There are two types of heroes. Newbies who think they can just apply to join the Justice League and experienced heroes who know you'll be invited, if they make the cut. And than there is Phantom, where no one is sure what to count them as.

On one hand, they look like a kid. Other ghosts, according to Deadman and other members of the Justice League Dark, call him kid. However age and ghosts isn't straight forward. Adding to that, some ghosts think he may be ancient and was just hiding for many years. Now, as he doesn't try to apply…

"He may not care about the Justice League, but still be young." Green Lantern – Hal - proposed. "After all, he is a ghost…"

"He is powerful as one can be, but he looks like a child." Deadman said. "Listen, I was in Amity Park to check on their ghost situation. I've noted to villains – not sure if they are super villains – are left unchecked by Phantom." He added, "Phantom treats them differently, so I think there may be a connection."

Constantine spoke, "Aye, the human villains? Maybe he just goes soft on us mortals."

Zatanna told him, "Problem is, Phantom did not hold back when he was fighting other hunters. Or these agents. Or the Red Huntress before they called truce."

"Oh… than there is something fishy going on." Constantine decided.

"Hn…"

"Batman? Anything to say?" Green Lantern asked. "In a language I understand. Still don't speak Bat."

"Superman, Constantine and I will go to Amity Park, undercover. Depending what we see first hand…" He explained. "Constantine and I will handle Phantom and Superman the

If it wasn't for the device that tracked ectoplasm as it ringed crazily, Amity Park would have appeared to be a normal Midwestern City. Aside from the green goo that could be found sticking at some world. "Should we be worried that they aren't bothered by it?" Clark asked as he eyed some civilians passing a puddle of ectoplasm.

"Yes…" John said, "Now, how do we find Phantom?"

"And how do we find the Drs. Fenton?" Clark added.

"Are you looking for the Fenton's?" an older man asked. "They are south from here, their neon sign is hard to miss."

"Thank you, Mr…" Clark answered.

"Lancer, the name. I'm assuming you are not from Amity?" he introduced himself, adding a question. "Why are you seeking out the Fenton's? Most people avoid them."

Clark was shocked to hear that, but then he answered, "I'm a reporter for the Daily Planet in Metropolis. I'm working on a report on, well, ghosts. Figured the leading experts should be a good bet."

Lancer shook his head. "You are better off interviewing a ghost, especially Phantom. The Fenton's, they… they are good with tech, but they are terrible with the psyche of ghosts. They think ghosts aren't sapient nor are sentient. Yet I and my colleagues had full conversations with the specters. Especially Phantom, our protector, he isn't… ah, I'm rambling."

Clark waved that off. "Eh, don't worry. Your insight is valuable. Now, have you an idea where to find Phantom?"

Lancer stroked his chin, thinking. "Phantom is hard to track. He always vanishes right after fights conclude… however he can be found sitting on roof tops at night to star gaze, Nasty Burger is a popular spot for him. Sometimes he haunts the libraries, especially of the school I work in." Lancer explained. "We often say he can't be found if he doesn't want to be found. If you stay a few days, I coud tell him about you? He borrowed a book from the school library, he is reliable to return them punctually."

"Am I understanding this correctly, he uses the library, like a normal person?" Bruce chimed in. "And you let him?"

Lancer nod. "Yes. After all, we have to thank him somehow for keeping us save. Or going against the ghost king. Must be high treason to go against his king, that is if he… oh, don't tell the Fenton's. Not only do we somewhat depend on Phantom, but I do not want that they contaminate the library… or set the books on fire… not to mention…"

"Not to mention what?" John prompted.

"Not a topic many talk about, especially the ghosts, but… Phantom looks, speaks and acts like a child. If he won't glow, he could pass as one of my students." Lancer explained. "His suit… we think… we are sure he is a kid who died in a lab accident… some ghosts he fought implied things..." His phone rang. "Great Gatsby! I'm late! I hope I was helpful." Lancer then left the trio.

"Interesting…" Bruce stated. "How he and the people, sans Fenton's, coexist in Amity Park."

"I'm more curious about what he said about Phantom." John said, "How would a kid die in a lab accident… unless he is a victim of human experimentation?"

"I hope not…" Clark replied. "Well, I question the Fenton's and you keep your eyes open for Phantom?"

"Hn." Bruce replied.

Clark could see why Lancer said the Fenton's were hard to miss. Not even because of the sign, but because of the… thing on the roof. Not only did it look like a villain base, sans being hidden, it reeked of OSHA violations. Ringing the bell, the door was soon opened by a young, red headed woman.

"Hello, how can I help you?" she asked.

"I'm Clark Kent of the Daily Planet. I am here to interview the drs. Fenton." Clark told her.

"Oh…" she replied, her eyes loosing their brightness. "Wait here, I fetch my parents." She closed the door, dashing into the house. Two or so minutes later, the door opened again, this time showing an older woman, unmistakingly the mother.

"Ah! Mr. Kent! Come in!" she gestured him to step into the house. The living room looked rather normal, aside from the 70s/80s styling. "We heard a lot about you. You often cover the Justice League, right?"

A tall, black haired man in an orange suit added, "What did we do to deserve the attention of uch a high profile reporter? Is it about the portal?"

Having no real idea what it was about, he lied, "Yes… Yes! And ghosts in general. You are the leading experts after all." Clark added, "Now, there are some fake sounding information about the portal that had been going around, so explain it as if I never heard anything about it. I do not want to supplement my article with false information."

She nod. "Someone has been spreading false information about our project? Then we must fix that!" She walked to a corridor. "It is in the basement, I assume you want some pictures of it?"

"False information? Must have been Phantom!" her husband added.

"Oh?" Clark voiced as he followed the eccentric pair.

"The people may claim he is our protector but I am sure he is causing all this. He's trying to look good. Hell, he probably helped Pariah Dark to take over our city."

"Who?"

"The Ghost King." Jack supplemented. "Phantom stole a suit to fight the ghost and destroyed it in the process, probably a ploy to crash it so we can't use the suit against him or his brethren."

"Mm…" Clark recalled what Lancer had said. "I believe to have read that you once stated ghosts aren't sentient. Won't such a ploy require sentience?"

"And such cooperation a social structure? Well, yes…" Mrs. Dr. Fenton admitted. "It is still a hypothesis, always changing." They reached the portal. Clark instantly noted the hole in the wall. "Mr. Kent, the portal! Our passion project of over two decades!"

"Our personal door into the Ghost Zone!" Jack added.

"The Ghost Zone is one of the many names of the Infinite Realms." John told Clark when the later called. "Punching a hole across dimensions? Sounds like super villainy to me." John looked to Bruce who was sipping at a Nasty Shake. "We still haven't found Phantom."

"The sun should set soon. Maybe we can scout out some of his str gazing spots?" Clark proposed.

"We're already at the Nasty Burger." John told him. "Food isn't bad, aside from being Junk Food. Apparently the name used to be Tasty Burger, some teens defaced the sign and the name just stuck."

"Mm." Clark voiced. "I'll should be there in five. Order me something, we need to talk. The Fenton's aren't clean."

"The minute you mentioned the portal I already knew that."

"Wait, why didn't you mention the portal? Shouldn't you know-"

"Deadman's more connected to the Infinite Realms. I'm more onto demon stuff." John corrected him. "According to Deadman, there are three artificial portals, mind you. Two are stable but the third… oh, geez, probably the Fenton Portal."

The night, Phantom didn't show. But the one after, Superman and Batman could find him. Like that teacher said, Phantom sat on the roof of the Nasty Burger, eyes glued to the sky. As they approached, they understood more what Lancer said.

Phantom was short, young looking and wore a rather weathered hazmat suit. He looked harmless.

Then his neck snapped, the teen was looking to the heroes, which did make Superman flinch. Batman seemed unbothered. The glowing green eyes didn't help.

"Oh? Batman and Superman?" he spoke, his voice echoy. "What are you doing here?" He stood up from his spot. "Are you…"

"We are not here to fight you, Phantom. We just want to talk." Superman revealed.

"We're here to scout potential members for the league." Batman informed him.

"Oh, so like… the Red Huntress?" Phantom probed. "Figured she would catch someone's attention at some point. Albeit I assumed it would be Iron Man."

Phantom was shockingly clueless. But that wasn't all of it.

"There are two villains left unchecked. Why is that?" Superman asked.

"Villains? You mean human ones?" He looked at the two heroes.

"The Drs. Fenton." Batman clarified.

"They're not villains!" he floated into the air. "They help to keep trouble maker ghosts in check."

"They shoot at you." Batman pointed out.

"Trouble Makers?" Superman asked.

"There are very few ghosts that are truly evil." Phantom said. "Most are just bored. Heck, fighting is how ghosts socialize."

"Oh?"

Batman spoke, "So are you saying they shoot at innocents?"

"Well, depending-"

"So, yes." Batman said. "This whole situation is…"

"Phantom, I saw their weaponry, their portal. They are a super villains." Superman decided. He landed in front of Phantom. "Why are you protecting them? Is it because they are human?"

"No… yes… they… they aren't villains." Phantom answered. "Ask… ask Daniel Fenton." Phantom vanished, leaving the heroes alone.

"That was… something…" Batman said. "We need to find out who this is."

"He is the Fenton's son." Superman said. "They mentioned their children. I met their daughter actually."

"Hn…"

"That teacher we met, maybe he teaches the Fenton kids? Maybe we can ask him?"

Lancer was surprised to see the outsiders again, near his school at at.

"Hey! Are you a teacher at Casper High?"

"Yes." Lancer answered. "Do you have any questions regarding Phantom?"

"No, but about one Daniel Fenton. Is he one of your students?" Clark asked. "Eh, Phantom told us to talk to him, but we can't find him?"

"Phantom told you that? Huh." Lancer replied.

Bruce voiced, "You don't seem to be surprised."

Lancer sighed. "Daniel and Phantom have some sort of connection, despite Daniel, well, he is a Fenton. Phantom uses a capture device made by the Fenton's and Daniel flees shortly before Phantom appears… it is a common theory he assists the ghost boy." Lancer sighed again. "Considering he told you to seek out Daniel, I suppose their connection is real. Now… I cannot tell you were to find Daniel, as I am his teacher. I'm responsible for him and you are strangers, However, the Fenton sign…"

"Of course."

Bruce, Clark and John were in the hotel room they rented while they stayed in Amity Park.

"The son of hunters conspiring with the enemy." John mused. "Quite the turn."

"Ghosts aren't the enemy, Phantom said-"

"I know, Kent, but the Fenton parents consider them the enemy." John stated. "I assume they are unaware of that connection?"

"Hn." Bruce voiced.

"Bruce? What do you think?" Clark asked.

"I think they are the same." Bruce stated. "An Alter Ego Situation. Of course, Daniel won't want his parents to be super villains."

"Of course the detective gave it out." Phantom spoke, appearing in the air. "Sorry for spying, but I was irked that Supers talked to my teacher. Now, what gave it away?"

"A mix of things, your reluctance regarding your parents, you told us to seek out your other self." Bruce concluded. "However that sparks the question, why didn't you wait at your home for us. We know where you live."

"My home is bugged. A real villain is spying on my family. I couldn't risk what he may do if he saw us speak." Phantom admitted. He landed and with two rings, turned to Fenton. "You want to catch villains? Lemme tell you about Plasmius."

"Is he a shifter like you?" John asked,

"Halfa. Half ghost, half human. But yes, Plasmius is a halfa like me…" Daniel said. "You may know him as Vlad Masters."

"I see. He is untouchable to you." Superman said.

Daniel sighed. "Doxing him would result in that he doxes me. That is if the authorities aren't already under his control. Be it bribery or ghostly overshadowing."

"How did you meet Masters?" Bruce asked. With that, Daniel started his tale. He didn't leave out any detail. Especially that Masters is obsessed with him. "I see, you hesitated with your parents because he may become your guardian. Which itself is a bad thing."

"And they are my parents." Daniel said. "I don't think I can fight my parents."

"Hn…"

"Batman?"

"Clark, call Oracle."