Chapter 20: War

Disclaimer: I own nothing

"War...war never changes." Fallout series

Chapter 20: "War"

(Tuesday-May 25, 2010)

Phantom didn't blame the representatives in the UN for freaking out when he appeared in the middle of their meeting. If he was being honest, he too would be surprised, scared, and angered if he was in a similar position. Yes, anyone would be surprised by a rip in dimensional space opening and allowing what could be considered a wanted criminal to appear in the front of the room.

Yet, while Phantom did understand…he didn't appreciate the screaming and the throwing of objects at his head.

Really? Did they think that would hurt him? He was a freaking ghost for crying out loud.

Realizing that the situation was delicate enough as it was, Phantom decided to be civil despite his growing annoyance at people throwing stuff pointlessly at his head. "Excuse me?"

The UN representatives continued to panic. Many of them were heading to the doors as guards were coming into the room.

"Excuse me!?" Phantom tried again.

No one listened. The representatives were almost out the door. All of the guards were pointing their weapons at him.

"Hey!" Phantom shouted. "I'm just trying to talk here! Stop panicking for one minute and listen!"

The representatives stopped and turned. He had their attention.

"I come here today as a representative of the Ghost Zone." Phantom spoke to the crowd. "I come begging you to stop your plans against the ghosts. We, as a whole, don't want conflict with the human world. Many of us just want to live our afterlife in peace. Please, don't judge us all based on a small minority of ghosts that have attempted to take over both our worlds."

Whispers went through the crowd.

"Please, forgive us for any trouble we may have caused you!" Phantom asked for forgiveness. "I know that you're frightened by us, and I don't blame you, but what you're doing is wrong. We ghosts have rights too!"

"What rights do a dead person have?" One of the representatives called out.

"Many of us were human once!" Phantom answered. "Because we died, does that mean we don't have the same rights as everyone else?"

Whispers went through the crowd. "There are no laws that say people lose rights when they die…"

"Exactly!" Phantom was relieved. "It's the same way with meta-humans! We are all sentient life."

"What do you want us to do? Appeal the Anti-Ectoterrorist act?" The chairman questioned.

"No, all I want is a meeting to discuss terms." Phantom explained. "I'll get the leaders of the Ghost Zone to come and talk about what we can all do to get along."

"…That can be arranged." Everyone in the room seemed to agree with that. "No one thought that the ghosts were willing to talk."

"Really?" Phantom slumped in absolute relief. "I'm so glad."

"We'll discuss a time for the meeting and get back to you. We will make an announcement, and you can come back. Until then, go back to the Ghost Zone." The chairman explained.

Phantom couldn't believe that this was going so smoothly. He'd have to go find Wulf to open up the other portal. "So you'll call off the attack?"

"Attack?" All the representatives questioned what he was talking about.

"What is he talking about?"

"Did something happen?"

"We wouldn't even have a way to do that…"

"Wait…" Phantom frowned. "What do you mean? The Guys in White are planning an attack under your orders."

"Attack?" The chairman seemed appalled. "All we want is to keep the world safe from ghost attacks. We would never instigate such a conflict."

"But I saw the GIW's plans! I've fought the Necromancers! I double checked everything! They were planning to attack today!" Phantom began to stress out.

"That's because we are…"

Boom! Phantom felt an explosion push him through the wall and outside. He was completely unprepared for the sneak attack. The halfa did think that it would grow into a conflict initially, but the situation seemed to be going so well.

"Damn…let my guard down…" Phantom pushed himself to his feet. He could hear the sounds of New York City and the East River behind him.

A Necromancer appeared out of the hole he made. It was carrying a man…No…It was Agent Z. "I knew you would come here Phantom. You are far too predictable."

"Am I?" Phantom reached behind him.

"Yes, after that mercenary you hired retrieved all that data for you, I knew you come here to fulfill your sick obsession with pretending to be a hero." Agent Z explained as the Necromancer put him down. "So I decided to change my plans. I was going to instigate the attack from our main base here in New York, but then I realized that I could capture or kill you then do it."

"But the UN doesn't know about the attack." Phantom grasped the thermos linked to his belt.

"What they don't know won't hurt them." Agent Z smirked. "After this is over, they'll praise me and my men as heroes for killing the hostile ghosts."

"You are no hero…" Phantom pulled out his thermos. "A hero wouldn't be trying to gain glory by killing innocent souls."

"Ha!" The agent snorted. "You really are a jokester. Innocent? Those freaks of nature don't deserve to exist. That's why I started the Guys in White. We will wipe the stains of ghosts clean and give humanity a better future."

"Fool." Phantom pointed his thermos at the agent. "You have no idea what you're talking about."

"I'm the fool? That thermos won't stop a Necromancer." Agent Z pointed at Phantom. "Attack!"

The Necromancer lunged at Phantom, but the halfa was ready. He pushed the release button on the Fenton Thermos. Technus flew out just in time to stop the attack.

"Aha!" The Necromancer froze. "Your fancy armor may keep me from touching you, but you are still a machine! I can still control you!"

"What?!" Agent Z was about to react, but the Necromancer blasted him away.

"I take it plan A failed?" Technus questioned.

"Yeah." Phantom sighed. "You know what to do. I'll draw all the attention I can to me."

"It will take time." Technus commented. "Controlling merely one of these things is difficult."

"That's why Wulf went to destroy the GIW's means of getting into the Ghost Zone from here." Phantom nodded. "Everyone will make sure you have time."

"Got it!" Technus flew off with the Necromancer right behind him.

Phantom sighed. Plan B it was then… "Vision…did you get that?"

"I did." Vision's voice called through Phantom's Fenton Phones. "I'll start the invasion."

"Yeah…"

Spirit watched and listened to the screens in front of her. Several other ghosts were in the room with her. Each ghost was assigned to watch a different screen and instruct Scribe on which sector to help.

Suddenly, every screen showed a picture of Vision. Despite the fact that the older ghost's face was hidden by a veil, Spirit still knew that she was troubled. Her eyes showed pain. She obviously didn't want to do this invasion, but there was little choice in the matter.

"This is Vision." Vision spoke to the entire ghost army. Scribe was using his powers to transmit the message. "The time is now. Do not be afraid. Today, we will be victorious…"

For a single moment, there was pure silence. No ghost said a word. It was the calm before the storm. You could even hear a pin drop.

"It is time…to attack."

The silence was broken in an instant. Rips were ripped between the Ghost Zone and the human world. Roars sounded out as ghosts flew through the portals.

The war had begun…

"That was the ghost we released to lure you to Gotham." Agent Z pulled himself to his feet. Despite the blast, he seemed relatively unharmed. "I see…you plan to use him to shut down our main base. Foolish, it will never work. All the other bases are ready to attack right now."

"I already knew that." Phantom pulled out his Fenton Phones from his ears. "You have eleven other major bases spread out throughout the world. Each one of them has Necromancers ready to go."

Plasmius tore through the portal to the GIW base in Gotham City. The GIW were instantly alarmed to his presence. To the older halfa, though, they were nothing but nuisances.

After a few blasts of ectoplasm, the agents were blasted back. Equipment was destroyed. Chaos erupted.

The Necromancers were right in front of him ready to go. They would need to take care of them first, then they could aim for the rest of the base. The fight would be noisy, though.

They would eventually attract attention. And attracting attention in Gotham City was never a good idea…

"So Red X found that out, huh?" Agent Z smirked. His stance was relaxed. He thought he had the upper hand.

"He did." Phantom nodded as he crushed the Fenton Phones into dust. He wouldn't need them anymore. "He also found out that you were planning to eradicate all ghosts."

The Spectre had dispatched the GIW agents that were in the room with complete eases. They didn't know what they were up against. The floor had latterly curled up and grabbed them.

These…Necromancers were not much of threat either. When they were powered on, they might be able to resist his reality alteration, but they were inactive at the moment.

Of course, their armor of…ectoranium…couldn't be influenced by his powers, but the insides of the machines could be. The inside machinery of the weapons were destroyed and distorted before they could get the chance to move. Unfortunately for them, justice was swift.

Now…for the rest of this base.

"I knew that." Agent Z snorted. "That's why I set up the ambush. I didn't know when, but I knew you'd show up. You thought that the UN knew about this little attack. Please! They thought that the Ant-Ectoterrorist Act would require us to give the ghosts warnings first. As if! They never realized that we added the plan to kill the ghosts in the bills."

"True, never thought that the UN would actually be in the dark about this." Phantom admitted. "But I suppose that makes the plan even better."

"Torch thinks these machines suck!" Torch roared as the impaled the Necromancer with his fiery scythe.

Torch and his minions had only been able to destroy a part of the Necromancers before they were activated. Vision had explained that would be the case for most of the ghosts besides Colossus and Spectre, but Torch wanted to prove her wrong.

He and his minions did manage to destroy a large portion of the Necromancers and the base, but the Necromancers were spread out. The ghosts didn't have time to destroy all of them before the weapons were destroyed.

Thus, the true fight began. The Necromancers attacked the minions of Torch. Torch…didn't like that to say the least.

"Torch will destroy all of you!" Fire danced across Torch's skin. His anger made his flames burn that much hotter.

"Plan?" Agent Z snorted. "What plan?"

"The plan to attack you before you attacked us."

"Charge!" Skulker yelled as he ushered the army of ghosts out of the portal.

The frozen tundra all around them wouldn't hurt the ghosts. Normal weather couldn't hurt them.

At first, Skulker questioned why Frostbite wasn't leading the fight to this area, but he got his answer from Vision. The tundra area had no civilians. There was less likely chance that anyone from the Justice League would interfere in this area. Of course…with all the noise, a League member was bound to show up eventually.

No, Vision stated that they needed Frostbite elsewhere in order for the plan to work. Skulker wasn't going to argue with the wise ghost. He liked his head where it was.

Looking across the area, Skulker smirked at the destruction of the base. The hunt had begun!

"What!?" Agent Z snapped angrily.

"Did you really think that I was the only ghost that found out about your plans?" Phantom mocked. "As if! Good going genius, you pissed of the most powerful ghosts of the Ghost Zone. And they decided to work together to destroy the GIW."

"Pathetic sacks of flesh!" Undergrowth jeered as he towered of the base. His babies and hundreds of other ghosts were attacking the base.

The Necromancers were proving to be a problem for the regular ghosts. The normal ghosts lacked the power to fight such machines. Thus, they fell in battle along with his babies.

Luckily, the Necromancers were destroying each other as they fought. Eventually, they would be destroyed.

The GIW weren't fairing very well, though. They were being blasted away by the Necromancer's as well. The cowards would live, though. They were only fighting at a distance.

Undergrowth didn't care about them, though. His powers of regeneration secured his safety, and the continued lives of his babies. Yes…in this fight he was untouchable.

"That's impossible!" Agent Z cried. "There's no way so many powerful ghosts would work together!"

"Did you forget that I got several S-rank ghosts to fight with me in several different occasions?" Phantom reminded. "The Nocturne Crisis for example…"

Fright Knight peered down at a broken body of a Necromancer. They truly were worthy foes. Many of his fear inducing attacks had no influence on the machine. Luckily, his sword was sharp enough to cut through almost anything.

Unfortunately, the ghosts under his command weren't so lucky. Many were injured. Several more were already dead.

"Poor souls." Fright Knight noted sadly. He had killed many ghosts himself, but at least then he showed respect. These machines had no respect. They needed to be destroyed.

He would make sure to avenge the fallen souls.

"Yes…" Agent Z frowned. "It always comes down to you. It has always been your fault."

"Maybe you're right…" Phantom had those exact thoughts many times. "Even this is. I encouraged the ghosts to attack. All eleven of your other bases are under siege as of this moment. By now, more than half the Necromancers have been destroyed."

Frostbite's glowing claw tore through the Necromancer's armor with ease. His ice powers were incredibly strong. So strong, in fact, that he could reach the temperature of almost absolute zero.

The Necromancer's had to defense for that. That was shown with their fight with the grieving Great One.

The ice yeti could see why Vision wanted him in this base. They were currently underwater. If another ghost leader was here, there was a large chance that the base would be destroyed. Except for Vision of course...But Frostbite was sure that Vision had another reason for him being here.

But what could it be?

"Damn it!" Agent Z pulled out his communication device. "Base, this is Z…Base!...Base, do you copy?!"

"They don't…" Phantom walked around Agent Z. "Technus is messing with the Necromancers. They're probably going nuts fighting each other. He might actually be at the point in the plan where he hacks into every secret piece of data you got, and is sending them to every possible computer in the world."

"Hahahahahhahaha!" Colossus laughed as he grabbed a Necromancer and threw it at the others. This was truly a fun time! These machines were somewhat tough, but they lacked the endurance to take each other's punishment and Colossus's shockwaves.

But what really excited Colossus was the fact that these Necromancers could actually hurt him. Of course, they were all little bug bites in comparison to other injuries he suffered.

What an amazing time period this was. How many fights had actually interested him already? There was Phantom, Superman, Nocturne, then…

Bam! Colossus's massive fist met a Necromancer's head. With an extra shockwave for power, the Necromancer's head flew clean off.

"Hey! I was thinking! Don't interrupt me!" Colossus sent a huge shockwave that shook the entire GIW base. Agents fell down. Necromancers faltered. The building struggled to stay standing.

"What am I saying?!" Colossus ran forward. A shockwave powered kick destroyed another Necromancer as it was sent through the wall and outside the base. "This is no time for thinking! This is the time to fight!"

"Dear Lord…" Agent Z went pale.

"That's right." Phantom smirked. "Soon, everyone in the world will know what you've done. Did you really think I would do this without help? Without a plan? Without a 100% chance that the Ghost Zone would stay safe after this. The world will soon be siding with the ghosts over the government, and its all thanks to Vision's perfect plan."

"Roar!" Dora the dragon ghost flew over the base. Her fire had set the entire thing ablaze. GIW agents were pouring out of the building. "I'm fine, Executioner and Archer! Go help the others now!"

Reluctantly, said ghosts flew off to help the others. The Archer fought from afar, while the Executioner ghost used his newly returned axe from Phantom to try and fight the Necromancers. Dora hoped they would remain safe throughout this battle.

The ghosts and Necromancers were already outside the base. The base was in a city, but as soon as people saw the flying dragon, they ran to safety. Civilians wouldn't be hurt in this fight.

That, however, couldn't be said for anyone else.

Several ghosts had already…passed on during the fight. The sheer numbers of the Necromancers and the GIW agents was overwhelming. She had managed to do her share of damage to the enemy, but there was only so much she could do.

Dora did not have the power of an S-rank ghost. She was strong with her amulet, but

Dora had to hold out, though. Her people were counting on her. Failing now wasn't an option. She would protect them.

Yes, she would stay here and fight for her people. She would protect them until her last breath.

"And what is your part in this stupid plan of yours?!" Agent Z snapped angrily.

"My part…only Vision and I knew what it was." Phantom sighed. "Even Technus and Wulf don't know. They think I'm the distraction for them, but that's not the truth…Which reminds me. I thought for sure you'd have more Necromancer's here to stop me. Where are they?"

The irony was not lost on Pandora. No, Vision did this on purpose. Her sector had to be here just for that woman to get a secret laugh…

Rome! For pity's sake! She hated Rome! Despite being in Greek legend, Pandora was actually older than the Greek empire. But because of such stories, Pandora was fond of Ancient Greece.

You can imagine her anger when the Roman Empire stepped into the picture.

"She did this on purpose!" Electricity danced around her as Pandora stabbed a Necromancer with her spear. "Just to get me angry!"

There went another Necromancer!

"Raw!"

Yep…never get on Pandora's bad side. Because her righteous anger was what made her truly powerful.

"I don't need any more Necromancers!" Agent Z growled. "I thought one was enough for my back up to arrive…Oh! And I was right!"

"Back up?" Phantom questioned. "What backup?"

Boom! Phantom crashed into the ground because of the explosion.

"That backup…" Agent Z smiled at the sight of the Fenton Exoskeleton standing of Phantom.

Vision watched the fights below her. She used her ectoplasm to snipe the agents and Necromancer's. In all, things were going well. There were a few casualties, but those were unavoidable. Only a fool thought you could go to war without losing something.

But…some things were at too high of a cost.

Vision's original plan had an 80% success rate. What that meant was that they would win the battle, but the humans might be angered, even if they were fighting in self-defense. In the end, Vision wasn't sure what would happen after they won.

But Phantom thought that far ahead. His addition to the plan made sure that the Ghost Zone would remain safe, but it would be at a terrible cost. He was putting everything on the line right now.

Well…he had a chance, but not a very good one.

For once, Vision had been reluctant to proceed with an almost full proof plan of success. Perhaps she had grown attached. Perhaps she was reluctant to resist a person with such potential. Perhaps…she was going soft.

"Stay safe, Danny Phantom…" Vision mumbled as she destroyed a Necromancer. "I don't want to be responsible for your death."

"There's another ghost down in Sector 3!" Poindexter yelled.

"Sector 5 needs help!" Youngblood shouted.

"Sector 1 is struggling!" Nyx exclaimed.

The control hub for the war was in disarray. Shouts we're being sent across the room as different ghosts monitored different battlefields. It seemed that almost everyone besides Colossus and Spectre required help in some form.

"I'm typing as fast as I can!" The Ghost Writer exclaimed. He was struggling to keep up with everything that was happening. It was like trying to nine full novels in the span of a few minutes.

Scribe had already saved many lives, but he couldn't save anyone. His powers were limited to how fact he could type. Dividing his attention made it even more difficult.

"There's trouble with Skulker!" A ghost called Amorpho yelled.

"Ah!" Scribe yelled in frustration. "I couldn't save them! Damn it!"

Spirit looked across the screens. There were eleven of them. Each ghost leader was shown, and every sector was being monitored by several ghosts. But one ghost in particular was missing. "Where's Danny?!"

No one responded.

"Is anyone watching Danny?!" Spirit questioned. "He's in Sector 0!"

"Um…." Nyx looked around. "I don't think anyone was assigned to Sector 0!"

"You mean Danny's alone!?" Spirit angrily yelled. "Why would no one being helping him?!"

"We don't know!?" Youngblood shouted. "Go ask Scribe!"

"Scribe!" Spirit turned to the S-rank ghost

Phantom pushed himself to his feet. That attack had surprised him. He hadn't even sensed it coming. Had they improved a Necromancer's speed or something?

Nope…no they didn't. Phantom looked as the Fenton Exoskeleton ran past him to Agent Z. The Exoskeleton appeared to be in remote control mode at the moment. 'Just had to put that function in there…'

"Surprised, Inviso-Bill?" Agent Z mocked as he climbed into the Exoskeleton. "I had it moved here especially for this."

Phantom looked at the towering figure. "You changed it…"

Indeed, they did. The Fenton symbol and design was now gone. The Exoskeleton now had an appearance compared to the Necromancer. Only larger…and bulkier…and deadlier.

"You don't think we'd keep that pathetic Fenton design on it?" Agent Z laughed. "Please! Those losers couldn't even perfect a machine in their life. Their son was the one that finished this beauty. Just think, the Fentons were more useful in death than in life."

Phantom felt a deep rage bubbled deep in his core. The ground all around him began to freeze. How dare this man speak about them like that! "You're going down."

"Hehehehe!" The agent laughed. "Do you not realize what you're against right now? You used this once. You know the increase of power it gives."

"I do." Phantom nodded. "Doesn't change the plan. I figured you keep it at your base, but this…might be better than the original plan."

"That's enough talk, Inviso-Bill." Agent Z was tired of this. "I'll kill you, then fix the mess you've caused."

"Good luck with-Ahg!" Phantom yelled in pain when a giant fist met his face. He was sent flying back several meters. Then, he landed on the ground creating a small crater. "Fast…"

"Indeed." Agent Z smirked as he walked over to the downed halfa. "I have trained to push myself to the human limits. This machine multiplies that by 100. I'm not as fast as the Flash, but I'm 100 times as strong as him."

Phantom pushed himself up. His lip was busted open, and his face was bruised. That wasn't warrant enough to use his regeneration. He would need to save his energy.

Lunging forward, Phantom sent a punch at the Exosketon. His green ectoplasm blazed around his hand. It was a punch that could crack open concrete…

…and it bounced off the Necromancer like it was a thrown pebble…

Phantom clutched his hand. The punch had hurt him more than Agent Z. He could feel his hand throb in pain. Unfortunately, there was something else he should have paid attention to.

Boom! Agent Z sent out a large ecto-blast from the palm of his hand.

Once again, Phantom was sent flying away. This time, however, he went much further. He was sent out into the East River. He landed into the water with a huge splash.

"Damn it…" Phantom floated out of the water. He could feel his burns ache in pain as he decided to regeneration in order to make the worse burns less bothersome. "I knew this would be painful, but I thought I'd get more hits in…"

Looking up, Phantom's eyes widened. Agent Z had sent several different missiles at the halfa. Phantom barely had enough time to put up a shield to stop them.

"Ah!" Phantom groaned as he lowered the shield. "In retrospect, I shouldn't have put those new weapons in the suit…Oh, crap!"

The Exoskeleton had activated its jets in the back and was flying at him. Phantom dodged to the side and barely managed to avoid getting hit. Agent Z stopped after flying past Phantom. He then extended his arms. Machine guns came out of the forearms.

"Damn!" Phantom swerved and dodged the barrage of ectoplasmic bullets sent at him. As he flew, the bullets of the Exoskeleton flew into the river and disturbed the water.

"Curse those modifications!" Phantom changed his course and flew to the Exoskeleton. His eyes flashed blue as he formed an ice broad sword in his hands. At least this way, he wouldn't hurt his hands.

Phantom swung the blue glowing sword at the Exoskeleton. This didn't work, though. Agent only raised a hand and caught the sword.

"What?!" Phantom's eyes widened.

Ice formed around the metallic hand, but Agent Z didn't look bothered by it. "So predictable. You really need to stop doing the same attacks."

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it!" Phantom let go of the sword. He sent a large burst of ectoplasm at the agent. The blast did managed to send the Exoskeleton back a little, but there was no damage.

"Should I show you a real ectoplasmic energy blast?" Agent Z raised one hand of the Exosuit.

"Crap!"

Boom! Phantom was sent flying away. Like before, he went very far away. So far, in fact, he entered the bustling city of New York.

"Scribe!" Spirit approached the ancient ghost. "Why is no one watching Danny?!"

"What?" The Ghost Writer had a look of stress on his face. "What did you say? I'm a little busy at the moment."

"Danny!" Spirit shouted. "Why is no one watching him?!"

"I don't know." Scribe continued to type away at his keyboard. "I only set up what Vision told me to set up. I had too much work to do as it was to think about it."

'Vision didn't order Danny to be watched?' Spirit thought, then said. "Why?"

"I don't know!" The Ghost Writer exclaimed. "I'm sorry, I don't have time to talk!"

"Sector 11's in trouble!"

"We got some ghosts down in Sector 8!"

"Sector 9!"

"This is Technus!" A voice called over a device by Scribe. "I am running into trouble. Perhaps some support might be necessary."

"Please, go back to your station!" Scribe instructed. "And Technus, you'll have to give me more than that! I have no idea where the hell you are!"

"Not until you make a window to watch my brother!" Spirit shouted.

"Ah!" Scribe looked at the screen in front of him angrily. "I was too late! Damn it! I can't write people back to life!"

"Scribe!" Spirit got right in front of his face.

"Raw! Fine!" With a wave of his hand, a window appeared. "Go watch! But please stop distracting me! Technus, could you repeat your request!?"

With a quick thank you, Spirit ran to the window. She expected to see Phantom leading an entire army of ghosts. She expected to see metal corpses of Necromancers. She even expected to see her brother standing in the glory of victory.

She never expected to see her brother being beaten to death by the Fenton Exoskeleton.

(Play: War of Change by Thousand Foot Crunch)

The fight was not going well.

That was Phantom's summary of the fight so far. It was not going well. No sirebob. The fight was going quite badly actually.

Agent Z grabbed the back of Phantom's head. The GIW agent then shoved the halfa's head into the ground as hard as possible. Not done there, Agent Z continued to bash Phantom's head into the concrete. If Phantom could focus enough, he'd faze through the ground or turn into smoke, but the pain was far too distracting for the halfa.

When the agent finally stopped, he picked Phantom up by his head. His face was bruised and beat. He had a large gash running across his forehead. Blood was pouring down his face.

Phantom managed to use his regeneration enough to stop any swelling around his eyes. Despite this, Phantom felt himself slip in and out of unconscious. The damage to his head was great, but he fought to stay awake. He still had a job to do.

"You won't win! You can't kill all the ghosts!" Phantom yelled to the agent.

"Shut up, maggot!" Agent Z then threw Phantom down the street. "Quit saying that like it means something! Your nonsense is getting old."

Phantom rocketed down the street. Gravity eventually took hold of him and caused him to slide on the ground. He slowly came to a stop. As quickly as possible, Phantom got to his feet.

"Are you alright?" A girl asked Phantom as he stood.

"No…" Phantom looked up to see a group of people surrounding him. "What are you doing?! You need to leave!"

"Isn't that Danny Phantom?"

"What's he doing here?"

"The news says that he's a criminal, but he saves people right?"

"He looks hurt!"

Hearing something behind him, Phantom turned. After he had thrown Phantom, Agent Z threw an ecto-grenade after the ghosts. He either didn't know about the people, or he didn't care.

'Is he insane!?' Phantom quickly thought about what to do. Dodging it would be possible, but the people would get hurt. He didn't have time to form a shield, and turning everyone intangible was impossible right now.

…He only had one choice.

He threw himself on top of the grenade.

The next few seconds were a blur to the halfa. He remembered an explosion. Then there was pain. A lot of screaming occurred. People ran. Then…he woke up to the feeling of the Exoskeleton picking him up.

"Do you really think your plan will work?" Agent Z taunted. "My men can hold off enough for the backup to arrive. Your tech ghost won't be able to get through all my men. He will never get the data you want. Hell, you really just saved us time. Without you, we'd have to hunt all the ghosts down. Now, we can kill them all at once. You have my thanks, Inviso-Bill. You actually helped our cause, because the Justice League should be acting right about now."

Colossus dropped the last Necromancer like a sack of potatoes. The entire base was in ruin. Luckily, Colossus managed to direct the fight outside, or it would have collapsed.

All around him were broken Necromancers and unconscious GIW agents. The fight had been glorious. He was even injured a little! These humans were becoming more and more formidable. Soon, they might even be able to give him a scar.

"This is Colossus!" Colossus called out. He knew Scribe was watching. "I'm done here! Where should I go next?"

A window appeared beside Colossus. In the window was the young ghost named Youngblood. "This is base. Do you copy? Over!"

"Yeah." Colossus nodded. "Where do I go next?"

"You have to say 'over.' Over!" Youngblood instructed.

"Over what?" Colossus questioned.

"You know! Over! Like you're done talking. Over!" Youngblood explained.

"I still don't get it…Under?" Colossus tried and failed.

Youngblood sighed. "You're no fun. Just go to Sector 11. Skulker looks like he needs help. Over!"

"Got it!" Colossus was about to turn and return to the portal, before he felt a wave of energy hit his back. It sent him crashing several meters away from the broken machines and unconscious agents.

Rubbing the slight burn on his back, Colossus saw who attacked him. "Attacking from behind isn't very honorable."

"Attacking the human world and beating up humans isn't honorable either." Captain Atom noted as he floated to the ground.

"You don't understand the circumstances." Colossus noted. Beside the captain, was a man dressed in green. He had an unusual ring on his finger and had a mask that covered his paler face.

"I'm sure." Green Lantern pointed his ring at Colossus. "And I'm sure you'd want to explain those circumstances after you come with us."

"No can do." Colossus noted. "I have to honor the responsibility I have right now. Any other day, I'd love to fight you two, but not today."

"You make it sound like you have a choice." Captain Atom brought energy to his hands. "After what you did here, we can't let you go. You destroyed a UN protected facility in Hong Kong."

"The building is standing, and the men are alive." Colossus chuckled. "Does that not satisfy you?"

"It doesn't." Green Lantern noted.

Colossus sighed. "Fine, then. I would love to enjoy this, but I have to go help the others so…"

Green energy began to flow off of Colossus's skin. Slowly, it bled red. He was now covered in a halo of red and green energy.

"…I won't hold back as much, okay?"

"I know see why Vision asked me to come here." Frostbite floated in the water as he stared at the Atlantian.

"You exited the building when I arrived." The blond haired man with scale clothing noted. "I have to question why."

"There were a few reasons." Frostbite explained. "But the main reason is that if we fought in there, then a lot my people and fellow warriors would have been hurt."

"You are a good leader if you thought that far ahead." Aquaman looked into the underwater base. "They don't appear to be doing well without you, though."

"Yes, there is always a tradeoff." Frostbite nodded. "But this is how it has to be. If I unleash the beast in there everyone will die."

"Hmm…" Aquaman's eyes narrowed at that. "You could just leave. I was ordered to capture you, but I can tell you care about these people of yours. You are obviously a good person."

"I wish that was possible, my friend." Frostbite gave the Atlantian a sad smiled. "But we did not instigate this war. We will, however, end it."

"I see…" Aquaman nodded in understanding.

"You could leave instead." Frostbite stated.

"I am ruler of these seas and a member of the Justice League. I cannot just leave an underwater UN base to be destroyed." Aquaman explained.

"Then, I apologize…" Frostbite lowered his head sadly. "We will have to fight."

"We will." Aquaman took a defensive stance in the water.

"Yes, indeed…" Frostbite's pupils narrowed into slits. Blue energy roared around him. The water temperature began to drastically drop. "Vision did know what she was doing. Anyone else might have been at a disadvantage in water. Especially against you."

"And you won't be." Aquaman questioned. "I am quite strong underwater."

"Yes, but can you swim through pure ice?" Frostbite raised his ice claw.

"We will see…"

"Let go of me, Amazon!" Pandora roared as she fought off Wonder Woman's Lasso of Truth. The lasso was coiled around one of her wrists. It took a lot of strength for Pandora to fight off the Amazonian's pull, and, unfortunately, the magic of the lasso made intangibility impossible.

"I cannot do that Pandora!" Wonder Woman answered. "What you are doing here is wrong!"

"What I'm doing here is saving lives!" Pandora shouted as she sent electricity through the lasso. Wonder Woman was briefly shocked, before she expertly removed the lasso from Pandora's wrists.

"Saving lives?!" Wonder Woman gestured to the fighting ghosts, machines, and agents below them. "This is war!"

"Exactly!" Pandora stood tall as she glared at the Amazon. "A war which you humans instigated."

"We did no such thing!" Wonder Woman exclaimed. "The ghosts have been the ones instigating fights and terror!"

"Psh! Child, you understand very little!" Pandora pointed her spear at the Amazon. "Quit looking at appearances and look at the underneath!"

"Underneath what?! People are dying!" Diana glared.

"No! The humans are fine! Ghosts are dying! And that is because you are stopping me from saving them!" Pandora yelled.

"Please, leave! I have heard of you and your exploits. You are a woman of justice." Wonder Woman asked. "I do not wish to fight you!"

"If we leave, we all die!" Pandora proclaimed. "It is now all or nothing, and I won't let Nyx become injured because of this."

"Then you leave me no choice!"

"So the pathetic sacks of meat can fly now!" Undergrowth watched as the pair of human birds fly around him. "How amusing!"

"You are required to surrender and turn yourself in, ghost!" The bird woman…what did she say her name was?... Hawkwoman?... That sounds about right….

"Surrender? Why would I do that?" Undergrowth cackled.

"Because we will make you!" Hawkman exclaimed.

"Make me? MAKE ME!?" Plants grew all around the area. The sandy desert was turned into a jungle. "You can try, bird humans, but you will fail!"

"Torch demands you leave!" Torch yelled at the flying robot.

"That would not be a practical tactic to apply." Red Tornado noted as he crossed his arms.

"Torch tried to ignore you, but you were hurting Torch's minions!" Torch exclaimed. "Three of them died because you!"

"That was not my intention." Red Tornado's voice was neutral despite his intent to sound remorseful. "I did not expect the humans to attack a downed enemy. It was their error."

"Then you see the injustice here!" Torch roared as he swung his scythe around. "Torch wanted to kill the humans, but DP said nnnnnnnnnoooooooooooooooooooo! Torch and Torch's minions need to keep the humans alive to keep face."

"Does DP mean Danny Phantom?" Red Tornado questioned.

"Doesn't matter metal head!" Flames danced around Torch. "You indirectly killed three of Torch's minions! Torch may not be allowed to kill humans, but you ain't human! Torch can incinerate you!"

"Perhaps we can solve this peacefully?" Red Tornado suggested.

"No! Torch says you are either with Torch's army or against it! Help Torch stop the humans, and there will be no fight!"

"I cannot attack agents of the UN." Red Tornado noted.

"Then prepare to become scrap metal!"

Skulker had to laugh at the situation. Fate had closed a door and left a window wide open. "Hello, there Kryptonian."

Superman floated in front of the hunter ghost. He seemed very conflicted by what was happening. "I don't understand what's happening…"

"What's happening is that I have a very rare creature in front of me to make part of my collection." Skulker grinned.

"What?" Superman looked shocked. "What about them? We need to stop this!"

Skulker looked down at the fighting. "Yes, the battled did not go like I had hoped."

"You started this?" Superman questioned.

"No." Skulker shook his head. "The humans started this little fight. We are merely protecting ourselves from them."

"…I believe it…" Superman remembered what happened to Vortex. "But if I attack them…"

"So you will fight us?" Skulker prepared himself for his next hunt.

"No." Superman shook his head. "I know this is the GIW's fault. I can feel it, but there's nothing I can do to stop them."

"What will you do then?" Skulker questioned. "You can't attack them, but you won't attack us."

"I…" Superman frowned. "I will stop both sides."

Skulker nodded. "I suppose that I will have to postpone my hunt of Kryptonians…"

"An agent of Shazam is in my presence?" The Spectre questioned.

"What?" Captain Marvel froze. "How did you…"

"I am an ancient ghost." Spectre noted. "I know a lot of people. And I know how Shazam failed with Black Atom."

Captain Marvel looked down in shame. "That was a mistake, but how could the wizard possibly know what would happen?"

"He grants such power to a mortal, then thinks everything will turn out fine…" Spectre shook his head. "What a fool…"

"Hey! Give the guy a break!" Captain Marvel frowned.

"I will not. You do not comprehend the devastation Black Atom caused." Spectre looked at the captain. "And here is the second coming of such destruction."

"I would never do anything like that!" Captain Marvel exclaimed.

"We will see…" Spectre merely stood there. "Are you here to fight me?"

"I…" Captain Marvel looked around. Dozens of GIW agents were unconscious around them. "No one here is dead…"

"Besides me…no." Spectre shook his head. "The plan was never to kill the humans. I'm sure a few will die, but not near as many as the casualties of the ghosts."

"Then…I don't want to fight you." Captain Marvel stated.

"If I leave, though, you will go to another battle field and fight there." Spectre noted.

"I will, but so would you." Captain Marvel reasoned.

"Fair point." Spectre nodded. "Then we are at a standstill. Neither of us can leave, but you won't fight. What do you suppose we do?"

"How about we talk?" Captain Marvel suggested. "I want to learn why you are doing this."

"Very well…"

"Annoying pest." Fright Knight stared at the human in front of him. He was dressed in a terrible red outfit with a lightning bolt on front. "Why do you annoy me, mortal?"

"Do you not see what's happening behind you? There's a freaking dragon!" The Flash pointed at the fight behind the Fright Knight.

"I am aware of what is happening in the battlefield. Do you?" Fright Knight questioned.

"I know that there's a huge freaking fight going on right now. And I know that I have to stop it." Flash stated.

"What will you do?" Fright Knight questioned.

"I'll move the ghosts away. That way no one will get hurt." The Flash explained.

"If you do that, the GIW will continue their plan to invade the Ghost Zone." The Fright Knight noted. "I will not allow that to happen."

"The GIW were planning to invade the Ghost Zone?" The Flash questioned. "When?"

"Today. That is why we stopped them." Fright Knight explained.

"How do I know you're not lying?" Flash asked.

"You don't, I suppose." Fright Knight chuckled.

The Flash stood thinking for a moment.

"If you're not going to do anything, I need to help my men." The Fright Knight turned.

A red blur then ran past him.

"Curse you, deceptive human!" Fright Knight unsheathed his sword as he flew after the speedster. "I will cut you down for you insolence!"

Dora felt she had the worst luck. She never wanted to be a Sector leader. Nevertheless, she accepted, but now she wished she hadn't.

"Dnes tuo a tnerrot fo retaw!" Zatara used a torrent of water to dose Dora's flames.

Of course, she had to get a magic user. She couldn't have gotten someone else. No! She had to get the one Leaguer whose every attack could hurt her.

Circling over the magician, Dora questioned what her next course of action should be. She was not completely certain that she could defeat the powerful magic user.

"Dnes eht stsohg ckab ot eht stsohG enoZ!" Zatara conjured a force that began to suck the ghosts back into the Ghost Zone.

Seeing this, Dora decided to act. She couldn't just let this happen. "RAW!"

Zatara formed a shield around himself and stopped the claw swipe. "I recognize that amulet…"

"Leave, magician." Dora roared.

"Teluma emoc ot em!" Zatara tried to summon the amulet from Dora, but it didn't work.

"Sorry, human." Dora grinned. "That won't work. The amulet cannot be moved by magic."

"Very well." Zatara pointed his hands out to the dragon. "Gninthgil ekirts!"

"I knew this would happen." Plasmius sighed. "As soon as Vision told me that I would go to the Gotham Base, I was sure that you would be here to get in my way."

"How could I not be here?" Batman stood across the roof from Plasmius. "You are invading the human world."

"Technically, I suppose." Plasmius shrugged. "I like to see it as stopping the humans from doing something stupid. Now, if you will excuse me, I have to keep fighting, or the tide of this fight might turn."

"I can't let you do that." Batman pulled out an ectoplasmic batarang.

"If you stop me, then ghosts will die, Bruce." Plasmius noted.

"So you figured it out, eh Vlad?" Batman didn't seemed surprised at all.

"You had to know that I would learn your secret. After the Nocturne Crisis, I was sure you knew mine, so I had to even the playing field." Plasmius chuckled. "It seems that every billionaire lives a double life, eh?"

Batman nodded. "It seems so."

"Will you let me go?" Plasmius questioned.

"I can't, but I don't want those ghosts to die either…" Batman pondered for a moment.

"There is always the third option." Plasmius smirked. "A little theater play for the people, while at the same time saving both sides."

"How do I do know you won't betray me?" Batman questioned.

"Because I have a daughter at stake here." Plasmius explained.

Batman paused for a moment. "Very well…"

Vision eyed the humans below her. One looked like a blond Robin Hood. The other was a supermodel with a fetish for leather. "You are members of the Justice League."

"Our reputation extends even into the Ghost Zone." Green Arrow noted as he pointed an arrow at the ghost floating above them.

"I doubt every ghost knows your names." Vision mentioned. "I, however, have done my research, Mr. Queen."

The duo froze.

"It must have been terrible being trapped on that island for so long." Vision noted. "And Miss Lance, always trying to live up to your mother's legacy. Is it out of respect or do you secretly resenting her for genetically passing on the Canary Cry to you? A little bit of mocking perhaps? After all, you never really had a choice about who you would become."

"How do you…" Black Canary glared at the ghost.

"Do you really think I would go to war without finding out every little detail about my opponents?" Vision sounded amused. "I learned everything there was to know about the GIW and about the Justice League. That's why place every Sector leader where they are."

"What are you talking about?!" Green Arrow was on edge.

"Using my birds, I monitored the Justice League's patterns, their lives, and their strategies. Using this, I carefully and mathematically determined who would be where during the war." Vision explained. A simple green bird flew to her shoulder and landed on it. "The GIW are easy to predict, but it took a lot of mental power to determine which Leaguer would be assigned in which location."

"You…knew what we would do before we did it?" Black Canary frowned. "You're bluffing. No one could think that far ahead."

"Keep thinking that." Vision laughed lightly to herself. "But then how do I know that Colossus is having a fight with a green atom. Torch is burning the wind. Pandora is testing her fury against the Amazon. Frostbite is freezing the fish. Plasmius is having a bat problem…"

"That doesn't mean anything to us. We don't know where they are." Green Arrow stated.

"Fair point, but I do." Vision noted. "I made sure to put my people at a specific advantage. Beside the non S-rank ghosts, the chance of the ghosts winning is at 95%."

"Too much math!" Green Arrow sent an explosive arrow at the ghost. A purple shield stopped it before the arrow could get close.

"That won't work. I have learned you're entire fighting style. There is nothing you can do that will surprise me." Vision stated. "Leave now, and I won't have to humiliate you swiftly and viciously. I have a war to win after all."

"Not a chance." Black Canary readied herself. "We will stop your invasion."

"My invasion? That's funny." Vision chuckled. "It is the humans' fault, not mine."

The response she received was a Canary Cry.

"Very well…" Vision's eyes darkened. "I will have to send a message to the world after all."

Agent Z was shocked when Phantom started laughing. "You're a fool. You really don't understand what's going on at all. It doesn't matter what you do to me, you've already lost."

"Raw!" The Exoskeleton threw Phantom to the ground. "Moron! How could I already have lost?"

Phantom shakily wiped the blood pouring down his face. "Because the world will soon blame you for everything."

"Stop speaking nonsense!" Agent Z tried to punch the downed halfa, but he was stopped. A green light had formed a beam and coiled around his arm.

"That's enough!" The John Steward Green Lantern announced. "He's down."

"What are you doing here?!" Agent Z demanded.

"We were assigned to come to the last GIW base…" The Martian Manhunter levitated himself down to the Exoskeleton's level. "But when we witnessed the explosions, we decided this took priority."

"Then attack Phantom not me!" Agent Z broke free of the green light.

"Phantom wasn't the one that threw a grenade into a crowd of people!" Green Lantern shouted.

"Yes, from our perspective, Phantom is the one in the right at the moment." Martian Manhunter noted. "We heard you say that you wanted to hunt down all ghosts. To kill them all. In short, you started this conflict."

"We need you to come with us." Green Lantern pointed his ring at the GIW agent as he floated towards Phantom.

"You can't order me around!" Agent Z tried to turn around to Phantom, but was stopped by the green alien.

"Yes, we can." The Martian Manhunter's eyes began to glow.

"You alright, kid?" Green Lantern looked over Phantom's wounds. "You're wounds look terrible."

"Forget about me." Phantom groaned out. The grenade did a number on him. "Get the Manhunter away from the Exoskeleton."

"Don't worry about J'onn. He's pretty though himself." Green Lantern tried to help Phantom but was pushed away.

"You don't understand." Phantom looked up at the hero. "The Exoskeleton has a built in flamethrower."

"AAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Martian Manhunter gave an ungodly scream as he was covered by a blanket of flames.

"J'onn!" Green Lantern rushed to his friend.

"Damn it…" Phantom tried to fly after him, but was still in the processes of regenerating his worse wounds. He couldn't warn Green Lantern about the Exoskeleton's strength. If he underestimated it…he might die.

"Scribe!" Spirit turned to the Ghost Writer. "Danny needs help now!"

"So does everyone else!" Scribe answered back.

"Two more just died in Sector 1!"

"Sector 3 is doing terribly!"

"Sector 4 needs help now!"

"Help Sector 5!"

"Have mercy on Sector 6!"

"Several ghosts are injured in Sector 8!"

"Sector 9 has three down!"

"Sector 10's force is down to half!

"Sector 11 is a blood bath!"

"What the hell are the Sector leaders doing!?" Scribe screamed.

"The Justice League is stopping them from defending the others!" Poindexter shouted. "They're being a bunch of bullies!"

"You have to help Danny now!" Spirit ran up to Scribe. "He probably only has a few minutes before he gets seriously hurt!"

"I don't have time!" The Ghost Writer yelled. "If I take a minute to help him, then hundreds of other ghosts will die!"

"What?!" Spirit screamed out. "But if you don't help him, he might die!"

The Ghost Writer gained a painful look. "I'm sorry, Spirit. Right now, the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the one."

"You…" Spirit was shocked. "You'll just…let him die?"

"I have no choice." The Ghost Writer continued to type. "It's either him, or the war."

"But you're his friend!" Spirit begged.

"That's why I know he would tell me to save the others." Scribe explained. "I can't let personal feelings get in the way right now!"

"You piece of trash!" Spirit spat out. "You'll abandon him!?"

Scribe was silent.

"Everyone! Please help me here!"

Everyone was silent.

"…Nyx?"

The shadow user looked over at her rival. "I'm sorry, Dani."

"No!" Spirit looked around. No one would meet her eyes.

Looking over to the side, Spirit spotted something that had been left in the library for the duration of the war. After it had been used to plan the attack, the Sector leaders decided to keep in here. That way it would be safe.

Spirit stared at the Infimap. She had promised her father that she would not leave this place. Dani prided herself on her ability to keep promises. But…

"I can't let Danny die!" Spirit grabbed the map. "Take me to Danny!"

Before anyone could react, she was gone…

"Phantom! Phantom!" A young blond female helped the halfa up. "I'm Cat Grant. Are you alright."

"No…" Phantom grunted. Most of his burns were healed and the cut on his forehead was bleeding less, but it could easily be reopened. Unfortunately, the pain was still great. "What are you doing here? It's too dangerous. You need to get away."

"You can come with use." Cat Grant began to help Phantom along. "Who is the man that was attacking you? Why did he endanger the lives of civilians? Are you now allied with the Justice League?"

"A reporter…" Phantom looked over at the cameraman. For once, this was a good thing. "That man…is the leader of the Guys in White. I was trying to talk at the UN when he attacked me. I don't know what's his deal, but Green Lantern and Martian Manhunter saved me…Urg!" Phantom clutched his side in pain.

"You need medical attention!" The reporter began to move him to a car. "I'll take you to the hospital."

"No I need to stay and…" Phantom looked back at where the Exoskeleton was. "Move!"

Phantom pushed the reporter and cameraman out of the way. Just in time to, a huge blast of energy hit the spot where they just were. The spot where Phantom's left arm was right now…

"Ah!" Phantom clutched his now broken arm.

"Phantom!" Cat Grant looked up at the hurt halfa.

"Run!" Phantom tried to move away from the reporters, but stopped when the Exoskeleton ran up to him and grabbed him.

"What!?" Phantom grimaced in pain as the agent dragged him into the sky. "How did you…"

"Beat Green Lantern and Martian Manhunter so quickly? I didn't, but I distracted them enough to give me a few minutes." Agent Z smiled menacingly as he raised a giant glowing fist. "That's more than enough time."

Boom! Crash! Crumble!

Phantom felt debris fall all around him. If he had the power to, he would phase through the rubble, but he was too tired.

Grunting, the halfa pushed the destroyed wall off of him. It was a rather difficult task considering his left arm was broken. After finally getting free, Phantom took a moment to regain his bearings.

"Yeah…appeal to their better nature. Great plan, Phantom great plan…" Phantom stated as he wiped the blood pouring down from his cut forehead.

Looking up, Phantom saw his enemy approaching him. Deciding that he needed to use his most powerful attack to win, Phantom took what was usually unnecessary air into his lungs. Then he let it loose…

Only for a hand to clamp over his mouth.

"Too slow, Inviso-Bill…" The giant hand began to crush his head. "Game over."

Spirit was dragged through the city of New York. The Infimap knew the way, but considering the damage she was passing, Spirit didn't doubt that they were heading in the wrong direction. Cars were turned over. Craters were spread all over the streets. Street light were destroyed. And…

Was that Green Lantern and Martian Manhunter? Were they fighting Necromancers?

Generally, Spirit would have instantly stopped and helped, but she wasn't concerned about them right now. Her focus was completely on Danny right now. ('A giant hand squeezes Danny's head hard. Danny struggles. His head caves in…')

"No!" Spirit took over for the map. She flew at the Exoskeleton. With all her might, Spirit kicked the Exoskeleton, but all she accomplished was hurting her foot. "Stop it!"

The giant froze. He turned. This allowed Spirit to see the form of her brother.

"Sp…irit…" Phantom gazed at her with his swollen eyes. His face was bloody and bruised. His jacket and shirt were torn and allowed her to see his burned torso. The halfa's left arm was distorted at a painful angle.

"Danny!" Spirit reached out to help her brother.

"N…o…" Phantom tried to warn.

Boom! Spirit felt pain as she was blasted away in the huge burst of ectoplasm. The explosion consumed her small body and sent her crashing down the street.

"Oh my god…" The blond reporter knelt by the harmed child. "How could he…"

"Urg…" Spirit struggled to sit up. She couldn't, though. Everything was so blurry.

"Don't move!" The blond reporter stopped the halfa.

Spirit saw white spots around her field of vision. The direct hit did a number on her. She wasn't ready for such a powerful blow. The halfa was lucky to be conscious.

"Danny…" Spirit moaned as pushed the reporter away and pushed herself up. "I have to save him…"

"You're hurt." The reporter turned to her camera man. "Will you shut that off and help me help her!?"

"Danny…" Spirit stumbled forward. Her premonition was screaming at her. She had to get there.

Spirit's legs gave out and she fell on her face. Tears ran down her face. The premonition was over. It was too late.

"No…" She sobbed.

His regeneration used the last of his energy to keep him alive after his head was almost crushed. Phantom officially had no energy left. He couldn't even lift his arms anymore.

"Leave…her…alone…" Phantom barely managed to get out.

"What?! Do you really think that you're in a position to make demands?" Agent Z laughed. "You lose!"

"Boss!" A voice came through Agent Z's communication. "There's a problem!"

"I'm busy right now!" Agent Z growled.

"Boss! The New York base is compromised! All our plans on the invasion has been sent across the Internet! There's videos of you destroying half of New York all over YouTube!" The other agent shouted. "There's an uproar going on! Everyone is blaming us for this!"

"What!?" Agent Z went pale. "That's impossible. That's…"

Agent Z paused. He remembered Phantom's words throughout their fight. He remembered everything that happened. He remembered who was currently glaring at him…with triumphant eyes.

Despite the swelling, bruises, burns and welts, Phantom's eyes were those of a person who had won. He had accomplished his goal. Agent Z would now and forever be labeled as the bad guy in this situation. Agent Z now realized what Phantom's plan truly was.

The invasion would destroy the Necromancers and the GIW assets. The ghosts would prove that they could defend themselves from an attack that was designed to slaughter them. The GIW would be blamed. The Ghosts would come out as the victims.

That was why Phantom went to the UN first. If he failed, then it looked as if the ghosts didn't want to fight. That was why he made such a scene in the middle of the city. Everything Phantom did was to gain attention. He wanted everyone to see their fight so they would see Agent Z as the bad guy.

…And Agent Z played right into this plan…

"You bastard!" Agent Z hissed.

"Told…you…Technus…would succeed…I…win…" Phantom would smile if he could.

"You're right." Scwelsh! "You win. Congratulations."

The Fenton Exoskeleton's hand had been thrust through Phantom's chest and was sticking out of his back. Phantom didn't feel any pain as he spat out green blood. He was numb.

The halfa didn't even feel it as the giant suit dropped him. He landed on the ground with a thud.

Phantom…Danny could no longer see. His body was shutting down. He could feel his body dissolve. It was over.

Only in death does a true person's character truly shows itself. In death, you show whether you are a coward or not. You show what you believe, and what kind of person you are.

In those last few nanoseconds, Phantom found that he wasn't afraid for himself. He accepted his death. He knew this would most likely happen. No, he was concerned about what would happen when he was gone. Spirit was still in danger. The war was still raging. His family could still be hurt.

Those were the last thoughts Danny had before it all went black. In the end, he was only concerned about those he cared about.

It was only in death that Phantom discovered what his obsession truly was.

Where…Where was he? He was standing in long grey area. The area stretched as far as Danny could see, but the area was only a few meters wide.

On one side of the grey area was a pure red area that reached everywhere on that side. That side made Danny feel…alone and sad. The other side of the grey lane was a pure gold area of warmth and joy. Danny could feel himself being pulled there.

Right above Danny was a sky river of green energy. It flowed from the center and separated into both sides. If Danny reached up, he was sure that he could touch that river in the sky.

"Danny?" Klemper's voice came from the gold area.

"Klemper!" Danny stared into the gold light in shock.

"You're here already?" Klemper's voice questioned.

"Yes…" Danny nodded to himself.

"Danny's here?" Jazz's voice questioned. "This has to be first thing he's ever been early for."

Danny's eyes were filled with tears. "I'm here, Jazz!"

"Dann-o!" Jack Fenton's voice laughed. "Come get some fudge! It's delicious!"

"Sweety! Come here, we missed you!" Maddie Fenton's voice called out.

The tears fell down Danny's face. "Dad…Mom…"

"Dude! You got to see this place! It's amazing!" Tucker's voice explaimed.

"Tucker!" Danny cried.

"Danny…" Sam's voice struck Danny to his core. "Is that really you?"

"I'm here, Sam!" Danny sobbed. "I'm here!"

"We're waiting…"

Without second thought, Danny reached towards the golden light…only to be stopped by a hand gently gripping his.

"If you do that, you can't come back." A girl's voice gently warned.

Danny turned and was shocked. There was a teenage girl standing right beside him. She was pale and was wearing pure black clothing. A black cross hung around her neck. In fact, black seemed to a consistent color for her with her black hair and makeup.

For a moment, Danny thought she was Sam, but he quickly dismissed that thought. She dressed in a similar way to Sam, but her face and demeanor were different. "Who…Who are you?"

"You don't remember me?" The girl pouted. "I'm Death."