Chapter 12: Magic

Disclaimer: I own nothing

"There's no tragedy in life like the death of a child. Things never get back to the way they were."

Dwight Eisenhower

Chapter 12: "Magic"

(Saturday-March 1, 2014)

Morgaine le Fey hummed to herself as she leaned back into her rather comfortable recliner. As usual, she was in her own pocket dimension. From here, she could create anything she wanted and watch how things unfolded in the mortal plane of existence. She had been looking forward to this day, but it seems that something was trying to interrupt her entertainment. Of course, this new development made the day even more interesting, "I'm surprised that you managed to work your way in here."

Dark Dan eyed the woman sitting before him, "I've just spent the past four months learning everything I can about you and your pocket dimensions. That and a little bit of luck and timing were what got me in here."

"But the real test is if you can leave," Morgaine noted.

"Now that, I can't do," Dark Dan frowned slightly, "It was only because of the magic in the air today that I even managed to get past your barriers, and that left me completely drained. Leaving isn't an option for me."

"So you trapped yourself? How out of character…" Nevertheless, Morgaine smiled, "Why would you do that knowing that I could keep you here trapped for eternity if I wanted to."

"That wouldn't give you what you want, though," Dark Dan argued.

"Oh? How so?"

Dark Dan gave a sharp grinned filled with devilish intent, "You want entertainment. Having me locked up in here would limit the entertainment you could get out of me."

Morgaine gave him a small applause for his cunning, "Indeed. I'll probably just throw you out as soon as I grow bored of your presence. Until then, though, let's discuss your reasoning for being here. I'm sure that you will entertain me until the real action happens today."

"Yes…Today is when the Sorcerer Initiative is supposed to get started," Dark Dan sighed, "That's the only reason I got in here today."

"Indeed, but that doesn't explain why you are here, though," Morgaine noted, "Or why you're not trying to stop it right now."

Dark Dan eyed the woman, "What would be the point of that? The Black Lanterns would just intercept my movements again. As soon as I spike my energy even a little, they instantly put an eye on me. Trying to do anything would only get me into a pointless fight."

Morgaine nodded, "That is what probably would happen."

"So, no matter what I plan I make to counteract the Sorcerer Initiative, it would be stopped," Dark Dan sighed, "So it would be dumb to even try. Instead, I decided to do something that could be a little more productive."

"By coming to talk with me?" Morgaine raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, I need your help," Dark Dan stated unashamedly.

"Oh?" Now Morgaine was extremely interested, "You? The destroyer of mankind? The bane of Phantom? You need my help?"

"Yes," Dark Dan scowled and gritted his teeth. He fought to keep his annoyance under wraps. It had been too long since he destroyed or killed something, and his nerves were getting to him, "I have come to realize that I cannot stop Nekron on my own. I need someone to help me achieve my greatest plan, and you're one of the few people that can hide your movements from him."

"Oh? But what if I don't want to stop Nekron's plans?" Morgaine questioned, "After all, he's a big source of entertainment for me."

"I don't plan to stop the buildup anymore," Dark Dan explained, "Like I said, the Black Lanterns would just intercept me. Instead, I need you to help me with something at a time where even Nekron will be half-blind. That way, I will be able to fight against him properly when the time comes."

"Hmm, you and Nekron fighting to the death in a glorious battle. Now that is interesting…" Morgaine felt her curiosity peak, "Very well, I'll hear you out."

Phantom felt nervousness surge beneath his skin. He felt vulnerable in the darkened room. There was no back-up for him here. That was part of the agreement. He had to come alone to have this meeting. If this went badly, then he probably would be captured or killed; but if this worked, then victory in the coming battle would be made significantly more possible.

"I am surprised that you came here today," Vandal Savage noted as he stepped out of the shadows that surrounded the halfa. There were definitely more people in the darkness that was the warehouse, but Phantom could not see them. That's what they wanted. Right now, the Light held all the cards and had the home field advantage. They were in complete control.

"I felt that I didn't have a choice," Phantom noted, "I know that Light is planning something called the 'Sorcerer Initiative,' but I have no idea what it is. The only thing I do know is that it's going to be bad. Really bad, and I have a gut feeling that if you let it happen, everything will go to hell."

"Going by your instinct, huh?" Savaged looked down in thought, "That's smart. I'll give you that."

"I know that you don't want to go through with it," Phantom noted, "Fenton came to me. He's worried too. He said that the Light is divided on this. Almost half of you don't want to go through with this."

"That is true, Vandal," Lex Luthor took his turn to step into the light, "We all know that this project is counterproductive at this point."

"I am aware of this, Lex," Vandal shot a glance to his friend, "But the vote has already occurred. The Light is not mine to completely control. The reason our numbers are the way they are is to keep balance and stability. No one person can get too much control and not abuse it."

"But is that not what Klarion and Ocean Master want?" Queen Bee decided now was the time to step up and speak out, "They have been obsessed with this project for months. The power they'll gain is all they can think about. Not to mention how the Brain has slaved over this without a moments rest. It's like they're possessed."

"That's because they are," With a swirl of pink energy, Jinx appeared beside Phantom, "That's why I brought him here today. He knows that these have been placed on our partners."

Jinx held out her hand to show the Corruption Chip obtained back during Morgaine's attack. Phantom decided to explain what they were, "During Morgaine's attack, she had some ghosts put these chips on a few of the members of the Light. I had these chips evaluated. The main purpose of them seems to be to unleash the victim's darkest desires to the point that the people can't control themselves."

"And how did you get that chip?" Lex questioned.

Phantom was silent.

"I see," Queen Bee's eyes lit up, "You have moles in our organization. I see you have learned from our conflicts."

"You do realize what will happen to those people if we find them?" Lex questioned, "No matter what the circumstances, the Light cannot allow traitor to walk away alive."

"I know," Phantom admitted with a deep frown, "But this is where I place all my cards on the table. I've spent years preparing for this, but it wasn't enough. So, I'm using every resource I have and am going to pull them all back after this. This is important enough for that."

"I see…So you haven't figured it out at all. Not even with strategists as good as Vision and the Batman," Savage shook his head, "Not that I blame you. Even I would have never thought of this. It was all Klarion's sick idea."

"So you admit it. The Sorcerer Initiative is a bad idea," Phantom accused.

"Of course it is," Savage let out a grunt, "It didn't start out that way, but eventually, it changed. They perverted the idea. We just wanted to spread the ability to use magic, but they…they want to pour all of it into themselves."

"What?" Phantom's eyes widened.

"So, yes, I do know that the Sorcerer Initiative is a bad idea," Savage admitted, "But it's too late to stop it. If any of us make contradictory orders, then it will be civil war. The Light will perish, and I won't let that happen."

"Then don't make any orders to your people," Phantom looked around at the three leaders of the Light, "Just step down. Don't give any support to the other half of the Light. The forces of four of you is a lot easier to take on than the seven of you."

"You mean three," Ra's Al Ghul took his own place outside the darkness, "I'm willing to step down as well."

"What?" Queen Bee glanced to Ra's, "But you were the deciding vote. It was because of you that this even happened."

"Indeed," Ra's nodded, "But what I wanted has already been accomplished. I have nothing more to gain from this. I'll accept the conditions of having my assassins step down from this conflict. This way, we might lose three of our members, but we won't be crippled to the point of having less than half our members."

"That…is acceptable," Savage stated, "That's better than the total destruction that would be caused by every other course of action."

"I don't get it, though," Phantom glared to Ra's, "What have you already gained?"

"My final plan to find my successor," Ra's noted, "The Sorcerer Initiative will make Joel see my point of view. If this fails, then there is no more hope for Joel and I will instead have to rely on a different successor. One that will take far more time to raise up to be ready for my position."

Phantom felt unease boil in his stomach, "I see…It's that bad, huh?"

"It is," Talia Al Ghul stepped out beside her father, "The problem with our previous plans were that they were designed to put Joel in a position where he would need to kill. This time, though, he will want to kill. I know that, without a doubt, because even our skin crawls about what Ocean Master wants to do."

Phantom frowned, "Yeah, that's what I thought the Sorcerer Initiative would be like. So tell me, what is this plan? What does it have to do with the Atlantians, Amazons, and the Homo Magi people that have gone missing?"

"The answer is simple," Savage spoke up, "The plan was to kidnap all the magic users in the world, and drain them of their power to distribute in ways that we saw fit. That is why we scoped out Atlantis and Themyscira. Those two places would be the most difficult to infiltrate."

"Damn it…" Phantom clenched his fists, "That was worse than I thought. We thought you were just going to invade them and use their magic rich land…This is much worse. Taking away people's powers like that…"

"Yes, but eventually, the magic users would have regained their power," Luthor mentioned, "But that was the old plan. Now, Klarion and Ocean Master want to pump most of it into themselves and their followers to the point it was also drain the life energy out of the magic users."

"So, they're going to kill them," Phantom growled.

"Yes," Queen Bee nodded.

"Shit!" Phantom scowled deeply, "I have to stop them. Thanks, I guess. Neutrality is a lot to ask from my enemies."

"Indeed, but that's nothing compared to asking for my permission to allow my daughter to help you," Savage noted.

"You saw that coming huh?" Jinx crossed her arms defensively.

"I am more than aware of your relationship," Savage eyed his daughter, "You know that you have my permission for that. He is definitely the most suitable person for you, but this request…This is dangerous, even by your normal standards."

"I have been taking dangerous missions all my life," Jinx stepped up and met her father's gaze, "I know that the real reason you wouldn't want me to help is because my abilities have magic tied to them."

"You're too smart for your own good," Savage noted.

"I get it from you," Jinx noted, "Please, let me do this. I don't care about heroics or even saving people, but Danny needs my help, it won't work against your plans, and…it's what mom would have wanted."

"…Fine," Savage nodded. He then turned to Danny, "I hold you accountable. If anything happens to her…" He left the threat hang there.

"Don't worry," Phantom gained a determined look, "I'll die before I let anything happen to her. That's a promise."

"I do hate to step on thy hope, but I don't believe that Nyx shall be returning here today," Troia mentioned as she stood next to Spirit on the shores of Themyscira. The golden sand gently crushed beneath their feet. Soothing sounds of waves crashing against the shore filled their ears even as the tension of preparing for battle began to rake on their nerves.

"I know," Spirit crossed her arms and looked across the beach to the Amazons as they prepared for battle, "There's no telling where she'll show up, but this is one of the only places that has a sure chance of me getting some answers. It was either here, Atlantis, or tracking down some of the missing people."

"The missing magic users…" Troia scratched her chin in thought, "What were they called again? The Homo Magi?"

"Yeah, Zatanna said that they are basically a sub-race. It's what they use describe humans that can use magic naturally," Spirit nodded, "Apparently, a lot of them have gone missing."

"That's an understatement," Rocket landed down beside the girls in a blaze of kinetic energy, "Z told me that almost every Homo Magi has gone missing. Even her cousin."

"Didn't even know she had a cousin before today," Spirit noted, "Is her family a bit estranged?"

"Z told me that not every Homo Magi approves of what she and her dad do. You know, use magic to be heroes," Rocket mentioned, "A lot of them just keep to themselves to avoid discrimination. Like with the witch hunts and things like that."

"But that isolation also made it easier for them to be captured," Troia mentioned, "Would it not be smarter for them to stay together for protection?"

"Maybe. But I don't think they probably thought about this happening…whatever this is," Rocket rubbed her temples.

"We probably wouldn't have thought of this if Nyx didn't show herself here," Spirit noted with a contemplative look, "I still don't why she did that…"

"It was a warning," Troia stated with a firm look, "I know it. It cannot be seen just by a glance, but I fought her. Her attacks…her actions…they seemed conflicting. She was battling against something. Herself, or maybe something else."

"So that means that Klarion is controlling her?" Rocket questioned.

"Maybe. Maybe her chaotic nature is clashing with her order nature," Spirit reasoned, "Either way, I'm going to help her. No matter what."

"We will be by thy side the entire time," Troia placed a comforting hand on the halfa's shoulder, "We shall save Nyx."

"Thanks," Spirit smiled, "I really—ah!" The female halfa was interrupted when a large quake suddenly shook the entire island.

"It's time?" Rocket questioned.

"Yeah…" Spirit looked down as the ground continued to tremble as giant metal drones jumped out of the sea and made a bee lint to the island, "It's time."

"I realize that you are reluctant to fight your brother," Vision gave Aquaman a look of sympathy, "Trust me, I do, but now is not the time to let your personal feelings get in the way of your duty."

"I am aware of this," Aquaman let out a sigh as he peered across the city that called him king, "And I plan to fight with everything I have."

"Your words say one thing, but your eyes say something different," Vision argued, "No matter what you say, you will hold back once you see him. You care too much about him, but you must let that go. He is the enemy now. That is all that matters."

"How can you say that?" Aquaman's eyes snapped to Vision in a deep glare, "My brother was the first to welcome me here. He was the one that helped me for years. He's the godfather of my child. How am I supposed to forget that?"

"Forget? You never forget such things. It is always there in the back of your mind," Vision noted, "But that doesn't matter when you're responsible for hundreds of lives. They are all that matter. When…when my comrades and I turned against the Ghost King, I felt deep shame and guilt for attacking the man that treated me like a daughter, but I did not hold back. I sealed him away, because it was the right thing to do for everyone."

Dusk watched and listened as Vision encouraged the king of Atlantis. They all stood in the courtyard of the royal palace. Soldiers were rushing about preparing themselves and others for what was to come. He saw the Queen consulting all of the magic users about their placement and purpose in the battle. Despite all the chaos, the halfa focused mostly on the one conversation that could steer the battle into two different paths.

"Do you think that Vision will manage to motivate King Orin?" Aqualad questioned as he and the other Atlantians swam next to the halfa.

"Probably," Dusk mentioned through his oxygen mouthpiece, "She has a way with words and was the lead strategist for the Ghost King. If anyone could get Aquaman out of his funk, it'd be her."

"That is good," Aquagirl looked over to Queen Mera, "We have been worried for him. The betrayal of the prince really shook him."

"It shook all of us," Tempest noted, "To think that Ocean Master was not just living in the city, but in the royal palace as well. The thought is chilling."

"I bet it explains a lot of thing, though," Dusk mentioned.

"In a way, it does," Aqualad let out a sigh, "Perhaps we should have seen it coming, but…"

"You never want to see the worst in the people you're closest too," Dusk quickly filled in the blanks of Kaldur's sentence, "Don't worry, I get it."

Aquagirl sensed the lowering mood and energy level and decided to speak up, "With Vision doing her part, we can now focus on our task without worrying about King Orin. What will be our positions?"

"I have asked Queen Mera to help us with that," Aqualad noted, "We need to be placed where can help the best."

Dusk looked around at the now quieting and emptying courtyard, "Then we should get our assignments."

The group of four quickly swam to the queen. Most of the sorcery users she was speaking to had already left, but there was one rather unusual straggler. Dusk was quickly reminded of the swamp monsters from movies that Dani was fond of watching. His skin was green and covered in thick scales. This was shown even more on his shirtless torso and legs that weren't covered by black shorts. Black fins covered his arms, legs, and top of his head. Even more glaring in his features were the red eyes and large fin ears.

"La'gaan, I am sorry, but I must insist that you go hide with the other students," Mera noted to the scaled boy, "You are too young, and it is too dangerous for you to fight."

"Neptune's beard!" The now identified La'gaan exclaimed, "I am ready to fight and serve my home! My age should not matter! I have trained all my life! What is the point of all that, if you will not let me help?!"

"You are indeed skilled with your body enhancing skills," Mera admitted, "But that will not be enough. We have no real idea the scope of the attack that is coming. You might get hurt."

"It sounds to me that he already knows that," Dusk mentioned as his group stopped his approach to the queen.

Mera sighed, "That may be so, but I will not let my students get in harm's way."

Dusk spoke up again. This time, La'gaan looked to who was speaking up for him. The Atlantian's eyes widened when he saw who it was, "Are we really in a position to turn down people that wants to help? Just because he's young doesn't mean he's unable to fight."

"I have already decided on this matter," Mera frowned at the halfa, "Do not argue with me, surface dweller."

Dusk was about to speak, but he stopped when Tempest placed a hand on his shoulder, "Please. She is the queen. Her authority is unquestionable."

Dusk shook off the shoulder, "She may be queen, but that doesn't mean she's unquestionable. If you fail to question authority at least a little, then that leads to blindly following orders. And that doesn't help anyone."

"But Dusk—" Tula never got to finish that sentence.

"I know that I'm an outsider, but…" Dusk glared at the queen, "Your people are at stake here, and I can tell just by looking at him that he knows how to fight. Sending him away is a mistake, and you know that."

Mera looked like she was about to make an angry reply, but she never got the chance. At that time, the water was seemed to be lit up like it was at the center of a fireworks show. It seemed that the members of Young Justice didn't get the time to prepare. The enemy had arrived, and they did with several explosives, hundreds of shoulders, and many submarines.

In a blaze of golden light, four magic users appeared in a thick jungle area. The trees reached high up into the heavens. Beams of straight sunlight fell through the crack in the leaves. Thick shrubbery and vines surrounded the entire area.

"Hey, love, what the bloody hell is this?" A man with short messy hair and a thick British ascent spoke up. His slick black suit stood out terribly in contrast to the thick jungle, "You told me that we would be going to a bunker or something, not some rubbish jungle to get m' suit all muddy."

Zatanna glanced over to the man with a roll of her eyes, "Constantine, I was told that one of our friends need help collecting someone and bringing him to safety. We have to do that first before we go to the Cave."

"And why the bloody hell couldn't you have come found me after you got this guy?" John Constantine questioned as he took out a cigarate and lit it up with a snap of his fingers. Despite his complaints, he still followed the other three magic users as they began their stroll through the jungle.

"Because you have a tendency to never stay still," Zatara glared at the man, "It would have taken us forever to find you if you wandered off. So, we came to find you first."

"That's bullocks, and you know it," Constantine gave a small frown, "Doctor Fate could have found me in a heartbeat. The only reason I would have wandered off wondered off would be if I found a job. With the magic I would have put off, he…err, she…could sense me from three dimensions away. Besides, Tana does have my number…"

Zatara gritted his teeth, "I am aware of that…"

"He is right you know," Doctor Fate decided to speak up, "Finding an exorcism would have been easy."

"You're not helping!" Zatara snapped.

"I know."

The group continued even as Zatara continued to inwardly seethe. Constantine thought about egging the older man on further but decided against it. The exorcist wanted to get out of the damn jungle as quickly as possible. Things never went well for him in the jungle. The demons always got all jumpy with all those trees around.

Constantine was shook from his thoughts literally when the earth began to rumble. It quickly stopped, but then was proceeded by another shake, "The 'ell? This can't be an earthquake."

"It's not. Evom eht seniv yawa!" With a wave of her hands, Zatanna caused the brush that surrounded them to move out of the way to show a clearing, "It's Colossus."

"You damn fool!" Colossus roared as he looked up at the towering Undergrowth. In his frustration, the giant of a man stomped his foot on the ground and caused the earth to quake below him, "Just come with me already!"

"And why would I do that, flesh bag?" Undergrowth snarled at the brute, "You came here making a bunch of ridiculous claims about me and demanding that I drop all of my work and follow you! That's arrogant even for you, Colossus!"

"That's what Vision told me to tell you…although, I might have worded it wrong," Colossus paused for a brief second, "But that doesn't matter. Just come with me, or I'll make you come with me."

"A threat?!" Spikes and thorns popped out of Undergrowth's body threateningly, "You can try to hurt me, brute, but your powers won't stop my regeneration!"

"Stop this!" Doctor Fate roared out. Golden light blasted out blindingly and the two S-rank ghosts were pushed away from each other. The lord of order then floated in between the two bickering ghosts and held her hands out, "Now is not the time for this. We must get Undergrowth to safety before the Light's forces arrive."

"The Light?" Undergrowth calmed himself a bit when he saw the lord of order step in front of him, "What does the Light have to do with me?"

"They are collecting people with magic power in their bodies," Doctor Fate explained calmly, "You are one such being."

"PSH! MAGIC? HAHAHAHAHAHA!" Undergrowth bellowed out a laugh, "Why in Mother Nature's name would you think that? I'm a ghost, Fatey."

"It's a long story," Zatanna spoke up, "We'll tell you everything when we get you to Mount Justice for safety."

"Hmm…" Undergrowth looked around the jungle, "But if I leave, this jungle will be harmed. Many of the plants are not finished growing yet. They will perish if I am not here to help them to adapt to the climate."

"But if you're captured, then you won't be able to help the plants ever again," Zatara argued.

"That's only if you're telling the truth," Undergrowth noted, "Why should I believe you and your ridiculous claims?"

"OH! OH! I know! I know!"

The group was shocked when a black blur rammed into Colossus and carried him into the jungle. As this happened, a black strand of electricity slammed in to the ground in front of the magic users and caused them to be blasted back. After landing and rolling a few times, they all quickly regained their composure and looked at their assailant.

"Witch Boy!" Doctor Fate roared.

"Why hello to you, Nabu," Klarion grinned wickedly, "I do have to thank you. You brought so many magic users to me. It saved me a lot of work. As thanks, I'll make sure that you won't feel a thing when I suck the magic from out of that helmet of yours."

Lieutenant Marvel squirmed uncomfortably as she stood in a rather well-lit cave. The walls glowed a serene blue tint. To the left side of the cave was a row of statues depicting the Seven Deadly Enemies of Man. The row of statues led towards the end of the cave where a simple stone throne stood. Sitting on the throne was a very elderly man wearing simple white robes that matched the long white beard that hung down to his chest.

"Wizard," Captain Marvel bowed his head to the person that gave him his powers, "Thank you for seeing us on such short notice."

"It is no trouble, Billy," The great wizard Shazam smiled gently to his chose, "It is good to have visitors every now and then, but I do not believe that this is a social call."

"No, sir," Lieutenant Marvel spoke up, "We think that you might be in danger. You see, there's this thing called the Sorcerer Initiative, and magic users are getting kidnapped."

"I am aware of the troubles in the mortal world," Shazam mentioned, "That is why I decided that having a few more people with my gifts was necessary."

"So it was you that allowed this to happen," Sergeant Marvel frowned, "What makes you think that I even wanted these powers?"

"It is the people who lack a desire for power that often deserve it the most," Shazam spoke wisely.

"I don't care if I deserve it," Sergeant Marvel argued, "I didn't ask for it. Heck, the only reason I even got the powers was because I was near Mary when she got hers."

Everyone in the cave raised an eyebrow to that. The other magical brawlers were more shocked about the claim, while Shazam was more surprised that he actually realized the truth, "I see. So you know the truth."

"I do," Sergeant Marvel glanced to the Captain and Lieutenant for a brief moment, "But I didn't feel that it was my place to tell them."

"And you wonder why I gave you powers as well," Shazam smiled and shook his head lightly, "Indeed, the only reason I could give you your powers was because you were close to Mary in the time of crisis, but don't think I allowed it to happen without a reason. I have been watching you just as much as Mary and Billy, Freddie. Destiny was merely kind to us that day."

"Wait," Captain Marvel spoke up, "So Mary was the only reason my powers spread? Why? And why did you refuse to answer me earlier."

Shazam sighed, "I'm in the same position as Freddie, Billy. It's not my place to tell you why the powers could spread to Mary so easily."

"Why? What's the big secret?" Lieutenant Marvel became uncharacteristically angry, "Why would either of you hide the truth from us?"

"Mary…" Sergeant Marvel gave her a steady look, "I talked to your parents…your adopted parents…"

The Lieutenant frowned. Freddie had never brought that up before. He didn't even comment on in when he found out, "About what?"

Sergeant Marvel looked like he was about to say something, but he changed his mind at the last second, "Never mind. We don't have time for this. Let's get Shazam to Mount Justice for safety."

"No," Captain Marvel glanced back and forth between the Sergeant and Shazam, "We deserve to know, and we're not moving until you tell us why."

Shazam closed his eyes and nodded, "Freddie, tell them. I would myself, but I actually can't. There are some rules I have to follow about the Mortal World. That is why I have chosen to battle instead of fighting myself."

Sergeant Marvel let out a tired sigh, "Look…Your parents told me that when they adopted you, they were told that you had a sibling somewhere. A twin."

"What?" Lieutenant Marvel's eyes widened.

"They didn't want me to tell you because there was no way to find him. Your twin had gone missing in the system years ago," Freddie noted, "But I noticed something when I first met you and Billy. You two look a lot alike."

Both Lieutenant and Captain looked at each other then back to Sergeant. Captain Marvel spoke, "But that…that doesn't mean anything. I mean…How would we even meet and become friends like we did. The chances of all this happening…"

"It's impossible, but maybe it is Destiny at work," Sergeant Marvel shrugged, "The reason you looked so alike and Billy lacking parents were the only reasons I asked your parents in the first place, Mary. Even then…I wasn't sure until the power transfer. The reason the powers transferred so easily was because your DNA is almost identical."

"But…but…" Lieutenant Marvel looked to be in a state of shock, "Why didn't I ever notice? Shouldn't twins have…a connection or something?"

"You do," Sergeant Marvel noted, "That's why you found each other. That's why you share powers. That's why I'm just the extra in all this. I really don't matter in the long run."

"Don't say that, Freddie," Shazam spoke up again, "I gave you powers for a reason."

"Even so…" Sergeant Marvel glanced around, "I'm still the odd man out. I only got my powers because I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. It's these two that are destined for greatness. Not me. It's not in my genes."

"Freddie…" Lieutenant Marvel gave him a worrying glance. She always wondered why Freddie seemed so reluctant to use his powers.

"Aww, isn't this an emotional moment. Do you mind if I ruin it?"

The three magical brawlers whirled around to see Nyx approaching them. The stolen Lasso of Truth was twirling slowly in her hands.

"That's Nyx, right?" Lieutenant Marvel questioned.

"Yeah…" Captain Marvel slid into a fighting stance, "That's her. Spirit told us all about her."

"Oh? The Girl Scout is talking about me? How touching," Nyx snorted.

"So we were right," Sergeant Marvel frowned at the ghost, "You were going to come for the Wizard."

Nyx grinned wickedly, "Yep! You totally saw right through our plan! But that won't help you. In fact, you being here only make things easier for me. Now…I don't have to hunt you all down separately."

Jason Blood stood on the outside of his massive home. His hands were on the front door of the rather older and bleak building. The aging and cracking bricks were covered by odd black scribbles that seemed to dance around as Blood gently chanted magical words. After a few brief moments, the scribbles flashed red and disappeared.

"Are you finished, Sir Blood?" The Fright Knight questioned to the sorcerer.

"Yes," Blood turned to his friends and gave a small smile, "My home is completely locked down. No one will be enter this building for twenty-four hours. Not even me. That should give us enough time to deal with our current problem."

"Good," Raven nodded from her position by the Fright Knight, "We wouldn't want someone else to get their hands on your books."

"No, I won't let that happen again," Magic began to swirl around Blood. A red hurricane of energy the aging form of Jason Blood transformed into the demon Etrigan, "Now let's go. There's more magic users that need our help."

"Yeah," Raven pulled out her phone and showed it to the demon, "Most of the Team is finding out that their targets are missing. So, either they went into hiding themselves, or they're captured."

"Let's hope for the former," Fright Knight mentioned, "You two go ahead. The two of you should be safe when you meet up with the others. With your mansion sealed, I can now focus on the task Lord Phantom has given me."

"And what is that?" Etrigan questioned as all three began to take flight.

"Lord Phantom has some guests coming soon. I need to be there when—"

Fright Knight was cut off when a massive blast of ectoplasm smashed into the Fright Knight and caused the ghost to crash through the forest that surrounded Jason Blood's home. Both of the remaining vigilantes of Amity Park prepared themselves for a follow up attack. This proved fruitful as they managed to block the follow-up attacks to the sneak attack.

Letting their energy fields fade after the attacks stopped, both Raven and Etrigan looked to their attacker. Raven instantly recognized him, "Walker."

"Hello, spawn of Trigon and cursed sorcerer," Walker smirked as his massive form floated a safe distance from the demons.

"None of the half-ghosts are here," Etrigan growled, "You can't fight them now."

"Oh, I am aware of that, but that's the point of this visit," Walker sneered at the demons, "The rules of revenge dictate that the best way to hurt them is to strike at people they care about. Add in my orders from above, and I have very good reason to imprison the two of you."

"For the Sorcerer Initiative?" Raven questioned.

"Yep, although, I don't know if they'll use you," Walker mentioned, "They might just outright kill the Pride of Trigon. But that doesn't matter to me."

"You act as if you've already won!" Etrigan bared his fangs and snarled at the ghost, "But we are far from defeated!"

"Not now, but soon…" Walker began to laugh lightly, "This whole world is going to feel the agony of defeat."

Black Bat leaned against the wall of the one of the many facilitates in the Sorcerer Initiative. The massive room had hundreds of container tubes covering the sides and walls. Each of the tubes had wires reaching down and stretching to the center of the room where it led into a massive cylinder. The cylinder was actually a battery that was designed to contain and later massive amounts of energy.

"Did you get the message?" Black Bat asked suddenly.

Lady Shiva walked out of the shadows and nodded towards her daughter, "Yes, Ra's wants us all to retreat. Our goal here is done. Klarion, Ocean Master, and Brain have been black listed."

"It seems that Phantom has fulfilled his end of the plan," Black Bat noted.

"Yes, and now it's time for our part," Shiva gained a wistful look, "It's finally time for this charade to end. Once we play our cards, the Light will know of our betrayal. They will try to hunt us down."

"Do you not trust Phantom to keep his word?" Black Bat asked in surprise, "You never questioned him before."

"No, I know that he will give us safety…new names…peace…everything anyone would ever want…" Shiva sighed, "But I don't really know if that will be enough. The thrill in my life will be gone."

"You can still be a mercenary like Dad," Black Bat suggested with a hopeful tone in her voice, "You two could be a team again while I…"

"Play hero? I know that's what you want," Shiva gave a deep frown, "Is that why we did all of this? So you could switch sides? Because I thought it was to give you a peaceful life. One where you could grow old and die in peace."

"Do you really believe that?" Black Bat questioned, "Your and Dad's blood runs through my veins, remember? And I've been trained since birth to live this life. How could I ever live a peaceful, boring life when both nature and nurture have decided that I must live for the moment?"

Shiva clenched her fists, "I know. I…wanted to give you a chance. When I was pregnant, I thought that I could find some way for my child to live whatever way she wished without the Shadows or the heroes influence, but everything I thought of…It didn't end well."

"But when a chance to escape arrived, you took it," Black Bat mentioned, "Not for you, but for me. Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet," Shiva looked around the area, "We still have to take this place down first."

"And when we do, we get to move on with our lives," Black Bat sighed in contentment.

"What…what do you plan to do? Where will you stay? In Amity Park?" Shiva questioned.

"No…No, I can't do that," Black Bat shook her head, "I'm not a part of that family, and I've decided to make my own fate. I always knew there was a reason I chose to use this symbol on my chest."

"I see…"

"And what will you do?" Black Bat gave a knowing smirk through her mask, "I know that Dad's saved up some bit savings piles for us. He hasn't spent a cent of it for anything unnecessary. That means that you can at least take a looooooooooong vacation. Maybe work on giving me a sibling?"

"Cassandra?!" Shiva gave a scandalized look to her daughter.

"What? I always wanted a brother or sister," Cassandra took off her mask and grinned at her mother, "Besides, I know that you were thinking the exact same thing."

Phantom and Jinx appeared at the edge of a jungle in a swirl of pink energy. The jungle seemed rather out of place, because of the desert that surrounded it. They could see that there was a town not far away that seemed to have water feeding into it from the jungle.

"Damn," Phantom felt minor shockwaves spread through the area. He could tell that Colossus was fighting somewhere in that jungle, "Couldn't you have gotten us closer?"

"This is as close as I could get," Jinx mentioned, "Klarion set up a barrier to prevent magical portals from opening too close."

"Then we go the old fashioned way," Phantom held out a hand towards Jinx. The woman slowly took the hand. Suddenly, Jinx felt weightlessness wash over her. Phantom grabbed onto her and began to carry her through the air. Oddly enough, the flight felt natural. It was almost like she was meant to do this.

"This is amazing…" Jinx noted as they took off into the air.

"Right, this is your first flight," Phantom let out a chuckle, "Most people react this way. It's pretty damn awesome, huh?"

"Yeah…" Jinx felt her face flush as Phantom held her close. Deciding to redirect her emotions to stay focused, she questioned, "Hey, I get that you wanted to come stop Klarion, but didn't you have something to do in Amity Park?"

"There are people I need to meet there," Phantom frowned, "I guess you can call them backup. Some of them were hard to get a hold of and others…others I wouldn't use if I had any other choice."

"Why?" Jinx questioned. It wasn't like Danny to avoid using an asset.

"Lack of experience in the field for one guy. Another other one is way too young… and not even involved in this lifestyle," Phantom sighed, "He caught my eye a while ago. I contacted him as Fenton and offered funding to him. He has a lot of potential."

"You do have a good eye for potential," Jinx mentioned.

"Yeah…" Phantom stopped in his flight when a larger shockwave shook through the area. Both he and Jinx looked to where the shockwave came from.

Colossus grabbed the back of Black Adam's head and smashed the ancient user of Shazam's magic into his knee. A shockwave blasted out from Colossus' attack and hit Black Adam's face with even more force. Most people would have instantly died from the blow. Even most super humans would have at least been incapacitated. Black Adam, however, was only stumbled.

Seeing that Black Adam was still away, the giant ghost released Black Adam. He then smashed several different punches into the magical brawler's head. Each blow and shockwave sent Black Adam reeling. After several hits, Black Adam suddenly roared and counterattacked.

Following the force of the last punch, Black Adam spun and sent a devastating back fist to Colossus' jaw. Magical electricity blasted out to increase the damage even more. Colossus' head whipped back from the force of the blow. Black Adam used the opening to send several blows to the red skinned ghost's midsection.

This only seemed to energize Colossus even more, though. Swinging his arms up, the ghost quickly brought his fists down to hammer strike Black Adam. With two combined shockwaves, Black Adam was sent flying down to the jungle below. Colossus quickly followed after him.

"I think we should stay away from that fight," Jinx noted.

"Yeah, I'll let Colossus handle Black Adam," Phantom nodded, "But we still need to find Klarion."

Jinx noticed some flairs of magical lights not too far from their location, "There. I can sense Klarion and a bunch of powerful magic users."

"Alright, hold on. This is probably going to be a bumpy ride."

The Amazons were incredible warriors. That was a fact that every sane person on the planet had to concede to. As an unnatural combination of superhuman strength, inhuman endurance, and unrivaled skill, the female citizens of Themyscira could fight almost any living thing on Earth and most likely come out the winner. However, the Amazons did have an obvious and glaring weakness that could be exploited with ease.

None of them knew a thing about technology.

As such, when dozens of large mechanical walkers and drones suddenly dropped from the sky, they were shocked and awed. That quickly faded when the machines began to attack and capture the Amazons. They quickly adapted and treated the machines as if the enemy was armor covered beasts. This would have proved fruitful if their swords didn't just leave insignificant scratches and cuts on the machine's outer plating.

The walker robots had four massive legs that stood as wide as the ancient trees that lined Themyscira's jungle. At the top of the silver machine was a massive round container meant to contain as many people as possible. Several different mechanical claws reached from each of the walker's underbellies to grasp onto the fighting Amazon and drag them into the depths of the machine.

At the same time, the flying drones stalked the area and quickly took down. Stun guns jumped out of the top of the cylinder machines as the wings propelled them forward. Each drone flew around at incredible speeds and took shots at the fighting Amazons. With a single shot of the stun gun, an Amazon would drop to the ground in an unconscious heap.

Unlike Wonder Woman and Troia, who had blessed clothing that allowed them to fly, the Amazons did not possess the ability to fly and combat the drones. As such, it fell onto the helpers that could fly to take out the drones. Unfortunately, Troia was too preoccupied with trying to keep her sister Amazons from being captured by the walkers. Thus, it fell on Rocket's and Spirit's shoulders to take down the drones.

Spirit landed on the back of one of the drones. She brutally shoved a fist through the metal of the machine and tore out the wiring. The machine instantly began to fall as its internals were ripped out from it. Not wanting to have someone injured from this, Spirit used her powerful legs to shove the drone away from the island and fall into the rippling sea.

Rocket took a flashier approach. Covered in a shield of kinetic energy, she crashed into one of the drones with brutal force. The kinetic energy around her easily ripped through the metal plating of the drone and tore it in half. Before the two halves could fall, though, they sparked for a few brief seconds and then lit up in a brilliant explosion that shined just as brightly as the burning sun above it.

"We are in trouble down here," Troia announced through their radio channel, "These mechanical beasts have armor that seems to be enhanced by magic. Our blades and fists only cause superficial wounds."

"Damn," Rocket looked to Spirit, "These drones are just a distraction. We need to be down there taking those things out. Our powers should be enough to cut through those things."

"But we can't just let these drones run free," Spirit argued, "They're taking out the Amazons left and right."

A new voice suddenly spoke up through their earpieces, "Then it's a good thing that I'm here. You two handle the drones. I got this."

It was at that moment one of the walkers froze mid-step. Like the drone that Spirit had taken out, the machine just shut down as if the life was sucked out of it. With a loud creek followed by a deadening grown, the massive machine began to tumble over. As it fell, it cast a large shadow on its eminent landing area. Shouts of surprise and caution sounded out as the Amazons in that spot quickly rushed and lunged to get out of the way.

With a mighty crash, the walker landed and cracked against the beach. Troia instantly acted. She ran towards the top of the container, rammed her fist through one of the latches on the top of the walker, and began to help her sister Amazons escape the metal monstrosity.

As this happened, a tiny speck flew out of one of the tiny opens where the metal plates met. What looked like a tiny insect flew towards the shocked and recovering Amazons. This surprise was quickly amplified when the insect suddenly grew from the size of a bee to the height of a grown woman, even if she was still shorter than most of the rather bulky Amazons.

"Are you okay?" The woman that spoke wore a skin tight suit had contrasting yellow and black coloring. A mask with similar colors covered her head. Dark goggles protected her eyes from damage. The only part of the woman's darkened skin that was revealed was the lower half of her face.

"Y-yes…" One of the stunned Amazons managed to respond.

"That's good," The new hero smiled, "Sorry I'm late. I had to finish some last minute things before I could come out here."

"Is that so?" Troia gained an amused look, "I did not even know that thou was coming. Phantom said that thy equipment wasn't ready for field deployment yet."

"That's what I was doing. Last minute adjustment," The woman grinned, "The Atom and I were our asses off to get this done in time, so you better be grateful, Donna."

"I am indeed," Troia smiled at her friend. She then placed her hand on her ear and spoke to her airborne comrades, "It seems that a friend has arrived."

"We can see that! Hi, Karin!" Spirit waved down to the black and yellow themed hero.

"Hey there, Spirit," Karin Beecher smiled, "But don't call me that. I finally came up with a codename. Call me Bumblebee."

Soldiers flooded in from every direction. Armed in underwater armor and laser guns, the soldiers instantly went to work of stunning and capturing the fighting Atlantians. Several submarines shaped like black mantas rocketed through the water. The subs dropped off reinforcements while allowing the current soldiers to carry the downed Atlantians away.

Dusk saw all this happen but could do nothing to stop. They were already surrounded by soldiers themselves. It seemed like they were all focused on capturing the Queen. A few of the submarines even turned to the courtyard to fire larger weapons at them.

Luckily, the Queen seemed to be a formidable fighter underwater. She literally controlled the water as if it was part of her own body. Giant tentacles of magical water surrounded her and began to swing around wildly. The water tentacles managed to attack some of the enemy soldiers, but the submarine canons made it so Mera had to defend far more than attack.

As such, it fell on the soldiers and young heroes to protect the Queen. Dusk had managed to fight off several soldiers himself. Out of the corner of his eye, the halfa noticed that their own forces were quickly getting overwhelmed by the opposing force. Aquaman's protégés seemed to be fairing the best in the situation. Their incredible teamwork and water manipulation managed to push the enemy back.

He was just about to go help his teammates when he noticed something that instantly drew his attention from the battle. Throughout all the chaos, there seemed to be some people sneaking around. Most people would never have noticed such subtle movements, but Dusk was trained for such things. Thus, he was the only one that saw as Ocean Master silently entered the palace from a window on the side of the building.

Dusk immediately decided to inform his teammates, "Ocean Master went into the palace!"

Aqualad turned back to Dusk, "Are you sure?"

"Yeah! I just saw him."

"Why would he do that?" Tempest questioned as he blasted back several soldiers with a twister of water, "No one that can use sorcery is in the palace right now."

"He must want something else," Aquagirl noted, "It doesn't matter what. No matter what, we have to capture him. If we do that, we might just be able to put an end to this madness."

"Then go! I can defend this position!" Queen Mera shouted out as her muscles strained using her magic to stop so many attacks.

"You are only defending right now! You will be overpowered and taken down if we leave you be," Aqualad looked to Aquagirl, "Tula! Take Dusk and go capture—"

"GAH!" One of the enemy soldiers managed to get a lucky shot in on Tempest. While the sorcerer was fighting off a few enemies from the front, one soldier circled around and shot him in the back. Tempest immediately shouted out in pain and collapsed.

"Garth!" Aquagirl instantly moved to her boyfriend's side and blasted the approaching soldiers with a condensed ball of water.

"Damn it," Aqualad grunted out and looked around briefly. With Garth down and the Queen completely focused on defending against the submarines, he and Aquagirl would have to stay and protect the area. He instinctively wanted to order Tula to leave, but he knew she wouldn't leave with Garth injured. If he left, though, Tula would be overwhelmed by protecting the Queen and Tempest at the same time. He couldn't just make Dusk go alone, though…

"Hey!" La'gaan spoke up as he swam next to Dusk, "I will go with the ghost. You two protect the Queen!"

"No! La'gaan, you need to go hide with the other children!" Mera commanded.

"I am no longer a child! You need my help, so I will fight!" La'gaan shouted angrily, "There are no longer any other options."

Aqualad nodded, "He is correct. Dusk, take La'gaan and get Ocean Master. La'gaan make sure you listen to everything Dusk has to say. Go! Put an end to this!"

Ignoring Queen Mera's protests, both Dusk and La'gaan turned and swam at top speeds into the palace. With the fighting mostly outside, the palace halls were empty. This allowed the two young men to move quickly through the walls. With no other way to track Ocean Master through the water, they followed the distant sounds of fighting that bounced through the hallways.

"King Orin!" La'gaan shouted out as they found Aquaman and Vision in the throne room. There were dozens of soldiers all around them. Aquaman was fighting them in close combat while Vision was using her ectoplasm to blast them away from afar.

La'gaan's shout distracted Aquaman for a brief second. This allowed his opponent to get in a strong punch across the jaw. The man that managed to get a hit on the king wore the exact same black armor as the rest of the soldiers. Unlike them, though, his helmet was extremely large, looked like a manta head, and had glowing red eyes.

With Aquaman stunned for a moment, Black Manta turned towards Vision. A rocket launcher popped out of his shoulder armor and fired a rocket towards Vision. Seeing the explosive coming at her, Vision stopped all of her attacks and formed a shield to stop the rocket. The purple ectoplasmic shield held against the explosion, but Vision was forced to keep the shield up as more soldiers fired their laser guns at her. With the force of the attacks significantly weaker, though, the ghost managed a counter attack. Balls of ectoplasm formed from the shield and slammed into the attacking soldiers.

After recovering from the blow, Aquaman quickly righted himself and kicked Black Manta away, "Dusk! La'gaan! Do you see the opening behind my throne! Go down there now and stop my brother!"

Dusk looked to the opening. It appeared that the throne had been moved to the side to show a secret passage way.

"You must stop him!" Vision shouted, "He's after—"

Black Manta once again fired a missile at Vision and cut her off before she could finish her explanation. Despite this, Dusk and La'gaan had their orders. They quickly swam towards the opening behind the throne. A few soldiers quickly got in their path.

Dusk went to take the initiative but stopped when La'gaan used his greater swimming speed to rush forward. To the halfa's great surprise, La'gaan's fins began to glow. His muscles expanded like a pufferfish until he was a hulking beast. With a loud roar, the Atlantian grabbed onto one of the soldiers and swung him around like a bat knocking the other soldiers away with ease. Tossing the enemy away, La'gaan then quickly shrug down to his normal size.

"That was amazing," Dusk stated as they swam through the secret entrance behind the thrown, "I didn't know Atlantians can do that."

"Most cannot," La'gaan smirked, "I have been practicing that most of my life. But I think ghost powers are far more interesting. Tell me, why do you need an oxygen mask while that ghost…Lady Vision, I believe, doesn't?"

Dusk frowned at that. Technically, he and the other half-ghosts could talk underwater. Their ectoplasm would work to replace the oxygen to vibrate their vocal chords, but most of the time they chose not to do it for long periods of time. They still needed their lungs to work correctly when they turned human again, after all, and that wouldn't be possible if they were full of water. But Dusk couldn't tell La'gaan that, "It's a more advanced technique of ectoplasm manipulation. I can't do that yet."

"Oh, I see. Fair enough," La'gaan quickly bought the explanation. Considering Atlantian customs and sorcery, it probably made a lot of sense to him.

The two fighters continued their swim in silence until they reached the end of the hall. A few of the enemy soldiers stood above the downed Atlantian guards. Dusk couldn't see Ocean Master, so he assumed that the villain had entered the door at the end of the secret hallway.

"I will hold off these chum heads," La'gaan noted, "You go get the traitor."

"Right, let me give you a boost," Dusk formed his Scribe Staff, "Hold on!"

La'gaan did as instructed. He tightly grabbed onto the staff. Dusk then did a spin and flung La'gaan towards the enemy soldiers. La'gaan ducked and dodged the lasers being fired at him as he rocked towards the enemy with incredible speeds. Then, just as he was about to hit them, La'gaan expanded like a pufferfish once again. He mowed them all over and knocked many of them out as he tackled them to the ground. His massive form barely fit the hallway, but while laying down on the enemy, La'gaan created just enough space above him for Dusk to swim through.

Dusk squeezed by La'gaan and continued his journey towards the end of the hall. Forming his Burst Gauntlets, the halfa used the weapons to propel himself forward as if he were a rocket. Then, just before he rammed into the door, he turned his weapons forward and broke right through the entrance of the secret room.

There were many things that Dusk had been expecting. A secret weapon, Atlantis's power source, or even a secret tome of all of Atlantis's secrets were all things that popped up in his mind. The truth was, however, that this was a secret bunker for people to hide in during a crisis. It wasn't meant for the King or Queen, though.

It was meant for their son.

Dusk felt his the blood in his body freeze. Shock and disgust blared through his stomach as he looked towards Ocean Master. The villain stood over a sickeningly silent crib. His golden trident stood straight up from the center of the toddler's bed. Red liquid drifted up out of the crib and began to spread out through the water.

As for the child that lie in the crib, well…Some things are better left unsaid.

It didn't take long for the agents of Shazam to act. All three of the Marvels rushed towards Nyx hoping to stop her before she could do anything. Seeing this, Nyx quickly dissolved and became one within the shadows of the cave. Her three attacks instantly stopped their speedy charge. Each one of them looked around in alarm in a desperate attempt to find their enemy.

Nyx acted far before they could find her, though. Without a sound, the golden rope the ghost carried snared out from the shadows of the statues and ensnared Captain Marvel. Trapped by the magical rope, Captain Marvel could do nothing as he was yanked backwards and into the shadows. His friends quickly went to assist him, but found that Nyx had already dragged him into a realm that they could not reach.

Nevertheless, they searched behind the statues with wild eyes and whipped heads in a desperate attempt to find their leader. Nyx had predicted that they would do that, though. Thus, she had dragged him to the opposite end of the cave, giving her enough distance to enact her plan without instantly being stopped by the other magic users.

The rope surrounded Captain Marvel began to glow as Nyx gently whispered into his ear, "How do you transform?"

Captain Marvel desperately tried to fight the words that jumping up his throat. The Lasso of Truth, though, compelled all to speak the facts without deviation, "I have to say…the wizard's…name…"

A wicked grin danced across Nyx's face, "And what is his name?"

"S-Shazam," Lighting blasted down from the ceiling and covered the trapped form of Captain Marvel. In a flash of light, the mighty chosen of Shazam had reverted back to his skinny, teenage, and weak self. Despite all this, the shaggy haired boy still looked just like a younger version of the powerful Captain Marvel.

Knowing that Billy would try to say the wizard's name again, she quickly spoke a spell's name, "Piz sih htuom tuhs."

Billy's mouth sealed shut side to side as if it was a zipper being closed. He desperately tried to open his mouth but could not force himself to say the magic word. At this point, Lieutenant and Sergeant Marvel were already charging towards their location. They quickly stopped their approach, though, when Nyx formed a knife made out of the dancing shadows around her and held it to Billy's throat.

"Oh? So you're not completely stupid," Nyx giggled to herself.

"Let him go!" Sergeant Marvel demanded.

"Um…no," Nyx rolled her eyes, "I worked hard to capture him. Why would I do that?"

"What…What do you want?" Lieutenant Marvel questioned.

"Now that's the real question," Nyx nodded, "What I want is really simple. Say the magic word, and I promise I'll let the boy go."

"Please?"

"No! The wizard's name, you smart ass!"

"…How do we know you'll keep your word?' Sergeant Marvel questioned.

"I guess you don't, but…" Nyx gave a sweet and sincere smile, "I'm a girl of my word. Trust me, I won't hurt Billy if you transform."

Sergeant and Lieutenant Marvel shared a look. They both nodded and turned back to Nyx, "Shazam!"

With a roar of lightning and a blaze of golden light, Lieutenant and Sergeant Marvel instantly turned back into Mary and Freddie.

"Now keep your promise!" Freddie demanded.

"Okay!" Nyx tossed Billy to the side and pointed a hand at the now powerless teens. The shadows below their feet instantly jumped up and began to wrap around Marry and Freddie like snakes choking their prey. The strands of shadows even covered their mouths to prevent them from saying the wizard's name again, "There we go! Two hostages for the price of one. Pretty smart, huh?"

All she received was dirty glares from the downed teenagers. Nyx ignored this, though, and turned to Shazam, "Alright, here's the deal, Whitebeard. You cooperate, and I don't kill your agents."

"I could not fight back even if I wanted to," Shazam noted, "I am an old being that has sworn and oath to never interfere directly with the mortal plane. That is why I pick people to take up my powers. That way, I can indirectly fight against evil."

"Cunning, but ineffective," Nyx gestured around, "See? I took them down pretty easily."

"Even giants fall before brilliant plans," Shazam noted, "And this was a brilliant plan. Your mind is truly your greatest weapon. It's too bad that the Witch Boy is controlling it. Such a shame. Your affinity with order is being overshadowed by your puppet master."

Nyx's grin faltered, "No…He's…my dad. He loves me. I…I…don't…know…"

"I see…" Shazam stroked his beard in thought, "He has placed many different controls over you. Yet you still fight. What an amazing spirit you have."

Black electricity spared around Nyx. Her eyes turned a violent red. The veins beneath her skin gained a black tint, "No! I am chaos! My father loves me! I know this! Now shut up and get up! I'm taking you to Dad!"

"Very well, young one," With a pained groan and the crack of popping knees, Shazam stood from his throne, "Let us go. I do hope that mind of yours has come up with a plan to fight against Klarion. Because if not, then I fear that this whole world is doomed."

Raven watched in shock as Walker lifted Etrigan over his head. She had not expected Walker to be able to physically overpower the demon. His raw power was unbelievable, and it was shown even more when the ghost slammed Etrigan into the ground a few times before tossing him towards Raven.

With a wave of her hand, Raven spread out her match and caught her teacher, "I don't think that we can beat him directly."

"Indeed," Etrigan rubbed his sore back, "It would be best to fight from afar and use magic."

"Agreed," Raven's eyes began to glow, "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"

Swirling black and white magic blasted at Walker. This caused the giant ghost to lung to the side with surprising speeds for someone his size. He zipped out of the range of the blast and tried to jump up to attack them. He was quickly stopped when the ground below him softened into mud, grabbed him, and began to pull them down into the Earth below him. The mud seemed to follow the demon's commands as Etrigan's finger silently carved runes into the air.

As this happened, scratch covered Fright Knight burst from the woods. He swung his sword down to try and cut Walker with his blade of fear. Walker quickly used his energy arm to block the attack. The fake limb stopped the attack, but it was almost cut in half during the process. Fright Knight was prepared for that, though, and had readied another attack.

With a groan of pain, Walker went flying back in a burning blaze. A burning jewel had hit him in the stomach after it had fired out of the Fright Knight's free hand. With that done, Fright Knight looked up towards his comrades, "Trap him!"

Nodding, both magic users followed the directions. They quickly chanted their spells out and caused a swirling cage of energy to appear around Walker. Before the magic could settle, though, a giant wave of ectoplasmic energy blasted out and shattered the cage. The wave didn't stop there. Walker was covered in a giant cocoon of energy that was possibly one of the biggest physical manifestations of a ghost's energies they had seen.

"What did you do?!" Fright Knight questioned, "How did you gain so much power? Was it the Cobra Venom?"

"It was part of my boost," Walker admitted, "But I have several secrets, and telling you about them would be against the rules."

With that said, Walker sent a three large blasts of energy towards his three opponents. Fright Knight stopped his by cutting it with the Soul Shredder. Despite the blade's sharpness, it still took a few precious seconds to cut through the attack, and, even then, he was pushed back a little bit. The other two attacks flew towards the flying part demons. Student and teacher quickly chanted out a shield spell and combined their energy to form a massive red shield.

The blasts of energy rammed into the shield with a large crack and boom. Both Raven and Etrigan struggled to keep the shield up under the force of the massive blasts. They did manage to stop the attack that exploded against their shield, but they were weakened.

Walker quickly used this to his advantage. While the attacks were still being defended, he burst through the sky and slammed against the shield. The magic shattered like glass, and both magic users were forced off balance. They tried to regain their control but failed when Walker grabbed each of them around the neck.

"T-This power…" Etrigan gasped out, "You…What have you done?"

"What I had to," Walker grinned, "You're both coming with me. I'm sure the half-ghosts will be quite upset when they learn that I captured two of their friends right from their hometown."

"If we would let you do that, you mean."

Raven was suddenly released when green bat flew up and cut through the rest of Walker's energy hand. The energy hand quickly dropped to the ground below. The green creature was quickly followed by dozens more of the green creatures. The swarmed around Walker and forced him to retreat. Before he could do anything, though, multiple blasts of ectoplasmic cannons slammed into him and forced him towards the ground.

Walker landed on his stomach and caused the ground to crack beneath him. With a grunt of pain, Walker released Etrigan. He then quickly tried to get up, but he stopped on his hands when he saw a somewhat small body stand in front of him.

"Hello," Ace greeted the agent of the Light, "And goodbye."

"AH!" Walker cried out in pain as his eyes met Ace's. Terrible images of blood and torture shot through his mind. His skin felt like it was dissolving. He attempted to scream, but stopped as the sounds froze in his throat and began to choke him.

"Wait…" Suddenly Ace stopped her mental assault on Walker, and the ghost tumbled to the ground. Drool escaped from his slackened and uncontrolled jaw, "That was too easy for a ghost—whoa!"

Ace was surprised when the green creatures grabbed onto her, pulled her back, and then shielded her. They were just in time, too. Walker's body suddenly exploded in a blaze of green. Everyone was forced to cover their eyes and retreat as the explosion spread. Once the flames had died down, black smoke began to reach up and stroked the blue sky. As more of the smoke escaped into the air above them, something very strange floated before them.

"It's about time you showed up," Walker's voice sounded out from his dismembered energy hand. The hand was grabbing onto Entrigan and holding him into the air, "Any longer, and I would have been forced to show them something really shocking. I thought all this noise would draw attention pretty quickly. I guess you're all just slow."

Everyone's eyes widened as Walker's body began to reform from the ectoplasmic limb. He was completely unscratched, both physically and mentally.

Fright Knight was the first one to regain his voice, "And that isn't shocking? What kind of power is that?!"

"The Hand of the Law. Useful, but extremely draining," Walker shrugged, "I have nothing left to fight with, so you would win easily at this point. That's fine, though. I finally have my excuse to leave and follow the rules."

"What are you talking about?" Raven questioned.

"Oh, nothing, Pride," Walker chuckled, "It's just that I didn't want to capture you. You're the Gem after all, and I'm sure you'll bring the Phantom Family more trouble if you live than if you die."

A glowing black portal appeared behind Walker. He quickly took a step back and dragged the unconscious Etrigan into the portal.

"Do you really think we'll just let you leave?!" King snarled as he and the rest of the Royal Flush Gang opened fire at the portal. Each blast bounced off the entrance of the portal like they were wads of paper, though.

"You really don't have a choice," Walker noted, "I'm already gone."

With that, the portal closed. Raven, who had been rushing to try and stop the ghosts, quickly fell through the now open space and landed on the ground, "No! Master Blood!"

Fright Knight gently placed a hand on Raven's shoulder, "Do not worry. We will get him back. I promise."

"How? The entire point of the Sorcerer Initiative is to make people stronger right? Like Walker?" Raven questioned in a low tone, "If they have a bunch of people even half as strong as Walker, we're doomed to fail."

"Lord Phantom thought of that," Fright Knight noted as he looked towards the now grounded Royal Flush Gang, "That's why he called for assistance."

Lydia nodded as she stepped forward, "The Royal Flush Gang's plans have always been to take down the Light. Phantom knew this and knew that I had joined Ace's team. He contacted us with a plan to stop the Sorcerer Initiative and cripple the Light. How could we refuse?"

"So Danny really thought ahead," Raven looked towards the people who often stood as her enemy, "So you're going to help us?"

"Of course," Ace nodded, "I really don't care if the magic users live or die. But if the Light gets their hands on that energy, they'll be unstoppable. We can't let that happen. So, it's time to finally take the fight to them. I'll enjoy melting their brains into a mushy goo."

If there was one thing Zatanna knew about battle, it was that it could all go badly in a few brief seconds. Maybe her time in Young Justice had made her cynical. After all, things often never went as planned for the young heroes. Her experiences made so she was well aware of how quickly things could go to hell. Still, she never expected so many powerful individuals could be stopped so easily. Klarion did not come alone. It seemed even he was aware that he wasn't invisible. In fact, he brought the right people to fight against her allies.

Undergrowth stood frozen in place. His state actually didn't involve his weakness to cold and ice, but rather someone else's ability to control plants. Right beside him at the base of his vines and roots stood a rather beautiful woman whose crimson hair held a deep contrast with her green skin and leaf covered clothing.

"A human…stopping the power of Undergrowth?" Undergrowth groaned through gritted teeth, "Inconceivable!"

"It would be if I were human," Poison Ivy smiled up at the planet, "You can call me Mother Nature, and every plant bows to my whim. Even the dead ones."

Zatara grunted as he was tackled to the ground. Metallic arms shoved pushed him down and then wrapped around his throat. The older magic user got a glimpse of his attacker. The shining silver body gleamed in the sunlight. A metallic skull grinned down at him, while a glowing green rock shined from the opening in his chest.

"Metallo—Mmmh!"

"Woops, almost forgot to stop you from speakin'. You magic users are dangerous even to me," Metallo mentioned as his metal arms wrapped around the magician's neck and mouth, "Go ahead and try to bite me. You'll only crack your own teeth, mate."

Zatanna saw her father's distress and went to help him. As she ran, a spell chanted from her lips. Before she could do that, however, a large red portal appeared in front of her. Feeling the danger from the portal, Zatanna flipped backwards just in time to avoid the strands of dark energy that lashed out to try and cut her.

Once a decent distance away from the portal, Zatanna looked up just in time to see what was coming out of a portal the size of a building. First, a massive paw with sharp claws stepped out. The giant leg shook the ground as it met the earth. Then, a second paw followed. Finally, a head appeared. Fur black as night, teeth sharper than knives, and eyes a crimson red peered down at them. Shaped in the form of a massive cat, the creature roared and caused the jungle to tremble in fear.

"Kekekekekekekeke! You like her?!" Klarion cheered as the three remaining magic heroines stared up at the giant feline, "This is what I first imagined when I created Nyx! But what I got was better! With Nyx, I can make one of these babies a day! Course, the first prototype didn't do all that well against that team in Atlantis, but the new design is much, much stronger!"

With that, the monster let out another massive roar. Its front, right paw struck out with lighting fast speeds. The targets of the attack managed to move out of the way for the most part. Unfortunately, Constantine wasn't fast enough. His arm dragged behind him and was cut on the top of his forearm.

"John!" Zatanna saw the blood as it began to pore down his arm.

"I'm fine!" Constantine shouted as he continued to move around the battlefield to avoid getting hit again, "Just attack!"

"He's right!" Doctor Fate agreed. She held out her arms and sent a blast of magical energy out towards the beasts. Zatanna copied the motion and cast a spell to send a fireball at the monstrous feline. Both attacks hit their targets, but to the complete surprise of the fighters, there was no effect. In fact…

"Did that thing just absorb our magic?!" Zatanna could not believe her eyes.

"RAW!" The massive beast roared and smacked Doctor Fate away. The dazed Lord of Order was quickly followed by Klarion.

Zatanna went to help Doctor Fate but was once again stopped by the beast, "Damn! How do we stop this thing?!"

"I have a plan," Constantine called out. Zatanna noticed that he had been tracing the blood around the area.

"Did you…get cut on purpose?" Zatanna questioned.

"I needed to get my freakin' blood on it!" Constantine shouted, "It's the only surefire way to make sure this works! Can you shield me for a minute?!"

Zatanna looked up at the growling monster, "I-I can try…"

"No try only do!" Constantine cried as the monster swung down at them.

"Esaelp tel siht dleihs krow!" Zatanna shouted out. A golden bubbled formed around her and Constantine. The monster's paw crashed down on the shield. This instantly caused Zatanna to fall to her knees in pain. The agony only intensified as the beast several more blows against the shield. Each strike sent a signal of agony through her spine. This was only intensified when the beast stopped the physical attack and opened its mouth to roar once more. This time, though, a waves of shadow energy poured out of its mouth.

"Gah!" Zatanna trembled in pain. The constant flow of power against her shield was too much for her to bear. A trickle of blood began to flow from her nose.

"A little longer, Z!" Constantine shouted.

"I…can't…" Zatanna's arm shook in exhaustion. Her shield began to creak and crack. In a few seconds, the shield would fall, and they would be overtaken by the attack.

"Stupid cat!" Phantom roared as he dropped from the sky and slammed into the monster's back. This caused the beast to reel in pain and cancel the attack.

"Good on you, mate!" Constantine grinned. He placed his hands on the set of runes that he painted on the ground. The red markings quickly began to dance around. Then, they raced towards the demon cat's feet. The monster noticed and tried to stop the carvings by stomping on them. This was what Constantine wanted, though. The runes quickly began to climb up the beast's body. Once the markings covered the beast, the beast froze. White light began to shine out from various pores on the beast's body. Then, with a roar, the monster disintegrated into a burst of light.

"And that is how exorcise a bloody demon," Constantine grinned before he and Zatanna collapsed in exhaustion.

Phantom quickly rushed towards them. He gently turned Zatanna over and cradled her head, "Guess I made it in time, huh?"

"You did…" Zatanna noted, "But you still need to stop—"

"AH!" Constantine shouted out in pain as Klarion landed on his back.

Phantom quickly and gently placed Zatanna down and looked towards the Lord of Chaos. He noticed that Doctor Fate was dropped into an unconscious heap beside the exorcist. The halfa wondered how that was possible. Doctor Fate was too strong to be taken easily. Klarion must have done something to either weaken her or strengthen himself. Maybe both, "Klarion, you need to stop this."

"No can do, ghosty!" Klarion gestured all around, "Just look! My plans are going great!"

Phantom glanced around at his defeated allies. Metallo and Poison Ivy stood possessively by their victims, "For now, but I'm going to stop you."

"Oooooooh? You will?" Klarion gave an evil smirk, "Why don't you come try it?"

Phantom began to rush forward, "Fine!"

With a snort and a shake of the head, Klarion raised his hand and pointed it at Phantom. A bolt of black electricity shot out of his hand. Phantom moved to block it but was shocked when the energy suddenly curved around him. Time slowed as Phantom turned to watch the attack. He already knew where it was going. There was only one place it could go…

"AH!" Zatanna cried out in agony as the electricity slammed into her stomach. Her body arched in pain, and she began to spasm as the energy carved deeply into her stomach leaving a smoking black burn.

"Z!" Phantom shouted out in concern. He quickly returned to his friend and looked over her wound. The smell of cooked flesh wafted up into his nose and made him feel ill.

"Too predictable. I always know what you're gonna do," Klarion noted, "Let's go! Time to blow this popstan—"

Sensing the danger behind him, Klarion got off of Constantine and jumped over to the downed Doctor Fate who seemed to begin to spark and shake in pain as Klarion go closer. The lord of chaos did this just in time to avoid several hex bolts that would have torn into him. Jinx frowned as she saw this. She had Phantom drop her earlier so that she could sneak around and get the jump on Klarion. This only partially worked. He didn't get hit, but he was forced to abandon one of his captives.

With a snarl, Klarion snapped his fingers. This caused energy to swirl around him, his allies, and his captives. They disappeared in an instant and left Phantom and Jinx alone with the two remained magic users.

"Danny, we have a problem," Jinx noted as he looked over Constantine, "I saw what Klarion did to Doctor Fate. It was…unnerving."

"We can talk about that later," Phantom noted. As gently as possible, he lifted Zatanna up and carried her to Jinx, "She needs medical attention now. Now that Klarion is gone, can you teleport?"

Jinx nodded.

"Then get us out of here."

It took only one minute for everything to go to hell. One moment, they were winning the battle. The next moment, they were on the brink of defeat, and it was all because of a cat. Granted, the cat was bigger than a building and could shake the ground with a single roar, but still, Spirit was sure that the Amazons were more ashamed of what beat them instead of actually being defeated.

The monster appeared through a blood red portal. It instantly began its rampage. Massive swipes of its paws sent Amazons flying. Energy breath attacks blazed the area. Attacks with swords and shields seemed useless. The energy that made up the beast seemed to lash out at anyone that got even remotely close.

Everyone was forced to turn their attention to that monster. At the same time, though, the machines were still a threat. With their backs turned, the Amazons could do nothing to stop the machines' attacks and abduction attempts. When the Amazons turned back towards the machines, though, the monster cat would strike. Its tale would lash like a whip. Strands of energy reached out, grabbed several victims, and dragged it into its body. Whatever way they looked, they would be defeated. Within seconds, the battle had turned.

"What do we do?" Bumblebee questioned through the coms system, "Do we go after the monster or the machines?"

"I don't know," Rocket sounded concerned, "If we go after one, that leaves us vulnerable to the other. Fighting doesn't seem like the best option right now. I think we should retreat. Get everyone off the island."

"Amazons don't retreat," Troia mention as she dodged a swipe of the demon cat, "My sisters will never agree to leave this island."

"They can either leave on their own, or be dragged away. By us, or the enemy," Spirit noted as she used her Spectral Claws to cut through one of the machines.

"Fine…I'll contact Mother and Diana—"

"Donna!" Wonder Woman's voice called through the earpieces, "There is some kind of monster on the North side of the island. We need help now!"

"That won't work, sister! We have a monster ourselves! There's too big of a threat. We need to leave the island."

"Agreed. It will be difficult to convince Mother, but—AH!"

"Diana? Diana!" Troia whirled around to face the other side of the island. She watched as shadow energy and machines rose up and began to drag the Amazons away.

"Donna! Watch out!"

Spirit's warning was too late, though. In her distraction, Troia had left herself open. The monster quickly took advantage. It lunged its head out and ate the Amazon whole.

Seeing her friend in distress, Spirit instantly flew towards her friend. She used her Spectral Claws to cut through the monster's mouth. The shadows tore and oozed away like black ink. Spirit peered into the mouth of the beast and saw Donna being dragged down its through by strands of black tentacles.

"Take my hand!" Spirit ordered as she reached into the mouth.

Troia quickly obeyed. Reached up, her hand clamped on to the hand of her friend. With a roar, Spirit began to try to drag the Amazon free from the monster. To her horror, though, more black strands reached out and continued to pull Troia down. It was made even worse when Spirit began to get dragged in as well

"Thou needs to let go!" Troia demanded, "The beast only wants me! Let go, and thou can go free!"

"No! I won't abandon a friend!" Spirit reached in with her other hand and grabbed onto the seeking Amazon. She used her feet to hook the sides of the opening she made. Unfortunately, the opening in the monster's mouth was quickly closing, Spirit wasn't any closer to freeing her friend.

"Dani…" Troia looked up to her ally, "Thou cannot help anyone if thou gets dragged in with me. Let go. Then, thou can come rescue me and my sisters later."

"NO!" Spirit roared in anger, "I won't let another friend go! Never again."

"I see…" Troia gained a hardened look, "Then, I'm sorry. Thou dost not leave me any other choice."

Troia jerked her other hand free from the pool of shadows she was sinking into. With a roar, she punched up and struck Spirit square in the nose. Not expecting that move, Spirt was instantly stunned and forced to let go of her friend. Troia then reached up and pushed Spirit out of the mouth of the beast.

With blurry vision, Spirit fell from the monster's mouth. She barely recognized what was happening. Brief images of retreating machines filled her vision. The beast roared. Then, it was gone in a swirl of energy.

"Gotcha!" Bumblebee shouted as she returned to normal size and caught the falling ghost. The newest member of Young Justice then gently laid the halfa on the ground to rest.

"No!" Spirit refused to stay down, though. She instantly pushed herself up and away from Bumblebee to see an empty battlefield. All the Amazons were gone, "No…"

Rocket landed down next to the grounded heroine. She had a deep frown covering her face, "I tried to stop them, but there was too many of them. They overwhelmed me."

"Then…They got everyone?" Bumblebee questioned.

"Yeah…" Rocket looked around at the abandoned beach and silent island, "They got everyone."

Disgust and rage surged through Dusk's stomach. His eyes burned from the sight before him, but he couldn't turn away. Not that it would help. Dusk was sure that he would see it in his mind even if he closed his eyes. Sudden pressure on his knees revealed that his legs had collapsed. Bile tried to force its way up his throat. It took all of his willpower to force the vomit back down.

"You monster," Dusk's voice came out in a verminous hiss, "How could you even consider doing that?"

"It is quite simple," Ocean Master's words came out slowly and calmly, "I had to do it to clear my way to the throne."

"What? You did that…so you could be the king?" Dusk trembled in a terrible rage.

"Of course. That is all I ever wanted, but people always stood in my way. Mother chose my bastard brother over me, and with this little brat alive, no one in Atlantis would ever consider me the rightful king by blood," Ocean Master explained. He pulled his trident up, and Duck flinched back from the squish sound that sounded through the water, "With this brat gone, I can focus on my brother, his protégés, and the Queen. Mera and the brats will soon be dealt with at the Sorcerer Initiative. By now, they have already been captured, and when my brother sees that he has lost his entire family…I doubt that he will have enough heart left in him to fight back."

"Do you really think that will make you king?" Dusk glared so hard towards Ocean Master that he felt as if his eyes were going to pop out of his skull, "This…this is unforgivable. Why would anyone in Atlantis follow you after this?"

"They will not have a choice," Ocean Master gave an evil smirk, "You do not think I know this city and its people? They are all followers. That is who they are and what they always will be. Only a few have the initiative to fight against me, and I will crush them the instant I take the throne. And with the power I will gain from the Sorcerer Initiative, my kingdom will only grow. The Atlantian Empire shall soon take its place the dominant world power."

"You're insane if you think that the rest of the world will just let that happen," Dusk noted, "We will stop you."

"Just like you stopped me today?"

Dusk was silent.

"I must say, I don't know why Ra's is so fixated on you. You're so weak that you can't even stand after seeing this," Ocean Master noted, "You could never stomach his job. I can see why he has plans to replace you if this fails."

"What?"

Ocean Master looked like he was about to speak again but paused. He placed a hand over his ear and spoke into what Dusk assumed was an earpiece, "I see. You are done? Good. My tracker is activated. Come pick me up."

With gritted teeth, Dusk tried to force himself to his feet. The sight of the crib and its contents made it nearly impossible, though. His legs felt numb even as the wall behind Ocean Master suddenly burst out in an explosive mess. One of the massive manta submarines hovered right outside the wall.

The Atlantian villain quickly began to swim away. Dusk wanted to do something, to say something. Yet he couldn't bring himself to. His body refused to respond. All he could do was watch as Ocean Master escaped through the darkened water. Once the villain was gone and room was silent, Dusk tumbled forward and fell on his hands and knees with his head bowed forward.

"Hey, ghost! The enemy retreated! Did you beat back…the traitor…" La'gaan swam into the room right behind the ghost. The Atlantian's eyes instantly fell on the still crib. Dusk didn't have the heart to look up towards La'gaan's full reaction, but based on the gagging noises, La'gaan wasn't able force down the vomit the way Dusk did earlier.

When the gagging noises finally stopped, they were replaced by soft sobs and cries, "Neptune have mercy…This is…"

"Yeah…It is…" Dusk spoke in a pained whisper. For a few minutes, the two teenagers just stayed there. The silence was so sick that they thought their ears would bleed from the tension. Neither of them made an effort to move. The gravity of the situation was just too heavy on their shoulders for them to move.

"Dusk!" Vision called out as she swam up towards the downed halfa, "What's wrong?"

She probably hadn't seen the crib yet. Dusk decided to ignore the question. It was too horrible for words, "Aquaman…Where's Aquaman?"

"He was injured by Black Manta. I left him with some of his guards…" Vision entered the room and saw what had caused Dusk to collapse, "Oh God…"

The woman gently floated over to the crib. Her eyes were wide and shined with unshed tears. She gently reached down and stroked the head of the silent child in the crib. The usual control Vision had begun to crumble as her emotions began to leak out in the form of her Haunting Aura. Sorrow and regret were thick in the room, but another emotion blasted out heavier. A righteous rage trickled around the room and seemed to accuse everything in its reach.

"Ocean Master did this?" Vision gently questioned, "He…killed this innocent child?"

"Yes," Dusk trembled as he finally began to cry, "Yes…"

"I see…" Slowly, Vision retracted her hand from the crib. She returned to reveal the tears drifting off her rage filled eyes and the snarl that snapped out from behind her veil, "Then I know who I have to kill for causing this tragedy."

The Fright Knight and Raven were followed by the Royal Flush Gang through the streets of Amity Park to the meeting spot. None of them seemed worried about being attacked or captured. It made both of the city natives somewhat angered that they could feel so comfortable. Of course, it wasn't as if they had the manpower right now to do anything to fight them, but it was more of the principle of the matter.

"Lord Phantom instructed me to bring any of his 'guests' to Fenton Works," Fright Knight addressed the people behind him, "Although, I don't agree with some of his choices, I do know that this is not the time to be picky with our allies."

"There are more people he contacted?" Ace frowned. She did not like being around new people.

"Contacted would be putting it lightly," Fright Knight actually let out a chuckle, "He was well aware of that this situation might get out of hand, so he used every single he person he knew that might be willing to help. From what I heard, challenged, goaded, and hired would be the best way to describe why they are here."

Turning the corner, the Royal Flush Gang was surprised at the group they saw in front of Fenton Works. Most of them were familiar in some way, but they never would have suspected that they would be willing to work with Fenton.

"This is surprising," Lydia's voice made the group look to them.

David Cain grinned as he took a puff of smoke, "He even called in the terrorists, huh? Shrewd brat."

Red Arrow, who was now sporting a thin beard and shaggy hair, frowned at the Royal Flush Gang, "Are you kidding me? Working with them? What is he thinking?"

"My guess is that he was planning for the worst. From what he told us, this is like final boss…no! Secret boss level serious. Rage out and stay up until three in the morning kind of serious," The voice of Richard Foley sounded out of a slick silver metal walker. The machine was at a size that would allow it to be carried on his back and had three legs on each side to hold it up. A camera extended out the front of the machine and allowed its user to look at the new people that had come. On the back of the machine was the bold words of Backpack 2.0.

Gizmo, who had been quite intrigued with the technology before him finally turned to see what they were talking about, "What are you…Holy snot burgers! Who's the cute girl?"

"Her name is Ace. She is the leader of the Royal Flush Gang," Red X mentioned as the A.I. controlled suit leaned against the wall of Fenton Works, "And with them here, that means our group is complete."

"And what exactly is our little group?" David Cain questioned.

"Isn't it obvious?" Everyone turned to see Fenton's famed Exorcist armor walk out of the Fenton Works building.

"No, barf breath, it isn't," Gizmo glared at the armor, "You just called and said that you had a challenge and job for us. I just came out of curiosity, but being around these weirdoes is getting on my nerves really fast."

"The feeling is mutual," Red Arrow gave a grunt, "Danny, what exactly is going on?"

"Danny? I'm not Danny," The Exorcist stepped down towards the group, "And the answer is pretty simple. We're over our head, so we're going to need all the help we can get."

"So we're the helpers?" Backpack 2.0's camera eyed the armor up and down.

"No," The mask of the Exorcist armor shifted and lifted to reveal the face of Damon Gray, "We're the backup."