I'm back, and so soon. You didn't expect that, didn't you? Truth be told, there's almost at least a dozen chapters left before the story ends, so I thought I should focus more on this story so I can end it. Last chapter, I had some fun in that one if you spotted the MCU references I did. So yeah, last chapter, the League almost lost to AMAZO, AMAZO became a space nomad and Luthor got sent to jail.
Now, if you read my end notes from last chapter you know what's next. So sit back and let your dreams come true. Sorry, that was the only dream pun I know. I'll think of more dream puns when it's Nocturne's turn.
Chapter 22: Just a Dream
The city of Metropolis was burning as a giant robot rampaged through, leaving a trail of death and destruction. Mechanical tentacles were around the robot, and wrapped around them were Earth's defenders; Batman, Wonder Woman, Danny Phantom, Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkgirl and Martian Manhunter, all struggling to free themselves from their greatest challenge.
"Don't bother struggling," a plain-looking man with brown hair said with a smirk, standing on top of the robot. "I've made this robot just for you. So, fall down."
One by one, the tentacles squeezed the heroes tightly until they weren't moving anymore. It then dropped them on the ground, piling their bodies.
The man smirked before he looked up, noticing Superman flying towards him. He simply snapped his fingers and the tentacles twisted together and fired a red laser. Superman screamed before he fell to the ground, unmoving like the rest of the Justice League.
"And now, my revenge is complete," he said with a victorious grin. Suddenly, he heard a loud applause. He looked down and saw every major villain in the world gathered in front of him, applauding and cheering, some throwing confetti and waving small flags with his face on it.
"Well done," Lex Luthor said as the man was lowered by his robot. He then walked towards Superman, stepping on his chest. "You've done something not even I have accomplished. You're quite capable."
"Yeah, and handsome too," Star Sapphire said as she and Cheetah grabbed his arms in a loving way.
"What do they call you, handsome?" Cheetah asked with a purr.
"My name is John Dee," the man said in a smug manner.
"No, we can do better than that," Joker said as he walked forward, tapping his chin. "Hm…Dee…D…Destroyer? Demolisher? Director?"
"There will be time for that later," Luthor said, pushing Joker away. "First, tell me how this invention of yours work."
"The Materioptikon? Sorry, but it's a trade secret," John Dee said, though he didn't sound sorry.
"That's okay," Grundy said as he lumbered towards him with a smile. "Grundy likes you anyway. You're one of us now."
He started patting John on the back, roughly jostling him. The girls backed away as John winced.
"Easy! Easy!" he exclaimed, but Grundy kept patting him.
The rough patting was replaced by someone shaking him. Suddenly, he opened his eyes and saw that he was in the waiting room in Stryker's Prison. The guard gave him a smile as he stepped back.
"Your turn in the barrel," he said.
John Dee, hiding his disappointment, stood up from his seat and walked towards the door.
"What was so easy, John?" the guard asked, causing John to look at him with a confused expression. "You were talking in your sleep, saying 'easy'."
"Oh, was just thinking about my parole," John said with a smile. "I have a good feeling about it."
"I wouldn't bet against it," the guard said. "You're not like the others here. You got a real future out there."
"Yeah," John said as the door slid open, revealing a lab. At the corner was a smaller version of the Materioptikon, minus the tentacles. "I got a date with destiny."
Later…
In Gotham City, Phantom was leaning on the wall as Batman talked to the authorities, handing over the gang members they apprehended. It took them five sleepless nights to catch all of them, involving many researches, spying, interrogation and fighting.
Not to mention the other troubles they had to deal with that were involved with the gang.
He was fighting to keep his eyes open as he stifled a yawn. He had sleepless nights before, but not five nights in a row.
"Let's go," Batman said, jostling Phantom from his struggling slumber.
"R-right," he said, running after him.
The two got in the Batmobile and drove away from GCPD. Phantom sighed as he rubbed his eyes, ready to sleep.
"Finally done," he said as he yawned. "How do you deal with this all the time?"
"Constant vigilance."
"…Now I see why you're grumpy all the time," Phantom said with a chuckle before giving a big yawn. "Man. Can't wait to sleep."
"Watchtower to all Justice League members!" Hawkgirl's voice called out in their communicators. "Stryker's Prison is having a breakout! All inmates, as well as Metahumans, are escaping! All members required!"
"…I'm not going to sleep tonight, am I?" Phantom said with a sigh.
Batman replied by turning the Batmobile around and increasing the speed. Their next stop: Metropolis City.
Stryker's Island…
Finally. Things were finally going his way. John Dee was running back to the lab where the Materioptikon was located. It was a device used to possible give someone ESP. He willingly volunteered on the experiment, hoping it would give him powers to take revenge on the Justice League after they ruined his life.
So what if he was guarding illegally smuggled weapons from LexCorp? A guy needs to make a living.
Once he was out, he was going to take it slow, build up his power then take them down one by one before finally settling down with his wife.
But destiny had other plans.
When his wife came to visit, she told him she was leaving him for another man. After that, his parole was denied.
What did he do to deserve this? If only the Justice League didn't bust him for doing his job, then he wouldn't be so miserable.
But finally, his luck was turning.
There was a massive break out planned by the Metahumans, and this was his chance to finally get out. But first, he had a real date with destiny.
He entered the lab and saw the professor there, hiding behind the desk.
"Professor! You're alright!" John Dee exclaimed, running towards him.
"I'm fine!" the professor exclaimed, relief to see a friendly face. "Thank God someone came! I was worried sick someone mig-!"
As his back was turned, John Dee smacked him on the head, knocking him out. With a smirk, John walked towards the device, increasing the power before he got on the device. The helmet attached itself on his head as he felt the power surge into his brain.
"Yes…yes…yes!" John Dee exclaimed before the machine started sparking. He winced as he felt his brain throbbing, like it was about to burst. "Wait…too much…TOO MUCH! AAAAAAAGH!"
Meanwhile, it was chaos as the inmates of Stryker's went wild in an attempt to escape, especially the Metahumans. They all went to the vault, where their gears were located. With big smirks, they all grabbed their gear.
The guards quickly ran to the vault, all armed and ready. Just as they reached it, the vault door exploded and coming out of the smoke were Metallo, Luminus, Firefly, Toymaker and Livewire, as well as a bunch of armed inmates, all grinning menacingly.
"Well then, boys," Metallo said as the Kryptonite core shine brightly in his chest. "Come and get us!"
A few minutes later, the secure doors of Stryker's were blown open as the inmates ran out, all running to the boats, to escape. Before they were going to start rowing, a wall made of green energy stopped them from their tracks.
"Oh no! It's them!" one of them exclaimed, pointing to the sky. There, they saw Green Lantern, followed by Martian Manhunter and Hawkgirl.
Panicking, some of the inmates ran to the opposite side of the island, only to stop freeze when they saw Superman, Flash and Wonder Woman going towards them at a fast pace.
"Well, they came faster than planned," Metallo said as he, Toymaker, Luminus and Firefly walked out to the island. "Don't worry, boys! Just follow the plan, and we'll be out of here in no time!"
The inmates, full of confidence, cheered before they armed themselves.
"Alright, while they're distracting them, we book it," Metallo whispered to his fellow Metahumans. "That gadget of yours will work, right?"
"Don't worry," Toymaker said. "As long as Livewire finishes her part of the plan. For now, we just use these idiots to distract the heroes."
Unknown to them, Phantom and Batman were sneaking through the building, to stop the inmates inside.
"Man, there's a lot of crooks here," Phantom commented as they quietly walked through the halls.
"We'll deal with them once we deal with the Metas," Batman commented. "From what Martian Manhunter said, only one missing is Livewire."
"I remember her, she was annoying," Phantom commented. "You think they have something planned?"
"They wouldn't attempt a breakout if they weren't," Batman replied as they made their way to the vault.
"By the way, how do you know your way around here?"
"I've studied the blueprints."
"Of course, you did."
They final arrived at the vault, where a few inmates were making something under Livewire's watch. It was a big platform and a small generator that she was charging.
"Any idea what that thing is?" Phantom asked.
"Whatever it is, it's possibly dangerous," Batman said, pulling out a batarang. "Maneuver 17."
"I love that one," Phantom grinned before sinking to the ground.
"C'mon, slowpokes!" Livewire exclaimed as she nearly finished charging the batteries. "The faster you finish, the sooner we can get out of this dump!"
One of the inmates was about to grab another piece, when he suddenly yelped as he sank to the ground.
"Hm? Mac?" the inmate nearby said, hearing the yelp. "Where'd you go, buddy?"
Suddenly, he felt a cold sensation before he sank to the floor, releasing a surprised yelp. Soon, the inmates kept disappearing one by one before Livewire finally noticed something was wrong.
"Hey! What's going on over there?" she called as she turned, only to find herself alone. "Where'd you idiots go?"
Suddenly, a batarang hit the power source she was charging. Startled, she saw the batarang blinking. Realizing what was going to happen, she quickly jumped back as it exploded, destroying the generator.
"No!" she cried as she saw the generator destroyed. Growling, she looked up and saw Batman on top of the shelves. She fired a blast of electricity at him, which he dodged. She kept firing at him, before she was blindsided on the right by a Ghost Ray, slamming her to one of the shelves.
She groggily looked up and saw a smirking Phantom waving at her. She growled, remembering the young hero for humiliating her last time.
"I've been wanting to fry you, you little freak," Livewire growled, sparkling with electricity.
"Aw, so you missed me," Phantom said with a smirk before he jumped to the side to dodge an electric blast. "Didn't you enjoy our time together? Spending some sun and sand? And dumping you in the ocean? That was my favorite part."
"You annoying, little…" Livewire exclaimed, her face red as she kept firing at Phantom, who kept dodging her.
"You do know that there's two of us, right?" Phantom said before he disappeared.
Livewire's eyes widened as she completely forgot about the Dark Knight. Before she could turn, a bat-shaped shadow loomed over her, growing larger as it got closer to her. She turned her head and all she saw was black as a pair of boots slamming on her face.
"Man, you do not discriminate," Phantom commented as he appeared next to the platform the inmates were building, staring at the unconscious Livewire. Batman ignored him as he walked towards the platform, studying it, lenses narrowing.
Meanwhile, outside of Stryker's, most of the inmates were fighting against the Justice League. The rest were either restrained or unconscious Metallo, Toymaster, Firefly and Luminus all ran back inside the building as the League fought off the inmates.
"They're getting away!" Wonder Woman exclaimed as she slammed two inmates' heads together.
"You guys go!" Green Lantern exclaimed as he used his shield to blast some inmates away.
"We'll handle them!" Hawkgirl exclaimed as she landed beside Green Lantern, her mace sparking.
Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash and Martian Manhunter nodded before they entered the building. Green Lantern and Hawkgirl stood back to back as the inmates surrounded them, all grinning and trying to look menacing. The two heroes looked at each other before nodding, with Hawkgirl smirking.
Inside the building, the heroes split up to look for Metallo, Toymaster, Firefly and Luminus. Superman used his X-Ray vision to look through the walls and spotted Luminus hiding at the corner. He quickly flew towards him and landed behind him.
"That's enough running," he said as he grabbed him, but he suddenly disappeared, surprising Superman. Suddenly, a beam of light blasted him from behind, causing him to stumble a little. He turned his head and saw a group of Luminuses, all smirking as their hands glowed.
Wonder Woman was running through the halls, ready for battle. Suddenly, she heard something in front of her, causing her to stop, tensing her muscles as she strained her eyes through the halls. Waddling towards her was a toy duck, making quacking sounds as it walked.
She looked at it skeptically, having seen her fair share of unusual weapons. As the duck faced her, its beak opened and fired a beam towards her, causing her to block it with her bracelets. The duck kept firing at her, which she deflected with her bracelets, until one laser was reflected back to the duck, destroying it.
She stared at the duck and was about to run again, when about three dozen ducks waddled towards her, their beaks opening, glowing red. Wonder Woman's eyes widened as the ducks fired at her.
Flash was running through the halls, easily going through all of them. As he was running back, a metal arm suddenly appeared, giving him a haymaker, sending him tumbling towards the ground and slammed on to the wall.
Groaning, he stood back up and saw Metallo walking towards him, Kryptonite shining brightly as he cracked his metallic knuckles.
He charged, raising his fists, but Flash quickly avoided them. Despite being made of metal, Metallo was surprisingly light on his feet. And his punches weren't light, considering the holes he was making by all the punches Flash avoided.
"You may be fast, but I fought faster and stronger," Metallo said in a smug tone.
"Only because you have that rock on your chest," Flash retorted as he started dodging the punches with ease. "Without it, you're just a hunk of junk."
"A hunk of junk huh?" Metallo said as he started increasing the speed of his attack. "I'll show you!"
Martian Manhunter calmly flew through the walls, looking for one of the escaped Metahumans. Suddenly, he stopped, staring at the right.
"You can come out now, you can't hide from me," he said.
"Tch…Well, at least I got the Martian," Firefly said, walking towards him, his gun at the ready. "This is going to be easy for me."
He unleashed a torrent of flame, causing Martian Manhunter to jump back in fear. Firefly laughed as he kept the flame open, making sure Martian Manhunter was at a distance.
"C'mon! Come and get me!" Firefly exclaimed, increasing the wall of fire.
He didn't notice Martian Manhunter sinking to the floor, floating towards him from below. He then grabbed Firefly's ankles, surprising the villain as he was lifted off the ground and thrown towards the wall, causing him to grunt in pain as his gun slid away from him.
Martian Manhunter walked towards him as Firefly tried to stand up. He was about grab a small grenade from his waist and throw it at the Martian to bombard him with fire, before a green snake suddenly wrapped around him in a vice grip, immobilizing him as he slowly suffocated him.
Firefly struggled to free himself, slowly losing air as he started falling on his knees, slowly losing consciousness as he dropped the unpin grenade.
"Sorry," Martian Manhunter said as he morphed back to normal, hefting the unconscious villain over his shoulder. "But I've read your mind."
Luminus hurriedly ran to the vault, panting heavily. He managed to give Superman the slip, but he knew that it won't take long until Superman is on to him. He needed to get to the teleporter before it's too late. He didn't wait for the rest of his accomplices as he entered the vault. Seeing no sign of Livewire and the rest of her lackies, he assumed the teleportation device was a success.
Luminus ran towards the platform, slamming his fist into the button. He laughed as the device glowed green.
"So long, suckers!" he exclaimed, laughing victoriously. He was so busy laughing that he didn't noticed that he was just floating to ceiling until he found himself stuck in the ceiling, alongside an unconscious Livewire and the muffled goons. "What!?"
"Hey, sucker," Phantom said, appearing from the ceiling before flying down, landing next to Batman, who walked out of the shadows.
They both turned as they heard footsteps. They saw Wonder Woman carrying an unconscious Toymaker by the back of his shirt, Flash carrying a chunk of Kryptonite that was powering Metallo's robotic body, Martian Manhunter was carrying an unconscious Firefly draped over his shoulder and Superman floated in, looking around before he spotted Luminus stuck on the ceiling.
"Good work, everyone," Superman commented before he saw the Kryptonite in Flash's hand, making him back away slightly.
"Oh, sorry," Flash said as he tossed the Kryptonite to Batman, who put it away.
Meanwhile, outside the prison, Green Lantern and Hawkgirl were surrounded by beaten criminals, who were groaning in pain.
"That was easy," Hawkgirl said with a smirk to Green Lantern.
Later…
Despite stopping the Metahuman's attempt on escaping via teleporting, a handful of inmates managed to escape the island. Even without powers, they could still cause trouble for the city. As he League went to search for them, the guards were busy cleaning up the place, putting the prisoners and the weapons back where they should be.
Two guards walked towards the testing room, opening it. When they saw the professor on the ground, they quickly rushed to his side, helping him up.
"Professor, are you okay?" one of them asked as the professor rubbed his head.
"I'm…I'm alright," he said as he turned to the side. "My God…"
The two guards followed his gaze and saw John Dee on the Materioptikon, eyes open but unresponsive.
"There goes another one," one of the guards commented as they walked towards him, one of them waving his hand in front of Dee's face.
"And he was one of the more successful test subjects," the professor said sadly. "Take him to the others."
The guards nodded and was removing the headgear out of his head. Before they could pick him up, they suddenly stopped, confusing the professor.
"Is something wrong?" he asked, before he gasped in surprise as both guards suddenly fell on the ground, eyes wide and mouths agape.
"You were right, Professor," John Dee said with a smirk as the Professor backed away from him. "I am the most successful."
Before the professor could run, he felt his mind was violated. He grabbed his head, screaming as he felt his mind slowly tear apart before his entire world went blank.
John Dee looked at the three people he easily dealt with before looking at his hands. Clenching them into fists, John Dee, with a confident look, walked out the room, ready to face his destiny.
And he knows where to go first.
Later…
"There, that's the last of them," Phantom said as he gave the escaped inmate back to the guards, who was carrying him back to his cell.
It took them an hour to round up all the escaped convicts. Batman and Phantom decided to bring them back as the rest called it a night. About twenty escaped, but they didn't get to far, not with very fast flyers looking for them. Luckily, they got caught before they could hurt someone.
"Is that everyone?" Phantom asked the warden, a man with graying hair wearing a suit and a brown coat.
"Yes, we have all the convicts accounted for," warden said, looking at the list. "Good thing none of the super villains got out."
They walked through the corridor, looking at the special cells where Livewire, Toy Man, Metallo, Firefly and Luminus were kept. Suddenly, Batman stifled a yawn.
"Wow. I can't believe you can yawn," Phantom commented, before yawning as well. "Great. You're contagious."
"Pretty routine stuff for you guys, isn't it," the warden commented as Batman rubbed his neck.
"Sorry. Fifth night in a row with no sleep," he explained.
"Well, maybe you s-," the warden said before his phone made a sound. He picked it up and answered it. "Yes?"
"Warden. We have a problem."
The three looked at each other before going to the laboratory.
A couple of guards were in there as the three entered. There, they saw the guards and the professor being placed on stretchers, their expressions blank.
"What happened to them?" Phantom asked as Batman got closer to them, checking on their pulses and faces.
"They're catatonic," Batman said before turning to a smoking machine. "What's that?"
"That's the Materioptikon," the warden replied. "It's a device that professor created. It was supposed to give people the power to read minds."
"Well that sounds safe," Phantom commented sarcastically. "Why would someone build this?"
"It was supposed to help the world," the warden replied, looking at the three casualties.
"Was someone being tested on this?" Batman asked.
"There was a guy who volunteered willingly, John Dee," the warden replied.
"I want to see him," Batman said.
The warden nodded and led the two to John Dee's cell. When they got there, he was gone, except for his cell mate.
"What the?" the warden said, looking around the cell. "Where's Dee?"
"I don't know, probably got out," the inmate said from his bunker, shrugging his shoulders.
"Should we be worried?" Phantom asked the warden.
"I wouldn't worry too much," the warden assured them. "John Dee is just a small-time crook, a nobody compared that what you fight."
"Ever read the Odyssey?" Batman asked the warden, causing the two to look at him. "After Odysseus was captured by the cyclops, he told it that his name was Nobody. So, when he pokes its eye out and its friends asks who did it, all the cyclops could say was Nobody."
"Then I guess it's another sleepless night," Phantom said with a sigh before turning to the warden. "So, this John Dee willingly let himself get experimented on to get psychic powers? What else do you know about him?"
"I'll go get his files," the warden said.
"Maybe I can help," a guard said, walking towards them. "Me and John talked a lot during his time here."
"Can you tell us about him?" Phantom asked. "Like what he did to get himself in here."
"It's related to you people, actually," the guard said, turning to Phantom and Batman. "Months ago, John Dee was part of weapons smuggling by Lex Luthor, the guys you busted. He's been here since then, trying to get parole so he could get back to his wife…but he was denied."
"Can you tell us about his wife?" Batman asked.
Later…
Out in the forest, just outside of Metropolis, Penny Dee was sleeping peacefully with her boyfriend, Rick, beside her in a cabin. Suddenly, she woke up with a loud gasp, looking around the room. She rubbed her eyes tiredly, taking calm breaths.
She stood up from her bed, going to the kitchen to get herself a glass of water, unaware of the shadow following her. Penny went in the kitchen, opening the lights before she grabbed a glass and walked towards the faucet, filling it up. With her glass filled, she was walking out of the kitchen, when the lights suddenly flickered, surprising her.
"Aren't you a little jumpy."
Penny dropped her glass as appearing in front of her was her ex-husband, smirking at her.
"John!? What are you doing here?" she asked as she backed away from him.
"What? Aren't you glad to see me?" John said in a fake hurt voice. "That hurts. But then again, you've already hurt me before."
"How did you get in here?" she asked as John stalked closer to her.
"I can go wherever I want, do whatever I please," John said, looking menacing as he got closer to her. "No one controls my destiny but me…Hm…Dr. Dee…Dr. Destiny. Seems fitting, don't you think?"
"You're insane!" Penny exclaimed as she slapped John on the face.
What happened next shocked her. The skin she slapped suddenly cracked like glass. Soon, his entire face was cracking, and his skin fell off bit by bit. Penny backed as John's entire head became a grinning skeleton with yellowish eyes, his clothes melted off him, turning into a blue cloaked and skin-tight suit.
Terrified, Penny ran out of the kitchen and on the stairs, trying to get back to her boyfriend. Suddenly, the stairs started moving, preventing her from reaching the second floor. Soon, she was thrown off the stairs, landing roughly on the ground. Hands suddenly sprouted from the floor, grabbing and pinning her to the ground. She screamed as she struggled to free herself as Dr. Destiny stood in front of her, the floor rising, looking like an operation table.
"Now, let's begin the procedure," he said as his hands changed into knives and saws. "Don't worry. What I have in store for the Justice League is way worse than what I have for you."
"AAAAAAAAGH!"
"Penny!" Rick exclaimed as he held his thrashing girlfriend by the arms.
He was awakened by the sounds of screaming, causing him to run to the kitchen, seeing Penny on the ground, screaming and crying. He tried to wake her up, but it was like she was stuck in a nightmare.
Outside the cabin, John Dee watched with a satisfied smirk, hearing the screams of his ex-wife. He then started concentrating, focusing his powers, spreading it as far as he could stretch. In no time, he felt the mind of his next victims.
He could feel some members of the Justice League sleeping, feeling their minds weakening as they accepted the sandman's spell. Superman was in his suite, putting on his pajamas, Wonder Woman was somewhere on Greece, getting comfortable, Green Lantern closing the curtains in his apartment, Hawkgirl sleeping on a chair covered in a blanket with Flash sleeping on the ground next to her, snoring.
"Now, onto the main course," he said as he walked through the forest, disappearing in the shadows.
Later…
Rick was beside Penny, the two in a hospital room. The poor woman was sedated to keep her from hurting herself, but they still couldn't wake her up. The door suddenly opened, and a doctor came in, holding a clipboard.
"What's the verdict, Doc?" Rick asked in a worried tone as he stood up.
"I'm sorry, but we still can't figure out what's wrong with her," the doctor said as he looked at his clipboard. "For now, we'll keep her sedated to stop her from hurting herself. I suggest you go get some rest. We'll call you if there's any changes."
"If it's alright with you, I'll just stay in the hospital," Rick said.
The doctor led Rick out of the room before closing the door. Once they were gone, Batman, Phantom and Martian Manhunter entered the room, looking at the sedated Penny.
"Geez, I know she dumped him, but this is a little overkill," Phantom commented as Batman checked Penny, looking at her pupils and pulse.
"At this rate, she won't last long," Batman said before turning to the two. "J'onn, can you help her?"
"I will try," Martian Manhunter said as he walked towards her, placing his hands on her temple. His eyes started glowing as he used his powers to help Penny.
"So, what's John Dee's next plan now that he got his wife?" Phantom commented.
"He calls himself Dr. Destiny," Martian Manhunter suddenly replied, viewing Penny's recent memories. "And now he's after us."
"So, what are we going to do?" Phantom asked Batman.
"I'll be looking for John Dee," Batman said as he walked towards the window. "You stay with J'onn in case he needs help."
"Be careful, Bats," Phantom said as he looked at Penny. "He may be a nobody, but anyone who can do this is dangerous."
"You're learning," Batman commented before exiting the room. Phantom turned back to Martian Manhunter and Penny, waiting. Suddenly, he noticed Martian Manhunter straining as Penny's brows started furrowing.
"J'onn? You okay?" Phantom asked as Penny started groaning and crying.
"He is too strong," Martian Manhunter replied, a strain in his voice. "I need help."
"What can I do? Phase through her dreams?" Phantom said before he thought about it. "Phase through her dreams…It's worth a shot."
Phantom turned intangible and, taking a deep breath, flew towards Penny's head. When he entered her head, she glowed a little before it disappeared.
Phantom was expecting to either flew through her or accidentally overshadow her. He didn't expect to find himself in a dark, scary place. It was a demented hospital room, the same one in Stryker's Island, with nightmarish tools.
Strapped on the Materioptikon was Penny, screaming as electricity was being coursed through her head. He ran towards her to help, before something flew passed him, slamming on the wall. He looked and saw that it was Martian Manhunter, groaning as he stood up.
"J'onn!" he exclaimed before someone appeared behind him. He turned, only to get punch on the face. He stumbled back, rubbing his cheek before looking at the guy who punched him.
"You have no idea how long I wanted to do that," Dr. Destiny said as he walked towards them.
"What did I ever do to you?" Phantom asked.
"You punched me in the face, don't you remember?"
"Dude, I punched a lot of guys on the face," Phantom said as he stood up. "And I think I would remember punching a face like that."
"Joke all you want, but you can't stop me," Dr. Destiny said as he raised his hands, making the room look different. "I don't know how you got here, but this just make things easier for me to destroy all!"
He aimed his hands towards Phantom, causing the room to morph into tendrils intended to stab him. Phantom just flew towards Dr. Destiny, easily dodging the tendrils until he was close enough to punch him on the face, sending him the ground, the room changing back to normal.
"Huh, that does feel familiar," Phantom said, cracking his knuckle.
"Impossible!" Dr. Destiny exclaimed as he rubbed his jaw, glaring at Phantom. "I control all here!"
"You can't control me," Phantom said before he disappeared. Dr. Destiny looked around. "Heck, I can barely control myself."
Phantom suddenly appeared behind Dr. Destiny and kicked him on the butt, sending him crashing on the ground. He stood up and looked at Phantom, who grinned at him, making him growl in anger. His hand went through the floor and pulled out a machine gun. He fired at Phantom, who made a shield to block it.
As he focused on Phantom, he forgot that he was fighting two heroes.
He jumped when a giant snake wrapped around him and lifted him off the ground, slamming him to the wall until it cracked.
"Surrender," Martian Manhunter said as he morphed back, holding Dr. Destiny by the neck.
"You think you're fighting the real me?" Dr. Destiny said with a chuckle before multiple windows appeared all around them.
Phantom and Martian Manhunter's eyes widened when they saw the rest of the Justice League in various places, doing their own things, unaware of being monitored by a Dr. Destiny, who all seemed to be looking at them through the windows.
"I'm just a piece of him, left to kill my ex-wife while he takes care of you and your friends. I don't need to fight; I just need to kill her!"
He disappeared from Martian Manhunter's grasp as Penny's screams got louder. The two heroes rushed towards her as her head started growing, tears streaming from her eyes.
"We have to get her out of this thing!" Phantom exclaimed as he tried to grab the machine, only to get shocked. "Ack!"
"We can't, the machine is too powerful to get close to," Martian Manhunter said as Penny kept screaming. "We must find a way to free her."
Phantom suddenly spotted power lines from the machine. He looked at it, looking for the other end, before spotting it on the wall. He fired at it, destroying the wall, as well as stopping the machine. Penny finally stopped screaming as Martian Manhunter gently removed her from the machine and placed her on the ground.
"How is she?" Phantom asked as he and Martian Manhunter kneeled next to her.
"Bad," Martian Manhunter said as he tried to help, but she was quickly fading, literally. Her feet started disappearing, shocking the two. Soon, her lower body was gone. "The damage she suffered is severe. If we cannot wake her, then she will die."
"Way to sugarcoat it man," Phantom said as she started disappearing rapidly. "Okay. Wake up!"
He slapped her face, but it didn't really do much. He started pinching her cheeks, pinching her nose, and stretching her eyes open, but it did nothing.
"You got any water to splash her face on?" Phantom asked.
"That will not work here," Martian Manhunter said. "This is not her physical body, but her psyche. We need something to wake her psyche, something that can make her feel safe, like a close friend or a lover."
"Lover…" Phantom said before his eyes widen. "J'onn, turn into her boyfriend!"
Martian Manhunter understood what he meant, and quickly changed his appearance into Rick. He then grabbed her hand in a loving manner.
"Penny," he said in Rick's voice. "It's going to be okay. I'm here for you."
"…R-Rick?" Penny said in a weak voice as she slowly opened her eyes, seeing her boyfriend's face.
"It's okay, Penny," he said in a gentle tone. "You're not alone. We'll get through this together."
Slowly, Penny's body started reappearing as the damage Dr. Destiny did her, the nightmarish clinic slowly disappearing.
Back in her hospital room, Penny slowly opened her eyes, finding herself alone in a hospital room. The door opened and Rick came in, carrying a cup of coffee.
"Penny!" he exclaimed, dropping the cup as he rushed to her side. "Doc! She's awake."
As the doctor rushed in the room, Phantom and Martian Manhunter were watching from another building. The two nodded at each other before flying off, with Phantom touching the communicator in his ear.
"Batman, it's Phantom," he said as they flew towards the Javelin. "We managed to save Penny. But we got some bad news, John Dee is attacking the rest of the Justice League."
Well, ending it here. I wanted to finish this chapter in one go, but I decided to make it a two parter, since I wanted to write about the Justice League's dreams. It's gonna be different than in the episodes. Hope I did an okay job, trying to be different from the actual episode.
Next chapter, nightmare on the streets. It doesn't make sense, just wanted to make a Nightmare on Elm Streets joke. Don't judge me! See you later.