Chapter 36: Behind Conviction

Disclaimer: I own nothing

"All our knowledge has its origins in our perceptions."

Leonardo da Vinci

Behind Conviction

(Friday-September 13, 2013)

Dark Dan burst from Clockwork's domain and flew out into the swirling Ghost Zone. Once he was a good distance from his former prison, the dark Phantom permitted himself to look back. The sight caused him to pause in his flight. His eyes widened in shock as the darkness of Nekron covered Clockwork's home and brought it tumbling down.

Dan couldn't believe it. Nekron defeated Clockwork with ease. That was something that not even he could do back in his original timeline. This made it clear that this timeline's Nekron was far more dangerous than the husk of Nekron that Dan dealt with when he was younger.

"Damn…" Dark Dan hissed, "He's dangerous."

Clockwork was right. Dan couldn't just run. If Nekron's power was based off of death, then he would gain more power as people died. That was bad. If any of those heroes or villains died, then Nekron would gain too much power. Eventually, he would get stronger than Dark Dan could ever hope to be, and then running would prove to be pointless.

"I need to stop him from killing people," Dark Dan realized, "And I need to find a way to get as much power as possible."

(Friday-September 13, 2013)

He flew through the Phantom Zone as fast as he could. There was a dimensional tear in this hell hole for the first time in years. This was his only chance to be free.

There! He could see it! A strange man covered in armor was dragging a dying boy through the portal while a tentacle monster was chasing them. They were still so far away, though. He wouldn't make it. That didn't matter to him, though. He had to try. If not then he would be stuck here for even longer.

"Come on!" The man roared. He watched as an explosion went off and the portal closed before he could get close, "NO! DAMN IT!"

Despite the pain from the explosion, the monster turned its attention to the man approaching him. With a roar, it tried to grab him. It didn't last even a second. In a blaze of red, the monster was torn apart and scattered across the Phantom Zone.

Once the monster was dealt with, the man looked around desperately, hoping that another portal would open up soon. That wasn't the case, though. Once again, he was trapped without a way to escape.

General Zod looked up and let out a roar of frustration, "Damn you, Kal-El! I'll get out of here one day, and when I do, that pathetic planet of yours will be turned into dust!"

(Friday-September 13, 2013)

Nyx smiled. She didn't want to smile, but she did it anyway for one simple reason…her father had ordered.

"Hehehehehehe!" Klarion clapped his hands together joyfully, "Finally, I got it right! It's about time! Now the real fun can begin."

"Yes, father," Nyx wanted to die in that moment.

"We're going to tear everything apart! The chaos will be beautiful!" Klarion giggled, "And you're going to be the key to all of it! I'm so glad that everything worked out like this! You're even better than a single dumb old monster…You make them with ease!"

'You're the monster!' That's what Nyx wanted to say. What she actually said was, "It's all because of you, dad. You're the best."

"I am, aren't I?" Klarion patted Nyx condescendingly on the head, "And you're my greatest creation. I can't wait to use you properly. You're going to get me all the power I could ever want."

Nyx never wanted anything more in her entire life than to bite off Klarion's fingers. Despite her mind screaming at her body, though, she just continued to smile.

'Please! Someone help me!"

(Friday-September 13, 2013)

Harm bowered before Morgaine le Fey, "Mistress, you have Harm's deepest thanks for rescuing him from that hellhole."

"Oh, Harm," Morgaine eyed the scarred man, "You should know that I don't want your words as thanks. I want actions."

"Of course, Mistress," Harm nodded, "As promised, Harm will lead the charge to provide you with all the entertainment you could ever want. The war of the ghosts shall be bloody and tragic. It will be the perfect story for you."

Morgaine smiled, "Indeed it will be."

(Saturday-September 14, 2013)

Danny sat alone in his room and thought about the results of the day. Despite what happened with Victor, the worst thing that happened to him that day had nothing to do with his escapades at Axion Labs. It turned out that Clockwork's entire domain had been destroyed and that the Master of Time was put into a coma. There was even worse news, though…

Dark Dan was free.

Anger surged through Danny. His knuckles popped and his teeth grinded as his whole body clenched. This wasn't good. He had to stop Dark Dan. If he didn't, then the monster would take everything from him. The other problems that occurred the previous day didn't nearly amount up to how much danger Dark Dan posed.

Harm could be dealt with later. It wasn't like he was going to cause any problems that could be worse than what Dark Dan could do.

(Saturday-September 14, 2013)

Victor looked in the mirror his parents had provided him, "No…what have you done to me?"

Silas flinched, "Son…I'm sorry…I—"

"YOU TURNED ME INTO A FREAK!"

Elinore gave him a desperate look, "We save your life, Victor. If we didn't—"

"SAVE MY LIFE?! MY LIFE WAS IN DANGER IN THE FIRST PLACE BECAUSE OF YOU!"

"Please, we're sorry. I know that we were wrong, but—"

"GET OUT!"

"Son, be reasonable—"

"I DON'T WANT TO BE REASONABLE! I WANT MY NORMAL FACE BACK!" Tears ran down from Victor Stone's one real eye. He was now a metal freak, and it was all his parents fault.

(Monday-September 16, 2013)

Dani blinked as she looked to the changed Victor.

Victor flinched, "H-Hey, Dani…I-I didn't want to see you yet. I…I know that I look bad, but…"

"You don't look bad."

Victor frowned, "Yes, I do. I'm more tech than human now."

"Really?" Dani reached up and gently placed a hand across the side of his face that was still flesh. She slowly moved his head to emphasize his human side, "You still got the same eyes. You're still you. The only thing that's different is your container."

Victor felt his face heat up, "Dani…"

"Besides, your new body is kickass!" Dani grinned, "What weapons do you got in there?!"

"I…I don't have any weapons."

"Well, then…" Dani removed her hand from his face, "We're going to have to fix that, aren't we?"

Victor felt his still human heart thump in his chest. For the first time in days, he really felt human, "Yeah…we are."

(Saturday-September 28, 2013)

Morgaine le Fey smiled at Harm and the ghosts that they had captured, "You have done an excellent job, Harm."

Harm bowed before the sorceress, "Thank you, Mistress."

"Our preparations are almost done. Once the little boy is done with the machine, the entertainment will finally begin," Morgaine hummed in satisfaction.

"Harm cannot wait to kill all the ghosts," Harm grinned sadistically.

"Speaking of which…" Morgaine giggled, "I have a special job for you, Harm. Once everything is set into motion, there is a special ghost I need you to capture for me."

"Special ghost?"

"Yes, have you ever heard of the Spectre?"

(Saturday-September 28, 2013)

"I can't believe this!" Klarion glared at Nyx as he marched around her, "You weren't supposed to show yourself!"

Walker watched as this went on, "I'm surprised that you kept your cool back there."

"It was only because Spirit was there. Better not to give Nyx any more outside stimulus," Klarion examined the unmoving Nyx, "They were friends. She had a connection to people in Amity Park. That must be why Nyx disobeyed me. The original Nyx was rebelling. I would be proud if I wasn't so pissed."

"So…stimulus can free her under the right circumstances?" Walker questioned with clear interest in his voice.

"That's right. A down side to having a servant that's naturally chaotic and rebellious," Klarion smirked, "That's why I need to make sure she knows who's in charge."

Black electricity danced from Klarion's hands. In seconds, Nyx's screams flooded through the area. Walker just watched impassively. The only reason he cared about this was because of their roles in his true master's plans. If Nyx rebelled, the Sorcerer Initiative would be a bust. So, this was definitely for the best. It didn't hurt that it was amusing to him as well.

(Saturday-September 28, 2013)

Dark Dan huffed as he looked over the mountainside. He did what he could. Not many of the heroes would listen to him. Dusk was an exception, though. The strange little halfa was the one least likely to kill. A quick warning to try to save lives might light a fire under his ass. That was going to be needed to stop whatever le Fey and Nekron had planned.

He just wished that he could have been more specific. Unfortunately, the Black Lanterns would definitely be keeping an eye on all the active halfas. They were important to Nekron's plan, after all. Dusk was probably the least valuable overall, though. If he learned too much, then the Black Lanterns would definitely had eliminated him.

"That's all I can do to prep the heroes without learning more about the next part of the plan," Dark Dan realized, "Now I need to prepare myself. Time to get some real knowledge on this new world. I wonder what exactly changed from my timeline…"

(Saturday-September 28, 2013)

Nekron looked down to his followers with satisfaction, "I would say that today was very productive. Altantis has been properly scouted, and le Fey is one step closer to enacting her plan."

Nocturne looked up from where he knelt, "What about Dusk, Master Nekron? Dark Dan interacted with him."

Aragon gained a vicious grin, "Should we kill him?"

"No, no…not yet at least. Dark Dan was careful not to give too much away. Besides…" Nekron let out a chuckle, "Dusk is more useful alive than dead. After all, he's a born killer. Even if he denies it."

(Wednesday-October 30, 2013)

Cain felt his phone vibrate. He had been waiting for this call, so he immediately brought his phone up to his ear, "Yeah?"

"I know where Amorpho is," Fenton's voice flowed through the phone.

"Where?"

"You're not going to like it."

"Where?"

"He's infiltrated the current base of Ra's Al Ghul."

Cain frowned, "I see…"

"You have to find him and stop him. I'm sending Madame Rogue too. Whatever le Fey has planned needs to be stopped. Like it or not, things will go bad quickly if Ra's dies without a successor."

"Yeah, I get it. Just thinking about how ironic that I'm going to save the guy that I refused to work with," Cain explained, "I'll make sure nothing happens to him."

"Good…I got to go. I'll make sure your payment gets into your account once the situation is settled."

"Got it…" Cain silently ended the call, "Hmm…Maybe I can recruit Shiva to help me. It'd be good to see the wife again."

(Thursday-October 31, 2013)

Ace eyed the ghost in front of her, "Why weren't you going crazy like the other ghosts?"

"I'm stronger than them, and I…" Lydia paused for a second, "I'm used to being around someone that could control ghosts."

"Pst! Ace!" King rushed over and whispered to Ace, "That's Freakshow's old flame. Be careful around her."

"Freakshow…" Ace remembered the strange man, "Why stick with him?"

"Because I loved him, but…eventually he changed," Lydia noted, "I couldn't stick by him through his violence and madness."

Ace tilted her head, "Why tell me that?"

"Because you know pain. I can see it in your eyes," Lydia explained, "You look like you need help."

Ace did not respond to that.

"Will you let me help you?"

(Thursday-October 31, 2013)

Dark Dan was covered in bruises and cuts as he floated high in the air. His fight with the Black Lanterns did not go his way. A fight between him and a single Black Lantern would be a bit of a challenge. Three Black Lanterns were far too much for anyone, though.

A change in the energy caused Dan to pause, "Damn it. Too late. Spectre died…"

"What did you expect?" Hotep Ra questioned.

Dark Dan growled, "I expected the youngest halfa to heed my warning. Everyone is just useless. No point in this useless struggle."

"There is a point," Nocturne pointed his ring at the alternate Phantom, "Master Nekron will be pleased if we capture you."

"Not likely," Dark Dan's form disappeared into a burst of energy just as the Black Lanterns shot energy blasts at him. It was time for a change of plans. He wouldn't be able to fight Nekron like he was now. There had to be some way to gain even more power.

(Thursday-October 31, 2013)

Klarion's control and orders were now close to absolute at this point. There were a few loopholes that Nyx could abuse, though. One order that Nyx found that she could readily interpret at her leisure was the command to do everything in her power to improve the Sorcerer Initiative.

Nyx could work with that. It wasn't too much of a stretch to assume that collecting magical items would help improve the Sorcerer Initiative. This was what she took advantage of when she was scouting during le Fey's attack.

Challenging Troia and taking the Lasso of Truth was the simple part. The hard part would be using it to her advantage to get Klarion to break the spell over her by making him reveal the truth through contact with the lasso.

Then...well, she would figure that out when she got to it.

(Thursday-October 31, 2013)

"Well…" Lex looked to the monitors that showed his companions, "That was interesting to say the least."

"Interesting?" Ra's raised an eyebrow, "I doubt that you'd be putting it so lightly if you were the one knocked unconscious during the attack."

"Hehehehehe…" Klarion giggled, "It could have been worse. At least you didn't have the mild inconvenience of dying."

"And at least you have the luxury of viewing death as an inconvenience," Ocean Master noted lightly.

"Good points," Ra's acknowledged, "But there is still the question of why this happened. It obviously had something to do with le Fey, but what?"

"Your death or capture would have been devastating to the Light and the League of Shadows," Queen Bee suggested, "Perhaps she wanted to watch how the fallout would be?"

"Perhaps...but it is impossible to say right now. We'll have to wait before we can interrogate le Fey until we can decide," Savage said with a solemn look on his face, "Until then, you should up your security and be careful, old friend. If we lose any members, then our plans will be set back by a lot."

(Friday-November 1, 2013)

Damon Gray considered himself a rather hardened individual. Despite everything he had lost in his life, he didn't let other people see his pain. No one knew just how much losing his wife and raising a teenage daughter was difficult for him to cope with...especially when the teenage girl was a super hero.

There was no amount of strength or stoicism that could prepare him for the death of his daughter. It was something that was always a risk with her line of work, but Damon always tried to ignore that because Valerie had long since made up her mind. Thinking about it was always his worst nightmare. Now his nightmare had come to life.

He sobbed as he looked down at her broken body. He didn't care if anyone saw him at this point. The only real reason why he tied to be strong was for Val. There was no reason left to pretend anymore.

Right now, he wanted to blame someone for this. Danny was the first thing to come to mind. The heroes were next, followed by the villains even if the murderers had been dealt with Danny. Finally, there was himself.

Deep down, he knew that blaming someone was wrong. Val would chew his ear out for cursing others. The only one that ultimately made Valerie's choices was herself. No one could have changed her mind. Even if he wanted to, he couldn't have stopped her.

So, Damon decided to stop blaming others and thinking about what could have been. Instead, he focused on the reality in front of him. His daughter was dead, and the only thing he could do was cry. So that's what he did.

It would be another long night.

(November 5, 2013)

Amorpho always knew that he wasn't strong when it came to fighting. He didn't have any talent in close quarter combat. Still, he took great pride in the knowledge of how dangerous his powers could be. If he impersonated the right person, then he could turn the world upside down.

He had never once thought about someone using that power to their advantage. He took comfort in the knowledge that his powers had never been used for evil. Morgaine le Fey changed that. He had almost brought the League of Shadows into anarchy. Causing assassins to go wild across the world had to be at the top of the list of things that could start World War Three.

Even if that catastrophe was avoided, though, he still had to live with the knowledge that he had influenced three of the most dangerous villains on the planet. The consequences for that would be on him.

It was all because he was too weak to resist the mind control. Well, he was going to make sure that would never happen again. No matter what he wouldn't let himself be influenced again by anything other than the greater good.

No matter what, he was going to be useful and make a real difference to make up for his failure. Even if it killed him.

(Saturday-January 18, 2014)

The Sons of Trigon and Agent Z all bowed before their master. Trigon seemed pleased with what they had accomplished, "You have done well, my loyal followers."

Trigon's sons all glowed under the praise of their father. Agent Z was far more critical of their own work, "The heroes proved to be extremely creative and meticulous in their preparations for us. We only just barely succeeded in our mission. Next time, they might come out on top, and if that happens during the day of your ascension to the mortal world…"

"That won't be an issue. The mortals are predictable. Threaten those they care for, and their wills will crumble," Trigon noted, "And my daughter seems to have grown very close to the leaders of our enemies. Taking the half-ghosts out will effectively kill two birds with one stone."

(Saturday-January 18, 2014)

Fright Knight crossed his arms and leaned against one of the walls of Vlad's office, "The encounter with the devil's forces did not go as planned."

"That is an understatement," Vision stroked her chin in thought, "Trigon did not just have raw power like we thought. The strange abilities of his sons are hard to predict. It will be hard to know their exact limits without being able to experiment with them. The only thing we can work with is theoretic."

Vlad smiled, "Luckily, my dear, you are the queen of theory. I'm sure you'll use this as an opportunity to better yourself and find a weakness in Trigon's force."

Vision's right hand slipped down to brush against her robes, "Indeed…"

(Friday-February 14, 2014)

David Cain looked down at the paper in his hands and then back up to check that this was the right door. It was best to be careful, especially on this day. He didn't want to walk in on something that he couldn't unsee. Raising a hand, Cain knocked on the door. After a second, it swung open, and Cain was pulled inside before the door was slammed shut.

He was immediately pushed into the wall. Soft lips smashed into his own rougher mouth. Cain quickly caught on and fought the assaulting mouth with his own. He used his superior physical strength to move his assaulter away from the wall and further into the room. Luckily, Shiva was pleased with this and did nothing to halt his actions.

Once they made to the bed, David finally pulled away, "Now that's a greeting. I'm guessing that you missed me?"

Shiva chuckled and moved her hand downward, "Not as much as you've missed me apparently."

"I won't deny that," Cain gently brushed a hand across her cheek, "Damn, you're beautiful. I wish we could be like this every day."

"We will soon, love," Shiva gained a wanting tone in her voice, "Once my mission in the Shadows is over, and Cassandra is safe, then we can be together every day."

"That day can't come soon enough."

"Agreed. Now, no more talking. I want your mouth to be put to better use."

"Yes, Ma'am."

(Friday-February 14, 2014)

Harriet eyed the menu in her hands, "Hmm…The crab sounds good. What do you think?"

Damon was silent.

Harriet lowered her menu and looked across the dinner table to her date for the night, "Damon?"

Damon blinked as he was dragged from his thoughts, "What?"

"I was asking you about the crab," Harriet gently explained.

"Oh…" Damon slowly nodded, "That sounds good."

Harriet let out a small sigh, "Ok. I get it. You're just not into this."

"What? No…Well, yes…err, it's just weird," Damon admitted, "I haven't been on a date since my wife died. I was too busy with work and…Valerie…"

Harriet decided to guide the conversation away from his dead loved ones, "That's understandable. If you don't want to continue this, we can call it a night."

"No, no, Danny set this up for a reason," Damon noted, "He didn't want me alone tonight. It would be…too depressing for me."

"Danny does know a lot about losing people he cares about," Harriet agreed.

Damon rubbed his forehead, "Yeah…"

Harriet saw his expression, "If it makes you feel better, this is far from the worst date I've ever been on."

Damon raised an eyebrow, "Really?"

"Yeah. There was this one time in college where Maddie set me up with one of Jack's friends. He was actually one of the most agreeable of them, but…well…Maddie and Jack were both kind of dense when it came to relationships. They never realized that the guy was gay…"

The night continued like that. While there was no real romance in the evening, a friendship was started, and that was enough for them right now.

(Saturday-February 15, 2014)

Fright Knight sat on the couch in the living room of Master Mansion and looked to the worried Vision, "You are concerned about Lord Phantom choosing to start a relationship with Jinx."

Vision turned to the Fright Knight, "And you aren't?"

"I trust my liege's ultimate judgment," Fright Knight explained.

"So do I," Vision argued, "But that girl…She's related to HIM."

"I know, and that does hit close to home," Fright Knight admitted, "But they have the choice to be together, and we must accept it."

"It won't last," Vision argued, "They exist on two different sides. This won't end happily for them."

"Perhaps not, but that doesn't mean that some good won't come out of it."

(Saturday-March 1, 2014)

Ra's sighed when Phantom and Jinx exited the Light's meeting, "So, we're going to be missing three of our leaders from the Sorcerer Initiative."

"Not to mention all the assets and funds we sunk into the program," Lex shook his head, "The loss for this project is drastic. It will take a long time to rebuild our organization back to full power."

"I know that it might be too soon, but we must start thinking of who could replace those three," Queen Bee mentioned.

Savage nodded sadly, "We need to start compiling data as soon as this is over. But…I do have an idea of a good replacement for the Brain…"

(Monday-March 3, 2014)

All members of the Phantom Family stood the memorial room. They often went there individually, but it was rare that they all spent time there together in this room. There was a very good reason for this. The only times they ever came together in the Memorial Room was when someone died. That was the very case in this instance.

There was plenty to mourn right now. But there was one specific member of their family lost in the fight. It was that being's stone that they all stood in front of.

Cujo: A good dog

Joel stepped forward and laid a bouquet of flowers in front of the stone. He then stepped back with his family. Like them, he had tears in his eyes. They all remembered the times where Cujo ran through the halls and filled them with joy. The words on the stone rang painfully true for all of them. Why must the most innocent and pure die?

(Monday-March 3, 2014)

Cassandra looked up to her father. Shock and fear covered her features, "They took her?"

"Yes…" Cain was still cursing himself on the inside.

"They'll kill her," Cassandra went very pale in that moment, "W-We need to find her!"

"Don't worry," David knelt in front of his daughter, "I'm going to find her and drag her out of Ra's grasp."

"What about me?" Cassandra questioned, "I can't just stand around twiddling my thumbs."

"Your mother did all of this so that you could be safe. Letting you come with me would be spitting on everything she sacrificed," David argued, "You go with the heroes like planned. Once I find and save your mother, I'll send word to you."

"But…"

"No buts. I'm using the father card here," David looked at his daughter, "I know that I couldn't be around a lot, but it was strange circumstances to say the least. I love you, Cassandra, and I…"

Cassandra rushed in for a hug. That was the first time her father ever got to say that to her.

"…I'll find her," David promised, "Or die trying."

(Monday-March 3, 2014)

Jericho floated through Nirvana to a more secluded space that was harder to navigate. He had felt a disturbance in the flow of energy here. It was a larger burst of psychic energy combined with enormous amounts of magic. The combined force of the energies must have teared through the wall separating the mortal plane from Nirvana. From the looks of it, eight strange beings were transported from that tear in dimensions.

For a few minutes, Jericho tried to awaken the strange beings. He started with the normal humans and then moved onto the ghosts. Nothing he tried worked, though. It seemed like their bodies were in some kind of forced suspended animation state. The strange combination of mental and magical energies must be behind it. They probably wouldn't wake up until they left Nirvana.

After realizing that it was pointless, Jericho went back to playing his guitar. At least he would have company for a while.

(Saturday-March 8, 2014)

That bastard.

That absolute, pathetic, piece of shit.

How dare he?

Sending Shiva's body like this…what was he trying to do? Was it mockery? Was it the fool's pathetic sense of morality in murder? Did he think giving David the body of his dead wife would pacify him?

Cain reached down and gently traced the bullet hole in his wife's head. It was one clean shot. She didn't suffer in death. That didn't matter to Cain, though. Dead was dead.

"N-No…" Cain sobbed. Hot tears rand down his face, "Damn it, woman…you can't leave me…Goddamn it!"

Hugging his wife's corpse, Cain knew that it was time to do something drastic and stupid. That was the only way to pacify his own crazy instincts and save his daughter from his own fate.

(Wednesday-March 12, 2014)

Cassandra held her father's letter to her chest and heaved out a sob. Both her parents were dead. How was she supposed to deal with this? Just a month ago, she believed that her parents would run off into the sunset and make her a younger sibling. Now, though, all that was dust.

"Mommy…Daddy…" Cassandra didn't bother to wipe the tears running down her face.

The Shadows…Ra's Al Ghul…He did this. She would make him pay. Cassandra would cut out his heart and…

No.

She couldn't do that.

This was what her father was trying to warn her about in his death. Facing Ra's just out of hate was just stupid. She needed a plan. She needed time. And she needed plenty of people on her side when the time came. Until then, she would wait. Then…

She would beat Ra's Al Ghul to death with her own bare hands.

(Wednesday-March 12, 2014)

Vlad had his face in his hands, "All this time…I had a daughter…I can't believe it."

Vision placed a hand on her love's shoulder, "Vlad, you can't blame yourself. There was no way of knowing…or even suspecting. Did you even know that half-ghosts could have children back then?"

"No…I didn't do research on it for a long time…" Vlad admitted, "But that doesn't change anything. I spent twenty years obsessing over gaining family, and I always had it."

"Family is more than blood," Vision argued, "Daniel, Dannielle, and Joel are as close to my children as they ever need to be."

"I know, but…I feel so terrible…"

"That's because through all the manipulation and hurt there was always a good man. You just needed people to help bring it out," Vision gently hugged her fiancé, "If June couldn't see that, then she didn't ever really know you. And her daughter lost out because of it."

Vlad sighed, "I want to fix this, but I don't know how. Perhaps there isn't a way…"

"Vlad…I don't know what to say to you…" Vision noted, "Like it not, there's no way to undo June's choices. We just have to live with them."

"I know. Right now, I can only hope things work out between her and Daniel. That's the only way to make sure that I don't have to eventually go to war with my own daughter."

(Wednesday-March 12, 2014)

Savage raised an eyebrow, "Your father? June never said who he was. Based on your powers, he obviously was a ghost. She must have known. But June didn't ever care for such details. From what I inferred, though, she never expected to get pregnant from him."

"I see…"

Savage frowned at Jinx, "Why are you asking this?"

"Just curious. It's my genetic father after all," Jinx tilted her head, "Weren't you ever curious, though?"

"Yes, but the only lead I ever had was your powers. The only ghost that has similar powers isn't a genetic match, though," Savage explained, "From there, it was a complete dead end. For all I know, the ghost is already dead."

Jinx nodded. Her ancestor didn't know her birth father's true identity. Well, that was fine. This meant that Danny's secrets were safe at least, "I see. Well, thank you, Dad. I know you don't like talking about this."

"Don't worry, Jennifer. I am glad that you're taking an interest in your genetics."

(Wednesday-March 12, 2014)

"Are…are you Sheila Haywood?" Jason stared down to the drunk woman on the sidewalk.

"Yesh…Whash it to ya?" Shelia glanced up to the young man, "Ya work for Tony? Tell hims tha I'll get hum hish moneys in a month…"

"No, I don't work for…um, Tony…" Jason fidgeted uncomfortably for the first time in a long time.

"Oh…Then gosh awane…" Shelia collapsed to the side, "I ain't buying…"

"I'm not selling anything, I just…I wanted to meet you," Jason took a deep breath, "I'm your son."

Shelia looked up to Jason from her spot on the ground, "What…Do you want a cookie?"

Jason felt his heart twist. This wasn't how he wanted this to go, but this was his mother. He didn't want to miss having her around like Joel and Cassandra. So, he decided to push onward and make this work…No matter what.

(Tuesday-April 1, 2014)

"What do we do about the Trigon problem?" Savage questioned his companions.

"Is there much we can do?" Luthor questioned, "We no longer have Klarion to keep us up to date on the shifting demonic energy."

"Perhaps this problem is best left in the hands of the heroes?" Queen Bee suggested, "That way we don't have to risk any more of our assets."

Savage sighed, "I disliking relying on the foolish heroes, but you are correct. Trying to fight against Trigon would just waste away our remaining assets. For once, the Light shall stay out of this crisis."

(Thursday-April 10, 2014)

Constantine eyed Jason Blood, "You do know that this plan will banish every full demon on the planet?"

Blood nodded, "I am completely aware of the consequences of the spell."

"But that includes your demon," Constantine argued.

"Even better," Blood noted, "I have lived for far too long through far too much. If this is the way to end my curse, then I should be grateful that I have the added bonus of defeating Trigon as I do it."

"What about your students?"

"Hmm…There comes a time when one's students must move on and surpass the teacher."

(Friday-April 11, 2014)

Dark Dan grinned as he held the Crown of Fire and Ring of Rage in his hands. Finally, he had the power he needed. With le Fey's help, he stole the Skeleton Key and entered Pariah Dark's castle without anyone noticing. Nekron wouldn't stand a chance.

"This better be worth it," Morgaine le Fey mentioned from behind him, "I'm missing a lot of entertainment for this."

"Oh, it will be worth it. Trust me, but we're not done here," Dark Dan noted, "We have to hide our track and get the key back to its hiding spot. Otherwise, this will all be for nothing."

"Well, let's hurry it up, then," Morgaine le Fey stated in annoyance, "I want to be done with this already. Entertainment in the far future doesn't interest me as much as the present."

(Saturday-April 12, 2014)

Aquaman eyed the blade that now replaced his hand. He kept losing more and more as the year moved forward and the emergencies passed. This was far better than losing his son, of course. He'd give both his arms to bring his child back. Hell, he'd give everything. Unfortunately, life didn't work like that.

Still, things were not looking good for him. At this rate, he might not even make it through the year. His brother was dead, and Mera…His queen would not be able to rule without him. That left only one person left to lead if something happened to Aquaman. Kaldur was the default heir to Atlantis at this point, even if he didn't realize it.

Kaldur would have to accept that role, or it would be the end of Atlantis. There was one problem, though. If Kaldur learned the truth of this parentage on his own…

"I have to tell him."

(Monday-April 21, 2014)

Barbara awakened feeling absolutely terrible. The sickening white of the hospital room ceiling was the first thing her blurry eyes saw. What happened? How did she end up here? She hadn't had a mission or been on patrol in days. There was no way for her to be hurt like…The memories suddenly came flooding back to her.

Barbara froze when she opened the door.

"Candy-gram!"

All the color fled from Barbara's face

"Good to see you laughing! That saves me some time! Now give Uncle J a big smile for the camera!"

Barbara tried to move, but at that distance with so little warning, she never had a chance. A loud bang sounded out through the apartment. The bullet caught her in the stomach and continued all the way to her spine. Barbara instantly crumbled to the ground in agonizing pain.

"Oh come on! Down already?! Show a little spine!"

Oh no. She had been shot. Oh damn! She couldn't feel her legs! This couldn't be happening! The machines around Barbara flared. Nurses and doctors rushed into the room. They all attempted to calm the woman down to no avail. The only way to calm her down again would be to give her feeling in her legs again.

(Monday-April 21, 2014)

Batman glared down to the barely breathing woman. Jason died for her? She was a terrible woman that only ever drained resources from society. She cheated, lied, and generally didn't care about other people. Hell, she sold her own son to settle her debts.

Yet…he still understood what Jason tried to do. God only knew what he would do to get his own mother back. That was why he permitted Jason to try to reconnect with his mother. It was yet another mistake that he would have to carry on his shoulders.

"Jason gave his life for you…I hope you live a long time," Batman spoke to the comatose mother of his ward, "But I hope that you're never happy."

(Monday-May 20, 2014)

"Is that what the world was like when Nekron was around the first time?" Queen Bee questioned her companion.

Savage sighed, "Unfortunately, yes."

"Damn," Luthor just shook his head. He had no other words.

"This is a big problem," Ra's noted, "Thousands dead. Ghosts cut out before our plans can really start. And Phantom…"

Savage gained a hardened look, "We did lose him, but we still have our insurance. Now is the time to start really investing into Project Legacy."

(Monday-May 20, 2014)

Destiny looked across the table to his siblings, "We lost a lot in the fight with Nekron."

"Speak for yourself, old man," Destruction let out a grunt, "I didn't lose my chosen like you and Miss Black and White."

Death's glare made Destruction regret that comment, "Be careful, Destruction. Remember the last time I lost my temper with you?"

Destruction just looked away.

Desire smirked, "Oh~ She's mad that she lost her favorite~"

Death's gaze shifted to Desire, "The same goes for you, sister. Do not forget my power."

"Jeeze, will all of you calm down," Dream rubbed his tired eyes, "Death, you should be used to ending things eventually. Desire, you didn't even have a favorite."

Desire's smile turned wicked, "Not yet, you mean."

"I don't like that look," Delirium whispered sadly, "Last time you had that look, Darkseid was conceived."

"Oh, I know~"

"And you all think that I'm bad," Despair grimaced, "She's even worse than me."

"Enough," the eldest Endless spoke out, "This bickering is pointless. Like it or not, Death's chosen was the key to stabilizing the universe, and now he's out of the picture. I do not like how things are going. We need to be prepared for the worst."

"You act like everything is set in stone," Dream tilted his head to the side, "But your favorite passed on his legacy to the speedster. Things might change."

"They probably will, but not in the first timeline because someone," Destiny glared at Desire, "Decided to try to pull a Helen of Troy."

"Psh! I wouldn't call it that!" Desire rolled her eyes, "He won't even do anything. It's so boring…"

"Yes, that's the point," Destruction placed his face in his hands, "You never think these things through."

"Uh, yeah I do," Desire's eyes glinted, "After all, my own chosen wouldn't have ever existed if that dark future never happens."

(Thursday-May 29, 2014)

Vision laid down three bouquets of flowers in front of three stone tablets in the Masters Mansion Memorial Room. She then took a step back to stand by her companion. Frostbite said nothing as they both gazed at the reminders of who was lost.

Scribe The Ghost Writer: Author, reader, and ally

Fright Knight: Undying, loyal knight

Pandora: Harbinger of justice and mother

"It's so hard to accept it," Vision noted to her longtime companion, "All three of them are gone."

"They had to go eventually," Frostbite reasoned, "It was never clear who would go first."

"But for all three of them to go in the space of such a short time. Two of them because of Nekron," Vision sighed, "It's disheartening. What is in store for us, Foster?"

Frostbite snorted, "It's been a long time since you called me that, Viola."

"Sorry. I suppose the moment brought it up."

"Don't apologize. It brings me back to simpler times," Frostbite smiled at his memoires, "I believe we only met once before Nekron."

"Yes, I was the princess and you were the beast. At least that's what our birth father said," Vision nodded her head slowly, "Even back then you were hairy."

"Hahahaha! That I was!" Frostbite shook his head, "We haven't talked about that since we were in Pariah Dark's court. What about them? Did you ever meet one of them before Nekron?"

"I met Author. He was still a squire at the time. Birth father only ever mentioned Pricilla and Sebastian, though," Vision noted, "I was always jealous when he mentioned them. For some reason, I thought that they stole some of his love away. I only realize now how stupid I was."

"Hmm…" Frostbite gained a far-away look, "I always wondered why they got to live somewhere that wasn't a frozen wasteland. Took me a while to realize that it was just a roll of the dice."

"Our original fates may have been chance, but our coming together in death was anything but luck," Vision mentioned, "Things have changed so much…Our birth father has changed so much."

"Maybe not as much as you think. Savage obviously still cares about family. Just look at how much Jinx looks up to him," Frostbite argued.

Vision nodded.

"Did…Did you ever tell them? Considering that Vlad had relations with one of Savage's descendants and now the Great One is with Jinx…" Frostbite trailed off.

"I will tell Vlad soon, but Danny…" Vision shook her head, "He doesn't need to know. That would make it even weirder for him when he eventually breaks up with her."

"That's probably for the best. Your adopted son dating your niece? That's just weird, even if there aren't any blood ties between them."

(Saturday-May 31, 2014)

Using the dust that was still settling after that interesting fight with Nekron, Thorn made sure to disappear without a trace. Fortunately, she didn't have any enemies…(Hahahaha! Not yet at least!)…to try and track her down. So she had room to move around for a while. She decided to retrace the steps of how she got sealed up in the first place.

It seems like her son…(Oh! I remember cute little Charlie!)…really did love his mother. He even went so far as to follow her into death to make sure she was happy and sane. Then, he died, and Thorn was back.

(Is that a good thing, though?)

Shut up, you.

(But our baby is gone! We gave everything for him! You gave up being around for him.)

…

Before she knew it, Thorn had found herself drawn to the place where Youngblood stayed while in Amity Park. It was a tiny shack in the middle of nowhere. Trash and clutter filled every open space. He didn't seem to like to keep everything clean. (He never changed). At the same time there was nothing really personal around the room. It was like he didn't have anyone he cared about…(Oh! There's a hidden compartment under the bed!)

Thorn pulled out a picture along with a few written notes. Interesting. It looked like Youngblood… (Charlie!)…had a girl he cared for…perhaps even enough to die for…Someone he loved more than his mother…

Thorn's eyes gleamed, "Danielle Masters…"

(Saturday-May 31, 2014)

"There you are."

A tiny green lizard looked up to the man that loomed in front of him.

"I knew that I would find you after I heard about what happened. Out of everyone, you would be the one least content with death."

The lizard tilted his head to the side.

"Do not act like you do not understand me. Please change into a more appropriate form."

The lizard nodded. Its form twisted into a large beast that looked like a chimaera with the body of a lion, the horns of a ram, and a tail that swirled around like a snake.

"Very good. Do you remember anything?"

The chimaera shook his head, "No…well a little. I remember someone crying and begging me not to leave. Then, I woke up here in this strange place."

"This is the Ghost Zone."

"Ghost Zone? So I'm a ghost? I'm…dead?"

"We both are. Unlike you, though, I remember everything that happened before we died. That is why I sought you out. You and I are the only ones that fought on to become ghosts."

"The only ones? There were others like us?"

"Yes. We used to be heroes. I am willing to leave my legacy as it is, but my loved ones still need me. I cannot leave them for the peace of the afterlife yet. But I need help. That's where you come in. I know that I can trust you."

"So…if you remember me…then you know my name?"

"I do," The green haired man nodded, "But it would be best not to bring up our past times. Not too quickly, at least. It might shell shock you."

The chimaera tilted his head to the side, "Then what do we call each other?"

"Based on my powers, you can call me Neptune," Neptune raised his hand to allow artificial water to dance between his fingers, "As for you…what do you wish to be called?"

"Well…I change shape a lot…Why not call me Changeling?"

(Sunday-June 1, 2014)

Torch frowned down at the paper in his hands, "New ghosts, eh?"

"Yes, sir," Bullet nodded, "There are plenty of them after the Blackest Night incident and very few of them understand the rules you have set."

"Torch sees…" Torch looked over to Dora, "What do you suggest."

Dora looked across Torch's office in the Ghost Prison and pondered, "I think that it would be best to address this with the new Council."

"First meeting, eh? Sounds good to Torch," Torch turned to Bullet, "Prepare messages for all the members."

"Yes sir," With that, Bullet turned and left the office.

Dora sighed, "This is going to be difficult."

"We knew that at the beginning, but you'll do great as leader of the Council," Torch noted.

Dora blinked, "Me? I'm the leader?"

"Um…Yeah? Did you expect Torch to do it? Please. Even Torch knows that's a bad idea. Also…Nyx's too young. Poindexter wouldn't be willing. Undergrowth is an even worse idea than Torch. And Box Ghost is…Box Ghost."

Dora looked pale, "So…I'm in charge?"

Torch saw her worried look. He gently placed a hand on her shoulder, "Don't worry. You are a born leader. Torch believes in you. And you won't be alone. The entire Council will support you."

"You really think I can be in charge of the entire Ghost Zone?"

"Torch can't think of anyone he would trust more to do the job."