Chapter 26: Knowledge

Disclaimer: I own nothing

"Knowledge is power." Sir Francis Bacon

Chapter 26: "Knowledge"

(Saturday-December 18, 2010)

"…What are you doing here, Shiva?" The man's words came out perfectly even though he was biting down on the lit cigarette in his mouth.

"A mission of course. I've been sent to protect your target, David." Shiva stated.

"Well you're doing a piss pore job of it." David Cain chuckled. The man in the in the black jumpsuit with a rifle on his back looked down on the boy. Shiva pushed his hand to side so that there wasn't a direct his, but it still grazed the side of Fenton's head. Blood was now pouring out the side of the wound.

"Gah…" Fenton put pressure on the wound. "Was that revenge, Shiva?"

"Yes. While it was because of Phantom that I was defeated, it was you that knocked me out before…" Shiva glared down at him as she remembered when he was kidnapped.

"Well, it's great to see that working with the hypocritical Shadows hasn't changed your sense of honor and morality." Cain looked at Shiva longingly. "How is Cassandra?"

"Why would you care?" Shiva glared. "You abandoned her."

"Only because you wouldn't take her from the Shadows!" Cain snapped. "You know I will never work for that bastard Ra's Al Ghul. Instead, you agreed to let her be trained to be Talia's personal bodyguard."

"And you wanted her to be your perfect assassination partner." Shiva snapped.

"I guarantee that she would be happier with me." Cain gritted.

"You might have not even taught her how to speak." Shiva growled.

"Instead, you teach her that killing people is for the greater good. There is no 'good' in killing. It's just killing." Cain argued. "With me, she would understand reality and know how the world really works instead of believing the Shadow's fantasies."

"Are these the problems of assassin parents?" Danny questioned.

"Shut up, brat." Both assassin's glared down at him.

Danny decided to listen to them.

"So…you're going to fight me, eh?" Cain sighed. "Just like old times."

"Exactly. I'm going to kick your ass." Shiva smiled.

"You can try!" David Cain snapped as he whipped his hand out of Shiva's grasp and tried to shoot her. Shiva, however, ducked and did a spinning hooking heel kick to knock the gun out of his hand. She then continued to spin to follow up with a roundhouse kick.

David Cain quickly reacted, though. He did a scoop block to catch the kick. Holding her leg, he then tried to sweep her other leg and take her to the ground. Showing incredible flexibility, Shiva jumped and twisted her body to backhand Cain. This forced the male assassin to let go of the woman and shove her back.

"Get Fenton out of here!" Shiva ordered as she charged at the man again.

"Huh?" Fenton blinked as he was suddenly pulled away. He looked at the person saving him and was surprised. "Walker?"

"Do not say a word, punk." The pale skinned sheriff growled out through clenched teeth. "I'm still gonna kill you, but right now, I need you alive."

"Why?"

"Two reasons. One, if I kill you, then I die. Two, we need to find out who put the hit out on you." Walker grunted as he pulled the teen to another roof.

"Exactly." Jinx's voiced sounded from nearby. She was sitting on the edge of the roof and appeared to be waiting for them to appear.

Fenton turned and saw his pink-haired. "You…"

"There you go, punk. It's a rule to say thank you to people that save you." Walker glared. He pushed Fenton to the side none too gently.

"Right…Thanks…" Fenton turned to Jinx. "So…you're just saving me to find out who put a hit out on me."

"No, that's not the only reason." Jinx stood. "The Shadows have always been interested in you."

"Yeah, I remember the kidnapping…" Fenton muttered as he held his bleeding head.

"And I remember that to…" Fenton felt a katana being pressed against his neck. "I remember that you shot me in the back."

"Really, Cheshire? A grudge against me?" Fenton looked over his shoulder at her. "We did discuss that we were only friends while it was convenient."

"That and the fact that I'm a professional in the middle of a job is the only reason you are alive." Cheshire removed the sword from his neck. "Plus, it looks like Shiva already got her revenge. That's enough for now."

"Okay…fair enough." Danny peered at the assassins that surrounded him. "So, you're going to protect me, just like that?"

"Yes. It is our orders. It is a rule." Walker didn't seem happy, though.

"Then do you know who else is after my head? I've already had six assassins and two kids attack me. Who else is left?" Danny questioned.

"We don't know, but it's better safe than sorry." Jinx stated. "Now come on, we need to get you someplace safe."

"Stand still!" Cheetah ordered. She slashed and cut at Kid Flash with her sharp claws. The speedster dodged each blow, though. Even if Cheetah was fast, Kid Flash was faster. He could dodge the woman villainess's attacks all day.

"Uh…naw?" Kid Smirked. He quickly jabbed the cat woman in her burnt stomach. This caused Cheetah to gasp and clutch her wound. The burn wound had proven to be more critical than she originally though. While hurt, she couldn't move as quickly. Thus, she there would no way for her to get away from the speedster's partner in this fight.

"Raw!" Aqualad charged at the wounded assassin and used his water bearers to knock her to the ground unconscious.

"Good night, kitty." Kid Flash grinned as he knelt down and patted her head.

"You are not going to do anything perverted to her, right?" Aqualad questioned.

"Dude! That's sick!"

"Well, you do not have the best track record…"

"You should leave the humor to others, dude."

"Well, I find my jokes humorous..."

"Ah!" Metallo struggled as he was held still by M'gann's telekinesis. "Let go of me, brat!"

"As if!" Artemis smirked as she drew her bow back.

Normally, the Krypontite energy source would make it so using telekinesis on Metallo useless. Metallo's raw strength and Kryptonite blasts would have made M'gann's influence ineffective. Luckily for the young heroes, the Kryponite core was destroyed. Even then, Metallo's armor was strong. The metal held even though one arm was cracked and breaking.

…Until Artemis shot it, that is…

Boom!

"ARG!" Metallo cried out. The force of Miss Martian's mental strength and Artemis's explosive arrow caused the android's fractured arm to tear off. This wasn't all, though. The archer followed up with a sticky foam arrow which trapped Metallo in red goop. "Idiot! This won't hold me long."

"It doesn't need to…" M'gann floated right in front of him and focused. "Your mind is part synthetic, but there's still some organic parts…If I can just reach that…"

"You…uh…" Metallo closed his eyes as M'gann forced him into sleep.

"Nice one, M'gann!" Artemis shouted.

"Thanks!" M'gann beamed. "Thanks for holding him."

"No problem." Artemis laughed. "The hard part was disarming him."

"You totally stole that from Phantom when we fought Mr. Twister." M'gann noted.

"What? I wasn't even on the Team back then." Artemis argued.

"But we told you the story." M'gann joked.

"Oh, shut up…"

Deadshot hated bullet proof enemies. He really did, because there was literally nothing he could do against them. This was especially true for Kryptonians. Even their damn eyeballs were durable to bullets. So, unless Deadshot had a Kryptonite bullet, he was screwed. "Knew I should have brought that damn bullet, but noooooooooo I had to try and save it for Superman…"

"Shut up!" Superboy yelled. He was weakened earlier by Metallo and Cheetah. That was why he put on another shield. It gave him the boost he needed to fight the assassin. Nothing could hurt him right now.

At the same time, though, he could feel his mind cloud with anger. It was made even worse by the mention of Superman. Superboy had the clench his teeth not to yell out curses and profanities at the assassin.

"Damn!" Deadshot rolled away and pulled out his rifle. "Maybe a groin shot will work…"

"Nrut sih snug otni srewolf!" Zatanna cried.

"What the hell?!" The assassin with a broken scope on his eye yelled. His guns just melted into flowers! How the hell was that even possible? Even his backup guns were foliage now…

Crack!

Deadshot was so distracted by the change that he could not stop Superboy in his last charge. The clone quickly did a massive uppercut to the assassin's chin. The marksman was unconscious before he even hit the floor. Luckily, Superboy managed to control his anger at the last moment, or Deadshot might no longer have a head.

"Flowers, eh?" Superboy raised an eyebrow at the magic user.

"Meh." Zatanna shrugged. "I thought it was ironic since he made so many people push up daisies."

"That's some pretty dark humor." Superboy mentioned.

"Then why are you smiling?"

The two Reds looked around at the numerous destroyed robots. Both Arrow and Huntress took responsibility of dismantling the machines that invaded after the shield was raised. The spiders were annoying and durable, but Red Arrow and Red Huntress both had experience destroying such machines. Plus, there was another reason.

"It's strange." Red Arrow noted as he knelt down by a destroyed spider. "I don't think these things are weaponized."

"It might explain why we took them out so easily, but why would an assassin send unweaponized robots?" Red Huntress questioned.

"Who knows?" Red Arrow shrugged. "The assassin was probably just trying to distract us."

"Well, that was accomplished." Red Huntress looked over to the only member of their group that did not fight at all. Robin was in charge of taking down the shield. So far, though, there seemed to be no progress. "Robin, anything on the shield?"

"Give me a few more minutes." Robin grunted as he stared down at his holographic computer. "This is complicated stuff. Whoever did this, knew what he or she was doing."

"Great." Red Arrow sighed. He looked around and saw that everyone had finished their fights. "Now we just stand around twiddling out thumbs?"

"Pretty much." Robin shrugged.

Danny and his new bodyguard assassins did not get far. That much was certain. They managed to get far enough away from Shiva and David Cain to no longer hear them, but that was about it.

In retrospect, the teen should have seen it coming. He was beginning to think about how this day could not possibly get worse, after all. The halfa knew better than that. Things could always get worse, and as Murphey's Law stated, 'Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.'

"Hello, Daniel." Nocturne grinned down to the teen as he floated above the group of four. "It's been a long time."

"I'm starting to hate my life." Danny groaned.

"I'm starting to hate your life too." Jinx sighed.

"What do you want, sleep ghost?" Walker frowned.

"The boy's head, of course." Nocturne chuckled. "Something you can related too of course. In fact, I'm surprised that you're protecting him."

"His time will come. Right now, my like is dependent of his life. So, I can't just let him die. Not yet at least. Soon, he'll die on my terms, though." Walker stated.

"Love you too, Walker." Danny added.

"Shut up, Fenton." Cheshire pulled out her sai. "We need to stay focused, and you antagonizing one of my men isn't helping."

"Who said you're in charge, kitty cat?" Jinx questioned. "The Great One said I could take the lead."

"I will not be led by someone five years younger than me." Cheshire snapped.

"Uh hem!" Nocturne coughed into his ringed hand. "Are you quite done yet? I would like to kill the boy now."

"...Why attack now?" Danny questioned. "You've had better opportunities than this..."

It was true. Phantom had been weakened for months now. The thought of the Black Power Ring users attacking him was always on the back of his mind, especially on missions with Young Justice. They never did attack though. Granted, Danny couldn't use his powers at all right now, but he was still wearing a suit of armor that would most likely be reactivated soon.

"...You aren't the main target." Nocturne growl. "We are to avoid you...Because if we don't, we will focus all our energy on killing you. Like right now. We had a mission close to here, and I couldn't resist the temptation to come rip your spine out of your body...I'm sure that I'm going to face judgement for this, especially because I ditched the others in a middle of the fight. Aragon won't be too mad because I went after you, but..."

"Wait...I don't understand." Danny frowned. "Why try to avoid killing me if you want to kill me?"

"...Because you shall bring about more death than anything else on this planet." Nocturne was at his snapping point. "But I can't resist this opportunity! Now shut up and die!"

"OOF!" Gizmo groaned as he pushed himself up. "Well…That sucked…"

"You little…" Ravanger growled as she jumped back to her feet. The twelve year old girl only meant to throw the bald kid into a wall. Apparently, though, she accidentally hit a button the boy's tech. In an instant, she was sent flying into the air. The girl had to hold on, too, or she would have plummeted to her death.

Thus, she was now stuck on a roof while at a bit of a distance from her father. That's just great. Now he was going to lecture her and punish her for not being aware of what her enemy was wearing…

"Woah! This was your fault, not mine." Gizmo defended himself. "You're the one messing with my equipment."

"Fool." Ravager glared. She reached behind her and unsheathed her tanto.

"W-wait! Why are you bringing the pointy stuff out?" Gizmo began to sweat.

"The only way to find penance is to kill you." Ravager began to walk to the boy.

"N-no!" Gizmo paled. Six metal legs extended from his mechanical backpack. He was raised up into the air and well out of close range combat. "I don't want to fight you. Just go back to your dad…assassin…guy…"

"He wouldn't want me to come back without my opponent's head." Ravager noted as she prepared to jump up at the tech wiz.

"…Fine, snot breath!" Gizmo glared as he pulled a laser gun out of his metal backpack. "Who would want to date you anyway with that stupid mask and white hair!? For all I know, you're an old hag!"

"Little bug." Ravager snorted. "Your words are like buzzing in my ear."

"How interesting… I rarely see how real children my age act. The most I have is my observations of the ghosts in Amity Park and other young assassins. Tell me, is this how all children act?"

"Huh?" Both Ravager and Gizmo turned to see another child on the roof. She was standing at the edge and looking at them. "Who are you?"

"Cassandra. It is a pleasure to meet you." Cassandra Cain give them a small bow.

"W-woah!" Gizmo's jaw dropped at the pretty girl.

"Another child." Ravager realized. "It seems that the age of child soldiers is returning. Let's see…Cassandra…Cain. Daughter of Lady Shiva and David Cain. Trained to be the next bodyguard of Talia Al Ghul. Skills are unknown at this time."

"How do you know all that?" Cassandra frowned.

"I have to learn about all possible enemies and allies." Ravager noted. "Even future ones."

"Huh…You've heard of me, but I haven't heard of you." Cassandra looked in the direction they came from. "But I know your father. The Shadows have been trying to recruit him for years. Why did he bring you?"

"Experience. He thought this would be an easy kill. He was wrong." Ravager noted. "And you?"

"…I came to witness a reunion and a triumph. In that order." Cassandra noted. "My parents haven't been together since I was born. I was curious."

"Uh…" Gizmo looked back and forth between the girls. "I'm totally lost. Can I go fight Fenton now?"

"No!" Cassandra snapped. "You shall stay here."

"And why is that?" Gizmo grinned. "With my equipment, I can fly. How will you-" Swish! Snap! "CRUD!"

Cassandra lowered her arm that she used to throw shuriken at the boy's metal spider legs. He fell to the ground in a heap. "Because I won't let you."

"Feisty…" Gizmo grinned despite his position. "I like it."

"Interesting." Ravager chuckled beneath her mask. "That was fast."

"Both of you wish to fight or kill Fenton. My mother is contracted to protect him. Thus, I must protect him as well." Cassandra noted.

"Fine. Fine. I like being here a lot better anyway. I'll just get the burger brain later." Gizmo shrugged.

"Sorry, but only my father gets to tell me what to do." Ravager stated.

"I see…" Cassandra looked up to the sky for a single moment. "It seems the hands of fate are moving especially fast today. So many meetings…so many different fights…Is this a foreshadow of the future, or merely a cruel game to amuse the gods?"

"Fate? There is not fate. There are only choices. You either chose to kill or be killed." Ravager chuckled as she brandished her weapon. "That is the reality we live in."

"Gee…" Gizmo frowned. "This is some heavy stuff. I just came here to show people that I am the best."

"And that was your choice." Ravager nodded.

"No, it was fate." Cassandra argued.

"Er…" Gizmo looked back and forth between the two glaring girl. "Okay?"

Both Red X and Deathstoke were running down the street. The cops had quickly found their location because of the gunshots, and they were forced to move away from the spot in order avoid unnecessary conflict and complications. As they ran, both combatants used their guns to try and shoot the other down. This did not work, though. They were far to agile to get a good shot.

Deathstroke jumped off the hood of a car and swung off a lamp post. He flew towards Red X with his sword ready. Once again, Red X used the blades that extended from the back of his gloves to block the attack. Sparks once again flew off the meeting blades.

Swinging his sword, Deathstroke attacked the mercenary from various different angles. Up. Down. Side to side. Spin to try and decapitate his foes. Each and every blow was blocked.

"You are quite skilled, boy." Deathstroke mentioned as he tried and used his strength to push Red X back. "I can see why you caused such a stir while only appearing twice before."

"I never wanted to cause a stir." Red X mentioned. "I was only after getting paid."

"As all good mercenaries are." Deathstroke chuckled. "But you'll find our efficiency tends to attract far more attention than we want. It gets even worse when you kill such a high profile target. After today, I will have to lay low. Killing Red X and Daniel Fenton is sure to bring a lot of heat from a lot of people."

"You make it sound as if you have already won." Red X stated.

"It's only a matter of time now. After I finish you, I'll track Fenton down and finish this job." Deathstroke explained.

"Doubtful." Sparks appeared around Red X's blades as the electric gauntlets activated. This forced Deathstroke to jump back to avoid the electricity spreading through their metal weapons. Now having some distance, Red X turned his left palm up and pointed it at the black and gold assassin. A gooey red X jumped out of his palm and launched to Deathstroke.

In order to avoid being trapped, Deathstroke rolled to the sided and pulled out his own guns. He fired at the mercenary, but a red shield formed around Red X and stopped the bullets. Realizing that guns were useless right now, the assassin rushed forward and one again grabbed his sword.

"Haven't you realized it yet?!" Red X taunted as his electric blades activated. "That tactic won't work!"

"That's why I'm changing it up." Deathstroke answered. He then dropped some smoke pellets. Smoke spread across the street.

Unable to see, Red X desperately tried to stop Deathstroke's attaks. There was only one problem…

"I can't use any of my real senses to fight Deathstroke and there's no heat signature sight on the suit…" Joel stated to the other people in the lab.

"Well, crap…" Fright Knight frowned. "That's going to be a problem… In fact…"

"Well…" The Fright Knight spoke through Red X. His voice was filtered to sound like how Danny's altered voice did. "This is a small problem."

"Oh? You call this a small problem? I just stabbed you." Deathstroke noted as he looked down at the blade sticking out of Red X's chest. "That must be some thick armor…I don't see any blood yet."

"Moron…A memory does not bleed." Red X's right hand grabbed the blade as his left hand grabbed one of his pistols and shot Deathstroke in the mask.

"Arg!" Deathstroke stumbled back as his mask shattered. His aging face and eye patch were revealed to the world. "How are you still able to move?! You should be in shock!"

Red X pulled the blade out of his chest. The weapon left a hole that revealed the metal and wired interior of the suit. "Sorry, but you missed the things that I need to move…"

"An android?" Deathstroke mumbled.

"No, a memory." Red X threw the blade at Deathstoke. The assassin did not catch the blade, though. Instead, the gold and black armored man rolled to the side and away from the descending blade. This was the smart choice, though, because as the blade fell, a large explosive red x could be seen on the side of it.

Boom!

"Now that you don't have a sword, how about round two?" Red X chuckled.

"I found him." Vison noted as her bird began to watch as Fenton and the three assassins try to fight Nocturne off.

"What?!" Dani stared at the images. "Why is he getting help from those guys? Especially Walker. He hates Danny."

"Isn't that Jinx, though?" Nyx tilted her head. "You said that he was friends with her."

"So…Is he surrounded?" Youngblood questioned.

"Secret." Greta could not resist the urge to answer the question.

"No…" Raven shook his head. "Look, they're protecting him."

It was true. All three of the assassins were going out of their way to defend Fenton. Because he was the strongest physically, Walker was dragging Fenton around because the teen couldn't move well with his suit offline. Both Jinx and Cheshire were trying to fight Nocturne off. Jinx's attacks proved to be the most effective, while Cheshire's normal attacks did minimul damaged.

"Danny needs to use his suit." Dani noted. "Like, right now."

"And he can!" Victor grinned. "I got the system working again! He's online!"

"Yes." Vision grinned beneath her veil. "Now, it's time to show just what the Exorcist Armor can do."

Beep. Beep. BEEP!

Fenton's eyes widened as his suit activated again. He could feel the metal hum and roar back online. His gauntlet gun shifted and his arm cannon warmed up.

"Danny! Victor did it! You're back online!" Dani's voice sounded in his ears. "You can fight again."

"Oh, hell yes." Danny grinned and turned to Walker. "Let me go. It's time for me to get in the fight."

"If you say so, punk. Don't die yet. I want to be the one that kills you." Walker gritted out and released the teen.

"Whatever…" Danny ignored the ghost as his helmet formed over his head. His jets activated and allowed the halfa to fly once again. "Because as of right now, you wouldn't be able to touch me at all."

"Oh? The boy has a knew suit?" Nocturne laughed as he forced Jinx and Cheshire to roll to the side. "Too bad it won't do anything to fight against my power ring."

"Wrong…" Danny smirked under his mask. "Power at 100%. Activating anti-Death energy wave."

"What?!" Nocturne laughed at teen's words. "Anti-death energy wave? What does that-"

BOOM!

Fenton's arm cannon fired of a pure red blast of energy. It was massive compared to the blast he used against Cheetah. The giant blast of energy hit Nocturne and blew up.

"AH!" Nocturne cried in anguish as he body was burned and bruised. Smoke rose off his injured body. "HOW!? My ring's energy should protect me!"

"Moron. Anti-Death doesn't mean that it brings people to life or something stupid like that. It means that I can bypass a black power ring's defense." Fenton grinned.

"H-how?!"

"Did you really think you could pop around like you have without me examining the leftover energy? Nope. I've analyzed the ring's energy and found the exact frequency of energy that it would be weak to." Fenton explained. "And now, allow me to show you just how well it works. A quick warning, though. You might end up getting hurt really, REALLY badly."

Madame Rogue's fist landed into Metamorpho's face and caused and explosion of plasma to spread out. This was only temporary as the unusual being's head quickly reformed as if nothing had happened. Grinning brightly, Metamorpho decided to attack as well. His punched proved to be ineffective as well, as Madame Rogue's rubber body made physical attacks mostly ineffective. At least if they don't have the force of dynamite behind them at least.

It was then that Metamorpho wished that he could use some of his other powers. Physical force was not working and most likely would result in a standstill. This was fine for the purpose of disguising himself and hiding his ectoplasmic signature, but his competitive side and pride demanded nothing less than absolute victory. Thus, you could imagine his frustration at being forced to fight to a standstill.

"Zis is pointless." The woman noted. "We can't hurt each other."

"Not like this at least…" Metamorpho raised his arms and posed like a bodybuilder. "But as a hero of justice, I cannot allow such evil to walk away unpunished."

"You play the fool well, but I see the intelligence and cunning behind it all." Madame Rogue smirked. "Tell me, Mr. hero of justice, what is your real reason for defending the boy?"

"…I owe him everything." Metamorpho stated seriously. "I would have fallen into my own madness and darkness without his assistance. That is why I help him, and why I will not let you go to him."

"How sweet." Madame Rogue sighed. "Unfortunately, I must complete zis contract and keep my identity hides. Zus, I must kill you and Fenton."

"You can try, but I don't think that will work." Metamorpho smiled. "In fact, I think it's time to bring out a new trick I learned from a young friend…"

It turned out that Deathstroke knew how to fight androids. Thus, as soon as he realized that his foe was mechanical, the assassin changed his strategy. Now, they were almost completely fighting in smoke and in the shadows where Red X couldn't see. Electricity was used to hinder the machine's movements and Deathstroke's guns had made deep holes in the android's metal body.

That was not to say that Red X did not get any hits in. His ectoplasmic pistols managed to get a few hits on the assassin's limbs. The x blades nicked Deathstroke once on his cheek and cut into the man's side. Still, Deathstroke was winning this fight.

"You proved to be a very good foe, Red X." Deathroke noted as he pulled out his gun one more time. "Unfortunately, this ends here."

"This fight isn't over yet, assassin." Red X's body sparked and shook from the damage it received. Nevertheless, the android did not fall.

"Fenton surely is a genius to build a machine like you." Deathstroke noted. "Very few have pushed me this far. For that, you have my respect, but I need to finish this."

"You can try, but-" Red X was stopped when Deathstroke's other hand pulled out was grapple gun. It shot a ball at the machine's feet. Red X tried to jump away, but was too slow. The ball hit his foot. After this, a wire extended out and wrapped around the bodyguard's legs. He fell to the ground with a thud.

Deathstroke quickly stepped on Red X's hands to stop them from moving. Even if the electric gauntlets were activated, they would not have any effect on the assassin's rubber lined boots.

Pointing his gun at Red X's head. "Sorry, but your maker won't be able to fix you after today. Goodbye, Red X."

Bang!

"Damn…" Joel muttered as he tried to move Red X. "The controls aren't responding. The body's dead."

"Is there nothing you can do?" Fright Knight turned to his partner in controlling Red X.

"No, I don't have a visual, and my orders are being ignored." Joel explained. "We lose."

"Um…" Victor approached the duo. The others were busy monitoring Fenton's fight with Nocturne, but Victor noticed the fall in Red X's readings. "Maybe I can help?"

"You can?" Joel blinked.

"Yes…" Victor looked at the computers that monitored Red X's body. All the screnes were read. "Fenton's hardware is incredible, and I managed to get a good look at his programming while fixing his Exorcist suit. Maybe I can work with what's left of the suit."

"There's nothing left." Fright Knight sighed. "The body and torso are broken beyond repair."

"But the limps aren't. The nerve system in them is still working, Fenton designed them to work individually. If I could bypass the central controls system, I might be able allow you to control each limb without the main body."

"But we still wouldn't be able to see." Joel argued. "I won't know where Deathstroke even is."

"I also managed to find a way to see through some of the cameras in the city, just in case Vision's birds had trouble." Victor suggested. "Maybe you can use those. It won't be as accurate, but…"

"It will be enough." The Fright Knight smiled under his helm and placed a hand on the young man's shoulder. "Thank you. You have just given us the key to victory."

"Now, to find the boy." Deathstroke muttered. "Perhaps I should find Rose first. It would do her well to finish him off herself."

The assassin stopped when his torso and arms were surrounded by a red, gummy, foamy x. Everything but his head and legs held in place. Turning, Deathstroke saw that the broken Red X suit was pointing its left hand out at him. It was strange, though. The head was still shattered, and the body was in shambles.

"How the…" Deathstroke paused. The suit disappeared. "Where did it go?!"

Bang!

"Arg!" Deathstoke groaned a low powered ectoplasmic blast hit him in the back of the neck.

Crash! The Red X landed onto the ground. It had used its teleport function to move it behind Deathstroke. Because of the assassin's lack of mobility, the suit managed to get a single shot in. That was it, though. That last jump used all the energy, and the fall broke the last bit of control Joel had on the suit. It would not rise again.

Luckily, it wouldn't have to.

"Damn…" Deathstroke mumbled as he fell to his knees. "Impressive suit…The kid's better than I though. Hahaha….Even if this is technically a draw, I consider it a loss. Good job…"

And with that, Deathstroke fell to the ground unconscious.

Cassandra charged in to Ravager. She threw a quick left hook at the white haired girl's head. This blow was dodged, though, as was the spinning hell kick that followed. Ravager then used her tanto to cut at Cassandra. The dark haired girl used her hidden knives to block the attack.

Before either girl could follow up, Gizmo intervened. He used his laser gun to try and shoot them both. This caused the girls to flip back to avoid the attack. Unlike the girls, Gizmo lacked close range combat skills. Thus, he tried to keep them at a distance and use his weapons to attack. This had worked for the most part, but it was only because the girls were distracted by each other along with Gizmo's attacks.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

"What?!" Ravager pulled out her communication device. "Father is unconscious. That means…he lost…"

"Oh…" Gizmo lowed his gun slightly. "I'm…sorry?"

"Red X defeated him." Cassandra stated. Pride filled her chest for some odd reason. She shouldn't act like this was her accomplishment after all. Even if it was Phantom behind that mask...

"Damn, you're right." Ravanger growled as she put her communication device and weapon away. "I must retrieve him and put this fight on hold. Someday, we will fight again, though."

"I do not doubt it." Cassandra noted.

"Please, no…" Gizmo groaned. "No more pointy swords…"

"Goodbye for now…" Ravager stated as she ran to the side of the roof and flipped off of it.

With her gone, Cassandra turned to Gizmo. "So…are you still going to go after Fenton?"

"Of course! I'm gonna take burger brain down!" Gizmo exclaimed.

"Tell me, if I kiss you on the cheek, will you leave Fenton alone?" Cassandra questioned.

"Yeah!"

Cassandra sighed. Her mother was right. Men were too easy to manipulate. Very few men could fight off their natural desire for the female form. Of course, Shiva also said that the few men that could fight their instincts were the most annoying and interesting. That was what attracted Cassandra's parents together in the first place.

The dark haired girl really wanted to meet her father, but she knew that this was not the time. She would have to wait until later to see him, though. Her mother deserved some alone time with the man she loved…

"I really wish you came with me all those years ago…" David Cain mentioned as he lit another cigarette.

"I know…" Shiva nodded as she sat across her fellow assassin on the roof. They both stopped fighting as soon as the others were out of sight. Neither truly had the desire to fight the other anymore. "But…put that damn thing out, they'll kill you."

"Please, you always thought they were sexy." Cain chuckled out smoke.

"Shut up." Nevertheless, Shiva diverted her eyes. It was always this way. No other man could get under her skin like he could.

"Tell me…how is she?" David Cain questioned.

"She is well, but she is…cold." Shiva frowned sadly. "I never got the chance to give her the love she deserved. I haven't seen her give me a smile in years…"

"Oh?" Cain seemed saddened by this.

"But this is the best life she could ever have. No one would accept her if they knew her parentage. Her mere existence is a sin to them." Shiva sighed. "She doesn't have a lot of option, and the Shadows helped provide for her…"

"We could have provided for her." David Cain noted. "I never claimed to be a good man, and I probably would be a piss pore father…without you there. If we were together, though, then we could have given hers something better than what she had."

"Fool. I already sworn myself to the Shadows. If I abandoned them, even if it was for my daughter, they would hunt me down and kill me. The only two options were to keep her or give her to you." Shiva stated.

"…Still…" Cain closed his eyes painfully. "We could have worked something out."

"No, we could not." Shiva shook her head.

"But…I have missed you." Cain noted. "And I am your husband…"

"And I am your wife, and I love you dearly, but it came down to my honor and my daughter. Two things that I could never do without." Shiva explained.

"I know. That's why I love you." David gave out a small laugh.

"Tell me…did you really want to kill Fenton, or did you do it just to get a chance to speak with me?" Shiva questioned. "I know you had earlier chances, but you waited until I was the only one left to interfere."

"You already know the answer to that." David gave her a sad smile. "I've missed you…"

"And I you." Shiva stood and helped her husband up as well. "How about this…My team is going to protect Fenton. Truthfully, I don't cares what happens to him, and I could use you as an excuse for my absence. Why don't we return to where you are staying and enjoy our time together properly?"

David Cain let out a roaring laugh. "Isn't it the man that's supposed to be after sex?"

"So you're saying no?" Shiva teased.

"Of course not. Look at you. Even more beautiful than when I first met you." David Cain complimented.

"Charmer." Shiva noted as she embraced him.

"Isn't that why you fell for me in the first place?" David joked.

"Of course."

"Arg!" Nocturne growled as he flew out of the smoke of the latest explosion. He was quickly followed by Fenton in the Exorcist suit. The teen was not lying. His armor and weapons seemed impervious to the black power ring's power, and because all of his powers were being amplified by the ring, nothing he did work. "Damn you!"

"Says the loser!" Fenton taunted.

Retreating, Nocturne pointed his ring down at the teen's allies. "My ring may not affect you, but it will hurt them! And I know that you won't let others die for you! Stop, or I'll kill them!"

"Idiot. You act like they're defenseless." Fenton chuckled.

"Wha-" Boom! "AH!"

"Got him." Cheshire noted as she lowered the rifle that Fenton had lent her.

"Good." Jinx grinned. "Now all he needs to do is get the ghost down here."

"My arm!" Nocturne gripped his contorted arm and yelled in agony.

"And that's the weakness of power rings. You need to focus to use it." Fenton noted. "With that arm broken, you can't use the ring."

"No! I can still fight!" Nocturne argued. He swung his uninjured arm at the teen in hopes of hitting her enemy. His energy attacks may not work, but perhaps physical attacks would work.

"I don't think so…" Walker stated while floating behind the sleep ghost. Normally, physical blows wouldn't work against a black power ring user, but with Nocturne's arm broken, the aura surrounding and shielding the sleep ghost fell. Thus, Walker's kick to the back of Nocturne's head was extremely effective.

Groaning in pain, Nocturne hunched over in pain. He fought to keep himself in the air. The ghost was no longer used to such pain. In fact, he was so stunned that he never noticed as a blast of pink energy was sent flying at him. It crashed into him and cause him to spin up.

"Hello." Fenton greeted as he floated above the sleep ghost. With his right arm, he shoved his ectoplasmic shotgun into Nocturne's stomach. "And goodbye."

Then, in a blaze of red, Nocturne was sent flying down. This was only amplified as Fenton's arm cannon also shot Nocturne in the chest at the same time. The force blasted Nocturne down and into the street below.

"Son of a…" Nocturne groaned as his back hit the concrete and caused it to crack below him.

"Language." Nocturne heard as a foot rammed into his chest.

"AAAHHH!"

"Now…" Fenton shoved the barrel of the shotgun to Nocturne's head. "Where are your friends? I know you didn't come alone."

"They…went after the real threat. I thought you would be weakened enough for me to kill easily. I was wrong…" Nocturne grunted out.

"Real threat? What real threat?" Fenton questioned. He noted that his assassin bodyguards were now behind him. This scene reminded him of his last fight with Nocturne back in February. This time, though, he had control over his anger and wasn't going to try and kill the sleep ghost.

"You…know him. He's the one that put the hit out on you…" Nocturne stated.

"Who?!" Fenton questioned. He could end this now if he could find the client to all these assassins.

"It's…"

"New trick?" Madame Rogue questioned. "And what is zis new trick?"

"You already know, that I can shift into plasma, but that's not all…" Metamorpho grinned. "I can also change into smoke."

"Smoke?" Madame Rogue scoffed. "And how will that help."

"You'll see…" Metamorpho's limbs began to bleed away into magenta colored smoke.

Trying to stop whatever the strange man was attempting, Madame Rogue's arm stretched and smashed into the creature's face. Like before, though, the blow did not work. This time, the man's head turned into smoke instead of plasma. "How is zis any different?"

"Easy…" Metamorpho's voice sounded through the smoke as it spread throughout the ally. "I can still from some of my limbs. Even if I can't control them all that well, I can still attack."

"But physical blows do nothing on me." Madame Rogue noted.

"I know…but unlike plasma, my smoke form is not completely invulnerable." Metamorpho's right arm formed beyond the edge of where the magenta colored smoke was. "Not only does it take longer to reform, but it's also flammable."

"What…" Madame Rogue's eyes widened as pink fire formed in the palm of the floating arm. "You wouldn't! You'll hurt yourself too!"

"Perhaps…" Metamorpho's voice seemed to be amused. "But I heal quickly, and you don't."

"No!" Madame Rogue tried to lung out of the smoke, but she was too late. Metamorho's hand already threw the fire into the flammable gas.

BOOM!

…

…

…

"Gah…" Metamorpho groaned as he formed again in the smoke. His body was covered in burns and scratches. Not only that, his Disguise Belt was damaged. This form and the belt's ability to hide his ectoplasmic signature. So, he decided to transform back into a human.

"This was not my smartest plan…" Vlad muttered after changing back to normal. Luckily, his human form lacked most of the damage he received in his ghost form. Of course, he couldn't use his ghost powers for a while, but that was the price of victory.

Truth be told, he probably just could have distracted Madame Rogue until Daniel was safe, but he couldn't just do that. If he did that, than Madame Rogue would escape with no proof of her existence. That would mean she would have the chance to attack Daniel again without anyone knowing who she was. This way, Madame Rogue would be stopped and captured.

Looking at the defeated woman and the destroyed alley, Vlad sighed. He would have to leave quickly. The police would be here soon.

Beginning to walk away, Vlad said one last thing to Madame Rogue. "My apologies, but I couldn't let you escape. Anyone that comes after the people I care about must be punished. Even if it causes me a little pain, my pride could not allow you to leave unscathed."

As he went, Vlad decided to return to the Wayne Tech building. Without his powers, he couldn't do much to help Danny. All he could do was hope that the teen would be safe.

He couldn't move. He couldn't see. He couldn't even see.

'Help!' Danny screamed in his head. 'I need some help! Please! Something's wrong!'

It was strange. One moment, he was standing over Nocturne. The next moment, he's trapped in a sea of darkness. It was completely instantaneous. How could this have happened?

C-crack!

"Gah! Ack! Gasp!" Danny took deep breaths after his helmet was cracked open. "Wha…"

"Hello, Phantom." Freakshow smiled at the trapped teen.

Danny's eyes scanned the area rapidly. Along with Nocturne, Hotep Ra and Aragon were both on the ground unconscious. Not only that, Walker was currently being punched into the ground by Lydia. Cheshire was currently being assaulted by a barrage of Lydia's tattoo creatures. And Jinx…was being choked by a bat tattoo while different snake tattoos held her limbs in place.

"Freakshow…you're behind all of this…" Danny realized.

"Of course!" Freakshow chuckled. "Who else would be behind this?"

"I had absolutely no idea…" Danny admitted.

"Danny!" Jinx cried as she used her energy to blast away the tattoos. She ran towards Danny to try to help him.

"Please…" The pale ringmaster waved the Reality Gauntlet at Jinx. In an instant, she was hit with a massive wave of green energy.

"Jen!" Danny's eyes widened.

"Oh? You care about her? I'll remember that…" Freakshow looked down his long nose at the teen.

Trying to move, Danny realized what had happened. Freakshow had used the Reality Gauntlet to turn his armor into concrete. "Damn, my armor! Do you know how long it took to make this?"

"I know how easy it was to break it." Freakshow shrugged. "Oh, Lydia? Are you done with the riffraff?"

Lydia nodded as she stood in front of Walker's unconscious body. The tattoos that attacked Cheshire returned to her body.

"How…" Danny looked at all the unconscious bodies. "How did you do all this? You beat two black power ring users and two assassins?"

"I have learned a lot about the Reality Gauntlet, one of which is while Nekron the Reaper is immune to the power of the gauntlet, the ring users are not. And with this weapon, I can make their stupid rings useless." Freashow gloated as he began to pace around the trapped boy. "Through the gauntlet, I have achieved great things. My mind is sharper than a supercomputer. Lydia is stronger than an S-rank ghost. And now, I have the key to unlocking the absolute powers of the Reality Gauntlet."

"What?" Danny questioned.

"First…" Freakshow raised his gauntlet covered arm over his head. A dome of blazing energy appeared around them. "A last line of defense in case Lydia runs into too much trouble…which I doubt, but still, better safe than sorry."

"You-Mhm mhmhh!" Danny's words were stopped when Freakshow covered his mouth with gooey ectoplasm.

"Shh!" Freakshow placed a finger of his own lips. "It's time for me to gloat, so be quiet for a little while."

Danny was silent.

"I've had a long time to think and plan while constantly moving and looking for the access code for the Reality Gauntlet." Freakshow explained. "Especially when you resurrected Dr. Fate to chase after me. Thanks for that by the way, she's been on my tail for months. Been really fun…"

"Mhm…" Danny rolled his eyes.

"That was why I had to keep moving. Why I couldn't do anything to find out what the access code was." Freakshow sighed dramatically. "But then, I realized something. The only person who would know with certainty is its creator, and there was no way I could get to Vandal Savage. However! I realized something else. There was a person that knew more about ghosts, how they work, and how ectoplasmic technology works more than I do…You."

Danny stared at Freakshow as he struggled against the concrete holding him. He tried to go ghost but failed. It seems that Freakshow also disabled his powers temporarily.

"But how could I possibly get to you in order to find out how to get the access code? You were either hidden away in Amity Park, or running around hidden with your little team." Freakshow waved his arms around dramatically. "But then, I heard about your little conference. Judging from your past actions, I figured that you would have a few backup plans to protect you, so I came up with a plan of my own. I ordered a hit on you offering one hundred million dollars in cash.

"Of course, the Shadows would never take the contract from me, but the freelancers did." Freakshow laughed. "And that was all I needed."

"Mh Mhve ma mhuesmh!" Danny tried to speak.

"Ah…what?" Freakshow removed the goo from Danny's mouth.

"Why assassins? What if they killed me?" Fenton questioned.

"Please! I've reviewed all your known fights and conflicts. You came back from the dead multiple times for God's sake! I knew that only deadly force would cause you to use all your resources. Anything else would be a mere annoyance." Freakshow stated.

"You…" Danny growled.

"Danny!"

"Fenton!"

"Friend!"

"Oops…" Freakshow sighed as he saw the various people outside his barrier. It appears Young Justice managed to escape and track them down. Not only that, they had visitors in the form of Wulf, Cujo, and Dr. Fate. "Looks like I took too much time gloating. Let's get this done."

"Wait-" Danny's words fell on deaf ears.

Freakshow placed the Reality Gauntlet on Fenton's head and everything blared before the halfa's eyes.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Memories blurred through his eyes. He watched his entire life fly by his eyes. Everything was there from his birth to the struggles he was having today.

"Interesting…The Endless? When I'm Master of all Reality, I'll visit them…" Freakshow mumbled. "Oh! Clockwork! That could work, but I doubt I could catch him as well. Hmm…Already know most of that…Wait…That still exists?! Every record says it was destroyed a long time ago!"

"Ah…" Danny gasped out as Freakshow finally let go. "What…what did you see…What memory did you take?"

"You'll find out soon enough…" Freakshow snapped his fingers with his gauntlet covered hand.

BOOM!

The barrier around them exploded out and swirled around the street. This blasted all the people that came to help Danny away. In an instant, the street was just a bunch of rubble and unconscious bodies.

"Come Lydia." Freakshow stated to his partner. As usual, the woman obeyed silently.

"W-wait…" Danny groaned out as the concrete around him crumbled and he was freed. "Y-you don't have to do this. It's not too late…"

"Ha hahaha ha!" Freakshow laughed and sneered at the downed halfa. "You're trying to reason with me?!"

"Yes…" Danny groaned and forced himself to stand. "I know what it's like to have your family choose ghosts over you. I also know what it's like to lose people you love. It's hard, but you can't give up. And if you stop this madness, then you can have a second chance."

"Second chance?"

"Yes, everyone deserves a second chance."

"…Moron. I don't want a second chance. I want what I deserve." Freakshow scoffed. "That's why I'm letting you live today. I want you to see as I become Master of all Reality and destroy everything you care about. Oh! And thank you for the bit of knowledge you gave me. Without it, I would never be able to accomplish my goals."

"No, wait!" Danny stumbled and fell forward. "I have to ask…Can you use the Reality Gauntlet to bring people back to life?"

"Wouldn't you like to know? Gahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!" And with that, they were gone.

"Arg…" Danny fell on his face in exhaustion.

"Danny!" The halfa heard Dr. Fate's voice before everything faded to black.

"…we won't be able to catch him." Vision's voice brought Danny back to the land of consciousness.

"I know." Batman's voice called out as well. "Even Dr. Fate has a hard time tracking him down. We will have to wait for him to act again."

"That's what I'm afraid of…"

"Gah…" Danny groaned and forced his eyes opened. "Vison…Batman…What happened?"

"Danny, you're awake." Vision instantly rushed to his side. Her voice was filled with worry and concern.

"You were out for a few hours." Batman noted. "We managed to capture Cheetah, Metallo, Deadshot, and this new villainess Madame Rogue. Everyone else escaped."

"Even the black power ring users?" Danny questioned.

"Yes, they dissappered." Vision sighed. "And we think that Shiva retrieved the other Shadows assassins."

"Deathstroke?"

"Gone as well. Along with his young accomplish." Batman answered.

"Oh…Wait, am I still in New York? Why are you two here?" Danny questioned. "I thought both the Council and League were going to stay out of this because of political reasons."

"That went out the window when the reporters saw ghosts and League members at the spot where Freakshow attacked you." Vision sighed. "Both groups are in a shit storm of bad publicity. All our efforts proved to be for nothing, but at least you're alive. I just wish we went all out. If we did that, then we would captured everyone and kept you completely safe."

"If you did that, the assassins would have just retreated and Freakshow would have tried something else." Danny groaned. "I had to deal with this eventually. We did the best we could. At least now, people will know not to mess with me again."

"If that was your goal, then it was accomplished." Batman frowned. "But we have bigger problems to deal with now. What memory did Freakshow take from you?"

"I don't know." Danny sighed. "But it was important. I think it can help him unlock the full power of the Reality Gauntlet."

"That's not good." Vision stated. "But…we will have to deal with that later. Right now, I have to go speak with a man that was stupid enough to blow himself up to win a fight…"

"Er…okay…" Danny watched as she exited the room.

With her gone, Batman turned to Danny. "It seems that Young Justice failed in their mission."

"I'm alive. That's enough." Danny shrugged.

"Not to them." Batman noted.

"Gah…Idiots…" Danny sighed.

"They will get over it, though." Batman stated. "What I'm worried about is the Shadows interest in protecting you."

"They've always been interested in Fenton. Remember the kidnapping?" Danny mentioned. "I suppose they just want to make sure I can keep inventing."

"But they want you to do it for them…" Batman frowned.

"I won't." Danny shrugged.

"Can you promise that? What about Jinx? Will she convince you to help them?" Batman questioned.

"I doubt it." Danny rolled his eyes. "I know what you think of teenagers, but I do have a girlfriend."

"For now…but life changes quickly." Batman walked to the door. "Oh, and one more thing before I leave...Red X."

"...Yeah..." Danny decided to tell a modified version of the truth. "I still had the suit, but he wasn't always an android. That's a new development. I just wanted extra protection. The other guy is-"

"You." Batman glared.

"...How did you know?" Danny questioned.

"I have a lot of ways to find these things out. You think I don't monitor the conversations at the Cave, or watch the fight patterns of the Red X suit." Batman noted. "I'm not stupid, Daniel. But I know why you used the suit, so I stayed silent. I don't like being lie to, but Red X saved lives, so I can forgive it. But if you're going to create an A.I. for Red X, be careful. It could end badly."

"I know." Danny nodded.

"Good. Get some rest then." Batman stated. "I think that you're going to need it."

"…" Danny opened his eyes again after a few hours of trying and failing to sleep. Batman had long since left, and he was alone…well, not really. Someone was there, but he couldn't see them. "You can come out. I know you're there. You're not hiding very well."

"I know. I just wanted to see if you would notice." Ra's Al Ghul smiled as he stepped out of the shadows. "And you did. Once again, you impress, Mr. Fenton."

"Henri Ducard." Danny frowned at the man.

"You remember that name?" Ra's chuckled. "I thought you would have forgotten it by now."

"Yeah, well, I was kidnapped. People tend to remember that crap." Danny snorted.

"Fair enough." Ra's nodded.

"So, why are you here? Are you going to kidnap me again?" Danny questioned.

"No, no…" Ra's shook his head. "I just came to talk."

"Oh?"

"Yes, you see, I did send my assassins to protect you."

"Oh, don't act like I owe you anything." Danny rolled his eyes.

"I won't. I just wanted to point out why." Ra's noted. "You are a very intelligent and influential individual. Everyone knows that you have connections to both the League and the ghost Council. All that happened today was just a dance to avoid pointing it out."

"I know." Danny shrugged. "What's your point?"

"I am offering to extend your connections." Ra's stated. "I have very powerful friends that all have an interest in you."

"Do you?' Danny already knew this.

"Yes, and we would like to offer you a chance to explore different options." Ra's noted. "There will be no strings attached, of course. All we want is…an acquaintanceship."

"An acquaintanceship, huh…" Danny paused. Vision did say that leading Savage's group on would be for the best…Plus, there was one thing he wanted from them. "Tell me, does your group want to stop Freakshow?"

"It is currently our second main objective." Ra's noted.

"I see…" Danny grinned. "Then maybe we can help each other a bit."