Chapter 21: Death

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"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me."

Psalm 23:4

Chapter 21: "Death"

(Tuesday-May 25, 2010)

Danielle Masters was never known as an angry and depressing individual. No, in fact, she was the opposite. She loved to be the life of the part. Everything about her upbeat personality drew attention to her. Yes, no one would generally describe her as someone with a chip on her shoulder. That was usually the description of her brother.

…her dead brother…and the killer was standing down the street from her.

So, Spirit made an exception this one time. She decided to be angry, depressed, and vengeful, and beat the life out of her brother's killer.

"No!" Spirit pushed herself to her feet. Tears ran down her face. Raw angry ran through her veins.

Spirit felt her energy return as she felt her emotions give her power. This was so different than her usual power. It was so strong, yet at the same time, she could tell it wouldn't last long.

Ignoring the reporters by her, Spirit stepped forward and sent a barrage of ectoplasmic blasts at the giant suit. Each blast bounced off the metal without causing any damage. This didn't stop Spirit, though. She was determined to make the agent pay.

"How could you!" Spirit cried. She sent a continuous beam at the suit, but it did nothing to the suit.

"The other one, eh?" Agent Z began to approach the halfa. He did nothing to stop her waves of attacks. The attacks couldn't hurt him. "Completely forgot about you for a second."

"RAW!" Spirit could taste the tears running down her face. "Curse you!"

"What? For that?" Agent Z seemed amused. "I just helped him get where he's supposed to be. The dead should stay dead, and the same can be said for you."

"You're wrong!" Spirit spat. She rushed forward and sent an assault of punches and kicks at the Exoskeleton. "We deserve our lives just as much as anyone else!"

His response was to backhand her. Spirit went sprawling across the street painfully. Despite this, she shakily pushed herself up.

"Ghosts are nothing but empty shells and memories of those who have passed on." Agent Z strode over to the trembling girl. "Mistakes that need to be erased."

"Is that…" Spirit glared. "Why you killed Klemper and Danny? You think they were mistakes?!"

"Of course." Agent Z growled. "Mistakes that have cost me everything. After this war, I may go down, but I'm dragging every last ghost with me."

"If that that's your line of thinking, then your logic is opposite of what it should be…" Spirit angrily stated. "You're the one who's a mistake, not Danny. He tried to help people! He risked his life dozens of times to keep people safe! All you've done is kill and destroy! You're trash that deserves to be spat on-Gah!"

Agent Z grabbed Spirit. Almost her entire body fit into his massive hand. Only her feet and head were free.

The GIW agent pointed a machine gun at her head. "That's enough, little brat. Time to join your friend."

Memory sequence begin

All he knew was pain. Every second of his brief existence was terrible. The pain was so great that he couldn't even cry. He could only squirm in agony.

It was supposed to be a time of celebration and joy. A new life had just entered the world not that long ago. A pure soul had arrived whose personality has yet to be sculpted and shaped.

Instead, for the small babe and his new family, it was a time of great suffering and grief.

The birth had…complications to say the least. He was almost a month premature. His immune system was terribly weak. His skin and bones were fragile, easily hurt and broken. He was small and weak.

In short…his survival at this point was unlikely.

"His…condition has worsened." The doctor peered down at the child in the glass box.

Jack Fenton held his crying wife close to him. "Is…is there anything that can be done?"

"I wish I could say that there is." The doctor sighed painfully. "But his body…it can't survive. It's too weak."

Maddie gave a sob. "T-this i-is my f-fault…"

"No." Jack hugged her close. "It's not. No one is to blame. It's just…I don't know…"

The small infant could not comprehend the words being said. Their meaning was lost to the infant. But…he could feel the sadness in the room. He didn't want them to be sad…

"I'm sorry." The doctor shook his head. "Nothing can be done. Nothing short of a miracle could keep him alive more than a night…"

"We understand…" Jack fought back tears. They understood, but they weren't happy. "We'll just…stay here and wait."

Time passed, and the young infant's condition only became worse. Both parents stood over their child and watched as he slowly passed away.

"What…what will we tell Jazz?" Jack asked.

"I don't know…" Maddie cried. "What can we tell her? She was so excited about being a big sister. Now…"

"Yeah…" Jack trembled. "He…he looks perfectly fine. If I didn't know better, I'd think he was just…falling asleep."

Maddie merely sobbed.

The child felt weak. The pain was fading. That would usually be a good thing, but now…he wasn't feeling anything. He was numb.

"It's okay, little one," A friendly voice calmed the child. "Your pain is over now…"

The baby was filled with a new feeling. This one wasn't painful, though. He felt…good. Everything was so warm and comfortable now. The past pain and numbness was now gone.

The baby let out a giggle.

The two people standing over him didn't seem to notice, though. He reached up to them, but they didn't see him for some reason. Something was coming out of their face. What was it? They didn't seem happy, though. Why weren't they happy?

The child didn't notice that he was floating above his once living body.

Another figure appeared above him. She stood at the opposite side of the glass box he was currently in. The baby liked her. She was smiling.

"It's always so sad when they die young." The girl noted. "But don't worry, little one. You'll be home soon."

The girl reached through the glass and gently picked up the departed soul. "And up we go~" She cooed.

The baby soul enjoyed being held by her. She gently rocked him. Her smile made him feel good. He could only smile in her grasp.

Until he realized that the other two people were still crying.

They seemed really sad now. The woman had collapsed and had to be held up by the man. The man was not fairing any better. He seemed to be screaming at the sky.

The child felt a pull in his chest. He didn't want them to be upset. They had looked after him during the hurt.

"Poor things…" The girl holding him commented. "Losing your child is one of the worst things that you can go through. I wish I could help, but there's nothing that can be done anymore."

The baby stared at the two adults. He wanted them to stop being sad. They seemed nice. They didn't deserve to hurt like he did.

He tried to reach out to them.

"I'm sorry, little one." The shook her head. "They can't see you, let alone hold you."

This didn't stop the baby. He wanted to be with them! Why couldn't he go to them? He had to stop their pain!

"It's time to go, Danny." The girl smiled. She began to carry him away.

What? No! He wanted to go to the other people! Why wouldn't she let him go back?!

"You don't want to go back, Danny." The girl noted. "You're going to a better place now. You'll never be in pain again."

What was she doing! The baby began to squirm. He had to go back!

"Shh…It's okay~" The girl cooed. "Calm down, please."

The baby wouldn't quite grasp what happened next. He reached out and tried to pull himself back towards the people. The weird thing was…it worked.

He began to move towards his cooling body. In fact, he was dragging the girl with him. She seemed completely shocked by development.

"What?" The girl tried to pull back and they stopped.

NO! He wanted to go back! His soul began to glow green.

"Huh?" The girl gasped. That was impossible. Did he just…

She let go. His soul zoomed back to the body. If the grieving parents weren't so consumed in their despair, they would have noticed when the body glowed slightly. Color came back to the baby's cheek. His bones and skin grew stronger. His organs burst back to life.

"WWWWWAAAAAAHHHHHH!" The baby screamed.

The parents turned in shock. Their faces were ones of complete joy and absolute disbelief. They instantly checked on the child, while, at the same time, calling for a doctor.

The girl stood there for a moment. She stared at the child. That was impossible. There was no way any mortal being could possibly do that. But…he did.

The baby…Danny Fenton…had willed himself back to life by…using her powers. He didn't become a ghost. He didn't use the ectoplasmic energy around him.

No. He had pulled himself back to his body and used her powers to strengthen and heal his body.

A baby had denied Death.

Memory sequence end

Memory sequence begin

Danny just had to step into the stupid portal. He had to let Sam convince him to step into the portal to another dimension. And of course, he had to hit the on switch the moment he entered the portal.

Who puts the on switch on the inside of a dangerous machine anyway?

There was a single moment where Danny realized what he had done. The sound of the machine activating made a chill go up his spine. Green light shined all around him. Danny realized in that single moment that he was screwed.

Then came the pain.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Danny's voice screamed out in complete agony.

His skin felt like it was melting. His organs felt like they were bursting. His body felt like it was about to explode.

Danny could never recall anything every being this painful before. Despite not being physically strong, Danny thought that he could endure pain. He could take being punched, kicked, and shoved in lockers.

This, however, was a whole new level of pain.

The truth of the matter was that this moment didn't last all that long. It was merely a few seconds at most. That didn't stop Danny from feeling like it lasted over one hundred years. To him, the pain seemed to go on forever.

Danny was never a religious person. To him, the concept that man evolved and held no real purpose in life was depressing. Reincarnation made some sense, but who decided what's right and wrong when so many cultures differed. He toyed with the idea of God, but no religious texts ever mentioned aliens like Superman and the Martians.

Yet, Danny would not call himself an atheist. Danny believed that there was some higher beings out there. Something was looking over him. In fact, Danny might say that he did believe in a Creator God of some sort. The universe had to some from somewhere right? Danny didn't like thinking he and his species happened on accident.

In that moment, Danny saw someone in that portal with him. He instantly knew that she wasn't of this plane of existence. She stood above his merger existence.

Danny instantly knew why she was here. She was some kind of…agent of death. He was going to die and she was going to take him to the afterlife.

He…didn't want to die, though.

He was fourteen for Pete's sake! There was still so much to do! Danny had a life to live, and he was going to miss out on it because of this stupid accident!

The girl reached out for him. It wasn't an act of ill intent. She wanted to stop the pain the only way she could. For a moment, Danny thought about merely accepting this. The pain…the agony…was terrible. He would give anything for it to stop.

Reaching out, Danny was about to take her hand, when…

"Danny!" Sam's voice called from outside the portal. She must be terrified for him.

Danny stopped his hand. Sam would definitely blame herself for this. She would be a wreck. She didn't have a lot of people who accepted her and her strange beliefs. There was a good chance this might break her…

And what about Tucker? He tried to act all tough and confident, but he had secret doubts about himself. The comments at about him being a nerd and geek hit harder that what most people saw. Danny made sure to always be there to help, though. He would always have his friend's back, now he would never be able to help again…

Then his family…They would be completely devastated. Jazz's GPA and future would take a complete 180, because of the grief. His mom would go into a complete depression. His dad would blame himself until the day he died…

They all needed him. If he died, they would be broken. Their lives would be ruined. He couldn't let that happen.

He shouldn't die…

He couldn't die…

He wouldn't die…

He refused to die!

Danny pulled his arm back. He fought. With every bit of willpower he had, Danny struggled against the pain. Danny gritted his teeth and fought back with everything he had.

The girl stood mesmerized. Danny's hair bled white. His suit's colors inverted. The pale skin became tanner. Blue eyes became green.

For a moment, the girl thought the boy became a full ghost, but then his form flickered back. He was once again in his human form. Then, he was back as the ghost.

The boy wasn't becoming a ghost…he was absorbing the ectoplasmic energy!

The girl remembered the boy from fourteen years ago. He had used her own powers to bring his body back to life. Was that why this was possible?

Finally, the boy's image stayed as the ghost. He no longer seemed to be in pain. In fact, he seemed almost comfortable in the swirling green energy.

His eyes stared into hers. They weren't the eyes of a dead man. No, those were the eyes of a man who knew he was going to live.

That only lasted a moment, however. The process of absorbing the energy had exhausted the boy. He quickly fell into unconsciousness.

In a split reaction, the girl reached out to the boy. She grabbed him and threw him out of the portal. He needed to be with his friends and family, not in the Ghost Zone.

The girl watched as the group of teenagers reacted to Danny's transformation. She stood and observed as they tried to make sense over an illogical situation. Once again, this boy had defied on of the most powerful forces in the universe on his sheer force of will.

She had watched him for a long time. He had suffered more than such a pure soul should have. The girl wondered what he would do from here. She could never see into the future. She always lived in the now.

"Danny Fenton…" The girl smiled as she watched him. "You never cease to amaze me. What will you do next?"

Memory sequence end

"I…" Danny's eyes widened. "I remember you…"

"I'm glad." Death smiled. "I'm pretty memorable, but I'm not surprised that your memory needed a jumpstart. The first time we met, you were a baby, and the second time was rather traumatic. No one would be able to recall such incidents without help."

"I can't believe it…" Danny muttered.

"What's so hard to believe?" Death's eyes twinkled in amusement. "You live in a world with meta-humans, aliens, and ghosts. Does a force of nature actually having a personality shock you?"

"No, not that…" Danny was overwhelmed. "The fact that…that…"

"We are connected?" Death chuckled.

"Yeah…" Danny breathed out.

"Yes, I was shocked at first as well." Death mentioned. "No being has ever done what you did. You willed yourself back to life not once, but twice."

"Both times, though…It wasn't just force of will…" Danny noted.

"No," Death shook her head. "Both circumstances were rather unusual. My siblings and I could hardly believe it ourselves. My force of nature cannot be fought. The others…Dream, Destruction, and even Destiny…can be denied. But me? Well, those who are meant to die will die."

"You have siblings?" Danny's eyes widened.

"Yes, there are seven of us." Death explained. "Seven forces of the universe that will always be a constant in life. Destiny, Death, Dream, Destruction, Despair, Desire and Delirium. We are the Endless. We existed from the beginning, and we will stay until the end."

"Endless…siblings…" Danny breathed. "People soul search all their lives for answers like this."

"People don't need to know." Death explained. "We aren't gods, unlike the foolish mortals who proclaim themselves as such and demand to be worshiped. The Olympians, New Genesis, and Apocalypse. Such arrogance…Even they are effected by the Endless, and eventually they will die. Having a long life does not make you immortal."

"But…I did defy death…" Danny noted. "I'm no god, though…I was always the average kid. How can I do it when no one else can?"

"Well, people have come back before, but it was not the same 'life.' It was more like a rebirth." Death explained. "You, however, used the energy available around you to force your body back to life."

"So the first time…" Danny began.

"You borrowed my power." Death's face was the one of utmost delight. "You used the power of death to live. Unusual, right? But you did it. By doing so, you connected us. Since that time, you have always been stronger the closer I am to you. That's why you always grow more powerful in battle. Because of the risk of death."

"The second time…" Danny noted.

"You absorbed the ectoplasmic radiation from your portal." Death smiled. "Ectoplasm has an…affinity with me. Ghosts refuse to move on, so the ectoplasm works to make a new body for them. You, however, fused the energy with your body. Any other mortal would have died from that, but you changed, became stronger, and lived."

"But I'm not the only halfa…" Danny noted.

"Yes, but you are the only halfa to live without any complications." Death nodded. "Both Vlad Masters and Dani Masters had terrible circumstances surrounding their change and 'birth.' These complications would have killed them without your interference."

"So…is it because of you? The reason I'm like this?" Danny questioned.

"You were born with a special trait. A trait that very few have." Death smiled brightly. "The trait of raw selflessness. You care so much about others that you actually did the impossible. First, you connected yourself with me, then you used that connection to become a halfa."

"Yes…I did it for my family…" Danny nodded slowly. "It's…always been about them."

"Yes, you protect what you care about and what matters to you. I'm sure you noticed it when you died a third time." Death pointed at Danny's chest. "It is your obsession. As a person, as a ghost, as a hero…"

"And that's why…I've always been so angry and full of hate after the Nasty Burger Incident." Danny breathed out. "I failed to protect them. In that instant, I was filled with hate for the world where my obsession ceased to exist. And that hate made me stronger, but only in short bursts…"

"But your obsession never died." Death smiled gently. "It was merely transferred to different people. Your new family, friends, rivals, comrades, and even enemies. That was why you continued on, and why you became stronger. It was all for them. But…yes, you blamed everyone for the loss of the people you loved.

"Those emotions were still connected to your obsession, so they made you stronger. It was a large boost for sure, but it had terrible consequences as you already know." Death finished.

"My bitterness…it was in fact a terrible burden." Danny remembered the words of Dora.

"Yes, it was." Death nodded.

Danny sighed. "But…it's too late now. I died already. My body dissolved. There's nothing I can do now to change anything."

"Not necessarily." Death smiled brightly. "You see this is the Lane Between…or as you humans like to call it, Purgatory."

"But…it's not a waiting place." Danny noted.

"No." Death noted. "I bring souls here to go where they belong."

Danny looked between the gold and red areas. "Heaven and Hell?"

"Those aren't the words I would use, but, essentially, yes." Death nodded.

"Then…where do I go?" Danny asked worriedly.

"You have earned the right to enter the gold area." Death gestured to the right. "Of course, you could always go to the red area…"

"I'd prefer the gold." Danny deadpanned. "So…I can be with them? My family and friends?"

"Yes, but there is another option." Death pointed above them to the river of green energy. "Ghosts are different, you see. Their place has already been determined. When they pass one, they automatically go where they are meant to go. Their energy, however is different. It filters in here and then is released back into the physical realm."

"Oh…" Danny's eyes widened.

"Exactly. Because of your connection to me, you can temporarily absorb the power and energy of other ghosts when that ghost passes on or is about to in a short amount of time." Death explained. "Like with Vortex and Klemper."

"Then…I can use this power to reform my body…" Danny finished. "But both those time…I couldn't control the boost in power."

"That was because there was an internal conflict between the ghost's ectoplasm and your ectoplasm. Vortex wanted only destruction, and Klemper's death caused a mental breakdown. Now, however, every ghost is willingly working with you. You all want the same thing. You want to destroy the GIW." Death stated.

"…And here I thought that Rachel girl was just trying to get my attention. A hero worship thing…" Danny sighed to himself. "I should have known better. Especially considering her ability to use magic."

"You figured it out?" Death's eyes sparkled.

"Well, Vlad did." Danny admitted. "He recognized her use of magic…dumbass magic…"

"How amusing…" Death grinned.

Danny stared into the gold light. He yearned to be at peace. The thing he wanted most was to be with them again, but… "I can't abandon them. I have a responsibility to everyone to finish this war."

"Well said," Death closed her eyes peacefully. "A hero is merely the person who is willing to do what needs to be done when no one else is willing to do it…And that definition has always described you."

"Thank you…for everything." Danny bowed his head gratefully.

"You're welcome." Death gave him one last smile. "And know this, the Endless are behind you. We…I…will be watching. I expect great things, Danny Phantom."

"You bet." Danny readied himself.

"Be careful, Danny." Death encouraged. "And remember, one act of random kindness can go along way."

Danny starred at her for a moment, then smiled. "Yeah…"

Then, he plunged his hands into the river of green.

Agent Z grabbed Spirit. Almost her entire body fit into his massive hand. Only her feet and head were free.

The GIW agent pointed a machine gun at her head. "That's enough, little brat. Time to join your partner."

Suddenly, the ground beneath him began to shake. The air became heavy. A massive light appeared behind the agent.

And it was all originating from where Phantom's body dissolved.

Agent Z turned. "That's impossible…You can't just come back…What…What the hell is happening!?"

The area where Phantom was last seen could be compared to a miniature sun. Light was shining so bright that a person could easily go blind by looking at it. Energy was rolling off it in waves. Despite this, Spirit really only noticed one thing about the light and energy.

It was all pure white.

"Danny…" Spirit sobbed as she saw her brother appear as the light fade. He stood proud and tall. His wounds were gone, and his clothes were back to normal. His flared about from the energy, but in all, there was only one significant change. Both his eyes were emitting a beautiful white glow.

He had no pupils. The eyes were pure white, but Spirit could tell where he was looking at. He was staring down Agent Z.

Phantom spoke. His voice was commanding and powerful. "Let her go."

"As if!" Agent Z gripped the ghost girl harder. Spirit screamed in pain. "I'll kill her, then you!"

In retrospect, he shouldn't have taken his eyes away from Phantom. For a few split seconds, Agent Z sneered at the girl in his massive hand. He completely ignored Phantom in favor of torturing the girl. That was a big mistake.

By the time Agent Z turned back to Phantom to taunt the ghost, it was too late. Phantom had traveled down the street at record setting speed. He was right in front of Agent Z.

The next thing the GIW agent knew was that he was flying away. Spirit was out of his grasp, and the massive Exoskeleton was tumbling away from the halfa. He landed with a crash into a lamp post down the street.

Agent Z quickly stood up. He didn't know what happened. How was he sent flying like that? The agent looked down as was shocked by what he saw.

In the near impenetrable metal was an indent in the shape of Phantom's fist.

Down the street, Phantom held his sister close. "Are you okay?"

Spirit sobbed. "I am now."

"I'm glad." Phantom turned to the reporters who were watching in awe. The camera man seemed to still be taping the event. "Please, take her away from here. I don't want her to get hurt from this."

"I…um…" Cat Grant stuttered.

Spirit slid out of Phantom's grasp. Normally, she would give her brother a hard time, but she wasn't in the mood. She would listen. Grabbing the reporters, she stated. "Let's go. I don't think it will be safe here."

Phantom nodded at them as they went. "Stay safe."

Turning, Phantom glared at the Exoskeleton wearing agent. It was time to destroy that stupid suit.

"Nothing's working! I thought these ecto-arrows could hurt ghosts!?" Green Arrow yelled.

"Against normal ghosts, perhaps, but against me? Not a chance." Vision stated as floated above them. Her quickly forming shields made each of Green Arrow's attack in effective.

"Huff…I don't get it…huff…" Black Canary whispered. "Those shields…pant…shouldn't be able to stop my Canary Cries."

"We haven't even been able to land a hit…" Green Arrow groaned. "And her blasts hurt like hell."

"There is a simple answer to that…" Vision petted the bird on her shoulder. The bird had yet to move from the spot since the fight began.

"And what's that?" Green Arrow pointed his arrow at the ghost.

Black Canary heard a whisper in her ear. "That's because you've been attacking an illusion…"

Green Arrow was suddenly blasted back by a wave of purple energy. Black Canary felt a hand cover her mouth. On instinct, Black Canary tried to flip the ghost, but her grip passed right through the ghost's arm. By the time Vision removed her hand, a blob of ectoplasm now covered Black Canary's mouth.

Thus…she could no longer use the Canary Cry…

Black Canary flipped away from the ghost. She didn't want to get caught up in a follow up attack.

Green Arrow groaned as he quickly jumped to his feet. He looked down at his signature weapon. It was broken.

"And thus, you lose." Vision stated. With a wave of her hand, the illusion above them faded. The bird that faked being on the illusion's shoulder quickly flew off. "All your possible attacks that could harm are no longer useable…"

Vision trailed off. What was that? It felt off. A massive power surge. From this distance, only her keen senses could feel it. It was doubtful that anyone other Colossus or Scribe could sense it, but she did.

Could it be…Yes. It was coming from New York. She whispered. "A 0.00000067 percent chance and you made it happen…"

The two heroes didn't hear what she whispered. Green Arrow shouted. "Do you really think that we'll give up?!"

Black Canary nodded in agreement.

"You no longer have a choice." Vision began to float away. "You can no longer distract me. I must return to battle."

"You won't get away!" Green Arrow charged forward with an arrow in his hand.

"Fool…"

Boom!

"RAW!" Colossus rammed a shockwave powered fist into Captain Atom's head causing it to slam into the ground. A large crater appeared beneath them.

Captain Atom struggled to get up, but he couldn't. He had taken too much damage. The giant ghost's attacks were devastating. Eventually, the captain collapsed in a heap.

"Captain!" Green Lantern huffed out. He was sporting several bad injuries himself. He was covered in bruises and cuts. He could barely concentrate enough to use his ring.

Colossus breathed out slowly. These guys were rather tough. The giant ghost was sporting even more injuries than then at the beginning of the fight. There was nothing that could be considered more than a minor annoyance for the giant, however.

"Ha!" Green Lantern sent a green jet at the ghost.

Colossus merely shattered it with as shockwave. "Your attacks are getting weaker. There is no chance of winning. Take your comrade and leave honorably."

"Huff…you…pant…didn't kill him…" Green Lantern noted.

"I don't kill honorable opponents." Colossus grinned. "But I will knock you out too if you don't leave…huh?"

Colossus felt something off in the air. There was a great power coming from somewhere. It felt…odd. The giant doubted that many of the other ghosts could feel it, but Colossus had a sixth sense for powerful opponents.

His thoughts were interrupted by a blast of green willpower energy. Colossus felt a small bruise begin to form in that area.

"Eh?" Colossus turned slowly. His face showed anger. "I give you the chance to leave and you attack me from behind…How dare you insult my honor!"

A giant shockwave sent Green Lantern flying back.

"No one insults my honor!"

Torch glared at his opponent. "It seems that Torch and you are at a standstill."

"It appears so…" Red Tornado agreed.

The battle had been pretty evenly matched. The fire and wind users had fought with everything they could. Torch was covered in cuts and bruises. Red Tornado was damaged badly by both the fire melting some of his metal and the scythe cutting his armor.

Eventually, the battle had arrived at an impasse. Torch was holding his scythe against Red Tornado's metal neck. Red Tornado's hand was placed on Torch's chest ready to cut the ghost down.

"Torch could easily cut your head off…" Torch noted. "But then, you would kill Torch at the same time."

"I would not kill you." Red Tornado explained. "But I would have to incapacitate you. The blast might take a couple months to heal from."

"Yeah…" Torch couldn't take his eyes off Red Tornado, but he was extremely worried about his minions. "Neither Torch or Red Tornado can win this fight. There is still the possibility of a truce."

"There is, but then you have to go back to the Ghost Zone." Red Tornado explained.

"Torch cannot do that!" Torch cried. "Torch must protect Torch's minions! If Torch leaves, then the Guys in White will hunt Torch's minions down! Torch can't let them die!"

Red Tornado was silent.

Torch felt sweat pore down his face. He knew that his minions were losing right now. He couldn't let them die. So, Torch did the only thing he could.

He ignored his pride and begged.

"Torch begs you. Let Torch help his minions." Torch trembled. "That is all Torch cares about. Please, Torch is begging you to have a heart. Don't let them die…"

Red Tornado slowly took his hand away from Torch's chest. "Go. I will assist the best I can."

"Thank you!" Torch flew towards his minions. "Thank you so much!"

"I…I don't understand really." Captain Marvel noted. "Phantom…rallied all the ghosts in order to save their lives."

"Yes." Spectre nodded.

"Then…He was trying to save people. He is a hero…" Captain Marvel seemed relieved.

"Yes, he is." Spectre nodded.

"Then I have to help!" Captain Marvel exclaimed.

"If you help us, they you would be expelled from the League." The Spectre noted.

"Maybe…but…" Captain Marvel grimaced. "If I don't help, then I won't be able to sleep at night…"

The Spectre examined the captain for a moment. "I do not sense that you are lying…"

"I'm not!"

"Then come. We have lives to save."

"Foolish little girl!" Pandora sent a large blast of energy at the Amazon.

Wonder Woman dodged to the side and flew towards the large ghost. She was at the disadvantage her. Pandora was an expert of close, medium, and far range attacks.

Wonder Woman had trained in all weapons, but she only had her fists right now. None of her equipment could help her in this fight. So, she had to get close to hurt the ghost.

That task was proving to be difficult, however. Pandora was incredibly strong. Her extra limbs gave her the advantage as well. Wonder Woman had been careful so far, but she was afraid that she would slip up soon.

Pandora thrust her spear at the Amazon, but Wonder Woman swerved around it gracefully. The Amazon then tried to strike Pandora on her side, but Pandora's extra arm blocked the blow.

Wonder Woman ducked as Pandora swung her spear at the Leaguer. The Amazon quickly flew up and tried to strike Pandora in the face. Pandora dodged, however, and flew back to gain some distance.

Wonder Woman felt sweat pour down her body. This battle was not promising. Pandora had a lot more experience than her, and the power to back it up.

"RAW!" Pandora shot a blast down below them. The ectoplasmic energy hit a Necromancer and sent the machine reeling.

Wonder Woman felt insulted. "Am I not enough of a battle?! You keep firing down into the machines!"

"I have a duty to destroy those accursed machine!" Pandora felt herself begin to tire. She had been trying to manage both battles, and it was exhausting her. She would be hard pressed to fight Wonder Woman without any distractions, but if she kept this up, she would exhaust herself in mere minutes. "You're just getting in my way!"

"I'm trying to stop this massacre!" Wonder Woman exclaimed.

"Once again, you have it wrong, Amazon…" Pandora growled. "You're promoting it by interfering!"

By now, the water was more like ice and slush. Aquaman was indeed having a hard time swimming in the water. He was used to cold water, but ice was entirely different. Luckily, Aquaman's control over the water helped melt the ice, but…

"ROAR!" Frostbite's claw attack almost sliced open the Atlantian.

The king of the seas was using his boosted strength and speed in water. He could easily dodge the yet ghost's close range attacks, but the Atlantian could not attacking using punches or kicks. The one time he tried, he almost completely froze his fist.

Long range attacks did not work either. Frostbite froze the water before it could get close to him. Then there were the shards of ice coming at him. Aquaman's boosted speed allowed him to easily dodge the attacks, but there was a problem.

Aquaman was running out of room to move…

"Ack!" Aquaman bumped into a particularly large chunk of ice.

That delay only lasted a brief moment. That was all the Frostbite need, though. The yeti ghost quickly caught the Atlantian by his wrist. Aquaman was trapped.

The Atlantian's first instinct to strike the ghost, but he knew that would hurt him. He could already feel his arm begin to freeze. Panic quickly set in for Aquaman.

For a brief moment, Aquaman was sure that Frostbite would kill him. The look in the yeti ghost's eyes was terrifying. Frostbite looked as if he was ready to tear the Atlantian in half.

Imagine Aquaman's surprise when the yeti ghost merely froze the Atlantian. The only thing that Frostbite left unfrozen was his head.

"I apologize." Frostbite stated. "I almost let my instincts get the better of me."

"It is rare for a foe of mine to apologize." Aquaman noted. "It is also rare for one to defeat me like this. You have a lot of power. I haven't met an ice user that could possibly match you."

"Thank you, but if this fight was on the surface, it might have ended differently. I do not require air, and could stop all possible attacks by freezing the water. You're strongest element was also your downfall." Frostbite turned. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a fight to finish."

With that, he was gone.

Looking at his situation, Aquaman sighed. "I knew I should have brought Kaldur…"

Dora groaned as she collapsed on the ground. Her form quickly turned back to a more humanoid appearance. She just had to get the magic user…

Zatara approached the downed dragon girl. His clothes were messed up, and he had a few burns, but he wasn't that injured.

Of course, Dora wasn't injured that much either. She had a few cuts and bruises. No, what really got her was the exhaustion. Zatara's attacks were meant to drain her energy, not kill her.

To Dora, however, this was worse. She had failed her people. Dora would rather suffer death, then know that she had failed her people so badly.

"No…" Dora began to cry. "I failed…"

Zatara knelt down and offered her a handkerchief. "Don't cry, please."

Dora sobbed. "I was in charge…I failed my people…Now they will all die!"

Zatara gently wiped her tears. "Die? From what?"

"The Necromancers! They'll kill all my people!" Dora cried.

"Those machines made of ectoranium?" Zatara questioned. "Just look around."

Dora raised her head. The area all around them were filled with the destroyed machines. The remaining ghosts were all resting now. They were exhausted. "H-how?"

"Weapons made of such a metal are obviously meant to kill ghosts." Zatara noted. "These Guys in White were obviously planning on killing you all. That is why I destroyed them as we fought. Luckily, ectoranium is extremely weak to magic."

Dora felt tears swell up again. This time, however, they were tears of joy. "Thank you so much."

"It was no trouble, Miss…" Zatara hinted.

"Dora." The dragon girl bowed to the magician.

"It was not trouble, Miss Dora." Zatara sighed. "But unfortunately, I can't let you or the others ghosts leave yet."

"I understand." Dora nodded in acceptance.

"Erutpac eht stsohg!"

"Ah!" Hawkwoman yelled in pain as the ghost's plants coiled around her. She felt thorns prick into her skin.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!" Undergrowth yelled as he grabbed Hawkman out of the air. "EVEN WITH WING, YOU SACKS OF FLESH ARE SO WEAK!"

The fight was a complete mismatch. Any damage Hawkman or Hawwoman did was quickly made irrelevant. Undergrowth's powers of regeneration was incredible.

Across the dunes of sand were metal corpses of Necromancers. Those things had cause great trouble for Undergrowth, but eventually they were overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of the plants. Even then, many of Undergrowth's plants were destroyed during the battle.

In addition, all the other ghosts had retreated to the Ghost Zone. None of them wanted to deal with the out of control plant ghost. Undergrowth had no idea where they went, and he didn't care. He was just having too much fun.

"Let's see how many feathers I can pluck before you pass out from pain!" Undergrowth hollered.

The Fright Knight felt conflicted by what was happening. The Flash was both helping and hindering the ghosts. The knight ghost never had such a combination of friend and foe.

Flash had disarmed the GIW agents and managed to deactivate quite a few Necromancers. On the other hand, the Flash had also knocked out quite a few of his men. The Fright Knight didn't know whether to help the speedster, or to cut him down.

He decided to be…what was the country?...Switzerland…Yes, that was what the humans said. He was Switzerland.

At least until the Flash tried to attack him, of course.

"Red devil!" Fright Knight sent a burning jewel at the speedster. It did not make contact.

That was the problem with this fight. Fright Knight could not catch up to the Flash. All he could see was a red blur as he tried to blast the red wearing speedster. The Flash, however, could not attack the Fright Knight without getting cut. His ability to vibrate through objects did not work on the powerful Soul Shredder.

The only thing that the Fright Knight could do was try to wear the Flash down. He knew that the speedster had a metabolism problem. It was rather common knowledge. Thus, the Flash would tire far before the Fright Knight did, but then the Flash could easily escape the knight ghost.

Of course, the Fright Knight did not appreciated this scenario. It made him feel slow and weak.

"RAW!" Fright Knight cut a Necromancer into two. "I tire of this!"

"This is quite amusing!" Plasmius noted as he sent a blast of ectoplasm at Batman's general location. The blast wasn't meant to hit the Batman, however. It was all for appearance.

Batman easily dodged the blast and sent an explosive batarang at the older halfa. It missed, but only barely.

Both attacks had managed to knock out a few GIW agents. The majority of the Necromancers and GIW were already destroyed and knocked out respectively. Batman and Plasmius did a spectacular job acting like they were fighting when they were in fact just attacking the GIW.

"Amusing?" Batman growled. "What's so amusing?"

"This was not how I was expecting my day to go!" Plasmius made three duplicates. They each spread out and sent a barrage of ectoplasmic blasts around the Batman. The explosion managed to make a Necromancer falter.

Batman quickly finished it off by a well-placed batarang to its neck. "And how exactly did you expect it to go?!"

"A lot worse than this!" Plasmius reabsorbed his duplicates. "For once, I the best case scenario actually happened. I find it quite amusing!"

Batman grunted as he dropped smoke pellets. "Your best case scenario is my worst case scenario."

"That is why it is amusing…"

Superman held the tiny ghost in his hand. He had known that Skulker was mostly tech. His x-ray vision had confirmed that earlier. But he didn't think…he didn't think that the suit would be broken so easily by the Necromancers.

With his suit destroyed, Skulker tried to escape back to the Ghost Zone. Superman couldn't fault him for that, but the Kryptonian didn't anticipate what happened next. He was too busy to notice as a Necromancer attacked the weakened Skulker.

The Necromancer was on the hunter ghost in the blink of an eye. Skulker was defeated even faster than that. Superman might not have been able to stop it, but he made sure to rip the Necromancer in halfa.

After the, the Man of Steel made short work of Necromancers. He was in no mood for games, and he had no problem using his full power on a bunch of machines that were meant only to kill.

"Dear Lord…" Superman muttered. After every Necromancer and GIW agent were taken care of, Superman returned to the hunter ghost. He was…almost completely cut in half. "How could they do this?"

The small green blob couched. "They…don't view us…as people…"

"But you can fell pain!" Superman stated.

"Yes…I know…" Skulker force out. "Erg!... That smarts…"

"Hold on! I'll get help!" Superman carried the hunter as gently as possible.

"Look…around…" Skulker murmured. "I…am not…the only one to share this…fate…"

Superman scowled. He could, in fact, see the death all around him.

"This…is it…" Skulker gasped out. "I…never…thought I would…go out…as the prey…"

Superman said nothing.

"Kryptonian…I have…a request…" Skulker stated.

"What is it?" Superman questioned.

"Tell…the world…that Skulker…was the greatest…hunter…in the world…"

Then, he was gone.

Superman stayed there for a moment. Then he looked around. He saw all the death and suffering around him.

"This is wrong…" Superman scowled. He knew what he needed to do.

With a sonic boom, he was off to his next destination.

(Play: Not Gonna Die by Skillet)

Agent Z threw an incredibly powerful punch at Phantom's head. This punch could shatter steel like glass. This punch would send Superman reeling. This punch was something that would make Colossus proud.

Phantom caught it in his hand easily.

In response, Agent Z threw another punch. This one was caught just as easily. The agent then tried to kick the ghost, but Phantom's leg stop the blow before it could even get off the ground.

"Raw!" Agent Z struggled to move his arms. Phantom's grip held him, although his arms did tremble a little.

Quickly, the GIW agent activated the machine guns in his arms. Dozens of bullets was sent at Phantom's body. Each bullet bounced off the energy surrounding Phantom.

The white energy Phantom was emitting seemed to dance around him. It coated his skin and flared out protectively. In all, Phantom appeared to be surrounded by a white halo of ectoplasmic energy.

Slowly, Phantom began to overpower the Exoskeleton. The metal of the suit groaned as Agent Z was pushed back. Eventually, the agents was pushed to his knees. Despite this, the Exoskeleton still towered over the ghost.

Of course, this made Phantom's feat even more impressive.

Agent Z began to sweat as he Phantom began to crush the Exoskeleton's hands. The ghost's smaller hands seemed to indent the strong metal. The GIW agent tried to think of a way to get out of this situation, but he didn't really need to, because Phantom was done demonstrating his newly found strength.

At least in that way…

Crash! Phantom reversed his flow of strength and flipped the Exoskeleton over his head. Agent Z crashed into the ground. Then, Phantom did it again. There was a third crash…and a fourth. The Exoskeleton was being tossed around like a rag doll.

After a few more times, Phantom grew bored of this game. When the agent crashed into the ground for the final time, Phantom flung the agent away. He was sent tumbling down the street.

"You think that will beat me!?" Agent Z stood. The Exoskeleton appeared fine besides the few dents in the metal.

"No, that was me humiliating you." Phantom explained. "Now, I'll defeat you."

"As if!" Agent Z shouted. "Do you really think I didn't have a backup plan for you!?"

A crashing noise behind Phantom alerted the halfa to the presence of another threat. Two more Necromancers arrived. They were both in far-range attack mode.

"I brought five Necromancers with me!" Agent Z explained. "I brought one to the UN, while keeping the other four deactivated! I called for two to distract the Justice League, and these two will defeat you here and now!"

Spirit had taken the reporters to a nearby roof. She made sure they were a safe distance while they could still see Phantom fighting.

"How…he couldn't keep up a few minutes ago…" Cat Grant muttered.

Spirit was silent. She had no clue herself. Her brother always did have a way of pulling miracles out of nowhere, though.

"Hello!" One of Scribe's windows appeared next to Spirit. In the window was Technus. He was grinning. "This is Technus, master of all things technology! I am sorry to interrupt all the ghosts fighting, but after tapping into the GIW database, I found an interesting bit of live video that you might like to see! Luckily, the Ghost Writer is letting me use his windows powers to show you all this!"

The window altered and showed a picture of Phantom fighting. Spirit recognized the picture. It was from her angle of the fight. It was coming for the camera man right next to her…

"Keep taping him." Spirit whispered as she stopped him from turning to the window. The ghosts needed to see this.

"How…" Cat Grant stared at the window.

"You're live right now, right?" Spirit whispered.

"Yes…" Cat nodded.

"Then Technus is using that live feed to send a message. Not just to me, but to all ghosts. That means both the humans and the ghosts will see this." Spirit turned to Phantom's fight.

"Why would he want that?" Cat questioned.

"Because it might just end this war…"

Phantom had never felt so much power before. The energy of hundreds of ghosts was being filtered into his body. If Phantom had the time, he would be in awe about this feeling. He felt…invincible.

Phantom instinctively knew. His muscles were stronger and harder. His bones became unbreakable. His energy was unstoppable. The power flowing through him was at a different level. It wasn't the power of a mortal being.

No…this was a power that should exist at a higher plane of existence, and Phantom would be lying if this didn't concern him a little. He remember his battle with Nocturne. The power of the ascended ectoplasm was not one to be taken lightly…

Especially when using it to fight against beings that Phantom would normally have problems combating.

None of the Necromancers' attacks did any damage. Each attack bounced off his white halo of ectoplasmic energy. Missiles were like pebbles to the halfa. Ecto-blasts were light breezes. The blades were like trying to stab Phantom with a pillow.

After a few moments, Phantom decided to counter attack. Before, Phantom had to use his strongest powers to damage the Necromancers. Now, however…

Phantom sidestepped a Necromancer's attack. He then brought his foot up to roundhouse kick the machine. The kick made contact and tore the Necromancer in halfa. His foot went through the metal like butter.

The other Necromancer lunged at Phantom. This time, Phantom didn't let it get close, however. He sent a wave of white ectoplasm at the machine. It was blasted to pieces in an instant. The only thing left was scraps of metal.

"What…" Agent Z stood in shock.

Phantom turned. He slowly began to approach the Exoskeleton. "Let's end this."

The halfa felt a pull to attack the agent. He could feel the downside of using the deceased ghost's powers. The leftover wills of the ghosts were demanding to finish this fight. They wanted revenge for their deaths.

Phantom was willing to accommodate their desire.

"Like hell!" Agent Z unleashed every blast of power he could to defeat the ghost. Missiles, ecto-bullets, blasts of ectoplasm, and grenades were all sent to stop the halfa. They didn't even slow him down.

In desperation, Agent Z rushed at Phantom. He sent the most powerful punch he could at Phantom. Unfortunately, the punch never made contact.

Clank! The Exoskeleton's right arm fell to the ground. "What!?"

Phantom held an ice broadsword in his hands. His energy now had a light blue tint to it. Ice was forming all around the halfa. "That's one arm…"

Agent Z swung the other arm. Clank! "And the other…"

Phantom then swung the sword at the Exoskeleton's legs. Like before, the metal limbs were cut off from the body. Agent Z quickly fell back onto the ground.

"No!" Agent Z tried desperately to do something, but the Exoskeleton was now powerless.

Stabbing the sword into the ground, Phantom approached the downed enemy. "It's over."

"Not by a long sh-"

Bam! Phantom's hand entered through the chest of the Exoskeleton. Agent Z could now see the glowing hand sticking inside the Exoskeleton.

Phantom then removed his fist. Grabbing the opening of the Exoskeleton, Phantom pulled. The hole grew until it was at the point where a body could fit through it.

"No!" Agent Z cried as Phantom grabbed him by his throat and pulled him out of the Exoskeleton.

Phantom then dragged the agent away from the destroyed suit. Lifting the agent into the air, Phantom's pure white eyes stared into the eyes of Agent Z. The agent shivered in fear. "You lose."

The halfa raised his hand. A ball of white energy formed above him. It was ten meters in diameter.

Phantom turned to the broken Exoskeleton. This was his family's greatest invention. It could multiply someone's fighting strength by 100. It could make a regular man into super being. It could turn a meta-human into an untouchable foe.

The machine was far too dangerous. Imagine if it got into the hands of a powerful villain such as Black Atom or Klarion. The world would be doomed. Phantom decided then and there. The Exoskeleton had to be destroyed.

With a flick of his hand, Phantom sent the ball of energy into the scrap of metal that was once the Exoskeleton. When the energy faded, all that was left was a crater. The Exoskeleton was completely destroyed.

"Gah!" Agent Z desperately clawed at the hand holding him in the air and chocking him.

Phantom felt the emotions of hundreds of dead ghosts. They were all angry and calling for this man's blood. The last bit of will the ghosts had on the Earth were demanding that this man die.

"What you've done is inexcusable…" Phantom stated. "You instigated a war. You slaughtered hundreds of souls. You killed one of my closest friends. You endangered my family, and you killed me."

Agent Z just whimpered pathetically.

"You deserve death. I can hear the voices of the fallen. They all demand that you join them so they can show how much they appreciate you." Phantom noted. "And I agree with them. I want to kill you."

Agent Z looked at him with pure terror in his eyes.

"I have the power to do so. I am a giant deciding the fate of an ant. And this time…no one can interfere." Phantom explained. "You're fate is my hand, and that's not a good thing for you."

What Phantom didn't know was that the whole world was watching him. Every ghost, human, and alien was watching and listening as he decided what to do with the GIW leader. Technus' interference allowed everyone to see Phantom's choice.

"All this time, I haven't let one thing go. I've always hated the people who have done me and my family wrong." Phantom spoke. "In the end, I've been bitter and hateful. But it all ends today because despite what anyone says or does, I…"

Phantom dropped Agent Z. For a moment Agent Z was sure he was going to die. He looked up in horror as Phantom's white eyes glared into his.

Then, the white energy surrounding Phantom slowly began to fade. The energy turned green then disappeared. The pure white eyes changed too. Phantom's neon green eyes appeared instead.

The power that Phantom had used to defeat the Exoskeleton was completely gone. He allowed the feelings of anger and vengeance leave. For the first time, Phantom just let it all go. He was no longer angry.

"…forgive you."

Colossus sighed. Looking down at the defeated Leaguers he said, "How am I supposed to be in the mood to fight after that?"

Captain Atom looked up. He had only just regained consciousness. Just in time to stop Colossus from killing Green Lantern. That however, put him in harm's way.

Luckily, the window that appeared next to Colossus seemed to calm the giant down.

"This once…I'll just forget about my injured honor." Colossus turned. "Consider yourselves lucky humans."

Vision sighed as looked away from the window. "That's it I suppose…"

Scanning the area, she viewed all her soldiers and defeated enemies. "It is time to leave."

The ghosts immediately began to head back to the Ghost Zone.

"Wait…" Green Arrow struggled to his feet. Despite the loss of their most powerful weapons, he and Black Canary fought on, but they were badly defeated. "We're not done yet."

"We are…" Vision looked back at the window. "I no longer am in the mood for such foolishness."

Pandora pulled her spear out of a Necromancer. "I suppose I should have explained myself better."

"And I should have been more willing to listen…" Wonder Woman sighed as she turned away. "Pride is a hard thing to overcome."

"It is indeed." Pandora smiled. "But he did it, didn't he?"

"Yes he did…"

"The coward ran…" Spectre glared at the hole in the ground.

The Spectre and Captain Marvel had arrived in order to prevent Undergrowth from killing Hawkman, Hawkwoman, or any more GIW agents. As soon as they attacked, though, Undergrowth ran. He tunneled underground.

"Are you guys okay?" Captain Marvel helped his comrades up.

"We will live…" Hawkwoman groaned.

"Yes, but I don't think I ever want to eat my vegetables again…" Hawkman tried to joke.

"Nice try." Hawkwoman smirked at her husband. "You're not getting out of that."

"Damn."

"Are you going after Undergrowth?" Captain Marvel questioned the Spectre.

"I do not know if it my place." Spectre noted. "And even if it is, my job today is finished." He turned to Hawkwoman and Hawkman. "I apologize for Undergrowth. Not all ghosts are like that."

They looked at the window showing Phantom. "Obviously."

"Tel lla eht stsohg og!" Zatara waved his wand around the area. All the ghosts were freed.

"You're letting us go back home?" Dora questioned.

"Yes, I don't believe there will be any more ill will between our worlds." Zatara noted.

"That's true." Dora bowed to the man again. "Thank you again, Mr. Zatara. I owe you a great debt."

"Do not mention it, Miss Dora." Zatara waved her off. "It is all part of the job."

"How many were lost?" Torch faced away from the fire monkey Bi as he approached.

"More than half…" Bi let tears fall down his face. "And…and Smo most definitely was…"

"Torch understands." Torch noted. "Gather everyone and head home. Torch will join Torch's minions in a minute…"

"Yes, Master Torch." Bi nodded and flied off sadly.

"Why did you face away from your soldier? Shouldn't you look strong in front of them?" Red Tornado questioned.

"That's why Torch couldn't let them see Torch's face…" Torch sobbed. "A general must not cry in front of his men…"

Red Tornado was silent.

"You are freeing me?" Aquaman questioned.

"Yes, the Great One has spoken. This war is over." Frostbite melted the ice holding Aquaman.

"Great One?" Aquaman. "I thought you were the leader?"

"Leader? No, I'm merely a tamed beast." Frostbite noted. "A true leader inspires his followers by acting. And that has already been done."

"So I guess that's it huh?" Flash smiled.

The Fright Knight continued to stare into the window. "Not just yet…"

"What's left then?" Flash questioned.

Fright Knight punched Flash in the face.

"Gah!"

"That was for annoying the Hades out of me."

"Uhg…" Flash groaned. "Fair enough…"

"Well, the curtain has fallen." Plasmius noted as he floated to the portal.

"That it has…" Batman nodded as he handcuffed the various unconscious GIW agents.

"It was fun while it lasted, Batman." Plasmius smirked. "But perhaps next time we can meet under less stressful circumstances."

"Hmm…" Batman glared at him. "I would prefer if you don't come back to Gotham. Ever."

Plasmius laughed at that. "I thought as much."

"Forgive me?" Agent Z muttered as Phantom walked away. "You…forgive me…"

Phantom ignored him and continued to walk towards Spirit. She had taken the reporters and landed down the street. She ran up to Phantom and hugged him. He returned the hug.

"You can't forgive me!" Agent Z shouted at he stood up. "I didn't do anything that needs forgiveness! I purged the world of filth!"

Phantom didn't react to the crazed agent. "Let's go. You have the Infimap, right?"

"Yes." Spirit nodded.

"Good." Phantom sighed. "We'll get out of sight, then use it, okay?"

"Okay…are you alright?" Spirit questioned.

"Yeah…I think I'm better than I have been in a long time." Phantom held his sister and began to fly away.

"Hey!" Agent Z shrieked.

Phantom stopped, but didn't turn.

"Were not done here!" Agent Z exclaimed.

"Yes…" Phantom stated. "We are."

"Like hell!" Agent Z pulled out a hidden ecto-pistol. "It's not over until you're dead-Ah!"

The ecto-pistol melted in the agent's hands.

"NO!" Superman glared down at the agent. "Phantom's right! This madness is over!"

"You can't-Mmh!" A green light covered Agent Z's mouth and limbs. He could no longer move or speak.

"Yes, he can." Green Lantern glared at the agent as he and Martian Manhunter flew towards them.

"You guys alright?" Superman asked his comrades.

"The Necromancers delayed us." Martian Manhuntter looked exhausted. The fire and Necromancer did a number on him.

"We would have been faster if those blasted machines didn't collapse three buildings. We had to evacuate everyone." Green Lantern explained.

Phantom had heard enough. "Let's go, Spirit."

"Hey, Danny." Superman approached them.

"Yes…" Phantom gave him a tired look.

"I'm sorry." Superman apologized. "I should have been able to prevent this. I was investigating the GIW, but I never…"

"It's okay." Phantom nodded. "I never would have thought this would happen either."

"What are going to do now?" Superman questioned. "After everything that happened today…"

"First, I'm going home. Then, I'll figure out the rest." Phantom stated. "I'm too tired to care right now."

Spirit looked up at her brother. He did indeed look exhausted.

Nodding, Superman left with a goodbye. There was a lot of cleanup to do.

"Is it okay to leave like this?" Spirit questioned after they were a good distance away. "We caused a lot of trouble."

"It's fine. We'll have a lot of work to do tomorrow. For now, let's enjoy the victory." Phantom explained.

"Right…." Spirit pulled out the map. "Ready?"

"Yeah…" He grabbed the map.

Spirit nodded. "Alright, take us home…"

It was amazing how one act of kindness and mercy influenced so many people. Danny wasn't aware that people were watching, yet he refused to stoop to Agent Z's level. He forgave the person who cause him unthinkable amounts of pain and suffering. That was not something many people would do.

In the years to come, I would learn just how much that act changed people. In an instant, Danny was pushed into the spotlight. He was now an icon for the next generation.

The future warriors of Earth would look to him as a standard and goal. Danny Phantom may be young, but he could stand with the big leagues. He could take on the world, survive unbeatable odds, and come out on top. How could people not admire that?

That includes myself, of course, but I would never tell him that.

I never asked what happened that day. I didn't need to ask. He told me about it not long after we left New York that day. To think…my brother had a connection to death…I guess that's why he was always such a kill joy.

But in all honesty, I wasn't really all that surprised. Danny had pulled off some amazing feats. Coming back to life by using the energy of an army of dead ghosts…Okay, that was near the top, but I still wasn't as shocked as I should have been.

A lot happened in the month that followed the GIW War. A lot was changed, and the stage was set for trials that would make the war look easy. But, in that month we didn't care. We were all just grateful to be alive.

Yes, with the war over, many people and ghosts evaluated where they were in life and where they were going. I suppose that's why there was so much change. Of course, I wasn't that excited by the change. That was pretty obvious, but it grew on me…eventually.

After everything, I do think that the change was for the best. And that change was all possible because of a single act of mercy. Pretty amazing, huh?

-From the personal memoirs of Danielle Masters