More fic! I'm amazed by all the attention I'm receiving - seriously. C:

I'm hoping that by the end of this chapter it's obvious where they all are - this begins in an AU version of a certain episode...

We continue unbeata-ed and barely checked, because that's how this story's rolling.

x.x

Snow touched Danny's boots where they brushed the ground, and a dry breeze scraped his mouth as his chest expanded. The chill traveled inwards and meet his ice core. When it hit, Danny grinned. He spun around, shooting up into the air and back down to dangle upside down in front of Wulf.

Wulf lurched forward and pressed his hairy, soft paw against Danny's mouth. His claws dug into the spots behind Danny's ears. The boy made a muffled sound of protest, and licked Wulf. Yuck, wolf paw! He grimaced.

Wulf looked about them, over the snow-covered landscape. With the portal gone, everything was white under the blue sky. It was hilly – they wouldn't see very far if they didn't fly. Quiet, too – the only sound was the breath in Danny's mouth and breeze against his ears.

A boom rocked its way across the landscape, and Wulf's paw contracted, sending his claws into Danny's flesh. Danny tried to yelp, but was silenced behind Wulf's paw. He pried the fingers apart and jerked back, panting, eyes streaming in pain.

"What was that!?"

"Shh!" Wulf demanded. Danny stared at him blankly. There were sounds all around them now: gunshots like Danny had only heard on television, only a million times louder. There was no way anyone was going to hear them over—

Okay, so maybe they didn't want to draw the attention of whoever had the guns. Danny clamed his mouth and nodded vigorously.

Wulf set off up a slope in the direction of the noise. Danny gaped after him, a handful of protests scrambling over each other in the back of his mouth. He flew after Wulf, pressing his hands against his ears. They came away green with ectoplasm.

Danny caught up to Wulf near the top of the slope. Wulf pulled Danny down into the snow before he could top the hill. Wulf's huge black form blocked any chance Danny had of seeing into the valley beyond, and he elbow-crawled forward a few paces. Danny, a little dazed, scrambled after him. He looked down.

An icey valley lay below them. There were a jet-like vehicles settled in the snow black and fat like a huge cockroach. A boy stood on it. He was pulling a hulking black canon-like protuberance from its top. It creaked. Danny's lips parted as he watched the metal stretch and tear under the boy's hands.

The white wolf that stood by him took off across the valley, where other people were standing and looking about, as if for enemies. Wulf pointed to it.

"Me," he said.

"That's – that was you when you were alive?" Danny stammered. Wulf did not reply. More jet-ships appeared on the horizon, zooming down into the valley. The people on the ground called frantically to each other.

Danny tried to leap up, but Wulf caught him. He squirmed under Wulf's paw, but the wolf touched one of the wounds on his head and he lay still.

A golden beam of light poured out of one of the jet-ships. It travelled harmlessly over the white ground, but the people in the valley raced to get away. One came down thirty meters in front of Danny. One of the figures below stopped moving. She threw open her mouth and screamed.

"ARTEMIS!"

The other figures startled badly. Danny pushed against Wulf.

The beams kept coming. One appeared not thirty metres from Danny. It ran across the ice, heading right for the black-haired boy. Danny realised he recognised him from Wulf's lair.

Danny hissed, getting ready to blast Wulf. His hands glowed green as Wulf sprang up, covering Danny in snow.

On the other side of the valley, the wolf turned, darting for the boy.

He was going to be too slow.

Danny phased through snow and flew as fast as he could, his legs blurring into a tail.

The boy's eyes widened as Danny collided with him. He couldn't get a good grip as they toppled from the jet-ship. The light of the beam threw a golden curtain behind the boy as they fell. The boy grunted and pushed him away when they hit the ice. Danny was flung back. The beam changed direction, coming right for them.

The other boy seemed stunned. Danny leapt over to him and made them both intangible, hoping the beam would pass right through them.

The world went yellow. The white wolf appeared above them, snarling with protectiveness. It's black silhouette melted away, the fur and flesh disappeared, leaving a skeleton suspended in the air for a moment. That, too vanished.

"Wulf!" Danny yelled, staring up.

The beam faded away.

Danny felt the return of solid ice beneath his feet as he returned them to tangibility. The boy looked at him with guarded blue eyes. He was okay.

Danny was okay.

"Thank you," he said.

"Danny," Danny introduced himself blankly.

"I'm… Superboy," the guy responded.

A startled cry behind them had Danny untangling letting go of Superboy and wheeling around. The green girl – the figure who'd screamed before – had her arms stretched up into the air. Wulf was growling and twisting in mid-air before her, flashing his teeth.

All eyes were fixed on him.

"M'gann!" Superboy called.

Wulf turned his head. He saw the Superboy and stopped struggling. His eyes widened, and he sniffled, his black nose waffling. A curious whine escaped his throat. He glanced at Danny.

"Thank," he growled.

Wulf began to disappear. His fading green eyes turned back to Superboy, and his lips moved to say something Danny couldn't make out. Then there was nothing left of him, just like as surely as there was no evidence of his living self.