As night has fallen onto Harmonia, in the shadows of an alleyway in the eastern side of the city, a mysterious figure was meeting up with a certain old man in a mech & his small one eyed green companion.
Calamitous: So, you must be the new hired hand to help us bust out our own, erm…
Plankton: Our nut job of an ally that's currently imprisoned.
Hired merc: I see. They must be important with how much money I was paid up front by your ghostly boss. I'll get them out for ya.
The woman for hire began to jump high up in the air, as her body morphs into a shadow, flying towards the direction where the Harmonia city prison is at.
Hired merc: I always get the job done. No matter who's in my way.
—Meanwhile—
XJ-9 was sipping on a straw connected to a small can of oil in her hand, as she was with her allies at the prison to attempt to interrogate a certain someone again.
Jenny: So this Crocker person we're gonna chat with, what exactly is he like?
Timmy: Pretty much super crazy. He's dedicated most of his life to proving to everyone that fairies exist, while the other half to being the meanest teacher to ever walk the Earth.
Jenny: Yeesh. I may have some strict teachers & a principal back at Tremorton, but you sound like you've been through a lot.
She would soon finish her oil can, then proceed to smash it flat & toss it into a nearby trash can. The group of five would be led by some guards & pass by a few cells containing some crooks the United had apprehended before. From the former workers of King Crab they took down a few weeks ago at the pier playing some poker, to Dr. Sydney Moist who they defeated earlier now in a restraint jacket & playing the accordion with his feet, though the restraint jacket was his strange request for some reason, to finally they arrived at Densel Crocker's cell. The former teacher who is now part of Vlad's evil Syndicate team.
Crocker: Well well well. Look who's back. And I see you brought your new friends here Turner. And… who is the blue robot?
SpongeBob: That's Jenny. Our newest member.
Timmy: Look here Crock-head! We're here to have you tell us what you know about any of Vlad's plans!
Jimmy: We're willing to negotiate an early release for you if you cooperate.
Crocker: Sure.
Danny: Wait, that easily?
Crocker: Yeah, I'm a pretty flexible guy. Plus this is sorta like a small vacation away from Mother.
SpongeBob: I see. So will you spill the beans of anything you know about?
Crocker: Well, it's not much, but Vlad did tell us of a backup plan in case that mind control scheme didn't go anywhere. Something about a crown that's on fire or something? Not sure what it's about, but it sounds like one of those dishes from Outback Steakhouse or something.
Danny: Crown? Fire? Oh no..
Jimmy: You know what he's talking about Danny Phantom?
Danny: Yeah. The Crown of Fire. A powerful ghost relic used by the Ghost King, Pariah Dark. He used both that & this ring called the Ring of Rage to have infinite power. I was lucky to be able to knock the crown off of him before sealing him back into his coffin with the ring, but I never knew what happened to it after passing out. If Vlad does have the crown, there's no telling what he & the Syndicate will do with it.
Timmy: Well then, guess we'll have to be ready to take them on as a team.
SpongeBob: Yeah! Nothing will beat us if we stick toge-
Before the sponge could finish his speech, an alarm goes off. The heroes & the prison guards were on standby, wondering who or what was trying to break into the jail. They would get their answer when the guards would suddenly get knocked out by the swift kicks of a mysterious mercenary in purple & black. The United quickly got into battle positions, ready to fight them.
Jimmy: Halt!
The ninja like being just scoffs at Neutron's command.
Hired Merc: Halt? Really? You couldn't have said anything that isn't so generic? Boy you so called heroes are lame.
Jenny: Wait, that voice. It can't be!
The female ninja reveals herself to be none other than XJ-9's former friend long ago.
Jenny: Misty!
Timmy: Who-sty?
Jimmy: I think I've seen her profile from the Hero League's database. The Illusive Mistery. She's currently listed as a crook for hire.
Jenny: What?! You're now some sort of hired hand for any supervillain?! And why are you even breaking into this place?!
Misty: Sheesh girl, no need to blow a circuit out of your pretty little head. It was hella difficult to earn money & act all goody goody. But it seems working for bad guys pays more than saving dumb normal citizens from trouble. As for why I'm here, some group called the Syndicate hired me to break out their fellow teammate.
Danny: Oh yeah? Well we won't let you do that!
As the ghost guy & Turner rush towards their robot friend's ex-friend, their opponent instantly made themself intangible like smoke, allowing her to dodge their attacks & became tangible again to strike their backs. SquarePants runs over to avenge his friends, as the sponge's fighting style clashes with her ninjutsu technique.
Misty: Huh. Thought you'd be weaker..
SpongeBob: I may seem scrawny, but I've learned a lot in the way of kara-te!
SpongeBob would then catch her off guard by sweeping her leg. As Misty fell into her back, she would vanish into a puff of smoke.
Jimmy: Be careful everyone. There's no telling when she'll strike next.
Just when SpongeBob went to go help up his two friends, Timmy suddenly kicked his yellow companion. Everyone was shocked at why he would do that, until they heard Misty's chuckle & see violet most over Turner's eyes.
Jenny: What? How?
Misty: I've been testing what else my powers can do besides read minds. Now I can briefly control someone's body.~ Also, yeesh, you have one hell of a weird childhood dude.
Timmy: Ugh.. Get out of me!
Danny: I got her!
Danny Phantom tried to phase into his pink wearing friend, but Misty leaves Timmy's mind & goes to SpongeBob's, in which she makes him start swinging his feet & fists at his allies. Jimmy backs away, as Jenny forms a shield to block the attacks.
SpongeBob: Woah! I'm sorry guys! I can't control myself!
Misty: Ugh, is there anything else in your head besides these dumb songs or how you love your friends & job/hobbies? Seriously annoying!
She would soon leave the square sea sponge & go into Jimmy's head, as she sees through all of his memories.
Misty: Ooh~. This seems interesting.~
Jimmy: Get out! Get out of my head!
Misty: Oh why should I do that? Jeez, there's a lot of knowledge in this brain of yours. Oh? What's this? A little secret memory?~
Neutron's eyes widened, as he didn't want anyone to know.
Jimmy: Leave! Now!
Misty: What's the matter?~ Afraid I might spill the beans about a missing person named Sheen-
Just then, Danny was able to phase into Jimmy's body, as he throws Mistery out. Just as she was about to get back up, XJ-9 rushes in to grab her with a larger hand & pin her to a wall.
Jenny: Stop this now Misty! You're outnumbered five to one. Plus you remember how you spared me before?
Misty: That's because I said before that I wasn't getting paid to finish you. Well sadly I'm not sparing you again.
She phases out of her ex-friend's grasp, as she starts kicking at high speeds against the five of them. They could barely dodge or block her blows, Jimmy, SpongeBob & Timmy get knocked back. Leaving only Danny Phantom & Jenny standing against the mercenary ninja.
Jenny: I thought we were friends Misty. I can't believe how you stoop this low just for cash.
Misty: It's nothing personal. But when I say nobody gets in my way of a job, I mean it.
The robot & alien ninja then charge forward to punch each other, as her ghost ally flies around to give her extra support via ecto blasts. XJ-9 & Mistery fly around the halls trading blows, whether from Jenny using her near endless gadgets to punch or kick her foe into the walls, or from Misty using her powers to turn herself intangible to dodge the hits & counter with a sneak attack. As the two kept going while Danny Phantom follows, Crocker's cell gets busted open from the outside by none other than his fellow Syndicate companions.
Crocker: Woah! That's one neat entrance you made!
Calamitous: Fret not fellow member of our team. For we shall liberate you from-
Plankton: Yeah yeah, let's grab him & make our escape already!
The old professor would proceed to have his mech forcibly grab their jailed companion, prompting him to scream.
Crocker: Ack! Watch it! You almost straightened out my hunchback!
With Denzel in their grasp, the robot they piloted flies off into the night. Although Misty didn't plan for them to just take him & leave her behind without even giving her a bit of backup, she wonders if they'll still pay the rest they owe her if she escapes this. But she couldn't dwell on that thought for long, as her ex-friend pinned her to the ground again.
Misty: Seriously? Still trying to hold me at bay? You keep forgetting I can easily escape your grasp.
Just as the ninja said, she turns herself into a violet cloud to phase out of XJ-9's grasp.
Jenny: I know. That's what "we" were planning on.~
Misty: We?
Before she could turn herself tangible yet again, the robot girl's ghost pal starts blowing a strong icy ghost wind at the mercenary. Because of her gaseous like form, Misty instantly started freezing over, as she couldn't move & landed onto the floor.
Danny: Ha! Now you're as ice cold as your heart.
With their foe defeated, the other three got back up & regrouped with Danny & Jenny.
Jimmy: Nice thinking of freezing her over & turning her from a gas to a solid.
Timmy: Yeah. Though sadly Crock-head is long gone.
SpongeBob: Tarder sauce. Guess the Syndicate has all their guys back together.
Jenny: Well, I'm just glad to have pals like you guys to help me out. You're real friends unlike her.
Timmy: Speaking of, how are we gonna detain her?
Jimmy: Not to worry. I'm sure I can help make some specialized handcuffs to keep her from using her powers.
As the United were able to defeat this one foe, they still must deal with the now fully unified Syndicate & their future plans to use the Crown of Fire for their unknown evil purposes. Will they succeed or will they be faced with more of their darker pasts?
{To be continued}