Chapter 13: "Chaos"

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"The worst enemy of life, freedom and the common decencies is total anarchy; their second worst enemy is total efficiency."

Aldous Huxley

Chapter 13: "Chaos"

(Sunday-March 2, 2014)

Phantom's eyes swept around the group that stood in the meeting hall of Mount Justice, "Alright, first let's address the elephant in the room. Not all of us are exactly friends. Some of us are even enemies, but drastic times call for drastic measures. If we want to stop the Sorcerer Initiative, we need to work together. If we don't, we'll fail. So, if anyone can't get over any grudges for one mission, speak up now."

Everyone was silent.

"Alright," Phantom nodded, "Just so everyone knows, this is everyone we've got. Every member of the Justice League not captured is working their asses off to stop Klarion's monsters," Holographic images of giant shadow cats popped up all across the Hall, "Klarion has his monsters attacking all across the planet. All still active League members, unaffiliated heroes like Black Lighting, and even a lot of our ghost allies are fighting them right now. As such, it falls on us to attack the main base."

Another image popped up. This time, it was a giant overhead image of an island. Four square buildings stood at the he four corners of the island. At the center of the island was a large facility covered in steel platting. Around the circular building were there crescent shaped buildings around the same and build of the main base. Only a small gap existed between each crescent surrounding the main buildings.

Jinx stepped up and pointed at the holograms, "Those four surrounding buildings are were the captives are held. Each person is hooked up to the pod that will drain the magic out from that person's body. The energy will then be transferred from that building's generator to the main part of the Sorcerer Initiative."

"Do you know where everyone is being held?" Dusk questioned.

Phantom nodded, "Yes. Base 1 is holding the Undergrowth specifically. Base 2 is reserved for the Homo Magi. Base 3 has the Atlantians. And base 4 is where the Amazons are being held."

"Why dose Undergrowth get his own base?" Gizmos questioned in curiosity.

Phantom sighed, "Some of you might forget this, but Undergrowth was actually a member of the Injustice League."

"What?" Backpack 2.0's camera flared around, "When was that?"

Vision decided to speak up, "It's a long story. It has to do with the Reality Gauntlet and differences in history. It would take a long time to go over completely."

"Not really," Superboy shrugged, "He was bad. Allied himself with the Light. Was pumped full of chemicals and magic. Became strong. Danny beat him. Later, we changed history to make Undergrowth good, but there was a problem."

"Not even the Reality Gauntlet could change his genetic makeup after everything that happened to him," Phantom let out a sigh, "Doing so would kill him. As such, some of what existed in the alternate history bled into the current timeline. Undergrowth still has enough energy in him to be comparable to an entire race of magical people."

"So, let me get this shit straight," David Cain took a long drag of his cigarrate, "You just let that SOB run around free even though he could basically be used to power a nuke?"

"Lord Phantom couldn't just imprison him," Fright Knight mentioned, "Undergrowth was doing good in the world, and capturing might just put him on a dark path again. It was better to let him run free and keep an eye on him. Unfortunately, we were forced to call on him when le Fey took control of the ghosts."

"The stink burger Light took notice of the weed," Gizmo snorted, "Nice going."

"Not like we had a lot of choice back then," Raven eyed the diminutive villain, "We had to use you after all."

"Hey, what about the Marvels and Doctor Fate?" Spirit spoke up before arguing could break out, "Where are they being held? Are they with the Homo Magi?"

"No," Jinx shook her head, "They are at the core base. Brain is planning to use them as a filter to transfer the untamed magic into useable energy. Then, the energy will be transferred to the three crescent bases. Each one of those buildings holds an ex-member of the Light."

Phantom glared at the hologram, "We don't know exactly what they're planning on using the energy for, but it will definitely be bad."

"So how do we stop them?" Artemis questioned.

"We divide into teams," Phantom waved his hand. Four pictures appeared in front of him, "Each team gets a technology expert. They'll be needed to shut down the machines. Gizmo, Red X, Gear, and Batgirl will have to focus on shutting everything down. That's why it will be up to the rest of you to protect them. First up, the Royal Flush Gang. You guys work best together, so we won't split you up. You'll be with Gizmo at base 1."

"So…" Ace scowled, "We're not going near the Light members?"

"No, we're going to try and capture them alive," Phantom stated sternly.

Ace looked like she wanted to say something, but Lydia placed a hand on her shoulder to silence her, "Very well. We will accept your type of justice. Besides, it will be better punishment if they have to live with their same, right, Ace?"

Ace looked away, "I guess."

"Good," Phantom nodded, "Damon and Rocket will cover Red X. The sheer power of the Exorcist suit would make it dangerous to have too many people around."

"Agreed," Red X nodded.

"So I use my shield to cover me and Red X while Damon blows everything up?" Rocket smiled, "Sounds fun."

"Glad you think that way," Phantom acknowledged, "Base three will have Artemis, Kid Flash, Red Arrow, and La'gaan protecting Gear. La'gaan, I know you're inexperienced, but we and your people are counting you. Make sure to follow every command the senior members give you."

"You have my word," La'gaan saluted the ghost.

Phantom smiled, "Base 4 will have the lightest force. Based on what little info we have, that base will have the lightest overall protection because Black Adam is still fighting against Colossus, and no one wants to get in their way. That leaves it vulnerable to sneak attack."

Nightwing placed a hand on Robin's shoulder, "So it's going to be the two of us coving Batgirl's back while Bumblebee assists with the tech."

"I'm good with that," Robin eyed the holograms. Troia was in Base 4…That was good. He would make sure to save her first.

"What about the main buildings?" Cyborg questioned.

"Jinx and I will be going after Klarion. He's showed an unusual power against Doctor Fate, and we think that we're the best ones to handle it," Phantom explained, "Vision and Cain will go after Ocean Master. Shiva will be in there to back you up."

"Oh, that fish bastard won't know what hit him," Cain snorted.

Phantom continued with his orders, "Superboy, Miss Martian, Wolf, and Beast Boy. You four will go after the Brain. Despite the beginning setback, Madame Rogue did manage to infiltrate the Light and get closer to the Brain. She'll be to take him down."

"Yeah! My first real mission!" Beast Boy was almost vibrating in excitement, "This is going to be awesome!"

"Calm down, Gar…Beast Boy," M'gaan stated gently, "We need to stay focused."

"Okay, sis…"

"As for the center…Cyborg, you're going to be there. You're in charge of shutting everything down. Try to prevent as much energy as possible from getting transferred. Spirit, Raven, and Youngblood will cover you. Be careful, though. The person guarding that base…is Nyx."

Spirit's eyes hardened, "Yeah, that's what I thought you'd say."

"Don't do anything stupid. And…just be careful. If you can talk her down, that's great. But if you can't…" Phantom paused, "Thousands of lives are on the line. Hell, the whole world might be on the line. Keep that in mind."

"We will," Raven spoke up before Spirit or Youngblood could get a word in.

Phantom turned to the remaining members of the meeting, "Last group will be Fright Knight, Dusk, and Constantine. Klarion has hidden his stupid cat underground. If we don't get that cat, we can't stop Klarion. Black Bat and Cujo will help you track it down. Find it. Then…take care of it. Ideally, we capture all the bad guys, but too much is at stake to be hesitant. Kill it if you have to."

Dusk looked away, "You know that I won't do that."

"But I will," Fright Knight spoke up.

"So will I," Constantine clenched his cane, "I'll send that little burger back to hell if I have to."

"Killing the demon isn't the first option," Phantom tried to appease Dusk, "But this isn't a mission where we can fail. Do what needs to be done."

Dusk looked away, "I'll keep that in mind."

"Danny! Danny!" Harriet Chin roared as she entered the Cave in a burst of light through the Zeta Tube's visitor function. She instantly stormed to the halfa and glared up at him, "What in the hell do you think you're doing?"

Phantom turned from his conversation with Vision and a rather bulky African American man and turned to his publicist and assistant, "Um, trying to talk with this mission's communications coordinator."

Mal Duncan raised a hand, "Hi."

"Not that," Harriet grabbed Phantom's sleeve and pulled him down to her level, "I mean, you using Damon and an untrained child in a dangerous mission."

Phantom looked at Harriet's angered features and sighed, "It wasn't my first option, but we're shorthanded. About half of Young Justice is captured, and I can't leave Amity Park unprotected, especially with J.A.Z.Z. focusing on controlling the Red X suit instead of the defense system. We need Plasmius there to coordinate the remaining Council members. Calling in unexperienced fighters and any enemies we could was my last options."

"I'm okay with the bad guys. Hell, I've seen all your secret files about your ideas with them. Sometimes, using them is necessary, but…" Harriet's grip on Phantom's sleeve tightened, "A man with a borderline death wish and kids that never fought before? Are you trying to get them killed?"

"Damon will be protected by the Exorcist Armor," Vision spoke up, "I have personally tested it. To destroy that machine, you would need an absurd amount of force. Damon is safer than most of us."

"But…"

"It's my choice, Harriet," Damon noted as he walked across the main hall, "They need my help. Trust me, if I could, I would work here with Duncan in communications, but you know Fenton isn't an option and J.A.Z.Z. can't control both suits at once."

"That is correct. Using the Red X suit requires an absurd amount of concentration," J.A.Z.Z.'s voice sounded through the computer, "Especially with how far away we'll be from Amity Park."

"And the children?" Harriet glared at them, "How do you justify untrained child soldiers? It's bad enough that you have them starting your war when they're barely hitting puberty, but now you don't even train them properly?"

"Beast Boy has been training for almost three years," Phantom argued, "La'gaan's been training most of his life too. And Gear won't even really be there. He's just controlling Backpack from his home base. It's more like a high stakes video game for him."

"Are your excuses supposed to make me like this?" Harriet crossed her arms with a huff.

"No, it's supposed to make you understand that even if we're desperate, we're not stupid. They will be safe, but we'll need help to ensure that. That's why I called you," Phantom gestured to Mal, "He's new to all of this. Has no clue how any of our systems work yet. With J.A.Z.Z. and Damon preoccupied, you're the only one that can help him."

"So you want me to help your insane mission to save the world?" Harriet didn't look pleased.

Vision took a step forward. She gently grabbed the other woman's hands and held them tightly, "Please. I have seen what these rogue Light members can do. They'll do anything to get what they want. They've gone completely unhinged. We have to stop them, even if it means doing things that we don't want to."

Harriet looked at Vision's pleading eyes and sighed, "Fine. I'll help you, but don't expect me to be happy about it."

"Great," Phantom smiled at her, "Now all you need is a codename for safety. No real names on open channels."

"Mine is Hornblower," Mal grumbled, "One stupid year of playing the horn comes back to bite me in the ass."

"We can give you a cool name if it helps," Damon gently placed a hand on her shoulder, "Someone with knowledge, like Minerva or Oracle?"

"That sounds stupid," Harriet rolled her eyes, "I want a name that will make you wince because I'm going to be screaming in your damn minute telling you not to die. Just call me Banshee."

"Dusk?" Robin questioned as he walked down to the Cave's deepest portion. The cavern was wet and poorly lit. The basement of Mount Justice had only been used for storage, but after the affair with Morgaine le Fey, the Team made it into a memorial for members of the Team that had died, "You down here, dude?"

"Yeah," Dusk stated weakly. Beside him stood the Fright Knight. Both ghosts were looking onto the two holograms that shined in the darkened cavern. One memorial was a proud standing Red Huntress. The other hologram was of a meeker figure. The hooded Secret looked on bleakly to the dark cave. There had been a little debate if Greta's ascension should count, but the Team did mourn and thought that she deserved a bit of a memorial.

"Tsk," Robin grunted as he looked upon the holograms, "The Grotto. These two should be in the Hall of Justice, or at least the Watchtower."

"That's the League's call, no ours," Dusk noted, "If it makes you feel better, Mentor has stones for them in our memorial room. He would have made statues, but they wouldn't want that."

"Yeah, the boss man always cares like that," Robin felt like smiling but stopped himself when he saw Dusk's blank look, "You okay man? You haven't been looking good since you got back from Atlantis."

"I don't want to talk about it," Dusk's eyes stared at the image of Greta.

"Don't bother, I've already tried," The Fright Knight let out a sigh, "Sir Dusk refuses to speak, as do Lady Vision and the new Atlantian."

"La'gaan? Yeah, he seems to be trying to distract himself," Robin eyed Dusk, "But you seem distracted. You sure you're up for this, man?"

"No, I'm definitely not," Dusk never looked away from Greta. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a familiar necklace, "But I have to do this. Our friends are in trouble. If I don't do anything, then they'll die. I can't let that happen."

"No rest for the weary, I'm afraid," Fright Knight noted while placing a comforting hand on Dusk's shoulder.

Dusk clenched the necklace in his hand, "Was I naïve?"

"Excuse me?"

"When I said that the act of taking another life was always wrong. That it was never justified. Was I naïve and stupid to say that?" Dusk questioned while turning to his companions.

Robin's eyes widened, "Damn! Something really bad must have happened to make you say that."

"It's just…There are things that are unforgivable. There are people who can't be redeemed. They should never be allowed free, but…there's always the risk that they'll escape," Dusk's face twisted and turned with conflict and concern, "But killing them…taking away everything they know and have…it just seems so wrong."

The Fright Knight sighed, "I wish I could say that I hold your strong views on this, young knight. That cannot be so, though. I fight for my lord. His will is mine. If he orders I cut someone down, I will. Without regret. That's how it's always been. I do not worry about right and wrong. I worry about my orders."

"Man, you know my view on it," Robin looked away, "Batman says not to kill, but…taking people out of the equation just seems so effective. They had their chance, after all. But I do see your argument, and we are the ones with the responsibility to hold back…"

"I see…Then let me ask you this," Dusk's neon green eyes stared at them, "Is it hypocritical for me to want to kill? To have something inside me that demands another's death?"

"Dusk…" The Fright Knight lowered himself to the young teen's level, "There is no sin in temptation. The only way to be a hypocritical is to having differing words and actions. As long as you follow your words, you will be fine. Have control over your hands and emotions, and you will be free of guilt."

Spirit stood in the corner of the hanger. All of the people involved in the mission were rushing around the hanger trying to prepare for what was to come. Most of the more experienced people were calmly prepping the Bioship and weapons. Even the more villainous people made themselves busy. The Royal Flush Gang and Cain was checking their guns. Gizmo, on the other hand, was busy trying to examine Gear's Backpack. The metallic bag was rushing around on its six legs to avoid being dissected.

The halfa girl wasn't paying attention to them, though. Her focus was on a picture that she brought from home. It was a picture taken years ago, back before Youngblood left and Nyx was taken. All four of her childhood friends stood in front of Masters Mansion. They were all smiling and waving at the camera, well, Rachel's face was blank, but the halfa knew her friend was smiling on the inside.

"Hey," Cyborg noted as he moved by his girlfriend. He placed a comforting arm around her shoulders and hugged her tight, "You alright?"

"No," Spirit gently traced the picture with her thumbs. Her thumbs drifted more to the image of Nyx, "I don't think I am. I miss this. When did things change so much?"

Cyborg glanced to his younger picture and then to his metallic arm, "I have no idea."

"It was inevitable," Raven mentioned as she sat meditating on the ground by the couple, "Things change. Time marches on. People change."

"Does it have to?" Spirit gained a saddened look, "Can't we all stay together? Be friends forever like back then. I mean, I know things weren't perfect, but…Everything was so simple then."

"That's the thing about being young," Youngblood noted as he leaned against the wall not far away from his friends, "Everything is simple. Maturity…time makes everything more complicated."

"Yeah, it does," Spirit gave Youngblood a sad smile, "Maybe your way is best, huh, Chuck? Staying young forever sounds nice."

Youngblood looked away from her piercing gaze, "It's not as good as you think. There are things I'll never get to experience. I'm jealous you guys sometimes."

"Even with everything with Nyx?" Spirit questioned.

"You're better equipped to deal with it," Youngblood shrugged, "Me…I don't really understand it all. It's beyond me. With the way that I am, I don't think I can help Nyx."

Spirit looked down at the photo in her hands, "I don't think being older helps me all that much. I don't' think I can help her either."

"Ahem…" Everyone in the group besides Spirit looked over to see Miss Martian and her squad standing in front of them. Beast Boy looked like he wanted to speak up but was stopped when Superboy shook his head. Thus, the young boy looked away as Miss Martian gave Spirit a look of empathy.

"We're leaving soon…" M'gann stated to the younger girl.

"I know." Spirit didn't look up. She continued to look at the picture in her hands.

"Are…you ready?" Superboy questioned.

"Not sure." Spirit sighed. "I don't know what I'm going to do…"

"This is important." M'gann noted. "People…our friends are in danger. If you don't think you can handle this..."

"I can handle it!" Spirit looked up and glared at the two aliens.

"I know." Superboy nodded to his fellow clone. "But I know what it's like to be conflicted. To feel pulled in two different directions. It's not easy. Can you handle it during the mission?"

"Yes. I can." Spirit nodded.

"And if you're forced to fight your friend?"

"…I'll do what I have to."

Cyborg gently squeezed the girl, "No, we'll do what we have to. Nyx is our friend too. We'll save her. I don't know how, but we will."

Spirit smiled up to her boyfriend, "Thanks."

Pandora floated over Amity Park. She clenched her box of Chaos tightly between her fingers. Klarion's monsters dared not come to this city she would stop them in an instant with her box. Still, her nerves were on edge.

"Pandora?" Plasmius questioned as he floated up to the tall woman.

"Yes, Plasmius, what is it?" Pandora could not tear her eyes away from the horizon.

"Are you sure that you don't want to go help save your daughter?" Plasmius questioned, "I can use the box while you help Danielle and her friends."

"No, I can't do that. I am better suited here or in the Ghost Zone. They need us to protect them while the others are away," Pandora argued.

"True, but I think the others and I can handle it," Plasmius noted, "None of us would blame you if you went ahead."

"I can't do that," Pandora shook her head, "If I go to that place, I will be drawn to Nyx, but I won't be able to do anything but get in the way. I couldn't bear hurting my daughter."

"Yes…I understand that," Plasmius let out a sigh.

"I will just have to put my faith in the younger generation," Pandora reasoned, "Nyx has good friends. They won't give up on her. I believe in them. They will bring my daughter back to me. I know this in my heart."

"Kekekekekeke!" Klarion giggled in glee as he peered up at the main battery. Reaching up and down from the ceiling with electrical wired glowing beneath the surface, the batter looked like a giant hourglass. At the center of the hourglass battery were five figures, Doctor Fate, Shazam, and the Marvels. Their limbs were all trapped in the metal tubes connecting to the batteries, "This is perfect! In a few hours, I'll get all the power I could ever want! Imagine the chaos we could cause!"

"Yeah," Nyx smiled up to her father as she swung the lasso of truth in her hands, "It will be just like in your stories, right, Dad? The world go back to how it was in the beginning. Total anarchy."

"That's right!" Klarion clapped his hands together in joy, "Imagine the fun we will have!"

"Your plans will fail, Witch Boy!" Doctor Fate roared up from the hourglass, "Our allies will come to stop you!"

"Oh, I know, but by the time they show up, I'll be ready!" Klarion's features became demonic as he rubbed his hands together, "With all the power I get from the magic, I'll crush them all in an instant."

"You're wrong!" Lieutenant Marvel glared down at the Lord of Chaos, "Our Team will stop you! Just like they always have!"

"Not this time," Klarion's sharp teeth shined as he grinned, "I know just how to deal with each member of your little group. Everything is in place. Even with that traitor Jinx on their side, they can't stop me!"

Nyx grinned up at her father, "You'll kill them, right? My friends?"

"Yep! You'll never be held back by them again!"

"And then you'll conquer the world?"

"Exactly!"

"And you've been using me and plan to absorb me after everything is done."

"Oh, absolutely! That was my plan from the beginning…" Klarion's eyes widened as he noticed that Nyx had slipped the Lasso of Truth onto his leg.

The room became utterly silent. Klarion looked horrified. The captured heroes looked on with curiously. Nyx's expression was basically the same, though. Slowly, though, her lips began to twitch. Her eyes began to tear up as she fought to control of her actions.

"You little whore!" Klarion roared as he viciously slapped Nyx across the face. The force of the blow sent Nyx tumbling back, but that was what Nyx had been hoping for. Rolling back and then jumping up, Nyx gave a proud smirk to her father.

"Ha! About time! I've been fighting that for months!" Nyx let out a laugh.

"So I was right!" Klarion snarled at her, "You did reveal yourself in Atlantis and Themyscira on purpose!"

"You bet I did! I was hoping Dani would get the hint when I hit the art gallery. She has to know that was a message to her," Nyx cracked her knuckles, "And I finally got the chance to use that damn rope. I've been waiting months for you to put your guard down and confess the truth. Spell's broken now, you Darth Vader wannabe!"

Shazam looked down at the two figures, "I knew something was wrong when she showed up. Her actions weren't her own. There was a spell placed on her. It altered her core to align more with chaos…with her father. All under the illusion that he cared for her."

"She's been fighting," Doctor Fate realized, "Trying to get Klarion to reveal the truth…to snap her out of it."

"Yeah!" Captain Marvel smiled down at the girl, "Go Nyx!"

"Damn you! Why'd you have to fight it!? Why!? Why!? Why!?" Klarion stomped the ground in anger.

"Sorry, papi," Nyx rolled her eyes and shoved the Lasso of Truth into her armor, "I always knew that you didn't care, but I needed you to release the seal yourself."

"Well done, you little brat!" Klarion hissed as black electricity danced across his fingers, "You did all that and now you get to go back!"

"Not without a fight!" Nyx slammed her hands onto the ground. Shadows spread out all around her. She sunk into the darkness as shadow cats jumped up and pounced at Klarion.

As Klarion fought off the animals, Nyx burst from the shadows below the heroes. She went to try and free Doctor Fate, but she was shocked by the machine. Hissing, she pulled her hand back. Through the smoke, the heroes could see that strands of energy stretched off her hand and into the battery.

"Damn it, I was hoping to get at least one of you free," Nyx gained a look of despair.

"Quick! Run away!" Lieutenant Marvel shouted to the other girl.

"No…I wouldn't get far. I'm connect to this machine," Nyx looked down, "It needs a living filter to transfer the energy. I'm the core of all this. The energy will rush through me, and filter into chaos energy that Klarion can use."

"But if that happens…" Doctor Fate's eyes widened, "You'll be burnt out. The backlash will turn you into a vegetable or worse."

"Yeah…" Nyx looked back at Klarion as he fought off the cats, "I can't beat him. He's too powerful and immortal as long as his demon cat is locked up underground."

"Then what are you going to do?" Sergeant Marvel asked calmly.

Nyx looked at the calmest of the Marvels, "I can't do anything, but I can give you instructions. The reason we had you transformed back to your hero forms was to drain all of the energy from you when you transfer back."

"What?" Captain Marvel's eyes widened.

"Yeah, when the lightning crashes down and the energy leaves your body, it will rush through me and then to Klarion," Nyx let out a shuddered breath, "And from what I understand, it's a permanent change. You won't be able to change back. Your powers will be stolen."

"No…" Lieutenant Marvel gained a look of fear.

"What do you want us to do, then?" Sergeant Marvel questioned.

"Don't change back, no matter what. No matter how much pain I'm in, or what happens, don't change," Nyx instructed, "Not even when Klarion is about to kill the helmet guy or Santa Clause here. Which he will, trust me."

Sergeant Marvel ignored his companions protests, "And what else."

"Tell my friends—AH!" Nyx cried out in pain as Klarion zapped her with more electricity.

"Got you, you little traitor!" Klarion giggled. The lighting solidified and turned into what appeared to be black puppet strings, "Time to go back!"

Groaning in agony, Nyx tried to fight off the strings that seemed to connect to her muscles and nerves, "Tell my friend…Ah!...Tell them that I'm the filter! The Sorcerer Initiative can only work if I'm here! When they come to save me…tell them…tell them that I want…"

"GET DOWN HERE!" Klarion yanked his arms and pulled Nyx down to him.

Nyx looked up desperately to the heroes as she was dragged away, "TELL MY FRIENDS I WANT THEM TO KILL ME!"

Black Manta stood before his employer. Despite being covered completely in armor and not having his face shown, the man's anger was incredibly apparent. His stand was rigid and filled with rage. The anger could almost be felt coming off of him in waved, "You lied to me, Ocean Master! You said that you would leave my son out of this!"

"I said I would try," Ocean Master shrugged as he said on a makeshift throne. The seat stood in front of the larger battery converter. Different plugs and electrodes shot off from the chair and were taped to Ocean Master's skin, "He proved to put up too much of an effort in protecting Queen Mira, so I had him captured as punishment."

"The hell you did!" Black Manta hissed, "That. Is. My. Son! You do not get to decide that. Release him, or I will go over there and rip him from the machine myself!"

"The boy has already chosen his side," Ocean Master scoffed, "You waited too long to reveal the truth to him, Manta."

"Learning the truth from me would only push him away from me," Manta argued, "It needed to come from Aquaman. Only then would Kaldur realize how much of the liar his king really is."

Standing on the upper deck of facility, both Lady Shiva and Black Bat leaned against the railing and peered down at the arguing enemies of Aquaman. Shiva's eyes narrowed at the new knowledge, "Now that is interesting."

"Yes," Cassandra gripped her mask tightly in her hands, "It seems that everyone is having family issues as of late."

"This life makes everything complicated," Shiva agreed, "Especially having families."

"What should we do with that information?" Cassandra questioned.

"Tell Phantom," Shiva shrugged, "He will know the best way to inform Aqualad."

"Yes, that's for the best. I'll tell him when this is all over," Cassandra looked to her mother, "Speaking of which, I should get going. I need to lead the others to the Witch Boy's demon cat."

"Right," Shiva stopped leaning on the railing and looked to her daughter, "Don't do anything stupid, okay? Let the others handle the bigger risks. Remember your limits."

"I will, Mom," Cassandra nodded and pulled her mask over her face, "But I need to do my fair share."

"I know, but I worry," Shiva stepped forward and hugged her daughter, "I always will."

"Thanks, Mom, but I'll be fine. You know that," Black Bat smiled under her mask, "You're the one that trained me after all."

Phantom stood hidden in the bushes. In a few short hours, his entire team had made their way to the Sorcerer Initiative. They managed to get to the island undetected, but as soon as the plan started, every enemy on the island would go on high alert. As such, everyone had a time limit to get in position. Due to the distance, telepathic communication was impossible, and no one wanted to risk having their coms intercepted. Thus, Phantom would have to alert everyone in his group in a flashier manner.

"Danny?" Jinx spoke up from behind the halfa.

Phantom stopped peering at the facility in front of him and turned to his lover, "Yeah?"

Jinx walked up beside the halfa. He was grateful that she didn't just disappear into the forest. Her stealth skills were way above his, "How much time do we have left?"

Phantom glanced at his Tucker Phone, "A few minutes. Hopefully, by then, everyone will be ready."

"Hmm…" Jinx's arm brushed against his arm, "Everyone…I don't think any of them liked the idea of me being with you."

"In what way?" Phantom brought his hand around and gently grasped Jinx's arm, "On this mission or overall?"

"Both," Jinx squeezed his hand, "Not that I blame them. I did swoop in and seduce you not long after Valerie died."

"They can get over that. I already made my choice. If they don't like it, then so what," Phantom looked up towards the blue sky, "I don't want to keep looking back like before. No one that died would want that. I have to keep moving forward. We have to keep moving forward. Nothing anyone can say will make me regret being with you."

Jinx gave him a gentle smile, "And what about the mission?"

Phantom snorted. He brought their still intertwined hands up. Both the hands began to glow. Green and pink energy began to dance around each other, flickering, dancing, almost like kissing, "They haven't seen what we can do together. Our powers together do things I never thought possible. Only we stand a chance against Klarion as it is. The others would just get in our way."

"Yeah," Jinx looked fondly at their dancing energy, "I love how that works, but I do wonder why."

"No idea," Phantom gained a contemplative look, "You get magic from your mom, right? But your powers always have a tint of ectoplasm to it. Not a lot, but enough to be noticeable. Was it because of you that Savage thought the Ghoul Project was possible?"

"Yes, but not in the way you think," Jinx explained, "I was never injected with outside ectoplasm. My powers are completely natural."

"Interesting…" Phantom's eyes twitched. For some reason, he felt that the answer to a big mystery was right in front of his face, but he wasn't seeing all of it, "I wonder…"

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Phantom immediately reached into his pocket with his free hand and turned off the small alarm, "It's time."

Jinx released Phantom's hand, "Alright. Mission time. Let's take that weirdo down."

"Yeah," Phantom's hand lit up with a large ball of ectoplasmic energy. Thrusting his hand up, Phantom flung the ball into the air where it blew up like a firework, "He's going down."

During his few interactions with Phantom and his allies, Gizmo had always been forced into stressful situations. Every time the ghosts were involved, Gizmo had been forced to try to fix machines, fight, or run away in distress with enemies right on his back. This was very different than how the usual shut-in usually worked. As such, he was grateful when he could actually work in peace and not have either enemies or backseat drivers to deal with.

"That was easy," King noted and knelt down to examine the drones that had been destroyed in the fight.

"Are you complaining?" Jack questioned, "I thought you'd be happy that the risks turned out to be so small."

King shook his head, "It's not that. I assumed that the threat would be higher."

"I probably would have been if it wasn't for the Light's division, and for Ace of course," Queen noted as she crushed a drone's head beneath her foot.

"Yeah! I doubt those dudes even realized that half their forces left," Ten let out a grin, "Man, I would love to see the look on those Light douches face when they find out how we took down their base with ease."

"First, I'm still a girl, Ten. Second…" Queen looked over to Ace who stood over a downed Poison Ivy, "I think things would have been a lot more complicated without Ace or Lydia here."

Ace frowned as her unblinking eyes stared down as the drooling Poison Ivy, "Her mind was strange. Half plant, I suppose. It was an interesting experience, but she was already on the edge of madness. It will take her a while to drag herself back into reality."

"Was that really necessary?" Lydia questioned as she looked over to the girl, "You could have easily incapacitated her."

"She was a cancer on people that actually cared about the environment," Ace noted as she tore her gaze away from the comatose woman, "The world will be better off with her madness. Gotham especially. Besides, you never criticized Fenton's actions. He made sure Scarecrow, Killer Croc, and the Penguin didn't cause any more problems."

"That was different," Lydia noted, "They are still able to function and move about freely."

"Yet they forever live in fear of Fenton and Masters taking them down," Ace shook her head, "I don't see much of a difference really. Both my and his way took away their free wills."

Lydia sighed. She looked up towards the towering Undergrowth, "Let's not discuss this now. We're still in enemy territory after all."

"You are correct!" Undergrowth snarled. His entire body besides his head was covered in metal. Thousands of tubes and wires stretched out from his prison and stretched downwards to the main battery converter, "With that vile woman defeated, I can now control myself! Prepare yourself for the wrath of Undergrowth!"

"No!" Gizmo roared from his position at the consol. His equipment was plugged in to the computer and he was rapidly typing on the keyboard, "If you tear yourself free, you'll bring this whole place down and give the Light more energy."

"Huh?"

"That machine is constantly draining energy from you. You not moving actually makes it so the energy flows slower because it comes straight from you," Gizmo explained, "Tearing yourself free with cause a massive amount of energy to be transferred to the battery and then to the Light. It will be too much for the battery, and as it transfers out of here, this place will go boom. And it will be a big boom."

"What do we do then?" Ace questioned.

"I'm working on shutting down the battery," Gizmo stated, "But that'll take a while. That snot bag Brain designed this pretty well. While I'm doing that, tattoo girl can use her freaky beast thingies to unplug Undergrowth safely."

"Done," Lydia nodded as she opened her cloak and allowed her tattoos to jump alive and fly all around Undergrowth to destroy the equipment holding him.

"What about us?" Ace inquired with a wanting look on her face, "Can we head out and hunt those Light bastards down now?"

"No, I need you to protect me from the backup drones," Gizmo explained without looking away from his console.

Ten looked up in alarm, "What backup drones?"

Just as he said this, a few of the walls opened up to reveal more humanoid drones armed with rifles. Queen glared at Ten, "You just had to ask…"

With a grimace, King pulled out his ecto-gun and began to fire at the drone, "I knew it was too easy."

"As if…" Ace's face twisted with anger as her eyes began to glow, "These pieces of scrap are nothing compared to my power."

Spirit blinked as the swirling magic faded. Raven had used her magic to move their squad into the center of the Sorcerer Initiative as soon as they saw the signal. The bird shaped transportation proved effective as all four of them popped up from the shadows of the building. The halfa girl's eyes instantly dashed around the metallic room. She instantly saw the giant battery holding her friends. Something else caught her attention first, though.

Nyx floated near the center of the battery. Dark energy flowed off her limbs in cold puffs of smoke. The veins in her neck and face bulged and pulped with black energy. Her form twitched and shook as energy was pushed into her and retracted from the hundreds of energy strands that were stuck into her back.

"Nyx!" Spirit shouted up to her friend, "What the hell happened to you?!"

"Ahhh…" Nyx's form continued to spasm unnaturally. She was borderline vibrating.

"Gah!" Raven clutched her head and dropped to her knees in pain, "I can feel it…She's in so much pain…She's holding too much energy…"

"What do we do?" Cyborg questioned carefully, "Chuck, do you think you could de-age her to help her?"

Youngblood frowned up at his friend, "I don't think that would help. The energy would still be pumped into her. Having a smaller body might kill her."

"Then do we destroy the battery?" Cyborg questioned.

"No…I can hear her intention," Spirit spoke up, "She's not attacking right now because her only line of thought is to protect the batter. Once we get close to that, she'll attack."

"So, the three of us hold her off while Cyborg does his thing and shut down the battery?" Youngblood suggested.

"Yes…" Raven focused on closing off her empathy and managed to force herself up, "Let's do that."

"Here we go then! Cyborg, shut that thing down. Chuck, Raven, let's knock some sense into Nyx," With that, Spirit instantly rushed towards Nyx with Youngblood and Raven right behind them. As they did this, Cyborg rushed towards the battery.

Nyx, however, didn't seem fazed as her friends rushed forward to save her. She just looked towards Cyborg. Just as the three heroes rushing at Nyx were about to hit her with some stunning blows, a large blast of energy blasted off of the ghost and knocked the heroes away. Then, with a wave of her hand, Nyx caused shadows to jump out of the ground in front of Cyborg right before the machine man made it to the battery. The shadows danced around and formed into a massive shadow cat. With a giant roar, the cat swatted at Cyborg causing the teen to lung back to avoid being hit.

"Holy cow…" Youngblood grunted as he picked himself up, "What was that?"

"She has too much energy in her…" Raven noted, "She can literally do anything she wants right now, but it has to be putting a huge strain on her body?"

"Then what do we do?" Cyborg readied his arm cannon and pointed it at the beast that looked ready to pounce at her.

"You have to go all out!" A voice called from the middle of the battery.

The heroes looked up to see Sergeant Marvel glaring down at them. Lieutenant Marvel quickly snapped at her friend, "No! Don't tell them!"

"She used her single moment of freedom to give us a message," Sergeant Marvel argued, "I can't ignore that! I can't disrespect that!"

Lieutenant Marvel gained a pained looked. Her eyes drifted from her fellow Marvel down to her teammates, "N-Nyx broke free earlier! S-she told us t-that...t-that you NEED TO KILL HER!"

Spirit's eyes widened, "What?"

"That was her message! You can't hold back, or you'll die! Take her out! That's what she wants! Don't let her die giving Klarion more power!" Sergeant Marvel exclaimed.

"But…" Raven's face twitched in confliction.

"No…They're right…" Youngblood trembled in rage, "We have to do what we have to. If we don't, everyone will die."

"Damn it…" Cyborg gritted his teeth.

Spirit looked up to the suffering form of Nyx. She remembered days that had long passed. When she and Nyx first met…the first meeting of the Council of the Elite…Nyx joining human school…Playing together…fighting together…No, she couldn't do it. She couldn't try to kill Nyx. Despite her words to M'gann and Conner, Dani knew that she could never kill Nyx. Not her best friend.

"No! Nononononono!" Spirit shouted, "Don't die! Stay with me! Come on, Wulf! What will we do at if you're not here!? We can't protect Amity Park without you! Home won't be the same without you! Who will I fight with over who gets the last strip of bacon!?"

"I'm sorry, but this is it for me…" Wulf's body was almost gone, "It may not have been perfect…but it was good enough. I'm so grateful..."

With that, Wulf was gone. His form dissolved and spilt through Spirit's fingers to the street below. All that was left was a puddle of ectoplasmic ooze that rippled as Spirit's many tears continued to rapidly roll down her face and fell down like tiny rain drops.

Spirit's eyes flashed with her green ectoplasm. No! Last time she held back, her friend died. She had to be decisive. Nyx was tough enough to take some punishment. If Spirit could go all out against anyone, it would be her.

"Alright…We don't have a choice" Spirit nodded as she activated her Spectral Claws, "Let's take her down."

"Oi, you! Get away from that!" Metallo shouted as he rushed towards the main council of the battery. He was quickly stopped as the Exorcist suit rammed into him and knocked him to the wall. Before the android could even slide to the floor, he was bombarded with a barrage of ectoplasmic bullets.

Damon continued to fire the gantlet gun at Metallo to hold him off. As he did this, he looked towards Red X, "How you doing?"

"Fine," Red X had several plugs sticking out of her suit that all stretched out and connected to the main console of the battery, "I feel a little useless having the suit stay stationary like this while you and Rocket do all the physical work."

"Just work on shutting the system down, we got this," Damon noted. He then noticed that Metallo was trying to force himself through the barrage of bullets, "Oops. No you don't."

Rocket launchers popped out of the suit's shoulders and fired multiple missiles at the android. Each rocket slammed into the machine man and covered in a large blaze of fire. In a smoking mess, Metallo flew back into the wall. This time, though, when the android slammed into the wall the damage caused by the previous assault caused the wall to let out a pained groan as it well forward and buried Metallo in a massive pile of smoking rubble.

"Damn," Rocket mumbled as her eyes alternated their attention between the Exorcist armor's show of power and the magician she was helping out of a pod.

"Indeed…" Zatara groaned as he leaned against Rocket's shoulder, "Fenton's work never fails to impress."

"Makes me feel a bit jealous," Rocket joked as she flew Zatara down to ground level, "Maybe I should get him to upgrade my gear?"

"I don't think it would do the League any favors that have someone working directly under us use that kind of fire power on a regular basis," Zatara argued.

"Tsk! Ruin my fun…" Rocket released the man. He stumbled for a bit but managed to stay on his feet, "Before you ask, Zatanna's fine. She was hurt, but she's safely resting at the Cave."

Zatara gained a relieve look, "Thank goodness."

With a nod, Rocket floated up once again, "You stay here. I'll go get the others out."

"Doing it alone will take forever. I'll help," Zatara noted.

"No offense, but you don't look up to doing anything," Rocket gave him a worried look.

"I can't just stand by and watch as my people are hurt," Zatara groaned as he raised his hands, "I must help. Nepo eht sdop!"

"WOOF!" Cujo barked as he led the charge down the tunnels beneath the island. While the tunnels lacked light, the ghosts could use their ectoplasm to light their way fairly easily beneath the earth.

"Damn cat must be running," Black Bat noted as she ran beside her allies, "It's a long way away from the original holding area."

"It's not dumb," Dusk noted, "It probably sensed us coming since you showed us the entrance."

"It can't flee forever, though," The Fright Knight let out a chuckle, "Cujo has practice chasing cats after all. It's only a matter of time before he hunts it down."

"BARK!" Cujo seemed to agree.

"But we don't have the time for a cat and mouse chase," Constantine argued, "Klarion is invincible until we stop that demon. Who knows how long Phantom and that Jinx character can hold him off."

"That's why we should—"

"What was that?" Black Bat looked around in alarm. Dusk was nowhere to be seen, "What?! Where did he go?"

That was the last thing Dusk hears as he was pulled through a swirling energy portal known as a Boom Tube. It was a short trip, but he was quickly released by his captive and thrown to the ground in a better lit room. He still seemed to be underground judging by all the dirt and rocks that covered the walls and ceilings. The only difference as the single lightbulb that hung above him lighting the immediate area around him.

"It's good to see you, brother. It's been a long time."

Dusk quickly pushed himself to his feet and looked at who addressed him, "Talia. How did you do that? I was surrounded by people and had my guard up."

"Do you think that I have not been trained? I am the great Ra's Al Ghul's child too after all," Talia smirked at him, "I know my way around stealth and traps. All I had to do was get the cat to go where I wanted, and that was easy when Klarion told it to obey my orders."

"Does he even know that you betrayed him yet?" Dusk questioned.

"No. He thinks that Jinx has gone rogue with Phantom, but nothing else," Talia smiled, "It all went according to plan. Everything is in place. Cassandra led you to the bunker's location. Just like we predicted."

"Predicted, but how…" Dusk paused, "Wait…did you know?"

"Know about what? Shiva's betrayal? Yes, we did," Talia shrugged, "She must have thought that I was blind to what was happening back during le Fey's attack, but I convinced Father to postpone punishment for now. Especially with how close you've grown to Shiva's daughter."

Dusk's eyes narrowed, "What?"

"I don't believe it's a romantic attachment," Talia noted idly with a thoughtful look across her face, "Not after everything that happened with that ghost girl you spent so much time with. But you are friends. In fact, besides the other ghosts that wear that DP symbol, the people you're closest too are all down here…except Robin. But I'm glad he's not here. The possibility of his death would certainly devastate my beloved."

"What are you talking about?!" Dusk quickly formed his Scribe Staff and pointed it at his sister, "Have you been watching me?"

"It's been a pet project of mine. I couldn't get a lot of information on you, but I did monitor your school and that tree you liked to hang around after I learned about Shiva. I noticed that the people you're closest too are Robin, Black Bat, and that knight character. You see, most have given up on you. Even Father has wavered, but I have hope. You have the blood of the demon inside you, after all," Taila let out a delicate laugh, "We just needed to shock it awake. Give you a reason to kill, just like your mother. There's so much of her in you after all."

"My mother…What does that mean?!" Dusk swung his staff at her, but Talia merely jumped back into the shadows.

Talia's voice then bounced around the cave, "It means that this is it. My final plan. Either you kill today, or we have to resort to the next planned heir. I pray that you succeed. You're best equipped to take Father's place, after all. You won't need the Lazarus Pit like the other heir would…"

"Wait? Other heir? What do you mean?" He was met with silence, "Talia! TALIA!"

His voice echoed around the caverns. He stood in the one source of light and looked around desperately. Talia was already gone. He knew it, but he didn't want to believe it. There were still so many things he didn't understand.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

At hearing the scream, Dusk twirled around to where the noise came from, "Cassandra!"

With that, Dusk instantly ran out of the light and in towards the darkness. With only the glow of his ectoplasm to light the way, the halfa raced towards the source of the scream now knowing that Talia's plan all along had been to separate him from his friends long enough for them to get into trouble. And he had fallen for it completely.

"I got to say, this is amazing tech," Kid Flash leaned down to examine Gear's Backpack as it stood over the main console of the third base, "Did you really make it on your own."

"Yep. The original one was made from scrap, but this version came from the best tech money could buy. It was so freaking cool to be given all this stuff," Gear's voice sounded from the machine.

"Yeah, Phantom can get some cool toys. Never saw him give someone such free reign over his tech, though," Kid Flash stroked his chin, "Especially to make a drone capable of high speed calibration and hacking."

A different voice sounded through the machine, "Really? Guy seems pretty alright to me, man. Total BA."

"Virg! I told you, you can watch but you can't talk!"

"But this is getting boring! All you're doing is working on a computer that is working on a computer!"

"I told you that was what was going to happen. Backpack isn't made for fighting."

"Still, I thought that we'd get to watch some fighting…"

"Um…" Kid Flash blinked at the argument. He then looked around to see his other teammates working to free the different Atlantians. The other voice had a point. They had yet to fight anyone at this base, "Hey, Artemis, wasn't Walker supposed be guarding this place?!"

"Yes," Artemis looked over as she helped Kaldur out of his pod, "But he hasn't shown his face. We shouldn't look gift horse in the mouth, so...Stop goofing around and help us!"

"Oh…Oh right! Sorry!" With that, Kid Flash instantly zoomed away and began to rapidly open pods.

"Gah…" Kaldur groaned as Artemis helped him move across the room, "Walker was here, but he left a while ago. Said something about a plan…"

"So he's planning something," Red Arrow frowned as he carried both Tempest and Aquagirl over his shoulders, "We need to keep are guard up."

"Don't worry," Gear's voice now sounded through the intercom system, "I installed an ectoplasmic radar into my systems. I'll be able to tell if any ghost gets close—"

"Richard!" A new voice sounded out.

"M-Mom? I told you we were busy."

"Get off that computer already. Dinner's ready. Virgil, are you staying? We're having lasagna."

"Yeah, thanks, but can it wait? The fate of the world is at stake."

"Oh, you two and your video games. Fine. You got five more minutes, but that's it."

"Okay!" The two voices called out together.

Everyone in the facility blinked in surprise at the exchange. No one knew how to interpret what just happened.

"Gah…" Queen Mera sighed as L'gann supported her weight, "L'gann? What's happening?"

"I am not sure, my queen," L'gann gave an unsure look at across the massive room, "I believe one of our allies is having technical difficulties."

"No…Why are you here? It is too dangerous…" Queen Mera noted.

"It may be dangerous, but I am prepared and trained. You should know that already," L'gann slowly began to move the woman towards the exit.

For once, Vision decided against a subtle approach. She wasn't in the mood for approaching things carefully when they were already on alert from the other attacks. As such, she decided to take Dani's usual approach and just blew up a wall. As calmly as possible, she floated past the smoking rubble. Ectoplasmic energy balls floated around her for a brief second, then they blasted out and smacked the enemies away from her. The energy balls continued to fly around the room and take out almost every henchmen in the base before returning back to Vision's orbit.

"Damn, woman," David Cain muttered as he followed after the ghost, "Remind me not to mess with you."

"Done," Vision hissed out as she stared towards the middle of the room past all the fallen followers of Black Manta.

"Interesting…" Ocean Master noted as he continued to recline on his thrown, "I never knew you had such power. How come you didn't use that back in Atlantis?"

"For me, fighting on land is much easier, especially with Atlantians involved," Vision stared the villain down, "Not to mention that I have a whole lot more emotion to feed off of this time."

"Oh? What's with that look?" Ocean Master tilted his head in confusion, "Have I done something to wrong you? I don't remember."

"You have wronged the world," Vision's hand began to glow like the orbs of energy the floated around her, "And I'm going to right that wrong."

"Funny, Shiva said something similar right before you…" Ocean Master looked up to the upper balcony.

Cain quickly followed Ocean Master's eyes to see Lady Shiva being chocked out by Sportsmaster while Talia and Cheshire, "Shiva!"

Talia's eyes lazily danced down to the people below her, "Oh, you got here faster than I expected. I thought we could get Shiva and leave before the drama started."

"Let her go. Now," Cain commanded while pointing his gun up at Talia.

Talia shook her head, "I apologize, but no. The Great One has spoken. The traitor must face trial."

"Talia, send your assassins down here," Ocean Master called out, "I need more time to absorb the energy."

"Once again, my apologies," Talia smirked as she spoke, "From a majority vote of the Light, you have been blacklisted. Consider this your burn notice."

"What?!"

"Don't ignore me, bitch!" Cain roared and opened fire at Talia. The assassin quickly got out of the way and retreated out of sight with Sportsmaster and Cheshire dragging Shiva right behind her, "Damn it!"

"Go. Save your wife. I can handle this," Vision stated.

"Yeah!" David didn't need to be told twice. He quickly ran after the assassins and out of the building, "Thanks!"

"You send away your help? Foolish," Ocean Master snorted, "Black Manta, take her out."

Black Manta looked up towards Ocean Master then turned to Vision. A rocket launcher popped out of his shoulder and pointed at the ghost. Right before the missile fired from the gun, though, he turned back to Ocean Master and fired the rocket at him. Both the villain and the throne were consumed in a blaze of fire, smoke, and rubble.

"You heard Talia. You're blacklisted. I don't have to listen to you anymore," Black Manta then began to walk away from the downed villain. In his retreat, he paused for a second then looked to Vision, "Are you going to kill him?"

"Yes," Vision nodded without looking away from the smoking crater where Ocean Master lie. Danny did try to convince her to try to imprison him for trial, but Vision wasn't really in the mood for that.

"Good," With that Black Manta continued to walk away. Vision did nothing to stop him. He wasn't her target. No, all she cared about was the Atlantian that was stumbling out of the smoke.

"Everyone…Everyone betrays me!" Ocean Master snarled. His armor was now cracked and scorched from the explosion, "Fine then! I have gained enough power already! I destroy everyone that stands against me and take the throne myself!"

"Big words for such a little man," Vision reached up and removed her veil and headdress. She tossed them to the side and allowed her long blond hair to flow down her back, "I'll enjoy making you eat them."

"The Brain can be so stupid," Batgirl muttered as her fingers danced across the keyboard of the main console, "Having this whole place have a lockdown function just because Black Adam isn't here. But it also stops reinforcements from getting in. Gives us all the time in the world to save the Amazons."

Nightwing looked across the room to Batgirl as he helped Wonder Woman out of her pod, "To be fair, we're the only ones that could get in without getting shut out."

"Just proves that he's an idiot," Batgirl smirked back at him, "He should have known Batman's protégé's could sneak in here."

Wonder Woman quickly pushed herself off of Nightwing, "Thank you, Nightwing. I do not know what would have become of us without your interference."

"I could suggest a few outcomes. Most of them are pretty some, though," Nightwing smiled at her.

"Some?" Wonder Woman blinked at him.

"Just go with it! Gruesome without the grue!" Batgirl shouted out, "It's his new thing."

"Er…Okay," Wonder Woman looked confused, "I am thankful that we did not have to face these 'some' circumstances, but many of my sisters lack my endurance. They are strong, but they will need help."

"That's I went to you first," Nightwing explained, "Your mom's over there, and Robin's getting Troia right now." The grown up Boy Wonder pointed to his successor as he ripped Troia's pod open.

"Uh…Jase?" Troia squinted as Robin gently eased her out of the pod, "What are thou doing here?"

"Saving you, duh," Robin let out a snort as he carried her bridal style to the ground floor, "What else would I be doing if you were in trouble?"

"True…"

"Oh, please don't go into a rant right now," Robin rolled his eyes, "I get it, you aren't a 'helpless maiden.' You can take care of yourself. Tell you what, next time one of use is trapped by a psychotic villain, I can be the damsel. How about that?"

"Sounds good," Troia sighed and leaned into him.

Robin let out a smirk, "But you do realize that I'm going to keep bringing this up until that happens."

Troia gently smacked his arm, "I am sure that I can think of a few ways to shut thee up."

When Superboy crashed into the Brain's hideout, he was expecting many things. Guns were going to be fired at him. Genetically modified animals would attack him. Stupid monkeys would be involved in some God forsaken way. Superboy was certain of all of that. Yet the moment he looked into the base, he knew he was dead wrong.

"Walker?" Superboy's eyes widened as he took in the carnage around the base. Drones were destroyed to the point that most of the floor was covered in their broken parts. Monsieur Mallah was lying in the corner splattered with his own blood. The Brain's transportation and communication machine was completely wrecked, and the brain part of the Brain was now held in Walker's arms.

"Oh, the punks arrive just in time to see the show," Walker looked over and grinned at Superboy just as Miss Martian, Wolf, and Beast Boy followed him into the room.

"What…" Miss Martian frantically looked around, "Why would you do this to your own allies?"

"They outlived their usefulness. Not just the blacklisted ones, the Light as a whole," Walker shook his head, "They've broken the rules too many times, and now I'm breaking off with a new group. Well…already broken off. Been playing the mole for quite some time now."

"Mole? Like that big thing Young Justice went through before I moved to the cave?" Beast Boy looked back and forth between M'gann and Conner.

"Not now, BB," Superboy growled.

"Now's the final play for everything we've been building to with these fools," Walker chuckled as he crossed his arms, "They're too obsessed with evolution. Law of the jungle my ass. There's only one law that everyone has to follow. One that my new group showed me. The law of death."

"What does that even mean?" Beast Boy questioned.

"It means…" Madame Rogue stepped out from behind Walker, "Vat everyving is coming to an end."

"Rogue?! What are you doing!? You were already paid to help us!" Superboy shouted in outrage.

"I vas given a better offer," Madame Rouge shrugged, "Vhos are vhe works, kid."

"Betraying us isn't a smart move," M'gann's eyes began to glow, "We're not very forgiving."

"Don't get too mad at her," Walker mentioned, "We gave her an offer she couldn't refuse."

"Yes…" Rogue looked away, "I vant to live."

"Exactly. Death comes to everyone, but everyone fights to live. Those are the rules," Walker mentioned, "And now she'll be equipped to live a long time."

"Yes…" Rogue took a fighting stance and glared at the heroes, "And for me to live, you zhree must die."

"Sorry kiddies," Walker chuckled as he stepped forward to reveal that he had been hiding something.

"Etrigan?" Beast Boy's eyes widened as he saw the demon hooked up to the main battery of the base.

"Yep," Walker looked back at the demon for a brief second. The demon's veins pulsed with energy as the magic was pumped into him, "It's all part of the end game plan. Unfortunately, you three aren't going to be a part of it."

Walker uncrossed his arms and stood at a relaxed stance. His green energy began to flair around him but slowly began to change color. As this happened, Walker's fake arm changed from its green color into a deep, pulsing black. The former jailer then lifted his remaining real hand to show a black ring.

"You afraid yet, punks?"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

After a few seconds, Ravager stopped the scream and looked down at her prisoner, "Pretty good impression, huh Cass?"

Black Bat glared up at her former ally and friend, "I don't scream."

"Meh," Ravager shrugged as she placed a foot on the other girl's chest. Her blade never left Black Bat's neck, "You know that. I know that. Hell, Dusk probably knows that. But men are guilable. They run when they hear women scream."

Deathstroke looked over to his daughter.

"Well…" Ravager met her father's gaze, "Most men."

"What are you planning?" The Fright Knight growled as an anti-ectoplasm handcuffs held his arms tightly behind his back. Deathstroke used a sneak attack to subdue Fright Knight before he even knew the assassin was there. While Fright Knight was sure he could beat the assassin in a straight up fight, stealth and ambushes had never been his strongest area, "Why do all this? The Light wants Klarion dead just as much as we do."

"That's the point, knight," Deathstroke chuckled as he held his ecto-pistol level with Fright Knight's head, "We both get what we want, only you won't be a part of it."

"Well, how come we have to be a bloody part of it!?" Constantine shouted as a giant version of Teekl swatted at him. Normally, the demonic cat could turn into the size of a tiger to fight off threats when Klarion was gone. Now though, with an untold magic being pumped into its master, the demon had grown to the size of a single story house.

As soon as Dusk disappeared, the cat changed. The four fighters went to take the cat down quickly so they could find Dusk. That was when Deathstroke and Ravager struck. With the element of surprise, they managed to subdue Black Bat and Fright Knight, and drag them away from the fight.

Constantine and Cujo wanted to go help their allies, but Teekl would not allow them to get close. Even when one of them were about to almost get away, Deathstroke and Ravager would open fire at them to prevent them from trying to free their allies.

"The boy will need some help. That's your job," Deathstroke chuckled as he pressed his gun to the front of the Fright Knight's helmet, "These two will be the motivation."

Phantom and Jinx didn't give Klarion a moment of reprieve when they entered the base. Jinx teleported in from one side while Phantom fazed in from the other side. Without a word or a chance for Klarion to react, they attacked. They both sent dozens of blasts to the center of the room to try and destroy Klarion's power source. There was only one problem to that plan.

There was no main battery in the base.

"Wait…What?" Phantom blinked at the empty base.

"Kekekekeke…" Klarion's voice echoed throughout the area, "Nice try, kiddies!"

The smoke from their attacks cleared to show a completely unharmed Klarion. That was not to say that he didn't appear different. In fact, he looked far more monstrous than they had ever seen him. Gone was his scrawny frame. His muscle had bulged out to show someone that looked extremely fit instead of sickly thin. The small horns on the top of his head had grown and cured into something that Phantom could compare to pictures people drew of the devil. His normally deathly pale skin was now glowing and pulsing with blue and black energy to the point that the energy seemed to be drifting off of him like smoke.

'He's the battery,' Phantom realized, 'The energy is flowing directly to him from Nyx.'

"The traitor and the little hero! I'm so glad that it was you two that showed up!" Klarion grinned at them and showed his sharpened teeth, "This is the perfect opportunity to test out my new power."

"Don't act like your power is natural, Witch Boy," Jinx made sure not to open up her guard. She held her glowing pink hands up, ready to defend at any moment, "You stole it."

"True! But I did work hard to get it! Gah! You won't believe the amount of planning involved to get all of this working," Klarion snorted, "But it was worth it!"

Phantom took a step towards Klarion, "I'm guessing I should skip the attempts to try to get you to surrender."

"Surrender!? Kekekekekekeke! You always had a good sense of humor! Even back when I first went to see you, but look how you've change!" Klarion eyed the halfa, "Back then you were a scrawny little nobody. Barely a blip on my radar. You really lived up to your potential. It's too bad that you refused to join the Light. We could have made you better! We could have made you a god just like me!"

"A god? That's stupid. Who would want that?" Phantom shook his head, "I'm content with my power. And if it isn't enough, then I'll bring in help. Just like I'm doing now."

"Do you really think that the two of you can take me down without help?! Kekekekekekekekekekekekeke!" Klarion burst out laughing, "You saw that I beat Nabu, right? And that was before I got my upgrades! I'll kill the two of you in an instant!"

"You think so?" Jinx quickly teleported to Phantom's side, "Just try it then."

"Gladly!" Klarion pointed a hand at them, "Magic Dominance!"

Klarion's glaring red energy instantly flooded to them. It covered the duo in a halo of crimson. Just like with Doctor Fate, it began to leach the energy off of them. Phantom quickly grabbed Jinx's shoulders and pulsed his energy out. His and Jinx's energy instantly lashed out. The combined energies grabbed Klarion's magic and pulled it in to the flowing pink and green wave. Quickly, the red bled away and integrated into the duo's powers.

"What!?" Klarion's eyes widened, "Impossible! Nobody can just absorb my energy like that! It would be poisonous to them!"

"It was surprising to us too," Jinx eyes glanced at their combined energy, "But it seems that our powers are incredibly compatible. They combined to make some new…something more powerful."

"I don't know how you got that Magic Dominance thing, but it won't work on us," Phantom declared.

"Not while the two of you are together it seems," Klarion gave a grin filled with madness, "So all I need to do is separate the two of you!"

In the blink of the eye, Klarion rushed right in front the two of them. He went to push the two of them away from each other, but the duo managed to dodge. They jumped to the side, but Klarion was prepared for that. He sent a blast of magic at the floor below them. A sliver of electricity shot out of his fingers and crashed into the metal causing it explode from the unstable energy. Luckily, Jinx managed to teleport them away so that they didn't stumble away.

Landing on the other side of the room, the two of them exchanged glances. For the two of them to survive, they would need to be in constant contact with each other. Even a second apart could prove fatal. With a simultaneous nod, they ran towards Klarion and quite possibly the strangest fight they had ever experienced.

"Things are going better for the heroes than expected."

"True, they might slow things down and limit the amount of energy we get."

"Then we might have to play our hand."

"Hmm…" Nocturne looked across to his comrades, "It really depends on how much we need from this. Where are we at?"

Hotep Ra looked at his ring. Different images popped up from his ring, "We'll probably be below projections."

"We still have the next part of the plan," Aragon noted, "Do we need this to be perfect?"

"No, but it's impossible to predict what will happen then," Hotep Ra mentioned.

"…Master Nekron would prefer more energy than not enough," Nocturne stated.

The three Black Lanterns shared a look and then looked down at the main base to the Sorcerer Initiative. They all nodded.

"It took a lot of work to get this from Colossus while he was dealing with Black Adam," Hotep Ra pulled out a shining hand mirror. His energy immediately flooded to the mirror and showed an image of a green skinned ghost with wild white hair, "Let's make the most of it."

He stood over his desk. Stacks of papers and books sat before him in disarray. Part of him hated leaving the library in such a mess, but now wasn't the time to think about. There was too many problems and concerns to deal with right now.

The math and logic was solid. He could make a difference if he left right now. His guidance could save a lot of lives. The only problem was that it would put him into the spotlight. This would bring him a lot of trouble, just like with his mentor.

…But could he live with himself if he didn't help? He was still regretting not helping during the incident with Morgaine le Fey. Every life that was lost was on his shoulders. He could have saved them. He knew it. It haunted his thoughts and dreams.

"I'm scared."

"Everyone there is scared. But they're fighting through it. It won't be enough, though. They need you!"

"I know, alright! That doesn't make it any easier! I'd be putting my entire future at risk!"

"Psh! Your future? What about everyone's future, book worm? If you don't go, then everything is ruined. Either way, you're screwed. At the very least, you should build some things up that will survive the storm, dumbass."

"Hey! Be nice! And it's not like you're one to talk, lazy butt. You haven't done what you're supposed to in a millennia. Ever since the words of the Jabberwocky got the better of you."

"Shut it, crazy. I never agreed to be nice. Besides, this nerd won't do anything to save my favorite if I don't kick his ass into gear."

"Don't. Call. Me. Crazy."

"I calls it as I sees it, sister."

"Oh yeah, Mister Self-Conscious? What would you do if I called out how big of a cry baby you are?"

"Why you! I ought to—"

"Be quiet and leave me alone!" Poindexter covered his ears and shook his head, "I need to think without you Endless clouding my thoughts."

"Fine! But if you don't save the creation guy, I'm going to be pissed!"

"Please think through your choices wisely, Oh Reader and Writer. Cheer is on the line."

"I know..." Poindexter muttered as the voice disappeared, "I know..."

Looking down at the paper on his desk, Poindexter let out a sigh, "I know what you would do, Master Scribe. You would risk yourself, just like before. But that led to your end. I don't have that kind of courage."

Thankfully, this time he was met with silence, at least on the outside. In his mind, things couldn't be louder. He hated bullies. He always wished that he had the power to stop them. Now that he had that power, though, he realized the burden power presented. The risk. The reward. The ability to change a person's direction in life.

It made him feel regret for judging Phantom all those years ago. Freshly gaining powers like that, it must have felt good to get revenge…to pay back the bullies that wronged him so many times. Yet he did learn. He learned that there was a wrong way to use his powers and a right, and no matter the risk, he always went out of his way to do the right thing, to help the helpless.

Taking a deep breath, Poindexter turned. He had his answer. It may put him at risk, but it would also help him sleep at night. He had to help stop the Sorcerer Initiative.