I just want to confirm, I don't own anything Danny Phantom or DC.

Just in case you didn't know.

Beacon of Justice

Chapter 3

Kara stayed with Rachel for most the night, she only left when she knew the elder Kents would soon be waking up. Just before she opened the door, however, she turned back to take another glance at the sleeping girl. She couldn't help but smile at how peaceful Rachel looked. Just a few hours ago, the Halfa was sobbing uncontrollably, and completely distraught. Kara's smile faded when she realized she might've been staring for a bit too long and exited the room.

The next few days might not have been eventful, but they were very soothing for Rachel. She spent her entire day helping the Kents with either chores or farm work, completing them was a breeze thanks to her powers. Although she did try to make it a work out for herself, she didn't want to get rusty just because the work was easy.

Rachel had more company than just the Kent family. Superman would visit from Metropolis every other day to check up on her, as well as the other members of the League. Only they came alone, and in their civilian clothes, to avoid suspicion. Batman, however, only called the Kent home once, and only briefly. Rachel found the act a bit strange; she never saw the Detective as the comforting type. Still, it did wonders for Rachel's emotional state to find out that there were people who cared for her. She wasn't alone.

After completing her work, she would spend her free time with Kara; usually involving Rachel demonstrating more of her powers, telling more about her world, or more of her adventures. However, today was a special case; Kara had asked Rachel to a sparring match, which the ghost-girl was more than happy to accept. They were currently standing about ten feet apart, eyeing each other intensely.


Kara made the first move and charged at Rachel, fist cocked back, aiming straight for the ghost-girl's face. Rachel deflected the attack to the side; the momentum of Kara's fist caused the Kryptonian to spin around. Rachel took the opening and lightly pushed Kara back a few feet. The blonde Kryptonian looked at her opponent stunned.

"You were telegraphing." informed Rachel as she got back into her stance.

Kara regained her focus and nodded. "Right."

Kara flew towards her again, this time sending a flurry of punches with blinding speed. Her attacks were making ripples in the air. With some effort, the ghost-girl blocked all of them by making angular movements with her arms. Rachel had to admit, Kara was definitely up there in terms of sheer strength and speed, but she lacked control. If Kara wasn't careful; she might cause more damage than she intended. Rachel lightly tapped Kara on the side of her neck; the Kryptonian reacted slightly at being hit. Seizing the opportunity, the Halfa aimed a haymaker at Kara's cheek. Kara blocked it with her arm, but then she grunted a little as Rachel hit her in the gut. Rachel tapped Kara's neck again, the Kryptonian had moved to block it, but got there a second too late. The Halfa then followed through with an elbow thrust aimed at Kara's throat. She stopped inches before making contact. They were just sparring after all. Refusing to let up, Rachel extended both her arms, and hit Kara squarely across the chest. The force of the blow Kara off her feet and she toppled over backwards.

"You okay?" Rachel asked concerned.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." Kara stood up and brushed the dust off her clothes. "So, what did I do wrong there?"

Rachel blinked. "HM? Oh! Your eyes were moving all over the place. My advice," Kara looked at Rachel pointed two fingers at her eyes, "keep'em right here."

"Got it." As soon as Kara finished, she swung her leg at Rachel's head. The ghost-girl was barely able to duck under it. Wow, she's fast! Instinctively, Rachel grabbed Kara's ankle and threw her up into the sky. Kara was able to stop herself after a couple hundred feet. After shaking her head to clear it, the Kryptonian looked down at the ground, trying to locate the Halfa.

"Where'd she go?" she wondered out loud. Suddenly she felt something tug under her armpits, and felt pressure being applied to her neck.

"Ah!" she yelled out in pain. Kara tried to break free, but more she struggled, the more painful it became.

"Here I am." Rachel replied softly as she continued to hold Kara in a Full-Nelson. Kara was trying all she could to break the hold. Rachel had to use most of her strength to keep the Kryptonian from escaping. "Don't try to power of out of it. Just take it easy and-OW!" Rachel couldn't finish her sentence as Kara jerked her head backwards, hitting the ghost-girl directly in the forehead. Rachel let go of Kara and held her forehead. She felt like she was just hit by a wrecking-ball in full swing. Kara seized the opportunity and used her super breath to blow the ghost-girl back towards the Earth. Rachel was still stunned by Kara's last attack, and so couldn't defend herself. She landed on the ground a little harder than she'd liked; the impact sent jolts through her body.

Rachel looked up to see Kara floating leisurely back down to the ground, arms crossed with a smirk on her face.

"Not gonna lie, Kara," she said, getting to her feet, "that really hurt."

Kara's smirk faltered when she saw the light bruise on Rachel's forehead. She didn't mean to hit her that hard. "Sorry," she replied apologetically.

"Don't be." Rachel brushed off with a wave of her hand. Kara blinked at the Halfa in confusion. "You got out of the hold, that's all that matters." Kara smiled at Rachel as the two got back into their stances. "Ready to go again?"

"You bet."


Gotham City, The Batcave

Batman sat at his computer, lost in thought. He had barely left his chair since Rachel had left with Clark. He had even entrusted Batgirl and Robin to cover more patrol duties for him, much to the surprise of both his young partners. He stared at the image on his computer. An image of Rachel Robertson stared back.

Bruce heard footsteps approaching from behind him, but he didn't turn around. Thanks to years of training, the Detective knew how to recognize the pattern of an individual's footsteps, and even without training, he knew those footsteps anywhere.

"Hello, Alfred."

"You got me again, sir."

"You tried leading with your left foot again." Batman smirked. "It's been a while since you tried to fool me."

"With all due respect, sir, I was worried that your project concerning Miss Rachel had distracted you from all else."

Bruce looked up as his butler placed a tray of food next to him. After looking at the time, he realized he needed to eat too. Bringing his attention back to the screen, he began typing with one hand, while picking up his food with the other. Alfred simply stood behind him and waited.

"What is it, Alfred?"

"Sir," The Butler began with a hint of nervousness in his voice, "Rachel Robertson is not Bruce Wayne."

Bruce turned around and gave his butler a sharp look. "Are you so sure, Alfred? She lost her family, and the girl she loved, everyone who was important to her. How is she not like me?"

"I suppose this is why you are helping her?"

"When my parents died, I was left millions of dollars, I was the heir to an incredibly successful company, and I had a home. Rachel comes from another universe. She has nothing. This way, she can at least have an identity. She can have a normal life."

"Are you going to bribe her into joining your cause?"

Bruce sighed, and paused for a moment. "No, I am not. But if she decides to give up the life of a hero and start over, I can give her the foundation to do it."

Alfred nodded. "I understand, sir."

Batman resumed typing for a moment, and then printed out a piece of paper, which he handed to the butler.

"Call Superman," he instructed, "tell him to give this to Rachel before he tries to introduce her to anyone."


Kent Farm

The sun was setting as Rachel and Kara stared at each other. After sparring for hours, both girls were left panting heavily, and slightly scuffled. Rachel was impressed at how well Kara performed, even though her technique was still somewhat rough around the edges, she made up for it with sheer power. The few hits that Kara landed on Rachel were still aching. Kara still felt overwhelmed by the Halfa's superior fighting skills; she'd lost count of how many times she felt Rachel's fists make contact with her body. Although Rachel wasn't as strong as the Kryptonian, she was equal to her in speed, if not faster. The ghost-girl took a deep breath and stood upright.

Kara raised an eyebrow, but didn't break from her stance. "Uh, what are you doing?"

"It's getting late," replied Rachel as she walked towards Kara, "we should get back."

"What?" Kara exclaimed. "Aww, come on! We can go for a little longer."

Rachel gave Kara a small smile. "I get that you're excited, but rest is just as important as training. Besides, I don't want Mister and Misses Kent to worry."

"I'll be fine, and there's nothing to worry about. C'mon Please." Rachel just stared at the other girl; Kara was acting like a child being told that she had to leave the playground. In all honesty, it was kind of cute.

"Kara," Rachel said slowly. "Don't make me pinch you." As she said it, the Halfa made a pinching motion with her thumb and index finger.

This made Kara roll her eyes. "Like that can do anything," she doubted with a smirk, "I'm a Kryptonian, I'm-"

Before Kara could finish her sentence, her eyes widened in shock as her body seized up. Rachel looked over Kara's shoulder and saw her duplicate appear out of thin air behind her, pinching the base of Kara neck. As soon as the duplicate released her grip on Kara, the unconscious Kryptonian toppled forward; Rachel reacted quickly and caught her. Rachel exchanged looks with her duplicate; the latter smiled at the dozing Kara and shook her head before disappearing. Then Rachel turned back into a human, and held Kara in a bridal carry as she walked back into the Kent's home.


A week had passed since Rachel had arrived at the Kent farm, and on the morning of the seventh day, she had a pleasant surprise.

She had actually slept through the entire night. Thinking more deeply, she realized she had slept more soundly ever since her first night at the Kent's.

The nightmares were still there, however, so her slumber wasn't exactly restful. Still, it's better than waking up crying in the middle of the night.

After showering and cleaning her clothes with intangibility (She really needed to get some new clothes), she headed downstairs. She was mildly surprised to find Clark at the table, sipping a cup of coffee, and dressed in civilian clothes.

"Morning, Rach." The Man of Steel called casually, "How'd you sleep?"

"Better than usual," Rachel replied, "but that's not saying much."

"Still having nightmares?"

Rachel sighed as she joined Clark at the table. "I don't know if I'll ever get rid of them, but honestly, part of me doesn't want to."

Clark blinked a few times, confused. "Why wouldn't you want to…"

"Because… the nightmares are worth waking up at night if it means I can see them. When they died… There was nothing left." Rachel looked down at her hands, sadness falling over her.

Clark wanted to quickly change the subject, and slid a piece of paper across the table to her.

"Batman asked me to give this to you." He smiled timidly. "I doubt I was supposed to read it, but I got curious."

Rachel raised an eyebrow at the Man of Steel. "So much for you being a boy scout."

Clark gave a light chuckle, remember Flash saying something similar after the Justice League defeat the Justice Lords, their evil, parallel-dimension counterparts.

"Never even got my first merit badge." He remarked before taking another sip of his coffee.

Rachel chuckled, and then studied the paper in front of her. Her eyes widened as she read. It was a short summary of her life. Only, she knew it wasn't her life. Instead, it was the life of Rachel Robertson existed in this universe. The details on the paper were vague, but Rachel realized she was given a rough draft of a new life.

According to the paper, her entire family had recently died in a tragic accident (which wasn't entirely wrong), and while she was waiting to receive property that had belonged to her family, she was staying with the Kents, who were apparently family friends.

Rachel blinked. Wait, what property? She looked over at Clark, who just shrugged.

"Guess he's looking out for you."

Rachel smiled a little. "Aww, that's really sweet."

Clark grinned as well. "Bruce might not act like it, but he's one of the most caring people on the planet. He once changed the retirement policy throughout Wayne Industries just so one employee didn't have to retire."

"Aww." Rachel responded as she put a hand over her heart. While she realized that Batman wasn't all Bruce Wayne was, she never figured the man could be that nice. Rachel would have to return the favor someday.

After a moment of awkward silence, Clark asked, "Say, Rachel, you haven't seen much of Metropolis, right? I mean other than when you first arrived in this universe."

Rachel smirked at a little at Clark. "You mean Metropolis without Thanagarians invading it? No, I haven't."

Clark smiled. "Yeah, alien invaders don't exactly attract tourists. Anyway, I figured that I'd show you around the place. After all, a week on a farm could get boring."

Rachel didn't necessarily agree. She didn't mind being on the Kent farm. She was actually pretty happy when she was staying with them. The Kents were very good people, and the chores weren't at all any difficult. It was only yesterday that things were starting to change. Kara's school had reopened, which meant the world had mostly recovered from the Thanagarian invasion. Thus, Rachel's newest friend had to finish her last few months of high school. Rachel admittedly was a little saddened that now she had to spend her free time alone. She thought she could pass the time by excising, but there are only so many pushups she could do before it got incredibly boring, also sparring with a duplicate was redundant as they could both counter each other's moves perfectly.

Rachel shrugged. "It wouldn't hurt to sightsee. After all, Metropolis doesn't exist back home."

Clark nodded and grinned. "Great. I can introduce you to a few friends of mine. You should probably leave a note for my parents; tell them you'll be with me for a couple of days."

As Clark got up to change into his costume, Rachel quickly went up to her room, where she grabbed a piece of paper and a pencil. She quickly wrote a note explaining to the elder Kents where she was going, and that she would return in a few days

She then remembered she should leave a note for Kara. Rachel wondered if she was still a little upset at how their sparring match abruptly ended. After writing the same thing on the note, she added.

P.S.

Sorry about pinching you, but I'd love to spar with you again sometime.

Thanks for being there for me,

Rachel

Before the Halfa went back downstairs, she slid the note to Kara under her door. She got back down the stairs to see Superman waiting near the door, already in his costume and tapping his foot impatiently. Rachel quickly placed the note on the kitchen table and changed into her ghost form.

They then flew off at a leisurely pace, not in any real hurry to get to Metropolis. Superman pointed at a building below them.

"We're passing over Kara's school; she just waved at us."

Rachel look at the direction Superman was, but unlike the Man of Steel, she didn't have supervision, and therefore she could only see small squares below. She activated her holographic interface, and zoomed in to find Kara smiling up at them. Rachel smiled back and waved at Kara, who waved back.

Rachel and Superman resumed their course. After a moment, the Man of Steel turned his attention to the Halfa.

"Is there anything that visor can't do?"

Rachel laughed and shrugged. "Don't know. It hasn't failed me yet."

Superman nodded in understanding.

"By the way, how did you know that I'm having nightmares?" asked Rachel.

Superman's eyes shot forward for a moment. "I got home about an hour before you woke up." Then tapping his ear, he continued. "Super hearing."

"Ah." Rachel replied with understanding.


The city of Metropolis

Clark guided Rachel back to his apartment, where Clark quickly changed back into his civilian attire. Rachel, however, simply let her blue rings do the job for her.

Rachel looked around Clark's home. "Nice place." She commented.

"Thanks." Clark replied, "It's not a bad feat on a reporter's salary."

Rachel nodded; remembering that Martha had told her that Clark worked part-time as a journalist.

"Oh, one more thing," said Clark as he reached into his pocket, he pulled out a small circular object and handed it to Rachel, "here."

Rachel took it and recognized it as a cosmetic compact. "Make up?" she asked as she looked at Clark. "What, am I not pretty enough for you?"

Clark's cheeks flushed pink at Rachel's words. "N-no, it was just that Bruce thought that covering the scar would avoid any unwanted attention."

Rachel couldn't help but feel a little awkward. Although it had been difficult for, she'd eventually learned to live with the mark on her face. However, she saw the logic in Batman's suggestion, and didn't want to push the matter any further than it needs to be. "Um, okay…" she replied slowly as she opened the compact and started to apply the makeup, keeping track with the built-in mirror.

A few minutes later, Rachel looked back at Clark. "How do I look?"

Clark smiled at the girl. "Don't even notice it."

Rachel returned the smile as Clark grabbed his briefcase, and then they both left the apartment, where they took a cab ride to Clark's office. As they exited the taxi, Rachel starred amazed at the building in front of her. She remembered seeing the golden planetoid sculpture that stood on top the Daily Planet.

Rachel turned back to Clark. "You know something? This is the first building I saw when I first got here."

Clark understood her meaning and grinned. "Well, now you can use it as a landmark."

Before Rachel could respond, she saw a woman waving at them. Rachel saw Clark's eyes light up at the sight of her, and smiled a little. The Halfa could understand why, the woman had a good figure, long black hair, and was very good looking. She wore a purple dress jacket and a short, white skirt. Even Rachel had to admit that she was slightly attracted to the woman.

"Hey, Smallville." The woman greeted.

Rachel chuckled at Clark's nickname as she looked at the man. "Smallville?"

Clark's cheeks turned pink. "Yeah, yeah, it's very funny." He said remarked sarcastically.

Rachel patted Clark on the back, attempting to comfort the man. "No, no, it's cute actually."

The woman smiled at Rachel before turning back to Clark. "So, who's your friend?"

Rachel took the initiative, and held out her hand. "Rachel Robertson, pleasure to meet you Miss…"

"Lois Lane." She finished as the two shook hands. "So, how'd you know Smallville?"

Rachel frowned as she tried to remember the details of Bruce's paper. "Well, uh… I… My…"

Clark noticed the girl's discomfort and stepped in. "Lois, Rachel's family died in an accident, she's been staying with my family."

Lois put a hand to her mouth, and then put both hands on Rachel's shoulders.

"I'm so sorry."

Rachel smiled slightly. "I'll be fine, but thank you."

Lois nodded, and then turned to address them both.

"Let's go Smallville, we can give the young lady a tour of the place."

Clark nodded, and then guided Rachel inside the building.


Rachel surveyed the huge office. The Daily Planet must be a very successful newspaper if they had this amount of space to work in. Even the Batcave wasn't this big. The room had high ceilings, a great view of Metropolis, and every reporter had an enormous desk at their stations.

Clark and Lois had introduced more people working at the Planet. One of which was a young man around her age named Jimmy Olson. Jimmy was a photographer, mostly worked with Clark and Lois. Rachel thought that Jimmy was a nice guy, maybe a little timid, but that's understandable considering where and who he worked with.

At the moment, Jimmy was being criticized be Lois over something that he had done, while Clark was trying to defend him. Rachel smiled at the group; she remembered how she used to be chewed out over the tiniest details. Then the memory saddened Rachel, because usually Robin and Jonah were with her. However, it wasn't as painful to think about them anymore, because she had the support of every member of Justice League, the Kents, and… Kara. The time she has spent with them acted like her own therapy, each day became easier to think about. She still had a long way to go, but she was definitely getting better.

While the three journalists argued, Rachel looked at the walls. Every few feet or so was a framed copy of past Daily Planets, with the oldest one dating back several years. Rachel noticed the article had the first official appearance of Superman on it. Other front-pagers also featured stories on either Superman or the Justice League, all of which seemed to be written by either Lois or Clark. The Halfa smirked whenever she saw Clark's name under an article featuring Superman. No wonder they're on the wall. His interviews are as exclusive as it could get!

Further thought was interrupted as a balding, middle-age man ran up to his three employees.

"What is it, Perry?" asked Clark, seeing the concern on the man's face.

"I've been told that Bizarro is heading in this general direction." Judging from everyone's tense reaction, Rachel guessed that this Bizarro must be some sort of super villain, and a powerful one at that. Perry continued.

"Lane, Kent. Take Olson and get down there in case Superman shows up. And you, young lady," The old man gave at Rachel a steely look, "Don't go anywhere, and don't touch anything. Got it?" Rachel gave Perry a mock two-finger salute.

"Smallville," said Lois as she hurried to her, "you and Jimmy go first, I need to get my stuff."

The two men nodded and ran off.

Rachel walked up to Lois as she continued to gather her things.

"So," Rachel began hesitantly, "how bad is this Bizarro character?"

Lois gave the young girl a quizzical look.

"Think of Superman," explained the journalist, "but only twisted, evil, and stupid."

Rachel's eyebrows shot upwards, after seeing how powerful Superman was, this supposed evil twin of his could do a lot of damage.

Suddenly, Rachel and Lois heard an explosion. They ran down the hallway to see what caused it, as they turned the corner. Lois stopped abruptly and pulled Rachel behind her. The younger girl leaned her head out the corner, and saw tall green mechanical figures walking down the hall. Rachel squeezed her eyes shut before opening them again; she wanted to make sure she wasn't just seeing things.

Pulling her head back, Rachel asked Lois in a whisper. "Uh, why are there man-sized toy soldiers in the building?"

"Toyman." Lois hissed as she waited for the soldiers to pass.

"Who?"

"Just another psychopath," replied Lois, and then she glanced at the girl with a serious look. "Rachel, run. I'll go get help."

Rachel realized what she meant by 'help'. "But isn't he busy?"

Lois' expression didn't change. "He'll come for me. Now GO."

Rachel nodded and ran. Lois watched her disappear down the hallway before turning to run in the opposite direction. Before she was able get too far, a pair of toy soldiers blocked her path. Lois stopped and quickly turned around, but another pair of soldiers stood in her way, and in front of them, was a short man wearing a plastic mask with a creepy, sadistic smile.

"Ah, Miss Lane." Toyman said in a childlike voice, it was as creepy as his mask. "I 'm glad you could play with us."

"What do you want?" questioned Lois fearlessly.

Toyman chuckled, sending chills down Lois' spine, but she didn't let her fear show.

"I'm going to deal with you while our old friend Superman is busy with Bizarro."

Lois eyed the short man with hatred. "How'd you get Bizarro to work with you?"

"Oh, it was quite simple," replied Toyman. "You'd be surprised at what he would do if you just tell him the right things."

Toyman then snapped his fingers; the two toy soldiers behind Lois walked forward and grabbed her arms. She tried to shake out of their grasp, but their grip on her was solid.

"Let go of me!" Lois snapped.

"Oh no, no, no," answered the short man, "I have plans for you." He then turned around and walked down the hallway. The toy soldiers that followed him first made an opening for him to pass, and then turned to follow him. The soldiers holding Lois starting walking as well, with Lois futilely trying to get free.


Rachel ran into the women's bathroom, where she leaned on the sink, and stared into her reflection in the mirror. She needed to think for a moment. She knew that she had the power to stop this Toyman from further attacking the Daily Planet, but was she ready to do this again? How can she protect the general population if she couldn't protect the ones she loved most?

Then the memory came back to her, she remembered why she became a Guardian in the first place. Helping those in need wasn't just her duty; it was her passion, her drive. Her decision was clear, checking to see that whole restroom was empty. She turned into her ghost form, and phased out of the room. Then, she turned invisible and flew throughout the building.

After a moment, Rachel noticed a purse on the ground. As she stopped to examine it, her eyes widened as she recognized that it belonged to Lois. Something must have happened to her. Rachel realized that she needed to find Lois fast, she created three duplicates and they all scattered in different directions.

"LET ME GO!"

Rachel heard someone scream, and without hesitation she released the hold on her duplicates, and flew down the hallway. As she rounded the corner, she saw Lois being dragged by two toy soldiers. Rachel rushed forward, and punched one soldier's head clean off its body, leaving frayed and sparking wires. Then spun quickly in midair and kicked the second toy soldier directly in the chest. The force was so strong, the soldier's metal chest caved inward immensely. Both machines released their grip on Lois after being destroyed. Toyman and his two remaining soldiers had stopped and turned as the short man noticed that the two soldiers holding Lois were now bits of scrap metal.

"Wha-" Toyman couldn't finish as two blue energy blasts seemed to appear out of thin air. Destroying the last two toy soldiers behind him, and then the short man shouted in pain as he was sent flying backwards, landing spread-eagled on the floor a few feet away.

Lois was in complete shock. A second ago she being dragged to possibly certain death, now she was standing there, surrounded by bits of metal, and an unconscious man-child a few feet away. Lois wasn't stupid though; she knew someone or at least something had saved her, whoever it was, was just invisible at the moment.

"Um, you can come out now." Lois said slowly. "Please?"

Silence littered the hallway; Lois thought that who or whatever saved her had left. Suddenly, she saw something appear right in front of her, causing her to shriek and jump back a few feet.

"You okay, Miss?" Rachel asked.

Lois stared at this girl standing in front of her, eyes wide as cue balls, she was at a complete lost for words. The white-haired girl walked up to Lois, and handed her back her purse.

"You dropped this," the girl explained, "Luckily I got here in time."

Lois just stared into the girl's blue eyes, and then she noticed the scar on her left eye. "S-so," she stuttered, "this was your doing?"

Rachel nodded as she walked away from Lois and towards the unconscious Toyman. After picking him up, Rachel turned back to glance at Lois, who hasn't moved a muscle. "The authorities should be here soon, I'd suggest you exit the building." She turned intangible and started phase through the floor.

"Wait!" Lois finally yelled.

Rachel's still-intangible head popped back up onto the floor. "Yes?" she responded with a small smile.

"C-can't you at least tell me your name? So I can thank you properly?"

Rachel paused for a moment before responding. "My name isn't important, and there's no need to thank me. You stay safe now." With that, she disappeared through the floor. Lois stared wide-eyed at the spot for a few seconds, before she too exited the building.

There we are! Chapter three is done. Looks like Rachel is ready to protect the world again. I want to take a moment to thank all of you again for the faves, follows, and reviews.

Now I'll admit, writing the fight scenes were tough. It was simple imagining how it would look, but translating that into words was a challenge.

If you have questions, comments, and concerns. Feel free to pass it to me. Until then, I'll see you all next time!