This has been a long time coming hasn't it
Well I'm just going to get going with the chapter before the Warners show up
The beginning and the end of Judge
All of the flashbacks for Judge's origin story will be in italics
Before I forget I recently put up a poll to ask you the readers who do you think would win in a fight between Thanatos and Apocalypse I'm personally a little biased since one of them is my character but you guys aren't so please vote ahead
So sit back relax and as always enjoy
After Many Dates Danny and Katie
With a furious yell Danny punched Vlad sending him crashing into a wall Vlad struggled to get back up instead black rings passed over his body as Vlad Plasmius transformed into Vlad Masters before a wide eyed Valeries eyes "Mayor Masters but but how-" she asked a loud but neither ghost powered person paid any attention to the armored ghost hunter
She just watched unable to do anything standing next to a vat of green goo that had once been a sweet little girl named Dani
Danny stared down furiously at Vlad tears running down his glowing green eyes his fist clenched green energy glowing furiously like fire "it's over Vlad" Danny said coldly
"For now little badger" Vlad said smirking despite his injuries Danny in his rage had completely overpowered Vlad and his experience with sheer raw power "but we're at a stalemate I can't beat you physically but if you attempt to turn me in to the authorities like a hero I'll tell the world your secret that Danny Phantom is Danny FENTON"
"What" Valerie exclaimed looking to Danny shocked "no there's no way that a monster like you and Phantom could ever be someone like Danny"
"It's true" Danny said never taking his eyes off of Vlad before going back to ignoring Valerie
"You're right Vlad if you go to jail you'd be out in by morning" Danny said "and then you could go right back to hurting innocent people like Dani" the energy around Danny's fist glowed brighter as he brought his fist back
"So I choose the third option"
Valerie couldn't bring herself to look at what happened next
A single crack in Judges mask like a scar radiated with green energy
Dannys eyes narrowed the pieces of the puzzle were starting to come together and how he had broken out of Paulinas dome had just confirmed Danny's suspicions
"Take that mask off" Danny ordered coldly "it won't help you here"
Judge laughed "I suppose I tipped my hand didn't I"
Slowly Judge reached up bringing his hands towards his face pushing on two hidden switches the mask clicked away from Judges face with a metallic hiss falling onto the floor Judge reached up taking off the hood black hair matted with swear fell out
Paulinas eyes widened "no that's not possible" she muttered quietly "you died I watched you die"
"Yes well Mrs. Griffin you know the old saying" Judge said with Danny's smiling mockingly with Danny's face
Dannys eyes his hair his nose his everything it was like looking in a twisted fun house mirror
"Appearances can be deceiving" Judge said slamming his fist against the ground creating a massive shockwave of green fire Danny and Paulina leapt back dodging the flames Judge leapt through the flames throwing a punch at Paulina
Danny was about to step in when a doppelganger of Judge split off blocking Danny grabbing onto the ghost man throwing him up through the ceiling Danny flew through floor after floor of concrete landing on the roof Judge flew up through the hole lightning flashed in the sky behind him rain began to fall
"I feel like the class reunion would go off better without us in the way Danny" Judge said shooting blasts of green fire from his fists Danny's ice glowed blue stomping on the ground creating a wall of ice blocking the flames fist glowing green Danny hit the ice wall the wall shattered sending a meteor shower of glowing green ghost ice flying at Judge
Instead of dodging like Danny had expected Judge dove into the meteor shower an aura of energy spiraling around his body shattering the largest meteor Judge and Danny pulled his fist their fists collided shockwaves flew from the point of impact breaking every window in the Justice Lords tower Danny and Judge struggled against each other
"You're very impressive Danny" Judge complimented making Danny felt disgusted from the 'compliment'
A compliment from Judge was like a compliment from Vlad Pariah Dark or from Mr. Hyde some of the worst people that Danny's ever faced in his life "you're certainly more impressive then what I thought from our first battle"
"Yeah well" Danny said leaping away from Judge "you hit my girlfriend I was angry"
Judge nodded "I can understand I certainly would have reacted similarly had someone done the same to my wife" Judge's confident smirk became a little smaller bending into a frown for a brief second "when she was alive that is"
Danny might have felt bad for the guy if he wasn't a raging lunatic that is
"Let me guess Sam" Danny asked
It made sense that Judge assumed he and Sam were married when the raid on the warehouse first happened and from what Sam had told him after Judge could have easily done to Sam what he had done to other people during his and the rest of the Justice Lords reign of terror
Judge nodded a faint smile on his face
Danny frowned
"I don't know the Sam on your earth but do you really think she would ever condone what you've done" Danny demanded
"The Justice Lords conquering the world EVERYTHING"
Judge scowled his eyes glowing with furious rage lightning flashing behind him "don't EVER talk to me Sam and what she would want" Judge ran at him moving faster then he was before throwing a hook punch that sent Danny flying up into the air Judge moved faster then Danny's eyes could see appearing above him
Danny just had enough time to block crossing his arms over his chest and face before Judge brought his fist down ramming into him with all the force of the Disasteroid
Thankfully without the stinging agony of Ectoranium
Crashing into the roof leaving a crater in the ground
Judge pulled his other hand back fist clenched tight a sharp blade shot out of the bracer on his arm "when you're gone the world will finally be at peace"
Danny struggled to get up trying to find a way out of this
"I'm just sorry that you won't be able to see it" he said without a hint of regret
"Hi Dani" Danny said kneeling by a small tree on a hill overlooking Amity Park
Danny had come here after turning Vlad's mansion and more importantly his ghost lab and portal into a pile of rubble
Danny had spent the rest of the night crying because of his failure some time during the night Sam and Tucker had come to comfort Danny staying with him throughout the night
A week later Danny had destroyed the Fenton Portal Tucker using a virus to destroy every file on the Fentonworks system even if his parents were able to rebuild the Fenton Portal again they'd never would be able to get it to work again
It was because of him that the Fenton Portal worked in the first place and Danny would never set foot into a ghost portal again
After that the ghost attacks had stopped and things went back to normal back to how things were before the accident
Though that didn't mean Danny Phantom completely disappeared he did help with petty crime he met other superheroes over the years like Miss. Impossible Ben Ten and the Goblin
His secret identity had even got exposed after saving the world from a giant meteor made of Ectoranium that had been sent hurtling towards earth because of one of the Fruitloops old satellites
He saved the day again and again but no matter what he did no matter who he beat no matter what threat to the world he prevented
The world was always in danger
It always needed to be saving
"Sorry Dani that I haven't been able to visit often" Danny said placing down a bouquet of roses at the base of the tree "something always came up"
"I have some good news I'm getting married" Danny said "you actually met her briefly my friend Sam she's she's-" Danny stopped talking to wipe a tear away from his eyes "without her I would be a shell of a man" he told Dani "honestly there are days I have trouble getting out of bed but Sam's always there she gives me the strength to keep fighting"
Danny placed two fingers against the lips and then against the tree "I promise I'll visit first thing after the honeymoon just you and me"
Danny didn't get a response back he just hoped that meant whereever Dani was that she was happy
Man he really hoped that was the case
Paulina blocked the punch with a small shield made from red energy "how could you do this Danny" Paulina demanded to Judge betrayed batting away his fist with her shield turning it into a flaming sword that Judge blocked with a sword made of green energy
"You were a good person" Paulina shouted "people looked up to you wanted to be you I looked up to you" Paulina shouted whenever she had been in a hard place whenever the odds of beating the Justice Lords seemed impossible she thought of Danny of what he would have done if he'd been here
Turns out he was always here
He was the reason the world was like this he was the reason that Paulina has been to so more funerals then weddings
He was there behind that grinning skull mask of his
Judge scoffed "please you don't care you just wanted to be Paulina Fenton" Judge said dismisively of her feelings
Paulina saw red the rage overcame her as red rings sprouted from her back with razor sharp wings flew at Judge
Judge leapt back firing a blast from the bracers on his arm a red raven surrounded Paulina with her in the center the blast shrugged off the blasts Paulina and the raven roared as she flew at Judge ripping apart the room with every swing of her massive flaming wings
Judge bobbed weaved and dodged rushing forward Judge punched her contract shattering it like glass she was sent flying back Paulina crashed into a wall bouncing back she landed on her chest
As she stood up there was a massive shockwave that shook the building and every window in the room shattered Paulina raised a shield blocking the shards of glass
As she brought down the shield Judge rushed at her before she could make another construct hitting her in the stomach sending her flying back into a wall Paulina looked up at him with pure rage in her eyes "you see Paulina that's your problem you're stuck in the past" Judge mocked punching her again "you think you're saving the world"
Another punch
Judge grabbed her by the throat lifting her high into the air holding onto her throat tight "but you're not the world was broken I'm the one fixing it" Judge pulled his other hand back fist clenched tight a sharp blade shot out of the bracer on his arm "when you're gone the world will finally be at peace"
Paulina struggled to get out of this she barely had the focus to make a construct
"I'm just sorry that you won't be able to see it" he said without a hint of regret
"I told you you'd have fun" his wife Sam said from the passenger seat to Danny who was driving the Fenton Family Assault vehicle from the classical music concert that Sam had gotten them Tucker Jazz and his parents tickets for
Sam was right it was nice to be out having a good night with family and friends instead of out fighting more and more criminals
If Danny was being completely honest he was just so tired of it all he wished he could retire but that would just mean there was more work for the other heroes in the world
If only there was a way to stop all of the crime so that the police could handle it all
Danny had asked some of the other heroes he knew but no matter who he asked they didn't have an answer for him either
If only he could find an answer maybe then he could really retire and have a family with Sam
Speaking of Sam she reached out putting her hand over his "hey are you ok" she asked sounding worried
"Yeah" Danny said a little too quickly "yeah you were right I had a good time"
"At least you didn't fall asleep like someone else here" Jazz said looking to her still a bit drowsy fiancé Tucker
Tucker was quick to try and make excuses until Jazz laughed silencing him with a kiss to his lips that Tucker was happy to return
"Yes Danny thank you for not snoring" Maddie said jokingly looking to his dad who had fallen asleep again after he'd gotten back into the FFAV snoring loudly
Danny laughed a little bit looking back out to the road frowning when he something coming right towards him
Something fast
No there was no way Paulina was going to die here she needed a plan and quickly mentally checking her rings reserves she had fifty percent left she didn't have the mental focus to make a construct but there was one way she could make that wouldn't take too much focus to do
Paulina's eyes glowed red drawing on her rage channeling it into her eyes letting them glow she unleashed a massive blast of burning red energy from her hands the force of the beam hit Judge in the chest pushing him back Judge brought his arms up to block gritting his teeth with frustration he threw the blast up towards the ceiling
Creating another hole in the ceiling rain began to fall through Paulina took into the air flying up through the hole Judge flew up after her and he was gaining on her
The two of them flew up into the air above the tower where Danny and the other Judge were already fighting
Paulina flew up hovering next to Danny "I see things aren't going well for you either"
"They were worse before you broke up the roof thanks for that" Danny told her Paulina nodded she said watching the two Judges come back together
"You want to thank me" she said "then stop him"
The three airborne fighters flew at each other Paulina fired a volley of blasts Judge deflected the blasts with the gauntlets on his gloves firing a green fireball at Paulina Danny flew up making a shield blocking the red lantern
Paulina held her ring up a flock of small red ravens flew at Judge grabbing onto his limbs scratching at his chest and exoskeleton with their tiny red talons a shield burst out of Judge pushing the birds back
Judge then made a green flaming whip grabbing Danny by the neck throwing him towards the destroyed roof
Danny straightened out before he hit the roof flying back up he punched Judge again and again Judge recovered grabbing another of Danny's punches pulling him in kneeing him in the stomach following it up with a hook kick to the side of the face knocking him back
Paulina sent out a stream of energy grabbing Judge by his outstretched let spinning him around in a circle she spun Judge over and over again in the air before sending him flying to the wall of a nearby building
Judge pulled himself from the hole in the wall flying up he then held up his hand circuitry lit up in his hands lightning was drawn to it a massive ball of now toxic green electricity was now in his hands
"It's time to end this" Judge shouted looking angry "for Justice" he shouted throwing his hand towards the two heroes a massive thunderclap nearly deafened the heroes as a massive bolt of radioactive green lighting arced through the air flying towards Danny and Paulina
This was going to take everything Paulina had wouldn't it
'I love you Henry' Paulina thought what might be her last thought channeling all the rage in her body the entire charge of her ring she fired a blast equal to the lightning bolt
The clouds now flashing with interchanging red and green light parted where the two attacks met as they fought for dominance over each other Paulina could feel it she was being pushed back she was going to lose
She had to keep on fighting she just had to
For those they lost
For those who were still fighting
In the back of Paulinas mind she saw a little girl with slightly tanned skin with her eyes and her fathers hair hidden away in a remote cabin in Montana with her parents her's and Henry's daughter Dora she was waiting for them
Waiting for them to come home the last time Paulina had seen her daughter had held her had been two years ago she was three and had asked if they were coming back despite knowing how stupid it would be to do so Paulina had promised
It was a promise that Paulina was going to do everything in her power to keep
" With righteous rage and crimson red I will topple the altars of evil and dread
I will use the ring and it's might
To defeat all foes within my sight
With crimson light
Red Raven takes flight"
Paulina's beam grew more intense with the shout of her oath but still it was a stalemate and Paulina would eventually lose her charge just then Danny flew up next to her he looked as battered and bruised as she was but still he was here fighting for a world that wasn't even his
Now that was a hero
Taking a deep breath he took aim and fired the strongest power Paulina had ever seen him use the ghostly wail wave after wave of horrifying green sound flew from his mouth hitting the bolt of lightning and with Paulina was pushing it back inch by inch foot by foot until finally it was sent back at a wide eyed Judge creating an explosion of red light and a ghostly echo through the silent sky
Why did this happen Danny thought standing alone on a dark and stormy night Danny couldn't come during regular visiting hours
Not while he was being hunted for a crime he didn't commit
All he could do as he stood before the graves of his family the man who was like a brother to him for years the love of his life all he could do was stand here and beg for forgiveness
Because he failed to save them
Again
Why did this have to happen again
Hasn't Danny been through enough
In the corner of Danny's eyes he saw a flash of blue light Danny didn't bother to look "you should have warned me" Danny whispered coldly to Clockwork who looked regretful
"I'm sorry Danny but I couldn't" the ghostly master of time said
"YOU SAVED THEM ONCE" Danny yelled "WHY COULDN'T YOU DO IT AGAIN WHY COULDN'T YOU TELL ME"
Why couldn't Clockwork have given him a warning that the GIW were going to try and get rid of him because they were furious that the 'monster' they hunted was the one who was saving the world
And if he couldn't do that
Why couldn't he have been the one who didn't make it instead of them
Clockwork still looked sympathetic "I'm sorry but there are things beyond even my control"
Danny turned away and began to walk away "I know the path you've been thinking of Danny the supposed solution you have for the world" Clockwork lectured making Danny even more angry
He stopped thunder flashing overhead "go home Clockwork you don't have the right to judge me anymore"
No one was ever going to judge him again
Danny was tired of doing nothing of letting good people get hurt
The world was broken and Danny was going to fix it
One piece of scum at a time
Judge dazedly pushed himself to his knees his head was pounding his exoskeleton was destroyed and his body ached in ways it hadn't ached in years he looked up to see Danny Phantom and the Red Raven holding her ring up to his face
Judge let out a raspy laugh it seemed there was someone who was still the judge of him
At least he would be able to see his family again
And this is where we end the chapter
I could say a very familiar quote about living long enough to become the villain but I think you all can see what happened to Judge and how he came to be
Disclaimer this is not the world where Danny didn't choose to do the dating service and ended up with Sam this is a world where Danny and Sam's romance ended in tragedy
I hope everyone had a happy new year and we'll be seeing you again real soon
Until Next Time
Stay Safe
And
Excelsior True Believers