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.

Here it is! The 20th chapter! I'm so happy to have made it here! I hope you guys enjoy this one! Prepare yourselves for some unexpected appearances in this chapter!

Chapter 20: Brave and the Bold

A gust of wind sparking with lightning came to an abrupt stop, and Danny Phantom found himself in an unfamiliar environment. He spun around, and realized it was some kind of advanced lab. The walls and floors were sleek silver and white, with numerous high-tech monitors and and wires and cables in some areas.

Scowling, Phantom turned to the scarlet speedster who had unceremoniously ran him all the way from Amity Park to Central City. "Really, dude?" he huffed shortly. The young ghost had already been through a rough day. After Wonder Woman had helped him defeat the Box Ghost after the little annoyance opened Pandora's Box, Danny had been planning on relaxing.

Then, the Flash had appeared out of no where, and here they were.

"Sorry," Flash shrugged. "But, like I said, we need your help. We've got one of your ghosts here in Central City!"

Danny then noticed two people walk into the Cortex. One was a young man with long dark hair and wearing a Big Bang Theory shirt, the other was a young woman with long auburn hair and wearing a white lab coat. The two were in a heated conversation, while looking at a tablet in the woman's hands.

"But that doesn't explain how they can alter their density and turn invisible," she said, swiping her tablet. The pair hadn't even looked up and so hadn't noticed the presence of Danny Phantom. "Let alone, how they can possess someone!"

They nearly walked into Danny, who smirked and said, "Boo."

The young woman yelped in surprise, and the two nearly jumped out of their skins. "Whoa! You- He- That's-" the young man stuttered, clutching the young woman's arm while staring wide-eyed at the floating ghost teen with white hair and glowing eyes.

"Cait, Cisco, this is Danny Phantom," Flash smirked, gesturing between them. "Danny, this is Cisco Ramon and Doctor Caitlin Snow. They help me out here at S.T.A.R. Labs."

"Hey, how's it going?" Danny smiled at the two, his voice echoing.

"Ooh-ho-ho, snap," Cisco said, his expression changing into one of excitement. He quickly walked up and shook hands with Danny. "This is awesome! How cool is this? I saw you get trampled by that hell-hoarse this morning."

"Wait; what?" Phantom asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Oh, yeah, Barry brought me to the Hall of Justice this morning to help Batman with the security," Cisco said and Phantom nodded in understanding. "And let me tell you... That was some sweet tech. Like, made my inner engineer salivate."

"Welcome to Central City," Barry shrugged at Danny and grinned, lowering his red cowl.

Danny then looked at Doctor Caitlin Snow, who was still eyeing him with a cautious expression. "Um, are you alright?" Phantom asked her. "I didn't scare you that badly, did I?"

Caitlin blinked and then shook her head. "Um, no, no, it's not that," she said. "It's nothing, really, it's just... Well, you and the other members of the League know Barry is the Flash. And that Hal is Green Lantern."

"If you think I'm going to blurt it out in front of people, I'm not," Danny said.

"I'm not worried about that," she said. "Well, a little. But the point I'm trying to make is... You don't wear a mask; do you have a secret identity? I mean no offense, but I doubt your real name is 'Danny Phantom'."

"Whoa, Cait," Cisco said. "It's not cool to go around and ask super heroes what their secret identity is. Although I do have a short list of, like, a dozen guys who could be Batman!"

Danny stiffened at Caitlin's question, but not in anger. Her questions were totally valid. She was just looking out for her friend, after all. He was still trying to keep everyone believing he actually was a ghost. At least, for now.

"Uh, it's just a name," he shrugged. He gestured down to his glowing form, and gave a chuckle. "I thought it fit." A thought crossed his mind, and then he forced himself to look slightly sad. "Um... Besides, my real name doesn't matter. Not anymore. Not for a long time." He hated lying to people, which is why he usually avoided talking about himself to the other members of the League.

"So, you really are a ghost?" Caitlin asked.

"Last time I checked," Phantom nodded.

"Have you always had these powers?" she asked, the scientist that thirsted for answers bubbling up to the surface, as it had when Barry first got his powers. "And for how long? Do all ghosts have the same powers?"

"Uh... a long, long time," Danny said, surprised by the flurry of questions. "And, no, I've been doing this whole hero thing since before the particle accelerator blew up." Not exactly true, as he and the Flash had appeared on the scene at roughly the same time, but it did make him sound mysterious. "And all ghosts can fly, turn invisible, and phase through solid objects. Other powers usually develop that are unique to that ghost."

"Don't take it personally, Danny," Barry chuckled. "Caitlin is still struggling to accept that ghosts exist. She's been wanting a chance to grill you for information ever since I told her you were real after the whole Brainiac invasion. She thought you and other ghosts were just some stunt that your town was using to boost tourism."

"I just like to think... rationally," she said, slightly embarrassed, biting her lower lip. Lowering her gaze back to her tablet, she added quietly, "We live in a world with aliens, amazons and people with super powers; why not ghosts, too?"

"Nah, don't worry about it," Danny smiled at her. "Trust me, I get that a lot. People have a hard time accepting ghosts as being real, and not superstition." Turning to Flash, eager to change the subject away from himself, he said, "So about this ghost problem you have. Give me the details."

Barry sighed and pressed a few buttons on the console in the center of the room. On the larger screens in the Cortex, security footage that had no audio popped up of what looked like a bank. "This was from earlier this afternoon," the scarlet speedster explained. "Shortly before Cisco and I got back from the Hall. Caitlin is the one who alerted us."

Danny watched the screen as people went about their business, when suddenly, everyone looked around startled. What only could be described as pink laser beams rang out from an unseen source, causing everyone to scatter. "Well, those definitely look like ghost rays," he said.

"Wait, there's more," Cisco said.

After the chaos ended, Danny's eyes widened in shock at what he saw next on the screen. 'No way,' he thought to himself. On the security footage, Vlad Plasmius floated arrogantly out of the bank vault, his white and red cape flowing behind him. In his hands were two large, full bags. His lips were peeled back in a grin revealing his sharp white fangs.

On the screen, the Flash suddenly appeared, and the two appeared to exchange words. Flash suddenly ran towards Plasmius, but went straight through him. Whirling around in surprise, Flash looked at his opponent, who turned flew through the ceiling, turning invisible as he did! On the screen, Flash looked around, surprised, before speeding off.

"Guy made off with a half million in cash," Cisco said. "He even somehow disabled the tracers in the bills before taking off. That's, like, next to impossible! Not even sure Captain Cold could pull that off in that short of a time. This guy also hit up two other banks across town, too! He certainly isn't shy about people seeing him."

"At first, we thought it was a new meta-human," Caitlin explained. "After the particle accelerator, there have been so many new ones popping up."

"But, I knew this wasn't a meta," Barry said. "It was cold in that bank, just like whenever your around, plus he used the same powers you do. It wasn't hard to put two and two together, and that's when I ran to find you."

"Good thing you did, too," Phantom nodded. "He's the worst of the worst!"

"Wait, you know this creep?" Cisco asked, frowning.

"Way more than I'd like," Danny answered. "His name is Vlad Plasmius; and he's been a thorn in my side from the start. He's kinda my arch nemesis."

"Oh, great, that never turns out well," Cisco said, crossing his arms. "Arch enemies are always the most dangerous ones. Sick name, by the way. Definitely has vampire sound to it."

"But you've fought him before?" Barry asked. "So you must know how to beat him."

"You have no idea," Danny said, his expression hardening. "You guys have no idea just how dangerous Plasmius is. He will kill you. Kill. You. And everyone you ever cared about if you get in his way. He's not some random crook; he always has a plan. If he's here in Central City, he's up to something big."

"You haven't met some of our bad guys," Cisco smirked. "We have a few just like that."

"Not like Vlad," Danny frowned. "Trust me; the last thing you should do is underestimate him. Believe me, I know from painful experience. He's been around a lot longer than me; and he's had a lot more experience with his powers."

"So, how do we stop him?" Barry asked.

"Well, normally, I could trap him in my thermos," Phantom said. He pulled out his trusty Fenton thermos from behind his belt. "But that won't be easy. We have to beat him, first."

"A soup thermos?" Caitlin asked in confusion.

"Yeah, don't ask," Danny chuckled. "It's complicated, and, yes, I know it's corny. But this tech has saved my butt more than once. It sucks a ghost inside and converts them into sentient energy, and keeps them safe and sound until I can throw their butts back into the Ghost Zone."

"Whoa, that's some slick tech," Cisco said. His keen engineer's eye caught on to the design right away. "May I?"

Danny thought for a moment. He didn't like giving his parent's ghost tech away to anyone, but he got a good vibe from these guys. Flash trusted them, so that was good enough for him. "Sure, knock yourself out," he said, handing over the thermos to Cisco. "Just don't break it; it's my only one. And without it, we might be screwed."

"So, do you have any idea how we can lure this guy into a trap?" Caitlin asked.

"Well, taking Plasmius by surprise won't be an easy task; he's going to sense me coming," Danny explained. "See, ghosts can sense each other's presence without even seeing each other. At this point, we'll just have to wait until he shows his evil head, again. And knowing him, as I do, he'll be back."

"We'll have to think of something," Flash sighed. His phone vibrated, and he checked it. "It's Joe. I need to get down to the station." In a gust of wind, Barry had changed out of the Flash suit and back into his normal clothes, and was gone in an instant.

"Alright, we'll just... keep working here, I guess," Danny called sarcastically.

"Dude, this stuff is tight," Cisco grinned, walking over and carrying the thermos. "Man, I could make some epic toys with this!"

"Just make sure they don't blow up, this time," Caitlin warned him.

Phantom couldn't help but smile. Cisco reminded him of Tucker, and Caitlin was very similar to his sister, Jazz, in a lot of ways. "Sure, but just know that tech is patented and stuff," he said to Cisco. "The Fenton's might sue you."

"Really?" Cisco asked. "Who are they?"

"Ghost hunters," Danny explained. "Experts in the paranormal. They designed it, and other stuff. They used to hunt me all over the city, back when I first started. They wanted to rip me apart, molecule-by-molecule. But, we, uh, came to an agreement. But, if you can whip something up to help us stop Plasmius, I certainly won't complain!"

"Sweet," Cisco grinned. "Time to bust some ghosts! So, how does this even work?" He turned the thermos around in his hands.

"Uh- whoa! Watch it!" Phantom exclaimed, quickly stepping away from Cisco. "Don't point that at me! I do not want to get stuck in there, again!"

"Sorry," Cisco apologized. "I'm gonna run down to the lab and see what I can put together!" With that, he quickly ran out of the room, leaving Phantom with Caitlin. He looked over to her, and noticed her trying not to look at him.

"Go ahead," he finally shrugged. "Ask away. I don't need to read minds to see you have a million questions!"

"Can I run some tests?" Caitlin quickly asked, jumping at the offer. "There are so many things about ghost biology that I need to figure out."

Danny mentally cringed, regretting making the offer to a scientist, of all people. But, she was nice, and her aura wasn't hiding anything sinister, so that counted for something.

"I'll answer what I can, but no blood samples," he agreed. He did not want anyone getting a sample of his blood. Good bye, secret identity, if that happened. "You don't have any equipment that could handle ectoplasm. It's not like human blood; it's really... volatile and unpredictable. I don't want to be the one explaining to Barry that you got hurt, or died, because of me."

"Fair enough," Caitlin smiled.

As the sun set, and night enclosed the city, Barry arrived at CCPD in time to find a less than happy Joe West, the man who raised him after the Reverse Flash murdered Barry's mother and framed his father for it. "Barry, where the hell have you been?" Joe asked. "Singh has been on the warpath about that string of bank robberies today that the Flash didn't stop."

"Sorry, Joe," Barry apologized. He looked around, and led Joe up to his CSI lab where they could speak in private. "I've been at the Hall of Justice with Cisco most of the day. Thawne's back. He attacked the Hall, recently, and the others wanted Cisco and me to ramp up security."

"Thawne?!" Jow repeated, startled at that. "How is that possible? I through you tossed his ass back into the speedforce?"

"I did," Barry shrugged.

"Then what the hell did he want from the Hall of Justice?" Joe wondered. "That's, like, one of the most secure places in the world. Not to mention, it's basically super hero central."

"No clue, but I don't think he's after just me, this time," Barry replied. He then rubbed his face in frustration. "Dammit, Joe! Why can't we just be rid of him? I mean, he's taken so much from me! It's like, no matter how many times I stop him, I can never truly beat him! He just keeps coming!"

"I can't answer that, son," Joe said, putting his hand on Barry's shoulder. "Thawne's like a cockroach with super speed; no matter how many times you flush him down the toilet, he just runs back up the bowl. But you are not alone. Now, more than ever. You got Caitlin, Cisco, me, Iris. Now, you got your Super Friends, too."

"Yeah, Batman's really not a fan of that name," Barry grinned.

Joe laughed at that. "Yeah, well, from what you tell me, he ain't a fan of anything," he said. "But back to the robbery today. What happened?"

"Cisco and I had just gotten back from the Hall when Caitlin told us about it," Barry said. "I got there, and I couldn't touch him. He's not a new meta; he's a ghost. Just like Danny Phantom. So, I sorta ran and grabbed Danny from Amity Park and brought him to S.T.A.R. Labs."

"Danny Phantom? He's here, in Central City?" Joe asked.

"Yup," Barry nodded.

"And the banks were robbed by a ghost," Joe said, skeptically.

"Uh-huh," Barry answered.

"You know, Barry," Joe said. "Just when I think this city couldn't get any weirder, you find a whole new level of weird to throw at me. Not sure how much more I can take. Just... you and your friend figure out how to stop this guy, or ghost, or whatever. 'Cause, I am not going to tell the captain that the bank was robbed by a ghost."

"Sure," Barry said. "We're working on it."

"And one more thing," Joe said, before leaving. "Don't tell Iris about Thawne being back. Not yet. The last thing I want her worrying about is that monster."

"You really have a diverse range of abilities," Caitlin said. Phantom had been helpful in answering her questions about ghost biology. "Usually, most of the metas we face only have one intrinsic ability; like Barry's speed. He can use his speed to perform other actions, but they're all a byproduct of his speed. But all of your abilities aren't linked to the same source."

"Yeah, well, ghost abilities are different from meta-human powers," Danny said. "I don't really know the science behind it. Maybe there isn't any, for all I know." He was floating in a relaxed manner in the Cortex. He didn't really want to touch anything, because it all looked so high tech, but at the same time, he really did want to look around because it was so high tech! It was S.T.A.R. Labs, after all!

"When you fly, do you ever get dizzy?" Caitlin asked.

"Nope, I never get dizzy," Danny shook his head. "All ghosts have total equilibrium." To demonstrate his point, he floated upside down, and landed on the ceiling, standing as though it were the floor! "See? For a ghost, every direction is up. From my perspective, it's like you guys are upside down!"

"Whoa, that's cool," Cisco said. The young engineer had brought the project he was working on up to the Cortex. "Gotta be useful, too."

"Most of the laws of physics don't really apply to ghosts," Danny said, floating back down. "Just like the Ghost Zone. It's like the opposite of Earth. None of the laws of physics apply to that place." Danny then noticed Caitlin's frown, as though she wanted to broach a subject, but also didn't at the same time. "What's the matter?" he tilted his head.

"Well, Barry told us about the Ghost Zone," she said. "When your ice powers developed. Is it... I mean, does everyone..."

"You mean, does everyone end up there when they die?" Phantom guessed at her line of thought. "The answer is no. Most people readily move on to the after life. The Ghost Zone is... different. It's complicated.

"But people who do become ghosts can end up there," the halfa continued. "For a variety of reasons. They either aren't ready to move on, or they're afraid what might be waiting for them when they do. Others just aren't ready to accept the fact that they died, or are still too attached to the real world."

"Or they have unfinished business," Cisco guessed without looking up from his project. "Just like in every ghost movie."

"Exactly," Danny nodded. "Cliche, but true. The Ghost Zone is also pretty much infinite; I don't think it has an end. Just like the rest of the universe. I don't like to think about it, too much. I like to think that there are some answers we're better off not knowing."

Caitlin absorbed the information. She was about to ask another question when Cisco beat her to the punch. "This conversation's taking a morbid turn; how about this? Barry says there's a tribe of ghost yetis that basically worship you; is that for real?" he asked.

Danny visibly cringed. "Ugh, yeah, unfortunately," he chuckled. "I don't really enjoy that aspect about it. It's a long story. Short version? My town was pulled into another dimention by an evil, scary ghost king named Pariah Dark. Ironically, Dark was released from his tomb by none other than Vlad Plasmius. Anyway, me and the other ghosts beat Pariah, and put my town back."

"And here I thought Central City was full of the weirdness," Cisco shrugged. "Anyway, here's what I got set up for when our spook shows up, again." He held up several small disks that were glowing purple.

"See these? I used your thermos' containment design for these puppies," the young engineer said proudly. "When Vlad shows back up, Barry can use his speed to surround him with these. They'll sense a ghost, and activate a 360-degree containment field around him, preventing him from escaping. They'll even extend under the floor, so he can't get out that way!"

"Then Danny can go in and suck Plasmius with his thermos," Caitlin finished Cisco's line of thought. She then wrinkled her nose at the statement. "Which sounds really gross when I put it like that. I did not mean to phrase it like that!"

Danny laughed. "Oh, trust me, I've got a ton of jokes, like that," he said.

Barry suddenly reappeared in the Cortex in a gust of wind. "Hey, what did you guys come up with?"

"These babies are just what the doctor ordered," Cisco replied, tossing the discs to Barry and explaining their purpose. "Now, we just have to figure out how to lure our greedy ghost."

"I could go and try to lure him out," Danny suggested. "Vlad's ego won't let him pass up a chance to try and best me."

Before anyone could say any further, an alarm went off at the Cortex's control consoles. Everyone ran over to the computers, and Cisco reported, "We got another robbery downtown at the Patton Bank on the corner of Panabaker and 23rd. It's our ghost!"

"You ready to go bust a ghost?" Barry asked Danny, smirking.

"Who you gonna call?" Phantom replied coyly.

Inside the bank, Vlad Plasmius floated out of the bank vault, grinning widely. "Ha! I must say, I missed this!" he mused gleefully to himself. "The thrill of an old-fashioned bank heist! Made so much simpler with ghost powers!" The half ghost criminal made his way to the exit, when a red blur trailing yellow sparks appeared in front of him.

"You're not going anywhere, this time," Flash said, facing off against the ghost in the nearly pitch-dark bank. The only lights were those from the street outside, and a few small lights here and there inside the building.

"Well, if it isn't the red-clad buffoon," Vlad bared his teeth with a smile that revealed his fangs. "I would have thought you'd realized you can't stop me!"

Why do they always say that?' Flash thought to himself. Without saying a word, Flash ran faster than Vlad could react, and strategically placed the glowing discs at Vlad's feet. Upon sensing a ghost, the discs chirped quickly and a purple dome of energy encompassed Plasmius!

"Oh, what foolishness is this?" Vlad said in irritation. He attempted to fly through the dome, but only collided with the energy dome. Raising an eyebrow, Vlad then reached out and placed a hand on the energy dome, testing his intangibility. When nothing happened, he attempted to phase through the floor, but nothing happened.

The arrogant grin leaving his face, Vlad frowned deeply at the Flash, who smirked cockily. "A homemade anti-ghost shield; very clever, Flash," he admitted, his voice now filled with calm sternness, instead of the smug tone it previously carried. "Tales of your ingenuity were not exaggerated, I see."

A red mist escaped Vlad's mouth, and it clicked. "But something tells me that you didn't come up with this device on your own," the ghost stated.

"Your right about that," Flash nodded, smugly. Danny Phantom then phased through the wall, and flew in, coming up besides the scarlet speedster and holding his thermos.

Flash crossed his arms and smirked victoriously. "I called in a professional," he said.

The arrogant grin also returned to Plasmius' face. "So did I!"

A beam of bluish-white energy shot out of the shadows and struck the thermos from Phantom's hand! "No," Flash cursed as the thermos sparked and fizzled from the damage it took.

"Hello, Flash," came a slow, calculating reply. From the dark shadows stepped Leonard Snart, aka Captain Cold. He was wearing his typical black clothing and his dark blue parka with the fur-lined hood and goggles. Flanking him was his partner in crime, Mick Rory, aka Heatwave. Snart smirked coldly at Flash's surprised expression. "It's been awhile."

"Snart?!" Flash said in surprise.

"Expecting someone else?" Snart replied as he and Mick stood at Vlad's side.

"What are you doing helping him?" Flash asked in disbelief.

"Like the old saying goes," Snart shrugged. "Money talks, people listen."

"And Spooky, here, payed us a lot of money," Mick added, his voice gruff and low. "Not to mention all the loot we grabbed, today. It was a good day."

"Wait," Danny said. "Plasmius, why rob banks in Central City?"

"Really, boy," Vlad sneered. "As if I would pass up the opportunity to work a string of heists with the two greatest thieves the world has ever known?"

"We had a deal, Snart!" Flash shouted, angrily.

"The deal we made, Flash, was that I wouldn't kill anyone to get what want," Captain Cold replied, icily. "And Mick and I haven't killed anyone."

"The night's still young," Mick huffed.

"Because I'm feeling generous," Vlad said. "We'll let you leave with your dignity intact. Be proud! It's not often someone can surprise me, let alone trap me! But once I get out of this trap, you two will be outnumbered. And we wouldn't want the people of this city to start losing faith in the mighty Flash, now wouldn't we?"

"Man, I see you're still as nutty as ever, fruitloop," Phantom shouted. "There is no way that you're getting out of-" His sentence was cut off by a steam of hot flames, courtesy of Mick Rory's heat gun!

"Danny!" Flash shouted as he knelt down at Phantom's side, helping him sit up.

"You'll find I don't give second chances," Vlad said. Captain Cold and Heatwave spread out, and fired their weapons at the two heroes, who barely dodged the two streams of fire and ice. Meanwhile, Vlad laughed from inside the dome of energy.

Caitlin and Cisco were in the Cortex, monitoring the battle. They were surprised to learn of Captain Cold's sudden reappearance, to put it mildly. "Caitlin, this might be the right time to break out that antifreeze compound for Barry," Cisco suggested. "Just in case."

Caitlin had been developing a serum to help the Flash's natural super-healing ability work even faster in the event of a battle against someone with ice powers, or in this case, Snart's cold gun. Barry's healing was slowed considerably against extreme cold, which nearly cost him his life the last time they fought.

"But the serum hasn't even been even tested, yet," Caitlin warned.

"I know, but we might not have a choice," Cisco said. "We both know Snart fights dirty, and he'll do anything he has to to get away."

"Alright, I'll be right back," Caitlin conceded. She got up and left the Cortex and quickly made her way to the elevator down the curved hallway. Caitlin kept the serum in her medical lab in the basement, where most of her tests on Barry's physiology were run.

After she retrieved the serum, she made her way back to the elevator, to take her back up to the Cortex, she reached for the button, but she was surprised to hear it ding before she even touched it. The elevator doors parted, and she gasped to see a man standing in the elevator! He was wearing a dirty lab coat with a noose hanging around his neck, and a disturbing brown burlap sack over his head and face.

Before Caitlin could react, the man lifted a nozzle attached to a small pressure tank he was carrying and sprayed a dark green mist in her face. Caitlin dropped the serum, and began to choke and gasp, stumbling back. She also noticed a new sensation begin to intensify through her mind and body. She was afraid. Very, very, unnaturally afraid...

But her rational thinking began to fade away, and she started to tremble. The room around her darkened, and began to fill with the same green fog that she had been sprayed with, and it was billowing out of the elevator, filling it so she could no longer see her attacker. The feeling of sheer terror began to intensify, pulsing through her veins like thunder.

"My, oh my," came a deep, raspy voice from everywhere and no where at the same time. "A new test subject. Must be my lucky day."

Caitlin meekly whimpered as she sunk to the ground, shaking as she backed up into a nearby wall. She trembled and brought her knees up to her chest as she looked into the billowing cloud of green mist that surrounded her. Through the mist, two glowing orange eyes gazed at her, staring into her soul.

From the elevator, a large, claw-like hand emerged, followed by a new figure. A spindly, seven-foot tall nightmare emerged from the cloud. Gaunt and rotting, like a misshapen corpse, the figure had unnatural features. From it's torn flesh to it's unnerving and twitching movements, the entity slowly advanced toward Caitlin, like a predator stalking it's prey. She could see it's torn clothing, it's shredded shirt flowing around it in a non-existent breeze.

The skin on the creature's head looked like burlap, curling into a hollow and sickening smile. In it's hand, the nightmare held a deadly scythe-like sickle attached to a long chain. The creature approached her and bent down to meet her face to face. He traced the scythe along her cheek without touching her.

"Call me Scarecrow," the creature rasped slowly. He seemed to be relishing her torment as she whimpered. "Tell me, child. What do you fear? Me, most certainly... But I sense something... more. You fear something much more than me..."

Scarecrow stepped aside and vanished into the mist, and Caitlin felt alone. So very alone... She also felt cold. Something she most certainly did not like.

"She fears me," came a chilling, all to familiar voice. Like her own, but warped. Snowflakes began to fall around her, mixing with the already nightmarish surroundings. Caitlin tried to squeeze her eyes shut, but she couldn't! She was frozen with fear!

From the fog slowly walked Killer Frost, her evil counterpart from Earth-2. Frost circled Caitlin, casting her disgusted gaze down at her. "She's afraid of turning into me," Frost said slowly. "That she might hurt the people she loves. That she might hurt... Ronnie. Afraid that deep, deep down... She's a cold-hearted killer!"

Caitlin clenched her eyes shut and screamed "NO!"

Opening her eyes, she was horrified to see the bloody body of her husband, Ronnie. A large icicle jutted from his chest. Screaming once more, her whole world went black as she finally passed out...

Cisco continued to monitor the battle at the bank, when he realized Caitlin hadn't returned. Frowning, he typed on the console and nearly fell out of his seat. On the monitor, he saw Caitlin passed out on the floor of her lab. The lab was filled with some kind of green gas, and some creep with a bag on his head leering over her!

"Caitlin!" he shouted. He slammed a button on the console and the ventilation system in the lab, and the gas was sucked out of the lab, causing the man standing over Caitlin to look around in surprise. Wasting no time, Cisco yelled over the communicator to the Flash. "Barry! We've got an intruder! Caitlin's been attacked!"

Not waiting for an answer, Cisco bolted for the hallway to try and help his friend, when he was kicked in the face by a black boot as he rounded the corner. Falling back to the ground dazed, he saw a woman in a tight black body suit standing over him. "Sorry, sweetie," the woman said. "Nothing personal." She then punched Cisco squarely in the head, rendering him unconscious...

Flash outraced Heatwaves flames as he ran, and Danny squared off against Captain Cold. Snart fired a precise beam from his cold gun, striking Danny in the shoulder. Phantom frowned and glared at Cold. "Ice, huh?" he taunted, phasing the ice from his shoulder. "That's cute."

Summoning his own ice powers, Phantom's eyes glowed blue, and he shot two beams of ice energy at Snart, who rolled out of the way and behind a desk. From behind cover, Snart fired his weapon at the discs surrounding Plasmius, causing them to fizzle out!

"No!" Danny shouted as Vlad was freed.

Flash dodged another jet of fire from Rory's gun, when Cisco shouted over his communicator "Barry! We've got an intruder! Caitlin's been attacked!"

Flash was about to respond, but Cisco cut the feed and wouldn't answer. He ran over to Phantom and told him what happened.

Vlad, meanwhile, looked at a device on his wrist. Smiling, he looked up. "Well, heroes," the villain sneered. "You have a choice. Either run along and save your friends, letting us go in the process... Or stay and we can continue this charade while your friends die!"

Danny Phantom and Flash glared at Vlad before looking at each other. The choice was obvious, but they didn't like it. Flash grabbed Phantom and they bolted from the scene. "Well, gentlemen," Vlad said to Snart and Mick. "I believe we've had our fun. Time to go."

The deep, dark fog was lifting. Caitlin Snow floated in the realm between reality and nothingness. Was that a light? What happened? She felt so... uneasy. She felt like every ounce of feeling had been drained from her mind. Breathing deeply, she felt her mind clearing and she slowly lifted her eyelids.

She was in an unfamiliar place. It wasn't S.T.A.R. Labs. Starting to panic, she bolted straight up in her bed. She was suddenly aware of Barry, who was still wearing his Flash outfit with his cowl lowered, and Cisco beside her. They quickly rushed to her side, attempting to calm her down. "Where am I?" she asked. She also noticed Cisco had a large bruise on the side of his head.

"Hey, hey, whoa, take it easy," Barry said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You're at the Hall of Justice. S.T.A.R. Labs was attacked."

Caitlin then noticed Danny Phantom was also in the room, and he floated up to the foot of her bed. "Flash and I barely got back in time," he said, concern in his voice and in his eyes. "Do you remember what happened?"

"Uh... I was in the med lab in the basement, getting the antifreeze serum I made," she said slowly, her memories flooding back. "And then... then... he... Oh, God..." She gritted her teeth as her heart raced at the thought of what happened.

"It's okay, it's over, you're safe," Cisco tried to soothe her.

Caitlin's eyes shot open at a thought that just entered her mind. "Ronnie," she said, panic in her voice.

"Don't worry, Ronnie's fine," Barry said. "I called him and let him know you're okay. He's more than a little upset that he wasn't there to help, but he's relieved you're alright. We all are." Ronnie Raymond; Caitlin's husband; was one half of a hero called Firestorm, along with Professor Martin Stein. They were currently working with a colleague of Stein's to better their abilities.

"Good," Caitlin sighed. "What that monster did to me; made me see-"

"You were attacked by Scarecrow," came a dark voice. Batman walked into the med room carrying a small tablet, his dark blue cape flowing behind him. He made sure to keep a respectful distance from Caitlin's bed. He knew first hand how some victims recovering from Scarecrow's fear gas might react to his presence. He dressed like this for a reason, after all.

"He's a criminal from Gotham," Batman explained. "Doctor Jonathan Crane. He used to be a therapist at Arkham Asylum; but his mind became warped."

"Yeah, that's putting it mildly," Cisco said, scowling.

"He sprayed me with some kind of gas," Caitlin said. "It... made me see things. Things I never want to even think about..."

"Fear toxin," Batman explained. "Crane's specialized chemical mixture. It's a psycho-active chemical that stimulates the fear and adrenaline centers in a person's brain far beyond normal, inducing a forced hallucination of what a person fears most.

"You're lucky, Doctor Snow," the Dark Knight continued. "If Flash hadn't gotten to you in time; if he hadn't brought you here, you would've died. Lucky for you, I always carry a vile of the antidote to Crane's toxin. You'll be fine, but it'll take some time for you to recover from the shock."

"Thank you," Caitlin murmured, absorbing the information. Lifting her head, she asked Batman, "Can you leave the read out of my blood work? I'm a biochemist; I'd like to read more into what's happened to me."

Batman glanced at Flash for a moment, before handing the speedster the tablet he'd been holding before heading for the door. Flash then handed the tablet to Caitlin, who began reading through her medical readouts. "The League's meeting, but I'll check in on you later," Barry told Caitlin. He gave her a smile, before heading out the door.

"Uh, I'm glad you're gonna be okay, Doctor Snow," Danny Phantom said to Caitlin.

She smiled her thanks at the young ghost, who then floated out of the room to join the others, leaving Cisco to sit by Caitlin. "I'm so sorry, Caitlin," Cisco hung his head. "I should have... I don't know, done something more. I was so absorbed with the fight at the bank-"

"There's nothing you could've done," Caitlin said. "We had no reason to suspect there was an intruder; the alarms didn't go off. You would have been whammied, too."

"I know, but, still," Cisco sighed, defeated. "I- I almost lost my best friend. I couldn't have lived with myself if that happened on my watch."

Caitlin then frowned at her friend. "Where did you get those bruises, anyway?" she asked.

"Uh, there was another intruder," he said. "She sort of- ah, ambushed me outside the Cortex."

"'She'?" Caitlin repeated.

"Yeah, but I didn't catch her face," Cisco said, embarrassed. "She came out of nowhere and kicked me in the head, Jackie Chan-style. Hell of a right hook, too."

"Not exactly our finest hour, was it?" Caitlin smiled softly.

"Yeah, no doubt," Cisco said, shaking his head. "Listen, Batman and the others want us to stay here at the Hall for couple of days and lay low, just to make sure. He and Flash are going to sweep S.T.A.R. Labs from top to bottom to figure out just how those two got past our security."

Noticing Caitlin's downcast look, he added, "Hey, look on the bright side! You were all kinds of jealous that I got to see the Hall, first. And, oh! Look! Here you are!" That earned him a chuckle from Caitlin. He always knew how to cheer her up.

As Batman, Flash and Danny Phantom entered the JLA meeting room, no one was seated. The matter at hand had everyone on edge. "I assume everyone's been briefed on what's transpired?" Batman asked.

The other League members nodded. Green Lantern Hal Jordan looked at Flash. "How's Caitlin doing?" he asked. Hal had known Barry prior to the formation of the League, and the two had worked together a few times.

Green Lantern had come to know the S.T.A.R. Labs crew quite well. Caitlin, in particular. By simply being Hal Jordan and not knowing she was married, he had tried hitting on her when Barry first introduced them, earning Hal a straight punch to the jaw from Caitlin's husband, Ronnie. But, after that one incident, once Hal knew where they all stood, they got along great.

"She'll be fine," Barry said. "She just needs time."

"As you all know, by now," Batman said, bringing the focus back to the matter at hand. "Earlier today, several banks were robbed Central City by a ghost that Phantom has identified as Vlad Plasmius." Holographic video of the security footage of Vlad in the banks played out before the League in the center of the table.

"We also now know that he was aided by two career criminals," Batman continued. The image changed to mug shots. "Leonard Snart, aka Captain Cold, and Mick Rory, also known as Heatwave."

"Why would a ghost want to rob banks?" Power Girl asked. "Let alone, side with these two?"

"Snart said they were payed a great deal of money by Vlad," Flash said. "Also, the prospect of easier scores was probably too much to pass up."

"At the same time, S.T.A.R. Labs was also attacked by two other individuals," Superman said, this time. He brought up the security footage from S.T.A.R. Labs. Two feeds showed Scarecrow attacking Caitlin, and a woman in a skin tight black leather bodysuit. "Doctor Jonathan Crane, aka Scarecrow and Selina Kyle, aka Catwoman. I hope you all see what we're getting at, here."

"These weren't two isolated incidents," Batman said. "This was a coordinated strike. Vlad, Cold and Heatwave robbed banks to lure Flash and Danny Phantom away from S.T.A.R. Labs, leaving the facility relatively unguarded for Scarecrow and Catwoman to sneak in. Scarecrow worked as a distraction, while Catwoman made her way into the Cortex."

"And wait until you see how they made their escape before Flash and Phantom returned," Superman frowned. The security footage showed a yellow blur with red lightning blast through the facility, grabbing Catwoman and Scarecrow before vanishing.

"Thawne," Barry scowled in anger. "Him invading the Hall wasn't an isolated incident; they're all working together."

"This is unprecedented," Batman continued. He leaned his fists on the table in front of him. His voice was like steel. "We have a group of super criminals working together. And not only that, but they're all connected to each of us, in some way."

"It's like they're forming their own anti-Justice League," Danny Phantom said.

"With these characters? More like a Legion of Doom," Hawkgirl said, crossing her arms.

"What did they want from S.T.A.R. Labs?" Martian Manhunter asked.

"Well, none of the meta-human criminals in the pipeline were let out," Flash said. "At least there's some good news."

"We won't know until Flash and I look through the systems and the facility," Batman said.

"Well, whatever it was, they were willing to attack two innocent civilians," Danny said.

"Worse yet," Wonder Woman said. "It seems intentional for them to have sent in a madman like Scarecrow; they wanted him to kill them both. Not only did they want into S.T.A.R. Labs, they are also targeting the people closest to us."

"Yeah, they definitely made this personal," Green Lantern frowned.

"We'll need to be even more vigilant than usual around the people we care about," Power Girl said. "We'll need to find somewhere where they can be safe."

"This is the most potent threat we've faced, yet," Superman warned everyone. "We need to be doubly careful when we're out there on our own. This isn't a single criminal, or a natural disaster. This is a cohesive group of hardened criminals bent on destroying us. We can't let our guard down, or it'll be the end for all of us."

"And who knows who else might be on their team?" Danny Phantom wondered. No one had an answer to that...

I'm really happy with this one! I love Team Flash! I really wanted Caitlin to be fascinated by ghost, and I really love the character!

Some things: In this story, as noted in previous chapters, Ronnie is still alive, and Firestorm will appear later on. Caitlin will not become Killer Frost in this story. Zoom already happened, but he never posed as Jay Garrick, since Jay already exists on this Earth. Cisco has his Vibe powers, but I didn't include them in this chapter because I couldn't find a way to effectively show them. Scarecrow is based on his Injustice 2 version.

And, so, the JLA is aware of the existence of the Legion of Doom! Things are picking up!

Anyway, let me know what you think! And, as always, a big thank you to everyone who takes the time to read my story!