Chapter 32: Inner Conflict

Disclaimer: I own nothing

"We all feel the urge to condemn ourselves out of guilt, to blame others for our misfortunes and to fantasize about total disaster."

Deepak Chopra

Chapter 32: "Inner Conflict"

(Sunday-January 2, 2011)

Beep...Beep...Beep...

"He's stable…for now." Vision peered down at the boy connected to the heart monitor.

"Secret." Greta stayed by the boy just in case something happened. She held glowing hands over Danny's body to check for anything the machines missed.

"So he's going to live?" Paulina, the prettiest and most popular girl at Casper High, questioned.

After the Bioship crashed, the ghosts and vigilantes were surprised to wake up to civilians dragging them out of the reckage. The civilians, which included many of the A-listers of Casper High, took them to one of the emergency bunkers built in case of disaster. Thanks to the bunkers design of being resistant to ectoplasm, the bunker remained mostly untouched from Freakshow's alteration of the world. As long as Freakshow didn't spend too much concentration on this one place, they would be safe.

They prayed that he stayed away.

When they arrived at the bunker, the people quickly hooked Danny up to one of the emergency medical stations placed in the bunker. They were in a medium sized room with a few beds and a lot of medical equipment. A table was off to the side for non-patients.

"I never said that…" Vision sat down at the nearby table and placed her face in her hands. She and Secret requested a bit of space to check on Danny. The other ghosts and vigilantes agreed and decided to do some planning while they waited. Some of Danny Phantom's biggest fans, however, didn't want to leave and requested to stay in the room silently. Vision didn't have the heart to say no. "He won't die now, but something's wrong. He's not fighting to live anymore."

"But Danny Phantom always fights!" Dash Baxter, the muscular blond quarterback, exclaimed.

"He does…but he doesn't have his powers anymore." Vision explained. "Who knows how that's influencing him right now. He wasn't doing well before this, and with his powers gone and the shock of the injury...It might just be too much for one fifteen year old boy."

"Is there anything we can do?" Kwan, Dash's best friend, questioned.

"Secret." Greta shook her head.

"You've done more than enough already." Vision looked at the teens. "You have my thanks. If you didn't save us from the wreckage…"

"Of course we did that!" Star, Paulina's blond friend and satellite, spoke up. "You saved us like a hundred times already. We couldn't just let you die. Especially…"

Vision looked to the unconscious boy. He was only breathing because of a machine. "Yes…He has sacrificed a lot."

"It's…it's obvious in hindsight. You know, that they were the same person." Dash's shoulder slumped. "I can't believe I used to bully Fenturd…I mean Danny. After all I did, why would he even care about me?"

"Because he's a hero." Vision spoke. "That's what he does."

"Mi amor…" Paulina peered down at the face of the boy that used to have a crush on her. It was ironic that she shunned his human half in the past but adored his ghost half like an idol. Regret filled her soul.

"I would be careful." Vision spoke. "His girlfriend is very possessive. She might break you for your thoughts."

"Valerie…" Star frowned.

"Someone else our own age fighting like they did." Kwan frowned. "How do they do it? I'm scared out of my mind when attacks happen. How do people younger than me fight with such courage?"

"Because someone has to." Vision sighed. "But eventually…The constant fighting eventually come backs to haunt you."

"Batman!" Robin shouted into his holographic computer. "You're alive!"

"I am. And so are the other members of the League…and the ghosts that fought by our side." Batman's image appeared on the screen. "I managed to contact all of them. We've been separated across the globe. I think that the backlash from Freakshow's energy caused rifts that sent us through portals. Luckily, that only happened to those in the tent at the time, otherwise you wouldn't still be in Amity Park."

"How are the other ghosts that fought with you?" Vlad looked at the screen.

"Injured, but alive." Batman spoke. "Many of us have been grouped together. If fact, I have someone with me…"

"Nyx!" Pandora cried into the screen. "Is my daughter okay!?"

"Mom!" Nyx percked up from her spot in the massive bunker. The large underground building was extremely wide and filled with beds. The shadow girl had been sitting with Raven and the girl that secretly hid in the Bioship Cassandra.

"Oh Nyx…I'm so glad you're safe…" Pandora looked relieved. "And the other children?"

"We're safe as well." Raven's face was completely neutral. "But we had a stowaway."

"I had to do something." Cassandra frowned. "What did you expect me to do?"

"Not be around me." Raven mentioned.

"Whatever, demon." Cassandra looked to the hologram. "Excuse me? Do you know if my parents are alive?"

"I received contact from Shiva and Cain...And the Light" Batman stated. "They are offering a temporary alliance to take down Freakshow."

"What? No way!" Kid Flash jumped to his feet. "After everything they put us through only two days ago, you're going to work with those asswipes?"

"There is no choice." Aqualad did not look pleased though. "Freakshow is too big of a threat for anyone to ignore now. We cannot let our personal feelings get in the way of the greater good right now."

"I'm glad you think that way, Aqualad." Lex Luthor's imaged appeared on the holographic screen.

"Luthor!" Superboy growled at the man.

"Hello, son. Forgive me for the lack of pleasantries, but we have an emergency to deal with." Luthor did not look well. "We are coordinating an all-out assault. Based on the energy signals, Freakshow has based him out in Washington DC...or at least the wasteland that was DC. We are having everyone come in at different angles and eventually rendezvous at Freakshow's location. Unfortunately, our forces are scrambled, separated, and weakened from our attack on Amity Park. We won't be able to do more than act as a distraction across the world to buy your forces more time."

"That would work…But I don't trust you." Artemis glared at the man.

"You don't have to. Just know this, none of us have a choice but to work together." Luthor stated.

"He's right." Vlad sighed. "My powers have returned. Luckily, Freakshow did not destroy them like he did with Danny. What angle do you want us to come from?"

"I'm sending you the plans now." Batman explained. "The ghosts and the Team will separate and go in at different locations. We all need time to rest, though. So the mission will begin in five hours. Rest and be ready to leave when I contact you."

"Wait! What about Danny!?" M'gann spoke up. "He's still near death! We can't just leave him!"

"Some of us can stay behind." Rocket suggested. "That way someone can look after him."

"Negative." Batman spoke to the group. "For this plan to work, we will need everyone possible. We even tried to contact non-Leaguers, but they seem to be having problems of their own. Thus, everyone we have with fighting abilities and powers need to be there for the assault."

"But Danny needs help." Zatanna spoke. "If we all leave and he has a fit then…He'll die."

"That is likely…But we have no choice." Batman noted.

"What?! I refuse to leave Danny behind like he doesn't mean anything!" Superboy roared.

"Be silent boy." Vision walked out of Danny's room.

"Vision…Do I really want to see him?" Valerie was reluctant to be in there. She couldn't bear to see Danny like he was now.

"I don't know…but he needs you right now." Vision stated. "Go to him."

"…Yeah." Valerie shook the doubts out of her head. She couldn't let her doubts hold her back again. The ghost hunter instantly ran to Danny's room.

"We need to rest and get ready to leave." Vision noted. "We will be ready, Batman."

Batman nodded.

"But Danny…" Zatanna noted. "Are we just going to leave him?"

"…" Vision began to walk away. "Yes, we are."

"Are you heartless!?" Artemis was outraged. "Danny would do anything to save you if you were in his position! He wouldn't leave you behind."

"And that's why we're in this situation to begin with."

"What?!" Dani snapped at Vision. She hugged Cujo close to her chest. "No! I won't leave until Danny's at least stable."

"That's not going to happen, Dani." Vision shook her head. "His body's in shock and his will is at an all-time low. He won't be getting better like this."

"Then we should help him!" Dani argued.

"The only way to do that is to go into his mind." Vison sighed. "And that is too dangerous."

Despite the danger, Dani insisted on burying Grundy. They took his body behind Masters Mansion and dug his grave there. It was strange moving around in what could be described as circus hell, but at least the ground was the same. Masters Mansion was completely destroyed, but that wasn't something Dani cared about now.

"Hmm…" Joel turned away from the small grave they build for Grundy. A wooden plank stood up and read 'Solomon Grundy: Born on a Monday.' "And why's that?"

"It's like with Spectra." Vision explained. "A normal ghost's mind is hard enough to handle. A broken mind of a ghost? It's a death trap for even the most experienced telepaths. We could have Miss Martian try, but she is far too raw. She will break within moments."

"Then I'll just jump into his mind with overshadowing." Dani stated.

"You won't even last a second." Vision glared. "It is impossible now."

"I won't accept this!" Tears began to run down Dani's eyes. "We already lost Scribe and Grundy…I won't lose anyone else!"

"We don't have a choice." Vision shook her head. "We have no hope."

"No hope." Joel closed his eyes. "I know what it means to have no hope…This is not one of those moments."

"Huh?" Wulf, who helped carry Grundy's body, looked over at the boy.

"He's still alive." Joel looked at Vision defiantly. "As long as there is still life, we can endure. We can fix this. I refuse to give up on Mentor."

"Thank you!" Dani gave Joel a smile.

"You're not looking at this logically…" Vision looked incredibly sad. "We only have a few hours. It's impossible to help Danny with that amount of time."

"Then tell Batman we need more time!" Dani exclaimed.

"And let Freakshow do even more damage?" Vision shook her head. "We can't do that for the sake of one life. If we give Freakshow more time, then he might begin the slaughter people. Tell me, is the life of Danny worth thousands of other people."

"…No. I suppose not." Joel stated. "But he's worth us at least attempting to help him. We have some time. Let's use it trying to help him."

"…Vision not wrong, though." Wulf spoke up. "Ghost mind bad. If go too deep, then lose self."

"There has to be a way!" Dani argued.

"We would need either an extremely skilled telepath, or someone with the ability to dive into the subconscious of others." Vision noted.

"Then perhaps I can help…"

Everyone's eyes widened. They all turned around and were shocked by who they saw.

"You!" Dani's eyes flared green.

"Hello, little halfas." Nocturne grinned at them.

"No." Vlad glared at Vision. "There is absolutely no way that we're doing this."

"I'm against this as well." Vision sighed. "But the children…"

"We need to do something!" Dani argued.

"So you brought the enemy here? To our safehouse? To Danny's room?" Vlad argued. "He was trying to kill him only a few weeks ago."

"And I have long since learned my lesson…" Nocturne scratched at the new scar that ran across his chest.

"Where did you even get that scar?" Raven questioned. "Did the mummy or the dragon give it to you?"

"It is part of our creed." Hotep Ra noted. "If one of us fails to obey the decisions we agreed upon, they must be punished."

"Harsh…" Nyx sat at the nearby table. Her feet were perched up. "But even with that, I don't buy it. You're all pretty gun ho about killing us."

"Wench, do you question my word?" Aragon glared at the girl.

"Wench? Who the hell you think you're talking to, buddy?" Nyx glared back.

"No fighting!" Hotep Ra glared at Aragon. "You know that we must be civil."

"Bah!" Aragon rolled his eyes and walked to the corner.

"What I don't comprehend is why you want to help at all." Cassandra noted. Like Nyx, she was sitting at the table, but she was acting more polite. She was calmly sipping tea.

"Why are you even in here?" Joel questioned.

"The adults don't want me out of their sights." Cassandra shrugged. "I believe that they think I will do something stupid."

"The reason we want to help is simple…" Nocturne eyed all of them. "The Reality Gauntlet's use does not come without consequences. If you use it for good, then bad karma will build up. Nekron and our rings are proof enough of that. But if it's used for evil…"

"Extremely good karma will build up." Raven nodded slowly. "An all-powerful force for good will pop up and will stand in your way."

"Yes." Hotep Ra agreed. "And the best chance of stopping Freakshow is Phantom. That's why we are wiling to use Nocturne's ability to jump into the subconscious of people and ghosts to fix Phantom."

"And how do we know that you won't mess with Danny's mind?" Vision questioned.

Nocturne sighed. He placed his power ring over his chest. "I promise not to influence Phantom negatively. Cross my heart…and hope to die."

A skull mark appeared on the ghost's chest.

"If he breaks his word, he'll die." Aragon spoke from the corner. "Is that good enough for you fools?"

"Oh, like we'd believe you." Valerie stood by Danny protectively. "That could be a lie itself."

"It's not."

Everyone paused. They recognized that voice, but they knew that those were not the words that usually came out of her mouth. Each person turned to the girl sitting by Danny's bed.

Secret looked at them. "I can see when people are lying. The soul flares out momentarily when they lie. They're souls have not flared out since they stepped into the room."

"…You can talk?" Joel blinked. "I thought the only words you could say were 'Secret'."

"That was a joke." Greta gave them a small smile. "I wanted to see how long people would believe that I could only say one word."

"But we've known you for months…" Dani was gob smacked. "How did you keep it up for two whole months?"

"Secret…just kidding. I just have a lot of control." Greta shrugged.

"So…let me get this straight…" Raven stared at her. "You pretended to only be able to say one word, even though major crisis's and devastating circumstances."

"Well, in peaceful moments, I wanted to keep the joke up, and during a crisis, I thought that it would be distracting to mention it." Greta explained.

"Wow…That is…Awesome!" Nyx grinned. "Best prank ever right there! That takes dedication! High five!"

Greta gave Nyx a high five.

"And…if Greta's word isn't enough for you…" Raven fidgeted. "I am an empath, so I can sense if people are lying. I can't control it that well yet, so I suppress it, but…"

"No." Vision shook her head. "We can take Greta's word on it."

Vlad frowned. "I still don't like it, but we don't have a choice if we want to save Daniel. I do have to point out, however, that this won't give Daniel his powers back. Freakshow still destroyed those."

"That problem…will take care of itself." Hotep Ra stated mysteriously.

"How helpful."

"There is a small pump in the road…" Nocturne spoke up. "With my promise, I can't go too far deep into Phantom's mind. My hate of him will influence his mind. That's outside of my control. Thus, I need to send some people in to help him."

"What?"

"I can get them past the emotional barriers and make sure that they get into the deepest part of Phantom's soul without harm, but that's all." Nocturne stated. "And I would recommend sending more than one person. You never know what could happen the in soul of a ghost…especially one that's broken."

"I'll go!" Dani spoke up. "I couldn't help Danny at all during the GIW War and with Freakshow. I have to help him now."

"I will go as well. I owe Mentor and this family everything." Joel stated.

"That would work very well. Both of you are connected to him through DNA and ectoplasm." Nocturne stroked his chin. "But it might not be enough to face the dangers. Imagine if the memory of the Fenton Exoskeleton came to life? Or one thousand Necromancers?"

"I'll do it!" Wulf finally spoke up.

"Woof!" Cujo sounded off.

This pattern continued across the room, until it was stopped.

"No." Vision glared at them. "We can't all go, and I don't feel comfortable with Dani and Joel going as it is…"

"Yes. Why must the youngest risk everything?" Vlad questioned.

"What's wrong with being young?" Robin's voice sounded from the door. He stood with his teammates. "I think the young do a pretty good job of fixing things."

"We did save the League and Danny after all." Kid Flash grinned.

"It's not that we're trying to discriminate…It's that we don't want the next generation to take the risks." Vlad sighed. "These two…all of you…are the future."

"Well, the future starts now." Artemis put her hands on her hips. "Cause we're going."

"Yes. Young Justice shall help bring our leader back." Kaldur nodded.

"Wait a minute." Vision frowned. "The League will be livid if they find out we let you do this."

"Sorry, but it's not your choice." Superboy grunted. "We're doing it even without your approval."

"We can't leave Danny behind anymore." M'gann argued. "He would never do that to us, so we can't do that to him."

"Yeah, we have four hours to snap him out of it." Zatanna shrugged. "How hard could it be?"

"Girl, please don't ask that. Bad things happen when you ask that." Rocket sighed.

"So…" Nocturne looked across the partcipants. "It will be a squad of ten?"

"No, eleven." Valerie's visor slid up. "I'm going as well."

"That's a lot." Hotep Ra argued. "It will definitely improve your odds, but it will be hard to manage."

"I have to focus on keeping the channel open no matter what." Nocturne shrugged. "It doesn't matter how many of you there are. In any situation, I couldn't help even if I wanted to. And if your souls are damaged while they're in there…"

"Then…someone will have to manage that." Jason Blood politely pushed his way into the room.

"Mr. Blood, you shouldn't be moving yet." Raven looked at the man's various bandages.

"I'll be fine." Blood waved her off. "I have a lot of experience with containing and transferring souls. I can monitor everything. If someone is in danger, I can pull them out. After I do that, though, they won't be able to go back. It would cause too much pressure on their soul to do this two times in a row."

"What about the rest of us?" Nyx questioned. "We don't know Danny as well as you guys, so I don't think our influence will help as much."

"You guys rest up!" Dani grinned at her friends. "We'll handle this!"

"Fine…just be careful." Raven gave them a serious look.

"When are we not careful?" Joel questioned.

"Every second of every day." Secret joked.

"I know that I won't be able to convince you to stay behind…so just be careful." Damon Gray hugged his daughter.

"I will Daddy." Red Huntress returned the hug.

"Do not worry. With me monitoring them, they will be perfectly safe." Blood stated. "The only one in danger is Danny."

"Come Damon…" Vlad placed a hand on the man's shoulder. "Let's give them some space."

"Right." Damon nodded. He followed the eldest halfa out of the room. This left fourteen people in the room. Young Justice plus Spirit and Dusk sat in a circle. Nocturne was at the head of Danny's bed. Secret was by Danny's side in case of a physical emergency.

"Alright." Blood walked to the center of the circle and sat down. "Everything is set. Are you ready?"

He was met by nods.

"A word of warning…A ghost's mind and soul are a bit weird." Jason Blood mentioned. "Don't be surprised if some things are off."

"They know that already." Nocturne rolled his eyes. "Can we get this over with?"

"I'm ready. You never know how this will influence him physically." Secret held her glowing hands over Danny's chest.

"We're wasting time." Dani stated. "Let's go!"

"Just one more thing…" Joel gave Nocturne a curious look. "You said that Phantom is the best chance of stopping Freakshow, yet we have some of the most powerful people in the world willing to fight against the freak. I want to save Mentor…but logically he won't make that big of a difference in the fight."

"Boy…you obviously haven't seen Phantom work a lot yet." Nocturne snorted. "Trust me when I say, no one can ruin a villain's plans like Danny Phantom."

"Ain't that the truth." Kid Flash chuckled.

"…Alright. I believe that." Dusk nodded slowly. "Does that mean that the future of the planet may very well lie in our hands?"

"Yes."

"Well…no pressure." Dusk shrugged.

"Is everyone set?" Jason Blood questioned. "Yes? Then let's do this."

"And here we go…" Nocturne placed his hands above Danny's head. "Good luck, brats. You're going to need it."

Energy swirled around the room. The eleven young hero's soul were pulled out of their body. Then, in a swirling vortex, the group was sent into Danny's mind and soul.

After a going what could only be describe, as a hurricane of swirling green energy, blazing explosions, and blasts of light, all eleven of the young heroes made it into Danny's soul. It wasn't an enjoyable or pleasant trip, but they made it with no harm done. Nocturne kept his word and protected them.

"Ack…Pain…is this a hangover?" Spirit groaned. "It sucks so much…"

"I…do not want to do that again." Dusk grunted and began to push himself up.

"Agreed." When he was up, Kaldur looked around. "This…is definitely a strange sight."

"Woah…It's Amity Park, but different…" Kid Flash frowned.

"This is Danny's mindscape?" Miss Martian gained a worried look. "This doesn't look good."

The landscape was definitely the city of Amity Park. There were major differences, though. One major thing was that every building seems to be ready to crumple and fall apart. Another thing was that everything seemed to be covered in a layer of ice. The city seemed to be a frozen wasteland filled with only silence.

That was only the ground, though. The weirdest parts were what was floating above them. The sky was made up of swirling green energy that looked exactly like the Ghost Zone. There were also thousands of doors that were floating at different heights in the city.

"Amity Park plus Ghost Zone." Robin shrugged his shoulders. "Makes sense for a half-ghost, right?"

"What about that?" Zatanna pointed over to what looked like a frozen Mt. Justice.

"It must be part of his obsession." Artemis reasoned. "Amity Park, Ghost Zone, and the Team. That covers everything, right?"

"What's with the doors, though?" Rocket questioned.

"In the Ghost Zone, different doors are shortcuts to different ghosts' domains." Spirit explained.

"But what function do they have in Danny's mind?" Superboy questioned.

"Maybe we should find out…" Dusk mentioned. "If we want to help Mentor, we have to find out what the problem is and fix it."

"Right…" Kid Flash walked over to a wooden door that floated just above the ground. "Want me to?"

"Go ahead." Aqualad nodded.

Kid Flash opened the door.

Torch braced himself for the next attack. He couldn't see through the smoke, but he knew that Phantom was there. For a minute he waited, but no attack came. A large grin formed on the face of Torch. He had won!

"Ahhhhhhhhhh!" Suddenly, Phantom rocketed at Torch with dizzying speed. The ice broad sword was raised and ready to strike.

Torch brought up his scythe to block the attack. The broad sword met the met the scythe with a large clang. For a brief moment, everything froze. Torch and Phantom glared at each other. The scythe and sword remained locked. It was the climax of a battle at its finest.

Then the scythe was cut in two. The edge of the ice broad sword dug into the right shoulder of Torch. The sword dug down deeply into the shoulder and cause green blood to fly out. Before too much ecto blood came out, though, the wound was covered a thick layer of ice.

Suddenly, the sword shattered. Torch dropped the two ends of his scythe. Then…Thud! Torch fell back in a heap.

Phantom looked at the sight before him in shock. He had done it. He had single handedly defeated an S-rank ghost. There was only one way to celebrate such a victory.

"YYYYYEEEEEAAAAAHHHHH!" Phantom yelled in victory. Falling to his knees, Phantom revealed in his victory. Finally, all of his training was finally showing some results.

The image faded.

"Woah! What was that?" Rocket questioned.

"It appeared to be Danny and the fire ghost." Aqualad noted.

"I heard about that!" Spirit exclaimed. "That was Danny's first fight with Torch."

"First fight…" Robin stroked his chin in thought. "That means it was a memory."

"And if that door led to a memory…then do all these doors lead to every memory Danny has?" Artemis questioned.

"That's doubtful." Miss Martian shook her head. "There are a lot of doors, but not enough to cover almost sixteen years. These are probably just the most significant memories Danny has."

"Welp…That's neat." Kid Flash mentioned. "But how does that help us fix Danny?"

Find Danny…in the memories…

"What was that?" Zatanna looked around in caution.

He has hidden himself…in a memory…find him…

"That voice…it sounds familiar." Dusk frowned. For some reason, he couldn't think of who it belonged to.

"Maybe it's the voice of someone significant to Danny." Rocket mentioned. "And that voice is trying to help us?"

"It's possible. Nocturne did say that memories can come to life in here." Spirit mentioned.

"So…Does this mean we have to look through every one of these doors? That will take forever." Superboy frowned.

"It might be the only way, though…" Kaldur sighed.

"Then let's get started." Artemis walked over to the next closest door.

They had watched several different significant memories. They ranged from battles to tender moments with family. Part of them felt bad about viewing some of Danny's personal memories. Another part, however, was fascinated to see how the events in Danny's life occurred and led up to this point.

So much was seen in their short time in Danny's mind and soul.

Phantom's battle with Colossus.

Danny's memory of staring at the memorial statue in Amity Park.

The Fright Knight pledging his life to Danny.

Phantom bonding with the Team.

Unfortunately, there were other memories that they had no desire to see and relive.

Klemper's death.

Danny's reaction to Dani dying in the training simulation.

Danny watching as his friends and family died in front of him. Now that was hard to watch. It tore them up to see the one that had helped them so much suffer like that. In those last moments, Danny looked broken and hurt beyond words. Seeing that happen made them realize that words and explanations did not give that tragedy justice.

And that wasn't even the last awkward memory they saw.

"Oh God!" Rocket shouted after the memory was blasted away.

"My pure innocent eyes that hasn't seen anything like that. Not even secretly at night on my computer!" Zatanna clutched her face.

"What?" Robin blinked at her.

"I can't unsee that…" Superboy grumbled.

"Ah…" M'gann's face turned from green to pure red.

"It was bad enough when Ember told us about her and Danny…" Artemis was frowning deeply. "But that was one hundred times worse!"

"Shut up!" Red Huntress lowered her gun and glared at them all. After getting over her shock at the sight, she used her wrist gun to dispel the memory. "That was a private moment between me and Danny!"

"Obviously…" Aqualad could not look at her.

"Wow. I did-" Kid Flash was smacked upside the head.

"If you say one more word, I will make sure that we never to anything like that." Artemis glared.

Kid Flash was silent.

"Well…That was more about Danny's personal life that I ever wanted to know about…" Spirit grumbled and looked away.

"I don't see what the big deal was. Valerie and Mentor obviously care for each other." Dusk shrugged. "Was that not an expression of love and affection?"

"Thank you." Red Huntress smiled at him.

"Although, I never took you as the groper, moaner type." Dusk stated seriously.

Red Huntress's jaw dropped.

"Not to mention that you seemed to enjoy his abs a lot." Dusk mentioned.

"Wait…are you messing with me?" Red Huntress blinked.

"Also, I have to question why you consider Mentor's behind, and I quote, 'adorably bitable'." Dusk noted.

"Say anything more and I will shoot you." Red Huntress glared at him.

Dusk debated about whether it was worth pressing any further. He decided it was not worth it…right now.

"Hahahahahahahahahahaha!" Robin had to fight not to fall the ground laughing. "I can't believe you said that with a straight face!"

"We so need to keep you around more!" Kid Flash managed to laugh out.

"Why are you not shocked by that?" Aqualad questioned. "You're only eleven."

"Kaldur, I live in the Internet age and was trained by the Shadows." Dusk knew this wouldn't shock them because they read his files for sure. "I have been informed about sex and seduction since I was eight."

"And I have Nyx as a friend, so…" Spirit shrugged.

"Enough of this! We need to keep going." The still red faced Red Huntress flew up to a random metal door. "And if this is a memory of Danny and Ember doing anything at all, I'll start shooting everything."

They all stood in Fenton Work's basement lab. It wasn't the same as it was now, though. There was far more clutter and broken machines than there was now.

"When are we?" Dusk questioned.

"Smile!" A goth girl with black hair that was half down and half up in a ponytail. She wore dark makeup, a black shirt that still revealed her midriff, a black platted skirt with purple tights underneath, and black combat boots.

To the side of the girl was an African American teen that had the same build as Danny. He wore a red beret, yellow shirt, and thick glasses. He was watching the scene with curiosity.

The flash of a camera went off.

"…I think I have an idea…" Spirit mentioned.

"Okay…" A younger, shorter, and thinner Danny stated. He held a white jumpsuit in his hands. "I showed you the portal. Can we get out of here now? My parents could be back at any minute. Besides, they say it doesn't work anyway."

"Come on, Danny," Sam Manson walked in front of the powerless Ghost Portal. "A portal to the Ghost Zone! Aren't you curious? You got to check it out."

"You know what…" Danny looked into the portal. "You're right. Who knows what kind of awesome, super cool things that could be on the other side of that portal?"

He put on the white jumpsuit. Humorously, instead of the famous DP symbol on his chest, there was a sticker of an aging man with a thick chin and graying hair.

"Hang on…" Sam walked over to the boy. She ripped the sticker off his chest. "You can't go around with that on your chest. Here."

She placed a black version of the famous DP symbol on his chest.

"What is that?" Danny questioned.

"Just trust me, okay?" Sam smiled.

With that, Danny walked into the portal. He was hunched over and looking around in curiosity. Making sure he wouldn't trip, the boy placed his hand on the side of the portal. He hit an on button.

The room was then blinded by green electricity and energy.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"Was that…" Aqualad looked over to Spirit.

"Yeah. I think that's when Danny gained his ghost half." Spirit nodded.

"Wow…we just witnessed the birth of a hero…" Miss Martian mumbled.

"Yeah, wow." Superboy frowned. "Danny looked a lot…weaker than now. That guy looked like he wouldn't weigh a hundred pounds soaking wet."

"He changed a lot." Kaldur nodded.

"And to think…that could have easily never happened." Artemis noted. "One small difference…Danny refusing to give into peer pressure…His parents showing up early…That girl not having an interest in ghosts…If any of those things happened, Danny Phantom would have never existed."

"The origins of a hero are a fragile thing…" Robin thought of his mentor. If the Waynes never went down that one alleyway, Batman would have never existed.

"But what would have happened if Danny didn't get any powers?" Zatanna questioned.

"I wouldn't exist." Spirit noted.

"I would probably be dead." Dusk stated.

"Most likely, I would still be a spoiled brat." Red Huntress sighed.

"And what about us?" Superboy questioned. "How would things be different if Danny never stepped into that portal?"

"It depends…would there still be a ghost problem?" Aqualad frowned in though. "Because if there was, then we may very well be dead…or in a sleep coma from the Nocturne Crisis."

"The Light was interested in ghosts far before the Nasty Burger incident." Dusk mentioned. He thought of the various reports he read back at the Ghoul Project. "They probably still would have used the Guys in White to attack the Ghost Zone. But at that point, the ghosts probably wouldn't have been prepared. All of them would be dead."

"So many different things could have gone bad if Phantom didn't exist." Rocket noted.

"Okay…I know this is off topic, but can I point out how stupid it was to put an on button in the inside of a machine that dangerous?" Kid Flash spoke up.

"I don't think that's the point." Superboy noted.

"It should be. That's a pretty stupid flaw design." Kid Flash pointed out.

"Jack Fenton was a genious inventor…but he was also a known clutz and had a habit of blundering on obvious things." Red Huntress nodded.

"But Maddie Fenton wasn't an idiot in any sense of the word, and she worked with the designs. Why didn't she fix that design?" Spirit frowned.

"Huh…" Dusk blinked and lowered his head in thought. "That is a good question. It's almost like…"

You ask too many questions.

"What?!" Everyone whirled around. They saw a figure in a completely black cloak staring at them. His features were completely hidden beneath the cloth.

Do you think that he never had those same questions in his head? Why would two geniuses overlook such an obvious flaw? Even if one lacked common sense, a child could tell you not to put the on button on the inside of something so explosive.

"Who are you?" Kid Flash demanded.

But he was always too afraid to question it. After all…it couldn't be that this life was forced upon him. Who would do such a thing to a boy willingly? Who would make him suffer so?

"Answer the question!" Artemis pulled out her bow.

Intruders demand something of me? The Protector? How arrogant and foolish.

"We do not mean to intrude." Aqualad noted. "We only wish to help our friend."

Your help is not welcome. Get out now, or I will force you out.

"Come on! If we don't help, then Danny will die!" Rocket glared.

You have failed to comply with my warning. That means I must force you out.

"Guys! Remember that this isn't real!" Miss Martian yelled out. "If you remember that, he can't hurt you!"

In a normal mind, perhaps, but you are in the mind of a ghost. Beings of the dead do not follow the rules of mortals.

The cloaked figure disappeared in a blur. He appeared in front of M'gann. His fist was shoved through her stomach.

Do I not seem real you?

Miss Martian disappeared in a blaze of green energy.

"M'gann!" Superboy shouted in anger.

"Fret, not children." Jason Blood's sounded around them. "I have removed her before anything permanent happened. She is well and safe."

That is the purpose. My intent is not to kill. I shall give you one last chance. Get out, or I will force you out.

"…I refuse to leave." Dusk glared at the cloaked figure. "Mentor needs my help. If I leave now, he will suffer and die. I cannot allow that to happen."

Very well. I shall try to push you out as painlessly as possible.

Green energy exploded out of him. It blared out like a solar flare. All the young heroes were forced to jump back and run away to avoid getting consumed by the energy. The attack destroyed the area they were around. Ice shattered and buildings crumbled around them.

"Crap…" Robin noted as he jumped up from his roll. "I'm definitely not whelmed right now."

"He has a lot of power." Superboy glared.

"Damn." Red Huntress looked around. "He took another one of us down."

It was true. Spirit was gone.

"Ack…" Spirit groaned. "What happened?"

"I pulled you to this place to talk to you." A gentle voice spoke to the halfa girl.

"Huh?" Spirit opened her eyes and sat up. She blinked and wiped her eyes. She saw a girl in black standing in an area of pure white. "Who are you?"

"Why is that the first thing all halfas ask me?" The goth girl chuckled. "If you want to know, though, I'm Death."

"Death?" Spirit allowed the other girl to help her up. "As in when people die? That Death?"

"Well…I'm more complicated than that, but essentially yes." Death nodded.

"Huh…I thought you would be a skeleton. Danny did mention he met you, but he never said what you looked like." Spirit mentioned. "Guess I should have asked."

"I get the skeleton thing a lot." Death chuckled. "Here, let's sit."

A bench appeared beside the girls. Death instantly flopped down. Spirit, however, was reluctant.

"Look. I don't really know if you're real or not, but I'm kind of too busy for this." Spirit looked around the completely blank area minus the girls and the bench. "I need to help Dusk and Danny's friends, cause if I don't, Danny will die."

"I know. That's why I'm here." Death mentioned. "You have to save Danny."

"That's what I'm trying to do, so send me back." Spirit ordered.

"I can't. Not yet." Death gestured to the bench. "Sit. We need to talk."

Spirit sighed and sat down. "I can't believe I'm taking orders from a memory."

"I'm not a memory, Dani." Death smiled at her. "I'm the real Death."

"…What? For real?" Spirit blinked.

"I am." Death smiled happily. "I came here to help Danny. He can't die yet. But I can't get close to his innermost self."

"But you're Death…Like you are actually Death itself…er, herself." Spirit pointed out. "Can't you do anything you want?"

"Danny has an affinity with denying me when he wants to…" Death chuckled. "There is a field around his core. He has shielded himself with memories. No one can get through, not even me, and I need to get through. There is only one person that can help Danny now."

"You?"

"No, someone else." Death sighed. "But I can't get through the memories, and I'm sure there are more barriers as well. That's where you and your friends come in."

"What do you mean?" Spirit questioned.

"The being that attacked you was a personification of all the hardships and experiences Danny has faced. He was hidden away until your presence in Danny's memories awakened him. That was why I spoke to all of you before. To get you to look through his memories and draw him out."

"That voice was you?" Spirit blinked.

"Yes it was." Death nodded

"Oh…Okay. So what now?" Spirit questioned.

"In Danny's outer mind, that physical memory is all powerful. There is no way you can win in a physical fight." Death explained. "But there is a chance that he might be convinced to drop the first barriers. Unfortunately, I doubt anyone could get through to him…except for you. That is why I brought you here to this area of free thought and peace. I need you to use your influence over Danny to convince us to help him."

"But why is he resisting anyway?" Spirit questioned.

"He cares so much about all of you." Death sighed. "That's why he doesn't want you to be hurt in a few minutes when his mind collapses, and he accidentally takes your souls into the afterlife with him."

"His mind's collapsing?" Spirit's eyes widened.

"Yes…His mindscape is already degrading. Soon there will be nothing left."

"What's going on?" Zatanna questioned. In the distance all around the edges of the city, shards of crystals were rising into the air and disappearing. It was happening in a complete circle around them. Thus, the entire city was doing this.

The mindscape is breaking apart. The city is now degrading in from the sides into the center. Soon there will be nothing left. That is why you must leave now.

"No! That's why we have to help Danny now!" Superboy glared at the cloaked figure.

Fool, you can do nothing to ease his pain and make him forget.

"You have to let us try!" Red Huntress shouted.

No, I don't.

The cloaked man raised his arms to the side. Energy swirled around him. It then began to spread around them all in a blaze.

"What are you doing?!" Aqualad demanded.

I am ending this quickly. It aches to hurt you enough to return you back to the real world. I mourn the fact that I was forced to harm M'gann and Dani. So I will let the memories send you back. Only the strongest ones will do, though…

"What are you talking about?" Artemis demanded.

Goodbye, my friends, I will miss you.

All the young heroes disappeared in a flash.

"What happened?" Zatanna looked around. "Did we teleport?"

"The man said something about a memory." Robin mentioned. "And this looks like New York City…"

"So is it when Danny had different assassination attempts put on him?" Zatanna questioned.

"…None of those things happened at night…" Robin looked up at the darkened sky.

"Oh…Well, if this is a significant memory…and in New York…and at night…" Zatanna mentioned. "Do you think this is during…"

Crash!

A large mechanical battle suit that stood at over twice the size of the teens landed before them. It was white in color with a green flaming F on the front of it. Inside the machine's cockpit was Agent Z. The duo could seem him through the unbreakable glass dome on the top of the armor.

"The GIW War." Robin frowned. "This was who Danny fought…who we have to fight."

"The Fenton Exoskeleton…"

"What's with this storm?!" Rocket covered her eyes as rain and hail poured down around them.

"I do not know!" Kaldur pulled out his Water Bearers. He raised them and used the rainwater to form a dome around the two heroes. "There, now we can talk."

"This is Amity Park." Rocket mentioned. "But wow…I haven't seen a storm like this in a long while."

"Yes…" Aqualad did not look excited. "The last time I saw a storm this bad was back in April."

"Right." Rocket nodded. "I remember that. Everything was in chaos when that weird weather ghost Vortex went on a rampage…Oh crap."

"Indeed." Aqualad looked around. "This is most likely that memory. We need to be on the lookout for."

Zap! Boom!

"AAHH!" Both teens were blasted back when a powerful bolt of lightning hit the water dome and blew up.

"Damn…What was that?" Rocket questioned as she forced herself up.

"…Him." Kaldur pointed to the being in front of him.

The ghost was wearing a black vest with a lightning symbol like the Flash, except that it larger, backwards and more pronounced. His huge arms and forearms were covered by black gloves. Instead of legs, the ghost had a twister tail that was constantly spinning. They also noted that the ghost also had red eyes, sharp teeth, and lighting bold ears.

Vortex cackled at them. He wasn't going to make this easy on them.

"This place…" Red Huntress frowned. "I've seen this place in books."

They stood in a long wide throne room. The entire room was massive and ancient. Candles lit the sides. Oddly, a large sarcophagus was at the end of the throne room.

"Do you know where we are?" Superboy questioned.

"Not a good place." Red Huntress stated. "We need to get out right now."

"What? Why?" Superboy questioned.

The sarcophagus at the end of the room opened. A massive man with black armor and green straps stepped out. He also had a green sword at his side. The giant of a man had long green hair, two horns with the left one broken, and an eye patch over his left eye. His face was completely white like his sharp teeth.

"That's why…" Red Huntress paled.

This man was once the savior of the human world, but he was later the dictator of the Ghost Zone. His almighty power came from the burning crown above his head and green ring on his left hand. He almost destroyed Amity Park but was defeated by Danny Phantom.

He was Pariah Dark, the King of the Ghost Zone.

"Woah…" Kid Flash blinked. "This place looks like something from a nuclear apocalypse movie."

"Yeah…" Artemis nodded. She looked around at all the fallen buildings and rubble. "You know what…this looks a bit like Amity Park."

"Really?" Kid Flash frowned. "You know what, you're right."

"This is not good…" Dusk spoke up. He formed his Pendulum Nunchucku in his hands. "I have heard stories from Mentor…There is only one that has the ruins of a destroyed Amity Park in it. I'm sure you know the story, though."

"What story? The only apocalypse story Danny told us was when he went to the alternate future." Kid Flash shrugged.

"Hello Wally!" Artemis rolled her eyes at the redhead.

"Huh…Oh…Oh crap." Kid Flash's eyes widened.

"Hehehehehehehehehe…" A dark voice laughed above them. It sent shivers down their spines.

They looked up. An extremely muscular man with blue skin floated above them. He had flaming hair and red eyes. His black and white jumpsuit had a white cape on the back and a flaming DP on the chest.

Dark Dan grinned down at them with his sharp teeth. He opened his mouth and allowed a forked tongue to jump out and hiss at them.

"His mind is degrading?" Spirit was in shock.

"Yes." Death nodded solemnly. "The shock of Freakshow's actions is the straw that broke the camel's back. He can no longer hold the strain of his guilt and regret."

"But how can I help?" Spirit questioned.

"You hold a connection to Danny that no one else has." Death took Spirit's hands and held them gently. "You are his genetic daughter. Half of you comes from him, while the other half comes from Sam Manson."

"I know." Spirit nodded. "But what does that have to do with anything?"

"You are the one person on the planet close to Danny that has any positive connection to the ones he lost during the Nasty Burger Incident. That is the initial cause of Danny's grief that has only grown as time moved on." Death explained. "It is this connection and his love of you as a sister that makes you his most precious of people. He would do anything for you."

"…So I have to use that." Spirit noted.

"Yes, you are the only hope we have of getting close to the core Danny." Death nodded. "I need you to get past the barriers so that I can use my secret weapon on him."

"But if I hold such a sway on him, why can't I just help him?" Spirit questioned.

"The heart is such a strange thing. Sometimes, it seeks forgiveness from the people that are gone, rather than the people who we still have." Death mentioned. "It's not a rational thing, and Danny does have a hard head sometimes. He needs to hear these words from someone he feels that he's wronged the most."

"…Okay." Spirit agreed. "I think I get where you're coming from."

"Thank you. Now, hurry. You must convince to let you past the memories soon, or all Danny's friends will be sent back by the memories they're fighting." Death stated. "You won't be able to get past the final barriers without their help…"

Spirit blinked as she once again appeared in the frozen wasteland version of Amity Park. All the other young people were gone. The only person left in the now decaying world was the cloaked figure that attacked them.

Death had been clear in her instructions. Spirit had to convince this living incarnation of Danny's memory to let them help. "Hey!"

The cloaked figure turned to her.

You are still here? I thought I already sent you back to the real world.

"No! You didn't!" Spirit glared.

Then I shall send you there now.

The cloaked figure raised an arm at her. Green energy glowed around it. Spirit didn't think this was an attack that she could dodge or block.

"No you won't." Spirit stated. "Because I don't believe there's any part of Danny that would be willing to hurt me."

The figure froze. The energy faded.

"You're a part of Danny right? The personification of his memories?" Spirit questioned.

I am.

"Then you know me." Spirit stated. "You know all of us. You know that all we want is to help Danny."

The core 'Danny' is beyond saving now. He has lost sight of the light. All hope is lost to him. The end of this mindscape is imminent. I must get all those that matters to the core 'Danny' out of this world. If not, you shall all fall as well.

"But we can help! I know we can!" Spirit argued.

That is an impossibility. I am his memories. I know that Phantom had pulled off the impossible many times. In the face of all odds, he has prevailed. But not this time. If Phantom has given up, then the situation is truly hopeless.

"Woah!" Robin jumped out of the way of the rockets that the Exoskeleton fired at him. The Boy Wonder flipped and jumped to avoid the missiles of destruction. They flew past him and crashed into the buildings behind him.

Robin had to brace himself to not fall down from the force of the explosions.

"Nrut eht dnuorg otni dum!" Zatanna cried. The contrete below the Exoskeleton shifted into a gooey mud. The machine began to sink.

That is, until jets jumped out of the back of the battle suit and rocketed it up into the air.

"This isn't working!" Robin shouted. "That thing's really tough!"

"How did Danny fight this thing?" Zatanna questioned.

"Well he did die…Look out!" Robin ran over and shoved Zatanna out of the way. Just after he did that, the Exoskeleton landed down. It grabbed Robin and flung the Boy Wonder through the wall.

"Robin!" Zatanna shouted as Robin disappeared in a blaze of green energy.

"How the hell do you fight a living storm!?" Rocket questioned. She was flying around Vortex. Her kinetic energy attacks proved to do very little against the ghost who had a hurricane protecting him.

"I do not know!" Aqualad was trying to control the water provided to him by the storm. He waved his Water Bearers around to control a water dragon. The dragon charged at Vortex, but the storm ghost used a tornado to scatter the water. "Nothing is working!"

"HAHAHAHAHA!" Vortex bellowed out a laugh. He spread his arms out and allowed electricity to blast out of him.

Rocket quickly grabbed the Atlantian and pulled him out of the way of the electricity. She flew around the ghost while leaving a trail of purple kinetic energy in her wake. "This is impossible! I remember hearing about this guy! Even Danny needed Spirit and Superman's help to take him down!"

"We must think of something!" Kaldur stated. "Get me close! He may control electricity, but if I use my mystical electricity then I may be able to injure him!"

"That's going to be hard!" Rocket flew around the raging winds, strikes of lightning, and pouring rain. "I can barely move as it is!"

"Then-Gack!" Kaldur gasped as Vortex grabbed him from Rocket's hold.

"Kaldur!" Rocket would have went to help her new friend, but she was forced to create a kinetic bubble around herself in order to stop a ball of electricity that was thrown at him.

"RAW!" Kaldur tried to use his magic electricity to breakt Vortex's hold, but this did not work. Vortex's hand did gain a few burns, but the ghost did not let go.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Vortex then crushed the Atlantian. Kaldur disappeared back to the real world in a swirl of green energy.

"GET OFF OF ME!" Superboy roared. He was being held down by his enemy's massive foot. The clone tried to punch at the ghost's Achilles's Tendon, but it didn't work.

Pariah Dark was a juggernaut. He didn't even try to black their attacks. He just let them bounce off him like they were simple balls of paper. Both teens could absolutely nothing to hurt him. Red Huntress tried to go for one of the Ghost King's sources of power the Crown of Fire, but when she went to grab it, she was smacked away like a fly.

The Ghost King then beat Superboy down the clone. Superboy managed to get hits in, but his punches and kicks didn't seem to do anything. Not only that, the blasts of ectoplasm that Pariah Dark used to blast the teen to the ground actually hurt the Kryptonian. The stinging pain made it so that Conner could do nothing as the Ghost King stepped on him like a bug.

"Hold on, SB!" Red Huntress floated behind the Ghost King. Rocket launchers raised out of her suit's shoulders and shot several missiles to Pariah Dark. They all made contact with his back, but he didn't even acknowledge the attack.

"Damn it!" Red Huntress had never really faced the Ghost King. Sure, she saved Vlad and Danny from him once, but that was about it. Attacking him now felt like trying to shoot down a mountain.

"You!" Superboy glared up at the Ghost King. "I'll-"

A massive blast of energy destroyed Superboy's head. Red Huntress had to watch as her ally was taken back to the physical plain of existence.

"No…" Red Huntress froze.

This was the Ghost King. One of the most powerful ghosts to ever exist. He once ruled the Ghost Zone with an iron fist. It had taken the Ancient Six to take him down the first time and Phantom with Fenton Exoskeleton the second time. Red Huntress wasn't arrogant enough to think that she could even hope to take him down on her own.

Dark Dan was fast. That was the thought that Kid Flash, a person that could run close to the speed of sound, had running through his mind. The ghost actually managed to keep up with Kid. He dodged Artemi's arrows like they were moving in slow motion. Dusk's attacks didn't even get close.

Not only that, he was beyond strong. His punches shattered walls. He threw boulders around like they were confetti. His kicks made the ground below them crack and cave in.

And his ectoplasmic blasts…

Boom!

Artemis was gone!

"NO!" Kid Flash rushed the ghost in anger.

"Wait!" Dusk warned.

Dark Dan sent an ectoplasmic empowered backfist to Kid Flash's head. The force would have shattered the speedster's neck. Luckily, Jason Blood pulled Kid out of the mindscape before any real damage occurred.

"Damn…" Dusk hissed. He had heard stories about Dark Dan. The only one that fought the dark future Phantom was Danny Phantom himself. Dusk now knew that every statement Phantom uttered about his future self's strength was greatly underexaggerated. "This is not good…"

"Hopeless…" Spirit looked insulted. "How could any part of Danny even think of saying like that? Danny was the one that managed to hold off the Ghost King by himself! Danny was the one that managed to change his own destiny! Danny was the one that ended the GIW War! Danny was the one that brought the Phantom Family and Young Justice together! He does all those impossible things and you say that this is hopeless?!"

There is only so much one person can endure on his own, Dani. The core Danny has endured too much on his own.

"I get that, but he's not alone! We are here to help him!" Spirit argued. "I know that he's endured a lot for us. A lot more than we ever had any right to ask. He's had so much pressure on him…But that's about to change. He doesn't have to carry any more burdens on his own. Because all of us…Even the people out there waiting for him to wake up…are willing to shoulder part of the burden."

Danny does not want that. He does not wish to burden those he cares for. He does not want you all to risk your very existences merely to give him a small chance at life.

"To hell with what he wants!" Spirit glared. "It does not matter what you think he wants! What you think his obsession entails! Because I know this, if Danny does not want us to suffer, then he should let us help him, because we would suffer a lot more knowing that we did nothing to help a friend than if we fail and are hurt in the process."

You…make an excellent point…

"And don't like Danny is the only one that can pull off the impossible." Spirit grinned. "That trait runs in the family. Give me one chance to help my brother, and I promise that I will help him and get all of out of here safely."

…I could never really argue with you, Dani…

The cloaked man reached up and lowered his hood. The face of a golden eyed Danny Phantom stood in front of her. He looked tired and had a few scars running across his face.

Very well. You shall have your chance. Don't make me regret this. Because if Danny takes you with him into the afterlife, he will destroy himself.

Memory Danny raised his arms. Energy swirled around them as the world began to shift.

"Raw-Huh?" Dusk paused mid-punch. He wasn't fighting Dark Dan in the ruins of Amity Park anymore. He now appeared to be in a…graveyard.

"What happened?" Zatanna looked around wildly. Was this a trick by the Exoskeleton?

"I have no idea…" Rocket was trying to calm herself down from the panic she was feeling from fighting the Vortex memory merely seconds before.

Do not worry. This is no trick.

"You!" Red Huntress pointed a gun at the cloaked figure but paused when she saw Phantom's face. "You…

"Don't shoot!" Spirit cautioned as she jumped in between Memory Danny and the young heroes. "I managed to convince him to let us go help Danny!"

"Really?" Zatanna still looked paranoid.

I am letting you proceed.

"Okay…" Dusk nodded slowly. "Why the change of heart?"

A big brother cannot ignore his sister's cries.

"I see…that sounds like Danny." Red Huntress lowered her gun.

"Alright…" Rocket looked relieved. "Um…Where are we exactly?"

This is the core of the Phantom. Over there, is the very essence that is Danny.

The cloaked Memory Danny pointed off into the distance. There appeared to be a green ball of energy floating above the ground. It looked big from here, but they were a good distance from it. Most likely, the ball of energy was actually massive when up close.

But the burden's Danny carries has began to decay this area. Each grave is a regret that Danny feels.

"You can't move a few meters without a gravestone, though…" Rocket mentioned.

Exactly. It has weighed him down, and with the shock of losing his powers and failing to help Freakshow has pushed him over the edge. That is why Danny has given up and shall pass soon.

"We have to help him." Dusk clenched his fists. "But how do we do that?"

Go to him. To the core Danny. If you can get to him, perhaps you can help. But be warned, there will be barriers…obstacles. That is why I can take you no further than this. Even I have limits compared to the core Danny. He will not allow me to take you any further than this. If I try to move any further, I shall disappear. So you are on your own from here on out.

"Thank you for this." Spirit nodded to him. "Don't worry. We'll save Danny."

That is my hope. But be careful and do know that time is running out. Very soon. The outer mindscape will fall, and this place will disappear forever. Now go. Hope's survival is counting on you.

The group of five flew towards the core as quickly as they could. Because Zatanna did not know any flying spells yet, she was carried on Red Huntress's hover board. Overall, their journey over the graveyard was relatively peaceful at first. This did not mean that they would let their guard down, though.

"Woah!" Rocket did a barrel roll in order to dodge what looked like a hand made out of green energy. It jumped out of one of the graves and tried to grab her. "That was close!"

"Yeah-Ah!" Spirit flew up to avoid another hand. "There's more of them!"

It was then that hands began to spring up from each grave. They reached up and tried to pull the heroes down. All of the flying vigilantes were force to dodge and avoid the hands. This was greatly delaying their progress.

"We don't have time for this." Dusk noted. They were still going at the same speeds, but most of the time they were going sideways instead of forward to the core.

"I don't think we can blast our way through!" Red Huntress was using her guns to blast the hands away, but they quickly regenerated.

"Kaerb eht sdnah!" Zatanna shouted. The hands began to dispel. This only last for a brief second before they appeared again.

"Everyone get close!" Rocket shouted. "I'll shield you!"

Red Huntress with Zatanna, Dusk, and Spirit all began to fly close to each other. A kinetic bubble of energy formed around them and protected them from the hands.

"What about you?" Spirit looked out to the other girl.

"I'll distract some of the hands while maintaining the shield." Rocket nodded at them while dodging some of the hands. "I don't think my kinetic tech can absorb the energy here, so it's only a matter of time before it breaks! If I keep the attention away, it might make it though!"

"But…" Red Huntress frowned. She didn't like the idea of leaving Rocket unprotected.

"I'll be fine! Start going! I'll try to keep up!" Rocket yelled.

"Right." Dusk nodded.

The group then returned to their trek to the core. Like Rocket promised, the shield held. Unfortunately, Rocket quickly began to fall behind the others. It was hard for her to maintain the shield and dodge the hands at the same time.

"Keep going!" Rocket yelled to them. "Save Danny!"

She was then grabbed by the hands and held down. The girl quickly disappeared in a flash of green. This caused the remaining four's shield to fall.

Luckily, they were incredibly close to the core now. In fact, they could now begin to see the massive sphere of energy more accurately. It was like a miniature sun. The green energy flared and danced around it. Below it was a translucent dome. Within the bubble was Danny. He was kneeling before six graves within that dome.

"Danny!" Red Huntress cried. "We have to get to him."

"The hands are back, though!" Spirit cried.

"I'll deal with them!" Zatanna shouted. "I'll make you a path too!"

"What are you going to do?!" Dusk questioned.

"What I have to!" Zatanna jumped down from the Red Huntress's hover board. As she dropped, she yelled. "Ekahs pu siht ytrap!"

When Zatanna landed, she placed her hands on the ground. This caused a massive shockwave to blast out. The ground wrippled and shook as the dirt shifted all over the place. All the hands that were in front of them disappeared in a flash. The sorceress, however, did not take out the ones behind them. Thus, they were able to grab her and dispel her from the halfa's soul.

The group of three landed in front of the dome surrounding Danny and the six graves. All of them instantly began to beat against the dome. They yelled and shouted for Danny to let them in, but the teen did not listen. While on his knees, Danny knelt over and placed his face on the ground in shame.

"Damn!" Red Huntress watched as the hands began to form again. "Find a way in that dome! I'll hold back the hands!"

"Right!" Spirit began to use her Spectral Claws to try and cut the dome open. It did not work. "Dusk, help me!"

"I'm working on something…" Dusk had formed a single Burst Gauntlet. He was charging all of his energy into that one weapon. "Keep focusing on that one spot…"

"Hurry! The hands are getting close!" Red Huntress was using their wrist guns to shoot the hands back. There were too many of them, however, and they kept regenerating. They would soon overtake the heroes.

"Just a bit more…" Dusk focused completely on the Burst Gauntlet. "Now! Spirit, move!"

Spirit stopped cutting at the dome with her Spectral Claws and jumped out of the way. Dusk rushed forward and threw a punch at the dome. His Burst Gauntlet rammed through the dome. This only created a hole the size of a fist, though.

Removing his fist, Dusk let the Burt Gauntlet fade and grabbed onto the edge of the hole. He began to pull at it and widen it. "I'll try and make it big enough for you, Spirit!"

"That won't be enough!" Spirit grabbed the other side of the hole. She pulled with all her might.

"Guys!" Red Huntress looked back as the hands overtook her. "Good luck!"

With that, she was gone.

"RAW!" Both Spirit and Duks pulled at the hole. It began to expand and widen.

"Go! He needs you!" Dusk shouted when the hole grew big enough for a person to go through.

"No, he doesn't!" Spirit smiled and shook her head. "He needs her."

"Huh?" Dusk blinked. "What are you…"

"You did well…" A girl stepped through the hole. She seemed to appear out of nowhere.

"Death?" Dusk's eyes widened.

"Thank you." Death smiled back at them. "Don't worry. I can handle it from here."

That was the last thing they saw before they were dragged out of Danny's mind.

Spirit's eyes snapped open. Her head ached like she was hit with a sledgehammer. "Holy crap, that hurts!"

"Ugh…" Dusk rubbed his temples. "Did anyone catch the plates of the semi that hit me…"

"Oh no…" Artemis paled when the two children woke up. "If you're here…"

Jason Blood looked over to the still comatose Danny. "It appears we failed."

"Danny…" M'gann began to tear up. Conner instantly pulled her into a hug.

"His condition is falling rapidly." Secret was rapidly trying to heal his body. "I can't do anything, though. It's not a physical thing. He's just fading…"

"No!" Kadur punched the ground in anger.

"I can't believe this…" Zatanna trembled as she began to sob.

"It appears this was all for nothing." Nocturne sighed.

"No…You're wrong…" Dusk shook his head.

"What are you talking about?" Wally held his head in his hands. "Danny's dying."

"That's the thing, though…" Spirit couldn't help but smile. "Danny is at his strongest when Death is near."

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Danny repeated these words over and over again. He knelt before six graves. These were the six people that he failed first. They were the reason the degradation process even began.

The graves read the names Jack Fenton, Madeline Fenton, Jasmine Fenton, Lucas Lancer, Tucker Foley, and Samantha Manson.

"Danny…" Death approached Danny from behind. "Danny you need to stop this."

"It's all my fault. They didn't deserve to die…None of them did…" Danny sobbed.

"Danny, you must listen. You're killing yourself. You can't do this. The world needs you." Death spoke gently.

"No. I can't…I can't forgive…I did this…" Danny cried.

"…I didn't think that you would listen to me." Death noted. "Your guilt is too deep. No one can get through to you like this. No one…but someone you think you wronged."

"Danny…"

Danny's head instantly popped up. His tear stained face showed an expression of shock. Slowly, he turned to face the person who addressed him. Her face and voice often haunted his nightmares. "Sam?"

"Hey, Danny." A white robed Sam Manson smiled down at him.

"I…I can't…" Danny stood slowly. He reached out and gently tried to touch her face. "I thought you were gone forever."

"You can't get rid of me that easily." Sam mentioned as he gently cupped her face.

"An illusion. You have to be. Sam is dead…" Danny retracted his hand like it was burnt.

"No, Danny, she's the real Sam." Death stated. "I brought her here to talk to you."

"She…She's real…" Danny's eyes widened. "You're really here, Sam…"

"I am, Danny." Sam nodded.

"Sam, I…I…" Danny grabbed her hands and dropped to his knees. "I'm so sorry! It's all my fault that you died!"

"Danny…" Sam knelt down and hugged him tightly. "You don't need to ask for forgiveness. I forgave you a long time ago."

"Sam…" Danny cried into her shoulder.

Death smiled. At that moment, the degradation of Danny's mind came to a halt. Everything was still.

"Danny…" Sam gently pushed him away a bit so she could look into his tear stained eye. "You need to stop blaming yourself like this. You're killing yourself with guilt. Do you think that any of us would want you to do that? Do you think that we would want you to suffer because of what happened, because you're wrong. All of us forgive you for your mistake. Besides, it's not really even your fault. You tried to save us. It was Dark Dan that killed us."

"But…"

"Shush." Sam placed a finger over his lips. "I'm talking now."

Danny was silent.

"These graves…these constructs of your guilt…They're not necessary." Sam gently wiped away his tears. "None of them should exist because no one blames you for what happened."

"But…The Nasty Burger Incident was my fault…I was the one that instigated the war…I failed to save anyone during the training simulation…The Ghoul Project used my energy to torture and kill people…" Danny mumbled.

"Idiot." Sam shook her head. "We forgive you for our deaths. It was the Guys in White that wanted war. That simulation was meant to make you fail. And the Ghoul Project is the Light's fault, and no one else's."

"But…" Danny didn't get a chance to say anything else.

"No. No buts." Sam glared. "Please, Danny. You're the only one that thinks that you're guilty of anything…Well, your enemies do, but those douches don't count."

Danny was silent as Sam gently pulled him to his feet.

"Don't you get it? Since the beginning, the only person that needed to forgive you…is you." Sam gently took his hands into hers. "Let go of your guilt, Danny, just like you let go of your anger during the war. Free yourself of these shackles and chains you placed on yourself."

"I…I don't know if I can…" Danny mentioned.

"You can. I know you can." Sam stated. "Because you can do anything. Here, open your hand."

Danny obeyed. Sam then gently placed something into his palm. She took a step back and let him see what she help.

"This…It's the ring that Dad got so I could ask you out…" Of course, that time he was dating Valerie, so it was a bit awkward dealing with his Dad.

"Yeah…I thought it said 'Wes' when you gave it to me for safe keeping." Sam chuckled. "Read it upside-down."

"…What do you want me to do with this?" Danny questioned.

"That is a symbol of the shackles you placed on yourself. Destroy it. Prove to yourself that you're finally ready to forgive yourself for everything that happened and move on." Sam stated.

"But if I do that…Then won't I be giving up on your memories?" Danny looked down at the ring uncertainly.

"No, Danny. You don't have to forget us." Sam smiled. "But you need to live your life without letting our memories weigh you down."

"Even if I do this…I still won't be able to help the others. My powers were destroyed by Freakshow." Danny sighed.

"No Danny. They weren't. The Reality Gauntlet is strong, but your powers come from a stronger force." Sam pointed to Death.

"As long you have your connection to me," Death spoke. "You will always have the potential to use your powers. Look above us at that ball of energy. That is your power source. Freakshow may think that he destroyed your powers, but they will always return to you if I am close by. That is how you gained your power in the first place."

"What…What do you mean?" Danny questioned.

"You've always had that power, Danny. You were just too afraid to use it until you had to." Death explained. "The first time you died as a baby, you became a half-ghost. You just never used that power until your second encounter with me. And now, you're once again suppressing your own powers. This time, it's because of your guilt and your perception that you went against your obsession. But if you forgive yourself…you'll be even more powerful than before."

"I…I…" Danny looked down at the ring. He looked conflicted.

"Do not let your current loved ones suffer because of your guilt of your past loved ones, Danny." Sam encouraged. "It's time. You must protect what matters again like they came to save you."

"…You're right." Danny nodded. Once again, tears ran down his face. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it, Danny." Sam stepped forward and gave him one more gentle hug. She then stepped back. "Stay safe, Danny...and remember to treat Valerie right. I think that…she's good for you."

"I will." Danny nodded. "Goodbye, Sam."

"Bye, Danny."

With that, Danny crushed the ring in his hands. It shattered into tiny little pieces. Then, he let go. The shards drifted up from his open palm and into the air. The ring and the guilt that it represented faded into the wind.

Danny's mindscape was covered in a blinding light. The outer mindscape quickly repaired itself. The city was restored. The ice melted, and the buildings repaired themselves. Light shown from the green sky as gentle snow began to fall across the city.

Things changed in the inner mindscape as well. The graves all around Danny's core quickly began to disappear. Each one blinked out of existence until the only ones that remained were the six in the center. Slowly, each one of those graves faded as well until nothing remained.

It was then that the ball of green energy above the now empty field began to grow. It surged outward and expanded to over ten times its previous size. The green light shone brighter than ever.

This time, however, there were strands of white and gold energy in it as well.

"What?" Secret blinked down at the body on the bed. "His vitals…They suddenly went back to normal…"

Danny Fenton's eyes snapped open.

"Woah!" Secret jumped back.

"Danny!" Spirit grinned as she pushed herself to a standing position.

"Mentor, you're okay…" Dusk gained a relieved look.

Danny sat up. "I am…" He looked over to Secret. "Greta…you're the one that healed my body right?"

"Y-yes." Secret nodded.

Danny gently placed a hand on top of her head. "Thank you."

"Y-you're welcome…" Secret watched in shock as Danny pushed himself to his feet. He looked different than before. He looked…powerful…confident.

"Danny!"

"You're okay!"

"Thank God!"

Young Justice, Spirit, and Dusk rushed to their leader. They all gave the halfa hugs and pats on the back. Danny laughed and returned to gestures of affection.

"How?" Jason Blood questioned. "How did you come back like that? I thought we failed to get to you?"

"No. You did exactly what you needed to do." Danny smiled. "Thank you…All of you, for sticking by me. It must have been tough."

"Yeah, well, I think that should cover a few favors that we owed you." Superboy grinned.

"That it does…Although, I think I owe one of you a favor that I doubt I'll want to repay." Danny glanced to Nocturne.

"Don't misunderstand the situation, halfa. I did this because I had to, not because I wanted to." Nocturne glared at him. "The only thing I want from you is your death."

"Well, you'll have to wait a while for that…" Danny rolled his eyes.

"Danny…Your hair…" Red Huntress watched as the white streak in Danny's hair disappeared.

"Yeah…Don't worry, that's a good thing." Danny chuckled.

"What happened?" Rocket questioned. "How did you snap out of it?"

"I got a visit from an old friend and had some sense slapped into me." Danny explained.

"Wow, that is perfectly vague." Zatanna noted.

"And it will stay that way for a bit. I think we have to worry about Freakshow first." Danny mentioned.

"True, but how will you fight without powers or armor?" Robin questioned.

"Don't worry about that…" Danny walked past them and opened the door.

Everyone in the main hall of the bunker turned to him. He was met with same reaction as before. All of his friends rushed to him and embraced him.

"Oh, Danny." Vision hugged him tightly. "I…I'm so sorry. I was going to leave you…I'm such a terrible person."

"Vision…." Danny pushed her back and gently gripped her shoulders. "You had to make a choice. I don't think even my life is worth the entire human world and Ghost Zone."

"Daniel…" Vlad eyed him. "You seem…different."

"I feel different. I feel better than ever." Danny grinned. "I feel like taking Freakshow down."

"Danny…" Wulf spoke. "You no have powers…"

"Don't I?" Danny grinned. A white ring surrounded him. "I'm going ghost."

Everyone watched in wonder as the ring went across his body and transformed him into Danny Phantom. Green energy blazed around him. A Haunting Aura of peace and confidence swept over the room.

"How?" Dusk questioned.

"Trade secret." Phantom smirked. "I'll tell you later. But right now, I think we need to stop Freakshow from destroying the planet."

"Hell yeah! Now that's what I'm talking about!" Spirit did a fist pump.

"You make it sound easy…" Kaldur noted. "But the entire League, some of the most powerful ghosts, and talented assassins were all taken down by him."

"We are planning an all-out assault soon." Vision mentioned. "We're leaving in a few minutes, but we haven't been able to come up with a better plan than to attack him all at once. We thought about using different ghost artifacts, but they would either be ineffective or take too much energy."

"I see…" Phantom grinned. "…Too much energy, huh?"

"Danny?"

"I think I have a plan. Vision, tell me, where exactly did you hide the Mirror of Memories?"