Chapter 12: Confronted

Disclaimer: I own nothing

"Direct confrontation, direct conversation is real respect. And it's amazing how many people get that." Penn Jillette

Chapter 12: "Confronted"

(Wednesday-September 22, 2010)

"You…have taken on a lot of projects on lately." Silas Stone noted as Danny was examining the engine of the improved Specter Speeder.

Danny grunted. "They're all for good causes."

"That I know, but…" Silas frowned. "Don't you think that all this is a bit much for yourself to take on? After all, all of Axion Labs could be working on these things instead of all the other less serious projects."

"I never wanted the scientists to work on my own special projects. They can handle the small stuff." Danny gave a small smile. "What would be the fun in any of this if I allowed other people to take control of my personal projects?"

"And this has nothing to what happened with Technus?" Silas questioned. "His…breakdown did leave leave some tension in the air."

"I'll admit that I might have made a mistake with hiring Technus, but he was a genius. I didn't look at his species. I looked at his mind. I mean, look at how much he helped us improve the Specter Speeder." Danny sighed. "But yeah, his…problems did lead to some…complaints and discontent…"

"No one is angry, but a lot of projects were delayed."

"Even better reason to have them focus on the other things." Danny noted. "They can handle the public things while I handle these other things. I like it that way."

"I can understand that." Silas chuckled at that. "But…this isn't really your career yet. You're still fifteen, yet you work like this is your career. I've heard from Mr. Masters that you have personal tutors helping you instead of going to school. It seems like a lot to take on for a teenager."

"I like being busy. Free time and I don't mix…not anymore at least." Danny noted as he closed the hood of the hover craft. "It may be a lot, but I can handle it."

Back before the war and even after it, there was always something to do in Amity Park. After all, the threat of ghost attacks and sometimes super criminals were always a constant. Now, though, there were long spans of time where there was nothing to do. For someone who spent nearly a year always having something to do, it felt weird to do nothing.

Danny felt the impulse to always keep moving. There always had to be something more to do. It was an instinct that came from spending weeks on end constantly rushed around without much sleep.

Right now, though…There were no ghost attacks. Super criminals were too afraid to set foot in Amity Park. Duplicates made finishing Danny's school work easy. He no longer had a girlfriend to spend time with. And also…Danny had begun to limit his time spent with Young Justice.

That was everything that was a mandatory part of Danny's life. Thus, he had a lot of free time now. Danny had grown to hate free time. It felt unnatural now and was a reminder of how much things had changed. It was a reminder of how much was gone now…

Granted, Danny had other outlets besides inventing. Training was always a constant, but training his powers never really seemed to accomplish much anymore. He could hang out with friends, but…Dani had friends of her own now, Wulf never liked to stay in the same place for more than a few hours, and Valerie…

Well, it was pointed out to Danny that Valerie might want…something more than friendship, and Danny wasn't ready for anything more than friendship right now.

Thus, Danny spent a lot of time in his labs. And with his joint projects with Wayne Tech, Dr. Roquette, and Adam Strange, he had plenty to do.

"I have never questioned your ability." Silas noted. "I'm just saying that it's rare for someone so young to take this seriously."

"Is this coming from experience with your son? Dani told me that you're not the biggest supporter of Victor's goals." Danny stepped back and examined the Specter Speeder. He and Silas had managed to upgrade the hovercraft with weapons, shields, and a more environmental friendly power source.

The 'green' power source was a part of his work with Wayne Tech. Lucius Fox, and by extension Bruce Wayne, was very interested in creating clean safe energy for the world. That was why Danny had been working on more stable ectoplasmic power cores. Basically, he was trying to find a way to take away the threat of explosions.

This work had proven to be slower than his work with Dr. Roquette and Dr. Strange. Dr. Strange's work was simple. He wanted Danny Fenton's help in advancing the Zeta system for the Justice League. Thus, Danny began to gain a far better understanding of the teleportation the League and YJ used every day.

In what could be described as either pure coincidence or even fate, Dr. Roguette was interested in creating nanobots that could be controlled mentally. Together, the two inventors managed to come up with a plan to make attachable limbs that could be controlled by brain impulses. The limbs could attach to the skin and move as if it was a natural limb.

It could be described as the opposite of the Red X suit. Instead of the tech sending signals to the body, the body would send signals to the tech. The nanobots would act like nerves and and move the limb as if it were a natural part of the body. Heck, the two scientists thought that they might even eventually find a way to simulate the feeling of touch.

Imagine what that could do for amputees…

Silas sighed. He turned to Danny and adjusted his glasses. "I just don't understand Victor. He has a brilliant mind, yet all he cares about is sports."

"You can't force someone to be passionate about something. I've never had a real affinity with sports." Danny noted. Granted, he knew enough about sports to carry on a conversation about them, but that was about it.

Silas frowned. It was hard to believe that Danny wasn't part of any sports. After all, he was no longer the scrawny kid from Casper High. Constant training and fighting had increased the teen's build and muscles. He was still not bulky like Superboy, but it was easy to see the muscle definition. "Really?"

"Naw, although I have taken up some self-defense after the whole kidnapping thing."

"Ah…" Silas seemed satisfied with that answer. "But still…you have to admit that sports are a lot less important than this. We are changing the world, after all."

"But sports gives people happiness and passion." Danny argued. "It's easy to see why people like them. They're fun, and if they're what Victor wants to do, then I say go for it. After all, Vlad wants Dani and me to get into business, but neither of us really want that. It kind of bores us, even if we both have potential for it."

"I suppose you're right…" Silas still didn't seem happy. "But you can't blame a father for hoping his son will follow in his footsteps. I guess…I just wish he was into science like you."

"I don't think you want him to be interested in it like me."

"What do you mean?"

"I only got into inventing after the Nasty Burger incident. My motivation for beginning to invent was because of tragedy, and I would never wish that motivation on anyone else."

Vision was not a ghost that relied on raw power. Despite being an S-rank ghost, Vision could be considered the physically weakest of the entire Council of the Elite. It would be impossible for her to defeat any other S-rank ghost through raw power. This was a fact that she accepted long ago.

There was a reason, however, that she was called the most dangerous ghost in the Ghost Zone. Vision was, without a doubt, one of the most difficult ghosts to fight. Her only rivals were ones with raw power that was almost untouchable. Even then, she would have a fighting chance.

The reason for this is that Vision's weapons and strengths are control, strategy, and intelligence. Vision's control over her ectoplasm was absolute. Even when her ectoplasmic attacks were released into the atmosphere, Vision could still control it. As such, even if her attack didn't land, she could still use the energy to her advantage.

Her other greatest strength came from raw intelligence that could create nearly infallible plans. This was shown greatly during the GIW war. Without Vision's plans, the war would have ended badly for the ghosts, that much was certain. In fact, her strategies were so great that she would defeat multiple members of the Justice League at once with ease.

Yes, Vision's absolute control over ectoplasm and absolute strategies were what made her so dangerous. Thus, it would make sense that she would try and teach these skills to her apprentice. That was the purpose of her newest training exercise.

Ectoplasmic chess.

"The form of your pawns are fading." Vision instructed.

"Gah…" Spirit muttered. Sweat poured down her face and body. For the exercise, Spirit had to form the various chess pieces with her ectoplasm and maintain their shape as she played against Vision. The strategist was shaping her own chess pieces. While Spirit's pieces were green, Vision's pieces were a deep purple. "I know."

"Then fix it." Vision stated. Unlike Spirit, Vision didn't seem bothered in the least, even though they having playing chess for hours.

"O-okay…" Spirit extended her hands to the pieces one the board. The pawns returned to their original shape.

"Good." Vision nodded. "It's your turn."

"R-right…" Spirit focused and moved her bishop across the board.

Without moving physically, Vision nonchalantly moved her pawn next to Spirit's king. "Check."

"Crap…" Spirit was trembling from exhaustion. With great difficulty, she moved her knight to intercept. "T-there…"

Vision's queen took the knight. "Check."

"C-crap…" Spirit moved her king to the side.

Vision's bishop appeared on the other side of the king. "Check."

"…" Spirit eyed the pieces before her. She had lost. Anything she could do would prove fruitless. The only logical thing to do was forfeit.

Thus, she moved her knight to take down the queen.

Vision moved her pawn to the king. "Checkmate."

"Ah!" Spirit let go over he control over the chess pieces. She slumped backward onto the ground. "Ack…"

Vision eyed her apprentice. They were on Vision's usual meditation spot in her domain. The sakura tree over them provided a beautiful spot for their games. "You did well."

"T-thanks…"

"Please explain your last move." Vision had done this with each game they played. She forced Spirit to explain her strategy.

"I…knew I was going to lose. I was trapped." Spirit sat up and wiped the sweat from her brow. "There were different things that I could do, but none of it would matter for the game."

"Yet you didn't just quit? Why?" Vision asked expectantly.

"Because I wanted to at least wound you. I took out your most powerful piece. It left you weak…Even if I still lost." Spirit explained.

Vision let out a soft chuckle. "Well done, Dani. I am impressed."

"…Impressed with what?" Spirit raised an eyebrow.

"You realized the flaw in this game. Each battle both opponents start out at full strength with all the pieces." Vision's purple eyes lit up. "But in real life, it wouldn't be that cut and dry. What you did would allow any possible back up or future help to easily defeat me…or at least have an easier time."

"Oh…Thanks…" Spirit smiled.

"But…" Vision stated. "There are also other conditions that could make such a plan fail. I would assume that you had help coming. Also, would your opponent kill you or not if you surrendered? These are the types of things that you must observe. Think about every possible factor and use them to your advantage."

"I bet there's more than you mentioned." Spirit sighed.

"Of course." Vision chuckled. "But by realizing that, it means you're learning."

"Not fast enough…" Spirit muttered. "I lose every time."

"But each time you improve and last longer before I defeat you." Vision smiled through her veil. "That is the purpose. One day, you'll defeat me."

"A long time from now." Spirit sighed.

"Of course, you didn't think it would be easy, did you?" Vision's eyes showed amusement. "If it were easy, anyone could do it."

"Good point." Spirit sighed.

"I would suggest that you go get cleaned up." Vision stood and helped Spirit do the same. "The meeting will start soon."

"Ah…that's why we met here…" Spirit snorted. "So you could torture me until the very last possible minute."

"Glad to see that you understand." Vision nodded. "Now go, you will need to be ready when the Council meets."

"Why? I'll just be in the waiting room?"

"Oh, you'd be surprised…"

Joel had quickly found that combat was a lot easier in his ghoul form. He moved faster and was stronger than he thought that he would ever be. His ghoul form was fundamentally more powerful than his normal form in every way. Granted, it had its fair share of weaknesses, but Joel could easily live with those.

"Rack!" The latest of Joel's failed ghoul opponents roared as it attacked. This ghoul had no hair and was so pale that it was almost translucent. It was rail thin and looked terribly weak. Looks were deceiving, however.

This ghoul's power was move its arms like they were whips. While that might not sound all that strong, it was quite deadly. The whip like arms kept Joel at a distance. To the naked eye, the whips moved like a blur of motion. The crack of the whip easily made slash marks on the metal arena.

To Joel, however, this was nothing. Even though he couldn't see the whip arms completely, he could tell where they were going to strike. With the minimum amount of movement, Joel dodged each of the blows. Each strike came close to the ghoul, but none of them did any damage.

This was a fundamental part of Joel's training. He had been forced to spend hours upon hours working on dodging and using the least amount of energy as possible. In a battle, an assassin could neither afford to take damage or become tired. No, the assassins of the Shadows always had to keep moving. This had been drilled into Joel, and now he was thankful for it.

Seeing his chance, Joel grabbed one of the the whip arms when one of the whips curve extended too far. The same fate occurred to the creatures other arm. Joel now had the failed ghoul completely trapped and at the boy's mercy.

Without a second thought, Joel swung the failed ghoul into the nearby wall. It crashed into the metal wall with a loud thud. Joel didn't stop there, though. He then swung the up into the arena's metal ceiling and then back down onto the ground.

With one final pull, Joel brought the ghoul flying towards him. The creature thought that Joel was going to finish it. This was far from the truth, though. Instead, Joel wrapped the failed creature's arms around it and pinned it to the floor.

As it thrashed on the ground, Joel tried to reason with it. "Please stop. We don't have to fight. You are not a monster. You are a person. We can act rationally."

"RAW!" It didn't listen.

Joel had tried this with almost all the failed ghouls he fought. Despite his talent for combat, Joel did not take any joy in fighting. There was nothing about battle that appealed to Joel. No, Joel would rather avoid fighting at all costs. Unfortunately, Joel's life was that of constant battles. There was no room to be a pacifist.

"Please stop, you're going to wear yourself out…" Joel warned. "If you don't stop then…"

It was too late. The being began to dissolve. Its skin melted into green goo. With a look of absolute terror, the failed ghoul turned to Joel for help. Joel could do nothing to help, though. He could only watch as the being that was once a man quickly turned into a pile of ectoplasm.

There was a single high pitch scream, and then it was over. The creature was gone.

"You didn't deserve that…" Joel closed his eyes and bowed his head in respect. "None of you do…"

"Have to admit…Vision place is nice." Wulf noted. He, Phantom, and Plasmius were all traveling down one of the many corridors in Vision's domain.

The inside of the Vision's compound was beautiful. Each room was lavish and expensive. The furniture looked as if they were imported from all over the human world. Beautiful chandeliers hung from the ceiling. Runes were spread across the rooms.

"You didn't notice that before?" Plasmius questioned.

"Atmosphere is calmer now." Wulf grunted. "Can appreciate now."

"Without the threat of war…I agree." Phantom stated. "You can definitely appreciate this place more."

"Perhaps it's just that neither of you stop and enjoy the little things in life." Plasmius smirked. "Always being on the move causes you to miss the small details that make life great."

"Oh, like you weren't stressed out the last couple of times that the Council met here." Phantom rolled his eyes.

"Of course not, Daniel. What would possibly give you that idea?" Plasmius chuckled. "When have I ever lost my cool after all?"

"I would never call you cool, Vlad." Phantom retorted.

Wulf snorted.

"The disrespect I receive these days…" Plasmius grumbled. "Is this the thanks I get for everything I do for you?"

"He makes an excellent point. What do you say, Wulf?" Phantom turned to his longtime friend.

Wulf did a thumbs down motion and made a crash and burn noise.

Despite himself, Plasmius laughed. "Brats. Fine then I know when I'm not wanted. I'm going to go ahead."

"Want to see your girlfriend before the meeting?" Phantom questioned.

"Yes." Plasmius confirmed. "But I also think that other people want to see you."

"Huh?" Phantom blinked as Plasmius flew ahead of them.

"Hello, Danny." A feminine voice sounded behind Phantom and Wulf.

They turned and saw a green skinned woman wearing a light blue dress and an amulet with long blond hair pulled into a braid. "Dora?"

"It's good to see you, Danny and Wulf." Dora the dragon ghost smiled gently at them. "How have you been?"

"Good." Wulf grinned.

"Alright." Phantom answered. "And you?"

"Fine, although I have been troubled by the topic of this meeting." Dora noted. Despite not being an S-rank ghost, Dora was allowed to be on the Council of the Elite because of her dragon powers and leadership skills.

"Isn't everyone?" Wulf suggested.

"This does involve her brother, Wulf." Phantom mentioned. "It has to be difficult."

Wulf grunted. "Very true…"

"I heard you were in Amity Park when he attacked." Phantom turned to Dora. "Thank you."

"No problem. I just wish I could have convinced him to mend his ways." Dora frowned.

"Black ring means beyond redemption." Wulf stated.

"Wulf…" Phantom gave his friend a sideways glance. "Play nice."

Wulf let out a loud breath. "Not wrong…"

"It is fine. I am well aware of the… negative effects of the black power ring." Dora looked away. "I could see it when I met my brother. He has changed, and not for the better."

"Vision told me that the black power rings brings out the worst qualities in a person and makes them stronger." Phantom crossed his arms. "Although, I haven't witnessed this for myself yet. I think that they may be purposely avoiding me."

"Possibly. I don't know why, though. But I don't think anyone does. What do you think about, Sir Wulf." Dora blind. Wulf was gone. "Sir Wulf?"

"Sorry, he does that sometimes. He's a free spirit. You can't keep him in one place for too long." Phantom rubbed the back of his head. "Don't worry, he won't get into trouble."

"I see…Well, I wanted to talk with you alone anyway." Dora gave a small smile.

"About what?" Phantom questioned.

"I…heard about what happened with Ember." Dora noted. "I wish to say…It was sweet of you to let her go like that. It must have been hard."

"It was…" Phantom didn't really want to talk about that. "Wait…how did you even hear about that?"

"Torch told me." Dora noted. "He seemed really interested in it."

"Never considered him a gossip…"

"Oh, I just asked him how you were doing. Torch is surprisingly well informed about what happens to the ghosts."

"Well… Torch has been surprising me lately. He gave me some really weird advice before." Phantom shrugged. "It was about treating your lover right. He said it was because you turned him down."

"…Excuse me?" Dora raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, he just mentioned to me how you rejected him." Phantom waved her off.

"Rejected him?" Dora was surprised. "He was the one that rejected me at first."

"What?"

"Yes, he was surprising shy about it. I was interested in him, I mean he's a good leader, caring, and really passionate, but he seemed…worried about getting close to a woman." Dora explained. "I think that it might have to do with his life before he died. But I eventually wore him down. After all, I am a woman of the current era now, and now it is acceptable for women to pursue men now."

"You're enjoying the woman's rights movement, huh?"

"Of course." Dora beamed in pride. "After so many years in the Dark Ages, I'm loving the freedom that I now have."

"Hmm…" Phantom paused in thought. "But why did Torch lie about that? Was he saving face…No, not with the way he acts…"

"Torch…is a lot deeper than most people give him credit for." Dora noted. "Even with his…idiosyncrasies, Torch has many different layers to him. After all, he is the ghost that cares about his 'minions' more than his own obsession."

"True, maybe I underestimated him. Torch may have a deep side to him that I have never even seen before." Phantom admitted.

"AH! GET OFF TORCH, YOU LITTLE DEMONS. NO! STOP BITTING! ACK! IT'S LIKE TINY KNIVES STABBING INTO TORCH'S SKIN!"

"…Or not."

Dora merely giggled.

Spirit couldn't control her laughter. This had to be one of the funniest things that she had ever seen. It had started out very simply. Torch had arrived into the meeting hall and announced his presence. That wasn't unusual. Torch did that all the time. The difference this time was that Nyx was in the same room.

As usual, Nyx decided to comment on Torch's arrival the only way she knew how. She openly mocked the fire ghost. Of course, Torch did not take kindly to this, so he confronted the shadow ghost. It did not go well. This is a little example of the following argument.

"Torch does not appreciate your attitude! You must apologize to Torch!"

Nyx smiled and mimicked him in a high pitched voice.

"What?! Torch does not sound like that!"

Nyx did the same thing again.

"That's not funny!"

It happened a third time.

"Torch demands that you stop that!"

Here's another one…

"Na uh!"

"Uh huh!"

"Na uh!"

"Uh huh!"

And another…

"Lalalalalala! Torch isn't listening to you!" Torch covered his ears.

"Oh, you are soooooooooooo mature, Matchstick! I can't believe that you're a member of the Council!"

"Lalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalala!"

Finally, it got to this point…

"AH! GET OFF TORCH, YOU LITTLE DEMONS. NO! STOP BITTING! ACK! IT'S LIKE TINY KNIVES STABBING INTO TORCH'S SKIN!" Torch cried. Nyx had created cats out of her shadow ectoplasm and was having them attack Torch. The fire ghost was currently being mauled by thirteen black cats.

Talk about unlucky…

"Nyx!" Pandora arrived and glared at her daughter. "Stop that at once!"

"But MOOOOOOOOM!"

"Now!"

"Fine…" The black shadow cats disappeared with a wave of Nyx's hand.

"Ah…huff…Thank you…" Torch muttered from his spot on the ground.

Pandora ignored him. "You know that you shouldn't use your powers like that, Nyx."

"Meh, he was annoying." Nyx shrugged. "Besides, he'll be fine."

"That's not the point. It isn't nice to use your powers to attempt to hurt someone in anger." Pandora instructed.

"…Are you serious? You're the queen of hurting people in anger." Nyx noted.

"…That is a weakness of mine, yes…" Pandora sighed.

"So your daughter takes after you, I see." Scribe the Ghost Writer approached them. This grey skinned ghost was wearing a purple blazer and grey shirt, pants, and scarf. He also had green eyes, reading glasses, and a black goatee.

Behind the ghost writer was a black and white ghost with no color whatsoever. He had thick glasses, greasy hair, and a bow tie. His appearance could be described as the definition of a super nerd. This ghost's name was Sydney Poindexter. He was recently taken under the Ghost Writer's wing after the war.

"Be silent, Scribe." Pandora glared.

"Of course…"

"Nyx, just apologize to Mr. Torch. Don't take him lightly. If he hadn't decided to play your games, then he could have easily killed you." Pandora explained.

"…Fine…Sorry, Matchstick…"

"Of course, Torch will accept!" Torch stood up and struck a pose. "Torch is the most forgiving person in the world after all!"

"You most certainly are, Master Torch!" Bi the fire monkey ghost shouted by his master. "Torch will forgive anyone of anything!"

"Well…Torch wouldn't go that far." Torch muttered.

"Alright." Pandora knelt down. Despite this, she still towered over her daughter. "The meeting will begin soon. You need to go to the waiting room with the other friends and guests of the Council."

"But the Girl Scout is going to be allowed to enter the meeting, why can't I?" Nyx questioned.

"It was already decided that Spirit should be allowed to witness the Council in person. Five members of the council have vouched for her potential to become an S-rank ghost at some point." Scribe eyed the girl. "Even if she isn't the type of person to take orders…"

He was clearly referring to Spirit's decision to try and help Phantom during the war. While no one really condemned her on her decision, Spirit did act rashly. She could have easily gotten killed by Agent Z…

"But that's not far! I'm just as strong as the Girl Scout is!" Nyx glared at the adults.

"Perhaps, but someone would have to suggest that you to be admitted. Then, the majority of the Council must support this suggestion." Scribe explained. "Those are the new rules set after the war. We can no longer just let anyone on the Council. Not with what Undergrowth did when he abandoned us during the war."

"Mom! Will you get me into the council chamber?" Nyx looked up to her mother desperately.

"No, I can't do that. You're not ready for that." Pandora noted.

"What?! And the Girl Scout is?!" Nyx scowled. "She isn't any more mature than me!"

"Hey…" Spirit had her own frown.

"Danielle has proven herself many times. Especially over the past few months. I'm sorry Nyx, but while you can obtain the power of an S-rank ghost one day, you can't handle responsibility yet." Pandora sighed. "It's just not in your nature…"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Nyx looked hurt. "Does this have to do with why I can use magic?"

"No…no it doesn't. Just forget about it." Pandora gave her daughter a small smile. "Just please go."

"…Fine." Nyx turned to Dani and gave her a nod. "I'll see you later, Girl Scout."

"Nyx…I'm sorry. I didn't mean…"

"It's fine." Nyx scowled. "It's not you I'm mad at…"

The large meeting hall was decorated to suit royalty. The floor was pure clean marble. Various runes that were meant to reinforce the building were spread across the white walls. At the center of the room was a giant table fit for royalty. The table was set with fine cuisine and rich drinks for the Council.

Around the large table were twelve seats that were basically miniature thrones. Ten of the seats held one of the members of the Council of the Elite. These were the most powerful and influential ghosts in the Ghost Zone. There were two members of the Council that were missing. Colossus and the Spectre were not at this meeting.

Colossus's reason for missing was simple. He was asleep. After the war, Colossus decided to return to his slumber. As the oldest and most battle worn members of the Council, Colossus needed to rest after incredibly long or difficult battles. No one knew when he would wake again.

The Spectre…was complicated. He was a ghost that had a human host. They shared the same body, and this is what allowed the Spectre to control his need to kill for vengeance and justice. Of course, this meant that he had a human life like the halfas. Unfortunately, the Spectre wasn't concerned with this meeting because it didn't concern war like the previous ones. Thus, he didn't come.

"None of the missing ghosts or Freakshow have been captured yet." Scribe noted after the meeting began.

"Yes, that is troubling…" Frostbite frowned. "Many of them have been seen in public too."

"Nocturne, Aragon, Freakshow, and Lydia all bluntly attacked Amity Park and nearly hurt my daughter." Pandora glared across the table. "We need to find them and bring them to justice."

"That is easier said than done, Pandora." Fright Knight crossed his arms. "We are dealing with the Reality Gauntlet and the Reaper's old power rings after all. You know how difficult it is to deal with those cursed items."

"Some of us don't." Dora piped up. "I may have gotten a taste of a black power ring's power from Aragon, but I know very little about the Reality Gauntlet."

"Torch knows that it isn't too complicated." Torch informed Dora. "The Reality Gauntlet can alter realty through the power of the various stones that it uses. Luckily, the user needs an access code to use the gauntlet. If not, then we would all be at war with Freakshow now."

"I'm impressed, Torch." Plasmius smirked at Torch. "I didn't realize that you do your homework."

"Torch may not be the smartest ghost, but Torch isn't ignorant on important stuff." Torch grumbled.

'He admitted to being dumb…' Phantom thought from his spot.

"He forgot to mention the terrible consequences from altering reality." Scribe scowled as he remembered. "If you try and control the universe, it will fight back. Alter reality for good, then great bad will happen. Alter reality for evil, then great good will happen."

"You make it sound like evil and good must be in perfect harmony." Phantom mentioned. "Like…um…yin and yang."

"I wouldn't say that they absolutely must be equal in all circumstances, but if you use a power that no physical being should have to change the world around you…It ends badly." Scribe sighed. "For all we know, my use of my powers during the war was what brought forth these black power rings."

"Doubtful." Vision noted. "The only thing you did was make sure that the majority of the ghosts didn't die. I believe that we all built up some good enough karma so that the…universe as you say wouldn't fight back for such a small crime."

Scribe just frowned.

"The question is what do we do about them?!" Pandora nearly yelled.

"Hmm…" Vision looked to Spirit who was sitting in a simpler chair between Vision and Vlad. "What say you, Spirit? You are the only person here to have interactions will all of these threats."

"…None of the dirtbags are going to show up until they want to." Spirit noted. "I got the feeling that while these guys are freaking nuts…and I mean FREAKING NUTS…They aren't dumb. They know that we can't track them unless they act, so they're going to be careful."

"Excellent point." Fright Knight nodded at the girl. "There is nothing we can do but prepare and be ready to act when they make a mistake."

Plasmius smiled at his adopted daughter. "Nicely said."

"There must be something…" Pandora mumbled. "What about the Infi-map? Would that work?"

"No. For some reason in these cases, work the Infi-map will not." Frostbite shrugged. "The Reality Gauntlet and black power rings block it, and for the others…ineffective it seems to be."

"The other missing ghosts?" Torch counted on his fingers. "Spectra, Bertrand, Undergrowth, and Walker…Is Torch right?"

"I believe so." Dora nodded. "But why would the map not find them?"

"Well, it would work for Walker…" Phantom explained. "But that's not the problem. Walker is working with the Shadows. He's surrounded by trained assassins ready to fight. If we just suddenly go after him, then he'll just escape and we'll get hurt."

"Luckily, you keep running into him." Fright Knight noted. "You almost caught him once correct?"

"Yeah, I had to choose between capturing him and going after Freakshow. I went after the bigger threat." Phantom explained. Every one of them knew about the Red X incident.

"Torch would have done the same." Torch shrugged.

"No one is condemning Phantom's actions." Vision nodded. "Freakshow is the bigger threat by far."

"Meh…" Spirit shrugged in her spot. "We'll get him eventually. The Shadows will sent him on missions, and Danny will keep running into him. Walker may be cunning, but his luck will run out eventually."

"That is true, but with the others…I have no idea for why the Infi-map won't work." Frostbite frowned.

"Magic, advanced technology, they died, or maybe something else." Plasmius shrugged. "Take your pick."

"Either way, they have been too quiet." Scribe noted. "From what I understand, none of them could stand being incognito for too long."

"Especially Undergrowth." Torch nodded. "Torch thinks that he's way too flashy for his own good."

Everyone stared at Torch as if he was insane. After all, Torch was the flashiest ghost there was.

"What?"

"Nothing…" Pandora sighed. "But you do make a point. Undergrowth is not the person to hide. Something must be going on."

"The coward ran away after the war and won't stop hiding." Fright Knight growled. "He must be afraid that we will end him. Under these circumstances, he might be seeking refuge with someone magical or that has highly advanced technology to counteract ectoplasm."

"He was a member of the Council once." Plasmius noted. "He knows that we won't take his abandoning us lightly. If I were him, I'd be doing anything to stay hidden."

"Then do you have an idea where he would go?" Dora questioned.

"None whatsoever."

"Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaat!" Torch rolled his eyes. "So none of these wimps can be found."

"Wait, what about Spectra?" Phantom questioned Vision. "You told me that you might have found a trace."

"Yes…" Vision nodded. "Several cities have fallen under a wave of depression. Many have been categorizing this as a bad day for the city. A rainy day if you will. But I'm sure that the League has caught the pattern…or lack thereof. Luckily, I've managed to hide the large amounts of ectoplasmic energy released by Spectra, so the League doesn't know that it's her."

"So…you're going to look for a pattern then?" The Ghost Writer questioned.

"Yes."

"Good! Then we can capture that foul woman and her lap dog." Pandora spat.

"We need to get to her and the other others before the League…" Plasmius noted. "The humans have already proven that they can't hold our enemies. Both Agent Z and Solomon Grundy escaped Belle Reve recently."

"Grundy wasn't the enemy. He saved me!" Spirit exclaimed.

"Yes. We should find him and provide refuge for him in secret!" Frostbite grinned.

"I don't know about that, but we should at least make sure he's in the Ghost Zone." Fright Knight mentioned. "He's our responsibility, not the humans. It was a mistake to hand him over to the League."

"Torch agrees. Torch's prision is far more secure than any on Earth." Torch grumbled. "Torch won't let anyone escape. Not even Technus."

"Has the League mentioned him?" Dora questioned. "His activity was contained in Amity Park, but they probably wanted to take him into their custody."

"They weren't happy, but they'll get over it." Vision chuckled. "But if there is a ghost attack outside Amity Park, then we won't be as lucky."

"Well, I'm in a good position to be on the lookout too. Members of Young Justice has full access to the League's data base." Phantom mentioned. "If they find anything out, I'll know. Maybe I can act before the League can. That way we can keep the ghosts from going into human custody."

"And who will you take on such an endeavor, my liege? That team of yours?" Fright Knight questioned.

"No." Phantom frowned. "They proved that I can't trust them with these kinds of things. If I take anyone with me, then it will be one of my friends from Amity Park. After the whole fiasco with the Ghoul Project thing, I don't even know if I want to be on Young Justice anymore."

"Yes, you told us all about that. A rumor that the humans are making special weapons created from ectoplasm from the war…" Frostbite frowned.

"Very troubling." Pandora sighed.

"I guess that's another thing we have to worry about." Dora noted.

"Like there wasn't enough already…" Torch mumbled.

"Wait?" Spirit blinked at her brother. "You're going to quit the Team?"

"Maybe. I'm not sure yet." Phantom shrugged. "Right now, I'm going to try and get as much info as possible from the League's data base. Batman threatened to kick me off the Team, and I know that he'll go through with it if he finds out that I'm hiding anything else. But hey, I don't need them. I only wanted to help in the first place because if I didn't those…mini-heroes would probably have died."

"So it might be a matter of time?" Plasmius inquired.

"Yeah," Phantom nodded.

"I'm fine with that." Vision interjected. "Young Justice has been hurting you more than helping you."

"Mean what does that?" Frostbite questioned.

Vision looked at Phantom for a reaction. He nodded to her. "They should know…"

"If you wish to make this known…" Vision nodded slowly. "Phantom has been having troubles with his powers lately. He has grown weaker."

"What?!" Everyone turned to Phantom.

"You've gotten weaker?!" Spirit jumped to her feet. "Why didn't you tell me?!"

"Because I thought you would overreact."

"Of course, I'd overreact! Danny, you're-"

"Danielle…" Plasmius instructed his daughter. "Please sit down. Now is not the time to make a scene. Let us explain."

"You knew too?!"

"As did I." Fright Knight noted nonchalantly. "I didn't think it was that big of a deal. Even the king goes through slumps."

"I can't believe I was kept in the dark…" Spirit grumbled as she sat back down in her seat.

"Woah, wait a minute. Just hold up. DP got weaker?" Torch raised an eyebrow. "When?"

"After the war." Phantom stated. "I guess I just felt guiltiy for how things went. I sent…a lot of ghosts to their death. They were my responsibility, and I feel like I failed them."

"That's not true, Great One!" Frostbite encouraged. "You did an excellent job!"

"I agree. Without you things would have been a disaster." Pandora smiled.

"I third that." Scribe noted.

"I…know that." Phantom sighed. "But I can't change my feelings. My guess is that it's survivor's guilt."

"Guilt…That is a weak emotion…" Dora gained a sad looked. "It's understandable, but still…"

"My powers have fluctuated. They've gone up and down at times. Sometimes, I'm perfectly fine. Others, I'm going on fumes…like my emotions have all dried up. And one time, they just…failed. I might as well have been a normal human being." Phantom explained.

"…When was this?" The Ghost Writer asked.

"When the Shadows were trying to steal the Mirror of Memories." Phantom stated.

"…" Vision stared at Phantom. "I think I understand it fully then."

"What?"

"Danny, you gain your powers from the emotions based around your obsession. Your obsession is 'to protect what matters.' The reason that your powers have weakened is because you feel that you didn't protect what matters to you." Vision explained. "You blame yourself, and that is what weakens you."

"It's true. The subconscious is a powerful thing." Fright Knight stated. "If you feel that you went against your obsession, then your ghost half will react to it…even if you didn't actually go against your obsession."

"Okay…so that's the full reason." Phantom shrugged. "I'll work on it."

"I don't think that you can do that if you're on Young Justice." Vision mentioned.

"Huh?"

"Do you care about Young Justice? Does that Team matter to you?"

"I…guess…"

"That's an uncertain answer." Vision observed. "That means that it doesn't truly matter to you."

"Where are you going with this?"

"On that day…the day that the Shadows tried to steal the mirror of memories, you chose to help Young Justice instead of Amity Park. The entire day was completely focused to your Team even though you knew that the Mirror of Memories needed to be guarded. Amity Park matters to you, while Young Justice doesn't. That means that you abandoned your obsession in a time when you knew that they needed you. You didn't protect what matters to you, and your powers reacted accordingly."

"They stopped completely…" Phantom breathed out.

"Yes."

"But...there were other times where I knew that Amity Park was in trouble." Phantom argued.

"There is a difference." Vision explained. "Before that, there was no hint of a significant threat that you knew of. After that, you knew that people were ready to protect Amity Park. Either the Justice League or members the Council stood ready after the Shadows incident. That one day, however, you were uncertain of Amity Park's state and still chose to go with your Team. Subconsciously, you thought that you completely abandoned your obsession."

"So…as long as I'm on Young Justice, I won't be able to regain my strength?"

"If they don't matter to you truly, then yes."

"But…they're my friends. I mean, I'm mad at the sure, but they're all good people." Phantom argued.

"But they aren't your obsession, Danny." Dora put in her two cents. "You don't care enough about them to risk everything for them. They don't give you purpose. Even if they are good people, which considering that they're your friends they probably are, it doesn't change the fact that you aren't willing to sacrifice everything for them."

Phantom was silent. "I…understand. But-"

An alarm went off at that moment. Phantom's phone blared out an SOS signal. The halfa immediately grabbed the phone and examined what was wrong.

"Is it Amity Park?" Plasmius questioned.

"No, it's the Team…" Phantom's eyes widened. "Someone's attacking the Cave! I have to go help!"

In a rush, Phantom jumped to his feet. He began to fly to the door. When he reached it, however, he heard a shout, "Wait!"

Phantom stopped and looked at his adopted sister. "What?"

"Didn't you just hear what Vision said?" Spirit questioned. "She just said that you'll be weaker as long as you're on that team. That means that when you abandon anything on your plate in Amity Park or the Ghost Zone for that Team, then there's a chance your powers might fail. If that happens, then you'll be killed! Do you want that!?"

"I can't just ignore an SOS signal!" Phantom exclaimed. "It would be wrong! They're pleading for my help!"

"They have the entire League for help!" Spirit retorted. "Why do they need you?!"

"I don't know. But I know this…" Phantom's eyes showed conviction. "I can't just ignore someone that needs my help. If they die or get hurt because I failed to do anything, then I'll always blame myself. My honor won't let me ignore someone who needs me."

"So this is about you being a hero?" Spirit whispered. "You already proved yourself. You don't need to-"

"Dani." Fright Knight addressed Spirit. "Let him go. Lord Phantom wouldn't be himself if he didn't leave. Don't ask him to be someone else."

Spirit frowned and bit her lip.

"Is that all?" Phantom questioned.

Silence was his response.

"Then I'm off."

With that, he was gone.

"Gack!" Spirit moped as she and Nyx sat in Vision's garden. "I can't believe them. That was totally pointless. You didn't miss anything Nyx."

"But it's not like I even had a choice in the first place." Nyx complained. "It wasn't like I wanted to sit in the meeting. I just wanted the opportunity to turn it down. Is that too much to ask!?"

"Er…No?"

"Exactly!" Nyx exclaimed. "It didn't help that Vision didn't show the meeting to the guests through her visiual birds like before."

"I think that had to do with the threat of war. Now that that's over, the meetings will be more private." Spirit frowned. "But I don't think I'll go to any other of their meetings. It was boring and seemed to be pointless. All they said is how very little they really got done."

"Psh…It's more for security reasons compared to anything else. They want to know where they stand, and what they need to do. It helps stop everyone from worrying." Nyx snorted. "Heck, even I'm a little worred. These ghosts are actually hiding from my mom and Vision. Do you know how hard that is? I'd have thought it was impossible."

"That may be, but did we have to go over every one of them?" Spirit sighed dramatically. "Half of them we can't predict, and the other half won't come out of hiding? The solution? We wait! That's stupid!"

"It is and it's sooooo boring!" Nyx rolled her eyes. "Adults are useless sometimes."

"Yeah, and it's all because the Council can't get along with the League." Spirit frowned. "I don't get it? Why don't they just get along? Don't we both want the same thing?"

"Fear." Nyx noted. "The League's afraid of the S-rank ghosts…actually, ghosts in general really. We do have some terrifying powers and we remind them of their mortality. And the Council is afraid that we'll lose control of our lives. Ghosts can't completely live the human's rules or morality. It's not in our nature."

"Because our obsessions." Spirit remembered her fight with Technus. "We have to be able to pursue them. Like Vision said earlier, if we don't strive for our obsessions or even turn against them, then we'll grow weaker…"

"And none of us want that." Nyx noted. "That's why I always aim to have fun!"

"Yet you came here." Spirit mentioned.

"Mom dragged me here. She doesn't want me to be alone." Nyx sighed. "I don't know if it's because of how I seem to keep getting targeted to get to her, or if she doesn't trust me enough to leave me alone."

"I would guess the first one." Spirit encouraged. "My Dad's the same way."

"But when you were kidnapped, he didn't freak out!" Nyx argued.

Spirit chuckled. "Says you. You should have seen him. He added tons of new security to the mansion, I'm not allowed to go on patrol alone anymore, and he just ruined the guys' reputation that tried to use me to get to Danny. From what I heard, the Penguin is having some financial problems, Scarecrow is in complete lockdown in Arkham, and Killer Croc is missing his teeth."

"He sent a message." Nyx nodded to herself. She seemed to approve. "I can get that, but with my Mom, it's different. No matter what, she won't explain the magic thing! I've practically begged her to explain this to me, but she won't. She always just looks so…worried. Whatever it is, she thinks that I'll overreact."

"Well…You do have the tendency to overreact to things?"

"And this is coming from you, Miss Drama Queen?"

"I thought I was Girl Scout."

"What? I can't give you two nicknames?"

"I suppose you can…." Spirit smiled.

Nyx snorted. "…Well, I'm just going to have to find this out on my own. You have any ideas?"

"Nope." Spirit shrugged. "Wait…what about your Dad?"

"Mom never talks about him. She says that he died and that it's painful to talk about." Nyx frowned. "I did think about it before, but it never seemed important. But…It might just be."

"Maybe your dad is the reason you can use magic." Spirit suggest. "Maybe he was a wizard or something?"

"But humans and ghosts can't have children together." Nyx noted. "And ghosts can't use magic…well, except for me…"

"It's the best lead we got though." Spirit stated.

"We?" Nyx raised an eyebrow.

"What? You think that I'm just going to ignore your detective case? No way! I want in!" Spirit smiled deviously. "Or I could just tell your Mom that you're going to find out who your Dad is…"

"Fine! Geeze, I was going to let you help anyway, Drama Queen." Nyx rolled her eyes.

"Alright! If we're doing this, then we're going to need information." Spirit noted. "And luckily for us, the most informed ghost in the Ghost Zone are right here in Vision's domain."

"Then let's go, Watson."

"Hey, there's no way I'm Watson! You can be Watson, I'm Sherlock."

"Why do you get to be Sherlock?"

"Because I'm smarter than you."

"What?! No you're not! I'm totally smarter than you!"

"Then why didn't you think about the Dad thing yourself!?"

"I did! I just didn't act on it yet!"

"Oh, yeah right! You have an excuse for everything!"

And there they go again…

"Hide in plain sight. Yeah, that totally works. Great idea." Phantom muttered as he helped cool Aqualad and Miss Martian from their flame cage induced fatigue.

After exiting the Ghost Zone, Phantom immediately went to the Zeta-tube hidden in Amity Park. He quickly learned that the Zeta-tubes in the Cave were offline, so he Zeta'd to the nearest tube and flew from there. He arrived to just in time to distract the Red Tornado look alikes who were trying to kill Young Justice, while Artemis activated an electromagnetic pulse to shut the machines down.

Phantom had to admit that Artemis made one hell of a shot. She shot an arrow across the Cave, through flying flames and water, and hit the target the little slot in the main generator. Phantom was sure that he couldn't even do that in his dreams.

"Ack…" Kaldur mumbled as he helped M'gann to her feet. "Thank you, Danny."

"Don't mention it." Phantom turned off his ice powers when he saw that the two of them would be fine. "Although, I would like to know just what the hell is going on. Why are Red Tornadoes cousins attacking the Cave?"

"Er…" M'gann looked up weakly. "I…think we all want to know that…"

"We can figure it out later." Phantom helped fly the two down to the others.

"Danny!" Artemis smiled at the halfa. "Thanks for the assist. That shot would have been a lot harder without you."

"You're welcome, but damn that was a good shot." Phantom complement.

"Of course. It is me that we're talking about." Artemis smirked.

"Yeah, yeah, great job to everyone involved." Kid Flash grumbled. "Now can you get us out of this rock now!?"

"Yeah, Yeah…" Phantom turned Superboy intangible as Robin explained how he played possum to survive drowning earlier.

"M'gann…" Superboy rushed to the Martian.

"I'm fine, Conner." M'gann smiled despite her weakness.

"Okay, now me." Kid Flash noted.

Phantom paused and took out his phone. "One second. I got to get a picture of Kid Flash as human art."

"Dude! You're phone shouldn't even work right now! Don't try to stall!"

"Just get him out." Artemis waved Wally off. "We will never hear the end of it if you don't."

"Yeah, yeah…" Phantom freed the speedster.

"How'd you get here anyway?" Robin questioned. "The Zeta-tubes were toasted."

"After I got a distress signal from Kaldur, I tried to Zeta here, but the tubes were offline hers. So I Zeta'd to the closest one and came from there. Glad I made it in time."

"Truth be told, I was worried about you responding to the SOS. You have been…distant as of late." Kaldur stated sadly.

"Meh, I was pissed…" Phantom paused and glanced at Robin, Kid Flash, and Artemis. "I'm still pissed, but I'm not going to just ignore my friends when I need my help."

Every member of Young Justice smiled at that. Most of them looked ready to respond when they were interrupted.

"That is good to hear." Red Tornado approached the Team. "It seems that you had the same Idea as me. I was a mere few minutes behind you, Phantom."

"Red…" Phantom turned to their…den mother. "Glad to see you. Do you know why your family tried to kill everyone in the Cave?"

"Kill? More like decimate." Artemis added her imput.

"I was not aware I had relations…" Red Tornado mentioned as he approached the downed robots.

"So what do we do with them?" Kid Flash questioned.

"I say we turn them into scrap metal…" Conner growled.

"The League will want to examine them." Kaldur stated. "We should deactivate them completely before the EMP wears off…"

"Yeah…" M'gann looked pale despite her green skin.

"Okay. Wally and I will-"

Phantom was cut off when suddenly the oxygen was cut off from the room. Red Tornado had turned on them and was sucking the air away from them. This, of course, caught Young Justice off guard. The already weakened and exhausted quickly succumbed to the lack of breathing air.

This excluded Phantom, though. He didn't need to breathe after all.

"What?!" Phantom muttered when Red Tornado stopped his attack. "You…you're the mole!"

Red Tornado said nothing as Phantom charged at him. Fists glowing with green energy, Phantom went to strike the android. Red Tornado flew back to avoid the strike, and went for an attack of his own. Phantom swerved to the side to avoid the blast of wind…and ran into a blast of fire.

It seems that the EMP wore off.

"Ah!" Phantom slammed into the ground. The ball of fire hit him in the back and scorched him. "You-"

A blast of water hit Phantom in his side. He was sent crashing into the walls. It crumbled on top of him.

"Crap!" Phantom shoved the ruble off of him. This was not good. Phantom would have trouble with one of the Reds. All three of them at once…It would be impossible. But he had to try.

Focusing, Phantom decided to activate his ice powers. At least he had the element advantage. His ice could counteract the fire and freeze the water. After all, this…Red Inferno…while strong, did not have Torch's ectoplasmic fire that opposed his own.

There was a problem, however. Vision had been right when what she said before. He was weakened when he chose the Team over his responsibilities in Amity Park and the Ghost Zone.

His ice powers weren't working.

"Son of a…"

Phantom had left himself open in his attempt to use his ice powers. Red Tornado took advantage. A tornado appeared under Phantom and sent him flying into the air. It was then that the other Reds attacked. Fire hit Phantom on his right. Water slammed into Phantom's left. He was smashed between two elemental powers.

After the elements calmed down, Phantom fell to the ground with a thud. His clothes were torn. His skin was burnt and bruised. He hadn't felt so…outclassed in a long time.

The halfa realized that there was no way he was going to win this fight. The three androids would kill him. He had to run…But he couldn't just leave the Team. He didn't know what he could do, though. If his ice powers weren't working, then his Ghostly Wail and duplicates sure as hell wouldn't work.

"Gah…" Phantom forced himself to his knees. "What do you want?"

They were silent.

"Do you want to kill me, or what?" Phantom demanded.

The Reds just looked.

Phantom groaned. "Fine, if you don't want to kill me…just leave. You win. I can't beat all three of you at once, and if I try…the others will be hurt."

"…"

"…"

"…"

"JUST GO!" Phantom glared.

Silently, the Reds turned and began to head out of the Cave. Before he disappeared from Phantom's sight, Red Tornado turned to look at the halfa. Phantom just glared at the robot that he considered a traitor. Then, with that, the android turned and left.

Phantom glared down at the ground after they left. He hadn't been defeated like this in a long time. Circumstances had been against him this time, though. The halfa wouldn't forget this…

He punched the ground. "Damn it…"

"What? You want to know who the brat's father is?" Torch raised an eyebrow at the girls.

"Don't call me a brat, Matchstick." Nyx glared at the flame ghost.

"Torch will call you whatever Torch wants to…" Torch stuck out his tongue childishly. "You're the one coming to Torch for help after all."

"Grr…" Nyx's purple eyes narrowed dangerously at Torch.

"Nyx…" Spirit muttured. "We talked about this…"

"…Fine!" Nyx pouted. "Please, great and wise Master Torch, I need your excellent knowledge and …um…awesomeness to inform me of who my father was."

"Now that's the way to make a request!" Torch beamed.

"So you'll tell me?!"

"Huh? What gave you that idea?" Torch raised an eyebrow.

"GRAH!" Nyx tried to lung at Torch but was restrained by Spirit. "YOU JERK! I FREAKING BEGGED YOU! I'LL TEAR YOUR BALLS OFF!"

"Nyx, calm down." Spirit instructed.

"Torch…" Dora looked up to the fire ghost. "She did ask very nicely. Perhaps you should tell her if you know."

"Of course, Torch knows who the brat's father is." Torch shrugged. "It's not that Torch can't tell her, or even wants to keep it a secret. It has to do with Pandora's wrath. Torch doesn't want her to be angry at Torch."

"What?" Nyx calmed down and blinked.

"Pandora is a very protective person." Torch looked down at the girl. "She…is a good parent. A good mother. Don't forget that. The reason that this is a secret is because your father is very dangerous."

"Is? Not was?" Spirit questioned as she released Nyx. "Does that mean he's alive?"

"…Torch has said too much." Torch fell to his knees in depression. "Torch is a bad secret keeper."

"It's okay Torch…" Dora comforted him. "They would have found out that much themselves."

"…Thank you, Dora." Torch smiled at her. "You are a good person."

"So…my dad is alive." Nyx whispered.

"…" Torch got onto one knee and looked Nyx in the eye. "Yes, he is. But Torch has to warn you…don't seek him out. Your father…He is not the type of person you should associate with."

"But…He was with my Mom once." Nyx returned. "How bad could he be?"

"This is far more complicated than you can imagine." Torch explained. "But let Torch tell you this. Your father will kill you. No! Don't interrupt Torch! Torch isn't kidding! Nyx's father…has no compassion or mercy. He is insane, and will love to watch you burn."

"I…see…"

"Promise Torch that you will leave this alone."

"…I promise."

"Good."

"Why did you just let them go?!" Artemis demanded.

"What was I supposed to do? There was three of them and one of me, and our fight would have put you and the others at risk." Phantom sighed. "Look, I know how you feel. But there was nothing that I could do besides let them leave. It was the best possible option I had."

Artemis frowned but said no more.

The League had arrived not too long after the Reds had left. They found a destroyed Cave, an unconscious Team, and a heavily bandaged Phantom who abandoned his torn shirt and coat to apply the bandages. Of course, he had been the one who explained what happened. None of them were angered by Phantom's decision to allow the Reds to leave. In a similar position, they would have done the same.

Young Justice was similar to the League. While they weren't happy, they accepted that Phantom did the right thing. No, that wasn't a problem at all.

Phantom's main problem right now was the fact that Red Tornado appeared to be the mole. He never even imagined that a member of the League would be the one who was informing the enemy of their movements. The halfa assumed that anyone that would be trusted with all of the League's secrets would be trustworthy. He was obviously wrong.

Turning his head to Aqualad, Phantom could tell what the Atlantian was thinking. He was going to tell Batman what he knew. It wouldn't be good if Batman learned that Phantom kept more knowledge from the League, even if it was supposed to be Young Justice's problem. He would have to talk to Aqualad. Phantom knew that Batman had the right to know about this, but he didn't want anyone else to tell Batman.

No…He would have to tell Batman himself.

"RAH!" Agent Z slammed into the side of his cage. He screamed and hollered in madness with each slam. It seems that the experimentations have begun to take their effect on the ex-leader of the Guys in White.

Joel watched from his cage. Agent Z looked a lot paler than he had nearly a weak ago. His mustache and beard stubble was now pure white. At the same time, he seemed to be bigger and more muscular. That was how many of the failed ghouls looked at first, though. They looked very strong up until their death.

"Wish he would keep it down..." Joel didn't like being next to the screaming subjects of the Ghoul Project. He never had time to himself during the day, so the night was all he had. His quiet mediation was difficult to do while listening to the insane shouts of a crazed man. Sleep would be nearly impossible.

Agent Z would eventually wear himself out, though. The failed ghouls always do. The body could only take so much after all. He would collapse soon enough. Until then, Joel would just have to force himself to ignore the deranged man.

Sighing, Joel began to think about his real problem. He had not seen Solomon Grundy since he was first brought here. The giant monster had to be somewhere in this facility, but a silent subject of the Ghoul Project was rarely a good thing. The boy had no idea what they were doing to the paled skin behemoth, but he could guess that it was bad.

Were they making him stronger?

Were they altering his mind?

Were they breaking his will?

Joel didn't know for sure, but he knew it couldn't be good for him. Grundy was aggressive and tough enough as it was. Adding onto that would be bad for the ghoul. This was especially true with what Joel once saw of Grundy's great strength.

The ghoul would be lying if he said that he wasn't worried. While he could take on these dying men, Joel didn't know how much he could actually do in a fight with an opponent that could take on several real ghosts. He would have to come up with a real plan, but what could work if he didn't have the strength to back up a plan to take down a walking tank.

He really just wished that he had a weapon. Joel's real talent always lied on his ability to use weapons like they were natural limbs. It was what caught the Shadows attention in the first place after all. Unfortunately, there was no way Joel could get a real weapon in here.

What he wouldn't give for a bo staff, a pair of tonfas, some nunchuku...or even a simple chain. Yes, that would do nicely. While not a conventional weapon, a chain could prove to be very useful. A chain would allow him to tie up his opponents. That way, they wouldn't be able to trash around as much. Heck, that might help them live longer.

Joel could picture it. He would swing the silver chain around and catch the failed ghouls as they attacked. They wouldn't even know what hit them. Yes, he wished he could have something like that now...

"Gack!" Joel gasped. Energy was moving through his body against his will. It was flowing to his hands like he was forming a blast of ectoplasmic energy. But this...felt more contained. It was staying with him. He could feel it in his hands. It was almost like it was changing shape.

Clink! Rattle!

"Huh?" Joel stared down at his hands. In his possession was now a thick metal chain like he pictured in his brain. The odd thing was that the object was silver instead of green. Whenever ectoplasm was shaped, it stayed the original color as the energy used. Now, though, it had changed. Why?

"Wait...Is this real?" Joel examined the chain. It didn't feel like ectoplasmic shaping. The energy always moves quickly when it was shaped. Now, it was slower. It was like the molecules were closer together. Instead of raw energy, this was...metal.

Did...did he just change ectoplasmic energy into matter?

"..." Joel gave a small smile. "Oh...this is going to work out just fine..."

Bonding Moment: Nyx

"Goodie two shoes!" Nyx pulled at Spirit's hair.

"Spoiled brat!" Spirit insulted as she grinded her elbow into Nyx's side.

"You think that hurts, weakling!?" Nyx bit Spirit's arm.

"Ack! No biting, momma's girl!" Spirit gave Nyx an Indian burn.

"Ah? Can't take it, wimp?" Nyx mocked. "Well guess what? All's fair in love and war!"

"Fine then!"

"Ack! Not the wet willie!"

"Take that!"

"Fine then!"

"What are you-OH MY GOD!"

"Nuclear Wedgie!"

It all started out so innocently like most things do. Spirit and Nyx had been trying to learn more about Nyx's magical abilities when a small argument occurred. Spirit joked that when Nyx could use her magic well enough that she would finally be able to keep up with the halfa.

Of course, Nyx did not take kindly to this. She insulted Spirit and her fighting skills. The shadow ghost said that Spirit couldn't hope to ever match Nyx. She insisted that Spirit couldn't fight her way out of a paper bag.

Obviously, this angered Spirit. What followed was a serious of arguments based on a wide range of topics.

How to fight…

What the best color was…

Whose parent would win in a fight…

Which philosopher was the smartest…Yeah, they actually argued about that.

And even what the best food was…Actually on that one, they decided that it was bacon. Bacon is the best food in the world…

But there was one argument that put them over the edge. It was the age defining argument that had the world in turmoil. The single argument that caused countless riots and mosh pits…

Xbox vs. Playstation

After that, it was on!

"Enough!" Pandora reached down and grabbed the girls by their ears.

"OW!"

"MY BEAUTIFUL EARS!"

"No more fighting you two! You're going to ruin my garden!" Pandora lectured. "If you have so much energy, then I have something for you to do."

(Twenty minutes later…)

"This sucks…"

"I know…"

"This is your fault…"

"No, it's your fault!"

Pandora had given the two young ghosts a pair of buckets of warm water and brushes. She instructed them to take them and scrub Pandora's entrance hall. To say the least, this hall was very large…

Like Taj Mahal large…

"How is this my fault!?" Spirit demanded. "It's your mom that's making us do this!"

"But it was you that started our argument in the first place!" Nyx retorted.

"I was just trying to help!" Spirit defended herself.

"Well, you're kind of help is sucky!" Nyx glared. "It got me in trouble."

"You're in trouble half the time anyways. I don't need to be around for that to happen. In fact, you're the one that always gets me into trouble!"

"You call it trouble, I call it fun. Too bad that you don't know what fun is!"

"I don't do I?"

"Nope."

"Okay, then…"

Splash!

Spirit dumped the bucket of water on Nyx's head. The shadow ghost merely stared at the halfa for a second. She didn't say or do anything. No, she just stood there and stared…

Until she splashed Spirit as well…

"Gack!"

"Ha! That's what you get!"

"Oh, it's on!"

Thus, the great water war began. Both Spirit and Nyx tried to drench the other girl. In mere minutes, they looked like drowned rats.

Pandora arrived soon to find the chaos. Both girls were drenched from head to toe. Many of Pandora's decorations were either soaked or destroyed. Also…somehow the girls managed to destroy a part of one of the walls.

But…at least the hall was clean.

That's something, right?