Denial

"Denial" is the seventh episode of the first season of Young Justice, and the seventh of the overall series. It premiered on February 18, 2011.

Logline
When the Team investigates the disappearance of Kent Nelson (formerly Doctor Fate), the scientific-minded Wally West is forced to confront his disbelief in magic while battling Abra Kadabra and Klarion, for the ultra-powerful Helmet of Fate.

Synopsis
The Helmet of Fate spins in space, its empty eyes are glowing.

Kent Nelson visits the fortune-telling shop of Madame Xanadu, who correctly perceives that he wishes to make contact to his dead wife, Inza. She promises to make contact, for a hefty fee, but when she starts to "channel" Inza's spirit, Kent merely laughs. He exposes Xanadu as a fraud, pointing out her wind machine and tire jacks to simulate spiritual presence, and admits disappointment since Xanadu has the "perfect aura for the work". Suddenly, Kent is grabbed by Abra Kadabra, who vanishes with him into thin air. Xanadu screams and flees into the back room, while Kent's staff rises from the ground and disappears itself.

In the Cave, Superboy and Kaldur engage in sparring practice. Megan and Artemis watch and talk about which of their teammates the other should date (Artemis suggesting that Megan ask out Kaldur, Megan saying that Artemis would look cute with Wally). Superboy finally beats Kaldur with a move he learned from Black Canary.

As Red Tornado passes through, Wally and the other young heroes ask if he has a mission for them (Batman being back in Gotham City fighting crime with Robin). Although not an official mission, Red Tornado tells them about Kent Nelson's disappearance, and that he used to be a hero named Doctor Fate in the Justice Society of America. Red Tornado further tells them that Kent is the guardian of the Helmet of Fate, a powerful artifact. Wally reveals to Artemis that he is immediately skeptical about Nelson's magical powers, guessing it's all science and misdirection, but volunteers to help when he thinks it will impress Megan, herself a believer. Red Tornado gives them a key to Kent Nelson's Tower of Fate in Salem and they leave in the Bio-Ship. En route, Artemis asks Wally about his "honest affinity for sorcery", but he refuses to admit his disbelief in front of Megan.

The Team arrives at Red Tornado's coordinates, but there's nothing there. Nearby, the cat Teekl sees them arrive and hurries to tell its master, Klarion, who is watching Abra Kadabra torture Kent Nelson so that he'll give them access to the Tower of Fate.

Meanwhile, the Team continues to search for the Tower but can find nothing. Wally is initially impressed with Artemis's suggestion of a scientific explanation for the Tower's disappearance, but pretends to believe in a mystical explanation for Megan. (Across the road, Klarion teases an invisible Abra Kadabra about using the very same science that Artemis suggested.) Kaldur deduces that access to the Tower requires an act of faith, and inserts the key into the invisible keyhole. The Tower of Fate itself appears around the key, and the Team enters. The door slams shut and immediately vanishes behind them.

They are greeted by a spectral image of Kent Nelson, which asks them why they have come. Wally, still trying to impress Megan, claims that they are "true believers", and the ground beneath them immediately gives way, plunging them towards a lava pit far below. They manage to cling to the side of the pit, although Superboy's boots are melted.

Elsewhere, Klarion and Abra Kadabra gain access to the Tower using Kent as a hostage.

The Team manages to avoid a fiery death when Megan tells the truth about their mission: that Red Tornado sent them to make sure Kent Nelson is okay. The lava instantly disappears. Artemis calls Wally out about his lying and claiming to be a "true believer", which nearly got them all killed. Wally admits that he can't believe in magic, and claims that everything can be explained by science. Even when Kaldur opens a trapdoor underneath their feet, revealing a snowy landscape instead of lava, Wally insists that it has transported them to a pocket dimension. In the snow, they find Kent's walking stick floating in the air. Wally and Artemis grab it at the same time, and it flies off and vanishes with them.

In the twisty, space-bending stairways of the Tower, Kent refuses to show Abra and Klarion how to find the helmet, so Abra proceeds to torture him again, much to Klarion's glee.

In the snow, Megan and Kaldur discuss Wally's refusal to believe in magic. Along with Superboy, they find a door in the air leading back into the main Tower.

Wally and Artemis appear, with the stick, on a platform across from Abra, Klarion and Kent. The staff re-energizes Kent, who flies over to it and uses it to get himself, Wally and Artemis away from the intruders. They enter an elevator and Kent introduces himself. He explains that, although Abra Kadabra is a charlatan that uses science to simulate magic, Klarion the Witch Boy is a Lord of Chaos, a being of tremendous magical power. They exit the elevator next to a giant bell, and Kaldur, Superboy and Megan soon fall from thin air next to them. Unfortunately, Abra and Klarion arrive soon as well, and Abra starts blasting them with electricity. Kent rings the bell with his walking stick, and as it glows he and Wally and Klarion walk into it and are transported to the very top of the Tower, exposed to the sky, where the Helmet of Fate is waiting. Klarion shoots Kent, but the old man has just enough time to encase himself, Wally and the Helmet in a magical bubble before succumbing to his injuries and dying. With his last breath, he tells Wally to believe in magic.

As Klarion beats at the bubble, Wally tries to resuscitate Kent to no avail. He receives a telepathic message from Megan—they are losing the fight against Abra and need Doctor Fate. Wally realizes that this is a "test of faith", just like the key. As Klarion manages to break through the bubble, Wally puts on the Helmet and finds himself in a calm, dark and echoey place—the inside of the Helmet of Fate. To Wally's surprise, Kent appears there with him. Kent is indeed dead, but his soul was brought into the Helmet along with Wally's. Wally is alive, but his body is now being controlled by Nabu, the real Doctor Fate, master of the Helmet, and a Lord of Order. Wally and Kent watch as Doctor Fate (in Wally's body) battles Klarion. Fate eventually emerges victorious when he realizes that Teekl, Klarion's familiar, is also Klarion's anchor on the Earthly plane (just as the Helmet is Nabu's anchor), forcing Klarion to flee. Inside the Tower, Doctor Fate makes Abra's clothes and technology disappear, allowing Superboy to punch him unconscious.

Nabu does not want to relinquish control of Wally's body, not wishing to be cooped up in the Helmet for the rest of his existence. The soul of Kent Nelson convinces him that it wouldn't happen, since Wally will make sure the Helmet is put to good use, and further offers to remain inside the Helmet to keep Nabu company. He's willing to hold off his reunion with Inza for a few millennia; after all, when he meets her again, they'll have all eternity together. Before Wally goes, Kent gives him one last piece of advice: "Find your own little spitfire, one who won't let you get away with nothin'. For example, that--" but is cut off when Wally removes the Helmet.

Wally places the Helmet of Fate on his shelf of souvenirs. He tells Artemis he still doesn't believe in magic, despite all he has seen, and she calls him a geek. Wally is reminded of Kent's last advice and appears uneasy, but immediately brushes the thought aside and tries to take Miss Martian on a date to a magic show.

Title
The title may refer to one of the five stages of grief experienced by Kent Nelson, who won't come to terms with the loss of his wife. It may also refer to Kid Flash's denial of magic.

Cast and characters
! colspan="3"| Non-speaking roles
 * Stephanie Lemelin
 * colspan="2" | Artemis
 * Danica McKellar
 * colspan="2" | M'gann M'orzz
 * Nolan North
 * colspan="2" | Superboy
 * Khary Payton
 * colspan="2" | Kaldur'ahm
 * Jason Spisak
 * colspan="2" | Wally West
 * Thom Adcox
 * Klarion
 * Edward Asner
 * Kent Nelson
 * rowspan="2" | Jeff Glenn Bennett
 * colspan="2" | Red Tornado
 * Abra Kadabra
 * Kevin Michael Richardson
 * Nabu
 * Cree Summer
 * Madame Xanadu
 * Kent Nelson
 * rowspan="2" | Jeff Glenn Bennett
 * colspan="2" | Red Tornado
 * Abra Kadabra
 * Kevin Michael Richardson
 * Nabu
 * Cree Summer
 * Madame Xanadu
 * Kevin Michael Richardson
 * Nabu
 * Cree Summer
 * Madame Xanadu
 * Cree Summer
 * Madame Xanadu
 * Madame Xanadu
 * colspan="2" | Inza Nelson
 * colspan="2" | Teekl
 * colspan="2" | Teekl
 * colspan="2" | Teekl
 * colspan="2" | Teekl

Ratings
"Denial" garnered an average of 1.1 million viewers among kids and boys between 9 and 14.

Continuity

 * Megan and Artemis each encourage the other to date members of the Team other than Superboy. They both previously expressed an interest in Superboy: Megan since her first appearance, in "Fireworks", and Artemis in her first appearance, "Infiltrator".
 * Superboy claims to have learned a combat maneuver from Black Canary. He started training with her in "Schooled".
 * Batman and Robin are said to be fighting crime on themselves; their adventure is documented in Young Justice #11. As Robin corrects Wally in that issue, they're not in Gotham City, but in Cape Canaveral.
 * Wally adds the Helmet of Fate to his collection of mission souvenirs, including Mister Twister's eye from "Welcome to Happy Harbor", a Kobra Cultist hood from "Drop-Zone", Artemis's arrow from "Schooled" and Cheshire's mask from "Infiltrator".

Trivia

 * Main title scenes:
 * Abra Kadabra smirks (02:09)
 * Red Tornado talking about Doctor Fate (04:22)
 * Teekl's glowing eyes (05:58)
 * Inza Nelson's photo on Kent's pocket watch (00:26)
 * Madame Xanadu looming (00:39)
 * Abra Kadabra torturing Kent Nelson (05:51)
 * Cast regular Robin does not appear in this episode.
 * The photograph of Doctor Fate seen on the Computer screen matches the character's official artwork, also seen in his promotional playing card released at the San Diego 2011 Comic-Con.
 * This is the first time another member of the Team, other than Kaldur uses magic.
 * No one wears their super hero uniform in this episode other than Superboy. Though he never technically wears one, just a black shirt with an 'S' shield on it.
 * This is the first episode in the series to show a superhero's death on-screen.
 * The tune playing in New Orleans at the beginning of this episode is "When the Saints Go Marching In".
 * This was a featured episode in Young Justice: Season One, Volume Two.

Goofs

 * Madame Xanadu's name is spelled "Madam" on the door of her shop, and "Madame" in the credits. It should be the latter.
 * A brief moment after Artemis and Wally are transported to the Tower of Fate, Miss Martian's eyes disappear.
 * On Wally's souvenir shelf, the arrow that Artemis used to save him from Amazo in "Schooled" is the wrong shape—the arrowhead resembles those used by Green Arrow, not those used by Artemis.

Answered questions

 * How does Red Tornado know Kent Nelson? (Answer)
 * Why does Klarion want the Helmet of Fate? (Partial answer)