A/N

Here's my attempt at updating quickly. We'll see how it goes. Thanks again for all your support. You guys make my day and rock my world. Love to you all.

Oh, just a note. Bear with my minor OC's please? They're necessary to the storyline.

Oh, another note! Sorry for the profanity in the last chapter, and any in the chapters to come. This story is a little darker than the TV shows… and the swearing seemed appropriate. If it offends you, I'm sorry, please skip over them

-Louise

Skulker was a vengeful ghost. He could admit that. Along with his pride, it was one of the flaws that had been intensified once he had died and journeyed through the Ghost Zone's most perilous areas. Ghosts tended not to dwell on the how and why of their deaths, but Skulker had a few theories concerning the passing into the afterlife. After all – not all those who died became ghosts. Not all ghosts stayed ghosts for very long. Humans think that death is a certainty, but in reality, not even in death is anything certain.

In his years with Ultio, Nexalia and Saevio, they had often discussed their theories on death and the Ghost Zone. Nex liked to believe that they were ghosts because their deaths had been too soon, or unfair. Saevio didn't care much either way, whereas Ultio desperately wanted an answer. He had never said it, but he wanted to pass on. His experience with death had been terrible, even by death's standards.

Skulker maintained that the things they had gone through once they had died was a test of character – he had found himself alone in completely unknown surroundings, not knowing what had happened to him or what he had become. He had to survive, conquer and find his way out of the darkest pit of the Ghost Zone, and in doing so became a stronger ghost. Nex's experience had made her mind unstable, but had intensified her mental powers more so than anyone else's. Everything had happened for a reason. He had to believe that.

So yes, Skulker was vengeful. It was for that reason that he could not simply let the whelp run away from the mess he had created in Amity Park. He could not just run away from the greatest of all ghost hunters – not when his pelt had yet to hang on Skulker's wall! But after his embarrassment at the hands of the halfa, Skulker wanted more than his pelt. He wanted vengeance for his losses a thousand times over. He wanted to ghost child to die.

And so he would. He would crumble under the combined power of the Four. And once the ghost child was gone, Amity Park would be theirs. The humans could not defend it – that was their mistake in driving the boy away. Once he was gone, they would have no defence. None at all.

Together, the Four would take Amity Park. From there, they would take the rest of the human world. The explosion had nearly taken Skulker's life for a second time… but now, he was more powerful than ever. Things were clearer than they had been before. He no longer wanted small game.

He wanted everything.

Nexalia couldn't help the grin that spread across her face when she saw Ultio. He looked just as she remembered him – tall, blue haired, his entire body covered in silvery scars. Ultio stood with his arms folded, looking as rigid as ever as his eyes flicked back and forth. Nex frowned a little. She'd been hoping he'd lost some of his paranoia as time had gone on, but apparently not. Still.

"Ultio!" She cried, giving him fair warning before leaping into his arms and burying herself against his chest. For a moment, he didn't respond, then he gently patted her back and planted a kiss on the top of her head.

"Nexa." He murmured. "Hi."

"Hi." She smiled as he released her. "How are you?"

"Fine, fine." Ultio assured her with a wave of his hand. "I'm fine."

"Where's my greeting, Nexalia?" Boomed a voice from behind them. Nex whirled around to see Skulker, a giant hulking mass of metal and flames. He smiled, but it looked more like a sneer. Nex hesitated, feeling something gnawing at her consciousness. Something was off about her old friend. Something was very wrong.

Still, she pushed it aside. "Skulker!" She cried with the same enthusiasm. They too embraced, and Nexalia shuddered as soon as they did. Skulker was… different. Uneasy, she drew back and went to stand with her brother. Without saying a word, he took her hand.

"You know why I called you here." Skulker said, already down to business. "I want to recreate the power of the Four, and for that I need the assistance of each one of you."

Nexalia dug her fingernails into her palm. He was more commanding, more aggressive, more sure of himself than he had been the last time they'd seen each other. He wasn't simply a cocky hunter with a big head… he seemed dangerous. He reminded her suddenly of the warriors of the Galthead sector of the Ghost Zone. Strong, deadly, but entirely insane.

She gripped her brother's hand a little tighter. Somehow, she knew that even if they refused to help him in whatever it was he wanted, they would have no choice but to do it anyway.

"What is it that you want?" Saevio asked quietly. Skulker smiled widely, spreading his arms out in front of him.

"The ghost boy has run away from Amity Park, and without him they are unprotected. We could take the town now, but the child might come back… so I want to hunt Amity Park's halfa one final time, and kill him." Skulker's eyes held a malicious glint that Nexalia had never seen before, and it scared her.

"And what after that, Skulker?" Ultio questioned.

Again, Skulker grinned. "After Amity Park has lost its hero once and for all, we will take it. This town is the focal point of Earth's spectral energy, and we can use that to our advantage. We are more powerful here, and so here we will make our home and begin plans to extend our rule over the rest of the world."

"World domination?" Nexalia raised her eyebrows, unable to help herself, "Isn't that a little… cliché?"

Skulker growled, turning his attention to her. He floated closer, his entire stance screaming domination. In some ways, ghosts were like animals. They could appreciate the chain of command – and Skulker was fighting for alpha in their newly assembled pack. Nex was not physically strong, so she felt herself shrinking in Skulker's great presence. She felt… scared. Something she hadn't felt in a long time. Skulker wasn't the ghost he once was. Something had changed… something major. She didn't like it.

"Cliché?" Skulker repeated, now only inches away, "Are you mocking me, Nexalia? Do you think me foolish? Do you want to challenge my ideals?" With each question, his face drew closer and closer to hers until they were only centimetres apart. As she stared into Skulker's eyes, Nex felt a thousand emotions slam into her consciousness. Hatred, anger, rage. She nearly crumpled with the force.

"Skulker." Saevio warned, putting himself between them. Nex breathed a sigh of relief and leant into her brother.

"I wasn't." She said, "I just don't see the appeal. What happened to simple hunting?"

"I've evolved." Skulker said simply, straightening and striding back to where he had been floating. "So, will you help me? You are my greatest friends, and I would like to share this world with you."

Tense seconds ticked by. Finally, Saevio sighed.

"We will." He said, holding out his hand for Skulker to clasp. "Brothers stand together."

Nex cringed. She knew Saevio's sense of duty and need to protect them would win out in the end. If Skulker was going to launch a full-scale war against the human race, than Saevio would fight with him. And by extension, if Saevio stood with Skulker, then so would Ultio and Nex. That was the way it had always been, and once upon a time Nexalia wouldn't have wished it any other way.

But now, watching the sneer that spread across Skulker's face, she knew this was going to end in tragedy.

She didn't need her ghostly foresight to know that.

Whenever Danny had fallen into a mood so dark that it was nearly impossible to pull him out, Sam had always been there.

Breathe, Danny. She would beg, as he squeezed his eyes shut and tried to stop his entire frame from quivering. Just breathe. Everything is going to be okay. Breathe… breathe…

Now, he tried desperately to do just that. His chest felt like there was a ten-ton weight pressing down, constricting his lungs and keeping him from getting a decent breath. It was the rage, the anger he couldn't reign in. As he glared at the Boy Wonder, Danny resisted the urge to slice Robin into ribbons with one blast of ice from his eyes. The cuffs on his wrists rattled as his hands shook.

Did you kill Daniel and Jack Fenton?

"No." He spat with as much venom as he could muster. "I did not kill them."

I am Danny Fenton!

"You were at the house when the explosion happened… what am I supposed to think?"

"I didn't kill them!"

Jack Fenton is my father!

"We need answers, Danny. I just need to know what happened on that night. Was it an accident? Did you mean for them to die?" Robin's questions probed at his mind, memories flashing and anger flaring. He could almost feel the heat of the blast on his skin, could almost hear his mother's scream…

Danny!

With that, Danny exploded. "I didn't fucking kill them! How many times do I need to say it? How many people think that just because I'm dead that I'm evil? That I'm hell-bent on destroying every single good thing in the universe? I didn't ask for any of this, you asshole! I didn't ask for the lies and the pain I've had to go through every single day since I was fourteen years old!" He was screaming now, years of bitterness spilling over as something inside him snapped. "I didn't ask for the countless ghosts that used me as their personal punching bag. I didn't ask for Plasmius or fucking Vlad Masters!"

Robin, to his credit, didn't say a word. Beast Boy looked tense, like he was ready to leap into action at any second if need be. Danny didn't care. He was sobbing now.

"I didn't want him to die! I didn't want them to have to suffer because of my messed up fucking life. I loved them! It was an accident…" He sank back into the bed, curling up as best he could. He wanted it all to stop… the pain was too much. He was so angry, hurting so much… "I'm so sorry Dad… I'm so sorry. I'm sorry I couldn't save you. I'm sorry… I'm sorry…"

Robin touched Beast Boy on the shoulder, and the shifter nodded. Together, they quietly filed out of the room. Robin frowned behind his mask, uneasy at leaving Danny Phantom alone – he was almost one hundred per cent sure he was the killer now, however accidental – but respected the ghost boy's need for privacy. Not for the first time, Robin wondered if he had gone too far.

Then, he shook his head. The others didn't understand that sometimes you had to push, and deal with the consequences later. It was what Batman had taught him. It was what he had carried through to his leadership of the Titans. It was what he had done countless times before, and he had gotten results. He had to be harsh, and hard, and unyielding. It got confessions, and confessions were what they needed.

Still, that didn't stop the guilt he felt as he thumbed the elevator button and began the ascent to the OPS centre. Beast Boy didn't even look at him, and somehow that made it even worse.

Robin sighed. At least they had another name to work with.

It seemed he was going to have to give Vlad Masters a call.