Chapter 33: Together

Disclaimer: I own nothing

"Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much."

Helen Keller

Chapter 33: "Together"

(Sunday-January 2, 2011)

"Are you sure this plan will work?" Batman questioned from the image on the Bioship's window.

"Not at all." Phantom stated to the screen. "But I'm not hearing anyone coming up with better ideas."

"He's right, Batman. Our options are limited right now." Vision sounded through the ship. Unlike Batman, she did not appear on the screen. This was because she was flying right outside the Bioship.

"So we're going to just take a gamble on this and abandon the assault plan?" Batman questioned. "Our plan with the Light is solid. They use their scattered forces to draw as much as Freakshow's attention away from this fight as possible by trying to outstage him with chaos and bruise his ego, while we bring the fight to him. If we change the plan now, we might fail horribly."

"Wouldn't it be smarter to have the Light help?" Rocket questioned.

"They are too scattered, and I don't trust some of them not to stab us in the back." Batman sighed. "This is the safest plan Vision and I could come up with."

"We don't plan to abandon the all-out assault. All we want is a chance to go ahead and see if Danny's plan works." Robin spoke up.

"So you're willing to risk your lives on this gamble?" Batman questioned.

"Well, Phantom's plan originally to go himself. We refused to let him do that." Kaldur stated.

"So the ten of you-"

"Twelve!" Spirit spoke up.

"We are going as well." Dusk stated with crossed arms.

"So the twelve of you are going to attack Freakshow, an enemy that proved to be almost untouchable by normal means, by using the outrageous plan to use the Mirror of Memories. An item, I remind you, I thought was completely destroyed." Batman glared at them. "And you expect me to order everyone to support that plan?"

"Yes." Phantom nodded. His eyes showed conviction. "Because it will work."

"…Fine." Batman nodded. "I will order everyone make a path for you."

"We'll be ready to protect the Bioship in case anything happens." Vision spoke out.

"Thanks." Phantom nodded as the connection was cut. "Dear God, I hope this plan works."

"If it makes you feel better, I think your plan is better than the one we had before." Zatanna mentioned.

"It definitely is, but…not by too much. Especially since you just came out of a coma." Robin mentioned.

"Dude!" Kid Flash elbowed Robin's side. "Don't be a jerk."

"And this is coming from Wally." Artemis snorted. "You know what you said was stupid if Kid Mouth think it was dumb."

"My girlfriend is so supportive…" Wally mentioned.

"Hey, I'm just saying." Robin shrugged.

"He does have a point." Superboy crossed his arms. "We're not just going to the center, we have to go halfway around the perimeter before heading to Freakshow."

"I'll be careful as I fly." M'gann mentioned from her spot on at the helm.

"That's not the issue. We couldn't dodge Freakshow's attack before, right?" Superboy frowned.

"That's why we have so many people around us ready to protect the ship. And why Batman's having the Leaguers and ghosts pave a way for us." Red Huntress mentioned.

"It would help if I could form a shield around the ship, but I don't think I can make one that big that could stop any real damage." Rocket sighed.

"That is fine. We will just have to use the resources we can." Kaldur mentioned.

"But will that be enough?" Phantom sighed. "Okay…Dusk, give it to me straight, does this plan have any chance of success?"

"Why are you asking him?" Spirit questioned.

"Because he's my logic guy."

"What?! Why not ask me?! I'm logical!"

"No you're not."

"…Yeah, I'm not." Spirit admitted. "Alright Dusk, how good's our chances?"

Without looking at anyone, Dusk raised his hand so that it was parallel with the floor. He waved it around. "Meh…"

"Meh? Your answer is meh?" Phantom questioned.

"Yep."

"…I'll take it."

"This is not going to be fun." Plasmius mentioned. He, along with the other people with him, were flying beside the Bioship.

"It is not…" Vision agreed tiredly. She was flying on the right side of the Bioship. She was at the opposite end that Plasmius was guarding. "It has been nonstop for all of us for the past three days. I look forward to a hot bath after this."

"Tsk…" Nyx frowned. She flew above the Bioship. "Even I'm sick of all this, and I love the chaos."

"I've been tired of all this since the beginning..." Secret mentioned. "And at least you got a break. I've been working nonstop since this started. I just want to rest."

"The bad thing is…We still have to clean up the mess after this is done." Raven sighed. She flew beside Nyx. "I hate my life."

"Could you not be so depressing?" Cassandra glared back at the girl. "It's ruining my prebattle meditation."

"How can you even meditate?" Etrigan the Demon questioned the girl on his back. The demon possessed Jason Blood was leading the Bioship forward. "We are thousands of meters above the ground."

"I have been trained in worse conditions." Cassandra noted.

"Um…Why are you even here?" Nyx questioned. "You have no powers."

"Don't act like I can't fight, because I could definitely defeat you." Cassandra noted.

"Excuse me!?" Nxy snapped at the assassin.

"Besides…" Cassandra ignored Nyx. "My parents are out there fighting. I must go to them."

"…" Nyx looked away. "Yeah well…I guess I want to help my Mom too, so I won't kick your ass right now…I'll wait until after all this is done…"

"Stay focused." Plasmius ordered. "We are drawing close to the battle. We cannot be caught unaware."

"Grr…" Wulf growled. He was bothered by something, and it wasn't the inability to use his powers to get to Freakshow. The ringmaster had altered reality around him so that nothing could teleport near him and not portals could open beside him. Wulf's powers were useless right now, but still, there was something else he didn't like. "Where Black Ring users?"

Everyone was silent for a moment.

Vision was the first to speak up. "They refused to follow orders. I saw them disappear as we were leaving."

"What if they attack us?" Raven questioned.

"That is doubtful." Plasmius mentioned. "They went through a lot of effort already to try and stop Freakshow. They are out allies until this is all over. I am sure that they will do something to aid the fight against Freakshow."

"But what about after?" Etrigan questioned. "What if they attack us while we are weakened like Freakshow did?"

"…We will just have to deal with that problem when it arrives."

"Ah!" Freakshow leaned back on his thrown of silk, leather, and jewels. "Now this is living!"

Lydia was silent as she stood at his side.

Both of the circus people were at the top of a large brick tower that stood far above even the tallest of skyscrapers. They were even above the clouds at this point. Freakshow enjoyed the idea that he was above everyone else in the world. The Master of all Reality also enjoyed the view. It wasn't the view from the top of the tower that made him smile, however. No, it was the holographic images that amused the ringmaster.

All around the tower were images of various other locations across the planet. Freakshow watched as the world was thrown into chaos. Land crumbled. Tsunamis crashed. Hurricanes flied. People cried and ran in terror. Heroes and villains alike were trying to fight their way to the center of the storm chaos.

Freakshow scoffed at them. It was impossible to get him. Through the use of the Reality Gauntlet, he locked every possible way to teleport here. The sky was too filled with storms to come from space. The ground was too hard to dig under, and he made it so that intangibility was impossible.

Feeling generous, though, Freakshow actually gave them a small chance to get to him. It was possible to fight to the center of all the chaos. It was near impossible to do that, though. Freakshow created giant bats, snakes, zombies, and monsters to protect him from all sides. The wounded and exhausted fighters would never even get close.

"Why give them a small glimpse of hope?" Lydia questioned. "You could easily make it so no one could get to you."

"And where's the fun in that?" Freakshow leaned to the side of his throne and beamed up at the woman. "If there is absolutely no chance for failure, then this would be boring. It feels good to win, but what is the point if there is no chance to lose?"

"The chances of them even getting to us is less than one percent." Lydia mentioned. "And the chances of them defeating you after that is even lower…to the point that it could be considered virtually impossible. What difference is it if the chances of you losing is virtually zero compared to literally zero?"

"I suppose…I just love seeing them see that small light at the end of tunnel without any real chance of getting to it. It's hilarious to watch them struggle. Of course, if they even get a little close, I'll erase their very existence."

"Were you always this cruel?" Lydia gained a saddened look.

"No, not always." Freakshow shrugged. "Not before you died, at least. Speaking of which, I can turn your body into one of flesh now if you want. You can be human again."

"…" Lydia paused in thought. "Not now. I shall wait until this is done. Then I will allow you to change me into a human."

"Oh? Why is that?" Freakshow questioned.

"I want to see how this plays out." Lydia answered. "Before I turn into a human, I wish to see if it was a mistake of you to give them even the smallest bit of hope."

Freakshow snorted. "Whatever you say. I won't argue. When this last little 'fight' is over, then we shall celebrate. It won't take too long. In fact, I'll just…Wait, what's going on?"

The Master of All Reality waved his hand. Three different pictures zoomed from different angles and stopped in front of him. They all showed similar scenes.

"What?!" Superman's eyes widened as a black wave of energy blasted through the area and destroyed the various monsters Freakshow created to fight them.

"You!" The masked Green Lantern glared at the person who helped them.

"Do not fret." Hotep Ra mentioned. "I am here to assist you."

"What why should we believe that?" The Fright Knight glared at the Black Ring user.

"Because I wish to stop Freakshow as well." Hotep Ra answered. "And right now, you need all the help you can get."

"ROAR!" Aragon in dragon form charged into battle. His black flames decimated all that they touched.

"Why is he helping us?" Captain Marvel questioned as he floated above the dragon.

"Freakshow is a threat to all." The Spectre noted. "It is in his best interest to fight with us."

"By why chose here?" Icon questioned. "We are probably one of the groups that need the least amount of help."

"…We are on the opposite side as Phantom's group." Spectre mentioned. "Perhaps…He is trying to draw attention away from there…"

"…Then we should give him some help." Captain Marvel grinned.

"Nocturne…" Doctor Fate glared at the sleep ghost. "Give me one reason why I should not destroy you where you stand."

"Because if you do that, the Sleep Walkers will disappear." Nocturne gestured above to the thousands of Sleep Walkers that were helping them fight.

"Why are you helping us?" Zatara held his wand towards the Black Ring user. "You have always been our enemy."

"Well, I don't want Freakshow to do anymore damage." Nocturne grunted. "The more he does, the more challenge we will have in the future."

"I do not believe that we need your help." Martian Manhunter stated. "We should just subdue him now and save us some trouble later."

"Idiot!" Nocturne rolled his eyes. "I know this group doesn't need my help. But that's the reason for that. My group decided that our powers would best be used with the most powerful groups away from Freakshow. That way, all of the freak's attention will be drawn to one side of the perimeter…Away from the side with Phantom and Colossus."

"I see…" Doctor Fate nodded. "That will give Danny an open window to go through."

"It boosts our chances of success by a lot." Zatara agreed. "But…I still don't trust you."

"And you shouldn't. But until this is all over, we really don't have a choice but to work together." Nocturne mentioned.

"…Then let us fight." Martian Manhunter stated.

"The Black Ring users?" Freakshow frowned. "I did not think they would appear…"

Lydia frowned as well.

"This will be more difficult." Freakshow mentioned. "I can defeat them with the Gauntlet, but I can't use the Gauntlet directly from this distance. They have too much of resistance to it…"

Lydia knew that was true. She frowned at the screens. Those three locations were relatively close to each other across the perimeter. They were spread out through about a third of the circle of people attacking them. "Why are they on one side…and fighting beside some of the strongest members of the League and Council?"

"They must be trying to push their way into the center." Freakshow smiled. "Smart, but it won't work. I'll just put more energy over there."

"What about the other areas?" Lydia questioned

"Please. Even if those weaklings get here, I'll destroy them." Freakshow waved off her concerns arrogantly.

"…Are you sure?" Lydia questioned. "Perhaps-"

"Silence! I already made up my mind!" Freakshow glared at her.

Lydia looked down at the man she loved. "Very well. I shall not advice you anymore."

"What?" Miss Martian blinked. They managed to get into the chaos of the fight. Oddly enough, it was lighter than she anticipated. "Thought there would literally be a wall of enemies…"

"Something happened." Kaldur mentioned. "From the reports, there were a lot more creatures than that."

"…Phantom to Batman." Phantom addressed the communication device. The Dark Knight's image appeared once again on the screen. "Batman, did something happen? The line seems lighter than what you described."

"So you noticed it as well…" Batman nodded. "The Black Lanterns have apparently began assisting some of the more powerful groups in their assault. The result is that Freakshow seemingly turned most of his attention that way."

"That gives us an opening." Dusk realized.

"Did they plan that?" Kid Flash questioned.

"It is possible. Nocturne was always a cunning enemy." Batman stated.

"With Freakshow distracted by Black Lanterns, the Light's forces across the planet, and the other Leaguers, we should take advantage of this now." Vision's voice sounded through the Bioship. "Young Justice, you need to move as quickly as possible to Colossus then head to the center. Plasmius and I will create an opening with the League members ahead."

"That's GA, RA, and Black Canary…" Artemis mentioned. "Are…you on good enough terms with them to work with them?"

"We will manage." Vision mentioned. "Get ready to move, we're going ahead now. Move around the circle. The people surrounding the ship will do their best to protect it."

"I will inform everyone to stop pushing to the center. Instead, they'll focus on drawing as much attention away from you as possible." Batman noted.

"Right." Phantom nodded. "We'll get this done."

"…I'm sure you will. Batman out."

"Take care, Danny. Vision out."

"Things are getting interesting…." Superboy mentioned. "Should I get Sphere from the back and give the others some support?"

"No, we need the Supercycle to be in good condition when we get to Freakshow." Phantom instructed.

"Right!" Spirit beamed. "And it's not like my friends need any help. They're pretty awesome."

Plasmius charged forward with energy blazing around him. As he flew into the chaos, he flung balls of energy to the various creatures that Freakshow created to combat them. As the balls of energy drew close to the creatures, they expanded. The magenta colored energy tore through the freakish enemies with ease.

"Woah!" Green Arrow paused in his shot. "That was super effective."

"Stay focused!" Red Arrow snapped. He was not in the mood for any of this. If this wasn't a worldwide threat, he wouldn't even be here. "We need to keep working to make an opening for the Team."

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" Black Canary ended her Canary cry. The sound easily dispatched the enemies around them. Unfortunately, she could not keep that up forever, and they would be defenseless. "Huff…They keep getting closer...pant…"

"Then perhaps I can help!" Vision floated behind them. She raised her arms. Hundreds of small balls of energy began to orbit around them. They moved so quickly, the energy balls appeared to be merely blurry lines. When the creatures got close to the balls of energy, they were quickly torn apart and destroyed in a blaze of energy.

"You…" Black Canary glared at the other woman.

"I know that you probably have a grudge against me, but there is not time for that." Vision mentioned. "We must focus on the fight."

"She's right, Canary." Green Arrow nodded to the ghost woman. "We have to work together now. We can be mad later."

"Fine, but how do you expect us to fight like this?" Black Canary questioned. "Your shield will stop all our attacks."

"When the archers fire their arrows, I will alter the course of my energy balls so the arrows will get past." Vision explained. "As for you, I will lend you some of my Visual Birds. Use their images to confuse the creature and destroy them with your Canary Cry."

"…Alright." Black Canary nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

"Then let's do it!" Red Arrow fired a few explosive arrows into the air. Like Vision said, the arrows got past the orbit of energy balls. The arrows all hit their targets and caused large explosives.

"Right!" Green Arrow began to fire as well.

"Haha…" Plasmius smirked from above as the explosive arrows helped him clear a path. After a quick wave of ectoplasmic energy destroyed enough creatures to give the Bioship room to move, the alien ship rocketed past the group and continued on their mission.

"Break a leg, Daniel." Plasmius mentioned. "Preferably Freakshow's leg."

The Batwing, a black aircraft shaped a bit like a bat, flew through the air. Different blasts of energy flew off the jet's ectoplasmic weapons. They left devastation in their path. Originally, he was with Pandora's group, but his weapons and plane gave him an edge and protection, so he went to an area that would need his help more.

"That's impressive!" Ember grinned. She strummed her guitar and sent out a shockwave of sound energy that blasted a lot of different creatures away from her. She looked back to the jet that was flying a decent distance away from her. "How you doing in that hunk of metal, Bats?"

"As good as expected." Batman's voice sounded in her Fenton Phone earpiece. "But I am the one with protection. How are you doing?"

"Me? I'm rocking it!" Ember's hair extended out in flames. She waved it around and sent a torrent of fire out around her.

"I see…" Batman frowned out the window at her. He was familiar with Ember. She was a ghost that used to date Phantom, but when they broke up, she became a rockstar. Oddly enough, she almost reminded the Dark Knight of that other fire ghost Torch. "What about you, Atom? Are the ectoplasmic cannons responding well enough?"

The shrinking hero nodded. He was deem within the weapons of the Batwing preforming maintenance on the machines. He wasn't that much of a fighter, but tech like this was definitely up his ally. "I'm repairing any damage I can find and am keeping the firing power at maximum. We should be able to keep this up for a while."

"Good, we need to keep this up as long as possible to give the Team time to get the Freakshow." Batman instructed.

"That I can do…" Ember nodded. She wasn't by his side now, but she would always support Danny when he needed her help.

"Woah!" Nyx used a wave of shadow energy to destroy a wave of freakish creatures. "These things are everywhere!"

"Duh…" Raven rolled her eyes. "That's why we're protecting the Bioship."

"I've faced worse odds!" Etrgan swiped at some of the flying bats and snakes.

"RAW!" Wulf and Cujo were ahead of the group. They tore through the creatures with ease.

"Honestly, what did you expect?" Secret questioned. "Did you expect a picnic?"

"You really have been hanging around us too much." Raven muttered. "You're getting super sarcastic."

"I knew this wasn't going to be easy, but…Hey there's my mom!" Nyx's eyes lit up.

"We reached the second checkpoint." Cassandra noted.

"Awesome!" Nyx grinned. "This is our stop! Come on, Greta! Let's do this! Good luck you guys!"

"Yipee...more fighting..." Secret sighed.

"Don't die, you two." Raven gave a halfhearted wave.

"Stay safe!" Etrigan ordered. "No student of mine is allowed to lose to these freaks!"

"Right!" Nyx laughed. In a blaze of black energy, the girl rocket from her spot around the Bioship. She was quickly followed by the blazing white smoke of Secret. Many of the creatures followed them. This gave the Bioship room to move forward to the third checkpoint. "Hey Mom!"

"Nyx!? Greta?!" Pandora batted several of the creatures away with an electrically empowered spear. "Are you injured?!"

"I'm fine!" Nyx giggled. "This is pretty fun, right?"

"Secret!" Greta rushed into battle. Her white smoke tore through the creatures, and her old habit of saying one world came back during the adrenaline of battle.

"The battle is always a joyous occasion!" Wonder Woman exclaimed as she stabbed her sword through several different creatures.

"You're fighting by Wonder Bra?" Nyx mentioned loud enough so that Pandora could hear it, but Wonder Woman could not. "That's ironic."

"Yes, that's not lost on me…"

"Hey!" Youngblood raised his canon peg leg into the air and pointed it at the wave of creatures that were still swarming down on them. A massive ball of ectoplasm destroyed them. "Don't bring more enemies to us and ignore them, Nyx!"

"Chuck! Still an adult I see." Nyx snorted. "That look does not suit you. You should go back to being a kid."

"I will as soon as this is done…" Youngblood grunted. "It's not going to be fun to set up the seal again, though…"

"Burn!" Torch swung his scythe around him. Flames danced around in a large ring. When it was completely formed, the fire ghost flung the ring of fire to the various creatures in front of him. They were all bathed in the cleansing power of fire.

Red Tornado was quieter in his attacks. Blasts of wind came out of his and tore through the various freaks around him. Part of the winds caught Torch's flames and spread out the flames even further around them. Both fighters quickly took note of that.

Boom!

Crash!

Torch and Red Tornado were hit by different attacks.

"Ah! Torch thinks we're outnumbered." Torch mentioned

"Indeed we are." Red Tornado nodded. He and the fire ghost back into each other so that their backs were touching. "Can you handle it?"

"Torch can handle anything! Just leave it to Torch!" Torch grinned.

"Do not forget that I am here as well." Red Tornado mentioned.

"You're fighting? Torch didn't notice."

"Is that mockery? Interesting. Are you trying to provoke me into fighting harder?"

"Don't ruin it! Now form a tornado around us!" Torch ordered.

Red Tornado obeyed. Spreading out his arm, the android created a massive whirlwind around them. This sent the creatures around them flying. Torch then added to the attack by swinging a fire coated scythe into it. This created a massive whirlwind of fire that destroyed everything in its path.

"Now that's what Torch is talking about!"

"Huh…" Freakshow frowned at the various images around him. "A lot of the different groups are picking up their fighting. Yet…they're not moving forward."

Lydia was silent.

"I don't get it…" Freakshow looked across the images. "How are they…Ah! The Martian Bioship!"

Lydia looked at the image. The ship was flying overhead of most of the fights. She watched as the blue skinned girl broke off from the group and flied down for reinforcements for another group.

"They're trying dropping off reinforcements." Freakshow noted. "So that's it…Oh well, it's not going to help. They'll never get close."

Lydia knew that Freakshow was an intelligent individual. She saw him create the plan that led to this situation after all. It seemed that the power went to his head. The Master of All Reality truly thought he was untouchable right now. That meant he was blind to the more subtle things.

The Bioship was heading in a course to the group of Lady Shiva and David Cain. Cassandra Cain was with the ship right now. It was possible that she would be dropped off with some of the other group that was with the Bioship. That meant that they were heading past that group and to the next group.

The one of Colossus, Green Lantern, and Captain Atom.

Lydia had a bad feeling about that. Something was wrong. Her instincts on these things were rarely wrong, so there was some plan going on here. Yet…she said she wouldn't give her lover anymore advice.

At the same time, though, he needed someone to pull him back to the proper mindset. Gently, Lydia placed a hand on his shoulder. Frederich could always tell that something was wrong when he looked at her face. She could just communicate her unease like that.

"Don't interrupt me!" Freakshow shrugged off her touch. "I'm busy watching the ants struggle."

He didn't even give her a passing glance.

Lydia frowned and took a step back. She would leave him be for now…

"We're at checkpoint three!" Etrigan yelled out. "Let's go! Wulf, Cujo, it's up to you now!"

"We got this!" Wulf grunted.

"WOOF!" Cujo barked out.

"This is going to suck…" Raven sighed as she, Etrigan, and Cassandra broke off from the group. They descended down below to the two sole assassins that were helping in the fight against Freakshow.

Shiva and Cain were working together like a well-oiled machine. Their teamwork was flawless as they fought back to back and defended themselves from the various creatures. They flipped over each other and sent spinning kicks around the other. In addition, Shiva was throwing shuriken in all directions while Cain was using his guns to mow down the freaks. Despite the dangerous things they were doing, neither fighter hesitated. They trusted each other completely.

This did not stop them from being threatened by the massive number of creatures, though. In fact, they were being pushed back.

"No!" When they were low enough for her to land safely, Cassandra jumped of Etrigan's back. She brought out her knives and stabbed a lizard creature in the head.

"Cassandra!" Shiva's eyes widened. "What are you doing here!?"

"I've come to help!" Cassandra joined her parents and began to fight off the creatures.

"Like Father like daughter!" David Cain barked out a laugh.

"Don't encourage her! This is dangerous!" Shiva glared.

"This is in her blood. It would be hypocritical of me to tell her to leave." Cain grinned at his daughter. "I trust you to have my back, Cassandra."

This caused the girl to smile slightly.

"Ah, the emotions…how sickening…" Raven muttered out. She flew above them and yelled, "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"

Black and white energy spread out. It grabbed a boulder and threw it into the various creatures around her. They were crushed instantly.

"Now is not the time to be sentimental!" Entrigan flew around and crushed the creatures with his great strength.

"Fighting beside demons…" Cain chuckled. "Well, I've done weirder things in my life."

Raven looked over her shoulder to Lady Shiva. "You're not going to try and kill me, are you?"

"…No." Shiva shook her head. "I owe you for protecting my daughter. That is enough for me to owe you a bit. Today shall not be the day you die, spawn of Trigon."

"Gee, thanks…" Raven rolled her eyes.

"I have to say, Frostbite, I prefer you as an ally than as an enemy." Aquaman mention. He was using a triton to stab through the different creatures charging at them.

"Hahahahahaha!" Frostbite flash froze several of the beings around him. "That is what most people seem to think, your Majesty."

"Why so formal? Are you not a leader yourself?" Aquaman questioned. The blond man flipped over a few creatures and split them in half with a blast of water.

"I am, but formality is part of who I am." Frostbite used his ice claw to skewer on of the creatures.

"You talk too much!" A woman with brown wings on her back and golden armor yelled from above. Hawkwoman soared through the sky and used her mace to strike down her enemies. "Stay focused on the task at hand!"

"I apologize!" Frostbite yelled up to them. "Also, tell me if things get too cold! I do not wish to harm you!"

"Don't worry about us!" A man with similar wings and armor as the flying woman shouted. Hawkman was assisting his wife with his trusty battle ax. "We can handle a bit of cold!"

"True, but I don't want to accidentally slow down your flying patterns!" Frostbite exclaimed back.

"Our wings are strong!" Hawkwoman grinned. "I doubt you could take us down."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that." Aquaman chuckled. "I've fought this man. He is extremely powerful."

"Aw, you're making me blush." Frostbite chuckled.

"We made it!" M'gann cheered as the image of Colossus drew closer.

"Yes!" Zatanna grinned. "Almost there."

"We're not done yet." Phantom looked around at his teammates. "We need air support. Red Huntress, Rocket, Spirit, and Dusk give us air support. Zatanna, Artemis, go with Superboy on the Supercycle. Help RH and Rocket."

"Right!" Said team members instantly followed his instructions.

"M'gann, keep the Bioship ready to go." Phantom stated. "As soon as I'm done, we're heading to Freakshow."

"I'll be ready to go." M'gann nodded.

"Do you need any help?" Kid Flash questioned.

"No." Phantom shook his head. "Hopefully, this won't take long."

"Right." Robin nodded. "We'll be waiting."

"Be right back." Phantom fazed through the floor of the Bioshp. Now in the open air, Phantom looked over to the floating Wulf and Cujo. "Go to the next checkpoint! Plastic Man and the Flash sound like they need some help!"

"Okay!" Wulf nodded. He and Cujo then flew off in the direction of the other heroes. They would move around the circumference of the battle area, and Phantom's group would head straight to the center from here. Thus, they wouldn't see each other again until this was over. "Stay safe, friend!"

"You too!" Phantom called out. "Make sure you come back in once piece!"

"Bark!" Cujo nodded to his master as they flew off.

With that done, Phantom instantly flew down to the ground. Because of the support from Young Justice, all the creatures were being pushed back so that Colossus, Captain Atom, and Green Lantern were clear.

"Phantom!" Colossus grinned as his rival floated to the ground. "You've regained your health and powers! As expected!"

"But how…" The man with silver skin, red boots, and red gloves questioned. Captain Atom frowned. "You were almost dead before. How can you be at full strength?"

"I had some help from my friends." Phantom shrugged.

"What do you mean?"

"Hey, we can talk about this later." The African American Green Lantern stepped up. "Batman mentioned that you need to speak with Colossus?"

"Yeah, I need your help." Phantom looked at Colossus.

"What do you need?" Colossus questioned. "Are we to fight side by side and take down Freakshow?"

"I need you to reach into your left back pocket." Phantom stated.

"Huh?" Colossus blinked. "My pocket? Why?"

"Please just do it." Phantom said.

"Alright." Colossus reached back into his pocket. He gained a surprised look as he pulled out a hand mirror. "The Mirror of Memories? How did that get there?"

"Wait! I thought the mirror was destroyed!" Green Lantern frowned.

"Did the ghosts trick us?" Captain Atom inquired.

"Yep." Phantom nodded. "But we just wanted to hide it in the most secret and secure place possible."

"In the back pocket of an invincible giant…" Green Lantern eyed Colossus. "That's smart…but still…"

"We can talk about your feelings later." Phantom sighed. "Right now, I need that mirror."

"I see…Well, it all worked out…" Captain Atom stroked his chin. "It's weird how these things work out in the end…But I have to ask…How did you never notice that in your pocket, Colossus?"

"Well, I use my intangibility to get all the dirt and crime off my clothes and body." Colossus mentioned. "And I can barely feel punches with enough force to break concrete. How was I supposed to feel a tinny little mirror?"

"Like I said, the perfect hiding spot." Phantom reached out his hand. "Can I have it, please? I need to use it on Freakshow."

"Alright, Phantom." Colossus handed him the mirror. "But be warned, this mirror requires a ton of energy to use. You will exhaust yourself really fast if you use it too much."

"Don't worry." Phantom peered down at the mirror. "I have a plan."

"What?!" Freakshow jumped to his feet. "How if that cursed boy still alive!? And how does he have his powers back!?"

Lydia silently watched him fume.

"Damn it…" Freakshow snarled. "Why is he so damn hard to kill?!"

The Master of All Reality raised the Reality Guantlet into the air. The tower they were under began to descend into the ground. They quickly descended to the barren earth below them. The tower was completely gone, and all that remained was the throne.

"If the Gauntlet didn't take his powers away, then he might have an immunity to it." Freakshow rationalized. "He might be able to bypass the Gauntlet's attacks and defenses. And if Colossus, Captain Atom, and a Green Lantern is on his side…He might win. I need to stop them from getting here."

Freakshow pointed his hand in the direction of the group he was talking about. Energy flared around him for a brief moment as reality shifted. The image of Colossus and Phantom changed as a giant titan the size of a football stadium appeared. "There…that should help. The big hitters will stay behind to handle it, and I can kill Phantom and make sure he stays dead."

"…" Lydia walked up to Freakshow. "I don't like this. We should retreat."

"What?!" Freakshow looked at her like she was crazy. "Why would we do that?! I'm the Master of All Reality! No one can touch me!"

"Please, Frederich. My instincts are telling me that this will end badly." Lydia begged the man. "Let us leave and forget this nonsense. You can still be Master of All Reality. We'll just lock ourselves away in an alternate dimension or something. That way no one can get to us."

Freakshow ignored the logic. "Where's the fun in that?! Where's the pride in that?! What point is there to being a god if you can't take the joy of killing your enemies with your bare hands!?"

"Fredrich…" Lydia gave him a kind look. "Please…I know that you're a proud and injured man. I have seen you suffer for so long. Your parents ignored you. Your peers mocked you. Society rejected you. But…I…"

"You were always there for me…" Freakshow nodded.

"I understand you more than anyone else. I know that you are filled with anger and hatred for this world." Lydia got up close to Freakshow. She gently cupped his face. "I was and still am aware of your darkness. At first, I thought I could help, but now…This is who you are. Despite that, I still love you and want you to stay safe. Because love does not discriminate between good and bad. We complete each other. I want to stay by you, but we can't do that if we stay here. So, please, listen to me."

"Lydia…"

"Let's leave. Forget pride. Forget personal revenge. Forget Danny Phantom. We'll live together forever in a perfect home. We'll have children that we will give the love you never received from your parents." Lydia smiled brightly. "We'll be happy. You'll be happy for the rest of eternity as a husband, a father, and the Master of All Reality."

"…I…I don't…" Freakshow frowned. "I can't…If I leave, they will always mock me. They will call me a coward. I can't let that happen! I am better than them! Not the other way around!"

"Frederich, please!"

"Let go of me!"

"Please!"

"I SAID LET GO!"

Smack!

Lydia stumbled back after she was smacked across the face.

"…"

"…"

"…Lydia, I'm so sorry." Freakshow stepped forward desperately. "I didn't mean to…"

"I…" Lydia had tears in her eyes. Her cheek burned in pain. She looked at him with absolute despair. "I never thought you would ever raise a hand to me."

"Please, I am so sorry. I will never do that again." Freakshow pleaded.

"That is what all abusers say." Unashamed tears ran down her face. "But they always do it again."

"Lydia…"

"I've always known that you're an evil man. You lie, cheat, steal, beat, and kill. Yet…you've always been kind to me. You never even thought of hitting me before. Now, though…Now you strike me without even thinking about it." Lydia sobbed. "I could tolerate all the bad things you've done, but there are things I can't ignore Frederich. I refuse to stay around someone that will abuse me."

"Lydia, please, I love you." Freakshow reached out desperately.

Lydia stepped away from the man. She shook her head. "I love you too, Frederich. I love you so much. But I refuse to be a victim by your hand. This is who you are now, and you've made it extremely clear that you won't go back to who you were before."

"No! I'll change!"

"Don't lie to me. You can lie to everyone, yourself included, but don't lie to me." Lydia's tattoos began to come to life and dance around her. "You have denied every possible chance to redeem yourself. That won't change now, and I can no longer stand by you."

"Don't leave me! Please! You're the only person that I've ever truly cared about!" Freakshow was crying as well.

"Yet you hit me like I'm a dog." Lydia trembled in sorrow. Her tattoos swirled around her like a tornado. "Goodbye, Frederich. I will always love you. I hope you somehow find happiness."

"Wait!" Freakshow lunged at her, but it was too late.

She was gone.

Freakshow was all alone.

"Thanks for the help!" The Flash grinned as Wulf grabbed the creatures that grabbed onto him and tore them apart.

"No problem." Wulf grunted.

"Good doggie…" Plastic Man's arm extended to pat Cujo's head as the green dog mauled some of the creatures.

"We come help." Wulf noted. He took a defensive stance and extended his dimensional claws.

"All right!" The Flash gave him a thumbs up. "We could use it."

"Yeah!" Plastic Man smiled widely. "There are so many of these things that-"

Boom!

Cujo's ears shot up as he turned to the direction that he come from.

"Danny…" Wulf muttered at he looked back.

"Should we go help?" Flash questioned.

"No. Our job fight here." Wulf turned away from where the noise came from. "Trust in them. Danny always comes through."

"Woof!" Cujo agreed.

"Alrighty then…" Plastic Man nodded.

"Damn!" Phantom growled as he dodged a massive foot that tried to stomp him. 'Everyone! Get away from that monster!'

All of his airborne allies scattered.

"Well…" Colossus looked up at the titan. It was a wall of muscles and armored skin. The being stood so high that it could be compared to a skyscraper. "That's a sight."

"Did Freakshow send that thing!?" Captain Atom shouted out as he flew around the monster.

"He must have figured out our plan!" Green Lantern frowned deeply as he formed tried to blast out the titan's knees.

"Hahahahahahahahahahaha!" Colossus laughed. "And he came up with this! How fun! It will be a pleasure to crush this thing!"

"Colossus…" Phantom looked over to his rival.

"RAW!" The titan sent out a punch at Colossus.

"RAW!" Colossus roared and met the punch with one of his own. A massive shockwave went out when their fists made contact. Colossus used his raw power to match the titan's power and cancel the attack out. The red skinned ghost then followed up by sending another shockwave to the fist in front of him. The force caused the titan to stumble back, but he lacked any injuries.

"Go!" Colossus roared. "We will handle the titan! I wanted to fight by your side, but that does not seem possible now! I will fight and make sure this titan does not interrupt your fight with Freakshow!"

"But…" Phantom frowned.

"Only you can defeat Freakshow!" Colossus argued. "That is your duty! On your honor, save this world! Stop the villain that threatens us all!"

"…Right!" Phantom nodded. "I'll kick his ass!"

"Well said! Well said!" Colossus smiled as Phantom raced off to the Bioship.

"So…It's us versus that thing?" Green Lantern questioned. "I'm not really excited about that."

"Well…We have this guy on our side at least." Captain Atom noted. "I definitely like him more as an ally than as an enemy."

"Enough talk!" Colossus roared. "It's time to fight!"

The giant of a man flew forward the titan's head. With a roar, he sent a shockwave at the titan's head. The final battle had begun.

"…We're almost there." M'gann mentioned as they flew through the air.

"Yeah…" Phantom nodded. "It's almost time…"

"It's all on us, isn't it?" Robin questioned.

"It appears that way. Either we win, or the entire planet loses." Aqualad nodded.

"No pressure there." Zatanna sighed.

"How is different than everything else we've done for the past four days?" Rocket questioned.

"She's right. The stakes have been high for a long time now." Red Huntress agreed.

"A long time…I don't think four days have ever felt so long." Artemis mentioned. "God…I wonder what my mom is doing right now. She must be worried sick."

"And my parents are probably going nuts." Kid Flash added in. "What I wouldn't give to go home and get some sleep right now."

"We can sleep after this is over." Superboy grinned. "Once Freakshow's a bloody stain on the ground."

"That sounds like a great image to sleep to." Spirit chuckled.

"It does…" Phantom looked over his Team. "Let's make it a reality. Today, we're all together. Young Justice is stronger than ever before. I know we can do this."

"Technially, I'm not a part of Young Justice." Dusk mentioned.

"Me neither." Spirit stated.

"Well, you're honorary members." Red Huntress elbowed the children.

"Yeah…and maybe in a few years, you can join for real." Phantom noted. "I'd have to convince Vision, but I'm sure she'd let you when you're thirteen. Until then, you could train with us."

"That would be great, but perhaps we should focus on the future after the fight." Kaldur suggested.

"Right…" Phantom nodded. "First Freakshow, then the future. Let's do this."

Freakshow was crying. Hot tears ran down his face. His heart ached. He stood alone with only a throne and the Reality Gauntlet to comfort him. Trembling, Freakshow wiped the tears from his eyes. "Well…That's fine…This is how it's meant to be…I was always meant to be alone."

He heard a ship approaching. It must be the Bioship. They were coming for him. Despite his pain, Freakshow could not allow himself to lose focus right now. He had to fight.

They tried to get him off guard. Some sort of flying motor cycle thing flew down and shot energy blasts at him. One of the people on the bike, a blonde girl, shot different arrows at him. Another dark haired magician girl sent magical attacks at him.

Other flying enemies came in. The sidekick of Icon was trying to attack him. The Red Huntress was also attacking him. Even the little brat halfas were attacking him. It didn't matter, though. Freakshow created a shield around him that blocked all the attacks.

As quickly as it started, the attacks stopped. The children spread out and surrounded him. They were accompanied by the rest of Young Justice. Twelve different children stood around him. Far less than the amount of League members, ghosts, and assassins that stood before him in Amity Park.

It was obvious that they did not stand a chance, yet they stood firm. They were all prepared to fight him. A look of complete confidence shined on all of their faces. It was inspiring. It was intimidating. I was…

"…Psh…Gack…MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA!"

It was hysterical.

"Ahahahaha…" Freakshow managed to stop his laughter. "Oh, this is rich. Out of all the different people that could get here, it was children that actually made it. How funny!"

"Don't underestimate us!" Superboy jumped off the Supercycle. This way, Sphere could attack in the air as Superboy attacked from the ground.

"Or do." Kid Flash shrugged. "That will make kicking your ass easier."

"Oh, you're all so adorable…" Freakshow shook his head. "I am the Master of Reality. I am all powerful. What makes you think you have even a fraction of a chance?"

"Because we are together." Artemis pointed her bow at the ringmaster.

"Because you are alone." M'gann's eyes glowed.

"That means nothing!" Freakshow snapped. Anger flared at the mention of his solitude and the loss of Lydia. "Lydia may not be my side right now, but I still have more power in my pinky finger than you have in all of your bodies combined! So tell me, what else do you have!?"

"We have a plan." Robin took a self-defense stance.

"We have a reason not to lose." Aqualad readied his Water Bearers.

"Psh! A reason not to lose?! A plan!? So does everyone else in the world! They plan not to lose because they don't want to die!" Freakshow exclaimed. "All you of you are just pathetic children that are too afraid to even move!"

"Weird…" Dusk eyed the man as he formed his Burst Gauntlets. "You're the one that seems afraid. You're trembling."

It was true. Freakshow was shaking uncontrollably.

"From rage, fool!"

"Really?" Spirit questioned. "Because you have a sad look, not a look of anger."

"Shut up!" Freakshow snapped. "I'll destroy all of you!"

"I doubt that." Red Huntress pointed her gun at him. "Someone like you can't beat us."

"We've fought against worse odds." Rocket mentioned. "And that was only an hour ago."

"You…" Freakshow was confused. Why were they so calm? Did they not realize the threat he posed? He could kill all of them easily. He showed that with Phantom just one day ago.

…With Phantom…

Freakshow looked at Phantom. That was it. Phantom was their leader. His confidence was what was inspiring them. If he was taken down, their moral would fall. Raising a hand to the halfa, Freakshow grinned. "Fine then. I'll just have to kill you all over again."

"No, Freakshow. You won't." Phantom pulled out the Mirror of Memories.

"What?! When did you get that?!"

"You can't beat us. We stand together. We are strong. We are Young Justice." Phantom glared at him. "And nothing you could ever do will stop us."

All at once, they charged forward with battle cries. They began the biggest fight of their lives, and they were determined to win.

"Get back!" Freakshow held up his Gauntlet covered arm. Like during Freakshow's previous fight, a massive ball of energy instantly appeared. Thousands of blasts of energy were sent across the plain towards the twelve young fighters.

"No!" Phantom held out the Mirror of Memoirs. Energy poured into it, and a figure appeared from it. It was Scribe. The writer formed a keyboard, and instantly started typing, 'Freakshow's attack disappeared.'

The blasts of energy faded instantly. Phantom would be concerned about using a power similar to the Reality Gauntlet, but with all the bad karma Freakshow built up, the halfa was certain this small bit would be fine.

"What?" Freakshow's eyes widened. While attacking, he could not defend himself. That was one of the few weaknesses of the Reality Gauntlet. "NO!"

Kid Flash rushed in and punched Freakshow across the face. The force sent the ringmaster flying. He rocketed towards Red Huntress. The ghost hunter already raised a gun and was pointing it at the Master of All Reality.

Quikly shifting, Freakshow changed his plane of existence so that no one could attack him. Of course, he could not attack anyone without shifting back, but that was fine. It was better than being shot.

After passing through the attack and Red Huntress, Freakshow twisted and landed to his feet. He would have changed back instantly if it wasn't for the boulder that was thrown at his head. The Martian girl had reacted to him and threw the boulder so he couldn't attack Red Huntress from behind.

Grinning, Freakshow looked at M'gann. He knew what the weakness of Martians were. They couldn't handle fire. Thus, Freakshow turned himself into a living flame. Fire spread out throughout the area. Most of the fighters managed to dodge the flames. Miss Martian and Aqualad, however, froze at the sight of the flames. They would have been consumed by the fire, but the flames were stopped by blasts of freezing energy.

Using the Mirror of Memories, Phantom created a shade of a blond man wearing striped pajamas. It was his old friend Klemper. Combining his own ice powers with the ice powers of Klemper, Phantom managed to not only protect his teammates but also attack Freakshow at the same time.

"AAAAAHHHHHH!" Freakshow cried in pain as the ice struck him. He was at the disadvantage to ice users like this. The ringmaster quickly changed back to normal.

Just as he did this, Spirit rushed out of the freezing blue energy. Most people would have been afraid to move through that torrent of energy, but the female halfa was not afraid. She trusted Danny unconditionally. Using all of her power, Spirit kicked the now physical Freakshow away. Grunting in pain, the Master of All Reality was sent flying away. He soared towards a readied Superboy.

The Kryptonian clone brought his fists together and sent them at the ringmaster. Freakshow was batted away like a fly. Once again, he was sent flying. This time, however, he flew towards Phantom.

"You! Why won't you just die!?" Freakshow growled. The only reason this fight wasn't over yet was because of Phantom and the Mirror of Memories. If the Mirror of Memories was gone, he would win instantly. He had to get that mirror.

Extending a hand, Freakshow shot a massive ball of energy at the halfa teen. This would definitely hit Phantom because he was prepping to use the Mirror of Memories again. That meant that the fight would soon be over.

…Or at least it would be if Dusk didn't jump in the way, form a massive shield, and block the attack.

"Damn you!" Freakshow howled. He continued to fly towards Dusk. The Master of All Reality then batted the boy away with his Reality Gauntlet covered arm. Luckily, Dusk managed to block the majority of the damage with the shield. The force of the attack managed to shatter the shield and sent the boy tumbling back.

Turning his attention to Phantom, Freakshow was shocked to see Solomon Grundy charging at him. The massive brute brought both his fists down to crush the smaller being. Using the Gauntlet to upgrade his strength, Freakshow caught the massive arms and held them back.

For a brief second, there was a power struggle between the brute and the ringmaster. This was quickly interrupted when Rocket swooped in and nailed Freakshow in the ribs with a blast of kinetic energy. The force of the blast sent Freakshow rolling away.

"DAMN IT!" Freakshow didn't understand. How was he losing? "I WILL KILL ALL OF YOU!"

Placing the Gauntlet on the ground, Freakshow began to reshape the ground. The earth trembled below them. Spikes and columns of earth shot up. Boulders flew through the air. The ground seemed to be about ready to open up and consume them.

"Netfos eht dnuorg ekil a wollamhsram!" Zatanna yelled out.

Her magic spread out and turned the ground into mush. This completely neutralized the attack and made sure that no one was injured from the earth. Unfortunately, this kept the people on the ground from being able to move.

It was then that the Supercycle decided to act. The New Genesis Sphere flew to the man and began to open fire. Freakshow formed a square shield above him to stop the attacks. This gave Zatanna the opportunity to harden the earth again.

After that was done, Wolf quickly reacted. The silver haired canine lunged at Freakshow and bit the man's leg. The ringmaster cried out in pain and dropped the shield. That didn't matter a lot, though, because the Supercycle stopped its energy blasts so it wouldn't hit the other pet of Young Justice.

Just as Freakshow was about to attack the canine, Artemis shot the man with a trap arrow. As soon as it hit, wire burs out and wrapped around the ringmaster. Wolf jumped away as Robin and Aqualad rushed forward. Robin tripped Freakshow as the Atlantian hit the Master of All Reality down with the Water Bearers.

"GARAH!" Freakshow yelled in absolute fury. Energy flared around him, destroyed his restraints, and pushed his assailants away from him. He shot up into the air like a missile. The man flew high above them to the point that he looked like a dot in the sky. "DIE!"

Pointing his arms down, Freakshow gathered a massive amount of red energy. After a few seconds, Freakshow fired the energy. The blast of red was so large that it could cover a city. If it hit, then all of Young Justice would killed instantly.

Luckily, it didn't.

"OW!" Freakshow cried out in surprise as several missiles hit his back. This painful distraction caused the energy he gathered to disappear.

"Got him…" Phantom fell to one knee. The Mirror of Memories used massive amounts of energy, and he had already used it a lot. This last time, Phantom used the mirror to create a memory of one of his oldest rivals and enemies. The metal exoskeleton ghost wore black clothing, was covered in weapons, and had a green mohawk. Skulker, the Ghost Zone's Greatest Hunter, used heat seeking missiles to stop Freakshow from attacking him. After that was done, Phantom dismissed the shade to conserve energy.

"He's coming back down!" Superboy used his incredible vision to look up at the man. "He doesn't seem to be using an energy attack!"

"My Premonition says that he's going to hit the ground and cause a shockwave!" Spirit shouted.

"Good…" Phantom stood and reached into his pocket to pull out a Fenton Thermos. "Time for the real plan. Everyone, spread out! Get far enough away so you won't be hurt by the shockwave! It's time to take him down!"

Everyone followed his instructions.

"RRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWW!" Freakshow shouted as he slammed into the ground. A massive shockwave spread out and sent everyone and everything flying. This include Freakshow's near unbreakable throne.

A large cloud of dust spread through the area, but Freakshow still knew where Phantom was because the ringmaster tracked him. Rushing through the smoke, Freakshow quickly found Phantom. The halfa was getting up and had an uncapped Fenton Thermos in his hands.

Freakshow reached out with his non-Gauntlet covered hand and grabbed Phantom by the throat. "DID YOU REALLY THINK YOU COULD WIN!? I AM THE MASTER OF ALL REALITY! I MADE MYSELF COMPLETELY INVULNERABLE TO DAMAGE! I AM IMMORTAL! I AM ALL POWERFUL! NOTHING CAN HURT ME! NONE OF YOUR ATTACKS DID ANYTHING BUT ANNOY ME! GOOD JOB, YOU MORON! YOU ANGERED YOUR ALMIGHTY GOD, AND NOW YOU'RE GOING TO DIE!"

Phantom lifted the Fenton Thermos up.

Freakshow instantly took it from Phantom and crushed it. "FOOL! I'M NOT A GHOST! THAT WOULDN'T WORK ON ME!"

"It wasn't…supposed to…" Phantom desperately clawed at Freakshow's arm.

"WHAT?!"

"I…I'm not good at fighting…That's why I couldn't help Amity Park fight off the Light…But I couldn't hide like a coward through this…" Phantom's form began to change. "I knew I had to stop you…so I found them…and Phantom asked me to help…so I did…"

"YOU'RE NOT PHANTOM!"

"I'm not…" Amorpho shook his head. "But he is."

"Thank you, Amorpho." The real Phantom was beside Freakshow. The halfa was now grabbing on tightly to the Reality Gauntlet. He switched places with Amorpho in the thermos really quickly to avoid detection. When Freakshow destroyed the thermos, Phantom was released right beside the man. He would have used duplicates for this plan, but he knew that he wouldn't have enough energy after using the mirror. "You were a big help."

"NO!" Freakshow's eyes widened when he saw Phantom's hands on the Guantlet. That was the single greatest flaw the Reality Gauntlet. Whoever touched the Reality Gauntlet long enough to think of a command could shape reality to his or her whim.

"Time to see how powerful the Reality Gauntlet really is."

Energy burst all around them in a massive explosion.

Freakshow looked around in a panic. After the energy faded, he expected something drastically different. Nothing was different, though. The land was still barren. Young Justice and Amorpho was still rattled. Phantom was kneeling on the ground. The halfa had failed.

Freakshow decided to rub his nose in it. "Muhahahahahahahaha! You failed! Everything is the same!"

"Is it?" Phantom stood.

"Yeah, it is!" Freakshow laughed. He summoned his throne to his side. Once he killed Phantom and took the Mirror of Memories, he would kill Young Justice from the comfort of his own throne. "I've won! Your best strategy failed."

Skipping over to the ghost, Freakshow grinned down at the slightly shorter man. "I can't believe I let you get me so rattled! Muhahahahha! You were never a real threat to begin with! You're so pathetic! Tell me, what did you try to change?!"

"It's not what I tried to change…It was what I remembered. The power that I remembered." Phantom stated simply.

"What? I can't hear you~" Freakshow sang out. He reached his non-Gauntlet covered hand forward to grab the ghost by the throat. This time, for real.

Phantom grabbed Freakshow's hand out of the air.

"What? What are you-OOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWW!" Freakshow cried in pain. It felt like his hand was being crushed into tiny pieces.

Phantom raised his head to reveal his pure white eyes. White and golden energy blasted out around him. He had attained ascended ectoplasm once again, and he was about to bring down the wrath of a real god down upon Freakshow.

"I once heard you say that Nekron was immune to the effects of the Reality Gauntlet. I figured that it had to do with his level of power and his state of existence. He was created to reverse the good deeds done by Savage. So, reality shaped a being that was above the Gauntlet's power, a being that existed in a higher plain of existence, because no matter what you do, a two dimensional being can never touch a third dimensional being." Phantom spoke. "And I know for a fact that this power is a plane above the Reality Gauntlet. I can nullify the Gauntlet's effects with this power. To me, you're no longer invulnerable."

"But…How can the Gauntlet create a power that is stronger than itself?" Freakshow questioned.

"It didn't create this power. I have the potential to reach this level of power. I only used the Reality Gauntlet to jumpstart my power." Phantom explained.

"No…" Freakshow whispered.

"Yes. Now, it's your turn to suffer!" Phantom sent a punch at Freakshow's head. The force of the blow knocked out several of the ringmaster's teeth and sent him flying into the throne. The chair was instantly destroyed as Freakshow crashed through it. The ringmaster skipped several times like a stone over water and then crashed into the ground forming a crater.

Turning to Amorpho, Phantom spoke again. "Amorpho, go hide in the Bioship. You have done your part. Thank you."

"N-no problem. I-I'll just be going!" Amorpho turned and flew away to avoid being caught in the battle to come.

"Danny!" Spirit cried as Young Justice finally began to regroup.

"Woah!" Kid Flash's jaw dropped. "Bro, that's awesome."

"Is that the ascended ectoplasm? It's…impressive." Zatanna began to sweat from the force of the energy.

"Thank you."

"I can see why you think this power can help us." Aqualad noted.

"How strong are you?" Superboy questioned.

"Strong enough to beat Freakshow." Phantom turned back to the area where Freakshow went.

"That is an awesome answer." Robin laughed. "Now on to part two, right?"

"Yes, using the ascended ectoplasm, I'll-"

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!"

Everyone looked as a massive ghost appeared in front of them. It appeared that in a last ditch effort to fight against the ascended ectoplasm, Freakshow turned himself into a ghost. The giant green ghost lacked any legs but had an extra demonic face on his chest. He had four arms with sharp claws, one of which had the Reality Gauntlet on it. His face had a thick chin, a long nose, pointed ears, and a third eye on his forehead. The being also wore a red cape, black tophat, and two large batwings on his back.

"So…I think he turned himself into a ghost…" Artemis mentioned.

"Noooooo. Really? I hadn't noticed." Rocket snorted.

"Mentor, does this change the plan?" Dusk questioned.

"No…The plan is still the same." Phantom pulled out the Mirror of Memories.

"Will that really work?" M'gann questioned.

"Let's find out." Phantom raised the Mirror of Memories up into the air. A massive white light shined out of the mirror and covered the area. When the light faded, the entire area was covered in thousands of different ghosts. They were all ghosts that Phantom remembered even though most people forgot about them.

Because of his absorption of foreign energy during the GIW War and the Ghoul Project, Phantom experienced the memory and the thoughts of the ghosts that died. He knew everyone one of their names and experiences. Thus, he could create a shade of all of them through the use of the Mirror of Memories. Normally, this would be impossible because of the raw amount of energy needed to create a single shade. With the power of the ascended ectoplasm, however, Phantom could create all the shades he could want.

"Woah!" Red Huntress cried out in surprise. "That's a lot of ghosts!"

"Don't worry about their safety. None of them are really alive in any shape or form. Let them protect you from Freakshow, and I know we can defeat him."

He was met with roars of approval.

"Now, let's finish this."

(Play: Diamond Eyes by Shinedown)

Freakshow roared in madness. He swung his massive arms around at the members of Young Justice. The shades quickly rushed to protect the members of Young Justice and stopped the attacks from getting close. The sacrificial shades all disappeared in flashes of green energy.

Kid Flash ran under the giant ghost. Using a secret function in his gloves that allowed him to strike ghosts, the speedster grabbed the ghost's tail. Kid then began to spin rapidly and caused the tail to spin with him.

The Master of All Reality tried to reach down and grab the speedster and stop the yellow blur's attack. He was stopped, however, when Red Huntress and Rocket flew around his head and began to shoot blasts of energy into his eyes. This caused the massive ghost to roar in pain and swipe at the young heroes. Luckily, the shade ghosts saved them once again.

It was then that Kid Flash let go of Freakshow. His tail now released, the ringmaster ghost began to spin rapidly. After he stopped, the ghost stumbled in confusion and dizziness. It didn't help him that hundreds of the shade ghost lunged at the monster and latched onto him. They began to bite and scratch at him.

Knowing that he was currently unable to move, Robin and Artemis went into action. From the sides, they fired and threw several different kinds of shuriken and arrows. The weapons then hit the ghost in a flare of explosions, wires, and different foam traps. This hindered Freakshow's movements so that he couldn't escape.

Everyone quickly took advantage. All the flying members of Young Justice quickly opened fire on the massive ghost. Rocket and Red Huntress continued to shoot blasts of energy at Freakshow, just as Superboy in the Supercycle did. M'gann used her telekinesis to fling boulders at the ghost, and Zatanna, who was riding in the Supercycle, used her spells to slow the ghost down.

"He seems to have become mindless in this form." Dusk mentioned.

"Yeah, he hasn't used the Gauntlet once." Spirit mentioned as the ghosts came up with a plan.

"You still need to be careful. His power and endurance are incredible." Phantom stated.

"Can't you take him?" Dusk questioned.

"Yes. But it could take time, and by then, he'll regain his mind and use his ghost powers and Reality Gauntlet to push me back." Phantom noted.

"Alright. What do we do?" Spirit questioned.

"Help them distract him. I'll get in close and begin to bombard him. If I work fast enough, I can knock him out before he regains his mind." Phantom ordered.

"Understood."

"Got it!"

All three ghosts rushed in. Dusk and Spirit began to assist the members of Young Justice. Phantom went to Freakshow's midsection and began to attack.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Each blow twisted the skin and caused massive waves of pain to spread throughout Freakshow's body. All the hits were accompanied by blasts of white and gold energy. The attacks burned and bruised Freakshow's midsection terribly.

"GAAAHHHH!" Roaring in pain, Freakshow broke free from his restraints. He sent out a burst of energy from out of every pore in his body. The force blasted all the members of Young Justice and the shade ghosts away. Even Phantom was pushed back a tiny bit, but it wasn't a lot.

Seeing an opening, the berserk Freakshow gathered energy in his mouth and prepared to roar it out.

"Piz sih htuom tuhs!" Zatanna yelled out.

A zipper appeared on Freakshow's mouth. It quickly zipped closed. This kept the energy in his mouth and caused it to explode in his body. Smoke rose out of the ghost's nose and ears.

Despite the pain, the ghost continued to try to attack. Spheres of energy appeared around him. They all fired at Phantom. Each one was stopped, however, by Rocket, Red Huntress, and the shade ghosts's counter attacks.

Seeing that ringmaster was about to attack again, M'gann user her powers to lift Aqualad to the back of Freakshow's neck. The Atlantian placed his hands on the back of the ghost's neck and began to channel magical electricity through his body. Freakshow would have shouted in pain, but his mouth was still zipped shut.

The ghost tried to reach for Kaldur. His hand clawed at his neck. Aqualad quickly rolled out of the way and began to slash at the ghost's neck. The magical Water Bearers cut through the ghost's skin with ease.

Phantom quickly went back to continue his assault. The halfa sent a barrage of punches at Freakshow's midsection again. The torso of the ghost was quickly beaten, bloody, and burnt.

In absolute anger, Freakshow gathered energy into his four hands and three eyes. He aimed to blast Phantom with seven waves of incredibly powerful ectoplasm. This would have worked, if Phantom didn't have backup.

Dusk formed a katana and stabbed it into the lower left arm of Freakshow and began to tear through the skin. Spirit did something similar with the upper left arm. M'gann floated up a sharp boulder and stabbed it into the lower right arm. Aquald finished off the upper right arm with his Water bearers. All four of Freakshow's arms fell to his side uselessly.

While this was happening, the Supercycle, Rocket, and Red Huntress flew up to the massive ghost's face. They each shot at Freakshow's eyes. All the blasts hit and tore through the eyeballs of the ghost. He was effectively blinded.

All the young heroes in the air moved away to give Phantom some space. The only exception was Kid Flash. He grabbed Freakshow's tail and began to run behind Freakshow. The force of the pull caused the ghost to lean over. Seeing that his work was done, Kid Flash let go of the tail and continued to retreat.

Now having the ringmaster's head completely exposed, Phantom decided to go for the knock out chin punch. Grabbing the Mirror of Memories from his pocket with his left hand, Phantom began to reabsorb the ectoplasm of the shades. Energy poured into his body once more. He then gathered the ectoplasm into his right hand. In that instant, Phantom's arm no longer seemed to be physical. As he gathered all of his energy to it, the arm began to shine so brightly that it appeared to be pure white and gold energy. It was like a blazing sun contained within a single arm. It was a contained supernova ready to explode at any moment.

Sending his fist forward, Phantom hit Freakshow with the strongest attack he ever threw. The fist made contact, and a massive explosion spread out. The blast spread out so much that it covered the entire area. It even covered all the young heroes. The energy seemed to recognize them, however, and refused to harm them at all.

When the explosion ended, all that was left was a field of dust and a defeated broken Freakshow.

They had won.

"Guh…" Freakshow opened his eyes painfully. He was in his regular body, so someone must have changed him back. Most of his injures were still here, though. Only his eyes seemed to heal from the transformation. "Phantom?"

The halfa looked down at the downed ringmaster. Phantom had yet to release the ascended ectoplasm, so he was still coved in the white and gold aura. That wasn't what frightened Freakshow the most, though. The thing that scared the ringmaster was the Mirror of Memories in the halfa's left hand and the Reality Gauntlet that covered the halfa's right arm. From his perspective, Freakshow thought that Danny Phantom looked exactly like a god, and the halfa had the power to back it up.

"I'm surprised that you woke up so soon." Phantom noted. "You're pretty badly injured."

"Thanks to you…" Freakshow sighed. "I suppose your power surpasses mine."

"It does, but not in the way you think." Phantom noted.

"What do you mean?" Freakshow questioned.

"The power you think that beat you was the ascended ectoplasm, but you're wrong." Phantom peered down at the man. "Even with all the power in the world, it means nothing if you don't have anyone to support you. That was the reason I won. I had people to protect me and save me from my own self destruction. If I didn't have them, I'd be dead right now."

"That…sounds stupid…" Freakshow frowned. "I was the Master of All Reality. I controlled everything. I was a god. Why would I need help? Why would I need other people to keep me company?"

"Not knowing the answer to that is exactly the reason you lost today." Phantom shook his head in pity.

"Really? It's not because of the Mirror of Memories and the ascended ectoplasm, because that's what it feels like."

"You're pathetic." Phantom sighed. "I won't try to explain it to you. You're too far gone to understand."

"Maybe I am." Freakshow grunted. "But maybe I also like it."

Phantom could only look down at him in disgust.

"So…Are you going to finish me off, or let me succumb to my wounds?" Freakshow questioned. "I feel that you've undone every power and ability I set for myself with the Gauntlet. I'm very mortal now, so are you going to finish me off quickly or slowly?"

"Neither." Phantom pointed the Reality Gauntlet at the man. "I'm going to heal you, and you're going to spend the rest of your life in prison."

"Tsk! I'll just escape and come after you for revenge! You're a fool for sparing me!" Freakshow sneered.

"Maybe I am, but it's better to be a fool than a pathetic loser." Phantom then began to focus on healing Freakshow.

…

…

…

It wasn't working.

"Huh…" Phantom looked at the Gauntlet. "It didn't work."

"What do you mean it didn't work!? Are you so stupid that-"

"Danny." A soft voice spoke out. Despite the light tone, the voice still drowned out Freakshow's rant easily with the authority and purity that it held.

Phantom turned to the side to see Death walking over to Freakshow.

"Your mercy is astounding, but it won't work here." Death mentioned. "Like you said, he's too far gone. He has rejected every chance of redemption available. And he was given a lot of chances."

"But…Does he really deserve to die? Doesn't everyone deserve a second chance?"

"Everyone deserves a second chance, but no one deserves as many chances as he's had." Death smiled at Danny. "He has long since ran out of chances. His punishment for his sins has already been decided. There's nothing either of us can do."

"But…He's no worse than Dark Dan was…"

"Danny, please. I know that you care, but…It's already too late. He's not you. He did not take his redemption." Death stated soothingly. "Please, remember, that Death is not a punishment. It is a natural thing that is needed to keep the universe in order. I do not discriminate. Everyone eventually dies, and then they must answer to the consequences of their actions."

"I know…But I can't help but think that I could have ended up the same way he did."

"You could have. The only difference is that when you had the chance to change and to forgive, you took it. He didn't, and now, he'll pay for it."

"I see…Goodbye, Freakshow." Phantom turned to Freakshow.

"Who the hell have you been talking to!? You're crazier than I am, you freak! In fact…" Freakshow paused when Death touched his arm. "What? Who are you?"

"I am Death." Death stated neutrally. She did not show compassion. She did not show anger. She was completely neutral. "Frederich Isak Showenhower, it is time to move on. The afterlife awaits."

"What?! No!" Freakshow's form began to fade. Greens smoke rose from his body. "I refuse! I'll become a ghost!"

"You already did a few moments ago. You changed yourself to be a ghost to fight Danny. Once you become a ghost, you can never go back to being a normal human completely. Even the Reality Gauntlet cannot change that." Death paused. "But it can still do many things. Danny, please come find me after this. There's a meeting that you should attend. Now come, Frederich, it's time to go."

"No! I refuse! Let go of me! No! Have mercy! Lydia, please save me! I'm not ready to die! Lydia! LYDIA! LYDI-"

"One who does not have the ability to forgive has no right to beg for mercy." Death shook her head in pity as she destroyed his body.

It was over. The ringmaster's Reality Gauntlet corrupted body could not be allowed to exist in this world, so Death would take everything. His body dissolved into smoke and energy and disappeared with Death. And with that, Freakshow was gone and off to whatever was in store for him in the afterlife. Phantom didn't think it was going to be anything good, though.

"Danny!" Kid Flash was the first to arrive at the scene. "Bro, what happened? Where did Freakshow go?"

"…Death took him." Phantom answered.

"You mean…we killed him?" M'gann looked horrified.

"No. It was his time, and she came to take him to where he belongs." Phantom noted.

"What…does that mean?" Kaldur questioned.

"Death came, huh…" Dusk frowned. "How was she?"

"She looked well." Phantom snorted.

"Really? That's good I guess. I'm still surprised that she looks like a goth girl instead of a skeleton." Spirit shrugged.

"What the hell are you guys talking about?" Superboy questioned.

"It's complicated. I'll try to explain some of it later." Phantom mentioned.

"Alright…but what are you going to do with the Gauntlet?" Robin questioned.

Phantom stared at the Gauntlet that covered his arm.

"You could change anything you want." Red Huntress stepped forward. "Do you still want to use it to speak with your family?"

"…No, I've already accepted that they're gone. I'll use this to turn everything back to normal."

"Define normal?" Rocket questioned.

"…Exactly how things were before Freakshow showed up." Phantom raised his arm. "And…I do think that there's a meeting I need to attend."

"What does that-"

Reality shifted once more as the world around them was covered in a bright light and things began to change once more.

Phantom stood in a long hall. Along the wall were different pictures. There were seven of them. Each picture was about a single person. The halfa recognized only one of the people, but the other people looked familiar. This was because those seven people were all in this room.

At the center of the room was a circular table. There were eight chairs, and seven of them were filled. Each chair held an unusual person in them. They were all different in appearance, but they all seemed close. And they were all looking at him.

"Danny…Welcome." Death smiled gently at the teen.

"So…" Danny looked across the table. "You guys are the Endless. Destiny, Death, Dream, Destruction, Despair, Desire and Delirium."

"We are, brat." A large muscular man grunted. "Welcome to our little meeting room. You should feel honored. No normal mortal gets to come here."

"Don't be rude, Destruction." An elderly robed blind man spoke up.

"Whatever, Destiny…" Destruction groaned. "This is such a pain in the ass. Why do I have to be here?"

"We need him here, yeah? He's the one connected to us through the hands of hope and willpower. Thus, he is our avatar, and like it or not, we do have to deal with the problems of the universe. Or have you forgotten that in your uber laziness, Destruction." A girl with the craziest hair Danny had ever seen spoke up.

Destruction just grunted.

"Please, Daniel, sit." Destiny gestured to the one remaining chair. "We have a lot to discuss."