Chapter 17: Shattered

Disclaimer: I own nothing

"Where there is love, there will also be pain and suffering." Unknown

Chapter 17: "Shattered"

(Saturday-October 16, 2010)

Danny Phantom, in his limited knowledge and wisdom, actually thought that today would be an easy day. When he woke up that morning, he knew that there wasn't a high chance that anything real would happen. Batman had scheduled a mental simulation today, so there wouldn't be a mission unless it was a catastrophe. Not only that, with Colossus active again, Danny was completely certain of Amity Park's safety. It would be safer to light a match with a gas leak than attack Amity Park now.

So, it was safe to assume that today would be uneventful. At least, until Phantom learned what the simulation would be about. They were going to be put into a scenario where Young Justice would fight and struggle to survive and defeat the enemy. Yeah, like Phantom hadn't been through enough situations like that before…

Nevertheless, this would be a good learning experience for the others. You can't always win. Sometimes, you just had to settle for making the enemy lose. This was probably to safest way to show them without someone dying, so Phantom was happy to do this. Perhaps he could even put them in a situation where they would have to fight without him…You know, for experience.

The first thing that happened during the simulation was that some of the heaviest hitters of the League were killed by a bunch of aliens with disintegration rays. In real life, to see Superman perish that easily would probably have hurt their fighting spirit, but they just watch silently. After all, none of this was real.

After that had happened, the rest of the League desperately tried to fight off this new alien threat. Slowly but surely, each member of the League was disintegrated one by one. Eventually, it came to the point that only Red Tornado was alive.

Apparently, Young Justice had tracked Red Tornado down only a few days earlier. They found not only Red Tornado, Red Torpedo, and Red Inferno, but also found an Android named Red Volcano. After a long fight with the earth controlling android, Young Justice found victory with the help of the other Reds who, besides Red Tornado, sacrificed themselves to save the world.

But…while Phantom could understand that Red Tornado never turned evil and that he helped save the world, he couldn't just let what happened go. It wasn't the betrayal that got to him. It was the fact that he never got his fair fight with Red Tornado. That didn't mean that he enjoyed watching Red Tornado get killed, though.

It didn't matter too much, though. After all, none of this was real.

When there were no League members left, it was time for Young Justice to begin their counterattack. A quick scan of the planet showed that a scout ship of the extra-terrestrials was at Superman's fortress of solitude. To counteract the invaders, Young Justice decided to decommission the ship, dissect it, and create new weapons to fight the aliens.

That was when things started to go downhill…

'Wolf…' M'gann mentally mumbled at seeing the Team's pet die.

'There was no indication of feedback…' Robin examined his wrist computer. 'Gah…I'm sorry…'

'…Can't do anything for him now.' Superboy rationalized.

'Get that cannon hooked up to the Bioship.' Phantom ordered to M'gann and Superboy after Superboy ripped the weapon from the ship.

Decked out in winter stealth gear, the team had quickly taken down the lone ship while disabling its communication system. Phantom was suddenly glad that they had spent so much time training in stealth. Their sneak attack made so that no one reinforcements could come find them.

…Or, that's at least what he thought…

'Crap!' Phantom mentally roared as the two other alien ships flew to attack them. 'Is the ship ready, Miss M?'

'No, not yet!' M'gann noted. 'And I can't do anything until it is!'

'Okay! I'll try and fight them off! Artemis, give me some long distance support, everyone else get ready to go as soon as possible!' Phantom ordered.

He took flight. The halfa flew around the ships dodging the beams. His distraction allowed Artemis to take down one of the ships with one of her explosive arrows. The other one crashed and landed by Artemis. Phantom saw this and was already moving toward her. Even if this was a simulation, he wasn't going to let a friend die in front of him.

'Artemis, behind you!' M'gann warned.

Phantom ignored this and flung himself at Artemis. She had already drawn her bow and was preparing a counter attack. That wouldn't do anything, though. The beam was strong enough to take down nearly indestructible members of the League after all.

The halfa grabbed onto the archer and tackled her forward. This got them out of the way of the beam. There was a problem, however. In his lunge, Phantom had left his left arm lagging behind him. He didn't think anything of it at first. His focus was completely on Artemis right now. He did notice, however, when his arm was gone.

The beam didn't hit him fully. It only hit his arm. Just like with the League members, the appendage was quickly disintegrated. There would have been blood, but the heat had forced the wound to burn shut. All that was left was a lump.

There was no pain, though. Phantom knew that this was just like a dream. Even subconsciously, he knew that his arm was still there in the real world. It was the same way with Amity Park. The city was probably in ruins by now, but Phantom's subconscious knew that his real family was safe and sound.

After all, none of this was real.

"DANNY!" M'gann screamed as Phantom and Artemis crashed into the snow below them.

Until it became real, that is. Because as soon as Miss Martian screamed like that, all the reasoning and subconsciously knowing that this was all fake was gone. To Phantom, this was reality now, and he would have to live with it.

First there was the surprise. Then, came the shock. Finally, the pain hit the halfa. His left shoulder seared in pain.

"Ahhhhhhh!" Phantom screamed in terror and pain. His right hand reached up and grabbed the injury. The wound was already burned close, so there was no blood. There was only pain.

Trembling, Phantom looked down at where his left arm used to be. It was gone. The appendage was merely a memory now. Just like everything else seemed to be lately.

"Danny! Oh, God!" Artemis looked in horror at her friend.

"GAH!" Phantom shouted. He tried to move, but couldn't. His body was too shocked by the sudden loss to listen to him yet.

Luckily, Aqualad had stepped in. He used his Water Bearers to manipulate the water and ice. The lifted the alien ship into the air and crushed it. Phantom would have appreciated it if he could actually focus what was happening around him.

"Danny!" Kid Flash zoomed up to them and examined the wound. "Oh, crap…"

"Ugn…Tell me about it…" Phantom grunted. "Wally, help me up, bro."

"Right, right…" Kid Flash flung Phantom's remaining arm over his shoulder and helped him up.

"You…you didn't have to…" Artemis was staring at the wound in horror as they slowly walked back to the Bioship.

"Oh, just shut up and accept my act of selflessness…" Phantom smirked despite the pain.

"Danny!" M'gann and the others stared in horror at their leader.

"Those bastards…" Conner growled.

"Don't act like I'm dead." Phantom snorted. "It's just a flesh wound."

"But…your arm…" Robin muttured.

"It's just an arm. It's a small price to pay for a friend." Phantom smiled.

"…" Artemis looked at her feet.

"We need to get you into the Bioship." Kaldur noted. "You need medical attention."

"Yeah…I really do…"

"Uh…Would you give me some space?" Phantom requested after his shoulder had been cleaned and bandaged. Artemis continued to stare at it, though.

"Sorry…sorry…" Artemis took a step back.

"It's not a problem." Phantom grunted as he turned and address the Team. "Okay. Now that we have their weapon designs, we need to create as many of them as we can…"

"Right, perhaps it would be wise to deliver the schematics. The news has reported that the military is held up there." Aqualad suggested. "Plus, it will send a message that there are people still here to defend the planet."

"Yeah…" Phantom nodded. "But we need to spread the weapon designs as far as possible. Robin, send the schematics to any lab you can get a hold of. The whole world needs to be working on this. Be careful, though. We don't know if the E.T.'s can intercept our signals or understand us. Make sure to encrypt the message."

"Right." Robin noted.

"And make sure to send it to…Amity Park." Phantom went pale. "Amity Park. Oh, crap! How…why the hell did I ignore it until now! I know I sent a message to them about our plans but…"

"Bro…we all want to go to our home cities." Wally reasoned. "But we can't…not even to check up on our families."

"But this is different…My family is made up of extremely powerful ghosts. Not only that, the equipment and ghost portals there might even the odds against the E.T.'s." Phantom reasoned. "The resources there are invaluable right now."

The logic in his arguments were sound. Amity Park was where they could get to the Council of the Elite and the rest of the ghosts. They would be needed to win this fight. Nevertheless, everyone knew that this was also an excuse. Phantom would say anything to go to Amity Park.

"Well…I think we can go a bit without you." Superboy reasoned.

"But…can you really go there like that?" M'gann stared at his wound. "Can you fight?"

"I still got one arm, two legs, and thirty-two teeth." Phantom grinned. "I definitely can still fight."

"You cannot go alone." Kaldur looked at his friend and leader. "I shall go with you."

"No. You're in command while I'm gone." Phantom argued.

"Robin can lead for the short time that we're separated. Besides, I'm the only one that can use magic to stop your intangibility." Kaldur sighed. "Thus, I'm the only one that can literally drag you away if things…don't go well."

"…I see…" Phantom frowned. "And are you okay with this, Robin?"

"Yeah, just go. I got this." Robin smiled.

"Alright." Phantom nodded and stood. "You better hold on tight, Kaldur. I only got so many limbs left to catch you with if you fall."

Part of Phantom really wished that he decided not to go to Amity Park. He knew that it wouldn't be good. The halfa thought that he would find his family and friends fighting for their lives. What he didn't expect was to see a completely barren wasteland. In fact, it reminded him of…

Fiery white hair. Blue skin. Red eyes. Forked tongue. Twisted laugh. Destruction. Nothing left. Death…

"Danny." Kaldur hissed.

"Huh?" Phantom blinked at his friend.

"We need to keep moving. Perhaps there are…survivors." Kaldur looked around at the fallen buildings and complete destruction.

"Survivors? In this?" Phantom muttered numbly.

"There is always hope, my friend." Kaldur noted.

"…Fine…" Phantom nodded. "Let's keep looking…"

Finding survivors was difficult, however. The entire city looked like it came crashing down. E.T. ships were everywhere. Phantom and Kaldur invisibly flew over the city. They looked everywhere, but they couldn't find anyone. Until they spotted a red and black dot, that is. Red Huntress was found. There was a little problem, though. She was trapped under a lot of rubble, about enough to crush a car...

"V-Mmhh." Kaldurs hands crashed onto Phantom's mouth to stop his shout.

"Shh…" Kaldur whispered as he pointed to the nearby ships. "We can't let them find us."

"Fine…" Phantom gritted his teeth.

They stealthily worked their way over the fallen heroine. It was a painfully long process for the halfa. His eyes were locked solely on this injured, possibly dead friend. Despite his urgent need to help her, Phantom gritted his teeth and moved as slowly as possible. Each ticking second seemed to kill a small part of Phantom.

When they arrived, Phantom turned them visible and whispered. "Val. Valerie. It's me. It's Danny. Please...say something..."

"Guh…" Red Huntress opened her eyes. Her visor was completely shattered. The suit she wore was in ruins. The lower half of her body was completely covered by large slabs of concrete. "Danny? You're safe…"

"Yeah, I am. I came back to help." Phantom trembled. "I'm here to save you."

"It's…too late. They aliens instantly knew that this city was dangerous. The energy scale if off the charts, right? There…were so many of them…" Valerie was crying now.

"Shhh…" Phantom took her hand with his remaining arm. "It's okay. Let me get you out of there."

"No…the ruins will crumble and draw their attention." Red Huntress coughed. "It'd be stupid to do that for a corpse…"

"You're not dead yet!" Phantom was about to turn intangible.

"No…" Valerie looked at his stump. "You're already hurt by them. You can't chance anything."

"Dammit…Please…Let me save you."

"Danny…you don't want to see what's under this rubble. There's probably so much blood and gore…" Valerie muttered.

"No…Just let me…"

"It's okay, Danny…" Valerie gave him a bloody smile. "Go. Go to basement in Fenton Works. That place was the meeting point. If anyone was alive then they'll be there."

"What about Masters Mansion and Axion Labs?"

"Gone…Nothing left. I saw…my dad and Plasmius die in those spots…" Valerie's eyes flickered.

"No…" Phantom felt his eyes tear up.

"Bye Danny…" Valerie muttered. "I love you…"

"No! Not like this! Not again!" Phantom shook his friend. "Wake up, Red! Wake the hell up Dammit...Don't leave me like this...!"

"Danny…" Kaldur placed a hand on his shoulder. He had been respectfully silent during her last moments, but he needed to speak up. "She's gone."

"Dammit…" Phantom cried as he was pulled away from her. "I'm so sorry, Valerie."

"Come. We need to keep moving." Kaldur stated to his friends. "Mourning needs to be saved for after we defeat the enemy."

"Yeah…you're right…"

"Danny!" Spirit lunged to her brother and held him tight. She was sobbing violently as she screamed incoherent things.

"Spirit!" Phantom hugged his sister. "Thank God…"

"…Daniel…" Vision looked up. She was seated across the basement. Her robes, headdress, and veil were ruined. This allowed everyone to see her tired and depressed appearance. "You came…"

"Of course!" Phantom nodded. "We got the schematics for the weapons."

"Good…good…" Vision stood. Her golden hair flowed down her back. Her tan was now covered in filth and dirt.

"My Liege!" Fright Knight knelled before Phantom. "I'm so glad you're safe."

"Friend!" Wolf licked Phantom's face.

"Gack…Good to see you too…" Phantom looked around at the basement as he held Spirit. "…Are you four all that's left?"

"Yes, Lord Phantom…" Fright Knight stood. "No one else survived."

"My friends!" Spirit sobbed. "Raven...Nyx...Youngblood... T-they…They all…"

"I'm so sorry, Spirit." Phantom whispered to her.

"And you!" Spirit stared at his stump.

"I'll live." Phantom explained.

"Hello…" Kaldur stepped forward. "I…I'm glad that you survived."

"Is this all that survived from your team?" Fright Knight questioned.

"No, the rest went to the Hall of Justice. We're going to meet up with them there." Phantom explained.

"Alright then…A plan…" Vision nodded. "That's…That's good."

"Are you okay?" Phantom questioned.

"No…I'm not…" Vision sighed.

"Saw…Plasmius…die…" Wulf grunted lightly.

"GAH! Daddy!" Spirit sobbed.

"I see…" Phantom frowned as he eyed the frowning woman. She looked…broken. "I'm so sorry, Vision, but we need to keep moving."

"I know…" Vision mumbled. "But if we try to leave, they'll find us. All four of us together would attract the aliens. If Wulf attempts to create a portal, they will find us. And the Ghost Portal is nonoperational. When they destroyed the top of the building, they destroyed the power. The basement only survived because of the reinforcement. Our combined signatures are hidden here, but if any of us use anything other than basic powers…"

"I see. I could use a Fenton Thermos to capture you all and sneak away." Phantom suggested.

"They would sense the energy. If we do anything, they'll move." Fright Knight warned.

"…Then we have to move fast." Phantom reasoned. "Fastest thing we can do is have Wulf create a portal. We all jump through and close it after."

"But it needs to be closed at all cost." Vision warned. "If the aliens get through…"

"Wulf will go first. Make sure the portal gets closed."

"Got…it…" Wulf nodded.

"Vision and Spirit will go next." Phantom explained. "I'll buy you all time."

"No! I won't lose you too!" Spirit held on to him tightly.

"I won't leave without you, my Liege." Fright Knight noted.

"And I won't let you sacrifice yourself again." Kaldur stepped forward.

"You'll listen to what I say!" Phantom barked. "I have the least to lose, right now! I'm the one armed guy! My fighting ability is a lot lower without both my arms. If anyone should take the risk, it's me. I'm the least useful."

They were silent.

"Kaldur...Fright Knight...Go after Spirit and Vison." Phantom ordered.

"Fine."

"As you wish."

"Good. Wulf, do it."

Vision was right. As soon as Wulf opened the portal, they were hit. The alien ships tore through the reinforced basement, and began to attack. Wulf, Vision and Spirit quickly made it through the portal. Phantom was preparing for a Ghostly Wail to fight back the ships. That would cut them down.

Before they could do that, a beam was shot at him. Phantom was fully prepared to die, but it didn't happen. To his surprise, the Fright Knight stepped up and guarded him. The beam fully engulfed the ancient knight and killed him in an instant.

Despite all reasoning and logic, Phantom stopped his Ghostly Wail to yell, "NO! Fright Knight!"

Before he could react, Phantom felt a hand grab the back of his trenchcoat. It was Kaldur. The Atlantian flung the ghost back, to the entrance of the portal. Phantom was quickly caught by Spirit and pulled into the portal.

"Kaldur!" Phantom screamed as he fought to get back through the portal.

"I'm sorry, my friend." Kaldur smiled as the ships sent beams at him. "I couldn't let you do it."

Wolf began to close the portal. If the beams made it through the portal, they would all be killed. It had to be closed now. Before the portal closed all the way, though, Phantom saw Kaldur as he was completely disintegrated by the beams.

"KALDUR!" Phantom screamed. "Damn you! It should have been me! Kaldur, you moron! It should have been me!"

"Danny!" M'gann cheered as Phantom stepped out of the portal and into the destroyed Hall of Justice. Wulf was right behind him. Spirit and Vision had left to rally the remaining ghosts. Many of them were still alive. Luckily, Colossus was in the Ghost Zone when the aliens attacked. The portals were destroyed before the old warrior could make it to the city. That meant that had a secret weapon ready to go. This was good. They would need all the help they could get.

"It took you long enough." Superboy noted.

"Yeah…sorry…" Phantom muttered.

"Bro…what happened?" Kid Flash questioned.

"Everything…" Phantom sighed.

"Where…Where's Kaldur." Robin questioned.

"Gone." Phantom bowed his head. "He took my place..."

"No…" Artemis spoke with wide eyes.

"I'm so sorry…" Phantom closed his eyes in pain.

'It's not like the Zeta tubes.' Phantom argued. 'Even if the radiation is the same, I've felt the beams. They are meant to kill.'

'But…'

'I'm sorry, Wally.' Phantom mentally sighed as they examined the scans from the Bioship. 'But they're gone.'

'…Dammit…But Manhunter.'

'That…I can't explain.'

After Phantom had arrived, he had learned that Martian Manhunter had somehow survived. Everyone was suspicious at first, but M'gann quickly confirmed that it was her uncle. That was good enough for Phantom and the others. But…how did he survive?

Wally suggested that the beams the aliens used only teleported people, but Phantom knew differently. He felt it firsthand. He observed it. He knew that those people were dead.

"Crap!" Phantom yelled as alien ships arrived and began to attack. "Wulf! Portal time!"

"RAW!" Wulf began to tear through one of the ships. He had jumped a head without thinking. He was acting completely off his anger, adrenaline, and instincts.

"Wulf! Get away from-"

Zap! "RAAAAAAAAA-"

He was gone.

Phantom gritted his teeth. He dug his finger nails into his palm hard enough to draw blood. All he wanted was a single moment to mourn. It wasn't going to happen, though. Not until the aliens were killed.

'We're coming to help!' Superboy mentally shouted.

'Negative! We can't win this!' Robin responded. 'Miss Martian, camo the Bioship!'

It was too late. One of the dozens of enemy ships had decided to attack the Bioship. Like everything else the beams touched, the ship was gone in a flash. With it, was their hope of getting out of here…

"Retreat into the Hall!" Phantom yelled to his teammates and military soldiers.

They moved as quickly as possible. When inside, they retreated even further into the cave. The two Martains had to be carried, though. Mental backlash from the Bioship's death had caused them to collapse.

"We need to get to the Cave!" Phantom roared. "Manhunter, can you grant us access to the Zeta Tubes here?!"

"Yes…but only one at a time." Martian Manhunter nodded.

"That will have to do." Phantom grunted. He looked over to the soldiers. These were all good men, but what could they do against this new threat? The halfa couldn't risk the lives of Earth's only hope to save them. Even if he left some children orphaned or some spouses widowed…He couldn't let his Team die. "Get the Team set first! I'm sorry, General, but-"

"No explanation needed!" General Eiling nodded to him. "You're all too important assets to lose. Just go!"

The computer scanned Martian Mahunter. "Override: Martian Manhunter 07."

Recognized. Access granted.

The doors to the Zeta Tube slid opened. The members of Young Justice were quickly scanned and readied to go. Phantom went back and allowed his friends to go first.

Robin B01

"Bro, get over here!" Kid Flash yelled to his friend as the Boy Wonder teleported away.

"Get going!" Phantom yelled. He was by the soldiers. The halfa was trying to use his ectoplasmic blasts to hold the aliens back. "I'll buy you time!"

Miss Martian B06

"Like hell!" Kid Flash zoomed by his friend and grabbed him as the female Martian disappeared. "Come on!"

Artemis B08

Boom! The wall was blasted through by the space ships before Artemis could Zeta. Everyone near the front of the library was sent sprawling. Phantom was even stunned by the blast. He was burnt by the explosion and cut by the flying pieces of concrete.

"Gah…" Phantom groaned in pain.

"Get up, bro." Wally stood and pushed Phantom to the tube. Superboy grabbed the halfa and began to help him to the tube.

"I have to help Wally!" Artemis tried to run past Martian Manhunter and back to help the speedster.

"Just go, Arte-" Kid Flash never got to finish that sentence.

Zap!

"WALLY" Artemis cried out as the speedster was killed.

"Go!" Superboy flung her into the tube. It instantly teleported her to the Cave. "Now you, Danny."

"Wally…" Phantom trembled.

Danny Phatom B04

"Come on!" Phantom grabbed Martian Manhunter and dragged him into the tube. "We can't lose you!"

Superboy B05

The clone quickly followed them. Almost all of them had made it back to the Cave. There was a high cost, though. They had lost a dear friend and sacrificed dozens of soldiers for their own lives. It wasn't a decision that any of them would soon forget.

"Sup? You reached Ember McClaim. If you're selling, I ain't buying. But if it's anyone else leave a message at the beep. Make it short, though. I'm a busy person."

"Ember, it's Danny. I'm…just worried." Phantom spoke into his phone. "There's been no news about you. If you get this message, call me back, okay? Please…just be safe. Okay…bye…"

Phantom hung up and dialed another number.

"Who are you and how did you get this number!? Just kidding, it's Jennifer. I'm doing stuff right now. Leave a message, and maybe I'll get back to you. Or not. It depends on my mood."

"Jen, hey it's Danny…I know that you probably won't respond to this. Hell, I don't know if you're alive, but…I had to try at least. Everything's gone to hell. There's so few of my friends left…I need to know that someone's still out there." Danny sighed. "Stay alive, Jen. I'll see you later…"

Phantom hung up. "Damn…"

"…You okay?" Superboy approached Phantom. He most likely heard everything Danny said.

"No…I was trying to get a hold of some friends, but…they're most likely gone." Phantom clenched his phone tightly.

"I'm sorry." Superboy placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Thanks…how's Artemis?" Phantom questioned.

"Not good." Superboy shook his head. "Wally's death…really got to her."

"It got to all of us…" Phantom frowned.

"Okay!" Robin looked away from the virtual computer. "I got in contact with every hero, vigilante, and person with powers we know. They'll be here soon. We just need to key them into the system."

"Good." Phantom nodded. "Okay…It's time to make a plan."

"Yeah…" Artemis nodded as she was walked over by M'gann. "Those pieces of scum are all dead."

"You okay?" Phantom questioned.

"Of course not, idiot. But I'll be better when I have a few dozen burning E.T. ships at my feet..." Artemis scowled darkly.

"I see..."

"What do we do?" M'gann questioned. "You have to have a plan, right?

"I was hoping Vision would contact me…" Phantom frowned. "The Ghost Zone filters all of our leftover energy and transmissions. That's why it gets such good reception. But no one on their end has responded. And without Wulf or any working portals, I can't go there…"

"It's just us, then?" M'gann questioned.

"Yeah…" Phantom sighed.

"So we don't have a master strategist…What do you got, Danny?" Conner questioned.

"All the E.T. ships come from the mother ship. That is where the commands and communications are sent from. Destroying that is our safest bet to win. At the very least, the aliens will be crippled beyond repair. At the best, they all die from the backlash or just retreat." Phantom explained.

"Sounds good." Superboy noted. "But how are we going to take down a ship the size of Smallville?"

"We blow up the core." Phantom looked over to Martian Manhunter. "Weird question, but do you know anything about the layout of the ship? You were hit by their beams. Maybe it was mental powers that allowed you to survive or something, and you just got teleported instead."

"No…I'm sorry." Martian Manhunter shook his head as he stood from his seat.

"Well damn…" Phantom sighed. "We're going to need a distraction. I'll stay outside the ship and fight. If I have no idea how much time I can give you with only one arm, but I'll do the best I can."

"You can't do that." Robin shook his head. "You're our leader. We need you alive. If you lose you, then…"

"You'll lead." Phantom placed a hand on Robin's shoulder. "You can do it, Rob. I'll leave it to you."

"You really think that we're just going to let you sacrifice yourself again for us?!" Artemis glared at him. "No way."

"I have the most diverse powers." Phantom noted. "I can buy the most time."

"You won't be able to do too much damage with one arm." Conner crossed his arms. "I'll do it."

"NO!" M'gann glared at her boyfriend. "You can't!"

"She's right. You wear the shield." Phantom noted. "People are going to be looking for the hope Superman gives after this. You're going to have to step up."

"What about you? You could step up after this is over." Superboy argued.

"No…Not after Amity Park…" Phantom frowned. "When this is all over with, I'm done. Either I'm dead or I'm going to retire."

"You can't actually be planning that!" Robin hissed.

"I am." Phantom nodded. "You can only lose so much…"

"But…" M'gann frowned.

"We can argue about that later." Conner glared at Phantom. "You're set on being the distraction?"

"Yes."

"So am I. I guess it will be both of us, then." Conner noted.

"I can do it on my own. All I need to do is buy you guys a few minutes." Phantom argued.

"And I can help you double that time." Superboy smirked at his friend. "Sorry, Danny. That is all I'm willing to compromise."

"…Fine…" Phantom sighed.

"But Conner…" M'gann stared in shock at her boyfriend.

"Sorry, M'gann. I have to do this." Superboy explained. "It's what Superman would do."

"…Okay. We have a plan." Phantom looked at his Team. "We need to get ready. Robin and Artemis, start prepping the bombs. M'gann and Conner…Let's set up a message. We need to tell the world that there are still people fighting for them."

"…And though we know all seems lost, the one thing the aliens cannot destroy is hope." M'gann spoke to the camera.

"Hope survives because the battle is not over. Not as long as even one of is willing to fight." Superboy added.

"Even if some of us fall, new heroes will rise to carry on the fight." Artemis spoke. "The thing about the people of Earth is that we never give up. We always keep fighting to preserve life and to stop evil."

"Things might seem hard now. So much has already been lost, but we can't let that stop us." Robin stated. "The people that are gone would want us to continue the fight. To carry on their wills. We don't have to do it alone, though. Together, we are strong enough overcome any obstacle."

"It's always darkest before the dawn." Phantom noted. "But…if there's one thing that I've learned is that the fight…the struggle…You have to see it through to the end. Hope can overcome the storm. Don't give up. We are here. We will fight. And we're going to make those aliens regret ever coming to our planet. The people of Earth will survive and will win this war!"

They never knew it, but this message was met with cries of agreement and encouragement. People yelled. More people cried. Everyone, however, was inspired. They all knew that they would win this war or die trying...

"Are you sure you don't want any help?" Red Arrow questioned.

"Want? Yes. Need? Yes. Can we afford it? Hell, no." Phantom shook his head. "We can't lose everybody to this."

"What do you mean?" The black haired Atlantian named Garth questioned. He was a friend of Kaldur before...before the Atlantian hero passed.

"If things go south…If none of us make it back…" Phantom stated.

"You'll make it back." Zatanna interjected. "You've made it through worse, right?"

"…No, nothing was this bad." Phantom sighed. "Not even the GIW War was this bad."

"But…You cannont just plan to die like this." Tula, the red haired female Atlantian who was a friend with Kaldur before, stated.

"Not planning on it, but I need a backup plan just in case." Phantom noted. "Just…be ready. I tried to send the plans for the alien death beams to different places, but I have no idea if any of the weapons were created yet. If none of us make it back, you guys need to be prepared."

"…Yeah…I get it…" Rocket, the dark skinned, brown haired girl wearing alien tech and dark clothing, frowned. "But I don't like this."

"Welcome to my life." Phantom grunted. "And if you receive a message from the Ghost Zone, accept it. Vision will be on your side."

"Okay. I'd accept the villains of Belle Reve as allies at this point." Red Arrow frowned. "Ghosts? I'd feel like cheering. We could use that sort of firepower."

"And…if I don't make it back. Tell Spirit that I love her. She's always been like a sister to me, and I don't know where I'd be if she never helped me." Phantom instructed. "If it wasn't for her…I would have given up a long time ago."

"…Okay…We can do that."

It is an unusual feeling to go into battle knowing that you're going to die. For many, it would be terrifying. The knowledge that soon you would no longer be on in the land of living would cause most people to cry, scream, and beg for the chance to live longer. After all, death was a scary thing. It was a journey into the unknown. There was no saying what exactly would happen. It is understandable that some people would freak out.

Yet, Phantom did none of these things. He had went through this once before after all. He never thought that he would survive through the GIW War. Not only that, he learned what Death really was like. In fact, he met the living persona of Death herself, and learned of his unusual connection to her. Perhaps that was why he wasn't scared in the least. Death wasn't punishment, it was relief.

As he watched Miss Martian and Martian Manhunter fly into the mother ship, he merely began to think. It hadn't even been a full day yet, yet everything had changed. Amity Park was in ruin. The majority of his friends and family were dead and gone, and there was a good chance that even more would follow them. There was nothing he could do about it, too…

It made him feel numb.

'We're in position.' M'gann mentally stated.

"Superboy." Phantom looked over to his Kryptonian friend. "You're up."

"Right!" Superboy jumped up into the air and onto the ship. He grabbed onto a nearby cannon and began to tear it out of the ship.

'Careful! Don't disconnect the power source!' Robin mentally commanded.

"Alright you glorified trespassers, you want to see how a real alien fights?!" Superboy shouted. He began to use the cannon to fire beams at the other weapons on the ship. Like everything else the beam touched, the other weapons were quickly destroyed. This caused the entrances to the ship to open to allow the ships to fly out. 'Now or never!'

'Right!' Phantom grabbed onto Artemis who grabbed Robin. 'Hold on! I only got one arm to do this!'

They took off in the direction of the mother ship. Phantom quickly placed them on one of the launching pads. 'Stay safe!'

'We should be saying that to you.' Artemis noted.

'Go, SB and I will buy you as much time as we can.' Phantom began to float away.

'Goodbye, Danny.' Robin noted as the two non-superpowered teens ran into the ship.

'…Goodbye, guys. Make sure to live through this…' Phantom turned and began to fly to go help Superboy. As he flew, he ignored the mental dialogue that came through the mental link. Right now, he had to stay focused. He couldn't allow himself the opportunity to hear the voices of his friends one last time...

The halfa arrived just in time to see Superboy get blasted back by the ships. The cannon in his hands was quickly destroyed, and the clone was sent rolling. He quickly got to his feet, but wasn't fast enough. A ship behind the clone was about hit him with the desenegration beam when Phantom intervened.

"Stay focused!" Phantom pulled Superboy out of the way.

"Thanks!" Superboy grunted.

"SB, double!" Phantom spun Superboy around and flung him to a nearby ship. The Kryptonian clone hit the ship and caused it to go crashing down. He then jumped from that ship and jumped to another. Like the ship before it, that ship was ruined and sent crashing down.

Phantom wasn't idle as this happened. He created an ice broadsword and used it to freeze the controls on one of the other ships. This caused the one ship to be sent crashing into another. Both of the E.T. ships were sent falling like the others.

"Gah!" Superboy landed. "Nice one!"

"Thanks!" Phantom grabbed him and began to fly to avoid the beam. "Bet I can take down more than you!"

"You're on!"

'There's good news and better news.' Phantom noted through mental link.

'What are they?' Superboy had grabbed another cannon and was using that to attack again.

'I stopped one of the ships.'

'I already did that to like five.'

'But are you driving one of them?'

'…No.'

'Then I win!' Phantom smirked. He had created an artificial limb made of ice. It didn't work well, and was jagged and sharp in all the wrong places. It worked well enough to allow Phantom to drive the alien ship. Luckily, he had studied the scans of the ships and learned the basics of how they worked. This wasn't too much harder than driving the Specter Speeder.

Zap! Boom!

"I am loving this!" Phantom grinned. The designation beam cut through the other ships like butter. Phantom's attacks caused the ships to turn their attention to Phantom. This gave Superboy some room to use his canon. This tactic was working for now, but the aliens would quickly adapt. The halfa might have to abandon the ship soon-

Zap! Boom!

'Crap! It hit my engines! This thing is going down!' Phantom gritted his teeth. 'I need to evacuate.'

Phantom fazed through the ship and allowed it to plow into another one. He pointed and laughed. "Ha ha!"

As he flew back to assist Superboy, he mentally questioned the others. 'How is it going?'

'The bombs have been planted.' Robin noted. 'We're leaving now!'

'Good! I'll grab Conner and-Shit!' Phantom cursed. Superboy was been pressed back. He was completely surrounded. 'Conner hold on! I'm coming to help!'

'No…it's okay…' Superboy dropped the canon and looked up to Phantom. He was surrounded at all sides and the beams were already firing. The Kryptonian was as good as dead. 'It's been an honor, Danny!"

"Conner!"

Zap! Boom!

…He was gone…

"Damn it!" Phantom felt tears build up again. How many times had he cried today? He lost count...

Zap! Boom!

"Ah!" Phantom yelled as a beam hit the spot right next to him. The explosion sent him sprawling and rolling. He soon came to a halt, though. His body was burnt and injured.

Phantom tried to force himself up. He had to keep moving. The others might need his help to escape. Unfortunately, Phantom couldn't move. His body wasn't responding. Was he that badly injured? No…his powers weren't responding right. Something was wrong…

Flopping onto his back, Phantom looked up to the ships. They were all charging beams and were getting ready to fire at him. To Phantom, everything was moving slow. He wished it didn't, though. He didn't want to prolong his suffering…

Was this really it? This was the point where he was going to die? Damn…he thought he would go out in the middle of battle. To be killed was injured and helpless on the ground…that was not how he envisioned his death. He wanted to go out with a fight.

That didn't seem to be the case, though. He was going to die without a fight. He wouldn't get to die an honorable death…

Boom! Crash! Bam! Boom!

"Danny." Vision grabbed Danny and lifted him up.

"…Vision?"

"We need to get going!" Vision began to fly away from the mother ship.

"The ship's about to explode…"

"I know, but we had to save you." Vision looked behind at the others. "Retreat!"

"Right!" Frostbite nodded.

"Already?! The fun just started!?" Colossus frowned as he looked at the destroyed ships.

"Torch actally wants to leave. Torch has no desired to die!" Torch began to follow after Vision.

"…" He was safe. Once again, he escaped death by the skin of his teeth. Now relieved from the stress of the moment, he finally allowed himself a second to rest. Phantom closed his eyes and allowed himself to pass out.

BOOOOOM!

Phantom woke with a start. "What!? What happened!?"

"Danny!" Both M'gann and Spirit were kneeling over him. The halfa was laid out on the ground. Vision must have laid him down after they got away. A quick look around told Phantom that the other ghosts were there. He did notice that there were two missing faces that he had wanted to see.

"Robin and Artemis?" Phantom questioned.

M'gann shook her head as tears began to fall.

"…I should have known…" Phantom deflated.

"We won, though." Vision noted. "The mother ship was defeated."

"But the cost was too high." M'gann cried.

"…I'm sorry." Vision sighed. "It took longer than I expected to get everything organized. We had the same plan as you. Attack the mother ship, but you beat us too it. If we just arrived earlier…"

"It's not your fault. I…Oh, dear God…" Phantom's eyes widened. His jaw dropped. Another mother ship was flying down right next to where the other one was. "There's more of them!"

"What do we do?!" Spirit cried.

"…We end this." Martian Manhunter stood behind M'gann. He grabbed onto her shoulder and was about to punch down to the small of her back. He was stopped, though. "GAH!"

Martian Manhunter yelled in pain. Electricity surged through his body. It caused him to skake and tremple as he stepped away from M'gann. He couldn't make sense of it, though. None of the ghosts were attacking him. How…

"Idiot…" Phantom forced himself to a sitting position. "Did you really think I would trust an man I saw die before my very eyes? Sorry, but I made sure to place a chip on you that would shock you as soon as you intended to do something bad to a member of Young Justice."

"No…" J'onn muttered as soon as the shock stopped. He was smoking and burned. "You don't…This is…simulation…"

He fell to the ground with a thud.

"Uncle J'onn!" M'gann tried to go to her uncle but was stopped by Phantom.

"Don't…" Phantom stated. "He's not the real J'onn you know. The aliens merely sent a really good duplicate."

"No…" Tears ran down M'gann's face. She hugged Phantom like a life line. Danny was the last person she cared about that was alive on this planet. "I can't believe it…He was dead this whole time."

"…What do we do?" Phantom looked to Vision. "I never planned for a second ship."

"But I did." Vision sighed. "I thought something like this would happen. That was why it took me so long to organize everything. We were lucky that I kept the Guys in White design for portable Ghost Portals."

"What do you…Holy crap…" Phantom's eyes widened.

All around the area, ghost portals began to open. There were hundreds… no, thousands of them. In an instant, floods of green began to poor out from the portals. Waves of ghosts flew out and towards the second mother ship. The sky was filled with green lights and explosions.

"How?" Phantom questioned.

"The aliens didn't make any demands. They never gave the chance to surrender. All they did was kill and destroy. Both our world and the human world are connected. If one is completely destroyed, then the other will go." Vision explained. "Not only that, even if the earth wasn't completely destroyed, there's a good chance that the aliens will try to invade the Ghost Zone at some point. It wasn't too difficult to convince most of the ghosts to fight using that logic."

"Pretty awesome, huh?" Spirit grinned.

"Yeah…" Phantom tried to stand. "I have to go help-Gah!" He couldn't force himself up. He was too exhausted and injured.

"No. Stay and rest." Vision smiled down at the teen. "You did an excellent job. I'm proud of you. Let us handle the rest."

"Phantom…Danny…" Colossus looked back at the down halfa. "My only regret is that we never got our final fight. Grow strong and surpass me, young warrior."

"The greatest of pleasures and honors it was to meet you, Great One." Frostbite smiled. "Make sure to live and to make your legend grow. I have no doubt that you will save the world again."

"Make sure to tell people about Torch." Torch noted. "Tell them Torch went down in a blaze of glory."

"No!" Phantom reached out for them as the left. "Don't do it! There's no way to win!"

"Danny…Spirit…" Vision knelt down by the two halfas. "Thank you. You…meant more to me than you could ever know. I always wanted children after all…"

"Vision…Don't go." Phantom begged.

"I have to." Vision looked over to the crying Spirit. "Get these two out of here, Spirit. And stay safe as a favor to a foolish woman who has always been stuck in her ways…"

"Vision…" Spirit hugged the older female ghost.

"It's okay. This is the choice I made." Vision took off her veil and smiled. "Now go. I must join the others. They have no hope of winning without my directions."

"Right…" Spirit turned to M'gann. "Come on, Martian. We need to get Danny out of here."

"Yes…" M'gann wiped her tears. "Let's go…"

"No!" Phantom struggled against the girls. "I can't leave them!"

"Danny…We have no choice. You can't fight." M'gann explained.

"Then just throw me at the aliens!" Phantom cried. "I can't leave behind any more of my family!"

"I know this is hard!" Spirit wiped the tears in her eyes. "But…I won't let you die again!"

"We can't abandon them!" Phantom shouted. "I can feel it! Death is near!"

"What are you talking about?" M'gann questioned.

"I can tell when ghosts die!" Phantom screamed. "I can feel when they-AH!"

There went Frostbite…

"I'm sorry, Danny. But you need to stay still so we can get you away." Spirit noted.

"No! Not again! I can't stand it!" Phantom flailed around.

Torch was gone…

"He's hysterical!" M'gann yelled.

"Crap…We need to knock him out!" Spirit frowned. "It's the only way to stop him."

"NONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONO!" Phantom yelled.

Colossus had passed as well…

"Danny!" M'gann's eyes widened as Phantom pushed them away. The halfa felt to the ground with a thud.

"Please Danny! Don't linger on what's gone!" Spirit begged. "We're still here! We won't leave you. Please, just-"

"VISION!" Phantom tried to crawl back to the mother ship. "NO! NO ONE ELSE! NO ONE ELSE! NO ONE ELSE!"

…Vision's signature disappeared…

Phantom froze. "No…They…They're all gone…"

There were still ghosts there, but none of them were part of his obsession. So many were gone now…Vlad, Vision, Pandora, Cujo, Wulf, Fright Knight, Kaldur, Dani's friends, Colossus, Torch, Frostbite, Kaldur, Wally, Conner, Robin, Artemis, and everyone in Amity Park…They were all gone. Most of his obsession was gone…But there were two left.

"GO!" Phantom looked to them. He couldn't let them die too. "YOU'RE RIGHT! WE NEED TO GO!"

"Right!" M'gann picked up Danny. Her Martian strength allowed her to easily pick up the one armed teen. "Let's go, Spirit."

"Right, we-LOOK OUT!"

M'gann and Phantom froze. A red light shinned behind them. One of the mother ship's beams flew through the sky. It probably wasn't aimed at them. Either the beam went through the target or completely missed and was sent their way accidentally. Both of the remaining members of Young Justice stood in its path. They couldn't force themselves to move. Soon, they would both be hit and die.

"NO!" Spirit lunged and pushed them out of the way.

Time came to a halt as Phantom realized what happened. Spirit had taken their place. That meant…NO! NONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONO…

"Bye, Danny. I love you."

Then, time started once again. She was gone in a blaze.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

What? What was going on? He couldn't think straight. Hell, he couldn't think at all. It was all a blur.

Who was he again? He didn't remember. It was like everything was a blank. Everything was erased.

He tried to remember. He thought long and hard about who he was. It took a while, but he remembered his name. He was Danny. He was Phantom. He was a vigilante hero.

Danny lived in Amity Park with his friends and family. They were all very happy. Despite the constant fights, they were all happy and loved each other. Life was good.

Yes…that was who he was. Not only that, he had a group of good friends that didn't live in Amity Park. They were heroes too, though. All of them hung out and fought evil together. They had some hard times and fought a few times, but they were all very close.

This was his obsession. The people that he loved were what mattered most to Phantom. He would protect them because of this. They mattered more to him than anything else.

He wouldn't let anything happen to them. No matter what occurred, Phantom would fight to save them each and every day. That was gave his life meaning. That was why he was still here. It was all for him. It was all for the love and joy that he shared with them.

Right now, he couldn't do that, though. This was a dream. Yes! That was why everything was a giant blur. Danny must just be sleeping. It wasn't a very good dream, though. For some reason, his chest hurt and tears were rolling down his eyes.

Smack!

Something had just hit his face. It felt like a hand. Now there someone was yelling at him to snap out of it. The words sound like sobs. They were begging and pleading at him to do...something. It was all lost on him, though. Everything in his sight right now was blurs. His ears were buzzing. The world around him was meaningless.

It didn't matter, though. Soon, he would wake up. Then, he could spend more time with them. He could live with the people that mattered to him. Yes, all he had to do was wake up.

Tomorrow, when he woke up, everything would be great. Danny just knew it. He couldn't wait to wake up.

Smack!

"Danny! Danny! Wake up!" M'gann pleaded at the catatonic ghost.

Phantom didn't respond. He was merely staring dumbly at the spot where Spirit had died. Tears stained his face. Despite M'gann's pleas and smacks to his face, Phantom didn't even blink. It was like his mind had shattered.

He was broken.

"Come on!" M'gann began to drag him away. "We need to leave!"

'…'

'…'

'…Daniel…'

'…' Phantom didn't respond to the mental intrusion.

'You must wake up, Phantom.' Martian Manhunter spoke through the mental link.

'…' Once again Phantom didn't respond at all.

'You must listen to me. My body cannot move, so you must complete my mission for me.' J'onn instructed. 'You must kill M'gann. That is the only way.'

'…No…' Phantom's mental response was nothing more than a faint whimper.

'You don't understand! This is all a simulation! When you lost your arm, M'gann's metal powers made you forget that this is all fake. All of this is false! Everyone you know and love is still alive.'

'…No…'

'If you don't, your team might receive permanent mental scars!' J'onn shouted. 'The others are in comas as we speak!'

'…No…'

'Think about it! Why weren't you concerned from the beginning?! Why did Amity Park's safety not cross your mind until you lost your arm!?'

'…'

'This is all an illusion! To end this, you must shock M'gann out of the simulation. If you kill her, then everything will go back to normal.'

'…No…can't…all…that…left…'

'I know. You think that she is all that is left of your obsession, but she's not! The rest are alive!'

'…'

'Please! For them! You must do this!'

'…I…'

'Do it!'

Under normal circumstances, you could never convince Danny to hurt a member of his obsession on purpose. It would go against everything he stood for. Now, though, his mind was too weak. It easily gave in to the demands of the mental intrusion.

"…M'gann…" Phantom whispered.

"Yes?!" M'gann stopped and looked desperately at Phantom. "What is it?!"

"I…I'm sorry…"

"None of this is your fault, Danny!" M'gann cried. "No one is to blame, but the invaders."

"Not for that…" An ice broad sword formed in Phantom's hand. "For this…"

He stabbed the sword forward.

Squelch!

The look of betrayal and terror was the last thing Phantom saw before everything faded away...

"AH!" Phantom flailed around and fell off the metal slab that was raised in the meeting hall of Mount Justice.

When he crashed onto the floor, Phantom groaned and began to push himself up. Both his arms grabbed the metal slab and pulled him up…Wait…Both his arms?

Phantom starred in shock as he moved and flexed his left arm. A few seconds ago, it had been gone. Now, it was completely restored. "What…the hell?"

"You're all alive!" M'gann cheered from her slab.

Phantom looked up. It was true. Every member of Young Justice was alive and moving. In fact, Captain Marvel was helping Wally up, while Red Tornado was helping M'gann. It was impossible, though. They had all died.

"Danny…" Dr. Fate helped Phantom stand. "It's good to have you back, young hero."

"You…you died too…" Phantom muttered.

"No, I didn't."

"What happened in there?" Batman asked as he assisted J'onn.

"The exercise…it all went wrong." J'onn noted.

"Exercise?" Robin questioned.

"Try to remember." Batman looked to the Team. "What you experiences was a training exercise. Manhunter psychically linked the seven of you within an artificial reality. You all knew this going in. What you didn't know was that it was a train for failure exercise. No matter what the Team accomplished, the scenario was designed to grow worse. Still, you were aware that nothing was real, including the deaths of the entire Justice League."

"That is why you hardly grieved, even when Wolf was disintegrated before your eyes." Manhunter stated. "But all that changed, when Phantom lost his arm. Though consciously, Miss Martian knew it was not real, her subconscious mind could not make that distinction. She forgot it was only an exercise, and her subconscious took control, making you all forget too."

Everyone looked at M'gann. "I-I'm so sorry."

"This isn't her fault!" Superboy interjected. "Why didn't you stop the exercise!?"

"We tried." Manhunter explained. "But M'gann had a…death grip on the scenario. It was so bad, the Phantom's body began to act as though the arm was gone. Your energy stopped flowing to your left arm. If it continued, your arm might have deteriorated. I realized that I would have to wrest control from Miss Martian's subconscious from within.

"But upon entering the reality, I was overwhelmed by your collective emotion. There was…too much noise to think clearly…to remember why I was there. The deaths of Aqualad, Kid Flash, and Superboy helped, but only when the mother ship exploded and Robin and Artemis were silenced did my mind clear enough to remember my true purpose. To shock M'gann out of the exercise before your comas became permanent.

"Unfortuantely, Phantom…intervened." J'onn sighed. "If he didn't have a mental breakdown because of the deaths of his friends and family, I doubt I would have convinced him to turn on M'gann. Luckily, his mind was weak to my influence at that point, and you all were awakened. My deepest apologies. I had no idea that a training exercise could be so dangerous…so damaging."

At this point, Captain Marvel stepped in to comfort M'gann. Batman and Red Tornado caught the collapsing Manhunter, and they began to speak. Phantom didn't care about any of this, though. He now knew and could see that his friends here were alive. This meant that what Manhunter said was true. Everything that happened wasn't real.

Thus…Amity Park was still intact. His friends and family were still alive. Dani…was safe.

"Danny…You need to rest. You can't-Wait!" Dr. Fate tried to stop Phantom, but the halfa pushed her away. He ran for the Zeta Tube. Everyone turned to watch as he left. They all knew where he was going. That's why they were all silent. They knew that Danny Phantom was returning to Amity Park.

Recognized: Danny Phantom B04

…And they didn't know if he would ever want to leave after this…

Dani yawned. "Well…today was uneventful."

It had been a pretty relaxing day for Dani. She had slept more than usual that morning, so she started the day in a good mood. After a light breakfast, she did some training with Vision and her Dad. Then, she spent the majority of the day playing with her friends. After dinner, her entire family, minus Danny, decided to sit down and watch a movie.

"Indeed. It was a nice break." Vlad was on the couch sitting next to Vision. His arm was wrapped around her shoulder and she was leaning on him.

"Where is Danny, though?" Vision questioned. "Shouldn't he be back by now? The training exercise shouldn't have lasted that long."

"My guess is either they did really good or really badly." Dani noted. "Either they succeeded and it went overtime, or they failed and are getting chewed out by Batman."

"Bark!" Cujo spoke up from his spot on Dani's lap.

"See, Cujo agrees. What about you, Wulf?"

"Zzz…" Wulf was passed out in a nearby recliner.

"…I'm going to take that as a yes." Dani smiled.

"Either way, he should have called." Vision frowned.

"He'll be fine, love." Vlad noted. "He's a tough one after all."

"I know, but…I get the feeling that something is wrong…" Vision mentioned.

"I can call him if you want." Dani pulled out her phone.

"Yes, that would be good-"

Bam!

Everyone turned to the entrance to the living room. Someone had barged through the front door. It was soon revealed to be Danny. He was sweating profusely and appeared to be in a panic. His eyes bounced around the room rapidly. A look of great relief appeared on his face. "You're all alive!"

"Of course we are, Daniel." Vlad noted. "Why wouldn't we be?"

"You all died!" Danny looked close to hyperventilating. "I felt it. But…"

"Danny?" Vision untangled herself from Vlad and stood. "What happened?"

"The aliens! The disintegration rays! Amity Park was in ruins! You all…" Danny began to cry.

"Danny?" Dani stood and approached her bother. "You're not making sense. Does this have something to do with…" She paused when Danny crashed to his knees and stared at her intently.

He reached out and gently touched her head. "You're real…You're alive…"

"I am, but-OOF!" Dani was interrupted by Danny pulling her into a hug.

"You're alive! I thought I lost you!" Danny's words came out through sobs. "And…it was my fault! If I just left with you instead of wanting to go back, you wouldn't have died! I should have put you first! You're my sister, and I was being selfish."

"Danny…" Dani was thoroughly confused.

"Please, forgive me! I'm so sorry! I never wanted to hurt you!" Danny trembled and sobbed desperately. He held onto her like a lifeline. "I'm sorry! Don't leave me again! Don't die!"

"…Shh…" Dani hugged him back. She didn't know what was going on, but she knew her brother was in pain. "You have nothing to be sorry for. I'm here for you. I'll always be here for you. I'm your sister after all."

"Dani…" Danny closed his eyes painfully. "Don't let this be a dream…Please…"

"It's okay. It's okay. I'm here…" Dani began to rock Danny back and forth.

Everyone watched silently as Dani continued to comfort her brother. They didn't know what they could say. None of them had ever seen Danny like this. Sure, they had seen him cry and get upset, but they had never seen him like this. He looked like a shell of the person who had left this morning. They didn't know what had happened, but they knew it had to be bad, because...

Danny Phantom was now broken.