Chapter 2: Discoveries

Disclaimer: I own nothing

"I am one of those who think like Nobel, that humanity will draw more good than evil from new discoveries."

Marie Curie

Chapter 2: "Discoveries"

(Friday-January 1, 2016)

"Oh gods, this is boring."

Dani forced down the groan that threatened to slide up her throat. It was a harsh battle, but she managed to stop her agitation. She mentally chanted that she had once been impatient like that herself. Lowering the binoculars from her eyes, she looked back across the darkened rooftop to see the origin of the complaint, "Yes, Wonder Girl. We all know that stakeout duty isn't exactly fun, but it has to be done."

Wonder Girl was a fourteen year old woman with long, blonde locks. Sky blue eyes and nearly flawless features hinted at her godly heritage. While her legs were covered in red pants with white stripes, her upper body was covered by a black, sleeveless top with the familiar symbol of Wonder Woman on the front. The silver bracelets on her wrists and golden lasso at her waist also hinted at her association with the Amazonian heroine, "But can't we do anything to make the time pass faster?"

"No," Victor muttered. His right arm was spread forward to allow the listening cone and sonar to be pointed at their targeted building across the busy street in the center of New York, "We have to be quiet and as motionless as possible to avoid attracting attention to us."

Wonder Girl sighed dramatically and slumped to the concrete roof, "You know, this wasn't what I was expecting when Wonder Woman said that I would be joining a team to help train my powers, Spirit."

Upon hearing her hero name, Dani tiredly rubbed her face, "Yeah. We all went through it, Wonder Girl. Eventually, you'll be in our spot and realize how dumb your freshman expectations were, right Cyborg?"

Victor snorted, "I don't know if I'm a fair comparison. I started right around Morgaine's attack. Remember?"

Spirit sighed, "Yeah. I remember."

"Oh!" Wonder Girl's eyes lit up. "I remember that!"

"Shh," Cyborg gently warned.

"Sorry," Wonder Girl now spoke in an exaggerated whisper, "That's when the witch took control over all the ghosts, right?"

Spirit raised her binoculars once more, "Yep."

"Troia was around then. Oracle said that she, you, and the second Robin all started at the same time," Wonder Girl pursed her lips, "That sounds like an exciting time."

"Wonder Girl," Spirit's harsh tone made the younger girl look up in shock. Even Cyborg gave her a surprised look. "You'll learn quick enough that exciting times for people in vigilante work usually mean that people die. I can name three tragic deaths just from that one day. Boring is good. So let's stop talking and focus on the mission, please."

Wonder Girl deflated upon hearing that. Nevertheless, she obeyed. Cyborg continued to eye his girlfriend out of the corner of his eye before turning back to the observation of the building. There was supposed to be a sale of illegal tech going on while the police were busy dealing with New Year shenanigans. As long as everything was calm, then they would be able to keep some dangerous weapons off the street.

BOOM!

Jumping in surprise at the loud explosion, all three heroes turned to see a large cloud of smoke rising only a few blocks away from them. Cyborg frowned as he recognized the direction, "That's coming from the UN building."

"You had to jinx us," Spirit muttered dryly to Wonder Girl.

"I-I didn't mean to…"

"I'm just kidding. Probably isn't your fault," Spirit raised a hand to her earpiece, "Oracle, this is Beta squad. We have an issue. An explosion just went off in the direction of the UN building. Was there supposed to be a firework show and something went wrong?"

"Negative. We just received word from Captain Atom that the building is under attack," the voice of the former Batgirl flowed into their ears. "Your mission has officially been changed. Head to the source of the explosion and stop whoever's behind this."

"Roger that," Spirit lowered her hand, "You heard her. Let's head over. Not like we're going to catch our original target now anyway. That explosion definitely would have spooked them off."

"Dusk, I don't have a view of the area. Are you wearing the shades?"

"Oh right," responding to the voice in his earpiece, Dusk reached into his pocket and pulled out the green sunglasses, "I forgot. It's too dark out for these."

"You can take them off in a minute. Just let me get a full scan."

Grunting in affirmation, Dusk slipped the darkened glasses over his glowing green eyes. As soon as he did so, the shades lit up. The various scanning devices that he had placed around the targeted area began to glow as well. The half-ghost silently waited for the machinery to do their job from his perch on top of a crane overlooking the harbor. He could barely see through the shaded glasses as the rain around him continued to pour down through the darkened night.

"Okay. I got a visual. Let me show you."

The once darkened glasses shifted into their VR mode. Dusk watched as the glasses showed him an image of the harbor below him. Various goons were herding women and young girls into a large metal crate. The person leading the operation was obviously the large man with thick red skin and his white hair shaped into cornrows, "Daniel Brickwell AKA Brick. Looks like he moved away from smuggling weapons."

"Would you call this an upgrade or a downgrade?"

"I would call it sickening," Dusk sighed as he removed the glasses, "Sometimes, I hate people. One of those girls can't be older than six. The Arrows need to get their shit together. Their rogues are going on a tear."

"I tried to contact Red Arrow, but…"

"I know," Dusk shook his head, "His demons aren't our problems, though. We have our own issues to deal with. I'll take care of this, but I need you to report it to the League. I'm tired of coming out of retirement to stop this kind of stuff. Sex trafficking should be a thing under their watch."

"Can do. Should I go ahead and call the cops?"

Dusk took a deep breath. He clenched his trembling fingers, "Yeah. Better safe than sorry. I don't want to tempt myself to beat them to death in my free time."

"I…I'm sorry, Dusk. I keep pulling you into this stuff. I should know better. You left Amity Park behind for a reason."

"No, Gear," Dusk calmed himself, "You did well. Those girls don't deserve this. Best to put an end to this. Just give me one minute."

"Okay."

Knowing that his friend was now giving him some privacy, Dusk reached under his hoody's neck to pull out a silver locket. Clutching it in his hand, he took a deep breath, "Peace. Fighting monsters does not make me one. Don't lose control."

With one more silent remembrance of the original owner of the locket, Dusk tucked the necklace back to its place of safety. He then reached behind him to grab the hilt of a long green blade. As he unsheathed it, the rain around him seemed to flee in terror. The image of a dark knight with flaming hair appeared behind him. It was time to go to work.

Vlad stared at the screen of his phone. The translation process was at fifty percent. Good. His threat to the alien worked. Things were progressing faster than he had hoped. Soon, he would be able to properly interrogate the alien and possibly overshadow the creature. Then, he could deal with the invasion threat. Ideally, his adopted and single genetic children wouldn't have to suffer through another huge fight for the Earth.

"Vlad? Something wrong?" Danny's voice drew Vlad's attention away from his phone. The oldest halfa ignored the various machines, computers, and projects carefully organized around Axion Lab to instead focus on the previous superhero, "You look worried."

Thrusting his phone into his pocket, Vlad smiled to his protégé, "No. Of course not. Just getting an update on Vision."

Danny rolled his eyes and turned back to his stack of blueprints and project ideas on the lab table, "You need to calm down about that. All our scans show that everything about her is as healthy as can be."

"You'll understand when you're about to have a child," An aging dark skinned man with graying hair noted as he carried vials of liquid across the lab to place it by Danny, "You start to worry about every little thing."

"I'll take your word on it, Silas," Danny chuckled, "Ember and I are definitely a far bit away from thinking about that."

"That reminds me. I saw a clip of you last night," Vlad grinned, "You two looked natural on stage together. Was the kiss a message?"

"In a way," Danny shrugged, "There have been rumors forever. Might as well confirm them and get it over with. Although, I'm sure Harriet is hating having to deal with the backlash. The fanboys probably want my head on a pike."

"Considering the protection you have around you…" Silas turned his eye to the corner to see Damon Gray silently waiting for them to finish, "I wouldn't worry about it."

"I'm not," Danny looked completely relaxed, "The bodyguards are mostly for would be attackers' safety anyway. I may not have my powers, but I can still got my weapons."

A beeping from Danny's phone cut off any possible continuation of the conversation. Frowning, the former half-ghost pulled out his mobile to see a message from Harriet. Upon reading the message, Danny's look darkened. Vlad noticed the change, "Something wrong?"

"Just someone taking notice of last night's message. I knew it was coming eventually," Danny slipped the phone back in his pocket, "I'm going to have to leave a bit early."

Silas shrugged, "We're almost done anyway. I'm sure Nicolai and Serling are done cleaning up as well."

"Alright then. Have a nice weekend," Danny turned and began to walk towards the exit.

"Daniel!" Vlad called after the younger man, "Remember that we have dinner tomorrow night. Vision will be mad if you skip again."

"I'll be there!" as Danny said that, he slipped out of the room. He was immediately followed by Damon.

Vlad sighed once the door closed behind them, "He probably won't. He cancels at the last minute a lot lately."

"Well, he is a young man building his own life," Silas reasoned, "I remember being that age. The last thing I wanted to do was dinner with family."

"Yes, I understand that," Vlad rubbed his tired eyes, "At the same time, though, I wish that it didn't have to be this way. Things are just so quiet at home now."

"That will change when the baby comes," Silas joked.

"That's not what I meant," Vlad explained, "My home was once filled to the brim. Now, it seems so empty. People just kept leaving. First was all the death. Then, Daniel and Joel moved out. Now, Danielle is gone more often than she's home. I know that things are supposed to change, but I miss being surrounded by family."

Silas didn't have a response to that.

"Sorry. I shouldn't place that on you," Vlad gave Silas an apologetic look, "It's just that Vision doesn't like to bring it up, and…"

He was scared of returning to the days where he had no one. Back over six years ago, Vlad had nothing but his fortune. Until the days were Danny and Dani moved into his home, he had been so alone. The happiest time of his life was when every morning was filled with the chaotic antics of the children and their extended family. Those moments seemed so long ago now.

Silas placed a hand on his shoulder, "It's fine. I get it."

Vlad nodded, "Thank you. Now, enough of moping. I'm sure your wife probably wants you home as much as mine does with me. Let's just pack up these papers and…What exactly are these papers, anyway?"

Silas chuckled, "Oh, those are just ideas that Danny likes to write up. He never goes anywhere with them, though. Every time he pulls those out of the drawer, he scoffs and puts them back in a few minutes."

"I can see why," Vlad shook his head, "The 'Fenton Time Machine?' He should know better."

Spirit floated above the window leading into the UN Building. Cyborg floated beside her using a jetpack which sprouted out of his metal spine. They silently waited for the signal to be given to them by Wonder Girl. While waiting, they listened to the conversation between the attacker and the apparent target.

Translating Interlac

"So that's how you wanna play it? Fine. Contract calls for the Main Man to put on a show for the locals. So one more time...surrender or die."

"Contract? Show?"

"Die it is."

Before the assailant could follow through on his threat, the duo outside the window heard Wonder Girl give a battle cry. The hard sound of fist meeting a skull sounded out throughout the area. It was accompanied by a shockwave so powerful that it shattered the windows below them. Taking that as their cue, they rocketed into the lavish office of the UN's Secretary General to see Wonder Girl standing over the stunned body of some strange gray skinned man.

Cyborg swiftly joined Wonder Girl while Spirit rushed to the target's side. He appeared to be an aging man of Asian descent wearing a blue suit. Once she grabbed onto the man and pulled him back, the female halfa began issuing orders to her teammates, "Wonder Girl, Cyborg, keep big, gray, and ugly busy while I get Tseng to safety."

While the duo of fighters gave grunts of affirmation, Spirit turned the man and herself intangible before rushing through the back wall and down a secret elevator shaft. Once at the bottom of the elevator shaft, she pulled him into an escape hallway before turning him tangible again.

"Oh my…" Tseng appeared disoriented by the experience.

"I know. It takes some getting used to," Spirit pushed the Secretary General forward through the hall. "But no time for being sick. We need to get you out of the battle zone."

"Y-You're Spirit," Tseng muttered while he fast walked down the metal corridor, "What are you doing here?"

"Saving you, obviously," Spirit rolled her eyes. "You're lucky that we were in the area."

"T-The others?"

"They can handle the baddy for a few minutes while I get you to a panic room or something," Spirit shrugged. A sudden crash behind them caused them to turn. The same attacker from before had smashed his way down the elevator shaft. "Or not."

Pushing Tseng away with orders to flee, Spirit turned to face her enemy. He was an unnaturally massive man. His red eyes and dreadlocks only further emphasized his intimidating frame. Only armored pants and a light vest covered his muscular body. She saw that he had some kind of unorthodox weapon on his back.

"Woah? Phantasmia?" her enemy tilted his head upon getting a good look at her, "Ka re? What are the chances I'd run into one of you?"

"It's a small world," Spirit noted. "So you know who I am. Who are you exactly?"

"Hahaha! You can call me Lobo, Phantasmia fem," Lobo grinned at her. "You're lucky that the Main Man doesn't do contracts with Apokolips."

Spirit raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"The Main Man would love to shoot the stercus with someone else on those douche's most wanted list, but I got a contract to fulfill," Lobo reached over his shoulder to grab some sort of claw chain weapon, "Get out of my way or get run over like the keezy fem and stagni potes."

Frowning, Spirit pointed her fingers outward and formed energy around her hands in the shape of claws, "Just try it."

"Are all the goods loaded yet?" the giant man with red skin and a fancy, tailored suit snarled out to his hired guns.

"Yeah, Brick," one of his masked men answered, "They're all packed into the crates."

"Good. Get the crates on the boat," Brick frowned as the rain continued to pour down. "I'm getting out of here. Gonna have to get my suit dry cleaned because of this damn weather."

Sick of the circumstances, Brick began to walk away from the docks. He carefully made his way through the darkness of the night. Even with the dozens of light stands that they set up to help them see, it would be easy to slip with all the falling rain covering the concrete. Grumbling, the giant stepped up to his limo but paused when he saw that all of his tires were slashed.

"Ok! Who's the goddamn dead man that—"

Brick shut up as all of the light stands shattered in bursts of green light, leaving everyone covered in the darkness of the storm. The gunmen began to shout in panic but fortunately kept their fingers off the triggers of their guns. In a panic, the supervillain searched through his pocket for his phone. As he did this, terrified screams sounded out through docks. By the time Brick pulled his phone out and activated its flashlight, half the gunmen had been taken out.

The remaining hired goons finally activated their own lights to see their companions on the ground with their limbs covered in green chains. Two more screams drew their attention to seeing two more of the minions being trapped within the chains. Some of them had been expecting a member of the Batfamily. What they saw was perhaps even worse than that. Dusk's glowing green eyes stared hatefully at them.

Despite knowing that their guns wouldn't work on him, they opened fire at the ghost. Dusk looked at them boredly. Letting the bullets pass through his body, the youngest halfa began to walk forward while spinning Soul Shredder in one hand and gathering green energy in his other hand. He batted soldiers away with the dull side of his blade while covering the retreating enemies with globs of green ectoplasm. Within only a few minutes, the only two people left standing were Dusk and Brick.

"Well, can't say that I was expecting you," Brick mentioned. "Aren't you technically an outlaw?"

"I suppose. I'm one of the few ghosts that stayed on Earth without registering," Dusk shrugged. "Not like authorities are going to hunt me down, though. Not while I'm taking down scum like you."

Brick took off his suit jacket before rolling up the sleeves of his dress shirt, "So you back in the hero business?"

"No. I was just in the neighborhood," Dusk swung Soul Shredder over his shoulder, "You ready yet?"

"Yeah. I've got to hand it to you, boy," Brick rushed forward. "At least you got some manners!"

Dusk floated up and easily dodged Brick's wild swing. Knowing that the giant's endurance was too much for his attacks to actually do any damage, the halfa guided his foe through the docks towards a large puddle of water. Once Brick was standing in the water, Dusk waited until Brick threw a wild enough punch to become off balanced before hitting the villain with a green glowing kick. Just as the explosion of ectoplasm rocked against his head, Brick slipped on the puddle and tumbled onto his back.

Before he could get up, Brick froze when he felt the tip of Soul Shredder point right at his neck. He glared up at the halfa, "I know you won't kill me, boy. Don't put out threats you know you can't keep."

"It's not a threat," Dusk noted. "Before I end this, though, I have to ask you some things. Why sex trafficking? That's a whole different animal than what you've done before."

Brick sneered, "Isn't it obvious? The money was good. Besides, if I didn't do it, someone else would have. Might as well get something out of it."

"Where were they going?" Dusk questioned.

"Somewhere down in Africa. There's an auction going down there," Brick answered. "From there, I have no clue. Whoever bids the highest I guess?"

"Who are the people in charge?"

"No way, kid. I'd rather not be killed in my sleep."

"Fair enough. I just have one more question," Dusk's eyes narrowed, "What were you planning to do with the two girls in your limo?"

Brick's eyes gained a demented glint.

"I thought so," Dusk stabbed his blade forward. Brick's eyes widened in horror as Soul Shredder pierced his neck. Before he could realize that there was no blood, though, he popped out of existence. Sheathing the blade, Dusk turned towards the crates. He would just leave Brick in a dimension of fear for a little while.

With all the enemies dealt with, Dusk floated over to the nearest crate. He ripped the doors off to show the terrified women huddled together on the inside of the box. They mumbled in terror upon seeing the ghost but calmed a little once they saw the DP symbol on his clothing.

"Don't worry. I'm here to free you."

Vlad slid his hands into his pockets while he slowly dragged his eyes across the dusty room. It had been a long time since the family had visited the chamber of shrines. Either people were too busy, or the memories were too painful. The large memorial room's marble floor was covered with dozens of different stones honoring the memories of both fallen allies and enemies.

Desiree, Vortex, Klemper, Skulker, Kent Nelson, Agent Z, Scribe The Ghost Writer, Solomon Grundy, Freakshow, Red Huntress, Wulf, Spectre, Secret, Arthur Curry Jr., the Brain, Monsieur Mallah, Klarion, Ocean Master, Cujo, Lady Shiva, David Cain, Doctor Fate, Jason Blood, Robin II, Joker, Clockwork, Fright Night, Aquagirl, Aquaman, Pandora, Beast Boy, Youngblood, The Black Hand, Walker, Nekron, Blue Beatle II, Artemis

"Too many names," Vlad whispered to the silent chamber. The saddest part was that more names would mostly likely join the others in time. With a shake of his head, the halfa turned to exit the memorial room. It might need to be cleaned, but he couldn't stay in there for more than a few minutes.

Upon exiting the forsaken section of the mansion, he was greeted by the empty hallways of his home. Unlike the mostly empty space behind him, the passages through the manor were spotlessly clean and decorated with the finest furnishing available. The imported carpet squished beneath his toes. Beautiful paintings hung from every wall. Despite the rich beauty of the home, the silence made Vlad's insides turn. Ever since he moved to Amity Park after the Nasty Burger Incident, there always seemed to be some commotion around the building. Yet, now, he was met with only an eerie hush.

As he passed by the abandoned rooms of long since deceased family members, Vlad remembered the times where the doors were always filled with life. He often grumbled about the noisy ways of the children. Yet, he never meant it. Noise was always better than the solitude of twenty years which he had been forced to endure after his transformation.

Unwilling to linger, Vlad rushed to his shared room with Vision. Not wanting to awaken his wife, Vlad turned intangible in order to step through the door. Like most of the mansion, the décor of their personal chamber was rich. The only major differences were the various family pictures hanging from the walls.

'Also the pillows,' Vlad mentally noted as he carefully stepped over said head cushions. 'So many pillows."

Using his ghost powers to his advantage, the halfa gently floated into his bed so that he wouldn't disturb his wife's slumber—

"You stayed up later than expected," Vision mumbled to him from her spot beside him.

Vlad sighed. Knowing that he wouldn't wake her any more than she was, he slipped an arm over her back to cuddle with her, "I went to visit the Memorial Room."

Vision was silent for a moment upon hearing that, "I see…"

"It was dusty. I'll use some duplicates to clean it tomorrow," Vlad lovingly rubbed at her extended stomach.

"What brought up this sudden visit?" Vision questioned.

"The New Year and…our child," Vlad closed his eyes, "I don't want him to suffer through the same things as the other half-ghosts have."

"He won't. We won't let him," Vision tried to sound certain, but the fatigue in her voice ruined it. He couldn't imagine the strain that growing a half-ghost in one's body involved.

"Yes. We won't. Sleep now. You need the rest," Vlad whispered gently into her ear.

"No. No, I'm…fine…" Vision's breath began to grow steady. He could easily tell that she lost the battle with slumber. Satisfied with being next to his love, Vlad steadily began to work towards his own rest. A sudden force from his wife's stomach caused his eyes to snap open. His son had just kicked! He felt like cheering! Vision had to…She was still sleeping.

Realizing that she must be exhausted, Vlad let her be. Instead, the man began to cheer in his mind about his son slowly being formed within the love of his life. Soon enough, he would be born…into a world that was about to be invaded by aliens. Would they be after the child for what he was? Would his son be raised in a battle between worlds? Would his son…No, his children…No, his entire family be killed?

"No," Vlad lightly hissed. He wouldn't let that happen. Gaining a light glow, Vlad floated up from the duplicate he left to spoon with his wife. Then, he fazed through the floor in order to head towards his secret lab. There was no way that he was going to let any of his family suffer any more at the hands of Earth's enemies. He was going to stop the alien invasion, and the first step of that was getting the information from his captive.

This time, though, he wasn't going to be so nice about it.

Spirit grunted as she was sent flying through wooden doors and into the UN's massive meeting hall. Before she crashed, she flipped around and landed on her feet before skidding to a halt. A panicked cry behind her told her that Tseng had only managed to get this far in his run. Mentally cursing, Spirit lifted up a hand to rub away the little bit of green blood that was trickling down from her nose.

Lobo hit hard, harder than any meta-human Spirit had ever fought. He caused her to bleed despite blocking the hit. What made things worse was that the claw weapon that he had been swinging around canceled out her intangibility. Add in the fact than none of her attacks seemed to even leave a mark on him, and he proved to be a juggernaut of a fighter.

The strange man clapped as he walked into the room, "The Main Man is impressed. He put one hundred percent behind that punch. Only ten percent of people across the universe can take on my full power and live."

Spirit wasn't scared. She had faced against stronger foes with worse odds. This guy was a complete unknown. There was no way to know his limits. Just one punch sent her flying. She could easily predict his movements, but there was no way to block his attacks.

Sudden movement from behind Lobo alerted Spirit that her friends had caught up to the fight. While Wonder Girl swept his legs out, Cyborg dropped pellets that created rapidly hardened foam to trap Lobo to the ground. By the time that her companions had rejoined her, Lobo had already broken free.

"It didn't even slow him down," Cyborg growled. "How do we beat him?"

"We'll figure it out as we go," Spirit glanced to Tseng. "But we can't beat him with raw power. Time for speed and tactics."

In a blur of green, Spirit separated into four different version of herself. One went over to Tseng to cover him in an ectoplasmic dome. The other two duplicates rushed forward to attack Lobo. With her copies doing as commanded, the halfa ordered her teammates to attack Lobo in a hit-and-run fashion. Spirit watched as they rushed forward and attacked. As he moved, Cyborg unleashed missiles from his shoulders to rock Lobo back. Even amongst the explosions, the massive enemy still didn't appear wounded at all.

The group of four buzzed around Lobo like flies. They rocked him with blows that kept him off balance. Just as he righted himself and was about to swipe one of them away, the others would send him staggering again. Spirit frowned as she watched the fight. No matter what they did, Lobo wasn't so much as tickled. Even Wonder Girl's demigod powered hits barely did more than lightly move his head.

Spirit's mind turned with different tactics. Trapping him wouldn't work. Blows to his neck didn't seem to affect him any more than other blows. He still seemed protective of his groin. The eyes and ears were still vulnerable.

"Okay! Wonder Girl, go low! Cyborg, eyes!" Spirit summoned her two attacking duplicates before rushing forward herself.

Wonder Girl obeyed with a massive kick to Lobo's groin. The man grunted in pain before bending over just in time for Cyborg to blast him in the eyes with his sonic canon. Knowing that Lobo would not see her coming, Spirit charged both of her hands with as much ectoplasm as she could muster. Giving a giant battle cry, she slammed her palms on either of his ears, flooding his hearing canals with burning energy.

Lobo cried out in pain while clutching at his face before falling to his knees. Tired from the attacks, the trio of heroes moved back while breathing hard. To their absolute shock, Lobo recovered within seconds. He was already back on his feet while shaking his head.

"He's not even a little hurt," Wonder Girl muttered in awe, "There's no way that he's mortal."

Spirit was at a loss for words. Lobo hadn't shown any powers that would negate the attacks. That meant that he took the deadly blows like they were bug bites. As far as she knew, only Superman could do something like that.

"She's right," Spirit nodded. Lobo couldn't be from Earth. There was no supernatural energy or technology behind his power. He was just that naturally tough. Only an alien could be like that. Then why would he be after Tseng? She needed answers. The halfa focused on her Premonition ability to read Lobo's deepest intentions.

'Recover. Get past annoying Earthlings. Capture Krolotean in disguise."

Krolotean in disguise? Spirit's eyes snapped to Tseng, who was still hidden beneath her remaining duplicate's energy field.

'Get away from Main Man. Hide secret from Earthlings.'

Spirit's eyes flashed in recognition. Ignoring her friend's questioning gazes, she rushed to Tseng and absorbed her final duplicate. Tseng began crying out for her assistance, but the halfa ignored him. Instead, she turned her hand intangible before thrusting it into Tseng's head. She then slowly dragged the arm downward before she found her target. Face twisting in rage, Spirit pulled a strange green creature out from Tseng's stomach. With a shocked look on its face, the fake Tseng tumbled to the ground lifelessly.

"You have to be kidding me," Spirit mumbled to herself. She was so distracted by the discovery that she didn't hear the warnings from her friends and Premonition about Lobo's next attack. The halfa was sent flying into the far wall before it collapsed upon her. It only took a few seconds for her to recover, but by the time she pushed through the rubble, Lobo had already grabbed the 'Krolotean,' blown open a wall to the outside, and jumped onto a floating motorcycle.

"Good fight, Phantasmia fem!" Lob called back to her as he flew up into orbit, "We should do it again some time, if you don't get killed by what's coming your way next! Hahahahahahahahaha!"

"Oh my God," Cyborg gasped. "An alien infiltrated the UN!"

"If they could get to someone so high up…" Wonder Girl grew pale. "Who else could be aliens?"

"Anyone," Spirit frowned. "It looks like things are going to get crazy again."

"Everything down there was taken care of, Gear. I left all the evidence I found with the police. Make sure that the League investigates that auction," Dusk stood on a roof overlooking the police's takeover of the docks. They were rounding up all of Brick's goons while attempting to comfort and question the women.

"Roger that. Stay safe out there, man."

"You too," once the connection was cut, Dusk turned around, "What are you doing here, Mal?

"Can't I come by to visit a friend?" Mal was an extremely muscular man wearing a blue hooded cloak. He stepped forward to show his silver armor and mask. In his right hand stood the famous Horn of Gabriel.

"Considering that it's been over a year since I last saw you, I'm going to say no," Dusk tilted his head to the side. "What do you want?"

"Just following the flow of the universe," Mal walked next to the halfa to examine the scene below, "Good to see that you've kept up your skills."

"Still would have appreciated some help," Dusk mentioned.

"And you will get it soon enough," Mal stated cryptically. "Tell me…what was your intention when you stabbed Brick?"

Dusk was silent.

"I see. It seems that your journey has yet to give the answers you seek," Mal hummed in thought. "Inner peace is hard to find."

"You found it in a day," Dusk muttered dryly.

"It is also hard to keep. Conflicting interests make life difficult," Mal mentioned. "Karin isn't very happy with me lately."

"Oh…Sorry," Dusk rubbed the back of his head. "You know that I'm not the best person for advice on romance, right?"

"For now," Mal looked over to Dusk, "I have a request."

"You do?"

"Indeed. I wish to accompany you to your next destination."

"Why?"

"Because that is the direction that the flow is taking me."

"Do you even know where I'm going?"

"Nope."

Dusk sighed, "I'm heading to Japan. Black Bat wanted to meet with me about something."

"Very well. I shall accompany you there," Mal nodded.

Dusk blinked, "Didn't you just say that you were having problems with your girlfriend? Shouldn't you focus on that?"

"I would, but she's busy tonight," Mal raised the Horn of Gabriel to his lips. With a quick blow, he created a blue portal which showed an opening to Tokyo, Japan, "Besides, I've learned that going with the flow of the universe often leads to the best possible outcome."

"Whatever you say, oh mighty Herald," Dusk shrugged while stepping through the portal. "But at least having you around decreases my travel time."

Vlad stared at the twitching form of the Krolotean. Yes, he finally got the species name. After memorizing as much as he could of the translation, he used his overshadowing ability to dive head first into the alien's mind. From there, it wasn't difficult at all to find the information he wanted. If any of his kids found out about this, they would have been disgusted. They were always the hero types, but Vlad never considered himself that. He was always a man that held his own interests above everything else, even morality.

Fortunately, the little pest would recover quickly enough, so he wouldn't have to listen to arguments about lobotomizing people in case others found out. Plus, he could overshadow it again for infiltration. Considering the number of teleportation stations the Kroloteans seemed to have, he might need such an advantage. It seemed as though they used the same concept as the Zeta Tubes, so it would be simple enough to sabotage some machinery and trap them for the Justice League to find.

While the solution to stopping the Kroloteans was simple, the reason behind the secret invasion was far from logical. From what this alien knew, the Light had partnered with them to gain information and footholds in the galaxy. Vlad didn't know how that would work, though. The Kroloteans had a thieving culture. They were very low in the rankings in the universe. In some ways, they were even lower than humans.

"The Light would never partner with them. Even the tech that the Kroloteans would provide would be second hand. They must be using them for something," Vlad stroked his chin in thought and looked over the notes that he put on his computer screen, "A stepping stone perhaps? But for what?"

He didn't have enough pieces to guess what the rest of the puzzle was. It was doubtful that the Kroloteans would know too much else, either. He would have to get closer to the Light to figure out their plans. If there was one really big thing that he found out, though, was that the threats from outside their solar system were far worse than he thought. The still stunned Krolotean feared many names throughout the universe. Vlad could only hope that the Light didn't draw too much attention. Especially if there was a planet out there really called Apokolips.

That was a worry for another time, though. First thing that he had to worry about was dealing with the Kroloteans. Luckily, the little thief in his lab had been acting independently to try to get a promotion. No other alien was targeting his family right now, and the Kroloteans would still try to work undetected. He had time to deal with them without anyone interfering.

A sudden buzzing from Vlad's phone directed his attention away from the computer screen. He raised an eyebrow upon seeing how many messages he was receiving at such an unusual hour. Picking up the phone, the halfa quickly realized why acquaintances were messaging him. A video of a Krolotean being unmasked had gone viral, and of course it involved his daughter.

"Damn it all to hell."

"Danny!"

Danny Fenton didn't even look up from his desk as the doors to his office were shattered with a spray of pink light. He just calmly finished his latest bit of paperwork before slowly lifting his eyes. Before him stood a woman outfitted in a purple dress over dark spandex pants. The pale skin of her shoulders and neck were exposed, leading all the way up to her heart shaped face. Slitted, pink eyes stared at him. Her magenta hair pointed into two horns made her look even more intimidating.

"Hello, Jinx," Danny greeted her with a smile. "How can I—Woah!"

Jinx grabbed him by his tie and pulled him forward, "Since when have you been a member of the Light?"

Two security guards rushed into the room. Dressed completely in armor, it was difficult to tell what they looked like, but one was obviously male while the other was female. Danny stopped them from attacking by raising a single hand.

"If you'd be willing to let go of me and take a seat, I'd be more than happy to explain," Danny carefully stated.

Huffing, Jinx released her former lover. She stepped back further into his office and took a seat on the couch. The assassin ignored the rest of the rich décor behind her. Every wall was lined with book shelves. Any empty space was taken up by schematics of old projects that Danny was obviously proud of.

"Start talking," Jinx hissed.

"Of course," Danny motioned for the guards to stand behind him. "I've been filling the Brain's place in the Light for about six months now."

"Six months!?" Jinx's energy flared. "How did I not know about this until now?"

"I asked to keep it a secret until the New Year. It would be easier for everyone if no one outside of the Light knew my identity until our plans began," Danny explained.

"So that you could interfere in Dad's plans," Jinx argued.

"No. So that I could be a surprise that the Justice League wouldn't expect," Danny shrugged.

"This has to be a joke," Jinx glared at him. "You were the biggest hero I've ever known. Everything that you ever did was for your obsession."

"My obsession? You act like I'm still a ghost," Danny frowned. "Danny Phantom's dead now. He was the hero. Fenton never was. Half of who you used to know is gone."

Jinx seemed taken aback by the hardness in his features, "It couldn't have caused this much of a change."

Danny raised an eyebrow, "Remember Dark Dan?"

Jinx went pale.

"I thought so. Unlike him, though, I value humanity. It needs to be at the absolute top of the universe," Danny explain. "That's the only way for things to change. I've watched too many of the people I love die doing things the 'hero' way. It's time to get things done with the better way."

"Still, I'll need proof that you—" Jinx paused in her sentence when Danny threw her his phone. She glanced at the screen to the image. "Oh my God…"

"Did you really think that they would accept me without proof of my dedication?" Danny shrugged. "A few chickens can die as long as there are enough eggs to replace them."

Jinx stood up from the couch and slowly strode over to the desk where she placed the phone back down, "Is this really you?"

"Yes. It is."

"Then…Then why did you break my heart!" Jinx slammed her heart onto the desk, causing it to shatter. The guards jumped next to her. Before she could send them flying, the armor suddenly shattered. The man transformed into a giant humanoid beast made completely of concrete. The woman took the form of a pale banshee with white hair and hollowed cheeks. Upon seeing them, the enchantress knew better than to escalate the situation. "You broke up with me because of our difference in ideals."

Jinx's eyes widened when she felt the cold steel of a gun be pressed to the back of her head, "No. I broke up with you because your loyalty to your father was greater than your loyalty to me."

Pink eyes looked back to see Danny holding the gun. She turned back just in time to see who she thought to be the real Fenton changed into a trench coat wearing ghost with no face, "Having someone stand in your place? You really are different."

"Amorpho was never in any danger," Danny shrugged. "He was just there to prove a point."

"You knew I was coming," Jinx realized.

"Of course I did," Danny removed the gun away from her head. At the same time, Cinderblock and the Silver Banshee stepped away from her. "I know you."

"Then you know that I have to tell my father everything," Jinx turned around to face him. "What's going to stop me?"

"Well…The first thing is the last meeting we had," Danny left the threat hanging in the air. "Second…well…"

"It's me, Sugar Bits."

Jinx turned to see Ember step over the destroyed parts of the door, "Excuse me?"

Ember smirked, "Try revealing Danny's past. I dare you."

Jinx tried to do just that. Her eyes widened when her words got caught in her throat. She tried again several times before she knew that something was wrong, "What did you do to me?"

"To you specifically? Nothing. To the entire world? What I do best, pinky. Put subtle messages in my music," Ember lazily played her guitar. "Pretty symbol stuff. Love my music. Buy from Fenton Works. Never speak of Danny Fenton's secrets."

Jinx gasped, "You didn't."

"Of course I did," Ember gained a huge grin. "I support my man, just like he supports me. That's how a relationship works, sweetheart."

"But you worked with the heroes before," Jinx argued.

"I did, but I never called myself one," Ember stuck her tongue out. "I do what I want. Always have. Always will."

Jinx shook her head. There must be a way around this.

"There isn't," Danny seemed to read her thoughts. "Now, I have to ask you to leave. It's getting late, and I want to enjoy a few hours outside of work."

Obviously displeased, Jinx stormed out of the room. Just as she was about to leave, Ember whispered to her, "I warned you that this would happen."

Once Jinx had left, Ember walked over to her lover. Danny addressed his companions before getting to her, "Damon. Harriet. Amorpho. You are all dismissed. Thank you for your help."

Seeing that their work was done, Danny's enforcers left the room as well. Now alone, the couple embraced. They shared a quick kiss before pulling back. Danny smiled at her, "Thanks."

"I knew that you were worried about confronting her. I'm happy to put the last nail on the coffin," Ember looked satisfied that any possibility of Jinx stealing her man away was crushed.

Danny nodded, "With that dealt with, I can deal with the fallout of Lobo's mission without worrying."

"But that…" Ember forcefully pulled his tie so that her lips were gently pressed to his ear, "can wait until tomorrow."

Danny smiled, "Whatever you say."