Disclaimer: All rights go to the respective owners of DC Comics and Nickelodeon/Butch Hartman. The author of this story owns nothing, this story is for fun; not money or profit of any kind.
Chapter 13: Absolute Justice Part 2
The decision was made for Danny Phantom and Wonder Woman to accompany Dr Fate, Spectre and the Phantom Stranger to the Rock of Eternity so they could open a breach from their reality into the so-called 'dimensional loop' where the members of the Justice Society were trapped. Danny was... uneasy, to say the least, as was Diana. But, they couldn't leave the JSA trapped for all eternity.
Phantom Stranger raised his arms, and dark energy flowed over the small group. In an instant, they were no longer in the old JSA Brownstone HQ. They now stood on what seemed like a massive mountain top with a large temple carved into it. The entire area they stood on, at the very top of the structure, was flat, circular, and polished to a mirror sheen. They looked over the edge, and saw nothing but sky, and clouds as far as the eye could see. Gazing down, they saw nothing; only mist and clouds, no land, no buildings, no tree tops; nothing.
"Great Athena" Diana said in awe. "As grand as Olympus, itself."
"Whoa," Danny said, mirroring her amazement.
"Welcome to the Rock of Eternity," Dr Fate said. "An old friend resides here; one more powerful than anyone of us, save Spectre. Only with his power, combined with our own, can we accomplish our goal."
Danny scratched his head. Whoever this person was, he or she must be powerful, indeed, if Dr Fate was telling the truth. He wondered if Clockwork knew them.
"Where is this individual?" Wonder Woman asked.
In answer, Phantom Stranger pointed behind the two Justice League members. They turned around, and they saw an old man sitting on a large stone throne in the center of the circular space they stood on. Danny yelped and jumped slightly; there was nothing there a moment ago!. "Hey, what the heck?" Danny exclaimed.
The old man- more like ancient- looked somewhat frail, dressed in a simple pale blue robe. He was thin, and his white hair was long, and his beard nearly hung to the floor. His face was thin and wrinkled, but his eyes... they were the eyes of wisdom. The old man smiled, kindly at the group. Despite his elderly appearance and kind expression, the being seemed to radiate pure, raw power; Danny could feel it from a distance.
"Hello, there," the old man said. "Welcome to my home, the Rock of Eternity."
"Um, hi," Danny said, uncertainly. He couldn't explain it, but part of him felt awed by the old man's presence. "Uh, no offense, sir, but, um, who are you?"
"Of course, how silly of me, and how rude of my friends to not introduce us," the old man said, winking humorously at Dr Fate, Spectre and Phantom Stranger. He rose from the throne with no effort, and surprising grace. "Allow me to introduce myself to you. I am the Wizard, SHAZAM!" Upon saying that one word, an incredible roar of thunder and lightning sounded, as though every clap of thunder from every storm that ever occurred on Earth sounded at once, causing Danny and Diana to cover their ears and wince.
"Hera!" Wonder Woman exclaimed.
"Whoa!" Danny shouted. "I'm surprised I even have ear drums left! I wish that would happen every time I introduced myself!"
The Wizard chuckled. "Forgive me," he said. "But I couldn't resist; it's been some time since I've had company. But there's no need to introduce yourselves. I know who the two of you are, Danny Phantom and Diana of the Amazons."
"You know of us?" Wonder Woman asked, surprised. "You must be all powerful, indeed!"
The Wizard chuckled once more. "Not quite," he said. "But I'll let you two in on a secret." He leaned in close to the pair, as if preparing to tell them the secrets of the universe itself, and whispered, "I know who you are because the Phantom Stranger told me your names before you arrived!" Danny had to laugh at that, actually, and even Diana smiled. The old wizard definitely had a sense of humor.
"Enough games!" Spectre sneered, crossing his arms beneath his billowing green cloak. "We have work to do, Wizard."
The Wizard sighed, and said, "Ah, Spectre. Always to the point. Of course, to help your friends, I can lend you my help. On one condition."
"Condition?" Dr Fate repeated, surprised. "And what would that be?"
"Once we open the tear, I want a friend of my own to accompany you," Wizard said, in a tone that held no room for argument.
"There are more than enough of us for this mission," Spectre growled, gesturing to the gathered heroes. "And now, you want us to babysit your childish apprentice?"
"When the breach into that loop is created, not all of you can go in, because I cannot hold the portal open on my own," the Wizard clarified. "Myself, Dr Fate, and the Phantom Stranger will have to work together on this side to hold the portal opens. And Spectre, you will accompany the ghost and the Amazon along with my friend. End of story."
"Sounds reasonable," Phantom Stranger said. Fate nodded as well, and Spectre merely scowled. "When will your student be arriving?"
In answer, a bolt of lightning struck nearby, and once the dust settled, a figure stood. He was powerfully built, dressed in a red and golden outfit made from an unknown material. On his chest, a white and golden lightning bolt was emblazoned. Over his shoulders was a white cape with a hood over his head. The figure strode over in a confident manner, and lowered his hood to reveal a strong jaw, a cocky, excited grin, and dark brown eyes. For a moment, Danny thought it was a clone of Superman! What the man said, however, is what caught Wonder Woman and Danny Phantom off guard.
"Hey, what's up?" he asked. "How awesome is this place, huh?"
Danny and Wonder Woman exchanged a glance. "Uh, hi" Danny said, uncertainly.
"Who are you?" Wonder Woman asked.
The man grinned, and put his fists on his hips in a heroic manner. "Name's Shazam!" he replied, cheerfully. He suddenly frowned, and then his eyes bulged wide, and he gasped. "Whoa! You're Danny Phantom! And Wonder Woman! No way!"
He then ran up to the two, and exclaimed, "I'm such a big fan of you guys! I watched you guys on the news during the alien invasion! So awesome! I would have came to help, but I was busy doing chores with my sister, and well, it was almost bed time, so my uncle..." As Shazam continued to make more of a spectacle, Dr Fate crossed his arms in amusement, Phantom Stranger merely looked on impassively, and Spectre scowled at the display.
"Whoa, take it easy, dude," Danny said. "Slow down, we don't need a life story, here- Wait. Did you said your name is 'Shazam'? I thought he was Shazam?" Danny jutted a thumb at the Wizard.
Shazam shrugged, and grinned awkwardly. "Uh, yeah, it's complicated," he stammered, unsure of how to explain the subject. "Ya see, I used to go by Captain Marvel, but then I learned how to control my powers, because whenever I used to say 'Shazam', I, uh, well-"
The Wizard cleared his throat. "We have work to do, my friend," he said, snapping his student back to reality. "We've already wasted enough time. I've already informed my pupil of what needs to be done before you all arrived; let us begin."
Shortly, the Wizard, Dr Fate and Phantom Stranger had formed a triangle surrounding The Spectre, Danny Phantom, Wonder Woman, and Shazam. "Once the tear in reality has been opened, you will enter," Phantom Stranger explained. "Even with all our combined power, there is no way to know what will await you, or even if any of you will retain your powers. All I know is that the lost members of the JSA are there."
"How exactly did you come upon this information?" Wonder Woman asked.
"It is difficult to put into terms you could understand, for my ways are beyond those of the physical realm," Phantom Stranger replied. "All I can say is that I detected their life forces during an... excursion into one of magical realms with the Spectre. We were able to pinpoint their location, vaguely, in a place outside of this reality. As I said, difficult to put into words."
"Just be prepared for anything," Dr Fate added. With that, Fate, the Wizard and Phantom Stranger raised their arms, power and energy flowed out of their hands. Danny felt a bizarre feeling surrounding him, as if the very molecules were warping and changing around him. A vivid light covered the group, and the piercing sound of energy collapsing and then suddenly rearranging exploded around them. And then... nothingness...
Darkness... Blackness... Nothingness... Emptiness...
Those were all Danny Phantom experienced a he tried to look around.
"Danny?" he heard Wonder Woman ask, concerned.
"Wonder Woman?" Danny asked. "Where are you? I can't see you!"
A pause, followed by an uncertain answer, "Right here beside you."
Danny Phantom then heard Shazam snicker, and Spectre growl in irritation.
"Open your eyes, boy," Spectre sighed.
Danny then realized his eyes were clamped shut. He opened them to see the others standing in front of him. "Oh, right, duh," he muttered, embarrassed. He then looked around to see they were standing on... nothing! It looked like they were standing on space itself, blackness surrounded them, with points of light like stars everywhere, and yet, Danny could see the others as though they were in broad daylight. "Wow," he said in awe. "This is awesome!"
"You are not wrong," Shazam agreed.
Behind them, the portal back into reality hung in mid-air. "Well, at least we can still see the way back," Diana commented. Suddenly, Spectre moaned, and nearly fell over, only to be caught by Shazam!
"What's happening?" Danny asked, startled.
"M-my... my form," Spectre replied, weakly. "My human link cannot survive here for long... And, thus, you all are in grave, mortal danger... "
"Human link?" Wonder Woman wondered. "What do you mean?"
"I am the Spectre; the instrument of Divine Vengeance," he said, his voice no more than a hoarse whisper. "For evil must be punished. And yet, without mercy, there is no redemption... And without humanity, no justice..." Spectre then coughed, roughly, grasping Shazam's shoulder to steady himself. To see such a powerful entity weakened was disturbing.
"Thus, I must have a human link," he slowly continued, his form slowly beginning to shrivel and wither away! "Without this moral compass, I am lost; in shadow. Eclipsed. Without... a human vessel; a... human soul to guide my actions, I would unleash a brutal vengeance upon all of creation. Humans have... a... special gift for seeing goodness in other beings, thus opening the door for redemption..."
"So, if your human link is being hurt here," Diana said. "Why aren't Shazam or Danny Phantom being affected? Or, me, for that matter?"
"Energy is different here," Spectre wheezed. "My human link is bound to me... And I, to him... I am the embodiment of God's wrath... But, we are two separate beings sharing the same space... unlike you three, whose powers are tied to you as individuals, my link and I are not truly one... Not the same being... And there in lie the problem...
"Like a ghost, overshadowing a person," Danny Phantom realized.
"Exactly," Spectre confirmed. "Alone, I only see the worst in beings... I only see sins and evil that must be punished... My enemies fear my power, and know this is my only weakness. But in it, there is also strength... For vengeance is eternal, and it must be served... If my human link perishes, I would likely obliterate you all for the slightest, most unknowing sins in your lives..."
"So, what do we do?" Shazam asked. "Send you back, and let Dr Fate of the Phantom Stranger take your place"
"No, only send back Jim Corrigan, my human link," Spectre said. "I can continue on, here. But one of you must be my vessel until our mission is complete..." The Spirit of Vengeance raised a skeletal finger and leveled it at Danny. "And YOU, Danny Phantom, are the only one who can handle my power, in this realm!"
A/N: Ok, a couple things: Shazam was originally going to be called Captain Marvel in this, but I decided to just call him Shazam. I have my reasons, but suffice to say, like everything in this story, I'm putting my own twist on these characters.