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 16: Damage Control
"Danny," Batman said. "Danny. We're almost there." Batman's voice startled Danny awake in the co-pilot seat.
Danny blinked a few times and remembered he was sitting in the Batwing. He felt more rested after passing out, and transformed back into Phantom. He looked out the window and saw it was dark, and snow was whipping past the window. "Uh, where are we?" he asked Batman as he popped his neck.
"In the arctic circle," Batman replied. "Power Girl said the Fortress is close."
Danny nodded. The two said nothing for a short while and the silence was starting to make Danny fidget. "So," he said. "About earlier; about my identity-"
"We're not discussing that, right now," Batman interrupted, his icy voice silencing Danny. "We need to stay focused on Superman. If you can't do that, I'll have Wonder Woman fly you home once we secure Superman in the Fortress."
"Hey, I'm not a kid, so don't treat me like one!" Danny shot back, insulted. Batman glanced at him with a raised eyebrow, and Danny face-palmed. "Uh, well, I'm not a little kid! I'm almost fifteen!"
"So are Batgirl and Robin," Batman replied. "And they're not in the League. Offer still stands."
Danny sighed in frustration. "Fine, I'll drop it. Just... please don't tell the others."
"I won't," Batman said. "We're here."
Danny looked up to see a large structure made up of massive crystals jutting up out of the ice and snow. The Fortress of Solitude glimmered in the night as the Aurora Borealis glowed in the sky above. "Wow," Danny said in awe.
"That's it; the Fortress of Solitude," Power Girl said over the radio. Soon, with Power Girl's instructions, the Batwing lowered Superman's cell into a chamber in the Fortress. He and Wonder Woman landed their jets outside the entrance. Batman and Danny exited the Batwing, and walked over to Power Girl and Wonder Woman.
"Follow me," Power Girl said. "The Fortress won't recognize any of you without mine or Superman's authority." She led them through a massive archway, and Wonder Woman glanced at Batman.
"Aren't you cold, Batman?" she asked.
Batman's glare deepened as they walked through the entryway. "No," he replied. In truth, he was very cold. His suit wasn't designed to withstand the arctic. Winter in Gotham? No problem. The arctic circle? That was another story. But he chose not to dwell on it.
"Don't worry," Power Girl said, smirking at Batman. "It's warmer inside." The group came up to a wall made of more crystal, and a beam of light shimmered over Power Girl and the group.
"Kara Zor-El, recognized," a synthesized voice announced in Kryptonian. "Warning. Unauthorized Earth entities detected. Defense systems to be activated?"
"No, they're friends," Power Girl responded. "Authorization: Alura Zor-El."
"Understood," the voice replied. The large crystal rumbled and retracted into the ground, and Power Girl led the group through the archway. The interior of the Fortress was lit in a blueish-white light and was much warmer than the outside. The walls and floors were all made from the same pristine crystals as the outside.
Before them, standing on either side of the archway, were two massive statures made of the same icy crystal. They held up their arms and held a massive crystal globe in their hands. "Whoa," Danny said. "Who are they supposed to be?"
Power Girl gazed at the statues and smiled. "Those are Superman's parents, Lara and Jor-El; my aunt and uncle."
They quickly made their way through the halls and entered a large room that looked like a massive lab. A large holographic computer sat against one wall, with a medical bed nearby. In one corner sat the large container that held Superman. Occasional thuds could be heard from inside. "I guess Superman is awake, too," Danny said.
"Don't worry," Batman said, looking around, curiously. "The cell will hold him." He sat down in front of the holographic computer out of instinct, only to realize he didn't recognize the language on the screens in front of him. "Hmm. Power Girl, would you mind?"
Power Girl nodded, and sat down at the computer, smirking at Batman. "It's our native language from Krypton," she explained. "I'll switch it to basic English." She went to work and the container was lifted by an anti gravity field and moved into a cell with red lighting. The cell was comfortably decorated with a chair and bed, as well as a bookcase. The container opened up, and Superman fell to the floor. He glared and rammed into the force field wall.
"He's not going anywhere," Power Girl said. "We held General Zod in that cell for a while before throwing his ass back into the Phantom Zone."
"What's the Phantom Zone?" Danny asked, the name catching his interest.
"It's a dimension that was used as a prison by Krypton to hold the worst criminals in the galaxy," she explained. "I've got the computer running every conceivable scan I can think of. We'll know what's wrong with him, soon. At least, I hope so."
"Good," Wonder Woman said. She looked around with a keen eye at their surroundings. "This structure is quite impressive. May we look around?"
"Well, I don't think Kal would approve, but, okay," Power Girl nodded. "I'll show you around. It can be easy to get lost if you've never been here, before."
"Hold on, Power Girl, I found a strange chunk of red rock that I suspect might be the cause of Superman's behavior," Batman asked. "Does Superman have something that can scan it for us?"
"Sure, let me see it," Power Girl held out her hand.
Batman's gaze narrowed. "That... might not be a good idea," he said. "I think it might be a mutated form of kryptonite. The last thing we need is for you to go berserk, too."
"Kelex," Power Girl called.
A small, hovering robot made of silvery-golden metal hovered from another room. "Mistress Kara, how may I assist you?" Kelex asked.
"My friend here has something," Power Girl explained, nodding to Batman. "He thinks it might be a form of Kryptonite. Can you analyze it for us?"
"Naturally," Kelex answered cheerfully. Batman removed the whole lead -lined pouch from his belt and handed it to Kelex who took the pouch and took it to another room to study.
Power Girl turned to the others and said, "So? You want the grand tour?"
"I'll stay here and monitor Superman," Batman said, sitting back down in front of the computer.
"Suit yourself," Power Girl shrugged. She leaned in close to Batman's shoulder, and whispered coyly, "Just don't get any funny ideas about hacking our computers; trust me, we'll know."
"Noted," Batman said after a moment.
Power Girl led Danny Phantom and Wonder Woman throughout the Fortress, bringing them to a massive room that looked like a combination of an alien zoo and a museum. "Wow, that's a lot of alien stuff," Danny said.
"You don't know the half of it," Power Girl said.
"How did Superman amass such a collection?" Wonder Woman asked.
Power Girl snorted. "That would take way too long to explain," she answered.
Danny walked over to a small glass globe, with what looked like a miniature city in it. "Huh, never thought of Superman being the model building kind of guy," he said, leaning in close to the small sphere. It... almost look like movement inside...
"Danny, don't touch that!" Power Girl shouted.
"Okay, okay, sheesh," Danny said, backing away. "I'm sorry. What's the big deal, anyway?"
"The big deal?" Power Girl repeated. "The big deal is that there are people living in there!"
Danny and Wonder Woman exchanged a confused glance. "Uh... what?" Danny asked.
Power Girl sighed. "That's no model kit," she said. "It's an actual city from Krypton. The city of Kandor. I was born there. It was shrunken."
"You were born in a tiny city?" Danny asked in disbelief. "How?"
Power Girl face-palmed. "No!" she said. "Kandor was attacked and shrunken by Brainiac a few days before Krypton exploded. I was lucky enough for my parents to evacuate us just before Brainiac attacked."
"Was Brainiac responsible for Krypton's destruction?" Wonder Woman asked.
Power Girl shook her head. "No, Krypton's military was able to drive Brainiac away, but not before he took Kandor, and everyone inside. He wasn't the cause of Kryoton's destruction, though. Anyway, after Superman fought Brainiac for the first time, he managed to rescue Kandor from him, and brought them here."
"So, there are still Kryptonians in there," Wonder Woman said sadly. "It must be a difficult existence for them."
"Not as bad as you might think," Power Girl said. "They can grow their own food, and it's a massive city; larger than any on Earth. But we can't make them normal size again without killing them. Brainiac kept them shrunken for too long."
"Can they see us?" Danny asked.
"Nope," Power Girl shook her head. "The device they're in acts as it's own sky and atmosphere. To them, it's a bright, sunny day. Or, it might be night right now. I'm not sure. And, of course, they're well aware what's happened to them. I'm just glad they're safe. They're constantly monitored by the Fortress to make sure they're okay. I hope that one day, we can find a way to free them."
"I'm certain you will," Wonder Woman said.
Power Girl nodded, sadly. "Anyway, let's head back to the lab," she sighed. The group made their way back to the lab, where Batman remained seated at the console. "Anything?" Power Girl asked.
"I was about to alert you," Batman said, rising from the chair. "The scans show heightened activity in the areas of Superman's brain that regulate emotion. Specifically the areas that control anger. It's as if his emotional control was shut off."
"So he truly was unable to control himself," Wonder Woman surmised.
"We all have had moments where we lose control of ourselves when we get mad," Batman said. "But a normal person will usually regain control quickly. Superman wasn't able to. The rage just kept building in him. So, no, he wasn't in control of himself."
"What can we do?" Danny asked.
"The only thing we can do is wait," Batman said. "The scans show his mind is starting to heal. Now we just need to find out what caused this in the first place."
"I believe I can help on that front," Kelex announced, entering the room. The robot held the pouch in his hand that contained the red rock. "All scans confirm that this is indeed a new form of Kryptonite. It's been heavily irradiated, more so than usual. It's been modified through means that qualify it as unnatural."
"Meaning someone altered it themselves," Batman said, his suspicions confirmed.
"Indeed," Kelex said. "In a very crude manner, I might add. Likely, whoever has done this did so without knowing what the end results would be."
"They were experimenting on it," Danny said. "Now, which bald fruitloop do we know of that would be messing with kryptonite?"
"Lex Luthor," Power Girl sneered. She clenched her fists in anger. "When I get my hands on that bald, slimy little-"
"We'll deal with Luthor later," Diana said, placing a hand on Power Girl's shoulder. "Right now we need to help Superman."
"Every scan indicates that the only thing to be done is to wait until it burns out of his system," Kelex said. "We have no known treatment for this type of affliction."
"Oh, great," Danny said. "Any idea how long that's gonna take?"
"My best estimates show that twelve hours from the moment Master Kal was subjected to the red kryptonite should suffice," Kelex responded. The JLA members glanced at one another. They weren't certain how long Superman had been under the red kryptonite's influence. It might be a while...
Superman slowly opened his eyes, and the first thing he saw was a red blur. He felt numb. He groaned, and rubbed his head. His powers were gone. But that didn't worry him; he no longer felt the rage from before. His vision cleared, and he realized he was lying on a bed with red sun lamps beating down on him. Sitting up, he turned his head to see Batman, Power Girl, Wonder Woman and Danny Phantom standing across from him, with concerned looks on their faces. Well, except for Batman, of course.
"Ugh, wha- I, I- everyone, I'm so sorry," he stammered.
"Don't be," Batman said. "You weren't yourself."
"What happened?" Superman asked.
"Lex Luthor happened," Power Girl said, anger in her voice at the bald lunatic. "He somehow altered a piece of kryptonite that caused a reaction in your brain chemistry, rather than the usual effects kryptonite causes on us."
"Yeah, dude," Danny smirked. "You turned into a big rage machine, and we had to stop you."
"Not without difficulty," Diana added. "You broke Green Lantern's arm."
"Once you were subdued, we brought you hear to recover," Batman said. "You passed out after trying to punch your way out of the cell. We kept you under observation until the effects of the red kryptonite left your system and then moved you into your regeneration bed. Power Girl changed the lighting to red sun lamps, just in case."
"I remember," Superman said, the memories of what happened returning to him, although some of it was a little hazy. "I still want to apologize to you all, but I also should thank you. I could have killed you all. Heck, I could've destroyed Metropolis."
"Yeah, but on the bright side, Kelex thinks you might be immune to the effects of red kryptonite, now," Power Girl said. "At least for now."
"At least there's some good news," Superman sighed. Power Girl helped him stand up, after shutting off the red sun lamps. "Now, we need to take care of Luthor."
"We can worry about Luthor later," Batman said. "I think we should all head home and get some rest."
"You're right," Superman said, his expression downcast. "I should get back to Lois. I have a lot of work ahead of me, trying to get back into Metropolis' good graces after this."
"Don't sweat it, big guy," Danny shrugged. "After you save a couple cats out of trees and stop the occasional baddie, things will go back to normal."
Superman chuckled at that. "Talking from experience, Danny?"
Danny Phantom smirked, and shrugged. "Maybe."
A few days later, the Justice League held a press conference in Metropolis, where Superman delivered a public apology for the damage he had caused, and the lives he had endangered.
"We, the members of the Justice League, and the superhuman and alien community at large that call this world home, must never lose sight of the fact that upon this Earth, we are titans," Superman said. "And such power must be used wisely and for the better good. And, yes, it's true that recently, I was exposed to a new form of kryptonite that caused me to lose control. We are not without our limits, nor our dangers. I know I have a lot of work ahead of me to regain all of your trust. I'm under no illusion that such a trust is earned over night. If it weren't for the other members of the Justice League, things could have ended far more tragically. "
In his office, Lex Luthor watched in disgust. The lights were low in the lush office, and he sat alone watching the press confrence. He growled in anger at what he was seeing, and he hurled his remote at the large screen, cracking it. "Damn!" he shouted. "All that work, all that money thrown into some way to kill or disgrace that filthy alien; to turn the public against him, and they just forgive him like nothing happened! All because those other costumed freaks had to get involved!"
"Ah, yes, I know that anger," came a low voice from a shadowed corner of the room, startling Lex.
"Who's there?!" Lex demanded, rising from his chair. "Show yourself!"
"Temper, temper," the voice mocked, slightly. Stepping out of the shadow was a tall, elegant man in an expensive black suit. The man had a sleek silver ponytail, and a matching goatee. He had a dark look in his eyes, and an even darker smirk on his lips. "You should really find a better way to channel that anger, Mr Luthor. It'll be the death of you."
"Wha-? Vlad Masters?" Luthor exclaimed, recognizing the tall billionaire. Vlad Masters was one of the wealthiest men in America, and his and Luthor's companies had business dealings in past. "What the hell are you doing in my office? How did you get past security?"
"Take it easy, my friend," Vlad chided. "I have a business proposition for you. You and I have a mutual dislike for those fools in capes."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Lex replied. "You're a lunatic, Masters, for breaking in here. I'm calling security."
"Please, hear me out," Vlad said, holding his hands up, walking over to Lex's desk. "I know all about your... less than legal operations; the bribes, the hostile takeovers, the illegal gun shipments in the harbor of Metroplois. I know all about your secret lab in the basement below this very building. I know full well you hate Superman. I, myself, despise Danny Phantom. The young ghost dealt the blow that took Superman down, the other day. We have mutual thorns in our sides."
Lex was taken aback. He underestimated Vlad. He heard how ruthless Vlad could be in a boardroom, and how intelligent he was. But this earned a new level of respect from Luthor. "You have my attention," Lex said, glaring knives at Vlad. "What do you want?"
"I want to put a team together," Vlad announced. "And you're next on my list of candidates."
"A team?" Lex asked. "What do you mean by that? And why do you hate Danny Phantom? What's he done to you?"
Vlad's expression darkened. "You want an answer? Very well." Two black rings ran across Vlad's body, and his form changed significantly. His suit was gone, replaced by white clothing with a long, white flowing cape with red lining. His skin was bluish-green, and his eyes were solid red. He also had fangs and his hair was jet black.
"Allow me to formally introduce myself," Vlad said, his voice carrying a distinctive echo. "My name is Vlad Plasmius. And I want to destroy the Justice League!"
Lex was shocked by the change, and it took a great deal to surprise him. "I'm listening," he said, regaining his composure. "You said I was your next candidate? Who was the first?"
Plasmius grinned. "I'll let him tell you, himself," he said.
A storm of red lightning suddenly flew throughout the office at incredible speed, leaving a vivid streak of red light in the air. It sped around Lex and Vlad, before coming to a stop next to Vlad. Standing before Lex was a man in a yellow outfit with black and red trim that covered him from head to toe. The man's eyes glowed red, and he seemed to be vibrating at high speed.
"Mr Luthor," the man in yellow greeted Lex, nodding his head. His voice had a distinctive reverberating sound to it, matching his vibrating visage. "I think the three of us could learn a lot from each other."
"Just who are you supposed to be?" Lex asked. "You look like the Flash, only yellow."
The man in yellow's eyes glowed an even brighter shade of red in anger at the comparison to the Flash."Oh, I'm not like the Flash, at all," the man in yellow replied. "In fact, you could call me the Reverse." He stopped vibrating, and pulled off his cowl, revealing a blonde haired man. "My name is Eobard Thawne. We have a lot to discuss."