash of green.

Beta squad made it to the area where Nyx's energy was sensed to see a very strange sight. A large shadow cat was fighting against the Atlantian guards. The massive beast seemed to be pushing the guards back with relative ease. The armor wearing Atlantians with magical spears were sent back when the demonic cat let out a roar which caused black electricity to spark through the water and shock the soldiers.

"Perhaps we should have asked for the King's assistance…" Tempest muttered.

"I recognize that shadow cat." Raven mentioned as she observed the monstrous cat. "Nyx creates those things…only smaller."

"Yeah, I've never seen her create one so bit." Cyborg held up his left arm. A hologram popped up over his cybernetic arm and began to scan the ectoplasmic beast. "Hot damn! The energy readings on that thin are unreal! According to my scanners, it appears to be made up of magic and ectoplasm."

"So she finally figured that out…" Spirit frowned. "Or…she was forced to figure it out."

"Either way, we need to stop that thing." Aqualad reached behind him and pulled out his curved Water Bearers. The weapons, fueled by magic, quickly lit up and formed blades of water. "Considering the monster's makeup, we will need to be careful. Spirit, Cyborg, and Raven seem to know it best. You three will work with me to take that thing down. Aquagirl and Tempest, give us some range support with your sorcery."

"Got it." Aquagirl nodded and swam off to the side. Tempest went to the other side. The two Atlantians activated their magic and began to send blasts and cyclones of water to the beast. That attacks distracted the shadow cat enough for the other four heroes to rush it.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" Raven used her specialized chant to gather her demonic magic around her. A blast of black and white swirling energy spread out and took the shape of a large bird. The bird then flew forward and rammed into the cat. The shadow cat was stunned, but it did not seem too injured.

The magical attacks from the first three members of Young Justice allowed the close range fighters to rush in. Rushing in to the shadow cat's right front paw, Aqualad used his magical Water Bearers to cut through the demonic feline's leg. At the same time, Spirit rushed in as well. Gathering ectoplasmic energy to her hands, Spirit activated her Spectral Claws. Green glowing claws extended from Spirit's hand several inches. The deadly sharp ectoplasmic blades easily cut through the shadow cat's front left paw.

Aqualad's and Spirit's combined attack caused the giant animal to lose its footing. The massive beast came tumbling forward. Black electricity danced around it. It was clear that the animal, knowing its defeat, was going to try to do some kind of kamikaze attack. The spread of the blast would likely wound or even kill several people. Luckily, Cyborg was there to stop it.

Using his jets to rush forward, Cyborg swam to the giant shadow cat's head. Many of the observers' eyes widened as Cyborg's right arm began to transform into a cannon. The futuristic cannon began to spark and glow. It was then that a large blue beam began to blast out. Just as this happened, Cyborg thrusted the cannon into the beast's mouth and yelled out a battle cry.

"Booyah!"

In a blaze of blue, the shadow cat's exploded out into thousands of pieces. The body of the beast then began to quickly fade away. The shadow retreated as if a giant light had shined down on it from above it. In mere seconds, there was nothing left.

"Amazing!"

"They took down the beast with ease!"

"Is this the power of the surface heroes?"

Ignoring the praise of the soldiers, Beta squad quickly regrouped. Aqualad spoke. "This place used to have a small art gallery, and now all that is left is a crater…Why would anyone attack this place?"

"A distraction?" Aquagirl suggested.

"That would mean they would be attacking somewhere else…" Tempest tensed in alertness.

"No, Nyx isn't that subtle. If she was going to attack some place, she would just do it. Even if she was being controlled by someone else, she wouldn't leave a fight scene like this. It's not in her nature." Raven mentioned.

"You're right. She had to target this place." Cyborg nodded. "But why? What did she have to gain?"

"She wanted to send a message." Spirit gasped out as blue smoke escaped from her mouth into her oxygen mask. "Isn't that right, Nyx?"

"Oh~ you noticed me, eh? Why am I not surprised?" A mockingly sweet voice sounded out. In a blaze of black electricity, a blue skinned girl appeared in front of them. Her long purple hair fell down behind her to her lower back. Her eyes were pure black and seemed to mock them. Black Greek armor covered her torso, shoulder, and arms, but red robes could be seen below the gaps in the armor. The robes pooled down to her feet, but were open enough to reveal the black pants and crimson Greeves that covered her lower half. "It's good to see you again, Girl Scout. Did you miss me?"

Dusk hated when everything seemed to go wrong. One moment, everything was fine. The next moment, his world was rocked to his core. This seemed to happen to him every week, and he despised it every time. For once, he wanted a mission that would go right without any complications. What that too much to ask for?

"You're open, Dusk!" A girl in golden and black armor chuckled. She took out an ecto pistol and shot Dusk in the side as he was fighting against Deathstroke. The force caused Dusk to go tumbling away.

Apparently, a simple mission was too much to ask for…

The girl who shot at Dusk, Ravager, wore armor similar to Deathstroke. There were only small differences in the armors. Ravager's armor was obviously build for her slimmer and lighter frame. Another difference was the fact that her mask allowed both her functioning eyes to glare at the halfa in front of her. The armor allowed Ravager's pure white hair to be pulled back into a pony tail just like Deathstroke.

"I didn't need your help." Deathstroke muttered as he brought his sword back into a defensive stance.

"It was orders, Father." Ravager mentioned. "We are supposed to push Dusk to the limit."

"And I can do that by myself." Deathstroke grumbled. "He's just a boy."

"Do not underestimate him, Deathstroke." A dark figure dropped to the other side of Deathstroke. "Do not forget, he is a ghoul and also the son of the Great One. His shear potential greatly outweighs all of us individually."

"Potential means nothing if it isn't utilized correctly, Black Bat." Deathstroke argued.

Black Bat, aka Cassandra Cain, wore a pure black body suit that covered her entire body to the point that no inch of skin was shown. The skin tight uniform was very similar with the Batman's attire. Her pure black mask had bat ear spikes and white eye wholes for seeing. A yellow utility belt was wrapped around her slim waist. The yellow bat symbol on her chest stood mockingly to all heroes. Almost everyone took Black Bat's look as an insult to Batman. The super villains thought it was hilarious, of course.

"So, the three of you were sent to fight against me, eh…" Dusk frowned. Using his special Matter Make ability to shape his ectoplasm into physical matter, Dusk created green nunchucku connected with a black chain. This special weapon's chain could extend and shorten at will and also could electrocute enemies they trapped. Dusk called them Pendulum Nunchucku. "Tell me, was this Ra's plan or Talia's?"

"Does it matter, ghoul?" Deathstroke readied his sword. "Either way, you're outnumbered and outmatched.

Dusk didn't want to admit it, but Deathstroke was right. These were three very skilled assassins, even if the girls were only in their teens. He couldn't fight all three of them and win…especially if he refused to use deadly force.

Looking around, the halfa knew that he probably wouldn't be getting backup. Four other assassins were there and fighting against the members of Gama squad. Not only that, they were enemies that would distract the other members of the squad for a while. The four assassins of Sportsmaster, Lady Shiva, Jinx, and Cheshire were holding back the team of Superboy, Miss Martian, Artemis, and Rocket.

…Wait…there was still…

"Halt!" Troia floated down to Dusk's side. "It is unjust to have such unfair numbers in battle! I shall battle by thy side, Dusk."

"Do you have to?" Dusk muttered under his breath, even though he knew that he needed her help.

"Oh?" Deathstroke chuckled at the sight of Troia. "Isn't that Wonder Woman's new brat?"

"I supposed it was only a matter of time before she joined the young hero club." Ravager rolled her neck and pulled out twin blades.

"She shouldn't bet too difficult." Black Bat noted. "I have studied Wonder Woman's fighting patterns. This girl is only a slower, weaker version of that."

"Shut thy mouth! Thou does not get to measure me by the battle prowess of my sister!" Donna Troy glared. "I shall use my own strength to defeat thee!"

"Be careful." Dusk warned. "These three are dangerous."

"I am aware of that. But I am rather dangerous myself!" Troia rushed forward. Dusk was quickly following behind her. The Amazon threw the first attack. She went for the person that held the biggest threat. Despite hating to admit that a male was better than two female warriors, Deathstroke had the most experience, strength, speed, and overall battle prowess. He needed to be dealt with first.

Unfortunately, Deathstroke was ready for Troia's strike. He knew that the Amazon had demigod strength, so he couldn't block the blow. Instead, he dodged the blow and went to cut down on the girl's head. The Amazon quickly reacted and used her nearly indestructible bracelets to block the blow.

With both her arms up, though, Troia was open to an attack. Both Black Bat and Ravager quickly reacted. The both went to strike the demigod girl. Ravager would use her blade, while Black Bat would use knives that she hid on her person. They were quickly stopped by Dusk, though. The halfa floated above them. He had swung and extended his nunchucku's chains the strike at the girls. They were forced to cancel their attacks and block.

Now free from danger, Troia could react. She twisted Deathstoke's blade and stabbed it into the ground. She then went to attack Deathstroke once more. The male assassin, though, was ready. He had already flipped over the blade and kicked the Amazon to the ground. Deathstroke then landed on the handle of his blade and used it to jump up to Dusk.

The male assassin flew towards Dusk was. Realizing the danger, Dusk shortened the chains in his nunchucku and went to counterstrike his attacker. Deathstroke quickly reacted and pulled out a staff to catch the chains of the other weapons. The halfa would have electrocuted the man, but the rubber in the staff negated the shock.

Twisting, Deathstroke went to kick the ghoul. Knowing that he was open, Dusk absorbed his current weapon and then shaped a giant shield. The pure black shield except for the DP logo in the center shield was completely round, but it was as large as the halfa's body. Dusk used his Reflect Shield to stop the kick and several of the staff blows that came after it.

Gravity quickly took hold of the assassin, and he fell to the ground. Dusk continued to point his shield at the man, though. The Reflect Shield began to glow and gather green energy at its center. It then released a blast of green energy at the man. Deathstroke had expected this, though, and threw a grenade up earlier to stop the blast before it got too close to him. The force did push him down faster, but he was unharmed when he landed.

While this was happening, Troia was having a hard time fighting off the team of Ravager and Black Bat. While the Amazon had more natural strength, the female assassins were lighting fast. With their combined teamwork and agility, they quickly pushed back Troia. Donna had to take several blow, luckily her endurance were far better than regular humans. She managed to survive until Black Bat and Ravager attacked at the same time. The assassins both swung their weapons at the Amazon, and Troia blocked with her bracelets.

Using her incredible strength, Troia pushed both the girls back with ease. Black Bat and Ravager went flying flew the air. It was only their grace and agility that allowed them to land on their feet and skid away to safety.

"Thou…are better than I thought." Troia grinned despite breathing heavily.

"Good job holding your own against them." Dusk floated down to his current fighting partner. "They aren't pushovers."

"It wasn't easy." Troia admitted. "And thou are impressive as well. Thy abilities are strange, but extremely effective."

"Getting a compliment from you?" Dusk snorted. "I guess I must have been pretty good then."

"Do not let it go to thy head." Troia frowned.

"I won't, in fact…" Dusk paused as he glanced around the battlefield.

"What is it?"

"I just noticed…Sphere and Wolf aren't here." Dusk's eyes narrowed. "Why aren't they fighting? They always fight with us…"

"Hey, what are you whispering about over there, kid?" Deathstroke questioned as he pulled his blade out of the concrete.

"Something is wrong." Dusk stated, "To my knowledge, the Light has no interest in Wolf or Sphere anymore. So, if they aren't here…A third party must have taken them." The halfa then paused when a cold chill ran down his spine, and blue smoke escaped his mouth.

"A third party? But would possibly be interested-"

BOOM!

A massive green explosion spread out from where Dusk, Troia, and the three assassins were. They were all sent sprawling back covered in burns and injuries. As this happened, a figured landed at the center of the where the explosion happened. Wolf and Sphere the Supercycle were dropped right beside the figure. Both creatures were greatly injured and unconscious.

Dusk quickly jumped to his feet. Despite the fact that the sneak attack was quite strong, Dusk didn't care about the pain. His Numbing ability had already kicked in was numbing the pain of the wound. He would have to do something about the bleeding, but his quicker than normal healing would stop the blood flow soon enough.

"No…It's…" The normally composed Joel felt himself break out into terrible sweat. His face lost all its complexion. He had heard stories, descriptions, and even saw a memory of this guy, so Joel recognized him instantly.

The being before the ghoul was tall. He had broad shoulders and was incredibly muscular. This was easy to tell with his tight black and white outfit that even had a cape. The man's skin was blue, his teeth were fanged, and his hairy was like a white fire. As Joel stared, a forked tongue slipped out and waved about.

The most noticeable thing for Dusk, however, wasn't any of this. No. The symbol on the man's chest spoke more everything combined. It was the same symbol on the clothes of Dusk, Spirit, and Phantom.

It was a flaming DP.

"Speechless? I would be to. You better not stay that way, though, boy. Because we have a lot to discuss, little halfa." Dark Dan smiled sharply.

"Danny?" Doctor Fate's red eyes widened as Alpha squad appeared in the room. The good doctor wore a black body suit over her feminine frame. This caused the golden helm, cape, belt, and long blond hair on her person to pop out greatly. The female vessel of the Lord of Order Nabu was named Dora who had the ability to turn into a dragon when not under the moniker of Doctor Fate.

"How did you get here?" A yellow being with horns, fish-like gills, and sharp teeth questioned. The red spandex, black cape wearing being was a demon of old that appeared around the time King Arthur and Merlin. Etrigan the Demon was the possessed version of Jason Blood, a knight and magician hundreds of years old.

"Doctor…Etrigan…" Phantom froze in surprise about where Harm had taken them. Alpha squad now stood in a large library that existed in Jason Blood's manor in Amity Park. Normally, the massive library was lined with books, but now the shelves were completely barren. "What happened here?"

"I happened, little ghost." A sultry voice that caused Phantom's brain to spark and rattle in his head.

A woman stood at the far end of the library. Harm was kneeling by her side. This woman was tall and slender. A golden mask covered her face and her black hair was pulled up. Green robes flowed down her body and was covered in golden armor. This woman was the one, if not the, most dangerous magic user on the planet. This woman was the sorceress Morgaine le Fey.

"You…" Zatanna paled at the sight of this woman. Her father warned her about Morgaine le Fey. She was a woman feared by almost every magic user. Even beings such as Klarion the Witch Boy and Wotan were wary of her.

"Oh, a baby magic user. How adorable." Morgaine le Fey chuckled.

"Baby magic user?" Kid Flash took offense to the insult to his longtime friend. "Zatanna's one of the most skilled magic users I know."

"And here I thought you didn't believe in magic…" Robin muttered under his breath and was smacked upside the head by Nightwing.

"People change. Now shut it and stay alert." Nightwing warned carefully.

"I do take a lot of pride in my talent and skill, but…" Zatanna sweated under Morgaine's stared. "I'm not anywhere near her level."

"Good thing you know to be careful…" Doctor Fate noted. "Because you cannot trifle with her…"

"How did she fight the two of you?" Red Huntress had her guns pointed at the sorceress. "Individually, you're some of the hardest hitting allies we have."

"She cheated." Etrigan growled. "She's controlling our allies."

"Yes…" Morgaine's silky voice sounded out. She reached out her hand to show a glowing red jewel. Oddly enough, there seemed to be a chunk missing out of it. "I found some ghosts that were willing to help me. Kneel before, you're new master, ghosts.

With that said, four figures appeared. One was Youngblood who had traveled with the group from the Land of the Far Frozen. Two of the figures were Wulf and Cujo. That last person was a faceless ghost wearing sunglasses, a fedora, and a trench coat. A wooden cane rested in Amorpho's hands. This shapeshifting ghost was a close friend of the Phantom Family and often helped by filling in for Phantom in certain situations, even though he lacked a lot of fighting abilities.

"We managed to push her back, but then she revealed that Wulf, Cujo, and Amorpho were under her control." Doctor Fate clenched her fists. "She threatened to have them kill themselves if we tried anything to stop her."

"Yes, you shouldn't leave such weak ghosts in charge while everyone is away. Even Plasmius and Vision had business to attend to, no? Of course, having Doctor Fate here trying to track large energy signals with Blood was probably meant to help, but it wasn't enough." Morgaine le Fey chuckled lightly. "With no S-rank ghost in the city, taking all of Blood's books was easy."

"The books…The ones that contained demons?" Torch tensed. Despite his lack of maturity and common sense at times, the fight ghost was very knowledgeable on anything involving ghosts and Amity Park. "Torch thinks…that is not good."

"No, it isn't!" Etrigan growled. "I had thousands of demons held here, and she already teleported them away. With those demons under her control…the temptress could do a lot of damage."

"Still bitter, Blood?" The woman mocked with a tilt of her head. "If I remember correctly, all those years ago you were begging me for even the slightest attention. I barely had to do any work at all."

"Silence, you wench!" Etrigan snarled. "It was you that put me under that spell! It was because of you that I betrayed my people and was cursed like this!"

"I used no spell on you other than my looks and natural charm, Blood." Morgaine mentioned.

"Is there a more powerful magic than that?" Kid Flash questioned out loud.

"Not the time, KF." Nightwing rolled his eyes.

"Mistress, Harm has brought you what you wished for. Harm also returned the part of your jewel that you lent to Harm." Harm held up the Infi-map and the piece of the large red jewel.

"Thank you, Harm. You have done well." Morgaine le Fey took hold of the Infi-map and fused the jewel to its complete form.

"Damn…" Phantom glared over to the sorceress. "What do you want, le Fey? Why do all this?"

Morgaine took a long look at the halfa. "Ah, the Phantom. It just had to be you. Fate is a funny thing, especially considering that a copy of this jewel was used to control you by the heir of the Showenhower clan. It was always so amusing to see how they used ghosts to entertain people."

"What?"

"To answer your question, though. What I want is for something interesting to happen." Morgaine chuckled. "I love watching as things change and evolve. But lately, things have been oh so stagnant. Someone came to me and told me a plan to make things more interesting, though. I just couldn't pass it up."

"Who? Who came to you?!" Phantom glared. "Was it a ghost that looked like me except more demonic?"

"No, it wasn't your alternate self." Morgaine paused at the surprised looks. "Oh, please, did you really think I wouldn't know about that? Please. But it wasn't him that contacted me. I won't' tell you who it was, though. That would be too boring."

Robin grunted, "Of course it would."

"But I knew I needed help to pull something off, luckily, Harm here was interested in my mind control jewel, so he was the perfect candidate." Morgaine lightly petted the psychopath's head. "And all I had to do was make another sword like the one he used to use."

"Thank you again, Mistress."

"Brother…Billy…" Secret glanced to the scared man. Once again, she grabbed at her the silver that hung from her neck.

"Do not call me that! I am Harm. I am pure. Harm does not need you, so Harm will kill you and erase the past." Harm glared.

"But that will have to wait for a later day." Morgaine le Fey raised a hand and energy began to surround the sorceress, swordsman, and controlled ghosts. The heroes wanted to stop here, but they didn't want to risk the chance of the ghosts reacting and killing themselves because of the sorceress's orders. "Until then. Until the day that ghost and demon blood are spilt, I bid you all adieu."

With that, they were gone.

"Damn it…" Phantom growled.

"Nyx," Spirit looked to her friend. "It's been a while. How have you been?"

"Oh? Same old, same old." Nyx paused and looked down at her clothing. "Well, not really. I've actually changed a lot."

Raven's eyes narrowed, "We can see that…"

"Of course you can, Doom and Gloom." Nyx let out a smirk. The water seemed to ripple around her mouth under magical influence and allowed her to speak. "Can't take your eyes off me, right~"

"It's definitely a new look for you, but I'm not one to talk." Cyborg mentioned.

Nyx blinked at the metal man. "Vic? Is that you? What the hell happened?"

"A lot…" Cyborg sighed. "How about you tell me what happened to you first, then I'll share."

"Sure, sure." Nyx waved him off. She shrugged and started speaking nonchalantly. "Got sick of Amity Park, your faces, and Mom. Decided to embrace the chaos. And the rest is history. So, what happened to you?"

"What?!" Spirit gained a hurt look.

"Don't listen to her." Raven quickly stated. "She's being influence by something, probably the Witch Boy. These aren't her real thoughts."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night…" Nyx tilted her head. "So, are your friends going to attack? Cause they look brutally mad right now."

"Huh?" Spirit turned to the older members of Beta squad. The three Atlantians were all glaring at the purple haired ghost and had their magic coursing so they were ready for a fight. "Calm down, guys."

"We will not." Aqualad snarled, "She attacked our home."

Aquagirl gather balls of magic water at her hands. "We will not allow her to do more harm."

"You can, Fishies, but I doubt it will work." Nyx smirked and put her arms out wide. "Come on. One free shot."

"Do not mock us!" Tempest snapped.

"Cool down, man." Cyborg held an arm out. "She's just teasing you. That's what she does."

"No fun!" Nyx puffed out her cheeks. "You know I like to make people angry before I fight them."

"Well you accomplished your goals!" Tempest began to gather his magic.

"Stop it!" Spirit glared back at the dark haired Atlantian. "Let me talk to her."

"Tsk…"

"Nyx…" Spirit took a step forward. "Please, come back home. We'll remove whatever Klarion is using to controlling you. Everything can go back to normal."

"Nothing's been normal sense Chuck left." Nyx rolled her eyes. "He left you, and now I've left you. Soon, Doom and Gloom will be forced to leave. Almost sixteen, right Rae Rae?"

Raven was silent.

"That's just the way things are. Friends change, leave, and never come back." Nyx shrugged. "There's nothing you can do about it. Soon, we'll all be gone and you'll be left alone."

"No I won't! I'll fix this! I swear I will!" Spirit clenched her fists. She fought the tears that stung in her eyes. "I was hurt by Youngblood…but he must have a good reason for leaving like that! I'll bring him back! I'll save you! And I'll stop Raven's prophecy! I swear it! I won't let anything bad happen to any of my friends."

"That…is the dumbest thing I have ever heard." Nyx burst out laughing.

"Nyx…gasp!" Blue smoke once again escaped through Spirit's mouth.

"We're done here…" A large ghost turned visible right beside Nyx. Like Spirit, he had an oxygen mask to allow him to speak. The ghost had ash white skin and was dressed in a white suit with black tie, buttons, and boots. A white cowboy hat stood on his head and partially covered his glowing green eyes. Standing at over eight feet, the ghost was incredibly muscular and bulky. One odd thing that could be note was that while his right hand was pale white skin, the left hand was glowing green energy instead of normal flesh.

"Walker!" Spirit frowned, "Should have figured that you'd show up considering you were broken out by—"

Boom!

"Gaaah!" All members of Beta squad were blasted back. At the same time, the soldiers around them were swept away by a large cyclone of water.

"Me!" A rail thin man appeared in a blaze of red energy. The skinny man wore a fancy black and white suit. His face was pale, and his eyes were black. Oddly enough, his hair mostly flat except for two tiny horns at the top. A strange orange and black cat sat in his arms and was covered in a magical bubble. "Kekekekee!"

"Klarion!" Aqualad growled and readied his Water Bearers.

"Yep! Nice to see you again, kiddies!" Klarion waved with a free hand, but the friendly gesture was ruined by his cruel smile.

"So, we're done here, Dad?" Nyx questioned.

"Yep! We found out what we needed." Klarion giggled. "Time to go!"

"But the halfa girl is right there…" Walker looked at his energy hand in anger. "I can finally kill her for what she did to my arm."

"Nononono!" Klarion rapidly shook his head. "We'll have to save that for another day! If we start fighting, some of the people down here might get killed. We can't have that, can we?"

Walker sighed. "No, you're right. But I will get to kill her at some point."

"Of course!" Nyx grinned. "Just make sure to let me watch!"

Raven frowned at the magic user, "Nyx…"

"And with that, we're gone." Klarion waved cheerfully. "Bye bye, kiddies! Pray we don't meet in a better spot for me cause I'll kill you~"

"Wait!" Spirit lunged forward. "Nyx! NYX!"

In a blaze of red they were all gone. Spirit was left reaching out towards nothing. The halfa girl fell to her knees in despair.

"No…Nyx…"

The silence that sounded across the streets of New York were far worse than the previous sounds of battle. Dusk thought that his ears would start to bleed from the terrible lack of noise. Not that he blamed everyone's silence. Not even the villains seemed to be able to process what was going on. That was why no one made a move, because no one knew what to do under the pressure of Dark Dan's presence.

Dark Dan just stood there amused. He seemed to bask in their shock and fear. It didn't help that a steady wave of hatred and evil were coming off him in waves. He was showing an ability only the strongest ghosts could use. A Haunting Aura was the ability to force the ghost's own emotions on another person's will and cause them fall under the pressure of ghost's willpower. Dusk thought that he felt strong Haunting Auras before, but this one was so terrible that I made him want to vomit.

"W-who art thou?" Troia forced herself to stop trembling and addressed the evil Phantom.

Dark Dan gave her a bored look. It was the look a child would give a toy that wasn't very amusing. "Hmm, I have no idea who you are. You weren't around as a hero in my timeline. My alternate self changed a lot didn't he?"

"Troia!" Superboy yelled out. "Get away from him, now!"

"Yes, little girl. Run away." Dark turned away from her and back to Dusk. "I have no use for you."

Anger flared in Troia. "Do not think that thou can talk to me that way, man!"

"Troia, no!"

The Amazon rushed forward and threw a punch at the man's face. It actually made contact and sent Dark Dan's head to turn to the side.

"Ha! See?! I am an Amazonian war-AAAAHHHH!" Troia yelled out in pain as Dark Dan's right hand lashed out at speeds that could rival Kid Flash and grabbed the Amazon by the face and life her head. It was easy to see that he was trying to crush her head.

Dark Dan's head slowly turned back to her and revealed that he was completely unharmed. "Ha, I almost felt that. I'll admit, you got guts, kid. But that means nothing to me."

Troia desperately tried to escape. Unfortunately, Dark Dan was holding her away at arm's length. Her reach was far shorter than his, so she couldn't hit his body. So, she punched his elbow repeatedly. That did absolutely nothing, though.

"Let go of her!" Rocket flew through the air and tried to use her kinetic energy to blast him in the back. Unfortunately, Dark Dan turned slightly and batted the energy away like a fly with his free hand. The alternate Phantom then reached out with that free hand. His arm turned into green smoke except for his hand and blasted outward. The hand grabbed the woman's kinetic energy belt and ripped it off in a blaze of green energy. Before Rocket could fall, the arm then swung down and crashed her into the ground. The smoke arm then dropped the belt on the unconscious Rocket.

"You're lucky, child, that it would be counterproductive to kill you." Dark Dan sighed as his arm returned. "Otherwise, I'd snap your pretty little neck. But all things considering, I'll go easy on you."

A blaze of green energy bust out from Dark Dan's hand. Troia was completely consumed in a torrent of ectoplasmic energy. Screams of agony filled the air as Troia was hit with an energy blast that would kill most men. Luckily, her Amazonian body was tough enough to keep her alive. It did nothing to keep her conscious, though. When released, one of the newest members of Young Justice fell to the ground completely defeated.

"Son of a…" Superboy was pale.

'What do we do?' Miss Martian mentally asked the remaining members of Gama squad. She received no answer from the heroes. Fortunately, someone had an answer.

Deathstroke rushed forward silently and tried to slice down at the deadly ghost with the ectoplasm empowered sword. This didn't work, though. Dark Dan's torso turned completely without his lower half moving. Now completely backwards, Dark Dan stopped Deathstroke's attack by clapping his hand at the dull sides of the sword.

"Now!" Deathstroke yelled. "I want the bounty the Light put on his head!"

Black Bat and Ravager then appeared at Dark Dan's unprotected sides. This was the same strategy they used before on the young heroes. This time was different than the last, though, because Dark Dan was alone. They failed to account for duplicates, though. Two duplicates came from the monster's sides and blasted the girls away in a blaze of green. Dark Dan then snapped Deathstroke's sword into pieces and kicked the mercenary into a wall.

While this was happening, Lady Shiva turned to the heroes. Shiva was a woman of Asian descent with dark eyes and flowing black hair. A large black trench coat covered her black and red combat suit, but it was still easy to see her curves. Normally, the woman was the definition of confidence and danger, but now she looked worried. "Our mission is over. He is the bigger threat. If we wish to defeat him, we must work together.

"Tsk..." Artemis glared at Cheshire and Sportsmaster. Cheshire was a thin woman with pushy black hair, a green kimono, and a mask of a smiling cat. Sportsmaster was a large muscular blond man wearing a hockey mask and purple and black armor with various grey pads covering his body.

"Now's not the time to get petty, little girl." Sportsmaster snapped at his daughter.

"He's right." Superboy growled. "Remember the stories from Danny. This guy is a beast incarnate."

"Alright! Fine! I'll suck it up!" Artemis pointed her bow and arrow at the large ghost as he beat down the other villains.

"I'll try to slow him down mentally!" Miss Martian's eyes began to glow green. "Maybe I can buy you a few seconds."

"Wait!" The last remaining assassin there reached out to the Martian to warn her, but it was too late. Normally, M'gann could take down almost anyone with her mental powers. M'gann had more raw mental power than anyone and was growing in skill each day. While ghosts had stranger minds than most people, the ghosts of Young Justice allowed her to practice on them so she could fight better against enemy ghosts. That was why Miss Martian thought that she could at least buy a few seconds.

She was wrong.

Dark Dan's eyes lazily turned to the alien. 'I'll admit, that's pretty damn good. But not good enough. Burn.'

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" M'gann dropped to the ground and trashed around like she was on fire. "IT BURNS! MAKE IT STOP! MAKE IT STOP! AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

"M'gann!" Conner's eyes widened as his girlfriend screamed on the ground.

"This is annoying." Dark Dan rolled his neck. "It takes too much effort not to kill you. I'll just end this quickly." The dark Phantom's stance slide deeper. He leaned forward, opened his mouth, and began to yell.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Sound actually solidified in that moment. Green sound waves bounced around the area. The force of the yell was so great that the glass windows in all the surrounding buildings shattered. The ground began to peel away and ooze like it was bleeding. All the heroes and assassins instantly crumbled under the pressure of the attack. All of them fell before the force of the cry of death. No one stood a chance before the mighty Ghostly Wail.

Stopping his shout, Dark Dan blinked in surprise. "Well, what do you know? You two actually managed to fight it off."

It was true. During the fight, Dusk retrieved the fallen people around Dark Dan and pulled them off to the side. With that done, he created special earmuffs to block the noise and braced himself in armor. Even that didn't stop the full blow of the Ghostly Wail, though, and Dusk was now trembling in pain.

The other fighter that fought off unconsciousness was Jinx. She was a very pale woman wearing a black and purple long sleeved dress that tightly hugged her thin curves. Stripped black and purple tights were revealed where the dress cut off at her thighs. The woman had pink hair pulled up into curved horns. Her pink slitted eyes glared defiantly at the ghost.

"A pink energy shield…" Dark Dan noted as Jinx dropped the shield she used to protect herself. Like Dusk, she looked extremely tired. "And that felt almost like…Oh, I remember you. That's right. You're June's daughter."

"H-How do you know my mom's name!?" Jinx demanded.

"She and I share a past. The Sorceress always thought she was clever, but I found her out." Dark Dan laughed out cruelly. "But that doesn't matter anymore, Jen."

"You…how do you know so much…" Jinx looked troubled.

"I'm not here to kill anyone. In fact, take your allies and go. You're no use to me locked up." Dark Dan turned away from Jinx and faced Dusk once again.

Jinx looked troubled by the situation, but she decided that this wasn't the situation to start asking questions. That would come later. Right now, she had to help her allies escape.

Now free to speak without interference, Dark Dan addressed Dusk. "Now, where were we?"

Knowing that he had very little chance of fighting the older ghost, Dusk just gritted his teeth. "You said we had a lot to talk about."

"Ah, yes." Dark Dan nodded and walked up to the boy. "I came to give you a warning."

"What?" Dusk was confused.

"Listen to me, little halfa." Dark Dan towered above Dusk. "You have to do everything you can to make sure that no one is killed."

"…What?" Dusk blinked. "You, the man that destroyed the human race in another timeline, want me to save lives?"

"Yes." Dark Dan nodded. He reached down, grabbed Dusk's collar, and pulled him up. "Make sure as few people as possible die in the next coming year. Especially the powerful people. They are not allowed to die."

"You're trying to trick me." Dusk mumbled. "That can be the only explanation…"

"SHUT UP!" Dark Dan's energy flared as he lost his temper. Dusk felt the weight of a mountain crash down on his shoulders. "Stop talking and listen to me."

Dusk was silent.

"I can't tell you everything. They can hear us." Dark Dan's eyes darted around. "If I tell you everything, they'll just kill you outright, and none of the halfas can die. If a halfa dies…I won't stand a chance."

Dusk didn't understand a word the man just said.

"It might seem strange coming from be, but understand this. There is a bigger threat than me right now." Dark Dan whispered. "The plan is complete destruction, and if that happens, I won't survive either. That's why I have to stop it. That way, I can destroy everything in this universe with my own power."

A bigger threat than Dark Dan? Did such a thing exist?

"The reason I came to you is because you're the only ghost that would ever have the mindset to listen to me. You are a being that has little fear, a logical mind, and the dogma to never kill." Dark Dan's red eyes glared into Dusk's neon green eyes. "The others would just blow my warning off, but you won't. Little halfa, hear my warning. You have to stop the killing from happening."

"My family will always work to stop the villains."

"It's not them I'm talking about!" Dark Dan hissed. "You think I'm blind? You think I can't see people's true characters!? The people I am warning you about is your so-called family. They will be the quickest to kill. I can see it. My alternate self. The clone. And all the other ghosts…They'll kill if something gets in the way of their obsession. But not you. You won't kill. I can see that. And that is why you must do everything in your power to keep your family from killing your enemies. Because if too many of the powerful people are killed off…Nothing will survive."

Dusk couldn't find his voice. He just gave Dark Dan a completely dumbfounded look.

"Head my warning, little halfa." Dark Dan dropped Dusk and began to walk away. "The next year will be hell, be prepared kid. Because things are already in motion, and there's nothing any of us can do to stop it."

Then, in a blaze of green energy, Dark Dan disappeared. Dusk was left in a destroyed street with his comrades lying unconscious across the ground. Once again, the silence filled the area around the halfa. This time, the silence didn't last long, though.

"I have to…stop them from killing…" Dusk looked up to the dark sky. "In truth, that might be easier said than done."

Extra: Wedding Plans

(Sunday-September 29, 2013)

"We must postpone the wedding." Vision announced to the members of her family.

All the members of the Phantom Family groaned in unison. They were all spread across the living room of the Master Mansion. It was a room filled with leather furniture, imported carpeting, and expensive paintings. Most of the different informal meetings of the family were held here.

"Again?" Dani dropped to the floor in a heap. "What is this? The thirtieth time?"

"Close…Twenty…Nine…" Joel mentioned in between the times he banged his head on the wall.

"Can't we just get the stupid thing over with?" Danny sat on the couch and had his face in his hands.

"No. My wedding must be perfect." Vision's eyes gleamed. "It will be the only wedding I ever have, so I have to make sure everything must go right."

"What happens if there are problems?" The Fright Knight questioned. "Are you sure this will be your only wedding."

"Yes." Vision gave a death glare to Vlad. "This wedding will be my only wedding because I will remained married for at least the majority of my life."

"Why are you glaring at me?" Vlad took a step back. "Fright Knight said it."

"I want to make sure you got the message."

"Alright…" Greta sighed. She held a list in her hands. "If next month isn't good, when will be?"

"December." Vision nodded. "My wedding will happen in December."

"Vision, you've been saying that for years…" Wulf grunted as he laid across a couch.

"It's not my fault that something always happens. Just look at what happened this month." Vision argued.

"Okay, this month was bad." Danny admitted. "What about the last time you postponed the wedding?"

"It was going to rain."

"We would be inside!" Dani snapped out.

"My wedding cannot be on a rainy day."

"Okay, what about the time before that?" Fright Knight inquired.

"Dani got a zit. It would have ruined the wedding photos."

"I could have worn makeup!" Dani argued.

"At your age? Absolutely not!"

"What about the time before that?" Wulf questioned. "I forget what it was."

"Box Lunch was born."

"Alright, that was a good reason." Vlad nodded to himself.

"All the food in the Ghost Zone flew around like a food fight." Dani muttered.

"The Box Ghost was crying so much when the Lunch Lady broke his hand and punched him the groin during labor." Fright Knight sighed.

"I…I still don't understand how a baby could poop and throw up so much…" Danny muttered in horror. "Five garbage trucks filled…I still think we should have thrown them into the voids of space for safety…"

"See, something always happens." Vision stated. "But not in December. In December, my wedding shall be perfect."

Greta leaned over to Joel and whispered, "Twenty bucks says that the wedding is postponed again."

Joel stopped banging his head on the wall for a moment to say, "That's a sucker's bet."