Desperation Chapter 1: Separated

WARNING: The following story is the fourth in a series of books. Various things from the canon versions of both Danny Phantom and Young Justice changed throughout the events of the previous stories. If you haven't read the old stories and even have a small interest in not having everything spoiled for you, then you can go back and read all three stories. If not and you don't care about all the work that I put into them… (*goes into the corner and cries*)…Then I guess you can keep reading.

Disclaimer: I own nothing

"You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain."

Two Face Harvey Dent (The Dark Knight)

Chapter 1: "Separated"

(Thursday-December 31, 2015)

In a large room filled with very unique people, a young lady sat on an old couch with a sketch pad in hand. Her striking, shoulder length white hair was pulled into a pony tail to keep the wavy locks away from her tanned skin. This gave an unobstructed view of the soft, beautiful features of her face, including her soul piercing green eyes. Below her neck, her entire body was covered in black and white mesh armor that wasn't too thick to restrict her movements. A thin, short white skirt covered the bottom part of the armor, while a large flaming DP symbol covered her chest.

"Hey, Dani," A large figure sat down beside the woman and swung an arm around her, "What cha' doing over here?"

Dani looked up from her sketch pad to see a man covered in even more armor than her. Unlike her, though, the armor was involuntary for the man. His entire body was covered in with blue and grey cybernetic armor. Even the left side of his face was covered in armor, including the left eye. The part of chocolate skin showing, or even still there, was the right side of his face, "Just doing some sketching."

"Can I ask what the sketches are?"

Dani showed him by flipping through the pages. He saw a woman covered in armor and holding a spear first. Then, there was a cloaked woman meditating in the middle of the air. Next, there was a muscular man covered in armor with a large R on his chest. Finally, there was a young boy with a tail, "New Year has me thinking on what people would have looked like if they…managed to stick around. Best wording I could think off considering some are just gone while other are…"

"Yeah…don't let M'gann see that last one, though."

Dani's eyes swept across the room to see a green skinned woman giggling next to a man that looked like a fish, "Don't worry, I wasn't planning on showing it to people."

"You showed it to me."

"Well, you asked. Plus, you're my boyfriend, Victor," Dani snorted, "Not like I would hide anything from you."

Victor bit his lip at that but quickly hid it. Dani was telling the truth in concern to her actions, "Right, but you never know with Miss M. She always has a sixth sense when people are bringing up Gar."

"Fair point," Dani flipped the page to a clean sheet of paper, "Who should I do next?"

"I think…" Victor gently squeezed her shoulder, "That you should join the party. It's not often that we get to drag Kaldur and Garth away from Atlantis anymore."

"Hmm…" Dani slowly nodded, "But no Wally…and no Joel…"

Victor sighed, "Yeah, well…I doubt anything could get Wally here, and Joel…you know how hard it is to pin him down."

"True," Dani slid the sketchbook into her armor, "Okay, you're probably right. Better enjoy the fun while we can. I was talking to Nightwing and Oracle earlier. We got missions tomorrow. You, me, and Cassie are heading to New York."

Victor frowned, "Oh really? I was hoping that I could be teamed up with Jaime more. I feel for the kid. It's got to be pretty scary getting covered in armor and not having someone to teach you."

"He's going to be with Alpha, and they're hunting Clayface. We're just doing espionage," Spirit stood up from the couch with her boyfriend, "You can argue with Nightwing if you want, but I doubt that it will do anything. Unlike Cassie, Jaime needs more battle experience instead of just patience."

"Fair enough," Victor didn't look happy by the argument, though.

"Okay, no pouting, babe," Dani floated up and kissed Victor on his cheek, "It doesn't suit you."

Victor gained an amused look, "Only a kiss on the cheek."

Dani winked at him, "Wait until midnight. I'll give you a kiss that'll knock you out."

With that, Dani walked off. Victor's smile faded as he watched her greet and hug old friends. Despite the smile on her face, it seemed like Dani was just going through the motions, "Just like always…"

The store clerk was watching him. Truth be told, he didn't blame the man. With his dark hood up and the terrible teenage half-beard he had going on, he probably looked like a degenerate. Still, it didn't change the fact that it was a mistake. There were plenty of things that he should have been paying attention to instead of him. Case and point…

A gun was thrusted in front of the clerk's face. The somewhat heavier man flinched back from the sight as the masked holder of the weapon glared at his target, "Open the cash register."

"I-I…"

"This is a stupid idea, you know."

Both the clerk and the robber turned around to face the hooded teen at the back of the store. Oddly enough, the once black hood had transformed into a more armored coat with a hood up like before the transformation. Like Dani, the teenage boy had the flaming DP symbol on his chest and also on the left side of his hood. The most striking part of the transformation was the green sword that hung from his back.

"Very few people actually use cash nowadays," the boy noted as he stepped forward from one of the aisles, "And this store is in the middle of nowhere. You'll get a few hundred bucks at most, and then probably get caught by the cops by the end of the night."

"No one asked you!" The robber, who seemed to be drunk, pointed the gun at the young man, "Now back off."

"It's not too late," The boy stated, "Put the gun away and leave. Do that, and no one will call the police. Everything will end nice and peacefully."

"Screw that! I ain't listening to some stupid kid!"

Unlike the robber, the store clerk seemed to recognize the teen, "W-Wait. H-He's…"

The boy took a step forward, "Put the gun down!"

"Like hell!"

Bang!

The bullet shot out from the gun and rammed into the teen's chest. To the robber's shock, it passed through the boy and back into a shelf at the end of the store.

The teen sighed, "No one ever chooses the peaceful options."

Panicked, the robber repeatedly shot at the teen. Despite all the bullets hitting him, the teen wasn't hurt at all. In fact, he was walking forward with a steady pace. Eventually, the click of the gun revealed that the robber was out of bullets. Shaking in fear, he threw the gun at the ghost teen. That worked just as well as the previous bullets.

Once the teen was in front of the robber, he walked through the masked man like he wasn't even there. By the time the robber could process this, the teen was behind him and was cuffing his hands behind his back. He was then shoved to the ground before his ankles were cuffed as well.

Shaking his head, the teen placed the gun he took from the robber on the counter, "Here. Call the cops and make sure they get this. Tell them that those cuffs should dissolve on their own in half an hour."

"Y-You're Dusk."

Dusk looked at the clerk for a second before sighing, "Yeah, I used to be."

"W-Why are you here?"

Dusk reached into his pocket and pulled out a can of shaving cream, "I tried the beard thing. Didn't work out. Look too much like my old man."

"N-No, I-I mean…Why are you here instead of Amity Park?"

Dusk licked his lips, "Because I'm too much of a coward to go home for the holidays."

"Coward? But you saved the world!"

"Only because I was there," Dusk looked down to the cuffed man, "Like with this. Can't be there if I'm always running, though."

The clerk didn't know how to respond to that.

Dusk placed down a couple of bills before grabbing the shaving cream and stepping towards the exit, "Have a Happy New Year, mister. That way, I'll know that at least someone will."

"3…2…1…Happy New Year," With a smile on his face, a man in a fancy suit leaned over the couch and kissed a woman dressed in purple robes. Pulling away, the man smiled causing his beard to shift upward and his long white hair to shift, "Another New Year, love."

The woman nodded. She flicked some of her golden hair out of her tanned face and then placed a hand over her large stomach, "Quite the boring one for you I suspect. No party. No champagne. Just watching the ball drop with your fat wife."

"You aren't fat, Vision," The man argued, "And you know that I love spending time with you. Parties and alcohol are not needed."

"You're sweet, Vlad," Vision giggled, "But I feel very fat and boring. Only halfway through my pregnancy, and I can't even get up on my own…"

"Is that a hint?"

"Very much so."

Chuckling, Vlad helped his wife to her feet, "Do you want me to help you upstairs?"

"No, I can do that on my own. Let me have a little bit of my dignity," Vision began to step out of the luxurious living room and into the hall, "This baby is going to be a trouble maker. I can feel it. Not even born yet, and he's putting my power on the fritz."

Vlad chuckled, "I'll be up soon, love. I just need to check up on a personal project."

"Then goodnight," Vision began to waddle up the stairs, "I'll be asleep as soon as I lie down."

"Goodnight," Vlad smiled as he watched his beloved wife walk up the steps. Once she was out of sight, Vlad dropped his smile. He walked to a wall at the end of the room and moved a picture to reveal a hand scanner. Once he placed his hand on the scanner, a computerized voice sounded out.

"Password required."

"Daniel, Danielle, and Joel."

"Voice recognized. Welcome, Mr. Masters."

The wall moved to reveal a small elevator. Vlad stepped into the elevator which quickly went down to a lab that had been built below the manor many years ago. He stepped through the lab and ignored the organized computers and weapons that were lined across the walls. The oldest half-ghost made his way to the end of the lab where a glass cage stood.

At the center of the cage was a small being with scaly, sallow skin. It had a lean face with two horn-like extensions at the top, and pointy ears. Eyes with three pupils stared up to him.

"Computer," Vlad stared at the obvious alien, "What is the progress of the translation program?"

"Progress at 10%."

"Not good enough," Vlad glared at the creature, "I don't know what you are, or what you were doing at my business meeting, but I'm going to find out. You obviously understand me, so listen to this. You're going to cooperate more or…"

Vlad walked over to a desk and grabbed a device with a spinning blade at the end, "It may not seem like it, but I have not always been so domesticated. I have a cruel side, especially to my enemies. I haven't shown that side in years, but now, you may force my hands. Because if there's going to be an alien invasion, then my wife and son are in danger."

The halfa walked to the cage and held the tool towards the trembling alien, "I'm willing to cross any line for them. Eventually, I have to hand you over to the Justice League, but before that, I want to find out everything you know. The easiest way is for you to cooperate when my computer asks you questions. If progress isn't at 25% by the time I wake up, you're going to lose more than a few fingers."

The alien looked absolutely terrified.

"And if I don't get answers in time to help what's left of my family," Vlad scowled, "I'll hand you over to the Justice League with your head separated from your body, because I'm not willing to lose anyone else that I love."

(Friday-January 1, 2016)

"Danny, your friends have requested a meeting over a mission issue."

A twenty year old man paused in his walk through a hallway backstage of a concert. He wore a fancy tuxedo over his fit, muscular frame. His handsome face moved into a slight frown, as he swept a hand through his slicked back hair.

Danny's blue eyes shifted around and placed a hand over his ear piece, "Not good timing. I'm about to head on stage. J.A.Z.Z., tell them that I'm busy with PR and that I'll be done in a few minutes."

"Of course."

With that done, Danny placed a smile on his face and walked through the backstage area and to edge of a large stage. On a stage was a grown woman dressed in black leather. The pale skin of her shoulders along with her pierced belly button were visible to the world. Flowing blue hair moved as if it were on fire. Her soft features morphed with each word that she sang into the microphone. After a few seconds, the woman finished the song and smiled.

"Thank you! Before my next song, the creator of this shindig wants to say a few words, so give it up for the awesome Danny Fenton!"

Without hesitation, Danny stepped onto the stage and waved to the crowd. He stepped up to the woman and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. As the crowd cheered, the couple broke apart allowing Danny to step in front of the microphone. Smiling, he waited for the cheers to quiet down before speaking.

"Thank you, Ember. I'm sorry to ruin the celebration, but I came out here for two reasons. First is to wish you all a Happy New Year and give my beautiful girlfriend a kiss…"

Pause for cheers.

"Second, I wanted to thank all of you for your support in our charity event. We've reached our goal and a new homeless shelter will be up as soon as the weather permits it!"

Pause for even more cheers.

"Remember going into the new year, that everything is possible if we all work together!"

As the crowd cheered again, Danny stepped back. Ember leaned forward and whispered in his ear so that only he could hear her, "That was so cheesy."

Danny whispered back, "Everything about New Year's Eve is cheesy. I'm just using that to my benefit."

"Of course," Ember breathed haughtily into his ear, "Didn't say that I didn't love it."

Danny moved his head to kiss her again. His lips gently moved against hers, "Knock them dead."

"Like I can do this any other way, Babypop."

With that done, Danny turned and walked off the stage. Once he was out of sight from the crowd, the smile dropped into a more serious expression. He walked through the backstage area and went to his office where a large black man stood in front of him.

"Damon," Danny addressed his body guard, "No one enters for fifteen minutes."

Damon nodded and allowed Danny to step into the makeshift office. It only had a desk and a few chairs, but it would do for the concert and party. With a grunt, he stepped to the desk and sat down. Danny then reached into his pocket and pulled out Fenton Work's patented Tucker Phone. He placed it on the desk and activated its holographic features.

"Sorry, I'm late. I was busy."

"I saw that. It's hard to believe that you've become that good with crowds and TV cameras."

"Practice makes perfect."

"Indeed, my friend. It was very impressive, and you still made it in before anyone else."

"Well, this was short notice. What did you need?"

"Our plans are about to get underway. We must be prepared to deal with the fallout."

"Like we always aren't," Danny snorted, "I think you just wanted to celebrate the evening."

"And you don't?"

"I'm saving my energy for later. The Queenpin tends to have a lot of energy after her concerts."

"And the Phoenix can't rise to the occasion?"

"I can, and I will," Danny chuckled. He reached into his desk and pulled out a bottle of champagne, "So I suppose drinking a bit of champagne wouldn't hurt."

"That's the spirit."

As Danny worked on the bottle, he glanced to the hologram, "No lecture on underage drinking?"

"I know it would fall on deaf ears, my friend."

"Good point," Danny smiled, "Any idea of what the toast will be?"

"I was thinking of letting you do it. After all, the New Year is for the youth."

"I see…" Danny finished opening the bottle and pulled out a glass, "How about…to a fruitful new year for the Light, and to the betterment of mankind."

Vandal Savage smiled, "I like it."