Intermission

Daniel James Fenton, a black haired teenager dressed in his usual white and red oval shirt, jeans, and red sneakers, could only find one word to accurately describe how he was feeling; bored. That was at least what he'd chosen despite the enormous amounts of anxiety that he would outright deny he's feeling, no matter how visible it was.

Here he was, sitting head in hand at the table while his sister and his best friends would idly bide their time with whatever would catch their interest. "What the heck did I have to go through in my life, or err… half-life, that I would have to end up in this kinda mess," he questioned tiredly. "Oh right. Ghost Portal in the basement, turned me into this half-dead freak," he snarked internally.

He couldn't really find it in himself to be less blunt with his descriptions or to, you know, pay much attention to anything in particular with everything going on. Here he was sitting at a table where most of the people he barely knew where idly biding their time chatting till something new or interesting with this whole competition business happened.

He idly noticed the words of his friend Sam Manson, saying, 'there's a whole list of reasons gladiator matches like this went out of style ages ago.' He couldn't really find it in himself to argue that point a view in the moment, despite all the weirdness that encompassed the last year and a half of his life.

"Simpler times," he thought wistfully, and in truth they were. If he were to go back then that he probably wouldn't half to deal with all the supernatural ghost related nonsense… or at least he would have to play such an active part in it.

In all honesty that had been his first guess as to why he had ended up here. 'Probably just another ghost who just wants to mess with the great Danny Phantom, ghostly protector of Amity Park,' he would say glumly. That theory quickly flew out the window when all types of weird people with different powers and looks started showing up and none of them set off his ghost sense, not to mention the fact that a lot of them had done things he'd never seen a ghost do before.

Despite all the craziness that was his life at the moment, the ghost boy found himself surprised at how well he was handling all this contest nonsense. Between the fact that multiple universes existed, which he didn't count the ghost zone as such do to its nature, with all these different people seemingly in the same situation as he was, well he guess he could just chalk it up to his rather crazy life and all the wackiness involved in it. "For some reason I feel like I'm starting to sound like Jazz," he thought, referring to his aspiring psychologist older sister.

Unfortunately it would seem that he wasn't lucky enough to just get away from all the trouble of the ghost related madness of his life no matter how much he tried to avoid it. Not only had he been trapped in this weird place to compete in these games, but his sister, his two best friends, his parents, and his first real crush Valerie Gray had also been chosen for whatever reason. That's not to mention all of the other ghostly related people who also seemed to be just as involved in this thing as him.

He was just glad that all of his enemies had decided to agree to a semi-stable truce that they wouldn't bother or attack him unless they were given a chance to do so in the arena. "Figures attacking my town and generally ruining my life aren't enough for these guys. Now they just get giddy at the chance to publicly humiliate… again," he mused. Still he was glad that the truce was in place, the less having to deal with ghosts around his parents and Valerie, the safer he and by extension everyone else is. "At least it'll make keeping my ghost half a secret easier for a bit," he noted, being glad that he didn't half to stand down the barrel of gun pointed at him by the people he cared about who actively despised his alter ego.

"How come this superhero stuff doesn't come with a manual," he thought idly only for his musings to be interrupted by the feeling of being shaken by the shoulder. He briefly turned to the sight of his sister in her usual black shirt and jeans gazing at him intently with her teal eyes.

"What," he asked earnestly. The ginger haired girl only sighed into her palm before speaking up. "You seriously gotta pay attention more little brother. Honestly these are the formative years of your life," she nagged, though Danny was used to it. He just looked back to her hoping she would actually elaborate.

It was almost as if he got his wish when he found himself being turned to his right, now facing the black haired girl, dressed in her usual black, purple and green outfit consisting of a tank top, a skirt and boots, who he thought of earlier called Sam, one of his two best friends that along with his sister came to fully accept his secret who also had the unfortunate luck to get themselves caught up in this mess. "What your sister's trying to say is that maybe you'd have less problems if you didn't always get so... spaced out," the goth girl answered.

"Wait… there's a problem, what's going on," he asked semi-urgently. "No problem just everyone here wanted to get your thoughts on the new guy," she replied.

"Oh… that's what's going on," he answered for himself realising that his sister and Sam were probably just chatting about the latest arrival with the group with whose table he and his friends had chosen to stay at and weren't they an odd bunch of people, though they all seemed pretty nice.

First of their was the one tall girl whose hair was rather spikey and done up in a ponytail, Momo Yaoyorozu, who was simply wearing a red polo and shorts. Their first meeting had been well rather awkward, what with his other best friend Tucker Foley, the yellow shirted African American tech geek in a red beret, who had immediately taken the chance to try to flirt it up with the poor girl who politely turned him down. Thankfully Tucker didn't seem to try to take things much further unlike some other weird purple grape haired people here.

Momo was actually one of the people here that actually from one of the other dimensions outside of his own, even living on an alternate version of earth that might have been in the future. She was nice enough, she was also probably super rich back home but she wasn't spoiled or stuck-up like a certain a-lister from Casper who unfortunately was rather infatuated with his ghost half. She was also from Japan but apparently spoke relatively good English as if it were second nature. Danny tried not to think about it too much, he was fine without the added headache.

From what Danny understood she and a lot of her classmates transported here came from a world where eighty percent of the population possessed some sort of superpower they called a quirk. He knew that thanks to a certain green haired dude who mumbled a lot but more on him later.

The girl sitting to Yaoyorozu's left, and yes Danny does know he just called her by her last name because apparently customary to call people from Japan by their last names and yes if you were wondering, Danny had been the one to make that mistake a few times so… sue him I guess, was Kyoka Jiro. Honestly she kinda reminded Danny of Sam looks wise though her outfit mostly consisted of black sweats and a t-shirt with the words dead on it. She also weird earphone plugs that were actually part of her ears for some reason, probably due to her quirk.

Now sitting to Momo's right was Tenya Iida, a glasses wearing boy dressed in their school uniform who would probably make Danny's English teacher, Mr. Lancer, proud with how diligent of a student and rule follower he was. Honestly he was alright, Danny thought all his talk about presentation and doing their best was a bit much but he'd be lying if he said he didn't find his outbursts entertaining what with the chopping hand motions.

To the left of his sister sat another brown haired girl with rosy cheeks dressed in a pink button up and black shorts named Ochako Uraraka. She was nice, maybe a little more energetic than Danny was used to but that wasn't always a bad thing.

Across from her was the green haired boy who'd had the weird mumbling thing going on, Izuku Midoriya. He honestly didn't look like much but he seemed like a pretty neat guy if a little weird. Him and Tucker would usually talk for hours or more accurately he would talk to talk about anything relating to quirks or well superpowers. Thankfully a lot of his classmates would actually try to stop him whenever he would get to engrossed in his mumble sessions.

Now the boy sitting next to him, Danny probably had the least to say about. His name was Shoto Todoroki and he was pretty quiet and had red and white hair split down the middle as well as a pretty nasty burn scar over his left eye. He was just wearing a blue shirt jacket and black jeans and usually didn't have much to share so everybody just decided to leave him alone for the most part, though for some reason Danny had the thought that just my use him as some sort of guinea pig for some psychology thing or whatever.

Now sitting next to Uraraka was the green haired girl named Tsuyu Asui, or Tsu. She was just in a casual shirt and shorts but she honestly just seemed to speak her mind despite any possible repercussions. She also had an abnormally long tuck which was apparently due to her frog quirk.

Now rounding out the other side of the table and sitting next Jiro was Koji Koda. The guy was just in sweats and a t-shirt but honestly Danny could only describe him as looking like he'd been carved out of a rock. He was also fairly quiet. Next to him was the ever dapper blond haired French talking kid Yuga Aoyama who could honestly give Paulina a run for her money when it came to always look like they've just stepped off the stage of some fashion show.

Across from Aoyama was the weird guy with multiple appendages sprouting from his shoulders and a mask over his face with white bangs covering his eyes Mezo Shoji, who was also wearing a tank top and sweats. How he fit all his extra arms through his sleeves was beyond Danny.

Finally sitting in between him and Sam was a kid in all black sweats and a hoodie with a literal raven head, beak and all, named Fumikage Tokoyami. Honestly he wasn't sure how both he and Sam could exist in the same place giving their shared… edginess. He'd seen a movie once that said two of the same object couldn't exist in the same space but seeing Sam and Tokoyami in the same space seemed to disprove that… sort of.

Anyway those were all the people who now had his eyes on him, including Tucker, who all seemed to be eagerly waiting for his response on the newest addition to the games.

"Uh… well honestly I hadn't really given him much thought, I mean he seems cool enough with those spider powers and all," Danny said, which was the honest truth. He had been too busy just trying to adjust to everything without spilling the beans on his secret to pay much attention to the new guy, though thinking about it Danny was kinda glad he didn't have to introduce himself to everyone when he got here since he was one of the earlier arrivals in the games. "Probably wouldn't have done a better job introducing myself if I was him," the ghost boy mused.

"He seems pretty cool. When he was just talking and joking around so casually with those gladiator guys I honestly that it was kind of funny in a goofy way," Uraraka said.

"I'd have to agree with your observations Ochaco, and didn't the announcer also call him a superhero as well, ribbit," Tsu relayed, adding on her usual speech tic.

"That would beg the question why he's hanging around here then. I know it's not unheard but I've never seen a pro hero that was under the age of eighteen," Momo stated, giving voice to the question of why a superhero would be hanging out in this room, after all, all the adults had basically decided for them that anyone below the age of eighteen basically had to stay in this room. It annoyed Danny that they were being treated like little kids but he decided to ignore that for now.

"Maybe he's not a pro hero. The announcer only called him a superhero, and I've never heard off a pro hero calling themselves Spider-Man even if they were from America. Maybe he's from one of the other dimensions after all he did get taken by that one guy with the ice quirk similar to Todoroki," Midoriya supplied, while Shoto just glanced at him, looking slightly less impassive for a moment.

"Pro hero or not, if he does fill a similar role then he should carry himself with much more respect. His casual nature and general lack of professionalism is in no way befitting the conduct of a hero," Iida spoke up dramatically and Danny was pretty sure a couple people at the table rolled their eyes, him included.

"Still I have to wonder, if he is actually a superhero, what motivates him? I know you guys and everyone at U.A are actually going to that school so you can learn to be heroes but if Izuku's theory about him not being from your dimension is true then I'm curious to know why he does all this. I mean if he's not going to school for this than I gotta wonder why even continue. Honestly being a superhero, especially one whose only probably in high school isn't just something a person can easily handle, especially if they don't have a good support system," Jazz replied.

Danny didn't even have to look up at her to understand some of the underlying meanings in her statement. He was pretty sure her, Tucker and Sam might have been boring holes in the back of his head right now. "Definitely don't wanna talk about this right now," he thought to himself irritably as he just sighed quietly to himself. "Honestly he kinda reminds me off someone," Tucker said, his seat next to Tsu. "So I guess we're talking about this then," Danny thought as he sighed out in defeat. "What do you mean Tuck," Sam asked. "Oh come on, don't tell me none of what that guy does doesn't remind you of a certain someone," Tucker urged. "Way to be stealthy dude," Danny mused. "I'm not sure I'm seeing what your seeing Tucker," Sam responded.

"Seriously, the witty jokes, the lame puns mid battle, honestly just fit him for a black and white jumpsuit and dye his hair white and your got yourself a dead ringer," Tucker returned. "Uh sure I guess, but this spider guys not exactly a ghost though," Sam replied. "Oh that's right. You guys come from that one guy Danny Phantom's universe. I wonder why he isn't around," Izuku added, lighting up as if he'd just solved some puzzle.

Danny for his part only felt his breath tighten not having much to say for fear of compromising his secret. Idly he noticed his dad, Jack Fenton's voice playing a familiar line in his head. 'When I get my hands on that ghost boy I'm gonna rip him apart, molecule by molecule.' Maybe he doesn't feel the need to after all he is a ghost. Maybe he has some place more uh… ghostly to hang around in the meantime," Jazz answered. "Thank goodness for overprotective sisters," Danny thought as he let out a breath he was unaware he'd been holding in.

"I'd have to agree with Jazz, though maybe for different reasons. You all do remember how Mr. and Mrs. Fenton were talking whenever they spoke of what they would do if they got a ghost in their clutches," Momo added, with a slight shiver as the table occupants flinched in response. "You're a lot closer to the truth then you know," Danny replied non verbally.

It would seem the table actually shared some of Danny and his friend's unvoiced sentiments when Tokoyami spoke up. "To speak so freely about a creature, even one no longer tied to the mortal realm. I find it unnerving."

"As much as I don't want to make enemies of you guys, your parents seem to be a bit overzealous in their work, ribbit," Tsu added. "Don't worry about it. They've always been like this and we're both kinda used to it. Though we do hope that we could maybe get them to think less… critically about ghosts," Jazz reassured. Danny also caught her mumble under her breath, "and maybe also spend more time being actual parents," but decided not to comment on it. If he were looking, he might have seen Jiro raising her eyebrow at that last comment, but luckily it seemed to largely go unnoticed.

"Yeah it's still a shame. I honestly like to talk to him and figure out all the little differences between ghost biology and its similarities to quirks," Izuku piped up. "Honestly the similarities between quirks and a ghost's natural abilities are staggering. Not to even mention all the possible applications they each have, not only in battle but in possible everyday use. That is to say if ghost culture is in anyway similar to our own. Which it would make the most amount of sense if it was given that ghosts are largely described as the spirits of the dead or as Dr. Fenton described them for her universe, post-human consciousness given form by ectoplasmic energy. Still it begs the question off all the possibilities that might be linking ghosts to even quirks. Not even considering the possible differences in science between universes and…," Midoriya probably could have gone on like this for a few more hours as everyone at the table just stared at the boy awkwardly as he went on another one of his mumble rants.

Thankfully or not so thankfully depending on who you ask, the green haired boy was interrupted by a spiky blonde haired boy sitting at a nearby table. "Oí Deku, I already get enough of your mumbling crap when we're back at U.A. not to mention all the times you did that shit growing up so how about shut your damn trap already before I make you," the red eyed boy nearly yelled at his classmate before growling at him again just for added intimidation. Danny could see Sam pursing her lips to the side probably in distaste at how the blond boy went about bringing his classmate out of his habit.

"Oh uh… right. Sorry Kacchan, sorry everybody, I guess I just got lost in thought there. I'll try not to let it happen again," the boy replied, clearly embarrassed as he waved his hands apologetically. The other boy Kacchan as Midoriya had called him had just tsked before responding with, "shitty deku," before turning back to his table.

"Reminds me of Dash," Danny thought to himself. Danny had obviously been here for a couple of days already and so that often left him with time to get a good grip on everyone's personalities. From what he could tell of Kacchan or Bakugo Katsuki as he was actually named was that well… he was honestly a real jerk. The guy honestly reminded him of his own bully in more ways than one. "Guess I should be glad that there's no lockers for him to shove people in. Not that I would actually let him do that to anyone," Danny thought to himself. He was pretty sure Sam and Tucker also thought of the boy along the same lines.

Still Danny wondered why Midoriya would actually put up with what the jerk said. He and his classmates all went to the same school to basically be professional superheroes, and like he mention they all had some weird superpower to them so Danny couldn't really understand why the boy would actively let the bullying slide especially since the blonde's nastiest actions were often directed at the green haired boy. None of Izuku's classmates stories about Bakugo did much to dissuade that, if anything they made it all the more apparent.

He briefly saw Uraraka balling her fists in frustration at her friend being put down before Jiro speaking caught everyone at the table's attention. "Well before… that all happened I was just gonna add my two sense saying that the ghost boy probably isn't here because he definitely wouldn't wanna hang around some boring humans. Probably got cooler more important ghostly and ghoulish duties to attend to," she quipped dryly. A part of Danny might have had the urge to respond with an "I wish," but he chose to keep that to himself as the table just snorted at her dry delivery.

It would seem however that fate had something similar to Jiro's idea as Danny had once again felt a familiar chill run through his body till he steadily breathed out a bit of cold air. If you were looking closely you might have seen it but thankfully not many people did. Though it would seem fairly obvious that everyone at the table was painfully aware of the fifteen year old teen's sudden case of the shivers judging by the curious and concerned stares of its occupants. "Hey man you good," Jiro asked. "Uh yeah. Honestly I just get shivers sometimes. Anyway I'm gonna head to the bathroom for a bit. You guys just chat amongst yourselves," Danny added before sitting up. "You sure dude," Tucker asked, almost as if he were questioning if Danny would need help. "Yeah I'll be fine. See you guys in a bit," he added before waving everybody off.

He than just as casually as he could exiting what everybody had dubbed the kid's playplace room into the hallway with all the different people and possibly aliens hanging around. He made his way through the crowds, passing people and trying not to bump into anybody or get too distracted while he looked for a secluded spot. Luckily he only passed by a couple people that actually caught his attention.

As he was making his way through the crowd he bumped into something or someone without looking and promptly fell on his best. Danny just looked up to find this giant ape looking monster in some weird high tech armor glaring at him with one of his hands holding some kind of hammer like weapon. The big ape guy only sneered at the boy before Danny chose to get out of there. "Uh yeah… sorry about that. Won't happen again," he said pulling himself up before walking off not wanting to cause a scene. He vaguely noticed the weird gremlin like monsters with little armored backpack sticking upward, with little glowing things in their hands that were following the guy.

Danny just continued his trek only to have his leg bump into something. He looked down to find a little green yellow eyed monster with a pointy nose and ears look up at him before it shook its fist. "Watch where you're going meatsack," the thing which only seemed to be wearing a loincloth said before scurrying away. "Was… was that a… a goblin," Danny thought to himself before shaking his head to regain focus on his current task.

As he walked he idly noticed a few other creatures like a silver robot with the weird stomach brain before he eventually a small enclosed space that no one seemed to be noticing. Still trying to be stealthy he shimmied he way past the crowds till he got till the separate square space that looked to be of no use. He waited in this little dark corner before he found most of the activity in the hallway to have quieted.

He then took a deep breath before uttering his usual trademark in a whisper. "I'm going ghost."

Within moments two white lights of energy appeared at his midsection before separating, one flowed up, the other down. As the white lights moved his clothes could be seen changing from the usual baggy outfit to a black form fitting jumpsuit that encased him body. The familiar outfit of white gloves and boots appeared as the two rings of light slid passed his body. Even the all to familiar stylized capital white d with a black p letter in the center appeared on his chest. Once the rings made it two his neck his trademark white collar showed up as it made it way up his face giving him a noticeable tan and dying his hair a stark white color. He then opened his eyes to reveal the familiar green glow of his irises to let the multiverse know that Danny Phantom is back in action.

"Alright now to find which Ghost decided to pay me a visit," he spoke to himself as he floated into the air defying gravity as he also turned himself invisible and intangible as he flew into the floor above.

The only thing that greeted him however was the sight of an empty room above. He plainly looked around before he felt the familiar chill escape his mouth again so he decided to try a different tactic. "Come out, come out wherever you are random ghost. And Box Ghost I swear if it's you hiding out then you're gonna get pummeled. I'm really not in the mood for any of your guys' games," he spoke aloud but still no answer. "Seriously guys I'm not just gonna stand here all day. Sooner or later I'm gonna find you," he added only to be answered by a deep familiar voice.

"I believe you already have." Danny turned to the source of the voice as was promptly greeted by one of the last people he expected to see a sight that made his eyes widen and gasp in surprise. It was a man with a scar over his red eye dressed in a purple cape that acted as a hood and a robe that was a lighter purple with an object on his chest obscured by glass that looked to be some type of advanced clock as he held his familiar staff in his hands. His eerie blue skin showed the same complexion that Danny had come to know and his wisp like blue tail emmenated out from under his robe. "Clockwork," Danny exclaimed. "Wha… what are you doing here," the ghost boy asked earnestly. "It is good to see you again Danny and to answer your question I come bearing information and a warning."


The atmosphere ended up growing quieter as things started to settle down around the contestant's communal base. A lot of people had just finished their dinners, judging by the schedule that some of the contestants had whipped up. It was still quite a challenge to accurately deduce the time of day in this realm though but some people had adjusted to their new arrangements better than others.

On one of the balconies connected to the main building of compound, close to the area where Danny and his friends had been, a blond haired, blue eyed teen girl could be seen looking out to the beach that surrounded the base.

Obviously this was no ordinary teen girl, instead this was the human-like alien refugee slash superhero known as Supergirl who hailed from the dead planet Krypton, much like her cousin. Dressed in her usual blue shirt, she also had her family emblem imprinted on her chest that resembled a red s in a triangle shape with gold accents. She also wore a red skirt under her golden skirt along with red boots and a cape to match. Kara Zor-El or Kara Danvers as she had come to be known on earth, just found herself staring out past the beach into the endless void that surrounded the island that looked very much like the void of outer space with a purple hue.

Her gaze had at that point abruptly shifted downward as she sighed in resignation. "How can everyone be so calm just sitting around doing nothing while we're all here trapped in this stupid cage," she thought to herself bitterly. "Seriously how come no one wants to do anything about being trapped here, shouldn't someone have figured a way out of this mess," she considering before giving out an exasperated huff while she brushed a hand through her hair as she slumped against the balcony railings.

"Something bothering you," came a very familiar deep voice as they questioned the girl of steel.

Kara turned to find the very familiar sight of her cousin, Kal-El or as he was more commonly known in his universe, Superman. While he appeared older in actuality Clark Kent as he was known was actually the younger cousin of the blond kryptonian who actually got the chance to grow up on earth and become a very popular superhero before Kara's escape pod had even made it to Earth.

It showed given the look of the rather chiseled physique of the dashing raven haired superhero. His outfit also shared many similarities with Kara's as well given that they were both wearing the same shade of blue and had a familiar emblem on it. Though while Kara's blue was mostly contained to her shirt, Clark's outfit looked to be more of a blue bodysuit with an alien looking red belt with a gold buckle in the center. His emblem was also more pronounced with the gold of his crest being entirely more visible since it didn't just serve as an accent.

"I didn't expect you to be alone out here," Clark said, taking on a more gentler tone, as he walked up to his smaller cousin. Kara only crossed her arms before she spoke up. "Things just got a little loud in there so I decided to take a break," she replied simply, giving her cousin an unimpressed look. Clark just flashed one of his usual winning smiles as he awkwardly rubbed the back of his head. "Is that just usually supposed to be encouraging," the blonde asked, gesturing to her cousin's awkward smile. "Usually, I mean none of the reporters or the people I save seem to have much of a problem with me," he responded earnestly.

"Sorry I didn't mean to insult you it's just… I'm a bit frustrated," Kara apologized quickly before turning back to look at the abyss while she hunched over the railing. "Well maybe getting whatever's bothering you off your chest might help," the kryptonian refuge encouraged. "I don't think just talking is gonna solve this issue," she replied lazily. "Well whatever it is, it would be better to speak about it then to just let your feelings stay bottled up," he urged.

"It's just that… I'm just… I don't know. I guess I'm just really annoyed that we're all just stuck here and the only thing we have to do is eat and sleep or prepare for this crazy tournament we've all been selected for," she huffed. "I mean it's crazy, none of us even got the choice to even accept if we wanted to be in this or not," she voiced, gesturing to the view of outer space beyond the beach in annoyance. "I mean… we've all been trapped on this island floating out in the middle of space and the only thing we get to do is fight for some person's enjoyment. That's not even mentioning the part were some of the worst people in the universe are also free to do as they please," she ranted.

"I know you're frustrated, believe me so am I, but we gotta at least try to keep a calm head about this situation. Everyone's doing what they can to figure things out," Clark amended, draping his hand over her shoulder comfortingly.

Kara just huffed out in annoyance as she glared into outer space. "Seems like they're not doing enough if you ask me," she mumbled to herself. "I'm sure that everyone working their hardest to figure out what's going on here and are all eager to find ways to get us all home," Clark amended. "How can you be so sure," the teen snapped at her cousin, turning to face him. "How can you be sure that some of these people can even be trusted? I mean it's not like we just met some of them a couple days ago or anything," she finished before turning back to stare at the stars as her cousin gave out an exasperated sigh.

"Listen Kara, I understand that things can seem almost… hopeless, but I'm sure that if you look at things from a different perspective then the future might not seem as bleak. Have some faith," Clark said, trying to pacify his cousin. The young only glanced slightly in his direction to see that he was giving her one of his usual reassuring smiles again, something that often served to annoy her when she was moping. "Heh, Supergirl, second only to the universe's ideal protector seen currently moping like the dumb teenager she is, if only everyone could see how far the cousin of the symbol of truth and justice has fallen now," the teen snarked internally.

"Plus there's already the added bonus of all the new opportunities this little vacation could provide you," Clark supplied, reassuringly. "You get the chance to meet all kinds of new and interesting people, some that you might even be able to relate to," Superman added. "I'm pretty sure you've given me this speech already professor." the blonde quipped lazily, still not bothering to lift her head to look at her cousin. "Maybe that's because it still seems to apply to your current situation just as well as it did then," the kryptonian knowingly supplied.

A part of Kara wanted to stick her tongue out at him out of spite, but decided to keep the childish action to herself, instead just simply opting to sigh in defeat, no longer wanting to debate with her cousin. "Anyways, I figured I'd come find you so you can get ready for bed. It's getting late and after all even kryptonians need sleep every now and then," Clark said. "What makes you think I even need a nap," Kara retorted. "You don't want to miss out on tomorrow's activities, do you," he questioned.

Without much of a fight, Kara relented with a simple huff of, "fine," and decided to let her cousin lead her to one of the dormitories the contestants where staying at. She could only hope that whatever surprises in store for tomorrow would be ones she could easily handle.


As many of the contestants ended up turning in for the night, a small group of interesting individuals had actually chosen to hold a meeting, unbeknownst to any of the other contestants not attending.

One such individual who participated in this meeting of rather shady characters was none other than the raven haired woman known as Cinder Fall. Dressed in an elegant red and gold gown that was sleeveless on her left arm, the golden eyed woman simply scowled at her current company behind the mask that covered the scars of the left side of her face. As she tapped one of her gloved hands on the tap she proceeded to once again scan her surroundings of people she had recently come to call allies at least for the time being.

"We all know why we are here, correct," came the deep chilling voice of the man sitting at the end of the table. This mask man whose spikey red and gray cybernetic armor covered every inch of his body was known as Darth Marr, a hooded man who was known as one of the most powerful warriors that were privy to the mystic power in his universe known as the force. The large muscled man very presence also commanded much respect as well making it clear he was not to be taken lightly. It was quite clear that he commanded great power, something which Cinder could admittedly respect.

"Oh please, skip the interrogation Marr, we should focus on discussing business, not wasting time on petty introductions," came the shrill yet echoey call of a man who was presumably half-dead. Vlad Masters, or Vlad Plasmius as he was known as in his current form was currently sitting in another chair sounding rather annoyed behind his glowing red eyes. The eerily pale blue skinned man who currently assumed his second form, dressed in his white suit and black boots was currently sitting with one of his legs atop the other and his elbow propped on the arm of his chair as to keep his head up. As she gazed at the man Cinder could honestly tell that he was incredibly bored and not just because of annoyed scowl present on his face.

The man's lazy looking body posture outright presented itself to be the mere embodiment boredom to anyone that could see. While she'd never spent much time studying spirits beyond what her master Lady Salem permitted, the eerie glow the man gave off obviously made her somewhat more inclined to believe in the fact that he was half of one as he so claimed. The circumstances of everyone's current situation also tended to help with making her views on what was possible much more flexible as well. After all she still knew nothing of the great and mysterious power called the force that Marr commanded besides what information he'd shared on it.

Still what Cinder had viewed off Plasmius in the past month made it very easy for her to simply write him off as lazy and spoiled manchild, though he could be remarkably witty and insightful every now and then if he ever found the proper motivation to do so. "Why I have to spend another moment with this dramatic fool of a man or even how he got access to these games is beyond me," Cinder grumbled internally, looking at the man ridiculous v-shaped head of raven hair.

"I would surprisingly have to agree with Plasmius. This isn't our first meeting so no use spending time on pointless things we've already gone over," came another more high pitched voice of none other than the bipedal alien dressed in a black rope with metallic grey armor and technology adorning it. This white skinned, red eyed fellow with a black striped fin atop his head was none other than the alien opportunist known as Psyphon. The creature or man she guessed sat with his hands folded neatly together on the table simply stared at his current associates though it was pretty clear that he was also annoyed given the scowl on his face. "At least some of us can be presentable," she mused, still irritated at the half-ghost's lack of decorum.

"Yes, well it's becoming quite clear to all of us that it seems the roster for this event is starting to reach its limit," came the voice of another black haired woman, this time one whose cut covered less of her face than Cinder's. "I do believe that there are less than three dormitories unoccupied at the moment. It stands to reason that whatever is in store for us it'll be approaching us in a day or two," the hazel eyed woman continued.

The woman whose maroon top clung to her figure wearing form-fitting black pants with the red loincloth was none other than Sandra Wu-San, or Lady Shiva depending on who you asked. She was probably among the top martial artists in her universe, belonging to a cult of expert assassins under the service of Ra's Al Ghul. "It's best to err on the side of caution. We don't know what abilities these newcomers may possess or their current views and morality," Shiva finished only to be interrupted by the forceful gloved hand being slammed on the table.

It was courtesy to the pudgy man in the green and black jumpsuit wearing welding goggles and a lab coat. The man at first glance didn't look like much with his bull haircut until you took into account the four large tentacle-like robotic arms that protruded from his back. "We have still yet to go over our plans to outwit any of the contestants that may prove troublesome in the coming competition. Not to even mention some of our most recent newcomers," the man spat out, his anger at the situation quite clear.

"Is there some pressing issue you wish to share at the moment, doctor," came the shrill voice of a teen girl whose raven hair was done up in a ponytail wearing black and gold accented armor over maroon robes. The girl named Azula simply smirked at the disgruntled doctor most likely enjoying the fact that she was messing with him. "I do not appreciate your tone child. You may be royalty were you come from girl but you are still nothing in comparison to my superior intellect. You should know your place," the man once called the master planner all but sneered.

"Oh give it a rest Octavius. We're all allies here and besides it's not like we all haven't had our fair share of troubles with so called heroes running about," said the spikey ginger haired young adult in a black jumpsuit with the obnoxious white s that matched his gloves and boots and rather obviously denoted his alter-ego, Syndrome. "It is usually fun to prod at the old fool. He does remind me of an ursa in many ways," Cinder noted, relishing in the mad doctor's flared temper. "My mistake. It seems that you would rather have your paltry schemes foiled, no doubt by that meddlesome airachnid and his allies," Octavius spoke, sitting down without even removing the glare from his face.

Plasmius out right cackled aloud what the man had mentioned the newest contestant, Spider-Man. "Oh please, you mean to tell me that some idiotic boy in a red and black onesie poses a significant threat. Honestly Otto I did not pick you as the type for jokes," Vlad spoke after finishing his laughing session. "As much as I loathe this idiot he does bring up a valid point. The spider child's match didn't even leave that much of an impression. I fail to see how this hyperactive child could pose any threat," Ms. Fall noted.

"I do not joke Masters, that boy may act the fool but he has proven to me time and time again that he is not to be underestimated," Dr. Octavius replied. Vlad only did what Cinder guessed to be the approximation of him rolling his eyes at Otto before saying, "or maybe you simply lack the competence to deal with such an insignificant threat."

"Oh please. He may be a boy but he has a lot more skill then you give him credit. I'd think of all people should know by know to underestimate the drive of a superpowered child with delusions of grandeur," the doctor replied, looking a lot more smug as he added that last jap at the half ghost expense who only glared in return.

"So you expect us just to go off your word that this... court jester is actually some force to be reckoned with. Sorry Octavius but I'm just not buying it. You saw as well as we all did that he just barely passed the initiation trial. It's honestly hard to take him seriously as a threat," Azula added. "You misunderstand princess, that boy may act the part of the fool but it should be made clear that the wall crawler is not someone to be taken lightly. The boy's intelligence rivals my own and he hasn't even graduated high school. Not to mention his powerset and altered dna make him a rather reputable force in his own right. That boy has taken on some of the most dangerous man and woman alive and won. I've seen him take on all of the sinister six and come out the victor," Otto spoke before taking his seat.

Cinder finally decided to speak up, most likely to relay the table skepticism. "While I'm not doubting that the boy may have outsmarted you and your group of buffoons. Those other claims seem a bit far fetched," she finished. "Though I'm inclined to agree with Ms. Fall, we cannot discount that the boy still made it in. And there's also the fact that all of us have learned not to turn a blind eye to children with unnatural power or remarkable gifts, even if they choose to use them while parading around in colorful costumes," Lady Shiva added.

"Enough, Lady Shiva makes a strong case but we are getting nowhere blathering on about the capabilities of one child. We may come back to that discussion at a later time but not now. This is still the matter of the less unpleasant competitors and their groups competing in the competition," Darth Marr spoke up in his authoritative tone. "And Syndrome," the mask man started glancing at the ginger who just looked up in confusion. "I would take great care how you address your opponent and your allies. You may be considered a villain or a common criminal in your world but I would warn you not to address any Jedi filth with the title of hero. They are not heroes, just a hippocratic cult of idealist and my empire's sworn enemy," the Sith Lord finished pointedly. The ginger just huffed in annoyance.

"No reason to sound so noble Marr, you fit the bill of villain just as well as anyone else here does. No point in hiding it… especially here of all places," Plasmius replied, though the masked man chose wisely not to comment.

"Well know that that's out of the way it would do us all some good to discuss what resources and allies we have at the moment to help ensure our victory," Azula spoke again, ending the silence. "As always most of the members of the fire nation army are still loyal to my father and by extension me. Though we must still account for those that are likely to side with my brother, the Avatar and their shared allies," she started. "I still have my big robots on standby. I can see if I can convince anyone that has a bone to pick with Mr. Incredible and his family and if they're willing to join," came Syndrome's surprisingly calm reply.

"Yes well given that I am a high ranking member of the League of Shadows and that my master Ra's Al Ghul is aware of my activities, it shouldn't be too hard to convince him to lend some troops for our needs," Shiva spoke, her expression barely changing. "Oh right you part of one of those ninja groups. Which one was it, one of the ones named after a body part," Syndrome asked sarcastically. Shiva only lightly glared in annoyance at the indirect jab before saying, "you know full well which group I'm associated with. I've had no contact with any leading members of either the Foot or the Hand so it's best to assume we will be on our own," she finished. "The Sinister Six and it's members are still under me. Though there may be a chance that I might be able to make contact with some members of the hand after all we come from the same world and the airachnid has been known to interfere in their works," Octavius offered. "What of any of your ilk Masters. Can we depend on the aid of these… ghosts," Otto questioned.

Vlad simply sighed before elaborating. "Most ghosts are simply erratic and irrational by nature. Though I may be able to call in a few favors I doubt the vast majority of them would willingly come running to our side without a major incentive."

"We will make do. I still have my own troops loyal to me and I'm sure that I might be able to press some of my fellow Sith into line," Darth Marr responded. "Psyphon what of any alien allies could you possibly procure," he asked. "As I've said before, some of these species are still new to me. Just because I might be considered an alien doesn't mean I know every other non earthling," he retorted in annoyance. "You simply must have some kind of connection with some of the otherworldly species. After all you and Marr are the only people in this room whose had the privilege to travel to different planets," Azula urged in her usual mockingly sweet tone. "I only have contact with my master and a few associates other than that I cannot guarantee anything. Certainly not with those religious fanatics who call themselves the Covenant," he responded.

"That will have to do for the time being," Marr reasoned. "Aw man. I kinda wanted to catch a ride with one of those guys that can turn into a jet," Syndrome complained. "Cinder, what of your mistress. Will she be able to provide support," Darth Marr asked.

"As I am a loyal servant of my ladies inner circle, Lady Salem is privy to most of my operations. She will be all too happy to aid us if it seems of interest to her," Cinder replied vaguely. "No reason to share to much. I doubt everybody here was even laying out all their cards so no reason to show my full hand. At least not yet," she thought snidely. "Very well. If there's nothing left to discuss that I would say this meeting is adjourned," Marr advised. "I will send word when we can meet once again," he added, before everyone got up to leave, heading off to their own private place.

Unfortunately for Cinder a part of her was dreading this, simply because of the group of hooligans that were located near where Salem and all her allies where staying. "Hopefully that insane manchild and his so called League of Villains are actually asleep. I'd actually like for the chance not to have my rest interrupted by constant shouting," the woman mused to herself, but her emotions were still skillfully hidden under her stone cold expression. It was just one of the many tricks she'd learn to help her outsmart anyone who had the misfortune of standing in her way. She would always come on top, after all. Not only was it what her grace saw destined for her but it always seemed to be true that the Queen of any royal court held the most influence and she was so clearly destined for it. True power would always end up in the hands of Cinder Fall one way or another, no matter who had to burn for her to get it.


Suprise suprise. Bet you didn't expect me to post two chapters on the same day. Or maybe you did in which case good for you, you win an internet cookie. Anyway here's the next chapter. Did you spot an familiar faces? Be sure to let me know and if you have any comments don't be afraid to share. As always have a good day.